The Gospel Be Readily Preached Anytime

Let us Preach the Word

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV).

The Lord gave me this message to remind the brethren that we still have an obligation to preach the Word. Our encouragement to you in this message is just to awaken the sleeping witness. I know this is not a very popular message especially for the lazy and excuse prone Christian. Briefly, about a few years ago, a brother came to me reporting that a certain man’s daughter died and they were looking for a preacher to preach the gospel during one of their weekday services. I at first ignored the brother’s request, but the following morning, Lord gave me a message that I should go and never hesitate to respond to an invitation when an opportunity arises to preach the gospel. Equally, please take note of this warning from the Lord. 

If there are some preachers or anybody out there who discourages others from witnessing, he or she will be answerable to the Lord. Let me share an experience, A very popular Christian sister who claimed to have been an end-time prophet of the Lord was rebuked for lying in Jesus’ name by telling a brother that the Lord said; he had witnessed enough and that he should just wait for the Lord. The statement by this particular sister greatly displeased the Lord because the brother refused to accept the Lord’s rebuke and obey Him. As a result of the Lord’s rebuke, the brother’s attitude changed by behaving contrary to Christian values of love and brotherly kindness. We would like to emphasize, and unlike other professions; Christianity is not a profession (Being Christian and our duties) that we can retire from unless our lives are interrupted by death. The Lord has granted none of us ‘special leave’ not to minister the gospel (Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 9:16). In a conversation I recently had with a Christian brother, I asked him if he had any desire to enter into the ministry later on in his life and he answered no. Upon further inquiry, he revealed that he simply don’t have the heart to be in ministry except to play a supportive role.

Sadly though, this is the attitude of many Christians; they are just happy to serve in the background and consider it their contribution to the body while being afraid to witness. I concur, operating in a support ministry is helpful but would we just hide behind it not to share the gospel? This is the unfortunate state of the Church system. It produces infants in Christ who hears the word year and year out. They produce faithful church attendees but faithless and fruitless witnesses of Christ. The Apostle Paul said he was duty bound to preach the word (1 Corinthians 9:16). Scripturally, we know that the dissemination of the gospel has a noble purpose, to save the lost, to heal the broken-hearted and to deliver the demonically oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). Of all those who followed the Lord during His walk on the earth, He sent out everybody (Luke 10:1). To demonstrate the power of the gospel, the disciples reported how the demons submitted to the Word of life (Luke 10:17). In the absence of the Word of God, imagine the devastating effects of sin which is a weapon of Satan to destroy human (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8) society, and the wickedness the evil forces of darkness would wield in the world (1 Peter 5:8). In our articles, ‘Blaming God when bad things happen I  and II’ we reported the main sources of evil in the world which is Satan and the curse as a result of sin.

Rejection of the Word Brings Judgment

To many worldly-minded people, the world is a good place to be. The world, being the ‘lost paradise of pleasure’ (Matthew 4:8) is a place of great liberty to choose and sin at will. Therefore, because sin yields destructive consequences, God in His eternal love sends forth messengers to warn the sinners and call them to repentance so that He may avert judgment (Jeremiah 26:12-13). Furthermore, the ancient world (Noah’s generation) and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as a result of the people’s great wickedness (Genesis 6:5; 18:20; 19:24-25). The Ninevites, wisely responded to the call to repent and so escaped judgment (Jonah 3:1-10).

The importance of Christ’s Sacrifice

The Scriptures declares, “We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control (1 John 5:19 TLB). For our victory against the Bible says“…The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil's works” (1 John 3:8). By accepting by faith this great deliverance, we reject the pleasures of sin and the control of the evil one. The devil, our common enemy, uses the pleasures of this world as bait in exchange for our souls (Matthew 4:4; 1 John 2:15), and this is the unfortunate situation which led many Christians astray and in the enemies camp (See a vision of Black and White figures).

