Israel Pender

“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 2:1

Christ possesses an abundance of grace within himself, yet he hasn't kept it for his own use. Just as a reservoir pours out its contents into pipes, Christ has poured out his grace for his people. “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” He appears to possess solely for the purpose of distributing to us. He stands like a fountain, always flowing, but his flow is intended to supply the empty pitchers and thirsty lips that draw near. Like a tree bearing sweet fruit not for itself, but for those in need, Christ's grace is freely available for pardon, cleansing, preservation, strengthening, enlightenment, quickening, and restoration. Every form of grace is bestowed upon his people without cost.

Just as the blood in the body, though flowing from the heart, belongs equally to every member, so the influences of grace are the inheritance of every saint united to the Lamb. There is a sweet communion between Christ and his Church, as they both receive the same grace. Christ is the head upon which the oil is first poured; yet the same oil flows to the very edges of the garments, so that even the humblest saint receives an unction of the same costly moisture as that which fell upon the head. This is true communion, when the sap of grace flows from the stem to the branch, sustaining both.

As we daily receive grace from Jesus and more consistently recognize it as coming from him, we shall perceive him in communion with us and enjoy the felicity of communion with him. Let us make daily use of our riches and continually approach him as our own Lord in covenant, taking from him the supply of all we need with as much boldness as people take money from their own purse.

C. H. Spurgeon's Daily Devotion; I only modernized the English for today's audience for easy understanding.

March, 7 (Morning) Devotion

“Have faith in God.”

Mark 11:22

Faith is the foundation of the soul, enabling it to walk the path of obedience. Love may quicken the pace, but faith is what carries the soul forward.

Faith is the lubricant that allows the wheels of devotion and piety to turn smoothly; without it, the wheels are removed from the chariot, and we struggle to move forward.

With faith, I can accomplish all things; without it, I will lack both the desire and the ability to serve God. If you seek those who serve God best, look for those with the greatest faith.

Small faith may save a person, but it cannot accomplish great deeds for God.

Small Faith couldn't have fought “Apollyon;” it took “Christian” to do that.

Small Faith couldn't have defeated “Giant Despair;” it required “Great-heart's” strength to overcome that monster.

Small faith will certainly reach heaven, but it often remains hidden away and frequently loses everything but its treasures.

Small Faith says, “The road is rough, filled with sharp thorns, and full of dangers; I am afraid to go;” but Great Faith recalls the promise, “Your shoes shall be iron and bronze; as your days, so shall your strength be:” and so she boldly ventures forth.

Small Faith stands in despair, tears mingling with the flood; but Great Faith sings, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you:” and she crosses the stream without hesitation.

Do you desire comfort and happiness?

Do you wish to experience true life in Christ, filled with joy rather than gloom? Then “have faith in God.”

If you prefer darkness and are content to dwell in misery, then settle for small faith.

But if you long for sunshine and wish to sing songs of rejoicing, earnestly seek the greatest gift, “great faith.”

C. H. Spurgeon's Daily Devotion... I only edited the language for today's audience.

Faith capsule💊!

March, 6 (Morning) Devotion

“You must be born again.”

John 3:7

Regeneration is a topic fundamental to salvation, and we should diligently ensure that we truly are “born again,” as many believe they are but are not.

Understand that simply bearing the name of a Christian does not equate to possessing the nature of a Christian. Merely being born in a Christian nation and professing the Christian faith holds no significance unless accompanied by something more—the experience of being “born again.”

This transformation is so mysterious that human words fail to fully describe it. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Yet, it is a change that is both known and felt: recognized through acts of holiness and experienced through divine grace.

This profound work is supernatural. It is not something a person accomplishes on their own; rather, it involves the infusion of a new principle that operates within the heart, renews the soul, and transforms the entire individual. It is not merely a change of name but a renewal of nature, making one a new creation in Christ Jesus. To cleanse and clothe a lifeless body is vastly different from bringing it back to life: the former can be done by man, while the latter is the exclusive work of God.

If you have truly been “born again,” your confession will be, “O Lord Jesus, the eternal Father, you are my spiritual Parent; had your Spirit not breathed new life into me, I would still be ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ to this day. My spiritual existence is entirely from you, and to you I give credit.

‘My life is hidden with Christ in God.’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” May the Lord grant us certainty on this crucial matter, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.

