Meizon Ministries Blog

Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills. How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women! Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead. (2Sam.1:25-27).

That was the heart cry of David when Jonathan died.  The death of Jonathan was heart-wrenching. The more I study the life of Jonathan and his death, the more I tend to question the rationale for such a sad end to a melodious song.

The life of Jonathan was like an anti-climax.  The big question that is begging for an answer is, Why did he die? We shall take a peek into the life of Jonathan and then see why he died.

Who is Jonathan?

Jonathan was the eldest son of King Saul. His name, in Hebrew, means, Jehovah-given.  If Saul had a dynasty, Jonathan would be the heir apparent.  Jonathan was a son who loved his father to a fault.  And that credit goes to his father, Saul, who though failed as King, was obviously successful as a father.  He succeeded in winning the heart and loyalty of Jonathan.  Jonathan said of his father, “…  He always tells me everything he’s going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so!” (I Sam.20:2).  What a confidence!  Although in this instance he was wrong, his father hid from him the desire to kill David, but this one-off event did not make Jonathan lose confidence in his father.

What a loveliness!

What made Jonathan so lovely?  Let’s look at a few characteristics of this man, Jonathan.

1. He feared God.

What is the mark of the fear of God?  The fear of God means a reverent awe that conquers the soul in submission to the One we reverence.  It is not the fear of God if that reverence has not conquered your soul.  When a person’s soul is conquered in awe, the person cries out, “Lord, not my will, but thine be done.”

Such was the situation that Jonathan was faced with.  The heir apparent (to the throne of Saul) relinquished his rights to the throne and visibly supported David, just because he (Jonathan) understood that David was God’s choice.  That was the difference between Saul and Jonathan.  Saul knew that David was God’s choice, he fought against it; but Jonathan knew David was God’s choice, he supported him.

2.He was humble

What is the mark of humility?  Humility is clearly manifest when a person deliberately takes a position that is beneath his or her dignity, without complaining, grumbling or feeling of displeasure.  In this story, that Jonathan, the natural heir apparent, was playing the second fiddle, is clear manifestation of humility.  Jonathan was much older than David, but he submitted to David when he (Jonathan) saw the hand of God upon David. Churches and Christian Ministries today need leaders like Jonathan. They need those who so much fear God that they are willing to submit to the move of God.

3. He was benevolent

A benevolent man is good to people.  Jonathan showed kindness to David.  When David cried for the death of Jonathan, it was because of the kindness of Jonathan to David.  (1 Sam.20). How much appreciation is enough for a man who saved your life from death? What reward is sufficient?  Such was the wonder of David whom Jonathan saved from the hands of Saul the King.    David was waiting for that appropriate time when it would be his turn to show Jonathan kindness, but it never came.  David felt indebted to Jonathan for his (Jonathan’s) love and kindness.

4. He was victorious in his military campaign

God favored Jonathan by giving him victories.  When everything that Saul touched produced failure, Jonathan was the otherwise.  Victory for Israel came through Jonathan (I Sam.13:1-4, 14:1-15).  He commanded some troops under the overall command of his father.  He fought for Israel.

5. He was a loyalist

Jonathan is such a personality that a Church leader would like to have in his leadership team.  He knew the weaknesses of his father, yet he stood with him.  He disagreed with his father only on matters that relate to David, but he did not allow that to define his loyalty to his father.  Lamenting about Saul and Jonathan, David said, “The bow of Jonathan was powerful, and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. They shed the blood of their enemies and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes. How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! They were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.” (2 Sam.1:22-23).  What a loyalty!

Then the error

A man of such sterling qualities why would he die along with Saul, the backslidden King?  Jonathan died for a few reasons one of which is that he had knowledge but lacked wisdom.  He possessed accurate information but lacked the will power.  He passed the test of possession of information but failed at the critical point, namely, Decision.

Wisdom is the ability to possess accurate information and using that information to achieve the desired positive ends.  The mark of wisdom is the ability to escape snares.  A wise man foresees evil and hides his head. Proverbs 22:3 says, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”  Jonathan suffered the consequences of evil he did not commit.

Moses instructed the Israelites to move when the cloud moves, and stay when the cloud stays.  Jonathan understood that the Cloud is with David, but he stayed with his father, and so reaped the judgment by association.

Why did Jonathan not quit his father’s army and follow David?  That singular inability to totally follow the move of God caused him his life in due course.

Lesson for today

The subject of this article is, “Oh Jonathan, why would you die?”  It carries the connotation that there are Jonathans today who are headed to the same judgment hall as the Biblical Jonathan.  But, you can reverse your course today and avoid this judgment by association.

