The Church Must Leave The Building

 

THE CHURCH MUST LEAVE THE BUILDING!

Covid 19 has forced us out of our church buildings. Now we must force the building out of the Church! God often displays in the physical what He expects us to follow through in the spiritual.

The lockdown has scared us into smaller social units and the local community.

It reminds me of the Book of Acts. Pentecost happened, and a massive revival broke out; the kind that we dream of having in all our churches. Thousands were being added to them daily. WOW!!! This is what the pastor's dreams are made of! Who would not want this to continue? Where one keeps on growing and signs and wonders and are daily phenomenon? No one wanted this to stop. It seemed like this was God's will. All growth must be from God and is this his way of saying you are on the right track?

Then Acts 8 happens. Scattering! Shaking! Shocking! Had we been there, we would have rebuked, and shook our fists at Satan saying 'this is the work of the devil'. Surely, he wants the Church to crumble and fall. We must hold prayer meetings against this diabolic act.

Ahem!! It looks like they had forgotten something Jesus said as they got caught up in the heady success of Pentecost. Jesus said, 'to the ends of the earth!' Why they had not even left Jerusalem. The Lord of History decided to shake and stir the pot a little. They needed a nudge to go into all the world. God used historical circumstances to fulfil His mission.

Does this sound familiar? In the last few decades, the mantra in Christendom has been 'bigger is better'. There has been so much pressure to grow big. If your Church gathering was not over 100 people, you are not even considered a legitimate church. We have forgotten a lot of the New Testament was written to the Church that meets in so and so's home!! We have forgotten the power of "where two or three are gathered" is the 'ekklesia'.

The heady success of the big stage, big band, music albums, published books,  international conferences that gathered the 1000s, millions of social media following has all become a massive industry. I  know this sounds harsh!! We have created a doctrine and used scripture to justify this. Every pastor worth his salt must have a building project or he is a man of little faith. Show me a budding pastor who dreams of a small church but with significant impact. Everyone wants the 1000s.

I think we are in another Acts 8 moment in history. God is pulling at every structure. Shaking everything that can be shaken so that the only foundation left standing is the on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. He wants a bride without spot, wrinkle or blemish and He will make that happen.

We have gotten comfortable with our programs: the ladies meet, the men's meet, the kid's club, the senior's meet, etc. etc. We have disengaged from the community and pronounce judgement on everything and everyone that does not talk and walk like us.

The lockdown has scattered us into our neighbourhoods: our Judea and Samaria. What will we do about it?

'The Church is not a building !' we charismatics (that met in school halls) would proudly say. Now we are being challenged because we have made our meetings and our multi-million dollar church building projects sacred and perhaps more sacred than His presence. The Church, through history, has morphed in how she has met. The Church moved from the courtyard of homes to catacombs during the persecution, to cathedrals, when Christianity got state patronage, to cell groups or cottage meetings at the advent of the Charismatic movement in the late 1960s, to conference centres when bigger became better.

God has taken us back into our homes. This is where it begins and must first thrive. They will know we are Christians by our love one for another. It is the secret sauce. Salt if not scattered in the community, is just a lump of salt in a sack. Light all gathered in one place is useless. It needs to spread out to dispel darkness.

In Acts 8, what the devil thought would finish the Church helped her flourish. The scattering resulted in the gospel reaching the shores of our land, and you and I get to encounter this glorious gospel and know Jesus. The Church grew like wildfire from home to home without the aid of modern-day technology. They did not even have the Bible as we now have it. So how much more we? We can use the internet etc. to reach places where we physically can't go. We will impact, but it may not reflect on your local site. Does it matter? At the end of the day, His glory will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. That is what matters. The 'small' is manageable, sustainable and deploys everyone. Everyone reaching out to someone will reach everyone!

In the new era, there are no well-worn paths. We will have to do things in ways we have never done before.  The big church model has played its part, but I think the writing is on the wall. The religious spirit that wants to hold onto structures will criticize and condemn. We have to have the courage once again to listen to what is the Holy Spirit saying. What is this 'new thing". We need spiritual eyes to perceive it and the courage to move in its direction.

There is a clarion call once again. The Church MUST leave the building to be salt and light in the community.

Navaz D'Cruz

STRONGER PART 6 | Conclusion.