I thought this will be helpful to my dear believers in Christ. It's from C. H. Spurgeon's devotion; I only modernized the English to suit the audience of today.

March, 5 (Morning) Devotion
“Let us not sleep, as do others.”

1 Thessalonians 5:6

There are various ways to encourage Christian wakefulness. Among them, I strongly suggest that Christians engage in meaningful conversations about the ways of the Lord. Christian and Hopeful, as they traveled towards the Celestial City, said to themselves, “To stay awake in this place, let us have good discourse.” Christian asked, “Brother, where shall we begin?” And Hopeful replied, “Where God began with us.” Then Christian sang this song—

“When saints begin to grow sleepy, let them come here,
And hear how these two pilgrims converse;
Indeed, let them learn from them, in any way,
To keep their sleepy eyes open.

Fellowship among saints, if done properly,
Keeps them awake, despite hell's attempts.”

Christians who isolate themselves and walk alone are very likely to become drowsy. Keep Christian company, and you will stay awake, refreshed, and encouraged to progress faster on the road to heaven. But as you engage in “sweet counsel” with others about the ways of God, make sure that the focus of your conversation is the Lord Jesus. Keep the eye of faith fixed on him; let your heart be full of him; let your lips speak of his worth. Friend, live close to the cross, and you will not sleep. Impress upon yourself a deep sense of the value of the destination you are heading towards. If you remember that you are going to heaven, you will not sleep on the journey. If you consider that hell is behind you, and the devil is pursuing you, you will not linger. Would the manslayer sleep with the avenger of blood behind him and the city of refuge ahead? Christian, will you sleep while the pearly gates are open—the songs of angels waiting for you to join them—a crown of gold ready for your brow? Ah! no; in holy fellowship, continue to watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation.

What makes the 5 wise virgins different from the 5 foolish ones is nothing but the wisdom to prepare with extra-measure. That extra measure makes the difference.

THERE MUST BE A HISTORY OF FAITHFUL SERVICE: SHORT NOTES ON VISIBILITY IN MINISTRY (3B)

Growing in the Lord’s service leaves a trail of faithfulness - a verifiable and traceable history of sorts. No one ever rose to the pinnacle of their kingdom service without a history of faithfulness, albeit, on smaller platforms. I repeat, it is impossible to rise to the pinnacle of kingdom service without leaving behind a history of faithful service in smaller kingdom tasks.

We must understand that the visibility a servant of God gets is directly proportional to their measure in Christ - which is essentially the impact radius of their service delivery under God (Romans 12:3, 2 Corinthians 10:13-15).

Some will have higher measures than others therefore would have more visibility than others. This has nothing to do with human qualifications but everything to do with the election of grace. Some would receive one talent, some two talents and some five talents. But whether it is one talent, two talents or five talents that one has received from the Lord, the rule of engagement remains faithfulness (Matthew 25:14-30).

David slew Goliath on ‘national TV’ in the valley of Elah . But not before he had faithfully served as a shepherd boy who quietly slew a lion and a bear which attacked his sheep in the backside of the desert. Before he was pedestaled to slay the ‘mighty beast’ called Goliath in a spectacular duel, he had slain ‘smaller beasts’ in the parched, invisible and inaudible terrain of the desert. David did not just ‘show up’ to save the day when the Philistines defied and bullied his nation, he ‘grew up’ in faithful service to do so.(1 Samuel 17)

By grace, from the mid-eighties when I gave my life to Christ, to date, I have served the Lord consistently at different capacities. I was privileged to recently host the servant of God who pastored me as a teenager, Rev. Pita Momoh (who by the way is currently doing a great work for the Lord in Zambia). In those days, I served as a Sunday school teacher under him.

While on campus I served as Bible study secretary and prayer coordinator -this was where my priestly teaching ministry to the body began. I also served as a keyboardist in my local church as a university student in the city of Makurdi. My priestly teaching ministry continued as a youth corper in Kano as I served at Hosanna Good News Fellowship, Prayer Castle, and several other youth ministries in churches and schools. The mandate & operational blueprint for what would eventually become Remnant Christian Network were released to me by the Lord during the years of my quiet labours in Kano.

The Lord told me He would give me a job; I would invest in many destinies and a great network would be born. Prior to this I was a classroom teacher during my time in Kano. One year later, I got employed into Nigeria’s oil industry which meant that my apostleship would be dual in construct for a season: to the body and to the marketplace.

