When Integrity is not Enough

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

I have been reflecting on the recent happenings in the government and political scene and am more convinced than ever that the spiritual realm is more organized than we think.

But it goes beyond that. Spiritual structures are such even that opposing armies will not break the protocol demanded. For example do you know that if a junior officer arrested a general it would be criminal to kill him as his prisoner? Only a general can kill an opposing general. And it is not much different in the spiritual realm.

And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks. (Judges 8: 20, 21)

I suspect that the boy, though potent on the battlefield, was spiritually impotent when confronted by the spiritual power and authority of those captured kings.

By the way that may be the reason Saul was unable to kill Agag the king of Amalek. His sin may have lowered his spiritual stature to the extent that it was beyond his status to kill a king.

What am I driving at? I am sure many are wondering. There is more to authority than being able to do a good job. There is more to authority than occupying a large office with a big title. There is more to authority than integrity and excellence. Though they are essential accessories to authority and the lack of them may spell doom to that authority, they are not definitions of it. This is why I thought to prepare this post.

People in the Bible who pursued spiritual authority got more than that authority.

Jacob was the wrong type of character though his lack of moral fortitude was ably compensated by his hunger for the spiritual. That was how he was able to bribe his way to get the birthright that gave him the spiritual authority of the firstborn. I believe that is what God looked for when He chose him above Esau. You see a hunger for the right kind of authority is always useful in God’s hands. And we see the same with Judah. Reuben who possessed authority lost it when he abused it.

But I want us to look at authority in relation to a delegated office in a ‘secular’ structure. By secular I mean a structure that does not strictly qualify to be called a spiritual structure though all structures are actually spiritual. The point I want to make is that there are only two sources of spiritual authority. I will repeat by saying that all structures are spiritual whichever way one looks at it. That is the reason a boss attracts ‘fear’ whether they are fearful or not.

The academia is a spiritual structure. No wonder terms like ivory tower are used to describe it. And it explains the reason it is the bastion of secularism and atheism. Knowledge is the front the prince of the world uses to deceive the world that it is just the innocent pursuit of knowledge that one gets there. Sure, knowledge is the thing people go to pursue there. But in that knowledge is packaged some other agenda by the head of that spiritual structure who is the devil even if you now feel offended.

It is instructive to note that education was a positive spiritual pursuit started by the church to give her members adequate knowledge of their faith as Matthew 28: 19, 20 commands. Even universities were started to instruct men called into ministry into greater grasp of their faith and the pursuit of their calling. In both the Bible was the main text book that guided from the study of Geography to Geology, leading to the appreciation of the Creator.

It is when it took the human oriented direction that its ruling spirit was changed by default. And that spirit is the one ruling nowadays, sadly even in some seminaries. Why do I say this? Very few of them nowadays are concerned with a purely ministerial or theological/ Bible training; they must include humanities and marketplace dynamics to increase their clientele. The qualifications required to join have also changed basically due to the focus on the marketplace. Incidentally that is the direction most premier universities took before becoming bastions of secularism and atheism.

One is therefore thoroughly disadvantaged when they think they are joining educational institutions for purely academic reasons because they will encounter a ruling prince they do not even imagine exists. It is no wonder that many students backslide when they join university. And I have heard that there are seminaries that are expert at extinguishing the zeal of those who join them to be prepared as ministers. Many join full of zeal and leave as cynics. No wonder we hear of homosexual pastors and bishops.

Sadly, many believers join such bastions thinking to influence them for God and end up having their spirituality swallowed up by the structures.

I remember when I joined the media school. Many of my classmates were believers and the Christian Union was packed when we joined.

Then for the first attachment we were taken to the various stations. I remember the shock I met when I said that I was a Christian, never mind the fact that I was deep in ministry.

They laughed me and asked me whether I knew the history of the broadcaster (it was the only broadcaster in the country then) and I said no.

‘Nobody stays saved in the media’, they countered; and continued giving me statistics and evidence of people who were even ‘hotter’ than me who could not be even remotely connected to a life of faith ever in their lives. They gave me three months to join the statistic.

I countered by assuring them that if it was depended on me to stand, then three months was too long to give. But if, however God was the one who was responsible for making me stand they will count until they forget the math. One thing I was sure, though, was that God is the one who had sent me there and I was therefore on His assignment. Like I have stated elsewhere He took me there after forbidding me from joining a seminary that I thought was the automatic destination after school where I heard His call to ministry.

Interesting enough after the 3 month attachment more than half had backslidden. After three years of college there were only three of us who were still in the faith.

