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Tag: Femi Aribisala

  • Coronavirus and the lovers of pleasure [2] – Femi Aribisala

    Femi Aribisala

    Benzak Uzuegbu was behind an okada motorcycle rider when they came across a ghastly car accident. He wondered what could have caused it as people were lying lifeless on the road.

    But the okada man had a ready response. “What killed these people,” he said, “is what kills most people.” “What can that be?” Benzak asked. “They are killed by enjoyment,” the man replied. “Most people are killed by enjoyment.”

    Solomon says: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16-17).

    That is the case of Benzak’s okada rider. Lovers of pleasure are killed in their pursuit of “enjoyment” rather than their search for God.

    Deadly pleasures

    The current pandemic bedeviling the world is particularly deadly in the so-called market-economy countries because they are the pleasure capitals of the world. The most prominent among them is the United States of America. The country has only 4% of the world’s population, but it now accounts for a whopping 25% of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

    Americans are the quintessential lovers of pleasure. The American Constitution promises to facilitate “the pursuit of happiness.” The unending push for economic growth prescribes the promotion of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. As John is careful to point out, these are not of God but of the world. (1 John 2:16). Indeed, they are the mainsprings of sin in the world.

    In the United States, people are encouraged to buy even what they don’t need on credit, with monies they might not even have. So doing, jobs are created to mass-produce for consumers what is highly esteemed among men but is an abomination to God. (Luke 16:15).

    American pleasure-seekers cannot endure lockdowns. They don’t comply with social distancing regulations. They refuse to play safe by wearing masks in public. Despite the danger of COVID-19, they are flocking to the beaches, to the bars and pubs, and to parties and clubs. As a result, they are being infected by the millions.

    Official estimates now indicate that as many as 60 million Americans may have been infected.

    Useless pleasure

    Pleasure seekers do everything to avoid affliction. But the scriptures say affliction is good for us. The psalmist says to God: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray.” (Psalm 119:67). “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:71). Therefore: “Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for you have chosen this rather than affliction.” (Job 36:21).

    Jesus learnt obedience by the things he suffered. (Hebrews 5:8). On His resurrection, He told His disciples that if He had not suffered, He would not have entered into glory. (Luke 24:26). The same imperative applies to believers. Christians who love pleasure and are not prepared to suffer cannot expect to enter into the glory of heaven.

    A baby is born through a woman undergoing birth pangs. Similarly, God has determined that: “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). Accordingly, Paul says: “Our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.” (2 Corinthians 1:7).

    Pleasure, on the other hand, does not do anybody any good. Solomon, who established a laboratory of excessive living, discovered that pleasure is useless: “I thought in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless. ‘Laughter,’ I said, ‘is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?’” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-2).

    He, therefore, reached a wise conclusion: “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies- so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4).

    Jesus was a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3). What is there to be happy about in this world of sins and sickness where souls are perishing every day. Thus, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4). “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (Luke 6:25).

    Amos is equally scathing: “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion. Woe to you who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock, who drink wine from bowls, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” (Amos 6:1-6).

    Distraction of pleasures

    As in Charles Dickens: “A Tale of Two Cities,” today it is the best of times; and the worst of times. As the world gets technologically better: even so it gets more spiritually perverse.

    The world today is full of so many time-consuming and enjoyable things. It is full of distractions. There are so many eateries, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, stadiums, race tracks, casinos, arcades, museums, pubs, bars, clubs, nightclubs, and arenas for our entertainment. We now have motorcars, motorbikes, buses, planes, trains, and yachts for business and leisure. We have cell-phones, I-Phones, iPads, and laptops.

    Therefore, instead of reading the bible, many prefer to watch films on TV, YouTube, or Netflix. Others prefer to play video games or to surf the internet. We prefer to listen to talk radio or secular music than to listen to sermons or gospel songs and hymns.

    We prefer to watch Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United playing football than to spend quality time with God. We prefer to go to parties, weddings, and baby showers than to go to church. We prefer to spend time on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp than to prevail in prayer.

    Pleasing God

    But to draw nearer to God, we must fast our pleasures. (Isaiah 58:13-14). To know Christ, we have to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, as our spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1). To know Christ, we have to lose so many things that we have acquired in the world.

    Therefore, Paul says: “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8).

    Lovers of pleasure live to please themselves. It is written in the indictment of the church in the wilderness: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” (1 Corinthians 10:7). That was the total summation of their godless lives, and it ensured that none entered the Promised Land.

