Tag: Faith

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: When you are not fit to judge

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No.11

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” (1Cor 4:5NIV)

What is Paul speaking to us about here? He is speaking to us about situations in which we are not fit to judge others. What he says here, of course, can be mistaken as meaning that we cannot and must not judge others at all. And if we should mistake it like that, then, we will be giving evil enough room to strengthen itself against us and destroy us.

But Paul is not saying that we cannot and must not judge others at all. Instead, he is simply telling us to understand that there are situations in which we are not fit to judge what others are doing or what is going on in their lives.

In fact, what he says here is similar to what the Lord Jesus say to us through the gospel of Matthew, which reads:“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matt 7:1-5NIV)

Is the Lord telling us not to judge people at all here? No! Rather, He is giving us an example of a situation in which we are not fit to judge others. What is that situation? It is one in which we are guilty of the same offence as others or of worse offence than them.

And where that is the case, He is telling us that we are not morally fit to judge them. So, we should first take care of the evil in our lives before pointing accusing fingers at others. Nevertheless, if God has already judged something in His word as wrong or evil, we must judge people accordingly.

So, if you are doing something wrong and somebody condemns you for it, don’t say, “Jesus says, ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged.’” And do not say, “What right do you have to judge me, seeing that you too are doing something worse.” Just repent. Otherwise, sudden destruction may come upon you while you are arguing with the truth.

Well, Paul’s point to us in our opening text is that it is not in every situation that we are fit to judge what is going on in people’s lives or what they are doing, however close we may be to them. And that is because it is not everytime we have enough light or information to judge others correctly. We may know what they have done or what they have not done. But we may never know why. We may also never know what they have done in secret or not done in secret.

If we, then, judge them only on the basis of what we know, without considering their motives and secrets and the fact that we may not know enough about the matter at hand, we can miss it big.That is why we are admonished by Paul to wait until the one that knows everything about everyone comes to judge. Then He will judge everybody and their works, motives and secrets. That, of course, is when we all will know who has done well and who has done better. But until then, we wait.

Now remember that Job’s friends made the mistake of judging him before God showed up. They judged him as wicked, proud and unrepentant. And that was because they thought that they knew enough about him. But God knew the man differently. So, when He showed up on the scene to judge, it was not Job that needed sin sacrifices and prayers for forgiveness; rather, it was his friends. (Cf. Job 4-42)

In like manner, if God should open our eyes, we may be extremely surprised at the number of people we will need to go and meet for prayers of forgiveness because we judged them wrongly. And only God knows in what ways this is hurting and limiting our lives. So, henceforth, don’t be in a hurry to judge anybody in matters that God has not clearly judged.

Instead, first check if you do really know enough to judge their matter. Otherwise, wait for the judge of all to come and do His job. That will be your wisdom.

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

Title: Impossible to please Him

Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 14, No. 11

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of July 2025. My prayer is that God will daily equip you with everything you need to please Him in all ways. Amen.

As we are told in the bible, it is only through faith that we can please God. But why do we need to please God? The reason is that He is the creator, owner and judge of our lives. If there is anyone, then, that we need to please, it is God. And if we are not pleasing Him, we are defeating His purpose for creating us. So, all we can expect is eternal condemnation.

But then, as I already pointed out, it is only through faith in God that we can please Him. Look at what the bible says about that: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6NIV)

Now observe that the bible does not say, “Without faith it is difficult to please God.” That will mean that even if you do not have faith in God, you may still be able to please Him, if you try hard enough. But that is not what the bible says. What it says is that without faith it is not at all possible to please God.What, then, is faith in God?

First, it means taking God seriously. It means to accept whatever God says to us about Himself, about us and about life generally as the truth that we must act upon. And anyone who is not living on this basis cannot please God at all, regardless of how good he may appear to others. He is just doing his own thing.

Second, faith in God means to rely on Him absolutely. And why do we need to rely on Him absolutely? It is because He is the source of every good thing we need to be all that we have been created to be in life. To have faith in Him, then, means to live with a recognition of the fact that we cannot do anything we need to do or have anything we need to have in life without Him.

