“I’ve come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be—
Three against two,
and two against three;
Father against son,
and son against father;
Mother against daughter,
and daughter against mother;
Mother-in-law against bride,
and bride against mother-in-law.” – Luke 12:49-53
Jesus did not come to smooth things over, no, he came to start a fire! Is this the picture of Jesus that you have? Or do you have the Hollywood, gentle faced, peace loving, fine man, won’t hurt a fly Jesus in your mind? Don’t get it wrong, Jesus is the prince of peace, but the peace he brings is not peace among men, but peace between God and man. Jesus will be a basis for war among those who love him and those who hate him.
My son of age 8 read the passage above in his KJV Bible and told me that he thought it meant that Jesus came to separate people who were fighting, I helped him to see that it’s not to separate the fight, but to start it. He looked quite surprised, so I ventured to break it down for him. That on the account of Jesus, he and I could become enemies – if he believes and I don’t believe. That family members and friends would be divided because of Jesus. He seemed to understand it, as I heard him share it clearly a few days after.
Part of the cost of discipleship is the breaking of ties with all the relationships you hold dear before Jesus! Luke 14:33 says you need to be able to kiss what is most valuable to you – people or plans, goodbye just to follow Jesus. I wonder how Jesus must feel when our allegiance to men, makes us not know or understand him. When we can’t even stand before him for what is obviously wrong. I wonder how we can get to call ourselves Christians when the minimum price for being a disciple has not been paid. Our love for Jesus does not allow for the breaking of family ties, in fact we follow men so passionately that Jesus is not real to us.
The Battle between the ideology of Jesus and that of the world is strong and raging. There is no difference today between what the world wants and what the synagogues of Satan masquerading as church wants. Satan is not dark and hideous, he leads many church services on Sunday – he and his ministers masquerade as angels and agents of light. How you know them is what they position for as against Christ.
Mark these words – Anyone who stirs you up with any message to become anything or anyone outside of Christ and his fullness is steeped against Christ. Any testimony that makes you desire things, looking forward to achieving in this temporary life and doesn’t focus you attention on Christ and eternity is standing against the Lord. If you are not gathering with Jesus, you are scattering abroad. With Jesus there is no middle ground of silence. Sucking up to lies peddled in the name of God is no different from knowing the truth and standing down!
For 40 days, the army of God gathered shame as Goliath terrorized and oppressed them. Servants of God became servants of Saul. They exchanged the glory of the risen but invisible Lord for the reasonable comfort of following their pastors. Goliath called the army of God, servants of Saul, and there was no denial. For 40 days, Israel was ashamed and Heaven was silent. No thunder, no lightening, no rain. Heaven kept quiet and allowed the shame to linger until a small boy arose whose heart was after God, and who decided to take on the bully as a representative of Heaven. One with God is majority, God does not count numbers as we count it. He’s not impressed by how many people are gathering in a congregation, he’s concerned about who is standing up for Jesus? Who is standing up for Truth? Who is really following the way? Who really values Life?
I choose to be on the Lord’s side! I choose to live and die on the Lord’s side! Whose side are you on?
Kind Regards
Adeolu Akinyemi
WhatsApp: 08037228919
