During the Summer fast, Pastor Andrew Kuksenko, a member of the apostolic council, preached on the topic: “Fear of God. Church. Rebellion”. This subject is very important since it is the foundation of developing a lasting relationship with our Creator which is essential in realizing His promises. The fear of God requires the right attitude
The word of God makes us to know that «The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction» (Proverbs. 1:7)
What is the fear of God?
“There are various definitions given, but personally I would define the fear of God as a reverent state of perception of God and His commandments, which is expressed in peoples readiness to abandon their points of view and principles, submitting those to God’s principles and truth. Ps. 49:7 warns us on the dangers of carrying out decisions without God’s guidance. God says that He will judge his people not for the sins or failures, but for disrespect and lack of fear of God in His presence,” (Pastor Andrew).
The fear of God is measured by a person’s ability to put God and His expectations first in life and the readiness to accept His rebuke.
Pastor Andrew, mentioned that the church is God’s representation on earth with the responsibility of enforcing His values over every sphere in the society as indicated in 1Timothy 3:14-15 “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”
We need to understand that God is the author of the church for Himself and therefore insight of how to run it should only come from Him and His word.
Before God, a church is a symbol of heaven and therefore being a part of a church influences one’s position in the Kingdom of God. All in all without a revelation from God, people will not understand the purpose and importance of the church.
The Church was established by Jesus Christ on the principle of the theocracy whereby God in His own wisdom cause individuals to occupy different positions such as apostle, pastor, teacher, prophet, evangelist, etc (Ephesians 4:11-12, Act. 20:28)
A church can a local or apostolic.
A local church takes care of people; it nurtures, nourishes and surrounds them with love. Its main concern is for the people to remain in the church.
An Apostolic Church focuses on training and equipping it members to discover and fulfill their callings.
The Embassy of God church is a true Apostolic church! We live to establish the Kingdom of God here on earth. Pastor Andrew emphasized that every member of this church is expected to clearly understand the nature and purpose of the church. This is essential in enabling the members move in one spirit aiming at fulfilling one goal.
What does it mean to be a member of an apostolic church?
It means:
- to dedicate his/her life to God and making His will the centre of his/her life and also accepting the teachings of the church
- accepting the leading pastor and the church as God’s gift. Be willing to be strengthened by the church instructions in faith, being obedient and humble while aiming at becoming a minister or pastor in the future
- take on a specific responsibility in the church, taking care of people, lead a Bible study group, spread the Word of God, take part in different social services, etc.;
- define a personal calling and start pursuing it and assist a local church in fulfilling God’s divine mission.
- take responsibility for spreading God’s vision of ‘producing’ future leaders in a local church (according to the system of education and social services of the Church).
However, whether a church is apostolic or local there will always be people who are dissatisfied with how the pastor or how things are run. For this reason God sent Jesus to be His prototype Who had a specific purpose and calling. Throughout His ministry, He received opposition from the Pharisees and the scribes who wanted to destroy His mission.
The Pharisees were aware of the destructive power of rebellion and indignation of the people, therefore, even having wicked desires they feared rebellion.
In Mark 14:1-10 we read about Mary Magdalene pouring the precious ointment on Jesus’ feet. The ointment was quite expensive, so the most reasonable decision would be to sell it and give to the poor. The disciples thought it would be a reasonable decision, so they began to secretly discuss between each other. They based their ideas on their own reasoning about the event.
As a result of all these reasoning Judas Iscariot was “born” behind Jesus’ back, the one, who betrayed Christ afterwards.
This example proves that any kind of rebellion among the people will SURELY give “birth” to a Judas! Someone will certainly lose the fear of God and allow Satan will to mislead them.
it is easier to believe that Judas appeared, because he was supposed to appear according to the prophecy. Yet he did not show himself before the disciples began to question their leader‘s actions behind his back, based on their own conclusions!
Pastor Andrew cautioned that event though at times our leaders might come up with decisions we are not approving, we should back off from judging them. This is because no one comes to leadership except put by God and our thoughts are not God’s, nor our ways not His ways. Our leader’s decisions might seem unpopular but before God they might be correct. For this reasons we ought to be obedient.
Beloved, keep your hearts clean and beware of the rebellion!
May God bless each of you,
Press-centre of the Embassy of God Church.
Translated by Iryna Panasyuk
Edited by June Bugenyi
