Spiritual Traffickers!

 

Christendom has seen unprecedented changes since the pandemic and has thrown each individual Christian totally out of gear. The guilt quotient varied depending on the importance one gave, going to Church. For those who only went on special occasions the guilt was on the extreme end of the scale as the Churches were shut, for whom Church going was a weekly exercise to please God became disoriented and for those who considered themselves as the temple of God it made no difference.

The clever idea to use technology to one’s advantage worked well in this crisis with Churches using every given platform to keep their flock safe from scattering. Well they just hoped so. But with varied platforms came the bane of choice for the flock to choose which service they wanted to attend. And then came in the influx of various ministries trying to invite believers to hear sermons and expositions on various topics through these online platforms.

Being an observer and also a participant in few of these I realized that these have just become activities to fulfill one’s agenda and almost the same group of people are invited time and again in these various platforms. Somehow the organizers feel that if the topic is dealt with, they have achieved their goal and there is no follow-up of outcomes laid down for these sessions. We have somehow got entangled in the mess that information needs to get dumped with outcomes becoming irrelevant. It all seems that one’s sustenance depends on conducting these meetings and word of God has become a commodity. Because its free, people flock to all the online meetings as possible. Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 2:17 very clearly states, "For we do not market the word of God for profit like so many....". But time and time again either as an individual, a Church or an organization we subtly do this very thing under the banner of ministry.

By doing this we seem to be doing two things unconsciously - 1. We keep sharing the Gospel to Christians and 2. Everything is about money. Yes, I do agree 1 Cor 9:14 says "...those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.". But we need to take 1 Cor 9:18 also into consideration "....to preach the gospel and offer it free of charge...". Jesus said in Mark 16:15, "....Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.". Unfortunately, we just got stuck with the Christians. Somehow, we are unintentionally trafficking the word of God, just shifting hands from one group to another.

Wake up Christendom! we are treading a destructive path. Persecution is around the corner and there are still thousands perishing without knowing the Gospel. The world needs a God of morality and justice and that can only be found in Jesus. The world also needs a God of hope, love and peace and only Jesus Christ can provide that. The world is thirsty and hungry for righteousness but we are still wallowing with our own contemplating various methods on how we can earn a living out of God's word. We are no different from a temple priest and Imam. Equip and send Christians out boldly to spread the gospel and let all your programs focus on making a difference in the field where the rubber meets the road.

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Was 2020 a year of instability for Churches?

 

The ups and downs of Churches in the recent times have disturbed many Christians, leaders and pastors. I am sure we have never once expected that a pandemic like this could affect Churches. People would have expected other religious shrines or places of worship to be shut at some point, but definitely not the Churches along with other religious places. We Christians made so much of claims in the past inviting people from different faiths facing various challenges to visit the Churches promising miracles and deliverances. I recollect my non-Christian friends alleging Christians invite them to Churches in order to experience a miracle and then with the lockdown they were surprised that Churches were no different because it had to be shut too. How do we rectify this misrepresentation?

It is important that we consciously communicate the right message to the world. Somewhere as Christian leaders, we have misrepresented Church to a building and amplified the sanctity of the place than the person Jesus. It is time to remind the people including us that buildings were closed but not the Church. The Church is the people who use the buildings. We don’t need a building to be the Church. Having this understanding every individual who is a follower and disciple of Christ needs to remind oneself that he/she is the temple of the Lord. Every Individuals should function like a Church. I guess God in His sovereign way wanted to teach all of us the true meaning of a Church during this pandemic season.

The moment the Church is downsized to a building people struggle to maintain stability. Let us be reminded, the more the Church strives for stability, recognition, power and money, the more its spiritual potency will diminish. When the Church is limited to a place it strives to become a shrine and then people are attracted to the holy site where a mere visit will make all problems disappear. The world is perishing. 90% of our people in India are unreached yet we are longing to be cared, to be loved to find importance. Can we remind members of our congregation to be a Church? It is high time we equip every single member in our congregation to be a Church where they would need to fill empty pews with people who do not know Christ.

It is sad to see average Churches lukewarm, boring, uninspiring functioning like a social club. And we know according to Jesus, such fake faith just makes God spew! (Revelation 3:16). It is time to seriously ask God to transform us and make us a revolutionary for Christ. Our job is to preach the cross and Christ crucified. The voice of God is as clear today as it was on the day when Jesus spoke to the eleven and said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

It is time that we seriously remind our fellow believers and friends the urgency of the Gospel. Somebody once said that most people live as if this life was a permanent arrangement. The Bible message is that our days are numbered. Dr. Mason puts it beautifully, "I fear the Church has become salt & light to itself and not to the world as it was called to- which left to itself becomes artificial light and self-preservation.".

