“He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders” Rev. 5:6

This scene in John’s vision summarize several core doctrines of Christianity i.e. the deity of Christ, His atonement, His ressurection and Him as mediator between man and God.

Before Jesus came to earth, this scene of slaughtered Lamb was unknown or unthinkable by the angels and the 24 elders in heaven. Prior to His incarnation (Word of God made flesh), Jesus was the One who sat at the right hand of God and was worshipped day and night.

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus for mankind had subsequent eternal implication on how Jesus would be seen in heaven. The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:26) does not cease to exist as such in heaven. God did not wish that the history of the ‘Lamb who takes away the sins of the whole world” to become a tale. God wanted it to remain alive forever and revered by angels who were not directly concerned by this sacrifice.

For eternity past until that moment Jesus ascended to heaven, Jesus was known as the King of Kings, the God almighty and the Omnipotent God. This scene of slaughtered lamb was probably shocking, heartbreaking and at the same time revered by the angels. This showed how much God loved the world that He gave His Son, the only One. Our issues with sins on our small earth required God Himself to come and die. This act of God on earth impacted also the heavenly realms.

When He was on the cross, the mighty angels from heaven looked to Him helplessly because it was His will to lay down His life. If He wished, He could call out for angels to free Him and hastily legions would have come to His feet and carry Him but He said ‘Thy will be done‘ to His Father.

The supremacy and authority of the Son could clearly be seen when He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne.

The scroll itself was impressive because the decrees of God was written by God Himself and not by an angel who acted like a scribe. It was a secret known only by God’s counsel i.e. the Son, the Spirit and the Father. Only God knows what letter form was used, what the words meant or how to read those words

A powerful angel himself exclaimed “Is there anyone worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?”

1. Is there anyone who has the authority to do such a thing as breaking what has been sealed perfectly 7 times by God’s hand (like a secret journal)? Should a being dare to do such a thing, let him show up.

2. Should such a being exist to break the seals, is that being authorized to open the scroll? If so, is that being qualified to read and understand God’s written language?

3. If ever such a being exists, then prove it by action. Dare to walk without fear towards the mighty throne of God, take the scroll from His hand, break the seals and read the decrees! Let’s see if that being can pass those tests.

With those words proclaimed by a chief angel, John understood that it was a fearful moment because no creature was found worthy to do such a thing. He wept and he did so bitterly.

This scene clearly portrayed that there was a line between God’s holy throne and ALL the creatures. God was not accessible, no one could penetrate His thoughts or even read His decrees.

One of the 24 elders replied, indeed there’s no creature on earth in heaven but the one they call the victorious Lion of Judah can. He descends from the tribe of Judah (David’s throne) and was thus called the Lion of Judah (because a lion represents power and dominance over creatures).

This revealed the humanity of this being and how He could be a mediator to the inaccessible God. This God-man is worthy to break the seals and open it. The lamb of God – who is also the Word of God is apt to take the scroll and read it.

However, though He was called a Lion it was not a powerful and imposing figure who appeared before God’s throne and snatch the scroll from God’s hand.

It was that weak, unthreatening and innocent figure which showed up before God’s throne, the 4 living beings, the 24 elders and millions of angels. It was a shocking scene. It was a lamb. Not any lamb, it was a slaughtered lamb. This lamb was not dead though he was slaughtered. He bore the scars and mark of lamb which has been slain.

This is the lamb of God John the Baptist saw when he exclaimed “Behold, look here is the lamb who takes away the sin of the world!..A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me” John 1:29

It has much significance for Christians because He is a living sacrifice in God’s presence. In the Epistles to the Hebrews, the author tells us that countless sacrifice had to be done because those sacrifice could only cover sins and not remove them. If the sacrifice is forever alive, there’s no need to slaughter another. Jesus forever lives to intercede for us.

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure…And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” Heb. 10:1-12

When Jesus appeared to doubting Thomas, He appeared with His scars still on His hands and on His body

“Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” John 20:24

There will always be only One in heaven who will walk with those scars and followed by a multitude.

The Lamb of God stepped towards God’s throne (which is also His) took the scroll and opened it. When the Lamb appeared, it was a moment of fear and reverence. The mighty angels, the 4 living beings and the 24 elders who had some form of authority in heaven, themselves fell down before the Lamb, casted down their crowns and worshipped Him (Rev. 4:10, Rev. 5:14). Their songs had hints of what the Lamb did for mankind.

“You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.“

The Lamb of God has a central place in heaven. For example:

1. Relationship of the lamb and the church:

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Rev. 19:7

2. Throne of God and of the lamb:

“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him” Rev. 22:3

3. The New Jerusalem

“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). ²⁶ And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into^]it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Rev. 21:22

4. Victory of the lamb over the beast:

“ These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Rev. 17:14

5. The Lamb and the 144000 redeemed

“These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. Rev. 14:1-5

6. The judgment and torment of the worshippers of the beast

He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ” Rev. 14:10

7. The lamb who will shepherd

In as much that the lamb is a sacrifice, He is also a Shepherd.

“So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to ^[c]living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rev. 7;14

The Lamb of God is not just a mighty figure in heaven, He is the mighty figure. He is God.

My kids were watching a documentary on human anatomy and I heard an expert in the subject say that something like “The human body was designed to move. The more we stretch our muscles the stronger they become and not weaker. It’s the lack of physical of activity that kills us not vice versa.”

I almost hear/read once weekly: “Exercise regularly and eat healthy food”. This simple phrase really ticked in my mind clearly when the expert demonstrated with image what happens to the heart, brain, arteries, veins and muscles when the body is active. The more the body is trained the more capable it is to overcome other challenges. However, all depends on how the human mind is conditioned, disciplined and willing.

To build muscles we need to subject ourselves to weight lifting. These loads bring resistance to our muscles and this resistance causes pain and tiredness. In exchange of this pain, our muscles build up. When our muscles become stronger, these loads which were once hard to lift have now become inadequate to bring resistance to our muscles (even though they are still the same). The reverse is also true when we do not exercise. We gain unhealthy weights and it becomes more difficult to get rid of bad habits. We start becoming lazy, tired and the weights which we were once able to lift become more difficult to lift when our muscle reduce in volume.

Similarly, if you want your spiritual muscles to become stronger, you must face resistance, support life’s burdens, endure trials and persevere. Carrying burdens that bring no resistance will have negligible effect. Similarly, doping will have only provide temporary or unnatural strength . We will only be fooling ourselves if we think we’ll become mature Christians if we refuse to go through trials, the fiery furnace and allow ourselves molded by the Potter’s hand. Many times we dope our spirituality by knowledge without evidence of spiritual growth.

This is what Paul said to Timothy:

“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. ² You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. ⁵ And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. ⁶ And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. ⁷ Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.” 2 Tim. 2 1-7

“Think about what I am saying”. I want to pause here. It’s time to read this verse again.

May the Lord help you understand ALL these things!

Look at the words Paul used “Be strong, endure suffering, soldier of Christ Jesus, don’t get tied up in civil work, athletes, follow the rules, hardworking farmers“

Paul said to Timothy:  “Instead, train yourself to be godly.  “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”  1 Tim. 4:8

Do you see that for a disciple to become like His Master there necessarily needs to be a life of discipline? We must be set apart and be refined like gold (see this post). If you’re a minister serving the King Jesus, you must be a spiritually “professional” and not an amateur in God’s church. By professional, I do not mean excellency in management, paperwork or intelligence. One needs to be godly and have spiritual discipline in the Word and prayer.

For student to become a laureate or earn a scholarship, he must exercise himself mentally. He must sacrifice pleasures to spend time learning and become more knowledgeable. A chess master has spent hours practicing and played against strong opponents to become better. I quickly realized I was not good in calculus when I met students from other schools. I had to admit there was much room from improvement.

We often think we are spiritually strong because those around us are weak. In fact, we could be spiritually skinny when compared to the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11) or Jesus Christ who is the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2).

How do great footballers became excellent in what they do?

How do sprinters cover 100m in few seconds?

How do soldiers stand against the enemy?

How do farmers receive a great harvest or a high number of animal headcount?

There is a common denominator to all those question: Work.

Work in the scorching sun ploughing the land. Burning the midnight candle when everyone is sleeping. Discipline, sacrifice, exercise…Name it

There’re rules to follow. You cannot set your own rules and exercise how you want or “do it your way” even if God has gifted you with a ministry. You need to follow the master’s voice. To become a high performer as a soldier, the latter cannot engage himself at the same time in civilian affairs when his body is required to be trained for battle. A part-time athlete has less chance to become a world class one if his time/energy is divided.

Similarly, a Christian cannot be a part-timer and expect to become mature if his life is not consistent. A Christian cannot be disciple only at church and not at work (where there are more challenges and adversity). It is easier to demonstrate “Christian” character among lambs. At work the Christian face adversity and his character is tested in the words spoken, how he deals with money and how he performs his work. It is indeed among difficult people that Christian’s character is best tested.

How can a Christian overcome sin? It is by facing temptation. God allows temptation to come to us, not to cause us to fall but to become stronger. Enduring temptation or resisting the devil are burdens indeed but not crush us but to be prayerfully lifted up in Jesus name to strengthen our spiritual muscles.

“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” 1 Cor. 10:13

In fact James said:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything“ James 1:2

The key here is perseverance. Facing adversity one day and fleeing is not what will make us stronger. However, facing life’s trials a day at a time is what will make us stronger. Perseverance is a very difficult mindset because we do not see the results on the first day or the next day. It’s a very lengthy process and the results are seen gradually. Let perseverance finish its work the apostle says. Life’s trials/persecutions are our spiritual barbells. These strengthen our muscles and will not kill us. I remember the first time I ran 10 kilometers when I was a kid on steep tracks. I felt my heart beating so fast, was feeling pain everywhere and wanted to abandon the race. However, I kept running and finished the race. I kept going because I saw my fellow comrades enduring and sweating like me. This is why being in a Christian community is important. We are all running a race, at our own pace, but surely going to the same finish line. The important thing is to finish the race victoriously.

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7

Paul appealed the Corinthians to spiritual discipline:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.“

With age physical strength and mental ability naturally decrease but not so with spiritual muscles. If Moses was skinny on the outside when he was a centenary, on the inside he was surely one of the strongest man who ever lived due to his “spiritual muscles”.

This is why the authors of the Epistle to the Hebrews calls us to look at the heroes of faith. See how they did, kept the faith and persevered.

“We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Heb. 6:12

It was not inhuman what they accomplished. They had flesh and blood like us. It was discipline that brought them this far.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” Heb. 12:1

A pastor cannot make you become mature Christian. He can only instruct you how to lift weights as a coach. You have to lift up your own burden, get rid of your sins and carry the yoke that Jesus gives you to strengthen your muscles (Mat. 11:28). The pastor can help you face trials like a coach helping you pushing the barbells. However, do not forget that this is your trial, not his.

“take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light“

John the Baptist was carved by the bareness of the wilderness, Elijah by the wickedness of Achab, Joseph by the treason of his brothers, Moses by false accusation and rejection of his own people, David by wrath of Absalom, Daniel by lions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by a fiery furnace and the apostles by persecutions.

God is at work in us. If you’re not facing trials, adversity, resistance or difficulties it means without any doubt that your spiritual muscles are at rest. It is a good thing to rest if you just went through one. However, if you live a life without troubles then you need to question yourself if you’re allowing God to disciple you as a Father discipline his legitimate sons and daughters.

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Heb. 12:11

If your spiritual muscles are at rest for a long time and not exercising then you’ll grow weaker and become an easy prey for the devil. The conclusion here is not to pray for trials and adversity but rather to submit ourselves to the Father’s will and let Him transform us into the image of His Son (2 Cor. 3:18).

Paul said to the Corinthians:

“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” 2 Cor. 13:5

What is your spiritual fitness?

1.Are you cold, lukewarm or hot?

2. What dominates your life? The fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of the flesh?

3. Are you equipped with the spiritual armors (Eph. 6:10) or unequipped for spiritual battle ?

 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. But one-third will be left in the land. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zech. 13:7

This is a prophetic verse spoken by Jesus in Mat. 26:31 on the eve of the crucifixion. Is.53:10 mentions that “It pleased to God to crush Him“. On the day of crucifixion, the Shepherd was stricken down by God and this caused the sheep to be scattered. If we read this verse of Zechariah in Hebrew, it is beautifully written as such “I will strike this Man who is my Companion and also the Shepherd“

The hebrew word wahasiḇoṯi translated as “will bring” : means gather or restore

The word “against” (hebrew al) here means over. The hand of God will be over the Shepherd to punish Him and the sheep will be scattered. This is indeed what happened in the book of Acts when there was persecution against Christians, the sheep were scattered. However, when the sheep will be scattered, the hand of God will also be over them but not to punish them as He did with the Shepherd. His hands will be over to form one flock, “the third”.

“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. ” John 10:16

Comparatively, the other 2 thirds represent those majority of people who do not follow the Shepherd. They will be cut off and die. In fact, Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” Mat. 7:13

While it is true that this chapter 13 of Zechariah speaks of the Messiah, the main message is about would happen to those scattered but not abandoned sheep.

1. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver
    and purify them like gold.

This cleansing will not happen without destruction/removal of what is impure. An ordinary low heat fire cannot be used to purify gold. An intense and continuous heating process is required to achieve the intended purity. In fact, at least 1000 degrees Celsius is required to make gold melt. Once it is molten, gold can be isolated/separated from what is undesired. This metaphor has always been used in the OTby God and Jesus in the NT.

“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. ³ He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord” (Mal. 3:3)

There’s a particular group concerned by this cleansing and this group is considered precious as gold in the eyes of God.

On the final judgment, Jesus said ” All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.” Mat. 25:32

How is this cleaning done? As Paul said, by the Gospel and the Holy Spirit:

“I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:16

a. By the Gospel

We have already “fine” when we have been regenerated in Christ. This is what Jesus said: “You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.“

But Jesus goes even further and says “remain in me, and I will remain in you.”

Further refining occurs when we remain in Christ. The sins that entangles us so easily (Heb. 12:1) and stain us are removed as long as we remain attached to the vine. Though we’re Christians, we still sin and this causes stains like impurities in the gold. The Refiner’s fire will remove those stains. God has given us a white robe and when some mud gets on it, we do all be can to get rid of that mud. We flee away from sin and sexual immorality (2 Tim. 2:2). We do not enjoy having stains on our robe. Pigs enjoy mud because it’s their nature and if we continue to live in sin, we cannot claim to be followers of Jesus.

Hebrews 10:26 says : “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.  There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.“

Peter said: “They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” 2 Peter 2:22

A Christian still regretfully sins but can never be a slave of any sin, have a vice or be overcome. A Christian cannot continue to live in lies, be an idolater, be addicted to alcohol/gambling/work/drug/pornography etc. When we remain in Christ, the holiness of Jesus drives out everything that is unclean. Holiness is what flows in the sap of the Vine and its effect is sanctification. If holiness is not the result of our life, we need to examine if we’re really abiding in Christ. It is impossible for the Vine to bear thorns, it should produce good fruits like the fruit of the Spirit.