In conclusion, we know that many Christians are not keen to witness and they turn a blind eye to messages of this nature. They feel these messages have no impact in their lives, but they are wrong. Apart from the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are Christ-like virtues, the fruits the Lord talks about are fruits that have produced a harvest through obedient labor in the harvest field (Matthew 13:19-23). Those who are afraid and ashamed to witness does not have the things of the Lord at heart, instead of their personal opinions of how others might perceive them matters. Often, Christians are afraid of being persecuted, and many of us who labor in the harvest field face these persecutions daily, and amongst other things, these are the genuine scares of the cross. If these reluctant Christians were concerned about the Lord, souls would be their motivation. A very dear brother and friend to this ministry asked us to enquire of the Lord for him if he could do witnessing work alone. The Lord gave a solemn reply saying, “My son P must keep on doing work for My sake and I love My son P." Besides this brother, many others received similar encouragement from the Lord, but they ignored it.

As a witness, this message has not fallen on deaf ears; this brother goes out as a lone witness spreading the word of God without complaining. The Lord will duly reward such man, and they are compared to trees which bear fruit in and out of season (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Brethren, since we are eagerly waiting for the Day of the Lord, let us not forget, the end will not come until we have reached everyone with the gospel (Matthew 24:14).

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 love in fear of Christ

Brother Glenn

Tithing According To The Lord Jesus

Giving Originated with God

I have decided to rewrite our article on Giving which is essentially a teaching about tithing. Over the years, we received email request from some believers who were confused regarding giving given to the conflicting message they heard. In this work however, we have attempted to answer some of those questions biblically while we incorporated some of the rebukes and teachings we received from the Lord. This work might not be exhaustive, but it touches the fundamental biblical teachings on Christian giving.

Now the Lord Jesus Christ says: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35 NIV). Giving is fundamentally a human experience and people everywhere practice giving as a way of life. This we do for self-sustenance and posterity. Generally, we learned that the entire ecosystem is arranged on an interdependent basis. In other words, the survival of some species are dependent on the survival of others. Thus, the act of giving and receiving is well entrenched in all of nature. God, being the Ultimate Cause has ordained this arrangement in all natural life. Humans, as rational beings has capacity to craft their own rules are not excluded from God's order of things. For Christians however, the rules to give and share are well versed in the Holy Bible. Let us therefore examine giving from a Biblical point of view. As we progress with our discussion we will discover that some people give for various reasons. Some give for self-honour, (Matthew 6:2-4) others give for gain, (Luke 6:35) while others give to meet a need, (2 Corinthians 8:14).

Biblically, God is portrayed as the Giver of all life and everything needed to give substance to it (Genesis 1:11). As Supreme Ruler and Creator, it was for His own Good pleasure that He ordained the cycle of giving for the perpetual sustenance of all earthly life (Genesis 8:22). Being God and above all things, He gives continuality to everything (Colossians 1:17). Therefore, there is absolutely nothing we as humans can give to God, except our lives as a praise and thanksgiving offering (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). He is the Sustainer and Giver of everything, “For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28; Romans 11:35).” The command, “I GIVE you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it- I GIVE every green plant for food” shows human and animal dependence on God for provision (Genesis 1:29-30). When God said “be fruitful and increase” He set forth procreation through the order of interdependent giving (Genesis 8:17b NIV). The preceding scriptures clearly indicates to us that God instituted giving through dependence on Him. And in His eternal Wisdom, God provided His Word to guide human society, and knowing that people are not like God who is all-sufficient, He instituted giving and different abilities for the overall benefit of the human race. Therefore, the principle of giving has been made painless and pleasantly through the various appetites and incentives God endowed in all life. What I mean is this, plants for example would only produce fruit or seeds (give) because of their appetite for soil, water and sunlight. Also, human appetite to eat is motivated hunger, smell and taste.

