First Century Christians (vs) Present day Christians.

Originally written in Tamil by Brother Vijay(http://vijay76.wordpress.com/)

I have written 14 great accomplishments made by present day Christians. These 14 achievement of us will prove to the world that we are better and knowledgable than the first century Christians.

• The fact that Jesus was born on 25th december was not known to the first centuy Christians. It was not even known to Mary- the earthly mother of Jesus. They were under the assumpton that 25th December was the birthday of the Roman SUN GOD. They knew only about the Cross -Tree; The did not know about the X-mas Tree. It is also a sad reality that they had no idea about the Great Man of God - Santa Claus.

• We know that we have to worsip the Lord in a church on a Sunday. But the early Christians did not know this truth and hence they were worsipping the Lord everyday. (Acts 2:46,47). Only the fourth Century Christians realised that they had to worship every sunday when this rule came into effect after a great group discussion in Heaven.

• The first century Christians respected Mary - The mother of Jesus. But they were blind to the Truth that she was ought to be worshipped.

• The first century Christians did not have a clue about the great discovery of the 20th century "Word of Faith Movement". They were idiots who never had Faith. If they had exercised their Faith by making Faith proclamations, they would have never gone through sufferings. The Lions would not have eaten them. They also never knew that they could download the Righteousness of God into them by repeating the words  "I am righteous in Christ Jesus". If only they had known that they could "Prophesy Prosperity" they would have been richer than Bill Gates. They were blind jokers who were blind to the revelation that we have now.

• God has changed his mind and he now lives in temples made of stones also. The early Christians thought that they were the body of Christ. The Apostles were the Church. They gathered together as the church. But they did not know that God hated that format of worship. They did not know that God lives in Big Churces where the Pastor doesn't even know 90 % of the members in the congregation.These truths were revealed to Chrstians after the 4th century AD.

• The first century Christians thought that Baptism was to die and be buried with Christ to receive redemption for the sins. Only those who acknowledged their sins took batism. But after the 4th century, even new born babies started acknowledging that they were sinners and they were specially designed by God with a super brain.

• Early Christians were under the assumption that the rituals of the Old covenant were abolished and  replaced by the New covenant principles. But the TITHE of the Old Covenant has not been abolished according to the present day Christians.In the Old covenant, the Tithe food was to be stored in the store house. But the present day store house is the Bank account of the preacher. The first century Christians did not know this Truth.

• The first centuy Christians were dumb to assume that a gathering of saints was building the spiritual bond among them and God.They were even foolish to consider themselves as different parts of the same Body of Christ. But the present day Christians have understood the real meaning of gathering of saints. The real meaning of gathering of saints is conducting spiitual meetings where evryone can jump in joy, roll around and laugh. After the meeting is over, we could go back to our worldly lives. This truth was not known to the first century christians.

• The first centuy Chrisians had a wrong belief, that they were worshipping and pleasing God  by offering their bodies as living sacrifices. But we know the real meaning of spiritual worship. Our Holy Spirt will get acivated when the bassist plays tap bass,the guitarist plays lead progressions with distortion and when the drummer packs a punch with his rolls. Very similar to Software updates, We have also updated our worship to new versions called soaking prayer, Prophetic worship, apostolic worship , rolling on the floor laughing (ROFL). The first centuy Christians might quote Romans 12: 1 and say that our worship is wrong. Let them say that, because they were beaten and bruised when they worshipped God according to Romans 12:1.  But we get joy and happiness and we get drunk in the spirit when we worship God. Even Gold powder falls on us when we worship.Which worship is better? You decide!

• The first century Christians preached a lousy Gospel and became enemies to many. By doing so, they thought that they were following God. But we use the same Gospel message and preach in such a manner that no one gets hurt. By using our brains, we preach a gospel through which we gain many friends. The early Christians lived in a small world and they went through a narrow gate. But the gate we enter through is Broad just like our mind. They thought that Gospel is about making disciples. But we know Gospel is about the number of people who get converted. Why care about quality when we have quantity?