There are Christians whose eyes God has opened to the move of His Spirit.  These Christians are serving “Saul” as it were; they are serving faithfully in Organizations and Ministries that obviously have lost touch with Divine realities.  These Christians know the truth; they possess accurate information, and they secretly support the move of God in the lives of other Christians, but they themselves find it too difficult, inconceivable to change location. It is to such believers that this message is meant.  You have to take a decision either to stay and reap judgment by association or else relocate and be rewarded.

Follow the Cloud!

 

 

Have you ever been identified by your past sins or mistakes?  Mr. John is describing you to Mr. James.  Mr. James could not recollect until Mr. John said, “… that one who did …”, or “… don’t you remember that brother who was caught in …”  The sin you committed or the mistake you made becomes your identity.

There is good news for you.  Your sin is not your identity.  It is for this reason that Jesus died. The Word of God declares,

“For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, ‘This is the new 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.’ Then he says, ‘I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.’ And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.” (Heb.10:14-18).

Wow! God decided He will never again remember your sins and lawlessness.  The only sin you may be identified with is the sin you have not confessed and repented of.  John says,

“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” (1 John 1:8-10).

God does not remember Peter’s denial

What is as bad as public denial of one’s master?  Jesus Himself declared that public denial of faith in Him carries consequences.

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” (Matt.10:32-33).

Peter crossed that red line.

“Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, ‘You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.’   But Peter denied it in front of everyone. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said.

Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. ‘I don’t even know the man,’ he said.

A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, ‘You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.’  Peter swore, ‘A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!’ And immediately the rooster crowed.” (Matt.26:69-74).

Did you notice the sequence?  The first time it was a mere, verbal denial; the second time it was an oath; and the third time he cursed himself if ever he knew Jesus. That was a complete public denial of Jesus Christ.

But, he repented.  Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly. (Matt.26:75).

For Peter, his denial of Jesus Christ was public, but his repentance was private.  Although he sinned, he never hardened his heart against the Word of God.  He allowed the Word of Jesus to convict and convert his heart.  When he made that U-turn, and returned to his faith in Christ, he became one of the pillars of the Gospel.  God never remembered his sins any more.

God never remembered the sins of Saul

Do you still remember Saul of Tarsus, who later became Paul the Apostle?  Saul was a murderer.  He persecuted the saints; he masterminded the persecution and death of Stephen.  He was fuming with rage against the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-5). But, when he gave his life to Jesus Christ, a new page opened, a page that was not stained with the dirt of his past life.

 

We can see in Saul who later became Paul, and Peter that God, when He has forgiven, does not remember our sins any more, whether we are sinners turned saints or saints who sinned or suffered character failure and repented.

Please do not remember

If God does not remember, why do we make it our responsibility to torture somebody with the memory of the past?  Why do we still identify people with their past sins and mistakes?  A Christian who never forgets the sins and trespasses of people is working in the ways of the ungodly.

Dear Christian, could you make it a practice to see people just as God sees them?  Would you like to make a commitment today to always identify people with their positives, and not their negatives?

May God grant us the grace to be sources of encouragement and hope, instead of discouragement and despair, in the name of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

Have you been provocatively tempted lately to slam the door on your son or daughter, whether biological or spiritual? Hold it there! Don’t slam that door.

Often, the people we love do not measure up to our expectations. You have advised, interceded, admonished, chastised, etc., yet it seems your efforts are not yielding positive fruits.  You are, therefore, tempted to slam the door.  You want to shut him or her out. No. Do not take that decision.

There is a parallel in the Scriptures

1 Samuel 12 – The Israelites had sinned against God by asking for a king, when God was their King. Samuel presented their faults to them when he was commissioning the king they chose.  Samuel gave the indictment:

“Now stand here and see the great thing the LORD is about to do. You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the LORD to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the LORD for a king!”

So, Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the LORD and of Samuel. “Pray to the LORD your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.” (verses 16-18).

But, God did not slam the door.  When the people realized how much they had offended God, and Samuel, being aware of the tendency for Israel to drift further in despondency and self-condemnation,  Samuel admonished them not to drift further.

“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the LORD with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! The LORD will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the LORD to make you his very own people.” (verses 20-22).

For the Children of God, the admonition is – do not give up on yourself and drift further into ungodliness; instead return to God irrespective of how much you have drifted; He will never give up on you. Come back!

