Article by simeon josh
A SHORT EPISTLE/LETTER TO THE SERVANTS
OF GOD (PASTORS)
By Simeon Josh,
June 2016.
This letter is purposely directed
to the pastors serving the Ekklesia of God. The letter is not in any way to be
used to lord over anyone but to be used to correct some of our practices as the
Holy Spirit directs every born-again Christians.
I
wish to express my mind in this epistle to thank and warn the pastors whether
in my home country or the world wide. Not that I have any power to control but
that I see what is happening and I must make my contribution before it is
totally corrupted.SI
Grace
and mercy to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who substituted /die for
us in order to redeem us from the eternal punishment and to reconcile us back
to God. Who is the alpha and the omega. It is a privilege to write to you
today, seeing your zeal and diligence for the gospel which has been handed over
to you to preach.
I
know that it is not by our power and or work that we become what we are today;
it is by the saving grace that made you and the Ekklesia of God a saint in the
sight of God.
It
is an enormous opportunity or should I say that it is an eternal happiness,
joy, grace that you are given such a task /ministry to do. As I am writing this
letter to you, I am of a happy and sad mind because of what I am hearing about
you among the heritage of God.
You
know that Apostle Paul keepings warning us that we should be careful because he
knew that after he is gone, that there shall enter in grievous wolves unto you,
not sparing the flocks and of yourselves there shall arise men, speaking
perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.
Do
you not know that he is referring to servants of God who counted themselves as
a superior to the other members of the body of Christ? Do you not know that
they are among you pastors, seeking for power, authority and respect. They do
this because they know that the moments they have such fame, they can say
anything and it will be accepted by those whom in their mind is in all
ramification lower than them.
But of what importance is it to
you to have power, riches and authority and gain this world. Not only gaining
this world but at the same time perverting the gospel which is the good news?
Do you not know that the good news/tidings is all about Jesus fulfilling the
prophecy of the old covenant?
Apostle
Paul warns us of those who try to do something of this nature that such a
people even if he is an angel should be accursed. Is it not destruction that you bring upon
yourself? Why seek power why you forget that the body of Christ is of the same
level with you and that you are not greater than them?
Is
it that you have forgotten what Isaiah told us about Satan in the fourteenth
chapter of his book? Satanic being is the one who like to seek for power by any
means without considering the negative aspects of it. Is it that you think that
you are greater than the smallest child in your congregation. Have you not any
thought concerning such an action.
Although
you have tried your best but your best has affected everything. I have had of
how you command instruction without wanting people challenge it, whether good
or bad. I do not know the motive behind such an act. Do you ever reason or
thought of it for once whether you are following the steps of Christ or the
tradition of men. Do you receive your righteousness by been forced?
But
why pervert the gospel? Is it you that died for the congregation? Are you the
substitute for sin for the congregation? I hope and think that you know the
repercussion of what you are entering now? It is like you believe that in your
congregation that after God you are the next?
Please
pastors and my fellow brethren, you think without you that the body of Christ
cannot have eternal life? You know that a time is coming when the people will
not need anyone to teach them the gospel because right from their tender age
will they know whom God is and what He has done for them. Have you now seen
that without you they can exist?
I
have had of your perversion, or should I say most of the pastors never
understand the gospel? or maybe you decided to pervert the gospel for your own
self interest? I will admonish you to pray to God and have a change of mind.
Let me remind you of what happen
in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. You may or maybe you do not know how
the pope from the Roman Catholic tried to hold power and authority to
themselves and how they hid the gospel away from the people. You seem to have
forgotten how the reformation crept in by men who were touched in the heart by
Christ. Is it that you do not know how many fled from the power and governance
of the papal church? Then it was a shock to the pope because he wouldn’t have
thought of such an incidence to happen in his life time. I will not but inform
you that the papal church also pervert the gospel of God in order to suite
their purpose.
What
the papal church does then is in no way different from what we are doing to the
Ekklesia of Christ today. The papal church turned the means of salvation from
justification by faith to justification by works. There is an old adage that
says; “those who never history are bound to repeat it.” I write this in order
to inform you that a reformation has began again. The so called clergy have
turned the heart of people from Christ to human being. These are what Apostle
Paul warned us about in Acts 20 as I explained earlier. These salvage wolves
are anti-Christ in nature. Those who desire not to follow the servanthood which
Christ himself set before departing from earth are the anti-Christ because they
seek power to be known among their brethren.
