(0:00)Problem Solver vs Savior
And a lot of people are not hungry or thirsty for righteousness. They're hungry and thirsty for their problem to be solved. And we think that if we present Christ as a problem solver, not a lifesaver. Jesus Christ never promised that he will solve problems. He came to reconcile us to God. Not he's not an employment agency. Mhm. No, he's not. He came to reconcile us to God. And whatever is required to reconcile us to God, he did. unfiltered. Welcome to PF Unfiltered. I am your co-host Kenneth Onigbinde and today I have with me a new co-host Lorraine Adika and of the mic we have the incredible incredible. You people might not see our face, but she's very excited to be here. Oh, PF thought they were talking about him. He didn't know you were talking. Incredible. Excitable. Okay. And of course and obviously we have with us the PF and PF Unfiltered. PF I know I always have a problem with introduction. I I know I always do. What do you mean by the PF? You are the PF and this is PF. Can we just say and this is PF? It's okay. It's okay. Okay. Let's let's just let's Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. And to change the energy. And today we we'll be talking about a a very interesting topic. Uh something
(1:38)Where Did Miracles Go?
that you charge folks might know about or non-charged folks might have heard about. And it's about the idea of miracles or why are we not seeing them as much as maybe in the days of old or the old churches or let's even say maybe like 50 years ago. So I'm talking blind eyes being opened, the lame standing up and walking. Why does it seem like we're not seeing that as much now in today's church? Are are you asking me, PF? I'm asking you. Yes, sir. I I I you clearly you haven't been watching television because there's a lot of miracles on television. Real or fake? H well well that's that's a great question. How how do you know it is fake? Good question. H good question. Exactly. So but there's an assumption that it's fake. There is actually. Yeah. And and is it is it an assumption that's based in fact or just haters hating? We've seen some shady pastors, you know. Wow. Wow. We've seen some shady pastors. How do you know they're shady? You know, there have been some leaked recordings of pastors handing envelopes to people to, you know, act this satin with. Wow. Really? Yeah. You never seen that? No, seriously. I've never seen I've I've seen some. Really? I've heard some as well. Okay. Well, you know, I I I don't know what to say to that. Mhm. I I I I I
(3:00)The Death of the Spectacular
believe right that there is a a death of the of the miraculous. No, let me phrase that. Of the spectacular, right, in in in the modern church, right? I I think we do not see as many spectacular miracles, right? Right. as we saw in the acts of the apostles, right? And as we've heard about, right, I do think the miraculous has not ceased, right? I think there are still a lot of miracles going on on a daily basis, right, in the church and in our lives. Yes. Right. Um, but we're not seeing as much of the spectacular, right? And I think that we need to be careful that we don't conflate the absence of the spectacular with the absence of the miraculous. Right? Because there's a tendency and and this is a you know it's a universal thing to only identify the spectacular as miraculous. Right. Right. We live in a world where the odds of certain things happening are are immense. Right. Mhm. So when they happen, right, we sometimes, you know, um um don't realize that this has happened against all odds. Do you what I'm saying? Yeah. You know, um every time a woman conceives, right, and carries the child to term, it's easy to think that, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that's just, you know, it's not a big deal. Mhm. But when you hear the statistics of the number of times a woman conceives and that baby does not make it to town, then you realize that there's something special, miraculous, right? Miraculous even about this birth that we have just witnessed. Does that make sense? So I'm very careful not to conflate the absence and I use that as just a, you know, as an example where I'm very careful not to conflate the absence of the spectacular with the absence of the miraculous. Right? I believe that miracles are
(5:00)The Greatest Miracle
constantly happening. the transformation of a life. Mhm. That's the greatest miracle that somebody can accept can hear the message of Christ. Right. Right. And receive faith and give their lives to Christ as we say. That is a miracle. Right. And that is not any less in value than somebody jumping out of a wheelchair. Right. In fact, it's of greater value actually. Yes. Because uh a person can jump out of a wheelchair and get his legs fixed and still end up in hell. But a person that jumps out of the myy clay Mhm. and stands on Christ, that is of eternal value, of eternal consequence. The people who said to Jesus, uh uh uh master, master, rabbi, rabbi, the same people that said crucify him, crucify him. The ones who sang hosana, hosana, right? They had witnessed the miracles, right? And they still crucified him. M so miracles are not um the most effective tool in God's arsenal right to valid to validate himself. However, the Bible says in Hebrews
(6:05)Miracles Witness to Christ
