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Tag: lord

  • FEMI ARIBISALA: The battle is the Lord’s

    FEMI ARIBISALA: The battle is the Lord’s

    Femi Aribisala

    Pull Quote: I decided to confront the Director-General with the news that my God would remove him from office through a television announcement.

    In 1986, I was appointed Special Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi. When I was offered the job, my boss at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Professor Gabriel Olusanya, advised me to reject the offer. When I decided nevertheless to accept it, he gave me a bad security clearance. He said I was too close to my West Indian wife and would not be able to keep national secrets away from her. As a result, my appointment could not be confirmed.

    Paradoxically, Professor Olusanya’s wife was also a West Indian. Moreover, the wife of Professor Akinyemi, the Foreign Minister I would be working with, was also not a Nigerian. She was British. It took the intervention of President Babangida to break the logjam. In his no-nonsense manner, the president gave the State Security Service an ultimatum to give me a security clearance within 48 hours.

    Warfare

    I was at the Ministry of External Affairs for a little less than two years. Then I took a decision that some insist was unwise: I decided to go back to the Institute. On return there, I faced a lot of petty persecutions from the Director-General, who now saw me as an adversary.

    This was worsened by a curious development. Professor Bolaji Akinyemi invited Crispin Ogunseye and me to lunch. He then informed me that President Babangida had decided to make me the new Director-General of the Institute, as a replacement for Professor Olusanya. Even though I told no one at the Institute about this while still considering the offer, one of the staff, a gentleman called Saleh, somehow got wind of it and broadcast the matter to everyone.

    After much rumination, I decided to decline the appointment. The crisis in my life at the time was not amenable to a highfalutin secular appointment. What I needed was Christ. When President Babangida “stepped aside” and Sani Abacha seized power as Head-of-State, the appointment of Director-General of the NIIA was then offered to a then junior colleague of mine at the Institute: Dr. George Obiozor.

    I thought this would give me the respite I needed only to discover that George Obiozor too was not comfortable with me being in the Institute with him as Director-General. He made a foolish attempt to orchestrate my dismissal by accusing me of “gross incompetence” before the Appointments and Promotions Committee of the Institute. When that failed, he wrote me a letter stating that, as a result of some bogus reorganisation process, I had been prematurely retired at the tender age of forty-two.

    Defended

    I took the matter to God in prayer and presented the letter to him. I told him the Director-General could only have had the audacity to take such action out of confidence that, with President Babangida now out of power, I have no friends in the new Abacha administration. But I did not need to know any man. All I needed was to know God. Therefore, I asked God to answer the letter, so that my enemies in the Institute would know that I know God.

    The Lord answered me with a scripture which I now regard as a covenant. Whenever you see it in the bible, don’t read it, because it now belongs exclusively to me. It says: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10).

    Guess what happened? The very next day Lateef Aminu, a colleague of mine, told me he had reported my case to someone in the presidency. He put me on the phone to an official in Aso Rock who asked me to come to Abuja the next day. Suddenly, I discovered that knowing God was enough to get me invited to the office of the Head of State. So, I bought a ticket and flew from Lagos to Abuja.

    When I arrived there, I saw the aide-de-camp of one high-ranking naval officer who then took me to see his boss. After I gave him the details of my premature retirement, he said to me: “This is what we are going to do. By tomorrow, a circular will be sent from the Chief of General Staff to your Director-General, asking him to write you officially within twenty-four hours withdrawing your letter of retirement and reinstating you to your former position. Thereafter, we shall decide what to do with your boss.”

    Let me make a confession here. I was not humble in victory. I went back to the Institute and reported the incident to everyone who would listen. “You people need to know you don’t mess around with a child of God,” I boasted foolishly.

    The letter from the Presidency came as promised and the Director-General wrote me immediately reinstating me. But I was not satisfied. I reminded the Lord that the naval officer who spoke on his behalf said: “Thereafter, we shall decide what to do with your boss.” I wanted to know exactly what would happen to the Director-General. Then the Lord told me he would be unceremoniously dismissed from office on Tuesday through an announcement on the nine o’clock news of the Nigerian Television Authority.

    Humbled

    I became foolishly bullish again. I told everyone at work that the Director-General would be removed the next Tuesday. “This advance notice is not coming through Aso Rock (the Presidency),” I declared. “It is coming directly from the Lord God Almighty.” Then I decided to go a step further and confront the Director-General in person with the news that my God would remove him from office through a television announcement on Tuesday night.

