CSMN: Christians Arise And Defend Righteousness

 

Christians Arise And Defend Righteousness 

It is certain we realize that we are facing serious challenges in Nigeria. If we are going to survive and prevent further unnecessary afflictions and sufferings, we have to change our approach to issues.

Nigerian Christians are not known to be proactive or swiftly responsive to issues that threaten their faith or well being. The Jihadists have consistently exploited this "gentleness" of Christians to our collective detriment.

We are not calling us to fight or to become unruly but we should not be quiet when confronted with evil or illegality in the land. God is not impressed when we see unrighteousness and act as if evil can be negotiated with or accommodated. God gave us command on how to respond to evil: "resist the devil and he will flee from you".

If evil is not resisted, it will impose itself and wreck havoc. We see evidences of this all over Nigeria.

We are making this appeal against the background of the conduct of the 2019 Election. One does not need a seer to tell him what would happen if those who seek to hijack government should succeed.

Now is the time to use every peaceful and legitimate means possible to resist and ensure Democracy prevails. There is no point declaring prayer and fasting after they have been sworn in. Now is the time to say "no" to what is wrong.

Every Christian group should speak up now. In Press Conference, Press Statement, on Twitter, Face Book, in protest letters, and litigation challenging illegality.

Fortunately, no one can accuse us of religious bigotry since both front runners are of the same faith. Our advocacy is for the sanctity of Democracy. If there is going to be peace and progress, Democracy must prevail.

Please encourage your group to take an action. To be forewarned, is to be forearmed.

"The prudent man sees danger and hides himself. The simple goes on and suffers for it."

Christian Social Movement of Nigeria
www.csmnigeria.org
18th March, 2019

On the Brink of Nigeria’s Breakthrough, Church Arise!

A statement reflecting the opinion of Church Arise! LivingWater Ministries on the coming national elections in Nigeria.

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On the Brink of Nigeria’s Breakthrough, Church Arise!

The Presidential election tomorrow is the most critical of the elections as it will not only produce the most important player in Nigeria’s political space for the next 4 years, it will also affect the outcome of the other elections at the state and local government levels.

The failure of the incumbent government is monumental and unprecedented. For Church Arise! the bottomline is the unfeigned Islamist agenda which is responsible for such outrages as the unchecked gruesome herdsmen killings and brazen lop-sidedness of critical appointments – every agency that bears arms in Nigeria is controlled by a Muslim; and so is every key Agency in the Education sector! The culmination is the brazen unconstitutional and immoral imposition of a Sharia judge as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, bringing all three independent arms of government under the headship of people who bear allegiance to the Islamic faith.

Yet officials of the same government unashamedly boast of integrity, incorruptibility, improved security and economy, and so forth!  And quite surprisingly, there are otherwise intelligent people who endorse these obvious falsehood.  On the surface, such endorsement is a reflection of how bad the “other alternative” had performed when in power, with truly humongous atrocities committed.  The endorsements might also be traced to individuals or blocs who perceive they are being favoured in the current arrangement beyond what they could ever hope to get under any other scenario. 

In reality, both the brazenness of those pushing the strange narratives, and the docility of the masses quietly absorbing them only point at momentous spiritual manipulations and bewitchment.  Such gigantic spell cast over a whole nation could only have been procured at enormous costs in blood sacrifice, as Pastor Bosun Emmanuel extensively discussed at the CETCon in May last year (please click here for the audio).

Yet, the sovereign LORD is on the Throne!  His counsel cannot fail. No amount of any other sacrifice can trump that already provided by the Blood of the Lamb.

As Church Arise! has repeatedly made clear, while it is very desirable to have the righteous (presumably Christians) at the helm of affairs at the apex level of our political hierarchy, that is not the ultimate.  It is far more important that the Body of Christ learn to see eye-to-eye, identify issues that are of strategic interest to the Kingdom of God, clearly articulate those issues, and develop solid strategies to defend and promote them.

