A Spiritual Juggernaut – Part 2

17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20)

In December last year, God granted me the inexpressible honor of having two of my Canadian friends, David and Margaret Maxwell, visit with me and the church here in Tanzania. They stayed with my family and with the church for three weeks, and they were an incredible blessing to us.

David and Margaret are white.

I can’t help it but I have to say that this couple were some of the most amazing people I had ever stayed with, black or white. They were free, humble and sincere. We had the most memorable moments together and at the end of our three weeks together, it was all we could do to let go of each other.

A few days into their stay here, though, I was surprised to find a message on my phone from one of my pastor friends congratulating me for having ‘Wazungu’ (white men) as my guests. The man innocuously added, “Don’t forget me!” I immediately caught on to what he was trying to communicate to me. The man supposed that my white friends had brought me money, and he was telling me that I should not forget him in sharing the ‘loot’. ‘Loot’ is the right word here because the prosperity gospel (upon which these assumptions are rooted) is a spiritually bankrupt gospel which views money as a means for one to enrich themselves materially.

God does promise to meet our physical and material needs. But when it comes to the subject of our earthly needs, the Bible is very sparing in its words. Why? The reason lies in what is important with God, and what  is not. God deliberately downplays this earthly life and everything to do with it. It is not only God’s way of helping us crucify the flesh and its desires, but God wants us to know that our agenda is spiritual, and heavenly.

Nowhere, though, does the Bible promise to make believers rich. This is a mad fallacy that has been brought about by money-hungry preachers. The “hundredfold” return that many wrongly interpret in Matthew 19:9 does not refer to us becoming rich. The true meaning of this scripture is that everything that my brethren in Christ own is mine also. Under the perfect scenario (where everyone is following Christ in crucifying their lives), all that my fellow brethren have from one end of the world to the other is mine also. That is the meaning of the “hundredfold”.

The charismatic prosperity gospel has discarded God’s heavenly agenda and it has embraced a love for money and material gain. Among its teachings are: sowing seeds, the fourth dimension by Paul Yonggi Cho (which is of the occult, really), holy oil, holy water, so-called ‘destiny’ teachings… All these beliefs are materialistic and have no heavenly agenda. They are therefore of the devil, not of God.

Notice what the Bible says about the people who trade in these teachings.

“… who mind earthly things.”

The prosperity gospel is born of a demonic spirit that minds earthly things.

But the Bible has very little regard for earthly things. Materialism has got nothing to do with the salvation of a man’s soul, nor does money have anything to do with God’s heavenly Kingdom.

One of the most horrid consequences of the charismatic prosperity gospel for the church is that it has brought a skewed and unhealthy relationship between the rich man and the poor, in the spirit. In Africa, it has deeply affected the relationship between the white man and the black man. Since the prosperity gospel places a stigma on the poor (I wonder what it has to say about the Macedonians that we read of in 2 Corinthians chapter 8!), the poor man feels inferior to the rich man. And in Africa the norm is for the African to grovel in the presence of the white man. The ‘benefactor’ syndrome has brought all this about. And this syndrome is a product of the charismatic gospel which the church has been fed for years.

But all this is contrary to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, where God wants every child of His, black, white or brown, to be free in their spirit. This is true power; and this was what the Apostle Paul and the early Church were made of. We can expect to effectively preach the gospel of Jesus Christ like the early Church did only when we have crucified the flesh and its lusts. Here, everyone is free to please God, and not men.

Let us conclude with the words of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians. He calls those who mind earthly things – the purveyors of the prosperity gospel – he calls them,

“enemies of the cross of Christ” (v. 18).

Could we talk too much on this subject?

By no means no. The Apostle Paul tells the Philippians that he has warned them about such people,

” often… even weeping”.

[True freedom – true brotherhood – and true power – in the Spirit]

The Church’s One Foundation

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation… 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 3:10-11

Let me begin by trying to get your attention. Let me begin by stating that the foundation of the church is weakness and foolishness.

I am so glad I was able to state that.

Every structure has to have a foundation. Actually, every thing has a foundation. But it cannot just be any foundation. The firmer the foundation, the easier and more securely the structure which is built on that foundation will rest. The structures or things that we see in the natural that have been built by God are unspeakably secure. We see them: the planets and galaxies in the cosmos; the sun and the stars. They are immovable. Even the mighty ocean cannot overcome the boundaries that God has set for it, even though all the world’s rivers, both mighty and small, have been flowing into it for thousands of years.

