Zanele Tlhakanelo

Jesus Christ is powerless on His own because He has not come on His own accord but has been sent by the Father to do His Father's Will. All the power that He has, He got from the Father. Jesus' power and effectiveness is that He has seen what His Father does and as such emulate the Father in all aspects. He is not doing what He wants but continues to follow the instructions given Him by the Father. Therefore, Jesus is guided and listens to all the instructions that come from His Father. He keeps in touch with the Father. This demonstrates basic humility because He knows who sent Him and hence He is not doing what He wishes but basically listens to the instructions given by the Father and also does what He has seen His Father do. This is the sense of humility because He does not contradict the actions of His Father but follows in the pattern that His Father operates in. It demonstrate our humility in that Jesus Christ expects us to follow in His footsteps. We cannot call ourselves children of God but contradict what He has taught us in His commandments. Love your neighbor as you love yourself is exactly what we are supposed to do. We cannot say we love God and yet hate your brother. Jesus Christ expects us to do what we have seen Him do, that is, have compassion and love one another.

Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart because He always has compassion for all mankind. He knew that He is God but because He came to save the lost, He had to be gentle and not force His authority on us but make us understand that He came to save us. This tells us that Jesus Christ understands any struggles, pain, joy and happiness that we all go through and when we cry, He is able to comfort us and when we rejoice, He celebrates with us. He is there any time we need Him. This makes Jesus comfortable for struggling people around the world because He also suffered by being rejected by His own. He suffered in the hands of men and because of His love for mankind, He asked God the Father to forgive all those who wronged Him. He did not condemn His persecutors but still was willing that the eyes of their hearts may be opened and understand that He only came to the world to save those that were struggling and the lost. The bigger picture is that Jesus Christ said "Yes" to the Will of God because He had compassion for all of us.

We can rationally consider others' concerns more than ours by first emulating Christ. He set a pattern for us to understand that whatever we do unto men, we are doing that to God. Phillipians 2 verse 5 says we must have the same attitude as of Christ Jesus. Though He was God, He did not consider Himself as God the Father and He understood the mandate that He came on earth as the Son of God to fulfill the Will of the Father. Focusing on others assist in diminishing our self-centeredness as we will always prioritize the needs of others over and above our needs. True humility expects us to consider other people first before our own ambitions and in our country South Africa we have one of the principles as "Batho Pele" meaning People/Others First." How I wish that this principle may be followed even in our country and throughout the world, we would not be subjected to all these social-ills. Agape love is what God the Father demonstrated to us by giving us His Only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If God showed us His unconditional love, as His disciples, we are expected to do likewise. Our love should not be based on certain conditions but as God the Father did, we must love Him with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Love is not based on who you know and what has that person done for you. The agape love is understanding that we are all made in the image of God and after His likeness, therefore, we are all like Him. Adopting this attitude humbles us because we must understand that Christ gave up His Life for us so that we can receive the wonderful gift of salvation without paying any ransom. Christ's Life was ransom for me to be freed from eternal death. We are therefore expected to do good to all the people and let the self die and always think about what will benefit others. Aspects that are instructive to us become illustrative when we do not consider whatever positions we occupy as being supreme. Christ being God did not consider Himself equal when living in the flesh but humbled Himself in obedience of God. As human beings we like to be elevated and acknowledged in public but Christ was humble even when they scourged Him. Christ was humiliated but still maintained His humility and as such verse 9 says " Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names." Therefore, we need to humble ourselves so that God can elevate us and not elevate ourselves because being humbled by God may be the most painful experience.

Accurate self-assessment of our spiritual state is important because it assists us to know who we are in Christ. We should always enquire of the Lord what His good, pleasing and perfect will is about our lives. At times you see someone doing something so well and you assess yourself and think that you can do better than that person. God has given us different gifts and if not sure what you have been called up to do, ask God. I remember growing up , I wanted to be a lawyer/attorney but my school grades did not permit me to go that route and ended up being a teacher. I do not regret that because I saw the hand of God from the very first year I started teaching until now. Praise be to God alone. Discovering our spiritual gifts is important because where God has called you, you will surely excel and that is the reason I am grateful that indeed God perfectly directed my path. Pride and anger will bring resentment when you force your path in what God has not called you to do. Like Samuel, just say to God, "Speak Lord for Your servant is listening." The Will of God will not take you, where the mercies of God cannot sustain you.

