By odon Bulamba (2nd August 2002)
One day there was a toad that had a kingdom in a pond, and he would disturb everyone around him by making loud roars. A cow came over to enquire about this noise and he asked the toad, “why do you make this noise?” The proud toad said he was the strongest in the pond. The cow said, “okay, that’s fine but if I open my mouth everyone will know I am a cow”. So the toad tried to scare the cow away but the cow didn’t even blink.
Many Christians today are like toads, when they speak their voices are disturbing in front of the Lord, because all they want to do is prove to others that they are stronger than them. Many Christians think they are better than their God; we all do it because we plan our lives without asking God. Today we use the goods of our God without asking Him and we don’t care, but as Christians we must take advantage of the gospel and not take advantage of the things in this world. We must not be like toads who like to reign in this world because this world doesn’t belong to us. Remember that someone might ask to enter your pond without permission, and this someone is Jesus Christ. He is able to transform you because you are the clay and He is the potter.
There was a poor man whose mother died and because of her death, his life had no meaning, so he decided to play around with magic to make money. This man was given $50,000 to spend but it came with a time limit, and if he didn’t spend it within the time given he had to choose between death or insanity. He thought it would be easy so he cut his finger to sign a deal with them with his blood. They said that he wasn’t allowed to give the money to anybody, or buy anything that lasted a week, so his options were very limited. When time was up he hadn’t spent the $50,000, so he had to choose between death or insanity.
I gave this example because God asks us, what do you want? We ask for children, money, cars, clothes and many other material things, which God is happy to provide, but we forget about time. God gives us material possessions but how long do they last because in three days we might die, so what use will your car be?
Many people have problems because they ask God for things which they can’t handle. If you ask God to make you an intercessor, God will give it to you but how many times will you pray a month? You asked God to make you an intercessor but how do you use it? Did you think that your life would change? If God sees that you are not producing anything on this earth, He will start counting your time. If God says you will die tomorrow, nobody will be able to add another day onto that, not even the world’s best doctor because God decides when time is up.
If you keep on eating you might explode, so you must give to others. How many times do you listen to God’s word? People need the gospel but you are full of it. Remember if God gave you two months to work then it is two months.
For example, you go to work and are given a certain amount of time to produce 1000 cars, and when you hear this you will feel squeezed from head to toe. God has given us a time through His Word to produce something good for Him, and if you don’t know how to do the job, you will perish because you lacked knowledge. If you put Jesus aside and row your own boat you are making a mistake, and if you lead your own life and forget that Jesus leads it, woe to you. We must give Him the chance to assess what we have learnt.
2 Timothy 3:16. “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”.
We go to school so that our teacher can teach us how to prepare ourselves for life, and when he marks our work it is to correct our mistakes to show us where we have gone wrong. Jesus was called Teacher; He is here to teach us and mark our work. At university, students fear their lecturers when it comes to marking their assignments because they don’t want to fail, and it is the same with our God, we are to fear God when He compares us by His word. We must stand in the evening and not fall asleep, we must be like Joshua who asked for the sun to stop, and we must say hallelujah everywhere we go because Jesus will be here soon. As Christians we remember our birthdays but never remember that Jesus will return one day, and it will be a shame for us to meet Jesus on the other side of the shore. Amen.
Pray and ask God to help you to put what you have understood into practice.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Are We Still Christians In The Evening?
By Odon Bulamba (2nd August 2002)
John 6:16-21. “When evening came His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But He said to them, it is I; don’t be afraid. Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading”.
This is a story of Jesus with His disciples. Jesus had just finished feeding 5000 men and decided to go across to the other side of the lake, so his disciples jumped into the boat because they were tired. It was evening time when they started rowing and as they were rowing the wind picked up, and then they saw something walking on water.
Evening time is very important for us Christians. In the morning we feel refreshed and strengthened, but as the day goes on our bodies become tired. At 5pm it is rush hour for everyone, nobody smiles, nobody forgives and nobody wants to help you. I don’t know what the reason is but everybody becomes angry especially on the road, and even though you smiled at work, everything will change for you at 5pm. When you arrive home usually you want to attend to your families needs, watch the news and all those things, but before you blink it is time for bed. So did you get the opportunity to go over your day? What did you do to glorify your God? What did you do to glorify yourself? What did you do that offended your God and others?
We all have a diary to plan our day, but we never write in our diaries what we do in the evening. We must have an appointment with our God in the evening, we think of our children and our stomachs but we often forget about God. This is what the disciples did. They worked with Jesus during the day but when evening came they became tired and decided to go without Jesus across to the other side of the lake.
Joshua has the same name as Jesus, and when the Israelites were at war Joshua asked God not to let the sun go down, and the bible says that the sun stayed still for three days so they could keep on fighting. The disciples forgot that Jesus had the power to stop the evening, and they forgot that Jesus created the day and the night. How many times are we bored with each other? How many times do we sin without knowing it? How many times do you think that the preacher takes too long? Jesus’ disciples were tired that evening so they got into a boat and forgot about Jesus.
Sometimes our bodies are like a boat; we row our boat (body) and forget that Jesus has the right to lead our bodies. You can row you boat for 3 years and still be in the same place doing nothing for the glory of God. When the wind (problems) is too strong only then do we start thinking about God, and then our God becomes a God of problems and not a God of glory. When we are filled with our own feelings we forget about God’s presence and we follow our own will.
The evening is the last step in our lives. In the evening everybody is furious on the roads and Christians are like this today. They don’t love, they are not patient and they don’t respect. They only think of themselves and forget about their commitment to Jesus when they said to Him, my life is in you Lord. When Jesus was crucified everybody wanted His clothes, why? What was so important about His clothes? Think about it.
This same Jesus was the One who walked on the lake, so is this technology? The disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus, not because He was God but they thought He was a ghost. So how many times do we fear sorcerers instead of fearing God? How many times do we fear robbers more then God?
One day I drove past a house with a lot of gang members hanging around outside. My friend feared for his life because these gang members didn’t like black people. So I asked him, why do you fear death my brother, if we die here it will be for the glory of God and we will benefit from it. If you looked at them you could see a devilish power in them, and I started thinking that if we feared God like my friend feared these men, it would be good for us.
When you open your Bibles you will see that there are no gaps between the verses, and it is like this because God wants to reminds us every second about what we should do. The disciples thought they saw a ghost but it was Jesus, and this is a shame for us Christians; we are afraid of this world but not afraid of our God. We are afraid for our physical lives but not for our spiritual lives, and if you tell a Christian that his soul is dead, he won’t care but if the doctor tells him in two weeks he will die, he’ll try anything to stay alive. So why don’t we want to keep eternal life?
The disciples crossed over to the other shore and met Jesus there, so when you leave your shore to cross over to another shore, will you meet Jesus there? The Bible says that the water is the Word of God. When we leave the Word of God to walk on the earth (that is our bodies) we still have this grace because Jesus will be there waiting for us, but one day Jesus won’t be there. The Bible says that everyone will look for the gospel one day and will not find it.
When you arrive on the other shore you have to leave your boat to go home, so you must know that one day you will leave your body to be somewhere else. Whether you are tall or short, remember that you must leave your body to meet Jesus Christ somewhere else, but woe to us Christians who don’t respect Jesus Christ, woe to us who plan our working day but in the evening don’t plan anything because of tiredness. The Bible says that the end is better than the beginning so we must do our best to work in these last days. This is how we must prepare ourselves for Jesus’ return.
Many people on this earth are going through difficult situations and forget that the life they have is not their’s. The life Paul has does not belong to Paul, but God gave him life so that he could produce something good for God. So who can sleep when you have to give an account to God? When a student takes out a loan they have to sign for it, and once they finish their studies they have to pay it back with interest whether they like it or not.
God gave us life and we also have to give this life back with interest, and if you don’t pay it back you will be condemned. It means that you can’t justify yourself by telling God you couldn’t preach the gospel because you didn’t have a car, or you lost your glasses and couldn’t read the Bible. God will tell you that the disabled and the blind read the gospel, so who do you think is better, a blind man or you? A blind man learns to read with his fingers but you have a grace because you can read with eyes. The Bible says that it is better to cut out your eye if it prevents you from entering the kingdom of God. It would be a blessing if you could cut off your anger or lies to inherit the kingdom of God, and if you lack forgiveness cut off what stops you from forgiving so you can enter God’s kingdom. Jesus is walking in His Word (water) right now and if we see Him as a monster and not as God woe to us, because many Christians today have doubts about their belief.
John 6:16-21. “When evening came His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But He said to them, it is I; don’t be afraid. Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading”.
This is a story of Jesus with His disciples. Jesus had just finished feeding 5000 men and decided to go across to the other side of the lake, so his disciples jumped into the boat because they were tired. It was evening time when they started rowing and as they were rowing the wind picked up, and then they saw something walking on water.
Evening time is very important for us Christians. In the morning we feel refreshed and strengthened, but as the day goes on our bodies become tired. At 5pm it is rush hour for everyone, nobody smiles, nobody forgives and nobody wants to help you. I don’t know what the reason is but everybody becomes angry especially on the road, and even though you smiled at work, everything will change for you at 5pm. When you arrive home usually you want to attend to your families needs, watch the news and all those things, but before you blink it is time for bed. So did you get the opportunity to go over your day? What did you do to glorify your God? What did you do to glorify yourself? What did you do that offended your God and others?
We all have a diary to plan our day, but we never write in our diaries what we do in the evening. We must have an appointment with our God in the evening, we think of our children and our stomachs but we often forget about God. This is what the disciples did. They worked with Jesus during the day but when evening came they became tired and decided to go without Jesus across to the other side of the lake.
Joshua has the same name as Jesus, and when the Israelites were at war Joshua asked God not to let the sun go down, and the bible says that the sun stayed still for three days so they could keep on fighting. The disciples forgot that Jesus had the power to stop the evening, and they forgot that Jesus created the day and the night. How many times are we bored with each other? How many times do we sin without knowing it? How many times do you think that the preacher takes too long? Jesus’ disciples were tired that evening so they got into a boat and forgot about Jesus.
Sometimes our bodies are like a boat; we row our boat (body) and forget that Jesus has the right to lead our bodies. You can row you boat for 3 years and still be in the same place doing nothing for the glory of God. When the wind (problems) is too strong only then do we start thinking about God, and then our God becomes a God of problems and not a God of glory. When we are filled with our own feelings we forget about God’s presence and we follow our own will.
The evening is the last step in our lives. In the evening everybody is furious on the roads and Christians are like this today. They don’t love, they are not patient and they don’t respect. They only think of themselves and forget about their commitment to Jesus when they said to Him, my life is in you Lord. When Jesus was crucified everybody wanted His clothes, why? What was so important about His clothes? Think about it.
This same Jesus was the One who walked on the lake, so is this technology? The disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus, not because He was God but they thought He was a ghost. So how many times do we fear sorcerers instead of fearing God? How many times do we fear robbers more then God?
One day I drove past a house with a lot of gang members hanging around outside. My friend feared for his life because these gang members didn’t like black people. So I asked him, why do you fear death my brother, if we die here it will be for the glory of God and we will benefit from it. If you looked at them you could see a devilish power in them, and I started thinking that if we feared God like my friend feared these men, it would be good for us.
When you open your Bibles you will see that there are no gaps between the verses, and it is like this because God wants to reminds us every second about what we should do. The disciples thought they saw a ghost but it was Jesus, and this is a shame for us Christians; we are afraid of this world but not afraid of our God. We are afraid for our physical lives but not for our spiritual lives, and if you tell a Christian that his soul is dead, he won’t care but if the doctor tells him in two weeks he will die, he’ll try anything to stay alive. So why don’t we want to keep eternal life?
The disciples crossed over to the other shore and met Jesus there, so when you leave your shore to cross over to another shore, will you meet Jesus there? The Bible says that the water is the Word of God. When we leave the Word of God to walk on the earth (that is our bodies) we still have this grace because Jesus will be there waiting for us, but one day Jesus won’t be there. The Bible says that everyone will look for the gospel one day and will not find it.
When you arrive on the other shore you have to leave your boat to go home, so you must know that one day you will leave your body to be somewhere else. Whether you are tall or short, remember that you must leave your body to meet Jesus Christ somewhere else, but woe to us Christians who don’t respect Jesus Christ, woe to us who plan our working day but in the evening don’t plan anything because of tiredness. The Bible says that the end is better than the beginning so we must do our best to work in these last days. This is how we must prepare ourselves for Jesus’ return.
Many people on this earth are going through difficult situations and forget that the life they have is not their’s. The life Paul has does not belong to Paul, but God gave him life so that he could produce something good for God. So who can sleep when you have to give an account to God? When a student takes out a loan they have to sign for it, and once they finish their studies they have to pay it back with interest whether they like it or not.
God gave us life and we also have to give this life back with interest, and if you don’t pay it back you will be condemned. It means that you can’t justify yourself by telling God you couldn’t preach the gospel because you didn’t have a car, or you lost your glasses and couldn’t read the Bible. God will tell you that the disabled and the blind read the gospel, so who do you think is better, a blind man or you? A blind man learns to read with his fingers but you have a grace because you can read with eyes. The Bible says that it is better to cut out your eye if it prevents you from entering the kingdom of God. It would be a blessing if you could cut off your anger or lies to inherit the kingdom of God, and if you lack forgiveness cut off what stops you from forgiving so you can enter God’s kingdom. Jesus is walking in His Word (water) right now and if we see Him as a monster and not as God woe to us, because many Christians today have doubts about their belief.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Are You “Beloved” By The Lord? (Part II)
By Odon Bulamba (24 May 2002)
Solomon was chosen by God to build His temple. God asked him what he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom and understanding. Christians today often ask God for material things like a house or overseas trip, and we never ask for things that will glorify Him in His temple. God gave Solomon everything he asked for and he was beloved by Him.
Now there were two prostitutes (1 Kings 3:16-27) with sons and one of them died because when one of the mothers went to sleep and she must of accidently crushed the child during the night. So why do our bodies need sleep? Some people say that our bodies need to rest, so for those who have slept for twenty years in the grave haven’t they had enough rest? Jesus said that you will rest when He returns and He will wipe away your tears, so why do we need sleep? Why do we go to bed every night? Is it laziness? Is it the way we have been brought up?
The first person to fall asleep was Adam but when he slept he bore fruit, so does your sleep produce Eve? Do we produce something similar to ourselves in our sleep? We have two ways of sleeping; the physical and the spiritual. The physical sleep is when you are tired and you need to rest, but spiritual rest only exists after war because on this earth we are still fighting the devil.
How many times do we fall asleep spiritually like the mother who fell asleep on her child? What does spiritual sleep mean? It means that when a Christian doesn’t want to read their Bible or pray and gives rest first place in their lives. When you rest and put God’s will aside, you go against the law. When the mother who’s child had died and decided to steal the other mother’s child to make up for the lost, they had to go before the king to find out whose baby was whose because they both had babies at the same time, so they went to king Solomon for a solution.
The king used what God had given him to find a solution for these ladies, so as Christians who know the Word of God, do we use it to solve our problems? Do we think about God’s Word to seek out other people’s problems?
When I was in prison ten years ago they told me that if I accepted not to preach the gospel, I would go free but I said no, I want to carry on. So they took me and put me in a little cell in which I was sitting in water. I thank God because He helped me through the first day and in the morning the guards were shocked that I was able to sleep, so they decided to shave me with broken glass, and if I didn’t have hair you would see my scars. When they were shaving me it hurt, so I said to the Lord that if He doesn’t help me to resist I will give up the faith, and God did something.
Often when people hear these testimonies they think it is just a story, but remember there are people who suffer in other countries. So I said to the Lord, Lord you have given me the gospel and everywhere I have gone, I have kept it. The Lord allowed me to be tortured but at the end of it all, those who tortured me understood that they were wrong, and this happened ten years ago.
Recently I received e-mails from Mobutu’s wife and Hayley saw some of them. Mobutu’s wife asked me for forgiveness for what had happened in prison and wanted to be my friend and she offered me money so that I would help her. So I looked at this offer but I said no, there is danger here and God doesn’t need money. If I accepted this money I could have done many things but God helped me to recognize that these people needed to understand about spiritual help. Solomon didn’t ask God for material help but he asked for something that was good for his people so Solomon could solve any problem and keep being called beloved by the Lord.
When we became Christians we really loved God, but are you in the same state today as you were when you were first saved? Is your first love the same or has it changed? If your first loved has changed then where are you up to now? Will God still call you beloved? Or will he call you just a citizen?
We must live as Solomon did and find solutions for other people’s problems, we must not fall asleep spiritually because if we do, remember that the devil doesn’t sleep. If you visit his kingdom one day you will see that he works day and night and never sleeps. As Christians we have this grace to work but we don’t know how to use it. Think about what you are sowing because a time will come to reap, and if you haven’t sown anything you won’t reap anything. Moses did this and Paul did that and Christians talk about them all the time, but what have you done? If you haven’t done anything, then what will your reward be?
One day I went to small country in Sri Lanka and these people were a bit difficult. I had a Christian brother who really loved Jesus but he had no feet, hands or eyes. This brother would go everywhere to preach the gospel even though he couldn’t see anyone and would talk all the time without shame. This brother would say to people who were not handicap, why do I work for the Lord and you who have all your body parts don’t? Everybody around him started crying because they had never asked themselves this question. Someone who is handicap can work for the Lord but woe to the man who doesn’t work.
We must be careful because there is a limited time for grace given to us, Jesus can come back at anytime or you can die in the next minute, and when you die you die alone and God will ask you, what did you do on earth for Me?
God might see that you slept a lot. God might find that you didn’t have enough time to help sinners. Those who are not called beloved by the Lord will go to the devil and God will ask you, are you My beloved? Your mouth won’t answer for you but your soul will and your faith will show God where your heart was. So it will be terrible if you were a Christian but you don’t go with God.
We are created in Jesus’ image and everywhere we go we must bear Jesus’ identity. When God weighs up our lives, He should see that we live in the image of Jesus. Let’s not be like wet matches that cannot produce fire, they are matches but they can’t work so we must avoid this. Try to find out how you can produce fire for your spiritual life. One way to do this is through meditating on the Word, practicing the Word and pleading with God in prayer.
