I welcome you to this seminar in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am convinced that you are not here today because you read the pamphlet or the book, Stewards of the Kingdom. I believe that you are here because the Lord led you here. Your journey to this place did not start with the pamphlet. You have been dissatisfied for some time now, a dissatisfaction stemming from seeing how the gospel of our Lord and Savior is being mutilated and merchandized. The more you read the Scriptures, the more the Holy Spirit opened your eyes to see the rot in the church. Like Elijah, you thought you were alone in having these misgivings about the goings on in churches and ministries. So when you read the pamphlet and the book, Stewards of the Kingdom, you realized that you are not alone and that there are indeed others like you whom the Holy Spirit has raised to bear witness to the truth at this hour. Therefore, all thanks must go to our Lord Jesus Christ for making this day possible.
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. (Matt 15:8-9 NLT)
This is thenew covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. (Heb 10:16 NLT).
That many Christians are hard of hearing is not by accident; the enemy has blindfolded and deafened them. We must continue to pray for them.
Many churches have become more or less like social clubs–Sunday services are like social events for people to connect and reconnect with each other. A passerby could be excused if she thinks there is a rock group playing during some of our Sunday services. Messages, often more like motivational speeches, are tailored to appeal to our carnal side. Jokes are as good as those delivered by comedians. No wonder, many Christians love going to church on Sundays. People are so elated when they hear that an “anointed pastor” is coming to their church to minister. They prepare prayer lists and wait in anticipation for the day to arrive. If only the ‘anointed pastor’ could lay his hands on them, their problems (health/sicknesses and wealth/financial difficulties) will be over. Their faith is on the human agent and not on the Lord of our salvation. No thought for Him in whose name they have gathered and whom they profess to be Savior and Lord. How tragic: ‘anointed pastors’ have taken the Lord’s place; and many are all busily cheering them on.
IT IS NOT ABOUT THE NUMBER
Statistics is a great tool. Governments and businesses use it to monitor and measure progress. The world loves statistics; organized churches love it too. Churches use it to show their members how well they are doing, and to ask for more funds for missionary outreaches. “If only we had an extra 10,000 dollars or ten million naira, more people could have been saved last year,” some might claim.
For many churches and denominations, the number is important. The race is to have a greater share of the Christian population. The more the number, the more a denomination is perceived to be successful. Few of these churches spend time to disciple their members. For many, the great commission ends with proclamation. But, the great commission did not stop at proclamation; it commands that those who have believed and become followers of Christ should teach (disciple) others Christ’s doctrines and way of life (Matt 28:20).
EXAMPLES THAT THE NUMBER IS UNIMPORTANT
The Lord had just 12 apostles. He sent out 70 on a missionary work. On that Pentecost morning, there were about 120 in the upper room.
Paul and Barnabas (2 men) were taken out of their congregation for the Lord’s work in Gentile territories. Why didn’t the Holy Spirit ask for more persons to be sent on that assignment?
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Act 13:2)
Paul and Silas created havoc with their prison worship service in Philippi. At the end of that service in the face of threats to their lives, their jailor, his family and many others were saved. Just 2 men.
How about Gideon and the 300 men? There were thousands but the Lord selected only 300. Why? It is not about the number. the battle is not ours but the Lord’s. Winning will not be because we are so many. In fact, so many can be the cause of failure.
Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying,`My own hand has saved me.’ (Jdg 7:1-2 NKJV)
Paul and Barnabas (2 men) were taken out of their congregation for the Lord’s work in Gentile territories. Why didn’t the Holy Spirit ask for more persons to be sent on that assignment?
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Act 13:2)
Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” (Jdg 7:7 NKJV)
Let us come to a century closer to ours:
The Pentecostal Movement, which led to a worldwide revival, started with just a few believers who believed God’s word on spiritual empowerment. Gathering in prayers in a Los Angeles home in USA in 1906, they prayed and believed. In 3 years, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ had reached almost every corner of the world.
Sadly, human beings abused God’s enablement by His Spirit. Mistaking that endued power to be a right that they had earned, some of the elders (during and after the revival) allowed the enemy to plant seed of disunity and distrust among them. The germination of that seed led to fractiousness; this evil seed plagued and continues to plague the Movement.
