How to Celebrate CHRISTmas

Reflecting on God's Gift to the Human Race

Dear brethren, our reposting of this article is simply serving as a reminder  to cherish the Gift of God to us. Also, we would like to extend a warm and blessed Christmas greeting to all our brethren without exception. Your prayers and support served as a memorable sacrifice to the Lord. Whatever good you did and intended has found true meaning in Heaven (Hebrews 6:10). We pray that the Lord increase His fear in you, and enable you to discern His will. May a Christ-centred conviction leads and render you more faithful in His eternal will in Jesus name. May your faith in the Lord leads you into more fruitful labour (Philippians 1:22) and may your suffering as a Christian reminds you of your pilgrimage in this world (1 Peter 2:11; 4:12-14).

With new year being next week, we would also like to encourage you to read this article http://www.preparingforthekingdom.com/2012_12_01_archive.html 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is God's gift to humanity. We are told, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NIV). The Angel of the Lord said: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to YOU; CHRIST the Lord" (Luke 2:11 NIV).

The announcement by the Angel of God about our Lord's earthly birth was met with jubilant songs of praise and honor to God our Heavenly Father (Luke 2:13-14). From this account the heavenly Angels rejoice with man. After having witnessed this glorious scene in a vision, the angels led the shepherds to the town of David to investigate this for themselves and they found it just as the heavenly host proclaimed. This news was meant for all people and the shepherds spread the word, to everyone’s amazement (Luke 2:15-18). As it is, this good news is still available and being proclaimed to all. Some might reason saying, 'why all this fuzz about Christ'? Well, even Heaven made a noise about it! Let us read on.

The 'fuzz' is Christ Jesus came from Heaven into this world to bring us GOOD NEWS about eternal life. He is the light and life of man (John 1:9). Therefore, Him we must celebrate! There is no greater reason to rejoice and celebrate than to thank our Heavenly Father for our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the reason and the cause of our being (Acts 17: 28). We live for Christ and He died and rose again to life to be Lord of our lives (Acts 2:36). We should not celebrate Him just on Christmas day, but every day (Philippians 4:4).

Was Jesus Christ Born on Christmas Day?

Of course the answer is NO! Do we as a family or ministry celebrate Christmas? Yes we do, as unto the Lord. It is about Him. We serve and follow the Lord everyday He gives us but when the world celebrates Christmas we rejoice with them, for it is an opportunity to highlight God's gift to humanity and potentially many people get saved on this day. The message of hope and peace is going out to the saved and the unsaved alike; we celebrate this day and use it to harvest souls. We use all seasons to present God's message of salvation to the human race (2 Timothy 4:2). The world, on the other hand, uses Christmas as a way of cashing in, partying with a touch of idolatry. This practice has led almost the entire world to celebrate Christmas this way. This world as we know it is full of deceptions. What we consider as sacred, the devil through people makes a mockery of the good God intended. The worldly trend set by businesses the world over is now a well-accepted norm and entrenched in society. Our Christian message has been reduced to some fairy tale story of a Santa Claus. This practice is to distract attention from the Christian message of hope and eternal peace and life for humanity.

In the year 2010 a few days before Christmas, Charis asked me if the Lord was born on Christmas day. I told her “no” but she probed me for more answers, which I ignored. I praise the Lord this allowed the Lord to answer her on my behalf, saying "My birthday is not really on Christmas day". This came unexpected. While I knew previously that the Lord was not born on December 25, this served as a confirmation to us that we are called to serve and celebrate our Lord's birth, death and resurrection daily.

The Christmas Tree

Brethren, the Lord recently (November 2014) gave a warning to Charis and brother Glenn. He warned that many people including Christians are in the custom of decorating trees on or before Christmas and that this practice is idolatry (Jeremiah 10:1-4; Ezekiel 20:7). The Lord says, "They decorate a tree to idolize it in their hearts and their focus is not on Me".

Therefore, if you are in the habit of decorating trees on Christmas day and take your children to the market or a park to go see neatly decorated Christmas trees, just know you cause your children to focus on an idol rather than on Christ. This truly is a grand deception the enemy has brought to steal the meaning of Christmas who is Christ our LORD. As we are looking at the Christmas tree, we are idolizing the creation of man instead of looking to God's gift to us, His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, when the world celebrates Christmas, let us as truly born-again Christians strive to interpret the true meaning of Christmas to them positively. We do so by witnessing to them and celebrating in song and dance, not to worldly tunes but with melodies from the heart in great worship and adoration to our God of life (Psalm 96).

Great peace and love to you all on this day and may the GOOD promises of the Lord find its fulfillment in you in the next coming year in Jesus name.

We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link Prayer of Sincere Repentance
by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.

Brother Glenn.

Prophecy of U.S Elections Accurately Fulfilled

Why this message?

IMPORTANT NOTICE: We originally, meant to share a short vision from the Lord to Brother Glenn regarding the eternal destiny of (his) Brother Glenn's mother who died during the month of August 2016. However, due to the equal importance of both pieces of information from the Lord, and since we promised during midweek that we would share regarding the Lord's choice of leader in the recent U.S elections, we would share that message (about Brother Glenn's mother) during next week's article, God willing!

Fellow brethren in Christ, since we shared with the Lord’s permission in our last two articles about the U.S elections, it would only be fitting to reveal the full prophecy this week. Why we are sharing this is that there are people who were very critical of our visions and messages labelling us as false and as a ministry, we have a duty to defend our message so that the faith of the brethren may not be undermined (1 Peter 3:15-16). This vision was first revealed to me on the 1 November 2015. We have been reluctant to share the prophecy upfront as the Lord cautioned us not to draw attention to ourselves and that He would guide us on how to share this major prophecy. As a ministry, it is our humble intention to obey the Lord unconditionally in whichever way He directs us. While it is easy to make claims of prophecy fulfilment after the actual events took place, the Lord did guide and allowed us to share this prophecy with some close brethren from which you will be able to see the dates below. Indeed, Mr Trump's election did cause widespread surprise and shock around the world as you may have read on the newspapers and seen on television.

This was the first original message that I shared with brethren on the 15 November 2015.

This was the second message that I shared on the 8 October 2016.

The Message of This Ministry

By this, we are not claiming or setting ourselves up as prophets, we are simple folk who are just grateful to share whatever message the Lord reveals to us with you. Additionally, the Lord did reveal to us that there are many Christians who doubt and undermines the prophetic messages of this ministry, and the Lord further encouraged us to be faithful as witnesses and only those who hears and recognises His voice will be attracted to the messages He gives through this ministry. The bible says, that if someone speaks or proclaims a prophetic word in the name of the Lord and if that word fails to be true, he or she did not hear from the Lord, but if it the word he or she proclaimed proved truthful and since the name of the Lord was associated with it, the Lord provided and gave fulfilment to that message (Deuteronomy 18:20-22; Isaiah 44:26).

Now, being evident from this website, we have shared countless prophetic messages here with some messages being given in the form of a word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8), (Supernatural Knowledge from God about demonic activities and revelations about people) and some messages being given in the form of a word of wisdom (Supernatural Knowledge from God about coming and future happenings). Thus, in humble obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, our delight is to obey him do His will as according to His directives.

About the New President

From the vision itself, the Lord did not give us much information regarding the role of the new President and how he fits into God’s plan. There can be no doubt that Mr Trump fits into God’s plan and purposes since the Lord chose him for this hour (Romans 13:1-3; Daniel 2:21) and the Lord would not have revealed this to us and others. As a ministry, we would like to encourage our fellow brethren around the world to pray for the peace and safety of America and for its citizens to pray and submit to the authority of its leadership. Our approach to this matter is apolitical and our calling is just to share God’s message in whichever respect He chose to reveal it (Romans 12:6).

We would also like to mention that since the Lord revealed this to us, He will not fail to reveal to us how the work of the new president unfolds in fulfilment of His (God’s) purpose. In addition, and with respect to Mr Trump, what we know is that the new president would be weak politically since he was dressed in woman attire in the vision. Biblically, woman are regarded as weaker than men physically (1 Peter 3:7) but equal to men in respect of salvation and leadership activities (Galatians 3:28; Judges 4:4-9). Also, we have no doubt that the new president will play a significant role in God’s end-time plan which we believe He would reveal as time unfolds.