This will not cost you anything, only a bit of time. How many people have died on this earth and have done nothing? Adam lived many years on the earth, so where is his work? Noah built the ark, so where is it? Moses received the Ten Commandments, so where are they today? Remember that your time will go; if you do studies today remember that one-day your PhD won’t get you into eternity, but remember that your soul and my soul has to qualify. Above all this is the Word of God.
Why do we want things that are for a time only but miss things that are eternal? I am not saying you shouldn’t study or go to work, but make sure you find some time for God. Remember when we talked about 10%? 10% must be given in everything. God gave you 24 hours in a day so give your God 2.4 hours back, which is not too much to ask for especially when He gives you 22 hours and 30 minutes. If you go to God and He sees that you can’t be trusted in the little things, He will never give you big things, so let’s be trustworthy with the little things in life. It is important for us Christians when God can say, Michael is my beloved or Michelle is my beloved one, so let God call you beloved and not yourself or others.
Solomon was chosen by God to build His temple. God asked him what he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom and understanding. Christians today often ask God for material things like a house or overseas trip, and we never ask for things that will glorify Him in His temple. God gave Solomon everything he asked for and he was beloved by Him.
Now there were two prostitutes (1 Kings 3:16-27) with sons and one of them died because when one of the mothers went to sleep and she must of accidently crushed the child during the night. So why do our bodies need sleep? Some people say that our bodies need to rest, so for those who have slept for twenty years in the grave haven’t they had enough rest? Jesus said that you will rest when He returns and He will wipe away your tears, so why do we need sleep? Why do we go to bed every night? Is it laziness? Is it the way we have been brought up?
The first person to fall asleep was Adam but when he slept he bore fruit, so does your sleep produce Eve? Do we produce something similar to ourselves in our sleep? We have two ways of sleeping; the physical and the spiritual. The physical sleep is when you are tired and you need to rest, but spiritual rest only exists after war because on this earth we are still fighting the devil.
How many times do we fall asleep spiritually like the mother who fell asleep on her child? What does spiritual sleep mean? It means that when a Christian doesn’t want to read their Bible or pray and gives rest first place in their lives. When you rest and put God’s will aside, you go against the law. When the mother who’s child had died and decided to steal the other mother’s child to make up for the lost, they had to go before the king to find out whose baby was whose because they both had babies at the same time, so they went to king Solomon for a solution.
The king used what God had given him to find a solution for these ladies, so as Christians who know the Word of God, do we use it to solve our problems? Do we think about God’s Word to seek out other people’s problems?
When I was in prison ten years ago they told me that if I accepted not to preach the gospel, I would go free but I said no, I want to carry on. So they took me and put me in a little cell in which I was sitting in water. I thank God because He helped me through the first day and in the morning the guards were shocked that I was able to sleep, so they decided to shave me with broken glass, and if I didn’t have hair you would see my scars. When they were shaving me it hurt, so I said to the Lord that if He doesn’t help me to resist I will give up the faith, and God did something.
Often when people hear these testimonies they think it is just a story, but remember there are people who suffer in other countries. So I said to the Lord, Lord you have given me the gospel and everywhere I have gone, I have kept it. The Lord allowed me to be tortured but at the end of it all, those who tortured me understood that they were wrong, and this happened ten years ago.
Recently I received e-mails from Mobutu’s wife and Hayley saw some of them. Mobutu’s wife asked me for forgiveness for what had happened in prison and wanted to be my friend and she offered me money so that I would help her. So I looked at this offer but I said no, there is danger here and God doesn’t need money. If I accepted this money I could have done many things but God helped me to recognize that these people needed to understand about spiritual help. Solomon didn’t ask God for material help but he asked for something that was good for his people so Solomon could solve any problem and keep being called beloved by the Lord.
When we became Christians we really loved God, but are you in the same state today as you were when you were first saved? Is your first love the same or has it changed? If your first loved has changed then where are you up to now? Will God still call you beloved? Or will he call you just a citizen?
We must live as Solomon did and find solutions for other people’s problems, we must not fall asleep spiritually because if we do, remember that the devil doesn’t sleep. If you visit his kingdom one day you will see that he works day and night and never sleeps. As Christians we have this grace to work but we don’t know how to use it. Think about what you are sowing because a time will come to reap, and if you haven’t sown anything you won’t reap anything. Moses did this and Paul did that and Christians talk about them all the time, but what have you done? If you haven’t done anything, then what will your reward be?
One day I went to small country in Sri Lanka and these people were a bit difficult. I had a Christian brother who really loved Jesus but he had no feet, hands or eyes. This brother would go everywhere to preach the gospel even though he couldn’t see anyone and would talk all the time without shame. This brother would say to people who were not handicap, why do I work for the Lord and you who have all your body parts don’t? Everybody around him started crying because they had never asked themselves this question. Someone who is handicap can work for the Lord but woe to the man who doesn’t work.
We must be careful because there is a limited time for grace given to us, Jesus can come back at anytime or you can die in the next minute, and when you die you die alone and God will ask you, what did you do on earth for Me?
God might see that you slept a lot. God might find that you didn’t have enough time to help sinners. Those who are not called beloved by the Lord will go to the devil and God will ask you, are you My beloved? Your mouth won’t answer for you but your soul will and your faith will show God where your heart was. So it will be terrible if you were a Christian but you don’t go with God.
We are created in Jesus’ image and everywhere we go we must bear Jesus’ identity. When God weighs up our lives, He should see that we live in the image of Jesus. Let’s not be like wet matches that cannot produce fire, they are matches but they can’t work so we must avoid this. Try to find out how you can produce fire for your spiritual life. One way to do this is through meditating on the Word, practicing the Word and pleading with God in prayer.
This will not cost you anything, only a bit of time. How many people have died on this earth and have done nothing? Adam lived many years on the earth, so where is his work? Noah built the ark, so where is it? Moses received the Ten Commandments, so where are they today? Remember that your time will go; if you do studies today remember that one-day your PhD won’t get you into eternity, but remember that your soul and my soul has to qualify. Above all this is the Word of God.
Why do we want things that are for a time only but miss things that are eternal? I am not saying you shouldn’t study or go to work, but make sure you find some time for God. Remember when we talked about 10%? 10% must be given in everything. God gave you 24 hours in a day so give your God 2.4 hours back, which is not too much to ask for especially when He gives you 22 hours and 30 minutes. If you go to God and He sees that you can’t be trusted in the little things, He will never give you big things, so let’s be trustworthy with the little things in life. It is important for us Christians when God can say, Michael is my beloved or Michelle is my beloved one, so let God call you beloved and not yourself or others.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Are You “Beloved” By The Lord?
By Odon Bulamba (24 May 2002)
I thank the Lord our God because His Word says that when two or three are gathered together He is among them. This morning I thought more about cemeteries and I thought about how many people this earth has swallowed up already. Since the beginning of this planet earth, millions if not billions, have died already, yet the earth still cries out for bodies. I praise the Lord because the earth swallows up the body but cannot swallow the soul, so blessed are those who have died in the Lord.
I have the joy of telling you that God really loves you and one day you will inherit the kingdom of God, so I look forward to meeting you in eternity where we can sing and praise our Lord, Amen. We are going to look at Solomon’s life which means, loved by the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:24-25, “then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him: and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah”.
One day king David went up to his roof and saw Uriah’s wife Bathsheba taking a bath, and king David envied her. So king David thought of a way to kill Uriah so that he could have his wife. David had Uriah killed by putting him on the front line of battle and he died. Then David took Bathsheba and she fell pregnant to him. Shortly after the baby was born it became ill, so David went to the Lord and humbled himself by telling God what he had done was wrong. David thought by fasting and praying God would take away his punishment. Bathsheba had children to Uriah but David didn’t say sorry to them for killing their dad and he didn’t say sorry to Bathsheba for killing her husband, he didn’t go to Uriah’s family to say sorry for the way he died, nor did he go to the army and say sorry to all the soldiers, but David decided to fast and go to God for forgiveness.
The Bible says in Matthew 5:23-24, “therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother: then come and offer your gift”.
If you have sinned against your brother go and ask him for forgiveness before asking God, and if you don’t, God will remind you what is written in Matthew 5:23-24.
David prayed for a week without eating or sleeping, and David’s servants feared for his life because he was in a bad condition. However by the grace of God David overheard a conversation by his servants and he understood that he was wasting his time, so he had a bath and his life started over again. David didn’t realise that Bathsheba needed comfort because of what happened to Uriah, but when David knew he was wrong he went to her and comforted her.
It is the same for us Christians, when we hurt people we forget they need comfort because we only think they need comforting when things go wrong. As Christians we pick and choose who we want to ask for forgiveness. Example: if you do something wrong against your boss you will go to him and ask him for forgiveness, but when it comes to asking someone low or poor in society, we don’t have the time. As Christians we are called to comfort others because we must reflect the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we all know the Holy Spirit is the comforter, so because we have received this comfort from the Holy Spirit we must also give it freely to others.
When I was 24 years old we use to perform plays for those who had problems and they would pay us do make them laugh. This just shows us how people want to find comfort and joy in man, but remember that Jesus Christ is the source of joy and if we give Jesus Christ to these people, they will be very happy.
David had another child and called him Solomon because God promised him. God sent Nathan the prophet to tell David that he loved Solomon and had to change his name to Jedidiah that means loved by the Lord. Are you beloved by the Lord? Are you sure that you are loved by the Lord? If not, why? If yes, how? You must know the reason why you are loved.
Sometimes in my country we would talk to the young children about the Word of God, and one day I asked them a question, “if you commit yourself to love someone you must know why because if you don’t know, it can be dangerous”. I asked those who were engaged to tell me why they loved each other? Some said they couldn’t explain it and others said they just feel it in their hearts, so because they were young and didn’t really know, I asked those who were married. Do you love your wife sir? How big is your love for her? He said that it was bigger then planet earth. So why do you love her? She is beautiful and she works well in the house. This man forgot that love is a grace because the Bible says blessed is the man who finds a wife in his youth, and blessed is the man who finds a wife in the Lord.
Proverbs 27:15, “a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day”:
A woman can be pretty but if she speaks too much you will never have peace, even if you have loved her for two or three years, your love won’t be great and sometimes husbands flee their homes to get away from them. Husbands might be patient with a parrot in their home but when their wives speak they want to flee, why? Because we don’t know what love means.
I thank the Lord our God because His Word says that when two or three are gathered together He is among them. This morning I thought more about cemeteries and I thought about how many people this earth has swallowed up already. Since the beginning of this planet earth, millions if not billions, have died already, yet the earth still cries out for bodies. I praise the Lord because the earth swallows up the body but cannot swallow the soul, so blessed are those who have died in the Lord.
I have the joy of telling you that God really loves you and one day you will inherit the kingdom of God, so I look forward to meeting you in eternity where we can sing and praise our Lord, Amen. We are going to look at Solomon’s life which means, loved by the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:24-25, “then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him: and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah”.
One day king David went up to his roof and saw Uriah’s wife Bathsheba taking a bath, and king David envied her. So king David thought of a way to kill Uriah so that he could have his wife. David had Uriah killed by putting him on the front line of battle and he died. Then David took Bathsheba and she fell pregnant to him. Shortly after the baby was born it became ill, so David went to the Lord and humbled himself by telling God what he had done was wrong. David thought by fasting and praying God would take away his punishment. Bathsheba had children to Uriah but David didn’t say sorry to them for killing their dad and he didn’t say sorry to Bathsheba for killing her husband, he didn’t go to Uriah’s family to say sorry for the way he died, nor did he go to the army and say sorry to all the soldiers, but David decided to fast and go to God for forgiveness.
The Bible says in Matthew 5:23-24, “therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother: then come and offer your gift”.
If you have sinned against your brother go and ask him for forgiveness before asking God, and if you don’t, God will remind you what is written in Matthew 5:23-24.
David prayed for a week without eating or sleeping, and David’s servants feared for his life because he was in a bad condition. However by the grace of God David overheard a conversation by his servants and he understood that he was wasting his time, so he had a bath and his life started over again. David didn’t realise that Bathsheba needed comfort because of what happened to Uriah, but when David knew he was wrong he went to her and comforted her.
It is the same for us Christians, when we hurt people we forget they need comfort because we only think they need comforting when things go wrong. As Christians we pick and choose who we want to ask for forgiveness. Example: if you do something wrong against your boss you will go to him and ask him for forgiveness, but when it comes to asking someone low or poor in society, we don’t have the time. As Christians we are called to comfort others because we must reflect the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we all know the Holy Spirit is the comforter, so because we have received this comfort from the Holy Spirit we must also give it freely to others.
When I was 24 years old we use to perform plays for those who had problems and they would pay us do make them laugh. This just shows us how people want to find comfort and joy in man, but remember that Jesus Christ is the source of joy and if we give Jesus Christ to these people, they will be very happy.
David had another child and called him Solomon because God promised him. God sent Nathan the prophet to tell David that he loved Solomon and had to change his name to Jedidiah that means loved by the Lord. Are you beloved by the Lord? Are you sure that you are loved by the Lord? If not, why? If yes, how? You must know the reason why you are loved.
Sometimes in my country we would talk to the young children about the Word of God, and one day I asked them a question, “if you commit yourself to love someone you must know why because if you don’t know, it can be dangerous”. I asked those who were engaged to tell me why they loved each other? Some said they couldn’t explain it and others said they just feel it in their hearts, so because they were young and didn’t really know, I asked those who were married. Do you love your wife sir? How big is your love for her? He said that it was bigger then planet earth. So why do you love her? She is beautiful and she works well in the house. This man forgot that love is a grace because the Bible says blessed is the man who finds a wife in his youth, and blessed is the man who finds a wife in the Lord.
Proverbs 27:15, “a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day”:
A woman can be pretty but if she speaks too much you will never have peace, even if you have loved her for two or three years, your love won’t be great and sometimes husbands flee their homes to get away from them. Husbands might be patient with a parrot in their home but when their wives speak they want to flee, why? Because we don’t know what love means.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Baptism (Of Fire) Part V
By Odon Bulamba (15 March 2002)
Often people make fires when they are cold but when they are warm they forget that they were cold. In the summer months we forget that our fireplace exists, but when winter approaches there is a mad panic to gather wood and we sacrifice our time and money to have it. We use fire to warm up our houses so that our bodies don’t have to suffer from the cold, which means a fire comes in handy for us humans at certain times of the year. It is like Christians when they go through hard times; they call on God for a solution. When you fall sick you need God’s fire to burn out the disease and the same goes with Pastors and Evangelists before they preach, they seek God’s power so that God’s fire will be felt, however when it is all over, they forget that God’s fire exists.
So let’s think about a wood fire. When we have wood we can make fire, but if we can’t control the fire, it dies out. You need someone to watch over the fire, to control how it burns so there will be a right balance with the wood and fire. When a fire dies you know that it needs refuelling and this is how Christians must live, we must control our spiritual life every minute and the one who controls the fire is our conscience.
How many times in your life does your conscience control your actions? Remember Jesus said that I am the vine and you are the branches. The dry branches are the wood and the fire is God’s Spirit. The person who controls the wood and the fire is your conscience, and if your conscience is not able to control the fire, it will die. When winter comes and the house is cold, the very first thing parents ask their children when they come home from work is, why haven’t you made a fire Peter? And because of this, Peter might have to justify himself by saying he had just come back from rugby practice. So what are our justifications when we don’t have the power of God in us? What would you say if your fire has died out in your life?
Remember the very first day you were saved? What did you think about your future life? Were you keen to read your Bible and pray to get closer to God? How much did you fear sinning when Jesus was your new friend? Compare this day with today in your life and you will see that it was an unforgettable day, a day of joy knowing that you were God’s friend. But after a time our fire dies out and we go back to our old ways. However, our conscience is there to wake us up so that our fire will keep on burning.
So why doesn’t your fire keep on producing heat? Why do you let the cold come in and attack your spirit? If you are called, you must protect yourself, but if you neglect it, you will fall sick. When our spiritual fire has died out, our conscience wants to protect our spirit by telling us to repent, but if we don’t repent we will fall terribly ill. If you know you have stolen or lied and you ask people to pray for you to be transformed, are you really going to take your medicine? In the winter nobody wants to visit a cold house because it makes them feel terrible, so that is why some people just stay home and visit in the summer.
After winter people feel free and this is what we call recreation for those who are non-Christians. But God says blessed are those who gather their wood in the summer because they will need it in the winter. There is a saying in my country; it is good for people to break the bones while they still have teeth because when they are old their teeth are weak. To light a fire in summer is a good time because a lot more heat is generated. I remember when I was cold I drank hot tea without realizing that I had burnt my mouth, but after two days my tongue felt it.
When we are very cold it is difficult to feel the heat, and when the devil has turned us into a block of ice, it is hard for us to feel the eternal fire. When a fire is burning the wood becomes ash that is very hot. So what do people do with it? First of all you must have the right tools in your house to sweep it up. So what tools do you have in your heart to put things right with your God? Do you have a tool called advice from man? Do you have knees to bend down and pray? Do you know how to use the word of God? When you have a problem where do you find a solution?
Every house that has a fireplace has tools and these tools are there to prevent us from getting burnt. As man we go to sorcerers for protection and we forget that they themselves are not protected. Jesus said that Christians must be like pure gold that will go through fire and never be consumed. In New Zealand the government has advisors who you can go and see if you have a problem. One day I visited their office because I needed advice, so I asked him what should I do to solve all my problems? But he told me that he had problems as well that couldn’t be solved. So I went to him for a solution but he also needed a solution, so the only solution for us is to turn our eyes towards God because He is there to help us. He knows all the stages in our lives and He can change things to the way He wants.
I am short but by God’s grace I can be 2 meters tall, you might say this is impossible but with God it is not. When I was young I was tall and at some stage I stopped growing, and if you look at my son now you may think he will be tall when he is older but maybe he will be short. I shared with Peter about Zacchaeus who was 1.42meters tall and his wife was 1.95meters, so imagine the wedding in the church. When the Pastor says to Zacchaeus you may kiss the bride, Zacchaeus will have had to climb on a table to reach her lips, and maybe people will think it’s bizarre, but with God it is good because Zacchaeus was a man and his wife was a woman. What put them together was their conscience, like wood and fire that go together, and this means God’s plan in our lives.
