A Christmas message to Nigerian Christians

Dear Nigerian Christians,

I write this letter to you with mixed emotions and feelings. I am excited the year is winding down and heralds a New Year while at the same time saddened by the state of the present day church in Nigeria in fulfilling God's purpose on the earth.

Economically and financially, 2019 is going to be a tough year for majority of Nigerian Christians. It is only those who have prepared for the tough times that will survive and even thrive.

The church is the body of Christ with Christ himself as the head and every other Christian as His body. For the purpose of structure, we have been given the five-fold ministry according to Ephesians 4:11 namely, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors (or shepherds) and teachers.

Most times, the leadership of a local church is head by a lead pastor. This lead pastor is the shepherd, the one who ensures the flock are tended to and taken care of; he ensures no harm comes to any of the flock and per adventure a member seems to go astray, he goes after that member to ensure he is saved. His priority is ministry to God and to God's people.

However, these days the local church is head by lead pastors who only seem to care about the numbers; the increase in revenue and income and how it can be sustained, how "church" can grow and more people can become members of the local church thereby increasing the revenue. These leaders are ready to stretch their members to give until they are limitlessly stretched while they are not prepared to do the same. They are ready to discard of any member that either does not agree with their stance on issues or has any differing opinion to theirs. They do not care for how your income can increase in order for you to be able to give more.

The truth is that everyone is looking out for themselves and therefore I write to fellow Nigerian Christians, as we head into a New Year 2019 which already promises to be tough according to current economic indices, LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELVES FIRST, your pastors will not. They are under great financial pressure; they have bitten more than they can chew and are burdened with heavy financial debts and mess. The pressure, they will in turn put on you by stretching you to give beyond your means without a care of how you are doing, be it spiritual, emotional or temporal.

Read, do research on how you can increase your income and equally how you can multiply it so that when you give, it does not stretch you to your financial ruin. Study business and trading principles, study the real estate market, STUDY, STUDY AND STUDY!

The reality is far beyond what we see every Sunday when we all put on our best clothes and put forward the impression that all is well. 

No, all is not well and it saddens me to see many of us struggling daily with very basic things as feeding, transport and accommodation.

Until we begin to have church leaders whose priority is ministering to God and to God's people, brothers and sisters, those we have will come after every single dime in your wallets and bank accounts. The only way to survive this onslaught is to prepare by increasing your income and multiplying it.

A word is enough for the wise.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ahead.

Yours faithfully,

Yomi Faneye.

Count Your Blessings

Dear friends, 

One of the favorite things I do to count my blessings is to wake up in the middle of the night and watch my wife and son sleep. Just thinking about those times fills my heart with gladness and my face with smiles. 

I also like to BREATHE and be thankful and grateful for being alive. 

One other thing I do often is to reflect on the strong winds and storms of life; the bad times and how we came out stronger and better from those times. 

I think of how God has been faithful to my parents, siblings and my own nuclear family even when we have been less than faithful to God. 

I think about my friends; the good, the bad and the ugly and how each and everyone has been a source of learning, lifting up and encouragement. 

As 2016 comes to an end,  my prayer is that regardless of the winds, storms and the bad times we may encounter in life, our hearts and lips will continually be full of gratitude, peace and love as we continue experiencing God's mercy and grace and... 

...in 2017 and beyond we will deliberately and on purpose always COUNT OUR BLESSINGS. 

Love you all, 

'Yomi Faneye. 

Marriage & Divorce: Making Your Marriage Work

Dear friends,

Making a marriage work is one of the most tasking and also one of the most fulfilling things I have found to do in my life. It is not just something you wish and hope for; you have to “work” it out.

CAVEAT: As long as the husband and wife are committed to helping, encouraging, and lifting each other and committed to their marriage and choose to “work” out their differences, the marriage will always work.

The moment one person gives up and the other fails to do the needful which is helping, encouraging and lifting, there is a gap in the marriage just like a crack in a wall if not taken care of could lead to something harmful creeping into the marriage.

This could eventually lead to a gradual breakdown as their feelings for each other reduce while they do little or nothing to make it better.

To the man:

Learn not to take yourself too seriously and save little fights for big battles.

To the woman:

Learn not to test your man’s patience so it doesn’t run out.

To the separated and divorced:

DO NOT LET THE WORLD OR THE CHURCH LABEL YOU WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE NOT. You are firstly a human being and every human being (single, married, seperated & divorced) deserves to be happy.

If you have tried in marriage but failed, it is not the end of the world and that can never define who you are; you are the only one to define who you are. Get yourself up and try again if you can with your husband or wife; get up and try again with another person if you must but DO NOT EVER LET THE WORLD OR THE CHURCH LABEL YOU WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE NOT.

God loves you regardless of who you are, what you have done or where you have been.

A child goes from primary school to secondary school and on to the university. There are series of tests and examinations along the way the child has to pass in order to advance to the next stage or class. Sometimes, the child is asked to repeat a class because he/she has performed unsatisfactorily.

In marriage, there is a very close similarity as there are different tests and examinations the husband and wife have to pass “TOGETHER” in order to advance to the next stage or class. Make sure you study for your tests and examinations in marriage and pass them "TOGETHER" in order not to repeat the class; if you do fail, GET UP AND TRY AGAIN.

Above all, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

Love you all,

‘Yomi Faneye.

