Callistus Ike
I’ve watched with trepidation how some younger ministers insult and deride our fathers of faith all in the name of having superior revelations.
As Gandhi famously said: ‘Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.’
The Bible admonishes us to ‘speak the truth in love'(Eph4:15) Infact, the Amplified Bible puts it so succinctly:
To slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle, and conciliatory), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody. Titus 3:2.
If we are sincere to ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that the degree of light we have today is higher than when we first met with Christ. Knowledge puffs up. ‘Yet mere] knowledge causes people to be puffed up (to bear themselves loftily and be proud), but love (affection and goodwill and benevolence) edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow [to his full stature]’.
You May have a valid message for the Church but the way and manner with which you convey it could lead to rejection. For instance, two prophets rebuked two different Kings on account of adultery (Nathan and John the Baptist). Both spoke the mind of God on the subject of immorality. One was promoted while the other lost his head. A comparative study on how these two prophets went about the delivery of their messages is a case study in correct approach.
These fathers has made unimaginable sacrifices even at the risk of their lives and family welfare to create the platform upon which we stand today!
If the likes of Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Creflo Dollars, etc can make reappraisal of their teaching midway, then don’t tell me that our fathers are not listening. It takes time to transit a church without hurting the core vision. Jacob told Esau, I can’t follow at your pace because some of the herds are pregnant. If I over drive them,they Will die. We should be careful not to destroy the Lord’s heritage with our so called knowledge and freedom in Christ.
In an article written by Gbile Akanni titled: WHAT IS MINISTRY?
He said:
“I then discovered that ministry is not all about talking but it is first of all, life.
This experience I had with God gave my life and ministry, a paradigm shift. I no longer struggle to preach because I know that once I open my mouth, it is God flowing and not rhemas that I memorized.
I have seen many ministers, when they handle the mic, utterances will be gushing out, but when I weigh them with my spiritual antenna, there is no life flowing. I will just sit down there and be crying, “Oh! God help our generation”.
Revival will not come until God raise men that carry God’.
You may brag about being a gospel revolutioner and how you are going to destroy this and that doctrine. Without these great men and women of God you’re working hard today to demonize, you probably will be bowing before your village shrines by now. To commonize their Walk with the Holy Spirit that brought so much revival to our nation and continent is quite perfidious and regrettable.
These fathers are walking conscientiously in the light they have and I believe that if the Holy Spirit grants them a deeper understanding, just like Apostle Paul, When the eyes of their understanding are further enlightened, they’ll not be disobedient to the heavenly vision.
Noah after the flood planted a vineyard and got himself drunk and laid down naked. You know how Ham harmed himself by making joke of his father. Shem and Japheth refused to look on the nakedness of their father by taking a garment to cover him up walking backwards. Gen.9:20-27. When will you stop looking at the nakedness of our spiritual fathers? When will you stop gloating over your supposed superior knowledge and revelation?
Do you think Shem and Japheth were condoning their fathers drunkenness? Not at all! There are people you don’t just touch! Ham only ended up attracting a curse to himself. Please beware how you handle the fathers no matter the dept of revelation that you claim to have.
Saul the King of Israel took three thousand chosen soldiers to hunt down and kill David in the wilderness of Engedi, unfortunately for the King, David and his men had him on the palms of their hand when he slept off in the cave. Guess what David’s men said to him:
1 Samuel 24:4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.
Who is encouraging you in this path to destruction? They were even quoting scriptures for him to take vengeance. If David had listened to them and killed his master, Joab, his army Chief of staff would have killed him somehow in the future. Absalom’s coup would have been a resounding success, Ahitophel’s counsels would have dethroned him and of course,Shimei’s curses would have been effective. But a man of contrite heart will never condescend to such a low level as being advocated by his supporters.
1 Samuel 24:5 And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. If your heart doesn’t condemn you whenever you poke your fingers into the eyes of these generals, my dear, you need to go and look for God where you Left Him because something is seriously wrong with your fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
When a young Amalekite came to David to tell of how he killed Saul his enemy probably expecting David to rejoice and reward him. The bible clearly recorded his reactions: 2 Samuel 1:11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: 1:12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. He wasn’t jubilating that his arch-enemy was dead and that now the pathway to the throne is clear. Do you see why God calls him a man after His heart? What would you have done if the road to your throne in life has been paved with the blood of your arch-enemy? All yours for the picking! Roll out the drums?
Then he turned to the young man: 2 Samuel 1:14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?
The same question resonates today towards you and I!
To you, God has left Saul so you may treat him as you like. Disrespect and abuse him, even call him a mad King who does not understand the revelations of the new testament but as for David, Saul; though hunting for his life is still his anointed King! He knew that Saul didn’t know any better so he lamented and cried for his master.
2 Samuel 1:21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
He kept calling Saul the mighty and never reproached him for once. He had faith in God’s plan for his life. He sincerely lamented:
2 Samuel 1:27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
Our social media has been awashed with all manner of innuendos directed at our fathers of faith and I’ve been waiting for the liberty in the spirit to address this unfortunate development scripturally. We have so much we can do together in the area of evangelism here in Africa, Asia, Europe and of course America. China, India and Japan has billions of unreached and unredeemed souls heading straight to hell and here we are fighting over doctrinal differences. Isn’t it shameful that by so doing we are seriously fighting to be like the church at laodicea? Let’s not major in the minor. Let’s interface and syngize on how to help each other bring in the end-time harvest irrespective of our denominational differences! Our unity of faith is centred on JESUS THE LORD! Any other thing is a distraction!!!
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Maranatha!!!
