| Lesson #3 –Whatever you excuse today is likely to accuse you tomorrow
Many believers talk about the consequences of their actions – both positive and negative. However, inaction can have a very devastating effect on our lives, as much as negative action would do. Imagine you are standing in the middle of an expressway on an election day when cars have been banned from moving. But suddenly, you see a car racing towards you. If you refuse to take off from that spot, your inaction may cost you as much as your life. Similarly, in ministry, we face several challenges where inaction could cripple our effectiveness. Surprisingly, such problems show up like tiny earthworms and we often overlook them due to their initial size, but overtime they grow up to become like pythons, and are able to give everyone sleepless nights.
Many leaders claim they are problem solvers, but the question is – what kinds of problems are we solving? Christian leaders often find it easier to solve secular, electrical, mechanical, educational or technical problems. But when confronted with people issues, we cringe. How do we handle it if the man who pays the fattest offerings in church goes about insulting the ushers? How do we handle that rebellious deacon who goes around spreading negative news about church members? How do we handle workers who know they are accountable to God but neglect their duty posts? What do you do when your assistant pastor starts preaching false doctrine in your new branch and tells the congregation that you are a false teacher?
For many leaders, we are quick to say – let sleeping dogs lie; after all, everyone will give account to God. Some will only preach against it on the pulpit. We rarely confront people issues and prefer to sweep them under the carpet but it seems as though those sleeping dogs usually wake up in future to hurt everyone. Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough (Earl Wilson). Therefore, we must learn to crush the problems when there are still in the form of earthworms, because when they become like pythons, we have a more difficult job to do. 1Timothy 5:20 (CEV) says “But if any of the leaders should keep on sinning, they must be corrected in front of the whole group, as a warning to everyone else.” This verse forbids inaction on people issues.
In the last 10 years of Christ Lifeline’s existence, we have had people issues where we let sleeping dogs lie. But when we saw little dogs become monsters over the years, we began to learn to confront issues as they showed up. Some people are like Jonah; as long as they are in the boat, there will be no peace and progress. It’s not necessarily because they are bad people; it’s just because they have a different assignment. So you have to assist them into the belly of a whale so they can reach their own mission station in peace. John Maxwell once said – “a great dream with a bad team is nothing more than a nightmare”. Surprisingly, just one man can cause that nightmare. In Galatians 5:7,9 (GNB) – the bible says “You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise”. The Galatians were doing great with the gospel of redemption. When they had issues, Paul did not ask what was wrong; he asked – WHO did this to you?
So I say to you today – Who are your fellow workers in God’s vineyard? Who are your friends? What actions and inactions are you excusing today? – Tope S. Aladenusi
|
Lesson #2 –If God gives you a dream, wake up and work with the dream team
At one of our monthly executive meetings mid last year, Emeka Ofia, our Mentoring Director, made a remarkable comment. He said, “I don’t think God is going to take Christ Lifeline Ministry beyond where the Executives and Partners are willing to go.” There was a brief silence as those words reverberated in our minds. I’m sure every other executive member was doing what we have been trained to do over the years i.e. checking to see how that statement aligns with Scriptures. As I pondered more on that statement in the following days, I could not help but appreciate the importance of teamwork in fulfilling divine mandates. I also recalled how God put together the current team in the Ministry.
The first 3 years in Christ Lifeline were very passive because the team was not vibrant. During this period, I always gave excuses to God for why I thought I was not the right leader for the mission and why it would be better for me to work with established ministries. At the time, we only shared monthly electronic messages to a few friends via Yahoogroups, and this was done chiefly in a bid to “quench” that constant yearning God had placed in my heart. By 2006, the “palliatives” weren’t working anymore as I began to get not only yearnings, but warnings. The particular warning that got me scared happened in Asaba, Delta State ofNigeria. In the bathroom of my hotel room, I heard God say – I gave you an assignment and you neglected it, yet you keep asking me to lead you to where you will be of service to the body of Christ. So out of frustration, I started to think about teamwork.
