Jesus, The Way to The Father (John 14:6)

I have heard of some people who believe that there are different ways of skinning a cat. I do agree and I practically have experimented many methods to attain the same result in various topics. In Mathematics, for example, you can solve simultaneous equation through various methods:

• graphical,
• elimination
• and substitution methods.

You still get the same result unless you failed to follow the procedures correctly.

There are so many things that can be handled differently to achieve the same goal. You can fly from Africa to the United States via different routes, but you will still arrive to your destination. This scenario makes people think that all things can be done following different approaches.

The "big question" is whether eternal life can be attained through different means, methods or procedures? The answer is a big NO. The Bible is very clear in this and it states in Acts 4:12 that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

But even before going farther, we need to define eternal life from the Bible. According to John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent". The Bible simply puts it that eternal life is knowing God, the father and His son Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross.

Reading from John's gospel, we get to know what Jesus says about himself. He declares that he is the way, the truth and the life and that apart from Him, no one can get to the Father. (John 14:6-7: "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.")

As we read deep into the Bible, we will discover that the underlying truth is that there is no other way to salvation apart from knowing and believing in the name of the Son of God. I am writing this in awareness that there are other religions that claim to teach about God. If you take time to study about these religions from the inside, you will notice the hopelessness with which they approach the issues of the resurrection or eternity. What they believe about life outside this earth is skewed. Christianity remains the only religion where salvation and hope is preached with clarity and in truth. I am not saying that every preacher who stands to claim Christian faith always get it right, but as long as sound Biblical approach is taken there is a lot to desire.

Now friend, if you are reading this post and wonder whether I am being discriminative, you ought to ask whether there can be two truths. If we have two 'truths', then obviously non of them is actually true, but mere speculations. Or to be kind, one may be true but the other is speculation or an hypotheses. We do not approach God through hypotheses. We go to God through faith in Christ Jesus because we are convinced that in Him is life.

I want to urge my friends everywhere to abandon their hardness of heart and trust in God and no one else, but God the creator of the universe. Salvation of mankind is found in Him. He calls everyone everywhere to turn from evil ways and come to Him for them to be saved. What you only need to do is believe that He is and and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Moreover, let each one remember Acts 17:30-31,  "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead." Paul was not talking about anyone else, but Christ who has been raised from the dead and is seated in the right hand of God the father. Brothers and sisters, let us turn to him for the salvation of our souls.

If you have been touched by this short article (sermon) and would want to consider faith in Christ, just kneel down and tell him that Lord I need you in my heart, save me and then begin your journey of faith in the Lord. Find The Holy Bible and read the word of God written in it, daily. Find where Christians gather for fellowship and join them, share your testimony with them and let the Lord guide you to maturity in faith. May God bless you. Amen.

Small Christmas Note

Isaiah 9:6, should be the place to turn to as we think about the Christmas season. Jesus was born to bring Peace to all (no wonder He is referred to as the Prince of Peace), be great Wonderful Counselor and forever Everlasting Father. Do you want peace to reign in your house, between you and your family as well as friends? Jesus is the right person to turn to today. Go to Him with a humble heart today and tell Him that Lord I need you to come into my heart and reign.

Jesus came to save the world. He came to save them that were lost. He came to save me and you who knew no righteousness but lavished in sin. We were no worthy any form of salvation, but He accepted to come and sacrifice His own life for us. Our God was willing to release His only son to come and shade his blood for me and you. My friend, today if you hear His voice, let your heart not be hardened, but believe on Him to be saved from the coming punishment that will catch up with sinners.

The Lord is ready and willing to accept all who say yes to his call today. He is calling you who is reading this note. Come to the Lord, just take time and make a prayer and tell God to save you today. He is able to save and keep you for Himself. This is serious; do not just harden your heart. If you do that, believe today and he will be your God. He will be the Prince of peace in your life today and always. He will be your Everlasting Father and the Mighty God and your Wonderful counselor.