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Quick Fix or Lasting Impact?

 

We would all agree that the pandemic has left an immense impact on medical giants, nations, individuals and Churches too. Every entity has been shaken and still grappling for stability. The worldview of people is disrupted tremendously. The ones who thought they were doing great are struggling to find their ground in the society.

Church, the body of Christ is considered as one of the largest voluntary institutions who has the capacity to influence and impact every spectrum of the society. But the big question is how effective and sustainable is the approach of Church today? As Churches, are we event based or outcome based? It is time to think why all the efforts of the Churches put together is still insignificant. If significant, then the statistics of our country in terms of Christian population would have grown remarkably. Somehow Churches fail to create a sustainable impact. It is good to assess whether we are like the sea forming a giant wave and thereafter sustaining with random waves or our interventions are like ripples on a lake constantly creating waves?

Albert Einstein states, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”. Let me add here, as Churches we are supposed to add our goals to our mission statement and align our intervention to the Biblical mandate of Christ. We cannot have a mission statement devoid of the essence of the Biblical mandate. Biblical mandate is the integration of Great Commission and Great Commandment. You cannot have one without the other. It always goes hand in hand. As Churches and individuals, we are all responsible to take the Great Commission and the Great Commandment seriously.

When as a Church or Organization we fail to clearly articulate the goal and mission statement, we would end up doing anything that grabs our attention and be all over the page. This gives Church or individuals a pseudo satisfaction of doing various events, but in essence the genuine impact and transformation will be questionable, as it can never be measured. Think about this verse which says in Habakkuk 2:2, “Write down the vision; inscribe it clearly on tablets, so that one who reads it may run.”.  

There are many who are running so fast today like Ahimaaz without a proper news that can bring a reward. Let me quote this verse to you, Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.”. But Joab replied, “My son why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.” 2 Samuel 18:22. It is time to stop and ask why we are doing what we are doing? And how is it going to impact lives? If our activities are confined and active only with fund flow then at some point when the fund dries up, we will struggle for identity.  When you are outcome based with your vision and mission properly aligned, it creates impact in the community. You may click my previous article to know more on Vision- A blindsided reality!

Be holistic in approach but do not forget to be outcome based. Holistic approach is not doing what is easy or convenient. It is the call to make disciples and addressing physical and social needs at the same time. Churches, stop "Quick Fix" interventions and avoid being victim of emergencies.

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Your heart and feet matters!

 

As Christians, our thinking is the world we live is deteriorating in terms of culture, ethics, morality and basic humanness. We expect God should do something about it in order to make things better so that our living is more comfortable. In this connection the response of the Churches and Christians are varied, ambiguous and at times erroneous too. There is a large group that uses “Fortress approach” as their focal approach, where the world is viewed as being bad and evil and suggests that one should by all means protect oneself from it. People hardly relate with the people outside the Church. The other daunting challenge is that majority of Christendom believe that their responsibility ends with prayer. Therefore, they settle with prayers organized by Churches/favorite organizers and give some offerings to Churches and Christian organizations as and when it is required.

When it comes to influencing the nations with the Gospel and healing the nations, Jesus adopted a strategy. It comprises of choosing people, allowing them to observe Him demonstrate the Gospel and send them out to preach the Gospel. This was done in order to restore the brokenness of the people and influence the entire humanity. But unfortunately today, this is not the model most Churches and Christian organizations are following. The new converts who make it to Churches are ensured they stay with them forever, become faithful in their giving and adding number to the crowd either for credibility or for the sustenance of the Church in most cases. The Churches want them to grow in the Lord all their life without equipping them to go or sensitizing the congregation and warning them about the failure to obey Christ's Mandate. This is an alarming and a serious matter.

All their life people are taught that God watches the heart only, but fail to teach them God is interested in their feet too. Paul Rightly points the prophecy in Romans 10:9 “…How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news.”. The outcome of the commitment one makes to Christ is the effective usage of his/her feet in carrying the Gospel to the dying world. The success of the ministry is unfortunately determined by the number of activities conducted, big budgets utilized and a big number that made it as participants. God is interested to see you going out as a carrier of His good news than to be like the lazy servant who preserved his one talent and did nothing about it (Matthew 25:24-25). Many are thinking they are preserving themselves for Christ, without being useful nor being part of Christ's mission. Some leaders misunderstand and hold on to what Paul said in Colossians, that his goal is to present each one holy faultless and blameless before God (Colossians1:22), which was one of the many goals Paul had and stick to it only.

