A Growing Concern!

I'm getting seriously concerned about a growing trend. 

As a youth leader both at church(I must confess that I have quite a few good kids at church) and outside, I have a few youths on my BB contact and the level of misbehaviour is high(Pls guys, don't delete me, Wale is just trying to help!).

What these guys post on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and BB and Foursquare is shocking. The level of lewdness is alarming. Now, here's a catch; these boys and girls idolise Rihanna and with her saucy and salacious mode of dancing on stage coupled with her meteoritic rise to fame sunbathing on a yacht off the Caribbean coast with Chris Brown as boyfriend all covered in tattoos points in the direction that we have lost focus and if care is not taken, we run the risk of building a future with broken bricks. 

I'm presently dealing with a case(with IB involved) where one of our young female friend "mistakenly" sent a text with her picture(semi-naked) to another female friend(we don't know her) and the entire school got it on their BB and Nokia and Samsung via Whatsapp and it trended for hours. She almost Killed herself! We asked her, why did you send your photograph in the first place? She retorted "it's a game thingy( I hate that "thingy" word! Whats thingy?) where we share photographs? I shouted "naked photographs? IB poked me metaphorically with her big eyes! 

The issue is, most of these boys and girls can't discuss these issues with their parents so they find "accommodating" older friends and IB and I have been doing that but my level of tolerance is waning. 

I get shocked everyday at what I read and see. What's happening to our society? A society where G-strings are taken as trophies by boys when they have sex with girls?  A society where boys sign off girls bra and pants with the phrase "I was here and enjoyed it". A society where boys are integrated into gangs by smoking "skunk? A society where both parents are engrossed in their jobs and not having time for the children? A society where boys aged 10 are used as gun keepers? A society where technology has eaten deep into our moral fabric and kids stay in their room all day on XBox, PSP, iPad and BB? A society where these kids play video games shooting and maiming "opponents"? What are we building?

Here's another shocker; the academic reports are going south! I review a lot of CVs for younger friends who are looking for summer jobs or college placements and I see words like "email addy", "refs" and the most annoying "I chillax with my friends as past time". All these in a formal document with the hope of getting a job? Our present day youths have been pummelled with "technological short hands" where they can't distinguish between the real world and Facebook. I asked one of them to write a short story on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and I couldn't help but laugh at the grammatical flaws? A 16 year old? What's happening? The entire note was filled with street lingo and gang style innuendo bordering on the ridiculous. 

I also listen to the music collection on their phones and ah! Justin Bieber and Chris Brown and Rihanna and Lil' Wayne and because most of the kids are of Nigerian descent, they get hooked on a guy named Damoche(he was shot dead recently at his university). Damoche sang a "hit" called something in the region of "female genitalia as something worthy of eating". These youths see these musicians with the wealth they flaunt as the next big thing thereby pushing education to the back burners. Let me shock you, google the WAEC and NECO results in the last 5 years and let your brain freeze.

I am upset!

What have we done to this next generation?

Cultural Clash in church!

Geoff Low and I had a superb time out this past lunch time discussing God and the cultural clash from an African migrant like me and a British guy like Geoff. We were able to conclude that there should be nothing called "an African or British church, but a "Christ themed church" where God is worshipped in spirit and truth. I particularly enjoyed his exposition on who God really is without the hidden borders of rich semantics and culture. Geoff had lived in Peru and I grew up in Nigeria, so it was very easy to Identify the cultural differences from an African perspective and the reason why there's an influx and growing trend of "prosperity gospel" where we have turned God into Tesco! 

My church is rich in culture with diverse ethnic groups of Asians, Sub-Saharan and Southern Africans, continental Europeans and of course, Britons but the central theme is the Cross of Jesus Christ. I particularly told Geoff that I struggled when I joined on what I did term "sluggish mode of service" as a result of where I was coming from where there is an effervescent (that word again, Geoff. Lol) "gospel" approach to music but after some time, IB and I began to look indepth at the lyrics from the Praise! Hymn book and "landed" on 676-To God be the glory! Stanza 2 line 3-4 made perfect sense and I quote inter alia "the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus, a pardon receives". So when we sing at TABC with only an accompaniment of soft piano and flutes, I have come to now pay particular attention to the lyrics of the hymns with emphasis on God. 

