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Tag: ‘men of God’

  • Should men of God entangle themselves in politics?

    Dictionary definition of politicking is to be engaged in political activity, such as seeking votes. Politicking is an act of intrigues and manoeuvres. A politician, therefore, is one who seeks the votes of the electorates through intrigues and manoeuvres.

    Jesus made it very clear that His disciples are not of this world, even as He was not of this world. And we all know that politicking is of the world, and it is not of God but of the devil, who is the prince of this world and its vain-glories.

    Jesus Christ resisted every temptation of the devil, to entice Him with the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them (Matthew 4:8-10). Jesus also resisted every attempt by the people to make Him a king by force (John 6:15).

    In Judges 9:7-15, Jotham, one of the sons of Gideon, spoke a parable: “The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 

    “And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 

    “Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”

    The olive tree, the fig tree and the vine tree, in this parable, are symbolic and can be likened to those men of God, who have a divine calling and recognise the importance of a life of consecration to their divine assignment.  So, they will not want to be distracted from their divine assignment by any other earthly assignment.

    The bramble in this parable can be likened to anyone without divine calling in the Lord’s vineyard, and so, will not mind to get himself involved in politicking. Men of God, who actually have a divine calling, are soldiers, who have been chosen by Jesus, the Commander of the army of heaven.

    They are always at war with the unseen forces of the land, and so, if they must please Jesus, they cannot entangle themselves in the affairs of this life, one of which is politicking (2 Timothy 2:4).

    Any man of God, who is in politics, cannot escape the friendship of the world, and being a friend of the world. Such a man of God is an adulterer and an enemy of God (James 4:4.)

    Jesus said in John 18:36 His kingdom was not of this world. So also the kingdom of genuine men of God and of all the saints of God, is not of this world. Their kingdom is yet to come, when they shall reign with Christ as kings and priests (Revelation 5:10).

    Genuine men of God and genuine Christians who are into politicking, and who desire to enter heaven, are therefore warned by the Almighty God to come out from amongst these politicians and be separate and never to touch their unclean thing.

    • George is a member of CHRISTIAN GOSPEL CHURCH

    (The Truth Centre), Benin City, writes in through cgc.com.ng@gmail.com

  • Men of God, flee politicking

    Politicking, by dictionary definition, is to be engaged in political activity, as seeking votes. Politicking is also an act of intriguing or manoeuvring. A politician, therefore, is one who is engaged in political activity and by intrigues and manoeuvres, seeks the votes of the electorates.  A typical example of politicking, in the bible, is that of Abimelech in Judges 9:1-6.

    To achieve his ambition of becoming a King, Abimelech, by an act of manoeuvring and intrigues, was able to convince the people to support this ambition. With the money given to him from a shrine known as Baal-berith, he hired thugs to eliminate his opponents.

    But verses 56-57 show us Abimelech and all his supporters, received the judgment of God for all their wickedness.

    In verses 8-15, Jotham says: “The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 

    “And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

    “And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

    “And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” 

    The olive tree, the fig tree and the vine tree, in this parable symbolise the men of God who have a divine calling and recognize the importance of a life of consecration to this assignment. They also recognize the fact that they have been chosen as soldiers of Christ against Satan and his army, and so, will not want to entangle themselves in the affairs of this life, especially politicking.

    1Timothy 2:4 says: “No man that warreth  entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please Him who has chosen him to be a soldier.” The bramble symbolises that person who calls himself man of God but has no divine calling. Such a bramble, like Abimelech in this parable, will not see anything wrong in politicking.

    Men of God get entangled in politicking either because of pride of life, which is not of God but of the world in 1 John 2:16 states or because of the LOVE OF MONEY. But they are commanded in 1 Timothy 6:11 to flee these things because they are the root of all the evil that have made many men of God to err from the faith, having coveted after them.

    Therefore our Kingdom as men of God and as the saints of God is not of this world. Our kingdom is yet to come when we shall reign with Christ as kings and priests as Revelation 5:10 reveals. It says. “AND HAST MADE US UNTO OUR GOD KINGS AND PRIESTS. AND WE SHALL REIGN ON THE EARTH.” This is the millennial reign of Christ on earth here. This present world and all its vainglory belong to Satan, the prince of the world.