As an apostle of the Lord, I was privileged to serve in the marketplace of Nigeria’s oil industry for sixteen years. So I had to faithfully execute my dual apostolic mandate - to the body and to the oil industry, for sixteen years. So many people actually only got to find out, almost shockingly, that I had had a day job for that long when my resignation became public. This was what birthed my book: AN EPISTLE TO THE APOSTLES IN THE MARKETPLACE.

God-engineered visibility follows a growth trajectory that is spurred by faithfulness. It must start small! Then grow steadily under God’s mighty hand and gracious oversight. Jesus Himself said,

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” (Luke 16:10,NLT)

So, this means anyone who does not have a history of faithful service with the Lord is dishonest -crooked at best! Please beware!

No servant of God can just show up and begin to do great things in the name of the Lord without first serving faithfully in ‘little’ things.

In the end, if we serve the Lord faithfully, as visibility comes, we would realise it is not even about us but about the Lord and His kingdom.

As a farmer, once upon a time, you used hoe to cultivate - the land you could work on was small and your output was very meagre. Now when the Lord gives you a tractor, what does it mean? It means you can now do more. This would still be the case when the Lord gives you one thousand tractors. Yes, visibility, like the tractor, becomes a tool for more work.

Nothing constructive & long lasting starts big. As a matter of fact, the only thing that I know that starts with a very big (but always lethal) bang is a nuclear blast. You and I know nuclear blasts have no net benefit - Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Chernobyl disasters shall always remind us of this!

To be continued.

With love from your brother,

Arome Osayi.

THERE MUST BE A HISTORY OF FAITHFUL SERVICE: SHORT NOTES ON VISIBILITY IN MINISTRY (3A)

“The greatest among you will be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11, NIV)

This verse of Scripture is loaded with two powerful, mutually inclusive truths:

- Service is the only approved path/process to greatness in the kingdom
- Greatness in the kingdom is the byproduct of service

It would be no overemphasis to remind us that ministry is best defined in one word: SERVICE!

GREATNESS and SERVICE in the kingdom are inextricably linked. It is impossible to become great in the kingdom without service - as it is impossible to serve without breaking into greatness in the kingdom. Service is the seed while greatness is the harvest and between them is a great force called faithfulness.

It is very important to note that the times and seasons between the seeds of faithful service and harvests of greatness in the kingdom are fully being regulated by the Lord.

This is so that no one’s experience can be canonised into doctrine. For instance, I shared in the first article of this series that it took us fourteen years for God to announce our ministry to the globe.

Now ‘fourteen years’ is not the ‘gold standard’ for visibility in ministry. Fourteen years is unique to us and is a testament to God’s unmatchable faithfulness. For you, it might be more or less depending on the variables of your unique calling and walk with God.

Genuine, effective, impactful, scalable and eternity-driven kingdom service must start small - this is the order of God!

Throughout Scriptures everything God ever did in relationship with man started small.

He charged man to have dominion over everything on earth but started small by creating Eden and planting a Garden in the east of Eden and putting man in charge to manage and defend it. So that though man’s destiny was earth wide dominion, he had to start small in the Garden which was in the east of Eden.

In redeeming mankind, God started with Abraham. He scaled Abraham into the nation of Israel and made Israel a specimen nation among the nations. He finally sent Jesus Christ to finish the work of redemption through the nation of Israel. Jesus, whose destiny was to become both Lord & Christ; whose birth was announced in the constellations, finally made His entry into planet earth in the inglorious quietude of a manger!

Jesus, in His own words said,

“…The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32,NKJV)

Every great thing with God starts small. The reason why God does this is to create the room and/or possibility for growth! Growth requires time and time tests character - purges the vessel. The difference between tares and wheat is time (Matthew 13:24-30).

To grow in kingdom service, only one thing is required: FAITHFULNESS! Not intelligence, creativity, acumen, robust learning and all resources that human wisdom, knowledge and understanding could harness. This is because faithfulness definitely comes before ability in kingdom service. Paul said,

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to FAITHFUL men who will be ABLE to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2,NKJV, emphasis mine)

The reason faithfulness is higher than ability in kingdom service is:

-Faithfulness is a posture of the heart wherein the will of God is accepted unquestionably, continually and in total deference to God in all matters

-Ability can be acquired through training and impartation

Why faithfulness? It is faithfulness because faithfulness is a posture of the heart that gives enough room for the unflinching resolve to go all the way in the service of God for who He is and not what He can give or make happen.