Giving to Others to Honour God

Let me stress from the onset, we do not oppose or disapprove giving to the Church, but often we hear sermons on giving, and sadly such giving is solely aimed at filling the coffers of the church. Like we alluded in the love of money article, some greedy ministers discourages some believers to give towards God's work outside their ministry. The New Testament model of giving was for the elevation of  poverty amongst believers (Acts 4:32-35; Luke 3:11). In other words, the money the brethren collected were for the needy.  The Old Testament believers were commanded to tithe and to give towards God’s work (Numbers 7-9) they were however also commanded to give to the poor in various ways (Deuteronomy 24:20) including when people come asking for help (James 2: 14- 16).

These commands were given to individual believers, and God, being the Judge of all, will ‘give to each person according to what he has done’ (Romans 2:6 NIV). “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done” (Proverbs 19:17). Without going into details that contributed to poverty in society, the poor in society serves to display God’s grace and caring love (John 9:3; Romans 9:22). The poor also serves as a test to believers (Matthew 26:11; Galatians 6:9-10). Selfless service to God and people is best presented by our Lord Jesus Christ when He said: “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited Me in. I needed clothes, and you clothed Me, I was sick, and you looked after Me. I was in prison, and you came to visit Me” (Matthew 25:35-36 NIV). Therefore, in terms of giving, the church and the individual Christian believer are God’s gift to the needy of the world

Giving to the Church to Keep the Lights On

Church Giving: The Bible teaches us to give for the needs of the ministry (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:7). This kind of giving helps the local church pay whatever bills it might have in its administration of Church work. Additionally, using Church money to maintain expensive buildings and infrastructure while there are needy people in the Church is anti-Christian and immoral (Matthew 25:35-36; James 2:14). This brings us to the question, is it wrong to give (rather then paying since giving should be from the heart 2 Corinthians 9:7) tithes and offerings according to Malachi 3:8-11? Answer No! I am not going to enter into a war of words over this form of giving. If it promotes the work of God to feed the poor and it serves to spread the gospel, please continue tithing it is a giving intended to honor the Lord.

Briefly, in the beginning of our ministry and before we started accepting contributions from any of our members, my wife and I paid for the ministry needs like transport costs, tracts for evangelism work out of our own measly income while we were still tithing at our previous church. We continued with this practice for several months until we asked the Lord, since we have a ministry, could we use our tithes to fund our work instead of continuing to give to our Church. The Lord gave us permission to use the tithes for His work. You will notice that we only discontinued giving after the Lord's word because our giving was to honor God. The Lord told us that giving in His name is a sacred act and no one should despise giving (Mark 12:44). We have had people writing to us inquiring how and where they should direct their giving, and the Lord does not dictate to Christians how and where to give. In our situation, the Lord identified our needs and directed brethren accordingly. It is unbiblical to claim that a believer must only give to their Church of attendance while ignoring the needs of other ministries and the poor in society. The Bible addresses individuals when it speaks on giving, hence the emphasis "EACH of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). 

Therefore, what the Lord looks at is the motive or spirit in our giving, whether it is to help the needy, honor God, to control others, or is it to bring attention to oneself.  At the beginning of this ministry, some of our members expressed interest in giving towards our work, and we again asked the Lord through Charis if we should collect tithes. The Lord answered and said that the members may give a contribution to the ministry. He did not emphasize tithing because the Lord knows what tithing is from an Old Testament perspective. Generally, tithing in the Old Testament was a command and often some of the tithes were consumed by the same people who gave (Deuteronomy 14:23). Some tithing was for the priest (Numbers 18: 20-21), and while other forms of tithing were reserved for the needy foreigners, orphans, and widows amongst the Israelites (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). Therefore, if these three forms of tithing were combined, it could be well over 10%. Now, am I saying tithing was instituted in the New Testament? No! The New Testament emphasizes a voluntary giving from the heart, which might be more or less than an actual tithe, which is 10% of total gross income (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7).