  • Christians and men of God, learn of Jesus, the truth

    In Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus commands us to learn of Him because He is meek and lowly in hear. He says: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

    Being meek and lowly in heart is to be humble and submissive before God and to be modest and moderate. In Philippians 4:5,   Christians are advised to let their moderation known to all men for the Lord is at hand.

    Jesus, in His meekness, chose to ride upon an ass, rather than a horse in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The yoke and burden of Jesus is exemplified by His humility and total submission to the will of His Father, and moderation in whatever He did.

    Even one of His disciples, Joseph of Arimathea, took upon himself the easy yoke and the light burden of burying Jesus, his Master, in a very simple way, even though he was a rich man as recorded in Matthew 27:57-60.

    To bury, actually means, by dictionary definition, to hide in the ground or to cover. And this was exactly what God did in burying Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5-6) and what that rich Disciple Joseph of Arimathea did to the body of Jesus.

    The sentimental reverence and unnecessary honour given to dead bodies by believers in Christ, is known as NECROLATRY, which is a branch of IDOLATRY. And the judgment of God upon idolaters, in this case, necrolaters, is stated in Revelation 21:8.

    Unfortunately all over the world today, especially in Nigeria, “dead” bodies have become objects of worship and admiration, even more than the living so much so that, there are always controversies, about who must bury, where to bury and how to bury, and most times, violence and threat to lives.

    One begins to wonder why so-called believers in Christ strive over dead bodies as unbelievers. There is a particular religious sect, who are not even Christians, that buries their loved ones, no matter how highly placed in the society, according to the doctrine of God.

    It is a big shame that those who profess to know Christ and even majority of our ‘Ministers of God’ encourage their members to give their loved ones a so-called “befitting” burial.

    It is unfortunate that many church leaders today have not been transformed by the renewing of their minds to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, concerning burials and so, they conform to the world contrary to God’s command in ROMANS 12:2.

    The major concern of true Christians, therefore, should be the eternal destination of the soul and spirit of their loved ones, whether they are in hell like the rich man, or they are in heaven, like Lazarus.

    Above all, they should also be concerned about the eternal destination of their own soul and spirit when they depart from this world! The conveyance of “corpses” from one place to another for burial especially to one’s native land is all VANITY.

    It is Satan’s heavy yoke and burden and it is the tradition in most tribes, which also transgresses the commandment of God recorded in Matthew 15:3.

    The body of Jesus was NOT conveyed to Bethlehem where He was born but He was buried outside Bethlehem. It is shocking to know that some believers in Christ, who are destitute of the truth, even make a “will”, requesting their “corpses” after death be taken to their villages for burial.

    Jesus Christ never made a “will” that His body be taken to Bethlehem, His birth-place. The place where the dead body of a loved one is buried, does not in any way, change the eternal destination of the soul and spirit of that loved one, either in heaven or in hell because Hebrews 9: 27 says it is appointed unto men, once to die, but after this, the judgment.

    What is worrisome is a violent situation in which most parents, even believers in Christ, demand for the corpses of their deceased daughters or sons who were already married before the demise of anyone of them.

    In Matthew 19:5, Jesus said the man, having left father and mother, shall cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh. Likewise the wife, as written in Psalm 45:10. It is therefore the divine right of the husband to decide how the late wife should be buried and where to bury her and the divine right of the wife to decide how the late husband should be buried and where to bury him.

    In GENESIS 23:14, it is recorded that Abraham buried his wife, without any strife from whatever quarters. And the only money spent in burying his wife was the price paid for the land, where he buried his wife. It did not incur any heavy financial burden.

    More worrisome is the psychological and in most cases physical trauma, inflicted upon widows and the fatherless children by family members especially of deceased husbands.

    This is a transgression of the commandment of God in Exodus 22:22-24, “Ye Shall Not Afflict Any Widow, Or Fatherless Child. If Thou Afflict Them In Any Wise, And They Cry At All Unto Me, I Will Surely Hear Their Cry; And My Wrath Shall Wax Hot, And I Will Kill You With The Sword; And Your Wives Shall Be Widows, And Your Children Fatherless.”

