Hostage in the church

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HOSTAGE
IN
THE
CHURCH
SAMUEL O. LARAIYETAN

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Copyright © October, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording
or otherwise without written permission of the
publisher, except for brief quotation in printed
reviews.
ISBN NO: 978-978-937-585-1 Tel. +234 8037152337
samuelaraiyetan@yahoo.com

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am indebted to the Almighty God for making me a consistent beneficiary of His
abundant grace by making me to be among the living in spite of overwhelming
odds. I am also indebted to Him for keeping me from the pollution of this
wilderness of sin and vanity where knowledge of spiritual thing is not a priority to
many people. It was in the process of writing the first edition of this book that i
was poisoned and i was literally in the valley of the shadow of death for 53 days
of unpleasant experience. My life is an infallible proof of God‟s supernatural
power. I realized that no man can take the life of another person without God‟s
permission. The statement of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th
President of the United
States is relevant to my experience. He said “ I have been driven many times to
my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own
wisdom, and that of all about me, is insufficient for the day”. No wonder Jesus
had cause to describe this generation as “the generation of vipers”. I am bold to
say i have had my own share of human depravity and wickedness, and like Job, I
can confidently say “ I know that my redeemer liveth”. It was by the power of
God that the publication of this book was not aborted.
I thank my parents Pastor & Deaconess Laraiyetan of blessed memory for laying
the foundation of my salvation.
My appreciation also go to, Rev. Paul & Pst. Hannah Abrahams, Pst. John &
Shola Larayetan, Pst. A. O. Otunla, Pst. Felix Oni, Pst. A. T. Aremu, Pst. Bayo
Olugbemi, Pst. Israel Adedokun, Pst. & Dns. Obadare, Mr. & Mrs. Ajimokunola,
Pst. S.S. Ogo-Oluwa, Pa Isaac Oluokun, Overseers E.O. Baiyekusi, D. A.
Evabotokhai, The Gbeja family, Mr. S. A Davies, Mr.&Mrs. Raphael & Dupe
Larayetan, Mr. Isaac & Joy Larayetan, Mr. Solomon Olusegun, AIG (Rtd), The
Odugbesans and Mr. Yakubu Ibrahim for the indelible impact they made in my
life.

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To my loving wife, Comfort, you are more than a wife. Your value is inestimable.
You are a dependable pillar of support. For your daily sacrifice, you are a worthy
companion, a friend, a sister, a mother and above all a blessing from God to my
life. Your life will continually be a celebration of the triumph of the church over
the forces of darkness.
I also extend my appreciation to my children for their support. I am also grateful
to the few people who had the courage to draw my attention to the flaws in my
first and second book. Their constructive criticisms helped in no small measure
in the quality of the production of this book. It is my prayer and earnest desire
that the race of life we are running will not be aborted by the devil.

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AND MOREOVER I SAW UNDER THE SUN THE PLACE OF
JUDGMENT THAT WICKEDNESS WAS THERE; AND THE PLACE OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAT INIQUITY WAS THERE.
ECCLESIASTES 3:16
THE DOCTOR SEES ALL THE WEAKNESS IN MANKIND; THE
LAWYER SEES THE WICKEDNESS WHILE THE THEOLOGIAN SEES
THE FOOLISHNESS.
Arthur Schopenhaver
THERE IS A SUFFICIENCY IN THE WORLD FOR MAN’S NEEDS BUT
NOT FOR HIS GREED.
Mahatma Gandhi

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DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my saviour Jesus Christ who paid a ransom for
my liberation and set me free from being a hostage to the power of
carnality.
It is also dedicated to Overseer J.O Obafaiye whose lifestyle has been a
consistent source of inspiration to me.

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INTRODUCTION
The oxford advanced learner‟s dictionary defines a hostage as a
person who is captured and held as a prisoner by a person or group,
and who may be injured or killed if people do not do what the person
or group is demanding.
The status of a hostage usually determines the response of those
who have responsibility to negotiate for the release of the hostage. If
the hostage is an important personality, negotiation for the release
and payment of ransom will be done with minimum delay.
If the hostage is not an important personality, negotiation for the
release may be delayed hence captors look for people of substance.
They look for “big fish”. By nature, every human being is by birth a
hostage. Every human being who has not experienced spiritual re-
birth is a hostage. Nicodemus was a hostage and he didn‟t know this
until Jesus told him he needed to be born again. Jesus mission into
the world is to rescue us from satan the captor regardless of a man‟s
status. The soul of the individual is the attraction to satan. Zachariah
3 : 1 -7 relays an incident where Joshua the high priest stood to offer
sacrifice but he was clothed with filthy garment and satan stood at
his right hand to resist him. He was a hostage but he didn‟t know. If
a priest who is supposed to be the light of the world is clothed with
rags, it is a disaster. Whenever we are not properly clothed in God‟s
righteousness and we want to offer something – an offering or
sacrifice to God, there will surely be some formidable resistance from
the kingdom of darkness. The filth on Joshua‟s garment gave satan
legal right to withhold his offering. Not all sacrifices are acceptable to
God. Some sacrifices are rejected, some are acceptable while others
are contested.

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No man will ever promise to be beating his wife during a marriage
vow but we keep seeing men who beat their wives on daily or weekly
basis. I have heard of cases of pastor‟s wives who are victims of
domestic violence in the hand of their spouses. No man or woman
will ever promise to be unfaithful to each other but we keep seeing
unfaithfulness in relationships.
There is an invisible force behind the scene compelling people to act
contrary to their hearts desires. Not many people are aware that they
are hostages who need to be rescued from those forces. A man is
addicted to drug and he knows the repercussion, he wants to live
without taking drugs but he cannot. We are held hostage by
something. Some people are held hostage by adultery. Some people
it is pride, for some people it is anger. Your own may be lust which
gives birth to covetousness. This is why Apostle Paul asks in Romans
7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? The good news is that your ransom has
been fully paid by Jesus. You do not need to be a hostage anymore.
You can become an overcomer.
BUT IF A MAN LIVE MANY YEARS, AND REJOICE IN
THEM ALL; YET LET HIM REMEMBER THE DAYS OF
DARKNESS; FOR THEY SHALL BE MANY. ALL THAT
COMETH IS VANITY. ECCLESIASTES 11 : 8

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement .................................................................... 3
Quotation ……………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Dedication .................................................................................. 6
Introduction .............................................................................. 7
Table of contents ...................................................................... 9
Chapter One
God‟s plan for mankind ............................................................. 11
Chapter Two
What is a church? ..................................................................... 17
Chapter Three
Temptation: Gateway to sin ........................................................ 25
Chapter Four
Prosperity and the church ............................................................32
Chapter Five
The power of deception ...............................................................46
Chapter Six
Who is on the Lord‟s side? ...........................................................52
Chapter seven
Influence of the church on society ............................................... 60
Chapter Eight
Integrity .................................................................................. 74
Chapter Nine
Lust, Rape, Sex .........................................................................90

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Chapter Ten
What does the Lord require? ...................................................... 100
Chapter Eleven
The value of quality repentance ................................................ 112

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CHAPTER ONE
GOD’S PLAN FOR MANKIND
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually Genesis 6:5
Man is a product of God‟s masterpiece and has been created to fully
explore and harness the beauty of creation but this majestic plan of God
has continually been thwarted by the nefarious activities of darkness.
God created Adam and Even and placed them in that wonderful garden of
Eden. They were comfortable, they were glorious and they were anointed.
God mandated Adam to give names to all the animals in that garden. God
would visit them and they would chat in the garden. Their experience in
that garden was so pleasant that they did not even realize that they were
naked. The glory of God covered them as a garment until there was an
interruption by the serpent. That singular interruption brought confusion to
the destiny of Adam and Eve. Their action attracted the anger of God. He
told them ―cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou
eat of it all the days of thy life Genesis 3: 17.‖
Sin is the root of human affliction that we experience in the world. The
bible says ―there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14: 12
The destiny of man is often besieged by trouble; the principal perpetrator
of this is Satan and he is always at his best to ensure that life is not worth
living for his captors. A man lost his wife and remarried 2 years after the
incident. He lost the second wife again. A week after the burial of the
second wife the man lost his own life.
Satan has nothing good to offer a man. He is a custodian of evil and he is
generous in the distribution of evil. And he knows the easiest way to get a

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man is to deceive and afflict him. Satan is also powerful but the power of
God is superior to that of satan.
Satan is a salesman with a lot of experience in the art of deception. He
makes what is unprofitable look profitable. He makes what is evil to look
good. He makes what is dangerous look attractive. He makes what is
harmful look appealing. Sin is the roof of human woes. The way and
manner precious lives are being wasted necessitate the question WHAT IS
THE WORTH OF A LIFE?
Abel was the first casualty of a righteous course. Cain killed his brother
Abel because of envy. And the Lord said unto Cain, where is thy brother
Abel? And he said, I know not; Am I my brother‟s keeper? And he said,
what hast thou done? The voice of thy brother‟s blood cries unto me from
the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened
her mouth to receive thy brother‟s blood from thy hand.
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto
thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the
earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater
than I can bear.
The Cain and Abel allegory contains multiple truths; a people who do not
value life, who bury the dead to hide their failings, and then shrug of
accountability, are cursed.
A violation of the sanctity of life threatens the social and moral foundations
on which any society is built. When God told Cain he heard Abel‟s blood
crying, it was to illustrate how the sacredness of life resonates to the
extraterrestrial realms. Commenting on abortion bill, Ronald Reagan, ex
American President said “The real question today is not when human life
begins, but, what is the value of human life ? The abortionist who
reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts

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have been torn from its mother‟s body can hardly doubt whether it is a
human being. The real question for him and for all of us is whether that
tiny human life has a God – given right we have”.
The world is literally bleeding. There is too much violence. Senseless
shedding of blood of the innocent is one of the reasons why we cry to the
heavenly and deaf ear is turned to our cry. I have heard many accounts of
people who escaped from the camps of ritual killers and they narrated
their experiences to me. A woman narrated how she was lured into a place
by a friend and kept in a room. She was stripped naked and kept in a
room where she said she saw more than one thousand SIM cards left by
victims of ritual killings. By divine intervention, she escaped from the place
after four days of unpleasant experience. Her hair was shaved and
everything humanly possible was done to hypnotize her but it failed.
Those who are not killed by ritualists are killed by robbers or killed by
religious fanatics (boko haram) or the Joint Task Force or the police.
Those who manage to escape the bullets of the JIF or Police are consumed
by road accident caused by poorly maintained roads resulting from
corruption. Some die in poorly equipped hospitals. Those lucky to bypass
all of the above are either killed by hunger, poverty, or frustration
practically turns them to the living dead. Assassins have not spared the
church as evil doers have concluded that the church is the best place to
locate people who are difficult to get in their homes or offices. We are
carriers of the curse pronounced upon Cain. The heaven and earth
antagonize people who needlessly shed blood. The world is full of sinners
on their way to hell. No matter how good you are, your sins are manifest
before God. Any one who thinks he is righteous before God is suffering
from one of the worst kind of deception.

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The bible says ―for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God Romans 3:23
Death is the inescapable end of all human beings. The very fact that we
die indicates the presence of sin. Every time you see someone dying,
remember that sin has completed its work. Death is the only natural
consequence of sin. If the problem of sin is solved, all other problems are
solved. Jesus told a man with infirmity for 38 years to go and sin no more.
David said if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me Psalm 66:18.
Nothing qualifies a man access to heaven more than godliness. The earlier
generations were having four hundred year birthday. They had children
when they were hundred and fifty years old. Today we are overjoyed if
someone gets to the age of eighty. By the time someone is fifty, he seems
to be an elderly person. Why is it so? Sin provides sickness a conducive
atmosphere to operate in the life of a sinner.
When God asked Adam in the garden “What is this that thou has done?”.
He was telling Adam that he permitted wars in the world, he permitted
sickness, perversion, cancers, HIV, funerals, barrenness, handicapped
people, blind and lame etc.
The days of our years are THREESCORE YEARS AND TEN; and if by
reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength
labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Psalm
90:10.
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them as wives of all
which they chose. And the Lord said, my Spirit shall not always strive with

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man, for he also is flesh. Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty
years. Nine hundred years was reduced to 120 years because of sin.
Fornication shortened the lives of the people by 800 years.
Ninety percent of their lives were taken away because of fornication. The
Bible says “when sin is finished, it brings forth death‖ Eight hundred
years was cut off because of fornication. Sin shortens lives.
Everyone is born into ignorance but as a man grows and acquires
knowledge, ignorance is gradually displaced by knowledge. Similarly, when
a man is born, he is born into sin. After accepting Jesus as Lord and
Saviour, he acquires a new nature.
JESUS SAID YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL
MAKE YOU FREE.
Only the truth can deliver freedom to the captives. In other words, if the
information you are exposed to is not the truth, instead of being free, you
will go deeper into bondage. Many people are in bondage today because
they were exposed to wrong information. What kind of information are you
exposed to?
Every erroneous doctrine that leaders teach is capable of derailing the
multitudes. When we get to heaven, if such leaders are saved and finally
make it to heaven, their false doctrines on earth would have eroded their
heavenly rewards.
God is in need of a new generation of selfless, morally sound, spiritually
fortified, adequately informed and properly developed ministers to salvage
this generation from utter devastation. Modern civilization is so complex as
to make the Christian life all but impossible. A Christian has to take heed
and be continually focused as people are remembered more for their

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mistakes than their exploits. Worship in many churches has become
sensual, satisfying the flesh, shallow and benefit of spiritually.
Faithful ministers are desperately needed to lift the world to new levels of
morality. All around us, the forces of evil are seeking to squeeze the world
into their own mold. We need men like Joshua, Caleb and John the Baptist
who had the courage to challenge the world to live according to God‟s holy
standard.
Sin strips us of all that we have from God. It leaves us weak, vulnerable
and helpless. The powers that were once unable to defeat us will now
triumph and ride over us. We will find ourselves in a captivity that
shouldn‟t really have been.
What happened in the garden of Edem has a monumental impact. Genesis
chapter two contains record that everything God made was good. But
chapter three contains information of a dramatic change where everything
went bad. It is accurate to say that everything wrong in the world is as a
result of sin. If there were no sin, there would be nothing wrong. People
who do not believe in sin and do not understand the fall, cannot diagnose
properly human dilemma. It is impossible to understand man‟s bahaviour if
you do not understand that it is all a product of sin.
Matthew Henry said “Sin lessens men, thrusts them down from their
excellencies, leaves indelible stain upon men‟s names and families, a
reproach which time will not wipe away”.
AND EVEN AS THEY DID NOT LIKE TO RETAIN GOD IN THEIR
KNOWLEDGE, GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO A REPROBATE MIND, TO
DO THINGS WHICH ARE NOT CONVENIENT.
ROMANS 1: 28

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CHAPTER TWO
WHAT IS A CHURCH?
Mathew 16:18 ―And I say unto thee, that thou are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it‖.
This question seems an easy one; it is the sort of question that will attract
a simple sentence. The ready made answer to the question of what a
church is will sound like “a church is a building in which Christians meet for
worship”. It is one obvious possibility. Another respondent might say “a
church is a group of Christians who gather for religious purposes. A critic
might say “a church is a club for insiders and hypocrites”. These quick
answers don‟t take us very far if we want to understand truly what a
church ought to be. I want to define the nature of the church from a
biblical perspective. Since the bible is God‟s word and is to be our chief
guide both for faith and life nothing in this world tells us more
authoritatively what church ought to be than Christian scripture.
Christians have much to learn from our brothers and sisters who have
gone before us and who have sought to understand and to be the church.
According to Nelson‟s new illustrated bible dictionary. A church is a local
assembly of believers as well as the redeemed of all the ages who follow
Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. In the four gospels of New Testament,
the term “Church” is found only in Matthew 16:18 and 18:17.
The scarcity of usage in those books that report on the life and ministry of
Jesus is perhaps best explained by the fact that the church as body of
Christ did not begin until the day of PENTECOST after the ASSCENSION of
Jesus Acts 2:1-4.

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That the Church began on the day of Pentecost may be demonstrated in
various ways: (1) Christ Himself declared the church to be yet future –
(Matt. 16:18) (2) it was founded upon the death, resurrection and
ascension of Christ, and such an accomplished fact was not possible until
Pentecost (Eph. 1:15-23).
(3) There could be not church until it was fully purchased with Christ‟s
blood (Eph. 2:13). When Church in general implies “Church”, it refers to all
who follow Christ without respect to locality or time. The most general
reference to the Church occurs in Ephesians 1:22, 3:10-21, 5:23-32. Since
the church general refers to all believers of all ages, it will not be complete
until after the judgment;‟ and the assembly of all the redeemed in one
place will become a reality only after the return of Jesus Christ (Hebrews
12:23, Rev. 21:22).
Because the church general will not become a tangible reality until after
Christ‟s return, the greatest emphasis in the New Testament is placed
upon the ideal of the local church. The local church is a visible operation
of the church general in a given time and place. If a group of believers
gather and they do not feel the presence of God they might become weary
and discouraged. Many in this generation are carrying a mentality that
says “unless I am in the crowd, I cannot be part of the church”. The first
time we see the declaration of the house of God and gate of heaven was
not even the gathering of several people. It was only one man in that
place. Jacob came to a place in his encounter with God and he declared
“Surely this is the house of God” Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 ―for where
two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of
them‖.
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that
there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing
nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. The

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number of Christians around the world has nearly quadrupled in the last
100 years. Christians make up about the same portion of the world‟s
population today (32 per cent) as they did a century ago (35 per cent).
In consonance with popular church history, the present Roman Catholic
Church was the first that came out of the book of ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
CHURCH in the Bible. The church in the book of Acts was an offspring of
Jesus, who was an offspring of David, who was an offspring of ISRAEL
(Jacob)! Later the Anglican Church (based in England) broke out of the
Catholic Church in Rome and other protestant churches began to emerge
after that. It is pertinent to state that the present day American nation was
born out of England and present day Canada still has the Queen of
England as her head of state. France is mainly a Catholic Nation! A
company of top nations have been born directly or indirectly from one man
and his father, Abraham.
We are largely a religious people. We have religion but few people know
God the source of true religion. A foreigner who was resident in Nigeria for
many years once described the nation as one comfortable with religion but
not particularly committed to spiritual growth. It was Peter F. Drucker who
said ―There is nothing as useless as doing efficiently that which
should not have been done at all‖. The war against crisis and
insecurity assumed another dimension in the year 2012 in Nigeria when
the president of the country flagged off a one year national prayer at the
Abuja Christian center. In a message entitled “God still answers prayers”
the president of the Christian association of Nigeria (CAN) regretted that
pride and wickedness of our leaders (elected and appointed) has brought a
total disconnect between them and their subjects with a large majority of
Nigerians lacking in the midst of plenty. He concluded on a prophetic note
that the rain of peace was coming to Nigeria. The question is are we
ready to meet the conditions for this beautiful rain? Looking at the number

