David Ibiyeomie

A father is a member of
the male gender, designed by God as the source to enerate generations. He is one who God has given privilege to originate and institute life on earth. He is a progenitor, a nourisher, a supporter, a leader, an influencer and a founder.
The word “father” is derived from a Latin word “funtus” which means base or foundation.
Fathers are feathers God has given to the family and entire society to fly. Without Fathers you cannot go further. Fathers are spiritual ladders that we climb to see farther.
Fathers make us to gain supernatural speed.
When a father speaks into your life, the hand of God is brought to bear in your situation.
The blessings of a father can change an ugly situation. Your lifting is connected to a father.
It takes faithful fathers for a society to be better. A faithful father is the key to a responsible and meaningful society.
The greatest honour any man can have is to be called a father because “Father” is the title God gave to Himself. If God chose to refer to Himself as Father, it means that fathers have the greatest honour conferred on them. God has so much value for fathers; that is why, the first human creature that He made was a father (Adam). It was out of Adam that Eve was made; it could be said that Adam gave birth to Eve. We all came out of the loins of Adam (father)!
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3
The father is the one God has placed on earth to lay the foundation for the whole world. A father is the foundational entity upon which family and the society are built. If the society will succeed or fail, fathers have a key role to play. It is expedient that Fathers consider their roles in the society very importantly, as it has an inestimable value. Though, children love their mothers, but they follow their fathers.
This means that the legacy a father will leave for them determines how successful and far the children will go in life.
According to research in the United States, a father’s presence in the family will determine a child’s success and happiness.
It may be quite incredible but real that there are more prisoners who went to prison because their fathers were not there. Studies have shown that 43% of state prison inmates grew up with both parents, compared to 57% who grew up without their fathers or missing fathers. Studies also show that fatherlessness was the most prominent contributor to criminality and other social vices even more than poverty. It has led to ,the high employment of police corps and the building of more prisons in all parts of the world.
Responsibility is the thing people dread most yet it is one thing in the world that develops us.
The world is blessed mostly by men who do things not by those who merely talk about them. Without responsibility you will remain  a liability.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22
Maturity does not only come with age, it comes with acceptance of responsibility. You are not just mature because you are old but because you accept responsibility. Fathers who punish children for wrong doing when they have not first taught them how to do right are themselves wrong. Fatherhood is not just a title to bear but a great honour from God coupled with great responsibilities; there is a price to pay.
The father is the head of the family. The father is the one who calls the shots in the family but he must also understand that calling the shots comes with performance of functions.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Ephesians 5:23
In this book, our major consideration is the father as the “head”.
We will also present our illustration using the human head. If you look at the humafl head, there are five distinctive things to note: the brain, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, and the nose.
The brain is for thinking. Therefore, every father must be a thinker. The eyes are for seeing (vision), so every father must be a visionary. The ears are for hearing thus, every father must be able to hear from God. The mouth is for speaking, hence, fathers must know how to talk maturely. The nose is for smelling; fathers must be sensitive.
These various sections will be discussed explicitly in subsequent chapters of this book.
Highlights
A faithful father is the key to a responsible and meaningful society.
Fatherhood is not just a title to bear but a great honour from God which comes with great responsibilities.
A father is. a progenitor, a nourisher, a supporter, a leader, an influencer and a founder.
The Father As A Creative Thinker
(The Brain)
The brain is for thinking and so every father must be a thinker.
How can a father use his brain? As you read further, secrets will be unveiled to you. A father is the brain behind family success or failure.
The first function of the human head is found in the brain. The brain has the ability to reason its way out of challenges.
According to an Austrian researcher, Dr Constantine Von Economo, the thickness of the brain is about three millimeters. However, when spread out it becomes as large as a page of newspaper. The brain consists of about fourteen billion cells; cells are designed to grow and multiply. Similarly, for the family to experience continuous growth, become a centre of attraction, and a reference point amongst other families, the father has to activate and reactivate the brain cells. The father has to be a think tank, he has to rack his brain and come out with life-saving solutions to the threatening challenges of his family.
Great fathers are always great thinkers. The family starts stinking when the father stops thinking. Without the use of the brain, no father will be able to make gain in life. The brain is the centre of thoughts, planning, strategising and management of affairs. It is the centre of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. A father should understand that he has the mind of Christ that must be put to use.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.  1 Corinthians 2: 16
Jesus, while on earth was never confused nor stranded when faced with challenges because, he did put his brain to use. He was faced with the challenge of insufficiency in the book of John chapter six but came out of it through positive thinking. As a father, you are not meant to be stranded. The father should use his brain to know what the family shtuld do and tackle the situation on ground per time..
Every great and faithful father will have to brain storm in order for his family to come out of every storm. He should be able to proffer solution that will bring hope to his family (especially his wife and children).
Many fathers are undermining their family success because they do not think. They have left the responsibility of thinking to their wives. The wives have their own responsibilities. As a father, do not’ let your wife do the thinking for you. Insult and insubordination will be on display in any family where the woman is the thinker while the man is the observer and the receiver.
