There is a lot going on in the body of Christ World wide.
There are so many sects, denominations,views, opinions, doctrines and mindsets.
Perhaps this is the reason why we don't have as much unity as we should in the body.
These differences have brought about misunderstandings, impatience towards those of different views, criticisms, arguments, quarrels, pride and a lack of power in the body of Christ.
We often fail to see that God is a God of variety.
There are different ministries, different callings, different ways of being called and no one has a monopoly on the wisdom of God.
We are only provided insights into God's wisdom and ways but God is not limited to our understanding.
Each man's understanding of God is only an aspect of God they have heard about, seen or experienced.
There are different levels of understanding and experiences of God in the body of Christ.
There are ministers who do not have a good understanding of spiritual matters, and there are those who do.
There are those who have a very good understanding of spiritual matters but have become distracted or are not fully functioning in their ministry office because their sights are set on the wrong thing or person.
As a result, the enemy has some of them wrapped round his finger.
There are ministers out there who are not called, but went to Bible schools, so they think they are qualified to teach or criticize.
It is not surprising we are informed in the scriptures that not everyone should be a teacher.
That passage in the third chapter of the book of James and verse one is referring to spiritual teachers.
There are people who have started churches and shouldn't have done so.
There are those who should start churches but are not doing so.
There are those under the leadership of established ministries who should not be there.
And there are those running their own ministries who should be Pastors under larger, established ministries.
It is important to know the ministry office you have been called to function in.
Stay where you have been given the grace to function.
Some have reduced the work of the ministry and the call of God to their own human experience.
There are those whose faith is in what they saw on a deliverance ground and not the Word of God.
There are many Christians who have carved out their own doctrine as a result of what they heard a demon or unclean spirit say during a prayer session or personal whisper to them.
In the body of Christ there are Christians who don't believe in the trinity because they feel this goes against their belief in the idea of the oneness of God, there are those who believe in the trinity - which is the belief that there is one God who can appear or manifest as three distinct personalities, and there are denominations that emphasize water baptism over any other Christian responsibility.
Some even emphasize water baptism over salvation.
Which type of baptism and which age a person should be baptized is another matter with different views for many Christians.
We see from the scriptures that Jesus was a grown man of thirty years old when he was baptized, which means he had reached an age of accountability and responsibility, and knew what he was doing when he was being baptized.
A very popular and influential denomination believes in calling upon Mary the Earthly mother of Jesus when praying to God as they believe Mary has direct access to Jesus Christ (God) and can influence Jesus on our behalf when we pray.
We also have Christians who believe in the traditional religions of their fore fathers and for some reason see reason and light in the Christian faith.
So they automatically combine the traditional religion of the part of the World they are from with the Christian faith.
Years ago, on television I remember watching an interview of a gentleman in the entertainment industry in the part of the World he is from say he is what you call a "Chris-Mus".
It is a coining of the word Christian and Muslim to form a religion that makes an individual part Christian and part Muslim.
His view, is that Christians say they are closer to God, while Muslims will argue they are the ones closer to God. So he chose to combine the two to be closest to God!
Such people will be seen in the mosque today and church another day because they are being blown about by every wind of doctrine.
Our minds have to be steadfast and our wills strong in what we truly believe.
Many Christians trust their Pastors or prophets more than they trust the Master - Jesus Christ.
Many can quote their ministers better than they can quote their scriptures.
Many people have read the books of their favourite speakers, teachers, and ministers many times more than they have read their Bibles, that's if they read the Bible at all.
It is not surprising there are a lot of anomalies in the body of Christ today.
But God is able. He knows how to straighten out that which is crooked and cleanse His church!
There are also many people who are new in the faith.
Some of those in this group have a zeal for God but the maturity that's needed may not be there.
This group of people often mean well but make a lot of mistakes without realizing it.
You will find many of them on social media.
They often have the audacity to tear apart, criticize, and mock people who are like 'fathers' to them in the faith just because they have memorized some passages of scriptures.
