Rev. Dr. Isaiah Okanlawon is proving the truth of Jesus’ Parable of the Sower as his faithful life continues to bring in a more than hundredfold harvest.
Praise God!

Sowing Seed In Rich Soil:
IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
ISAIAH OKANLAWON, D.MIN

SOWING SEED MAY SEEM A HUMBLE TASK

Matthew 13:8 ESV
Other seed fell on good soil
and produced grain,
some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty.

Just sowing seed may seem a humble task
out in the fields on a sunny day
while others are sipping lemonade
as they choose an easy game to play.

And then there’s this problem; some seed
may fall and die on hardened ground,
others might land among the stones,
and still others among the thorns.

Still, here is this Good News, praise the Lord!
Some seeds will land on good soil, sound,
and yield a crop abundant and rich,
some thirty, sixty, a hundred fold.

So sowing may seem a thankless task,
leaving to chance the fate of the seed,
but in the end the harvest is sure
with faithful workers richly blessed.

And the Kingdom of God on earth
grows and grows and grows
as redeemed souls go to the fields
and join God’s harvesting force.

Baptist High School Students spend six years exploring all that God has for their future in finding Jesus as Savior and in discovering the calling He has for their lives.

Baptist High School states it’s mission this way: To serve and glorify God through the provision of Christian education in order to produce Christ-dominated, highly intellectual servant-leaders who can take the light and life and hope of Jesus Christ to Nigeria, Africa and the world.  Having operated since 1961, several thousand students have gone out into the world to fulfill this worthy Gospel-centric goal. This week I want to focus on one of those students who has, like so many other through the years, proved to have rich and fertile soil in his soul, so that God is reaping through him and his faithfulness, much more than a hundred fold harvest. Praise the Lord!

Isaiah Okanlawon moved with his parents from Mubi to Jos in 1970. There he had the opportunity to attend Baptist High School. During his second year in the school he gave his life to Christ. He then had the privilege of joining the first discipleship group led by Rev. Philip Wilson. Isaiah also became one of the original Torchbearers drama group, and shared with his fellow members through dramas and skits the Gospel in many different settings. As an excellent and exemplary  student, he was selected by the BHS staff to serve as the Games Prefect, the student leader responsible for working under the P.E. Teacher to supervise all students in their daily sports time. No doubt, Isaiah’s heart and mind were already open to God’s planting Gospel Seed deep in his life to produce a bountiful harvest.

Life at Baptist High School centers on the beautiful Chapel
and the powerful gospel-centered worship
and preaching students and staff experience there.

Isaiah then went on to attend the University of Ilorin, where he earned a B.Sc in Industrial Engineering. He also earned a Post Graduate Diploma and an M.Sc in Chemical Engineering at the University of Benin.. It was during this time that he met his wife, Foluke, at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife. They have been married now for 29 years, and have three children, one of whom is married. Later he earned an M.Div at the Nigerian Baptist Seminary and a D. Min at the Providence Theological Seminary in Manitoba, Canada.   After graduating from the University of Ilorin he began working in the petroleum industry. After beginning his career in Nigeria, h eventually moved to Canada to continue his engineering profession. During his university  and seminary studies God captivated his heart with a love for missions and spreading the Gospel throughout the world.

God has certainly blessed Isaiah and Foluke, his wife, with Toluwalogo, Fiyinfoluwa, and Fopefolua, along with their daughter-in-law, Chidimma.

Isaiah is currently working as a consultant in the oil and gas industry, specifically  with a deep water well delivery project in off shore Nigeria as the Well Operations Superintendent. But he has been doing so much more than that. He has served as the Discipleship Ministry Coordinator for New Revelations Baptist Church in Ikeja, Lagos, Director of Worship for the Full Gospel Men’s Fellowship In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and as House Church Pastor of Divine Grace Baptist Church in Woji, Part Harcourt and has often led conferences on the central role of true worship in the Church.

Fifteen years ago Isaiah was inspired by God to found the Praise of His Glory Ministry (PHGM). He serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and as the International President. He oversees the activities of the organization in both Canada and the United States. He is also a bi-vocational minister who serves as a resource person related to worship and renewal with the Church. Whew! Such a busy man, being used mightily and widely for his training, his gifting, and most of all his zeal and love for the Lord. When you speak with him, you notice the urgency he senses deep in his heart for getting the Gospel where lack of resources have hindered people from hearing the Good News of Jesus.

His group supports more than 125 missionaries, most of them being indigenous African missionaries. They also provide educational opportunities for the children of these missionaries. They fund boreholes to provide clean water in remote communities in West Africa. They give assistance in building church buildings, school buildings and mission houses. They work with the Christian Refuge for Children Foundation in Jos, Nigeria. This refuge serves children who have lost at least one parent to terrorist groups in Nigeria. The PHGM pays the salary for the 37 staff and teachers at this crucial mnistsry. They also provide medical programs in communities where Christians are a small minority. They are obviously working in the Lord’s harvest field.

The PHGM group sponsors outreach to those
who have a desperate need for Gospel witness,

Isaiah’s message to us as believers is a challenge to us to make sure we are faithfully using the resources God has provided to support such work as his group is doing.  Such support enables laborers to enter the harvest field in difficult and remote places. In Isaiah’s life and ministry we see God’s Gospel plan coming full circle as his life is so much ALL ABOUT JESUS that we are seeing (Praise be to God!) much more than a hundred fold harvest of those seeds planted in the rich soil of his heart and soul so many years ago at Baptist High School, Jos.

This leaves us with this question: Since God’s people have planted so lovingly God’s seed in your heart; just how much of a harvest is the Lord seeing from you in His harvest fields?

www.praiseofhisglory.net

If you would like to know more about Isaiah’s group, the PHGM, you can go to their website: www.praiseofhisglory.net

Are you busy sowing seed in His fields?