Paul’s other goal was to preach good news where Christ is not named (Romans 15:20), to remember the poor and meet the needs of them (Galatians 2:10), to gladly spend and be spent for people (2 Corinthians 12:15), to be poured as drink offering (Philippians 2:17). The purpose of every Christians is not only to be pure and blameless but to attract others to Christ with the Gospel.

So, what is God’s direction? If humans are the focus of God’s redemptive work, we might find ourselves asking, “how does God move to restore humanity?  There are two possibilities as we consider the direction in which God moves to restore us humans as narrated by J. Warner 1. Inside – Out movement (“Evangelical Gospel”). People are inherently fallen and our own personal sinfulness must be addressed before the larger society can be impacted. 2. Outside -In movement (“Social Gospel”). People are basically good but are corrupted by the fallen society. The ills of the society be addressed before individual can be impacted. 

The second approach simply doesn’t work when it comes to impacting the transformation of lives. It has to be the first approach and we need every follower of Christ in his/her sphere of influence to present Christ correctly in response to the great Commission.

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The sending of "12" & "72"! - Part 2

In my previous BLOG the sending of ‘12’ and the ‘72’ I had emphasized on Christ's mission and mandate. As I continue to explore a bit more in this blog, I want to reemphasize on His mandate and throw additional light on discipling and sending, which the Bible underscores. Before we can explore a little more, let me quote the Great Commission from Mark 16:15-17 which reads like this, then He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes; if they should drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.”

It is sad to see today that to a larger extent people have diluted the Great Commission and customized it to their convenience. If you read the Great Commission carefully, it starts by saying “go to the world and preach the gospel”, and all the signs will accompany those who believe. Today in order to sustain popularity, signs, wonders and healing are the ones over emphasized. This has resulted in deteriorating of the Gospel. The second part of the Great Commission looks promising for many, which grabs all the attention.

Let me quote an incident in the Bible where Jesus was in a house and the crowd was thronging the place. A paralytic man was brought in by his four friends, was lowered in the house by dismantling the roof. The Bible records,  when Jesus saw him He addressed the core issue, the sin problem saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”. Jesus while starting His ministry echoed the message John preached in Mat 3:2, “Repent because the kingdom of heaven has come near” in Matthew 4:17. No doubt He did many miracles but the emphasis of the Gospel and the kingdom of God was never once left out. His encounter with people always empowered the person to be a disciple and a witness.

Let us understand the sending of His 12 disciples and also the sending of the bigger group of 72 people. In Mathew 10 we find Jesus empowering His disciples who were part of His core team with the gift of healing and power to drive out demons, but the important part of the story is that He chose them to send so that they can continue the mission that He was soon preparing to entrust them. If you notice verse 7 and 8, Jesus commissioned them to go and proclaim about the kingdom of God and then heal the sick and perform signs where it is necessary. The leadership team; His disciples were not meant to stay and enjoy the goodness for themselves exclusively. Being with Him was the primary goal but it was accompanied by going out (Mark 3:14).

And then in Luke 10, Jesus appoints the 72 (bigger group) and sends them too in pairs and to every town and places where He Himself was about to go (Luke 10:1). Jesus defined the problem statement when He sent the larger group. The harvest is abundant (Luke 10:2) and they may have to encounter wolves in sheep clothing (Luke 10:3), which says they had the responsibility to tear the deception of the people who wore a form of godliness.

Today, all are interested to gather people to their flock and ensure not one is missing. But is the Church seriously following Jesus' model by equipping the small circle (leadership team) and as well as the bigger circle of 72 (Congregation) to go out and share the gospel? Jesus included, rather added, people to send and He did so by sending them to towns and villages. Today, it is easy. You don’t have to look for a mission field because your very work place and community is filled with Non-Christians, which becomes a mission field. Every individual of your church becomes a Church (1 Cor 3:16) who has ample of space to accommodate new people who needs Christ. Are you prepared to send the “12’s and the 72’s?

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The sending of ‘12’ and ‘72’ - Part 1

 

I have witnessed in my long years of experience in ministry that Christ's mission and mandate have been diluted and customized. They have been made to appear like one of the activities that promise satisfaction, edification and promote "feel-good" factor. I still wonder where Churches and Christians have learnt that the mandate of Christ is a choice we can adopt, reject or substitute. I invite you to follow me in this line of thought.

