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Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Question 4 – Christopher (United Arab Emirates): Dear Pastor Chris, I praise and thank God for this media. Kindl... -
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Episode 8 :: Question 5 on God's Thought About Wars and Christian Soldiers
1:07 PM | Posted by
St. Burnish
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Question 5 – Phelark (USA): Dear Pastor Chris, I live in a country that prides and is deeply engaged in wars against other nations. What is God’s thought about wars in this time and dispensation? What is the fate of a born again child of God, who is enrolled in the military, faced with the challenge of killing people at war, either offensively or defensively?
Answer 5: Well, the first thing we have to understand is, if you join the military you have pledged yourself to defend your country, military-wise. So, that’s why you went in there. We understand the military is not for games. So, if you went into the military, that’s what you’ve pledged yourself to do. That means you believe in your country; you believe in the ideology of your nation and you stand for it. So, you’re not only defending its territorial integrity, you’re also defending its ideology. And, that’s why you’re fighting. So that’s important! Remember, you pledged yourself by joining the military to defend your nation’s ideology and territorial integrity. And, as far as that is concerned, when there’s war, when there’s a threat against the territory or your ideology somehow, you may be asked to go to war and if you truly believe in what your nation stands for, there’s nothing wrong with going to war, because the Bible calls God a “God of War.” And, He did lead his children in war for those two things: to protect their territorial integrity and also to defend their ideology and in fact, sometimes to establish it in other places. So, there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
But, if you don’t believe…and that’s why we pray for leaders and nations because leaders can make us, as a nation, follow the wrong ideology and even annex lands that we shouldn’t. In such cases, we’ve got to pray, so that we’re not used to accomplish the wrong purposes. That’s why we must pray; that’s why the Bible says that we should pray for leaders because they make decisions that affect a lot of us. So, you’ve got to pray. Of course, that also goes for those who are forced into the army; we call them ‘forced conscriptions’ or maybe at a time of war they say “all the young men must join the army.” Well, when you’re forced to join, it goes back to the same thing - do you believe in the ideology of your nation, because that’s what matters and the purpose.
Watch the full episode 8 [July 14, 2009] video here!
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Episode 8 :: Question 4 on Getting Married Without Pastoral Blessing
Question 4 – Eunicia (South Africa): Is it wrong to get married without being blessed by your Pastor?
Answer 4: Well, if you belong to a church, which you should, why would you want to get married without letting your Pastor know? Even in a large church where it might be difficult for every member to get to the Pastor, there are leaders, there are structures, so if you use those structures, somehow, the Pastor will get to know. If He doesn’t know personally, through the structure, the leadership will be aware and you can have God’s blessings on that. It’s important, so don’t go ahead and get married without the church knowing; it’s not right!
Episode 8 :: Question 3 on Bible Translations
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Question 3 – Ato (USA): Dear Pastor Chris, I have been a Christian for a short while, but I noticed there are so many Bible translations available. Are all Bible translations good to use, and could you please give a list of those of those you would advice a young Christian like me to hang on to? Why do certain translations omit certain verses, which are in the King James Version? Thank you.
Answer 3: Well, for the first part of your question, you said, “Are all Bible translations good to use, and could you please give a list of those of those you would advice a young Christian like me to hang on to?” Well, most translations are fine. I would suggest that the King James Version be the primary version, because it’s been verified to be one of the most reliable. It wasn’t the first translation, by the way. It was about the 13th, 14th or even the 15th translation. It wasn’t the first at all, but the language is closest to what you actually have in the original Hebrew and Greek, and so Bible scholars will tell you that that’s the most reliable to date. Now, as to other translations, most other translations are fine as well but if you use the King James as the basis for most of your study, I believe you will come up with the right answers. For the most part, you will come up with the right answers. There are few differences that you would notice; the only thing is, you know, the King James is Old English and a little more difficult for younger generation to pick. But then, it’s still clear; it’s still well understood and most reliable.
So, I may not give you a list of other translations that are alright, but most of them are okay, at least to support and help clarify a few things. Now, where there are very clear differences because there are some clear differences, you still can understand the broader view and that would not really be a problem to you. So, in that area where there’s so much difference, you can stick with King James and then as you grow more and more in the Word of God, you would be able to see; where the communication is unclear, you will be able to know what the truth is because you will already be able to compare scripture with scripture. So, areas where the King James presents a sort of cloudy expression to you, you’ll still be able to get through by a broader knowledge of God’s word.
Watch the full episode 8 [July 14, 2009] video here!
Episode 8 :: Question 2 on The Sabbath and Its Importance
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Question 2 – Gertrude (South Africa): Dear Pastor, are we supposed to consider the Sabbath? When is the Sabbath exactly, and what are we supposed to do on that day? I ask because in Matthew 24, Jesus says we should pray that His coming will not be on a Sabbath.