In going all the way, God’s servant gives their best. As God’s servant gives their best, God in turn proves, tests and matures them. After which He gives them bigger and bigger tasks and/or opportunities to serve. The bigger the tasks the more visible God’s servant becomes. So visibility is a direct corollary of faithfulness.

To be continued…

With love from your brother,

Arome Osayi.

PURITY FIRST: SHORT NOTES ON VISIBILITY IN MINISTRY (2)

As I trained to become a chemist in the university, one of the foundational lessons I learnt was that elements are the most reactive (potent) in their purest forms. This lesson has stuck with me ever since.

The Lord drew my attention to the importance of being secretly pure toward Him early in my Christian life - long before I was given the privilege of prosecuting public ministry. He drew my attention to this testimony by the Lord Jesus:

“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” (John 14:30, NKJV).

As many times as the devil came by to check Jesus out, he had nothing IN Him to use to build or tear down anything. Jesus was completely immunised and sterilised. He was, so to speak, very useless to the devil. His vessel was fully saturated by God, therefore, had no space for the most minuscule of the devil’s shenanigans.

I must state that Jesus spent 30 years of His life building, nurturing, honing, whetting and scaling a consecration base that would eventually become the firm foundation upon which His three and a half-year public ministry rested. The motif of it all was purity, purity, and purity! God Himself publicly attested to Jesus’ secret purity by saying Jesus’ life brought Him pleasure.

The Lord taught me early enough that all the resources He would ever make available to the believer by His grace is for them to first prosecute a victorious Christian life. This is because a successful Christian ministry is a byproduct of a victorious Christian life. A christian minister is first a faithful Christian. A victorious Christian life is built on the grace of God as appropriated through intense consecration and purity. An impactful Christian ministry at the most basic level is in turn built on this! This is because with God, it is your life first before your service. If your life is pure before Him, your service would be acceptable to Him. So, acceptable ministry is powered by a pure life.

I have shared elsewhere how upon my return from my premier international missionary trip to the nation of Malawi in 2012, the Lord told me to shut down until further notice. When I enquired why from Him in the place of prayer, He told me I was not yet ready for full blown international ministry. He told me my consecration level at the time would not handle the miasma of darkness in the nations. Not because His grace was not sufficient enough but because my vessel had not imbibed enough of His grace. The imbibition of sufficient grace by my vessel would take more time (another five years or so) as this would literally require me to grow some more.

So for my own safety and protection, He would not grant me visibility until He had purged my vessel some more. Note that by God’s grace, this was not because I had private sins, it was because the highways to international ministry are slippery. And stationed in the nations are rulers of darkness equipped with scanners with which they would check God’s servants out again and again. Territorial devils would push back violently. They have done this for ages and have become quite efficient at it. Unprepared, Peter would deny Jesus again and again and again. Prepared, Peter would rise and speak to the harvest from the nations at Pentecost.

Eleven years later, I totally understand why the Lord would tell me to shut down until further notice. If you fail at consecration and purity, you will fail on the ground. And woefully so as a minister. Your message would be a lie because you will not do and teach like Jesus. Your gifts would be corrupted. You would glisten on the outside and rot steadily on the inside. All the private issues you refused to deal with at consecration would blow out monstrously and become an inglorious public spectacle. You would be more useful to the devil in the field than you would be to the Lord. You would abuse grace and make yourself an enemy of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Am I saying you cannot serve the Lord until you have attained ultimate, grand perfection? No!

Actually, perfection with respect to the work of the ministry does not mean the absence of human faults and limitations. It means steady growth and development by the relentless uptake, ingestion and assimilation of grace. It’s going beyond human faults and limitations by the grace of God which is lavishly available to all believers to take advantage of.

Jesus walked this earth, breathed the same air, was tempted in every possible way, yet sinned not once. He has made His grace available for us all to be and do the same by the Holy Ghost.

I tell you, grace is stronger than sin. Oh yes, though the raging fires of Babylon were intensified sevenfold against Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego, the Lord’s salvific might so matched and surpassed them that not a hair on their bodies was harmed. This is what blazing holiness does: it nukes all the powers and possibilities of unrighteousness. Grace is more serious than whatever complications sin conjures.

