HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT

“Go in peace,” Elisha said” (1Kg 5:19)

The prophetic prayer meeting was very good. The Holy Spirit came and covered us with His light heaviness. We sang in the Spirit… ‘What manner of Man is Jesus? Halleluiah! He makes the blind to see! Halleluiah! He makes the lame to walk! Halleluiah! He came from heaven to earth, to show us the way… From the earth to the Cross our debt to pay… From the Cross to the Grave…From the grave to the sky…Lord I lift Your name on high… You are the Lord…You are the Lord… You gave me eyes to see… You are the Key that opens the door… You are the Owner of my soul… You love me, I cannot tell why… On Calvary tree, You suffered and died for me…You love me and I cannot tell why…’ There is a lifting… a burden that God did not place on you… The Holy Spirit lifts it now… We reject the evil spirit of depression, backsliding, religion and false prophets… Holy Spirit please come and do what no man can do… Fill us afresh…   Glory to the Father…glory to the Son… glory to the Holy Ghost!

The Word was from 2 Kings 5. It was the sad story of Gehazi, the servant and prophet in training of Elisha. His name means ‘The Valley of vision’. But he was spiritually blind and a greedy man. He was blind to the grace working in his master. Elisha healed Namaan and refused to take the money he offered. You can’t buy grace! You cannot buy divine healing! You cannot buy salvation! But Gehazi saw it as a lost opportunity to become ‘rich thru ministry’. Elisha sent Namaan away ‘in peace’. Healing is peace. Grace and peace are ‘twin sisters’. Gehazi runs after Namaan and greets him with the same word: ‘shalom’ (It is well!). Gehazi takes God’s name in vain!!! He lies to Namaan that Elisha is in need of money. He spoils the reputation of the prophet. He pays for this with his health. He loses his ministry, his health and the health of his children. (See the responsibility we have as parents!!!). The leprosy Namaan left behind is placed on Gehazi and his descendants. What a turning of the tables… The sick man is healed and the healthy man takes that sickness. Grace is free… God is sovereign in His dealing with men. God has no chancellor and no judge. God is no respecter of persons! He is the judge.

We repented from any connection with the evil spirit of Gehazi: loving money, greed, rebellion, giving and taking of bribes. Greed kills grace. Covetousness hinders the miracle you pray for! The same Gehazi is seen later working for the King of Israel (2Kg 8:1-6).  The prophet in training is now a politician… (Who knows how many of our politicians could have been in ministry but their spirits have been poisoned by demonic bribes? Lord God have mercy…)

“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent” (Ex 23:8). I shared a personal testimony with the congregation. More than ten years ago, a married man with children who was attending our church at that time came to me with a big envelope. He said that he wants to bless me with ‘a substantial amount of money’. He said that I have been a blessing to him especially thru the prophetic Saturday class. He looked humble and friendly.  I suddenly felt that something was not right…I could not explain… I then decided to ‘test the spirits’ (1Jn 4:1). I told him to give that gift to my husband who is the senior pastor of the church. He said ‘no’. He was insisting that I should take the gift. I started feeling even more uncomfortable in the spirit. I then told him to put the envelope in the offering box. He said ‘no’ that this gift is for me. I then said to him: ‘If you cannot give this gift to my husband or to my God, I cannot take it’. He put the envelope back into his briefcase and he left unhappily. Not long after that he and his family left the church. Since then I met people who have been spiritually wounded by the bribes of this man. He looked very ‘nice’ but he was clearly an agent of the devil to pollute Christians with bribes. I thank God for the restraining wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This is warning to all Christians in general and to pastors in particular! The devil works thru deception. Be careful especially when you pray for financial breakthrough. You need money. But not all money is good! Not every ‘envelope’ is from God! Not every gift comes without sorrow! Pray about the money offered to you as ‘gifts’. The Holy Spirit will tell you when to say ‘yes’ and when to say ‘no’! Your soul, your ministry, your marriage, your anointing, your vision that God gave to you is NOT for sale! May the Holy Spirit awake you from slumber and strengthen you to continue the race!  Jesus is Lord!

