All posts by Desemond Mbantoh

Church pastors

March 26, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 1 Comment

Church pastors are very important personalities in Christianity. We can perceive a pastor as an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. This title is a Greek word which means Shepherd. It is derived from the verb “Pascere” which means “to lead to pasture, cause to eat, or set to grazing”. This term indicates a New Testament elder or leader in the Church. It differs from the term minister as we can read from our Bibles. However, many protestant churches refer to their pastors as ministers of the gospel.

The Bible does not promote lonely Christians neither does it promote believers who deliberately keep themselves from Christian gatherings. Christians are called to demonstrate the greatest love towards God. In the same light, they are also expected to maintain the greatest form of unity and love towards each other. This calls for a regular christian encounter which aims at worshiping God together and serving each other. Throughout the Christian history, we realize that God has always called on his people to accept leadership from those whom he chooses and sends. Church pastors are out to maintain God’s children on the right path that leads to eternal life. However, we’ll recommend that you read our article on Why simply going to Church does not make you a true Christian or believer.

Things to know about Church pastors

Biblical views of Church pastors

The Holy Bible remains our standard of life in the Christian race. Whatever question or worry that we may have, we should always turn to our Bibles. This will prevent us from being induced into false doctrines and religions. It is in this same light that we are called upon to test every spirit and teaching to see if it comes from Christ before believing it. We can read this from 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and 1 John 4:1. And you can only effectively test each spirit and its teachings by first knowing the voice of Jesus Christ through the Holy Gospels. It is in this same line of thinking that we shall bring ought supported truths about Church pastors from the Bible.

Ephesians 4:11

This biblical chapter and verse informs us that when Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, he shared gifts to mankind. First, He called some to be Apostles. Second, He called some to be Prophets. Third, He called some to be evangelists. Fourth, He called some to be Pastors. Fifth, He called some to be teachers. These are the gifts or callings which are regularly referred to as the five fold ministries in the church. Here, we see that being a pastor is a gift from God. It’s not your choice neither that of man but that of God.

Callings are individual and they differ from person to person. Although they differ, they are all aimed at equipping the believers for the Christian work. No gift is superior than the other and should not be perceived from the human point of view. One thing is certain with God, if you are able to manage small things today, He’ll give you more to manage tomorrow. That’s why you must start by knowing your calling and developing it. Do you know your calling? If you already know, that’s nice, may God bless and assist you in using it for His glory. If you haven’t yet found out your calling, do not panic because we are here to guide you as God directs us. For this purpose, we’ll recommend that you read our article on How to know God’s call in your life.

1 Corinthians 12:28-30

Here, Apostle Paul speaks under the influence of the Holy Spirit as he says that “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place Teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. They are not all Apostles, or Prophets, or Teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said“.

The importance of Pastors who are supposed teachers and guides on the things of God is clearly pointed out here. Apostle Paul still emphasizes on the fact that not everyone is called to be a teacher of the gospel. In order words, not everyone is given that understanding to unravel the mysteries in the Bible for themselves and others. Whatever the case, understanding is poured unto those whom God has called to be Church Pastors. The Holy Spirit guides and leads them to rightly teach what God wants from men. Forcing yourself into doing this task without being called is dangerous for you and those whom you’ll be teaching. In the same chapter, Apostle Paul points out the power of speaking in strange tongues. For a better understanding, we’ll recommend that you read our article on How praying in tongues can open the supernatural realm in your life.

Jeremiah 3:15

In this passage, God speaks through Prophet Jeremiah and tells us that He will send to us a Shepherd who is after His heart. He further explains that this Shepherd will feed us with knowledge and understanding about His Kingdom. This Shepherd whom God is talking about here is no one but Jesus Christ. Indeed, He came and taught us all that we need to know about making it to eternal life and residing in God’s Kingdom. His teachings can clearly be found in the Gospels. He taught that anyone who repents and believes His message through faith will live forever. Worth noting here is that repentance is generally demonstrated by the outward sign of baptism which shows an inward change of mind.

We’ll like to point out here that there are three types of Baptisms as we can read from Matthew 3:11. The first is the baptism of water which shows that a person has repented. It was initiated by John the Baptist who said that the person coming after him will carry out the second and third Baptism. In most cases, the second and third usually come together. They proceed from Jesus Christ whom John the Baptist announced. The second is the Baptism of the Holy spirit while the third is that of Fire.

It was the second and third which the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost as we can read from Acts 2:3-4. You can read our related articles on How to receive the Holy Spirit, How to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and How to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is in this same line of thought that we’ll say that Jesus Christ being the Good Shepherd left behind Church Pastors to guide and instruct us on His teachings.

Titus 1:5-9

“I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that still needed doing and appoint Church elders in every town. Remember my instructions: an elder must be blameless; he must have only one wife, and his children must be believers and not have the reputation of being wild or disobedient. For since a Church leader is in charge of God’s work, he should be blameless. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, or a drunkard or violent or greedy for money. The Church leader must be hospitable and love what is good. He must be self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the message which can be trusted and which agrees with the doctrine. In this way he will be able to encourage others with the true teaching and also to show the error of those who are oppose to it“.

The above chapter and verses reveals what Apostle Paul wrote to Titus concerning the qualities of Church pastors. You might be wondering why all these qualities. Its very simple. To he whom God has blessed and called into His services, much is eventually required from him. Pastors are required to have a advanced step in the Christian faith because they are to carry a load which is bigger that that which is carried by simple Christians.

What is the reward of a pastor?

Have you ever asked yourself what is the reward of a pastor? If yes, then you were not wrong. It’s but normal to seek to know what Church pastors will get as rewards on the last day. For many people, it might not sound nice to wait till the last day for a reward. Such people are are interested in knowing the reward of a pastor now. A pastor’s life now ought to be more like that of Jesus whereby he’s occupied in winning more souls into the kingdom of God and maintaining these souls on the right path. It is only on the last day that Jesus Christ will unfold the working reports of each pastor to reward them accordingly.

The best place to learn about the reward of a pastors is the Bible. So let’s read from 1 Peter 5:1-4 “I, who am an elder myself, appeal to the Church elders among you. I am a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and I will share in the glory that will be revealed. I appeal to you to be shepherds of the flock that God gave you and top take care of it willingly, as God wants you to, and not unwillingly. Do your work, not for mere pay, but from a real desire to serve. Do not try to rule over those who have been put in your care, but be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown that will never loose its brightness“.

Indeed a crown of honor besides Jesus Christ awaits all Church pastors who successfully hold to their task to the end. In addition to this crown, Jesus Christ will give them many gift that have been prepared by the Heavenly Father.

Should Church pastors be paid

The question of paying pastors or pastors receiving payment is more of a contradictory one in the modern Church. While some people argue that pastors should not be paid, others argue that pastors should be paid. Whatever the case, it is not in our place to give an answer when God has already spoken out the answer. Instead of arguing, we should rather be concerned about learning what God says about this matter. We can only do this by consulting our Bibles.

Lets open and read from 1 Corinthians 9:14 were Apostle Paul says “In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it”. This Bible verse clearly answers the question. It is a command from God that Pastors should make a living from the Holy Gospel that they preach. So why all the arguments and contradictory doctrines when God has spoken?

Can a Church Pastor go without payment?

We previously read from 1 Corinthians 9:14 that it’s a command from God for Church pastors to make a living out of the Gospel. But now, can a Church Pastor go without payment? The answer is yes and no. We say so because it all depends on the Church pastor. No one is obliging him to go without payment neither is there someone obliging him to go with payment. One thing is sure which is the fact that he has the right to receive payment for his work if he desires to.

Let’s take the example of Apostle Paul, he was one of the Church Leaders who refused to make a living out of the gospel as the others did. He rather worked hard together with Barnabas in order to meet up with their needs. these points are backed up by 1 Corinthians 9:6 and ACTS 18:3. While Apostle Paul was living i Corinth, the Bible says that although he made 3 years there for the gospel’s sake, he worked hard for a living by building tents and not relying on the Gospel.

Top qualities of Church pastors

We must point out here that becoming a Church pastor is not the most easiest thing to do. However, the challenges faced on the way are aimed at better preparing you for God’s services. Get to better understand this by reading our article on Why a true Christian must be tested. In today’s Church, become a pastor requires either a degree or master’s in divinity or theology from a credited institution depending on the denomination. Worth pouring more light is the fact that there are many Christian denominations today. For a better understanding of this topic, you can read our article on the Reasons for division in Christianity and that on the Causes of divisions in Christianity. Let’s now get into the qualities that make a good Church pastor.

The top qualities of a pastor are as follows:

Prayerful;
Humble;
Correctable;
Hardworking;
Disciplined;
God fearing;
Caring;
Good communicator;
Patient;
Welcoming;
Loving;
Honest;
Truthful;
Charitable;
Forgiving; and
Gentle.

This brings us to the end of our article on the things to know about Church pastors. Let’s work in love as we ease the task that God has given these men. Instead of Judging and condemning them, we should rather pray and fast for God to strengthen them in their weaknesses.

Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love

What did Jesus teach about hell

March 25, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 6 Comments

What did Jesus teach about hell? The chances that you’ve ever asked yourself this question are very high. Relax and feel comfortable. It’s normal for every Christian to seek to know what Jesus Christ said about hell. Thus, you are not making a mistake to step out with an intention of learning what our savior taught about hell. Luckily enough, you are at the right place. We hereby write to reveal and pour more light on what Jesus Christ said concerning hell. Just as every spiritual leader ought to do, we will support all our points with Biblical passages and verses. As Christians, the Bible is our chief guide in the Christian race. Whatever question or worry that we might have, the answer is found in the Bible. We simply need to ask God to guide us to finding these answers.

The question of hell is more of a contradictory one in the modern Church today. Many false teachers have formulated new teachings on hell in order to deceive and mislead the children of God. Although sad, we must say that they deceive only those who do not know the voice of their master. If you know the voice of your master, Jesus Christ, you’ll be able to detect and stay away from all strange voices. Today, we have spiritual leaders who reject the existence of hell. The Holy Bible says that we shall know these false teachers from their words and actions. And you can figure them only by mastering the voice of Jesus Christ as well as his actions. You do this by getting familiar with your Bible as you regularly study the Holy Gospels. In this way, you’ll know words and actions that reflect Jesus Christ.

What did Jesus teach about hell?

There are so many things that Jesus taught about hell which we shall unravel today. Before Jesus’s ascension to heaven, He had taught everything that His follows need to know about hell. Hence, we are not in accordance with those who claim that the Bible or Jesus’s teachings on hell are incomplete. The Bible fully and clearly answers the question of what did Jesus teach about hell. If you doubt, simply hold your Bible and go along with us to the end of this writing.

Did Jesus say there is hell?

We’ll start by answering the question regularly asked by newbies in Christianity which is “did Jesus say there is hell?”. Today, many people who do not clearly understand the Bible as well as false teachers of the gospel believe that the concept of hell is an outdated one. They believe that it is more of an ancient relic which has already served it purpose and can be forgotten. But before you get carried away by such evil doctrines, start by learning what Jesus Christ said about hell. And for sure if you are really interested in learning what Jesus Christ said about hell, you’ll realize that the concept of hell can’t be dismissed so easily.