    But now: “The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”(2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

  • Called to Minister to God (1) – Femi Aribisala

     

    Does anything upset God? Yes indeed! God is upset many times in the scriptures, according to the prophets. He is upset a lot because we upset Him. Jesus was so upset about Jerusalem that He wept over the city. He was so upset that He wept at the grave of Lazarus.

    What is the one thing that must be upsetting God at this very moment? I am convinced it must be the coronavirus pandemic. Yes, God himself must have sent the coronavirus into the world. But that is because He had no choice but to send it.

    There is coronavirus today because Adam disobeyed God. Therefore, we, the offspring of Adam, have to learn obedience by the things we suffer. The COVID-19 pandemic is designed to teach us a lesson.

    Nevertheless, God must be very upset that so many people are suffering and dying. However, He has already done what He intends to do about this. He sent Jesus as the Saviour of the world.

    Royal priesthood

    Jesus: “washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father.” (Revelation 1:5-6). We are then required to minister to God and offer Him solace in His distress at the pains and sufferings of the world.

    In the Old Testament: “The Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him.” (Deuteronomy 10:8-9). However, the Levites were derelict in this duty, therefore, God rejected them. He then assigned this duty to Samuel; who was an Ephraimite and not a Levite: “The child (Samuel) ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.” (1 Samuel 2:11).

    But Israel rejected Samuel by asking for a king. So, God looked for priests to minister to Him among the general populace. Therefore, He says: “He whose walk is blameless will minister to Me.” (Psalm 101:6). Even those outside the commonwealth of Israel became acceptable: “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, (will) minister to Him” (Isaiah 56:6).

    Jesus presents God’s dissatisfaction with the Levites and priests of the Old Testament in His parable of the Good Samaritan. A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked, robbed, and left half-dead on the road: “A certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:31-32).

    The only person who helped him and took care of him was a Samaritan. Therefore, Jesus came to establish a new priesthood of Good Samaritans as opposed to Levites and priests. That new priesthood is the Body of Christ, comprising those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

    Thus, Peter says to believers: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (God’s) own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

    God’s ministers

    But there is a problem. Many Christians who are called as priests to minister to God have not been operating according to this calling. Most do not even know what ministering to God entails. As a result, we have been remiss in this solemn duty.

    Catholics have created even more confusion by establishing another special category of believers that they also call “priests.” These priests are not all men but only a select few. They are appointed by men and not God. They are exclusively men and do not include any women.

    However, Jesus’ royal priesthood includes ALL believers. It comprises men as well as women. Unlike Catholic priests who only minister to men, Jesus’ royal priests minister first and foremost to God.

    When we minister to someone, we take care of him and attend to his needs. But does God have needs? Does God need anything? The scriptures affirm that He does not:

    “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.” (Acts 17:24-25).

    In the Old Testament, the priests sacrifice bulls and goats and pour the blood on the altar.

    But God insists He does not need their bulls and the blood of their goats: “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” (Psalm 50:12-13).

    But although God does not have needs, He has wishes. He also has desires. So, what does God desire? Jesus says: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13).

    God desires mercy because: “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He (Jesus) came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.” (Hebrews 4:4-5).

    Instead of a sacrifice, God prepared a body for Jesus. Instead of a sacrifice, the body of Christ was offered. What is the body that God prepared for Jesus? What is the body that is the acceptable sacrifice? We, the new creation in Christ Jesus, are that body.

    Thus, Paul says to Christians: “You are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Corinthians 12:27). “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1).

    God’s thirst

    What does God desire from the body of Christ?

    God is thirsty. On the cross: “Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’” (John 19:28). God wants us to give Him water to drink: “A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’” (John 4:7).

    What kind of water does God drink? Only the living water of righteousness can satiate God’s thirst. Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6).

    God thirsts for righteousness. But there is no water like that in the world. For this reason, the psalmist was dying of thirst, saying: “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1).

    However, believers today are the royal priesthood of the New Testament. Thanks to Jesus, we now have the living water of righteousness. We received it when we answered Jesus’ invitation: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38).

    Therefore, the body of Christ, the priesthood of the New Testament, can give God water to drink because we have received from Jesus the living water of the Holy Spirit.

     

    CONTINUED

  • 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).

  • The righteousness of God – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Jesus was born: “born under the law.” (Galatians 4:4). Therefore, he was subject to the Law of Moses. He reassured his Jewish audience: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17).

    Accordingly, he obeyed the law to the letter. As he said to John the Baptist: “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15).