Anyone, then, who is not living on this basis is not pleasing God, regardless of how beautiful his life may appear to be. The person is just doing his own thing.Now if someone becomes as successful as anybody can be in this world and is not pleasing God, what has he really accomplished? Nothing! Why is that so? It is so because it is only those who live to please God that will forever live with Him in His eternal kingdom.

Those who do not live to please Him, who are simply doing their own thing, can only end up in hell, away from Him forever.If we, then, do not want that to be our experience, we must take our faith in God seriously.

We must take whatever He tells us seriously. And we must rely on Him only for everything we need in life. That was how our Lord Jesus lived when He was here on earth. He took God seriously by always doing only those things that pleased Him (John 8:29). He also relied on Him for everything He needed to succeed in life (John 5:19). And when His time was done here, He was received by the Father to sit at His right hand.

May we also be received by Him to occupy the places He has prepared for us in His eternal kingdom when our time here is done, as we live as Jesus lived, by faith in God. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Wasted on an empty head

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 8

“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head.” (Proverbs 11:22MSG)

Those are Solomon’s words to us. And he does not say them to discredit beauty. Beauty is good! Beauty is a gift from God. So, we ought to appreciate it in anyone who has been endowed with it.However, beauty alone is not enough to attain greatness in life.

Yes, beauty may open certain doors of greatness for you. But if you lack God’s favour, good sense, character and adequate measure of education and skills, those doors of greatness may just be wasted.Look at Esther of bible days, for example. Her beauty made room for her among those being considered as queen for King Xerxes. But she needed more than her beauty to become queen. She also needed God’s favour, wisdom and character.

Thankfully, she had them all. (Cf. Esther 2)As we see in the account, the moment the king’s Eunuch in charge of the harem saw her, he just loved her and began to treat her differently from all the other girls that were brought to him. That’s favour. Then when it was her time to go to the king, she did not request for anything else apart from what that man had told her to take along. So, she ended up becoming queen. That’s wisdom. (Cf. Esther 2:8-16)

Moreover, after she had become queen, she continued to listen to the counsel of her uncle, Mordecai, the man who had raised her like his own daughter. So, she continued to thrive and prosper. That’s character. (Cf: Esther 2:20)You can see, then, that you need more than beauty to thrive and prosper in life. Otherwise, you will be wasting the good opportunities to shine that God may be using your beauty to bring to you.

And where that is the case, the words of Solomon that say, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head,” will be true concerning you. In other words, beauty will have been wasted on you, wasted on an empty head.Now you may know one or two people that what we are talking about is true concerning them.

Beauty has been wasted on them, for they lack the qualities needed to make it shine. And is that what you too want? Do you really want people to be saying that God has wasted beauty on you? Well, that is what they will most likely be saying, if all you have got apart from your beauty is an empty head. And this is not applicable to beauty alone; it is also applicable to other natural advantages or gifts you have received from God.

If all you have apart from these natural advantages or gifts is an empty head, you will surely be making a waste of God’s gifts.All this is why you should learn to pray that God will daily equip you with everything you need to make whatever natural endowments He has blessed you with worth it in life. Then you must not be lazy. Instead, you must drive yourself to daily take advantage of every opportunity you have to train and develop yourself to be fit for greatness in life.

That way, as God is using your natural endowments to open doors of favour for you, you will not be using your hands to shut them, simply because you have got nothing else apart from an empty head.

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

Title: If you think you are standing firm

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 10

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be abundantly multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of July 2025. My prayer is that God will keep you from falling into any trap set by the devil to ruin your soul. Amen.

Now is God really able to keep us from falling into traps set by the devil to destroy our lives and souls? Yes, He is! The bible says this about Him: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 24-25NIV)

Did you see that? God has the ability to keep us from falling. Not only that, He has the ability to present us to Himself without fault and with great joy. And to say the fact, if He does not keep us from falling, we will surely fall and not make it into His eternal kingdom. Also, if He does not present us to Himself without fault and with joy, we will not be able to stand before the Lord Jesus when He appears in His glory.

Therefore, we must learn to entrust ourselves to Him in prayer, daily asking Him to use His power to keep us from falling or failing Him in this world. Then we must never assume that we cannot fall because we are praying, studying Scriptures, giving and living righteous lives at the moment. That is because it is when we feel most secure in our walk of faith that we are most vulnerable to satanic attacks.