The whole truth is that Jesus Christ spoke about hell in the Bible more than any other spiritual teacher. The two most common Greek words which are used to describe hell in the Bible are “gehenna” and “Hades”. Hades refers to the real of the death but Jesus Christ regularly used it to describe a horrible place of torment after death as we can read from Luke 16:23. Jesus Christ in Matthew 11:23 refers to Hades as a place of torment which is situated opposite the heavenly kingdom. On other other hand, gehenna refers to the hinnom valley which is situated south of Jerusalem. This place as described in Jeremiah 7:32 and 2 Kings 23:10 use to be a terrify and horrible place which was initially used for child sacrifices. This place was later used as a picture of hell during the time of Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:28).

The way Jesus Christ presented hell

Still on bringing elements of answers to what did Jesus teach about hell, let’s find out how He presented hell. When we read Matthew 10:28, He acknowledges the existence of hell and presents it as a place of destruction for both soul and body. He makes us to understand here that disobedience to God will lead to the destruction of our bodies in hell as punishment. Upon reading Jesus’s teachings on hell, we realize that he regularly combines the word gehenna (place of terrible suffering) with fire. This point is backed up by Matthew 5:22.

A place full of darkness, suffering, and all sorts of terrible pains was also used by Jesus to describe hell. We can read this from Matthew 8:12. Here, He says that those who refuse to access eternal life through repentance and faith will be thrown into darkness. in addition to being thrown in hell, they’ll have to weep all through as they grind their teeth in deep pains.

What did Jesus actually teach about hell?

If we decide to put down everything that Jesus actually taught about hell, you’ll soon get tired reading. But don’t worry, we have a better approach. It is that of summarily presenting everything he said about hell. In this light, we hope to clearly answer the question of what did Jesus teach about hell. Jesus Christ said hell is a place of eternal torment which is prepared for the devil and his fallen angels. In addition, human beings who join these spiritual beings in rebelling against God will also have a place prepared in hell. To get the veracity of what we are saying, you can read Matthew 25:41 and Matthew 11:20-24.

The punishment of hell is so intense that Jesus Christ advises that if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. He adds that it is better to enter life crippled than to enter hell with both hands. We can read this from Mark 9:43 were he further presents hell as a place of unquenchable fire awaiting all sinners who refuse to repent and do what’s right. Jesus Christ pours more light on the aspect of hell as we can read from Matthew 25:46. In this Bible verse, Jesus Christ says that on the last day, He will judge mankind to separate the sheep from the goat. The sheep are those who have accepted Jesus Christ and repented while the goat are those who have rejected Him. The sheep will be given eternal life while the goat will be thrown in the everlasting lake of fire.

Biblical evidence for hell

Have you ever asked yourself whether a loving Jesus will teach about hell or a place of suffering? If you’ve wondered about this question, then the answer is yes. It is true that He is loving and His love knows no limit. That’s why he welcomes even the most terrible sinners and forgives them whenever the repent ad believe His message. In the same line of thinking, we’ll recommend that you read our article on How to repent. Worth your attention here is that Jesus can’t save those who refuse salvation. That’s why hell exist.

Hell as presented by the gospel of Matthew

When Jesus was giving the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, He did not only emphasize on love, charity, and the kingdom of God. He also talked about hell. When we read Matthew 5:20-30, we hear Jesus presenting hell as the opposite of hell. He warns that hell is real and completely made up of all kinds of sufferings which are aimed at tormenting sinners. Much emphasis is laid on the fire and justice of hell as punishment for those who reject his forgiveness and teachings. In addition, we hear Him warning us to do all that we can in order to avoid being cast in to hell by God.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains that hell is for anyone who does not enter the Kingdom of God. Those who know the truth but prefer to dwell in sin are not free from the fire of hell. This gospel writer also describes hell as a place of eternal suffering for those who rebel against the laws of God. In Matthew 18:8, Jesus describes hell as a place of eternal fire. Reading from Matthew 23:33, we hear Jesus warning the Scribes and Pharisees about hell which is a place for those who have rejected the revealed truth of God through Jesus.

Hell as presented by the Gospel of Mark

Even in the gospel of mark, we clearly get a presentation of hell as taught by Jesus Christ. When we read Mark 9:42-48 we hear Jesus presenting hell as a place of punishment for sin. He further presents it as a place that is worst that death and the Earthly suffering that we know. In addition, Mark’s Gospel presents hell as a result of God’s active judgement on sin.

Hell as presented by the Gospel of Luke

Reading from Luke 13:1-5, we hear Jesus referring to hell as the punishment that awaits those who refuse to repent. Further Biblical readings from Luke 16:19-31 reveals Jesus’s words on the justice that shall be brought by hell onto those who dwell in evil.

Hell as presented by Apostle Paul

Paul has written so much that it will be difficult for us to write down everything. However, we will briefly present his major teachings on hell through the letters he wrote to the christian churches. Apostle Paul refers to the horrific future punishment of the wicked in Hebrews 6:1-3 as the eternal judgement. He further adds in Hebrews 10:27-30 that this judgement will call down eternal fire that will continuously burn all God’s enemies for all times.

Hell as presented in John’s revelation

Apostle John teaches under the directives of Jesus that hell is a horrible place where God’s wrath and fury are deeply felt. We can read this from Revelation 14:10. He further explains that hell is the worst place where fire and sulfur rains on God’s enemies. In Revelations 20:15, we are told by John that everyone whose name is not in the book of life will be cast into the fire of hell. The Apostle also points out in Revelation 14:11 that hell which is the punishment reserved for the wicked will torment all sinners without ceasing. He further explain that this punishment will go on day and night alike without any stop.

Truths about hell

Let’s bring out more points on what did Jesus teach about hell. There are some truths which he revealed in the Bible which cannot be changed about the subject matter of hell. We’ll explore some of these truths for advanced spiritual growth and understanding of the gospel. Being equipped with these truths will make you less vulnerable to the many false doctrines which are circulating around about hell.

Hell is real

We can affirm without doubt that Jesus taught of the reality and existence of hell. It is indeed real and awaits all those who have refused to repent and welcome the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is the place of eternal punishment for those who join Satan and his angels to rebel against the authority of God. If you die without repenting and welcoming Jesus in faith, you’ll end up in hell.

Hell is a choice

The decision of going or not going to hell eventually depends on you. God offers eternal life in heaven and eternal punishment in hell. It’s left for you to choose where you which to pass your eternity or life after death. The decision of hell or heaven is made while you are still alive on Earth. Choosing heaven is accepting that you are sinner whose sins need to be washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Making the decision of going to heaven has to do with learning and executing the teachings of Jesus Christ or putting them into practice. On the other hand, choosing hell has to do with rejecting Jesus, His teachings, and pardon.

This brings us to the end of our article on what did Jesus teach about hell. We are certain now that you know the voice of Jesus about the subject of hell. Hence, you won’t be misled or confused with false teachings. We encourage you to keep up with your Christian race and with the grace of God, we shall make it to His Kingdom.

Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, News

Causes of divisions

March 24, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh Leave a comment

The causes of divisions in Church are more than ever alarming. Division in the Church did not start today. It dates back to the times of the early Christians. But what makes the difference between division in the modern Church and that of the early Christians or immediate followers of Jesus Christ lays at the level of management. It is without doubt that the immediate followers of Jesus Christ were able to properly manage their disagreements and find points of agreements without necessary splitting the body of Christ as it is the case today.

The modern Church is full of contradictory doctrines that have led to lots of divisions, confusions, and errors in serving God. This is expressed in the number of denominations that we have around the world. Each of these Christian body turns to fight the other as they claim to be the true Church of Jesus Christ that teaches what God recommends. This has brought lots of confusions in the minds of the non Christians as they wonder who is truly teaching what God wants. And from the look of things, this division in the Church does not seem to be moving towards its end. Rather, we can forecast with the present evidence that this division in the Church will rapidly double in times to come if nothing is done.

Are causes of divisions coming from God?

It won’t sound serious if we continuously write without speaking forth God’s mind concerning the division in today’s church. The next question which you might be asking is that of how to know God’s mind about the division that is reigning in the body of Christ today. There are no two ways to do this apart from opening our Bibles. The Holy Bible is our complete guide in wining the Christian race. It contains the whole truth about the kingdom of God. And if anything should worry us about the nature or will of God, we should always turn tot our Bibles. Unlike spiritual leaders, the Bible cannot make a mistake as we can read from James 3:1-3. That’s why Apostle Paul calls on us to test every spirit and teaching with the foundation of the Gospel which was brought by Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:21). He said this because the Holy Spirit showed him in advanced that many false teachers will bring contradictory doctrines to boost division in the Holy Body of Christ.

Before we present the different causes of divisions in God’s house, let’s open our Bibles to John 17:20-21. This Bible verse clearly reveals that mind of God on the subject of division in the Church. It proves wrong those people who believe that God is OK with division and that everyone can just wake up and move to a denomination of their choice. In that Bible verse, we hear Jesus Christ giving one of His last prayers for all His followers on Earth before His crucifixion. He prays that may all His followers remain one in love and unity just as He is one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. On no occasion has Jesus Christ ever separated himself from God the Father and the Holy Spirit. So where is our division nature coming from if not from Satan? No man or woman filled with the Holy Spirit can stand to promote division in God’s house. So let’s ask God to forgive us and guide us back to the unity of Christ.

Insight on the causes of divisions in the body of Christ

Just as there is one God, Jesus Christ made His teachings one and led to the creation of one Church through the sacrifice of His body on the cross. It is man through his evil nature of pride, jealousy, hatred, and unforgiving mind that brought division in the house of God through the supervision of Satan. Not very long from when Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, men started bringing contradictory doctrines that led to lots of divisions in the Holy Body of Christ. This division has not ceased since then. Rather, it is increasing as days go by.

This has made people to be interested in knowing the causes of divisions. It is only when we learn and master these causes that we can bring amelioration on the subject matter of division. Divisions in Church are real but do not represent God’s Holy will for us. By dwelling in division, error, and confusion, we are not reflecting God’s nature. Rather, we are displaying the characters of the devil whom we ought to be fighting according to Ephesians 6. When we read from 1 Corinthians 14:33, we are told that God himself is not the author of our confusion. We rather get confused due to our evil desires, ungodly nature, pride, and hatred for the truth.

Main causes of divisions in Christianity

In as much as smoke cannot appear without fire, church division cannot also arise without causes. And knowing these causes will help us in better taking precautions against further division since it is not God’s Will that we remain divided. We hereby write to present the major causes of division which have been affecting the Church of Christ since the beginning of Christianity. They are as follows:

Spiritual revelation

Spiritual revelation is eventually one of the chief causes of division in the Church. It has contributed in a great way to division than you can imagine. We must be very careful about the aspect of spiritual revelation. The Holy Bible containing the teachings of Jesus Christ is the main key to gaining knowledge about spiritual truth. All that we need to know about the kingdom of God in order to obtain everlasting life is written in the Bible. We are highly advised to access spiritual truth through the Bible rather than our personal opinions, revelations, and thoughts. By saying this, are we trying to suppress spiritual revelations from the Holy Spirit as condemned in 1 Thessalonians 5:19? I guess no, we are simply calling on everyone to test all revelations to make sure that they are in accordance with the word of God before accepting and implementing them as recommended in 1 John 4:1.