Our Women’ Fellowship was very good. We prayed and we praised God. We shared testimonies of the goodness of God. This is the sermon that was given:

There is a psychological phenomenon called ‘midlife crisis’. It is a time of increased anxiety concerning the future. It is more common with men but the women experience it too.  Women go through it earlier than men, often between the ages of 35 and 40. There is a major difference between the way men and women react during this crisis. Men are anxious for provision and women are anxious for identity. Men hate that they are getting old. They look back and wish to be young again. That is why they experience greater levels of anxiety. But for women, midlife crisis manifests more as a time to ask questions about their identity and purpose in life. Most women dream to marry and have children. Some also desires to achieve success in their careers. For many years they try hard to be ‘super-women’. They combine taking care of their families with involvement in business. These dreams are good enough for them when they are young, when they go to university and fall in love with the man they have been praying for.  These dreams are the source of most of their prayers from childhood until late thirties. But a time comes when they realize that God has already answered their ‘old’ prayers. By this time the children leave the home to go to the boarding house or to the university. Their husbands are more interested in making money than making love. The wine of romance is not bubbling again. In the office, the younger women are coming from behind and push them off from their pedestal of success. This creates a crisis in any middle age woman’s heart. Their youthful dreams are fading away and they awake to the reality that life is not easy and time is waiting for no one. As they reach menopause, most women become anxious, angry and depressed. They feel like losing control. They start putting on weight. They become careless with their appearance. To add to their problems, their husbands experience midlife crisis as well…

These are some signs of midlife crisis in women (I look these from the internet):

1-Starting to ask questions about life, destiny…

2-Desiring a simpler life

3-Realizing that many of your youthful dreams may not be accomplished (owning your own house… being slim and beautiful…)

4-Thinking about your ‘happy’ childhood a lot

5-Being jealous when you discover that your friends are richer or more successful than you

6-Buying a very expensive gift for yourself out of anger (something you can’t even afford…)

7-Worrying about your appearance (your hair is getting thinner, your waist is getting bigger, your face has wrinkles…)

8-Taking up a new hobby (like learning to play a musical instrument…)

9-Feeling sad when you look at the pictures showing you when you were much younger

10-Fearing that your parents will die soon (even if they are not sick…)

11-Reading obituaries and always checking how people died

12- Obsessively comparing your looks with others who are the same age with you

13-You stop telling people how old you are

14-Taking vitamins and supplements hoping that they work ‘miracles’

15-Worrying about High Blood pressure, Diabetes and other ‘old people’s sicknesses’

16-Always observing when your boss, your pastor, your landlord etc is younger than you and you feel embarrassed

17-Worrying that a younger person will take your job in the office

18-Dreaming about having hair transplant (men) or cosmetic surgery (women and men)

19-You are anxious, easily distracted and unhappy for no good reason… You lose your temper about little things

20-You stop reading books to educate yourself (you only check things on the internet on your phone for quick information)

21-You always complain that ‘you have no time’ for yourself …

How to prevent midlife crisis or any other emotional disappointment in life? It is to trust God and His Word!

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

And let her own works praise her in the gates” (PV 31:30, 31)

To find peace, joy, comfort and wisdom we have to go to the Bible. The Word of God applies to all, men, women and children; young and old. No matter the season in life, you will find encouragement and healing in the Word. Read Proverbs 31 and you shall find the model for us women. For example we are told that some things like sexy charm or physical beauty are temporary. They can deceive you thinking that they last forever. Nice dresses, jewelry, hairstyles are all good. Thank God for them. But if you give these too much importance you shall be disappointed and the crisis will be deeper. (Dear wife, no matter how nice you look in that new dress, your husband may be attracted by a younger (fake) version of you, whose face is smoother and whose body is slimmer than yours). Trusting and investing in these temporary things will end in disappointment.  But there are other things which are permanent: spirituality and ministry. The fear of God is the source of wisdom and godly character. The work, the business of a godly woman is always successful and fruitful.  May God encourage you at such a time as this!  In Jesus name!

‘It is God’s will that you should be sanctified’ (1Thess 4:3)

Do you want to know God’s will? So that you can do it? Read the Scripture above. God desires that you should be ‘sanctified’. This word means to be holy like God. If you say that you are a child of God, then you must resemble your Father in heaven in the way to think, speak and behave. To be holy it means to be different than the ordinary men and to be dead to sin. Do you hate sin? Or are you still addicted to sin, still a slave to sin?

‘And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to go round the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became impatient because of the journey (their soul was much discouraged because of the way)’ (Nu 21:4)

After many years of walking thru the wilderness, the people of God came close to the Promised Land. The country of Edom was the last hindrance for them to conquer. They were finally ready to possess their possessions. Moses sent a message to the king of Edom. He asked for a passage thru their territory. Moses promised that they will only walk on the ‘King’s highway’. They will not damage Edom’s fields and vineyards; they will eat their own food and pay for the water they shall drink along the way. The people of Edom were the descendants of Esau, their far relatives. The request seems reasonable. But to their surprise, Edom refused them the passage. Across the fields of Edom, they could see the Promised Land but they could not enter in. The heavenly cloud (re-)directed them to withdraw and to change direction. They have ‘to go round’ Edom to enter the Land of Promise thru the land of Moab and thru the River Jordan. This means a longer journey… They have to postpone their joy of entering their inheritance… This was hard for the people of God. Their souls became discouraged ‘because of the way’.

