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Catch Fire Anyways

The Battle Cry For New Souls

If Christians are correct, there is eternity beyond our mortal existence to consider. Yet, what has smoking, or other personal freedoms got to do with snuffing out eternity perspectives? The problem with smoking and these other personal freedoms is that they snuff out Holy Ghost intoxication. They prove one’s challenge and hence, disobedience of the Savior’s command for us to acquire power.

The emergence of churchless believers and others who spy on online Christian gatherings as alternatives to attending fellowships in support the closing down of cathedrals, implies that the tools and methodologies of Christian evangelism must evolve, to present the unchanging truth of the grace of salvation on offer from Jesus Christ to our children that reach out to these populations in John 3:3.

On the road one day, during an attempt to discuss salvation with a new contact, there came a suggestion that nowhere in John 3:3 or John 3:16 is going to church tied with salvation or making heaven. Later, I found this line of argument prominent in society to the extent that I was concerned about how young evangelists will handle it. The first thing the Holy Spirit said to me was that this guy was quoting straight from the Bible. Therefore, he must have equipped himself with some knowledge. Yet, I cannot contradict myself. You cannot quote in part and out of context. He must be enjoying himself teasing Christians with such distractions.

Certain scenarios jumped at me from the scriptures, but I was not sure of the direct references. I was not going to be clumsy by guessing, so I asked if we do short Bible study by searching with our phones. Somehow, he agreed. It is a weakness not to know your scriptures, and you cannot know your scriptures without listening and studying the word of God. In any case, I was able to expound to him that even in his quoted passages, John was reporting an event that took place outside of the synagogues. Therefore, John The Baptist and Jesus Christ ran fellowships outside of the synagogues which can be related to the church gatherings today as we study the scriptures.

Further, I said that the same Savior you intend to meet in heaven with the salvation identity card obtained in John 3:16 gave a direct command recorded in Luke 24:49 for us to go and wait together until we received power from on high. We continue to see the transfer and manifestation of that power even today in the 21st Century, and specifically when Paul demonstrated the difference between the doctrines of John The Baptist and of Jesus Christ in Acts 19:1-6. These were fellowships of men, akin to the church today. Hence, Paul admonished us not to forsake gathering in fellowships to strengthen each in his letter to the Hebrews 10:25. Therefore, not going to church is disobedient of the Savior.

One can only understand these various scenarios and connect them when we give ourselves the opportunity to review different opinions and perspectives. The Church must evolve universal methodologies that exploit the digital technologies aimed at establishing communities fostered by love for the advancement of the gospel and determined church growth energized by the Holy Spirit. Those advancements are not designed to abrogate the scriptures.

Whither Christianity

The word ‘believe’ or its corollary ‘faith’, juxtaposes the natural with the celestial. While the supernatural dimensions of these words make the Christian superhuman, it equally creates suspicions about the interference from or connections with some doubtful celestial powers in terrestrial affairs. Christians were described in Book of Acts 13:44 and Acts 17:6 as people having some non-conforming strange behaviors that continue to turn the world upside down. There was something unusual about these newly transformed people. Communicating this difference to the non-believer can be challenging. While people are ready to understand other non-physical influences such as love, grief and similar emotions, antennas of carefulness shoot out the moment equally ethereal issues of faith and miracles are mentioned.

For example, what sin could a man who chose to have two sticks of cigarette in his own house or his car following a day of hard work have committed? Or that bottle of beer after a day of hard work? Yet, I have heard from discussions about casual contacts that while smoking outside to reduce pollution in the house by walking, smoking parties have formed in many parks. Smoking for mobilization you may wonder.

In another case, such casualness has resulted in a 23-year-old lady with four kids from four different men. For some of those children, she has no idea who may be their fathers. Do you think the love or the fear of God factors into such evening strolls? There are some so-called fathers nursing the intention of seeking DNA tests, if they get the chance. Just to be sure. What social history does she carry? She could not have been so fanatic about bearing children, something is not right, and the God or church factor is obviously shady.

A colleague called me the other day asking me to help pray for her daughter. But she did not tell what bothered her. I was praying for her to understand the role of humility, and to desire humility before she called me again. She was away with certain friends she met few weeks earlier. They decided to vacation in some remote island. Obviously, I was not comfortable with idea. While away, she found out that the daughter had been seeing doctors without her knowledge and she was worried. Eventually, she found out that the daughter had an incurable sexually transmitted disease. Now she wanted me to talk to my God on behalf of sick daughter whom she left at home while she disappeared on vacation.

