The mind of Christ (1), By Femi Aribisala

God is not a coincidental God.

In 1997, I rented a building in Victoria Island, Lagos for two years for N1.5 million. When I did, God told me He had given the building to me, even though I was only a tenant. I believed Him because I have a mind of Christ. He says to me, “Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16).

The mind of Christ hears the voice of Jesus and believes the word of God. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27). Jesus’ sheep do not lean on their own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5). It did not make sense to presume I would own an expensive house in an exclusive part of Lagos when I was just the tenant.

“Nevertheless, at Your word (Jesus).” (Luke 5:5). So, I spent N6 million renovating a building not my own, but promised to me.

After two years, when my tenancy expired, the landlady’s lawyer approached me. She said the landlady would like to sell the building and would like to sell it to me. I never even asked to buy it. She told me the landlady’s father willed the building to her. She had never even seen it before. She lived in Chicago with her American husband.

She wants to sell the building in Lagos so she can buy a building in Chicago.

So, in 2000, I bought a building in Victoria Island, Lagos, at the ridiculous price of only N26 million. I did not even have the money to pay for it. I paid in instalments over four years, and God miraculously provided the final N10 million.

Fast forward 25 years, and I now understand the building is worth N3 billion. That is now the cost of the land. That is what Jesus does. “It is He who gives (us) power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

Nouveau Schools 

In 2010, I established a school in the building. It grew to comprise 104 children. But then I lost most of my international children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, God gave me a dream in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. I saw a classroom in the school full of children. Next door, I saw my assistant. I knew even if heaven and earth passed away, this dream would not pass away. 

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3). 

So we started looking for additional space to accommodate the increased number of children God promised to bring. 

We found a suitable building just two doors away from us. This building seemed purpose-built for us. It had about 24 rooms, and it was vacant. 

I went to inspect the building with two delegations. The first time,  with people from the school. The second time, with my wife and family. We all agreed the building was ideal. But when we asked how much it would cost to rent it, we were told N25 million naira a year. 

That immediately put paid to our plans. The money was just too much. There was no way we could afford it. In any case, the additional children had yet to arrive.

A few years later, we went back to enquire about the place. We were told the landlord was tired of waiting for us but had rented it to someone else. That “someone else” has spent a lot of money renovating it. It is now an exceptionally beautiful building two doors away, with colourful flower decorations.

Blunder Upon Blunder

The Bible says about the church in the wilderness. “Again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” (Psalms 78:41).

I have now discovered that that is precisely what happened to us. We limited Jesus, the Holy One of Israel. That was why we thought we could not afford the N25 million rent. 

A few weeks ago, a colleague, Simon Ezeh, alerted me about some people who could help us develop our own property into a high-rise building. They said they would give me N300 million to relocate, while the new building was being constructed.

I then realised that I had made a big blunder in 2021. Why did I think God could not provide me with the N25 million rent? I did not think so because I limited the Holy One of Israel. I forgot that with God, nothing will be impossible. (Luke 1:37). I did not think it was possible because I reverted to the mind of a man instead of the mind of Christ.

Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20). 

Unanswered Questions

Why did God give me the dream at the time he did? Why was the perfect house vacant at that particular time when I could not afford the rent? Why did the agent tell us the landlord was tired of waiting for us? Do coincidences exist? Certainly not! God is not a coincidental God. “He works all things according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11).

The mind of Christ recognises that everything he needs is at hand. He automatically meets everyone God has appointed to help him. He is led to everyone that God has appointed for him to help. The psalmist says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” (Psalm 37:23).

When I am broke, God tells someone to register their child in my school. Or He tells my wife to buy me lunch. Or He tells my niece to send me some money.

“The Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” (Jonah 2:10).

The God who speaks to fishes surely speaks to men. Indeed, He speaks to so many people without speaking to them and they do what he wants them to do. They think they are the ones doing it, but no, it is the Lord.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8).

The person who has the mind of Christ recognises that God is the determinant of everything. He proclaims:

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11). TO BE CONTINUED.

faribisala@yahoo.com; www.femiaribisala.com