In Hebrew, the word ‘discouraged’ means to cut down to size, to diminish hope or to reduce your dreams. Essentially, discouragement is a loss of confidence in God. This feeling cripples faith and leads to sin. This is a warning to all believers and especially to the pastors who try to encourage discouraged people daily. We see discouragement as just a harmless weakness. We often try to encourage people with simple words: ‘Don’t worry… it will be better…’ But most of us don’t realize just how dangerous discouragement is. Discouragement is a spiritual virus!!! It leads to impatience, ingratitude, doubt, unbelief, selfishness (pity party), sins of the tongue (careless speech), distraction, blindness to temptation, anger, giving up (you lose spiritual strength, you become weak and lazy. A discouraged person retreats from the race. You say: ‘why should I bother to be a champion, a leader, a mentor? No need to fight… You are on your way back to the world. You become a discourager tempting others in the church to backslide! You choose to live your life in spiritual passivity, regrets, fault finding, resignation, bitterness or self-pity. God forbid! I hate that way!

How do I know that discouragement is a sin? Because God punished them with death! ‘The wages of sin is death’ (Rom 6:23). Discouragement made them to dishonor God. They complained about the longer way to enter the Promised Land. They spoke against God and their leader, Moses. God takes it personally when you insult His servant. This is rebellion. Complaining is rebellion!!! They started to doubt God’s salvation and God’s purpose. ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt?’ They complained against Mana, which represents the Word of God. Discouraged people hate the Bible! They cannot enjoy the Christian life. They want to backslide. They blame everything and everybody. They drag many on the road back to the world. But they soon discover the discipline of God! The serpents bit them and many of them died!

Listen to these wise words: “Discouragement makes the hard path—much harder; and the heavy load—much heavier. Discouragement is a slow but methodical killer that feeds upon the unresolved disappointments of your life. It is a predator of the human spirit, dragging its prey, over muffled pleas, to the dark cellar of broken dreams” (J R Miller)

What is the cure for discouragement? God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and to lift it on a pole. Anybody who was biting by a fiery serpent and who looked at the brass serpent, that one shall live! Jesus said that the brass serpent represents Himself, the Savior who died for our sins (Jn 3:14, 15). What about us today? We too must look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:1-3).

This is my testimony: that by the grace of God I have fought and defeated the demon of discouragement!!! That is why I enjoy my work as a pastor. I made up my mind that I will obey God’s Word and leading Spirit. If the road is long or short, if the road is crooked or straight, if it passed thru valleys of across the mountains, in the midst or good people or bad, I must follow Jesus. I am not saved just to enter my ‘Promised Land’. I am saved not only to enjoy the promised blessings of God. I thank God for the blessings, gifts and rewards promised to me in Christ. But I know that I am saved primarily to give glory to God by becoming more and more like His Son Jesus Christ. You may be surprised that I say this: my destination is not heaven. My destination and destiny is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And because Jesus lives in heaven, I too will go there. My holy priority is to maintain and mature my relationship with Christ. My desire is to walk with Him daily. My passion is to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit. For me life is simple because God made it simple: Jesus Leads and I follow. The length and the narrowness of the road do not matter. Sooner or later I will have my testimony, that I have entered my Promised Land. I refuse to be discouraged by anything and anybody, man, angel or demon. I live free and happy to serve my Lord! This is the truth! May this be your portion too! In Jesus name, amen! Glory to God!

HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT

“For God’s anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps 30:5)

The prayer meeting was very good. Outside it was raining heavily. Few people made it to church. But the Holy Spirit came heavily upon us. There was an expressed passionate hunger in our hearts to draw closer to God… We sang: ‘Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord, Come and quench the thirsting of my soul, Bread of heaven fill me till I want no more, fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole”… I want to be made whole… The opposite of being whole is to be scattered. The evil spirit of religion attacks my mind, bringing conflicting thoughts, distracting feelings and scattering imaginations. But the Blood of Jesus makes me whole. I plead the Blood of Jesus upon your lives (your bodies, souls and spirits); upon your marriages and children… We prayed for a new filling with the Holy Spirit. We prayed for revival. We prayed for a fresh touch from the Master. We prayed that God does a new thing in our lives, something that only God can do; something that money cannot buy and nobody can steal away.

