TheNewsGuru

Tag: Femi Aribisala

  • Beware of religious hypocrisy (1) – By Femi Aribisala

    Beware of religious hypocrisy (1) – By Femi Aribisala

    “The hypocrite says you can change your life by changing your appearance”.

    Jesus warns against religious hypocrisy: “You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip, and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.” (Luke 12:2-3).

    A hypocrite is a play-actor, a pretender, and a deceiver. He is formally and outwardly religious, but inwardly insincere and unrighteous.

    Hypocrisy is acting like something that we are not. It is harmful because it speaks of a terrible heart condition. The hypocrite knows the right thing to do, and pretends to do the right thing, but does not believe in doing the right thing. Hypocrisy is pretending to be religious when your heart is far from God.

    The Bible teaches you can change your life by changing your heart. That is the message of Jesus’ beatitudes. (Matthew 5-7). But the hypocrite says you can change your life by changing your appearance or people’s perception of you.

    Magic-show religion

    Hypocrisy denies the existence of God. The hypocrite is only concerned about men; he does not reckon with God. As long as he fools men he is pleased. The actions of the hypocrite beg the question: “How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?” (Psalm 73:11).

    Do not allow yourself to be deceived, We cannot mock God. He can identify the hypocrite even before he is born.

    Peter calls hypocrites wells without water. (2 Peter 2:17). Jude says they are trees without fruit, twice dead. (Jude 1:12).

    You are not a hypocrite if you smoke, drink, take drugs, fornicate, or fight on the bus. But you are a hypocrite if you have a problem with Christians who do. You are a hypocrite if you are holier than thou.

    Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus at night? Because he is a hypocrite. Why were Ananias and Sapphira struck dead? Because they were hypocrites. What kind of man was Judas? He was a hypocritical Christian.

    He took offence at the woman who poured an expensive ointment on Jesus, asking: “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:25). But he had no regard for the poor. He frequently stole money meant for them.

    Almsgiving

    Jesus says: “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater but the God who made you won’t be applauding.” (Matthew 6:1).

    “When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it — quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.” (Matthew 6:3-4).

    Hypocrites readily answer mercenary pastors who ask them to stand in church and make pledges for projects. Worse still, some make pledges publicly and then renege privately. Hypocrites pretend to put money in the offering box when there is nothing in their hands.

    Check your feelings. Do you get a kick out of giving or are you grateful for the ability to provide? Are you offended if they do not appreciate your giving? Is your reputation in any way involved in your giving or not giving? If so, you are a hypocrite.

    Role-play

    Jesus cautions: “When you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God.” (Matthew 6:5-6).

    How do we square this with public displays of piety? For example, David’s lavish dance when they brought the ark to Jerusalem. Or the woman who poured an alabaster of precious ointment on Jesus. Should they have kept these from public view?

    To avoid hypocrisy, do not do publicly what you do not do privately. Let your faith be primarily that of the closet. Let it not begin and end in public. Let it come from “the hidden person of the heart.” (1 Peter 3:4).

    Public prayer should be the outgrowth of private devotion. Have you seen a man with the spirit and power of Elijah who prays openly and publicly with boldness and confidence to great effect? It is because he spends hours in private and personal prayer. “Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).

    God says: “Have a relationship with me.” Our relationship with God should be personal and intimate, and not a shallow public display.

    Have you ever known a husband and wife who do not get along with one another, and yet in public they pretend to be sweethearts? When they have guests, they call themselves “darling,” “pumpkin,” “moin-moin.” But in private they are abusive. That is hypocritical.

    Private faith

    The psalmist says” “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1). The believer’s relationship with Christ is secret first and foremost. This does not mean that we publicly deny the Lord or keep the relationship under wraps. It means it should be pre-eminently intimate, warm, and private.

    God says: “I am the God of Abraham.” This shows He favours the personal relationship. When we have a deep relationship with the Lord, then, we can speak and act publicly as He directs.

    The Bible says: “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:24).

    How did he walk with God? By faith. In which case, you might see Enoch walking down the road by himself. But no, Enoch is not alone, he is walking with God. He might sit in a corner all by himself, but he is walking with God. He might be in the middle of a crowd of people, but he is walking with God.

    This explains the psalmist’s doxology: “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” (Psalm 31:19-20).

    When we pray, we are required to disclose our innermost thoughts, feelings, and desires. Sharing our secrets and desires with God provides the foundation for a deep and intimate relationship with him. It also enables us to avail of his healing, comfort, and guidance.

    Jesus says: “I can see it now- at the Final Judgement thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’” (Matthew 7:22-23).

     

    CONTINUED

  • God does not give true riches to unbelievers – By Femi Aribisala

    God does not give true riches to unbelievers – By Femi Aribisala

    “The gains obtainable in the world are all ungodly”.

    The scriptures affirm that: “The Most High God rules in the kingdom of men.” (Daniel 5:21). Nevertheless, the wisdom of God says it is only the wicked who prosper in the world:

    “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:12). The righteous only prosper in the kingdom of God.

    Worldly wealth

    The riches of this world are counterfeit. Jesus says they are deceitful. (Matthew 13:22). When a man has lots of money, we say he is rich. But Jesus disagrees:

    “You say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ -and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. (Revelation 3:17).

    Jesus says the rich in this world should not be envied but pitied: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” (Luke 6:24).

    James echoes this: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.” (James 5:1-3).

    The worldly rich are so poverty-stricken and disadvantaged that they cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus says: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24).

    He says furthermore: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24).

    True riches

    Jesus cautions about the confusion of money with true riches: “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11).

