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Tag: kingdom

  • The kingdom that is already here but is yet to come (3) – By Femi Aribisala

    The kingdom that is already here but is yet to come (3) – By Femi Aribisala

    “The time is coming, but now is”.

    My oldest brother, Bayo, left Nigeria without telling anyone where he was going. He did not tell our aged parents, his wife, or his children. And he did not tell Biodun and me, his brothers.

    Moreover, he communicated with no one thereafter, so we did not know his whereabouts. When our parents passed away one after the other, we had no way of reaching him. His safety became a matter of great concern. All we could do was commit him to God in prayer, which was more than enough.

    A wasted trip

    Some six years later, we got word that he was sighted in the Gambia. I had to attend the funeral of a member of our church in Sierra Leone, so I decided to take the opportunity to go to the Gambia to see if I could find him.

    The person who told us about him gave us the address of a street corner shop in Serrekunda, Gambia. It was not difficult to find, and I was directed to a barbershop where I met a Nigerian man.

    He told me my brother had been living with him for years. But several months before my arrival, he left Serrekunda for a place called Basse. I thought the Gambia was a small country, but he assured me Basse was nine hours from Serrekunda by road.

    I told him that since I had come from Nigeria, I would have no choice but to go and see him there. But the man said that would not be possible. My brother left no forwarding address. “So where would you look?” he asked.

    I concluded that my trip to the Gambia was in vain. I checked into a hotel and told the Lord: “It looks like You brought me to the Gambia so that I can spend a quiet time with You.” 

    Kingdom dynamics

    But the next day, the Lord woke me up early in the morning. Out of the blue, He said: “Femi, let me tell you about the kingdom of God.” Then He started another session teaching me about kingdom dynamics.

    I was an intellectual who came to believe in God because of a miracle healing from gunshot wounds. As a result, I was afraid that one day my intellect would confound my faith. I did not stop being intellectual because Christ came into my life, and in so many ways my faith had confounded my intellect.

    However, I was afraid that one day I would read something or see something that would contradict my intellect and my faith would be shattered. I was afraid, for example, that I would discover intellectually that some parts of the Bible are false or contradictory. How then would I handle it?

    One of those things I questioned was Jesus’ statement to His disciples that many of them would not die until they saw the kingdom of God. But, I thought, all His disciples are dead. According to church history, all but one was martyred. And yet, the kingdom of God has still not arrived.

    Today, the church is still following the prayer guide of the Lord, which says: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).

    Who was Jesus referring to? Who among His disciples did not taste death until they saw the coming of God’s kingdom? Could Jesus have got it wrong? How could He have got it wrong? Jesus is not merely truthful; He is the truth. Moreover, He deliberately prefaced his statement by saying: “I tell you the truth.” (Luke 9:27).

    That morning in the Gambia, the Lord brought up this little question of my fears. He said:

    “Femi, you have been wondering what I meant in Luke 9:27. You have been asking who among My disciples did not die until he saw the coming of the kingdom of God. You said all the disciples are dead and the kingdom of God has still not arrived. So, what could I have meant? Let Me answer your question now.” 

    “Those who were alive after My death and resurrection, and who became born again at, or after, the Pentecost, saw the kingdom of God in their lifetime. Look at what I said to Nicodemus: ‘Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ 

    “Once a man is born again, he can see the kingdom of God. The disciples were born again, so they saw the kingdom of God. What I want to do this morning is to show you the kingdom of God, since you also are born again.”

    Miracle of miracles

    And so, the Lord said to me: “Femi, let me show you the kingdom of God.” 

    And just then, the telephone in my hotel room rang.

    The Lord said: “Answer the phone.” 

    When I picked up the phone, the concierge said: “Dr. Aribisala, your brother would like to talk to you.” 

    I asked incredulously: “My brother? Where is he speaking from?” 

    The man replied: “He is right here in the lobby.” 

    I told him: “I am coming right down.”

    I put down the phone and could not believe my eyes. What just happened here? I saw it, as clear as daylight. The Lord had supernaturally moved my brother from Basse, nine hours away to come down to Serrekunda to meet me.

