THE NECESSITY OF SACRIFICE IN OUR WALK WITH GOD

 

- Pst. Gavin Aleogho

One of the revelations of the personality of God to man is that He is a God of sacrifice. That is, He is a God who is pleased with the concept of sacrifice. This attribute of God is shown throughout the scripture in His dealings with men.

 

The LORD Himself exemplifies this attribute of sacrifice by sacrificing His one and only Son to die for man on the cross of Calvary.

 

All through the scripture, you will discover that men of sacrifice were men who were able to win His heart. Right from men like Abel, Abraham, David, Solomon, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostles, etc. Thus, sacrifice is a necessity in our walk with God. You can’t actually please God if the element of sacrifice is not involved.

 

I can’t count the number of persons who come to me, telling me that they want me to 'disciple' them so that they can always be on fire for the Lord. Sadly, the majority of these individuals disappear into thin air after they’ve discovered that such a walk of faith demands the sacrifice of their time on a daily basis. Time spent on the word, prayers and fellowship. Of which they are not ready to sacrifice at the moment.

 

This was why Jesus made this striking statement, “Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). You can’t go deep with God if you are not willing to deny yourself the pleasure that is due to you on the altar of sacrifice. You can’t go far with God if you are not willing to sacrifice your comfort for the sake of the gospel.

 

Someone like David understood this truth; hence, he said, “neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24). King David understood that no man can strike a chord in the realm of the spirit without the element of sacrifice. Sacrifice is a necessity in dealing with the spirit realm.

 

Sacrifice is what differentiates “men from boys” in the spirit realm. Sacrifice is what determines ranking in this Kingdom of God’s dear Son. Show me a man of sacrifice, and I will show you a man of high spiritual status in the spirit realm.

 

Men who promptly obey God when He calls for sacrifice always experience a miracle. They always experience another dimension of God in their walk of faith. 

 

You can’t serve God without making sacrifices. You can’t touch the heart of the Father without the element of sacrifice. True worship entails sacrifice. And the first sacrifice you must bring in your worship is the sacrifice of your own life.

 

The LORD says, “Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." (Psalms 50:5 NKJV)

 

One of the major reasons why a lot of people do not see progress in their walk with God is because they are not willing to sacrifice for the sake of following Jesus.

 

A man who is not willing to sacrifice his pleasure, comfort, time, money, resources, and his life for the sake of pursuing God will amount to nothing in the hands of God. Check it out, the exploit of the men of old and the works of the missionaries were made possible because these individuals were willing to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel.

 

Yes, salvation came to us free of charge, based on the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. But for you to ascend in God, like the Apostle Paul, you must be willing to spend and be spent for the cause of the gospel.

 

This is why our Lord Jesus Christ made the following important statement. “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." Luke 9:23-24.

 

I like the way The Message translation puts it.

 

Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self."

Luke 9:23-24 MSG

 

Come to think of it, when you got born again, you said, “You’ve given your life to Christ.”

 

Right?

 

If you've truly given your life to Christ, then your life no longer belongs to you.

 

So what God is asking of you is, “Don’t take back your life from Me. Leave it with Me. Spend it for Me. Sacrifice your life for the sake of the gospel. Give Me everything. Don’t withhold any aspect of your life from Me.” That is what God is saying.

 

By the way, He would not force you to do this. As a matter of fact, He didn’t take away the power to make a choice from you when you gave your life to Him. You still have your free will.

 

This is why He said in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

 

The choice of sacrificing your life to Him on a daily basis is a choice the LORD expects you to keep doing till you die, willingly. This is the choice of presenting your life as a living sacrifice to God. The sacrifice of your life must come first, before anything in your hands.

 

You must sacrifice your life before your money.

You must sacrifice your life before your talent.

You must sacrifice your life before your service is accepted.

 

Yes, it might look as if God will waste your life if you sacrifice it for me. But I tell you the truth; history has shown that men who sacrifice their lives to God always gain it more.

 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."

John 12:24

 

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Matthew 16:25

 

God will not waste your life when you sacrifice all for Him.

Trust Him!

 

ADVOCATING FOR THE BOY-CHILD

-  Gavin Aleogho

 

Yesterday, the 16th of May was the "International Day of The Boy-Child," which was officially adopted by the United Nations in 2018. It is a day that is set aside to draw attention to the struggles and various abuses that the Boy-Child goes through.

 

Sadly, since its inception, the day is often unrecognized and unmarked compared to other International Days. The reason for this is because of wrong assumptions that many have concerning the Boy-Child.

 

I am talking about wrong assumptions, like;

 

- Boys can always take care of themselves.

- Boys are strong and they can protect themselves irrespective of

their age.

- Boys don't cry.

- Boys are not abused or molested.