We are all so familiar with the Great Commission and I am sure we have heard it from different platforms where people have asked us to pray for the souls, support a missionary or a missionary family financially or support mission work. There ends our contribution. But is that all? Let's analyze the scriptures to get the right understanding of Christ's mandate; the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

In order to understand our mission on earth, we need to first understand Christ's mission completely. The ultimate purpose of Christ coming to this earth is “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), and to give eternal life to those who believe in Him (John 3:15; 6:47; 3:36). I do not wish to skip and go forward without stating the mission statement of Jesus which is written in Luke 4:18-19 “to preach the good news to the poor, He has sent me, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”. The mission statement for Jesus was the integration of Great Commission to preach the Gospel and Great Commandment to demonstrate the love by meeting the need of the poor and vulnerable. If this was the purpose and mission of Jesus our Savior, how close are we following the mission Christ was doing?

Many have learnt to stay comfortable in the Churches engaging in Church activities, praying for the souls, giving tithes and offerings and go back, doing nothing about the Great Commission. Anytime our spirituality and our Church comprises of a set of do’s and don’ts, filled solely with activities and schedules, then God has a problem.  He graciously disrupts the whole thing as a wake up call and reminds us all of His mission and His mandate. I love the way Catherine Booth, the gentle co-founder of the Salvation Army, regarding church buildings said, "A barracks is meant to be a place where real soldiers were to be fed and equipped for war, not a place to settle down in or as a comfortable snuggery in which to enjoy ourselves. I hope that if ever they, our soldiers, do settle down God will burn their barracks over their heads!”

I urge you to read my article written on 28^th December-2018 on this topic God's Audit- Get prepared!  to get a better understanding of what I am trying to reiterate -  In Malachi 1:10 it says, “I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of armies and I will accept no offering from your hand.”. If we fail to understand the purpose and mission of God, we will be heading to a greater danger.

Let me remind you that God appointed twelve disciples to be with Him, to send them out to preach (Mark 3:14). He also chose the seventy-two only to send. I would like to explore this with you in my upcoming article.

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What are we still missing?

Every single day, moves us closer to meeting our Lord God. Soon we will all face the King of kings to give an account of our lives and account of our obedience to the Great Commission. God is not intimidating us when He is talking about the Judgement day. But It is fair enough to understand on our part that when we are entrusted with resources, privileges and responsibilities, we are required to be accountable too. R.G. Lee coined this short Caption, “Pay-Day – Someday”. We cannot escape giving account of ourselves. The Bible says in Romans 14:12 “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Times such as this are difficult and unpredictable for all of us. Every believer including many Pastors and leaders who are contemplating to irk a living in this period of time are struggling to find an answer from God. Most of us struggle to handle the silence from Him. We get disoriented when things do not happen just the way we expected and prayed about. This was the case of disciples too. After Jesus was resurrected, He was appearing to the disciples and many others in His terms. He was no more present with them physically as He used to be with the disciples in the short time of His ministry. This was raising lots of apprehensions among the disciples and the silence disturbed them.

We find the incident where Simon Peter said “I am going fishing” in (John 21:8-14), immediately other disciples also consented to accompany him and said, “We are coming with you.”. The Bible records they caught no fish nevertheless as you follow the story, you will notice the disciples encountered Jesus and the miracle happened. These were the same disciples who followed Jesus leaving their livelihood, profession and families (Mat 4:19-22 Mark 1:20). Peter at one point on behalf of the other disciples remarked, “See we have left everything and followed you.”. Matthew 19:27. Do you realize, these were the same disciples who were revolutionaries and never again contemplated for their survival but went to the remotest part of the nation with the Gospel and died as a martyr?

Jesus remarked, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.”. There is a misunderstanding we have developed that we save our lives by our own capacities probably because the varied catastrophes are hitting the human race and it raises too many questions in the minds of the people. Christ is in full control over you. Do not panic nor be intimated.

He never became powerless, but maybe we are struggling to trust Him because our resources are running out. God’s work can still effectively grow devoid of finances or for that matter any resources. We have been given a mandate and most disappointingly it is not carried out by every Christian believer.

