He served Jesus till the end. Do you love Jesus?
Many stories when highlighted by the main stream media, sounds like just statistics until it hits close home.
Watch Leviticus ' documentary here: https://youtu.be/tvZzhdi2qbA
May God help us to finish our course and finish strong whether in long or short life. All I want from Him when I see Him face to face is "well done"
Remain blessed 🙏
That this flood has caused humanitarian disaster in Nigeria is no longer news. Many people have lost their lives while for many, their lives have changed forever. I watched with tearful eyes as corpses were carried out from houses in Anambra West. Below are just some of the pictures from Ogbaru, Anambra State.
What can be done by Christians and the churches as corporate bodies in Nigeria?
1. Prayers: This is a time every family altar must be burning prayer incense remembering these victims. Pray for God's intervention so that the flood will recede. Pray for miraculous deliverances for the families. May God grant them the resilience and providence to stand and survive this period. Comfort and fortitude for those who lost their loved ones. Pray that God will stir the hearts of the leaders to respond appropriately to these victims with all the necessary help they need.
2. Prayers: Please pray for the Federal Government to urgently complete the counterpart Dam in North East which when completed will help to accommodate this body water when released from Cameroun instead of being allowed to flow into River Benue to cause this kind of disaster.
3. Churches and religious NGOs must raise reliefs for these affected areas. Philanthropists and well meaning individuals can do well to synergize and help.
We have contacted the Admin Secretary of the Anglican Diocese of Ogbaru and he gave out his phone number for those that may want to contact him: The Reverend Peter Udenabor 08033309357 while online support can go directly to the Diocesan fund. Just tag your giving: Flood Relief Fund.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fShM5gXSzKucbt6cH8Bbd6chTLY7wpcf/view?usp=sharing
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Asking questions is very important and we must be prepare to give answers as Christians.
May this presentation both bless and challenge you. Our young people are asking questions but unfortunately, many of us are not ready to answer them. This attitude has to change if they are to be established in this holy faith. Time is running out. Remember, any question you don't give an answer to does not go away. Instead, someone else will answer it and you may not like their answer.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1igfRoPglfsPybR8WvHcU15pbvrWdBt3B/view?usp=sharing
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I shared this with the Evangels Gospel Band of the New Covenant Anglican Church, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
I did not just deal with the sexuality of the Gospel Music Minister (GMM), I equally explored the Gospel Music Ministry and the Gospel Music Minister. I believe it will be a blessing to you and your music group.
You can Click and Download it here: The Gospel Music Minister and his Sexuality.
Is it possible to preach on "born again" without even mentioning the word "born again" and yet the message of new birth is communicated and lives are transformed? Is it possible to jump up and down, shout "born again", use the word "born again" most frequently in our preaching, yet without communicating what "born again" really means and lives are not transformed? YES.
Download my book on the NEW BIRTH here where I made a case for "born again" as a prerequisite for sonship. No matter what your view may be now, you will not regret you read it.
Remain blessed.
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." Luke 22:31-34.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility consider others better than yourselves.” Phil 2:3 NIV
Self-conceit is an exaggerated opinion of one’s own
qualities or abilities. It is an over-rated or inflated pride in oneself or
one’s appearance. Self-conceit is when you have over-confidence in yourself,
what you can do or what you have done. You do not put into consideration your
fallibility and vulnerabilities; you just feel you can and there is no reason
for fear or caution. It is a manifestation of complex and a deception someone may
feel secure in. Gal. 6:3-4 warns that “If anyone thinks he is something when he
is nothing, he deceives himself.” NIV. Self-conceit is a feeling, a thinking
and an opinion that is exaggerated, it may not be the reality but the person
bases his behavior on it. The passages we quoted above are filled with lessons
and instructions. Peter missed an opportunity
to ask for mercy and grace because he was self-conceited. What has his answer in
verse 33, expressing strength, got to do with the warning the Lord gave to him in verses 31-32? It is
only self-conceit that will make a man to hear warnings from the Lord of all
the earth, but only to ignore it believing that he has strength and can do “mighty
things” for God.