    George is a member of Christian Gospel Church, Benin City

  • The con Men of God – Charlyboy

    The con Men of God – Charlyboy

    O boy, Na wa oooo!

    The way most Nigerians dey take carry matter for head dey crack my ribs. True true, I no lie when I say “Nigerians are the most Arrogantly Ignorant bunch of people.”

    Many times I know say our Mumu no Get photocopy.

    Just because I say many Naija pastors Na con men, come see reactions.

    But, I send anybody?

    Don’t get me wrong, I know there are some genuine prophets out there, but most so-called Men of God are nothing but a con. Just like it is hard to find a real friend, a real lover, a real leader, and a real anything, it is also very hard to find a selfless man propagating the ethos of the enigma called God. In essence, not everyone who mention God truly knows God.

    I remember when I was “in the world”

    Charlyboy Willy Willy no start today oooo!!!!

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    In 1972, as a student of Holy Ghost college Owerri, in Imo State, I built and contrived a reputation of the strongest “Native Doctor” in Owerri. This my hustle no get part 2.

    I made fake charms and prayed for Fellow students to pass their exams, many came to me, many carried my story to all nooks and crannies in Imo state. They swore that I was a spirit. I was the most feared in school, by the teachers and Principal not to mention the students.

    Holy Ghost college in 1972/1973 won the Nigerian Secondary School Cup. I was the man behind our goal post, through my charms and invocation the ball always deviated, but the few times our opponent scored could always be explained away. The Mumu’s who paid me on behalf of the school, forgot we had the best players in Nigeria then. All sorts of unbelievable stories were rife about me. People ascribed to me all kinds of supernatural powers. Meeeen I was living off the ignorant Mumu’s around.

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    Long and short of this story, I made crazy money off this scam. I was the fucking richest student. I was feared, people swore I had develisih powers (some still do). They didn’t understand it was all a con game, and I was on top of my game.

    If you like, call police, or curse me.

    I would say most pastors, men of god at home or overseas are con artists in the sense of the tactics they use to influence their congregation. Once your thought process becomes irrational you’re easy to Con. Not to talk about the hopelessness and the uncertainty that abounds in our life and country today. It’s amazing, really, the amount of mental gymnastics and compartmentalising rational people need to do in their lives with this kinda uncertainty in our country, where best to turn to but religion. Our Opium.

    Forget, most of these pastors are sociopaths who know religion is a easy gig for easy money. However, even the sincere ones get corrupted, and they love the praise of preaching what people want to hear.

    Makachukwu, anybody wey stand up to claim say him hear the voice of God, say God talk to am, all dat kin yarn, just to make some cash, is DEFINITELY either a con artist or mentally ill. I have a hard time believing that anyone who truly believes in God would dare to put words in his mouth knowing what the Bible says about false prophets.

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    I know that my people are dying to believe in something especially if it’s magical because we have the messiah complex. Somebody out there will come sooner than later, to make all our problems disappear. Na so. That is why we are paralysed and corrupted by fear, we can’t even stand up to injustice. We are waiting for God to come rescue us. Dey der.

    Pentecostalism has promoted miracles over hard work, materialism over spirituality.  Even if one goes into pastoring on a pure and innocent level, you can’t help but be corrupted by easy money when you sell hope and create enemies all over. It is a cool way to make a living and make decisions that bring in the cash.

    Pentecostalism na modern-day commercial enterprise garnished in the cloak of religion with deception and exploitation as its foundation.

    Their goal na the complete monetisation of people’s ignorance. It remains the only legally and politically accepted movement completely based upon systematic fraud, deception and cheating.

    Fuck the con men of God,

    Dem crooked theology is all for the Naira.

    Na so AreaFada Talk.
  • Honour for ‘men of God’

    Honour for ‘men of God’

    The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) has honoured four people as part of the activities marking 10th Anniversary of its Special Members’ Forum (SMF). The event was held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos. JOSEPH ESHANOKPE reports.

    As rule, the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) does not confer awards on proxies. So, the Catholic Church Sokoto Archdiocese Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah who was nominated last year lost out as he could not make it to Lagos.