    If true riches cannot be found in this world, where then can they be found? They can only be found in Christ. Jesus says: “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich.” (Revelation 3:18).

    True riches are not denominated in world currencies but in the glory of God. When Moses asked to see the glory of God, he did not see money, gold, or silver. Instead, he saw the intrinsic nature and character of God.

    “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7).

    The riches of God are in God and not in the world. The glory of God is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive: “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8). We are enriched in everything by Him. (1 Corinthians 1:5).

    It is therefore a contradiction for those who have received the fulness of Christ to then hanker after the counterfeit riches of this world.

    Kingdom dynamics

    God never gives true riches to those who are not in Christ. He only gives them counterfeits. All worldly wealth is counterfeit. “For all these worldly things, these evil desires-the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to (us), and the pride that comes from wealth and importance-these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself.” (1 John 2:16-17).

    God would never give anything valuable to unbelievers. He does not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast His pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet.” (Matthew 7:6). He only gives unbelievers the things He despises. Jesus says: “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15).

    So, if you ever see an unbeliever with anything, know automatically that it is rubbish. The unbeliever has earthly riches because they are garbage. They are a whole lot of nothing. The only things of value are not in the world but in the kingdom of God.

    This prognosis means everything we gain in this world is rubbish.  That also includes the worldly gains of believers. The gains of this world distract and prevent us from attaining the great gains of the kingdom of God. The gains obtainable in the world are all ungodly. But great gains are reserved for the godly, and they are all in Christ.

    Our rubbish gains in the world include our pedigree, education, social status, financial resources, fame, and fortune et cetera. Once we receive Christ and He opens our eyes, we come to realise that these gains are worthless.

    That is why the highfalutin pastors of our churches are confused and confusing. Paul refers to them as: “Men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:5-6).

    Righteous conversion

    Therefore, he 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 3:7-9).

    The progression in this scripture is instructive. When Paul met Christ, he initially converted his earlier gains into losses. This conforms to the prophecy that in Christ: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill brought low.” (Luke 3:5).

    But then he soon discovered that the things he lost were all rubbish. We do not lose rubbish. We discard them. We throw them away. In effect, he lost nothing but gained everything.

    Let me state this graphically so that its true import is not missed. He now regards everything that men value such as money, houses, cars, fame, fortune, beauty, pedigree, and achievements in this world (to mention but a few) as all rubbish. They all become inconsequential.

    So, he says to those of us who are in Christ:

    “In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all.” (Colossians 3:11).

    Riches in glory

    The world is in a drought. We live in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1). But out of the belly of the believer flows rivers of living water. (John 7:38).

    There is too much counterfeit in the world. But it is short of goodness. It is lacking in righteousness, truth, and compassion. “Judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” (Isaiah 59:14).

    There is a surfeit of money, but a dearth of mercy. People need the truth. They need the righteousness of God.

    Believers are the people with great gains who can supply what the world needs according to our riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19).

  • Learning obedience – By Femi Aribisala

    Learning obedience – By Femi Aribisala

    Have you ever been in a situation in which you told a child to do something, and he asks you why? “Why?” is one of the favourite questions of children. You tell a child to do something, and he asks: “why?” If you give him the reason, he will ask you “why?” again.

    In effect, what is the reason why you gave the reason you gave? For every answer you give, he might just continue asking you “why?” until you become fed up, refuse to answer him, or ask in turn: “why not?”

    “Freddie you must brush your teeth first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to bed.” And Freddie asks: “why?” “Why must I brush my teeth?” What do you do in such a situation? Do you explain to him why he must brush his teeth? Or do you simply tell Freddie: “Because I say so?”

    Often, the two become combined: 

    “Freddie, you must brush your teeth first thing in the morning.”

    “Why?”

    “Because if you do not brush your teeth your mouth will smell, and your teeth will decay.”

    “Why?”

    “Because the bacteria in your mouth will attack your teeth and they will develop cavities and you will end up at the dentist.”

    “Why?”

    “Because the bacteria will eat away at your teeth, expose the nerve cells and you will feel a lot of pain.”

    “Why?”

    “Because I say so.”

    No reason

    Sometimes, the only way to stop the “why?” “why?” “why?” is by insisting right from the beginning that the reason why Freddie must brush his teeth is that you say so. But some parents are concerned that this approach would make their children ignorant. We feel if we do not give them the reasons behind our instructions and make them understand why they should obey us, we become dictators and not good parents.

    However, the good parent gives no reason whatsoever to his child beyond saying: “I want you to do what I say because I say so.” There is a big difference between a discussion on the principles of hygiene and instructions concerning hygiene. The two must not be confused.

    When it is a discussion, we can tolerate as many questions as possible. And even there we are likely to be soon fed up. But if we are instructing our child about what to do, we should not entertain any queries. We should just tell him what we want him to do.

    If we entertain no queries, we are training him to be a man under authority. But if we have to explain to him the reason why he should obey us, then we are training him to be disobedient. A child should obey his parents and not his parents’ reasons or logic. A child should be trained to be subject to authority.

    Under authority

    Can you imagine a boss asking a subordinate to photocopy some documents and he asks why? He would not do the photocopies until the boss can convince him as to why he should do them. If that is the case, he is likely to be soon looking for another job.

    As a child, I hated it when my parents answered my many questions with “because I say so.” As far as I was concerned, it meant that they did not have a valid reason for telling me to do something. And because they did not have a valid reason for instructing me; that meant I did not have a valid reason for obeying them.

    This approach is dangerous for several reasons. It presupposes we can understand the reason why we should do as we are told, and this is rarely the case. Often, we do not even understand the consequences of our actions.

