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]

Confirmed

4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor. 4-9

 In Romans 1:28-29 we read:

“28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

Verse 28 is talking about the Israelites. Verse 29 is talking about the Israelites and us. Both these scriptures are talking about God’s stand with regard to these two groups of people.

These scriptures reveal the paramouncy that the gospel has over even the gifts and calling of God.

I was surprised to read somewhere that the nation of Isarel has one of the highest levels of gays worldwide. Yes, you heard it right: homosexuals. That kind of statistic was something I had never contemplated in my life and this knowledge kind of toned down my cheering for Israel; but I am sure it hasn’t fazed God in the least. The Bible says that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God will never back down one inch from the promises He made to the nation of Israel.

Any nation which tries to attack Israel in the natural will find itself coming up against the armies of God (angels) – literally. The world has witnessed this countless times. The Six-Day War of 1967 has remained one of the most historic mystery (read miracles) of our modern times.

That is because Israel is the elected nation of God. God, in His wisdom, has put these few people in this world to declare how His election works.

Indeed, wherever the Jew sets foot becomes blessed. America is (or was once) a prime example.

But,

“As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes”.

Hmmm. Yes, the Israelites have become enemies of the gospel in order that we, too, might be included in the mercies of God. And the Bible declares that they, too, have been hardened in their hearts to the end that they, too, just like us, might obtain mercy from God (v. 32).

Notice, they are elected, but ultimately they will need to receive mercy. In the end, both we Gentiles and the Israelites will be products of God’s mercy.

It is clear, therefore that, if it is of mercy, it is not of us. The gifts and calling of God come, not from us, but from God Himself. And if it is so, then, no one has anything to boast of there. Indeed, the wisest person in this regard is the person who recognizes this and daily humbles themselves under the mighty hand of God.

This – the non-repentance of God – explains why preachers and Christian believers in general can continue to witness the grace of God in certain areas of their lives even when it becomes clear they are living in sin. This was true of the Corinthian church as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:4-7:

“4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

But notice verse 8.

“Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In spite of all the gifts of the Spirit that the Corinthians had, yet it was their confirmation unto the end that was pivotal. Why? Because it was this that would present them blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This confirmation is what we ought to seek for above anything else.

But let us backtrack and ask, What is the meaning of the word “confirm” here?

It means to approve, or to validate. We will not go to heaven on the basis of the gifts and calling of God, but on the basis of our approval by Christ Jesus. Christ will first have to prove us, whether or not we passed through the narrow road that He also passed. If we do not get the stamp of approval from Jesus, we will not make it to heaven.

Jesus’s stamp of approval reads:

“IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME.”

We become approved when we share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. The Apostle Paul makes that very clear in Philippians 3:10:

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”.

Are you carrying Jesus’s stamp of approval? Are you denying yourself daily, taking up your cross and following Jesus?

The most important thing for us are not the gifts and calling; rather, it is to be confirmed.

[God’s beloved nation, Israel.]

Effective Ministry

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3

I once saw a ‘great’ man of God speaking to a large audience on TV, and I heard him say, “If there is someone I may have hurt in one way or another in my life, I want to ask you to forgive me. Please forgive me.”

He did not shed any tears, but he did not need to. You could feel the sincerity in his voice. In other words, that man looked deep into his heart and realized there were people he might have hurt in his life; and somehow, in that instant, that fact became the single most important thing in his life; and he repented of it. That was rare indeed for me to see; but I believe that was a demonstration of God’s love!

It is not easy to speak Paul’s words today. In our day, we seem to have all of a sudden discovered the scripture that says to touch not the Lord’s anointed, and we are applying it to every Tom, Harry and Dick. We apply it to everyone who can open their mouths and say, “Thus says the Lord!” Or to anyone who can ‘prove’ that they are endowed with a ministry. And the bigger the ministry the man or woman appears to have, the greater our respect for them.

It is good to respect true men of God. But, apparently, the Apostle Paul wasn’t about to board the bandwagon of ‘total praise’. On the contrary, he came down hard on anyone who took ministry as the end result of our calling. He told the Corinthians that when it came to the Kingdom of God, love matters above ministry.

I remember one time, many years ago, some men came to our church and they taught us that a believer who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit should be changing their spiritual language every week or so. In other words, that you should be inter-changing tongues ever so regularly. At that time we were swallowing everything.

The men were about four or five in number and they spent the entire week giving us exercises in these spiritual callisthenics. They would say, “Ok, now begin!”; and if you began saying “Rabarabaraba” or something, they would say, “Now say, ‘Hai hai hai!’”

Had they stayed with us for a year, I am sure we would have learned Japanese! The minute they left, though, I reverted to my old tongues and they haven’t changed to this day.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with changing tongues once every week, but the Apostle Paul here tells us that even speaking in tongues of angels is an exercise in futility if we are not walking in love. So it is with all other ministry, however high up the ladder it might be.

The Apostle Paul tells us to earnestly covet the highest gifts of the Holy Spirit. In other words, it is right and needful to covet such gifts – but not so we become “great men/women of God”. On the contrary, it is in order that we may edify God’s people. In other words, ministry is a way of dying to self, a way of giving away our life for the church. That’s when ministry becomes love.

With all the pressure and emphasis on ministry today, Paul’s statement is a pretty powerful cul-de sac in the Spirit. It sets the foundation to any work that any man would do in the name of God, and it says that that foundation is love. If we do not have love in our hearts, if we are not walking in love towards people, all that we accomplish is of very little benefit to us and even to those we minister to. People need to feel a heart, not dry ministry. Compassion, not ‘ministry’, was what drove Jesus to do all the miracles that He did.

