₦airaland Forum

Please I need a one night accommodation in Lagos. Help:

https://www.nairaland.com/5209610/need-one-night-accommodation-lagos

I am in need of accommodation in Lagos that would allow me stay one to three nights. I do not have the money to rent hotels and I come into Lagos quite often each year.

I am hoping to get a place of no more than 1,000 to 3,000 a night. It can be a one room apartment, or a BQ to a main building, or a room within an apartment.

Please if you offer such facility, especially in the mainland area of Lagos, preferably Ikeja, kindly leave a response to this thread.

Thank you.

For the Glory of God

By: Deji Yesufu

Modern Church history reveal that one way God has reached his elects and edified the saints in our time has been through annual conferences that orthodox Christian groups have held consistently through the years. These conferences have been used by God to call sinners to living faith in Christ, to build up the body of saints in the church and to establish networks and fellowship among believers. Following this tradition, the Crown Reformed Assembly, #23, Acme Road, Ikeja, Lagos, is holding a youth conference, under their annual 1:21 Conference series, themed: “Soli Deo Gloria” – which is “to the Glory of God” in Latin. Writing in a recent church bulletin, the church stated:

“The 1:21 conferences is an outreach of the Crown Reformed Assembly and serves as an umbrella for our bible conferences and seminars. The 1:21 conferences consist of two tracks: the 1:21 youth conference and the 1:21 Bible Summit. The bible summit is focused on the broader body of Christ, while the youth conference is primarily targeted at the youth, the single and the unmarried.

“As a growing church in the metropolitan city of Lagos, a city teeming with youthfulness, we noticed an eerie absence of Christ-centered and theocentric gospel witness from the Church especially as it pertains to the increasing confusion and anxiety among teenagers and youth on the issues bringing glory to GOD in dating, singleness and marriage.

“We firmly believe that the situation calls for Gospel cogency and clarity and we have set our anchor of hope for our city and for our country in the Crucified and Risen Christ. The name ‘1:21’ is culled from Philippians 1:21; “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. We are convinced that this truth must be weaved around every aspect of life”.

This year’s conference would be holding at St. Thomas Catholic Hall, UNILAG, on the 8th of June, 2019. Time: 9am. Speakers at the event would include Olamide Falase, Samuel Odesola and my humble self. Those who may wish to join the free transportation made available for people coming from Ibadan can reach me through my email at the end of this essay for further details. Please consider this as my invitation to you.

This year’s “1:21 Conference” is coming on the heels of a dire need among Nigerian young people. Never in the history of this country has the spate of suicide reached such a height. It is such an emergency that the Nigerian government is being urged to consider banning the insecticide called Sniper. Life has become increasingly meaningless for the Nigerian youth. After laboring to get an education, many proceed into the labor market with very little prospect of getting a job. Yet, these same youths have to contend with some of their mates who have the connections to get good jobs and they also have to meet the high expectations of their parents that have invested into their education. In the midst of these, there are also the false hopes being sold to these young people by false religious faith peddlers.

Does the 1:21 Conference have answers to these issues? I believe it does.

Too many times in pursuing answers to life issues, human beings seek solutions in the human self. So we have modern enough self-help institutions around our cities today. This conference will be seeking to redirect our minds to God and not ourselves. As we pursue God and his purposes, we will begin to find answers to why we are here on earth and what God has called us to do. When we do this, God is pleased; God is glorified; and we, his creation, will find fulfilment in whatever endeavor we are pursuing. We find the essence of living when we begin in God.

This and many more truths will the speakers at this year’s conference be passing across to attendees. I do sincerely hope that you can make it.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the books Victor Banjo and Half a Millennium. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/for-the-glory-of-god/

Shepherd00:
Yes, everyone has the right to take their stance and fight for their convictions. He, like everyone out there. But, when you do that twisting scriptures which are clearly against to support your points, that is why will continue to shout him down.
One day you'll support abortion you mean? Will you be backing whatever you'll be saying with Scriptures? If so, prepare your barrage of scriptures which will swallow 'Thou shall not kill' up. And, like MuttleyLatff, Will you force us to accept that God never forbade murder hence, all the scriptures against it are not saying what we read?

I am pro life and anti Abortion

Shepherd00:
MuttleyLatff huffed and puffed ran off for good. next he'll appear in another thread beating his chest claiming Superman. He'll tell the world how he finished Shepherd and TV and all the anti-homosexual Christisns.

Some people no get shame.

MuttleyLaff never runs. He'll be back.

I don't support gays nor LGBT. But like Voltaire says "I might not agree with you on something but I'll defend till death your right to say it". Let's hear our brother out and let's give him the freedom to air his views.

One day I'll write on Guns, Homosexuality and Abortion. One day...

No matter how you cut it, MuttleyLaff remains my biggest alley on Nairaland. I'm greatly indebted to his contributions to my threads from way back.

MuttleyLaff it seem you found your match ^^^

My hand no dey o... Make I face my Prosperity Preachers o jare

MuttleyLaff:
Wise men speak because they have something to say, so do not waste your candle when the sun is here. Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens.

Thank you VBCampaign for this serious and sincere warning about Suleiman etcetera to Freeze, I know him and Tastebuds habitually read posts here.

Thanks MuttleyLaff. I hope they get to read it too.

Dear Daddy Freeze

I had tried to reach you privately with this letter but when you did not respond I decided to make the letter public. I had raised some questions in the letter that I considered salient to the ministry of anyone who may be engaged in some kind of reform of religion in a country and I feel that if you do not have the time to respond to the letter, perhaps some of your followers would be able to write a rejoinder. I am trying very much not to come to certain conclusions on you that might make one regard your campaign as self-seeking but if I am still not able to get answers to my questions, I would have no choice but to conclude so. Then one would have to warn those listening to you to beware of being deceived.

I am Deji Yesufu. I live and work in Ibadan. I have written articles on you before and I am grateful for your sharing some of them. I did a talk with TV Continental sometimes ago, where I mentioned you and the video went viral. That was the days of campaigning against tithing and so on.

What has occasioned my writing this letter to you this time is the recent associations you have been having with Apostle Johnson Suleiman. I watched the video you made about your reaching out to him and I saw the video he also made on you too. I noticed from your words, and some of the responses that I have been getting off the internet, that a lot of people in your movement are unhappy about your association with Suleiman and they feel you have let them down. You responded by saying that Suleiman showed sincere love to you and that out of respect, you needed to give him a hearing. I understand that both of you are talking a lot now and discussing doctrines and all of that. Please permit me to react to this matter first.

I think you are totally belittling the person of Johnson Suleiman. I remember that at the heat of your campaign against tithing, Suleiman made veiled references to you and used some very strong words against you. I hope you know that there was no “love” in his statements then. Today, because you have quite a following and influence, it behooves Suleiman to treat you with respect and thus the so called “love” he is displaying to associate with you. I think, and this can be disputed, that Suleiman is simply living up to his nature: he is a deceiver and he is deceiving you. The Bible tells us of false prophets who come to us as “angels of light”. This is what I believe Suleiman is and I would request that you beware of him. He would not come to you as the monster that he is; he would suck you in with deception and spit you out. The so called love he claims to be relating with you on, to say the least, is deceptive.

Second. The Free the Sheeple Movement have used the wrong parameters to judge Johnson Suleiman. Suleiman and others in the Pentecostal/Prosperity Churches are not deceivers because of scandals like the Stephanie Otobo case or because they buy private jet. They are deceivers because they preach a gospel that is not Christian. It is my hope that you have studied what many have written about the deceptive Prosperity Gospel that is prevalent in Nigerian Churches. If you have not, I have book references I can send to you. You need to know the history of these teachings and how many of the preachers, that teach it in our country, got to the point they did. The gospel of Prosperity is a message of hell and this is what makes them, primarily, deceivers. The way they live, the sins they cover up, their lavish and ostentatious lifestyle, is only an offshoot of the false gospel they believe.