Remember that even though Jesus prayed and went without food for forty days and forty nights, Satan still came to tempt Him. And if He had not been full of the word of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit, He would have fallen and failed God.

So, regardless of how upright your life may appear to be now, always remember this Scripture: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1Cor 10:12NIV)When must we be careful not to fall? It is when we think we are standing firm. The person that knows that he is not standing firm where he is does not need anybody to tell him to be careful not to fall. He knows that if he is not careful, he will surely fall.

But the one that sees himself as secure where he is may not see any reason to be careful not to fall. That is why his fall may be too sudden for him to notice. Then there may be no remedy for him.

When did Moses miss it? It was when it looked like he already knew everything about God and could never offend Him. And when did David miss it? It was when his kingdom had been firmly secured in his hands. So, the time we need to be most careful not to fall into Satan’s traps is when everything is going on well for us in our walk with God and in our lives. And if we fail to realise this and act accordingly, the price we will pay for our arrogance may too much for us to bear. (Cf. Num 20; 2Sam 11)

All of this is why we must trust God completely to keep us from falling or failing Him, instead of assuming that we will be safe because we are devoted to prayer, the word of God, righteous living and giving.

Our trust must never be in any good thing we are doing to please God. Rather, it must always be in God Himself. Otherwise, if we are not shown mercy, we will fall where we never think we can. I pray that none of us will fall away from the place of God’s grace for us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great 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 General Post

Title: Don’t be wicked

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 8

“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death.” (Gen 38:7NIV)

Who was wicked in the Lord’s sight? It was Er. And who was Er? He was Judah’s firstborn son. Now Judah was one of the sons of Jacob. And though he could not be referred to as a very good man himself, he was the one that the blessing of the coming Messiah was given to by God through his father (Gen 49:8-12).

In any case, because Er was Judah’s son, he was someone that was supposed to know God and live in His fear. But evidently, he did not live in the fear of God at all. Instead, he was referred to as wicked. How was Er wicked? We are not told in the account. But if God says that someone is wicked, then, the person must be utterly wicked.For example, we are told this in the bible about the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas: “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD.” (1Sam 2:12NIV)

Did you see that? Even though these men were priests of God, He still regarded them as wicked. Why? They had no regard for Him. And because they had no regard for Him, they abused their positions as priests, oppressing, cheating and corrupting the people of God under their leadership. (Cf. 1Sam 2:13-36)

So, to be wicked is to act without regard for the Lord. Yes, to be wicked is to do things as though God did not exist and would not do anything whatsoever about whatever you do. But God will definitely do something about whatever each of us does. He will do something about it because He is the judge of all mankind and also possesses the power to put everyone where they belong

.If you, then, are wicked, don’t expect God to ignore your wickedness. He will not ignore it. No, He may not deal with you for your wickedness right away. But He will surely deal with it when the time is ripe. And when He does, you may not know how He will judge.

In Er’s case, God judged his wickedness with death. The man died before his father. Also, in the case of Eli’s sons, God judged them too with death. So, they died before their father. And who knows how many have died before their time because of their wickedness? Only God knows.

Well, the point I am making is don’t be wicked. Don’t treat people as if there were no God that would judge between you and them, regardless of what advantage you may have over them. Otherwise, you may just be calling for your own death before you are ready to embrace it.

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

Title: Only He has the power of perfection

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 9

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the transition week between the months of June and July 2025.

My prayer is that God will perfect all that concerns your life, as we move into the other half of the year in the week. Amen.

David, in one of his psalms, says, “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” (Ps 138:8NKJV)

Who will perfect that which concerns David? The Lord! Why? The reason is that only He possesses the power of perfection. And if He does not perfect that which concerns our lives, there is nothing we do to perfect our lives that will work.

Do we, then, need perfection in any area of our lives? If we do not know or think that we need perfection in any area of our lives, we will not desire it or go for it. David, for instance, could see that he needed perfection in certain areas of his life when he wrote this psalm.

Truly, God had given him a position of honour, peace of mind, good health and wealth. Yet he could see that there were things in his life, home and kingdom that needed to be set right and perfected. And instead of worrying about these things or trying to fix them himself, he entrusted them to God, saying, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.”

