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  • The principles of the Christian Marriage – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    The relationship between God and Jesus is the Christian model for the ideal marriage relationship.

    Marriage is not man-made; neither is it subject to human design. God is the author of marriage, meaning marriage was made in heaven. The greatest marriage of all is that between God the Father and Jesus the Son. Theirs is the supreme love story; one that is eternal and everlasting. God loved Jesus before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24).

    The relationship between God and Jesus is the Christian model for the ideal marriage relationship. It gives us the exemplary insight of how husbands and wives should relate to one another. Jesus’ prayer for the Church is also applicable to the husband and wife in the Christian marriage. He says:

    “I pray that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us. That they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26).

    Family of God

    At the dawn of creation, God said: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). The plural community that reflects God’s image is the special community of the husband and the wife. When God created man in his image, he created a marriage; a family relationship: “God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female.” (Genesis 1:27).

    The marriage community is a sacred reflection of the family of God. Its identity, life and power come from God. Paul says: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” (Ephesians 3:14-15).

    The following aspects of God’s relationship with Jesus is the blueprint of the ideal husband/wife relationship.

    Love and devotion

    Jesus says: “The Father loves the Son.” (John 5:20). As the Father loves the Son, so must the husband love his wife. This love must not be hidden but should be openly displayed. Jesus says: “The world must learn that I love the Father.” (John 14:31). The wedding ceremony gives the husband and the wife the imperative from thenceforth to show the world their love for one another.

    The days of pretence and coyness are over. No more: “If I call him on the phone he might think I am running after him.” “If I phone to tell her where I am; my friends might get the impression that I am tied to her apron-strings.” Let everyone know you are head-over-heels in love with your spouse. Let your friends know it. Let your parents know it. Let your children know it. The marriage relationship is all about love. Express it to the full.

    Husband and wife must be devoted to pleasing one another. Jesus says: “He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him.” (John 8:29). The husband should be his wife’s faithful companion. So also should the wife remain steadfast beside her husband. Even when they are apart, they must remain mindful of one another. Moreover, they should always do things to please one another.

    Harmony and unity

    Husband and wife have different roles and accomplish different functions in marriage. The assignment of God the Father is different from that of God the Son. Jesus says: “My Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again.” (John 10:17). The Son does not begrudge the Father his role. Neither does the Father begrudge the Son. The same should apply between husband and wife. Jesus acknowledges the headship of God. He says: “My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28).

    Marriage is the union between husband and wife. Therefore, they are required to live together in unity of mind and purpose. Jesus says: “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30). So should be the husband and the wife. Jesus says: “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:11). This is the most profound expression of intimacy that is possible. Physically, it can only take place between husband and wife. Spiritually, it means the husband and the wife carry one another along wherever they go and in whatever they do.

    They should also have all things in common. Jesus says to God: “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” (John 17:10). There is no private property anymore. No more should one say: “My salary is mine but your salary is ours.”

    Communication

    Communication is an essential element in marriage. There must be no silent treatment between husband and wife. Jesus says: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me.” (John 11:41-42). Husband and wife must always listen to one another. The one should never be too busy to listen to what the other has to say. They should allow one another to finish their sentences. They should always be sending each other love notes and text-messages.

    They must share everything. Jesus says: “The Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does; and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” (John 5:20). There must be nothing hidden in the husband/wife relationship. No hidden letters or bank accounts. No holding back. Everything must be laid bare. Each partner must stand naked and unashamed before the other. (Genesis 2:25).

    Interdependence

    Husband and wife must do everything together. Jesus says: “The Son can do nothing by himself.” (John 5:19). Marriage means that both husband and wife have chosen to lose their independence. They are now a team. Jesus says: “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father taught me, I speak these things.” (John 8:28).

    Seek each other’s counsel in everything. Don’t start a business without consulting your wife or your husband. There is a peculiar wisdom that God has given to your wife. There is a peculiar wisdom that God has given to your husband. One completes the other. One complements the other. There is no competition.

    The wife submits to the husband, and the husband loves the wife. Jesus says: “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10). Submission reinforces love and love reinforces submission. The more the husband loves his wife; the more he expresses love for his wife, the more she will submit to him. Similarly, the more the wife submits to her husband the more he will love her.

    Husband and wife esteem one another. Jesus says: “If I honour myself, my honour is nothing. It is my Father who honours me.” (John 8:54). Husband and wife must operate as a kind of mutual admiration society. They must be one another’s major cheerleaders. Where the husband disrespects his wife, the marriage does not last, and where the wife disrespects the husband, the marriage does not last.

    Solomon says: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favour from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:22).