Why did I struggle? I have been used to my "place of birth" Baptist Church in Lagos, Nigeria and the Pentecostal church I was with for 15years both Nigeria and London where we worshipped God in Praise and Worship accompanied by a large ensemble of choristers and musical instruments. Let me run a quick example juxtapositioning Hymn 676 with Gospel singer, Donnie McClurkin's "Great is your mercy towards me"-a very popular worship chorus in pentecostal churches. McClurkin sings "great is your mercy towards me, your loving kindness towards me, your tender mercies I see, day after day......"  That line that I have come to love "the vilest offender who truly believes....." Has the same semantic semblance with "great is your mercy towards me" because both points to the Cross of the Savior, Jesus Christ and despite the fact that I was born a baptist, hymn 676 never made impact until I joined TABC. I was extremely cocooned in my culture of "heavy metal drum sets and bass guitar" without being pedantic to the lyrics. Pls, don't get me wrong, there's nothing absolutely wrong in worshipping God with those instruments but sometimes, they can form a sort of distraction where we are unconsciously swayed away by the rich music.  

Another issue that Geoff and I discussed is the mode of prayer. I come from a background where we pray for hours at "Night vigils" and petitioning God in a prayerthon approach and interjecting these prayers with hundreds of thunderous "amens" and phrases like "The blood of Jesus" and "Holy ghost fire" having the belief that prayers are answered only when you pray "hard". When I joined, IB and I struggled heavily with the mode of prayer as we found it extremely "sluggish" for us until God began to deal with us on who He really is and the ways to approach Him in prayer. IB and I now see this "erroneous" sluggish prayer mode as good because we don't bombard God with tons of prayer requests all pointing towards tautology and "Me, myself and I".The question thus arise that now that we have changed our prayers to the way it is done at our church, has God not answered us as a family? A capital YES affirming that we have testimonies to the goodness of God. 

I have taken time out to write this because I see myself as a microcosm of the family unit at TABC who had gone through the stage of cultural clash and pray that God reveal Himself to us more so that we can fully come to the understanding that a God's church must be Christ themed with a background know how of this year's Men's Fellowship theme "That I may know Him, the fellowship of His suffering and the power of His resurrection". 

Thanks to Geoff for the opportunity to share my thoughts with him. God bless you bro! 

[Guest Article] The Christian in the End-time (Part 1 of 5)

INTRODUCTION

David Oludairo

The world we live in is already under God’s judgment of condemnation. The judgement is awaiting execution at this moment. (2 Peter 3:7, Acts 17:31)

Before this final judgment is executed, God, in His mercy has provided a ‘safety net’ for all those that will cross from this condemned world to the new heavens and new earth that He is creating (2 Peter 3:13, Isaiah 65:17). Everything that will cross over to this new creation must be in this ‘safety net’ - and that is Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:10). Anybody/anything outside Christ will perish with the old world.

Thus, to escape God’s awesome wrath, every believer must take heed to be SURE that he/she is actually IN CHRIST. This is one of the reasons Jesus admonished His followers “Abide in me....” (John 15:4). The greatest danger relating to ‘abiding in Christ’ is that it is quite possible not to be in Christ, and to think you are in Christ. A lot of us do not abide, we visit....

Therefore, it becomes the prime duty of every Christian to be engaged in constant evaluation and re-evaluation to be sure that his/her life is actually, truly and incontestably in Christ. Apostle Peter puts it this way, “... give DILIGENCE to make your calling and election SURE (2 Peter 1:10). The key is to be SURE.

Before releasing the pent-up judgement, God will take His own people out of the way of His wrath (1 Thess 5:9). This is similar to what He did with Noah during the judgement by flood (Genesis 7:1), and with Lot’s family during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:12-16). In these last days, it is through The Rapture that the Lord will take His people out of harm’s way in the coming judgment (1 Thess 4:16-17).

However, those that will be raptured, along with the saints that slept in Christ, have to be top notch, premium quality. Jesus is coming for a church without spots or wrinkles. 1 Thess 3:13 tells us our hearts should be “... unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints”. The standard is very high – attainable if we live in the spirit, pipe-dream if  we live in the flesh, and dangerously risky if we live in the Spirit today, and in the flesh tomorrow.

