Ministering Christ In Power.

 

Hello everyone, I want to share with you this message on my heart from Acts 8.

 

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and PREACHED CHRIST to them.(emphasis mine.) And the people gave heed to the things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. And there was great joy in that city. Acts 8:5-8
It is interesting to note that Philip offered them Christ, not his eloquence, oratorical skills or charisma. And the Word was confirmed with Signs and Wonders.

In verse 7, you will notice that there was a great manifestation of the supernatural-there were deliverances from demonic oppression and healings because he preached CHRIST to them.

It is sad to note that Gospel ministers have become ‘success coaches’, ‘motivational speakers’ and corporate coaches and have stopped preaching Christ on the pulpit. Men and women of God stand before you on Sunday morning and ‘talk’ motivation to a people hungry for the supernatural power of God. There’s something very wrong with this picture.

Manipulation and The Making of a Cult.

A few days ago I was reading a book on humility by a very popular Ghanaian author. It was a good read until I got to a place where the author said that you shouldn’t ‘correct upward.’ He went on to explain that it is wrong for you to question and try to correct your spiritual leaders. He said that God called your leader and if he is going wrong, it is wrong for you to correct him, you should leave it in the hands of God to correct him. This is the same man who wrote a book on loyalty, but loyalty to who exactly?

I heard a prominent Nigerian preacher warn that you should never argue with him because if you do, ‘judgment’ will fall on you and you will die in a mysterious manner. He gave several examples how some members of his congregation rose against him and they were killed ‘mysteriously.’ The fact is that we all shall die some day. A Christian should never be afraid of death because to be absent from the body is to be present with The Lord-2Conrinthians 5:8.
This man also says you cannot ‘argue with proofs,’ that ‘only fools argue with proofs.’ That means you should not question his doctrines and unscriptural practices because he has successfully surrounded himself with money and material things. Money and material things are not proof of being in the centre of God’s Will. John the Baptist had his ministry in the desert, yet the whole nation came to him. He didn’t need to surround himself with material things as ‘proofs’ that he was in the centre of God’s Will.

They Are All Men, Just Like You.

They Are All Men, Just Like You.

A spiritual gift or ability is a call to serve in the Body of Christ. It should be accompanied with a great sense of responsibility and humility. Having a gift does not make you special or different from any other believer. It doesn’t give you special rights or special privileges to act and live the way you like. Your gift does not give you the audacity to enslave the people you were called to serve. It is an error to think that your calling gives you special rights, advantages and privileges over other believers. It doesn’t. Such erroneous thinking is alien and abhorrent to the saints.

The Enemy Within

The Enemy Within.

A lot has already been said about the tragic story of Samson in Judges 13-16. However, I would like to draw your attention to an aspect of his life: his failure to conquer the enemy within.

Samson was special. He was blessed with amazing physical strength which gave him great advantage over his enemies. But he had a problem. His strength couldn’t help him deal with the enemy within his own soul. He could fight and defeat the enemy without but was quite clueless when it came to fighting the enemy within.

Fighting external battles was important but fighting and winning the battle within was crucial to his long term survival as a leader in Israel. The invisible battle within his soul was more important than the physical battles he fought and won daily.

Samson never lost a single battle he fought against the enemies of Israel, but he lost many battles within his own soul. When Samson fell, he wasn’t captured by his enemies during a battle, he was captured by the enemy which lived within his soul. Samson lived with that enemy daily. He nurtured it, bred it and fed it until that enemy became a monster that controlled and eventually destroyed him.
He failed to master the enemy when it was little, but in his arrogance he watched it grow until it became a monster in his life.
It is easier to pray against the enemy we can see and totally overlook the destroyer that lurks in our hearts. What we see is easier to deal with than things we don’t see.

From the story of Samson we discover that little things, little weaknesses, never remain little for very long. They grow. They become big and begin to dominate and take control of our lives in unbelievable ways.

Delilah didn’t destroy Samson.
She couldn’t have. She didn’t have the ability to.