‘Churchianity’ or Christianity?

which has not helped the confusion that already characterises the faith, in many instances.
In Zimbabwe, the proliferation of Pentecostal churches which are performing “miracles” has added an interesting dimension to debates around the church.
While there seems to be a wide range of churches for people to choose from, it is clear those that perform miracles have the sweetest petal to attract more people than any other church.
Many are even deserting their churches to go and “receive their miracles” from the terraces much to their satisfaction.
Remember the days when the apostolic sect used to be a refuge for many who were seeking power that is above the usual preaching of word and prayer?
This is where those who were barren or possessed with evil spirits or have other spiritual problems would turn to for “cleansing”.
But apostolic sects seem to have lost their touch probably because of such incidences as rape among other disreputable acts, real or claimed.
The question in many people’s hearts is why there has been a massive exodus of Christians to join these churches that perform miracles considering what Jesus said to Thomas that those who believe in things they have not seen are the ones who are blessed.
“I had my own problems that I wanted to deal with so I decided to try other options.
“A friend of mine invited me to her church where I was told exactly what I wanted to hear and saw a lot of miraculous healings and I said to myself this is my church,” explained Maria Chikwanda of Westgate who abandoned her church.
She refused to name it because it did not perform miracles.
One wonders whether this is a true thirst for the word or it is just that people have lost their faith and now want to see things actually happening or rather they are more content with the gospel of prosperity that marinates the miraculous performances at these new churches.
If you listen to some of the sermons preached at these churches you may be left to think that wealth is a sign that you are favoured by God as if there are no poor people like Lazarus in the Bible who were friends with God.
“I heard the promises of miraculous healings and prosperity so I joined one of these churches from my original church because I was in a bit of a financial crisis but at the same time wanted to worship God in truth.
“I later realised that it was nothing more than just the promises because since I remained poor, I thought maybe I was not favoured by God, so I reverted back to my original church,” says Mr Mandizha of Mufakose.
Some, when they advertise their gatherings, emphasise on the miracles to be performed – the deaf shall hear, blind shall see and lame shall walk as if that is a sign of the Spirit of God prevailing over evil.
A servant of Job once came to him and reported that the fire of God came down from heaven and burnt the sheep and the goats and it seemed God had actually burnt Job’s livestock because the fire came from heaven but in actual fact it was the work of the devil.
Therefore, if miracles are not always a sign that God is with the prophets of today, then there is a lot that still has to be learnt in the Bible about how to “test spirits” if we are going to escape the snares the devil has placed on our road to heaven, that is if you believe there is a heaven.
Ellen G White in her book, The Final Conflict between Truth and Error writes: “With every rejection of the truth, the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hard hood.”
People no longer seem to care what the prophet is preaching as long as they are told what they want to hear and, such acts of ignoring or rejecting the truth will result in people sinking deeper into the enchanted sea of falsehood and deceit without even realising it.
The devil has since realised that people now want to worship God more than ever so he is representing counterfeits closely resembling the truth, and many are being deceived.
“For they will come up falls Christs, and false prophets, who will do great signs and wonders; so if possible even the saints might be tricked.” (Matthew 24:24).
So if your yardstick for measuring a true prophet is a man or woman who invites you to be physically healed or being in church makes you immune to evil, then think again and think fast because judgment day is drawing nigh.
Such a warning behoves us to be wary of what spiritual food we partake, because we are not going to be saved by how many miracles we have received or how much wealth we have gathered but by righteousness through faith.
One is forgiven for believing so much in miracles because not only did Christ perform miracles but He also summoned his disciples to go into the world and do the same.
But it is not the ability to perform miracles but the fruits of the Spirit that counts most because 1 John 4:1 admonishes us not to believe all spirits but to test them to see whether they are from God or not.
First, to eliminate spiritualism, mystics and all other forms of cults who do not profess Christianity, we need to put the prophet under the microscope to see if he or she confesses faith in Christ and that he came in “flesh”, which most of the prophets do.
Make sure the predictions made by the prophet are fulfiled; otherwise you can be confident that he was not God-sent like the prophets who predicted the world would end in the year 2000.
However, care should be taken, should the prophet’s predictions come to pass but his teachings, instead of drawing others to Christ, repel them in the true manner or another.
The prophet’s teachings must be in harmony with the laws of God.
Therefore, it is imperative to note that should the prophet pass every test but their instructions are contradicting the teachings of the Bible, then that prophet is bogus to say the least. (Isaiah 8:20)
We should again observe the personal life of the prophets to see if they bear the fruit of the Spirit as the Bible says they shall be known by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-20)
More often than not, we have seen or heard of people claiming to be prophets but their lives have confessed deceit, pride, immorality and greed.
Probably because of this immorality, the prophets of the apostolic sect are no longer a refuge for many unless you want an excuse for becoming a polygamist.
Probably because of this deceit and greed, the rising prophets performing miracles are getting richer and richer at the expense of the congregation – who knows!
These prophets are, in the words of White “unproductive trees that spread their branches far and wide, shutting away the sunlight from other plants, and causing them to droop and die under their chilling shadow.”
They (false prophets), are likened with the serpent, which is attractive, good looking and innocent in appearance but in actual fact, it will consume you whole.
Rich, famous and ability to perform miracles as well as commanding a huge following is not the sole and true measure of a man of God.
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