One can add so many things to this list. All these things have a foundation, and it is this foundation that makes them secure and immovable.

This is incomparably more so in the Spirit. If God can secure His creation in the natural to the extent that we see with our natural eyes, how much more would He do for the things of the Spirit, which are of far much more value to Him? You can therefore imagine just how strong the foundations of the things of the Spirit are. Chief amongst these things – the thing He values above all – is the gospel. This is the singular thing which God was willing to give His Son to die for.

(Don’t you think that for this reason we ought to take a moment to reflect and thank God that it was for us that He did this incredible act of selflessness.)

The gospel  of Jesus Christ has a foundation, thank God!! And what, pray, is this foundation?

It is Jesus Christ Himself, Christ crucified. The minute you remove the word “crucified” you have removed the foundation from under the gospel, and that gospel will crumble like a card of sticks.

Thankfully, “Christ crucified” was the foundation that the Apostle Paul lay in the Corinthian church when he first preached the Good News to them. When Paul uses the words “wise masterbuilder” to describe himself, he is not seeking after our accolades. Rather, he is stating a spiritual fact which is so important for the church. He is stating the wisdom of God.

Paul directed the Corinthians to the cross. He told them to accept sufferings for the gospel’s sake, and to crucify self, to the end that the life of Christ might be found in them.

“1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:1-2)

“… we preach Christ crucified”. (1 Cor. 1:23)

Paul told the Corinthians to accept to become weak, and foolish. What a challenge! But the Corinthians rose up to it, and Paul left behind a strong, holy and united church in Corinth. Everyone had surrendered their lives to Christ.

What a strong foundation the Apostle Paul had laid! For as long as the Corinthians stood on this foundation, they were safe and secure. Since they had denied themselves and taken up their cross, it was the easiest thing for them, in everything, to find themselves standing together “in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

Wow! What a testimony!

It is not easy for any number of people to stand together “in the same mind and in the same judgment”. Human nature simply cannot allow that. But with God all things are possible. With “Christ crucified” firmly enthroned in our hearts, it is so much possible!

But not long after Paul left them, the Corinthians began listening to other doctrines and teachings. Probably they heard the gospel of prosperity, who knows? Or a gospel of law and prescriptions. They could have heard any number of strange gospels. But it is clear they were no longer adhering to the gospel that Paul left them with, “Christ crucified”. For this reason, they came off the foundation of the cross.

And now they were no longer secure! Now there was war, fraction, and every kind of evil work amongst them.  They had come off the only secure place God had given them; the revelation of the cross in their hearts had been darkened. And now they were on another, different foundation, which was fast crumbling.

The church today cannot expect to become spiritual without this revelation in our hearts. There is no other way, and there is no shortcut. The words of the Apostle Paul, backed by the authority of God:

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

It is a foundation of weakness and foolishness… weakness and foolishness with Christ.

[True unity in church can only come about through a revelation of the cross in our hearts]

 

Paying For Peace

21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Mat. 5:21-26

Let us begin right away with verse 25.

“ Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge…”

The Bible is talking in the Spirit, not in the natural; therefore, it is not talking about an earthly judge, but a heavenly one. There is a heavenly court, and there is an earthly court. Jesus was not therefore lawyer-ing in the natural; on the contrary, He was talking about things in the Spirit.

Here on earth, there is no place you can put someone on trial for being angry. Not even in the most despotic countries. There is no judge in the world who can utter the words, “You are hereby accused of anger.” Or of hatred, or lust.

These are things of the heart. Their court is heavenly, not earthly. And God, and not men, is the judge of these ‘crimes’ of the heart. And the Bible says we are to be reconciled with whoever we have committed these things before we reach to the judge. The Bible says,

“Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him”.

When exactly are you “in the way” with your adversary?

It is now. Now – right now – is the time to make our inner peace with every man. Who knows tommorrow? If we have anything – anything – in our hearts against a brother or sister, or, indeed, anyone, we need to make sure we clear that situation as quickly as possible with them. Then shall we be at peace with God, who is the true Judge of these things. As I said, no earthly judge is going to judge these things; but God will.

The Bible talks about issues of the heart. This is therefore a state of one’s heart. The heart that can do this is a repentant heart, a heart that pleases God (Is. 57:15; 66:2). This is the essence of the cross: to crucify our pride, and whoever and whatever we are, that Christ might live in us.

