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MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTS Message Transcripts 2025 Single Message Series

SEE TO IT (8)BOUNDARIES TO RESPECT (A)

Date: May 04, 2025

Series: See to it

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We have been looking at a number of things on the relevance of taking certain instructions given to us in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12, very seriously. These instructions have to do with watching over one another, so that we do not go astray or fall short of the grace of God. This, of course, has led us to looking at various things that we need to pay attention to, if we will be able to freely help one another stay in the truth and not become a part of the problem we are trying to prevent or solve. And the last thing we looked at on this note had to do with relating to one another only on the basis of the word of God, not on the basis of human traditions or superstitions, not on the basis of mysticism and not on the basis of our feelings, idiosyncrasies or experiences.

Our traditions may be good. And our experiences may be okay to teach others. But we must use these things in relating to people only to the degree that they agree with the word of God. Wherever they do not agree with the word of God, we must discard them in our dealings with people. Otherwise, we may end up judging those that God has not judged or condemning those that He has not condemned.Now there is another thing we need to pay attention to in relating to one another, if we will be able to truly watch over one another and keep ourselves from going astray. This has to do with recognizing those boundaries that we must not cross in people’s lives. There are boundaries we must not cross in our dealings with people. These boundaries may not be obvious. But they are there. And in relating to people, we must recognize and respect them. Otherwise, we may not be able to help them in any serious way or end up becoming a part of the problem we are trying to prevent or solve.

One of such boundaries is people’s right to privacy. The Lord Jesus has called us to live in freedom. So, we must allow every child of God to enjoy their freedom, as long as they are not using it as cover up for evil (Galatians 5:13; 1Peter 2:16). The point I am making is that we can only help people to do degree that they permit us. So, we must know when and where people want us in their lives and when and where they do not want us in their lives. We must not attempt to impose ourselves on anyone. We must not be close to people beyond want they want or what they permit. If someone has set certain boundaries in their lives that they do not want you to cross, then, you must respect their right to privacy.

In 2Corinthians, chapter 6, Paul says this from verse 11: “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange – I speak as to my children – open wide your hearts also.” (2Corinthians 6:11-13NIV)Paul is counseling the Corinthian brethren here to remove the boundaries they have placed around their lives, so that he and his ministry companions could freely affect them.

According to him, they are not withholding their affection from these Corinthians. Instead, they have freely opened wide their hearts to them, so that they could share their lives with them. So, it is only fair that the Corinthians do likewise. And that is what Paul is placing his fingers on here. But you can see that Paul is not trying to impose himself on these brethren. Yes, he was the one that God used in starting their church. And he had spiritual authority over them and could command them to do those things that are right for them to do. Yet he would not impose himself on them.

Instead, he wanted them to realize the need for them to consciously open wide their hearts to them, so that they may freely and fully affect them in their walk of faith. And that was because he respected their right to privacy.In like manner, it is important that we respect people’s right to privacy. It is important that we respect their right and freedom to choose what they want and do not want, to choose how we help them and the extent to which we help them in their faith. So, if someone does not want us to help them in certain areas of their lives, we have to respect their decision and stay away from those areas of their lives that they do not want us to touch.

Yes, we may know exactly what they need in those areas of their lives. But if they will not permit us to help them, we will have to let them be until God opens their eyes to see that they need us to help them in those areas of their lives.Look at how Paul relates to Philemon in his letter, as an example of the need for us to learn to respect the rights of others to make certain decisions for themselves: “Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul – an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus – that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. I am sending him – who is my very heart – back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel.

But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary.” (Philemon 8-14NIV)The things Paul says here are in favour of a man called Onesimus, who used to be a slave of Philemon. The man ran away from his master and was meant to be severely punished for doing so. But as God would have it, he met Paul at some point and become born again. Not only did he become born again, he also grew in his faith so much so that he became a very dear son in the faith to Paul. Naturally, Paul would want to keep this young man to himself. But he knew it would not be right for him to do so, since he knew his master, Philemon. The right thing for him to do would be to send him back to his master for reconciliation. Yes, he could just write a letter to his master, using his spiritual authority over him to command him to let Onesimus remain with him. But he knew that would be an abuse of his spiritual authority and his relationship with Philemon. He knew that if he did that, he would be trampling on the man’s rights.

So, he would not do so but would instead appeal to the love of Christ in Philemon. And that is what we see in this passage.Now is it the will of God for people to keep slaves? No! But during that era, God did not contend with humanity about making slaves of themselves, though He forbade His own people, the Israelites, from making slaves of their own brethren. Why did God not contend with people on this matter? The reason was the hardness of their hearts. God knew that unless people were recreated and changed from within, telling them not to make slaves of themselves could only fall on deaf ears. But as the gospel prevailed in the world, slavery diminished in acceptance.