Providing funds for the upkeep of the family does not excuse you from thinking! When such provision is devoid of thinking,  confusion and tension become inevitable.
Providing money is not enough; you must be a thinker as a father.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1: 18
God refused to drop the mantle of deliverance on Jesus until He became mature at the age of thirty.
Fathers who are not thinkers do unscrupulous things in the guise of pleasing members of the family, and they end up regretting their decisions. Fathers must think before they act, not act before they think. By thinking, all faithful fathers foresee and forestall consequences of their actions.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. Proverbs 22:3
A father must not preoccupy himself with frivolous and unprofitable thoughts. His thinking must be productive and channeled towards the advancement ofhis family vision.
Things A Father Should Think On:
Godly values
Inculcate Godly values to his family to render faithful and acceptable service to God.
The father should think of how his family will become very deep in God and completely sold out to Him.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
If you look at men like my mentor, David Oyedepo, and another great man of God, Kenneth Copeland, these are men who gave their families a solid foundation, and caused them to be rooted in God.
The first thing a father should do is to make the family focus on God.
He will think of Godly values; inculcate them into his wife and children as a lifestyle, that they live-with even when he is no more.
Abraham was a typical example of this attribute. He infused into the life of his family godly values, and God was pleased with him.
Expand his knowledge base and develop his mind.
He should think of how to develop his mind by reading good books on family and marnage.
He should think of developing his knowledge base so as to be informed about current trends, and not to be possessed with outdated information.
Define family vision
He should also think of making short and long term plans for the family:
Family planning
He should think of and determine the number of children he will have, considering his financial status and income.
Education
He should think of the kind of schools his children should attend; preferably the ones which school fees he can afford to pay with ease. He should not succumb to the wife’s extravagance knowing that he has the responsibility to ensure that all resources needed for his children’s education are provided .
Place to live in
He should think of the kind of house or apartment he should build or lease. The father should be content with what he has per time.
General requirement for the upkeep of the home
He should determine the kind of things to be used to run the home at every given time. Pressure is an indication that you are living above your size.
Highlights
The family starts’stinking when the father’stops thinking.
Fathers must think before they act, not act before they think.
The first thing a father should do is to make the family focus on God.
The Father: A Sensor Of Family Greatness (The Nose)
The nose is used for smelling; the father must possess high level of sensitivity, if the family must succeed. He (the father) discerns the state of things per time. A good father will smell his family as the smell of the field God has blessed. He should smell blessings.
And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of  my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Genesis 27:27
Isaac did not smell curses on his son Jacob; he smelled blessings. A good and faithful father will not smell failure and mediocrity on his children because of their present circumstance or situation.
God being their Creator knows the potential He has deposited in them; do not look down on them. Your ability to smell greatness in them makes you a real and faithful father.
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace. Galatians 1: 15
Apostle Paul despite his arrogance and how he tormented the Christians, never knew who he was until he encountered Christ. It is almost certain that Paul far exceeded the expectations of people, even his father.
What we discern about our children is what they automatically and ultimately become. Let good things about your family be your greatest delight. Avoid smelling smallness, crisis, failure, divorce, etc. whatever you expect is what you get (Proverbs 23: 18). Smell pleasantness in the place of unpleasantness.
Do not lay down curses on your spouse and children for their misconduct. Do not predict evil for them.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29: 11
God’s thoughts for you are for good; let your thoughts for your family be for good.
How To Smell Greatness In Your Family
See them as God sees them
Look at each member of the family with the eye of scripture. See them the way God sees them.
Smell greatness from their potentials
Develop their potentials instead of tormenting them for their deficiencies.
Correct them with patience and politeness
Patiently correct them; believe that maturity and change may take time. If God is patient with you, you must be patient with your family.
Pray for them
… men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 18:1
Pray greatness into their lives and work at it until that greatness emerges.
Do not write them off
Do not write off any member of your family when God has not written them off.
See headship in them
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.  Jeremiah 1: 11
Smell headship in them. consider them as being above their peers.
Reminisce on your past
Consider who you were before and how God patiently built you up to the level you are now. Consider the fact that if God made it happen for you He can also make it happen for your family members.
Be futuristic
Remember the fact that those who are “manger” children today may become lords and kingdom attractions tomorrow, children of low status can become great.
Look at them as God’s perfect creatures
Remember that only the maker of a product can conclude that the product cannot be refurbished. No matter how badly damaged a  product is, if the manufacturer says he can fix it, just believe and wait for him to fix it. God is Sale Manufacturer of mankind and there is nobody He cannot fix for good.
See their usefulness to you and society
Understand that everything created by G od is useful Even the waste from human beings is used as manure to grow crops.
It is what you perceive and believe that you receive about your family. Despite your child’s misbehaviour always look at what he or she carries on the inside.
Ibieyomie is the General Overseer of Salvation Ministries.

