Monday, 16 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
URIM AND THUMMIN : EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK @ALL INCLUSIVE CHRIST: BY WITNESS LEE
THE PRIESTHOOD WITH THE URIM AND THE THUMMIN
The second governing principle is the priesthood under the anointing with the urim and the thummin. What is the priesthood? This is a wonderful and glorious matter. The priesthood includes fellowship with the Lord and life and service in His presence. The priesthood is a group of people who are in constant fellowship with the Lord. They continually commune with the Lord and serve in His presence. They live, walk, and do anything in this way. When we have fellowship with the Lord, when we commune with the Lord Day by day and moment by moment, and when in this living fellowship we live we serve, and we act, we are a priesthood.
If we lose the priesthood, e lose one of the governing principles. This governing principle is not for guidance, but for judgement. The Lord’s presence in the pillars of cloud and fire is for guidance, while the priesthood in the anointing with the urim and the thummin is for judgement.
Let us illustrate. Suppose two brothers are quarrelling and fighting with one another. What shall we do? We are the Lord’s children, we are the Lord’s people, but something of such a nature exists among us. How can we solve the problem? How can we arrive at the proper judgement? Shall we call a meeting and decide the matter by vote? Of course not. All such problems can only be solved by the priesthood. They require a group of the Lord’s children who are always in fellowship with the Lord, who serve the Lord in His presence and who are continually before Him, no matter where they are or what they are doing. Such a group is under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and has the urim and the thummin. Thus, they can obtain the judgement, the decision of the Lord. They will be able to judge and decide any matter that may arise by the urim and the thummin with the priesthood.
The priesthood includes three things: communion or fellowship with the Lord, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and urim and thummin. We can only speak briefly here concerning the last item, the urim and thummin. Urim in Hebrew means light, while thummin means perfection or completion. About thirty years ago I read an article by a Hebrew writer, saying that the thummin is a precious stone with four letters of the Hebrew alphabet carved upon it. Upon the breastplate of the high priests were the names of the twelve tribes of Israel carved upon twelve stones. The names of these twelve tribes contain only eighteen of the twenty two letters in the: light and perfection.
How then were the urim and the thummin used? When some problem or question arose among the children of Israel, the high priest brought the matter to the Lord to get the answer by the help of the breastplate. The Hebrew writer in this article says that when the high priests went before the Lord, certain stones on the breastplate with their respective letters would shine and at other times other stones and their letters would shine. The high priest took down all the letters from the various stones as they shone, and in so doing formed words and then sentences. Eventually he received a complete message or judgement from the Lord. It was in this way, the article says, that Achan was apprehended from among all the children of Israel for his sin. (Joshua 7)
Thus, what is the governing principle for the Lord’s people to solve their problems? It is that among them there should be the priesthood that brings all the Lord’s children upon the breast before the Lord. The priesthood must bring them in love into the Lord’s presence and read them there as letters, Thus with the light of the scriptures, the priesthood would learn the mind of the Lord and receive some word from Him regarding the situation of His children.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Monday, 4 May 2009
FLYING WITHOUT WINGS
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I have been away now for two months and on a busy schedule hence I have not been able to make new posting on this blog. However I am delighted to be back and to acquint my readers with what I have been up to. I left the United Kingdom for Nigeria and on my way back during the six hours flight I took time to take some pictures with the use of my handset camera. I had the advantage of sitting alone eith the sit next to me vacant in the economy class that in which I travelled. I guessed the lady that was to share the no 62 sit with me vanished after making a phone call. I suspected she was moved to a higher class by one of the cabin crew or someone in
the best position to do so. That put me at an advantage to move freely and satisfy myself in the things that I enjoyed doing. I took the advantage of available facilities to make the journey exciting. You know what we all think in our mind each time we fly. The possibility of a plane crash mixed with the thoughts of safe landing and happy reunion with love ones.
As a Christian I always believe that such misfortune as being involved in a plane crash should not be my portion. To get reassured, a constant recertation of "the Lord is my Shepherd" Psalm 23. gives me the confidence that I am secured. I washed the film titled "Australia" and couple of others. I took some photograph of the thick clouds below seizing the advantage of sitting by the window. I always sit by the windows each time I fly. I always demand for it and I always get it if they are still available. I dedicated the vacant seat by me to the Lord and I am very sure He was there sitting with me. The flight was smooth and the Air Bus aircraft crused well. Thank God. We landed at heathtrow airport at exactly 5.00pm. It was a sunny day and it was delightful flying on the Virgin Atlanti airline. Now that I am back my blogs are coming alive again. Follow me.
the best position to do so. That put me at an advantage to move freely and satisfy myself in the things that I enjoyed doing. I took the advantage of available facilities to make the journey exciting. You know what we all think in our mind each time we fly. The possibility of a plane crash mixed with the thoughts of safe landing and happy reunion with love ones.