In conclusion, since this is a global ministry with readership around the world and most notably well received in the U.S we would like to encourage the brother’s hood to take of advantage of the grace period and let us pray for our individual Countries (1 Timothy 2:1-4) and proclaim the gospel message of peace (2 Timothy 4:2).

We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link Prayer of Sincere Repentance
by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.

Blessed regards in Christ’ peace

Brother Glenn

Pastors Must Be Humble Servants

Pastors are Not Perfect

WARNING FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: PRAY FOR YOUR PASTORS!

Important request for prayer: We would like to encourage our U.S brothers and sister to pray for their Country during this election period. We know that during election campaigning many things are said which  divides the population especially given to the historic significance of this elections involving a possible female for president. Being in Africa, we are witnesses that the Lord has been using our U.S brethren and this great nation to help spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We therefore encourage all our brethren reading here to pray for the peace and the goodwill of America and that the Lord would heal the wounds of division after these elections in Jesus name.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: GLORY TO THE LORD! We are not trying to draw attention to ourselves but to the messages of the Lord. We had several people doubting the vision of Brother Glenn which the Lord gave him last year (2015) November in which he shared even before Mr Donald Trump was elected as a presidential nominee for the GOP that he (Mr Trump) would be elected as next U.S president. In that vision, Brother Glenn stressed that the election results would be a surprise to many people around the world and that has happened. Please see next week's article for the full details! We further encourage the brethren to continue praying for the U.S.

Brethren, we are reposting this message with some additions. The Lord would like to remind pastors of their roles as shepherds of the flock. The Bible says, "For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17 NIV). Although we shared this message during 2013, under the direction of the Lord we are sharing it again with some modifications. 

Before continuing I (Brother Glenn) had a vision from the Lord on the November 6, 2016. In the vision, I saw a man send by God appearing to a minister I know and he said, "You are deadwood, a Christian messenger is not supposed to be involved in worldly things" (John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:4). The message through this vision is clear, no Christian is supposed to serve the interest of the world and its institutions (Matthew 6:24), our call as ministers of the gospel is to serve the interest of the Lord by preaching the word and not to encourage the flock to desire the world. We must not flirt with the world, there are many ministers who has left ministry work and took up worldly positions. This is rejecting God's calling, you may still have faith, but you are deadwood. The Lord is further warning that ministers who through greed leaves their ministry positions for more money in business ventures or private jobs acts out of greed and not from need. Pastors should have an appetite for souls and NOT for worldly gain!

On (August 25, 2013), the Lord Jesus Christ gave Charis visions about pastors. These revelations are meant to warn lukewarm Christians and most particularly pastors. The Lord wants pastors to submit to His authority as Head of the Church and to repent. Having being involved in Christian ministry work for many years, I have observed the behaviour of some pastors, many of them think that being in ministry and their knowledge about God will save them. It is also true, the attitude of some pastors are for self-acceptance before the Lord and His Word and they don’t consider themselves as servants but as those that must be served and adored.

With today's widespread media coverage, people's status and 'power' is highlighted to draw considerable attention to who they are. Why do I say so? Well, the pastor's resume often goes ahead of them. We know this is to generate interest in the speaker and his or her work to draw attention to the message, but is this necessary? In my opinion, it is not necessary (Luke 6:26), these ministers are 'stealing' from God, His glory (Luke 17:10) under the disguise they are using their authority. Scripturally, pastors and all ministers of the gospel are 'overseers' and we have not been given authority to 'lord' ourselves over others (1 Peter 5:2-3). Therefore, the work of the pastor, bishop, apostle or whatever title is to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15 HCSB). The above verse emphasises that we be 'approved' by God and not by man. In previous articles, we have written extensively on the importance of self bible study which yields the spiritual fruits of faith, prayer power through the word, discernment and Christian values according to scriptural exhortation (Jude1:20; Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:22-23).


Furthermore, as ministers of the word of God, we are called to live holy (Titus 1:7-9; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14) and to encourage and invite others to holy living. In this brief article, we are not mentioning these things to shame pastors who also have a duty to watch their own salvation (1 Corinthians 9:27) but to save pastors from the trap of self-elevation. I have further observed that Church activities have become more administrative than being soul winning centred. They teach knowledge on how to amass material possessions and to be attractive to others through outward appearances. Additionally, by showing off what they have, they are encouraging the flock to run after the things of the world through their prosperity doctrine.

As for us in this ministry, we have been sent today to pastors and believers in Lord Jesus Christ to announce to you that the Lord Jesus Christ is displeased with some ministers, and as we will see later, some prominent pastors are on their way to hell. In our past visions about pastors, we did not reveal the identities of some ministers. After much prayer and having examined the Scriptures, we were  convicted to warn the people about them and to mention their names (1 Peter 5:20; 2 Timothy 2:17-18). In fact, the Lord commanded us to mention their names. We are also encouraged by the Apostle Paul’s rebuke of Peter as a respected witness to warn others and to lead Peter to correction (Galatians 2:11-14). There are also many other men in Scripture who were exposed for their duplicity to warn the flock against them, and today there should be no exception (2 Timothy 4:10; 3 John 1:9-11; 2 Timothy 4:14-15).

Nonetheless, small as we are, we owe love and the truth to the body of believers (Ephesians 4:15). Factually, there are many people, including members of our families, who do not believe that the Lord  spoke to us, and if you don’t believe the things we testify to you, just remember we have been a witness to you for your good. We are not chasing after anyone’s flock or anyone’s money; we simply share with you what the Lord passed on to us. In our experience, some pastors were treating us with suspicion when we tell them what the Lord said and revealed. in their scepticism, they believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit but when the gifts are being manifested in power, it turns out to be true to be believed. They doubt and ignore God’s warning to their own detriment. However,without further ado, we will reveal the visions from our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

“I had a vision this morning (August 26, 2013) after our 6:30 AM prayers. The Lord appeared in a dazzling shiny long white robe. He had a golden crown on His head with various shiny stones all around. On His feet, the Lord had golden sandals on and He had a sash across His chest written in golden letters “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”. He was sitting in our living room and said: “There is no article for this week, your father must write about pastors and their NAMES MUST BE PUT IN”.

As you may see, the Lord has given us permission to reveal the names of these ministers.

Vision of Carlton Pearson and Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio)

“I had a vision this morning (August 22, 2013) that I was transported in the spirit to America. I saw myself standing in front of the statue of liberty. All around me, there were people standing there (at the location of statue of liberty) staring at this image. While I was looking at these people, I saw a pastor going inside the statue of liberty. The vision suddenly changed and I saw this pastor (Carlton Pearson) being at home. I saw how he was swearing and beating his wife and children. He said his children must read comic books (I saw some comic books such as “Mysterious” and “Batman”). His children wanted to read the Bible and I saw how he grabbed the Bible out of their hands, swearing at the Bible saying the Bible is not for children but for adults only. (Please be aware, this is symbolic language, but the Lord has assured us that the person here knows what's being quoted here is what he said).

Again the vision changed, and I saw the same pastor in a church, and I saw the people or members of his congregation praying, and while they were praying the pastor became drowsy and fell vomiting black stuff. After that he spoke and said: “It is not wrong to read comic books and people must write down their bad thoughts in a diary”. After hearing and observing this, I again found myself entering the statue of liberty and upon entering, I went to the microphone and started addressing the people who were standing there and I said: “People (waving my Bible) this Word is for children, adults and older people (Joshua 8:35; Matthew 4:4). Don’t think everything pastors do and say is right; some pastors are very wicked”. After I said that, the people were laughing at me and chanted, “Pastor holy, Pastor holy, Pastor holy”. I then concluded and said, “People, this is a teaching from the Lord but you don’t seem to care!”

Soon after this, I found myself in another location which the Lord didn't reveal to me. I saw countless people standing in the shape of a doughnut with Pope Francis standing in the middle, closing his mouth with his left hand, while laughing at them. All those people standing there were worshipping and whatever the pope said they did. He told them to worship him naked, and I saw them all naked while worshipping him.

