Pastor Andrew Fadoju tackles politics, gut instincts and Christ consciousness.,,,
You ask Elim experts the questions. This month, it’s Pastor Andrew Fadoju of Elim Christian Fellowship, Worthing.
With world affairs as they are, should Christians get more involved in politics?
The first call for any follower of Jesus Christ is to get involved in the politics of their nation through praying for those in government. This should be the norm, and all other ambitions to become a part of the legislative government should come out of that. I do not, however, believe God has called us to pray for a theocracy or to get involved in government to create Christian laws.
We are called to be influencers in every walk of life. Daniel in the Bible is a great example of this. He found himself in the corridors of power not through choice but through providence. And when he got into that position he became a great influence not through imposition but through faithfulness to God, diligence in prayer and commitment to truth. I do not believe we need Christian political parties but groups that embrace people from all walks of life and Christians who are able to represent God’s interest in a loving, wise and prophetic manner.
I recently heard the term ‘Christ consciousness’. What does it mean?
Context matters. The term ‘god’ means different things to different people, so we must always look for the context in which a word is used. I have used the term ‘Christ consciousness’, but I am quick to define that as being conscious of what Jesus revealed of himself in Scripture and also what the Holy Spirit prompted the writers of Scripture to write. Followers of Jesus need to be Christ conscious in their interactions with others and help others experience God’s heart for them as we deliberately reflect Jesus in all our interactions.
I recently came across someone using the same term ‘Christ consciousness’ in a very different way; their definition to me was completely anti-biblical. They said, “The Christ that I am, you are too. You have the potential to be a Christ. Each of you is a son or daughter of God – equal to me. The only difference between us is that I have realised my God-nature more than you have realised yours.”
Whilst we might be using the same words our definition arises from different theological viewpoint and that is why we always need to explore how a word is being used rather than just taking it at face value. When you hear the phrase ‘Christ consciousness’ we need to observe who is using it and the context in which it is being used.
Does God ever talk to us through our ‘gut instincts’?
We need to trust that God is the best communicator in the universe and that, when he wants us to hear or know something, his responsibility towards us is to communicate in ways we can understand. That is why we are called into a relationship, not a religion.
Most of the time when people say they can’t hear God, it is either because they don’t want to hear what God is saying, or they haven’t learned how to discern God speaking to them, or they are battling spiritual forces that want to breed confusion and uncertainty rather than clarity.
So in answer to your question about gut instincts, it depends on what has shaped our gut instinct. God has given us the Bible, that is his responsibility. Our responsibility is to read, meditate, memorise, study and apply the Word. The more we engage with Scripture, the better we become at instinctively applying its truth to the different situations we face. When our gut instinct is in tune with God’s Word we are better at discerning whether God is speaking to us.
From Direction Magazine 244