And today, slavery is no longer socially or politically acceptable in any part of the world.In any case, at that time, there was no law against having slaves. So, Paul would not trample on Philemon’s right to own slaves. But since Philemon was a child of God, he appealed to the love of God in him in dealing with Onesimus, his run-away slave. As I pointed out already, Paul could have commanded this man to forgive Philemon and to also release him to him as a helper. But he respected his right and wanted him to function on the basis of the love of God in his heart. So, he appealed to him to welcome back Onesimus and reconcile with him, out of love for Christ. That way, all of them could continue to freely fellowship together as members of the same family, the family of God.You can see that even though Paul was an apostle, he respected the right of Philemon to make his own decision about the matter of Onesimus.

We too should learn to respect people’s rights to make decisions about their lives. We should not treat them as morons and keep trampling on their rights to decide for themselves, just because we have spiritual authority over them. Instead, we should respect their freedom to make choices that they believe are right for them. And we should respect their right to privacy.Yes, we may know what is right for others to do in certain situations of their lives. But we must still respect their rights to choose what to do for themselves. We can encourage them. We can warn them. We can open their eyes to see the will of God for them. But as long as they have come of age, we must learn to respect their right to choose for themselves whatever they want in life. That way, they will not do anything because they are forced or manipulated or threatened to do it but because they want to do it.

What I am saying, all along, is that if someone does not want us to help them in certain areas in their walk with God, we just have to let them be. We see our Lord Jesus dealing with us in this same manner. He does not cross whatever boundaries we set for Him in our lives. Look at what is written to us in the bible about this: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20NIV)The Lord is not speaking to unbelievers here but to believers.

Interestingly, often, this Scripture is used to address unbelievers to give Jesus a chance in their lives. And that is not a bad thing. But in the context, the words were originally said to believers and not to unbelievers. These believers were shutting the Lord Jesus out of certain areas of their lives. So, He had to tell them to open the door for Him to come into those areas of their lives and fellowship with them there.Well, He is saying the same thing to us today. He is telling us to allow Him in every area of our lives. Yes, He lives in us by His Spirit. But He may be living in us as guest, a visitor. There are, in fact, many believers who think of the Spirit of God as a guest in their lives.

They do not see Him as the owner of their lives. But He is the owner of our lives. And we must treat Him as such.However, He will not force Himself on us. So, the right thing for us to do is to willingly offer ourselves to Him. The word God tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, holy and acceptable, which is our logical act of worship.

In other words, the willing offering of our bodies to God is the right thing for us to do. We have to realize that it is the right thing for us to do and do it.Well, we see Jesus telling the brethren in Laodicea that He is standing at the door and knocking and that if anyone hears His voice and opens the door, He will come in and fellowship with that person and they with Him. But what if the person does not hear the Lord knocking at all? He won’t force His way in. Instead, He will keep knocking until the person hears and opens the door. Or what if the person hears and does not open the door for the Lord? He won’t still force His way in.

He will just let the person be until he realizes the need for him to open the door for his Lord to come in and fellowship with him.So, if you do not want the Lord to address you about your marriage, for instance, He will let you be. But you can be sure that you will be a failure in that area of your life. If you don’t want Him to address you about your finances, He will let you be. Or if you are stingy and selfish and do not want Him to talk about these things, what is He going to do? He will let you be. Even if it is your health that you don’t want Him to touch, He will let you be. He will not force Himself on you. If He had been forcing Himself on all men, then, all men would have been born again already.Truly, the Lord wants to fellowship with us in every area of our lives. He does not want us to live alone in any area of our lives. That, in fact, is what God has called us to. He has called us into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 1:9).

He has called us to live with Him and for Him to live with us. He does not want us to walk through life alone. Instead, He wants us to have His companionship every moment of our lives.However, we may not have His companionship every moment of our lives. That, of course, will not be because it is unavailable. Rather, it will be because we are not permitting Him in our lives. That is how the Lord functions. That is how we also must function. We must learn to knock the door of people’s lives instead of badging in. Jesus knocks before coming into any area of our lives.

Why does He do that? That is respect. He is showing that He respects our rights to choose for ourselves. He may not respect us for the choices we have made. But He respects our right to choose whatever we want to choose for ourselves. We may choose badly. We may choose what will destroy us. But since He has given us the right to making choices for ourselves in certain areas of life, He knows that He has to respect our right to make those choices.Just think about this: God has given us the right to make our own choices in certain areas of our lives. We, of course, do not have absolute rights to choose in life. There are things that are chosen for us by God or by people. But there are areas of life in which we have been given the right to choose for ourselves. And God is not taking that right away from us. He is not trampling on it at all. He will always respect it. He will not contend with us in using it. But He is always concerned that we choose right.

