GIVING: THE PAIN AND THE GAIN

Many times, some of us feel we are probably doing God or the recipient a favor when we give. But first, we need to understand the meaning and purpose of giving. My dictionary says it is disposing of property, materials, money, love, time, counsel, and other things to meet a need. When we give, we shouldn’t expect to get anything in return, knowing that anyone who gives always receives back. Read Matthew 20:35. The Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive. When we give, we do ourselves a big favor. Why? An opportunity to give is an opportunity to sow. Without sowing, there is no reaping or harvest. This takes me to our essence of living. The way we live is solely determined by the way we give. If you don’t agree with my last statement, take a look at the people in your environment, community, or society. Identify the givers and people who do not give, and then compare their lives. You will agree with me that "the way you live is a function of the way you give’’. Which simply means if you want to live well, give well. If you want to live big, give in a big way. If you have been giving and you are not living well, check two things; your motive and the ground which you have sown. Endeavor to sow on fertile ground! Like a good friend of mine said recently, if you are suffering, always check your offering. If things are tight for you, check your tithe. Now, let’s talk about giving to God. The God we give to is the giver of all we possess including our lives. So why do most of us find it difficult to give back to the giver when we need to? We endanger our lives by withholding what we are meant to give to God. Hardship and suffering come our way when we refuse to give God what He deserves. As a young man, I learned how to give from my parents and teachers in school. Every time I refused to give my offering or tithe to God, I suffered for it. Malachi 3:10 says we should bring our tithe into God’s house, so he can open the windows of heaven unto us and rebuke devourers for our sake. If we refuse to bring it, it simply means He will close the windows of Heaven unto us and devourers will have access to our lives which is dangerous. #NothingButTheTruth. One period I refused to pay my tithe, I paid dearly for it and it was painful. Come to think of it, what you earn can’t even be enough for you. So why not give out of it to have more than enough? You'll even enjoy good health, unmerited favor, blessings without sorrows, etc. The Bible says "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. This means obey God’s instructions first and all the things you know you need, including the ones you don’t know you need, and the ones you don't deserve or ask for, will be given to you. God is moved by our obedience to instructions. Not our emotions after disobedience to His instructions. When we refuse to give God what He deserves and we see the repercussions, we end up crying to God thinking the tears will move Him. What moves God is our willingness to obey all His instructions, not just part. I would love to explain more about tithe. I think I will need to write another article or a second part of this write-up. The truth is for our good, pay your tithe and give your offering regularly to God with a joyful and cheerful heart. 2 Corinthians 9:7. According to my definition of giving, it’s not just about money, it is about meeting a need. We must give, so we can be blessed. Don’t get it twisted, we have been called to be blessed and not to be rich. Riches are a part of the blessing, not the blessing as a whole. God is not interested in our money or materials. He gave us all we have, which means He has more. But He wants us to obey the law of harvest, which says "A seed must be sown before you can reap or harvest”. Every opportunity to give is an opportunity to sow and be blessed. Help yourself by looking out for opportunities to give. So you can continuously increase, flourish, and be blessed. When it comes to giving to fellow human beings, we always complain that so many people get money from us through falsified means including those we trust. The truth is “Givers won’t stop flourishing and receivers will never stop lacking”. Those who receive through falsified means will never be satisfied and will always lack. Now, we must decide to give or help others to increase, remain blessed, and flourish always. "God blesses a vessel and not a container”. Why? The container only retains God’s blessing, not ready to bless or give others. God invested so much in us so that we can be a blessing. A vessel is ready to bless or give others at every opportunity. Let us bear this in mind; giving might be painful. Which means “when giving is painful, the harvest also becomes gainful”. A certain woman in 2 Kings 4:1-7 gave all she had to Elisha, a man of God. It is painful to give all you have to someone when you have no hope of getting another one. When we read through the story, we discover that after she gave painfully, the harvest was gainful. Something happened to me in 1999. I had some amount of money with me and I was so hungry. A lady asked me for the exact amount I had so she could eat. I told her I needed to check if I had that amount. The money was in my pocket and I was hungry too. You can imagine how painful this was. I got an instruction to give her, which I did. She was very happy and left. To my surprise, not up to 12 hours later, I had over 100 folds in return. You can see that if I had refused to give what I had, I wouldn't have been able to sow, talk more of harvesting, or be blessed, knowing that the cash I had wasn't enough for me. Like I said earlier, giving is about meeting needs. Some people around you need your smile, please give it. It will do a lot. Someone needs your time, counsel, or even material possessions. Don’t hesitate to give them when asked, or if you discover the need. Remember, you reap whatever you sow. If I need a phone, I will give a phone out. If I need money, I will give out money. I give out whatever I want to receive but in another proportion. The truth is you can determine what you give or sow, but you can never determine the harvest or what you reap. Ask farmers. In Matthew 14:17-21, if the young boy that had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes had been greedy by withholding what he had, he would have missed the opportunity to be a vessel used to feed over 5,000 people. There were also 12 baskets of remnants. The boy knew what he gave, but didn't know how big the harvest would be. In conclusion, let’s do ourselves a favor by giving and not just receiving. The receiver’s hand will always be beneath to receive. While the giver’s hand will remain at the top to always have what to give. In all of this, remember “You reap what you sow, not where you sow”. Let’s give to God and fellow human beings. Make sure you are meeting a need everywhere you go or find yourself. Givers never lack! Kindly share this post with your friends on every social media platform you are on. AYODEJI ANIFOWOSE Twitter: @gfatherghusband Instagram: @gfather_ghusband, @ayodeji.anifowose Facebook: www.facebook.com/greatfathergreathusband, www.facebook.com/ayodeji.anifowose E-mail: ayollc.company@gmail.com www.ayodejianifowose.com