    My colleagues tried to dissuade me from doing this, but I refused to listen. Then some people I held in great respect came to see me. One of them was Yetunde Ogunseye, formerly Managing-Director, Associated Discount House, Lagos. She advised me that under no circumstances should I confront the Director-General with the prophecy since the Lord did not tell me to do so. Therefore, I decided to say nothing but to wait for the Tuesday night announcement.

    That Tuesday night, I watched the news from beginning to end. There was no announcement whatsoever about the Director-General. The next morning, a colleague of mine, Margaret Vogt, came to see me at home before going to the office. She said: “I have just come to pray with you.” I understood her. Something had gone disastrously wrong. I had gone out on a limb with a prophecy and been put to shame. I swallowed my pride and spoke no more about it.

    Vindicated

    Some three years later, Yetunde Ogunseye came to see me. I was no longer working at the Institute but was now a full-time preacher of the gospel. “Did you watch the nine o’clock network news on Tuesday night?” she asked. I did not and wondered why she asked. Then she said: “George Obiozor, the Director-General of your former office, was dismissed through a television announcement.”

    “Has (God) said, and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).

     

     

  • The joy of the Lord is our strength – By Femi Aribisala

    The joy of the Lord is our strength – By Femi Aribisala

    “The gospel is good news, but unfortunately, most Christians are socialised on bad news”.

    Adam and Eve initially lived in God’s paradise, the Garden of Eden. They lived in a state of bliss because: “In (God’s) presence is fullness of joy; at (His) right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11).

    They did not have to work to make a living. God provided everything they needed. All that He required of them was to tend the garden. Moreover, they had peace like a river, the peace that flows from God.

    But when they disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit at the instance of the devil, sin entered the world. With sin, death also entered because the wages of sin death. (Romans 6:23).

    When God threw them out of the Garden and prevented them from returning, they could no longer be in His presence. Therefore, sorrow also entered the world because they could no longer enjoy the joy of the Lord. They no longer enjoyed the joy that comes from God’s presence.

    Decree of sorrow

    Moreover, God pronounced a sentence of sorrow on them. “To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’ Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.’” (Genesis 3:16-19).

    Without the joy of the Lord, men developed counterfeits. We rejoiced in happenstances. We rejoiced in things that brought occasional happiness mixed with sorrow. We confused the blessing of God with the blessing of carnal things.

    Solomon points out God’s uniqueness: “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22). Not so, the blessing of men.

    With the world now steeped in darkness, wealth and riches became confused for an abundant life. Joy became carnal and ordinary. In ignorance, men spoke mistakenly of the joy of the harvest, the joy of giving and receiving presents, and the joy of owning property.

    As Jeremiah laments: “The joy of our heart has ceased; our dance has turned into mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!” (Lamentation 5:15-16).

    Redemptive joy

    But one fateful day, an angel appeared to some shepherd tending their flock by night and made a momentous proclamation. God had decided to send His joy back to the world:

    “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11).

    What is the cause of this great joy and what does it have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ?

    Jesus is “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Once we are rid of the sin, we can bask once again in the joy of the Lord for it was our sin that brought sorrow into the world.

    Isaiah foretold this redeeming grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking in the past tense since it was already accomplished in the spirit, he says: “Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4).

    This message is also included in the Isaiah passage Jesus read when he announced his ministry: “The Lord has sent me to comfort those who mourn, especially in Jerusalem. He sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts.” (Isaiah 61:2-3).

    In effect, even before going to the cross to take away our sins, Jesus overcame the world. He says to his disciples: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

    What did He use to overcome the world? He overcame the world with the joy of the Lord.

    Overcoming joy

    The Bible says: “For the joy that was set before Him (Jesus) endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).

    Jesus overcame the world with the joy God, the Father set before Him. He then asks us to overcome with the joy He sets before us. This is the joy of spending eternity with God in heaven. The joy arising from our hope of salvation is henceforth to provide the strength for us to endure and overcome every situation and adversity we face.

    When Jesus was going to the cross and His disciples were sorrowful, He alerted them that His crucifixion would end by giving them the joy of the Lord, and this joy would be forever:

    “Therefore, you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” (John 16:22).

