Pastor defends trafficking victim who turned to benefits fraud
Sun
05 Jun 2016
By
Alex Williams
A pastor from South Yorkshire is defending a member of his church who admitted
wrongly claiming £48,000 in benefits after she was targeted by traffickers in
west Africa.
Ben Hudd from The Ark in Sheffield has spoken out following comments published in
the national media suggesting his congregation member, Linda Okungbowa, should
be in jail.
Mr Hudd, 47, says a judge was right to show mercy to the 36-year-old, who used the
false payments to pay the traffickers who brought her to the UK from Nigeria in
2004.
A mother to three young children, Ms Okungbowa was sentenced at the city's Crown
Court to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
So
that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to
the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the
eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we
have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him…………… 16 that
according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell
in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,18 may
have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length
and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him
who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according
to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen
I grew up
in the South Wales Valleys, were the common themes for many were Chapel, Rugby
and the Colliery, the threads that would often hold those communities together
would be those mentioned above, the hymns of the Chapel such as Guide me, O
Though Great Jehovah would be sung with at least equal gusto on a Saturday
Afternoon watching the Rugby.
In many
ways, our lives would have been influenced and affected by the strong religious
traditions of something best described as chapel culture, when we spoke of the
church, we would often have of thought of the Anglican Church with their vicars
etc., to many people from a chapel background the church was a strange place
that could be described it’s church, but not as we know it!.
The
traditions of Chapel Culture would be at least influenced by protecting and
promoting Welsh Language and Culture, and to distinguish it against the English
Language and Culture. I would say that in the Village where the Church I was
raised in, half the Chapels would speak Welsh in all their services. I love
Wales, its Language, Culture and its People but there aren’t The Lord who died
for my sins and the sins of the entire World, and rose again in Victory and is
coming back for us when He comes to reign and rule and establish His Kingdom in
its full splendour and glory.
We have
made idols of so many things in the Church, whether that be our traditions,
heritage and our national or cultural identities, our churches have become
monuments to past moves of God, or to the men who God raised up to move his
Church forward. The Church has become known to what we’re against rather
than what we for, we fight battles and wars with society rather than supporting
and encouraging society, yes there are anti-Christian influences and challenges
facing us today, with the prospect of Gay Marriage and the attempts of our
politicians to force change in the legal definition of marriage.
When
people think of Church they think of a dying religion and something that is
part of the establishment. We should stand against the enemy, the devil but our
weapons aren’t the weapons or the strategies of the world, see 2 Corinthians
10:3-5 .We try to convict the people we meet whose lives aren’t in accordance
with scripture of their sin but we aren’t the Holy Spirit who convicts the
world of sin and shows them God’s righteousness see John 16:-8-11 instead we’ve
alienated those He sent us to show His Love and Compassion to.
When Jesus
walked the streets of the lands of Bible Times, he wasn’t part of the
establishment, whether than was the political or the religious establishment,
Jesus is God’s ultimate revolutionary, he isn’t some kind of Jewish Che
Guevara, he was and is the Son of God, who came as baby, lived a normal
life, then for the last 3 years of his life, bought God’s message of
transformation, hope, redemption, salvation, deliverance and peace to those he
meet regardless of their sexuality, disability, cultural or ethnic
background, he raised up normal men and women, that were often the lowest and
sometimes the most despised people in society, like his ancestor King David,
who’s mighty men came from those in debt, distress or the discontented, see 2
Samuel 22:3, he died an agonising death on the cross, of all the tens of
thousands than were crucified by the Roman and other empires, only one death
made a difference, Jesus took the entire sin of the entire world from that day
until he day He returns, and died as the sacrifice for not only the sins of the
church, but the sins of those yet to know Him. He arose Victorious from the
tomb, and entered Heaven after preparing His early disciples and sending the
Holy Spirit see John 20 so that His Church may go forward and see people saved,
lives transformed, hope restored and renewed and salvation bought to the ends
of the earth.
Today, we
the Church are like David’s Mighty Men and the early Disciples are God’s Mighty Men
and Women of Faith, who have been tasked by our Saviour and Lord to advance His
Kingdom and His Church into our streets, neighbourhoods, communities, regions,
nations and the nations of the world.
When God
commissioned the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8 see here for context. Isaiah
6:8-9 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who
will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say
to this people:
Throughout
the History of the Church, God has called and commissioned Ordinary People just
like You and Me, he’s not called the seemingly best equipped or seemingly
the most talented or indeed the best gifted, when God sent the Prophet Samuel
to anoint Israel’s next King he sent him to the home of Jesse in Bethlehem, and
when he looked at Jesse’s Sons he saw some great and talented warriors but they
weren’t God’s choice see 1 Samuel 16:5-13, God is calling the Ordinary
People to rise up for Him see 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 but let us not be like the
Prophet Jonah, who when God called him to Nineveh went in the opposite
direction!