  • Caterpillars and butterflies (1) – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Some people love to read obituaries. When they open a newspaper, they go straight to the obituary pages or columns to find out who has dropped dead lately. But what about you, Christian Ojo? Have you read your own obituary lately?

    The bible says that the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12). This is because it tells us about life as well as about death. Indeed, the bible is full of obituaries. It says, for example:

    “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

    What I want to tell you is this. You are not a caterpillar; you are a butterfly. You are not a turkey; you are an eagle. You are created to soar. You are ordained to arise and shine. (Isaiah 60:1).

    This says here lies dead and buried fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, and extortioners. But then it says these same people now alive, after having been washed and sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.

    Introduction

    Today, I want to do something slightly strange. I know that there are many people you don’t know, and sometimes it is necessary for someone to introduce them to you. But now, I want to introduce you to yourself if you happen to be a born-again Christian. I know you know the old you, but I have a feeling that you don’t really know the new you well enough.

    You need to get to know the new you who according to God is created in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24). For we are the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should do. (Ephesians 2:10).

    What I want to tell you is this. You are not a caterpillar; you are a butterfly. You are not a turkey; you are an eagle. You are created to soar. You are ordained to arise and shine. (Isaiah 60:1).

    Caterpillars

    One of the ugliest insects you are ever likely to see is the caterpillar. Can you imagine a caterpillar crawling up your skin? Yuk! First, I cannot understand why the caterpillar has so many legs.

    But now think of the butterfly. Look how beautiful it is. Even Solomon, in all his splendour, was not clothed as intricately and as beautiful as it is.

    Someone asked me the other day if I am smarter than Solomon. I was offended. How can I be compared to Solomon? I am certainly wiser than smarter than him. In the first place, I only have one wife, not 700 wives and 300 concubines. (1 Kings 11:3). In the second place, I have not ended up as an idol worshiper as Solomon did. I only worship the One true God in spirit and truth.

    Read the manual

    If someone should ask you how the new Q-led television is supposed to work, tell him to read the manual. It is completely different from the old model. The Q-led is a new creation. The same applies to the believer.

    Jesus says to Thomas: “Blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). Jesus is talking here about the new creation. He is talking about the man who is born again. The born-again Christian is blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3).

    When Jesus was presenting the beatitudes on the Sermon on the Mount, He was describing the attributes of the new creation. (Matthew 5-7). Are you born again? Then I tell you, blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. (Matthew 13:16). You are appointed to dream dreams. You are ordained to see visions. (Joel 2:28).

    Unlike the natural people who were listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount but could not meet its requirements, the power of God has now given to you all things that pertain to life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3). Jesus was preaching about turning the other cheek to people who could not turn the other cheek. He says blessed is this and blessed is that. But his listeners could not enter His blessings.

    Not you. There is nothing that God requires of man that you cannot fulfil. This is because there is an anointing to do the impossible, there is an anointing to do the supernatural that God has now placed in you. That is why Paul declared that he can now do all things because of the anointing which gives him supernatural strength. (Philippians 4:13).

    The new creation must look in himself and see that it is God who is now at work in him both to will and to do for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13). Stop looking around for things when God is with you. (Matthew 1:23). Stop looking for help when God is for you. (Psalm 56:9). Look into yourself, recognising that God who is in you is greater than the devil who is in the world. (1 John 4:4).

    Who are you?

    Do you really know what manner of spirit you are of? Do you know that you are greater than Elijah? Do you know that you cannot be compared to Elisha? Do you know that it is an insult for anybody to put you in the same category as Moses (who parted the Red Sea) or Joshua (who brought down the walls of Jericho) or Samson (who terrorised the Philistines) or David (who incidentally killed Goliath)?

    Jesus affirmed that he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than any of these people. (Matthew 11:11). These people are all caterpillars. And there is a big difference between a caterpillar and a butterfly. If I did not know better, I would have said that they are not even related at all. So different is the beautiful butterfly from the ugly caterpillar.

    I have discovered that some born-again Christians don’t know who they are. They know that they are new creations, but when they look in the mirror, they see their same old faces and think that they are still the same. But a child of God does not merely look at “mirror mirror on the wall” in order to see his natural face. A child of God looks continually into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty to behold his spiritual image. (James 1:23-25).

    Stop looking at those vain pictures on your Instagram and Facebook pages. Start looking into yourself in the mirror of the gospel. Stop looking at the outside: start looking inside. Stop looking at others. Look at Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2).

