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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Honour in place of shame | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 24, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 51

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Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the last week of this month. My prayer is that you will experience divine elevation in every place where you have been ignored, cheated, oppressed or robbed, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now I offered that prayer for you because it is in line with what God has already said through the mouth of one of His prophets of old concerning His people. And what did He say? He said, “At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.” (Zeph 3:19NIV)

Did you see that? First, God promises to deal with the oppressors of His people. So, if there are people oppressing you at the moment, know that their time is up. That is because God will surely lay hands on them and deal with them as their actions deserve. What He will do to them is not your job to know but His job. But you can be sure that when He is through with them, they will never again think of oppressing anyone else, if they are still breathing. King Abimelech of Abraham’s day would tell you what if feels like to have God deal with oppressors, even when they have acted in ignorance, if you would ask him. (Cf. Gen 20)

Then God says that He will give praise and honour to His people in every place where they have suffered shame. And that is going to be your experience, if you will accept His word by faith. He will cause people to celebrate you in all the places where they have mocked and disgraced you in the past.

Remember He did something similar for Joseph. In the same place where he once served both as a slave and prisoner, he also later served there as their prime minister. You can then imagine how people like Potiphar and his wife must have afterwards related to him. That was just an example of how God can lift people up and honour them where they have been despised. (Cf. Gen 39-41)

So, don’t lose heart, regardless of what your current position in life may be. Instead, embrace the word of God to you concerning your elevation and honour. Yes, embrace His word by saying the same thing in agreement with Him, in spite of how things may now look for you. And if you do not faint, you will certainly witness a fulfilment of His good word concerning you at the appropriate time.

Do have a great week. 

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Are you living at all? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 17, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 50

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of this month of April. My prayer is that the reason for all that Jesus Christ came to do for humanity will be fully accomplished in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As you probably know, this Sunday, many believers all around the world are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. And though we are not given any direct instruction in the bible to set apart a day of the year to publicly or unitedly celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, it is not a bad idea for believers to do so. What will be wrong, however, is for us to let the celebration of His resurrection end with any such day.

Also, it will be wrong for us to be publicly rejoicing in Jesus’ resurrection when we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. And that, in fact, is where the problem often lies with many so-called believers in Christ Jesus. They are not bringing forth the fruit of Christ’s resurrection. Why? It is either because they do not know that their lives must be lived to accomplish the purpose for which Jesus died and was raised from the dead for them or because they just don’t care.

In any case, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection, we have no business celebrating it. In fact, our so-called faith in Him is questionable, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. That is because the bible says this to all of us who have believed in Him and identified ourselves with His death, burial and resurrection: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom 6:1-4NIV)

Not only that, it also says this to us: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2Cor 5:14-15NIV) Can you see that? Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in order to make it possible for us to live a new life. He died and was raised for us so that we will no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised again.

So, if what He has done for us means something to us at all, then, we will stop living to please ourselves, or to please anybody else. Rather, we will start living to please Him. And is that what we are doing? Is that what I am doing? Am I living to please the one who made my new birth into the family of God possible? Or am I living for myself, my friends, my family, my community or some institution of my choosing?

Well, we must know that to live for ourselves or any other person or thing other than our Lord Jesus Christ is not to live at all. Really, it is to defeat the true essence of living. Doing so, of course, may make us feel happy, great or accomplished. But as I already said, it is as good as not living at all. And when a man does not live at all, he wastes his opportunity to live; he wastes his life and is not fit for any form of praise from God.

So, as you go this new week and as you probably join others in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, be sure that you are truly living to fulfil His purpose for your life. Otherwise, all you are doing can only amount to a waste. My prayer is that your life and activities in this world will not end up as nothing but a waste, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

It’s not about ruling over people | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 10, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 49

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to another week of the month of April 2022. And I pray that you will continually be taught to serve God wholeheartedly, so that you may receive all the good things associated with doing so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now if any of us truly wants to serve God wholeheartedly, then, he must bear in mind these words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45NIV)

Can you see that the Lord is not against our greatness? He wants us to be great people, especially in His kingdom. However, He also wants to know that the only way to be seen by God as great people in His kingdom is for us to be devoted to serving others. This, of course, does not mean that we are to turn ourselves to everybody’s slaves and allow them to abuse or insult us. Rather, it means that we, in humility, are to make ourselves available for Him to use in carrying out His will in people’s lives.

