Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The focus of my post today is on...I will build my Church.
Those words stuck to my heart and brought so much comfort as I taught about it, that I have wanted to share it with you. In fact, I have written this topic down for weeks now but just have not found the time to write down what poured into my heart from these words.
Some of us may attend churches in which we see the glaring faults or errors in their practices. Some believers have taken it upon themselves to criticize Churches on social media platforms( I do not encourage this practice as it has often given my agnostic boss enough ammunition to criticize Christianity in general). I do not think that you will find a Church, where you will never be offended or hurt or where there may not be some error or the other.
So many believers still have taken to social media to criticize Churches and ministers. Giving enough ammunition to the agnostics and atheists to criticize the church. Some others have been hurt by men in the church.
This state of affairs may have led some to become discouraged in their faith but no matter how bad the state of the church in which you attend may appear, Please note that if the church is actually founded on the revelation of who Jesus truly is, then know that he that founded the church can build it.
I have come to understand that no matter the problems that I find in the church today, that if the Church was founded on the foundation of who Jesus truly is, He will build His Church.
Friend the Church is not yours, it is His. He calls it his Church! So if you have ever set the wrong label on the Church by calling it yours, then you are very wrong. The Church does not belong to you.
Secondly,the will is not according to your will. Many have come to run the church based on all sorts of business model or even blue prints from other churches. The have bench-marked themselves with other ministries and ministers not understanding that the will or blueprint upon which the church stands is not yours but He(Jesus) has it.
Surrender the Church to the one who promised to build it. He may use you as a stone with which he will build, but always know that the master plan to build is not in your hands but in His.
Friday 11 December 2015
Thursday 19 November 2015
Depending on God Part 2- The Wisdom of Esther
Continued from previous post.
Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Esther was a woman who was in a place of influence to effect the deliverance of the Jews just like Moses. She was married to the most powerful man in the then known world. Esther could have gone in to see the king depending on her feminine appeal, as it had worked wonders before. Remember, she was so beautiful, that she won the king's heart from the several women, from all over the world, who competed to catch the king's attention. So surely her beauty would have been able to secure favor for her from the king. If this was not enough to change the kings mind, She was his wife and the king had gone through a lot of trouble to find someone suitable enough to replace his first wife. Would he want to go through all that again? Surely not! So why would he not favor Esther?
Esther ,however, did not put her confidence in any of these! Instead she called for a fast for Jews, Her and her maidens. She put aside any confidence in the resources available to her and asked for prayer mobilization for the task at hand. This is not a portrait of one who is confident in her own ability. She knew that despite all her abilities and endowments, she needed the help of God.
In the case of Moses, spoken about earlier, we never saw a place where Moses sort the help of God at first to carry out the task. He was confident he could do it until he met with failure and fled. He later succeeded, when he came back a much changed man having dropped(submitted) his rod(authority) to God.
How does all this relate to you?
Can you sing? So much so, that you no longer see the need to pray and seek God's help before you minister? Maybe you are good at public speaking or you have one ability or the other that you can exercise very well. If this ability has rubbed you of your dependence on God then, it will be your greatest handicap! Being an excellent preacher without being an excellent prayerful individual, will produce a ministry that lacks eternal impact but may be pleasant in time.
The verdict of Jesus in John 15:5b...for without me ye can do nothings still rings true.
You can achieve much in human terms but Jesus considers these achievements nothing. This is the reason why many men come to the end of their lives with so many regrets after achieving so much.
Except you submit your endowments to God in prayer it can not serve any purpose to Him! God will not use what you have until you lay it down(surrender it).
I end with the words of Watchman Nee in his book the Spiritual Man:
''God wants everyone to come to Him in a spirit of utter dependency, completely submissive to His Holy Spirit and humbly waiting upon Him''- Watchman Nee, Spiritual Man, Vol. 1 page 113.
Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Esther was a woman who was in a place of influence to effect the deliverance of the Jews just like Moses. She was married to the most powerful man in the then known world. Esther could have gone in to see the king depending on her feminine appeal, as it had worked wonders before. Remember, she was so beautiful, that she won the king's heart from the several women, from all over the world, who competed to catch the king's attention. So surely her beauty would have been able to secure favor for her from the king. If this was not enough to change the kings mind, She was his wife and the king had gone through a lot of trouble to find someone suitable enough to replace his first wife. Would he want to go through all that again? Surely not! So why would he not favor Esther?
Esther ,however, did not put her confidence in any of these! Instead she called for a fast for Jews, Her and her maidens. She put aside any confidence in the resources available to her and asked for prayer mobilization for the task at hand. This is not a portrait of one who is confident in her own ability. She knew that despite all her abilities and endowments, she needed the help of God.
In the case of Moses, spoken about earlier, we never saw a place where Moses sort the help of God at first to carry out the task. He was confident he could do it until he met with failure and fled. He later succeeded, when he came back a much changed man having dropped(submitted) his rod(authority) to God.
How does all this relate to you?
Can you sing? So much so, that you no longer see the need to pray and seek God's help before you minister? Maybe you are good at public speaking or you have one ability or the other that you can exercise very well. If this ability has rubbed you of your dependence on God then, it will be your greatest handicap! Being an excellent preacher without being an excellent prayerful individual, will produce a ministry that lacks eternal impact but may be pleasant in time.
The verdict of Jesus in John 15:5b...for without me ye can do nothings still rings true.
You can achieve much in human terms but Jesus considers these achievements nothing. This is the reason why many men come to the end of their lives with so many regrets after achieving so much.
Except you submit your endowments to God in prayer it can not serve any purpose to Him! God will not use what you have until you lay it down(surrender it).
I end with the words of Watchman Nee in his book the Spiritual Man:
''God wants everyone to come to Him in a spirit of utter dependency, completely submissive to His Holy Spirit and humbly waiting upon Him''- Watchman Nee, Spiritual Man, Vol. 1 page 113.
Depending on God PART 1- Considering The Ability of Man
Heb 2:16 Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps. He helps the people who are from Abraham.
Our greatest handicap in life lies not in what we know we are deficient in ourselves to achieve without the help of God, but in the things we feel we are capable of doing without the help or input of God. I guess that statement may shock some of us but let me say this to you again. Your strengthens in life, may actual be your weakness before God.
Now, before you give up on me as a hopeless case, I urge you to please read on to understand what I mean.
Act 7:22-25 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
In telling the story of Moses, Stephen highlighted a significant fact for us to see. Moses was gifted with a lot of gifts. He was a Prince, mighty in words and deed. Leadership came easily to him. He could command a following with his words. He was well equipped.
Also Moses had an inclination that he was to be used of God to be a deliverer to Israel even when he was a Prince in Egypt. He then was ready to act on this inclination and felt that given his position, influence and status the people would understand that God had placed him in a position to effect their deliverance. He went about trying to do what he had always known was his purpose for being so close to the throne, without seeking the help of God. I mean who needs help when you have the position and the influence? He must have thought. He failed in his first attempt with all he had going for him.
Friends, it is better for a man to fail in an endeavor that he embarked upon which is devoid of God's input, than for such a man to actually succeed. For instance, you will agree with me that it was better for Jonah to have his journey to Tarshish aborted, than for him to make it safe and sound there. If he had made it to Tarshish, a place where God did not direct him to, what would have become of his life? At best he would have been one of the merchants of the city and his life will not serve the purpose of the King he once served.