I dare say that we did not stand because we were stronger than the majority who fell by the wayside. I strongly suspect that it was because we were there on assignment from above and our focus on that assignment made it impossible for us to be swayed by the structure we had joined simply because we were outsiders to it. Reminds me of this;

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. (Hebrews 11: 13 14)

It is the sense of ‘otherworld-ness’ that will keep one strong enough to handle the secular spiritual structures without crumbling. And of course there are Biblical examples.

Joseph was a slave in Egypt who got everything he may have desired. Why did he consistently refuse a time of pleasure from his boss’s wife probably with the willing though maybe secret permission from his boss himself for his seed (my suspicion)?

He had a higher allegiance to heaven’s standards and was stable enough in them. No wonder he even excels in the prison he is taken.

He therefore is not rewarded with the huge position by the pharaoh just because he was good at his work. It was his position in the spiritual realm that left them with no choice when faced with the challenge ahead.

And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: (Genesis 41: 38, 39)

Any other justification for a believer’s entry into a secular structure is misguided and as temporal as temporal stands. They will take you to stand in until they get their own to take your position and probably kill your faith in the process.

That is why all over the world we are seeing serious Christians being edged out of key positions, especially when constitutions change. It is because they are being changed to prepare the ground for the antichrist. It is therefore imperative that people who have any serious spiritual leanings are removed from such positions since they can easily see the games being played. Many times they will play the integrity card and fake evidence so that the spiritual have no chance.

Still on the media I will state something most people choose to ignore though it is in common knowledge. The ruling spirit of the media is the devil as I have stated again and again. He therefore sets the rules of engagement to anyone joining. Again I need to state that ‘Christian media’ is not exempt.

Fame and popularity are other structures also run by the same ruling spirit. In fact they are interconnected and will normally work hand in hand with the media.

Before you shout me down I will give some ‘evidence’. There was this girl who ran a very good program on a ‘Christian’ radio station and of course became very popular. But in a short while she was divorced. I have a friend who was serious for God but thought it was no harm becoming visible and so became a TV personality. He died of what I will not speculate. The sad part is that girls came from all the country to get a piece of him. He showed me some letters he used to receive (we are talking about the 90s when letters were the only mode of communication) and I tried to warn him as much as I could without much success.

How many songstresses and globetrotting business and corporate magnates are comfortably submitted to their normal husbands? And why is it that girls who are normally modestly dressed when they release their first popular hit slowly by slowly start increasing the exposure to their bodies as popularity grows?

Parliament is a spiritual structure with a ruling spirit who sets the rules of engagement. And it is the same with political structures. It is no wonder that any Christian who goes there to simply make a difference has the difference made on him. And the simple reason is that you are going to a structure on its terms. It is impossible to break through something you are submitted to. Your integrity and excellence become liabilities since that structure has its own standards. How many pastors have gone to parliament to make a difference and ended up needing redemption?

Daniel, like Joseph, was different. And like Joseph we see the difference early enough. His allegiance to heaven is bold enough to scare his boss in captivity that he had to reassure him with a test for heaven to intervene. He therefore was given responsibilities because he was the only one who could handle them, because the spirit of the holy gods was on him.

Babylon knew that he and his three friends served another deity and would defy anything that stood between them and that deity. And that is why we see Daniel being trashed yet being remembered when crises arose. They did not subscribe to that God but knew that they could depend on Daniel to call on Him to solve their issues without bias.

The judicial and legal structures are spiritual too. No wonder world over the choice of judges is such a high voltage exercise. And again I have seen judges who were known for their spiritual leanings simply being trashed though their integrity was not in question. Many times this happens so that they do not challenge the decision to have the ‘right one’ taking office because they are many times better than the choice of the structure.

We have see sabotage in the uniformed forces because the boss happens to be a seriously spiritual person to make sure that he resigns. Then the ‘right’ one according to the structure will replace him.

Healthcare and the medical field are also spiritual structures. Again I will remind us that their genesis was Christian though in our search for worldly relevance exchanged the ruling spirit. If you hear some of the things I hear about hospitals, especially the high end ones, you will have no doubt about this fact. There is a lot of spiritual manipulation that goes on behind the seemingly innocent pursuit of treatment for the sick. But I do not want to venture into that at this point.

There are sicknesses that I am convinced are not sicknesses in the purely medical sense. Some are spiritual attacks from hell. Their main purpose is to take as much money as possible from the ‘sick’ before eventually killing them. And I will leave even that to your prayerful consideration.

The business environment is a spiritual structure.