I came across a book early this year by Havilah Cunnington titled “Stronger than the Struggle”. I strongly recommend you read it. Much of what I am blogging here is from that book and what I did with a ladies group called Coffee Chats. If you find this useful, please feel free to use this material in a study group you might be leading. The blogs in this series are reflections and a summary of what I got from this fantastic book that I recommend you to buy. Click here for PART 5 of this Blog series. 

PART 6 – CONCLUSION

So we have seen how we need to identify the source of our battle i.e Internal, External or our belief system. We have looked at the weapons the enemy uses against us i.e theft, death, and destruction. These are his fingerprints. You know he is at work when you see any of these. We have looked at how we should respond, and the tools we have. Most battles are in our mind.

 We fight by taking every thought captive and replacing it with the truth. We fight with the word of God, opportunities of grace that God puts across our path, the rehma word. We also saw that it is important to trust, to yield to God. We need to replace fear with faith.

Remember the devil is the chief enemy of your soul and he wants to destroy it so that he can keep you from your God-given destiny.

Therefore in our daily lives how do we stay powerful? What am I responsible for?

1.     PARTNER WITH YOUR MIRACLE

I am responsible for my choices and what I believe in. I can partner with the Prince of peace or partner with the spirit of fear and anxiety. We all get anxious every now and then. Then there are some who live under a constant cloud of fear. This is a spirit that you need to send packing by declaring the truth of the Word of God over your life and situations.

Let’s look at the man beside the pool of Bethesda. He was sick for 38 years. Jesus asked him a strange question. Do you want to get well? What a strange question you might say? Jesus often asked this of people. He asked the blind man if he wanted to see. Sometimes we get comfortable with our problem that we actually empower it and give it permission to stay.

This man has two excuses – First is complained and said that he had no one to push hint into the pool. That is a victim mentality I.e. no one understands, I am all alone, my situation is unique. It’s an isolation that Satan puts you under. I have been there. Like in the story, I mentioned. Because I did not get the help I was looking for, I felt isolated and a victim. While I did not get the help, I could have moved on. I could have looked upward to the One who is greater. He is the one who gave me the dream in the first place. Would HE not have enabled me? And enable me he did. He guided me to tools I needed and then there was no stopping.

The second excuse was “Someone always beats me to it”. This is like saying, God, you have limited resources and it has run out on me! How ridiculous is that! Worse still is a comparison. We look at others people’s blessings and miracles and feel envious, jealous, we compare and get bitter and even get angry with God. Jesus full of grace asks the man t get up and walk. HE did not enable his victim mindset. Jesus gave him a chance to partner with his miracle. The man had a choice. Jesus asked him to get up. He gave him an opportunity to be powerful and do something. Blame leads us to get stuck in the mud.

On the other hand, we see the Centurion. For him, the Word was enough. Both men faced a problem. One felt powerless and the other did what he could.

Self-pity can make you feel powerless and get you so absorbed in the problem that you do not see the solution. You may even be right about the source of the problem but that will not get you unstuck. You have to partner with the miracle.

Remember comparison is the enemies’ way of telling you that there isn’t enough to go around and that God is holding out on you.

Excuses and blame don’t help change anything. We have to take responsibility for our selves. I learned this the hard way. It took me a few years to get out of that pity pit.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

Obey the Prince of Peace

Partner with the Holy Spirit

We can respond in faith or stay in unbelief

I can’t do everything but I can do something!

THE DUST OF DISTRACTION

 When you have a speck of dust on your lens it ruins all your pictures, doesn’t it? The dust of distraction can make us ineffective. This is one more tactic the Devil uses.

In those three vital years that Jesus ministered, he said some very important things and gave us very important advice.

Jesus gave us strategies of how to deal with different people. Some will accept you and some will reject you. He tells us to shake the dust off!!

Jesus knew that we would need a strategy to deal with offense. If we don’t know how to deal with this we will take this into every situation. It's not if offense comes, but when it comes.

Offense is a trigger and a trap. An offense can take you hostage. The pain, the anger can hold you hostage. IT will color the way you look at everything. It will prevent you from taking steps towards reconciliation or trying to resolve a conflict. Offense rides on the ugly back of pride. We have all been there. We have either taken offense or given it.

