The Accuser Of The Father

Chimezie Onyebilanma

Pretoria East, South Africa

19th May 2008

'Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down'. Rev. 12:10

Recently I have been pondering on the fact that the devil is not only "the accuser of our brothers" but also that of our Father. One of the major work of the devil is to give men a wrong picture of their Heavenly Father. He gives us a picture of a God who is mean, over-bearing, and hard-to-live-with. I remember that one of the things that kept me from giving my life to Christ for so many years was that I thought his plan was to rob my life of all pleasure and make me miserable. Where did I get this idea from? From the Accuser of the Father, of course.

This activity of our Adversary goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Satan's attack on the woman was aimed at her confidence in the love and goodness of God. And this is still his attack on many of us today. Too many of us are robbed of power and purpose in our lives because we have been feeding on the lies of the devil as he goes about accusing God. So we live with a distorted view of who our Father is and how he sees us. And this creates a wall that limits the level of intimacy we can have with the Father. For you cannot know God if you do not trust him. What many of us need is a fresh revelation of the Father-heart of God. A revelation of his love. This will bring liberation to our souls.

Why did the prodigal son want so much to run away from his father? I believe that he must have come to a point where he lost the initial joy he had about being a son of the father. He must have began to doubt the father's love and commitment to his good. Perhaps it was the rules and demands of the father's house that was becoming too choking for him. The work of the devil is to make the commandments of our Father seem so stiffening and grievous to us. Isn't that why some of us are living in compromise? We do not trust our Father enough to believe that his commandments (no matter how demanding) are born out of love for us and with our best interest in mind.

Or perhaps it was the disciplines of his father that made the prodigal son begin to doubt his love. We are most vulnerable to Satan's accusations against the Father when we are going through the trials our Father often allows into our lives. It is at such times that the devil feeds us with all kinds of lies against our Father. He tells us that things are tough for us because God is probably punishing us for our past sins and has abandoned us. Or that God is not fair. Or that he does not care. So we begin to lose our simple trust and joy in the Lord. And then also our faith in the love and goodness of the Father. Once the devil can get us to doubt the love of God it becomes very difficult for us to follow Him with gladness of heart. That is why, like the prodigal son, many of us are growing cold in our walk with the Lord as we drift away from the Father who we believe does not really care.

Yet, it is out of his love that the Father allows us to go through the refining fires of life. God's disciplines are only a prove that we are his son (see Hebrew 12:5-11). It tells us that he loves us and is committed to seeing us become all that we were born to be - fully matured sons of God in the image of Christ. Don't listen to the Accuser of your Father. Listen to how the Bible describes our Father,

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." (Ps 103:8-14)

Brethren it is time to break away from the chains of the Accuser and break down the wall he has helped us build between us and our Father. Now is the time to ask God to give you a fresh revelation of his unconditional love for you. He loves you.

Why Worship From Afar?

Chimezie Onyebilanma

Sunday, 25th May 2008

“Let’s draw near with a true heart...” Hebrew 10: 22

What is it that makes some content to worship from afar in spite of the inner pull they feel for more of God?

In Exodus 33: 7, Moses sets up the tent of meeting to provide a place for personal encounter with God for the children of Israel. But the people would not use it. "And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrance to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent” (v.8). They were content to watch from their tent doors – to worship from afar.

So I ask again, why did the people not go beyond their tent doors? Why were they satisfied to remain so far away despite the open invitation to encounter God face-to-face? Their reaction is similar to what it was when God came to meet with them at Mount Sinai. They were afraid to draw near and so asked Moses to go instead for them. The truth is that to them, God looked so terrible, so all-consuming that there was that fear that they might die if they came too close. Each must have feared: “Won’t I be consumed if I go too near? Won’t I die?”

This is that something in us that keeps some from drawing near enough to God. It is the fear that he will consume us, that we will lose control of our lives. That he will take over completely, and that will it might mean the end to our own "good" goals, plans, and ambitions. So like the Israelites we are content to "worship" from afar – from the place of security (where we can still hold on firmly to our own life). “they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent”. We would stay in our tent (our comfort zone) a safe distance from God's meddling hand of control while we still look to him to bless our plans. And so blocked by the fear of being consumed by God we forfeit the glory of finding God and settle for emptiness.

