Christ’s Ambassador

Saul, son of Kish was instructed to go on a business trip accompanied by a servant. Some donkeys were missing and that was going to be a great loss to the family business if they were not found. Saul’s mission was to find these beasts of burden and return them to the stable. Read 1 Sam 9:1-27  Out of the many servants on the family payroll, Saul picked a particular one. Why did he make that choice?

One could readily say that the one who got selected by Saul was available. Overtime, he must have proved himself capable and thorough. Saul had to like him anyway for who would want to embark on such a journey that might take several days in the company of a bore? So he must have been good also. By hindsight I can also say that the servant was goal oriented and persevering. He was untiring even though he had no stake in the family business. When Saul suggested they called the search off the man was ready to go the extra mile. He had faith in God’s intervention and his faith influenced Saul. He demonstrated this faith not only in suggesting consultation with Samuel the seer, but he was also ready to bear the cost – and that was all he had left in his pocket. That was sacrifice. He showed love to his employer by putting in more than he could ever be paid for. The servant must have cultivated an attitude of gratitude for being employed by the family of Kish. He was grateful to God for the privilege to work. This is the punch line in Jesus parable of the vineyard – the privilege to work in the vineyard of God and not the salary.(Mathew 20:1-15)

What did this servant get for all his qualities? The Bible did not tell us more about him but we know that “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them”. (Heb 6:10 (NIV)) I would expect that as Saul was promoted by God from “a common man from the least family in the tribe of Benjamin” to the King of Israel to whom “no one equals”, the servant was automatically promoted from being a servant of just a rich man to the servant of a King. More than that, he was God’s instrument to steer Saul to where he was anointed as King. And this was a reward in itself for that time, and then very soon, he would be welcome to the eternal home of peace with “Well done, my good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ……” (Luke 19:17 NIV)

In a related story, another employee, a young Hebrew girl captured by the Arameans, witnessed that God is a healer and Naaman, the war General of the Arameans got healed. More, Naaman confessed that “there is no God in the entire world except in Israel” (2Kgs 5:15 NLT) If this servant girl was not beyond reproach in her conduct, no one would have taken her words with a pinch of salt.

We do well to emulate these employees in the highcalling of our daily work. The vineyard of God is not restricted to Church or crusade grounds. It covers the places where we earn our daily living, where we recreate, the home, hospital, school, meeting hall and market place. Wherever you may be at any time is God’s vineyard. The total being of a believer should bring glory to God.

The first battle I had to fight post salvation was with alcohol consumption. It was a battle that had no direct intrusion of Satan. It was between the two natures in me: Spirit man and Carnal man. Should I continue my erstwhile drinking binge? Definitely no. But the thirst was always there and I saw Christians who also drank and quoted scriptures in support. So where was the demarcation line? What quantity was enough to wash down my food and still keep me straight-headed? When would I cross the line to over-indulgence? These questions kept nagging at my mind even as my appetite refused to give way. After quite a long time of struggling and studying scriptures, I wrote the following in my diary because the word made a great impact on my life. I am only sharing my experience here and I must say that I am not speaking on behalf of my church. If this post helps somebody, it will be fulfilling its purpose and may God receive the glory.

One of the favourite scriptures I used to hear quoted in support of drinking alcohol was 1Tim5:23. But Paul was not giving a license for alcohol consumption here. He was only recommending wine as mere medication, and as in all medications, in moderate dosage relevant at their own time because of their limited medical knowledge.

This is not the only time and place where wine was prescribed or used for medication in Biblical days. The good Samaritan, in the parable told by Jesus to illustrate love and neighbourliness, poured oil and wine on the wounds of the casualty as first aid. Luke 10:34. I think that wine must have been used widely as medication in those days. Now medical science is at an all high and still improves by the day. No one treats wounds with wine now, but we have methylated spirit, which is alcohol deliberately altered to discourage drinking, among other medications used for first aid.

