THREE WAYS CHRIST BUILDS THE CHURCH

In preparation for a pastor’s conference on spiritual gifts a few weeks ago, I found myself studying the book of Acts. In the process, I got thinking about the growth of the church as I read the narrative. Firstly, I was reminded of the Lord’s faithfulness in keeping His promises to build the church (Matt 16) and secondly, I was struck by the different ways and circumstances the Lord used to build His church. Here are three ways the Lord grew His church from Jerusalem to the outermost parts of the world (Acts 1:8).

1.     Addition

The Lord’s charge to the disciples was that they would be witnesses of Him throughout all the world (Acts 1:8). By this, he meant that they would preoccupy themselves with proclaiming Christ to the world. And it is through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ that people are saved from their sins and are added to the church (Acts 2:41-47). This invariably means that the church should be intentional and diligent in proclaiming Christ and Him crucified. Belief in this gospel message brings about a transformation in one’s life that they live a holy life such that their lives back up their message.

2.      Removal

As the church grew in Acts, it began facing challenges that come with growth and accompanied by the sinfulness of man. One way the Lord builds His church is through purifying it by dealing with sin. We find an example of this in Acts 5 with Ananias and Sapphira. The goal of purification is repentance and restoration but sadly when this is absent, removal from the body. One result of God’s purifying discipline is that holy fear falls upon the believers. This further motivates holy living and fear among the children of God. 

3.      Moving

Further, the Lord grows his church by moving people on. Firstly he moves those who may be a source of distraction or hindrance to the work. One could argue that the split between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15) was sad but necessary at the given time for the continued growth of the work. But positively, the Lord moves people on so that He can use them in other places in the vineyard. One can think of the persecution that arose and scattered the believers to other regions and also the setting apart of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13) From the church at Antioch to go into the mission field. What might have seemed a considerable loss for the local church was the Lord building His church.

Conclusion

The church should be engaged in the proclamation of the gospel wherever it is found and beyond. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. If people are to be saved, the word must be preached. The church should live out the truth of the gospel daily and trust the Lord of the harvest to grow His church both spiritually and numerically for the sake of His name.

When Church's Don't disciple

As the year draws to a close, we have begun analysing our spiritual temperature as a church. We think through our meetings, members, ministries and missions of the church. There reason to rejoice and thank God and there is a reason to be concerned, repent and revisit. One area that we have spent time thinking through over the years is that of intentional and meaningful discipleship. Believers should be people, people. A biblical congregation will be characterised by ongoing discipleship relationships. Where members help and encourage each other to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Whenever a church is not committed to building healthy discipleship relationships they:

Become Program oriented

Programs are necessary for the church; after all, we are commanded to “not forsake the assembling of the believers” (Heb. 10:24-25).  However, programs are a means to an end and not an end in themselves. If all we do is planning, organising and attending programs and zoom off to our sheltered individualistic worlds till we meet again then we have seriously missed the whole point. Programs are easy, convenient and safe. You can meet together and not share life, not be inconvenienced by the sins and needs of others. Nor are you going to experience the pain of rebuke and confrontation in only meeting for a program. Relationships, on the other hand, are work, they can be tasking on your person, and they can be painful and costly. But they are also encouraging and spur you to love and good works. One often results in fast and superficial growth, while the other results are steady and meaningful growth

Reduce evangelism to advertising

As a result of been program-oriented, churches that are not committed to discipleship often mistake advertising their programs to evangelising the lost. Now it is true we want to invite people to meetings where they will hear the gospel. However, the invitations are simply the first step. We have to follow up with the gospel proclamation. We have to initiate a relationship with a definite go of having gospel conversations with the individual. We should be glad when people respond to our invitations, but we should pray for more than just attendance. It is the salvation of souls we are after.

Have numbers without depth

Superficial growth is no growth at all. It is like genetically modified food; it is so desperate for quick tangible success that it circumvents that natural order of things. The result is growth but weak growth. Program oriented, skilful marketing churches will invariably have numbers without depth. People will flock, but there will be no salvation and no spiritual growth. Leaders of such churches do not stay long, because eventually, their strategies wear everyone out including themselves!

Look For leaders outside the church

In a church where members are helping each other grow, you will often find maturing believers. They will be using their spiritual gifts to serve the body, and they will be doing the work of ministry. As members grow, leaders, i.e. elders will arise from among the members. A church that only has a superficial growth will struggle to find biblically qualified men to lead. Hence, they will continually be looking for leaders from outside. And what often happens in such congregations is that they settle for men who are not qualified to fill the positions

Don’t engage in church planting

Consequently, churches that are program-oriented, who do not evangelise, and have a superficial growth and do not raise leaders will not be committed to church planting and sending out men. They are so inward-looking that they do not see that the harvest is plentiful all around them.

In the Lord’s design, we should be committed to helping each other grow in grace and churches that are committed to discipling one another will have meaningful growth, live out the implications of the gospel and proclaim it to all.

Reflecting on the divorce rates in Zambia

Every year the newspapers publish divorce records for the various provinces, and the numbers are alarming. Marriages are breaking, and I would not be surprised if there are many more that are hanging on to their marriage simply because of the shame and humiliation of going through a divorce but if they had their way they would have bolted years ago. I am sure there may be plenty of reasons but let me offer six.

Planning for the wedding & not the marriage

Weddings have become more lavish and commercial with each passing year. The amount of effort, time and money devoted to the event as compared to the effort committed to investing in living together as husband and wife speak volumes. It has become so bad that one primary indicator for the readiness of marriage is your ability to finance a wedding!

