PROF.
BEN ONYEUKWU (REV.)
NCE(Eng.) ND/HD (Journalism); BA (Hons)
MA, PhD.
BIBLICAL PENTECOSTALISM (PART 2)
EVANGELICAL
MESSAGE OF THE PENTECOSTAL BELEIVER
WRITER’S
QUOTE:
“Christ is the Head
of the Kingdom of Heaven, and every genuine preaching of the Kingdom message
must reverently acknowledge Him as Lord and Saviour”.
MAIN
TEXT:
“As you go, preach this message: “The
Kingdom of Heaven is near”,… (Matthew 10:7)
INTRODUCTION:
No
doubt, the first Pentecostal Believers were the disciplines – apostles of Jesus
Christ whom prior to the day of Pentecost were commissioned to preach the
message of the kingdom of Heaven, (Matthew 10:7), which they had to advance,
after the coming of the Holy Spirit, (Acts 1:8). In the words of John Wimber,
“to miss the significance of the kingdom of God in the Gospels is to fail to
understand the life, work and teachings of Jesus Christ”. Wimber also remarks
that after the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus went into Galilee, preaching
the gospel of God, saying, “the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believer
in the good news” (Mark 1:14-15), a message which is unequivocally the gospel
message for every generation of believers, (Matthew 28:19).
Regrettably,
most present day Pentecostal Believers lack the signs of the kingdom simply
because they lack the message of the kingdom, for, in the message of the
kingdom of God is the power to heal the sick, cleanse the lapper, cast out
demons and that of raising the dead, (Matthew 10:7-8). Nowadays, a lot of
ideological preaching go on in the name of preaching the gospel. Some present
“Behavioural Psychology” as the gospel, while others preach Christless
morality, as many more present human traditions, etc in the supposition that
they are preaching the gospel, but God will only confirm the message of His
Kingdom with signs and wonders, which Wimber further says, “were (and are) at
the heart of the ministry of Jesus, (Mark 16:20). Therefore, to command the
authority, as well as the power of the kingdom of Heaven in the field of the
gospel, the;
PENTECOSTAL
BELEIVER MUST PREACH CHRIST AND NOT MAN
Every
good presentation of the message of the kingdom of Heaven begins with Christ,
who is the king, as well as the Saviour of the recipients of the kingdom. In
the words of the Apostle Paul, “we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as
Lord (2 Corinthians 5:4), as it is also improper to present the person of any
human being in the cause of preaching the gospel of the kingdom, since only
Jesus Christ can save, (Acts 4:12). In this connection, the Pentecostal
Believer should learn to shun every exhibition of self-worth in gospel
campaigns to avoid inhibiting the operations of the Holy Spirit that in turn
paves ways for lying wonders from familiar spirits, (I Thessalonians 5:19). As
such, the unnecessary display of the academic profile of a prospective preacher
in radio-television jingles and spotlights in the cause of promoting a crusade
or revival organization for soul-winning should be discouraged, since it is by
lifting up the Son of Man (Jesus) in such programmes that souls are really
saved, (John 12:32). In other words, it is only when the purpose(s) of the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are properly highlighted in the cause of
preaching the gospel that people are enabled to put their trust in Him for
salvation, and this in turn disapproves the attitude of some preachers who
magnify “self” above Christ in evangelistic efforts.
Specially,
in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, a preacher attached to one of the old
generation churches, whose pedigree is traced to Anambra State of Nigeria is
fond of carrying radio television spotlights on his person, prior to every one
of his “one night” of deliverance campaigns, in which he portrays his academic
records from primary to tertiary levels of education, as well as his
achievements in the field of the gospel. Though, education is important and
enhances the performances of the gospel preacher, yet the conversionof souls,
healing and casting out of demons are purely by the Spirit of God, who is not
willing to compromise His glory, and so, casts doubts as to whether “self
exalting” preachers really parade the signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit or lying
wonders from the pit of hell.
Also,
when the preaching of the gospel is mingled with politics, Christ is not
represented, but man is, and this hinders the regenerating operating of the
Spirit of God, though by such efforts, the unsaved persons may still join the
church, but not in the interest of the kingdom of Heaven, (Luke 15:7).
Therefore, it is wrong to use the gospel platform for political campaigns. Yet,
this mistake featured prominently during the 2011 general elections in Nigeria,
as most gospel preachers during this period were drawn into the wicked waters
of the Nigerian politics. For instance, one of the foremost charismatic
preachers in Nigeria, who champions the concept of renewal, in one of his
crusade outings at that time, at the Imo State, Cenotaph, now Heroes Square
Owerri, deviated from the purpose of God to that of man, as he publically
anointed the then governor of Imo State for a second term in office, which made
headlines in newspapers and magazines. However, today, it is obvious that the
man he anointed for a second term did not win the election.