Unlike Jonah, a few people manage to succeed in a path that God is not asked to make an input in. Men do sometimes embark on and achieve "great" things without the help of God (in time or in the here and now these things are great but in eternity they hold no value). Examples of one of such men is Cain. He left the presence of God and built a city-Gen. 4:16-17(Is that not impressive?). The greatest prayer one can pray is may I not succeed in doing what is outside of Gods plan for my life.
Given what I said about Moses, You may then be left wondering, Is using my position to advance the cause of God's people wrong? or is being capable of doing something is wrong? or if using your natural abilities, endowments or gifting is such a bad thing.
These questions are valid questions and I can only answer them by presenting to you the wisdom of Esther.
Please go to the concluding part of this article titled- Depending on God Part 2- The Wisdom of Esther.
Wednesday 11 November 2015
When The Church Seeks to Be Entertained By The World
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
A recent trend that seems to be gaining ground in the Church today, is the invitation of comedians or entertainers to the pulpit of many churches. Musicians who are well known for performing secular songs, have found their way on the platform of churches singing songs that they have added a few christian phrases to. Barbecue Nights, football watching in Church and 'Holy Ghost' Party are all modern trends in the Church. Most will claim that all of these strategies are being employed, to catch the attention of a youthful generation.
Looking at this trend, one may be tempted to offer various reasons why this is being done, but if we are truly honest, this trend points to a far greater sickness that has eaten deep in the heart of the church of our day. Lets look at some of the hidden issues that this trend highlights.
The Bible says in Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Here the bible speaks of fullness of joy and pleasures that are found in His presence. So for the church to seek to bring entertainment into its walls we can, based on this scripture, interpret this to mean the lack of His presence that brings joy and has pleasures. The church no longer is content with being in the presence of God or lacks the presence of God and so seeks additional external pleasures.
Secondly, when the comedian has been given the pulpit to 'minister' or entertain from, when the Pastor takes over, what makes his words or presentation different from that of the comedian? In a church were all sorts of jokers can be accommodated on the pulpit, what will happen with regards to the eternal destinies of men? Men like Jonathan Edwards saw the pulpit as a place to discharge a sacred duty, leaned over and preached his message that called to repentance, and several were drawn to Christ.
The next question I would like to ask, for those who believe that these programs are meant to draw the unsaved to church, is this, did Christ not say that if he is lifted up He will draw all men to Himself? Why seek to draw men using the same PR strategies used by big corporations? The exalted Christ can draw men! There is no need for these activities that excite the flesh as a bait to bring men to church.
Lastly, for the church that seeks worldly entertainment to spice up their worship, the words of John in 1Jn 2:15 are most appropriate Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You can not serve two masters, either you love the one and hate the other. If our hearts are been taken over by our desire for worldly entertainment, it then means that we have loved the world at the expense of our devotion and love for God the Father.
The Kingdom of God is not set up to meet your carnal desires and pleasures(meat and drink) but it feeds the life of God within us. Some may warn the Church of our day not to be too heavenly minded and earthly useless(I have never known this to be the case, for anyone who is heavenly minded can never be useless in the agenda of God on the earth). I think the Church needs rather to be warned against being too earthly minded that they are useless to the agenda of heaven. This is more the case than the former. Check most of what is preached and you will see this trend.
True success in life and ministry can not be fully defined on earth because the most successful men on earth may not be termed successful on the day of Gods judgement. Some said 'we cast out devils in your name' but the Master said 'I never knew you'.
Let your heart be on fire, your passion and devotion be to the eternal King. Let His Kingdom come and his dominion be established in our heart.
A recent trend that seems to be gaining ground in the Church today, is the invitation of comedians or entertainers to the pulpit of many churches. Musicians who are well known for performing secular songs, have found their way on the platform of churches singing songs that they have added a few christian phrases to. Barbecue Nights, football watching in Church and 'Holy Ghost' Party are all modern trends in the Church. Most will claim that all of these strategies are being employed, to catch the attention of a youthful generation.
Looking at this trend, one may be tempted to offer various reasons why this is being done, but if we are truly honest, this trend points to a far greater sickness that has eaten deep in the heart of the church of our day. Lets look at some of the hidden issues that this trend highlights.
The Bible says in Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Here the bible speaks of fullness of joy and pleasures that are found in His presence. So for the church to seek to bring entertainment into its walls we can, based on this scripture, interpret this to mean the lack of His presence that brings joy and has pleasures. The church no longer is content with being in the presence of God or lacks the presence of God and so seeks additional external pleasures.
Secondly, when the comedian has been given the pulpit to 'minister' or entertain from, when the Pastor takes over, what makes his words or presentation different from that of the comedian? In a church were all sorts of jokers can be accommodated on the pulpit, what will happen with regards to the eternal destinies of men? Men like Jonathan Edwards saw the pulpit as a place to discharge a sacred duty, leaned over and preached his message that called to repentance, and several were drawn to Christ.
The next question I would like to ask, for those who believe that these programs are meant to draw the unsaved to church, is this, did Christ not say that if he is lifted up He will draw all men to Himself? Why seek to draw men using the same PR strategies used by big corporations? The exalted Christ can draw men! There is no need for these activities that excite the flesh as a bait to bring men to church.
Lastly, for the church that seeks worldly entertainment to spice up their worship, the words of John in 1Jn 2:15 are most appropriate Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You can not serve two masters, either you love the one and hate the other. If our hearts are been taken over by our desire for worldly entertainment, it then means that we have loved the world at the expense of our devotion and love for God the Father.
The Kingdom of God is not set up to meet your carnal desires and pleasures(meat and drink) but it feeds the life of God within us. Some may warn the Church of our day not to be too heavenly minded and earthly useless(I have never known this to be the case, for anyone who is heavenly minded can never be useless in the agenda of God on the earth). I think the Church needs rather to be warned against being too earthly minded that they are useless to the agenda of heaven. This is more the case than the former. Check most of what is preached and you will see this trend.
True success in life and ministry can not be fully defined on earth because the most successful men on earth may not be termed successful on the day of Gods judgement. Some said 'we cast out devils in your name' but the Master said 'I never knew you'.
Let your heart be on fire, your passion and devotion be to the eternal King. Let His Kingdom come and his dominion be established in our heart.
Thursday 5 November 2015
WHEN THE KING NEEDS MEN
Judges 5:23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
In Judges chapter 4, an epic battle had just been won. Israel had just recorded a victory against Sisera. A lot of interesting things can be deduced from this chapter of scripture. For one, men where spurred on to go into battle by the prophetic voice of a woman, Deborah. When Israel was subjected to oppression, God used a woman to offer prophetic direction.
If you are reading this and you feel disqualified from being used of God because of your gender, then this verse of scripture challenges that. In fact one of the greatest people that worked in the power of the Holy Spirit was a woman named Kathryn Kuhlman, a woman who dared to believe in the miracle working power of God and to this generation, she was a sign. Don't listen to men, God has a plan for you and He does not consider your gender as inferior. Its the heart you carry that He looks at.
Going back to our discussion, having secured the victory, Deborah and Barak started to praise God in Chapter 5. The summary of the whole of this chapter is stated in in the first two verses of this chapter. In fact, Judges 5:2 started by stating clearly their intention. It says:
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
Please note that, God avenged His people but His people willingly offered themselves. The great Evangelist, Reinhard Boonke, said God needs manpower, man needs God's power, and God works, when Man works. This statement clearly agrees with the scripture above.