This issue of wine and strong drink must be studied in full context to have a good understanding of the Biblical stand. In this piece, I shall expound on the subject under two clearly distinct dispensations: Era before Pentecost, and Era since Pentecost.

The earliest occurrence of wine in the era before Pentecost was immediately after the deluge when Noah began to cultivate the ground. He planted a vineyard and got drunk from the fruits of the garden. Ham, one of his children made a mockery of Noah’s nakedness and his descendants got cursed. From him came the Canaanites. Gen9:21-25 Lot also got drunk with wine and did not know when his own daughters raped him to produce Moab and Benammi, the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites, cursed people and dreaded enemies of Israel. Gen 19:30-37

A good study of the Old Testament showed that Israel made free and acceptable use of wine and strong drinks. God did not sanction them for that. Deut 14:25- 26 is a useful reference. Even then, God still gave some no-go area. Priests and Levites were not to take wine or intoxicating liquor when attending to God’s duties else they die. Lev 10:9. This commandment was repeated through Ezekiel even as God told him of the return of the remnants from exile Ezek44:21. He warned: “No Priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court”.

Attending to God’s duties demands soberness, clear headedness and humility and not the light headedness and false courage that wine produces. The operation of the Holy Spirit in those days was like this: He descended on a vessel HE wanted to use, maybe a King, Prophet, Priest or Judge and when the candidate has finished the assignment, the Holy Spirit chooses another. Because of his divine presence, such people would be forbidden to partake in common or unholy things. The presence of God was only seen and felt in the tent of meeting in the wilderness, and later in the temple at Jerusalem. Such places must not be desecrated with drunkenness and associated practices. There was wine though; we must not forget that there was even a wine offering to God. Lev 23:13

Up till and during the time of Jesus’ ministry, this dispensational allowance still held. Jesus himself rebuked the Jews in Mt 11:18 -19 saying  ”For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon. The Son of Man,^[a] on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”  Some have argued that the wine they drank then was not intoxicating but the scriptures did not say so. The apostles were accused of being drunk with wine on Pentecost day. Old Eli thought Hannah was drunk with wine. The Pharisees called Jesus a glutton and drunkard. The wine was intoxicating, and they still had strong drinks. But the poor used wine mostly because it was produced from farm produce. There was also scarcity of portable water and so they had wine to accompany food most times.

It was necessary for Jesus to relate well with sinners to win them over but this is not to say that he over-indulged as they were accusing him of. He is king of perfection, King of Righteousness and it was not possible for him to do wrong. It is instructive to note here that none of us descendants of Adam had his type of discipline. He had greater control of his desires and appetites than we have. He had a perfect body with no sin of his own and neither did he inherit any from his parents. He was one who could say “My food is to do the will of my father and to finish his work” Jn4:32 He had no luxury all his life safe the donkey he burrowed to ride triumphantly into Jerusalem and the grave he slept in.

At Pentecost, things changed. The Jewish system of worship wound up. God came to reside in men and the temple arrangement changed. Man became the temple of the Holy Spirit. 2 Cor 6:16  New laws came to be, which were actually an expansion of the old laws: Do not be filled with wine in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit Eph 5:8 Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, and this is your spiritual worship Rom 12:1 Pray without ceasing 1Thess 5:20. Pray in the Holy Spirit Jude 20. Be sober and alert. All these commands were given to believers. The word of God stands for ever. His warning through Ezekiel in Eze 44:21and the one through Moses in Lev 11:9 were not invalidated by Pentecost but given expanded meanings today as believers became the temple of God, as well as the Priests. Believers serve 24-7, no break, no leave, no excuse duty.