There is always shallowness when we choose to worship from afar. We will never find intimacy except we make the choice to draw near. Whenever we seek to save our lives in our pursuit of God, we begin to lose it. It is true that intimacy will cost us something. For when we draw near, Jesus will come to consume us. He really comes to take over and control every part of our life. And yes, we might have to give up our cherished dreams and ambitions. But all these cannot compare with the friendship we will get. Nothing can compare to the glory of seeing him with an unveiled face. The bible says “The LORD will speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend”. Can anything compare with this? Nothing can compare to the fullness that comes being totally immersed in him. When we finally taste him we will look back and see that all that formerly looked so precious were nothing but rags.

Hear how Paul describes it: “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ” Philippians 3:8

Beloved, draw near, though you may lose your life, for it is only in losing it in Christ that you will find it

Avoiding The Path Of The Prodigal

Chimezie Onyebilanma

8th of June 2008

"The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble" Proverbs 4:19

The story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) is quite fascinating no matter where it is told. I remember the rapt attention I got once when I tried to explain the love of God to a Muslim in an interior village in Northern Nigeria by telling him this story. Nothing else but the extraordinary love of the Father could have given it the kind of ending t has. Recently I had some reflections on this story. I'd share some of these this week and more next week.

I noticed that the son did not tell the father why he wanted his share of the estate when he asked for it. It was only after he had secured it that he took off. Perhaps he didn't want anybody asking too many questions. His attitude was "I know my right and so I don't need to explain anything to anybody". We must beware of fighting too hard for our right to our privacy. We need to be willing to be accountable to others around us. It's a fallacy to think we can have fellowship without accountability.

Too many believers attend fellowship meetings without having any real fellowship with the brethren. You can't hide behind the wall of your-right-to-your-privacy and have true fellowship. It is only ".if we walk in the light (that) we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus purifies us" (1 John 1:7). Don't feel you can do anything you want to do without needing to account to anybody. That kind of freedom breeds trouble. God did not put you within the community of believers where you are presently by mistake. Don't get upset when those you are in fellowship with question your actions. Transparency and accountability are key ingredients of Christian fellowship.

The prodigal son went from the life of security in the father's house to a life of waste in a distant land. He went from the place of abundance in the father's house to a place of emptiness in the pig pen. This is always where the pursuit of freedom from the Father leads to: emptiness, purposelessness and powerlessness. You can't keep your distance from the Father and get to where you ought to go. I encourage you to set your heart to pursue increasing intimacy with the Father. Don't allow any cloud between you and the Father. Be resolute like David and say "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"

But it was not obvious at the first stage of his descent that he was on the way down because he was surrounded with all that money could buy. Yet as soon as he took his first step away from the father he was on the way down. In the same way it is not often obvious to many that they are dying spiritually because they are surrounded by material comfort. Or it may be that they have the comfort of their Christian activities and position in Church. We must beware of measuring our spiritual health by the wrong parameters. It takes the help of God to see our true state.

Avoiding the Path of the Prodigal (Part 2)

Chimezie Onyebilanma

“Come near to God and he will come near to you” ~ James 4:8

Let’s finish up our reflections on the prodigal son and the effect of the distance he sought to keep from the Father.

Emptiness is the biggest trouble that the man that draws away from the Father faces. The bible tells us that the prodigal son “longed to fill his stomach”. In spite of our multitude of toys when we begin to keep a distance from the Father a yawning gap arises within which cannot be filled by anything else. Men try to fill it with all types of things – TV or food, increased activities or religion, friends or sex, wealth or many other things. But it doesn’t work for only God can fill it.

But thank God that this son came to his senses through the things he suffered. C. S. Lewis says pain is God’s trumpet for getting men’s attention. Sometimes the only reason God allows trouble into our lives is to get our attention. And many times that is the last thing he gets from some. We would rather run up and down trying to quench the fire through the arm of flesh than wait and listen to God. I have learnt that when trials come the question to ask is not “Why, Lord?” but rather “What, Lord are you trying to say to me?”

