DEAD CHURCH - LIVING CHURCH 2

 Dead Church – Living Church 2

When that life of God that is the presence of the Holy Spirit, is absent among believers, the people seek alternative sources of power. I don’t care where you are reading me from, the situation is the same all over the world. The leaders might not know it but the people need spiritual power to meet the challenges of everyday life. If the local church lacks this power, the people go to places to secure it.

That was the situation with the church in Ephesus before Apostle Paul visited.

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. Acts 19:13-16NIV

1. Faking the original anointing. The people listened to and hear what God is doing in other places in the power of the name of Jesus Christ. But these things did not happen in their own congregation. Some people who visited revival programs in other cities will now try to practice what they saw in those other places. The leadership are afraid to invite the vessels that God has raised for that purpose because they do not want to lose their members. Unfortunately, no one is available to teach the people and groom them to be worthy vessels for the anointed gospel, some of these people resort to occult and buying spiritual materials from mystic shops in their quest for something that they want but do not know how to acquire it. The bible said that besides the sons of Sceva, there were other people that were doing it. This became a ground for satan and false prophets to exploit the genuine seekers of God. I have seen this a lot as I travel from country to country. You see members of churches doing the same things that fake prophets do among their members. Owing to the fact that no one had the real thing and the leaders are alright with it because the false anointing was not taking the endangered people out of the dead churches, they are permitted to continue. It is important that we note that these young men were children of a religious leader. 

2. There are some errors that cannot be resolved through theological arguments. We need to understand this. Some Christian leaders think that if they point out the false prophets, their people will avoid them. We have learned by experience that they only end up doing free advertisement for the false prophets unless there is a genuine manifestation of the anointing in that local church. It was when the Lord Jesus Christ drew back from those who were exploiting the power in His name, and the demons had liberty to deal with those fake men, that people saw the difference between the genuine and the false.

We saw this kind of thing somewhere else.

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw Acts 8:9-13NIV 

No one would have been able to convince Simon the sorcerer to quit what he was doing unless through this kind of manifestation. Take note that even the false prophet was looking for the real thing. When he found it, he also repented and got baptised. This is contrary to the way we see false prophets. We look at them like God is through with them. But the truth remains that God wants all men to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth. The right atmosphere and manifestation of the genuine anointing of the Holy Spirit is what is required to bring the transformation. 

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim 2:3-4NIV

Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Tim 2:25-26NIV

3. Genuine presence of the Holy Spirit will purge the church.

Before the coming of a man with the true anointing, there was all manner of hypocrisy and falsehood going on. That also means that people doubted that there was sufficient power in the name of Jesus Christ to support them. Today we have professing Christians who consult with witchdoctors and belong to the occult. There is no way we can convince them to separate themselves from those things unless we prove to them through the practical manifestation of kingdom power as Apostle Paul did, that there is sufficient power in the church. The first thing they saw was the miracle working power of the Holy Spirit.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them Acts 19:11-12NIV

It is possible that these people saw this as part of the arts of magic. It was when they noticed that those who took the name of Jesus Christ for granted suffered the consequence instantly and physically that they opened up.

When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.  

This is something the present day church should learn. The open desecration of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by bloggers, comedians and Social Media content creators is having an effect on the move of the gospel in our world. It is time that we petition God through prayers so that people will suffer consequences for this act. 

There are 5 things that happened in this church that led to revival;

a. The Holy Spirit was introduced into their worship and activities.

b. The believers were now filled with the Holy Spirit

c. The power of God became active in their midst in signs, wonders and miracles

d. The false brethren and prophets were exposed and punished

e. The believers separated themselves from every other allegiance they had with satan through idolatry and occult practices. 

When these happened, the following was their testimony;

In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. Act19:20

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

DEAD CHURCH - LIVING CHURCH 1

 Dead Churches – Living Churches. 1

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.  Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:1-6NIV

It will be difficult for us to get all the message in our main text if we don’t take the background to the account.

