WHAT DID YOU SEE/HEAR BEFORE FOLLOWING?

After defeating the devil in the wilderness, we see our Lord Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee and asking certain fishermen to follow him with the hope of making them fishers of men. According to the account of Matthew, after the selection, Jesus gave a long lecture which is recorded in Matthew chapter 5 through to Matthew chapter 7. By Matthew chapter 8, we see Jesus closing service and mingling with His congregants as He descends from the mountain. We also see several healing testimonies until we get to the eighteenth verse of Matthew chapter 8.  All this while, the Bible stresses the fact that He was being followed by a crowd and His disciples.

Now at the shores of the same sea of Galilee where He called certain people to follow Him, He asks to be transported to the other side (Matthew 8:18). To this, a Scribe, who was also following Him, quickly opts to follow Jesus on the trip. And Jesus’ quick response was, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then, another of the disciples asked for permission to go and bury his father. In other words, he should be permitted to go home for his inheritance before he embarks on the journey. To this, Jesus said, “Follow Me and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” 

Before we continue, let me quickly share Jesus’ responses to these two men from the message bible. It will bring home what I have to share.

MATTHEW 8:20 (MSG)

Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

MATTHEW 8:22 (MSG)

Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow Me. Pursue life.”

Wow! Anyway, my point of interest in this passage is found in the 23^rd verse of Matthew 8. The Bible says, "When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him." This verse got my attention. As I meditated on it, I said, "What happens after this decision cannot be the fault of Jesus, but those who chose to follow Him." Jesus never pointed or called out specific names to join Him in the ship/boat. He made a general call like any evangelist would. But, His statements to the two men needed to be pondered on before making the decision.
When Jesus sat in that boat/ship, He was saying, “If after hearing all that I said minutes ago, you still feel/know that you are ready to ride and die with me on this journey, join me. If not, please stay here or go back home.” The few who thought they were ready quickly made their way into the boat/ship. Every single being on that boat/ship was there because he/she wanted to. None was forced.  None was called. None was bribed. Everybody was there at his/her own will. Why they were there were either based on what they thought they had heard or what they thought they had seen in Jesus.  

Like the scene in Titanic, they wave their wives, children, friends, and relatives goodbye. The journey was calm until the inevitable happens. A violent storm arose on the sea so that the boat was being covered by the waves. As human as they were, they became terrified. They began to question their decision. Were they right when they accepted to follow this weirdo who performs miracles and speaks at length of a mysterious kingdom they knew nothing about? Were they hypnotized? Where is the man we got into this boat with? Where is He? Hasn’t He heard our screams? Hasn’t He sensed our fear? 

As they quickly searched the boat/ship, they annoyingly find this weird man comfortably sleeping. What they thought was about to be the cause of their death was this man’s rocking chair. Like a baby, He was enjoying the way the waves kept swaying the boat on its axis. (I am very sure they were ready to throw Him into the sea like it was done to Jonah. That wouldn’t have been wrong because He later said He was greater than Jonah.) Since that was a bad idea, they decided to wake Him up and let Him know the situation at hand.

Jesus woke up and all He could say was, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” The message bible puts it this way, “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then He got up from His comfortable bed and rebuked the winds. Immediately He rebuked the wind, the sea was totally calm. (NB: He did not stay in bed to rebuke the wind when He woke up. No! He got out of bed and rebuked the very wind which was rocking Him to sleep because of the faint-hearts He had on the journey.) They couldn’t believe it. What did they just see? Were they seeing right or were they dreaming? Did they really hear those words from His mouth? A man can actually speak to the elements of this world for them to comply? Why didn’t they think of that? 

I can go on and on with this passage. But I am very sure most of you got the head and tail of this article halfway through it. For those who didn’t, all I am saying is this, “Before you chose to follow Jesus, He told you the advantages and the disadvantages. He did not compel or bribe you to follow Him.  He did not promise you riches or an extravagant lifestyle. One thing we are sure of is this: JESUS IS IN THE BOAT WITH US. He may not be visible or in plain sight, but He is around. He may be sleeping but He is on the boat. The boat may toss and turn, but He is in the boat with us. The boat may have the waves entering, but He is in the boat with us. Do not question your conviction. Do not question your decision. He is in the boat with YOU. Whatever you saw and heard is true and if you would stay in the boat with Him, you will see and touch them when you get to the other side. Do not accept those evil thoughts of jumping out of the boat. You cannot swim back to the shore. You may get there, but the fact is: it would be your lifeless body. Stay! JESUS IS IN THE BOAT WITH YOU. If your faith is wavering, just call Him; He knows what you must say and do. Jesus is in it with you until you get to the other side.”

Remain in the blessings of the Lord as you remain in Christ.

MD.

