Sometimes, in order to get a keen prophetic sense of the present, we must journey far back in history. An incident early in the life of the first century church recorded in the Acts of the Apostles holds instructive lessons for us. At the time, the growing Church was plagued by persecution ordered by the hostile authorities. King Herod himself sanctioned the execution of James, the brother of John. James was one of the original twelve apostles and a key figure in the early Church. His murder by the authorities sent an unmistakable message to the Church that powerful adversaries were out to destroy it. The execution of such a notable Christian leader pleased the Jews, and Herod, seeking to earn more political capital with these enemies of the Church also sanctioned the arrest of Peter, another of the original twelve apostles and a prominent Church leader. It was a bleak time as the young, brutally persecuted movement saw its leaders being picked off one after the other. Herod was becoming more confident and brazen in his attack against the emerging Church. In Peters case however, Herod decided to embellish the attack. Peter was stripped naked and chained to two guard posts of sixteen soldiers behind a massive iron gate. In addition to the outright cruelty and violence, this was a severely intimidating act by Herod. It seemed the satanic strategy to stop the movement was about to succeed. The Church was facing insurmountable odds and a depressingly hopeless situation. It was at this time however that it dawned on the surviving leadership that they were embroiled in a major crisis. The Church began to pray in earnest. The result was the eventual and dramatic angelic deliverance of Peter from captivity. This incident was one of the glorious moments of the early Christian community. Today, like the first century church, there is a sense that we are encompassed by darkness and that we live in rather bleak times. A raging and unrelenting terrorist insurgency similar to Herods ruthless and violent assault is visiting death and destruction upon our land. The abduction of over 200 girls from Chibok has focused unprecedented global media attention on our nation, exposing our institutional frailties and political problems to international derision. There is such fear and uncertainty over these events that many doubt the continued survival of the country beyond 2015 especially given the imminence of elections in a very venomous political atmosphere. The Church itself is undergoing a mercilessly fierce examination of its credibility as a moral authority and a prophetic voice. To many people, Church leaders stand discredited by their compromising relationships with politicians of ill repute and their persistence in preaching a message of self-expansion while our society burns. Given all this, it is no surprise that many Christians believe that the end is near and the return of Christ may occur any time soon. National collapse from their calculations is inevitable and the best response to the imminent apocalypse is to figuratively head for the hills, flee the nation or await the rapture. These sentiments are understandable but biblically unfounded. They are sentiments arising from a lack of understanding of the dealings of God with the Church and the nations. In His teaching on the end times, Jesus himself said that wars and rumours of wars, pestilences and natural disasters do not herald the end but merely its prelude. The one indisputable sign of the end times according to Jesus was that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached to the farthest regions of the earth. This is a gospel not only of personal salvation but a message of the rule of God in the affairs of a nation; the demonstration of a gospel that will be a witness to the nations of the power and potency of the Church; a gospel that engineers change within the fabric of society and demonstrates the culture and precepts of the kingdom of God in the spheres of politics, government, education, etc. In their season of persecution, the first century church must have felt too that the end had come. Yet that season of intense darkness and persecution brought forth angelic activity, miraculous deliverances, and the death of Herod in a clear sign of divine judgment. The rousing end to that chapter of persecution tells us that “the word of God grew and multiplied.” The removal of Herods government was a by-product of a Church that rose up to take responsibility for the crisis of the day. The principal lesson from this episode is that the Church’s darkest moment is also potentially its finest hour. Persecution induces growth, intensifies faith and amplifies the evangelical, prophetic and apostolic power of the Church. Thus, what is apparently a season of crisis is in reality a season of great opportunity provided we adopt the right posture. For even in the midst of the terror and uncertainty, there is an opportunity to profess and live out truths that could arrest and profoundly alter the trajectory of our society. This calls for the realization that even as we have become the centre of global media attention, Nigeria could become the site of a divine masterpiece, a national renewal that captures the imagination of the watching world. The pain and suffering occasioned by terrorism, the negligence of a derelict state and the ineptitude of a corrupt government could ultimately prove redemptive as Nigeria takes it position in a demonstration of the greatest revival and national transformation she has ever witnessed. This seemingly impossible situation could be God working out the resurrection of a new-generation army of young leaders from a valley of dry bones. It could be God calling out a Nigeria like the decomposing Lazarus with the nauseating stench of death from the gloom of a cold and dark grave. Nigerias situation could very well be a divine illustration of the timeless truth that God is able to wring beauty and victory out of ugliness and despair. Perhaps our present circumstances are only creating a death-like condition that becomes the perfect backdrop to demonstrate the power of resurrection. Clearly a new Nigeria beckons. The current political dispensation can no longer continue. It will take the vision and fervent intercession of a vibrant faith community to usher in the Nigeria of the future. It will take the engagement of a Church with deep spiritual insight to ensure that Gods agenda unfolds in the midst of the crisis. If the abduction and humiliation of Peter resulted in the emergence of a new government, then Gods agenda following the abduction of our Chibok girls could very well signal the end of an era. It could portend the nation arising from its ashes like the proverbial Phoenix. The challenge is that years of absorbing an unabated indulgent message from the pulpit of self-centered blessings have left us unprepared for persecution or seasons of adversity. We may have been eased into a false sense of gilded security and have lost the acute spiritual instincts required to respond accurately to the darkness around us.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 15:12:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015