Now the word “take” offense implies we have a choice. I can choose not to take offense. IT is always a choice. I could either pick up the courage or seek clarification in a situation. I can choose to overlook the wrong done. I can choose to give the other person the benefit of the doubt. If I feel there could be a misunderstanding caused by my actions, I need to have the courage and ask what the matter is. The onus is then on that person to seek to keep the connection and respond or not.

I have had to do this when there was a rift in a friendship. I sought to reconnect to no avail. Finally, a letter helped me understand what the problem was. I could not do more than that. The Bible says as far as it depends on you live in peace. Make every effort to reconcile. A relationship might never come to restoration but sometimes that is for the best. Praise God I can say today that there is reconciliation in the friendship.

So whatever it, is we need to fight it. The Greek word “skandalon” is where we get the word scandalized. It is the stick in the trap that springs and closes the trap when the animal touches it.

This is one of the deadliest weapons Satan uses against us. I have written a blog on Offence where I go into more detail on this topic. Offence affects the core of our heart. It is like drinking poison or allowing cancer to grow inside of us. The Bible warns us not to allow bitterness to take root in our hearts. We also need to beware of judging people. When we are able to deal with offence in a godly way it brings glory to God.

What are the common offense s in our lives?

Apart from our soul, the other big enemy of Satan is the church. He will do everything to keep us divided. A united body is powerful. He seeks to bring misunderstandings and make them irreconcilable differences simply because often one person is too proud to admit their fault.

Jesus spoke of the spec in our neighbor's eye and the plank in our own. A plank is made up of tiny specs. Each offense that we accumulate will cause our vision to be impaired.

Satan loves to cause division and destroy friendships, intimacy, marriages. The closer the relationship, the greater the offense and great the hurt caused.

It takes one to forgive, but two to reconcile. God takes many and makes us ONE. Satan takes that one and tries to make many. We need to be very careful fo this. Do not allow it to build up.

“An offence is an event, being Offended is a state you are in” Havilah Cunnington. When you take offense and nurture it you become offended. So deal with this one swiftly.

CONCLUDING WORDS

Most days of our lives are lived out in the dailyness of mundane routine. Yet it is about discipline and staying the course. Then sometimes we hear how someone has had this amazing breakthrough in life. Someone gets this trip to an exotic place all paid for while you have been saving up for just a small holiday. We can get angry or feel cheated or we can celebrate God’s grace upon that person’s life.

If we cannot celebrate another person’s happiness, blessing or grace, we will never be able to step into our own. We will block our own blessing. This is another trap. The enemy prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to kill and devour. Lions hunt at night or early in the morning. Those are vulnerable, weak times. That is what the devil will do. He will seek you out when you are weak and vulnerable.

On a practical note, make sure that you are eating healthy, getting enough sleep and exercise. All these affect your emotional and mental balance as well. When you feel you do not have the strength to go on,  call back to mind Lam 3: 22-23: His mercies are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.

DON’T GO IT ALONE

In your battle, you need good friends to be with you. Find friends who will pour fuel on your dreams and not your fears. Some of us need a change in friend circle. Proverbs tells us that bad company corrupts good character. 

Ask yourself: are your friends helping you grow in the things of God?
Are they provoking you to live your dream and pursue your destiny whatever that might be?

Are they honest with you when you need some truth to be spoken to you?

Do they stand with you when you are in trouble or weak and vulnerable?

What counsel do they give you and where does it come from?

Miserable bitter people have a way of finding each other. So chose your friends wisely.

  We also need to be intentional about our relationships. Satan hates our friendships, marriages. Do not take these for granted. A lot of our struggles are in these very areas probably because we have taken things lightly and let things slide.

Be careful about being performance driven. Do the best you can. We need to be resilient and have endurance. 2Tim 4:7 says “I have fought the fight…” Phil 3:14 Paul says he will press on toward the goal. 2Cor 4:9

To conclude: the Holy Spirit will never run. Jesus calls us to come and drink from so that we may never thirst again. So do not have a scarcity mentality. You will always have what you need. God’s grace, provision of favor is unlimited. They will never run out. If you think it will, you will not be able to celebrate another peon’s success.