This done, no government (no matter the composition) would be able to push the Church around.  And we will have clear markers and guidelines to evaluate government actions and policies. 

Thankfully, the epic struggle in the past several months had finally caused a considerable section of the Body of Christ to awaken from their enchanted slumber.  In recent times, we have seen marathon prayers and praises across the length and breadth of the Land.  Including in the diaspora. We know our God is faithful and He rewards diligence. He surely will do great things this season in the land!

Church Arise! fully endorses the position articulated by Bishop Abioye of the Living Faith Church, Abuja (see Video here), and more directly expressed by Rev Isah El Bubah in the video here.  We have no doubts that they have consulted widely within the Body of Christ and also with Heaven, before making these declarations.

The clear objectives of tomorrow’s election will be to send the current government in office packing at the Federal level.  In the unfortunate situation of there not being a credible consensus Christian candidate with sufficient clout and political structure on ground, Church Arise! endorses voting for the Atiku-Obi candidature with the clear understanding that it is a stop-gap measure that must be diligently followed through with the restructuring of the Federal government into a true federation as agreed to by the founding fathers of the nation in the pre-military era Constitution.

Christians should therefore note the clear voices that God is raising up for the nation’s deliverance at this crucial period and be ready to cooperate further with them after the election – whatsoever the outcome. While it may indeed be prudent for the elders (such as the National Christian Elders Forum, and other individual Elders so recognized within the Body of Christ) to have limited their public pronouncements to prayers in the prevailing hyper-sensitive environment, their voices are well-captured in the declarations of the able-spokespersons already referred to here.

In closing, we salute the courage of our Esther in the present administration, and note his extraordinary example of Christian integrity and faithfulness to standing by commitments to even a rogue administration. What a glorious nation would emerge if such exemplary principles were put to practice en masse, in a government of the righteous!  We note that his major bold initiatives were sooner or later reversed at earliest opportunities; but who knows, if not for such a Daniel, how far in the Islamist agenda we would be by now? We pray that the God who delivered Daniel from the den of lions he was conscripted to be a pliable even if unwilling king, will give our Daniel also a glorious soft landing and leverage beyond whichever government is in power.

 We urge all to go out tomorrow and vote massively to begin the restructuring of this country to usher in the glorious destiny long-prophesied for us.  All this is in line with our mandate as salt of the earth and light of the world, occupying for the Lord, while awaiting His imminent return.

Shalom.

Ile-Ife, 15^th February, 2019.

EXHORTATION: Ready or Not, The King is Coming - David R. Barnhart

Yes, Jesus Christ is coming back again, and whether you believe it or not, you will someday have to face Him as your Savior or your Judge.

My heart breaks when I think about how soon the Lord’s return may be, and how little His Church is being prepared or encouraged to watch and wait for His coming as the Bible instructs us to do.

For most Christians, the major strategy in dealing with the doctrine of Christ’s return is to ignore it. For those in liberal churches, the solution is to opt for some kind of socialistic utopia here on earth and call it the kingdom of God

But according to the teachings of the New Testament, other than proclaiming the gospel of salvation, there is no more important doctrine than the coming again of Jesus Christ.  By His coming, Jesus will bring God’s promise of redemption into complete and total fulfillment. We’ll no longer just talk about the streets of gold, we’ll walk on them. We will no longer simply talk about Jesus, we’ll talk with Him face to face, and His own hand will gently wipe every tear from every eye. We’ll not only talk about seeing our loved ones who have gone on before, we’ll be together with them for eternity without ever again experiencing a single moment of separation.

God’s prophetic clock is counting down to the appointed hour. If you don’t believe it, listen to the latest news reports or read the morning papers. The signs of His coming are everywhere, yet the silence of the churches is deafening when it comes to proclaiming this vital truth of Scripture.  How it must grieve the heart of God to look at a sleeping church in a hell-bound world.

