THE PARABLE OF THE FALLEN AXE HEAD

Life and Ministry

Sharing with Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

2 Kings 6:1-7

 The Lord says I should tell somebody in this place that the axe head that you lost shall he restored.

The story of the axe head that fell into the river in 2 Kings 6:1-7 is a parable.

Most of us, if not all of us, have something that we hold very dear.

One of the facts that we confront in life is that, what was there may not be there anymore.

This is the reason we counsel that we should not cling to anything that we received by grace as if they are more important to us than God.

He is the only one who has the power to help us to keep that which we have received.

We should honour Him with our lives while we still have our being

We should honour Him with our substance because He is the giver of all things.

We should honour Him with our relationships: children, husband, wives.

Some follow the opinions of their friends and honour them above God.

Most of those friends are there because God gave you an axe head that can cut down trees in order provide food, shelter and clothes for your loved ones and much more.

You will also do well to remember that your very life was borrowed.

The very big question is: what will you do when the axe head is gone?

Only those with a real relationship with God can find their axe when it falls into the river.

A lot of people do not realize that they cannot cope with life all alone without God until the day of evil comes.

Three ways in which God retrieves lost axe head:

He can cause a new one to grow on the handle.

He can cause the fallen axe head to swim.

He can also cause the loss of the axe to be forgiven.

Your relationship with God is the foundation for a miracle.

Begin by learning how to call upon the name of the Lord.

You have to surrender your life, your mind and your heart to God.

You can even call upon Him right now.

THE LORD OF THE HARVEST

Life and Ministry

Sharing with Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

  It is impossible for Him to be the Lord of harvest without also being the Lord of the seedtime.

He is Lord all the way.

Who cultivated the land is the one with the right to take the harvest

The harvest is plentiful but there are no workmen?

This implies that harvest time is asking for greater grace than was needed during cultivation.

The earth must have given in its strength.

Harvest time is a season and things have to be done in haste before the season is past.

The harvest can be lost unless they are quickly gathered into a good barn.

This means that work in the field cannot be delayed without serious consequence.

What happens during the seed time of any life?

Great efforts are greeted with little results.

But for the help of God, the spirit of discouragement would have reigned.

This is the reason the Bible says that “he that weepeth going forth bearing precious seeds shall return with gladness.”

There is gladness in the day of harvest because every little effort receives a just reward.

In  seedtime, fallow grounds are broken.

This can require the building up of spiritual assets in a virgin land.

Introducing new and strange but powerful ideas fail almost every single time.

Someone recently quoted Sir Winston Churchill as saying “success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm”.

Seedtime is a time when great lessons are learnt and paid for painfully.

Precious lessons learnt then will regulate our behaviours during harvest time.

The problem of many of us (especially Christian churches) is that they forgot they once failed.

It is noble to fail again and again and still keep going forward.

What we often call failure is when results fall below what we expect.

A harvest is a period when results are greater by far than what we deserve.

The Living church, what it is.

Life and Ministry

Sharing with Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

 If the enemy had his way, there would be no church.

But since he tried and tried and failed, he wants us to have churches that have no light.

Through which the world cannot see God

Through which a sinner cannot see himself and his or her sinful ways.

 Jesus Himself said, if we are careless we can have church that has not salt.

It will be fit for nothing other than to be cast in the ground where men will trample over it.

In other words, a church that men will laugh and scoff at.

 How does the devil begin to move against the church of God?

First, it is by distorting the image of the living church.

This is why many people think a church is a place you merely visit.

Many people also imagine that a church is a place where the popular will of people is done.

Kings in days of old never did their own will.

A lot of people also consider God’s church as a thrift society.

 Three things that the living church is:

 A Place where trees of righteousness are planted and watered.

God plants people in particular assemblies

The devil also tries to plant his own (Mat 13)

When a good tree tries to lock roots with evil trees, the good can no longer bear fruit

 The living church is a place where the Father dwells.

In the book of Revelation, we see Jesus walking up and down in the midst of 7 golden candle sticks.

Whatever you do or don’t do in a living church, remember that God is there.

God was in Shiloh, Samuel heard his foot steps behind the curtains.

 Thirdly, a living church is place where things are settled.

Decrees are made in righteousness.

Things on the earth are settled in heaven.

Preys are taken out of the jaws of the predator.

WE MUST NOT HOLD OUR PEACE

Life and Ministry

Sharing with Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

Text:Acts 18, 7-11

 Two lessons we can learn about the hazardous waters of ministry:

There will always be those who hate God out there in the field that will never receive the word of God.

They are also in the church (our ministries are often run in ways that make room and make the atmosphere comfortable for such).

We often tie them down with positions and other incentives.

People whose hearts are not open to the word of God.

They cannot be blessed by God’s word.

They neither honour nor treasure the word of God.

NB: Those who publish the word and stand with God receive all the hatred that evil men have for God.

Also Note: The word must be published despite those who hate God’s word and work against Him.

We must stand our ground.That is what the Father expects from us.

 The second lesson has to do with the blessing of making utterances in the word of God see Verse 9-10

The devil wants the righteous to hold his peace.

We can speak against the mountains.

We can speak to part the rivers.

We can decree a thing and it shall stand.

 But only if we are filled with God’s word.

 God has men in the place His work is planted.

 As we continue faithfully, they will manifest.

 Many of such are waiting for our words of preaching to enter the kingdom of God,

Therefore we must not hold our peace.