There are so many verses which talk about the power of the Word of God to purify the heart and mind of man. I will just quote those word of Jesus in John 15:3 as example: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

b. Through the Holy Spirit

I will also just quote 2 verses for references:

“And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Cor. 3:18

Galatians 5:16:  “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

2. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

God always wanted to make a distinction between those people who consider/honor Him as God and those who don’t. Israel was punished many times because they confessed Yahweh as God but dishonored and disobeyed Him. They did not live as the holy people of the Holy God.

1 Peter 2:9 describes the real people of God “ But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

Revelation 18:4 says “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her”

The church means ekklesia. This word is the Greek words kaleo (to call), with the prefix ek (out). Thus, the word means “the called out ones.” God had a covenant with the nation of Israel but the real people He has set apart is the universal church. These people are scattered over the world and do not refer to Israel. All those members of ekklesia will one day be united together under one flock. Israel is not God’s holy nation but the church is.

“God’s purpose in all this was to use the Church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God uses the Church to proclaim His Will and message to the world.

Let us not deceive ourselves. God sees the church not the same way as we do. Not all who those who think they are part of the church of God actually are. There’s no idol worship in God’s church. There’re no false prophets or unclean spirit amongst God’s people. Amongst God’s people God’s Word dwells richly and has authority (Col 3:16). Prophecies in whatsoever form and even coming from angels cannot override the Gospel of Jesus (Gal. 1:6). Be careful, if in your congregation there’re false teachings or false prophets you should not be in that congregation. God does not take pleasure in these. Let us see what Zechariah had to say:

“I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them“

If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.

Nowadays, many so-called Christians claim or boast to have a prophetic/apostolic gift. There has been much abuse of those gifts and these not only dishonor God but also create confusions. If parents know that his child is a false prophet, they will not only be ashamed but wish that their child ceases to live. 

Claiming to be a prophet in our era should be a shame. Jesus already prophesied what will happen till His return, do we really need prophets nowadays? I do not reject the possibility that God can use his people to prophesy but I question whether the ministry of prophet or apostle is still existent/necessary. There were only 12-13 apostles chosen by Jesus and what qualified them to be apostles is explained in Acts 1:22 i.e. they witnessed the resurrection of Jesus and saw what Jesus did.

In ancient times, false prophets mutilated themselves before making false prophesies (1 Kings 18:28).

If a false prophet turned away from making false prophesies, his past would still haunt him because people would still look at him with disdain and horror. The incisions this false prophet made on his body in his past would make him want to lie to hide the reasons of the cuts on his body. He would never dare to say he was a former false prophet nor boast about the wounds he made in his former life as a false prophet.

“ If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him. On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes. ⁵ He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ ⁶ And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’

These warnings of Zechariah should make the Church of the living God be intransigent regarding false teachings and prophecies. The church should not give an ounce of consideration to false prophets speaking in the name of Jesus. If God abhors false prophets speaking in His name, the church should adopt the same position.

The true Church of the living God is the only one set apart to proclaim God’s message. False prophets have no part in it and should be rebuked as Paul did with Elymas the sorcerer “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you” Acts 13:10

“You have no part or share in our work, because your heart is not right in God’s sight. ²² Repent, then, of this evil plan of yours, and pray to the Lord that he will forgive you for thinking such a thing as this. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitter envy and are a prisoner of sin.” Acts 8:21

The church’s leadership should look to it that the church remains the sole representative of God’s Gospel. The church should not be part of ecumenical movements or partnering with others religions for the sake of unity. The church by definition has been “set apart” by God for some obvious reasons, why do some church leaders want to go against what God intended?

It’s not also our holiness which is concerned when we’re set apart but also our faith in God amidst trial and persecution.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.  These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1 Peter 1:7

Let us remember what Jesus said:

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:19

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:14

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!  But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice” John 10:1-5

Whenever Jesus started with “Verily I say unto you” or “I tell you the truth”, it signified that He was about to say something worthy of attention. This does not mean that the conversations which did not start with those words were of lesser importance. Those discourses with “verily” or “I tell you the truth” meant something unknown being revealed.

John 10 is quite damning for the spiritual leaders Israel had. We’ll go through some of the traits of the false shepherds.

The sheepfold

The false teacher/pastor/prophet sneaks over the wall of the sheepfold.

The sheepfold was made with stones piled on each other and it had a gate. There could be several sheepfolds near each other especially if the sheep were nearby Jerusalem to be used for sacrifice or sold. That meant that there could be several gatekeepers, hired men or shepherds near each other.

1. The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd

When 2 or more sheepfolds opened their gates for the sheep to go out, the sheep were probably mixed up with those belonging to other shepherds and we could imagine that losing a sheep to another shepherd or forgetting one behind was easy. But Jesus tells us that the sheep would listen to the voice of its shepherd even if there were several shepherds around calling for their sheep to follow them.

In Luke 9:35 we read “This is My Son, My Chosen One: listen to Him“. Unfortunately, many do not want to listen to him.

There are other flocks that are not his and there is one flock which he owns.

“After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice“

2. He who sneaks over the wall is a thief and brigand

Jesus told his disciples that anyone who does not go through the gate but sneak over the wall i.e.  moves quietly and stealthily so as to avoid being seen or heard is not only behaving like a thief but indeed has the intention to steal. He goes even further, this thief does not only have the intention to steal but is a brigand i.e. will use violence to harm (armed robbery).

The unbelieving and presumptuous Jews who rejected Jesus were those sheep that heard not the voice of the shepherd.

Adam Clarke expressed it as such “the murderers and robbers are the false Christs, false prophets, scribes, Pharisees, wicked hireling priests, and ungodly ministers of all sorts, whether among primitive Jews or modern Christians.”

This is indeed what Jesus said in John 9:”Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”

Jesus said that He is the light of the world (John 8:15). In as much that this light illuminates those who stands behind Him and guide their paths, this same light blinds those who stands against Him and cause them to stumble. Listening to Jesus voice, accepting His teachings is what makes someone a sheep. One cannot claim to be a sheep of Jesus if he goes his own way instead of going where the Shepherds leads him.

3. The good and bad Shepherds

Whoever has not been commissioned by Jesus Christ into the pastoral office and has God’s sheep under his guard, is no other than a thief and a robber in the sheepfold. One must surely go through the door, Jesus, to bring them out and feed them. Taking pastoral office without Jesus consent is illegitimate. One must receive this calling and go through the proper channel to exerce this role of shepherd.

This is the rebuke God gave to the shepherd of Israel:

“The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, “It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock. ⁴ You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity. ⁵ They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field. ⁶ My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them” Ez. 34:1-10

As for the Good Shepherd(see Ps. 23), God said:

“For the Lord God says, “I Myself will look for My sheep and find them.  As a shepherd looks for his sheep when they are not together, so I will look for My sheep. And I will save them from all the places where they were spread out on a day of clouds and darkness.  I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live.  I will feed them in a good field. The ground they eat upon will be on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good field and feed on good grass on the mountains of Israel.  I will feed My sheep, and give them rest,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will look for the lost, bring back those that have gone away, help those who have been hurt, and give strength to the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with punishment.”Ez. 34:10-15

The hired man counts the sheep his own as long as they are profitable to him; the good shepherd looks upon them as his, so long as he can be profitable to them. The sheep will listen to his voice and submit to his leadership as one commissioned by Jesus to lead them in green pastures.

Unfortunately, many have come into the pastoral office just like the bad shepherds of Israel. The shepherds of Israel were learned, well versed in scripture, had all the theological qualifications but were not called to shepherd. Many pastors have taken up this office because they studied theology but were not called by Jesus. It should be the other way one i.e. theological studies to be better equipped follows the call to pastoral office, not vice-versa.

Some pastors shepherd lovingly even though they were not called and still others do it out of wrong motives. This could be pride, ambitions, money, love of ease or to promote the interests of one’s family. I have met many who became pastors because their father was a pastor. There is no monarchy in pastoral ministry. Taking pastoral office allowed to lord it over the sheep by hijacking different leadership roles in the church. These kind of shepherds are opportunists, they do not really care for the sheep. In Ezechiel we also read about fattened sheep who fed themselves, the rams which hurt other sheep with their body and even drove them away with their horns. Not all breed of sheep have horns(all rams do have). If the horned animals (ram or goat) were put together with sheep which did not have horns, those sheep would be hurt. In Ezechiel, we see God angry with the horned animals (rams, goats) because they not only hurt the sheep but even left their own fields to eat in the fields of the sheep and crushed their pasture. These horned animals even made clear water that the sheep would drink, dirty. It was not only the fake shepherds which abused the sheep but also the rams which had horns and hurt the inoffensive ones.

Adam Clarke had some words for the shepherds which were not called into pastoral office:

“the desire of providing for himself and his family, are innocent, yea, laudable, in a secular business but to enter into the ministerial office through motives of this kind is highly criminal before God.”

Notice that Jesus is the door and he that enters through him into the sheepfold is indeed a genuine shepherd. The gatekeeper will open him and the sheep will listen to his voice. He who entered by any other means e.g. theological qualifications or succession is a counterfeit or fake shepherd and will lead the sheep astray, kill, abuse and destroy them.

4. He knows them by name

Just like Jesus gave Simon the new name “Cephas”, he knows his sheep by name because only the true shepherd has the authority to give a name to its sheep just like a parent gives a name to his new born. Before Jesus left, he asked Peter if he loved Him. Peter responded yes and Jesus told him thrice to shepherd his lambs and his sheep. In his epistle, Peter who was appointed shepherd of the Jewish Christians in turn recommends to others shepherd:

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. ³ Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. ⁴ And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.” 1 Peter 5:1-4

If the father of lies calls my name, I will not follow because I know the voice of the one who gave me my name when I was born again.

A genuine pastor has therefore a lawful call to exercise authority, to feed and protect the sheep. That person would not have been a pastor if it was not triggered and quickened by the Holy Spirit. That person gives his life for the sheep as Jesus would. It’s an immense self-sacrifice with no sordid gain in mind.

But the one who sneaks over the wall i.e. has his own agenda, is double-faced or conceals his real intention is a thief and a robber. They just want to get some fat from the sheep.

The porter opens access to the sheep because he knows and trust the shepherd. There is only one who can enter legitimately through the gate, it’s the shepherd.

5. The sheep won’t listen to the voice of a stranger

The robber can steal a sheep, harm it and even kill it but never will a thief be able to force a sheep to listen. In fact, if a sheep is solicited to follow someone else than its shepherd it will fear danger.

“They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

I have told my kids not to listen to a stranger if they approached them. The stranger may know their names but they don’t have my voice and call them by name as I do. My kids will not listen or follow a stranger. If you do not want to be embarrassed in a public area, you better not ask my kids to follow you, for sure they will shout!

My kids will follow me even if I cross a dangerous path because they know me, they know that I don’t have any intention to hurt them but protect and feed them.

In as much that my kids won’t listen to the voice of a stranger, other kids won’t listen to my voice because I’m not their father.

As we’ve seen in Ezechiel, Jesus said “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them“

A sheep will listen to the voice of the one to whom it belongs, either to Jesus or the devil. The true sheep i.e. the real children of God will not listen to the voice of the devil.

6. Jesus the only door to salvation and the one who gathers His sheep

Jesus thus mentions that He is the gate, the only door to salvation.

“Those who come in through me will be saved.They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” John 10:10-11

Jesus positions himself as the Good Shepherd in Ezechiel who will gather his flock, give his life for them and also find the lost ones.

“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”

There are sheep which will hear the voice of the Son of God when the gospel will be preached to them (e.g. the Gentiles). They are still captured in other sheepfolds by the devil. Jesus will bring them together to form one flock with Him as the sole shepherd. He will not lord it over them but these sheep will find freedom to move around and profit the good pastures without a rope around the neck. Surely, the objective of the Good Shepherd is not to profit them but to make them fulfilled and satisfied. These are not just claims and beautiful words spoken by the Good Shepherd, He proved it by giving his life. If He gave His life, how can there be an ounce of intention to profit them? Will not He ready to defend those He gave his life for, feed them and care for them?

John 15:13: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends“

7. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming

Interestingly, one of the mark of a true shepherd is his disinterest with money in contrast with the hired hand who is just performing a duty with something in return. Whenever a better offer arise the hired hand leaves the sheep. Whenever the sheep gets sick or it becomes too difficult to manage and feed them, he just leaves them alone. Whenever he feels threatened by a wolf, he runs away to save his life leaving the sheep at the mercy of the wolf. His life is more important than the sheep but the good shepherd is ready to give his life for the sheep. Why will he abandon the sheep? Simply because he never considered them his own. Guarding the sheep provided for him to keep his life easy but when it required guarding against the wolf, it was no longer worth the risks of getting bitten or killed for a flock of sheep which belonged to someone else. For sure he will logically run away to save his life and abandon the sheep. The flock is thus attacked and scattered.

“A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”

8. Beware of sheep with horns and wolves in sheep clothing

There are many scattered sheep in churches because there has been spiritual abuse by fake shepherds. Even though, these sheep still persevere and continue to listen to the voice of the Shepherd where he leads them. Paul did say that ravening wolves will come and cause the flock to scatter. They do resemble sheep but have horns and have the same objective as the wolves – hurt the sheep.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Mat. 7:15

A wolf in sheep clothing is usually someone with false humility, an excess of zeal, a legalist or double-faced. They are not the sheep they claim to be. They appear harmless as sheep. They can demonstrate kindness with something in return. However, they have a malicious attitude and their preoccupations are to profit the sheep and not care for them.

 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood^[h]—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.²⁹ I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. ³¹ Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.” Acts 20:29-31

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” Mat. 3:3

No, I’m not talking about the Baptist denomination.

They called him the Baptist, John the Baptist. He was a simple man but yet considered by Jesus as the greatest man who ever lived. Why? Because he purposefully prepared the way for Jesus to come by calling people to repentance, boldly and without seeking any glory. If I’m ever remembered as a Baptist, may it not be because I have been affiliated to a denomination but because of imitating this man John who prepared the entry of Jesus in the lives of people.

Things to be remembered about John:

1. Born for a godly purpose

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” Luke 1:14

Jesus’ birth was a miracle as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without man’s intervention. John’s birth was also a miracle, he was born of pious parents who have been praying for years for a child. Now old, Zechariah had probably lose faith but God still purposefully wanted to mark the coming of John through a miracle. This remembers me of the many childless couples in the scripture whose life were very meaningful in God’s masterplan concerning the child born through them (Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, Elkanah and Hannah, Isaac and Rebekah). Samson was another example of a child whose parents (Jud. 13:2) encountered with God in a specific way and were promised a son who would not drink liquor or defended foods(like John. This is not to say that children born from sterile couples are more special but I just want to emphasize that when God has purposed a child to be born in a miraculous way, this has ultimately led for His purpose and glory. Jesus said of John, that of all men ever born, John was the most important man born from the union of a man and woman (Mat. 11:11).

2. The greatest man ever born

We’ve just read that John’s birth was a miracle but several others like him were born from barren women. However, John was the only man in the New Testament whom Jesus reserved great words of praises. John was considered the friend of the bridegroom

The role of the bridegroom’s friend(shoshabin) was “to serve the couple which would soon marry, to inspect the concerns of the bridechamber, and afterwards to reconcile differences between husband and wife, when any took place“.

