The Pneuma

The three of them decided against
 joining the MMM scheme that year. 
It was like the Covid-19 virus. 
It started with a few people and 
spread like wildfire all over the country. 
People kept testifying of how much 
they made and how it has helped them 
economically! 
His elder sister called him and said her 
boss in the office had collected her 
account number and joined the scheme 
on her behalf! 
Her boss saw that she was skeptical and 
was bold enough to use his own money 
to register her for the scheme and even 
invested some money for her! 
Wow! 
He was not so easily moved. 
Some years before then, when a ponzi 
scheme termed “wonder banks” took 
over the nation, he was one of those 
who didn’t join despite being broke 
and needy at the time. 
He just wasn’t convinced God would 
choose to bless him that way. 
Many laughed at him at the time. 
His babe at the time did the scheme 
called “pennywise” and made some 
money with which she paid her school 
fees 
(They were both undergraduates at the 
time but in different schools)
 He refused! 
He was mocked for not being smart 
enough to make hay while the sun 
was shinning! 
His brother eventually went into the 
scheme after praying and fasting. 
The scheme busted as soon as his 
brother paid 10k to join. 
The prayer and fasting didn’t stop the 
money from going down the drain!
 He learned a big lesson from the 
Wonder banks era! 
He knew the MMM scheme would 
bust too!
He was working with a church when 
the MMM madness came in like a flood. 
Pastors bought into it. 
They shamelessly printed posters, banners 
and flyers
They even made it a sermon topic on Sundays! 
Their church members bought into it. 
They were convinced it would never fail! 
When he saw all the respected pastors 
doing it, he decided he would join too. 
They must have seen something or heard 
something from the Holy Spirit. 
All the pastors cannot be wrong! 
When he got to the office the next day, 
the other two came to him! 
They had both registered. 
One, a woman said she had already 
been paid her first cash out which was 
substantial! 
The other, a brother said he was convinced 
to join when he saw the cash out of the lady. 
Wow! 
He shouldn’t be the slacker! 
He told himself he had to join. 
He took some money and his account number! 
The Holy Spirit said No! 
He returned the money and kept quiet. 
Later that afternoon, another colleague 
came to his office and introduced the 
scheme to him. 
The colleague said ‘just give me your 
account number, I will deposit my money 
on your behalf!” 
The colleague was very sure of the outcome
He gave the colleague his account number, 
as the colleague walked away from his office! 
He lost his peace. 
He suddenly couldn’t breathe. 
It was as if the air in his lungs was being 
reduced and he was choking. 
He ran after the colleague and collected 
the paper on which he wrote
The account number immediately. 
No amount of money was worth his 
relationship with the Holy Spirit. 
The Holy Spirit required one to be 
simple and yielded. 
The moment you start struggling with him, 
he will just let you be. 
He couldn’t afford the long silence. 
No amount of money was worth losing 
his peace. 
The colleague was disappointed. 
The other two colleagues laughed and 
said “You are too straight jacketed, relax!” 
He smiled. 
From the moment he collected the 
sheet of paper back from his colleague, 
his breathing had normalized and his 
peace restored. 
He knew they wouldn’t understand...
That was how he pulled out of the MMM 
scheme 
Nobody could convince him to be a part 
of it after that day 
He killed that temptation forever
A month later, he got to the office on a 
Monday morning, he met the front desk 
officer in tears. 
The colleague that wanted to register
him had done the same for the front desk 
officer 
The front desk officer had seen the first 
cash out and invested her 500k life savings 
in the next batch! 
He paid the money in on her behalf but
 they didn’t get any returns. 
The whole scheme had crashed! 
The front desk officer had played it safe 
by giving the money to him. 
Now she was insisting that the crash was 
not her business, he must refund her 500k. 
He had lost almost two million Naira too 
and so had all the other who invested in 
the scheme. 
Everybody took the loss with gritted teeth 
except the Front Desk officer 
She insisted it wasn’t her loss despite all 
the attempt to explain to her that if the 
expected cash out had come she would 
have insisted on keeping it all. 
They brought the case to him! 
He was the only one who was not involved 
in the scheme, he told the front desk
officer she had to bear the loss. 
That day was the quietest day at the office 
Pastors walked into their offices with 
droopy heads 
Phones kept ringing 
“Investors, brokers and agents” kept 
trying to explain what had happened
 and how it happened and all! 
The bottom line was simple
Nobody knew when to walk away 
and they were all caught in the mousetrap! 
Money was lost and so was reputation 
Many pastors continued to pay debts 
for several months in order to clear 
their names 
Elijah had closed the heavens just before 
the rain and nobody could find him!
All the senior pastors were shocked 
that he didn’t participate! 
During the prayer meeting the next day, 
they mentioned it 
“How were you able to cope with all the 
pressure from friends and loved ones? 
It was the pressure that made us join! 
How did you do it?” 
He just smiled!
The Holy Spirit was not an idea or 
a voice to Him 
The Holy Spirit was so real that there 
was no way he could go contrary to the 
Holy Spirit and have any peace. 
He would just be restless and unsettled. 
He had come to discover that the 
Holy Spirit was not like that with 
most people
His sister also lost some money, 
practically everybody did. 
It was not because they were foolish 
or greedy It was an opportunity to 
make some quick cash, but they were 
all carried away by sight at the expense 
of the Spirit! 
Even if they cashed out in time, 
it wouldn’t be worth it overall! 
The Holy Spirit tests our sensitivity and 
obedience in many ways. 
The more we yield to him the louder 
his voice gets and the more sensitive 
we are to his leading. 
The more we do our will despite his leading, 
the more insensitive we become to him 
and more his voice fades away from our heart. 
The Holy Spirit does not do logic or 
right or wrong! 
He does Christ! 
He would only guide you in the 
direction of the Kingdom of Christ in 
all your endeavors 
His job was to keep you from falling 
and to present you faultless before
 the presence of his glory with 
exceeding joy! 
He is not someone you consult only 
when you want to make major decisions 
or when you are at a crossroad 
He is your eternal companion, 
The landlord of your spirit and 
The one to whom you committed the 
rulership of your life when you gave 
your life to Christ
He lives in you Stir Him up today 
Fellowship with him 
Listen to him 
Yield to him 
Do not lean on your own understanding 
Communicate with him 
Be intentional about your relationship with Him 
He is the seal of Christ on you as a believer 
He is the best thing that ever happened to me!