The Interpretation of the Vision as Provided by The Lord

“During our praise and worship session this past Saturday (August 24, 2013), I, Charis, was urged by the Holy Spirit to pray and ask the Lord to give the meaning of this vision. The Lord appeared to me again after our morning prayers on Sunday morning (August 25, 2013). He again repeated and showed me the above vision. This is how it happened, I entered into a pure shiny white room and the  the vision played out again, the Lord had it paused and explained the meaning to me.

Now, the part where the pastor (Carlton Pearson) was vomiting black stuff, I saw about 13 creatures in the shape of a heart with long thin legs and arms dancing around him and these creatures seemed to be hypnotising him to become drowsy and vomit and he would fall to the floor and vomit. I saw that there was a very fat bear (demonic spirit of deception) inside of him. The size of this bear was in the shape of his body. I understood in the vision that this bear was being fed these wrong teachings, and when the pastor vomits, he is taking out the old wrong teaching and must make way for new wrong teachings.

The other part in the vision, where he was beating his wife and children, the Lord said that through his attitude and wrong teachings, he was beating their faith and strength in the Lord and that he was discouraging them to follow the Lord faithfully. This resulted in them not following the Lord whole heartedly and their were not reading their Bibles as before, but they were following him in his wrongs. As for the part where he was entering the statue of liberty, the Lord said that he was idolizing it and worships it at night when he prays.

As for the vison regarding Pope Francis, the part where the people are worshipping naked before the Pope, the Lord says the Pope is making a fool of the people and the nakedness is that some of them don’t know they are spiritually naked. The Lord also said that other Catholics are ashamed of their Catholic teachings but they afraid of being ostracised and persecuted by the others so they continue in the Church's tradition”. End of vision!

Vision of Bishop TD Jakes and Pastor Freddy Edwards

“I had a vision this morning (August 25, 2013) after our 06:30 prayers. I was transported in the spirit to America again and I saw Bishop T.D Jakes standing by the pulpit with his arms open as he declared, “Isn’t this a wonderful big church”? And I heard everybody replying saying ‘Yes!’ I then saw the ceiling opening in a square and we heard the Lord’s voice from Heaven saying: “This man is WORLDLY and he is going to HELL; he will get stones in his mouth and he will be hanged up in HELL”. We then asked, why Lord? he is pastor! and the Lord replied saying, “Pastors don’t actually go to Heaven; they are going to HELL, because they sometimes lead people wrong and they are also leading people to ME. But they themselves think they are perfect.”

After the Lord said that, the vision changed and I saw in a television screen a picture of Pastor Freddy Edwards (South African Bishop) and I heard the Lord say, “I don’t really speak to Pastor Freddy Edwards; it is the devil that tells him about those millions of Rands. I don’t care about those millions; I only care about My WORD.” I said ‘Thank you Lord for the teaching” and the Lord said, “Continue to pray for all pastors.” End of Vision!

Additionally, during November 27, 2012 we wrote a vision called Judgement pronounced upon hypocritical pastors. The Lord referred to Pastor Freddy Edwards here, so I emailed his secretary and asked for his email address to warn him, I wrote to him but he never replied. This is a warning again from the Lord to him and many other pastors who follow their lead and imitate their ways. Preach the word, flee from the world of desire (1 John 2:15), the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10) live holy and encourage holy living to the flock of God and the Lord will provide for the needs of the flock. Don't set yourself up as a role model who craves for worldly attention with greedy motives. Our work as minister of the gospel is to preach and harvest souls (Matthew 9:37) not to gather worldly treasures (Matthew 6:21). Let me ask every God fearing pastor, did the Lord call you to be a financial advisor to the flock or to "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ?" (Ephesians 4:12 ESV). Don't encourage greed, but teach the flock to "...be content with what you have..." (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).

In conclusion, since this message is a warning to pastors, I must also mention that we wrote a vision about Pastor Chris Oyakhilome on the article posted on February 12, 2013. This vision was given to Jaydeen when she was (11 years) and the Lord had not given the full interpretation of this vision. This vision given was on February 8, 2013 and it is called Vision of a Well-known Pastor who Endorses Worldly Music. You may read and pray for pastors, but be aware of wrong teachings that lead you into sin. If we, or any minister, preach and teach something that encourages sin, selfishness, greed and worldliness, BEWARE! Those who promote their church and ministry only do so to attract more members which translate to more money for them through their money sermons (Please see also Prosperity teachers message). The Lord is NOT interested in your money, but your soul! Like the rich young man, use your riches to help others and the work of God (Matthew 19:21). Finally, as an encouragement, please read your Bible daily, judge the messages you hear being preached (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Pastor's and fellow ministers of the gospel Don't undermine this warning from our Lord Jesus Christ, but seek the Lord and repent! To the flock: don’t side with your pastor’s, but judge the messages he or she presents objectively and consistent with what the Bible teaches. The Bible is our ONLY ROAD MAP TO HEAVEN!

We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link Prayer of Sincere Repentance
by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.

Grace and Mercy

Brother Glenn, Charis and Jaydeen.

PS: You have permission to share these messages and visions.

Laziness, the Fall of many Christians

Being Possessed by a Spirit of Laziness

Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times (Romans 12:11-12 GNB).

Introduction

Important notice: We have received some emails from brethren in America who expressed some concerns of chaos about the upcoming U.S elections. We thus boldly express our faith and convictions without fear. Apparently, there are some 'prophetic' messages going around saying that there will be no election and neither will there be a normal Christmas for some U.S citizens. In a spirit of love, we know this has some brethren fearful, but the Lord commands Christians to pray for their Country (2 Chronicles 7:14). America is very important in God's plan and He did share some things with us which we will share as He permits. On January 10, 2016 the Lord did hint to Charis that there will still be some normality in the world "in the next years". We were not told how many years as the Lord did not want to give exact timing, but we know who the next U.S president would be. What we know is that the election results would be a surprise to many, many people. Therefore, this brief message is just serving as an assurance and an encouragement to the many brethren who are fearful by some things that were 'prophesied'.

Back to this week's article, what we are sharing here today are the fruits of the Lord’s work in us. We therefore have permission from the Lord to share our testimonies and experiences to highlight the importance of certain scriptural admonitions. By using our experiences the motive is not to ‘expose’ but to use these rebukes to encourage right living. Also, by this we would like to show where we were in terms of our weaknesses and what we became as a result of the Lord’s corrections. While we acknowledge humbly that we are no close to perfection, we endeavour daily to uphold the Lord’s corrections and we hold on dearly to His teachings to someday be counted worthy. Let our failures and shortcomings serve as correction for you (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10).

I tell you the truth in Christ, through these articles, the Lord has been ministering personally in the lives of many people and this we know through the feedback from people. As a reminder, in the beginning of the Lord’s visits to us, He said, “I will always love all people equally”. Therefore, you are loved and these messages from the Lord are for your edification and correction. This ministry does not seek to promote itself, but to elevate Christ Jesus. Also, I beseech you in the Almighty Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, “My son (daughter) do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. Because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son or daughter” (Hebrews 12:5).

Laziness Through the Comfortable Lifestyle

I was reminded by the Lord these past few weeks how important keeping busy is as opposed to being idle. Although, this message was previously shared and well read by many people, we have reworked this message with added experiences. Last week we encouraged about the preaching of the gospel and it would be only appropriate to discourage the brethren from being lazy especially where your salvation and that of others are concerned. Meanwhile, we have testimonies of people in our ministry whom the Lord rebuked and how they were subsequently delivered from the spirit of laziness to that of being diligent. Like all addictions, laziness is a spirit of habit which manifest itself through excuses (Proverbs 22:13; Matthew 8:21-22).

In the early 1990's, I befriended a young convert in Christ who was full of zeal for the Lord and his zeal led him to start a one day weekly open-air meetings. Being a witness to his work, people were coming in their numbers to his meetings and he enjoyed the support of many of his friends who were also born-again. From my observation, his friends were encouraged by his enthusiasm and spirited zeal. However, as his friends started deserting him, the brother grew discouraged and this led him to ultimately abandon his work. We witnessed how the brother started using excuses thinking his friends would take over the work he started, but nobody came forward. It was when I realised that if a person has been called into ministry work, his or her work is ordained by God and that person has accordingly been anointed (Exodus 3:6-22; Leviticus 8:30; Numbers 27:18-23). Therefore, from these Scriptures, unless ordered by the Lord, no ministry work is transferable. We hope to expand on this teaching in future articles, our message today is to discourage laziness.

