Being Obsessed To Worldly Things

Loving Others More Than Things

"I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV).

Prophecy Update: Please find this under the 'Latest Prophecy' tab!

This is an important message and the Lord is warning that people worry more about the things they don't have and as a result they neglect their salvation in pursuit of such things (Matthew 6:21).  The modern age and the availability of countless items makes it impossible for us to resist  the 'better' or 'improved' version of what we were used to. In a bid to enhance our appetites for more things, marketers and sales people just know how to skillfully create a demand for their products and leaving us guilty if we don't follow the trend and be part of the collective. While it is not wrong to shop the things we need, we equally need to guard against obsessive shopping on unnecessary things and neglect to feed and help the less fortunate (Mark 4:19; Matthew 25:31-40). 

Tough Times Ahead

We would like to stress, more than ever and especially the times in which we are living currently, Christians need to trust in the Lord for their daily needs (1 Kings 17:4). It is true, the science of economics have made us more need conscience than us seeking the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Like we emphasized in earlier articles recently, the whole world will be facing a stiff test in months to come and no one alive will escape including Christians if their lives are not fully yielded and found in Christ our Lord (Luke 21:36). Also, you may ridicule or dislike the warnings here but you need to hear this dear brethren. The Lord has revealed to us that there are some tough times ahead and He is the only WAY of escape (Revelations 3:10). 

Being Freed From Obsession

Let's continue, now from the Scriptures we learned that the Lord demands unquestionable obedience from us and worldly things should not blind or cause us to walk half-heartedly (Luke 12:19), if we do allow distractions we would have run this race in vain and lose the very purpose why we decided to follow the Lord in the first place, which is our salvation and the redemption of our souls (1 Corinthians 9:27; 1 Peter 1:9). Furthermore, as we warned previously in our Priority Judgement Vision that the Lord will be considering the things we were supposed to do as Christians in order to determine our rewards and our entry into His Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:12; Matthew 25:30).

As Christians, we should therefore strive not to be mastered by anything. In this article, we need to clearly distinguish between idolizing things and being captured by things. If we are captured by things our minds and efforts are channelled to enjoy and appreciate the things we have (Luke 12:19) and if we idolize things we would not want to be without the thing (s) we idolize and desire.

A few years ago, our children became colour conscious and each one of them chose his and her favourite colour and almost any item they bought has to resemble their favourite colour. In other words, they wanted to be identified by their colour of choice. As a matter of fact, this whole colour thing became so serious to some of our children that if anybody made any negative statement or any negative association to their favourite colour that would completely ruin one’s relationship with them. Additionally, does this not remind us of the rich young man, who was captured by his great wealth that he refused to sell his possessions and follow the Lord, instead the young man valued his things more than the Lord and His passion to save the lost (Matthew 19:21-22; Luke 19:10).

Furthermore, and being still just developing children, the Lord gently warned them not to make a big deal about colours and that such things should not be regarded more important than people. What the Lord meant is that worldly things should never substitute a Christian’s love for others. In other words, we should appreciate the value of the thing(s) to the extent of its enjoyment without harming our relationship with God and others (Galatians 6:4). Imperatively and as Christians, we should never regard things more important than people (1 Peter 2:13-25).The reality is, the unfortunate situation is that some Christians are in the habit of placing worldly things above humans and this is displeasing to the Lord (Matthew 22:39).

I can remember an incident involving a very dear brother in the Lord who refused to help a sister in need while offering a lie as an excuse. As a result of this, the Lord was greatly displeased and He rebuked the brother saying that he should not have lied and that we should always be willing and ready to help others (Proverbs 3:27).

In conclusion, let us pray and follow the voice of faith to determine how we ought to please the Lord.
If you would like to accept the Lord Jesus and His abundant and unfailing love for you, here is a suggested Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blesssings,
Brother Glenn.

God Will Punish The Wicked

God's Covenantal Dominion

“Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless” (Isaiah 13:11).

Scripturally, we can be sure that the world will receive its hour of punishment from God Almighty (Revelation 3:10) and the only way a person could escape that era of judgment is through salvation in Christ, who will rapture those who are waiting on Him (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Hebrews 9:28). Throughout the centuries, the world has been enduring catastrophes like floods, diseases, volcanic eruptions, severe weather conditions, earthquakes, and tsunamis, these the bible says are normal seasonal patterns as a result of the ground being cursed by God (Genesis 3:17-19; 8:22).

 As it is, these seasonal disruptions were meant to co-exist with humanity ‘as long as the earth endures’ (Genesis 8:22). There is thus no way we could attribute these natural life disruptions as God punishing us.