For those who wonder why God needs men, when He is all powerful. The answer is that for God to intervene in the affairs of men, He needs the permission of a man. God has given the administration of the earth to the sons of men. Its like the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) we get for the government, for while all land belongs to the government, a C of O is given for us to 'own' a portion of that land by the government until a certain number of years expire. As long as we have that C of O the land belongs to us and we are entitled to compensation if the government intends to reclaim the land. Your life and your existence on the earth is your right to the earth. Unfortunately, man was not created to be master of himself. However, men are called to choose who they submit to. Whoever, you yield it to becomes your master.
The issue of choices also features in our story above. Some men choose not to come for the battle. In this battle, a careful record was kept of those who fought and those who did not. From the summary of their initial intention as discussed, I do not think Deborah intended to call out curses on those who did not come to battle ,but as it so often is the case in an atmosphere of true worship, the prophetic switched on. She revealed an incidence that was happening behind the scenes. According to her prophetic insight, an angel of the Lord, called for curses on the people of Meroz for not helping out in the day of battle.
This twist in the reading concerned me. Why was it necessary to call for a curse on these people? The battle had already been won and the enemy overcome. Why was it necessary to pronounce this curse over these people? I will attempt an answer.These people where going to benefit from the battle but they did not offer themselves to fight in it. Secondly, the entire kingdom was on the verge of being destroyed but these people had no care.
As I thought on the above reasons, I must say that many in the church today could be called up for the same curses. Horrible thought, I know but please before you dismiss me, consider the attitude of the saved in the church today and if you dare to be honest, look closely at your own life.
Many are unconcerned about the cause of Christ.Many are afraid to stand up for what they believe in. For some, when God wants to use their vocal cords to preach they gospel they will not yield. They are unconcerned about the cause of Christ in the earth and do not contribute to the advancement of God's kingdom. Their lives are lived for their selfish reasons and will not be bothered if the Church suffers. If you live all your life without finding out why you were put on this earth, or even why Christ saved you, then you are no different from the people of Meroz. If your life is lived with no thought of God and the advancement of His Kingdom, then you are no different from these people.
Unless we strive to locate the heart beat of God for us and seek that His purposes come to pass in our land and time, we are no different from the people of Meroz.
Friend, Don't just live for yourself, Live for Him who died for you. Our King has need of men to advance His Kingdom, may you come to his aid in a time like this.
In Judges chapter 4, an epic battle had just been won. Israel had just recorded a victory against Sisera. A lot of interesting things can be deduced from this chapter of scripture. For one, men where spurred on to go into battle by the prophetic voice of a woman, Deborah. When Israel was subjected to oppression, God used a woman to offer prophetic direction.
If you are reading this and you feel disqualified from being used of God because of your gender, then this verse of scripture challenges that. In fact one of the greatest people that worked in the power of the Holy Spirit was a woman named Kathryn Kuhlman, a woman who dared to believe in the miracle working power of God and to this generation, she was a sign. Don't listen to men, God has a plan for you and He does not consider your gender as inferior. Its the heart you carry that He looks at.
Going back to our discussion, having secured the victory, Deborah and Barak started to praise God in Chapter 5. The summary of the whole of this chapter is stated in in the first two verses of this chapter. In fact, Judges 5:2 started by stating clearly their intention. It says:
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
Please note that, God avenged His people but His people willingly offered themselves. The great Evangelist, Reinhard Boonke, said God needs manpower, man needs God's power, and God works, when Man works. This statement clearly agrees with the scripture above.
For those who wonder why God needs men, when He is all powerful. The answer is that for God to intervene in the affairs of men, He needs the permission of a man. God has given the administration of the earth to the sons of men. Its like the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) we get for the government, for while all land belongs to the government, a C of O is given for us to 'own' a portion of that land by the government until a certain number of years expire. As long as we have that C of O the land belongs to us and we are entitled to compensation if the government intends to reclaim the land. Your life and your existence on the earth is your right to the earth. Unfortunately, man was not created to be master of himself. However, men are called to choose who they submit to. Whoever, you yield it to becomes your master.
The issue of choices also features in our story above. Some men choose not to come for the battle. In this battle, a careful record was kept of those who fought and those who did not. From the summary of their initial intention as discussed, I do not think Deborah intended to call out curses on those who did not come to battle ,but as it so often is the case in an atmosphere of true worship, the prophetic switched on. She revealed an incidence that was happening behind the scenes. According to her prophetic insight, an angel of the Lord, called for curses on the people of Meroz for not helping out in the day of battle.
This twist in the reading concerned me. Why was it necessary to call for a curse on these people? The battle had already been won and the enemy overcome. Why was it necessary to pronounce this curse over these people? I will attempt an answer.These people where going to benefit from the battle but they did not offer themselves to fight in it. Secondly, the entire kingdom was on the verge of being destroyed but these people had no care.
As I thought on the above reasons, I must say that many in the church today could be called up for the same curses. Horrible thought, I know but please before you dismiss me, consider the attitude of the saved in the church today and if you dare to be honest, look closely at your own life.
Many are unconcerned about the cause of Christ.Many are afraid to stand up for what they believe in. For some, when God wants to use their vocal cords to preach they gospel they will not yield. They are unconcerned about the cause of Christ in the earth and do not contribute to the advancement of God's kingdom. Their lives are lived for their selfish reasons and will not be bothered if the Church suffers. If you live all your life without finding out why you were put on this earth, or even why Christ saved you, then you are no different from the people of Meroz. If your life is lived with no thought of God and the advancement of His Kingdom, then you are no different from these people.
Unless we strive to locate the heart beat of God for us and seek that His purposes come to pass in our land and time, we are no different from the people of Meroz.
Friend, Don't just live for yourself, Live for Him who died for you. Our King has need of men to advance His Kingdom, may you come to his aid in a time like this.
Monday 2 November 2015
THE GUIDING LIGHT - Let there be Light!!
Dan_5:11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
Dan_5:14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
Based on the principle of first mention, we can deduce from the very first words that God spoke in the book of Genesis, that He calls for light to lighten dark situations. I have often wondered where this first light that God commanded into existence came from, because based on biblical record the Sun and the moon came into existence later. I will leave off discussing this point but I would like to stress that the light by which creation began was not based on that given off by the Sun or the Moon.
In the natural, their are different sources of light that we can use to find our way. Light is used to light up paths and help one find direction. Without light, we become like blind men and without direction.
In the Scriptural verse above, when King Belshazzar required insight or interpretation of the words written on the wall, he asked for a man that had three things: light, understanding and wisdom. I can understand the need for understanding and wisdom but what does the light do? Surely, this King was not referring to ordinary kind of light that we are used to? He definitely was not!
Light in this case, therefore, referred to inspired thoughts or insight into a matter, that proceeds from a source that is outside of the natural or that which humans unaided can access. When we speak of light we are talking here about inspired thoughts or insight. (Please bear this definition in mind as we continue in this teaching)
This brings us to a point where we need to define the different sources of light or inspiration or insight that men can walk by.
Rev_22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
I will use these light sources, in the above scripture and add a few more, as an analogy to drive home my point.
The Sun:You can walk by the light of the Sun. This light source is available to everyone to see by. In this teaching, the sun's light,based on its availability to everyone, can be used to represent worldly wisdom or the wisdom that is generally accessible to all men. Many walk by this natural worldly inspiration. What defines their life , where they live and what they pursue as an ambition in life and their value system are based on what is generally acceptable by men.
Friend, if you are living your life based on the direction of the society around you, or what is socially acceptable for you is what the society defines as acceptable, then you are walking by the light of the 'sun'. If your definitions and perceptions in life always agrees with the unsaved world around you, then you, my friend, are walking by the light of the 'sun'.