    Work out what God has worked in. (Philippians 2:12-13). Stir it up. (2 Timothy 1:6). Violently take it by force. (Matthew 11:12). Strive to enter in. (Luke 13:24). Seek and find. (Matthew 7:7). Run that you may obtain. (1 Corinthians 9:24). Sow, that you may reap. (Galatians 6:7). Lay aside every weight. (Hebrews 12:1). Give all diligence. (2 Peter 1:5). Take heed to the ministry you have received in the Lord. (Colossians 4:17).

    You are appointed for good success.

    CONTINUED

  • CAN tackles Gumi over religious profiling of soldiers, condemns presidency’s silence

    CAN tackles Gumi over religious profiling of soldiers, condemns presidency’s silence

    “We recalled how Apostle Johnson Suleiman, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Prophet Isa El-Buba and of recent, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah’s statements were handled by security operatives and equally reacted to by the government. Do we truly have sacred cows in the country now?

    The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has accused an Islamic leader, Sheik Gumi for trying to cause religious crisis in the country after saying that soldiers that are involved in most of the criminalities are not Muslims.

    CAN described the statement as shocking and disappointing, calling on Gumi to as a matter of urgency withdraw: “the unpatriotic and divisive utterances credited to him in the interest of peace and unity of this country.”

    Gumi spoke recently while addressing some bandits in Tegina forest, a border town between Niger and Kaduna States, during the abduction of school children.

    He was quoted as saying: “What I want you people to understand is, soldiers that are involved in most of the criminalities are not Muslims. You know, soldiers have Muslims and non-Muslims. The non-Muslims are the ones causing confusion just to ignite crisis.”

    The religious body faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s prolonged silence, adding that: “is tantamount to an endorsement of Gumi’s dangerous statement. If anyone said it was the Christian soldiers who are attacking armed bandits, that person does not wish this country well and he doesn’t want the war against terrorism and banditry to end in victory. Gumi’s so-called audio evidence cannot be taken seriously because audio evidence can be deliberately arranged to make a point.

    “Secondly, how can we ascertain the credibility of the person alleging that it was the Christian soldiers that were attacking communities and bandits? This unreasonable outburst is not only demoralizing and a plot to divide the Nigerian military into two along religious lines, it equally derogatively portrays the non-Christian soldiers as being not committed to fighting criminality.”

    The statement issued on Wednesday by CAN General Secretary, Barrister Joseph Daramola said: “The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has expressed shocks, pains and disappointment in one Islamic leader, Sheik Ahmad Gumi over his alleged profiling of military operatives recently while addressing some bandits.

    “We still want to believe that Sheik Gumi was quoted out of context. But if it was true, then, the unity and peace of the country are being threatened by the sentimental statement of this cleric. We have not heard the Presidency react to this dangerous statement as they are supposed to do, cautioning this cleric who has thrown caution to the wind. Such a grave allegation is evil, divisive, unpatriotic, ill-wind and reprehensible.

    “We ask again, is Sheik Gumi trying to polarise the military along the religious divides? Is he inciting the bandits against Christians? Is Gumi saying that the Muslim soldiers are on vacation in the ongoing war against terrorists, murderous herdsmen and bandits? What good will this statement do to the insecurity in the country? We are of the opinion that the government of Nigeria should seriously caution Gumi for his reckless and inflammatory statement.”

    If what Gumi reportedly said was attributed to a Christian leader, CAN said the security operatives would have invited him or declared him wanted and the Presidency would have publicly condemned that Christian leader.

    Daramola said: “We recalled how Apostle Johnson Suleiman, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Prophet Isa El-Buba and of recent, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah’s statements were handled by security operatives and equally reacted to by the government. Do we truly have sacred cows in the country now? We are curious to know how Gumi was able to locate the whereabouts of the bandits when our security agencies are giving us the impression that they are invincible. If the terrorists can be located, what hinders the police and the military from arresting them and bringing them to book? Is anyone in government conniving with the terrorists so that this insecurity might continue?

    “Now that bandits are being pampered, money is being made available to them and highly respected politicians and religious leaders are speaking for them, criminals are being emboldened to commit their unlawful actions with impunity. Who truly offended these terrorists? What sin did the people they are attacking and kidnapping commit against them? Why should anybody be speaking in favour of the terrorists? Will pampering the terrorists not truly going to be around with us in the next 20 years as foretold by the immediate Chief of Army Staff?”

    Nigeria’s unity, according to CAN is on trial and if those: “running the country are playing the ostrich, there may be no hope of redemption. May God save our nation. The country belongs to Muslims, Christians and the unbelievers and any attempt to divide us against one another by any cleric or through the over-zealous divisive actions of those in government may spell doom for all of us.”