RADICAL COMMITMENT BEGETS RADICAL OBEDIENCE
Noah, Abraham, Daniel, Deborah, Esther, prophets of the Old and the New were just human beings like you and I. Ten of the twelve apostles died through martyrdom; Judas Iscariot committed suicide after betraying the Lord while John died naturally. By God’s grace, we will be sharing the new heaven and the new earth with these faithful stewards. Some of them could even be our neighbors.
When we have Jesus, who else do we need as we witness to a dying world and confront the powers of darkness? Jesus has already defeated the enemy. All He has asked is that we believe in Him.
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:29)
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. (John 14:1)
The Lord knows that for His followers to withstand the onslaught of the enemy as they run the race to eternal life, they must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who put their trust in Him.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb 11:6)
What did the persons mentioned above have in common?
They were all radically committed to God. Their faith in God produced a radical commitment which in turn brought forth their radical obedience. They trusted God completely. Their faith was not about asking God for wealth and or health. Their faith was about total obedience to God. They believed that God will do all that He has promised. And what has God promised that is more than eternal life in Him? It is that trust that made them to radically commit their lives to Him. Many willingly paid the ultimate price rather than deny the Author of their salvation.
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Phil 3:10-14 NLT)
There can be no radical commitment without a radical departure from the world and its ways of doing things. It is not possible to be equally committed to God and the things in the world at the same time; one must necessarily take precedence over the other.
Radical departure can be both physical and mental. Abraham’s call by God involved both. He left his country and culture for a destination he knew nothing about in obedience to the Lord’s command. While God may not ask most of those He has called to change their physical location, He demands a mental separation from the world and a heart that is ready to face up to institutional powers when the occasion arises
Those Israelites who left Egypt but still had their hearts in Egypt could not be said to have separated themselves from Egypt. Mentally, they were still in Egypt.
We often marvel that those Israelites could have had such hard hearts in the midst of the manifestation of God’s power. But are most of us any different from them? Do not our hearts often (sometimes) yearn for the things of the world? We should be aware that just as God was not pleased with those Israelites, He is equally not pleased when His followers’ hearts yearn for the things in the world. He expects His followers to have a mindset that continually longs for His presence and not for things.
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
God does have favorites–those who have yielded themselves unreservedly to Him.
Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” (John 14:21 NLT)
THE CHOSEN ONES
For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matt 22:14)
Many are called but few are chosen: I never fully comprehended this Scripture for many years. Why would God call many but choose a few? Is it that God has run out of mansions and space to accommodate trillions of people?
Then, the truth dawned on me. Though He called many, He chose only those who responded to Him in Spirit and in truth. Those He chose had put Him above all else in their daily walk.
Who are this chosen few?
The chosen few not only acknowledged Jesus as Savior and Lord, they embraced the cross. They were ready to suffer and if necessary die rather deny the Author of their salvation in their daily conduct. They disdained the world and its trappings: it is a mental thing–an attitude where no matter what they possessed (position, wealth, spiritual gifts, etc), they did not allow them to interfere in their wholesale fear and love of God.
For the chosen few, Jesus is Lord was not just a saying; they obeyed the Lord’s commands without question. They did not rationalize sin and bad behavior for they understood that anything that could cause a separation between them and their Lord is sin.
The chosen few, knowing it was a great privilege to call Jesus their friend, were always ready to stand up for Him regardless of the consequences.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHOSEN FEW
The chosen few preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whether it was convenient or not, without diluting or mutilating it. They had this testimony that they were not afraid to die for their faith in their Lord and Savior.
Though they knew that the true gospel gave offense and that it stung and made unbelievers including backslidden Christians uncomfortable, they did not shy away from preaching and practicing their beliefs openly. They understood the challenges i.e., that whenever and wherever they presented the gospel of Christ, they were actually asking their hearers to leave their comfort zones, abandon their lifestyles, pre-understandings and presuppositions and accept a truth that could make them lose their standing in the society or church. Yet, they persisted in the face of those challenges.
“Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised– as some say I do–why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. (Gal 5:11 NLT)
It is not only unbelievers who are offended by the true gospel. Many Christian religious establishments are offended by it too. Do we then dilute it to make it acceptable? Would such diluted truth lead those we have preached to reach that city whose foundation and maker is God? Are we not denying the Lord when we dilute the gospel and biblical truths in order not to be seen as divisive? What would have happened had Paul not withstood Peter in the matter of circumcision (works) and the Gentile position in the Body of Christ or had Peter and his band succumbed to the threats by the Sanhedrin and abandoned their preaching of the resurrected Lord and Christ?