During crisis our focus on Christ's mandate, the Great Commission and Great Commandment is becoming optional or abandoned by many. For believers maintaining spiritual schedule by itself is a proud moment and a satisfying factor. Sadly, it’s not true. Your salvation isn’t complete till you share the Good news, the Gospel to the Non-believers. If you are still struggling to share your testimony and lead someone to Christ, then probably you are missing out on your responsibility. Do not confuse your Church engagements and activities as mission work. Go and Preach the Gospel! There are no alternatives.

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Incomplete deliverence!

God is not a vending machine to cater you with ATM (any time money) or provide you with whatever you want at your convenience. Most of the time we take God for granted because we think God is gracious, compassionate, ever loving and merciful, He is therefore obliged to come at your aid, even when you are not at the right state of heart. 

You cannot receive anything from a selfish stand point, where you willfully indulge in what is not right in the sight of God and yet expect Him to keep helping you.  Unless and until you make a prayer like David determining in your heart to keep yourself away from willful sinning, you cannot expect His complete providence while you are in a mess or in a serious problem.  Psalms 19:13 Don’t you think the prayer of David is so meaningful in this context? "Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed from blatant rebellion.".

Temporary repentance will invite God to help you only temporarily. Rehoboam son of Solomon who was spoiled by the influence of power sought God's help only during desperate situation God did help but it was not a complete help. The Bible says “When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 2 Chronicles 12:7 CSB Shishak was the king of Egypt who came to invade Jerusalem. Just a few verse later it talks about Rehoboam's rebellious state, "Rehoboam did what was evil, because he did not determine in his heart to seek the Lord.". 2 Chronicles 12:14 CSB. Mark the phrase 'little deliverance' this is conditioned to the state of heart.

John Ortberg in his book soul keeping quotes beautifully, "Sometimes we ask for forgiveness, but we know full well we will go back to the same sin tomorrow. We don’t really want forgiveness; we just want to get out of trouble. He says it would be better to pray like this: “Dear God, I sinned yesterday, I sinned again today, and I’m planning to go out and do the same sin tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” It may not quite reflect the maturity of “Thy will be done,” but it is better to be an honest mess before God than a dishonest “saint.”. 

How true of our miserable state? Could we make a serious decision to keep our internal state of matters at the best? Mind, you would have continuous challenges and trouble in this world because Jesus promised it that way (John 16:33) but at the same time we have hope because He claimed "I have conquered the world". In a way it is a refining process, that renews and transforms us to be like Him. But most importantly determine in your heart to set things right and the Lord will take care of all the other challenges that tries to immerse you. His intervention will bring the divine peace. 

God is always prepared to help you in fact in Isaiah 30:18 NASB it says "Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him",  provided your decision to live right and follow Him matters to you and to God.

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False sense of satisfaction!

It is vital to revisit the purpose and mission of God in our lives and check where we are in the journey. It is usually assumed that it lies with the first part of the first commandment alone in the Bible where Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”. Mark 12:30. And then all our efforts goes toward the same by meeting the spiritual schedule by using and emphasizing the commonly used term “more”, more reading of the Bible, more praying, more tarrying for the Holy Spirit and more of knowing Him. The word “more” in most cases confines to private faith with God alone. Sadly, the second part of the Great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, remains as a philosophy to preach to others and creating a Christian identity.

An article on Church discipline by “IX Marks” pens down the role and definition of Christian beautifully and it goes like this, “A Christian is someone who wears the name of God on earth, who declares His gospel, and who is united to His people. In essence, the Christian is an ambassador, someone whose identity and work meld together. Everything that an ambassador is, says, and does represents his or her king. So, it is with Christian and Christ.”.

The existence of social media (technical revolution) to a larger extent has marred the Christian identity gravely. At times, I regret the commonly used WhatsApp which is often used as a trash can where people tend to post all that they receive to others by means of forwarding to another Christian friend. I have quite often addressed this issue in my earlier blogs. In another terms it gives Christians a strong sense of satisfaction of inspiring other Christian as they keep forwarding things to one another. But all along, people rarely take serious initiative to connect to the Non-Christian world. Many do not have a message customized for Non-Christian world at all. Christians calling and imploring (begging) each other to join their meetings. 

Take any Christian WhatsApp group, it will be flooded with invitation links, preaching clips and Christian YouTube links, but for heavens sake who needs it? Don't we feel the urgency to write and customize video clips that can be sent to any common citizen or Non-Christian crowds? Unlike the early Christians you will notice most of the so called Christians and leaders today are limiting themselves and flocking with Christians friends bragging about who they are or want to see their meetings have a considerable number. Either they are too timed and lack boldness to reach out to the outside world, or they are interested to only focus on drawing the attention of another Christian/leaders to make their living better. Can we please give some thought to this?