    The religious body called for caution and restraint from all Nigerians.

  • Free will does not exist (2) – Femi Aribisala

    The wisdom of man says man has free will. But God has made foolish the wisdom of this world. (1 Corinthians 1:20). Foolish man bases truth on his own thoughts and reasoning. But God says to men: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9).

    God says to the foolish king of Assyria who thinks his conquests results from his efforts:

    “What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger. I use it as a club to express my anger. I am sending Assyria against a godless nation, against a people with whom I am angry. Assyria will plunder them, trampling them like dirt beneath its feet. But the king of Assyria will not understand that he is my tool; his mind does not work that way.” But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws?” (Isaiah 10:5-7/15).

     

    Foolish man thinks his actions and inactions come from his free will. But the only wise God declares that only His will is done: “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’” (Isaiah 14:24). God says: “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” (Isaiah 46:10).

     

    “Speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:8-10).

     

    Disciples of Jesus

     

    Jesus told His disciples: “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Nevertheless, they foolishly contradicted Him. He said to them on the night of Calvary: “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Matthew 26:31).

     

    That was the will of God.

     

    God says: “’Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I (will bring) it to pass.” (2 Kings 19:25).

    But Peter foolishly insisted the will of God would not be done. He asserted instead his own will, saying to Jesus: “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” (Matthew 26:33).

    Therefore, Jesus said to Peter: “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” (Matthew 26:34).

     

    It is a no-brainer to ask whose will was done, that of God or that of Peter. Peter denied Jesus not once, but three times. The other disciples who also willed not to desert Jesus all deserted him. Is this not eloquent proof that the will of man is never done but the will of God is always done?

     

    Example of Pharaoh

     

    God told Pharaoh: “Let My people go.” But although He said this, He did not want Pharaoh to let them go because he planned to destroy Pharaoh and His army in the Red Sea. Therefore, although He sent Moses to bring terrible plagues on Egypt that would have broken the will of any man, He hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that he would not heed the words of Moses.

     

    God continued to harden the heart of Pharaoh with the result that he met his Waterloo in the Red Sea. “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ Therefore, He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” (Romans 9:17-18).

     

    There was no free will on the part of Pharaoh that could have prevented his downfall because the will of God had decreed his downfall. The same destiny prevailed regarding Samuel’s evil sons: “They did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them.” (1 Samuel 2:25).

    Jesus provides the answer as to why Pharaoh and Samuel’s sons were evil and others good. He says: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33).

     

    Who makes the tree good or bad? God, the Almighty, that is who. The result is that, in every situation, it is the will of God that prevails.

     

    Wisdom of man

     

    But the wisdom of man is contrarian. He asks: “How then can man then be held responsible for his actions?”

     

    Paul quickly shuts up the foolish who ask such impertinent questions, thinking they are wise: “Indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” (Romans 9:20-21).

     

    This is where the power of God provides the answer. Although God’s will is always done, nevertheless man is responsible for his actions. Assyria will still be held responsible for allowing itself to be a negative instrument of God: “When the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.’” (Isaiah 10:12).

     

    God will punish those who are disposed to be used for evil purposes, and He will reward those who are inclined to be used for noble purposes.

     

    “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

     

    Note that, in every situation, God determines the vessels and He determines their use. But His determination never violates the disposition of the vessel.

     

    Salvation by grace

     

    Because man has no free will, salvation is by grace and not by works. Man cannot be saved by his own effort: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

     

    Indeed, God’s salvation provides no room whatsoever for man’s free will. God says: “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’” (Isaiah 65:1).

     

    Jesus, our Saviour, reiterates this. He says: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you.” (John 15:16). He says furthermore: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44).

  • Be security conscious, CAN tells churches

    Be security conscious, CAN tells churches

    The Christian Association of Nigeria has urged churches to be security conscious as they celebrate Christmas.

    CAN President, Dr Samson Ayokunle, gave the advice in a press statement on Thursday titled, ‘The Power of His Presence, Our Hope of Tomorrow’.

    He encouraged Christians not to be discouraged by the adversities experienced in the year 2020.

    Ayokunle said, “Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream. It is a glorious reality. It is a time of joy. The fact of the cross illuminates Christmas day and hallows it.

    “Christmas is also a season to advocate peace in the world that is full of wars, strives, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminalities.

    “It is painful that many people are mourning due to the demise of their loved ones as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, kidnappings and other criminalities. We should remember that Jesus was also born during the darkest time in Israel’s history. Israel was under the tyrannical rule of the Romans. Yet the Angel announced the birth of Jesus as the glad tidings to the world.

