Prove Me Wrong

It appears that the church in Kenya IS NOT Christ’s from recent happenings.

Why do I say so?

Christians have been dying for their faith time and again yet the church (leadership) has not said anything. Westgate, Mpeketoni, Mandera. Dozens of churches have been burnt and Christians killed in Mombasa and the same leadership is mum. Imagine congregations depending on the media to get the truth. Yet the same media has a lot of interest in the enthronement of the Antichrist and will give us the information that will serve that interest.

The media reduces the fatalities and destruction so that the church does not get the true picture because then the church could easily take her true position in God which would be detrimental to their agenda.

Let me give some examples. When Muslims burnt close to twenty churches the media reported two or three were affected. When in Mpeketoni they even wrote the purpose of their attacks plainly on boards, that they wanted to get rid of Christians on ‘their’ land, the media recreated the story to appear as if one tribe was the target making the attacks political instead of religious as the attackers were saying and writing. It is the Mandera massacres that could not be covered.

I understand the government shading the truth to forestall panic. I understand the media bending the truth to satisfy their paymasters. But it is a tragedy when the purveyors of truth keep quiet even as their members are systematically decimated for fear to offend the world that their Lord said is their enemy.

There is something so evil happening in Kenya today. Some women are barely dressed and have been doing so for a long time, yet the same church leadership has said nothing even when they come like that in church with some even sitting at the front pews. Some men have recently been taking offense at that and decided to become judge and executioner and strip the ladies especially when they respond rudely to their concerns. But the church has been completely silent on this also.

What then makes me think that the church in Kenya does not represent Christ? Surely silence is not the ample evidence.

Recently an ecclesiastical conman was unmasked by the media, again for the interests of the antichrist agenda he was serving and would serve after that expose’. He was fleecing people using fake miracles, fake anointing, fake testimonies, fake everything. The government decided to take action to bring sobriety to the church. It did not take a day before all the prominent church leaders came together to the media to plead with the government not to do so.

Why were they so quick in this? It would affect the offerings. Persecution and terrorism bring people to church for consolation and they will of course bring in the offerings. In any case the persecuted and martyred may be so removed from us that we may conveniently assume that they do not exist. These Jezebels with barely any clothes are very happy to support a church that voices support for their sin through its silence.

But regulation will affect those offerings because though they may not necessarily cause a reduction, it could limit what the leadership does with those offerings and probably require that the same offering gets accounted for or taxed.

Simply speaking the church is more concerned with offerings than it is with the givers. You could be a murderer or thief for all they care but if you are giving good offerings you are a faithful member of their congregations. I doubt whether they would care for members of a family a giver left if he bequeathed all his wealth to them and left his offspring destitute.

A church that does not care to prepare its membership for the challenges of life can never be the church of Christ. A church that does not respond to the moral decay of society can also not be Christ’s. And a church that is only concerned with its structures and programs is way of the mark Christ set. It might actually be that they do not even know of the existence of such a mark.

A few years ago a pyramid scheme ravaged the people of God. I remember telling many people that God had shown me that those schemes were not only unrealistic in the way they operated and that they really were schemes to fleece people who were greedy for gain.

Many people had only one response. They had been told by their shepherds that it was God’s way of transferring the wealth of the wicked to the righteous and many other ‘Biblically sound’ arguments. And of course they joined in droves because their leaders were there.

But it was worse. The pastors and bishops had committed their moneys to those schemes to the tune of millions because ‘God had shown them’. Some had even committed their churches’ money.

Imagine their shock when all that money went down the drain when the scheme had run its course! All of a sudden their spirituality (or the lack of it) was unmasked. Marriages broke because a wife had diverted family funds to earn a quick shilling, many times without the husband’s permission, probably because the pastor had advised the wife to grasp the moment since the husband was a slow thinker. Businesses were crippled when their assets were swallowed by those schemes. But worse still is that people lost confidence in those pastors who led their congregations to such a slaughter. There are people who died and some developed paralyzing ailments from shock. There was a case of one who took all their pension money and lost it. I am sure a number took their lives. All because a spiritual leader heard a voice from the enemy and told his flock that it was from God. And they were very genuine and convincing too. A friend told me that he had refused but was called by his pastor and told that if he will ever follow the pastor’s advice he must join that scheme. And he lost a handsome amount.