Now, if a person is in the habit of passing on his or her responsibility to others, while doing nothing himself, you are looking at a sluggard. Furthermore, sluggards are characterised by their excessive sleeping habits, and their love for the television or gadgets (such as cell phones). Also, while we don’t have a problem with people’s wealth especially if they worked hard and honestly, riches have claimed their fair share of sluggards especially those who are benefiting from their hard working parents. No doubt, everybody favours the comfortable life. What is apparent is that through the television commercials, we are encouraged to pursue a lifestyle of absolute comfort. If we can afford the lifestyle we desire, good but we need to guard against worldliness and laziness. Additionally, the deceit of riches has a catch of greed, comfort and self-dependence (Matthew 13:22; 1 Timothy 6:10; 1 John 2:16). Do I encourage poverty? No! Instead, I encourage you to live a sharing life and to use your wealth to advance the Gospel and give to the poor, and so accumulate heavenly treasures (Matthew 6:19-21; Matthew 19:21). The narrow road is strewn with pain, difficulties and challenges (Matthew 7:14; Acts 14:22). But when we have worldly wealth, we buy our way out of problems and so create our own dependence. God has allowed hardships to be part of the race so that His Faithfulness and our dependence on Him may be revealed (Proverbs 3:5-6; Job 1-2). We have briefly written (in the Given to Give and to Receive article) about giving as a command by God and the way how He ordained the nature of things (Isaiah 43:20-21; Job 37:14-18). While riches are not our main subject, this has been used to contribute to laziness and a comfortable life of self-dependence. As “God’s elect and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 1:1) we are called to live the humble life and not the magnified life of worldly riches (Philippians 2:2- 11). This command we received from the Lord as a family, “Let Me be your riches. I Am all you really need”.

Testimonies of Deliverance from the Spirit of Laziness

The Lord has revealed to us that many Christians are going to Hell because of laziness and this is so because laziness produces negligence and we know negligence bears consequences (Luke 9:62; Matthew 25:14-30).  The call to serve the Lord is no haphazard call, after accepting responsibility to follow the Lord we should allow no room for negligence, we might lose out (Numbers 20:9-12). This spirit is meant to hinder us from doing the will of God faithfully and diligently. It is noteworthy that laziness is an attitude and many people do not know that this is demonic. Every sin that works on the flesh to control, influence and guide our behaviour towards evil is demonic (Romans 6:12-13; Psalm 106:39). One translation renders it this way, “You belong to the power you choose to obey…” (Romans 6:16), or “you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 NIV). Therefore, based on this Scripture and the preceding verses, demonic possession operates through sinful habits. Another Scripture is even bold on this saying: “In which [sins] you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2 NIV). Thus, laziness is a sin and goes contrary to the will of God (Genesis 1:28).

Kindy bear with me as I share a few testimonies. Over the years the Lord blessed us, as a ministry, with humble and teachable people. These brothers and sisters were added to our ministry by the Lord, and as is common among people, all came with different personalities, different set of problems, attitudes and habits. All were saved or born-again because that was the criteria for being part of our prayer group (for more details please see our Obedience Through Persecution/Trials article). The Lord started ministering personally into the people’s lives by giving them messages of correction. Let me hasten to add this: no personal prophetic word is of benefit if it does not carry a word of caution and correction (2 Chronicles 18:1-34).

Saved to Bear Fruit

Furthermore, some of these brethren discovered for themselves that being saved was just not good enough. The Kingdom principle is that we are to bear fruit, and only then do we become useful (John 15: 1-2). Let me share about one sister, with her permission. She leads a reasonably comfortable life, with nothing lacking materially. She used to be a worker in her previous church and attended church every Sunday. We were greatly encouraged by her zeal. The Lord started dealing with her through personal messages He provided through Charis. I bless the Lord that this precious sister has developed a child-like attitude in her humility and fear of the Lord. Making our work easy through her humble and receptive spirit, she was easy to counsel after the messages from the Lord. Like many people out there, she was lazy and unfaithful to the Lord in terms of her personal commitment. Let us put it this way: people are unfaithful because of laziness, and through laziness they take shortcuts and start cheating on their relationship with God. As humans, we will always contend with the spirit of disobedience and self-will. The Lord started breaking her down in love and in submission to His will. Gradually, He addressed the spirit of laziness in her and her unfaithfulness leading to disobedience. Through these rebukes,  she responded obediently and started getting positive activity in her life. As the Lord ministered into her life, He gave her various tasks to do while commanding her to pray five times daily. The Lord occupied her with His things, and as she moved closer to God, she experienced deliverance not only from laziness but from cheating on God. Consequently, because of her obedience and easy nature, the Lord has dressed this sister with words of great comfort and praise for her service and obedience to Him. The Lord has also made some personal promises of great hope to her. We have noticed that, when people become puffed up their attitude is one of resisting every correction and when they do, humility has dried up in them. They end up using words to shield their true identity. A true friend and brother in Christ will always exude humility and this sister has shown marks of a true servant of Christ.

Without being ashamed, a few years ago, the Lord also rebuked me for being lazy. After the rebuke, I asked the Lord to bless me with something to do so that I don't slumber under the heavy spirit of laziness. As a result, I was filled with an immense desire to witness daily. From experience, our flesh can easily re-unite with its old habits if it has nothing keeping it busy (Matthew 12:43-45). We  observed the same spirit developing in our children, so my wife and I created chores and tasks to keep our children occupied and this greatly pleased the Lord. As a testimony and a teaching from the Lord, which we are not ashamed of, sitting in front of television is completely out of our lifestyle and our children has better things to do. Additionally, another area of laziness is procrastination,  consider the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28). Let me encourage you, if you set your heart in doing something, do not ‘waive’ it – just go at it! Procrastination is laziness!

In conclusion, while laziness applies to life in general, many of us are using excuses to avoid doing the will of God. The Lord rebuked one sister for her lazy attitude towards our corporate prayers saying, “My daughter Gwen shows no respect for her prayers”. Please allow me to emphasise this point strongly, the calling of being an intercessory prayer is a ministry calling (Acts 6:4) the early Christians knew the importance of prayer. For your interest, and there is no shame in sharing this, as a ministry and under the Lord's watchful eyes many brethren walked away from our ministry. Exactly why? Here it is right here, some people do not want to be corrected, others just want to follow without doing nothing. Well, the Lord designed our ministry in such a way that we all work and bear fruit through witnessing, worshipping and intercessory prayers. We do not have idle brethren in our ministry, but workers who ministers the gospel to others and to God through prayer and heartfelt worship. I want to use this example not to slander but to demonstrate how laziness and the present 'follower must listen Church system' changed people's attitude towards real service (Ephesians 4:12). We recently welcomed somebody into our services, from what we observed, he is in the habit of just sitting as a Church member without ministering to God through prayer and thanksgiving services. In his understanding, God is just happy to see you in Church and that is the general perception in our community that some people just attend Church to enjoy the benefit of being buried by a Church. They have no personal salvation on their minds, nor a conviction to work on their salvation through active participation (James 1:22; Philippians 2:12). When the Lord started this ministry, and being from the 'follower must listen Church system' we were in the habit of just being non-functional Christians, lazy. However, by the Power of the Lord's words, this changed and He awakened us to being service driven Christians. Wouldn't you like to be an active Christian? If so, get involved in ministry even on your own, pray and God has room for you.

