PS: It must be noted that the Lord has been speaking to my 12 year old daughter Charis since she was only 10 years old. He has commanded us to share her testimony and the teachings and rebukes with all believers. We were called out of a church to start this work of witnessing, which have touched many believers and unbelievers world-wide. We were not sent to cause any harm to the Church of our lord Jesus Christ, but to obey in witnessing, thus exposing the church’s lukewarm model of ministry.
Women and the Gospel - What Does Jesus Say?
Must I GO Tell Someone?
The above Scripture, although it is addressed to Mary Magdalene serves as an example not only to Mary but to everybody who has the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. Naturally, people respond to good or bad news immediately and being social creatures, we want to go tell somebody. This we do either to share pain, or joy, or simply because we are forward showing no emotional interest in the message. Those who show no interest are happy just to be “informed” or simply have knowledge about something. Briefly, within the BODY of believers we find many “social” Christians but they keep their testimony private. They have no responsibility to win souls; they comfortably think that the preaching of the Gospel is for the ministers only and NOT for them. These believers are BADLY mistaken. Later we will look much closer into this and the testimony of revelations we received directly from our Lord Jesus Christ through His nightly visitations to my daughter Charis.
If you are patient and have a humble and teachable spirit, you will reap the fruits of obedience and allow the Lord to use you. This article is not intended to be a training manual but a testimony and encouragement to the BODY of believers; especially woman. The gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ has a universal appeal. He died for the entire human race and of which He is Head and Judge of all (John 5:20-30; Romans 14:11-12; Isaiah 45:23). Our message is therefore for everyone everywhere in the world “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish [IN HELL FIRE] but have eternal life” [IN HEAVEN] (John 3:16).
Prayer and Self-Reliant Faith in God
Therefore, our resolve on the gospel is for all the believers across the denominational or non-denominational divide. Often some believers reject Scriptural TRUTH because they adhere to teachings of some saint, elder or apostle. These believers have decided not to believe the Scriptures as the only reliable testimony, or the Holy Spirit but only their leader(s). They will act on the word of man, but not on God’s command. Like the world system, and often well-orchestrated in the church today, allow the ‘expert’ to speak, he has authority to tell us what to do. People, we are sadly deceived to put our spiritual destiny into the hands of man. While the Lord has appointed overseers and ministers of truth (Ephesians 4:11), He expects us to “carefully examine the Scriptures to see if what is said was true” (Acts 17:11). No one remains an infant in the faith. These overseers of truth are called and appointed to “train the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing] into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Ephesians 4:12-13). But the church system has been grossly abused by lazy believers. The individual Christian has shifted his/her responsibility to witness to the church. They are told by the church leadership to bring all their tithes and offerings to the church and they are also encouraged to bring their problems to church so that the pastor or usher(s) can pray for us to God for help. This model of ministry in the church is addictive and it perpetuates and encourages laziness not to pray for oneself and infanthood in the faith. The Bible does encourage us to pray for one another (James 5:16); but praying for people as if their problems will just disappear without faith on their part and obedience is wrong and deceitful (Deuteronomy 28). The Lord once had us preach about ‘the blessings of obedience’ with special emphasis on faith and obedience. As I explained in a previous article, I receive my messages to preach directly from the Lord through Charis. The Lord, through many messages He gave Charis for other believers who enquired, emphasized first their disobedience and lack of faith being the root of their unanswered prayers (Matthew 21:21; John 15:7; Deuteronomy 28). He would acknowledge that they are praying but they don’t DO THE WORD! The above Scripture totally contradicts this model of ministry; instead it encourages a dependence on Christ and an individual faith resulting in fruit bearing (John 15:5). I am not saying it is wrong to minister to others in the church with prayer.
There is room for prayer of agreement and a joined faith yields greater results especially if it is intended to minister to the spiritual needs of the unsaved or those who seek deliverance (Acts 4:24-31). As it is, some believers are made dependent on the prayers and faith of others; they thus remain infants and never bear fruit. If that is you my brother or sister I encourage, you lack faith and you will be dependent on others. I know this type of Christian is normally full of complaints and at times blames God for not answering their prayers. Quite often, some conveniently run to a minister or believer of faith because they think God will listen to that person and answer their prayer, how naïve! God wants to grow you and draw you closer and closer into His Trust (Jeremiah 17:5-8). He wants to give you an experience and testimony. I seldom went forward for prayer in the church unless I prayed myself at home and wanted prayer of agreement (Matthew 18:19). In the beginning of our ministry, I practiced praying for believers and unbelievers until, I learned through the messages that the Lord gave us that we must pray for ourselves, because some people ‘hide’ their faith behind the prayers of others. That is why we are called upon to fast as individual believers, because fasting is an expression of faith in anticipation to an answer from God.