They can be quick to find fault with others, and just like the teenager who thinks he knows it all and thinks he is a full grown adult they can be difficult to correct.
They think memorizing scriptures equates to "rightly dividing the word of truth"
Let's pray for such people.
There are also synagogues of Satan pretending to be churches.
There are false prophets pretending to be called and using questionable sources to deceive people.
There are also genuinely called ministers who have departed from the truth either because they were enticed by the deceitfulness of riches and the pull of the World system.
There are ministers out there who take great pride in acquiring spiritual sons and daughters, not because they want to nurture them and care for them, but because they they want respect, homage and tithes and offering from many different sources, angles and ministries.
There is the issues of legalism.
There is the issues of watered down grace.
There is the ignorance of not understanding how much grace God has lavished upon us.
There is also the issue of many Christians and even Christian leaders not fully understanding what Jesus Christ has done for us.
There are extremes in the body of Christ.
And there are topics like the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus that we do not hear enough about these days.
The desire to teach about prosperity, success and wealth seems to eclipse the primary teaching of Jesus when He was here in human form - the Kingdom!
Within God's Kingdom is all the prosperity, success and wealth we will ever desire!
There are those who dismiss the old testament as if it's not part of the scriptures.
There are also those who don't seem to understand what's applicable from the old testament and what's not.
Many don't know where to draw the line.
There are Christians in the body of Christ who have never heard the true gospel since they gave their lives to Christ.
There is also the issue of name changing.
Some argue certain names should be changed when you come to Christ and they give scriptural examples.
They forget to tell you those who changed their names in the scriptures are people God told to do so specifically, they forget to tell you if God tells you to change your name He will tell you the new name to take on.
A common issue I find with many Christians is that many of us don't know the difference between individual instructions for specific people and general instructions for the body of Christ.
It is often mixed up.
There is a need to call out to God for spiritual wisdom and discernment.
A common occurrence in the body of Christ today is most followers swallowing everything their spiritual leaders teach without going to the scriptures under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to check if it is truth or error.
Who is hearing God and how God speaks always seems to be an issue in the body of Christ.
Some believe since we have the Holy Spirit we have who we need for us to be properly guided.
This is true, however it's worth knowing that the Holy Spirit also speaks through people.
Having the Holy Spirit doesn't make the five fold ministry offices irrelevant.
This is a call for spiritual sensitivity.
There are things God's Spirit will tell us in person.
And there are things He chooses to tell us through other people, particularly His five fold ministry gifts.
There are also people who have a spiritual gift that's meant to be used to serve the Lord in Christ's vineyard, but because they were not properly guided they were led astray and their gifts are being used wrongly.
There are those who should be in schools of prophets because of the depth and intricate nature of the prophetic gift they have, but are attending Bible schools instead.
There is a great need to be properly guided in life.
I'm of the view there is a need for more equipped and properly funded schools of prophets.
God guides, prepares and trains His own.
People who are truly called for the work of the ministry may not need a Bible school.
When we delve into the scriptures properly, we see many of those God used were commissioned or instructed by God directly.
They are not products of Bible schools.
The reason is, God has His own school.
This is why all things work together for the good of the true son or daughter of God.
Endure hardness.
All those challenges, set backs, tribulation, trials, and difficulties have a purpose!
God has a 'school of life' He takes you through in preparation for your call and assignment.
He equips you with gifts, and talent that will help you function and be who you should be.
He equips you with a great mind, the mind of Christ and keeps working with you as you grow in that mind.
There are Bible Schools that should not exist because they were not started by God's instruction.
Many Bible schools have been set up to propagate the doctrine of the individual or religious organisation that set them up.
I look in the scriptures and can't find Bible schools there, though I believe there are some Bible schools that exist today by God's direction and leading.
In everything we do, the leading of God's Spirit is key!
Unfortunately, many Pastors who set up churches bring their own private interpretation and experience into the doctrine/teaching of the church they lead.
Personal views, opinions, negative mindsets and superstitions can flow into the doctrine of a church if a Pastors mind is not renewed.