    Thus, when He rose from the dead, the first thing He said to them was: “Rejoice.” (Matthew 28:9).

     Before then, He warned them that their joy must never again be the counterfeit joy of the world, which always ends in sorrow. Henceforth, their joy must be the joy of salvation.

    Even when they were joyful that the evil spirits were subject to them in the name of Jesus, He says to them: “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20).

    Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit which those who accept Christ as Saviour receive. (Galatians 5:22).

    Holy Spirit

    The gospel is good news, but unfortunately, most Christians are socialised on bad news. No jobs, no electricity, no water, high prices, and high school fees. But all this pales into insignificance when we recognise that we now have the joy of the Lord.

    When we do, we shall: “Rejoice always.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). We shall: “Count it all joy when )we) fall into various trials. (James 1:2). We shall rejoice and be exceedingly glad when we are persecuted for Christ’s sake. (Matthew 5:11-12).

    We shall rejoice and leap for joy when men hate us, exclude us, and revile us. (Luke 6:22-23). We shall rejoice when we share in Christ’s sufferings. (1 Peter 4:13). We shall: “Joyfully (accept) the plundering of (our) goods, knowing that (we) have a better and an enduring possession for (ourselves) in heaven. (Hebrews 10:34).

    Thus, Hezekiah told the Jewish exiles who returned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the Old Testament: “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10).

  • Christians do not believe the report of the Lord – By Femi Aribisala

    Christians do not believe the report of the Lord – By Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    When God gives a prophecy, He does not allow anyone to exclude himself.

    Isaiah asks: “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1). Christians have become so self-confident that we procedurally disbelieve the report of the Lord.

    Jesus says to His disciples: “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me tonight.” But Peter challenged the report of the Lord. He said: “Even if everybody is made to stumble, I will never be made to stumble.” (Matthew 26:31-33).

    And so, Peter not only stumbled, but he also fell headlong. What should he have done? He should have agreed with the report and then asked the Lord for grace so that he would not be made to stumble. Indeed, if it were not for the Lord’s mercies, Peter’s discipleship would have ended prematurely.

    Jesus said to him: “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32).

    Don’t despise prophecies

    Christians do not know how to handle biblical prophecy. If the prophecy is about breakthrough, showers of blessing, or prosperity, we embrace it. If it negative, we ignore it saying: “God forbid bad thing.” But did God forbid Noah’s prophecy about the destruction of the flood, or did He establish it?

    Jesus says: “All of you will be made to stumble because of me.” This is a word of prophecy, and we must not insist it cannot be applicable to us.

    The scriptures say Jesus will be: “As a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.” (Isaiah 8:14-15).

    God then tells Isaiah: “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.” (Isaiah 8:16). How then can we say it will not apply to us? Are we Jesus’ disciples or not?

    But then we stumble at the word. How can God be so categorical? Why does He say: “all of you will be made to stumble?” Why does He not say: “some of you will be made to stumble, so we can conveniently exclude all of us?”

    I am called as a prophet. I wrote a book entitled: “Why Christians Won’t Go to Heaven.” Christians ask me: “How can you have that kind of title?” Why do you not say: “Why Some Christians Won’t Go to Heaven?” Why can you not say: “Why certain Christians won’t go to heaven?”

    When God gives a prophecy, He does not allow anyone to exclude himself. He says: “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). He does not say: “Some of My people perish for lack of knowledge.”

    Jesus says: “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12).

    He says categorically the children of the kingdom will be cast out. He does not say some children of the kingdom will be cast out. He does not say certain children will be cast out.

    Betraying Jesus

    “When evening had come, (Jesus) sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’” (Matthew 26:20-22).

    “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10). Therefore, O great Christian, go to the Lord and ask: “Is it me?” “Father, help me so I am not the one who betrays you.”

    But the Christians of today are made of sterner stuff. I can envisage someone raising his hand today to say: ‘Lord, I am so glad you made that statement. I have been meaning to say so myself, but I was not sure if I should. But now that you have mentioned it, let me say this. The person who will betray you is Kunle. He is just not committed to you.”

    And the Lord will give such proud upstart the shock of his life. He will tell him: “You are the one.”

    David told Nathan that the rich man who took the little lamb of the poor man should be put to death. But Nathan said to him: “You are the man.” (2 Samuel 12:1-7). In effect, had it not been for the grace of God, David pronounced a death sentence on himself.