chapter 2, I think it's verse four or so or or three verse four that miracles are a witness. God bore witness to the deity of Christ through miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit distributes as he wills. Right? So, if we're not seeing miracles, right? Let's let's take that um let's let's take that assertion to be fact that we're not seeing as many miracles. Even though I said we're conflating spectacular spectacular with miraculous. Yeah. Then we have to go back to that Hebrews chapter 2, right? That God gives miracles as a witness to his word, right? To his son, right? So if there is no miracle, right, then is it his son, right? Is God does God doesn't feel the need to witness to whatever it is that is going on? Oh, wait, wait a minute. Wait a minute. So, correct me if I'm wrong. Mhm. So can we say based on the I guess this thought you're on that if or when we don't maybe see the maybe the spectacular in certain spaces or gatherings maybe they're not serving and worshiping Christ. I didn't say it. I don't understand it. But that but that's the logic of Hebrews chapter 2. Right. Verse four. I think it's verse four. Right. Right. If miracles are a witness to Christ. Right? If the gifts of the Holy Spirit given by the Holy Spirit's will are a witness to Christ when we don't see them, is it that God does not want to validate what we're looking at? Mhm. Right. You know what I'm saying? God is not witnessing to what we are preaching. Mhm. Right. So if God is not witnessing to what we are preaching, why does God not feel the need to put his, you know, put his back behind it? So would you say that like in modern times miracle has progressed? So let's say you know you read in the Bible the blind were healed even the dead were raised and stuff like that. But like right now I feel like in our times a miracle is like oh I got a car miracle. Oh I'm getting married. So would you say like what was considered a miracle in the past is different from what we consider a miracle like in our morning times? No I don't think so. I think everybody's life life has changed to some degree, right? And the miraculous is simply a supernatural intervention in the cause of nature. Yeah. Right. To change it, right? A supernatural intervention in the normal cause of an event and to create an outcome that is different from the normal progression of that event. Right. Right. So whether it is uh a blind eye being open or somebody who could not have gotten a car getting a car, it's still a miracle, right? It's not a progression of it. It's just a manifestation of the same thing in a different arena of of life.
(9:10)What Are We Preaching?
But my concern, right, other than the spectacular or the supernatural, right, is the idea that signs and wonders are a witness to Christ. Yes. Right. And if we're not seeing signs and wonders, then it means God is not witnessing right or it could mean that God is not witnessing right a to what we are preaching or God does not feel the need to validate Christ. And God will always validate Christ. Right. Right. So it means that we have to check what we are preaching. Are we preaching Christ? Right. The disciples preached Christ. Nobody's doubting that. They didn't preach anything else except Christ. Yeah. They didn't preach on on on uh on how to make money in the marketplace. They didn't preach about the seven mountains, right? They didn't preach about how to uh how to succeed in the marketplace. There's one or two verses in scripture about marriage. Right. Right. About marriage. Yeah. There there another two or three about divorce. Mhm. Right. They didn't preach about how to um have a successful career in the industry that you are in. Right. Right. They preached about Jesus. We have extrapolated into a lot of areas. Right. Right. And that extrapolation sometimes leaves Jesus behind. Right. So a lot of what you hear is pseudocsychology, right? pseudo um MBAs, right? Am I lying? Pseudo investment banking, right? Pseudo child psychology. We we hear a lot of things in church now that is not about Christ, right? So and and all of those things are are are very subjective, right? how to make money in America is different from how you make money in Nigeria, which is different from how you make money in Ghana, which is different from how you make money in in uh in China. Yeah. So, when you stand up on the pulpit and you're talking to people how to make money, right? And you're using the Bible to buttress your cultural perspective on how to make money, where is the signs and wonders? What are they supposed to do in that in that sermon? Right? When you when you tell people, oh, give your life to Christ and you will get a wife or a husband, two children. No, 2.5 children, right? Uh uh uh uh one one No, 2.5. 2.5 is a you have to be statistically accurate. Or a a golden retriever. No, a golden doodle these days, a white picket fence, a Chevy Suburban, and a a a Cadillac Escalade and a 7,000T house. since I could do right where where is Jesus where is God going to come and say that's my message that's that I sent I sent that right so if you listen to a lot of what we hear if you are discerning you realize that there's no way signs and wonders are following this thing not on the level that they followed when Paul and Silas and Peter and Barnabas were preaching and Steven were preaching. Right. Right. Cuz those guys were not talking about anything else. Nothing else. Nothing. Nothing else. They only talked about Christ. And when they talked about marriage, it was in passing. Yeah. When they talked about um um leadership, it was in passing. When they talk about, you know, uh uh strategic uh growth in the marketplace, it was in person. Right. But we dedicate ministries to these things. Yeah. Right. And what can possibly be the result? M can we can we then say there is a there's an atmosphere in church or in ministry that is conducive to the manifestation of signs and wonders in sense of like you said preaching Christ and then intentional intentional services or topics that might maybe enhance that atmosphere. For
