A rapist is a person who takes pleasure by force, not caring about the pleasure or comfort of his partner. He is a person who exploits other people against their will. He is aggressive in taking what he is looking for, not considering the consequence of his action. A rapist will hurt the person he wants to enjoy both physically and emotionally. He has no compassion or appreciation.
When you are self centred in your relationship with God, seeking your own pleasure all the time, without caring about God’s pleasure, then you become a rapist in the Church. Just like a victim of rape becomes apprehensive and suspicious of suitors, losing trust for men, so has God become suspicious of the church because a lot of people in the church have turned into rapists. People come to church just to get from God and not to give Him pleasure in return. Jesus died about 2000 years ago, yet the purpose for His death has not come to full establishment in His Church. He died to destroy the power of sin, yet sin is increasing. He died to conquer poverty, yet a lot of Christians still live in poverty. He cries daily for lost souls. It is not His wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Yet, everyday, people are dying in their sin and Christians look on, unconcerned. They are concerned only about their own selfish desires. Christians are in the practice of claiming their blessings by fire, by force. There is so much violence in seeking personal desires, arid yet we have neglected soul winning, which is what gives God pleasure. Christians comes empty to Church every Sunday, with no soul, not even one, to present to God; yet they expect to go home filled with benefits.
The Church is still a baby after over 2000 years; filled with miracle seekers, who are happy only when the tide is smoothly in their favour, unconcerned about lost souls. Our priorities have changed from eternal spiritual gains to selfish physical gains. Amazingly, the things we ask for are available to believers and unbelievers alike. The birds of the air are fed by God. The flowers of the field are clothed by Him. They don’t have to pray to enjoy special attention from God. God knows our needs and will grant all of them, even without us asking, if we make His pleasure our paramount desire. The Bible says in Matt. 6:33 ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”. The Church is seeking “jara” at the expense of Kingdom pursuit. You can hardly find believers who still pray for souls to be won into God’s kingdom or for Christians to grow into maturity in Christ. We have so many baby Christians, even those who are supposed to be leaders are still babies.
Luke 10:2- There fore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
There are three very important issues in God’s agenda in this endtime; For lost souls to be saved
– For those that are saved to grow into maturity in Christ
– For the Church of Christ to be united
Christ wants us to pray for people to be more willing to win souls yet we are not concerned about this, but are desperate for material benefits, which is the attitude of a rapist. When you become a rapist, God moves away from you; He stays only with those that love Him genuinely. Are you a rapist or a love?
In 1 Samuel 1:11, we see the prayer of a woman who knows how to be a lover”. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget mine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, Then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head’.
Hannah asked for a son that she may give him back to God. This was at a time when God needed a priest that will take over from Eli because Eli had expired from His agenda. Hannah’s prayer was thus a lovers prayer, not that of a rapist. A lover’s primary motive is the partner’s satisfaction. If you want God to help you, then you must ensure that your desire is relevant to His agenda. He will not respond to a selfish request.
A lot of Christians have a business approach to serving God. They serve God for what they can get. They give because they expect to get back. Their worship is selfish. A lover gives to make the receiver blessed. Let your attitude towards serving God change. The Bible says in Psalm 50:5- Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. The Church the Lord seeks in the last days is a different kind of church; a church that has made a covenant to serve Him by sacrifice; a people that come to Him, not to seek miracles, but to make him happy. Find out what Christ needs and then make that your concern. Begin to intercede in that area. Do not try to get your blessing by fire, by force; they are already available to you. Do not meet God because of what you need, but because of what you can do for Him. Prove your love for Him by getting actively involved in feeding His lambs and His sheep, John 21 :15-17. In 1 Kings 3:3-14, we see a beautiful example of what a selfless prayer can attract to a man. God gave King Solomon a blank cheque, yet his request was not for selfish gratification, but to fulfill God’s agenda. The Bible tells us in verse 10 that Solomon’s speech pleased the Lord. For this act of love, God granted to him much more than he requested. Does your prayer please the Lord?
Love is not selfish; a lover is not self seeking, see l Cor. 13:5. When your request is in line with your partner’s pleasure, then you are a lover. Queen Esther in Esther 5:8, 7:3 and 8:5 made requests of the King that sought for his pleasure. She did not ask selfishly. She always used the phrase, ‘if it pleases the king’. The three times she made requests of the king, she had his pleasure in mind; little wonder then that all her requests were granted. Elijah called down fire, not to glorify himself, but that the people may know that the Lord is God, 1 Kings 18:38-38. Prayer must be God centred as seen in the prototype of the Lord’s Prayer in Matt. 6. Your request should not be for your pleasure alone, but that the world may know that the Lord is God. Prayer is not begging; what you beg for has been provided already. Fall in love with the owner and you will become the owner. As long as your request is to the pleasure and advantage of God, you can be assured that it will be granted. When you are in God’s purpose, He will meet your needs even without you asking and He will grant you long life and good health to enjoy His blessing. Your relevance to God’s purpose is what keeps you alive, not your prayer for long life. Get committed to God’s agenda and your long life is guaranteed. Let us become the solution to God’s quest. Let us be relevant to His calendar and agenda. If you have-been a rapist, you have the opportunity right now to become a lover. Stop being self centred, place God first in all you do. Live your life to please Him and then watch and see the transformation that will certainly come upon your life.