As our Lord points out in that text, He Himself came into the world to serve men and not to be served by them. And how did He serve them? It was by doing things that would fulfil the will of God in their lives. For example, He taught them the word of God, healed their sick folks, raised their dead people and eventually died for their sins. Why? It was so that they would become the people God wanted them to be, spirit, soul and body.

In like manner, we also are to serve men as He did. And though we are not required to die for anybody’s sins, there are several other things we can do to serve men and bring about the fulfilment of the will of God in their lives. We can be praying for them, teaching them God’s word, sharing our resources with them, correcting them when they are wrong, looking out for their welfare and interests, making our meeting places comfortable for them to stay in, aiding their ministries and so forth. 

In short, when we are talking about service in God’s kingdom, it is all about what we can give to people and not about what we can take from them. Unfortunately, many do not understand this. So, often, they associate service in God’s kingdom with a possession of some measure of power to control God’s people as they like and to take from them whatever they want. In fact, some are so desperate to rule over God’s people that they can go to any extent to have power over them. That is why we have church leaders today that are involved in sorcery, witchcraft, divination, manipulation and so on.

Now people like such are like Simon the Sorcerer of bible days, who wanted to buy the gift of God with money. Why? He was desperate to maintain the control he once had over the people of his city. Such people are also like Diotrephes of bible days who, because he wanted to have control over God’s people, was ready to have a face-off with the apostles of the Lord. But the truth is that individuals like such cannot go far in their attempt to possess and rule over God’s people. That is because, at some point, God, the owner of all souls, will certainly deal with them as their actions deserve. (Cf. Acts 8:14-24; 3John 9-10)

So, do not imitate them or walk in their footsteps. Instead, imitate our Lord Jesus, who gave Himself in service for us all, so that our lives may be a fulfilment of the will of God. And God, who never cheats, will surely reward you adequately and appropriately for all that you do for His people, if you do not faint.

Have a great week.  

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Inspire them to activate His blessings | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 03, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 48

Beloved: grace and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another month of this year, the month of April. And I pray that you will witness a full expression of the blessings of God in your life all through the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are rightly told in the bible, God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3). So, no one can bring you any more blessing or any special blessing or a greater blessing other than what God has already given you. You already have all the blessings you are ever going to need in this life to be all that you can be and enjoy yourself to the full.

However, since blessings are basically spiritual, we must know how to activate them, so that our experience of them will not be limited to the realm of the spirit. In other words, we need to witness manifestations of the blessings we have already received from God in the natural realm as well. Otherwise, those in our world will not think of us as blessed and we ourselves will not fully enjoy our earthly lives as blessed people.

How, then, do we activate the blessings of God? First, we can activate them by saying the same thing in agreement with Him about our lives and also acting accordingly. That means when we are saying the same thing God is saying about our righteousness, peace, health, prosperity, safety and other beautiful things of this life and also taking steps in agreement with what we are saying, we are activating His blessings. And sooner or later, we will begin to witness in the natural realm what is already true about our lives in the spirit realm.

Second, we can activate God’s blessings through prayer. Jesus says, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.” That means through prayer we are able to receive in the natural realm an experience of what God has already given to us in the spiritual realm. And this, according to the Lord Jesus, is one way to make our joy full over various matters of our lives. (Cf. John 16:24)

Another way to activate God’s blessings in our lives is to have others, especially those who have some form of authority over our lives, to proclaim His blessings on us. Don’t forget that I already said no one can give us greater, better or more blessings other than what God has already given us. However, some people, because God has given them some form of authority over us, can activate certain blessings of His that are already ours through their words of prayer. Then we will begin to witness manifestations of those blessings in our lives.

What I am saying is that people with legitimate authority over our lives, such as our parents, church leaders, husbands, employers, bosses at work and even traditional or political leaders, can activate certain blessings of God in our lives through their heartfelt words of prayer. This is why we must learn to make them happy, in accordance with the will of God, so that they will regularly be moved in their hearts to proclaim God’s blessings over us.

For example, though the blessing given to Abraham was already resting on his family, it had to be activated in the life of each of his descendants for them to experience it. In Isaac’s case, for example, it was his obedience to God in a time of severe famine that activated that blessing for his financial prosperity in life (Gen 26). Then his prayer for his wife activated it against their barrenness and made them fruitful (Gen 25:21). But in Esau’s case, it was Isaac’s heartfelt proclamation of that blessing on him that was supposed to activate it. So, he was instructed by Isaac to prepare a delicious meal that would make him so happy that he would activate the blessing of his father in his life by praying specially for him. And though Esau was not the one that eventually obtained that blessing, Jacob, who did, did not fail to make their father, Isaac, happy through the meal he brought to him. So, he got the blessing activated in his life through Isaac’s word of blessing, and his life never remained the same again from that moment on.

