world of plaster statuary that belongs to the past.
We're content to place a statue of Francis of Assisi
in the middle of a birdbath and let the business of
the saints go at that. A real parish (Local church) is
a wondrously beautiful web of human relationship which
is given meaning by the man who is Himself (Jesus) the
meaning of life" - C. KILMER MYERS, A NEWYORK CITY
VICAR.
Now what kind of structure are we building with our
lives today? Are we sure of a healthy church with deep
sense of quality and not quantity that is? Isn't it
possible we're seeing a deficient church with a false
balanced diet, presented by quack dietician who gain
secret entrance through the back door? How are we sure
that this is not a case of spiritual kwashiorkor,
beri-beri stricken church? Oh! Why spiritualise it,
every one can see it physically. Will it stand the
test of time and eternity? "The fire will test the
quality of each man's work. If what he has built
survives, he will receive his reward" (1 Corinthians
3:13-14). If not, I hate to think and tell what will
happen. The prophetic and apostolic fire from God will
cause a separation technique in this last days. Just
like the time of Jehu, yes Jehu, theological scholars,
can you remember Jehu and his wildly driven chariot?
He swept through the land and swept it real clean. He
turned every God damned, accursed stuff, nasty things,
to nothingness. Anti-Kingdom things were utterly
destroyed and reformation was followed by restoration.
Jehu's fury is right here now. It's gradually doing
it's justice commissioner by God. Be warned priests
and pastors with ill-motivated agenda. Who are those
who despise small things, who scatter the flocks and
give them contaminated milk and mad cow diseased meat
to sicken them. Don't relax just because God's fury is
gradual and not rapid. He can increase the pace if He
so desire. Watch out and turn a new leaf.
In the quote above, the real intensions of God and the
journey to that intention has taken a negative detour.
No thanks to those whose belly turned to their God and
comfi is their vision. Synagogue mentality! Can I tell
you about it? Hmmm… a lot of people are deceived just
because they want to be deceived. It is a total
misgiving idea in the minds of God's children. They
are children, and want to stay at that. I've not seen
signs of sonship. Sons (daughters) are not fed, they
are not helpless, not dependent on another matured
person, but wise and tenacious in heart. They are not
deceived people. They know the times and seasons for
purpose. Can I still go on telling you, then prepare
your hearts. Sons are not, and never like children.
Jesus Christ pointed to the heinous folly of the
religious Pharisees of his day. Permit me this- they
are Pharisees (Pharisees) when you are far, you see.
They tell you when you're near you can't see. So you
are put on hold by their misdirected doctrines which
they themselves don't practise in their private life.
Far you see. It's even a present continuous tense.
What a bondage. Jesus said you're not entering the
Kingdom, you now make it worse by blocking the chance
for others to come in. This is synagogue mentality of
a kind, but you won't get the glimpse of this truth
until I take you further.
They continue in the order of Moses, a go between for
the people. But Jesus said he knows His flocks and
they know Him (John 10:14). The word know there
depicts relationship which religious Pharisees don't
want to take place in your lives. Today however they
have turned to jacket wearing postures. They cut the
posture of a corporate executive with an array of
companies to their credit. So you can't easily
identify them. Only those who look at the fruits - the
character, will solve this riddle. Just compare what
Jesus and the apostles said about them and you'll
know.
Back to relationship, yes, Jesus desires to have
relationship with us. He decided to form a living
organization of organism (you and I ) so that he could
restore us back to the Father God. No mediator except
Jesus can be faithful and true. He's the only faithful
and true and can make us faithful and true people.
Jesus is the only mediator and an effective one too
endorsed by heaven (1 Timothy 2:3-5). Pharisee
spiritual ministers don't like this. Why? You're
deceived. It deprives them of attention, fame, money,
business and merchandise and prominent positions. They
are desirous of lofty ranks. This say a lot about the
devil himself, check your scriptures (Isaiah 14:13-17)
pride, exaltation above God, this is their
complimentary card. But the spirit of Jehu will cut
down every tree of pomp and pageantry in God's domain.
Everything that is not Kingdom for King Jesus will
decay (check 2 Corinthians 10:5-6). They may have a
semblance of Christ like order, but if it's not the
original it can never be the original - It's
counterfeit Christianity which employ back-door
scriptural devices. Who is the quack dietitian that
gained secret admission into your heart to bewitch
you? Why allow this junk to continue? Jesus wants a
deep relationship with you, no other mediator will do.
But this is not the final stop. God's intention is
deeper, so in subsequent edition that next phase will
come up.