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of churches in Nigeria and their high branch networks with presence at
every nook and cranny, the high population of these churches, their busy
schedules including vigils and crusades, the number of prayers that have
been specifically composed “against bribery and corruption” in Nigeria and
for Nigeria in distress, one may not need further reasons to believe that
Nigerians are indeed a religious people.
The implication however is that a national prayer not complemented by
necessary attitudinal change among the leaders and the led may be a
mere continuation of an age long tradition.
The purpose of church is to bring man to a gateway of heaven where he
can experience revelation, inspiration, direction and healing into his life.
The church of Jesus Christ is experiencing qualitative and quantitative
growth all over the world.
I however want to write for ordinary reader, especially the average
Christian who wonders what the church really is. Some people now see the
church like a concert. When you go to a concert, you file into an
auditorium. You sit in rows and watch something happening on the stage
up front. If the concert is interesting, you feel lots of positive emotions. At
times you might even get into the act by standing, clapping, or even
singing along.
A man had an encounter with Jesus after many years of being in the
church. He confessed that he used to go to church to shop for women. He
said the best place to get beautiful women is the church.
You leave a good concert feeling uplifted and satisfied by the performance.
Church for many people is like that, the only difference is you don‟t need a
ticket and you don‟t have to pay anything. Others regard the church as a
school where you receive religious education. Many parents want their
children to go to the church for the purpose of receiving moral education.
Some people regard the church as a club. Clubs have rules and

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regulations. They have process of joining and people make friends and a
center for socializing. Many people today see the church as some kind of
store. Small churches are like neighborhood supermarkets while large
churches are like department stores. Some churches are like stores
“selling” products. Both have professional staff. Some “market” their
wares in the community hoping to attract interested “consumers”.
There are many people who are visitors or guests in the house of God.
They probably think they are doing somebody a favour by attending
church. They believe their presence in the church will make some people
happy. Some go to church only when they are in need of spiritual,
material, or financial assistance. Some people who live by charity have
targeted the church as the best place to receive alms. They go to church,
identify the rich and at the end of the service approach them with one
request or the other. Their mission in the church is not to experience
divine visitation. But whenever somebody in that church offends them,
they will decide not to go to that church again. Some go to church just to
socialize. If their friend leaves the church, off they go.
A pastor was posted from Lagos to Warri (both cities in Nigeria) and on
their way to Warri they started encountering police check points on their
way. One of the occupants of the vehicle and a member of the church
thought that telling the police the vehicle was hired by the church and
their mission was to escort their pastor to Warri would pave way for them.
He was shocked when a policeman responded that “Church is business”.
Many people see large churches like large stores where wide range of
“products” are on display for sale. Smaller churches, like small stores offer
more personal service but fewer “products”. If the church you attend
provides what you want to consume, you continue to go there. If that

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church stops meeting your needs, you take the decision of finding a better
church just as you might switch markets or clothing stores.
Many who did not see the need to respond to Jesus invitation were forced
to respond as a result of problems like hunger, illness, barrenness and
affliction. They see the church as a hospital where you go to see a doctor.
Thinking of a church in these categories makes sense to a point. But to the
extent that people see a church exclusively in light of these, to that extent
they misunderstand essential aspects of church life. What makes the
church different from the hospital is that when a patient is cured, he or
she is enlisted and become a member of the caring team.
When a man goes to the hospital, he or she doesn‟t become a doctor or
nurse after being cured. When a sick man is healed in the church, he is
expected to join the care-giving team as well as receive care. The church
is not a building. It is the gathering of the people of God. Of course, in
common speech we refer to the place where Christians gather as a church.
But this has nothing to do with biblical theology and runs the risk of
fostering a profound and detrimental misunderstanding. Nowhere in the
bible is the place where Christians meet referred to as a “church”. A
couple had a quarrel in Lagos Nigeria and they were in the police station.
A statement made by the wife necessitated the question of which
denomination they belonged to. The woman told the police “our current
church is the thirteenth church we are attending since arrival in Lagos”
Even though it is not my intention to go into the merits or demerits of their
case, it is pertinent to state that the police station became a place of
refuge for her as her husband was determined to take her life. A lady
looking for the fruit of the womb told a man of God she was advised to
look for a man of God to deposit “holy sperm” into her body. When asked
what she meant, she said a man of God that will have sex with her. Thank

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God for His grace in action in the life of that man of God to say “get thee
behind me satan” The man of God immediately referred the Jezebel to his
wife. A female magistrate was asked whether she goes to church or not.
Her response was this “if everybody goes to church and I don‟t go what
impression do you want people to have about me? If I don‟t go to church
people will conclude that my judgments are influenced by Satan”. It is
becoming a practice for some men of God to invite comedians into the
church to entertain worshippers as it is the practice in clubs.
Somebody once told his pastor “the reason why I come to the church is for
me to get a befitting funeral when i die” what a tragedy! Ignorance is a
basic enemy of mankind. No wonder Socrates said “there is only one good,
knowledge and there is only one evil, ignorance.” A big difference exists
between a head full of knowledge and the one the words of God abide in.
A man was faced with multiple challenges and went to seek counseling
from a man i consider ignorant of spiritual matters. The advice given to
this man was to look for a powerful church and there will be solution to his
problem. How can somebody identify a powerful church? Any church
where Jesus is the supreme commander is a powerful church. Any church
where members are enjoined to consistently look unto Jesus as the author
and finisher of their faith is a powerful church. Any church whose
members are taught to see Jesus as their model is a powerful church.
Unfortunately, many people go to church because they see others going.
WORSHIPPER GIVES USED CONDOM AS OFFERING IN CHURCH
Offering time, blessing time! so goes the chorus from members of the
congregation whenever it is time to give offering in most churches. To
most Christians, the offering time is, indeed, a time of immense financial
blessing. But in Lagos Nigeria, offering time turned into a moment of hot

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curses in a church when an already used condom dripping with semen was
discovered inside an envelope in the offering box when counting offering.
A cleric who witnessed the incident admitted that the agent of darkness
had infiltrated the church in large numbers and now occupy high ranking
positions in the gathering of God‟s children where they wreak havoc on the
unwary flock. He remarked that it is unfortunate that people come to
church to mock God. He said they are anti-Christs but that they still come
to church. He concluded by asking the entire congregation to rain curses
on the man.

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CHAPTER THREE
TEMPTATION: GATEWAY TO SIN
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he
shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them
that love him. James 1:12.
There is a song which is very relevant to this chapter which goes
thus:
Tempted and tried we‟re oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all day long
While there are others living about us,
Never molested thro‟ in the way.
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, one of the daily
requirements is LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATON AND DELIVER US FROM
EVIL. This prayer is a daily requirement.
Problem came into the world through temptation. There is no day a man
will wake up and not experience temptation. Satan has made temptation
an indispensable companion of man. Even while in the church when a
sermon is going on, a man can be tempted. Even though i do not possess
the material things of the world in abundance, i was shocked when a
woman confronted me the first time and demanded for sex like Joseph‟s
experience in the hand of portiphar‟s wife. Not once not twice. Without
the grace of God, that experience would have resulted into a shipwreck of
my faith.
A concerned individual posted this question on the internet. ―Is it that
women have sworn that men can never get to heaven or what?
They chased us away from the garden of Eden, made life hell for

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us on earth and still fight hard to get us ticket to eternal
damnation‖.
The subject that necessitated this question is how a man can overcome
distractions in the church.
Temptation is a common experience of every one since the fall in the
Garden of Eden. It is an enticement to do evil and sin against God.
Circumstances of life are generally the means the devil uses to gain an
inroad into every heart. Many of our desires may be normal and good;
yet, God wants us to satisfy them in the right and legitimate way.
Psychologists say about 10,000 thoughts go through a human mind in one
day. That is about three million six hundred thousand thoughts/ideas per
year. The human brain/mind is an enigma (a mystery) and a wonder of
creation. How can a man handle 10,000 thoughts/ideas every day without
discipline or self control ? Everything a man does is influenced by his
values. The actions of a man are largely determined by the values he
holds. A man is shaped by his thought. If the brain can process 10,000
thoughts per day, a man must possess the power to say NO when
confronted with the temptation to drift to the broad way.
Temptation is pressure to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.
Another definition of temptation is the desire to perform an action that one
may enjoy immediately or in the short term but will attract devastating
consequence. The story of how Amnon raped Tamar is contained in II
Samuel 13. One unfortunate trend we see around us today is how many
people have become victims of their needs. There are very legitimate
needs but some people have used this as an excuse to engage in many
unwholesome practices. For instance, in every human being there is a
drive called hunger. This is natural and can be satisfied through
wholesome and legitimate means by eating. However using this drive to
indulge in stealing is criminal and ungodly. It is natural for two people of
opposite sex to feel attracted to each other. Yet, this drive is not to be