As a Christian I always believe that such misfortune as being involved in a plane crash should not be my portion. To get reassured, a constant recertation of "the Lord is my Shepherd" Psalm 23. gives me the confidence that I am secured. I washed the film titled "Australia" and couple of others. I took some photograph of the thick clouds below seizing the advantage of sitting by the window. I always sit by the windows each time I fly. I always demand for it and I always get it if they are still available. I dedicated the vacant seat by me to the Lord and I am very sure He was there sitting with me. The flight was smooth and the Air Bus aircraft crused well. Thank God. We landed at heathtrow airport at exactly 5.00pm. It was a sunny day and it was delightful flying on the Virgin Atlanti airline. Now that I am back my blogs are coming alive again. Follow me.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
Author: Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Published and distributed by lulu.com
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The necessity to compile and appraise the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ is based on the fact that they are often overshadowed by the text of other narrations in the bible that the attention that need to be expend on them diminishes, as the urge to progress in scripture search overwhelm our concentration on them and prevent us to adequately dig deep into the wisdom and the lessons that we need to draw out of them.
In this compilation, the author brings out the vast knowledge and wisdom that are hidden in these wonderful stories of life that is meant to give us a better understanding of the purpose for which the gospel is being preached and to lead us to a greater height of the knowledge of the deep things of God.
There are so many technicalities in these parables that not many readers of the bible would probably be able to dig deep enough to strike the treasure that are hidden in them. Every parable of our Lord Jesus Christ is related to the entire body of the scriptures. It is therefore a necessity that every reader of the scripture should be able to discern the richness in them as they bring to limelight the soul of the entire purpose of God which is about the establishment of a kingdom in which the will of God is put in place and dominion given to the Christ and His redeemed saints.
As we read this compilation, we will begin to see these parables as the forefront of the theme of the gospel and not just a story telling exercise.
Published and distributed by lulu.com
BUY: www.lulu.com/ezekielbookshelve
The necessity to compile and appraise the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ is based on the fact that they are often overshadowed by the text of other narrations in the bible that the attention that need to be expend on them diminishes, as the urge to progress in scripture search overwhelm our concentration on them and prevent us to adequately dig deep into the wisdom and the lessons that we need to draw out of them.
In this compilation, the author brings out the vast knowledge and wisdom that are hidden in these wonderful stories of life that is meant to give us a better understanding of the purpose for which the gospel is being preached and to lead us to a greater height of the knowledge of the deep things of God.
There are so many technicalities in these parables that not many readers of the bible would probably be able to dig deep enough to strike the treasure that are hidden in them. Every parable of our Lord Jesus Christ is related to the entire body of the scriptures. It is therefore a necessity that every reader of the scripture should be able to discern the richness in them as they bring to limelight the soul of the entire purpose of God which is about the establishment of a kingdom in which the will of God is put in place and dominion given to the Christ and His redeemed saints.
As we read this compilation, we will begin to see these parables as the forefront of the theme of the gospel and not just a story telling exercise.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING
Author: Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Published and distributed by lulu,com
Buy: www.lulu.com//ezekielbookshelve
This compilation of biblical lessons is very necessary in order to bring and initiate new converts into Christianity and that they should be exposed to the fundamental concepts and definitions of what it is to be a follower of Christ.
In most cases many converts or even those born into the faith takes a lot of things for granted. They see themselves consciously or unconsciously engrossed in the rituals of religion and as a result are not able to differentiate between what they believe and what Christianity demands of them and even worst still; they are unable to see what makes Christianity to be unique from other known religion.
Becoming a Christian is beyond the practice of mere religious rituals and fulfilment of church traditions, but coming into the family of the true living God as revealed in our Lord and Saviour, Redeemer and Eternal King, Jesus Christ.
The concept, “Born Again” and the baptism of water and of the Holy Ghost are vital experiences that new converts into discipleship must have so as to be able to identify themselves with the knowledge of the power and the mysteries of the Living God.
The contents of this book should therefore be exposed to new converts and old members who are just experiencing the true conversion and new birth into the household of God.
It is also important that we examine what the dispensation of grace in Christ is and also the need for sanctification.
Published and distributed by lulu,com
Buy: www.lulu.com//ezekielbookshelve
This compilation of biblical lessons is very necessary in order to bring and initiate new converts into Christianity and that they should be exposed to the fundamental concepts and definitions of what it is to be a follower of Christ.
In most cases many converts or even those born into the faith takes a lot of things for granted. They see themselves consciously or unconsciously engrossed in the rituals of religion and as a result are not able to differentiate between what they believe and what Christianity demands of them and even worst still; they are unable to see what makes Christianity to be unique from other known religion.
Becoming a Christian is beyond the practice of mere religious rituals and fulfilment of church traditions, but coming into the family of the true living God as revealed in our Lord and Saviour, Redeemer and Eternal King, Jesus Christ.
The concept, “Born Again” and the baptism of water and of the Holy Ghost are vital experiences that new converts into discipleship must have so as to be able to identify themselves with the knowledge of the power and the mysteries of the Living God.
The contents of this book should therefore be exposed to new converts and old members who are just experiencing the true conversion and new birth into the household of God.
It is also important that we examine what the dispensation of grace in Christ is and also the need for sanctification.