We rejected the evil spirits of depression, pornography, homosexuality and empty man-made religion. Some Christian people told me that they hide to smoke Indian hemp, take cocaine, drink alcohol and take sleeping tablets each evening. They tell me that ‘prayer is not enough’. They tell me that it is because of ‘life’s frustrations’. This is a lie! The devil is a liar! This is a wrong medicine! They need Jesus in their soul and to be filled with the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit comforts like no other. Jehovah Rapha can heal any disease! Jehovah Jireh is the great Provider! The Holy Spirit brings peace in the midst of the storm and joy in the midst of loss. We wept at the feet of Jesus. Our tears belong to Him alone. Then the joy of the Holy Spirit took over and we danced ‘like David danced…’ Joy came as a wave of living water on all of us this evening. Happily we said: ‘Welcome Favor! Good morning Joy!’ And we praised God!

Two teenagers: Bro. B and Sis. M, knelt down and thanked God for His grace upon their lives. Their father died two years ago leaving their mother with four kids. They are the oldest. Against all odds, God kept them. They just passed the exam to enter university. It is not easy to have good children even when both parents are alive. It is not easy to bring up godly children in Nigeria. But these two young people and their mother held onto Jesus. They knew that He is their only Hope! They attended every church activity. Bro. B decided to live in the church premises. Sis. M lives with a Christian family to help them with their children. Their mother is a usher in our church. Each time we gather for service they weep, worship and pray like there is no tomorrow. The Lord did not disappoint them. We pray that God will continue to provide all that they need, school fees and all… We ended the meeting with Spiritual worship and heart felt thanksgiving. We sang: “Oghene Miguo…” (It means ‘Thank you Lord’ – in Urrhobo language).

Indeed, Oghene, Miguoooo…..

“Jesus is infinitely wise and immutably holy–therefore His love is a wise and holy love. He wisely manifests His love, so as to . . .discountenance sin,encourage holiness, and further His people in their heavenly way and work. He visits in trials, reproves for folly, smites for sin, and withholds the light of His countenance, to testify His disapprobation of our ways–and yet, all this is in love! He will not caress the believer–when he is indulging in pride, worldliness, and backsliding from Him. Those whom He loves–He wisely corrects! He never spares the rod–to the spoiling of the child–but says, “I will correct you in measure–but will not leave you wholly unpunished.”

His wisdom and holiness shine in every part of His works–but in none more than in His dealings with His people. Was He less wise, we might have more comfort–but it would injure us. Was He less holy, we might have fewer trials–but we would assuredly be losers. Divine love, wisdom, and holiness combined–drew the plan of the Christian’s lot; and the same divine love, wisdom, and holiness–executes that plan. All the wisdom of Deity, under the guidance of Almighty love–shines in our path, our portion, and our circumstances; and when we enjoy the clear light of eternity–we shall see that this was the case. O if we really believed this now–how different would be our feelings and our practices often! How quietly would we submit to every painful dispensation of divine providence; how cheerfully would we acquiesce in every intimation of our Father’s will; and how readily would we take the cup which He has prepared for us, and drink it saying, “The cup which my heavenly Father gives me–shall I not drink it?”

There is divine wisdom in every trial–and divine love in every cross.Holiness and wisdom in Jesus, demand that our way should at times be hedged up with thorns. The infinite love of Jesus, shines in every painful discipline. He is no indulgent parent, no foolish friend, no unholy companion; He will not tempt us to evil, nor with evil–neither will He indulge us to our injury. He would rather close His ears to our cries–than His heart to our best interests; and the day is coming when we shall see that all our trials were needful–and not a trial could have been omitted, consistently with the wisdom and holiness of His love. May His love shed abroad in my heart–lead me to love, seek, and pant for holiness!”

(James Smith  1676-1724)

“Ask, and it will be given to you…Don’t bargain with God. Be direct… Ask for what you need… Keep asking, and it will be given to you” (Mt 7:7)

This is the command of Jesus. To ask it means to pray to God. How long do you pray? Until the answer is given to you! In Greek, the word ‘given’ also means ‘to minister adventure to you’. Adventure is defined as an exciting experience involving some risk. Cowards will never desire adventure. Their lives are stale and boring. They can never inspire anybody. For fear of danger, they chose to die a slow death, without songs and without dances. But a believer in Christ has seen the end of the story, the glory ahead. So, for him, danger with God is just a training school. If God is with you, you can never lose! What an adventure to be born again and Spirit filled!!! Do you know what I am talking about?