    However, although he was faithful to Moses and the dictates of the Old Testament, his calling was to mediate the coming of the New Testament: “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17).

    Old Testament

    It is often not recognized that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are actually books of the Old Testament, even though they are found under the New Testament in the Christian bible. The New Testament did not begin until after the death and resurrection of Jesus:

    “For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.” (Hebrews 9:15).

    Thus, while Jesus acknowledged the righteousness of the Old Testament, he was more interested in calling people to the righteousness of the New Testament. The righteousness of the Law of Moses requires a blood sacrifice as atonement of sins. But the righteousness of Christ requires repentance as atonement from sins. Therefore, Jesus told the self-righteous Pharisees: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:32).

    Magnification of the law

    Isaiah had foretold this new departure of the Messiah: “The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” (Isaiah 42:21). That is precisely what Jesus did. He magnified the law and perfected it.

    Jesus calls us to the perfection of God. He says: “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48). But rather than seek the perfection of men, the law of Moses accepts and accommodates the imperfection of men.

    For this reason, the writer of Hebrews says: “The former regulation (the Law of Moses) is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews 7:18-19).

    Thus, while Moses’ law proscribed adultery, Jesus went further to maintain that: “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). While Moses prescribed “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” Jesus says: “I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” (Matthew 5:38),

    Jesus even magnified the second commandment which says: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 19:19). He changed this, saying: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.” (John 13:34).

    Hard-heartedness

    Jesus points out that the strictures of the law of Moses were introduced simply because of the hardness of the heart of the Israelites. Therefore, Moses’ law permitted divorce because he knew that the Israelites did not have the heart to obey God’s injunction that no man should divorce his wife:

    Jesus told the Israelites: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.’” (Matthew 19:8-9).

    Jesus noted, furthermore, that the very hard-heartedness of the Jews ensured that they could not even obey Moses. So, instead of obeying him, they created their own laws, designed to circumvent the Law of Moses in the name of obeying it.

    Therefore, Jesus berated them: “You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matthew 15:6-9).

    The Law of Moses was given to the Israelites who were natural men. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

    In order to obey God, the natural man has to become spiritual for: “the law is spiritual.” (Romans 7:14). In order to obey God, the natural man must be born of God because: “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8).

    New Testament

    In effect, as opposed to the Law of Moses, the Law of Christ requires a fundamental change in the heart of men. In order to worship God in spirit and in truth, we have first to undergo heart surgery conducted by God himself according to his promise; only then can we obey God’s commandments.

    That is the promise of the New Testament in Christ Jesus. God says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26-28).

    “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

    Righteousness of faith

    Those who are born again have not yet attained the righteousness of God. However, because of the work of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, they are on the way to the righteousness of God. They are like little children learning to walk. Meanwhile, their righteousness inheres in their faith in God to make them righteous: “For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

    Thus, Paul ascribed righteousness to himself saying: “concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Philippians 3:6). However, after he met Jesus, he had a change of heart, now insisting: “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

    He then longed to be found in Christ: “Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” (Philippians 3:7-9).

  • Conversations with God – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Roberts Liardon was a guest-minister at a church. Suddenly during the service, the Holy Spirit drew his attention to a woman. Then he told him something unusual. He told him to go and slap her. Liardon obeyed. He went to the woman and slapped her. There was a loud gasp in the church as she burst into tears.

    Surely, it could not have been God who told Liardon to slap this woman. There is certainly no biblical precedence for it. However, in the same bible, God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” (Isaiah 55:8). So, yes indeed, God can give any directive he wants to his sons.

    How could Liardon tell it was God who spoke to him? He must have had a relationship with God. He knew God’s voice. If a longstanding friend phones you from abroad, once you hear his voice you can tell it is him.

    Some months later, Liardon was ministering in another church, and he recalled the strange incident of God telling him to slap someone during a service. Out of the blue, a woman came forward and said she was the one. Then she gave her testimony.

    God had called her husband to ministry and she did not like the idea. She resisted and resisted until that fateful morning, she surrendered and told God on her knees: “Slap it out of me!” When she got to church, the visiting minister, Roberts Liardon, came forward and slapped her.

    The voice of God

    How can we identify the voice of God? God is a God of peace. His signature tune is peace. Therefore, the voice of the Lord is not the voice of anxiety, but of peace. The psalmist says: “I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints.” (Psalm 85:8). It is the devil that speaks of fears and worries.

    God says: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). When we are worried or anxious, it is more difficult to hear God clearly. Since Jesus is our Prince of Peace, expect him to speak his peace into your heart at all times. Jesus says: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27).