At this point in this letter, I am compelled to ask you Daddy Freeze: what do you believe? If you do not have a well-structured and orthodox belief about Christianity, then the possibility of being blown around by every wind of doctrine abounds. You are essentially what you believe. Therefore, what do you believe? As a movement, do you have a list of doctrines you hold as beliefs? Do you have a creed? I understand the evolving nature of the movement and this is why it is important that the movement, and you as its leading figure, come under proper guiding light. And there is no greater guiding light in Christianity than the Holy Bible. But we also cannot separate what we believe from whom we learn the doctrines of scriptures from; God uses men to guide us into biblical truths. In Acts 18, Apollos came out as an individual able to refute the Jews’ false teaching. But he needed a Priscilla and Aquila to guide him to a more successful ministry. They taught him and he became an effective vessel in Christ’s hand. Every one of us need such guidance.

Freeze, there has been a Reformation in the church before. What do you know about it? What do you know about Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin? What do you know about how the Reformation affected Europe? What do you know about Dutch Reformed Theology? What do you know about men like John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Wesley, C. H. Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones? These were men whom God used to reform religion in Europe, England and America. What do you know about their ministries? If God would use you as a reformer today, do you think he would do anything different from what he did through these men in the past? The reason historical theology is important is because whatever we are debating and fighting today in Christianity, has occurred in the 2,000 year history of Christianity. Wise people simply study the past and replicate the lessons learnt. What do you know about reformed churches there in Nigeria, who are working underground to bring people to faith in Christ? I am saying, dear sir that you need to learn. It would help you in your work.

The problem with Christianity in Nigeria is more than what people do. It is essentially what people believe. Nigeria Christianity is a strange mixture of animism and Christianity. Thus, the result is that the churches are filled with false converts. This is how it affects you: In all my listening to you, I have not heard you make a personal statement of how you came to believe in Jesus Christ. Freeze, are you a Christian? Do you understand the core of the gospel? Do you know that more than social welfare, God’s ultimate desire is that all men may come to living faith in Christ? Is this the propelling force in your movement? You cannot give what you do not have. If you are not a Christian, you cannot see a reason to sell Christ to people. You may sell “reformation” and maybe even “aluta”, but only a converted heart knows that the most important information for a world reeling in sin is the gospel. I would like to hear you, one day, state how you came to living faith in Christ and I would want to see you make the gospel the underlying theme in your movement. When this happens, the people who hear you would not only shove off what is wrong; they would receive what is right: which is Christ Jesus himself.

With that, I wish to bring this letter to a close. Please you may reply this letter via my e-mail newdejix@gmail.com. I would be glad to hear from you and I do sincerely hope that by reading this letter you have not been offended but rather challenged to seek a more effective route to freeing God’s people from Nigerian deceptive Pentecostal movement.

Thank you.

Deji Yesufu.

Ibadan.

Source: http://mouthpiece.com.ng/dear-daddy-freeze/

NSNA:
It would have been heavy fine into Billions if not fixed

There are hundreds of such roads not fixed in Ibadan. This is one of a kind

onlyinJESUS:
is the OP a CALVINIST?

Very likely. Since he says he's "reformed"

REBORN

By: Deji Yesufu

Chris Arnzen is the host of a two-hour radio program called “Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Show” in the United States of America. He is a “reformed” Christian and he brings Christian ministers to share various view points on the Christian life with his listeners. I was drawn to Chris’ program by my friend Joe Reilly in Ireland, who has a penchant for publishing links of Chris’ shows on his Facebook page. You can listen to Chris Arzen on www.ironshapensironradio.com. If you are reformed in thinking like I am, you would enjoy listening to those programs. These days, when I have any free hour – either driving through town or doing some chores – I just listen to a recorded show off that website.

One aspect of Chris’ show that I thoroughly enjoy listening to is hearing people discuss how they came to living faith in Jesus Christ. When Chris has someone appearing on his show for the first time, he usually would ask them to recount their conversion experience. Listening to many of these testimonies has totally redefined my concept of how a person is saved. Someday I would share how I came to know the Lord Jesus myself but this essay would look at how men can be spiritually reborn. I had always, erroneously, held the notion that every person who comes to know Jesus can tell the exact moment their transformation occurred. But listening to Chris’ shows has helped me to redefine that.

Without planning it, about three or four testimonies that I listened to so far on Chris’ show spoke of people who were raised in religious homes and who could not pin point at what time they may have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Today, they are certain of their eternal salvation; their testimony of Christ is sound and the work they do for him is clearly a fruit of a life converted by Christ. Yet these people cannot state when they were converted.

It got me thinking and I realized that if I would be charitable with people, I must not equate my own “Damascus road” sort of conversion with other people. Many people raised in sound religious homes would not have these sort of conversion experiences. Because of these, I am beginning to rethink the whole process of how a man can be saved and I hope to share some of it here.

Please note that Reformed Theology, like any sound biblical thinking should be, is concerned mainly with two things in every preaching. A reformed minister wants to see people who are not converted to Christ come to know him through his preaching. We believe in a Sovereign God who saves people through the preached word. Secondly, a reformed minister wants to see those who are already saved continue steadfast in the faith. These are our primary concerns. We are not concerned about people getting healed in services. If they do get healed, we are thankful to God but those are not our pursuits. Reformed theology does not teach that Christians should seek an experience that leads to speaking in tongues. We are not concerned about people becoming healthy and wealthy, like the Word of Faith cults do. We are simply focused at revealing Christ to all men and trusting that the Lord would reach each man at his spiritual point of need.

The individual who is saved or born again is one who has listened to the Word of God, either once or through a period of time, and has come to understand what the cross of Jesus Christ means personally to him. This individually would have understood the message of the cross as Christ dying for him personally in a substitutionary manner. He would have understood that his sins were placed upon Christ and when Christ died and rose again, Jesus obtained justification for him. And at the moment, he would see Christ as his only Savior before God. Of course, the testimony would vary and the manner of understanding would be different. But the fruit would be the same. The person would know Jesus Christ for himself. He would have an affirmation of the Holy Spirit in his heart that he is a child of God. Hopefully he would have peace of mind. And all of these would yield a fruit of life that would range from loving God and loving his people the church, having a commitment to not displease his Savior, re-arranging his priorities and pursuits in life in such a manner as would glorify God at the end, and having a hope that is steadfast – such as would include looking up to heaven for our eternal salvation.

One must say these things because of the prevalence of too many false testimony of Christianity all around. In the Charismatic Christian tradition that I came from, people would usually put a date and time to when they were converted. And usually it is difficult to fault these claims because these people would, from that moment, join a church and become very religious. Yet, at close observation, one can notice fruits of their lives that are not exactly Christian. There are these vain pursuit for the things of this world, just like any unconverted person wants. There is a palpable fear of death and very low desire to see Christ, even now. The long and short is that these people profess to know God but their thoughts, words and actions tend to deny him. Yet, here am I listening to people in reformed circles who cannot put a date and time to their conversion, but who are living as true pilgrims of Christ in this earth.

Having listened to Chris Arzen long enough, I have come to re-evaluate my pursuits in preaching. I still look forward to seeing people come to Christ. I would still be very glad to hear people tell me of a “Damascus road” sort of conversion. But I think I would be increasingly patient with others who do not have such experiences. I believe now that anywhere the gospel of Christ is preached faithfully and the people under these preaching have come to a settled understanding of the gospel; particularly in regards to what Jesus has done for them personally and they are living out the gospel in practical terms, one could trust that such people are saved.