    “So, I urge those who are mourning to rejoice in hope that they too are still alive. I pray for the comfort of the Holy Spirit for all those who lost their loved ones for one reason or the other.

    “May the Lord help our governments to rise up competently and stop the menace of insecurity occasioned by the terrorists, killer herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers in Jesus’ name.

    “As we rejoice and celebrate, let us be security conscious and observe the COVID-19 protocols in our places of worship or in any public gathering for our general good.”

  • BREAKING: Another captured Christian cleric speaks on ISWAP Video [Video attached]

    BREAKING: Another captured Christian cleric speaks on ISWAP Video [Video attached]

    Boko Haram terrorist sect, the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) have released a video of their latest hostage, Pastor Polycarp Zongon of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), Wild Life Park, Jos LCC. Pastor Zongon was kidnapped by ISWAP on Monday 19th October while on his way to Gombe for a meeting.

    In the video, Pastor Zongon pleaded with the plateau State governor Simon Lalong, Plateau North Senator Idi Gyang, the Christian Association of Nigeria and the COCIN Church to come to his rescue. According to Pastor Zongon, other Christian women were also kidnapped alongside him.

    Tap play to watch video below:

  • Called to minister to God – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Those who minister to God lament over the things that break God’s heart. We grieve over the afflictions of Joseph. (Amos 6:6). We commiserate with a distressed Father who daily sees His beloved children going astray, taking the wrong decisions, and falling into the traps of the enemy. We feel God’s pain and anguish at the sinful condition of the world.

    The world God created is broken. The people He loves have gone astray. Therefore: “Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; wail, you who minister before the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, you who minister to my God.” (Joel 1:13).

    “Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say,” Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach.” (Joel 1:17). “Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people.” (Joel 2:18).

    It also means sitting sometimes quietly in God’s presence, as we share in His grief. This is what the friends of Job did: “They sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.” (Job 2:13).

    Entering into God’s pain

    God created man in His image and likeness. He did this because He wants us to be exactly like His Son Jesus. Paul says: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29). For this reason, we are being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18).

    God wants us to share in His divine nature. That is one of the reasons why He required Abraham to offer up his son, Isaac. God planned to offer up Jesus, His only begotten Son, for our sins. Therefore, He asked Abraham to offer up Isaac, his only begotten son, for God. He wanted to see if Abraham would agree to go through the same ordeal that He would go through in offering up His Son Jesus for the sins of the world.

    By agreeing to sacrifice his son, Abraham ministered to God. Heaven is designed for those who are prepared to be of the same mind in the Lord. Accordingly, Paul says: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5).

    Fellowship of sufferings

    Paul prayed concerning Jesus: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.” (Philippians 3:10).

    God wants those who minister to Him to be like Jesus; men and women of sufferings and sorrow, acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3). God appeared to Ezekiel, gave him a book, and told him to eat it. The book was full of lamentations, mourning, and woe. (Ezekiel 2:9-10). God wanted Ezekiel to identify fully with his feelings of distress before going to preach to Israel. Similarly, Jesus redeemed mankind in the travail of His soul. Isaiah 53:11).

    God told Elijah that he had prepared a widow in Zarephath to feed him. But when he got to her, he discovered that she had no food. So, how had God prepared her? He prepared her through pain and suffering. He prepared her through the loss of her husband and in famine. If we have not been prepared through pain and suffering, losses, and sorrow, then we cannot effectively minister to God.

    Hannah was a woman of sorrow over her barrenness. She ministered to God in her distress and God used her sorrows to produce Samuel, a mighty prophet in Israel. God was grieved over the sins of Eli the High Priest and his sons. He needed to share his grief so He turned to a woman of prayer called Hannah. He shut her womb and brought reproach on her from her rival Peninnah. So, Hannah was in great distress but her distress was evidence of God’s love.

    In her distress, Hannah ministered to God in prayer. God wanted a mighty prophet as a saviour of Israel: Hannah wanted a son. So, God took Hannah to the place where, in her distress, she struck a tremendous bargain with God. If God were to give Hannah a son, Hannah would give him up for the Lord. Thereby, Hannah entered into God’s ordeal of giving up His only begotten Son for the salvation of the world.

    Atonement with God

    To minister to God, we have to be one with Him. We have to feel through His heart and see through His eyes. Therefore, God takes us through pain, losses, and adversities because He wants us to identify with Him.

    God shares in our affliction: “In all (our) affliction He (is) afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saves (us).” (Isaiah 63:9). Jesus did likewise: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5).

