END OF YEAR PROPHECIES

Every night on New Year's Eve day, Nigerian Christians throng to churches in their millions to pray and listen to prophecies that they believe will guide their lives in the new year. This has become a culture and a way of life. Needless to add that offerings and donation are almost always collected during these church services.
Almost every other Pentecostal church leader produces an end-of-year prophecy. Sometimes, the prophecies contradict one another, causing one to wonder how the same God can say contradictory things to different pastors and prophets.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) represents the largest body of Pentecostal Christians in Nigeria; so, it is apt to use Pastor Adeboye’s prophecy for 2015. This is accessible from his Facebook page but can also be found here.
At this juncture, it is pertinent to ask – have any of these pastors and prophets ever said anything of consequence for this nation in the last 10-15 years that end-of-year prophecies have been trending? Let's consider Pastor Adeboye's phopecies for 2015 as expressed on his website.
PROPHECY FOR THE YEAR 2015 BY PASTOR ADEBOYE OF RCCG
Individual: For those who fasted for 100 days last year
1. The Lord says the harvest for the 100 days fast will be given this year.
2. Daddy says this year will be full of testimonies; those who have none before will have this year.
3. Daddy says some of you will swim in the river of abundance this year.
4. Daddy says there will be miraculous completion of projects.
5. Daddy says there will be fulfillment of dreams.
6. Daddy says there will be miraculous restoration.
7. Daddy says the song of many will be - The Lord has been good to me.
International
1. Scientific and medical breakthrough will be many, particularly in the areas of lack of sleep, dreams and brain disorder.
2. Daddy says Ebola will die out.
3. Daddy says all over the world insurgencies will be considerately weakened.
4. He asked us to pray against massive calamities.
5. He asked us to pray against massive earthquakes, strong hurricanes and typhoons.
For RCCG
1. This year all you need is to charge off your batteries by fasting for 40 days only. Those of you who want to fast continuously 20 days and 20 nights will cover the 40 days. If you miss one day, you have to cover it with two days.
Nigeria
By the end of the year - you will say all is well that ends well.
The fasting begins January 2nd 2015.
Notice how the prophecy:
a). Is non-specific with respect to who, what, when, where and how
b). Says nothing about what really matters to Nigerians i.e. national security, Boko Haram, corruption and the elections which come up in February
c). Says nothing about the whereabouts of the abducted Chibok girls
d). Implies that earthquake, typhoons and hurricane can be averted by prayers and fasting Incredible, coming from a former university Mathematics lecturer!
Nigerians pray and supplicate more than any other people I know. Either God does not care about what is important to them or these pastors just make these prophecies up. I am sure that most of you would agree that anyone, including a smart child, could come up with the prophecy above. Yet, these are the words that millions of Nigerians stay up all night to listen to and live their lives by.
To me, a prediction (or prophecy) should not only be time and place-specific but it must be consequential. For instance, it is not enough to say there would be an earthquake; we should know its estimated magnitude, where and when it is going to occur. These will determine whether or not we evacuate people to safety, an action that saves lives. I have reviewed Pastor Adeboye’s prophecies from 2012 till date; he has not said anything consequential in that period.
Before I end, let me remind Nigerians that it was Pastor Adeboye who claimed he drove from Ore to Lagos on an empty fuel tank. And I have encountered many a Nigerian intellectual who believes this story. They are not even willing to consider other possibilities such as:
1. The fuel level could have been on reserve, and the car could have had a large fuel reserve
2. The fuel gauge could have been faulty
3. The pastor could have been hallucinating or having a déjà vu experience
4. He could have been out-rightly telling lies
5. He could have been driving a top fuel-efficiency car. After all, he can afford the best out there, can't he?
And what sort of God grants such frivolous requests but watches on as millions of children die from malaria every year?!
Whilst most Nigerians may not even see anything wrong with this claim, the real problem is that these pastors have succeeded in corrupting our way of thinking and help to develop a culture where our people cannot distinguish fantasies or magical thinking from reality. Heck, even our universities have become both breeding and dumping grounds for such ideologies. Unfortunately, the world clock does not stop for us; for whilst we are engaged in magical thinking, our competitors are landing robots on comets. How are we ever going to be able to compete for the same resources as them? We should know that manna does not drop from heaven. But I am sure most Nigerians will disagree!
Like I said in my last article for Sahara reporters (bit.ly/1sZJ20V), this brand of religiosity is holding back the progress of Africans. You can be spiritual without believing and acting on these kinds of stories and prophecies. If these pastors are not going to divulge the celestial secret codes for scientific and technological innovations, or tell us something else of consequence that can move our nation forward, then why are we reliant on their proclamations and making them wealthy with our scarce resources?
It is time to begin introspection and self-examination. We are a society of very gullible and superstitious people brought up to obey, and to never question elders or those in authority. We are not critical thinkers. We scorn scepticism. Perhaps, that is why we are where we are.
I am persuaded that, now, more than ever before, is the time to start thinking and asking questions! That is how the nations which now explore outer space got to where they are. Not by wishful thinking and/or superstitions!