David Ibiyeomie

L-R: Imam of Apo Mosque, Sheik Muhammed Khalid, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Dirctor-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Mike Omeri, Primate of Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Nicholas Okoh and Executive Secretary, Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr John-Kennedy Opara, at the NOA’s conversation with religious leaders in Abuja, recently

And God said, let us make man in our own image,  likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Introduction:
The story of the Creation
of Man as contained in the Bible, continues to invoke thoughts among both the learned and unlearned in the society, and while some schools of thought accept the story hook line and sinker, others do not. The result of this divide has led to heated arguments, and thought provoking emotional debates from both sides. This is quite understandable due to the different orientations and religious backgrounds of the individuals or groups involved, and the heterogeneous nature of the society; thus bringing about a conflict of “Knowledge”. As a result, various theories have been propounded by intellectuals concerning the creation of Man; foremost
of which, is the Theory of Evolution as postulated by Charles Darwin. This theory posits that man has gradually evolved from a unicellular to a multicellular organism by means of natural and sexual selection. The Theory of Evolution, is an attempt
to negate the Bible story of the Creation of Man, with emphasis that man was not created, but has undergone a process of evolution, leading to the logical conclusion that man is not a direct creation of God as contained in the Bible. We are therefore confronted with two main viewpoints; the Religious and the Scientific.
The question is, which of these two views is correct; religion or science. It is this dicey situation that has prompted me to offer enlightenment on the subject matter. In truth, both Religion and Science are correct in their different perspectives. This is because while religion explains the creation story from a spiritual perspective, science makes its explanations from a physical
perspective. Thus, even though both explanations are correct, they cannot be the same.
The essence of this article is to harmonize the viewpoints of both Religion and Science, using the Laws of Creation as a foundation for all explanations.
In order to achieve our aim, we must first establish the fact that the Bible records Spiritual Happenings, while Science can only draw conclusions from physical occurrences. In other words, the account from the Bible is based on what can be seen with the spiritual eyes, 18
While religion explains the creation story from a spiritual perspective, science makes its expalanations from a physical perspective.  Thus, even though both explanations are correct, they cannot be the same.
All the accounts in the Bible are correct, and there is no contradiction, except in places where humans have supplemented what has been seen spiritually, with their intellectual knowledge. For example, the Bible when speaking about the creation of man, does not refer to man on earth alone, but to all Spiritual Beings, including man. The writers of the Bible, being guided by their intuition – which is  limited to time and space – were able to link up with the main power strearr and absorb as much as was possible for them given their maturity and spiritual development. Specific landmarks were given whenever there was a need for it. The domain of Divinity is widely different from the Spiritual.and the Spiritual also different from that of the Physical World of  Matter. In the order of hierarchy, Divinity is higher than Spirituality, and Spirituality, is also higher than the Physical World. And all this is duly represented in the story of the Creation of Man. Thus we have in Genesis 1:26-27 the following:
And God said, let us make Man in our own image, after our likeness: And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God created He  him; male and female created He them.     From the above reference, we are confronted with the following;
1. The Creation of Man was not a unilateral decision by God.
2 A wide consultation was made by God with other  persons who are part of His cabinet.
3. The form of Man i.e. what he should look like, was  jointly agreed between God and His cabinet members  whoever they may be.
4.       Man on earth is a likeness of the image of God.  In other words, Man is not an image of          God, but only a likeness of those who took after His image.
5.  From the beginning of Creation, God created Man and Woman together.  The implication of this statement is that man was not created before the woman.  They were both created male and female at the same time.
However, the Creation of Man takes a different dimension in Genesis 2:7 which records thus:
Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it.  He breath into his nostrils and the man begin to live.
Again looking at the reference above, the Creation of Man is not similar to the first. This time.
