I recently read a prophetic word from a young up and coming prophetic leader. In the word he wrote, God had spoken about ‘bringing His church back to doing things how He originally wanted them to do things’
I have pondered on this for some time as it was not the first time I had heard from someone that this was on God’s heart.
I believe most Christians would say they love Jesus, and they want to follow Him. But what does this mean? To follow Him? To follow Jesus. The name Jesus was apparently a quite popular name back in the days of the book of Acts and prior.
So what would differentiate Jesus of Nazareth from the others with the same name.
Perhaps it was His character, His sermons or even the signs and wonders He performed. But there was no denying it, Jesus of Nazareth, was different and by His actions, He was easily distinguishable. Jesus was known by the things that He did.
To look a little deeper into what He did, we need to remember that Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Messiah as we often call Him, was a Jew; And therefore He did Jewish things, amidst doing His signs and wonders.
Jesus partook in Friday Night Shabbat Meals, in The Yearly Festivals and also in adhering to the Laws of the Torah.
Was Jesus legalistic? Of course not, Jesus was simply doing what His fellow Jewish community was doing. All through the book of John, Jesus was repeatedly quoted as doing nothing that is not the will of the Father. Do we think this is only relevant to the miracles He performed? Or all aspects of His life?
John 5:19
John 5:30
John 6:38
John 12:49
John 14:10
As Christians, I feel we sometimes forget we are Gentiles. And, that by the Grace of God and the sacrificial blood of the lamb, Jesus, we are grafted into God’s chosen people, the Jews. Not next to, not above but grafted in.
This in no way makes us subservient nor does it make us the ones to whom all others who come into ‘The Faith’ need to yield too. But perhaps this ‘grafting in’ should be indicative that we as Christians would be the ones to mould ourselves into the likeness of Jesus and all that He stood for and did.
Rather than running our own show, doing our own thing, and expecting all who come in, to yield to the traditions that we have passively accepted and unquestionably followed. Despite the bible stating otherwise.
And most especially things that in Jesus time, would be considered a ‘non biblical practise’.
As I write this, the time of year is March, coming into April. Looking around, it is interesting to see how many churches will be celebrating Passover this year or running an easter service. Some church groups will even do both.
Over the years, we Christians, individually and corporately, have combined things to suit the world and their idolatry.
It sounds like a very strong word, ‘Idolatry’ but it is simply the worshipping of idols.
That what non Jewish people often did for centuries, they worshipped idols.
And because it was such an ingrained practise in the world, time and time again, God had to remind His Chosen people Not to do it. As they often fell into the trap of switching their focus from worshipping Him to worshipping idols.
We ourselves would cringe at the thought of worshipping idols. After all, we are Christians and we worship God.
But do we? Really?
Jesus in John 15:19
Paul in Romans 12:2
Are just a couple of the many references of how we are meant to be in the world not of it. That this world is not the Kingdom that we should aspire to be a part of. And that we are not to love the world and the things in it.
The bible repeatedly calls us to seek truth and hold fast to the truth of the gospel of Jesus.
At this time of year when the world is getting ready for easter, Surely the fact that every shop we step into at the moment has easter eggs should be a sign to us?
A sign to us to Not participate.
During this time of year, all over the world, Christians and Non Christians have easter decorations everywhere. Do we not see that this is of the world? Yet we eagerly partake in this tradition, without question, even though it is bound and rooted in idolatry and against everything that Jesus taught us not to do.
This week I was chatting with a young Christian girl who was excited about the upcoming weekend. Her church, well known in the area and popular with the young adults, was having a series of easter events each weekend leading up to a big event on easter Sunday.
Whilst I’m all for healthy alternatives for the youth of this nation, I was somewhat saddened that there was no options offered at her church for the festivals that Jesus celebrated and that is commended to us by God to celebrate.
Paul in Ephesians 4:17-24 Speaks about Putting aside the former things and adopting a new life in Jesus when he wrote about Living As Children Of Light.
How are we meant to be a light to the world if we are continually running our own show. Doing what we want to do. Making our version of the changed story the version that matters.
Are we so focused on our own agenda, that we have lost sight of the actual truth?
Or are we just happy to compromise under the title of Grace and it doesn’t really matter to God.
Are we in fear of the world and what the world may think of us or even what other Christians may think if we follow the bible?
Have we succumbed so deeply to the fear of man that we have little or no fear of God left?
Or is it as simple as being too set in our ways and we just want to do what we have always done regardless of its misrepresentation of the truth of Jesus.
Passover is an appointed time of God that (according to the Bible) we are commanded by God to celebrate, easter is not.
Easter has nothing to do with God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit but we seem to want what we want and just like many other commands God sets out in the Bible, we seem to pick and choose which ones we want to obey and which ones we don’t.
I have observed many Christian’s only wanting to follow the aspects of Jesus that fit into their modern day church traditions and their replacement theology ideas.
We as Gentiles are meant to be making the Jews jealous by our relationship and covenant with their God. We are not meant to be replacing them. This is so that they in turn get a revelation that Jesus really is the Messiah. And they turn to the truth of Him so that Jesus can come back for all of us, together as one.
But as I look around, sadly our ‘modern day’ Jesus is so
far from the Jesus of the Bible that they could easily be seen as two entirely different people. Or two entirely different Gods.
Our Jesus was born on christmas day, our Jesus was raised on easter Sunday, and our Jesus doesn’t partake in any of Gods appointed times.
The Jesus from the bible, the one who is Jewish, the one who we as Gentiles are grafted into, that Jesus was born sometime in September. He was not resurrected on easter Sunday and he faithfully and diligently observed All of Gods appointed times, feasts and days.
By all accounts from someone looking in, it would be easy to think we Christians serve a totally different Jesus than the Jesus in the bible.
The Jews know their God. They have been passing down stories about His signs and His ways for generations. Regardless of His name, His actions speak louder and by this He is known to them.
Who is this Jesus that the modern day church worships?
By the signs and celebrations that we impose on Him, He is certainly Not set apart from this world. In fact, He operates in it and of it, along with all of the other idols related to certain celebrated times.
Dare I say it, the Jesus that most Christians in the modern day church worships sounds like a rebellious imposter.
No wonder God’s chosen people could mistakenly think that the Jesus we worship is not even close to the Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible.
How are we ever going to make them jealous so that the prophecy of Jesus returning can come to pass.
I encourage you all to search out the truth of easter and the relevance of Passover. And allow the Holy Spirit and the word of God to impress upon your heart which one would truly represent glorifying and worshipping Jesus.