However, there is a light brighter than the sun at noon day( At noon when the sun is at its brightest and best). God struck Paul blind with a light that is brighter than the noonday sun. Unless your perception is changed by God, you can not seek to be guided by a more superior light. The disadvantage that the light that comes from this world has is that it, like the sun, does not last for ever! It goes down at the night seasons of life! In the worst of situations, it fails men.
Artificial Light(Candle): Those who walk by this light, I will describe as men who have enhanced their understanding and have gained more knowledge than the average man. If all you do in life is based on the brilliance that comes from your mind, if you have planned the course of your life without God's involvement then you my friend are walking by this light. A lot have started businesses based on good feasibility studies but never found out if that was the course that God wanted their lives to take. Regrettably, they have succeeded and have thus planned out a way of existence without any need for God.This light also goes out, when power goes.
The Moon: This is a source of light that though weak, some walk by it. The magicians walked by some form of light. Some have realized the deficiency of their mind and the ordinary way of getting direction and have turned to darkness for this form of light. Several live their lives by the directions gotten from Horoscopes, Ouija board, fortune tellers etc
The Life that is light: This is the ultimate source of light or inspiration that every believer should walk by.
John1:4 says In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Job 29:3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
This ought to be the way the believer get direction in life. Our minds ought to be enlightened by the spirit of God and hence we draw our bearing from the very throne of God.Those who walk by this light are those whose lives are as dictated from God. Job said he walked through darkness by the light of God. This light is brighter than the Sun at its brightest, it exceeds the wisdom found in darkness as can be seen in the in the book of Daniel(because the magicians could not interpret the writings), the brilliance of Gods guidance, even though it may seem foolish to men, exceeds our best minds and what they can conceptualize. Friend, the scripture declares that the foolishness of God is wiser than men.
Is the course of your life as dictated from the world? or you have conceived it from your brilliant and analytical mind? You will never arrive at God's purpose for your life, except you are led by the guiding light that comes from God. This light can first be accessed from the Word of God and by the Spirit of God within us. Without it our lives will be ordinary and without a mark that is made in eternity.
Let Jesus direct the course of your life, by His light you will go through darkness and like the Psalmist prayed: Psa 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Your spirit is the candle of God(Prov. 20:27) and this light can lit by the inner working of Gods spirit, any other way, will lead to destruction.
Monday 28 September 2015
THE BARRENNESS OF A BUSY LIFE
1Ki 20:39-40 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
The Story above was told by a prophet who was disguised as a soldier. Though the story was fabricated,for the sake of our discuss, we will draw lessons from this as though the story actually happened. As the principal is true.
This soldier on the battlefield was entrusted with the safe-keeping of a particular prisoner of war. This prisoner must have been very important because of the conditions that was given if he ever escaped. The first condition was that the soldier who was to keep the prisoner would lose his life if the prisoner escaped. So a life for a life. Now that's a costly price to pay! The second price may seem less significant but it was a huge financial burden to be paid. The underlying impression one gets from this story, is that the cost of losing this prisoner would be substantial. This should have served as an incentive for the one that was entrusted with this responsibility to pay close attention to this prisoner. However, this was not the case as the solider became busy with other pursuits and the prisoner slipped away.
In this life, Christians have been entrusted with certain things of great value that the loss of which will constitute a huge loss to, not only the individual, but to God. No king sets up a kingdom to accommodate losses.In the book of Daniel 6:1-2, the King Darius set men in positions of authority, so that the king might suffer no loss. This same principles applies to the believer in Christ as we are set in authority by God, who is the King of kings, to protect the interests of His kingdom and to expand its borders.
Just like in the story above, many believers are not careful to safeguard that thing of great importance that been entrusted to them.They are busy with other pursuits of life while several things of great value have been lost. Some are busy building their corporations but losing their Family. Others are building a career but losing their children. Yet some have settled to getting their business well established and are not involved in the Ministry.
Paul charged his spiritual son Timothy in 1Tim. 6:20:
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust...
Are you busy with your ambition and neglecting the vision that God has for your life? Have you left your duty post in search of more money at the expense of the ministry? Or has the training of your children in godliness, taken a back seat to your pursuit of the pleasure of watching football or other trills? Has your time on social media taken away the time you have to spend with your wife and kids? What exactly are you busy with that has frustrated the actualization of your God given destiny?
The bible said that the man was busy, here and there, while that which was entrusted was slipping away.
Friends, there will be a day of reckoning for each of us, in which we all will give account of the talent that has been entrusted to us. All the resources that we have such as life, money, gifting, ministry, time etc will be accounted for. What will be good enough a reason for losing out on that which truly counts? May we not live busy and Barren lives. May our life count for something eternal in the end of our days. Amen.
The Story above was told by a prophet who was disguised as a soldier. Though the story was fabricated,for the sake of our discuss, we will draw lessons from this as though the story actually happened. As the principal is true.
This soldier on the battlefield was entrusted with the safe-keeping of a particular prisoner of war. This prisoner must have been very important because of the conditions that was given if he ever escaped. The first condition was that the soldier who was to keep the prisoner would lose his life if the prisoner escaped. So a life for a life. Now that's a costly price to pay! The second price may seem less significant but it was a huge financial burden to be paid. The underlying impression one gets from this story, is that the cost of losing this prisoner would be substantial. This should have served as an incentive for the one that was entrusted with this responsibility to pay close attention to this prisoner. However, this was not the case as the solider became busy with other pursuits and the prisoner slipped away.
In this life, Christians have been entrusted with certain things of great value that the loss of which will constitute a huge loss to, not only the individual, but to God. No king sets up a kingdom to accommodate losses.In the book of Daniel 6:1-2, the King Darius set men in positions of authority, so that the king might suffer no loss. This same principles applies to the believer in Christ as we are set in authority by God, who is the King of kings, to protect the interests of His kingdom and to expand its borders.
Just like in the story above, many believers are not careful to safeguard that thing of great importance that been entrusted to them.They are busy with other pursuits of life while several things of great value have been lost. Some are busy building their corporations but losing their Family. Others are building a career but losing their children. Yet some have settled to getting their business well established and are not involved in the Ministry.
Paul charged his spiritual son Timothy in 1Tim. 6:20:
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust...
Are you busy with your ambition and neglecting the vision that God has for your life? Have you left your duty post in search of more money at the expense of the ministry? Or has the training of your children in godliness, taken a back seat to your pursuit of the pleasure of watching football or other trills? Has your time on social media taken away the time you have to spend with your wife and kids? What exactly are you busy with that has frustrated the actualization of your God given destiny?
The bible said that the man was busy, here and there, while that which was entrusted was slipping away.
Friends, there will be a day of reckoning for each of us, in which we all will give account of the talent that has been entrusted to us. All the resources that we have such as life, money, gifting, ministry, time etc will be accounted for. What will be good enough a reason for losing out on that which truly counts? May we not live busy and Barren lives. May our life count for something eternal in the end of our days. Amen.
Thursday 10 September 2015
MY AGNOSTIC FRIEND
Rom 1:17-20: For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, "The person who is put right with God through faith shall live." God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain. Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all!
Agnostic! A term I did not know existed until I met him.
For those of you reading this, who like me, did not know
what the word agnostic means, let me explain it to you:
An Agnostic is a person who believes that the existence of a greater
power, such as a god, cannot be proven or disproved. So in the most simplistic form; an agnostic is a person who
takes the middle ground between a Theist (Those who believe in the existence of
God) and an Atheist (those who do NOT believe in the existence of God). He is only stating that he is unsure of the existence of God.
