Being Courageous Gives Hope

 Faith Is Courage

Brethren, the Lord has revealed to us through various messages and visions that the courage of many Christians is failing them to walk fully in the will of the Lord. This, the LORD said, led to many Christians dishonoring Him and they instead choose to honor man more than Him. Therefore, after prayer, we are reposting this message to encourage and remind the brethren to be courageous and stand firm especially given the times that we are living in. We are going to need the courage to overcome the temptation of being ashamed of the gospel and our good confession that Jesus Christ is LORD! Be blessed and share the word as you continue serving.

PROPHETIC MESSAGE: (26/08/2024).

Brethren

Just sharing and encouraging you at the same time to please pray while waiting for the Lord's return. Please pray, pray, pray!

I recently saw in a vision a Large red Horse coming from the North being readied for war. I heard the LORD said no country will escape the effect of this war and the nations will submit to the power and influence of the coming ruler(s). 

The devastation I saw (details will be posted in full in next few weeks) was so wide-spread there was a scarcity of almost all kinds of food stuff and some other items. 

World trade will come to a halt and force many businesses into bankruptcy. Greed and excessive revenge will fuel this coming evil, but the LORD will save His faithful children who are waiting for His Promised return.  

Additionally, we need to remind you that if a person does not have faith, God cannot work with you (Hebrews11:6). I have had quite a few people writing to me disputing certain bible truths or finding it hard to believe and when we asked the Lord He would address that person's lack of faith and doubts. Thus having the courage to stand against any oppressiveness or an ungodly demand is an expression of our faith in God (Daniel 3:18). 

Some time ago, a brother in the Lord was trusting God to bring about a certain event while his wife doubted. The Lord rebuked the sister for her lack of faith. Similarly, one young man asked us to trust God to bless him with a job, we prayed and asked God for him the Lord answered saying that the young man did not have enough faith. As it is then, we need to focus on God to help us overcome our lack of courage.

Furthermore, we have numerous Biblical examples of failed courage and how this led to disaster. Here is one powerful incident of failed courage. Moses sent out 12 spies to explore the promised land of Canaan, and upon their return, they displayed some of the rich produce from that land. They also reported how powerful the people were. They saw giant-like people there, “descendants of Anak”. The spies (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb), presented the report in such a negative and unfaithful manner that the people were discouraged and their hearts failed so that they longed back to the days of bondage (Numbers 13: 1-33).

Even though Moses, Caleb, Joshua, and Aaron pleaded with the community to trust in the Lord and not to be afraid, the people were determined to turn back in disobedience (Numbers 14:1-9). Brethren, I encourage you in the Mighty Name of our Lord Jesus Christ never to turn back to bondage after you experienced the Lord’s deliverance. This will result in your destruction (Numbers 14:21-30). From the above Scripture, we learn that this same rebellious community experienced the mighty acts of God’s judgment upon the Egyptians, and yet they still doubted Him. They were driven by fear and they had given up. The Lord forgave them and promised judgment for their lack of faith, and we know that He fulfilled the judgment He promised them (Joshua 5:6).

God: Our Source of Courage

God the Father says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV). Furthermore, Joshua, being a man of faith, took God’s Word literally when the Lord said to him, “Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-7 NIV).

As it turned out, Joshua took faith in the words of the Lord and God’s command to be strong and courageous, and he brought the Israelites into the Promised Land (Joshua 24:8-14). This was a combination of faith and obedience which resulted in the promise. Faith is expressed through courage in facing uncertainty. I am not talking about human courage that seeks to elevate our own strength and abilities. I am talking about taking courage in God’s abilities. If we expressed such faith, God would be recognized as the Source of our achievement, rather than us. The result is always supernatural and beyond human ability (Joshua 1:3-9).

In addition, courage is often mistaken for risk in today’s language. The world encourages people to take risks by experimenting with their strengths and weaknesses. The benefit of success in taking the risk is wealth and self-glory. When we take risks, we base our faith in our own abilities and not in the Lord. In the Lord, however, we express our courage by faith in God’s abilities for His glory and our deliverance. In other words, we say, “Lord you said, so we do” (John 15:14).

In many instances, I have witnessed how the Christian’s courage is usurped by fear. In the examples above, Joshua had faith but he needed to have courage as well. We have also seen how fear seized upon the people‘s courage and they gave up (Numbers 14:4). Although they fell in the desert, God used Joshua’s courage to bring their children into the Promised Land. Likewise, God wants us to take up Joshua, Paul, and Peter’s courage as a testimony to trust in His ability. We read how they overcame all adversities. These courageous men witnessed fearlessly (Acts 4:33), they had the courage to face prison, ridicule, and death, and yet they persevered (2 Corinthians 11:23-33).

Today, many Christians are discouraged to witness because they fear what others might think about them. They fear being ridiculed more than witnessing to save souls. We often see and hear the lukewarm, disobedient, and self-righteous believers hurling insults, such as “fundamentalists”, to truly God-fearing servants of God. Do not lose your courage because of insults and abuse, and do not allow a man to judge you on the convictions coming from the Holy Spirit. Keep marching on in obedience and inherit God’s promises! (Joshua 1:7, Luke 6:22-23). God has promised success to the courageous and obedient believers. Also, let your courage not fail because you see that many Christians have befriended the world and live contrary to the scriptures; don’t join in, but hold on faithfully to your confidence (Hebrews 10:23, 1 Corinthians 15:58).

Furthermore, have courage like King Josiah who, when he heard about God’s judgments, repented and led his entire kingdom to national repentance (2 Chronicles 34:39-33). King Josiah took God’s word literally and acted in obedience to it. He was led by a strong conviction and committed himself to follow the Lord with all his heart and soul. He was possessed by fear for God and he followed the commands of the WORD (2 Chronicles 34:31). He showed contempt for the wrongs his forefathers did by destroying the evil they did against the Lord. A flame for God’s justice was burning within him (2 Kings 23:4-25).

Before I conclude, I would like to share with you a short testimony. Before I arrived at the position of faith and courage I enjoy today, I faced many tests and challenges. I fought the fear I had for man through prayer and obedience to God. I am not mentioning this to be pitied, but when the Lord tested our faith and courage, He sent us out witnessing with our Bibles only. He sent us out from morning till late at night. To read more about our faith and the courage we displayed kindly read our article “Obedience Through Test.” This is the courage we expressed in God to protect us and to provide for us.

In conclusion, I encourage you as a fellow servant of God not to allow the ungodly talk of the faithless to consume your courage. Instead, use your faith to draw courage from God, since He said in Scripture “…And I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NIV). We, therefore, say AMEN to His promises and unfathomable ABILITY!

How do your faith and courage measure up? Is your faith like that of Joshua and Caleb, focusing on the Lord as your strength and courage, or are you like the 10 unfaithful spies? If you have a desire to start trusting the Lord, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Grace to you in His courage,

Brother Glenn.

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

The Worthless Branch

Being Ashamed Of Christ

 “I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.  Whoever doesn’t live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned" (John 15:5-6 GWT).

Some many years ago before I became a Christian, I often wondered where some Christian folk got their boldness from by speaking freely about Christ to others. In return, I would often feel embarrassed for them when I noticed how some people were simply just ignoring them. As it was, some thoughts occupied my mind that if I one day become a Christian, I certainly would keep my faith to myself and not let others know. In other words, I felt ashamed of talking about Christ, and that was my state of mind before I became born again. 

Furthermore, when I got my first job back in 1989 I was interviewed and offered the job by a Christian manager. He had a very calm and gentle demeanor; he displayed great care toward me, but little did I know he was a Christian as he never shared Christ with me or with any of my colleagues. It was only after my conversion in February 1990, that I discovered he was a Christian. Being a naturally shy person and as I alluded to above regarding my feeling embarrassed for Christian folk, I 'insanely' could not keep Christ to myself (Jeremiah 20:9; 23:29). I was a changed person, and the urge to share the JOY of my salvation with others came just spontaneously. As a result, he (our Manager) became one of my first targets for witnessing and that was when he told me that he also was a born-again believer but he acted like a Christian who was hiding his light under the bushel (Matthew 5:15) and no doubt we find similar Christians today. 