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consummated except after marriage. The strongest temptation of Jesus in
the wilderness after his fasting was possessing all the kingdoms of the
world and the glory of them. This is the pursuit of most of the new
generation ministers. If Satan could be bold to confront Jesus and
attempted to abort his mission into the world, you should realize that you
are an insignificant quantity in the hand of the devil.
Samson was a powerful man and highly anointed and had a mandate to
deliver his people from the hands of their enemies but his mission was
aborted as a result of lack of discipline. Samson who conquered a whole
city could not conquer Delilah. Delilah demanded for the secret of his
power. He became a traitor to himself. Immorality is a veritable tool in the
hand of the devil used to prevent fulfillment of destiny.
IMMORALITY
One of the easiest sins to commit these days is immorality. It beckons on
all, young and old, male and female, married and single, from all corners.
And except you are on your guard always, you may succumb to its
destructive pull and allurement.
Every human being has the right to do whatever he likes but no one has
the power to determine the consequence of his action.
It was Thomas Jefferson who said “Do not bite the bait of pleasure, till
you know there is no hook beneath it”. A female student in one Nigerian
university was interviewed and she disclosed that she had infected 124
students and lecturers on the campus with HIV/AIDS. She said she got the
virus on the campus and promised to spread it on the campus. She
revealed that out of the 124 men that had slept with her only six of them
used condom. A man who is disciplined and possesses the power of self
control has nothing to fear about such threat. A wealthy man was in a
church. He was so wealthy that his presence and absence in the church
will be noticed by all. He was considered indispensable to the parish. One

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day, he was traveling out of the country on a business trip. He arrived
Lagos (Nigeria) and checked into a hotel of his choice close to the airport.
He was tempted to sleep with a woman for the one night he was to spend
in Lagos. Because he lacked the will power to say No to the devil, he
engaged the service of a prostitute.
He was in the room with the strange woman when he was poisoned by the
woman. He died in the hotel room and the strange woman disappeared
with his brief case containing hard currencies. His colourful destiny came
to an abrupt end because he was tempted and he had no power to say No
to the devil.
Whenever a man is presented with a temptation, he has an option. To
yield or not to yield. A decision not to yield will result into pain of denial.
When a man decides to yield, it will result into a pain of regret. When
Samson was captured by the philistines after he had sold himself to
Delilah, he was subjected to humiliation. He was compelled to dance to
dagon the god of the philistines. His eyes were plucked out. He was full of
regrets during that unpleasant experience. When Joseph refused to yield
to the demands of Potiphars wife, he suffered the pain of denial. Since
nature makes it natural to have an urge when there is a contact between a
man and a woman, Joseph might have considered yielding to the woman‟s
persistent demands. But since he possessed a superior power he said:
How then can i do this great wickedness and sin against God?
“Our society is saturated by sexual imagery and the temptation is
overwhelming. The family is surrounded by destructive influence. You put
on the TV and just by a press on a button you are confronted with naked
women.
It is not always that we are tempted at our area of weakness. Sometimes,
the devil wants to satisfy himself that he is still as crafty as ever, so he
comes to some believers and tempts them from their point of strength –
where the object of temptation is quite unattractive. He tells the fellow

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“never mind this temptation; after all, you are not weak in this area so
allow it.” Initially, the tempted feels no attraction but gradually, his or her
defences begin to give way, as the temptation begins to grow stronger
and stronger until it gets to a point it becomes irresistible. The best time to
run away from temptation is when it is just unfolding. Aristotle said ―what
lies in our power to do also lie in our power not to do‖.
IF A MAN ABIDES NOT IN ME, HE IS CAST FORTH AS A BRANCH, AND
IS WITHERED, AND MEN GATHER THEM, AND CAST THEM INTO THE
FIRE, AND THEY ARE BURNED JOHN 15:6
When Jesus was asked what will be the sign of His coming and the end of
the world, one of the things He told them was that iniquity will abound.
The first lady of a state in Nigeria thought of what to give to the youths of
her state on a valentine day. She could not think of a better gift to the
youths than condom. She distributed condom to them for use. The
message of her action is official endorsement of immorality. Unfortunately,
the fist lady is ignorant of the negative effect immorality can have on the
lives of youths who are beneficiaries of such gesture. One hundred
thousand condoms were on hand for the London Olympics making sex the
unofficial Olympic sport. Copy cat organizers of Nigeria national sports
festival and youth gatherings routinely distribute condoms on such
occasions and the 2012 National sports festival hosted by Lagos State was
no different in condom distribution.
Fifteen female corpers were engaged by an oil company for the mandatory
national service in Nigeria. At the end of their service, they were
considered for employment. As it is the practice of the oil company, they
were subjected to HIV tests and only two of them were successful out of
the number. Temptation is not a sin. The problem is when a man yields to
it. Jesus was tempted in all things but He stood His ground. No man
stands on his own. It is the grace of God that keeps a man. Paul said i am
what i am by the grace of God. One Sunday morning, a man had a quarrel

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with his pregnant wife. Because he lacked self control, he wanted to beat
his wife. And the wife knowing the temperament of her husband decided
to run away from the assault. As she was running, the husband was
pursuing her. As she was running, she was bleeding. Unfortunately, she
bled to death. The man, knowing the consequence of his action absconded
after the woman‟s demise.
About two hours after the police arrived and the man located, he had
committed suicide. Lack of self control resulted into the death of the
couple making their children orphans and their destinies truncated.
When Apostle Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith, it is the
fight to overcome temptations. It is not only when we are in the church
but a daily spiritual exercise in order not to experience a shipwreck of our
faith. Reader, have you been tempted and fell into temptation? My
experience may be worse than your own. As a young man many years
ago, the only reason why i used to envy those blessed with cars is the
advantage of using their cars to “hunt” for women. I was determined that
if God provided me with a car, i will be using it to carry beautiful women. I
was ignorant of the fact that “there is a way that seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof is the ways of death‖.
Even as an adult i was still nursing such carnal thought until my encounter
with Jesus. My life became transformed before i bought my first car. As
long as you are still living, there is hope for you. David fell into temptation
and he repented and restored. Peter denied Jesus, he repented and was
restored. There is a promise for those who have fallen. The Lord
upholdeth all that fall, raiseth up all those that bowed down.
Psalm 145 : 14. As long as you still recognize temptation, you have not
been given to a reprobate mind. Those given to a reprobate mind do not
recognize temptation. I met two young men in a restaurant and decided to
share the gospel with them. One of them told me i should not bother him.

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He told me he was ready to go to hell fire. That is an example of a person
given to a reprobate mind.
The battle against sin is a life long battle. Any day a man retires, he will
forget that he ever lived a righteous life. Recently, the wife of one of
Nigeria‟s most popular pastors went to court to ask for divorce accusing
her husband of adultery. Commenting on the case, a female minister in
the church said immorality is rampant in the church because members
believe they have unusual grace that cover their failings including adultery.
Beloved, you need not commend yourself that you are an overcomer. The
race is a long one with many thorns on the way. Ruth chose an unsecured
future as long as God was in it. Esther chose to perish if only to save the
Jewish nation. Daniel chose not to defile himself by the king‟s meat and
wine that he drank. Moses chose to suffer afflictions with the people of
God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin for a season. Joseph chose
not to defile himself or dishonor God, rejecting the offer of Portifar‟s wife.
Paul chose not to know anything but Christ crucified. Jesus chose to be a
sin – offering for the whole world to redeem humanity. None of these
people ever regretted their choices. Do not say you are not an adulterer
until you have the opportunity to commit adultery but fail to do so. Do not
say you are not a thief until you have the opportunity to steal and you fail
to do so. Do not say you have overcome anger until you are provoked and
you do not react as satan will want you to react. Do not say you have
overcome pride until you suddenly find yourself in an exalted position like
Joseph who went from prison to become a prime minister and you still
maintain your cool. I want you to be conscious of the fact that if some
people were tempted and overcame, it is possible for you to be an
overcomer too. Our close walk with God does not provide us immunity
against temptation. But God can empower us to overcome them if we seek
His face.

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CHAPTER FOUR
PROSPERITY AND THE CHURCH
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and
into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition II Timothy 6:9.
MATTHEW 21:12 & 13
One of the greatest tools for deception in the world today is riches. A lot of
people amass wealth and riches under the pretext that the more money
they have, the more they can enjoy life and gain happiness. They are
deceived. They also believe that the more money they have, the more
secure they can be. Money is becoming a major factor for recognition in
the house of God. It is a major factor in determining what is done, where
it is done and how it is done. It is a universally accepted fact that money
decides what happens in the world and the church is not exempted. Money
confers recognition on people even in the church. If you cannot dole out
money like those fraudulent, you become inconsequential. Money can buy
a lot of things but there are some things that money cannot buy. Money
cannot buy the favour of God. Money cannot buy God‟s grace. Money
cannot buy the anointing of God. J. C. Ryle in his book, practical religion
said, “there is anxiety in getting money, there is anxiety in keeping it,
there is temptation in the use of it, there is guilt in the abuse of it, there is
sorrow in losing it and perplexity in disposing it”.
The essence of ministry is primarily to rescue the perishing souls and
prepare them for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But attention has
shifted from this important responsibility. Preaching for the genuine
salvation of souls has now taken the back seat while prosperity has
become the main focus of most ministers. It is unfortunate that the
church, as we have it today, is the antithesis of what the Lord Jesus Christ
envisioned which is a church benefit of spot and wrinkles. The love of

