YESHUAH HA-MASHIYACH LIVES FOREVER: 2007

Saturday, November 03, 2007

How Can You Say Goodbye To Your Godly Heritage?

How Can You Say Goodbye To Your Godly Heritage?
ByEvangelist. Ilona Henry Afamefun
Sometimes, I have decided never to write again, yet something keeps propelling me in my spirit to speak out, it burns in me like fire, oh yes, fire begat fire, I belong to the fire group (He Jesus, will baptise His own with the Holy Spirit & Fire) .
No idiot, principalities, dominion, thrones, powers, etc, would make me to shut up my mouth like a fool, such a power has not been born, I belong the eternal victor-Jesus.

I will like us to consider some bible passages in this article and carefully consider and rethink, if we Christians are really truthful to ourselves, if we are really defending the faith that has been once and for all delivered to the saints, of which Jesus and the apostles gave their lives to preserve.
I would like us to read together verse to verse of 1 Kings 21, you all know the story.

No wonder so many of our children know the names of sex idol television movie and pop stars, but they don’t know of the names of bible heroes, (what a pitiable state for Christianity)
We would be reading about the story of Naboth the Jezreelite and his vineyard and of Ahab king of Samaria and his malodorous request to Naboth to give him (king Ahab) his vineyard, and Naboth’s response and refusal, we are going to see how this story relates to Christianity.
This article would be somehow lengthy, but please take a breath and relax a little bit, reload your mind and keep on reading-until you get to the core of the matter.
I would be taking my text from 1 Kings 21, using the American Standard Version.
We are going to see how this story is relevant to all generations past, present and future; it is a story of enduring legacy for all them that will fear God.

1 Kings 21:1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

I want you to notice something here, Naboth had an inheritance from his fathers, that inheritance was beside king Ahab’s palace, how does this story relate to Christianity, what on earth does this story has to do with Christianity?

Do you know the meaning of vineyard in the spiritual sense, okay I will like us to see what the bible has to say about vineyard and how it relates to Christians, but before I proceed further, I want you to remember who king Ahab was, an Israelite king with a weak faith moral competence, also you should note that Samaria was never a godly city, it was founded on human ideology, I will not go into details about Samaria and all the stuffs that accompany it, but I just want to create a literal mental image of what Samaria is all about with that of Ahab.

I am quoting John 15 : 1-I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Can you see that the vine here stands for Jesus, he is the true vine and we are the branches, we are expected to bear good fruits, as the vine of Naboth is near the palace of Ahab, so is that glorious and precious name near at the ears of the kings of the earth, it is up to them to accept Him and be saved or reject him and be judged.

1 Kings 21:2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

Foolish Ahab, he wants to buy Naboth’s vineyard with money, a precious inheritance handed down to him by his fathers, as Ahab asked Naboth to give him his precious vineyard for money or in exchange for a worthless and valueless terrain, so are the world institutions asking us to compromise our faith, stop preaching about Jesus publicly, promising us false security, financial aids (as if God needs their money), recognition, etc, only if we can stop preaching the dead, resurrection and the Lordship of Jesus (are you catching the joke) ?

1 Kings 21:3 And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

Good response from Naboth, Ahab thought he could cower Naboth with the promises of materialistic wealth in acceptance to give out his precious vineyard. Oh my God, how does this relate to Christianity, what is this idiot talking about?
Okay, I would like us to go to the book of Acts 5:27-28,

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us (King James Version) .

Could you see how the council or whatever tried to shut up the apostles mouth from declaring the eternal truth, Ahab tried to bribe Naboth over his vineyard, the council threatening the apostles to keep quiet or face extermination, even as the world and her idiotic governmental systems are threatening Christians to stop preaching that name Jesus, please notice why the council wanted to apostles to stop preaching that name, and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us, whenever we preach the gospel uncompromisingly, we declare the world guilty before the lamb, we dare Satan to the face, we turn the world upside down and bring man’s ideological and philosophical satire to a thing of naught, we proclaim the lamb worthy and bring down to earth God’s kingdom to the heart of men of goodwill (praise the Lord somebody) .

1 Kings 21:4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

Whenever the gospel is preached undiluted, the hearts of evil men begin to boil, sleep and aggrandizement will flee from their hearts, their delicacies would be turned in gall and wormwood, peace will be taken away from their hearts, why, because the truth is piercing, discovering all the secrets of the mind.
I believe by now you are getting the whole scenario, okay, let us come home to the New Testament and see the similar of Naboth, continuing from the book of Acts 5, now we are traveling through verses 29-33

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

Can you see the Naboths of their time, people who will never cower down to empty demonic threats and fallacious promises of mythical nonsensical nonsense?
A people whose sole goal is to declare the truth at all cost necessary, a people who would die obeying their God rather than man and his foolish ideology.

Though Naboth stood his ground, he paid a price for it, but that was not the price paid for evil deeds or being deviancy, no not all, he paid the price that every godly and principled person would pay for the sake of the truth.
1 Kings 21:5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
1 Kings 21:6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
1 Kings 21:7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Oh yes, the people of the world always believe that imposing antichristian laws could stop Christianity, they can stop the messenger, but they cannot stop the message, they can imprison the preacher, but they cannot imprison the word.
How easily our leaders are been overtaken and manipulated by Jezebelian political advisors, whose main goal is to shut up the people of the word.

1 Kings 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.
1 Kings 21:9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
1 Kings 21:10 and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.
1 Kings 21:11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
1Kings 21:12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
1 Kings 21:13 And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.
1 Kings 21:14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
1 Kings 21:15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
1 Kings 21:16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Jezebel’s plans did work fine for her, good, at times the world would behave as if they are for God, you see guys, we ourselves are Christians, in fact we are knights in our churches, we are defenders of the faith, but you see, you know, politically speaking, ideologically viewable, philosophically touching, humanistically and otherwise, we are ought to be tolerant and not discriminating.
When we go to church, we become godly, but when it comes to politics, even Jesus said; give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
Can you see them putting laws in place that are anti God, preach against homosexuality, you get yourself into trouble, we should live in unity with evil doers and not to discriminate, we are told what to preach in the church and what not to preach, some churches have began to remove the blood of Jesus and Jesus is Lord from their hymn books, some have began to wed homosexuals and lesbians, calling it holy matrimony, Jezebels have succeeded in destroying our godly heritage, but they will never go free, their plans will never work, for it is written;
Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us (Isaiah 8:9-10).

All them who have tried to quench the fire of the word, ended up becoming preachers and propagators of the word, no one can fight against the God of the Christians, no one can quench the tide, their plans will always to come to a futile.

Voltaire (1694-1778) promised to write off the bible in hundred years, after fifty years, his house became a bible printing house (praise the Lord somebody) .
Naboth paid with his life defeating Ahab, our brothers did the same:

Rev 12:11 Our people defeated Satan because of the blood of the Lamb and the message of God. They were willing to give up their lives (Contemporary English Version).

