The Nyota (Star) and Madhabahu (Altar) Doctrine

See verse: 2 Timothy 4: 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Some churches have a new and concerning trend about stars and altars. You hear the pastor say to his congregants that they are not advancing in life because their star has been blocked or dimmed. The preacher goes on to say that this disruption of the star was caused either by unappeased ancestors, enemies of the family, or one’s foes. The congregants are then told that the preacher has prayed or will pray for them, and their stars will shine brightly. In fact, one famous televangelist says that he is thin because he is always ‘fasting’ for his followers.

After hearing about stars repeatedly, I looked into the scriptures. I was not surprised that there is no such thing. I wondered why people give other human beings unnecessary power. 

You? Who dimmed your star? Who is this human that’s powerful enough to disrupt your destiny? 

Witches, sorcerers, evil eyes, all these evil were nailed on the cross by Jesus. The Bible says, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15 

Jesus already ended whatever ‘powers’ that those who practiced witchcraft had. Once you believe in Jesus and accept him as your LORD and Savior, you have no business worrying about ‘weak and pitiful spirits.’ Galatians 4:9

Sound doctrine is supported by scripture, and in the Old and New Testaments, there is no time that someone was told that you are struggling because your star has been blocked. This doctrine borrowed some concepts from astrologers. Those who study the stars of the zodiac to tell someone about their life and predict the future are the ones who talk about stars. 

But Christianity shuns this practice because our lives are in the hands of GOD. Stars cannot influence your destiny, and you cannot accurately predict events by looking at things God made. Astrology is a form of divination that’s condemned in the scripture. 

The Altar Defends you 

The second trending doctrine is that the altar of that church will defend you from all or any challenge you may be facing. The altar will defend you if you are childless and want a child. If your marriage is failing, the altar will defend you. 

But similar to the star issue, no Old and New Testament scripture supports this teaching. 

Is the altar some form of god to defend you? 

Is it part of the Trinity? 

Is the altar similar to the ark of the covenant in the old testament? 

While it may sound like it makes sense, this teaching is intended to deceive. When the believers see the altar of a particular church as some object with special abilities, such as pleading to God on their behalf, they will respond by sacrificing huge sums of money. 

Kindly observe that the person preaching to you on the altar is driving a fuel-guzzling vehicle. 

It is true that pastors are to provide for themselves from the offerings we take to the altar. Galatians 6:6. Yet we need to be discerning. The Bible also warns us that many people will embrace the gospel as a means of making wealth. 

“They are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” 1 Timothy 6:4-5

Ladies and gentlemen, most of those churches airing on the free-to-air channels or the ‘pang and signet’ stations are proof that we have become a society with an unhealthy interest in controversies, evil suspicions, and a lot of drama. 

Some of these churches consist of people who spend hours rolling on the ground near the ‘altar’ under the guise that they are driving out demons. 

Really? Really? Really? No. That’s a disrespectful practice that blasphemes the Holy Spirit of GOD. 

The New Covenant of Christ 

I am writing this here because Kenya is a country that boasts of being a dominant Christian society. Statistics show that we are 80% Christian and have over 4000 churches. But have we really revered GOD? 

One pastor blows a kiss at a woman while preaching a sermon. Another one touches a woman’s chest to heal her at the altar. We have watched all this nonsense and have done nothing! Yet we go to the same God and ask Him to bless us as a nation. 

Can God be mocked? 

No! God is not mocked. 

We have become a habitation of heretics. A heretic is someone who preaches what is contrary to sound doctrine. 

All these dramas! Walking sticks are being thrown out! Ushers are whisking away wheelchairs! Congregants shouting ‘mo-fire!’ 

But Christ has been preached to us. Do you really think Jesus had all this drama? 

Jesus would heal people and tell them not to tell anyone. So do you really think he would allow cameras all over him as he healed? 

Jesus never wanted the glory of men. So even when he fed the 5000, and the crowd wanted to grab him and make him a king, Jesus hid from them. 

Jesus was not a people pleaser. When a crowd followed him so that he could feed them again, he gave them such a tough teaching that many people walked away from him, including his disciples. 

GOD and Jesus don’t need any explanation. The Bible says that we can ‘perceive’ (meaning we can guess) what kind of GOD He is. 

Therefore, why have we allowed our precious country to become polluted by greedy men and women who only want to reap from Christianity? We may think all this excitement and drama is innocent. Yet it bears such deep and generational consequences that it should upset any true lover of God. Our children may become unbelievers because they will see it for what it truly is – a show. 

Churches in Europe have become travel destinations. If we keep this up, we will end up with unbelievers. This is why it was predicted in the scriptures that many people would walk away from the faith (Matthew 24:10). 

They will lose faith because of these pretenders who dishonor God. They use the name of Jesus and quote scriptures., but they only do it for the money. 

But I encourage you not to fall away from the faith. Jesus is real, and in time, he will judge the churches. God has set a time for everything under the sun. As we all know, there is a time set aside for judgment. 

In African tradition, we appeased ‘God’ through sacrifice. Unfortunately, we still carry this mindset. Most people feel that for God to help them succeed or heal them, they must give a ‘sacrifice’ on the altar. 

God is not a respecter of money. We cannot bribe him using the ‘altar.’ 

In the new covenant, which is the covenant of Christ, the altar is your heart. You know the scriptures; your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Your heart is the altar. That is where you worship God in truth and Spirit, just as Jesus told the Samaritan woman. 

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. John 4:23 

Sound Doctrine 

Yes, Kenya has over 4000 churches. Yet Kenya is starved of sound doctrine. The Bible warns us not to be like the Jews; they constantly demanded miracles (1 Corinthians 1:22). In the old testament, the Jews put God to the test by always asking for a miracle. They always grumbled. 

Sound doctrine is Christ-centered. Like the apostles, the believer goes to Christ not because of blessings or miracles but because they recognise him as the son of God. This believer loves God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Whether God blesses them or not, they choose to live in humble fellowship with Christ. 

A Christian seeks to know more about Christ. This is what separates sound doctrine from false doctrine. False doctrine tells people what they want to hear. It gives them what they want. Sound doctrine is all about Jesus. It echoes the truth in the scripture and honors Christ above all. 

So be careful. As one theologian once put it. ‘These are not just words. They are your very life.’ Have you been unlucky in life? Is your marriage failing? Are your finances a mess? These challenges are common to human beings. It has nothing to do with your Nyota. Go to God in secret through Christ, and pray about it. You don’t need to sacrifice to a madabahu.

Simply put your faith and hopes in Christ. Believe it; it is that simple. Jesus died and was resurrected so that it would be simple for us to come to him. Shun the drama.