In like manner, we too must first acknowledge the things that need perfection in our lives, regardless of how good things may be going for us at the moment. Otherwise, we will not see the need to entrust them to God, the only one with the power of perfection. Then, when we have identified those things that need perfection in our lives, we should not try to handle them with our wisdom or strength. Instead, we should hand them over to God.

Why should we do that? The reason, as I pointed out already, is that we do not have the power of perfection. Only God has it. And if we try to play God in perfecting those things concerning our lives, however simple those things may be, we will soon see that we have made bad situations worse for ourselves.

Remember King Jeroboam.Remember that it was God that ordained him as king over the nation of Israel. But when he saw certain things that could affect his rule, he did not turn to God to perfect what He had started in his life. Instead, he resorted to his own wisdom. Therefore, he brought destruction upon himself, his household and the nation as a whole. (Cf. 1Kings 11-14)

Now I pray that we will not bring destruction on ourselves or others around us in our attempt to perfect the things that concern our lives. But we must learn to commit our lives and affairs to God in prayer for their perfection. That is because He cares about us and also possesses the power to perfect all that concerns us.

Have a splendid week.

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

Title: Do not harden your heart

Series: From Pastor’s Desk|Number: Vol. 14, No. 8

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of June 2025. My prayer is that your ears will never be deaf to whatever the Spirit of God is saying to you, so that you will always be safe in living the life God wants you to live. Amen.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 3, we are given this admonition: “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…”” (Heb 3:7-8NIV) Who is speaking to us here? The Holy Spirit! And what is He saying to us? He is telling us that as long as it is called today, we should not harden our hearts when God is talking to us. In other words, we should not insist on doing our own thing, when God has already told us what He wants us to do. 

Now why should we not harden our hearts, when God is speaking to us? The reason is that doing so will surely result in disgrace, pain or destruction for us. Remember what is said in the bible about the Pharoah that would not let the children of Israel go and worship God. It is said that this king hardened his heart and would not do what God commanded. He continually turned deaf ears to what God was saying to him. And how did that end for him and his people? It ended very badly. (Cf. Ex 8:15&32)

But then, someone may say, “But it was God Himself that hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why, then, should anybody blame him?” It is true that God hardened the man’s heart. And why did He do that? First, it was because the man himself was never ready to listen to what God had to say. That is showing us that our unwillingness to listen to what God is saying to us can only result in the hardening of our hearts. That means each time we choose to turn a deaf ear to what God is saying to us, our hearts will become more hardened to His truth. Then it will become more and more difficult for us to repent and save ourselves from His judgment. (Cf. Ex 9:12; Ex 10:20&27)

Another reason God hardened Pharaoh’s heart was to teach us that only He has the power to make people repent. And if He does not use this power to make them repent, there is nothing that is said to them or done for them that will make them repent. Remember that each time God’s judgment came on Egypt because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, he would ask Moses to plead with Him for him and his people. But the moment he experienced some relief, he would harden his heart again. 

So, experiencing God’s goodness or mercy in great ways is not enough to make anyone listen to Him. He Himself has to work on our hearts to make us listen to what He is saying to us. Otherwise, even if He puts us in Eden, as He did with Adam and Eve, we will still harden our hearts against Him and force Him to drive us out of there.

All of this is why, as you go this week, learn to make it your prayer everyday that God will keep you from hardening your heart against whatever He is saying to you. That way, you will always be safe to enjoy His goodness and mercy in life. 

Have a lovely 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

Title: Act your part

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 8, No. 6

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31NIV)

Who said these words? It was the father of the prodigal son that said them. And who did he say them to? He said them to his elder son?Now why did he say these words to the young man? The reason was that he was complaining that he was not being fairly treated by him.

Look at what he actually said to him:”But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ (Luke 15:29-31NIV)

What do we see from this young man’s protest to his father? We see anger. We see frustration. We also see bitterness. But should he have been angry, frustrated and bitter in this sense? No! Why, then, were these things present in his life? They were present there because he would not live in the consciousness of who he was. They were present there because he would not act his part as the elder son of his father and heir to everything the man had.He, as he pointed out to his father, had been slaving himself for him for years.

