Matthew 6:33: Finding favour with our Father

By Sipho Mzolo

Matthew 6:33 is good for the non-believer as well as the Christian they will benefit just the same. once you have read it you will be changed for ever

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sipho Mzolo
• Release date: Apr 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301584550

Sipho Mzolo

My brand story: ‘I do the work I do because I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me to be more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a torch. I chose to risk my significance to live so that that which came to me as a blossom goes on as a fruit. Its about kindling hope for others that’s the difference he is to others lives.’ Father to Kgaugelo, Sigra, Musa and Saroyah.

Book preview

MATTHEW SIX THIRTY THREE

FINDING FAVOUR WITH OUR FATHER

SIPHO MZOLO

REVISED UPDATED EDITION

Copyright @2015 Sipho Mzolo. The moral right of Sipho Mzolo to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from New King James Version copyright@1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Cover design by Laura Shinn 2012

Table of Contents

Preface to the second edition

Chapter 1 - History culture and the religious agenda

Chapter 2 - Christ message an advanced announcement

Chapter 3 - Seeking the righteousness of God

Chapter 4 - Overcoming life in Christ

Chapter 5 - Intimacy with God starts with worship

Chapter 6 - A history of worship before Moses

Chapter 7 - Worship as God ordained it

Chapter 8 -Worship under the New Covenant

Postscript

Bibliography

Books by Sipho

Fractured Hope: South Africa reflects on her children

Letters for my Sons: Three short stories

21years after: hope for greater renewal

Making sense of the charismatic chaos

Finishing your race strong

Powering Ahead: a South African perspective on solar power

Acknowledgements

This book is an incomplete commentary nevertheless an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest. If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giant scholars before me who articulated a road less travelled and whose thoughts raised my curiosity. Authors whom some I have met and others not, some are living and some are no longer with us. Thank you one and all. My greatest debt is to Jesus Christ who has caused his Spirit to open my eyes to see the hidden meaning in his message and to prepare me to enter the Kings court with thanksgiving in my heart. A few years ago I was a young disciple, who knew very little but only the theory of worship and I didn’t have the foggiest idea of how this thing actually works neither did I have any intimate experience of the Spirit. What I thought I knew of God was fashioned by the views impressed upon me by others. I was empty inside because I did not have the intimacy of worshiping. I should like to dedicate this updated edition to two people one from whom I learnt how to worship in truth my spiritual helper and mother of my children Grace Mzolo. I know she is immensely delighted that my journey has scaled this height. Sissy your presence in my life fulfilled has fulfilled its purpose. The other is Sfiso Pule a young disciple who is after God’s heart. This book is in part dedicated to you my son, that in your quest to draw closer to God may you find His heart and glorify Him through your life. Grace and Peace to you and Kgaugelo.

To my departed mother Augusta Nomangesi. Mzolo, and my first Pastor the late Meshack Radebe, Ekujabuleni Kwezinkonjane, Nyonini Mission, I will both meet you at Jesus feet. To Pastor Thulane and Lindiwe Masondo for the hospitality and generosity of your hearts, this book was conceived in the lounge of your home. To Joshua Khanyile (the Librarian), thank you Sir for your mentorship. To the people of the congregations I belonged to over the years, Christ Centered Church (in particular Colin and Sthabile Madolo’s connect group), this book is the product of those honest conversations with which we stretched our minds. To the unsung heroes, diligently seeking the righteousness of God, God chose to define His relationship with man through you.

Organization of this book

Volume 1 is a general statement on the inaccuracies that were carried over centuries clothed in Christian theology and church doctrine crystallized into what postmodernist call their faith. I explore how religion brought about the obscuring of the key message brought by Jesus Christ. At the end of the analysis, I make the assertion that God is raising a new community of followers of Christ to continue the church’s mission consecrated by the Apostles to the ends of the earth. Volume 2 addresses the subject of worship - worship that is not corrupted. It is beyond the scope of this book to discuss the nature of corruption that manifested in the intervening period save to say another perspective that may help the reader know God’s expectation in worship is offered. When the Holy Spirit is in full control worshiping God according to the way God ordained worship will become natural to all who are filled by the Spirit and called according to God’s purpose.

VOLUME 1

PUTTING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN CONTEXT

Preface to this edition

In warning us Kierkegaard said, ‘do you know that it is possible to kill the message of Christ with Christianity? Christian scholarship is the church’s invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that people can continue to be good Christians without the Bible cramping their style. Yes, it is dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.’ In light of this statement, it became necessary to critically evaluate Christian religion and its contribution to the loss of the doctrine of Scripture.