    Bayo never knew I was coming. As I said, I had not heard from him in over six years. He had simply decided to come down to Serrekunda to see his friends. Little did he know that that decision was part of the Lord’s plan to bring him to Serrekunda to meet me.

    When he got to the barbershop, the gentleman I had spoken to the night before quickly informed him that I had come to the Gambia to see him. Then he gave him my hotel address.

    That is how God works. That is the kingdom of God on the move; in the quiet. The natural man might call it a coincidence, not knowing that it is God who is at work. God is at work, and he is at work spiritually. His kingdom is spiritual, nevertheless The Most High reigns and rules in the affairs of his children.

  • The Kingdom that is already here but is yet to come (2) – By Femi Aribisala

    The Kingdom that is already here but is yet to come (2) – By Femi Aribisala

    “The time is coming and has now come”.

    Kingdom dynamics

    Everything happens before it happens. Everything that is happening has already happened. Solomon says:

    “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).

    According to this principle, the same Jesus that was crucified in Jerusalem is: “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8).

    The Bible also says the works of Jesus were finished before the creation of the world. “The works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3). But it was on the cross of Calvary that Jesus said: “It is finished.” (John 19:30).

    Jesus is God: He does not change. He is: “The same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). Therefore, He was King, He is King, and He will be King.

    Jesus was King even at His birth: “Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1-2).

    When He entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey, Matthew proclaimed the fulfilment of one of the Messianic prophecies:

    “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (Matthew 21:4-5).

    Nevertheless, Jesus is the King that is yet to come. He is the soon-coming King who says: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:12-13).

    So, Jesus is the King that is soon to be King. He is the King of the kingdom that is already here but is soon to come.

    Conflating the present with the future

    Jesus presents this kingdom dynamic again and again. He says to the Samaritan woman:

    “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24).

    The hour is coming and now is. The hour is coming when people will neither worship God on Mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem. The time is coming when people will neither worship God in Healing Wings Chapel nor Fountain of Life Church. The time is coming when people will only worship God in spirit and truth. That time is coming and it is already here for those who have received the Holy Spirit.

    Resurrection of the dead

    Jesus says: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” (John 5:24-25).

    The time is coming and has now come. The time is coming when Jesus will call the dead in their graves back to life. But Jesus also demonstrates that the time has already come by raising Lazarus back from the dead:

     “He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’” (John 11:43-44).

    The time is coming when the dead in sin like Femi Aribisala will hear the voice of Jesus on Airport Road in Lagos and come back to life. This is what happened to me in 1993.

    Some will hear Jesus’ voice by a quickening in their spirit. Some will hear His voice from reading the scriptures. Some will hear His voice by being prayed over by a child of God. All who hear His voice will receive newness of life. All who hear His voice will pass from death to life.

    And then the time is coming when I will be reunited with my dead old man, T.S.B. Aribisala. I will be reunited with my dead mother, Ronke Aribisala. I will be reunited with my brother Kola Aribisala who died of sickle cell anaemia. I will be reunited with my sister, Yemisi Aribisala, who died prematurely at the age of eighteen. We will be reunited with our dearly departed ones.

    Then we will fully realise Jesus’ assertion that: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4).

    For God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things will have passed away. (Revelation 21:4).

    Infallible proofs

    Jesus provided infallible proof of the existence of the kingdom of God. He cast out demons, demonstrating the overthrow of the kingdom of Satan. He raised the dead, signalling the triumph of life over death. He healed the sick, announcing the end of human suffering. He multiplied loaves of bread, pointing to the satisfaction of all physical needs. He stilled the storm, heralding the emergence of peace on earth. And He forgave sins, proclaiming the dawning of righteousness.

    He said to His Jewish adversaries who adamantly refused his miracles were done by the power of Satan: “If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:19-20).

    He then sent out His disciples as ambassadors of the kingdom of God. He told them:

    “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:5-8).  

    “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:8-9).

    When we preach about the kingdom of God, God validates our preaching with signs and wonders.

    Application to believers

    This is how this kingdom dynamic applies to believers who are citizens of the kingdom that is already here but has not yet come. The writer of Hebrews quotes the psalmist:  

    “‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honour and put everything under his feet.’ In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet, at present, we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because He suffered death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:6-9).