If only people realised that a wedding is for a day and marriage is for a lifetime. If single couples invested more time, energy and money in building their spirituality and understanding God’s purpose for the marriage if only they took extra care to understand and prepare themselves for their roles, marriages would thrive. Alas, all that is merely a distant dream as people are so preoccupied with throwing the biggest, craziest and loudest party ever and when the party is over, they are looking for the exit door because all they planned for was the wedding and not their marriage. So when they wake up the next day the couple has no clue what to do with each other.

The wrong emphasis on traditional counselling

Our traditional counselling on marriage has some general ethical principles such as respect, care, hygiene, faithfulness, providing and intimacy. However, for the biblically informed Christian, the teachings pause several challenges. One of the challenges it causes is that it has a wrong emphasis, the learning is done through symbols, and the problem is the symbol is emphasised more than the principle. I.e. a lady will be taught to respect her husband, but the stress will be on the symbols of respect such kneeing, calling your husband “Ba” etc. this encourages conformity without joyful transformation.

Wrong purpose of marriage

It is scary to hear the reasons people want to get married. Most feel I have reached an age for marrying, so I want to get married. Most men get married because they need someone to cook, sweep and wash for them. And of course, marriage gives you the license to have sex. These views of marriage are primarily self-centred and self-serving. So when you have people entering into marriage motivated by what they will get out of it they are bound not last in it. Going into marriage to use your spouse is signing yourself up for utter misery.

Inside the marriage with eyes on the exit door

Some people enter marriage with leg out and an eye on the exit door. It’s like they are just trying things out, and if anything goes wrong they are ready to hit the exit door. Hence your language of “I am leaving” or “you leave”, “you think I cannot leave without you”. Marriage is a solemn covenant that should not be entered in lightly. A marriage can never thrive when people have an eye on the door.

Unbiblical conflict resolutions

Regardless of how much you love each other, the conflict will be part of marriage. Two sinners coming together are guaranteed to sin against each other. The issue is how they handle the dispute. Sadly, most marriages are characterised by unbiblical conflict resolution. Some people go silent, others blow up, yet others negotiate or play tit for tat. However, the couple that thrives and grows is one that confronts, confesses, forgives and forsakes sin. Couples who are proud and never acknowledge sin and ask for forgiveness or who harbour bitterness and refuse to offer forgiveness are bound to break the marriage.

An abandonment of biblical values

Lives not walking in the ways of Christ, make marriages built on sinking sand and families whose foundations cannot stand. Many couples are Christian by name, but their Christianity does not translate into a lifestyle. These are couples who appear holy at church and yet are wicked at home. The biblical purpose of marriage, the biblical roles in marriage and the biblical oneness in marriage are all abandoned.

Whenever men try to reinvent and abandon God’s design and purposes, the result is catastrophic. Marriage and the home have been under attack since Genesis 3 and Christians must strive to be light in their marriages by living God’s way.

15 Marriage lessons from 15 couples

There are endless discussions about marriage in the church and the culture around us. Different voices try to answer questions like the purpose and meaning of marriage, the roles in marriage, the secrets to a happy marriage etc. it is safe to say that we are generally in love with the concept of marriage, but we are not quite up for the challenge and the hard work that marriage requires. Many of us have been primarily influenced by the fairy tale stories of marriage and the Hollywood fictional portraits of undisturbed bliss and unceasing romance in marriage.

Knowing the hard work marriage requires and the many lessons people learn in marriage, sometimes the lessons are learnt the hard way, I asked a group of couples to share one lesson they have learnt in their marriage. Here are the 15 lessons the couples shared. 

1.     I have learnt to love unconditionally irrespective of the situation 

2.     I have learnt to consciously remember that my husband and I are on the same team whatever game life brings along 

3.     I have learnt to be more gracious in speech, attitudes and deeds towards my spouse knowing that God has been too gracious to me as well. 

4.     I have learnt to be patient and tolerant.

5.     Admitting and confessing my wrongs - Admitting my imperfections does not mean am a failure, but means that I am human and willing to accept my humanity which leads to a growing marriage. 

6.     I have learnt that communication is key - once there is good, honest, timely communication in a marriage, a lot of misunderstandings are avoided. 

7.     To be humble and honest 

8.     To be accountable fully and entirely in everything to another person. 

9.     I have learnt to forgive my friend as Christ has forgiven me, for we are both sinners and imperfect. 

10.  To maintain a deep love and underlying connection with each other despite surface differences or disagreements. (Staying on the same team no matter what). 

11.    I have learned to practice forgiveness towards my spouse and using prayer as one way of resolving issues in a godly manner.

12.   Privately praying for him and praying and studying God's word together helps us to grow together.

13.   To communicate with each other openly when there is a conflict and to not delay that communication, even when the issue might seem small. 

14.    I've learnt that a disagreement (no matter how huge) doesn't have to mean the marriage has ended. You can argue and still work things out & live happily thereafter. 

15.   I have learnt never to forget that my wife and I are redeemed sinners prone to wonder. This helps me to learn to forgive and forbear with her wrongs.

What are your lessons?

Engaging in Theological Debate and Remaining Christian

Theological debates and differences have always been part of Christianity throughout its history. In a sense, disputes can be necessary. Done well such discussions can provide clarity on issues that have not been clearly articulated by the church. One can think Athanasius and Arius on the essence of the Son in the third century or Luther and Erasmus. Furthermore, people stating what they believe invariably leads them to say what they do not believe and as result lines are drawn.