In this story God modelled fatherhood.  A faithful father does not give up on his children irrespective of their failures.  So, do not slam that door!

So, why did God slam the door in the days of Noah?

Yes, God Himself shut the door of the Ark, but that situation is different.  In the days of Noah God shut the door to those who rejected Him. Gen.6:11-13 reads,

“Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So, God said to Noah, ‘I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!’”

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.” (Gen.6:1).

“That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons … then the LORD closed the door behind them.” (Gen.6:13-16).

In judgment God saved the righteous man and his family, and shut the Ark against the unrighteous; but,  in 1 Samuel 12 God was dealing with His Children, those whom He has chosen. Samuel said,

“The LORD will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the LORD to make you his very own people.” (1 Samuel 12:22).

Is God Partial?

You may say God is partial.  No, He is not.  There is a difference between those who have deliberately rejected the Word of God and those who, although have come to God, still struggle with sins and unfaithfulness.  The former category are not members of God’s family, but the later category are God’s Children.

God is compassionate toward His Children even if they stumble.  God’s love cry to all His Children who are struggling with sin and unfaithfulness is, Do Not Drift Further! Come back!!

No matter how far you have drifted, return to God today.  No matter how sinful you are; no matter how wicked you have been, do not turn your back on God, rather, return.  God will not slam the door on you.

The same admonition goes to every father, mother, spiritual leader, and everyone else who is in a mentoring position.  If you have been tempted to walk away and slam the door, rescind that decision.  Do not slam the door.

I pray for everyone who would read this and find it applicable.  For everyone who has drifted and are about to fall over the cliff, I pray that God would grant you the heart to turn around and return to the Lord your Saviour; and for everyone who is about to slam the door, I pray that the Lord would strengthen your spirit and grant you the grace to love your own to the end.

Amen.

 

 

One of the challenges of our time is the difficulty to find people who can tell you the truth.  Often, it is not that people around you do not know what is right, although that is the case sometimes, rather they are sensitive to whom you have made them believe you are.

Some people have created the atmosphere around them that would make it difficult for anybody to tell them the truth.  You are their enemy if you do not support their course.  To criticize their plans and actions is to set yourself at variance with them.  They believe that their friends should support them in whatever they do.  This is a twisted view of friendship.

This self-centered malady is human.  Human beings are naturally wired to be self-defensive; deflective, and self-exonerating.  That is why when we have messed up we look for someone else to blame.  It is difficult for the human nature to admit own faults, errors, especially publicly, and constructively address it.  This is the reason that one of the marks of maturity is the ability to admit own faults, errors, misdeeds and address them constructively.

The main reason friends and relatives shy away from telling you the truth about you is that they do not want to offend you.  The strong desire to receive approval and maintain the company of relatives and friends often makes people handicapped to tell  the truth.

We also tend to drawn the voice within that keeps telling us we need to change.  Many people over-indulge in social activities just for the purpose of silencing the inner voice.  They hate to hear that voice within that tells them how deceptive, how wicked, how inhumane they are, and keep telling them to change.

So, systematically we shut off the voice of reason within as well as checks and balances from friends, relatives and neighbors, and that sets us up on a precipice that it would take a Divine intervention to escape from.

Prov.29:1 “If you keep being stubborn after many warnings, you will suddenly discover you have gone too far.” (Contemporary English Bible)

After many rebukes, the stiff-necked man will be broken incurably, without any warning. (ISV).

When we are set on that dangerous precipice, destruction is inevitable.  It may be delayed, but it would definitely come.

Note the following:

3. If you have a person who always tells you, “Johnny stop that; don’t do that rubbish, it is utterly wrong….” Value that person; he or she is the gift of God to you.
4. If you have a conscience that would always prick you when you do wrong; it disturbs you when everyone else is praising you; thank God for such a conscience. It is the voice of God within you, do not silence it.
5. If you have a friend who can look you straight into the eyes and tell you, “…this idea of yours is wrong …. your action was stupid, apologize…” cherish him or her; s/he is a true friend.

What if there were no warning signs for drivers?  There would have been so many more accidents; deaths and destruction.

What if a person ignores the signal giving by his own body? You are having pains in certain areas of your body and ignore it. Or,  you are having constant chest pain and you think is nothing. Or, this migraine never stops, but you always take a pain killer and move on to your daily tasks. Is that not disaster purchased, awaiting delivery?

Similarly, do not silence that voice.  Do not create such an atmosphere that would make people be afraid to telling you the truth about you. if you do, you have purchased a disaster that is awaiting delivery. You know that a man’s destruction is predetermined and certain when he can no longer listen to the voice of correction.

