PASTOR OLUWASEYI OSANYINBI
[biblegateway passage=”LUKE 15:1-10″ display=”LUKE 15:1-10″]
The two brothers depict the two sets of people in the earth: The Jews & The Gentiles. What is true for the Jews of old is true for the Church today. So, we have to examine their failings so that we will not repeat their mistakes. The move of God in these last days will lead to the emergence of unconventional ministers with unconventional ministries and operations. We have to brace up so that we will not be hindered by too much knowledge because God cannot be put in a straight jacket.
It is easy to misunderstand certain operations just like the Pharisees and Scribes saw Jesus as a strange fellow who received sinners. We have a Church system today that believes in ostracizing sinners forgetting that we are called to save sinners. Some other people go to the other extreme mixing with sinners to the point of getting lost among them. We must never forget our calling as we interact with unbelievers.
[biblegateway passage=”LUKE 15:11-32″ display=”LUKE 15:11-32″]; [biblegateway passage=”PSALM 121:1″ display=”PSALM 121:1″]
The Prodigal son did not ask for his inheritance, he only asked for his goods. His son-ship had not been confirmed so he only had access to worldly goods. He took the goods, converted them to money and went to a far country to waste it all. However, a famine arose and he had to come back to his senses. We pray that a famine will arise that will make every sinner trace there steps to God. Many will not get promoted in life unless crises and troubles come their ways. Crisis usually initiate turnings. Many will not turn to God unless they get into unpleasant circumstances.
The Prodigal Son is a type of the Gentiles who had to get to a point where they realized they needed God. The Father is God. He has the Jews and the Gentiles as sons. The robe, the ring, the shoes and the fatted calf that were presented when the Prodigal Son returned to the Father were the tokens for the confirmation of his son-ship. He became a son when he returned to the Father. The Elder Son had to call some servants to find out what was happening when he heard the sound of music at home when he returned from the field. He couldn’t even ask the Father directly. We must be wary of a type of Christianity that is mechanical. We can be committed to our local church without being committed to God. We can be attached to our pastors whereas we are effectively disconnected from God.
The Elder Son was supposed to be a son indeed but his attitude proved the fact that he confined himself to servant-hood even though he seemed to have everything right. Salvation is an act of mercy. Nevertheless, mercy is not dispensed arbitrarily. Mercy is earned. You earn mercy by asking for it. Grace is not for free too like many have erroneously believed. God only gives grace to the humble ([biblegateway passage=”James 4:6″ display=”James 4:6″]). You earn grace by acknowledging your incapability and by asking for it.
The Jews did not understand that they were elected to be God’s people. It was not necessarily because of their righteousness that they were chosen. As believers, we must never get to a place where we think salvation is our right. We must never assume that we are better than the Jews. We have been saved by election. If God wouldn’t spare them because of their unbelief, He won’t spare us either.
We stand because of mercy. We are on a journey to perfection, we are not there yet. We need mercy to keep accessing grace in order to arrive at perfection. It doesn’t cost God anything to toss every human being into hell but he has chosen to save as many as can cling unto His mercy. It is sheer deception to think we can earn anything by merely flexing our human muscles. We must never take God for granted, He is still a consuming fire, He has not changed. The basic difference between the Old and the New Testaments is the Blood of Jesus. By that blood, we come into a one-on-one fellowship with the Father. We must learn to access this blood to that we will not be denied access into the Most Holy Place where God dwells.
[biblegateway passage=”ROMANS 11:5-15″ display=”ROMANS 11:5-15″]
Many people that will finish the course of the gospel are still not born again right now. Some of them have not been unveiled. For every Elijah, there are always 7000 prophets who have not bowed their heads to idols (I Kings 19:18). There are people out there who will still be brought in to play key roles in the end time harvest. They will be strategic to the end time move of God. We are instruments of the election of grace that God will have to use to bring in others. We must not think we are too small to do the job so that God will not reject us.
God cannot afford to fail twice. Since He could not succeed with the Jews, He is seriously counting on us the Gentile Church to help graft the Jews into His Body. It will not be by preaching or miracles, it will be by righteousness. They may currently not know what they are looking for but they will sure recognize it when they see it. They are seeking a kind of righteousness that has never been seen before in the realm of men and God needs us to show them. This a tall order but it is not impossible.
Our primary calling is to give life. It is beyond philanthropy; anybody can do that. We have to take our game to the next level so that we can attract the Jews to Jesus. God needs men and women that can represent Him.