What Being Born of Water and The Spirit in John 3:5 Mean

Brief insight into John 3:3-8

John 3:5: Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."

This is one verse in the Bible that has been widely used to mean what I think it should not mean. Most preachers, including myself have applied John 3:5 to encourage people to consider baptism of water urgently.

In my former church and many others, any time we would be preparing for baptism, John 3:5 become vital to make people see how helpless and lost they would be without water baptism. Over time, I knew that I had no chance if I die before I could be baptized. This feeling was prompted by what I today call clear misunderstanding of John 3:5. Moreover, my dad's denomination, where I was brought up as a child, believed in baptismal regeneration.

The denomination believed in infant baptism, and I was one “lucky” child to go through that – mainly by sprinkling and not immersion. They believed that if a child dies before baptism, he or she is lost. This practice extended to some level to help people "get tickets to heaven". According to the denomination (Dini ya Roho), if someone was evangelized on his deathbed, he or she would be urged to allow the Church to baptize him through sprinkling to give them assurance for heavenly security. This kind of doctrinal misuse generates serious issues. I am not sure we need to get into these issues now. Lets go into the main agenda.

I believe that John 3:5 should be read in context and interpreted within the same context. I am not an authority in bible exegesis, hermeneutics and homiletics and all the “tics” through academia, but by the virtue of being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I have an authority to read and attempt to interpret the bible correctly and also to convey the same information accurately. For this reason, I will start by saying that this verse does not speak about baptism of water or baptismal regeneration.

To many in charismatic cycles, this verse is clearly a call for the new believer to go under water with clear urgency. Now the challenge is whether this verse communicate about baptism. Does it really say that if one is not baptized with water, then they cannot see the Kingdom of God? I clearly disagree with any view that alludes to that.

NB: Remember that I believe in baptism as one vital ordinance that the Christians must observe just like the Holy Communion is another ordinance for the church.

 

An attempt to interpret John 3:3-8

Now, we should start looking at this verse 5 from the context of the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. Starting from the main character, Nicodemus,we can say that his need here was not baptism but salvation. However, he had not realized that his need was major. Nicodemus visited Jesus with the outward desire to associate with Him – the Good Man from above. This seemed almost political and not genuine. Jesus had more in store for him, than simply what he thought was important – association.

 

In the process of discussion with the Lord, Nicodemus discovered that he needed to understand more things. In verse 3, Jesus answers Nicodemus question by saying to him “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again”. This seems to be the main point of the passage. Jesus is talking about being born again and this happens through water and the Spirit.

As to give further insight into what He meant, Jesus is telling Nicodemus in verse 6 that “flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to Spirit”. This according to my understanding mean that the first birth is through the flesh. A husband and wife comes together and a child is born through flesh, and the result is flesh. The second birth, cannot happen through man's effort or decision but by the Spirit. The children born of the Spirit are Spiritual children. This is a condition for entering the Kingdom of God.

As an emphasis, Jesus tells Nicodemus not be surprised at His saying, that he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God (verse 7). It seems to me that this has a lot to do with faith. Jesus is telling Nicodemus, that he must believe and there is no excuse about it if you want to enter the Kingdom of God. He also reminds Nicodemus, that you have to depend on the Spirit for the rebirth to be effected.

Jesus compares the Spirit to the wind. The wind blows and no one knows where it comes or where it goes. I know that scientist may have a different view, but remember that wind vane simply tells instantaneous directions and not the overall direction of the wind. And the scientist can also create artificial wind, but here is natural wind Jesus is referring to.

The Spirit of God makes the decision like that of the wind in that, His decision is not prompted by anyone but He simply decides both to whom and where the rebirth takes place. Jesus seems to be saying to him that a man must surrender to the work of the Spirit to take effect. He tells Nicodemus that this is the same thing in his case, and that he must be born again.

