Denominational Barriers

Sunday I ministered at Living Waters in Manzini. Preparing to go there I had some mixed feelings of excitement coupled with the anxiety of not being sure of my audience. When I got to the sanctuary, I looked around in an effort to familiarize myself with the building and the audience. That act in itself almost immediately helped me to be calm and rest in the confidence that God has in me.

A conviction came upon me that all the citizens of the world are looking for an answer to the equation of life and blessed are those who come to the house of the Lord to find answers. What we charismatic and main line (conservative) churches don’t understand is that there is currently a hunger for righteousness among the people of the earth. The knowledge of the Lord is creeping into every crevice of this earth and people can’t help it but seek for a higher power to address their issues. And sure enough they are looking; even though some are looking in the wrong places. We have an opportunity to lead people to Jehovah God, the God of Israel.

See,  Habakkuk 2:14 says, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” My interpretation of this text is simply that there is an abundance of God (Jehovah God) and everyone has unlimited access to him – whether there is a catalyst or not. This is further confirmed by the writer of Hebrews when he says, “And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest” Heb 8:11 (KJV). This kind of knowing is far from the idea of just knowing because you either heard, read or your mama told you about God. This talks to the very essence of what personal relationship represents. I am confident that this kind of knowing goes beyond denominational barriers, it breaks them down and searches for the woman/man that hungers and thirsts for his righteousness.

We as a Body of Christ have been bogged down by our narrow denominational focus which emphasizes building of personal empires and fame around what God has spoken to us. We always fight about doctrinal differences of who is wrong and who is right; instead of focusing on what builds the congregant to be kingdom focused. But seriously speaking, that is just a drop in the ocean because in the denomination next door there is a woman/manservant who is burning on the inside with kingdom business which is far from denominational business. Our narrow focus is depriving us and limiting the versatility of congregants in these denominations because we are supposed to be a representation of what Christ represents not the church constitution. I am not against constitutions and denominations but if they become a deterrent and a barrier to us reaching out to our father and doing kingdom business, I would rather live without.

Psalms 2:8 says, ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession (NASB77). See, if we continue with this narrow focus we miss the point, because God wants to give us nations as our inheritance and the very ends of the earth as our possession. If we limit our scope to petty things like denominations usually we lose the very audience God has granted us grace to look after.

At Living Waters I picked up a hunger and desire for an undiluted Jehovah God with no strings attached. As a minister you can pick up the mood and the spirit in the environment. What made me notice was that I was not their regular preacher but they opened up their hearts to God – they looked beyond the man. I was excited because it helped me look beyond the person too and focused on giving them God.

Sometimes one wonders if these barriers we create serve the purposes of Kingdom Business or its about Personal Business??

The Equation

During my stint as a math student, I was taught that when doing a sum the answer will either be positive or negative. I reverted back to the times when I worked on some math assignment and the answer was negative…I sometimes got frustrated thinking the answer was wrong or I had missed a step in my calculations when I got a negative result. I am sure you realize that I am talking about lower level math here. In my analysis of equations; I realized this morning that my schooled self has preferred also that the answer to the equation of life to always be positive.

Think about the many times you have prayed and the response your got was not exactly what you had asked or wished for. The tendency then is to think that God is not on your side or he refuses to grant you your request. But I have come to tell you that in the eyes of God “if he does not grant you the request to your prayer it doesn’t mean he has refused”. See God looks beyond what the naked eye can see, he looks even further than what your spirit can comprehend. So if he is part of the equation of life you should rest in the truth that he is a promise keeper and he is the answer.

Now I understand that it does not matter the answer to the equation, but the presence of God in that equation equals the right answer, whether the answer is positive or negative. What completes the equation is the presence of God in the equation. See in whatever life equation you maybe grappling with or trying to find an answer to, God is not a variable but He remains a constant. We may change (be variable) but our God remains constant (never changes) that’s why he is the same yesterday, today and forever.

That’s why I love the Psalmist when he says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalms 46:1 (KJV). The presence of God equals constancy. We should understand that God doesn’t specialize on absenteeism, BUT in whatever situation he is a constant, nothing or no one can change his mind about you.