The Fire Of God's Word

In our lead Scripture above, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself says that those who live in Him will produce a lot of good fruit. In addition, the Lord also stated that a branch that does not live in Him dries up and it is being thrown away to be burned up. Such is the destiny of a non-witnessing and non-fruit-bearing Christian. Brethren, as we all know the world's political climate is slowly but surely moving towards a new world order and there will come a time when we will not be allowed to share and spread this precious gospel (John 9:4). Thus, with the freedom we enjoy today of both sharing and living our faith let us share Christ and change lives and win souls for the Lord's Kingdom. Like the prophet Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 20:9), no Spirit-filled, born-again Christian lacks boldness and courage if you do, you are not living in Him (John 15:5).

Blessed Regards

Brother Glenn

Be A Witness For Christ

 The Importance Of Christian Witnessing

NOTICE: Dear Brethren, we have no article for this week, however, please be blessed by reading again through our encouraging witnessing article. Remember, businesses are buying and selling daily to remain economically viable, likewise, Christians need to witness daily to save souls from HELL and God's pending Judgment. VERY IMPORTANT: JUST READ THE FOLLOWING PORTION OF SCRIPTURE BELOW!

"Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me" (1 Corinthians 9:17 NIV).

This an introduction to Witnessing. We have further explored the subject and shared more in Witnessing Part I, Witnessing Part II and Exuding Good Fruit While Sharing The Gospel articles on this website.

Humility and Obedience: Marks of a Witness

Many Christians have already "packed up" to leave for Heaven, but work must continue for some of us and we encourage you to work, work. The end is not yet; it is still daytime, so we must work in the Lord's vineyard.

As a prelude to this article, it is said by world leaders, some religious groups and the one world religion advocacy groups that all faiths point essentially to the same God. Our Lord Jesus Christ categorically states: “I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life NO ONE (emphasis mine) comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NIV). One of the most significant endorsements of this eternal Truth is our Lord’s throne on the right-hand side of God the Father as our Advocate and Intercessor (Colossians 3:1; 1 John 2:1). Do any of the other faiths have a representation of God? I know of none.

We will briefly examine a few approaches to witnessing and possible hindrances. We base our teaching on a collective experience of more than 10 years involving more than 15 people and lately less than five people. During this time, the Lord acted as a “Coach” on a personal level to each one of us. Some of us needed more encouragement through rebukes, while some were commended by the Lord Jesus Christ as being faithful witnesses. If one is appraised as being a faithful witness by the Lord, since we know the Lord’s testimony is higher and valid, it therefore would mean the individuals concerned had consistently and obediently witnessed at every opportunity.

At the beginning of our witnessing assignment, many of us did not know how to witness, as this was a new experience for our prayer members whom the Lord called into witnessing. Fortunately, I had been involved in witnessing as a sole witness a few years earlier, so this served as an encouragement.

Honestly, we did not like and welcome the idea of witnessing especially at night, we reasoned through a deep conviction that if we do not go and witness in obedience to the Lord, we might as well forfeit our salvation. Yes! You heard correctly, forfeit our salvation because serving the Lord means being OBEDIENT even if it caused inconvenience. We could not bear the condemnation of our conscience, this was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking and commanding. There are numerous Biblical examples of people who went through the severe test and life-threatening situations to obey God (Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 3:1-22; 2 Corinthians 11:22-33). We were confronted by a similar choice, that of obedience. The week before we went witnessing, I boldly announced to the team of my wife and I’s determination to go witnessing even if it meant just the two of us.

Consequently, from a team of 14 people that prayed with us only four volunteered to witness with my wife and I. As for the others, they offered all kinds of excuses and left. We relied on some of these brethren who left to transport us. Since the distance from our house to the area designated by the Lord was about 2 Kilometres away. This was very discouraging, but we were determined to obey the Lord and He graciously provided us with transport. The Lord does not take kindly to excuses, one sister was rebuked by the Lord for her love of excuses and this made us cautious. He expects His children to respond in obedience (Matthew 21:28-31).

Scripturally, we have evidence that the Lord rewards FAITHFULNESS and Him being the Faithful Witness and Shepherd of the Flock, He promised to be with us until the end of time (Matthew 25:21; Matthew 28:20; Revelation 1:5). The Lord, in His sinless nature, concerned Himself more on doing the work of our Heavenly Father (John 4:34-35). He did not seek to do His own will but He was faithfully obedient to the Father (Matthew 26:39; Philippians 2:6-11. With this in mind, we are admonished to have the same attitude as that of our Lord Jesus Christ — that of unquestionable obedience (Philippians 2:5).

While it is good and acceptable to learn from the experiences of others, especially if we are being edified, Biblical examples of obedience should be our benchmark (1 Corinthians 10:11). The Lord has purposely provided a written record of teachings and His dealing with people so that all future generations can learn and obey. As a follower and believers in Christ Jesus, we have an obligation to witness. The scriptures address you and me as an individual, and we will be judged individually (Romans 2:6; Matthew 24:14). So your response should be to obey!

Why Should I Witness and What is My Message?

We should witness because of the CROSS and to warn and save souls from going to HELL! (John 3:16-18; Romans 6:23). Man’s greatest need is to be forgiven of his sins. Believers or witnesses GO out presenting the gospel of salvation with the sole purpose of warning people that God the Creator, is also Judge, and He will hold us accountable if we do not Repent of our sins and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (Acts 3:19; Romans 10:9-10). We also witness to tell people “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV). As humans, we have a sin problem and sin brought guilt, guilt points to an offence and an offence awaits judgement (Romans 3:11-12). While the points considered below are not exhaustive accounts, they list among the most basic and serious. We, therefore, witness to:

• Tell people, we all have sinned and need a saviour “We have redemption through His blood….” No BLOOD No FORGIVENESS of sins (Colossians 1:14; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:22).
• Warn people that God is going to Judge us and hold us accountable for things we have done and said and if guilty ultimately result in Hell and a lake of fire punishment (Romans 2:6-11; John 3:17-18; Revelation 20:12-15; Hebrews 9:27).
• Point people to a Saviour and so escape God’s Judgement (John 3:18; Romans 10:13; Acts 16:31).
• Teach and correct people to lead a life of obedience in Christ (Matthew 28:19; 1 Timothy 4: 11-16; 2 Timothy 3:16).
• Proclaim to people that we will receive the crown of eternal life and immeasurable Heavenly rewards for believing in and obeying Christ Jesus (John 3:16; Revelation 2:7, 10, 26).

This is a basic presentation of the gospel truth and whatever is built here upon is faith, obedience and a new witness.

The Individual Believer as a Witness

Furthermore, our witnessing was not just confined to our official calling to witness in areas designated by the Lord; He also admonished us to witness to our own families, colleagues and people in our immediate vicinity. In short, we live a witnessing lifestyle. Right now, my wife and I just arrived from visiting a widow who lost her husband recently. We took some gospel tracts and went witnessing on our way to her. We derive pleasure and joy from witnessing. This is our happiness, not the world or its material wealthy. Souls for the Kingdom of God are our business. We encourage you to do likewise. Beloved brothers and sisters, YOU DO NOT NEED THE CHURCH OR THE PASTOR’S PERMISSION TO WITNESS IT IS YOUR INDIVIDUAL CALLING AND RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A WITNESS.

I am stressing this because many, many believers are discouraged by their pastors not to witness. The command to witness has to come from them, this is wicked and unscriptural. God is calling you and the Scriptures are addressing you as an individual and not just the church leadership. They do not have a different Bible. We all get our instructions from the same Bible. I do encourage the unity of purpose and as a body, we collectively participate in all Church activities, but we are equally called as individual members who have a responsibility to witness, pray and bear fruit (Matthew 20:1-16). I am not encouraging rebellion here. You must witness. When the earlier church was persecuted, they did not wait for the apostles to give them a command to witness wherever they were scattered, but they witnessed for they had the word of truth with them and signs followed (Acts 8: 4-8). I was once labelled as having an independent spirit when I went out witnessing with a few friends on a Saturday afternoon. One pastor, instead of sharing my joy told me he would have rebuked me if he knew I took some of his members with me to witness. We went out not as against the Church, but as witnesses (Mark 9:40). In his thesis to the Catholic Church, Martin Luther – the reformer, loosened the grip of bondage the Church had over the conscience of the individual believers and preached a gospel of saving grace through personal faith.