    Be warned. You are the one. The bible is talking about you.

    Jesus says: “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” (Matthew 26:21).

    Who is going to make everyone stumble? God is. Why is He going to make everyone stumble? He wants to see how many will get up.

    Knockout punch

    They told you it was a boxing match, but you thought it was a walk in the park. They told you many are the afflictions of the righteous (Psalm 39:14), but you say many are the showers of blessing. But by the time you got into the ring and your opponent landed some hard blows on your chin, all the prosperity scriptures that you had crammed flew out of your head.

    One left hook switched off your light and when you opened your eyes, you saw the referee leaning over you, counting: “One, two, three.” Will you get up or will you be counted out?

    When we are made to stumble, we become offended. We cry out: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me? Why don’t You even listen to my groans? I cry out to You in the daytime, but You don’t answer. I cry out to You at night, but I find no rest.” (Psalm 22:1-2).

    So, the Lord becomes a stumbling stone indeed. He becomes a rock of offense, and biblical prophecy is fulfilled. Therefore, John the Baptist sends emissaries to Jesus, the same man he witnessed to as the Messiah, asking:

    “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11:3-6).

    Blessed is that man who is not offended by what God decides to do and what He decides not to do.

    Let us be instructed by the counsel of Isaiah. He says whatever the situation: “I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him.” (Isaiah 8:17).

  • Dear Lord Have Mercy on our Land, Stephen Ojapah

    Dear Lord Have Mercy on our Land, Stephen Ojapah

    Stephen Ojapah msp

    “Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses; nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy (Hosea 14:3). We will not rely on Assyria for protection and help. The Israelites frequently sought the alliance of the Assyrians, and are often reproved by the prophets for so doing. We will not ride upon horses we will not implore the help of Egypt, as we did formerly, nor depend on horses brought thence, or on any of our military preparations. It was chiefly on account of their cavalry that the Jews and Israelites courted the help of Egypt, having no cavalry of their own. This is the first part of the people’s repentance. It consists in their renouncing all dependence on foreign alliances, and on every arm of flesh.

    The second is, their renouncing every species of idolatry and image-worship, expressed in the next clause, neither will we say to the work of our hands ye are gods. This is often spoken of in the prophets, as an introduction to that state of the church which is to commence from the time of the conversion of the Jews (Hosea 2: 17), and Isaiah (1: 29). For in the fatherless we find mercy. Thou art the helper of the weak and friendless; of us, who are unable to help ourselves, and are exposed to the injuries of others, having none to defend us. God never fails to be the helper of all that are destitute of strength in themselves, and destitute of help from others: and who, being sensible of their helpless condition, look for it from God, who hath sufficient power, mercy, and wisdom to help.

    Alliances, have always been part of the international method of forestalling crisis. The League of Nations, an organization for international cooperation established on January 10, 1920, at the initiative of the victorious allied powers at the end of World War 1. Although the League was unable to fulfill the hopes of its founders, its creation was an event of decisive importance in the history of international relations. The League was formally disbanded on April 19, 1946; its powers and functions had been transferred to the nascent United Nations. The central, basic idea of the movement was that aggressive war is a crime not only against the immediate victim but against the whole human community. Accordingly it is the right and duty of all states to join in preventing it; if it is certain that they will so act, no aggression is likely to take place. Such affirmations might be found in the writings of philosophers or moralists but had never before emerged onto the plane of practical politics. Statesmen and lawyers alike held and acted on the view that there was no natural or supreme law by which the rights of sovereign states, including that of making war as and when they chose, could be judged or limited. Many of the attributes of the League of Nations were developed from existing institutions or from time-honored proposals for the reform of previous diplomatic methods. However, the premise of collective security was, for practical purposes, a new concept engendered by the unprecedented pressures of World War I.

    As a student of International affairs and diplomacy, one of my favorite courses was: World Peace and the United Nations. The one single question the course tries to answer is; how far has the United Nations gone in bringing about peace in the world? The historical antecedents are there for everyone to judge: The war, in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The most brutal of wars still occurred with the presence of the UN. It is certainly obvious that there is something deeper than human alliances that man needs to bring about peace in the world and peace in our hearts.