How painful it must have been for Him, then, to watch us use the right He has given to us to hurt ourselves and others badly? Well, God will continue to come to us, asking us to open the door of every area of our lives for Him, so that He can come in and lead us to choose right. He will show us what is right and what is wrong and tell us to choose what is right. He will show us the difference between life and death and also show us to choose life. He will show us the difference between health and death, between wealth and poverty, and also lead us to choose that which is right for us. In like manner, as I have been saying, we must respect people’s privacy and also their right to choose whatever they want for themselves. It may hurt us badly that people are making the wrong choices.

But we still have to respect their right to choose for themselves, if they will not permit us to help them choose right. A man once told me that he had resolved to maintain a private life and to shut those of us who were his brethren out of his home. And I told him right there that I would respect his choice, even though I knew it was a terrible one. I also went on to inform the brethren to respect his privacy and not visit him uninvited. Now was I happy to do that? No! But that’s what the Lord Himself would do.

So, if people do not want you to help them in certain areas of their lives, you have to let them be. That way, neither they nor God will be able to hold you responsible, if they should fall away from the grace of God. Let us pray.

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From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025

Title: What He thinks of us

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 2

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It gives me great delight welcome you to another week of the month of May 2025 and to also welcome you to our 13th year church anniversary. My prayer is that God will continue to build us up to be all that He wants us to be by the power of His Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is indeed a thing of joy to know that we have been meeting as an assembly in this town for thirteen full years. And we ought to be thankful to God for all that He has done in us, for us and through us in these thirteen years. We also ought to be thankful to Him for all that He is still going to do among us, for us and through us in the year we are just starting as a church. My prayer is that His good works will never cease in our midst, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

But then, as we are celebrating God’s goodness to us today as an assembly, there is something very important that we need to pay attention to. And that what He thinks of us as an assembly. If we ask around, people will have all kinds of things to say about our assembly. And what they say may be pleasant to the ear or not pleasant at all. But we cannot judge how well we are doing as a church on the basis of what people think or say about us.

We cannot even judge how well we are doing on the basis of what we think of ourselves. The only true judgment of how we are doing lies with God. And we all will do well to pray that He will reveal what He thinks about us to us, so that we can give ourselves to functioning accordingly.

As we see in the book of Revelation, the Lord says this about the church in Laodicea:“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Rev 3:17-18NIV)

Did you see that? This church thought that it was rich spiritually and in need of nothing. But the Lord said that it was wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. So, the only one who knows the true condition of every church is the Lord Himself. And unless He tells us our condition, we may think we are doing well, when we are actually failing, or think that we are doing poorly, when we are actually doing well in God’s sight.

Therefore, as I said before, let us all give ourselves to praying wholeheartedly that God will reveal to us what He thinks about our assembly, so that we will not be acting on a reputation that we do not have before God and lose our place and our reward in His kingdom. I rejoice with all of us again, as we celebrate another year of God’s faithfulness to us as a church. My prayer is that God will cause us stand firm in all His will for us and also continually cause His favour and mercy to rest upon us. Amen.Happy celebration.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Demonic activities are real – J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 7, No. 52

“Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” (Rev 16:13-14NIV)

What we see in our opening text is a little part of the revelation of Jesus given to John the Apostle. And from what we see in the revelation, a time will come when the rulers of this world will come together to battle against the Lord. And does that not sound ridiculous? Does it not sound ridiculous that people would think of waging war against God?

Well, it does sound ridiculous that people would think of doing that. But it is going to happen, just as our Lord made it known to John. And the reason it is going to happen is that certain demons will move them to do so when the time is ripe. As we see in our opening text, these evil spirits will go out and gather the world rulers of the time to wage war against God.

Now how will these demons go about doing that? We are not told this in obvious terms in the text. But it is clear that they will do so by speaking to the minds of these rulers and urging them to do what they want. We have a similar example in the bible story of the death of King Ahab.

As the account goes, it was an unclean spirit that became a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets of this king, just to deceive and lure him to his death. And interestingly, this lying spirit succeeded in moving about four hundred prophets to tell the same lie on the same day and at the same time. (Cf. 1Kings 22; 2Chro 18)

So, demonic activities are real. And that many all around the world who do not believe in them does not change the fact that they are real and happening everyday. What we are saying is that there are times that people act the way they act because certain demons are moving or driving them.For instance, why are beer parlous, night parties and brothels (houses of prostitution) often filled with all kinds of people, high and low, rich and poor, educated and uneducated? The reason is that there are demons that gather them to fill these places.

Also, why do we sometimes witness horrible riots, mob attacks and genocides? The reason is that there are demons that gather and drive people to do these things. And just as they are able to move a crowd to do dangerous and unthinkable things, they are also able to move individuals to do stupid, silly and destructive things to themselves and to others.

So, when someone or people are acting crazy and doing destructive things to themselves or to others, you should know that some demons may be responsible for their actions. You should have compassion on them, then, and pray for their deliverance, instead of condemning them to hell. Otherwise, they may go from bad to worse and make the world more unbearable for all of us to live in.

