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The Ransomed Ministry of Christ, 40, Fashola Street, Akute-Oja (2026)

14/02/2026

The logic of life is simple: Christ is Life. His absence is Death. From the very first man in the Garden to the miracle at the tomb of Lazarus, the pattern never changes. Being able to die isn't just a part of nature; it is what happens when the Divine Presence leaves.

The Clay Statue and the Breath
In the beginning, man was shaped from the dust of the ground. Before God acted, man was just a statue—motionless, cold, and silent like a piece of wood or a stone carving. He only became a "living soul" when God breathed the Breath of Life into him.
We later learn that this Breath was not just air or oxygen. It was Christ Himself. Jesus makes this clear when He identifies Himself:
"I am the resurrection and the life."
"I am the way, the truth, and the life."
When God gave that breath, He was giving the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, to have the Spirit is to have Life. To lack the Spirit is to die. Without this internal "motor" of the Spirit, we are just dust.

The Empty House: Why Life Departs
The Fall of man was more than just breaking a rule; it was the eviction of Life. When man chose what God called "abominable," he essentially pushed the Presence out of his own heart.
The Departure: The moment the Spirit left, man became "one who could die."
The Result: Without Christ living inside, man returns to being a statue—still, lifeless, and decaying.

This same thing happened to the Temple in Jerusalem. In a vision, the prophet Ezekiel saw the leaders of Israel worshiping idols in secret. God explained that they were doing this "to drive Me from My sanctuary." Once God’s Glory walked out the door, the Temple became a hollow shell, and the people were dragged into exile. Where God leaves, death moves in.
Seeing the Proof: Lazarus and the Blind Man

The sisters of Lazarus understood this perfectly. When Jesus finally arrived after their brother had died, both Mary and Martha said the exact same thing: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” They knew the "math" of heaven: Death cannot stay in the same room as Christ. * The Absence: Because Jesus was away, the body grew cold.
The Return: When "The Life" stepped back onto the scene, the "sleep" of death had to end.

We see this again when Jesus healed a man born blind. He didn't just fix the man's eyes; He rubbed clay and dust onto them. This was a "Re-creation" scene. He was showing the world that He is the same Creator who first shaped man from the dust. He was putting His hands back on the "statue" to bring it back to life.

The Final Picture: Inviting the Resident Home
Salvation is more than just being "forgiven." It is the return of the Breath. Man was designed to be a Temple—a home for God. When the Spirit of Christ returns to a person, the "statue" breathes again.

The story of the world fits into this simple flow:
Presence: Life is there.
Abomination: God is pushed out.
Absence: Death takes over.
Christ: Life is restored.
Christ is Life.
His absence is Death.

24/01/2026

We have heard of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee stood and prayed, trusting in himself, listing his fasting and tithes. He believed his position and works made him acceptable before God. Yet Jesus showed that this Pharisee, though religious, did not go home justified.

This Pharisee represents a wider group. The Pharisees were one of the religious leaders in Israel. As teachers of the Law (Matthew 5:17; John 1:45; Luke 24:27), the people looked up to them and wanted to become like them. They were seen as models of godliness, but our Lord said otherwise. Jesus taught that being a Pharisee or Sadducee was no guarantee of heaven. He said plainly:

“Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)
If the Pharisees—those seen by all as the standard of righteousness—had no such guarantee, what about the rest of the people? This shows that attaining the position of a Pharisee does not automatically qualify one for the kingdom of heaven. Though he fasted and paid tithes, Jesus showed that the Pharisees were serving God in vain.
To understand this, we turn to Philippians 3. Paul explains that he was not different from them:

“If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more… as touching the law, a Pharisee.” (Philippians 3:4–5)
Concerning zeal, he persecuted the church. Concerning the righteousness which is in the Law, he was blameless. Like the rich young ruler who told Jesus he had kept the Law from his youth, Paul could say the same. From childhood, he observed the Law, fasted, and paid tithes. He advanced until he became a Pharisee. In all these things, he could take pride, thinking heaven was his for the taking.

Yet when Jesus met him, Paul said:
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ… and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” (Philippians 3:7–9)

Paul no longer belonged to the camp of those wishing to become like the Pharisees. He discovered that the only righteousness exceeding that of the Pharisees—and leading to heaven—is in Jesus. That righteousness is the righteousness of God, and God cannot deny Himself.