We are witnesses today to the fulfillment of manifold signs and prophecies of the Lord’s return. In fact, no generation since Pentecost has ever witnessed more fulfilled prophecies regarding Christ’s coming again than has this present generation. But being a witness to these things carries with it great responsibilities.

Today we are witnesses to the return of the Jews to their land and the reestablishment of the nation of Israel. We are witnesses to a resurgence of the gospel among the Jewish people, who are embracing Christ as their Messiah in numbers not seen since the time of Pentecost. We are witnesses to a revived hatred for the Jews, along with a global effort to destroy the Jewish state. We are witnesses of a hatred throughout our culture for the name of Christ and His Word, as well as a hatred for those who proclaim it.

We are witnesses to the martyrdom of thousands of Christians who are laying down their lives for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, under the grotesque hand of militant Islam. We are all witnesses today of attempts to create a one-world government and a one-world economy.

We are witnesses today of “the great falling away,” as so many churches embrace apostasy, false teachings and unbiblical practices. If Paul told the churches of his day to “WAKE UP,” what do you think he would say to the churches in the twenty-first century who have joined the ranks of the enemies of God?

The doctrine of Jesus’ imminent return must be reclaimed today in its pristine richness, as taught by the New Testament Church. Without this compelling doctrine, it is unlikely the fires of revival will ever burn again in our churches. If the events of the past decade, as well as the events that are presently unfolding in the world, are unable to motivate the church to rise up and proclaim the truth of God’s Word, the world will remain without a shred of hope!

“Rise up, O men of God, have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings.”

David R. Barnhart

http://www.thevineandbranches.org/index.cfm/church/ready-or-not-the-king-is-coming/

Donning the Hijab – Priviledge, Blackmail, or Threat?

Mainly in the western world, the mainstream media and Islamic supremacist groups are constantly preoccupied

with the supposed plight of women who are denied their much-desired “right” to wear hijab. But as we showed

in our detailed write-up a few years ago (see here), the main pushers for this “right” often turn up to be 

aggressive men who to all intents and purposes only want to tag their female-folks for the purpose of more 

effective control.    

The women who are compelled to don the same suffocating attire in all weather, day and night, certainly

don’t feel as enthusiastic! However, in many situations, they simply have no choice.

For instance on some campuses in Northern Nigeria, it is understood that the hijab provides a ready ID that

can save the female moslem in case of some supposedly spontaneous Islam-engineered massacres.

In other places such as Gaza in the Middle-East, women are compelled to put on the hijab, whereafter they 

are deployed as disposable pawns in the ongoing political intrigues in the region.

The most recent case in Nigeria is the indefinite closure of the International School,

University of Ibadan, Ibadan (see here). Here, we have a private school funded strictly by the Parents,

having a Moslem lawyer as the chairperson of the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA), and another distinguished 

Moslem as the Chairman of its governing Board; yet some Islamists claim Moslems are being denied their 

fundamental human rights to attend school in hijab!  Thank God for a clear statement from the PTA denouncing 

such moves. Similarly, Lagos state has suddenly decided (mid-November 2018) that while waiting for the case 

pending in the courts to be resolved, the status-quo to maintain is that students should be free to wear the hijab

 to school!

Whereas the mainstream media are quick to advocate for the so-called hijab-denied women, 

they turn blind eyes to the several other cases where women simply want to be left to 

choose whether to put on the hijab or not. Tunisian Moslem women are an example of people 

who successfully resisted the male chauvinists.  The Iranians were not so successful.  

Shown in the picture above was the gathering of more than 100,000 Iranian women from all works of life, 

on 8th March 1979.  They were protesting the then new Islamic government’s ruling that women must put 

on a headscarf whenever they are away from home. The hijab has since become standard feature in Iran; 

and recently, an Indian athlete preferred to withdraw from a competition in Iran rather than put on a hijab. 

This remains the true response of Moslem women wherever they have the freedom to truly express 

themselves!

