TO HAVE YOUR TESTIMONY, YOU MUST PASS YOUR TEST

Years back, while I was in Europe, a close friend of mine, a very sound believer in Christ, was experiencing some very severe financial crises. He had no job, despite his impressive academic qualifications. Life was very tough, and all he could survive on was a menial job. During the heat of this terrible experience, he got introduced to a leading female personality in our city who promised to help him secure a job. An appointment was fixed between both of them, only for my friend to discover that the lady needed him to work with her very closely as a sex partner. The monthly salary was huge. My friend turned it down without hesitation. Today, my friend is a top executive of a major multinational corporation, without going to Sodom.

GREED IS A MAJOR DESTROYER!

When the roll call of generational failures in the bible is made, Lot could easily climb to the top of the list. The background to the destiny-truncating migration of Lot to Sodom was largely shaped by his covetousness and lack of spiritual sensitivity. Lot grew up under one of the best models of leadership in the bible, Abraham, the father of faith. Lot was mentored, shaped, guided, and tutored by Abraham for many years. Abraham gave Lot a platform to thrive. Abraham helped Lot to discover and maximize his potential. And true to his expectations, Lot grew in leaps and in bounds to the extent that his animal husbandry business became the talk of the town. Sadly, Lot voluntarily and covetously left his place of safety and protection, under the mentorship of Abraham, and walked his way into Sodom, an act that was the final nail to his coffin.

C0VETOUNESS CAN MAKE US MISS OUT OF GOD’S PLAN

What paved the way for Lot’s descent into this abyss of failure was his lack of honor for Abraham. Abraham had given Lot the platform he needed to excel and thrive, but familiarity and his failure at giving honor that was due his uncle blinded him from noticing that he was standing on the threshold of history, as the world’s first generational failure. Sadly, a lot of us are cooling off in Sodom today because we ignorantly fired ourselves from the mentorship of someone whose platform shaped us. We felt like, “I have now arrived. I can always take care of myself”. We promoted ourselves before we completed our course works. That was what ruined the life of Lot and sent him to the land of Sodom. Sodom is the biblical synonym for everything evil in this world. The journey to Sodom is the journey into the abyss of sin. Sodom typifies compromise. Sodom typifies greed and covetousness. When Lot foolishly chose Sodom, he thought he was making the best choice of his life. Why?

DEAL WITH ANYTHIN THAT WON’T ALOW FULFIL DESTINY

The land of Sodom looked so fertile and green from the outside (Genesis 13:10). And that is always the case, Sodom always looks green until men taste Sodom. A lot of us walked our ways right into Sodom. Many Sodoms have been erected by Satan to capture the hearts of humanity at this critical hour. Some have been captured by the Sodom of Adultery. Adultery always appears sweet from the outside until you taste its bitter pill, only to later discover that it is poison to the soul. Sexual immorality always appears sweet from the outside until consequences start to fall in. May you never be captured by the Sodom of Adultery. You only need to ask those who have been captured by it to tell you what their experiences have been.

STAY WITH GOD, IT ALWAYS PAYS

Sodom always look very green and attractive from the outside until men taste its bitter pill. Dear Man of God, why should you go to Sodom because your church and ministry have not grown? You have begun to lift up your eyes like Lot, courtesy of bad ministry friends who have tasted Sodom, and have vowed never to crash alone, and are now luring you with a bait to come and join them in their Sodom of manipulation, heretic teachings, lies and occultism. The grass of Sodom always looks greener on the other side until you experience it. Yes, Sodom will give you fame, large crowds, international invitations and recognitions. But eventually, Sodom will destroy you. Is it not better to pastor one person faithfully, and make it to heaven rather than trading your dignity and faithfulness for the sweet promises of Sodom?

ARE SHARP PRACTICES REALLY WORTH IT?

Or perhaps, you are a Christian business person. You actually began your journey with God as a faithful, loyal and focused businessman who would never take or give bribe. You would never compromise your Christian values and ideal for anything on earth. You were a beacon of light to many people until your business began to experience turbulence, and now, you have considered going to Sodom, because the grass seems greener in the land of Sodom. You have been introduced to the movers and shakers in government and in politics who have promised to help you blow up your business if only you could join their secret societies. That is Sodom calling on you. It will destroy you and send you to hell. Run from it!

THE WRONG ROUTE IS USUALLY DESTRUCTIVE

Or maybe you have been married for a long time with no fruit of the womb to show for it, but one of the citizens of Sodom has been calling on you to come over to their side. Sodom is doing a green card program, and you are considering applying to become a citizen. The grass seems greener on that side. With a little sacrifice, with a little enchantment and obeisance to your family deity, you would become pregnant and give birth to a set of twins. You have suddenly begun to consider a trip to Sodom. Nobody has ever gone to Sodom and come back the same. Sodom is a destroyer of destiny. Sodom is a destroyer of marriages. Sodom is a destroyer of resources. Nothing good has ever and will ever come out of Sodom.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF SODOM

By the time Sodom was done with Lot, Lot had lost his properties; he had lost all his money; he had lost friends; he had lost his wife; and eventually, he lost is dignity, becoming the world's first progenitor of bastards. And sadly, Abraham did all he could to help Lot. But no one enters Sodom and comes out without a scar. Don’t go to Sodom for any reason on earth.