What makes us self-conceited?
1.
The strength we think we have, whether perceived
or real can make us to be self-conceited. What we can do or what we have done.
Peter in our text above trusts in what he can do. It blinds us and hinders us
from depending and seeking for the help we need either from others or from the
Lord.
2.
The knowledge we think we have. Self-conceit
makes us unteachable because we think we know and have no need of learning.
There is this “I have arrived mentality” when we are self-conceited.
3.
Our gifting, talents, special abilities,
possessions, and achievements can make us to be self-conceited. We may be
tempted to overrate ourselves, which makes us to foolishly cross some
common-sense boundaries which definitely will land us into trouble. As gifted
men and women, we need to continually submit our gifting to the Lord. When we
can pray, teach, or prophesy, the temptation is that after a long time of
practice, it is possible to leave the Lord behind while we continue the use of
the gifting. It just dawned on me that God has not asked me to trust on my
prayer life or the quantity of scriptures in my head, He has asked me to trust
Him. Prayer becomes empty and ritualistic when the Lord is absent and scriptural
passages without the Spirit only become letters that kill.
4.
Good compliments and praises from people around
us can be deceptive and can make us to become self-conceited. Men’s praise can
make us forget from where God picked us up and our estimation of ourselves
becomes bogus, knowingly or unknowingly. Fame and popularity fade, time renders
both hollow.
5.
Lastly, position of power and the privileges of
an office can make us to become self-conceited. We are often tempted to equate
an office to the person occupying the office, which is a lie. Positions of power
are transient. You can be in power today and out of power tomorrow. Every
position of power expires. King Saul overrated himself and got destroyed. In 1
Sam.13, Prophet Samuel delayed from coming to the camp in Gilgal. Saul felt he
could perform the same sacrifice like Samuel and asked them to bring him the
animals for offerings even when it was not in his office to do. Again, he came
back from a battle where obviously he didn’t do what God had asked him to do
and the first thing he did was to go and erect a monument for himself at Carmel
and moved on (Sam.15:12).
What is instructive is that the points listed above are not
bad in themselves but can get us corrupted except if we don’t walk wisely.
Why is self-conceit dangerous?
I will summarize the dangers of self-conceit with five
points:
1.
When we have an exaggerated opinion of ourselves, it
makes us to put up a “bold face”. We can cover things up because we do not want
others to know how weak we are. We can either give ourselves some reasons why
we ought to live the way we do or assume some level of familiarity and favour with
God.
2.
Self-conceit means that we are egoistic. We are
loud and want to always be heard and want to have our way. We always have
something to prove and show though we may be empty. It is all about impression.
Because the opinion is exaggerated, the image of the person so produced is like
a balloon which can easily be busted anytime.
3.
Self-conceit is a complex, a lie and a deception
which makes it very dangerous. You cannot underestimate the level of low one
can descend when you are self-conceited. Someone who is vain and egoistic can
do terrible things. Because self-conceit is about false pride and bloated self-importance
and worth, the person will have this sense of importance and indispensability
which breeds impunity. It has produced tyrants, self-righteous men, traitors
and men you cannot trust when the chips are down. Haman in Esther is a case in
point here.
4.
When we are self-conceited, we hurt people
around us and often find reasons for that. We may not care because we may feel
it is inevitable for us to hurt them. The world must revolve around us and we
must be the “celebrity” at the center of every conversation.
5.
Finally, when we are self-conceited, sooner or
later, we will have a big fall. It can be a fall into sin or into some other serious
life’s troubles. Why? Because, the person will not listen or give heed to warnings
and warning signs; a near-miss is not a reason to reflect instead is an
opportunity to boast; the person will depend on exaggerated abilities and his or her strength instead of depending on the Lord; there is this sense of false
security, “I can handle it”, which will ensure the person continues to live dangerously
until destruction comes.
The poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley
tells it all on the outcome of vain glory:
"My name is Ozymandias, king
of kings;
Look on my works, ye mighty and
despair.
Nothing beside remains. Round the
decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless
and bare
The lone and level sands stretch
far away.”
The poem is believed to be about Pharaoh
Ramesses II who was once considered very powerful and even divine, however, his
once intimidating monument lies in ruins in an unoccupied and abandoned desert sand. How time renders
the glories of yesterday's men to nothing. Our glories today will become tomorrow's abandoned relics and nothing.
In this time of Lent, may we all seek the Lord in humility. May we inculcate His mind and be clothed with His life. When we humble ourselves, it is possible to avoid Peter’s fall.
The final report released by the independent investigators concerning the accusations of sexual misconduct levelled against late Ravi Zacharias just came out on the 11th of February 2021 and the revelations are very disturbing and disappointing. Personally, I was heart-broken. When the news first came out in 2017 about how Ravi Zacharias groomed a woman named Lori Anna Thompson online, almost nobody believed the woman. The lame explanation given by Ravi Zacharias was swallowed hook line and sinker by the senior leadership of RZIM and by most of us who followed the ministry. I remember in April 2020 when Christianity Today wrote a tribute after his death and elaborated the accusation, I was among those that were not happy with the author and questioned the motive behind elaborating on an accusation which Ravi had denied and the couple have settled with him out of court. But with everything that has come out from this report, I was dead wrong. I really apologize for making negative comments concerning the writer’s efforts to dig out the truth. I now understand that keeping records, truthful records, is one of the duties of a faithful scribe.
In September 2020, Christianity Today ran a follow
up story on the confessions of three women who worked as Massage Therapists
or otherwise at a Spa co-owned by Ravi Zacharias. With the testimonies of these
women, I began to sense that something was seriously flawed in the narrative
given to us by Ravi and the Ministry Leadership. I eagerly awaited the result
of the investigations. However, all my hopes were shattered when the interim
report came out in December 2020 and suggested that valid evidence was
found confirming some of the accusations.
The final report details the testimonies of the victims, the methods
used by Ravi to gain the trust of his victims and eventually abuse them, and
the enabling toxic
environment within the RZIM ministry which ensured that Ravi was not
confronted with his sins, and dissenting voices who were asking difficult
questions were labelled and marginalized. He was found to be guilty of “Sexting,
unwanted touching, spiritual abuse and rape”. The RZIM Board has released an open apology
to all the affected victims and repented of their ineptitude in the whole
affairs and is taking several steps to right all the identified wrongs. Also,
they are praying to know which direction the ministry will take going forward
which may include changing the name of the ministry.
Now one may ask, why all the attention being paid to spilt milk?
Why not let the sleeping dog lie, especially since the accused is dead and is
not here to defend himself? The truth is that God does not work that way as
long as it has to do with His work. While I was meditating on the whole thing,
God, I believe, began to expound in my mind the importance of being faithful in keeping
records, the work of faithful scribes. It re-dawned on me that many of the biblical
writers were faithful scribes. If they picked and selected the stories they wrote about,
we would not have the Bible the way it is today. I learnt once again that
records matter even for the next generation. It is not about Ravi or any of the
journalists who are doing their jobs. It is about keeping truthful records. Christianity
Today has a statement on this. Ravi had the opportunity to respond when Lori
Anne Thomas accused him, and he denied all wrong doing, sued
the woman and the husband, accusing them of racketeering and extortion. He
played the victim while the woman was painted as the person with a criminal
intent. You can only be moved to tears when you listen to the woman’s testimony.
She lost almost everything because of the power and influence Ravi wielded
while alive. How else can these women be healed if not when the truth comes
out? Again, how else can the living learn if not when the truth of the whole
matter comes out?