If you believe to have received a revelation from God through the Holy Spirit, make sure that it is in line with the Holy Teachings of Jesus Christ and His followers in the Bible. Many people have brought contradictory doctrines and teachings in the name of spiritual revelations which have boosted division in the Church. You must strive hard not to be used by the devil and his agents through spiritual revelations by remaining under the light of Christ as you regularly study His teachings, pray without ceasing, and put these teachings into action. Worth noting here is that Satan does not present himself as the horrible monster whom you’ve always taught to believe. He comes in white garments dressed like the master but ready to put an end to your Christian race if you give him a chance. That’s why you must learn the voice of the true shepherd, Jesus Christ by regularly studying the Bible.

Lack of Knowledge

Hosea 4:6 tells us that God’s children perish because they lack the necessary knowledge about spiritual truth. That’s why we cannot omit this point from the causes of divisions in the Church. People might be asking themselves what is spiritual truth? This question was best answered by Jesus Christ when He said that He is the Spiritual Truth that leads to everlasting life (John 14:6). Hence, the division which we have in Christianity today can only be attributed to our lack of understanding when it comes to the true teachings of Jesus Christ.

Reading the Bible several times and mastering verses within it does not mean that you’ve understood it the way Jesus Christ wants you to. That’s why we should always humbly call on Him to help us get the daily message that he is passing to us through the Bible as He resides and reigns from within our hearts. Many have read the Bible, misunderstood it, and misinterpreted it thereby leading their followers astray. That’s why you as a follower should not blindly follow everyone who claims to be a teacher of the gospel. Remember that salvation is personal and that you’ll have to answer before God all alone. Your pastor won’t come and pay for your sins, so its for your good that you research the scriptures on daily basis for insight on the things of God as recommended in Acts 17:11.

Quarreling

Quarreling is one of the childish causes of divisions in Christianity as pointed out by Apostle Paul in Romans 14:1. He advises the strong in faith not to quarrel with the weak in faith. In short, we can likely say that quarreling is a sign of immaturity in one’s Christian life. Those who are strong in faith will point out the truth but won’t stand to argue it out with those whose faiths are still weak and unable to perceive greater spiritual truths. Arguing or quarreling with them is not different from trying to feed a new born bay with solid food. It will only do them more harm than good.

As mature Christians, we ought to support and encourage those who are weak in the Christian faith rather than argueing over their personal opinions. In short, we ought to avoid arguements and quarrels in the house of God as they’ve done more harm than good. If there is a light misunderstanding, let everyone kep their calm and together find a meeting point or an agreement point in the love and unity of Jesus Christ. Quarrels and arguments have made some people to feel that their opinions and convictions are beeing suppressed or marginalized and as a result, they stepped out thereby creating divisions in the body of Christ.

Boasting or pride

No mature Christian will argue the fact that boasting or pride has done more harm in the body of Christ than we can imagine. It is definitely one of the causes of divisions that has led to the many religious denominations which we have today. Pride comes in when a person no longer sees himself/herself as a mere servant who was bought from the slavery of sin by Jesus Christ. It has to do with thinking high of yourself than others. Pride makes you see yourself more important and superior to others. God hates such a character. Whatever you become in life, remain humble and submissive if you desire to live under the light of God and make it to eternal life.

It was in this same sinful line of thiinking that some religious leaders looked at themsaleves more important than others thereby boosting division in the house of God. We are still experiencing this phenomenom up till date. As spiritual leaders, we should not envy each other because among us are people who sow while others are in charge of watering. We are not very much different talkless of one being more important than the other. He who is superior here is the one who makes the plant to grow as Apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 3:1-23.

Difference in spiritual gifts

Spiritual gifts are sent by God to assist Christians in their spiritual duties in building and maintaining the Body of Christ. It is observed that these gifts in the hands of many are rather causing division. In other words, they are not using these gifts as planned by God. Apostle Peter once said that the spirit of a prophet is subjeted to the prophet. This is a way of telling us that God blessess us with gifts and it’s left for us to rightly use them. And we can be sure that we’ll all give an account of how we used these gifts in carring out our Christian duties on the day of Judgement.

If God has blessed you with the Apostolic gift, it is not for you to underlook on he who has been blesses with the Prophetic gift. For those who have been blessed with the prophetic gift, it is not for them to feel more important than those who are called to evangilize the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you’ve been called as an Evangelist, it is not for you to underlook at the Pastor who is in charge of Jesus’s flock. Those who have been called as Pastors should not underlook at teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All these callings in God’s service as we can read from Ephesians 4:11 are meant to move together for the wellbeing of the Church. In thesame light we’ll recoomend that you read our article on How to know God’s call in your life.

Biblical support

It is in this same line of Holy thinking that Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 that “In the church, God has put all in place: in the firt place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, then followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. They are not all Apostles, or Prophets, or Teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said“. Unfortunately today, most of these spiritual authorities are rather fighting each other and creating division rather than working together as God had planned.

This brings us to the end of our article on the causes of divisions in the Church. For more information on this subject matter, we’ll advice you to read our article on the Reasons for division in Christianity.

Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, News

Reasons for division in Christianity

March 23, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 1 Comment

There are many reasons for division in Christianity which we shall be unfolding in our writing. We must start by saying that the rate of division, confusion, disagreement, and misunderstanding in today’s Church is more than alarming. However, we are not saying here that the early Churches were free from these issues. When we read Apostle Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, we hear him calling Christians to cease all forms of division in the holy body of Christ. He further explains that as Christians, we are all one in the body of Christ within which there is no division but unity.

Hence, we can say without doubt that no man or woman in possession of the Holy Spirit can encourage division in the house of God. Division is not God’s Holy will for us. My spirit weeps upon seeing the division in Church today. And for sure God is not happy about this. Instead of us loving one another and encouraging each other in the Christian race, we are rather doing the contrary. Among Jesus’s last words, we can find that which He said “I leave you with my peace”. We are to remain in this peace and join hands to overcome the evil powers of this world. Our Christian fight is not against flesh and blood, rather it is against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world (Ephesians 6).

Unfortunately these days, we rather allow these wicked forces in a state of freedom while we focus on fighting internal fights with our Christian brothers. By creating room for division and hatred, we are opening doors for the devil to come in and defeat us. That’s why Jesus Christ said that a kingdom that divides itself into small groups that fight each other won’t last (Matthew 12:25).

Major reasons for division in Christianity

Jesus Christ took the human nature an lived among men on Earth. During this time, He regularly prayed that all His followers might cultivate a special unity which will act as a testimony of His Good News. Unfortunately, this is not what we are practicing today. Rather, the so called Christians are fighting each other. As if this was not enough we see spiritual leaders fighting each other as well. It’s not strange these days to find a pastor criticizing, judging, or condemning his fellow pastor. The world perceives Christians as people who are fun of exhibiting divisions and squabbles. Christians claim to have one master, savior, and teacher which is Jesus Christ yet they have thousands of different groups, denominations, and churches. Such behaviors get the non Christians highly confused about the subject of Jesus Christ. By so doing, we are rather repelling them from Jesus Christ rather than drawing them to Him.

Before we present the major reasons for division in Christianity, let’s first get a rundown of the main branches in Christianity. Modern Christianity is made up of three main branches which are Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism. The Eastern Orthodox denomination is popularly practiced in the Eastern European countries as well as Russia. On the other hand, the Protestant and Roman Catholic denominations are highly spread around the four corners of the world. The structure, belief, and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are the same everywhere on Earth. However, this is not the case with the protestant denomination. By Protestant Churches here, we are referring to the Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists and several other groups. We must add here that there are some Churches that class themselves under the Protestant branch but do not actually fall under a specific denomination. Let’s now give the reasons for division in Christianity.

Pride

Being a Christian does not mean that you are free from pride. Rather we as Christians are called upon by Christ to overcome this Spiritual killer called pride. Most divisions in Church today did arise due to the pride within spiritual leaders who felt more important than others. Hence, we could not omit pride from the different reasons for division in Christianity .As a teacher of the gospel, if you are not careful, you’ll turn to develop a feeling of being more important than those who do not have a deep understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. If you do not address this issue at an early state, it will lead you to being proud there by offending God and grieving the Holy Spirit.

Such a character was not sensed in the lifetime of Jesus Christ and His early Apostles. Although, they had some little misunderstandings and arguments on certain Christian matters, non of them brought the need for division talk less of promoting division. Rather, they jointly lifted their hands in unity to God to assist them through the Holy Spirit to teach and do only what was right. And we can read from the Acts of the Apostles the great things that God was doing in their lives.

As Christians, we are not supposed to look high on ourselves while putting others t inferior positions. Rather, we should lower ourselves and execute the mission which was given to us by Jesus Christ to be our brother’s keeper. Jesus Christ our leader was on Earth as a servant and not a master. That’s why we perceive Him washing the feet of His Apostles. This is a great example of humility for us. Whatever the case, anyone who lowers himself before God and men will be lifted while those who lift themselves will be brought to ground level (Philippians 2:5-11).

Misunderstanding

One of the reasons for division in Christianity is misunderstanding. People are more likely to receive and interpret the same piece of message in different ways. While some people will be getting it rightly, others will be getting it the other way round. This is the case with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Many have misinterpreted the gospel and have created lots of misunderstandings in the Christian Church. When these issues are not properly addressed, they’ll end up creating division and new denominations.

In the same light, many people have been guided by the Holy Spirit to pick out certain truths in the Bible which are vital for the building of the Christian Church. Unfortunately, not all leaders accept these enlightenment. Many reject them without first testing as recommended in the Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:21). When rejected, it becomes a source of issue which can generate a possible division at any moment. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit that reveals the complete truth about God (John 14:17). That’s why we’ll recommend that you read our article on How to receive the Holy Spirit which will guide you to all truth about God through the Good news Bible.

Difference in personality, talents, and passions

The difference in personality, talents, and passions also fall among the reasons for division in Christianity. While some people are more inclined towards worshiping God through their minds, others prefer to do so artistically or creatively. Unfortunately, these little differences have also contributed to division in the Church. I guess this is because our faith is still too little else we won’t allow Christ to focus in little details like this.

Apostle Paul in one of his letters to the Christian Church said that there are so many ways of worshiping which all bring glory to the one and only God. If God has blessed a person with great singing skills, why do you want to stop him/her from exercising this talent for the glory of God. The weak in faith also exist in the house of God, but are we suppose to argue with them about their personal believes? Apostle Paul asked us not to do so because solid food is meant for the adults while milk is meant for Children. We should rather encourage our brothers and sisters in the faith and pray for them than argue with them.