I am increasingly having to accept this because I realize that the conversion of my own children is likely to take this format. From an early age, I have taken these children to church and taught them the Catechism. They are likely to grow up as well nurtured moral children whose conversion I would not be able to monitor. But if these children can affirm the faith publicly and can state how it applies to them personally, while I see that their priorities in life line up in a manner to pleases the Lord Jesus Christ, I can trust God that they are saved. I have often affirmed that my number one goal in life is to bring my whole family to saving faith in Jesus Christ. It would be a great accomplishment for me if the Lord Jesus Christ grants this desire of my heart.

I thank Chris Arnzen for the great work he is doing with Iron Sharpens Iron Radio and I again urge you to go to that website and listen to the podcasts he has published there for his online listeners.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the books Victor Banjo and Half a Millennium. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/reborn/

Picture inset: Chris Arnzen

Initial state of roads:

A third angle

A second repaired road

Other pictures, closer:

Twitter Handle, @Dwitters, had protested the destruction of roads in Ibadan by Telecommunication companies. That thread was published on Nairaland here:

https://www.nairaland.com/5116657/ibadan-residents-protest-telecom-companies

A few days ago, @Dwitters passed through the same neighborhood roads to find them fixed. He has hereby opened another thread to thank the authorities who endured this happened.

It should be noted that this is about the first time such repairs would occur in Ibadan.

Yakubu Gowon Should Write His Memoirs

By: Deji Yesufu

Seun Akinola of Splash FM, Ibadan, had me at their station last weekend for a recorded interview on my book Victor Banjo. Our discussions quite naturally veered to retired General Yakubu Gowon’s role in the Nigerian Civil War. It was during the preparation for the interview that Seun told me that Gowon had collapsed during the burial ceremony of David Ejoor just this last Friday. Ejoor was the Governor of Midwestern Nigeria when Gowon was head of state of Nigeria. While we discussed, I made the point that it was necessary for Gowon to write his memoirs and give answers to the litany of questions that has come out of his time in government and even after it. Gowon is in his late 80s and if he goes to his grave, like Emeka Ojukwu did, without writing his memoirs, some information on a vital aspect of the Nigerian history may die with him.

I told Seun that when Gowon does write his memoirs, I would like to see a whole chapter of the book dedicated to Victor Banjo. While researching for information for the book I wrote on Banjo, Prof. Olayinka Omigbodun, Banjo’s third child, told me that the Banjo family had invited Gowon and Ojukwu to the dedication of the book A Gift of Sequin: Letters to My Wife. That book was published in 2007, exactly forty years after the death of Victor Banjo. The family felt it was time for the world to catch a glimpse into the mindset of their father and they published all the letters he wrote to their mother wife while he was in prison in Ikot-Epene, present day Akwa Ibom, from March 1966 to July 1967. Yakubu Gowon featured prominently in those letters and the family were hoping that he could come to the book dedication. Ojokwu and Gowon never came.

The questions that remain unanswered, and that Gowon may take to his grave concerning Victor Banjo, will include why Gowon left Banjo in prison when a police report had acquitted Banjo of involvement in the January 15th, 1966 coup in the second half of 1966. Banjo was Gowon’s close friend in the Nigerian army. It was Yakubu Gowon that first informed Banjo of the January 15th coup. They were such pals that when Banjo married in 1957, Gowon was one of the distinguished army officers that attended. One would think that old comradeship would have spurred Gowon to bringing Banjo back into the supreme military council in those dicey months in 1967 before the war. A Banjo mind might have helped quell the eventually resort to war as the nation did in June 1967. Even as late as July 1967, Banjo had still written Gowon and requested that he be released.

Another question that remain unanswered concerning Victor Banjo would be regarding what happened to Banjo’s properties, money and land documents that the army took from his home in the morning of 17th January, 1966, following Banjo’s arrest. Family sources say that Gowon had led a detachment of soldiers to Banjo’s house and these men made away with a family cabinet that housed Banjo’s important documents. Banjo had written to Gowon in 1967, requesting that that cabinet be returned but it was never returned. Following Banjo’s death, his wife learnt that the documents to Banjo’s landed properties, insurance policies and children’s birth certificates were in that cabinet. If the family had had access to those documents, the Banjo family would not have suffered as much as they did when the children were growing up.

I am not saying that Gowon stole those documents. He surely would not have done that. But he certainly should know those who had those documents and should have had them released to the family, especially after Banjo’s wife had written him in 1971 requesting for them.

Yakubu Gowon has other unanswered questions on his plate. The question of his involvement in the killing of General Muritala Mohammed still remains a mystery till today. Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka had stated, after he was arrested in the failed coup of 1976, that he had been in discussions with Gowon at his home London, while he was in exile. Dimka said that Gowon had urged them to go on with the coup. Gowon issued a statement during that period where he denied meeting with Dimka and he stated he never collaborated with any of the coup plotters to overthrow the government of that day. Many fingers were however still pointed at Gowon. Most of the officers that led that coup came from Plateau State, where Gowon hails from. At the time, and because of the pain of the loss of Muritala, the army authorities arrested many officers that had any link with the coup. In fact most of them were executed on barely flimsy charges. Nigeria instituted extradition order on Gowon but the British government rejected it. It became a source of diplomatic row between Nigeria and Britain, with the two countries withdrawing their high commissioners back home. Till this moment, Gowon has not stated in clear terms his involvement with that coup.

Yakubu Gowon is the son of a Northern missionary. He comes from a stock of Christians in Northern Nigeria who had encountered the Christian faith in clearly providential manners. Gowon’s tribe descends from a group called the Isawas. They were an Islamic sect in Kano whose leader, in the mid 19th century, had become a follower of Jesus Christ by merely reading the Bible. Because his preaching were so Christ centered, he suffered martyrdom. But before he was killed, he had told his followers that some people would come from a far country and make his message clearer to them. Many years later, these people met white missionaries. Gowon descends from these gospel centered folks.

This might inform Gowon’s involvement with evangelical works today, especially his Pray Nigeria project. Gowon used to be called a son of a Catechist because his father was a devout Christian and had raised Gowon in that environment. To his credit, Gowon did warn his colleagues in the army against coups. He made it clear to them sometimes in 1954 that if a coup was to occur in Nigeria, there would be no end to coups in the country. It happened just as he said.

It is important that our elder statement document their life history. People like Muhammadu Buhari and Yakubu Gowon are repository of the history of this country and whatever they may have to say about critical moments in our national life is bound to help latter generation make better decisions that could propel this country in the right direction.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/yakubu-gowon-should-write-his-memoirs/

Well said MuttleyLaff and UceeGod

Portrait of a Blessed Man: Romans 4:6-7

By: Deji Yesufu

The leading reason why some of us consider the Prosperity Gospel idolatry is that there is essentially no difference between what a true adherent of this aberrant gospel pursue and what the world pursues. If we were to consider it closely, we would realize that health and money are essentially the quest of the man in the world. The Nigerian musician Olamide sang a song whose lyrics could be translated from Yoruba as following:

I would build houses and buy land

I would have riches and cars

I would prevail over demons and enemies

They would pick up tin cans from here to Portharcourt…

Is there a difference between what Olamide is pursuing in life and what David Oyedepo and Johnson Suleiman teach their adherents to pursue? I do not think so. Recently, Johnson Suleiman joined the league of Nigerian Pastors owning private jets. When he was criticized on the internet for it, he released a video where he said that that was just the beginning. He and members of his church, he said, would be purchasing as much as fifty private jets in the years to come. Their vision in life and those of Olamide, the Lagos gangster rapper, are not any different.

