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Defining Faith! October 11, 2010

Posted by Henry in Matters of the Faith.
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A lot of people struggle with understanding what faith is and how it works and I must admit that at one time or another I too struggled with this concept. But if we are to grow in Grace and develop our spiritual walk we must understand what faith is. The scriptures truly stated that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). So how do we define faith?

 The Bible defines faith as follows:

 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Heb 11:1)

 To demonstrate this, we could say that faith is a conviction which underlies our inner belief in the salvation of our souls, through the redemptive work of Christ, which will be revealed in due time. Without faith therefore it would be impossible to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the following verse demonstrates that it is the salvation of our souls that we receive at the end of our faith:

 1 Peter 1

7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

 The question that most people would like to have answered however is how can one exercise their faith especially when met with difficult circumstances. It is important to note though that you cannot have faith in faith itself but you can only have faith in God as can be seen in the following scripture:

 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6)

 In exercising our faith therefore we must believe that GOD IS. We can only trust God for our salvation if we believe that HE IS. If we do not trust God and believe in Him for our salvation then nothing else matters  – we will not be able to trust Him for anything else. This is the “secret” to having faith in God. It is nothing to do with using scriptures as an incantation or using a 7-point formula. This is where the Word of Faith movement has high-jacked many people’s faith. In Matt 17:20 Jesus demonstrated that if one has faith like a mustard seed they can move mountains. Jesus used the mustard seed to demonstrate that though it is so tiny it has the assurance of growing into a huge tree. Jesus is therefore saying that with such faith we can overcome obstacles but not we ourselves but through the power of God.

 Having faith is not all about getting things from God, like houses, cars, jobs, money etc as the WOF proponents would have you believe but it is about trusting in God first and foremost for salvation and believing that He is able to fulfill all your needs. I have come to the understanding that you will NOT necessarily get from God what you set your heart on. For example, if you are jobless faith does not mean that you will get that job with a six figure starting salary but faith may mean that the Lord will provide you with a means to take care of yourself and family even though it may not be as illustrious as you imagined. Chanting a Psalm or confessing daily over a particular thing is NOT an exercise of faith but is rather an expression of unbelief. If you believe in God and pray and ask Him to fulfill your needs then all you have to do is just that. One of the important things to learn also is that the proving of your faith worketh patience (Jam 1:3) – which means that you should continue to believe and trust in God even if you have been waiting for a little while and He hasn’t shown up yet. Faith means that in the midst of despair when it seems that all is lost you continue to believe in God, in giving thanks and praising His name. Counting our previous blessings and remembering all that the Lord had done for us should also help to strengthen our faith that He will come through in the end, not according to our time but to His own perfect timing.

Money Matters – even to Christians! – Part 1 February 15, 2010

Posted by Henry in Money & Finance.
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There are many Christians in the world today who suffer financial hardships and who struggle to put food on the table and make ends meet. The problem is not made any better due to the current global financial crisis resulting in businesses collapsing and people being made redundant. The crisis has also seen many people losing their homes because they can’t keep up with mortgage payments and there are others who are at risk of losing their homes. Many people find themselves descending into debt or suffering lack in order to try and balance the books and keep themselves afloat and for many there is seemingly no way out of their financial morass. Many Christians have had their faith shaken and as a result of these trying times many will no doubt be asking, “Where is God?” because it is not easy to have faith when you are faced with extreme difficulties. One of the problems I find with the local churches therefore is that this area is not given due or enough consideration. Yet I believe it is of paramount importance that we address these financial concerns in the church because the vacuum left by not addressing it allows false doctrines to come into the church. An example of this is the growth and promulgation of the Word of Faith doctrines of “name it, claim it”, “health, wealth and prosperity”. People who are weak in the faith are likely to seek these churches, which are usually mega-churches, spouting such doctrines as opposed to the local church because they are seeking solutions to their problems, which the local church cannot give.