I really did not know who needed more prayer at this point, the mother, or the daughter. If she were so concerned, would she not pack up her vacation and head back home? Would a Christian community allow social life to degenerate so badly? A group where you are free to share suspicions with friends would have seen something to hint the other.

It is different than a blank prayer request from a mother who was away with strangers when her three adolescent kids were at home unsupervised. Point is, she thinks there may be a God, my God who answers prayers, somewhere. However, that maybe for people like me. It is rather too complicated to get involved with herself. That is how I inherited the job of discerning people’s problems and asking my miracle working God to heal the disease or restore wayward children on her behalf. More importantly, church has been out of the question in this set up for a long time.

However, if Christians are correct, then, there is eternity beyond our mortal existence to consider. Yet, what has smoking, or other personal freedoms got to do with snuffing out the eternity perspectives? The problem with smoking and these other personal freedoms is that they snuff out Holy Ghost intoxication. That we have life is one fact that cannot change. We have someone who claims to be the creator of man and the universe. However, because we find it easier to immediately satisfy the flesh, we find excuses to ignore our eternal relevance. Science has not disproved the existence of the sun, nor that its brilliance initiates a dawn nor found ways to modify its laws. Yet, the ignorant is easily sold on stories that call God a liar for daring to claim th copyright to the sun and other creation. This is a truth that Christianity must embrace, challenge, and put in its properly place to reignite the fire of evangelism.

The Traditions Don’t Work Anymore

The no-more-Bible-in-schools policy is working. The populations of active and nominal Christians continue to dwindle. This is evidence that traditional gospel marketing strategies continue to fail. Not even the papal election strategies have worked in reversing the trend. It is time to reengineer traditional evangelical strategies to shock social trends and fads while motivated men still occupy powerful evangelical offices.

Apostle James counsels, “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So, you see, faith by itself is not enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 5:15-17, NLT).

Are Generation Z’ers and other children eating the food or picking at it? The answer is obvious. Our children are not interested in what they see on the table. They do not like to the accusations of hate levelled against Christianity by the gay and lesbian movements for example. When they care, the audience cannot identify with their answers or find their proposals difficult to correlate with the questions posed. What food are we giving to those people that we plan to show the way of salvation through love so that they can become candles to light the pathways for their friends?

Political correctness has failed. A situation where Christian parents, including pastors must live with a gay child just because evolving biological theories become confused with the demands of excellent parenting in the face of social pressures should be clarified. The number of suicides from parents because they may have disappointed their children or God, and from kids depressed because of social profiling is over. This applies across the board to many social maladies, including drug use and abuse, as well as atheism that Satan throws in the face of Christianity, in his guise to curtail the advance of evangelism while we struggle to demonstrate that meaning of love exemplified by Jesus.

Political correctness has failed, and it is time to share the truth of the scriptures in love. Not going to church or not forcing your children to follow you to church is not good Christian parenting. In fact, it is not showing love to those kids. There is a reason that society trusts your judgement as their parent. If you are proud to be named Joshua, and you named your son James, why do not you communicate your true heart to them instead of trying to be the cool dad pretending that names don’t matter. Teachers take control of their classrooms without the use of force. We can all learn from them. What food are you serving that child whose peers mock them for attending church? Tolerating churchless believers is not showing love, it is tolerating sin. The scriptural command is for us to nurture fellowship. Otherwise, Ananias and Sapphira did not deserve to die (Acts 5).

What Cannot Change

Fortunately, we have a point of stability to rely on. Certain truths are so fundamental that they cannot change. Many people still follow the zodiac philosophies and guides to explain their activities to men. Psychics of various kinds and traditional worshippers are all over the place. In addition, there are so many other faiths including atheism running the streets. Why do they have a semblance of truth to them? Essentially, most men eventually come to believe that a supernatural or celestial environment interferes or can interfere in our terrestrial existence.

Otherwise, why would science continue to suspect the influence of aliens in our planet. It is the same reason that caused King Saul’s distrust of his prophets, and his subsequent decision to consult a necromancer or psychic to wake up a true prophet ‘Samuel’ for counsel (1 Samuel 28). He needed someone with trusted spiritual counsel. Therefore, the Bible is correct by saying that in death, our mortal bodies is at rest waiting for the call to eternity or else the psychic would not have been able to invoke the ghost of Samuel. Essentially, the supernatural realm exists, and some men have access to it (Ephesians 1:9-11). The implication in totality is the existence of God, and validation of His Bible as the training manual for empowering believers (1 John 4:4). This will not change.