Kindly allow me to add this. Today, certain scriptures are being used to bind believers into submission to church rules. Those scriptures apply to the unity of service as a body of believers (Hebrews 13:17; 1Thessalonians 5:12-13), and not as much as a general rule. This is for collective unity and “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining…” (Ephesians 4:13). Likewise our Lord Jesus also said: “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Hold on! I am not done yet, we are to submit in obedience while we are being taught until we ‘reach unity in faith' and ‘be like our teacher’. This then is not a life-long submission unless you have chosen to remain an infant in the faith and ‘bury your talent’ (Matthew 25:17-18). I HAVE WARNED YOU! Before I conclude kindly allow me to stress this point; I know of many ineffective brethren who are still waiting for a ‘Word’ from the Lord before they witness. Let me tell you, you do not need a calling from the Lord to testify about your faith. This is your natural answer to those ‘who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have…’ (1 Peter 3:15). This is your testimony, and you must GO and “tell how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Heaven is populated through the testimony of individual believers who respond in obedience and go out witnessing (Acts 8:4).

Who Should We Witness To?

“Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This gospel is for all people everywhere and all believers are called to witness. We show no fear or favour when presenting the message of faith. The apostle Paul in his zeal to take the good news to people, targeted every kind of group, and religious belief (Acts 17; Acts 18:4). Some believers get discouraged to witness to some denominational groups within the Christian sect. While I recognise that it is somewhat very difficult to witness ‘religious’ people, we must not be discouraged to present the gospel to them. The Holy Spirit convicts all people (John 16:8). There are dozens of testimonies about people who either followed a cult or some other religion who got saved through witnessing and testimonies.

Our first witnessing assignment from the Lord was to go into our own community and immediate neighbourhood. Like the disciples, we witnessed door-to-door with gospel tracts. If we found no one home we would leave a tract in their mailboxes or by the fence. I strongly encouraged our witnessing team not to allow anyone to pass without us being a witness to them. Some church folk labelled us ‘mad’, but if it is to save souls, Praise the Lord! I have no problem being called names. This was our ‘Jerusalem’ (Acts 1:8) and soon after we finished our community, we thought our work was completed, but the Lord now sends us to our neighbouring towns and suburbs.

Being based in South Africa as a multiracial society, the Lord sends us to all racial and religious groups. The language was not a problem as most South Africans speak and read English. We also have witnesses who are fluent in more than one language and this serves as a great advantage to our message. If you go out as a sole witness, target your language group. God is sending you to those who understand you.

Testimony

the Lord once gave Charis a vision about a friend I knew personally; in fact, I drank with him when I followed the pattern of the world. This friend’s family adhered to the old apostolic teachings. He had no idea about the doctrinal differences churches have, he just believed in the God of the Bible. I witnessed him on many occasions. If you wish to read more about this way of belief please go to Google and search “Old Apostolic Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.”

Anyway, I went up to this friend and told him what the Lord has shown Charis, he was convicted and believed the warning (to stop smoking marijuana, drink alcohol and accept Christ as Lord and Saviour). He gave his heart to the Lord. I subsequently blessed him with a Bible and encouraged him to attend church, and to read and pray daily. Because he was chronically sick, he stopped indulging in addictive habits. The Lord promised to heal him and He gave me a message through Charis to preach about “healing in Christ.” His sister, who is a strong follower of this sect, vehemently opposed him so he decided not to attend our meeting. I was deeply discouraged and we asked the Lord what we should do to get him to our meetings, the Lord responded by saying that we must not be discouraged and we should just continue to pray for him. I also continued to encourage this brother to seek the Lord in obedience. The Lord in His Faithfulness touched this brother and we witnessed his health improving drastically as he started putting on weight. Unfortunately, He got involved with his old friends and went back to his former habits, some three (3) months later he suddenly died fulfilling the prophetic vision the Lord showed Charis.

In conclusion, why wait? So pray and take your Bible and a few gospel tracts or CDs and GO! Starting first in your neighbourhood or witnessing to colleagues, friends and immediate family members can be a great start, they will reject your message ridicule and discourage you, but confidence and faith grow through these tests (Acts 7:1-60).

Witnessing Resources

• Witnessing - Part I article
• Witnessing - Part II article
• Exuding Good Fruit While Sharing The Gospel 
• Fellowship Tract League: They provide free tracts and they send them faster if you donate a small donation to cover the shipping/postage costs.

Persecutions

Christian persecution produces faithfulness and dependence on God’s Power (Psalm 40)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Brethren, we would like to apologize for not posting any new articles lately. Brother Glenn has been traveling to ensure that his 89-year-old father, who is looking after about 10 orphaned children is being taken care of and assisted. Furthermore, kindly read all our articles on this blog as the automated email services have been discontinued.  As it is, new articles will be forthcoming in the next weeks. Please continue to pray for us as we are facing a lot of attacks and opposition.

Being a born-again Christian is one of the highest achievements in life. We are called to have an audience with our Creator. We are not called to be religious, but to imitate God in His Holiness. 

Truthful Conduct Results in Persecution

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 NIV). Please note: ‘godly’, as used above, means to be like God. God has opposition (Colossians 1:21). This verse declares that we become God’s enemies through sin. We choose to become enemies through our sinful conduct (Romans 5:10). God has extended the olive branch of peace through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 4:10).

So then, what is persecution? Biblically, persecution is opposition to Godly conduct in exchange for ungodly behavior. For example Cain, like many of us, allowed sin to dominate him, and he murdered his righteous brother, Abel. If we are ruled by sin we despise truth and oppose those whose conduct is more righteous than ours(Genesis 4:6-10). Throughout church history, Christian persecution resulted from those who opposed its message of salvation through Christ Jesus. The Lord Himself was persecuted and killed (see Gospels). He rose from death to affirm and confirm that Truth has overcome all opposition. Ever since this great advent of Christ’s resurrection in human history, those who believe in Him and live in accordance to His teachings have been persecuted. We do not need to read and quote at length from history books to verify this truth. Persecution is even practiced in our homes (Genesis 4; Matthew 10:36; Genesis 37).

Why are We Being Persecuted?

We are being persecuted because we oppose ungodly conduct and we refuse to conform to wrong behavior, (Matthew 5:10). The persecutors or bullies are motivated by various intentions. Cain and Joseph’s brothers were motivated by jealousy, (see Genesis 4; 37). Others persecute us because of their love for money (Acts 19:23-25). Still others persecute us because our message exposes their sinful and wrong conduct (Matthew 10:11-34). Remember, persecution is an unjust application of punishment on those who uphold truthful and proper conduct in society. People persecute because of guilt and because of their unjust and ungodly practices.

As it is, “all men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22 NIV). We are hated and persecuted because of our association with Jesus Christ. This is not to be confused with tests and temptations. As Christians, we are also being persecuted because we proclaim a strong message against wrong beliefs and sinful conduct (John 14: 6; John 3:18-21). Our message appeals to those who love truth and those who choose not to live for themselves. Our message also says “I have come to do your will O’ God” (Hebrews 10:7b NIV). We are ready to endure this cup of unpleasantness, for therein is eternal life found. Walking narrow is not what we have come to sacrifice, but what we are called to be (Matthew 5; Colossians 3). We are CALLED TO BE humble in attitude and submissive in service to God and humanity. Oneness with Christ through the Holy Spirit cancels out any appetite for sinful behavior (1 John 3:9).

Persecutions are Not Temptations

As you may recall, the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). This temptation that the Lord endured was aimed to causing Him to disobey God. Praise and glory unto God the Father, our Lord held on faithfully and our salvation was preserved. Satan’s motive is to encourage rebelliousness against God. He succeeded in this when he caused Adam and Eve to disobey God (Genesis 3). When we are being tempted, we are given the opportunity to choose whom we want to obey and our choices carry consequences.

From our Lord’s experiences above, temptations are brought about in circumstances of need or desire. The Lord was fasting and hungry, so the need for food was there (Matthew 4:1-3). Likewise, no temptation comes about if there is no need or desire for it. King David was tempted to commit adultery and murder because ‘he saw a woman bathing’ (2 Samuel 11:2b). The ‘desire’ was created after he saw her bathing. Like our Lord, David could have resisted, but he chose to yield to this situation. This resulted in judgment for him (see 2 Samuel 12). Also, Eve was tempted to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree because she ‘saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it ...’ (Genesis 3:6 NIV). Therefore, temptation is a need-driven or desire-driven entity that Satan uses as bait. He creates the evil desire so that we have a need for it (James 1:13-15). Being desire-minded, we always sacrifice obedience towards God above our natural needs. We have a continuous appetite for more even if it is forbidden (Genesis 3). Yielding to temptation is obedience to the desires of flesh and disobedience to God.

