Hoping and fearing for Nigeria
There are two things that go hand in hand: thanksgiving and praise. Today we shall focus on praise. The Bible says we should worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. It is natural to panic and complain when we are threatened by lack, danger, sickness or death. King Jehoshaphat on the other hand led Judah to prevail against a large multitude of enemy forces by using the weapon of Praise. He “… appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness…”
2Chronicles 20:21-22, “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. [22] And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
God took over the battle when they began to praise the beauty of holiness.
The Bible says the enemy forces fought and destroyed each other
Hope and fear are emotional forces that determine the present and future of a person. The absence of hope could lead either to a healthy or unhealthy fear. Many people fear sickness, war, death,failure, hunger, poverty, recession and whatever causes trauma. Normal people pray against these fears and hope for health, peace, life, success, wealth, affluence and comfort. The fear of the future makes some people to amass wealth and this could lead to greed and all forms of corruption that Jesus warns against. He says: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”Jesus illustrates this with a parable of a farmer who had a rich harvest. The farmer said: `What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’”Then he said, `This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.And I’ll say to my soul, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry” “But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you” (Luke: 16-23).
Nigeria as a nation was gripped with fear before the 2015 Presidential elections. Many feared that Nigeria would disintegrate. Some feared that there would be ethnic, religious or political war that would soak “the dogs and the baboons” in human blood akin to a deep ocean that flows with malevolent waves. There was fear of anarchy and the nation - 2Chronicles 20:23-24, “For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
[24] And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. Look at the result: 2Chronicles 20:25, “And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.”
So What Does It Mean To Praise The Beauty Of Holiness? It means two things. 1. It means to celebrate our covenant relationship with God. To praise the beauty of holiness is to celebrate the beauty of belonging to God through the covenant of Abraham. It is to celebrate the fact that we are sacred and dedicated to God as His possession.
It is to say that we know that we are one with Him.
It is to say we know that we belong to Him and that He is committed to us. And that whatever affects us affects Him! This is the way would be made ungovernable. Some Christians feared that the Sharia law would be fully implemented in every corner of Nigeria. These fears made some people to relocate from North to South and from South to North. The light of hope dazzled the eyes of Nigerian citizens with the Presidential victory over the incumbent who accepted defeat and congratulated the winner of the election. The hope was marked with joyous contents of the change that dawned upon the nation. People rejoiced that very soon a naira would be equal to a dollar, that every unemployed youth in the land would receive a stipend of five thousand naira a month, that the new government would beam every corner of the nation with constant power supply, that the potholes would vanish from the federal highways, that terrorism would be history in every part of the nation, that unemployment would forever go on vacation and everybody rejoiced in the hope of change.
In 2017, this hope appears too deep with terrible consequences that some people purportedly fabricated a rumour that has gripped the nation to unstable marrow. Traditionally, no one should rejoice at the death even of an enemy. Besides, according to William Shakespeare, death is a necessary end which will come when it will come. CAESAR told his wife CALPURNIA,“Cowards die many times before their deaths.The valiant never taste of death but once.Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,it seems to me most strange that men should fear,seeing that death, a necessary end,will come when it will come” (Act 1, Scene 2). Should anyone question why the death of the president made so much we commit Him to our battles and challenges.
2. It means to celebrate the essence, character and attributes of God. To praise the beauty of holiness is to recall and extol all the great attributes of God.
And his attributes are beautiful, believe me! He is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent!
He is the Sovereign Ruler in the universe; the great God Jehovah! He is the God of integrity who does not break His covenant nor does He fail to fulfil His promises. He is utterly faithful!
He is jealous over you and protects you as a member of His glorious family. He’s loving, kind and gracious!
Nothing can add to Him or subtract from Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
He has no beginning of days nor ending of days! He cannot be killed! He has such unimaginable powers He can fix anything!
He rules over nations and decides destinies. He is simply amazing!!! As He cannot fail in battle so you cannot fail in battle. In summary Why Is Praise So Powerful? 1. Praise reminds us of the greatness of God.
2. Praise reminds us of our relationship with God and gives us confidence at all times.
3. Praise builds our faith and echo, I refer the person to the statement of Caesar’s First Lady Calpurnia: “When beggars die there are no comets seen, the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes” (Act 1, Scene 2).I hope and pray that the President would use the occasion of his rumoured obituary to do a deep reflection on the fears and hopes of the nation God has given to him to govern. I hope and pray that he would take this obituary as a message from God akin to the obituary that changed the life of Nobel.
Alfred B. Nobel (1833-1896) was a man who amassed his fortune by producing explosives. He actually invented dynamite.When Nobel’s brother died, a newspaper ran a long obituary of Alfred Nobel, believing that it was he who had passed away. Thus, Nobel had an opportunity to read his obituary while still alive. What he read horrified him. The newspaper described him as a man who had made it possible to kill more people more quickly than anyone else who had ever lived.Nobel realized that he was going to be remembered for evil whereas he thought he was a great scientist. He decided to make his life useful to humanity by sustaining life. He established the Nobel Prizes that is now presented for outstanding achievement in literature, peace, economics, medicine and the sciences. How many people have the opportunity to read their Obituary before they die? Only those God wants to change for the best to meet him in heaven. (http:// www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/ aid/271383).
