If religious leaders, unfortunately, decided to mislead their flock, many will get lost. This is because many follow and obey religious leaders without question. The word of a religious leader is not as good as God’s word, yet many perceive it as such. A religious leader is only right if their words and actions are consistent with what the Bible teaches.
When Lazarus got seriously sick and the sisters send an urgent word to Jesus, He seemed to delay. Did Jesus delay? Yes according to Martha and Mary. Did Jesus delay? No, because He had a day in store when He would solve the problem by raising Lazarus from death. When God seems silent or delayed, remember this, that for every matter, God has a day in store!
When the judge died, people forgot the ways of the LORD and went back to sinful ways. When the judge died, people persisted in sin. When the judge died and because of sin, suffering and oppression by enemies became the order of the day in Israel. Everything changed for the worst when the judge died… The worst happens to everyone when the need for God dies. When the passion to serve God dies. When the prayer time dies. When the church attendance dies. When returning tithes and offerings die. When the conscious that governs a person from mistreating others die.
To believe in God, the Bible, His church, etc., is of no value if you cannot put it into practice. Such faith is still inferior to the faith that demons and evil spirits have. Faith without practice makes you worse than evil spirits… If faithfulness to the true God, true teachings and the true church will mean that you betray some people, so be it. You cant quit alcohol unless you betray fellow drunkards and quit. You cant quit sexual immorality unless you betray your comrades in sin. You cant adopt new austerity and investment measures unless you betray your financial commitments that were addictive and wasting monies. Be strong enough to betray and make good moves.
All the three ways in which the world ends cannot be known by date and time. No one can know the date and time when Jesus will come. No amount of prophecy study would yield that date. Nobody knows when they will die, that is a secret reserved for God. Nobody knows when probation will close for them or for the whole world. Nobody knows the date or time of the end of the world by any means. You won’t know about times and dates, but, you will receive the power to witness!
Secondly, Matthew shows that Jesus came at the right time. Matthew shows that between Abraham the father of faith and King David there are fourteen generations. Then between David and the Babylonian exile, there are fourteen generations. Between the end of Babylonian exile and the coming of Jesus, there are fourteen generations. Jesus came at a precise time. That precision shows that God was purposeful in sending Jesus. Therefore Jesus is the Messiah because He came at the right time. Apostle Paul also reiterates that Jesus came at the right time, Galatians 4:4.
We learn from God that we need to be very patient with each other. We should follow a justice system that is so transparent that even the guilty acknowledges that the process was fair. We must not just want to be fair, but also be seen as being fair. The highest point in the justice system is not just when justice is served but also when the guilty suffer punishment but do not cast doubt on the process.
This is a good explanation why the message directed to pastors only is actually a whole church issue. It is said to pastors and all of us as well. The world is in dire need of good pastors. This will make you a good pastor!
Is anxiety good? Would you be comfortable if you spend your life being anxious? Does anxiety produce better decisions? If you talk to people and you leave them anxious have you succeeded? Is it something to be proud of? The Bible warns against anxiety causing teachings…