They believe that they are powerful and that they should be uplifted
among the people. They want people to celebrate them and be known for their
riches and wealth. Do you not know that this people seek to mediate between the
people and God. Why the book of 1Timothy 2:5 tells us that there is only one
mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. Let me give an example of what I have heard and
seen about the clergy in this century.
In the month of April 2016, I was in a program where
prayer was going on. The pastor gave the prayer point and after some minutes he
asked the people to put an end to it by saying in Jesus name we have prayed.
But the people could not end the prayer immediately so the pastor said they
disobeyed him and that this might caused their prayer not to be answered. What
total nonsense is that, to tell the congregation that their prayer will not be
answered? From what I could deduce from that statement, it seems like the
congregation is praying to the pastor and the pastor delivering
the prayer to God. What total nonsense was that? Although I called it heresy
immediately. This is one of the examples of what I have being hearing from
Clergy. You have cleverly done a great job by dividing the body of Christ. This
is one of the great happiness you have given the devil who is the leader of the
salvage wolves. Since the bodies are now divided, it is very easy for heresy
and tradition of men to creep in.
As
much as you have tried, so also you have changed the whole doctrine of God. You
have turned servanthood to a business organization. Jesus warned us very well
before He left is beloved disciple. I don’t for any reason know where and how
you get all the rank you have brought into Christianity. I have been hearing
among you different rank and authority. Ranks like; Pope, Vicar, Archbishop,
General Superintendent, General Overseer, Reverend, president, Leader, Senior
Pastor, Pastor, Lay reader, Canon, Father and much more. We have done a good
work in reshaping and perverting all these things and present them in ways that
makes it to be accepted. The devil is very good in making the counterfeit of
something for us to accept.
But
I ask you, of what difference is this with the government of the gentiles? Do
you not know what the government of the gentile world encompasses and how
authority flow? From the head to the bottom, I want to ask whether you have
forgotten the warning of Christ to his disciples concerning power and
authority. From what you have practiced so far, who is the head in your
congregation and who is below?
Do
you not know that the moment you have such motives, you start to believe that
you and someone is not of the same status.
But
what will you do when this so called body of Christ whom you have defiled now
knows the truth? Will you beg them or tell them you did not know what you were
doing when perverting the gospel?
The book of Hebrew was written to
warn Christians especially the Jewish Christians the importance of Christ in
this new age and to tell them that their continuous presence in the temple and
their constants sacrifice is no more important because Christ has
fulfilled the whole law. These Christians still continue to pay homage to the
temple worship, tithing was still enforced and much more. It was written to
warn them of the coming destruction on the temple so that they will be
prepared. In other word, they should appreciate what God has done in their
life. To warn them that those practices are not needed again because if they
refuse to stop and them temple is destroyed, it will surely affect their
worship to God. To summarize it all, the city was destroyed in A.D. 70 by Roman
army under Titus. The temple was destroyed and it’s sacrificed ceased. Jews were
not allowed to enter the ruins and rebuild it.
So
I write to warn you about your leadership and your use of power over God
heritage. Once they know the truth, whom will you use your authority on?
It
is better now to correct your mistakes before it get too late. What effects
will it bring, nobody knows except God. That we are here today is an enormous
opportunity. We are given enormous grace not to use it lord over people. Have
you asked yourself what the clergy really means, who are the clergy? Who is a
bishop/elder/pastor? Or you jump into the ministry in order to follow the
traditions men? Can you really call yourself a clergy who is unprofitable like
the twelve Disciples of Christ?
As
you have labored to exercise power and authority over the God’s Heritage, in
order words (the clergy- kleros). I will like you today to labor in such way to
correct these traditions of men. But if you wish not to correct it, then the
story will change from blind guides leading the blind, when both fall into the
pit, who will save who?
Thank
you for your restlessness to preach the true gospel to the world. Grace, peace
and love of Christ be unto you and the Ekklesia of Christ amen.