The Scripture is full of warning signals, instructions and guidance. Do not throw them away.  Do not wrestle with them in your hearts.  Those warnings are meant to keep you safe.

Our prayer should be. “Lord, do not let that voice cease.”  Do not take away from me the voice of correction, rebuke, admonition in truth and indictment when I am wrong.

May God grant you the heart that listens so that, like Isaiah, you can say,  “The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away.” (Isaiah 50:4-5).

 

 

You would expect Christians to quickly recognize the voice of God in a prophet or minister, but the reality is not the case.  In this final part, we will consider what could make believers miss the message of God.

In parts one to three we discussed the definition and description of prophecies; we saw in the ministry of Prophet Jeremiah how the message of a prophet could be misinterpreted, rejected and the prophet himself, probably persecuted.

Why people misjudge prophecies

Some of the reasons why people misjudge prophecies are, corrupted minds and ignorance of the Scriptures.

a)     Corrupted Mind

A believer’s mind is corrupted when he fails the test of sincerity, honesty, integrity, and uprightness.  A corrupted mind seeks his way, but not denouncing God vocally. Other priorities occupy his heart, much more than the desire to please God.  His public worship is a façade to cascade inner rot, depravity, insincerity, and sometimes, waywardness.  He is a backslider in heart, but a Christian professor in the public.  When a Christian slips into this quagmire, he becomes a hypocrite in chief.

Such was the case of Ahab.  Ahab’s prophets were the Apostles of “God bless you … It is well” prophecies.  Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to follow the example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him. (1 Kings 16:30-33).

Despite the corruption of his heart, he still wanted “God bless you, God is with you” prophecies.  He got one, but a deception.

So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?”  They all replied, “Yes, go right ahead! The Lord will give the king victory.” (1 Kings 8:6)

But, one king was not satisfied; Jehoshaphat.  The Bible says in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every matter be established.  Here are 400 witnesses, yet a servant of God could sense that God was not speaking.  Jehoshaphat tuned to his spirit.  He lost confidence in this multitude of prophets; he was seeking for the voice of a genuine prophet.

The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “There is one more man who could consult the LORD for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” (1Kings 22:8).

Why did he hate the prophet? An unrighteous king desires to have “God bless you, God is with you” kind of prophecies. Although 400 prophets sold out, one refused to be corrupted.

Friends, how many prophets of God today have been corrupted by the Ahabs of this world?  They know that the king is evil, but they do not have the confidence to rebuke him.  They do not want to risk losing their social and political recognition, invitation to the seat of power, generous donation from the political class, etc. But, just as it was in the days of Ahab, there are still some Micaiahs today who would not hesitate to tell the king that a lying spirit has taken over his prophets.

Deception thrives among Christians when they have corrupted their hearts, seeking their own ways, never giving attention to words of rebukes and correction.  When a Christian preoccupies his heart with his own pleasure, his spiritual eyes and ears become corrupted that he would scarcely differentiate a lie from the truth.

b)    Ignorance of the Word of God

One vice leads to the other.  Ignorance of the Word of God sometimes makes people to block their hearts; while corruption of the heart also makes believers not to understand the Word of God.  Jesus rebuked the Sadducees and said unto them, “You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. “ (Matt.22:29).

People wallow in error and deception when they do not understand the Scriptures.  Ignorance of the Scriptures is the main reason why soothsayers, cultists, and every other prognosticator who manages to give accurate prediction is called a prophet.  It is for this same reason that merchandizing of the Gospel has progressed from being tolerated to being coveted in Christendom.  A man of God is known by the fleet of cars he has, his entourage, the capacity of his auditorium, the crowd he pulls, and his commanding influence in the political realm.  Subtly, the once abhorrent has become the cherished; while the once coveted has become the relegated.  All because the people of God do not understand the Scriptures.

There are Churches today where Pastors have deliberately refused to rebuke, reprove of sin, or demand attitudinal rectitude from the erring members of the congregation for the fear that some people could be offended or leave the Church.  Such Churches, like Ahab, have conditioned themselves to receive nothing else but “God bless you … God is with you” kind of prophecies.  How can such ministers and their congregation accurately discern the voice of God?

God speaks to the humble

Thus says the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

For all those things has my hand made, and all those things have been, says the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word.

He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck; he that offers a grain offering, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burns incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.

I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.  (Isaiah 66:1-4).