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money has so much destroyed the body of Christ that heaven is no longer
the focus of most believers. As the church increases in population, riches
and worldly wisdom, she has correspondingly decreased in spiritual power
and piety.
The early church is a model: it was built upon unadulterated doctrines and
teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was a church whose exponential
growth was based upon dedication and commitment in the face of
unmitigated persecutions of the powers that be, both political and
ecclesiastical.
Members were agents of its expansion through their evangelism and
preaching of the good news. At first, there were no institutional structures
like a church to coordinate the activities of these “freelance evangelists”.
With the arrival of Barnabas and later Paul, the disciples were moulded
into a church, with regular fellowships and teaching of the word. It was
no wonder then that the disciples in Antioch were first called Christians,
little Jesus Christ‟s! Their character, lifestyle, behaviour and activities
mirrored the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
Today, the growth and piety of Christians are measured on the scale of
material acquisition. There is the utmost necessity therefore for all to go
back, imbibe and make manifest the old time faith characterized by
repentance from sin, cross-bearing self-denial and holiness so that we can
truly be seen as the salt and light of this dark world.
Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its
nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has, the more of if it
wants. The focus of Christianity today is money, prosperity, establishment,
safety and self preservation. The goals of most Christians are to get more
money, houses, cars and security. Even pastors measure their success by
the amount of money they have and by the size of the offering in their
churches. The message of the church has become a teaching about how to
have a comfortable life on earth. The message of prosperity has become

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the message of the church. We are often deceived into thinking that the
pastor with the largest congregation will be the greatest in heaven. This
will not be the case. The pastor who will be greatest is heaven is the most
humble and childlike pastor Matthew 18:1-4.
It has become a practice now that after a sermon has been given, the
next thing is to demand for money. A faithful man shall abound with
blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be
innocent. Proverbs 28:20.
Throughout the bible, nowhere was offering psychologically induced or
emotionally promoted. Each time the Lord demanded for offering, it is
normally tied to a specific project. God does not demand for offering from
his people arbitrarily or routinely.
And when a divine purpose for which God demanded His people to give an
offering, the purpose is usually explained.
The Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak onto the children of Israel,
that they bring Me an offering. Ye shall take an offering Exodus
25:1 & 2.
No offering requested by God through His servants in the bible was forced
on people or induced; it is never with threat. I have heard many cases
where Pastors rained curses on people for not bringing money. When it
comes to offering, God allows His people to exercise their basic will. It
must not be done as if you threaten them to do something, or speak in
such a way that will make a man to be ashamed.
The quotation usually given by some men of God is ―Thou shall not appear
before the Lord thy God empty handed‖. Deuteronomy 16:16 & 17.
This refers to the three yearly feasts that the children of Israel were
requested to perform. These happen three times in a year, not three
times a day or week. Many pastors regard the time of offering as the
highpoint of the service. It is the practice in most churches to issue tithe
cards to people and they are usually invited out for special prayers every

35
Sunday. There is nothing bad in this practice. But the question i always ask
myself is if cards are issued to people for tithe, why is the same thing not
done to them in other areas? Why do they neglect sins like adultery,
fornication, strife, pride, malice, high-mindedness etc.? I would like to see
a pastor who will announce to his congregation that those who were
tempted in the area of adultery and fornication in the just concluded week
and were victorious should come out for special prayers as it is done for
those who pay their tithes. If those who pay tithes can be celebrated, why
can‟t the same thing be done for those who are tempted and are
victorious? A popular message is influencing the church today. It is often
called prosperity message, because it claims to give believers good life. If
they just have enough faith, they can get the kind of lives they want from
God, including health and significant wealth. Prosperity message is the
gospel of materialism. But prosperity is actually bad news because it twists
biblical teaching so much that people who trust in its message may miss
out on the hope that the real gospel offers. Prosperity is fueled by greed
and sustained by greed. Prosperity message has the tendency to fool a
man. It is only when a man puts his trust in the real gospel – the one
proclaimed by Jesus in the bible – that he can have the real life that is
best for him.
It is deception to think that the larger your church, the higher your
standing before God. Money has never been a measure of God‟s approval
of our lives and never will be. A pastor narrated the unfavourable financial
condition of his church to another senior pastor. The account of the church
was in deficit. The advice the senior pastor gave was to organize a 21 day
revival. He said the offering that will be collected during the revival will go
a long way in changing the financial condition of the church. The Bible
clearly teaches that in the last days some will suppose that gain is
godliness. The desires of the world and the goals of worldly people have
become the desires of the church. I was in a church and i witnessed how

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excited people reacted to the sermon by moving from their seats to drop
money right on the pulpit while the sermon was on. They were not
conscious of the fact that it was a distraction.
God‟s assessment of a man is not necessarily in terms of quality of
activities. It is how faithful he does what he is told to do even if it is
routine without excitement. Bearing fruit is a very spiritual thing. Most men
of God think that if you have a large church, you have borne much fruit
and are pleasing the Lord. Jesus pleased his father long before He was
publicly known. A man can please God even when he is not popular.
The bible recognizes the possession and use of money as a legitimate part
of life in human society. But the benefits that money brings are temporary,
and those who become over concerned with increasing their wealth
eventually bring trouble upon themselves. Poverty is not desirable either,
and people should use their money to help the needy. Poverty was never
part of God‟s original plan when He created the world. But since the fall of
Adam and Eve, the world has become sinful, full of injustice and
wickedness. This, however, brought poverty to the world.
Unfortunately, rather than being of help to the needy, some prefer to
acquire more wives, more buildings, more cars and other insignificant
things that add value to their own lives. Abraham Lincoln said ―in the
end, it’s not the years in your life that count but the life in your
years‖.
The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have and to
be able to lose all desires for things beyond your reach. It took a pastor
more than 20 years to finish a bungalow. He moved into the building
without the luxury of painting it. One day, a fellow pastor informed him
about a piece of land available for sale. He was advised to purchase the
land and have another building. He made the man of God to feel not
being an achiever by having just one building at his age. The man of God

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was however able to resist the pressure by saying he was satisfied with
the one he had just completed. Two years after this, the man of God
passed away.
Labour not to be rich: Cease from thine own wisdom. Proverbs
23:4.
Even though Jesus said heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,
cast our devils, freely ye have received, freely give, the gospel has been
commercialized. Mathew 10:8. It is discovered that a popular church in
Lagos Nigeria always exploit the ignorance of people by making them to
pay gate fee during cross over night service to usher in the new year.
This is due to influx of people who make it their practice regardless of their
lifestyles to be in the church by the time people are ushered into the new
year.
The greed of some ministers of the gospel make them to compel or cajole
recipients of blessing of God‟s grace on their lives to pay in cash or in kind.
In other words, the concept of free reception and free delivery is fast
becoming obsolete. Some ministers will say, “I laid hand on you and the
diabetes in your body disappeared. You know how much it costs to treat
an incurable disease like diabetes. If it is half of what you would have
spent on treatment, go and bring it; after all, it is not easy to acquire the
anointing”. Has the anointing suddenly gone on sale? The Lord frowns
seriously at this. If recipients of miracles on their own decide to show
appreciation, that is fine, but it is very wrong for them to be compelled or
cajoled to pay for what they have received. If they pay, they may never
see the need to turn their lives over to God. I was watching a revival on
the TV in Accra, Ghana and an interpreter told me the “man of God” said
those who needed a female children should pay certain amount while
those in need of male children should pay double of that amount.
When a man is made to pay for spiritual services, God is painted in very
bad light. He is painted as one who demands payment for what He has

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offered freely. Also, whenever people pay for the healing, deliverance,
promotion, etc they have received, it will erode their need to be grateful
and thankful to God. Some ministers will preach very good sermon only to
spoil their sermons with unjustifiable demand for money as if it is money
that will make Jesus to have compassion on the people. Sometimes money
is collected from those who are not born again.
The Bible says we brought nothing to this world and it is certain we will
depart with nothing. The more desperate we are to acquire the material
things of the world, the more difficult it will be to please God.
A pastor gave out the sum of N20million naira for the renovation of his
church and traveled out of the country. Unfortunately for him, he died on
that trip. Nobody can say if his name is in the book of life with his
activities.
A young pastor much younger than my father came to my father one day.
His mission was to advise the old man. He was surprised that my father
was faithful in remitting the monthly tithes to the headquarters of the
church at the end of the month. He advised the old man to stop remitting
all the tithes to the headquarters. He was in sympathy with my father and
was of the opinion that the little education my father had was responsible
for his faithfulness. The old man who was however conscious of the need
to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto
the saints did not however heed his advice.
The young pastor bought a land and built a house probably without loan.
It was shocking news to hear of his death of the age of 42.
Life comes before offering, character before charisma and obedience
before sacrifice. God is not interested in grammatical ability or theological
knowledge but in faithfulness I Cor. 4:2.
Although money is important for propagating the gospel, it should
however not take the place of the Holy Spirit. Simon the sorcerer was
excited by the miracle performed by Peter and the rest of the apostles. He

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offered them money in order to acquire the kind of power they possessed.
Peter was provoked with that request. Peter told him to perish with his
money. He was told: thy money perish with thee, because thou
hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not
right in the sight of God. How many pastors are like Simon in this
contemporary world?
Some years back, i was in Accra, Ghana where I heard this true life story.
A pastor was walking in the sun when a group of ministers were in a jeep
passing. When they saw this man of God walking in the sun, they started
mocking him. One of them said “look at him in the sun, and he said God
called him” another person in the vehicle remarked, “if God actually called
him, he cannot be suffering like this”. I want to say that it is possible that
none of the occupants of the vehicle is even called by God. That a man is
comfortable does not mean he is called. There are many unbelievers who
are comfortable.
One thing the new generations of pastors do not want to talk about is
suffering. And one thing the new generations of Christians do not want to
hear especially the youths is the concept of suffering. Many people are of
the erroneous opinion that if a man is poor as a Christian, he is not a true
Christian. We are only fortunate to know how Job‟s case arose and who
exactly was behind his suffering. Applying the lessons to ourselves today,
how far can we go suffering before we rail at, abuse or condemn
what/whoever causes our problems ? Are we quick to complain rather than
to pray? Do we seek God‟s face for explanation to the unknown? Or, as
counselors, are we quick to condemn rather than to console a believer
undergoing suffering? We will do well to develop the right attitude, either
to personal anguish or to others in distress. Afflictions are light when
compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared
with the suffering of Jesus. But perhaps their lightness is best seen by

