How often have you found yourself desperately in need of help at the mid-night hour, when most (if not all) people have switched off their mobile phones?

Sometimes, when you are lucky enough to find someone to help, it’s either they do not have enough money for fuel to come and help you where you are, or they will give you some “reason” of failing to help.

How about this one? They always give help on their own Terms and Conditions, so you have no choice but to oblige.

Who do you call when you do not even know how to direct people to the location you are stuck in? {I hear someone say: “that’s one reason for getting a GPS (“,)}

These are some of my experiences travelling to and fro between Springs and Pretoria for the past 16 years working with Radio Pulpit. Thinking about this the other day led me to the spiritual aspect of this experience.

I know you probably have faced bigger storms than this in your life, needing money to pay the house bond or the car installment in three days or else it will be confiscated, needing money to pay for your school fees or else you won’t be allowed to write your final examination, and the list of all our experiences is endless.

It is in such times that you need a friend as the saying goes, “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” One role a true friend can play should be that you can call them up anytime of the day or night with confidence knowing they will come through for you no matter what (is that possible?). However, according to my experience this is NOT always possible because of various factors, economic, technical etc, and surely I can’t blame any of my friends for being unable to help if they cannot. BUT I know a GOD whose promises are true in any dilemma I may find myself in.

GOD’S PROMISES

• But there is a friend who sticks closer than any brother. Prov 18:24
• The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Ps 9:9
• The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. Ps 34:17
• God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Ps 46:1
• And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Ps 50:15
• Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Ps 34:19
• For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.  Is 41:13
• If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  John 15:7

No situation is too difficult for God, trust Him to see you through this valley, remember you passing through, you are not stuck in it. As Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart would sing “For the God of the mountain is still God in the valley, when things go wrong He’ll make them right.” Only in His time.

Sipho Kaleni

When Jesus was quite young (age 12), He was found engaging doctors and bible scholars in the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:42-52). People there were astonished by His understanding of God’s WORD. From then on the bible declares that “Christ increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man.” Verse 52

Why was it important for Jesus to know the WORD?

Well there are many reasons that are provided in God’s WORD to this effect, however I wish to share these few for the purpose of this discussion. The two gospels according to Matthew and Luke give us an account of Jesus being led by God’s Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. Having been involved in a fasting and prayer season for 40 days and nights Satan tempted Jesus on three areas (which we will highlight below); however I wish we could note most importantly how Jesus will respond to these, as this will help gain an understanding of how we ought to do the same. Also note that Satan fundamentally based his temptation on Christ’s IDENTITY AND CHARACTER “If thou be the Son of God…”

Jesus was tempted in the following areas:

1. PHYSICAL NEED – Matt. 4:3-4

Satan – “Turn these stones into bread…” Reference to (Deut. 8:3)

Although the bible doesn’t mention whether or not the fasting and prayer season was over, it does confirm that Jesus was indeed hungry. So He was tempted on His physical need at that time.

JESUS’ response – “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

On two occasions Jesus used his power to create bread for a multitude of people (see Mark 6:35-44, Mark 8:1-21), so this was possible. Here’s the lesson: If we are to truly live, chasing bread and all manner of material things in this life won’t ever fulfill us even when we have in abundance. God’s WORD is our filler.

1. CONFIDENCE IN GOD – Matt. 4:6-7

Satan – “cast thyself down…” Reference to (Psalm 91:11-12.)

JESUS’ response – “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” Reference to Deuteronomy 6:16

STOP spending time in the enemy’s camp, trying to prove him wrong or right about your faith. You have no business with him so stay away from him lest you be tempted like Eve.

1. INSTANT POWER AND WEALTH – Matt. 4:8-10

Satan – “fall down and worship me…”

JESUS’ response – “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Reference to Deuteronomy 6:13.

NB! Verse 11 “Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold; angels came and ministered unto Him (Jesus).”

Never ever worship anyone or thing in order to gain anything. WORSHIP GOD ONLY!

All three areas mentioned above are part of Satan’s tactics to move us from doing God’s will, and it’s almost guaranteed that we will be tempted in ALL these areas however please note that if we feed on God’s word NOW and stick to what is written in His word, no matter how the devil or his agents can twist God’s word, we won’t be moved. Over and above that God will reward us appropriately for every temptation conquered.

In the wilderness Jesus didn’t have the luxury of turning to the bible to search for a relevant scripture in order to respond appropriately to his adversary, the Word was alive in Him. The Christians in Acts 17:11 were “examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Even though they had apostles teaching them, they took responsibility for verifying the accuracy of the things they were being taught. Search and know the WORD yourself during your summer and spring time season before the autumn and winter chills are here.

Sipho Kaleni

In our Christian walk, as we seek to do God’s will in our lives we often miss the mark by allowing the spirit of Pharisee-ism to govern our lives. So many souls are lost today to the kingdom of darkness because of the spirit of the Pharisee-ism (self-righteous, hypocritical or sanctimonious) that exists within the body of Christ today.

Who are the Pharisees?

According to this website philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/judaism/pharis.html “Pharisees” is the term applied in the last two centuries of the Second Temple Period to Jewish lay scholars, teachers and leaders, based in the synagogue with the responsibility of explaining to ordinary Jewish men and women how to live their lives according to the Law (Torah). In contrast to the aristocratic, Temple-based “Sadducees“, they accepted the Prophets and other Writings as sacred scripture, in addition to the Torah (the Five Books of Moses), and believed in the divine authority of the Oral Torah, a body of tradition handed down by word of mouth alongside the Written Torah. They developed sophisticated exegetical methods derived from Greek scholarship, to help them find scriptural authority for their beliefs and practices. Closer than the Sadducees to popular beliefs and traditions, they accepted the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, belief in angels and demons, and a form of divine predestination that left room for free will.