    What does the voice of the Lord sound like? It is not insistent; it is a still small voice:

    “Behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:11-12).

    The inner witness

    God often speaks to us through other people. This makes it important to listen to others. James counsels: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak.” (James 1:19). As God’s prophet, Jeremiah pleaded with Israel: “Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you.” (Jeremiah 38:20). But most times the speaker does not even know he is being used to deliver God’s message. But you, the hearer, should know.

    As the person is speaking, something inside you sparks, and you just know that what he is saying is what you need to know from the Lord. This is called an inner witness and it comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The Holy Spirit uses his inner witness to confirm or underscore something that is being communicated to us.

    You may need godly counsel about a situation you are facing. You have talked to different people and obtained different views but remain unsure as to precisely what to do. Then as one particular person is talking to you, you simply know it is God using him to talk because there is an inner confirmation. What he says hits the nail on the head and speaks directly to your heart. That is the power of God. That is God talking to you.

    Internal promptings

    Internal promptings are strong urges to do or not do something. You cannot explain why you feel that way, but you do. Sometimes the intensity builds up inside you until you obey the prompting. At other times, you just happen to do something, which turns out to be precisely the right thing to do. Such promptings come from the Lord.

    I had a nasty quarrel with my older brother and decided to stay away from him. But one day, I developed the urge to go and see him. I resisted it, not wanting to revisit the quarrel; but after a while, I relented and went to his house. When my sister-in-law saw me, she shouted: “Praise the Lord!” “What is that all about?” I enquired. Then she said: “I fasted and prayed today and asked the Lord to bring you here. This quarrel must end today.”

    Be open to internal promptings. They are invariably calls to the righteousness of God. Indeed, that is the means of their identification. Never resist internal promptings to pray about something or about someone, even if you don’t know why. Jesus says if we do, we will know. (John 7:17).

    God is often in search of prayer-warriors. He says: “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land.” (Ezekiel 22:30). Let him find you.

    Checks in the spirit

    A check in the spirit is an internal alarm that goes off, making us feel leery or cautious about something or someone. It slows us down, making us look into something more carefully and urging us to pray more for God’s direction. Sometimes it is designed to keep us from being misled or being taken advantage of. Other times, it protects us from physical danger.

    Kenneth Hagin received an offer to move to another church. He was excited because they were offering him a lot more money than he was then earning. But every time he sat down to write an acceptance letter, he was dissatisfied with the draft and would tear the paper.

    Then miraculously, the Lord appeared to him. He said to him: “When I told you not to take the job…” Kenneth Hagin interrupted him to find out when exactly he told him not to take the job. The Lord replied: “Every time you tried to draft the acceptance letter, I checked you.”

    Don’t ignore the check-in the spirit: it is the Lord. And don’t ignore it when God uses others to provide the check. Women are particularly sensitive spiritually. Therefore, don’t ignore the checks of your wife. She might say: “I just don’t feel good about you doing business with that man.”

    Don’t insist she must give you chapter-and-verse reasons. A man and his wife are one; so God can speak to the husband through the wife. He warned Pilate through his wife not to have anything to do with the persecution of Jesus, but Pilate did not listen. Don’t be like Pilate.

  • Faith in Christ compels disdain for money – Femi Aribisala

    *Money is not of God. Indeed, it is an idol*

    By Femi Aribisala

    A Nigerian footballer signed a lucrative contract to join Monaco Football Club. Flush with his newfound wealth, he bought a ticket from Monaco to Istanbul, in order to get a haircut from a famous barber. Thereafter, he flew back to Monaco.

    When I read this, I became concerned for the poor man. My concern is because the man has been deceived into believing that he is now a rich man. However, money does not make any man rich. On the contrary, money has a tendency to bring people into poverty. The richest people in the world often turn out to be the poorest people in the kingdom of God.

    Therefore, James says: “Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5).

    Money is not a currency of the kingdom of God. The currency of the kingdom is righteousness. Accordingly, God does not bless with money. But true riches only come from the blessing of God. (Proverbs 10:22).

    Deceitful money

    Jesus calls money “unrighteous mammon.” (Luke 16:9). This means money is fundamentally ungodly. He also says earthly riches are deceitful. (Matthew 13:22). They promise what they cannot deliver. They promise prosperity but impoverish the soul. (Matthew 16:26).

    Solomon, the richest man that ever lived, provides this indictment on riches: “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth- except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-12).