JESUS IS EVERYTHING

“Would you mind going to church with me this Sunday?” I asked. The question was directed to my cousin. I did not know whether to call her a Christian or a churchgoer. She never missed Friday All Night Services at any church, but would never go for a Sunday service or any teaching/worship service or program. If it were a prophetic prayer meeting, it was a big plus for whoever invited her. If the focus of the service isn’t prayer, she was not interested. So, asking her to join me for service on a Sunday was not just weird, it was completely off her books.

All she could say was, “Sunday would be a problem, but I wouldn’t mind joining you for any prayer meeting on a weekday, especially Friday All Nights.” Per her understanding, there is a big difference between a prayer meeting and any other church service/program. And surprisingly it is the understanding some "Christians" sadly carry around today.

Unbeknownst to Christians, the church has found a formula to solve every possible problem any Christian can ever think of. As a matter of fact, most church members already know which Psalm or passage in the Bible to read when in trouble, in need, sick, vulnerable, etc. For some bizarre reasons, the spiritual or “Christian” cure to every problem in the 21^st Century Church is PRAYER. If the problem is weighed and found to be weightier than imagined, the next additional drug to complement PRAYER is a three (3) or seven (7) day dry fast with some minutes or hours of worship and praises. For others, some days or weeks or months away from family, friends and loved ones on some mountain without food is the greatest solution. And to show how important these activities – PRAYER, FASTING, RETREAT, etc – play in the lives of Christians, not only do pastors or spiritual leaders preach them as the only solution, but the acclaimed gospel musicians also compose songs to emphasize these teachings as well. One of my favorites was “PRAYER IS THE KEY.”

PRAYER is the Key.

PRAYER is the Key.

PRAYER is the Master Key.

Jesus started with Prayer,

And ended with Prayer.

PRAYER is the Master Key.

Raise that song among zealous prayer warriors and like a wild spark close to a leaking gas you would set the whole room on fire. For the next hour or more, you should be ready for heavy tongues that can make any demon mistake the sound from that meeting space as the sound from the last day trumpet. No witch or wizard in their unstable evil mind would even dare to come anywhere close to the vicinity than to the building where the meeting is taking place. And after whatever number of hours spent in prayers, the men and women in that room would ignorantly trust that their effort and long hours spent in prayers would surely expedite the answer to any prayer request raised during that prayer meeting.

Brothers and Sisters, if PRAYER is the Key or Master Key, who is JESUS? Was JESUS lying when He said He is the way, the truth, and the life? If not, why are we giving more attention to activities in the Kingdom of God instead of Jesus? Why are we looking unto Prayer, Fasting, Worship, Praises, Retreats, etc for solutions instead of Jesus Christ? Why do we think performing activities in the Kingdom is the key to getting anything in the Kingdom of God when God said He has already placed these things in Jesus Christ? Wouldn't it be wise for us to spend more time with the gift keeper to get the gifts than to struggle by ourselves hoping to get it? Are we not twisting the truth? Are we not twisting the way? And are we not twisting the life?

Until we know Jesus, nothing is relevant. And I mean absolutely nothing in the Kingdom of God is relevant. If we do not know the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our numerous activities – the long hours of prayers, fasting, retreats, singing of worship songs, praises, bible studies, etc, are all absolute "rubbish". We are not Christians because we follow laws or principles in the Kingdom or perform some activities; we are Christians because we believe in Jesus Christ.

Please do not get me wrong. I am not saying that prayer, fasting, retreats, worship, praises, bible studies, etc are not relevant. I am saying they are worthless when they are performed outside the knowledge or revelation of Jesus Christ.

I am a spiritual son of a prayer and fasting machine. I am a prayer warrior who used to judge my spirituality and the spirituality of others by the number of kingdom activities I or they perform daily until the Holy Spirit enlightened the eyes of my understanding. The key isn’t the activities, THE KEY IS JESUS. And until we know Jesus, our kingdom activities aren’t different from the rituals a fetish priest/Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu performs daily.

We do not pray to get things, we pray to draw closer to our Lord Jesus and maintain our fellowship.  We do not fast to expedite answers to prayer requests, we fast to draw closer to our Lord Jesus and maintain our fellowship. We do not go on retreats to become God’s favorite child, we go on retreats to draw closer to our Lord Jesus and maintain our fellowship. We do not worship and praise the Lord to trick Him to answer our selfish desires, we worship and praise the Lord to draw closer to our Lord Jesus and maintain our fellowship.
If the focus is not to draw closer to our Lord Jesus and maintain our fellowship but to satisfy our selfish desires, we have totally lost the focus of these kingdom activities; and we are no different from the members of other religions.

JESUS is the Key.

JESUS is the Key.

JESUS is the Master Key.

God started with JESUS,

And will end with JESUS.

JESUS is the Master Key.

Prayer is not the key. Fasting is not the key. A retreat is not the key. Worship is not the key. Praises are not the key. Bible studies are not the key. Church activities are not the key. Stop worshipping activities and start looking unto JESUS. JESUS is the Key. JESUS is the Door. JESUS is the Doorknob. JESUS is the Path. JESUS IS EVERYTHING. 