Fight the good fight of faith; Run you race, You have a destiny in God. What we focus most is what we reflect. What we think about the most will grow. We act from our thoughts and not independent of them.

Our struggle will not last forever. A time will come when all this wrap like an old blanket. The battle will end. Christ will return and he will have our rewards in his hand. One day we will be with him forever. This study inspired me to write a song of Hope called “ YOU ARE STRONGER”. You can listen to it by clicking here. Jesus is stronger than all the powers of darkness, the trails, schemes, lies the devil will throw at us.

I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did share it with you. Drop me a line to let me know how it has benefited you.

I pray that whatever season you are in, you will learn to fight well and grow stronger and fo on to fulfill all your God-given dreams.

The Vantage Point

I recently watched a video clip called “The invisible woman” byNicole Johnson. 
It was brilliantly presented; capturing what I feel is the essence of Christian life, though she was addressing women in particular: a mom's daily routines, daily real life heroes with faces and names unknown. 

It made me think of several things that I have been mulling over the last few weeks. This clip served as a catalyst to my reflections. Here are some of my thoughts

 
 What's true for those women described in the video clip is true for a lot of us maybe though in different ways. Most of our lives are unseen,and is  unnoticed by people around us. Even those with a public life, live vast amounts of time in a place where no one is watching,no audience, no one to applaud. It's just you.

When in that private place, is there a real me pops out from the jack in the box? Do I live life like in a jack in the box? Or is what you see is what you get i.e. who I really am? 
So what's it I do in the unseen places of my life? Who I am when I am alone, my thoughts, action, how I live my day is the real me. What motivates me? What makes me get out of bed each day? How far ahead am I looking or not looking?

 Where do I get my equilibrium from? Is it dependent on some position or title accorded to me? Am I authentic in who I am because I am not afraid or ashamed to be me- because my identity and security come from a relationship of  being totally loved and accepted. Full stop! I need to say it just in case you missed that punctuation mark! 
These are questions I ask myself as I ponder on several things.

What is my vantage point : the past, the present, my experiences, my failures or successes, the future? Do these things colour or dictate my perspective?
What is my life's vision? What is my vantage point from where I am looking at the next 20 years? And if I can’t see it in the present can I live with it in view?

I believe my vantage point will determine whether I have tenacity and strength of character to stay in for the long haul. Can I give myself to something that will outlive me? Can I give myself to something where the finished product is one that I will never see in this life?Can I give myself to another's vision? Can I hold onto God given dreams and work at them steadily, quietly while allowing the process to mould and shape me?

I have often used the story of two builder s when motivating people to have a right perspective to what they are doing. The story is of two masons doing the same job however one described himself as a brick layer and the other as a Cathedral builder!

This has always motivated me, especially when the daily drudgery of thankless tasks tempts me to slacken off or give up. I have often paused in my tracks to ask myself this question- What I am doing? Where is all this going or leading up to? 
If I can't answer the question satisfactorily then either I have lost perspective or am seeing things from a wrong vantage point or even worse actually  got engaged in pursuits of little value.

What really struck me a fresh from that video clip was that a Cathedral was almost never finished in one man's lifetime! It must have taken more than a 100 years to complete. Therefore the project outlived the original designer, artisans, supplies, funders. These scores of nameless people have contributed to the glory of a grand structure they would never live to see but they worked with dedication and precision.

This brings me to the generation that  get to carry on another man's work or vision. It takes vision and humility for someone to carry on the dream design of another man and bring it to completion. Sure he may add his mark to the structure but in essence it works retain all the features of the original design - a piece magnificent!

In one sense we all are living out SOMEONE else's magnificent vision; to see that City come down from heaven, to see that bride being made ready.

One thing stands out as different from the builders of the Cathedrals of our time on earth. It’s this truth: we will not be unknown that day!!! We will be welcomed by NAME because the grand designer, architect and builder has been recording it in His big Book! 

Nothing we do will go unnoticed by our Jesus!! Nothing, no sacrifice, no toil, no pain will be in vain or uncelebrated by our King! I am  encouraged to carry on for there is our King who looks on “With admiration for what you (I am) are building when no one sees!” (quote from the video clip).