Recently, our church decided to hold an outdoor meeting in a certain village, and we were directed to the only person who could rent us sound equipment in that region. The minute we made contact with the man, that same evening he began sending us threatening messages, telling us that he would rent the equipment to other people if we did not pay immediately. We hurriedly came up with the money and paid him.

Unbeknownst to us, much of the equipment was unserviceable, and it would not perform. The worst part was that we realized this too late, just when the meeting had started. We went through a lot of trouble trying to get other equipment, and at more cost.

When I called him to explain the situation, the man again became hostile.

It was the perfect setting for hearts, especially mine, to be tested. The meeting was succesful, and a number of souls came to Christ. But, unknown to me, something was not right in my heart. But I only realized this after the meeting ended. After the meeting ended, something in me kept saying, “Call the man, and thank him.”

But I would push the thought away with the logic, “Why thank him? For failing us?”

I realized the problem was the pride in me. I feared that if I called, the man would not respond the way I wanted him to respond. I had discovered he was not a peaceful man. Probably he might insult me? Probably he would chastise me? So many scenarios came to my mind.

But, during one of those days, I locked horns with my heart. I said, “What if he were to kill me? Would I still stand up for the gospel?”

With that bold thought, I dialled the man’s number. I was determined to make peace with him at whatever cost.

When the man picked up the phone, and after the initial greetings, I told him that I wanted to thank him for the help that he had given us, and that I was sorry for whatever shortcomings might have arisen in our dealings with him.

I waited for his response. But it was not forthcoming. The man kept quiet for a while, and I thought he had gone away, but he had not. Finally, he spoke. He said, “Forgive me also for all that happened.” He spoke a few more words; but for me, that was enough.

I told him, “Forgive me also.” I loved the man.

Our peace was restored. But, at what a price! But it was a small price to pay compared to what I would have had to pay if I had allowed that situation to fester in my heart.

“Christ Crucified”!

But we preach Christ crucified… 1 Cor. 1:23

I spent the whole of last week together with my pastor friend, Paul Dude, doing a follow-up seminar in one of our village churches. The village is called Matongo, situated some 40 or so kilometers to the south-east of the town of Singida. Throughout the duration of the entire week, the Lord laid it heavily on my heart to preach “Christ crucified”. Every day I would stand at the pulpit and I would open my Bible and descend on that scripture like my life depended on it (which it does, of course). On every occasion that I stood up to speak I couldn’t find anything else to speak about.

I was literally with the Apostle Paul, who declared:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you… determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:1-2)

But I clearly recall the reason I felt so compelled to speak on nothing else but “Christ crucified”. Once again, it was the Lord who laid this heavily on my heart. The very life, I realized, of this small congregation as a church depended solely on the singular revelation of “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”.

In other words, the guarantee for the security and spiritual welfare of the church in Matongo lay in a daily revelation of these simple words.

I spoke to them about how when the Corinthians left the revelation of “Christ crucified” all hell (literally) broke loose in that church. It was the same also with the Galatian church. But wherever the cross of Jesus reigned in the church, it crucified every aspect of the flesh in people’s lives; and the life of Christ reigned unbounded.

“Christ crucified”! They were the sweetest words this small congregation had ever heard. And every day, for a whole week, they woke up to those words.

At the end of the seminar, the tears were freely flowing down everyone’s face, including myself and Dude. We realized just how much we needed this revelation – daily – in our lives. We realized how much the flesh (our flesh) opposes the will of God when we fail to crucify our bodies!

When we left Matongo on Sunday afternoon, there couldn’t be a happier congregation in the world. And there couldn’t be a happier couple of small time preachers in the world!

“Christ crucified”! What a revelation! What power; and what wisdom of God in those two simple words.

“But we preach Christ crucified… unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”

[Our visit in photos]

The small congregation of Matongo, shot to the brim with “Christ crucified”!