God said that the man He would consider is that man who is poor in heart and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at God’s Word. The word, contrite, means, smitten, broken, wounded, or crushed. To be contrite in spirit means to be broken in spirit; remorseful, repentant, and vile in one’s own eyes.  God’s reprove causes a contrite man to weep in repentance, and turn away from ungodliness.  That soul who seeks to hear prophecies of good things when his ways are not right, is an abomination to God.  He would, like Ahab, not be able to appreciate the prophecies of Micaiahs of today.

Just as Ahab punished Micaiah by banishing him into prison, so also have the genuine prophets today been castigated by the news media, scorned by the Church Establishment, and branded prophets of doom.  By so doing, many Christians have shut their ears to the voice of God.

On the other hand, contrition is not supposed to make a believer gullible.  This is where the understanding of the Scriptures play a vital role.  But, like Jehoshaphat who could sense that God was absent in the voice of 400 prophets, the genuine saints of God would not be satisfied by the voice of multitude of preachers and teachers today; they would listen for the voice of God, and God would guide them and keep them from deception.

Summary

If Christians would learn to judge what they hear by the Scriptures and by the Holy Spirit, there would be less patronage of these merchants of prophecies; neither will they be like Ahab who hated a genuine prophet of God just because his prophecies were judgmental.  It is important Christians learnt how to judge prophecies because being contrite or rebellious depends on the believers’ ability to know who sent the message. There is no shortcut to achieving accuracy in judging prophecies, except through spiritual maturity.

Points for meditation

1. Can you accurately sense the absence of God’s voice despite multitude of prophets who are echoing the same thing? With Christendom awash with prosperity messengers, would you be able to spot the voice of God in the mist of the noise?
2. Are you like Ahab who hated a servant of God and his message just because the messages were judgmental to you?
3. What is your basis of assessing prophets and their messages? Is it by the measurement of how they speak good of you, or by the measurement of the Word of God?
4. Can you say the phrase, “contrite in spirit” describes you? Do you remorsefully repent when rebuked, or do you attack in self-defence?
5. Do you interact with the Holy Spirit such that the voice of 400 prophets cannot confuse you?

Let’s meditate on these things and may this article bring a change to the way we treat prophecies, messages and every person who speaks to us in the name of the Lord.

 

Let us review the key lessons of part one.  It was about Prophet Jeremiah and how the leaders of Judah misjudged his prophecy.  (Jer.42).  The leaders had requested Jeremiah to seek God on their behalf, and pledged to do whatever God told them to do.  When God responded, it was different from what the leaders had expected.  Their response was to accuse Jeremiah of concocting the prophecies.

Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.” (Jer.43:2-3).

They had the boldness to tell the servant of God that he lied, when he did not.  The experience of Jeremiah is like those of present day Christians, who believe a prophecy only when it suites their flare. The flip side are those who believe anything that someone says in the name of the Lord.  This gullibility is an error that also needs to be addressed.

Generally, every word spoken to you in the name of the Lord deserves a careful attention.  One of the attributes of a man who fears God is that he trembles at the Word of God.  Job was so much in awe of the Lord that he said, “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. “ (Job 23:11-12).

Your attitude to prophecy is a direct reflection of your attitude to God.  Despise prophecy, and it would be obvious you do not care about what God says.

On the other hand, to believe every prophecy is like drinking every water you find on the street:  chances are that you could poison your system.  It is a manifest immaturity in the Faith.  This, therefore, makes it imperative for Christians to learn to accurately judge prophecies, so that they can differentiate truth from lie.

 How prophecies should be judged

There are a few ways through which prophecies could be judged. Moses knew that the Israelites would need to know how to separate true from false prophecies, so he gave a few guidelines, which are;

a) Fulfillment of the Prophecy

“And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follows not, nor comes to pass, that is, the thing which the LORD has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him.” (Deut.18:21-22).

From this Scripture we can deduce one major rule of judgment, which is, the fulfillment of the prophecy.

This is a common parameter, which is applied even by those who are not knowledgeable in the Scriptures.    The characterization of prophecy as false based on non-fulfillment is a common practice. And, its opposite is also true.  Those who consistently give accurate predictions sooner or later become notable as true prophets. Because of this thinking, many sorcerers, witches, prognosticators and enchanters are called prophets. The only certification is that their ‘prophecies’ come to pass.

b) By their fruit you shall know them

The fulfillment of predictions, however, is not the only way to judge prophecy.  Thanks to God for Moses who taught the Israelites to go beyond fulfillment of predictions when assessing a genuine prophet of God.   He told them;

“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the LORD your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.” (Deut.13:1-5).