Ijabla Raymond is a medical doctor of Nigerian heritage, who writes in from the UK. Email: Ijabla.Raymond@facebook.com

HEAVEN CAN WAIT

I believe in heaven. And I bet you do.
Heaven is located somewhere across the bridge of life. It is a place devoid of the iniquities of this life. In heaven, tranquility abounds. It is a treasure trove where God keeps the best of everything.
All our pursuits in life can be divided into two: the pursuit of heaven and the pursuit of happiness.  
Heaven is the only place where happiness is guaranteed. But for some reason, we are determined to pursue happiness here on earth when it has been proven that such is an impossible goal.
We dream of heaven when we face the travails of life on earth. We remember heaven when we lose someone we love. We embrace heaven when we face our own mortality.
Though the vision of heaven varies depending on our religious and cultural upbringing, the central ideas are the same. Heaven is a good place for good people who have a good report card from their stay on earth. We are expected to make sacrifices here on earth in order to get to heaven.
I recently lost a distant cousin. He died a heart-breaking death at a young age. He was such a nice guy that tributes came from far and wide. Everyone agreed he had gone to the bosom of the Lord to rest. One grief-sicken mourner wrote on Facebook, “Stay thee with the Lord, Tony, until we meet again – though not so soon.” 
Yeah, even an assurance of a place in the bosom of the Lord will not make us leave, so soon, this world that we know.
I’m not a pastor. I do not play one in Nollywood. But I can use one simple example in the Christian religion to illustrate what I mean when I say that for us all, heaven can wait.
The Bible is ambiguous about who goes to heaven. It says that it is not those who cry my Lord, my Lord that will make it to heaven; but those who do what God wants. What does God want? Apart from the obedience to the commandments, what does God want?
Well, His son, Jesus Christ, in the only prayer He taught says, He wants us to forgive others. “Forgive us our trespasses,” he says, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
I consider that a very dangerous prayer. By saying it, you are agreeing to be forgiven of your trespasses only when you forgive those who trespass against you.
So if you do not forgive those who trespass against you, there is no forgiveness for you.
You would think that with that, Christians would have forgiving hearts. But churches are full of men and women who carry decade old grudges yet, are hoping for forgiveness.
As if to buttress that point, the Christ stated that if you were at the door of the church with your thanksgiving offering and remember that you have not forgiven your brother or sister, you should drop your offering by the door. Christ asked that you should go and forgive your fellow human before you come to offer your thanks. If not your offerings will be a waste.
Pretty serious stuff, if you ask me.
We know all this. But we just cannot help it. Deep inside us, heaven can wait.
The call to be human is one heck of a call. We answer the call without a clear understanding of where we came from and where we are headed.
What am I saying? We are going to heaven.
To be exact, we hope to go to heaven. After all, heaven is not just God’s abode. It is a place where comfort is assured after the troubles of this life.
Because of that, a great many ideals of this life are designed to get us to heaven. Laws about goodness and evil are designed to take us to the place where good people go as a reward.  
We do not know when we shall be called to heaven. Whenever it happens, there is no way of knowing for sure that we shall be worthy of heaven. Only by His grace, the holy book says.
I, therefore, presume that the first question you will be asked in heaven is, did you ever live as if heaven can wait?
The only reason we do not commit every day of our lives to the pursuit of heaven is because of the other competing goal – the pursuit of happiness.
“We are all prompted by the same motives,” Samuel Johnson, the English writer noted. “All deceived by the same fallacies, all animated by hope, obstructed by danger, entangled by desire and seduced by pleasure.”
After looking at man and his environment, Thomas Jefferson, concluded that man has these inalienable rights- the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Together, the pursuit of these rights has overshadowed the pursuit of heaven.
Our attitude seems to be; let us enjoy ourselves now. Let us take care of this business of life first. Let us secure our life, liberty and happiness.
We pretend that heaven can wait, even when we know that it cannot.
Merry Christmas.