Also, we need to be utterly given to the word of God and prayer, so that we too will not be tools of demonic activities. Remember that, as devoted as David was to God, Satan was still able to use him to take certain foolish steps that brought trouble on his nation. Remember also that even though Judas Iscariot did everything with the Lord Jesus, as a disciple and friend, Satan still succeeded in using him to hand Him over to His enemies. (Cf. 1Chro 21; John 13:2&27)

So, any of us can be moved, driven and used by the devil or any of his demons to do unthinkable and destructive things, if we will not give ourselves to living by the word of God and praying to frustrate satanic activities where we are. My prayer is that you will never again be available as a tool to be used by the devil or any of his demons, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Only few people | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 19, 2025 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 38

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of January 2025. My prayer is that God will wake you up to recognize all the duties of your ministry and also strengthen you to begin to carry them out without delay. Amen.

Paul, in a letter to Timothy, says this to him: “…discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2Tim 4:5NIV) Why does he say this to him? He says it to him because he is sure that he knows his ministry and the responsibilities that go with it. If Timothy does not know the duties of his ministry, then, he won’t be able to fulfil all of them on purpose. Yes, he may accidentally carry some of the duties of his ministry, even if he does not know them. But he won’t be able to deliberately and fully carry out duties that he knows nothing about.

Now if Timothy is not fully discharging the duties of his ministry, then, God will not be able to bless everyone He wants to bless through his ministry the way He wants to. And will God be happy about that? No, He won’t. So, He will have to find ways to wake him up to do all that he is supposed to do or find some other people that will do what he is supposed to do that he is neglecting.

In like manner, God is expecting every child of His in the church today to recognise the duties of his ministry and also begin to carry them out. Otherwise, He will not be able to bless people through them as He wants to. And where this is the case, He will have to seek ways to wake them up to do what they are neglecting or find some other people to do it.

Unfortunately, even though God is doing all He can to wake many of us up to begin to do all the duties of our ministry, we are often unwilling to do so because of fear, laziness, distraction, greed or ignorance. Therefore, often, He also has to call upon others to pick up and do what we are refusing to do. This is why, in many Christian assemblies, it is the same few people that are committed to the word of God that are also often committed to attending prayer meetings, visiting others, giving and even taking care of their church meeting places.

For instance, in a letter to the Corinthians, Paul says this to them: “I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.” (1Cor 16:17NIV) Did you see that? These three men were evidently elders of the church in Corinth. That means they must have had a lot of responsibilities to shoulder at the time. Yet, as large as the Corinthian church must have been at the time, it was still these three men that supported Paul with their resources in order to make up for what the whole church should have done.

Now is that a good thing to be happening in any church of God? No! Should only few people be bearing the burdens that all the members of an assembly are supposed to be bearing? No! Is it not possible for those few people to become tired or discouraged at some point and not want to do anything again? It is possible. And we have had people who became discouraged and stopped attending their church meetings altogether because they were overwhelmed by the burdens they were bearing.

Then even if such people do not become discouraged, will they not be the only ones that will get rewarded by God for what their entire churches are supposed to be rewarded for? They will be the only ones. That is because God will never reward anyone for what the person has not done for him. Apart from that, the growth and development of an assembly in which only few people are responsible for everything being done will be slow. You can now see why we have several assemblies in our land that have been around for years but are still babies in fruitfulness and usefulness.

In any case, I am sharing these things with you to let you know that it is not a good thing for us as an assembly to leave what all of us are supposed to be doing for God for only few people. And if this has been the case, then, we have unconsciously been limiting the growth and usefulness of our assembly and perhaps also filling some people among us with discouragement. So, we need to repent and pick up our duties in praying, giving, visiting others and so forth. Then our church will begin to grow and increase in usefulness as it should and we also will not lose our reward to others.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Your hard work or His generosity | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 08, 2025 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 7, No. 35

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“”But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’” (Matt 20:13-16NIV)

Those were the words of a landowner that our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of in a parable of His. According to the parable, this landowner had gone out very early one morning to hire people to work in his vineyard. And when he got his first set of workers, he agreed to pay them a denarius at the end of the day’s work. So, they went into his vineyard and began to work. (Cf. Matt 20:1-2)

Then, some hours later, he went out again to get more people to work in this same vineyard and told them that he would pay them something fair at the end of the day’s work. So, they also went to work in his vineyard. (Cf. Matt 20:3-5)

However, as this man could clearly see, the people he had brought in to work for him were not enough to get the day’s job done. So, he kept on going out to bring in more people to work for him till the very last hour of the day. And at the end of the day’s job, when it was time to pay his workers, he instructed his foreman to pay everybody the same thing, including those who worked for only one hour. This, of course, infuriated those whom he had hired during the early hours of that day. They felt that it was unfair of him to pay them, who had worked hard all day in the hot sun, the same wages as those who only worked for one or three hours of the day. So, they began to grumble against the man. (Cf. Matt 20:5-12)

Now were they right to grumble and protest against this landowner? Judging from a human point of view, we might say that they were right to do so. But judging from God’s point of view, they were not right to protest or grumble at all. Why?