(13:36)Prayer and Fasting Misused
example, prayers like prayer meetings, fasting and prayer, things like that. Could we say that maybe we've left those behind just a little too much? And then No, we haven't. We have not left prayer. We we pray. I think in fact the church probably prays more than it ever prayed. Mhm. We pray a lot. A lot. And we fast a lot. More than they fast in the Bible. Yeah. There's nobody in the Bible that fasted for more than 40 days. Right. And that was like extreme. Now we fast for half of the year. True. We drink olive oil now. We anoint our cars with oil now. We anoint everything with oil now. Yep. Right. So no, we have not left fasting. Mhm. We have not left prayer. Mhm. Right. What we have left is the reason for prayer. And the reason for fasting, right? What we have done is that we have taken those things and turned them into tools, right? Not to acquire Christ or to know God, but to receive from God material things of some sort, right? Yeah. I'm actually um glad you mentioned like the two. So what about the church
(15:00)Selling Miracles
that preaches Christ, but then they also sell the miracle. So um I've I've experienced, right? And I've also heard like where there are churches where there's a special oil for healing, but you have to pay X amount of money and if you can afford it, then you don't get the healing or you have to give a certain amount of money or do X Y and Z direction to get that type like to get a miracle or to get that. But they're also claiming they're preaching. But they're not. M because Jesus never that it's free, right? Jesus always says, "Fril have you received freely." Right? He never did that. Uh uh uh uh um the end does not justify the means, right? So people who are selling miracles. Yeah. Right. The Bible says in the last days there will be lying signs and wonders. So So the the devil can remember when when um um Aaron threw down his rod and he turned into a snake. Yeah. Pharaoh's magicians threw down their rods and they turned into snakes. Yeah. Right. So, a miracle, right, of the spectac of the snake rod turning into snake type honestly doesn't move me. It doesn't move me because I know it can be manufactured by the devil. Right. We saw it in the book of Exodus. Yeah. I know it can be manufactured by the devil. So, somebody tells me, "Oh, come and buy a handkerchief." and I bite the handkerchief and all of a sudden something good is happening, right? I know it is not of God. Somebody has manipulated something somewhere, right? To achieve a result, right? And that's the thing that I keep saying to folks, right? We we are so focused on life here and comfort here, right? that anything that will give us comfort here of any sort is automatically good. Yeah. How we acquire it does we don't question that anymore. We don't question it. We don't question. So somebody says come and pay. Can you imagine Paul saying come and pay to have your eyes open. Yeah. Be the same. When you're desperate, it's a whole different and I think I agree. I agree. But you can be desperate, but don't don't call a spade a a knife. What about you know what blows my mind? What about the the like and I have I have witnessed this for a personal like I've been in services where the man of God says God said God said there are 10 people here. You need to sew a seed of $1,000 for a financial and then he press it down to $10. Exactly. But I think you go a Didn't God God didn't know that you're going to have to break it down to $5. So let me tell you, so God said people here will give $1,000. And then God stops talking. Then I now start saying if you don't have $1,000, bring $500. If you don't have, just bring $2. Just bring something. Just bring something. But and that's why the Bible says test every spirit. Right? Let me tell you something that happens
(18:02)Emotionalism in Church
in church that people think is spiritual. emotionalism. We get very emotional and there are people who are very good at whipping up our emotions. And when you get emotional, you start to feel goosebumps. You start to think the Holy Spirit is moving here. Somebody can't stop the air conditioning. Let me tell you, if you read your Bible and you have the Holy Spirit, when somebody's bsing you, you can tell. The Holy Spirit will tell you this is nonsense. That was BS for a long time. Are Africans more susceptible to this right now? Actually, I don't think Africans are more because if you it's it's where there's where there's suffering. Yeah. Right. People are more susceptible and there's a lot of suffering in Africa. Yeah. But there are people in the western world who are suffering too. And they are also susceptible to it. The people selling handkerchiefs and green handkerchiefs are on western the mantle. Yes. Mantel they're westerners. Westerners were flying to Africa actually. Yeah. To to to Nigeria for the miraculous. Yeah. Right. Mhm. So now as they do you right is as it is doing you. Right. That will make you vulnerable. M but if your if you are rooted in the word of God right that Paul said seek to prophesy seek to be a blessing right as opposed to being a receiver right we have a a a mentality that makes
(19:46)Consumer Christianity
us extremely vulnerable right it's it's consumerism right we just want to just cuz you cuz you cuz Give me more. Give me more. We're constantly looking for something new, a new feeling, a new excitement, a new buzz, a new revelation, you know, something new, something fresh and powerful. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hallelujah. There's nothing new. Wow.