Everyone born of the Spirit find themselves born and cannot decide how when and where. This is like the wind that blows and no one can tell where it is coming or going. Jesus explains that one born of the Spirit is the decision and act of the Spirit Himself.

What we should ask ourselves is what “water” means in this passage. I will explain this in my next article. In this introductory part, I want to mention a few things to help us see why I believe it is not ordinary water. If we think again about the verse, it says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit”.

Entering the Kingdom of God seems tied to being born again of water and Spirit. If we claim that it is about baptism, it means that without it, you are not able to enter the Kingdom of God even though you are a believer. In other words, anyone who believes but dies before baptism will not be present in Kingdom of God to enjoy fellowship with the Father. Your faith is null and void without baptism? This is fault.

Why I hold that water baptism is not a requirement to enter the Kingdom of God

1. The truth is that “salvation is by faith alone and not by works so that no one can boast” Ephesians 2:8-9. The requirement for one to enter the Kingdom of God is to be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (be born again). This is not through baptism but through water and the Spirit of God.
    
2. I hold that baptism is vital, but as a demonstration or public declaration that you have now abandoned your old ways and are committing to follow the Lord. It symbolizes dying with Christ and rising again with Him a new creature. This declaration cannot be done by anyone who has not chosen to follow Christ. Children cannot decide and are hence exempted from this requirement until they are of age and believe in the Lord.
    
3. John 5:24 says that “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life". This and many other verses will make us to see why salvation has nothing to do with baptism. Baptism is a factor of salvation, but salvation is not a factor of baptism. If you have believed, you can knowingly demonstrate your faith publicly through baptism. 
    
4. Think about the thief on the cross with Jesus in Luke 23: 43 (…....... “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”). He was promised paradise after acknowledging his sins and recognizing the sinlessness of Jesus Christ and the unjust punishment that the Jews subjected him. Was Jesus telling this man the truth or not? Where was he baptized? If no then can we still hold John 3:5 to be talking about baptismal regeneration? I believe that Jesus cannot lie and hence this man indeed met him in paradise. 

  
I thank God for giving me an opportunity to share this. To God be the Glory. 

Amen   


Look out for more on this and what "water" here and in other verses mean. 
  

Your comments and insights are highly welcome.  

Our Faith In Christ Is Not About Ourselves

It is always a mistake to think that we believe in Christ for our sake. We do believe for God's sake, to glorify Him who is the maker of all things. There are some who think that when we don't believe, we are disappointing God.

Disappointing here is a misuse of word; you are drawing the wrath of God to yourself if you do not believe in Jesus as God's only begotten son and that he alone takes your sin with him. Through Him you receive forgiveness of sins. That in Him you are justified.

If you believe in Jesus Christ and put your hope in Him, God is glorified. When you refuse to believe in Jesus as God's Son, God will receive glory when it is proved to you at the last day that He truly sent Jesus and when you see Jesus Christ coming with his glory to Judge the world.

What then should we do? The bible commands all to repent and turn their eyes on Jesus. This always sounds like a simple thing. Indeed, some people have made this call trivial.

Many have even replaced the call for repentance with the call to come to church and sit there comfortably, practicing morality. Such are the people who forget that morality or immorality are all equally evil before God, unless His only Son Jesus Christ our Lord has cleansed you with his blood.

If you are not born again, you have no reason to practice moral acts. Why is this so? It is because all your moral practices are going to be filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) before the LORD, God Almighty. Someone will wonder why this is the case.

The answer is simple, we cannot buy God by our moral acts; we cannot bribe him into accepting us if we reject his Son, who bore our iniquities on the Cross. We cannot be counted anything as long as we are outside Christ.

There are some people who look at Christianity as an "exclusivist" religion (if there is such a term). They think that those who call themselves Christians are being self-righteous by telling them that they cannot identify with them unless they put repentance and belief in Christ as their only Savior.