Remain in the blessings of the Lord as you remain in Christ.

MD.

GO OUT THERE AND FIND THEM

In the book of Luke, chapter 15, our Lord Jesus shares three powerful parables. One had to do with the lost sheep out of a hundred which was later found by the owner, the lost coin out of ten which was also later found by the owner, and the last but not the least being the lost son out of two who was later found by His Father.

Reading this chapter of Luke, one can accept or agree that the Kingdom of God is more of a “Search Organization” whose joy is dependent on its ability to find the lost and not the fact that it is an organization.

For example, Fanmilk Ghana was not primarily set up to create jobs for the unemployed as it does; it was created to produce specific products which are sold purposefully for profit. Though it is creating a solution to a national problem, if it doesn’t fulfill its primary objective, it would not be able to sustain this secondary solution (creation of employment) it has brought. Concentrating on the secondary and yet ignoring the primary always results in the collapse of the established company.

And that is gradually unfolding in the Church today. The Church is not meant to be a static organization or being who is fully concentrated on him/herself but one fully dedicated to the “Lost & Found” system as the Father is. Like the characters described in Luke 15 by Jesus Christ, THE FATHER’S DESIRE is to find the LOST. 

Reading Luke chapter 15 verse 11 to verse 32, I was forced to find an interest in the elder brother described in the book by our Lord and Master Jesus. I believe our Lord Jesus was trying to describe a group of people the church today is slowly imitating unaware of the dangers he stands to face. And these are the Pharisees and Scribes who took offense that Christ was receiving/entertaining publicans and sinners (Luke 15:1-2).

In the Parable of the Lost Son, we are introduced to a wealthy family of three – a father and two sons. At some point in their life, the younger brother is believed to have asked his father to give him his portion of the inheritance. We cannot tell if he was scared that, his father was immortal or he may die before his father. For some weird reason, he just wanted to have his inheritance and start something on his own. (Let us imagine Prince Charles asking Queen Elizabeth to abdicate so he can be a King before he dies.)

Anyway, his father agreed and freely gave him his portion of the inheritance. As the story progresses, we are told how he left home and squandered the inheritance with no investment. The once rich man who had it all became a poor boy with nothing to eat except the food he fed the swine he was looking after. 

Back at home, we see the Father of this young man, who was now living miserably, waiting patiently for his son. All the Father did, day and night, was to hope for the day his son would walk back the same road he used when he left home. For the elder brother, he went about his father’s other business – he was busy in the field. He failed to recognize the true heart desire of his father.

The story takes a different turn when the young man realizes an important fact – Though he was now poor, dejected, rejected, and hungry, he was still the child of a rich man. To this, he prepares a beautiful speech for his father and begins his journey home.

As usual, the father was watching but this time his heart desire came to pass. He saw his son from afar heading towards the house. Like a couple who have been in a long-distance relationship for years seeing each other for the first time, the father runs out to welcome this very son who disrespected him by asking for his portion of his inheritance and now returning after being heavily beaten by life. Instead of the father lambasting him, he hugged and kissed him like a newly born child.

The young man quickly tries to make use of his father’s compassion to ask for employment, but to his surprise, his father treats him like a son who has only returned from a stressful journey which almost cost his life. 

But, this beautiful picture is almost trashed when the elder brother comes back from his usual fieldwork to be told that the sound of celebration he hears and is asking about is from the party his father has organized for his younger brother who has finally returned home.

Do you know that, according to the Bible, this elder brother was ready to stay out of his father’s house because of the pain he had against his younger brother? Did you notice that though his father made a point of him having all the inheritance and the importance of him accepting the return of his brother, the story never said that he finally went into his father’s house? (Luke 15:25-32)

Anyway, I believe Jesus Christ, through the above parable and the others in Luke chapter, spoke directly to the publicans and sinners, and also to the Pharisees and the Scribes.

To the publicans and sinners, that is the younger brother out there who feels rejected, dejected, poor, and spiritually hungry, Jesus Christ is saying, “Your Heavenly Father is still here looking for you. Just make the journey back home. Make that decision to go back and he will be there to welcome you this very minute. He doesn’t care about the mistakes but he surely cares about what you have been through. He is ready for your return. He wants you to know that you are still a child of the Most High God. And He truly loves you as you are.”

To the Pharisees and the Scribes, the judgmental church who is comfortable being the only one in the Father's house, that is the elder son, I believe Jesus is saying, “Instead of being judgmental, concentrate on the father’s desire to find your lost brothers, and not just working the field. Be like Jesus, the apostles, etc, go out there and remind your lost brother of his father’s love. Do not just talk about the Father's love to him, demonstrate it to him. It is about time we take our cross. It is about time we start focusing on the main assignment. Many will hate you, but one thing is sure, your inheritance is still intact with the Father. Stop being angry and bitter at the error of your younger brothers. Go out there and find them.”

Remain in the blessings of the Lord as you remain in Christ.

MD.