CHURCHWARNINGS 07

Churchwarnings 07

10th April.2006

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:2, 3 (N.I.V.)
Who amongst us looks at the Cross, as a joy set before us?
What joy indeed some wonder, can a cross offer, but pain and death and sorrow?

There are many amongst us, in whom God has planted His word and it burns like a fire in your bones.

But you don’t want to run with it do you?

You don’t want to be scorned, you don’t want to be shamed, you can’t face the rejection.
Where did you learn all that?
From the word of God. Right?

You’ve read about what has been done to the messengers God sends. How they suffered. And it’s not very pleasant is it?

And of course you’ve read and had it preached to you, that God is Gracious, He does not condemn. He’s a nice God. He is so Merciful. The Bible is full of God’s eternal Niceness. So you think that if you don’t give that message, He will understand, being that He is such an understanding, Nice God.

Besides, you’ve got your local church, society and family who think so very highly of you.
Yeah sure, if God had Said, take 1000 cheese burgers or sandwiches and feed the poor, you’d have run with it, because you can raise that kind of money through your church, your friends, why even from your own pocket!
Social work kind of boosts your image, makes you look good, even the church looks good, doing nice things like that.

So you’ve decided that you would rather pass the message God gave you, to a more apt person. In fact you’re fervently praying about it already.

You want God, to send the message with a person who has no reputation to lose, that guy down the road, what’s his name? Reads his bible and can quote it backwards. Everyone in the church thinks he’s weird anyway. Now that kind of guy, he’s got nothing to lose. With all the enemies he has, why, being a surrogate messenger might even make him a friend or two.

If they ‘excommunicate’ him from the charismatic church, he’d survive. And who’d miss him? Who wants a guy who knows the bible backwards, when even read forwards, the bible doesn’t make much sense to many folks, in some churches.

But now you, you would not survive the trauma of giving that difficult message would you?
You fear everyone in the church will glare at you, your involvements in the safe places, the Sunday school, the music ministry, the word ministry, etc, will , you suspect, come to an abrupt end, not to mention those seats of honor right there in the front row.
And you’re probably right.
You hate abrupt ends don’t you?

Besides the message you have in your bones, is so simple, not even complicated. Simple messages, do make you look foolish don’t they?
Besides, if you gave the message, people are bound to say, as they do to most prophetic messages, “Oh, I knew that”.
That bothers you doesn’t it?

It’s hard to fix your eyes on Jesus isn’t it?

Yes, Gosh! It does seem like a heck of a lot of giving up, doesn’t it?
You’ve enjoyed fearing man so much, it’s become a habit with you.
Yeah, sure, you’ve had your own ‘crosses’ to bear.
But now,
It’s hard to see the joy set before you isn’t it?
Hard to scorn the shame?
Hard to die?

Hard to fix your eyes on Jesus isn’t it?

But you’ve been given a message, by the Author and Perfecter of your faith. You ate it and now in a moment of regret, you want to vomit it out. You want to cheer other prophets on, as they carry their cross past you, you want to secretly encourage them. But you don’t want to join them in their ‘public humiliation’.
Hey, God is God, you argue back, He’s not short of messengers is He?

Is He?

Besides, you think that the message is bound to go ‘over the heads’ of those to whom it is addressed, and my! Don’t they deserve their come-uppance?

But that message keeps tingling in your bones, what plans have you for it?

Read this.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Colossians 2;15 (N.I.V.)

Fear not! It’s those powers and principalities of darkness that have been made a public spectacle of!
Fix your eyes on Jesus and see that triumph, see that joy.

In the eyes of God, an obedient child walks triumphantly, what scorn? What shame?
See that joy my beloved sister, see that joy my beloved brother.
See the Triumph, see the Resurrection, see the Life everlasting.

And then there’s those mature messengers.

You’ve delivered many messages before. And you’ve delivered them with accuracy, in the sharpness of your God given skills.
But this one’s causing you great anguish.

Hard to fix your eyes on Jesus ?
Hard to understand ‘the joy set before Him?’


You know how this message , will play out, don’t you?

You know the outcome.

You’ll take the message to those ‘awful’ people. You’ll talk down to them, and say,
“Forty more days and you awful people will be overturned”.
And you’ll watch them, and to your horror and dismay………….they’ll do what you secretly hoped they wouldn’t.

You know the outcome.

These ‘awful people’ will believe the message is from God
And REPENT!
And this is the part that torments you the most.
God will Hear, and relent from sending the disaster you have prophesied.
And you’ll lose that reputation you so cherished……. of being a sharp prophet with a cutting edge.
And folks will say, “ Wasn’t this the guy who prophesied disasters for these ‘awful people’. Well, we don’t see any. Hey you! God can’t be wrong, so it must be you!
You false prophet, you!
You haven’t yet run with ‘the’ message but you’re sulking already.
You’ve got a reputation to maintain.

The frightening thing about “Repent and turn to God” messages, is that the most sinful of people, might just do that, and to your horror and chagrin, be saved.
You’ve read the word of God. You so readily recall , Ahab and Manasseh.
You know God is Good, but you don’t see why though, with the likes of these.

You know your God. You know your bible. You know how it’ll play out. So what’s the use of running with a message like that?
Now the message is not really the problem, but it’s this knowledge of God’s Goodness that’s niggling you.
Please don’t sulk.

So now you’ve decided that you don’t want to rock the boat.
You want to maintain the Status Quo.

Let these ‘awful people’ continue to sin.

Your fear now is, suppose they repent? You want to prolong their agony and help maintain their ignorance of God’s Requirements.

You were secretly hoping for a Cupful of God’s Wrathful Judgment upon them.
And now you fear that it a’int gonna happen the way you’d have envisaged it.

What’s the use?

So it’s real hard to fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith.

In fact it’s hard to fix your eyes on anything.

Gosh you’re running away fast!

Afraid you’ll miss the boat to Tarshish?
You want to book that cabin, so you can sleep through the journey?

Here’s a prophecy for prophets on the run.

God’s whales are policing the stormy waters. They’ve been sent to take absconders from active duty, into custody.
But for you, this is the time to save your life whilst others perish.

So, Run sister run! Run brother run!

Hey! What’s up? You’ve slowed down!
You don’t want to spend a long week-end in the belly of the whale?

Oh! You know the outcome of this one, too?

What did you just mutter? You just went into your prayer closet, had a chat with God?

And now you’ve got a message to run with?


Oh! Sorry, for taking up so much of your time.

When you get to the crossroads, that road straight ahead? That’s the way to Nineveh.

You know, you kinda look familiar.

It’s Jonah, isn’t it?


Bombay – India
Advocate Swarna Jha