It is also worth noting that debates are often not done well. People respond to disagreements differently depending on their levels of maturity. Theological debates often cause immediate strong emotional reactions. Some become aggressive and hostile, others defensive and others sceptical. The rise of social media has changed the dynamics of debating in our day. A lot of the discussion is characterised by poor reasoning, half-truths, slander and downright arrogance such that it is not a debate, but people talking past each other or merely interested in listening to themselves. So how should we engage in theological debate in what is often a toxic environment? Al Martin gave some wise counsel in a talk on dispensationalism in March 2011. Here are the four points of wisdom, followed by my brief explanations.

1. “We are under a solemn obligation to receive as brethren all who hold to essential saving truth.” 1 John 3:14 calls to love those how have believed in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. They are brethren. Martin argues that we should differentiate between a theological novelty, theological errors and heresies.

2. “We are under a solemn obligation not to bear false witness, even amid theological debate.” Integrity requires that we fairly represent the views of others by quoting primary sources and in context. Mispresenting other people’s beliefs reflect our sinful heart. Do not claim someone said something based on what another person posted on social media. If you are going to criticise what another person teaches, make sure you have actually read or personally heard what they teach.

3. “Separate personalities from principals. It is possible to love and hold a man in high esteem while disagreeing with his principals”. It is possible to disagree with a person lovingly and graciously way. We should not buy in the notion that disagreeing with a person means that i.) You hate them or ii.) You have to attack and slander them.

4. “There are various expressions of most theological positions. In addressing a position, it is important to remember there are various strands to a position.” There are positions within a position, often ranging from extreme to moderate. It is therefore essential to present people’s view accurately and not lump them to a doctrinal position they do not hold.

There is a difference between having a theological debate and being quarrelsome. And just because we disagree over an issue does not mean we should be malicious and defamatory. And common decency depends that before you wade into the open waters of the theological debate, you must be knowledgeable about the subject. Otherwise, you become a noisy gong. As they say, empty drums make the loudest noises. Dear Christian “have nothing to with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servants must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. (2 Tim 2:23-24)

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PRAYER

Prayer is hard work. And there are several reasons for it. Firstly, we are not naturally inclined to surrender and declare dependence. Well, praying is precisely that it is begging. It is a Christian as a child going before God the Father and acknowledging inability while affirming God’s ability. Secondly, we like doing tangible, visible things about our situations and prayer does not in our mind seem like doing something about issues. Thirdly, we complicate prayer. We have turned prayer into some mechanical and at times overly technical act that is rehearsed and repeated without much thought or meaning. These and many other issues compound to form all sorts of misconceptions about prayer. In preparing to preach a sermon on prayer, I asked people to share some misconceptions about prayer that they have come across. Here is the list with some brief explanations.

1.      Prayer should be formal & full of memorised phrases

We should not mistake reverence for formality. Yes, you can have a prayer in a formal meeting, but we should not treat God like He is a God of the elite. And yes in a conversation we often repeat words and phrases, but we should not mistake the memorisation of poems, other people’s prayers and theological terms for piety. Praying is talking to God, and that is in the language that you ordinarily use. 

2.      We must give long prayers

In line with the formalisation of prayers is the notion that the longer the prayer, the more spiritual you are. It is not sinning to give long prayers, but it is not a mark of spirituality either. Have you heard the story of the brother who was asked to give thanks for the food and went on to wax eloquently about persecuted Christians and missionaries on the mission field! 

3.      Focus on the posture

Whether you sit, stand, knee or sleep, your position does not enhance your prayer. 

4.      That we can command God or give permission

There is a breed of theology that struggles with a dependence that they turned prayer into an act of giving God permission to do something in your life. This level of arrogance is alarming. 

5.      You have to speak in tongues to pray

God can hear whatever language you speak. And besides, the Spirit gives gifts to whom He pleases. 

6.      The louder you are, the more powerful the prayer

God does not have a hearing problem, but you might after you are done! 

7.      You have to close your eyes

We are not commanded to close our eyes, but it may be prudent. 

8.       A fellow man can be your advocate

There is only one mediator and advocate, and that is the man Jesus. Though we are to pray for one another. 

9.      You need to have a sensational feeling for the prayer to be heard or effective

We are a generation driven by emotions. Prayer is talking with our God, and yes, it involves the mind, will and desire but that does not mean that every time you pray you to feel a sensation. 

10.  That prayer is just for asking for material things.

Or that prayer is all about asking. Have you had a relationship where every time the person is talking to you, they are asking for something? Dear Christian, we have spiritual as well as physical needs, we should have a balance in our conversations with God.

The list of misconceptions could go on as they are many. My point in all this is that the more complicated we make prayer, the harder it becomes and the less enjoyed it becomes. Let us learn from the simplicity and honesty of the Psalmists in their conversations with God.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Heb 4:14-16

BROTHER LET ME BE YOUR SERVANT

Note: This week's blog is written by my dear wife, Kunda. She is by far the better writer of the two of us, so am sure you will enjoy reading this one. 

Recently I have been reflecting on a famous hymn; “The servant song’’, better known as “Brother let me be your Servant”. Written in the 1970s by a man called Richard Gillard. Though the song has undergone several alterations over the years, Matthew 20:26b- 28 provides the primary scriptural background for the song, it reads;

“…but Whoever decides to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Many believers thrive on the idea of servanthood. Christ himself calls us to servanthood. He came not to be served but to serve. I will leave this here for now and let that simmer while I move on to my next thought.

In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes to the church at Ephesus, now a combination of Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Jesus Christ and are now in him because of his finished work on the cross. Among other things, Paul instructs them on how they should live their lives as a result of their coming into the fold of God. In chapter 4, Paul implores them to walk in unity as a body. He further highlights the many different gifts that the body is blessed with by God so that the saints may be equipped, built up and that they may grow in unity, faith and the Knowledge of God.