I am going to speak a bit tough here, some Christians has all the time for other things but for the things of God, they have excuses. We heard some people saying, 'I am or was busy and God will understand', they often choose other things above God. The Lord is most definitely not please with such an attitude, and I am speaking from experience here; Some lazy and God-cheating Christians were strongly rebuked by the Lord for undermining God and their Christian duties. That is why to God-cheaters, their things takes precedence over God's and because they regard the things of God as unimportant they disregard Him. My brothers and sisters, I speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), I have personally experienced the soul-soaking wrath of the Lord. I can remember, when I was due for a serious message from the Lord, I felt that Heaven was closed for me because God was against my actions. I was literally shaken to the core, and I had no peace in my soul, nor could I even pray properly and in peace,  O' what an overwhelming feeling of rejection when the Lord turns His face against a sinner! In kindness to me, when the Lord observed the fear I had for Him, He abandoned the rebuke and said, He loved me imagine the relief.  I would like to warn you dear brethren that the Lord will judge the double-minded Christians who neglects their salvation and undermines His authority in their lives. Quit laziness NOW! Therefore, some symptoms of defeat in lazy Christians is that they are always feeling miserable and request prayers from others. As a further warning, we have witnessed that some parents are too lazy to share the Word of God with their children. They neglect their own family’s salvation and choose the false refuge and comfort of television, surfing the Internet, sleep or some other entertainment.

Finally, there are many people who have been deceived and they became followers of man because they fail to read the Scriptures for themselves. Laziness should be no excuse to miss the Kingdom of Heaven! You should not seek the Lord through others, but you should seek the Lord for yourself (Jeremiah 29:13). We can never outsmart God if we do not cling to Him through wholehearted obedience. Our lives will show it, not through the things we have, but how we bear fruit through our service to God and man. The truly victorious Christian life is this: to have faith in God through acts of obedience to His word, driven by a spirit of humility and by the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved in Christ, what is keeping you busy? What excuses do you offer to compromise your relationship with God and tamper with your salvation? Which master are you choosing to obey? What reward are you working towards? (Galatians 6:7; Romans 6:23).

We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link Prayer of Sincere Repentance
by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.

Blessed Grace and Eternal Peace to you in Jesus name,

Brother Glenn.

How to Care for Your Fellow Brother or Sister in Times of Need

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Encouragement to our Faithful Readers

Short visions

Important notice: We have made some additions to our "Blazing Holy Fire" Teachings and the Sabbath Question article. Also, beloved people of God, our second book is now available in both E-Book and paperback formats. Our intention is not to use manipulative marketing ideas to coerce you into buying our books. We however, expect you to support us and pray for us as we labour to reach the lost, the discouraged and those who are hungry for the word of God. I (Brother Glenn) has received two short visions from the Lord and I am permitted to share it with you here.

On the 22 September 2016, I had a vision from the Lord. I present the vision to you just as I received it. I need to point out though that I am not a soccer fan nor a follower of any soccer club. The Lord simply used this sport to illustrate the message He wanted me to share with us.

When the vision opened, I knew it was a soccer world cup event taking place somewhere in the world. Two strong African teams (Cameroon and Nigeria) were in the world cup final and they had to compete for the coveted world cup trophy. I heard someone whom I couldn't see saying, 'It doesn't matter who wins, either way we win'. Suddenly the vision changed and I saw a man scoring a goal with his head. I could sense the man's thoughts, he was thinking, 'if I score a goal, the people would vilify me as being unpatriotic'. However, when the soccer ball landed behind the goal post I heard everybody loudly applauding and celebrating that goal throughout the world. I could feel the joy and excitement of people everywhere and I heard a voice saying, "People has lost Country loyalty".

Interpretation: Football as we know it, divides people and Countries alike. The Lord used this most loved sport to show that there will be a common unity of nations. I perceived in the vision that countries of the world are uniting and working towards a single government system. People everywhere would welcome and embrace this new system. There is scriptural evidence of this (Daniel 2:41-43; Revelations 13:3). Brethren, we must remain praying while we are looking forward to the rapture!   

Also, on the 23 September 2016, I had another vision. I saw a group of about 5 people having a conversation. These were white South Africans, male and females having a normal conversation.  They could not see me, neither could I hear what they were saying. However, I knew that they were talking about Mr Mandela (our late former president). I perceived that they were praising him for his leadership and longing for a man of his stature. I then heard a gentle voice saying, "These people should be praying for their Country so that the Lord can give them peace". (1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Chronicles 7:14). End of vision. This vision needs no interpretation.  The Lord is encouraging the people of South Africa to pray for our Country, which is facing wide-spread student protests. Please pray for rain also, as our livestock and food security is being threatened.

Fellow brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who appointed us to do this work is aware of everything we do or say. As it is, He measures the content of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:10). Therefore, He is shepherding us to ensure we deliver a truthful message to you. In expressing His Holiness and truthful nature, the Lord admonished me to side with the truth only and this will secure my salvation and ultimately my redemption as well (1 Corinthians 9:27). Having you in mind, the Lord gives messages and visions that are specific to what we should know and do. In our work on this website no church, doctrine or leader is elevated except Christ Jesus our Saviour and Lord.

This article concerns that we should extend our love and care to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. We often find many truly born again Christians ignoring the plight of others because they reckon those in need are not from "our church" or don't belong to our group.

The denominational spirit of our times is largely responsible for this selective care in today’s society. Understandably, while it is easy to extend a helping hand to those of our immediate fellowship, we should not limit the Lord’s work and fail to care for others outside our immediate fellowship. Neither should we fear those in our fellowship who are driven by a spirit of sectarianism (Acts 11:2-18). What we do for others, we do for Christ (Matthew 25:40).

Bible Examples of True Christian Care

The effectiveness of our faith is always expressed through a spirit of unity (Acts 2:44). Therein do we see faith in shared action. Furthermore, when our Lord discoursed on the parable of the Good Samaritan, He emphasized compassion for the wounded. The Lord discouraged sectarianism, pointing out that all men are our neighbours (Luke 10:30-37).

In denouncing sectarianism within Christianity, the Lord rebuked John for trying to stop someone (who was not part of their immediate company) from ministering deliverance in His name (Luke 9:49-50). Even so when Tabitha, a disciple, became sick, concerned brothers and sisters nursed her, remembering her loving and caring spirit before the Lord; they stood as one and trusted God to bring her back to life, and He did by honouring their faith and care for their fellow sister (Acts 9:36-41).

Often, people who consider themselves Christians lack compassion for the needy and they show their impatience with the needy person by avoiding contact, citing uncaring excuses (Luke 9:57-62). If I may put it this way, the ‘package’ of salvation includes a great deal of discomfort to ourselves and our families while God delivers His care and love through us to those in need (2 Corinthians 5:20).

In addition, our Lord Jesus Himself expressed compassion and care on many occasions to the sick, needy and the dead (Matthew 9:36; 20:34; 15:32; John 11:33-36). The Lord did not expect anything in return from those He took care of; His gift to them was to restore them in fellowship to God (2 Corinthians 5:18).The Lord’s care for the needy is real because He always initiates the action for help and deliverance for our good (Philippians 2:13; Acts 10:2).

Furthermore, when my family and I were on the verge of losing our house with the court summoning judgment against us, and being weak in our faith through sorrow, we turned to the Lord in desperation. In His compassion He lifted our faith in Him by commanding us to fast for a day. He used the fasting to draw our attention to Him, which served as an expression of faith, and this He did to deliver us from the bondage of our circumstances. In other words, He used fasting to motivate us to believe, so that He can help us. What an all Wise God we serve!

Do We Care Enough for Our Fellow Brethren?

It is disgraceful and hypocritical for us as Christians to claim that we know Christ when we grudgingly overlook the dire or desperate needs of our fellow brethren (1 John 3:17-18). Having said this, the Christian faith does not encourage dependence on man (Jeremiah 17:5) but dependence on God for everything (Philippians 4:19; Psalm 121:2). The ministry of care to those in need is an expression of Christ’ love through the believer. It is very easy to take care of those close to us; while this is good and commendable, we should not overlook helping those beyond our own immediate association.  Like I mentioned above, discriminating compassion is not from God, but man. Also, if we give up on a needy person while they remain in that situation, we are proved fruitless and it is a mockery of our faith (John 15:1-17). Often, needy people, whether saved or unsaved, are always looking at the Christian response. Such situations could render a powerful testimony or hatred for the cause of Christianity. Those needing care often abandon their faith using their experience as testimony to embrace either another faith or some lifestyle outside Christ. Indeed, many false religions and denominations reach out to such needy people in order to win them to their false teachings.