 Whilst I don’t necessarily believe that the main church service should be dedicated to addressing people’s financial problems I certainly think much more can be done in other settings than simply to have people write their concerns, be it financial or otherwise, on a piece of paper and have it prayed over, during intercessory prayers. This is not to discount the power of prayer of course but in looking at scripture we see in James 2 that it is our responsibility to meet peoples pressing needs instead of simply telling them to depart in peace and be filled and be warmed, which is effectively what we do when we only pray for them. The Apostle James calls this faith without works. So although the local church may be imparting the Word of God often there are people in the congregation who are hurting especially financially. Yet the church passes around the collection plate for the weekly “tithes and offerings” and pray a blessing for that which is given, oblivious to the plight of some members. One of the reasons they are oblivious also is because the local churches, whilst they will support missionaries or local charities, do not foster a system of welfare to address the needs of those within their midst. Perhaps it is assumed that if people don’t approach then all is well but people who are hurting will often not approach the church for assistance, out of personal pride or fear of being looked at with disdain. This is especially the case as “church money” is often looked at as “God’s money” and to use it outside of the purposes defined by the board would be considered sacrilegious. Jesus however did not condemn David for eating the temple shew-bread out of need (Matt 12:3-4).

 If we look also at the early church in Acts 2 and Acts 4 however we see that “church money” was originally used to support those in need in the church so that no one lacked. The welfare system in the church is also demonstrated in Acts 6:1-6 where we see the Disciples telling the people that they could not neglect the word to serve at tables but that they should appoint seven worthy men to oversee that ministration. In the absence of a formal welfare system however, Paul in Acts 20:33-35 admonishes us to support the weak even through our own hard labour, as he himself did, because it is more blessed to give than to receive. By using his own hands Paul supported himself but he didn’t stop there. He helped those who accompanied him as well out of his own substance and this is the example that we in the church today should follow to alleviate some of the needs of people. These are the things that we should be doing instead of telling people to “exercise their faith”, “bring it to the Lord in prayer”, and “nail it to the Cross” or whatever other catch phrase may be used. As the Apostle James said, if we do not give those things that are needful for the body we are practising faith without works which is dead.

 In the next part I will attempt to look at some small ways in which Christians can also help themselves in alleviating some of their financial problems.

The First Fruits of the Lie February 5, 2010

Posted by Henry in Tithing.
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When it comes to giving to the church I find that there are “ministers” who will go at length to “invent” all kinds of ways to exact money from church people. For example, I find it quite amazing that today people can allow themselves to be convinced that they are required to pay a first fruit monetary offering to the church. Yet there is no such requirement hinted at either explicitly or implicitly in the New Testament. In the first place how does one decide how much constitute a “first fruit” out of their weekly, fortnightly or monthly wages? Is there a scriptural benchmark to use?

In the Old Testament the Israelites were required to take the first of the first fruits of the land as an offering to the house of the Lord (Ex 34:26). But does this mean that New Testament Christians are required to do this as well and on what basis would such a conclusion be reached? It should be clear from the passage (see verse 10) that the first fruit requirement was established under covenant with Israel along with all the other statutes that Moses gave to the Israelites at that time. The statutes under the covenant were meant to be observed when Israel came into the Promised Land that God was going to give them. The reason the first fruit was required can be seen from Deu 18:1-4. In these verses we learn that the Levites were not given an inheritance in the Land of Israel because it was from this tribe that the priests were to come and their sole purpose was to minister to God and not to tend land. Therefore one of the provisions that God made for them was to require that the first fruits, literally, were to be given to them.

 Since we are not living in Old Testament times and we are not Israelites living in the Promised Land why should we then observe a covenant that was given to them? Why should Christians put themselves under a covenant that is not applicable to them in terms of benefits or consequences? To stretch the point a bit further scripture tells us in Heb 8 that Jesus is a mediator of a better covenant with better promises and the old that was made with the Israelites decays and vanishes away. Why then do you put a yoke on your neck to observe a covenant that decays and vanish away? It is worth noting however that we have freedom in Christ to give what we purpose in our hearts to give.

The Blessing of Persecutions and Trials January 29, 2010

Posted by Henry in Word of Faith Movement.
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At the beginning of this year I had a mishap with my car which was quite challenging to face. Basically the cam belt went whilst I was driving and rendered the engine almost irreparable. One mechanic told me that it would cost in the region of £700 to repair and that this figure was perhaps a conservative estimate. To say the least I was gutted as I drove a very modest car and did not have the money at the time to repair it or to buy another car, which would have been the better option. I told my friend at work about the issue and said to her that this was my “New Year blessing”, a broken down car and no money to fix or replace it. She laughed and said, “Your funny” with a hint of sarcasm. If I didn’t need the car it wouldn’t have been so bad but in the area where I live public transport is infrequent and impractical for myself and my family’s needs. To cut the story short however, I was able by God’s grace to replace the engine and the car is now operational again, at least for the time being.