Furthermore, the Old Testament testifies how God opened the hearts of the Israelites and gave them a command through Moses to give towards the work of God (Exodus 35: 4-29). We would recall that the ministry of Moses and Aaron was limited to the Israelites; this was not a worldwide ministry. The covenant was given for the spiritual needs of the Israelites as God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6). As we know, their obedience to God's law was for their good (Deuteronomy 5:33; Joshua 1:8). Likewise, the Christian ministry is serving the spiritual interest of the body and not just the needs of the local body as some insists, Paul and the apostles encouraged gifts to be collected for the needy believers and ministries elsewhere so that ‘there should be no poor among you…..’(Deuteronomy 15:4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 16:1). Contextually, Old Testament tithing was conducted quite differently than today. Thus, this practice in my opinion, was never intended for the church. (Deuteronomy 12:17-19;14:22-23; 14:24-26) And like I allude elsewhere, the Lord confirmed with us that believers are to make contributions, meaning voluntary giving from the heart.

Testimonies and Teachings on Giving from the Lord Jesus

I am going to share a few testimonies and actual words the Lord gave many of us on giving. Let me be clear from the onset, some people might think just because they are tithing or contributing large amounts of monies to their Church this will make the Lord overlook their mistakes or disobedience, giving to God for ministry work, the needy or for the ministers of the word is one aspect or area of ministry. The people in the Old Testament gave not just to obey a command, but because the priest ministered before God for their good (Deuteronomy 17:12). Giving as seen through the life and walk of Christ Jesus is an attitude and a service to God from the heart (Ephesians 4:28).

A few years ago, a faithful Christian brother once told me how some Christian brethren ignored his hardships. Not only did they ignore the plight of their needy brother, but some even increased their sins by gossiping about the want of their weaker brother in Christ. As long as a brother or sister is doing and continuing His calling in the work of God, there is no need to ignore his or her service in the body by discontinuing giving. The question you should ask yourself is, is your giving to God or is it driven by your own feelings? The gifts and callings of God have an eternal nature, and while the work of the Lord is continuing, not just for your benefit but for God's glory, why discontinue giving so that the gospel message may save souls.

Is it a Good idea to Give to Those Who Have?

“The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same” (Luke 3: 11). This is an extremely hard truth and we all fail and fall short on this scripture. Let me share a brief testimony, one sister received repeatedly the same message from the Lord over many days as being ‘greedy and selfish’, and this made her feel very uncomfortable and worried because she was essentially a giving person; however after we carefully examined her giving pattern, we noticed that she was giving but to those who have with the view of being 'credited'. In other words, her giving was one of being seen. Since she received praise, her giving did not issue from a Godly motive but for self-elevation. Her giving was to please man instead of God. After prayer, the Lord revealed to us that when we give, we should give to those who don’t have and are unable to return the favour, and such giving is praiseworthy and not a reciprocal giving (Luke 14:12). We should give with discretion and from the heart, cheerfully and the Apostle Paul encouraged. Thus, if you feel oppressed in giving, this is not from God, but guilt. Giving from the heart is peaceful and without compulsion. This giving would normally dominate reason and your reward is peace. I am going to share a testimony about a brother who sinned by envying the Lord’s money.

We had a brother whom we led to the Lord, and subsequently he fellowshipped with us for more than a year. Currently, he is still running a very small business of his own, while his wife is working. He approached us and suggested to that we use some of our ministry’s contributions to buy food parcels for him because he wanted to save his own income for his business. I ignored his request at first and thought to myself that this was not right. He became insistent, and I told him that we would ask the Lord if we should do that. The reply we received from the Lord was shocking. He rebuked this brother, saying that he was greedy and selfish and for that, the Lord expelled him from our intercessory prayers and witnessing team. Why? Like we said above, contributions to the Lord are sacred and should not be used for selfish and greedy purposes. We can remember that not everybody were allowed to eat of the Lord's tithe to Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 22:1-3). 