There are also Christians who are hurting secretly because
of this scandal and the only way they can move forward is when all the
perspectives are made clear, especially by Christians who will give the whole
discourse a biblical approach. As I wrote in my tribute when he died in April 2020, I came in contact with Ravi’s messages at a
point in my life when I had crises of belief, even as a Christian leader. Apologetics
is not common in my part of the world. Biblical truths are declared but not
explained, hence those in troubles, especially lingering ones, never have the
opportunity of having explanations. It’s rare to see any church in Nigeria
having Q&A sessions to answer questions. When I listened to Ravi, God used
his teachings to resolve my confusions. I enrolled and did the Core Module
Course and have also downloaded and bought many of his books. I have quoted his
works in most of my researches and presentations and introduced many people
close to me to his works. One pastor friend, who got to know Ravi's works through me, called some days ago asking to
know the truth about what he was reading on the internet about Ravi. I think I
will be doing a disservice to them if I keep quiet as if nothing happened. I am
disappointed but not devastated because it’s been long God taught me not to put
my trust in any man, no matter how greatly the person has been used of God. God
has taught me that all the earthly power that we wield, whether spiritual or
political or otherwise, is transient and may not count to our advantage when we
stand before Him. The treasure is in breakable, weak, earthen vessels of clay. (2 Cor.4:7). All of us are vulnerable and can fall, even to our own
surprises. Our regalia and powerful positions do not insulate us from temptations,
but can only ensnare us. What can we learn from this scandal both as
individuals and as Churches and ministries? I want to lend my voice to many
others
who have kick-started the discussion. That is my focus in this write up.
As an individual,
As a church,
Finally, God is bigger than all of us. He is bigger than our failures and weaknesses. He is not afraid of the failings of humans and those failings do not threaten Him or His work. We finish, we expire, no matter what He has used us to do, but His work continues. In a meeting a few days ago, a minister shared with us how God encouraged him to move on and run his own race and finish well when some years back he was grieving for another close pastor who had a similar sexual scandal. God told him that He has experienced human disappointments right from Adam and it grieves. But He emphasized on him minding his own race and ensuring that he finishes strong.
So beloved, run your own race, finish well. The Lord Jesus said, “…I will build my church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it”. Matt.16:18.
We thank God for bringing us into the New Year 2021. We come in, full of faith in what our God can do and full of hope in the pictures His promises paint to us. Many of us are seeking the Lord’s face to know what He will have us do. At the end of the day, it matters what we come out with as the word from the Lord. This brings us to the issue this discussion is focusing on today – the matter of false prophecies by Christians, especially when they come from respected Church leaders.
Some days ago, I watched with tears in my eyes, a video clip
that contains the several prophecies made by many church leaders in December
2019 and January 2020 concerning what year 2020 would hold. Almost all of them
were declaring like the Hananiah and other prophets in Jeremiah 28. In Jeremiah
28, while God was warning them through Prophet Jeremiah and intended them to
repent from their sins and pass through the humiliation and burden of serving
the King of Babylon, these prophets were declaring bogus peace and restoration
and telling them that there was no reason to worry. God said that their
prophecies only ended up sealing the people’s fate to be exiled from Judah
(Jer.27:14-15). Year 2020 was one of the most difficult years the world has
ever experienced, but none of these prophets saw it. They declared a year of
peace and laughter when there was none. It wasn't.
Furthermore, many Christians for one reason or another, were very interested in
what would be the outcome of the United States Presidential Election. The
election has come and gone and President Trump lost. All his efforts to get the
results overturned proved abortive. Going through the prophecies from some
prominent Christian leaders, it shows that many of them got it all wrong. They
said that God told them that Trump would win but he ended up losing. Then I
ask, who actually spoke to them? This is because, one of the marks of God’s
word is that it gets fulfilled against all odds. Many have tried giving reasons
why what they prophesied did not come to pass. But none of their reasons suffices.
Michael Brown
shared a very insightful thought here.