Who should I discuss the vision with? Who would understand the enormity of this task and be willing to work with God in this capacity? Who would not laugh at me or take me to be a joker (after all to some, I cracked more jokes than I quoted scriptures back then)? These were some of the questions I pondered on. The first person that came to mind was my fiancée (Busola) who is now my wife; the minimum I expected from her was to believe me. Then I thought of two pastors on campus that I believed were very good Christians and very unlike some other seeming “vainglorious” campus pastors. They are Ifelayo Ojo and Adeyiga Awomuti. I had separate meetings with them to share the vision of Christ Lifeline and also invited them to join me in the execution and it appeared that the best days of my life started then. There was this joy and fulfillment I experienced whenever I pondered on the way they believed in the vision and promised to work with God in executing it.
By January 2007, we had our first outreach program tagged “Mission Exhibition” and there were about 50 people in attendance. Surprisingly, 40 of them decided to partner with the Ministry and completed our Partner’s form. This was a critical turning point in the Ministry; we had a bigger and better team to do the work. Since then, we have had hundreds of Partners from 5 continents join this team of men and women that extend the help of Christ to nations and support platforms that attract others to Christ. We do not underestimate the work of God in putting the Christ Lifeline team together because like John Maxwell once said – “a great dream with a bad team is nothing more than a nightmare”. Please join us in giving glory to God!
– Tope S. Aladenusi
Join us at our 10th anniversary celebration taking place at Bellus Court, 7A Akin Adesanya Street, Off Town Planning Way, Ilupeju Lagos by 2pm on 20 July 2013. If you would like to attend, please send an email to info@christlifeline.org so we can send you an invitation letter.
| Beloved,
Christ Lifeline Ministry clocked 10 years on 10 April 2013 and we will celebrate this anniversary on Saturday the 20 of July 2013. As we plan towards the anniversary thanksgiving and celebration, we can’t help but go down memory lane. From the revelation of a vision in the heart of an ordinary school student to the coming together of 4 young university graduates for the public take-off; from using the only affordable platform (Yahoogroups on the Internet) to the establishment of several platforms of extending lifelines to humanity; from tagging our first convention as “world outreach convention” even though it was only held in a small ward in one city, to actually going to other continents of the world; from having just 4 partners in a city to having hundreds of partners in 5 continents; we cannot help but admit that God is the source of every progress in Christ Lifeline Ministry.
As the President of Christ Lifeline, I have been so privileged to work with God in this capacity and, together with other executives, have learnt several leadership lessons over the years. We would like to share ten of them with you ahead of our anniversary celebration for two reasons:
I encourage you to spend time meditating on these lessons we will be sharing in the next couple of weeks, and also encourage your friends to join you as well. Our 10th anniversary celebration will take place at Bellus Court, 7A Akin Adesanya Street, Off Town Planning Way, Ilupeju Lagos by 2pm on 20 July 2013. If you would like to attend, please send an email to info@christlifeline.org so we can send you an invitation letter.
Best regards,
Tope S. Aladenusi For: Christ Lifeline Executives and Partners
Lesson #1 – If God sends you on a mission, never take a bend without Him
Few months ago, I was chatting with Segun Eshorun, one of the executives of Christ Lifeline Ministry. While talking, I looked steadfastly at him and said – “you have laboured in this Ministry for a couple of years. If someone asked, what would you say the number one secret of this Ministry is?” Segun looked to the sky and down, and in less than 10 seconds, he said –following the leading of the Holy Spirit. When he said that, I smiled and muttered the following words under my breath – for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father which is in heaven.
Over the years, we keep learning to thrive not based on good ideas, but on God’s ideas. The reason is simple; Christ Lifeline Ministry does not belong to us, but to God. Therefore, we must always remember that God has a way He wants to run His organization. This same thing applies to our lives as believers and every church or Christian organization in the world that is founded based on God’s inspiration. It would be a problem if we started out well with the Spirit of God, but later began to run with ideas of mere men or, imitating other fellow ministers. You don’t run God’s organization by imitation, you run it by inspiration – getting cues from God as you execute His agenda on earth.