By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo OF Sahara Reporters

SUPERSTITIONS AND THE SORRY STATE OF TERTIARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Only last month, Western scientists successfully landed a robot on a comet. This feat was accomplished after 25 years of careful planning. The robot traveled 6.4 billion kilometers and took 10 years to reach the comet, which itself was moving at a speed of 56,000 km/hr (or 18km/s).

This is coming at a time when Nigerians are exporting religion and superstitions to the rest of the world; when our so called "men of God" assert that the cures for diseases are to be found in prayer houses rather than laboratories; when our universities have become the birthing places of pastors and imams; when we have become accustomed to pastors making extraordinary claims such as driving cars on empty tanks and resurrecting the dead; when the medieval belief in witchcraft and the practice of witch-hunting are ever so pervasive; when jihadists are engaged in a campaign of terror to spread sharia. I can go on and on.

A university is a place of enquiry and enlightenment but every year, impressionable young minds arrive on our university campuses hoping to be nurtured in the art and science of enquiry, the tool by which all progressive societies have advanced themselves; but instead, a great percentage of their university time is taken up by religious activities such as prayer meetings, night vigils, evangelism and so on, the result of which is that our universities have effectively become places for nurturing religious beliefs, superstitions and other fantastical ideas.
 Every year, our universities graduate people who teach and/or think that prayers can cure diseases, move the economy forward, fix our bad roads, choose good leaders etc. Rather than spend money on laboratories and research, our governments, persuaded by the belief in the efficacy of prayers, choose to build mosques and churches, and sponsor pilgrimages to Mecca and Jerusalem. The cure for malaria is in the laboratory, not mosques or churches. Some of our best minds abandon their original degrees and become peddlers of false hope, enriching themselves in the process.

If they lived up to their purpose, by now, one would expect our universities would have churned out generations of youth who are skeptics and critical thinkers. Sadly, that is not the case. Instead, we have science graduates who believe that cars can run on empty tanks (recall Pastor Adeboye and his famed journey from Ore to Lagos on an empty tank); that prayers routinely cure patients of diseases such as cancer, stroke, diabetes, Ebola, HIV/AIDS; that prayers can even resurrect the dead; that university examinations can be passed by anointing books, pencils, pens and other study materials with holy water, olive oil or handkerchiefs. These pastors (and imams) have corrupted our way of thinking.
 Does anyone still doubt, then, that superstitions and religion are the reins that hold back the progress of Nigeria, and the rest of Africa? No society with such deeply entrenched beliefs can expect to find cures for HIV, Malaria, Ebola, or to land robots on comets. It is this type of societies that habitually rely on foreign aid. Such societies do not innovate - at best, they borrow or pay for technology.
 I think that universities should be somewhere that people go, to not only acquire job skills but to also acquire the facility for critical and analytical thinking, and skepticism. By the time people have graduated from university, they should have shed off a considerable burden of ignorance and superstitions.

If we were to ever land robots on comets, then we must start with a change of mindset and attitudes. Superstitions will never get us anywhere productive. The current methods of instruction in our universities are no longer fit for purpose. Frankly, I have more faith in the social media as an instrument of change than in them. And make no mistakes, it will take a while until this damage is reversed because even university lecturers hold these preposterous beliefs and have no qualms in openly declaring them.
 Elections are right round the corner but I have heard very little said on education. The recurrent strikes are an issue, but they are only superficial. The rot is much deeper. It is in our minds and attitudes! 

