A Christian Nation should trust in the power of God/Blessedness in the sight of God

 

 

PARABLE OF TEN VIRGINS

Job Anbalagan

 

The parable of the wise and foolish virgins may be read in Matt.25: 1-12.

 

The wise and the foolish were in the same environment.  Equal opportunities were given to both of them to prepare themselves for the wedding.  The lamps were given to both of them. Both of them had heard the cry made at midnight.  The wise virgins were not better than the foolish virgins were because all of them slumbered and slept.  However, the striking note of difference between the two is that the foolish “took no oil with them”. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. This oil was to be bought from those who sell, by paying a price.

 

All of us, the children of God, though belonging to different denominational churches, are given the lamps of salvation in our hands.  All of us are slumbering spiritually in these last days as Christ tarries. All of us are hearing the cry being made at midnight by the prophets of the Lord announcing the advent of Jesus.  Do all of us have “oil” in our lamps? In the body of Christ, there are many people of God selling this oil to us. By fellowshipping with these people of God, we get their oil. As we intercede for these people of God in our prayers before His throne, and minister to them through material support, we pay a price for their oil.  This oil means the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the truth of His two-edged Sword. As we fellowship with the people of God on the mount of Zion, we get the mighty anointing of His Spirit.

 

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

 

 It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments:

 

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for every more” (Psalm 133).

 

Aaron is typical of the body of Christ.  As the members of the body of Christ dwell together in unity, a precious anointing of the Holy Spirit comes on them, in an overwhelming manner. It is also as the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descend upon the mountains of Zion.  Upon the mountains of Zion, we can experience a mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit if we dwell together in unity.  The Lord commands His blessing there on the whole body of Christ – more than the blessing to be poured on individuals. We get an abundance of life on the mountains of Zion.

 

This anointing, which we receive by dwelling together in unity, enables us to keep our lamps of salvation burning till the second advent of Jesus Christ. This anointing enables us to sieve the truth from the untruth. After our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, all of us were individually anointed by the Holy Spirit for ministry. This shows the oil that we had received in our lamps of salvation. This oil is about to be exhausted and our lamps would be gone out.  However, we should have extra oil in our vessels to be carried along with our lamps.

 

 This anointing is interwoven with the truth of the Word.  These days, the false prophets and teachers are falsifying the truth of the Word.  When we remain in fellowship with the five types of the ministers to whom the Lord has appointed to the body of Christ, we get at the truth of the Word.

 

 

 

  A Christian nation should trust in the power of God

 

Job Anbalagan

 

We read in the 21^st chapter of I Chronicles that Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. David entrusted the work of census to his faithful commander Joab.  Though Joab was reluctant do carry out this commandment of the king, the king’s word prevailed against him.  The Word of God says, “God was displeased with this thing; therefore He mote Israel” (Vs.7).

 

The Lord executed His judgment on Israel by sending a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel perished.  As the angel of God was destroying the people of Israel, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster and said to the angel, “It is enough, say now thine hand…” (Vs.15).

 

We should not do anything to assess our own strength, either physical or spiritual, to fight against our enemies.  Rulers of Christian nations should not count on the strength of their own garrisons for destroying the garrisons of their enemies. It does not mean that they should not strengthen their garrisons.  What is important is that they should not count on the strength of their garrisons.  They should depend upon God in their war against their enemies.

 

God had to punish the whole nation of Israel for the iniquity of their king David. David was described as a man after God’s own heart. God rejected Saul and chose David as the king of Israel. Even then, God did not condone the action of David in the matter of census but punished the people for the iniquity of David.

 

David was provoked by Satan to number Israel (Vs.1). Satan convinced David that it was the strength of the garrison that would bring victories to his nation in the war against his enemies.

 

The intention of David to assess the strength of his own people was not bad in itself. What displeased God was his reliance on the strength of his people by numbering them. God had not punished the people of Israel when their king augmented their armory to fight against their enemies. However, He punished the people when their king numbered them.  A decision being taken by a Christian nation’s ruler without taking God into confidence is bound to be disastrous.  

 

God worked through Joab to warn David against this abominable thing.  Joab told David, “The Lord make His people an hundred times so many more as they: but, my lord the king, are they not at all my lord’s servants? Why then doth my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?” (Vs.3).  It is the Lord Who makes His people an hundred times or more than that.  The king of Israel is only a tool in the hands of God to multiply the peoples. David did not heed to Joab, his trusted commander.  Similarly, when a Christian ruler counts on the strength of his garrison, God causes dissention amongst his ministers or his commanders of the defense forces just to send a signal of warning to the erring ruler.

 

 

 

 

BLESSEDNESS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

Job Anbalagan

 

We tend to believe that material prosperity or state of happiness as a sign of blessing; poverty or want or mourning is a curse.  What is the meaning of “blessedness” in the sight of God.  Jesus taught His disciples on the Mount the meaning of “blessedness” in Mathew’s chapter 5 (verses 3 to 11).

 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (3)

 

Who are the poor in spirit? They are humble enough to bear the reproach for the sake of His Kingdom. They are not haughty. They are always in the process of learning.  They will never say, “I have learnt”. They learn even from a child.  They do not practice hypocrisy. They are like open books to be read by others. They practice what they preach.

 

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (4)

 

People mourn when they are convicted of their sin or mistakes; when they are bereaved; when they suffer physical or mental pain; when they incur  financial losses; when they are reviled or persecuted. We normally ascribe their mourning to some kind of divine judgment.  But what Jesus said about those who mourn?  He calls them blessed and not cursed.  If a child of God suffers physical pain or mental agony, we should call him/her blessed. 