Obedience, the Key to Overcoming Temptations

Many of us quote this scripture and often out of context, “And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). This scripture expresses God’s faithfulness in giving us strength when we have become weak. In other words, with the temptation comes a solution. Again, do we have faith and discernment to recognize God’s help during this time of testing? Well, the outcome would be determined if we obey to receive help as the scripture says or if we succumb to the craving of the flesh. As it is, Satan provides the temptation and it would always be things we need or desire. We in return must decide, like our Lord did, if we would obey or succumb to gratify that specific desire. Yielding to the craving does not only bring about the pleasure we would enjoy, but the price for disobedience brings about three changes; punishment, guilt (that deprives us peace) and that demonic spirit or craving (1 Samuel 16: 14-15; Genesis3; 2 Samuel 11; 12). I would like to explain it this way; prior to my conversion, I smoked and drank for many years and so I know the taste of these habits. Therefore, the craving for these things always hounds me. I am delivered from these habits, but the flesh responds to the cravings if it is a desire. I may not indulge, but the craving must be overcome with obedience and the attitude of a new mind (Romans 6: 11-13). Too often Christianity has been offered as ‘God does it all for you’ while we must do nothing. As far as our salvation, God has done it all for us. But as for our deliverance, we must maintain it through our faith and obedience. When I first came to the Lord, I was trapped in habits and I thought after someone prayed for me all my habits and problems would just disappear. Often the way we present the Christian message to people makes it appear as if we’re offering a magic wand solution. Soon after our presentation, some people would repent and follow but not long thereafter they backslide because their expectation of instant deliverance without faith did not take root. God requires us to participate in our salvation through faith and obedience (Colossians 2: 6-7).

This then is my reasonable service to the Lord, offering my body as a living sacrifice in obedience (Romans 12: 1). No one can claim that they are completely free from some cravings (Romans 7:15-25). As long as we are in the body, its passions will hound us (Galatians 5:16-21). We are free through Christ as far as our choice of obedience to Him. So, freedom from sin in the body is attained when we die (Romans 7: 7). Not that sin rules us but its desires intend to lead us into temptation and ultimately death (Galatians 5: 16; Romans 6:23). When you are born-again, you live a life of choice and obedience daily (Read entire Colossians 3; Ephesians 4:17-28). Meaning, we consciously and by faith choose to ‘crucify the body’ or put it to death to sinful cravings (Colossians 3: 5-6). In conclusion to this discussion, indulgence in something forbidden; it does not only bring the pleasure but also brings that demonic spirit, which brings us into conflict with it. If we have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, He forgives us and we must fight these cravings and evil desires with the spiritual weapons of faith, obedience and choice. In addition, choice is the principle we apply after we make our decision to follow the Lord. This choice becomes faith because we choose to live by it (Habakkuk 2: 4). As people, we are inherently evil. This conscious state is not taught but it is a spontaneous behavior. This cycle of evil is suppressed by the indwelling Holy Spirit whom we must obey through His convictions to help us fight (through our knowledge of the Word of Truth) and overcome this evil (Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 7:14-25). Therefore, obedience and humble submission to God through faith equals deliverance and a future hope of eternal life.

The Lord’s Forgiveness and Compassion

Beloved brethren, the Lord is all the time aware of our struggles that is why the scripture says, “He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). Before I share some experiences of temptations and persecutions some of us in this ministry have had, it would be appropriate to share this scripture: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Every mature member of the Body of Christ knows that sin is undefeated in our flesh. The flesh craves wrong things, but our Victory is in Christ Jesus. He alone holds Victory over sin and death. Our acceptance of His redemptive work by faith gives us that sinless appearance (Colossians 3: 1-4; Ephesians 2: 8-9). I reiterate, our state in the flesh has not changed, but spiritually and by faith it has changed. This change is fixed by God. What I mean is this; we are saved by faith and not by works as the above scripture declares. We were saved even before we started working; this was achieved by our faith in the redemptive work of Christ. However, we are called to obey and “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 3: 22-24). This categorically states that we must BE. The verse that says we are saved by grace has nothing to do with our faith obligation of obedience, especially now that we have “put off our old self”. The putting on of the ‘new self’ is a changed course. If a changed course ‘to be made new in the attitude of your minds’ leads us to ‘BE like God in true righteousness and holiness’. When we have accepted this, our faith would stand on the working out of His grace in us and our obedience expresses our love for Him (John 14:23).

Finally, many of us in this ministry have committed some mistakes in the past as everybody does. The Lord as I alluded in our previous articles rebuked us. His rebukes led us to repentance. If we continuously commit the same mistake, He becomes angry and issues another warning, this time more serious. If it is serious then we have grossly disobeyed. The Lord is slow to anger and He always delays punishment in exchange for repentance and self-restraint (Psalm 145:8; Psalm 51).

Here are examples of persecutions we endured. For it to be a persecution, it must involve the GOSPEL. Now, just because the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to us every night does not mean we are free or immune against persecutions. In fact, this has attracted a lot opposition. We lost very close friends not that I lament that; they just could not be around us to endure the truth. When I first told some people that the Lord was speaking to my daughter Charis they did not believe I was speaking the truth. The Apostle Paul’s testimony of his conversion and the fact that he saw the Lord was also not well received and believed by his Jewish persecutors (Acts 22). How could we ever go out and tell people lies about something so incredible. I was branded as being ‘mad and crazy’. Would I go out of my way to bring some much trouble on me? Now do I sound like a crazy man? Of course not! I went out in excitement and obedience to the believers first based on the Lord’s command to us. He said that we may tell some people what He was telling us. I never anticipated this command to drive people away from us. I am not trying to portray this as a loss; this has opened our eyes to see that many people did not have faith and that their walk with God was superficial and unsteady (Matthew 7:24-27).

We have had one woman, whose sister the Lord has called to this ministry. This sister used to attend worldly drinking parties even as a born-again believer. Although she herself would not partake in the drinking, but the Word says we are equally guilty if we condone the wrong conduct of others and do not rebuke them (Luke 17:3; James 5:19). The Lord started dealing with her through the messages she received and she stopped associating with them. For this, she was persecuted by her mother, her sister, her husband and other family members. This precious sister was radically transformed by Christ Jesus and all they could do to her was just yelling, screaming, accusing and cursing, but her faith and obedience to the Lord, that they could not take from her. Glory to God!

This woman’s sister threatened to come and burn up our house, because we had “brainwashed” her sister. Her sister wailed because of her changed attitude and said: “I want my sister back!” She is gone NEVER to return and no one would be able to rob her from the Love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39).

When she was persecuted, this sister panicked but the Lord comforted her. Persecution has not been taken out of the way; we must endure it and overcome it to prove our love and faithfulness to the Lord.

Also, when Charis and her two witnesses went witnessing on the Lord’s command, they were pelted with stones and mocked by children in their age category. Remember, the Lord commanded us not to accompany the children when they go out witnessing. He promised to protect them (See our article on Raising Godly Children). On another witnessing occasion, Charis and one of the girls were spanked with a belt by a security guard. That evening the Lord came saying they must forgive that man.

Furthermore, some of the women in our ministry have and are still enduring every kind of abuse from their husbands for their obedience and submission to the Lord. They have made their choice; to them the Lord comes first.

As a ministry, we have endured a great deal of slander, gossip and threats. I have no time to chronicle in detail every kind of persecution we have faced and endured, but it was not easy. To keep our faith, ministry and salvation alive, we share our testimony with you to encourage you to endure in faith and obedience.

The Lord has not changed since the New Testament times when Paul was persecuted and the Lord said: “Do not be afraid, Paul” (Acts 27:24). This was his encouragement during his hour of trials. We were also shown the same kindness by the Lord. He saw our hardship, but He would not have us pity ourselves for that we would get rebuked. In our most trying circumstances the Lord would comfort us by recognizing our faith and obedience with a promise of blessings. Days after these words of comfort, peace from every side is given. This made us forget almost everything we endured. I was in the midst of a very disturbing test so I enquired from the Lord and He said: “I will never leave your father and I will never forsake your father” (Hebrews 13:5). This re-assurance was all I needed; words of great comfort and peace. Be comforted with the knowledge that the Lord loves you always.

Be blessed in Christ,

Brother Glenn Van Rooyen

Serving God Passionately

Brethren, we are re-sharing this message which we shared during 2019, as a family, we are still praying and meditating on the love of God for us after He brought our beloved daughter Claudia back from death as we shared in our last article. Thus, by the grace of our Heavenly Father we will work on a new article in the next week, God willing. Thus be blessed as you read in Jesus' name.