Though it is probable that the shoshabins were not always found in ordinary weddings, yet they were never absent from the marriages of kings, princes, and persons of distinction” (see the notes of Adam Clarke in John 3 on this subject).

There was a great wedding which was getting prepared – this was God’s reconciliation or union with mankind.

John’s role was clear, his purpose was to prepare this union between mankind (the bride) and the groom (Jesus).

John was a herald, officially sent by God to oversee and prepare the ceremony which will take place before the groom came. His duty was to make proclamations and carry royal messages before the actual coming of the King Jesus.

3. John murdered because of his boldness of telling the truth

John must have had some boldness in calling people to repentance.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” Mat.3

In fact daring to call the Pharisees brood of vipers(Mat. 3:12) was an evidence that he feared none as long as he told the truth. John even told them that they should not hide behind their ancestry thinking they will escape judgement. They were ready to be chopped down by God Himself unless they repented of their sins.

“You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?  Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” Mat. 3:8

His boldness even cost him his life when he reproved Herod for his sexual immorality with his brother Philip’s wife. Preparing the way for Jesus to come in the lives of people, require a conviction and boldness. John’s message was clear and urgent “The kingdom of God has come near”.

4. John sought no glory, except of the one He was going to proclaim

If someone wanted to be heard and be popular, why would he preach in the wilderness? If John wanted to appear clean, tidy and spiritual why did he dress as a vagabond (coarse camel hair), ate wild honey and locust? In contrast to the Pharisees who were dressed with white robes and spent their time in the temple. John was the absolute opposite. If someone genuinely wanted to repent they would come to the wilderness to hear the message John had to say to find a way out of their sins. This demonstrates that begging people to repent is not the right approach but calling them to repentance is. Let it never happen that someone becomes a follower of Jesus to please us or just to make us stop begging. Repentance must come from a willful and sincere hear and should be a result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, nothing else (Jn. 16:18).

It also reminds us that the gospel is free but not cheap. It is readily available and accessible to be heard in the wilderness. What if John preached in the Synagogues? If the Pharisees accepted him, the synagogue would have probably been packed and only a few elects who had some good contacts with the high priest would have had access to it. He choose the wilderness where one will go only to save his soul, not to get food or any benefits for the flesh except sun. The wilderness was a large place and could accommodate a large crowd. Though the wilderness was an unattractive place, it was indeed the best place to be if one did not want to be distracted by the pleasures of this world and focus on getting right with God.

What a man was John the Baptist! We can plead for souls to be reconciled to God but let us not never beg people. Pleading or agonizing for a soul emanates from a passion for salvation without any self gratification. God is not a beggar. John had only one objective: Get hearts ready for Jesus, prepare the way for Him! Those people who came, knew why they came. They really wanted to repent and willingly wanted to take this baptism as engagement.

John knew that the work he was doing was of utmost importance for a king and that he was just a servant ” But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals” Mat. 3:6

When John saw Jesus coming, he was so humbled of finally seeing Him. He found it so inappropriate to give a baptism of repentance to Jesus the sinless man. This is why John said “I am the one who should take this baptism of repentance”. There could not be better words than this “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world!” John 1:29

When Jesus performed miracles, some disciples of John started to follow Jesus and he did not find Jesus as a stealer of the disciples he made. On the contrary he was more than happy to now see his followers in better hands.

“It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater; I must become less.” Jn. 3:29

It was not about John’s success. It’s not about me. It’s not about us. It’s all about HIM. The self is crucified. If we’re becoming greater could it be that we’re stealing a glory that belongs to Him? Without realizing it, many ministers have forgotten why they were making disciples. It was not for their own benefits or prestige but for Christ. Why would one dare owning disciples? On the contrary, if one had disciples and really loved them, he would necessarily would want to entrust them to Jesus. It is mission accomplished only when all disciples have been transferred to Christ and no one following us.

5. Call to repentance and preparing the way was his mission

Having this kind of mission will necessarily attract haters, opposition, make us unpopular and even put our life at risk. “Who are you to call people to repentance? Are you holier than us? Why do you judge me?”

Well, the content of the message is what will likely cause such reactions. People are free to think as they want but this a noble mission with no objective to put oneself above others. John was just a messenger.

“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” Mark 1:2

Many times the messenger is shoot because of the message he carries. When there were no telephone lines, the messenger’s job in the army was just like a postman. He did not really care about the content or was required to share the opinion of the message. In fact, he probably did not know what was the message as it was sealed. The messenger’s job was just to accomplish his duty and the message he carried had no effect on his character and way of living. Let it not be so with us! Let us not be among those who just return to our ordinary life when the message is delivered. Both a postman and a witness have a message they carry but the difference between them is that the first know nothing about the content of the message and the other one is himself a message.

This is not the kind of messenger God called John or us to be. John the Baptist was a messenger who was convinced of the truth and importance of his message. The message he carried was dear to him and this transformed his life, habits, priorities, where he lived, what he wore and even what he ate and drink. This is an example how the messenger was himself transformed by the message he carried. This message Jesus brought was a powerful one, a treasure and life giving.

“…made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” 2 Cor. 4:6

6. John the messenger

John was a herald, the most important human messenger. He announced the coming of the King Jesus. After Jesus died many came to proclaim Jesus as being the savior of the world.

In Romans 10, Paul talked about the missionaries and evangelist who are sent to proclaim the message of the Gospel. Paul said :

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

This is best understood by looking at Isaiah 52:7

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Is. 52:7

How can I explain “How beautiful are the feet of the messenger”?

In 490BC, during the Battle of the Marathon, when the Greek messenger Philippides witnessed a Persian vessel change its direction and headed towards Athens even though the Greeks were about to win the battle. He thought the Persians wanted to lure the Greek people by claiming a false victory and hence taking over the Greek land with less resistance even though they have not won the battle which was still being disputed on the sea. Philippides ran from the battle site to Athen without stopping, without encumbering himself with weapons or armors which would have otherwise hinder himself to reach his destination. When he broke into the assembly of gathered people he proclaimed nenikēkamen, “we have won!”, before collapsing and dying. It was a good news that if it was not told would have left people in ignorance that victory was won. Unless this truth was told, people would have been kept overpowered by the Persians who lost the battle.

7. Are you a witness?

Philippides witnessed the danger reaching his people and this is why he made it a must to run this marathon and proclaim everyone on his way that the victory has been won and that there were no reasons to fear. When Philippides laid his feet in Athen in was a very good news. Victory has been won on the cross, but Satan is still luring man into slavery. We are such messengers to tell them the Good News.

If you were eargerly expecting an important message for weeks and finally you see the messenger coming from afar on the mountain. Would not you say “Blessed are the feet of this messenger, he finally came!”? This messenger travelled sea, land, long distances and put his life at risk to deliver this important message to you. If you’re a Christian, you have necessarily witnessed Jesus doing something in your life.

If some people mocked Philippides or refused to believe his message, would not he be right to look at them with indignation after the efforts he made?

Jesus said: “And whoever shall not receive you or hear your words, shake off the dust of your feet when you depart from that house, or that city” Mat. 10:14

In as much that the feet can be beautiful for those who consider the message to be true, it is a condemnation if the messenger shake off the dust from his feet. May it never occur that a messenger of the good news shake off his feet at our doorstep!

Like Philippides, John died when he was able to make his message known. Undelivered messages to the recipients can be a matter of life and death. Let it never occur that we die with a message still sealed in our hands. Let the good news be proclaimed, let it be heard!

Are you like the one they called “The Baptist”, whose message and life as a messenger was nothing else but to prepare the way for Jesus?

8. Mission accomplished

John had a mission of earth – prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus has also given all Christians a mission and vision. The vision is that God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim.2:4) and this is accomplished through the Great Com-mission. Some Christians go on mission to countries who never heard the Gospel, others learn new languages to make disciples of other nations. Once these new converts reach out to their own community, translate the bible or Christians books in their own language it’s for the missionary “mission accomplished”.

However, between the hard work and the end result, there’s a lot of navigation in the unknown. This requires faith and perseverance even when our eyes see nothing God doing or our ears hearing nothing. This is what happened to John the Baptist when he was in prison. He toiled hard and the beginning of his ministry was powerful. When Jesus came, he was somehow isolated in a prison and cut off from what was happening outside. The Roman were still ruling and the Messiah he proclaimed did not seem to care about the ruling of the Romans in Jerusalem.

Was the One he proclaimed, was indeed the Messiah? He started to doubt what he himself preached with so much confidence at the start of his ministry. Why? Probably because of his daily situation – imprisonment. This was blurring the reality happening outside the prison. It’s not because we do not see Jesus doing things or hear miracles from Him that He’s not actively working.

Jesus knew about it and He gave John peace, joy and a sense of accomplishment when He sent this message to John:

“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Mat. 11:4

The prophesies long foretold were being fulfilled while John was in prison. What was even more important was that the Good News was being proclaimed. In other words this what was Jesus wanted to tell John: “Good and faithful servant, your work has not been in vain. Miracles are happening, souls and being saved and God is being glorified. Thank you for preparing the way for me! “

John was now at the back of the stage and Jesus was now the talk of the town. He was after all a shoshabin, the wedding was not about him but about the bride and the groom. Jesus must “increase and I decrease“. It’s not about us, it’s all about Him. I firmly believe that John was comforted by the response he received. It was mission accomplished for him.

We saw in the first 3 chapters how John introduced the divinity of Jesus as well as His humanity. Chapter 3 was central to the message John wanted to communicate to his readers. In my opinion, chapter 3 contains all the ingredients concerning the message of the Gospel i.e. the consequence of sin, the gift of God in the person of Jesus, man’s responsibility to accept/reject that gift, God’s salvation and judgment.

Jesus went to speak to a woman which was also a Samaritan. The Samaritans knew that were literally considered as being inferior, “dogs”, unspiritual(John 8:48) and sinners by the Jews. Instead of calling someone “idiot” at that time to insult them, calling them “Samaritan” had the same effect.

While the Samaritans and Jews have the same ancestry, this division occurred when the nation of Israel was divided into a north and southern kingdom in the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12). The Samarians (north Kingdom) were thus not travelling to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice and worship because for them Schichem (mount Gerizim) was where God used to speak to the Israelites in ancient times (Deut. 11:29). They married Assyrians and were despised by the Jews. Just like the Pharisees and the Saducees disagreed about the resurrections, it was the debate at that time where was the place of worship since on Mount Gerizim there were also temples.

Imagine that you were considered the greatest sinners on earth and rejected because of your origins and beliefs.

Jesus came to remove such barriers and bridge gaps which restricted access to God because of religions or ethnicity. When the Canaanite woman came to Jesus, there was still this concept among the Jews that Gentiles were inferior, like dogs.

“It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” Mat 15:27

Back to our text, we can now keep in mind that when Jesus initiated a conversation with that Samaritan woman it was particularly unusual. The more spiritual a Jew thought he was at that time(e.g. the Pharisees), the more hatred there was in his heart against Samaritans. Jesus was God and He did not have this attitude.

Jesus was conversing with someone who everyone considered the scum of the society (e.g. prostitute).

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

The reply that Jesus made was short but very meaningful.

The first thing He did was to mention God because this appointment near Jacob’s well was purposefully orchestrated by God.

The Jews and the Samaritans had no conversation or relationships but here we see Jesus taking the initiative to speak to her about this great Being.

Jesus had this wisdom of words to mix up physical reality with spirituality. For instance He said ” I will make you fishers of man to fisherman”, He said He was the “bread of life”, in contrast to manna to those He gave bread.

“The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry” John 6:33

He said to Peter (Cephas) that on this rock(the meaning of Cephas) He will build His church

Now Jesus said He would give living water to a Samaritan though He was Himself physically thirsty. Thirst was the opportunity to have this conversation. Jesus often looked for opportunities to talk about spiritual matters. This is also what Paul has been doing when he saw an altar which an inscription of an unknown God and wanted to talk about this God unknown to the Athenians (Acts 17).

May God use our thirst, ears, eyes to talk about spiritual matters!

 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

The conversation now takes the direction it should because this would allow Jesus to clear out errors and provide spiritual insights of God’s real will.

The water drawn from this well was apparently reputed not only for its freshness but also because of its long proven history of being a source of life for people and cattle.

For that woman, it was strange that this thirsty man who came barehand, without a bucket and rope, could provide water from another source than Jacob’s well which was deeply foraged and dug to get access to water.

If a reputed and rich man like Jacob found that this well was good enough for his family who did this man thought He was?

Jesus’ reply was beautiful and full of wisdom:

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

It was a fact that Jacob, his sons and cattles drank this water. No matter how fresh this water was, those who drank it became thirsty again and had to draw water from it over and over again.

Jesus then proposed to give the woman some water that would leave no one thirsty after drinking it. Meaning that when one will know the true God, that person will stop seeking again for spiritual needs outside that God. The spiritual thirst of that person will not only be quenched but this person himself will be overflowed with spiritual goodness. Jesus offers to resolve our spiritual hunger and thirst, He never promised that we will never be hunger for food or thirsty of water. Jesus did not promise peace on earth, His promises were all for our souls and spirit which will last forever. Never again will a soul search for spiritual insights outside Christ after encountering Him.

So it happens that He who was proposing such a living water was Himself physically thirsty.

Was this man credible? If He drank this living water He was talking about why was He asking me to draw water for Him?

The woman thus said: ““Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

She was probably tired to come here over and over again and said that maybe this Jew could fix that water problem definitely.

She was eagerly expecting an answer and Jesus told her something she was less expecting. Jesus pointed her to her sins. So the focus of this conversation changed and spiritual problems became the priority over the daily life’s problem:

“Go and get your husband” 

For Jesus to give her living water, she had to fix up some issues in her life.

Now was the crucial moment for that woman to decide whether she will be angry to talk about her sins or face the problem. This is how it happens when we encounter with God.

This is the part in John 3 where Jesus talked about those who refuse to come to the light for fear that their evils deeds be exposed and refuse to continue this conversation about sin. Some others accept to talk about it with Jesus and continue this conversation.

If Jesus wanted to talk about your sins today would you have this conversation with Him or turn your back because you would feel embarrassed?

The woman decided to reply but now she was shorter in her answers, giving the fewer information she could about the different relationships she had with man

“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied to cut short.

Jesus then continued to deal with this particular problem this woman had, as a doctor would to remove a cancer. It will hurt to hear that Jesus knew all about your intimate life. God would not be shocked even if we told it all to Him. Jesus knew it all already when she met that woman.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—  for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

At this point would you continue this conversation or tell Jesus “mind your own business”?

The woman now realized that Jesus received some sort of revelation from God and was a kind of prophet. Now she talks about a spiritual barrier which was keeping her to come closer to God – the place of worship

Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.  So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

Some muslims refuse to believe in Jesus because they have a preconceived idea that the bible has been twisted and falsified. They also have a misconception of what Jesus meant when He said He was the Son of God. The first thing to do is to remove those barriers and bring the truth to light.

Jesus thus cut the debate short and indicates that neither the Jew nor the Samaritans were right in their arguments. These 2 nations were debating about futilities. The physical place where one worshipped was nothing compared to worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. Worshiping God in ignorance or with an incorrect understanding of God’s nature was also not a worship that would attain Him even if done on the mountain the ancestors used to go for worship.