Well, as we see in our opening text, the man paid them exactly what they had agreed to collect from him when he was going to hire them. So, he did not cheat or defraud them at all. He only gave them what they had bargained for.

But in dealing with others who worked for him that day, especially those who worked only for one hour, he did not pay them according to their labour but according to his generosity. Why did he act like that? We are not told in clear terms in the account. But it could be that he was impressed by their perseverance in waiting until they got a job.

As the account goes, before he brought these men into his vineyard to work that evening, he had asked them why they were standing in the market place all day long doing nothing? And they had told him that it was because nobody gave them a job. So, it was not because they were lazy and unwilling to work that they stood for a whole day in the market place doing nothing. Rather, it was because nobody gave them a job to do.

Now these men could have gone back home in the afternoon of that day, since nobody was going to hire them. But they did not. Instead, they decided to wait until the very last hour of the day to see if anyone would still eventually hire them. And their perseverance paid off. Someone came and hired them, even though he knew that they would only be able to work for one hour. Not only that, that person decided to pay them a whole day’s wages when they done working for him. And that shows us that it pays to persevere in doing the right thing.

See, doing the right thing may not immediately yield us a good result. But if we don’t give up on doing it, God will surely make it pay off, even in what we might call the last hour. So, don’t turn away in anger, discouragement or disappointment from doing that right thing you are doing. Don’t give up on it because nobody is paying attention to it or showing any interest in it or in you. Just keep on doing it and trusting God. And when the time is ripe, He will do for you what will let you know that doing the right thing is never a waste of time.

In any case, why does the Lord share this parable with us? He shares it with us to show us how God rewards people in life and in His kingdom. And how does He reward them? First, He rewards them according to their labour. Second, He rewards them according to His kindness and generosity. And it is the one that they desire out of these two, then, that will determine how He rewards them.

In other words, if you want Him to reward you on the basis of your hard work and diligence, then, He will do so. The only thing is that you may not like what you will get. But if you want Him to look beyond your labour and reward you according to His kindness and generosity, then, you can be sure that what you will get will be beyond what your years, months, weeks or days of hard work can ever bring to you.

Which, then, is it going to be this year? Will you want God to reward you according to your hard work or according to His generosity? As for me, I will want Him to reward me according to His kindness and generosity.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Faultfinders | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 23, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 7, No. 24

“Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.” (Mark 12:13NIV)

Who sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus? The religious leaders of the Jews. Why did they send them to Him? Well, as Mark tells us, they sent them to Him in order to catch Him in His words. In other words, they did not send them to Him to learn and drink from the wisdom of God at work in His life, neither did they send them to Him to be healed of any disease or sickness. Rather, they sent them to Him in order to pick something that He would say that they would use to condemn Him and His ministry. So, they are faultfinders.

In like manner, we have in the church today people who have become like those religious leaders of the Jews. They too attend church meetings, not to learn or be blessed but to pick something that the preacher might say that they may use to condemn him before the brethren or in the media. How, then, can such people grow in the things of God? They cannot grow. In fact, instead of experiencing spiritual growth and development, what they will ultimately experience, if they do not change their ways, is God’s judgment.

So, let me say this to you: if you should ever find yourself in a situation in which instead of going to a church meeting to learn, all you are out for is to pick something that the leader of your assembly might say that you will use against him, you had better leave that assembly. I mean that if you can no longer go for a church meeting to wholeheartedly talk to God and learn from Him, without looking out for something someone will say or do that you will use to abuse or discredit them, you had better sit at home or find somewhere else to go.

Why? The reason is that you are already bitter, though you may not know it, and have become a weapon that Satan may someday use to destroy someone’s reputation or to cause division in the body of Christ. And people who destroy the church of Christ in that manner can only expect God to destroy them as well. (Cf. 1Cor 3:17)

As we further see in the Scriptures, those religious leaders of the Jews did not stop looking for something that Jesus would say that they would use to condemn Him until they eventually killed Him. So, if it has become a culture for you too to attend church meetings only to look out for something someone would say that you would use to condemn them before other members of the church, before your family members, before your friends or in the media, you are a potential killer. And someday, if God does not stop you on time, you will kill somebody.

Mind you, it is not only in the church that we can be like that, looking for something someone will say that we will use to condemn them. We can be like that in our workplace or school. We can be like that in our neighbourhood. And we can even be like that among our family members.

