By Sam Adeoye
My maternal grandmother of blessed memory used to say to us when we’re much younger that; ‘when two siblings enters the room to discuss pressing issues and they both comes out smiling at each other; then you can be rest assured that the cored of truth had not been hit. They’re just in the room lying to themselves. But when they both came out with strong face and unpleasant countenance, then you can be rest assured that the truth had been told, the lies had been exposed and it is now left with the individuals to decide what to do with the truth that had been told.
I’m a student of wisdom and I try every now and then to pay closer attentions to things that are potent enough to elevate and eliminate. In as much as I know that the scriptures are good contents to set us all on the right path; I’m also aware of the fact that the wrong application of the same can derail and destroy ones destiny both on the path of the speaker and the hearers. And the reason for this is very simple; the words be it the word of God or the word we speak to ourselves on a daily basis are spirit. Words can be heard and feel; but cannot be seeing physically when spoken. But the aftermaths of the spoken words will definitely be the outcome of the person whom the word had been spoken to; just as Jesus Christ said in John 6:63 that; ‘it is the spirit that quicken; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The word we speak either to ourselves or to someone else automatically gives life to whatever we carry within ourselves. What you hear have enough potent to make you or mar you, that is why Jesus Christ said in Mark 4:21-24; ‘is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
When Apostle John said in John 1:1-5 that ‘in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.’ What he was literally saying was that, words are powerful to create a life, a living being and what determines the fulfilment of one’s life; I mean what determines if one will be the light that shines in darkness; and or one’s that’ll be comprehended by darkness is the words that someone had been spoken to us or the ones we speak to ourselves.
One of the things I believe about life, is the fact that ‘you can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure. Things fail in life when proper planning is out of place. In Luke 14:28-30 Jesus Christ said; ‘which of you, intending to build a tower, sit not down first, and count the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’
The state of the church and of Christianity at the moment is the state of mockery. We act as if we have the answers to all things, most especially the Pentecostal arms of the church and yet we have no answers to anything. All what most churches have is either no knowledge or halve of the word and God Pastors. Pastors that will either listen to other Pastors to preach or read the books of other well established Pastors, make some notes and went to download. Majority of them are filled with prides, lies and telling stories that are not true. Stories wrapped with lies and falsehoods in form of testimonies and God’s miracles just to exploit people for no reasons. What a life
The levels of lies and manipulations going on in the church these days is alarming; all in the name of keeping people in the church and increasing the congregant numbers. The mathematics is certain, Twenty Thousand people in the church multiply by One Thousand Naira each is Twenty Million Naira – N20,000,000-. Twenty Million Naira multiply by Fifty weeks of the year is One Billion, Forty Million Naira -N1,040,000,000-. Now, this is just the Offering, the Tithes, Prophet Offerings, Building Project Offerings and several other offerings are not inclusive.
Members are encouraged to evangelized, invite their friends, families, neighbours, colleagues etc to the church on Sundays. They will quote Proverbs 11:30 that says ‘he that winneth souls is wise’ to you because that is what you need to hear to run like a mad dog thinking you are willing souls for God. But that verse of the scripture was and is not talking about evangelism. That verse of the bible was and is talking about you been of good attitudes towards your fellow beings. As a result, you can win their heart to yourself and benefits from their lives and experiences.
If you read Prov 11 from 23 down to 31, King Solomon said; ‘the desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. There is that scattered, and yet increase; and there is that withhold more than is meet, but it tends to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that waters shall be watered also himself. He that withhold corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it. He that diligently seeks good procure favour: but he that seeks mischief, it shall come unto him. He that trust in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that win souls is wise. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.’
Deliberately misinterpreting the bible is a pure act of manipulation. Just like manipulation, Power is a form of indirect control over others or situations to gain a form of status or elevated level of influence. If Power was managed properly, you’d be able to seduce, charm, and deceive others into doing your every bidding. Manipulation is a pure act of deception and great leaders of the world from religion, to politics and business had been able to master it to their own advantage; but the truth is, manipulating someone for personal gain will automatically damage the victim, and this is the exact situations in the church; damaged people with damaged brains. An average Christian cannot think for himself or herself except they speak with a Pastor or someone they considered as spiritual authority of them. What a shame !