These are some pictures our daughter Jemine Leigh Oakes sent us this evening. Her son Oliver was hungry waiting for grapes. Life is hard and waiting is hard even for a two year old. But Oh… The joy of that grape in his hand… Be encouraged today that waiting is not forever and God will put a smile on your face at last!!!

“And I will run to You
To Your words of truth
Not by might, not by power
But by the Spirit of God
Yes, I will run the race
‘Till I see Your face
Oh let me live in the glory of Your grace”

(Hillsong)

HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT

Out women’s fellowship was very good. We praised God. We prayed to God. We testified to the glory of God and to the shame of the devil. Sister Y said that two nights ago the armed police man guarding the estate shot in the air. She, her husband and children got scared. Her husband phoned to ask what the problem was. The mopol said that it was an intruder. Her husband, who is the landlord, said that they should shut ‘the thief’ in the leg, that they should not kill him. They phoned the police area commander who sent a group of mobile police men too. But they missed the address and went to the next compound. In the midst of this confusion, sister Y remembered God and she started praying in tongues. After some time she had peace. Later, the ‘intruder’ proved to be an old woman (above 70 years), the mother of one of the tenants. She came out from the back door and she was sleep walking in the estate. Thank God that the police men did not kill or injure her! Sister C said that her son was diagnosed with autism. She decided to pray for him and prophesy health and life to him. She also decided to enroll him in a regular school. He is doing very well now and there is no sign of autism anymore. To God be all the glory! Then the Word of God came: Midlife crisis in women!

There is a psychological phenomenon called ‘midlife crisis’. It is a time of increased anxiety concerning the future. It is more common with men but the women experience it too. Women go through it earlier than men, often between the ages of 35 and 40. There is a major difference between the way men and women react during this crisis. Men are anxious for provision and women are anxious for identity. Men hate that they are getting old. They look back and wish to be young again. That is why they experience greater levels of anxiety. But for women, midlife crisis manifests more as a time to ask questions about their identity and purpose in life. Most women dream to marry and have children. Some also desires to achieve success in their careers. For many years they try hard to be ‘super-women’. They combine taking care of their families with involvement in business. These dreams are good enough for them when they are young, when they go to university and fall in love with the man they have been praying for. These dreams are the source of most of their prayers from childhood until late thirties. But a time comes when they realize that God has already answered their ‘old’ prayers. By this time the children leave the home to go to the boarding house or to the university. Their husbands are more interested in making money than making love. The wine of romance is not bubbling again. In the office, the younger women are coming from behind and push them off from their pedestal of success. This creates a crisis in any middle age woman’s heart. Their youthful dreams are fading away and they awake to the reality that life is not easy and time is waiting for no one. As they reach menopause, most women become anxious, angry and depressed. They feel like losing control. They start putting on weight. They become careless with their appearance. To add to their problems, their husbands experience midlife crisis as well…

It is good for us to understand this phenomenon, not only to help ourselves and also our husbands. Most men between the ages of 40-50 start to feel more anxious and restless. For the first time in their lives they need to confront the unpleasant reality of old age and death. They try to fight that. They want to recapture their youth when they were careless and free. The truth is that old age comes with its peculiar health and social challenges. All men hate changes. No transition in life is easy. Your once handsome man starts to put on weight and his body slows down. The doctor says that he needs to monitor his Blood pressure and Blood sugar. He needs to diet. He fears that he is not sexy anymore. He fears that life is passing him by. He becomes afraid that his youthful dreams may never be fulfilled. He is worried that he will die a poor man and that his children will suffer the same fate. These negative thoughts bring much anxiety to your husband. During panic attacks, he may start making foolish decisions. Some dress like young men. Some resign their good jobs to pursue some unrealistic dreams. Others start having affairs with young women trying to recover the faded romance…

This is a difficult time for all. As wives, what should we do? The first thing to remember is that God is still in charge. Fear and anxiety are emotionally addictive and poisonous to the mind; these are demons and must be rejected. In particular, during midlife crisis, the wife must pray to understand the pain of her husband. She must be patient, compassionate, wise and emotionally stable to be able to help him. It is easy to mock him. It is easy to emotionally abandon him. The most difficult part is when the husband commits adultery just to prove that he is still a young man. This is a tragedy. Adultery is sin. It separates the man from God and from his wife. It is not easy for a wife to remain faithful to God and to her husband if he commits adultery. It is not easy but it is possible. How? By trusting God! By trusting Jesus Christ who understands your pain because Himself was betrayed by his friends! Speak the Word of God to yourself: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philip 4:13). You may not need extra strength to walk down the street. But you surely need supernatural strength during times of grief, loneliness, misunderstanding, abuse and betrayal. The Holy Spirit, the heavenly Comforter, is able to carry you on. (I read that most adulterous affairs do not last but good marriages survive even adultery).