 The point I want to make though is that often when trials come our way we do not see the blessing in them. In this particular experience of mine, the first blessing was the fact that we were meant to be travelling on the motorway that very day but decided to go somewhere local first, when the problem occurred. If the car had broken down on the motorway it could have caused a fatal accident but thank God it broke down when I was braking to stop at a traffic signal. Praise be to God for His mercy. Isn’t God good? More importantly however when trials come our way they are meant to “sharpen” our faith and we should see them as a blessing. Many people however don’t see trials or persecution as a source of blessing. Some even think it is a curse. For them blessings means increasing in health, wealth and prosperity and the Word of Faith Movement comes to mind here. In stark contrast to the Word of Faith beliefs however Jesus had this to say in Matt 5:10-12:

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

In conjunction with the above quote we also note from scripture that it is a blessing to endure trials:

 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12, NIV)

 I have broken with convention in using the KJV for the above quote because the NIV uses the word “trial” as opposed to “temptation” in the KJV and thus gives a better rendering. The message is clear however that persecution and trial are sources of blessings and not just material things unlike what those in the Word of Faith camp teaches. If God were to only bless us with materials things and health we would become like the Laodicean church who thought that now that they had become rich and increased in goods that they no longer needed God. If our faith is being tested daily however we would learn to always trust in God and put our faith in Him. Again quoting from the NIV version 1 Peter 1: 6-7 has this to say about enduring trials:

 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed..

 If our faith is of much greater worth than refined gold then, which blessing would you rather have? The blessing of having your faith tried through trials or the blessing of health, wealth and prosperity?

The Apostles of Mammon VS the Apostles of Christ January 27, 2010

Posted by Henry in Teaching Things They Ought Not.
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The church today is dogged by many false teachers spouting false doctrines on wealth and prosperity, and many in the church have become deceived as a result. These teachers give promises of untold blessings, as if God placed them personally in charge of doling out His blessings, raising false hopes mainly amongst even the poor and destitute in the church. All you need to do to receive of these blessings is to hand over your money (sow a seed) and even if you don’t have it you should write an IOU or pay using your credit card. The “sheeple” are led to believe that unless they give they won’t receive any blessings. In one video floating around on the Internet, for example, people can be seen strewing money at “apostle” Leroy Thompson’s feet, during one of his “Money Cometh” speeches. Later in the video both “apostles” Leroy Thompson and Creflo Dollar could be seen walking or sliding across the money supposedly to “anoint” it. The basic idea then is that “money cometh” (blessings will flow in the form of money) to those who gave money and have it anointed by these “apostles”. The first question here is whether such practices are biblical. It shouldn’t take a “rocket scientist” or a theological degree for that matter however to ascertain the answer to that question. But how does this contrast with the Scriptures?

 In the early church it was common practice for the people to sell their belongings, be it houses or land and bring the proceeds and lay it at the Apostles’ feet. But what did the Apostles do with these generous gifts? Did they take it away to count up privately and use it as they saw fit, promising the donors that blessings will flow to them for their giving? On the contrary we notice something quite the opposite. In Acts 2 for example we read:

  42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The first thing we note is that the church continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and they had all things in common and shared their possessions according to the need of everyone. No where do we see the apostles promising the church earthly blessings for the due care, brotherly love and kindness they showed to each other as Christians.  Again we may learn from Acts 4 to see how the apostles approached handling the gifts laid at their feet:

 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

 We note here that the apostles did not go off in secret to count the money and lodge it in some bank account and promise blessings to those who gave but they distributed it according to everyone’s need. How then did we get from this position to what we see Creflo Dollar, Leroy Thompson and others doing in the church today? Did the early Apostles, some of who walked and talked with Jesus Christ miss it? Did Jesus forget to tell the apostles that they should take the money and the goods laid at their feet and go enjoy it and in return give the church empty promises of blessings that will never materialise? Creflo Dollar and the likes may call this the “Word of Faith” but Brother James calls this dead faith in James 2:14-17:

 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

  Which apostles’ doctrine do you believe then? Those who teach the “gospel of mammon” or the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Activate Your Faith: Sow that seed January 21, 2010

Posted by Henry in False Doctrines.
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One of the common teachings one will hear from Word of Faith teachers is that one should activate or release their faith and this normally requires one to “sow a seed” (in the form of monetary donation), usually into the teacher’s own ministry. Usually this type of exhortation is accompanied with further encouragement that the size of your seed will determine the size of your harvest. It is thought that it is imperative to activate your faith if we are to receive from God, and to move to the “next level” of blessings. However, are these teachings scriptural?

