Article of Faith: Christian Thieves and Robbers, By Femi Aribisala Femi Aribisala - COLUMNS, OPINION A poor and unemployed member of the church asked God to give him British Airways lock stock and barrel. I was reviewing this article, initially titled “Ungodly Prayers,” when the Lord suddenly spoke. He said: “Femi, it is written, ‘my house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but they have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” ( Matthew 21:13; John 10:10). Immediately, I understood him. Thieves and robbers now attend prayer-meetings where they steal, kill and destroy. Malicious prayers At these prayer-meetings, you are likely to see “ogbologbo” Christians firing “return-to- sender missiles” with great alacrity. They might shout with “holy anger:” “Let my killer begin to kill himself now, in Jesus’ name.” Or they might make a decree: “I command the baptism of madness to fall on my stubborn enemies, in Jesus’ name.” These thieves pray with passion borne out of pure “sanctified” hatred: “Every lying tongue against me; be destroyed now, in the name of Jesus.” “The people who say I will not prosper, Holy Ghost fire; consume them.” “Those who have taken my name to the witchdoctor, Holy Ghost fire; destroy them.” “Those firing arrows at me, Holy Ghost; return to sender.” You can get to one meeting and find one thousand thieves chanting “die; die; die” with alarming frenzy. Who do they want consumed suddenly by Holy Ghost fire? “Every enemy of my marriage; every enemy of my destiny; every power planning to wage war against my divine vision; what are you waiting for, die in the name of Jesus.” Like the biblical Amalekites, these enemies are destroyed with fanfare every night vigil, only for them to resurrect again and again. Christians spend a lifetime engaged in this outrage, conveniently forgetting Jesus’ injunction which says: “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” ( Matthew 5:44-45). Vengeful prayers In January 2008, armed robbers attacked a church on the outskirts of Lagos and raided some banks on the premises. The bishop took offence and cursed them. He directed his church- members to pray that the wrath of God would be visited on the criminals. He also cursed kidnappers operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. He asked God to kill them all. He said: “We place curse on their roots wherever they are and we pray that thunders of heaven will strike and the judgment of God will come upon them.” Is this bishop a follower of Jesus? I seriously doubt it. According to Jesus, sons of God love their enemies and repay evil for good. They don’t swear or curse. They don’t go to prayer- meetings and chant “die; die; die.” It is those who are of the devil that insist on killing and destroying. However, the doctrine of sacrifices, whereby people inherit land that is not theirs; kill off the rightful owners, and destroy entire tribes and races, has brought a devious spirit into the heart of Christianity. Jesus warned us against this tendency. When the Zebedee brothers wanted Jesus to emulate Elijah by sending fire from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village that denied them free passage to Jerusalem, Jesus he rebuked them. He told them: “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” (Luke 9:55-56). Unrighteous prayers Way back when, there was a House Fellowship meeting in my flat every Sunday evening. One day, someone came with a prayer request that was nothing short of amazing. The boy was taking his WAEC (West African Examinations Council) exams. Not sure how well he would do, he decided to pay someone to have the exam questions leaked to him beforehand. But after having paid the required sum, the man failed to provide the exam papers. Furthermore, he refused to refund the money. In distress, this Christian “thief” came to the fellowship to tell us about his predicament. He wanted the members to pray to God so that he can “possess his possession.” “After all,” he maintained, “I have paid for the exam papers.”
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 08:14:28 +0000
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