It is abominable to destroy the temple of God, or yield its use to other concerns different from worshipping God in Spirit and Truth. Alcohol desecrates the temple and weakens it. A body sodden with drink cannot at the same time be filled with Spirit. But what if I drink a little and don’t over-indulge? I used to say this. But another consideration is this: What happens to a brother or sister who is weaker in resolve but look up to me for mentoring? How do I share their burden? Paul says “He’d rather give up eating meat if his eating it may cause a brother to stumble. The wines in the Babylonian King’s kitchen might have been alright for Daniel but he offered to take a diet of vegetables and water because of his firm determination to maintain his identity as servant of God. With his self denial he was able to  help his colleagues to gain courage and strength, and God rewarded them for it. What a shining example!

Drinking alcohol, among other evils, caused for me weakness of the body and anytime I drank  before bedtime, I found it very difficult to wake up at night to observe a quiet time with God. If I managed to keep my eyes open, my mind would never be as sharp as it should be in normal conditions. This made me to appreciate the good sense King Lemuel learnt from his mother. Prov 31:4-6 says “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol. For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed. Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress”

These portions of scriptures convicted me and I began to pray for the Spirit of God to take over. I enlisted the help of my wife and I stayed around brethren of the same convictions. After a little while, the battle was over. I started living a free and healthier life. This is how I was able to overcome my appetite for alcoholic beverages.

King Ahab coveted Naboth’s vineyard, and truly, he was decent enough in his manner of approach and proposal. “Look Naboth“, he might have said, “this vineyard is very close to my palace. It could be converted to a nice royal vegetable garden. If you prove a patriotic citizen as I know you are, I am ready to pay you handsomely for it. Just name your price. Or if you wish, I can give you a better vineyard for it. The choice is yours. But far be it from me to rush you in matters like this. You need to sleep over it. Shall we say three days? In three days, let me know your choice, money or another plot in choice location”

Was Ahab shocked? Yes and more than that, dazed. Naboth did not need three days to give the answer. “The Lord forbid” he answered solemnly, “that I should give you the inheritance passed to me by my ancestors“. Now when a Jew says “The Lord forbids” then the issue is a closed matter. NFA - No further Action. Ahab staggered home and plunged into a hunger strike. You can read this story in 1Kg21:1-14

To the peasant Naboth, even the whole wealth in the land of Israel could not take the place of his ancestral heritage. He priced that vineyard higher than the royal promises and mouth watering offers of Ahab. The sanctity of his ancestors’ gift to him would not be defiled by money and neither would he allow other hands to till that sacred soil. Naboth’s loyalty and faithfulness to hsi lineage is very commendable and so was his courage to express it for he knew fully what it meant to refuse the kings’ offer. No one in Israel at that time was unaware of Jezebel’s devices. Yet at the risk of death, Naboth would not give his jewel to a swine.

In today’s world things have not changed. Other forces still struggle for our loyalty and faithfulness. There are still unnumbered Ahabs around eyeing the vineyard the Lord has given us as heritage, and the carrots they dangle are fattter and more attaractive. Bosses still ask for casual sex in return for opportunity for employment or promotion. Bribes have been given pleasant nicknames to make it less offensive. Contracts are inflated to take care of “extraneous costs of doing business“, and projects that have been duly paid for are been abandonned and no one cares. There arre even less visible evils going on. People falsify entry in the timebook when they have come late. We still spend company time and resources on selfish activities, and we falsify age and qualifications to meet employment and promotion requirements. All these practices put believers in Naboth’s shoes, at the risk of seeling their heritage to Satan.

But the Lord forbids all these when he said “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” Mathew 5:48  Let what the Lord has forbidden remain forbidden not only on Sundays in church, but Mondays through Saturday everywhere we may be and most especially in the highcalling of our daily work. Here are a few of what the Lord forbids as compiled in the Message transaltion of Gal 5: 19-21 by Eugene H Peterson:..” trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. ” Are you tempted with any of these? Ask Jesus to  help you today.