Concluding Encouragement

Finally, Brethren, do not be deceived by the prosperity teaching; it is demonic and driven by greedy and selfish ministers who promote worldliness and self-enrichment. They use the Scriptures of promises God made to the faithful and obedient believers to catch you. The Lord revealed to us that they feed the people the dessert (a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry or ice cream) usually served at the end of a meal) of the Word, which are God's promises to enrich themselves and they fail to teach righteousness, purity, holiness, and obedience.

In conclusion, the Bible lays the whole truth bare, so please read it and trust its message. Apply its message by faith and honesty, and in truthfulness, you will see the results! In your study of God’s word, the Bible, do not just study the individual Scriptures quoted, read the entire Bible for it reveals the context of what is expected of you.

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.

The Lord blesses you!
Brother Glenn.

DENY THE DEVIL his SINFUL RIGHTS

How Samson Gave The Enemy A Foothold

“I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming and he has no hold on me” (John 14:30), “and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4: 27).

These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He spoke to his disciples in John chapter 14 when the Lord was giving comfort to them and making them aware of his soon departure to be with the father in heaven. 

In reference to the above scripture, we are reminded to look at the story of Samson and Delilah in the book of Judges 16, which is a well-known biblical story to many.  Samson was an anointed man as he had the spirit of God upon him and had unique strength that he could take down as many enemies as the Lord willed for his purpose at once on various occasions (1 Corinthians 15: 58).

Losing Focus And Slipping

While he continued moving in his service to the Lord, he met a woman in Gaza and fell in love with her. At this point, we noticed that his service and devotion to the Lord were affected and there was a shift and he wanted to serve the Lord and the world at the same time (Matthew 6:24). As we all know, in our walk with the Lord, especially when we are joyful to hear about the messages of His Second Coming for His Church and the excitement and anticipation for the day of the Lord; or when we experience the moments and seasons in our walk where everything is going well and we full of confidence and hope; or we have faith and know that we are eager to live in obedience to the word.

These are times when the joy of his salvation overflows as it was with Samson when he was taking down all men who came against him with the strength the Lord gave him. Meanwhile, the enemy was devising a way to have a hold over him so Satan could weaken him as Samson was full of the Spirit of God.

Furthermore, as we have learned from the story of Job Satan initially could not attack Job because there was a hedge of protection surrounding him and his household as well as his possessions (Job 1:10). From experience, we know that the road to Heaven has countless challenges and the challenges allows for our faith and obedience to be tested (Deuteronomy 8:2). As is common in human behavior, there comes a time of weakness, and in the case of Samson, when he met the woman and that distracted him and as a result, little did he know that everything was about to change in his life.

In some instances, it happens that there are doors that we tend to open in our lives that come with spiritual consequences in our walk with the Lord. Those open doors serve to distract us and move us away from the will of the Lord, and the enemy is using such to have a spiritual stronghold hold on us, which the Lord Jesus warned us against (John 14:30).

As it is, things like us falling in love with the world and its carnal things, such situations as Samson found himself involved in when he fell in love with a woman whom the enemy used to gain leverage and that opened the door for the enemy to have a hold on him (Galatians 5:13). When we allow the world to have a hold on us or where we can’t let go of the things that are contrary to the Will of God in our service to him, we enable and empower the enemy to have a hold on us (Mark 8:36). When Samson opened the door for the enemy to have a hold over him by telling his secret about the source of his strength, it allowed and enabled the enemy to strip everything the Lord had blessed him with. Not only did he lose strength, but his vision was impaired as a result of his losing his eyes (Judges 16-21, Romans 6:13).

Similarly, this is the intention of the enemy not only to make us cease serving the Lord or walking in obedience but to rob us of the vision of the church. Where will the body of Christ be heading when we lose the vision of soul-winning and obedience to the Lord if we pursue worldly things? Scripture reminds us that we need to fix our eyes on the heavenly things above (Colossians 3: 1-2).