Note the above reference carefully.  The prediction was accurate, yet the minister was false.  Is it possible for a so-called prophet to predict the future in the name of the Lord accurately, yet he is a false prophet? Moses said it is possible.  How? Jesus gave the answer.  He taught the people and said,

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matt.7:15-20).

Could you please ponder over the statement of Jesus Christ.  Jesus taught the people to first accept a person before they accept his or her prophecies.  That is to say, if the so-called prophet practices adultery/fornication, uses prophecies to enrich his pocket, attracts attention to himself, merchandizes prophecy, or any other un-Scriptural behaviour, reject him and his prophecy, even if his prophecies are accurate.

You should watch, not only his life, but also the other attachments to his prophecies or predictions.  The difference between the predictions of a soothsayer and that of a true prophet of God is that, the predictions of a soothsayer would lead to unrighteousness, but the predictions of the prophet of God will lead to God and bring glory to God. What did the so-called prophet ask you to do before and after his predictions? Probably, bring candles, come to the river for a bath, offer some rituals, give Prophet’s offering, and the list goes on?  Irrespective of the accuracy of his predictions and the potency of his prayers, his ‘ministry’ multiplies unrighteousness, and every genuine child of God should stay away from such prophets. For instance, if a so-called prophet prophesies to you that you would have an accident soon.  You got scared, and asked him what you should do. He told you to come to him for prayer and bring certain amount of money for offering so that he would pray and avert the impending tragedy.  Mark that prophet.  He is a false prophet.  Even if his vision is accurate, the fact that he seeks to enrich himself by means of his visions has nullified the integrity of his prophecies.  He is a false prophet, do not listen to him.

The backbone of ministry is character.  Genuine ministry is based on godly character.  When character breaks, ministry ends, even though the incumbent might continue in office for many years.  Anointing does not define ministry.  Anointing is like rain, it falls on the wheat as well as the weeds.  A believer could be false even when he has anointing.  It is character that defines genuine ministry.  It is anointing based on godly character that offers to God the kind of offering He accepts.

For a man to qualify to stand before God and minister to people for Him, the man must have a clean hand and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4 ).  To possess the otherwise and still do ministry for God is to offer strange fire on the altar.

c) The Testimony of Jesus Christ

So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev.19:10).

The New Living Translation brought out the meaning of that verse in a clearer language.  It reads,

“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, ‘No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.’”

The major objective of every genuine prophecy is to testify about Jesus Christ.  When prophecy brings comfort, exhortation or builds the spiritual life of believers, the result is that Jesus is glorified in the lives of the saints.  Any prophecy that has no relevance in bringing glory to God or showing to humanity the love, kindness, power, majesty and terror of Divinity, should be received with a pinch of salt.  Endeavour to always ask yourself, what does this prophecy seek to accomplish? If you cannot trace how this prophecy manifests God to humanity, thread with care; and if you must receive it, do so with caution.  Screen it with other parameters to see whether it fails any of the tests.

Accurate understanding of God’s Word is imperative in judging prophecies.  We live in a bi-polar world, where people are either bent on one extreme or the other.  To reject prophecy or to be voracious for prophecy is an error that must be avoided.  Let us embrace balance based on the accurate understanding of the Word of God.

 

Have you witnessed, or heard of, a scenario where a prophecy given to a person or group of persons was not well received? The speaker claimed he was sent by God; the words came from God, but the people did not believe it was God who sent him.  They rather believed it was a lie.  They believed it was not a prophecy, but a self-concocted delusion.  If you were such a prophet, how would you handle the situation?  Such was the experience of Prophet Jeremiah. One of those encounters is recorded in Jeremiah 42 and 43.

The leaders of Judah came to Jeremiah, and requested him to seek God because they wanted to know what God would have them do.

Then all the guerrilla leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniaha son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the LORD your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. Pray that the LORD your God will show us what to do and where to go.”

“All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the LORD your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”

Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do! Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.” (Jer.42:1-5).

With their mouths, they confessed commitment to do whatever God told them to do; but in their hearts, they had reservations.  They were expecting a certain kind of answer.  When what God said did not match their expectation, they believed it was not God who spoke, to excuse their conscience for disobedience.

The messenger returned

Ten days later the LORD gave his reply to Jeremiah. So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. He said to them, “You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the LORD. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’

“But if you refuse to obey the LORD your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here; instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’ then hear the LORD’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’ (Jer.42:7-17).