Jesus said He Came to call sinners for repentance, not the righteous (Luke 5:32), but we never seem to get the message. Jesus did not come to earth to impress religious leaders. He came to mingle with people who were considered the most vile of sinners. In fact, for this He was severely criticized by the religious leaders of His day. He replied, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. And then makes this fascinating statement less understood by Christians today which says, ‘But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13). It is high time we make adjustments in our approaches and ensure that we reach out to the world out there and the same time equip those who are with us to take up the divine call and fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ.

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Is Salvation a one time grand event?

"Being a Christian does not mean we’re any better than unbelievers. We are still just as sick as anyone — we just have found the doctor. Remember, Christianity is not about morality. It’s about grace.”.

It is great to narrate the salvation experience and inspire others and draw them close to Jesus. For some it can be decade before and for some two or three years ago, based on when they received Christ. But the story does not end there, after the experience we are expected to keep growing in His love and absorb His image and display to the world. In the book of Romans, Paul reminds us once again of the salvation, but this time in Romans 12:11 Paul says “Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”.

Paul is cautioning all of us to wake up from sleep, because for the simple reason that we do not become complacent and think salvation as one-time grand event and not conscious enough today about how we are keeping ourselves holy and displaying Christ to others. For the ones who has lost the savor of the grand experience it is time to know that the salvation is nearer yet again than you first believed.

Paul to the Philippians in (2:12) NIV says “..as you have always obeyed… continue to work out your salvation in fear and trembling.”. Salvation does not stop after the first great event, we ought to continue in working out the salvation and keeping it lively and fresh. In (2:13) of Philippians it says “For it is God who works in you...”. It is a journey where we are assured that God is working too in us to get our salvation completed. Now let me make a point here, if you held on to only verse 12 you will be Armenian and if you held on to verse 13 alone you will be Calvinist and if you held on to both then you will be Christian.  

Christians should be distinct from the world in how we live. Sanctification can be painfully slow. What we speak of is not perfection but a new power, a new purpose, and a new direction. We have a mantle to carry on. Our Savior has worked a mighty change in us.  Ask God to help us live more boldly and be the salt of the earth, and shine more brightly. May the distance to salvation be nearer and closer to us always. Continue to work out your salvation in fear and trembling.

      

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Fighting the deception- Great men of God and small men of God

Present day Churches and Ministries' have classified the servants of God based on popularity, familiarity and power. As clothes of Jesus were divided among the people by casting lot (Matthew 27:35) today the glory of God is forcefully divided among common people. This stolen glory has elevated some to think they have descended from heaven and are angels. A quote so aptly puts the intention - "In the Christian world, leaders are in danger of using their callings as a cover-up for self-actualization or “wish fulfillment”. In those places, our dreams become our rights; our popularity determines our success; our needs can become our necessities; and our celebrity is interpreted like it’s an anointing,” Saxton.

If you notice, the Bible records a little summary of Jesus' intention while he narrated the parable of tax collector. "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else:" (Luke 18:9 CSB). We know in the parable, who was accepted at the end. Actually, the whole Bible focuses its attention on the ones who are humble at heart, despised and insignificant. It is the people today, who exalt some on the throne and make them God and lower others to a doormat. Paul questions in his book to Romans this way, "So why do you condemn another believer ? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." (Romans 14:10 NLT). These are some of the ethical issues that Church and His children need to fight against. And mind, we all will have to stand before the Judgement seat. All glory belongs to Him alone while it is said, “I will not give my glory to another.” (Isaiah 48:11 CSB).

People of God and people in the ministry, do not rob the glory of God. Remember Barnabas and Paul when they were treated as God after they healed a man who never walked (Acts 18:9), they immediately responded and reacted. In fact, the Bible records, "The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting:" (Acts 14:14 CSB). How many are willing to deny for themselves the royal treatment and advocate for the ones who do the ministry in difficult areas and are surviving with much difficulty? 

Jesus when talking about John puts this so beautifully- "I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28 CSB. Though John was counted so special but even the least will be greater in the kingdom of God.

Today, it is so sad to see how even certain ministries and preachers are given extra importance over some who do a great ministry. They impact people yet are not accepted and supported because they do not hold a high status. Stop displaying partiality, drawing importance one over another. Sometimes these ordinary people are making a significant impact through their ministries.