Another
“self projection”, as well as a show of shame within the Pentecostal circle
that played up during the 2011 elections was at instance of a visit of the
current Pentecostal helmsman and one of his predecessors to the Imo State
government house during which they alleged that PFN in the state was
marginalized in view of the absence of their members in the cabinet of the
erstwhile governor of the state. In fact, the writer was astonished as he
watched a worrisome display of the degeneration of a frontline regeneration
pastor and his friends on the Orient Television screen of the Imo Broadcasting
Corporation (IBC), Owerri, Nigeria as they put up a request that sought to have
some of their members given political appointments after the 2011 elections, a
request and campaign strategy that did not see the light of the day. Well, all
is now history which the wise can learn from, as only fools allow negative
event(s) of the past (history) to repeat itself, and so, serves as a piece of
advice to every Pentecostal believer who in preaching the message of the
Kingdom of Heaven must present Christ to everybody, including those in
authority, instead of looking for a position in the cabinet of (pharaoh) a
political leader, (Hebrews 11:23-27).
PENTECOSTAL
BELEIVERS SHOULD PREACH SALVATION AND NOT MONEY
In
preaching the message of the Kingdom of Heaven, emphasis must be laid on the
subject of salvation, which the Bible portrays as the main purpose of the
coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, (Like 19:10). And, by way of explanation,
“salvation” within the context of the Holy Scripture pictures the deliverance
of man from sin and its consequences, (Matthew 1:210. In the words of A.H.
Strong, ‘sin is any lack of conformity to the law of God, whether in act,
disposition or state”, and according to the Apostle John, “sin is the
transgression of the Law”, (John 3:4), as well as the very problem that
necessitated the death of Christ on the Cross of Calvary, for without the
shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin, (Hebrews 9:22).
But,
today, certain gospel preachers often ignore the above fundamental concept of
the message of the kingdom of Heaven, as most of them are better described as
“pulpit marketers” who employ sales promotion strategies in appealing to human
material needs, as a way of drawing the attention of the people to their
skillfully thought out “religious product” (programmes), just as a salesman
engages in series of activities that help to stimulate the interest of the
consumer towards a product. For instance, these “clever thieves:, who parade
themselves as gospel preachers know too well that man does not compromise his
“safety”, and would go extra miles to fight against anything that threatens it,
often come up in their religious programmes with the theme, “anointing for
protection”, whereas Jesus already says in His word that nothing shall by any
means hurt those who believe or put their trust in Him (Luke 10:19), which
indicates that protection does not come by the application of “olive oil”
christened “anointing oil”, but by one’s implicit faith in the word of God.
Now,
tell me how someone without “divine relationship” with Christ can really share
in his “divine protection”, or how can someone without the “new birth”
experience (John 3:3) draw the power that pulls one out of “satanic tunnels”,
as certain Pentecostal preachers baselessly promote in their radio-television
programmes, since their messages do not seek to link the people one on one to
Jesus, who alone can set free from demonic bondages? However, this is where
Bishop Maxwell Korie of the Lifeline Assembly, Nigeria is the best of bests”,
for in his messages are the nitty-gritty of soul-salvation that focus on the
need for genuine repentance, and the surrendering of one’s life to Jesus as
one’s personal Lord and Saviour, a relationship and experience which his
personal life strongly epitomizes, (John 1:12).
Furthermore,
the Pentecostal Believer in his preaching expeditions should ensure that the
love of money does not destroy the message of the kingdom he possesses, for
where a preaching assignment is informed by money, the efficacy of the message
is at stake, as it is not the plan of God for His ministers to charge fees for
the ministerial services they render to the people, (Matthew 10:8). This,
notwithstanding, an investigation by Ben Onyeukwu shows that, a “faith
ministry” at Nekede in Owerri West Local Government Council of Imo State,
Nigeria (name withheld) takes to an unbiblical mode of operation which demands
three thousand Naira for what it calls “Liberation forms”, and other materials
like, five cans of 5-Alive fruit drink, one dozen of milk, 8 bottles of olive
oil, one carton of malt, 2 bottles of wine, money and so on, as requirements
for any exercise of liberation by the ministry, and the foregoing, no doubt, is
one of the reasons why the leadership of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria
(PFN), Imo State Chapter is embarking on ministerial census aimed at getting rid
of the bad ones in the association, an exercise
the writer has constantly said is not of God, (Matthew 13:24-30). But
before we condemn the leader of the cited “faith ministry” at Nekede, what
treatment would PFN give to the “big bishop” of Okigwe Road, Owerri, a strong
member of the body, who is in the antics of extortion in the name of vision?