One of the laws in the 48 Laws of Power gives perfect illustrator to who a manipulator is. Make Other People Come to You—Use Bait if Necessary. Always make your opponents come to you. Ensure your bait is sweet enough to entice them to stick around. Once they’re in your grasp, you can manipulate them however you want. Law 12 of the book further said that; ‘a single honest gesture can help cover the traces of dozens of dishonest acts. By being generous, you can disarm even the most suspicious people. Once they are disarmed, you can manipulate them at will. The key to successful deception is distraction. An act of generosity distracts those you wish to deceive while turning them into docile children, delighted by the affectionate gesture. Learning to give before you take is a skilled way of getting what you want. Selective honesty also functions as a means to disarm your opponents. However, regaling a single truth will not be enough. You’ll have to construct a facade of honesty built upon a series of acts to gain trust, but these acts can be quite inconsequential.’
So many people are trapped in the acts of manipulations. Little acts of generosity from their leaders had made them to handover their entire lives into his or her hands. After-all that is what it means to be loyal, faithful and committed to the vision and the mission of the house. How else will you see what a Man is doing when you are given a house, a car or a generator for inviting larger number of people to the church. Of course, all that generosity is just to blindfold you from seeing the fact and continue to walk in the dark.
Don’t get it all twisted. Inviting people to a place where they can be blessed and natured is fine. But examine your own life first before you drag other people into the same pit you are. Examine yourself to see if your life is much better than it was before the join the church or worse than it was before you join the church or just stagnating. I know people that lost their jobs, marriage and even their lives shortly after they joined a church. If wisdom will not tell you that you’re in the dungeon, sanity should trigger your attentions to the fact that you’d been trapped and your life is in the balance. You might think that you are wining souls for the Kingdom of God, when you are actually marketing your church denomination to your friends, families, neighbours, colleagues etc and populating the spiritual prison you’d been locked up in. let me make it clear at this point that whatever makes you to influence a person’s decision is a sin in the sight of God.
Jesus Christ gave us a standard for evangelism in Mark 16:15-18 saying; ‘go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.’ Please, which of these listed divine manifestation can God do through you? Evangelism is not sharing flyers and running down other denominations or religions just to make your own denomination or religion look good in the eyes of others. Evangelism is manifesting the power of God and Jesus Christ gave us the perfect example of who it should be done in Luke 10:3-12 saying; ‘go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, even the very dust of your city, which cleave on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.’ Jehovah Witness is the only religious organization that I know that had followed this mode of evangelism back to back over the years, even the Pentecostal that condemned them that they are not a church are not doing this and I’m yet to see Jehovah Witness printing fliers or organizing unnecessary religious activities. God bless the Jehovah Witness members worldwide.
My sister and husband, leaders in a Pentecostal Church left Pentecostal Church to Celestial Church of Christ when suddenly they realized that all the money they ever made in their lives are sowed as a seed in the Pentecostal Church and they have nothing to show for it. My distance uncle a Pastor in a Pentecostal Church left the Pentecostal Church to become an Ògbóni Fraternity member. My friend a Pastor in Pentecostal Church left Pentecostal Church and today he never attend any church again. As a matter of fact he doesn’t want to hear anything call church. I know so many people that are no longer going to church for the reasons best known to them. I was on this path myself back in 2003 before God reached out to me and said; ‘you have a heart to serve me, but so have so good; you’d been serving your Pastor and the building he erected that you people are calling church. Come, let me show you what the church.’ That single statement took me years to differentiate between the church that is fashion after God and the church that is fashioned after man. So many churches are fashioned after man all in the name of money, fame and wealth trust me on this.
I remember when we were young and my mother will not go to church because she doesn’t have money for offering. And when we ask why she will say, that God said no one should appear before Him empty handed. It was later years that I got to know that it was all a lie. The word was for all the Men in Israel who are to appear before God three times in a year and they are to come with something as it was said in Deuteronomy 16:16-17 that “three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.” How come what was meant for the Male in Israel now became a law for the church that must be adhered to every time you show up in the church when the law was not even meant for the church?
I know some religious blocked heads and linking brains will say that the church is spiritual Israel, please show me where God or Jesus Christ said so in the Bible. And if it that so, what are you still doing here? Carry your bags and go to Israel Embassy and tell them you are spiritual Israel and let’s see what will happen to you.