This exclusive idea is true and as a believer who hopes in the Lord, I agree to this accusation. There is a clear cut line and warning which comes in the soft language of John 14:6. John's writing is clear. He is not saying that Christianity is the True religion. No, he is saying something deeper than that.

Jesus is the way the truth and the life. You can simply take Christianity as a religion and start practicing what you see people doing, but that has nothing to offer. You can also decide to obey your parents and go to Church with them in any place simply to please them, but this too gives you nothing. Only Jesus Gives everything. Believe in God and believe also in Jesus his Son so that you will be able to see heaven. This is the condition for life. Lack of obedience to this implies death.

God Is God, and He Never Changes

There is always a wrong notion about God, which people have created. Some have become attracted to the Philosophy of relative view about the Creator. They simply say that it does not matter what you believe, that people have diverse views about the truth. This leads to fundamental questions.

Is it what you believe about God that makes Him into who He actually is? Or is it what He has revealed about Himself that displays His nature to men? If at all it is what men think He is that counts, then all should agree with the theory of relative views. However, if it is what God has revealed about Himself to men that counts, then the theory of relativism about God must be eradicated from the face of the earth.

It is important to remember that the Scriptures are God's infallible words. They tell us what God has revealed about Himself. Far be it from The God of all creation to give men a relative understanding about Himself. Not what people say about God that make him into who He is, it is what God reveals to men that inform men of His nature and His glory. Everything about God can only be known from God.

If you look at nature, it all reveals God's power. And this is not actually what people think, but what is revealed. I believe that the Bible is the only true Word of God and there is no question that can be raised against it and successfully defeat its defense. The Bible defends itself and it is sufficient for all proofs about what is written in it. God is God and this can only be know from the revealed nature about Him. He has revealed this through creation and through the Bible.

Never create a god in your mind and replace the true God with it. Never make one in your imagination and begin to worship. That would be idolatry of the highest form. God is God. The Bible says, “The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” (Psalm 118:27) and “Know that the Lord is God.” (Psalm 100:3).

These are important pointers that the one we ought to worship is not what we have created in the mind, but one who sits on the thrown, the King of Kings and the Lord of lords. He alone should be worship.

Warning! Never create a god in your Mind and worship in the place of the true God of heavens and the earth, the Creator of all things. Never do that. It is Dangerous.

Thank God for 2012

The Lord has been My Shepherd this season of 2012. As it comes to an end, it is my joy to thank God for His faithfulness in all aspect. He has given us good health, provided and protected us. More so, I am grateful that He has renewed my heart. I welcome 2013 with a great expectation of good tidings from the LORD in His Kingdom.

Be silent for a prayer.

"Faithful father, open the eyes of your servants so that they can see you, preach true gospel and stand firm against deceit. Guide us with your wisdom that we may not error, but remain true to your word. Amen."

Christmas

Although the birth of Christ has no scriptural demand to celebrate, it is a spiritual reality to adore. It amazes how God could take such a lowly position. It is a wonder how he could be borne of a virgin, in a place worse compared to where street family give birth. It makes me see how messed up I am without Christ. It helps me to realize how hopeless I would be if He never came.

Now that he came and took my position, to die on the cross and take the wrath of God for my sake. Mine is only to repent and live the life of repentance as I wait to see him in his Glory when he comes for the righteous. Not only that, but to reign with him. Glory to God in the highest.

Young people In Church Don’t Need an Alternative

I have listened to most pastors who seem to show a lot of concern for the youth in Churches. I love their passion and how enthusiastic they take action to bring young people together. In most cases, such pastors will do a lot to make sure that the youths are kept in Churches and never wonder out there in pubs, the likes of Carnivore (Nairobi) and others that give these youths fun.

The Churches on their part have developed and are still developing new strategies that ensure “young people”, as they are called, get fun in the Church and not outside. This is quite protective and good for young people, the youth. It means that if they were to go for dances outside there, the church on its part will organize dances (alternative) for them and "gospel artists" invited to 'changamsha vijani na midundo yao' (to excite the youth with their beats).