Hallelujah, hallelujah, we will not give up nor succumb, until every heart the kingdom message proclaimed, until our lives for the sake of the lamb and of the testimony have been poured out, until from Africa’s well the lamb drinks.

We will continue the fight, until they (the enemy) surrender, we will neither give up nor flee from the face of the enemy, no matter how numerous his host may be, until heaven comes to our aid and dashes in pieces the hordes of darkness.

Let the sleeping giant awake, O America, sleep no more, let not the children of the ungodly your heritage destroy, remember the price your founding fathers paid to build America on godliness, let not the burning candle of liberty quench.

Let the godly and the fearless arise and speak, keep quiet no more, tell them their evil and cause them to know their sins, stand in the gate and shout like a drunkard.

Lukewarm Christians are ignorant of the devices of the devil; I know that it will strike many to the heart for saying the naked truth, but those you who understand know where I am heading and what I am trying to bring out.
There are locusts are invading our society in an alarming rate of high speed velocity of accelerated gear, nations and the so called Christian leaders are gradually bowing to these swamps of locusts and their radical animalistic hell inspired doctrine.
We see Europe progressively loosing her identity, she is becoming a thing of yesterday, with more than fifty million radical religious adherents living all over Europe, one should know that in the next 25 years if Jesus tarries, many parts of Europe would become an evil religious oriented countries, parts of north Africa used to be Christian nations, but rarely could we see the traces of Christianity, it has gone to the archives.

I sense in my spirit that many professing western Christians don’t really understand what is called evil religion, read carefully the account of Sudan crisis from Christian news agency, your heart would break down at the untold suffering, murder, rape and brutality against the Sudanese blacks (especially Christians) by mad radical religious adherents, there in the middle east, we see the ugly fruits of anti-Semitism and the satanic ideology to clearly wipe Israel from off the surface of the earth, yet some of you will tell me that there is something like “moderate religionism”, if you westerners (especially the Americans) don’t know that you are called infidels by blind and misguided religious adherents, I want you to know that today.

The attack on WTC and Pentagon should have been a warning to all of you of what is called radical religionism, but it is unfortunate to see the government of America supplying arms worth of billions of dollars to the same people whom on September 9-2001 sent more than three thousand innocent Americans to early grave, putting tears and sorrows in the hearts of many, yet I hear President of America saying that other religions and Christians worship the same God, that’s right, that is what we expect to hear, but I say by the inerrant word of God that Christians and other religions don’t worship the same God, the God of the Jews and Christians is a merciful God, while the god of the radicalism is a blood sucker demon that commands his followers to sacrifice their children as suicide bombers, let Mr. President rethink his words, let him compare and contrast by reading his bible.

Your government has been supplying arms to terrorists to kill the Jews and Christians, remember he who feeds a monster would soon be eating up by the same monster which he feeds, read history and learn your lessons.
I don’t want any one to misunderstand me, I love you that is why I am telling you the truth, the religious oriented world hates you with a passion, and they consider you as threats and impostors, your are their next target, you have a godly heritage, fight to defend it, cry out to God to spear you from these invading locusts.
They are every where, we who are living here in the West Africa know what we are telling you please go to this site and see what radicalism is all about, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467764660&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull, after reading the story, and you will know the true face of extremism.
We are seeing the entire world gradually submitting to fear, this may sound funny, but I tell you the truth, here where I am living in the West Africa, there is a great mental religious war going on, while Christians are at odds with one another, the radicals are seriously wiring their net work all over the cities of West Africa by building their temples every where, hardly pass from one street to another without seeing a satanic, there are places I know as of seven years ago, I did not see any satanic temple standing in those places, as I was passing through those areas last three days, I saw that they have been populated by satanic temples, what a shame for us.
I read from the internet the other day, the first radical senator to be sworn in into office with his satan inspired book in his hand, God have mercy upon us.
World and religious leaders are daily submitting to radicalism, pope Benedict of the Roman catholic church, went to one of their countries and removed his shoes and prayed to wards their holy city, as an apology to the radicals all over the world for his inflammatory remark over their founder and his blood sucker religion, okay, how many radicals have made an apology for relentlessly bashing Christians and that Holy name Jesus?

Only champions made history, fools don’t, it is time we stand up and defend the faith once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1) or posterity will never forgive us, let us learn from our past mistakes over the centuries ago and correct ourselves.
God will not spare us if we fail to defend the faith for which thousands gave and are giving their lives on daily basis.
God bless you for reading this article.

HE CARES FOR YOU, WHY THEN THE WORRY?

IF HE CARES FOR YOU, WHY THEN THE WORRY?
By
Evangelist. Ilona Henry Afamefuna

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7, English Standard Version)

One day, while browsing the internet, I came across an internet ad that says, “Americans, The Most Depressed People On Earth”, immediately something sprang up in my mind-how on earth could a people like Americans be the most depressed people on earth?
We that are living in the third world countries believe that Americans are the most happiest and buoyant people on the surface of the earth, how then come about them being the most depressed?

As I was murmuring all these in my mind, I decided to carry out some personal research myself, to see why a people considered the most blessed and happiest people on the earth becoming depressed, if compared to other countries of the world (after all are they not the world superpower).
While doing the research, on browsing the net, every site I entered, I would be flooded with every kind of adverts, some telling me that I have just won three billion dollars, while some would be showing me how excellent their products are, some promising me how quickly they could make me rich, wealthy and prosperous.
In fact, the net is full of various kinds of adverts, that if one spends all his time buying all that he saw on the net, even if that person is a trillionaire, he would go bankrupt within some hours.

In reality, Americans are not the most depressed people on earth, but Christians are, because the way the people of God are after material prosperity has made it so hard for Christians to be contented with what they have, the truth is that every body wants to be rich and prosperous, forgetting that the kingdom of God is not all about eating and drinking, but joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

This fantasy gospel that is been preached nowadays has made millions to believe that except one is reach, he has no right standing with God (God’s love is not measured by material wealth).
We are told to believe that it is not the will of God for his people to suffer, please know that I am not saying that Christians would suffer all their lives, what I am saying that it is through suffering that we are made perfect (Jesus had His own share, who are we). I have not come across in the bible where God promised his people an easy life, so how come about this fantasy gospel and its’ destructive elements, is it just men’s invention in order to make themselves rich and exploit the simple?

I am not saying that giving to ministry is a sin, in fact we are been commanded to support the work of God through our freewill offering, but we are not commanded to make ministers of the gospel rich, giving to man of God is acceptable and honorable, but we must give prayerfully with wisdom, insight and understanding.

In fact I have heard times without number that it is time for every Christian to get rich, because that is the will of God for them, while I do not argue that, even I have many bible references to back it up, but the truth is that everyone has a different timing and calling from God.