The disappearance of biblical theology from the life of the church, and the orchestration of that disappearance by some of its leaders, is hard to miss today, but oddly not easy to prove. Because of this fact, it is generally conceded that religion has obscured the message Christ had brought to the earth. Instead of being about the kingdom of God, ministers of religion occupy their followers with notions of escaping this world and switching to heaven some day when they die, in their hearts they drum the power of evil so much so that fear is the single most contributing factor in the maintenance of the institutions of religion. Jesus went to ‘prepare a new place’ it is true, the Lord has gone away to create a whole new environment for his glorified humanity and, in him for ours. Far from being a picture of escape from worldly sin into utterly transcendent life, it is a picture of a new nature being brought into existence in its place time, matter, space and the five senses we possess are to be weeded and sown for new crop.

I am certain in the conviction that the Royal Commission sending us to announce the good news of the evangel was the birth-hour of the catholic church bringing the same good news to all in the world whatever their religion Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Judaism, Confucian, Fetish, Animist, agnostics and the unsaved Christians, whatever the character of the individuals blasphemers, drunkards, murderers and harlots the church is commissioned to go tell the world that the Father is calling all to rule and reign again in their hearts. This inclusive message of the kingdom of God is addressed to all mankind so that mankind may choose for themselves once for all eternal life or eternal damnation. The church is reminded that God is not a deity clothed in Christian garb or on exclusive Christian retainer.

Personally, I cannot enter into my mother’s womb and be born again because I am too old and already corrupted. I cannot be faithful to do God’s will at all times, because I am rebellious. I cannot humble myself and be like a child, because I am too proud. I cannot endure tribulation with joy, because I am a comfort-loving creature. Since I cannot do any of this, I depend upon the life of another to do what I on my own cannot do, the Lord and my Saviour Jesus Christ. What is impossible with me is easy through him. Through him, I am able to enter into the fullness of life and live in his righteousness. Once I was a God-seeker kind, now am God-finder in all things. God I acknowledge that all I need is you, the source of life is you, that your grace is sufficiently more than I can ask for. Holy Spirit, help me release all the thoughts and choices that are not in God’s perfect will, that I may hear Jesus voice anew. Not my will but yours will be done in everything I do and say. Lord Jesus, my life is exchanged for yours and I behold you every morning. I thank you that all is well with me! I let it be so. And so it is. Amen!

Jesus method of teaching

Although he was the world greatest miracle-worker in history and the greatest Prophet who ever lived, Jesus was also the Apostle of God and Healer of all. But his teaching is what set him apart. While God’s kingdom does not claim the authority of outward force, it does claim truth and its values as the authority. Christ’s kingdom is the kingdom of the truth. Truth wins its way by teaching, when he ascended to Heaven our king Jesus dropped his mantle as teacher on his church to be the world’s academy for the kingdom truth.

That the method of Jesus’ teaching bore a specific character is certain but the peculiarity with which it was conveyed is not. Jesus taught the central tenets of his message to his audiences and to his disciples using a particular method. Parable is the generic name for his teaching method. The first and simplest form of the whole group includes the comparatives simile and metaphor, which compares one thing to another in a different sphere. Simile makes the comparison explicit, whereas the metaphor keeps it implicit. The second form of parable is the parable proper. The proper parable differs from the comparative in that it is clothed in the form of narrative and stories.

The third group of parables is specialisation parables. A specialisation is a method of teaching that states a principle plainly, instead of describing it abstractly. The fourth method is called ‘allegorical’ method. An allegory is a story in which the central point of comparison is concealed because it intentionally woven into a web of detail. Teachers use allegory for several purposes, the first purpose is to render the truth less vivid and concrete. A second purpose, for which parables were used, was to intercept prejudice.

The third purpose was to veil the truth so that those who heard it could not benefit from it this method uses a short fictional narrative with technical arches understood only by those schooled in a particular genre of literature. Overall, Jesus used parables to illuminate spiritual discoveries rather than to deliver a homily in a more general sense. Homiletics mostly were based on parallelism between the natural and the supernatural, and on the principle of applying spiritual law applied in the natural world. The parabolic method of teaching bears all the signs of extempore public speaking.

In conversation after conversation, we find, Jesus resisting being direct and clear. Instead, of giving direct answer, he answered many questions with another question or with a story drenched in metaphors and parables. Why did Jesus risk being misunderstood by hiding his teachings in evocative language? This question seized his students who at one point wanted to know why he was using this unique literary genre whose underlying assumption was that the crowds were too ordinary to comprehend adroit Aramaic niceties they were there hungry looking for Nandos and chips. The yeshiva environment was very intentional in wrestling with the difficult question and issues of daily living. Rather he came to reveal God’s truth and that meant his subjects had to engage fully with the substance of the message of his teaching

When they persisted with the question, ‘why do you speak to them like this?’ He answered them, ‘because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away. Therefore, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing, you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn so that I should heal them. ‘But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’ Jesus made it clear that some were given an ear to hear the mysteries and others were not. They couldn't hear because their hearts had grown dull. Spiritual eyes and ears must be open first, without hearing, no amount of study can unlock the mysteries of the kingdom. These things must be received by impartation of the Spirit.