AFTER FASTING WHAT NEXT?

In Matthew 17:21, Christ told us to fast and pray as we expect miraculous things by faith. The Redeemed Christian Church of God under the leadership of Pastor E. A Adeboye just finished 100 days of fasting. Other Bible-believing churches like Winners Chapel, Mountain of Fire, and Miracles Ministries amongst others also observe some periods of fasting and prayers. After fasting, another thing I have come to discover in a nation like Nigeria is that we Christians also pray fervently. This reminds me of something I saw on a television station. It showed how we pray at our various churches, using The Redeemed Christian Church of God as a case study. This shows how much we love God and believe in Him, either sincerely or not. This is my point; it is good to fast and pray. But after fasting, what next? Do we start feasting all through, remembering that the devil is still like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour either directly or indirectly? I'm not saying it is wrong to feast. I even lost my appetite for food after the 100 days of fasting. We should feast, but we must be aware that there are certain steps we need to take to bring all we have prayed for into manifestation. For example, if a youth who believes God for a job just sits at home, saying all help comes from the Lord, without checking the internet for vacancies, and keeps lamenting that the internet is corrupt so he would like to guard his heart diligently. Such a person will remain jobless and redundant because he has refused to take some needed steps to get the job he has been praying for. The Bible says faith without works is dead. In the same way, fasting and praying without taking the necessary steps is assisting the devil to carry out some evil mission in our lives. May the devil never have his way in our lives in Jesus' name. We are praying for good governance and that God should influence government policies to benefit the masses and not just some selected wealthy men. We want good governance but real Christians have refused to contest to be voted into government positions at all levels. Why do we deceive ourselves? We watch the news to criticize the government and what the leaders do. By the way, who is the government? We are the government. Without us, there would be no government or nation called Nigeria. The Bible says righteousness exalts a nation. Righteousness can only exalt a nation when the righteous lead and not the unrighteous. It is never written in the Holy Bible that it is a sin for a genuine believer to contest for political positions. But we must be an example of believers in our character, manners, conversation, and every other thing we do. Let there be a big difference between when an unbeliever leads and when a genuine believer rules our nation. I have been emphasizing genuine believers because not all so-called believers are genuine. The only way to prove you are genuine is through your conduct, that’s all. As the Lord helps us, if you are led to contest for any position as a genuine believer, please go and do just that, believing that God will back you up. We cannot all be Pastors, Ministers of God, Managing Directors, Chief Executive Officers, etc. Some of us need to still lead in the capacity of President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, Minister, Governor, Commissioner, Local Government Area Chairman, and Councillor amongst others. We are not limited by what we don’t have, but by not knowing how to use what we have. When we accept the life of Jesus Christ, we are promoted to sit in heavenly places with Jesus. This simply means every genuine believer is a potential leader. This gives us access to spiritual blessings, the gifts and fruit of the spirit to help us lead right. An unbeliever needs to consult an oracle or smaller gods to get answers to some situations but a believer already has the gift and the fruit of the Spirit which makes him discern, direct well, prophesy, see visions, etc. I see a new Nigeria where our swearing-in ceremony will become an impartation service. Where governors, ministers, and commissioners serve in the ushering department, sanitation department, music department, and so on in their various Bible-believing churches. I see a new Nigeria where anytime a leader in the government at any level is visiting the hospital, patients will be discharged, due to the healing power God bestowed upon them. Yes, we need Christian leaders, but are we ready to take up the challenge? We keep coming up with excuses like politics in Nigeria is corrupt and dirty. If they have not been doing it well, how will they do it well when you have refused to show them how to do it well? All I am saying is that let’s stop talking about change. Instead, be the change your country, nation, society, community, and home needs. If you don’t like the way the streets are always dirty, then you need to stop littering the ground. Find a refuse bin to dispose of dirt. I am saying it again emphatically, be the change you want around you. Start it and I promise you others will follow you. It’s just a matter of time. When you say a nation where you reside is bad or corrupt, you are indirectly describing yourself. So speak well about your country, believing that things will change, as you also contribute your quota. For everything you have prayed for, you need to take a step of faith too. If you need a job, check the internet for opportunities, and submit your Curriculum Vitae to different organizations, believing that God will work wonders. If you have a company and you have prayed to make more profit, you need to keep telling everyone around you about what you do. Someone around you might need your products or services. If you have prayed to God for a future partner, try to be nice and friendly, and become the kind of person you want to marry. The bottom line is, add works to your faith after fasting and praying. The reason most of us don’t see answers to our prayers is that we have turned God to a magician. When you play your part and leave God to do what He can do, it is called a miracle. But when you sit, waiting for God to do everything for you, you have certainly turned God to a magician. Unfortunately, He’s not a magician. He’s a Miracle Worker. Finally, we must not be carried away by feasting after fasting, knowing that we still have a lot of work ahead. The promised land is not too far. If we can do the necessary things we will surely get to our desired future. Let’s continue fasting, praying, feasting, and acting in faith for those things we believe God for. God bless me! God bless you! God bless Nigeria! God bless the church of God! God bless the whole world! AYODEJI ANIFOWOSE Twitter: @gfatherghusband Instagram: @gfather_ghusband, @ayodeji.anifowose Facebook: www.facebook.com/greatfathergreathusband, www.facebook.com/ayodeji.anifowose E-mail: ayollc.company@gmail.com www.ayodejianifowose.com