In other words, he had been doing all kinds of jobs for the man, including those meant for servants or slaves. But who asked him to act like that? Was it his father? It could not have been his father.Truly, he was meant to obey his father in everything good and right. But he was not meant to do that as a slave but as a son. In other words, he was to do whatever his father asked him to do, not with the consciousness of someone being used but with the consciousness of one that would in the long run enjoy the fruit of all that he was doing.

Mind you, as his younger brother pointed out when he came back to his senses, even their father’s servants were living in some measure of luxury (Luke 15:17). Therefore, neither of them had any legitimate reason to be living like a slave.

Unfortunately, he did not fully appreciate this. So, he would not act his part and enjoy himself as a son and heir to all that their father had. Instead, he was waiting for his father to command him to enjoy what already belonged to him before he would do so.

But he, unlike his foolish younger brother, had the training, discipline and wisdom needed to enjoy his inheritance. All he needed was to appreciate the fact that all that his father had belonged to him, especially since his younger brother had already received his own share of the inheritance, and act accordingly. But he would not learn the need to act his part until his foolish and reckless brother came back home and was treated to a great celebration by their father with part of his own inheritance.

In like manner, until certain people begin to enjoy in very unusual ways the benefits of our relationship with God or our relationships with some people, we may not wake up to the need to cherish what God has done for us or given to us. And where that is the case, the best thing for us to do is not to get angry, bitter or frustrated. That will only make a bad situation worse. Instead, it is to begin to act our part in such relationships and stop denying ourselves the enjoyment of what is ours.

So, start acting your part as a child and heir of God in every situation you find yourself. Yes, lay claim on everything that God has already said is yours without hesitation or fear, in the name of His Son Jesus. And it will be yours to enjoy. Then start acting your part in all your relationships with people.

Yes, fully act your part as a father, mother, husband, wife, child, sister, brother, church member, employer, employee, neighbour or citizen, as the case may apply. And may God readily bring about circumstances that will wake you up to begin to act your part in all your relationships, so that you may fully enjoy all that God has provided for your enjoyment through them. Amen.

Cheers!

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Responding to threats

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 6

“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” (Nehemiah 4:7-9NIV)

Why were Sanballat and his associates angry that the Jews of their time were making progress in repairing the walls of Jerusalem? They were angry because they would no longer be able to profit from the miseries of those Jews as they used to. And there are still people like Sanballat and his associates today, people who never want others to be free from oppression or poverty because they are profiting from it. Now when such people begin to see you making progress or doing things that will hinder them from profiting from your misery or misfortune, they will not be happy.

Besides, they may even begin to take steps to keep you where you are, where they can continue to profit from your sorrow and pain. And that was the case with Sanballat and his associates. Not only were they not happy with Nehemiah and the Jews because they were making progress in building the walls of Jerusalem and ending all the forms of harassment they had been experiencing, they also began to take steps towards causing them trouble.

How, then, did Nehemiah and the other leaders of the Jews respond to the threat of these people? They responded to it in two ways. First, they prayed to God about it. In other words, they asked God to pay attention to what their enemies were saying and planning against them, so that He may frustrate them.

Why? It was because they knew that unless God kept them safe from the threats and wicked plots of these wicked people, they would not be able to keep themselves safe from them.In like manner, when we are being threatened or harassed, we must learn to pray to God and not ignore what Satan is using people to do against us. Nehemiah and his people did not ignore Sanballat and his men.

Otherwise, they would have been caught by surprise and frustrated or destroyed. And if we too don’t want those threatening us to catch us unguarded, we had better never ignore their threats, however feeble they may seem.

Instead, we should pray to God about them, so that we may always have His protection from their evil thoughts and schemes. Otherwise, we may end up feeling sorry for ourselves when these enemies are through with us.The second thing Nehemiah and his people did was to keep watch on the activities of their enemies, day and night.

Why? It was so that they would be regularly updated on what they were doing and be able to prepare themselves for it. And that was a manifestation of wisdom on their part.See, it is not everything needed for our safety that God will do for us.

There are things He will not do to keep us safe because He knows that He has given us the wisdom, strength and resources to do them. And if we fail to do these things for ourselves, we will not be able to blame Him for not keeping us safe.Keeping an eye on what Sanballat and his associates were doing was something that Nehemiah and his men could do. And they did not expect God to do it for them. Instead, they did it themselves. And it paid off, for it made their enemies see that they were not stupid people that they could easily attack and frustrate.

