CCF International Church

There is a global quest for peace in a troubled world. Paul writes to the Romans about the great difficulty in 

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul expresses his desire that they live peacefully with all men; however, he makes two preceding, cautionary statements …..

“If it is possible”

He infers that peace is not always possible. Paul is writing to a community of believers who are being seriously persecuted for their faith by both the Greeks and the Jews. 

“as much as depends on you”

Peace is not the result of a unilateral initiative. It demands bilateral and multilateral proactive conversations around the centrality of the Word of the Lord. As believers we must ensure that we are fully invested in the process.

Jesus instructs His disciples, warning them that peace must be reciprocated. Once again, peace is not the result of a unilateral initiative.

Matthew 10:12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

David met with the sons of Benjamin and Judah

1 Chronicles 12:17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment.”

David also emphasises the “principle of reciprocity” in the spiritual impartation and transactions of peace. “Peace is not the result of a unilateral initiative”

2 Kings 9:22 Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?”

So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?”

Joram, the son of Jezebel asks Jehu if he has come in peace. Jehu replies that whilst the endemic culture of harlotry and witchcraft of his mother Jezebel prevails, there can be no peace. Jesus would say “Love does not rejoice in evil”

“Peace is not the result of a unilateral initiative”

In 2024 I presented to you my perspective on the two realms that all believers function from; heaven and earth and the resultant tension that we have to embrace; we will submit to the laws of the land as long as it does not violate the Word of the Lord which determines the principles for governance and leadership of the Church.

https://roypillay.com/2024/07/05/embrace-the-tension/

Well it has now arrived on our doorstep and we have to respond to it. We have  been drawn out of our areas of safety and comfort in the spiritual realm by the continually evolving dynamics and the clamouring of voices from the ground.

Conflict and tension are unavoidable within an authentic apostolic/prophetic culture. We must embrace this reality and demonstrate bold and courageous leadership by remaining unconflicted in our faith in the Lord and His Word.

We need great grace from the Lord to declare difficult truths in environments that are hostile to the culture of the people of God

We see it throughout scripture, where the Lord raises His servants who demonstrated extraordinary courage to challenge systems and principalities that are hostile to God

Elijah did not avoid the conflict on Mount Carmel; he asked the people to choose between God and Baal, not between him and the Ahab/Jezebel administration.

We may find ourselves in a similar situation in this present day. By choosing God, we not only choose Him but everyone and everything that is aligned to Him. This is a demonstration of unconflicted faith during times of great conflict and perils.

We see the same with Peter and the apostles in Jerusalem. They did not avoid the conflict with the ruling council of religious leaders who demanded they stop preaching in the name of Jesus. The apostles were very clear and unapologetic in their defense. They knew the dire consequences of their dissent against the ruling regime

Yet they demonstrated great courage and conviction in stating their position …..

Acts 5:29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.

After they were eyewitnesses of the Divine Visitation of the Lord  in the prison, their faith remained even stronger than before, undiminished and unconflicted in the One they worshipped and adored.

The religious council of leaders in Jerusalem will label the words of the apostles as “brazen rebellion” against the   authority of the day.

The reality was that the Council and the priesthood in Jerusalem wanted exclusive rights for all the religious activities in the city; they wanted to control what was being taught and preached in the city; they were prepared to incarcerate those who dared to challenge their narrative. This is called CENSORSHIP

In this season, we need to apply the wisdom of Gamaleil in this present day who declared ….

Acts 5:38 And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; 39 but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

The faith of the apostles remained strong and unconflicted in their faith in the Lord in the face of grave intimidation. Before they were set free, they were beaten and reprimanded and banned from speaking in the name of Jesus.

Acts 5:40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Paul continued to preach Jesus; he was thrown out of the Temple and the doors of the Temple were shut.

Acts 21:30 And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

Now let us return to the situation on the ground.

SUPPRESSION OF INFORMATION, MORE SPECIFICALLY THE WORD OF THE LORD

During the days of Elijah, we know that 100 prophets were hidden in caves. We see this as God protecting the lives of His servants. However, this may be interpreted as civil disobedience by the administration of Ahab/Jezebel. In many nations, freedom of religion does not exist. We should keep the wisdom of Gamaleil in mind when we respond to external threats and laws like we are experiencing in this  present day

Presently, there is great resistance from the Church regarding the State attempting to regulate the Church

The statement issued by the church defenders ………. “The South African Church was never collectively consulted, mandated, or authorised to establish a national self-regulatory framework under the auspices of the CRL Rights Commission”

Here is the gaslight that has been set off ………..