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comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us. Job was
pressured by his wife to curse God, accused unjustly by his friend,
despised by his neighbors and afflicted by satan he was still able to say “I
know that my redeemer liveth”. Many believe that the only proof of your
being a true Christian is you must be rich.
A respected man of God said in a large church those who will make
heaven will not be more than 15%
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: Therefore i
command thee, saying: Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy
brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. Deuteronomy
15: 11. One undeniable fact of life is that we cannot all become
millionaires no matter how desperate we may be. The bitter truth is that
poverty is inevitable. We all desire to be rich (including pastors) and that is
why many people worship mammon. A Christian will be sent to purchase
something for the church and he will tell the seller to write an invoice that
will reflect an amount higher than the purchasing price. Because of the
desire for the good things of life, we have tried to eliminate the concept of
suffering from our theology because it is a most uncomfortable and
difficult to explain reality. I have seen pastors who wear chain on their
necks. Some make use of expensive creams to change the colour of their
skins because they want women to admire them. Some even wear chain
on the pulpit. No wonder many male church members put on chains.
Apostle Paul said‖ for I reckon that the suffering of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed ROM 8:18
A great pastor is not great because of a great physical church building but
because of his or her impact on other human lives.
I heard the story of a pastor who boasted that “none of my members is
using a Volkswagen car”. The scripture reveals that those who trust in

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their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches always hope to live
forever and expect to be secured from sickness, sorrow, oppression,
accident and disaster. The bible also teaches that there are limits to the
purchasing power of wealth, especially when it comes to the deeper
demands of the soul, where financial wealth has no relevance.
Another pastor was preaching on the TV and he said “if a man has not
built a house at the age of 40, such a person is a failure.” Many people are
not conscious of the fact that trial is the process of purification. The church
that emphasizes on prosperity but has no component of suffering is setting
itself up for a great deviation from the faith. This is what one my mentors
call “doctrinal compromise.”
Suffering has the power to break the influence of sin on a man‟s life.
Money gives people the power to steer their lives away from anything that
threatens to cause any kind of suffering. That is why the bible says the
love of money is the root of all evils. Satan offered Jesus a quick and fast
route to glory if only He bowed down and worship him. Even though that
route would have meant His avoiding the pain, humiliation and agony of
the cross, Jesus chose the longer route of thorns to the throne.
THE YOUNG RICH MAN’S ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS
When a young man approached Jesus to ask about eternal life, the Lord
gave him a radical response: sell all you possess and give to the
poor; and then come and follow me. Jesus didn‟t say this to everyone.
He knew this man needed a challenge, even though he refused to accept
it. Only greed held him back from freedom. Even though he claimed to
obey all the commandments, he miserably failed at the first one: ―You
shall have no other gods before me” Ex. 20:3. Jesus went straight to
the central issue, preventing him from making a commitment he
desperately needed to make. The man walked away, full of sadness. He
clung to what he had instead of identifying what should be his priority.

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Wealth has been identified as the reason why many Christians left the
narrow way and migrated to the broad way. Many who are married to one
woman will become uncompromising polygamists if they have access to
wealth. Many that are faithful to their spouses will become unfaithful if
they have access to money. Many people will miss heaven if God answers
their prayer for breakthrough they so much desire.
Solomon offered a prayer” Remove from me vanity and lies: give me
neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I
be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain Proverbs
30:8&9.
The ministry of Jesus was characterized by discomfort in all areas. He
suffered rejection from the Israeli community, betrayed by Judas, deserted
by his disciples, false accusation by the pastors, misrepresented by the
Pharisees, pain from Roman soldiers, the psychological torment of
impending death and the pain and horror of crucifixion. During the last
supper, Jesus had cause to say ―O my father, if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me; nevertheless not as i will, but as thou wilt.
Matthew 26 : 39.
After sending several prophets in the old testament, in due time, God sent
Jesus to redeem us from the slave market of sin and to reestablish the
landmarks set by God for all time and age.
The ancient gospel landmarks should never be uttered or modified as a
result of pressure, peril or persecution. We are closer now to the precincts
of eternity than ever and terrifying winds of worldly distractions and
compromise are blowing all around us.

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In an attempt to insulate ourselves against the evils of the world, we can
isolate ourselves from those God called us to reach out to. One of the
most popular hymns says:
On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame and i love that old cross where the
dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.
CHORUS
So I‟ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I‟ll lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day with a crown.
Oh that old rugged cross, so despised by the world holds a wondrous
attraction to me
For the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
Jesus has many lovers of His kingdom but He has few bearers of His cross.
Many desire His consolation but few desire His tribulation. He finds many
comrades in eating and drinking, but He finds few hands that will be with
Him in His abstinence and fasting.
Jesus said ―my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to
finish His work. Jesus had not started His ministry when God told Him
―This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased‖. You don‟t
have to be a pastor, an author, an elder, a deacon or deaconess before
you are told “This is my beloved son”.
When a pastor is posted to a remote place, it is seen by some people as
punishment. Everybody wants to be in the city for obvious reason. Most of

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the ripped harvests in the fields are in the poor regions of the world. How
will the poor people of the world be reached in their poverty? Most of
these people cannot pay for the services of good pastors and evangelists.
The church was born on the sacrifice of Christ. The church grew through
the sacrifice of the apostolic church. Once again, the church will only
expand through sacrifice. I used to think that everybody had heard the
gospel until i had the opportunity of being in Eastern Europe. There, I
discovered a good number of people are yet to be reached with the gospel
of Jesus.
It is not a crime to be rich. Abraham was rich. Solomon was rich. David
was comfortable. It is however unfortunate that our love for the things of
the world has overshadowed our love for God.
Jesus said ―what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination
in the sight of God Luck 16:15.‖
The world is the kingdom of the rich. The kingdom of God is not the
kingdom of the rich. Indeed, Jesus maintains it is the rich who are
handicapped in entering the kingdom of God. The poor can afford the
entrance fee but, paradoxically, the rich cannot afford it. The rich fail to
appreciate the fact that ―a man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions‖ Luke 12:15.
Solomon echoes this, saying “the ransom of a man’s life is his riches‖
Proverbs 13:8. The price for entering the kingdom of God is precisely what
the rich cannot afford to pay. The cost of eternal life is a man‟s life. The
rich consider themselves to be blessed because of the privileged lives they
live. They do everything in their power to safeguard their possessions. The
rich consider their riches in this world to be worth two in the kingdom.
Unfortunately for them, when the inevitable visitor comes, their wealth will
not serve as safeguard for their transition. That is why when they depart
they embark on elaborate funeral which is meaningless.

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It is a thing of delight that many churches are living up to expectation, but
it is sad that many more have failed its congregation, its people and its
neighborhood in every way possible.
The church cannot continue to exploit its usual excuse of claiming
dwindling resources anymore, for it is hard (even impossible) to reconcile
the church austerity with its current capital acquisition drive. The church
has to begin again to live out the true meaning of its creed: glorifying God,
evangelism, giving succor to the underprivileged and service to mankind.
It is time it retraced its steps, it is time it re-connected with its old sense of
purpose, it is time it redefined its vision and executed its mission.
Let us have a poor church that caters for a poor people, rather than an
affluent one that meets only the needs of its leaders.

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CHAPTER FIVE
THE POWER OF DECEPTION
And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto
Him privately, saying tell us, when shall these things be? And
shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the world? And
Jesus answered and said unto them ―Take heed that no man
deceive you‖ Matt. 24:3-4
Sin came into the world by deception. God put Adam in the Garden of
Eden with an instruction to eat every tree in the garden but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, they should not eat. For in the day
they touch it, death will be the consequence. Unfortunately, the serpent
came when Adam was away from the garden. And the serpent said
unto the woman, ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that
in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:4-5
When the serpent approached Eve with the temptation to act contrary to
God‟s instruction, one would have expected her to tell the serpent to wait
till Adam returned back to the garden. She did not consider the option only
to succumb to the serpent‟s temptation.
Samson was deceived by Delilah and a once powerful man became a toy
in the hand of the philistines. Delilah was the third woman Samson saw
and liked her. There is a saying that “not all that glitter is gold‖.
Samson had an uncontrollable appetite for sex which later ruined his life.
He was deceived by outward beauty.

