Today’s message
Read and reflect
Recently, stories about condemned prisoners and executions have filled public conversations. Successful execution. Failed execution. Delayed execution. Appeals. Last-minute interventions.
Whatever our position on capital punishment, there is a disturbing sermon hiding inside these stories:
One day, every human being will have a case before Heaven.
Earthly courts can make mistakes. Witnesses can lie. Evidence can disappear. Lawyers can discover loopholes. Influential people can make telephone calls.
But unfortunately for the professional sinner, Heaven does not operate that way.
There is no missing case file before God.
No CCTV suddenly developed a “technical fault.”
No witness can be bribed.
No judge can be influenced.
No SAN can confuse the Court with legal technicalities.
And there is certainly no politician to call Jesus and say:
"Please, this person is our man. Kindly assist us."
Romans 2:16 says God will “judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.”
Not merely our public activities.
Our secrets.
That is where the matter becomes uncomfortable.
THE BĒMA: BELIEVERS WILL ALSO GIVE ACCOUNT
Paul declares:
«“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:10»
The Greek word is Bēma—the judgment seat.
For believers, this concerns evaluation and accountability before Christ. Salvation is by grace through faith, not purchased by good works (Ephesians 2:8–9). Yet our works, motives, stewardship and faithfulness will be examined (1 Corinthians 3:12–15).
So please delete this theology:
"Since I am born again, anything goes."
No sir.
Grace cancels condemnation; it does not cancel accountability.
Pastors will appear.
Prophets will appear.
Bishops will appear.
Professors will appear.
Church founders will appear.
And ordinary members will appear.
Imagine arriving before Christ and your protocol officer starts shouting:
"Please make way for His Most Distinguished, Highly Anointed, Internationally Recognised, Double-Doctor, Triple-Professor, Apostle-General…"
Heaven may simply reply:
“We know him. Let his works be examined.”
Your title can impress a conference chairman.
It cannot intimidate Christ.
THEN COMES THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
Revelation 20:11–15 presents another terrifying scene:
«“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened…”»
Notice the language:
SMALL AND GREAT.
Death has no VIP section.
Judgment has no diplomatic immunity.
Millionaire and labourer.
Celebrity and unknown villager.
President and gateman.
Professor and student.
Those whose funerals shut down entire cities and those buried by five people.
Small and great will stand before God.
Then another book appears:
THE BOOK OF LIFE.
Revelation 20:15 declares that whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Suddenly Christianity is no longer about who has the biggest auditorium.
The question becomes:
IS YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF LIFE?
HEAVEN HAS SOME VERY EMBARRASSING RECORDS
Ecclesiastes 12:14 says:
«“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing…”»
Every secret thing?
Ah!
That changes the atmosphere.
The transaction nobody discovered.
The affair carefully deleted from WhatsApp.
The person you destroyed while publicly calling them “my beloved brother.”
The offering money that mysteriously developed legs.
The false testimony.
The secret hatred.
The religious performance.
The Sunday holiness and Monday wickedness.
And equally, the sacrifice nobody appreciated, the righteousness nobody applauded, the tears nobody saw, and the good you did when cameras were absent.
Heaven keeps better records than human beings.
You may delete the message.
You may delete the picture.
You may even delete the account.
But repentance—not the delete button—is God's answer to sin.
THANK GOD, MERCY IS STILL AVAILABLE
Here is the beautiful part.
God is not presently shouting:
“You are finished!”
He is saying:
“REPENT AND COME HOME.”
Jesus died so that sinners could be forgiven and reconciled to God.
Consider the thief beside Christ.
The government had already condemned him. His execution was actually in progress.
Then he turned to Jesus.
Christ told him:
«“Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
— Luke 23:43»
His earthly sentence was not cancelled.
But his eternal destination changed.
That is grace.
Your yesterday may be terrible.
Your record may be embarrassing.
Your secret life may contradict your public Christianity.
But while there is life, genuine repentance is still possible.
THE PRISONER MAY KNOW HIS EXECUTION DATE—YOU DON'T
Perhaps this is the most sobering part.
A condemned prisoner may know the date fixed for execution.
You probably don't know yours.
We celebrate birthdays because we know the day we entered.
Nobody sends invitation cards announcing:
"Please join us as I officially depart this world next Thursday."
We make five-year plans while carrying a life that can end in five minutes.
We say:
"When I become old, I will serve God seriously."
Who signed your contract for old age?
Amos 4:12 therefore gives a frighteningly simple instruction:
«“Prepare to meet thy God.”»
Don't wait until the hospital becomes your church.
Don't wait until the doctor becomes your evangelist.
Don't wait until the oxygen cylinder becomes your prayer partner.
Repent now.
Forgive now.
Return what you stole.
Stop the secret wickedness.
Make peace where possible.
Receive Christ genuinely.
Live justly.
Love sincerely.
Serve faithfully.
Because eventually, the question will not be:
How many people knew your name?
It will be:
DID HEAVEN KNOW YOU AS CHRIST'S OWN?
Whatever our position on capital punishment, there is a disturbing sermon hiding inside these stories:
One day, every human being will have a case before Heaven.
Earthly courts can make mistakes. Witnesses can lie. Evidence can disappear. Lawyers can discover loopholes. Influential people can make telephone calls.
But unfortunately for the professional sinner, Heaven does not operate that way.
There is no missing case file before God.
No CCTV suddenly developed a “technical fault.”
No witness can be bribed.
No judge can be influenced.
No SAN can confuse the Court with legal technicalities.
And there is certainly no politician to call Jesus and say:
"Please, this person is our man. Kindly assist us."
Romans 2:16 says God will “judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.”