    Even though believers may not yet see everything subject to us now, we must know that everything has already been subject to us. We must walk by faith in the consciousness of the fact that what will be has already happened.

    The future has merged into the present to proclaim a done deal. Therefore, Paul writes in the past tense what is yet to happen in the future:

    “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30).

    Accordingly, even now, whatever our situation or circumstance, we must be joyful and thankful that:

    “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3-5).

    John also acknowledges the merging of our future with our present in the following manner:

    “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3).

    Even though it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, nevertheless, we are children of God NOW.

    The time is coming when all our prayers will be answered. Then we will realise that no prayer is ignored. The time is now to recognise that God answers all our prayers.

    The time is coming and now is when we will realise that every word of God in the scriptures is true:

    “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” (Psalm 12:6).

  • The Kingdom that is already here but is yet to come (1) – By Femi Aribisala

    The Kingdom that is already here but is yet to come (1) – By Femi Aribisala

    “The time is coming, but now is”.

    Jesus says to Nicodemus: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5).

    This means some things can only be discerned by those who are flesh and blood but not in the flesh but in the spirit. Some things are only perceptible to those who are here on earth but at the same time are sited in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6).

    Everything about the kingdom of God is counterintuitive. Because it is currently a spiritual kingdom, it can only be seen by those able to see the invisible things of God. (Romans 1:20). Those things can only be seen by those who are blind but can see. But those who are not blind but can see are blind to them.

    Jesus says to a Jewish man: “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”(John 9:39).

    Eye-openers

    God says: “Who is blind but My servant? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but you do not observe.” (Isaiah 42:19-20).

    Therefore, He reveals to those born again a kingdom that is yet to come but nevertheless is already here. That is why faith in God is: “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1).

    But how can something intangible be substance? How can something we cannot see be evidentiary? The answer is simpler than it seems. Jesus says: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4).

    A man who lives by bread alone lives an incomplete and unfulfilling life. A man who lives only on his salary is a candidate for hardship. A believer is not rich in money but in the glory of God. (Phil 4:19). He must live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

    This is because God Himself is the life of the believer. (Colossians 3:4). “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28). Moreover, “God calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” (Romans 4:17).

    Once He calls them into existence, they exist, whether physically manifest or not. Once He calls them into existence, we can live by them, whether we have them physically or not.

    If God tells the barren she has a child, she must receive the child, whether she is pregnant or not. She must then live in the consciousness of that child, even before she is pregnant. God says His word never return to Him void: “But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11).

    Believing to see

    In the world, we say, “Seeing is believing.” In the kingdom, we believe to see. David says: “I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13).

    Jesus says to Martha at the graveside of Lazarus: “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

    He said to Thomas who did not believe He had risen from the dead: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29).

    Accordingly, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). We must receive things spiritually even before receiving them physically. Therefore, Jesus says: “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24).

    Promised kingdom

    God promised Israel a kingdom that will never pass away. Nathan said to David, king of Israel: “Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16).

    Daniel also confirmed this: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44).

    This kingdom has yet to be established. And yet, it is already here.

    However, the Jews expected this promised kingdom to be established physically. But God brought it to them spiritually.

    Jesus told the Pharisees when they asked Him when the kingdom would come: “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” (Luke 17:20-21).

    The kingdom of God was already among them, but they could not see it. The kingdom was already among them because Jesus was with them. Jesus is the King of the kingdom of God. But He has not yet been installed as King in this world. Therefore, He told His disciples to pray that the kingdom of God should come on earth and that God’s purpose should be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10).

    We are still using this prayer guideline today, asking for the kingdom to come, because the kingdom has yet to be physically established. It will only be physically established in Jerusalem at the Second Coming of Christ.

    World of evil

    Currently, it is the will of the devil that is done on earth. Or so it appears.

    Daniel says: “The Most High rules in the kingdom of men.” (Daniel 4:17). But John observes that: “The whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19). Indeed, Jesus calls the devil: “The ruler of this world.” (John 12:31). He told Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36).