Monday, 23 February 2009
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK A CALL TO HONOUR, A BIOGRAPHY OF APOSTLE JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA
ABANDONED FETISH INSTRUMENTS
APOSTLE JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA
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IPESI: When the man of God came into this town, the town started to bubble as people started to troop into this town. As they came they were receiving their miracles and many testimonies were established. Those that were under bondage of the evil ones were delivered and set free.
There was a babalawo (fetish priest) in this town that felt the bulk of charms that he had could not be tampered with because he dread the power in them. Babalola sent some of his followers to go and bring the bulk of charms and to the amazement of this babalawo (fetish priest) the entire charms were made powerless.
Before Babalola came into this town there was a babalawo (fetish priest) who made an attempt to test his charms on a disciple by name Daniel Ajibade. While he was making the attempts, he saw some white garment creatures that stood against him. This terrified him that he had to run to this disciple to confess and asked for his prayer. The disciple therefore prayed for him.
It was also in this town that a lot of witches confessed their sins and many with familiar spirits gave up their power. Some went and bring their instrument of evil from where they hid them. Some brought theirs from the ground, some from the river. They confessed all their atrocities that they have committed to people. In this town also one A.O. Adako who was a teacher in a C.M.S. church school received the Holy Spirit and started prayer ministration unto people.
There was a babalawo (fetish priest) in this town that felt the bulk of charms that he had could not be tampered with because he dread the power in them. Babalola sent some of his followers to go and bring the bulk of charms and to the amazement of this babalawo (fetish priest) the entire charms were made powerless.
Before Babalola came into this town there was a babalawo (fetish priest) who made an attempt to test his charms on a disciple by name Daniel Ajibade. While he was making the attempts, he saw some white garment creatures that stood against him. This terrified him that he had to run to this disciple to confess and asked for his prayer. The disciple therefore prayed for him.
It was also in this town that a lot of witches confessed their sins and many with familiar spirits gave up their power. Some went and bring their instrument of evil from where they hid them. Some brought theirs from the ground, some from the river. They confessed all their atrocities that they have committed to people. In this town also one A.O. Adako who was a teacher in a C.M.S. church school received the Holy Spirit and started prayer ministration unto people.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK MOUNTAIN OF PREY
It is not all the time that God will open a way in the red sea. In most times despite our strong level of faith, we have to wait until there is a boat made available to take us across. Some times, we might need to put our God given skill to use in order to achieve God's approved desire of our heart. Sometimes we might need to take the sword and defend ourselves from the adversary and not wait for fire to come down from heaven and consume them. It would not have been possible for Elijah to bring down fire from heaven all the time. It all has to do with God's will. Whichever way God decides to manifest Himself in our situations demands our trust and faith in Him.
From the book Mountain of Pray by Rev. B.E. Ajibola
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From the book Mountain of Pray by Rev. B.E. Ajibola
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Thursday, 19 February 2009
BUY THESE BOOKS
THE BATTLE DESTINED TO FIGHT
THE PREVAILING GATE OF HELL
MOUNTAIN OF PREY
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOMA CALL TO HONOUR: A BIOGRAPHY OF APOSTLE JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA
CHRISTHOOD FOR MANKIND
INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING
Author: Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Published and distributed by lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/ezekielbookshelve
THE PREVAILING GATE OF HELL
MOUNTAIN OF PREY
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOMA CALL TO HONOUR: A BIOGRAPHY OF APOSTLE JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA
CHRISTHOOD FOR MANKIND
INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING
Author: Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Published and distributed by lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/ezekielbookshelve
Saturday, 7 February 2009
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK MOUNTAIN OF PREY
BOOK PREVIEW
AUTHOR: REV. BABATUNDE EZEKIEL AJIBOLA
PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY lulu
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INTRODUCTION
“Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountain of prey”.Ps.76:4 The word “Prey” is defined in the dictionary as animal that is hunted or killed by another for food. In other words, the Psalmist is here in this verse 4, having behind his thoughts the very concept of man’s attitude towards survival in the world of materialistic exploration. The Psalmist drew the picture of a world, in which mankind shows very high regard for their source of livelihood because of the need to survive. Taking a very close look at the society, the factors that influence the human behaviour most, politically, economically and socially are all about material considerations woven around the various aspects of sources of livelihood. These factors, determine the nature of family, tribes and the world at large. The intensity that the individual put into actions in order to survive, defers as you go from one social environment to another. Relating such level of intensity and commitments to source of livelihood, to the level of involvements in religious activities, especially when we intend to know how close man could be to God, his Creator or we can easily observe that it is easier to be closer to God if we live in the rural areas and more difficult to have time for the things of God when in urban areas that bubbles with social lives, determined and controlled by the need to maintain a higher and more sophisticated standard of life that characterises big cities in other words, the Psalmist in psalm 76: 4 is acknowledging the need to actually play down on our high commitments to material values that could make us to relegate God our creator to the background, while we run after the things of this material world that enhances our survival as human being, thereby honouring and glorifying the creatures more than the creator. This is what is actually regarded as idolatry in its physical and spiritual sense. Therefore, from the small agrarian communities of this world, to the sophisticated big cities, it is obvious that, man prey on one another in action concerning what they run after or pursue as prey in their quest for survival. The Psalmist in psalm 76: 4 has such successfully opened our mind to the fact that as human creature in general, we have somewhere along the line default in that we give high regard to our source of livelihood than to God the creator who make all things possible. If we therefore look inward with the purpose of knowing our individual mountain of prey, we will discover that it is a location that is so close to our heart. It is a place that we trek on every minute and second of our daily lives.It is our treasure, our earthly treasure which we cherish or even seek to effectively protect and could not afford to loose or even trade for any other substance in this world. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matt 6:21. This is the inherent danger that is strongly attached to the individual mountain of prey. Our mountain of prey is the source of our livelihood. Our profession, in every categories, your scope of operation and patronage both in the areas you have exploited and yet to be exploited constitute our mountain of prey. It could be a specialised area in which our location places us at an advantage of less competitions or an uncreative and cultured area that involves high level competition among peers or those in the same profession, both the geographical and the human patronage constitutes our mountain of prey. This mountain because it is attached to our existence and comfort in that, that is where we draw our income to keep us economically stable and carry out our daily functions effectively, we are highly sensitive in our attachment to it, not wanting to be prevented of every right that we have, to gain access to it. In every country or society of the world, a man or a woman is regarded and respected for his or her ability to make useful contributions to the society in terms of skill and finance. Hence to be a good citizen, a good husband, a good wife, a good child, a good leader, a good friend, a good client and so forth, you must be resourceful and fall into the class of the well to do in the least. This determines your class in the society and you can either be regarded as being rich or poor, honoured or dishonoured, valuable or irrelevant useful or useless, successful or unsuccessful. As such, because of this positive and negative perspective attached to social status as determined by how much benefits we derive from our mountain of prey, every individual in the human society is highly emotional about loosing their jobs, or their businesses running down, or becoming infamous because they have to drop from the higher wrung of the ladder because they are no more to be reckoned with as a result of failure attached to crisis on their mountain of prey. In other, to maintain and keep the status quo, the individual must be endowed with adequate skill to effectively keep in touch with his or her mountain geographically and in human relations. From the petty seller, to the large stores, from the individual professional to the highly established architectural firms or firm of engineers, the politician and his constituency, the medical doctor and his patient, the farmer and his crops outlet to the market and whatever means we reach out to enhance our profession to keep our mountain rich of prey. These factors constitute the essentials of life that can not be ignored or careless with, because it is essential for human survival both at the individual or society level. Our mountain of prey constitutes hundred percent of our worries, in that upon it we draw the benefits of meeting with our daily material needs and as such it is a treasure to which our heart is strongly attached and so, we are worried always about not wanting to loose control of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ agreed with the fact that there is need for the essentials of life which we derive from the hunting activities on our mountain of prey, but he warned us about the danger of seeking after these things with abandoned recklessness as we see in the world from the beginning of creation. Jesus Christ demarcated in the book of gospel according to Matthew, the two modes of activities that take place on the mountain of prey of this world.The godly and the ungodly modes.One is less of worries as those who apply this method allow themselves to be led by the will of God, while the other method is full of worries because it is dependent on human ability to outwit the other and applying a lot of demonic imposition and it is never a fertile ground for God’s righteousness. It stands in the way of entering the kingdom of God, the way is broad and it has a god that everyone that goes this popular way worship. This god is mammon, and it kills in the end. This aspect will be treated broadly in another chapter of this book. However, the very concept of the mountain of prey as the Psalmist put it in Psalm 76:4 is to explicitly expose the culture of the human mind to live by bread alone, by putting a greater part of his life activities into what our Lord Jesus Christ referred to as the worries of this life. As seen in Matt 6:19-21 as written below, our Lord gave us three characters that constitute worries. First, the urge to want to have enough prey stored up for security. That is having abundant and storing for the future while we still strive to have more. “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also”Mat.6:19-21 The second character of hunting on our mountain of prey is that of idolatry, in that in hunting after the prey on our mountain we tend to be engrossed in the things of this material world that we forget that we owe allegiance to our God who is our creator and that he is the only One that has the right of control and dominance on our lives, henceHe should bethe only master who we must obey if his words crosses ourintentions.However, in the course of our hunting expeditions we do break rules or realised that we are about to break rules to hunt in our favour, in order to have our way for self and to overcome our worries, we ignore God’s will and go for the prey because we could not bear the cross of going through such pains that will follow the lost of such a prey. In doing this, we follow the spirit of mammon rather than allow the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions and actions. We become Carnal in mind and the Bible say, to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life. Our Lord Jesus Christ therefore warned us against the worship of mammon. “No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?! Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add cubit into his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin and yet I Say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Matt 6:24-29 The reason a man would want to change allegiance or location is for greener pasture. Some women would rather seek for a divorce from their husband than keep their husband and yet continue with another man somewhere. It will be impossible to maintain an equal relationship of love with both men. The same goes for the man also. You will rather divorce one and keep one. A man can get supply of goods for his store outlet at diverse cost on a single product. He would rather stick to the supplier whose product is cheaper or one whose product is more costly but of higher quality. There is always a reason why we change allegiance from one patronage to another. As our Lord Jesus Christ had stated in the above chapter of Matthew, it is impossible to want to serve mammon, the spirit of materialism and at the same time serve God. Because people are so tensed and full of worries about the need to survive in the human society, the fear of failure and rejection and inability to endure the various version of hardship that follows the refusal to do it the way of the world, makes it less attractive to follow the righteous method of hunting on our mountain of prey. In most cases, people go to the extent of breaking social norms and ethics to have their way in becoming rich. They go against the law of the land to acquire power and influences. In some parts of the world, before you can hunt successfully on your mountain of prey, you need to belong tocults or a fraternities that trample on the rights of others to acquire benefits for themselves and their children, and piling up wealth and riches for many generations after them. The Bible says such people will eventually be utterly consumed with terrors. In Psalm 