That, of course, is why you cannot have a normal conversation with some people without getting into trouble at some point. That is because they are faultfinders. They are men and women that have trained their eyes and ears only to pick out errors in whatever others are doing. So, if you have them as friends, family members, close neighbours or colleagues, they will most likely ruin all other good relationships you already have or that you might have. That is because they will not stop showing you why you need to be angry with certain people, even if you can see no reason to be angry with them.

Well, my point is that you should avoid being a faultfinder. That is because a faultfinder is a trouble maker and destroyer. So, he will never have God’s praise but His judgment. And who can stand God’s judgment? No one!

Then don’t celebrate faultfinders or make a faultfinder a close companion or one that you discuss important matters of your life with. Otherwise, they will drive joy and peace of mind away from you through their evil speaking. And when they have nothing else to ruin in your life, they will begin to ruin you. That is when all the evil things they have provoked you to say against others will be exposed by them. Where, then, will you hide your face?

Copyright © 2024, 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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Just one act of foolishness | By: J.O. Lawal| Date: August 07, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 7, No. 13

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” (Eccl 10:1NIV)

What is Solomon talking about in our opening bible text? He is talking about the need for us to be consistent in living wise and honourable lives. And why do we need to do that? It is because just one act of foolishness or dishonour can ruin a reputation that has taken us a whole lifetime to build.

For instance, David had a reputation for being a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). But on the night that he decided to sleep with Uriah’s wife, he messed up everything for himself. He ruined his reputation as a god-fearing man and opened the door of his family for a devouring sword of judgment to devour it (2Sam 11-19). So, the bible summarises his life and reign in this way: “For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life — except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” (1Kings 15:5NIV)

What about Moses? God testified that he was faithful as a servant in all His house (Num 12:7). In other words, in everything God required of this man, he pleased Him well. But just one act of folly from him, just one act of disobedience from him, and he lost the opportunity to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. (Cf. Num 20)

Now was what Moses’ life dream? Was it not to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land? That was what he lived and fought for. That was what he endured years of suffering and loneliness for. Yet when he disobeyed God’s instruction at the waters of Meribah, the very thing he had laboured and longed for was taken away from him. How sad!

In like manner, there have been great husbands who lost their homes and respect because of just one act of foolishness, just as there have been wonderful wives who lost their homes and honour because of just one moment of immorality. Then there have been faithful employees who ruined their honour and their chances to become great leaders in life by listening to some foolish colleagues just once. And what about those young men and women who ruined their chances of getting quality education or who contracted life-threatening diseases because of just one moment of sexual immorality? The list goes on and on.

Well, the point of it all is that those of us who are living by the wisdom of the word of God must be consistent in doing so. We must not, for any reason, ignore the wisdom of God because we want to gratify the cravings of our flesh or please ourselves just for one moment. Otherwise, the consequences of that one moment of foolishness may ruin our entire lives, homes or reputations permanently and without remedy.

Now that is Solomon’s message to us in our opening bible text. My prayer is that you will not do any wrong thing, however little it may seem, that will outweigh or make a mess of all the honour and prosperity that you have gained by the wisdom of God at work in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright © 2024, 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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

When you decide to break free | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: April 17, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 49

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.”” (Gen 27:40NLT)

Those were Isaac’s words to Esau, when he was earnestly seeking to be blessed by him. As the story goes, it was actually Esau that Isaac had wanted to give the Abrahamic blessing to. And he wanted to give it to him because of he was his firstborn and also because he loved very much, more than his brother Jacob.

But Rebekah, the mother of both of these young men, wanted the blessing for Jacob and not Esau. And that was also because she loved him very much, more than his brother Esau. So, she stepped into the situation, taught Jacob what to do to steal that blessing and also gave him all the support he needed to succeed in doing so. (Cf. Gen 27:1-29)

Now did Jacob succeed in taking his brother’s blessing or not? He did. In fact, he was so successful in doing so that when Esau came back and began to plead with their father to give him a blessing too, even if it was a left-over blessing, his response was, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?” (Gen 27:37NLT)

Did you see that? How did Isaac make Jacob Esau’s master? By words of mouth! So, words are powerful. Through words we can make slaves of men. Through words we can also make masters of men. Therefore, we, especially those of us in position of authority over others, must be careful how we use our words. Otherwise, even on the basis of deceit, we can elevate people to great positions in life or bring them down to the lowest of positions in life.

Through words, Isaac put the entire generation of Esau under Jacob. And even though he was deceived to do so, it did not change the fact regardless of how hard Esau and his descendants worked, how high they rose in life or how wealthy they became, they would always behind and under Jacob. What a sad story!

Unfortunately, there are many all around the world that are operating under circumstances similar to Esau’s today. They too have been perpetually placed under the control of some people or made inferior to some people in life, just because certain individuals that they may not even know at all spoke some words of power years or centuries ago. So, it does not matter how hard they labour or try to excel in life, they will never rise above those placed over them. Then, if those placed over them will not do well in life, for one reason or another, they too will not be able to do well in life under natural circumstances.

