Adedokun Abel Adekunle

The GLORY OF GOD...

One encounter with GOD can give a man what years of discipline could not produce: a violent hatred for sin. Many men have mastered the art of suppressing sin while still secretly admiring it. They have built systems around their weakness and created boundaries around their appetites, yet the taste for iniquity remains alive within them. Discipline restrained their hands, but it never delivered their hearts. But when a man truly encounters GOD, something happens beyond morality: the nature of darkness loses its beauty before him. Not because somebody preached against it, but because the soul has tasted a superior reality. There is a way GOD can reveal HIMSELF to a man that makes sin look inferior, empty, and disgusting. No man stands before fire and remains comfortable with impurity. Encounters create disgust for corruption. When Isaiah saw the LORD high and lifted up, he did not first notice demons; he noticed his own uncleanness. Why? Because encounters expose the flesh before they empower ministry. There are consecrations that only encounters can birth. Yes, it is true that a man can discipline himself away from pornography, yet still carry lust in his imagination. A man can discipline himself away from alcohol, yet still thirst for escape. But one weighty visitation from GOD can kill the appetite itself. This is why some men disappear into prayer weak and come out with a dangerous hatred for compromise. Nothing externally changed around them, yet internally an altar was erected. Something entered their spirit that made darkness lose its attraction. Real encounters do not only give gifts; they give death to the flesh. It is possible that sin no longer terrifies you because of judgment; it now disgusts you because you have seen GOD. My solemn advice to you today is: Find GOD.

@Afrinvest @gods_nwachukwu @Afrinvest if I find it difficult to fund my wallet, that tells me how hard it will be to withdraw my money, it safe to look for another broker than relying on you people, it been three days I can't fund my wallet and nothing has been done about it. Goodbye Afrinvest.

@gods_nwachukwu Thank you for sharing your feedback, and I sincerely apologize for the experience you’ve had.

There is a Place where GOD no longer strives to persuade a man to give; a single word from HIM is enough. In that place, response is immediate, complete, and without argument. May we come into that state where HIS voice alone settles every matter within us.

Ministry is about the Transformation of Men (SOULS) Now, it sometimes looks like gathering people as proof of success. Crowds have become metrics instead of souls.

You probably need God more in your worst days and horrible moments, So don't stay away from Him because you're going through a horrid period. It is for moments like this that the Saviour's love exists.

Do you tremble at God's word? Can the Bible change your stance? Can you stand unashamed with God's opinion even when mocked? Or do you only use it to "decree and declare"?

Saints should strive to be known more for their godliness & virtue than their intellect and eloquence.

Live so godly that anyone who hates and despises God will find it weird to enjoy your company.

There is no substitute for prayer. Not even reading the Bible. To Pray and to study the Scripture are two different things.

SPEAKING SOLEMNLY Anyone living in sexual sins (fornication, adultery, pornography, etc), has no place in Christian ministry. Immorality is a very big deal, scripturally. The believer's BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the BODY. Therefore, what you do with God's dwelling place must be of colossal significance. Don't you see it? And, because of the sacredness of Christian ministry, while you can legitimately be a struggling Believer for a season, you cannot be a struggling minister, if the struggle is that you have not overcome sexual immorality. In this regard, the category of a struggling minister does not exist, biblically considered. This is not about being a "wounded soldier." But in any case, if a soldier takes a bullet during combat, we don't hand him over to the enemies, yes. And we also don't leave him in the frontline to continue fighting – with his wound. We take him out and away for treatment. Whether he can even return to active duty later on depends on the severity/impact of the 'wound' sustained and the assessment of the team managing his case. Taking him out of combat is a responsible act of love and not a case of "condemning our own." Back from the digression. It is alien to the spirit of Christ, to say someone is a minister of the gospel, even though he commits immorality. The practice of immorality cannot coexist with legitimate practice of ministry. A fornicator or an adulterer is not a Minister. Cannot be. A minister of the gospel MUST be above reproach. People MUST be safe under his care. Money, too, MUST be safe under his care. The bible insists that he sustains a high level of integrity – morally, ethically, socially. This is why the Charismata, the gifts of the Spirit are never mentioned as qualification or eligibility for ministry. Check the texts. So, the practice of equating giftedness with eligibility for ministry is unbiblical and should be discouraged. Being a gifted speaker, for instance, does not qualify anyone for Christian ministry. If you know all the Rhema in the book, and all the historic fine points of orthodoxy, but you're an intermittent fornicator/adulterer, you are ineligible for Christian Ministry. You need to be discipled, you should not be discipling anyone, at all. Read the passage below carefully, to the very last verse, please: It says a Pastor: "...must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must have only one wife, and he must be hard working and thoughtful, orderly, and full of good deeds. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be a good Bible teacher. He must not be a drinker or quarrelsome, but he must be gentle and kind and not be one who loves money. He must have a well-behaved family, with children who obey quickly and quietly. For if a man can’t make his own little family behave, how can he help the whole church? The pastor must not be a new Christian because he might be proud of being chosen so soon, and pride comes before a fall. (Satan’s downfall is an example.)  Also, he must be well spoken of by people outside the church—those who aren’t Christians—so that Satan can’t trap him with many accusations and leave him without freedom to lead his flock" On the last point above, many people who work in Hotels don't take the church seriously because the see the behind-the-scenes lifestyle of Pastors. A minister must have one life, must be not be two-faced. And he must be an example to both insiders and outsiders. If the church is weak, Satan is only a remote cause. If the church is weak anywhere, the church is the reason why. And now, may the glorious Lord of the church step into this seeming perpetual desolation, and pour us the blessing that is Revival. #CryForRevival