When we attribute success to our own strength and abilities we simply do not acknowledge God as the One who has given us the ability to acquire what we have. We think that whatever we have is our own doing and as such fail to honor and thank God forwhat He continually does in our lives. We deatch ourselves from understanding that all good, pleasing and perfect gifts come from the Lord. The achievements, the wealth and everything that we have are an indication that we have been in God's plan before we were even formed in our morhers' wombs. Hence Job 1 verse 21 says it all "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked will I depart." Therefore the strength and abilities are all the acts of God for His Love for us. When we realize that everything we have is a gift from God helps us to be humble because we understand that God can take that anytime if we become too proud and start thinking of ourselves as high and mighty. I believe that it is better to humble yourself before God and men than for God to humble you. I always believe that even if you have assited people in whatever way, do not boast and go tell the world what you have done. The Word of God in Matthew 6 verse 3 says " Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

Virtues flow from humility because God expects His children to be compassionate,meaning, we need to be gentle and not meek as the world understands the word but be self-controlled and patient, be respectful at all times in order to understand the needs of other people. We must be God-fearing and not put ourselves on pedestals that are man-made but at all times be considerate, empathetic, kind, hospitable and servig others. Vices flow from the flesh and that is where pride is. In this case, a person thinks about himself/herself and does not care about the needs of others. People who want to be served just because they hold certain positions and it is all about them and no one else. Humility and pride are central to character because they reveal the true you. Humility will show people that you are the child of God by your conduct and actions in always wanting to align yourself to doing the will of God and be the willing servant. Pride of the other hand exposes you to others because of sharing what you have, you will want more and not willing to assist those who do not have. Pride is all about "me" first and "others" later if ever.

The two-part definition of humility correspond to the two greatest commandments in that as children of God we are expected to love God with all our heart, soul and mind as the first one and secondly, we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In humbling ourselves we recognize that God is the Only One that has to be lifted up above all people and all things and sincerely obey Him as God. In loving our neighbors, we are able to serve the needs of those we live with and offer our service to them, meaning, we put other people's needs above ours. Low-self focus means we humble ourselves before God and consider Him first. High-other focus means we consider other people's needs and have compassion just like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had compassion on all mankind. A disciple must understand that he/she is called by God to do the will of God. It is therefore important that he/she must know that he/she has come to serve and not to be served. Walk in humility and be obedient to the will of God.

The two-part definition of humility correspond to the two greatest commandments in that as children of God we are expected to love God with all our heart, soul and mind as the first one and secondly, we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In humbling ourselves we recognize that God is the Only One that has to be lifted up above all people and all things and sincerely obey Him as God. In loving our neighbors, we are able to serve the needs of those we live with and offer our service to them, meaning, we put other people's needs above ours. Low-self focus means we humble ourselves before God and consider Him first. High-other focus means we consider other people's needs and have compassion just like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had compassion on all mankind. A disciple must understand that he/she is called by God to do the will of God. It is therefore important that he/she must know that he/she has come to serve and not to be served. Walk in humility and be obedient to the will of God.

We must guard our faith by trusting in the One, True God, the Creator of Heaven and earth and all that is in it. Things come and go but the Word of God says "Heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will remain." It is important as children of God to be focused on Him and not be swayed by all that is happening around us. Guards are vigilant and we are called to be Kingdom Shakers that stand for the truth and not be afraid to preach Christ resurrected. If we do not compromise the Gospel but tell it as God has purposed it to be preached in the whole world, we will be guards that are positive, loving and pleasant because we will not be moved by what is happening around us at the moment but our eyes will be fixed on Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

The best antidote is to put your trust in God and not in the money that you have because you do not know what tomorrow holds. We are on earth to be the eyes and ears of God and therefore we must always be a blessing to those that are in need and if you do not have any around you, listen to what others say about those that are in dire need and lend a helping hand. Be obedient to the Holy Spirit because He will prompt you in doing good to those who need help. There are churches and organizations where your donations can be appreciated in helping those that are in need but we know of false teachers who have made people to give of their houses and cars which in my thinking have made this go overboard and hurt families. God cannot make families to break so that others can benefit. God is love and just hence He loves a cheerful giver.

The love of money grows when you are not satisfied with what you have and you hoard even though you are supposed to give to the needy. Some people sell their souls by doing wrong things just to have more money in your pocket. Contentment will make you understand that that which you have and are able to survive, will not make you run after money but be thankful to God with what you have. If your intention is to acquire more, you will be trapped into doing sinful things but you need to follow what the Word of God says and He will do the rest because He is the Sovereign God who knows all our needs. You can escape the trap by understanding to be content whether in plenty or in lack because we do not understand how much can make a person satisfied. Those who have still want more and therefore, be content with what you have.

