Daily Meditations from John N N Ng'ang'a: Week of  Feb.14-20th, 2011.... ,God is sovereign over the dead….so they cannot affect you

Day 1
Rom 8:29

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.NIV 

If you want God’s blessing rather than live in fear of curses ,you must think about the  process that helps you to grow in and conform to  heavenly citizenship. This Conforming is a process as we see in Romans 8:29,

Also in  Philippians 2:12.

Phil 2:12-13

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.NIV

Once you are Christian then you have agreed that Christ posses and controls you. Therefore believers in Jesus Christ are never ‘possessed’ by demons. When you become a Christian, it is not possible for you to become demon-possessed since you are possessed by the new king , Jesus.

So the devil fights you from the outside. When you are a non-Christian, he is with you from the inside since you are  part of his kingdom. Thus when you become a Christian he fights you but he fights you from the outside. You are never the property of Satan. Possession means you have become part of his property . You cannot be controlled by the evil spirits. The  millions of demons are never totally controlling you even if they can oppress you or tempt you.

Day 2
Deut 18:9-13

9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. NIV

 

Believers are commanded to avoid every form of contact with demonic practices. If you become a Christian you are not allowed to have anything to do with that world. It is important to understand that if you are part of that world, then you will suffer its consequences because you are not part of God’s kingdom. So if you put yourself under that power the devil will fight you and defeat you. Being in that kingdom  includes demonic activities like astrology. That’s why a Christians cannot enter into the area of astrology as opposed to astronomy. There are people today who will be opening the popular newspaper and the first page to read is the’ Stars’. Some of them attend the church Sunday service after that . Sometimes we do it thinking  it  a joke but US president Reagan and his wife, we are told followed astrology . The Bible is absolutely clear. We msut not be a part of the kingdom of darkness..

Day 3
Deut 18:9-13

9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. NIV

 

When you become a Christian, you trust your life into  the hands of the Lord. If He chooses  to give you a word about tomorrow prophetically you accept it. If He doesn’t, you are happy to trust your life in him day by day. So you don’t go to astrology, you don’t go to divinization,  you do not visit the diviners. It may be  part of our African heritage but we leave it when we become Christians .. As soon as you become a Christian, you no longer are supposed to be in it.

Read  for yourself Deuteronomy 18:9-13 again

The Bible above tells us that  the reason why the Canaanites were to be swept clean from Canaan , (the Israelites were told, do not leave one of them alive)was because they were involved in astrology, in divination, in worship of their ancestors. That is what made them to be destroyed  completely. And nothing has changed. Even you as a Christian if you choose to be involved in demonic activity and activities of the spirits of the dead, you will end up in the same way. So we are talking about keeping off demonic movies, demonic books, satanic music, satanic magic, séance, speaking to the spirits of the dead, Ouija boards, etc.

Day 4
Deut 18:9-13

9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. NIV

 

One of the biggest problems of Africa and we haven’t really left it is the whole association with the ancestors.  Professor Mbiti talks about it in his book about African Religion. And he says to an African, the people who are alive are part of the ones that are dead. And what that means is that whenever there is an African ceremony, you don’t eat alone. It is unfair to eat alone because there are more people in the room, only you can’t see them. So you always eat and then pour a little… And as I was growing up, because my grandfather was that kind of a man, whenever there was a ceremony, before he could share  the beer to the people, he would pour a little for the ones who are dead so that they ‘don’t go hungry’  when he was eating.

Unfortunately you would think that because we are now educated it doesn’t happen but those things are happening with professors from universities participating .Education does not seem to affect belief . They still feel like there is a connection between them and the people who are dead. You will be surprised about people who cannot take dead bodies on the road from Nairobi to Western Kenya except at night despite all the accidents that take place at night . So not only do they end up burry one, they burry three. Because one is already dead, the others are dead because they drove in the darkness. This is because there is a certain fear of the people who are dead. So although the body is dead, they believe the spirit of those people are still dealing with them. Those things are so real to some of us that even today so called ‘born again ’people, even   pastors are now getting involved. After the burial, the pastors go to do ceremonies at the grave which used to be done traditionally . Of course sometimes you ‘baptize’ the activity names like ‘lying of the cross’, memorial prayers, etc. But it is not the laying of the cross only . But it is appeasing  the dead. Possibly in the previous  one year, the guys have been talking to the dead. How do you silence the dead? They then say they are ‘laying the cross’ on the grave . And they actually pray. Christian pastors are called to the ceremony yet it may be  meeting an old African tradition of continued association between the dead and the living.

Day 5
Colossians 2:5
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is

The book of Deuteronomy above tells us that if you deal with the dead  you lose the favour of God. The dead must remain dead. And my brother I may love you, but when you die I have nothing to do with you. You have gone to a different world, stay there. Now, I am here. It is very important to understand I have nothing to do with you once you die. When you are dead, you are dead.

And by the way when we burry my body we are not burying me. You know a lot of people say , we are burying Ng’ang’a. You can’t burry me. The Bible says to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. For example if the Lord was to call me as I am preaching ,that means the minute I leave my body, I will be with Christ although my body will remain with you.

. You know, I cannot continue standing. It is not normal. As soon as my spirit goes I will drop down.The reason why I am standing is because my spirit is here. If the Lord takes my spirit, my body will drop down. Please come and walk on it. You are not walking on Ng’ang’a.  I am gone. Because the Bible says that  as soon as I am absent in the body, I am present with the Lord. There is nothing you can do atht will affect me .

Day 6
Leviticus 19:28
“‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD

Can you really do anything that will affect a person who is dead?.

Some people even buy suits for the dead to look smart for burial. Please it is benefiting me once gone. I am gone. This is the body. How you bury me and if you don’t burry me, it will not affect me. it is not something to do with me. By the way you cannot respect the dead by doing anything to the body of the living. If you want to respect me buy me the suit now. I will wear it next time I am going to preach. But when I am dead you put a suit on me for your own sake so that you don’t see my rotting body. Now, it is you that it is preventing your being affected. It has nothing to do with me. You are doing it for yourself. When you buy a coffin it is not for me .who needs it? It is you that needs the coffin to cover me in case I frighten you.

Day 7
Leviticus 19:28
“‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD

The dead must remain dead. In Africa, it is a dictatorship of the dead on the living. Have you noticed in our funerals that when the guy is alive, even if you ask for money to take him to hospital, nobody gives the money. As soon as the guy is dead, call for a  the fundraiser. You know there is normally a fundraiser to prepare for the burial. Nobody does not turn up because they fear the dead  guy can trace you at night. So you go before he comes.

And I want to tell you in  the fundraising for the dead body, we raise millions of shillings. But when the guy was alive nobody could give money. Why? Because it is a dictatorship from the dead on the living. When I am alive I cannot frighten you. When I am dead I take hold of you. But the Word of God is saying the dead must remain dead