Leadership

REDEFINING CHRISTIANITY AND CHURCH

by Okechukwu Emmanuel
01/31/22
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REDEFINING CHRISTIANITY AND CHURCH

The move of God

These are times and seasons of uncertainty on earth – the manifestations of power in the seven mountains of life by darkness and the inability of Church leadership to display the Power and Wisdom of Christ. Many believers, especially the youths, are tired of the present concept of a tabernacle Church, especially the one her members have divided along doctrinal, racial, and cultural cleavages (1 Cor. 1:10-12). This Church has buried herself in her pits and caves of Church buildings and temples, different races and cultures, and her sub-culture of politics, education, business, and so on (Acts 11:2-3; Gal. 2:11-13). Furthermore, she has refused to do the will of God. One striking manifestation of these cleavages is that the purposes, thoughts, actions, and teachings of different Church groups are not integrated into a collective Christian enterprise. Nonetheless, God is using His new reformed ambassadors to redefine all Church parameters and activities, especially her leadership structures and modalities. He is using His new reformed ambassadors – apostles, prophets, and other five-fold ministers -- to demonstrate and teach the New Thing Remnant Church that individual and denominational wisdom and powers could and must collate as the collective wisdom and power of the As One Church. He is passing through His new reformed ambassadors – apostles, prophets, and other five-fold ministers -- to teach believers and the Church He has sent them to disciple that they must exercise collective wisdom and power at individual, corporate, and territorial levels (2 Chron. 23:1-3, 4-11). As the newly reformed apostles, prophets, and other ministers grasp this revelation of the Lord and operate it as a strategy, He will use them to produce a New Thing Remnant Church (Rom. 13:14---16). One of the things God is doing to actualize this New Thing mindset is to dethrone men from their false positions of "absolute masters" (Ex. 7, 17; Is. 14, 22) to their true positions of stewards and servants of the Lord's commission and people (Jer. 27:6). 

In addition, He will restore this New Thing Remnant Church to her true position and status on earth – "a king and priest that rules on the earth" -- because she is jointly seated with Jesus Christ, her Head (Eph. 1:20; Rev. 5:10). She will cause the new reformed Remnant Church to manifest her true status as a global leader who has power with God and with men (Is. 2:1--3). She will manifest second—to—none leadership capabilities in the seven mountains of society (Gen. 41:39). 

The old versus the new (John 4:6)

The well at which Christ decided to rest was Jacob's (vs. 6).  It was, most probably, a physical well dug by Jacob a few thousand years ago. However, it still existed and continued to meet the needs of his descendants. Even as this physical act of Jacob continued to benefit his children so many years after his death, more so did his act of walking with and wrestling with God continue to bless his children, climaxing in the advent of Christ into their midst. A father's activity or inactivity will always have the appropriate effects on his descendants. One thing worthy of note is that the Jews, because they had no dealings with the Samaritans, refused to draw water from their father's well, and forfeited their inheritance from their father to a people who had virtually no rights to it. They forfeited and despised their father's inheritance because of culture and hatred. In the same way, Christians forfeit their assignments and positions on earth (Eph. 1:20-21; 2:6; Rev. 5:10) – in politics, in the judiciary, in academia, in industry, in the marketplace, in media and entertainment, in the armed forces, in the police, and other strategic spheres of society – to a people less qualified and less endowed. They have done this because of ignorance, cowardice, unbelief, rebellion, idolatry, worldliness, wrong doctrines, wrong teachings, wrong beliefs, wrong culture and cultural practices, and other forms of apostasy. The consequences of this foolishness are that Satan has entrenched his agents in all spheres of life, and has appropriated for himself almost all the resources God put on earth to run His programs. For example, because Christians are not adequately represented in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, Satan has used the opportunity to put up political, legislative, judicial, and other diverse obstacles to severely restrict and hinder the work of God on earth especially in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Satan has been helped in his anti-Christ schemes by Esau and Ishmael "christians," who are strange children whose mouths speak deceit and whose right hands are hands of falsehood (Ps 144:7, 11).                                                               