“The church does not want to be controlled – it wants to function without submission to peers”

Believers must not be unnecessarily intimidated by these remarks that greatly undermine the integrity of the Church. Herod the great, the ruler of Judea could not suppress and kill Jesus while He was a  newborn baby.  We must be careful that our faith remains unconflicted and resolute in the Lord. 

For those of us who are familiar with essential, non negotiable principles of corporate governance, we will recognise the statement made by the defenders of the faith as a MASSIVE STATEMENT concerning the protocols to engage the Lord’s Church

The church defenders are drawing the line in the sand. They are establishing a clear boundary by stating the protocols for engagement; a non negotiable standard for communication; a high benchmark for behaviour and performance in an environment that despises the non negotiable reality that the church is built on the Rock, Christ Jesus and His Word.

They are simply declaring elementary principles in corporate governance and leadership; that a desired corporate outcome demands corporate Consultation

They are inferring that the church will not be bullied into accepting and embracing unilateral decisions that are designed to oppress the church and keep it as a vassal and subservient to an external regime. We are saying that the reason we have a gridlock is that the external regime has despised the need to consult with the church

Consultation is necessary to build trust and transparency. It improves the quality of decisions. Dissent against these expressions of injustice, oppression and bullying is at the heart of an authentic apostolic/prophetic culture

There is no option for us; there is no choice. The friends of Daniel were not conflicted in their response

Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

What these men are saying is that this is not something where they have a choice.They are internally configured to obey God, even if the natural heat in the furnace is turned up ten times, this is no comparison to the “effulgence”, to the radiance and the brightness of the One appearing in the form of the fourth man in the fire

Effulgence becomes visible when we demonstrate the courage, boldness and the audacity of our internal convictions in our unconflicted faith in the Lord.

The fourth man is in the form of the Son of God. He appears as a man. This is a great example of the representation of Christ. As sons of God, we are called to demonstrate His nature during challenging circumstances. We are carriers of His Presence which is able to protect those whose lives are being endangered by the flames. 

The response of the friends of Daniel may be considered by the administration of Nebuchadnezzar as blatant rebellion against the highest authority in the land, it may be considered as foolish, lacking wisdom, but the internal spiritual configuration of these men gives them zero option. They are sons of God.

If we thought that the demand of the defenders of the faith concerning the need for consultation was unbiblical, observe carefully how the Sovereign Lord Himself, engages His own Church.

The ascended Christ Jesus commissions John to send a written document to the seven churches in the cities in Asia Minor.

John was instructed to write the things that he had seen.

Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

Christ called John who was in the Spirit. He was in exile on the Island of Patmos. 

Being in the Spirit is being in an elevated state under the influence and leading of the Holy Spirit; by the grace of the Lord he accessed the realm of spiritual enlightenment so that he could see the spiritual condition of the churches in Asia.

This is Christ Jesus engaging His own church through written communication; He stands outside and knocks at the door of His own Church, waiting expectantly and hopefully to be invited inside. This is the level of honour and reverence Christ gives to the leadership and believers in His own church with all its flaws; although the people inside were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked ….. yet Jesus would respect His church by knocking on its front door. He sends His church a letter that reveals His concerns. 

Leaders of the seven churches need to be careful that they focus on the letter sent to their church. They need to be totally focussed on the weaknesses that the Lord had identified and not be distracted by minding the business of his brother.

A HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO

For example the bishop in Ephesus uses the resident gift of discernment to speak negatively about the church in Pergamos; talking about the false prophets and apostles; saying that the throne of satan is in Pergamos, that the teachers there are teaching the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans 

The bishop of Pergamos hears about this and retaliates because he also received his letter written in a book of letters; he would turn around and say to the Ephesians that they have no faith in the Lord; that they have lost their first love; that the Lord is going to remove the lampstand in Ephesus 

This is the great conflict and tension that we have in this present day

Another scenario unfolds where the Bishop in  Smyrna speaks negatively about the practices in the church at Thyatira. He says Jezebel is the prophetess in Smyrna and she is teaching the doctrine of demons; she is teaching and seducing the servants of the Lord to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

The bishop in Thyatira retaliates by saying that Smyrna has Jews who constitute the synagogue of satan. 

The reality is that unless we have a helicopter  view of the corporate church in Asia Minor just like John did our sight and perspective will be limited and prejudiced 

It would be a great practical exercise to study ministeries whose teachings focus almost exclusively on the love of the Lord. We may discover that these ministries have their roots in trauma endured through affliction from religious extremists.

What is the solution? 

CONFLICT IS INEVITABLE 

Every church is dealing with its own challenges. Every church has received its own letter from the Lord. This season demands great grace. May our eyes be enlightened to see like John did in the Spirit. May our faith in Him who sent the letter be unconflicted even during times of great conflict. Grace and peace 🙏🙏