- Boys are always the bullies.

- When in conflict with the Girl-Child, boys are always at fault.

- Boys are not victimized.

- Boy should "know" without being taught.

- Boys are naturally bad.

 

These and many more are some unspoken assumptions that people hold about the Boy-Child. These assumptions have led to the neglect of the Boy-Child; leaving them to fend and fight for themselves. Boys are left to think for themselves, make decisions by themselves and learn from their own experience, which is always negative.

 

These assumptions and misconceptions make our boys an easy target for the devil to corrupt and influence, negatively. They’ve become victims of several social vices and societal ills.

 

As a pastor as well as a teen coach, I discovered from my counselling room that a lot of boys have pains and regrets.

 

Kingsley (not his real name) was ‘disvirgined’ by a teenage girl when he was 9. Due to a family crisis, his mother sent him to stay with the girl’s family for some time. How can he tell people that at first contact, the girl literally raped him? Who will believe that the girl was the one who seduced him into an illicit relationship that spanned over a year? It was after Kingsley encountered Christ that he opened up about the sexcapade he had with the girl. 

 

I remember the story of one of our teenagers called Timothy (not his real name), who spoke to me about how a ‘matured family man’ tried to lure him into bed. Thanks to the fact that, a day before that incident we taught them about the subtle rise of Sodomy in our society. He was able to escape from that temptation, thanks to God's mercy.

 

Another of our teens told me of how a girl tried to blackmail him into sleeping with him. That reminds me of the story of boy-Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Then, who would have stood up for boy-Joseph? Nobody! I can go on and on to tell you more of such stories.

 

Time will fail me to tell of my experience while growing up. A lot of men have wounds and scars which they got while they were growing up as little boys. Sadly, many of these men began to repeat the same errors and abuse that were done to them, because they’ve not been healed psychologically, in the first place.

 

Some men who by grace, have come to know the Lord Jesus, have been healed from the hurt, bruises, injuries, and abuse that were done to them. With the healing they’ve received from the cross, they try to minister the same to the upcoming generation. That is my story.

 

Many parents and teachers assumed that the boy should know without being taught or guided. Our boys need to be given attention. They need to be taught and guided. If they must become all that God has destined them to be, they need your support and love, so that they can navigate their way through life. 

 

Over the years, the attention has been on the Girl-Child and that is quite commendable. However, we can never achieve the goal of preserving a generation if we don't also focus on helping the Boy-Child to get it right.

 

When both the Boy-Child and the Girl-Child get it right, then we can say our job is complete. Otherwise, we are only doing a partial job.

 

Let’s rise to support the Boy-child.

Let’s teach them to speak out.

Let’s give them a listening ear.

Guide them.

Pray for them.

Mentor them.

Don't assume they should know; teach them.

Be a good example and a positive influence to them.

And the Lord will bless you.

Walking In the Supernatural through Obedience

-Pst. Gavin Aleogho

We've been saved and called to walk with God. We’ve been saved not to run our life, independently of God. Rather, our call into the faith is a commitment to walk closely with God through the Person of the Holy Spirit. We are expected to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

 

The distance you will go with God is dependent on how much you cooperate with God in obedience. Your depth in God is determined by your obedience. Show me a man who is obedient to God and I will show you a man who knows God.

 

In the same vein, your obedience to God is what determines the help of God that you receive. As a matter of fact, if you want to see the hand of God in your life, you must be ready to fully obey Him.

 

Prayer is good; it is also an act of obedience to the written instruction of God. However, if we must see the physical manifestation of what we’ve prayed for, then we must be willing and ready to work with God in obedience; doing and following the instruction that He gives to us after prayer. For obedience is what breeds miracles.

 

The first miracle of our Lord Jesus was recorded in John chapter 2:1-11. If you’ve studied that miracle of Jesus in Cana of Galilee, you will agree with me that the miracle came as a result of total obedience to the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Even though Jesus was at the wedding and He knew that they needed wine, He never performed the miracle. His mother, Mary told the Lord about the situation, but yet a miracle was not performed.  What am I driving at? Even though the Lord may know about our situation, is not a guarantee that we will receive the help of God for the problem.

 

Like Mary, we may have asked the Lord in prayer to intervene in the situation, but yet, despite the many prayers, we never got a miracle. Don’t you think we might be missing something?

 

The mother of our Lord didn’t just speak (pray) to Jesus about the lack of wine. She went further to instruct the servants at the feast to be ready to obey all that Jesus would instruct them to do. Their prompt obedience to Jesus was what gave birth to the miracle of turning water into wine.

 

After you have made known your request to God, you must be ready (like the servants at the wedding in Cana) to obey the instructions that the Lord will give to you. Obeying such instruction is the key to experiencing the supernatural.