    Money is not of God. Indeed, it is an idol; the very antithesis of God. Money rules over men, ensuring that it competes with God for human allegiance. Therefore, faith in Christ compels a disdain for money. Jesus insists: “No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24).

    Jesus’ position is that we are required to love God “with all our heart.” (Matthew 22:37). If our heart is set on worldly riches, we cannot at the same time have God as our heart’s desire. It is God, and not earthly riches, that must be “the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7).

    Therefore, Jesus warns: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

    Heirs of God

    God is interested in who we are and not what we have. He says “I am who I am.” (Exodus 3:14). He does not say “I am what I have.” This life is not about ownership; it is about stewardship. Worldly possessions are the believer’s stewardship. We are managers of our finances, without the burden of ownership.

    In the Day of Judgment, God will require us to account for how we spent the money that came into our hands. Did we use it to secure our temporal “future” here on earth, or to safeguard our eternal future in heaven? Therefore, Jesus asks: “If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous money, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 16:11-12).

    What then belongs to us? “The LORD is (our) portion.” (Lamentations 3:24). When a man sought Jesus’ help to secure his inheritance, which was being monopolized by his brother, he replied: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15).

     

    But how could the man have been guilty of covetousness when all he wanted was his portion of his inheritance? The man failed to understand that we are not heirs of men. We are: “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17). He was guilty of insisting on what belongs to another man, while neglecting what is rightfully his portion in God.

    According to Jesus, money belongs to Caesar, which is why his image and inscription is on it. He says: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21).

     

    What then belongs to God? God’s image is on man, so man belongs to God. Man is created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we should give and dedicate ourselves to the Lord; while money should be given and dedicated to “Caesar.”

     

    False riches

     

    The riches of this world belong to the wicked. The psalmist declares: “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:12). The wicked prefer the temporal to the eternal. Therefore, God is content to make this vainglorious world their inheritance. Thus, David talks of “men of the world who have their portion in this life.” (Psalm 17:14).

     

    It is not surprising then that God’s judgment is often proclaimed on those who handle money. (Zephaniah 1:11). Rich men who are not prepared to give away their wealth to the poor cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven and become heirs of God. Instead of amassing earthly riches, Jesus counsels that we should endeavour to be rich towards God. (Luke 12:16-21).

    What money buys is not of God, and that which is of God cannot be bought with money. (Acts 8:20). The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22). But money adds sorrow for the simple reason that it fails. Money failed in Egypt and in Canaan. (Genesis 47:15). Sooner than later, money grows wings and flies away like an eagle towards heaven. (Proverbs 23:5).

     

    Wisdom of God

    This is what I have learnt at the feet of the Lord. Money is not valuable; we are always giving it away in one transaction or the other. The most valuable things in this world are free. The most important tasks in Christ are the ones for which we receive no wages whatsoever. The poor are far more generous than the rich. (Mark 12:41-44).

    Martins Hile urgently needed to get somewhere, so he asked the Lord for money for transportation. But the Lord said to him: “Stop asking me for money.” The Lord told Martins to go and stand by the side of the road. As soon as he did so, a car pulled up in front of him. “Martins, where are you going?” asked the driver, who happened to be someone well-known to him. He then took Martins exactly where he was going.

    The Lord said to Martins: “You don’t need any money. I am all you need!”

  • TNG Columnist, Femi Aribisala's wife launches book Wednesday

    A celebrated columnist with TheNewsGuru.com (TNG), Femi Aribisala will on Wednesday July 24 roll out the drums as his darling wife Karen King-Aribisala a Professor of English, University of Lagos (UNILAG) launches her literary masterpiece titled “OR WIFE AND OTHER STORIES”.
    The literary piece which already won the Best First Book, African Region, Commonwealth Prize for Literature takes an Intriguing look at Nigerian idiosyncrasies from an outsider/insider perspective.
    The launch is scheduled to hold on Wednesday July 24 at the Afe Babalola Auditorium University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos by 10 a.m.

  • Overcoming Faith – Femi Aribisala

    Pull Quote: If your saviour cannot overcome the world, then he cannot be your saviour. It means he cannot save you from the troubles and problems of life.

    Where do you live? Do you live in this world or do you live in Christ? If you are a Christian, then Christ must now be your life. (Colossians 3:4). Moses says to God: “You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” (Psalm 90:1). Paul amplifies this: “In (God). we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28).