Tradition

Tradition has greatly played a major role in Church division. That’s why we hereby include it among the reasons for division in Christianity. While some people do things in Church just because their ancestors did it that way, others prefer to step out and explore new methods of worshiping and praising God. Up till date, we still have Churches who follow the procedures or worship which were installed in the early Church. And it has been noticed that those who are not always OK with this way of doing things are more likely to move a way and start a new denomination.

Tradition is good because it helps us to remain on the tracks and foot steps of the early Christians which were close to Jesus Christ. It also saves us from adopting wrong or unpleasant methods of pleasing God. However, other people believe in innovation. They want to experiment and adopt new strategies of worship as the pray and call on the Holy Spirit to help them.

Division according to people

We’ve got a number of individuals who have led to division in the Christian body due to their person points of views. However, some claim to have been directed by the Holy Spirit. Whatever the case, it is not our duty to pass judgement on them. Let’s rather focus on praying that God’s will be done on Earth.

There are lots of examples that will clearly explain this point. Mr John Wesley started a Christian group and movement which is known today as the Methodist Church. This Church is spread across several countries in the world. We also know of the Lutheran denomination which was formed after the death of Martin Luther.

Lack of Knowledge

Upon reading Hosea 4:6, we hear God saying that his people perish because they lack knowledge about the things of His kingdom. In addition, Matthew 22:29 tells us that the Sadducees were in error because they did not know the scriptures. And it is without doubt that the lack of knowledge leads to misunderstandings and divisions among God’s people. Church division and other religious errors often result from the lack of diligently studying the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Acts 17:11 advises us to search the scriptures on daily basis in order to remain in the light of the truth that comes from Jesus Christ.

Studying and being able to quote hundreds of Bible verses does not mean that you have understood what it says and how to handle the Bible (Matthew 4:5-7). Not everyone understands or handles the Bible the way it should be handled. Many modern Christians justify their actions and deeds from the old testament without realizing that Jesus Christ has already accomplished the Old Testament as we can read from Galatians 3:24-25, Hebrews 10:9, and Romans 7:2-6. In addition, some people pick out special verses in the Bible and twist them to meet their evil intentions. They pick a verse concerning a subject matter and omit other verses that are on that same subject in the same chapter there by creating contradictions everywhere. That’s why we could not omit this point from our list on the reasons for division in Christianity.

Jealousy

Jealousy is a chief cause of division in Christianity. We ought to fight this faith killer by name jealousy. The Holy Spirit shares gifts separately as He wills. So let’s not envy anyone’s spiritual gift. If you haven’t been anointed for a purpose do not condemn he/she who has been anointed for that purpose.When we read from 1 Corinthians 12: 28-30 we hear Apostle Paul saying that “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, then followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. They are not all Apostles or Prophets or teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said“.

Human religious guides

When we read from Mark 7:8, we hear Jesus Christ reproaching the Pharisees for having substitute the teachings of God with those of men. Till date, we still experience this issue in the modern Church. Division in the Church regularly results from the fact that people have abandoned God’s teachings to teach those invented by men which are not Bionically founded. Many Christians blind-fully accept all kinds of teachings just because they come from a so-called spiritual leader. This is a big mistake in the Church today which must b corrected. That’s why Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 5:21 that we must test all spirits and teachings with those from Jesus Christ who is our main teacher.

As we can read from Matthew 7:15, a preacher is worth being called God’s servant only when he/she preaches the truth which was revealed by Jesus Christ. Acts 17:11 encourages us to checkout all teachings from the Bible before adopting them because there are many false teachings who are quickly spreading false doctrines like wild bush fire. We ought to strive for the truth and the approval of God and not that of men or our family members. Hence, you should not dwell in error just because your loved ones are dwelling in it. When we read Matthew 10:34-37, we are made to know that as Christians, we should always follow Jesus Christ even if it means forgoing our loved ones.

This narrows us down to the end of our article on the reasons for division in Christianity today. God’s Holy Will for us is that we should fight and reject division in the body of Christ. We should rather prioritize unity and love while encouraging each other in winning the Christian race. As human beings, we are bound to have little misunderstandings, but let’s find midpoints of agreement in order to preserve the love and unity of Christ. If we continuously keep on dividing ourselves in the body of Christ, we won’t be able to stand firm when the enemy shall strike. For more information on this subject matter, we’ll recommend that you read our article on the Causes of divisions.

Daily devotionals, Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, Miracles

Prophetic today

March 12, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 2 Comments

Learn everything that you need to know about the prophetic today. Get to know how you can activate, grow, and operate in this powerful spiritual gift from God. There are many gifts from the Holy Spirit but that to prophesy or speak forth the mind of God for encouragement, exhortation, and comfort is an outstanding one (1 Corinthians 14:3). Perhaps you were not aware but the New Testament Prophetic gift is not only about revealing future events or displaying past events with a greater understanding. It also has to do with boldly witnessing the teachings of Jesus Christ with power. In order words, it has to do with teaching the gospel with the evident miraculous and wonder working power of the Holy Spirit.

Apostle Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 14:1 that we should strive for love and set our hearts on obtaining spiritual gifts especially the Gift of Prophecy or speaking God’s message. This is because this gift greatly benefits the whole of Christ’s Holy Church. If we should earnestly seek to speak God’s message with all our hearts, He will eventually fill our mouths with what to say whenever need arises. You can be certain that God is still saying something. He wants to fill you with encouraging words for our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. The lord wants to use you and manifest His presence in the midst of His people.

Prophetic today in the modern Church

It is certain that the prophetic today is not a gift which is welcomed by all Churches talk less of individuals. Many reject it because of its complex nature to understand and operate within. While others suppress it because of the past errors or mistakes that they had encountered in trying to operate in it. Many as well have misused it and led to undesired consequences. On the other hand, many are claiming to be prophetic whereas they are not. Many obtain Satanic powers and appear to be Holy fro the outside in order to derail the faiths of many with their abilities to tell the future as well as past events.

In short, there are many false prophets out there just as Jesus Christ had foretold thereby calling on us to be careful. Due to this, many Churches have completely rejected this office in the body of Christ. But is this the right thing to do? Jesus Christ had warned us to be careful and not to reject or suppress any of the gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts are meant to fortify and strengthen us for the Christian service of working in God’s vine yard. However, the prophetic today is taking a different dimension of growth, fire, and might in the lives those who have welcomed and not suppressed it.

Prophets today

Prophets today are there in our midst proclaiming God’ message on daily basis. It won’t make sense for us to get deep into the prophetic without first making it clear that there are Prophets today in our midst. Many have been misled to believe that there are no more prophets these days. If you are doubting, check your Bible and you’ll find out about the New Testament prophetic lineage which started with early prophets like Agabus, Judas, and Silas who came after the death of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist.

We can read about them from Acts 11:27-28 – “About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the Power of the Holy Spirit predicated that a severe famine was about to come over all the Earth. (It came when Claudius was Emperor)” Acts 21:10 – “We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea” And Acts 15:32 – “Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength” This clearly make us to know that John the Baptist was not the last prophet.

Different types of prophetic operations and callings

We cannot understand the prophetic today without first learning the different types prophetic operations and callings. The Bible tells us that there are different gifts and callings (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Each of these is freely given by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church and society in general. In addition, these gifts are also given to better prepare us for our christian duty as we work in the Lord’s vine yard.

We’ll backup our subsequent points and views with the following Biblical passages and verses. 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 – “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place Teachers; then those who perform Miracles, followed by those who are given the Power to Heal or Speak in Strange Tongues. They are not all Apostles or Prophets or Teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles.” Eph 4:11-13 – “It was he who “gave gifts”; He appointed some to be Apostles, others to b Prophets, others to be Evangelists, others to be Pastors and Teachers. He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 – “Do not restrain the Holy Spirit; do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test: keep what is good and avoid every kind of evil.”

Generalities on prophetic operations and callings

The Gift of prophecy includes different types of prophetic callings. It is worth noting here that not everyone who prophesies is called to operate in the ministerial office of the prophet. A prophet is one who comes with a prenatal calling from God. It’s a grace from God which does not depend on the actions or efforts of the person being called or chosen. That’s why you cannot work your way to the prophetic ministry. It’s not something that you earn due to human effort. Such a calling is generally recognized by the elders in the Church.

It is worth noting here that the calling to operate in the prophetic office is not something automatic. That’s why the individual will have to learn how to go about and efficiently grow in this gift. We must also add here that the gift on its own is not all that is needed to operate in the prophetic office. And that’s why a person can be called yet he/she is unable to fully operate or walk in this governmental office in the body of Christ due to issues of poor character, unfaithfulness although they might be able to prophesy accurately.

Spirit of prophecy

The spirit of prophecy has greatly influenced the prophetic today. You might be asking yourself what’s the spirit of prophecy? It has to do with the release of a temporal prophetic unction in a particular area or gathering of people who are worshiping or praising God for His Holiness, Goodness, and Might. This was what happened with Saul’s soldiers who met with the company of prophets praising God in the desert. The atmosphere was filled with the prophetic unction that not just the prophets prophesied but even the soldiers were moved by the spirit of God to speak forth His mind.

Here, even people who have never prophesied can prophesy. But in most cases, this is usually temporal. Excerpt that the individual later grows his/her spiritual level through God’s teachings. In most cases, mature Christians can easily be overtaken by the spirit of prophecy. By overtaking here, we do not mean that the person won’t be able to control him/herself. For Apostle Peter said that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. We rather mean that the individual will have an urge to speak out words of encouragements, exhortation, and comfort just as mentioned by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:3. This also applies for someone who is working in the prophetic ministry. At some point in time, they’ll be more yielding to hearing the Holy Spirit because of the prophetic atmosphere in which they work.

The Gift of Prophecy

In most cases, the Gift of Prophecy develops in the person who took the spirit of prophesy serious. In order words, he/she prayed and requested for it from God. And they remained under the light of God’s righteousness through Jesus Christ as they grew the more in their spiritual lives. The Gift of prophecy is seen to manifest more in the lives of those who regularly practice and grow in the spirit of prophecy.

Whatever the case, we must add here that your character takes your gift to a higher level.That’s why you’ll have to remain humble before God and men. Respect your spiritual leaders who are helping you on how to grow in this spiritual gift. Pay attention to their corrections and learn to welcome their points of views too. Always remember that the words of the New Testament Prophets must be tested just as recommended by Apostle Paul. That’s why it’s advisable to bring forth the inspired messages before your church elders for analysis.

Ministerial office of the Prophet

The ministerial office of the prophet is a unique and special gift which comes before you are even born into this world. It is an unmerited favor from God on your life. God chooses people and blesses them with this gift so that they can fully witness the gospel of Jesus Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit. Such people are the gifts to other men. It generally requires an anointing to operate in this gift. Being the last prophetic level, it takes many years of preparation and equipment before God can fully release you into this ministry.

When God calls you, He will definitely prepare ou for all the obstacles and challenges that lay ahead of you before your release else it’ll be a dangerous mission for you. That’s why you should not find it strange that you’ve been waiting for over years but nothing is happening. God’s time is generally the best and He knows why He hasn’t released you yet. Those around you generally confirm this call in your life from the manifestations of God through you.