 Firstly, if one is a Christian such teachings leave us with a dilemma. When we first came to faith in Christ what did we do in order to “activate” our faith at that point? Did we sow a “seed” in order that we may activate our faith such that we may believe in the Gospel of Jesus and thereby receive the free gift of Salvation? Noting that the gift of Salvation is the greatest blessing we could ever receive from God the Father. Scripture tells us that we were alienated from God and enemies in our mind by wicked works yet He chose to reconcile us through the work of the cross (Col 1:21). Had it not been for God’s saving Grace we all would have perished. According to the Ephesians 2:4-9:

 “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

 Verse 8 of the above portion of scripture tells us clearly that it is by Grace that we are saved through faith and not of ourselves. By ourselves we could do nothing talk less of “activating” our faith. More profoundly, how did we obtain this faith? It was given to us by God who gives a measure of faith to every man (Rom 12:3). Scripture also tells us that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). Going by this scripture alone, we see then that it is Jesus Christ who starts us on the journey of faith, take us along and accompany us on the road of faith, and takes us to the finish line of faith. This happens as we abide in Him and He in us. If this is the case then how can anyone suggest that it is possible for individuals to “activate their faith” by their own doing especially by sowing a financial seed?

 Clearly scriptures show that this type of Word of Faith doctrine of activating our faith is false. It is designed to deceive the hearts of the simple (Rom 16:18) and make merchandise of the sheeple (2 Pet 2:3). I pray that those who have been deceived by this type of doctrine would wake up to the knowledge of truth.

Are Denominations Important? January 14, 2010

Posted by Henry in Denominations.
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There are many different Christian denominations across the globe today, be it Baptist, Methodist, Apostolic or Oneness Pentecostals, Reformed, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, just to name a few. The interesting thing to note however is that none of these names existed during the early birthing and consequent growth of the Church. So why then do we have so many different denominations today and are denominations important?

Certainly for some people denominations are important to them because they feel that theirs is the “true church”. In my own experiences when having discussions with members of denominations such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist and Oneness Pentecostals, they all are of the view that their own denomination is the true church and consequently everyone else is on the wrong path. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have made claims suggesting that they are the Elect and the 144,000 who will be saved. A closer look at scripture will show however that in actual fact the 144,000 mentioned in the Bible constitutes 12,000 men of each of the 12 tribes of Israel who did not “defile themselves with women” (Rev 7: 4 – 8, 14:1 – 4). It is clear to see then that these 144,000 are not Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In contrast the Seventh Day Adventist say they are the true church because they have kept the Biblical Sabbath which they claim is Saturday (the seventh day) and that those who attend Sunday church do so in direct opposition and disobedience to God. They ignore the fact that the calendar we now use was instituted by Pope Gregory the Great, hence the Gregorian calendar. As such it would be very difficult to ascertain whether the seventh day as we know it today coincides with the seventh day God instituted as the Sabbath from the time of creation. The key point that the Seventh Day Adventists seems to have missed however is that God set aside the 7th day as a day of REST, what ever that day is or was. God did not say that we should attend church services on the Sabbath but to REST and do no work in it. The other point to note though is whether New Testament Christians are obliged to observe the Sabbath since Jesus fulfilled the Law thereby abolishing it, which also included the Sabbath. In any event Romans 14:5-9 has this to say:

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.

The Oneness Pentecostals on the other hand believe that one should be baptised in Jesus name only, as opposed to Jesus’ instruction in Matt 28:19-20 where he told the disciples to go out and teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Oneness Pentecostals however uses Acts 2:38 as one of the central pillars of their faith. This is what they use to support their claim that one should be baptised in Jesus name only because Peter said so. But who is Peter? Do we obey Peter or do we obey Christ? Notwithstanding, it is doubtless whether what Peter said was meant to be a baptismal formula since Jesus already gave us the baptismal formula that we should use. Peter was more concerned with telling the Jews of their need to be baptised in the name of the very Man whom they had crucified. After all scripture tells us there is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved except Jesus.