No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Mathew 11:27 

In the year 2005 Suzan and I decided to relocate our family from Gwagwalada to Bassa in the FCT Nigeria. We were under great stress at that period. I have been unemployed for five years and so we had to live on Suzan’s earnings as a contract flight announcer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. A relation was involved in an auto crash and sustained head injury. I had to stay with him in the hospital for 7 weeks as he recuperated and regained his memory. Tayo had to stay with neighbours whenever Suzan was on duty.  I lost my dad very recently. For no reason known to me, I was denied a job for which I was tested and interviewed and found to be qualified. Armed robbers raided the neighbourhood and I had to watch helplessly as they carted away whatever caught their fancy from our house. All these cascaded on us in a seamless flow. My self-esteem was at the lowest ebb. Not a few times, the wish to take a peaceful exit from this earth was expressed in my prayers.

We moved to Bassa a week after the robbery incidence. Our new house was a one-bedroom flat. Our first Sunday service was with a wonderful congregation of believers in the ECWA Goodnews Church. It was an indicator of God’s answer to our prayers for a peaceful place to stay. There was no clergy class but everybody was on duty to serve the Lord. It was wonderful and I felt like a traveler who had traversed the hot desert for days on end now offered a glass of cold water under the shade of a large oak tree. I told Suzan that the Lord had allowed us a space in Bassa and that night we used the story of Isaac and the well at Rehoboth to pray. Gen 26:22 We all had to make new friends and we adults were being very cautious.

Tayo’s approach was a different one. Despite the fact that he was only permitted to play with other kids near the house, he was very excited. Each time Tayo saw me peeping at them through the window, he never lost the opportunity to introduce me to his new friends “Henry! See my father” And each time he said this, the expression on his face was always that of glee and satisfaction that he had done something good. That influences his friends too. They would all rush to the window to see that wonderful daddy that Tayo was so proud of. The irony there was that I never felt like a worthy daddy in my mind. One, I had seen those kid’s fathers with their big statures, fashionable dresses and nice cars. I believe they were able to offer their family more than I did mine. I was thin with worries, looking older than my age with my premature grey hairs and clad in unfashionable clothes. Yet all these did not matter to young Tayo. “ Sule, come and see my father!” He would shout again when another kid joined them.While reflecting on on these issues one day, I realized that Tayo was being used by God to teach me a spiritual lesson. This was not the first time though that God had used him to ram some sense into my skull. Tayo could not help showing me to his world. He wanted his friends to know his father. Jobs, cars, dresses and big house did not matter to Tayo. What mattered was that he had wonderful parents who caredfor him. Period.

He was imitating Jesus Christ who spent all his life showing HIS Father to the world. (Eph 5:1) Jesus could never rest until he had done or said something that showed the world who God is. This same assignment he left with us his disciples. In Mark 8:38 he warned thus: If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” And in Mt10: 28 he told the twelve, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”  The other kids didn’t know me, but Tayo made sure they knew all about me and Suzan within the few minutes they played together in a day. That would not stop him from telling them again the next day. He told them every folk tale I had told him and every song his mother ever taught him. Wasn’t this exactly what Jesus did in giving us a picture of His father and his kingdom?  This, we also ought to devote our lives to doing.

While I was busy feeling sorry for my, misfortunes, God used a 4-year old to remind me of the needful. While in that state, I could never see God’s purpose for my life. This is one of Jesus’ prayers: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” Mt 11:25-27 Christ chose to reveal His father to us. We would know the father if we would just have the simple faith of little children. Christ suffered and died to save us so we may know the father and his eternal love.

What inhibits you today to join in the great commission? Is it your position, or power? Is your wealth or career hindering you? Is it poverty or low self-worth? Are you among the ‘wise and learned’ whose searching of hearts have blocked their vision of God’s kingdom? Are you buried in activities like Martha? Take your eyes off these hinderances and focus on Jesus who himself passed through worse temptations. He emptied himself and lived for God.Perhaps you think the great commission is meant for the clergy class? No. Christ did not die to give a few people jobs. He gave his life to save the world and we also are obliged to give our lives for the brethren 1Jn 3:16. Anywhere you may be at a given point in time, show God through your speech, your work, your conversation, your manners and your entire life style. Do it with love. This is a job that was passed over the heads of angels and given to mere mortals. Value it. Its simple, even a four-year old boy did it. You can. 