    Permit me to put this more graphically. Some Nigerians live in Nigeria, while some live in Christ. Those who live in Nigeria are affected by the situations and circumstances in Nigeria. They suffer under the adverse economic condition. In the last few years, their standard of living has been significantly degraded. Like Martha, they are worried and troubled by many things. (John 11:41).

    Overcoming the world

    But those who live in Christ live in a kingdom that cannot be shaken. (Hebrews 12:28). Therefore, we live in peace: “For (Christ) himself is our peace.” (Ephesians 2:14). We sleep even in storms. We do not eat the bread of sorrows because God gives his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2). So, Jesus says to us: “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

    If your saviour cannot overcome the world, then he cannot be your saviour. It means he cannot save you from the troubles and problems of life. But if he comes into the world and overcomes the world, then you know he can easily save you from the world.

    That is what Jesus did. He came into the world and overcame all the challenges of the world. He overcame life, he overcame death. He overcame sickness, he overcame sin. He overcame the devil, he overcame men. Through every kind of provocation, he never lost his peace. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).

    Therefore, we can be confident that Jesus can protect us from the world; all the more so because he now lives in us and never leaves us nor forsakes us. The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit fulfils this promise: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3).

    Open invitation

    For this reason, Jesus gives an open invitation to everyone who lives in this world of trouble: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).

    This open invitation must be heeded with alacrity. This world is evil and we must not conform to it. “All these worldly things, these evil desires- the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance- these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself.” (1 John 2:16). God is not going to transform the world, but he requires that we: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that (we) may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

    Only God can bring about the requisite transformation, therefore Nicodemus, you must be born again, this time of God. Only then can you see what God is doing as opposed to what men are doing. Only then can you see that, in spite of all the terrible things going on everywhere in the world, God is relentless: “working salvation in the midst of the earth.” (Psalm 74:12). Only then can you see that: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13).

    Therefore, those who believe in Jesus are never troubled. Jesus says: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1). Confronted with inconvenient situations and circumstances, those who believe in Jesus simply pray and remain in the peace he gives. “They are anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, they let their requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guards their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

    Mountain-moving faith

    For years, the American government was looking for Osama Bin Laden but could not find him. The reason was that he was hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan. They only got him finally because Bin Laden became lazy. He decided to trade the mountains for the comforts of Abbottabad, a city in Pakistan. Had he stayed holed up in the mountains he would have remained impregnable.

    In short, the United States, most powerful military power in the world, could not move the mountains of Afghanistan in order to expose the hiding place of Bin Laden. But now let us compare the so-called powerful United States to a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus says: “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23).

    In effect, what is impossible to “powerful” United States is possible to a believer. The believer can move mountains: the United States cannot. A prayer of faith could easily have moved the mountains to expose the hiding place of Bin Laden to the Christian. When you believe in the God of the impossible, nothing will be impossible for you. Jesus says: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, … nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:17).

    This indicates the most powerful weapon in the world is not the hydrogen bomb but faith in God. The most powerful people are not presidents but Christians. Presidents cannot do the impossible: Christians can. The president of the United States cannot overcome the world, but the child of God is an overcomer. John says: “Every child of God overcome this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5).

    Paul puts it even more elaborately. He says we are “more than conquerors” through Jesus’ love of God: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

  • The unleashing of APC Rigmarole – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    “In 2015, people acknowledged Buhari with “Sai Baba.” In 2016, this became “Why Baba?” In 2017, it became “Chai Baba.” In 2018, it is now “Kai! Baba.” Come 2019, it will be “Bye Baba.”

    The genie is now well and truly out of the bottle. All the signs now indicate that APC is running scared about its prospects in the 2019 elections. There can also no longer be any doubt that the party is absolutely determined to win by hook and crook. It has served notice to Nigeria that it will leave no stone unturned in rigging the forthcoming presidential elections of 2019.

    Struggle for Kano

    The party developed high-blood pressure when its nPDP elements, who guaranteed its victory in 2015, turned the tables on it and suddenly decided to go back to the PDP. One strategic factor in this development was Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano. His defection from APC back to PDP brought Kano back into play for PDP. This spelt imminent disaster for APC.

    In 2015, fictitious Kano was APC’s trump card. The Kano results were kept in reserve until late in the game. When they were finally declared, there was an earthquake. A whopping 2.3 million people were said to have voted in Kano out of which 1.9 million allegedly voted for APC. Given Kwankwaso’s popularity in Kano as a native-son, the question becomes what would happen to the APC in Kano in 2019, now that Kwankwaso has decamped to the PDP?