All of us cannot get rich at the same time, not every body would be rich.
Some even went at length by saying that it is time to get rich so that we can show to the world how great and mighty our God is, my dear friend, God is not in any financial competition with anyone, (read Isaiah 66:1).

Others are saying the time has come for the manifestation of the sons God, and this would be accomplished when we are financially mighty and prosperous, come on get real, the sons of God would never be made manifest by financial and material wealth, the manifestation of the sons of God would be through the manifestation of power by the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

The three thousand that came to Christ on the day of Pentecost was not because they saw how the apostles and rest were flooded with money from heaven, they saw something quite different and supernatural, so how is it that it is through material and financial prosperity that the sons of God would be made manifest? Let us stop deceiving ourselves.

While carrying out some personal research on why some Christians are depressed and burdened with cumbering loads of care, I came to discover the following:

1. We want to live in the best houses.
2. Own & ride the best cars in town.
3. Marry the most beautiful women.
4. Attend & send our children to the best universities.
5. Visit the best places in the world.
6. Want to be recognized internationally (popularity context).
7. Wear the best clothes and shoes (materialism).
8. Have the best shopping mall around.
9. Own the best private jets.
10. Feeling of insecurity.

The list can go on; these are the few I just found out.
With all these in the mind, how can one worship God freely, how can we not but blame & criticize God for not giving us our insatiable wants full of greed & lust?
God has promised to meet every of our needs, He knows when to give that which is appropriate in His time, He has not promised to meet our every wants.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:24-25, King James Version)

The Word of God is full of practical advice for every day to day life activities.
No one can serve two masters, which is clear and prompt, you cannot be full of desire for material riches and at the same time have time for God and for His word.
No wonder Christians betray themselves just for a morsel of bread.
Two captains cannot sail one ship, one must to cede to the other, you and God cannot be in control at once, either He leaves and then you be in control, or you surrender, period. God cannot be thinking of you and at the same time you be filled with anxieties, there is one who cares for you, yours is to relax, His is to do the thinking and every other stuff.

The truth of the whole matter is that, all that you need for the day would be provided for you.
Things will happen at their decreed time, who can make straight that which God has made crooked (Ecclesiastes 7:14), the answer is no body, not even science & technology. Your life has much greater in value than all that the world could offer; God considers your life more precious than all the material things of this ephemeral world.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap, nor do they gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they? (Matthew 6:26 English Majority Text Version)

I could well remember eight years ago, when I was living in a farming village, the villagers would spend all the year sleeping in their rice farms, weeding them of grasses and all the stuffs that follow, this they do every day and would retire late at night to their various houses.

But there’s one funny thing, after all these struggles, during the time of harvest it is the birds who do harvest the first portion, these birds would come as early as possible in thousands, and before the farmers would come to their rice plantation, the birds had had their fill. Isn’t it funny, look at how these people would labor for the year and end up loosing the most parts to the birds, nature is full of lessons for us to learn and humbly trust God to meet our every need, it is not to him that worries, but to him who trusts God in every situation.

"Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying? "And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. That's the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it's alive, and tomorrow it's thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith? (Matthew 6:27-30, God’s Word)

The truth is that worry or worrying does not add any thing good to our lives, instead it reduces a person to a miserable and deplorable condition, and worry is a monster.
Just look at how God in His infinite love takes care of His frail creatures, how much more will He not take care you and me who are so ungrateful and insatiable with wants & greed.

If Solomon in all his splendors and majesty was not clothed like one of the lilies of the field, it means that our pursuit and aspiration of material for material prosperity is nothing but madness, material wealth is not an end in itself, it is God’s support to our daily needs.

"Don't ever worry and say, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?' Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you. (Matthew 6:31-33, God’s Word)

The kingdom and its’ righteousness should be our priority, God knows that we have needs of these things, yet they should never be our foremost priorities, don’t tell God what you want Him to do for you, ask Him what He wants you to do for others, this is the real blessing.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own affairs. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34, English Majority Text Version)

Do you know why we are been told not to worry about tomorrow? Because tomorrow is full of uncertainty, it is unpredictable, we don’t what it contains, that is why we must trust God to see us through, a people in peace today, may tomorrow be living in pieces, so why the worry?
World organizations are serious in their campaign to bring poverty, sickness, disease, epidemic, war, racism, etc to an end, but we see that these things are daily on the increase.

Stop believing that tomorrow would get better, the bible made it clear that things in this end time would continue to get worst, let’s see what the scripture says about our time:

Remember that there will be difficult times in the last days. (2 Timothy 3:1, Good News Bible)

Look my dear friend, you should stop believing that tomorrow would get better, because we are living in the most hazardous time of history, things would continue to get worst and even much worst, because the devil knows that his time is very short (Revelation 12).
Our safety depends on how much we trust and believe God, it doe not depend on how much we worry, it will only destroy us at last, believe God and hang on there, do you understand?

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10, King James Version)

This eliminates all fears, all doubts, all worries of every kind, God has promised to take care of you, you need not to worry and be filled with anxiety, and He loves you more than you think, you don’t have to fight and struggle to get there, allow God to carry you on the eagle’s wings (be the commuter, let Him be the rider, you will never be confounded).

Now before I conclude this message, I would like us to mediate on the following bible verses:

If the LORD does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless; if the LORD does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand guard. It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the LORD provides for those he loves, while they are asleep. (Psalms 127:1-2 Good News Bible)

Hmmmmmmmmmm, can you see clearly that all our worries, anxieties and human toils and the feeling of insecurity are stupid, nonsense and nonsensical, is it not high time you begin trusting the Lord to meet all your needs and graciously take care of you, hey you there, is God talking you or not?
Spend time with God in prayer, make your needs known to Him, he will answer at the right time, don’t allow cares and anxieties to rob you off the peace of God.
If He Cares For You, Why Then The Worry?
God bless you real good.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

THE REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY MISNOMER

(Critical Issues)

THE REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY MISNOMER

By
T.A. Osiowy

In recent days much has been published, warning people against “Replacement Theology.” The term is relatively new and many have been affected by what I say is a misnomer. Before we proceed further we need to give the Webster definition for “misnomer.” Basically a misnomer is a misnaming of something or someone. It can be something that creates misunderstanding rather than understanding.

The theory presented by some today is that there are those that promote that the Church has replaced Israel. Now some may believe that, but we emphatically state that we do not believe that. While some may take that stand, that does not necessarily make them anti-Semitic or Jew haters, like those that use that term “Replacement Theology” say is the case. Those throwing around the term go on to say that this is a dangerous, anti-Semitic teaching that must be repented for and rooted out of the Church.