When a branch is still on the tree it is alive, but when a farmer cuts it off, the branch loses its life. We as Christians don’t know the exact time when God will come into our lives, so accept what your conscience says and put things together to please your God.
1 Kings 18:24. “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire-he is God. Then all the people said, what you say is good”.
This is Elijah’s story when he was on Mount Carmel arguing with Baal’s prophets. They needed fire to burn the sacrifice because they wanted to know whose God was a God of fire. So Baal’s prophets prepared the sacrifice with the water and wood etc and called on their god to send fire but there was nothing.
Churches today deceive many Christians by using an artificial fire. They gather up everything they need to make a sacrifice thinking that their church has everything, but instead of the Spirit lighting the fire to consume the sacrifice, a man comes with matches. Have you ever been to a Pentecostal church when they pray? Each Christian wants to impress the other by speaking another tongue, and you end up with 1000 tongues speaking at the same time. I am not saying they are wrong but among them there are false tongues, and it is not up to your Pastor to tell you to shut up, but rather your conscience. I believe speaking in tongues is a gift of the Spirit but people mock God without knowing it.
The church today takes out parts of the Bible and adds to it because they don’t believe that some verses or books apply for today’s church. What did Elijah do? Elijah mocked the prophets by asking them to wake their god up, and the Bible says that they took knives to cut themselves to show Baal their faithfulness.
Christians today hang on to their denominations even if the truth is not there because they want to show their Pastors their faithfulness. However, salvation does not come from a denomination.
When evening came Elijah saw that Baal’s god had done nothing so Elijah had his turn. Elijah took 12 stones and we all know that the cornerstone is Jesus Christ and we are the stones to build the church. When Elijah set up the sacrifice he soaked it with water and prayed to his God to send down fire, and the Bible says that fire came within a few seconds. The water is the Word of God, the wood is you and I, and the stones are those who are really in the Lord. To find the eternal fire in your life you must first have the knowledge God’s Word and you must practice it. Secondly you have to accept to be consumed by the fire by changing your behaviour according to God, and then you must pray and the Spirit of God will come down on you.
What happened to the prophets of Baal? The Bible says that they were put to death, and it is the same for the churches today, if they don’t produce anything good, God will put them to death. The Bible says that many will stand before Jesus confessing that they have wonders for Him, but Jesus will say I don’t know you so go to the eternal fire. We must produce a good quality fire to consume the wood, which is our behaviour.
What is it to have our behaviour consumed by fire? It means to die and put God first in your life. Every Christian must ask himself, will I please God by doing this? When you are eating, ask yourself this question, when you go for a walk, ask yourself this question because the answer can only be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Many people feel in their hearts that the answer is no but they still do it. Remember that stealing a pin is no different to stealing a car because God will call you a thief and you will receive the same reward. To say no to your conscience will mean the eternal fire in you will never be lit. To have eternal fire alive in your life you must know what forgiveness is, if you sin then repent straight away and God will be pleased with you and the fire in you will become bigger.
Many people don’t say sorry to God for their thoughts but only when they steal or kill, and they keep on asking God for His power in their lives. If this is you then you are like the prophets of Baal who prayed all day and night for nothing. Repentance is very important so let your living conscience and not an elastic conscience lead you in the Word of God.
Every day the sun shines but when the earth turns it loses its heat and light. It is the same with us Christians; we must not accept our earth to turn so that it won’t see the sun. Let’s fight against the forces of this world (including our sins) so that it will not shield us from the light. Christians today live like the moon; moon shines only at night and gives off no warmth, we may give off light but there is no power in us. The sun has the power but the moon doesn’t. What will you gain if you show others your good works but you end up in the fire where the devil welcomes you with open arms?
The devil’s joy is just to whip you and torture you, so let’s be careful with the fire and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I hope you have an idea about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
You must now pray for yourself and ask God to give you the eternal fire and to know how to put everything together as Elijah did. Also pray for those who you feel in your heart to pray for. Amen.
Often people make fires when they are cold but when they are warm they forget that they were cold. In the summer months we forget that our fireplace exists, but when winter approaches there is a mad panic to gather wood and we sacrifice our time and money to have it. We use fire to warm up our houses so that our bodies don’t have to suffer from the cold, which means a fire comes in handy for us humans at certain times of the year. It is like Christians when they go through hard times; they call on God for a solution. When you fall sick you need God’s fire to burn out the disease and the same goes with Pastors and Evangelists before they preach, they seek God’s power so that God’s fire will be felt, however when it is all over, they forget that God’s fire exists.
So let’s think about a wood fire. When we have wood we can make fire, but if we can’t control the fire, it dies out. You need someone to watch over the fire, to control how it burns so there will be a right balance with the wood and fire. When a fire dies you know that it needs refuelling and this is how Christians must live, we must control our spiritual life every minute and the one who controls the fire is our conscience.
How many times in your life does your conscience control your actions? Remember Jesus said that I am the vine and you are the branches. The dry branches are the wood and the fire is God’s Spirit. The person who controls the wood and the fire is your conscience, and if your conscience is not able to control the fire, it will die. When winter comes and the house is cold, the very first thing parents ask their children when they come home from work is, why haven’t you made a fire Peter? And because of this, Peter might have to justify himself by saying he had just come back from rugby practice. So what are our justifications when we don’t have the power of God in us? What would you say if your fire has died out in your life?
Remember the very first day you were saved? What did you think about your future life? Were you keen to read your Bible and pray to get closer to God? How much did you fear sinning when Jesus was your new friend? Compare this day with today in your life and you will see that it was an unforgettable day, a day of joy knowing that you were God’s friend. But after a time our fire dies out and we go back to our old ways. However, our conscience is there to wake us up so that our fire will keep on burning.
So why doesn’t your fire keep on producing heat? Why do you let the cold come in and attack your spirit? If you are called, you must protect yourself, but if you neglect it, you will fall sick. When our spiritual fire has died out, our conscience wants to protect our spirit by telling us to repent, but if we don’t repent we will fall terribly ill. If you know you have stolen or lied and you ask people to pray for you to be transformed, are you really going to take your medicine? In the winter nobody wants to visit a cold house because it makes them feel terrible, so that is why some people just stay home and visit in the summer.
After winter people feel free and this is what we call recreation for those who are non-Christians. But God says blessed are those who gather their wood in the summer because they will need it in the winter. There is a saying in my country; it is good for people to break the bones while they still have teeth because when they are old their teeth are weak. To light a fire in summer is a good time because a lot more heat is generated. I remember when I was cold I drank hot tea without realizing that I had burnt my mouth, but after two days my tongue felt it.
When we are very cold it is difficult to feel the heat, and when the devil has turned us into a block of ice, it is hard for us to feel the eternal fire. When a fire is burning the wood becomes ash that is very hot. So what do people do with it? First of all you must have the right tools in your house to sweep it up. So what tools do you have in your heart to put things right with your God? Do you have a tool called advice from man? Do you have knees to bend down and pray? Do you know how to use the word of God? When you have a problem where do you find a solution?
Every house that has a fireplace has tools and these tools are there to prevent us from getting burnt. As man we go to sorcerers for protection and we forget that they themselves are not protected. Jesus said that Christians must be like pure gold that will go through fire and never be consumed. In New Zealand the government has advisors who you can go and see if you have a problem. One day I visited their office because I needed advice, so I asked him what should I do to solve all my problems? But he told me that he had problems as well that couldn’t be solved. So I went to him for a solution but he also needed a solution, so the only solution for us is to turn our eyes towards God because He is there to help us. He knows all the stages in our lives and He can change things to the way He wants.
I am short but by God’s grace I can be 2 meters tall, you might say this is impossible but with God it is not. When I was young I was tall and at some stage I stopped growing, and if you look at my son now you may think he will be tall when he is older but maybe he will be short. I shared with Peter about Zacchaeus who was 1.42meters tall and his wife was 1.95meters, so imagine the wedding in the church. When the Pastor says to Zacchaeus you may kiss the bride, Zacchaeus will have had to climb on a table to reach her lips, and maybe people will think it’s bizarre, but with God it is good because Zacchaeus was a man and his wife was a woman. What put them together was their conscience, like wood and fire that go together, and this means God’s plan in our lives.
When a branch is still on the tree it is alive, but when a farmer cuts it off, the branch loses its life. We as Christians don’t know the exact time when God will come into our lives, so accept what your conscience says and put things together to please your God.
1 Kings 18:24. “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire-he is God. Then all the people said, what you say is good”.
This is Elijah’s story when he was on Mount Carmel arguing with Baal’s prophets. They needed fire to burn the sacrifice because they wanted to know whose God was a God of fire. So Baal’s prophets prepared the sacrifice with the water and wood etc and called on their god to send fire but there was nothing.
Churches today deceive many Christians by using an artificial fire. They gather up everything they need to make a sacrifice thinking that their church has everything, but instead of the Spirit lighting the fire to consume the sacrifice, a man comes with matches. Have you ever been to a Pentecostal church when they pray? Each Christian wants to impress the other by speaking another tongue, and you end up with 1000 tongues speaking at the same time. I am not saying they are wrong but among them there are false tongues, and it is not up to your Pastor to tell you to shut up, but rather your conscience. I believe speaking in tongues is a gift of the Spirit but people mock God without knowing it.
The church today takes out parts of the Bible and adds to it because they don’t believe that some verses or books apply for today’s church. What did Elijah do? Elijah mocked the prophets by asking them to wake their god up, and the Bible says that they took knives to cut themselves to show Baal their faithfulness.
Christians today hang on to their denominations even if the truth is not there because they want to show their Pastors their faithfulness. However, salvation does not come from a denomination.
When evening came Elijah saw that Baal’s god had done nothing so Elijah had his turn. Elijah took 12 stones and we all know that the cornerstone is Jesus Christ and we are the stones to build the church. When Elijah set up the sacrifice he soaked it with water and prayed to his God to send down fire, and the Bible says that fire came within a few seconds. The water is the Word of God, the wood is you and I, and the stones are those who are really in the Lord. To find the eternal fire in your life you must first have the knowledge God’s Word and you must practice it. Secondly you have to accept to be consumed by the fire by changing your behaviour according to God, and then you must pray and the Spirit of God will come down on you.
What happened to the prophets of Baal? The Bible says that they were put to death, and it is the same for the churches today, if they don’t produce anything good, God will put them to death. The Bible says that many will stand before Jesus confessing that they have wonders for Him, but Jesus will say I don’t know you so go to the eternal fire. We must produce a good quality fire to consume the wood, which is our behaviour.
What is it to have our behaviour consumed by fire? It means to die and put God first in your life. Every Christian must ask himself, will I please God by doing this? When you are eating, ask yourself this question, when you go for a walk, ask yourself this question because the answer can only be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Many people feel in their hearts that the answer is no but they still do it. Remember that stealing a pin is no different to stealing a car because God will call you a thief and you will receive the same reward. To say no to your conscience will mean the eternal fire in you will never be lit. To have eternal fire alive in your life you must know what forgiveness is, if you sin then repent straight away and God will be pleased with you and the fire in you will become bigger.
Many people don’t say sorry to God for their thoughts but only when they steal or kill, and they keep on asking God for His power in their lives. If this is you then you are like the prophets of Baal who prayed all day and night for nothing. Repentance is very important so let your living conscience and not an elastic conscience lead you in the Word of God.
Every day the sun shines but when the earth turns it loses its heat and light. It is the same with us Christians; we must not accept our earth to turn so that it won’t see the sun. Let’s fight against the forces of this world (including our sins) so that it will not shield us from the light. Christians today live like the moon; moon shines only at night and gives off no warmth, we may give off light but there is no power in us. The sun has the power but the moon doesn’t. What will you gain if you show others your good works but you end up in the fire where the devil welcomes you with open arms?
The devil’s joy is just to whip you and torture you, so let’s be careful with the fire and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I hope you have an idea about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
You must now pray for yourself and ask God to give you the eternal fire and to know how to put everything together as Elijah did. Also pray for those who you feel in your heart to pray for. Amen.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Baptism (Part IV)
By Odon Bulamba (15 February 2002)
Last time we spoke about water baptism and baptism the world gives Christians. Before Jesus reached the point of death He went through steps. Read John 19:19-22. When we are baptized in water we have to prepare a few things. Someone has to baptize us and our presence is also important. Pilate decided that Jesus would die with a crowd watching. The cross was there to crucify. This cross represents water baptism that we use. When you are baptized people are there to observe, but when you are baptized by the world they throw stones. By Jesus’ side there was a criminal who asked Him if He is the king who is going to save us. Jesus had nails in His hands and feet, a crown of thorns on His head and was tortured. When you become a Christian you accept to die for Jesus Christ, some people will think you are stupid but you will accept people to walk on your head and be humiliated. Jesus was very patient with His suffering.
Before being baptized we battle with Satan. If you were a thief Satan can tempt you and give you good opportunities to steal to see if you will accept or not.
When you go to the river your are dry but as you go into the water the body starts to experience a change. This change is to leave the drought and become wet. Your blood will not change color, your skin will not change color but what you wear will witness to people that you are wet. As Christians we have spiritual clothes that need to be wet. If we have sins the water is there to cleanse our sins for the water is the Word of God, and through this Word is sanctification through the blood of Jesus. I don’t say that when you are baptized in water you are purified, but it is a symbol that teaches you something. After your water baptism you change your clothes, and as Christians we must have the spiritual knowledge because through physical things God teaches us spiritual things that are deep. What does it mean to die with Jesus?
It is to accept to die to everything that is not God’s will. If you are taking drugs and it is not God’s will you must make the effort to change. Die to the desire of being a liar and after being resurrected with Jesus Christ you’ll have a new body. When Jesus was buried He had the same body as we have, but when He rose from the dead He had a new body, a body that was different to that of His death. The Bible says He had a pure body that could appear and disappear easily. From the time we are baptized we must have a body that can appear and disappear in the Lord.
When Thomas heard that Jesus was resurrected he went to the tomb to have a look. He tried to find the body of Christ asking, where is the body of Jesus? Many people will say this about you as a Christian, where are the lies my brother use to say? Where has the prostitution gone? There will be people like Thomas around you to find this body but will find the tomb empty. Now you can speak of the good news.
Read Joel 2:28-29. “And afterward I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days”.
We are going to talk about the baptism of the Spirit or baptism of fire as some people call it. But before knowing about this we must think about fire. What is the definition of fire? It is hot, bright and needs fuel. What is fire? Who has never seen fire? What good is fire for our lives? It helps us understand the Holy Spirit in our lives. What is the importance of fire in our lives? It gives us light, heat, comfort, cooks food, protects us, form of energy, it burns, it can kill, refines, satisfaction, converts and transforms. Is there a fire in a car?
There are two kinds of fire, artificial and natural. From artificial fire we can also get energy. We also have two kinds of Spirits; we have the artificial Holy Spirit and the natural Holy Spirit. Natural comes from God and artificial comes from Satan. The devil disguises himself as an angel of light and that is why there are false prophets, false teaches, false apostles and evangelists today. They speak with power but have an artificial anointing that comes from the devil. Remember I talked about bank notes, there are false notes and true notes and they are hard to differentiate. If you are not aware, you can accept false bank notes by mistake. The devil uses the same principle with anointing. He knows the spirit of God is fire and that it can baptize people with miracles, so he imitates these gifts.
The Holy Spirit has different functions in the church of God and its functions are natural not artificial. The Holy Spirit gives us heat, light and prepares our spiritual food and makes it ready to eat. The Holy Spirit burns our hearts and the Holy Spirit consumes people’s lives. Everything mentioned about the Holy Spirit is correct. God made fire and wants us to study fire so we can know how the Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts. Many people don’t talk to their Christians about the baptism of fire because maybe they don’t know or where to start, or maybe they don’t know what is happening. I asked some Christians one day when they were baptized? Everybody would give a date, the name of the pool and what time, but when you ask them what day did the Holy Spirit baptize you, doubts arise. Why? Because they don’t know if they’ve been baptized by the Holy Spirit or not, and they don’t really know if the Holy Spirit baptizes people or not.
Make yourself ready and do a study on fire, it is a study that is deep and we cannot do it in one day, so to avoid confusion we will do it step by step. Without the baptism of fire you’ll never inherit the kingdom of God. You must be sealed with the Holy Spirit and it is important for every Christian. To have your name written in the Apostolic church book or the Baptist church book, will never give you the keys to heaven, to be baptized by the pope will not get you into heaven, but to be baptized by the Holy Spirit is a mark that will give you the kingdom of God. Study the Sun and what it produces as heat and power, and try to know what electricity produces, which is an artificial fire. So why did God want animals to be burned with natural fire rather than artificial fire?
Last time we spoke about water baptism and baptism the world gives Christians. Before Jesus reached the point of death He went through steps. Read John 19:19-22. When we are baptized in water we have to prepare a few things. Someone has to baptize us and our presence is also important. Pilate decided that Jesus would die with a crowd watching. The cross was there to crucify. This cross represents water baptism that we use. When you are baptized people are there to observe, but when you are baptized by the world they throw stones. By Jesus’ side there was a criminal who asked Him if He is the king who is going to save us. Jesus had nails in His hands and feet, a crown of thorns on His head and was tortured. When you become a Christian you accept to die for Jesus Christ, some people will think you are stupid but you will accept people to walk on your head and be humiliated. Jesus was very patient with His suffering.
Before being baptized we battle with Satan. If you were a thief Satan can tempt you and give you good opportunities to steal to see if you will accept or not.
When you go to the river your are dry but as you go into the water the body starts to experience a change. This change is to leave the drought and become wet. Your blood will not change color, your skin will not change color but what you wear will witness to people that you are wet. As Christians we have spiritual clothes that need to be wet. If we have sins the water is there to cleanse our sins for the water is the Word of God, and through this Word is sanctification through the blood of Jesus. I don’t say that when you are baptized in water you are purified, but it is a symbol that teaches you something. After your water baptism you change your clothes, and as Christians we must have the spiritual knowledge because through physical things God teaches us spiritual things that are deep. What does it mean to die with Jesus?