(20:13)Sacrifice vs Manipulation
So, where do you draw the line between like sacrificial giving, right? Like I want to give something good that's going to cost me and being manipulated to give. I think the Holy Spirit, you know, God is so I I love God because God thinks about everything. Yeah. Right. So, he gave us his word. Right. Right. And then he gave us his spirit because the spirit alone might create some subjective you know people saying the spirit said then he gives us the word to balance it. Right. Yeah. between the Holy Spirit and the word. You know when you have when you have left sacrificial giving and you have entered manipulation, right? Mhm. I think that when there is a need that is articulated, right, that is clear, that is gospel focused, not human angrizement, not organizationalizement, right? We want to have the best choir in the world. Who's your choir competing with? For you to be the best, somebody must be the worst. Right? So, in order to have the best choir in the world, we have to have equipment that no one else has. Right? So, we have to buy synthesizers. We have to buy autotune, all of these things, for the young generation. I I'm not giving to that. If that is your goal to have the best, I'm not going to give to God for the the the the the implication of that word best is that you are competing with other choirs and you want to be better than them. We don't compare ourselves with ourselves. Yeah. I want to be the best I can be. Right. I want to maximize the potential I have. Right? We want to glorify God with our voice. I can empty my pockets for that. Mhm. Right. You get what I'm saying? Yeah. And the Holy Spirit should be telling you as they are making the announcement, oh, we're in a 20,000 ft building, right? We're in 20,000t building that we have not maxed or maximized. Mhm. But the church down the road has just built 40,000 and now suddenly the Holy Spirit is telling you that 80,000 we too we need to move to 45,000. Yeah. I'm not giving to that. That's not No, that is somebody's ego. Mhm. But I'm looking the roof is leaking. Right. The kids are not comfortable in in junior church. You can see them sweating because the air conditioner is not working properly. Right. uh uh uh um we're cramped. There's nowhere to park. Mhm. Right. When the pastor is preaching, the feedback is busting eardrums. Nobody should tell you before you give. Yeah. Nobody should They should have to wind you to give. But that's invariably what happens. Yeah. Right. So when we talk about manipulation, I think people are manipulated because they want to be. M I think so. See, it's easy now when you're dealing with a man of God and you know the minute God said comes in you lose all your discernment and mind you're just like God said let's go with it you know I I I I I struggle with that seriously I struggle with that because a I am a man of God and every time I say God said right I do it because I believe God said. Yeah. But I expect you also to be able to say God said to you. Not everything God said to me, he's saying to you. Let me give you a classic example. I'm sitting down in the congregation and somebody says, a man of God gets say, God said everybody should bring money. I don't have a dime in my pocket. God didn't say that to me. It's fair. Oh, fair point. Yeah. Just a message. Yeah. So is that man of God expect you to go and steal or borrow credit card? No, but that's the thing. You know that in in in in in when we started the church, one of the rules we made was that when we started doing the automated um
(24:47)Don’t Borrow to Give
financial thing, you know, giving online and all that, we have to make that don't don't give your credit card. And if you give with your credit card, make sure it's money you can pay. Yeah. Don't borrow to give God. M m don't because let everybody minister according to the grace that God has given them right instead do payment plan with God I'll give you $1 today $1 tomorrow $1 next week I think that's better I'm going to borrow money and pay interest for it but again but if you sow in tears you reaping reaping yeah my So I'm just telling you that no trust me I have been there with you I have swn in tears but this is the thing that I realized this thing that I realized right if you are led by the Holy Spirit to sew in tears then then yes right if somebody convinces you and out of the goodness of your heart you sew in tears God will honor your faith mm M right but you can't divorce the word of God and the Holy Spirit from that process and many of us we divorce the word of God from the Holy and the Holy Spirit because of what we're going to get because usually those calls are are packaged with a lovely carrot right and you don't question why you want that carrot you don't ask yourself why why do I want more I already live in a big house why do I want more right then there's some things that are legitimate you know you want to get married you want to have kids so somebody says if you do this you know God will give you this right but for some of us it's just greed greed sometimes I'm not saying always right I I think for me right the the the the the lesson of all of these things right is the word of God and the Holy Spirit right Guys, there are some countries,