We should always renew our minds in God's Word by the help of God's Spirit.
A school of prophets is different from a Bible school.
Men like Prophet Samuel, Elijah and Elisha headed the school of Prophets in Ramah.
It was a unique school for those with the prophetic gift and call on their lives.
It kind of reminds me of the X-Men movies and comics books.
The gifted and mentally powerful professor Xavier has a school for 'special' people, people the society did not understand whose gifts can be a blessing to the society if properly channeled and well trained. He started a school for mutants, the X-men.
Well trained, they become superheroes!
In a sense, I liken schools of prophets to that.
Spiritual warfare is real and exists!
I'm a Pastor and I teach on this topic.
But I find some sects of Christianity have made this doctrine almost all there is about the Christian faith.
There is a certain imbalance this view brings to the life of those who do not know any better, those who do not rightly divide the word of truth.
Some Christians don't enjoy nature anymore because of this form of teaching.
Some of them won't visit the beach or any aquatic region because they are afraid of marine powers.
Some pray for their young children before taking them to nursery/primary school, only to spend a large part of the day worrying about their child being spiritually initiated in school.
You'll have to wonder if they had any faith in their own prayer and God they prayed to in the first place!
I don't believe we are created to see demons in everything.
Some Christians even forget sleeping well is a gift from God.
Psalm One hundred and twenty seven verses one and two proves this.
Some erroneously think and have been taught that the more the stay up at night fighting the powers of darkness the more spiritually powerful they are becoming.
The prophets of Baal were up crying out to Baal for so long to the point that they started cutting themselves later on, hoping their false god Baal will answer them.
Aren't some Christians behaving like the prophets of Baal in this age?
It gets dangerous the moment we think we have to do certain things to attract God's favor and make Him answer us outside of the cross and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Some Christians think they are better, tougher or more effective than others because they fast or can fast more than their brothers and sisters in the Lord.
This is a deception that has produced pride in many people.
It is not surprising many are not refreshed overnight and are not functioning properly during the day.
They then wonder why they haven't been promoted at work.
They stressed themselves out throughout the night praying, only to wake up to the responsibility of work and family during the day, in a World where you have to relate with human beings who observe your energy and notice your appearance.
If you're tired and worn out, how do you put your best foot forward in all you do, particularly at work where a boss is keeping an eye on you?
I am not against fasting but I believe in fasting being Spirit directed.
It does not have to be a daily thing or a routine, but when we fast when and as the Spirit directs, we are more humble for it and we get blessed.
This way, we are also more sensitive to God's Spirit.
Some have meditated on and based their lives on these imbalanced warfare doctrines spearheaded largely by deliverance ministries.
Unfortunately, it has produced negative mindsets in some emotionally weak Christians.
While I believe in deliverance, it's not every deliverance ministry's method and message I accept whole heartedly.
While we should be proactive in attacking the gates of hell, I do not believe God wants us spending every single second, minute, and hour of our lives thinking about demons and worrying about how the devil is somehow gaining grounds over us.
Personally, I am of the view there are invented doctrines out there designed by clever men to keep people coming to their churches/ministries by using the tactic of fear.
The fear of Satan should not be the reason we serve God, pray, go to a church, are loyal to a minister, or seek God.
The true gospel of Jesus Christ will speak to your hopes not your fears.
God desires that we love Him.
If we love Him, we will obey Him.
The fear of hell fire and wanting to escape it is not often a good enough reason to continue in the Christian race especially as it seems Jesus has tarried.
Such believers can be very irrational and sometimes out of order.
Love is the strongest and greatest attribute, feeling and virtue.
A love for God should be the reason we come to the Lord.
The true gospel of Jesus Christ will make you appreciate the Savior more and not indirectly create a morbid fear of Satan within you.
Christians bound by the fear of Satan because of teachings that emphasize demonology are not free, and we should begin to wonder if they are in Jesus Christ at all.
Such people need prayer!
After reading this article, say a prayer for me to!