In reflecting on the servant song, chapter 4: 11-16 caught my attention. It says;

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine ,by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking in truth and love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Among other things, this passage screams Service! Service! Service! Serving one another in unity to achieve a goal; to glorify God. Joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, to the effective working by which every part does its share. In this picture, every member is using their gift to serve in the body. Serving other believers and ultimately serving God.

There have been two points of reflection for me;

         Brother, let me be your servant; if Christ himself, the head of the body came not to be served but to serve who am I that I should not do the same within the body of Christ? The bible is asking believers to minister to one another and to do their part in the church according to their God-given gifts. Imagine what it would be if every single part of the body did its share as described by the Apostle Paul. Right now we are plagued with one-eyed, one-armed, peg-legged churches going about handicapped because there are parts that remain idle as if they have yet not met Grace. May God give me the grace to do my part wholeheartedly.

          I pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant, too; this is an interesting one. The last time I mentioned this to someone they gasped. So if everyone is going around serving everyone, everyone should be giving and receiving, right? It is such a joy to serve others, and I think it is equally a joy to be blessed by someone’s service. There are many people who turn down service from others in the name of being a “servant”, being “polite”, a battle of the service as it were. The “no no no, I cannot take this”, or the “you take the seat, no you sit, no you sit” battle, or turning down an offer of help with chores, watching the kids, or running errands so you can rest. At times it is the refusal to ask for help when in need. The examples are endless. We all can think of a time when we needed some help, but we turned it down or even were too afraid to ask. Sadly sometimes our need to be the perpetual “service providers” denies us the opportunity to be blessed by the service of others who would like to partake in the blessing of serving. It takes humility to be on the receiving end. To be in need, and accept help, to ask for help. Why should this be uncomfortable?

The Church is a body. We are meant to depend on each other, to rely on each other. In God’s design, every member has a role to play, whatever your area of gifting is, whatever love compels you to do. We are pilgrims on a journey; we are brothers on the road. We are here to help each other, walk the mile and bear the load.

AWOL CHURCH MEMBERS

How often have we heard a sermon from Hebrews 10:24-25? The passage is often read or taught in the context of criticism or as some people would put it in an outright spanking from the pulpit. ‘Do not forsake the assembling of the believers’ is a well-known phrase among church people. However, have we ever considered what the context of the passage is? Alternatively, have you taken time to appreciate the argument of the writer in the broader context of the book?

The book of Hebrews has five warnings to the readers, urging them to persevere and not fall away from the faith that they have believed. In Hebrews 10:26-27, we find one of the warning passages. It is a warning of judgement and raging fire if one continues deliberately sinning, having received the truth, because they would be no sacrifice left. The verses before give us the antidote to this apostasy. Namely;

1. Worship - "Let us draw near"- verses 22.

2. Perseverance - "Let us hold fast" - verse 23.

3. Fellowship - "Let us consider one another"- Verse 24.

The writer argues that one way a believer guards against apostasy is by considering others and by stimulating others. What does that mean? So how does it work?

CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER

The phrase translated as to consider one another carries the idea of intentionally thinking or pondering about something. Not only should we deliberately think about others, but we should do so continuously. What should we be considering each other?

STIMULATE ONE ANOTHER

The believer should be in the habit of intentionally thinking of ways of stirring or provoking others. Interestingly, we usually are in the practice of inciting each other negatively. However, the writer here tells us that our goal is to intentionally think of ways to get others to grow in love & good works. How do we do that?

Firstly, we do not forsake the assembling of believers. While some have developed a pattern of absconding whenever believers meet, the believer who is serious about not falling away from the faith will not forsake the meeting of the saints.

Secondly, we stimulate by encouraging one another. One of the goals of meeting with the saints is so that we may come alongside one another and urge each other to persevere. We do not gather looking for ways we can be blessed or how others can meet our needs and desires. On the contrary, we do with a clear intention of being an encouragement to the brethren. We are considering specific people that we plan to stimulate to love and good works.

SOME IMPLICATIONS

1. Do not be a loner. "There is nothing more unchristian than a solitary Christian." John Wesley

2. Do not have a consumer mindset (do not use church). Do not gather with a self-centred focus.

3. Plan to be at church gatherings and make the most of them. I.e. be on time, talk to people, sing songs, and pay attention.

4. Do not think of church in terms of programs but people. The church is the body, get to know people and find ways of ministering to them.

Praising God for 26 years of FBCR

This past week we were celebrating and reflecting on 26 years of existence as a church. This allows us to praise God for his goodness and faithfulness over the years. The journey has brought tears of joy and sorrow. We have cried out in praise to God and equally cried out in grief to Him. We have heard testimonies of salvation and welcomed people into membership through the waters of baptism, but we have also heard confessions of sin from dear ones who have fallen and seen others depart from the faith with much grief. We have welcomed people who have become dear to the family and sadly bid farewell to others. In all the highs and lows, the Lord has been with us and led us by His grace. Here are a few points of reflection.

God always raises people for the time

It is amazing the number of people who come and go in the life of the church. You are welcoming and bidding farewell all at the same time. Some farewells can be quite discouraging because it means you are saying bye to dear people and usually to people who play a vital role or serve in some capacity. Such goodbyes can leave you deflated, however, that kind of discouragement soon proves to be foolhardy, because the Lord soon raises people for the time. This is either someone rising to the occasion or someone joining the church from somewhere else. In the Lord’s church, anyone and everyone are replaceable because God always raises people for the time.

