DEAR MINISTER Pt.11

RUN FROM THE "ABC" TRAP( B)

One of the Popes in history took St. Thomas Aquinas around the magnificient church building. He said, "No longer can we say silver and gold have I none".

St. Thomas Aquinas replied saying "Neither can we say 'rise up and walk." The former was obsessed with the magnificience of the building but the latter pointed him to the loss of power in the church.

I heard the story of a preacher who was a cougar to high class society women. He will sniff cocaine to sleep with these women. He was doing threesome.

Why? Anywhere he wanted a church, these rich women will build one for him. That was the promise they made to him. It was a deal. He was obsessed with physical building at the expense of his soul.

'B' for building. Is it bad for a church to build? No it is not. I am an advocate owning properties instead of renting. In fact, I counsel that churches start building early and not wait till they have problem of space.

As a ministry, we are also building and trusting God for huge funds to finish it. I know God will finish what He started in Jesus name.

However, it is a demonic trap to be so obsessed with physical building at the expense of building God's people. It is Satan's ploy to make ministers compete in building structures using it as one of the metrics of success.

One of the fallouts of apostasy in church history is the focus on building magnificient structures. It became an obsession of the Bishops of those days till the church lost the fire of the Spirit.

Unfortunately, some of those magnificient structures have either been burnt down, demolished or taken over by the enemies of the Cross. Hagia Sophia cathedral is an example.

The Jihad of the Ottoman leader ensured Hagia Sophia turned to a mosque. Muslims worshipped there for over 400 years before the government of Tutkey turned it to a museum. That shows God doesn't dwell in buildings made by man but God indwells man.

Acts 7:48 says, "However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says".

Another place reads, “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples"( Acts 17:28).

Dear minister, do not get carried away by building physical structures. While it is good for our comfort as a people, it should never be an obsessive pursuit or a thing of pride.

God has not called us to build the biggest cathedral. It is not a calling neither is it a ministry. It shouldn't even be mentioned that one of our metrics for success in ministry is building.

Some monies are better invested in evangelism, missions and discipleship than in building our empire. The empire of man will always fall as that has been the order in history.