QUESTION: Praise God Priest Mutabazi Tumwine. Someone sent me this poster and I would like to know what you say about the same? Sam.
RESPONSE: Dear Sam,
Christians need to understand that the Church is different from that religious building and organisation you belong or subscribe to.
So, your religion or place of worship is not the Church. According to the Bible, the Church are individual believers all over the world regardless of their social and institutional belonging (John 10:16, Matthew 16:18, 1Corinthians 12:13).
Allow me to address each of the ten points briefly with a Bible verse.
1-When you miss the Church nobody is affected but you. Since a Christian is a Church, they cannot miss Church (1 Corinthians 16:19-24). They are the Church, therefore, where two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord, the Church is at session (Matthew 18:20).
And yes when the Church does not fellowship, the Church (individual) is hurt spiritually (Hebrews 10:19-25).
2-When you withdraw as a worker, God replaces you on time to the point you become irrelevant. If God could replace you, He would not have died for you on the Cross (Ephesians 2:10).
It is cults that replace and have a mindset of replacing and being replaced. Prophet Elijah in the Judaism cult had the same mentality and God humbled him in two ways: first He reminded Elijah he was not the only prophet He had.
God had more than seven thousand faithful prophets but secondly, God humbled Elijah so that He took care of him like He had him(Elijah) alone (1Kings 18-19).
3- When you deliberately refuse to support Church projects, God raises other better and serious givers.
The Church of God has one project: you and the brother who has not believed in Jesus Christ. So which projects are we talking about here? (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18-20).
God does not blackmail us to support the great commission for we are the project itself.
4- When you start fighting the Church, God sees you as His enemy. God has one enemy that is Sin/Satan, the rest are fallen sinners and objects of His forgiveness and salvation (Luke 10:19, Genesis 3:15).
It is gods of cults that look at those who oppose or not worship them as enemies to kill and destroy.
The cult of Judaism in the Bible exercised that, Islam exercised this and many religious institutions in Christendom practice the same.
5- When you leave the Church, more serious people come in. God said in Luke 15 through a parable that He left the 99 to come and seek one single sheep that was lost.
So, there is nothing like more serious lost people than others, unless it is not the Church of God (Luke 19:10; 15:31-32).
6- When you eat your tithes, offerings and sacrifice the grace of the Church stops working for you. Christians should pay their tithes and offerings directly to ministers or ministries that minister to them.
You are not obligated to offer or pay tithes outside and beyond being ministered to. And there is nothing like the grace of the Church working for you.
The grace is exclusively of God. And this is how it works: The God of the true Church raises His sun on both the saints and sinners (Matthew 5:45).
7- When you gossip about your Church to other members or outsiders, you become a rebel and a disloyal worshipper
Gossip is either false information about someone or something or true information about something or someone to others.
If those gossiping about you are lying, then that is accusation and devil’s work (Revelation 12:10).
But if they are gossiping about what you are guilty of, then they are rebellious to your occultic acts and therefore in protest to the same evil they expose (Ephesians 5:11-14).
8-When you speak evil of the Church, the angels working with the Church withdraw from you. First, let us remind ourselves of what the Church is. You are the Church and just as demons (Matthew 12:43-45), are never withdrawn from you when you believe Jesus Christ. So do Angels assigned for your assistance never resign or be withdrawn from you because you are fallen in any manner (Daniel 6:20-23).
9-When you don’t want control, discipline and correction from the Church, you are one step closer to danger.
The Christian Church is not a control freak. Control is a sign of a cult.
We are free-will beings and that is how our God has wanted us since creation (Genesis 2:16-17).
Jesus Christ, the head of the Church disciplines us through the Church (Matthew 18:15-20) and by Himself (2 Timothy 1:7, John 14:26).
10- Your Church is the symbol of the ministry’s mantle and mandate and not you, so with you or without you the work will succeed; see yourself privileged to be part of God’s program.
The Holy Spirit and His presence with you as the Church is the seal and symbol not just of your ministry, but of your redemption and faith (Ephesians 1:13).
So, it is not your religious institution that has power over you but since you are the Church, God is the mandate and your mantle.
And yes, secular institutions like your orthodox religion will succeed and thrive without you but the kingdom of God will mourn and regret the loss of you (Ezekiel 18:23).
God bless you as you overcome the cult threats and adopt the courage of the Holy Spirit.
Answered by
Pr Isaiah White.
whitemwine@gmail.com
