INFiNiTY drops New Album

The Infinity band is back again with a sequel to the Olori Oke album. It is titled “7 LAWS OF INFINITY”!

The album was released on May 29th, 2011, and is available at all Mr. Biggs outlets in Nigeria, Total Bonjour filling stations in Lagos, Hub Media (The Palms) & your neighbourhood stores (all in Nigeria).

Fans in diaspora have access to downloads from iTunes, Amazon.com, Emusic, iLike, Spotify, MySpace music, Media Net, Zune, Rhapsody, Nokia and Napster.

INFINITY guys want to say a big thank you to all their fans for the overwhelming support they’ve been shown in the past.

I trust GMET MUSIC Head, Gideon to justice to the tracks on this album in his Message in the Beatcolumn right here on Gospel Metropolitan (watch out for Message in the Beat every friday evenings).

Just in case you have a hard time recalling who they are .. here is a track from their old album:

In Pursuit Of Understanding

Pens, notes, books and lectures!

During my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, there were definitely those times when I spent hours trying to assimilate lecture notes and text books.  Eventually, they began to make meaning over time.  I’m sure most would agree that assimilation comes mostly by successive study.  I often found myself studying the same lecture notes and books over and over again until comprehension finally became the state of mind.  I realised this principle could be applied to the word of God.

It’s never a mere occurrence or coincidence you picked your Bible to read, your spirit must have led you to it one way or the other.  It’s always refreshing going through the word of God, after all it strengthens one’s faith and guides our thoughts towards God.  Countless of times when I read my Bible, I realized upon the final verse that many of the sentences I had read where a bit unclear.  But alas! I have already put my Bible away feeling justified that I read the Bible that day.  Truthfully speaking, that had no effect in my Christian life and probably didn’t fulfil the purpose of studying the word of God.

The purpose of the word of God is not new to anyone although understanding is a yardstick which can be used to measure the effectiveness of our study and meditation on the word of God.  Just like our academic materials which required successive study, the Bible must be understood in order for it to have meaning, take up a substantial part of our knowledge and begin to trickle into our experience in the course of our Christian walk.

The present age has provided many materials that can guide us in understanding the scriptures.  These include various Biblical translations, concordances, messages, devotionals etc.  The greatest guide is the Holy Spirit who has the ability to guide and direct us in the course of our Biblical study.  All these put together with a desire for interest and understanding of the word of God wouldn’t only acquire you Biblical knowledge but would begin to have an effect in your Christian life.

The Spirit, the Oil, the difference!

There is a word for every season, and this word is one in season for someone today.

I woke up this morning to read a part of the story of David.

Although Jesus is my role model and the one after whom I pattern my life, I relate strongly to David as well. Despite David’s sins (e.g. killing of Uriah & wife-snatching), God still tagged him a man after His heart – and that displays in clear terms to me, how truly forgiving and merciful the God we serve is.

1Sam16:13 – So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took a flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord  came powerfully on David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. 

This Oil (that brought down the Holy Spirit) on David’s head made a great impact in his life. Let’s check out what the Oil of the Spirit can do for you even in your life today – using David’s prototype.

After the oil came upon his head:

1. God created a job vacancy for David in the palace. Vs 14-16 

Have you been jobless for so long despite your numerous certificates. Every time you get a response from an application, the first line is, “we are sorry to inform you…“. Listen, God has not started with you yet. God through his Spirit can turn things around beyond your wildest imagination, if you will only key into source. The passage says about King Saul, “… and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Some of Saul’s servant said to him ‘a tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit trouble you.”

David needed to be introduced to the palace in order to fulfil his destiny of becoming king – so God made a way in where there was no way.

2. David gained unmerited favour. People he didn’t know tendered and amplified his C.V.

V. 18 “One of the servants told Saul, ‘one of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that – he is a brave warrior, a man of war and has good judgement. He is also a fine looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”

When you have the Spirit of God at work in you, you will find favour before God and man. God used the servants to create a vacancy, and fill it up without any call for applications or interviews.  Men will speak greatly and highly of you even in your absence in Jesus name.

3. The King loved David: Kings will LOVE you. 

Vs. 21-22 “So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul Loved David very much, and David became his armour bearer. Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, ‘please let David remain in my service, for  I am very pleased with him.”

Do you know what it means for a king to love you? I will leave that to your imagination.

Let me end on this note, faith without works is dead, and only a man that is diligent in what he does will stand before Kings. If you expect the Spirit of God to act in isolation of your earthly responsibilites – you will be kidding yourself. God can only bless the works of your hands – what is in your hand? Zero multiplied by Zero equals a resounding & fantastic Zero.

David knew how to play the harp, he was physically trained for battle by fighting off animals when keeping the sheep in the pasture. What are your talents, what can you do? Only then will the Spirit and the Oil make the difference.

 

This is Gospel Metropolitan!

 

SUNDAY FICTION: Waves of Shame

Like a mass choir, the congregation breathed deeply and sang the last amen of the service. Church was over. Bags were hastily packed and phones whipped out for the all important texting, calling and even picture taking. Names travelled from one wall to the other as people called each other blindly searching for friends and family in the crowd.

