While that sounds good, it is faulty. Brothers and sisters, we cannot praise God on a faulty foundation. Let us examine this subject some more.

The Holiness of God
God, by nature, exists separate from all things and independent of all things. He depends on nothing, relies on nothing, and draws His value from nothing other than Himself. This is what holiness means. He is separate.

When we say that God is holy, we are saying that God is. We are recognising Him as the I Am, the one who is totally separate from all else. That’s God’s holiness. That is God’s unique attribute. No-one else, nothing else, is like that. That’s why Scriptures repeatedly extols His holiness. He alone is completely separate from and independent of everything else.

Do we get that? If we do, we can move on.

Once we understand the concept of God’s holiness, everything changes. Literally.

God does not derive His worth or worthiness from anything. Not from what He has done or will do. Not from what we or anyone else thinks. He is simply worthy because He is.

Before God created the heavens and earth, he was worthy. After He did, His worthiness did not jump up a scale; it stayed the same. He was as independent and self-sustaining as He was before creation.

Before God sent Jesus Christ to redeem us, He was worthy. After He did, he was just as worthy.

Remember Job? Remember how He praised God even when things went downhill for him? He could do that because he understood God’s holiness and God’s worthiness. He knew that God was God regardless of whether or not He acted on your behalf.

If God hadn’t lifted a finger to save man from sin, He would still be worthy of praise. If God didn’t put food on your table, He would still be as worthy of praise. God’s worth and/or worthiness is unchanging because it has to do with His inherent nature, not His actions or inactions.

How about Thanksgiving?
Oh, giving of thanks is another kettle of fish entirely. We give thanks for acts of goodness and kindness done to us. This has nothing to do with the worth of the doer. We don’t necesarilly have to esteem someone to say thanks when the person does us good.

Now, this is where much of the professing Church is stuck today. Our music, our words, our services revolve around thanksgiving. That is not surprising, seeing that the vast majority are in church circles for selfish and self-centred reasons. We are a Gimme, gimmeee! generation.

As such, we give thanks for food, for finances, for God’s protection, etc. There would be nothing wrong with that if we included it as part of a balanced diet in our relationship with God. As a matter of fact, the Bible commands us to be full of thanks. Unfortunately, by and large, the diet is far from balanced.

When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, the phrase “Hallowed be your Name” was a pointer to appreciating and praising the worthiness of God. God’s name is holy. God’s name is I Am. It is so fundamental to our relationship with Him, yet it has been retired to a back burner.

God is worthy of praise regardless of whether or not He has acted on your behalf in a certain way. Don’t forget it.

So, what shall we do? We shall give thanks for the blessings and benefits that God has bestowed on us, but we must spend more time praising Him and hallowing His name simply because He is. We must spend more time in awe of His holiness.

Share on Facebook

From a distance, it looks like a revival is on. Our churches are full every Sunday. Some have multiple shifts to accomodate the masses of people surging in. We have churches on almost every street. Some of our special meetings, conventions and conferences record attendance of hundreds of thousands.

But is it really revival?

Jesus once performed a miracle in which 5,000 men were supernaturally fed from a boy’s meal of five barley loaves and two fish. It was an amazing feat, if you think about it.

Trust human beings, by the next day, the news had spread and people wanted some more of this amazing preacher! So, they went looking for Jesus. However, when they found Him, here was His response:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:26-27)

Thankfully, Jesus knew clearly what He came for. He came for eternal purposes. He did not come for bread. He did not come for temporal needs. He had worked that miracle as a sign that He was the Messiah to come, so they could look to Him for what He came for – redemption from sin.

But man, as always, missed the point. Their temporal need was the overriding motive. But Jesus knocked that and pointed them in the right direction.

Now, compare this to the situation on ground today:

• Our churches are full, but people mostly come because of bread
• Our preachers are preaching, but they are mostly offering people bread instead of the food that endures to eternal life
• While Jesus refused to become seeker-sensitive and give the people what they wanted, our preachers are totally into giving the people what they want, as long as the crowds (and offerings) come in

Brothers and sisters, what we are seeing is not revival! It is a self-driven, flesh-motivated show. It is about making money, getting a healing, getting married, having babies, getting jobs and all things temporal. Were Jesus in many of our churches today, He would be rebuking preacher and congregation alike.

Eventually, those people looking for Jesus in the passage above all walked away. They were disappointed. They had not been seeking eternal life. They just wanted their needs met.

Most of what is called Christianity today has a label on it that reads: “Powered by covetousness“. It is all about what I want. Do we ever remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He said:

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

God has no problem with you having things. It is just not what Jesus came to do. Even non-believers have things. Many of them are richer than their “Christian” friends and neighbours, and there is no problem with that. This one thing was not available to anyone, this one thing was impossible with man – redemption from sin – and Jesus came to fix that.

