‎Senior Advocate Oluwemimo Ogunde urges Christians to embrace diligence‎

• ‎Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oluwemimo Ogunde, has warned that casual Bible reading leaves Christians unprepared for the day of trouble, according to the sermon witnessed by Confiance News.
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• ‎He told worshippers that no career, not even law, can thrive without God
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• ‎He also admitted that a failed receipt scam and a costly watch taught him lessons about integrity and pride.
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‎Ogunde calls for a shift from negligence to diligence
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‎Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oluwemimo Ogunde, has urged Christians to abandon casual faith and embrace disciplined study of the Scriptures. He made the call on Sunday at The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Region 68, Solidrock Parish, Ojodu, Lagos, according to sermon notes obtained by Confiance News.
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‎Ministering from Psalm 119:116 and Psalm 119:133, he prayed that believers would not be ashamed on the day of trouble. He asked that their hope rest on a solid rock rather than on a spider’s web or sand. He added that although indwelling sin remains in every believer, it must never have dominion.
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‎Lessons from a failed receipt scam
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‎To illustrate his point, Ogunde recounted a personal story from his school days. According to the notes, he padded his school fees by adding 3 naira to the original 14 naira and handed his aunt an altered receipt.
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‎His aunt, however, was not fooled. She remarked that the figure looked like 11 and told him he did not even know how to lie. Weeks later, she borrowed the same 3 naira from him and never repaid it. As a result, the scheme collapsed, and he resolved never to steal again.
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‎He added that Satan often tempts people to sin on a large scale. In the case of adultery, he said, he was caught within minutes of taking a girlfriend out in his car, when his wife’s friend saw him and reported to his wife.
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‎Two kinds of Christians
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‎Ogunde further classified Christians into two groups. The first, he said, are mere churchgoers who are negligent and casual. They read the Bible over a cup of coffee, or only on a flight, and shelve it for months afterwards.
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‎By contrast, he defined diligence as the persistent and energetic application of effort in studying the word. He also advised believers to stick with the King James Version, which he said forces readers to slow down.
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‎What the scriptures say about diligence
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‎The sermon’s central message finds strong backing in the passages tied to its theme, as sighted by Confiance News in the notes. In 2 Peter 1:11-15, the apostle promises an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. He also declares that he will not be negligent in reminding believers of these truths, even though they already know them. Notably, the language mirrors the sermon’s call to move from negligence to diligence.
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‎Similarly, 1 Timothy 4:15 urges believers to meditate on spiritual things and give themselves wholly to them, so that their progress is evident to all. Likewise, 2 Timothy 2:15 calls on Christians to study to show themselves approved to God, as workmen who have no need to be ashamed. This echoes the opening prayer from Psalm 119:116, in which Ogunde asked not to be ashamed on the day of trouble.
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‎Finally, Ephesians 4:6 affirms that there is one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all and in all. In other words, the God believers serve is present in every area of their lives, including their careers, which was the point Ogunde made about his own legal practice.
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‎Why professionals need God
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‎Turning to the workplace, the senior lawyer said success in any career depends on God. He disclosed that his law firm is nicknamed “ICU Law Firm,” because clients come to it after exhausting all other channels of justice.
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‎He also said he consults God on decisions such as whether to bill a client. “Without the Lord, I can’t get any money from legal practice,” he reportedly said. He cautioned that some businesses, such as betting, make it difficult to please God.
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‎A costly watch and a lesson in humility
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‎Ogunde also shared that he once bought an expensive wristwatch abroad, only for it to develop a fault in under a month. The store refused free repairs because he had not completed the warranty form. At that point, he said, he realised he had been showy and arrogant, and he sensed God telling him the money was not given for display.
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‎Strive like an athlete
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‎Finally, citing Luke 13:24, he urged Christians to strive to enter the kingdom of heaven, likening believers to athletes, soldiers and labourers. He also observed that the more money people make, the less charitable they tend to become.
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