Before meeting him, my world view was safely divided into
Theist and Atheist. Oh my, how ignorant
I was (and still am depending on who you ask, Lol.) That word and our meeting introduced a new view in my world.
You see I live in a place in Africa, where believe in God is
taken for granted. The problem Africans have is not in the existence of God or
the supernatural, but in the identification of which of the several gods is the
true God. Other problems are that we have a lack of true devotion to
God(to the extent of having that devotion affect our life and conduct), wrong belief systems and several doctrinal ailments which I will not go
into today.
Today, my focus will lie on my interactions with my agnostic friend. When in our several discussions, we finally got round to
talking about religious views, he told me that he was an agnostic. Of course, I
needed an explanation of the term, and when I got one, I was silently glad that
I wasn’t dealing with a complete atheist because I held on to the believe that at
least he would give a fair hearing to my arguments for the faith, since he was
basically unsure of the existence of God.
I tried not to push my belief in his face, but responded in
the most logically appealing way I could to his inquiry when he asked questions that bothered on faith. I tried not to quote
so much of the scriptures(a task I found a bit hard to do initially) but using the real message behind them to present
a defense for having faith in God. I defended passionately because I believed
his questions to be from a heart that was clearly undecided, genuinely seeking
answers and also I spoke in defense of my faith in God.
He constantly scanned the internet, and his mind, and threw
all sorts of tricky questions at me. To this, I tried the best I could to give
an honest logically answer. After a while, I had to rely on his childhood
memories of scriptures (he once was a “Christian” and still remains one in name
at least), to defend some questions he got from watching youtube videos of
Atheists and some “Christians”(I referred to this trend in my piece on
Kingdom-mindness) that make mockery of the faith.
After several months of interaction with my friend, I have
come to some conclusions. (Please note that
these conclusions are based on my interactions with only ONE agnostic).
I noticed that my agnostic friend seemed tolerant enough to
listen to my views and conceded to a lot of my arguments. Having said that, all
my best arguments and reasoning aside, I came to the conclusion that the
agnostic chooses a safe middle ground and will do absolutely nothing. He
expects God to prove Himself to him and is not really seeking to know which
side holds a true view of the existence or otherwise of God. He waits for something to magically fall on
him and bring an understanding of God. He is unwilling to search the scriptures
to find out why people believe in it. He is cowardly and clearly would hold his
views rather than seek to know who has it right. To be honest, he leans more
towards an atheistic world view but does not want the label of an
atheist. He agrees to evolution but will not consider himself an
evolutionist. He has a world view that
is more willing to believe in the non-existence of god than in the existence of
god. He smiles constantly when he thinks he has found arguments that disprove
the existence of God and with much joy pushes it. He asks questions that are against having faith, more than those that will seek to understand the lack of
it.
He is already biased and
his sitting on the fence about the issue of faith shows a weakness in character,
that leans towards being politically correct or a path that offers the least offense (Sadly a number of Christians have also adopted this approach to
issues, forgetting that Jesus never promised us that the world would give us an
easy ride for our faith.)
The Bad news for him, though, is this, not trying to explore
the notion that God does exist, will not be a good enough excuse on the day of
judgement. You cannot afford to sit on
that pretty fence with regards to your eternal destiny! Why don’t you be sure
that there is a God or there is no God to answer to at the end of life? Cause belief
me I would rather belief there was God and wake up in eternity and find out
there was none, than the alternative.
Though he is still dear to me and in my prayers, I have come to the end of my desire to present my arguments to him and can only trust that God can use some of what I have shared with him to capture his heart. But the clearest message such an individual will have about the existence of God, is in creation itself.
Wednesday 9 September 2015
REMEMBER YOUR MARRIAGE VOWS?
Malachi 2:14-15 (NLT)
"You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vow.
I would like to write today addressing men but this topic does not only apply to men.
Keeping your marriage vow is key to receiving God's blessings. No matter how bad one feels, it does not justify breaking a vow especially a marriage covenant. All vows must be honored except vows made against the Lord. Despite a growing modern acceptance, divorce does not please the Lord.
It has become common for men to justify adultery with various reasons, to the extent that a dating website was created to provide a way to indulge in this act discretely. Only that these secret affairs became public affairs! It brought great disgrace to discover several highly influential individuals, even in the church, who were involved in this. This caused a few to admit their affairs and ask for forgiveness. I agree that they be forgiven, as we all need forgiveness too, I ask myself one question, if this hack did not make their act public would they have been honest enough to repent on their own?
Many are currently cheating on their spouse but do not intend to admit it. For instance, the chats you have been sharing with your female colleague, can you show it to your wife? Can we publish your interactions with the opposite sex and not be embarrassed? Every secret thing will be made public on the day of judgement and all sins that have not been confessed or wiped by the blood of Jesus will be displayed. Will we be disgraced by what is shown on that day?
Jesus takes adultery to a whole new different level in the scripture below. He says
Mat 5:27-28 (CEV) You know the commandment which says, "Be faithful in marriage." But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts
I think this raises the bar for every married man. From my understanding of the above scripture, you do not have to have slept physically with a woman to have committed adultery! I bet you don't hear this kind of messages often from the pulpit.
Our hearts are prone to misbehave and like one guards a garrison, our hearts need to be under constant guard and protection, lest by the deceitfulness of the flesh, the heart leads us away from our vows to God and our spouse. Trust God to help you.
Keep your marriage vows and repent if you have been unfaithful.
"You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vow.
I would like to write today addressing men but this topic does not only apply to men.
Keeping your marriage vow is key to receiving God's blessings. No matter how bad one feels, it does not justify breaking a vow especially a marriage covenant. All vows must be honored except vows made against the Lord. Despite a growing modern acceptance, divorce does not please the Lord.
It has become common for men to justify adultery with various reasons, to the extent that a dating website was created to provide a way to indulge in this act discretely. Only that these secret affairs became public affairs! It brought great disgrace to discover several highly influential individuals, even in the church, who were involved in this. This caused a few to admit their affairs and ask for forgiveness. I agree that they be forgiven, as we all need forgiveness too, I ask myself one question, if this hack did not make their act public would they have been honest enough to repent on their own?
Many are currently cheating on their spouse but do not intend to admit it. For instance, the chats you have been sharing with your female colleague, can you show it to your wife? Can we publish your interactions with the opposite sex and not be embarrassed? Every secret thing will be made public on the day of judgement and all sins that have not been confessed or wiped by the blood of Jesus will be displayed. Will we be disgraced by what is shown on that day?
Jesus takes adultery to a whole new different level in the scripture below. He says
Mat 5:27-28 (CEV) You know the commandment which says, "Be faithful in marriage." But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts
I think this raises the bar for every married man. From my understanding of the above scripture, you do not have to have slept physically with a woman to have committed adultery! I bet you don't hear this kind of messages often from the pulpit.
Our hearts are prone to misbehave and like one guards a garrison, our hearts need to be under constant guard and protection, lest by the deceitfulness of the flesh, the heart leads us away from our vows to God and our spouse. Trust God to help you.
Keep your marriage vows and repent if you have been unfaithful.
Friday 4 September 2015
KINGDOM-MINDEDNESS
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
I have been thinking of this topic for a while now and in all honesty, my thoughts have been troubling. As I thought about it, I saw myself being drawn to compare Christianity with Islam. I arrived at the sad, and I hope wrong, conclusion that Muslims are more kingdom minded than Christians.