    The parent tells the child not to put his hand in the fire. The child wants to know why. The parent tells the child the fire would burn him. But the child does not know what it means to be burnt. And the parent wants the child to be ignorant. He does not want the child to know what it means to be burnt.

    To know what it means to be burnt, you have to be burnt. But the parent does not want the child to be burnt. So, he tells him quite simply: “Do not put your hand in the fire.” But the child wants to know why he should avoid being burnt. “Just take my word for it; you won’t like it.”

    Now it becomes a question of trust. That is why it is impossible to please God without having faith in Him. (Hebrews 11:6).

    Obeying God

    That we know the reason we should not fornicate does not ensure that we will not. That we know the reason we should not touch the electrical wire does not mean we will not touch it. We may not be able to control ourselves or overcome the urge to do so. If we are a slave of our desires, knowing the reason we should not succumb to them makes no difference. We can only obey the law by the special grace and power of God.

    “Therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20).

    The righteousness of God is the righteousness of faith and not of reason. (Romans 1:17). It comes through trusting God and taking Him at His word. This faith in God works through love. If we love God, we will obey His commandments, even if they make little sense. We obey His commandments because we love Him and would like to please Him.

    This is what Jesus means when He says we must receive the kingdom of God as a little child:

    “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4).

    Ultimately, there is only so much that a child can understand. He is required to trust his parents knowing that they love him and want what is best for him. If a child were to wait until he understands his parents’ directives before obeying them, he would not be able to obey them until he is an adult.

    At three, little John asked his parents for a jerry can of petrol. His father refused to give it to him. But on his twenty-first birthday, the father gave him a Jerry can of petrol. John wondered what he was supposed to do with it.

    His father replied: “You asked me for this when you were three years old. I did not give it to you then because I knew it would be unsafe to do so. But now I know you are old enough to handle petrol with care.”

    The insistence on knowing the reason before obeying ensures that we become limited by knowledge. But the revelation of scripture shows that what men call knowledge is actually ignorance.

  • The death of Pentecostal Assembly, Yaba, Lagos – By Femi Aribisala

    The death of Pentecostal Assembly, Yaba, Lagos – By Femi Aribisala

    “You snakes! You brood of vipers!” (Matthew 23:33).

    As a young believer, I was appalled at the cutthroat politics of a church I joined, all revolving around the pastor. After some time, I found it necessary to confront him. I went to see him, as Nathan did with David. (2 Samuel 12).

    I told him my boss at work was a big problem. He knocked heads together and stoked up conflicts. He was the epicenter of every crisis. Would he suggest I resign and look for another job?

    The pastor advised me to resign. He said there was no point in my staying there. He was confident I would have no difficulty in getting another job.

    Then I said to him: “You are the man.” (2 Samuel 12:7). I told him I was not talking about my office but about our church. The church was acrimonious and dysfunctional, and he was principally responsible for this.

    The pastor was taken aback. He listened to me respectfully and promised to make amends. But soon, we were back to square one.

    Revelation knowledge

    Some weeks later, I embarked for personal reasons on a 100-day fast. I had a burden for the church and God revealed certain things to me. I shared this with the entire church.

    As God would have it, they asked me to minister during one of the monthly vigils, so I told the church everything. The Lord confirmed His word with signs. He asked me to minister to everybody individually, and He gave me a word of knowledge for everyone present.

    The very first person was an elderly man, and I knew instinctively he was covered in Juju. The Lord asked me to give him the microphone so he can tell the entire church what he had done.

    The man confessed that he had been to a Babalawo who covered him with “spiritual protection.” God told me to remove this false covering with my bare hands and warn him never to return to the juju man: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” (Jonah 2:8).

    But by the following Sunday, there was an uproar in the church. Someone had fully briefed the pastor on the miracle service and the revelation God gave me that he was the principal troublemaker in the church.

    But rather than repent, he opted to save face. He informed the church that I must have been suffering from demonic possession. Some people were told to conduct deliverance on me in an upper room. But when they did, I confounded them by becoming drunk in the spirit.

    They then summoned me before church elders who wanted to know why God would choose to talk to a spiritual novice like me.

    One of my inquisitors was the same elderly man who the Holy Spirit had revealed was covered in witchcraft during the service. He now insisted that I must have been demonically inspired. “Why,” he asked, “would God talk to a nobody like Femi Aribisala?”

    I offered a simple solution: “Let us fast and pray for three days and God will confirm the same things by revelation to others.” The chairman of the group agreed. They resolved we should all fast for three days and see what the Lord would reveal. But someone quickly rushed to inform the pastor about the decision.

    Therefore, he crashed the meeting and declared that no one in the church could fast and pray without his permission. The meeting ended in disarray. Some wanted to fast, others insisted we must obey the pastor.

    Afterward, I was confronted in the hallway by a prominent businesswoman in the church; one of the celebrated “moneybags.” She was also an implacable ally of the pastor.

    Out of the blue, she started cursing me. I stood there watching as she cursed and cursed. Seeing I did not respond, she suddenly stopped cursing and started weeping uncontrollably. At that point, I became even more confused. I walked away and headed for my car in the parking lot.

    Lepers’ colony

    Thereafter, I was treated like a leper in the church. The pastor and his allies serially attacked me every so often from the pulpit. My first reaction was to leave the church, but the Holy Spirit prevented me from doing so. Instead, He directed I must attend every church activity without fail.