Those in this level are called to serve and lay their lives for Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Prophets generally work together with the other ministers in the Body of Christ for better achievements. Prophets are called to serve within and out of the Church. They can run ministries which are usually accompanied by the mighty power of God through Deliverance, Healing, and many wonders.

Developing and operating in the prophetic today

The chief key into the prophetic is love. Nothing defines God best as love. God is love. And loving God means loving his people. It means having God’s heart for the people. A bitter and offended heart cannot operate in the prophetic today. God will definitely reveal things which have never been heard nor seen to those who have dedicated their lives in loving him.

You’ll obviously gain much in the prophetic by spending time with those who are more than you in this spiritual gift. In other words, we’ll say that the environment in which you regularly spend time has a lot to play in your spiritual growth. It is without doubt that a medical school is more likely to produce a medical doctor same as a university is more likely to produce a university graduate. Environments play a lot in who and what you become. Hence, always choose wise.

You’ll certainly grow in the prophetic if you remain faithful to God and regularly get soaked with His written word in the Bible. The Bible says that the truth revealed by Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelation 19:10). So if you are serious about growing in the prophetic you must get drunk with this revealed truth and for sure, it will start flowing from you at will under the directives of the Holy Spirit. Just as we previously mentioned, you must be patient enough to wait on God’s time because it is definitely the best. Do not be discouraged, rather find it as a reason to pray the more and fast the more. Be ready to carry your cross at any moment and follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads you to.

Daily devotionals, Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, Miracles

Prophets today real or false

March 12, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 4 Comments

Are prophets today real or false? This is one of the main questions being asked by Christians everyday. However, the complex nature of this question makes it suppressed by many Church leaders. This very question has brought lots of controversial teachings and beliefs in the modern Church. While some spiritual leaders believe that the gift of prophecy which leads to the office of the New Testament is available in some chosen people, others completely reject the idea. Some people do not even want to mention it in the Church while others prefer to take a neutral point. Perhaps it is because of the misunderstandings and mistakes which have been made in the modern day’s Church in the name of prophecies or simply because some people judge it right to reject the Biblical prophetic office and teach their own laws.

Whatever the case, is it sufficient for us to just sit back home on our comfort chairs and reject the Gift of prophecy because of our personal convictions. We must not abandon the teachings of God to teach those of men. It’s not about us but about God. So are Prophets today real or false? To bring elements of answers to this question, we cannot do so without referring to the Bible which is our chief tool in winning the Christian race. Should you just believe a friend, spiritual leader, or family member who says that Prophets today are no more? Believing without testing and finding out the veracity of this statement from the Bible is actually putting your salvation at risk as we can read from 1 John 4: 1-6. So let’s find out what the Bible says about this matter.

Do Prophets still exist?

We can not talk of the authenticity of prophets today if you do not even know if Prophets still exist or not. You certainly have some answer clues to this question somewhere deep in your heart. Might be you’ve left your thoughts to be influenced by friends, family members, and even spiritual leaders who say that prophets today are no more. Hence, pushing you to believe that every New Testament Prophet or the Prophets of our days are all false. But before you believed their words, did you even bother to find out what the Bible says about this very matter. Believing Spiritual teachings without verifying their veracity from the Bible is actually putting your salvation at risk. You’ve got to find out what the Bible says and also pray that God may lead you through His Spirit into All Truths just as Jesus Christ promised in John 14:17.

The Bible says that Prophets are there in our midst speaking the message of God, yet we are too stubborn to listen. Led us read from 1 Corinthians 12:28 – “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place Teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.” This is a clear setting of the Church which was founded by the Apostles as narrated and written by Apostle Paul. Who then are we to upset God’s house? Could it be that we are much better than the immediate Apostles of Jesus Christ who bought about this revelation from God. If we are not then why the question “are prophets today real or false?”

The Spirit of prophecy is for all times

Why do we abandon God’s true teaches to teach those of men? God is the one who puts His servants in place and not us. He chooses who becomes an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist and Pastor. Else you’ll be telling me that the Church setting above does not apply for today’s Christians. And that’s not the Case. The Bible is very clear on these things. We should stop relying on others to study the Bible on our behalves. Salvation is personal. Your spiritual leader will not answer your sins on the last day. He’ll answer for his while you answer for yours. If you are ignorant of God’s teachings, be ready to perish or you step out and seek to know what God wants. However, knowing what God wants is not sufficient, you’ll have to practice it as well.

Thus, are prophets today real or false? We’ll pour more light on this by saying that the Spirit of Prophecy is for all times. So what do we mean when we say that the Spirit of prophecy will last for all times? Let’s open our Bibles to Revelation 19:10 where we are told that the Testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of testimony. In order words, the revealed truth of Jesus Christ is what inspires the New Testament prophets as it keeps them busy in God’s vine yard till the next coming of Jesus Christ. So what can we say about that verse? That we’ll always have the spirit of prophecy with us till the next coming of Jesus Christ. Hence, saying that there are no more prophets these days is same as saying that the testimony of Jesus Christ is no more in our days. That’s why in our discussion of prophets today real or false, we’ll say that the spirit of prophecy is still in our midst.

What makes us believe that prophets still exist

Whatever we are saying or doing, we should always get our roots from the Bible. So let’s find out why New Testament Prophets still exist. This will bring light in the hearts of those who believe that John the Baptist was the last prophet. Is the Bible in agreement with this belief? I don’t think so because the Bible gives us a list of New Testament Prophets and their spiritual accomplishments in the Body of Christ for the glory of God the Father.

Let’s open our Bibles to Acts 11:27-28 – “About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)”, Acts 21:10 – “We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea” and Act 15:32 – “Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.”

The above verses in the Bible are clearly revealing New Testament Prophets who came many years after the death of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. Hence, John the Baptist was not the last prophet. Others might argue that the gift of prophecy was enabled just for the foundation of the church by the immediate Apostles of Jesus Christ. A view point which turns to be very wrong and error inducing. When we read from Ephesians 4:11, we are told that when Jesus Christ rose up from death, he shared gifts to the rest of mankind including you and me. These gifts among which is that of prophecy are given by the Holy Spirit. Thus, denying this gift is denying the presence of the Holy Ghost in or midst just as Jesus Christ had Promised to send. That’s why we could not omit this point in answering the question “are prophets today real or false?”

Are prophets today real or false

We’ve already proven the existence of prophets in the modern Church. In other words, we still have New Testament Prophets in our midst. Now that we know that prophets still exist these days, let’s focus on bringing elements of answers to the question “are prophets today real or fake?” We cannot easily say that they are all real neither are they all fake. Before the departure of Jesus Christ and all his immediate Apostles, they did not say that all prophets who will later come should be considered fake. Rather, they called on us to be careful because many false prophets will arise in the name of God to turn us from the real faith (Matthew 24:24).

False prophets can only come because true prophets are in existence. They appear to fight the good deeds of the true prophets in preparing the people of Christ for the last day. That’s why Apostle Paul called on the anointed to careful look after the flock which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers. (Acts 20:28-30). This clearly tells us that every called and anointed servant of God is given a number of people to cater and lead towards God. This is the case of today’s Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and teachers of the Gospel.

How to Know a false prophet?

Figuring out a false prophet is not that easy. Yet we are advised by Jesus Christ not to be quick in calling people false prophets or attributing their actions to Satan. It could be that they come from God and are using the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out miracles and wonders as signs that accompanying true believers in preaching the gospel (Mark 16:15-17). And if we hurriedly speak against them, we’ll be speaking against the Holy Spirit and as well being guilty of blasphemy. Our master, Jesus Christ says in Mark 3:28-30 that anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This also applies to those who attribute the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan.

That’s why we are advises by several authors of the written Biblical books to be slow in speaking. You can’t just wake up and see some one doing miracles and you start saying that he/she is false. By saying these things, you are putting your salvation at risk. What if they are not false, you’ll be guilty of speaking against the Holy Spirit. It will only show you how ignorant you are about the God you think you are serving. In short, it will be that you do not even know the God that you are serving. That’s why the first step in knowing whether a prophet is false or real is to start by deeply studying and understanding the Bible. You’ll also need to call on the Holy Spirit to be your guide in this process. The Holy Spirit can better answer your question of “are prophets today real or false?”

Biblical passage on how to know a false prophet

If you are among those who have been asking the question “are prophets today real or false?” We’ll invite you to open your Bible to 1 John 4:1-6 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world“. The Bible does not tell us that Prophets today are no more rather it calls on us to test the wordings, actions, and teachings of everyone who claims to be Prophet. So how do we test? The true test here is one which is based on Biblical Knowledge and the help of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why we started bringing answers to the question “are prophets today real or false” by inviting you to carefully study your Bible while depending on the Holy Spirit to help you understand as God intended it to be understood. Once you are equipped with the teaching of Jesus Christ, you’ll definitely be verse with His voice just as the scriptures say that “my sheep no my voice”. This is the only way to identify the voice of Jesus Christ through a prophet today. Hearing His voice through a prophet makes him real. If you can’t hear the voice of Jesus Christ or see his actions in a prophet, then he is fake. Whatever the case, always avoid blackmailing and persecuting men of God base on what you heard someone say. This will prevent you from error because the Bible did not ask you to rely on friends and spiritual leaders to test on your behalf.

Ways to detect a modern false prophet

We are still in the same line of bringing light on the question regularly asked “are prophets today real or false?” Let’s show you a few number of ways through which you can easily detect a false prophet and their teachings. Detecting them in time will save you from the risk of going to hell.

False prophets focus on preaching the gospel of prosperity

I’m not against prosperity because God asked man to leave the garden where he had everything for a life of hard work. And it is certain that if you work hard, you’ll definitely become rich and wealthy. The problem here arises when you begin to see yourself as a “small god”. In other words, it is wrong or sinful to offer a higher place in your heart for wealth and property than that offered to God. If you work God will definitely bless you. But you must always keep your blessings below Him and at His feet. Today, lots of false prophets have abandoned the teachings of salvation which were left by Jesus Christ to teach theirs.

They’ve made many people to believe that being a Christian implies that you won’t encounter any suffering or hardship in life. But is this true? No, for Jesus Christ said “a servant can not be greater than his master”. Himself suffered and was rejected in this world. we ought to carry our crosses and follow his foot steps without complaining. In everything or situation, let’s always give thanks to God. Work hard to make it in life but always put God first in everything that you do.

False prophets do not point out sin in the Church

We must say here that the primary role of a true prophet is to call the people back to the Christian faith. A true prophet won’t cover the sins of the people in order to win a crowd of Church members. He or she will prefer to speak the truth and better remain with the few that are willing to follow God. Hence, you should be very careful with prophets who are not out to help men and women to abandon their evil ways and follow God. This is one of the best ways to get answers to the question on prophets today real or false.

False prophets bring teachings different from those of Jesus Christ

Real prophets from God work towards propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ to the four corners of the world in order to bring salvation. The false prophets are more into bringing strange teachings and twisting those of Jesus Christ to suit their evil nature. They are more into causing confusion and leading people astray with unsound doctrines. That’s why you must know the voice of Jesus Christ as a christian by reading your Bible at all times.