In like manner, keeping an eye on what anyone threatening or harassing you is up to will let them know that you are not stupid but sharp and attentive.

In fact, it will make them think twice before they take any step against you. And since keeping an eye on them is something you can do, do it, instead of waiting for God to do it for you.

Otherwise, you may ignorantly or foolishly take steps that will make you fall into their traps.Who, then, are you going to blame, if that should happen? Yourself!

So, learn and embrace the wisdom of God to keep yourself safe from all kinds of threats. And may God’s loving eye continually watch over your life. Amen.

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MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTS Message Transcripts 2025

Title: Prayer

Series: See to it

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I want to continue sharing with you on ‘See to it’. We have been looking at the instructions given to us in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12 on seeing to it that none of us develops a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. That means it is our duty, individually and collectively, to watch over one another and see to it that we do not go astray. And that has led us to looking at various things we must pay attention to, while attempting to watch over one another.

Now the last thing I want to bring to us on this has to do with praying for one another. See, it does not matter how diligent we are in watching over one another, in counselling one another and in following up one another, so that we do not fall away from the grace of God, without supporting ourselves with prayer, we may still find some or even many among us falling away. This is why we have Scriptures in which we are given instructions about praying for one another in order to remaining in the faith.

For instance, Paul says this in Ephesians, chapter 6, from verse 18:“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18NIV)

First, our instruction here is to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Then we are told to be vigilant and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. So, we have an instruction here, which is to always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Observe that we are not told in this bible text to always keep on praying for ourselves. Of course, we are to keep on praying for ourselves. But our instruction here is to always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Now, as a person, I take that very seriously. I pray for all the Lord’s people. I do not need to know all the Lord’s people that are here on earth. But I can pray for them based on the regions of the world in which they are living, based on their sex, based on age, based on their professions and so for. And think about this: since are told to pray for all the Lord’s people, we will not be expected to do anything less in praying for those that we are together in our local assemblies. So, we must be praying for all those that we are together in our local assemblies.

Remember that this is God’s command to us. If you, then, have not been praying for members of your assembly and for all the Lord’s people, you are sinning against Him – you are disobeying a clear command from Him. This is not a suggestion to us. This is a command from Him to us. So, we must take obeying it very seriously.

What sort of prayers, then, are we to be offering for our brethren and all the people of the Lord? We are to be offering for them all kinds of prayers. Any kind of prayer that is good for you is good for all the Lord’s people. Any kind of prayer that is good for you is good for your brethren as well. So, do not tell me that you do not know what sort of prayers you are to be offering for your brethren. That is because you can offer for them whatever prayer you offer for yourself.

However, for the purpose of these teachings, we are being specific about the sort of prayer we are to be offering for our brethren. We are considering prayers that will enable them to remain true to God and not fall away from the faith, irrespective of the trials of life that they may be confronted.

For example, in Colossians, chapter 4, from verse 12, Paul says this about a ministry companion of his and his devotion to praying for the brethren in Colossae:“Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.” (Colossians 4:12-13NIV)

This is a very good example of what God expects us to be doing for our brethren, where it concerns prayer. Paul says, “Epaphras, who is one of you…” So, this man was a member of that church. In fact, in chapter 1 of this letter, Paul makes it clear to us that it was this man that God used in starting the church in Colossae. He was the one that preached to be people there and led them to the Lord Jesus Christ. That was how a church started there.

Now Paul, at the time that he wrote this letter, wanted the brethren to know that this man, Epaphras, was devoted to praying for them, even though he was not with them at the time. Paul refers to what he was doing for these brethren as hard work. So, prayer is hard work. If you have been devoted to prayer, you will know that it is hard work. I know that it is hard work.Well, Epaphras was devoted to praying for the brethren in Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis. And he was praying like these for all these brethren because he identified with them – he was one of them. If you too identify with your brethren, if you take them as your family, you will be devoted to praying for them. Yes, all of us have a duty to pray for all the Lord’s people around the world.