Finally when the son returned home the father said, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate”. Christianity is essentially a life of celebration. It is not a gloomy life of bondage to rules. This was what this prodigal son did not understand about the Father in the first place that made him run away. This is the reason too many today are satisfied with a shallow relationship with God and are not passionately pursuing a life of total consecration to Him. They have not understood that the Father’s call to die to self is also a call to live the abundant life.

It was also this lack of understanding of this call to celebration that hindered the older son from celebrating even though he had obediently stayed back home. Sometimes we are obedient but not cheerful and this robs us of power. It is only those who are willing and obedient that eats the good of the land. God always loves a cheerful giver especially when it comes to giving him obedience. When we catch a glimpse of the Father’s heart we realize that we are not servants but sons. Everything he has is ours. We obey not just because we have to but because we know he loves us and seek our best interest. We are happy to obey because we trust him. We obey because we love him. Christianity is a celebration of love. He loved us first and now we love him. Christianity is a continuous feast of consecration.

I want to encourage you to draw near to the Father. Do not allow any distance between you and him. Receive a revelation of his love for you and begin to make him your delight. Rejoice in the Lord and enjoy the Father. Live life to its fullest for we are called to keep a continuous feast in Christ.

For People Who Want To Get Rich Only

Chimezie Onyebilanma

23rd June, 2008

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 1Tim 6:9

Why do we teach and encourage people to pursue riches when the testimony of scriptures warns against the pursuit of riches? I can’t think of any righteous man in scripture who pursued after riches. Yes, there are many testimonies of holy men like Abraham that God entrusted with great wealth but it was not their pursuit. God just deemed them faithful enough to entrust them with it. The evil is not in having riches but it is in having the love for riches and in pursuing it. Bible teaches us to be satisfied to ask God for our daily needs, trusting that he would take care of tomorrow.

So it is a very harmful thing that is happening today when we have preachers teaching in such a way as to make men pursue the accumulation of riches for themselves. People are being taught that the path of faith is to possess more and more. It is wrong to plant the seeds of covetousness in the hearts of God’s people. It is also very misleading to teach that every believer is destined to be rich. The scriptures doesn’t teach anywhere that every true follower of God will eventually become rich in this world. But it does teach all of us to expect God to provide all our needs.

When we sow the seed of covetousness in men they become filled with many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. When a man’s chief goal in life, for example is to have the most expensive car around is he not now foolish? Foolish because he has decided to centre his life around a piece of metal which he can not take along with him when he dies. And is this kind of desire not harmful? It is surely harmful to the cause of Christ because the funds that should have been released into world evangelization for the salvation for the nations will now be stuck in a car. And harmful too to the individual because we can’t serve two masters. If a heart is filled with covetousness it will be impossible for the same heart to love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength. So it is very easy then to understand why the bible say that these desires will eventually "plunge men into ruin and destruction". That's why Jesus warned us to " Beware of covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

Rest, Don't Fret

Chimezie Onyebilanma

12th May 2008

“do not fret—it leads only to evil” Psalm 37:8

No matter what life may bring, we must avoid anxiety like a plague. It is not good for the heart to fret, it bring too much stress to the soul. We must recognize anxiety as the enemy that it is and grant it no space. It comes to steal, kill and destroy. It comes to destroy every trace of peace that abides within. It distorts vision and paralyses fruitfulness. It distracts and dissipates. “Be anxious for nothing...” is not a suggestion but a command – a call to arms. For no heart can bear anxiety and remain healthy.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4

The heart must always be rested on God. It's not good for the heart to be restless or fretful. It is harmful to our spiritual health. Our minds must be stayed on God. Our soul must continually gaze on him. Any pose of the soul that clouds that gaze is an enemy, no matter how helpful it may look.

The call to follow Christ is a call to walk consistently in his deep-seated peace no matter how the winds blow. We must set the sail of our soul to walk in that peace. Abide in his peace. Guard your heart with all diligence. It is much more important that our hearts are at peace – rested in God than for us to get what we want. Cease from striving and rest. Be still and know that he is the Lord. It is not your responsibility to have everything under control. It is enough to know God is in control. It's our privilege to rest in God. Whether you face a mountain or a valley – fret not but rest. Let hell do its worst but note this: they will not prevail against you – don't fret, just rest.