This brings us to the end of our writing on answering the question “are prophets today real or false?” You can learn more by reading our article on Prophets today.

Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, Miracles

Prophets today

March 11, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 5 Comments

Have you been wondering what have become of prophets today? Are you wondering if prophets still exist? Do not panic about this matter. We’ll guide you through our writings to better understand what the Bible says about today’s prophets. This is one of the most complex subject matters in the modern Church. In short, a lot of Churches always avoid bringing it on table for discussion. Perhaps this is because it is one of the most complex office in the body of Christ. It is without doubt that many people have abused this powerful office. But is it sufficient for us to eliminate it as most churches have done? I don’t think so because it is there for a powerful purpose when it comes to building the managing the Body of Christ.

Are Prophets today real or false? You can be certain to always have spiritual leaders, friends, and family members who will tell you that prophets today are no more. And that everyone speaking as a prophet is false. This reminds me of Jesus’s words when he said “they are neither going to heaven nor allowing others to go there”. This is to say that you’ll always have people who are not living the truth because they do not know it neither do they want to know it. And for sure, they’ll strive to convince you to follow them. They’ve told you that modern day prophets do not exist. So what next? Are you going to blind-fully follow them or open your Bible to seek God’s opinion about this matter.

Prophets today in the modern Church

Many Christians in the modern Church have been misled by their spiritual leaders concerning the prophetic office. Might be they’ve successfully convinced you that prophets these todays are no more. In order words, they’ve pushed you into believing that everyone who claims to be a modern day prophet is fake. Whatever the case, we are not trying to argue with them. For everyone is able to achieve in the body of Christ only what he/she has first believed in their heart (2 Corinthians 4:13). You might be asking yourself what we mean by this saying? We are simply saying here that Jesus Christ is who you take him to be in your life.

That is, if you believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He’ll obviously do in your life all the things promised in the Bible (Hebrews 13:8). If you take Him for a healer, He will heal you. If you take Him for a savoir, He will save you. Those who take Him for one who had stopped performing wonders and miracles, He won’t perform any in their lives. So what’s the message we are trying to pass here? It’s very clear and simple; faith. Without faith we cannot please God. And you can only receive from God according to your proportion of faith or ability to believe in Him. Many spiritual leaders say that there are no prophets these today because they do not believe in the mighty working power of God.

Was John the Baptist the last prophet?

In my Christian journey, I’ve heard many spiritual leaders say that John the Baptist was the last prophet. They use this saying to convince their followers that prophets today are all fake. As followers of Jesus Christ, the Bible is our chief tool in winning the Christian race. There is no spiritual leader on Earth, Heaven, or below the Earth who will say the contrary. The teachings of Jesus Christ which represent everlasting life are found in the Bible. That’s why we should fully depend on our Bibles and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit rather than inclining towards men who call themselves spiritual leaders.

Are we trying to say here that you are not to respect your spiritual leaders? No, this is not our message. Spiritual leaders have always had their place in the midst of God’s children since creation. That’s why we must respect them just as they are called upon to respect all the teachings of Jesus Christ. But the moment they live the Holy Gospel to teach their own doctrines or those of men, I don’t think they are still considered our guides. Jesus Christ is the one and only True teacher. Hence, everyone who claims to be a spiritual leader must teach only what he heard Jesus and his immediate Apostles in the Bible teach.

Biblical proof that John the Baptist was not the last prophet

Coming back on the saying that John the Baptist was the last prophet and that all prophets today are fake, let’s find out what the Bible says. The Bible clearly denies this saying through the following verses.
Acts 11:27-28 – “About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)”, Acts 21:10 – “We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea” and Act 15:32 – “Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.”

All the prophets mentioned above are New Testament prophets who came after the death of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. It is without doubt that Jesus Christ upon sending the Holy Spirit on Earth eventually shared Prophetic powers to those whom he has chosen to contribute in preparing his people for the last day. The above passages in the Bible are sufficient enough to proof the fact that John the Baptist was not the last prophet. And that many more came after him for the sake of the gospel being preached by Jesus Christ.

Did the gift of prophecy end after the foundation of the Church

Many spiritual leaders and folks turn to say that the gift of prophecy ended immediately after the foundation of the Church by the 12 Apostles. In short, they say that this gift was sent and available only during the times of the 12 Apostles for the spreading of he gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Church. Truly speaking, this really sounds suspicious and incomplete. Just as we said, it is not our role to judge what has been said neither argue with those who have said it. We are rather struggling to point out what the Bible is saying. And that’s what we’ll do at this point which is obviously the duty of every Christian. We out to test every teaching through those of Christ in order to remain on the safe side of wining the Christian race (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

Biblical Support

When we read from Revelations 19:10, we are made to know that the revealed truth by Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy. In other words, we’ll say that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy. Hence, saying that the spirit of prophecy is no longer dwelling in the modern Church implies that the testimony of Jesus Christ is not in the modern Church. Yes, you heard me right. If we should base ourselves on that scripture, it’s very obvious to say that a Church that lack the spirit of prophecy is one that lacks the revealed truth of Jesus Christ.

Still in the same spirit of pouring more light on the existence of prophets today, let’s read from 1 Corinthians 12:28 – “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place Teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to hep others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.” If we are truly the Church which was established by the Apostles, why then do we suppress, neglect, or reject the above Church setting which was given to Apostle Paul by God.

Could it be that we’ve become more better and important that the early Apostles? I guess not. In 1 Corinthians 14:26, Apostle Paul encourages us to ask and share inspired messages in Church. But today, we prefer to suppress the power of the Holy Spirit and do as it pleases us. May God have mercy on us for abandoning His teachings to teach and follow those of men. For additional information, read our article on the Gift of Prophecy.

Difference between Old and New Testament Prophets

Until we clearly get the difference between Old and New Testament prophets, we’ll continuously have a tendency of saying that prophets today are no more. For many people, it is their first time to hear that there is a difference between the Old and the New Testament prophets. This difference is not from our imaginations, you can clearly read and figure it out from your Bible. The Old Testament Prophets where more of people whom God dictated his laws and teachings through. But the New Testament prophets are more of people who testify the revealed truth of Jesus Christ using the mighty Power of the Holy Spirit (Revelations 19:10).

That’s why you’ll realize that the Old Testament Prophets use to give out their message with a beginning like “Thus, says the Lord your God……….” They were more of people who were chosen and ordained by God to speak out His authoritative message through an authoritative voice. That’s why their message was registered and preserved as Holy teachings in the Synagogues. On the other hand, New Testament Prophets have already received the authoritative message of God that brings eternal life through Jesus Christ. Hence, they can only proclaim or testify it with the evidence of power from the Holy Spirit through miracles and wonders just as Jesus Christ had promised (Mark 16).

The Holy Spirit and New Testament Prophets

We must also add here that the New Testament prophets are moved as the Holy Spirit leads them. They are highly sensitive to God’s inspired messages through the Holy Spirit. That’s why Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and 1 Thessalonians 5:20 that we should not suppress or despise inspired messages from the Holy Spirit. That’s why prophets today are able to receive God’s mind or Godly messages through the Holy Spirit for a Church member or members, the whole Church, a City or Nation. There is no boundary, it depends on God to let His heart known by His servants.

The Prophetic Office in the modern Church

Prophets today are in our midst speaking God’s message, but we are too stubborn and stone-hearten to hear them. We are more interested in finding out their mistakes to shout at the top of our voices. Many are more interested in persecuting and blackmailing them. We prefer to condemn these men and women from God without first listening and testing their teachings with our reference being Jesus’s teachings. Instead of reading our Bibles and knowing the truth, we depend on others who will tel us that don’t go to that man or woman of God, they are fake. The Scripture s say that we should test every teach before concluding that it comes from God or not.

Let’s open our Bibles to Ephesians 4:11-12 -“It was he who “gave gifts”; He Appointed some Apostles, others to be Prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors, and teachers. He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ.” The whole chapter makes it clear that Jesus Christ upon raising up from death shared gifts to the rest of mankind including you and me.

These gifts were shared in order for those who have been saved through him to lead the unsaved to salvation as well. They were shared in order to equip God’s people for the Christian service till the next coming of Jesus Christ. Rejecting these gifts is another way of saying that the Christian service is over. And unto my knowledge, it is not yet over. It shall be over when Jesus Christ shall come for the second time. Hence, the prophetic office still has its place in the church today. For additional information, read our article on Prophets today are there.

Importance of the Prophetic Office in today’s Church

Prophets today are of great importance in Church. They play a fundamental and vital role in encouraging, exhorting, and comforting God’s people (1 Corinthians 14:3). In addition, they can be directed by the Holy Spirit to bring correction and direction in the Church as well as sound counseling. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they can speak forth future events as well as display a greater understanding of past events. They can disclose secrets as well as bring solutions as to problems as the Spirit of God leads them.

An Example of today’s prophet

T.B. Joshua is one of the prophets today that we have in the body of Christ. He is the founder and general overseer of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN). Through him, much glory has been directed to God the Father through Jesus Christ. He has been in ministry for over 30 years today. God has been using him mightily to heal all kinds of sicknesses (eve incurable diseases), give sight to the blind, open the ears of the deaf, give speech to the dumb, strengthen the legs of the lame to walk, deliver those under satanic bondage, feed the orphans, widows, and above all preach the true gospel of salvation.

Warning

Our tongues are usually in blaspheming and saying evil against men of God even when we have not tangible proof for our words. We base ourselves on what we here from spiritual leaders, friends, and neighbors to condemn prophets today. But is this the right approach? Let’s be very careful as Jesus Christ said that those who blaspheme, say evil things against the Holy Spirit, or attribute the works and deeds of the Holy Spirit to Satan will never be forgiven (Mark 3:28-30). That’s why I’ll advice you not to hurriedly use your tongue to say evil things against a servant of God who is operating under the power of the Holy Spirit. It is true that Jesus Christ warned us against false prophets who will arise and devour the children of God. They’ll bring new and contradictory doctrines to those of Jesus Christ.

Most will even hide in white cloths and habits yet having evil motives and intentions. Some will use Satanic powers to perform great miracles and turn the hearts of men from Jesus Christ. Yes, they’ll do all these. And they are already doing it. So what’s the right approach to know where you are standing or going? Let’s read from the book of 1 John 4:1-6 were we are told not to believe every spirit without first testing to see if it comes from God. You can only test a spirit by knowing the teachings and voice of Jesus Christ. Whoever teaches contrary to his teachings or uses a different voice is not of God. Gain more knowledge by reading our article on Prophets today are there and the Gift of Prophecy.

Conclusion

This brings us to the conclusion of our article on Prophets today and the existence of God’s messengers in our modern world. Just remember to always pray and call on God to lead you to the right spiritual leaders whom he has chosen. And our heavenly Father who is so good won’t offer you a stone when you ask for bread. He’ll certainly lead you to the right people who will assist you in deeply growing your faith and smoothly running the Christian race.