You can now see why the people in a certain place may never rise above certain individuals there, regardless of how hardworking, wealthy, influential or educated they may be. You can also see why the people in some households or families may never rise above certain family members under normal or natural circumstances, regardless of how hardworking, wealthy, influential or educated they may be. They have been placed under some limitations in the realm of the spirit. And unless those limitations are removed or destroyed, things will never change.

How, then, can such people be set free to be all that God wants them to be and do all that He wants them to do in life? The very first step towards their freedom is recognizing that they are operating under some powerful spiritual limitations. If they do not recognize this, they will not see any need to escape from such limitations. How, then, can anyone know if they are operating under a spiritual limitation, if nobody shares any story along that line with them? It is by divine revelation. So, if you want to know why you are being limited in life, if you sense that you are being limited, ask for divine revelations.

The second step towards breaking free from any spiritual limitation you may be operating under is deciding to break free. As we see in our opening text, even though Isaac had put Esau under Jacob by the word of his of mouth, he still told him that whenever he decided that he had had enough, he himself would break free from his brother’s control. And these words came to pass during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah. (Cf. 2Chro 21:8-10)

In like manner, whenever you decide to break free from whatever spiritual limitations you may be operating under, whenever you decide that enough is enough, you will begin to take steps towards breaking free. And will that automatically make you break free? No! That also depends on the kinds of steps you are taking.

If the steps you are taking are in the natural realm or in the realm of sorcery or divination, you will only make matters worse for yourself. It is only a matter of time. But if the steps you are taking are consistent with the will of God, then, you will indeed break yourself and perhaps others too free from all forms of family or communal limitations you may be operating under.

Now one of such steps that you should take is that of praying. You should begin to pray earnestly that God will destroy every limiting influence over your life, so that you can rise to be all He wants you to be. And He will answer you. Another step you should take is declaring the word of God concerning your life. His word says that you are no longer under the dominion of the devil but now in God’s kingdom (Col 1:13). His word always says that you were not redeemed by Him to be a slave of any man (1Cor 7:23). So, keep boldly saying that you refuse to operate under any satanic limitation, in the name of Jesus. And before you know it, your experiences of growth and advancement in life will begin to change and to conform with God’s purpose for your life.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2024, 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 2024 Pastor's Desk

Who told them to leave? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 10, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 45

Pastor J.O. Lawal
Pastor J.O. Lawal

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be made abundant to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of March 2024. My prayer is that God will fill your heart with adequate and complete knowledge of the right steps to take to walk in victory over the current economic and security problems of our country, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

It is no news that our country is really facing very serious economic and security challenges. And it is only God’s intervention that will see us through. That is why we, who know Him, must not stop praying to Him until our joy is full over the nation. Remember that our Lord Jesus tells us to ask until our joy is full. So, as long as our joy is not yet full over our nation, we must keep on praying to God for her. (Cf. John 16:24)

But then, while we eagerly expect God to intervene and save our nation, we, as individuals, also need to know the right steps to take to flourish and not be destroyed by the problems of the nation. And the only person that can show us what to do is God. So, as we are praying to Him for our country, we must also be praying to Him for ourselves. We must be praying to Him that He will fill our hearts with the exact knowledge of what to do to walk through this trying period of the nation and come out victorious. And if we will sincerely do so, He will surely answer us and guide us in the way we should go.

Again, remember that the word of God tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, to acknowledge Him in all our ways and to not lean on our own understanding. That way, He will lead us in the path of victory. It is sad, however, that even many among God’s people are no longer counting on Him to guide them in the way they should go during this period. Instead, they are relying on their wisdom and understanding. And those who are functioning like this are abound to suffer disgrace, sooner or later, if they are not shown mercy by God. (Cf. Prov 3:5-6)

Remember the story of Naomi and her family members. They all left the land of Israel for the land of Moab because there was a very severe famine in the land. But who told them to leave? Was it God? We are not told that at all. But we are told that Naomi ended up regretting what they did. That was because she was the only one of them that came back home alive. And even though she came back alive, she came back with nothing. (Cf. Ruth 1)

But consider the case of the Shunammite woman, whose son Elisha had raised from the dead. There was a time that she too left the land of Israel with her family because of famine. But did she lose her family members or her possessions where they relocated to? No! Instead, as we are shown in the bible, when the famine was over, she came back with her people, alive and well. Not only that, the king commanded that everything she had left behind be given back to her, including all the money made on her possessions. (Cf. 2Kings 8:3-6)

Why was this woman favoured like this? It was because the steps she took to leave the land during that period of famine was commanded by the Lord. Look at what the bible says about that: “Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.” (2Kings 8:1-2NIV)

Did you see that? That woman did not just run away from the land with her family members because she felt it was the right thing for her to do. Rather, she left the land because her spiritual leader, Prophet Elisha, told her that it was the will of God for her to do so. So, she was simply obeying the command of God. No wonder she did not regret it.