In like manner, if we too will learn to make those with authority over our lives happy through the things we do for them and to them, often, we will find that they are inspired to say to us things that will activate certain blessings of God in our lives, so that we can begin to witness their physical manifestations. But if we think that their words of blessing don’t mean much, perhaps because of our knowledge of the fact that we have already received all of heaven’s blessings from God, then, there are manifestations of those blessings of God that we may never see in our entire lifetime. Let us, therefore, learn from Jacob and regularly consider how we may inspire those with authority over us to activate God’s blessings in our lives. And may God humble our hearts to take this seriously, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a great week.  

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

The reward of the Lord’s anointed | Pst. J.O. Lawal |March 27, 2022. |Number: Vol. 10, No. 47

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the last week and days of the month of March 2022. I pray that God will cause His favour to overwhelm your life in the week and drive all kinds of good and wonderful things that you will never be able to get through hard work to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now it is not enough for us to be praying to God to cause His favour to overwhelm our lives and make amazing things happen to us. It is equally important that we too are doing things that will cause His favour to work for us. And one of such things is being generous to those anointed by Him to feed us with His word, pray for us and lead us to walk in the path of His righteousness. Look at what our Lord Jesus says about this: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” (Matt 10:40-42NIV)

Did you see that? Anyone who receives an anointed person of God because he believes that he is truly sent of God will certainly receive the reward of that anointed person. Even if it is just a cup of cold water that he gives him, he will not fail to receive his reward. What that reward will be, however, is not what anyone can say. It all depends on how God leads or moves that anointed person to bless the one involved.

For example, the reward that the Shunammite woman got from God through Elisha was a son that Satan couldn’t take away, having been barren for years (2Kings 4:8-37). Also, the reward that the widow of Zarephath got from God through Elijah was the preservation of her life and her son’s life during a terrible period of famine in their land (1Kings 17). And the reward that Mary, the sister of Martha, got from the Lord Jesus for her generosity to Him was a name that will always be mentioned and praised in God’s kingdom and wherever the gospel is preached (Matt 26:6-13).   

So, no one can actually predict how God will reward those who relate in generosity to His servants. But He will surely reward them with things that money, hard work or intelligence can never get. Unfortunately, many of us are missing these things not because we cannot have them but because we are stingy, selfish or insensitive. What will a cup of cold water cost any of us? Nothing much! Yet many of us have been missing the rewards that could be ours just by regularly giving our men and women of God some cups of cold water. Just think about it

Now am I saying that you are to start pursuing your pastor or leader in church with cups of water everywhere he goes, whether he is thirsty or not? No! Or am I saying that as long as you are giving your church leader cups of cold water, you have done all that God requires of you? No! Of course, if all you can indeed afford to give to support your church leader or the Lord’s anointed sent to you is a cup of water, it is fine. God will surely reward you for it, according to His standards. 

But the truth is that many of us can do far better than that. And the Lord will not expect us to do any less. Otherwise, we will be cheating ourselves. Look at what He says in the Law of Moses to His people about this: “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.” (Mal 1:14NIV) Did you see that? Well, thank God we are not under any kind of curse because Jesus has taken care of all curses for us. However, this is written down to teach us that it is a sign of utter disrespect to God to give Him or His servants among us less than He has blessed us to give. It was, in fact, that kind of thing that got Ananias and his wife Sapphira killed instead of being greatly rewarded by Him (Acts 5:1-11).

Now my prayer is that we will not get injured, killed or demoted where we ought to have been richly rewarded by God with all kinds of beautiful things. But we too need to cultivate the right attitude in our generosity to God and to those He is using to minister to us. And may His good Spirit make this so for us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Don’t lose your sense of rightness | Pst. J.O. Lawal

Date: March 20, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 46

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Welcome to a new week of the month of March 2022. My prayer is that the evils of these last days will not make you lose your mind and become what you have stood against all your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The bible speaks of a time in the land of Israel when everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6 & 21:25). In other words, for example, if someone felt that taking his neighbour’s daughter as his wife without the man’s permission was a good thing to do, he could do so, as long as he had the might or power to do so. You can then imagine how widespread evil must have been in the land at the time. People were committing all kinds of atrocities and were justifying themselves for doing so.

