Erasmus Makarimayi The resurrection of Jesus procured authority or all power by His triumph over the devil. His presence was accepted in heaven and authorised His disciples to be His ministers.
Acts 1:8 records: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The power was for making disciples and we are also on the same mission.
Let’s study Matthew 28:18-20: “[18] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
This means making students of those who accept the Gospel of Christ. I will go ahead and say that the church is a classroom of the doctrine of Christ.
In certain corners we hear every service such pronouncements as: this year is your year, you will make it, your wedding is coming, your car is coming, I see houses and money, etc. This is mere psyching up not even biblical exhortation.
I will give you a scenario. You are staying in a suburb where there residence are still building. There is a power outage at night. A snake gets through under the door through the space you provided for tiles.
Owls come upon your roof and trees. All you are holding on to is; your house is coming. Perhaps you have three stones, oil, salt and water. Your minister’s phone is off. I bet you, because of lack of biblical grounding, you will call the witch doctor down the street.
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The church isn’t a movie theatre. It’s for making Bible students. If you had been taught all power, you would stand.
Hear these words in Mark 16:17-18: “[16] And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; [18] They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
I remember vividly decades ago in class at Bible School when I averred that Jesus Christ or the God Man upon incarnation grew in knowledge. I was attacked and made to apologise for belittling Him.
I accepted defeat for the sake of weaker brethren. Let’s start with Luke 1:80: “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”
He didn’t come down with a chip embedded in His brain. He read the Scriptures, i.e. Genesis to Malachi.
Luke 2:46 puts it thus: “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.”
He began public ministry at 30 years fully loaded with doctrine or teaching and learning.
On the Cross, two malefactors’ bones on either His sides were broken to be certain that they were dead. Jesus’s bones were not broken.
You would want to believe that He had already confessed and held onto Psalm 34:20: “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.”
After three days and three nights, He came out of the heart of the earth. He knew Psalm 16:10: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
Furthermore, He knew by reading the Scriptures, Matthew 12:39-40: “[39] But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: [40] For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Jesus is the Word, but He studied the Word and internalise it.
There should be a deliberate collaboration between evangelism and teaching.
When evangelism goes alone thinking that it’s the most important assignment, we will be making things worse.
Check this unfortunate predicament in the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:43-45: “[43] When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. [44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. [45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”
The so called deliverance chaps of one on one, will line their pockets. It’s one body of Christ. No ascension gift is superior.
Please read this without bias, Ephesians 4:11-12: “[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.
