Family Of God (part II)

By Odon Bulamba (17 August 2001)

Philippians 2:2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Remember one thing. Our thoughts can lead us to life or death. When you think, you can sin, you will be led to death or when you think you can have life, you will be led to life.

Paul says one thing, “it is not I that lives but Christ that lives in me”. On the outside people knew that it was Paul, but everything that came from him was the manifestation of Jesus in him. There once was a guy who wanted to earn money. So he started thinking and saying, “Because I have nothing I can use only my brain, God gave me a mind to think and act so I’ll use it”. However this guy went the wrong way and started making money that was false. The 10% he gave to the church was a large amount and everybody in the church would say, “this man is a good Christian, do not lose him, if he goes there will be no church”. Some people knew he was making false money. Thoughts. Although he used his mind for this, he ended up broke.

In God’s church today sometimes we have different thoughts. May your yes be yes. Help each other with God’s Word. If you ask me, “brother I have a problem, and the Bible says this and that about my problem, can you please meditate on these verses with me so that I can find the light, because if you don’t help me I might be lost forever”? We must help one another and ask ourselves, what will be the consequence if I don’t help my brother; will he give up the faith?

God doesn’t speak through trees or stones but through man. A prophet is a man like us, an apostle is like us, and a disciple is like you. When the person speaks and it is fulfilled, you will know that it is true. So we must be very careful with our thoughts. How do we use our thoughts negatively? 89% of Christians use their thoughts negatively. If you see brother Andrew looking at you in a bad way, you will think he hates you. The way he looks at you speaks 1000 words. But who told you that? Have you looked deep into Andrew’s heart to know what he thinks? This is a judgement. This is not a fruit of the spirit. You must first know the situation. If you doubt or think differently you must talk with that person. “My brother, this is what I think”. He will then say, “This is not the truth”. Confess straight away because your thoughts have made you sin.

We can be influenced by our surroundings. Where are your thoughts now? You cannot force God to do what He has planned for tomorrow, and you cannot change what He has planned to do. Sometimes Christians who are strong spiritually can be arrogant and make the weaker become a slave. Those who become a slave to these people are not slaves according to the law but man. This is a shame. This is what the Pharisees do. When a soul was saved they would use them. Instead of teaching them how to live the Christian way, they would change the word and make them serve man instead of God.

In God’s family according to Philippians 2:2 our thoughts must be the same. If you have a problem, go to your brother and ask him, “brother, this is my problem, can we find a solution together?” He will say, “Yes my brother, let’s pray”.

In everything God’s glory must be recognized. In any problem God is the solution. Before Oscar played football he would gather together his team and pray. Although he has the ability to win the match he still would pray. Why does he pray? The victory is not Oscars’ but God’s. Oscar doesn’t know the future and he doesn’t know what will come in the next two seconds. Many Christians today don’t have the time to ask God for anything. If they have a problem they say, I’m the solution. Who told you that you are the solution? God says He is the solution but you say that you are the solution. Let’s be careful. Some Christians can say, I don’t need Michael I’ll just kneel down and pray. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews, “it is difficult to love God Your creator if you do not love your neighbour”.

Do not speak behind your neighbour’s back. To love your neighbour doesn’t mean that what you’ve shared with Oscar you can share with Nathaniel, unless you agree with that person. Sometimes God can reveal to you a situation, which He will not allow you to tell anyone. When John wrote Revelation he talked about the seven trumpets and seven seals but God said, “seal this message”. Daniel also was the same. This teaches us something. We must not as Christians have diarrhoea with our words.

If you receive you must open your heart to other people’s problems. If someone comes to you and says you have made a mistake, open your heart and think about what you are taught and pray together. Don’t be like a man who is blind. He talks about something he doesn’t know and many Christians are like that today. You can ask them something but they answer you with things that don’t make sense and it causes confusion. Never be a stumbling block for others. When will we grow? When will we be able to grow?

Ephesians 4:15, speak the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head, that is, Christ.

If you speak the truth but don’t have love it profits you nothing. If you show love but don’t have the truth, it profits you nothing. That is why many Christians are spiritual babies. They can have a doctorate in theology but are still babies.

In 1978 the Pope got shot. When he was healed he said, “I forgive this person and as proof of my forgiveness I will employ him to work in the Vatican”. Someone asked the Pope, “Why did you forgive him”? The Pope said, “I forgave him because I am the Pope and he is my child”. Is this the truth or not? Something is hidden here. If you read Revelation 17, you’ll see. They wanted to cover up the prophecy that was predicted on him.

Many Christians are the same. When Sylvie comes to my house I show joy, but when she leaves I become a lion. When children watch television and their dad comes home they want to flee, because the sheriff is home. The presence of some people can be disturbing. It is like putting rats with cats. This is the situation for most Christians. They want to please those around them, but are not able to please their parents or children. They are Christians when they are in front of other Christians, but they are not Christians in their everyday life. This is a shame because you deceive yourself. God can see the deep things in your heart.