One of the attributes of a virtuous godly woman is her present strength when facing the future. She has faith and she has hope! She is not afraid of old age. She trusts that God is with her now and forever. She is not worried about people’s opinions, about the falling of the economy or other negative news. She is a pillar of strength to her husband and children. She is free from the fear of death, going to hell or losing her salvation. She is free from the devil’s condemnation. She has no inferiority complexes. This faith in God is the secret of her strength and of her unfading beauty. “She is a woman clothed with strength and dignity and has no fear of old age… She always faces tomorrow with a smile… She laughs without fear of the future… she smiles at the future… she will rejoice in the last day” (PV 31:25) Dear sister in Christ, does this word describe you?

EACH BABY IS SPECIAL!
JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN!

“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life” (PV 31:10-12)

This is our testimony: My husband and I are married for 43 years. All glory to God! One of our greatest achievements is trust in God and in one another. It is easier to trust in God. It is much more difficult to trust in one another. A good marriage foundation is made of hard work. Work comes first. Pleasure is the fruit. Successful marriage is one of the greatest blessings given to men on earth. For both marriage and ministry we need trust!

“Who is she coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? (SS 8:5). Trust to a relationship is like oxygen to the body. Without trust the relationship will suffocate and die. Here we see this couple coming out from the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of death. There is no water, no flowers and no colors. It stands for the world which is full of trials and temptations. This couple has endured many things in the desert. But they stayed together and they are coming out of it together. The Bride is ‘leaning’ upon her Beloved! This is a position of trust. The Lover is stronger than her. She needs his help. She trusts him to help her. They walk together, trusting each other. The wilderness experience was difficult and painful but it failed to separate the two of them. Divorce died in the heat of the desert of life. They are still together carrying a testimony of loving trust and resurrection power. Trust is a fighter and a survivor! Trust in God and in one another is not easy to achieve. But it is vital for the success of any relationship. Trust is defined as the unquestioning reliance on the character and strength of another. It is the confident expectation of hope; the assurance that the future of the relationship will be better than the present. Trust gives a feeling of security. Trust is built having faith in the Word of God and from past experiences you had together. When you trust your husband you believe that he will be sexually faithful in the marriage, understand your deepest needs and help you fulfil them. That is why mature trust is always connected with deep understanding and with total satisfaction at all levels, spiritual and physical. Trust is a royal crown to a successful marriage.

Once trust is broken, it is very hard to regain. Trust must be earned. It takes hard work and patience to re-build trust. The first reason for broken trust is money. You both need to build trust in the way you handle finances. If you cannot trust your spouse with your money, you will not be able to trust him (or her) with other things. The second reason is adultery. The opposite of trust is anxiety and doubt. These feelings appear when you think that your spouse exploits you and does not have your best interests at heart. How do you build trust? By first of all putting all your trust in God and His Word! Out of that faith you can invest your trust in one another. To build trust you need good communication and understanding. Learn how to say ‘yes’ and how to say ‘no’. Do not always say ‘yes’ just to avoid arguments. Be true to your conscience, your feelings and desires. Share your vision for life with your husband. Do not sacrifice your dreams for the sake of ‘peace’. You need to listen to the other’s perspective. Put yourself in ‘his shoes’. Try to understand his fears and pains. Help the other in his weaknesses. The desire to help will build trust. Pray that your marriage will grow, spiritually and emotionally. A stagnant relationship becomes a place where the weeds of doubt will grow. Building your marriage together creates excitement and trust. Try to do something new together, travel together; serve God together! Make new memories together. Have new things to talk about. Don’t overstretch the relationship. Do not provoke one another to jealousy. Don’t keep secrets. Be open and vulnerable with each other. Keeping secrets takes a lot of energy and destroys trust. If you are secretive you will become tired and sad. Be gentle and wise with each other. Each one has a different level of maturity. There are seasons in each relationship. Keep your eyes on Jesus as you grow together! Finally, remember that these are just guidelines. Building loving trust takes a life time. Trust is risky but very rewarding! May God help you to build a happy home! In Jesus’ name, amen!

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Cor 5:6-8)

The Christians in Corinth were ‘glorying’ (rejoicing) over things they should weep about. A man who called himself a Christian was living in gross sexual immorality. The other Christians were to rebuke this man but they did not. Apostle Paul said that this man should be “delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”. This sounds very ‘harsh’ to our ears. Why such a drastic measure? Was this not an ‘ordinary’ act of adultery?