The question that these series, which I have been writing on for week now, is seeking to answer is this: who is a blessed man? What does a blessed person look like? Can we sketch a portrait of a blessed man and compare ourselves to him and see if we indeed look like him in our works of religion? Today, I want to look at a piece of scripture that Paul wrote where he described who a blessed man is. I want to use this scripture to add a few features of who a truly blessed is to the portrait that I would be sketching over a period of time. Let us therefore consider Paul’s words in Romans 4:6-7:

Blessed is the man whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord would not count his sin.

Paul, in these verses of scripture, is quoting David the Psalmist from Psalm 32:1-2. Here David is describing the righteousness that God inputs on men without their having done anything to deserve it. Paul had spoken about Abraham and his being justified by faith; earning a righteousness by faith from God simply because he believed in God (Romans 4:4-5). He therefore adds the concept of a true blessing by saying essentially three things: 1. A man who is blessed is a man whose sins are forgiven. 2. A man who is blessed is a man whose sins are covered. 3. A man who is blessed is a man against whom God would not hold sin.

Many people believe they understand what it means for God to forgive sins. You see religious people do or say something and they mutter under their breadth “God forgive me.” And because they no longer have a troubled conscience they their sins are forgiven. There are others who having come to living faith in Jesus Christ, have sought his face in genuine repentance and faith and can say that their sins are forgiven. This is a truly blessed state. However there is more.

Some people have a wrong view of what salvation through Christ is. They tell you that they understand that their sins are forgiven having come to faith in Christ Jesus. But they are not sure of their eternal state after becoming Christians. They believe that they can commit a certain mortal sin that can take them to hell. Paul shows us that this is not the picture we see from these verses in Romans 4:6-7. We see that while our sins are forgiven, they are also covered. What does covering mean?

I would not claim absolute authority here but I think that it has something to do with unconfessed sins of the Christian. I think that those sins we confess are forgiven. But the ones we forget to confess or even refuse to confess are the ones that are covered. The verse also goes on to say something else: that God would not hold iniquity against these blessed ones. What exactly could all these mean?

Simple. It is saying that the truly blessed man is the man sin can no longer damn. The true blessing of the New Testament is that while God would judge the whole world for their sins, God would not judge Christians by their sins. Rather, God has judged the sins of Christians on Christ Jesus on the cross. Praise the Lord!

The real trouble with the Prosperity Gospel is that it reject genuine blessings in Christ Jesus to pursue mundane things and call such the blessed life. Prosperity Preaching says that Christ died to save us from our sins and to save us from illness and poverty. In adding the concept of illness and poverty to the glorious works of the cross, Prosperity adherents are denied the glory of the true gospel. The glory of the gospel is that Christ redeems sinners from sin ALONE. In doing this, he does a thorough work of redemption such that there is no sin a Christian commits after salvation that can damn him!

It means that Christians cannot lose their salvation. But some will say that a doctrine like this would encourage licentiousness. The person who claims to have received the grace of salvation but uses it as an occasion to continue in sin, have not met the Lord of the cross. Such are false believers heading to an eternity without God without Christ. A true Christian, saved from sin, would not return to it to wallow in that sin.

But the point of this essay is not looking at the sin from the perspective of man but looking at it from the perspective of God. When we get to heaven, some of us may not have on our records such outrageous sins are murder, fornication and adultery. Yet, we would have little sins like gossip, malice, lust and so on in our records. These little sins are sufficient to damn us in hell. Why? Because God would not be judging us by the standard of men but by his holiness. And God is absolutely holy; no man can stand before him.

The only way we shall be able to enter into heaven is for us to have an advocate in Jesus Christ. Our Lord would, at that moment, cover the sins of the elect and remind God, according to his word in Psalm 32:1-2, that there are a people who are genuinely blessed. These ones would not have sin counted against them. Later in the epistle of Romans, Paul tells us that we have been delivered from the law of sin and death and translated into the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2). The former law had sinful man earn eternal death. The present law has men who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, by Christ Jesus, earn eternal life.

This is a truly blessed man and such a person who has a foretaste of this life in Jesus Christ do not spend their lives pursuing mundane things. They are content with little because they have all things. They have eternal life, having been delivered from the life of sin. Those who make Christianity a pursuit of mundane things have not met the Lord of glory. May God give every reader of this piece insight into this true blessed life in Christ. Amen.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/portrait-of-a-blessed-man-romans-46-7/

Attached picture: Deji Yesufu

Reflection on Two Pastors

By: Deji Yesufu

I am a product of my environment and I have been very fortunate to have listened to many seasoned ministers of the gospel throughout my life. These men, and women, have helped shape my thinking and form the foundation on which my Christian walk is built on today. Today, I wish to write about two men who have greatly influenced my Christian thinking but because I would be painting one of them in a negative light, I would not be mentioning either of their names. Instead I would call them my former pastor and my latter pastor – the latter pastor having influenced my thinking after my association with the former pastor.

It was Hank Hanegraaf that wrote the book “Christianity in Crisis”. It is a book that critically analyses the modern Prosperity Gospel and its effect on mainstream Christianity. The fact however is this: the title of that book describes the state of the whole professing Christianity worldwide today. Somebody was telling us on a Whatsapp group chat the other day that a friend was seeking a good church to go to in an area in Ghana and because she did not find one, she had to resort to going to a Jehovah Witnesses meeting. That was the only organized and sane assembly she could identify with – despite its heretic and unorthodox beliefs. That is just an example of the chaotic state Christianity is in the world today. Despite the gloom, however, these two men whom I would be reflecting on today still standout in contrast to the decadence around us.

I learnt discipline and organization from my former pastor. I use to worry over the fact that some pastors I knew in the past spent too much of their time counseling members of their congregation. Others spent most of their morning hours sleeping. They resume at work and do almost nothing till the close of the day. My former Pastor would resume at his office at 8am and would be in devotion, study and prayers till 1pm, before opening his door for counselling and other church matters. I loved the fact that he never joined the horde of “mighty ministers”. He maintained a simplicity that made him very approachable. All of these coupled with the fact that he studied well enough to deliver original sermons, and not something he heard from somebody else. I have always said to myself that if God grants for me to lead a church, I would imitate this style to the letter. Unfortunately, I do not know my latter pastor well enough to be able to say categorically how he spends his mornings. But coming from a rich Christian tradition like those of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who in his book Preaching and Preachers, a sermon of admonition to young ministers, one can be sure that my latter Pastor also does not “waste his mornings”, as Lloyd-Jones admonished in his book.

I have long discovered that the main trust in the messages of my former and latter pastors are categorically different. My latter pastor has two things he pursues in all his preaching: he wants those who are not Christians to come to saving faith in Christ and he wishes for Christians to continue faithful in Jesus Christ. My latter pastor is thoroughly convinced that false religion abounds in the world and that the greatest problem in the church today are unconverted persons professing to be Christians. My latter pastor labors on gospel themes in all his messages, with the hope that the Holy Spirit may convert the unsaved. My latter Pastor does not work miracles, he does not speak in tongues, and he does not give words of knowledge or wisdom. In fact, my latter pastor is not Pentecostal.

My former pastor, on the other hand, wishes that all Christians would have the good life. That is the main thrust of his messages. He is also concerned that people would be born again but it does not reflect much in his messages. The reason is because my former pastor holds to an erroneous belief that anyone who has said the sinners’ prayer at the altar of a church, is already a Christian – a kind of easy believism that pervades much of Christianity today. Therefore he holds to the notion that anyone who professes to be a Christian is already a Christian. His ministry therefore only builds on these existing facts. In my experience in his church, there have been rude moments when my former pastor had learnt that people who claimed they were Christians were actually not Christians. My former pastor holds to the Pentecostal Arminian belief that Christians can lose their salvation; so that much of the post converted life is spent teaching Christians how to “make heaven”.