1.Man was created alone, without a woman.
2.The Lord God had to personally come down to earth to gather the dust of the ground as his raw material for the creation of Man.
3.The molded form was not living until God breathed into his nostrils.
We certainly would agree to the fact that these were not the features of what we saw in Genesis1:26-27.
Nevertheless, a third reference from Genesis 2:18-23 read thus;
The Lord God said, it is not good for Man to live alone, I will give him a suitable companion to help him.  Then the Lord God made the man fall into deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of his ribs and closed up the flesh. He formed a Woman out of the rib and brought her to him.  Then He said, at last, here is one of my kind-bone taken from my bone and flesh from my flesh.  Woman is her name because she was taken out of Man.
From the passage above, the following are obvious;
1.God had an afterthought that Man needed a companion in the person of a woman
2.God was short of raw material after creating man and so He had to put man into a deep sleep in order to take a rib from him to make woman.
3.This time God created man before creating woman, suggesting that they were not created at the same time.
Obviously, any unbiased reader would certainly say that the writers of the Bible are a bunch of confused human beings, and would conclude that the Bible is inconsistent and inaccurate.  However, if such a person is privileged to know where the writers were coming from, he will bow in shame at his lack of knowledge, and would immediately recognize that they were not out of their minds.  They gave to humanity accurate and very consistent spiritual accounts as best as they could, in view of the spiritual maturity of man at that time.  The problem of accuracy and consistency seems to be prevalent because man wants to measure spiritual matters by intellectual standards.  We must recognize that the Bible is a spiritual work and we can only understand its content with the intuitional brain, and not with the intellectual brain.
God Put Man into a Deep Sleep (Genesis 2:18-23).
The putting of man into a deep sleep as represented in the passage, does not refer to man on earth  but speaks of a Divine and spiritual happening today, through the Grail Message “In the light of truth”, we are permitted to know that the Divine Beings bear both positive and negative forms together, meaning they are neither male nor female.  They radiate the living cross of Truth from within them as an expression of Unity – completeness.  For this reason, they wear pinions expressing their lightness, in absolute loyalty to God the Father and selfless service, without a will of their own, but only swinging in the will of their Lord and King.  This being the case, we cannot  talk about, male and female beings in the Divine realm.

Apollos D. Dikibo

How should the people of God use the spiritual weapons of prayer and faith to pull down the strongholds of pride and other evils in the lives of corrupt political and church leaders? First, Christians need to believe that God will answer such prayers because he has commanded them to prayer this way. This will enable them to pray strong prayers of faith which will have the effect of moving mountains of problems (Mk. 11:22-24). Their prayers should be based on the promises and commandments of the word of God (another spiritual weapon). Such prayers will be used by God to cause His will to be done in that government. This is exactly what God wants to accomplish through the prayers of his people.

Jesus taught his disciple to pray, ‘your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Mt. 6:10). Why would Christians be taught to pray for God’s will to be done on earth if it was not God’s intention to answer such prayers? Christians should therefore pray something such as the following for their government: ‘God, cause your will to be done through this government as it is done in heaven – whatever it takes to make that happen’. It is so important that we pray for government leaders and official that God does not leave it up to us to think of this. He commands us to do it (Tim. 2:1-2). What would happen in a country if the people of every local church in that country were to devote one whole day each month to fasting and prayer for their government official? It is hard to predict exactly what would happen, but it is unquestionable that something very good for the people of that country would take place. Concerning prayer, the apostle James tells us, ‘you do not receive, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motive, that you may spend what you get on your pleasure’ (Jas. 4:2-3). The point is this. If the people of God learned to pray for the right things, with the right motives, they would see God do unbelievable things in response to their prayers. One of the great secrets of the Bible which the devil does not want Christians to understand is that God really will cause His will to be done on earth in response to their prayers.