Apollos and Paul were both church planters and apostles of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul planted the church in Corinth.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."  So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God Acts 18:9-11NIV

Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 1 Cor 4:15NIV

You only need to read First Corinthians Chapter one and chapters 12-14 to see what a marvellous work Apostle Paul had done to raise and establish a spirit-filled church that was overflowing with all the gifts of the Spirit. In fact, he devoted three chapters of the letter to Corinthians in order to guide them on how to operate in and manage the abundant presence and grace of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

This was the church that Apollos now visited and began to teach them his version of the gospel. What we see here is like a change of pulpit. 

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. Act 19:1.

We will get back this matter later.

So Paul found himself in a gathering of believers that was planted by Apollos and he could not believe his eyes. These people were known as disciples of Jesus Christ but there was no physical manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit. They had all the outward show of religion but they lacked the power. Paul knew that there was only one reason this could be.

There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

It is not only that they had no power of the Holy Spirit in their midst but they have not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. They have been taught about the Law of Moses, they were taught about good morals and they heard teachings about the coming messiah. They were taught discipleship and I believe they knew so much about God and his word.  In spite of all these, there was no life in them. The Holy Spirit is the life in the Body of Christ.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Eph 4:3-6NIV

 If they did not know the Holy Spirit and His power, that means that was a dead church. Some people get offended when they hear that their church is a dead church. Here we find in the bible a perfect example of a dead church.

I am sorry to offend you, but if there is no material manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your local church assembly, that church is dead. In one of PNUR conferences, we used a Pentecostal church auditorium and the members made much noise in prayers. That denomination is very popular and spread out all over the world. But we noticed that many of their members are not filled with the Holy Spirit. I took time to teach on the Holy Spirit. Many of their members came to thank me because that was the first time they heard some of the things I taught them.

They were taught spiritual warfare, loyalty to the church leadership, faithfulness in tithing and offering, but no one had taught them about the Holy Spirit. If ever someone mentioned the Holy Spirit and His power, it was mentioned in the passing. It is not possible to have church without the presence of the Holy Spirit. I am not saying that people cannot gather; of course there are so many gatherings today that the Holy Spirit is not in their midst. These are social gatherings and I need to warn you that you are missing a vital factor in your midst.

When he observed the activities of that assembly, Paul immediately knew that the foundation of that church was faulty. So, he asked further,

 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.  Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.

Paul had to relay the foundation of that congregation by rebaptising them into the name of the Lord Jesus. We can see that we can relay the spiritual foundation of a local church if we find that the people who planted the church did not do a good job. We also see that there is a place for baptising people a second time, if the first baptism was not done properly.

Then Paul proceeded to lay hands on them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

There are some who claim that once we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are baptised, we do not need anything else because we are filled with the Spirit. This is not correct. We can take another example from the bible.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:14-17NIV

Philip was a powerful man of God with evidences of miracles and deliverance in his ministry,

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city Acts 8:5-8NIV

 Yet the people were not Spirit filled while He ministered. He had to invite some other brethren who had the Apostolic grace. We can learn from here that ministers may need the support of outside servants of God to fill in some ministry duties in their congregation. 

We can see that the people were sincere and willing to accept everything God has for them, but the preacher that took care of them lacked the spiritual resources. Many congregations are in this situation today. The pastors are deficient of the Holy Spirit and His power. Unfortunately, they lacked the sincerity and courage to seek God for the genuine experience. They now see the congregation as their source of livelihood, so they are more concerned that the people do not hear other ministers than about the spiritual wellbeing of the congregation. The people are malnourished and suffering. Some denominations have even built a theology around their poverty of the Spirit and His power. They claim that God does not intend that all congregations should manifest the power of the Holy Spirit. They claim that God has called them only to teach the people empty theology and in some cases, they spread lies about the believers who manifest genuine anointing power.

Hear me again; no Holy Spirit, no church.

If the church congregation does not have the evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit, that church is a dead church. Like I said before, the Holy Spirit is the life of the church. The reason He is not at work in the church is because He has not been invited. It is not true that once people gather somewhere and call the place church, the Holy Spirit will start working there. We must learn to invite Him. We must also make room for Him to express Himself among God’s people.