These are some hard truths no one dares to address. James in his book articulates it blatantly, especially when he points out how we treat someone who is rich and someone who is from a low status. "haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" James 2:4 CSB.

Find out the ones who are making the best opportunity to impact the people with the gospel and extend your support rather than giving all your resources to the one who is already obscenely rich always strategizing to attract more support. Let me make a point here. Some are given a false hope that they can fulfill the Great commission by solely supporting financially. This is not true at all. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:16 "For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach  — and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16 CSB). Each one of us are responsible to preach the gospel and make disciples. Join hands and be a partner with whichever ministry or individuals who stand to fulfill this mandate.

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What is your message for Non Christians?

In recent times YouTube channels, Vimeo, social media, Podcasts and many other platforms are filled with Christian messages for Christians. There is no dearth of Christian messages to hear from your favorite platform based on your choice. I have debated on this topic in my previous posts. Every day, thousands and thousands of new videos, posts are put up by people from all over the world. We are blessed with innumerable Christian messages and Christian resources but we need to ask some serious questions before we are too excited about this fact.

In all that we hear and actively involved, how has all this impacted us? What are the outcomes? The ready answers are, that people are growing spiritually, they are getting close to the Lord. But is that all there is to it? People forget that there are two sides of Holiness for example James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”. Keeping pure and holy definitely yes, but then reaching out by your acts of kindness and gospel is not made obsolete just because we are incapacitated in many ways.

Let me draw your attention to the book of Corinthians. The apostle Paul founded the Church in Corinth. A few years after leaving the Church the apostle Paul heard some disturbing reports about the Corinthians Church. They were full of pride excusing sexual immorality. Spiritual gifts were being used improperly, and there was a huge misunderstanding of key Christian doctrines. Therefore, he poses this pertinent question on the ways the gifts of the Holy Spirit were used. 1 Corinthians 14:14, “what is the outcome then?”.

Generally, the final outcome of individuals and Churches in most cases is to obtain the spiritual gifts, example the gift of prophecy, or speaking tongues etc. and keep growing in the Lord. But here Paul makes it very clear that exercising spiritual gifts per se is not the final outcome or an end goal in itself. If you carefully read in I Corinthians 14:12 he says, “So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of Church.”. The early Church was more active in creating an impact in the lives of each other, edifying one another, stimulating one another, exhorting one another. The gifts of the Holy Spirit did not operate in isolation. We are by all means to use our gifting to draw people closer to God and to the mission Christ has given to us.

Now, how are we impacting the Non-Christian world? How are all the spiritual gifts, great worship, persistent prayer translated in taking the mission to the outside world? Let us be reminded as the Bible uses Christians to these metaphors, “You are the salt of the earth”, (Mat 5:13) “You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14) “you are the fragrance” (2 Cor 2:15). Have we forgotten that there is a mission given to us, other than to preach Gospel and attract people to Christ? Then why are so many people today unable to reach out to the Non-Christians irrespective of all their spiritual gifts? Do you see the chasm? Let us not forget that each one of us are responsible to edify Christians and remind them of Christ's mandate; the Great Commission and simultaneously spend a considerable part of our time to reach out and connect to the Non-Christian friends.

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Are you also going to leave?

Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” John 6:67 NLT

I was wondering how could people leave the most expected person in history they had an opportunity to see, the Messiah who was predicted thousands of years ago by the prophets. The same Jesus came in flesh, dwelt among the people and did so many miracles like never before, yet people chose not to follow Him after a point of time, and the Bible says, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.". John 6:66 KJV.

If you observe most of the people in the Bible came to Jesus when they realized He could heal them from all their sickness,  provide them with good food, and most importantly had a wrong view that Jesus is going to overthrow the Roman empire and form His own government. When their assumptions were not becoming a reality, people walked with Jesus no more. For some, when their needs were met, they failed to come back like in the case of ten lepers being healed by Jesus but only one returned to thank him (Luke 17:17). Some thought Jesus can be used to solve the property issue among the brothers and when Jesus hit back saying 'who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?' I am sure they might have been disappointed too.

Don't you think such reasons are so real even today? People come for all of their personal reasons, basically they want to be made happy, in their language blessed with good money, to live in abundance materialistically, all their suffering to disappear immediately, sickness to go away immediately and want to live long on this earth. And yes, they don't want their illusion about who they are to fade. Most of us want to be good Christians without being reminded about the responsibilities in the mission. Some are willing to throw some offering and expect you to go happy. Is it all about Christ and His Mission?