We need to seek contentment because we truly understand the love that God has for us such that He gave us His only begotten Son so that we may have eternal life. Contentment teaches us that all these things that we run after, we will leave them when God calls us to higher service and therefore, whatever God has given us, we need to be thankful and be able to share with those that do not have. Contentment prevents us from being in competition with our neighbors or colleagues because if you try to go ahead and have your family have what they need, you are defeating the whole purpose of Matthew 6:25-34 because you will spend more time acquiring wealth and neglect being there for your family and instead of supporting your child at school, you think that if he has everything that he needs, he will be fine whereas your child may be needing you as his/her parents to be there and not to have all these things. What will make us content is when the level of our relationship with Christ grows and that we get fulfillment when we are in His presence and the quest for improvement will be seeing other people coming to Christ when they see your lifestyle that it is not about you but about Christ.

The Word of God says people perish for lack of knowledge because we need to understand God's Word and not interpret it the way that suits us. God knows and understands all our situations and it is His intention that all people should live well irrespective of our giving. Therefore, the teachings that say God only blesses those who tithe are wrong. There are a number of people who are wealthy and some do not even go to church nor do they take care of the needy. False teachings have made people believe a lie and as such some people have enriched themselves through these false teachings. The distortations such as if you do not tithe, God will send the devourer to eat that which you are supposed to take to the house of God and use for yourself and even to say your children will be sick and that money which you do not take to the house of God will be taken through other means. The distortions make people to panic because it is clear that you cannot give out of compulsion but that which you are able to give. The truth is that God loves a cheerful giver and whatever you have purposed in your heart and have thanked God for giving you the ability to acquire it, will be well received.

Paul is emphasizing that the Gospel is accommodative of all mankind because before the eyes of God we are all equal. Slaves which are Christians should honor and respect their masters who are non-Christians so that the teachings and God's name are not slandered. Much as we honor our Master, they should do the same. Pauls seems to condone slavery because we must all have our freedom and as such, slaves are expectant to be obedient just like masters are supposed to take good care of those they have hired. The relationship between the slaves and their masters need to be strengthened by their harmonious understanding of each other's roles. Paul's motive is to ensure that there is unity among people just as Christ gave Himself for all mankind and did not choose to die for one race. He gave us the freedom to choose to be God's children and be obedient to the Will of God so that God may be glorified in all humanity.

Paul said that because if you lay hands on the people you do not know, you will be partaking in their sins. It is important to study a person's behavior before ordaining him/her to hire office. The same warning was also given about new converts not to occupy office but studying and taking time but also listening to the small still voice will guide in terms of ordaining the right people. The danger is that you may ordain people who do not share the same principles with you are have different perspectives about the Word of God. Some people do not believe that the Holy Spirit must be consulted in giving guidance and directions and want to do things in a haphazard manner. To not be hasty in ordaining people. Try to understand them better and know their giftings because it can cause harm if a person is given a ministry that he/she does not understand or is uncomfortable to handle. Always ordain people according to the gifts given them by God.

Firstly , accusations must not be heresy but must be confirmed by two or three witnesses. The discipline of elders must be handled justly and publicly and this instruction was given so that people should know that those who transgress the laws of God are dealt with without any favor. The temptation to compromise and not go through it will put the church into disrepute as it will be viewed as accepting things that are ungoldy being done at the church and the church condoning bad behavior and false teaching. It is also important not to postpone the matter for a long time but addressed as soon as possible so that othe elders may learn from such a discipline. There is fear to discipline members because some of the people are supporting the church financially and if they happen to be discipline they will leave the church and some people may leave with them.

We need to honor elders as they labor through preaching and teaching and as such need to b e compensated. The elders who take care of the work of God need to be supported for all the commitment of ensuring that the people of God do not go astray but live according to God's principles. Paul used the word "double honor" because they do not labor in vain but teach people the Word of God so that they do not get confused by the false teaching that is also prevalent even at this day and age. Elders who fear God preach and teach the true Gospel and deserve to be financially renumerated.

