Again, what have you been leading people to? Are you
leading people into your church or Christ? Do the people around you- friends,
relations, colleagues, customers -find Christ in your conduct?
A lot of Christians are no longer sensitive to that which
pollutes the heart. ''American Idol”, “Nigerian Idol” and "Project Fame''
etcetera have become their favorite television programmes. Like one in
bewilderment, Olakunle asked '' does it mean the word ''idol” no longer
irritate the hearts of believers in Christ? Is idol anything a Christian should
allow around him, let alone embrace under any circumstance? What with the
obnoxious and abominable trend whereby Christians vote as their heroes and
heroine, musicians who promote immoral, despicable and carnal-minded songs?
Leaders, Olakunle advised, must rise up to the challenges
to embrace and instill discipline in the flock. These crops of untoward
attitude among those who professed to be Christians must be terminated or
uprooted without delay.
The system of Babylon had taken over the hearts of many
believers today. In different facets of life, Babylon is waxing its strength
against righteousness. Christians are targeted specifically by Babylonian
henchmen to wear them out and turn them against the faith. Some brethren are
singled out in their places of work and placed where they could be compromised.
Quite a number are daily overloaded with responsibilities or tasks so as to
have little or no time for fellowship and prayer. Challenges before the
Christian leadership of today are numerous and demanding, and as such, Pastor
Olakunle said it was not time for Christian leaders to crave for number of
church attendants. To him, anyone still obsessed with justifying or evaluating
his or her ministry on the basis of numerical strength was out of tune with God
at this time.
The gear of God’s dealing with His people is shifted to a
new phase being directed via a different software. A time and dispensation it
was, that the Holy Spirit functioned more on outward manifestation of God’s
power demonstrated in churches in healing, miracles, baptism in the Holy Ghost,
interpretation of tongues and diverse gifts of the Spirit. Today the drive of
the Spirit of God is to remove the stem and roots of ungodly attitudes; heal
spiritual deficiencies and deformities within man; to replace pride with
humility; pomposity with meekness; the love of money with the love of Christ
and selfishness with selflessness.
Owing to his conviction that the emphasis of the Holy
Spirit has since shifted from outward manifestation of power to inward healing
and transformation of the believer, Olakunle stressed that enhanced spiritual
agility, ability and capacity were the focal points of the Spirit of God now.
As darkness thickens up all over the earth and strange
sinful conduct appearing on the scene, an average Christian brother and sister
need, more than ever before, to be spiritually fortified within to withstand
the raging storm of spiritual pollution and iniquity.
In Matthew
24:1-2, “And Jesus went out and departed from the temple; and His disciples
came to Him for, to show Him the buildings of the temple. Verse 2 “And Jesus
said unto them ‘see ye not all these things? Verily, I say unto you,” there
shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown
down.” The disciples of Christ were
fascinated at the outward beauty of the temple (built by Herod), that they
could not but appreciate it before Jesus Christ. His response or viewpoint
about the temple was however, far from their own perception or expectation.
In other words, a time will come when the outward beauty
of anything would become rubbles. To God, what is of utmost relevance is the
quality of the content of the temple. The temple built by Herod for the Jews
had not the Ark of Covenant and as such it was as good as useless before God.
Olakunle harped on the need for Christian leaders to
concentrate much more on character building and moral sanctity in their
teaching and conduct, adding that the indices by which ministers of the gospel
would be assessed were not exterior.
He cautioned vehemently against the trend whereby
believers in Christ behaved as if they knew not Christ after fellowship
session. He pointed out that living outside of the principles of Christ in
business transactions or workplace was deceitful, a trait described as hallmark
of the anti-Christ, and as such must not be permitted among brethren.
Christ did warn His disciples against deceivers
concerning the signs of His coming. Matthew 24:4 “And Jesus answered and said
to them “Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name,
saying, ‘I am Christ and shall deceive many”.
For deceit to sail through, two sides must be involved.
One is the deceiver and the other, the deceived or victim. While the deceiver
understands the game, the victim (like a fish being baited) does not know.
Pastor Olakunle hinted that the warning sounded by Christ to His disciples
indicate that the problem would actually begin in the church. In clear terms,
the target of the deception is not the unbeliever or the ungodly but the
brethren, disciples and those intimate with Christ.
In the first place, the line between idol worshippers or
ungodly and Christians is conspicuous enough not to warrant a mix up. Secondly,
the non- Christians or people of other faith, cannot teach Christians what to
do or follow. Therefore, those who could attempt to deceive must be from within
the folk of believers in Christ. The enemies are within.
The greatest war to fight is within the folk and within the man, Pastor Olakunle explained. Hence, the battle to walk in the inner light of Christ of Christ will be stiffer in the coming days. The formation of Christ within is the reason for the war and we have to confront the forces of darkness that wants to uproot the kingdom seed of righteousness within us. The war that Christ refers to has both the outward and inward dimension to it. He also said, the external signs of war are playing out in nations and even our own nation, Nigeria is battling with insurrection from the Boko Haram group. But the internal dimension is also playing out greatly as the battle to do God's will receives defiant hostility from the enemy forces. We must fight the war within and win over the forces of carnality as well. As we do we progress in the formation of Christ nature within us. Our ultimate destination is the fullness of Christ, Olakunle said.
The greatest war to fight is within the folk and within the man, Pastor Olakunle explained. Hence, the battle to walk in the inner light of Christ of Christ will be stiffer in the coming days. The formation of Christ within is the reason for the war and we have to confront the forces of darkness that wants to uproot the kingdom seed of righteousness within us. The war that Christ refers to has both the outward and inward dimension to it. He also said, the external signs of war are playing out in nations and even our own nation, Nigeria is battling with insurrection from the Boko Haram group. But the internal dimension is also playing out greatly as the battle to do God's will receives defiant hostility from the enemy forces. We must fight the war within and win over the forces of carnality as well. As we do we progress in the formation of Christ nature within us. Our ultimate destination is the fullness of Christ, Olakunle said.
A great proportion
of voltage is required to displace darkness in this age, Christians are
therefore to team up and strengthen or complement one another in the path of
righteousness.
(Concluded)
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