In reality, when saying we must care for the needy brethren, the Lord is not expecting us to go door to door and look up for needy people. Scripturally, He sends them to us or sends us to them (Luke 10:31-33; 1 Kings 17:9). Our caring must not be grudgingly, but from a pure heart of love (2 Corinthians 9:7). The needy often recognised Christ being the source of our caring. Also, our mere knowledge of a person’s need should spur us into action and not just our physical presence. The Lord recently rebuked somebody for not showing enough care and compassion to a fellow believer who is in need of care. As a word of caution, our care for others should never be used by us or others to elevate us. Where Christ the giver through us is absent, we point people to our compassion for them, and the Lord says we have no Heavenly reward for our effort (Matthew 6:2).

In conclusion, when we care for our needy brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, we ourselves will not fail to receive mercy when our turn for mercy shows up; this is a Biblical fact of faith (Matthew 5:7). Furthermore, if we express and give care to the needy in Christ against our own will and discomfort, our response would either be out of genuine love or out of guilt. Guilt is fruitless and can be identified by the impatience of the giver, but care from a loving heart shows no remorse and the recipient of such care recognises God, whose Goodness to us we express through praise and thanksgiving.

Let us continue to practice hospitality, for it is not a matter of what we have or where we are, but being available to give care from our hearts wherever we are.

If you are not yet born again, please pray this Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

God bless you all in Jesus name,
Brother Glenn.

Godly Manners

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus 3:1-2 NIV).

“Love each other as Christian brothers [and sisters]. Show respect for each other” (Romans 12:10 NLV).

Beloved brethren, Paul says it is not burdensome for him to repeat certain truths as it serves to keep us focused on the Lord Jesus (Philippians 3:1). Neither is it burdensome to us to repeat ourselves on some things. After prayer, the Lord led us to share this message with you for this week. Please strive to please the Lord and do His will.

Now for our message, growing up, do you remember being taught and reminded to have “good manners” and often being rebuked or punished for having “bad manners”? Manners are habits and ways of conscience, of behaving and treating others. In other words, manners are rules that govern human relations in society. How we relate to others is not just a matter of personality, but a matter of manners as well. Many Christians think that the Lord is not mindful about their manners; well they are wrong! The Lord considers us as rude if we display bad manners and such behavior does not represent Christ well amongst both believers and unbelievers (Matthew 5:13-16). There will always be a touch of love in our attitudes when we have acted out of a gentle spirit.

How Manners are Influenced

It is common knowledge that life is coloured with  diversities among which are human personalities just as there are different stars in the sky. While some of our manners are as a result of our upbringing, there are those traits which leave a unique footprint on our personalities, which determines our temperament. What is noteworthy is that we also acquire or adopt some manners and behaviors from other people. From experience, as we get exposed to more people, we adopt and adapt in conformity which leaves an emotional 'tattoo' on our personalities. This 'tattoo' could be reactive, forming habits and patterns of behaviour. Often, bad manners are attributed to a number of things such as ignorance of other's cultures, lack of education, religious background and even family background (racial, tribal, economic, etc.). While these might be good and valid points to get away with uncivilized manners, generally we still stand to reap embarrassment, loss of respect from other people for acting or not acting in a prescribed way. It is true that there is no prescribed universal textbook that teaches good manners, the dominant culture will dictate the acceptable norm of behaviour. These values, which are readily being practiced in a given society are meant for the common good of all. Empirically, our modern legal systems also contribute to our mannerism which is often in the interest of balancing individuals' rights and responsibilities.

In this brief work, our intention is not to write a thesis on manners as dictated by world cultures, but  proper manners according to what the Bible teaches. While not disregarding the countless rules in human society which are for the mutual benefit of everybody that encourages respect for others, the manners the Bible encourage a change of attitude which must be rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, in this work, we are directly addressing Christians who are familiar with the Scriptures and the Bible's way of life. The message of the Bible has a universal appeal, and it breaks the cultural divide, uniting us through the truth of the cross, Christ' s love and humility (1 Peter 3:8). Against this Scriptural background, culture should not negatively impact our Christ-like values, for “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

The Influences of Sin in Society

The appeal for conformity to common behavior has never been stronger in human society than in today’s technological environment. The advent of Social Media has led to widespread conformity to worldliness, which has resulted in the corruption of good and Godly manners (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:33). We certainly don’t lament the good intentions someone may have had when they introduced new technology to make life easier. What we are addressing is the spirit that breathes laziness and bad attitudes which corrupted society. The widespread rebelliousness in society today comes through various channels like the television, gaming, Internet, etc. (Refer to Life Through Experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ - Part 1 article).

Additionally, however good we might appear professionally and to the world, if our manner do not represent Christ, our efforts are but useless and without eternal values. In Christ, however, we must show our submission to Him and that is the drawing power others will see and desire. Therefore, as the Lord exemplified kindness, gentleness and humility we are equally to possesses these qualities in abundance and these are lofty attitudes to have in serving others (2 Peter 2:8; Matthew 11:29).

Generally, our manners are being influenced by the type of relationship we enjoy with other people. for instance if a person has a relationship with us or otherwise has a strong influence on us or in society, we are likely to respond to them respectfully while they are likely to return the favour. Being Christian, displaying such mannerism does not issue from the heart but from fear for men.  The Bible clearly warns us against showing favoritism or partiality (James 2:2-4). A truly God-fearing Christian will at all times and consciously “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the [leaders]” (1 Peter 2:17).

Examples of Bad Manners

As a reminder, in our article Life Through Experiences With The Lord Jesus Christ - Part II, we related how the Lord in messages to us issued corrections to some brethren for not saying “Please” and “Thank You” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). By His corrections, the Lord expressed His disapproval if we are in the habit of yelling and screaming at other people including at our children. This, He confirmed does not come from a spirit of love. We must also remind you that making ugly faces and gestures are ungodly and offensive. It is a known fact that our outward expressions show the condition of our hearts. We are to exude the fruit of the Spirit (Luke 16:14; Galatians 5:22-23).

It is courteous to gently ask for something instead of being demanding. Further below we discuss a few Christian values which are a must for all Christians.

• Disrespecting older people. We recall a rebuke by the Lord to a brother who did not show proper respect to an elderly person. We are admonished by the Word of God to "Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:32). Also, the Bible says: “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers” (1 Timothy 5:1).
• Slandering, complaining, and saying evil things about parents (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Jude 1:16).The Word clearly says “Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother” (Deuteronomy 27:16).
• Willfully being slow to reconcile and forgive others.  Neither should we give in to unforgiveness or being easily offended; the Bible admonishes us to be kind, to forgive and seek reconciliation (Matthew 5:24; 6:15; Mark 11:25; Ephesians 4:32).
• Not being cheerful or smiling while witnessing or talking to people. A cheerful attitude is 'felt'  (Proverbs 15:13; Proverbs 18:24 NKJV), even while talking on the phone! Smiling is impactful and welcoming. 
• Not appreciating what others do for you (Colossians 3:15). Those who are appreciative, the Lord is opening 'new' doors for more blessings (Luke 17:17-20).
• Interrupting conversations without excusing yourself (saying “excuse me”) and 'cutting' people off while they are still talking (Proverbs 10:19; Proverbs 21:23; James 1:19).
• Not greeting or being hospitable to guests (1 Peter 4:9). Many young people nowadays are in a habit of not coming out of their rooms to say hello to guests – they stay in their rooms sleeping, surfing the internet, or being busy playing on an electronic gadget, all while ignoring the presence of guests. This is an unwelcoming and rude attitude! Good hosts and their children have learned to say hello and also offer a refreshment even if it is just water, juice, or tea (Hebrews 13:2). Abraham and Sarah showed good manners in this area when they welcomed the Lord and two angels who visited them (Genesis 18). The Bible encourages us: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). And as a warning, by not being hospitable, we could be rejecting the Lord Jesus, and consequently missing out entering heaven (Matthew 25:41-43).
• Taking, using, or demanding things, instead of asking (Luke 11:9-10).
• What further impacts our manners is leaving of clothes, books, and other items scattered around our homes and others' homes when we visit (Romans 12:11 KJV; Proverbs 18:9). Refer to the article on Cleanliness and Tidiness.
• Not asking others to excuse us when leaving their presence is being rude and not communicating timeously when you have a change of plans is equally disrespectful.
• Always being late; not Being on Time.
• Allowing children to interrupt events (meals, praying, worship, etc.). One of the things parents are to teach children in training them up in the way they should go is good manners (Proverbs 22:6).
• At a buffet or shared meal, overloading your plate and not thinking about others. Refer to the article on the Spirit of Gluttony. It is better to take less and return for seconds after everyone has been served (Luke 14:8).