By Dr. Ijabla Raymond

 

THE CHRISTIANITY OF FALSE HOPE

When you make God out to be different from who he actually is, he is bound to disappoint. Christians are losing faith in God every day because preachers are misrepresenting him. And God is not obligated to live up to the expectations that preachers have set him up to. That’s why many churches and preachers and theologians have been inadvertent agents of the devil; not because they necessarily planned for it that way but because they have presented their distorted version of who God is to Christians.
Some prominent preachers I know will call Christians, traitors or weaklings, who have been disappointed by God not living up to their expectations (expectations often set by these same charismatic, tongue-talking, sleek used car salesman type pastors). As a result, people begin to doubt themselves and their faith because they don’t get the same results that these men of God claimed that God would give them.  
Misdirection is the central secret of all magic. It is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another. When preachers teach you that a particular way is the will of God while they take advantage of you in some form, you have fallen victim to misdirection. Let us examine this thesis further. Have you come across Christian programs like "Give me a husband or I die” or “Anointing for Financial Breakthrough”. There are a plethora of conferences, seminars and books that present topics like these daily, in one form or the other and in your face all across Nigeria. Making christians feel like they are somehow inadequate because they are not married or that they must not have faith because they are not rich is creating a lot of problems and breeding unrealistic expectations from the God of the Bible. Jesus talked about those who were born Eunuchs, those who were made Eunuchs and those who chose to live their lives like Eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom. Paul suggested that Christians should be unmarried like him. Christians marrying out of church pressure are a major contribution to the growing dissatisfaction, separation and divorce in Christian marriages. Concerning money, Jesus said, “Be careful to guard against all forms of greed, because even if someone is rich, his life does not consist in what he owns.” Apostle Paul said, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want”. These are outdated messages in the church that have been updated by new ostensibly biblical doctrines. 
These seemly innocent doctrines work to the advantage of preachers by creating an itch that only they are positioned to scratch. So they make Christians believe that God wants them to be instant millionaires or that He will make them an instant success in their field or some other blessing. So by taping into their listener's greed and showing that God will satisfy it, pastors make themselves the “drug-dealers" of God’s blessing. So when asked to give sacrificially, church people give but not for the sake of the Kingdom. How many modern day Nigerian Pentecostal Charismatic Christians would give sacrificially if the only reward was that someone else would give their lives to Christ. Few really care about other people getting saved anymore, but they give so that God can bless them. Some Christians will go as far as to borrow to give while being egged on by their preacher, brainwashed that somehow if the man of God has spoken the blessing, God has spoken it. Cultivating unrealistic expectations and inspiring false hope through testimonies while fleecing the congregation on a weekly basis in the name of God, preachers have enriched themselves immensely. The New Pentecostal Charismatic christian is no less brainwashed than a Boko Haram terrorist who believes he’s going to get 70 virgins in heaven after taking theirs and other innocent lives.
Christianity today is so much about personal desire. And when God doesn’t answer the prayers of brainwashed church goers, they resort to lying, stealing and cheating to look the part, living hypocritical lives so that they appear like they are living up to the expectations taught by their pastors. Pastors and born again christians in Nigeria have become some of the worst people to do business with. After scamming you, they would come to Church to give testimonies. True story: a friend of mine, Benjamin, was at a church convention in Enugu. There, Benjamin and his wife saw their friend go up stage to give a testimony about how God had blessed her with a N163million government contract after sowing a sacrificial seed of N1million into the ministry the previous year. Benjamin and his wife met up with their friend after service and congratulated her heartily for such a great breakthrough. A few months later, he found that his friend, the woman that gave the testimony, had impersonated his company to get the contract she testified about and now the FIRS is asking him to pay N8million in taxes; taxes for a contract he did not execute. Two years going, with millions of naira spent on legal fees and sundry, Benjamin is still fighting for his innocence. Sometimes I feel there’s going to be a special kind of hell for many of today’s Christians and pastors. God have mercy on us all. 