(27:00)Why Nations Stay Broken
right, that have more churches than they have uh um um schools and good hospitals. Mhm. You would expect that with all of those churches, hospitals would become redundant. Those people would just be getting healed left, right, and center. Right. But that's not what is happening. M right. In fact, the societies, the church, the the hospitals that are there are deteriorating. The society is deteriorating. Infrastructure is crumbling. Every year, every year they do h fasting for the country, right? Prayer for the country, prayer match, all sorts of things that we do for the country. is as if God has turned his back. Yeah. On the prayers of those people, but it's not true. It's not, right? The problem is not God. The problem is not God. The problem is signs and wonders validate Christ. If we're not preaching Christ, yeah, God is just looking at us. If we're preaching Moses, God is just looking at us, right? If we're preaching Judaism, uh, God is just looking at us. If we're not preaching Christ and the new covenant, right, God is not. One of the reasons why you don't see transformation, right, in the church like before is because transformation happens by the power of God. Yeah. And again, the power of God is a witnesses to the message. Yeah. If you tell people you must obey everything in the Bible Joshua chapter 1 verse one observe to do all that is commanded in this meditate on it day and night and you have supernatural good success. If that is your message there will be no transformation because that does not transform anybody. The Bible says by the works of the law shall no man be justified. Talkless of being transformed. If the works of the law cannot justify you, how will it transform you? So if you tell people do better, how will that transform you? If you tell them work harder, how would that transform you? Because they are working harder at the law. They're working harder at all the things that God says does not impress him. Yeah. So how can we see a nation change? Because you have more Christians. You don't have more Christians. You have more Judaizers. We don't have more Christians in in in some of these countries. We have more Jews. Seriously, is Judaism of some sort. And now some of the pastors are coming to church with chauffars and and prayer and Jewish prayer sh. Yeah. Yep. It's okay. It looks nice. It makes you feel really spiritual. I have one. Okay. All right. Yeah. So, so my my point is this, right? Everything is tied to Jesus. When you move away from Jesus, it's a problem.
(30:16)When Church Stops Being About Christ
It's a big problem. So I I I I I feel like church has to remain the body of Christ, right? We stopped seeing miracles not because we stopped needing God. We stopped seeing because we stopped being the body of Christ. We stopped it stopped being about Christ. It started becoming about morality, right? and and you know okay let me not call it morality let's call it holiness or or or or or it became about a lot of things right that is not Christ and and that is the problem right that is the problem I think in my opinion chapter 2 is clear yeah p I have I have a um as you were talking I was thinking about um you know when I was a little bit younger in the faith and I would hear stories stories about people going to like Mosamb beek and going to all these rural places and you would hear so many testimonies, but the longer that they were there, you wouldn't hear as many testimonies because now people are transformed and people are now knowing Christ. And so those miracles didn't they didn't need to happen in the same way anymore, right? I don't know if that makes sense. Like it makes sense, but but that's that's not what that's not what is supposed to happen, right? What what is supposed to happen is that when you experience a miracle and receive Christ, when you preach to someone else who has not received Christ, right? If God needs a miracle to convince that person that what you are speaking is the truth, then God releases a miracle, right? If God if the person believes because you know sometimes the Holy Spirit will give a person a gift of faith, right? That is a faith that has no basis in experience or revelation. It's just all of a sudden the person believes, right? And then people are believing without any need for validation or confirmation or anything, right? But what happens is that somebody believes, right? They receive, somebody hears, and part of the convincing process is that they experience the miraculous, right? But after they have received that miraculous, what are they then following through to preach? Right. When I got saved, right, all I heard was Christ, right? Yeah. But once I got saved and I joined the church, Mhm. I heard a lot of things,
(32:47)Prosperity Short-Circuits the Gospel
