What causes church controversies? (Part 2)

THE great controversy is not over. The war in heaven (Revelations Chapter 12) resulting in Lucifer being thrown on Earth is not over until it is over. This great controversy is the source of the little controversies we see in Churches today. The devil (Lucifer now called Satan) is still fighting God’s grand plan of salvation for mankind.

Last week (Part 1) I made it abundantly clear how God’s anointed people, both genuinely anointed and fake prophets and prophetesses, are Satan’s target. The devil is not foolish. We all wish he were. He is not weak either. He is very wicked yes, but very powerful. How we all wish he were stupid and clueless about God’s scheme of salvation for His people.

We will remember that Lucifer was God’s favourite and most powerful angel responsible for covering the Ark of Covenant in Heaven. (Ezekiel 28 vs. 14-15) Lucifer was God’s masterpiece of creation. He was beautiful...perfect in every sense and was God’s favourite and most powerful. He knew all the secrets of Heaven.

Then he (Lucifer) decided to wrestle power from God in Heaven in a great war which we all know as The Great Controversy.

Lucifer was thrown on planet Earth with a third of God’s angels. He was not alone. We are not told that when they fell on Earth the angels crash-landed and died.

The angels are still flanking the devil today(criminals around the devil) and helping him to carry out his business, major amongst his tricks, to cheat human beings and lie to them and make them ‘vote for him’.

His best trick in leading mankind to hell where he belongs, is imitating God. In his narrow-mindedness and spiritual limitation, mankind finds it extremely difficult to discern and differentiate what is God’s and what is Satan’s.

Even after God sent His own begotten son Jesus to be the Saviour and answer to the tragedy of sin, Satan dared Jesus on many occasions and would only leave him here and there but was on his throat with him and by him almost all the time.

If Lucifer could dare Jesus and tempt him to change stones into bread if he was too hungry, or fly from the rooftop to let his angels catch him, or worship him if he wanted to own the rich scenic lands below the mountain, what more with today’s pastor, bishop, church minister or reverend?

If Lucifer could play foolish games with Jesus, the Son of God and Man, no wonder he often twisted Peter around his little finger, Peter’s only power of defeat was in his ability to timely repent and come back to Jesus for redemption. In Judas Iscariot, however, Satan permanently found sanctuary and Judas refused to repent. He finally sold Jesus out before he hanged himself.

If Lucifer, the anointed Lucifer, could dare Jesus and his spiritual lieutenants, his disciples from time to time, taking advantage of their human weaknesses and human limitations, what more with our Pastor So-and So, Madzidaba or Madzimai So-and-So? Kana Satan kakaidza mwana waMwari nguva nenguva pamadiro, kachipinda mundangariro dzevadzidzi vake pamadiro, ko ivava vanaMuseyamwa vedu vanhasi vanokara mari nemadzimai, kwete madzimai avo — asi vevamwe mudzikereke? Kana zvaidai pamiti yakaoma (pamweya) ko kuzoti minyoro iriko nhasi inonotsvaka Jesu kuzvikoro zveTheology?

Saka vazodziwa vaMwari vanotogonawo kupindwa naSatan... nomweya yakaipa, vachikanganisa zvirongwa zvaMwari? Mhinduro inoti hongu! Onai Lucifer, muzodziwa (the anointed one) aka ruka zano rokurwisa Jehovah mundangariro dzake.

Are we still answering the question, “What causes controversies in Churches?” Yes we are! Controversies in churches do not end. They continue to tear churches apart today.

And why? Because the tremors of the Great Controversy reverberate in churches today causing little controversies that are strong enough to leave God’s people at each other’s throat, divided amongst themselves and directionless.

Like bees attracted to flowers so is Satan to many church leaders and ordinary Christians. Once God anoints or appoints church leaders, Satan stalks them in their families and homes and he does not spare their churches.

There is one perception that some church leaders are not smart enough, clever enough, educated enough, whatever could be in short supply on them, the point remains the same.