But what led them, the whole nation, into such deep darkness? It was a loss of sense of rightness. Don’t forget that these people had been entrusted with revelations of God about how to live in righteousness. So, they were in a position to know what was right and what was wrong. If they, then, came to a point in their history where what was right or wrong was judged based on individuals’ interpretation of things, they definitely had abandoned the word of God. That was why they began to tear themselves apart and to ruin the land with bloodshed and immorality of all kinds. Therefore, they could not prosper as a nation or rise among the nations of the world of the time. (Cf. Judges 17-21)

In like manner, when we too set aside God’s word and His revelations about how to live, we will lose all sense of what is right and what is wrong. And where this is the case, we can only do things that will ruin our lives and our world, things that will keep peace, joy and prosperity far away from us. Look at many of us who call ourselves Christians today. Are we living on the basis of God’s word or on the basis of our judgment of things? If we are living on the basis of God’s revelation, then, we will know, for example, that things like sex outside marriage relationships, bribery, lying, slander, malice, embezzlement of public funds, forgery, money rituals, swindling and other terrible things that many of us now freely get involved in are wrong.

But we do not see these things as wrong anymore. That is because we are now the ones judging for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, not God. We have become like those of the world who, because they have lost their sense of rightness, now cheerfully say that nothing is wrong with homosexuality and other similar nonsense – everything depends on individuals’ perception of things. And as I said before, where this is the case, we can only ruin our lives and even the lives of others as well, when all has been said and done.

Now the trouble, often, is that we can be running our lives and not know immediately that we are doing so. For instance, it did not become clear immediately to Samson that his indulgence in sexual sins was ruining him. But it was secretly weakening his inner strength and character. Then there came a time that it totally subdued and cut short his life. (Cf. Judges 16)

So, even if it does not look like the wrong things you are involved in are ruining you now, a day will come when you will clearly see what sort of mess it has been making of your life all along. My prayer is that God will restore your sense of rightness and lead you to repentance right early, so that that day of ruin and disgrace will never surface in your life. Amen.

Do have a wonderful week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

That He may teach you warfare | Pst. J.O. Lawal

from pastor's desk

Date: March 13, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 45

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Welcome to another week of this month. And may your heart be continually strengthened with adequate boldness to take advantage of God’s grace to walk in victory over whatever challenge you might be confronted with in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Often, people wonder why God sometimes allow His children to face certain trials or challenges in life. Could it be because He does not love them? No! Could it be because He does not care enough about them? No! Or could it be because He does not have their best of interests at heart? No! Why, then, does He allow Satan, the archenemy of His children, to confront them with certain trials and temptations that may end up destroying them?

Well, we have very sure answers to these questions in the bible. For example, we are told this in it: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1Cor 10:13NIV) From what we are told here, we can see three major reasons God allows us to face challenges and temptations in life. And the first among them is that there have been people like us that faced whatever challenge or trial we may be currently facing, just as there are people like us that are facing the same nature of challenge or trial we are facing at the moment. So, we should not see any challenge or temptation that comes to us in life as strange or peculiar, for it is not. Instead, we should see it as something common to man.

Another reason God allows us to face these things is that He is in charge of life and the creation as a whole. So, He is able to determine what sort of challenges come to us or do not come to us in life. And He has promised never to let us face any challenge we cannot handle. So, if it comes to you, know that it is because God knows that you can handle it. But will you really be able to handle any trial or challenge that comes your way? Yes, you will. You will because God will see to it that you have all that you need to do so. And that is the third reason He allows trials to come to us. He allows them because He knows that His provisions to walk in victory over them are already available for us.

You can see, then, that none of us should be afraid of confronting life’s trials or challenges. But we are often afraid of confronting them. Why? We want to be comfortable and without any form of distress in life all the time. But the truth is that without being confronted with trials in this life, there are heights we cannot attain, things we cannot accomplish and levels of enjoyment and comfort we cannot experience. And since God knows this, from time to time, He permits certain trials or temptations to flow into our lives. That way, we can learn to take advantage of His grace that is more than sufficient for us to walk in victory over them and occupy the places meant for us in life.