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In the book of Proverbs chapter seven, there is a serious warning against
adultery. A man with an uncontrollable appetite for sex is liken to an ox to
be slaughtered. With her much fair speech, she caused him to yield,
with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her
straightway as an ox goeth to the slaughter or as a fool to the
correction of the stocks. Proverbs 7:21-22.
A woman will hardly use a gun to make a man sleep with her. The weapon
they use is their appearance and flattering lips.
While serving in the Nigeria police, i was posted somewhere in the eastern
part of Nigeria. I was posted to a place where i met a young man, a driver
from the same tribe with me. He was excited with my posting to the place.
He wanted me to be comfortable. He wanted to make me happy. He
wanted my experience at the place to be a pleasant one. I didn‟t know the
way he wanted to embark on this was to make me commit adultery. I was
less than one month at this station when he came to me one day and
informed me without my soliciting for it that he had arranged for a woman
to be taking care of me. There is no reason to blame the young man for
his action because that is the practice. He didn‟t know that others may but
for me I cannot. I remember my boss congratulated me when my posting
to that state came out. He told me,”congratulations‟‟. I became curious to
know why he congratulated me, and he said “you are going to a place
where there are lots of beautiful women”. That immediately put me on my
guard.
I however thanked the young man and politely declined his offer because
i was conscious of the fact that they that nameth the name of the
Lord must depart from iniquity.
Nigeria, a country where 63% of her 160 million population live on less
than $1 per day is rated as the second highest consumer of champagne in
the world. Nigerian‟s love for champagne is fast becoming a legend – with
new figures forecasting that champagne consumption in the West African

48
country will reach 1.1 million liters by 2017, with 2011 consumption at
almost 8 billion naira ($62 million) The figures, from research company
Euromonitor found that Nigeria had the fastest growing rate of new
champagne consumption in the world, second only to France, and ahead
of rapid growth nations like Brazil, China and established markets such as
United States and Australia. People may find it surprising that Nigeria
came second in the rankings, but it has an extremely extravagant elite,
with the lifestyle of her politicians and oil industry. Nigerian‟s love for big
spending has attracted growing attention in recent time. In the year 2013,
figures revealed that Nigerian tourists in the United Kingdom are the
fourth biggest foreign spenders, ringing up an average 500 pounds in each
shop where they make purchases – four times what the average UK
shopper spends. Every elite event in Nigeria, champagne has to be
flowing, and how much champagne is provided is a status symbol thing
like showing a man that your house is bigger than his own. Nigerian‟s
unhealthy enthusiasm for anything foreign is a plague that continues to
pull the country back into this sort of wasteful expenditure. It is satan‟s
deception.
The story of how Amnon raped Tamar and was later killed by Absalom is
full of important lessons about deception. Amnon wanted to sleep with
Tamar but didn‟t know how to do that. Satan provided Jonadab a subtle
man to teach him how to accomplish his adulterous desire. He was advised
to pretend to be sick and demand that Tamar bring food for him. He did
that and succeeded in his evil plan. After two years of committing this
adulterous act, he was murdered by Absalom.
Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, mark ye now
when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when i say unto you,
smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not; have not i commanded you?
Be courageous and be valiant.

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And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had
commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man got
him up upon his mole and fled. II Samuel 13:28-29.
I have never come across a person who is so intelligent and clever that he
or she cannot be deceived. The president of a country can be deceived. A
professor in any discipline can be deceived. A highly anointed man of God
can become a victim of deception if he does not rely on the Power of God
to be his guide. Satan attempted to deceive the Saviour Jesus Christ but
he failed. In chapter 4 of Matthew verse 3 Satan told Jesus “Command
that these stones be made bread: Jesus said ―It is written, man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of God‖.
In verse 6: The devil told him ―if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself
down; for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning
thee; and in their hands they shall bear up thee up, lest at any
time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus answered the devil “it is written again, thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God.
In verse 8 and 9 again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding
high mountain, and showeth him all the Kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them. And he saith unto him, all these things will
i give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Jesus said unto him ―get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and only Him shalt thou serve‖.
(Verse. 10)

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For everything human, there are usually two of a kind to it; the good and
bad; genuine and fake; first and last; even the beginning and ending of
mankind. The bible says ―everything created by God was good‖.
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was
good. Genesis 1:31
Satan who deceived Adam and Eve in the garden went further to give man
the knowledge to pollute what God has made. God is the father of all
originalities and He has put all connecting points in their appropriate
places for effective performance. However, at the extremity of what is
good and sane lies the make-believe, fakery master; the devil con artist,
who make man to acquire the spirit of the love of money goes further to
make man possess desire to look for the money in unconventional ways.
He gives man the spirit of covetousness. That is why some people resort
to illegal printing of their country‟s currencies in their private homes.
King Saul of Israel had unreasonably sought to kill David simply because
the women ascribed him more honour in the routing of Israel‟s arch foes,
the Philistines. It did not matter to Saul that David had not solicited this
adulation. When open attempts to kill him failed, the King settled for a
seemingly harmless trick of offering his daughter in marriage to David that
she may be a snare to him. David fell for the trap as “it pleased David well
to be the king‟s son-in-law”. Still the king could not consummate his
deadly passion as Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him
and departed from Saul. 1Samuel 18:22-30
It was by the power of God that David did not become a prey in the hand
of the enemies that were determined to take his life. All human beings are
vulnerable to compromise. When the young prophet on a divine
assignment to Bethel rested on his way back home, contrary to divine

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instructions, the devil caught up with him. He was sent to Bethel and after
accomplishing his mission according to God‟s instructions, he was on his
way back home. He was told not to eat or drink at the place he was sent
to, unfortunately for him, an old prophet craftily deceived him and he
compromised.
Result: He lost his life and his ministry came to an abrupt end. The
younger prophet was subjected to ridicule by the old prophet. 1 Kings
13:11-26.
WHO IS SATAN
The book of Job gives us a glimpse into the deliberately destructive role of
satan in the world. When Satan attacked Job, we see his true nature
revealed. The name satan is a transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning
an “adversary opponent, enemy”. In the book of Revelation, satan is also
called the “fiery red serpent” that ancient snake” “the devil” and the
deceiver of the whole world. Revelation 12: 3, 9. Each name highlights a
different aspect of Satan‟s character revealed throughout the scriptures.
Many lives have been wasted, expectations unfulfilled and dreams aborted
as a result of the subtle deception of satan. It is surprising that satan was
not afraid of Jesus but confronted Him the first, second and third time. If
Jesus could be confronted by satan to abort His mission into the world
then you should realize that you are an insignificant quantity.
When the devil lost his position because of pride, he made up his mind not
to go to hell alone. This is why he misleads people so that they will miss
heaven the abode of God, the city of gold, a place where there is no night
nor any need for light for the Lord Jesus lightens the place.

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CHAPTER SIX
WHO IS ON THE LORD’S SIDE?
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, who is on the
Lord’s side? Let him come unto me, and all the sons of Levi
gathered themselves together unto him. (Exodus 32:26).
Many people will wonder why the question “who is on the Lord‟s side?”
should be the title of a chapter. The question can provoke another
question “who is not on the Lord‟s side?” If a pastor throws this question
to his congregation, it is doubtful if anybody will say he is not on the Lord‟s
side.
There are many religions in the world but the popular ones are
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and traditional religion. Without a
religion, a man will feel a void in his life. We are not naïve to deny that
some men claim to have or believe in no God hence religious. It‟s a mental
self deception. I was in a bus with a white lady in Europe. We sat on the
same seat during a journey that lasted five hours. I told her about God
and she told me she did not believe in the existence of God. I was not
surprised when she said this because she is an adult who is entitled to her
opinion. When we arrived at our destination and it was time to part, I
asked her “will you visit Africa one day”? Her response was “if God
permits”. She had forgotten she told me she did not believe in the
existence of God. George Washington, former President of the United
States of America, said “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the
providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His
benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor”. Billy Graham
once said “ One of the reasons the United Nations has become ineffective
in handling world situations is that there is no recognition of God. Unless

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the leaders of the nations turn to God, their best plans will fail, just as did
the plans of those who built the tower of Babel”.
SIN IS THE DISEASE OF MANKIND
The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. The word of God is a
discovery of man‟s thoughts. Sin is an abomination to God; it is that
abominable thing which He hates. Many profess they know God, but in
works deny Him, are abominable, and to every good work reprobate.
The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt,
they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good
Psalm 14:1
The Lord looked down from heaven, he took a view of all the children of
men and the question was, whether there were any among them that did
understand themselves aright, their duty and interests, and did seek God
and set Him before them. The outcome of the search, they have all gone
aside, the apostasy is universal, there is none that doeth good, no, not
one, till the free and mighty grace of God brought a change. Whatever
good is in any of the children of men, or is done by them, it is not of
themselves; it is God‟s work in them.
After God created the world, he looked upon His own work and all was
good but sometime after he looked upon man‟s work and behold, all was
very bad. Every operation of the thought of man‟s heart was evil and only
evil continually. There is need for a change.
When a child is born into the world, that child has a mission to accomplish.
The child will be nurtured and grow to adolescent, get education, secure a
job and fulfill his destiny life. This is the dream of every parent. If this
dream is not aborted, the child is expected to make some significant life
achievements and become a model to younger ones. Unfortunately, not

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many children born into the world are fulfilled. Some children become
victims of untimely death thereby aborting their God given destinies. For
those who are successful, their expectations will be high to become people
that will be reckoned with in being solution providers in their chosen fields
of discipline.
A young man who secures a job will be under a boss and he will be
accountable to that boss. For a manager or director who is employed by a
company, he will be accountable to the managing director. In every family,
there is always a head to which every member is accountable to. In
countries broken into states, every state will be under the supervision of a
state governor. In some countries we have the mayor and chairmen of
local government to which everyone is accountable to. The governor,
mayor or chairman are accountable to the president of the country. It is
natural for a person to respect his boss in order not to loose his job. Those
in the ministries accord respect to the director general or minister in
charge of their ministries. Unfortunately, many people are not conscious
that there is a supreme being to which all human beings are accountable
to in our day to day activities irrespective of the state of their
responsibilities. Moses the servant of God was given a divine mandate to
lead the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. A journey that
was supposed to last for 40 days took them 40 years. While Moses was on
the mount receiving the law from God, the people had time to meditate
upon what had been delivered and prepared themselves for what was
further to be revealed and forty days was little enough for that work. But
instead of that, there were those among them that were contriving how to
break the laws they had already received and to anticipate those which
they were in expectation of. On the thirty ninth day of the forty, the plot
broke out of rebellion against the Lord.