Go and Sin No More.

Apostle Paul & the fornicator:

 "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:"

Our Lord Jesus Christ & the adulterer:

"And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Choose today whom though follows; Apostle Paul, Pastor Chris, Bishop Shifu, Evangelist Oga or Jesus Christ?

GO AND SIN NO MORE.

The Just Shall Live By Faith.

Seed and Harvest

You sow a corn seed by planting it into the ground and reap a harvest of a corn cob.

You sow the human seed (sperm) by having sexual intercourse or by artificial insemination and you get the harvest as a baby.

You sow money seed by investing and reaping a harvest of profits.

It is the seeds sown that produce a harvest and never the seeds given.


A seed is a unit of reproduction that is capable of developing into another of its kind.

3 things are needed for a seed sown to produce a multiplied harvest. Soil, water and the right temperature.

I encourage you to sow as much as you are giving and even more.

God bless you.

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

A Place of Total Surrender.

^{Romans 8}

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according toHis purpose.

^{Romans 9}

15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

2 families take communion daily.

Family 1 has a member who is in a car accident but comes out alive.

Family 2 has a child who falls sick but eventually dies.

2 couples in their old age have given tithes and offerings all their marital lives.

Couple 1 are very wealthy, live in the best part of town and are highly respected and known within society.

Couple 2 are very poor, can barely afford to pay their rent and are neither respected nor known within society.

Lesson 1.

It is not of him who takes communion nor to him who gives tithes and offerings, but of the Almighty God who shows mercy.

Lesson 2.

All things include not just the good but the seemingly bad also therefore;

If you survive an accident, ALL THINGS work together for good.

If you lost a child, ALL THINGS work together for good.

If you are wealthy, ALL THINGS work together for good.

If you are poor, ALL THINGS work together for good.

The condition is that you love God and you are called according to God's purpose.

I challenge you today to know God for yourself through His word and to love Him with all your heart.

Where God wants us is a place of TOTAL SURRENDER where no matter the situation or circumstance God remains God in our lives.

READ, STUDY and thereafter DO the word of God.

There's a fresh wind blowing in the body of Christ.

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

God Blesses Us Freely

To say that tithes or offerings is what gives financial prosperity or causes open heavens totally negates the message of GRACE.

Remember, to receive by grace means it's unmerited and undeserved.

God has blessed us freely and he wants us to equally bless freely.

Ko gb'owo, ko gb'obi

Ko gba nkankan lowo mi

Ko to damisi o

Ko gba nkankan l'owo mi

He didn't take any money, yet no offering

He didn't take anything from me

Before God blessed me

He collected NOTHING from me.

Freely receive and therefore freely give.

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

It's All About The Numbers

Romans 8:19

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God."


I'm a numbers' person and I know that business is about the numbers; about people.


The more people you serve or have as your customers the more profitable you are.


If you sell "satchet water" also know as "pure water" at N10 with a profit of N5 on each satchet, assuming each individual buys only one satchet per time, you have to sell to 200 people to make N1,000. To make N1m, you need to sell to 200,000 people. Chaiii see work o.


Now, let's assume this water seller is able to make minimum wage of N18,000 monthly, that means he's able to sell to 3,600 people.


Now let's look at a church with a 100 man strong congregation also known as a small church with each of the 100 people earning same minimum wage of N18,000 that's a tithe of N1,800 multiplied by100 equals N180,000.


Oya let's see a medium sized church of 10,000 working people, N1,800 multiplied by 10,000 equals  N18,000,000. Oh boy see money! Hehehehe


Now let's look at a mega church of a minimum of 1,000,000 working people, multiply that by N1,800 that's N1,800,000,000 monthly income. N1.8billion. (And we know most people earn far more than minimum wage) Why I no go buy private jet?


The church understands perfectly it's about numbers so tell me who doesn't want that mega church.


Question.

Why won't we the members work the numbers for ourselves too?


START MAKING THE NUMBERS WORK FOR YOU TODAY. SELL A PRODUCT OR A SERVICE AND START BUILDING YOUR CUSTOMER BASE.


Oya, bring the tithe into the store house or god will punish you. (SARCASM)


PRAISE THE LORD.

The altars of baal

Judges 6:25‭-‬32 NKJV

Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which  had  been built. So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”


One remarkable thing about this story is that Gideon's father Joash was the one who constructed the altar of Baal and the wooden image beside it. God instructed Gideon to destroy the  altar of Baal which he promptly did in obedience to God.

The men of the city came to Joash and asked for his son Gideon so they might kill him.

However, Joash protected his son; he said, "Let Baal plead for himself because Gideon has torn down his altar."


Now...,


Are you a father who has knowingly or unknowingly built a false altar?


Are you a father who has refused to take the correction of God because it has come through your son?


REPENT. Let God be true and every human being a liar.


Remember, God's will through His Holy Spirit is to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.


There is a fresh wind blowing in the body of Christ.

Honour Your Father

Dear friend,

If for any reason whatsoever your father disowns you, do not be alarmed.

Go out into the world and whatever good thing your hands find to do, do it well; do it so well that you excel and stand out among others.

Go ahead remembering all the things your father taught you, make yourself proud and make your father proud until he proudly calls you, SON.

& as you excel and advance in life remember to ...

HONOUR YOUR FATHER.