When Paul invited Him and prayed for the people to be filled with the Holy Spirit, things changed for them. We read later about the marvellous things that God did through the power of the Holy Spirit in the same church.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Acts 19:11-12NIV

So in the same place where they were called a dead church, we read of this great manifestation of divine power, and that is because someone invited the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, instead of humbly inviting the Holy Spirit, some people will begin to fake the evidences of the presence of the Holy Spirit. They shout like they are under the anointing, sing like they were in the Spirit and do all manner of things to create an impression for outsiders to believe that they too had the power of the Holy Spirit. Most times they succeed and in this way they only fool themselves. 

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Rev 3:1-2

This could be a congregation that had known the power of the Holy Spirit but now they are more concerned about materialism and politics. They now grieve and quench the Holy Spirit (Eph4:30, 1 Thes. 5:19). They have lost it. Instead of bowing down in repentance, they decided to fake it.

Is your church dead or alive?

I will love to hear from you.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

THE DANGEROUS SIDE OF A LOVING GOD

*The dangerous side of a loving God* .

Casualties of revival; that is what we call them. Unfortunate ones in the midst of the glorious move of God. 

Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." 2 Kings 7:17-18NIV

God is almighty and when He decides to do awesome things, He does not need our vote or strength to achieve it. God can do anything, whether we have faith or not. Let me put it this way; the reason He is asking us to have faith is so that we can draw-in His energy and grace in order to do the things He does. He loves us and is willing to share everything He has with us. Since the day He gave His only son to redeem us from our sin and from the power of satan, it has become clear that there is nothing he cannot give to us.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Rom 8:32NIV

Our text also shows that no one is indispensable where God is concerned. The king and his leaders doubted and quarreled with His word of prophecy, so God employed the services of the lepers to declare as truth that which the nobles have doubted. They called them rejected but God does not seek human consent to make His choice. The rejected stone can once again became the cornerstone. That should encourage anyone who thinks that he does not fit into what God will be doing in this New Year. God can use you.

You can repeat that to yourself ten times; “GOD CAN USE ME!”

Imagine the atmosphere that morning. Imagine how hope returned to the dejected nation and how those living in the fearful darkness received the light of life and everyone was lively again. Picture yourself in that city that day and imagine once silent voices clattering with live again. God has brought back hope to the dead nation. This is entirely the doing of the Lord and no one can take credit for it. God has risen to answer to the cry of the people.

This brings us to a very important thing. When God begins to move and joy begins to flow like a river, it is still important that we look inwards and make peace with our past by reconciling truly with God through genuine repentance. The presence of the miraculous work of God should immediately draw us to do inward search because, as He said to Moses and Joshua, we stand on holy ground.

 Yes, when we see revival again; when we see the power of miracles again and we see dying plants springing up and budding for fresh fruits; we know it is God. If we know that it is God, then we should search ourselves to see if there are things incompatible with God.

I think this requires further emphasis. God can still work and perform miracles in spite our sins and shortcomings, we should not think that He has forgotten His word. The bodyguard of the king had issues with the God that was moving in the midst of the people. Instead of to humble himself when he observed that the word of God from the prophet has come true, he moved on as if nothing serious happened. He paid fatally for this careless disposition. Sad to say that he was not the first and last in this kind of circumstances. 

The sons of Aaron; Nadab and Abihu (Lev.10) also paid fatally when they took God’s instruction for granted. God had taken pain to light the altars with His own presence and their only responsibility was to support God’s holy fire with firewood every evening. They failed in this duty. Instead of coming in repentance before the Lord, they dared to bring fire from outside God. I want you to note of that very well, they brought in another kind of fire into the God’s own kind of fire. As I talk now, there are some who go to mystic shops and others visit witchdoctors for the purpose to receive a fake kind of “fire” so they can deceive God’s people that they have God’s fire. The Lord consumed them with His own fire. 

David was zealous for the Lord but it was the duty of the priest’s family to bear the ark of God on their shoulders. The music was high and the crowd was large. It is at such moments that we conclude that God must be too excited to remember His own primary commands. Yet, the Lord broke out against Uzah. It was his duty to tell the David what to do. He failed in that duty and paid fatally for it. (2Sam6). This talks of rich folks who do not fear God and has assumed that if they can build structures and buy musical equipment, they can simply hire the services of some men that God has called into the ministry. In their thinking, God must be impressed with the outward things they are doing and not bother that the instruments with the true anointing are not given their rightful place in the things of God. Uzah was a fool. Nothing should cower the Lord’s anointed not to stand out and declare the true principles of our God.