Please bear with me, as I try to explain what made me arrive at this conclusion, even if you do not agree.
When Muslims arrive a place, their focus and emphasis is on how to take over the government of such a location. They do not seek to blend into the society until they become completely unrecognizable. The observe their daily prayer rituals. They wear their veils without regards to what is the fashion that is in vogue at the moment. They do not seek to customize their veils because of changing trends. When they work in an organization, they demand flexible work hours that allow them practice their daily ritual of prayer and will leave work to get to the mosque on Friday.(while Christians will even leave off going to Church on Sunday to work). Try insulting their prophet on any social media platform and you will never find one Muslim that will agree with you(that's after several death threats) even if what you said was reasonable but those who claim to be Christians will be the ones to begin a topic to mock Jesus and Christianity.
As I continued thinking about this, my thoughts rested on Islamic Terror groups that have sprung up every where. Have you ever wondered how they do not seem short of men that are willing to die to promote their cause? Have you ever thought about what could have been promised them, that makes them willing to die? What Makes a man willing self-sacrifice to advance a religion? (Most Christians are not even willing to live for what they believe in, not to talk of dying for it). Today, the world fights against men who have already agreed to die before they set out. How do you fight such men and succeed? I ask myself, do these men have families? Who takes care of their families when they die? Yet with their dying breathe they cry the name of Allah believing that their death will do him some service.
If on the other hand, you look at Christians most are not willing to live out what they believe. They seem timid to share their faith and are apologetic at best in the defense of the cause of the kingdom. At the slightest sign of pressure they will compromise in other not to suffer. Terrorists with families are sent out and the families they leave behind are taken care of but we send missionaries and do not care what happens to their families. Christians pursue every changing trend in fashion and churches now invite comedians to entertain in an already crowded program of service. We have equated the pulpit as a place of entertainment and not were men's eternal destinies can be changed.
Men like Charles G. Finney did not step to the pulpit to entertain? They knew that men's eternal destinies depend on what they say or do not say. the gravity of their office weighs on them as they stand to speak for God.
In closing, I would like to ask. Are we concerned about the advancement of the kingdom of God or do we still promote our own agenda? What do you spend your resources on? What are you willing to live for, and if need be die for?
I think the time is upon us when a cry will go out, Who is on the Lord's side?!!!
Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
I have been thinking of this topic for a while now and in all honesty, my thoughts have been troubling. As I thought about it, I saw myself being drawn to compare Christianity with Islam. I arrived at the sad, and I hope wrong, conclusion that Muslims are more kingdom minded than Christians.
Please bear with me, as I try to explain what made me arrive at this conclusion, even if you do not agree.
When Muslims arrive a place, their focus and emphasis is on how to take over the government of such a location. They do not seek to blend into the society until they become completely unrecognizable. The observe their daily prayer rituals. They wear their veils without regards to what is the fashion that is in vogue at the moment. They do not seek to customize their veils because of changing trends. When they work in an organization, they demand flexible work hours that allow them practice their daily ritual of prayer and will leave work to get to the mosque on Friday.(while Christians will even leave off going to Church on Sunday to work). Try insulting their prophet on any social media platform and you will never find one Muslim that will agree with you(that's after several death threats) even if what you said was reasonable but those who claim to be Christians will be the ones to begin a topic to mock Jesus and Christianity.
As I continued thinking about this, my thoughts rested on Islamic Terror groups that have sprung up every where. Have you ever wondered how they do not seem short of men that are willing to die to promote their cause? Have you ever thought about what could have been promised them, that makes them willing to die? What Makes a man willing self-sacrifice to advance a religion? (Most Christians are not even willing to live for what they believe in, not to talk of dying for it). Today, the world fights against men who have already agreed to die before they set out. How do you fight such men and succeed? I ask myself, do these men have families? Who takes care of their families when they die? Yet with their dying breathe they cry the name of Allah believing that their death will do him some service.
If on the other hand, you look at Christians most are not willing to live out what they believe. They seem timid to share their faith and are apologetic at best in the defense of the cause of the kingdom. At the slightest sign of pressure they will compromise in other not to suffer. Terrorists with families are sent out and the families they leave behind are taken care of but we send missionaries and do not care what happens to their families. Christians pursue every changing trend in fashion and churches now invite comedians to entertain in an already crowded program of service. We have equated the pulpit as a place of entertainment and not were men's eternal destinies can be changed.
Men like Charles G. Finney did not step to the pulpit to entertain? They knew that men's eternal destinies depend on what they say or do not say. the gravity of their office weighs on them as they stand to speak for God.
In closing, I would like to ask. Are we concerned about the advancement of the kingdom of God or do we still promote our own agenda? What do you spend your resources on? What are you willing to live for, and if need be die for?
I think the time is upon us when a cry will go out, Who is on the Lord's side?!!!
Monday 17 August 2015
A PASTOR MADE FOR IRRESPONSIBLE BELIEVERS
1Corin. 9:11 We have sown spiritual seed among you. Is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?
I recently spoke with a Pastor friend of mine about the condition of Christianity in a certain location. I was of the opinion that Pastors were failing in presenting the truth of the word of God in that particular location and pressed my point. He agreed with my point of view but said something that made me rethink my criticism of those Pastors.
I would like to state, first and foremost, that I do not still agree with the merchandising of the gospel that is currently going on, but I would like to ask that before we criticize we look closely at our own actions.
Lets get back to my story, I was angry that most of the messages focused people on material things and promoting infancy in the body of Christ. I feel, and still feel, that a message that makes one man a superstar and all others dwarfs, who need to depend on him to get direction, instead of the Holy Spirit, is very wrong.
However, the perceptive my friend brought needs to be considered.
Have you experienced an instance that a preacher feels the need to consult various gimmicks to raise money? Making a lot of ''prophetic'' promises to get a response. All sort of fund-raising techniques are consulted in other to get the people to give.
This I believe is wrong but consider this for a moment. My Pastor friend told me of an instance that a sincere full time pastor who went to that location to preach but could not get support for his young family. His wife had to accept a job that was far below her qualifications in order to try and meet the needs of the family. The pastor did not get adequate support from the congregation , he resigned, and went to pursue business ventures. He did not want to rob his congregation but he could no longer support his family being in ministry!
I have had to send money to a few full-time pastors who are not resident in my location. I now ask myself, if the believers they minister to, do not see the need to help them out financially, yet these same believers will criticize these same pastors!
Paul said in the above scripture that they have sown spiritual seed in the life of the brethren so was it too much if they reap material benefits from them? If men have labored over your life in prayer and yet nothing has ever left you to bless them. Then you my friend are irresponsible.
I believe that insincere pastors ,who promise all kinds of blessings, are best suited to exploit such irresponsible believer. I believe that they should get a pastor after their own heart!!
We complain that the church does not see the same power as in the days of Acts but check out what they church did to meet the need of others. Paul pronounced Phillipians 4: 19 on a people who had been a blessing to him and yet a stingy believer in our time will claim the blessing, while forsaking the principle upon which it stands. Missionaries are sent to the field and we care nothing about them but Muslims spend a lot to ensure that they build mosques very close to their homes.
Friend or not, I ask you, what have you done to bless your pastor?
I recently spoke with a Pastor friend of mine about the condition of Christianity in a certain location. I was of the opinion that Pastors were failing in presenting the truth of the word of God in that particular location and pressed my point. He agreed with my point of view but said something that made me rethink my criticism of those Pastors.