The points highlighted above, although not exhaustive, do demonstrate some of the ways in which denominations do differ on points of doctrine. It may be argued that some of these points are not “foundational” to the gospel but the question should be asked, why do denominations differ on points of doctrine and beliefs? I believe the answer to this question lies in the fact that Bible tells us that heresies will creep into the church over time. This can be the only explanation for why there are so many different denominations, each with their own “brand” of Christianity, which differ in some way from another. It is interesting to note however that even from the early days, the Church was being divided up into denominations and Paul had to deal with this very issue in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 1:10-13):

10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Instead of being haughty and puffed up about this denomination or that, we need to heed the words of Paul here and get back to the “basics” of Scripture. As Paul makes it clear, Christ is not divided, therefore no divisions should be found amongst us and we all should be speaking the same thing and be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. It is my prayer that we who call ourselves the true church should heed Paul’s admonition.

False Prophet Simon and the Church Today November 26, 2009

Posted by Henry in False Doctrines.
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There are many false prophets parading in the church today professing to be God’s mouth-pieces. Seemingly they have caused the church (at least those they oversee) to become mesmerized to the extent that the people are unable to discern Biblical truth from the false doctrines they promote.  This scenario however is not new to the church as this very same thing was occurring during the early days of the church. Acts chapter 8 records that there was just such a “prophet” by the name Simon who had put the people of Samaria under a spell and convinced them that he was the true prophet of God.

Acts 8

9

 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10

 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11

 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

What we see here in this passage is no different to what is currently happening in Christendom today. Jesus warned us that many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many. The problem with “churchianity” however is that they do not exercise discernment nor do they believe that discernment should be applied in church. In fact one of the tricks used by these false prophets is to discourage the church from questioning anything they say as this is seen as attacking the “Lords anointed” and therefore challenging their “authority”. To support this position they misuse scriptures such as Psalm 105:15, which says, “Touch not the Lords anointed and do my prophets no harm.” Many people however fail to see the context in which this scripture was delivered and that it in no way related to exercising Biblical discernment. Scripture admonishes us on the contrary to, “Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Rom 16:17). In churchianity today however we have a situation where all churches and all doctrines are accepted as being relevant even where there is a blatant contradiction of scriptures. To many, our differences shouldn’t separate us but rather what we have in common should bind us. This is of course a departure away from scriptures and is termed ecumenism.

In churchianity today there are people who claim to be Christians but who also claim to equally belong to other religions at the same time. An example of this was seen in a news article about an Episcopalian female priest who claimed to be both Christian and Muslim at the same time. How can these things be one might ask. Scripture however warns us in 1 Tim 4 about this departure from the faith.

1 Tim 4

1

 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

2

 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

One of the endemic problems in churchianty today, however is that people have become convinced that such departure away from Biblical orthodoxy is actually a “new move of God” or an “end-time revival”. The “Florida Outpouring” springs to mind here as a classic example. The situation is so bad that it is as if people have literally taken leave of their senses. They have allowed themselves to become so wrapt up in deception to the extent they are not able to discern between truth and falsehood. What is certain though is that the false spirit of Simon is rife in the church today and this type of spirit is bewitching the people and blinding their eyes to the truth.

May the Lord have mercy upon us that our eyes may be opened to the truth of His word and that we will be able to exercise discernment and do not so easily become so deceived by false spirits.

Deceitful Use of Scriptures October 8, 2009

Posted by Henry in Teaching Things They Ought Not.
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One of the things I find amazing in church circles today is how easily church folk can be fooled by this minister or that who can seemingly make scriptures appear to say something it actually doesn’t. For example, leading up to this year’s International Gathering of Champions (IGOC) conference, which was held back in August 2009, I received a flyer through the post informing about this conference. The title of the flyer was “Step Up” with a partial quote from Revelations 4:1, “come up here” which appeared to underpin the overall heading. For the main theme which was also imposed on the front of the flyer were the words, “Step Up out of…. Poverty, Obscurity, Bondage; Step Up and FULFIL YOUR DESTINY.” Needless to say I of course did not attend but on reading this at first glance and without prior knowledge of this scripture many might readily assume that what is being spouted here is Biblically based in scripture, that being, based on Revelations 4:1. I am also confident that thousands rushed out to this said conference without checking the scripture, as the Bereans (Acts 17:11) would have done, to see if what is being claimed here has scriptural merit.