As much as ministry is needful in the church, the Apostle Paul – who was the greatest minister of them all – here says, “… and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” In other words, if we are to minister effectively, then the way of love is the “more excellent way”.

[Below: It is reported that the legendary American blues singer, B.B. King married twice, but both marriages snapped under the weight of his ‘ministry’*. But, apparently, King had a soft niche in his heart; in November 1972, he and other artists held a Thanksgiving performance for the prisoners at “Sing Sing” prison in New York. The performance was understood to be a risky undertaking, but King went all the same; and this is a part of that performance]

*Source: Wikipedia

The Danger of Pride – Part 2

Today, in Africa, it does not feel comfortable to not address a man of God without preceding his name with a title. You hear, “Apostle so-and-so” or “Prophet” or “Bishop” or “Pastor so-and-so”. Some preachers are simply known by the title “Bishop” and half their congregations do not even know their names. Preachers love addressing each other by these titles. It is like there is an obligation – an obligation to satisfy each other’s egos! Calling a man by his title is not a problem with God, of course; but the fact that men love this glory thing  is a big problem with God. In other places preachers actually demand it.

But there is another danger here: the Church is being taught to covet these things. In other words, the sin of covetousness is being taught and perpetuated by church leaders. No wonder, therefore, that everyone wants the big posts. The result is that wars and factionalism have become common in church today.

We Christians, above everyone else, should be keenly aware that the glory belongs to God alone.

In several places in the scriptures we see the apostles – Peter, John, Paul – rushing to correct people’s wrong perspectives of them as great men – or even as gods. They told them, “We are ordinary men just like you. All we have done has been by the power of God, by whose mercy and grace we live and have done all that you see.”

The Apostle Paul says of himself, “I am nothing”.

You don’t hear that kind of language very much in the pulpits today. On the contrary I see many men and women who are perfect examples of pride and arrogance.

Regrettably, just as with Herod, God sometimes moves. In our town there was this very gifted preacher, a young man. He had the gifts of the Spirit and he had charisma, and when some missionaries came from abroad and saw him, they took him under their care. They took him to a Bible school in their country, where he stayed for a number of years.

When he came back, he was no longer the humble man we knew before. He was now a ‘great man of God’ and he made it clear, without speaking so much as a word, that he was a cut above us. He had money and a big car. He lived in the biggest mansion in town. I once asked him whether his house was not too big for him and he said no.

With his charismatic bearing – and the gifts of God still upon him, since God’s gifts are without repentance – he became the most popular preacher in town. He started his own ministry and he preached all over the country and even abroad. Soon you could not address him without appending the title “Bishop” to his name.

After some years he fell into sin. He fell into adultery. Somehow, unfortunately, he contracted the AIDS virus.

The rest, as they say, is history. Before we even knew what had happened, he had vanished from the ‘radar’. He disappeared from town and his whereabouts remained a mystery… until we got wind that he was in his rural village where he was dying. Soon enough he died, and a handful of preachers went to bury him.

It is no secret that preachers today love the glory. But such examples as of this young preacher – and the dissimilar examples of the apostles’ lives – should teach us that the glory belongs to God alone. We are nothing.

The Danger of Pride – Part 1

And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.

And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.

And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Acts 12:20-23

Many years ago I used to work in a big farmers’ organisation. The chairman of that organisation was a very powerful man. He spent most of his time far away in Dar es Salaam, simply enjoying the good life, which included visits with our country’s president. Whenever he was around the company’s offices in our town, which was very rare, everything would revolve around him. In the first place, he always arrived by plane, sometimes charted. I was in charge of vehicles at the company and it was my responsibility to make sure that every vehicle was at the airport at the moment of his arrival. He would then be brought to the offices in a long motorcade.

But he had a strange peculiarity. He would get out of his car in the middle of town and walk to the offices on foot. That way, a big procession of his workers and other town folk would escort him, the top managers packed close to him and answering to his every breath.

I would sit in my office and watch the procession approaching. I did not have the heart to engage in such sycophancy. In fact, he and I hardly knew each other personally.

But ours was an organisation that was ruining farmers. The top management and everyone else used the farmers to enrich themselves while the farmers rotted in poverty. (One and a half years later I resigned in disgust).

One day, we heard that the chairman had fallen ill. But it was no ordinary disease. It was what the locals call a ‘bush boil’. It is a boil that simply pulverizes the entire pelvic area and it is known to be unhealable. The locals call it a ‘curse’.  They dread it more than any other disease. Our chairman was taken to an expensive hospital, but no hospital could treat that boil. After some time they brought him back home.

He died a few weeks later, in a witch doctor’s hut, his last resort.

 

It is apparent that Herod was a great orator. When he visited the people of Tyre and Sidon, he gave such a rousing speech that the people were overwhelmed by his oratorical powers. They shouted in unison: “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” Other factors were in play, of course.

God is so patient that up till then, Herod was without fault in God’s eyes. But then the Bible says that he “gave not God the glory”. In other words, he accepted the glory for himself.

An angel of the Lord smote him immediately and he died – “eaten of worms”. He died a violent, horrible death.

Herod could simply have said, “No, guys, I am not a god” and the angel of death would have passed over him.

But he did not; on the contrary, in his heart he accepted the glory as his due.

In this period of grace that we are living in, it is the easiest thing for Christians to not realize that they are taking up the glory for themselves, instead of giving it to God. When the church is not walking in the revelation of the Cross of Christ, the flesh becomes alive and no one is even aware of it!

Many men of God have been blessed with many extraordinary gifts by God. Some are formidable orators, like Herod was. Others have powerful gifts of the Spirit working in them. Others have been blessed materially. By giving them all these things, God meant for them to glorify Him. But, sadly, many take up the glory for themselves.