Preachers now teach Christians different formulas to receive from God: 5 steps to walking in your divine inheritance; 7 Mysteries for getting God to answer your prayers and so on. It is weird because these are not the examples Jesus gave us, neither are they the examples shown to us by the Apostles of God in the Bible. It's as if God is a genie in the lamp and His sole purpose of existence to grant us our wishes. Contrary to this, Jesus was actually setup by God to be tempted of the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1). After being hungry for 40 days and nights, his first temptation was to turn stone to bread. Apparently, having the spirit without measure, he could do this but did not. He did not let his appetite get the better of him. And even though he had the power to change his situation, he was not going to be led by the devil but by God. The Spirit of God does not always lead you into financial breakthrough or plenty, preachers who tell you otherwise are charlatans.
Some clever theologians who have re-framed the gospel make it difficult for people to argue against them. This, because they use the claim to the blessings of God as the basis of fleecing their audience. Because they are specially anointed to heal, bless, prophecy etc, if you give them an offering, God will release the blessings in his hands for you. Thief! To argue against them like I have done would seem to suggest that God cannot or does not heal, or cannot or does not provide, or cannot or does not bless. And these will be untrue, because God does heal, provide and protect, gives spouses and a whole range of other blessings. However, the level of importance or sometimes relevance of these blessings is highly misplaced. We have put the cart before the horse and have begun seeking blessings before the Kingdom of God, with many churches foolishly ratifying this un-Christlike approach. Furthermore, the ways in which many popular preachers say God blesses and many of the methods by which they say he does it are unbiblical at least and sometimes downright diabolical. On one end of the spectrum you have the really prideful preacher who speaks with an outstanding level of cockiness which he calls boldness. His words are law; God spoke it himself and therefore cannot be refuted. On the other end, there’s the soft spoken but equally dangerous preacher who convinces you by his seeming humility. Selling poison loudly or softly doesn’t make it less poisonous is all I’m saying. "Godliness with contentment is great gain" has been changed to “pride and financial success is great gain". Church is also where you get the “Do you know who I am ?" syndrome. I am Bishop so and so. I am deaconess so and so. I am chief so and so. God spoke to me in an 18-hour long vision, therefore I am something special. What remarkable humility? What outstanding meekness, right? 
Unfortunately, Pentecostal Charismatic preachers are the biggest quasi-legal scammers I know. These days, I am personally wary of any person who introduces himself to me by any Christian title such as Deacon, Deaconess, Pastor, Bishop, Prophet etc, especially among the Nigerian community in America. Immediately my mind thinks thief and untrustworthy. Sadly, I have been proven right too many times. I have stories and I know that I am not the only one but I gain nothing by publicly discrediting these people. There are obviously good, honest and godly Christian leaders out there too but all I am saying is, be alert. 
A successful pastor in the capital city of Nigeria once wrote me and said, it’s church people that are forcing pastors to act like big men because if they don’t behave like that, church members will disrespect them and grace will not flow. First of all, that’s a load of bull. This puts those pastors in the company of King Saul, who disobeyed God and blamed it on the people, and Adam who ate the forbidden fruit and blamed it on the woman. This is not good company to be categorized with. I implore preachers to go back to the Bible, to first of all live by it and then preach what it actually says and stop this gospel that makes them out to be superstar celebrities of some sort. They should stop setting God up to disappoint his people because in many cases, he is not who, what or how they say he is. 
Everyone who wishes to serve God and is not benefitting from the on-going global scam of false christianity should go and read their Bibles, especially the New Testament as it pertains to the followers of Christ. Some of you are swayed by my argument but I hope rather that many more of you will be skeptical. Because if you are, it should make you search out the truth from the Bible by yourself and then you’ll know the truth for yourself and not some misguided misinterpretation. If you don’t, somebody else, most probably the preacher who is currently scamming you in your church is going to give you another seemingly sound argument. This may cause you to be confused or fall into their deception all over again. There are no spiritual grandchildren in Christ Jesus, we all are joint heirs in Christ and have direct access to God. Don’t believe me? Read your Bible.
I believe in Christ and I believe there is a real God of the Bible; He has just stopped attending church service because many of the people who claim to represent Him have replaced Him with themselves. 