It is to accept to die to everything that is not God’s will. If you are taking drugs and it is not God’s will you must make the effort to change. Die to the desire of being a liar and after being resurrected with Jesus Christ you’ll have a new body. When Jesus was buried He had the same body as we have, but when He rose from the dead He had a new body, a body that was different to that of His death. The Bible says He had a pure body that could appear and disappear easily. From the time we are baptized we must have a body that can appear and disappear in the Lord.
When Thomas heard that Jesus was resurrected he went to the tomb to have a look. He tried to find the body of Christ asking, where is the body of Jesus? Many people will say this about you as a Christian, where are the lies my brother use to say? Where has the prostitution gone? There will be people like Thomas around you to find this body but will find the tomb empty. Now you can speak of the good news.
Read Joel 2:28-29. “And afterward I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days”.
We are going to talk about the baptism of the Spirit or baptism of fire as some people call it. But before knowing about this we must think about fire. What is the definition of fire? It is hot, bright and needs fuel. What is fire? Who has never seen fire? What good is fire for our lives? It helps us understand the Holy Spirit in our lives. What is the importance of fire in our lives? It gives us light, heat, comfort, cooks food, protects us, form of energy, it burns, it can kill, refines, satisfaction, converts and transforms. Is there a fire in a car?
There are two kinds of fire, artificial and natural. From artificial fire we can also get energy. We also have two kinds of Spirits; we have the artificial Holy Spirit and the natural Holy Spirit. Natural comes from God and artificial comes from Satan. The devil disguises himself as an angel of light and that is why there are false prophets, false teaches, false apostles and evangelists today. They speak with power but have an artificial anointing that comes from the devil. Remember I talked about bank notes, there are false notes and true notes and they are hard to differentiate. If you are not aware, you can accept false bank notes by mistake. The devil uses the same principle with anointing. He knows the spirit of God is fire and that it can baptize people with miracles, so he imitates these gifts.
The Holy Spirit has different functions in the church of God and its functions are natural not artificial. The Holy Spirit gives us heat, light and prepares our spiritual food and makes it ready to eat. The Holy Spirit burns our hearts and the Holy Spirit consumes people’s lives. Everything mentioned about the Holy Spirit is correct. God made fire and wants us to study fire so we can know how the Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts. Many people don’t talk to their Christians about the baptism of fire because maybe they don’t know or where to start, or maybe they don’t know what is happening. I asked some Christians one day when they were baptized? Everybody would give a date, the name of the pool and what time, but when you ask them what day did the Holy Spirit baptize you, doubts arise. Why? Because they don’t know if they’ve been baptized by the Holy Spirit or not, and they don’t really know if the Holy Spirit baptizes people or not.
Make yourself ready and do a study on fire, it is a study that is deep and we cannot do it in one day, so to avoid confusion we will do it step by step. Without the baptism of fire you’ll never inherit the kingdom of God. You must be sealed with the Holy Spirit and it is important for every Christian. To have your name written in the Apostolic church book or the Baptist church book, will never give you the keys to heaven, to be baptized by the pope will not get you into heaven, but to be baptized by the Holy Spirit is a mark that will give you the kingdom of God. Study the Sun and what it produces as heat and power, and try to know what electricity produces, which is an artificial fire. So why did God want animals to be burned with natural fire rather than artificial fire?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tithes and Offerings
By Hayley Boud
Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me.
But you say, ‘where have we robbed You?'
In tithes and offerings
Malachi 3:8
When I read this verse I was surprised at the wording. “Rob from God”. Is that even possible? How can we steal from God since He sees everything. If Michelle is watching me, I won’t steal from her, ‘cos she is watching. She will catch me. So how can we steal from God while He is watching? Because we forget that He is watching us.
Usually we spend our time forgetting about God all together. How many times a day do you think about God? I often only think about Him when I need something or when things are going wrong. I might remember Him when I’m driving and it looks like I’m gonna be late, “oh God, help me to get there on time”. And when I arrive late, I might forget to say thank you for getting me there safely, instead I complain that I arrived late.
Because we forget God is watching, we can easily fall into sin. We won’t sin if we remember God is watching. We won’t fall into the temptation if we remember God is right there with us, looking at us. Most of the time, temptations are a good way for God to test us, to see how we will react. When we remember that it’s a test and God is watching, this can help us not to fall into the temptation.
Next time someone offends you and you feel like getting angry, remember it’s a test from God. Next time you feel like giving up, remember it’s a test from God. Next time someone disappoints you, it’s a test from God. Next time you feel like complaining, or you feel impatient, or you feel discouraged, remember it’s a test from God, and don’t fall into that trap. Don’t complain, don’t judge, don’t talk rudely or react badly, don’t become angry, don’t eat too much or sleep too much or watch too much tv. Remember, God is watching everything we are doing and when we remember that, we won’t sin.
The second reason why I thought it is impossible to steal from God is because I wondered, who would have the courage to steal from someone who can kill you and not only kill you physically but He is the one who decides if you go to heaven or hell. I wouldn’t steal from the mafia? Would you? I would be too scared to steal from the Mongrel Mob or Black Power but yet some of us aren’t scared to steal from GOD!
The reason why we can easily steal from God is because we forget that He is God. He is the one who created you and He is the one who can do what He likes with you. It’s best to keep in His good books. I wouldn’t make enemies with powerful people. How much more powerful is God than any human? If we remembered how powerful He is, we might stop ourselves before we sin.
Because we forget God is watching and we forget how powerful He is, this is how we steal from Him. We steal in our tithes and offerings. What are does tithes mean?
Tithe means 10%. God has given us 100% and when we became Christians we decided to give Him our lives 100% but because God knew it’s not possible to give 100%, He asks us to give 10%. That is pretty good of Him. Only one tenth. If I were God I would probably ask for at least half of everything. We could share 50:50. But God says to only give Him 10%.
So when we receive our salary, or any money for that matter, we must remember to put aside 10% for God straight away. We must know that 10% doesn’t belong to us, it’s not ours. We sometimes think that is not fair ‘cos we worked for it, but it is a sign that we are giving to God to show Him how grateful we are for what He has given us. He gave us that money in the first place and now we give back only 10% to show Him how grateful we are. It’s a way of telling God that we appreciate Him for giving us the job, the talent, the intelligence, the education etc that enabled us to earn the money. Many people don’t have the chance to work and in many countries people don’t get money at all, so we have to remember that and not forget where the money came from.
Some people believe tithes is an Old Testament message and not for us today. Many try to say we no longer live in the Old Testament but this is not true because God is the beginning and the end, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We must know that tithe still exists today. Hebrews 7:5,8-10, even those who receive the tithes must pay tithes and we know that Melchizedek didn’t have a mother or a father and we know that He is the living God, the God without generation; meaning that tithing also doesn’t have a generation, it means that it didn’t just belong to the generation in the past but carries on today. Also, Jesus said that He didn’t come to destroy the law but to fulfil it (Mathew 5:17)
We must not only give 10% of our money, we must give 10% of everything that we have. Lev 27:30 talks about the produce of the earth and we know that we are the product of God taking dirt from the earth and creating human beings. Therefore, we must give 10% of our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The fruit is also mentioned in here meaning we must give 10% of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). If we have been given the fruit of joy, then give 10% of your joy to others. If we have love, then give 10% of love to others.
If you have a voice, then give 10% of that voice to God. We can use our voices to sing praises to God, to pray to God, and to share the Word of God with others. When you have physical rest, do you have 10% spiritual rest?
Often we say, “God I give my life to you completely” but do we really give 100% of our lives to God because if we are not able to give 10%, how can we give our whole life? It’s very difficult to give 100% because we need to sleep, we need to work, we need money for ourselves. I’m pretty sure we couldn’t give God 100% ‘cos we would never eat, we’d just keep giving the food away. We would eventually die.
During our 24 hours per day, we must know that 2.4 hours doesn’t belong to us. We must give that time to God and find a way to do it, whether it is reading the Word of God, going to church, going to Bible Study, praying, worshipping, sharing the Bible with others. We must find a way to spend 2 and a half hours every day for God. If we don’t, we are stealing from God. Do we really want to steal from God?!
One very practical way to make sure we give God His 10% is to keep a journal and write down every day what you did for God. If you find you are not giving 2.4 hours then find a way. Write down in your journal how you will manage it. Sunday and Wednesdays are covered with church and bible study. What about Monday? Perhaps you could write down, ½ hour for prayer in the morning, ½ hour bible study at night, ½ hour talking with my work colleagues about God, ½ hour reading a bible story to my children before bed, ½ hour singing to God. This is just a suggestion but if we write down how we will use our time for God, then we will be sure to do it.
What is offering?
This is different to tithes. This is what we decide in our hearts we would like to give to God. This is to offer something to God which is above the 10%. We don’t have the right to divide our tithes in two and then say a portion of the tithe is offering. That is to mock God. He knows how much our tithe is. He can count better than you and me.
Give your tithe and then decide from your heart how much of your time and money and everything else you have, would you like to offer to God.
Mal 1:8, when you offer something to God and you have sin in you, know that it is a lame and sick offering and God will never be pleased with it. Therefore, remember Mat 5:23-24 and if there is a problem make sure to fix it before giving your offering. If you want to pray for someone, that will be a lame prayer if you have sin in you or you have problems with others. Fix the problem first and then give your offering.
A good question many have is, “where to give my tithes and offerings?” This is between you and God but if you don’t have a strong conviction where to give the money, then give it to your church because they will use it to help the poor, the orphan, the widower, and for programs that spread the gospel. Sometimes God might tell us where to take the tithing and when He does, we just obey and we must not judge others. If I see the tithe bag being passed around and Hayley isn’t putting money in, we must be careful not to judge. We don’t know where God told Hayley to take her tithe.
So in conclusion, tithes and offerings are still for today and we must take them seriously because we are dealing with the One who can destroy our soul. Make sure to give to God what belongs to Him so He won’t accuse you of stealing from Him. This would be a very grave accusation on judgement day because the Word of God says that thieves will not enter the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me.
But you say, ‘where have we robbed You?'
In tithes and offerings
Malachi 3:8
When I read this verse I was surprised at the wording. “Rob from God”. Is that even possible? How can we steal from God since He sees everything. If Michelle is watching me, I won’t steal from her, ‘cos she is watching. She will catch me. So how can we steal from God while He is watching? Because we forget that He is watching us.
Usually we spend our time forgetting about God all together. How many times a day do you think about God? I often only think about Him when I need something or when things are going wrong. I might remember Him when I’m driving and it looks like I’m gonna be late, “oh God, help me to get there on time”. And when I arrive late, I might forget to say thank you for getting me there safely, instead I complain that I arrived late.
Because we forget God is watching, we can easily fall into sin. We won’t sin if we remember God is watching. We won’t fall into the temptation if we remember God is right there with us, looking at us. Most of the time, temptations are a good way for God to test us, to see how we will react. When we remember that it’s a test and God is watching, this can help us not to fall into the temptation.
Next time someone offends you and you feel like getting angry, remember it’s a test from God. Next time you feel like giving up, remember it’s a test from God. Next time someone disappoints you, it’s a test from God. Next time you feel like complaining, or you feel impatient, or you feel discouraged, remember it’s a test from God, and don’t fall into that trap. Don’t complain, don’t judge, don’t talk rudely or react badly, don’t become angry, don’t eat too much or sleep too much or watch too much tv. Remember, God is watching everything we are doing and when we remember that, we won’t sin.
The second reason why I thought it is impossible to steal from God is because I wondered, who would have the courage to steal from someone who can kill you and not only kill you physically but He is the one who decides if you go to heaven or hell. I wouldn’t steal from the mafia? Would you? I would be too scared to steal from the Mongrel Mob or Black Power but yet some of us aren’t scared to steal from GOD!
The reason why we can easily steal from God is because we forget that He is God. He is the one who created you and He is the one who can do what He likes with you. It’s best to keep in His good books. I wouldn’t make enemies with powerful people. How much more powerful is God than any human? If we remembered how powerful He is, we might stop ourselves before we sin.
Because we forget God is watching and we forget how powerful He is, this is how we steal from Him. We steal in our tithes and offerings. What are does tithes mean?
Tithe means 10%. God has given us 100% and when we became Christians we decided to give Him our lives 100% but because God knew it’s not possible to give 100%, He asks us to give 10%. That is pretty good of Him. Only one tenth. If I were God I would probably ask for at least half of everything. We could share 50:50. But God says to only give Him 10%.
So when we receive our salary, or any money for that matter, we must remember to put aside 10% for God straight away. We must know that 10% doesn’t belong to us, it’s not ours. We sometimes think that is not fair ‘cos we worked for it, but it is a sign that we are giving to God to show Him how grateful we are for what He has given us. He gave us that money in the first place and now we give back only 10% to show Him how grateful we are. It’s a way of telling God that we appreciate Him for giving us the job, the talent, the intelligence, the education etc that enabled us to earn the money. Many people don’t have the chance to work and in many countries people don’t get money at all, so we have to remember that and not forget where the money came from.
Some people believe tithes is an Old Testament message and not for us today. Many try to say we no longer live in the Old Testament but this is not true because God is the beginning and the end, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We must know that tithe still exists today. Hebrews 7:5,8-10, even those who receive the tithes must pay tithes and we know that Melchizedek didn’t have a mother or a father and we know that He is the living God, the God without generation; meaning that tithing also doesn’t have a generation, it means that it didn’t just belong to the generation in the past but carries on today. Also, Jesus said that He didn’t come to destroy the law but to fulfil it (Mathew 5:17)
We must not only give 10% of our money, we must give 10% of everything that we have. Lev 27:30 talks about the produce of the earth and we know that we are the product of God taking dirt from the earth and creating human beings. Therefore, we must give 10% of our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The fruit is also mentioned in here meaning we must give 10% of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). If we have been given the fruit of joy, then give 10% of your joy to others. If we have love, then give 10% of love to others.
If you have a voice, then give 10% of that voice to God. We can use our voices to sing praises to God, to pray to God, and to share the Word of God with others. When you have physical rest, do you have 10% spiritual rest?
Often we say, “God I give my life to you completely” but do we really give 100% of our lives to God because if we are not able to give 10%, how can we give our whole life? It’s very difficult to give 100% because we need to sleep, we need to work, we need money for ourselves. I’m pretty sure we couldn’t give God 100% ‘cos we would never eat, we’d just keep giving the food away. We would eventually die.
During our 24 hours per day, we must know that 2.4 hours doesn’t belong to us. We must give that time to God and find a way to do it, whether it is reading the Word of God, going to church, going to Bible Study, praying, worshipping, sharing the Bible with others. We must find a way to spend 2 and a half hours every day for God. If we don’t, we are stealing from God. Do we really want to steal from God?!
One very practical way to make sure we give God His 10% is to keep a journal and write down every day what you did for God. If you find you are not giving 2.4 hours then find a way. Write down in your journal how you will manage it. Sunday and Wednesdays are covered with church and bible study. What about Monday? Perhaps you could write down, ½ hour for prayer in the morning, ½ hour bible study at night, ½ hour talking with my work colleagues about God, ½ hour reading a bible story to my children before bed, ½ hour singing to God. This is just a suggestion but if we write down how we will use our time for God, then we will be sure to do it.
What is offering?
This is different to tithes. This is what we decide in our hearts we would like to give to God. This is to offer something to God which is above the 10%. We don’t have the right to divide our tithes in two and then say a portion of the tithe is offering. That is to mock God. He knows how much our tithe is. He can count better than you and me.
Give your tithe and then decide from your heart how much of your time and money and everything else you have, would you like to offer to God.
Mal 1:8, when you offer something to God and you have sin in you, know that it is a lame and sick offering and God will never be pleased with it. Therefore, remember Mat 5:23-24 and if there is a problem make sure to fix it before giving your offering. If you want to pray for someone, that will be a lame prayer if you have sin in you or you have problems with others. Fix the problem first and then give your offering.
A good question many have is, “where to give my tithes and offerings?” This is between you and God but if you don’t have a strong conviction where to give the money, then give it to your church because they will use it to help the poor, the orphan, the widower, and for programs that spread the gospel. Sometimes God might tell us where to take the tithing and when He does, we just obey and we must not judge others. If I see the tithe bag being passed around and Hayley isn’t putting money in, we must be careful not to judge. We don’t know where God told Hayley to take her tithe.
So in conclusion, tithes and offerings are still for today and we must take them seriously because we are dealing with the One who can destroy our soul. Make sure to give to God what belongs to Him so He won’t accuse you of stealing from Him. This would be a very grave accusation on judgement day because the Word of God says that thieves will not enter the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Monday, July 19, 2010
Baptism (Part III)
By Odon Bulamba (13 February 2001)
When Jesus was baptized there was a sign. The Holy Spirit descended down like a dove and the heavens opened and a voice spoke; what did the voice say? This voice confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God and because John heard this voice he also believed Jesus was the Son of God. After this Jesus received another baptism, which was a sign for everybody.
There are two kinds of baptism, the baptism God gives us, which is good and the baptism the world gives us, which is to criticize us for our faith.
John 19:19-22 “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read the sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write king of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews”. Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written”.
We can read that Jesus was crucified and receives a baptism. It is a baptism because He was given a name. Try to link the name given to Jesus and people who are baptized in the church. Before we were Christians we were sinners, we decided to crucify our sins and put our flesh to death. So what did your friends say? What did they say when you left the world of sin and you changed your life? Usually when you are saved your friends give testimonies and these testimonies are sometimes criticism, and the new convert becomes discouraged. This is the world’s baptism. Satan starts straight away attacking you by dividing your family and friends. When you leave your life of sin, old friends will leave you as well. Why? Because there is nothing you can share together, you might share a meal but never the Word of God or behavior. Everyone left Jesus. Pilate wrote the notice in three languages because everybody had to know, and these languages were used to write the Bible. These three languages the world spoke was also used to help our faith grow.