It appears that hope has become the nature of Nigeria since independence. The Citizens expect so much from their leaders. They want the natural and diminishes our fears. Praise keeps our focus on the greatness and power of God and enhances our faith thus diminishing our fear. It takes our focus away from the magnitude of the problem we are facing and diverts our attention to the almightiness of God.
4. Praise gives us victory at all times. Praise is intended to help us not God.
Paul and Silas deployed the weapon of praise at midnight in the prison and they were miraculously set free.
As you praise God today, God will take over all your battles, in the name of Jesus!
All your haters shall be totally destroyed, in the name of Jesus!
Everything that has kept you under siege shall be completely destroyed, in the name of Jesus!
None of your enemies shall remain standing after today, in the name of Jesus! They turn against each other now, in the name of Jesus!
All household enemies, all witches and wizards that have been fighting you shall begin to fight and destroy each from now, in the name of Jesus!
Everything that has been fighting your progress shall be destroyed, in the name of Jesus!
Every conspiracy against you shall be scattered forever, in the name of Jesus!
God has vowed to destroy those who have vowed to destroy you; they shall all be destroyed, in the name of human resources of the nation utilized in a way and manner that no Nigeria would long to run away from the fatherland except when duty calls and there is absolute need to travel outside the shores of the native land. This high level of hope in leadership is the reason why Nigerians are not very patient with their leaders. In less than two years of governance, some Nigerians feel that a change is necessary to usher in a messiah akin to the messianic expectation of the Jews. From the many calls I have received from our Muslims partners in dialogue and the messages of phobia for religious revolution, it is very clear that Nigeria urgently needs to respond to the genocide of Southern Kaduna and other parts of Nigeria, where blood keeps flowing like a river. The present condition of the nation is so bad that some religious leaders are being pursued for inflammatory statements.
In the view of the International Community, every Nigerian is perceived as chronically corrupt except each individual has to prove his innocence and be cleared. It now appears that every Nigerian is a suspected thief, Boko Haram member, herdsman and kidnapper until the person is proven innocent. The Green Passport is gradually become a burden of shame to those who carry it. The Green Card of Nigerians is being threatened in the United States of America. The card for Automated Teller Machine (ATM) has been rendered useless outside Nigeria. It is no longer possible to do online transaction with Nigerian ATM card. No one has predicted yet the end to the fear of the continuous fall of oil price that had been the main source of national income. Instead of these fears to be addressed by technocrats and scientists, religious adherents are suspecting each other Jesus!!
I declare your attackers dead, in the name of Jesus! Receive abundant wealth now, in the name of Jesus! Receive the type of breakthrough you’ve never had before, now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your miracle, now, in the name of Jesus!
Receive your miracle baby now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your miracle husband or wife now, in the name of Jesus!
Receive your miracle job now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your miracle car now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your miracle land now, in the name of Jesus!
Receive your miracle house now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your miracle promotion now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your breakthrough, now, in the name of Jesus!!
Receive abundant grace and sustained favour now, in the name of Jesus! Receive your healing now, in the name of Jesus! Receive complete deliverance now, in the name of Jesus! Receive complete restoration now, in the name of Jesus!!!
As you celebrate God and your relationship with Him, great doors shall be opened unto you and you shall never lack from this day forward, in the name of Jesus!!! amidst the killings that have refused to abate. The terrorists and herdsmen are gradually dismantling Nigeria given the agitation for secession from some regions.
Nigeria is presently living under the fear of suspicions. Everything in Nigeria is now given a religious interpretation. For instance, the Nigerian army’s Logo has existed for many years and no attention of any Christian has been drawn to theArabic script in the logo:The transliteration of the Arabic script on the Nigerian Army logo is: Nasrunminallah which means “Victory Comes from God Alone”. If not for the religious sentiments of the nation, the meaning of this Arabic inscription does not contradict the Christian faith. Because of islamophobia, some Christians are worried why it is written in Arabic. Ordinarily, the “Lord’s prayer” and the “Hail Mary” can be written in Arabic which does not necessarily mean Islam. It is possible to be an Arab without being a Muslim. I am afraid that if these fears are not controlled, the unity of the nation is under threat. These notwithstanding, if the good Christians and Muslims in Nigeria can come together to address the fears of the Nation, Nigeria will survive. It is my hope that if the Nigerian Inter-religious Executive Council (NIREC) is resuscitated, the Christians and Muslims would have a forum to honestly put their cards on the table and draw a better road map for the survival of the nation. May God make Nigeria flourish again with good leadership! May the perpetuators of the obituary of Nigeria have a change of heart! Nigeria shall survive with God on our side.