THE JOURNEY SO FAR; COMING ATTRACTIONS The situation of Nigeria is a disgrace to the gospel. A nation with such a mushrooming of churches and Christians should not be experiencing the kind of corruption, moral decadence, poverty and suffering prevalent in Nigeria. By God’s Help, we have identified several lies accepted by the church in Nigeria. If the church forsakes these lies and accepts the truth, not only will the church be restored, Nigeria will experience transformation and speedily achieve its destiny as the point of reference for the African race, demonstrating that the Negro is not inferior to any other. Prov. 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people. NIV. We have treated the first set of lies, 6 lies under the theme “Responsibility for the State of Nigeria.” We have posted 20 write-ups addressing these 6 lies. The next set of 5 lies relate to “Faith, Money and Prosperity.” For 20 consecutive days starting 6th November, we will repeat each of the last 20 posts, one per day, to provide the platform for the next set of lies. Today is Day 2, we repeat Lie No 2. LIE NO 2: The only obligation the church owes the country is to pray for the leaders and the nation. Church leaders need not rebuke obvious wickedness and corruption in political leaders. THE TRUTH:Church leaders have three duties towards political leaders. The first duty is to pray for political leaders and also mobilise the church to pray. On this, we should give God the glory and commend our leaders for doing this abundantly. But this duty, standing alone, is not nearly enough. In fact, it falls far short of what the scripture teaches. They have at least two other responsibilities. The second duty is to speak the truth to those in authority. The bible is full of examples of leaders who spoke the truth to those in authority. The Lord Jesus called “President and C-in-C” Herod a fox. John the Baptist rebuked the same “President” Herod for his immoral conduct. Moses demanded that Pharaoh release the people from bondage. WHEN POLITICAL LEADERS COME TO CHURCH, THEY SHOULD HEAR EXACTLY WHAT JESUS WOULD HAVE TOLD THEM. Martin Luther King Jnr., on a visit to that great cathedral, the Westminster Abbey, lamented the complicity of silence by the church leaders when slavery was going on. Martin Luther King said there are times when conflict is righteous and that at such times, it is a duty to rise above the convenience of silence. What better time to urge Nigerian leaders to be transparent, to declare their assets, to shun corruption, to uplift the poor, to invest in the upgrade of education and health than when they stray into church and are offered front seats. Is it right to welcome leaders who we know are corrupt into church, celebrate them, and deem it an honour to have them in our midst? Is that what Jesus would have told them? The third duty is that there are times when it is appropriate for church leaders to participate in or even lead peaceful resistance and demonstrations. When Rehoboam, Solomon’s successor set on a tyrannical path, ten of the twelve tribes of Israel rebelled. When Rehoboam mobilized an army to confront the rebellion, God sent a prophet to instruct Rehoboam not to attempt to quell the rebellion because He (God) endorsed the rebellion. There are times when resistance is righteous. If Bishop Martin Luther King Jnr didn’t march, there may not have been a President Obama. Bishop Desmond Tutu was at the forefront of the march against apartheid in South Africa. One of the Apostles of Jesus was Simon, who belonged to a political group, the Zealots, which had an objective of bringing pressure to bear on the Roman government of the day to cease their oppression of the Jews, including use of force if necessary. There is no record that the Lord Jesus objected to his membership of this group. Silence and docility does not always equate spirituality, in fact there are times it is unrighteous complicity. The truth is that the leaders of the church in Nigeria need to embrace the sacred duty of “speaking the Truth to Power” and visibly standing on the side of the poor and suffering in engaging government for change. Church leaders must be the mouthpiece of God in rebuking evil and oppression, even if the target of such rebuke are the high and mighty in government. A cozy and warm embrace of those who fail in their duties in governance resulting in the suffering of many is at variance with the posture and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. SCRIPTURE: Mark 6:18 John the Baptist kept telling Herod, It isnt right for you to marry your brothers wife! (Today’s English Version) 1 Kings 12:21-24 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he called together 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He intended to go to war and restore his control over the northern tribes of Israel. 22 But God told the prophet Shemaiah 23 to give this message to Rehoboam and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin: 24 Do not attack your own brothers, the people of Israel. Go home, all of you. What has happened is my will. They all obeyed the LORDs command and went back home. (Today’s English Version)
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:21:52 +0000
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