• The early Christians had three enemies ( World, Flesh, Satan). But we have only one enemy (Satan). We bind him, make him to dance like MJ; and we even tie him and throw him in Hell and burn him with Fire. What is this World and Flesh? The frst century Christians complicated things. The only world that we know is the rotating globe that we have in our home. Talking about flesh, we recommend everyone to eat the chicken breasts from KFC.

•  The early christians thought that a prophet is one who Edifies the Church by standing in the gap, as a gatekeeper and as a watchman. But we know that a prophet is one who places his hands on our heads to predict our future.

• In the Old Covenant, there was a dfference between High Priest and the people. This system was referred to as the clergy-laity system.The first century christians thought that Jesus abolished this system on the cross (when the Veil Tore). They considered themselves to be brothers and servants for one another. Even the shepherds and elders were one among them. But we proved them wrong by the 4th century AD when we brought back the Cergy-Laity system to practise.

• Above all,the crowning glory of our finding is our discovery that we could love the world and God at the same time. We have given a new meaning to Chrstendom with our discovery. The first century Christians never knew this truth.They loved only God and hated the world and because of that had a miserable life.

Ten Disturbing Questions for Christians

Originally written in Tamil by Brother Vijay.  (http://vijay76.wordpress.com/) 

 We Chrstians call ourselves Believers and address the Non-Christians as Non-Believers.But, Are we really followers of Christ? When I tried to search the answer for this question, I ended up having Ten more disturbing questions in my mind.

1. Non Chrstians make pilgrimmages with the hope of receiving Blessings from their god. Christians criticize this act of Non-Believers. But the same Chrstians run behind spiritual meetings to receive God's blessings. Jesus said,  “My food is to do the will of my Father". Aren't we supposed to follow the same thing too? When Jesus did the will of God, he lacked nothing. God's will for us is not to make us beggars.Have we forgotten Matthew 6:33 ?"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

2.We criticize the fans and fan clubs of Movie stars. But Why have we made the Servants of God as our idols? We say that  Mary is not the mediator between us and God; but Why have we made the Pastors as our mediators? If Pastors are the disciples, Who are we ?

3.We probe to discern the miracle claims of a sage of another religion. We also discover that those miracles claims are not true but just a Trickery work performed in a precise manner. But when Christian preachers perform miracles on stage by "Name-calling", "Slaying", why are we believing them blindly? Aren't we supposed to test every Spirit? Aren't we supposed to discern the motive behind all the drama-acts that go on stage?

4.We tease the Non-believers when they trust their sun signs. But Why do we fall for the "Promise verse" -lucky draw game that is conducted in every churches? You mock and tease your non-believer friend when he puts his trust on the horoscopic fate of his sun sign, Do you at least remember the promise verse that you got at the beginning of this year? Did it come True in you life? Why this Hypocrisy?

5.You boldly say to others, "Jesus gives everlasting Peace in your life"; but still why are you praying for personal peace? If you do not have peace in your own life, How can you proclaim the peace of Christ to others, when you yourself have not experienced it in your life. I am not saying that a believer would not have peace. But I am reinstating the fact that unless we are crucified with Christ, we can never have the peace offered by Christ.

6.We strongly oppose Idol worship. But we have many idols in our life. Jesus did not compare himself with any other god.But he mentioned the name of his enemy -"Mammon" (Money/Worldly Lust). We can pray for our needs. But if we search for Jesus only for material blessings and Earthly Prosperity, we are idol worshippers too.

7.Some believers say that entertainment (Movies, Television) is satanic. But still, the very same believers encourage the so called satanic entertainment in their worship time and in churches. Many of the Christian music albums that are released in Christendom and many of the Christian TV shows like " The next Christian Idol, The worship leader Hunt, Dial the Christian song you like" are copied from the world system.