    This was most uncomfortable because the attacks did not let up. Someone taking Bible study would stop mid-stream and ask the church to pray for Femi Aribisala “so that demons would stop disturbing him.” The Holy Spirit would tell me to get up, go to the aisle, and kneel. Church members would then stretch out their hands towards me and cast imaginary demons out of me.

    This went on until the next monthly vigil. This time, the pastor took no chances; he ministered himself. But some thirty minutes into the prayer meeting, the Spirit of the Lord took control of the daughter of the woman who rained curses on me. She fell into a trance and prophesied.

    Seeing who it was, the pastor stopped the proceedings. He handed over the microphone to her and received the shock of his life. The Lord started speaking through the lady and He was rebuking the pastor for all his shenanigans in the church.

    Once I noticed what was happening, I jumped up from my seat. I started running up and down the aisle, shouting: “I told them, Lord. I told them, but they did not believe me. They said I was demon-possessed.”

    When the woman finished, another lady asked for the microphone. She reminded the pastor that she had been in his office that morning to tell him the same things. The Lord had told her that, if care was not taken, very few people in the church would inherit eternal life.

    The pastor retrieved the microphone practically in tears. He pleaded for forgiveness and promised to make amends. He said again and again: “You won’t go to heaven without me. You won’t go to heaven without me.”

    I thought that was strange. It sounded like he would not allow us to go without him. How, I wondered, was he going to prevent us?

    However, by the next Sunday service a day later, the pastor had changed his mind once again. He came to church this time in full regalia, which was unusual. He had on the cloak, the cap, the whole nine yards of the pastorate. “Nobody,” he declared, “is going to take this church away from me.”

    Le denouement

    A guest minister from Ibadan who came to minister at the church came to see me in my office. I do not know how he got my details. He told me I could now leave the church. I took it that the Lord sent him to me. At a convenient time, I took my leave and left.

    Within two years of my departure, the church scattered. Everybody ditched the pastor. Today, Pentecostal Assembly, Yaba, Lagos, a church of over 1,000 souls, no longer exists.

    Jesus says: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matthew 23:33).

     

    (Excerpt from Kingdom Dynamics: Why Pastors Don’t Go To Heaven by Femi Aribisala.)

  • Pastoral shenanigans: Why pastors don’t go to heaven – By Femi Aribisala

    Pastoral shenanigans: Why pastors don’t go to heaven – By Femi Aribisala

    I was a young believer at church in Lagos when I received the gifts of healings. (1 Corinthians 12:9). The owner of the building where the church was situated was one of Nigeria’s pioneer industrialists, a man by the name of Odutola of “Odutola Tyre Soles” fame. He was a multi-millionaire in his 90’s at the time. But he had one affliction: he was paralysed on one side of his body.

    The pastor of the church decided that I should go and pray for the healing of the landlord. So, one Saturday, we drove out of town to Ijebu Ode to see him.

    The man was in good spirits. But he complained to us that his children wanted him dead so they could get hold of his property. He said he opened the newspapers one morning to discover there were obituaries placed by his children saying he had died.

    This made what happened next all the more embarrassing. The pastor introduced me as a gifted member of his church full of the anointing to heal. He told him Jesus had sent us to pray for his healing. But there was one small condition: The Lord wants him first and foremost to give our church his building.

    When I heard this, I wanted to crawl into the ground and hide. I was so embarrassed and angry to have been included in these 419 schemes.

    Mr. Odutola was not impressed. It was clear that he was familiar with this type of manipulation. He smiled and pointedly refused to say anything about giving our church his building. Nevertheless, we prayed for his healing and left. I realized from then that I had to be careful in my dealings with the pastor.

    Coming this December 2022.
    “KINGDOM DYNAMICS: WHY PASTORS DON’T GO TO HEAVEN”
    by Femi Aribisala.
    (Available in Nigeria and abroad).

  • New covenant giving – By Femi Aribisala

    New covenant giving – By Femi Aribisala

    “The only acceptable basis for all action in Christ is love”.

    What is God worth to us? Is he only worthy of a tithe of our income? Every Christian should be allowed to determine this for himself. Institutionalised tithing limits the generosity of a believer. Once we give 10%, we believe we have fulfilled all righteousness. But this limitation is short-sighted.

    Jesus says: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38).

    Therefore, we must not use the measure of a delimited tithe.

    Hardened hearts

    Jesus says divorce is not God’s will: “From the beginning, it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8). Moses only gave the law permitting divorce because of the hardness of the hearts of the Jews.

    The same thing applies to Malachi and the compulsion to give tithes and offerings. From the beginning, people of God were not compelled or threatened to give. Indeed, the insistence of pastors on tithes and offerings today is anachronistic. It is tantamount to putting Jesus’ new wine in old bottles which Jesus says is inappropriate. (Matthew 9:16-17).

    The Law of Moses was given to the Jews because they did not know the right thing to do. But in spite of the law, the Jews were still not inclined to give because their hearts were hardened. Therefore, Malachi called them robbers of God; and he threatened them with curses, the devourer, and the denial of blessings.

    However, the application of Malachi’s invective to believers today is insulting. The believer is a law-keeper, but Paul says: “The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless.” (1 Timothy 1:9). Indeed, once a man makes it a law that you must pay tithes and give offerings, he has spoilt you for the gospel. He has already determined that you are a hard-hearted lawbreaker.

    But in the believer in Christ is fulfilled the promise of God: “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” (Ezekiel 11:19-20).

    The true believer no longer keeps God’s laws out of compulsion. But he or she says: “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8). Instead of the Law of Moses, God has now given us “the law of liberty.”  Accordingly, we no longer give because of “legal” requirements. The only acceptable basis for all action in Christ is love.