Worshiping God in the flesh i.e. with a sinful heart accompanied by religious rituals was not receivable even if it was done at Jerusalem. Thus being a Jew, worshipping in Jerusalem, reading the Torah, praying 7 times a day, respecting the Sabbath or following Jewish customs and traditions were not enough to become a worshiper of the living God. One necessarily had to be born of the Spirit to worship God in Spirit for God is Spirit. True worshipers are those who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. One necessarily needs to worship God in truth for there is only One true God and He’s certainly not the one we have conceived falsely in our mind. Worshipping such a God requires divine revelation about His nature through the Spirit coupled with guidance from the written revelation found in the scripture.

 “Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

When these barriers of understanding God have been cleared now was the time to go through the Mediator between God and man, Jesus.

So the woman asked, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

This is the same reasoning we see in John 7:27:

“But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

This answer is what I call the “blindness tragedy”.

Even if Jesus was talking to her, the Samaritan woman was looking for the Messiah, the one called Christ. She was expecting the Messiah to explain everything. The irony is that she was face to face with this Messiah who just explained her that worshiping on Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem was not important.

In John 5 we see that people listened to other voices and welcome them but would fail to accept Jesus

“Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them.”

These people knew very well through scripture of the coming of the Messiah. When this very thing happened in front of their eyes they simply could not see it happening. From their own mouth these people revealed their spiritual blindness.

Jesus said something like this in John 5:39 “the scripture points to me, so if after reading it you oppose me, do not see me or do not do my will, then there’s an issue with your understanding of scripture. Are you using the scripture for your own interest? For you search the scripture to find the Messiah but you cannot see me. Don’t say that you oppose me through zeal for God’s honour and love for his name, because I make myself equal to him. No, this is not the case. I know the dispositions of your souls and I know you have no love for his name“

The Jews read the scripture diligently and they failed to find the Messiah. Not only they failed to recognise Him but they were so convinced that they thought they rendered a service to God by killing a blasphemous man who called Himself God!

The Jews gladly listened to teachers who taught them great philosophies eloquently but rejected Jesus.

The whole scripture has been written to eventually point to Jesus.

So if after reading the Word of God, we stick to doctrines that lead us not do the will of Jesus then there’s an issue with our understanding and self interest.

If we prefer to listen to great theologians and fail to put into practice simple commands given by Jesus(e.g. Love people), then all our theology and knowledge resemble those who crucified the Messiah.

Blessed are the poor in spirit who discerned the coming of the Messiah!

Jesus told her plainly : “I am the Messiah!”

This woman echoed her story (what we call testimony) and this led to other people to test by themselves whether what this woman said was the truth.

“Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

The book of Nehemiah has a lot of leadership lessons to teach to church leaders.

Context

In the 5th century BC, the Jews were deported to Babylone (Irak). He served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in the Persian capital (some 1200 km away from Jerusalem). Judah was assieged and he was one of the few Jews (less than 50000) who was later released from captivity by the Persian King and allowed to return to Judah.

During the month of Kislev (November-December) while he was in the Persian Capital, he received the visit of some fellow Jews who came from Judah. He was concerned about his people and inquired on how it was going with the few Jewish remnant who were still in Jerusalem and Judah(not deported). For 4 months he mourned and fasted during the month Nisan i.e. till the month of April-May.

So about 444 BC, Nehemiah journeyed to Jerusalem and aroused the people there to the necessity of repopulating the city and rebuilding its walls. Nehemiah encountered hostility from the (non-Jewish) local officials in neighboring districts, but in the space of 52 days the Jews under his direction succeeded in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.

In 538 BCE, the Jews in Babylon were allowed to return to Judah following Cyrus’s decree after about 50 years after the deportation initiated by king Nebuchadrezzar. About 50,000 Jews returned to the Land of Judah following the decree of Cyrus but the majority of Jews stayed in Babylon.

Nehemiah reinstituted Jewish customs, laws and reforms.

The debut of Nehemiah

In view of the huge work that was before him, he probably sought God through earnest prayer for directions and confirmation on what he could do about this situation:

“Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire” Nehemiah 1:3

Similar to Nehemiah, if things are not going well for God’s people and the state of the church, how can we remain insensible?

So for 4 months, he mourned not because he was asked to do it but because he was deeply affected by this situation. Since Nehemiah was able to make spontaneous and precise requests to the king when he was offered help, I believe that during this time he worked on that project of rebuilding Jerusalem. He carefully thought about the materials he would need, the authorizations he would need from the Persian’s government, the speech he would make to his people to motivate them and achieve this prodigious work of rebuilding Jerusalem and its walls in 52 days. If he Nehemiah was granted what he asked for by a non Jew, how much more shall we Christians be granted what we ask for to Jesus for the advancement of His Kingdom?

Adam Clarke said this about Nehemiah:

“Every good work is not to be undertaken hastily; prayer and watchfulness are necessary to its completion. Many good works have been ruined by making haste.”

The king trusted Nehemiah because he guaranteed that no poison was in his cup. He had thus access to the king’s court often and he prayed that the king would be favorable to his request to rebuild Jerusalem.

A city without a wall gives access to wild animals and renders the place an unsecured one. The prestigious temple and walls of Jerusalem were destroyed which made it a desolate place.

Nehemiah started to confess his own sins and those of his own people who turned away from God. He was well aware that this deportation was due to their sins (Nehemiah 1:8-9). Nehemiah mentioned clearly his sins and those of his nation.

“Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!  We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses” Neh. 1:7

Do you pray for your local church or the church in general that it may fulfil its purpose on earth? If we as a church has departed from God’s will, there’re reasons to mourn like Nehemiah. Very often our churches are self-centered on itself instead of seeking the lost. It is of utmost urgency that the churches refocus themselves on God’s will i.e. He wants all men to be saved.

In Chapter 2, the king and the queen saw the sadness of Nehemiah and inquired and it’s then he dared to ask the king a favor to allow him to return to Jerusalem.

“Then I was terrified, ³ but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”With a prayer to the God of heaven, ⁵ I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

I can hardly explain what happened but the king responded positively to Nehemiah’s request. It was with a prayer to the God of heaven, a spontaneous faith, that he made clearly his request to the king. The king gave him the necessary authorization to governors and letters to travel to Jerusalem and purchase the necessary materials for rebuilding his city. The gracious hand of God was with him and he was given more than he asked by the king- an escort.

Instantly, when someone who wanted the good of God’s people came to Jerusalem, this started to stir up some concerns (Nehemiah 2:10)). Tobiah who had nothing to do with Jewish traditions, no ancestry was found for him and yet he was granted by the high priest Elishashib(Neh 3:1, 13:8) the store room for personal use when this should have been reserved for articles reserved for God’s Temple (grain offerings, frankincense).

The opponent’s profile

Sanballat (a Horonite), Tobiah (an Ammonite) and Geshem(an Arab) were regional governors under the reign of the Persian King.

Tobiah was related to the high priest’s family by the marriage of his daughter with one of the grandsons of Eliashib (13:9) the high priest. Tobiah had thus not only political influence but also spiritual one. This mixed relationship between Jewish customs and foreigners eventually caused the store room to be defiled. One of the reason the bible discouraged or has even forbidden marriage with foreigners was because of such reasons. This caused an erosion in biblical principles and opened doors to compromise.

Nehemiah clearly indicated that Tobiah and the opposing men who accompanied him had no part to the rebuilding of the temple.

“For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him because his father-in-law was Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. ¹⁹ They kept telling me about Tobiah’s good deeds, and then they told him everything I said. And Tobiah kept sending threatening letters to intimidate me.” Neh. 6:19

We should be careful of those people who are among us and who propose to help us to rebuild even if good things are said about them. Meshullam was a “false Jew” who later opposed Ezra(Ezra 10:15). Paul had to face such false brothers who were there to spy and stir up trouble.

“This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” Gal. 2:4

This is what Jesus said in Mat. 7:15: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves“

John also mentioned that these people were within the church:

“These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.” 1 John 2:19

In fact Paul warned in Acts 20:29: “ I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following“

These trio of opponents fabricated stories that Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls to rebel against the king and also called upon a false prophet to lead Nehemiah to sin and discredit him.

“I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me.

¹⁴ Remember, O my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sanballat have done. And remember Noadiah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me.” Neh. 6:14

And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. John 12:32

This is such a powerful and mind-blowing statement that it stuck in my mind for several days.

In this context of John 12, Jesus was talking about this moment of glory which was fast approaching. He mentioned the necessity for a seed to die/desintegrate for it to produce new crops. If that seed remained whole, it would remain alone. Jesus’ vision was a huge harvest/posterity that will occur as a result of His death (Rom. 5:19, Is. 53:10)

“Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.  I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. ²⁶ Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. “

“Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” Rom. 5:19

“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.” Is. 53:10

This said, Jesus explained that those who love their life in this world will lose it but those who do not care of the comfort of this life i.e. die to self will have it for eternity. However, He puts a condition stating that if anyone wants to serve him, that person must follow Him. Being willing to serve Jesus is one thing and many do so in their own ways. However, many intently try to serve Him but do not follow Him. Many call Him Lord but few do what He says (Luke 6:45). When I go to a restaurant, I am served by the waiter but will that waiter commit himself to follow me where I go?

“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. ³⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34

Mark 8:37 is a remarkable verse which distinguishes who really a Christian is irrespective of denomination. Are you a follower of Jesus or just doing a lot of things for Him without following Him?

Then we see a promise of Jesus, He will work to attract all men unto Him for He wants all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3, John 3, 1 John 2:2). But we know that not all men want to be saved for they prefer their evil deeds.

We were all once in darkness like stranded sheep following our own ways. We were naturally inclined to sin due to the weaknesses of our flesh and not actively seeking God (Is 53:6, Rom.310)

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

Unless the gospel of light shone in our heart (2 Cor. 4:4) we would still be darkness.

How then can men find the true living God, unless the gospel is preached to them ( Romans 10:14)? Nature itself testifies the glory of God (Rom. 1:20) but man is still lost and is hardly finding its way to God.

Thanks be to Jesus who made this promise that when He would be exalted up to heaven, He will purposefully work to attract all men to Him. The symbolic image of the elevated bronze snake used by Jesus illustrates perfectly how He intended to draw all men unto Him(not just a few elects).

“Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”  So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!” Num. 21:8

The illustration Jesus in John 3:14 can be subject to different interpretation. For example, the snake deceived Adam in Eden and all its posterity became spiritually dead. The Second Adam came and crushed the head of the snake (Gen. 3:15) when He died on the cross. All those who looked at the cross would be healed from the serpent’s venom – sin.

^” And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32

The Greek word helkysō translated as “draw” literally means to try to pull, persuade or drag.

How many and who would have been saved unless Jesus drew all men unto Him? Why then are not all men saved if God wants all men to be saved and Jesus attract all men to Him? Simply because men refuse to believe (John 3:19) because their deeds are evil.

The Great Commission was given for that purpose i.e. spread the Good News. God is not responsible if man reject the Son, nor was Moses responsible if some men refused to look at the bronze serpent to be healed.

We read in the book of revelation where God says: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Rev. 3:20

God is actively working to convict hearts but usually does so through human vessels – His followers.

I once heard an evangelist use Mat. 24:14 and say that the day all creatures will hear the gospel, that day will initiate the return of Jesus. Not sure to what extent he was right. He pleaded to preach the gospel as much as we could to hasten the return of Jesus.

I’ve been in a baptist church for many years and have met Calvinists from different backgrounds and countries. I’ve also observed that Calvinism is less present in non-baptist churches.

Over the past 20 years , I met Calvinists that were the classical 5 pointers and others 3 pointers or hyper-calvinists

It’s first wrong to assume that rejecting Calvinism makes one an Arminian. I’m not. I hate Calvinism but have no hatred against the Calvinists.

When questioning the Calvinists on verses like John 3 and 1 Tim 2:4, 1 John 2:2 the usual response is that non-Calvinists do not understand Calvinism and adopt straw man fallacies.

The Calvinists like reminding their Christian heritage, the puritans and the reformers. Many teachers have rose among them like White, Piper, Sproul, McArthur who advocate Calvinism. Why following a doctrine named after a man – John Calvin?

The true gospel is simply explained in John 3:14-21 and this is the main scripture that I consider being attacked by Calvinism.

What is Calvinism in simple words? Well, we could recall the acronym TULIP to sum this up:

Total depravity: Man cannot seek God(and will not) as he’s utterly sinful

Unconditional election: God chooses who will be saved as He wishes related on the point above (T) since man is unable to initiate a response to God

Limited atonement: Jesus died only for the elect based on the point above (‘U’)

Irresistible grace: Since Jesus died only for a few elects in point above (L), God brings these elects to salvation, which they cannot resist

Perseverance of the saints: Since God has already chosen who will be saved, then forcibly none of them can be lost and the latter shall persevere, for nothing can thwart God’s plan.

These 5 teachings are closely interweaved and proving one of them to be false will cause others to lose credibility.

Total depravity

Man is depraved yes but not totally as the Calvinist claim such that man cannot respond to God or repent unless caused by God. There is no righteous or perfect man, except the man Jesus Christ. All have sinned and have thus turned away from God and lost. True, man does not seek God and understands God because he is lost. This is the very reason why the Gospel of light should be preached to give opportunity to every man to get out of darkness like Romans 10 says:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:13-16

This is a promise that anyone (not just a few elect) who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Notice that the decision comes from the sinner to decide if he wants to repent or not and call on the name of Jesus for salvation. But how will they know unless they hear the gospel as Paul says?

The bible has countless examples of servants of God who honored God like Abraham, Moses, Enoch, Joshua, Job, David etc. All these men had their flaws but God still commended them many times because in their freewill they decided to trust God, chose the right path instead of the wrong path.

It is unquestionable that God intently gave man the freewill to chose. In fact it’s based on this choice to refuse or accept salvation that man is judged. This is indeed what caused the fall of humanity when the woman has chosen to take the defended fruit and disobey God. If not man by his own freewill chose to sin or do good, then who is causing that? Is it God? Man was created in the image of God and is not a robot (worst than animals). However, God always appealed men to chose the right path.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live” Deut 30.

Without freewill, how can genuine love exists? I love my wife and married her out of my own freewill. No one forced me to marry and love her. If someone did, how would I be able to love her? My children honor me when they willingly obey me and do what is right. They do so without the need for me to take a stick or ask them to obey. It is the same with our relationship with God the Father.

If man had no freewill, what would then be the purpose of repentance? Repentance is a personal decision that not even God can do for man, for God cannot repent in our place.

Without the freewill of man God would not be glorified. Example:

  “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.  “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. Job 1

“Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause Job 2  

Are these words of God regarding Job demonstrate a man totally depraved (integrity, blameless, upright, shuns evil, fears God)? God was pleased with Job’s conduct. If Job was influenced by God to be upright, then Satan would have said “It’s because you control him like a robot and has no freewill that he is blameless“. 

No, Satan could not say that because Job has chosen out of his own freewill to honor God, which demonstrates that man is not totally depraved. Job, John, Peter and the rest of the apostles have given up their rights, crucified their own self and will to please God. Self-denial, willingly giving up the desires of our flesh for God’s sake and holiness are worship unto Him. This is a form of worship and there’s nothing to brag or boast about.

Unconditional election

One on the main text used to support Calvinism is Romans 9.