God does care about us, but Jesus did not come for the purpose of putting bread on your table, giving you babies, getting you a job or making you famous. He gave us heads and hands for those.

Our heads and hands cannot save us from sin, however, so He came for that. In the words of the apostle Paul:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, or did you believe a gospel of bread and butter?

Share on Facebook

“If it is God that called me, definitely this ministry will continue to blossom, but if it is not God, it will perish.”

As good as it sounds, this is nothing but a smoke screen, as it has no Biblical standing. Take a look at these passages:

Mat 24:11, 24 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

2Ti 3:12-13 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

When next a man uses the burden of “results”, or longevity as a means of defending himself, his actions, his teachings, or his ministry when confronted, know for sure that he is blowing smoke.

He has not presented a valid response. He is either being crafty or he is plain ignorant. Neither of those two options are qualities that point to a person you should be sitting under or following.

Share on Facebook

You didn’t believe better. God didn’t save you based on decisions you took. He didn’t choose you because He knew you would respond positively, as some claim. He saved you according to His pleasure. You had a total lack of merit in the matter. That’s grace.

But is that all there is to grace? Can the believer simply coast along now that grace has come? Does grace really teach and motivate God’s people to live irresponsibly? Afterall, we did not merit this salvation. We are covered by grace; aren’t we?

The apostle Paul threw this same issue at the Church at Rome when he asked:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?(Rom 6:1)

His answer was sharp and clear:

By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Rom 6:2)

Paul shed more light on this in his letter to Titus when he penned these awesome words:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.(Tit 2:11-14)

Thank God, we can recognise the grace of God by its results. If a man lives irresponsibly but claims to be under grace, he lies. He is self-deceived. The grace that he speaks of cannot be the grace of God that brings salvation. It is something else.

God’s grace teaches us holiness and righteous living. It teaches respect for constituted authority and age. It teaches us to be selfless and to lay down our lives for others. It teaches us to turn away from the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and the lust of the eyes. It teaches us diligence and commitment, integrity and a honest disposition.

God’s grace teaches us to live in expectation of the return of our Lord  and Saviour Jesus Christ. We cannot be in expectation of Christ’s return and live lawlessly.

God’s grace is powerful enough to deliver us from irresponsible living. Are you abiding in that grace? Are you producing the fruits of this great grace?

Shalom.

Share on Facebook

Those of us who have accepted the task of declaring truth are often maligned and mocked, despised and persecuted on all fronts. At times, it gets so bad that we are often tempted to tone it down a bit and not rock the boat so much.

Last week, I told a sister how I have at times felt like giving up preaching the Gospel. Her response:

Really? You have fooled me. You seem resilient!

When I further told her how I cry almost everyday, how my heart breaks everyday and how I am weak everyday, and keep crying to the Lord, she responded:

Please stop. You are scaring me. What do u mean? You are strong!

It was an interesting discussion. Well, I shared with her how the Lord’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. Like our brother Paul, my boast will always be in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. And in those weaknesses do I take pleasure; in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Standing for the Lord is often a lonely job, but we have several examples of men who did so in Scriptures, and we can be certain that the Lord will keep us.

The accounts in 1 Kings 22 show us the sterling example of a relatively unsung prophet named Micaiah. He has no book to his name, but this brief account reveals a man of character, a man who knew and respected the Lord above anyone else, and a man who dared to speak the truth regardless of who’s ox is gored.

400 prophets claimed to be speaking for God, but they were all speaking by a false spirit. Do the math – 400 lying prophets. They had all probably come out of the school of the prophets; yet they prophesied by a lying spirit.

In practice, the odds that 400 prophets are lying and only one is telling the truth are terrific. But that’s what it was.

It is the same way that people question the odds that our numerous self-appointed General Overseers, Bishops, Senior Pastors et al are lying and only a handful of us are telling the truth. Odds or not, that’s the way it is.

Unity is a good thing, but only when built on truth. Micaiah had enough sense to refuse unity on a platter of falsehood. He would not get in on the bandwagon with the majority.

In all probability, he was not being mentored by any of the 400 prophets. He was not upwardly mobile. He had no desire for acceptance and recognition. He was not seeking to build the fastest growing church in the land.

Note also that Micaiah respected not the evil king. All God’s messengers all through the Bible have this stamped on them. When men rebelled against God, respect for status, age, position or authority went out the window.

While our self-serving pastors today continue to tell corrupt and wicked men in power that it is well with them and that they are God’s anointed ones, invite them to speak at their events, and even collect money from them “for the Lord’s work”, Micaiah would have none of that.

Note in verse 13 that the messenger that was sent to Micaiah had even attempted to persuade him to speak “that which is good” to the king.