8.If AC/DC performs on stage amidst Laser, smoke, light effects with some female backup dancers, we call it worldly. But when a Christian worship leader adorns the same stage with the same Laser,smoke,light effects accompanied by some female backup dancers we call that an "anointed worship" session. Millions are spent for such stage shows. At the same time thousands of missionaries and their kids are still going to bed with hungry stomachs. Would we have peace when we show our accounts to our Lord almighty on judgment day? We justify our acts by saying that youngsters would come for our programs only when we have extravagant stage shows like this. Did Paul, Peter, Baranabas,James and John attract youngsters like this? They hadth Holy spirit in them and that Holy spirit attracted others.

9.If Horseracing and casinos are seen as areas where betting is involved, What should we call it, when Christians "Plant Seed" (Offer Money) in a particular ministry hoping or financial prosperity? Can we cal that "Spiritual prosperity"? Jesus reminds us to help the poor without expecting anything in return. But Aren't we involving ourselves in betting if we expect financial returns for planting seed in some ministry?

10.When a Preacher or a Sage of another religion falls for a public sin, we talk about his downfall with everyone. But when our favorite Christian preacher commits a crime, why are we trying to hide it by downplaying it?

Who am I?

Note: Originally wrtten in Tamil by Joshua's Army

  

I wanted to become a Christian. I met a Priest. He asked me to become a Roman Catholic.  I did.

One day, I met an Anglican Pastor. He asked me to become an Anglican. I became one.

I met a Pentcostal Minister who asked me to take Immersion Baptism. I became a Pentecost.

Another Christian told me that I should take Baptism only in the name of Jesus. I became an Oneness Pentecostal.

Then One day this guy told me that a Christian sould speak in Other Tongues.  I spoke in Tongues.

I moved to a new city and the Pastor in that city asked me to take memberhip in amethodist church. I obeyed him.

An online friend of mine told me that Baptist Christians are the True Christians. I became a Baptist Christian.

I met an Old man in the Bus stop. He quoted verses from the Bible and saidSeventh Day Adventists were the only True Christians. I became a SDA.

Finally a Jehovah' Witness brain washed me to become a Jehovah's Witness.

I went through many changes after I became a Christian. I searched for that one thing that never changed in me, and that is the True "Change of Mind"( Metanoia in Greek).

All the Preachers tried to force their denominational doctrines inside my Head. None of them were concerned about "The Change of My Mind" (Repentance from Sin).

Who am I?

Where are the True Messengers of God

Dear Friends,

I have a question for you to think. I wonder how many of the 21st century churches will invite Jesus to their Church Growth Conferences or even to the local church pulpits? 

The Jesus we celebrate today; if He is here like two thousand years ago [flesh and blood] walking among us and ministering among us; Will we, pastors of local churches invite Him to speak. Will we invite Him to be our Church Growth Conference speaker? 

John 6:66 (NKJV)  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Many of Jesus' disciples could not accept Jesus' teaching and they left Him. This will not be accepted as successful ministry. 

John 7:5 (NKJV)  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in Jesus. His own family members could not accept Jesus’ ministry. His healing and deliverance ministry is accepted but His teaching is not accepted.

John 8:52 (NKJV) Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 

Matthew 12:24 (NKJV) Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 

His own people including the pastors felt He had a demon in HIM and that He casts out demons by the power of Satan. 

Matthew 21:23 (NKJV) Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” 

The senior pastor and his pastoral team questioned Jesus' authority.

Matthew 21:42 (NKJV) Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 

The MOST important stone for building a building was rejected and the whole building is going to collapse. 

Luke 10:16 (NKJV) He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” 

Those who reject the true messengers reject God.

Friends, if the local churches every where does not honor  and receive Jesus and His sent ones then everything they are building is going to collapse. It is not just saying words like “Jesus is Lord of this Church” “Jesus is Lord”. It is not the “right talk” but going further than that and “walk the talk”. Today there are many politicians who are saying all the right things but when it comes to action.

We cannot blame the world because they do not have the truth but the Church and Church leaders have the truth. They are without excuse. The Church not only needs to speak the truth but also live the truth. Many in the Church love lies more than truth and they are putting themselves under bondage again. They protect their pulpits from God and His sent ones. They protect their church from God with their policies, traditions and themes.  