In testimony, there were three young men who came to our home deliverance services for prayer. They had knowledge about God, but were not saved. We led them to the Lord and asked the Lord to bless them with jobs, He answered saying that they must fast for three (3) days and pray three (3) times daily and He would grant their request. The result of their response to the lord was this: One totally disobeyed to fast and pray and went his usual way of living, smoking, and wrong things. He got nothing. The other two fasted faithfully and the Lord did confirm with us they obeyed, however, one got answered and received a job a few days after fasting and praying, and the other young man did not receive a job, the Lord told us that he had NO faith and that we must pray very hard for him (Mark 11:24).
The Individual Witness is Called and Appointed by Christ
To Qualify as a Witness of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ We Need:
1. To be born again and have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3).
2. To spend time daily in prayer and Bible reading. The Lord has taught to pray for a few minutes before going witnessing (2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
3. To be obedient and have a humble spirit of servant hood (Matthew 20:26; 23:11).
Days after my conversion, I spent a considerable amount of time in prayer, Bible reading and witnessing. I started witnessing to my work colleagues who knew my former way of living; I used my old life to show them that even they can become like me and that the Lord would deliver them from their self- destructive addictions. Using the message I heard at church. A few months thereafter, I ordered tracts for myself and I asked a brother who loved the Lord to accompany me. We witnessed shamelessly every Saturday when we had no other commitments. I seized every opportunity to share the gospel with everybody. When travelling by train to work I would preach. I had such a passion for soul winning then and still it is BURNING! Our current witnessing team was not founded by me, what I wrote in our previous article is the truth, it was the Lord who sent my wife and I out to get people to pray and witness with us. Before the witnessing team was formed, I was witnessing alone, though not as faithfully as today. Whatever service we offer to the Lord, He requires us to do it with the holy fruit of faithfulness (Matthew 25:21). Faithfulness fulfils all promises and prioritises obedience even if it causes some inconvenience to us. Similarly, we look to the Lord to fulfil all His promises based on His faithfulness, His name is FAITHFUL (2 Timothy 2:13b; Isaiah 11:5). This precious fruit of the Holy Spirit is grossly neglected by the brethren and even leaders in the church lacks this fruit. We easily make promises and just never fulfil them. The Lord’s yardstick in answer to prayer and service to Him is faithfulness (Luke 18:1-8).
Are Woman Forbidden to Witness and to Preach the Gospel?
Not at all, we will see from the Scriptures, our experiences and the messages the Lord Jesus Christ gave Charis. For those people, who are not familiar with Charis’ experiences with the Lord and His visitations to her every night, kindly read the ‘Please Evangelise’ article on our website - we have briefly explained her testimony. Also all the other articles progressively point to the kind of messages she receives from the Lord.
Woman witnessing and preaching has divided believers through all the church ages. We do not have time to draw on church history or to quote the opinions of others on this matter, instead we have the Bible’s testimony, the experiences of woman and their testimony and we have the Lord’s own testimony. Let us therefore look at the Bible’s witness first. This requires intellectual and spiritual integrity, and nothing short of truthfulness! I want to clarify our position from the onset, the Lord forbid that I question the convictions of the great apostle Paul on this matter. The Lord has however given me understanding and revelation into this subject. Let us first consider the Scriptures dealing with the role of woman in the church before going into much detail.
“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:11-12, NIV). Also,
“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church” (1 Corinthians 14:34-35, NIV). These Scriptures explicitly and undeniably forbid woman to ‘speak in the church’, and that ‘she must be silent’. The great apostle Paul communicated this message to the church as a servant of the Lord. Being a servant, he himself is subject to the commands of the Lord. Let us ask a few questions and balance it on a moral scale.