Before this, Paul persecuted the church. He refused to hear of Jesus, thinking Him a mere man and dismissing everything associated with Him as a lie. In his zeal against the gospel, he obtained authority from the high priest to arrest anyone calling on the name of Jesus. Those who stoned Stephen? Paul helped by holding their clothes—almost worse than the Pharisee in Luke.

The God Paul thought he was serving was, in reality, the very One he was contending against. A voice said:
“Why do you persecute Me?”
Paul asked, “Who are You, Lord?”
The voice answered, “I am Jesus.”

From that moment, Paul called Him Christ Jesus my Lord, recognizing the excellency of knowing Him. Jesus is the way to heaven:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.”
He breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” What you do not have, you cannot give. Since Jesus said, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” this act shows that He is the Holy Spirit, who is God.
So Jesus said that the publican went home justified. This now answers the question: how does one receive this righteousness of God? We see it clearly in the publican’s prayer. He said,

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
He did not present achievements. He did not defend himself. He simply acknowledged his condition. Jesus said He came to seek and to save the lost. The publican’s prayer was a confession: I am that one who is lost in sin. By that prayer, he gave relevance to Christ’s mission on earth. Christ came for people like him.

A person who is being sought can still choose to hide, refusing to be found. So also with God. He saw man in his mess, left His throne, laid aside His glory, and took on the form of a servant. Yet man remains free—to respond or to hide.

The prayer of the publican, “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” justifies Christ’s mission on earth. That is all that is required. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, but the Pharisee did not see his need. He believed he already knew God and was already serving Him.

Scripture says all our righteousness is as filthy rags. Everything the Pharisee presented—fasting, tithing, law-keeping—was, before God, nothing more than filthy rags. Even the garments of the high priest were stained with blood, like the clothes of a butcher. That is the best righteousness the Law could bring forth—always marked, always stained.

But the righteousness of Jesus has no blemish. It is clean within and without. God uses that righteousness to cover us when we believe. Think of cooking: charcoal blackens pots, but an electric cooker leaves them spotless. The righteousness of God through Jesus leaves no smoke, stain, or residue.

When the publican said, “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” he testified that Jesus truly had a mission in his life. That is all that is required: to acknowledge our need, stop hiding, and receive the righteousness God has already approved in Christ.

17/01/2026

Salvation in Christ is an emergency matter. In Numbers, when the Israelites were bitten by serpents, death was already at work in their bodies. There was no time for procedures, rituals, or gradual reforms. God did not remove the serpents; instead, He provided an immediate remedy. The brass serpent was lifted up, and the instruction was simple: look and live. Any bitten person who looked was healed instantly. Anything more would have been too slow. Delay meant death.

Jesus Himself explains this in John 3:14. As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so the Son of Man had to be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. Sin is already in the world, and its poison is already at work in humanity. God’s wisdom was to provide a finished salvation that could be received immediately by faith. The sinner who feels the weight of judgment is not helped by added demands, but by a Savior already lifted up.

This is where works-based teaching fails to grasp the urgency of salvation. Where God says look and live, such teaching says look—and then do. It treats salvation not as a rescue from certain death, but as a process of self-improvement. But a man bitten by a serpent does not need instructions; he needs life. To add conditions at that moment would only increase the burden and hasten death.

This is why salvation is never presented in Scripture as a process of rule-keeping, but as a present rescue. When the jailer cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul did not give him moral guidelines or spiritual disciplines. He said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” In that moment of terror and conviction, only faith could give rest to his soul. Anything else would have laid a heavier weight on a conscience already crushed by the fear of judgment.

Paul reinforces this urgency in 2 Corinthians 6:1–2. Salvation is not something to be postponed or perfected later. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. If righteousness could come by law, effort, or moral striving, then Christ died for nothing. But because humanity was perishing and helpless, God provided an immediate, sufficient, and complete answer.
The message remains the same, from the wilderness to the cross: Look to Christ, believe, and live.

09/01/2026

As we step into this new year, we must remember a truth many have grown casual about: Jesus is not absent from the gatherings of His people. He is the Rock upon which the Church is built. He is the Head of the body. And He has sworn by His own word that wherever two or three are gathered in His name, He is present.

This means that every assembly of believers is not merely a meeting of people—it is a meeting Christ Himself attends. Every gathering held in reverence of His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit is a gathering before the Lord of glory. And because He is present, nothing about our attendance—or our absence—is insignificant.

Scripture does not plead with us gently here; it warns us. “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together,” the Spirit says, “as is the manner of some.” This is not a casual instruction. It is a caution. It tells us that there are consequences to developing a habit of absence. Christ notices patterns. Heaven records consistency. And neglect is never invisible before God.

