Revelations 6 (Part VII) The Souls Under the Alter cont'd

By Odon Bulamba (Friday 20th May 2005)


WHAT IS THE WORD OF GOD?


The Bible says the souls under the altar were slaughtered because of the Word of God.


- What is the Word of God?
- The Bible
- So, if I throw the book like that, I throw the Word of God?
- …


The Word of God is the truth, John17: 17. This is the definition of the Word of God. What is written in it are sometimes stories but behind that story, there is a power that can save and that can transform a human being.


Just reading the Scriptures doesn’t mean anything unless we discover the life inside that Word. It really becomes the Word of God then. A magician can say magic prayers from the Bible and he does it with Satan’s power, it has become for him a simple book. When you destroy your body and don’t give it to God, your body belongs to someone else. The Bible gives us a good definition of soul; soul and body are different. When your soul comes out of your body, you are dead and none can see what direction it takes or can stop it move there and the Word of God has also that power to give the soul life; it is called the soul of God.


At the beginning Moses saw the Spirit of God moving on water. Today, is that Spirit really moving on oceans or any type of water? I don’t think so. We’ve talked about the meaning of “water” and we’ve understood it means “the Word of God”.


Whenever that Word doesn’t have the power to lead what we are reading, it has become powerless, useless. That’s why many preachers open their Bibles to preach and read verses and verses to the point everybody starts yawning. People don’t understand the preaching. The Word was read but there was no anointment, no power. So, whenever you want to read the Word, prepare yourself and ask for anointment. Ask for God’s power to be upon it when you share it to others so that it can convince, transform and show the way. If we’d rather use our own analyses and knowledge, the message will be powerless.


If we offer the Word of God to people without preparing it properly, it’s easily forgotten. Can you tell me what you learnt 2 weeks ago? You will easily remember it, if it has penetrated your heart. Souls that are ready to work together with the body and heart towards God can easily receive the message from the Word and keep it. But if not, the spirit of distraction will work against what you’re receiving. You might be here with us but you’re actually thinking of rice, your dog or your appointment tomorrow. Your spirit is not working with your body.


So, these people shared the Word of God and consequently were killed. When they died, their souls went somewhere. If you prepare your soul, dying is beneficial as the Bible says but if your soul is not prepared and is not in good condition, death would then mean, eternal death. So, let’s be aware that as Christians we must work not only for our physical body but also for our soul. This is how God works; when we grow nobody can see the growth. Only someone that hasn’t seen a child for a few months can see some change in his/her life.


Spiritually we grow the same way, when people visit us they must see some changes otherwise, we are sick. Who among us will be happy to be a dwarf? We are also called to grow spiritually. If not, we can spend many years in a church and stay at the same height, stop growing and put ourselves all the time under the altar, saying: “God, God, why? Intervene, justify me, do something, revenge.” God will answer: “Wait! Grow up first. When you grow, you’ll understand.”


It’s impossible for a child to understand his Dad doesn’t have any money. “If it’s not in your pocket, it’s in your purse or try your bank card …”. Why can’t he accept it? Because, whenever he asks for something, he wants it and must receive it. He doesn’t care whether his Dad has the money or not.


And many Christians are like that:
- Oh, God, I want that, give me this and that also … and God says:
- Please, understand, this is not the right time to receive this or that. Wait.
- No, I can’t wait. God hurry up!


And if your son or daughter does this to you you’ll raise your voice and tell him/her to shut up or you’ll give them a smack and the child will cry again.


Because of a lack of understanding, the church today is still crying:


“God doesn’t listen to us, He doesn’t do anything for us, doesn’t intervene”.


And we cry a lot and a lot to the point that we start to annoy God and we forget the essential things, we’re just hanging on useless stuff.


So these people were asking God to intervene and for how long will they have to wait. Asking God to intervene is not bad.


Revelation 10: 6 reflects the picture in Genesis 4: 6-7.


A man had two sons; Cain and Abel and they were living together. Abel means “the one who raises up” and Cain means “acquire”. One day, both of them went to offer something to God. It might have been the very first altar built, although some theologians say the first altar was built at the time of Noah. Cain offered vegetables and Abel animals. Because God is God, He chose the gift of the youngest.


The older son worked in the fields and said: “This is what I’ve got: cabbages, veges, cucumbers … here they are.”


God looked at them: “Put them aside” and He accepted what Abel offered.


At that very second, Cain got angry because God hadn’t responded at the very time Cain wanted to. God knocked at his door, warned him to be careful and told him he’d better try to control the situation. By doing so, he could even be above his brother and his sacrifice could even be better than his brother’s. But Cain didn’t listen to God’s voice; he went to the field with his brother, jumped on him and killed him.


In the church today, many people talk about that story explaining that Cain was bad, angry and killed his brother forgetting God had intervened and promised him better than this if he just could have self-control. “You should rule over it.”

- If you do well, I’ll accept you. If you do well, I’ll never reject you. If you do well, God will approach you. The choice is yours.


So, don’t blame God for having a hard life and for suffering. You’ve got a choice. Tell Him:


- God, as you’ve offered me an alternative, I want this life to be changed and become something else. I choose a better one. I don’t like a life of suffering, of sickness… please change it.


And by doing better on your side now, God will change it.


But if you do nothing, just sit back and wait for God to do more, you’ll become a loser. Sometimes, we don’t make an effort to feed our souls, or to draw our spirit closer to God. God might then skip us, pass over us and continue to bless other people’s lives. That is when we’ll wake up and start crying. These people will remember God and contact Him only when they are in trouble.


So when Abel was killed by his brother, his blood and his soul went to the Almighty God. Abel’s blood was crying, asking for justice. Abel needed justice; he might have liked to live more on earth. Can a human being’s soul cry out for justice? Yes, it can. Our lives need justice and this is not about the physical justice, dealing with the judge at court to sort out problems (this is the justice of this world). The justice we need is called the righteousness of God, when we walk together with God; He’ll be satisfied with our lives and we’ll also be satisfied with His life in us.


When someone is wrong and you don’t warn them, you’re not practising justice, you’re wrong too and God will count it against you even if you justify it by not wanting to get into people’s lives. This is a problem for God and Abel’s blood cried out to God for justice. The body was already dead but the soul was crying for something.


When does your soul cry out for God’s justice in your life? Have you already thought about it? Or can you only cry out for material things? If your faith is small, how many times have you asked God to make it grow? If you feel weak, how many times have you asked God to fill you with new strength or new power?


We make an effort to get to an appointment even when we’re tired, but when it’s an appointment with God and we feel tired we easily put it off until tomorrow or the next time and God looks at us and asks us if we really practise justice.


God asked these souls to wait until the number would be complete and then He will intervene. Sometimes we ask God for something and God tells us to wait until … be patient. Patience is essential in Christian life. Don’t lose control because of a lack of patience. Please try to be patient and not be disappointed if things are not for now. God might bring something you don’t like at first. You’re asking God for money and He brings you problems that require money. You’re asking God for healing and He increases your fever. You’re asking God for peace and your child breaks a plate … and you ask God until when? He answers: Just wait to see how much you act.