Yes, to all the prophets that normally give prophecies, you are either right or
wrong. “There are no middle grounds”, he said. Either God speaks to you and it
comes to pass or He does not speak to you and hence what you prophesy will
not come to pass. He suggested that at the end, there will be need for “serious
accountability, reflection and even repentance.” Already, there are two Pastors
that have led the train of apologizing to their followers for giving false
prophecies. Pastor Jeremiah Johnson had prophesied that President Trump would
win a second term election and be returned back to the White House. It didn’t
happen. He apologized
to his followers and repented
of his false prophecy, “I would like to repent for inaccurately prophesying
that Donald Trump would win a second term as the President of the United States”.
He took full responsibility. Some Christians are against his repentance but it
is encouraging to read the comment
of the New Testament Scholar, Craig
Keener, “Thank you for your integrity. May many follow your model. And God
help us with those who are being so hostile”. Kris Valloton issued his
own apology and congratulated the President-elect Biden and promised to be
praying for him. He said, “I take full responsibility for being wrong. There is
no excuse for it. I think it doesn’t make me a false prophet but it does actually
create a credibility gap. A lot of people trust me… I want to say I’m sorry”.
Personally, that is a Christian character. To be a Christian
does not mean that you may not sin at any time along your journey, but it
matters what you do next when you realize you have sinned.
I believe that we need to repent in Nigeria as a church and not carry on with business as usual. We
have seen a lot of false prophecies; people gave their monies and sowed seeds without
results; expectations were crashed as many waited for some prophecies that did
not come to pass; bogus claims failed to yield results; the faith of many of
our young people are shaken as they watch with questions in their minds.
Unfortunately, even the questions of young people are not given adequate
attention and answer. We have a generation of youths that do not believe in
our God because there are credibility gaps here and there and all we do in most
cases is to keep silence.
This January 2021 as we pray, I feel very strongly that
instead of declaring things we did not hear from the throne of God, we should repent
and present the Church before the Lord for His fresh visitation. Peradventure,
He will remember us and show us mercy, especially to this our beloved country.
God bless you and Happy New Year.
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. Job 23:8-10. ESV.
Does what Job described above look like your current experience?
The hiddenness of God is an experience every godly saint go
through from time to time – a situation where like Job, you have a feeling that God seems absent in the midst of your earthly struggles. You feel
that God seems to be very far and has suddenly distanced Himself from you. You
look for all the exciting experiences you had before with God when you first
met Him and they seem to have all gone or not satisfying anymore. It is true
that sin separates us from God and makes God to distance Himself from us. However,
if it is because of a sinful life style, once you repent from it, God forgives
and relationship is restored. But in most of the times when we feel this way,
you look into your life to see if there is any active sin that is making God to
seem very far away but you cannot pin-point anything substantial, and yet God
seems to hide Himself from you. The truth is that the hiddenness of God is not
always caused by your sins or any bad thing you have done and you are not alone.
This crisis is possible to happen in the midst of a dragged problem
or a troubling situation you cannot explain, like in Job’s case. When tragedy
happens, we all tend to asking God why, seeking for answers. Even those that
encourage you not to ask God why, live with the question in their hearts. But not
many of us get an answer to those questions of why. The truth is that when we
are in the midst of a difficult experience, no matter how terrible it may be,
the power of that problem breaks when God speaks. We tend to handle tragedies
better with peace when we know God’s perspective. In this case, God seems
silent, saying nothing. Nobody can actually tell the number of weeks, months or
years that existed between Job 1 and Job 38, but we suspect that it was a long time.
The challenge is that within this period, there are these strange voices that
will be speaking very loudly, but they do not offer the answer that you seek. It
was not easy for Job to fight off the voices of his wife and his close friends
who, instead of helping him, exacerbated the situation and hence increased the
intensity of his desire for answers. Yes, God eventually revealed Himself and spoke
and that brought closure to Job’s questions. I pray that He speaks in your
situation today.