Ananias and Sapphira thought that the size of their offering will cover the eyes of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be truthful in our measurement. They paid fatally for it (Act5).

All these happened in the time of great move of God in the midst of His people. It was God and not satan. It was God’s power and all they witnessed were from the only true God but the judgment also came from Him. That is because His people were taking Him for granted. 

Back to our main text; it was the joy of the Lord that filled the heart of the people and what they were celebrating was God’s intervention. As they rushed out of that city that day and moved to the gates of the enemies, it was God that motivated them. Is it not strange that every human step that trampled on the king’s bodyguard until his death, were given strength by the moving of the power of God?

Forgive me if I scared you but it is important that I warn you so that you don’t become a casualty of the move of God. That is God using you as an example to warn His congregation lest they follow your bad examples.

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."   We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did — and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did — and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did — and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 1Cor10:6-12NIV

I believe it is right for me to close my case here. By God’s special grace I have brought you to the point I started with you. I have brought you to Calvary again. The first time it was in hopelessness. Now it is hope restored. I want you to ask yourself now, “Are there things I need to put right? Are there issues in my life I need to correct? Are there matters in my heart I have left unresolved?”

Beloved child of God, God has already thrown the doors of enlargement open before us. The siege has been broken and joy has returned to our souls. We should not be as foolish as that bodyguard. We should bow our heads now and pray in a humble submission.

 ```You can borrow from my prayers if you are yet to find words of your own:``` 👇

“Lord, I thank you today. I am very grateful that you have done these great things for me this year without considering my shortcomings and sin. 

Now Lord, I want to make peace anew with you. Please forgive my sins of ……

Forgive my arrogance and forgive all negative words I have spoken in the past.

I still stand by the grace in the blood of Jesus Christ and I don’t take your grace for granted.

Holy Spirit of our living God; take totally control from now, in Jesus name. Amen.”

(Excerpt from my book,  OH LORD,  AMPLIFY LITTLE ME. Available  as soft copy PDF on Amazon Kindle Bookstore and PNUR Bookstore)

I will love to hear from you if you uttered this short prayers.

Remain under the anointing in Jesus name

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

A TEST FOR GENUINE LOVE

 *Just a sober reflection for you* 

 _A test for genuineness_ 

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep John 10:11-13NIV

At a point in my preaching this Sunday morning tears gathered in my eyes and I could not control it until it went down my cheeks. The atmosphere suddenly assumed this sacred calmness that could only have been the result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a special way. I was trying to explain to my audience the relationship between the Pastor and his congregants through the story of John Fawcett (1739/40-1836) the author of the hymn “Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love”  

Baptist Pastors and members will be able to relate with this story better because it has a background to some practices in their circles. In the Baptist Church, the contract is between the Pastor and the local assembly. The local church negotiates with the Pastor on how much they are able to pay. It is the responsibility of the Pastor to decide to stay or move to a church that can pay better.

A bigger and richer London based congregation had come to hire John Fawcett from a poor rural congregation. The local church loved him but they did not have the financial muscle to contend with the city church in London of all places. They resorted to pleading and prayer but their Pastor felt that he had to move on. After all efforts failed they came out on the day he was to leave to bid him farewell.

 The richer church brought in their truck and loaded his belongings. Those poor people stood by and watched. I have been in this kind of congregation; children with poorly fitting gowns and mucus running down their noses; mothers with hand-me-over gowns and head-ties; men with worn out hats smiling sheepishly with unkempt beards and hairs.

Reverend John Fawcett had this pull in his heart; “What sin has these people committed against me? In what way have these people wronged me? Why am I leaving these people that love me so dearly?”

The simple honest answer, “They are poor. They are not rich. They love me and I love them. My presence is a blessing to them and they are doing their best”.

He had now to choose between the call to duty and the call of his selfish interest. Rev John Fawcett could not leave in the midst of the tears.