So  I labour with each brick,starting within the four wall of my home and then extending it to others starting with the first "Hello, are you new to Pune?".  I will lay brick upon brick as I serve up scores of meals and coffees, challenging, encouraging people in their walk of faith, journeying with them through all the rough patches of life, standing with them in joy, pain, confusion, doubt, love and laughter. 
In doing so, a grand cathedral to the glory of God is being built. I've had a part to play in it and one day I shall see and glory in the complete and finished work.  

So for now I will take joy in being an unseen Cathedral builder because my vantage point is Eternity!

Navaz D'Cruz

The Offense of taking Offense

Walking on eggshells, tip toeing around someone, wearing kid gloves and scared to say something that can be misunderstood, measuring each word before you speak and each action before you do. How many of us have been in such situations with different people?  

How many of us have been this person? I was recently reminded of this and then someone spoke about the very same thing. It’s the offence of taking offence. I don’t know about you, but I have been on both sides of the fence.

I have been reflecting this in my own life and my life experiences. Here are some thoughts and observations.

What is it that causes us to take offence? What should I do when offense is given? Why do I take offense?

At the risk of sounding over simplistic I’m going to say it – PRIDE

The bible reminds me often, not to think too highly of myself. ( Romans 12:3) I ought to on the contrary  have a sober judgment or assessment of who I am and what kind of person I am in relation with others. I need to be humble and not expect everyone to treat me like the “Queen of Sheeba”.

What should my view of other be? Well the Bible tells me in no uncertain terms to “think of others better than yourself” ( Phil2:3) I should give others the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to conclusions about their motives , thoughts and behavior. Love always hopes, always protects, and always trusts. ( 1Cor 13:7) This ought to be my posture with everyone.

One might argue that this could lead to false modesty. I don’t think the Bible is suggesting that in any way. I could be a better tennis player than my friend; however she could be good at something else so I can appreciate that in her.

What about this offense thing? It’s basically putting a very high standard and having a high expectation from everyone else’s behavior, speech. It’s expecting others to be perfect while letting yourself off the hook on the same issues.

The Bible talks about picking dust from one’s brother’s eye while we have a huge tree bark jutting out of our own. Another word for this is hypocrisy or a pharisaical spirit. When we behave like this we expect everyone to treat us with kid gloves.

What is the result of such behavior? Here are some of my observations :

• ·       Often these people are blind to their own faults while expecting everyone else to toe their line.
• ·       They are slow to forgive and harbor unforgiveness for a long time. They like licking wounds, imagined or real
• ·       They are not open to any feedback themselves , so when it  given offence is immediately taken at how one spoke, when one spoke, what tone of voice etc., etc. rather than the issue at hand.
• ·       They are fault finders with everyone.
• ·       When they take offence they often retreat or go cold on the friendship and are not interested in dialogue or reconciliation.
• ·       The end result is because of this negative behavior pattern, people begin to avoid them and they feel rejected
• ·       They are unable to discern who are their true friends, hence never form deep relationships because whenever there are true friendships there will be honest open talk which they cannot face.
• ·       They can be controlling people because they want things to always go their way and have everyone toe their line
• ·       Any criticism is taken as being against them personally and seeing as rejecting them personally
• ·       Often time expectations are not voiced but they expect you to know and read their minds and when you don’t, offence is taken.
• ·       In a church setting which is so much a part of my life I have seen this behavior pattern as very dangerous and detrimental to the unity and harmony in the church family. More so our prime enemy has a field day sowing thoughts of discord in our minds and before we know it we’ve got an issue with almost everyone or a lot of people and the poor souls are blissfully unaware of the offence they are supposed to have caused!! How silly is that?

What is the remedy?

• It is simple but not simplicistic. 
• It takes a battle of the mind not to fall into that terrible trap. 
• It takes courage to speak up and clear doubts. 
• It takes humility to hear what the other person has to say and receive it well. 
• It takes strength of character to have a sober judgment of oneself.
• It takes much grace and oodles of love and self sacrifice to appreciate others, to give them the benefit of the doubt, to let go petty issues. 
• It takes fortitude to forgive even when one has been offended.
•  It takes determination not to take offence even when it is given. WOW!!! How do I know this? Been there, done that.

But this looks like a list for a super heroes or something. Yes if tried in one’s own strength.