I hope the point is driven home as we meditate on Galatians 3:3 (MSG) – “Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Hmm! Many believers are going crazy because they are not following the leading of God. There were times we also went crazy in the Ministry. I recall I once carried some finance permutations for running the Ministry in my head for a few days; for instance, if 500 partners give minimum of a thousand Naira per month, then we can do this and that project every month. But I stopped the craze the day God showed me that you execute divine plans based on God’s leading and not on our financial projections; in fact, the support of one man (through God) can outweigh that of 500. And we have never regretted every instance of following God.
For instance, when we first organized the World Outreach Convention (WoC) in Manchester, we didn’t spend a single dime from our accounts in Nigeria. God had spoken to me about going to Manchester and few days after the vision was shared with other executives, I received a mail that I will be sent on an errand to Manchester by an association I support. And that was the beginning of a miracle. Also, I was in the bathroom in January this year when God told me about holding India WoC in February. My first reaction was to protest. I said, “Lord, we just concluded our budget for the year, and it wasn’t budgeted for”. There was no response from Him and we had to swing quickly into action. A week later, a lady that God healed at our Lagos WoC in January 2013 called to inform us that she would like to financially support India WoC. This was just the beginning of another miracle. When we saw the awesomeness of what happened in India, we remembered the principle – when God sends you, He funds you.
We have got hundreds of testimonies. But we believe today you can thank God with us for His constant leading in Christ Lifeline. Also, stop saying you cannot start that ‘God-given mission’ because you don’t have money. You don’t start God’s work with money; you start with Him … and everything you need will follow. And when you have started, never take a bend without Him. It is a great lesson we learnt from Jesus Christ and he described it this way- “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” John 5:19 (KJVA)
– Tope S. Aladenusi
|
Akin and Roy were classmates in the University of Jos. They graduated in 2009, same day, same grade. They move to different parts of Nigeria seeking jobs and haven’t set eyes on each other ever since. Akin started out with a blue chip company in Lagos while Roy had to settle for an internship position with a small company in Abuja. They both served God fervently in school and increase, remarkably, in their knowledge of God even after school. Recently, Roy relocated to Lagos to search for a new job and as he treks the streets of Victoria Island one sunny afternoon, he sees Akin driving by in a 2006 Toyota Highlander.
Akin! Akin!! Akin!!! Roy calls out, as he raises his hands to get Akin’s attention. Akin suddenly recognizes Roy, pulls over and rushes to Roy give him a warm hug. They chat for minutes, Akin hands Roy his complimentary card, and drives him to the nearest bus stop where he can get the bus. On the bus ride home, Roy feels very discontent with his life; thinking – my classmate is doing very well and already has a lovely car but here I am, sitting next to a smelly meat seller and going to a house where I squat with a relative. When he gets home that night, he prays fervently that God should turn his situation around. The next day he narrates this experience to his Pastor, who holds hands with him in a ‘prayer of agreement’ for a turnaround within 6 months.
Have you ever had such a feeling of discontent? I see believers from the pulpit to the pews exhibit such tendencies from time to time. It is called envy – a feeling of discontent with regard to another’s advantage, success or possessions. These days, we even attempt to spiritualize it by getting provoked to “pray harder” and ask God questions in prayer because someone we think should be our equal appears to have more possessions, higher position or better progression. But Galatians 5:26 says “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” For Job 5:2 says, “For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.” Beloved, envy kills!
The bible says in Proverbs 14:30 (KJV) “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones”. The God’s Word translation says envy is like bone cancer. Are you sure this cancer is not currently eating your bones? There is nothing wrong with having a feeling of discontent with your current situation. However, as a believer, such a feeling should only be provoked when God enlightens you via the Word and other means that your lifestyle doesn’t match up to His standard, or that you are not operating at the level He has designed for you. But when you only think you need a step-up in any area of your life because you see someone else step up, then it could be an indication that you are not walking with God, and probably are not convinced of his plan and program for your life. Such tendencies will lead to living a confused life; James 3:16 says, “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
The snail and the cheetah may not have entered Noah’s ark at the same time, but they both made it there and survived the flood. Let’s stop this envy bone cancer from spreading in our midst; stop getting unnecessarily worked up due to the progress of others in ministry, career, or life in general. Cruise calmly in the lane God has placed you, at God’s prescribed pace, to the place that He has prepared for you.