Vision to Charis 11 October 2019 (Muslims Are Faithful and some Christians are greedy)

I had a vision about a Christian man who was helping a homeless girl. This Christian father was not kind towards this girl. He was treating her not like his own children with love and respect but harshly. I then saw the girl asking for help from members of the Muslim community who were eager to help her with a place to live and with food. I heard a Muslim man explaining to his wife saying, "As Muslims, we need to help those in need. Because we are obligated by Allah". At first she was not eager to help but after the explanation above she seemed to have understood the bases of their teaching.

After seeing this, I heard the LORD saying, "Christians are very greedy when they do something for other people they show off and when they do things for others they should do it from their hearts and for Me (1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 25:40).  Muslims are worshiping another god and yet they are faithful. When they help people they do it from their hearts and for their god". END!

Are You God Conscious? 

Well, before answering that question it would be wise to first evaluate your relationship with God and the test is simple. Are you born again, having repented of your sins and living a holy life? (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23) Do you read your Bible every day as God commanded? (Joshua 1:8) Do you have a love for the Word of God, above all other reading materials or visual programs (TV, Internet, etc.)? (Psalm 119:20; 119:97). Do you often spend time praying or are you too busy with life? (Daniel 6:10). Are you about our Heavenly Father’s business by witnessing and winning souls or are you indulging in lustful and worldly pleasures? Is your company pleasing to you or to God (Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Luke 2:49; Proverbs 11:30). Answers to these questions are a basic foundation to our relationship with the Lord, and being so involved with Him will lead people to say “…these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 NIV).

If we are consistently passionate, doing all of the above daily to please God, our attitude would be less abrasive and people would notice the hope in us (1 Peter 3:15-16). We would not take offense to people’s hurtful opinions; we would instead forgive them (Matthew 6:14-15). Therefore this kind of consciousness can best be described as living in God and God in us (John 17:23; Acts 17:28). Undoubtedly, the reason why so many of us have such bad attitudes is due to excessive self-consciousness.

Causes of Lost Passion

The Lord told us that most ministries fail because they have lost their passion or first love for Him, and as a result many people consider His work to be burdensome (Revelation 2:4). Jesus Himself invites us with a bold declaration: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Furthermore, loss of faith in Christ is also largely due to a lack of passion for the Lord Jesus. When we walk out on our family and fellowship group in Christ, we have lost our passion and our love has grown cold and the danger of cold love yields hatred and grudges.

In the early 90’s, I lost my passion for Christ, with the principal cause being sin. I started spending more time in the night club than in church. Instead of turning to the Bible and the Lord for answers to my pressing problems, I turned to ungodly people, books and magazines. In addition, the company of the unsaved became more accommodating because their "innocence" to my hurting conscience served as a mask. Once our passion for the Lord has faded we adopt a new passion, which is often some kind of an addiction, as a replacement for our lost love to God. As it is, in this backsliding state the latter part of our lives becomes worse than it was before we knew The Lord (Luke 11:26).

Equally dangerous is when people who lose their love for Christ turn to idols, false religions, and worldly living (2 Timothy 4:10). As history has shown us, historically, most of the men who founded sects within Christianity lost their passion for Christ and pinned their hopes on the observance of certain doctrinal positions. The Lord made it abundantly clear when He said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

The word "hate" in this context from the Strong’s Greek concordance simply means ‘miséō, i.e. to love someone or something less than someone (something) else, or to to renounce one choice in favor of another, which denotes a moral choice. It does not refer to a literal hatred as in ‘misos’ (to hate). In other words, we should love The Lord more than anything or anyone else.  Therefore, we cannot love our lives, churches, pastors, parents, wives or anything more than Christ; if we do that, then we have lost our passion for Him (Luke 9:24). Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Real Living Person (and to the unbelieving I have seen Him) and our passion for Him must be above everyone or thing. He should be the reason, purpose and cause why we go to church and engage in various ministry work. Our love for church and the people in the church people should be secondary to our love and passion for Christ. If we are ashamed of Him and afraid to witness, don’t we show a lack of passion?

How to Keep the Passion Alive

When the Lord commanded my wife to start a women's prayer group, some of the sisters who had started praying with her came up with various excuses and did not show up. There came a time when my wife was just with one person, and her passion turned into discouragement. However, The Lord being faithful encouraged her and said that one person can pray for a thousand (1000) people. It's been more than four years now, and that same passion to see people saved and delivered is still driving them. The question is: which passion is driving you? The one you follow or the things you are most passionate about shows what you treasure! (Matthew 6:21).

Passion for The Lord is fueled by our abiding in His Presence without ceasing (John 15:7). We abide in The Lord’s Presence through worship, praying, fasting, Bible reading, being involved in ministry work, and fellowship in The Lord with those who call on Him (2 Timothy 2:22; Luke 2:37; Psalm 27:4; Deuteronomy 17:18-19). It is not just good to have a Bible; we must read it daily and obey it, so that our love may remain hot for Christ (Matthew 24:12). It serves as firewood, burning away all lusts and worldliness (Jeremiah 23:29), anchoring us in truth, and keeping us free from deception and slavery (John 8:32; John 17:17). As it is, Christ being the author and finisher of our faith commands us to set Him above doctrine, church and family (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 3:15). Furthermore, some of us go to great lengths to pursue a doctrine of faith or a religious belief like some sects in Christianity; such an attitude shows no passion for Christ, but only passion for the doctrine, denomination or position of faith. Remember to  "keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you" (1 Timothy 4:16 NLT).

Finally, fellow believers in the Lord Jesus, "...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want (Galatians 5:16-17).

Vision of a Lukewarm Church

I received a short vision from The Lord this morning (December 8, 2014) just before I woke up. It was a vision within a vision. I saw myself walking into a beautiful building, and while walking I saw another vision behind me. Although I was looking ahead of me, I could still see the scene of the vision. I saw a large group of people whose faces were blurred in a church.

There was someone who was preaching to these people, urging them to worship The Lord. The person was trying to kind of "revive" the people through his urging and encouragement, but they were just standing there cold in their hearts towards the Lord (I was allowed to feel that their hearts were far from The Lord). I saw The Lord dressed in white light in their midst, without them even being aware He was Present. As I was about to climb a stairway, I heard a voice of someone who was standing there saying loudly: "I LOVE THE LORD WITH MY WHOLE HEART!" This was the end of the vision.

Interpretation:

The Lord explained to me that He is faithful to all His promises and that He is present where two or three gather in His name just like it was in this lukewarm church (Matthew 18:20). However, people's hearts are far away from Him since they are focusing on or thinking or of their lustful pleasures. The people in the vision reflect today's situation in the church, with people showing no passion or love for Him in His Presence. People lack enthusiasm and excitement in the church, and that is why the pastor or worship leader was trying his best to "revive" or "wake up" the people with encouragement. Brethren, let us show passion in the Lord's Presence as an expression of our love to Him, like the voice of The Lord's witness said. The Bible indeed encourages us to "...love The Lord your God with all your heart..." (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27), and praise/thank Him likewise with our whole heart (Psalm 9:1).

So, have you forsaken the love you had for Jesus Christ at first? Have you been spending more time with people, teachings, and activities that don’t encourage passion for Christ in your heart? If so, please repent. If you would like to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and start a life full of love for God, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Grace to you in Jesus’ name,
Brother Glenn.

How This Ministry Started

The Church historian and fellow witness of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, Luke, wrote to Theophilus saying, “it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3 NKJV). In the same manner, God intended to preserve a record of His interaction with the human race for the benefit of present and future generations without having to repeat Himself over and over again. He, therefore, commanded Moses to ‘write’ what He said (Exodus 17:14; 34:27). The Lord also commanded Moses to record their journey from Egypt into the Land of Canaan (Numbers 33:2-51).

As a ministry, we have also traveled a journey with the Lord, and He has commanded us to write an orderly account of our journey with Him. This will be a rather brief account, and for the sake of clarity, please forgive us if we reiterate this information elsewhere in the website.

The Appearance of the Lord Jesus

In 2009, my wife and I, along with our daughter Charis, who was eight years’ old at the time, decided to establish a home fellowship. As a custom, every night before bedtime we would read from the Bible and pray, with each one of us reading a portion of Scripture and expounding where necessary. Even at such a tender age, Charis enjoyed these sessions very much, and she would always remind us when it was time to meet.

