A CHARGE TO SONS

Very recently, God began to instruct me to send people (new converts, friends, mentees et al) to some certain assemblies as He directs me while speaking with me. Now as a pastor over a growing assembly, this is a very hard thing to do. On the one hand, I am looking at the size of the congregation and asking that God grows us, but on the other hand, I am sure that He is asking me to send some of these new converts and friends to other ministries as instructed.

One of the guys kept asking me for the direction to our assembly and I knew where God needed him to be, so I gave him the directions to the assembly that God was leading him to and told him that it was a branch of our ministry. I’m sure he was shocked as the ministry doesn’t bear the same name as the one I pastor.

More than ever before, I know for a fact that the Father is seeking for a body that is unified in purpose not divided along the lines of denomination or religion, but a unified body of Christ.

There are things that we have received both individually and as an assembly as pertains to the heart of the Father in this season and it is amazing to know that all across the face of the earth, many are receiving the same instructions.

The Father has stepped out by Himself and the barriers of denominations are broken.

So I committed myself verbally to Him and agreed that for every time we go out and men are drawn to the Father, we will commit them unto worthy sons within that vicinity to disciple them and trust God the He will lead the men whom we are to disciple to us. So far, the results have blown my mind. Our numbers within my local assembly are not yet what the Lord showed me, but we have built a network of brethren all across the nation such that if we were to gather, it will be quite a big family gathering and the love shared amongst these men is just beyond words.

I believe that a new breed of people need to arise, sons whose main drive is to seek the Father and to do the will of our Master.

Selah!

MY JOURNEY

Recently the Lord began to deal with me on timidity. It didn’t make sense to me at first because I thought I always said my mind at every point in time however, you don’t argue with God when He is at work in your life so… I jejely kept learning my lessons.

First I got into someone’s office and was talking and the guy kept straining to hear me (now in my mind, my voice was high, apparently it was only in my mind). The guy had to ask me to speak up or leave his office (you can imagine the embarrassment).

I left that office that day wondering what just happened and the Lord pointed me back to the lessons He was trying to teach me. If you are going to be My voice to the Nations, times are going to arise when I will need you to confront issues/people/institutions bigger and greater than you and I will not have you get there timid.

Thus my journey to overcoming timidity started, I have been on that path for a while now, some progress has been made, but that is a journey I may or may not share in the future however I thought to share one aspect of that journey today.

Remember I said in one of my recent posts that I have been introspecting. Well, I thought to trace the history of the timidity and I was surprised by what I found.

Most people in my generation can relate with being beaten for any and every reason. Some of us could have been fantastic footballers earning big money if not for the rod of correction that kept us shielding our skills. I personally was flogged for everything, just think about it and it was reason enough for my dad to flog you. My second sister Oma and I had the better share of the beatings. I remember asking my mum who my dad was as I was convinced that for my dad to flog me as much as he did, then he wasn’t my real dad.

The cane from those days partly made me the reasonable man I am today, but it also left some scars. I realized that the timidity only shows up when there is an authority figure before me hence anyone that stands in a father figure or office of authority over me, I tend to stay away from them. This didn’t change the love I have for them, however an experience from the past had framed the way I viewed fathers/authority figures. For me, they were to be observed from a distance.

There are some people in my life, when people hear me talk about them, they wonder how that can be possible as they never see me around those people. Even I didn’t know the reason why until God revealed this to me recently.

So, I remembered a conversation I had with my dad before he went to be with the Lord and he said to me “Nna, I am so proud of the man you have become. I am convinced that you will lead many people to Christ and nurture them in the true knowledge of God. Religion and denomination will draw many away from Christ but if Christ remains your focus, you will journey farther in Him. Forgive me of my excesses, that was the only way I knew how to raise you but I know that you now know that I did all of that in love”.

I remember telling him that I had forgiven him of all the supposed wrongs he did me and that I loved him. He held my hands and prayed for me before I came back to Lagos.

God had to bring me back here to show me that the thing I was afraid of had a lot of respect for me. Wow!!!

So today, I raise a glass to the new bold me, not cowering away in the face of authority, challenging the things I think should be challenged within limits that I will set for myself. Saying those things that some are afraid to say, taking up the assignment that has been laid before me.

 

Today I present to you….

THE BOLD ME