The Calvinists think it is talking about God showing grace to some and not to others when in fact Paul was making a contrast between 2 nations i.e. how God in His sovereignty showed grace to the Gentiles v/s the Jews and that He was not unjust to offer salvation to non-Jews (Read the context as from Romans 9:1). Can the Jews blame God for showing mercy to whom He wants (i.e the Gentiles). The hardened heart of the Jews opened the doors to the Gentiles (Romans 10:16-21). Is God unjust if He wants to extend His mercy on every man? We’ll see later on (John 3) that salvation is conditional on man’s response and perseverance without jeopardizing God’s Sovereignty.

What is the purpose of the Great Commission or preaching the Gospel if whatever happens, the elects will come to know the truth through an internal call and be saved?

I remember sharing the gospel on a campus when one day a lady from a Calvinist background told me “You see this guy did not respond to the gospel because he was not an elect at first hand“. This shocked me but it was a logical reasoning if God has already chosen some people to be saved. What would motivate a Calvinist to preach the gospel if ultimately God has taken the whole responsibility to attract only the elects to him?

If fact we see the contrary, Jesus has taken this responsibility to attract every man to Him. Unfortunately, many man resist the gospel.

Jesus said : ”  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  John 12:32

Limited atonement

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” 1 John 2:2

This is actually what we read in John 3. Jesus died not only the sins of our sins(speaking of the believers) but for the sins of the whole world. Since Jesus died for the whole world, He wishes that all men to be saved:

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Tim. 2:2

God wants all men to be saved but we know that not all men will be saved because many intently prefer to continue in darkness as we read in John 3.

I know no more dangerous and stupid doctrine as Limited atonement, it must have been carved by the most evil of Satan’s fallen angels.

More details here: https://cedricphilippe.wordpress.com/tag/john-316/

Irresistible grace

Regarding election, the first question that comes to my mind is : How is a Calvinist sure he/she is an elect? Would I be considered a non-elect due to the fact that I’m a strong opponent of Calvinism? Am I an heretic for opposing Calvinism? What does it bring more to a Calvinist of believing in Calvinism? Is not the knowledge that salvation is obtained by grace through faith sufficient? I don’t believe in Calvinism and still I have the assurance of salvation. Why then should a non-Calvinist Christian adhere to Calvinism? An elect is nothing more than a Christian and predestination pertains to becoming like Christ.

Calvinism distorted and twisted the meaning of Romans 8:9, which says:

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

This verse is not saying that some people were predestined to be saved but rather predestined to become like Jesus, once they are saved. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, sanctification and transformation in the beauty of Jesus (see 2 Cor 3:18).

God is omniscient and there is no doubt that God knew beforehand who will believe in Him. To those that will believe in Him, God determined beforehand that a work/process of transformation/sanctification will begin for them such that the end result would be Christlikeness. These Christlike people i.e. the Christians, God summoned/invited them(ἐκάλεσεν) to be partakers or savor justification of sins and future glorification of their bodies(1 Cor. 15:43).

God can be resisted, again due to our freewill. This is what God blamed Israel for during eras. Why would God punish Israel or the whole world if they had no freewill? The Israelites had a hardened heart and refused to listen(and they still reject the Messiah). They turned to idols and refused to repent out of their own freewill and not because God hardened their heart. Were not the Pharisees strong opponents of Jesus? Even regarding the gospel we read that some man refuse to turn away from their sins for fear that all these become expose (John 3). So here the Calvinists claim that these people were not elects and this explains why they resisted. Well, what the scripture says is that men are judged and condemned because they refused the gospel.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

If those who refused the gospel did so because God had not predestined them to be saved then we have a serious legal and judgment issue. If God sent His Son to die only for the elects (and not the world) then why would the verdict goes like God condemning them for not believing? The verdict should then have been something different. I’m not sure how many Calvinists actually preach the gospel. But people resist the gospel not once, not twice but countless times before repenting. The testimony of Nicky Cruz is a good example. If Wilkerson deduced that Nicky Cruz was resisting the gospel because he was not an elect then, Nicky Cruz would not have been an evangelist today.

Perseverance of the saints

I have touched a bit on this subject while studying the Epistle to the Hebrews.

More details here: https://cedricphilippe.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/epistle-the-hebrews-1026-31/

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Acts 20:28

During the past 25 years , I had the sad experience of coming across wolves in sheep clothing within the church. Their characteristics are so identical that it immediately ticks in the mind if you’ve once met one. If it’s the first time you’ve come across one, it will be a difficult initial experience since the sheep’s clothing blurs the vision(discernment) and you’ll prefer play it safe to avoid conflicts and commotions within the church you’re in. Leaving a status quo is the worst thing you can do. The scripture recommends instead to expose them, remove them, have nothing to do them, not eat with them and even greet them (Rev. 2:2, Tit. 1:12, Tit. 3:10, 2 John 1:10, 1 Cor. 5:10-13)

You may try to convince yourself for a few weeks, months and even years that the situation will change, pray and fast and still find out that nothing is working. The obvious reason is because a wolf has a natural instinct to hide itself for a while before attacking another prey. As long as the wolf remains within the church, there will be frustrations and no peace. As Paul said, their presence/teaching is like a gangrene which spreads and infects the sheep to the point of making them depart from the faith (2 Tim. 17). The division which may occur may appear to be a relational issue but in fact the root of the problem is spiritual and we cannot resolve such problems by dialogue, brainstorming or logic.

In Jeremiah 13:23 we read:

“Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.“

Some 7 years ago, I confronted the leader of a large sect in my country and I saw the wolf in its natural form i.e without its sheep’s clothing. This can be quite a scary experience. After meeting with that spiritual leader, the pastor who accompanied me (as witness) was worried and shocked by the words spoken by this renowned spiritual leader.

If you try to make the wolf understand that what he’s doing is wrong, you’ll find yourself speaking to a wall which will stubbornly not move an inch. The reason behind is wolves are predators and follow their natural instinct to rob the sheep, kill them, scatter the flock and destroy (John 10:10).

It is not because a spiritual leader performs miracles that it necessarily means that he has the approval of God. In fact we read in the scripture that even the servant of Satan perform miracles(2 Thes. 2:9). Not all who prophesy in Jesus name, teach from the bible and perform miracles are His own (Mat. 7:22)

Huh, you may try to use the scripture to support your arguments but this would be useless since that leader is usually very charismatic(2 Tim. 3:5) and have the skills to twist the scripture to support what he/she is doing.

Paul speaking to the elders(who are like watchman) of the Ephesian church earnestly appealed them to:

1. Firstly watch over themselves. For how can a blind man watch on another if he does not see clearly?

2. Watch over the flock as overseers. Overseers are those who decided to take responsibility(1 Tim. 3) to watch over the flock, love for them, teach them and feed them. They are mature believers who together perform a “pastoral” ministry(1 Pet. 5).

In some churches, an elder within the church fills up the role of pastor when appointed by the congregation who recognize his ministry. In some other churches, a pastor joins in a congregation and works in conjunction(plural leadership) with the elders to achieve the same outcome.

Some churches do not have pastors and this “vacancy” is filled up by the elders (nothing to lament about). Still some churches have a pastor but no elders and this is often what creates spiritual abuse whereby the pastor “Lord it over the flock” (Mat. 20:25, 1 Pet. 5:3).

According to 1 Tim. 3, an elder is someone who decides to consecrate himself to this honorable task of serving others. He’s characterized by several criterium specified in 1 Tim. 3, recognized by the church(inside approval) and has a good reputation from those outside the church. Paul in Acts 20 even indicates that these elders had the Holy Spirit approval and was appointed by Him.

3. Be watchful for wolves WILL COME. This is a very important statement from Paul who states that wolves in sheep clothing will enter the church. This is not just a possibility, this is a certainty because the devil is actively at work. Peter also gave the same warning that false spiritual leaders (teachers/pastors/prophets/apostles) will rise from within the church. The greatest danger is not from the Mormons, Jehovah witness or other religions who are outside the church and already tagged themselves according to their holy books. The real danger comes from within the church (1 John 2:19) whereby the name of Jesus is being used, worship apparently given to Him and miracles done in His name(Mat. 7:22). The same bible can be used and the scripture will be twisted to tell people what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3). A sheep will not listen to the voice of these false teachers (who is a stranger, an impostor, a mercenary- John 10). However, weak believers may easily be manipulated in their emotions and enlaced by the charismatic character of the fake brother/sister. These wolves could be renowned theologians and televangelists who are usually eloquent and knowledgeable.

From my experience, here are some common traits (though not all can be applicable) and some questions that can be asked:

1. Has a member in your congregation reported some money related issues regarding that leader? 2 Tim. 3:1, Tit. 1:6-11, 2 Pet. 2:3, Jude 1:11
2. Is the leader humble/teachable or responds negatively to critics/rebukes? Do they claim that they had a special revelation, vision, dream or knowledge? Jude 1:16, 1 Tim. 6:4, Gal. 1:8
3. The spiritual leader uses the mass media (radio/television) to entice their followers in errors as they are usually excellent speakers and knowledgeable. They enjoy to be admired and target large audience/readers. 2 Pet. 2:3, Mat. 23:5
4. Does this leader has some bad reputations from people outside the church(coworkers/neighbors etc) due to some non-Christian behaviors? Tit. 1:16, Rom. 1:28-32
5. They have family issues. Their spouse, parents or children will tell you. 1 Tim. 3:5
6. They create division by building up clans, surround themselves with ‘Yes’ people for their own interest (e.g. they visit secretly weak believers) by using useless talks. 2 Tim. 3:6, Tit. 3:9, Jude 1:16
7. They try to bypass or criticize godly leaders to acquire authority (dictatorial behavior) and empower weak(or young) believers by giving them responsibilities to have a control over them. 1 Tim. 3:8, 1 Tim.4:14
8. This fake pastor/teacher/guru does not individually love the sheep but use them instead(John 10:13, 1 Pet. 5:3, Rom. 16:17-18).
9. They will brainwash the followers by repeating over and over the same message.
10. They are liars, manipulators and often refuse to submit to authorities(e.g. government requirement such as taxes and laws). Rom. 13:1, 1 Pet. 2:13, Tit 3:9-10

There’re no perfect servants of God but if you’ve ticked many of the points above, then there’re reasons to be on your guard.

Basically these false spiritual leaders have characteristics opposite to those of the elders (see 1 Tim. 3) and do not demonstrate evidence of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). With tears Paul have repeatedly warned what these wolves will do. John and Peter also warned in their own way. Jesus also warned ahead and said that we’ll know them by their fruits for a good tree cannot bear bad fruits. So be on your guard!

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them” Mat. 7:15

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Mat. 16:26

We can be in the church for years, preaching, singing, performing miracles and involved in church leadership and yet not following Jesus. Any eloquent person can stand up and teach the bible. Many people believe in Jesus, even the devil does and trembles (Ja. 2:19). The question therefore lies on whether we are actually following Jesus’ footsteps in obedience. Jesus warned the following in Matthew 7

“On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” Mat. 7:23

If miracles were performed, demons were cast out and prophesies were fulfilled not by luck but all these were done intently under the authority of Jesus and yet Jesus dissociates Himself from these spiritual manifestations and those who performed them, it is worth stopping all that we are doing and question whether we are doing the right thing. If all these were done without God, who did it?

We can be intently worshipping God but if our heart is far from Him, these will serve no purpose except entertaining our own self.

In fact Jesus said:

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God” Mat. 15:8

We may be doing things right like healing the sick, helping the needy, preaching the word of God and doing great things for God but without God’s participation. What deception that will be ! Are we doing the right thing or doing things right? Many churches around the world have fallen into this disillusion thinking they are serving God but they are actually serving their own image and ideology.

What did Jesus say on following Him?

Jesus said: ““If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. ” Mat. 16:24

3 points:

• Unless we give up our own way of doing things and do it Jesus’ way we will not be able to follow Jesus.
• If we take up our cross and denial ourselves like hermits but are not following Jesus, then we have chosen the path of asceticism
• If we want to follow Jesus without taking up our cross(deny ourself), we will remain stagnant and spiritually immature.

Denying ourself does not mean accepting all kinds of oppression that come our way, it rather means giving up those things Jesus asks us to do. It means submission to Jesus and the scripture, not to what a church or a spiritual leader asks us to do.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” 1 Cor. 13:4-8

Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins

Injustice bothers my spirit, mind and soul. What is injustice ? Injustice in when right is treated as wrong and wrong treated as right.

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter…They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent.”

Closing your eyes not to be bothered and closing your mouth when you should/could speak to restore justice is injustice. If you have the capacity and ability to correct an injustice for love sake, do it.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice” Prov. 31:8

Love rejoices when the truth wins out. The reverse is also true. Love mourns when lies, trickery are ruling. Since darkness is the absence of light, it’s a battle already won when light appears. Darkness cannot overcome light but the absence of light is what leads to darkness. So it is with the truth. When an absolute truth is present, lies are exposed. There can be many lies but there will always be one truth. Lies can change(in fact it often leads to another lie) but the truth is unchangeable. The reason darkness or lies win is not because the truth or the light lack power. In fact, they are so powerful that darkness and lies fade away in their presence. Here is the reason why darkness and lies win:

“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.”

If we who have the light and know the truth, hide it(or do not tell it), this is what keeps the world in darkness and corrupt. When the truth is spoken and the light pin points out the sin, the sinner can be enlightened and has the choice to decide if he/she wants to get rid of that sin or refuse the truth. It is a sad reality that people do refuse the truth consciously. For instance, cigarette smokers know that smoking kills but yet refuse to quit even though they have the knowledge and know the truth. Let the light within you shine.

For these reasons, love will never give up and remain hopeful. It will continue to endure/shine/proclaim the truth because sooner or later all what is hidden will be brought to light.

“For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.” Luke 8:17

Eloquence, intelligence, physical strength, spiritual powers and even sacrifice will lose their value but love will never fade. It will never lose its splendor, purity, attractiveness, goodness, beauty and fragrance. It will endure and will continue to do what it has been doing for ages i.e. overwhelm and change stone hearts to soft ones. Love surpasses logic and is not defeated.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” 1 Cor. 13:4-8

We have seen in Part 1 the different types of love and what is not love. The characteristics of Agape love, the superior and purest type of love will be discussed. It was introduced earlier that love is giving, in fact some bible translations used the word charity instead to describe the Agape love.

It is noteworthy to emphasize that Paul considered that having the characteristics of love is far superior than spiritual gifts, spiritual position or having spiritual knowledge. If you have spiritual gifts and can perform miracles but lack love, “what’s the use?” the apostle says, “you’re just a noisy gong or a tinkling cymbal“. Have you observed that it is often the noisy people who lack love and cause disputes but the quiet ones are usually those who help secretly? If your spirituality leads you to walk on nails, mutilate your flesh, burn your body and even kill yourself, who do you think you’ll impress? God? No way, it’s a heart of love that God takes pleasure in.

Even if we have all the gifts of nature and perform miracles in the supernatural world, we can still be a stranger to God if love is not evident in us. Loving is first of all being human. The lack of love has led the compassion found in humanity to erode. Selfishness, indifference and lack of sensibility has instead taken place, making humans an awful creature i.e. the opposite image of how God intended it to be.

