Last week while I shared my sentiments on why Joel Osteen is doing a great job motivating people but why he should be addressed as a motivational speaker and not a pastor, I knew emotions, good and bad could be raised in equal measures. A friend of mine blasted me and questioned why I am the self proclaimed righteous. The next question that popped on that status update was what is the right church and who is the right servant of God? I do not want to be judgemental, I want to refer to the biblical teachings which in the spiritual realms are the sound doctrines, the teaching by which Christ commanded that they should remain in me. I will not tell you about the right church, I will tell you about the wrong one, so that it will be upon you to make the right decision.
Isiah 35: 8 and a highway will be there, it will be called the way of holiness. the unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. 9 No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there.
In the contemporary world, a highway in most cases is named after its destination. In the Kenyan context, The Thika super highway takes you to Thika, the same goes for Mombasa road, it lands you in Mombasa. Others are Namanga road, Kiambu road, Murang'a road, Nakuru Highway, all of which are named according to the destination. Now Isiah speaks about a Highway, its name is the way of holiness. This means the destination of this highway is a place called holy. Now who is found in this place called Holy, let us consult Leviticus 19 : 2 " speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy". It is God the almighty, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the ruler of the destination of this highway.
But is it everybody that will journey on this highway? not really, let alone reaching the destination. A church is a ministry in the spiritual realms. It is a vehicle that takes you to a destination. The destination is called Holy. The place where God is. Now this means for you to know if you are in the right church, the vehicle (church) should be found not anywhere else but on this highway, the highway of holiness. Any road a part from this highway, it is basically taking you to a different destination. There you might never find God.
How will you know that actually your church is sailing on this highway. I will tell you how. The unclean will not journey on it. These are the defiled souls. Those who indulge in sexual immorality, discord, dissension, debauchery, idolatry and as Paul names them in Romans 13: 13. If such people are comfortably sharing a congregation with you, then reader be aware. At least question the destination in which the vehicle is headed. Check and confirm if the road signs indicate that it is the highway of holiness, if not it is time you should alight and look for the right vehicle to take you there.
Secondly wicked fools will not go about on it, these are the words of Isiah. Now who is the wicked fool. Proverbs 13: 19 " A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil. " Essentially a fool is he who detests the gospel of christ Jesus and his servant John the Baptist. Repent and turn away from your evil, live a separate, righteous and holy life. Now if in this vehicle, there are those who are still in sexual immorality, in deception, slander, adultery, idolatry, selfish ambitions, drunkenness and name them, may be you should be worried. If your church is housing homosexuals, corrupt people, prostitutes, witches and all sorts of evil, it is not on this highway. I am not saying, that the people are not sinners, everybody has fallen short of the glory of God according to Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" but in the event where the element of recognizing sin, confessing that is sin, repenting and the eventual turning away from our evil deeds is what makes the difference.
Also on this highway, no lion will be there, nor the ferocious beast. This goes to the shepherds, they are entrusted in guiding the sheep of Christ towards the right direction. Now the ferocious beast is what we are experiencing in end times, those who turn against the sheep and lead them astray, they turn against their sheep and rob them of their property and salvation. Talk about the many cases where the shepherd (pastor) has turned against the faithfulness for sexual immorality, recent a senior church bishop was found dead on a woman's bed. the panda mbegus, the false prophets are not found on this highway. Recently a senior member of a church has accused the church of devil worship and the shepherds indulging in homosexuality. Another pastor (father) quit his calling and confessed having slept with nuns and sisters for fifteen years of God's service without any concerns from the church leadership. Does such like issues arise in your church, is your pastor blamed for some of the above allegations, sexual immorality, financial impropriety, devil worship or homosexuality, corruption and deception. it is time you should realize that Christ is about to come and your salvation is your sole responsibility.
Now if you want to know that it is the right church, Isiah says, only the redeemed will walk there. Those who worship God in spirit, those who have turned away from their evil past. Those who love Christ through obeying his commands. The redeemed of God. The pure in heart that Jesus describes in Mathews 5:8. those who will walk on this highway, and those who eventually will see God. As you contemplate of the position of your church, whether it is on the right road or the wrong road, remember also Mathew 7: 13
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