    New spirit

    How can you get a believer in Christ to do the right thing?  You do not have to do anything at all because a true believer will naturally do the right thing. A true believer will do the right thing because it is in his nature to do so. He gives because it is in his nature to give. Nobody has to compel or threaten him. Nobody needs to manipulate or bewitch him. Doing the right thing is the fruit of his spirit.

    When Samuel was explaining the dynamics of the kingdom of God to Saul, he told him that the Spirit of the Lord would come mightily upon him, and he would start to prophesy like one of the prophets. When that happens, he told Saul to do whatever seemed best to him for God would guide him. (1 Samuel 10:7). Saul would not need any man to teach him what to do: he would do it naturally.

    It is this dynamic that John was referring to when he wrote that believers have received the Holy Spirit and therefore no longer need anyone to teach us what is right: “You have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, in your hearts, so that you don’t need anyone to teach you what is right.” (1 John 2:27).

    Free will giving

    This was the case of  Abraham. When Abraham gave a tithe (tenth) of all his spoils of war to Melchizedec, a priest of the Most High God, nobody told him to do so. He did so of his own volition. The pureness of Abraham’s heart naturally led to his godly decision to honour the Lord with his possessions and with the first fruits of the increase in his resources.

    Where the Spirit of God is there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17). Even in the Old Testament, God only welcomed offerings not given out of compulsion. Thus, He instructed Moses: “Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze.” (Exodus 35:5).

    “Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.” (Exodus 35:21).

    In the construction and furnishing of the tabernacle, the people gave so willingly, they even gave too much: “The people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done- indeed too much. (Exodus 36:5-7).

    That is the giving that pleases the Lord; giving that derives from the abundance of the heart.

    Whole-hearted giving

    This principle of whole-hearted giving is amplified in the New Testament. Paul notes that: “If there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12).

    However, many pastors ask their congregants to make pledges even according to what they do not have. They tell them to “stretch their faith.” 

    Such manipulation is anathema to New Testament precepts where compulsive giving is now out of date: “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

    Should you give a tenth, a fifth, or half of your income? Decide for yourself between yourself and God. It is no business of your pastor.

    Tithing because of Malachi is tantamount to giving out of necessity. But the believer of today (the new creation) no longer gives because he is trying to avoid curses and the devourer. He gives because he loves to give. He gives because he wants to be like our heavenly Father. He gives because he loves God.

    This means he can decide to give this proportion of his income this month and another proportion next month. The decision is entirely up to him.

    Moreover, if he chooses not to give, God is not going to deny him His kingdom. He is not going to rain down curses on him. The devourer is not going to be let loose on him. The windows of heaven will not be shut against him. Let no one deceive you. A true believer cannot be cursed. You can only curse a believer who believes he can be cursed.

    Jesus says: “According to your faith will it be done to you. (Matthew 9:29).

  • Habitual lying – By Femi Aribisala

    Habitual lying – By Femi Aribisala

    “Of the seven things that God hates, three pertain to telling lies”.

    When we come into a place, do we change the atmosphere? That is the prerogative of a man of integrity. The Bible says that Mary took a jar of costly perfume, used it to anoint the feet of Jesus, and the house was filled with the fragrance. (John 12:3).

    Is a place divinely enriched by our presence? If it is not, then we are not kingdom citizens. People should talk differently because a believer is around. They should be uncomfortable behaving in a certain manner or talking in a certain way because we are there.

    Jesus says: “Let me tell you why you are here. You are here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how ill people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” (Matthew 5:13).

    Then there is the question of our word. Do we do what we tell people we are going to do? Do we tell people that we are coming when we are going?

    Saying what we do not mean is common practice even among Christians. We tell people we will pray for them when we know we will not and do not. We promise to help when we have no intention of doing so. We say: “I love you” when we do not. We promise marriage when we have no such intention.

    Devil’s offspring

    These transgressions seem to be minor. But they are grievous in the sight of God. The propensity to tell lies is one of the distinguishing elements of the kingdom of darkness. The Jews were convinced they were the seed of Abraham and therefore appointed to salvation.

    But Jesus gave them a shocking revelation: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” (John 8:44).

    Lying is demonic. Of the seven things that God hates, three pertain to telling lies. (Proverbs 6:16-19). Lying is natural to “Adamic” man. Observe that Abraham was a liar; his son Isaac was a liar, and his grandson Jacob was a liar as well.

    These patriarchs can be forgiven; they were born of women but not of the Spirit. The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. (Psalms 58:3).

    Lying is an indelible part of the “old man,” but it is anathema to the new creation:

    “Do not tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. You are living a brand-new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you.” (Colossians 3:9-10).

    We often tell lies in the bid to get out of trouble. But this reasoning comes from a great deception. It is the truth that gets one out of trouble. Jesus promises that we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. (John 8:32). Lies, however, just complicate the situation.

    “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin.” (Isaiah 30:1).

    Thieves

    A beloved Christian sister was working in a bank. I do not know what prompted her to do it, but she started lending money from people’s accounts to traders without the knowledge of the bank.

    The process soon became complicated. It required her to keep close tabs on the affected accounts so that, in case of any demand for the funds by the legitimate owners, she could move funds from other accounts to cover them.

    But one day she became pregnant. Then as God would have it, the pregnancy developed some complications and she had to be hospitalised. While in hospital, the fraud was discovered by the bank.

    It took the grace of God to keep her from going to jail. But her appointment with the bank was summarily terminated. She was blacklisted, so she can never work in a bank again. She was also required to repay all the money she had lent out to her private customers.