73, the psalmist expressed his pain when he observed the life of the unrighteous who were worshippers of mammon. Men and women that have through worries and fear of not having access to the so called good things of life and could not wait upon the Lord as a result decided to go the broad way. The Psalmist in psalm 73 expressed his foolishness for envying them, and in doing so, he confessed that his feet were almost gone and his steps nearly slipped when he saw them in their prosperity. He thought they do not have any trouble nor plagued as other men. In verse 6&7, he said pride compassed them about as a chain; and violence covers them as a garment, their eyes stand out with fatness and they have more than their hearts could wish for. In verse eight, he affirms that they are corrupt, and they speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. In verse 9, they set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth. In verse 11-12, the Psalmist says these ungodly, who prosper in the world and whose riches increase, says that God can not know their secret atrocities and that there is no knowledge in the most high. From verse 16-24, the Psalmist after thorough meditation and listening to the voice of reasoning writes “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou leadest them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant I was a beast before thee. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” Ps73; 16-24. The position those of us find ourselves is as exactly the position the psalmist expressed in Ps 73. It is therefore impossible to serve mammon and at the same time serve God. Because we are creatures with conscience, we go wrong in some of our actions and we feel strongly compelled not to fall into errors because we know the will of God and there is need to comply with His commandments, but because we get entangled between the urge to do good or evil, depending on what we at that point consider to be good or evil, in most cases we listen to the carnal mind, except in cases in which the Holy Spirit is in control. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ emphasised, in our hunting expedition that we are not at liberty to hunt the way we like on our mountain of prey. God’s righteousness is of higher quality and very costly because it demands absolute trust in Him in faith. This brings us to the third character of the mode of hunting on our mountain of prey, which is faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.” Hebrews 11: 1-2. Reading through matt chapter 6, the average Christian is faced with a great challenge of climbing the mountain of prey named faith because the very fundamental of what the Lord Jesus was telling us is to submit our will absolutely to God. In the world of materialism, this gate of hell which is the love of riches and wealth is even staring the Church of Christ in the face, that these days when you look at the position of the Church concerning many issues that affects the spiritual life of Church goers, the struggle to maintain the standard as Christ had laid down in Mathew chapter 6, is almost becoming impossible. The economic down trend confronting the nations of the world is making it difficult for Churches and ministries to raise fund for their missionary work without going extra mile away from Jesus injunctions. Ministers of the Church founders of ministries are being plagued by financial shortfall making it even difficult for them to feed their family without going extra mile away from the teaching of Matthew chapter 6. The mountain of prey of church members and some financiers are questionable considering the way they hunt down their prey. It is as if this is an obvious problem, but eyes are being turned aside so as to appear as if we do not know that the churches on earth have gone into the world and the world has successfully fused into the Church. No wonder the Church itself is coming under suspicion as to be a possible forum for the appearance of the man of sin, the Antichrist. Should we ask why it is so? The answer can be found in Luke 18:8, in which Jesus asked the question after teaching about the need for men to always pray without fainting. “… Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. Jesus had seen this problem arising especially in these latter days; as to our ability as Christians to keep praying until we receive from God in accordance to His will. The inability to endure sound doctrine of the Lord, waiting in prayer, endurance and patience until we receive is the Christian tenet we could not abide with; hence we are short of the standard. Once we lay the foundation of our Ministry by hunting in the way of the world, it becomes difficult to revert to the righteous mode of hunting, because we have no previous testimonies of the workings of God in ourindividual life. As the Lord Jesus upholds the tenet of faith as a yardstick in submitting to the will of God in prayer and thanksgiving, it could only be possible to depend on God without caring about the things of the world, which our heavenly Father knows we need. It is by faith alone that we can desist from following the way of the Gentiles (unbelievers). Yet, the way of the Unbelievers is more acceptable in this end time generation. “Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, o ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things? But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”Mat.6:30-34 The concept of Mountain of Prey in its original sense is that which depicts the early life of man as a hunter that goes into the field to hunt for animals, and animals or birds going after weaker animals to devour for food. As prophet Amos asked, “Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? Shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?” Amos 3:4-5 “Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? Or fill the appetite of the young lions when they crouch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.” Job 38:39-41 “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Isaiah 49:24-25 As we can deduce from the above Bible portions, the scene describes the Mountain of Prey as a location that is full of violence, conflict, oppression and strife. A World Scene of the necessity to survive. A jungle life conditioned by the nature of the animal that occupy it, creatures, man being the most sophisticated of them all. It is a World Scene in which you must go out to hunt and be at alert otherwise you also can be hunted and be turned to a prey to other men or animals. “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees and that write grievousness which they have described; to turn aside the needy from judgement, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless.” Isaiah 10:1-2 The World Scene as a mountain of prey therefore is that which couldan be studied and analysed along with an objective view as to how the system operates and the ability of man to survive without going against the will of God the Creator. Also, it will be necessary to draw a line between the ability of man to do that which pleases God and how his limitation could be turned to an advantage when he comes to be confronted with God’s plan of Salvation in Christ Jesus, a sure source of protection from the storm that plagues the World Scene, which is the Mountain of Prey we are about to navigate. We then can ask the questions, can man afford not to live by bread alone? Can man live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord? Can there be sanity on the Mountain of Prey, which is the World Scene? What are the magnet forces of social, political and economic factors that keep man more attached to the flesh than to the Spiritual? Could man be detached from the fear of the needs of today and tomorrow? What will be the end of this World Scene?