And sadly the visible church is an ‘other’ (not another) spiritual structure. By this I mean that for the most part the ruling spirit in the visible church structure is not the spirit of the risen Christ but the spirit of the world. But I will quiet your hearts by the truth He gave me when He was teaching this to me through His word and adequate examples. In that structure that is not His are His people that constitute His church. These walk according to His revelation, live by His word and are sold out to His agenda. Their allegiance to that structure is therefore subject to their submission to and worshipful relationship to Christ.

A Christian in all those settings is therefore thoroughly disadvantaged when he thinks that he serves that structure from a purely secular direction as that spiritual structure could kill him if it fails to kill or at the least neuter his spiritual connection. His excellence and integrity are only useful when they bury their heavenly connection. Otherwise they are a liability to the structure. An inefficient and corrupt individual who is submitted to the ruling spirit will always make a better servant than your integrity and excellence.

The thrust of this post is to prepare God’s people for their involvement in the secular sphere from a point of knowledge and strength instead of ignorance. Like Joseph and Daniel we will invest our all in our spiritual development to suit us adequately for the tasks we will be exposed to when we join those ‘secular’ spiritual structures.

How well do you know your God? Would you bear fruit for Him if you are thrown at a place where nobody knows or has ever heard of Him? Would you still broadcast Him if you went to a place and people where He is hated? Is it evident to even your enemies that you live by standards that are holy and completely removed from the secular world you live in? Do people say about you like they said of Joseph and Daniel, ‘the spirit of the holy gods is on him’?

How well do you know His word? Does Joshua 1:8 and Deuteronomy 6: 5 - 8 describe you? Do you live by that word? Could Ezra 7: 10 and 2 Timothy 2: 15 be used to describe you by an adversary?

That is the marketplace dynamic we need to be taught from our pulpits if they really served the interests of the Kingdom of God.

Context, my friend, Context

Many people say that I am an expert at raining on their parades, that I am a person who never has anything positive to say to the church because I am always bashing the positive and motivational preachers.

Well, I choose not to defend myself. I will only ask one question to those who think like that. Are the questions I ask Biblical? Are the questions I ask supported by scripture?

You see the scriptures are not evidence we dig up to support whatever we want to teach. They are everything we need to live by. Our knowledge of scripture should guide us on how we need to live our lives. Incidentally that is the main difference between the Bible and the Koran.

Joshua 1: 8 says that the scriptures should be continually flowing out of our mouths. Deuteronomy 6 talks about the same scriptures being so prominent that it is evident to all that our lives are bathed in them. And it is impossible for that to be if it is a verse here and a portion of a verse there that we have mastered.

2 Timothy 3: 16, 17 does not say that portions of scripture are inspired, especially those we absolutely love. It says ALL SCRIPTURE is inspired and is useful to TEACH, REPROOF (rebuke), CORRECT, and TRAIN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, that the man of God is thoroughly prepared for every good work.

And that is why I want today to focus on some of the most abused promises in the scriptures. And they are abused because they are made to stand on their own instead of resting on their Biblical context. Of course I have dealt with some at one time or the other so I will look at a few.

Touch not my anointed

This is a verse most preachers use to divert attention from their wrong doing and even sin and abuse of that anointing if it is there at all. Yet do you know that the context is Israel? Do you know that it originates from Abraham being protected from two heathen kings in regard to his wife when he said she was his sister? In fact the previous verse says that He (God) reproved kings for their sake. The Biblical context therefore may easily apply the strong (say a pastor or bishop) trying to bash someone sold out to following the call of God than on the strong being protected from a spiritually valid rebuke.

Yet I do not want you to forget for one minute that the promise is as valid now as it was then. From accidents to insecurity, God’s servants enjoy that promise. I remember one time I was accosted by three gun toting robbers whose intent was not in doubt. As I was taking out my cellphone to give them they took off like maniacs, yet I was all alone and there was nobody anywhere around and it was at night.

No weapon fashioned against me shall prevail

Again what one needs to get the context is the complete reading of that single verse. It is not your confession that blunts the weapons fashioned against you. In fact it does not even talk of us dealing with the weapons. That is simply a product of our lives. It is simply a heritage (inheritance) of the servants of the Lord. It therefore means I have no responsibility quoting that verse for myself if I am not serving God on His terms.

God shall meet all my needs

Again the background is a generous church; a church that had stood with Paul, supporting his ministry. It is completely out of context when applied to someone who thinks to bribe God with the tithe or whatever else the ‘servant of God’ advices. That verse applies to someone who is completely reliant on God and not his wealth (even salary). They therefore are not afraid to give way beyond comfort out of love for God and appreciation of His ministry. It applies to Barnabas who sold his land and went to preach and definitely does not apply to the rich young ruler who was too investment conscious to follow Christ on His terms. It applies when your faith giving dents your security because God has led you there. It is giving in obedience to the leading of God. It is a budget that is run by the King of kings.