Example: what represents a worldly tongue; represents our actions. If someone abuses you, what will you do as a Christian? Although it may hurt at that time, you have to forgive and say this person doesn’t know what he is doing because this is what Jesus said. When you become a Christian everybody criticizes you and says, we’ll see how long it will last. This will come as a second language and if you are not patient you risk answering back in a wrong way! What did Jesus do? He kept quiet and said I forgive them.
How many times do we threaten others? How many times do we write names? To be a good Christian we must crucify our lives. We must give up all sins and let the world stone us, criticize us and write whatever they want on our walls, and then you will be baptized by the world. Pilate was right when he wrote Jesus king of the Jews because he fulfilled the prophecy that was given long ago.
Even though people were against what Pilate did, he spoke up and said, what I have written I have written. How many times do pagans talk about your faith? How many times do they say Michael is like this and that? Sometimes pagans judge us and say it is better to be like them then a Christian, why? Because our belief doesn’t bear good fruit or our faith doesn’t defend the glory of God. This is the first baptism for every Christian. We fight the world until they say you are the king of Jews. People can ask Peter for advice because his life is on the cross, he doesn’t lie, steal or kill anymore and his life is naked before everybody. Do you know why Jesus was crucified naked? So that nothing was hidden. As people look at our lives they should not see lies, hate or any sin hidden in us. What do you hide in your life? What do you hide in your thoughts or deep in your heart? This is where we must start to be baptized. So ask yourself, am I crucified? Have the nails been through my hands and feet?
After the crucifixion Jesus rose with a new body. If we want a new body we must crucify our actions. Christian life is hard but be patient because everything will pass. Have you worn a crown of thorns, not a crown of joy but of suffering? Since being a Christian, have you come across problems? Has the devil visited your family? If the devil has visited you then praise God because God confirms your baptism of the world. What does it mean when there is no attack from the devil? If the devil doesn’t attack you it means you belong to him because the devil never fights his own army. Whoever is called a child of God is always threaten by Satan.
It is like a hen protecting her chicks from an eagle. A hen can never say that an eagle has not attacked her chicks; also the eagle can’t say he has never attacked hens’ chicks. The eagle has a good eye and an objective to take what the hen has and eat it. This is what the book of John says about the devil. He roams around like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour. Do you know how a lion hunts? A lion will attack the young and weak but if there are none, then he goes for the older prey. It is the same thing with the devil; he attacks at the beginning of your spiritual life because if you get to the next level you will be stronger. If you are not attacked by the devil you must ask yourself, do I have a problem or not? Jesus Christ received a new body, a body that doesn’t need to eat but goes through walls. We must reach this level of resurrection.
When you see that you’ve overcome what the world has, you can make a new step to confirm yourself as a Christian. Many Christians are baptized because they want to, others are baptized because they want to follow Jesus’ example. In Exodus 12 it is not written that the lamb had to be washed before the sacrifice, but it gives us an idea about the lamb and by reading this chapter you will discover that the lamb had to be washed. Many Christians are baptized because they want to be the image of the living God and are baptized to become a lamb. From here they say, I want to serve God all my life, and I want to sacrifice my life for others so they can find the light. Do you know what happened to the lamb in Exodus 12? The blood of the lamb was put on the doorposts of each house as a sign.
Some people say they want to sacrifice their life for others, they want to pray and fast so that people can find salvation, they want to evangelize so the world can be saved and they want to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Some people are baptized for this reason. Others are baptized so the world will know they are Christians. It means that from today they are not Sadducees or Pharisees but Christians as it was in John’s time. Some Christians are baptized because it is law in their church. So what kind of baptism do you want? If you want this kind of baptism why do you want it?
Each Christian must ask himself, why was I baptized? Are the reasons why you were baptized being fulfilled? If not, how come? If yes, then where is the fruit? Is there any fruit?
There is a story in John 4 about the Samaritan woman. Jesus was sitting by the well and asked the woman to give Him some water. Jesus is life and He said to her you will life to the full. What we have from Jesus is life to the full so why can’t we give it to others? What have you given in your life? What is your plan to give from your life? Jesus said if you give Me water I will give you living water. As a Christian have you got a plan for your God to receive what Jesus wants to give you for your life? If you are baptized tomorrow what do you think you’ll give to Jesus so that Jesus can give you life to the full?
The Bible talks about a man named Elijah who visited a lady during a famine. This lady had little to give but gave it to Elijah; after she had given it there was a miracle. What little she gave Elijah blessed and her house was full. Do you know the story? This lady had very little food and thought she would die with her children. Elijah came and said I need to eat, the woman said I don’t have much to give you but I have a bit of oil. So Elijah said, give me the oil. Because she gave with an open heart she accepted to sacrifice her life and the life of her children, Elijah prayed for her and all her jars where full of oil. When you give a little, it will add to the anointing. We all know how important oil is for Christian life because it represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit but we will not look into this baptism yet.
For water baptism you must make up your mind and accept to serve your God and you will have life. If you get baptized and have no goals you are wasting your time, kneel down and ask your God if you are ready to be baptized or not. Jesus Christ who is God was on earth for many years and got baptized at 30, but when people reach a certain age today they want to be baptized immediately, so ask God if it is the right time for you. For us who were baptized long ago let’s try to plan something. After Jesus’ baptism He went somewhere, so where did you go? How did you prepare your ministry?
Question: when I (Michael) was baptized it was out of obedience to the word of God, what category do you put it in with the ones you have mentioned? I think God calls people one way or another, some are called when they are sinners and will change little by little. For example it took Paul 3 days to change and after 3 days he spent 3 years in the desert to study the Bible and to know the will of God. Some people are baptized but are not ready. Nothing is by chance in man’s life; God has different means to call people. It is like our houses, you can have many doors but each door does its own job. If you use the lounge door it means you don’t want to use the toilet door. Some people are called like Saul; he kept worshipping the dead and disobeyed God. Many kings had the anointing but were disobedient but at the last minute God gave them life again. This is what Paul means when he says we are called to perfection. Perfection comes at the time God has planned; it can take 1 year to 20 years to reach the level God wants you. The Bible says the end is better than the beginning. Amen!
When Jesus was baptized there was a sign. The Holy Spirit descended down like a dove and the heavens opened and a voice spoke; what did the voice say? This voice confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God and because John heard this voice he also believed Jesus was the Son of God. After this Jesus received another baptism, which was a sign for everybody.
There are two kinds of baptism, the baptism God gives us, which is good and the baptism the world gives us, which is to criticize us for our faith.
John 19:19-22 “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read the sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write king of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews”. Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written”.
We can read that Jesus was crucified and receives a baptism. It is a baptism because He was given a name. Try to link the name given to Jesus and people who are baptized in the church. Before we were Christians we were sinners, we decided to crucify our sins and put our flesh to death. So what did your friends say? What did they say when you left the world of sin and you changed your life? Usually when you are saved your friends give testimonies and these testimonies are sometimes criticism, and the new convert becomes discouraged. This is the world’s baptism. Satan starts straight away attacking you by dividing your family and friends. When you leave your life of sin, old friends will leave you as well. Why? Because there is nothing you can share together, you might share a meal but never the Word of God or behavior. Everyone left Jesus. Pilate wrote the notice in three languages because everybody had to know, and these languages were used to write the Bible. These three languages the world spoke was also used to help our faith grow.
Example: what represents a worldly tongue; represents our actions. If someone abuses you, what will you do as a Christian? Although it may hurt at that time, you have to forgive and say this person doesn’t know what he is doing because this is what Jesus said. When you become a Christian everybody criticizes you and says, we’ll see how long it will last. This will come as a second language and if you are not patient you risk answering back in a wrong way! What did Jesus do? He kept quiet and said I forgive them.
How many times do we threaten others? How many times do we write names? To be a good Christian we must crucify our lives. We must give up all sins and let the world stone us, criticize us and write whatever they want on our walls, and then you will be baptized by the world. Pilate was right when he wrote Jesus king of the Jews because he fulfilled the prophecy that was given long ago.
Even though people were against what Pilate did, he spoke up and said, what I have written I have written. How many times do pagans talk about your faith? How many times do they say Michael is like this and that? Sometimes pagans judge us and say it is better to be like them then a Christian, why? Because our belief doesn’t bear good fruit or our faith doesn’t defend the glory of God. This is the first baptism for every Christian. We fight the world until they say you are the king of Jews. People can ask Peter for advice because his life is on the cross, he doesn’t lie, steal or kill anymore and his life is naked before everybody. Do you know why Jesus was crucified naked? So that nothing was hidden. As people look at our lives they should not see lies, hate or any sin hidden in us. What do you hide in your life? What do you hide in your thoughts or deep in your heart? This is where we must start to be baptized. So ask yourself, am I crucified? Have the nails been through my hands and feet?
After the crucifixion Jesus rose with a new body. If we want a new body we must crucify our actions. Christian life is hard but be patient because everything will pass. Have you worn a crown of thorns, not a crown of joy but of suffering? Since being a Christian, have you come across problems? Has the devil visited your family? If the devil has visited you then praise God because God confirms your baptism of the world. What does it mean when there is no attack from the devil? If the devil doesn’t attack you it means you belong to him because the devil never fights his own army. Whoever is called a child of God is always threaten by Satan.
It is like a hen protecting her chicks from an eagle. A hen can never say that an eagle has not attacked her chicks; also the eagle can’t say he has never attacked hens’ chicks. The eagle has a good eye and an objective to take what the hen has and eat it. This is what the book of John says about the devil. He roams around like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour. Do you know how a lion hunts? A lion will attack the young and weak but if there are none, then he goes for the older prey. It is the same thing with the devil; he attacks at the beginning of your spiritual life because if you get to the next level you will be stronger. If you are not attacked by the devil you must ask yourself, do I have a problem or not? Jesus Christ received a new body, a body that doesn’t need to eat but goes through walls. We must reach this level of resurrection.
When you see that you’ve overcome what the world has, you can make a new step to confirm yourself as a Christian. Many Christians are baptized because they want to, others are baptized because they want to follow Jesus’ example. In Exodus 12 it is not written that the lamb had to be washed before the sacrifice, but it gives us an idea about the lamb and by reading this chapter you will discover that the lamb had to be washed. Many Christians are baptized because they want to be the image of the living God and are baptized to become a lamb. From here they say, I want to serve God all my life, and I want to sacrifice my life for others so they can find the light. Do you know what happened to the lamb in Exodus 12? The blood of the lamb was put on the doorposts of each house as a sign.
Some people say they want to sacrifice their life for others, they want to pray and fast so that people can find salvation, they want to evangelize so the world can be saved and they want to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Some people are baptized for this reason. Others are baptized so the world will know they are Christians. It means that from today they are not Sadducees or Pharisees but Christians as it was in John’s time. Some Christians are baptized because it is law in their church. So what kind of baptism do you want? If you want this kind of baptism why do you want it?
Each Christian must ask himself, why was I baptized? Are the reasons why you were baptized being fulfilled? If not, how come? If yes, then where is the fruit? Is there any fruit?
There is a story in John 4 about the Samaritan woman. Jesus was sitting by the well and asked the woman to give Him some water. Jesus is life and He said to her you will life to the full. What we have from Jesus is life to the full so why can’t we give it to others? What have you given in your life? What is your plan to give from your life? Jesus said if you give Me water I will give you living water. As a Christian have you got a plan for your God to receive what Jesus wants to give you for your life? If you are baptized tomorrow what do you think you’ll give to Jesus so that Jesus can give you life to the full?
The Bible talks about a man named Elijah who visited a lady during a famine. This lady had little to give but gave it to Elijah; after she had given it there was a miracle. What little she gave Elijah blessed and her house was full. Do you know the story? This lady had very little food and thought she would die with her children. Elijah came and said I need to eat, the woman said I don’t have much to give you but I have a bit of oil. So Elijah said, give me the oil. Because she gave with an open heart she accepted to sacrifice her life and the life of her children, Elijah prayed for her and all her jars where full of oil. When you give a little, it will add to the anointing. We all know how important oil is for Christian life because it represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit but we will not look into this baptism yet.
For water baptism you must make up your mind and accept to serve your God and you will have life. If you get baptized and have no goals you are wasting your time, kneel down and ask your God if you are ready to be baptized or not. Jesus Christ who is God was on earth for many years and got baptized at 30, but when people reach a certain age today they want to be baptized immediately, so ask God if it is the right time for you. For us who were baptized long ago let’s try to plan something. After Jesus’ baptism He went somewhere, so where did you go? How did you prepare your ministry?
Question: when I (Michael) was baptized it was out of obedience to the word of God, what category do you put it in with the ones you have mentioned? I think God calls people one way or another, some are called when they are sinners and will change little by little. For example it took Paul 3 days to change and after 3 days he spent 3 years in the desert to study the Bible and to know the will of God. Some people are baptized but are not ready. Nothing is by chance in man’s life; God has different means to call people. It is like our houses, you can have many doors but each door does its own job. If you use the lounge door it means you don’t want to use the toilet door. Some people are called like Saul; he kept worshipping the dead and disobeyed God. Many kings had the anointing but were disobedient but at the last minute God gave them life again. This is what Paul means when he says we are called to perfection. Perfection comes at the time God has planned; it can take 1 year to 20 years to reach the level God wants you. The Bible says the end is better than the beginning. Amen!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Baptism (Part II)
By Odon Bulamba (8th February 2001)
What happens when a king has to be baptised? A king cannot go into the dirty river Jordan; this is why it changed to a christening. They took some water and put it into a container and said, if we pour this water on our prince he’ll become wet and this could humiliate him, so let us take a few drops of water and put it on his head because it is only symbolic. This is how the first baptism changed; from this time the universal church started to baptise this way. Also to immerse 1000 people was too much trouble. This was the second reason why it changed.
The Bible says we must die with Christ and be buried with Him. Christians must be immersed because it is a picture of dying with Christ and rising with Him in the resurrection, and those who can’t accept this way go against the Bible. We are called to be Christians and be baptised in an honest way.
Colossians 2:12 “Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead”. Amen.
This how the Bible defines baptism, to die with Jesus Christ and be raised with Him. What does it mean to die with Jesus Christ? It means we must give up all our wrong doings with our physical bodies as Paul said, “it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me”. When we can fully give our lives to Jesus Christ we accept to die with Him. What do we do when someone dies? We go to the cemetery and bury them. When our physical actions die we must bury them completely. If you are a drunkard, you must bury this drunkenness, and when you see a drunk you'll say, I use to be like that. Have you ever seen someone laughing at a cemetery while burying his brother? As people enter a cemetery they become serious and their conversations change, why is this? It is because we fear death, but as Christians when we bury our sins, why don't we fear these sins? Why do we want to dig our sins up to play with them?
There was a man who confessed his sins 5000x. He would tell God and those around him that he was giving up drinking. A few days later he was drinking again so God took his soul. Our decision is essential and we cannot joke with sin. If we do, our baptism is nothing. Your name may be written in the church book but not in the book of life. When you are baptised in Congo you are given a membership card and you are counted as their Christians, but you are not Christians of any church but of Jesus Christ. Make sure your name is written in the book of life where Jesus is and not written in a book on earth. When I got baptised the Pastor asked me my name? He wrote my name with nice handwriting but I thought that if Jesus wrote my name I could jump for joy. The Pastor told me to shut up because I talked too much. I was right to say this and even though I was 12 years old, I spoke in a mature way. The Pastor didn't like what I said but a few years later he understood. Christ’s book? People then start fearing the Pastor instead of Jesus Christ.
If you want to be baptised go to your Pastor and ask him to explain what baptism is. Also ask him if baptism is important for Christian life and what are the changes that should take place?
The robber who was crucified next to Jesus wasn't baptised, but Jesus said you will be with Me today in Paradise. So how can this man go to heaven without being baptised if the Bible says that after baptism you'll be saved? Try to think in depth about what you are doing and this will help your faith mature, but if you give up wanting to understand because you think it is a custom woe to you. Try to ask your Pastor or the church more questions about baptism. We have two baptisms, the baptism of the Spirit and the baptism of water. The right baptism is done by immersion. Make sure the water is blessed and also be sure about the one who baptises you. On top of this, your conscience and final decision must be your own, be sure you are doing it to please God and not man. Protect your soul and spiritual life, do not allow man to play with your life and do not allow the devil to play with your life, but invite Jesus Christ to rule in your life and when Jesus will visit your life you will be safe.
Questions:
What do you mean by knowing the one who baptises you? When someone has a problem and you want to pray for that person you will talk with them, they will tell you where they are up to in their spiritual life. The one who talks with this person must have the gift of discernment to know what spirit is living in this person so they can help you be delivered.
What do you mean when the water must be blessed? The word of God is the water, Jesus says He is the word Himself, He also said He is the bread of life. Before giving the bread Jesus would always bless it before sharing it, so before preparing your exhortation you must bless the word and pray for it. Before burying someone you must dig up the dirt, and in the same way you must prepare for a baptism. We must pray for the water because the devil uses it a lot. 75% of magic happens under water and many devilish spirits live in water, so you must pray and take authority. If you are not careful preparing the water, the person being immersed can rise with impure spirits. This is why we must pray for the water.
In what name must we be baptised? Some people say the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and others say Jesus Christ. Which one shall we chose? You can be baptised with both names.
Is spiritual baptism different to water baptism? Yes, the baptism of the spirit is different to the water baptism. Remember Cornelius in Acts 10? He prayed and the angel came. First he received the Holy Spirit and then saw and received messages from the angel telling him to call Peter and Cornelius had not been baptised at this stage. Many people were baptised first then received the Holy Spirit, some people didn't received it until people laid hands on them, it doesn't mean they didn't have the Spirit but the Spirit wasn't acting in their lives. It is like the baptism of fire. You can have firewood, matches and petrol but you need someone to start the whole process. Many Christians have these three things in their lives but if you ask them, where is your fireplace, they don't know. That is why God sends someone to help you light the fire in the proper place.
Water baptism is a decision to turn your life to Jesus forever, to die and be raised with Him.
How many baptisms are there? Word baptism, baptism by anointing, water baptism by immersion, baptism of fire that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism in the second body we'll have one day.
I Corinthians 15:29, “now if there is no resurrection what will those do who are baptised for the dead, if the dead are not raised at all why are people baptised for them?”