Most of these gospel artists know it all, when it comes to music. They have learnt the skills that keep their funs in flames of love to music, and music alone. Actually, cheers to our local artists in this. But here arises the challenge, the music have no gospel at all. A lot of the music is simply rhythmic words coated with a few Jesus-words inside. And sometimes even the Name Jesus is mentioned only in vain.

When you search between the lines of the songs, you get nothing. However, the beats are nice and take youth crazy. I am sure that many will not agree with me here, but truth be said, what gospel are we getting in the current gospel music we listen to these days, played by Kenyan artists borrowing from the streets of United States?

This is just one part of the alternatives that the youths have been given which they partake of. Most youths, for sure, love music and not the gospel. They go to Carnivore to listen to artists playing. Many times, they do not go there to drink, but only to see a popular artist, who has become a celebrity, doing what he knows best. Once they are there, they get tempted to drink and find themselves messing up. They first get drunk with music, before turning to hard drinks (simply the opposite of soft drinks).

Ask yourself a question, what if they were listening to the artist playing in their local Church. The environment may not be conducive for drinking alcohol, except for some rogues who still come with these drinks to church compound and end up leaving that place staggering. The biggest challenge is that when people are drunk with bad music, they end up doing bad things no matter the environment.

Some of the dances in Churches have attracted bad things in the past, and even today continues to do so. Condoms have been found littered in Church compounds. Someone would wonder how the Church turned to Carnivore Restaurant where Condoms are allowed and even used. This is a big problem that Church leaders, so called youth pastors cannot explain away.

Did this form of alternative help your youths? Some, having moral conscience and who are superstitious can avoid doing such unspeakable things in the Church compound. But they avoid simply because of morally and superstitiously influenced conscience and not because they love Jesus. They were told by their parents and they also heard of it from pastors that the compound is a holy ground where unholy things must never be done, at least by us.

I want to believe with all of the same minds that our youths do not need an alternative. They need a solution and the solution cannot be found in an alternative. If you are sick you need a doctor, but a good alternative to the pains you are feeling is basically pain killers. However, pain killers are not any close to a solution. If it is a cut, the solution is that the doctor should dress up the wounds after injections to inoculate you against tetanus, and other dangers. That is a solution to your problem; it will sort out the pains ultimately by healing the wound.

In Christianity, Jesus Christ is the solution and not an alternative. Church is not an alternative to going to the pubs, but those who have found Jesus and trusted in his name gather in Church to fellowship with brethren. Youths can continue their hideous ways, but when they get Jesus who is the solution, they change. The old ways will be gone and the new will have come. Christ is the savior of them who believe that he is the son of God who takes away their sin (The Gospel of John puts it well, please read it). Finding faith in Christ is finding life and life eternal.

Now what the youths should get therefore is nothing close to an alternative, but they need Christ, the life giver. They need the Holy Ghost who convicts us to righteousness and who counsels those who believe. When gospel artists give them music coated with a few Jesus-words, they are simply rendering the youths an alternative which has totally no positive impact. When they are drunk with this alternative, they will easily turn to alcohol, sex and other illicit things that are simply complimentary to the alternative. These things, like the Kenyan "Gospel music" just sooths young people with nice beats.

How can these youths get the real solution? We need preachers, therefore to preach the Good News of the Kingdom. Honestly, Good News will never be good to a non-regenerated heart. It will always be opposed by them; people will turn to pubs and leave the Church. Should this be the preachers' worry and therefore stop preaching the true gospel and turns to entertainment simply because he or she wants to keep many in Church? Or should the preacher continue to preach the Good News to all who remain in Church trusting God to increase the number and even bring back those who have run away? I wonder.

Most Churches are currently working hard to see how they can achieve the goal of entertaining everyone. The true Gospel is not entertaining, but drives people to true repentance. This is what we need to be right with God. When we go for entertainment, we are simply going for what our hearts desire, yet the heart of a man cannot be trusted because it is always desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).