All things work together for good

Again this is not a blank check. Continuing with the passage to the end of the chapter will give a clear context. If we were more conscious of the scripture we will find it relating more with John 16: 33 and 2 Corinthians 12.

I can do all things through Christ

Again this clearly talks about learning to adapt to whatever condition God placed in our hands as we serve Him. It is a fallacy to make it mean that God exists to make us supermen.

The purpose of this post is to show us that God has given us promises. But the clear fact is that the Bible is not a promise supermarket (mall) where we choose the promise to purchase. With most of them a simple plain reading of the whole verse gets us the context (conditions) that validate the promise

God’s promises are simply consequences of our walk of obedience or otherwise. The other side of a blessing or promise is a curse – and of course we know that nobody willfully chooses a curse. We might be attracting curses even as we claim promises from God because we are not interested to walk in the bounds of that promise. Claiming Deuteronomy 28 and overlooking verse 1 automatically gets us to the second part of the chapter.

And that is how I am accused of raining on peoples promises because I say that a life devoid of obedience will never attract a blessing. Serving God on your terms is a clear call for a curse. Ask Eli’s sons.

Tent Making Ministry Model Debunked

The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance. Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever. (Deuteronomy 18: 1, 2, 5)

We are a generation that seeks to amplify the exceptions of scripture. We easily focus on the exception in our effort to reduce the impact of what is plainly stated. We forget that the purpose of the exception is to increase the clarity of the normal. Grace does not negate the commandment as Paul ably argues in Romans 6. In the same way an exceptional call to ministry does not negate the Biblical norm in the way God calls His servants.

Have you ever asked yourself how many ministers in the Bible had side occupations as they served God? Have you read these verses?

Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? (1Corinthians 9: 3 – 11)

I hope we realize that Paul is not bashing other ministers as he shows his exceptional calling. He is actually doing the exact opposite by saying that what he and Barnabas did was not only abnormal but also ‘illegal and unscriptural’. But not only that; in the second letter to the same church we read this

I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. (2 Corinthians 11: 8, 9)

We see the same thing when we read his letter to the Philippians. Tent making was not the sole source of his ministry support as many foolishly argue. It was an entry point into a region God had sent him. And it was in very few circumstances when we read the book of Acts. Simply speaking Paul enjoyed the support of the church as a minister of the Gospel.

And we see another reason that was even possible. He and Barnabas were single. This meant they had some ‘free’ time as they did not have the shackles of family. And we see that in the passage.

This is why I want to connect a call to ministry to the Levitical calling in the Old Testament because they are similar in many ways. In each case it is God who does the calling. But the most important truth is that He calls ministers to Himself. I will later look at the calling in a more focused way. But suffice it if I mention that that calling blocked anything and everything else.

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19: 27, 29)

Like God told Israel, that call was Levi’s inheritance. This clearly means that a call is better than anything else anyone can do. But it also means that it does not come from us. We must be called. It also means that not only is it complete on its own; it excludes and disqualifies everything else we may do.

The Levites were not denied lands and professions because they were lazy. They were denied because their call to ministry was incomparable to anything they or anybody else could do. They were not called into an easier existence. It was the most demanding of all. And that is the reason all other labor was excluded so that they served God with undivided focus.

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10: 21)

We do not see Christ or His disciples working since He started His public ministry. However we see the disciples ‘backsliding’ after His death and trying to go back fishing (John 21) and of course they face His didactic rebuke. We see Him enjoying the support of people.

And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. (Luke 8: 3)

God does not call us to hustle to minister to Him. His calling is the prime hustle of our lives (Luke 9: 23). He does the hassling for us by raising people to stand with us and what He has called us to.

And that is why it is so important that one’s call is indisputable in its clarity as we know that we can’t be able to call on God to support what He has not initiated. Leaving all to follow a calling is a tall order whichever way you look at it.

I believe lack of that clarity is the reason we push the tent making doctrine. Then I will be able to function whether God is in it or not. I will build structures to sustain my ‘calling’ because I am not certain of any calling. I will build a name for myself because I am not sure that I am walking in the calling I once thought I had. It is simply a human solution to a spiritual dilemma.

Are you called into ministry where you are expected to leave everything? Can you confidently affirm that God is the source of that calling? Has He given you directions as to how you will keep that commission?

I wish I was not the one to write this. The calling is very costly. In fact like Christ taught it will cost not only everything one has but also all one is. Pursuing that call has been a very painful experience especially because of all these ‘successful’ side hustling ministers as they teach that a calling can’t be relied on its own to sustain a minister. But it has been my lot because I chose to follow God all the way and threw out my preferences when I decided to do so. I am therefore at His mercy.