Also, please consider this: "... but we know that, WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him PURIFIETH HIMSELF, EVEN AS HE IS PURE." (1 John 3:2-3). Furthermore, 2 Peter 3:14 is very instructive.

Preparation is everything for The Rapture. However serious you are as a Christian, if you mis-use this period of preparation, forget about The Rapture completely. This is what the Parable of 10 virgins teaches us clearly (Matthew 25:1-13). There will be no mercy at that gate. Now is the time to use the available grace and mercy of the Lord to get ready for that day.

How ready are you? Are you truly in Christ 

Mathew 6:9-10 is indeed "My Oga at the Top".

When my friend, Kola Oyeneyin, the CEO of the emerging and vibrant business, Vernia Hub, Lagos posted an update "a church somewhere in Nigeria tomorrow will be preaching on "My Oga at the Top" using Mathew 6:9, I saw an opportunity to share the gospel. In the last one week, a video had gone viral and images of the Lagos State Commandant of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps pointing to the ceiling with his index finger and uttering the now very popular phrase that has had over a million hit on YouTube and trended heavily on Twitter for over 72hours "my Oga at the top". Cartoonists have made T-shirts and caricature of the man. Artistes and DJs have done musical videos and rap songs about the phrase but I will be seeing an opportunity to share the gospel. 

Who is our own "Oga at the Top"?

Mathew 6:9-10 specifically tells us who the "Oga at the Top" is. Here is it:

Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

Our "Oga at the Top" is "sat in heaven and makes the earth His footstool"-Acts 7:49. This same "Oga kwatakwata" made the whole world in Genesis 1-reading the Book of Genesis points in the direction that this very "Oga" is highly methodical and meticulous, not given to sloppiness. He plans his plans well. He pays attention to details. He always ever ready. "A very present Help in times of need"-Psalm 46:1. This same "Oga" told the extremely frightened Israelites as they were boxed in between the rear raging Egyptian Army and the Red Sea  in Exodus 14:13-14 "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." This "Oga" at the top gave strict warnings to Noah and the inhabitants of the world about bad behavioural attitude, they didn't listen, he caused a great flood wiping the entire world with just Noah and his family surviving. He gave us a clean slate. Who really is this "Oga at the Top"? What's His name? 

The "Oga at the Top" that I have been writing about is no other person than The Almighty God! Who is the Almighty God? The Hebrew name same as the "Almighty God" is "El Shaddai"-The All Powerful One. The Mighty One of Jacob. The title speaks volume. It points to the huge fact that this "Oga" now addressed as God has ultimate power over all things. The very first time the name came out was when "Oga" appeared to Abram and uttered this statement in Genesis 17:1 "I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless". We have come to know His many names and address Him as:

The Creator of heaven and earth. Genesis 14:19

The Almighty God. Genesis 49:25

The King of heaven. Daniel 4:37

The Eternal King. Jeremiah 10:10

He is the only God. Jude 1:25

Builder of everything. Hebrews 3:4

He's able to do more than what we ask for. Ephesians 3:20

He's also refered to as The Lord when he appeared to Moses in Exodus 6:2-3

My "Oga at the Top" is an Omnipotent God!

The omnipotence of God implies that he cannot be stopped from doing what he purposes to do. Daniel 4:35 says, "The Most High does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand." If God purposes with all his heart to do a thing, it simply cannot be stopped by any power in the universe. Second, the omnipotence of God implies that he does whatever he pleases. Psalm 115:3, says "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." In Isaiah 46:9-10 God says, "I am God and there is none like me. GOD ALMIGHTY is not like us. He can do whatever he pleases. Ultimately the only thing that determines what God will accomplish and what He won't is His own will. Third, the omnipotence of God implies that His power is superior to all other powers. 

My "Oga at the top sent us His Beloved Son!

The Almighty God sent us His only begotten son in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Thus singular act gave all of us new life by the redemptive blood of the "Oga at the Top" beloved son, Jesus. This "Oga" is a very good Man because He loves us so much and we mustn't take this love for granted. 