The Lord Jesus Christ, all the prophets and the apostles were viewed by their detractors as divisive for going against the grain of public (majority) opinion and way of life. When we lose our fear and begin to preach the unvarnished word of God, many will haul such accusation our way.
IN THIS 21ST CENTURY FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST MUST RISE UP AND FIGHT FOR THEIR KINGDOM
RISE UP AND FIGHT: TAKE ACTION
The ‘hand on the plough-no looking back’ teaching means that we must follow Him who has called us not minding what is coming behind or what is in front. It means taking action and not sitting down bemoaning the ills in the church or society. Noah took action. Abraham took action. Paul, Peter and the rest of the apostles took action. They did not just wait and continue to pray–no, they moved even as they prayed.
In our generation, children of the Kingdom cower while usurpers lay claim and run riot in their Father’s house. Yet, their Father, the King, had left them with all the necessary defensive and offensive weapons to withstand all aggression. Rather than use the weapons, they shut themselves away, weeping and feeling sorry for themselves. Some are even blaming their Father for staying away too long.
DENIAL OF SELF AND WILLINGNESS TO DIE–MARK OF LOVE
Loving God means denial of self. Only the person that denies herself would be ready to face all odds no matter the consequences. Esther and the three Hebrew young men are examples.
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:15-16)
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Dan 3:16-18)
Daniel and his friends were not the only Hebrew children who had heard about the Lord and or participated in religious rites prior to their enslavement in Babylon. However, only those 3 defied the King. Their defiance did not start the day they were thrown into the fire. No, it started when they refused to eat the King’s meat. They willingly denied themselves of earthly pleasures to please Him whom they have heard and believed in.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself . . . So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. (Dan 1:8-12)
FAITH CONQUERS FEAR
At one point, Elijah was afraid. But, when God asked him to go and confront his fears (Jezebel and Ahab), he did not hesitate. He went in obedience to God, not minding the consequences. That is how it should be for followers of Christ.
God is not looking for brave men and women. No, He is looking for obedient persons who are willing to put all their trust in him just the way a newborn trusts her mother. God is not looking for intelligent persons but only those whose faith in Him will cause them to utter words that would make the world’s most endowed geniuses look foolish. God is not looking for rich men and women. He owns everything. God is not looking for poor people. He did not designate any one poor because if He so desires He can make that poor person as rich or richer than the world’s richest. As a loving Father, He knows our strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, He will lead us beside still waters and through the deserts. He knows how each of us will achieve that upward call in Christ Jesus which He has purposed for each of us. Hence, He deals with each of us as He sees fit i.e., gives each of us different tools and gifts because only He knows what each of us needs for our walk with Him.
THE THREE-FOLD TASK
The world as we know it is like a ‘knocked engine.’ Those advocating changing the world without bringing Christ into the equation are like mechanics working assiduously to restore a ‘knocked engine’ back to its original state. The present world is doomed (unless we want to say that the Scriptures lie). Our business as followers of Christ is to uncompromisingly say so, preach Christ crucified and resurrected, and invite our hearers to embrace Him in order to be saved from the coming cataclysm.
Our task is three-fold: draw unbeliever’s to Christ, help church goers become believers, and equip believers to become followers of Christ.
A CAUTION
No matter how anointed, no matter how your ministry grows, always remember what Paul said to the church elders of Ephesus. His warning should be taken to heart by those who find themselves leading others in the ministry. Even the most anointed could derail if he or she allows carnality to enter his or her ministry. Always remember that it is the Lord’s ministry.
I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following . . . I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. (Acts 20:29-34 NLT)
MY PRAYER
May the Lord keep and protect you. May He restore all that the enemy has withheld from you and your ministry before now. May He open your eyes to see and to comprehend all He has planned for you and your ministry. May He lift you up if you ever fall down. May He continue to guide you as you walk this walk of faith in Him. All these I ask and pray for all who have gathered here today to hear this message and for those others who will come to read or hear of it, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise indicated.