If there are no results why do we do it? Lack of knowledge pushes people to baptise people who are dead and if it is not this reason then it is for the devil's glory. In Congo, the water that dead people were washed in protected you. The water that Catholics use is called blessed water believing it can perform miracles. The dead are dead; there is nothing in-between a human who is alive and one who is dead. When someone dies he must go back to dust. The Bible doesn't say to baptise your brother when he is dead, so why do people do it? It is because they have another book but woe to man who put their trust in man.
When John baptised people he would speak repentance, but Jesus was also baptised by John, what do you think about this? If Jesus was baptised for our sins why should we be baptised? Why was Jesus baptised by John because the Bible says He was sinless? John's baptism was to admit your sins first and then be baptised, so why did Jesus do it? What was the fulfilment? Exodus 12 reveals that before the lamb was slain he had to be washed, not by anybody but a priest and John was that priest. May God help you understand baptism and if you want to learn more go and see your evangelist or Pastor.
What happens when a king has to be baptised? A king cannot go into the dirty river Jordan; this is why it changed to a christening. They took some water and put it into a container and said, if we pour this water on our prince he’ll become wet and this could humiliate him, so let us take a few drops of water and put it on his head because it is only symbolic. This is how the first baptism changed; from this time the universal church started to baptise this way. Also to immerse 1000 people was too much trouble. This was the second reason why it changed.
The Bible says we must die with Christ and be buried with Him. Christians must be immersed because it is a picture of dying with Christ and rising with Him in the resurrection, and those who can’t accept this way go against the Bible. We are called to be Christians and be baptised in an honest way.
Colossians 2:12 “Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead”. Amen.
This how the Bible defines baptism, to die with Jesus Christ and be raised with Him. What does it mean to die with Jesus Christ? It means we must give up all our wrong doings with our physical bodies as Paul said, “it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me”. When we can fully give our lives to Jesus Christ we accept to die with Him. What do we do when someone dies? We go to the cemetery and bury them. When our physical actions die we must bury them completely. If you are a drunkard, you must bury this drunkenness, and when you see a drunk you'll say, I use to be like that. Have you ever seen someone laughing at a cemetery while burying his brother? As people enter a cemetery they become serious and their conversations change, why is this? It is because we fear death, but as Christians when we bury our sins, why don't we fear these sins? Why do we want to dig our sins up to play with them?
There was a man who confessed his sins 5000x. He would tell God and those around him that he was giving up drinking. A few days later he was drinking again so God took his soul. Our decision is essential and we cannot joke with sin. If we do, our baptism is nothing. Your name may be written in the church book but not in the book of life. When you are baptised in Congo you are given a membership card and you are counted as their Christians, but you are not Christians of any church but of Jesus Christ. Make sure your name is written in the book of life where Jesus is and not written in a book on earth. When I got baptised the Pastor asked me my name? He wrote my name with nice handwriting but I thought that if Jesus wrote my name I could jump for joy. The Pastor told me to shut up because I talked too much. I was right to say this and even though I was 12 years old, I spoke in a mature way. The Pastor didn't like what I said but a few years later he understood. Christ’s book? People then start fearing the Pastor instead of Jesus Christ.
If you want to be baptised go to your Pastor and ask him to explain what baptism is. Also ask him if baptism is important for Christian life and what are the changes that should take place?
The robber who was crucified next to Jesus wasn't baptised, but Jesus said you will be with Me today in Paradise. So how can this man go to heaven without being baptised if the Bible says that after baptism you'll be saved? Try to think in depth about what you are doing and this will help your faith mature, but if you give up wanting to understand because you think it is a custom woe to you. Try to ask your Pastor or the church more questions about baptism. We have two baptisms, the baptism of the Spirit and the baptism of water. The right baptism is done by immersion. Make sure the water is blessed and also be sure about the one who baptises you. On top of this, your conscience and final decision must be your own, be sure you are doing it to please God and not man. Protect your soul and spiritual life, do not allow man to play with your life and do not allow the devil to play with your life, but invite Jesus Christ to rule in your life and when Jesus will visit your life you will be safe.
Questions:
What do you mean by knowing the one who baptises you? When someone has a problem and you want to pray for that person you will talk with them, they will tell you where they are up to in their spiritual life. The one who talks with this person must have the gift of discernment to know what spirit is living in this person so they can help you be delivered.
What do you mean when the water must be blessed? The word of God is the water, Jesus says He is the word Himself, He also said He is the bread of life. Before giving the bread Jesus would always bless it before sharing it, so before preparing your exhortation you must bless the word and pray for it. Before burying someone you must dig up the dirt, and in the same way you must prepare for a baptism. We must pray for the water because the devil uses it a lot. 75% of magic happens under water and many devilish spirits live in water, so you must pray and take authority. If you are not careful preparing the water, the person being immersed can rise with impure spirits. This is why we must pray for the water.
In what name must we be baptised? Some people say the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and others say Jesus Christ. Which one shall we chose? You can be baptised with both names.
Is spiritual baptism different to water baptism? Yes, the baptism of the spirit is different to the water baptism. Remember Cornelius in Acts 10? He prayed and the angel came. First he received the Holy Spirit and then saw and received messages from the angel telling him to call Peter and Cornelius had not been baptised at this stage. Many people were baptised first then received the Holy Spirit, some people didn't received it until people laid hands on them, it doesn't mean they didn't have the Spirit but the Spirit wasn't acting in their lives. It is like the baptism of fire. You can have firewood, matches and petrol but you need someone to start the whole process. Many Christians have these three things in their lives but if you ask them, where is your fireplace, they don't know. That is why God sends someone to help you light the fire in the proper place.
Water baptism is a decision to turn your life to Jesus forever, to die and be raised with Him.
How many baptisms are there? Word baptism, baptism by anointing, water baptism by immersion, baptism of fire that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism in the second body we'll have one day.
I Corinthians 15:29, “now if there is no resurrection what will those do who are baptised for the dead, if the dead are not raised at all why are people baptised for them?”
If there are no results why do we do it? Lack of knowledge pushes people to baptise people who are dead and if it is not this reason then it is for the devil's glory. In Congo, the water that dead people were washed in protected you. The water that Catholics use is called blessed water believing it can perform miracles. The dead are dead; there is nothing in-between a human who is alive and one who is dead. When someone dies he must go back to dust. The Bible doesn't say to baptise your brother when he is dead, so why do people do it? It is because they have another book but woe to man who put their trust in man.
When John baptised people he would speak repentance, but Jesus was also baptised by John, what do you think about this? If Jesus was baptised for our sins why should we be baptised? Why was Jesus baptised by John because the Bible says He was sinless? John's baptism was to admit your sins first and then be baptised, so why did Jesus do it? What was the fulfilment? Exodus 12 reveals that before the lamb was slain he had to be washed, not by anybody but a priest and John was that priest. May God help you understand baptism and if you want to learn more go and see your evangelist or Pastor.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Baptism (Part I)
By Odon Bulamba (8th February 2001)
Baptism is one thing Christians do; we do it because the Bible asks us to do. It is true that we bath everyday but it doesn’t mean we are baptised everyday. Many people swim everyday but it doesn’t mean they are baptised, so what does baptism mean? Baptism has a meaning both spiritually and physically. When John was on this earth he would call people and say, “come, I want to baptise you if you repent”. Without repentance (in John’s time) baptism didn’t exist and to repent was to admit your sins. How can we admit our sins if someone doesn’t remind us?
Our conscience and the presence of an evangelist or preacher is very important. If your conscience was dead in John’s time you would not have been baptised, and if you didn't have time to hear God’s word you wouldn’t have been baptised. So at that time we had one baptism that was on the river Jordan. This river was a cursed river according to the Sadducees law. John was 8 years old when he went to the desert; he stayed there for 22 years and came back at 30 years of age. Maybe during these years John didn’t take a bath because in the desert there is no river. I know people who can live for 50 years without taking a bath. So John left the desert and came to the city. The Bible says that John was the voice calling in the desert preparing the way of the Lord. People’s conscience would come alive when they heard this voice and these people also prepared the way of the Lord.
They prepared it by way of repentance, and after repentance was baptism. Even though John hadn’t seen a river he would baptise in one, so how can John baptise people in a river if he hadn’t seen one? In my country there were people with mental problems. One-day these people went swimming, however the pool had been drained previous. The first person walked onto the diving board and jumped into the pool with no water in it and hurt himself. The second and third person did the same. The fourth person however walked up onto the diving board but stopped, people said dive but was too afraid of the water because it was too cold. This man didn’t realize the pool was empty and this is how many people are baptised today. They don’t know why they are baptised and don’t know if the anointing of the Holy Spirit is with them. Some people say because my dad is baptised as a Roman Catholic I want to be baptised like that. From John’s time believers started thinking about baptism in depth. Baptism was a common thing back then but as time went on man started to change it and it became corrupted.
Ephesians 4:5, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
The way Catholics baptise is different from the way Methodist and other groups baptise, so why don’t we have one baptism? Why has baptism changed? If baptism has changed why has it been corrupted? So what is the right baptism? If you want to be baptised where should you go? Who can baptise you? Would it be someone coming from the desert like John who ate honey for years and wore animal’s skin for his clothing? John the Baptist does qualify because the honey, animal skin and belt he wore has a meaning and we shouldn’t forget how important his message was. So what is the right baptism? Have you been baptised? Did you have the right one and how do you know it?
In Kenya some people are immersed in human blood because they are devil worshippers and it is like a covenant. So what is the difference between baptising in blood than water? Is it the colour? This is a huge topic but in short I would say as Christians we need baptism because it has a very important meaning for our lives. According to Mark 16:15-16 Jesus said,
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned".
Go and evangelise to all people. It doesn’t say go to all animals. Today people get their cats baptised and the church keeps a record of it. Before being baptised you probably would have heard about the good news. Once you accepted this message only then can you be baptised. The Bible doesn’t say that once you have a baby go to a church and baptise the child, the child must hear the good news first and then their conscious will do the talking. When you take the news into the world people who hear the word will see their faith grow. When you were baptised did someone influence you or did you hear about the gospel? If you heard the gospel did it help you believe in Jesus Christ? If it didn’t then something is wrong.
There was a man who wanted to be baptised, the person asked God, give me the strength because when I see the devil I want to fight him. So this man started abusing the devil with his ugliness. He said the devil’s got a big nose and I want to cut it into two so God give me the strength because I want to pull out his teeth. He thought the devil was a human. He had faith to ask God for strength but it is not written in the Bible to beat the devil’s teeth out. So he built his faith on something that was not the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says that our faith comes by hearing the word of God, so what is your faith built on?
Many brothers and sisters are baptised today only because of tradition. As Christians we are told to do it for baptism is one step towards our salvation. There was a servant of God named Phillip. He met up with a eunuch who was meditating on Isaiah 58. Phillip asked him what are you doing? I’m meditating on Isaiah 58 but I need someone to explain it to me. How many times do we need to understand? How many times do you understand the preacher? How many times do others teach us and we don’t understand? If you don’t understand what the preacher has said go and ask him to explain it better instead of telling each other you haven’t understood a thing. Faith comes by what you hear and not often by what you read. It doesn’t mean you can leave your Bible aside or other books, but this eunuch came to Phillip with his problem and Phillip explained it to him. After Phillip had explained the Word to him the eunuch was convinced and said, here is some water, baptise me. He said it because Phillip convinced him through the preaching. So are you convinced by what you hear? If you are not, then why are you here?
The Bible says seek and you will find. If you don’t want to seek it, you can steal it in a dishonest way. Many people today are baptised in this way, some churches say when you are 15 you can be baptised. The Pastor will say, Peter what are you waiting for, we need people to be baptised. Because of this pressure, Peter just accepts to be baptised.
When people are baptised they drink alcohol because they think it is part of the celebration. So what kind of baptism is it? Children are not to be baptised, however many people justify this by saying what is written in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus said let the children come to Me because the Kingdom of God belongs to them, but people would take their children to Jesus so He could pray for them and that is what the Bible says.
Baptism is one thing Christians do; we do it because the Bible asks us to do. It is true that we bath everyday but it doesn’t mean we are baptised everyday. Many people swim everyday but it doesn’t mean they are baptised, so what does baptism mean? Baptism has a meaning both spiritually and physically. When John was on this earth he would call people and say, “come, I want to baptise you if you repent”. Without repentance (in John’s time) baptism didn’t exist and to repent was to admit your sins. How can we admit our sins if someone doesn’t remind us?
Our conscience and the presence of an evangelist or preacher is very important. If your conscience was dead in John’s time you would not have been baptised, and if you didn't have time to hear God’s word you wouldn’t have been baptised. So at that time we had one baptism that was on the river Jordan. This river was a cursed river according to the Sadducees law. John was 8 years old when he went to the desert; he stayed there for 22 years and came back at 30 years of age. Maybe during these years John didn’t take a bath because in the desert there is no river. I know people who can live for 50 years without taking a bath. So John left the desert and came to the city. The Bible says that John was the voice calling in the desert preparing the way of the Lord. People’s conscience would come alive when they heard this voice and these people also prepared the way of the Lord.
They prepared it by way of repentance, and after repentance was baptism. Even though John hadn’t seen a river he would baptise in one, so how can John baptise people in a river if he hadn’t seen one? In my country there were people with mental problems. One-day these people went swimming, however the pool had been drained previous. The first person walked onto the diving board and jumped into the pool with no water in it and hurt himself. The second and third person did the same. The fourth person however walked up onto the diving board but stopped, people said dive but was too afraid of the water because it was too cold. This man didn’t realize the pool was empty and this is how many people are baptised today. They don’t know why they are baptised and don’t know if the anointing of the Holy Spirit is with them. Some people say because my dad is baptised as a Roman Catholic I want to be baptised like that. From John’s time believers started thinking about baptism in depth. Baptism was a common thing back then but as time went on man started to change it and it became corrupted.
Ephesians 4:5, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
The way Catholics baptise is different from the way Methodist and other groups baptise, so why don’t we have one baptism? Why has baptism changed? If baptism has changed why has it been corrupted? So what is the right baptism? If you want to be baptised where should you go? Who can baptise you? Would it be someone coming from the desert like John who ate honey for years and wore animal’s skin for his clothing? John the Baptist does qualify because the honey, animal skin and belt he wore has a meaning and we shouldn’t forget how important his message was. So what is the right baptism? Have you been baptised? Did you have the right one and how do you know it?
In Kenya some people are immersed in human blood because they are devil worshippers and it is like a covenant. So what is the difference between baptising in blood than water? Is it the colour? This is a huge topic but in short I would say as Christians we need baptism because it has a very important meaning for our lives. According to Mark 16:15-16 Jesus said,
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned".
Go and evangelise to all people. It doesn’t say go to all animals. Today people get their cats baptised and the church keeps a record of it. Before being baptised you probably would have heard about the good news. Once you accepted this message only then can you be baptised. The Bible doesn’t say that once you have a baby go to a church and baptise the child, the child must hear the good news first and then their conscious will do the talking. When you take the news into the world people who hear the word will see their faith grow. When you were baptised did someone influence you or did you hear about the gospel? If you heard the gospel did it help you believe in Jesus Christ? If it didn’t then something is wrong.
There was a man who wanted to be baptised, the person asked God, give me the strength because when I see the devil I want to fight him. So this man started abusing the devil with his ugliness. He said the devil’s got a big nose and I want to cut it into two so God give me the strength because I want to pull out his teeth. He thought the devil was a human. He had faith to ask God for strength but it is not written in the Bible to beat the devil’s teeth out. So he built his faith on something that was not the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says that our faith comes by hearing the word of God, so what is your faith built on?
Many brothers and sisters are baptised today only because of tradition. As Christians we are told to do it for baptism is one step towards our salvation. There was a servant of God named Phillip. He met up with a eunuch who was meditating on Isaiah 58. Phillip asked him what are you doing? I’m meditating on Isaiah 58 but I need someone to explain it to me. How many times do we need to understand? How many times do you understand the preacher? How many times do others teach us and we don’t understand? If you don’t understand what the preacher has said go and ask him to explain it better instead of telling each other you haven’t understood a thing. Faith comes by what you hear and not often by what you read. It doesn’t mean you can leave your Bible aside or other books, but this eunuch came to Phillip with his problem and Phillip explained it to him. After Phillip had explained the Word to him the eunuch was convinced and said, here is some water, baptise me. He said it because Phillip convinced him through the preaching. So are you convinced by what you hear? If you are not, then why are you here?
The Bible says seek and you will find. If you don’t want to seek it, you can steal it in a dishonest way. Many people today are baptised in this way, some churches say when you are 15 you can be baptised. The Pastor will say, Peter what are you waiting for, we need people to be baptised. Because of this pressure, Peter just accepts to be baptised.
When people are baptised they drink alcohol because they think it is part of the celebration. So what kind of baptism is it? Children are not to be baptised, however many people justify this by saying what is written in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus said let the children come to Me because the Kingdom of God belongs to them, but people would take their children to Jesus so He could pray for them and that is what the Bible says.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Be Like Children (Part II)
By Odon Bulamba (11th September 2001)
If you don’t put the Word of God into practice you are like Pharisees who Jesus talked about in Matthew 23:2-3.
“The teachers of the law and Pharisees sit in Moses sit. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach”.
Pharisees exist in our church today, they call themselves children of God and were born from God, but they don’t practice what God teaches them. Michelle can tell Zoë to put on her pyjamas every night at 6pm, and Steve can tell his son to get up at 7am for school. Parents push their children to do things so it becomes a habit and when they are use to it they will think it is normal. God taught the Pharisees the law and He pushed them a bit to learn it, but now He just observes them to see what they will do with it. The Pharisees were always ready to say, Steve you have lied and the law condemns liars, but they themselves are liars. They teach people not to do wrongs but they never practice it themselves.
Michael, if you tell Nathaniel not to do this or that but he carries on doing it, what will you do? Michael will become angry because Nathaniel won’t listen. As we know some children are difficult and they often humiliate their parents when many people are around. Parents often asked themselves, why does my child act like this? Did I bring him up right or is he/she influenced from the outside? It is the same thing with the Pharisees, God taught them but they would never put it into practice.