But the prophet wouldn’t. He was made of a different cloth from the sort of people that the bishop at Otta and the overseer by the highway are – those men who claim to hear God but whom God didn’t (and still does not) tell that the politicians and characters they frolic with are evil.

Micaiah was certainly non-conformist, and was not out to earn points, build a followership or fan anybody’s ego. He was a man of God in the truest sense of the word.

He was not going to go motivational either and tell the King that he could make it if he believed it. He was only going to tell Him what the Lord said.

I pray that God would give us more men of the stock of Micaiah today. We need men who will speak the truth whether it is popular or not. We need godly shepherds and preachers who won’t tell people what they want to hear but what they need to hear.

Share on Facebook

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

Sound character is a hallmark of true believers. All through the Gospels and the accounts and writings of the apostles, character is a finely woven theme that cannot be missed. Terms like “fruit of the Spirit”, “led by the Spirit”, “new creature”, and “new man” are all used to paint a picture of the character of the believer in Christ Jesus.

Also, we read of “good works” as fruits of the new life in Christ all through the writings of the apostles.

We must make no mistake about it – sound character is a trait and characteristic of the regenerated man and the renewed mind. Jesus stated clearly that men are known by their fruit.

2 Timothy 2:19 gives us the seal of the two-sided foundation of God that stand sure. The first is that the Lord knows those who are His (and sovereignly calls them to Himself through the preaching of the Word). The second is that those who are His (among those that name the name of Christ) will depart from iniquity.

It is the height of absurdity that certain people lay claim to belonging to the Lord but live like devils. It is absolute nonsense. If we are His, our lives will show forth fruit of righteousness and holiness. We will abound in every good work.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. (Titus 3:8)

Brothers and sisters, let your light shine!

Share on Facebook

The world keeps prompting people to spend money they don’t have for things they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like.

It is called keeping with the Joneses. And it is sheer folly. Yet, many who profess the Name of Christ are part of this public spectacle.

Share on Facebook

The result was that the word of God was choked in the midst of it all. All that line-up of activities was a big distraction to ther only needful thing. The key individuals behind the event were mostly running up and down during the meeting itself. It was more of Hollywood than church. I felt like fish out of water in there. Sadly, that scenario is pretty much what most “church” meetings are like today.

In contrast, I spoke at another church congregation about a month ago. There was no officialese. We started off straight with the Bible teaching, followed by a discussion of what was taught, a simple collection of offering without any pulls and appeals, and thereafter the meeting was dismissed. I felt at home in there.

One meeting was totally activity-driven; the other was a meeting in which people gathered to take heed to doctrine. These two scenarios remind me of Jesus’ visit to Mary’s home.

Luke 10:38-42
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Are we entertaining the people or giving them that one thing that is necesarry?

Share on Facebook

We shall examine two passages in which believers are instructed as to being “led by the Spirit“, and see what the Lord has really said.

Galatians 5:16-26
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

We see here that the usage of the term “led by the Spirit” has to do with believers walking in righteousness and not fulfilling or walking in the lusts of the flesh.

The other passage in which the term is used in addressing believers says pretty much the same thing:

Romans 8:1-15
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Again, we see that the term is used with reference to not walking after the dictates and desires of the flesh, but walking in righteousness, walking in the fruit of the Spirit.

As such, what verse 14 really means is this:

For as many as produce the fruit of the Spirit (or walk in righteousness), they are the sons of God.

That verse does not speak of being “led” in the sense of seeking supernatural guidance, or following subjective impressions.

So, the question is, Are you led by the Spirit of God?

You can answer that question in the affirmative only if your life reflects the fruit of the Spirit, the fruits of righteousness. Again, I refer you to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ as delivered to us by the apostle Paul:

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:18-23)

Are you led by the Spirit or fulfilling the works of the flesh?

Share on Facebook

Philippians 4:10-14
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

As is obvious from the context, our brother Paul was saying that he had learnt contentment, and could endure or adjust to all situations – those of plenty and those of lack. Paul was not motivating believers to grab more and seek to be rich or anything of the sort when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. No, he was presenting us a model of contentment.

Here, Paul defines contentment for us. Some think that contentment means never having, accepting or enjoying more. No; it doesn’t.

Contentment is the attitude that says if I never have more than I have now, that is fine, but if I do get more, that is just as fine.

That is what Paul’s words here reflect. Less is not bad. Neither is more. Life goes on either way. This is different from the grab-all-you-can attitude being promoted in our dead churches, all in the name of “prosperity”.

As I keep saying to people, our parents taught us contentment; the apostate church of today undid the good job our parents did and taught us to be greedy.

1 Timothy 6:3-11
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,
7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

What else does Scripturer say on this matter?

Hebrews 13:5-6
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

We will do well to heed these eternal words of our Lord. God bless.

Share on Facebook