– Tope S. Aladenusi
Tiany had just called off her 6-year relationship with Jackizy. As she narrated the events that led to the painful separation, she wept profusely over what she termed “6 wasted years”. Being a ‘spiritual lady’ and church cell leader, she felt that this separation was a dent to her reputation and a bad example for others. I encouraged her from the scripture and told her that in a few months, she would be happily engaged to the man she was meant to marry. In addition, she would be so engrossed in her newfound love to the point that she would forget she ever had anything to do with Jackizy. I reiterated (with a smile) that I was 100% sure about this and would give the little finger on my left hand, if it did not happen.
Give my finger? Yes! I first witnessed something similar with Pastor Jide Lawal several years ago. I participated in the recruitment exercise of a blue chip company and after going through 6 different stages of assessment in a space of about 5 months; I was informed that I had not been successful in my last interview with Idy. I couldn’t believe it! This was a humiliation for a man of God! As I lamented my ordeal to Pastor Jide, his words were very reassuring and comforting. He said, “Tope, I can assure you that in a few months from now, you will be so busy on your new job that you will forget you ever had such a painful experience.” He was very right, and there is more.
About 7 years after we had that conversation, I was bidding for a contract alongside 3 competing companies, including Idy’s. On the day of the presentation of proposals, my company was first to present and as usual, I gave what I think was a “power presentation”. As I walked out of the client’s boardroom, I saw the representatives of one of the competing companies walk in and Idy was going to give the presentation. As I walked past Idy, I whispered to my colleague – that’s the guy who felt I wasn’t good enough 7 years ago. You can be sure that Idy didn’t recognize me. Days later, I received a call saying that we had won that bid. Wow, life can be interesting! Today, my client probably thinks Idy is “not good enough”. Hmm! Tiany is also currently happily married with kids, while Jackizy is still searching for his wife.
Why was Jide so sure things would turn around for me despite the pain I felt at the time? Why was I willing to ‘give away’ my finger if Tiany didn’t experience a turnaround? It’s simple! The words Jide and I gave could be termed “Word by Knowledge”; a prediction of an outcome based on the knowledge of a person’s life/lifestyle. The scripture is replete with instructions that if we obey as believers, yield 100% predictable outcomes. For instance, Luke 6:38 says – “Give and it shall be given unto you”. I don’t need to hear God before I tell a giver that he would enjoy the giving of others. In like manner, a believer who genuinely serves God will definitely blossom; we can say unto the righteous that it shall be well with him. We can say to him who delights in meditating on God’s word that “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). Back in the day, I saw that Tiany genuinely lived for God and I could predict her future no matter what she was passing through currently.
Beloved, no one swims with God and goes to the bottom (Polish proverb). A friend of mine recently said to me – “Tope, in the past 4 years I have never seen you worried.” I think he should have observed instead – In the past 4 years, I have never seen you worried about a believer whose heart genuinely pants after God. If God opened our eyes so we could see all that would happen to us in 7 months or 7 years, or preferably, in eternity, I am sure we would dismiss all our current worries. But don’t wait for that; read the scripture to see what God has said and done about your future, and you will experience a peace that passeth all understanding.
Shalom!
– Tope S. Aladenusi
I recall that when I first hired a driver, I did most of the driving even though my driver always sat in the driver’s seat. What do I mean? Well first, in some false sense of humility, I sat in the front seat beside the driver rather than behind – diagonally opposite the driver’s seat, popularly called the “owner’s corner”. Second, whenever we were on the road and he seemed to be getting too close to any car, I would notice myself slamming my imaginary brakes; in short, I was usually edgy and often either making imaginary turns, or honking my imaginary horn, or accelerating or braking. What’s more? I kept telling him how he should drive – almost every minute.