    We are not prophets of doom, but the situation in Nigeria is calling for an alliance with God to avert the impending doom. We have seen how human interest has not yielded any fruits in forestalling crisis between states and worse still, within a nation’s borders. The crisis in our dear land is fast taking an international dimension, where certain countries and individuals both within and out of the country are more than happy to offer their financial and logistical support for the violence in Nigeria to continue.

    For years, Nigerians have complained about helicopters who come to drop food and ammunitions for Boko Haram fighters in the bush, and now bandits; and no one seem to take such complaint seriously. Some weeks back, in a village called Arina, Shiroro LGA in Niger State. It is alleged that the locals used a ‘meta-physical’ approach to ground one of the helicopters that came to drop food items to the bandits, by using swarms of bees. This news has been totally denied by the Niger State Government. But the general premise of helicopters dropping arms and ammunition to bandits and Boko Haram cannot be disputed, it has been confirmed by thousands of eyewitnesses. The common man cannot afford helicopters in Nigeria. The elites are mostly the ones that own them. To a very large extend, they have shown reluctance in tackling the issues of insecurity. As a people of faith, we certainly turn to God for help and alliance. As practical people we call on the United Nations, and good people everywhere in the world, to let God use them avert the impending doom hovering over Nigeria.

    In kwimo village of Niger State, the Bandits visited the village, on the 4th of May 2021 and chased away everyone, carted away hundreds of cows, kidnapped lots of women and destroyed the convent of the Sisters of our Lady of Apostles (OLA). The bandits took hours unchallenged, destroying lives and properties. Prior to this carnage, the sister in charge of the convent in kwimo called on the military for assistance, and she was given very flimsy excuses as to why they cannot protect them. One of such useless excuses was the lack of authorization from Abuja, the headquarters. Almost saying to ordinary citizens that ‘they have been ordered not to protect them’.

    The Israelites, understood very perfectly, how unreliable the alliance with Assyria was. Psalm 127: 1 says: “If the Lord does not watch over the city in vain does the watchman keep vigil. In vain is your earlier rising and going later rest”. Alliance with human beings sometimes would mean;tThe world standing by and watching while you burn, despite the international treaties and agreements that is put in place to forestall lawlessness. Dear Lord, have mercy on Nigeria. And save us from the total collapse that steers us in the face right now.

    Fr Stephen Ojapah is a priest of the Missionary Society of St Paul. He is equally the director for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism for the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, a member of IDFP. He is also a KAICIID Fellow. (omeizaojapah85@gmail.com)

     

  • Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    The Jews asked Jesus: “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” He said to them: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he sent.” (John 6:28-29).

    Jesus is the Saviour therefore, undoubtedly, belief in Jesus is fundamental to salvation. Often, when people came to Jesus for healing, he would ask: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). When he visited his hometown, John notes: “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58).

    Jesus did not tell Nicodemus to become more religious to obtain eternal life. He did not tell him to give more tithes and offerings to the synagogue. He simply told him to believe in him: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

    Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to determine precisely what it means to believe in Jesus; especially because although demons believe, nevertheless, they are not saved.

     

    Active participle

     

    Faith in Jesus is an active participle. If we believe in Jesus, our actions will testify to our faith. James says: “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18). Likewise, the psalmist says: “I believe therefore I speak.”

     

    If we believe in Jesus, we would not be overwhelmed by sickness because he is our healer. If we believe, we would not be dismayed by loss because he is our redeemer. If we believe, we would not be intimidated by giants in the wilderness of life knowing he is our shield.

     

    If we truly believe, everything we do and do not do will derive from our belief. Indeed, anything and everything that does not come from belief in Jesus is a sin. (Romans 14:23).

     

    So answer me this: what precisely has your belief in Christ ever caused you to do? Those are the things that validate your salvation. Have you ever removed the roof of a house because you believe in Jesus? Has your belief finally led you to lay down your life for Christ’s sake?

     

    We walk by our faith: we don’t merely stand by faith. Believing requires us to step out of a boat at Jesus’ command and walk on water. It requires us to forsake all and follow him. It requires us to walk a tightrope across a great big gorge to get to God. That tightrope is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

     

    Rise and walk

     

    I was cornered by armed robbers on the way from the airport in Lagos. Nevertheless, the Lord assured me: “Nothing is going to happen to you here.” After he said this, one of the armed robbers shot me in the leg, seemingly contradicting God’s promise. But then the Lord continued: “Femi, nothing is wrong with your leg.”