AUTHOR: REV. BABATUNDE EZEKIEL AJIBOLA
PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY lulu
http://www.lulu.com/ezekielbookshelve
INTRODUCTION
“Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountain of prey”.Ps.76:4 The word “Prey” is defined in the dictionary as animal that is hunted or killed by another for food. In other words, the Psalmist is here in this verse 4, having behind his thoughts the very concept of man’s attitude towards survival in the world of materialistic exploration. The Psalmist drew the picture of a world, in which mankind shows very high regard for their source of livelihood because of the need to survive. Taking a very close look at the society, the factors that influence the human behaviour most, politically, economically and socially are all about material considerations woven around the various aspects of sources of livelihood. These factors, determine the nature of family, tribes and the world at large. The intensity that the individual put into actions in order to survive, defers as you go from one social environment to another. Relating such level of intensity and commitments to source of livelihood, to the level of involvements in religious activities, especially when we intend to know how close man could be to God, his Creator or we can easily observe that it is easier to be closer to God if we live in the rural areas and more difficult to have time for the things of God when in urban areas that bubbles with social lives, determined and controlled by the need to maintain a higher and more sophisticated standard of life that characterises big cities in other words, the Psalmist in psalm 76: 4 is acknowledging the need to actually play down on our high commitments to material values that could make us to relegate God our creator to the background, while we run after the things of this material world that enhances our survival as human being, thereby honouring and glorifying the creatures more than the creator. This is what is actually regarded as idolatry in its physical and spiritual sense. Therefore, from the small agrarian communities of this world, to the sophisticated big cities, it is obvious that, man prey on one another in action concerning what they run after or pursue as prey in their quest for survival. The Psalmist in psalm 76: 4 has such successfully opened our mind to the fact that as human creature in general, we have somewhere along the line default in that we give high regard to our source of livelihood than to God the creator who make all things possible. If we therefore look inward with the purpose of knowing our individual mountain of prey, we will discover that it is a location that is so close to our heart. It is a place that we trek on every minute and second of our daily lives.It is our treasure, our earthly treasure which we cherish or even seek to effectively protect and could not afford to loose or even trade for any other substance in this world. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matt 6:21. This is the inherent danger that is strongly attached to the individual mountain of prey. Our mountain of prey is the source of our livelihood. Our profession, in every categories, your scope of operation and patronage both in the areas you have exploited and yet to be exploited constitute our mountain of prey. It could be a specialised area in which our location places us at an advantage of less competitions or an uncreative and cultured area that involves high level competition among peers or those in the same profession, both the geographical and the human patronage constitutes our mountain of prey. This mountain because it is attached to our existence and comfort in that, that is where we draw our income to keep us economically stable and carry out our daily functions effectively, we are highly sensitive in our attachment to it, not wanting to be prevented of every right that we have, to gain access to it. In every country or society of the world, a man or a woman is regarded and respected for his or her ability to make useful contributions to the society in terms of skill and finance. Hence to be a good citizen, a good husband, a good wife, a good child, a good leader, a good friend, a good client and so forth, you must be resourceful and fall into the class of the well to do in the least. This determines your class in the society and you can either be regarded as being rich or poor, honoured or dishonoured, valuable or irrelevant useful or useless, successful or unsuccessful. As such, because of this positive and negative perspective attached to social status as determined by how much benefits we derive from our mountain of prey, every individual in the human society is highly emotional about loosing their jobs, or their businesses running down, or becoming infamous because they have to drop from the higher wrung of the ladder because they are no more to be reckoned with as a result of failure attached to crisis on their mountain of prey. In other, to maintain and keep the status quo, the individual must be endowed with adequate skill to effectively keep in touch with his or her mountain geographically and in human relations. From the petty seller, to the large stores, from the individual professional to the highly established architectural firms or firm of engineers, the politician and his constituency, the medical doctor and his patient, the farmer and his crops outlet to the market and whatever means we reach out to enhance our profession to keep our mountain rich of prey. These factors constitute the essentials of life that can not be ignored or careless with, because it is essential for human survival both at the individual or society level. Our mountain of prey constitutes hundred percent of our worries, in that upon it we draw the benefits of meeting with our daily material needs and as such it is a treasure to which our heart is strongly attached and so, we are worried always about not wanting to loose control of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ agreed with the fact that there is need for the essentials of life which we derive from the hunting activities on our mountain of prey, but he warned us about the danger of seeking after these things with abandoned recklessness as we see in the world from the beginning of creation. Jesus Christ demarcated in the book of gospel according to Matthew, the two modes of activities that take place on the mountain of prey of this world.The godly and the ungodly modes.One is less of worries as those who apply this method allow themselves to be led by the will of God, while the other method is full of worries because it is dependent on human ability to outwit the other and applying a lot of demonic imposition and it is never a fertile ground for