Now look at what is said along this line about how He dealt with the children of Israel:

“These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.” (Judg 3:1-4NIV) Did you see that? One of the reasons God left those enemies of Israel around was to teach them warfare. In other words, He left them to teach them to take advantage of His grace. It was up to them, then, to take the word of His grace seriously for their victory over these enemies or to ignore it, to their own defeat, regret and shame.

In like manner, we must learn to think of all our trials as God’s way of teaching us spiritual warfare instead of being afraid of them or giving up on life because of them. Yes, we must think of them all as avenues to take God’s word seriously and utilize His grace for our victory. And as long as we are functioning like this, we will never again be afraid of any trial. Instead, we will always boldly join Paul to take advantage of God’s grace and to say, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

The gift of a lover | Pst. J. O. Lawal


Date: March 06, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 44

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to a new week in the month of March 2022. My prayer is that your heart will be taught to know God’s love more and more, so that you can always freely and fully yield yourself and all that you have to Him. Amen.

Why did Mary, Martha’s sister, take a jar of a very expensive perfume and pour everything on Jesus’ feet? It was because she loved Him dearly. And why did she love Him so much? It was because He too had shown her and her family immeasurable love. Remember that the Lord had been a friend to their family, visiting them often to know their well-being and also transforming their lives through His teachings. Remember also that He was the one that brought this woman’s brother, Lazarus, back from the dead, having being laid in the tomb for four days. And on the day that she poured this expensive perfume on Him, a dinner was being given in His honour because of what He had done for their family.

So, it was because Mary had known and enjoyed the Lord’s love that she honoured Him with her substance the way she did. And though what she lavished on Him was expensive, expensive enough to pay a man’s one year salary, she did not consider it too much to be used in honouring Him. Therefore, the Lord said that wherever the gospel is preached in the world, what she did would also be talked about, in memory of her. That, of course, is why we are still reading and talking about it today. (Cf. Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:1-9; John 12:1-8)

Similarly, if we too have known and have been enjoying the Lord’s love, if our lives have been saved and changed by it, we will want to love Him in return. And in doing so, it is not only our lives that we will willingly want Him to have, we will also want Him to have everything we have. In short, there is nothing we have that we will consider too much to give to Him.

Look at how we handle our natural relationships, for example. We don’t often care about how expensive things are when we are dealing with those what we love dearly. Instead, what we will be asking ourselves is, “Can I afford this?” And if we know that we can afford whatever it is we want to get for the one we love, we will just go for it without blinking an eye.

What is my point? It is that if you are not giving much to the Lord and for His cause, it is simply because your love for Him is not much. If your love for Him is much, you will give anything to honour Him, without considering how much it costs or what people will say about it. People complained about Mary’s gift to Jesus. They said that it was a waste. They said that it was not wise spending. But did she care? No! And did the Lord care? No! On the contrary, the Lord said, “The opportunity to honour me in love like this will not always be there for you. And now that it is there, this woman has done the right thing in utilizing it.”

See, only true lovers of God will recognize opportunities to honour Him in love with their substance. So, if you have not been seeing opportunities to honour God with your substance in any way, big or small, you need check the fervency of your love for Him. That is because opportunities to honour Him are always there every day. But it takes a heart that is overflowing with love for Him to see and utilize them. My prayer is that your heart will be flooded with love for Him, so that you too can always readily recognize your opportunities to honour Him in such a way that people will never stop talking about it.

Do have a fabulous week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk SUNDAY BULLETINS SUNDAY BULLETINS

What is going on with you? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 27, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 43

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours in abundance from God our Father and Jesus Christ our precious Redeemer. Welcome to another week of this year. And I pray that God will keep your heart right with Him in the week and till our Lord Jesus will return.

Amen.

One of the things the writer of the book of Hebrews emphasizes all through the pages of the book is the need for every assembly of God’s people to keep an eye on their members. Why? It is so that they will not stray away from the will of God for their lives and be ruined or harm the health of the church. So, if you have any member of your assembly watching out for you and asking you questions relevant to your life and faith, don’t take offence or insult them. They are just fulfilling the law of Christ concerning you (Gal 6:2).