I took my attention away from the frustrations and plunged myself into evangelism, cutting odd jobs whenever I could get one. Neighbours nicknamed me Pastor. My family started a spiritual growth we have never known and a peace we have never imagined we could have. Tayo started schooling. Our relations and the church never failed to provide for us even without asking. It’s been wonderful. Two years later, precisely August 2007, I got an opportunity to work again in a corporate setting. I have never seen work as toil again. Rather, work is an opportunity to serve God with talents, skills, learning and other resources available.

In Acts 8:1-12, Lukre reported that there arose in Jerusalem a great persecution and the disciples fled to Judea and Samaria except the Apostles. The twelve (minus Judas Iscariot plus Mathias) waited behind in
Jerusalem despite the heat of persecution. Stephen had just been martyred.Yet they stood their ground in Jerusalem. Why? Were these not the same people who, lily-livered, ran each to his house when the Lord was apprehended and given the capital punishment? What had happened to change their stamina? Jesus had told them earlier to tarry in Jerusalem till power came to them. “You will get power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” (Acts 1:8) And indeed the Spirit came. It was a fire baptism. The fire penetrated their heads and got cramped in their bellies. The fire without must bow to the fire in the belly. Centuries earlier, the fire of Nebuchadenezer’s over heated furnace could not contain the fire in the bellies of the three servants of God.(Daniel 3:1-27)

Were they cowards who took flight? The Bible did not say so and they did not behave like cowards. One, it appears they fled in divinely inspired directions and the timing was divinely controlled also. Even today, God may raise persecution if we sit complacently in one place. Jesus had mapped out the areas of coverage fo the gospel when he said “you will be my witnesse in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria and to the fringes of the earth.”Acts 1:8b Two, they began painting the territories of Judea and Samaria red with the Gospel message though they could have gone under for fear. But they knew no fear any longer. Fear and Fire cannot co-habit. There was fire in their bellies because they carried the pure and unadulterated message of Christ. Pure doctrine gives fire in the belly- treasure in earthen jars. We are the ones in the uttermost fringes of the earth today. How are we handling this transferred mandate? May the earthen jars be broken to reveal the blazing flame of the Spirit as in the battle led by Gideon.(Judges 6:20)

One of the disciples was Philip. Of this evangelist, Luke wrote that wonderful signs were performed by him such that the town was agog with the news. Petrified by Holy Ghost fire, an erstwhile local champion by name of Simon the Sorcerer degraded into ashes of oblivion. His magic was nothing compared to the miracles performed by Philip and the people recognised the fact. Why? Philip’s miracles came with a divine message that satisfied the needs of the people; the Goodnews of God’s kingdom. And the message came with a name, Jesus the Christ.  Of this name, Paul reported that God exalted it higher and above all other names and that all knees should bow before him. (Phil 2-9-10) Simon the sorcerer and his magic wand bowed, and more, Simon also believed and was baptised.

Have the rules and the terrain changed for believers today? No. God is unchangeable and he is ever faithful to his promise that “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. So why are we not seeing revivals again? Have believers not started taking things easy? These are the days of goody-goody message and dramatic pulpit homily just to gain membership. The world has crept into the church and the church had become lukewarm. We have departed from the doctrines of the Apostles and churches are now preaching doctrines of demons. 