I was with a friend recently during our short break in School and we were having a conversation in regards to the church been kin on the issue of money all the time and never care if you have the money or not. Virtually every meetings, conferences, get together etc in the church is always to make money and nothing more. Hardly will you see a Christian gathering without collecting money. Then I said to her, do you realize that the Muslims don’t collect tithes, offerings or special seed offerings for any Imams or anything they want to do in the Mosque and yet they are doing well financially and even supporting their members. They don’t harass their members for money as the church do and make everything to be money, money and money and when they wanted to short you down, they’ll say; you’re complaining because you don’t have money.
The church had gotten to a point where everything is all about money and more money and anything that can be done to making the money is a welcome idea to them. Myself and a good friend are having a conversation about the church some days ago and my friend said; ‘but what’s really behind this nonsense. Lutheran church has changed the creed to accommodate LGBT and transgender people. Anglican Church of England is also accommodating them and doing same sex marriage.
Now, let me be clear that I don’t have anything against the LGBT and I’ll never do. And the focus or let me say the purpose of making mentioned of LGBT in this articles is never to run anyone down or make the members feels less of a human. I’m not the creator and I’m not any position to judge or determines how one should live his or her lives. However, LGBT is mentioned here because of the double standard of some church leaders towards human race and religion in general.
For the sake of those who might not know what LGBT is. LGBT is anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant, LGBT, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual or gender identity.
Now, let me make it clear that LGBT did not start today. It started way back in the days of Abraham. And for the first time in, LGBT was mentioned in Gen 19:5-8 when the Angels of the Lord visited Lot and his family and the men of the city ‘called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.’
In Lev 18:22-25, God warned the children of Israel against it when He said; ‘thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomit out her inhabitants.’
Was the act ended there? The answer is no it doesn’t. Since it was considered to be harmful to nature, I expect the people that put the bible together to remove this from the bible; but no they will not remove it because this is the act to wish some Nuns, Fathers, Bishops, Pope, Sister and Mothers in the church are fulfilling their own sexual desires among themselves with easy escape from getting pregnant or getting anyone pregnant. Having it in the Bible makes it easier for anyone to practice, it is called, ‘reference’. Whoever is referring to it knows that the person he or she is telling will not study it to establish the facts. And this is one of the many reasons why the church is where it is today.
According to my findings, various Christian denominations do not consider homosexuality or transgender identity to be sins. These include entire denominations, as well as individual churches and congregations. Some are composed mainly of non-LGBT members and also have specific programs to welcome LGBT people, while others are composed mainly of LGBT members. Additionally, some denominations which are not LGBT-affirming include LGBT member-organized groups which are not officially sanctioned by the denominations themselves. There are also ecumenical or parachurch programmes that explicitly outreach to LGBT people but do not identify with any particular church, tradition, or denomination.
As far as I could tell, this is pure business and it’s a shame to see that the church had finally become not just a business center, but as a well as a night club in the day time where anything goes in as long as you’re going to drop some cash to keep the place going and the church leader having his or her needs meet.
Have you ever seeing a Muslim person or an Islamic organizations practicing and permitting some of the things we practiced and permitted in the church; still, some brain dead individuals will wake up from their slumber and say Islam is Evil It’s evil and yet, they’re keeping straight with God. How many Muslim organization is accepting some of the inappropriate things we do in the church all in the name of trying to get more people into the church and increase the revenue of the church.
My question, what is going on in the church?
Why is everything in the church about money?
Is God still in the church or were just deceiving ourselves?
Are we serving God or our church leaders and denominations?
Do you know that Christians divorce their spouse more than any other religions in the world? Do you know that the Church have the highest rate of divorce all over the world and the Pentecostal which we usually called the Born Again have the highest rate. And yet we still ignorantly and foolishly quote, “God hates divorce”. Yes, God hates divorce but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t divorce if you are not please with what you are experiencing in the marriage or if you’re been abuse in the marriage. Self-righteous and self-importance is the major problems of the church, capped with greed and lack of understanding.
It is a shame on you if the religious organization or the faith body you belong to; whichever one you chose; is in support of illicit acts and you still have the gut to point fingers on / against other people’s choice of faith. Take wisdom from the word of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:3-5 that says; “why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? HYPOCRITE! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Honestly, the church is sick.
The church leaders are blind and deaf. I love what Jesus Christ said about them in Matt 15:13-14 saying; ‘every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’
I only hope that the church get well soon before it’s too late.