On the surface Pharisees looked good and were a perfect example of how we ought to uphold God’s law and will for our lives, however Jesus during His ministry on earth met up with a lot of resistance and opposition from Pharisees which compelled the writers of the gospels Matthew and Luke to note these actions in their records.

In Matthew 23:33 Jesus calls the Pharisees “Serpents, brood of vipers!”

These are the words which caused me to want to know more about Pharisees. I call your attention to the gospel according to Matthew in 23: 1-36 in learning more about the characteristics of a Pharisee:

• They fail to practice what they preach. (verse 3)

2Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

• They burden others with things they won’t do themselves (verse 4)

-    Matthew 7:12 “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

-    1Timothy 4:12 “…be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.”

• They show off to men: (verse 5)

-          When being charitable. (Matt 6:2-4)

-          When praying. (Matt 6:5-7)

-          When fasting (Matt 16:16-17)

• They love the best places at feasts and in synagogues. (verse 6)
• They are obsessed over titles refusing to be servants. (verse 7-12)
• They are stumbling blocks for man’s salvation. (verse 13)
• They are devourers of widow’s houses and wealth. (verse 14)
• They are great long prayer pretenders. (verse 14)
• They produce their own kind. (verse 15)
• They worry about outward appearance whilst neglecting the inner spiritual man. (verse 25-28)
• They esteem themselves better than others. (Luke 18:10)

Could it be that I am a 21^st century Pharisee?

Looking at the above list, I can’t help but pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139: 23-24

Sipho Kaleni

“But I say to you who are listening now to Me: love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred,” Luke 6:27 (Amp)

WOW!!! What a challenge.

• How do you begin to love those who hate you?
• How do speak life and blessings with love to those who despise and detest you?
• How do you love the one who inflicts pain on you with a clear intent of destroying you and everything about you?
• How do you love a colleague at work or school who wants you demoted at all cost?

There are many questions we can ask about our enemies, however we may not get desirable answers for all of them, especially if we seek to understand spiritual things with a physical approach. NB! Jesus was not negotiating on this matter, THIS IS A COMMAND: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.

Well, did Jesus practice what He preached? Oh YES, He did! Let’s look at two encounters in the bible which provide proof of this:

• JUDAS ISCARIOT – proved the following saying to be true “…keep your enemies even closer.” During the Lord’s Supper Christ announced that He was going to be betrayed by one of His disciples. Despite that Judas denied it and pretended not to know, and he went on to sell Jesus out. At the point of no return, Jesus says to Judas “Friend, for what are you here?” (Matt. 26:50) How do you call your betrayer “friend”?
• JESUS’ DISCIPLES – Having travelled a mile with Jesus, (and worse even after Peter had vowed that he won’t deny or disown Christ,) when the chief priest, captain of the temple, elders, and the troops came to arrest Jesus, none of the disciples could stand by Jesus. “Then all the disciples deserted Him and, fleeing, escaped.” (Matt. 26:56) Yet Christ didn’t disown them. After His resurrection He went back to them and gave them the final commands before He left earth. WOW!

I can go on and on and even link the things we do to hurt Christ Jesus everyday, things which will easily disqualify us as heavenly heirs yet He still calls us His friends (John 15:14).

I do not have a ten point presentation of how to love your enemies, but as a fellow brother in the Lord I wish to remind you that it is a command to love your enemies and not just that, Jesus continues to say: “Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God’s blessings (favour) upon those who abuse you (who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you)”. (Luke 6:28)

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6

You may be asking a question why should I love my enemies? Well, the answer simply is: because Christ did it for you too. “For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Rom. 5:6

Now, begin to think about ALL your enemies and start speaking a blessing over their lives, pray for them without ceasing.

Sipho Kaleni

Often when writers and students of God’s word write or comment about Judas Iscariot, they label him as a betrayer of Jesus Christ. Many ugly things are recorded about him and his life. But seldom do we take time and look at what he was exposed to all the time he was with Jesus.

Judas had an awesome privilege of being in Jesus Christ’s presence for three and a half years. During this time he saw and experienced great miracles that many of us only hear or read about. He sat at Jesus’ feet to be taught by the master Himself – lessons that are both found in God’s word and many more that the Bible writers didn’t even capture. From a distance he seemed to embrace Christ Jesus like the rest, BUT in his heart he had a different agenda.

Three and a half years??? How does one spend so much time in God’s presence and yet not have his heart converted? How does the character of the one that was with the Master-changer of characters remain the same when most of those who briefly had an encounter with God had their lives changed for better? Is it possible that some of us as His disciples are constantly preaching and witnessing about Him to others yet we have no relationship with him? The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer. 17:9

Judas had ample time to repent of his sins and even reverse his plan of plotting against Jesus, but he failed to do so and we know the end of the story. It’s sad to think that his obituary would read: “He walked with God, experienced His saving power and grace, but missed Him at the end thus doomed for eternal death in hell.”

A shocking end to the drama of our lives awaits us, when the Lord shall declare: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7:21-23

Although many among us may profess to be lovers and co-workers with Christ, but how many of us are the true children of God? Yes, you have travelled a mile with Christ Jesus, but what is filling your heart right now?

Sipho Kaleni