They go on to teach that all anti-Semitic actions and even the holocausts were rooted in replacement theology. Further to that, there is the notion that comes from those who have coined the term “Replacement Theology,” that if you do not get onto the same theological page, concerning the Restoration of Israel as a nation and then promote it, and get onto the bandwagon of doing all you can for the nation of Israel in prayer, political and practical ways, you may come under a curse - or may even be under one for not joining the campaign to “Bless Israel.”

With them Israel is central to everything that is to happen in the future, so much in some cases, that Christ and His Church are no longer central to the purposes of God. With many Israel is now central to all that God will do in the future.

As we are writing this, it is our firm belief that our hearts should be right toward all people and every nation. The things that God desires to do in any nation at any time, we must align ourselves with whole-heartedly. So we are not against blessing any people; as a matter of fact we believe it to be our call to bless the nations, not excluding Israel. At the same time we do not want to be predicting something that God’s Word is not crystal clear on.
Hatred toward any people should not be tolerated, but when you don’t jump onto all the “Restoration of Israel doctrine,” like rebuilding the temple, etc. in preparation for the coming Messiah and renewed temple sacrifices, this should not pre-suppose one to be anti-Semitic. This is very unfair, shallow and can even be slanderous toward those who hold a different doctrinal position. The fact is that many in Christendom would agree that the term "Replacement Theology" is a misnomer.

In the charges of those who write against Replacement Theology, it may be in order to say, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are saying or doing.” Many are just parroting what they have seen written, or what other prominent leaders have said.

They have not searched the Scriptures or discussed these matters with others who hold a different viewpoint to see whether these things really are so. When they say that there are those who say that the Church has replaced Israel they are saying something that not all good theologians are saying or would agree to. I for one, do not agree to the fact that the Church has replaced Israel. The Church was always in the mind of God from eternity past (Ephesians 1).
God always had a people. It was not a second thought or stop gap measure. It was His plan from the beginning.The Church never replaced anyone.

It was His creation. The Church never replaced natural Israel; however, it is the true Israel of God according to the teaching of Paul. There always was a true Israel of God throughout history, even though there were some who claimed to be but were not.
According to Paul in his New Testament commentary on the time of Elijah in Romans 11:2-3, the nation were generally speaking outside of the blessings of faith, but a remnant of 7,000 were right with God at that time. In the same context he went on to make statements that leave no doubt in our minds about what he was teaching.

Romans 9:6-8 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”
8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.”
God has always had a people that were recognized as His true people. As a matter of fact, Israel is spoken of as a "church in the wilderness."
Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

The same word used for church (ecclesia) in Acts is used in Matthew:
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The people referred to are not people who come from a particular genealogical line, but rather people who are part of the faith line - yet from different ethnic lines. It has always been that way and always will be that way.

Abraham, an idol worshipper with a background in the Ur of the Chaldeas was changed and became a son of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Further to that, if you look at the genealogical line of Christ, you will find that it was a faith line because Rahab the Harlot and Ruth the Moabitess, as believing Gentiles, are included. Rebecca also was a Syrian and we include her in the faith line. They were part of the household of faith. You could say that according to the Bible they were true Jews. They were grafted into the true life-giving olive tree by faith and God’s sovereign choice.

These were all made righteous, or made right with God by faith, even as David and Abraham were made righteous and included with those who are called His very own.
Galatians 3:6-9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Romans 4:1-10
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Faith did not (or does not) begin with a genealogical line, or a particular ethnic group. Faith is a gift of God granted and is acted upon by those who believe, all the way from Abel to us today. Abraham, of course, was chosen as a prime example of the faith. Interestingly, Abram, who was a Gentile by birth, is called a Hebrew after he comes to faith.

Genesis 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
Making all of the people who live in the land of Israel - and all the natural Jews everywhere the people of God, or God’s chosen people - presents some contradiction to the teaching and words of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

Take, for instance, the Pharisees and the religious leaders of Jesus’ time, and how He addresses them. If they were God’s chosen people, which they thought they could prove by genealogy, why, then, would He dare to say to them, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44).
Why would He so adamantly stand against what they stood for? Mostly likely because they carried a name that they did not live up to.

They were corrupt (sinful, like all of us without Christ) on the inside, but looked good on the outside. They had a name that seemed to be about life in God, but they were dead in trespasses and sin. Just take a look at all the teachings of Jesus with the Pharisees and you will have to conclude the same. Outside of Christ, all people are unclean and without hope (Romans 3).
Do we respect a nation and a land from which our Judaeo values come from?

Absolutely. Even as we would honour a particular church or family from which a great blessing comes, so we would honour them. We always give honour where honour is due. Even if the Church fell and lost its way, we would respect its past. Do we respect Israel as a nation as it has been placed by God? Of course.

We do that for any nation. Someone has said, “God has no grandchildren,” meaning that we do not gain merit with God on the basis of family line or the faith of our parents. Does God have a plan? No doubt, but it may not be all that some teach on this issue.

While we say all of this, we are also careful, as Paul spoke of in Romans, not to be caught in the pride that Israel was caught in. They are a living example of warnings that we should follow.
Further to that, we do not give them a false security in being outside of Christ. Many today in confusion, give Israel a false security saying that they are alright outside of Christ, when Paul himself said in Philippians, “I count all of those things but dung, that I might win Him and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness.”

Paul, who was a Jew and also a Pharisee of Pharisees, did not emphasize Israel as much as he emphasised the Church. In the book of Ephesians he speaks of how the eternal purposes of God are being fulfilled in and through the Church in Christ.
Ephesians 1:9-10 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him:

Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Beyond that, Paul says things in other ages were not made known as now.

Ephesians 3:5-6 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel:
There was some understanding in the past of this wonderful plan. Prophets predicted that the Gentiles or unbelievers would come in.
Abraham was one of the first Gentiles to come, but now clarification has come - since Christ has come, and since Paul received his revelation of the Gospel and his revelation of the Church. Paul’s revelation is crystal clear. God’s plan is to manifest His glory in and through the Church which includes all people who put faith in Christ.

Many, who accuse others of Replacement Theology, teach that once again the sacrificial systems of the Old Testament will be restored, and that the Gentiles will be servants of Israel. They speak in that instance of Gentile believers in the Church serving the Jews. Dwight Pentecost has probably influenced more minds than many in his book “Things to Come”, pg 519 - “the distinction of Israel from the Gentiles will again be resumed.”
Thomas Ice, a follower of Pentecost says, “At the Perousia (that is the return of Christ as some teach it), the times of the Gentiles will cease and the focus of history will once again turn to the Jews.”

He goes on to say, “In the tribulation there is no longer a body of believers knit into one living organism; there is rather a return to national distinctions and fulfillment of national promises in preparation for the millenium.”