The kids’ Sunday School church

Portions of the local cuisine

The village of Matongo is situated on a hill

Just beyond the village lies the great valley called “Mbuga Ntiga” (the valley of giraffes), so called because not too long ago, wild animals reigned supreme here and the giraffe was the most visible due to its height; hence the name, “Mbuga Ntiga”

My best friend, Jessica

The room where Dude and I spent the week. Being both great lovers of the outdoors, we were extremely pleased to be lodged in a house that lay at the very edge of the village, in a room that had a window overlooking the great “Mbuga Ntiga”

Arriving home late on Sunday evening, I found waiting for me the best gift that my eyes could possibly lay sight of: my dear wife, Flo

 

Called… To The Cross

22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after widom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 1 Cor. 1:22-24

Someone asked me why so many people who profess to follow Christ end up in clearly unbiblical churches. Quite specifically, he asked, “Why doesn’t God reveal to them the gospel which the Apostle Paul preached, the gospel of the cross? How come so few believers seem to understand this gospel of the cross?”

I had also struggled with this same question, but at the exact time that the brother asked it of me, God gave me the answer. Actually, I realized the answer had been lying in open sight right in front of both our eyes all along; yet we had never been able to see it.

At that very moment, I answered the brother, “The Bible says that God reveals the understanding of the cross to those He calls. That’s what it says right there: ‘But unto them which are called…‘”

In every generation, the people whom God has called to Him have learned to deny themselves, to take up their cross, and follow Christ. That was exactly the command that Christ gave to those whom God would call.

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mat. 16:24)

These believers were not taught in Bible class to deny themselves. They did not have even have beautifully designed blogs like this one that talked about the cross. On the contrary, the ‘education’ of the cross came to them naturally, by the power of the Holy Spirit in them. They were taught by the Holy Spirit. They learned through God to live the crucified life.

As I said, this grace is there in every generation. Even today, God is calling men and women to Him, and when He calls them to Himself, the Holy Spirit teaches them to deny themselves. (Even in the lowest of periods, God has always had a remnant – 1 Ki. 19:18). And so we must question whether a ‘church’ that is running merely after miracles, signs and wonders – a church that would want to make this ministry the bona fide calling of God – is truly of God.

It is very telling that in all the apostolic epistles nowhere does the Bible mention miracles, signs and wonders; certainly not to the extent that the church today would want to trumpet these things. Rather, the New Testament emphasis is on the cross. Little wonder, then, that Paul could boldly state:

“22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after widom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified…”

Paul could simply have said, “We preach Christ crucified…” without dragging in the beliefs of the Jews and the Gentiles. But Paul was no PC idealist. On the contrary, he wanted to make it clear to the church that the only gospel that had any impact on the spiritual lives of believers was the gospel of the cross, the gospel that would teach believers to follow Christ in denying themselves through taking up their cross. Any other gospel – including the gospel of signs and wonders – has zero impact on the spiritual lives of believers.

Elsewhere, the Apostle Paul says:

“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” (1 Cor. 1:17)

The subject of Paul’s statement here is the cross of Christ, or, rather, the power that was in the cross of Christ. He says he preached to the end that the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Again, any other gospel has nothing to offer to the man or woman who would be spiritual.

Now, in this materialistic generation, where people are going to church to “receive” and to be “blessed” in Jesus’ Name, the cross cannot but be set aside in favour of the gospels of signs and wonders. At the other end of the spectrum are those who love to have their grey cells tickled. For these the doctrine of human wisdom takes precedence.

We need to become un-politically correct and ask this modern-day church: Is it too hard a thing for we believers to agree with the Bible? Is it really just too hard to side with Jesus’s command? Or with what the Apostle Paul and all the other apostles taught?

And now, to end…

[The church is not a place for miracles. It is a place for the church to mature and be perfected]

A Gospel And A Life – Part 2

1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

When the Apostle Paul set out to write 2 Corinthians chapters 11 to 13, he set out to accomplish the greatest mission of all: to prove how the gospel of Jesus Christ worked in his life. This is the greatest accomplishment that any man can accomplish this side of heaven: proving the gospel of Jesus at work in him. Let us not forget the gospel that Paul preached.

“But we preach Christ crucified…” (1 Cor. 1:23)

Simple and clear. Paul did not preach any other gospel. Paul did not try to bring up any ‘smart’ doctrines or anything to show how clever or intelligent he was. Nor did he try to show how ‘powerful’ he was. Paul wanted to show the power of Christ.

Any other gospel other than the gospel of the cross will produce false ministers of the gospel – the kind of fellows that we talked of in Part 1 – who in turn will turn out unproven Christians under their watch. Paul therefore set out to prove that the gospel of Jesus Christ was at work in his life. He gave the example of his own life as proof that the true gospel of Jesus Christ was working in him.