    Therefore, Jesus is still referred to as a Prince because He has yet to be crowned as King. He is: “The Prince of princes,” (Daniel 8:25); “Messiah the Prince,” (Daniel 9:25); and “The Prince of Peace,” Isaiah 9:6).

    But when John sees Jesus by revelation, He is a King: “He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:16).

    Is Jesus a King now or will He be a King?

    Jesus is already a King, but He is yet to be a King. When He is installed as King: “Every knee (will) bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:10-11).

    But that Has yet to happen.

    Declaring the kingdom

    The Bible records that: “Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” (Mark 1:14-15).

    He was asking Israel to believe what the Jews could not see. The kingdom was at hand but not yet. The King was in their midst, but Israel did not recognise or acknowledge Him. He did not come in the pomp and splendour that they anticipated. He was not a conquering war hero, but a peace-loving and humble servant who laid down His life for the sins of mankind:

    That was the openly hidden promise of the scriptures: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

    Jesus rebuked even His disciples for rejecting what was written in the Old Testament: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25).  

    They did not believe Zechariah, who said: “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.” (Zechariah 9:9).

    When Jesus rode a donkey triumphantly into Jerusalem, they did not get the message. Instead of crowning Him, they killed Him.

     

    TO BE CONTINUED.

  • Understanding kingdom dynamics [2] – By Femi Aribisala

    Understanding kingdom dynamics [2] – By Femi Aribisala

    “Jesus insists His disciples must reject everything pertaining to me”.

    Everything man-made is not of God. That is why John says:

    “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world..” (1 John 2:15-17).

    Jesus says: “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36). Accordingly, Paul says: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

    Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, was born of very poor parentage in a manger. His parents were so poor they could not afford to offer the required lamb as a sacrifice for a male child that opened the womb. So, they offered the poor man’s substitute: a pair of turtledoves.

    “If she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons — one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So, the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.” (Leviticus 12:8).

    Jesus was born in a nondescript village called Bethlehem: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel.” (Micah 5:2).

    He grew up in obscurity. He did not live in a major city but in Nazareth; a town not even on the map. Therefore, someone asked disparagingly: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).

    Chalk and cheese

    The ways of God are antithetical to the ways of men. God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

    This ensures that God’s yardsticks are diametrically opposite to those of men. Indeed, if God says something is white, men will say it is black. If God says something is bad, men will say it is good. If God says something is dreadful, men will say it is wonderful. Solomon says: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12).

    God is spirit: man is flesh and blood. The things of God are spiritual. The things of men are physical. The things of God are invisible. The things of men are visible. The things of God are eternal. The things of men are temporal.

    The things of God are invaluable. The things of men are worthless. Jesus says: “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15).

    This led Paul to declare that: “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).

    Men determine excellence by natural giftings. Lionel Messi is great because he is a good footballer. Usain Bolt is great because he can run very fast. Albert Einstein was great because he was very intelligent.

    But God disregards all giftings in flesh. Thus, Solomon says: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

    Agbani Darego was acclaimed for her beauty. Hollywood actors and actresses are renowned for their looks. But: “(Jesus) wasn’t some handsome king. Nothing about the way He looked made Him attractive to us. He was hated and rejected; His life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering. No one wanted to look at Him. We despised Him and said, ‘He is a nobody!’” (Isaiah 53:2-3).

    Therefore, for the man who is born again of the Spirit, it no longer matters whether he is good-looking or tall or smart or rich or poor. Those are all distinctions of the flesh and not of the Spirit. In the Spirit, such distinctions are non-existent:

    “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).

    That is why, in the kingdom that God is creating, he scatters every criterion made according to the flesh. The poor become rich, and the rich became poor. The first become last, and the last become first. The old becomes new, and the new becomes old. The master becomes the slave. and the slave becomes the master.

    Man is evil

    Jesus says: “No one is good but One, that is, God.” (Matthew 19:17). Therefore, anything that is of God is good. Jesus considers only the things pertaining to the kingdom of God to be good.

    Since God is the yardstick of goodness, evil is anything and everything that is not of God. Jesus says to Peter: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23).

    This means, according to Jesus, the things of men are the things of Satan.