Seeking The Lord's Favor

Therefore, the vision we may have lost could be our love for the Lord and for one another, our passion and devotion for spending time with the Lord in prayer and the studying of the word with zeal and not as a routine. In addition, our love for witnessing and being a living testimony draws people to Christ (Matthew 6:33).

Moreover, when the enemy succeeded in subduing Samson and stripped him of everything he held dearly in his service to the Lord, he came to the realization that the door he has opened had cost him in humility he looked to the Lord as his pillar (Judges 16: 26). He repented and prayed for restoration not only to regain his strength and gift but to give himself as a living sacrifice and to allow for the glory of God to shine through and by that he took out more Philistines than his time when he was alive and before he lost his position of power (Judges 16: 28-30). It is noteworthy, that no matter how great our walk with God is, He brings us down in humility to show us our dependence on Him (Proverbs 3:5-6).

In conclusion, we see that the Lord Jesus is teaching us that the way to overcome the ruler of this world is to ensure that we have nothing in common with Satan and that he should have no hold on us. (Romans 12:21). It is possible with the Holy Spirit to overcome our weaknesses and the devil’s schemes and the Lord is always willing and He is there to help us through (John 16:33). People have different things that they go through that may serve as weaknesses to the enemy to take advantage of, David stated something that when he kept silent about his sin and weaknesses his bones wasted away and the pressure never let up until he spoke up and let it all out about his failures to the Lord. (Psalm 32: 2-5).

Repentance Brings Restoration

Now, in the end, Samson returned to his position by repenting and praying to the Lord for restoration. The Lord answered his prayer as the motive of Samson’s heart was in the right place and sought not only to regain strength but to complete the mission to take out the enemies of the Lord as he was called for (Judges 16: 22; 30). Therefore, it is imperative that we acknowledge our weaknesses, fears, transgressions, and sin can afford us freedom from oppression, torment, and inflictions or calamity, this is not limited to confession but to a completely repented heart that seeks his love and perfect Will (Colossians 3:5-10 & Romans 12:2).

Blessed Peace

Sister Thandazo (reviewed by Brother Glenn)

Why A Prayer Request Shouldn't Be Delegated

 Pray When Being Led To

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers”(Luke 22:32 NIV).

UPDATE ON MAN OF PEACE ARTICLE: Brethren, I sought the face of the LORD and will continue to do so since I promised in our previous article. The Lord said, "You need to continue praying very hard, and I will answer you at the appointed time".

We therefore encourage you to be patient and join us in prayer daily (2 Thessalonians 3:11), as we all know this is for the good of the body of Christ, and a message of great importance.

Back to our message for today, a few months ago, one of my daughters, after visiting a friend, came back home and reported to us that her friend is gravely ill and that I should pray for her friend. After inquiring about her friend's condition, I committed to praying for her.

However, a few days later, the Lord Himself gave her a reply in a message to me, saying, "Jessica (not real name) should not ask others to pray for her friend, I have also anointed her to lay hands and pray for the sick" (Mark 16:17-18). 

After receiving this message, I clearly understood what the Lord meant. As it was, my daughter was in the presence of her cancer-stricken friend, and she felt the urge and conviction to pray, but she doubted the effectiveness of her own prayers while putting trust in my prayers. Therefore, she clearly lacked faith and simultaneously trusted my prayers rather than the Lord, who can answer her prayers.

Obey The Urging Of The Lord's Conviction

Furthermore, brethren, we need to realise that the Bible carries a personal message to each individual believer, and the Lord Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, gives us the ability and uses us when we avail ourselves. In addition, I know a brother in Christ who began his ministry by handing out tracts in the streets. As a result, the Lord blessed him with a worldwide ministry because of his humility and love for souls. Similarly, we learn from the Scriptures that Apollos was just an ordinary believer who had limited knowledge of the Scriptures; however,  after being taught by Aquila and Priscilla, he went on to preach the gospel in the fire of the Holy Spirit (Acts 18:24-28). Therefore, don't hold back your conviction, ACT, and by so doing, you are not sinning but acting in obedience.

