Nigeria – The Church – Repentance

Let us consider public opinion about the church

Media Extracts;

The Punch – Jan 12 2017

The Nigerian church and its contradictions

Niran Adedokun

“……………………Prime amongst this is the appalling lack of cohesion within its fold. No matter how much it pretends at it, Christendom in Nigeria is unable to approach issues with a single mind and this seems to have diminished its impact.

Some could argue that the level of discord in the Church derives from the number of denominations creeping on us daily, but that is beside the point. Since unity hinged on selfless love for one another is the very essence of the faith, those who start new churches would be forced to fall in line if they met functional structures on the ground.

 If the preaching of Christ remains the focus of the Church, His ministers should aggregate opinions and speak with one voice on issues that affect the effective propagation of their Commission. But here is where the problem is- the Church in Nigeria is a big but disorganised enclave where every man feathers his own nest or so it appears.

A corollary to this is the low or no entry barrier into ministry. Capitalising on the ethereal and personal nature of the invitation into ministry, innumerable people wake up daily to claim that they have been called by God whereas, many are inspired by nothing other than existential reasons and accumulate the wealth that they assume churching brings to them.

They then go on to perpetrate lies by concocting all sorts of out-of-this-world doctrines that find no foundation in the Bible!!!. This is the origin of abominable conduct of spiritual manipulations, fortune telling, dissentions, embezzlement and such immoral acts that should, ordinarily not be spoken of amongst believers.

Clearly the above is very concerning and calls for prayer and repentance. The above is not limited to Nigeria alone but also to Churches globally. Therefore, there is indeed a call to prayer.

The question is why is all this happening?

Sign of the end times.

We have become lovers of ourselves and

We have allowed ourselves to become controlled by our sinful nature..why?

Who has done this?

The enemy has done this!

Matt 13:24-29

…..The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. 27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. 29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

2 Tim 3:1-2

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2For people will love only themselves and their money….!

Rom 8: 7

7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you…

Galatians 5: 19-24

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

There is HOPE for the Church and for Nigeria

Heb 12: 1, 14-29

Vs 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Vs 14. Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

Mount Zion

18 You have not come to a physical mountain,[h] to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[i] 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”[j]

22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the Assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”[k] 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.

Obadiah1:17

**But Jerusalem[c] will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel[d] will come back to reclaim their inheritance.

Question:

Are you a weed or a Wheat? Frustrating the work of the kingdom? Imagine what Cain did? He killed his brother for selfish reasons

Are you Shakeable/unshakeable?

When the Lord of the Harvest comes, will he gather you into his fold?

Will your Anchor hold?

Prayer:

·      Lord take away the dross! E.g. tribalism, false doctrines, Hypocrisy, traditions of men etc.

·      Pray for Mercy; And to bury deadworks out of sight!

·      Lord send down your deliverance, so the Mystery of the Gospel goes forth uninhibited.

·      Lord Grant me Grace to follow Jesus and to resist the devil! To grow as a wheat and not a weed destroying the followership of others

·      Lord make me unshakeable! Upon this rock (you and I), I will build my church and gates of hell shall not prevail against it,-  Its not how you started, its how you ended!

·      In the midst of all the confusion, contradictions and all, help me to keep my eyes fixed on the Cross!

·      Pray for the body of Christ to be unified for there the Lord commands his blessing; whether Jews or gentiles, for in Christ lives the fullness of God in human body

Conclusion

Rom 12

And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[d] 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[f] 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back, “says the Lord. 20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good.