Another irrefutable fact is that Jesus resurrected (Luke 24:5-8; 1 Peter 1:3). This history is recent enough to have been documented in writing, and old enough to dig up archeological evidence. Jesus was not the only man on the cross at crucifixion, but He was the only one ever seen alive again walking the streets. More than two centuries later, worldwide, miracles are still being attributed to the invocation of the Name of the resurrected Jesus Christ. While men have prayed for other men to wake them up from the dead, Jesus Christ just woke up and strode out of the tomb as He promised. That has never been replicated. In truth, there was persecution and dispersion of Christians but the remains of the apostles who went about sharing the power of gospel are preserved in mausoleums and museums all over the world, thousands of miles far away from Galilee, particularly territories traced to the ancient Asia Minor.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms the realm of the miraculous and re-introduces the realm of the supernatural manipulating the affairs of men in the battle for the soul of man. Men who simply believe the words of Jesus Christ superhumanly acquire the power to overturn physically crippling conditions and circumstances, just because they say so, at the instance of the Holy Ghost (Acts 9:10-19; 13:44). That many attempts have been made to test, or to counterfeit the invasion of the Holy Ghost since the time of Jesus Christ confirms that strange celestial intervention in the affairs of men will not cease until Christ comes back to end it all (Acts 5:1-11). That is the unchanging Word of God.

Future Dimensions – The Demonstration of Holy Fire Is A Must Future For All

The mandatory lockdown response to the COVID 19 pandemic showed that individuals struggle when left to themselves to practice Christianity. Studying the scriptures and praying were challenging. Elucidation of the Word of God and capturing its rhema expounded in the scriptures require that communities gather to read and discuss the content together. This should be a springboard for the new thinking in Christian leadership. Community churches continue to prove to us that these ‘micro-villages’ are highly effective in keeping the Body of Christ together. However, these communions continue to exist in isolation with little relevance to social trends in the wider ecosystem. Gaining access to every digital device with relevant targeted information to keep bringing everyone to ask about God should be our target. It is called digital social marketing.

Such closeted communities may be good for true Christians and may even be impressive to new converts to establish their feet as they come into the church. However, evangelism in Generation Z era requires a revolutionary reigniting of a fire for evangelism through the demonstration of the raw power of God. The Thessalonians decided to burn their own markets and important buildings to prevent Paul and Silas from demonstrating the power of God in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-6). They have seen how miracles can overturn normal social routines. The political powers that be did not want Thessalonica to lose favor before the Roman emperor. Therefore, they sought to kill Paul and Silas to stop them from demonstrating the redemptive powers of the Holy Ghost. The same city, Thessalonica was to earn the recognition of two solid chapters in the Bible, providing guidance for human lifestyle for thousands of years.

In the 21st Centruy, poll after poll continue to confirm the dwindling presence of the Christian doctrine. The situation calls for an ignition of evangelical fire power to re-occupy the public space with empowered Christians determined to turn their world around for Jesus through the gift of redemption bought on the cross. There is an ever-increasing need for the clergy to transmit Holy Ghost power into the youth to turn their local environments upside down for the growth of the church.

The closet communities reemerging from the pandemic lockdown must as a matter of urgency debate new strategies to acquire the resurrection power promised in the Bible. This being the only foundation to prove the essence of Holy Ghost baptism, a power that changes public discourse. I mean that if Christians do invent their own versions of the Golden Globes and BET Awards, they can energize the relevant industry to the extent that more Christian content and personalities win the respective awards.

Programs and events that draw Christian youth from the reading the Bible can be challenged and new thinking matured into projects for publication in those activities. Nothing stops young Christians from developing Roblox games with names like David, Samuel, Silas, and Elijah. We can begin to contribute to evangelical presence on Kahoot and encourage the viewing of programs such as the American Bible Challenge currently running on Netflix. Currently, every country has its own version of Who Wants to a Millionaire and America’s Got Talent. Who says evangelical miracle services cannot run on Christian channels. The value is in opening the scriptures to both the initiated as well as the interested. They create opportunities to ignite the search for the truth. It is the mandate simplified in Luke 4: 17-18. A mind that can respond with online Bible study programs like ‘Immerse’ can be primed to generate online content that pulls his mates to checkout God’s word.