That was the background of the hymn he wrote. He asked the rich people to put down his belongings because he was going to stay with his own family. Yes, they were his family but the rich church were his employers. He was not a hireling but a true shepherd. He chose genuine love and obedience to Christ against self-interest and money.

Years back I was in Cameroon to organize a conference and one of our PNUR partners led me to his local church pastor. Our intention was to use the church auditorium for the conference. I had not as much as said why I came to see this pastor before he poured out his frustration with his parishioners. According to him, they were not doing enough to take care of him as a man of God. He complained about everything and threatened that he will leave that church. I politely told him that I was not impressed that he could raise such subject before me a total stranger that he was meeting for the first time. He literally insulted me and asked me to leave his office. He was very angry.

The man that took me to see him was the church treasurer and I asked him what this Pastor’s monthly allowance was. You will be shocked as I was, Five Hundred Thousand CFA (500,000 CFA. Today more than N500,000) per month. Now as then, this is not a mean take home allowance. He lived in church built accommodation and they provided money for his phone and data. 

If this pastor found himself in the place of John Fawcett he would have left and jeered at the people as he will be celebrating his new catch

It is not only about Pastors. Some Christian believers change church because they don’t have fine building and they don’t have many car owners. Men have abandoned women because they are yet to have babies and yet, I have seen ladies who say, “Please, I can’t marry suffer-head man like him”.

Few people think of what their leaving will mean to the other person but only what they will gain if they left. Christian love is not about what we can gain but about what we can contribute to other people’s life in keeping with God’s purpose.

In this new week, let the lesson in this song guide your hearts.

 Happy New Week 

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

1. Blest be the tie that binds

our hearts in Christian love;

the fellowship of kindred minds

is like to that above.

2. Before our Father's throne

we pour our ardent prayers;

our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

our comforts and our cares.

3. We share each other's woes,

our mutual burdens bear;

and often for each other flows

the sympathizing tear

YOU CAN HAVE YOUR OWN PENTECOST

 *You can have your own Pentecost* 

I am saying this out of experience; anybody can have Pentecost if they choose. If a Gentile soldier who did not have a bible nor did he know the name of Jesus Christ, could have his own Pentecost, so can you.  

I want to highlight some points here and hope that you can borrow something from them to prepare for your own Pentecost. 

1.  Set your heart to it. It is important you understand what you are searching  for and set your heart to it. There will be efforts by satan and men to try to divert your attention. Right from the first day I yielded my heart to be a minister of the gospel, I resolved to carry my own Pentecost. I did not want to be a minster who is so called because he earns a salary or because of some kind of dressing. I had many options and temptations to change my focus, some “old prophets” tried to get in my way but I remained focused. Today, I don’t have the material wealth others have but the world over I am known as an agent of Pentecost. Let me tell you, you will not find any person in this league who followed a different approach 

2.  Understand what you are looking for. You are not out to compete with anyone, you are not looking for a big or small church, you are not out to be like anybody; your focus is to be so connected to the Lord that He can trust you with His power. Once something moves to come in between you and the Lord, that thing must be let go. I learned this lesson from Rev. Stanley Awuzie; the Bishop at his time tried everything to bring him to the level of all other Anglican priests but he resisted it with his last blood. He was eventually transferred to an interior place with the hope he will come  begging but he rather turned that place to pilgrimage center as people went looking for him in that place. He once told me never to go cap in hand to beg my senior minister for money but I should trust God for everything. I followed this principle and it has sustained me. There was a misunderstanding at Total-Care Ministries where I did my first ministry assignment and Dr. B C Mbata served me query and asked me to report all the tithe and offering in the ministry. Well, I told him that I have nothing to reply because I had never seen where they were counting the money. He asked the cashier and he was told I spoke the truth. Yet, I never lacked anything. 

3.  Prayer discipline. There is no alternative route to kingdom power; prayer is  the route and like I said earlier, your prayer life must go beyond the  ordinary. All the people who are manifesting the Pentecost have this in common. They fasted more than everyone else, they prayed more than everyone else and they gave time to the word of God more than everyone else. 

4.  Books but nor every book. You should not waste your time reading books of 