    In the same manner, God wants his ministers to share in His afflictions. God suffers from unrequited love. He loves us but we don’t love Him back. He loves us but we love money life and women. We cannot understand the depth of God’s pain at the unfaithfulness of men until we have also experienced the unfaithfulness of our loved ones.

    So, out of God’s love, He takes us through the experience of an unfaithful husband or an unfaithful wife. Accordingly, God said to Hosea: “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.” (Hosea 3:1).

    When we share in God’s pain, He then empowers us to share in the pain of others. You cannot operate in a healing ministry if you do not minister to God.

    Expressing God’s anguish

    God does not just give us His Spirit and himself, He also wants to give us His life and His experiences. God became the son of man so that man can become the son of God. When God became a man, He expressed our anguish and pain: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46/ Psalm 22:1). Now that man has become a son of God, we should express God’s anguish and pain to God.

    Ministering to God means listening to God’s heartbeat. We are now the body of Christ, which means we are now part of God. Therefore, we must act accordingly by taking up God’s yoke and by bearing His burdens.

    When tragedies occur as is happening right now with this coronavirus pandemic, the first thing we need to do is minister to God. If people are dying, you can be sure God is hurting: “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11).

    CONCLUDED

  • You are no longer a human being – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Many years ago, I went to collect my wife from the airport and was cornered by armed robbers.

    They blocked the road with their car and approached us with guns. But in the middle of the attack, I heard a disembodied voice that reassured me. It said: “Femi, nothing is going to happen to you here.”

    However, immediately I heard this, “something happened.” One of the robbers shot me in the leg. While I was still trying to deal with this contradiction, the voice came back and said to me with the same confidence: “There is nothing wrong with your leg.”

    But did something happen to me or did nothing happen? Was there a bullet in my leg, or was there no bullet in my leg? Was something wrong with my leg or was nothing wrong with my leg? That was my very first encounter with the Lord God Almighty; who “calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” (Romans 4:17-18).

    A few weeks later, God validated his invisible reality by healing my injured leg. In effect, he brought both the attack and the bullet-wound to nothing.

    What is real?

    As a believer, at what level of consciousness do you operate? Do you operate at the level of your senses or at the level of your faith? Precisely what is real to you? Or should I ask: “What do you use to define reality?” The scriptures are unequivocal: “The just shall live by faith.” (Hebrews 10:38). If so, reality must be redefined by our redemption.

    Since we who once were dead to God are now alive to him in Christ, we must no longer be limited by our senses. Since we have been restored into fellowship with the invisible God, the invisible needs to be open to us now.

    Jesus says to Nicodemus: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). But now that, thanks to Jesus’ redemption, we are born again; then we should be able to see what God is doing. We should now be able to see clearly the invisible things of God. (Romans 1:20).

    Paul says: “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

    Thereby, reality is redefined by the abiding truth of the word of God. Jesus says: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever.” (Matthew 24:35).

    Lies of human nature

    Paul says of believers: “We are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3). We have no confidence in the flesh because we know the flesh is a deceiver. It cannot be trusted. It specializes in telling lies.

    That headache you are having is a lie. A simple word of God can expose it. That feeling of well-being you are having is a lie. You might actually be at death’s door without knowing it. That depression you are going through is a lie. It might simply be some demons trying to confuse you. Whose report will you believe? Only believe the report of the Lord.

    Jairus rushed to Jesus so he would receive healing for his daughter. But after he had managed to get to Jesus, a word was sent to him that it was already too late. His daughter had died. But Jesus ignored that report from the pit of hell. He said to Jairus: “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” (Luke 8:50).

    When He got to the girl, He exposed the lie of death. He said: “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” (Luke 8:52). He then proceeded to wake her up, and she got up and had something to eat.

    In effect, an experience can be absolutely “real” but absolutely false. Everything we see around us is deceptive. Everything made by the flesh is an old model. Even this world itself is an old model. (1 Corinthians 7:31). The new model is the kingdom of God.

    The flesh is a student of history and not of prophecy. It knows our past, but it does not know our future. It knows what we were but does not know what we will be. But the sure word of prophecy knows our future. It tells us that when we see Jesus, we will be like Him. (1 John 3:2).

    Since there is only one Jesus, that means all of us will be the same. Don’t forget that Jesus is not just the Saviour of Christians but of everybody. He is the Saviour of the world. (1 John 4:14).

    Jesus equalizes everyone. “He died to sin once for all.” (Romans 6:10). Since He died for all, “then all died.” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Thereby, He makes all things new. (Revelation 21:5). Every valley shall be exalted. Every mountain and hill made low. That means the differences we see now between us and others are temporal. At some point, we will all come to the unity of the faith whereby we will all attain the full and complete standard of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13).