Daily devotionals, Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, Miracles

Prophets today are there

March 10, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 1 Comment

Are there Prophets today? Yes, prophets today are there and are proclaiming God’s message but we are too stubborn and stone-hearten to hear them. An example of a prophet of our days is T.B. Joshua, founder of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN). We rather prefer to dwell on their shortcomings to throw stones at them. Even in cases that they are innocent, we strive towards persecuting and blackmailing them. We are more interested in seeing them fail that succeed. Their efforts to spread the gospel are not seen, rather we kindly follow their teachings, and actions everyday to figure out words that are not in place to start shouting at the top of our voices that they are fake prophets.

We are more interested in killing them than listening to the divine message that they have for us. However, our behavior is not strange because we simply inherited it from our ancestors who found joy and happiness in persecuting and killing the prophets of old. The whole truth is that there exist few to no prophet that did not receive persecution and tribulation from men. The reason why we hate these men of God is because they reflect the truth from God but we prefer to remain in our darkness. If we are not careful, we’ll be used by Satan to accomplish his will of persecuting modern day prophets.

Prophets today are there in our midst

I regularly hear people ask the question “Are there prophets today?, Are Prophets today real or false?”. The search volume of this question is really high. Perhaps this is because many people are gradually abandoning the Bible which holds all truth about God’s Kingdom. They prefer to get quick answers and solutions. And in their search of quick and easy answers, they end up in the hands of spiritual leaders who have shaped the gospel to their personal taste there by misleading God’s people. You must first start by understanding that not everyone who claims to be a servant of God is truly his servant. Many have been misled by spiritual leaders concerning the phenomenon if prophets today are there. You can as well read our article on Prophets today.

Was John the Baptist the last prophet? Are there prophets today

What do we really mean when we say that prophets today are there? Many people believe that John the Baptist was the last prophet. But the New testament proofs this wrong in the following passages Acts 11:27-28 –
“About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up an by the power of the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)”, Acts 21:10 – “We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea” and Act 15:32 – “Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.”

All the prophets mentioned above came after the death of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. This is a sufficient proof for the wise that John the Baptist was not the last prophet. In addition, we’ve just mentioned a few prophets of the new testament. In reality, there were many prophets whom the spirit of God operated through in the midst of the immediate 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ. They were able to reveal the secret and hidden things which God showed them. In addition, they prophesied and spoke things to come as they were directed by the Spirit of God.

Difference between Old and New Testament Prophets

In order to clearly get what we mean by Prophets today are there, you’ll need to first get the difference between the Old and New Testament Prophets. After reading the achievements and accomplishments of the New Testament Prophets in Acts 21:10, Acts 11:27-28, and Acts 15:32, you realize that they acted differently from the old testament prophets. The Old Testament Prophets regularly received God’s Authoritative instructions for His people which were to be written down as Holy Scriptures.

That’s why they use to start with an authoritative voice of “Thus says the lord”. However, this is not necessary the case with the New Testament Prophets and Prophecies. New Testament Prophets are more into encouraging, comforting, guiding, and exhorting the body of Christ or the church of Christ. In order words, everything has been accomplished by Christ and there is just no new teaching to come our way again. That’s why Jesus Christ told his Father in Heaven and men on Earth while He was on the cross that “It is Finish”.

It is finish means that he has completed all the teachings which men ought to know in order to be save and moved to eternal life. In order words, it means that He had completed the work God gave him on Earth thereby fulfilling God’s promise to save mankind. So prophets today are not called to dictate God’s laws to people. We already have the law and grace needed to be saved. Rather they are called to be witnesses of Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost. That’s why Apostle John says that “The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). In order words, we can say that it is the truth which was revealed by Jesus Christ that inspires the New Testament Prophets.

Did the gift of prophecy end after the foundation of the church?

Still dwelling on the fact that Prophets today are there, we can not leave this vary aspect of prophets and Church foundation. Today, many denominations teach that the prophetic gift was sent by God through Jesus Christ for the immediate foundation of the Church. Most even suppress the question of “Are there prophets today”. They believe that this gift vanished immediately after the church of Christ was established by the 12 Apostles. Whatever the case, this is their point of view. And just as I’ve always encouraged Christians to dig deep into their Bibles for secret truths concerning the things of God, I’ll also advice you to hear what the Bible has to say about this point.

Biblical evidence

Saying that the gift of prophecy does not exist in today’s church is same as saying that the revealed truth by Jesus Christ does not exist in the modern Church. What I’m saying is backed up by Revelation 19:10 which clearly says that New Testament Prophets are inspired by the revealed truth of the gospel left by Jesus Christ. Still holding to the point that Prophets today are there, we’ll call your attention to 1 Corinthians 12:28 – “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place Teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to hep others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.”

This is a clear organization of God’s Holy Church. Who are we humans to ca, and change this pattern? Else you’ll be telling me that the Early Church’s setting was not God’s will. Which i believe it was not the case. Before Apostle Paul died, he was guided by God’s Spirit to install order which should be respected in Church as you can read from 1 Corinthians 14:26. He clearly invites every church that gathers in worship to welcomes inspired messages or prophecies from those who are mature in the faith. And this setting still holds for us today although most of our church leaders have eliminated or suppressed it to install theirs. For more information, read our article on the Gift of prophecy.

The Prophetic Office in the modern Church

Still on the fact that prophets today are there, we’ll pour more light to the prophetic office in the modern day Church. Does it still have a place or did it end after the Apostles? Let’s hear what the Bible has to say from Ephesians 4:11-12 -“It was he who “gave gifts”; He Appointed some Apostles, others to be Prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors, and teachers. He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ.”

This Bible chapter and verse is clear on the fact that when Jesus Christ went up to heaven he shared gifts to the rest of the world for the gospel’s sake. Saying that these marvelous gifts ended after the Apostles is like saying that the construction of Christ’s body also ended with the Apostles. These gifts were shared to everyone including you and me who have been saved by the unmerited favor of God through Jesus Christ so that we can use it for Christian service as mentioned in the verse above. This clearly answers the question of “Are there prophets today?”. Learn more about this supernatural gift and how to receive as well a use it by reading our article on the Gift of prophecy.

Daily devotionals, Faith, Global, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Love, Miracles

Gift of prophecy

March 10, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh 4 Comments

We’ll teach you everything about the gift of prophecy. It is a unique, supernatural, divine, and extraordinary gift from God. That’s why Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:1 says that we should pursue love which is the greatest, deeply desire and crave for Spiritual Gifts, especially that to prophesy. We must say here that this gift is a blessing to the whole church. And it should not be despised talk less of quenching. This is backed-up by Apostle Paul who wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 that we should not restrain the Holy Spirit in God’s church neither should we despise inspired messages. Rather, we advised to test every teaching, message, and action using the teachings and actions of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ who is the True teacher.

Scriptural support of the Gift of Prophecy

“There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. In addition, there are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another message of knowledge by means of the same spirit, to another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one spirit, another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:11)

Whose teachings should we follow concerning the gift of prophecy

As Christians, we all have only one teacher who is Jesus Christ. He is the only truth, life, and way that leads to God the Father. He is the only reference point of all true teachings that God wants. That’s why we should not hurry up to despise or condemn the works of the Holy Spirit just because our spiritual leaders have asked us to do so. Every christian must read his/her Bible to make sure that what is being said by his spiritual leader is in line with the true teachings of Jesus Christ. That’s why we’ll advice you to have a look at your Bible on what it says about the gift of prophecy before following the instructions of your spiritual leaders to reject it.

It is in this same spirit that the Scriptures call on everyone to test each word, and action being executed in the name of the Lord before despising or accepting it. Remember that on the day of judgement, you’ll have to answer for your sins all alone without the help of your spiritual leader. He/she will also be called to answer theirs. We are lucky enough these days to have the Bible with us, let’s carefully learn what God wants us to know about Him and His Kingdom. We believe that if you have the desire to learn and know the truth, God will guide you through the Holy Spirit in to the truth just as Jesus Christ promised.

Today’s Gift of Prophecy Vs Old Testament Prophets

Those who have the gift of prophecy these days are by far different from the Old Testament Prophets. The Old Testament Prophets spoke what we call the authoritative word of God. Their words had much power and significance that they were registered as Holy Scriptures directly inspired by God. That’s why we hear them say “Thus says the Lord your God” at the beginning of their inspired messages. But this is not the case with those having the spirit o prophecy in the new testament. That’s why Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:29-33, and 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 that inspired messages coming from those having the gift of prophecy as from the new testament must be tested.

Apostle John also calls on everyone to test all teachings, actions, and revelations coming from those who claim to have the Gift of Prophesy before believing their message (1 John 4:1-3). This clearly tells us that God is still saying something through the Holy Spirit. It’s left for us to pray that he leads us to those with this genuine gift in order to get cancelling, comfort, and encouragement. It is without doubt that the New Testament Apostles took over the role of Scriptural Proclamation from the Old Testament Prophets. Note here that we made mention of the New Testament Apostles and not the New Testament Prophets.

Gift of prophecy meaning

Prophecy comes from the Greek word “Propheteia” which can literally be perceived as the ability to receive a divinely inspired message for one or more members in the church. It can also be perceived as the reception and delivery of a divinely inspired message to the whole church. These messages can take the form of correction, comfort, exhortation, disclosure of secrets, prediction of future events, and words to build the body of Christ in one way or the other. The gift of prophesy is manifested from the human mind through human words and that’s why it must be tested against the scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). What ever the case, we must not forget that the scriptures say that we have the mind of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit when we are born again. This makes the process of being Prophetic today very easy.

Why the gift of prophecy

The Holy Spirit freely gives this gift to some believers in order to make God’s heart known to men and women. Just as Apostle Paul says, it is also given to edify, comfort, and exhort the church of Christ. It is a supernatural gift that benefits both believers and unbelievers as it reassures them that God is in their presence (1 Corinthians 14:22-25). People who are carrying this spiritual gift are highly sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the needs of the whole church. Those carrying the gift of prophesy are called upon to remain humble, loving, and respectful before men and God. They are to regularly study the word of God in a continuous manner so as to better test all what they receive to see if it comes from God before speaking it out.

What is the Gift of Prophecy?

“In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first places Apostles, in the second places Prophets, and in the third places teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues“- 1 Corinthians 12:28 Through this verse, Apostle Paul clearly shows us the importance and order of spiritual gifts in God’s New church through Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we are gradually moving from this Holy doctrine to one which has been installed by men. That’s sad to hear but it is the truth. May God have mercy on us and bring us back to His Holy Path of truth.

This gift is the ability to speak forth the Holy message of God. We generally perceive a prophet as a Spokesman for God. He/she is has a duty of listening and receiving messages from God through direct revelations and passing it to others. Prophetic utterances can deal with individuals as well as the church in whole. We can get an example of the New testament prophet speaking in Acts 11:27-28 “About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up an by the power of the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)“It should be noted that both men and women can exercise in the gift of prophecy.

Did the gift of prophecy end with John the Baptist?

The Holy Bible clearly gives an answer to this question. We can read from Ephesians 4:11 “It was He who “gave gifts”; He appointed some to be Apostles, others to be Prophets, others to be Evangelists, others to be Pastors and teachers” When we read the whole of chapter 4, we are clearly told by Apostle Paul that when Jesus Christ rose from death, He shared gifts to the rest of mankind including you and me. And the gifts have been listed. It’s all up to you to call on God to reveal yours so that you can develop in it and assist the body of Christ.