Some theologians have been at pains to explain that Jesus used parabolic method because it was concrete to make the truth easily accessible to his Jewish audience, but when the full gamut of his parables are examined we find the opposite to be true. The presence of the kingdom is a ‘mystery’, a mystery is a biblical term designating a purpose of God long hidden in His mind, but which in due season becomes known to man. The kingdom of God, which will be declared to the entire world in apocalyptic power at his second coming, first came to men in the meek and humble person of Jesus then spread quietly in their hearts through the ages. The kingdom of God is not given on a platter it has to be sought. By way of hyperbolic emphasis he said if your body distracts you dismember yourself because this business is more serious than preserving your short life.

Parables entice their hearers, into new territory. A parable succeeds where easy answers and obvious explanations couldn’t. With a clear explanation, hearers can understand and go away, independent of the teacher they can formulate their opinions on the subject. But when a parable confounds hearers, it invites them to ask questions from many angles, so they continue to depend on the teacher for enlightenment. In this way, parables have the capacity that goes beyond informing their hearers; have the power to transform them into interdependent people. And perhaps the greatest genius of a parable, it does not grab you by the lapels and scream in your ear, rather it works subtly and indirectly without battering you into submission but leaves you to free to discover intellectually and spiritually and then make the connection.

Parables are enablers of genuinely engaging discourse on a more extended basis than a formal pulpit speech or Bible study on Wednesday. People must diligently make a lifelong occupation of searching the mind of God. I have heard some people say ‘I have an advanced degree in physics, mathematics and computer science, by implication I am better than most folks here, I could do with formulae and mind-bending quizzes rather stories of seeds, sheep and yeast. In his parables, he referred to farmers who sow, to seeds, fields and vines. The message of the kingdom comes then, not as a reproducible formula; instead, it comes hidden in parable stories that are easily ignored by the educated elites. He chose to speak about God’s kingdom organically pointing to fruit and multiplication i.e. the Word must have a human response to be fruitful and the fruit must multiply. Jesus method was intentional about the kingdom but did not expect everyone to understand his parables.

The parable of the sower reveals that the announcement of the kingdom through the word of mouth is not always successful. There are hard hearts into which this word does not penetrate. There are superficial hearts in which the word cannot thrive. There are thorny hearts in which the word is choked out. But then there' are good hearts in which the word bears fruit in differing degrees. The word present in Jesus must have a human response to be fruitful. When the kingdom of God appears, it will bring salvation to the righteous and destruction to the wicked. Jesus placed this apocalyptic event in an indeterminate future. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child cannot enter it the reaction to the kingdom message determines destiny in the day of the Lord.

The parable of the tares tells of the action of the kingdom in the world. In the Old Testament times, the coming of the kingdom disrupted society and divided men into the righteous and the wicked. The field is the world in which the word of the kingdom has come. Jesus taught that this would happen at the time of harvest on the day of the Lord. Meanwhile, though the kingdom of God is present, it does not disrupt society. Like tares in a wheat field, the sons of the evil one and the sons of the kingdom will grow together until the harvest. Then the judgment that is to say separation will occur.

The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven teach a similar truth. One day the kingdom will be like a great tree in which men—the birds of the air—may find a place to nest, but like a mustard seed, the present manifestation of the kingdom is apparently insignificant. The presence of the kingdom in Jesus did not fill the earth at once. To all outward appearances, He was only a harmless Jewish carpenter and rabbi. One day the kingdom will be like a bowl filled with leaven. It will have no competition. The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. But now it is rather like a handful of leaven buried in a bowl.

The kingdom of God has two manifestations. In the final day it will come in power and glory, yet in the meantime Jesus he has come to render a preliminary defeat to Satan. The parables of the pearl and treasure follow naturally. Even though the kingdom is present in a humble suffering Servant, it is the kingdom of God and that should be sought and received regardless of the cost. Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that if they would follow him, they must take up their cross. A cross is an instrument of death one should be willing to lay down his life for the sake of the kingdom. The parable of the dragnet teaches that the presence of the kingdom in Jesus initiated a movement, which, like a net drawn through the waters of the sea, catches fish both good and bad. The separation will occur at the final coming of the Son of Man. Meanwhile, the people of the kingdom will be a mixed lot. Some will enter the eschatological kingdom, others not, we will not see a pure fellowship or a pure church this side of heaven.

The method of this book

The method of this book is exegetical and I hope it would help both the preacher and follower receives the light. The phrase kingdom of God in the New Testament brings a complex question of how we are to respond to it. The question arises did Jesus mean the phrase to be taken abstractly or concretely, in other words did he mean the embodiment of the rule and reign of God or its precipitate in resulting realities? A simple consideration of the facts of the case show that this is a concrete statement where we find phrases like ‘to call into,’ ‘to enter into,’ ‘to inherit’, ‘to be cast out from the kingdom of God’ and other likes these form the background of a concrete language of which the kingdom becomes incarnate. The invitation, a welcome, a challenge and a summons are explicit in his statements. The long-prevailing view is that Jesus began the realization of the kingdom on earth, that this was gradual process, to which his followers devoted themselves to it, and which is continued by us the present generation, is actual kingdom producing labour, and that will go on through the ages of history up to a point set by God for the termination of this world order, at which time the eschatological hope will be manifested.

The kingdom of God is quite rightly a prophesy of life to come and a prophecy concerning earth’s judgment at some future point. Both theological and hermeneutical implication of Jesus’ invitation differs widely among theological traditions. Some scholarship traditions argue that the message is within the framework of the realisation of the imminent eschatological hope of the world to come. In the near future, God would bring ordinary human history to a close, and establish his everlasting kingdom. Others interpret the same sayings as a metaphor with a range of meanings, a political life under the Lordship of God, in contrast with other kingdoms and stories.

Today, the postmodern institutional church is de-emphasizing the message of the kingdom of God in favour of feel-good ephemeral power experiences including stories of judgment and burning hell and now it appears the world need even more denominations to preach this humbug. Today, congregants are taught God is an invisible deity to whom they recite prayers, or a doctrine to affirm, an inference and a deduction from evidence, which they consider adequate. Others know heard of Him from others, and have put belief in him into the back of their minds along with various odds and ends that make up their faith. Still, to others God is but an ideal, another name for goodness, beauty or truth, or creative impulse on the back of phenomena of existence not a being with which one can enjoy a personal fellowship through faith in Jesus.

The postmodern church does not reflect the reality Paul descries in 1 Corinthians, the message it proclaims, the culture it creates, the expectations it has for its members in relation to God has not been true to the gospel message of Jesus. Instead of ‘going’, Christians gather in comfort zones of socio-cultural sameness. Instead of ‘distributing’, they are hoarding the message to themselves and, instead of ‘whosoever will’ a little denomination doctrinal syndrome bogs them. The church is no longer the vehicle through which the kingdom of God is advanced; a culture in which the central feature story is Jesus and its rhythms changes society. Church as Jesus inaugurated it is meant to be vibrant new commandment community that is salt arresting moral decadence with its penetrating light. What is evident instead, is a bunch of self-righteous self-focused religious cliques with no evidence of God’s grace in their lives much less grace for the unreached people of the world in whom God has given the charge. Indeed, the number one reason many unreached people would not consider the claims of Christ is because they have met nominal religious Christians who own Jesus.

Taking heed of Kierkegaard’s warning I must agree, true scholarship is the ability to throw rays of light on God’s Word in ways that remove ignorance, the purpose of which is to help the reader free Jesus from Christian religion free his message from useless and misleading man made doctrines so that the reader can once again hear Jesus invitation to enter into the fullness of life. I shall hope that to read this work is to enter a rich world to feed the mind, heart-searching analysis to probe the conscience, Christ-centred grace to transform the heart, and wise counsel to direct the life of the seeker.

Chapter 1

History, culture and the agenda of religion

Our first ancestors, who lived in the Garden of Eden, did not have a reason to believe in some or other thing because the presence of living I AM was always with them, however, after they sinned and were exiled from the Garden, their expulsion resulted in a disconnection from that presence. As a consequence of their spiritual death - a separation from communion with God - a God-shaped vacuum in the human soul gave rise to a deep void within. Man’s attempt to give meaning to his existence, his longing for significance, explaining the problem of pain, death and suffering all are expressions wanting to fill this need. Consequently, in the absence of memory of who God is, religion was invented as a means by which man seeks to quench his deep thirst and hunger for God, this human construct [religion] is man creating God in man’s image.

The Latin root from which we derive the English word is religare; it refers to the activities that bind man to God relationally, while the Greek derivative threskeia means to cry out which can also be rendered as a fear of the supernatural. The phenomenon of religion a theistic concept consisting of rituals and sacraments passed from one generation to the next through memory is external to man, often conjured in vague superstition ultimately developed into trust. Since anxiety is the primary driver of the creation of religion, human life is generically regarded as religious life influenced by the ceremonial impulse man and sacrificial worship of the power of nature. Pre-civilization people established religions that consisted of worshiping the sun and mountaintop gods thought to be responsible for rain, fertility and longevity. The core of religion is what people experience while the external structures are the ceremonial expressions such as words