So how many times do we as Christians practice what God teaches us? Are you here on this earth just to tell Kelly her faults when you have faults to deal with? Are you here just to advise Peter when you need advice? We are not children anymore where God must watch every step we take, because now we have grown up and are capable of doing things ourselves. When a child is two years old it knows right from wrong, and if you tell your child that stealing is from the devil the child will understand because a child fears the devil. Even though children do not know what Satan looks like, when they hear about him, they are afraid because not even little children want to belong to the devil. The devil is not a friend.
Jesus taught us this lesson because He wants us to comply with the law. When a child is disciplined it always goes back to his or her parents, and this teaches us about unity. Although we can have problems among us, we must still meet together and carry on. As we know children go to their neighbour’s house to play, so how many times do you visit others? Do you have time to visit Kelly? Why don’t we visit each other? When brothers and sisters have problems why don’t we visit them? If you haven’t had time to ring others, change so you can be in good relationships with everyone and to live in the spirit of unity with the Lord.
When a child becomes a friend with someone it is hard to separate him or her, and when you call your child for lunch he or she will refuse to come, but when we as Christians have visitors, deep in our hearts we want them to leave. When you visit your brothers and sisters you must know the right time, do not visit Celia when it is time to cook tea because if you go to her place at that time, will she look after you or the food? If she looks after you, then her children have to suffer because they have to wait for dinner, so as Christians we have to be careful. Everything has its own time.
Job 14:1-2&10-12-14. “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away: like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. But man dies and is laid low: he breathes his last and is no more. So man lies down and does not rise: till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come”.
Every human has a short life and as children of God we must remember that life is short on earth because death or Jesus can come at any time. So if you don’t behave like little children what are you going to tell God? Summit yourself and become like a child in your household so the power of God will be with you, because when you are in the kingdom of God you will be lifted up, but if you lift yourself up here on earth to show others you are an adult for the kingdom of God, you will be humiliated.
We must remember that our life will not last! Shari behave like a child so that your husband will see the upbringing you have received from God, and when you forgive, forget it forever so that your husband will not doubt the faith (this is not about Shari but everyone). This is how we must live with everyone including pagans to show them the upbringing God has given us. When the bombing happened on September 11th people weren’t expecting they would die, so what will they say to their God? What will they say to Him if they haven’t forgiven people on this earth? If they haven’t obeyed what God told them, what will they say?
The Bible says that in the last day our deeds will follow us, so what are your deeds, what will follow you when you meet the Lord? Many Christians forget about this. So when you die, will lies follow you? Did you know that disobedience will follow you? Magic, jealousy etc will follow you also, and the Bible also says that those who are disobedient will never inherit the kingdom.
So are you ready to meet Jesus? Do you live like a child in the kingdom of God? Do you behave according to the upbringing you have received? Are you like a Pharisee who knows the law but doesn’t put it into practice? Are you there just to show people their mistakes and not worry about your own? Are you an adult where others are children? We must repent like children so that those around us will also find salvation.
One day a servant of God who was strong and powerful invited me to his place. This servant told me to dress properly so that others would respect me and then he told me to take off my shoes before entering his house because he didn’t want his expensive rug to get dirty. He told me this because he wanted to show others that I (Odon) was a good friend, so I said O.K. Before leaving I prayed and God told me that all I was doing was just the fruit of disobedience because this man doesn’t want anyone dirty in his house. God said he is full of pride, he doesn’t want to comply with the law, he only likes those who are rich and when he preaches he talks about money and happiness but never obedience. So God told me to put on my normal clothes and go.
When I arrived there, they refused me entry. The child of this servant of God wanted to speak with his dad so his dad came over and asked him, what is the problem? The child told him that his house was full of darkness because he refused entry to a man who was dirty. The dad asked her if they were her thoughts, but the child said that she dreamt about it and felt that she had to tell her father.
After the child spoke to his father he went back to all the guests and said let’s pray before eating. When they started praying for the meal God changed their prayers to a prophecy against him. God spoke through someone about all the wrongs he had done in front of everybody who was there, everybody was shocked but when the servant heard the prophecy was for him, he said to everyone present that those are just his thoughts. Three minutes later as prophesied the servant sat down, bowed his head and died. I was still at the door and I could see everyone crying so I went inside because there was confusion and the guard was not able to do his job. I asked someone what happened and they said someone prophesied that after 3 minutes he would die, but others thought he was a sorcerer.
Something in my spirit pushed me to pray with the little girl who had the dream, so I prayed with her and when she touched her dad’s body he came back to life and everybody was surprised including the little girl. When her dad came right he asked for a glass of water. He said to the people present, I must live like a child so please forgive me for what I have done. Tell others I was proud, I judged people and I wasn’t serious in my decisions because I was given a 3-minute warning but I didn’t listen to it. As we speak this man is still alive today so remember that if we don’t respect what God asks us to do, He can take back your life at any time. You can dress well and have good food to eat but God will put you into confusion, so let’s try to live like children and have this spirit of forgiveness.
Pray for yourself and the group so that we will all know how to live in God’s family.
If you don’t put the Word of God into practice you are like Pharisees who Jesus talked about in Matthew 23:2-3.
“The teachers of the law and Pharisees sit in Moses sit. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach”.
Pharisees exist in our church today, they call themselves children of God and were born from God, but they don’t practice what God teaches them. Michelle can tell Zoë to put on her pyjamas every night at 6pm, and Steve can tell his son to get up at 7am for school. Parents push their children to do things so it becomes a habit and when they are use to it they will think it is normal. God taught the Pharisees the law and He pushed them a bit to learn it, but now He just observes them to see what they will do with it. The Pharisees were always ready to say, Steve you have lied and the law condemns liars, but they themselves are liars. They teach people not to do wrongs but they never practice it themselves.
Michael, if you tell Nathaniel not to do this or that but he carries on doing it, what will you do? Michael will become angry because Nathaniel won’t listen. As we know some children are difficult and they often humiliate their parents when many people are around. Parents often asked themselves, why does my child act like this? Did I bring him up right or is he/she influenced from the outside? It is the same thing with the Pharisees, God taught them but they would never put it into practice.
So how many times do we as Christians practice what God teaches us? Are you here on this earth just to tell Kelly her faults when you have faults to deal with? Are you here just to advise Peter when you need advice? We are not children anymore where God must watch every step we take, because now we have grown up and are capable of doing things ourselves. When a child is two years old it knows right from wrong, and if you tell your child that stealing is from the devil the child will understand because a child fears the devil. Even though children do not know what Satan looks like, when they hear about him, they are afraid because not even little children want to belong to the devil. The devil is not a friend.
Jesus taught us this lesson because He wants us to comply with the law. When a child is disciplined it always goes back to his or her parents, and this teaches us about unity. Although we can have problems among us, we must still meet together and carry on. As we know children go to their neighbour’s house to play, so how many times do you visit others? Do you have time to visit Kelly? Why don’t we visit each other? When brothers and sisters have problems why don’t we visit them? If you haven’t had time to ring others, change so you can be in good relationships with everyone and to live in the spirit of unity with the Lord.
When a child becomes a friend with someone it is hard to separate him or her, and when you call your child for lunch he or she will refuse to come, but when we as Christians have visitors, deep in our hearts we want them to leave. When you visit your brothers and sisters you must know the right time, do not visit Celia when it is time to cook tea because if you go to her place at that time, will she look after you or the food? If she looks after you, then her children have to suffer because they have to wait for dinner, so as Christians we have to be careful. Everything has its own time.
Job 14:1-2&10-12-14. “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away: like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. But man dies and is laid low: he breathes his last and is no more. So man lies down and does not rise: till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come”.
Every human has a short life and as children of God we must remember that life is short on earth because death or Jesus can come at any time. So if you don’t behave like little children what are you going to tell God? Summit yourself and become like a child in your household so the power of God will be with you, because when you are in the kingdom of God you will be lifted up, but if you lift yourself up here on earth to show others you are an adult for the kingdom of God, you will be humiliated.
We must remember that our life will not last! Shari behave like a child so that your husband will see the upbringing you have received from God, and when you forgive, forget it forever so that your husband will not doubt the faith (this is not about Shari but everyone). This is how we must live with everyone including pagans to show them the upbringing God has given us. When the bombing happened on September 11th people weren’t expecting they would die, so what will they say to their God? What will they say to Him if they haven’t forgiven people on this earth? If they haven’t obeyed what God told them, what will they say?
The Bible says that in the last day our deeds will follow us, so what are your deeds, what will follow you when you meet the Lord? Many Christians forget about this. So when you die, will lies follow you? Did you know that disobedience will follow you? Magic, jealousy etc will follow you also, and the Bible also says that those who are disobedient will never inherit the kingdom.
So are you ready to meet Jesus? Do you live like a child in the kingdom of God? Do you behave according to the upbringing you have received? Are you like a Pharisee who knows the law but doesn’t put it into practice? Are you there just to show people their mistakes and not worry about your own? Are you an adult where others are children? We must repent like children so that those around us will also find salvation.
One day a servant of God who was strong and powerful invited me to his place. This servant told me to dress properly so that others would respect me and then he told me to take off my shoes before entering his house because he didn’t want his expensive rug to get dirty. He told me this because he wanted to show others that I (Odon) was a good friend, so I said O.K. Before leaving I prayed and God told me that all I was doing was just the fruit of disobedience because this man doesn’t want anyone dirty in his house. God said he is full of pride, he doesn’t want to comply with the law, he only likes those who are rich and when he preaches he talks about money and happiness but never obedience. So God told me to put on my normal clothes and go.
When I arrived there, they refused me entry. The child of this servant of God wanted to speak with his dad so his dad came over and asked him, what is the problem? The child told him that his house was full of darkness because he refused entry to a man who was dirty. The dad asked her if they were her thoughts, but the child said that she dreamt about it and felt that she had to tell her father.
After the child spoke to his father he went back to all the guests and said let’s pray before eating. When they started praying for the meal God changed their prayers to a prophecy against him. God spoke through someone about all the wrongs he had done in front of everybody who was there, everybody was shocked but when the servant heard the prophecy was for him, he said to everyone present that those are just his thoughts. Three minutes later as prophesied the servant sat down, bowed his head and died. I was still at the door and I could see everyone crying so I went inside because there was confusion and the guard was not able to do his job. I asked someone what happened and they said someone prophesied that after 3 minutes he would die, but others thought he was a sorcerer.
Something in my spirit pushed me to pray with the little girl who had the dream, so I prayed with her and when she touched her dad’s body he came back to life and everybody was surprised including the little girl. When her dad came right he asked for a glass of water. He said to the people present, I must live like a child so please forgive me for what I have done. Tell others I was proud, I judged people and I wasn’t serious in my decisions because I was given a 3-minute warning but I didn’t listen to it. As we speak this man is still alive today so remember that if we don’t respect what God asks us to do, He can take back your life at any time. You can dress well and have good food to eat but God will put you into confusion, so let’s try to live like children and have this spirit of forgiveness.
Pray for yourself and the group so that we will all know how to live in God’s family.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Be Like Children (Part I)
By Odon Bulamba (11th September 2001)
It is always a joy to meet together so we have to be very grateful to our God who has given us life and protected us. We know that many people on this earth have very little money and some have a lot. When they are sick they spend lots of money to be treated but in the end they lose their life. The life we have is a grace and you cannot buy it with money. People today can buy children but they can’t buy a child’s life, people today buy expensive coffins but their money cannot avoid death when it comes upon them.
Why do I say this? A mans life has stages, and in the book of Ecclesiastes it says everything has its time. If you cry today remember there is a time to laugh, if you are alive today, remember there is a time to die, and if you are here on this earth today remember that your journey will end and you will be somewhere else. We must be careful with the time we have because one day it will finish. When adults today reach 70 or 80 years of age, they are afraid to die and will do anything to fight against old age. They use vitamins to fight off death and they try to make their body look younger but the body won’t accept.
As Christians we must not think about old age. It means that when we reach 80 years of age we must start thinking about death, because death for us is to gain. Jesus gave us a lesson in Matthew 18:1-5:
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And He called a child unto Himself and said, truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven, whoever then humbles himself as this child he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me”.
One day Jesus was with the children and Jesus’ disciples didn’t want them to be close to Him because they disturbed Him. Jesus asked them, “why are you saying that?” But the disciples kept pushing them away. Jesus called the children to Him and said, “the kingdom of God belongs to them”. A long time ago some of us were children. If Peter was to call Steve a child, Steve will be shocked, and Steve will ask Peter, “why do you call me a child, don’t you know that I am older than you?”
So why do people avoid being called children? If you are compared to children people can think you are stupid like animals because they suppose a child is not clever. But Jesus wants to teach us about children and tells us we must live like them. If we want to be the greatest in the kingdom of God we must be like children. How is a children born? When mum is pregnant she will give birth to a child whether she likes it not, she doesn’t know the exact date but when she feels trouble inside of her, time is close. Some women abuse their husbands when they are giving birth but the child doesn’t care what she says because all it wants is life.
When a child is in his mother’s stomach the child doesn’t cry, but as soon as it enters the world it starts crying. A newborn starts learning new things straight away, for example it feeds from its mother’s breast. Parents who really love their babies are very attentive when teaching them, but when the child is 3 months old and starts crying things can change.
A baby lives in a very different world to us because it lives a life of purity and it does not sin. A baby never tells lies, it never abuses you, and it will never do anything to push you to sin. If you do not understand what is happening in your child’s life you will sin and make a mistake but the child is not pushing you to sin. When a child grows up it forgets what has happened in the past. For example, if I asked Steve how many times his mother put him into the crib, he won’t be able to remember. If I ask Marcia how many times your parents punished you, she won’t be able to remember.
When you discipline your children they always come back to you five minutes later and you will be great friends, but this is one thing us adults don’t do because we haven’t got time to think about it. Jesus said to be great in the kingdom of God you must become like a child. If you are a parent and don’t teach your child the right way you are making a big mistake, and if you are not able to teach your child the necessities of life you risk to ruin it. If you teach your child to lie, he will be a liar because whatever you teach your child at home he will show the world, so why is this? Because the child’s assurance is in their parents.
Example: if you do something wrong to Marika, she will tell her mum because she thinks her mum is the solution to any problem. How many times does God teach us as His children? How many times does He teach us things that are good for our spirits? How many times do we respect the upbringing God gives us? Do we show the world what God teaches us? God taught you what is sin, God taught you obedience and respect, God taught you how to pray, God taught you how to live with others, and God reminded you that one day you will die and be judged but you don’t apply what you have learnt.
So where in the world have you found the upbringing you had? Where is the source of your spiritual upbringing? Are you a Christian who abuses? Are you a Christian who gets easily angered? Are you a Christian who lies? Are you a Christian who confuses people? Are you God’s descendants or not? God doesn’t leave you crying in the crib but He assists you and answers all your needs when you cry out to Him, why? Because he hopes that something will come from you and that is why He continues to give you life, but what do you give God? Do you want God to punish you so that you can come back to Him? God teaches us about forgiveness but how many times do you forgive and forget? How many times do you remember what happened? How many times do you apply what God says?
It is always a joy to meet together so we have to be very grateful to our God who has given us life and protected us. We know that many people on this earth have very little money and some have a lot. When they are sick they spend lots of money to be treated but in the end they lose their life. The life we have is a grace and you cannot buy it with money. People today can buy children but they can’t buy a child’s life, people today buy expensive coffins but their money cannot avoid death when it comes upon them.
Why do I say this? A mans life has stages, and in the book of Ecclesiastes it says everything has its time. If you cry today remember there is a time to laugh, if you are alive today, remember there is a time to die, and if you are here on this earth today remember that your journey will end and you will be somewhere else. We must be careful with the time we have because one day it will finish. When adults today reach 70 or 80 years of age, they are afraid to die and will do anything to fight against old age. They use vitamins to fight off death and they try to make their body look younger but the body won’t accept.
As Christians we must not think about old age. It means that when we reach 80 years of age we must start thinking about death, because death for us is to gain. Jesus gave us a lesson in Matthew 18:1-5:
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And He called a child unto Himself and said, truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven, whoever then humbles himself as this child he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me”.
One day Jesus was with the children and Jesus’ disciples didn’t want them to be close to Him because they disturbed Him. Jesus asked them, “why are you saying that?” But the disciples kept pushing them away. Jesus called the children to Him and said, “the kingdom of God belongs to them”. A long time ago some of us were children. If Peter was to call Steve a child, Steve will be shocked, and Steve will ask Peter, “why do you call me a child, don’t you know that I am older than you?”
So why do people avoid being called children? If you are compared to children people can think you are stupid like animals because they suppose a child is not clever. But Jesus wants to teach us about children and tells us we must live like them. If we want to be the greatest in the kingdom of God we must be like children. How is a children born? When mum is pregnant she will give birth to a child whether she likes it not, she doesn’t know the exact date but when she feels trouble inside of her, time is close. Some women abuse their husbands when they are giving birth but the child doesn’t care what she says because all it wants is life.
When a child is in his mother’s stomach the child doesn’t cry, but as soon as it enters the world it starts crying. A newborn starts learning new things straight away, for example it feeds from its mother’s breast. Parents who really love their babies are very attentive when teaching them, but when the child is 3 months old and starts crying things can change.
A baby lives in a very different world to us because it lives a life of purity and it does not sin. A baby never tells lies, it never abuses you, and it will never do anything to push you to sin. If you do not understand what is happening in your child’s life you will sin and make a mistake but the child is not pushing you to sin. When a child grows up it forgets what has happened in the past. For example, if I asked Steve how many times his mother put him into the crib, he won’t be able to remember. If I ask Marcia how many times your parents punished you, she won’t be able to remember.
When you discipline your children they always come back to you five minutes later and you will be great friends, but this is one thing us adults don’t do because we haven’t got time to think about it. Jesus said to be great in the kingdom of God you must become like a child. If you are a parent and don’t teach your child the right way you are making a big mistake, and if you are not able to teach your child the necessities of life you risk to ruin it. If you teach your child to lie, he will be a liar because whatever you teach your child at home he will show the world, so why is this? Because the child’s assurance is in their parents.