Thank God I don’t have to! The Bible tells me that Jesus was tempted in every way thereof is able to sympathize with my weakness.( Heb 4:5) When I am tempted to sin He does provide me with a way out- an escape route and will not allow me to be tempted more than I can handle.(1Cor 10:13)

I need to remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and that when I am feeling weak, His power is perfected in me and then I am strengthened.

I can win and lick this problem. I have a choice – to be offended or not. I also have a responsibility not to cause offense – that my speech is gentle and seasoned with salt, my behavior is loving and kind at all times and I will be quick to forgive and not harbor ill in my heart. My prayer is that I would be a channel of peace.

 Confession: I at times have not reacted in the best way when offended and have taken offense when there has been no need to. I too am learning not to react but initiate reconciliation and restoration and give the other party the benefit of the doubt. It’s not easy but when it’s done, it’s greatly rewarding. You win a friend back that you could have perhaps lost forever. Life is short. Let’s keep short accounts and be on the offensive about this offensive habit of taking offense!

Here is an old hymn I end my reflection with

Make me a channel of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me bring your love.

Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord

And where there's doubt, true faith in you.

Chorus:

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace

Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope

Where there is darkness, only light

And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Make me a channel of your peace

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned

In giving to all men that we receive

And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

( Author: St Francis)

Navaz D Cruz

Sept 2013

Heretic or Hero Part 2

Part 2

Every era throws new light, new revelations, new inventions and discoveries. Some of them are so radical that they challenge the very paradigm upon which the previous era rested its ethos, philosophy and world view. For instance Galileo discovered that the world was not flat but indeed round. He stirred up a might commotion in the world of science. The Industrial revolution was path breaking from the Guild System and the Master Craftsman of the day. The pioneers of that time had to endure much hardship and ridicule. Some of them even had their lives threatened and some even died being denounced as tools of Satan or heretics.
The is the concluding part of this 2 part blog. In order to read part one please click here

All this brings me to the points I was pondering upon. It’s not different today. This generation is throwing up challenges that are pushing and provoking our cognitive boundaries on some basic issues. There are many crying “foul” and that this is modern day heresy and  different preachers are being denounced for what they supposedly preach.  I am learning one thing in life i.e do not be too quick to pass judgment or start throwing stones.

Before you  throw me to the stakes as well, let me say while every generation and era has pushed the boundaries, there has always been the danger of false doctrine infiltrating the church and we need to be ever watchful and safeguard the sanctity of scripture which is infallible and eternal. We need to be careful that when we look at doctrine we view it and understand it in the context of the whole canon of scripture and not in isolation. No doctrine can be based on one isolated verse. So I am not talking about false teachings which challenge the deity of Christ, the trinity, the finished work of the Cross etc. I am referring to our understanding of things like Grace, faith, miracles, the finished work of the cross etc.

I spent time reading and listening to the preaching of some well known modern day preachers. Up to this point I only had second hand information, and reviews on the web to go by. But I felt prompted to reach and study for myself before I decided if this guy is a heretic or hero of the faith. I was stunned!  I thought I knew everything about Grace having being in Newfrontiers for 40 years ( i.e even  before it came to be known as New frontiers) and whose father is Terry Virgo the great Apostle of Grace. No disrespect here, we owe a deep debt of gratitude for Terry's faithful  teaching on Grace,  but I was beginning to realize that what one generation receives the next on build upon and takes it further. And that is how it should be and always has been. 

This man Joseph Prince blows grace wide open: it’s refreshing, liberating and an empowering message. Nowhere does he advocate that grace is  a license to sin or even therefore treat the local church casually. There is so much that he is saying that could well be out of the leaves of Terry Virgo’s book “God’s Lavish Grace”.

Prince is not against working hard nor is he advocating a Christianity apart from the local church. Let me share a quote from his book “Destined to Reign” “All I have shared works most powerfully and effectively within the environment of the local church. These truths are for the greater good of the body of Christ and should never result in you becoming a law unto yourself. Beloved, I want to see you enjoying the safety of the covering of a local church where there is accountability and submission. This is where our blessings are tremendously multiplied” ( Destined to Reign- Joseph Prince, pg 306). Who can argue with this?