My former pastor is the founder and General Overseer of the church he pastors. My latter pastor is an employee of the church he now pastors. Both of them have built the churches they lead to the present status that they presently are – a period that spans more than twenty five year for each of them. Because one is a founder and the other is an employee, their manner of governing the church is different. My former pastor is the chairman of the council of elders in the church. My latter pastor is not even a member of the council of elders. He is answerable to a crop of men that lead the church where he pastors. This allows for my latter pastor to be quite accountable to how he uses his time and church resources, while my former pastor has a lot of liberty in these areas.

My former and latter pastors have two different concepts of what Christian faith is. My former pastor believes that faith is a means to getting whatever you want from God – this comes from his strong Word of Faith background, and as a student of Kenneth Hagin, he has remained faithful to preaching faith in this manner. He believes that with faith you can get riches and find health for your sick bodies. He credit all the progress he has made in life to his faith. My latter pastor does not teach that faith is a means to get things from God. My latter pastor holds that true Christian faith justifies sinners before a holy God. He believes that true saving faith would makes a person holy and calls him to a lifelong walk of sanctification. My latter pastor is heavily critical of the Word of Faith movement. He does not think that all Pentecostals are heretics; he however holds that a lot of false Christianity flourishes in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. My latter pastor credits his progress in life to God and his wonderful sovereignty, and not merely to his faith.

Despite his faulty soteriology, I still think that my former Pastor is a genuine Christian. I have seen him under pressure and I have seen him depend on God and not idols like many Pentecostals do. He may be part of the last bastion of genuine Christians that proceeded out of the Pentecostal movement of the 1980s. Nonetheless, his ministry would be a lot better if he has the grace of mind to hear my latter pastor out and imitate his faith. I consider myself really fortunate to have been under the ministry of these two men. The Bible says: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrew 13:7).

I have the liberty today to consider the outcome of the lives of these two men and whom I should imitate is abundantly clear to me. I hope it is clear to you too.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/reflection-on-two-pastors/

Charles Darwin’s grave mistake

By Christine Farenhorst

One hundred and thirty-seven years ago, on April 19, 1882, a seventy-three-year-old man died at home in his bed. He was surrounded by his wife and two of his children, all three of whom wept inconsolably. His wife, who had held him against herself the last moments of his earthly strife, gently lowered him onto the bed. She stroked the white beard and closed the glazed eyes.

Even though the family sorrowed, there was also a sense of relief that the patient had finally succumbed to death. The last few weeks had been difficult. Angina attacks precipitated fear. He had refused to eat with his family, preferring to eat in his bedroom alone. He had observed his body with morbid interest, taking notes on what he saw. “Much pain,” he would jot down, or scratch out “dropped down,” after he succumbed to faints.

Tuesday, April 18, 1882, was his penultimate day and the pain began just before midnight. He woke his wife, to tell her that he was dying and she ran for his pills. Together with a servant she also administered brandy. But he was unable to keep it down, and retched miserably. He slept a little but vomited throughout most of the next morning, his body heaving and shuddering in agony.

“If I could but die,” he said repeatedly, intent on present escape and not focused on the fact that he would shortly face the Creator of his heart, the Judge of his soul. He vomited again and blood spewed out, spilling red onto his white and venerable looking beard. “Oh, God,” he cried, and again, “Oh, Lord God.” His pain appeared to be excruciating and lasted until he lost consciousness about a half-hour before he died. And Charles Darwin was no more on the earth he had with human textbook clarity consigned to evolutionary origins.

*****

Charles Darwin, (1809-1882), was the youngest son of an English doctor – one who did not believe in God. His paternal grandfather, an Erasmus Darwin, was also a doctor and an atheist – one who believed in the natural ascent of life and in the kinship of all creatures. Young Charles liked the outdoors. He reveled in collecting shells and bird eggs. Although his father wanted him to become a doctor, like himself and his father before him, Charles had no interest in following their footsteps. He dropped out of medical school, studied theology for a while, and then went on to become a naturalist.

In 1831, when Charles was 22, he was hired as a naturalist aboard a ship called the Beagle and left England for a five-year excursion around the world. During this trip, Darwin was particularly intrigued by the plants and animals on the Galapagos Islands, several hundred miles off the west coast of South America.

Darwin’s conclusions at the end of this trip are well known and have had repercussions around the world. He inferred that all species – the entire plant and animal kingdom – resulted from environmental adaptations over millions of years. In other words, God did not create the world in six days, but the world was the product of millions of years of evolution. In 1859, Darwin published these conclusions in a book entitled, The Origin of Species.

The fact that Darwin stated God did not create things but that they arose through natural processes, and the fact that he promoted the existence of the universe as an accident with no purpose, were both in direct conflict with the Word of God.

*****

Darwin had expressed the wish to be buried in the churchyard in the village of Downe, some sixteen miles south of London, where he had lived and worked most of his married life. He wanted his grave to be next to the graves of three of his children under a great yew tree. But such was the mood of the day – that a fool without clothes could be held up as a king – that one who openly flouted God could be hailed as a saint.

Freethinking friends, wanting to honor the dead atheist, presented the Dean of Westminster with the request that Charles Darwin be buried within that church. Petitions went around and many influential government people signed, indicating that they thought Darwin’s last resting place should be one of glory among other English patriots. The Standard, a newspaper, urging the family to comply with popular feeling, wrote:

“Darwin died as he had lived, in the quiet retirement of the country home which he loved; and the sylvan scenes amidst which he found the simple plants and animals that enabled him to solve the great enigma of the Origin of Species may seem, perhaps to many of his friends, the fittest surroundings for his last resting place.

“But one who has brought such honor to the English name, and whose death is lamented throughout the civilized world, to the temporary neglect of the many burning political and social questions of the day, should not be laid in a comparatively obscure grave. His proper place is amongst those other worthies whose reputations are landmarks in the people’s history, and if it should not clash with his own expressed wishes, or the pious feelings of the family, we owe it to posterity to place his remains in Westminster Abbey, among the illustrious dead who make that noble fame unrivaled in the world.”[1]

Darwin was compared with Newton, foreign tributes to him poured in and in the end the Dean of Westminster acquiesced to the request that the body be laid to rest in the Abbey. Undertakers dispensed tickets of admission to the widely advertised funeral and an expensive coffin was sent to Downe for the body’s repose.

No newspaper paused to consider the fact that burial at Westminster might present a religious obstacle. The Standard said: “True Christians can accept the main scientific facts of Evolution just as they do of Astronomy and Geology, without any prejudice to more ancient and cherished beliefs.”[2]

The Daily News stated: “…. Darwin’s doctrine was quite consistent with strong religious faith and hope.”

It wasn’t just the newspapers which blew Darwin’s trumpet. Ministers praised the dead man as well. Canon Prothero, Queen Victoria’s chaplain, said on the pulpit, that Darwin had pursued the truth and in him had lived “… that charity which is the essence of the true spirit of Christ.”[3] The canon at Westminster Abbey, an Alfred Barry, echoed the queen’s chaplain’s sentiment by saying that Darwin’s theory of natural selection was “by no means alien to the Christian religion.”[4] At St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, another minister lauded Darwin for the patience and care in which he had recorded minute facts. In this way he had brought about a revolution in modern thought and shed high distinction on English science.[5]

The funeral was not attended by either Queen Victoria or Gladstone, her Prime Minister. Neither had expressed an appreciation for Origin of Species. But thousands of others did attend. Judges, Parliament members, the Lord Mayor of London, ambassadors, scientists and a great many people from the ordinary homes and hearths of London. Multitudes entered the Abbey, all handing in their funeral tickets at the door. After these had all settled in their pews, the doors opened to those who had no tickets. These people filled the less desirable seats in the northwest side of the Abbey.