This situation can also occur because God is drawing you up
to a new level of relationship with Him. He may be up to something bigger than
where you are currently. He hides, as it were, and expects you to pursue Him in
a closer relationship. In the course of your earnest seeking, He teaches you
something new and takes you to a new level of experience. Attitude is developed,
patience is learned and childishness is done away with. Who does not want to
remain in that first childish experience when God seemed all around you and responded
to almost every word you uttered, even when we asked amiss? Who does not want
to remain in that responsibility-free state where everyone cared for us and we
cared for no one? The truth is that that is what happens when a new baby is
born, even spiritual babies too. Nobody wants to leave a baby to stay on its
own unattended to. But there comes a time when the baby has to grow, though
still being loved and cared for, the person is left with little or no
supervision because he or she is expected to be responsible and be able to take
decisions according to all that he or she has been taught. God trains us so
that we can manifest as sons representing Him in the affairs of this earth. You
do not need the pampering of childhood to know that God is with you and loves
you. If you continue to follow hard after Him, He will reveal Himself, His
purposes and His ways to you.
It can actually be a period of great test of faith to proof
something in your life. We often want to permanent a specific experience or
even make an idol out of a single experience. We always want to re-invent the
experience because that is what gives us the feeling that God is with us. If we
do not have the experience, we feel God is very far away and has abandoned us.
God may actually be drawing us out of ourselves, exposing the utter
hopelessness and helplessness of our strength so that we can wholly put our
trust in Him. The fact that we feel He is far does not really mean that He is
far. It may truly mean that He is essentially active in our lives. He removes the
cherished experience, breaks the arm of flesh and desires that we look up to
Him for help.
The hiddenness of God happens because of the incomprehensiveness
of God’s nature. Even though God can be known, yet no man can claim to have
comprehensively known Him. He is an eternal mystery Himself, hence, no matter
your experience with Him, you are still short of knowing Him. The revelation of
God we have in nature, in the Scriptures and ultimately in His Son is the extent that is revealed to us, and that is
enough for our salvation, but God in His essence is still bigger than what is revealed to us. We know God when we know Jesus Christ. Though
the experience of this knowledge is often sensed at the realm of emotions and
feelings, it is important to note that we walk by faith in what is revealed and
not by our wavering feelings. Good feelings are good and God sometimes grants
us those nice feelings as we experience Him. However, our lives should not be lived
based on feelings but on faith. That is why without faith, it is impossible to
please Him. He that comes to God must first of all believe and that is a prerequisite.
Faith is a prerequisite at the beginning of the journey, it is a prerequisite in
the journey and is also a prerequisite at the end of the journey. Nobody is discountenancing
the validity of your feelings but valid feelings do not mean that they
represent truth. Truth is what is revealed and what is revealed should be taken
above our feelings. In practical terms, it means that the feeling of God’s
distance does not mean that God is very far away because He is ever with us.
Heb.13:5 says “never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” NIV. The truth
revealed is that God is with us, even in every difficult and painful situation.
We have to live at the level of faith in God’s written Word and not at the
level of our feelings.
Now I want to humbly note that what I share here does not
give all the answers to the issue of the hiddenness of God. For example, some
have complained and asked why the God of love should make knowing Him very difficult,
in spite of all the efforts of some people to sincerely seek Him. I have a
brother who many years ago complained to I and my wife how he was willing to
give his life to Jesus Christ but in spite of all his efforts, God seemed not
to be easy for him to find. It is a real and practical challenge of many
people. We led the brother to Christ but nothing seemed to have happened. We
continued to pray for him until after many years, God cleared the cloud in his
mind and made Himself known to him. He loves to reveal Himself to all who
sincerely seek Him.
Firstly, what this teaches me is that I should always
respond to God as he reveals Himself to me. Postponing my response is being presumptuous
as He is the only One that takes the initiative to reveal Himself. Secondly, we
have to trust His heart even when we do not understand what His hands are doing.
We trust His heart that He has good intentions and good thoughts for us and
will do what is good and right. Finally, as Henry Blackaby said in his book, Experiencing God, when you are confused in the middle of your walk with God and cannot
seem to know where He is working currently in your life, continue doing the
last thing you are sure God revealed to you and in due course, the cloud will
clear. God loves you. Remain blessed.