To understand what Paul had in mind, we need to remind ourselves about the story of Exodus in the Old Testament. The people of God were in Egypt, in bondage, for 430 years. They tried everything they could to free themselves but they failed. Finally, God sends His servant Moses to confront and defeat Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. God’s judgment is upon Egypt. After experiencing many disasters, Pharaoh finally agrees to let God’s people go to worship Him in the desert. God commands Moses to tell the people that this particular night they will leave the house of bondage. Each family was to sacrifice a year old spotless lamb. The flesh was to be roasted in the fire and eaten with bitter herbs. This bitter meal symbolizes the suffering and sorrow of slavery. The fire is a symbol of God’s consuming sacrifice. This innocent lamb dying for their freedom is a picture of the Cross. They were commanded to eat this meal in a haste, standing, dressed up and with shoes on their feet. The bread was to be baked without yeast. It was called ‘the unleavened bread’. They should carry the remaining unleavened dough on their shoulders. They should destroy every remnant of yeast for the next seven days. Anybody who hides and keeps yeast for baking bread should be ‘cut off’ from Israel (should be killed). The reason for this strange terrible warning was so that they remember that night, the night of their freedom! It was called the Passover night! It was a feast to be celebrated every year!

The leaven or yeast is a small quantity taken from the old dough. It has the power to penetrate the new dough and ferment it. The little yeast works inside, silently and mysteriously until the whole dough is chemically changed. Once added to the dough, the yeast cannot be removed. The Lord told Moses that the reason why His people should eat bread without yeast is because their freedom was purchased quickly. There is no time to wait for the yeast to work and the dough to rise. Spiritually speaking, eating unleavened bread is a symbol of an instant miracle, an automatic deliverance, a quick healing! No time to wait! Once the people obeyed God’s command, they received great favor with the Egyptians who gave them silver and gold. Selah!!!

Apostle Paul says that Christ is our Passover. We too need to remove every form of leaven from our hearts and from our church. Spiritually, the leaven stands for malice, wickedness and religious hypocrisy. Every form of hypocrisy must be repented of and destroyed. If not, the miracle you have been praying for cannot come. Who is a hypocrite? If a man comes to church with two wives, that man is a sinner, an unbeliever or a baby Christian. But he is not a hypocrite. But a married man who calls himself a Christian, who prays, attends church, sings Christian songs and serves God, and has an adulterous affair, that man is a hypocrite. He is not only an adulterer. His sin is not only sexual. He is wicked, a deceiver, a hypocrite. Another example: a man who pays his tithes regularly but steals money in his office, that man is a hypocrite. A couple attends church regularly. But the husband and the wife quarrel on Sunday morning. But in the church they smile and sing choruses. They are hypocrites.

Hypocrisy therefore is the practice of claiming to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case. It is pretending to be better than you are in reality. You deceive others that you are a Christian but you are not. This hypocrisy is a poisonous leaven. Once allowed to grow it destroys the whole heart, the whole family or the whole church. Jesus cursed the barren fig tree. He also cursed hypocrisy and the hypocrites. The lesson: for as long as you practice hypocrisy, you are grieving the Spirit! God cannot answer your prayers. You have to choose between your hidden cherished sin of hypocrisy and a healing miracle, a deliverance miracle or a breakthrough miracle. Repent of hypocrisy! Purge that old leaven! Be a new lump, spiritually pure, honest and humble! Then God will prosper you!

As for me and my husband, we are children of God and pastors of a church. We have repented of every form hypocrisy, malice and wickedness. We have opened our hearts to God and to the Body of Christ. We take the risk to be hurt by brethren or by false brethren in our midst. But this risk taken for the sake of love is better than to allow the fermentation of bitterness, malice and occult in our hearts. I pray for you, dear child of God, that these words will stir your conscience! I pray that for Christ sake, you repent of hypocrisy and become free! Then you shall be healed and delivered! In Jesus name, amen!

(In the picture, you see roasted lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. This is a portion served in a Jewish home at the Passover feast these days).