We too will not regret it, if we will allow God to lead us during this period of national crises instead of jumping here and there to do anything that comes to our minds or anything that others around us are doing. And He will lead us, if we will pray to Him to do so. How? It may be through the Scriptures, through visions or dreams, through angels or through our spiritual leaders. But God will surely lead us to prosper, in spite of everything, as long as we keep our hearts open to be led by Him.

Do have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2024, 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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

The Spirit of God stirred him up | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 06, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 43

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.” (Judg 13:24-25NIV)

What was Samson born for? He was born to begin the deliverance of the nation of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. And did he do what he was born for or not? He did it. Of course, based on what we have in Scriptures, indiscipline, lust and weakness with women affected his focus greatly and even led to his untimely death. But he actually lived his life to do nothing else other than to fight for the deliverance of his people.

Now what made it possible for Samson to give himself, in spite of all the distractions in his life, to fighting the Philistines, as he had been ordained and born to do? The answer is in our opening bible text, which tells us that the Spirit of God stirred him up. We are not told how old he was when the Spirit of God began to stir him up to do what he was born to do. But we are told that while he was still in Mahaneh Dan, as a young and single man, the Spirit of God began to stir him up.

So, it was not because Samson’s parents motivated him to take up arms and begin to fight the Philistines that he began to fight them. And it was not because he joined the army of Israel and was highly inspired by one of the commanders that he took it as his business to fight the Philistines for the deliverance of Israel at any chance he got. Rather, it was because the Spirit of God stirred him up to do so.

As we see in the bible, the Israelites at that time were too afraid of the Philistines to fight them or to rebel against them. That was why when the Philistines once demanded that they hand Samson over to them to be killed, they did not hesitate at all to do so. So, if Samson was expecting any form of motivation or encouragement to fight the Philistines from anyone, it surely would not come from his own people, the Israelites. It had to come from somewhere else. And it did come from somewhere else – it came from the Spirit of God. (Cf. Judges 15)

In what ways, then, did the Spirit of God stir up or motivate this young man to fight for the deliverance of his people and fulfil God’s purpose for his life? First, it was by causing him to passionately hate the oppression they were suffering from the hands of the Philistines. If he had not passionately hated what the Philistines were doing to them, he would most likely not have thought of doing anything about it.

Second, the Spirit of God stirred him up to recognize and utilize the divine fighting power and skills in him to deal with the Philistines and give the Israelites rest. Hating oppression is one thing; having the ability and confidence to reject and end it is another. If all that Samson had was just hatred for the oppressive rule of the Philistines and no power to end it, he would most likely have ended up getting himself killed before his time. But he had more than hatred for the oppression of the Philistines; he also had divine abilities from God to end their oppression. Nevertheless, if the Spirit of God had not stirred him up and emboldened him to use those abilities to save his people, they would have amount to nothing.

In the same manner, even though God has a purpose for each of us in this life and has also given to us everything we need to accomplish it, that purpose may not be realized, if the Spirit of God does not wake us up and stir us up to accomplish it. That is because we, like Samson, may not have anyone around us to motivate us or encourage us to take advantage of His grace to accomplish His purpose for our lives. No, we may not have anyone around us who is seeing what God is seeing in us and who is ready to give us the needed encouragement or support to labour to be all that God wants us to be and do all that He wants us to do. But if we have the Spirit of God in us and with us, He will give us all the motivation and courage we need to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives.

Thankfully, all of us who are children of God have the Spirit of God in us and with us. And one of the reasons He is with us and in us is to stir up and motivate us to be all that God wants us to be and do all that He wants us to do in life. So, even if nobody is interested in what we are and can accomplish, we can expect Him to stand by us all the way, giving us all the courage, encouragement, wisdom and determination that we need to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives.

We too, however, must not quench His motivation. In other words, when He is stirring us up and moving us, we need to get up and move. Otherwise, everything He is doing in us and with us may just go to waste. So, Paul says this to Timothy: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2Tim 1:6-7NIV)

Did you see that? It is not the job of the Holy Spirit to fan into flame what God has given to us. That is our job. Yes, He is in us to stir us up to accomplish God’s purpose for us in life. But it is on us, as He stirs us up, to take all the gifts, abilities, skills and education God has given to us and shine with them, using them to make life better for us and for others in our world. And we can do this because the Spirit of God in us will always furnish us with sufficient power, love and self-discipline to do so.

What, then, are we waiting for? Let us roll up our sleeves and get working, as the Spirit is moving. And great and awesome things will be done by God here on earth through us.

Copyright © 2024, 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)