 

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (5)

 

Meek means “mild and gentle of temper; submissive”. You should be always gentle in your conduct with others, and be submissive to the authority of the Church, the body of Christ and to the authority of them whom God has placed as your overseers in your organization or the government. Whatever work is thrust on your shoulders by your superiors, you should bear it.  If you are meek in the position assigned to you by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, one day He will exalt you and will give you more responsibilities.

 

It is unfortunate today that the people of God are not meek with the result that they are not able to inherit the earth. If we are not meek in the House of God, how can we evangelize the world, and thus inherit the whole earth?  Your meekness should be transparent in the House of God.  Pride has so blinded our eyes that we are unable to carry on with the members of our team in a spirit of humility.

 

Recently, I had sought permission from a dear servant of God in India for publishing his messages through my e-mail ministry.  I was informed that he did not feel in his spirit for giving me such permission.  If he gives me permission to publish his messages under his name, I will be helping the said servant of God in spreading the same messages through my e-mail ministry. Due to sheer pride, the Christian writers claim copyrights to God’s messages.  God has not claimed copyrights to His Word.

 

 

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (6)

 

 These days, there is widespread deception throughout the world amongst the people of God. They do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. They think that they have the fullness of the Spirit after experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They do not want to grow in righteousness.  They are not filled with the fullness of the Spirit because they have no aptitude to practice righteousness in their personal lives. 

 

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”(7)

 

We pray to God to show His mercy whereas we do not want to show our mercy to those who have wronged us.  We are not merciful to them who seek our help, and refuse help to them. We are not merciful to the poor saints in the House of God. 

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”(8)

 

These days, we find many people  seeking the supernatural experience of seeing God in visions or dreams. If their heart is pure and devoid of guile, hypocrisy and uncleanness, they shall see God through their spiritual eyes. Sadhu Sundar Singh, known as an apostle of India with bleeding feet, saw Christ Jesus in a vision because his heart was pure even as a non-Christian.  How he saw Christ is described below:

“…. He got up at 2 o’clock and had a bath in cold water for one hour. Then he sat in meditation or prayer and said to God, "O God, if there is a God, if You answer me and give me peace before 5 o’clock this morning and appear to me in your true form, I will serve You as a Sadhu all my life. If I do not get an answer from You I will end my life by throwing myself on the rails of the railroad behind my house, when the Ludhiana Mail passes in the morning." Sundar meant what he said. He went on praying and meditating and at four he closed his eyes again. At 4:30 when he again opened his eyes he saw a white smoke-like glow in his room. For a moment he wondered if there was fire in his room. But then came the thought that God perhaps was answering him and he closed his eyes again. As he prayed on, lo, before him stood a glorious figure with such brightness that exceeded the sunshine at mid-day. Yet he could see it without being dazzled by the sight. Then he saw the crown of thorns on the head of the figure which stood between the ceiling and the floor. There were wounds in the hands, feet and in the side which were bleeding. Having recognized Him to be Christ, Sundar turned away his face saying within himself, "He is none of the incarnations whom I believe." But then he heard these words, "I am Christ whom you are persecuting. There is salvation only through Me. If you believe Me now, you will be saved. If you don’t believe Me you will be damned fore ever."

Then flashed into his mind the fact that he had never prayed to Christ but to the universal God, to reveal Himself to him. He had challenged God that if He would appear to him, he would never back out but follow Him. He had never, for even a moment, expected that the answer to his prayer was Christ. How could he now refuse the revelation of the Living God? Immediately he fell on the Feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and worshipped Him. A mighty power like the power of electricity flowed into him and a great peace came upon him. He was so full of joy that he ran to his old father, who was sleeping, and woke him up saying that he had seen Christ and that he had given himself to Him. The father remembered the statement of that great sadhu who prophesied that this lad would become either a mad man or a great person. He told his son that something had gone wrong with his mind and that he should go and sleep. In this manner the Lord God Almighty captured for Himself a well-prepared young man to be His follower.

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (9)

Some people strive for and pray for peace between estranged couples and thus avert divorces. Are you a peacemaker in the House of God? Though there are a few peacemakers in our midst, there are many who destroy peace by sowing seeds of mistrust and suspicion in the hearts of couples. They spread rumors or canards.  They exaggerate the facts.  Their actions have ruined many families. These people are functioning as the emissaries of the Devil.

A spouse should be a peacemaker in the family, whatsoever the provocations from the other spouse. The aggrieved spouse should go to the Lord in prayer, and pray for His peace and should not argue with the other spouse.

As the USA and England are preparing themselves for a war with Iraq (as I write this message on 15^th Feb.2003), the children of God throughout the world should pray for peace and should make every effort to see that the war is avoided. Those children of God who are the peacemakers are blessed of God. 

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for their’s is the kingdom of heaven” (10).

There is no righteousness in the governance of a nation. Righteousness means “right standing before God”. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who face persecutions when they uphold righteousness. Injustice is the order of the day.  We allow injustice to pervade the administrative or judicial system. When justice is perverted, we, Christians, look the other way and do not raise our voice against it for fear of reprisals. We remain spectators when the widows and the fatherless are exploited by unscrupulous elements; when innocent babies are murdered in the wombs of their mothers; when the sin of homosexuality is justified.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake”(11)

Let all manner of evil be spoken against you just because you are a Christian.  Let all kinds of accusations be brought against you by your enemies before the judges just because you are a Christian. Let men revile you just because you are a Christian. Let your employer or your landlord persecute you just because you are a Christian. Blessed you are! You should “rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (5:12)