We will begin to witness revivals again when we do what the Lord says. The problem is not with the world but with believers. What do we hear people preach today? Money. Self. Church. Denomination. Many groups that started in Spirit have become success cults. We are the salt of the world but we are no longer giving taste. When we return to the given task of ‘witnesses’ of Christ’s resurrection, there will be revival. There will be conversion of souls. What is currently happening is soul transfer: People moving from one denomination to the other in search of Christ because we have hidden Christ under the rubbles of impure doctrines. Impure doctrines quench fire. Pure doctrine ignites fire in the belly. Fire in the belly made the Apostles to say “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”. Impure doctrines leave the hearers stone cold and frustrated but the true message of Christ, preached any day, must make the hearers to say “brethren what shall we do”? Acts 2:37

Prophet Hosea lamented that people perish because they lack knowledge of God, the redeemer. Hosea 4:6

There were very prudent and shrewd investors in the world in the days of Noah just as there are today. Their brains ran the mills of the great stock exchange markets all over the world. They were busy buying and selling, conducting mergers and take-overs of mega businesses. However, all their business acumen amounted to stupidity on the day the rains started pouring. All their meteorology experts could not forecast the abrupt change in weather. No one could foresee the factors that took the stock value of Noah’s ship sky-high within 6 hours. Noah advertised for 120 years, pleading and begging but nobody taught he was sane enough to have commanded attention. No one could put a dime on his ‘miserable’ ship. That would have been a poor investment to them because they lack vision. But suddenly, things changed. The ship’s stock gained value and all the money in the whole world could no longer buy a passage in Noah’s ship when the fury of God poured over the sinful world.

No one had seen rain before that time but it came as God said it would. Day one, two, three…and still falling.. till day forty. The bowels of the earth opened up to augment the torrential downpour. The rivers and canals began spilling over. Water level kept rising and the windows and doors were no longer barriers. What’s happening? Did that crazy old man Noah not say it? Where is he now? At a distance, Noah’s ship could be seen floating gracefully as it rose with the water level. Some daring young divers were even seen struggling to reach it for safety. They swam round as they shouted to attract attention but Noah was oblivious of their attempts. He was busy praising the faithful God inside the ark even as the strength of the divers failed and they gave up to.

The whole world perished except Noah and seven others who were his close relations. They were the ones who invested wisely. The rest invested in things that had no life, no eternal value. Where are your investments? Its quite the same issue today. Education, career, business etc are all good things in themselves but they are not to rule our lives.  ANywhere you may be; at work, on the streets, in the field of play, you are called to be the arms of God and his spokeperson. You are called to extend his love to to others and to refelct his light to those in darkeness. You are called to give taste to this world as salt give to food. Jesus still warns in Mathew 24:37-39 ”As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (NIV) Jesus said he would come back to judge the world and safe his followers. He is the ark of today and his followers are the Noah class. Your eternity depends on the decision you make today. As there was no other means of salvation in the days of Noah, so there is no other name given to us under heaven, today, by which we may be saved except the name of Jesus. Acts4:12. He is “the way, the truth and the life”

How do you decide? Perhaps you want to make a decision for him today, and why not? Why perish when there is a saviour? Why die like a fool? Simply say the following prayer:

Lord Jesus, I confess to you today that I need you to safe me. I repent of all my sinfulness. Come into my heart and reign as Lord and personal saviour to me. Amen.

If you said that prayer, you have been saved. Your account is already credited with righteousness. You are now a child of God, a joint heir with Jesus. If you are already a believer, make sure you are doing your bit in proclaiming the good news of the salvation of God given freely in Christ Jesus. By so doing, you’d be accumulating more shares to your heavenly investment.

On Mount Sinai, God Almighty burned a portrait of himself on tablets of stone for Moses to show the Israelites as a major step to make out of them a royal priesthood. These are the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:1-18, also called law of God or Royal law Jas 2:8.

But then, did the law of God begin when God called Moses to the top of the mountain? The Bible did not say so. Rather it seems the law of God has no beginning just as God has no beginning. His laws are his characteristics and so must have existed with him right from eternity past. How else could Lucifer have sinned and become Satan the devil? Where there is no law, there is no sin Rom 4:15. Adam sinned when he ate the fruit in disobedience. Sin is transgression of the law. This implies that at least the law predated Adam’s and Lucifer’s rebellions.