     

    Should I believe the word of the Lord, or believe the evidence of the bullet in my leg?

     

    Later on, the Lord said to me: “I allowed you to be shot because I wanted you to see yourself using crutches. You have been using crutches all your life but did not know it.” Then he asked me: “Can a man with a broken leg walk without crutches?” I did not think so. But he insisted: “He can walk by trusting in me. Now, put down your crutches and walk.”

     

    I put them down but could not walk. Therefore, I had to learn to walk again, but this time by trusting in God. That is what it means to believe in Jesus. When we believe in Jesus, we do the impossible. When we believe, we rise from our sickbed, take up our bed and walk.

     

    If we believe, we would not stay too long on any mountain: we would go forward. Because they believed, Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land. Because they did not believe, the rest of the Israelites perished in the wilderness.

     

    Disbelieving believers

     

    So many so-called believers do not believe in Jesus. Most believe with their lips and not with their heart. Many profess belief in the Jesus they do not know. But true faith must be grounded in knowledge. Peter says: “Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge.”(2 Peter 1:5).

     

    You cannot believe in Jesus from merely reading about him in the pages of the bible. You have to know the Jesus of the bible. You have to enter into a personal relationship with him. Paul says: “I know whom I have believed.” (2 Timothy 1:12).

     

    It is a shame that today’s Christianity is rife with contradictions. The president of the Christian Union is jilted in love and falls into depression. In truth, she does not believe in Jesus. She does not know Jesus is the redeemer. The choirmaster’s project fails and thereafter he loses all hope. He does not believe in Jesus. He does not know that the hope in Jesus does not disappoint. (Isaiah 49:23).

     

    The evangelist loses a child in a car accident and refuses to forgive the driver who hit her. She does not believe in Jesus. She does not know that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25). The usher’s business collapses, and he stops going to church. He does not believe in Jesus. He does not know that the Father of our Lord Jesus is not mediated through results.

     

    Believe to see

     

    Thomas says of the resurrected Jesus: “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”(John 20:25). Poppycock! Seeing is not believing. The Jews saw Jesus’ multiplication of five loaves to feed five thousand and still did not believe in him. They came asking to see another miracle before they would believe.

     

    Miracles don’t lead to belief: belief leads to miracles. We don’t see to believe; we believe to see. David says: “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13).

     

    Faith in Jesus opens the eyes of the blind, enabling us to see the kingdom of God. Accordingly, Jesus said to Martha who was mourning her dead brother: “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). Thereafter, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, even though he had been dead and buried for four days

     

    When Nathaniel believed what Jesus told him, he received a promise. Jesus said to him: “You will see greater things than these. Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” (John 1:50-51).

     

    “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3).

     

  • Coronavirus is beginning of ‘woes before Lord returns’ – Oyedepo

    Coronavirus is beginning of ‘woes before Lord returns’ – Oyedepo

    The Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church International, popularly known as Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo has disclosed that the Coronavirus pandemic is only the beginning of woes “before the Lord returns”.

    Oyedepo stated this on Sunday while delivering a sermon broadcast live titled ‘Gateways to Financial Fortunes (4)’.

    The cleric quoted several scriptures, saying that “everyone in the army of the Lord will manifest greatness in the thick darkness.”

    He further said that “being in the covenant places a seed of exemption from the woes of the world on your life.”

    “Just like when you stop breathing you start dying, when you stop giving, you start going down. Not just in finance, but in every area of your life. It is not something you do once and for all; it is a once and again covenant,” he said.

    Oyedepo listed the “vital keys to world financial fortunes” to include being spiritually minded as prosperity cannot outgrow spirituality, and to engage tirelessly in covenant practice by making giving a lifestyle.

    He listed others as walking in financial integrity, commitment to being a blessing to the helpless and humanity, seeking continuous guidance among others.

  • Lessons on carrying a cross -Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    One day, at three o’clock in the morning, the Lord woke me up to spend some time with him. In the middle of the fellowship, he gave me a strange instruction.

    He asked me to replace my settees in our main living-room downstairs with the ones in the den upstairs.

    What was odd about this was that the settees in the den were ragged and literally in tatters. Surely, it was inappropriate to put them in the living room where we entertained guests.