Not merely our public activities.
Our secrets.
That is where the matter becomes uncomfortable.
THE BĒMA: BELIEVERS WILL ALSO GIVE ACCOUNT
Paul declares:
«“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:10»
The Greek word is Bēma—the judgment seat.
For believers, this concerns evaluation and accountability before Christ. Salvation is by grace through faith, not purchased by good works (Ephesians 2:8–9). Yet our works, motives, stewardship and faithfulness will be examined (1 Corinthians 3:12–15).
So please delete this theology:
"Since I am born again, anything goes."
No sir.
Grace cancels condemnation; it does not cancel accountability.
Pastors will appear.
Prophets will appear.
Bishops will appear.
Professors will appear.
Church founders will appear.
And ordinary members will appear.
Imagine arriving before Christ and your protocol officer starts shouting:
"Please make way for His Most Distinguished, Highly Anointed, Internationally Recognised, Double-Doctor, Triple-Professor, Apostle-General…"
Heaven may simply reply:
“We know him. Let his works be examined.”
Your title can impress a conference chairman.
It cannot intimidate Christ.
THEN COMES THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
Revelation 20:11–15 presents another terrifying scene:
«“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened…”»
Notice the language:
SMALL AND GREAT.
Death has no VIP section.
Judgment has no diplomatic immunity.
Millionaire and labourer.
Celebrity and unknown villager.
President and gateman.
Professor and student.
Those whose funerals shut down entire cities and those buried by five people.
Small and great will stand before God.
Then another book appears:
THE BOOK OF LIFE.
Revelation 20:15 declares that whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Suddenly Christianity is no longer about who has the biggest auditorium.
The question becomes:
IS YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF LIFE?
HEAVEN HAS SOME VERY EMBARRASSING RECORDS
Ecclesiastes 12:14 says:
«“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing…”»
Every secret thing?
Ah!
That changes the atmosphere.
The transaction nobody discovered.
The affair carefully deleted from WhatsApp.
The person you destroyed while publicly calling them “my beloved brother.”
The offering money that mysteriously developed legs.
The false testimony.
The secret hatred.
The religious performance.
The Sunday holiness and Monday wickedness.
And equally, the sacrifice nobody appreciated, the righteousness nobody applauded, the tears nobody saw, and the good you did when cameras were absent.
Heaven keeps better records than human beings.
You may delete the message.
You may delete the picture.
You may even delete the account.
But repentance—not the delete button—is God's answer to sin.
THANK GOD, MERCY IS STILL AVAILABLE
Here is the beautiful part.
God is not presently shouting:
“You are finished!”
He is saying:
“REPENT AND COME HOME.”
Jesus died so that sinners could be forgiven and reconciled to God.
Consider the thief beside Christ.
The government had already condemned him. His execution was actually in progress.
Then he turned to Jesus.
Christ told him:
«“Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
— Luke 23:43»
His earthly sentence was not cancelled.
But his eternal destination changed.
That is grace.
Your yesterday may be terrible.
Your record may be embarrassing.
Your secret life may contradict your public Christianity.
But while there is life, genuine repentance is still possible.
THE PRISONER MAY KNOW HIS EXECUTION DATE—YOU DON'T
Perhaps this is the most sobering part.
A condemned prisoner may know the date fixed for execution.
You probably don't know yours.
We celebrate birthdays because we know the day we entered.
Nobody sends invitation cards announcing:
"Please join us as I officially depart this world next Thursday."
We make five-year plans while carrying a life that can end in five minutes.
We say:
"When I become old, I will serve God seriously."
Who signed your contract for old age?
Amos 4:12 therefore gives a frighteningly simple instruction:
«“Prepare to meet thy God.”»
Don't wait until the hospital becomes your church.
Don't wait until the doctor becomes your evangelist.
Don't wait until the oxygen cylinder becomes your prayer partner.
Repent now.
Forgive now.
Return what you stole.
Stop the secret wickedness.
Make peace where possible.
Receive Christ genuinely.
Live justly.
Love sincerely.
Serve faithfully.
Because eventually, the question will not be:
How many people knew your name?
It will be:
DID HEAVEN KNOW YOU AS CHRIST'S OWN?
Reflection
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
An earthly execution may be postponed. An appeal may succeed. A sentence may be commuted.
But do not build your eternity on the hope that somehow God's judgment will develop a technical problem.
The good news is that God has already provided mercy through Jesus Christ.
You do not need to be terrified of meeting God if you have genuinely surrendered to Christ—but you must not play games with eternity.
An earthly execution may be postponed. An appeal may succeed. A sentence may be commuted.
But do not build your eternity on the hope that somehow God's judgment will develop a technical problem.
The good news is that God has already provided mercy through Jesus Christ.
You do not need to be terrified of meeting God if you have genuinely surrendered to Christ—but you must not play games with eternity.
Prayer
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, search me beyond my religious appearance. Expose what I have successfully hidden from people but cannot hide from You. Grant me genuine repentance and cleanse me through Your grace. Help me to live justly, serve faithfully and remain ready for eternity. When my earthly journey ends, let me be found in Christ. Amen.
Your brother,
Prophet Dr. Abiodun Adesida
CAC Ibudo Ònà Àbáyọ̀
08058140045
Lord Jesus, search me beyond my religious appearance. Expose what I have successfully hidden from people but cannot hide from You. Grant me genuine repentance and cleanse me through Your grace. Help me to live justly, serve faithfully and remain ready for eternity. When my earthly journey ends, let me be found in Christ. Amen.
Your brother,
Prophet Dr. Abiodun Adesida
CAC Ibudo Ònà Àbáyọ̀
08058140045