When meditating and writing on these, I realized how much I lack this kind of love. This is indeed a divine love.

Love is patient.

While we often associate patience with a notion of time i.e. waiting, the characteristic of love defined here is broader. It also implies believing, enduring and even accepting to suffer patiently with the firm belief that something better awaits. Despite trials, persecutions, provocations love will not abdicate because it is patient. It will endure repeated offenses, even 70 times a day or more without losing patience. This characteristic of love is not a sign of weakness but a virtue. The difference between being tolerant and patient is that one can be tolerant(or restraining oneself) without actually loving. Here is an example of patience:

“He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” 2 Peter 3:9

God does not tolerate sin. He rather demonstrates patience hoping intently that souls repent. God is angry at sin but is also slow to act, for acting hastily in anger leads to regret. Many hurting words were said and awful acts were done due to lack of self-control and acting hastily in anger. If God was tolerant and not patient, we would already be burning in hell for tolerance has a limit while patience fulfils its purpose only when it accomplishes perfectly its work(James 1:4).

Love is not hot-tempered but long-suffering. It is calm, serene and not easily provoked. If you’re someone irritable i.e. who lose your temper easily, this is most likely a sign of love deficiency.

Love is kind

I am often called “gentleman” but the truth is that being called with this title does not actually mean that I am man who is gentle. My wife has often reproached me for not being gentle and kind. To better understand what being kind and gentle mean, it can be useful to have a look at the antonyms of those words. Being mean(uncharitable), malicious, nasty, inconsiderate, lacking sensitivity, cruel or brute (in words and actions) are signs of love deficiency. This gives me chills because I often hurt those around me with my words. If you’re unkind, people around you have mostly noticed it and brought it to your attention for acts of unkindness or lack of gentleness are obvious.

Acts of kindness and gentleness towards people allow them to be relieved of their burdens and take courage. An act of kindness is a servanthood attitude that expects nothing in return.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Mat. 11:12

Love is not envious, boastful or proud

A loving person rejoices when he sees others succeed. This person is not grieved when someone is richer, more intelligent or more successful than him. This person is not jealous of what others possess, on the contrary this person does what it can to help others succeed. This person considers other better than himself and has no reason to envy but support others. It does not brag of its achievements for what good will it do to those who failed? Love is not insolent(Adam Clarke) and considers it futile to put itself forward. Boasting is a sign of insecurity. It is not different from the peacock which opens its feathers to appear bigger than it actually is with the objective to impress a mate. It is a deception and vanity. Love is authentic, it does not boast to deceive.

Love is not rude

Many cruel things have been said in the name of honesty.

Adam Clarke express this character in these terms:

“No ill-bred man, or what is termed rude or unmannerly, is a Christian. A man may have a natural bluntness, or be a clown, and yet there be nothing boorish or hoggish in his manner. I must apologize for using such words; they best express the evil against which I wish both powerfully and successfully to declaim. I never wish to meet with those who affect to be called “blunt, honest men;” who feel themselves above all the forms of respect and civility, and care not how many they put to pain, or how many they displease. “

It is necessity to be bold regarding the truth and what is right. It is equally essential to be gentle in our relations.

Though it is true that Jesus was meek and gentle, He was also bold in his preaching even if that offended the Pharisees (Mat. 15:12). We cannot separate the boldness and gentleness for having only one characteristic would be detrimental in relationships. Acting boldly without gentleness is not a Christian character for it is acting harshly and rude. I repent for those many times I acted this way.

It is because the apostles preached the gospel boldly (Acts 4:31) that many souls have been saved. Fearing to be bold and playing it safe by being politically correct is what has caused so much damage to evangelism, lukewarmness and passivity in Christianity. If you really love your neighbor who is living in sin, it serves no purpose to be gentle and smile everyday at him (hoping that this smile will save him from gnashing his teeth in hell?). The gospel needs to be preached boldly to sinners! We need to be bold AND gentle, lacking one of these is not a Christian character.

“He[the antichrist] required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.” Rev. 13:16

It is noteworthy to mention that the spirit of the antichrist has been at work since the coming of Christ. In his ruse, Herod wanted the wise men to bring him the Messiah to kill him. His failure to kill Jesus led to the death of many babies. Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him and were sarcastic regarding His ministry (John7:5). The spiritual leaders and the Jews themselves have continuously opposed Him and plotted many evil actions against Him. Finally, they succeeded to send Him to die on a cross (according to God’s plan). So we can see that the evil spirit opposing Christ which was at work during Christ’s ministry, perpetuated through the killing of the apostles and is still at work today.

If it’s not in direct opposition to Christ, it is a parallel path that leads to destruction. Roman Catholicism is such an example where the believers worship Jesus, believe in the bible, the Trinity and so many doctrines (which are correct) but are being led astray because they have added doctrines such as purgatory or systems(the pope, veneration of Mary, absolution of sin). These subtle doctrines are enough to lead astray from salvation. Every thought or actions that oppose or deviate from the order that God established, His will, His wisdom and the gospel are synonymous to the spirit of the antichrist (2 Cor. 10:5).

“But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.” 1 John 4:3

It’s been more than 2000 years since Christians have been saying that Jesus is coming back. Many have predicted that political leaders were the antichrist or that Jesus already returned and yet we do not see these predictions conformed to eschatological teachings. The return of Jesus is real but many scoff at it as Peter said:

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” 2 Peter 3

The Muslims believe that Jesus will come again to fight the false messiah. I believe that this would be a great deception because in my opinion they will mistake the coming of the antichrist with Christ and billions of people will be led astray through the miracles they will see the antichrist do.

In fact, if we look at how the prophet Mohamed, John Smith (Mormon) and many others received their revelations from angels, it becomes obvious to say that these are counterfeit spirits.

“You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News  but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.  I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.” Gal. 1:1-9

The spirit of the antichrist is a counterfeit spirit which mimics how God operates to deceive. This is where discernment of spirits is important to differentiate the perfect from the almost perfect. This is quite subtle but this is how the father of lies concocted his plan in Eden. God’s truth is absolute but the devil would be satisfied with 99% truth to be able to deceive the elect(Christians), if possible. The person of the antichrist will be probably a spiritual emblem/personality having strong political influence.

Let us slowly read what Jesus had to say regarding His coming:

“Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.  Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.  But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.  And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.  Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come…“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!…I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” Mat. 24

The time at which these things will happen will like be short since Jesus said that the generation which will go through all these calamities and events shall not pass until they see Him coming (which would be a few years according to the book of revelation).

I do not know where we are on this timeline but most elements are in place for it to be triggered at any time.

The spirit of the antichrist is at work and we’ll surely see its manifestation when some prophets will claim they are the Messiah. We have heard cold wars, wars and a third world war can happen anytime should Russia, North Korea, Iran, China or the US mess up. Those who lived during the first and second world war could think that Jesus was about to come but yet there were some missing signs. There are some signs which have to occur before the coming of Christ.

The current pandemic and the climate change has already increased famine around the world. Christians are already persecuted. The spirit of the antichrist is already at work and causing Christians to be persecuted around the world. When when the person of the antichrist will come, this will be one of his focus. Up till then, let us remain steadfast in our faith and love.

 “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” 1 John 5:21

“For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” Ps. 33:9

This phrase perfectly illustrates the one the bible calls the Word. The word spoken from our mouth has for instance the power to encourage, hurt and instruct. Similarly, God’s Word is the means God uses to create, execute and command. Through the Word, what we see and cannot see(the spiritual world) came to be. The Word is the Creator. This Creator is a person – God. That person became a human (John 1:14) and was called Jesus.

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone….So the Word became human and made his home among us” John 1:1-14

A Roman officer who understood well the power of words (commanding, giving orders) said to Jesus “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed” Mat. 8:8

In Hebrews 1 we can read that not only the earth but the whole universe was made by the Word. God spoke and said “Let there be light” and it came to be. God spoke and the sea and land appeared. God said “Let the land sprout with vegetation” and it happened. God spoke and stars, the moon and the universe were formed. God spoke and the sea and land animals existed. God spoke and created the human being (Adam) after his own resemblance and it came to be.

We read in the book of Lamentations 3:37-19:

“Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?“

This is an interesting verse when we consider the state of this present shipwrecked world. This lead us to understand why we are in such a mess.

When God initially commanded the earth to produce its fruits and the sea to respect its limit (the shore), there was a perfect order in the world. Nothing happened without God’s permission when He was in entire control. This is not to say that God lost control when Adam sinned, it rather means that God ceased to have a close fellowship with man due to His holiness. The absence of God’s bright presence eventually led darkness to took over. When God stopped to dwell among man, the one who works outside the presence(in darkness) of God, the devil, took control of the world at all levels. The devil had dominion and was hence called the prince of this world.

Man differed from animals since he was gifted with a spirit – a fundamental characteristic that animals and plant do not have. Man was created in God’s image i.e. man is a trinity as God with a soul, a body and a spirit and could fellowship with God – another privilege animals and plants did not have. Man was not created as a robot but was gifted with the freewill to decide whether he would choose to respect God’s established orders. The freewill of man and will of God therefore perfectly co-existed. Man ruled the whole world and had dominance on everything. What would man ask that God would not grant him? God also gave man something he did not know he needed – a woman to help him. It was literally paradise on earth for Adam. God was pleased with all He created and was even more satisfied when He created a human being – Adam. Adam was a gardener before Eve came into existence and was warned by God:

“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Gen. 2:16

Angels worship God and it was similarly necessary for man to demonstrate respect to God through thanksgiving, respect and obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice, it is in fact a form of worship when we choose to obey God instead of doing what we want. Adam did well and knew only doing what was right. It was not because there was a famine in paradise that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Eve ate it because she was not satisfied with what she already had and wanted to cross the line and experience something which was forbidden. It is not wrong to desire increase our knowledge but I have witnessed that at times it is better to remain within the boundaries and refuse to know more. It is true that unless we test something we cannot know whether something is really bad or good. However, if there is something that we should not afford to test, it is God’s command. Listening another word than God’s Word will surely lead to evil. If we believe that disobeying God’s command is without consequence, then we’re living in illusion. The upside down world we’re living in is a perfect witness of disorder and chaos.

God wanted humans to know only good and never touch or taste evil. This is a sad truth of human nature, they always strive to have what they do not have (Maslow’s theory). A millions of fruit they had but only one God forbidden them. If God has placed them in a situation where they could eat only 1 fruit and never eat a million then we could surely understand the dilemma.

Why did God place the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden such that it could easily be noticed and reachable by man?

Why did not God restrict access to this tree and disallowed the evil one to tempt them?

I believe that it all pertains to freewill. When man intentionally refuses to satisfy what he craves for and accept to trust and have faith in what God said instead of having his own way, is not it submission to God? If God controls our will to obey him, worship him and have faith in him, how then could there be ever a genuine love and relationship?

God allowed the devil to move around knowing that he could tempt man. This was not a mistake of God but rather a demonstration of His wisdom. Why should I shut myself in my house to minimize the chance of committing adultery when I could move freely around by simply not transgressing God’s commands? God has created man free and always wanted them to freely choose to do what they want:

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach…“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster…Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.” Det. 30:13-19

Remember that Adam and Eve were sinless when they were being tempted. They did not have a sinful corrupt nature which was leading them to crave to do what was wrong. Wanting to know evil, questioning or testing what God declared evil is a gross sin. For instance, man has become tolerant on homosexuality in the name of being open-minded. Sin is not subjective or relatively wrong. God is absolute and there is no grey areas in His decrees.

When man sinned, God cursed the earth and God ceased to dwell in the sinful presence of man. The absence of God caused disorder. God is light and the absence of light leads to darkness. Sinfulness is synonymous to darkness for sin can subsists only outside the presence of God.

“This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth;  but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him]” 1 John 1:5

Jesus is the light of the world that came to take men out of darkness. The absence of Jesus’ is darkness. With no captain on the ship, the fallen world has actively been under the influence of obscure forces dragging it at its mercy in a sort of the Bermuda triangle(also known as Devil’s triangle by the way) – hell. God will not save the earth and he has already decreed that He will destroy it on judgement day.

However, God has sent the Light, Jesus, to save humans from sinful behaviors. Following Him, is the only way out of darkness. God sent calamities (e.g. the deluge at Noah’s time) and still sends calamity as an expression of his anger against sin. In His compassion, he has also equally send blessings such as rain, sun and food.

Scientists are either fixing their own mess (e.g. global warming) or battling to survive in a crashing world. The world is like a wrecked ship taking water at every side. You never know when a tsunami, pandemic, war or financial crisis may struck anew against that ship. Engineers, economists, scientists, politicians and armies actively join forces to patch and repair cracks of that ship. This problem of this world is spiritual and this is why using non-spiritual means will only be imperfect solutions to man’s problem (e.g. psychology, meditation, drugs). This spiritual shipwreck happened when Adam sinned against God. Since then, it has become a never ending activity for man to try to keep that ship afloat. This world is corrupted and obviously not submitting to God’s leadership. It is just a matter of time for this ship to sink definitely. The problems this world is facing is more serious than it was thousands years ago(with cracks everywhere). But due to advance in science and technology, man has become more sophisticated and is able to fix problems faster. There will reach a point(and we are not far) where the great minds will be taken by surprise and find themselves powerless against the calamities it will face.

In Luke 8, we read that Jesus commanded a storm to stop and there was a perfect peace which followed. He commanded an unclean spirit to come out of the man and it came to be.

I do not know about you, but I would prefer to listen to the One who once created the earth, commanded it and still have power to command it.

“Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?”

Not only does Jesus have power over the physical world but he also have power over the spiritual world:

“Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man“

The world is messy, there’re murders, rapes, theft, lies and adultery everywhere. Does these things happen without God knowing? Has God lost control? Did God permit these things to happen? Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, again, the absence of God is the reason of the world disorder. These things will happen and no one is spared from being struck from accidents and calamities because the ruler of this world, the devil is actively at work.

God has not promised that this world would be better if we turn to Him(through Jesus), He rather promised that we would be living eternally with Him in a new heaven and a new earth. This world has no future and it is on the brink of destruction. Therefore as Jesus said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Mat. 6:19

Shall we obey God’s command?

“So the two sisters(Mary and Martha) sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”  So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,  he stayed where he was for the next two days.  Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

The raising of Lazarus is arguably one of the greatest miracles Jesus did. Jesus’ intervention occurred after 4 days, leaving no room for doubt that indeed Lazarus was cold as dead and not in a sort of comatose state.

If Jesus came when Lazarus was still alive and suffering, the insistence of the sisters and his friend Lazarus would have probably caused Him so much grief and sadness that He would have probably intervened to heal Lazarus. But this was not the Father’s plan, the death of Lazarus had to serve God’s purpose and reinforce the ministry of Jesus and mission.

In the old testament, the prophet Elijah prayed God to raise a young boy from death (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Elisha did the same for the son of Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:32-37)

The similarities between Elijah, Elisha and Jesus are that they all had a special relationship with the dead person’s family. The mothers or sisters all called for help to Elisha, Elijah and Jesus. They all held them responsible in a way or another of their pain. These situations were quite difficult for Elijah, Elisha and Jesus due to the close relationship they had.

“Let her alone, for her soul is desperate and troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden the reason from me and has not told me.” Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not give me false hope’?”2 King 4:27

The widow of Zarephath said to Elijah, “What [problem] is there between you and me, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to mind and to put my son to death?” 1 King 17:18

After Elijah raised her son she recognised that he was a man of God.

“Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” 1 Kings 17:24

It was the same for the Shunammite woman who demonstrated gratitude to Elisha

She came and fell at his feet, bowing herself to the ground [in respect and gratitude] 2 King 4:37

When these people were raised from the dead, this inevitably gave glory to God and reinforced the authority of Jesus, Elijah and Elisha. One difference though is that Jesus was aware that Lazarus would die – which was not the case for Elijah and Elisha to whom God kept it secret to them.

God will not raise from the dead every man who dies unless this miracle would serve His own purpose.

As the saying says “As sure as death” so is the resurrection of the dead. For ages, there has surely been great mourning when love ones have passed and it will surely continue until the return of Christ.

Jesus rose Lazarus after 4 days but when He will return He will do a greater miracle, He will raise humans who have been dead thousands of years ago and bring them before the throne of God to give an account (Rom. 14:12).

In Ezekiel 37, there was an astounding vision which happened. God spoke to Ezekiel and told him to speak to dry bones. Lazarus flesh was still there when Jesus raised him from the dead but in the vision Ezekiel had, we have an image of a God who can raise from the dead even dry bones, make flesh come upon them and make them living creatures.

When it’s all over and no sign of life but just a morbid feeling of dry bones all around, remember who is the Creator. Remember who made everything out of nothing. Failure, sickness and death are not the end. When all has been said and done, remember that God will always have the last word.

When God will raise every dead to face judgment, no one will escape. The sea and the earth will give up every human body it has taken for them to face their Creator.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” Rev. 20:13

The power of the resurrection that God deployed when raising Christ from the dead will be again demonstrated soon.

This is a living hope that believers who died have (not had). Death is not the end but the start of an eternal journey with God and Christians should eagerly await for the resurrection to happen and encourage each other with this hope. Paul said:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. ” 1 Thess. 4:13

I was once snorkeling in the beautiful Marine Park of Blue Bay, Mauritius. I was so absorbed in my discoveries of creatures that I completely forgot to raise my eyes and have a look around. When I heard the sound of a boat’s engine running I suddenly woke up from this dreamy adventure and tried to figure out where I was. I realized that I drifted for quite a distance from the boat which brought me to the marine park and that I was the only one still in the water. Despite swimming hard, I felt that my efforts would not carry me to that boat – I was in a water current!

Fortunately some guys in the boat saw me and waited but none of them knew I was struggling in a water current. I hesitated to ask for help thinking I could manage.

I was no longer thinking about those beautiful creatures I have just seen a while ago but only thinking how to remain afloat. I was exhausted and could no longer swim back and fortunately a friend came in the water to help me back to safety, when I called for help.

What happened in the water that day may also be your story in another circumstance. For example, a while ago when I started a new job, I was so absorbed to work, perform and learn that I forgot the essential part – be at the feet of Jesus. This can be a subtle experience but from my observations, this is very common when we consider the hectic lives of churchgoers.

We all have bulky agendas, projects, to-do list and find it easier to sacrifice the time we could have spent with God to increase our wealth or well-being. It is legitimate to find time for sports, studies and family. We may even find ourselves spending much time in church activities without actually spending time with Jesus, which is even more subtle.

There’s no point to argue or justify the importance of working, taking care of our health, studying and looking after the family. These are God-given responsibilities and we would do wrong if we neglected these. The truth is that we can do all these by still having Jesus as the center of our lives.

I was moving pleasurably in the water but heading in the wrong direction. My eyes were focused on me and the opportunities of seeing bigger fishes. It’s often when an event disrupts our comfort zone and security where we start to wake up. Waking up too late may often be a fatal experience so it is good to sit down and rest your soul. It is essential to be still (Ps. 46:10) and reconsider that God is where He has always been – seated on His holy throne and looking down on man.

When you spend time with God, it’s a moment where you ask yourselves these questions:

Where am I heading?

Where are my eyes focused ?

Where is my heart?

Am I obeying by doing God’s will?

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. ” Mat. 6:21

In these moments, where I have reflected on these questions and my answers, I repented many times of losing my focus and spending too much time on things I thought were priorities. It is in these moments where God speaks to our heart like He did to Martha:

“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42

Martha was busy preparing dinner for everyone, including Mary and Jesus probably. Was not it necessary to feed the Lord and the guests? Who is going to prepare the dinner otherwise? The lesson here is that there will always be something important which will aim to take the next free slot in your agenda.

However, it is important to stop and refuse to take more tasks despite the urgency of the obligations. This is a dilemma which may cause a lot of incomprehension but it is a necessary good for you to re-center your life. What good is it to do things right but not doing the right thing? What good is it to drive fast but driving fast in the wrong destination?

“Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.  But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” Luke 10:39

The Lord rested on the 7th day, not because He was tired but because it was necessarily good to stop, look at the completed works and appreciate it. This is a great lesson for us, as humans we should discipline ourselves to work and fulfill our responsibilities but also not forget to take time to stop and reflect! If we work continuously on the 7th day, then it follows that if an 8th day existed we would probably continue and never end. What is it worth if you cannot enjoy the work of your hands? When we take time to rest and reflect, it is not a waste of time because there’re no activities. It is on the contrary the most important use of our time.

When the works were completed on the 6th day, God said: “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!“

Think about the works you have accomplished during the week. Are you proud of it? Whatever the answer be to this question, it is essential to have that time of rest where the creature spends time with His Creator to be at the center of His will. We need to ask God for wisdom to know how to live this brief life.

“Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries? Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip;For the day of their disaster is at hand,And their doom hurries to meet them” Deut. 32:35

Is there anything worst than facing an angry God? It’s a God who does not act out of impulse, but patiently stores up His wrath to pour it out with might and fury against all ungodliness and unrighteousness- until the very essence of divine patience itself is brought to exhaustion.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Rom. 1:18

“But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done.” Rom. 2:5

The martyrs in the book of Revelation cried out for justice to the Lord:

“They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?”

They were comforted and told to wait a little longer until the cup of God’s fury reached the rim.

Then they were each given a white robe; and they were told to rest and wait quietly for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed” Rev. 6:10

It is as though God is waiting for the blood of the last martyr to be shed so that His judgement be complete and thus rendering justice to all who would be oppressed, missing no one. No one will escape judgement, so why would God hurry to give incomplete justice? God will have eternity to handle billions of cases as it should, without getting weary or feeling under pressure. It will be a solemn moment for all creatures in heaven and earth when every man, one after the other, will have to face His Creator before the judgement seat.

In our perspective, it often appears that God is late to act and give justice. If you have faith, it’s not over yet. There will be a day where all cases of injustice and unrighteousness will be properly dealt with, with all due sentences. Even if the highest courts on earth fail to give proper justice, God still listens attentively and heartbrokenly those who have remitted their fates unto Him. His retribution is already in His hand and He treats not the culprit as innocent. No, the guilty of unrighteousness will not escape unpunished. At the right time, in His time, He will promptly act. He will not delay. 

“Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Luke 18:8

Even if we watch helplessly and desperately the injustice, our sighs are known. God hears night and day the cries of those facing injustice. The right sentence and payment for that injustice are recorded and securely sealed up in his treasuries awaiting pronouncement. No one will ever be able to steal or trick evidences to influence a verdict. There is no possibility of false witnesses or lies in His sight.  

Our words are all heard and we’ll need to give an account of them all, let us therefore be slow to speak for we’ll be judged according to what we say.

As Jesus said: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” Mat. 12:36

The righteous God cannot leave unpunished the sins of men thus all men will have to face His wrath and retribution. Without Jesus as advocate no man will ever be able to leave God’s court of judgement innocent.  The wrath which has been stored up and would have fallen on men has been poured out on Jesus as it is written :

“Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin” Is. 53:10

In as much as we rejoice contemplating the loving character of God we should also contemplate His righteousness. If God is only loving and demonstrates no justice, this would lead to a disorderly, immoral and corrupt world. We see injustice and evil everyday, where is God? God is where He has always been, on his throne and waiting for the right time to destroy the world and all its corruption.

Meanwhile, God has already taken the first step by demonstrating His love to humanity through Jesus. All men are being given the chance to repent before He takes the second step – judgement. Meanwhile, unrighteousness and injustice will continue and we should not be surprised to face injustice.

However, woe to those who have rejected God’s salvation – Jesus. As it is written:

“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” John 3:36

Sheep without a Shepherd

I once remarked to my wife of this unshaved old man I usually see strolling on the streets or travelling in the bus all day long. He did not have the characteristics of a man moving with a purpose or objectives (like going to work) but he looks more as someone moving around aimlessly and confused.

He was like that detached leaf battered where the winds blew or like a floating debris carried at the mercy of the waves after a shipwreck. My wife reminded me of the story the man erring in the wilderness as the evil spirit led (Luke 8:29). If Jesus is not holding the reins, we may end up either erring/running like a mad horse in all directions or invite the devil to take the reins (Luke 11:24-26).

There has been and there’re still many such wandering sheep moving wherever an opportunity of greener grass is seen. They are never satisfied with what they have and keep on moving. They have no stability. They keep on changing jobs, lovers or locations because they are masters of their own destiny and are without reins. They have therefore no one to direct their paths or cause them to stop or move.

This is how Jesus saw that crowd of needy and lost people coming to Him:

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Mat. 9:36

Why are people confused, stressed and wonder the purpose of this life? Why are people surviving instead of living this life to its fullness? Why so many agitated, anxious, worried, unsatisfied and troubled souls?

Who can bring peace and satisfy the soul of man if not God? Unless a man surrenders his will to obey the Shepherd, there cannot be long lasting peace. It is this endless search for perfection, more money and higher position that causes men to go astray. Wisdom says that the grass is green and safe to eat only where the Shepherds brings its sheep, not necessarily where the majority of sheep vote.

It is dangerous for a sheep to err. A sheep without a shepherd will be unable to defend itself against predators. It may fall in a pit without anyone knowing. This is why it is important to have God as shepherd. God does not abuse emotionally, intellectually, physically or spiritually but really cares and loves people. God sent Jesus to be like a shepherd for the human race but many people refuse to trust the divine Shepherd for providing, guiding and protecting them. Human beings need God as David said:

“The Lord is my shepherd;I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths…I will not be afraid,for you are close beside me.Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” Ps. 23

 

The fruit and its tree

My wife and I have been observing the growth of a tree in our garden for several months and we are still unable to determine precisely to which tree it corresponds. However, we know that it is a citrus plant by scenting it leaves. We came to the conclusion that we need to wait for this tree to bear fruits to identify it. It has not ever crossed our mind that this tree could bear papayas or litchis because the tree’s structure and characteristics suggest that it is impossible for such a tree to bear fruits outside the citrus family. While it is not always obvious to determine a tree by only looking at it’s structure, it becomes evident when we look at its fruits. We cannot get bananas on a citrus tree nor can we get grapes on thornbushes.

This is how Jesus contrasted peoples’ actions and fruits. What you say and do clearly determines to which tree you belong.

Jesus said:

“Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” Mat. 7:18-20

“A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:44-45

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned” John 15:5

Jesus’ made the above illustrations so the listeners and readers could understand clearly by looking at nature.

Several points we could observed:

1. We are considered as being a branch because we are the intermediate structural part between the fruit and the tree.
2. A branch cannot survive without being connected to the tree (while a tree can survive without a branch)
3. The fruit is a result of the plant’s DNA and the sap that flows from the roots to the leaves is what nourishes the tree and its fruit.
4. Since the fruit produced is a result of the genetic/hereditary materials it receives, the branch cannot on its own produce a fruit which is different from its nature from where it originated.
5. Jesus is the true Vine and every branch attached to Him should not only produce grapes but do so so abundantly. This Vine is not sterile but has a powerful life giving sap and it would be abnormal if its branches do not overflow with fruits.
6. Not only should the Vine produce grapes but these grapes should be of good quality because the Vine is healthy and the grapes it produces cannot be bad. A good tree cannot bear bad fruits.
7. Before and after Jesus talked about the tree and its fruits (Mat 7), Jesus talked about the narrowness of the gate, the true disciples and building on solid foundation. This again suggests that remaining in Jesus for salvation is the only way to heaven. All other foundation will collapse on judgement day. Not all those who call Him ‘Lord’ will enter heaven but only those who do the will of His father and go through the narrow gate and difficult path. Christ should be allowed to work in us and prune us . This pruning process is what renders the path difficult as the self is being crucified and no one will be able to go through the narrow gate if he carries the big yoke of sin(the encumbrance).

These words of Jesus are quite shocking because this means that if one’s actions, thoughts or words are bad then this necessarily means that this person is not attached to the true Vine for the true Vine’s nature would never bear such fruits.

When Paul spoke of how the Gentiles have been included to the salvific plan initially given to the Jews, he made use of the concept of “ingrafted branches”.  Grafting is similar to the medical concept of transplant where a body part is transplanted to a foreign body. This is what Paul said:

“if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.” Rom. 11:16-20

Elsewhere, Paul speaks of putting off the old self

“to put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph. 4:22

This is the miracle of salvation. Christ took a human body like ours and has taken us, the branches, from the false vines or bad trees and ingrafted us in Him so we may bear fruits of a new nature and quality. These fruits are different from the original ones we used to bear when we were attached to a bad tree or false vine (Rom 6:21).

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?” Rom. 6:21

However, since God has given us the freewill, He urges the ingrafted branches to remain in Him to live by the sap’s vitality. There is a clear distinction between those who profess to know Christ, never knew Christ and those who really knew Him. The apostate is one who really knew Christ ,received the Holy Spirit (Hebrew 6:4-8, Hebrews 10:26-30) and then turn away from Him. He commits such an unforgivable sin that it is impossible to bring him back to repentance. As Peter said, it would have been better if these people never knew Christ than know Him and then turn away from Him (2 Peter 2:21-22).

Those who no longer want to remain in Christ still have the freewill to detach themselves from the Vine (apostasy). Only the Gardener has the power to cut off branches that bears no fruits. As long as one remains in Christ His salvation is eternally secured and no one will ever be able to cut off a branch from the Vine or snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28). However, if one wants to leave God’s mighty hand, God will not force anyone to remain. Remaining in Christ and totally depending on His power is an integral part of salvation and God is glorified (not us) when we bear much fruits.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” John 15:1-8

What has God done that He is labelled as being a good God?

People are dying of hunger and incurable diseases daily and man looks to heaven and say within its heart “How can a good God exist?“.

Many humans are being abused , tortured and going through inhuman conditions daily and why does not the one called omnipotent God who sees and knows everything does not put an end to all these miseries?

Man reasons in his heart and points a finger to the sky and say : “If there is a divine being up there, you cannot be good”

The world is unfair, cruel and selfish and God does not intervene to bring justice to the oppressed? Where is God when it hurts? Why is God silent? Does God exist?

Man accuses God of failing in His role to protect and even hold Him responsible of all the tragedies it is facing. It would seem fair if those accusations against God could be placed in a court and find out whether God is guilty of all those charges brought against Him.

Fair enough! God came on earth in the person of Jesus and was judged by the Romans, which was the largest empire of the ancient world. When God came, He did heal the sick and help the oppressed. More than that, He came to bring a real cure to the world’s problem – sin. Sin in man is what caused him to be selfish. If there’re many poor people in a part of the world and wastage of food in another, it is because man is selfish. If millions of babies are killed it is because man and woman have become promiscuous and refuse to assume the responsibility of their acts. The ozone layer is damaged because of man’s greed for money and industrialization. The global warming effect is a direct result of man’s acts. If nature has become so disturbed such that the north and south poles have lost millions of cubic metres of ice in the last decades, the sea level has risen and dangerous cyclones have struck the world then I guess that man should be reprehensible in this matter. Millions of species have been destroyed and even disappeared because of man’s greed. Man’s greed and defiance led him to start eating such food that is poisonous or dangerous for its immune system. It’s not because of scarcity of food that man started to eat bats, reptiles or horrendous animals but because man has an unquenchable envy to defy God. Man has invented new ways of evil by making available live scenes of pornography on television or online. How do we expect man to have pure thoughts when he has been exposed to such obscenity? Our world has become depraved and corrupted because man has become rebellious to the counsels of their parents. If a man rejects counsels from the parents he sees how can he ever listen to a God he does not see?

Just look at the effect of the Covid-19. A few days ago, scientists observed that the largest arctic ozone layer ever discovered has been closed. Was it God who closed that hole or was it a direct result of the global lockdown which put a halt to pollution? Several renowned scientists agreed that the Covid-19 virus is an animal to man transmission. If man did not eat such wild animals as bats, reptiles or pangolins, the world would not have been in such chaotic situation. In the book of Leviticus, God has explicitly indicated that such animals should not be eaten but man preferred to disobey God’s command.

As long as man will insist to keep God away, the world would not become any better.  Scientists have contributed largely in the destruction of the world (nuclear bomb), nature(e.g. ozone layer) and have never been able to repair what they destroyed. Cigarettes, additives, colorants and preservatives added in food has contributed to the growth in cancer throughout the world. Does not man has responsibility in the spread of cancer?

God has already provided a cure to the ailments of society and diseases through the person of Jesus. Money is the root of all evils and the greed of money is a sin. God has been so good that He sent Jesus to the world to remove this evil among man but will man accept to repent of its sin? God has already given the cure and will NOT do more than that for man.

The world is already on the brink of being destroyed and God’s vision is not to save the planet but to save the souls of every man living on this world. God is not accountable to man and yet He has been so good to come into the messy world to save souls from eternal destruction. Is not God good enough?

Jesus said: “No one is good–except God alone.” Luke 18:19

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:16-18

Sometimes, we can be so absorbed in our work and daily activities that we simply do not take the time to question whether we’re properly using our hours, days, months and years. Simply stopping and asking ourselves this question “Am I doing the right thing? Where am I heading?” may spare us much trouble. We can be frustrated if we have lost an hour or two in a traffic jam or in a queue.  We can even be more annoyed for having lost a day figuring out a solution to a problem when there was a simple trick. If you have worked on a project for months and invested much energy, time and money and at the end all your sacrifices became useless due to an unexpected event then there’s much probability that you’ll end up irritated because of that situation.

If you have been working for a company for decades or have been in a relationship for years and suddenly this comes to an end without you having the possibility to remediate then you’ll be deeply affected and reckon sadly about all the wasted years. You know pretty well now when you have headed in the wrong directions and what you should have done. Sadly wisdom often comes only after we have experience life. Let us not let this perpetuate in our life, let us stop now and seek for wisdom before making another pace.

If only we knew the future outcomes in all the above circumstances then maybe we would have taken another road, not embark in a project or invest our time, emotions and energy in a particular job/relationship. But the thing is that no one knows.

Now imagine that it’s not just hours, days, months or years you’re losing but your lifetime! That would be the most tragic event and the bible describes those people as being deeply tormented by that situation such that they will eternally be “weeping and gnashing their teeth” Mat. 13:42. Wisdom calls out today to get right with God before it is too late. This is what the bible says about Jesus:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” Heb. 3:15

If there’s one thing we can be sure about, it’s death. We’ll all die one day. You may not know whether, how  or when a relationship, job or a project may fail but one thing you can be sure about is that one day you’ll die. If you have failed in many things in your life, it’s nothing in comparison in failing to live eternally with God. You’ve probably wasted hours, days, months and years but do not waste your life.

Where are you heading?

Jesus in the wilderness

In the fourth chapter of Matthew we read that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.

The Holy Spirit’s will was that the man Jesus be placed in a condition where the pressure of temptation would be at its peak. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews said:

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”

It is noteworthy to say that we can be tempted to do evil in 2 ways:

1. The temptation comes from a desire within our flesh (James 1:4)

The first source of temptation is the most common. It comes from our own desires(impulse) and we cannot blame the devil for that. The devil is not omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent and is therefore unable to tempt people around the world at the same time. Though he has agents and evil spirits working for him, he is unable to read our minds or force people to do evil (unless possessed by an evil spirit). It is therefore important to watch that we’re not placing ourselves in an environment where we’ll feed the carnal desires. If you starve a race horse champion for a week, it is very likely that the same horse will not be able to compete in any race. So is our flesh and mind, unless it is fueled it remains powerless to do evil.

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away (James 1).

This is why Paul said:

“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. ” Col. 3:5

^“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there” Gal. 5:16-24

Finding pleasure in eating, dressing or having sexual relations (with your spouse) is not evil. The bible considers it a blessing that someone is able to enjoy the companionship of his/her spouse or the work of his labour by eating. It is only when these pleasures offend God, people and ourselves that these are considered evil. God gave us a stomach and a mouth to eat but gluttony is sinful. If you’re using the body God gave you to perform excessive actions, you’re sinning. When someone loses control on how much alcohol he is drinking or how much food he is eating, then he has become enslaved by his own desires. Envy is a sin and needs to be dealt with promptly.

  2. The temptation comes from the devil

The other source of temptation comes directly from the devil. This is the most difficult testing a man can endure and this is what actually happened to Jesus. Moses and Elijah also fasted for 40 days but there was no record that the devil tempted them. When Jesus’ 40 days was over, the devil came when his body was impatiently asking for food and this discomfort could caused much irritability.

I believe the tempter used its 3 most powerful tool in his attempt to make Jesus succumb to his will. The devil would not have tried if he did not believe in the efficiency of these tools.

This is why Jesus taught his disciples to pray : “let us yield to temptation,but rescue us from the evil one”

For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

Let us look at one of these tool the devil used.

Many tragedies occurred because of food. People lost their lives because they have been attacked by hungry people. Esau sold his birthright for a meal.

Both Esau and Jesus were very hungry and experienced the wilderness conditions but the difference was that Esau was no longer in the wilderness (he came from hunting) and could get food but Jesus was still in the wilderness, was fasting and could not get food anyway.

“Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.  Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew! Look, I’m dying of starvation! said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

Jesus did not trade his birth right as Son of God(Heb. 1:6) for a piece of bread.

Jesus was in the wilderness for spiritual reasons (led by the Spirit) but Esau was in the wilderness because he was a hunter. Jesus could be tempted to say “God will understand if I just change that stone into a bread“. Jesus was therefore both pressured by his flesh and the devil.

Jesus said that there’re different kinds of evil spirit that can be cast out only by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29) and because of this statement I strongly believe that fasting is directly related to the spiritual world. Depriving the flesh of its basic need which is food (fasting) and accompanying it with prayers present a soul to God that wants to be heard. People still fast nowadays for government to hear them. Many times people fast because they have some personal problems. but rarely one would fast for others. Jesus went to the wilderness to obtain a victory for us through fasting and enduring patiently temptation (Heb. 4:15) that exceeds the very act of casting out demons.

The first victory Jesus demonstrated was: “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Moses and Elijah could not change stones to bread but Jesus could. The temptation was either to wait patiently when God will provide or act impulsively and satisfy immediately the desires of the flesh.

If you have all the food of the world that can satisfy your flesh but the word of God does not dwell in you, your soul is starving and dying. However, if your soul is well fed you will have the faith that God will provide for your needs. God sent angels to feed Jesus and so did he when he sent ravens in the wilderness to feed Elijah. The widow of Zarephath experienced the reality of God’s provisions when she gave the little food she had left (for her and her son) to Elijah and was abundantly blessed because of her actions (1 Kings 17:7-16). Preferring to starve to death do the will of God instead of satisfying the flesh has always been rewarding.

None of us has reach a point where we have been tempted in such a way to sin that it is a matter of life and death.

“After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin” Hebrews 12:1

Paul said: “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. ”

This is a strong lesson taught to us by Jesus and the widow of Zarephath for which it was a matter of obeying God or satisfying the desires of the flesh. If you’re tempted to choose between satisfying the desires of the flesh under strong pressure and obeying God. What would you do?

                              Psalm 46

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” Ps. 46:1

 

God is our refuge and strength.

With the spread of the Covid-19, much uncertainties have taken place regarding job and health security. Rich and poor have not been spared by this pandemic. People are worried, stressed and anxious about what may happen. “What are we going to eat, who will take care of our children, what will happen to my job and investments? ”

Jesus said:

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Mat 6:32-34

This calamity is again reminding the human race that they are just feeble creatures before microscopic viruses.

For many government officials, they feel secure that they will not lose their jobs. Their job is their fortress.

For the rich, they feel strong because they believe they have sufficient money to get them out of trouble in case of urgencies. If you consider your job and money as solid as a mountain, many will tell you that they experienced the reality that these are deceptions.

Though our possessions and job may be solidly grounded like a mountain, the bible reminds us that even mountains crack and crumble into the sea by earthquakes. Remember that no matter how solid that mountain can be, it rests on foundation which is earth. If that earth beneath that mountain can no longer sustain it, it will crumble as if it was on shifting sand.

This raises another question: Is there anything on this earth which we can be sure cannot fail us?

No matter how faithful a spouse can be, there’s still a possibility for him/her to fail us.

Science itself is limited to find a solution to HIV or the world’s problem.

If people and science have limits, what on earth can you have faith in without any ounce of risk?

The Psalmist sings joyfully that God alone is that fortress, a stronghold never failing. “Flee to the mountains and find refuge in your money and job, I will not be dismayed. I will remain calm and trust in God’s protection.”

There will be a time where people and science will let you down and will not be able to help you in times of trouble. The Psalmist tells us that God is immediately or “always ready to help in times of trouble“. The world is in turmoil, everyone is busy with his/her own problems. Where are you going to run amidst such turbulences?

The Psalmist had such a conviction and faith that he challenged calamities by boasting in God. He said:

“Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge”, I will not recant when the earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. The media, relatives and friends may make so much noise to disturb your faith in God, but do not be dismayed. No matter how logical and factual their arguments can be, if their fortresses are not founded on Christ the solid rock, do not be troubled by these voices. 

Be sure you’re under God’s protection during calamities.

“The nations are in chaos,and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders,and the earth melts!“v6

God’s glory will be found throughout calamities and He calls those who have faith in Him to be quiet, be serene and at peace. Do not be distressed.

“Be still, and know that I am God!I will be honored by every nation.I will be honored throughout the world.”

Spirit

Before Jesus ascended, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem:

“Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4

The day of Pentecost(Harvest Festival) was approaching and Jesus commanded His disciples to wait as He was planning something special on that day. If Jesus did not told them to wait, maybe they would have gone around telling people that Jesus rose again and that they had just had supper with Him. After all, they have been trained for 3 years under His ministry and were well acquainted with His teachings and why could not they start preaching?

Well, waiting for the day of Pentecost now looks evident but if the disciples did not listen they would not have had that boldness brought by Holy Spirit and would have preached out of experience, the flesh and intellect. The day of Pentecost was a special day since many people from various regions came to Jerusalem for that feast and it was the opportunity for God to reveal Himself to them in their own language. The disciples spoke in unknown languages that day and the people said:

“Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs.And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed.” Acts 2:11

On that day 3000 people believed and were baptized – incidentally a great harvest on the Harvest Festival. I believe that out of these 3000, there was at least a representative of all these nations who spoke in other tongues. Now see how quickly the gospel would spread itself!

The Holy Spirit intentionally gave the gift of tongues on that day to cause a massive movement and conversion.

Whether we minister in prayer meetings, in preaching, evangelism, worship or participate in any form of spiritual matter, if this is not done through inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is surely done either by our carnal nature or skills.

The Pharisees are examples of religious people who stuck to the letter or law rather than the spirit behind the scripture. They were not guided by the Holy Spirit in their actions. Out of their zeal, they were quick to judge the disciples of Jesus who broke crops on the Sabbath day and ready to fire the first stone on the adulterous woman. There is no doubt that these people were well versed in the scripture, intellectuals and had some form of wisdom (be it not divine). In their wisdom, their discerned that Jesus (the Holy One of heaven) was possessed by an evil spirit or mad (John 8:48, John 10:20). They also wanted to kill Jesus and were finally able to do so at God’s appointed time. If religious leaders at that time failed to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah despite all their scriptural knowledge, how can we expect that it is better today?

Our churches are packed with the same spirit of the pharisees or admirers of them. We are warned about such people (Col. 2:8) who are amidst us. They may use philosophy,some sort of wisdom or try to impress us by their mastery of Hebrews or Greek. They may have a doctorate in divinity or be eloquent but they minister WITHOUT the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is very alarming and at the same time this explains why many churches are dead even though packed with so many intellectuals. When the Holy Spirit was leading Paul, He not only guided Him where to preach but also forbidden him to preach in some places.

^“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” Acts 16:6

I would like to emphasize on that situation because firstly Paul was commissioned by God to go and preach everywhere, secondly he was an apostle and thirdly he knew the Gospel and was well equipped to preach. All these 3 elements were not sufficient for him to open his mouth and preach where he wanted. The lesson we can draw here is :

1. Even though we have been called to go everywhere to preach the gospel, we should do so ONLY if accompanied by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, there could be a chaotic situation, even death. Going on the mission field without the approval and presence of the Holy Spirit is not only a waste of time and resources but an act of disobedience.
2. Being an apostle, pastor or teacher does not give us a license to say whatever we want. We should preach ONLY when under the influence of the Holy Spirit otherwise, the listeners or readers will be influenced by our spirit or reasoning instead of the Holy Spirit. When you do not feel led by the Spirit to speak, it’s time to sit down and listen to Him. God does not expect you to speak each Sunday because you’re a preacher or pastor.
3. Our knowledge of the Gospel or scripture does not automatically qualify us to go and preach, ONLY the Holy Spirit does. For it is only the Holy Spirit who convicts hearts of sins (John 26:8), not us. Some of us plant and others water but it is God who makes the seed grow (1 Cor 3:6). Think about it. No matter how much you sow or water that seed, there can be no rejoicing unless that seed germinates. The One who makes that seed sprout or take life is the Holy Spirit and without Him in vain you toil.

Being led by the Holy Spirit, in everything we do, is essential for the church’s health and our growth. We could think that it was the jealousy of the Pharisees which blinded them but what about Judas? Judas sat at Jesus’ table, was part of his close circle, heard things none of us heard and saw many miracles but yet Jesus was just a rabbi not his Lord (Mat. 26). Without the quickening of the Holy Spirit, the things of God remain veil to us.

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments” 1 Cor. 2:13-15