It becomes easier to invite a friend to church with strategies that introduce them to the spiritual dimensions with time. Afterall, everyone is open to learning.

What you don’t know hurts badly, but knowledge can mitigate such pain. People support schools that ban Bible teaching, yet they teach from books emanating from other belief systems because they do not know the difference. When later, they get exposed to the real drama of biblical truth, which is full of spiritual conflict anyway, they become challenged. They are welcome to a community with the power of the gospel breaking afflictions and oppression aimed at encouraging others to locate their true allegiance to the greatest power of all, God through His son Jesus Christ.

The youth include people of all ages, intellectual and physical capabilities. It is a dispensation in which all age groups are represented. Therefore, this call is a reach out to all ages and capacities. Acts 12:5 states that the people were still praying ceaselessly for the release of Peter when he showed up at the door. The youth people may be operators and managers of the charge today, however, it is unlikely that they will be the directors of budget. Equally, they may have responsibilities for younger generations coming behind them, yet they need the unrelenting prayers of elders and widows who can no longer make it to the warfront.

All hands must get on the deck.

What Must Change

Invention of language like ‘churchless believers’ or ‘evangelical gays’ must disappear from public discourse. Such shows that people are on the fringe while measuring their faith. Yet, they have God and heaven in their perspective. When faced with reality of the Holy Ghost, people will have no time listen to the powers that prey on such grounds of doubt to divide the church. When the angel of God woke Peter up and led him out of the prison, Peter may have thought that he was dreaming but by the time reality dawned on him there was no questioning of the purpose and the reality of the miraculous event (Acts 12: 6-10).

Certainly, going back to fishing was no more a consideration. Similarly, a blind man who suddenly regains his sight will not forget who touched him in long time. He will likely embed himself in the scriptures to learn more about Him – the healer. Such is our mandate. It is not just to ward off attacks from agents of Satan, it is also to deliver men from persecution by powers and principalities. We have the responsibility to wipe out tears by preaching the gospel to the poor, heal broken hearts, preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind and to set traumatized people free (Luke 4:17-18). Just like Samson’s parents were warned, it will be difficult for anyone challenged by such responsibility imposed by our mandate to take the leisure of enjoying a smoking party. Even so, we have a duty to device meaningful strategies to eliminate these excuses about invasion of personal freedoms.

The other day I walked into this lady sitting down quietly in the parking lot reeking of weed and smoking her cigarette maybe for an after effect. At the same time, she was listening intently to Bishop T. D. Jakes. Then, this couple passed by and could not resist asking her about the oddness of the combination. She went on preaching salvation that is a matter of the heart to the young couple. I did not get involved because I suspected that she may be dealing with her addictions as a new Christian convert. No one forced her to listen to T. D. Jakes. And she offered to talk about morality, parental guidance cand salvation to the curious couple. To me T. D Jakes appeared to be working. Yet, the content of II Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 16 must be clarified for all men by churches. Not many young people understand the true meaning of that scripture.

In other words, if you must be separated as desired by God, you must be ready to sacrifice certain personal freedoms such as smoking, drinking, immoralities, and the like to apprehend the power of God to live for God and win souls (Isaiah 6:7; Isaiah 1:25; 2 Corinthians 6:17). This is a challenge for the young people trying to marry social mobility with faith. Churchless believers and evangelical gay concepts fall into this category.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 8, the apostle begins to teach about learning to diminish the challenges so that the fruits of the Holy Spirit can manifest. Specifically, in verses 23 to 25, Paul points out that once we begin to understand exactly the power embedded in the fruits of the Spirit as alluded to in the prophecy of Joel in Chapter 2:28, we begin to worry less about satisfying the flesh. Doing what you feel is right without anyone challenging you because your body is your property as in smoking, intercourse outside of marriage is satisfying the flesh and it is worldly. In other words, they impede your spiritual growth.

He goes ahead to mention that it requires waiting. Yet, what does ‘wait’ me in this context. It is the learning period. It is the time spent sharing with others to learn Christian doctrines and practices that build the Spirit and moves one closer to God up until when one can confidently bring light into darkness with the power of the Holy Ghost. Essentially, being churchless cannot encourage such powerful growth (Acts 2:42; Acts 12:5).