The law was given to Moses on Sinai to point out the sin of man.(Rom 7:7) Paul also explained in Rom3:20 that “the law is so perfect that no man can ever be made right in the sight of God by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s law the clearer it becomes that we are falling short of the standard”. Jesus came as a perfect personification of those laws and that was why when he began to magnify it, in words and in deed.

It is instructive to note where the tablets of stone on which God wrote the law were kept. In Ex 40:20 it was recorded that Moses placed them inside the ark of covenant. On the ark itself was built the Mercy seat of God, the place of atonement, showing that although the law judges every one, yet God’s mercies abound for those who put their trust in his salvation brought by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on
Calvary. 

While the law of God stands for ever, the addendum Moses made to the law was temporary. It was added because of sin (emphasis mine) (Gal3:19). The writer of the letter to Hebrews also noted that the law was weak and imperfect and then set aside because it made nothing perfect. (Heb7:19-19). The law of Moses regulated the priesthood, sacrifices, rituals and offerings and all other practices which pointed to Christ and were stopped when the lamb of God himself was offered for the sins of the world. His ministry accomplished the laws of Moses and ended that phase. (Mathew 5:17-19) Some of those laws sound tough and unfriendly and were added because of the hardness of heart of the Israelites. Moses wrote the codicil in a book which was placed beside the Ark of Covenant of God to serve as a witness against the people of Israel. Deut 31:26.

So is there not a difference between the laws written on stone by the fingers of God and placed inside the ark of covenant and the laws written in a book by Moses and placed beside the ark of covenant ?. These days, many practices have been brought into the church and many denominations have been created because men could not agree on what law they should operate. While some add the Ten Commandments to the addendum set aside, others extract the part of the addendum that serves their purpose and still enforce them. The result is that men have derailed from pure worship to vain worship, teaching the doctrines of men. Mark 7:7 Jesus summarised the laws of God as love. Love does not end.

Which laws did Jesus set aside? Which law did he refer to when he said  “not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved?”  Let us re-examine the laws.

I wish to refer you to Howard Butt Jr’s audio cast on Learning to Accept The Graciousness of Others.  Short and sharp, the audio helped me to refllect on the other side of the coin.

In his pride, fallen man does not find it pleasant being on the receiving end of love. He takes it as a weakness on your part if you trust and love him, and his treacherous heart wants to exploit that weakness. At times he thinks you even have ulterior motives for being simple and good, so he sets out to beat you to it. He needs help and asks for it. He seeks it desperately and would do anything just to have it. When offered charity at last he accepts it and resent it at the same time. After using it he finds out that he hates being in a position to need such assistance and the fact of being obliged to you. Man resents being wholly beholden to another, or to owe another a debt that he cannot repay. This is why he also makes attempts to pay God back with self-righteousness and dead works. In many occasions people benefiting from goodwill end up hating their benefactors and in some cases even doing harm to those who have been kind to them. Really, why does man find it difficult to express the emotion of gratitude in return for love?

However, disciples of Christ need not despair at this, for Christ did not promise us fewer woes. Are these not the same treatment he received from the hands of those he came to save? He did say in John 16:33 that “In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world”.  

Should you stop doing good because you are paid with evil? NO! The master’s instruction is Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In that way you will be acting as true children of your father in heaven for he givces his sunlight to both the evil and the good and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. Mathew 5:44-45

Have you been at the receiving end of treachery, hatred, back stabbing, insult and all such evils in return for your good deeds? Take heart. Other brethren all over the world are also being treated same way. You are not alone, Christ is with you. Moreover, suffering like this is part of your call …”For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.1Peter 2:21 NLT

God is not unjust as to forget your labour of love. You will receive your reward if you do not tire out. Keep at it. Raise your drooping hands, rise and shine.