 You may say, but what about this and that. Does Prince have all revelation? Or for that matter do you or I? I think Prince is building on what the last generation began to open up and he has taken it further. His book is not supposed to be another manual of does and don'ts for every area of life. Our legalistic bent of of mind likes every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed.  "The law makes one self conscious. Its always asking 'what must I do? . But grace makes one Christ - conscious. It is always asking , "what has Jesus done?" (Destined to Reign- Joseph Prince, pg 33)

 Now there are always those who only hear what they want to and cherry pick in their practice and we look at them and question “is this what Joseph Prince is teaching?” .  I have been guilty of this. All I can say is those people have got the wrong end of the stick and are using the liberating doctrine of grace ( which has happened even with Terry Virgo's preaching) to rationalize their sin.There are some that accuse Prince of having a liberal view to sin.

 Allow me to quote "Licence to Sin?.. Let me begin by asking this: Have you noticed that people are already sinning without a 'license'? Allow me to make this explicitly clear in black and white so that there is not doubt I, Joseph Prince am vehemently , completely  aggressively and irrevocably AGAINST SIN!. Sin is evil. I do not condone sin. A life style of sin leads only to defeat and destruction.. Some think that it is by preaching more law. I am convicted that is is by preaching the grace of God."  (Destined to Reign- Joseph Prince, pg 30)

So who knows what the next 20 years will throw up? Unraveling the mysteries of an infinite God is never ending and God is restoring truths that got lost in the cobwebs of trying to live the Christian life by a ton of rules. We will never completely comprehend everything. No one individual has all revelation or knowledge. Even what we know is not perfect. While we have the privilege of attaining some revelation in one area of the Christian faith, we could be flawed in another. Therefore we need to walk humbly before God. 

So how do I respond?

Life is never black or white. Which of us is perfect in all things? I am learning more and more that one must not throw the baby and the bath water out. If we do this we will become very narrow and bigoted, lacking in charity, fragmented and very alone.

Augustine of Hippo said “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” The great St. Paul put it so eloquently and showed us the most excellent way in  1 Cor 13 – the way of love. We can keep splitting hairs on doctrine and its application and like the Pharisees we will strain the gnat and choke on the camel! 

So these are some of the things I have been pondering upon. I am glad I read and am re reading "Destined to Reign". I could not fault what was written.It lifted my spirit, made me worship Jesus and want to know Him more. It has given me a fresh boost to know that I can live this Christian life with all its struggles , victoriously. I recommend you read it for yourself .

 I end my reflections here with these thoughts :This I know God is for me, He died for me, my debt is paid in full. I have a destiny in Him which involves the ends of the earth.  I want to love and serve him all the days of my life until my last breath. And by His extravagant grace I will do mighty exploits for Him and one day Grace will lead me home.

Now these 3 things remain – faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is LOVE.

So while I aim to have a right understanding  of scripture and live according to it let us go our ways to love and serve the Lord – the author and perfecter of our faith to whom be praise forever and ever ! Amen.

Navaz D Cruz

July 2013

Heretic or Hero?

Since the summer break I have been pondering many things about the Christian life : what we believe and how it affects our being and our living. Here are some of the thoughts that have been running through my head and upon which I have been pondering.

We live in a fast changing world. What‘s “in “today is on its way “out” tomorrow. It’s hard to keep up with the pace of technological advancement. Before you know it the ‘latest’ phone you've bought is getting out of fashion.

Our world is punctuated by fads which have a following among folk whose life experience, cultural, social, economic context is almost unrecognizable from that of the previous generations.

We all products of the socio economic and historical period that we live in. It does shape our worldview, our way of thinking, our problem solving our creativity and even how we respond to God sometimes.

Every era throws new light, new revelations, new inventions and discoveries. Some of them are so radical that they challenge the very paradigm upon which the previous era rested its ethos, philosophy and world view. For instance Galileo discovered that the world was not flat but indeed round. He stirred up a might commotion in the world of science. The Industrial revolution was path breaking from the Guild System and the Master Craftsman of the day. The pioneers of that time had to endure much hardship and ridicule. Some of them even had their lives threatened and some even died being denounced as tools of Satan or heretics

Many a Christian fore father had to endure much the same for revelations they received that they strongly believed were Biblical and from God. For instance the Ana Baptists firmly believed in baptism by immersion and they paid for it with their lives.claiming that since infant baptism was scriptural and null and void, the baptizing of believers was not a "re-baptism" but in fact the first baptism for them. Balthasar Hübmaier wrote:

But the right baptism of Christ, which is preceded by teaching and oral confession of faith, I teach, and say that infant baptism is a robbery of the right baptism of Christ...As a result of their views on the nature of baptism and other issues, Anabaptist were heavily persecuted during the 16th century and into the 17th by both Magisterial Protestants and Roman Catholics.

  Martin Luther was denounced as a heretic for talking about justification by faith. The list can go on and on (You just need to read The Foxes Book of Martyrs) . What about those who believed that the gifts of the Spirit are available for us even today? They were mocked, ostracized and put out of main stream churches. 

This gave rise to what we know as the Charismatic movement that many of us enjoy being a part of today. Many paid the price for the path breaking revelation the fruit of which we now enjoy and take for granted. Today we look upon them as heroes of the faith and not as heretics as they once were.

The Bible does tell us that we know in part and we prophesy in part. Now we shall see dimly but then we shall see clearly.  ( 1 Cor. 13:9-12) 

Even Jesus was met with much resistance from the established order of the day. What He said and did was radical and provoking – it was unlike anything they had ever experienced or knew how to relate to. This incensed the Pharisees greatly who were “ever hearing but not understanding”. Claiming to see, therefore blind. Jesus paid with his life to set us free, to give us a new way to the Father.

So I believe it is true for us. We have not received all the revelation there is to receive. Remember we are always encountering an infinite God whose ways are not ours and can never be totally comprehended on this side of eternity.

One generation gets a portion of the revelation according their measure of faith and lives according to it as best they understand. Then, comes the next generation which throws up further light. Often the pioneers are met with resistance and ridicule before it is received.

Take the message on the wonderful doctrine of justification by faith : Martin Luther shed some light on it. But then down the ages more people have had further revelation and taken our understanding to another level.

As I said earlier we are products of our time that has bearings on our outlook to life, and our understanding . The 1800s, and early 1900s saw society transforming at a very slow pace but a transformation work had begun. New cities were emerging and science was making great advance. There was a time there was wide spread scarcity and poverty and only the upper class gentry knew the “good life”. And so the focus naturally was on just coping from one crisis to another. Life was hard and often cruel. The focus of the Christian was to persevere under every trial that was flung at them and to keep the faith. Frugality was a  great virtue. Godliness with contentment was of great gain.

As time went on the socio economic conditions began to improve all around with the Industrial revolution opening doors for new opportunities and financial well being the chance to break free from the never ending cycle o f poverty. Once could better one’s station in life. As society rises above the basic needs, higher aspirations come into play. One is able to lift one’s vision higher from just “give us this day our daily bread” to realizing that there is so much more in the kingdom of God. And we see progressive revelation come into play. Christian writings begin to change in their slant and flavor from endure hardship, be diligent ; to " lift up your eye and look around you - the nations are waiting",  "you can believe in miracles",  "there is so much more than just coping" etc.

Then there was a fresh wind blowing across the church in the early 1960s and it was being carried across the nations. There is now a whole new movement of “faith” “baptism in the Spirit” . "gifts of the Spirit", the Ephesians 4 ministries ,which was looked upon with suspicion at first. Today we embrace it as core and foundational. 

Am I suggesting that our doctrine is a reflection of the age we live in and therefore relative and subject to change? This  I know, that the Word of God has stood and will stand the test of time. It is eternal, unchanging and timeless. But I do know that there are mysteries to unravel and more revelation to be obtained and history bares witness to a change in understanding and therefore practice.

My pondering are this: does a particular age help usher in new revelations and how does that understanding then get translated into life and society?  A women’s plight in one age was pitiful, but in another, men of God upon receiving further revelation of God’s word begin to change things and see men and women as equal. This starts a whole cycle of change for woman and society .This is true of the slave trade as well. Change came with revelation from God and Godly men spear headed the abolition of slavery.

So what are the new challenges we are facing today? What new revelations are we resisting as heresy and which men of God are we denouncing as heretics only to be crowned heroes in years to come? More thoughts ,in the next blog post.

Navaz D Cruz

July 2013