I would like to state, first and foremost, that I do not still agree with the merchandising of the gospel that is currently going on, but I would like to ask that before we criticize we look closely at our own actions.
Lets get back to my story, I was angry that most of the messages focused people on material things and promoting infancy in the body of Christ. I feel, and still feel, that a message that makes one man a superstar and all others dwarfs, who need to depend on him to get direction, instead of the Holy Spirit, is very wrong.
However, the perceptive my friend brought needs to be considered.
Have you experienced an instance that a preacher feels the need to consult various gimmicks to raise money? Making a lot of ''prophetic'' promises to get a response. All sort of fund-raising techniques are consulted in other to get the people to give.
This I believe is wrong but consider this for a moment. My Pastor friend told me of an instance that a sincere full time pastor who went to that location to preach but could not get support for his young family. His wife had to accept a job that was far below her qualifications in order to try and meet the needs of the family. The pastor did not get adequate support from the congregation , he resigned, and went to pursue business ventures. He did not want to rob his congregation but he could no longer support his family being in ministry!
I have had to send money to a few full-time pastors who are not resident in my location. I now ask myself, if the believers they minister to, do not see the need to help them out financially, yet these same believers will criticize these same pastors!
Paul said in the above scripture that they have sown spiritual seed in the life of the brethren so was it too much if they reap material benefits from them? If men have labored over your life in prayer and yet nothing has ever left you to bless them. Then you my friend are irresponsible.
I believe that insincere pastors ,who promise all kinds of blessings, are best suited to exploit such irresponsible believer. I believe that they should get a pastor after their own heart!!
We complain that the church does not see the same power as in the days of Acts but check out what they church did to meet the need of others. Paul pronounced Phillipians 4: 19 on a people who had been a blessing to him and yet a stingy believer in our time will claim the blessing, while forsaking the principle upon which it stands. Missionaries are sent to the field and we care nothing about them but Muslims spend a lot to ensure that they build mosques very close to their homes.
Friend or not, I ask you, what have you done to bless your pastor?
Tuesday 11 August 2015
THE SUMMARY OF THE LIFE OF A MAN WHO PRAYED....
James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
If there was a portion of scripture, that I believe best summarizes the life of Elijah, it would be the one above.
When I read this chapter in the Book of James, at first glance the above scripture seems out of place. It seems as if James took a detour from what he was writing about, just to give an account of this man's life. However, when you consider the style of his writing, you will understand better what he was trying to say.
For instance in verse 10, when he spoke about suffering and how the believers should handle hardships, he gives them Job as an example. God's dealings in the life of Job was meant to be an example to all mankind in times of suffering. It was meant to teach us, that after all is said and done, the tender mercies of God will always endure.
Having understood, that each example given was meant to buttress the message that was being passed across, ELIJAH here then comes as an example of a righteous man who prayed to great effect. He did not just pray but he had ''much'' results from praying. So the example James offers us of a man who had results in prayer was the example of Elijah. Lets examine 4 things he said about him.
1. HE WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
The first thing that we can get from earlier scripture, is the reason why Elijah's prayer was so effective. James was talking, first of all, about how effective the prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man can be. We know that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This position has been afforded us by grace, but in our daily lives, we must live it out! Righteousness is in how you treat others. You can not lay claim on the position that grace brought you into as a license to be careless in your dealings with men. So the first way to have prayers that release tremendous power is to check your life.
2. HE WAS NOT SUPERHUMAN
When you consider the above, we may be tempted to think that Elijah was superhuman but James was quick to dispel that notion. He tells us first that he was a man and had the same kinds of passions that we have. I would like to state here that you have passions or desires stirred up, is not enough an excuse to sin. The ability to keep our passions under check is important if we are to have an effective prayer life.
3. HE WAS PERSISTENT IN PRAYER
James records that Elijah prayed and then he prayed again. In this age of positive confession, the place of praying once and again is often overlooked. In fact, in one of the instances where we see Elijah praying in the Old testament, he stayed at it for sometime, sending his servant 7 times to check for the sign he expected his prayer to create. These days we give up too soon in the place of prayer.
4. HE PRAYED EARNESTLY
Elijah wasn't the kind of person who prayed and had his mind on the clock or while he chewed gum absentmindedly. His who attention was in his prayer. Pray for him was not a mindless exercise. He did not pray and hope that one of his prayers would hit the mark.
James then concludes with results he had. His prayers received the answers he prayed for! Too many pray and give up when no answer comes but not Elijah. We explain away the lack of answers and excuse the lack of effectiveness of our prayers but not Elijah.
Do you have a consistent prayer life?
If there was a portion of scripture, that I believe best summarizes the life of Elijah, it would be the one above.
When I read this chapter in the Book of James, at first glance the above scripture seems out of place. It seems as if James took a detour from what he was writing about, just to give an account of this man's life. However, when you consider the style of his writing, you will understand better what he was trying to say.
For instance in verse 10, when he spoke about suffering and how the believers should handle hardships, he gives them Job as an example. God's dealings in the life of Job was meant to be an example to all mankind in times of suffering. It was meant to teach us, that after all is said and done, the tender mercies of God will always endure.
Having understood, that each example given was meant to buttress the message that was being passed across, ELIJAH here then comes as an example of a righteous man who prayed to great effect. He did not just pray but he had ''much'' results from praying. So the example James offers us of a man who had results in prayer was the example of Elijah. Lets examine 4 things he said about him.
1. HE WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
The first thing that we can get from earlier scripture, is the reason why Elijah's prayer was so effective. James was talking, first of all, about how effective the prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man can be. We know that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This position has been afforded us by grace, but in our daily lives, we must live it out! Righteousness is in how you treat others. You can not lay claim on the position that grace brought you into as a license to be careless in your dealings with men. So the first way to have prayers that release tremendous power is to check your life.
2. HE WAS NOT SUPERHUMAN
When you consider the above, we may be tempted to think that Elijah was superhuman but James was quick to dispel that notion. He tells us first that he was a man and had the same kinds of passions that we have. I would like to state here that you have passions or desires stirred up, is not enough an excuse to sin. The ability to keep our passions under check is important if we are to have an effective prayer life.
3. HE WAS PERSISTENT IN PRAYER
James records that Elijah prayed and then he prayed again. In this age of positive confession, the place of praying once and again is often overlooked. In fact, in one of the instances where we see Elijah praying in the Old testament, he stayed at it for sometime, sending his servant 7 times to check for the sign he expected his prayer to create. These days we give up too soon in the place of prayer.
4. HE PRAYED EARNESTLY
Elijah wasn't the kind of person who prayed and had his mind on the clock or while he chewed gum absentmindedly. His who attention was in his prayer. Pray for him was not a mindless exercise. He did not pray and hope that one of his prayers would hit the mark.
James then concludes with results he had. His prayers received the answers he prayed for! Too many pray and give up when no answer comes but not Elijah. We explain away the lack of answers and excuse the lack of effectiveness of our prayers but not Elijah.
Do you have a consistent prayer life?
A SET HEART
Col-3:1-2: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth
One great challenge that faces preachers when the stand before a congregation is what to say that will capture their desires or hearts.
This method of ministry is however carried on, because the hearts of most believers are set on material things, most preachers have now adopted messages that satisfy that need. All their preaching and endeavor must end up in the corridors of one material blessing or the other.
Check the posters of programs of most churches and you will understand the priority of the Christian Church. Success for most in the Church today, is measured based on how much material resources they are able to amass. We boast in our achievements, even if such achievements will not outlast our very existence.