Pastors seem to be more obedient to the desires of a man’s heart than what God wants of a man. We all must turn to God in repentance and he will forgive us our sins. John the Baptist did not sooth the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to him for baptism, he let them know that they must “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). This is a requirement for all.

I know that the tares and the wheat left to grow together is a good excuse that many Pastors give for entertaining all evils in Church to retain those they fear would run away back to the world. However, we must also remember that the tares were similar to the wheat in appearance. All are grass family which looks like wheat. Tares also adapted to the environment where wheat was growing.

All who come to Church must adapt to the requirement of church, they must not bring the world with them to Church, neither should we bring to them something that they left out there because by missing them they would go back. The worldly may not be willing to live according to the Gospel requirement, but the Church should not bend the rules to accommodate anyone. Those of Christ will remain in Church and will do the will of God as commanded them.

If tares don’t find the food among the wheat, they wither and for this reason, they have no option but grow in the same soil, produce bad fruit though, and at harvest will be uprooted and thrown outside or burnt with fire. When the tares wilt, it is the joy of the farmer because the real wheat is not the one wilting. This is probably a rough analogy, but anyone who wants to leave like the world should remain in the world and do worldly things out there. Once you join the family of Christ, and repent, you have no option but to keep the fruit of repentance as your daily dedication to serve and worship God.

Anyway, my belief is that the Good News must be preached, no matter what. It is not the work of the preacher to convert any or to keep people from running away from faith. His work is simply one, to preach the word and pray to God to keep his people. God’s people will never be lost. He is able to keep them and no one can snatch them out of His hands (John 10:29). If the youth you are preaching to are of God, they will hear the message and it will change them for good.

By this, they will keep producing fruits of repentance and God himself who has saved them will keep them to the end. This is the promise to all believers and I have never seen anywhere where the preacher is tasked with the work of sustaining the flock of God in faith to the end. Just to preach the word through which they will be really shepherded.

The Gospel demand has been and will remain repentance. We must repent brothers and sisters. We have no option. The Lord will come for a clean and a pure Church, not given to entertainments, but to worship of the Most High God, the Almighty father of all creation. He alone must be worship and none other deserves worship. Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of God is interceding for us. Let us go ahead as the called of God to preach the Good News of the Kingdom as unadulterated word of God. Amen.

I Have A Problem With The Old folks Who Lead The Church Today

I honestly struggle with how older church leaders are handling gospel ministry. Today, most of the people who went ahead of us believe that experience is what you need to be in ministry. They claim that a young man should sit back and wait until he learns lessons that would equip him with experience before he or she can get involved in ministry work. There are a number of questions that one would want to start asking. However, I wish to ask that we keep cool as I give a few things I have heard from older people who lead us.

Just as a reminder to all who are reading this article, it is meant for all young people who believe that the time to serve the Lord is now. To start with, have you ever indicated to some of your mentors that you wish to go out into ministry, maybe just to hear their advise on how to go about it? Normally, some ministers will take enough time to ask you quite a lot of questions, many being quite honest in deed while others are rhetorical and discouraging.

In reality, when we talk about the question on experience, one wonders where this experience would come from if there is no practical aspect in which you are involved to make you get this experience they talk about in the same church you currently fellowship. Somehow you are asked to sit and watch. The challenge with watching is that you may be listening to a gospel that make no sense at all.

The other challenge being the fact that you cannot rise up and correct the menace in the church considering that you must never point fingers at “the anointed one of God”. Another problem is that, you are not given any chance to practice in the same environment. Now where will the experience come from? If you are not allowed to practice, the preaching of the true gospel you believe how will you gain experience.

According to these  leaders, you will acquire experience through listening to them. I may ask, is there any student who came from an institution of learning with experience? You may graduate  with skills and knowledge, but not experience. You may have spent more years than others sitting under lecturers, but only to get the qualification with which you can go out and begin to acquire experience in the same field. 