Furthermore, Brethren we need to understand that God is immutable (Hebrews 13:8), He does not change the course of nature or creation halfway but allows things to run the course He ordained it for until He makes all things new (Revelation 21:4-5; Genesis 9:9-17). In other words, God establishes His Sovereignty through covenants, just as the above scriptures suggest that He sets aside the old order of things and brings in the new order of things (Hebrews 10:9; Leviticus 26:42). It is also noteworthy that His covenants run according to the ‘… times or seasons the Father has set by His own authority' (Acts 1:7). Therefore, the point we make here is that the order of things must run its course until the times and seasons ordained by it by our Heavenly Father.

How God Will Punish The Earths Inhabitants?

“For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the bloodshed on it, and will no more cover its slain” (Isaiah 26:21). This will be a direct intervention by the Almighty God to punish the inhabitants of the world, and it will coincide with the invasion of Israel by Gog. I speak from revelation, this will happen soon after world war III, which we already mentioned on this blog (Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 38:8-23; Zechariah 14:1-7) and where a revived ten (10) ‘United Nations’ will emerge and from which Anti-Christ would come as the ‘little horn’ who will invade many Countries including Israel (Daniel 7:7-8; 12:40-45; Revelations 13:1-4).  The Lord willing, we will expand on this part of the end-time prophecy.

World-War III

Thus, I believe after world war III, a new order and monetary system will be introduced. It hurts me to mention this, as we enjoy a great relationship with many brethren in the US and the Lord used that Nation to be a blessing to many nations around the world, however, the Almighty God has reserved judgment for the US by leading the world into perversion. The Lord has revealed to us that the US currency will fail and be replaced as the leading currency in the not too distant future. The brethren there must be alert and pray. I also heard a voice saying, that they will lose their influence and many will lament the fall of the USA.

In conclusion, then there will be a time of punishment, unprecedented as times never before has witnessed, God’s ultimate wrath upon humanity (Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21-22). We, therefore, encourage Christians all around the world to pray and remain vigilant. Also, we believe the current war in Ukraine will ultimately draw the whole world into a conflict which could be a recipe for world war III. This does NOT look good, it’s time to serve and seek the Lord with all our hearts and let us remember the Lord's previous warnings! Finally, we say peace to the people of Ukraine!

Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn

Christian Fellowship

The Lord commanded that we write an article on fellowship this week. This is also one of the most misunderstood topics within Christianity. Recently, the Lord made us understand that many Christians today mistake their socializing as “fellowship”. Instead, in socializing we enjoy one another’s company. Nor can “chatting” on social media (Instant Messaging, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) be considered as fellowship, as we will see from our definition and further explanation below.

Briefly, and without getting technical on some terms, the Greek word that is translated “fellowship” and other related word is Koinonia: meaning “common”; or “I participate in; or I share in” (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). Per Wikipedia’s definition, Koinonia as transliterated from Greek means “communion, joint participation; the share which one has in anything, participation, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, etc. It identifies the idealized state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ.”

Fellowship is Sharing

Therefore, our understanding, and from a Biblical perspective, is that fellowship means people participating together in something. Fellowship is communion or having a share in something. As an example from the Bible, we fellowship when we participate in the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. Our act of eating bread and drinking at the Lord’s Table is an act of fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ; it is a spiritual sharing in His body and blood, in other words, we are participating in (or having communion with) Christ and all that His sacrificial death means to us (1 Corinthians 10:16). Furthermore, by being united with Christ, we share in Him and have fellowship with Him (1 Corinthians 1:9; Hebrews 3:14).

In addition to having communion with The Lord Jesus Christ, we as believers have fellowship with the Father (1 John 1:3) and with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 6:4; Philippians 1:21). Through our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we share in His Divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). By being in union with Christ, it means absolute surrender and faithful and obedient service to Him.

Our Fellowship With God

Beloved brethren, when we use the term “God”, it may refer to Christ as well. In the Lord’s many visits to us, He often referred to Himself as God (John 8:58). Also, we need to emphasize that fellowship with God does not necessarily mean when we come together as believers. We are individually called to fellowship with God (1 John 1:3). This fellowship with God may be Bible reading, praying, or having Communion as an individual member of the body of Christ (Genesis 5:22-24; 6:9; Mark 9:37; John 14:23). Based on the above Scriptures and countless others, don’t ever be deceived in thinking that fellowship with God involves going to church on a Sunday and coming back to continue in our sin! We will give account of ourselves before God as individual believers (Romans 14:12). I am emphasizing the individual’s fellowship with God here; our walk with God is determined by our own obedience to the Lord (John 14:15). God’s commands refer to the entire Bible, not just an isolated verses in Scripture (Joshua 1:8).