Is Christ the Head of the Church? Yes He is according to Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18. The calling and office of ministry, is it from the Lord or just based on a human decision? According to 1 Corinthians 12:5, 28; Ephesians 4:1, 11 and many other Scriptures explicitly declares that the calling to ministry is from the Lord. When the Lord told the disciples before His ascension to Heaven to wait until they are to receive the Holy Spirit to witness (Acts 1:7), were there men only? No, the command to witness and the promised gift of the Holy Spirit was poured upon men and women in fulfilment of Joel 2:28; also see Acts 2:1-4. If the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on women too, then they have received preaching power and the Holy Spirit in and upon them must glorify Christ and testify about Him (John 16:13-14). This then leads us to another set of questions: Is it actually a sin for women to preach or witness? Does woman preaching do well in regard to the gospel of salvation or harm? Who does the conviction when women preach (John 16:8)? If it is the Holy Spirit, is He not glorifying the Lord and has He not testified about Christ through a willing obedient female servant? There are therefore no moral consequences or rebelliousness encouraged against the Lord if a woman speaks good about the Lord who saved her and He can do the same to their hearers. The benefit of women ministers advances the gospel. They are also called (Galatians 3:28). And when they are called upon to preach and bear testimony to their convictions, the Lord works with them to confirm His word, the salvation of souls (John 16:8).
Was the Apostle Paul Wrong When Forbidding Woman to Speak?
The Apostle Paul was not wrong laying down rules of order in the church, neither do I deny he forbid women not to speak in the church. We must uphold all Scripture and especially the testimony of those who heard from the Lord, and the apostle Paul was one of them. I accept all his testimony without reservation. The point that I am making is that the Lord Jesus Christ who is the HEAD of the body calls believers into ministry and provides the gifts for ministry (Ephesians 4:1, 11). If there is evidence of God’s hand upon women in ministry, and there is fruit of obedience through their labour - the deliverance and salvation of souls and the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Himself has ordained, and being the HEAD He commands; we must follow in submission to His lead.
The evidence of history and the role of women in the church show no failure to their ministry, but growth with more women being called and used by God, and if there is no failure then why persecute women when they obey the Lord through their testimony and if it is meant to point others to Christ. Women have received the same command to be witnesses, the same Holy Spirit, the same message to proclaim and they are called into the one body (Ephesians 4:4-6). I would like to conclude like Gamaliel, a Jewish teacher of the Law “for if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men {woman}; you will only find yourself fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39 NIV). Our argument is not weak; God is working through woman for the good of the gospel and the salvation of souls. In conclusion to this matter, the choice is His and if there is external evidence of His call and work through woman, then we must obey in submission and not oppose or discourage woman who follow the Holy Spirit by expressing their conviction to witness. After all, man does not follow woman but they follow the message of the Lord. The Body is built by the Holy Spirit through the testimony and obedience of man and woman.
Submission of Woman to Husband and the Lord
Kindly allow me to say this, what I am writing here is based on teachings we received from the Lord Jesus Christ through my daughter Charis. I therefore share and pass on to you just as the Lord guides us daily in our relationships with Him. Many believing women are in bondage to their husband’s erroneousness application of the following Scriptures:
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the Head of the church, his body, of which He is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word. (Ephesians 5:22-26 NIV). Another Scripture says
“Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husband’s so that, if any of them do not believe the Word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives. Husbands in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers”(1 Peter 3:1, 7 NIV).
This is the order God ordained for the Christian home. Submission in this case is a voluntary act of reverence. The attitude of submission should be respectfully peaceful, without complaining and quarreling. This is God’s command. If obeyed by the Christian believer, there would be no need for divorce. People in the Christian home divorce because of conflicting self- interest. Woman must therefore submit and respect their husbands in obedience to the Lord; He gave man authority to care and lead the family in obedience to Him (Genesis 3:16, Ephesians 5:28-33). Divisions in the house are mainly caused by dis-respectfulness and self-serving interest. Either party starts the conflict by disregarding the other party’s feelings on a given situation. When this is perceived and left unexplained, conflict becomes inevitable. We don’t have all the answers to marital problems, but every kind of positive contribution assist in the long term. I will now turn to some practical lessons we got from the Lord through His messages to us.
Before, I share what the Lord taught us, we must understand that in the family set up, He set up rules or commands to govern the family relationship and each family member has a responsibility to obey and submit to His rules. This is for the well-being and co-existence of a family (Ephesians 5:22-33, 6: 1-4). Like I said above, deviation from God’s Word, pertaining to our respective responsibilities as individual members in a family, results in conflicts, quarrels and ultimately separations.