I am sure that someone will wonder why I put the part of “the anointed one of God” above in quotes. My reasons are broad. One, if anointed of God, why persist in teaching errors? Why seems to be unwilling to work with others practically except in theory? Why involve people only when they seem to agree with the false teachings you feed the church? Many other questions come in this list, but it is vital to have these for now.  

Proclaiming the gospel is a command to all believers, some as teachers, prophets, evangelists, pastors while others doing it as apostles (probably not there today???). We need to do this today without wasting time. But if you want to do it, you are always told how young and less experienced you are.

Bishops and pastors everywhere seems to have a demand on the called of God that, if they ever come across their ministries, they must meet an obligation of being there under them for not less than three years before being released to start another ministry. This can seem to be a nice requirement on the face value, especially because it seems to be a “security check” on the new minster.

However, I have a big problem with this. Is this a biblical demand or it is just a personal requirement that minsters of the word have coined to ensure they keep people in their folds and not let them go out and serve the Lord with their gifts? Could there be a clearly honest biblical reason for demanding that a servant of God whom God has called must be under someone for a period before launching out. I think that it is a good requirement, but it is not a must, not even a biblical requirement. It is a good practice which should be emulated.

The other challenge I have with pastors and bishops concerns the idea of experience. There are many pastors out here who have faced seriously tough challenges. Some of them having launched out without “good preparation” faced hardship to actually return home. They were forced to close God's service and come back to relax, others for good and some for a time before they go back.

Such pastors or servants of God never find peace from people who seem to feel that they ignored their advice. The preachers who may have wanted them to sit back and wait till they can be allowed to go on their own begin to talk very nastily against them. They claiming how they never listen, begin to mock their lack of wisdom when they needed it most. They say that this young man is seeming rush in making decisions. they want him to stay more, but the people of God are suffering. They want a preacher and no one is willing to send to them one (Romans 10).

This for me is also, lack of wisdom. Church has become a seriously competitive thing where people want to see what so and so will achieve, if he or she pretends to know so much. I thought that bishops and others of the same caliber should be willing to stand with the young ministers who go out so that their work never fail. This to me is because, at their success in ministry the work of God is expanded to the joy of the body of Christ.

Having mentioned the challenges that others went through, but they succeeded somehow, you realize that this forms the reason why younger people must wait until they are old to go out for ministry. Think about a man who goes out with a clab, spear and a machete to fight a lion, but as he comes out of the house hears a cut with loud roar like that of an enemy he was going to fight. Because of fear he comes back and tells people that they must not go out because the lion is just next to the door.

Him carrying the machete, clab and spear stands at the door never going out, but at the same time not willing to let others go either. The scenario is that, the lion will not be fought, unless by the neighbors, but if he is the only family living around it will continue to eat their goats and sheep, including cattle.

He will keep locking the door for people who want to go out to fight and rescue the livestock, and he or she will not go either. He might keep shouting and will do nothing. They will probably loose all the animals they own.

I believe that this the same spirit reigning those preaches who seem to say that young people must just wait until they grow. Ministry being a thing that only forty five years old folks can do, yet they seem to do nothing. As the people become forty five years old, they only have an option of remaining in the same church, their vigor to go out is dying. Once they are old, they begin to say how much lessons they learnt by staying back. That if they went, they would have gone against God's will for them to simply be church workers.

In fact, this word church workers is just a comfort zone word depicting remaining in the same church where you were. You may be doing nothing, but you are a church worker by praying for others and being a member of small groups that you never attend their meetings, but if you do, you keep quite for being full of experience that others lack.

The reason they must just do all things until they gain the same experience. I think that this is evil. The enemy will continue to reign in the outside and no one will go for the fight to rescue the livestock being devoured. I pray for many ministers who seems to ignore the importance of using younger people while they are still young.

