By Isaiah Ogedegbe
It was indeed a memorable impartation service, on Wednesday evening of 18th February 2026, as Gihon City Bible Church, founded and led by Rev. Lawrence O. Agbirekomi, had the Day 2 of its first Anniversary Celebration with the theme: "Rehoboth." Ministering under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Otutu Flo continued from where he stopped the previous day but with yet another eye-opening message titled: "Your Destiny Is In Your Decision." Reading from Gen. 39:7-9 and Ruth 1:1-18, the Bishop highlighted that:
1. Bishop Otutu Flo began his message by saying that your destiny is a product of your personal decisions, which can either make or mar you. If you make a mistake in your decision, it will end your life in error. Your destiny is not coming from anywhere; your destiny is in your decisions, and is inextricably tied to the choices that you make everyday. What the devil often does is to push people to take the wrong decisions or make the wrong choices so that they can be trapped in a life of frustration and regret. That was how Naomi regretted leaving Bethlehem-judah for Moab, which later became a burial ground for her husband (Elimelech) and her two sons (Mahlon and Chilion). Today, there are still people like Elimelech who probably believe that success is distant. Such people may have run into wrong places, because they could not properly manage the systems of the place where they were. This explains the 'Japa' phenomenon in this nation, where a lot of youths leave the country for other destinations in search of greener pastures. On reaching there, they begin to experience an economic hardship worse than the one they left behind in their own country. Some of them may later return and make it big in the same country that they once ran away from. Such youths may later come to realize that success is not distant, and that God's hand of divine lifting does not stretch from abroad but from above.
2. Bishop Otutu Flo also elucidated that Bethlehem translates from Hebrew as "House of Bread," while Judah translates as "Praise." In other words, Elimelech left his House of Bread and Praise because of the circumstances around his life at that time. According to him, "There is no way the House of Bread will not gather bread." After losing her husband and her two sons, Naomi later heard that bread had finally returned to the House of Bread and Praise. The Bishop further revealed that many people have allowed their circumstances to influence their decisions. He warned that if people allow their circumstances to influence their decisions, it may put them in a tight corner where wrong decisions could be taken by them. The Bishop also alluded to Orpah and Ruth, who were both faced with the same circumstance of bereavement, sorrow, and pain. While Orpah allowed her excruciating experience to determine her decision of leaving her mother-in-law and returning to her own people, Ruth would have none of it. She seemed to have detected that there was a better tomorrow for her, if she could just follow Naomi to Bethlehem-judah. "Do not define your life based on your present situation," Bishop Otutu Flo admonished, "your decision today can give you a universal recognition tomorrow." By that singular decision to follow Naomi to Bethlehem-judah, Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David, and is a key maternal ancestress of Jesus Christ.
3. Bishop Otutu Flo also urged believers to beware of the 'Now or Never' syndrome, which means making it big by all means. If you genuinely follow God just as Ruth followed Naomi, there is an appointed time to experience a turnaround in your life (Ps. 30:5). When your season of manifestation comes, your story will definitely change for good. The Bishop also insisted that, "Do not allow the 'Now or Never' syndrome to give you a decision. Let all your decisions not be based on what you see today."
4. Bishop Otutu Flo also disclosed that keeping wrong friends can make people take the wrong decisions. Do not allow wrong people in your life to influence your decisions, because you will be the one to face the aftermath of your wrong decisions. Just be yourself when making decisions about your life, and be someone who knows what he or she is doing.
5. Bishop Otutu Flo also noted that lacking the knowledge of themselves can make people take the wrong decisions. According to him, "A man who does not know who he is will not know what he wants. You must daily define who you are, because the knowledge of who you are will determine what you want. When you truly know who you are, all your needs will be supplied according to who you are." The Bishop also noted that today many people still take the wrong decisions, because they do not know who they are. Such people may later face the aftermath of their wrong decisions tomorrow. The Bishop also urged believers to define themselves now and maintain their respective lanes, but they can only maintain their lanes when they truly know who they are.
6. Bishop Otutu Flo also stated that inability to bear hardness or endure hardship can make people take the wrong decisions. Do not take a decision based on the hardness of life, and your destiny will not be controlled by the atmosphere of life. Do not allow where you are today to dictate your decision. This is just a point of beginning for you; there is also a bright future, and a better tomorrow for you. If you can just see yourself as big, you will definitely become big. Think big and act big, because you are not made by God to be small.
7. Bishop Otutu Flo finally said that the fear of the unknown has stopped many people from stepping out in faith, and achieving all the wonderful things that God wants them to achieve in life. For this reason, some have stayed on one spot for a long time just like the children of Israel (Ex. 14:15). To Bishop Otutu Flo, greatness is not for people who continue to drag their feet in the valley of indecision or inaction; it is only for those who first defeat their fear, take a decision, and then make a move in that direction.