In addition to this I have listed some reasons why Christians are not revolutionary and why they are like a season:

> They are simply born in Christian family and become part of the system.

> Being a Christian is just a compliance to meet Christian schedule which makes them happy.

> For some, the parents and others whom they respect were not able to model an exemplary life and in some cases their lives have not challenged them to be an effective witness. 

> Visiting God when there is a need and for personal blessings.

> Many come for healing, once it is taken care they are gone. (Like in the case of 10 lepers, 9 left)

> Church going is only a ritual.

If you heard this let me remind you once again, "For our forefather Church was a commitment, for our father Church was an inheritance, for us Church is a compliance, for our children Church is a nuisance." We all want our situation to change - Receive healing, get a new job, persecution to end, lockdown to be lifted. We all forget, God does not take these sufferings away, He transforms them. Even Jesus wanted the cup of suffering (the cross) to be removed, but God used it to transform the world. Many are used to visit God for being blessed, with wrong connotation.

In your journey to lead people some will just come with so much of excitement, some with great commitment, some with dedication to serve along with you, soon to realize all of their excitement has disappeared and they are done with you. Today with modern social platform people have a better way of showing their response. Some would ignore your message and some would never read it nor respond. We have an option to follow and unfollow based on our convenience and we use the same to follow Christ.

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Presenting Gospel was never a choice but mandate- 2

I am desperate to see a revival in my time and in my generation. I am sure there are many who feel the same too. How do we make it a reality is a million-dollar question? Many parts of the world including our country. we have already heard about the sweep of the Gospel in their villages and county, but the big question remains, are we personally swept with the revival? If it is so, does it make us restless, and are we desperately reaching out with the Gospel to our Non-Christian friends and in our sphere of influence.

The Gospel is not an occasional message reserved for the Christian festive seasons but it is a daily business, do we realize that? Martin Luther states, “We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.”. We need to be reminded that since we have heard the Gospel it is time now, that we carry it faithfully to the people outside who have no clue as to what it means to have Christ in their life. Paul in Colossians 1:5-6 CSB Says, "…You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth, *the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God’s grace.”. Paul emphasizes on the effect of the Gospel. When the true Gospel invades a person, it keeps bearing fruits and grows all over the world. After your salvation experience you don't just become a good believer, you grow to an extent that people all over will get Gospel through you, in other words you become a revolutionary.  Does this describe your current status?

 It is said wherever Paul went there was a revolution, the ones who heard and responded too were revolutionaries.  In Acts 17:4 it says, “Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a large number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.”. And it is recorded that the people from outside were jealous to see how the work of the Lord was manifested and growing (Acts 17:5). The wicked men from market place formed a mob and started a riot, thus attacking Jason’s house and hurting him and the people with them. Interestingly this is how they tagged the men, Acts 17 6, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”. Wow, I think it is a compliment.

Today Christians and Christian leaders have created multiple choices around them. If they want, they respond or just shut themselves and mute from all communication if they have someone with the strong passion urging them to share gospel. It can be as simple as that. Christians don’t want to be disturbed, they don’t want to be told, they don’t want to be reminded. You ask them to pray for their cities and for their country, they will send a Big “thumbs up” and “folding hand” symbol assuring of their prayers. But are people honest to the salvation they have received? Are Christians in true sense obeying the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and being a witness for Christ (Acts 1:8). Can we seriously rise up and sweep the nation with the Gospel? May we all pray this prayer seriously, a prayer of Wesley L Duewel written on 24^th September 1964, taken from Malachi 3:1

Come suddenly again, O Lord; Your temple waits for You today.

Come in accordance to Your Word; come suddenly even while we pray.

O blessed, blessed Holy Ghost, bring the revival we need most.

Most graciously our hearts prepare for Your great work in this our day.

Help each of us to do our share; remove each hindrance from Your way.

O Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire; descend in all Your holy fire.

We need You more than we can tell; we need You more than we can say.

Our worldliness and sin dispel; come, cleanse and fill us all, we pray.

O Holy Ghost, come on us now as we in need before You bow.

We pray, Lord, light the flame once more of Holy Ghost revival fire.

Come now as in the days of yore; for You we wait with great desire.

Come suddenly upon Your own and make Your holy presence known.

Come suddenly and do much more than we can do in months and years.

We plead Your mercy o’er and o’er; we praise You that revival nears!

Come, Holy Ghost, descend today! Come suddenly on us, we pray. 

You can check the first part Here

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