We have the responsibility to take care of the aging by showing them honor and this also refers to financial honor especially those who have past the marriage age and above 60 years. We need to care for those who do not have children to take care of them and are in dire need of assistance. Moreover, these are widows who have diligently served the church and honored their marriages as well but those who live lavish lives need not be considered and those with children and grand children are mandated to take care of their parents. In Psalm 68:5, the Word of God states that God is te defender of the widows and as such we are also expected to protect widows from all harm and take care of their needs. We cannot turn a blind eye when an elderly widow lives alone and is unable to clean her house. It is our responsibility to also feed and bath those who cannot and are childless. It is a "repayment" of debt because when they still had energy to work, they kept the home fires burning by providing for our needs and to say thank you, we also need to do the same. Those who refuse definitely dishonor God because the Word of God in Exodus 20:12 "honor you father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." It is therefore important to take care of all the needs of the widows who are desperate.

The reasons why the rigid, unsmilling orthodox cannot produce godliness is that it may teach the " do as I say and not as I do" meaning that such leaders are not examplary and not live as the Word of God expects us to live. Certain characteristics that are not expected from a leader can be deisplayed which are contrary to the fruits of the spirit. Consistency in reading the Word of God and being able to challenge that which is preached or taught by the false prophets, will surely produce godliness. When you teach the people the Word of God and live it leads to a healthy church. It is important to as a leader to be approachable and be impartial when trying to give a fair opinion should a need arise. A leader should always encourage the members to be readers of the Word, hear what God says and do what God says must be done. In a nutshell, lead by example.

Godliness is about following God's blueprint. A person who is rooted in the Word of God will understand things that please God and those that displeases Him. It is all about not being confused by what other people say because if you do not read the Word of God yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the discerning spirit, you will surely not know the mind of God. There is a pattern that God wants us to live our lives and His Word is our manual. Submitting to the Will of God produces godliness. We cannot want to live our own lives and disregard when God speaks to us, for example, in Ephesians 4:26 the Word of God says "Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger". This is but one of the scriptures that shows us that if you go to bed angry, the fruits of the spirit will not be practiced. Strict morality can be acceptable but does not replace the grace of God that assist us to lead to godliness. We need not lose sight that we have been saved by grace and it is only the Holy Spirit that can help us to live a godly life and what is important is that we should always pray and strive for godliness in our thoughts, speech and actions.

Legalism emphasises on self-righteousness in that people who believe in it are they know all and their belief is not in God but in what they can achieve as individuals. God is put aside and the only thing people who practice legalism care is self-fulfillment and hoarding that which is supposed also to be shared with the needy, poor, orphans and widows. Meaning, you care about yourself and everyone for himself. It contradicts the fruits of the Spirit and as indicated above, putting your self above all other people and a sense of pride dominates in that whatever the person achieves, is out of his/her own making and God is not in the picture as the Giver of Life and the One who gives us the ability to acquire wealth and all that we have. The true Gospel teaches us to care for those who are in need. To spread love and the Word says " Love your neigbor as you love yourself" as the first commandment that Jesus Christ teaches us. If you love others and show compassion, God will take care of your needs. We must have patience and emulate of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at all times.

Paul reminded Timothy so that he focused on His calling and not be disturbed by the predictions concerning the widespread apostasy. Indeed, Jesus Christ warned His disciple to beware of wolves who will come clothed in sheep's clothing. These are false teachers even in the Body of Christ who are false prophets or teachers who do not teach the Good News/Gospel but that which will benefit them more than the church. It would make Timothy to be alert and be able to discern all false doctrine taught by the false teachers. The Holy Spirit is the only One who will guide the Body of Christ to stay focused and not have their faith shaken because we serve God Almighty and only believe in the Lord our God.

The qualifications do not differ that much. It is important that we understand that all need to be very principled and approachable as they deal with people on different levels. Both have to be rooted in the Word of God and be able to carry out what principles as outlined in the Word of God and be obedient to the Word. However, the roles differ as the elders focus more on teaching and encouraging members through the Word of God while the deacons deal with administrative tasks.

It is important that these tendencies be considered because we do not want a chaotic church where leaders speak anyhow to the people and burst when supposed to address matters amicably. Jesus Christ displayed humility at all times and it is also imperative that leaders should be humble, compassionate, patient because if all thes character traits lack, we will have leaders that snap even if the matter is minute. I want to say leaders must develop a thick skin to be able to take criticism whether it is positive or negative. The church will not last. What happens when an angry leader prays for the flock and lays his/her hands on them? Would that not be transference of unclean spirits? Therefore, at all times the leader should be sober-minded, principled in addressing matter in a gentle spirit. I do not say that leaders should not confront matters head on but do that with the aim of building and not destroying a person who is out of order.