    This new realpolitik has sent jitters down the spine of the APC and the party has responded in the only way it seems to know how: with deceit and falsehood. First, Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje declared that Kano would provide APC with 5 million votes in the 2019 presidential election, a magical increase of over 100% from 2015. Then, a few days ago, APC declared that Buhari received 2.9 million votes in Kano during the APC presidential primaries.

    This is quite simply one big lie. It is a lie that serves notice of APC intentions in 2019. Buhari cannot possibly get one million more votes in the Kano from only APC voters than he did in the entire election of 2015. If, with only APC stalwarts voting, and in an inconsequential election with only Buhari as candidate, Buhari gets 2.9 million votes; it is not implausible to conclude that come 2019, during the election proper, Buhari alone will be said to obtain as much as 12 million votes from Kano alone; more indeed, than all the people in the state.

    Desperadoes

    This shows how desperate the APC has become. Everybody knows the mythical Buhari of 2015 has been thoroughly demystified as a result of his lackluster performance as president. Accordingly, while in 2015, people may have acknowledged Buhari with “Sai Baba,” in 2016, this became “Why Baba?” In 2017, it became “Chai Baba.” In 2018, it is now “Kai! Baba.” Come 2019, it will be “Bye Baba.”

    In its new desperation to hold on to power, APC has lost all earlier pretenses to anti-corruption. The party was not even confident Buhari could survive a presidential primary without embarrassment, so it went to great lengths to rig the system against every other possible contestant.

    First, it made the registration for the primaries N45 million, ensuring that only those with stolen money that could easily be lost would contest. Then there was the rigmarole of saying, although the president did not have the money, well-wishers raised it for him. (We are yet to be informed as to how the president paid for the N27 million bank loan he claims to have obtained to pay for his registration in 2014).

    APC then went ahead to post outrageous figures as representing those who voted for sole candidate Buhari, laying the foundation for the rigmarole it has in store for 2019. That means this corrupt party has decided to take Nigeria back to the days of the military and communist dictatorships where sole presidential candidates in elections are said to obtain fictitiously as many as 99% of the vote.

    Jonathan’s legacy

    In 2014/2015, Goodluck Jonathan signaled his good intentions by conducting one free and fair elections after the other; in Edo, Anambra, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun. In all these, the ruling party won only one. It then went on, not only to lose the 2015 presidential election, but even more importantly, to accept defeat.

    But APC has now let us know that, under no circumstances will it accept defeat. We have seen this now in the governorship election in Ekiti, where rigging was the APC order of the day, with votes bought in broad daylight with anti-corruption money. We have also had a repeat performance in Osun, where an election won outright by the PDP was declared inconclusive. Then all kinds of shenanigans were employed in the rerun, leading to the declaration of APC as the winner.

    That is now clearly the APC agenda. In the same manner that it has declared its victory in a state where workers were owed 2 years’ salary, even so will it declare its victory in a country that became to world’s capital of poverty under its watch. This is bound to throw Nigeria into a great deal of turmoil and civil unrest. That is why everything possible must be done to ensure that this rigmarole is stopped dead in its tracks.

    It is preposterous for a party of do-nothing and under-achiever politicians, who have presided over the systematic slaughter of Nigerians by Fulani herdsmen, have watched the naira slump from 198 to the dollar to 360, have driven away foreign investors, have moved from one corruption scandal to the other, and have shown utmost disregard for the rule of law, should now insist that their party would obtain a landslide victory in a national election.

  • Healing wings [2] – Femi Arbisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    It is priceless when God calls a nonentity to ministry. It is especially marvellous when he validates this with infallible signs. I readily identify with Mary who, on learning she would be the mother of the promised Messiah, declared: “My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant.” (Luke 1:46-48).

    Confusion

    However, everything seemed to unravel during the Redeemed Church fellowship the following Wednesday after my calling to ministry. Inexplicably, the junior Mrs. Adewumi did not attend; only the senior one was there. I told Waikini to sing a praise-song and gave her the Lord’s verdict. But there was no way of knowing whether her blood was changed until after the blood-test. When I spoke of “someone” with chronic back-ache; three people came out and Foluke prayed for them. But in my dream, there was only one person.

    Another imponderable involved the person trusting God to meet his bills. I brought the requisite 3,000 naira in a plastic video-case; but nobody handed any piece of paper to Bimbo in confirmation. Her brother, Kunle Bolodeoku, claimed he was the person. But I was convinced it could not be him.