Now I am not saying that it is everyone in your church that is mature enough to know some things about you or to handle certain information about your life. And I am not saying that it is everyone that professes to be a Christian that you can open your life to. Anyone, according to the Scriptures, whose faith-life is not plain for you to see, so that you can tell that they will not injure, pollute or cheat you is definitely someone you have to be careful in relating to. If in your judgment, then, there is no one in your assembly that is worthy of knowing what is going on in your life or worthy of keeping an eye on you, you should get out of there and find another assembly where you can freely relate. Otherwise, you will soon enough endanger your faith or life. (Cf. 2Cor 7:2)

So, for your own good, stay in an assembly where you can freely let the brethren know what is going on in your life and also keep an eye on you. Then, for the health of the church, it is important that you keep your life open to the brethren and allow them to be a vital part of it, so that they can continually support you to stay focused in doing the will of God.

Why do we have many weak and unstable Christians in many of our Christian assemblies today? And why do we have many assemblies in which brethren are bitter towards one another or are constantly quarrelling over one thing or the other? One main reason is that many of us don’t want our lives to be watched or set right by the brethren. What we want is to be able to live as we like without anybody’s interference or contribution. And that is not good for us or for the health of the church at all.

For example, the writer of the book of Hebrews says this to us: “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.” (Heb 12:15-16NIV) How do we see to it that none of us misses the grace of God, if we do not know what is going on in the lives of all of us? How do we see to it that bitterness or division does not happen in our midst, if we do not know what is going on among us? Or how do we prevent our brethren from falling into the trap of sexual immorality or any other sin that could ruin their lives or marriages, if we do not know what is going on in their lives? It is not possible.

See, we can only appropriately help one another stand firm in the faith when we have adequate information about what is going on in our lives. And we can only truly preserve the health of the church of God when there is sufficient knowledge of what is going on among the brethren. For instance, when the church began to increase in number in those early days, some groups of the brethren began to feel that their widows were not be properly treated by those representing the church in food distribution. What, then, did they do about that? They talked to the apostles about it, and the problem was fixed and the church was strengthened. But what if they had kept quiet about it? It would not have been long before bitterness, anger, hatred and envy filled the whole church and ruined it. (Cf. Acts 6:1-7)

So, for your own spiritual health and for the health of the church of God, keep your life and affairs open to the people of God in your life. And don’t carry around the air of ‘My life is nobody’s business’ or function with the notion that no one would understand you or be able to help you, if you should open up to them. Your life is the business of every one of us. Then your business is to make us know and understand what you are up to in life. And my prayer is that the Spirit of God will enable you to understand and function in this light always, so that you don’t end up falling into Satan’s trap or end up becoming his tool in afflicting the church of God.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Life Application Pastor's Desk Prayer SUNDAY BULLETINS SUNDAY BULLETINS

Title: The practice of righteousness | By: Johnson O. Lawal | Date: February 20, 2022 | Series: Taking advantage of God’s power

We have been looking at how to take advantage of the power of God. And the first thing I said we need is a clear and thorough knowledge of the quality and greatness of His power. Without knowing His power and what it is capable of accomplishing for us, we won’t be able to take adequate and appropriate advantage of it. So, we need to know His power. We need to study His power. And we need to pray to know His power. We need Him to fill our hearts with revelations of His power. So, we should continually look to Him for more and more revelations of the greatness of His power in order that we may take adequate and appropriate advantage of it.

We have been looking at how to take advantage of the power of God. And the first thing I said we need is a clear and thorough knowledge of the quality and greatness of His power. Without knowing His power and what it is capable of accomplishing for us, we won’t be able to take adequate and appropriate advantage of it. So, we need to know His power. We need to study His power. And we need to pray to know His power. We need Him to fill our hearts with revelations of His power. So, we should continually look to Him for more and more revelations of the greatness of His power in order that we may take adequate and appropriate advantage of it.

Then we talked about the place of prayer in taking advantage of God’s power. So, we must learn to pray. The bible says the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). Therefore, we must not underestimate prayers that we offer in accordance with the will of God. They are powerful and effective and can change things. What we are saying is that when we pray, God’s power is unleashed for our experience and for the experience of those in our world. I already gave you a number of examples from Scriptures of how people prayed and released the power of God for their salvation, prosperity and strengthening in doing the will of God. We too, then, should devote ourselves to prayer.

Jesus says men ought always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1). So, do not faint in prayer. Exactly how God’s power will work when you pray is what I cannot tell you. But I can tell you that His power works in very dynamic ways. So, do not allow Satan to mess up your life or world. Instead, learn to pray, for as we pray, we release the power of God to frustrate him.