We are not advocating the above as new rules, laws, or commandments. As Christians, we understand that we should be a light to shine in this dark world; good manners help promote peace and give believers a chance to be a true light and draw attention to Christ (Matthew 5:14-16), for “God is not the author of confusion (disorder) but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Good Manners are Inviting

As a boy, I had a friend John who grew up in a loveless home. He would whisper to me how he longed to live in a normal home where there was love. All he knew was strife, quarrels and no peace. He once related to me how he used his kindness and respectful behavior to survive his hostile environment. Personally, I have known him to be a very kindhearted person who always operated in the background, not forward or being impetuous however he was noticed for his quiet and obedient spirit. By some of the habits he had, I observed how some of the bad things he was exposed to ‘choked’ him and influenced him to conform ungodly behaviour. however, when was in his early 20's he wisely accepted the Lord and the impact of his relationship with the Lord brought about a great change in his life. Sadly though, he recalled that some of his peers exploited his good nature for personal gain and mistook his kindness for stupidity.

Remember, the Lord delights in a well-mannered Christian. I have heard the Lord giving very kind and heart-warming words to individuals who consistently showed good manners that displayed a Bible influenced behaviour. We would also like to add that the Lord is displeased with Christians who treat others disrespectfully and as if they are nothing (Matthew 23:12; Luke 15:25-30; Luke 18:11-12). This behavior hurts the God of Heaven, and He will exercise judgement on their behalf (Exodus 22:23). Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31).

Finally, even in this age of rapid technological evolution where people are wise in their own eyes, and good morals are increasingly being looked down upon while bad morals are widely being accepted (Isaiah 5:20-21), please remain holy (set part for the Lord) (1 Peter 1:16) in all your interactions, whether “offline” or “online”. “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals”” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Have you been displaying bad manners, hurting others, and therefore dishonoring them while displeasing God? If so, seek the Lord in repentance and ask Him to change your heart and attitude. If you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please get started by praying this Prayer of Sincere Repentance.

For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Grace to You,
Brother Glenn and Preparing For the Kingdom Ministry Team.

Faith to Believe

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).

The Bible tells us that having faith, that is, believing and trusting God without any reservations, is an important prerequisite for receiving anything from God. The Bible further reminds us that as we believe, so it shall be according to our faith.

He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you” (Matthew 9:29 NKJV).

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22 NKJV).

On the other hand, expressing doubt in God, who is the I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14), and not believing that with Him all things are possible (Matthew 19:26), amounts to a lack of faith and we have no hope of expecting any results to our prayers. As much as faith is a gift from God, it is a choice that we should exercise and we know God is very pleased with a person who has faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Before you express contentment and complacency to this message, please read on you stand to gain. Faith is an active consciousness about God, His will and His love for us. In essence we all need a message of faith, because no amount of faith is ever going to be enough (Luke 17:5). The absence of faith brings about hopelessness, doubt and spiritual stagnation. Therefore, we should keep growing in our faith! The Bible says that as diverse as the various members of the body are for the good of the whole body, the gifts are likewise diversified for our edification and maturity in our faith (1 Corinthians 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:11-13). There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord (1 Corinthians 12:4-5 NKJV).

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… (Ephesians 4:11-13 NKJV).

Having faith in God involves acquiring Bible knowledge to know Him better and to trust Him to protect us against our fears and insecurities. It is indeed true that the message about faith is ancient, going as far back as the first generation of our faith fathers (Hebrews 11:4). True faith is not simply based on a confession and a belief in a Supreme Being. No! Such faith is casual and hopelessly fruitless because it is neither based on a relationship nor does it give us a fear for God or bring about a change in our character. In other words, simply believing in God, without being committed to obey Him, is not enough; even the demons believe—and tremble with terror and trepidation! (James 2:19).

A living faith is active, fruitful and rewardful (Hebrews 11:6). However, a mere confession of faith without an active commitment holds no hope or reward. Therefore, this kind of faith is equivalent to atheism because an atheist says: “I do not believe in the existence of a God, so I am not going to obey Him or do anything He requires from me!” A person with such an attitude is self-seeking and without hope. An atheist hopes that there is no God so that they may not be held accountable for their sins and lack of faith. For us, faith connects us to a relationship, commitment, and responsibility towards God (James 2:14-26). The Bible clearly says that without faith it is impossible to please God. If we come to God, we must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Let us consider an example of faith in the Bible and especially Joseph's experience in Egypt (Genesis 41). When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, being pagan, Pharaoh believed Joseph’s message and acted by faith allowing Joseph to implement decisions to save Egypt from starvation, and he subsequently set Joseph in charge over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:37-41). Unlike today, if Pharaoh doubted Joseph’s message it would have led to the destruction of Egypt and the then known world (Genesis 41:53-57).

Faith for Salvation

How does faith leading to salvation come about? Well the Bible says first, faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) and when we hear the Word of God, conviction from the Holy Spirit brings about a godly sorrow and repentance, and God who knows our hearts grants us grace to accept His gift of faith and forgiveness (Ephesians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 7:10). By the preceding Scriptures, we noted that no one inherits faith automatically, the Word of God is the foundation (Mark 4:15; Jeremiah 31:30; Ezekiel 18:20; Galatians 6:5). Therefore, by accepting God’s gift of faith through the invitation of the Word, this led to our salvation. So on our part, we are required to wait for our redemption while we exercise or work on our faith, which is ‘proof’ of God’s Presence in us by our transformed ways and renewed inner intentions (Colossians 3:10; (Romans 12:2; John 15:8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 3:9)).

Faith for Ministry

As for ministry work, we learn from the Bible that God does the calling of people and anoints them accordingly to do the work He needs done (Exodus 31:1-6; Leviticus 8:12; John 1:32; Acts 13:2). In other words, God does the calling and the anointing, which determines the kind of work we are called to do. Over the years, many believers have written to us asking how they could recognize the call of God upon their lives. Still others even asked that we inquire from the Lord on their behalf and ask Him about their ministry callings. In some instances, because of their lack of faith, some people that we inquired for from the Lord did not even realize that the work they were currently doing in the body was from Him! In response to them, the Lord rebuked them for their lack of faith and discernment. Often, some of these believers thought that the Lord would have said that He called them to be prophets or evangelists, thinking only of the official ministry offices. The Lord told us that no ministry activity in the body of Christ is inferior to the other ministry gifts, all work for Him enjoys the same importance (1 Corinthians 12:21). Scripturally, the Lord designed the various gifts to serve just one purpose, and that is to “equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). When we are involved in any type of ministry work, we do so for His sake (Luke 9:50; 12:34).

Sadly, there are some brethren who are still waiting for the ‘formal’ anointing by the laying on of hands by their leaders before they can accept and acknowledge the calling of God in their lives. They will not do ministry work unless they are acknowledged or ‘ordained’ and ‘blessed’ by some church leader. This kind of attitude gives the impression that there is no formal conviction from the Holy Spirit to witness or pray for someone when God presents such an opportunity. Unlike the disciples who had to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, when we become born again we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and as we commit our ways to the Lord, He sets us apart for ministry work (Acts 13:2). It is evident from the Scriptures that God does the calling (1 Samuel 3:4), and when He calls, He also anoints us for the task we are called for (Galatians 1:11-12). It is true, the laying on of hands for ministry service is a genuine Biblical practice, however, the calling and anointing is not from the pastor or the person ordaining us, but from the Lord Himself (Acts 13:2). With faith and commitment, we have examples of lay believers in Christ who went out preaching the gospel, healing the sick and driving out demons (Luke 9:50; Acts 8:4). Let us therefore not limit the work of the gospel by thinking that only a few “special” or specific people are anointed or ordained for ministry work. The truth is that all believers are called to serve the Lord, but only those who express willingness and obedience to do the Lord’s work operate by faith (Matthew 22:14; Luke 10:1-3; 17-20).