In that statement he has the audacity to say the Church will no longer exist and the Jews will (in essence) take over. Where is that clearly taught in Scripture?? We cannot be strong enough in our disagreement with this distortion of Paul’s Gospel and teaching. Paul is absolutely clear that there is one body and that a wall of partition has been broken down in Christ, and there is only one Church, (called out people) who are neither Jew nor Greek, bond or free, and it is the Church that will take full authority in Christ.
He gives no clear time-line or event for that changing. That is a man made doctrine built on vague assumptions.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The talk these days among some is a Jewish Church and a Gentile Church. The New Testament writers would be upset with that language if they would hear of the division. This division is driven by nothing new, that being an old, falsifying faith and Phariseeism - which Christ Himself opposed. Because of what was happening, Paul clarified this by his teaching in Romans, Galatians, and also the book of Hebrews.

Faith in Christ was always the issue that broke down ethnic walls bringing people into the Church of Jesus Christ. There are not ethnic churches in God’s mind, because there is one body – the body of Christ, the Church of the Living God. How can we be speaking unity and yet promoting two bodies?? As we conclude this matter, which we trust will dispel confusion and help to bring down walls of division, we come to believe that those who use the term "Replacement Theology" are not fair to Scripture, nor to their brothers and sisters (who are, in many cases, being wrongly labelled as being heretical and anti-Semitic by this misnomer).
The truth is that those who accuse genuine Bible-believers of "Replacement Theology" may themselves be practitioners of Replacement Theology! Any of us can fall into a trap such as this by not being clear on the whole counsel of God. Allow me to explain:

1. Most of them believe and teach that Israel will (at some time) replace the Church or, at the very least, replace a section of it in that they will be the Jewish Church and they will govern and lead the Church. Jimmy Swaggart, who was a strong proponent to this, said “I am going to treat the Jews kindly now, because in the future I will be under their leadership when they are again ruling and reigning over the Church” ( an approximate quote I recall).

2. They are saying that the better will be replaced by the inferior. Referring to going back to the old sacrificial systems, which we know has no merit whatsoever.

Now that is Replacement Theology. I mean by this that some of these are replacing truth with error. I do realize that not all who promote this believe in two churches so to speak.
The book of Hebrews and the book of Galatians were written to bring this error into the light. Building Israel outside of Christ, cannot and will not replace the Church. Jesus said He would build His Church - not Israel.
They would come from every tribe, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Isaiah speaks boldly about the Gentiles coming in, which is really what happened with all who came into faith - even in the Old Testament. They would come from every tribe, every tongue, people and nation into what He calls the Church. There will be no distinction. There will be no separation; it will be one body, so let’s not divide that body.

Unto Him be glory in the Church, both now and evermore. Consider reading the following Scriptures and explain them in the context and in the light of what we are saying. May this clear up a lot of things that foster confusion and bring division.

Ephesians 2:11-22 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For He Himself is our peace, Who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,

16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.

18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 3:3-12 How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),

5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

6 that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the Gospel,

7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God Who created all things through Jesus Christ;

10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Philippians 3:3-16 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,

4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
6 concerning zeal, persecuting the Church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Galatians 2:11-15:
Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;

12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.

13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

15 “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

Galatians 3:6-9 Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”

9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 4:22-29 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,

24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—

25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—

26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labour! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.”

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

Galatians 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

1 Peter 2:9-10:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

1 Peter 2:5-8 You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”

8 and “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Hebrews 11:6:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 12:22-23:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

23 to the general assembly and Church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

1 Corinthians 12:13:
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Ephesians 1:23:
Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Colossians 3:15:
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Someone said it well when they said, "It’s not about race---it’s all about grace." Some Concluding Remarks:

1. There is a danger in the pro-Israel/anti-Arab approach in that both are presently living in unbelief and outside of Christ. Our goal is to reconcile both to Christ, thus bringing down the walls of division - not to politically engage ourselves indiscriminately.

2. There needs to be honest, theological discussions on these matters in a non-emotional, reasonable way, not putting name tags like "heretical" without hearing the other party out.
3. All teaching must be centred in Christ, His finished work and the purposes that are clearly established in Paul’s Gospel.
4. The good news is wrapped up in Christ first, not in any particular nation. Anything other than this can smack of humanism or national predjudice.

5. We must realize that many peoples have suffered persecution and we must have a heart to restore all nations, reconciling them all to Christ. Sin is abusive and will always be.

6. We need to recognize the errors of Judaism as Paul clearly pointed out in his teachings in Galatians and not align ourselves in any way with that error.

7. We must leave the national restoration of Israel (if that is to happen) in God’s hands. God does not need man’s jaded ideas on this. God is in charge of the nations and their future. We will all praise God if thousands come to Christ in that little nation. Again, there are a lot of questions around this by many good theologians, so let’s not waste our lives around things that are really still in question.

8. All kinds of zealous people have been predicting Israel’s restoration - and the temple being rebuilt to restore Judaism - for years and little has happened. God is not for that, so it is better that we focus on the last words of Jesus to His disciples in Acts 1:7-8.

The kingdom being restored to Israel was authoritatively declared by Jesus as not being the priority.

Why would we be so foolish as to follow the track that Jesus told His disciples to get away from?? Being filled with the Holy Spirit to be a witness to Christ in all places around the globe is the priority.

No prophetic word has a right to overturn the words of our master. The plan that Jesus set forth is what we stand for. It is clearly stated and is the will of God for the Church until Jesus returns. Any other plan is a sideline that can consume our time and keep us away from the great commission.

9. Another look at Romans 9-11 in the total context of the book of Romans is worthwhile. Paul is not all of a sudden changing his stand on salvation by grace through faith. Paul is issuing a warning to the Gentiles not to be proud - as were the Jews in the past which resulted in them being cut off from the blessings that come through the obedience of faith. Paul is saying very clearly, with no contradiction to his overall message in the book of Romans, that all need to walk in humility and faith in order to be right with God.

There are no exceptions to that. As Israel or anyone puts faith in Jesus Christ they come into blessing and are not excluded. Those chapters are a warning to not be high minded regardless of who we are - whether we be Jew or Gentile -because we stand by faith. For Paul to say that all of the nation of Israel will be saved is a contradiction to his own words in Romans chapter ten: Whoever calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved, not the ones who do not call upon Him. To pray for them to come to Christ as Paul did is right. We pray for all people to come to Christ with no prejudice in our hearts.

10. Romans, Galatians and the teachings of Christ Himself are the New Testament commentary on these matters. To go outside of that presents danger to any of us.

In conclusion, our hope is that through this communication we open our hearts to those things that are congruent with the Gospel and above tradition. There are many unanswered questions, but keeping our hearts open to dialogue is ever so important.

While some statements made here may seem strong we are only seeking to align ourselves with the strength whereby Paul taught these things. I well remember when I reacted to thought outside of popular opinion on this subject, but then I was challenged to open up to Paul’s Gospel (which made me take a second look at these matters).