POSH BUT RUGGED

While growing up as a teenager, I found it really difficult to figure out how a gorgeous person from a rich home would come to church and start doing very demeaning chores like cleaning the toilets or carrying bricks with labourers while laying the foundation of a new church building.  Trust me when I say I’ve met some interesting people in my life, I think they are best described as the “Posh but rugged Christians”. Picture this! Imagine a pretty young lady from a wealthy background going to live in a rural area without electricity and good water just to preach the gospel, or that cool-headed and quiet brother that suddenly turns a head-shaking and tongue-spitting firebrand warrior when it comes to prayer, eventually becoming a big terror to the kingdom of darkness.

Back then, I didn’t understand what would make prominent “Doctor somebody” or “Chief Justice VIP” arrange chairs and clean up the church all in the name of being a church worker. Couldn’t anybody else do it, probably someone less significant status-wise? Guess I was too young to understand that to be great in God’s kingdom some “social status” vibes had to go out of the window. This reminds me of what Jesus says in Matthew 18:3 “...Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

It’s ok to be posh but if being posh is hindering you from getting rugged and down-to-earth for Christ, then check your life! You can’t call yourself a Christian if you are not Christ-like.  If Jesus could leave his wonderful throne in heaven, to be born in a rugged manger just to save you and I then tell me what your problem is?  If Jesus with all His authority and status could wash the feet of his disciples, why do you think you are too big or posh to do certain things in the house of God like sweeping or washing toilets?

Christ was the “posh” Lamb of God but also the “rugged” Lion of the tribe of Judah. Queen Esther was a “posh” queen but also the “rugged” woman who saved the Jews from being destroyed. Deborah was a “posh” woman but also a “rugged” judge, leader and mother in Israel.

Don’t let your riches, status or popularity stop you from being radical for Christ! Don’t let your status stop you from being a terror to the kingdom of darkness! Be rugged enough to stand out for Christ, get active in His vineyard and propagate the gospel. It's good to look good, pretty, and cute or posh and it is also good to be rugged for Christ. Remember “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.”- Matthew 11:12.

Ayodeji Anifowose and Lady May