"God has a plan for your life, and it started before the day you were born.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' (Jeremiah 29:11)
Today, a quick peep into the media will show you a host of onslaughts against the church.
It would appear that more and more people are losing faith in the efficacy of God and are viewing Christianity as a religion that rather than adding value to society, takes away from it. Many call religious professors as thieves, rapists, cultists, and many other such like titles. As a clergyman myself, I will not sit down and turn a deaf ear to all that is being spoken about concerning the church today. I am all too aware that some of the things that the church is being accused of are indeed true. It is disheartening.
One fundamental mistake that believers of our time are making is placing their faith in human beings as opposed to placing their faith in God. No doubt, there are people that God has called to be his servants and he has used them to accomplish great things in their times and won souls into the kingdom of God enmasse. He called and used people like Moses, Samuel, David, and Paul the Apostle in Bible times. In contemporary times, you have heard of John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, and John G Lake demonstrating both the saving and healing power of God.
Our time is nothing short of names like these. We have been blessed with men that God has raised for this generation. However, while God has raised these specially appointed men to take a leadership role in the church, he still expects individual believers to place their faith only in Him and have only the Bible as the final authority. The Apostle Paul puts it emphatically when he says “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith,’’ – Hebrews 12:2 King James Version. The Lord expects that believers should look up to no man but Him alone. Of course, this does not in any way contradict what Paul the Apostle tells us when he wrote to the Corinthian church, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ,” – I Corinthians 11:1 King James Version. It is the placing of unbridled authority on the words of men that has led some to make some erroneous statements and abuse the trust that their members place in them.
In our place, our teaching about the authority of the Bible is unequivocal. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them,” – Isaiah 8:20, King James Version. We systematically teach the Bible to our congregants on weekly basis to ensure that they are well-grounded and can on their own, seek out the promises of God, and petition heaven for their concerns. We ensure that all utterances are carefully interwoven with scripture and that proper interpretation of scripture is made. This makes the church have a firm resolve that if “an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel. . .” or “If any man preach any other gospel,’’ – Galatians 1:8-9, King James Version, ”they should give a deaf ear to such teachings as they have been taught the undiluted word of God.’’
The realisation that many of you follow me on my social media handles awakens me to the huge responsibility that rests on my shoulders to ensure that the word of God in its entirety is made accessible to you. Thanks to technology, our reach is unprecedented. For our upcoming Wonders of the Cross Global Crusade, to be streamed live across the world and held in various satellite locations including Zambia from 25th to 30th November 2021, I will do what I have always done, that is, teach the undiluted word of God and draw hearts of men to place their faith in God. Backed by the power of the Spirit of God, a time of Bible teaching at this Wonders of the Cross Global Crusade will transcend mere mental reformation but will bring about heart transformation through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Comments
Post a Comment