And how does the association tackle the problem of its members who are known to
have compromised the message of the kingdom for the sake of money? If the truth
must be told, members of PFN and other Pentecostal believers outside the
association need spiritual renewal, and not data capture.
PENTECOSTAL
BELEIVER SHOULD PREACH HEAVEN AND NOT THE WORLD
The
messages of the kingdom of Heaven stir-up the consciousness of the kingdom and
not of the earth. Sequel to this, the Apostle Paul says, “set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things”, (Colossians 3:2). But, at present, one
notices a high degree of compromise in gospel messages, since most of them
center on the things of this earth, rather than on things which are above. To
many preachers, especially those of the Pentecostal extraction, God is
blessings one, only when one is in material affluence, and so, this philosophy
carries the notion that a preacher who parades expensive cars, especially the
four-wheel drive, which in this part of the world is erroneously generalize as
“jeep”, with a noticeable size of church membership and financial fortune is
automatically branded a man of God, whereas, others with less material
privileges are often treated with disdain, not minding the unholy dealings that
may have informed the so called advantages of the former.
In
fact, one outstanding play-down on the Pentecostal tradition, which was a
display of compromise of the message of the Kingdom of Heaven that supposedly
was informed by unbiblical quest for membership came to public notice a few
years ago, when the great shepherd of a super Pentecostal church in Owerri, Imo
State, Nigeria approved and wedded an already married couple with children,
against the norm of the Pentecostal faith, a ceremony the writer personally
attended on a fact finding mission. Yet, till date, the aforementioned remains
unquestioned, as well as one of the most celebrated PFN leaders, who today
champions the cause of enumeration that seeks to ascertain who is who in the
association, without considering the fact that that singular act of unholy
wedding may have contributed in leading astray some of those presently referred
to as fake Pentecostal preachers and churches, as most of them who witnessed or
heard of the event may have settled for that ungodly way of wedding, and other
negative variables that may have been triggered off by it, which demonstrate(s)
the message of the world, against that of the Kingdom of God.
Furthermore,
the best way to preach the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is to relinquish
the love of the world, for the scripture says, “do not love the world or the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not
in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father, but is of the world. And
the world is passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God
abides forever”, (I John 2:15-17). Unfortunately, most Pentecostal preachers
preach heaven, but live as if it does not exist. In their preaching, they paint
the world as vanity, but spare no effort in coveting everything in it. Now,
consider the attitude of some Pentecostal preachers who in their preaching
denounce the love of the world, but own private mansions in every part of the
federation of Nigeria and the world over, at the expense of the needy in the
congregations they are generally superintendents. Or, what do you think of
those of them who parade fleet of expensive cars, whereas, most pastors and
church workers who serve with them in the vineyard of the Lord go about begging
bread. Also, how would you justify the take-it-all attitude of some Pentecostal
bishops or superintendents who never think of welfare packages for their
pastors or workers but have billions of naira, dollars or pound starlings in their
private accounts? Do you think such caliber of preachers really mean the
message of the Kingdom of heaven they preach?
Therefore,
the Pentecostal believer should preach the gospel of the Kingdom of heaven
without any form of the entanglement of this world, for, according to the
Bible, “no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this
life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier”, (2 Timothy 2:4).
To this end, those called to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God should
ensure that nothing of this life engages them above the interest of the Lord
who recruited them to serve as ministers of the gospel, and so, must refrain
from everything that makes someone unclean, in keeping with the tenets of the
kingdom o heaven, for… “out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual
immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, decent, lewdness, envy,
slander, arrogance and folly”, (Mark 7:21), as these no doubt, are the things
that need to be purged out of the lives of the PFN members, the writer and
every other Pentecostal believer, for efficacious preaching and not the
proposed head-count.
In conclusion, this work, as well as
the former is better described as “household piece”, wherein the writer is also
indicted, and therefore, should not be seen as pointing accusing finders at
others, for the writer is as well guilty of some of the flaws cited in the
discourse, as he shares in the compromise of wrong ordinations, admissions and
weddings for monetary gains, and so, prays that God begins the purging of the
Pentecostal believers from him. HEAVEN
IS REAL.
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