I want to be understanding and gracious, but find it against my conscience to go against the New Testament commentaries on this matter.

Our hope is that you will try to understand another member of the Body of Christ who is desiring truth, but seeking to hold that in love.

Further to that it may be worth noting that both my wife and I have our family roots in the nation of Israel. While that is true, what we hold most dear is our faith in Christ and being members of His Church, which He has purchased with great price.

We Shall Overcome

We Shall Overcome

Evangelist. Ilona Henry Afamefuna

I don’t know if you have once listened to a music titled, “We Shall Overcome?”
Of a reality I don’t actually knew who sang that wonderful song, all I know is that it is full of inspiration, hope, courage and victory in the face of adversity.
The world is been threatened by every nook and cranny by godless men, fear and uncertainty seems to be the order of the day, men’s hearts are failing them for fear of those things that about to come upon the world, but it should not be so for a child of God who has taken refuge and took hold of the everlasting hope that is in Yeshua Hama-Shiach.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

We are winners not just because we are connected to one world body with sophisticated military arsenal, but on the contradictory, we are connected to the King of kings, Lord of lords & God of gods, the maker of the heavens & the earth, the commander of the heavenly armies, the LORD of hosts is His name.

God by His infallible word has assured us of victory ahead of battles, protection ahead of chaos, safety in the midst of turmoil, and hope in the midst of uncertainty.
We can be certain that God is always there for His people, even if they don’t feel His awesome presence, we must know that our feelings are not a criterion for the presence of God, in fact feelings are so deceitful and manipulative in some cases.

GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Psalm 46:1-3 (Amplified Bible)

As we listen to the media, we are been confronted with fear & hopelessness, one could not help but shrink at the horrors and injuries that men afflict one another with, of a truth the hearts of the sons of men are been controlled and manipulated by wicked horrendous and merciless evil forces, thereby making wickedness to be unprecedented in our time, Satan is at loss against the people of God.

You are the one who would allow him to get you into his trap.
The world of God is so much full of promises that one could not help but cry out in a humble adoration and admiration of the reality of the presence of God with His own.

Have you ever been to the sea, there comes a time that the sea is troubled and harness by horrific winds, making the sea to go crazy, but one thing that surprises me is that the sea does not go beyond the shore, no matter how it may roar and whirl itself, it does not cross the limit, that is how situation and all that is happening in the world is to a child of God, they may surge, but it will never go beyond the limit.

We shall overcome, because Jesus defeated the prince of this world.
The victory of Jesus on the cross settles it all; there is no need for a child of God to live in improbability because of empty threats from men of vanity, whose lives are in their breath, whose days have been numbered long time ago.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (New Living Translation)

Troubles are not bad in themselves, they are just an avenue by which the power & glory of God is made manifest in the midst of a perverse and wicked generation.

A child of God should not go around complaining and murmuring about his conditions, because God uses the unbelievable to work out His eternal purpose.
Believe me, we shall overcome, no matter how we are been threatened by wickedness, God is on our side, we shall overcome.
Even if we are been hunted by evil & wickedness on high places, God has assured us of His unfailing protection, He is always there to fight for His people.

What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side? Romans 8:31 (Amplified Bible)

The answer to the above bible question is, absolutely no body.
No body can tamper with God’s elect; anyone who tries it will get his finger burnt.
It is high time we begin to realize that we are beyond human destruction, Jesus made it clear to His disciples not to fear those who can destroy the body, & afterward could do nothing, but rather to fear HIM (GOD) who is able to destroy the body and soul and cast them into hell, letting them to also know that our hairs are numbered.
What a wonderful promise from the infallible WORD (Yeshua Hama-Shiach).

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 (King James Version)

Nothing on this earth is able to separate us from God’s love, this is our eternal hope and confidence, even if we are been told that Christians are been hunted by blood thirsty gangs, our protection and refuge is in Jehovah.

Nothing Is Impossible To Him That Believe.

Nothing Is Impossible To Him That Believe.

Evangelist. Ilona Henry Afamefuna

Have you ever wondered why some people are successful and others are down-earh failures? This question has troubled great minds for the past centuries, people of different background have come with one answer or the other, but their opinions and answers are contradictory.
I want to use this opportunity to explore some certain aspects of Jesus teaching on how to be successful, & what success is all about.

Jesus answered, "Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'Go, fall into the sea.' And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. But if you don't forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins. Mark 11:22-26 (New Century Version)

Please I want you to notice Jesus words, (have faith) success comes from first of all believing in the ability of things be done even when those things are contrary to natural laws, a person who wants to succeed in life must learn how to live by the supernatural, I know that this would sound so rhetoric to some people, but the reality is that natural laws do not give or permit success to occur under normal circumstances.

Man is limited by natural phenomenoms that he is so tied down to do nothing beyond his natural ability, that is to say man is limited if measured by natural laws.

When Jesus says "have faith in God", what does he mean, is he just trying to thrill his listeners, or is he passing a down to earth message to them that would carry on for every generation?

I have not seen any man who overcame under normal circumstances, things do not happen in reality as they seem to look. Theories are not an end itself, it's just collections of ideas, and some times theories contradict themselves, theories are nothing but fools' loads of nonesensical nonesense.

Having faith means living a practical life of believe and action even when things seem so impossible in one's situations. Faith is not just believing, it is practical in essence, it is believing the promises of God and applying those biblical principles that are mostly ignored by Christians of today. Faith is a deeper conviction that whatsoever you ask or speak would be accorded you in accordance with scriptural principles. When you pray, have faith in God, when you are speaking (i.e. prophesying to your life, conditions, circumstances, problmes & diificulties), have faith in God, when you are vying for a greater position in life, have faith in God, when everyone else has disappointed you, have faith in God, when you are applying for job opportunities, have faith in God, when you are been accused innocently, have faith in God, when debts are trying to claim your life, have faith in God, the list can go on and on, my dear have faith in God, and remember, He never disappoints.

Another thing Jesus highlights is "FORGIVENESS", please pay attention to these, so many people have lost great and precious opportunities because of their refusal to forgive and let go.
Unforgiveness is a devouring monster, that if not dealth with, would claim an entire generation, family, people, community, etc. Forgiveness, is simply letting go off the past, shacking off the shackles of the present, and facing the future with joy and gratitude. When a person refuses to forgive and let go, he is holding his victim in the chains of prison, and at the same time destroying himself. Do you get the message? There is no way an over loaded ship can sail safely in a tumutous and temptous sea, that ship would sink and everyone and everything in it would die and perish, so is anyone not willing to forgive and let go. One of the most important ingredients needed in success is forgiveness, do you know why, I will tell you? The person you refuse to forgive today, may be in the position of aiding you tomorrow, life is full of mysteries, be cautious.