As an example of this, God has commanded us to make disciple of all nations (Mt. 28:19) This commandment shows us one part of the will of God. But to make disciples, people must go to other people with the gospel. Hence we are commanded by Christ to pray for people to do this. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (Matthew 9:37-38). If we will obediently pray for such workers, God will raise up people to carry out the great commission and this part of God’s will can be done.         In another example, God had already revealed through the prophet Jeremiah that the Hebrew people would return from Babylonian captivity 70 years after their captivity had begun (Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10). Yet, when the time of captivity came to an end, God moved the man Daniel to pray that the Hebrews would indeed be restored to the holy city of Jerusalem (Dan. 9:2-3). In other words, God caused His will to be done in response to prayer even though God had already said that it would be done.

How do we discover God’s will in other matters so that we will know how to pray for the will of God to be done?  By reading the word of God. The Bible reveals the will of God to us for every part of life. The Bible will not give us an answer to every specific question we may have such as, should I travel to such – and – such a city today? Instead, the Bible gives us principles and examples through stories of how the will of God applies to different parts of life. By following these principles and the examples of godly peoples, we will understand the will of God. In this way we will know how to pray about most situations. Even when we don’t know how to pray for a particular situation we have the following amazing promise from God. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, put the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Rom. 8:26-27)

It is the clearly revealed will of God that Christians should pray for their leaders. If we will pray for them, we can have faith that God will answer our prayers (1Jn. 5:14-15). If we will obediently pray for government and church leaders as we are commanded to do and if our hearts are free from known sin when we pray (Isa. 59:1-2), God will do something to answer our prayers in spite of how corrupt such leader may be. He may change the hearts or attitudes of such leaders, or he may bring judgment upon them for their evil doing, or he may remove them completely, but he will respond to our prayers in some way because he has promised to do so (Jn. 15:7; 16:23-24). As much as possible, it is helpful to be specific when praying for government or church leaders. It is good to pray that they will be effective leaders. It is even better to pray that they will be given the wisdom of God and the willingness to act on this wisdom, in order to care for the specific needs and problems in their administration. African governments have enormous problems in matters such as poverty, inadequate health care, unemployment, injustice and other things. In response to prayer, God can give leaders the wisdom to known how to deal with such problem and, most important, the will to act in the right way. Leaders often know what to do but they do not have the will to do it because of their sinful desires. The Holy Spirit can give them the motivation to do what is right in response to the church’s prayers. The Bible says, ‘for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose’ (Phil. 2:13).

In one African country recently, earnest prayer was made to God for the government to find a way to ease the problem of unemployment. After a few weeks, the government came out with an unusual policy which encouraged wealthy nationals who had left the country to return for the purpose of making investment and setting up new business. The policy offered such attractive financial advantages to do this that many nationals who had left the country began to return to set up businesses. This in turn had left effect of creating jobs for people and easing the burden of unemployment and poverty. It is also good to ask God to restrain government and church officials from evil tendencies and corrupt practices and, if necessary, to punish them if they persist in their evil doing. If we fail to pray as we have been commanded, we will only have ourselves to blame for increasingly evil and oppressive practices by such officials. When we do pray for government officials, God choose to answer our prayers in a way we did not expect. We may, however, pray with confidence that God will answer in his way and in his own time, since we are praying according to the specific command of Scripture.

In the case of corrupt church leaders, it may be necessary and right at certain times for church members to join together and remove such leaders if they refuse to repent of their corrupt practices. Leaders in the church of Jesus Christ are appointed by God to be servants, not to be kings. The apostle Peter wrote the following words to church leaders, “Be shepherds of God flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but being examples to the flock.” (1Pet. 5:2-3). When church leaders begin to use their position for selfish purposes rather than for serving God’s people, such leaders need to be disciplined or removed. The church should not tolerate corrupt church leadership.