Now another way to take advantage of the power of God is through the practice of righteousness. Let me give you something Paul says to Timothy in the second chapter of his second letter to him, from verse 19: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’” (2Timothy 2:19NIV) God expects everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord to turn away from wickedness, as Paul points out in this verse of his letter. And He wants them to turn away from wickedness to what? He wants them to turn away from wickedness to righteousness.

See, when we are talking about Christian living, it is not just about turning away from wickedness; it is also about devoting ourselves to practising righteousness. That is why the bible talks about putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph 4:20-24). So, as we talk about and emphasise the things we must no longer do; we must also be talking about the things we must be doing. Mind you, we have been recreated to do good works. Paul tells us in Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10, that we are God’s workmanship in Christ Jesus, created to do those good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do. So, Christian living is not just about what we do not do but also about what we do. We have an obligation not just to turn away from wickedness but also to be devoted to practising righteousness.

Now as we devote ourselves to righteous living, we unleash the power of God. How this works or happens is not what we can explain. Spiritual things aren’t always things we can explain using human words. But once God is clear about what we need to do, ours is to act accordingly. And as we act on His word, we will see the results He wants us to see.

What is the point I am making? It is that through the practice of righteousness we are able to take advantage of God’s power for our protection, exaltation and favour. There are some examples I want to quickly draw your attention to about this. First, from Genesis, chapter 35, verse 1, we are told:
“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Go, up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.’ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in the ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.” (Genesis 34:1-5NIV)

The bible tells us that all the things written in the Old Testament part of the bible are types and examples for us, so that we may learn from them, take advantage of the lessons they teach and live the kind of life God wants them to live. Here we are told of how God appeared to Jacob and told him to go to Bethel, settle down there and build an altar to Him. In response to this, he called all the members of his household together, told them what God had told him and instructed to do away with all their idols and foreign gods. That means, even at that time, not all the members of Jacob’s household were devoted to worshipping God. You know that he had all kinds of people with him – servants, workers, guards, wives and so forth. And these people had not been raised to be worshippers of God. So, they had idols and gods that they worshipped. They must also have had charms, tokens and so forth them as well. And these things must have been affecting Jacob and his prosperity as well.

In any case, on this occasion, he called all of them together and said, “My God, the true God, that I serve has told me to go to Bethel and live there. Now I want you all to give me your foreign idols and gods and turn away from them. And let us go and serve this God.” And they all did. They gave him all their idols and gods, which he buried so that they would not have access to them again.

Now, as they set out for Bethel, as God had told them, the fear of God came on all those around them, so that no one attacked or pursued them. What is that telling us? It is that when we give ourselves to practising righteousness, God’s power is released on our behalf. Jacob did not pray on this occasion in order to experience God’s protection. Yes, we know that he prayed to God for salvation when his brother Esau was coming to attack him. And when he prayed, the power of God was released. But on this occasion, all that he and those with him did was to turn away from their idols and foreign gods. And when they did, God released His power for their protection. He brought His fear on all those around them. So, no one pursued them, attacked them or made any attempt to hurt them. That was because the power of God had been released for their protection.

As we too give ourselves to practising righteousness, we will begin to see God’s power being released for our protection and to accomplish different things in our lives, even without praying. I am not saying we are not to be praying at all, once we devote ourselves to practising righteousness. We must always pray according to the instructions given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy apostles. Remember that as we pray, we are expressing our dependence on God. However, besides praying, when we give ourselves to practising righteousness, we are able to take advantage of the power of God in ways beyond our imaginations.

Look at another account similar to that of Jacob’s in 2Chronicles, chapter 17. From verse 7 we are told the following:
“In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hali, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. With them were certain Levites – Shemiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah – and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went round to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat.” (2Chronicles 17:7-9NIV)

When Jehoshaphat became king, one of the things he did was to send people to different parts of the land to teach the people the word of God. Why did he do that? Why did he send his officials to teach his people the word of God? It was so that they would devote themselves to practising righteousness. He knew that if they were taught the word of God, they would know what to do. Not only that, they would experience the cleansing, healing, transformation and prosperity that come with hearing the word of God and practising it.

So, this king understood the fact that if people would be taught the word of God, they would live lives that are consistent with the will of God. And if they would live lives that are consistent with His will, they would experience His power in their lives. God had promised them through Moses that if they would live in His righteousness, He would continue to be their God, protecting them, prospering them and lifting them. And Jehoshaphat wanted this to happen. So, he sent teachers that would teach them the word of God. As they were taught, then, and began to live according to what they were taught, the fear of the Lord came on all the kingdoms around them. So, they would not attack them.