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There was a tumultuous address which the people made to Aaron who
was entrusted with the government in the absence of Moses. They were
weary of waiting for the Promised Land. They thought themselves
detained too long at Mount Sinai even though they were safe and
comfortable. They were impatient to wait for God. They were impatient to
wait for God and His Servant, Moses. While God delights to put honour
upon Moses, they delight to put contempt upon him and this to the face of
his brother Aaron. They thought he was either consumed by the devouring
fire or starved for want of food as if God who kept and fed them who were
so unworthy would not take care of the protection and supply of Moses his
favourite. They went into idolatry. On Moses‟ arrival, he was shocked to
the marrow to discover that the people had forsaken the Lord and went
into idolatry. After expressing his disgust, he asked the people ―Who is
on the Lord’s side?‖
This question is a bombshell considering the gravity and magnitude of
their error. Moses‟ call for loyalty to God reflects the principle that in the
midst of spiritual decline and rebellion, the only path for the faithful is the
one marked out by decisive obedience to God‟s law and clear separation
from apostasy. There are two great interests on foot in the world with the
one or the other of which all the children of men are sliding. The interest
of sin and wickedness is the devil‟s interest and all wicked people slide
with that interest. The interest of truth and holiness is God‟s interest with
which all godly people slide and it is a case that will not admit neutrality.
Secondly, it concerns us all to enquire whether we are on the Lord’s
side or not.
Thirdly, those who are on the Lord‟s side are comparatively but few and
sometimes seem fewer than really they are. Fourthly, God expects those
that are on His side to appear for Him as a witness, as soldiers and

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intercessors. It is pertinent to point out that Moses did not say “who is on
my side?” If he had said “who is on my side?” one would have been
justified to attribute such a question to pride. Moses was conscious of the
fact that he was a messenger of God to carry out a divine assignment.
After Moses has asked the question, those who were on the Lord‟s side
responded to Moses‟ call and separated themselves from the rest.
The Spirit of God spoke through His Apostle: And be not
conformed to this world. But be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2).
When a man is on the Lord‟s side, he will not copy what other people do.
He will always be conscious that he is on the Lord‟s side. It is on record
that three thousand men fell that day. Probably these were but few in
comparison with the many that were guilty, but these were the men that
headed the rebellion and were therefore picked out to be made examples
for people who are recalcitrant. People enjoy quoting wonderful promises
of God in the bible. Some promises are for protection, favour, provision,
victory over the wicked ones and good health. Many people are ignorant
that these promises are anchored on total obedience.
God says in Jer.29:13: And ye shall seek me, and find me, when
ye shall search for me with all your hearts.
14: And I will be found of you, saith the Lord. And I will turn
away your captivity, and I will gather you from all places wither I
have driven you again into the place whence I caused you to be
carried away captive.
Those that take one bold step in a sinful way give satan advantage against
them to tempt them to take another, and provoke God to leave them to
themselves to go from bad to worse. It is possible for a man who was

57
once on the Lord‟s side to slide and be lost in transit. Temptation is
becoming an indispensable companion to everyone who wants to be on
the Lord‟s side.
Unto every Moses there is a Pharaoh, unto every Joseph there is a
Portiphar, unto every Elijah there is Jezebel, unto every David there is a
Goliath and unto every Samson there is Delilah. There will always be
opposition to be on the Lord‟s side.
Joshua said: Now therefore fear the Lord, and Serve Him in
sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which our fathers
served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt: and serve ye
the Lord. (Joshua 24:14).
For a man to think he can do without God, the consequence is not only
devastating but unimaginable. Tancredo Neves, ex-Brazilian president
during a Presidential Campaign said if he got 500,000 votes from his
party, not even God could prevent him from the Presidency. He
got the votes but fell sick a day before being made president. Then he
died. An accomplished lady was traveling and the mother said “God will go
with you and protect you during your journey” she responded ―I have no
space for God in my car unless he will stay inside the boot of my
car‖. Few minutes later, she was involved in a fatal accident during which
she lost her life. Surprisingly, a crate of eggs kept inside the boot of her
car was intact as no single egg was broken.
It is pertinent to consider the relevance of Moses‟ question to the present
generation in view of the multiplication of iniquity and proliferation of
churches. More than ever before, the quest for survival impinges seriously
on man‟s devotion to God and His sanctity. People are daily faced with
temptation to give into “the snare of the devil” not necessarily losing
their lives but something more valuable their integrity to God. In
an attempt to find a way out, man begins to act contrary to the law of

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God. To survive, they embark on unconventional way to look for wealth.
They worship mammon. They do not know what should be their priority.
God has always wanted us to separate ourselves from the world. He wants
us to be unto Him a holy nation, a separate people who are not conformed
to this world. For it is written:
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all
other things shall be added unto you. Matt 6:33
These are trying period for faithful Christians, a trying period that
threatens to sway many from the way of Salvation just because of earthly
needs and pressures of life. As Christians, we are called into special
spiritual understanding that is unequalled by any earthly interpretation and
tendency toward survival. It is written: Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: ―Fear God and keep his commandment: for this
is the whole duty of man‖ Eccl. 12:13.
This is the most important thing in the life of every individual. A man who
is on the Lord‟s side will know and will always be conscious of what should
be his priority. When a man fears God, he has nothing else to fear.
Jesus said: …..Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul, rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell. (Matt. 10:28).
Those who are truly on the Lord‟s side need not fear the greatest of their
adversaries. Those who truly fear God need not fear man and they who
are afraid of the least sin need not be afraid of the greatest trouble. The
fear of man brings a snare, a perplexing snare that disturbs our peace, an
entangling snare by which we are drawn into sin and therefore it must be
carefully watched and striven and prayed against. The enemy has a limited
power. They can kill the body and cannot tamper with the soul and soul is
the man. The soul is killed when it is separated from God eternally.
Tribulation, distress and persecution may separate us from the entire

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world but cannot part between us and God and cannot make us either not
to love Him or not to be loved by Him. If therefore we are more concerned
about our souls as our jewels, we should be less afraid of men whose
power cannot rob us of them. They can kill the body which would quickly
die of itself and not the souls which will enjoy itself and its God in spite of
them.

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CHAPTER SEVEN
INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH ON SOCIETY
For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are
the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tidings of good things. Romans 10:13—15.
The influence of the church in the societies of the early days was more
effective than today‟s church. The influence of the society is much more
on the church today. The church is getting worldlier and more
commercialized. It is lamentable. In the days of old, the church is the
voice of the nation; the church is the conscience of the nation. Even
though there are more churches today, the underlining motive behind the
establishment of most churches is to build empire. Many African countries
have since the year 2000 witnessed the establishment of worship centres.
But many of such centres are established as money-making ventures since
the unemployment level in those countries is on the rise. So, while it is
commendable to build churches, if the major reason for doing so is
material gain, it offends God and exposes those involved in it to divine
wrath.
In an attempt to insulate ourselves against the evils of the world, we
cannot isolate ourselves from those God called us to reach out to.
At the beginning of Ezekiel‟s‟ ministry he wrote, “The hand of the Lord was
strong upon me. Then i came to the captives….. And i sat where they sat,
and remained there astonished among them seven days” (Ezekiel 3:14-15)
True ministry begins with sitting in the other person‟s seat. Many times,
we desire great privileges, responsibilities and reward. We pick and choose

61
those assignments that we think will lead us to quick realization of these
incentives. And because we are not patient enough to wait until the Lord
hands us His mandate, most times, we miss the mark of His expectation.
Not so for Ezekiel. The Lord had called him to be a messenger to the
people of Israel. But He did not immediately outline his responsibility. It
was, therefore, incumbent on him to wait patiently for seven days until the
Lord told him the task he was to carry out. He was being sent as a
watchman to the Israelites. God would speak to him, and he in turn was to
convey the same words to the people of Israel. He would essentially
address two categories of people: the wicked and the righteous. He was to
warn the wicked and backslider to change their sinful ways and escape
God‟s judgment. But if they remained adamant and died in their sins
despite the warning, God would absolve Ezekiel of blame. But if he failed
to warn them to turn from their evil ways and they died in their sins, God
would hold him responsible because he failed in his task. The Lord has
called us, essentially to carry out a labour of love for sinners and believers
alike. All around us, sinners are sinking deeper into evil and are dying and
heading into a doomed eternity. It is our duty, as believers, to warn them
of the danger ahead, and hopefully, win them to Christ. We are also to
warn believers against backsliding, irrespective of the pressure they face.
If we do this conscientiously, God would appreciate our efforts. But if we
fail to do it, we would be guilty of disobedience. There is a popular song
that is relevant to this subject. My attention was drawn to this song as a
teenager when I was not even born again. It goes thus:
Rescue the perishing
Care for the dying
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave
Weep o‟er the erring ones
Lift up the fallen
Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save

Hostage in the church

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