1
Samuel 16:5-13 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
5
And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate
yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and
his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is
before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or
on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees
not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the
heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he
said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass
by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made
seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has
not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And
he said, “There remains yet the youngest,[a] but behold, he is keeping the
sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down
till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and
had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for
this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst
of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day
forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
1 Corinthians
1 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
26 For consider your calling, brothers:not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,[b]not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth.27 ButGod chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;28 God chose what is low and despised in the world,
eventhings that are not, tobring to nothing things that are,29 sothat no human being[c]might boast in the
presence of God.30 And because of him[d]you are in Christ
Jesus, who became to uswisdom from God, righteousness
andsanctification andredemption,31 so that, as it is written,“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Today God
is calling again Whom shall I send, and who will go for us, will we say
Here am I send Me, and will we ready to Go to those who sends us and where He
sends us ?
10 so that
through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the
rulers and authorities in the heavenly places 11. This was according to
the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord 12, in whom
we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him…………………20
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us 21, to him be glory in the Church and
in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
I love the
Church, I think it’s amazing; I love Jesus more and more each day and love
looking at, reading and studying His written Word the Bible. and I love being a
part of His amazing Church, When you think about it That the Church belongs to
Jesus and His written Word the Bible explains to us how to live our lives as
Christians who are the people who make up the Church, it can revolutionise your
love for the Church and our Saviour.
I was
raised in a Christian Home and both my dad and my late mum, with my late
grandparents give me a love for Scripture, the Church and our Lord and Saviour
Jesus, I was * saved or * born again or * accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour
(*depends on your theological viewpoint!) when I was 11 in a Children’s
Meeting, Easter Monday 1981.
I was
raised in a little church in Resolven, which is near Neath, South Wales now
called The Resolven Community Church, which is part of a larger grouping also
called the Apostolic Church which are part of the Pentecostal Movement here in
the UK the others are The Assemblies of God and Elim, both of which are a real
blessing to know. I spent the first 13 years of the Christian Life within
The Apostolic Church I thank the Lord for the privilege of being raised in that
denomination and the grounding and foundation I had there, and the friends I
have there today.
Those who
know me know I love reading and one of the things I love reading about is the
Church. I devour books at the best of times, but I’m always drawn to books
about the Church. I’ve been inspired by many godly writers such as Alan
Roxburgh, Neil Cole, Floyd McClung, Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton amongst
others and have been challenged by what God has said through them. I’ve
also been inspired by some great Church Leaders.
When you
think about it, there are various models of Church and different perspectives
on what the Church are, and what it should or could be. My Spiritual grounding
and heritage has been and still is the Pentecostal/Charismatic/ Restoration
stream/s which are part of the broader Evangelical Spectrum although I admire
and respect those whose Christian path has been or is different from mine.
My background
is of someone growing up in the Welsh Valleys, although I now live in the North
West of England, when I think of my younger days that Church more or often or
not was somewhere we went, rather than something we are part of. I
thought of a Physical Building rather than a Spiritual Building, Yes Physical
Buildings are important but they serve the Spiritual Building, by the way
that’s you and me.
There are
countless ways or models of doing and being the Church such as Missional
church, Simple church etc. ,etc. there are large churches, small churches,
medium churches, full churches, half full churches, empty churches, traditional
churches, free churches, Baptist churches, Anglican churches, Pentecostal
churches the list can go on and on If you look in your Telephone
Directory or search online, how many churches are listed in your City, Town or
Village ?, * Note I use the word Church to describe the Church in general and
the word church to describe churches, that is in the local church or the church
grouping You or I are part of, and isn’t meant to diminish any one church or
group of churches *
I don’t
believe that there should only be model or type of church, I believe that each
model or type of church is equally valid and has an important and relevant part
to play in our role to Evangelise those who yet don’t know the Lord, The Lord
has called us to work alongside in a sense of co-operation not to compete
against each other in attracting unbelievers those who yet don’t know the Lord
or have a relationship with Him.
I believe
that different models or ways of doing and being the church can reach different
types of people. For one person may feel comfortable in for example a more
traditional type of church and for another person may feel more comfortable in
a more lively church, then someone else may like a more simple way of doing
church for example in a smaller setting, then someone may feel more comfortable
being amongst a crowd.
Our Lord,
Saviour & Redeemer Jesus Christ says in Matthew 16:18b ESVUK.
“I will
build my church, and the gates of hell[b] shall not prevail against it.”
The
Apostle Paul, says in Ephesians 4:1-7 ESVUK
I
therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the
calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace.4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you
were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to
the measure of Christ's gift
Our Lord,
Saviour and Redeemer give his life for One Church and He’s coming back for One
Church, regardless of what part of the Church You or I belong to we are
One Church.
In part 2
onwards I will look in more depth into the Book of Ephesians mostly and other
books of the Bible to see what it means to be the Church and how we go about
being The Church, I’m hoping to expand in more depth at a later point Ordinary
Christians in the Hands of the Extra –Ordinary God.