Most Christians, whose basis of faith is seemingly the death of Jesus Christ, have strong ties to Evangelicals and Pentecostals, but have departed from the true way because of faulty doctrines and dogmas of progressive “this” and liberal “that,” and self-centredness. However, the New Thing Remnant Church will not abandon them. The correct attitude is to strive to recover them from bondage to the traditions and doctrines of men, which Satan has used to trap them (Gal 1:6-9). Which wells of salvation, reconciliation, relationships, and ministry did Jesus Christ dig for us, and which the foremost apostles left for us? Are they still relevant to our needs today? Do they, successfully and beneficially, help us resolve the challenges of contemporary times, when we draw from them? We must beware of men who are cesspits of traditions, and other subtle anti-Christ doctrines. The Church must not draw from these un-Godly pits. Now, Jesus was wearied with His journey so He took up a position at a place where He could rest. The well was a place of rest and refreshment for weary travelers (Gen. 24:12; Ex. 2:15). In addition, the well-provided men and women opportunities to meet or advance their destinies, or enter and walk along different paths of their destinies (Gen. 24:12-21; Ex. 2: 15-22), or fulfill their assignments (Gen. 24:12-14). These opportunities were provided as men and women rested, drew water to drink, or drew water for their flock or those of others.

The Well of the Holy Spirit

 As the disciples rested in the upper room, waiting upon the promise of the Father (as Jesus instructed), He baptized them with the Holy Ghost (He filled them with the Power and Fire of the Holy Ghost). The Holy Ghost within them became a perpetual spring giving them eternal life (Jn. 7: 37 – 38). This message was the same one Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, the day of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Church. The anchor of the message is always belief in Jesus Christ:  "He that believeth in Me, as the Scripture hath said, out his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:38; Ref. Acts 2:32-33; 2:38-39; Jn. 4: .10).  At the Well, Which is Jesus Christ, men will rest, be refreshed, strengthened, and empowered to run life's race. As the Body of Christ, the Well – Jesus Christ – is located in the "New Thing" Remnant Church (Is. 2:1-3). The Church must aggressively project Jesus Christ so that as men, societies, and nations come to Him they will be restored and refreshed with the Truth. They shall be delivered from the welter of false and empty doctrines and philosophies that offer no hope to man (Eph. 2:12). Jesus Christ, the Container and the Well (Col. 2:10), calls out to men: "Come unto me you who are weary, needy and heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28).

The old versus the new (Jn. 4:6-7)

It was about noon that a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus requested her, "Give Me some water to drink" (vs. 6, 7). That should be the natural and expected reaction of a weary man at noon. He should seize opportunities that will enable him to resolve his seemingly immediate predicament - thirst, hunger, and tiredness. Most times the seriousness of our problems forces us to break racial, cultural, and gender barriers as we seek solutions. At this time, His disciples had gone into the city to buy food (vs. 8). This statement also reinforces the necessity of Jesus' request. Because there was no other option, Jesus' disciples were constrained to go to the Samaritan village to buy food. Ordinarily, they would not have been in this predicament because they would have taken a different route that would cut off the land of the Samaritans. However, when believers walk with Jesus He will bring them to places, and into situations, where they will have no options but to confront and resolve the issues of racial, cultural, and gender prejudices. At these moments, they must manifest maturity and true stand in Jesus Christ. At these moments, each believer will be forced to ask himself the following questions amongst so many others: "Is Jesus Lord and Master over the inner, authentic man? Does He completely own me so that He can express Himself fully in me, and through me? What is the extent of the crucifixion of my inner man?"  One important truth is obvious here -- Jesus forces believers and their corporate Body, the Church, to make contact and interact with that which they prefer to avoid. The woman was surprised that Jesus, a Jew, and a man, will talk to her, a Samaritan and a woman, asking for a drink, "for the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." However, the Word is not restricted by racial, cultural, and gender barriers so unbelievers on the other side are always surprised when the Word crosses the divide to reach out and interact with them. This unrestricted interaction is also "well business": it is power and wisdom from the Spirit. Also, it redefines Christianity and the Church.