In a matter of weeks, I noticed I was too worked up whenever my driver drove the car, much more than I used to be when I drove myself. I had to make a decision to either drive the car myself or trust him enough to drive. I was done with trying to make him drive my way. From the day I decided to really let him drive the car, I noted that I had some peace of mind; I could read and work in the car, and at a time, I even dozed off while he drove. Hmm! He wasn’t a bad driver anyway, I later reassured myself.
Today, as I ponder on the way many Christians run their lives, this experience comes to mind. Many believers claim to have given their lives to Christ, but in reality, they do the “driving”. Christ says “let’s go left”; we say “I think right is better, after all, everyone that matters is going right”. Christ says, “My beloved, we need to go slowly right now because there is danger ahead”, but we tell him to move at 160km/h so we don’t seem left behind. Christ tells us to stop at a fuel station to get a refill and renewing with the Word; we respond – “let’s do it at another station, I’m so busy now and in too much of a hurry”. No wonder many believers get so worked up in life!
Beloved, is Jesus Christ really the driver of our lives? If he is, then we should be experiencing what the Bible calls the peace that passeth all understanding. The believer has been called into a place of rest, because Christ has given us all we would ever need for life (2 Peter 1:3).If we would truly let him lead our lives, we would start living life indeed. Jesus said – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28 KJVA). Do you find Christianity easy and interesting? Do you experience this rest Jesus talked about? If your answer is No, could it be that you do not trust him enough to drive your life, like I did with my driver? Could it be that you are not learning of him?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
Time is the most precious asset that we all are given on earth. You can make more money but you cannot make more time. This makes Time the most expensive currency that we spend. You don’t need to make noise about how you love God and His work; we only need to note how you spend your time and we get a clear indication whether you really love God and are giving your life to him. It is really difficult to claim you have given your life to Christ if you do not constantly give him your most important currency – time.
But what happens today? Many of us spend most of our time enriching our employers (a number of them unbelievers), fulfilling their goals, dreams and visions while the visions, dreams and goals that God has placed stay neglected. Our employers get the best of us, but God gets the worst of us. In a busy city like Lagos, many spend an average of 12 hours daily – 8am to 8pm – working for their employers, get home at night to watch the news, movies or catch up with their friends on Facebook, Blackberry and other social media. We do this day in day out, as time ticks away.
If we do not allocate valuable time to do God’s work now, when will we ever do so? Are we not among those who are getting older every day? I am not against working; I go to work daily too and I have loads of deliverables. More so, the Bible commands us to work. But while at work, do we have that sense of purpose aimed at fulfilling the great commission God has given to all believers and also realizing the goals He has placed inside us? Do we see our work as a platform to fulfill God’s purpose and reach out to others with the gospel of Christ?
It’s quite surprising that many believers think it a strange thing to excel at work and also be committed to the work of God. They feel that one has to give way for another. Sometimes people ask me, “Tope, how are you able to combine ministry with your very demanding work schedule?” What is the secret? The secret is that I don’t combine them. I simply live the Christian life – which is a life of all-round success. Sometimes I ask such people the question – you are so busy at work, how are you able to find time to eat? What is the secret behind combining eating and working? That gets them speechless, because when we consider something very important, we don’t talk about “combining them” with other things, we just do them.
Jesus Christ said, “My meat is to do the will of the One that sent me.” The way we “combine” eating and working since we consider both very important, is the same way we have to make time to live the will of God. It is said that when the heart is willing, it finds a thousand ways but when the heart is unwilling, it finds a thousand excuses. Are you willing to give your time to God? Do you need to reduce the time you give to movies, football, idle talk on social media, etc.?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
| Some years ago, we got an auditor to look into the books for our Ministry. Afterwards, while discussing his observations, he explained that he could not trace some of our assets to our cash and bank statements. For instance, he saw a PC added to the receptionist’s office during the year, but he couldn’t find documentation of approval for this “expense” by the Executives or how money was appropriated for it. Given my knowledge of accounting, I knew he was making sense but, with my knowledge of the spiritual operations in our Ministry and the lives of believers who walk with God; there was a greater sense that needed to be explained.