Scripture admonishes us not to be carried away with every wind of doctrine but these warnings however seems to go unheeded by the church. The pertinent scripture here is as follows:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Eph 4:14)

It would be to our profit however to obey the cautions of scripture which would save us much trouble in the end. Going back to Rev 4:1 however, does it actually say or support any of the things being claimed on the IGOC flyer? Lets look at what it actually says:

1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. (Rev 4:1)

Anyone who has read Revelations would clearly appreciate that this scripture is part and parcel of a much larger revelation which the Apostle John had received. In fact if we read the verses following on we soon see that John was having a vision of heavenly places and truly spiritual things which the angel took him up to see:

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. (Rev 4:2-3)

Now how do these scriptures relate to what is being claimed on the flyer as aforementioned? The truth of the matter however is that John was being taken up to see God being worshipped and glorified. In contrast, the claims on the flyer of stepping up out of poverty and out of obscurity, seeks to achieve one goal and that is for man’s self-glorification – to put man in the limelight of self-illumination. To use scripture to make it appear to support this position therefore is quite deceitful to say the least. These conferences in any event are just more opportunities by which the organisers prey on the greedy and also the vulnerability of those who are desperate and in dire need, in order to fleece them.

The State of the Church Today October 6, 2009

Posted by Henry in Matters of the Faith.
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The church today, or at least I should say the visible church, seems to be characterised by false doctrines, which promotes the pursuit of wealth and prosperity over salvation by faith through the Gospel of Christ. These days people seem to be falling all over themselves in their pursuit of breakthroughs. They seem to follow every mega church conferences, conventions, miracle concerts etc in their pursuit of a “word from God” and even opportunities to sow their “seeds” in desperate hope of “receiving” blessings from God. They have ignored the teaching of Christ who said, “….but seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt 6:33). They ignore Christ’s teachings and instead heap unto themselves teachers, having itching ears, without the ability to discern truths from falsehood. They seek to apply this incantation or that and apply seven point plans or formulae to “wrest” blessings out of God’s hands without discerning God’s sovereignty in giving His blessings to whomever He chooses to bless. In fact some even teach that we can demand blessings of God after sowing seeds or even to command angels to bring us wealth.

These false teachers have enabled the church to develop an infatuation with the world and the things of the world, teaching that God would have us be rich in direct contradiction to Christ’s teachings. Today we see career pastors, some who “divine” for money (Mic 3:11) and “sell indulgences” for profit.  In fact many of these pastors today have become like greedy dogs who can never have enough and who look to their own way for their own gain (Isa 56:11). They have infiltrated the church with many false doctrines and heresies which have caused much problems in and to the faith. Because of them many have turned away from Christianity in the mistaken belief that this is how Christians behave. Today these pastors parade on TV in front of mega audiences and are not ashamed to flaunt their thousand dollar suits, Golf Stream Jets, Rolex watches and Roll Royce cars and their congregations don’t think there is anything wrong with it. Perhaps they don’t see a problem with this because they themselves desire to one day possess these things themselves? They become so misguided into thinking that these men earned their money because they sowed and reaped or worked hard but fail to realise or accept that these men got rich off their tithes and offerings.

The church has become so brainwashed into thinking that their pastors infallible and can do no wrong or say anything wrong. As a result the church has developed a culture of being too all-inclusive and accepting of any and everyone who stands on their pulpits and declare themselves to be anointed. The church is discouraged from applying any form of discernment in light of scripture as this is seen as “judging” and so is completely forbidden. As a result anyone can declare any old hash from the pulpit and this goes unchallenged in light of scripture. Wonders never cease as to the garbage that is spewed out from the pulpits these days and the church in the main seems to be spiritually dead to it. Today there is much talk of revival but in actual fact what is observed is a growth in false doctrines, which is gaining growing followership. The church today seems to be performing a charade which purports to be revival but nothing more than religious apostasy and a falling away of the church.

In spite of all these ills however we rest in the hope that God will shine His light on those who are willing to open their eyes to the truth and come out of the growing deception. We thank God for His mercy and praise Him for His continued saving Grace that is able to keep the true church steadfast and to save those who would be saved.