At noon Canon Prothero entered with the choir as they jubilantly sang “I am the resurrection.” The family, flanking the coffin, which was draped in black velvet and covered with white blossoms, followed. A specially composed hymn was sung after a Bible lesson. The words of the hymn came from Proverbs: “Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and getteth understanding.”

Darwin’s funeral service

It is not entirely strange to suppose that the devil occupied one of the pews of Westminster that day. He for one was well aware that Darwin had said, “If God had planted the knowledge of His existence in humans, all would possess it.”[6] He also knew Darwin had said that “the plain language of the New Testament seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my father, brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine.”[7] And the devil must have slapped his knees in mirth thinking about Darwin’s public confession: “I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, and therefore not in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.”[8]

In the end, Darwin’s coffin was lowered underneath Newton’s monument as the choir rendered another selection, “His body is buried in peace, but his name liveth evermore.” People were awed at the solemnity of the moment. The mourners filed out. Darwin had been interred as a symbol of English success in the field of science – that is to say, he had put forward the thought that man was just an animal – an accident of cosmic evolution with no ultimate purpose.

*****

Society would never be the same. Although Darwin only put a framework to what many people were already thinking, and to what itching ears were desirous of hearing, the consequences of what he contributed were severe.

Racism was rampant in the thinking among early evolutionists. Ernst Haeckel, (1834-1919), the great proponent of Darwin’s theory in Germany, wrote:

“The mental life of savages rises little above that of the higher mammals, especially the apes, with which they are genealogically connected… Their intelligence moves within the narrowest bounds, and one can no more (or no less) speak of their reason than of that of the more intelligent animals… These lower races (such as the Veddahs or Australian negroes) are psychologically nearer to the mammals (apes or dogs) than to civilized Europeans; we must, therefore, assign a totally different value to their lives.”[9]

The idea that white people were superior led to the practice of eugenics – a campaign to improve humankind through selective breeding. James Perloff, in his book Tornado in a Junkyard, writes:

“…In Britain, Charles Darwin’s son Leonard became president of the Eugenics Education Society. In the U.S., the movement caught fire in the early twentieth century. By 1935, 35 states had enacted laws requiring the sexual isolation and sterilization of ‘unfit’ people – including the retarded, the ‘feeble-minded’, chronic criminals, and even epileptics. Proposed legislation targeted tuberculosis sufferers, alcoholics, the blind and homeless. About 70,000 Americans were involuntarily sterilized before the practice was stopped.”[10]

Nietzsche, (1844-1900), was influenced by Darwin’s theory. He denounced Christianity and declared: “God is dead.” He then advanced the idea of the “superman” and a “master race.” This idea was taken over by Hitler, (1889-1945), who consequently killed his millions insanely believing that Darwin’s theory of evolution justified and sanctified his cruel actions.

Hitler was not the only madman Darwin influenced. Karl Marx, (1818-1883), viewed Darwin’s work as a basis in natural science for the class struggle throughout history.[11] He actually wanted to dedicate his Communist book, Das Kapital, to Darwin, but Darwin refused the “honor.”

Stalin, (1879-1953), as well, who began his studies as a theology student, changed his thinking after he was exposed to the theory of evolution. In a book, published in 1940, Landmarks in the Life of Stalin, this change is recorded by the author Yaroslavsky in these words:

‘“At a very early age, while still a pupil in the ecclesiastical school, Comrade Stalin developed a critical mind and revolutionary sentiments. He began to read Darwin and became an atheist. G. Glurdjidze, a boyhood friend of Stalin’s relates:

“I began to speak of God. Joseph heard me out, and after a moment’s silence said: ‘You know they are fooling us, there is no God…’

“I was astonished at these words. I had never heard anything like it before. ‘How can you say so, SoSo?’ I exclaimed.

“‘I’ll lend you a book to read; it will show you that the world and all living things are quite different from what you imagine, and all this talk about God is sheer nonsense,’ Joseph said.

“‘What book is that?’ I enquired.

“‘Darwin, You must read it,’ Joseph impressed on me.’”[12]

Joseph Stalin also killed his millions.

The Chinese leader, Mao Tse-tung, (1893-1976), regarded Darwin as a teaching influence in his life. Calling Darwin the founder of Chinese scientific socialism, Mao was responsible for the death of millions of people.

Andrew Carnegie, (1835-1919), and John D. Rockefeller, (1839-1937), were also Darwinists. They were both ruthless businessmen who practiced “survival of the fittest” in their business dealings. Carnegie said:

“When I, along with three or four of my boon companions, was in this stage of doubt about theology, including the supernatural element, and indeed the whole scheme of salvation through vicarious atonement and all the fabric built upon it, I came fortunately upon Darwin’s and Spencer’s works… I remember that light came as a flood and all was clear. Not only had I got rid of theology and the supernatural, but I had found the truth of evolution. ‘All is well since all grows better’ became my motto, my true source of comfort.”[13]

Rockefeller financed the preaching of Harry Emerson Fosdick’s radio ministry. He brazenly accepted evolution and downgraded the Bible into mythology.[14]

*****

So Charles Darwin rests beneath the cold cement of Westminster Abbey. Or does he? Is his eternal soul at peace? Well aware of the tenets of Christianity, he knew that his ideas would destroy the faith of millions. He referred to Origin of Species as “my accursed book.” There was considerable trauma associated with his writing of the final draft. In the year leading up to publication he was rarely able to write for more than 20 minutes at a time without stomach pains, and he finished the proof on October 1, 1859, in between fits of vomiting.[15]

Ten days before the proofs were bound he wrote to his friend J.D. Hooker,

“I have been very bad lately; having had an awful ‘crisis’ one leg swelled like elephantiasis – eyes almost closed up – covered with a rash and fiery boils: but they tell me it will surely do me much good. – it was like living in Hell!”

His modern biographers talk of Darwin’s self-doubt, his nagging, gnawing fear that “I … have devoted my life to a phantasy.”[16] It is not surprising that Darwin was subject to a “gnawing” fear nor the fact that he admitted that, in the dead of night, terror would strike him with painful force when he thought of the possibility of an afterlife. And so his body lies in Westminster Abbey – a grave mistake – an unwise decision.

And what, after all, is true wisdom? Is it not the fear of the Lord? May God grant that the eyes of many hearts may be enlightened. Let voices not be afraid to cry out loudly without fear that evolution is a hoax and that it literally hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Edmund Clowney’s hymn, “Vast the Immensity” is a witness to God’s wisdom and creation.

Vast the immensity, mirror of majesty,
Galaxies spread in a curtain of light:
Lord, Your eternity rises in mystery
There where no eye can see, infinite height!

Sounds Your creative word, forming both star and bird,
Shaping the cosmos to win Your delight;
Order from chaos springs, form that your wisdom brings,
Guiding created things, infinite might!

Who can Your wisdom scan? Who comprehend Your plan?
How can the mind of man Your truth embrace?
Here does Your Word disclose more than Your power shows,
Love that to Calv’ry goes, infinite grace!

Triune Your majesty, triune Your love to me,
Fixed from eternity in heav’n above.
Father, what mystery, in Your infinity
You gave Your Son for me, infinite love!