By Adetoye Oremosu

WHICH GOD IS THE FATHER OF JESUS?

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ does not send people to steal, kill and destroy. Is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ behind the wars, massacres and genocide of the Jews in the Old Testament? Certainly not! God says “love your enemies;” he does not say annihilate them. Jesus’ Father is merciful; and “he does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17). As a matter of fact, “his mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1). Solomon says: “the path of the just is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18). Even so, the bible provides progressive revelations of the character of God. However, in the person of Jesus, we finally have the true full expression. Jesus says: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father… The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:9-11).

Prince of peace

The psalmist says: “Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” (Psalm 144:1). But this is contrary to the Lord revealed in Jesus. Jesus insists citizens of the kingdom of God do not fight. He says: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews.” (John 18:36). Children of God do not even resist evil people. (Matthew 5:39).

God did not intend the Israelites to have an army or to stockpile weapons. Israel’s king was forbidden from amassing horses; required in those days for going into battle. (Deuteronomy 17:16). Moses told the Israelites initially: “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14). But soon, they were the ones fighting for the Lord. Nevertheless, the position of God remained constant: “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots.”(Micah 5:10).

This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.” (Zechariah 4:6). Accordingly, God’s plan was to give the Promised Land to Israel without a fight. He said: “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.” (Exodus 23:27-28). But the Israelites preferred to be war-mongers like other nations. Therefore, they pursued their own military agenda. This meant fighting wars. Judges says: “When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates.” (Judges 5:8).

Jewish fables

Paul said to Titus: “Pay no attention to Jewish myths.” (Titus 1:14). Indeed, many biblical stories of Jewish conquests are fictitious. Victims of Jewish genocide did not stay in the grave. Moses allegedly exterminated the Midianites: “They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man.”(Numbers 31:7). But the Midianites later resurrected as rulers of the Israelites: “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.” (Judges 6:1). The Amalekites were “terminators;” destroyed again and again. When Joshua overcame them, the Lord allegedly said to Moses: “I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 17:13-14). However, every time they were “annihilated,” they would mysteriously later come back to life: “David and his men arrived back at Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided southern Judah and attacked Ziklag.” (1 Samuel 30:1). Furthermore, the ruthless ethnic-cleansing of Canaan turned out to be no more than Jewish fables. Wars said to have been successfully concluded under Joshua only started after his death. (Judges 1:1-2). In most cases, the Israelites could not dislodge the original inhabitants of the land. (Judges 1:19-36).

Thieves and robbers

The prophets were against Jewish glorification of blood-letting. Habakkuk declares woe on those “who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!” (Habakkuk 2:12). Isaiah maintains: “The indignation of the LORD is against all nations, and his fury against all their armies.” (Isaiah 34:2). It is the blind who lead the blind to war. When the earth is finally full of the knowledge of God; Isaiah predicts: “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4).

Moses’ wife was a Midianite. Nevertheless, he said the Lord told him to tell the Israelites: “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them.” (Numbers 25:16). However, Jesus contradicts Moses by saying: “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44-45). This shows Moses did not really know the Father in heaven and his directives did not come from God. Jesus repudiates Moses’ doctrine of retributive justice. He says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:38-39). He says furthermore: “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33).

Jesus confounds the whole biblical folklore of Jewish massacres and land-expropriation. He says: “All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.” (John 10:7-8). According to Jesus, God does not send people to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10). On the contrary: he is the resurrection and the giver of life. (John 11:25). When James and John wanted to command fire from heaven like Elijah to consume a Samaritan village that denied them free passage, Jesus rebuked them. He said to them: “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” (Luke 9:55-56).

 True bread

Some Israelites thought they were sons of Abraham, but Jesus told them the devil was actually their father. (John 8:44). Before Jesus came, men essentially second-guessed God and created him in their own image. Therefore, only after Jesus’ faithful witness could we come to the true knowledge of God. Accordingly, Jesus maintains: “No one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:22). The Father of Jesus is not a Jewish tribal God: “’The LORD, the God of the Hebrews. (Exodus 3:18). He is: “The LORD, the God of all mankind.” (Jeremiah 32:27). Indeed, Jesus says: “Many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12).