    Jesus asked the Jews: “The baptism of John — where was it from? From heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25). The implication is that if it is from heaven, it cannot be of men. If it is from men, it cannot be from heaven.

    Jesus says: “This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19).

    The scriptures concur: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5). “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” (Genesis 8:21).

    Born again

    How then can men be good? We can only be good if we are born anew of God: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

    Therefore, Jesus insists His disciples must reject everything pertaining to men. We must relinquish all earthly allegiances in favour of heavenly allegiances. This includes earthly fatherhood. Jesus says: “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9).

    In Jesus’ doctrine, all earthly fathers are evil. (Matthew 7:11). Accordingly, He requires us to reject every natural connection to men:

    “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26).

     

    CONTINUED

  • Understanding kingdom dynamics – By Femi Aribisala

    Understanding kingdom dynamics – By Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    “The things of men are the things of Satan”.

    Christians do not love God. We are not interested in the kingdom of God. Instead, we love life. We love this world. We are lovers of pleasure. We do not want to suffer for Christ’s sake and for the sake of the kingdom of God.

    We love money, worship money, and serve money. We have idols in our hearts. We want to gain this world and the world to come. We want to have our cake and eat it too.

    Making godly choices

    But choices must be made. We either choose life and live, or we choose death and die. We either hate this life and live, or we love this life and die. Do we want this life, or do we want the life to come? We cannot have both.

    Are we living for this world, or are we living for the world to come? Are we living for man, or are we living for God? Are we living for the flesh, or are we living for the Spirit? Are our treasures on earth, or are they in heaven? Do we want the life we have, or do we want the life Jesus wants to give us?

    God kills before he makes alive. He does not put new wine in old bottles. The spiritual man is not a reformed man. The spiritual man is a completely new creation. He is the man birthed by the Spirit of God. Jesus says: “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3).

    Carnal Christians

    Paul berated the Corinthian church: “I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

    They were supposed to be spiritual but were carnal. They were behaving like natural men when they were supposed to be spiritual men. Paul says: “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9).

    Carnality involves the preoccupation with things of the flesh and those pertaining to the material world. Spirituality involves the concern for heavenly things of the spirit or the soul.

    Man is flesh and blood, but God is a spirit. Jesus says: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6). The two are immiscible: worlds apart. Jesus says: “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).

    Man is natural, but God is spiritual. “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).

    Man is flesh and blood, but God is spirit. Nothing good comes from the flesh. (Romans 7:18). The flesh is human nature. It is sinful nature. It is the body of death. It is the body of sin. It is that part of man that is always in opposition to God. It is the part that causes us to sin.

    “The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21).

    Those who are controlled by the flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But those who are ruled by the Holy Spirit are heirs of eternal life: “God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

    Walking in the flesh

    God did not redeem the flesh. Instead, He condemned sin in the flesh. Accordingly, “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8).

    Nevertheless, Christians continue to walk according to the flesh. We continue to talk like mere men. Even those who are born again are still carnal. The conundrum is that when we look in the mirror, we discover that we are looking the same after we receive Christ into our lives.

    After the advent of the Holy Spirit, we are still doing the same things. We are still eating and drinking. We are still struggling to make ends meet. We are still going to the hairdressers, going to the barber, buying and wearing new clothes and shoes.

    However, we ignore one simple injunction:

    “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:15-17).

    We must not know ourselves again according to the flesh. How we look on the outside no longer matters. The issue now is how we look on the inside. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

    As a result, we are still mindful of the things of men and not of the things of God. Jesus says by their fruits you shall know them (fruit of the Holy Spirit). But we still know people by their outward appearance. We know them by how rich or influential they are. We know them by how beautiful, handsome, or well-dressed they are. We know them by what brand of car they drive, or what make of cell phone they use.

    Man-made things

    When Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross, Jesus rebuked him. He said to him: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23).

    This means, from God’s point of view, the things of men are the things of Satan. All the products of this world are man-made and not God-made. They all come from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This ensures that everything man-made is evil. No matter how “good.” Everything man-made has evil in it.

    However, everything God-made is good. Nothing God-made has evil in it. Everything God-made is a blessing: “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22).