The church is indeed a body

Every church whether big or small has people who serve in the limelight and those who serve in the background. Those whose roles are public and visible and others whose roles are private and unseen, though the results are always there for all to see. For the church to function effectively, you need everyone doing their role. We have seen how crucial it is for every member of the body to do their part. Let me illustrate from this past week. As I was working on the sermon during the week, someone worked to prepare the powerpoint for the songs, someone prepared the bulletin, someone beautified the church with flower arrangements, the music team met to prepare to lead us in singing, the ushers came early on Sunday to open and set up. During the service, two men went out and ushered cars so that there is proper parking, some people prepared food for our evening celebration, others set up the table arrangements and served the food, others coordinated the food to see who brings what and yet others cleared up afterwards. What a beautiful picture? I went home and sang, praise God from whom all blessings fall!

You don’t need to be big & rich to do missions

We are a relatively small church and we are not financially the biggest either, however from the very beginning, the people who started the church lead it to be missional and to consider church planting as a priority. By the grace of God, that has been the case. Indeed, a church does not need to be big nor rich to be engaged in the work of missions. The bible gives us an example of the Macedonians who in their poverty gave towards missions. It has been a blessing to see the church family grow in her commitment to missions over the years.

Growth is a steady and gradual process

All normal and natural growth is a steady, gradual process. No Christian suddenly grows into maturity from hearing one sermon, in the same way, no child grows into an adult from eating one healthy meal. Growth is a steady and gradual process. Being part of a church family and doing life together allows the family to witness the growth in each other’s lives. What a privilege that is ours as members. 

These and many others are the reasons we praised God for 26 years of His grace and kindness as a church. May His name be blessed forever!

Reflections on the 30th Zambia Reformed Conference

Last week my family and I attended the annual Zambia Reformed Family Conference, whose theme was “Cessationism and Confessionalism” on its 30^th anniversary. Every conference is unique in its own way. I am convinced that believers and families should make the habit of attending conferences for their spiritual nourishment. Pastors should also intentionally plan to attend conferences where they are not preaching and simply sit under the preaching of other men as well as interact with God’s people from different places. Here are the five points I took away from this year’s conference

Uplifting singing

There is something about singing that just lifts up your soul. Even more so, hearty singing from a 1000 plus voices in a packed room. It was encouraging to my soul to join in with the belting voices as we sang both old and contemporary hymns. It was truly a foretaste of glory divine. The simplicity of the congregational singing was also a great blessing.

Clear preaching

Sometimes preachers can overdo things. There are conferences which have more prose than form and thankfully this was not the case here. The preaching was done clearly and simply and the Lord used the preaching of the word to minister to my soul.

Unity of the brethren

The diversity at the conference is unmistakable. You have Zambians from all the 10 provinces and people from all over Africa and beyond. Each of them representing a variety of local churches. It is however remarkable how these ‘strangers’ to each other put their oneness in Christ on display. And each night when we gathered for the final service the singing reflected that oneness.

The Lord is building his church

Hearing from people from different places about their churches struck me how the Lord builds His church. In the midst of all the dark and gloom in our world, it is easy to think that the church is doomed and there is no hope for her. But on the contrary, the Lord of the church is building His church. I left the conference encouraged and energized.

The benefit of a panel discussion at a conference

One of the favourite features at conferences are well-moderated panel discussions featuring the speakers. A panel discussion is different from your traditional question and answer. Done well panel discussions give the speakers the opportunity to address questions raised from their preaching and also give further applicatory points. I have always felt that is something that this conference misses over the years I have attended it.

I was grateful for the opportunity to attend a conference that offers faithful biblical preaching and has done so for 30 years! My prayer is that may it long continue for the years to come.

Too Busy to Pray

This past week I found myself studying the first chapter of Mark for some work I was asked to do. Mark is action packed and moves at a fast pace, as is seen from the reoccurrence of the word “immediately.” In a space of 40 verses, John the forerunner is introduced, Christ has arrived, been baptized, was tempted in the wilderness, and began his ministry, preaching, healing and casting out demons and choosing the first disciples. In the midst of this activity I was tempted to skim over verse 35: “… he departed and went out to a desolate place and there he prayed”. At a time when his fame was spreading, and he was experiencing success in what was becoming a busy and demanding ministry, Jesus prayed. That struck me! It struck me because when I am busy I neglect prayer. In my thinking, spending quality time in prayer when I am pressed for time is not the best use of my time. Such reasoning is dangerous and detrimental to my spiritual growth and ministry. Busyness and prayerlessness are a dangerous combination whose symptoms are seen in our attitude, work and relationships.

Impatience

When we pray, we are surrendering to the will of God and humbling ourselves to wait on the Lord, knowing it is in Him that we live, move and have our being. Only a heart communing with God in prayer will have that spirit of surrender and patience. A busy and prayerless heart relies on its own strength and power to get things done and make things work. Consequently, such a soul gets drained, weary and frustrated. The result is you go around snapping at everyone in your path: your children and spouse at home, your coworkers, the weather, fellow road users, church mates, etc.

Anxiety

As a result of being self-reliant while lacking self-sufficiency, we become experts at worry. Even when hear and read the comforting words of Scripture, to cast our cares upon the Lord for he cares for us, we in truth do not believe them. We pray, but in essence, we are still confident in our own abilities and carry burdens the Lord did not intend for us to carry. The buzz word today is “stress”, we have used it so much that it has become a fancy term; the biblical term for stress is anxiety! Being griped by fear because of the uncertainty of a situation. As a result, we end up grumpy, restless and irritable.  

Pride

Busyness means activities, programs and events. It is easy for one to be prayerless and still host a successful program or event. It is a mystery of ministry that one can be relatively successful while not walking or depending on the Lord, at least from the onset. Such a situation is fertile ground for pride. A person who prays earnestly and consistently has no basis to be proud because in prayer he declares his poverty and reliance on God. Not so for a prayerless individual; he relies on his experience, gifts and planning and an ounce of success soon gets to his head. As a result, such a person ends up becoming the centre of ministry and ungrateful.

