UNDERSTANDING WHY WE MARCHED
One question is agitating the minds of the
conservative arm of the church at this hour.
Should Christians or their leaders participate in
civil disobedience, street marches and rallies to protest against governmental arrogance,
tyranny, oppression and corruption?
What is the accurate Biblical standpoint on this
issue?
Is there a place for proclamation
and outcry in the streets or does the Bible forbid it?
Let the Bible speak for
itself:
1. The first time the word ‘street’ occurs in the
Bible is in Genesis 19:1&2 (KJV) when the angels of God refused to enter
the house of misguided but righteous Lot and preferred to abide in the street
all night before destroying Sodom. That in itself was an indictment and a
protest.
2. From the lamentation of David after King Saul
died, it appears that when certain types of news are proclaimed on the streets
of a city or nation, a sense of joy and triumph envelops the people therein.
(See
2 Samuel: 1:17-20)
3. Oftentimes, when a people and their leaders
persistently disobey God, He sends His prophets to the streets. (Jeremiah
11:1-6)
4. Outcry in the streets will only stop when a
nation is rescued from the hands of strange men in government whose mouths
speak lying words and whose right hands are right hands of falsehood. (Psalm
144:11-15)
Are we there yet? NO. But someone may quote the
prophecy of Isaiah out of context to confuse and
mislead religious minds from taking to the streets. Isaiah
42:1-4
If this scripture relates to Jesus Christ, how come
any of His servants will take to the street and not be in rebellion?
Saints and strangers, scripture is not capable of
private interpretation – it takes scripture to interpret scripture.
Let the Bible speak again:
i. In His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke in the
streets. (Luke 13:22-27)
ii. Not only did Jesus teach in the streets, he
commanded His disciples to take to the street and make proclamations against every
city that rejected the message of the gospel. (Luke 10:1-12)
iii. What then is the concealed message in Isaiah
42? What is it that Jesus would not say in the street? Let scripture interpret
scripture again: Matthew 12:9-21, verses 16&17 are key – “yet He warned them
not to make Him known that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet Isaiah.”
iv. It is in the same vein that charitable deeds and
prayers are forbidden in the streets, not strong protests against injustice,
crass hypocrisy and corruption. (Matthew 6:1-6)
v. Whenever truth is fallen in the street and equity
cannot enter, the voice of wisdom will cry aloud in the streets.
(a) Isaiah 59:1-15
(b) Proverbs 1:10-33.
vi. Even in troubled times, prophetic fulfillment
does not happen except the street and the wall of a city are rebuilt. (Daniel
9:20-25)
Brothers and sisters, we have locked ourselves in
the sanctuary for too long a time, fasting, praying and preaching for good
governance in our nation.
That in itself is not evil, but we need to do more
than that as the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
We need to spearhead effective social mobilization,
rebuild the spiritual streets and the walls of our nation and influence what is
happening there.
IT IS TIME FOR THE TRUE CHURCH TO COME OUT OF THE
CLOSET AND REBUILD ANCIENT RUINS.
PASTOR ‘TUNDE BAKARE FOR SAVE NIGERIA GROUP
Part of TEXT OF LIVE RADIO BROADCAST FROM THE
AUDITORIUM
OF THE LATTER RAIN ASSEMBLY,
LAGOS, NIGERIA ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2010
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