And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him. Then Thomas , who is called the Twin , said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with Him.
John 11:15-16 NKJV
Look at what Thomas said in that scripture above: “let us also go, that we may die with him” – what a thought! He had accepted the death of Lazarus as final and the end of everyone! Some accepted this backsliding as the state of the Church and they have quietly removed their boots and their guard… “Let us also go the way he went and let us die with him.” This may be the reason many preachers are all preaching alike; repeating the same errors that killed men of old. You see, the aspiration of many young ministers today is “go and die with him!”
Can you see that it was lust for women that slew Samson and wrecked Solomon? And it has reduced many a fiery preacher to a mere piece of bread … yet you never desist from the way they went. You also are beginning to carry girls about on your entourage. You are playing with the same fire that burnt your masters into ashes and left them a shadow of what they were born to be. You are the recent brother Thomas of our day; you have silently said, “let us also go and die with him.”
You know it was the desire to be known and honoured that quenched the powerful anointing on your heroes in ministry as they ascribed greatness to themselves and decorated themselves with bogus titles and honorary degrees. It was this desire to be exclusive and to maintain a class that excluded them from the fellowship of the brethren and the corporate discipline of the Body of Christ, until they fell headlong.
You have also charted the same path for your feet even as young as you are. You are now a big man – “untouchable”, “unteachable”, “unreachable” and “unhelpable”! You sit in the “apex” of leadership alone when you have never learnt servanthood! You surround yourself with sycophants and praise singers, who dare not point out your mistakes lest they are fired … You hire and fire! You sit on the neck of your brethren and make them to serve you rather than their LORD. You make them call you “Papa”; “Daddy”; “Set-man”; “Apostle” etc. You intimidate brothers to succumb to your tricks; using the Scriptures out of context … I see you are the Thomas of our days. You have said in your heart and have said to all in your company… “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Balaam had great anointing. He was an acclaimed and recognized seer in the region of Median. He could fall into a trance and see an open vision of the open heavens. He heard God so clearly that whatever he said came to pass. Greed however killed him. Honorarium, gifts, prophet’s offering, envelopes, offering bags; reward of divination (or what modern preachers tag as “Revelation offering”) were the shovels that dug his grave. He actually died before he died. He died spiritually; he died prophetically. He became a soothsayer! When a prophet becomes a joker on the pulpit, a sooth-sayer who says what soothes his hearers, he prophesies peace, promotion, prosperity; prolongation; procreation; power; platforms, omitting God’s own pre-requisite ‘P’ for purity, he is already dead. He has lost his sense of judgement. He collects money from everyman who seeks his help in prayer. He says “thou shall not appear before the prophet empty handed.” He collects offering even from sinners on the crusade ground. If cripples and beggars assemble for his meetings, he would still first ask them to sow a seed for their miracles! This was how Gehazi ran after Naaman, the leper. He collected raiment, olive yards; sacks of goods … He carried on the chariot weights of silver and loaded it into his chambers. He told a lie and exaggerated “the problem in his ministry” to raise an offering from a young convert-Naaman. He died of the same leprosy.
Would you quickly forget what killed Achan at the brink of Jericho Crusade Outreach? The silver and the gold bracelets of the men of Jericho! Or do you pretend not to remember what cut short Saul, the son of Kish – the first king of Israel? The spoils of the Amalekites! Pause here and think!!