right? Yeah. And prosperity was one of those things. The major part of it. Come to God. Come to God and all of this will be sorted. and all of this will be sorted. Give your life to Christ and you are going to be rich. Give your life to all of these things. And then it became about those things. Yeah. It became about those things, right? So when I now go and preach to somebody, am I preaching what I heard or what I have now learned? Cuz if I start preaching what I have now learned, I have shortcircuited the process. Yeah. But if I go back and preach what convicted me, what caused me to embrace Christ, right? Yeah. Then the chain continues. So to that point, many people come to Christ for different reasons, right? Some come to Okay. So, you know that scripture that Paul was talking about? I think he was he was talking to um maybe like the Greeks or something and he was talking about child birth and how um um coming to Christ and Christ saving you from like death or something through child birth. There's a scripture that talks about that. Are you familiar? No, maybe you are. Dun dun. There's a scripture that talks about that like um uh women that were like yeah will be saved in child. clarifying that scripture cuz I'm I'm trying to remember I'm struggling to remember this. But but go on with what you're saying. So I say that because I feel like I'm just I'm trying to recall it. But I remember hearing like, you know, this is why when you have people that believed in a different god and they were going to the god of fertility and then you have someone like Paul preaching. I'm not saying that this is it. I can't remember the verse verbatim, but this was the context that I remember hearing at the time. So essentially now it's like you don't need to go to these fertility gods that are the one true God can give you know can give you child. So it was like they're using Christ as a reason for you to come they're using child birth as a reason for you to come to Christ right I think people come to Christ for many different reasons. So is that not a part of wanting to believe? Like I know I came to Christ because I saw somebody demonp possessed and I was like, "Ah, there must be this thing must be real, right?" And so then I started to lean in. But people come to Christ for different reasons. So how do you now like um you know, I guess deduce that from you know Christ alone. Yeah, I guess. But I would love to see that scripture because I'm I'm struggling. You found it? Yes. Uh it's 1 Timothy uh 2:15. So nevertheless, you will be saved in child in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. What was But yeah, prior to this, this was talking about men and women in church like there. No, no, just read the verse before that. For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if you continue in faith love. Yeah, that's not what he was talking about. But to what you're saying, I get the point you're making and and this is part of the problem, right? If you come to Christ because he can give you children, right? Or you come to Christ because he can give you money. Mhm. Or you come to Christ because he can heal you, right? All of those things, right, are problematic. M
(36:14)Miracles Must Point to Christ
everybody that Christ healed, he said so that they may know right that God has sent him. So that he may know that he is who he says he is. The miracles were to validate his deity. Right? So when somebody says come to Christ, right, and he will heal you, right? Is it still about the deity of Christ or the healing? It just brings you. Yeah. Because if you say come to Christ and just to show you that he is God, he will heal you. Mhm. The argument is not about the person's sickness. The argument is about do you believe who he says he is. So it it's it's a validation of him not just a dispensing of comfort. Right? So when we go to him, right? Or when we preach him and we preach him from the perspective of a dispenser of miracles, right? It becomes it was is the person who is receiving. Do they care? Are they even arguing with you about who Christ is? Right? They don't they're not interested. All they're interested in is is food. You know when people came to Christ because of food. He said why are you calling me um rabbi or teacher? He said you're only here because you are hungry. And guess what did he feed them? He didn't. He didn't. He said nah. He fed them initially to prove who he was. When they came back because of say you you people you are friend for food and he didn't feed them. So when we come because of food, right? Or we tell people come he will feed you. Come he will feed you. Just come he will feed you. Right. There's a bit of in my head there's a disconnect between what between that and what Jesus did. So we say people come to God for different reasons. Every time Jesus met somebody, right, he talked about sin. Mhm. And how sin separates from God and he will fix that problem. Y and to prove it to you that I can do it. To prove to you that I'm the resurrection and the life, Lazarus, come forth. Mhm. To prove to you that I can forgive sins. Do this. To prove to you that I can do this. So everything he did was to prove who he was. We're not dispensing miracles to prove who he was. We're dispensing miracle as a benefit. So So it's it's it's I don't know you guys get the the the the difference. Yeah. Right. It's problematic. And that very issue of he fed 5,000 and then the next morning a bunch of people came and he's
(38:54)Friends for Food