So how did the gospel work in Paul?

The gospel worked through Paul through weakness!! Hallelujah to that! The gospel worked through Paul allowing himself to become weak. The gospel brought in Paul a broken man. Paul would gladly boast of nothing of himself except his weaknesses.

“… of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.” (2 Cor. 12:5)

The “infirmities” Paul talks about are his sufferings for the sake of the gospel. The sufferings for the sake of the gospel are the mark of a true servant of Jesus Christ.

This is according to God’s will, for Jesus says in Revelation3:19:

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten”.

Paul rejoiced in the rebuke and chastening of the Lord! It was his only joy. That’s so different from us.

Paul lays out his sufferings in 2 Cor. 12:23-33.

“… in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft… 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness… 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:  33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.”

An apostle let down through a window in a basket!

Paul was hounded and pounded. And here Paul lays down the challenge: “If anyone wants to boast in the Lord, let him boast as I have boasted – in his sufferings for the gospel!” This was proof that Paul was a minister of Jesus Christ.

That seems incredible enough, but what is even more important was the reason for Paul’s sufferings. In Colossians 1:24 Paul talks about the reason he endured his sufferings:

“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church”.

This life – laid down on the altar of sacrifice – produced the kind of person that God could use, one that could do the whole will of God. Such an one would love Christ’s church as Christ Himself loved it. Such was the man, Paul. He loved Christ church as Christ Himself loved her and gave himself for her.

In 2 Cor. 12:9, Paul writes:

“… Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

What “power” is Paul talking of here. Is it the power to lord it over God’s people?

No, on the contrary, it is the power to give of his life for God’s people sacrificially. The power to do all he could so that others could be built up in the Spirit. The power to lay down one’s life.

With such a man God was well pleased. Need we wonder, then, why Paul was given the mandate to preach the gospel throughout the known world and to single-handedly write half the entire New Testament?

[Recently sighted…]

A Gospel And A Life – Part 1

Our key scripture for this new series of posts is 1 Cor. 3:1:

1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

As we read through this blog, we should always bear in mind that the message we are setting forth, which is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, is

“Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2)

I.

One time they were interviewing your favorite prophet from down south… Oh, did I say “your”? Sorry about that because he might not be your favorite prophet. But, just in case you dropped in from Mars, here’s the buzz: everyone today has to have their favorite prophet, one who can prophetically bring up images of their kids simply by tapping on an ipad, etc. The southern tip of Africa is heavily infested with these prophets. The interesting thing is that nearly all the top prophets peddling their wares in the south come from outside that part of Africa: they come from Congo, Malawi, Nigeria, etc. It is a virtual invasion of this country. Why this invasion?

Guess what? South Africa has the world’s greatest deposits of gold. This invasion is all about wealth, and it is not heavenly wealth we are talking of here.

In one of our neighboring countries also, they have the most mightiest prophet of God. He has to carry that pitifully slanted title because the English language has failed to provide him with an adjective that adequately describes his powers. This particular prophet would love the whole world to worship at his feet. Most of his countrymen already are.

Initially, it was thought that all this man wanted was a big-sounding title and nothing more. This was because he began by preaching forcefully against ‘pulpit thieves’ and even refused to take up offerings in his meetings. But it has now surfaced that the most mightiest of all prophets is a scammer of the worst sort who has specifically been targeting rich widows. He has clandestinely and systematically robbed widow after rich widow of their inheritances. After the initial daze wore off, some of his victims caught onto the man’s act and are now trying to reclaim their property through the courts.

The truth is that all these so-called apostles, prophets, etc., are nothing more than the worst form of scammers. Why? THE GOSPEL THAT THEY PREACH AND THEIR LIFESTYLES ATTEST TO THIS. The Apostle Paul’s description of them in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 is telling.

Paul first charge against them is on account of what they preach. He says that they do not preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ. He says they preach

“another Jesus, whom we have not preached”;

and that they carry

“another spirit”, and

“another gospel” (v.4).

In other words, they do NOT preach

“Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23).

They preach everything else apart from

“Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2)

But recall that the Apostle Paul stated what the true apostle and prophet ought to preach.

“But we preach Christ crucified…” (1 Cor. 1:23)

That is the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

II.

Paul then goes on to connect the gospel that these scammers preach with the lives they lead. For one, they

“desire occasion” (v.12).