Joylessness

There is a childlike joy that comes from fearing God and submitting to him and his will. This joy is a result of being satisfied with your relationship with God and being found in his presence and finding that in his presence there is the fullness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures evermore. It comes from a soul that proclaims with David “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land” (Ps. 63). Prayerless Christians and ministers are devoid of joy because in their pride they have become self-reliant, which then makes them impatient, anxious and joyless. 

O Lord I can be so busy and caught up in the activities of life that I neglect to pray. Cause me to realize that I was created to live in dependency. May what was said of Charles Simeon be true of me: “Never did I see such consistency, and the reality of devotion, such warmth of piety, such zeal and love… he devoted the first four hours of the day to private prayer and the devotional study of the Scriptures…”

Antidote for a discouraged soul

I recently noticed that I was becoming disinterested in the events of life, my responsibilities, church meetings and people. I further noticed that I was getting mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually tired. So there I was busy with life and work, yet tired, disinterested and wondering why I should keep going. And the fact that everything was, by and large, going well simply deceived me into thinking all is well. However, the restlessness and the disinterest was not ceasing. Then one morning it hit me, I was discouraged! When I did a self-diagnosis, I found the cause was a combination of little things (i.e. persisting illness, failed plans, unmet needs/wants, etc.). I turned to God's word for comfort and encouragement for my despairing soul. So here are some antidotes that began the healing for my discouraged soul.

Repent of Pride

One brother called me to inquire what was going on, and after hearing me out said to me “you need to remember that you are dust and if you drop dead today, this world will go on just fine.” In other words, do your part and rest. There will always be something that needs to be done, but just because it has to be done does not mean I am the one who has to do it. Christopher Ash in a sermon preached at a pastors conference on burn out says, “There is only one saviour in the world and it is not you.” He later says, “God has already appointed his messiah and it is not you.” In my pride, I was beginning to think I am the god of my life, and if I did not get things going or get things done then the work will fail. I was rebuked to repent of my pride. As my dear wife likes to say, “stop thinking you are superman and rest!”

Remember and Savor the Goodness of God

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-3

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalm 42:1-5 (Emphasis added)

Meditate on the Gospel

We are often guilty of a narrow view of the gospel. Preaching through the book of Romans has given me a greater appreciation of the wonder and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the gospel, we (condemned sinners) are saved from the penalty of sin and the just wrath of God. Through the gospel, we are reconciled to God and have peace with him. The gospel liberates us from the power of sin and the law and secures us in Christ Jesus. Paul then asks if God gave us his son what else can’t he give us by his grace? He ends chapter 8 by assuring us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Even those times when trails are raging, the love of God is ever with us.

Take time to Sing

I love singing, and I find meditating on the great truths of the Scriptures through song can be quite encouraging for my soul. Jonathan Oatman’s old time classic was a song in season. Listen to the first stanza.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Five ways you may be destroying your home

The family has been under attack from the very beginning (Gen 3). The devil and the world have always schemed to bring destruction to the homes. The schemes range from gay marriages to feminism to the disregard of parental authority to the normalizing of immorality. While enemies from without are hell bound to destroy the family, the attacks from within are more deadly. And while we should be wary and alert for the enemies attacks, we should be constantly checking to ensure we are not destroying the home from within. Here are the five ways we are in danger of destroying the home.

Absent parents                    

In an ever demanding world, busyness has become the order of the day that parenting Is often neglected. The Lord commands parents to train up children in righteousness. Training or discipleship is done through instruction and by example. That invariably implies that for training to take place time and relationships are of absolute necessity. The temptation many parents face is to get so caught up with life and work that you neglect what matters the most. I.e. parenting your children.

It will not cut for parents to pass on their responsibility to schools, the television or even the church. Parenting is one the greatest stewardship the Lord has given us and whether present or absent we are discipling our children and instilling values in them for good or bad. The parents are the shepherds, teachers, counsellors and protectors to their children. Children are a reflection of their parents.  I recently came across a quote somewhere that caught my attention it said “there is nothing worse than a man who can be everything to everybody else… except for a father to their own child”.

Entertainment addiction

In describing the mindset of most men Jim Berg says;

“… His heart is easily captured by the latest fashions, pop and reality show idols, superheroes, electronic games, sports personalities, junk foods, sexual enticements- both real and virtual, chemical stimulants- both legal and illegal and the crude and sensual humour and violence of the most popular video clips and blockbuster movies. He is easily bored and resists correction. He endures work and school as necessary evils between pursuits of pleasurable experiences offered on the midway of the world’s carnival”   

This sadly is an accurate description of our society. We are addicted to and highly influenced by the entertainment industry that we have lifted it to a place of absolute necessity. Addiction to entertainment in the home is sooner or later reflected in the moral values or lack thereof in the home. The worldview of the entertainment industry becomes the worldview of the home. Add to that a break down in meaningful communication and passivity of the mind and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.

The failure of men

Our culture blames the woman when a home breaks down and while that may be the consensus of society, God sees it differently. In God’s economy, the man is responsible. That is what headship is all about- responsibility. Now, in all honesty, it is not surprising that we place the blame elsewhere as men, after all, that is exactly what our forefather Adam did blame the woman! It is however instructive that God says through Adam (and not Eve) all men sinned (Rom 5:12-17).