Faith for Deliverance and Provision

Briefly, in our ministry we have had a few people who were unemployed, sick, and struggling with certain personal habits. By praying and enquiring for them from the Lord, He encouraged some of them to have faith and to others who lacked faith He encouraged to fast if they need a breakthrough and deliverance. Being true to His word, after prayer and fasting some have experienced healing from various sicknesses, others deliverance from sinful habits and demons, and the jobless got employed. When we delight in the Lord and our motives are pure and pleasing to Him, we will receive answer to our prayers (Psalm 37:4; Matthew 7:11; John 15:7).

Faith is a Choice

From what we were trying show is that faith is a choice or an option we should exercise daily. When we have a committed faith in the Lord, we choose to disregard the opinions of others and instead concentrate on our obedience to Him (Daniel 6:10).

We are all aware of some religions, sects or even some “Christian” denominations that use fear as a weapon to force or coerce their followers to submit and act in a certain way. As fellow believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have learned first-hand from our experiences with Him that He never forces His will upon us (Revelation 3:20). Because, forced obedience does not emanate from faith and love, but from fear.

Briefly, please allow me to share with you an experience I had with the Lord on choosing to have faith. A few months after the Lord showed my daughter Charis that a man closely related to my wife was in hell (we have shared this vision on our website, titled as “Visit to Hell”), the Lord in His unfailing mercy heard the pleas of his family and He sent us to go and preach the gospel to them. This was something we desired to do after learning of the man’s eternal fate. The day before going to preach to his family, I experienced a very frustrating day at work, and as such I was so upset to the point that I asked the Lord in prayer to release me from going to preach at his (the man who is in Hell) family’s residence. To my amazement, the Lord did not rebuke me for refusing to go where He had sent me. Instead, as a surprise to my wife, He gently gave my wife a message to go and preach to the man’s family. Being overcame with guilt and shame for being disobedient to the Lord, I immediately repented and told my wife that I would go and preach to the man’s family. Since the message that I was going to preach was very important, the Lord drew many people to our meeting that evening. In acknowledging my obedience, when the Lord visited Charis that evening, He said: “Your father preached with the fire of the Holy Spirit!”

Praise be to God who gives us His Spirit without limit (John 3:34), we ought to delight in Him and fear Him! (Isaiah 11:2-3). Let us diligently continue to desire further what it means to fear the Lord.

Are you lacking or struggling to have faith in God in any area of your life? We encourage you, don't lose your faith. God has promised and is able to help you through your situation (Isaiah 41:10). If you desire a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and faith leading to your salvation,  here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance
to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blessed Grace,

Brother Glenn and Preparing for the Kingdom Ministry Team

Promoting Peaceful Relations Amongst People

Appreciating the Value of the Bible to Enhance Godly Relations: A Teaching from the Lord Jesus

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew 18:15-16 NKJV).

We would like to repeat here what we previously shared on this website and what the Lord Jesus told us: that everything said or done in His name carries equal importance. This week’s message is very important because as Christians, our work of ministry involves being peace-makers as we Scripturally seek to resolve conflict situations between brethren. Additionally, our message is useful to both believers and non-believers alike, since the Word of God has been given for the benefit of ALL mankind (John 3:16; Matthew 4:4). However, we also acknowledge that not everybody is a Christian or faithful believer and follower of the Lord Jesus. For the benefit of Christians, you might find the Scriptural guidance in this message refreshing as you seek a deeper relationship with the Lord. And what better way to know the Lord’s will other than by the Holy Scriptures! (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Overcoming Human Weaknesses Through Obedience to God's Word

Naturally, we are all weak and inclined to sin (Romans 3:23) and our strength to overcome sin comes through our knowledge and acceptance of God’s righteous requirements (Romans 7:7-9; Genesis 4:7). In other words, our knowledge of God’s requirements enables our conscience to respond in a corrective way (Psalm 25:8).

Way back in the beginning when the Lord God sought to establish a relationship with man and prior to the giving of the law, the Israelites had no knowledge how God expected them to live until they received the Lord’s commandments which set a relationship with God in motion (Deuteronomy 8:1-2;Joshua 22:5). In acknowledging their new relationship with God, the children of Israel pledged their obedience (Exodus 19:8). Those who followed the Lord with all their hearts and might developed an obedient spirit and attitude (Numbers 14:24).

In like manner, as Christians, we have the word of the Lord and the Holy Spirit to help us conquer our sinful behaviours, our fears and discouragements thereby giving us the confidence to overcome the world and its pleasures (1 John 5:4).

Improving Relations Through Scriptural Instructions

It is often a painful experience to relate to Christians who simply ignore their scriptural obligations. What I mean is that when some Christians are involved in a dispute situation, some often react in a reciprocal way. In such circumstances, nobody wants to back down or submit to the other out of fear of the Lord (Ephesians 5:21); instead, they both want to be right. When Christian brethren are involved in a disagreement, both are bound by scriptural obligations and duties to submit under the authority of God’s Word where it is used as a rule.

Being stubborn and unyielding to correction only leads to divisions and hateful feelings which cause a hindrance to a joyful Christian relationship, and which in return leads to a hindrance in our prayers (Matthew 5:24). Brethren, if we seek to please the Lord and receive answers to our prayers, we should first seek deliverance from our grudging hearts. In my experience in ministry work, I have been privileged to act as a mediator between the disputing parties, both Christians and non-Christians. In my successful cases, I found that some parties accept Scriptural authority and pursue peaceful relations out of love and fear for the Lord (Romans 12:18). In sharp contrast, I was unsuccessful where one person or both people's were disobedient to the word of the Lord, resulting in them harbouring ill feelings towards each other.

In the Bible, we read how Moses encouraged and instructed the Israelites who were involved in disputes by seeking the will of the Lord as a solution to their disagreement (Numbers 9:8). Similarly, when the prophet Jeremiah counselled the remnant of Israel after the fall of Jerusalem, he instinctively sought the Lord’s decision on the way forward for the remaining Israelites (Jeremiah 42:1-27).

How The Lord Helped Us Settle Internal Disputes Amongst Ourselves

As uncomfortable as it is mentioning this to you, I will briefly share for the sake of helping others. My wife and I had some sharp disagreement in the past over many issues, but by our strong love for each other and for the Lord, we are still lovingly holding together. There were often times when my wife and I sought the Lord’s favour and vindication for our actions. In reply through Charis, the Lord would show no partiality or favouritism, but correct us by pointing out to us the Scriptures on how we reacted disobediently to Him and failed to heed His word. He would graciously show us that if we had acted in complete humility and submission to each other, it would not have resulted in the hurt we caused each other. Afterwards, upon reflection to the Lord’s rebuke, we found our actions defective.

In another incident, we had two sisters who shared a home with their children and who always got involved in disagreements and quarrels. When we brought their matter before the Lord to promote peaceful relations between them, the Lord would issue a rebuke to them both with Scriptural content, commanding them to obey His Word. To further explain the Lord’s message, my wife and I would often invite both sisters to a discussion to encourage them Biblically to love, tolerate and embrace the Lord’s correction for the sake of their salvation.

Being human, we always tend to give a sympathetic ear to one person over the other, and I soon found out that this was very displeasing to the Lord. He rebuked me for accusing the other falsely and taught me that taking sides blinds people from the reality of Scriptural correction. As it is, the Lord instructed me to love, respect and rebuke equally, and by so doing I promote His word and represent Him to people He sends to me to guide.

Finally, dear brethren let us not be tempted to avoid each other when we expressed differences to each other. Instead, let us humbly allow the word of the Lord to guide our conscience and relationship with each other. By so doing, we would be able to hear individually the loving voice of the Lord as we prepare our hearts in humble service to the Lord and the brotherhood.

To receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please start by praying this Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blessed Regards,

Brother Glenn.