In other words, they desire to be seen. They seek after worldly glory. These are the folks who love doing their stuff in front of cameras in order to be praised by men. They love titles, and fame. They love being adored by men (and women).

Paul calls them

“false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” (v.13)

Deceitful workers?

If you thought that everyone who works a miracle is doing a bona fide miracle from heaven, think again. In reality, Paul says, these fellows are ministers of Satan (v.14, 15).

These false preachers

“glory after the flesh”. (v.18)

If you Google them, you will learn about their net worth, the watches they wear and the cars that their wives and children drive. One famous preacher in the U.S. once said, “I am one of a few billionaires…”

They are all about going up and up and up in this world.

Finally, Paul calls them

“fools” (v.19).

How do you view someone who walks on air? Must be very wise. Or a billionaire? Can’t even come up close to them. Another ‘prophet’ in Africa calls his henchmen “wise men” (an attempt to compare them to the true Biblical wise men). All these people appear incredibly wise in the sight of men. But in God’s sight they are fools who are headed straight for destruction. Anyone who subscribes to the flesh is a fool.

Just in case you thought people masquerading as ministers of God are a modern phenomenon within the church, scripture here reveals that it is not. This is a problem that has been there since the inception of the church. Paul himself confronted it.

And Paul tells the Corinthians what these scammers will do to anyone gullible enough to entrust themselves into their hands.

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.” (2 Cor. 11:20)

Today, we witness too much of what Paul is saying here to write about it. But, strangely, believers will simply not heed scripture! The fact that these kinds of characters have not two or three but hundreds of thousands of followers attests to this. But it is also foretold in scripture. In 2 Timothy 4:1-5 the Apostle Paul gave his young disciple Timothy a mandate:

“1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

Notice verse 3. Who are the “they”? It is as if Paul is saying that a time would come when the entire church would be taken in by these false prophets! Sadly, indeed, it appears so today.

But Paul also foresaw in the Spirit long into the future that a time would come when God’s people would cease to have a hunger for the things of God, but would use ‘God’ as a platform to fulfill their fleshly desires.

When the true gospel of

“Jesus Christ, and him crucified”

has been sidelined, people will become everything but spiritual. For this is the only gospel wherein Christ is: where the flesh is being crucified daily. Christ is to be found nowhere else; incidentally, not even in miracles. Christ is firmly settled in the crucifixion of the flesh.

We will see more about that later.

[Have you seen the light?]

The Holy Spirit And The Cross – Part 2

The classic case of just how gentle, unobtrusive and unassuming (but powerful) the Holy Spirit is, is to be found in Matthew 16:13-20. But before we read that scripture let us look at Proverbs 7:11-12.

“11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: 12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

That’s not talking about a woman; it is talking about the flesh. The flesh is loud; and it is all over the place. The flesh always wants to advertise itself.

But the church is not a place for advertising who we are, nor the things of this world and of the flesh which are, incidentally, temporal. On the contrary, the church is a place for the quiet dealings of the Holy Spirit, which are eternal. If a Christian wants to be known in the flesh, he or she is a carnal Christian.

So now, let us look closely at Matthew 16:13-20. Here I will just quote a few relevant verses.

“15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven… 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ.”

Now, did we say that God does not want to be known, nor His power to be proclaimed?

Hardly. The Bible is filled to the brim with scriptures that declare the glory and power of God. But then God is not flesh. He is Spirit, and He is holy. He does not want to be advertised in the flesh.

It is not that Jesus did not want the world to know that He was the Christ. But He wanted this knowledge to come as a work of the Holy Spirit, not of man. I recall some years back we had a phrase in church, “Running with the vision.” It began in the Spirit all right. In those early days men and women truly heard from the Lord. But it didn’t take long for the flesh to raise its ugly head in church and now, today, people are piling up in churches to hear all kinds of visions from all kinds of visionaries… We are living in different times all together.

But when Jesus was here on earth, He did not give the flesh a single opportunity to express itself. In this particular case, He did not want His disciples to go and tell people that Jesus was the Christ while, just a while back, they had been openly jostling for the No. 1 position in Jesus earthly government! He did not want Simon Peter, who did not want to face the cross (Mat. 16:22) to proclaim that He was the Christ!

Jesus would allow His disciples to declare that He was the Christ after the Holy Spirit had done a work of the cross in their lives. That was long after He had left this earth in the flesh.