But more importantly, we have a duty to be praying for the brethren that we are directly fellowshipping together. Epaphras saw it as his duty to be praying for the Colossian-brethren. And he was very devoted to it. In fact, Paul refers to his approach in praying for them as a wrestle. He says he is wrestling in prayer for them. Why? The reason is that they may stand firm in the will of God, mature and fully assured. Think about that. This man wants these brethren to stand firm in all the will of God, regardless of what they are confronted with in life.People are confronted with all kind of trials and challenges in life.

All of us are confronted with all kinds of trials and challenges of life. And we may not be able to share everything that is coming our way. But if we have someone that is praying for us that we may stand firm in all the will of God, we may not be able to tell to what extent that will help us.There are Christians today that are fighting for their souls in their offices, schools, neighbourhoods and so forth. That is because they are probably living in Sodom and are being tormented everyday by the evil of those around them. And now their faith is shaking and they need our spiritual support.

Unfortunately, many of us are too self-occupied. Because we are self-occupied, we don’t even spend time praying for ourselves, not to talk of praying for others. But your brother may urgently need your prayer. That sister of yours may urgently need your prayer. And God is counting on you to pray for them. So, if a brother or a sister should fall because of your negligence in praying for them, God is going to hold you accountable.

This, of course, is one of the reasons our Lord Jesus says that many who are first will be last. See, many that we are looking up to in the church as pillars may not after all be what we think they are, when we stand before the Lord. And that may be because they have been negligent in handling their duties in various areas. We too may have been negligent in handling our duties in various ways. And one of those areas in which many of us are negligent in our spiritual duties is that of praying for our brethren. (Cf. Matthew 19:30; Mark 10:31)

Now we think it is the so-called prayer warriors that should be praying for all of us. But from what we see in Ephesians 6:18, the duty of prayer is not reserved for any group or class of people in the church; it is for all of us. Yes, our leaders must be at the fore in prayer matters, as the apostles of old said. The apostles of old said that the leaders must give themselves to the ministry of the word of God and prayer. That means they must always take the lead in prayer matters, especially praying for their brethren. (Cf. Acts 6:3)

Nonetheless, every one of us must give himself to prayer. Jesus says, “People ought to always pray and not give up.” He does not say, “Pastors or preachers ought to always pray and not give up.” And in Ephesians 6:18, as I pointed out already, Paul says, “Always pray for all the Lord’s people.” This instruction is given to all members of the body of Christ, not to our leaders alone. And all of us must take it seriously.

Well, my point is that all of us need one another’s prayer support. That is because none of us is exempted from life’s challenges. Even our Lord Jesus Christ was not exempted from life’s challenges. So, towards the end of His life here on earth He had to give Himself to earnest praying.

Why did He have to do that? It was because He was confronted with a situation in which He needed all the grace of God that He could get to walk in victory.Now the Lord, at that time, did take some of His disciples along with Him to pray. But they could not give Him any prayer support. He had told them to pray for themselves. But they would not do so. How, then, could they give Him any prayer support? He Himself knew that He could not expect any prayer support from them.

If they had supported Him with their prayers in that situation, who knows how that may have made His cross easier to carry? But He could not rely on them for any prayer support. And you too may not be able to rely on anyone around you for prayer support. But it is the duty of each of us to be praying for one another, so that we all will stand firm in all the will of God for our lives, mature and fully assured.

Do we really want to stand firm in all the will of God? Do we want to come to maturing in the things of God? Do we want full assurance of faith in our hearts? Then we must be praying for one another. I must be praying for you. You too must be praying for me. A lot of times, we are quick judge brethren who fall short of the grace of God. But did we take our prayer duty to them very seriously? How much time did we spend in praying for those who fell among us before they fell? If we had been praying for them, they probably would not have fallen the way they did. So, don’t be quick to judge anybody.

Yes, you may see Christians that have turned away from God and are living useless and irresponsible lives. But have you been praying for them, praying for all the Lord’s people, that they may stand firm in all the will of God, regardless of the temptations or challenges or even opportunities they may come in contact with? Have you been praying for them, regardless of the persecutions and hostility they are faced with, regardless of the torment of their souls?There are Christians that are living on the edge, where they are continually exposed to danger or death because of their faith.