LAST GBAS-GBOS (for now)... WITH A PERSONAL ANGLE One of the recurring problem on CT–Naija is due to many saints not having allowance for significant disagreement on secondary points so that they can still consider the other (dissenting) side as legitimately Christian – enough to be accepted into genuine fellowship. I have a lot of non-Pentecostal friends and mentors. A man I admire greatly and have learnt a lot from, is a cessationist. In fact, I was a card carrying member of a non Pentecostal church till around COVID. I only fully embraced the Pentecostal label about 5 years ago. I grew up in a non Pentecostal church while being discipled in a Pentecostal 'fellowship.' It is why people like me can be at home on both sides of the isle. Understanding where we disagree, and accepting that they are on non-essentials, make for healthy, respectful relationship and fellowship. I don't agree on all points of doctrine even with my Pentecostal friends and teachers. We know where we disagree, and we occasionally debate them, sometimes for long hours. But we agree that our disagreements do not touch on the heart of the Christian faith. We believe alike per the historic, essential doctrines of the faith. So, we share fellowship. When I attend prayer meetings in certain circles, I try, out of respect for others, not to be heard blasting away in tongues, but my non Pentecostal friends knowing that I pray in tongues, don't feel violated if they hear (catch) me utter prayers in tongues, while they utter theirs in English language. Yes, because these are small group settings, even though my prayers are in muffled sounds (when the prayer leader says, "let's all talk to the Lord concerning XYZ..."), they definitely would hear me praying in tongues occasionally. They know I am not projecting. And they understand. Here on CT, it is different many times. Every subject is easily stretched into an absolute, essential, make-or-mar issue. I even saw someone posit that if you believe in the 'Pentecostal' teaching of "Subsequence", you believe "another gospel". These things break my heart. And they weary the soul. Vehement disagreement can exist on the non essentials of our faith, but locating Subsequence at the heart of Christianity is ridiculously un-called for and uncharitable. But CT rolls like that some times... in fact, too many times. Again, Pentecostals here are more generous to, and accepting of other legitimate blocs than can be said of our Calvinists/Reformed non-Pentecostal friends. This observation, by the way, has also been made by Reformed folks on this app. It is not an unwarranted generalization. And, we could all do better. Gbas–Gbos is not hard. But it is not always helpful. We can continue to disagree where needed, without being disagreeable while at it.

GENERALLY SPEAKING... You would think Pentecostals, who are so big on the charismata and personal 'experiences' would be the proud bunch. Surprisingly, they usually come across more like "I speak in tongues. You could, and you should too." They believe everyone can and should 'do tongues.' They don't normally posture like "I am better than you because I speak in tongues", even if they feel it is better to speak in tongues than not to. They generally want to include you in their club, instead of looking down on you for being an outsider. It is the Calvinist/Reformed folks who usually carry a superiority complex, and maybe because upstairs, they are saturated with preserved, curated, systematized theological data. They are the ones generally looking down on the "theologically poor and ignorant" Pentecostals. Strange, isn't it? There are exceptions, of course, so this is generally speaking.

There’s a reason the vision of the coming famine wasn’t given to Jacob. Instead, it was shown to a foreign king who didn’t worship God, and God sent His servant to interpret it in a foreign land. Sometimes who you become and the environment you grow in determines whether your calling will produce results where you are, or whether it will flourish somewhere else. Jacob’s story is filled with favoritism and self-preservation. He was loved more by his mother, took his brother’s birthright, stole his brother’s blessing, deceived his father-in-law, wrestled for a blessing, and later showed the same favoritism among his own children by loving Joseph than the others. One could argue that if Jacob had received the vision of famine, he might have saved only for himself and his household while everyone else suffered. Instead, the vision was given to someone with the capacity to prepare for an entire nation even in a land that didn’t worship God. And Jacob had to migrate to avoid being killed by starvation. In the end, it is the person with the larger heart and broader capacity who ends up serving the masses. This reflection feels very close to our reality. Many of us think only about ourselves and our immediate families. When everyone is struggling, the moment our family gains access to influence or elites, we often change sides and begin to defend the same systems that hurt others. These choices are short-lived, and even our prayers struggle to produce change because we tend to hoard blessings within our small circles. We prefer luxury for a few instead of basic necessities for all. And that is why many people now run to less religious or irreligious countries to find the opportunities and systems they pray for at home. Migration has even become something pastors and clergy openly “bless” people with. How ironic. Perhaps the deeper truth is this: we may not yet be ready to build the kind of capacity that benefits everyone.

STORIES & ANECDOTES without the gospel. Don't get me wrong o, please.

And, if like Moses, Aaron and Hur, your own labour is in the secret spiritual frontline of intercession, while the Joshuas fight in the open fields, there should be an understanding, an agreement between both camps. I mean the Joshuas should KNOW there is a formation in the background that is funneling critical spiritual supplies into Joshua's open field context of the contest.

SECRET SERVICE When the Lord told Elijah "I have 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal..." He was neither applauding nor recommending their secret service. He was correcting the prophet's incorrect assessment of the terrain. But, you know, the prophet, in such a day of contention would have benefited from the fellowship of kindred spirit if some of the 7,000 Faithfuls were not Fearfuls. Mortal-Elijah simply worked with the detail available to him, and God came to set the record straight. That was it. Being a secret disciple may be expedient for a season, as a tentative gait, perhaps, while the disciple matures, but, it is not a standard posture for believers. Like, it is not a sin to crawl, especially as a baby, but crawling is not our destiny, as humans. Moses the son of Amram was not hidden forever. Joseph of Arimathea was not a permanent 'secret disciple'. Saint, grow up. And when you come of age, you should become a stage, a stage showcasing Jesus, if indeed He is your Lord.

JESUS EVERYWHERE