In John Chapter 6, we read that Jesus fed about 5000 men with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Imagine that this was recorded in the Board minutes of Jesus’ Ministry; then imagine his auditors later questioning him – “Sir, we read that your Ministry fed 5000 men at a crusade in the period under review, however, we could not trace this expense to your bank statements. Could you please explain this?” Or “Sir, you have a receipt for tax remitted by your Ministry to Caesar that cannot be traced to your cash/bank statements as well?” I pondered on this and many more ‘financial accounting’ issues the auditors would have needed to clear with Jesus’ Ministry.
I explained to the auditor that the PC was a donation from one of our Partners in addition to some other things we had obtained legitimately without cash. I believe that such “issues” should not be limited to ministries. In the same way the Holy Spirit transported Phillip from Jerusalem/Gaza road to Azotus as recorded in Acts 8, believers can get legitimate results that may not be traced to their bank/cash statements. The reason that many of us do not see such supply in our lives is because we have erroneously trained our minds not to expect things that our monies cannot afford. We have learnt to depend on our salaries/ income. Jesus deliberately confronted this mindset when he fed 5000 people. Let’s read John 6:5-7 in the Cotemporary English Version.
“When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?” He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do. Philip answered, “Don’t you know that it would take almost a year’s wages just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?”
Philip behaved like many believers do today. He saw a need and the first thing he evaluated was money and salary. But if Jesus had reasoned like Philip, then that miracle would not have seen the light of day. God never promised to supply our needs according to our salaries and bank accounts. The formula remains – my God shall supply your needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). You need to build a house? It’s not compulsory that it take place 5 years from now, based on your projected income. You need to pay your children school fees and you just lost your job? There is great hope because your needs were not meant to be met according to your job supplies anyway.
Let’s adjust our mindsets. God is our source and we should worry less about the means He chooses to reach out to us. So long as you are on the same page with God regarding a need that must be met, supply is bound to follow. I believe there will always be a need in your life or a dream in your heart that will be bigger than your current cash/bank balance, so that you can experience this blessedness in Christianity. I’m not suggesting or implying that you resort to dishonest means or choose to remain idle. Like the example of our auditor, you may not be able to trace it to your cash and bank accounts, but I bet you would never have issues explaining the miracle.
– Tope S. Aladenusi |
As a young boy, I heard many preachers talk about the importance of giving the best of our resources to God e.g. our time, energy, money, etc. I have worked as a consultant with several organizations around the globe and I have observed, to my chagrin, that many Christians rarely give their intellect to God. Whenever I attempt to compare some believers’ attitudes in their workplaces with that they exhibit in the ministry, I realize it is long overdue for us to discuss or emphasize the need for us to give our intellect to God.
Many believers possess great brains which they use primarily to enrich their employers. Some work 8am to 8pm using their creativity and intellect to maximum capacity for ‘peanuts’ but the same measure of intellect is not reflected in the work they do for God. I see many believers spend much money to develop their intellect for use at their work or business; they attend all kinds of courses and write numerous professional exams for certifications, but little effort is given to renewing the mind with the Word, and developing our intellect for the Master’s use.
I know a guy who works at the IT helpdesk of his company. He receives users’ complaints via phone calls and provides first level of support as much as possible. His monthly reports to management show elaborate root cause analyses for all logged calls. The same brother is responsible for handling church calls/ enquiries to a mobile phone but he doesn’t even have a register to log the church calls. What a shame!
Similarly, some believers go all out to prepare “world class” visual presentations at work but do dismally in their weekly Sunday school presentations.