    Therefore, can you look at people and see them the way God sees them with the eyes of faith?

    God’s perspective

    In the Old Testament, God looked at the heart. Samuel assumed God had chosen Eliab, the son of Jesse, as the new king of Israel. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7).

    However, in the New Testament, God looks only at Christ. The question is this: “Is the person in Christ? Is he a new creation in Christ Jesus?” The answer might surprise you. Christ is in everybody. From God’s point of view, every man is now Jesus Christ. Only two people are existing in the universe: God the Father and Jesus Christ.

    Every man, woman, and child is now part of the body of Christ. “There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” (Colossians 3:11).

    So, God sees everybody the same way. When He looks at you and me, He only sees Jesus. Today, God sees everybody in the future and not in the present or the past, after all, “the end of a thing is better than its beginning.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).

    God sees what we will become rather than what we have been or what we are. He sees that all of us will be like His son Jesus because Jesus died for everybody. Therefore, Paul counsels: “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

    What this means is that you and I are no longer ourselves but Christ.

  • Living with the truth (2) – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Why don’t we like the truth? We don’t like the truth because we prefer lies. We prefer lies because we cannot handle the truth. We prefer lies because they are our refuge. We prefer lies because they provide a place for us to hide. We prefer lies because the truth is bitter.

    Would they still love me if they knew the truth? Would they still love me if they knew I am a fraud? Would they still love me if they knew I am still striving against sin? What if they found out that I beat my wife? What if they know I am a cocaine addict?

    Calm down! “God did not send (the Truth) into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17).

    No place to hide

    Nothing is hidden from the Truth. The Prodigal Son left home for a far country so that he can be with prostitutes without having his father breathing down his neck. No such luck! The Truth is Jehovah Shamar: The God that is always there. He knows everything: He sees everything.

    What a relief! He knows: he knows. He knows I am a thief. He knows I have lustful thoughts. Nevertheless, he still loves me with an everlasting love. Even though my sins are scarlet, He is determined that they will be as white as snow.

    Redeeming truth

    We have met the truth and He did not destroy us. We discovered that the Truth is not as damning as we have been led to believe. The truth is good news and not bad news. The truth is the gospel. (Galatians 2:5). Thanks to the Truth, we can be naked and not ashamed.

    The truth says although you have been stealing, you are not a thief. It is actually not in your nature to steal, to lie, to cheat, or to fornicate. The truth is that you have the innate ability to be righteous, and to live a godly life. The Truth bestows on us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

    The truth reveals that God has provided the opportunity for the man who has messed up, the man who has blown it, the man who has failed, the man who has sinned and the man who has transgressed, to begin again. He has done this by giving us new birth in Christ Jesus, thereby creating a completely new man.

    But I am an old man says Nicodemus: “Would I have to go back into my mother’s womb?” (John 3:4).

    It does not matter if you are young or old. It is a spiritual, and not a physical, rebirth. The slate is wiped clean. The past is forgiven and forgotten. Once we come under the precious blood of Jesus, God does not remember our sins anymore. (Isaiah 43:25).

    Contradicting the Truth

    When Gideon met the Truth, He told him he is a mighty man of valor. Gideon did not believe this. He countered: “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13).

    Gideon knew the lie that he was not a mighty man of valor. But the Truth told him: “‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!’ ‘But Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!’” (Judges 6:14-15).

    This is what happens when we have been socialized into lies. When we finally meet the Truth, we start arguing with Him.

    I met the Truth in the middle of an armed robbery attack. He told me there and then that nothing would happen to me. But immediately after He told me this, I was shot in the leg. Nevertheless, the Truth told me that nothing was wrong with my leg.

    In that manner, He made me understand that getting shot is nothing. He also showed me that my health is not dependent on my flesh by subsequently healing my bullet-ridden leg. Reality is not dependent upon what is outward in the flesh, but by what is inward in the heart. It is not determined by the letter but by the Spirit. (Romans 2:28-29).

    The outward is prone to deception, whereas the inward is a more proper index of truth. God writes His Truth in the inner man. David says that God requires truth in the inward parts. (Psalm 51:6). This means whatever the flesh tells us is a lie. It makes no difference what we feel, if it contradicts the word of God, it is a lie.

    Salvation from lies

    “Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” (John 8:31-32).

    What will the Truth make us free from? He will make us free from the lies of the devil. He will make us free from the lies of the world.

    When you know the Truth, you realise certain things. You discover that the devil is completely powerless. He has absolutely no power at all. All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. (Matthew 28:18). The devil has none. All the devil has is lies. He uses lies to deceive. He cannot make you do anything. But he can deceive you into doing many things.