    Baited breath

    Nevertheless, I was very excited by the instruction. I felt it could only mean one thing: the Lord was planning to replace the old furniture with new ones. The settees in question were twenty-three years old. We could have replaced them long before then, except that the Lord had taken over our finances and buying new settees did not seem to be one of his priorities. But now, it seemed, the time had finally come. We were in for a treat.

    Since we had waited patiently for so long to replace them, I wondered what kind of replacement the Lord would come up with. One thing was certain; they would be fabulous.

    I quickly obeyed. I did not wait until there was someone else awake to help me. All night long, I carried the old settees downstairs and arranged them in the living room. I then put the relatively new ones upstairs in the den. It was not easy, but I managed to do it all by myself. Later on, I explained the situation to my wife. “The Lord has decided to get us new furniture,” I declared exuberantly. “In readiness, he has asked that we move the old ones downstairs.”

    I expected all this to be accomplished in a matter of days. But days rolled into weeks; and weeks rolled into months, and nothing happened. The Lord seemed to have completely forgotten about the question of our furniture. I became confused. Did I get it wrong? Was it not the Lord who told me to bring the old furniture downstairs? What exactly is the meaning of this? What is the Lord trying to bring out in all this?

    Reproach of men

    God promised Abram a son. On the basis of that promise, he told him to change his name. “Your name will no longer be Abram,” he said. “From now on, your name shall be called Abraham.” So let us say that Abraham takes out an ad in a newspaper saying: “I, previously known as Abram, now wish to be called Abraham (father of many nations). All previous documents remain valid.” He is now to be referred to as “father of many nations” except that he still does not even have one child. To make matters worse, after God made the promised, he seemed to forget all about it for the next twenty-five years.

    What is the point of this? What is supposed to happen to Abraham in the meantime? In the meantime, God has turned Abraham into a laughing stock. Abraham has become a childless “father of many nations.”

    Why does God behave like this? Why is God seemingly determined to make us a reproach of men? Take a look at the complaint of the psalmist: “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All those who see me ridicule me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the LORD, let him rescue him; let him deliver him, since he delights in him!” (Psalm 22:6-8).

    This has been my experience with the Lord. How was I to explain the transition in my life from a highfalutin intellectual to a believer to my old friends? How could I go from grace to grass in the name of the gospel? How could I end up preaching the gospel with an Oxford doctorate?

    Therefore, for over ten years, I cut off all contact with my friends. I just could not face them. I was convinced they would not understand. In any case, I had lost my earlier status. I was not even the pastor of a big or famous church. I was merely the coordinator of a small fellowship in a little corner of Lagos.

    Object lesson

    The Lord’s injunction concerning my old settees turned out to be an object lesson on carrying a cross as a disciple of Christ. The old settees were a major eyesore in our living room. I started dreading people coming to visit us. What would they think?

    The settees were torn all over. In many places, the underlying foam was clearly visible. So I stopped inviting people home. If they came uninvited, I would go into some elaborate explanation about the furniture, laying the blame squarely at the doorstep of the Holy Spirit. “I’m sorry about the condition of this place, but the Holy Spirit told me to put this twenty-three year old furniture bang in the living room.”

    Many looked at me pitifully; convinced I was a victim of some bizarre deception. But the Lord did not make things any easier. The Holy Spirit wanted to know why I found it necessary to explain to everyone that he was the one who told me to put the torn furniture in the living-room. Then he told me I should stop doing so. Neither could I pray that people would not come to visit me. The same God to whom the prayer would be addressed was the very person who was clearly determined to embarrass me.

    I had assumed that the whole point of the exercise was to get me new settees. But now I detected a different disturbing motive. God was determined to humiliate me. Now here is the rub: why was the Lord doing this to me? I thought I should have been commended for using a settee for over twenty-three years. Instead, the Lord turned this into a reproach for me.

    Redemption

    After a few embarrassing months, it became clear to me that the Lord had no intention of getting us new settees. I found it necessary to remind him that I actually had not asked for new settees. He was the one who brought the matter up. Since he was clearly no longer interested, could I please put the old ones back in their original hiding place upstairs? The answer was an emphatic “No.”

    Jesus says: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26).

    Twenty-three years of living with the same furniture, and seven months of having torn furniture displayed for all to see in my living room, the Lord finally instructed me to go to a precise shop where he showed me a new set of settees that were simply beautiful. Moreover, he provided me with the money to buy it.