Choogah's State of the Church Address

Today, there is a serious awakening among God chasers in the Philippines. This comes from disillusionment because of the leaders in the Body of Christ.

Just recently, my friend was hurt and harbored bitterness because he believed that Christians were supposed to be the image of God on earth. He felt betrayed because his leaders did not keep their word and his reputation was severely damaged. He was so hurt that he forgot that we are all under process of becoming like Christ and that on this side of eternity we are not yet perfect.

But I believe that God is allowing this to happen for us to be reminded to look to Jesus as our sole standard. I have learned this long ago: that you can’t depend on other people to seek out the truth for you. Yes, I believe that it is crucial to have leaders who will mentor and disciple me. But so many have hinged on the words of another person’s testimonies and experiences. Some evangelize but have no real experience or knowledge of God. Some testify about another person’s life. When somebody challenges them about the truth of the bible and Darwin’s theory of evolution and they either shut up or successfully convince others of how narrow-minded they really are.

We have lost the love for truth and have forgotten the joy of wielding it.

I continue to remind myself that like the Bereans I still have a responsibility to seek the truth for myself. King David was not content to call God “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” He called God, “My God.” It was a personal relationship because nobody else was involved. He did not depend on his ancestry when it came to his relationship with God. In the same way, the consequence of the wrong kind of dependency hinders Christian maturity because it is so easy to remain spoon-fed toddlers under a systematic “discipleship program.” And without passion for God, this becomes just another activity without the Spirit of Truth and Life. In my opinion, it’s a tragic waste of time.

I have been repeating to my dear brothers and sisters, it’s not about ministry. Dedication to ministry will not bring revival. How long must it take for us understand that revival, like salvation, is the sovereign work of God? We can’t just trap God into a corner and say, “Look, God, we have fulfilled all the requirements, you have to bring revival now.” We do have a part but in the end, it is still God’s call. It doesn’t matter how desperate we are or how noble our intentions. He da Boss.

We groan. We suffer. We rejoice. And one thing which I’ve learned that He looks for—and which I believe is the highest purpose of all human life—is that in all these, we become true children of God, like His Son, Jesus Christ.