In conclusion, the Bible says anything we do without faith is a sin (Romans 14:23). In other words, when we have the conviction and fail to act accordingly, we are ignoring the Holy Spirit. I know of countless Christians who are still waiting on the Lord for Ministry guidance because they want to receive some audible instruction or some vision before acting. I have advice for them, if they remain idle like the foolish virgins or the man who hid the talent away (Matthew 25:1-13; 14-30), they will be required to give an account and end up not making it into the Kingdom, but risk being thrown into the darkness. Let us act by faith and our conviction in obedience to Christ our Lord.

Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn

The Man Of Peace

 Who Is The Man Of Sin?

"Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace, he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power" (Daniel 8:25 NIV).

Brethren, I've been wanting to write on this subject for the last few years; however, I was praying while waiting for an answer from the Lord. Also, please consider a few follow-up messages on this subject, as the Lord provides guidance and interpretations.

As we all know, this is not a topic that is interpreted by man; the true meaning of prophetic revelations comes from the Lord (2 Peter 1:20-21). Therefore, a message as important as this will not be based on speculative ideas but on factual truths, guided by the Lord.

In this article, however, be brief. I've searched online about his traits, and we will not be writing about it as it is well-summarized on Google and other search engines. The Lord revealed his identity to me back in 2018 or 2019, and I have since kept it a secret. I only shared it with my family and a dear Brother who is very close to us.

In conclusion, as the Lord pleases, kindly join us in the coming weeks as we unpack the end-time prophetic message to clear confusion while preparing the body for the coming of the KING!

Blessed Regards

Brother Glenn

Is Cigarette Smoking Sinful?

 Stop Smoking Believers

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV).

Brethren, there is a great deal of confusion amongst Christians regarding cigarette smoking, vaping, or any kind of smoking. Since there are various and conflicting views among Christians on the biblical correctness of this social ill, we pray that this article will bring deliverance and salvation to smokers. 

Being a former smoker myself, I am familiar with the smoke craving, and I have a testimony too on how I received my deliverance from smoking from our Lord Jesus Christ. In this article, I will also share some visions that we previously posted, but for the benefit of our new readers, we will briefly share them again. 

After I recommitted my life to the Lord back in January 2008, I had a personal struggle with cigarette smoking, and this went on for a full two years. During that time, every time I lit up a cigarette, I was guilt-stricken, feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 24:3-7). This led me to pray every time after smoking for my deliverance. If I may mention, I  did not smoke in public for fear of causing others to stumble (Romans 14:13).

Breakthrough From Smoking

During the second week of January 2008, our former pastor announced a one-week fast for the entire congregation, and I seized the opportunity to bring my smoking habit before the Lord. Because I was on a fast, I did not touch a cigarette, and by the third day of fasting, I was delivered from smoking on the 24th of January 2010. On January 25, 2010, the Lord Jesus Christ began visiting us and sharing messages and mighty visions, which we have generously and obediently shared online, and continue to do so. 

Back then, the Lord Jesus told me that He was not very pleased that I was smoking cigarettes and that my body was the temple of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and my smoking was stifling the work of God in my life. In return, I truly thanked Him daily for my deliverance, and to me, it was a huge burden that I was saved from, and what a pleasant relief it was. It's now been 16 years later, and I've regained my health and most of all my relationship with the God of my salvation.

Visions About Smokers 

In the year 2013, a well-known Pastor, Chris Oyakhilome, preached and said that smoking is not a sin because it is not in the Bible, even encouraging smokers to challenge those who insist that smoking is a sin to show scripture. As it was, we were not aware of his message that smoking was not a sin; in fact, we only became aware of it after the Lord gave Charis a message rebuking Pastor Chris for saying that smoking was not a sin. It was then that we listened to some of Pastor Chris's preaching on the topic.