    To say “the devil made me do it” is a lie. He was able to deceive you because you walk in lies. You believed his lies because you don’t know the Truth. And Jesus is the Truth.

    Who are you?

    A man cannot know himself unless he first knows Jesus, the Truth. It is the Truth that reveals to a man who he is. Some people think they are white and some think they are black. But when they meet the Truth, they discover they are neither. Some think they are tall: some think they are short. Some think they are handsome: some think they are not. But none of this has anything to do with who or what they are.

    Because we don’t know who we are, we are susceptible to lies. You do a job and are paid 500,000 naira a month. Is that really how much you are worth? Do you even know how much you are worth?

    Hear and understand. Even if they were to pay you a million naira, they would still be paying you peanuts. You are worth so much more. It is the Truth that reveals the true value of a man. He reveals that our worth is determined by the cost of our redemption. We must be very valuable indeed because Jesus died for us. He ransomed us with His own life.

    “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2).

  • To God be the glory – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    I was born into a Christian home and family. Nevertheless, all my life, I have been fighting against the glory of God. Paul asks: “Who has resisted the will of God?” (Romans 9:19). I am ashamed to admit that I have. For 41 years of my life, I was determined, even if unwittingly, that God should not be glorified.

    All my life up to that time, I have been dedicated and committed to my own glory. I went to school and proceeded all the way to earn a doctorate in the university for my own glory. I got a job for my own glory. I got married for my own glory. I had a child for my own glory. I dressed and walked and talked for my own glory. I was the center of my universe.

    But one fateful day, I met Jesus, and He gave me a new and different agenda. He said to me: “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). He also said: “Femi, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17).

    “But Lord Jesus,” I protested, “why won’t you allow me to do some things in my own name?

    From story to glory

    “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

    and their words to all the world.” (Psalm 19:1-3).

    Man is the glory of God. God said: “It is not good for God to be alone.” So, he created man for himself. He says: “This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.” (Isaiah 43:21). But woman is the glory of man. God said: “It is not good for man to be alone.” So, he created woman for the man. Accordingly, Paul says: “A man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. (1 Corinthians 11:7).

    King James says God created all things for His pleasure. (Revelation 4:11). So, how do you feel about being created for someone else’s pleasure? It is the stuff on which liberation movements are made. How do you feel about being an instrument or a conduit? Jesus says: “Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38).

    But what about me? What is flowing to me?

    The Lord is committed to extracting every ounce of his own glory from our lives. And Jesus rubbed salt into the wound by saying: “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Luke 17:10).

    Overwhelming glory

    The whole earth is full of the glory of God. Everything that God created is designed to give glory to God. The psalmist says to God: “All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power.” (Psalm 145:10-11).

    I repeat: every creation of God declares the glory of God. However, there are two rebellious exceptions to this: man, and demons. Natural man fights against the glory of God. “Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (Romans 9:20).

    God says in Isaiah: “The beast of the field will honour Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise. But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; and you have been weary of Me, O Israel.” (Isaiah 43:20-22).

    But this is a losing battle, for nothing and no one can resist the will of God. If God says we shall declare His praise, we shall do so, whether we like it or not. Therefore, He says: “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isaiah 42:8).

    He also says: “I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.’” (Isaiah 45:23-25).

    New creation

    Because man in Adam has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, it became necessary for God to create an entirely new man in Christ to reveal his glory. The rest of creation has been waiting for this new man: “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.” (Romans 8:19).

    Thus, heaven is a place prepared for the new creation. It will comprise people who have every reason to glorify and praise God and who have every inclination to do so. You would not have to beg or persuade or cajole them to come to worship the Lord. They know that if it were not for the Lord who was on their side, they would be out in the cold.

    They know that we are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10).

    Therefore, the psalmist expresses total commitment to the glory of God. He says: “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.” (Psalm 115:1). But can we say the same? Are we dedicated to the glory of God?

    How often was it inconvenient for you to witness to somebody? How many times have you resisted God’s instruction because it was embarrassing, inconvenient, or (according to you) inappropriate? How often have you refused to the gentle promptings of the Lord to be gracious, to be merciful, and to be kind?

    The devil has one singular objective: he does not want God to be glorified. But you and I must be determined that God must be glorified. So, at every opportunity, we must give glory to God. In every situation, we must be determined that God must be glorified.

    We must not talk, walk, think, or act in a way that does not glorify God. In everything, the glory of God must be our watchword.

    At the age of 41, the Lord God finally said this to me: “You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isaiah 49:3).