Friends make no mistake, the failure of men to lead in the home always leads to its destruction. That is what happened with the Adam family (Genesis 3:1-8). It is the husbands who are tasked with leading and discipling their wives to present them holy and blameless before the Lord (Eph 5:23-32), it is the fathers who are charged with training their children in righteousness (Eph 6:4). When the shepherds of the family fail, the family fails.

The disregard for the church

The church is a safety net. In God’s economy, it is a vehicle through which His purposes are fulfilled. Families need the church. While salvation and membership are individual decisions, it is essential for the spiritual wellbeing of the families that they are healthy members of a local church. At a bare minimum part of training them up in the righteousness implies teaching them and showing them the importance of church membership.

There is a concerning trend today where parents are disregarding church and are not teaching their children the importance of belonging, serving and building relationships with other believers. It is not uncommon today for parents to leave their children at home for church meetings or attend as a whole family all together. This trend has removed the church’s safety net on a lot of families and left them exposed to an unbiblical worldview. This is then seen in the values (or lack thereof) seen in the average Christian home.

A call to do family God’s way

There is, therefore, a real need for Christians to do family God’s way. The moment we reverse or neglect our roles (husband, wife, parents, children), misplace our priorities or refuse to honour God, is the moment we sentence our homes to doom. God instituted the family and he does so with purposes and mandates. That those who are his followers will glorify him by obeying him and serving him as families. So while the world mounts its attacks on the home, let us hear the charge of God in the scriptures. 

The Purpose of Marriage

Knowing the purpose something exists for, helps maintain its value. The opposite is equally true. The moment you lose the purpose of something is the moment it loses its value. Marriage is no different. Tradition can be a dangerous thing and one of its dangers is it makes it easy to lose sight of the importance of things. Marriage is by and large part of our tradition such that it expected that when you reach a certain age you must get married. Hence, people get married for the sake of it. Many, however, have no plan or purpose for their marriage. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say most couples only plan for their wedding and not their marriage. So I thought it might be helpful to think through what the scriptures say is the purpose of marriage. 

For the purpose of companionship- Genesis 2:23-25

Then the man said, “This, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.”Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 

To show the relationship between Christ and the church- Ephesians 5:23-25

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. 

To teach and show loving authority- Ephesians 5:25, 32

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish… This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. 

To teach and live out the truth-  Psalm 78:5-8 & Deuteronomy 6:4-9

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

We are all products of our culture. The difference lies in the extent to which we are influenced by it. Sadly, our view of marriage is often influenced by the popular notions of the culture such that we get its purpose completely twisted. Dear Christian, train yourself to view marriage through the lens of scripture. 

FIVE REASONS WHY THE CHARISMATIC DRAMA IS DISTURBING

And so it has happened again! It is becoming a routine, isn’t it? Surely we have got the drill by now. It usually goes something like this. A church and its leader makes headlines and go viral for some extraordinary act performed by the “man of God”. From the spraying of doom to making people eat grass, to making a phone call to God in the middle of the service, to giving some sort of revelation, to claiming to heal entire hospital wards to now raising the dead.

But the routine doesn’t end there, such drama is followed by the clamour and jokes on social media. And in a sense, both rage and laughter are proper responses. But I wonder if this drama for what it really is; a dangerous disease that does damage to the word of God, the true gospel and the credibility of the church. Let me highlight five problems with it.

Attacks the sufficiency of scripture

The preoccupation with dreams, visions and new revelation often dubbed ‘a word from the Lord’ in the charismatic movement attacks the sufficiency of scripture. People are no longer interested in what the Lord actually says in His word, but what the dream means and if the man of God has tapped into the Shekinah glory to give them a message. It is no longer the faithful exposition of scripture that essential, the ability to interpret dreams and visions. When you do that for a while, you end up with an entire stream of “Christians”, who are not only biblically illiterate but doubt the sufficiency of scripture. No wonder it is not uncommon for people to hear and see what the passage is saying and still follow what their man of God has said. Yet Peter who had some glorious experiences with the Lord tells us that the word is surer (2 Peter 1:19-21).

Dilutes the gospel

The gospel according to the Bible is a holy God as the creator, father and judge of the world giving His only son Jesus Christ as a perfect sinless sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins by dying in the place of a sinful, rebellious people who deserve wrath and judgment, and yet if they believe in the work of Christ and repent of their sins, they will be saved (Acts 17:22-32, Romans 3:11-18, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, John 3:23). That is gospel, the good news! Sadly all we hear now is deliverance and prosperity of all propositions. If you believe in a “Jesus” you will be delivered from all sorts of demons, spirits and curses that need binding or loosening and have been hindering your progress in life.

In all this the message of the sinfulness of man and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus is absent. Sin is not the problem, demons are. Repentance and forgiveness of sins in Christ are not the solutions, deliverance from spirits is. Dear friends, this is the gospel. And the Bible makes it very clear: a diluted gospel is no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-10).

Mars the image of Christianity

A pastor (prophet) who fraudulently and shamefully dupes people into thinking he has performed a miracle or makes false declarations about events or makes people perform despicable acts (eating grass, undressing people etc) ends up shaming every Christian and church. The world has no categories for us, they do not pay attention to denominations or differences in doctrine, let alone, care about them. All they know are Christians.

Therefore what such drama does is make us look unintelligent and immoral. That someone will do such ridiculous things and still have a following does not paint a pretty picture. Such acts heighten the notion that Christians are not logical.

All this affects evangelism. It makes it very hard to reach the educated middle to upper class because the only version of Christianity they have is what they see go viral on social media and want nothing to do with it. This drama mars the image of the Christian faith.  