We can still read from Acts 15:32 “Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.” This clearly shows that even after John the Baptist, the line of prophets continued. But this time around with a difference because the Holy Spirit was released from above to overshadow men and women through Jesus Christ.

The Complete Beginner’s guide to understanding and developing the Spirit of Prophecy

Unbelief restrains the power of the Holy Spirit. It prevents the power of God from being felt through wonders and great miracles (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20). Unbelief prevents you from hearing what God is saying. It creates a boundary between you and God. It prevents you from taking possession and excelling in your spiritual gift. However, if you believe that God is still saying something, we’ll help you through the Process of knowing his will. Before continuing, we must say here that this is a gift which is freely received from the Holy Spirit. It is not our good deeds or righteousness that brings this gift in our lives. Rather we receive it by the grace of God in our lives. This is to say that we receive this gift through the unmerited favor of God in our lives.

However, the Bible says that not everyone receives it. You can check this out by reading 1 Corinthians 12:29 “They are not all Apostles or Prophets or Teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles.” With this in mind, we can only desire and pray that God blesses us with this gifts. Above all, we must ask for His perfect will to be done in our lives. That is to say, Let Him bless us with those gifts he finds best for us and those that we will use to highly bring glory to his name. Although not everyone is called to operate in the office of a Prophet, all who desire to prophesy can do so by the help of the Holy Spirit as we are told by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:1. So let’s get into what it takes to receive the gift of prophecy.

Prayer

Before you can operate in this gift, you’ll first have to call on Jesus Christ to have mercy on you and come into your life. It is recommended to get baptized with water as an outward sign to show that you have changed inwardly. And just as John the Baptist baptized with water as a way to prepare people for the Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost by Jesus Christ, you’ll be made ready to receive this gift. In this same light we recommend that you read our article on How to receive the Holy Spirit and How to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You should only pray what you have first believed in your heart and God who knows your heart will grant answers to your prayers. Deeply desire this gift and get close to God in prayers to ask him to bless you with it.

Jesus Christ said in John 16:13 that once, we receive the Holy Spirit, it will lead us to all truths. That’s why you should first seek to receive the Holy Spirit which will eventually guide you to knowing your spiritual gift. It will also lead you to prophesy when necessary. God being our father will eventually give us the Holy spirit without measure if we ask Him. Ask God in prayer to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Eliminate doubts. Jesus Christ calls upon us to believe that we have received each time we pray. So believe fully that you have already received what you asked for and it will certainly be granted to you. Always remember to ask through Jesus Christ.

Preparation

God will not give you what he knows is more than you. He will give you only what he knows you can properly manage and use to bring glory to his name. And that’s why at times we pray and God takes time to prepare us before answering or giving what we are requesting from him. For sure, if you carry a gun without knowing how to use it, you are putting your own life at risk. That’s why we must first yield to God’s preparation time be learning and carefully studying his ways. It’s not only about learning his ways but also putting them into practice. Carefully study what the New Testament teaches about prophecy and the prophets.

You know there is nothing that we can hide from God. He knows everything. And that’s why you’ve got to recheck the motives behind your request for the gift of prophecy. The gift of prophecy is meant to build, strengthen, correct, comfort, and exhort the body of Christ. And above all, it is aimed at reflecting God’s lovely heart to men and women. That’s why you should withdraw if your motives are different from these. God wants you to make the people feel that He is with them and that He loves them and desires that they follow His ways. The gift of prophecy is not for you to make a name for yourself but rather bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. So start by learning how to be humble and faithful to God.

Practice

This might sound strange but it is worth doing. Yes it is Biblical. You can join us in reading 2 Timothy 1:6 “For this reason I remind you to keep alive the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you”. This is a clear message that we are responsible for stirring and growing God’s gift in our lives. If you ask and believe that it has been give to you, you’ll have to step out in faith as one who has received. Always pray and call on God to guide all your actions through the Holy Spirit.

Can a New Testament Prophet make mistakes

We’ll love to have you answer this question all alone. But we must pour some light about it. Apostle Paul makes it clear that inspired messages from New Testament Prophets must be tested by one or two elders who will base themselves on the infallible teachings of the Old Testament Prophets and those of Jesus Christ. If he said so, it is because New Testament Prophets are not infallible as those of the Old Testament. This is to say that a prophet can make mistakes in interpreting what they see, or perceiving what the spirit is showing them. This does not eventually make them false, it is rather a call for them to come closer to God and grow the more. We recommend that you read our article on Prophets today.

A false prophet is identified from his heart motives before God. Balaalm was a prophet from God, but the moment he led his heart derailed by evil motives of cursing Israelite for money, he was perceived as a false prophet (Numbers 22). Whatever the case, it is not our duty to dwell on the mistakes an faults of Prophets. Rather we should pray and call on God to help them and use them in greater dimensions for the comfort of His people. In this same line of thinking, we recommend that you read our article on Activating faith to move the impossible, How to put your faith to work, and Having a taste of the Epikaizo power of God.

Global

9 things know unification Church

March 10, 2019 Desemond Mbantoh Leave a comment

Learn all the 9 things know unification church. This church which is relatively new seems to be popping up with lots of controversies on several spiritual aspects. It was founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon who was born in 1920. He grew up in a Presbyterian church but was later excommunicated for heresy. However, this did not stop him as he believed that he had a divine vision to complete the unfinished work of Jesus Christ. For additional information, read our article on Unification of world Christianity (Unification church). Let’s now get into the 9 things to know about the unification church.

Top 9 things know unification

One

The unification church was founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon who originates from South Korea. This religious movement started in 1954. It has the greatest number of members in South Asia, Korea, and Japan. This notwithstanding, it extends to over 100 countries where it has a good number of members. It started as the Holy Spirit Association for the unification of world Christianity until the year 1990 when it changed to the Family Federation for World Peace and unification.

Two

It happened that Moon’s family was initially following Confucianism. However, they converted to Christianity when Moon was still a kid. This made him grew in a Presbyterian church where his family was fellowshipping. His commitment led him to start teaching in a Sunday school. He says that when he reached 16 years, he had a vision where Jesus Christ asked him to complete the work he did not finish thereby establishing the kingdom of God on Earth so as to bring peace.

This was perceived as a contradictory doctrine in the Presbyterian church and led to his excommunication. But this did not stop him neither. He continued with his preaching which led him to present day North Korea. Once there, he was accused and arrested for being a spy to South Korea. This led to a sentence of 5-years imprisonment for him. He was to finish these 5 years in a labor camp where he had to work for the government in one way or the other. This is one of the chief 9 things know unification Church.

Three

At some point in time, Reverend Sun Myung Moon fled to South Korea where he started his unification church. This happened near the end of the Korean war. It was upon starting his church that he started formulating his own doctrinal views. These views led to a new religion which focuses on family and marriage values. Most of these spiritual views resulted from a mixture of Christian beliefs and teachings of Confucius. After teaching in his church for three years, he published a book which was entitled “Exposition of the Divine Principles”. This was not really a book as you might think. It was rather an interpretation of the Bible which his followers found and considered divine inspired. This is one of the legendary 9 things know unification Church.

Four

His teachings of the Divine Principles lay emphasis on the fact that God is all powerful and knowing. It calls on us to love all God’s children. He further emphasizes that God’s plan was that all men and women should be Holy and perfect as Jesus Christ. However, he contradicts Christians and the Bible which is God’s Holy word by saying that Jesus Christ is not one with God neither is He God. Still on the 9 things know unification, he further explained that if Adam and eve did not fall into sin during their stay in the garden of Eden, we would have all been like Jesus Christ. In order words, we would have all been messiahs.

Hence, another Biblical and Christian contradiction. While the old and new testament talk of one messiah, Jesus Christ. Mr Sun Myung Moon decides to derail and mislead the people by telling them that they are messiahs in some sense. May God have mercy on us and our ears who hear and believe false doctrines. Where have we kept our Bibles? It’s time for us to read and know the truth and stop being deceived. Jesus Christ is the one and only messiah. He is God. He is the truth, light, and only way to God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and Earth. We cannot separate Jesus Christ from God neither the Holy Spirit.

Five

The unification church or the Holy Spirit Association for the unification of world Christianity believe that God’s plan was to use Jesus Christ in forming a perfect marriage that will redeem mankind. In addition, they believe that since Jesus Christ who is the second Adam was crucified before accomplishing his mission on Earth, a third Adam was to complete it. And the third Adam represents the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The Unification church perceives Reverend Sun Myung Moon as the third Adam who represents the second coming of Jesus Christ and together with his perfect second wife Hak Ja Han will become the parents of the new generation of God’s kingdom on Earth. And their married church members will be their perfect children also known as messiahs. What a false doctrine that people are believing. It will definitely lead all its practitioners to the deepest part of hell. It’s high time for people to repent and start reading their Bible. Don’t allow others to twist the Bible on to their taste to fool you with it.

Six

Another fact among the 9 things know unification church is that of which Moon rejects the idea of romantic marriage. He rather prefers planned marriage where you are given a partner. That is, they choose a partner and give you. And you simply have to happily receive the partner. The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of world Christianity or Unification church is well known for its mass marriages around the world. In 2009, they organized and blessed about 20,000 couples coming from every angle of the world. At times they go to the extent of blessing already married couples since they believed it is in this way that they will restore mankind to God. This is obviously one of the contradictory 9 things know unification Church.

Seven

In 2004, Moon was crowned “King of Peace”. We must also add here that he has been working hard to eliminate the cross in Christianity. He believes that the cross is causing disunity and that if it is removed, he’ll be able to reorganize religion under his leadership.

Eight

Reverend Sun Myung Moon died in 2012. His death led to a split of the unification church in to several competing portions. His widow Hak Ja Han who turns out to have been his second wife is considered by many as a messiah and mother to mankind. After her husband’s death, she founded the Women’s Federation for World Peace International. Reverend Moon’s eldest son is called Hyun Jin Preston Moon. He runs the Family Peace Association. Reverend Moon’s youngest son is Hyung Jin Sean Moon. He took a different path and started the Sanctuary Church.

Nine

It happened that Moon’s family was initially following Confucianism. However, they converted to Christianity when Moon was still a kid. This made him grew in a Presbyterian church where his family was worshiped. His commitment led him to start teaching in a Sunday school. He says that when he reached 16 years, he had a vision where Jesus Christ asked him to complete the work he did not finish thereby establishing the kingdom of God on Earth so as to bring peace. This was perceived as a contradictory doctrine in the Presbyterian church and led to his excommunication. But this did not stop him neither.

He continued with his preaching which led him to present day North Korea. Once there, he was accused and arrested for being a spy to South Korea. This led to a sentence of 5-years imprisonment for him. He was to finish these 5 years in a labor camp where he had to work for the government in one way or the other. This is one of the chief 9 things know unification Church.

This brings us to the end of our article on the 9 things know unification Church. For more additional information about this contradictory religious sect, check our article entitled Unification of world Christianity (Unification Church).

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