While it may be the fault of many of them, for they are only human, it certainly is not their fault in many more cases. They are Satan’s main target because they are leaders of God’s potential ‘voters.’...all His candidates of heaven! Anyone who claims or indeed works for Jesus is the devil’s target and enemy.

Lucifer has never worked with and against God’s people harder than nowadays. And he begins with their leaders. It makes common sense, does it not? If you want to easily defeat an army, you target its commanders don’t you? Satan knows that better than us.

If our church leaders worldwide are not as strong and steadfast as Peter to recognise the devil’s voice and shenanigans and say, “Get thee behind me Satan!” the modern church is in serious trouble. With the lot of our church leaders worldwide, who have forgotten, whether deliberately or by the same Satanic forces we are talking about, to be thoroughly Christ-like, we are herding for real hell and not heaven which we proclaim every Saturday or Sunday.

Woe to church leaders who assemble people in ‘their own’ churches instead of Jesus’ church. Woe to them who bring people together in His name to frustrate them and lead them out of His presence.

Woe to them who preach love and act resentment; speak peace and act hostile; talk unity but act disunity and disharmony.

If church leaders today do not check the influential tremors of the Great Controversy in their churches whose microcosmic influence can still be felt and seen today, all those who are waiting for Jesus’ second coming to take us home are waiting for Godot, not God.

They are busy about nothing and waiting for a Jesus who has long deserted their ‘good’ churches and is busy looking for a better crop of Christian outside the church.

The problem of the modern church is no lighter or better than that of the ancient church; discrimination of sinners and claiming to be holier-than-though; hating and discriminating Zacheus whom Jesus found fit to share supper with; abhorring the prostitute upon whom Jesus challenged his ‘sinless’ ‘good boys and girls’ to stone her if they were blameless. We are too churchistic and want to keep our sacredness to ourselves in our own ‘righteousness’ against ALL OTHERS, forgetting how we are all short of the glory of God and how we desperately seek His forgiveness and mercy.

Churches must stop this holier-than-though isolationism and reach out to Zacheus the task collector, the thief on the cross with Jesus, the prostitute at the well; the Soul on his way to Damascus, Legion in the wilderness.

The comfort zones of our churches are certainly not wrong or a mistake.

We feel spiritually safer, stronger and warmer here. But it is wrong and a mistake to think churches must preach and convert the converted every day.

There is more work out of the church because Jesus wants more people to come to on his second coming and take them home.

Let us guard against wasting time feeling too good or too correct in our churches at the expense of more sinners outside who do not know about Jesus. What is the mission of church? EVANGELISM! That is the mission, not spiritual customer-care. All Christians who want to go home alone will be disappointed. But before the disappointment they will have to answer the question, “Who else did you bring along with you to the narrow path that leads to Heaven?” What will you say?

Let us be careful about preaching and teaching about the Great Controversy without realising and understanding its influence amongst us in our personal lives and churches.

Do not be a sinner against a brother or sister with whom you are waiting for Jesus.

Do not allow the daring devil to use you to purport his agenda of divide and rule. Do not preach understanding, love, peace, humility and forgiveness all which you don’t have. Do not preach turning right and you turn left.

Finally, I want us to seriously think about this: If you want perfect people in your church, sinless and all physically healthy and fit, vanasikana vanopfeka zvamuda imi chete, what do you want Jesus to work upon in your church?

If there are no sick people in the hospital, what is its purpose? If there are no young people who need guidance in the way they behave and dress; no gossipers, back-stabbers and intriguing adults...mudslingers who throw mud and bricks into other people’s faces...slanderers who mind other people’s businesses and not theirs, what is the purpose of church?

If we teach and preach about the Great Controversy without realising how its shrapnel are hitting the church and perpetuating the devil’s agenda, what is the purpose of church?

If we understand how it affected God’s plan of life and salvation but don’t see how we are being used in our individual selves to perpetuate the devil’s agenda, are we not goodfor-nothing Christians?