  • The kingdom of the pastor – Femi Aribisala

    As a young believer at a Lagos church, I was appalled at the cutthroat politics of the church, all revolving around the pastor. After some time, I found it necessary to confront him. I went to see him, as Nathan did David, and sought his counsel.

    I told him I was thinking of resigning from my job because my boss had become a big problem. He knocked heads together, stoked up conflicts, and seemed to thrive only when there was a crisis. We could not get things done the way we should. Under the circumstances, would he suggest I resign and look for another job?

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

    Then I turned to him and said: “You are the one.” I told him I was not talking about my office but our church. The church was acrimonious and dysfunctional, and he was principally responsible for this.

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

    Anointing

    Some weeks later, I embarked for personal reasons on a hundred-day fast. The Lord told me to stop after fifty-five days. During the fast, I was burdened about the church and several things were revealed to me. I decided to share this with the entire church.

    As God would have it, I was asked to minister during one of the monthly night vigils, so I mounted the pulpit and told the church everything that had been revealed to me. It was a strange service because the Lord confirmed his word with signs. The anointing at the service was electric. If I merely breathed into the microphone, some of my listeners would fall to the ground. When I decreed healing, God established it.

    The Lord had me minister to all those who were there, and he gave me secret details of the lives of every single one of them which I shared with them individually and personally. The very first person was the most dramatic. I stood in front of an elderly man and knew instinctively he was covered in Juju. The Lord asked me to give him the microphone so he can confess to the entire church what he had done and where he had been.

    The man confessed that he had been to a Babalawo seeking protection. As a result, he was covered with “protection.” The Lord 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).

    Uproar

    But by the following Sunday, there was uproar in the church. The pastor was in something of a quandary. He had been fully briefed of the miracle service during the night vigil. However, the revelation God gave me was that he was the principal troublemaker in the church. God’s decree was in no uncertain terms. The pastor had to repent or perish.

    Rather than accept the rebuke, the pastor opted for a face-saving response. The decision was taken to inform the church that I must have been suffering from demonic possession. A group of people was asked to conduct deliverance on me in an upper room. But when they did, I confounded them by becoming drunk in the spirit.

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

    One of my inquisitors was the very elderly man who the Holy Spirit had revealed was covered in witchcraft during the service. Although he had confessed at the time that he had gone to the witch doctor for protection, he now insisted that I must have also been demonically inspired. He wanted to know how I got his privileged information. “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 elders’ group agreed with my suggestion. It was resolved that we should all fast for three days and see what the Lord would reveal. But someone quickly rushed to the pastor to inform him that it had been decided that we should go on a fast.

    Therefore, the pastor crashed the meeting and declared that no one in the church could fast and pray without his permission. I protested that it was a bit strange that a pastor would prevent people in a church from fasting and praying, but he effectively overruled me. The fast was canceled.

    Lepers’ colony

    Thereafter, I was treated like a leper in the church. I was serially attacked by the pastor and his allies 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 that I must attend every church activity without fail and without exception, including all the mid-week services.

    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 hand 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 decided to minister himself. But some thirty minutes into the prayer-meeting, the Spirit of the Lord took control of the daughter of one of his allies. She seemed to be in a sort of a trance, and she started to prophesy.

    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.

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

    The pastor retrieved the microphone in tears. He pleaded with us to forgive him and promised to make amends. He said again and again: “You won’t go to heaven without me.” It sounded like he would not allow us to go without him. How, I wondered, was he going to stop us?

    However, by the very 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 rather 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.”

  • The king as a heroic-Villain – Hope Eghagha

    By zHope Eghagha

    In classical literature, both Asian and European, and oral African literature, we encounter the concept of a king who becomes a villain or a villain who becomes king through acts of destruction or war or pillage. A typical hero becomes king on account of his personal valour, strength, and courage. He fights and conquers huge challenges in an extraordinary manner. For this reason, he is like Oedipus or Odewale in The Gods are Not to Blame (by Ola Rotimi), made king over his people. Later, in the scheme of things, on account of his deeds or misdeeds, he is rejected by the people and cast away.