When we fellowship as a group, that is when others join or I join them, then we all have fellowship together with God, and by having fellowship together with God, we are truly joined together in a happy union (1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 17:21-22; 1 John 1:3). As a warning, sin spoils our fellowship with the Lord and if we live in sin wilfully, we have no fellowship with the Father and this is a broken fellowship with God (1 John 1:6-7). When we fellowship with the Lord, we hear from Him and we express our gratitude to Him in obedience to His word by witnessing and testifying about Him to others (1 Corinthians 14:26).

Another area of fellowship and the less talked about is “participation in His suffering” (Philippians 3:10). This cup is what many Christians don’t like; yes they only prefer to share in His blessings but not in the cup of persecutions, witnessing and obedience. I will be quite bold here; many Christians hide themselves behind their pastors. What I mean is that they only do what the pastor says and not what the Lord tells them in the Bible. They only prefer the blessings more than the cup of suffering. I am receiving emails from many brethren around the world, complaining bitterly about their sufferings and situations. Quite frankly, a complaining believer is weak in faith and impatient with God (Philippians 2:14-15). When we complain, we are literally saying; “I did enough now God, so you must act, and if you don’t act I quit!” (Exodus 16:2-15). How absurd! Remember believer, when you display such an impatient and immature attitude, you will be the biggest casualty; it is after all your salvation for eternal life you are labouring for here in obedience to a righteous suffering (2 Timothy 4:7-8). I say your suffering is righteous because you have given yourself to God as a living sacrifice and you suffer for the truth; people persecute us not for wrong doing but for telling them about their sins (John 7:7) I am declaring in Jesus name that Christian fellowship includes sharing in His suffering; this is the way of the CROSS and after enduring, we will also have fellowship with Him in His GLORY (2 Timothy 2:11-12; 1 Peter 5:1; 1 Peter 4:12-14).

Christian’s Fellowship By Sharing

Finally, we know there is a corporate anointing when we fellowship as a group to God and to one another in the works of ministry, and there is also an anointing when we minister and fellowship as individuals to God and others (Acts 4:23-31; 19:11-12). In other words God supplies the gifts for ministry and fellowship to Him.

Moreover, as Christians jointly participate in Christ, this fellowship binds us together (Acts 2:42). I would like to emphasize again: this fellowship is not socializing, but about Christ whom we share in common (Hebrews 3:14; Philippians 1:7; 2 Peter 1:4). This makes our fellowship a joint sharing in our common faith, common salvation, and our common suffering (Titus 1:4; Jude 3; Revelation 1:9; 2 Corinthians 1:7). This corporate fellowship is sharing in the gospel by helping those who preach it (Philippians 1:5; 4:14-18); this include sharing in material and financial support of poor Christians (Galatians 2:10; Romans 15:27; 2 Corinthians 8:4).

In conclusion, there are certain things we are forbidden not to have fellowship with or share in or participate in. We should not identify with a person who does wrong things or share in their wickedness (1 Timothy 5:22; 2 John 10:11). Nor should we participate in a religious feast where food is to be offered to idols (1 Corinthians 10:20-21), neither having fellowship with unbelievers for they will lead you astray (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). Therefore, we are to have no part and no share in anything that is sinful (Revelation 18:4; Ephesians 5:11).

Let us therefore endeavour to maintain daily our fellowship with God; this is the strength and the very life supporting sustenance for our salvation (John 15:5).

Have you been "fellowshipping" by only socializing at church on Saturday or Sunday, but not truly fellowshipping with The Lord? Has your fellowship with the Lord focused only on receiving blessings? If so, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Christ’s Peace Be Upon You All,
Brother Glenn.

YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR AMONGST YOU!

 CARING FOR THE POOR

"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me" (MATTHEW 24:11).

In times like these, we pray and look to the brethren for help and support! We prayed and the Lord ENCOURAGED us to share online with the brethren.

Brief background: South Africa is a very unequal society with a deeply rooted sin of racism and whoever holds political power exercises control over some government resources and often it would favor the race in majority. 

Additionally, our work serves people across all walks of life. We believe all people are created equally and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us that He will always love all people equally. We are following our Lord's lead to love and serve all people equally (Galatians 3:28-29). From this it is easy for you to discern that our motives are not driven by selfish ambitions but to serve. While it may take a lifetime to bring about change, present and future generations stands to benefit. Moses, the man of God, did not enter the promised land but his prayers, tests and trials benefit both that generation he lead and future generations (Exodus 3:10-11). As a testimony, the Lord Jesus Christ once said, that whatever work we do in His name is important, because it serves to benefit others and brings glory to His name!