    When I saw her, I expressed shock and disappointment that a “Sunday school teacher” of longstanding would do such a thing. But there was something she told me that made a big impression on me. She said: “I am very glad I was caught. I had become tired of the lies upon lies. It had become too exhausting trying to cover one track after the other.”

    Habitual liars

    Like the biblical Jews before us, Christians today do not seem to appreciate the gravity of our everyday habit of telling lies. I was standing beside an engineer in front of my office, and he had to take a telephone call from a client. I heard him tell the man on the other line that he was speaking from a different part of town.

    “How can you stand here and tell such a blatant lie?” I asked.

    “Oh, that is not a lie,” he insisted. “That’s just business.”

    Christians do not seem to appreciate that people who tell lies will not inherit the kingdom of God: “The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8).

    “Mummy, Mrs. Williams would like to speak to you on the phone.”

    “Tell her I am not in.”

    Mummy is not only a liar; she has caused somebody else to tell lies. This is grievous. The Bible repeatedly warns against those who, like Jeroboam, not only sin but cause others to sin. (1 Kings 15:34).

    Jesus says: “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:7).

    “Why are you hiding from Mrs. Williams, in any case?”

    “I happen to owe her some money.”

    “If you owe her some money; pay it back.”

    “Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others- never finish paying that! For if you love them, you will be obeying all of God’s laws, fulfilling all his requirements.” (Romans 13:8).

    Integrity

    The Bible declares that God is a God of integrity. God’s word is His bond. His word is so dear to Him that he has exalted it above everything else, including His name. (Psalms 138:2). Therefore, the people of God should also be known for their integrity. We should be like father-like sons. Our “yes” should be “yes” and our “no” should be “no.”

    Do we have to swear before we can be believed? Then we cannot be true witnesses of Jesus Christ.

    “Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.” (Matthew 5:37).

  • Revelation knowledge – By Femi Aribisala

    Revelation knowledge – By Femi Aribisala

    “The devil was laughing at me”.

    Jesus said to me: “Femi, blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16). But what could I see that others could not see?

    I soon found out.

    The spirit world became open to me. It was as if someone turned on the light and suddenly, a world I never knew existed suddenly became visible to me. Thereby, the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in my life:

    “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16).

    But there were complications. I was open to the positive spiritual as well as the negative.

    Spirit of error

    Once I was in an anointed environment, my left leg would shake visibly. This gave me some concern because I knew I was not the one shaking my leg.

    Then one day, an inner voice said to me: “Ask me anything you want, and I will answer you by shaking your leg. If the answer is yes, I will shake your leg. If the answer is no, I will not.”

    And so began this amazing process whereby I would ask a question in my mind and the answer would be provided through my leg.

    Let us say, for example, I was looking for my wristwatch. I would ask my invisible friend: “Is it in the bedroom?”  If the answer were yes, my left leg would move up and down. If the answer were no, there would be no movement. Once I got to the right room, I would use the same question-and-answer process to identify the precise location of the watch.

    This was all very exciting until my invisible friend started giving me wrong answers. When I get to the place he identifies, the thing would not be there. And when I wondered why this was so, it would tell me: “You are not supposed to question the holy spirit, you are just supposed to obey.” 

    After a while, I became totally confused.

    Jesus says: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27). “They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:5).

    “God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33). He needed to resolve this situation for me in the process of learning to know His voice.

    Spirit of truth

    One day, the pastor of my church came to see me. He said the Lord revealed to him in a dream that the devil was laughing at me, saying he would drive me mad. He said the Lord would like me to fast for three days. If I did, He would explain to me what I needed to know.

    I was very irritated by the pastor. I did not initially make a connection between his revelation and my lying spirit. I said to myself: “This is what is wrong with these pastors. They are always seeing idiotic visions about others, just to control their lives.” 

    But I thank God that, despite my qualms, I decided to fast. I felt I had nothing to lose by doing so.

    The beginning of my fast coincided with a trip to Igbajo for the funeral of my sister-in-law’s mother. We had a driver, so I sat at the back of the car, reading my Bible.

    Every time I looked up, I noticed he was driving too fast for my liking. I kept warning him that all the members of my family were with me in the car and that he should not go above 100 kilometers per hour.

    Then suddenly, the Lord took me out of the vehicle. Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. (2 Corinthians 12:3). But I was on top of the car looking down and I saw angels surrounding the car in formation and flying with us. Then just as quickly, I was back in the car, with the Bible in my lap.

    From then on, I stopped bothering about the driver and simply concentrated on my reading. I am not saying a believer can drive at any speed he likes. I am just telling you about the grace I received from the Lord on that occasion.

    Spirit of revelation

    When I came back from the funeral, on the third day of my fast, I was sitting in my study all by myself, when something mind-blowing happened. The power of God suddenly overshadowed the room like a cloud, and the Lord started to talk to me.

    What was so dramatic about this, and it has never happened to me since that time, is that the voice came from “heaven.”  It did not come from within me. It came from somewhere in the ceiling.

    The Lord told me to take a pen and write down what He was going to tell me. And there started from that day recurring teachings from the Lord about the Kingdom of God. I have chosen to call these “kingdom dynamics.”

    The Lord said to me: “Femi, there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Everybody you are ever going to meet will come from one of these two kingdoms. It is your responsibility to determine which kingdom the person you meet is from.

    If the person is from the kingdom of your Father, you must determine why I want you to meet him. Every person you meet, you will meet for a reason, and you will meet by appointment. Nothing that will ever happen to you will be coincidental. Nothing will ever happen to you by happenstance. Everything that will happen in your life will happen for a reason. It is your responsibility to determine precisely what the reason is.”