God’s righteousness. It stands in the way of entering the kingdom of God, the way is broad and it has a god that everyone that goes this popular way worship. This god is mammon, and it kills in the end. This aspect will be treated broadly in another chapter of this book. However, the very concept of the mountain of prey as the Psalmist put it in Psalm 76:4 is to explicitly expose the culture of the human mind to live by bread alone, by putting a greater part of his life activities into what our Lord Jesus Christ referred to as the worries of this life. As seen in Matt 6:19-21 as written below, our Lord gave us three characters that constitute worries. First, the urge to want to have enough prey stored up for security. That is having abundant and storing for the future while we still strive to have more. “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also”Mat.6:19-21 The second character of hunting on our mountain of prey is that of idolatry, in that in hunting after the prey on our mountain we tend to be engrossed in the things of this material world that we forget that we owe allegiance to our God who is our creator and that he is the only One that has the right of control and dominance on our lives, henceHe should bethe only master who we must obey if his words crosses ourintentions.However, in the course of our hunting expeditions we do break rules or realised that we are about to break rules to hunt in our favour, in order to have our way for self and to overcome our worries, we ignore God’s will and go for the prey because we could not bear the cross of going through such pains that will follow the lost of such a prey. In doing this, we follow the spirit of mammon rather than allow the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions and actions. We become Carnal in mind and the Bible say, to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life. Our Lord Jesus Christ therefore warned us against the worship of mammon. “No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?! Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add cubit into his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin and yet I Say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Matt 6:24-29 The reason a man would want to change allegiance or location is for greener pasture. Some women would rather seek for a divorce from their husband than keep their husband and yet continue with another man somewhere. It will be impossible to maintain an equal relationship of love with both men. The same goes for the man also. You will rather divorce one and keep one. A man can get supply of goods for his store outlet at diverse cost on a single product. He would rather stick to the supplier whose product is cheaper or one whose product is more costly but of higher quality. There is always a reason why we change allegiance from one patronage to another. As our Lord Jesus Christ had stated in the above chapter of Matthew, it is impossible to want to serve mammon, the spirit of materialism and at the same time serve God. Because people are so tensed and full of worries about the need to survive in the human society, the fear of failure and rejection and inability to endure the various version of hardship that follows the refusal to do it the way of the world, makes it less attractive to follow the righteous method of hunting on our mountain of prey. In most cases, people go to the extent of breaking social norms and ethics to have their way in becoming rich. They go against the law of the land to acquire power and influences. In some parts of the world, before you can hunt successfully on your mountain of prey, you need to belong tocults or a fraternities that trample on the rights of others to acquire benefits for themselves and their children, and piling up wealth and riches for many generations after them. The Bible says such people will eventually be utterly consumed with terrors. In Psalm 73, the psalmist expressed his pain when he observed the life of the unrighteous who were worshippers of mammon. Men and women that have through worries and fear of not having access to the so called good things of life and could not wait upon the Lord as a result decided to go the broad way. The Psalmist in psalm 73 expressed his foolishness for envying them, and in doing so, he confessed that his feet were almost gone and his steps nearly slipped when he saw them in their prosperity. He thought they do not have any trouble nor plagued as other men. In verse 6&7, he said pride compassed them about as a chain; and violence covers them as a garment, their eyes stand out with fatness and they have more than their hearts could wish for. In verse eight, he affirms that they are corrupt, and they speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. In verse 9, they set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth. In verse 11-12, the Psalmist says these ungodly, who prosper in the world and whose riches increase, says that God can not know their secret atrocities and that there is no knowledge in the most high. From verse 16-24, the Psalmist after thorough meditation and listening to the voice of reasoning writes “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou leadest them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant I was a beast before thee. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” Ps73; 16-24. The position those of us find ourselves is as exactly the position the psalmist expressed in Ps 73. It is therefore impossible to serve mammon and at the same time serve God. Because we are creatures with conscience, we go wrong in some of our actions and we feel strongly compelled not to fall into errors because we know the will of God and there is need to comply with His commandments, but because we get entangled between the urge to do good or evil, depending on what we at that point consider to be good or evil, in most cases we listen to the carnal mind, except in cases in which the Holy Spirit is in control. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ emphasised, in our hunting expedition that we are not at liberty to hunt the way we like on our mountain of prey. God’s righteousness is of higher quality and very costly because it demands absolute trust in Him in faith. This brings us to the third character of the mode of hunting on our mountain of prey, which is faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.” Hebrews 11: 1-2. Reading through matt chapter 6, the average Christian is faced with a great challenge of climbing the mountain of prey named faith because the very fundamental of what the Lord Jesus was telling us is to submit our will absolutely to God. In the world of materialism, this gate of hell which is the love of riches and wealth is even staring the Church of Christ in the face, that these days when you look at the position of the Church concerning many issues that affects the spiritual life of Church goers, the struggle to maintain the standard as Christ had laid down in Mathew chapter 6, is almost becoming impossible. The economic down trend confronting the nations of the world is making it difficult for Churches and ministries to raise fund for their missionary work without going extra mile away from Jesus injunctions. Ministers of the Church founders of ministries are being plagued by financial shortfall making it even difficult for them to feed their family without going extra mile away from the teaching of Matthew chapter 6. The mountain of prey of church members and some financiers are questionable considering the way they hunt down their prey. It is as if this is an obvious problem, but eyes are being turned aside so as to appear as if we do not know that the churches on earth have gone into the world and the world has successfully fused into the Church. No wonder the Church itself is coming under suspicion as to be a possible forum for the appearance of the man of sin, the Antichrist. Should we ask why it is so? The answer can be found in Luke 18:8, in which Jesus asked the question after teaching about the need for men to always pray without fainting. “… Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. Jesus had seen this problem arising especially in these latter days; as to our ability as Christians to keep praying until we receive from God in accordance to His will. The inability to endure sound doctrine of the Lord, waiting in prayer, endurance and patience until we receive is the Christian tenet we could not abide with; hence we are short of the standard. Once we lay the foundation of our Ministry by hunting in the way of the world, it becomes difficult to revert to the righteous mode of hunting, because we have no previous testimonies of the workings of God in ourindividual life. As the Lord Jesus upholds the tenet of faith as a yardstick in submitting to the will of God in prayer and thanksgiving, it could only be possible to depend on God without caring about the things of the world, which our heavenly Father knows we need. It is by faith alone that we can desist from following the way of the Gentiles (unbelievers). Yet, the way of the Unbelievers is more acceptable in this end time generation. “Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, o ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things? But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”Mat.6:30-34 The concept of Mountain of Prey in its original sense is that which depicts the early life of man as a hunter that goes into the field to hunt for animals, and animals or birds going after weaker animals to devour for food. As prophet Amos asked, “Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? Shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?” Amos 3:4-5 “Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? Or fill the appetite of the young lions when they crouch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.” Job 38:39-41 “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Isaiah 49:24-25 As we can deduce from the above Bible portions, the scene describes the Mountain of Prey as a location that is full of violence, conflict, oppression and strife. A World Scene of the necessity to survive. A jungle life conditioned by the nature of the animal that occupy it, creatures, man being the most sophisticated of them all. It is a World Scene in which you must go out to hunt and be at alert otherwise you also can be hunted and be turned to a prey to other men or animals. “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees and that write grievousness which they have described; to turn aside the needy from judgement, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless.” Isaiah 10:1-2 The World Scene as a mountain of prey therefore is that which couldan be studied and analysed along with an objective view as to how the system operates and the ability of man to survive without going against the will of God the Creator. Also, it will be necessary to draw a line between the ability of man to do that which pleases God and how his limitation could be turned to an advantage when he comes to be confronted with God’s plan of Salvation in Christ Jesus, a sure source of protection from the storm that plagues the World Scene, which is the Mountain of Prey we are about to navigate. We then can ask the questions, can man afford not to live by bread alone? Can man live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord? Can there be sanity on the Mountain of Prey, which is the World Scene? What are the magnet forces of social, political and economic factors that keep man more attached to the flesh than to the Spiritual? Could man be detached from the fear of the needs of today and tomorrow? What will be the end of this World Scene?
Monday, 2 February 2009
EXCERPT FROM: THE BATTLE DESTINED TO FIGHT
AUTHOR Rev, Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola
Publisher & distributed by lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/ezezkielbookshelve
All is a bout a kingdom and it is evident that man, as a favoured creature of God, created to rule and have dominion over the earth, has been the target of some heavenly beings who have nursed the ambition of having a domain in which they could exercise authority like God. The first evidence of the existence of these forces of evil was in the Garden of Eden. Even though it is on record that it was a serpent, one of the animals in the garden, that beguiled the woman to eat the forbidden fruit, it was obvious as revealed in Ezekiel 28:13, that the deceiver in the garden was (in the physical) the Serpent, but the person behind the mask was the spirit Satan.
Friday, 2 January 2009
WORD OF EXHORTATION FOR 2009
It is a New Year and there is need for us to reflect on the year which we have have just put behind us and count our blessings and losses. For every gains and benefits to God be the glory and to all that we count as losses, we need to think over them and take a deep search because there are hidden blessings in them for us with which we can explore for the abundant blessings and benefits that await us in the New Year.
"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request s be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."Ph.4:6-7
You are welcomed once again to go through this blog and see what I have to offer you for this New Year. Wonderful books that will improve your spiritual life and bring you closer to the knowledge of God through Christ our Lord. Once again happy new year.
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