The refusal on your part to forgive, equals to God's own refusal on His part to forgive you, so who is really loosing, you or your victim? Forgiveness brings an unprescedent open doors, opportunities and sweet fellowship, quick answers to prayers, etc.

In fact your faith can move mountains, but if there is no forgiveness in your heart, your faith is useless. Forgiveness does not imply coming together again, it simply means letting go off the past and be at peace with yourself, simple.

And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes! Mark 9:23 (Amplified Bible)

Please, notice that is to him who believes, it is not unto him the does self pity himself that all things are possible, when you are praying; believe, have faith and forgive, surely, God would grant you your heart desire and give you everything good in fullness.
God bless you.

A Beautiful Person, Chosen & Beloved

A Beautiful Person, Chosen & Beloved

Evangelist. Ilona Henry Afamefuna

Have you ever noticed a strange voice, telling you how stupid, ugly, rejected, abandoned and hated that you are? That is the voice of the devil speaking and taunting you to hate and disbelieve God's love.

It happens on daily basis to everyone of us, but I have a good news for you this day, someone loves you that He is ready to do any thing because of you, irrespective of how people view and under-estimate you, the truth is that you are beloved, accepted and even cherished.

Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. 1 John 3:1 (21st Century King James Version)

Hi, are you there? Halleluyah, Halleluyah, the Father of our Adonai Yeshua Hama-Shiach has bestowed or lavished His love upon us that even this world does not recognise us any longer, this love has so much transformed us from being wolves, tigers, lions, salvageous beasts in character and actions, to humble and harmless sheep.
This love goes beyond human imagination, it is a kind of love that sets us apart from every other religion in the world, because it is a transforming love, a conquering love, and a precious one in esence.

Christians in Yeshua have so much belittled themselves, carrying guilts around, living by the mistakes of the past, trying to please God by their religious and sanctimonious efforts, blaming themselves for their past and present faults and failures, while in reality, the Father bcause of Yeshua has forgiven them, not knowing that Yahweh does not look at them from human perspectives, He looks at them through the shed blood of the New Covenant that speaks of better things that that of Abel, the forgiving blood that washes whiter than snow.

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3 (King James Version)

The LORD said, he has loved you with an everlasting love, and drawn you with lovingkindness, therefore let every accuser go to hell and burn to ashes, let everyone shut his mouth up, it is no one's business, whether you failed or not, it is up to God to decide, He knows your faults and every weakness, it is up to Him to judge, condemn or acquit you, but on the contrary, He acquits you because of the blood.
Settle it in your heart that the Lord is your righteousness, he bears you up in his loving mighty arms, he supports you in every way possible, and waters you on every side, you are the apple of his eyes.

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:1-5 (King James Version)

You do not need to carry guilts around, mourning and wandering aimlessly from one minister of the gospel to another, asking for prayers from every nook and cranny, if you have committed any sin, humbly go to God in prayer and ask Him to forgive you, He hears you.
Our relationship with God is that of a father to his son, a loving father forgives his son of every fault and welcomes him home, that is how we are to go God, why then go around with burden of guilts?

Do you know that you are a very beautiful person? You may not know, but I want to let you know that before the Father of lights, you are beautiful, beloved and chosen before the foundation of the world.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; 1 Peter 2:9

God has not chosen you to carry your guilts alongside with Him, he called you to live free, because it is His desire for you to b free.
Beloved, believe and settle it in your heart that you are a very beautiful person, chosen and beloved in Him.

A friend of mine sent me this poem over the years:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring, and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem, Not to mention that Friday at Calvary? Face it, He's crazy about you. HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!!!
Just mediate on it and you will see how great the love of God is towards you.
God bless you real good.

You Can Make It In Life-No Matter What

By
Evangelist. Ilona Henry Afamefuna.

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:34-35).

I wonder, if there is any person in this life, who has made it without failure and setbacks?
It seems that people these days are afraid of adventuring, just because the last one was a total failure and disgrace.

The scripture I just quoted was about a man called Cornelius, gentile by nature and birth, this man never heard the gospel, but he believed in a living God, the bible says that he was a generous man who gives much alms to the poor.
I believe that people of his own time might have ridiculed him, they might have told him all sort of nonsense just to discourage him from the good work he was doing.

But this man never stopped, rather being discouraged, he pressed forward, he never looked back or said one day, boy, this whole thing is nothing but a flop, I am tired, I will stop.
No, he continued doing what he was doing; he was a man in season and out of season.
Hear what the bible said about this man:

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with his entire house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.” (Acts 10:1-2).

Notice what the bible said, “he prayed continually”, that is, he never got weary of communicating with God, and he was always there in the presence of God.
Then one day, the answer to his prayers came, this is what the bible said:

“He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” (Acts 10:3-5)

I don’t know about you, I don’t know what you have been pray for, may be you have been praying for marriage, for financial breakthrough, etc, one thing I will tell you is this, the God that answered Cornelius will surely answer you, He has not changed.
Don’t just because of failures and disappointment loose hope, you can still succeed even at the least time expected, God’s timing for your life is quite different from yours (learn this secret & let it sink deep into your heart).
A person, who is afraid of making mistakes, will never succeed in life, only fools fear to fail.

Take for example the story of Jabez, the bible said he was born in pains, in other words, he was born miserable, but his weakness could not stop him from succeeding.

“Jabez was honorable above his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez [sorrow maker], saying, Because I bore him in pain.
Jabez cried to the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me! And God granted his request.” 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (Amplified Bible).

The word “Jabez”, literally means, one who causes sorrow, so you can see the miserable situation in which this young man found himself.
May be you are in such condition, may be you are now the proverb of your family, and may be your second name is Mr Failure, you might have tried other things to no avail, but dear friend that should not stop you, they are not reality, only you can stop yourself.
Now let me come back to Jabez, I want you to notice something about this young man, he possessed the quality of not accepting life’s defeat.

Despite the condition in which he found himself, it did not stop him from reaching out God in prayers, you also can do the same, and that God that answered Jabez will also answer you and change your situation just as He did in the life of Jabez.
Jabez broke his barriers, you also can break yours, this is not a theory, this is a practical life experience.

Yes, dear friend you can break your barriers, no matter what you are passing through presently, you can turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones, only if you can reach out to God in prayers as did Jabez.

One thing you must know is this, failures, set backs and disappointments are instruments to prepare a man for success, without them coming to your life, you will end up a looser.

Has life slapped you on the face, keep on going on, are you at the end of your rope, just tie the nut and hang on, are the Egyptians behind you and the red sea in front, just look up you will see God.

Don’t you ever listen to what people are saying, listen to what God is telling you.
I will like to cite another bible example of trusting God in difficult times:

“And they told him, and said, we came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, we be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, the land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:27-33).