ODD

Led by Judas ‘detractor’ Iscariot, the twelve decided that three hundred denarii was a waste when spent on Jesus. In other words, Jesus was not worth a year’s wage of an unskilled labourer. It happened that Mary poured a flask of designer’s perfume on Jesus and the fragrance filled the whole room. Their ire was “For what purpose is all this waste”? Mathew 26:8. John, one of the twelve fingered the ring leader as Judas who was smart enough to have quickly calculated the market value of the ointment.  His (Judas’s) eyes became red as he mentally calculated the amount that could have come to his pocket if the perfume was sold. Read John’s account here John 12:1-7. No wonder when he bargained for the sale of his master, he was offered 30 pieces of money, the standard price of a slave and that was good money to him. What a magnificent worth at which man valued God!  Hear the prophet Zechariah in “……So they weighed out for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, Cast it to the potter [as if He said, To the dogs!]–the munificently [miserable] sum at which I [and My shepherd] am priced by them! And I [Zechariah] took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” Zech 11:12-13 (The Amplified bible.)

GRACE

On the other hand, how much is man worth to God? “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” Jesus asked his listeners Mathew 10:29. In another discourse, he asked “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?” This means that if someone was ready to spend two pennies, he got five sparrows instead of four. One was added as bonus and so attracted no charge. Now hear what Jesus said about this sparrow that man puts value zero on: “And [yet] not one of them is forgotten or uncared for in the presence of God” Lk12:6 In yet another teaching, the greatest Teacher said plainly that if you receive the whole world in payment for your soul you have made a bad deal. No Profit. “What can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mt 16:26. The whole world and the fullness thereof belong to God yet he sent His only son to come and redeem man. What an amazing grace.

QUESTION

What price do you place on Jesus? What would you consider a waste if given up for Jesus? Is it your career or your pleasure? Is it your relationship or church? Your native land or the world? When it is time for the weekly 1-hr Bible study or scheduled evangelism, for instance, what comes between you and God? Is Mathew 19:29 instructive to all disciples who still struggle with the price of following Jesus?

Have you attended a church service recently and felt neglected, unwelcome, dissapointed or even confused? Are you offended with the recent mess in the many groups called churches today? There is no need to despair. This has happened before and was also predicted for this end-time.

The question is, what is your aim of going to an assembly on Sunday morning? Who do you expect to meet when you go to church? The eyes of understanding of your heart must look over the congregation and the men sitting at the altar else you’d be dissapointed. Look on to Jesus, the author and finisher of your salvation. Let your focus be on the word of God. The word is Spirit and gives life. No Pastor gives life. No Pastor works miracle. Jesus is the miracle worker. He is the only one who baptises with Spirit and fire.

What then is the church and what is the purpose of the church? The church is the congregation of believers and is the spiritual body of Christ on earth delegated to continue witnessing to the resurrection of Christ. It is not the building neither is it the denomination or sect. The church doesn’t happen only on Sundays or fellowship meetings. Wherever believers are is church. What true believers do all times is church activity. The Church is a training ground for believers to be tooled and kitted for the kingdom work. The Church is the inn where the broken, wounded, and the defrauded are nursed back to good spiritual health and then sent back to battle to help others.Luke 10:30-35. The role of the church was spelt clearly to Peter: Feed my lambs. John 21:17

Could you see the robbed and wounded all around you? Is it right to just cross to the other side of the road as did the Priest and the Levite? Church leaders, do you allow people to see Jesus when they come to your assembly? Have you removed the screens of flamboyant dressings, false claims, false doctrines and heavy yokes of offerings with which you disrobe Jesus? Is it still business as usual? May we learn from John the Baptist who said, “He must become greater and I must become less” John 3:29-30

Related Resources:

http://www.thehighcalling.org/Library/ViewMessage.asp?MessageID=346; http://www.us.cfan.org/Bible-Study.aspx?id=10421