Did those leaders hear from God? Can God lead someone like that? Can God give such an instruction?

How can a bishop leading a whole denomination plough millions to such a scheme? Was that money legitimate? Was that greed justified? Should he be allowed to lead even a Christian self help group with such kind of spiritual sensitivity?

These are the end times.

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. (Mark 13:22)

It is important to prepare people for these times by preaching the undiluted Gospel. It is vital that they are shown a clear connection to their Lord without needing to go through spiritual brokers. It is absolutely necessary to help God’s people be ready for the challenges of living their Christian lives amidst the kind of opposition the end times attract. And it is an absolute necessity that they are prepared to die for their faith usefully especially by giving them tools to share their faith.

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 10:22)

Christians have started dying for their faith in Kenya openly though there has been persecution since Christ’s time. This has burst the bubble that Kenya is a Christian nation. During the debates on the constitution I remember saying that the new constitution was persecution friendly due to some of the clauses the leaders did not want people to look at. But of course we know on whose side they are.

Why should someone die for their faith as a dog? Why should someone die without a fight? What difference is there between those who were fleeced by the pyramid schemes and these Christians who are forced to deny their faith before they are shot? What kind of spiritual preparation were they exposed to in the churches they attended? Would we be safe to assume that their shepherds are blind guides to the blind?

Pastors are more interested in increasing their influence than Christ’s. They are more adept at marketing their books than the Bible. They would rather that Christians read their books and listen to their sermons than read their Bibles. Even the discipleship they craft is actually a system of bringing people under their spiritual bondage instead of Christ’s lordship. Christ is only on their lips while their hearts are on their pockets as they make the kill on what perceived affinity to Christ has to offer.

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: (Isaiah 29:13)

Most churches are personal fiefdoms. Some are very blatant on that so that even the sign board has to have the pastor’s name and picture on it. Crusades are even worse. You would be excused if on seeing the posters and advertisements think that Jesus is a very junior assistant in the soul winning venture. And it is the reality on most churches because the pastor is more important than Jesus in its operations.

We have prophesies that are as removed to Biblical prophecy as the east is from the west. (I have posted a message ‘Prophets and Prophecy’ elsewhere on the blog) In fact even preaching has also gone that direction. We have transferred Christ to the periphery of our pulpits, books and blogs. He exists to fulfill us.

The most popular and influential pastors and bishops are mostly those who will keep their congregations at the helm. They affirm them intensely. Everything else is secondary, even holy living. They pamper people to the extent that the only thing they know about God is that He exists to meet their every craving. And no wonder the congregations in turn pamper these entertainers and spiritual fraudsters. And I am not afraid to call them such as the fruits of their immensely effective ministries are clearly evident. And that is the fact that sin thrives under their watch, beginning with them, though theirs revolves around greed and self interest. But it is the worst because it allows for the other sins to thrive because he really can’t rebuke people who are satisfying that greed. You see it is impossible to rebuke someone when you are wearing the suit they bought or eating the food you got through the voucher they gave you.

I could go on and on. But I will leave you to continue with this post. What I will say is that this attitude of elevating self interest above the demands of the Gospel offends God. And I will repeat something I say all the time. Christ did not die so that you can acquire this or the other. He died to deal with your sins. And that is the core of the Gospel. Anything else is secondary, even peripheral. We have one direction Christ expects us to lift our eyes to, the cross of Christ.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (1Corinthians 2:2)

But as Christ said to the church in Sardis

Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4)

Only that I doubt any of them will be interested in marketing themselves in the media, whatever guise they used. You see living the faith is hard enough without looking for partnership with the world to market it. And that is simply because the same world is a sworn enemy to this faith we hold.

You can read a post I wrote some time ago on the media. The heading is simply ‘Media’. I think it might help you understand where I am coming from.