    We refer to such characters as Ozidi in the eponymous play Ozidi by JP Clark, Macbeth by Shakespeare, or Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. By virtue of their position, they are as destructive as they are constructive. In some societies, when the people get tired of the excesses of the heroic-villain, they get rid of him in a ritual manner. This narrative promotes the scapegoat motif, that is, the king or leader becomes the scapegoat that must bear away the ‘sins’ of the community.

    After Oedipus was expelled from the kingdom he once ruled over, he ended up in the wilderness, so to speak. He lived in the mountains awaiting his fate. But he bore the punishment with equanimity knowing the gravity of the offence he had committed against the gods, against humanity. What worse fate can befall a man than to kill his father and marry his mother in ignorance? After plucking out his eyes, he remains blind until he apotheosized elevated to the pantheon of gods!

    Thoughts of scapegoatism came to mind recently as I ruminated over the current situation in Mali. As we now know, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was ousted in a military on 18th August 2020 after many months of mass protests by citizens. They were fed up with corruption, with insecurity and the fraudulent nature of governance. Neither sweet words nor threats could deter them from the goal – the resignation of President Keita. The military struck for the second time in ten years. He was promptly arrested by the coup plotters and kept in custody. ECOWAS and other international organizations stepped in. As we write, Keita has not only resigned, a new government has been put in place with the coup leader serving as Vice President to a titular civilian head of government.

    As I reflected over the last governorship elections, I also saw an element of expulsion in the tragedy of former Governor of Edo State Adams Oshiomhole who rose from the lowest point on the ladder to become not only governor but also Chairman of the ruling party in Nigeria. That is no mean feat, considering the number of big egos we have in the party and all the other forces he surmounted to arrive at the top. But his very strength became his undoing. He did not know when to stop. He did not read the handwriting on the wall. He did not listen to the whispers in the dark. He has become another sacrificial lamb for the people to be liberated.

    It was Chinua Achebe who wrote in Things Fall Apart about how the people of Aninta discarded their god because he was no longer useful to them. Can you beat that? Discard a god! The subtext is that if a god can be discarded, who can escape that same fate? Nobody. He was the one who also said that when a man comes to plead with us to allow worship our deity, we should not ask too many questions. A man who must enter his house through another man’s door has a terrible story that he does want anyone to know about.

    What can a kingdom do if the king becomes taboo? To be tabooed means to be an outcast. In sacred societies, a king who sleeps with another man’s wife is taboo. A king who embarks on stealing the ancestral patrimony is taboo. A king who spills the blood of a human without any ritual reason is taboo. A king who commits incest is taboo. Taboo means being unfit to rule. That is, the equivalent of taboo in modern society is incompetence. President Keita became taboo just as the late President Samuel Doe had become taboo in Liberia. An unfit king is more dangerous to the survival of the community, of the people than one thousand armed robbers or kidnappers. Whereas a kidnapper can only kidnap a few people at a time, a dangerous, incompetent king can lead the entire kingdom into perdition.

    The ancient kingdoms which fell were casualties of incompetence or greed and sheer laziness combined with external factors. At a point, the incompetent leader became a common enemy inside whose head the hatchet should be buried. Burying the hatchet comes in different ways. It could mean expulsion. It could mean elimination. It could mean demotion. Traditional societies ensured that dangerous leaders did not remain for too long on the throne.

    In a democracy, the dangerous ruler is removed through the power of the ballot box. We have witnessed the travesty of leadership that is going on in one of the most powerful countries in the world. Elections are a few weeks away. How things will go, we are not gods to tell. He has declared that he may not accept the results of the election if he loses as the polls are suggesting. That is another danger, unknown in the history of that country. Will he be expelled? Will he be led out of the chinaware shop like a raging bull?

    There are many dangerous rulers and political leaders around the world. In Nigeria, we have a fair dose of bad leadership at different levels. Dangerous leaders are a threat to the survival of the polity. Of such men and women, we must beware. Such leaders never realize that the community is bigger than any individual. And any society which allows bad leadership to be perpetually entrenched is a danger to itself. When the bells of annihilation shall be rung in future, there will be nothing to gnash but infant gums in a befuddled manner.