By Femi Aribisala

THE NIGERIAN CHURCH IS LOSING IT'S PURPOSE

There has been a lot of tittle-tattle lately as well as so many discordant tunes on the propriety or otherwise of jets and gifts to pastors and men of God. The debates have been loud and raucous with so many people speaking from a position of little or no information. A lot of emotive vibes and outrage, for or against the perceived or real manipulations by men who supposedly have been given charge over the souls of millions, has become public fodder. Everyone appears to be venting their spleen wherever you turn.

Hosea 4:7-9
New King James Version (NKJV)
7
“The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8
They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.
9
And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds.

But what exactly should we do or say? Supporters of ostentatious and obviously manipulative men of the cloak are quick to put the critics in check by quoting “touch not mine anointed” lines ostensibly to show that men of “God” are above reproach and as such “lesser” men have no right whatsoever to criticize or condemn perceived wrong doings of these high men of “God.” But is this the case? Are these men truly above reproach? Is it biblical for the “under shepherd” to feed fat on the flock while the flock groans and hopes for a better day? All these we shall examine in this piece. Let me appeal that this treatise may exceed the usual length allowed for articles on this blog as it comes laden with supporting Bible passages, but I assure you, it will be worth your while. Take a sip of water and follow me patiently.
And plead with your boss at work to learn from it as well if he frowns at you. Who knows, your boss may have unwittingly contributed to purchasing a Limo, Hummer or Private Jet for his Pastor lately.
Christianity was first brought to the shores of Nigeria by the European missionaries in the early 1800s. When they came, they built hospitals and schools. In fact, many Nigerians aged late thirties and above, were products of missionary schools, which were either free or came with negligible or paltry school fees. The early missionaries and churches in Nigeria were predicated on love and social services to their immediate communities. Many people in the age range I quoted above got quality education and even health care, courtesy of missionaries and churches.
But fast forward to the present day. Church members are coerced to part with money they barely have, with either a promise of God blessing them in return or with stern warnings of perpetual poverty or even threatened with the danger of hell if they refuse to give “cheerfully”. God’s blessing in church today is now for sale and even your offering must be spoken to, so that it can bring forth plenty harvest.
(remember our local priests “babalawo” have a culture of asking clients to rub their bodies with monies and ask for whatever they wish for).
As a matter of fact, a particular church I know, a few years ago had a special offering called ‘dominion jet offering’, where adherents were made to donate towards the “ministry’s” jet only for the jet to be converted for the use of the self styled Bishop later. *My lips are sealed*
In the course of my research, I discovered that a teacher’s son in a secondary school of one of these various prosperity promising centers, who lives in the church enclave, could not afford to send his son to the school, as a teacher and also amember of the church. His son was rather sent to school in a nearby town.
The modern Nigerian church tasks it’s members to donate towards various projects such as universities and elitist secondary schools, but curiously, the poorer members of such prosperity centers can neither send their wards or kids to such schools, neither do the churches have a program to cater for the poor amongst their flock.
Unlike the early missionaries who accommodated both the rich and poor in their schools, it is no longer business as usual for the poor. You either sow and get rich so that your children can also benefit from the schools built by the church you attend or find a lesser alternative, while hoping for a better day! The Church has become a class conscious body.
The passage in Act 4:34-35 which Reads: “(34) Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, (35) and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.” has been totally ignored. In Nigeria’s contrivances of prosperity churches, it is survival of the fittest, elimination of the “poor” or unfit. How wonderful, won’t you say? No longer are we our brother’s keeper. Like 50 Cent, we have resolved in churches to get rich or die trying.
We have been told that prosperity is a sign of God’s favor to his own people, but after reading and studying the lives of great men of God– men who brought great revivals in their time– I had to ask if Jonathan Edwards, a man who preached and thousands wept to the altar in one day, yet he wasn’t rich, or Smith Wiggleswort, a plumber whom God used to heal many sick and raised a lot of dead men, yet wasn’t stupendously rich, were missing a trick. Tozer, John Wesley etc were great men of God, who neither built castles nor owned the choicest properties in their time, but they made such differences in the body of Christ so much so that till this day, their works still speak for them. Unlike our spirito-christian magicians, these men lived simple lives, but turned many around towards righteous and holy living. Their time was termed the period of the great revival in history.