And some of these people may become tired or weary because of the intensity of what they are going through. If care is not taken, they may fall away or slip back into their former way of life. There have been those who slipped back into their former religions because the hostility they faced, having become Christians, was too much for them to handle.Therefore, we must learn to pray for one another. And we see a clear example of this in the text I shared with us from Colossians 4 about Epaphras and his devotion to praying for the people of God.

We too must be given to praying for our brethren like that, so that they may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. Furthermore, the Lord gives us some other specific prayers we are to be offering for ourselves and for our brethren. Look at how Luke puts it:“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36NIV)

First, we are told by the Lord here to always be on the watch. In other words, we must not allow ourselves to get carried away by the things happening around us. Then He goes on to command us to pray. About what? He tells us to pray that we may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that we may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

See, in these last days, wickedness will increase, as we are warned by the Lord Jesus Christ. And these will cause the love of many people to grow cold. So, because of the things we are going to be exposed to in our world, because of the intensity of wickedness that we are going to be exposed to wherever we turn, our faith will put to the utmost test. And the only way for us to escape is for God Himself to save us. Our salvation from the corruption and evils of these last days is beyond our desire or effort. We need all the mercy of God we can get to be saved. So, we are told to pray to Him that we may be able to escape all that will be happening in these last days and that we will be able to stand blameless when our Lord Jesus returns. (Cf. Matthew 24:12; Romans 9:16)

I personally take the offering of this prayer very seriously. I offer it for myself. I offer it for my family. I offer it for all of you here in this assembly. And I offer it for all God’s people. You too should be offering it for yourself and for all the people of God. Well, you can see that we have sufficient instructions in Scriptures on what sort of prayers to offer for ourselves so that we do not fall away but stand firm in all the will of God. So, you cannot claim to be ignorant in this matter.

Yes, we are to be involved in one another’s life, so that we will know how to properly guide, support and counsel ourselves. But all of that may go to waste, if we will not be devoted to praying for one another. You may have been in situations in which you counselled certain people of God and your counsel fell on deaf ears. Yes, you knew that they were going in a wrong direction. You knew that they would ultimately hurt themselves, if they continued in the path they were following.

Yet you could not get them to see the light through your counsel. Now what do we do in such situations? Do we put more and more pressure on such individuals to do what is right? No! We cannot help people beyond what they permit. But we can pray for them. We can take charge of their souls in the realm of the spirit by offering prayers for them.In Luke, chapter 22, from verse 31, he tells us this about the prayer of Jesus for His disciples:“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32NIV)

Jesus, here, is telling His disciples that Satan has already asked to sift all of them as wheat, that is, to mess them up. Think about that. Just as Satan got permission to mess Job up, he also got permission from God to mess up the Lord’s disciples. And what did Jesus do when He learnt of this? He prayed for them. Yes, He had been feeding them with the word of God. But He also knew that feeding them with the word of God would not be sufficient on that occasion – they would need the mercy of God to escape.

So, He prayed for them that their faith may not fail. We too can offer this prayer for ourselves, prayer that our faith will not fail, regardless of what Satan may throw at us. In fact, we should be offering it for ourselves and for all our brethren. We may not know what sort of permission Satan has obtained against our brethren, to pull them down in their neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools, marriages or even Christian assemblies. And there are times that God may reveal such things to us, as He did in the case of the Lord’s disciples.

But whether He reveals Satan’s schemes against our brethren to us or not, we must be praying for our brethren that their faith may not fail.What I mean is that we do not need to wait for any divine revelation before we begin to pray for our brethren. We have already been told in the Scriptures to be doing so. So, we are to take it upon ourselves to pray for our brethren that their faith will not fail, regardless of where they are and what Satan may be doing to pull them down.Now praying like this for our brethren does not mean that they may not stumble or fall at all. They may still stumble or fall, even though we are praying for them. Jesus prayed for His disciples that their faith may not fail. Yet they all ran away from Him when He was arrested and taken away to be crucified. But because He had prayed for them, God was able to restore them. So, there are times that our prayers may not keep our brethren from falling.

But our prayers may assure their restoration. Let us, then, learn to pray for one another, so that none of us will develop a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God or fall short of His grace. My prayer is that the Spirit of God will daily strengthen us to take these instructions very seriously. Amen.