Furthermore, not long thereafter, the Lord gave a message through Charis for her grandmother (my wife's mother) to stop smoking. After giving her a few days to obey the Lord's Word, she continued smoking, which then led the Lord to reveal to Charis in a vision what would happen to her grandmother if she didn't stop smoking.

In the vision from the Lord, He showed her two large and powerful demons holding up a thick and large cigarette to her grandmother's mouth, being forced to smoke the cigarette against her will. She tried pushing it away from her to no avail, given the strength of those demons.

In another vision, the Lord showed Charis my (Brother Glenn) mother's last words before passing away, asking my stepfather not to forget to buy her smokes for the following day. During that experience, Charis recalled that it was as if it were my mother's final wish. Sadly, a few years later, my mother passed away.

This is how it happened: my mother requested my sister and some of my nephews to give her a last cigarette to smoke, and they obliged (against my advice and in my absence), which caused her to cough uncontrollably. Regretfully, the following morning, they reported that my mother became silent after that cigarette, and she never woke up.

In conclusion, a few weeks after my mother's funeral, I (Brother Glenn) had a vision that my mother was in outer darkness (Matthew 8:12). While it uncomfortable to give testimony about our own parents, there is really nothing we can do to undo their situation, the Lord gives this message to save those still have an opportunity to stop smoking, repent and follow the ways of the Lord.

Blessed Peace and Grace to you all

Brother Glenn

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Being Filled With Kindness

 Being Kind Is Pleasing To God

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32 NIV).

Being a Christian without kindness is like a tree that doesn't bear fruit, and we know from the nature of fruit-bearing trees that a fruit tree bears hundreds of fruits each year within its season. We also understand that as the particular fruit tree is being pruned, the better and nutritious the fruits will be.

The Bible emphasizes how we ought to be, rather than being called by lofty titles (2 Peter 1:5-7; Matthew 23:8-12). In our times and often on social media platforms, we find people with exceptional and lofty titles, and that is to draw people and likes to themselves. As it is, even Christians have fallen into this trap. If being a Christian means the pursuit of lofty titles, then being humble has no place in our lives (Romans 12:16).

Furthermore, the Bible calls us ambassadors of Christ (Ephesians 5:20). In other words, God makes His will known through us, and we reflect His kindness and goodness. A few years ago, a very good friend of mine asked me to help him mediate a dispute with someone whom he had sold his house to. Now, before I visit the estate agent and his client, my friend informed me about the treatment and threats he endured from them. 

Kindness From The Heart, Not Through Emotions

Additionally, I learned from my friend that when he vacated the property, he still had a few household items in the garage and that he obtained the permission of the prospective owners, while the property was still in his and his wife's names, and the new owners were subject to paying occupational rent. The prospective owner and the estate agent connived to charge him for storing, not considering that they were supposed to pay him occupational rent.

The Lord Acknowledges Your Fruits

Upon hearing about this unjust act, I prayed for the Lord's guidance, and I went with my friend to mediate. After being introduced to them by my friend, I calmly addressed them, citing from the Scriptures, the prospective owner, being a woman who knew the Lord, reacted to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and admitted her guilt, and this led the estate agent to confess too. However, the conviction was felt only that time, but they never changed their hearts on their actions according to my friend, whom I advised to rather just leave them in the Hands of the Lord.

Now, considering the above, the fruit of kindness should not just be operational when someone mentions or watches over us; instead, the Word of God encourages us to BE KIND, meaning allowing it to flow out of us, touching and changing lives (Luke 8:46).

In conclusion, recently, a sister in our Ministry did an exceptionally good deed which pleased the Lord greatly, and such kindness did not escape His attention; the sister was blessed with very kind Words herself and answers to her prayers. We thus urge you, brethren, not to grow weary in doing good and never assume the LORD is not seeing our labor of love (Hebrews 6:10).

Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn