By Bosun Emmanuel
_But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Before ascending into heaven, the Lord gave His disciples a final instruction: they would be “ witnesses” unto Him. To many Christians, being a witness means soul winning. To the Lord, it implied much more. The word “witness” is the Greek martus, which is an analogy of the word “martyr”. That being the case, Acts 1:8 can be read thus, “…and ye shall be MARTYRS unto me.” In other words, that passage could be read as follows: “… Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and YE SHALL DIE FOR ME both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The invitation to follow Jesus implies consecration unto death. As if to confirm that the Lord had physical death in mind, all the early apostles, except John, were martyred. They were “witnesses.”
The Church deviated from the consecration demanded by the Lord when it failed to separate Old Testament commands from New Testament instructions. For many Christians, the entire Bible should be literally applicable to all saints. That is true, to an extent. Teachers of the word of God must be diligent to “divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) and separate OT demands from NT positions.
This separation is demonstrated repeatedly in Matt. 5: 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, and 43, where Jesus kept pointing out, “It was said of them of old, … but I say unto you.” That which was “said of old” was the instruction to Old Testament saints. What He said “unto you” was the new commandment for the New Testament saint. The tragedy that has befallen the Church in our generation is that Christians no longer “divide the word of truth”. Not everything in the Bible applies to the Christian.
In the prayer call of 21st – 27th October 2024, entitled “UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD: LOGOS AND RHEMA,” it was explained that every word in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the revelation of God, the “logos”. From the logos, God can speak from any part of the Bible to an individual as the occasion demands. This is called rhema. It is commonly translated as “a specific word, to a specific individual, at a specific time, for a specific purpose.” Rhema does not come only from the logos . It can be given by God through dreams, prophecy, word of knowledge, or any other channel He decides to use. The rhema to a pastor as a personal revelation or promise, should not be turned into a doctrine for the Church. Pastors need to discern between personal and corporate revelations, to prevent misapplication of the word of God.
On this matter of Acts 1:8, Christ promised “power” for “witnessing”. Similarly, “power” was promised to the OT saints in Deut. 8:18, power “to make wealth”. Instead of emphasizing the power to witness, many modern-day preachers have focused on the “power to make wealth”. That is the root of the credibility crisis that has weakened the Church. In the effort to actualize the power to make wealth, Christians sacrifice Christian values, ethics, and righteousness. A lot of craftiness and earthly wisdom goes into the effort to prove that one has the power to make wealth. That is how the prosperity message has become a liability to the Church.
God gives the power to get wealth, but much more, He has given the NT saint power to witness. Unfortunately, most NT saints are not disposed to being witnesses. They prefer to be millionaires.
When this issue was raised with some pastors, they responded that the gospel of Christ is all encompassing, and that it includes the well being of the saints. That is correct. However, why is money more emphasized and not the cross of Jesus? The Master commanded, “take up your cross and follow me”, a confirmation of the power to witness. Peter in 2 Pet. 2 prophesied about this age, when teachers would arise, making merchandise of the saints.
If the Church focuses on the power to witness, Christians would retain godly consecration unto death. The power to witness demands that wherever Christians are, they must take a stand for the values of Christ, even if it should cost them their lives. Their lifestyle must be a witness. If Christians were armed with this mindset, Christians in the Police, Customs, Government Ministry, politics and in other marketplaces would have placed sanctification above money. Sadly, many Christians do not think twice about lying, falsification of records, pretence and cheating, so long as money comes out of it. The general attitude in the Church is that once someone has acquired money, he or she is “blessed”. The Church no longer interrogates how that wealth came about. In many assemblies, wealth is rated higher than Godly character.
This is the underlying reason for most of the Church leaders becoming fans of corrupt politicians who loot the treasury. Many Christian leaders find it difficult to speak truth to power, because they admire the thieves who loot the treasury and they wish to share in the stolen funds. It is open secret that many Christian leaders receive portions from the political thieves ruining the country. Under the circumstances, there are no influential voices in the Church rising to rebuke the politicians and calling them to order. Both saint and sinner are pursuing mammon.
Nigeria is facing a leadership crisis, yet it has millions of professing Christians and thousands upon thousands of ministers of the gospel. The pastors preach long sermons about the Daniel of the Bible, but the Church cannot present a Daniel on the throne of Nigeria. The Church teaches about the virtues of Joseph and the leadership skills of Nehemiah but cannot find men like any of those to represent the Church in government. Even when Christians are appointed into high government offices, they usually perform worse than the unbelievers. Presently, there are more Christian governors in Nigeria, and more Christian senators in the National Assembly. They all identify with denominations and regularly go to Church, yet the values and virtues of Christ are rarely seen in them. Those who manage the propaganda for the Tinubu administration are mostly ministers of the gospel. The five notable propaganda mercenaries of the current administration are all pastors. The average Christian responds to money, rather than to righteousness. Yet, Christ has called them to be His witnesses!
This is a call to all Christians, without exception, to re-check areas of compromise in their lives, then make amends. The lukewarmness is pervasive, and many have been affected without being aware. The glorification of mammon has become a culture in the Church, and very few Christian assemblies are unaffected. This is not to point at the speck or the log in the eye of anyone. It is a call for every Christian to take a mirror and check the speck or the log in their own eyes. The constant exposure of Christians to the prosperity message under the guise of seeking the blessing of God has affected many Christians more than they realize. For most, relationship with God is measured by how much money is in the bank account. Christianity in the country has become transactional.
Today, the country is crying out for righteous leadership. Meanwhile, those who have been made the righteousness of God in Christ have developed the mindset of the very people they are expected to replace. Those whom Christ empowered to witness for him have become unwilling witnesses. Taking a stand for truth and righteousness is condemned by the Church as a “lack of wisdom”, “lack of tact”, and being “confrontational”.
Will Nigeria Christians compel God to bypass the Church and seek a deliverer for the country from amongst the unbelievers? That will be a reproach on the Church. In some nations, those who brought transformation were not Christians. They were principled men who believed that honesty and integrity were essential ingredients to nation building. If God cannot find such men and women of honesty and integrity in the Church, He will seek them from the unbelievers.
Each believer should “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5). How do we respond to the payment of statutory dues? How do we treat our domestic staff, and security men? How do we respond to fulfilling our obligations in the estate we live in? It is not until one joins politicians to loot the treasury that one has perverted righteousness.
Christ is looking for Christians who will take a stand for truth and resist every pressure to act contrary to righteousness, irrespective of what is lost. Such Christians are rarely seen nowadays. Creation is crying for the manifestation of the sons of God. Will the Nigeria Church be able to provide a witness for Christ in this season, or will God have to seek from among the unbelievers for men like Lee Kuan Yew who transformed Singapore, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who transformed Dubai into a global destination, or a Mahatma Ghandi of India, to transform Nigeria? Those people were not Christians.
It is time for the manifestation of the sons of God. Those who are going to be useful to God in this season must be willing to “witness” for Christ. The call is for consecration unto death.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1). Matt. 6:24: Confess and repent before God the gross idolatry in the Nigeria Church on account of the worship of mammon.
2). 1 Kgs. 18:21: Intercede for grace that the Nigeria Church shall return to Christ-centredness.
3). 2 Pet. 2:1-3: Pray that God shall execute speedy judgment on all false teachers in the Church, who have led the people of God astray into the worship of mammon.
4). Job 5:12-14: Pray that God shall disappoint the devices and craftiness of ungodly politicians who have conspired to keep Nigeria in bondage.
5). Philp. 2:5-8: Pray for Godly obedience in the Church, so that Nigeria Christians shall be consecrated to God and to His will.
6). Acts 13:22: Pray that God shall search out in the Church for men and women whose hearts are perfect towards Him, and promote them to national leadership, like David.
7). Lam. 3:22-23: Pray that, in this season, mercy shall prevail over judgment for Nigeria.
● Pastor Emmanuel is co-leader with Prof. Trinya of the National Prayer Altar that meets nightly to pray for the country.