Therefore, the recourse we have are the laws to fight and defend the rights of the poor especially those who have no legal voice (Proverbs 31:8-10; Isaiah 1:17). We are committed to our work in the body of Christ, however we have a conscience and we will not turn a blind-eye to injustice and unfair treatment of those who are unable to access the courts for justice (Matthew 7:12). Often, it is the poor who lose out on their belongings because they have no financial resources to 'bite' back legally. Because Brother Glenn and his family suffered such prejudice a few years ago, he decided to embark onto a law career to make a change and help both Christian and non-Christians in legal matters.  

As a ministry, we say, thank you very much for the blessings and support you have provided over the years to this family and ministry. We acknowledge that with a profound gratitude. Currently as a family we find ourselves a in very unfamiliar circumstances as a result of this move.  Brother Glenn started studying towards an LLB degree back in 2015 and graduated in 2022. 

We then prayed and trusted the Lord over a period of 3 years starting in 2021 to bless him with an opportunity for articles of clerkship and those prayers were answered during January this year. 

As it is, the articles of clerkship rules state that he (Brother Glenn) should not engage in any other job activity for this entire year (Starting February 2024)and solely concentrate on his articles and as a result of this, it is denying him an income. Previously, Brother Glenn was running a car diagnostic and key programming business from home, which he is still doing but being away from home makes it impossible for him to attend to the same while serving his articles. 

As a result, this is leading to his family not being adequately supported as he has to cater for both sides. Meaning, he will have to provide for transportation, food and accommodation for himself in the town he serves his articles while he needs to provide the same for the family in Johannesburg. We thus plead for any financial assistance for the Van Rooyen family. 

This family has and is still laboring intensively to the body of Christ around the world and in their home Country, we thus humbly urge you as members of the body of believers to pray and consider providing a helping hand. You may use our 'donation' tab to help or send Brother Glenn an email to:glenn.vanrooyen2@gmail.com for any further information.

Trusting you find this in order in Jesus' name

Blessings

Brother Glenn and Ministry

Delivering Effective Prayers

 Being Alert During Prayers

"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart" (Colossians 4:2 NLT).

Important Notice: Dear Brethren please accept our humble apology for the delay in this week's article. While I was preparing this article, our daughter Claudia suffered an attack and this kept us busy till morning hours and it obviously disrupted my completing this article. The enemy always creates disruptions, but our faith should not fail us. Also, we are sharing a short vision below from the Lord.

Vision to Claudia 9 November 2021

I received a vision from the Lord just before I got up this morning. In my vision, I saw a woman and I could perceive she had a lot of problems in her life, and next to her was a wooden door. I then saw a man appearing and he was trying to open the door for her. He tried every possible tool the world could offer, but he could not get the door opened. The Lord showed me another woman, and she was praying intensely for the first woman and suddenly the door snapped open. The Lord made me understand that prayer is the only key that unlocks our solutions to problems...END! (Revelation 3:7).

As for our article this week, I'd like to begin with a message the Lord gave to a brother some time ago, "My son Andrew (not real name) is not praying effectively". With this correction from the Lord, the brother did not take this rebuke with a spirit of humility but with a resentful spirit. Since we'll be judged by the Lord accepting correction from Him only serves to advance our interests (Matthew 18:3).

 Furthermore, 'human dignity' is a phrase that applies between people to promote human equality (Luke 6:31), however, in the eyes of the Lord we are children and human dignity does not apply to God we are all just naked in every way before Him (Hebrews 4:13) and naturally, a child takes instruction, correction, rebuke, and discipline from parents. Likewise, since it is the Lord who has given us life and provided all good things to us, as His children we ought to humble ourselves in His Presence and obey His Voice (Hebrews 4:16).

Now, to get back to today's message, we need to distinguish between effective praying and being faithful in prayer. Delivering effective prayers requires us to be focused and be fruitful in our minds (1 Corinthians 14:14). What we mean by this is that the words we utter in prayer come from the soul while our minds are fixed on God (Colossians 3:2). As it is, the physical strength we are to display in prayer should cause a break against our own will while allowing our faith to accept God's will. Like we said before, quick prayers just to leave God's Presence yield no results because we are not focused but distracted by the problem at hand (Matthew 14:22-33). 

In conclusion, we have learned that prayer is a laborious effort requiring uninterrupted time and being focused on promoting God's will (Daniel 10:13-21; Luke 6:12). If we truly need a breakthrough for something we will hang in there until something happen, and we know God rejected David's plea in this instance (2 Samuel 12:16-24). Now, certain things require more persistent prayers so that the Lord could open that door, while other things minor things do not require laborious efforts and God gives an answer very speedily. If we are to do deliverance sessions, that work requires intense prayers and fasting and a five (5) minute prayer will not do the job, we need to 'visit' in God's Presence like Moses (Deuteronomy 10:10).

Blessed Love

Brother Glenn