    But when the opportunity came again this year, the senior cleric had to stay back in Lagos to attend the ceremony and pick the award. He was all smiles when he was called after the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor for (his citation and) conferment by the Special Members’ Forum (SMF) Chairman, Pastor Bayo Oladesu. The Bishop, who wore his white religious robe and cap, was his usual boisterous self. When he was about to respond, the microphone failed. He was unperturbed. He joked: “I thought the microphone only recognises the naira. It does not recognise poverty.” Pastor Oritsejafor had just donated N1million to BSN. Those who understood Kukah laughed. But more was to come.

    Former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, who is BSN’s Patron, asked if there was anyone who was 79 or 80 years old. No response. “If there is none, then I can say I am the Father of the Day,” Gowon’s joke received applause. Perhaps he was announcing his forthcoming birthday. Gowon, who ruled Nigeria for nine years, will be 80 this year.

    Oristejafor was presented his award and a Bible with a green cover by Gowon. The televangelist who is an orator did not disappoint in his response. He was frank, fair and firm.  Thanking BSN for the award, the founder of Word of Life Bible Church said, he was overwhelmed, especially as he was picked out of 80 million Christians in the country. He praised BSN for its commitment to preaching the gospel.  In a baritone voice, he said: “BSN has done well over the years in distributing the Bible and giving people the opportunity to read the Bible. Above all, it is using the Bible to unite the church. The church is so fragmented, so divided. We have our different opinions of the Bible. But we believe in Jesus.”

    He added: “I want to appeal to all Christians. Let’s unite. Whether you are Roman Catholic, Pentecostal … let’s not become a second class religion… Let’s strengthen CAN. If this institution is presented in the right way, Christianity will be presented in the world.”

    Like Kukah, Oritsejafor also wants an end to the nocturnal activities of the Boko Haram sect. But Kukah, apparently quoting the Bible, said: “Don’t feel sorry for us. God is still God. ‘This shall come to pass’.” Many chorused ‘yes’, others amen.

    Earlier, when Oritsejafor’s citation was being read, it drew applause. Not only because of his numerous achievements over years from his heydays at the Church of God Mission International to his television sermons and activities in leading the church in the country, but especially in the names of his children – Ayodele, Ayodeji and Ayodeta. Someone quipped: “They are triplets hence the names. However, this could not be confirmed.”  But there is probably another major reason; like his Biblical patriarch Abraham, Pastor Oritsejafor, who is popularly called, Papa Ayo, by his numerous admirers had his children late.

    Be that as it may, it would appear that those who wrote the citation omitted an important fact. Pastor Oritsejafor is the first Nigerian to wear two crowns in the church leadership in the country: President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and that of CAN.

    The other two recipients also made their marks in their stations in life. Overseer David Oladapo Bolade, a an engineer,  from the famous Bolade family in Oshodi, Lagos, a former president of BSN, took over the association in  1996, when its accounts was in the red and brought it from the woods within a year of assuming duties.  Also, he put the society on the world map not a money guzzler, but as a self-sustaining body. Quiet and unassuming, he is the first Nigerian to be elected a member of Global Executive Board of the United Bible Societies (UBS).  While Moses Olubunmi Ajayi, a distinguished civil servant and town Planner was described as a diligent and an industrious personality. A 1971 Geography graduate of the premier university, University of Ibadan, he later founded Molaj Consultants.

    At the event, BSN’s General Secretary Rev Dare Ajiboye solicited for financial assistance for their project – a N150million Translation Centre/Regional Warehouse based in Ibadan. He noted that the body made some achievements – it completed the translations of two Bibles in Igede and Ebira and launched them, thereby making it 22 that it has completed since its inception in the 1960s. The journey is still far, he added.

    BSN National President/Board Chairman Nuru Aaron said: “I want to challenge and encourage you all to use your influence and wealth in making the word of God available in other local Nigerian languages.” He was supported by the Chairman, Daily Needs Group Dr Matthew Oyin Jolayemi who chaired the occasion and Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, who was guest speaker.

    The cleric, who spoke on the theme: “Building for the Master’s use”, urged all to give cheerfully and bountifully, adding that there is blessing in giving.  Pastor Ighodalo, who is founder/senior pastor, Trinity House, was asked to pray for those who gave.

    Students of the Vocational School of the Blind, Oshodi, Lagos added colour to the occasion when one of them read from the Braille Bible effortlessly.