I say this by the mercies of the Lord: If you do not have a robust consecration base by which you appropriate the grace of God for a victorious Christian life with the evidence of living above sin’s tyranny daily; what you need is grace and not visibility.

The Lord would never release holy and precious things of the kingdom to a believer in whose life are many things that bring Him displeasure (Matthew 7:6). You would be most effective as a Christian and minister if you take being secretly pure toward God very seriously. It all begins from there!

The secret place is ignited by secret purity. Reach out to the Lord now and receive the Spirit of grace that can strengthen you daily for a pure life. This is why it is PURITY FIRST!

To be continued!

With love from your brother,

Arome Osayi.

Hello beloved,

The Christian life and ministry begin from the position of rest. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, has specifically asked us to learn of Him so we can find rest for our souls. This is very much needed especially in these interesting times.

In an increasingly turbulent world with heightening insecurities and instabilities, the believer must fully grasp the Lord's rest and bring forth possibilities that only Jesus can author and finish.

The devil engineers maximum hostilities around the believer to get them to be restless. So as to tear down the facility of faith in their heart by constantly knocking them off balance in the spirit.

Restlessness is of the devil! In spite of the myriad of challenges the believer faces in their pilgrimage on this side of eternity, it behoves them to practice the kind of REST that only Jesus gives. Only Jesus can teach this rest through the Holy Ghost. It's why we all must learn of Him daily.

It's my joy therefore to come your way again with a new series I believe is timely for effective Christian ministry. It is a build up on our last discourse. It is entitled LEARN OF ME: THE PRACTICE OF REST THROUGH BEARING THE LORD'S BURDEN AND TAKING THE LORD'S YOKE.

Looking forward to sharing this piece with you as scheduled in the flier.

Do let us know which of the scheduled topics in this series speaks to you on this journey of faith.

Many blessings to you and yours in the new week.

Your brother,

Arome Osayi.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4‭-‬5 NIV

"HAPPY IS THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW THE SOUNDING OF THE SHOFAR!" (Psalms 89:16)

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Rosh HaShana, the day of the sounding of the shofar, the day that all creation stands before HaShem, the great day of judgement, the day of the coronation of HaShem as our King, has arrived! How awesome is this day that we stand before HaShem with absolutely nothing to hide from G-d, "who searches the kidneys and the heart," (Jeremiah 11:20) who knows our innermost thoughts. How awesome and how frightful it sounds! But we needn't be afraid. On the contrary! As Ezra told the returnees from Babylon when they reconvened for their first Rosh HaShana, "This day is holy to HaShem your G-d: you must not mourn or weep... Go, eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks and send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for the day is holy to HaShem. Do not be sad, for your rejoicing in HaShem is the source of your strength." (Nechemiah 8:9-10)

"Avinu Malcheinu" we sing in prayer - G-d is our King and also our Father! He only wants what's best for us and on Rosh HaShana grants us the strength to right our wrongs and straighten our path. On Rosh HaShana G-d is welcoming us and all creation into the new year. We are all part of His plan, if only we choose to be. On Rosh HaShana the Book of Life is opened before us, the pen is placed in our hand, and it is up to us to inscribe our names by choosing to be on G-d's team, by choosing Him to be our King. Our pure thoughts and good works will validate our signatures in the upcoming year.

G-d is our King, He has a plan, and we are all part of it. This is indeed reason to rejoice! "Happy is the people that know the sounding of the shofar; HaShem, may they walk in the light of Your countenance!" (Psalms 89:16) This Rosh HaShana listen to the sounding of the shofar like never before! Turn off your thoughts and let it course through your entire being. Give it up to HaShem and welcome in the new year with an open heart, a pure soul and a clean slate.

The Temple Institute wishes to extend our blessings for a good new year, a year of health and healing, of love and family, of prosperity and peace, of community and fellowship, to all our friends and supporters, to the entire nation of Israel and to all who love and hold fast to the G-d of Israel. May 5783 be the year of the Holy Temple, "a house of prayer for all nations!" (Isaiah 56:7)

Shana Tova!שנה טובה

(This post was scheduled before the entry of Rosh HaShana in Israel.)