Osinbajo, a Daniel in the Den

There could be no doubting that the almighty God has positioned Prof Yemi Osinbajo in the office of Vice President of Nigeria to have highly strategic influence at unprecedented auspicious times.  With an audacious Islamist mafia running roughshod over the nation’s affairs at a time even the influence of the President himself is suspected to be at best extremely minimal, demonstrating Christian loyalty as Vice President in the administration requires a specially prepared man of God!

Such principled loyalty and dignified composture while still maintaining Christian integrity is indeed a high-value witness from Pastor Osinbajo in this generation.

Even while it is only the LORD that can assess the full impact of Pastor Yemi Osinbajo’s quiet and faithful witness in the corridor of powers, one or two events have been too glaring for anyone not to see.  Such as the confirmation of a Christian, Walter Onoghen, as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, a fundamental intolerable blow to the aspirations of the Jihadists which they nevertheless had to bitterly endure.  Pastor Osinbajo was also at hand to serve the Islamist the bitter pill of removing one of the de facto powers of the ruling cabal from the highly strategic office of head of State Security.  Though the Christian replacement was no sooner booted out by an infuriated shameless junta, the moslem replacement could only be a poor replacement in achieving the original plans of a daring and desperate Islamic mafia.

It is also, of course, obvious even to the blind, that any time Pastor Osinbajo held sway as acting President,  the military suddenly found enough spirit to dare confront the infamous Fulani herdsmen (now identified by COCIN president as none less than highly trained Fulani militias).  Only the LORD knows the extent of setback to Islamist agenda those periods translate to. The US-based Nigerian human rights advocate, Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe wrote a detailed article on Osinbajo’s courageous moves and strategic influence on the affairs of our nation to date,  which can be read on our blogspot here https://churcharise.blogspot.com/2018/08/acting-president-osinbajo-saves-day.html

Church Arise! calls on the Body of Christ in Nigeria to discern and appreciate the strategic but precarious position Pastor Osinbajo is currently called by the LORD to occupy at this time in our nation.  It probably is no less precarious than Daniel’s at the courts of the Mede-Persian kings - including that memorable night in the den of the lions! The least the Church could do for him is constantly hold him up in prayer so he would finish not only well but strong - like his predecessor Daniel.

A POLITICAL ROADMAP FOR THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA

Church Arise! issued an official Statement titled CHURCH’S PRIORITY IS TO DISCERN GOD’S WILL AND BOLDLY PROCLAIM IT WITH A UNITED VOICE at the onset of the gubernatorial election in Osun State. The opinion expressed in the statement is also applicable to the coming general elections in February 2019 - from the Ward level to the Presidential election.

The summary is that the Christian Association of Nigeria should endeavour to define the strategic interests of the Church, identify a single candidate who is committed and have the capacity to promote those interests if elected into each relevant office, and should thereafter unapologetically mobilize the Christian constituency to give maximum legitimate support for such candidate.  If this is done, the Church has already won, irrespective of the eventual outcome of the election!

In addition to the Statement, we would add here that for the topmost office in the nation, the Presidency, the cabal currently in government is extremely determined to retain power, and it might take more than PVCs to it out of office.  While several of the new breed presidential aspirants might indeed be able to secure victory over the incumbent in any free and fair elections, it would be a pipe dream to expect that outcome given our current situation. 

As things are now, a grand alliance will be required.  This is not necessarily a negative development, and should not mean compromising on our core Christian principles. Rather, it would lay the foundation for governance by coalitions.  As in Israel and several countries in Europe, even small groups with major agenda can win the concessions most important to them, without necessarily occupying the highest offices. The Church should begin to mobilize her members to placing more values of issues pertaining to the Kingdom of God, and be ready to make clear stands, like Leah Sharibu.  A group that would supervise this should be forged together,  and allowed to gradually and steadily grow in influence till the Lord’s return.