If you had a bad experience, should it be reason for others to sit back and never do anything in the ministry because they face the same challenges you faced? I believe that such ministers are better placed to prayerful mentor the people of God who feel the zeal to serve the Lord, whether young or old.

I believe that they can warn them of areas of potential errors so that the young folks can be cautious as they move out into ministry. If it is the issue of lack, what would you do to make sure that this young man whom God has brought your way will not struggle now that you have something to support them. What about being happy because God has been faithful to bring in an army charged with the energy to face the challenges you feared to face.

I have met a man over forty years of age. Having come into a church not his former church and hoping to have a cover to go out for ministry, has been asked to stay longer and probably for more years before he can go out. I have been wondering in my spirit whether it is right to stop such a man. I have been concerned, especially asking myself questions.

If a man over forty years of age is asked to sit back for more time yet he has been in the same church for one year and before them been doing ministry under someone fore more than five years, how many years will I be asked to sit back and wait for an okay from the bishop.

When I got saved I made a covenant with my God, that I will serve him. I know for sure that I should be serving him today which I think I am not doing well. When I hear and see errors, what should I do? Correct? How can I correct the bishop of a church who is the authority of God in that place? I cannot point a finger on the man of God.

It is not right, but it also not right to sit back and partake of the same perversity. If there are fundamental errors, doctrinal and I know it, what can I do? I guess the best thing is to leave this church in question. And I am in the process of exit, not tomorrow but soonest. However, when I leave I must not get to a church and sit for another one, two or more years before I can be allowed to go out and begin preaching the word of God. Life is tough in ministry, by the way. But I think that the best thing is to go out and start, with challenges or not.

And it is seeming to me that I will be going out without the confirmation of the people I have around me now. I have th confirmation from the former ministry (apprenticeship) that something is truly planted in my heart for God. This is not keeping me peaceful. I must preach the word, just only through that will I be able to get peace in my heart. 

I will keep updating this story among others.

Jesus Rabbi, The Son of God

Redeeming Nazareth!! A brief look at John 1:43-51


The calling of Philip and the invitation of Nathanael

 “Can anything good come from Nazareth”? This was the question that represented the kind of mindset that “humble beginnings never work or that smaller places cannot produce leaders. But here is Nazareth, a place considered lowly, but God appointed that Christ be recognized to have come from there, giving this city a different position. Of course, a better one!

Nathaniel question even lead him to a greater wonder. He goes with Philip to meet Jesus, but in his mind all the questions are: “I want to be sure, can anything good come from this town; the town we always thought had nothing to offer”.

But to his surprise, this city offered the Messiah whom Nathaniel now recognized as the son of God and Rabbi. In fact this is breaking against history. Rabbis were only teachers of the law, people who had mastered the law through a serious training such as Pharisees and Scribes. Jesus had not been through such trainings, but Nathanael could discover that Jesus is the son of God.

But Jesus who knows men told him that this kind of faith is not easy. It takes a miracle. He says to Nathanael that if I never told you that I saw you before Philip called you under that fig tree, then you would not believe. In other words and your mind has been full of disregard for the small city of Nazareth that you only needed “this miracle” I have done to make you change your faith.

But now that you believe, now that you have recognized the son of God and not necessarily the city, there is more for you. You will witness the council of God when the son of man is glorified. This is an eternal promise that Nathaniel is receiving from Christ and only in believing his word can such a promise be given.

Only in recognizing Christ as the son of God, can we receive the eternal promise, the promise to see heaven open, and witness the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This is the only time we can receive eternal life.

Friends, as you read through this post, you should discover that the issue of the city is not important. What matters should be God’s doing in the city. God can use a simple city, a simple person or anything simple to do greater things.

 We need to recognize this fact, and stop judging from the past or historical events and using them as a reason to disregard a place or someone. Let’s pour ourselves for God to use us. To God be the glory, Amen.