FEATURE ARTICLE

Saturday, September 8, 2018
[email protected]
Bonn, Germany
ROBBERS IN THE HOUSES OF GOD (1)

But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God (John 3:21)

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father (John 14:12)

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16)

And we've got to ask ourselves some very serious questions as to whether or not certain religious leaders, in terms of raising money - I hate to bring this up - are pushing hot buttons (Tony Campolo)

If you're not critical about your history, that can be a problem because there are religious leaders, politicians and all kinds of powerful people who can take advantage of a population that isn't really thinking (Jose Gonzalez)

igerian religious leaders have abandoned their God given responsibilities and duties (to shepherd His flock), and are now robbers by other names. Just like what the Pharisees and Scribes of the Old Testament did that led to their destruction and that of Israel (Ancient Judah), the Nigerian religious leaders are also going that way. About 2, 500 years ago, Prophet Jeremiah was always on the streets of Jerusalem, criticizing his generation for their bad behavior, but nobody listened to him, and all he said was neglected, until it was too late.

According to the Bible (Jeremiah 7:1-11): "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message:

"'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

"'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"-safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD."

The Bible also tells us that more than two thousand years ago, Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. He said to them "'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it 'a den of robbers." (Matthew 21:12).

May God send His son, Jesus, immediately to Nigeria to see what the Nigerian Christian leaders have turned His Houses into!

In the same way, Allah should also send Prophet Mohammed to Nigeria to go into the mosques to see what the Muslim leaders have turned His Houses into. Muslim leaders are now doing gunrunning, hiding guns and dangerous weapons inside the mosques, while ordering their followers to kill non-Muslims, the infidels. Some Imams and Muslim religious leaders are the forces behind the Fulani herdsmen menace and Boko Haram killings, and even the ethnic and religious killings going on in Nigeria since independence have their signatures. Some of the religious leaders do also give the go ahead orders to their followers to engage in political violence, killing many, whenever their candidate fails to win an election. These are not how these religious leaders are supposed to be behaving.

Paraphrasing Dr. Aland Mizell, millions of their followers believe that their respective Islamic leaders are the chosen one and that they talks to Allah. In the view of those who believe them and follow them, they all will go to heaven. If an Imam tells his followers to jump, many of his devotees will jump; that is why they kill whenever he orders them to. The Islamic religious leaders are dangerous persons and corrupt because they are the ones corrupting young minds.

Due to hardship and unpredictability of life in Nigeria, millions of Nigerians always seek breakthroughs, and they run to churches and mosques, hoping to be succored there only to be sucked in. Nigerians pretend to be overtly religious and for that they allow the religious leaders to have pervasive influence on them. The BBC wrote that "Religious leaders are particularly trusted in Africa, a BBC World Service "Who Runs Your World?" survey of global attitudes towards power has revealed. Three-quarters of those questioned in Africa identified religious leaders as the most trusted group, compared to only a third worldwide. In Nigeria 85% of those questioned trusted religious leaders and a similar proportion were willing to give them more power."

The religious leaders, instead of succoring their poor flock, are divesting them of the little they had. Instead of the poor Nigerians, who flock to the churches or mosques, seeing breakthroughs, they're falling into the poverty hole deeper and deeper. While the religious leaders are getting richer, their followers are getting poorer - instead of tending to the flock, they tend to their own pockets. Many saw the video of a woman pastor demanding a million Naira, each, from her church members by force; and another woman pastor was demanding the sum of one thousand dollars, each, from her church members, and these lady pastors did not want to know if those church members can afford it. One of the lady pastors in question was even boasting that she will soon buy a private jet. Such attitude is stealing by tricks.

Taking words from Dr. Aland Mizell again, the religious leaders and their families live lavishly - the mix of faith and corruption. Many of them are incredibly wealthy, while their followers gave up all of their earthly goods in order to follow them. No wonder people are getting fed up with religion when things like this are happening. No wonder people make jokes quipping, "If you want to become rich, build a church." Those religious leaders always claim that they are the chosen one and that they are constantly talking to God. They always cajole their followers to give to their ministries, so that God will bless them, heal them, or prosper them. The religious leaders are stealing from the most vulnerable and destitute of people. They will preach about giving, but they will practice taking. Jesus did not live in a mansion with servants waiting on him hand on foot, while his disciples lived in poverty. Jesus lived the same way his disciples did.

The religious leaders become involved in corruption, using donated or church money to build mansions for themselves, to buy private jets or helicopters; ride expensive vehicles, sleep with delectable women; send their children to the best schools, have fat bank accounts, etc. Some religious leaders tell their followers that God personally gave them a vision that they should have a nice car and a nice building, trying to convince the people that it was ordained by God and asking members to give more money to fund and fulfill this vision. The Nigerian religious leaders are mainly false teachers spewing out deceptive doctrines, and unlike Christ, they're not good shepherds, because, they do not watch over and keep the souls of their sheep. Many religious leaders use coached testimonies, fake healing, and outright extortion to deceive others.

The religious leaders move with police escorts, but, why can't they have faith in the protection of God they claim to serve? Many of them will go to hospital when they're sick, but, will tell their members that their prayers will be enough to heal them. Imagine how many Nigerians who have lost their lives by believing such nonsense just because "a man of God" said so? And as someone pointed out, instead of feeding the 5000 hungry people like what Jesus did, today's prophets are being fed by 5000 hungry people.

The Nigerian religious leaders are misguiding their followers, they're leading their flock astray; they do not have the Spirit of God in them and are not sealed with the Holy Spirit. Although the Bible, in Heb. 13:7, implores followers to "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith", but, there's nothing good to learn from most Nigerian religious leaders. The problem is that the faith Nigerians are displaying is based on the wisdom of men and not in the mighty works of God. The Bible warns that the false promises the misguided congregations adhere to lead to death and destruction. In Matthew 15:8-9, the Bible emphasizes on fake religious leaders by saying that "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules."

The deceptive Nigerian religious leaders do add or take away from the Word of God to suit them. They distort the Scriptures, and insert whatever they want in order to justify the exploitation or subjugation of their followers. They commit frauds at the pulpit through their preaching, because, they lack the spirit of truth, and as destined-to-be-revealed blog noted, mainstream Christianity is all but dead as a result of adhering to the doctrines of wolves in sheep's clothing, whose goal it is to fleece the masses from spiritual as well as financial treasures.

What we have are mostly dubious religious leaders: Many of them are now homosexuals, sleeping with some of their male church members; while many who are still heterosexuals sleep with the wives of some of their church members. Many of us saw the video of a pastor in Ibadan by name, Osho, who took his church members to the mountain for praying and fasting only to take a female member, someone's wife, to a corner for bedding, and then, another member of the church caught and started filming them.

Thieves will go to religious leaders for prayers for successful and safe operations, and upon return, they will still go back to the religious leaders to give them their own share and for more blessings. I watched a video where a pastor was helping a car thief to sell his stolen vehicles by connecting him to his rich friends or congregants. A young man will singlehandedly build a church and a Bishop will accept and consecrate it without asking questions about the source of that wealth. Criminals will make their money through all immoral means but the churches and mosques will accept their donations without questions asked.

To be continued

TIT BITS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXAqoZuYvyA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3-dMvkZM-A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XRmGEbH0qs

THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!


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