those who write from common sense. Some writers are operating from the  flesh level and so their ideas come from the flesh level. Some will warn you of praying too much and advice you to eat your breakfast regularly, drink plenty of water and take a good sleep every night, so that you will not die before your time. Give a careful look at the person who tells you this, and you will see why you should not follow his advice. Read and follow only men and women who carry this Pentecost because they are the only ones that can help you. Once I get into a conference and the speaker begins to talk from his brain, I am through with him. The bible is the manual for you; give careful attention to men of God in the bible and you will get to this power 

5.  Sin will neutralize you. Delilah said to Samson, “What can I do to you so  that you become like every other man?” and this remains the research of devil and his agents. When you begin to feel like having sex, understand that it is potent channel for the devil to send demons into your life and ruin your ministry. When some negative habits like drinking, socializing and such things begin to pull you, understand that the devil is waiting for you outside. Matrimonial violence, stealing in any guise, anger and all manner of ungodly  ambition will paralyze your spiritual power. Once sin creeps in, prayer power flies out and so does power 

6.  Evil company can ruin you. Once you observe that the person you are  relating with is compromised, don’t stay back to try to change him, run! Bible said that it is easier for him to corrupt you than for you to change him. Beloved, you will begin to feel lonely because of your new lifestyle and people will begin to say that you are acting strange. Keep walking! You don’t have to be in every gathering of ministers of the gospel. Choose one and be committed to it and dedicate the rest of your time to your ministry. 

7.  Sanctify your home, church and environment. If you are expecting the 

governor of your state, how would you prepare your house? Do the same as you prepare to host the almighty Holy Spirit. Don’t allow people to use your chairs anyhow and I mean using your chairs for social events where they take alcohol or cast jokes. Have a mindset that this place is reserved for a special guest and that guest is holy. 

8.  Midnight prayers. I don’t know why, but I noticed that all of the Lord’s 

mighty men I know are people of the night. I have never met a man operating in the anointing who does not wake up to pray in the night. The Lord Jesus Christ kept midnight prayers, Rev. Awuzie did quite often and I do; in fact, I feel very uncomfortable to sleep soundly in the night without getting out of bed for some long minutes. My wife and I see it as sign of bad things if we don’t get out of bed in the midnight hours. Yours cannot be different. Don’t lie on your bed to pray, you will sleep off; discipline yourself to move about while praying in the night. 

9.  Trust God to give you a team. Keeping the above points of discipline will be  easier if you have likeminded people working with you in the same  direction. This is very important because two are better than one. There are times you will need to go to a retreat place together and the presence of teammates will help your concentration 

10.  Prepare for a long wait. Remember the foolish virgins, they were not ready  to wait for long. Set your heart that the above discipline will be your lifestyle until and even after the Pentecost has come. Pray in Tongues often and do prayer walking. By prayer walking I mean strolling around and muttering prayers and meditating in the word of God. Learn to seclude yourself when you can afford it.

(Excerpts from HOW TO TURN YOUR CHURCH INTO POWER STATION

Available on Amazon Kindle Bookstore and PNUR Bookstore)

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

I OWE YOU NO APOLOGY, DEVIL

 *I owe you no apology, Satan!*

PNUR Global Day of Fasting and Prayers 01/02/2024

_Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her Acts 16:16-18NIV_

Glory to master Jesus Christ for another wonderful opportunity to appear before our God. Every Thursday our God has graciously granted all members of PNUR all over the world access into His presence. Our God says that we could come. We are on a special appointment and by His special grace, we don’t take it for granted. We have come to know that prayer is the opportunity that God has given to us to say something about our lives and to respond to all the arguments going on against us. Failure to pray at the time of prayer is like surrendering ourselves to the conclusion other people would make about us. We are too wise for us.

The devil, the enemy of our souls and who also hates the fulfillment of our divine destiny would want to put obstacles on our paths; he would want to make it look like we are doing something wrong if we serve our God the way we should. Hence, today we declare to him that we owe him no apology.

Taking a look at our main text, it is important to observe that the slave girl was able to accurately tell people what the future held for them, but she did it through a spirit of divination. She was also able to decode the identity and mission of Paul’s team, and that was still through the operations of a demon spirit. This should blow an alarm for every genuine child of God who erroneously believed that if the prediction is accurate, then it is from God.