Severally we have been reprimanded to “touch not mine anointed” but is this the correct application of this scripture? In which context was this phrase used? It is found in Psalm 105:15 and was repeated in 1Chronicles 16:22. That passage was written to praise the works of God when he took out Israel out of Egypt and saved them from harm, even though they were few. It was never about a pastor or a leader, it was written to praise God in taking care of a called out people. Anointed vessels are men who allow God to do his bidding through them.
Note that those people who must do his bidding must be “called out” and what is the “church”? It simply means “the called out ones”. Therefore that Passage can also mean “touch not the church”. Do NOT be deceived, it was never written to protect or immune “penterascality” or ‘pastopreneurs’ from criticism. It was written as a mark or seal of God’s protection upon his chosen ones.
The concept of giving and speaking to your money to work for you is another strange doctrine that has been introduced to make unsuspecting and unlearned Christians to part with their money without question.
Several times they have called this subtle extortion mechanism: ‘seed’, claiming the passage of seed time and harvest in Genesis 8:22. But God was not using seed figuratively. It was a definite and correct use. In fact he said; the summer, winter etc shall not cease. You don’t pay for God’s blessings. Obed edom was blessed in 2 Samuel 6:10-12 not because he paid God aspecial seed but because the presence of God dwelt within him and his household.
Unlike the short-cut pay and receive theology of our modern day pastors, God’s blessings dwell securely in his presence. It is better to live holy and have God on your side, than give plenty, while continuing in sin.
There is nothing wrong in showering your pastors with gifts, but let’s look at some biblical examples of men that God used mightily. Were they louts, who busied themselves with soliciting gifts or were they men who had reasonable sources of income? Amos was a great prophet but hear him in Amos 7:14-15:
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and agatherer of sycomore fruit:
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, ‘Go, prophesy unto my people Israel’.
And let’s look at Paul, one of the greatest apostles who ever lived. Acts 18:1-3:
18 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
He was a tent maker. He HAD A JOB. He was no lout neither was he a beggar or a manipulator. His hands provided for his needs.
I wish to bring a few scriptures to light in Philippians 3:18-19 18
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
and 2 Timothy 3:1-2 3:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
It is very clear that we are approaching the last days and like Jesus said, “shall I find faith on earth”? It a question we all should ponder on. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of your Christian faith? Is it to serve God or marmon? Is amassing worldly cash and acquiring worldly goods the reason Christ died on the cross? Do not get me wrong, being prosperous in not a sin, but it is written in 2Timothy 2:4:
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And in Colosians 2:9, we read:
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead, bodily.
If God is genuinely sought, he will be found. Having the presence of God dwelling in you is a guarantee of his fulness. The rate at which wrong doctrines are taught and imbibed is alarming and this is a pointer to alarming biblical illiteracy levels among Christians. As God said, ‘like people like priests’.
1Peter 4:17 17:
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins with us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”.
What is the gospel of God? I doubt if it means amassing wealth or accumulating worldly goods. Pastors must be careful in fleecing the flock as it is written that The souls of those in their care will be required of them.
Our peculiar situation shows clearly that there are fundamental flaws in the teachings of the church as written in our opening scripture. Hosea, as quoted above, suggests that as the priests (pastors, bishops, archbishops, General overseers etc) are increasing, so is iniquity and sin on the rise. Looking at Nigeria today, we have a church in almost every corner, yet the crime and immorality rates are rising exponentially.
It is time for the men of GOD to face their true calling which is preaching the gospel. But if they persist in milking the flock, God said he will use even stones, to achieve his aims, if men refuse to do his bidding.
Study the scriptures and be diligent. Do not let a man created in ‘like-passions’ pull a wool over your eyes in the name of God.
A lie can travel very fast in time, but in one swift moment, the truth will pursue, overtake and annihilate it. There is too much hot air emanating from our pulpits, but where is the fire of revival?

By Ayobami Oyalowo 
I can be engaged on twitter @Ayourb