    As I wrote this down, I was covered with tears. I wept uncontrollably because I could not understand why God would give me such privileged information in a one-on-one tutorial. What did I do to deserve that kind of visitation?  I was overwhelmed.

    Predestination

    This is an amazing kingdom dynamic that goes to the heart of God’s providence. It means that everything about my life is working to a script: God’s script. As David told God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!” (Psalm 139:16).

    If you stand on the street and a car passes by it did not just happen. The car was “programmed” to pass by. Everything happens by divine contrivance. God weaves the lives of everyone together as a weaver does the threads of a cloth. Combined, they all form a particular pattern.

    The life of a man is like a jigsaw puzzle that God assembles. That jigsaw includes everything every word we speak and everything we do.

    So, you could not have been anywhere else except where we are right now. You could not have been doing anything else right now except reading this article of faith.

  • Money changers and launderers – By Femi Aribisala

    Money changers and launderers – By Femi Aribisala

    “Where two or three are gathered, an offering must be collected”.

    To be a successful pastor, you have to learn the tricks of the trade. This has nothing to do with preaching insightful and inspiring messages. Neither does it have to do with ministering to the spiritual needs of the members of the church.

    The pastor succeeds or fails according to his ability to pull a crowd and extort as much money as possible from his congregation. If he fails in these vital areas, he is not likely to survive for long as a pastor.

    The technique is simple. You tell your congregants to give and give to the church until it hurts. Even those in debt are encouraged to get out of debt by giving out of their indebtedness.

    These are the voices of strangers who make merchandise of men by peddling the word of God. Peter says: “These teachers in their greed will tell you anything to get hold of your money.” (2 Peter 2:3).

    Money activator

    Some pastors tell Christians that money operates like a “gel activator.” The promises of God proclaimed in their messages are sealed until a “seed offering” is given to activate it.

    Therefore, you are likely to see different members of their congregation suddenly get up in the middle of their sermons to throw money at their feet. One pastor puts this succinctly, saying: “Anointing without money is equal to annoyance.”

    The offering time has become the focal point of church services. Several offerings are collected under different guises. Sometimes, one is collected for “the Father;” another for “the Son;” and yet another for “the Holy Spirit.”

    Shaming the poor

    Even though Jesus says when we give, our right hand should not know what our left hand is doing (Matthew 6:3); some insist offerings must be held up for all to see, in an attempt to embarrass those not inclined to give, or those inclined to offer notes in the smaller currency denominations.

    One convention requires everybody to march forward and drop their offerings on a tray placed strategically in front of the pastor so he can observe exactly how much they are giving and intimidate them into giving more than they would like to. It also serves to embarrass those who cannot give and stay behind.

    At other times, pastors constrain their members to make public vows and pledges. One of my former pastors used to say: “Pledge more than you have; stretch your faith.” When the time comes to redeem the pledge, they will hit you with Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 which says if you make a vow and do not redeem it God will destroy the work of your hands.

    Blessing time

    One technique is to take the offering early to ensure people do not leave before the money can be taken from them. But sometimes this strategy backfires. In one of the services I attended, the pastor noticed that some of the wealthier church members came in after the offering had been collected. So, he insisted it should be collected again.

    The reason he gave was a classic. He said: “I do not want anybody here to be denied the blessings of the day.” Of course, God only blesses during offering times.

    Yetunde Olanrewaju came up with what I presume is a parable. She said one day, a swarm of bees descended on a church while a service was in session. The people panicked and started running out of the building. But the pastor was up in arms. “Wait, wait, please wait,” he pleaded to no avail. “We haven’t yet collected the offering.”

    God forbid that where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, an offering should not be collected.

    Money-launderers

    When a villain has ill-gotten gains, he sometimes needs to have the money “laundered.” This is the process whereby stolen money is made respectable by moving it through many legal channels designed to camouflage its original illicit source.

    Sometimes, the stolen money is smuggled out of the country and then brought back in through regular channels, to make it seem like it originated from foreign shores whose records are inaccessible domestically.

    Another version of this money-laundering process is duplicated in the churches with pastors as the lynchpin. You steal the money; you kill for the money; it makes no difference. Just bring the money; pastors will receive it gladly from you with no questions asked. When you bring the money, they will bless you and pray for you. They will also pray that the source from which you got it will not run dry, so you can go and bring some more.

    This goes a long way to assuage the conscience of the wicked. They are encouraged that as long as they give a significant fraction of their stolen money to the church, the theft is sanctified. In effect, the offering is used by the pastor to make atonement for the sin of theft, thereby releasing the crooked donor from guilt. So, pastors receive and launder stolen money on God’s behalf.

    Jesus shows nothing but contempt for this kind of thinking. He said to the Pharisees: “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?” (Matthew 23:19).

    Thieves and robbers are Satan’s gifts to the churches. Visit the mega-churches in Nigeria and you will discover the people seating in the front row are the big-time thieves who have robbed the country blind. Everybody knows they are crooks; nevertheless, they have pride of place in the churches. Their seats are reserved. The messages preached are carefully crafted so they are not offended and remain comfortable in their thievery.

    Mega-pastors would hardly operate in the tradition of John the Baptist, calling the Herod’s of the country to repentance. On the contrary, when Herod comes to church, they lavish encomiums on him. They give him the microphone to address the congregation.

    Robbers’ revolt

    I was given a fascinating report about a well-known Lagos prosperity pastor. He suddenly saw the light one Sunday and decided to preach the true gospel for a change. He warned his parishioners that: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34). He told them if they did not repent, they would miss the kingdom of God.