Funmi however was immune to this. Her goal was the double doors streaming in golden light from the resting sun.

‘Funmi! Funmi!’ her name travelled from different parts of the church but she wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t explain this sudden desire that washed over her but she had to satisfy it. It was a source of energy that defiled all the laws of nature: the more she fed on it, the more it increased.

‘Funmi! Today was powerful! That song really spoke to me.’

‘Thank you sir!’ She knelt in gratitude as was customary.

‘God will continue to use that voice as a tool for his glory.’ The pastor shook her hand again and walked away. She didn’t even bother to say amen.

Reaching her goal, she ran to her car and hastily drove off. Her actions were hurried and jerky like a child who had consumed too much coffee for the first time. Halfway home, he came in and she physically kissed her teeth. He wouldn’t say anything – she could read it all in the bloodshot eyes reflected in her windshield mirror. She heard the whips tear the taut flesh tear out like cardboard but she wouldn’t let him guilt her. She kissed her teeth again and ignored him as she sank deeper into her desire. By the time she got home, the bloodshot eyes weren’t reflected on her mirror anymore.

Shutting the house door behind her, the presence of evil made itself known. Sure there were no red flames or lightning but it whispered sweetly and urgently the way it does when sin becomes one’s god. He showed up again still refusing to say anything but simply staring at her with blood leaking out his skin.

Death v. Life.

Source: http://nees.oregonstate.edu/killer_wave/wave.jpg

Funmi chose death and switched on her laptop, her shame already drowning her as she sailed the boat of lustful desire. She typed in the first letter and the website shot up, as if basking in the attention this child of God paid it. Her eyes malnourished her soul, mind and body with images of sexual immorality and as if not enough, the angels of death massed and began singing with pure joy driving Funmi to the peak of her lust. A scene of false intensity!

Moments later, her desire satiated, her boat capsized and she fought against the tides of guilt and shame. Again, he appeared and offered to save her. He stretched his hands to her and she reached out in relief until she saw the holes – a testament to his pain and his heartbreak. She chose to drown and the waves swallowed her. Such delight in hell!

*****

When the church talks about sexual immorality, it tends to focus on fornication and adultery but it misses the other sins ruining the destiny of so much of our youth these days: pornography and masturbation. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (I Corinthian 6:18) Of course, the only way to flee from sexual immorality is by clinging to God and living in the spirit and not the flesh. Even though the world gives reasons why it is acceptable to commit sexual immorality, we must remember that it is only the Devil’s lie. We have to overcome the Devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimonies.

Message in the Beat III

It is common knowledge that the UK’s gospel music industry is not as popular as its US’ counterpart. The reasons for this will form the topic of another day’s discussion.

On my video selection today I have decided to feature a UK born and breed video by Victizzle  called “iSing” Ft. Utter Once & Muyiwa

These guys have taken a genre of music which has a negative image in the UK and is usually associated with stuffs like gang violence etc., and turned it around; thereby projecting grime in a positive way.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, ‘Grime’ is a music genre that was born in East London, and maybe only makes sense in East London. It is a bastard blend of street English, Jamaican dancehall reggae and two kinds of rave music: (1) drum ’n’ bass, an electronic party monster built from breakbeats, or loops fashioned from the percussive “breakdown” sections of other songs; (2) a U.K. delicacy called garage, which rhymes with carriage and feels like R&B running a fever. The sum is a fast clatter of syncopated claps, alien chirps and machine bursts.

Grime vocalists resemble turbo-charged rappers,(lol) racing to match backing tracks that thump about 130 times per minute — near your target heart rate for vigorous physical activity. This feels like going 2 the gym for me (Just thinking)

What Victizzle has done here is to merge “makosa” beat with “grime”, which I think is kinda innovative. This is a motivational song with great dance beats for Christian birthday parties, wedding receptions etc.; definitely not for choir ministration. lol

Now, I was in a music workshop some years ago, we asked a question whether there was anything like gospel beat or secular beat. The answer was that there is no such thing as a secular beat, what matters is what the lyrics represent and if they give glory to God or not.

I agree with the presenter at the workshop however, with a slight qualification, that there are some music progressions that are “too notoriously tied to certain un-edifying songs,” the even though the lyrics you apply to it subsequently is RIGHT, because of the knowledge of the previous lyrics, it might be really hard to pass the right message across.

Having said that, I must commend the efforts of Victizzle in trying to use this beat as a bait to win young street guys/girls into Christianity. This is “eating with tax collectors’” but making sure you are not becoming a “tax collector” yourself. Jesus never became one!

My favourite part of the lyrics is

“See I gotta’ make moves in my life
Lord I’m all yours make moves in my life
My skin colour, that’s no excuse
Coz’ the blacker the berry, the sweet the juice”

The message is clear; no room for excuses with God we can make it to the top! Race, colour and even location are immaterial.

Against the background of what the youths of our generation have become, I think this is really a great effort to stay decent in a video. Enjoy your weekend guys.

NB

In other unrelated news, I congratulate my brothers and sisters in RCCG JCC Coventry because of what God has done and is doing in our midst! Love you all.