Now to my punch-line for synagogue mentality. In John
4:19-26 depiction of an unfolding drain between King
Jesus and the Samaritan woman gives a final clear
picture. The woman was relating with Christ without
knowing Him. But it's what goes on in the dialogue
that matters. From (19th verse) the Samaritan woman
said her observation is that He's a prophet. In the
following verse the question about the riddle of
geographical place of worship - a bone of contention
between Samaritans and Jews. She vocalised her mind on
what she believes on the Jews own cocky claim to where
God can be worshipped thus limiting God to a local
arena (Jerusalem). Jesus broke the synagogue
mentality in (verse 21) by saying both mountain
worship by her people and His own Jews concept will
soon be a past truth. It will be a thing no longer
pleasing to worship the father God. In the next verse
(22), Jesus hammered more on worship by knowledge of
Him. 'You worship what you don't know' said Jesus. And
true to the letter, you can't properly appreciate what
you don't know in the arena of worship. A lot like
this woman today are not exceptions. Deception has
been their companion because of what they heard from
merchants in religious regalia. If they don't know God
as they falsely claim, you can't know Him either - a
servant is not greater than his master (teacher,
Rabbi). Now (verse 23) exposes this dangerous
mentality to it's bone-marrows. Jesus, the mover and
shaker of any move of God, disqualified both
geographical factors (Jerusalem and Samaria) that
determine worship and relationship with God. God
cannot be localized to lukewarmness. God's not a local
champion. You can't keep Him bound! He can't be kept
in a box. Breakout to blossom, breakout of synagogue
mentality, Breakout to blossom and boom like flowers.
Jesus called these worshippers 'true' ones. It means
false worshippers are not far behind. Counterfeit
trails the track of originals. But thanks be to God we
are a generation full of Godly discernment. Jesus said
they'll worship God in spirit and in truth, not
anywhere else but in spirit and truth. No synagogue
attitude. 'Until I go to km 100 to camp, God will not
relate to me', what nonsense to say the junk of the
trash. This sounds like punk-rock to me. Nothing else
will do but in spirit and in truth. The place to
worship is in this very position just mentioned. With
this fresh mentality He removed geographical barriers,
variance of ideas and seditious strife. We didn't tap
into this truth all these years. We have to abide in
it now. To crown it all so that justice will be done
to this mentality, Jesus dropped another positive
explosion. He said such are the seeking desires of the
father God. He seeks true worshipers not bound by
where, for God's sake that doesn't matter to God. No
necessary waste of funds on beautifully carved out
edifice, a wonder to behold. That's Babylon! It's
nonsense. It's nothing but vanity. Where God is
concerned about is the worship in spirit and truth. In
spirit speaks of the holy spirit. Worship in the Holy
Ghost. In truth speaks of Jesus the way, truth and the
life. This is the way He sanctifies us through His
word by the truth. (John 14:6; 17:17). Both spirit and
truth must be personified in us before being a
character. In (verse 24) He further expounded the
concept, resounding it to remind and reinforce the
impression on our hearts. If the Bible resounds a
word, it's a thing that is not taken lightly at face
value. Remember what the Psalmist said in (Psalm
62:11). The word 'must' in this verse speaks of this
above mentioned admonition in (John 4:24). (verse 25)
the woman had a sense knowledge of the Christ's
coming- the messiah. But she never knew Him. This
drama between this two is now in it's climax. It's an
entirely different thing to know God as a sensuous
affair by intellect and a completely different idea to
know him as a person in manifestation. Jesus has done
it again. He's in physical manifestation in this move
which will uproot and build in preparation of him in
reigning. Hebrew 3:1 says he's the greatest apostle
and High Priest, thus those who toy with this move of
God we are playing with Jehu's kind of New Testament
cleaning. The Messiah is coming and when he comes
He'll show us all things! How can He show you all
things when you believe you already know. Jesus has a
simple way of confounding all our pre-meditations. His
simplicity will expose you from the religious orders
that you're hiding under - it will then show you your
foolishness and you have no option but to submit. With
God, nothing is optional. This leads us to (verse 28),
…. So the woman left her water jar and went into the
city and said to the people … (Read verse 29
yourself). She left her former mission to fetch
water. She left her biological need that brought her
there in the first instance. She saw a glorious
awakening in her and a longing to share it. But she
doubted if this could be the move of God after all.
The reality is hard to believe. Why? Synagogue
mentality - She's been so used to it all this while.
Religious routine seems a hard nut to crack some
people out from - But the people believe. I just hope
this later rubbed on the lady. She had really gone
through a lot and I feel for her, she needs rest from
toil of life. But the people believed. (from verse
39-42) in the 1st verse two words strikes a big bell
(1) it's no longer because of your words that we
believe ….. (2) ……'and we know that this is indeed the
Saviour of the world! In the first one, the woman's
testimonial ministry fizzled out within hours, just
moments. They emphasised that belief is not enough,
faith aint enough. It is not immune from doubt. Belief
is subject to doubt. They moved further and yonder. In
the second one…. 'and we know that this is…….. they
know; there's now an awareness. They know Him because
they have an evidence of Him. They've heard Him. We
know who we've believed. We don't just believe, we
know and by knowing we do obeisance, worship, honour
to Him. We don't just have to believe, we need to know
for sure, for certainty who we profess to know. When
you 'know', you have a relationship and it's not
subject to doubt, it's immune from doubt. Immune
because you've hooked-up to Jesus who said, "I thank
you father because - I KNOW YOU' always hear me and
you
have heard me. (John 11:41b-42) Run, Run, for your
dear lives run. Pray that God will help you, but be
willing to help yourself so that God can work in you.
Breakout of synagogue mentality.
Yours in relevance to yourself
Michael
If you need some touch from God concerning your HEALTH
or HEALING or just need information or want to talk to
somebody, call - 2347041111957 or text - 2348026280900
If you want to be a partner for support, call or send
a text same number.
Email: presentruth@gmail.com
Michael Odu runs his business in lagos as an expert in
flour confectioneries and pastries. He
can be reached on the above numbers and contacts.
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