When the Lagos State Commandant of NSCDC was asked the name of his establishment's website and he pointed to the ceiling of the TV studio saying "my Oga at the top.........", ironically we do the samething when we are desperately looking for help from God, we lift up our eyes to the sky, raising up our hand and ask "my Oga at the Top", I'm in dire need of your help! 

Give your life entirely to this Oga at the Top and allow Him direct your path according to His riches in glory. Come to Jesus today and you won't regret. 

Thanks to amiable Kola Oyeneyin for this nudge. I owe this sermon to you. One love bro. 

Of God and Vatican!

Of God and Vatican: That the world may Know that God is Almighty!

He was Pope!  Why did he resign? 

There's been rife talks of mortal illness, frailty and encroaching dementia. People have even said the resignation is an act of humility. I keep reading of the so called papal resignation some 600 years ago but to be candid, there hasn't been any resignation, what we had were rival popes and one was even a psychopath. These popes were sacked by the council of bishops to get back to one pope at a time, since then, every pope has died in office. When a pope dies or in this case, resigned, the top echelon of the papacy called the Curia must loose their jobs( I HAVE NEVER HEARD OR READ OF THAT UNTIL LAST WEEK). Everyone who works at the highest level of bureaucracy must go. So as Pope Benedict left two weeks ago, all the top priests at the Curia also left. Question thus is, did Pope Benedict sacrifice himself? If yes, why? About 2 years ago, Pope Benedict commissioned a report and it came back on his table titled "The Filth"- a coded word for "The Paedophile Priest". The report specifically highlighted that the "filth" has entered the Curia. It came as a shock to the Pope. He had to go. He couldn't stand it. He had to pave way for a new leader and knowing fully well that his resignation would rid the Curia of all them. He offered himself as the proverbial sacrificial lamb! The Pope resigned.  

I wouldn't want to bore you with papacy rhetorics so I'd do this in 3 bullet points. 

The Gang Cardinals

Pope Benedict was shocked at the level of rot at the Vatican. He realises that the Curia must be reformed. A big task! I have a feeling that Pope Benedict felt he was too old to clean up the bad eggs and far too way implicated in the menace. He had to resign to make way for a much younger Pope(untainted by the scandal). According to reports, the Curia are usually quickly reappointed after the death of each Pope but this is going to be different. There are various departments within the Curia that must go to pave way for newness. The Holy Inquisition which under Cardinal Ratzinger(Pope Benedict) failed to deal with paedophile priests.  The Vatican Bank, known rather cunningly as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) was heavily involved in a scandal in the 80s for links with the Italian Mafia. The church of God? 

The Vatican Bank

The former president of the Vatican Bank, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus granted an interview some years back stating categorically that he once paid $250M from the Vatican pensions accounts to pay a fine, levied by the Italian government against the church for financial misdemeanours. Just this past January, Italy's central bank suspended credit card activities inside the Vatican for anti money laundering reasons. 

Paedophile Priests

In March 2010, a 29 year old chorister in St Peters was sacked because he allegedly brought in a male prostitute, one of them a seminarian for a Papal gentleman-in-waiting who was also a senior member of The Curia Department that oversees the Vatican's worldwide missionary activities. There are also reports that some of the priests are active gay men letting off steam. They frequent saunas and safe houses. There are also fresh allegations of covering up by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles just as we heard of Cardinal Sean Brady of Ireland. Why are these atrocious acts constantly covered up?Reports are rife that there may still be some shocking revelations in the coming weeks. 

Pope Benedict in one extraordinary move checkmates the Vatican by resigning and in this swoop, gets rid of all bad eggs at the Curia. But what happens next? How are we sure we won't have a repeat of the rot? 

As the cardinals gather in the locked pristine chapel tomorrow to begin a marathon deliberation to choose the next pope. I ask and beg them to put God first. Prayerfully consider the Cross of Jesus Christ and the blood shed on Calvary. I beg them to forget about the divides which are:The Reformers, The Conservatives and The Devolutionists. I ask that God be the central theme putting into consideration "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  Phillipians 3:10-11. ESV. 

God bless the new Pope as we await his arrival within the next 72 hours. Amen.