I believe today’s churches will welcome with open hands ministers like Jonah [give him 5 star treatment] who has proven ministry [successful ministry]. Through Jonah’s ministry a whole city repented. But ofcourse you know Jonah and his heart condition. Well that really does not matter as long as the attendance in our church services increases –that’s all matters.

Friends, let us receive the true messengers of God and the truth that they bring. Then the Church will be set free from lies and will be protected from deception.

Blessings 

Christopher.K

Are you a full time minister or a Part time minister?

Disclaimer : This article would hurt the sentiments of all those who have not understood the meaning of the Greatest Commission. If you are a person who cannot digest solid spiritual food, please do not proceed any further.

All my life, I have heard testimonies from preachers from the Pulpit. Many of these testimonies have made me cry. Many of these testimonies have made me to take new decisions in life.

One very common statement that I have heard from preachers in the pulpit is this, “I was working for 20 years in a Secular Job. Now I have left my job to do full time Ministry for the Lord”. I used to have so much respect for such people who left their worldly jobs to do God’s work all the time. But when I started to fellowship with such ministers of God, I practically came to know more about them from their FRUIT.

This got me into thinking

1.      “Are there any Full Time Ministers? And if they exist, who are the Part time Ministers?”

2.      “Are they man made terms?” or “Are they God ordained terms”

To find answers to these questions, I fixed appointment sessions with Pastors and this article has some of the discussions I had with one Pastor.

Scene 1:  Location : At a coffee shop.

Characters:

1. Prason (Me)

2. Rev. Dr. Prophet Full Time Minister (Name changed) (FTM)

Me: Hi Pastor, Good evening.

FTM: Hi Prason, Praise the Lord

Me: Is there something called as Full Time Minister and Part Time Minister? Or Are these man made terms?

FTM: Yes, There is a difference between Full Time Ministry and Part Time ministry. If you read the Bible, you will see that Peter, James and John left their father's profession of fishing to follow Jesus. They dedicated their lives fully for God.

Me: Then what is Part Time Ministry?

FTM: Part time ministry is done by people like you. You are working in a secular organisation. So when you preach about Jesus in your free time, you become a part time minister.

Me: Thanks Pastor for the explanation. But was the Great commission of Jesus (Matthew 28:19, 20) split into Full time and Part Time? Or is it a call for every Believer?

FTM:  Last commission is for every Believer. But still some people of God are called by God to do full time Ministry and the rest are part time ministers.

Me: Ok Pastor. I got the basic answers to some of my questions.

The Pastor and I had a long conversation and the rest of the article is written in prose format for easy understanding. From conversing with the pastor, I realised that his PhD thesis was not approved, but he still got the Dr-Tag prefixed to his name by paying Rs.1500/- (We have many Doctorates in Christendom like this. I personally know a few duplicate Doctorates in Christendom and a few of them are in my FB friends list too)

On a closer walk with the Pastor with whom I fellowshipped, I came to know about his daily schedule.

Sunday : Morning - Two services (English and Tamil), Afternoon – Bible study, Evening – Outreach ministry with Elders in the Church

Monday : Updating the reports on the computer

Tuesday : Rest (Time with family)

Wednesday : Whole day rest. Evening : Church service (One hour)

Thursday : Rest (Time with family ),Evening :  Family Visiting time ( 10 houses. Ten minutes each at each house)

Friday : Rest in the morning, Evening : All night fasting prayer in Church (Miracle night)

Saturday : Rest in the morning, Evening : Choir practise (2 hours),Night : Log onto Sermon central online portal and prepare sermons for the next day  (http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-topics)

Foreign Trips are not included in this list. This is the weekly life of the Pastor and He calls himself as a full time worker for the Lord. I am not generalising every Pastor here. There are Pastors who have dedicated their lives for God and I know one dedicated Pastor in my own family. I also know many wolves in sheep’s clothing in my own family network.