like you people you are only here for food. And he did not feed them. They were not interested in him. The other people were there listening to him. Yeah. And to show them that you know what, just to confirm everything you've heard, I'm going to feed all of y'all. Yeah. But these other guys, oh, you have food. Yeah. And once they eat, what will they do? They will leave. They will leave. And that's what happens. Yeah. When people come because of what they can eat, every time they eat, we start looking for them with touch light. M m that's why pastor say eh after we are finished praying for you now and you've gotten the job we won't see you again. It happens all the time because the person was never interested in your church or Christ he just heard that God answers your prayer. So they come they receive the the blessing and they are gone transaction transaction transaction right? Yes. Christ was never a part of the equation. It was never about him. M so where's what's God's role in that process? What what does God do there? Does he keep validating that nonsense? Right. Or he just leave you people you just be doing just just be doing your Yeah. And I've I've heard it been so I heard someone say this and I think this is this was where they were trying to get to and it was like miracles
(40:09)Miracles Without Faith
devoid of faith is just magic. It's just people coming to see a magic show. So, and and I feel like everything you just mentioned kind of ties back into that that these people are not even how would I put it? They're not looking for Christ or for that saving grace in him. So, even that miracle that signs and wonders they're seeing to them, wow, nice miracle show will show up again trick. You know, said on the sermon on the mount, one of the most profound things he said and people don't always get this
(40:40)Hungry for Righteousness
says, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." If there's no hunger or thirst after righteousness, why is God feeling? And a lot of people are not hungry or thirsty for righteousness. They're hungry and thirsty for the for for their problem to be solved. And we think that if we present Christ as a problem solver, not a lifesaver. Right? Jesus Christ never promised that he will solve problems. He came to reconcile us to God. Not he's
(41:16)He’s Not an Employment Agency
not an employment agency. Mhm. No, he's not. He came to reconcile us to God. And whatever is required to reconcile us to God, he did. Yeah. Period. Is our message a message of reconciliation? Mhm. Or a message of comfort. M. That's why we don't tell people in this world you will have problems. So come and answer this alter call and God will give you a new job. But in this world you'll have problems. Nobody's answering that alter call. Run away. So you have to hide the truth a little bit for it to work. You can't preach the full gospel, the whole of it, and people will answer the other calls. If if they are not hungry and thirsty for righteousness, that's the that's that's the thing. That's it. That's the thing. So, so faith, right, faith is is is is the realization of one's need, right, for righteousness through Christ. It's the realization, right, that Christ is the answer to that hunger and that thirst. Yeah. Not more stuff. The church is another road to the market. Right. Right. Period. And what's the market? Jalof. Soft life. Jalof. Church is another road to soft life. True love. Church is not supposed to be a road to soft life. The people who brought church to us, the apostles, they did not have soft life. How did we think? It's almost like you know those witches and wizard, those those baba um the the witch doctors. Yeah. That will be doing money ritual for you, but they are poor as heck. How does somebody do money ritual for you? They are generous and they are poor. They know something. Very generous. Yeah. Yeah, I like that. They know something. So where do we go from here? Yeah. Christ. Christ. Preach Christ. Let's preach Christ. It's Christ alone. Christ. Christ alone. Let's preach Christ alone. And anything we preach, let's not separate it from Christ. Let's stop telling people that this is a a a money doubling venture. Let's stop it. Let's preach Christ alone. Whether in the and it's not an African thing. It's it's a it's a worldwide thing. Worldwide thing. Right. The percentage of the church of the Catholic church and when I say Catholic church the church universal that is actually Christian is a lot smaller than we think that is the remnant the majority of the church universal is not Christian it's not I'm telling you and I use the word church very loosely is not Christian there you have it comments please I know focused on Christ keep it focused on Christ and you know if you have any I would say any experiences is with, you know, maybe some diabolical means for searching for miracles. Share it. You want to put it in the comments. You want to share that? Please share it. We We would love to, you know, read through it. Maybe who knows. Yeah. Name them. Drop names. We like problems. No, we don't. We don't like problems. Don't Don't drop any names, but but yeah. No, we appreciate you guys sticking with us. And follow, like, subscribe. Get us to 30K by the end of this year and don't be a friend for food. What PF said we'll catch you on the next one. Peace. Unfiltered.