In our nation, no minister treats a presidential cabinet meeting lightly. Absence without a genuine reason is questioned. Attendance is expected because authority is present. Decisions are made. Accountability is enforced. If this is so in earthly governance, how much more in the assembly where Christ Himself presides?

Yet let us be clear: Jesus judges by the heart. A person may be physically absent yet present in spirit before God. And another may sit in the gathering while their heart is far away. But this truth should not comfort the careless—it should terrify the pretender. Because the One who sees the heart cannot be deceived. You may explain your absence to men, but you cannot justify it to Christ if it springs from indifference, pride, or neglect.

Jesus is never absent from His meetings. You may be absent—but He is there. You may stay away—and He still marks attendance. You may show up outwardly—and He may count you absent inwardly. This should sober us. This should restrain us. This should correct us as we begin this year.

We do not gather to impress pastors or please people. We gather because the Head of the Church commands it. We gather because neglect hardens the heart. We gather because separation weakens discernment. We gather because isolation quietly prepares the soul for drifting away.

To belong to Christ is a privilege greater than any earthly appointment. He has made us kings and priests unto God. Membership in His assembly is eternal—but stewardship of fellowship is required. Grace does not cancel responsibility. Love does not remove accountability.

So as we enter this new year, let no one toy with absence. Let no one normalize withdrawal. Let no one treat the gathering of the saints as optional. Every time we come into the Lord’s presence, it is a sacrifice. And through this warning, God adds salt to that sacrifice—so we understand its weight, its cost, and its sweetness.

May we not be found missing where Christ is present. May we not be counted absent where heaven expects us. And may this year find us faithful—not merely in belief, but in gathering before the Lord.

07/01/2026

Will You Be Least in the Kingdom?
You Cannot Take Men's Applause To Heaven.

Jesus once said: “Among those born of women none is greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28).

This statement reveals something profound: even the least in God’s kingdom surpasses the greatest on earth. The kingdom of heaven is so sweet, so glorious, that its smallest measure outweighs all earthly wealth and honor. But this raises a question—how can someone be “least” in the kingdom of God?

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🌿 Saved, Yet as Through Fire
Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 3:12–15 that every believer builds upon the foundation of Christ. Some build with gold, silver, and precious stones; others with wood, hay, and stubble. On the Day of Judgment, fire will test each work. If the work endures, there is reward. If it burns, the believer is still saved, “yet so as by fire.”

This is the category of the “least”—those whose salvation is secure, but whose works do not survive the testing fire.

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🔥 What Causes Works to Burn?
Jesus gives us insight in Matthew 6:
- Hypocrisy — Doing good to be seen by others. “They have their reward” (Matt. 6:2).
- Self-promotion — Building ministries or acts of charity around one’s own name rather than Christ’s.
- Earthly focus — Storing treasures on earth instead of heaven (Matt. 6:19–20).
- Lack of love — As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, even great works without love are “nothing.”

These are the things that make our works burn. They may look impressive here—large assemblies, charitable projects, public recognition—but if they are done for human applause, they perish in eternity.

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🌟 Works That Endure
By contrast, works endure when they are:
- Done out of love and duty, not for repayment.
- Rooted in Christ’s glory, not our own.
- Quiet, sincere acts of obedience that seek God’s approval, not man’s.
- Investments in eternal treasures—mercy, generosity, faith, and love.

Just as a child cares for parents out of duty, not transaction, so God desires our service to flow from love and responsibility, not from expectation of payback.

Salvation is free and cannot be lost—it is God’s gift. But rewards can be lost when our works are consumed by fire. Even so, the least in heaven is greater than the greatest on earth.

The call is not to chase greatness in heaven, but to serve faithfully with pure motives. Every act of love done sincerely for Christ carries eternal weight. That is the sweetness of the kingdom of God.

24/12/2025

Christmas is more than the birth of a baby in Bethlehem.
It marks the beginning of the restoration of what man lost in the garden.
When man fell, he lost the life and fellowship of God. But at Christmas, the Spirit of God entered human life again through the virgin birth.
“Emmanuel” is not poetry. It is a declaration: God with us.
What began in Bethlehem is fulfilled in rebirth—Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Christmas is the announcement that God now lives in man again.

The Ransomed Ministry of Christ

14/02/2026

24/01/2026

17/01/2026

09/01/2026

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24/12/2025

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