This is exactly what God is looking for in our lives. God is looking for men and women who have accepted the work of the cross in their lives. He desires us to be changed by the cross in us. God is more interested in what we can allow Him to do in us rather than what we can do for Him.

In 1 Pet. 3:1-4 we read,

“1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Notice in verse 1 that the Biblical way for wives to win over their unbelieving husbands to the Lord is not through the word; but

“by the conversation of the wives”.

The word “conversation” means way of life. In other words, the way the wife talks and behaves in the fear of the Lord. Not the preaching. That is the Biblical way to win over people’s lives to the Lord.

Secondly, notice, in verse 4,

“the hidden man of the heart” and

“the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit”.

What does the Bible say about these two qualities?

It says they are

“not corruptible”;

in other words, they are eternal. Secondly, they are

“in the sight of God of great price.”

We should not desire to be seen. Neither through our preaching nor through anything else we do. On the contrary, we should desire the work of the cross through the Holy Spirit working in us to be seen in us. The reason for our doing should only on account of what He has done in us.

The Eminence Of The Cross – Part 2

Firstly, in 1 Cor. 1:17-18, Paul states,

“17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

Notice what verse 18 is telling us. It is making a difference between being saved and taking up your cross and following Christ. These are two completely different things. In other words, you could be saved but not be under “the preaching of the cross”. You could be a believer who panders to his or her carnal lusts. One who is not fulfilling the righteousness of God in their lives. But the Bible declares that to those who have accepted salvation, the cross is “the power of God”!

In other words, when we are allowing the cross to work in us, the power of God is revealed in us! The power to do what? To defeat sin and to work the righteousness of God in our lives.

The Apostle Paul feared lest the cross of Christ should be made of “none effect” in the lives of believers.

Wow! What a mighty revelation!! But Paul goes even further and writes similar words in Philippians 1:29:

“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake”.

The believer has two mandates. Actually, one – salvation – is not our mandate. The work of salvation has been wrought by God Himself; we were dead in sin, and God resurrected us in Christ Jesus. A dead person cannot resurrect himself, so we were not involved in any way in our salvation. Salvation is all of God’s grace (Eph. 2:5).

The singular mandate that we have been given is to crucify our flesh. God calls us, by the Holy Spirit that He has given to us, to crucify our fleshly lusts and desires. Galatians 5:24 puts it thus:

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

Again, this is of grace. According to His great mercies and love, God has decided to make us co-workers with Him. He makes us co-workers with Him in His fight against His enemies. And, pray, how do we fight God’s enemies?

It is not by screaming at the devil, as most believers have been taught. Nor is the believer’s victory in the thousand and one “steps” that fill most charismatic teachings.

On the contrary, there is only one way to defeat the enemy. It is by crucifying the flesh! God gives us His Holy Spirit for the express purpose of crucifying the flesh. Once we have crucified the flesh, we are done. Done, I said. That is what it says in Ephesians 6:10-20. Here, it is well documented how our spiritual warfare is waged solely on the battleground of the flesh. Just look at our armor (vss 14-18).

Truth. Righteousness. Peace. Faith. Salvation. The Word of God. Prayer. All these things require a denial of self.

It is all about crucifying the flesh! Once we crucify the flesh, the devil has nothing in us (Jn. 14:30). The devil fears a dead Christian! But when he meets a ‘live’ believer (i.e., one who is living for himself), the devil has a powerful weapon. We do the devil’s work when we fulfill the desires of the flesh.

Hence the cross. This mandate that we have from God – to crucify our flesh – was the reason the Apostle Paul held the cross in such esteem. You can see in his epistles that the singular thing that the Apostle Paul defended was the cross. Unlike many preachers in his time (but more so today), Paul did not boast in the great works that were done through him; nor in visions and heavenly visitations, all of which he had in abundance. On the contrary, Paul boasted

“in mine infirmities” (2 Cor. 12:5)

What does Paul mean by “infirmities”?

We shall see that in the next chapter of this series.

The Eminence Of The Cross – Part 1

38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Mat. 12:38-40

Our lives are bound up with God to the extent that we live the crucified life. That was what Jesus was telling these Jews here. They – just like many believers today – believed the Kingdom of God consisted of signs and wonders. But Jesus here set the record straight: when it comes to the Kingdom of God, the only true sign that would be given this generation was the suffering, death and resurrection of our souls.

