OUR FAITH IS UNDER ATTACK (PT 1)

As a Pastor, I counsel with people frequently and in recent times I have come to the conclusion that our faith is seriously under attack. These are truly perilous times and the saints are under siege. Pressures are mounted on us from all sides; our finances, health, businesses etc. are all under attack. Indeed anything that can take away one’s joy is sent against us by hell whilst unbelievers appear to be living the life and we don’t understand how. Yet we need joy to draw from the wells of salvation. Moreover, Christ came that we may have fullness of joy. Clearly our joy is a necessary ingredient for our survival.

Again if you live in Nigeria, you must know about the attacks on the lives of believers in the North and in the middle belt area. They say it is a fight against western civilization yet most of the people funding this fight, as we have been told, are learned men who have acquired western education and/or civilization and whose children are currently in those western countries acquiring the said western education. This fight must then be about more than civilization; it appears to be a jihad against our faith. It may seem far away from those in the Southern part of our nation now but according to history, it is a fight that spreads. It is spiritual and there is only one principality behind it whose purpose is to destroy our faith that his kingdom may be established on earth.

In the Southern part of this Country, we see again another manifestation; the attack on the church by those who pretended to be a part of us but have never really been which is why they have come up with another doctrine which the bible says is not really another doctrine but that of the devil. These people are luring away believers with enticing words and promises of liberty which is not the liberty that Christ gives. Sadly, a lot of believers are been lured away because of the seeming siege that the enemy had mounted against us. Though some know deep down in their hearts that it does not sound so right, their desire to put an urgent end to their current difficulty has made it difficult for them to ignore those enticing words.

What do you intend to do? What can you contribute to end all that is going on? I admit that we are not all expected to do the same ting but we can do something. It is time to contend earnestly for our faith. Like Esther, you may have “come into the kingdom for a time such as this”; but will you ignore everything because it appears to be far from you? What is even sadder is when we pretend like we are helping God but in truth vaunting ourselves. Now everyone has a calling to preach and if they are not given room to do so in their churches, they create various avenues. Every other person has a calling to make music albums just because they can sing and the others have a calling to write books; really, is that God? Could it be that your own part is to send letters of comfort to the troubled ones; letters that may never get published? Could you own part be to assist with raising funds for programs instigated by God or reaching out in love to those on the frontlines?

This is no longer about our denomination; it is about our faith. If you think it is far from you, I tell you it is much closer than you think. We need to rise up and contend earnestly for our faith. Even if you manage to protect yourself, your children are out there, your family too. We can’t afford to continue to think only of ourselves, image and comfort.