The Call Of God – Part 2

God, He is God. He is I AM. You do not need to add “great” there because there is no adjective that can even begin to describe God. He is indescribable.

When Moses asked Him what name he would give the Israelites concerning the One who had sent him, God told Moses, “Tell them I AM has sent you” (Ex. 3:14).

He is THE EXISTENCE. We are not. Nothing is. He alone IS.

The Jews so reverenced God that they gave Him a name written only in consonants, so it would be un-pronouncable. They called Him YHWH.

God is also unsearchable. You cannot even attempt to search out God. The Bible in Romans 11:33-36 declares:

“33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Jehovah God is the I AM. He alone is THE EXISTENCE. In other words, He is LIFE.

Jesus told the Jews,

“I am the resurrection, and the life” (Jn. 11:25)

He also told them,

“Before Abraham was, I am.” (Jn. 8:58)

He was telling them His real Name. And the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.

There is nothing that man can do for or against I AM. When He therefore calls, no man can prevent that call from reaching the intended subject. The Bible in Romans 11:29 says,

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

Notice the finality, or authority, with which these words are stated. When it comes to AUTHORITY, we have not even started to understand the authority that God has.

In one of the pastors’ mini-conferences that we held in our town last year, I was surprised to see a heavily garbed woman weaving her way towards me inside the meeting hall. Upon reaching me, I realized it was Mama Zulfa.

My first words revealed the shock I felt at seeing her at the meeting.

“Mama Zulfa!” I exclaimed. “You’ll get us all killed!” I meant it.

“Oh no”, she countered. “But I just had to come and see the men of God.” She was all giggles. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. But she was in a hurry. She would not even be sitting through the session.

We introduced her to the men of God who had come to minister and it was an incredibly wonderful experience for all of us. They now have her in their sights and in their prayers.

But it was another introduction that took place on the sidelines that blew everyone involved away. Just as Mama Zulfa had made another historic mad dash across town, on this day also another piece of history was to repeat itself.

One of the pastors we had invited to the meeting was the pastor who many years ago led Mama Zulfa to Jesus. He had traveled from afar to attend the meeting. Now an elderly man, still he could not but remember the young girl who had cried out, “I am one of you!”

The man was wonderfully surprised. They stood facing each other, his face a block of shock; hers full of wiggles, wriggles and giggles. It was the sweetest homecoming for both of them. And for us too.

I would have loved to end Mama Zulfa’s story here, and I will. But hers is a story that simply refuses to end. There are just too many incredible events connected with her to narrate in one sitting. But the even more incredible fact is that hers is a story that will endure unto eternity, for

“the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

[I worship You, Lord]

Memucan – Staying On The “KIng’s Highway” (Part 2)

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:19-21

So what is it about this Biblical prince, Memucan, that is so admirable?

After Queen Vashti developed ‘progressive’ ideas and refused to obey the king’s command to go show her sweet face to his guests, the king’s anger was kindled and he sought from his princes and advisers what he should do about the situation. It was so embarrassing for him as king to have his wife refuse to obey his command!

Memucan it was who provided the king with an answer that was deemed appropriate not only by all the other princes, but by King Ahasuerus himself.

Let us take time to read the entire account.

“10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, 11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. 12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. 13 Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment: 14 And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;) 15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? 16 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. 17 For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. 18 Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath. 19 If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. 20 And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small. 21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan: 22 For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.” Est. 1:10-22

Some biblical scholars have declared the king’s decree “silly” and Vashti has been exalted as a “bold” woman.

But King Ahasuerus is a type of the authority of God. We cannot bring in irreverent ideas like, “Oh, y’know, this man was drunk, and he had no right to dishonor an honorable woman!” I don’t even know whether he was drunk. The fact that he was the king, however, supersedes all else. (My dad used to be a drunk, and he never ceased to be my dad because of that!)

With man it might appear as if the king was dishonoring his queen, but with God, it was the king exercising his authority – and honoring his wife’s beauty.

I don’t see any indication in the least that King Ahasuerus lost anything after the saga had ultimately played out. Not his honor, nor his power, nor anything. If anything, the king gained – vastly – by marrying Esther. And throughout the Book of Esther, King Ahasuerus stands tall to the end, a shining example of God’s authority and the defender of God’s people.