I will not go into details in explaining this portion of the scripture, you can read the account for yourself, twelve men went to explore the land, ten men saw giants, but two saw God, ten saw defeat, two saw victory.
The ones who saw giants died on the way, the two which saw God made it to the Promised Land (see the difference yourself).

Now let me ask you, are you seeing God or your circumstances are you bowing before your condition or before the God who is greater than the condition?
Are you seeing defeat or victory, yes I see victory not defeat, because the bible tells me in the book of 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”, glory, I am in God’s company, the ever winning team, one with God is a winner, because “With God we shall gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies” (Psalm 60:12).

Halleluiah, with God on our side, who can defeat us, it is well, it is well, no matter what happens, victory is sure, because with God, we are unstoppable, unmovable & undefeatable.

Don’t allow fear, doubt, unbelief and discouragement to stop you from climbing victory ladder, one truth that you must know is this, there is no short cut to victory, everyone passed through it, therefore you should not see yours different.

Learn to see things from God’s perspective, not from the world’s.
The world sees things from the negative angle, but God looks at the end.
It is the end that matters, not the beginning, the beginning may be bitter, but the end will tell it all, so it is not your beginning that counts, but how did it end.
That you failed today, does not mean you will not succeed tomorrow, never ever judge your future from the present, for you do not know what the future holds for you.
Forget your past, live your today, and face the challenges of tomorrow.

If Christ be ours, all things, one way or another, shall be for our eternal good. The man who is a new creature in Christ, may rejoice in all the precious promises God has spoken in his holiness. The people of God are through Christ more than conquerors. Though sometimes they think that the Lord has cast them off, yet he will bring them into the strong city at last. Faith in the promise will assure us that it is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom: Hope in God is the best principle of true courage, for what need those fear who have God on their side? All our victories are from him, and while those who willingly submit to our anointed King shall share

his glories, all his foes shall be put under his feet.

I want you to consider the following words by William Cowper:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Always keep on focus, keep your eyes on Jesus, not your circumstances (Hebrews 12:1-3), don’t listen to what people are saying about you, it makes no sense.

People may say negative about you, but that is not God’s thought concerning you, the truth is that, as far as you are living, whether you are rich or poor, people must talk about you, so listen to God not people. (Isaiah 51:4-8)

Stop looking help from men, they will surely fail you when least expected, man can not be faithful, he changes with changing days, if man changes every minute and then, why seek help from him, God hates it with all hatred, David said his help will come from God who made the heavens and the earth, only God can truly help.

Please I am not saying that human help is useless, what I am saying is that you should not depend on it as the ultimate solution to your condition.

Though life can sometimes seem like an endless journey of questions without answers, if we truly reach out beyond our inner walls, a lifeline awaits us.

Consider also, those who have gone ahead of us, none of them found it easy, but by grace and divine assistance, they were able to make it through.

That Grace is available to us today, simply reach out to God in prayers, and He will help you in the most daring time of your need. (Hebrews 4:14-16).

In conclusion, I want us to read this portion of the scripture together:

Now may the God of peace [Who is the Author and the Giver of peace], Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood [that sealed, ratified] the everlasting agreement (covenant, testament), Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ (the Messiah); to Whom be the glory forever and ever (to the ages of the ages). Amen (so be it). Hebrews 13:20-21 (Amplified Bible)

May the God, who brought His son back to life, also bring you from every dead which you are experiencing in your life, may He never abandon you in the grave of the enemy, may he cause a divine resurrection in your life, through Jesus our Lord, amen.

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, "How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," he accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die." "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every out come is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later...

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Whose Report Would You Believe?

Every student of the bible knows fully well first hand the story of the twelve spies. They were sent to spy the land and bring news to Moses and the congregation so that they would know the next step to take, God in His infallible word has promised to give them the land, as in fulfillment to the promises He made to their forefathers.

We all know what happened, the twelve men actually spied the land and came back with different stories, in this article we are going to see what sorts of stories they came back with and where you actually stand in this life, you will be judge.

1. Ten Men On The Defeated Side

Out of the twelve men that went to succour the land, there emerged two sets of people. Ten were men of wavering faith, who see things from the carnal perspective, the other two were men who know their God and what He can do, they knew in their hearts that God could never be judged by physical circumstances, they hold unto their faith and refused to be discouraged. Let's see what the bible said about the ten men

Numbers 13

And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.

Good of a story, they really saw the land, they brought word to Moses the servant of God and to the congregation in the wilderness, they displayed the fruit of the land, what a great courage!

But the question at hand was; are they really courageous to go and take the land, does their confession agree with their later actions and comportment?

They displayed a valiant show of speech, mighty in words indeed, but are they all the same mighty in faith, or are they just speaking out of fear & anxiety? We will find out.

Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.

Listen carefully to the confession of these ten men in verse 28, is there something striking about these men, could you see that these men are nothing but a mistake in the midst of the congregation, how on earth could these men say such a thing, have they forgotten so soon the wonders of God for the past forty days he has been leading them in the wilderness, some must be wrong with these men?

There are so many out there who through their negative confessions destroyed people's lives and frustrated the dreams of many, be ware my beloved, God does not walk with multitudes who are full of nothing but discouragement.

One with God is majority, never ever walk with a person of negative impact, he would destroy your dreams and end you up on the way, in fact you will live to regret it all the days of your life, stand with faith and surely victory would be yours.

These ten defeated men, saw the following:

Strong people (principalities and powers, hosts of darkness, evil men and women in the highly places of our modern society trying to destroy every step of godliness).

Walled & great cities (impossible situations, conditions and circumstances of life).

children of Anak (the offspring of the giant, representing everything that challenges your faith in the Lord).

2. Two Men With A Different Spirit (The Winning Team)

In the same story, we are going to see two men, whose statement has been of encouragement to thousands of generations past and present, who in their journey have encountered such.

These men are of great inspiration to our present generation, whose belief is that God has changed with moving trends, the truth is that the word remains the same.

30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

Believe it or not, there is nothing so impossible for a person of faith, no matter how tough, rough and rugged your situation may seem, faith has a way of defeating impossibilities and making a way for a successful end.
Look at the positive mindset of this very young man Caleb, "We Are Able", that should be your mindset as a child of God, believe and settle it right within your soul that it is already well, even though things are rough.
As you reading this article, I want you to pulse for a while and say to yourself, "I AM ABLE", say it to yourself as many times as possible, as you do this, you will notice a quick and sudden disappearance of despairs, doubt, fear and the feeling of defeat.
Be like Caleb & Joshua, men of sound mind and spirit, who refused to see the giants, strong walls and fenced cities, but who through faith saw victory ahead of battle.
Say to yourself, I refuse to accept defeat, I refuse to be discouraged, I refuse to settle down for hopelessness, I refuse, I refuse (shout it aloud if possible).

Read the rest of the story for yourself and be encouraged.

God bless you real good in Jesus name, amen.