In their hearts, they insisted on escaping to Egypt, but in their lips they sought to know what God had to say.  Even though God was gracious not to give them over to delusion, they chose their delusion by themselves.  In other words, when their inclination clashed with God’s will, they chose their inclinations. They trusted themselves much more than they trusted God’s Word.  Jeremiah warned them and said:

“Listen, you remnant of Judah; the LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!’ And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past. So, you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.” (Jer. 42:19-22).

If they would admit that God indeed spoke through Jeremiah, that would have been a confirmation of their guilt; a confirmation of their disobedience to God, but no; they needed to feel guiltless in disobedience, so, their attitude was denial.

Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.” (Jer.43:2-3).

The prophet said God told him, but the people said, God did not send you; you made it yourself.  This is a dangerous situation for the people of God, when they cannot recognize what God is saying any more.

But, how did they judge the prophecy?

How did the leaders of Judah judge the prophecy of Jeremiah?  Their judgment sounds like this:

i) Jeremiah, your prophecy did not confirm our desires, expectations, ambitions, inclinations, and every other good thing we would like to hear, so it could not have been God who spoke.

ii) Jeremiah, we know you are a friend of Baruch, our enemy. He has put words in your mouth and you claim it was God. We do not believe that trash; we are wiser than that.

iii) Jeremiah, how on earth do you expect us to lose the obvious (freedom in Egypt) in anticipation of the improbable (the hope that the king of Babylon would be gracious to us and leave us here)? Suppose we lose the obvious but the improbable did not happen? We would be fools. No, we are wiser than that. You must have made up these words, Jeremiah.

Does that sound like how some of us judge prophecies today?   Most Christians today have conditioned their hearts to reject every prophecy that conveys rebuke, chastisement, judgment, correction, etc.  They would quickly dismiss it as not coming from God, or not meant for them. Anybody with this mindset is a candidate for delusion.

You would then begin to wonder, how do Christians judge prophecies?   In part three we will survey what prophecy really is, and then, continue with how to judge prophecies in part 4.  In the meantime, let us ponder over the following:

a) When you say that you want to hear from God, do you really mean to hear and obey?

b) Have you really made up your mind to obey God’s Word irrespective of how it affects you, or would you believe it only if it speaks of blessings, encouragement, and comfort?

c) Can you lose the obvious in anticipation of the promise? Which one is more real to you – your immediate reality or the promises of God?

d) Do you consider God’s promise an improbability, or a certainty?

e) Do you accuse people of making up prophecies when you do not agree with their prophecies?

Let’s search ourselves so that we will not be guilty of the same sins as the leaders of Israel.

 

 

 

 

If I should say that I understand the story of Christmas, someone might likely ask me, which of the stories? There is, of course, the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ, and there is the historical account of the birth of Christmas.

When I was younger in the faith, and got to understand the history of the birth of Christmas, I concluded that Christians should not celebrate Christmas.  I was not the only person who held that view.  The internet is saturated with articles on why Christians should not celebrate Christmas.

Why Christians should not celebrate Christmas

Some of the reasons why Christians should not celebrate Christmas are as follows;

Jesus was not born in December.

There are controversies about the birthdate of Jesus Christ. There is no consensus among Bible scholars on the answer to the question of when Jesus was born.  It is, however, a fact that Jesus was not born in December. When Jesus was born, shepherds watched their flocks at night.  (Luke 2:7-8). It is impossible for shepherds to have been tending their sheep at night in the dead of the winter.  It is popularly believed that Jesus was born in Spring. This means, December 25^th is not really the birthdate of Jesus Christ.

December 25 was the celebration of the birth of the sun god

 That Jesus was not born in December is not the only issue.  There is also the issue of December 25^th being the celebration of two heathen festivals.  The Romans celebrated “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti”, which means,  “the birth of the unconquered sun”; and the birth of Mithra, the Iranian “Sun of Righteousness” whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. This indicates that the December 25^th celebration was global, and this global phenomenon continues even when it was changed to Christmas.

Christmas was not celebrated by the early Apostles

There was no injunction in the Scriptures to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.  The early Church knew nothing about Christmas until the conversion of Constantine.  It was in 336 AD, under the Roman Emperor, Constantine, that Christmas became a Christian celebration. Initially, some groups of Christians did not welcome the idea.  It took centuries before Christmas became popular among Christians.

These are historical facts. Judged on these facts alone, the most likely verdict is that Christians, not only should not celebrate Christmas, but also would sin if they do.  It is considered equivalent to idol worship if Christians should super impose the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on an idolatrous holiday.