 

Such instructions could be:

 “Give a call to Mr. James about the matter”

“Be still”

“Pray and fast more about the issue”

“Step out to a particular location”

“Go close to this person”

“Give that money or property as seed”

“Stop that business and start this particular one”

“Take this particular food”

“Stop eating this particular food”

“Stop going to this particular place”

“Make that proposal”

 

There was a time when I was sick of a particular ailment. I prayed about the situation for a while. Afterwards, I perceive the Lord will want me to take a particular herb. I did that and that was how I got my healing; just by obeying the instruction of the Holy Spirit that was given to me after prayer.

 

We are not serving a blind or deaf God. Our God is the living God who knows and sees everything. He loves us and He is willing to intervene in our lives.  However, in most cases, He needs our cooperation for the birthing of the miracle that we desire.

 

Before the Red Sea parted for the Israelites, Moses had to lift up his rod and stretch out his hands over the sea in obedience to God’s instruction.

 

Father Abraham is remembered today as the great Patriarch of our faith. Thanks to the fact that He obeyed God by leaving his father’s house to follow God to an unknown destination.

 

All the victories of King David are connected to his obedience to God on when to and when not to attack his enemies.

 

Discover what God wants you to do and make up your mind to do it, and you will be in for a miracle. Sometimes, you might not receive an instant miracle, but be rest assured that in the long run, it will lead to your glorification.

 

I’M PAINED, CAN YOU HELP ME?

 -Pst. Gavin Aleogho
 
Recently, something bad happened in my neighbourhood that made me sad and angry for some days, now. Before I tell you about what happened, let me give you some background happening around me.
 
Last month of April 2024 our emphasis in YACC was on Sexual Purity. In all of our contacts with our children and teenagers, we did our best empowering them with the truth from God's word on how and why they should keep themselves from sexual Immorality and sexual predators. As a coach to children and young adults, I am aware of the subtle rise of sexual defilement among children and young adults. 
 
You could imagine my shock and anger, that evening when I learned that a girl of 10 years old was sexually molested by a man of thirty-something years old. It is sad to know that this ugly incident happened in one of the streets close to my residence. I was so pained, considering the effort we are putting in these many years, to help these young ones from falling into such an ugly incident.
 
Even though I don't know the child or the perpetrator of the crime in person, I felt a sense of responsibility concerning the matter. Considering the fact that YACC is primarily set up to sensitize children and teenagers so that they don't fall into such vice.
 
Besides other contact locations of YACC, YACC was first set up in my house in 2016 (even before Radiant Saints Church was born), and we’ve been faithfully having monthly meetings with these ones with the aim of helping these young ones in my neighbourhood. And to the glory of God, we've had tremendous testimony in this regard.
 
By the way, YACC stands for "Young Adults Christian Club." It is one of the arms of our ministry that is aimed at helping and equipping children, especially teenagers with the truths of God's word to be on fire for Jesus, so that they will be delivered from the corruption in their generation. We also equip them with godly wisdom so that they can become all that God has designed them to be.
 
Back to the story. I learned that the mother of the girl has charged the case to court, and there is every possibility that the paedophile will be given a sentence of 7-year imprisonment.
 
Why am I writing this?
 
First, it is to speak to every paedophile out there, so that they should know that they stand a chance of imprisonment when they defile a minor. According to Nigerian law, a minor is someone who is less than 18 years old. 
 
I know that many people are unaware of this law. Especially those men who like to flirt with underage. Such men or women who like to go for underage boys/girls stand the chance of having a prison sentence on their heads if their evil is exposed.
 
And for parents, we must learn to speak up so as to constrain these evil ones whom Satan has anointed to destroy the glorious destiny of our rising stars.
 
Saddly, I learned that the mother of this said girl is being approached by some influential people in the area, begging her to drop the case against the paedophile.
 
Personally, I don't agree to that. Yes, I know that I am a Pastor and I preach on love and forgiveness. But I believe the law should have its full effect on the perpetrator of the crime.
 
While the man is serving his prison sentence, I will encourage the mother and the daughter to forgive him, so that the healing process for the child will be fast.
 
Some of my beloved brethren disagreed with my stand. They are of the opinion that if I really claim to understand the mercy of God, I will forgive the man, drop the case, and tell him to "go and sin no more."
 
I disagree with that, for I don't know who his next victim will be. Besides, other paedophiles in the area won't learn their lessons.
 
Well, I will love to read your comment on what you think about my stand from a Christian perspective. Am I being heartless? Are you of the opinion that the mother should be compensated with money for the damage and the paedophile should be set free? How do we strike a balance between showing mercy and allowing the law to take its effect on such criminals?
 
I will be in the comment section, reading your thoughts.
 
Pst. Gavin Aleogho 2024