In Ephesians 4:11-13 we learn that there are five special gift-ministries whose job is to equip the saints, or sanctified ones for the work of service. A minister is a servant, nothing more, nothing less. (I Corinthians 3:5-7) We are all called to serve both God and man even as Jesus was. He came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and sent us to do likewise. (Matthew 20:28 John 20:21)

If you are working in a secular organisation, don’t call yourself as a part-time worker. You are a full time worker in God’s vineyard too. You have to be w witness for god in your workplace. God has placed you in your firm so that you can be a salt and light to your colleagues. Are your colleagues seeing Jesus through you in your workplace? It is easy to evangelise to poor uneducated people. They have fewer questions and they will easily accept the Lord. But who will evangelise to the intellectual community in your workplace? Who will evangelise to your boss who has an MBA from IIM? Have you ever prayed to God to give you wisdom to speak to your boss with wisdom? Are you depicting the fruit of the spirit at work place? Or are you being taken away with the tide? All these questions are applicable to you and me.

It is time for us to lose all of the man-made ideas of what a minister or servant of the Gospel of Jesus is. These have caused a lot of confusion and failure in the church, as both men and women have attempted to conform to an image presented to them that they were never intended by God to mimic. Pastors must attempt to be administrators and evangelists must be nomads, but is God really saying this? Or is He really leading us to release the gifts that He has planted in us in both ordinary and extra-ordinary ways? Without realizing it, we have become slaves to a system or way of seeing that has limited all of us. The full potential that both the ministry and the people who they serve have been prevented from coming forth. It is time to break free from this into the true liberty of Christ. What is He really about? When we consider this we will realize what we all are to be pursuing.

Paul the apostle, whose ministry and life has had such a dynamic affect on Christianity and the world, had a natural trade that he took pride in. By making tents, he was able to keep not only his ministry going, but also the brethren that traveled with him. All of this, he said, was to be an example for us. (Acts 20:34-35, 18:3, II Thess. 3:7-9) Think of it! You are in the company of one of the greatest of God's servants, as you labor for God's kingdom and the benefit of others. People are caught in the man made terms “Full Time Ministers and Part Time Ministers”. We have created preachers for ourselves. By some preachers in our day Paul would not have been recognized as a minister of the gospel at all. Three months ago, I attended a Church in which the ministers were asked to come up and pray for the people, but there was a restriction made. To be recognized by this well-known preacher (Rev, Dr, Prophet) you must be either a pastor or a "full-time" minister. Those who worked a traditional job and preached "part time" were not accepted.

Now we know that the recognition of men should not be our goal, but we do need to acknowledge each others' special abilities in God without respect of persons. If I plant the seed in someone that they are inferior I would be better off if a milestone were tied to my neck and cast into the sea. Any system or idea that destroys or hinders spiritual growth and ones ability to effectively serve God's people should be questioned. God help us to stop perpetuating a way that fails to treat every individual as one who is important and needed by the whole church. To fully function in the body of Christ, we need to make use of every gift God has given each member. The foot is not more important than the hand, nor the eye more than the ear. (I Corinthians 12:20-21) Today the harvest is great, but the labourers are few.Certainly we would all prefer to be released from secular occupations, in order to more fully give ourselves to the ministry of the Word, but we can't all be like Peter. Some of us must be as Stephen and the other deacons who took care of lesser duties in order that Peter could fulfill His calling. God is calling us all to full-time service in Him. We serve him every day as we serve others on our jobs, in our families, at our schools, and in our local gatherings of believers. May we all become great in the Kingdom of God, as we learn to be the servants of all.  So if you are a Pastor, "Stop calling yourself as a full Time Minister. You are not a Busy Bee in the Body of Christ. You are a fellow worker in Our Lord's Vineyard"

The greatest Commission has become the Greatest Omission because of Man made terms like “Full Time Minister and Part Time Minister”.

Evangelise, Make disciples by baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything what Jesus has commanded us.

Shielded in God's Love

Prason