It is not once that I have been threatened with eviction since my rent does not come at the end of the month like others though it always comes. There are times I leave home without knowing what my family will eat or even how I will get back home since I do not have the return fare. Yet God asks me to be still and continue ministering to Him as He directs and He always sorts me out.

If you have to have a side hustle to support your ministry I think it is important for you to know that it is ministry that is the side hustle. Ministry can never be primary if looking for money is secondary. It is the ONLY thing or it is a hobby. You can’t minister in your free time and make that the calling. Just say you love ministering and not that it is your calling, especially when pouring scorn on those ministers who have been called out of jobs and businesses because they are ‘dependents’ in your eyes.

Again I am not saying that you can’t minister when you have a job or are running a business. God led me to a media school and I worked in a media house yet He called me when I was in school. And the fruit of the ministry I was involved in at that time speaks for itself. That was my preparation for the kind of ministry I would be involved in once He called me out. I need to also say that before He took me to the media school He clearly forbid me from joining a Bible School when I had gotten one as I then thought that a calling to ministry had to lead in that direction. Again a Bible school is not sin and I will be a fool to use my clear order to pour scorn on Bible Schools.

You see God can and does call people to minister on the business front. I am not more spiritual if I am called out from that into what many call ‘full time’ ministry. Be content to minister where you are. Do not push to pastor a church as you will dilute the sufficient grace poured on you for that ministry. Minister effectively in your job environment if that is where God has called you. Do not deceive yourself that you become more effective if you have a ‘called’ title as it does not work that way.

Instead of ‘supporting yourself’ to do ministry, why don’t you support someone God has called and concentrate on ministering best where God has placed you?

If you must sell your books or sermons to support your ministry, then it is YOUR ministry. And I have written more books than most though I do not sell them. If you must ‘raise’ support to minister . . .  

The Levitical calling was such that Israel supported them or they died. God did not have any side hustle for them.

It is no wonder that a majority of the Biblical prophets were descended from the Levites. You see if listening to and serving God is the core of your being chances are that His voice will be clearest to you. That is why you see God giving all the jobs requiring impartiality and spiritual sensitivity to them. And that is why even in the New Testament the scribes were from the Levitical tribe.

And it is no surprise that probably all revivals recorded in scripture have them occupying pivotal positions; from Samuel to Ezra to Zechariah to Barnabas. God excluded them from secular occupations so that their spiritual antennae were at their best. You remember that even the David we associate with the best in worship had the Levites at his side all the time for helping him identify God’s direction. Remember that even godless Herod called on them to tell him where Christ was born?

Israel became a gone case when Jeroboam established a new priestly order, causing the Levites to defect to Judah where they were still relevant.

Our generation is not any special. We reap what we sow; and our investment into the spiritual will betray or affirm us according to the kind of investment we make. We cannot expect a paid minister to be better than a scripturally called and supported one. 

It is no wonder that we are screaming revival all over yet we have been unable to deal with fornication and adultery in our ranks. We are shouting breakthrough and favor and restoration yet we are unable to deal with come we stay marriages and divorce and dysfunctional marriages and crippling debt amongst us. And it is simply because the person who pays has a right to determine the message they will hear. A paid prophet is a soothsayer whether he thinks he hears from God or not.

In conclusion I will say that Levi was called from Israel. This means he was called out of an already called community. And this is a very critical point in my argument because it is the reason we fail God so many times. We prefer a dramatic conversion with a consistent walk of faith in identifying ministers or a healthy bank balance in identifying supporters. We clearly disregard 1 Timothy 3: 6 amongst other qualifications.

It saddens me when I see a recent convert bypassing so many people who have faithfully walked with God for generations in getting a ministerial appointment, even ordination just because their past life of sin was sordid. It shows that a dramatic conversion is better than a Christ-centred life, which is a fallacy. A few years ago I remember unmasking a Muslim who had fleeced many churches and believers by cooking a testimony of conversion and what he had lost as a result. And how did we do it? We simply decided to offer him long term assistance and therefore paid him an impromptu visit where he had told us he resided. And he disappeared, to date.

If we valued time as an item God has placed in our hands I doubt we will even be arguing about tent making ministry. This is because over time as we relate with the saints we can easily know the ones called from the ones after the drama that appears like the calling.

And of course we will know that we are expected to be hearing God Himself directing us concerning not only our responsibility to give but also where specifically He expects us to give and support.

Will we allow God to call His people according to His standards? And will we like Israel support them even when their message may bash us unless we change?