“Oh it is Jesus
Yes it is Jesus
It’s Jesus in my soul;
For I have touched the hem of His garment,
And His blood has made me whole…”
(by Andre Crouch)

HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT

The Women’s Fellowship was very good. We praised God with singing and dancing. We prayed and prophesied. We shared testimonies about the goodness of God. There was an altar call for prayer for the married women who pray to have children. The God of Abraham and Sarah will give you the desire of your hearts! Then the word of God came: THE NEED TO BE PATIENT

Genesis 16 is a painful chapter to read. We see Abraham and Sarah making mistakes. We see the consequences of their mistakes. We see the suffering of the maid Hagar and we cannot but sympathize with her pains. This is the basic story: God promised Abraham that he will be the father of many descendants. Many years have passed since that promise was made and Sarah was still unable to conceive a baby. Tired of waiting on God, Sarai becomes impatient and tells Abraham ‘to sleep’ with her Egyptian maid Hagar. According to the tradition at that time, the slave’s child will be hers. Abraham did not argue with her proposal. He slept with Hagar and she became pregnant immediately. Once pregnant, Hagar ‘despised’ her mistress. Her proud attitude brought major crisis in the home.

Sarah ‘dealt harshly’ with Hagar who runs away thru the desert, towards Egypt, her home. She stops at a place called Shur, about 150 miles away from the home of Abraham. The Angel of the Lord (who many believe is the Lord Jesus Christ) encounters her by a well, comforts her; shows her grace and mercy. This story reminds us of another Gentile woman who met the Lord Jesus Christ by the well (John 4). Does Jesus care for the oppressed, the slaves and sinners? The answer is yes! He cares! Oh, the ways of the Lord are so different than our ways. The Angel tells her to go back home to her mistress Sarah. She obeys! Pregnant, she treks back another 150 miles. Selah! That must have been difficult. It was not easy to go back to her slavery and submit to Sarah. But this time she had hope from God. She eventually has a son called ‘Ishmael’, meaning ‘God who hears me’.

Abraham and Sarah’s manipulation of God’s plan for their lives displeased God. For the next 13 years, God keeps silent. Abraham is 99 years old when Jehovah El Shaddai speaks again. He calls Abraham to a life of holiness and total surrender (Genesis 17). Abram’s name is changed from Abram to Abraham. Sarai’s name is also changed. Sarai means ‘Princess’. But now, as Sarah, she becomes ‘a royal princess’, God’s Princess! This is true blessed promotion in life (Gen 17:15, 16)

What are some of the lessons for us? The most important lesson is that we need faith and patience to inherit the promises of God (Heb 6:12). Many believers pray for greater faith. Few pray to be more patient. Faith matures thru testing. One of the most difficult tests to pass is the test of time. We need to learn to endure joyfully the trials of faith. This endurance is called patience or perseverance. God is patient and faithful. He desires that we should be like Him. Patience builds character and hope. It is only the patient believer who is ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to experience the comforting Love of God. Patience eliminates every disappointment in life (Rom 5:1-5). An impatient man or woman conceives trouble, will experience much pain and shame. Insisting to receive a blessing before God’s time will surely bring sorrow. It is not easy to wait on God. But waiting for God’s time is the best protection against disappointment. The waiting time connects the promise to the performance. It is hard to be patient. But it is the best way! Never use worldly means to accomplish God’s work. Wait upon the Lord! Impatience is sin! Repent! Go to the Cross. You have hurt yourself and many people close to you. As you walk by faith, in case of delays, pray for wisdom to understand the mind of God. Even as you trust God for a better future, be grateful for what you have right now, at this present moment. Don’t worry about tomorrow! Before the breakthrough comes, do the little good work you can today. Learn to slow down. Enjoy a quieter life. Take time to smell the roses… Continue to pray. Do not give up on prayer. Often, delay is not denial. Serve God the best way you can. Worship God and give Him thanks no matter what! Sooner or later, the testimony shall come! Amen!

HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT

“Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked” (1Jn 2:6)
The Saturday night prayer meeting was very good. The Holy Spirit helped us to pray, praise and prophesy. We prayed for our bodies. We dedicated our bodies to God as members of righteousness. Our feet shall go ONLY where the Holy Spirit shall direct. We shall not go towards the darkness of the world. We shall walk like Jesus walked. Our hands shall not touch evil things, fornication, stealing or needless violence. Our hands shall be used to praise God. We shall lift holy hands unto the Lord. We shall clap in harmony with the Holy Spirit. God will bless the work of our hands! Our eyes shall see only what the Holy Spirit reveals. Our eyes shall be like X-ray to see in the Spirit realm. The darkness around us shall become light and we shall see King Jesus enthroned in every situation. Our eyes shall not be interested in lustful, dirty or covetous things. We shall be blind to the pictures of the devil. Our ears shall be circumcised by the Holy Spirit. Every unholy blockage is removed. We shall hear only the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us in the path of life. We shall be deaf to the voice of the evil spirits even if they use a trumpet to talk to us. We prayed for our hearts, minds and mouths. We shall be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak only the Word of God.