Answer 2: Okay, well, Sabbath is a day of rest in the Jewish calendar. It’s the 7th day - the last day of the week. And, the Bible says that on the 7th day God rested. When you study the account of creation in the Book of Genesis, it tells us what he did on the 1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day, 4th day, 5th day, 6th day and the 7th day and it says “…on the seventh day, God rested…” [Genesis 2:2]. So, when He gave the laws by Moses to the children of Israel, He told them to rest on the 7th day which is the Sabbath and that they should do no work.
Now, Jesus came in and fulfilled the law and abolished it, so we don’t have to live by that Law of Moses anymore. In fact, it was never given to those who were non-Jews; it was only given to those who were Jews. So, it’s been abolished by Jesus. So, we function in His new Law of Love today. Now, here is the important thing - you said “in St. Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says we should pray that His coming will not be on a Sabbath.” He actually said that they should pray that their flight should not be on the Sabbath, and I want to read it to you – Matthew 24:20: “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:” Why did He say that? Because it would be difficult for them [he was addressing the Jews, and I want you to remember that; He was addressing the Jews here] and He was talking about the desolation that Daniel the Prophet talked about – when Israel is invaded - that’s what He was talking about, so he said “…pray that your flight be not…on the Sabbath” [Matthew 24:20] because the Jews had a limit on how far you could travel on the Sabbath Day. In fact, they placed a limit on one mile; you couldn’t go beyond one mile on the Sabbath day. So, if their flight took place – their escape [he wasn’t really talking about going to Jesus at His coming but an escape from their enemies – their invading enemies]. If that day is on the Sabbath, then you can’t run very far; you can’t move very far because the Orthodox Jew believed that on the Sabbath Day, you shouldn’t travel more than one mile and that was really the reason Jesus mentioned that.
But beyond all of that, you want to know what do we do on the Sabbath day today? The Sabbath day is no longer a day for the Christian, because the Law has been fulfilled by Jesus and abolished. And now, what He says for us to do is to live everyday unto Him - unto Christ.
But then you notice all around the world, most Christians worship, primarily, on Sundays. How did they come about that? Was it that the Sabbath was moved from Saturday to Sunday? No. The Sabbath wasn’t moved from Saturday to Sunday, but a day was picked by the early disciples to meet as God’s children and it was significant that they picked the first day of the week, because that was the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was raised from the dead on the first day of the week. I want to read something to you from St. Matthew’s gospel Chapter 28, from verse 1: “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week [that means the Sabbath was the last day of the week – the outgoing week], came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” [Matthew 28:1-2] And then He goes on to tell us about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but what I want to notice there is the Sabbath day ending and the first day of the week coming in because of what I want to say next.
Episode 8 :: Question 1 on The Working of the Anointing
Introduction: Hello! Welcome to today’s program. I trust that the Lord will bring answers to your questions today and meet you at the point of your need.
Question 1 – Elangwe (Cameroon): Dear Pastor, I’ve been so blessed by your teachings and exposition online. They’ve really grounded my understanding of the Word. I wish to ask how the anointing works; what does it take to function in the anointing and get expected results?
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Answer 1: Well, the first thing is to understand what the anointing really is. The anointing is translated from a word, beginning from the Old Testament [in Hebrew] that means ‘to rub’ - like you’d rub oil on your body or cream on your body. It means to rub, primarily, and it denotes that the presence of God is rubbed on a man. That’s how it came to be [and]; that’s why in the New Testament, you don’t have so much emphasis on that word itself but you have the emphasis on the spirit of God, the power of God, and so on. So, it actually comes from the idea that the presence of God is ‘rubbed-of’ on a man. And so, over in the New Testament, that power - that spirit - that was rubbed on a man came to live inside. So, today, the Holy Spirit actually lives in you. So, when we talk about the anointing, we’re now talking about the power of God that is resident in you and then the power of God or the spirit of God that gives ability to the office into which he calls you or into anything that he calls you to do.
Now, understanding that as the anointing of God, the next thing is a realization that that comes through the acquaintance that we have with the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is the one that gives the power, He’s the one that gives the enablement – the inspiration - it means our acquaintance with Him is really the secret. Always, the power of God will come on you to equip you for whatever He wants you to do. See, when God calls a man and sends him to do anything, it’s God’s responsibility to give that man all that he requires. So, you never need to wonder or worry about “Do I have the anointing to do this? Do I have the anointing to do this?” You have the right question when you say, “What Am I Supposed to Do?” because whatever it is you’re supposed to do, the power of the Holy Spirit has been made available to you or will be made available to you when it becomes necessary to do whatever it is God wants you to do.
The other thing is to meditate on the Word of God; you’ve got to meditate on the Word. See, the Holy Spirit brings to pass God’s word. The Holy Spirit inspires us in God’s word - to know it, to live by it and to use it. And, the Holy Spirit helps us, not only to understand it but to function in it, in such a way that we are carriers of His message. So, our acquaintance with the Holy Spirit or our acquaintance with the Word of God is necessary for us to function in the will of God through the Holy Spirit. So, whatever the Holy Spirit wants you to do, whatever life He wants you to live, you can only function thoroughly in it by your acquaintance with the Word of God. So, you’ve got to meditate continually on the Word.
Watch the full episode 8 [July 14, 2009] video here!
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