As a family, we have faithfully continued this home fellowship, meeting daily, and this practice has become the hallmark of our home, just as Joshua declared "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

The Lord’s First Visit to Charis

During the Sunday church service of January 24, 2010, our then-pastor announced a seven-day fast, encouraging us to pray for the needs of the local church as well as ours. Since we were plagued with financial debt and worries at the time and the fact that I had been unemployed for a full year, my wife and I decided to join our local church in this seven-day fast. As it is, we had been unable to pay our home mortgage (bond) for almost a full year.

During that time, I submitted applications for various jobs and attended countless interviews, yet all doors to employment were closed. These were very frustrating and trying times for us as a family. As a father, I was unable to fulfill my responsibility to provide for my family, and this led to severe tensions and quarrels at home. In my desperation, I started making plans to put up our house for rent and move back to my parents’ house, while my wife was to move in with her parents along with our two daughters. In the midst of all of our problems, we still continued praying and trusting the Lord for a miracle.

Amazingly, and completely unexpected, on the night of January 25, 2010, the Lord appeared to my daughter Charis for the first time. He gently told her, “I love My children. My daughter Charis, I am your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am going to talk to you and show you visions, and you must tell your father to keep a record of all that I will show to you." This visit from the Lord rejuvenated our spirits and marked a new beginning in our relationship with Him. True to His promise, this would not be the last visit.

We have compiled several teachings and experiences from the Lord, and we are pleased to share them with you to encourage you in your faith as you continue seeking and trusting Him.

How Does Jesus Look Like?

Some of you may be wondering how Jesus looks like. When Charis saw the Lord, He was standing on a pure white cloud (Nahum 1:3b; Revelation 14:14), wearing a shiny, white robe lined with golden stripes (Revelation 1:13). Across His robe, from shoulder to hip, was written “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). She could not see the Lord’s face; it was covered with brilliant light, but she could see that He was wearing a golden crown on His head (Revelation 14:14).

During another visit, Charis asked the Lord to show her His hands and feet. She saw the nail marks on his feet and when He opened His hand she saw the scars of the cross (Luke 24:40; John 20:27). Because the Lord’s face is not visible but concealed in brilliant light, she could not see His hair. When she asked Him, He slightly bent forward and showed her His hair; it was pure white like wool (Revelation 1:14).

A Foundation of Prayer

In March 2010, after the Lord had given us (my wife, Charis and me) spiritual gifts for the work of service in this ministry, He commanded me to look for five willing, born-again Christians to pray with us every Saturday morning for eight weeks. Soon after we completed the eight weeks of prayer, the Lord blessed all the five people who prayed with me with what they needed at the time. For being obedient and making an effort to participate in the prayers, a brother who had been unemployed for over 3 years was blessed with a good job; he is currently still employed in the same place and was promoted to a higher position. Also, a sister who desired the gift of tongues received this gift on our last day of the eight weeks of prayer. In addition, the Lord answered the desperate pleas of a mother who prayed with us interceding for her drug-addicted son; He delivered the son from drug addiction and demons on December 15, 2010. Five years after being delivered, this brother is still saved—Glory to God! Furthermore, the Lord also answered the prayers of a woman who was interceding for the healing of one of the children in her family. The Lord faithfully answered many other prayer requests that we brought before Him during this eight weeks of prayers. The Lord taught us and confirmed to us through this test, that when we are committed to praying consistently, He answers our prayers.

After we completed the eight weeks of prayer, the Lord commanded my wife to find five people to pray with her every Saturday morning. This fellowship still continues today as a women’s prayer meeting. We can testify that through this prayer group, some people whom they prayed for and who had faith confirmed that they received jobs, healing, deliverance, and salvation. In addition, for their work of intercessory prayers, the Lord has granted peace, health, and providence to these women, and this has further contributed to their faith and dependence on the Lord as their Source of strength.

From Evening Prayer Meetings to Street Ministry

In August 2010, the Lord commanded me and my wife to find ten people to pray with and start a separate intercessory prayer group. He gave us a timeframe to find additional people, and this number gradually increased to twenty. Some of the people who promised to join us never showed up, but we continued our prayer sessions with the few committed ones who came.

After praying with ten people every Friday evening for five weeks, the Lord commanded us to change the weekly intercessory prayer time to Saturday evening, and this continues to this day. Through these experiences, the Lord taught us that corporate prayer is important, and each church should have an intercessory prayer group (Acts 4:31; Acts 6:4).

In establishing our witnessing or evangelism ministry, the Lord commanded that we, along with members of our prayer group, go out witnessing in our local community and lay hands on the sick and those who needed deliverance from demonic oppression (Luke 10:1-23). This witnessing work has resulted in the salvation, healing, and deliverance of many people, as we continue going out in the name of Jesus (Mark 16:15-18). The Lord established every Friday evening as the time for us to go out and witness.

The Lord is caring and He does not want His work to be burdensome (Matthew 11:30). After many weeks of witnessing, the Lord would give us breaks during very cold and rainy days. As individual members of this ministry, we have also developed the habit of daily witnessing to families, friends, colleagues, and whomsoever we would come across during our daily routines.

Home Church Services that are Pleasing to God

Most local churches in our community are accustomed to holding Wednesday evening services. We initially followed this tradition and opened our home living room as a place for our Wednesday evening services, but having the honor of the Lord as our Leader, He set our service and meeting times. We strongly encourage Brethren who meet to fellowship at home to surrender the service to the Lord and have Him as their Leader, instead of fighting for control. Having mentioned meeting days, we are not suggesting that the days we choose to worship should generally apply to everyone. Surely, worship times and days are normally set by local congregants within a given community. Insisting on Sunday or Saturday as days of worship promotes sectarianism, not Christ (Romans 14:5).

Unfortunately, Home Church services can serve as means to control individual believers, instead of focusing on Christ. For example, most Home/cell church services happening on Wednesday evenings in Pentecostal and charismatic churches, particularly here in South Africa, involve a discussion of a pastor’s sermon or Sunday message. Having been part of this system, and being eager to grow, I found this gathering to be more of a social event than a prayer gathering. Under this system, I understand that pastors are careful not to expose their flock to wrong teachings, and the small group mechanism serves to control and protect the members. However, this system often neither stimulates growth nor allows room for the Holy Spirit to work and use individual believers. I personally believe that these kinds of gatherings could be used to more effectively develop and mold individuals into God-fearing leaders.

I strongly believe that instead of pastors exerting stringent controls, Home Church leaders should be allowed to exercise their faith so that the Holy Spirit can work through them for the benefit of the rest of the group (Titus 2:1-2). The Apostle Paul did not dictate to Timothy or Titus, but he encouraged them to stick to Scriptural teachings and sound doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16; 4:2). In countless messages to many individuals in our ministry and outside, the Lord encouraged believers to read the Bible from cover to cover. This approach to Bible reading undoubtedly gives us a holistic understanding of the Bible message, instead of just picking on individual verses. As it is, many Christians today base their faith on specific Bible verses that suit their selfish interest, while disregarding the rest of the Scriptures. This has led to widespread confusion, division and deception in the body of Christ. With this narrow system, we see people following men or their leaders for their particular teachings and doctrines (for example prosperity or certain spiritual/supernatural manifestations), instead of being followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and fully embracing His truth (1 Timothy 4:6; 1 Corinthians 1:12-13).

The Lord provides the weekly messages that we share, and He also gave me word through Charis on what I should preach about. The messages that the Lord would give me to preach would often be based on people’s current situations; for example, when we had sick people, I would be asked to preach about healing in Christ. Those who were going through a crisis of any kind found answers and encouragement in the message the Lord gave. Where sinful behavior played a role in those circumstances, the Lord would issue a rebuke to the individual concerned, and give a word to me to write or preach as a warning to others. In an effort to share the gospel with the households of brethren who are part of our ministry, the Lord directed that we take turns having church services at member’s homes, and we rotated services for almost two years. Brethren, during this time of directing our ministry activity, like His disciples we did not understand what the Lord was doing (John 12:16). As we look back and see the fruit of our work accomplished by His grace, we can only bow down in worship, praise and thanksgiving to our Savior for His involvement in our lives.