END NOTES

1 Desmond and Moore, The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist, Warner Books,1991, page 668.
2 Ibid, page 670
3 Ibid, page 671
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid, page 251.
7 Ibid, page 623.
8 Ibid, page 634-5.
9 Perloff, Tornado in a Junkyard, Refuge Books, 1999, page 220.
10 Ibid, page 221.
11 bid, page 225.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid, page 226.
14 Ibid.
15 Creation, Ex Nihilo, Vol. 17 No 4. September-November 1995, ‘Darwin’s Mystery Illness, by Russell Grigg, page 29.
16 Ibid.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/1505609702848568/posts/2091443287598537/

Link by Daddy Freeze:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ch-OFS2Ng

Link provided initially by MuttleyLaff

Redeemed Pastors, their Daughter and an Abortion

By: Deji Yesufu

Daddy Freeze, leader of the Free the Sheeple Movement, published a video on YouTube on 31st of March, 2019. In the video, Freeze has a couple before him who have been prevented from having peace in their matrimonial home because the parent of the wife are against their being together.

The parent do not want their daughter, a Christian, to be married to a Muslim. The Muslim man, in the said video, had met this girl in Lagos and she “fell pregnant” for him. When she visited her parent again in Ibadan, her mother immediately noticed that she must be pregnant. The lady, about 23 years old at that time, did not deny it. When she was further queried by her parent, she revealed whom she had been with. As at this time, they were not married. The parent of the girl were unhappy but nothing more was said about the matter.

The husband continues the narration: one day the parent took the girl to a clinic – ostensibly to check on the well-being of the baby. The girl was given an injection and she became unconscious. She woke up and found herself in a pool of her own blood. She knew immediately that her child had been removed. Fortunately for her, she was not killed; although the abortion led to her losing a great deal of blood. When her boyfriend then, now her husband, was informed, he passed out. This couple eventually came to terms with their loss and pleaded with the lady’s parent that they should be allowed to start their own family.

The lady’s parent refused. On one occasion, when the lady fled her home, and was staying with this guy, the parent of the lady brought law enforcement agents to his house and had him arrested. During one of the many interrogations he endured, which was often accompanied with much beating, one of his interrogators advised them to seal the union in a court of law. Soon after this, they were married and are today blessed with a baby girl. Yet the parent of this girl are against the marriage. Their grouse? They are both Redeemed Pastors here in Ibadan and would not allow their daughter to be married to a Muslim.

The saddest part of this story was how all the parties involved in it belittled the matter of the abortion committed. Even Daddy Freeze, the convener of the program, felt that the issue of abortion should not be over flogged. For me, that is where my discussion on this matter must start from. I am not sure what the laws of Nigeria say about abortion, but the laws of God regard abortion as murder and if anyone should know anything about the laws of God, it should be pastors in a so called church. If they do not know this, it is in order to question the kind of calling these pastors claim to have. A child, made in the image of God, regardless of whose child it is, has been killed. Murder has occurred and the parents of this girl ought to be repenting before God or they would one day stand to answer to their deeds on the Day of Judgment.

In this day that all kinds of sins have been belittled and called mild names, God still regard abortion as killing and the worst part is that the person killed in this matter is a vulnerable child, growing in the safest part of the world – its mother’s womb. I do also hope that the Redeemed Church would call these pastors and have this matter examined. In my estimation this singular act, if true, has rendered this people’s ministry null and void and this couple ought to be disqualified from whatever ministry they may claim to be carrying out for God.

This story also reveal to those of us who are Christian parent the need to bring up our children in the way of the Lord. Our children, from the earliest age, must know their boundaries. They must know right from wrong. A Christian girl, from the earliest of age, must understand that she cannot be in a relationship with a Muslim. Daddy Freeze claims that there is no law in the Bible that says that a Christian cannot marry a Muslim; yet there is 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says that we cannot be unequally yoked with unbelievers. A Christian cannot marry a Muslim. And I understand that even true Muslims do not marry Christians.

A child, from the earliest age must understand these boundaries and they must know that no matter how much they may be in love with another person, sex is only permitted in the confines of marriage. Besides other things that it could lead to, sex outside marriage beclouds right judgment and it is the root of the problem for this couple. Even though one blames the parents of this lady for committing abortion, there is still the biblical place of a parent granting permission for their children before they are married. But when sex, and subsequently pregnancy comes in, sound decisions cannot be made.

More importantly, the fundamental problem that I see in this whole story is the playing out of mere religion. Neither of the parties in this story is genuinely committed to the religion that they practice and because of this, religion should not be the basis for judging the persons involved in the drama. The parent of the girl, that would readily commit murder because they are shielding their child from a Muslim man, are not Christians. They are unbelievers who ought to come to know whom the God of the Bible is. Similarly, neither the girl nor the man are sincerely committed to the tenets of their repective religions. For this reason, I think this matter should be judged purely on natural justice. The couple, who are legally married today, should be allowed by the girl’s family to continue as married people. The family of the girl should bless the choice that their daughter has made and pray that her home succeed.

The enormity of this matter weighs heavily on me even as I raise two children in a supposedly Christian home. Whatever my children would hold as values by the time they are eighteen years of age, would determine whether or not I have succeeded as a parent in raising up godly seeds. If my children grow up to make such flagrant moral mistakes as this lady has made, I should blame myself first. My number one duty as a Christian parent is to reveal the person of the Lord Jesus Christ to my children. They must know him for themselves before they become adults. The other day my son, who is five years old now, told me that he could not remove the cardigan he wore to day care because I had clearly told him not to do so. Children who are properly brought up would have the laws of their parents etched upon their hearts and these laws would guide them through life.

It is however still not enough that children are guided by the rules of religion. A child may know all the laws of the Bible and keep them, and still not be a Christian. If by the grace of God a child is converted, the laws that were external would now become internalized. Such a child would no longer be guided by the parents alone; now he or she would have the counsel of the Holy Spirit to guide them through life.

A person can be a pastor in a church for many years, he may be able to speak in tongues; indeed the Bible says that some would even work miracles, yet they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the fruit of a person’s life that reveals whether or not they are Christians. The parent of this girl ought to be brought to the place of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The girl and her husband should be permitted to live their lives in peace. This girl would also need to understand the Christian gospel and find genuine faith in Christ Jesus. Hopefully she would be able to influence her husband to know the Lord also.

As the drama play out, those of us who are genuinely concerned about the state of religion in Nigeria should continue to uphold the light of the truth of God’s word. I also think that we should remember to pray for all the persons involved in this drama; that the Lord Jesus may shine his light of truth and redemption on all who are involved. Amen.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/redeemed-pastors-their-daughter-and-an-abortion/

MuttleyLaff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqF3sYOHoEg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h-heosCy2o


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxHjyOzT6Qg

Here are clips as promised
Dont be fooled by the titles, he is still a believer, and that matters a great deal lot.
Just pay attention to every word as he narrates the politics, seedy deals, settlements, ambitions, deceptions, treacheries, disillusionments etcetera

Ok

MuttleyLaff:
I will asap paste the clips of how Naija churches roll in the bed with the establishment.

Uploaded on Facebook. Reactions are very interesting. On the other hand, it seen these things do not shock Nigerians anymore

MuttleyLaff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ch-OFS2Ng
You need to have one quiet nice day to watch the above YouTube clips, you'll be doing a SMH whilst your ears get full
I changed the clips for this one, if you havent got a strong liver, please dont watch it. It is a very emotional clip.
The original clips I was going to offer are a two part full of seedy deals scandals between church and establishment etcetera

Thanks MuttleyLaff. I'll be watching it right away

The first installment from last week:

Portrait of a Blessed Man: Oyedepo as Case Study

By: Deji Yesufu

During the course of the past week, an online news medium published a story saying that David Oyedepo, the presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Churches, worldwide, had opened a new housing estate. The photo, which is attached to this article, showed a smiling Oyedepo with pictures of the housing estate that had scores of houses already finished, waiting for their lucky occupants to have them. As of the time of writing this article, David Oyedepo is said to be the third richest pastor in the world. He is clearly the richest pastor in Africa and his wealth continues to increase. Some have tried to estimate his riches to be no less than $150B; however David Oyedepo waves such reports away. He states confidently that he is a lot wealthier than those reports state. David Oyedepo, some would say, is a picture of a blessed man.