In like manner, the terror of God can be on those around you through your practice of righteousness. So, they will not have the boldness to attack or hurt you. They may not like you or your prosperity or progress. But as you give yourself to practising righteousness, God’s fear will be on them. I mean that His power will be released for your protection. So, they would not be able to come near you, attack you or hurt you, for the power of God is all around you, protecting you. One of the things that Satan said concerning Job was that there was an edge of protection from God all around him. So, he could not be attacked, hurt or touched by his enemies. Why? It was because of the man’s devotion to practising righteousness. And I am saying that if you too will devote yourself to practising righteousness, you will be unleashing the power of God in ways you cannot describe. People will be able to sense this in your life. They will be able to tell that there is something about you that they cannot handle. So, they will be relating to you with respect or regard. (Cf. Job 1:9-10)

Furthermore, through your devotion to the practice of righteousness, God’s power can be released for your favour and advancement. Let me give you an example along this line from the book of Daniel. It is about how Daniel determined in his heart not to be defiled with the royal food and wine. And that had nothing to do with the sweetness of the food or the quality of it; rather, it had to do with the composition of the food. Daniel and his colleagues had been raised up as Jews. And as Jews they were not permitted to eat certain animals and birds or to include them in their meals. That, of course, was not because something was wrong with those animals and birds. Rather, it was because God had said that He would not want them to eat them and that He would bless them for following His instructions on this matter. (Cf. Leviticus 11)

So, the unwillingness of Daniel and his friends not to eat the royal food and wine had nothing to do with the quality of the food they were being offered but with its composition. In any case, these men resolved not to defile themselves with the royal food and wine and asked for the permission of the official in charge of their affairs not to do so. And because of their devotion to God’s righteousness, He caused that official to favour them. Look at some of the things said about this from verse 8 of chapter 1, the book of Daniel:
“But Daniel resolved no to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men of your age? The king would the have my head because of you.’ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hanaiah, Mishael and Azariah, ‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:8-17NIV)

Why did Daniel and his friends experience what they experienced in the service of King Nebuchadnezzar? They experienced these things because of their devotion to righteousness. Yes, these young men were raised to worship God. So, they must have been praying to Him as well. But apart from the fact that they were praying to Him, they were also devoted to practising righteousness. And because they were devoted to practising righteousness, God also began to release His power for their favour.

For example, when they determined that they would not be defiled by the royal food and drink, God caused them to obtain favour from the official in charge of them. If everything had just been about their determination, it would not have amount to anything. But as they determined to please God, He also released His power for their favour. So, they were favoured by the official the king had appointed over them. That was why the man agreed to test them with vegetables, when they proposed to him that he should give them vegetables instead of the royal food and wine. That man agreed because God had put their love in his heart. And that was a manifestation of the power of God. His power can cause people to help you, love you and want to help you, if when it is risky. It was risky for that man to help Daniel and his friends. Yet because the power of God was at work on their behalf, he favoured them, even though it was risky.

God is powerful and awesome. And when His power begins to work in our favour, it would be mind-blowing. These men were devoted to practising righteousness. So, God caused His power to work in their favour. And when they were tested with vegetables, as they had proposed to that official of Nebuchadnezzar, they looked better at the end of the ten days than all the other young men that were eating the royal meals. How did that happen? It was through the power of God. The power of God made them look more handsome and better nourished than others.

So, you don’t have to ruin your life through prostitution, stealing, bribery and corruption or any other wrong thing because you lack certain things in life. That is because if you will give yourself to practising righteousness, God will cause His power to manifest on your behalf. And what you think is not enough will become enough or more than enough for you through the working of His power. Then where you think there is no way His power will make ways available for you there. So, people will begin to envy you, even though you do not have as much as they do. And your joy will be full, fuller than the joy of those who have more than you do. (Cf. Psalm 4:7)

That was what happened in the case of those men. The power of God worked even in their bodies because of their practice of righteousness. Also, God blessed them with wisdom, knowledge and understanding in all kinds of literature and learning. So, you who are worried because of studies just need to devote yourself to righteousness. Then you will see how God would release His power to quicken your brain, understand what others do not understand and excel in your studies. The same thing can happen in your business or any other area of your life. Therefore, take the practice of righteousness very seriously in your life. And you will be amazed at how His power will begin to work in your favour in various ways and beyond human understanding.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)