Following a two-year period of preaching, the Lord gave each member of the ministry personal messages, commanding us to all concentrate on reading our Bibles every day and praying three or more times daily in our fellowship with Him (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10; 2 Corinthians 12:8). When we failed to obey, the Lord taught us His Word by rebuking us strongly for our sins, in order to ensure that we keep growing in His will (Job 42:7; Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:6). In April 2012, after noticing our obedience and growth in our personal fellowship with Him, the Lord changed our traditional Wednesday preaching services to praise and worship sessions. Before commencing our worship services, as a custom, we regularly open our services with prayer and a word of encouragement from the Bible (1 Corinthians 14:26). The Lord uses these praise and worship services to heal the broken hearted and sick and deliver those bound or oppressed by demons. At the same time, He draws each one of us closer to Him in a fellowship of solemn unity with His Holy Spirit.

Unbelieving and Doubtful Brethren

Many brothers and sisters who first heard about the Lord’s dealing with this family believed our testimony due to the blessings He imparted on us and the fruit of our work in Him. However, some of these people broke faith with us as a result of their insistence on us getting a Word for them from the Lord. Many of those who asked us to inquire of the Lord for them did not anticipate the kind of message they would receive. Often they expected to receive a “good fortune”, “prosperity” or “feel good” message from the Lord which corresponded with their worldly lifestyles. However, the Word from the Lord would often be a message of rebuke, exposing their wrong habits and lifestyle. Those who faithfully served Him would receive a message of encouragement. Some people were so embarrassed that they chose to leave our fellowship and dissociate with us.

In a number of visions, the Lord warned the people of the world that they have received and believed another gospel. This false gospel is not one that encourages holy and righteous living, which involves leading a witnessing lifestyle with Christ-like attitude daily, to the annoyance of the devil and those who hate the truth! Given the current state of the Church, the Lord Jesus has declared judgment against the worldly gospel, which promotes individual needs more than godly living. This false gospel also promotes the adoration and idolization of “servants of God.” These preachers often preach a people-pleasing, motivational, prosperity-focused message. They avoid persecution by not speaking out against sinful conduct and encourage believers to embrace a worldly lifestyle of materialism.

Our Testimony is a Witness to Bible Message

In sharing this account on how this ministry started, we just wanted to share how the Lord Jesus established and commanded the activities of our Ministry. The Lord has also provided a global platform via a website (preparingforthekingdom.com) as a channel to reach our brothers and sisters far away with His Word and our testimony. This, He truthfully told us, is to prepare many people for His imminent return, which He promised us through many visions and messages, would occur in our lifetime. Our aim is therefore not to promote ourselves, but to share our testimony as a witness to what the Bible teaches and encourage you to be ready.

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

The Lord bless you in His rich love!

Your fellow brethren in the Lord's service,

Brother Glenn and Preparing for the Kingdom Ministry Team.

Persecutions I

Foreword: The Lord commanded us to share the message of persecution with you this week. This was an article that was first written last year. We have made some slight adjustments with some Scriptural evidence. We are also adding that the Lord Jesus Christ says Christians who are persecuting their own brothers through slander, gossiping through social media/networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), hatred, and backbiting do not belong to Him and that His love is not abiding in that person. The Lord also commanded us (Christians) to love and pray for one another (John 15:9; Romans 12:9-21; Ephesians 6:18). Furthermore, the Lord also said those who suffer persecution as a result of His message of correction to His Body will not fail to receive their reward.

Truthful Conduct Results in Persecution

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 NIV). Please note: ‘godly’, as used above, means to be like God. God has opposition (Colossians 1:21). This verse declares that we become God’s enemies through sin. We choose to become enemies through our sinful conduct (Romans 5:10). God has extended the olive branch of peace through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 4:10).

So then, what is persecution? Biblically, persecution is opposition to Godly conduct in exchange for ungodly behaviour. For example Cain, like many of us, allowed sin to dominate him, and he murdered his righteous brother, Abel. If we are ruled by sin we despise truth and oppose those whose conduct is more righteous than ours (Genesis 4:6-10). Throughout the Bible, persecution originated from those who opposed correction and truth from God (Jeremiah 28:8-17). The Lord Himself was persecuted and killed (see Gospels). Persecution is even practiced in our homes (Genesis 4; Matthew 10:36; Genesis 37). The Lord is encouraging you: don’t lose your faith if you are being persecuted, but endure, endure and discern truth. Truth is discerned when love is sincere and when we are directed to dependence and faithfulness to Christ.

Why are We Being Persecuted?

During the last two weeks, we have received opposition and persecution from both Christians and the unsaved for being obedient to the Lord and sharing the truth on certain teachings and practices that point people to the testimonies of people, above what the Bible teaches (Refer to False Witness article and the Follow-up article). In Jesus name, brethren, you are our witnesses: we do not use our testimony, which is truthful, to lead you to follow us, but we point and direct all men to Christ Jesus and what the Word of God teaches. Through the revelations we received, we add no new things but we re-affirm Scripturally the proper application in context of what the Scriptures say. This we align with experiences we have with the Lord. This article is not a defence to the many lies against our ministry, but saying the Lord is not speaking to us is accusing us of bearing false testimony just like the others we reported. Christians who are not reading the Bible for themselves are challenged to read and compare everything we teach, preach, encourage and share through our visions. Verify for yourselves if what we say is from the Lord for your correction, or if what we say leads you away from the Lord. Don’t just believe any accusation and start persecuting. Test the evidence through the things we presented and see if it agrees with Scripture.

The Lord showed us in a vision how Satan would oppose and influence many people against this ministry, but the Lord showed us how we resisted him and he fled, which led many brethren to the truth. In our current distress we rejoice knowing our conscience is clean before the Lord and we pray that we (including you) be prepared to meet the Lord at His coming.

We are being persecuted because we oppose ungodly conduct and we refuse to conform to wrong behaviour and teachings (Matthew 5:10). The persecutors or bullies are motivated by various intentions. Cain and Joseph’s brothers were motivated by jealousy, (see Genesis 4; 37). Others persecute us because of their love for money (Acts 19:23-25). Still others persecute us because our message exposes their sinful and wrong teachings (Acts 19:23-31; Matthew 10:11-34). Remember, persecution is an unjust application of punishment on those who uphold truthful and proper conduct in obedience to Christ Jesus. People persecute because of guilt, hatred and because of their unjust and ungodly practices.

As the Lord said, “all men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22 NIV). We are hated and persecuted because of our association with Jesus Christ and our testimony. Our testimony confirms the truth He delivered to us. This is not to be confused with tests and temptations. As Christians, we are also being persecuted because we proclaim a strong message against wrong beliefs and sinful conduct (John 14: 6; John 3:18-21). Our message appeals to those who love truth and those who choose not to live for themselves. Our message also says “I have come to do your will O’ God” (Hebrews 10:7b NIV). We are ready to endure this cup of unpleasantness, for therein is eternal life found. The Christian is called to persecutions and hardship in this world (2 Timothy 2:3; 1 Peter 4:1-2). We are CALLED TO BE humble in attitude and submissive in service to God and humanity. Oneness with Christ through the Holy Spirit cancels out any appetite for sinful behaviour (1 John 3:9).

Persecutions are Not Temptations

As you may recall, the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). This temptation that the Lord endured was aimed to causing Him to disobey God. Praise and glory unto God the Father, our Lord held on faithfully and our salvation was preserved. Satan’s motive is to encourage rebelliousness against God. He succeeded in this when he caused Adam and Eve to disobey God (Genesis 3). When we are being tempted, we are given the opportunity to choose whom we want to obey and our choices carry consequences.

From our Lord’s experiences above, temptations are brought about in circumstances of need or desire. The Lord was fasting and hungry, so the need for food was there (Matthew 4:1-3). Likewise, no temptation comes about if there is no need or desire. King David was tempted to commit adultery and murder because “he saw a woman bathing” (2 Samuel 11:2b). The lustful ‘desire’ was activated after he saw her bathing. Like our Lord, David could have resisted, but he chose to yield to this tempting situation. This resulted in severe judgment for him (see 2 Samuel 12). Also, Eve was tempted to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree because she “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it ...” (Genesis 3:6 NIV). Therefore, temptation is a need-driven or desire-driven entity that Satan uses as bait. He creates the evil desire so that we have a need for it (James 1:13-15). Being desire-minded, we always sacrifice obedience towards God above our natural needs. We have a continuous appetite for more even if it is forbidden (Genesis 3). Yielding to temptation is obedience to the desires of flesh, and therefore disobedience to God.