Recently, a pastor saw our magazine – Today’s Lifeline and said – “this magazine is so rich in content and quality, but it’s unfortunate that it will not last because Christian magazines don’t last in Nigeria. More so, the quality is even higher than magazines we have seen before, so I don’t see how you guys can sustain it”. Can you imagine that? If he had seen such quality from a secular magazine, he would not have made such a comment. Where did we pick up the mentality that we don’t give the best of the best for the things of God?
Perhaps we should read Matthew 22:37 (MSG) again. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.” Some other versions say we should love God with “all our minds”. The mind is the seat of our intellect and you cannot claim to love God, if there is no visible proof that you have given him your intellect.
If many believers were to put in the same level of intelligence they use for the work of God at their workplaces, they would be without a job or client today. We need to start acting differently. Some people ask how I am able to give so much time and creativity working in the ministry despite my full time vocation. One of the reasons is that I hate giving to God less than I would ordinarily do to my work. Beloved, you are God’s handiwork, created for His good works. He needs those brains performing at ‘full bars’ at all times. When will this generation start to see evidence that you are giving God all your intellect on a daily basis?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
Recently, I was invited to minister to a group of Christians. I taught on the subject of the power of God. I emphasized the basics i.e. God’s power has been given to all believers (Acts 1:8) in equal measure (John 3:34). Furthermore, since God’s power is a spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3 lets us understand that all believers have been blessed with all spiritual blessings from the moment they got born again. Therefore, no Christian lacks His power and we should never ask God for power (as this will mean unbelief). I pointed out that it is our responsibility to understand and express the power we have received from God. Finally, I gave some guidance on expressing the power.
To my surprise, Brother Jack came to round off the meeting and prayed – “We ask Oh God that you release your power unto us afresh this moment in Jesus name”. Guess what? There was a resounding “Amen” across the congregation. I felt gutted. What could have gone wrong, I asked myself. Was I such a terrible teacher that I could not communicate the message with clarity? Why were they asking God for something they already possessed? I had just shown that from the scriptures? Even if they had not fully grasped the truth, surely they should have remained in neutral gear pending further personal study like the Berean Christians in Acts 17:11? As I pondered on the possible cause of this error, my mind flashed back to what occurred the last time I visited Jack some years ago.
He took me to his private library filled with a staggering number of books – over 1500. He seemed delighted at the fact that he had read all those books, most of which, I must admit, had changed my life. But Jack’s life appeared to be at variance with the teachings in those books – and he is not alone! Many Christians, perhaps you are one of them, have sat under great teachings and read great books, including the greatest of them all – the Bible. But their lifestyles contradict these great messages. So today, I’d like to share 3 things you must consciously amend in your life immediately you listen to any gospel message or read the bible / any gospel book. Let’s use the acronym P.U.T (Prayer. Utterance. Thoughts) to remind you of the immediate necessary action:
- Prayer: Your “prayer points” should change immediately. Ask yourself, how do I pray concerning things relating to this subject and what change is necessary based on this message? For instance, I expect that over time, Jack’s prayer regarding God’s power will change to “Lord, thank you for your power at work in me”.
- Utterance: Ask yourself how you have spoken in the past concerning the subject and what changes are required in your utterances? For instance, if your last discussion with your friends, everyone said things like – “If only God would give us power like he gave the church general overseer”. Next time such a conversation comes up, you should be saying – we all need to work on expressing the power of God just like our general overseer has been able to do.
- Thoughts: This is the bedrock and it affects your prayers and utterances. You have to consciously put all the previous thoughts you had concerning that subject on the table including scriptures you had wrongly misinterpreted. Evaluate them one by one on the basis of the insight you now have. It is better to do it on paper. If you get confused at any point, do further research. By so doing, you turn on the lights in every dark area of your life.
Please let’s not be like Jack who found it difficult to change probably because he made the word of God of no effect by his traditional prayers, utterances and thoughts. We must start practicing P.U.T founded on the truth of the Word, and then we will be changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of God.
“Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think.” – Romans 12:2 (GW)
– Tope S. Aladenusi