Actually, Jesus reprimanded the Jews for seeking after a sign. He said that seeking after a sign is the mark of “an evil and adulterous generation”.

That’s quite telling. That’s talking of people who are not interested in seeking after the holiness of God. Rather, they are using God (religion) to seek after their own gain. Material, financial and physical gain, to be exact. But Jesus said,

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God”.

Even seeking after bodily healing of itself is a form of selfishness. Seeking after your own healing first (you will know you are doing this in your heart of hearts) is a form of idol worship. Today, there are so many believers who worship their bodies. But we are to seek for God’s Kingdom first to be established in our hearts.

I believe it grieves God’s heart the way many believers today throng to these miracle-working churches. All they are seeking after is a sign, a miracle, a healing, or an awe-inspiring wonder. According to scripture, these are “an evil and adulterous generation”.

In fact, let’s up the ante. Or, rather, let us see how the Bible judges today’s generation of miracle-seekers. Yes, God judges all miracle-seekers, as we shall see. Firstly, the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 1:22-24 declares something which is very contrary to popular charismatic belief:

“22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified… 24 Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”

In his day, Paul’s generation was demanding a sign. Today’s generation loves preaching Christ; but not “Christ crucified”. Today, the gospel is all about being blessed – materially, financially and physically. They preach another Jesus. The cross is out. And so is God’s wisdom and power.

But the real killer is 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. Here scripture says:

“9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

What, pray, is the “truth” the Bible is talking of here?

The truth is Jesus. He Himself declared,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Jn. 14:6)

And, who, pray is the Bible talking of here? Is the Bible addressing pagan sinners? By no means. The world is already deceived. Satan’s work is to deceive those who have been called to the truth. Here, therefore, the Bible is talking of God’s people who refused to love the truth (Jesus), but had pleasure in a lie.

There is no shortage of believers today who are so deceived even the drunkard in the bar can see what is going on, for it is happening in broad daylight. In Africa, congregations of the deceived are so vast that some ‘churches’ use football fields to hold their services. So many people running to receive a lie! There is so much damnable folly and unrighteousness going on in these charismatic churches today. Just to mention a few: People are persuaded to eat grass and snakes in church. Apparently, this is done under a form of hypnotism for no one in their right minds would do such a thing. Many other things are done to God’s people in these churches under this particular form of hypnotism.

Merchandise, purportedly from the holy land, is sold in churches: flags, oil, sand, water, etc. Women are raped in church under the guise of being healed and receiving other ‘blessings’. And preachers live the high life at the expense of fooled believers. The list is inexhaustible. There is a church whose members worship naked. They read the Bible and they discovered that Adam was naked (although Adam was not naked; he was covered with the glory of God). Then there are the mainstream established churches, who have taken centuries to establish each their own particular form of lie.

The common factor amongst all these groupings is that they have refused to affirm the singular Truth that was preached by the Apostles: Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. They have cast aside the cross of Jesus Christ. They have cast aside the singular thing that connects them with the living God.

So what is that scripture we just read in 2 Thessalonians saying? It is warning us. It is stating that you cannot fool God. God can see when His people have no love for the truth, and he is not happy about it at all. God saw through the mask of people’s worldly desires and He realized people did not really love His Son, Jesus (the Truth). All they wanted were the miracles. The Bible here says that, for this reason, God let loose a spirit of “strong delusion”. A spirit of signs and wonders. They had refused to believe in the singular gospel of the cross, so God let loose Satan (in a spirit of “deceivableness”) upon them. This spirit is at work in the church today and, as we just saw, it is not working in parables. It is plainly see-able.

But it is the cross and what it does in our lives that will usher us into the presence of God. We saw in our last post that Jesus has received the ultimate reward from God the Father: He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And the Bible makes clear that Jesus did not receive this honor on account of the miracles that He performed when He was here on earth. Rather, it was on account of the cross that He allowed to work in His life.

Many believers, as we just saw, make a big fuss out of miracles and signs and wonders. But when we get to heaven, these (whether we worked or whether we received them) will be of very little consequence to our final accounting with God. What will determine how God receives us in heaven will be how we denied ourselves by partaking of the sufferings and death of Christ when we were here on earth.

This was what Jesus was trying to tell the scribes and Pharisees here.

[Our reward is to live forever with Jesus after we have taken up our cross]