On the other hand, obedience and humble submission to God is the key to overcoming temptations. “And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). Many of us quote this scripture and often out of context; this scripture expresses God’s faithfulness in giving us strength when we have become weak. In other words, with the temptation comes a solution. Again, do we have faith and discernment to recognize God’s help during this time of testing? Well, the outcome would be determined if we obey to receive help as the Scripture says or if we succumb to the craving of the flesh. As it is, Satan provides the temptation and it would always be things we need or desire. We in return must decide, like our Lord did, if we would obey or succumb to gratify that specific desire. Yielding to the craving does not only bring about the pleasure we would enjoy, but the price for disobedience brings about three changes; punishment, guilt (that deprives us peace) and that demonic spirit or craving (1 Samuel 16: 14-15; Genesis3; 2 Samuel 11; 12).

I would like to explain it this way; prior to my conversion, I smoked and drank for many years and so I know the taste of these habits. Therefore, the craving for these things always hounds me. I am delivered from these habits, but the flesh responds to the cravings if it is a desire. I may not indulge, but the craving must be overcome with obedience and the attitude of a new mind (Romans 6:11-13). Too often Christianity has been offered as “God does it all for you” while we must do nothing. As far as our salvation, God has done it all for us. But as for our deliverance, we must maintain it through our faith and obedience. When I first came to the Lord, I was trapped in habits and I thought after someone prayed for me all my habits and problems would just disappear. Often the way we present the Christian message to people makes it appear as if we’re offering a magic wand solution. Soon after our presentation, some people would repent and follow but not long thereafter they backslide because their expectation of instant deliverance without faith did not take root. God requires us to participate in our salvation through faith and obedience (Colossians 2: 6-7). As Paul writes, we must “continue to work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 NIV).

This then is my reasonable service to the Lord: offering my body as a living sacrifice in obedience (Romans 12: 1). No one can truly claim that they are completely free from some cravings (Romans 7:15-25). As long as we are in the body, its passions will hound us (Galatians 5:16-21). We are free through Christ as far as our choice of obedience to Him. So, freedom from sin in the body is attained when we die (Romans 7). Not that sin rules us but its desires intend to lead us into temptation and ultimately death (Galatians 5: 16; Romans 6:23). When you are born again, you live a life of choice and obedience daily (Read Colossians 3; Ephesians 4:17-28); meaning, we consciously and by faith choose to ‘crucify the body’ or put it to death to sinful cravings (Colossians 3: 5-6). In conclusion to this discussion, indulgence in something forbidden; it does not only bring the pleasure but also brings that demonic spirit, which brings us into conflict with it. If we have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, He forgives us and we must fight these cravings and evil desires with the spiritual weapons of faith, obedience and choice. In addition, choice is the principle we apply after we make our decision to follow the Lord. This choice becomes faith because we choose to live by it (Habakkuk 2:4). As people, we are inherently evil, as King David wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). This conscious state is not taught but it is a spontaneous behaviour. This cycle of evil is suppressed by the indwelling Holy Spirit whom we must obey through His convictions to help us fight (through our knowledge of the Word of Truth) and overcome this evil (Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 7:14-25). Therefore, obedience and humble submission to God through faith equals deliverance and a future hope of eternal life.

The Lord’s Forgiveness and Compassion

Beloved brethren, the Lord is all the time aware of our struggles; that is why the Scripture says, “He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). Before I share some experiences of temptations and persecutions that some of us in this ministry have had, it would be most appropriate to share this Scripture: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Every mature member of the Body of Christ knows that sin is undefeated in our flesh. The flesh craves wrong things, but our Victory is in Christ Jesus. He alone holds Victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Our acceptance of His redemptive work by faith gives us that sinless appearance (Colossians 3:1-4; Ephesians 2: 8-9). I reiterate, our state in the flesh has not changed, but spiritually and by faith it has changed. This change is fixed by God. What I mean is this: we are saved by faith and not by works as the above scripture declares. We were saved even before we started working; this was achieved by our faith in the redemptive work of Christ. However, we are called to obey and “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This categorically states that we must BE. The verse that says we are saved by grace has nothing to do with our faith obligation of obedience, especially now that we have “put off our old self”. The putting on of the “new self” is a changed course; a changed course “to be made new in the attitude of your minds” leads us to “BE like God in true righteousness and holiness”. When we have accepted this, our faith would stand on the working out of His grace in us and our obedience expresses our love for Him (John 14:23).

Finally, many of us in this ministry have committed some mistakes in the past as everybody has. The Lord, as I alluded in our previous articles, rebuked us (Psalm 3:11-12), and his rebukes led us to repentance (Romans 2:4). If we continuously commit the same mistake, He becomes angry and issues another warning, this time more serious. If it is serious then we have grossly disobeyed. The Lord is slow to anger and He always delays punishment in exchange for repentance and self-restraint (Psalm 145:8; Psalm 51).

Testimonies of Persecution

Here are examples of persecutions we endured. As we mentioned previously, for it to be a persecution, it must involve the GOSPEL. It must challenge wrong behaviour and wrong beliefs (Acts 21:27-40). Now, just because we hear from the Lord Jesus Christ does not mean we are free or immune against persecutions. In fact, this has attracted a lot of opposition. We lost very close friends; not that I lament that – they just could not be around us to endure the truth. When I first told some people that the Lord was speaking to our daughter, Charis, they did not believe I was speaking the truth. The Apostle Paul’s testimony of his conversion and the fact that he saw the Lord was also not well received and believed by his Jewish persecutors (Acts 22). How could we ever go out and tell people lies about something so incredible. I was branded as being “mad” and “crazy”. Would I go out of my way to bring so much trouble on myself for nothing? Of course not! I went out in excitement and obedience to the believers first, based on the Lord’s command to us. He said that we may tell some people what He was telling us. I never anticipated this command to drive people away from us. I am not trying to portray this as a loss; this has opened our eyes to see that many people did not have faith and that their walk with God was superficial and unsteady (Matthew 7:24-27).

We have had one woman, whose sister the Lord has called to this ministry. This sister used to attend worldly drinking parties even as a born-again believer. Although she herself would not partake in the drinking, but the Word says we are equally guilty if we condone the wrong conduct of others and do not rebuke them (Luke 17:3; James 5:19). The Lord started dealing with her through the messages she received and she stopped associating with them. For this, she was persecuted by her mother, her sister, her husband and other family members. This precious sister was radically transformed by Christ Jesus and all they could do to her was just yelling, screaming, accusing and cursing, but her faith and obedience to the Lord, that they could not take from her. Glory to God! This woman’s sister threatened to come and burn up our house, because we had “brainwashed” her sister. Her sister wailed because of her changed attitude and said: “I want my sister back!” By God’s grace, she will NEVER return and no one would be able to rob her from the Love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). When she was persecuted, this sister panicked but the Lord comforted her. Persecution has not been taken out of the way; we must endure it and overcome it to prove our love and faithfulness to the Lord.

Also, when Charis and her two witnesses went witnessing on the Lord’s command, they were pelted with stones and mocked by children in their age category. Remember, the Lord commanded us not to accompany the children when they go out witnessing. He promised to protect them (See our article on Raising Godly Children). On another witnessing occasion, Charis and one of the girls were spanked with a belt by a security guard. That evening the Lord came saying they must forgive that man.

Furthermore, some of the women in our ministry have and are still enduring every kind of abuse from their husbands for their obedience and submission to the Lord. They have made their choice: to them the Lord comes first.

As a ministry, we have endured a great deal of slander, gossip and threats. I have no time to chronicle in detail every kind of persecution we have faced and endured, but it was not easy. To keep our faith, ministry and salvation alive, we share our testimony with you to encourage you to also endure in faith and obedience.

The Lord has not changed since the New Testament times when Paul was persecuted and the Lord said: “Do not be afraid, Paul” (Acts 27:24). This was his encouragement during his hour of trials. We were also shown the same kindness by the Lord. He saw our hardship, but He would not have us pity ourselves and for that we would get rebuked. In our most trying circumstances, the Lord would comfort us by recognizing our faith and obedience with a promise of blessings. Days after these words of comfort, peace was given from every side. This made us forget almost everything we endured. I was in the midst of a very disturbing test so I enquired from the Lord, and He said through Charis: “I will never leave your father and I will never forsake your father” (Hebrews 13:5). This reassurance was all I needed: words of great comfort and peace.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, are you being persecuted for standing up for God's Truth, or are you afraid of being persecuted? If so, fear not! Take courage and comfort in the promise and knowledge that The Lord loves you always, His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9), and as Paul exhorts us in Romans 8:35-39:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you are not a born-again believer in Jesus Christ or would like to rededicate your life to The Lord Jesus, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Brother Glenn Van Rooyen.