Actually it was Queen Vashti who lost out. She lost her position as queen and became a commoner.

God is still on His throne. He is still the King of kings and Lord of lords. Human wisdom will never remove him from that position. On the contrary, human wisdom will only lead man to sin against God, as we see it happened with Adam and Eve – and Vashti.

And when we sin, as we just saw, we lose. But Memucan helped the nation to stay on the King’s highway!

God Is Simple!

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians_11:3

Christianity consists of reading the fine print. Did you notice that word, ‘simplicity’, there? Have you ever wondered why they had to hire Judas to betray Jesus? After all, Jesus only walked about with 12 apostles and a handful of disciples. It should have been easy to pick Him out.

And yet, it probably was not so easy to pick Jesus out from the motley crowd. Perhaps Jesus was as much a part of the crowd as anyone else!

Every painting I have seen of The Last Supper shows Jesus seated at the head of the table; but It probably was not so at the real scene. My contention is that most likely Jesus sat at the foot of the table and allowed someone else to sit at the head. In fact, I am sure He did. You see, we have such a strong worldly instinct in us that it will require a truly herculean effort by the Holy Spirit to completely root from us the corruption that has been sown into our hearts by the devil in this area; as in many other areas as well.

Did we say we understood God? Well, maybe we don’t! Jesus’ view of lordship and authority was so radical it would have staggered the most ‘balanced’ among us. He spoke to His disciples thus in Mark 10:42-45: “Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

I am sure you would have found Jesus doing the most basic chores that any of His disciples would do. And it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus would choose the lowest positions even at table and that He did not appear the obvious leader among His disciples.

What about the Apostles of the Early Church? In  2 Corinthians_1:12  the Apostle Paul says, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.”

There is that word, ‘simplicity’, again. I wonder whether it’s not possible to take Paul’s words at face value. True, he tells the Galatians that they did welcome him as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus Himself  (Gal. 4:14). But that does not mean Paul allowed himself to be placed on a pedestal. There are many instances in the Bible where we could prove that Paul lived as common a life as any of his followers.

The Christian faith is one of genuine simplicity – and we have no reason to try and twist that word, ‘simplicity’. We could only amplify it and the result will be ‘humility’, ‘meekness’, ‘unassuming’ or, to coin Jesus’ favorite phrase, a servant. Simplicity is simply being simple in the simplest form of the word.

In the Church today we find there are many complicated people, people with twisted personalities; and these people want to use the scriptures to defend and promote their cause. These are worldly people and their agenda is a carnal one. For example, a church ‘minister’ would want to be equated to a government minister! How so very wrong! I have seen churches where the pastor is held in such high regard and reverence that he is like a god in the midst of his people. In some churches you can feel even physical fear, sometimes intense, towards the leader. Many leaders promote these attitudes, for a lack of a revelation of God’s ways. And the poor sheep have to keep doing obeisance to a mere man in the conviction that they are worshipping and serving God.

On another front, I have heard preachers claim that Jesus’ gown was so expensive and that was the reason the Roman soldiers cast lots for it! What utter blindness. I assure you that had it been so expensive, Caesar would have claimed it!

Let us not try to serve the Lord in the spirit of this world. Christians and especially Christian leaders should learn to be simple folk, people who can sink to the lowest levels of other people’s lives, identify with them and experience first-hand the life that ordinary people are living. They should not be men and women who want to be recognized for their positions, but rather they should be men and women who have considered their ‘leadership’ position as nothing in the way of the understanding of this world. That is the real life that Jesus and the Apostles lived.

The Bible has a lot to say about Jesus in this regard. We read in Philippians 2:8 that although Jesus was God yet He sank in level and was “found in fashion as a man”. That means that Jesus put aside His position as God and became a man, an ordinary man. But it also says that He went beyond that and that He “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” We have not arrived there yet.

Man, instead of desiring to go down, desires only to go up! There is so much nonsense being tossed around about Christians being “King’s Kids”, and when this is played out in real life, the results are tragic and horrendous. Christians surround themselves with a worldly spirit, they become complicated and they remain bound in the flesh. At the other end of the see-saw, the lowest of God’s people are trampled underfoot because they are made to feel that there is a caste system within the Church.

Here in Africa, I have seen church leaders being fed chicken while their flock ate vegetables. Not that it is a sin to feed your church leader chicken… but you can get the drift of things even in such an ‘ordinary’ activity. But we see that Jesus and the Apostles lived a life of true simplicity, and there are cases of them refusing to even be recognized for who they were!

How could this be? How could these mighty men of God allow themselves to sink to such lowly depths in human terms? No doubt, this was not through human effort! The motivation and power to do this had to come from elsewhere.

By reading Jesus’ words and Apostle Paul’s letters carefully, we realize that this was only possible because Jesus and the Apostles had a revelation of what the Cross needed to do in their lives; and they submitted themselves to its working in their lives.

Today, more than ever, the Church needs a revelation of the Cross of Christ – not simply that He came to die for our sins, but that we, too, are required to crucify our carnal natures on that Cross.

Father Is In The House!

Many times in church we hear the phrase: “Jesus is in the house tonight!” I am sure many of us would be surprised to hear a pastor say: “Father is in the house!” We most likely would think, ‘That is cult language!’

And yet it is truly the spirit of fatherhood that we need in Church. The Apostle Paul, talking about God’s family, puts it this way: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…” Eph 3:14-15. The Bible says clearly that Jesus came to earth to reveal the Father to us. It is the voice of the father that we need to hear in Church. It is the presence of the father that we need. Fatherhood is the most important institution on earth and in heaven!

One of the biggest curses that today’s generation is burdened with is the fatherless family unit. Many factors lead to this – fathers who abdicate their responsibilities, early pregnancies, divorce. Sometimes, the father dies early; but here the Bible gives the option for the widow to get married (1 Tim. 5:14).

Another contributing factor is that today’s generation is simply a rebellious generation and for some, single motherhood is actually a fashion statement! It is their way of saying ‘No’ to God’s order for humankind.

And yet it is a fact that a family without a father is simply a broken family. The father is the voice of authority in the family. The father brings stability, direction and security in the family. My wife is a strong woman by any standards, but once in a while, when I have been away from home for a long time she will call me and say: “Please talk to your daughter, she’s become too much for me to handle!” And I will speak a few words into the phone – probably of warning, or beseeching – and there will be order in that house until I return home.

There is no meaning to the word ‘family’ without a father. That is the way God made things to be. We cannot substitute God’s ways with our vain human wisdoms.

During the just-ended CTMI Leaders’ Conference in Nairobi we heard the voice of the father. Personally, I was challenged, warned, rebuked and given direction. Brother Miki talked to us about the importance of relationship within the Body of Christ. He clearly showed us that there cannot be true relationships when we are not each taking our proper place in the Body of Christ, something which can only happen through a revelation of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

Most important of all, however, was that Brother Miki confronted us in the many areas that we had begun slipping back since we received the gospel of the Cross, some 10 or 20 years ago. He reminded us how our lives had been when the gospel first found us – we had many things on the outside, but little life on the inside. The revelation of the Cross and what it came to do brought light and life into our hearts and lives. Initially, when we heard the message of the Cross, we surrendered our lives and allowed that work in our hearts. But, Miki said, many of us had drawn back from that surrendered life and had begun walking as if we were our own masters, without a father. Our lives had reverted back to being our own.

Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthians was clearly ours today: “Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you”! (1Co 4:8)

The result? Our former manner of life, the old man of the flesh, had crept back into our lives. Slowly but surely, there were now murmurings, dissensions and warrings amongst us. Not far down along the road, every kind of sin will soon find its way into our midst.

Brother Miki reminded us that we have to go back to the Cross, where Jesus will reveal the spirit of the Father to us.

The conference message was a bittersweet experience for me – tough on the flesh, but music to my spirit. I needed to hear that!

I went back home refreshed, chastised and humbled. I had seen, once again, God’s plan for my life and I had been given reason again to lay down my life and allow Christ to reign fully in me.