The Wife’s Responsibility Towards God
The Bible says ‘so then each of us will give an account of himself to God’ (Romans 14:12). If we must account to God then it implies that we have an individual responsibility to honour God and DO His will. Women are therefore included in the above verse. They are co-heirs of the promised life, subject to their own relationship and response to God. They enjoy the same ‘spiritual rights’ or unities as members of the body (Ephesians 4:4-6). We are sadly mistaken to judge women separately and exclude them from Scriptural truths and ministry. The Scriptures address each member of the body, and as such we have a responsibility to submit and obey (Luke 14:27).
The point that I am making is this, ‘submission to husbands’ relates to the husband and wife relationship in the Christian home. These Scriptures do not mean that a wife must just submit to her husband even at the expense of her responsibility and calling as a member of the body of Christ. Her convictions as an individual member of the body, is as a result of the indwelling Holy Spirit in her. Her conscience response is to obey truth, and so freeing herself from guilt through obedience. The experience is the same for all believers since there is only one Spirit, one body, one calling and one God (Ephesians 4:4-6). Now, it is therefore sinful and selfish of a husband to ‘restrain ‘his wife citing above Scriptures. These Scriptures are not for self-serving purposes, but for order and governance of our relationships in the house. If God calls a wife to ministry, through any of the ministry or spiritual gifts, she is expected by the Lord to obey and put Him first (Matthew 16:24-25). Her inheritance of eternity life depends on obedience to Christ first above obedience to her husband, especially if the husband opposes her walk and obedience to God (Acts 4:19). We cannot silence the Holy Spirit or the force of His conviction in a woman of God who has the testimony of Jesus Christ. The testimony is way too compelling for her. They are therefore equally called to serve and witness; the Lord called upon all to embrace the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
The women and wives in our ministry frequently received words of rebuke from the Lord through Charis when they tried to hide behind the excuse of their husband’s actions, words and attitudes towards them. The entire women in our ministry are obedient witnesses as we testified in our previous articles. And some of them have unsaved husbands. They face and endure abuse and persecution unimaginable. For they said, ‘for unto the Lord belongs the glory, the honour, the power and the kingdom, our lives reflect His will for us’. As a testimony, neither of these husbands ever dared assaulting their wives physically. The Lord protects these precious God loving, God fearing and soul winning sisters, because they act in faith, fear for Him and obedience towards Him.
Does God Judge Man and Woman Differently?
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29 NIV). This Scripture and many others are in agreement that God will Judge all humanity righteously (Romans 2:9-11). The Lord does not show favouritism.
Scriptural truth must therefore never be applied across gender lines; it confuses truth and promotes rebelliousness. The Word of God, in application to human behaviour, is ‘for correction, teaching, rebuking and training in righteousness’ (2 Timothy 3:16). I was once rebuked by the Lord through Charis for opposing my wife when she corrected me; I was at fault so when I got the message the lord said: “Your father must not become angry when your mother rebukes him, your father must admit his wrongs”. Admittedly, I was embarrassed, but in preparing for the Kingdom of God, I am called to obey and submit to truth. It is not because I must feel ‘humiliated’ by my wife but corrected in submission to God. My actions were unjust and self-serving. I share this for your good; the Lord once rebuked me and my wife for going at each other verbally and physically. Not that there was any intention to fight, but the emotions we discharged gave every reason that a physical confrontation was imminent.
Similarly, one sister’s husband was also sharply rebuked by the Lord for disrespecting his wife and undermining her feelings. Without giving the whole story, he implemented a costly decision and disregarding completely his wife’s opinion on that matter. Respecting our wives and wives respecting their husband’s is for the good of the entire family unit. Satan feeds on division and he comes to destroy the beauty of unity God upholds through our obedience to His word (John 10:10; Genesis 2:24).
In conclusion, the church as a body has been given no authority to rule over people’s conscience. In regard to ministry, the church is charged to ‘prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’ (Ephesians 4:12-13 NIV).Nor should it restrain others to do the work of ministry especially when it serves to the greater benefit of others. If what women preach saves others and Christ is glorified, then what is so sinful if they acted in obedience to the Lord and the same ONE Holy Spirit honoured their testimony by convicting and drawing sinners to Christ. Was this not ‘works of service’ in obedience to Scripture?
Have you been working against God by denying women their call to witness and preach for Christ? Have you promoted rebelliousness by misapplying Scriptural truth? If so please repent. Here is a
Have Peace in Christ Jesus,
Brother Glenn Van Rooyen