I wish at this point to ask you the reader, to examine your desires, ambitions and what matters most to you. Take stock of what emphasis you hold in your life, if all the things you hold dear are things that will perish with the earth then, your whole existence would have been a waste as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned.
Dear Pastor, If all your labor is to satisfy the needs of men alone and you are unable to stir their hearts towards God and living for his kingdom, then your ministry, even if it is great, will not amount to anything before God. In fact as Paul said:
1Co 3:13-15 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire
Where is your heart set, Oh Child of God? What has captured your desires? What is your ambition or vision in life? Are they of things above? Do you have desire for the things of God? What holds your attention? where or on what do you spend most of your resources on? such resources as your time, money, ability etc. The answers you give to these questions will give clarity as to where your affection is set.
Paul in the above introductory passages of scripture offers us an advice.Did you notice that he tells us to SET our affections. This means that if our affections are not set on things above, you can not blame the pastor of your church even if all his messages are focused on material things. You can not blame anyone else but yourself!
You owe yourself the responsibility to set your own heart, no one else can do it for you.
Check your heart dear friend and see where your heart is set on.if all it is set on is not on things above where Christ is seated then you need to seek God in repentance.
One great challenge that faces preachers when the stand before a congregation is what to say that will capture their desires or hearts.
This method of ministry is however carried on, because the hearts of most believers are set on material things, most preachers have now adopted messages that satisfy that need. All their preaching and endeavor must end up in the corridors of one material blessing or the other.
Check the posters of programs of most churches and you will understand the priority of the Christian Church. Success for most in the Church today, is measured based on how much material resources they are able to amass. We boast in our achievements, even if such achievements will not outlast our very existence.
I wish at this point to ask you the reader, to examine your desires, ambitions and what matters most to you. Take stock of what emphasis you hold in your life, if all the things you hold dear are things that will perish with the earth then, your whole existence would have been a waste as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned.
Dear Pastor, If all your labor is to satisfy the needs of men alone and you are unable to stir their hearts towards God and living for his kingdom, then your ministry, even if it is great, will not amount to anything before God. In fact as Paul said:
1Co 3:13-15 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire
Where is your heart set, Oh Child of God? What has captured your desires? What is your ambition or vision in life? Are they of things above? Do you have desire for the things of God? What holds your attention? where or on what do you spend most of your resources on? such resources as your time, money, ability etc. The answers you give to these questions will give clarity as to where your affection is set.
Paul in the above introductory passages of scripture offers us an advice.Did you notice that he tells us to SET our affections. This means that if our affections are not set on things above, you can not blame the pastor of your church even if all his messages are focused on material things. You can not blame anyone else but yourself!
You owe yourself the responsibility to set your own heart, no one else can do it for you.
Check your heart dear friend and see where your heart is set on.if all it is set on is not on things above where Christ is seated then you need to seek God in repentance.
Thursday 30 July 2015
WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND PRIORITY?
Mat
6:19-23 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal:
For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body
shall be full of light. But if thine eye be
evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is
in thee be darkness, how great is
that darkness!
I will try in a round-about way to lay the
foundation of understanding the above scripture and would ask you the reader to
think more deeply about the above scripture. I will be limited in my
explanation because of the lengthy illustration I will give. I trust the Holy Spirit will do a better job
than I can in explaining the above. So here goes:
During my undergraduate days, I once gave a
book to a lady who attended the same Christian campus fellowship as I did. You
see I loved, and still love, reading Christian literature, so much so that if I
wanted to give a gift to someone, you would most likely get the latest book I
was reading, if such a book was or is a blessing to me. So I gave away a lot of
“Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill” to various people at varying times.
For me then, it was only natural to give
this Christian Lady the book I was currently reading that had been a blessing
to me. Well, after I gave her the book, she politely collected it but never
spoke to me again (Ok maybe she did speak to me but I guess our friendship was
not quite the same again after that).
Why? You may ask. Good question in my
opinion because I felt that I had given her a treasure.
Thinking about it now, I am almost smiling
and kicking myself at how stupid I was! The problem was actually obvious from
the very title of the book. I gave her a book titled (now don’t laugh)“HE CAME
TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE” written by Rebecca Brown. I hope you can at least
appreciate why she was upset with me.
Hey, don’t get me wrong, the book is a great book and I still have a
copy in my library today but I guess I should have thought about the
implications of giving her that book and how it could be perceived given the
title first of all.
Before you write me off completely, as a nut head who would give his
wife a toaster for a wedding anniversary gift (who does that? I wonder.), I would like to say in my
defense that I believe that when any one reads a Christian literature the
emphasis of the book, if it is of any use, speaks to you according to the
dealings of God in your life at that moment.
Many may have read the Book “He came to set the captives free” and
come away with a fear of demons and the very real depictions of our battle with
the spiritual realm but not me.
When I read that book (and when I still read it) what stood
out/stands out for me was/is not the encounters with demons. I found in the
pages of that book a moving story of an “ordinary” woman who though a medical
doctor was faithfully serving the Lord. As I read it, I found a woman who had a
very real and intimate relationship with God despite a very busy schedule of
medical practice with all the attendant odd hours on call duty. My heart was
stirred that a medical doctor, despite how busy her schedule was, could find
time to develop such a close relationship with God.
How God spoke to her heart while she worked and brought her attention
to errors she made at work. How that by living out her “ordinary” Christian
life in such a dark work environment, many were delivered from the captivity of
Satan. I cheered at the victory that God could bring to a place if just only one
of us could just walk with Him like she did. I came away with the understanding
that even the weakest of us could by partnership with a great God, be used to
bring about a great deliverance.
I read about the 3 months she spent seeking God for a more intimate
relationship and that set my desire for God on fire. While I cannot claim to
have achieved any of her results, because of my inconsistency, I still long for
such a close walk with Jesus. I also learnt a lot about deliverance.
My point is then that when I read the book, I believe I came away
with a different understanding than the lady. Thinking about it now, one reason I think that
happened (if she actually read that book and was still angry with me) could be
because of what I considered to be most important to me. I had a very different
focus and understanding because of the dealings of God in my life.
Friends, the perspective you hold in this life matters a lot.
Depending on your relationship with God, what you consider most
important in your life can be clearly seen. Many consider their careers in life
more important than a relationship with God, hence, they devote great amount of
time to further their careers and very little to the things of God. When they
sit in a church service, they are on a stop watch and can’t seem to get out
quickly enough.
What is most important to you? What have you given your life, time,
and energy to serve? What is most important to you based on your perspective?
In reading the bible too, if you make prosperity your priority, what
you might see in every page are things that feed that desire. Anyone can get
the scriptures to say anything based on their perspective but the one thing
that God wants us to focus on is Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let
your eye be singularly on Him!
Some do not believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, this
perspective has made them merely tolerate and not treat it so seriously. They
study it to poke holes at what is said or to get good basis for philosophical arguments
from it but never to see how to develop a real relationship with the living personality
the Bible speaks about in all its books. The world has made the feminist Bible to
suit the need of women who may feel marginalized but the Bible was never about
us but about Him!
That is why Jesus could speak to people who studied the scriptures
diligently but still did not recognize who all the scriptures spoke about when
he stood before them. They were blind because he was not their focus in
searching the scriptures. They sought religious doctrines and not a living
relationship.
Friends, let your focus and desire be Jesus! If it is, then your
whole body will be full of light and you will never walk in darkness. Make
Christ your unique goal
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