 

Despite the evidence, Christians can celebrate Christmas

Despite the above facts, a good understanding of the Scriptures would elicit reasons why Christians might celebrate Christmas.  Some of the reasons are as follows;

a) Early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ

 As early as AD 185 some Christian fathers had started advocating for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  These Christian fathers were the Contemporaries of Origen and Clement of Alexandria.  It is believed that this celebration was included in the January 6^th celebration of the Epiphany by the early Church. Epiphany is a theological term that describes the festival of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Several events were usually commemorated during this festival, among them are, the birth of Jesus Christ, His baptism, the visit by the Magi, and the transfiguration.  Even though Bible scholars believe that Jesus was not born in January, some of them had no problems remembering the birth of Jesus Christ in January.  When the celebration was changed to December 25^th, some of the fathers still observed it on January 6^th.

b) No other God but Jehovah

The association of the celebration of the birth of the Son of God with the celebration of the birthdate of the sun god should not really be a problem for Christians. It is comparable to eating meat sacrificed to an idol. And, this is what Paul taught the Church on that issue:

“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.

However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.” (1Cor.8:4-8)

To a Scripturally thinking Christian, Mithra or the sun god is inconsequential.  Even if the Roman world dedicated that day to the celebration of an idol, to a Christian, that day can be dedicated to the service of God.  Changing “the celebration of the birth of the sun god” to “the celebration of the birth of the Son of God” is an act of faith.  Nothing idolatrous.  In fact, God is pleased when righteousness overcomes darkness.  If the world remembers the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, on December 25^th, it is a win for the Kingdom of God.  And, it does not matter to God whether this celebration is done in January, June or December.  It is of no importance. The remembrance itself is the material fact.  As a matter of fact, whether you remember the birth of Christ on December 25^th, January 6^th or none, you are neither better off nor worse off in terms of your standing with God.  It would neither make you righteous nor make you sin.

c) Opportunity for evangelism

 A true Christian seeks to use every event, occasion, or celebration as an opportunity to evangelize.  No other time of the year creates the right environment for evangelism on both local and global scale as much as Easter and Christmas.  Many people who ordinarily would not give heed to the Gospel, are compelled by the characteristics of the season to give a thought to the importance of the Saviour.  Christmas creates the opportunity to sow seeds of kindness, words of faith, strengthening of brotherhood, remembering the poor, and strengthening the weak.  I have heard Pastors say they receive over 50% of their annual income in December.  There is no Christian who looks up to exploiting the opportunities for evangelism created by Christmas and Easter who would turn around to tag it a pagan holiday.  As Christian we celebrate the opportunity created for the Gospel, not necessarily the event itself. The best way to commemorate the birth of Christ is to re-echo the essence of His birth during the season.

d) The example of Paul

Apostle Paul was one minister who knew how to turn every idolatrous practice into opportunity for the Gospel.  Such was his approach when he visited Athens.  In Acts 17:16-32, Paul was brought to the Council.  In his defence, he capitalized on an inscription he saw, which read, “TO UNKNOWN GOD”.

“So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: ‘Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.’” (vrs.20-23).

The Athenians had used the term, “To (an) Unknown God” to refer to deities they could not identify.  How in the world did Paul relate that phrase to the God of Heaven? He did, because he reasoned that the God of Heaven has not been known to the Athenians.  In other words, Paul super imposed the knowledge of God upon the myths of the Athenians.  Even if the Athenians never had the God of Israel in their minds when they used that phrase, Apostle Paul could fit Jesus Christ into that picture, because to Apostle Paul, other gods are inconsequential.

This should be the mindset of Christians.  When Christians approach Christmas with the consciousness that there is no other God, but Jehovah, the consciousness of the pagan origin of Christmas fades away.  But, the Bible says that not all Christians live by this knowledge. (1Cor.8:7).  So, Christians would have to grow up.

For the Christians, Christmas is not about Father Christmas and Santa Claus, who perhaps do not know Christ; or Christmas Trees, lights, and the decorations; or the revelry, orgies, and lewdness that seem to characterize the season.  The catch for the Christians is that opportunity created by the season to reach out to others with the Gospel.

If we would have this mindset, the less we would be critical of Christmas.

To all our friends, partners, and to the saints of God in general, we at Meizon Ministries say, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE!

 

One Reply to “Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?”

1. Victor Etukudoh says:

December 19, 2016 at 3:13 pm

Very profound exposition into Chrismas. I would rather say am blessed by this teaching because i have now argumented my faith with more faith.

Reply

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