The way of peace and victory is to stay our hearts on God - “those whose heart is stayed on you” (KJV). The NIV renders that as “whose mind is steadfast”. The double-minded cannot receive anything from God.

If anxiety comes in like a strongman, don't delay but flee to him and cast your cares upon him for he cares for you. The most important action a believer can take is this – to ABIDE. Abide in him then beloved – trusting, looking up to him, hearing him, obeying and waiting on Him. You will not be disappointed

Reflections On A Prophet's Prayer

Chimezie Onyebilanma

30th June, 2008

In Isaiah 63 :7-19 we see the prophet praying because of the present situation of God’s people. They were in distress and it was like God had abandoned them.

But I note that he begins all the same with praise. This is a lesson we must grasp - praise is always comely for the righteous no matter how desperate the situation may be. Some times we remember to pray when trouble comes but we rarely remember to praise God while trouble lasts. The prophet provokes us to recall all his kindness towards us, "the many good things he has done’’. In Philippians 4:6, Paul encourages us not to be anxious about anything but rather to present our request to God ‘’by prayers and petitions, with thanksgiving’’. Not just prayers alone but with thanksgiving too. Lord, may your praises never depart from my mouth even when I don’t understand why you seem to have forsaken me.

There are many reasons why it may look as if God has forsaken us. Sometimes God allows us to go through these distress, just like in Job’s case, to refine our faith. He wants to see if we would keep trusting him and seeking to please him even if all our hopes are dashed. Are we satisfied to have Jesus and Jesus alone or have we merely been seeking to use him as a means of fulfilling our ambitions? God seeks to purify our hope up to the point where we can say truthfully what the Psalmist said; ‘’Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.’’ (Ps.73:25). God wants to bring us to the point where we are able to continue rejoicing in the Lord despite our circumstances. This is radical joy.

But in this case the prophet diagnosed the reason for God’s hidden face as sin. Sin will always mar us. The devil likes to deceive us that a little unrighteousness doesn't matter. But it does to God. You and I need to allow God’s searchlight on our heart so that we may see ourselves as he sees us and so allow him to cleanse away the blemishes in our soul. He doesn’t desire to have us live in condemnation (it’s the devil who does that). God wants to convict us specifically about our state so that we can do away with the past because he loves us.

In closing, I am very touched by the revelation that the prophet gives us here in verse 9 ; ’In all their distress he too was distressed’’

That is great! God loves and cares for us so much that he is affected by the things that affect us. His heart aches when mine aches. O, he not only sees what I am going through he feels it too. He shares my pain. O, that means he takes our problems as his. We need never again think that he doesn’t care or that he is too slow because he is acting on our case as if it is his own. Glory be to God, he cares. He really does care.

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Comments? Questions? etc. If these messages have been helpful or unclear it would encourage us to hear from you, please write to chim_ibidun@hotmail.com

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PLEASE are you born again? It is not enough to believe in the existence of God, to go to church, or be interested in spiritual things. Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Jesus died to deliver you from sin so that you can come to God. (John 3:16) If you ask him to forgive you and give you a new heart he will. (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-11).Try it. I'd love to hear from you @ chim_ibidun@hotmail.com

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Chim'sWRITE are regular articles on Christian living and cross-cultural missions from Chimezie Onyebilanma a cross-cultural missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO is an indigenous African non-denominational cross-cultural mission agency involved in reaching the remaining unreached peoples in 22 countries of Africa and the Middle East as of present. CAPRO is involved in missions mobilization, training, and research as well as church-planting and mercy ministries (literacy, rural development, primary health-care, relief and rehabilitation). CAPRO is a faith mission, both the ministry and its missionaries depend on God's provision through the giving of his people. None of its missionaries are salaried. All gifts are used as designated.

Surface Address: CAPRO MISSIONS SA, 830 Mastiff Str, Garsfontein, 0081, Pretoria East, South Africa.Tel: +27 794737208

To learn more about the ministry of Chimezie Onyebilanma and for more useful resources visit www.chibinews.com

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