Concluded:

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/portrait-of-a-blessed-man-oyedepo-as-case-study/

Portrait of a Blessed Man: Response to Pastor Keji Ajayi

By: Deji Yesufu

A friend who read the first part of this series, subtitled “A Case Study of David Oyedepo”, came to the conclusion that I was a disciple of Sunday Adelaja. He felt that for me to have called Oyedepo cursed and not blessed, I must have been listening to a lot of Adelaja’s sermons. So he sent me a Whatsapp voice recording by one Pastor Keji Ajayi. In this recording, Mr. Ajayi was of the opinion that Sunday Adelaja was instigating rebellion in the body of Christ. He said that no one should condemn the ministry of men like Enoch Adeboye, David Oyedepo, Daniel Olukoya or W. F. Kumuyi. He gave the impression that these men were sacred vessels that should not be toyed with. He said he understood that there are so many things wrong with the way ministry is being run in Nigeria but he is still of the opinion that Adelaja ought not to be bringing these men to the public arena and washing the church’s dirty linen in public. He said this is causing many young people to be emboldened to condemn these men too and soon enough there would be anarchy in the churches in Nigeria, if the situation is left unchecked.

I felt sorry for Mr. Keji Ajayi and I thought I should leave a word of response for him in my column for this weekend. I would begin with a story: a few years ago I read a book called “Churches that Abuse” by Ronald M. Enroth. That book chronicled the things some church goers had experienced in the name of going to Pentecostal Churches in America. I then thought to begin to write a Nigerian version of that book but I could not continue. The few case studies of what Nigerians are experiencing in the hands of pastors in this country is not only heart rending, it is mind boggling. Mr. Ajayi mentions one popular Pastor on Lagos Ibadan expressway and says that the man is a sacred cow that should not be touched by criticism. Yet the stories I heard about this same Nigerian G.O, how he has a child out of wedlock, how he has used this same child as sacrifice to bring signs and wonders to his ministry, and how the city he has built there on the expressway has become a den of robbers, etc, is something else. Another one of the aforementioned pastors was sharing a girlfriend with a friend of mine many years ago. The said lady would later be married off to a pastor in the ministry and rumour has it that Mr. G.O still has “access”. I dropped the project. As much as I would wish to publish the story, I do not have the resources for legal battles they would conjure. Let the deceived continue to be deceived.

But that is not the sorry thing about these churches that person like me and Adelaja criticize. The sorriest thing about them is that the message that they preach is not Christian. Unfortunately, this is where Sunday Adelaja and myself would part. Pastor Adelaja would criticize these pastors mostly on the PRACTICES in their churches. I criticize them on the message they preach. This is why I could call David Oyedepo cursed. Oyedepo is not cursed because he has a private jet, or because he is the richest pastor in Africa, or because he built a city called Canaan Land. No. Oyedepo is cursed because he does not preach the Christian gospel. He preaches another gospel – he preaches a gospel of health and wealth. Which is not a gospel of Christ and anyone who preaches such a gospel, according to Galatians 1:6-9, is cursed. He is not a Christian; he is heading to an eternity without God and without Christ. David Oyedepo’s situation is peculiar, while the other pastors would need to be examined one after the other to come to a conclusion on them. And the reason why it is so important that one rings this alarm bells is simply this: if you believe the message that Oyedepo preaches, if you think Oyedepo is a Christian, you are very likely not a Christian yourself. You are very likely heading to an eternity without Christ and without God.

Having established this point, let me move to the matter of rancour in the body of Christ because of the things Adelaja, Yesufu and others are preaching. Once I did a series on conflict in the churches. In that series, I examined two scenarios from Acts 15 and showed how Apostles debated the matter of circumcision. It should be noted that despite the conclusion of that meeting, the Judaizers still continued to preach Jesus plus circumcision as a way to eternal life. Also in that passage, Paul and Barnabas had very disagreement. The Bible records that the disagreement was so sharp – over the matter of whether or not to take John Mark along with them for the second Missionary journey, after Mark had abandoned them in the first journey. In that series, I came to this conclusion that Jesus Christ is the author of some conflicts in the church. He creates them. He births them. And he coordinates them all so that it would bring glory and honor to his name.

Those who are in doubt of this fact would need to examine the emergence of the Protestant churches in the 16th century. If church was supposed to be all niceties and no debate, we would all still be bowing to the Roman Catholic Mary and be heading to a deceptive purgatory. But the Protestant fathers withstood the heresies of their day by calling the churches to a sufficient scriptures. It created conflict. It caused wars. But by the close of the day, there was toleration and liberty to practice one’s religion.

I am also concerned about persons who carrying this message of the reformation beyond even what was intended. I am particularly not comfortable hearing anyone criticize Pastor Kumuyi. Of all the Pentecostal pastors in this country, I think that man stands out. But unfortunately he has not been able to distinguish his ministry from the ministry of his charlatan friends and I am not surprised that when the tsunami came, it has dragged his own name in the mud. I also think that Pastor Sunday Adelaja is taking things too far. One of the easiest things to do is to state what is wrong; but it is even more difficult to show people what is right. And Pastor Adelaja is not helping his ministry with the kind of allegations trailing his personal life. Those who would enter into this reformation work must come with clean hands. If anything keeps me above board concerning moral matters, it is the fact that I have also criticized others. If I fall today, I would be mince meat for many.

Let me conclude by drawing an analogy from the scriptures that Pastor Ajayi used himself. It is the parable of the wheat and the tares. Christ calls us to allow them all to grow. There would come a time of judgement when God would sort the wheat from the tares. Just as we have the wheat and the tares in Pentecostal ministry, we also have them in those in the reformation circle. With time the false would be weeded and the true would remain.

Let me help Pastor Ajayi put his recorded message in perspective. I believe that Christ is able to protect both his honor and the honor of people truly serving him in the body of Christ. He does not need you, sir, to help him do it. There is one thing that concerns our Lord above even his honor and that thing, I believe, is the matter of the gospel in the world today. While the churches wine and dine; build cathedral and buy jets; and flaunt riches in the eyes of the world; millions flock into hell without Christ and without God. God wishes that the church grasp the true Christian gospel and then preach this. This is what would save sinners. Men would not be saved until they hear the gospel. If what you preach is not the gospel, it is a righteous thing for God to ensure that every battle is fought to rid that message of falsehood until the truth remain, because it is that truth that would save sinners. Or else all we would have is Pharisees making proselytes and turning them to be twice the son of hell that they are.

If you find me criticize Oyedepo, Adeboye or Olukoya, know that it is not because what they do; it is because of what they preach. And when the true gospel is lived and preached by our pastors, ultimately they would begin to do what is right. They would carry Christ out honoring actions in the nations that men would behold their good works and glorify our God in heaven. If all men condemn you, you may wish to look at yourself carefully to be sure that you are actually not condemned by God too.

Deji Yesufu is author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2069415186468014&id=1505609702848568

This road is at Iwo Rd. Linking the Lagos Ibadan express way.

This is a link road from Anifalaje, Akobo, to Ojoo/Iwo Rd. Express. It was a beautiful and well constructed road until telecommunication companies came to it with their cables.