Miki Hardy

I would like to enlighten many people, Christians and non Christians, about what is said about ‘a sect’ in the Bible. When the Christians of the early church answered the call of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the Good News, many Jews were converted to Christianity, and the Jewish leaders totally opposed what was happening. In the last chapter of the book of Acts, they asked the apostle Paul to explain ‘this sect’ to them, which was spoken against everywhere. They were referring to the group of Christians,  the church to which the apostle Paul belonged.
In fact, a ’sect’ according to the Jewish leaders of that time was the ‘religion’ that was converting Jews to believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. These religious leaders knew nothing about this ’sect’ except that Jews were being converted and it was a threat to them.  A spiritual conflict arose because the Jewish religion was very strong at that time and now they were suddenly losing ground. In fact, they were the ones that had crucified Jesus.
Wouldn’t it be right to say that any Christian group that opposes a well established religion in a country could be called a sect by that established religion?  In the days of the early church, the religious leaders had nothing else to accuse the Christians of except that they were spreading this ‘new doctrine’ everywhere and the lives of these Christians were an example to all. The great ’sin’ they were guilty of was spreading the good news of the gospel….

I believe that the time has come for the gospel to be preached without compromise. But there is a risk when we do so, that many Christians may leave the local church and look for another one, because they do not want to hear the truth that will  expose them and their sin.  They will therefore look for a more  ‘suitable’ church, where their lives will not be challenged and they will be more comfortable. This is not  something to be alarmed by. The fear of losing some Christians in our local church must not stop us from preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians will always have to make a choice when they hear the gospel. The message of the cross, which demands our lives, needs to be the foundation of our message. A call to deny ourselves and lose our lives should always be part of the gospel we preach. This is the message that will purify the Church and bring Christians to lay down their lives to serve the Lord. Let us  be true messengers of the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

It is only those who have made Jesus Christ Lord and Saviour of their lives that can experience real joy, the joy that only Christ can give. The “joy” that the distractions of this world give is only a temporary happiness, that cannot really fulfill a person’s life. That is why mankind is so sad in the midst of this troubled world full of calamities. Only Jesus can satisfy our souls.

A Christian can go through hard times and trials of this world but the joy of the Lord is his strength. He does not need the influence of the world’s system to rejoice and be glad. He has so many good reasons to rejoice, like for his salvation, for the protection and the provision of the Lord, for his future that lies in the hand of the Lord.

What a mighty Saviour we have. His name is Jesus.

When we become a child of God, we are born into a new family. It is amazing how all the brothers and sisters become acquainted to one another very easily. The new believers of the early church were gathering everyday in homes, meaning that this family became the priority of their lives. They were having great times of fellowship together and were being taught about the Kingdom of God. It is not strange that non believers cannot understand, that suddenly, a new christian is drawn to the family of God in such a way that they feel somewhat left out. Remember the answer of Jesus when his natural family was looking for him: Who is my mother and who are my brothers? Anyone who is doing the will of my father who is in heaven, is my brother, my sister and my mother. This answer explains it all. What a precious family we belong to.

We can meet Christians for the first time and still feel that we knew each other for a long time. That is the family of God.

Jesus had to humble Himself and be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross so as to conquer sin in the flesh. That victory would open the door to all who believe in Him, to be reconciled to God. There is no other way to righteousness but by faith in Jesus Christ and in His finished work on the cross.

The prophet Isaiah asked the question: Who has reckognised the arm of the Almighty? In other words, the jews did not understand that it was God who sent His son to suffer and die as a sacrifice for sin. They believed that He was being punished by God.

But God the Father sent Jesus as a gift to all mankind. If you believe in Jesus and what He has accomplished on the cross, you will be forgiven of your sins and receive eternal life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Christians must look far ahead of time and see what the witnesses of faith saw as they served the Lord. In Hebrews 11 we see men of faith like Abraham, Moses etc who saw in the spirit and they responded to the call of God with all their hearts.

As we serve the Lord now we are rewarded by the Lord in many ways. We experience great joy and satisfaction as we share the good news of Jesus Christ to others and see them give their lives to Jesus. There are many other rewards that encourage us to keep the faith and persevere in our Christian walk. But when we see the reward that is waiting for us later in heaven it should be the motivating force that drives us to give our lives to Jesus and identify ourselves to Him.

We are on this earth for a short time only, so let us look ahead in the spirit and serve the Lord with joy.

We all face situations when someone has hurt us or has done harm to us. The reaction from our flesh is instantaneous; try and hit back and defend ourselves. This route is not going to help us in any way because we will finally harden our hearts and cause us to carry unforgiveness against that person. In this state of heart we cannot serve the Lord and we open the door to the enemy and we lose the joy and peace of the Lord.

The solution is to humble ourselves, and deny ourselves, which is hard, but the grace of the Lord is sufficient at all times to help us walk in the Spirit. This leads to genuine forgiveness and hence freedom to continue to serve the Lord with joy and peace. This is the road of the cross, the road of love.

There is a simple way to know if as a christian or as a church, we are bearing fruits in our christian walk !! If we preach the right gospel, and we identify our lives with Christ, we will be persecuted. If we preach or hear a diluted gospel, and are not ready to give our lives to Christ, we shall not be persecuted. It is as simple as that.

The servant is no greater than the Master. Jesus was persecuted for what he preached and taught. The truth that he proclaimed shook many lives because it brought a challenge to their lives.

Are we so lukewarm and comfortable in our christian walk that the enemy is not so worried about us? Or are we challenging the kingdom of darkness because our lives are being transformed by the true gospel of Jesus Christ?

Each christian needs to answer this question….

Paul describes the message of the cross as the power of God in 1 Corinthians1:18. It is a fact today that the church at large is not interested in this message which is the foundation of christianity. The message of faith in Jesus Christ and our identification with the sufferings and death of Christ so as to partake to His life, is the foundation that Paul laid in all the churches. It is the message of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. It is in fact the message that the early apostles preached to the churches, and every christian understood that his life was not his anymore.

Praise the Lord for the gospel. On this blog, I will tell you how the gospel of the cross has changed my life.