CAN YOU BE STAGNATED WITH GOD?

That grass that Satan is making you to see as green is actually a poison to your soul. Stay with your wife. Take your eyes away from other women. Stay with your husband. Don't abandon him because he is poor. It is better to stagnate with God than to progress with the devil. A stagnant God is a whole generation ahead of a progressive devil. In a matter of time, you will be the envy of the progressive devils, just a matter of time. Sodom is never and must never be your option.

THE RESULT OFA QUICK FIX

Recently, and for the first time in seven years, I was pulled over by the Police, and handed a very painful ticket. How could I have done this? Oh my God! I sat in the car with my wife, utterly upset with myself, and the audacity I dispensed to attract this ticket. I was racing on the highway to meet up with a very urgent appointment. Apparently, there was a long traffic ahead of me. But when I looked to the right lane, it was quite very free. But it wasn’t the legally allowed portion of the road for vehicles in active movement to ply. It was a road for cars, but for cars in emergency situations. I saw dozens of cars switching to this lane, and I felt like, “nothing is really wrong if I join them”. Afterall, I am not the only one doing this. Every other car passed and went away smoothly. But when I switched lanes to use this emergency road, I was stunned to see through my rear-view mirror, the blazing siren of the Police. I was stunned! What’s going on here? I asked my wife.

The Police are after us. That was the day I knew that I don’t belong to the crowd. Others may do it and get away with it. If I do it, I won’t get away with it. I was pulled over and handed a ticket of $200. What a lesson I learnt on this fateful day. You know what? The next time I passed on that road, and the same experience of long traffic repeated itself, I stuck to the long lane of traffic. I had learnt my lesson in a very hard way. Others may be doing it. Because I am a kingdom diplomat, a man under the surveillance of heaven, a man under assignment, a man with a mandate from heaven. God will not allow me to get away with it.

WE ARE IN A WORD OF COMPROMISE

Have you ever been pushed to the wall of compromise, and you’ve considered walking out of the boundaries of your kingdom conviction to do what others are doing? We live in a world of compromise. Compromise has become the most fashionable option for many in God’s kingdom, for as long as it produces results. I have read about the stories of many people who used false passports to travel from Africa to Europe. It’s called impersonation. Every other person will be doing it. For the man and the woman under the surveillance of heaven, you can’t do that and get away with it. I am referring to the groups of Christians who have submitted themselves to the lordship and rulership of Christ as instruments in his hands for a unique assignment on earth. I am talking about the believers who have discovered their callings in various spheres of life.

They may be called into the world of academic or medicine or engineering or ministry. It doesn’t matter. As long as they have yielded themselves to their assignments on earth, they are drafted into the surveillance network of heaven. Others may be compromising; they dare not compromise. Others may decide to look for children from the devil because to them God is too slow. These groups of kingdom diplomats dare not touch that with a long pole. Others may be adding occultism to their ministry. These groups of people dare not do that. If they try it, they will be severely disciplined by God. Others may be sleeping around with different people. These groups of people dare not toe that route. The day they sleep with the first person outside of marriage is the day the judgement of God will come on them to straighten them up and out.

MY VISA EXPERIENCE

I can vividly recall my experience with obtaining a visa to travel outside of Nigeria many years ago. For some reasons I cannot explain, I found myself trapped in the hands of someone who wanted to make fake visas for me. That was Sodom! The offer was so juicy. The money to do it was available with me in surplus. But the Lord told me clearly, “Why are you looking for what is not lost? Others may be doing it and may be getting away with it. If you try it, “your journey will be long in the wilderness”. I declined the corrupt route of travelling out to the UK. Today, I don’t need visa to travel to more than one hundred and forty countries on earth including the same UK. That is what Satan wanted to rob me off.

DON’T JOIN THE BANDWAGON

A lot of us have joined the multitudes to ruin our destinies. We thought we could circumvent God’s plan by joining the multitudes to do evil because the multitudes, many of whom, are our friends, do these things and get away with them. Don’t do it! If you have to wait for God for twenty years till he moves on your behalf, so let it be. Waiting on God is not wasting your time. It is better to be stagnant with God than to be fast with the devil. If you are in Christ and are genuinely rooted in Christ and in his assignment for your life, you are a marked person. God takes special interest in training and mentoring you. Don’t compromise. Don’t join a multitude to sin.

That thing that Satan is telling you that you may never get is eventually coming to your hands in surplus. Stay on your lane. You will never be late. Everybody is doing it. I will also do it comes with a ticket just like I was given a ticket. And ‘a ticket’ signifies punishment. For some people, the ticket might be longer years in the wilderness of life. For some people, the ticket might be unanswered prayers or shut doors. For some people, the ticket might a complete loss of focus and vision. Had I left Nigeria that year, I would never have found my way into ministry. And I can guarantee it that I would have married a wrong person! The consequences of going to Sodom are too dire.

Stay in your matter. You will soon matter. It’s only a matter of time

•Dr. Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist and minister of the word holds a doctorate degree in employee turnover and human capital development from the prestigious Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh, Scotland. He is based in Canada and can be reached at: ayoakerele2012@gmail.com

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