Example: if you do something wrong to Marika, she will tell her mum because she thinks her mum is the solution to any problem. How many times does God teach us as His children? How many times does He teach us things that are good for our spirits? How many times do we respect the upbringing God gives us? Do we show the world what God teaches us? God taught you what is sin, God taught you obedience and respect, God taught you how to pray, God taught you how to live with others, and God reminded you that one day you will die and be judged but you don’t apply what you have learnt.
So where in the world have you found the upbringing you had? Where is the source of your spiritual upbringing? Are you a Christian who abuses? Are you a Christian who gets easily angered? Are you a Christian who lies? Are you a Christian who confuses people? Are you God’s descendants or not? God doesn’t leave you crying in the crib but He assists you and answers all your needs when you cry out to Him, why? Because he hopes that something will come from you and that is why He continues to give you life, but what do you give God? Do you want God to punish you so that you can come back to Him? God teaches us about forgiveness but how many times do you forgive and forget? How many times do you remember what happened? How many times do you apply what God says?
Being Serious with God (Part II)
By Odon Bulamba (9th August 2002)
God is calling us to live as Christians and serve Him. He says that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. We say we are ready to serve God but really we are handicapped. There was a man who really wanted to go somewhere but because he was handicapped, it limited his options, so he decided to drive an automatic car even though his license didn’t permit him to do so. It is the same thing with God; God gives us rules that we cannot change to suit ourselves.
Let us not be like this family who didn’t understand what their young child was trying to say to them. It was only when he was nine years of age did they understand he was used by God, but by then it was too late, the young boy had to go somewhere else. We have to make an effort. Put aside laziness, distraction and think about the time, and we’ll see what God will do.
All of us want to please God and perform miracles through our ministries, but we are not convinced enough to do it. We like to be teaches and apostles but we don’t make any effort to achieve this desire. You may pray everyday to be like Solomon who had wisdom and understanding, which God is happy to give you, however when it comes to holding your Bible in your hand it is hard for you to grip it. When you go home after Bible study and watch a movie, you will completely forget about tiredness and you will concentrate seriously on that film, but when it comes to the Bible tiredness comes.
When are you going to make up your mind and take things seriously? We all know that we must give an account to God for our lives whether we like it not. One day I had a dream that God called me to help Him judge people, and I asked God, ‘me judge people’? God spoke in my dream to many people, “open your Bibles to this verse and explain it to Me”, but many people couldn’t even explain one verse. I started asking people, “who is Jesus for you?” They said, “Jesus is my friend”, so I asked them, “how do you know He is your friend?” Many Christians today don’t know why or how Jesus is their friend, they don’t know because they are careless with what God gives them.
We as Christians don’t care about salvation. We don’t care about our soul or the souls of our neighbours. It is time to wake up because the trumpet is being used and Jesus will be here soon. The Bible says that the Word will disappear one day and woe to the man who hasn’t written it in his or her heart. When Jesus takes His church, those left on the earth will try to find the gospel but will look in vain, and they will suffer a lot to save their souls. Many people today (and Christians) who live in this time of grace don’t take advantage of it.
In Zaire we have a lot of precious stones, a bit like grass here in New Zealand. Once we left Zaire we found out that these stones were worth a lot of money. However, because we didn’t take advantage of these precious stones while we were in our country we missed out on making money. With God’s Word it is the same, He gives us His Word in abundance but we don’t take advantage of it, and if we don’t, we risk to become poor later. We have to keep the basic teachings we have received in our hearts. God gives us enough time so use it as we walk together. Amen.
God is calling us to live as Christians and serve Him. He says that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. We say we are ready to serve God but really we are handicapped. There was a man who really wanted to go somewhere but because he was handicapped, it limited his options, so he decided to drive an automatic car even though his license didn’t permit him to do so. It is the same thing with God; God gives us rules that we cannot change to suit ourselves.
Let us not be like this family who didn’t understand what their young child was trying to say to them. It was only when he was nine years of age did they understand he was used by God, but by then it was too late, the young boy had to go somewhere else. We have to make an effort. Put aside laziness, distraction and think about the time, and we’ll see what God will do.
All of us want to please God and perform miracles through our ministries, but we are not convinced enough to do it. We like to be teaches and apostles but we don’t make any effort to achieve this desire. You may pray everyday to be like Solomon who had wisdom and understanding, which God is happy to give you, however when it comes to holding your Bible in your hand it is hard for you to grip it. When you go home after Bible study and watch a movie, you will completely forget about tiredness and you will concentrate seriously on that film, but when it comes to the Bible tiredness comes.
When are you going to make up your mind and take things seriously? We all know that we must give an account to God for our lives whether we like it not. One day I had a dream that God called me to help Him judge people, and I asked God, ‘me judge people’? God spoke in my dream to many people, “open your Bibles to this verse and explain it to Me”, but many people couldn’t even explain one verse. I started asking people, “who is Jesus for you?” They said, “Jesus is my friend”, so I asked them, “how do you know He is your friend?” Many Christians today don’t know why or how Jesus is their friend, they don’t know because they are careless with what God gives them.
We as Christians don’t care about salvation. We don’t care about our soul or the souls of our neighbours. It is time to wake up because the trumpet is being used and Jesus will be here soon. The Bible says that the Word will disappear one day and woe to the man who hasn’t written it in his or her heart. When Jesus takes His church, those left on the earth will try to find the gospel but will look in vain, and they will suffer a lot to save their souls. Many people today (and Christians) who live in this time of grace don’t take advantage of it.
In Zaire we have a lot of precious stones, a bit like grass here in New Zealand. Once we left Zaire we found out that these stones were worth a lot of money. However, because we didn’t take advantage of these precious stones while we were in our country we missed out on making money. With God’s Word it is the same, He gives us His Word in abundance but we don’t take advantage of it, and if we don’t, we risk to become poor later. We have to keep the basic teachings we have received in our hearts. God gives us enough time so use it as we walk together. Amen.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Being Serious With God
By Odon Bulamba (9th August 2002)
The Bible has two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Why is it called the Old Testament? It was called the Old Testament because it was written before Jesus birth, even though the Bible doesn’t actually say ‘Old Testament’. The Old Testament is called ‘The book of the law’. Why am I saying this? Our God is a God of the present; He is not an old God but a God who never changes and that is why His Word is always the same.
Why do we call the second part of the Bible ‘New Testament’? If Michelle is given a dress that was made in the 1940’s and a dress that was made in the year 2000, which dress will she choose? Michelle will choose the new dress, why? It is fashion. It is the same with Christians. When Jesus left the earth people decided to write new books that had teachings which were far from God’s will, and it got to the point that the Bible was no longer used in the churches because they believe that what was written before Jesus time belonged to that generation of people.
So why do we call the second part of the Bible, New Testament? And what does the Bible call it? The first part of the Bible is called the book of the law, but what is the second part? In the Old Testament we have five categories of books. The first part is called the Pentateuch, which means “five volumed book”, and was written by Moses. After this we have the history books, then the poetic books and then the prophetic books.
In the New Testament we have four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. What does gospel mean? Good news. Do you really believe it is good news? Why do you think it is called good news? When Shari sits her driving test it has to be marked by an officer, and the officer will tell her if she has passed or not. If Shari passes her test it will be good news, but if she fails it will be bad news. So what is the good news that is given by the gospel? Jesus left the heavens to dwell on earth so that we can be saved and this is the good news. The four gospels talk about the same theme and speak about Jesus life and share the same teachings, but they are slightly different. The Holy Spirit can inspire people in different ways. He can inspire Odon to go to the market place, He can inspire Oscar to go there as well, and if we were to explain how the Holy Spirit spoke to us, our versions will be different because the way we interpret things is different, and that is why there are differences in the four gospels.
Mark was the first one to write down what God had inspired him to record, Luke then gathered information from other people and that is how we get the book of Luke, after Luke it was Matthew and then John. In the book of Matthew it says that Jesus came from David. When Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit it meant that Jesus didn’t have a physical father, so why does it say that Jesus came from David? Mary and Joseph were descendants from David, but before knowing about David’s line we must know what his name means, so what does David mean? Who was the first disciple that Jesus called? Are we Jesus’ disciples or not? Who was the first person called by God? Who was the last person called by God? How many people has God called? Has God called you? How can you explain it?
The Bible says that many are called but few are chosen, who can explain this? John 5:39 says that you diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life, what do you think about this verse?
If God has chosen us, He wants us to change, and that is why I have been speaking, it is because God wants us to change. Every time we learn something we have to practice it because the more we learn the more we will have to face satanic attacks, and if we are not preparing ourselves in the Word, we won’t be able to defend our soul. If you don’t know whom Jesus called first, how will know the last one? If you don’t know that the Bible has two parts how will you know what is written in it? This is why Jesus was called to watch over our souls because nobody else will watch over you. It has been about six months since I have been preaching on the same thing, and now it is time to move on.
When a child is on a spring board and doesn’t bounce it will stay in one spot, but if the child tries to bounce a little, the spring board will help him jump higher, and it will be a joy for that child. There was a lady who really loved God and she had a daughter. After a time her daughter died so she asked God, why did you take this child from me? God said that He is the one who gives and the one who takes back, but you will have another child that will serve me, and everywhere your child goes he will leave traces, but make sure that his trace will never disappear.
When the lady gave birth she had no pain and there was no blood, and the doctor said that this is not normal. The child was born with a smile while other babies would cry, and the medical staff would ask themselves, what kind of child is this? When the child was six months old, it was walking, and when his mother wanted to breast feed him he wouldn’t take it, but at six months he would eat salt and chillies. The mother was puzzled. At one year of age the child could speak fluently and he would threaten other children, and the mother regretted having this child because he embarrassed her.
At the age of three things started becoming serious, the young boy could understand what the hen and rooster were saying. One-day visitors came over to their house, and when you get a special visitor, a hen or rooster is killed. The rooster said to the hen, because visitors are here I am going to die, so please look after my children. The child jumped in front of his parents and said, please don’t kill this rooster because he will miss his children, but the mother turned to her child and said, what are you talking about? Because the parents didn’t understand their child, they went ahead and killed the rooster. Often God uses people in different ways and events to teach us, but people don’t understand. How can you come to realize that a child can understand what a hen is saying? You will think that this child is not normal. God talked to this child and said to him, people on earth don’t have pity on each other, when special people come over to visit they kill the souls of others and they suffer. And the child said this to his parents.
At the age of five God started using him and he would stand up in a group of people and speak. While the preacher was preaching the child would go up to him and tell him that what he was saying wasn’t true. This child could give Biblical answers that people couldn’t understand so they called him a sorcerer. People in the church could not believe this child, and that is why there is unbelief in the church today. We understand the Word but we don’t accept it, we are preached the Word but we doubt. Time is moving on, the child who was five is now forty. We have to know that time is moving fast, and if we don’t care about the foundation our result will be zero. We won’t keep on talking about sin, but there are other things that are useful to talk about like sanctification, redemption, justification and the list goes on.
We have to learn about these things, but if we dwell on the same thing everyday we will drown, so we need to learn how to swim and walk. Our God is a God of time and we, as Christians must take time seriously because it is short, and woe to the one who neglects time. John said that only those who are violent will enter the kingdom of God, and if you are not violent in the Word of God you will never succeed.
Joshua said, "the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do what is written in it, and then you will make your way prosperous and have success". If you want success and prosperity you must meditate on the Word, but today as Christians we want 1000 people coming to us so that we can pray for them to be healed. It is true that this is success but before this success we have to meditate on the Word.
Before casting out evil spirits you must have a good foundation in the Word. The Word teaches you how to pray and prepare for a fast, and the Word also gives you strategies to fight against the devil. If you want to preach and save 1000 people without that solid foundation that comes from the Word, you are wasting your time, you must make an effort. If you want prosperity and God in your life, you must know the Word.
Whatever you learn, write it in your heart, it doesn’t mean to remember every verse in the Bible, but keep an idea of what you have learnt and use it when you are tempted. Psalm 119:11 says that I have written your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. However we write it on paper and who knows our long that paper will last. How are we going to grow up if we are not serious?
The Bible has two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Why is it called the Old Testament? It was called the Old Testament because it was written before Jesus birth, even though the Bible doesn’t actually say ‘Old Testament’. The Old Testament is called ‘The book of the law’. Why am I saying this? Our God is a God of the present; He is not an old God but a God who never changes and that is why His Word is always the same.
Why do we call the second part of the Bible ‘New Testament’? If Michelle is given a dress that was made in the 1940’s and a dress that was made in the year 2000, which dress will she choose? Michelle will choose the new dress, why? It is fashion. It is the same with Christians. When Jesus left the earth people decided to write new books that had teachings which were far from God’s will, and it got to the point that the Bible was no longer used in the churches because they believe that what was written before Jesus time belonged to that generation of people.
So why do we call the second part of the Bible, New Testament? And what does the Bible call it? The first part of the Bible is called the book of the law, but what is the second part? In the Old Testament we have five categories of books. The first part is called the Pentateuch, which means “five volumed book”, and was written by Moses. After this we have the history books, then the poetic books and then the prophetic books.
In the New Testament we have four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. What does gospel mean? Good news. Do you really believe it is good news? Why do you think it is called good news? When Shari sits her driving test it has to be marked by an officer, and the officer will tell her if she has passed or not. If Shari passes her test it will be good news, but if she fails it will be bad news. So what is the good news that is given by the gospel? Jesus left the heavens to dwell on earth so that we can be saved and this is the good news. The four gospels talk about the same theme and speak about Jesus life and share the same teachings, but they are slightly different. The Holy Spirit can inspire people in different ways. He can inspire Odon to go to the market place, He can inspire Oscar to go there as well, and if we were to explain how the Holy Spirit spoke to us, our versions will be different because the way we interpret things is different, and that is why there are differences in the four gospels.
Mark was the first one to write down what God had inspired him to record, Luke then gathered information from other people and that is how we get the book of Luke, after Luke it was Matthew and then John. In the book of Matthew it says that Jesus came from David. When Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit it meant that Jesus didn’t have a physical father, so why does it say that Jesus came from David? Mary and Joseph were descendants from David, but before knowing about David’s line we must know what his name means, so what does David mean? Who was the first disciple that Jesus called? Are we Jesus’ disciples or not? Who was the first person called by God? Who was the last person called by God? How many people has God called? Has God called you? How can you explain it?
The Bible says that many are called but few are chosen, who can explain this? John 5:39 says that you diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life, what do you think about this verse?
If God has chosen us, He wants us to change, and that is why I have been speaking, it is because God wants us to change. Every time we learn something we have to practice it because the more we learn the more we will have to face satanic attacks, and if we are not preparing ourselves in the Word, we won’t be able to defend our soul. If you don’t know whom Jesus called first, how will know the last one? If you don’t know that the Bible has two parts how will you know what is written in it? This is why Jesus was called to watch over our souls because nobody else will watch over you. It has been about six months since I have been preaching on the same thing, and now it is time to move on.
When a child is on a spring board and doesn’t bounce it will stay in one spot, but if the child tries to bounce a little, the spring board will help him jump higher, and it will be a joy for that child. There was a lady who really loved God and she had a daughter. After a time her daughter died so she asked God, why did you take this child from me? God said that He is the one who gives and the one who takes back, but you will have another child that will serve me, and everywhere your child goes he will leave traces, but make sure that his trace will never disappear.
When the lady gave birth she had no pain and there was no blood, and the doctor said that this is not normal. The child was born with a smile while other babies would cry, and the medical staff would ask themselves, what kind of child is this? When the child was six months old, it was walking, and when his mother wanted to breast feed him he wouldn’t take it, but at six months he would eat salt and chillies. The mother was puzzled. At one year of age the child could speak fluently and he would threaten other children, and the mother regretted having this child because he embarrassed her.
At the age of three things started becoming serious, the young boy could understand what the hen and rooster were saying. One-day visitors came over to their house, and when you get a special visitor, a hen or rooster is killed. The rooster said to the hen, because visitors are here I am going to die, so please look after my children. The child jumped in front of his parents and said, please don’t kill this rooster because he will miss his children, but the mother turned to her child and said, what are you talking about? Because the parents didn’t understand their child, they went ahead and killed the rooster. Often God uses people in different ways and events to teach us, but people don’t understand. How can you come to realize that a child can understand what a hen is saying? You will think that this child is not normal. God talked to this child and said to him, people on earth don’t have pity on each other, when special people come over to visit they kill the souls of others and they suffer. And the child said this to his parents.
At the age of five God started using him and he would stand up in a group of people and speak. While the preacher was preaching the child would go up to him and tell him that what he was saying wasn’t true. This child could give Biblical answers that people couldn’t understand so they called him a sorcerer. People in the church could not believe this child, and that is why there is unbelief in the church today. We understand the Word but we don’t accept it, we are preached the Word but we doubt. Time is moving on, the child who was five is now forty. We have to know that time is moving fast, and if we don’t care about the foundation our result will be zero. We won’t keep on talking about sin, but there are other things that are useful to talk about like sanctification, redemption, justification and the list goes on.
We have to learn about these things, but if we dwell on the same thing everyday we will drown, so we need to learn how to swim and walk. Our God is a God of time and we, as Christians must take time seriously because it is short, and woe to the one who neglects time. John said that only those who are violent will enter the kingdom of God, and if you are not violent in the Word of God you will never succeed.
Joshua said, "the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do what is written in it, and then you will make your way prosperous and have success". If you want success and prosperity you must meditate on the Word, but today as Christians we want 1000 people coming to us so that we can pray for them to be healed. It is true that this is success but before this success we have to meditate on the Word.
Before casting out evil spirits you must have a good foundation in the Word. The Word teaches you how to pray and prepare for a fast, and the Word also gives you strategies to fight against the devil. If you want to preach and save 1000 people without that solid foundation that comes from the Word, you are wasting your time, you must make an effort. If you want prosperity and God in your life, you must know the Word.
Whatever you learn, write it in your heart, it doesn’t mean to remember every verse in the Bible, but keep an idea of what you have learnt and use it when you are tempted. Psalm 119:11 says that I have written your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. However we write it on paper and who knows our long that paper will last. How are we going to grow up if we are not serious?
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