Builds a man-centred religion

The charismatic movement is a man-centred movement with a man-centred message. The churches are centred on the one man often the founder and CEO. And the message is about alleviating people’s problems (i.e. sickness, barrenness, jobs etc.). God then simply exists to make your life better, healthier and richer. The sovereignty and glory of God are denied not explicitly in the message but in the practice.

Is it any wonder that we spend time talking about the man and his acts and not his God or the message? When was the last time you heard a discussion concerning Bushiri’s message? Unless of course, he is talking about himself.

The trouble the event is you have to keep reinventing the wheel and coming up with something new and fresh every day. Hence, miracles have moved from healing back problems to ‘raising the dead’.

They glory in the devil

Strangely, this movement has a preoccupation with the devil. They see the devil in everything and have it their business to bind him on a weekly basis. They have creatively concocted a doctrine of demons such that they know the names of demons and their dealing places.

In a twisted kind of way, they create a powerful devil who they (the men of God) can overcome. So, in essence, they are the ones who are powerful! Is the devil real? Yes. Are we at war with him and his minnows? You bet we are. Has God taught us how to overcome him? Absolutely! Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you (Jas 4:6-8, 1 Peter 5:7-8).

Dear friends, when the jokes and memes come to an end, I urge to contemplate further. This drama is not just laughable, it is cause for weeping. Weeping for the many blind followers who are hooked into this deception. The rise in false teachers should be wind in the sails of those who proclaim the true gospel,  to sound the anthem, Jesus Saves, Jesus saves!

PARENTS, PLEASE DON’T LIE TO YOUR KIDS

Note: The blog was down for two months but we are back in business, look out for something every Thursday. This article was written by my wife Kunda, who is a far better writer than I am, so enjoy!

A few times I have noticed, especially when a child is being disobedient, that people try to make the

child do the right thing by scaring them. This fear is more often than not instilled by telling the child

a lie. My daughter has often been a victim of this, three occasions come to mind;

 First was when she kept opening a drawer in the kitchen that holds most of my baking utensils. She would take my stuff out of the drawer and leave it all over the house. As is the way of these things, we all got tired of picking up after her. We had some people staying with us at the time and this time when she attempted to open the drawer again our guests caught her and one of them said to her, “Don’t open that! There are bugs in there!” did it work? Yes. It stopped her right in her tracks.

The second time I remember, I overheard someone saying to her, “Don’t do that if you do I’ll tell that spider to eat you!” to this day my husband has to check for spiders in any room. If she does see a spider, Daddy has to sort it out.

On the third occasion, a dear lady who had been visiting our house was leaving and my daughter so desperately wanted to go with her. The lady looked at my child and said, “Go and get your shoes so we can go together.” My poor baby ran to her bedroom, got her shoes and ran back out but the lady had gone.

I can think of a few other times people have said such things to my Daughter but I think these examples will suffice. Telling a child that an insect or dog or anything that scares them for that matter will do them harm in order to get the desired behaviour is quite common in Zambia. Other cultures have their own lies, for instance, I once read about a woman who would tell her toddler that if she didn’t brush her teeth before bed the tooth fairy would come and take them all (really??).

It seems it doesn’t take much for some adults to lie to a child. The lie is swift and often quite effective. Unfortunately, I have found that it takes a longer time to undo the damage, and guess what? Usually, Mom and Dad have to undo the mess. People usually don’t take these kinds of lies seriously; after all, they’re only telling it to a child and are getting the desired result right, Wrong!

Lying is a sin. Proverbs 12:22 says “the LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” Proverbs14:5 says, “An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.” And oh, what about this one John 8:44, says, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Also, Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” The Bible says so much about lying and it’s never to support it. When you lie to a child for whatever reason, you are sinning against God. God is a God of Truth! Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said and will not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?” and Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God proves true!” God can always be trusted and we ought to emulate this if indeed we believe in him.

The effects of lying are lasting. My daughter may not have the words to fully explain what she feels, but I know that she has been scarred by people lying to her. The telltale signs are that now when I’m going out my daughter asks me if I’m really going to take her with me even when I have told her I am. She has been taught to doubt what I say to her even when I have given her my word. In our home, our word means a lot. When Mom and Dad tell her something or promise her something, so it shall be done. In the event that we fail, we explain ourselves and apologise. Always. Now we have to work on undoing the damage, we have to remind her what our word means despite the lies told to her by others. I have also noticed that she always looks up in the ceiling and corners of the house to make sure that there are no grasshoppers or spiders that by the way do not by any means have the ability to eat an entire human being. What cruelty to cause a child to be needlessly fearful of their surroundings.

We are in essence teaching our children that lying is ok. After a child has been lied to often enough, they begin to think it's ok to say something that isn’t really true. Children grow up thinking; if it's ok for that grown up to say that grasshopper will eat me when in actual fact it will not, then it's ok for me to say, I didn’t take it!” when in actual fact I did! The evidence of this is clear, just look around you. People have perfected the art of lying. Look at all the adults going around lying so effortlessly; That business owner saying an order will be ready on Monday when they know it really won’t, that guy on the bus telling someone on his phone he’s almost there when he knows he’s still a few hours out, that young man telling that girl he loves her when he knows he really doesn’t. What we have in the end is a society of liars. After all, charity begins at home!

 What are we to do in light of all these things? Just don’t lie to kids.

• When you are going out say, “I’m going out and you’re not coming with me, 'so and so' is here to look after you. I will be back.” Sometimes there will be tears and sometimes there will be none.
• Tell them what they can and can’t play with. When there is disobedience take appropriate action.
• Lastly, when you make a promise, keep it. That means you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep. Also, warn others not to make promises to our children that they do not intend on keeping.

Dear Parents and guardians, as stewards of these young souls, let us always tell our children the truth, even if at that moment it seems inconsequential.