    No sooner had he finished his message than uproar arose. The major financiers of the church were livid, and they asked for an emergency meeting with him. They did not mince words. They told him in no uncertain terms that that kind of message was unacceptable.

    It was very easy for him as a pastor to grandstand with lofty religious sentiments, while living on the money he collects from them. But how did he think they were getting the money they gave him? Let him leave the pulpit and come into the real world so he can see whether it is possible to become a “slum-dog billionaire” through the righteousness that exalts a nation.

    The pastor’s ears were opened. He quickly went back to his old time-worn prosperity and motivational messages, and everyone was happy again. “Preach it, pastor; preach it,” they cheer him on, while an attendant dutifully comes forward to wipe his face with a towel.

  • The righteous cedars of Lebanon – By Femi Aribisala

    The righteous cedars of Lebanon – By Femi Aribisala

    “A spiritual cedar is not recognised or admired in the world”.

    Nicodemus was a Bible teacher of the Jews. But when he saw the manifestation of the spirit and power of God in the ministry of Jesus, he came to Jesus in secret to broaden his knowledge about the kingdom of God.

    But then Jesus gave him a prerequisite that turned his theology upside down. He told him that for him to see the kingdom of God, he would have to be “born again.”

    Nicodemus was flabbergasted. He wondered how an old man like himself could be “born again.” Does he have to go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time? (John 3:4).  

    But Jesus wondered how Nicodemus could be the pastor of a church, and yet find it so difficult to understand simple biblical principles:

    “Jesus replied, ‘You, a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you do not understand these things? I am telling you what I know and have seen– and yet you won’t believe me. But if you do not even believe me when I tell you about such things as these that happen here among men, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven?’” (John 3:10-12).

    The principles of the kingdom of God are Greek to many highfalutin Christians. Even when the inspired go to lengths to dissect these principles, many refuse to believe because it does not agree with their hopes and aspirations. They became pastors because they want to be mighty oaks. They do not want to be despised and rejected by men. (Isaiah 53:3).

    When I shared with an interactive study group that it is not the will of God for the believer to be great in this world (Jeremiah 45:5), one of our members gently drew my attention to an Old Testament scripture that seems to say the very opposite: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Psalm 92:12).

    Here was proof text that the believer is destined to be great and exceptional in the world. Indeed, the very fact that it would do so against the odds would testify to the power of God. That which is impossible is surely not impossible with God, she insisted.

    But when we read Old Testament scriptures today, we must not be blinkered like the Jews. Paul observes that: “Their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

    If we read Psalm 92:12 with a veil over our hearts, we would be frustrated to death, waiting indefinitely to flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. But we must read such scriptures with a new heart and a renewed spirit. Otherwise, we would stand in the righteousness of Christ for years on end and discover that we are not flourishing like any palm tree and are not growing like any cedar in Lebanon or even in Nigeria.

    Our businesses are not thriving. We lose our jobs. We suffer bereavement. We are jilted in love. We are persecuted and despised.

    Without wanting to admit it, this leads us to the subconscious conclusion that the promises of God are illusory. We feel God just says a lot of things without meaning them. He says a lot of things without intending to bring them to pass. Thereby, the letter of the scripture kills our faith. Little by little, we stop believing in the word of God. When we hear someone pray a promise of God, we say the amen of Jeremiah; the amen of doubt and unbelief. (Jeremiah 28:6).

    But when the veil over our heart is removed, we read Psalm 92:12 again and discover that this scripture that was so damaging to our faith is true to life. We suddenly discover that although our businesses are not thriving, although we lose our jobs, although we suffer bereavement, although we are jilted in love, and although we are persecuted and despised, nevertheless we are flourishing like the palm tree and are growing like a cedar in Lebanon.

    However, this flourishing and growth are not physical but spiritual. We discover that the Lord is not trying to make us physical but spiritual cedars. We also discover that a spiritual cedar is not just different from a physical cedar. It is its antithesis. Jesus says: “That which is flesh is flesh, and that which is spirit is spirit.” (John 3:60. Therefore, a spiritual cedar is the opposite of a physical cedar.

    A spiritual cedar is not recognised or admired in the world. The eye does not see, the ear does not hear, it has not come into the imagination of men what makes the spiritual man a cedar in Lebanon. (1 Corinthians 2:9). The natural man cannot see it because he has a veil over his heart. But God has revealed it to us by His Holy Spirit.

    Thus, Jesus came as the light of the world to teach us how to understand the Old Testament by being the fulfilment of all its prophecies. (Matthew 5:17). After we have received Him, we should not put the veil back on our hearts:

    The Jews believed the kingdom of God would bring about the restoration of Israel to its former power and glory. The symbol of this expectation was the cedar of Lebanon. With the advent of the kingdom, it was anticipated that Israel would be head and shoulders above its neighbours.

    The cedar was magnificent by all accounts. It grew straight up, sometimes for two or three hundred feet or more. Every kind of bird could nestle in branches and seek refuge in its shade. (Ezekiel 31:3-6).

    This expectation seemed to be confirmed by the vision given to Daniel:

    “I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong; its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.’” (Daniel 4:10-12).

    However, no sooner had this vision been given to Daniel than the Lord asked that the tree be cut down. (Daniel 4:13-17). Ezekiel notes that the counsel of the Lord is to bring down the high tree and exalt the low tree. (Ezekiel 17:24).

    Isaiah also gives a similar message: “The day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up- and it shall be brought low.” (Isaiah 2:12-17).

    Jesus says: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.” (Matthew 11:25).