    On the very afternoon of my Saturday morning dream, I came home to find Kunle waiting in his Mercedes-Benz car. On seeing me, he jumped out and prevailed on me to listen to a testimony. He had won a contract but then rejected it when he discovered it entailed paying bribes. But now, miraculously, God had more than honoured his faith. He showed me letters from two magazine publications asking him to supply a certain amount of newsprint. “All that is left now,” he said, “is for me to mobilise the money with which to supply it.”

    When I asked how much he needed, he said 150,000 naira. As God would have it, that was roughly the amount I was carrying in an empty carton of Nulec video-tapes; having just collected the takings from my video-shops. Immediately, the Lord said to me: “Give him the money. He will give it back to you.” Therefore, when he said he was the one referred to in my dream, I knew it could not be him.

    Confirmation

    Disappointed, I went back home after the fellowship for a tête-à-tête with God. “What does this mean?” I complained. Calmly, the Lord said to me: “When Kunle Bolodeoku told you it was him, why did you argue with him?” Later, I discovered one vital puzzle-piece. Pasted on the back-windscreen of Kunle’s Mercedes-Benz was the inscription: “My God shall supply all my need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

    There were certain nuances between my dream and my actual transactions with Kunle. In the dream, the amount was 3,000 naira. In real life, it was 150,000 naira. In the dream, the money was in a Nulec video-case that normally houses only one video. In real life, the money was in a Nulec carton that formerly contained 50 videotapes. However, 3,000 naira multiplied by 50 is 150,000 naira. What about my assumption that the money was for NITEL or NEPA bills when they were in fact for the procurement of newsprint? Ergo, my insistence the word of God is only what comes directly from the mouth of God. Once passed through man, there are likely to be distortions.

    Since then, I tell God with importunity: “Please don’t talk to me in parables. Talk plainly to me.” Jesus spoke plainly to his disciples, but he spoke to the multitude in parables. When his disciples asked him the reason for this discrepancy, he said to them: “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matthew 13:11-12).

    Much later, I also discovered the seeming imprecision in the number of people with backache is standard practice with God-given revelations. If the Lord says he is going to heal someone; that “someone” might turn out to be many people. Whosoever identifies with the prophecy is automatically included in the healing. Therefore, it did not matter that while the Lord only showed me one person with backache in the dream, three people actually came out to receive.

    A beautiful woman

    With regard to Mrs. Philippa Adewumi, the Lord said to me: “When I brought her to the Dada’s on Saturday morning, why didn’t you pray for her then?” In retrospect, I concluded my decision to wait until the Wednesday fellowship before praying for Mrs Adewumi was dubious. Clearly, God brought her precisely that Saturday morning to confirm my dream. He also knew she would be absent at the next fellowship. However, I assumed the Lord would prefer her healing to take place during the fellowship because there would be more people to witness it and this would give him greater glory. But I now realise I was also mindful of getting some of the glory myself. God is not into showmanship, and he knows best how to get glory for himself.

    The Lord’s confirmation was all I needed. I was in Mrs. Adewumi’s house the very next day, having obtained her address from Muyiwa. The senior Mrs. Adewumi had already given her the news. When I told her my dream, she was completely overwhelmed. She acknowledged she had had the problem for some time. After praying with her, she insisted on walking me to my car. Then she asked: “You mean God really loves me? And I am the second wife who has come to scatter this family.” She was practically in tears. I told her I did not know anything about that. It was not part of my brief. But I assured her the Lord would sort out everything. Then I left.

    Gideon was fearful and cowardly; he threshed wheat in the winepress in order to avoid detection by the Midianites. But when the angel of the Lord saluted him, he called him “a mighty man of valour.” (Judges 6:12). The angel’s opinion of Gideon was not based on what Gideon was but on what he could become. Similarly, God did not describe Mrs. Adewumi according to what she was in her own disparaging eyes but according to what she could become. Mrs. Adewumi was overwhelmed by her inadequacies. But the Lord who knows her heart declared her beautiful internally and externally.

    Postscript

    Mrs. Peace Garba, wife of Redeemed Pastor Simon Garba, testified that her back problem was healed immediately Foluke prayed for her. Blood-tests confirmed that Waikini’s blood-type was miraculously changed. She no longer has sickle-cell anaemia. Kunle Bolodeoku paid me back the money I gave him. Senator Julius Adewumi held a lavish thanksgiving breakfast party for his wife’s healing at his Agoro Odinyan residence in Victoria Island, Lagos. He insisted that I seat with him on the high-table.

    Thus says the Lord: “To you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.” (Malachi 4:2).