Many people have been misled by this kind of thing but before long, they found themselves in circumstances set up to achieve satan’s purpose for them; to steal, to kill and to destroy John 10:10. Let me state here that fact is not truth. Satan and his agents can tell you the fact but the truth only comes from God. Fact can change with time but truth remains truth even if we refuse to recognize it.

The discomfort that Apostle Paul felt was the agitation of the Holy Spirit within him. We cannot overemphasize the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit in every moment and circumstances. There are people who are currently “enjoying” themselves where they are now and they cannot understand why they feel discomfort despite everything seeming alright on the outside. It could be that the Holy Spirit is trying to warn them of danger.

It could be in a budding relationship or a kind of a job or even membership in a particular church; there is this inexplicable discomfort. That was the way Paul felt and he decided to try something. He addressed the “friendly spirit” in the name of Jesus Christ. It is possible that he did not know it was a demon. Perhaps he thought it was the gift of prophecy but it turned out to be a demon. Here we come again to something I have been hammering on over the years; learn to do warfare prayers as often as you can. Conclude your Thanksgiving with warfare prayers; conclude your confession of sins with warfare; conclude your requests and petitions with warfare prayers. Demons and agents of darkness lurk around every corner and we ought to know how to bind and cast them out of our space. That was how the Apostle found out. Fire and smoke will often drive out hidden animal enemies. He addressed it by the power in the name of Jesus Christ, and Bam! It was a demon because the spirit flew away.

Some reading this now are in a relationship where they are not permitted to pray and they don’t ask, Why.

Some are promised marriage if they are willing to stay in the relationship and keep the Church out of their home. They have not asked, Why.

Some are employed in places where they are warned not to mention the name of Jesus Christ or even try to show their bible on their office desk. They have not asked, Why.

If this is your present state, take my advice and leave that place. You are toying with your eternal soul.

_What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Matt 16:26NIV_

There is nothing in this life worth sacrificing your soul for. If they don’t want Jesus Christ, then that place is not for you.

You may not observe any visible sign but the Holy Spirit keeps agitating in your spirit. You can do what Paul did; take one of our Prayer Collections and start warfare prayers. Who knows, you might be cohabiting with demons.

They did not see that coming. The devil and his agents would want to dictate the terms of your relationship with them. They are of darkness, so cannot endure the presence of light. Their intention has always been that we should put off the light. Children of God will suffocate in the absence of the Holy Spirit and light. But when we turn on our light, satan is in trouble. That was the point they tried to make Paul regret his actions; they beat them up and threw them into the prison. Hear me, it is better you die in prison than you perish in the process of trying to keep a friendly relationship with evil men.

Paul and his partner were put in the prison because they dared to address those demons in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. I can hear Paul in my spirit saying, “I owe you no apology”

_About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose Acts 16:25-26NIV_

Hmm!

Praying and singing hymns in the prison? It is not the likely thing to do. Most people would grumble and complain in such a situation. After all they had the conflict when they tried to defend God’s interest. Take note that the other prisoners heard them. It did not matter whether they prayed and sang hymns, or grumbled and complained; the people around would still have heard them.

Are you a child of God that is passing through some difficulties now? It does not matter what you say or do when everything is going well for you. The real content of your character is revealed when you face trials because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Prov.24:10.

They were in the same prison compound with them and we are not told what the other prisoners did when they were thrown into the prison but obviously they were not believers and so did not have the privilege of a living prayer-answering God and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit that made Paul and his teammate to pray and sing in the prison.

Another thing we can learn from this is that we ought to make our relationship and walk with God solid because that will show when pressure of life comes on us. We can see that pressure comes on everyone but their reaction only exposes the stuff they were made of. 1 Cor. 10:13, Prov. 24:10

The background of our main text is that Paul and his team came into a particular territory and a lady with a spirit of divination felt that they could be friends and ministry partners if they would not disturb her demons. They were free to preach the gospel if only they will not disturb her demons. She and her masters would willingly give some financial support to them, if only they would not disturb her demons.

This is the kind of thing satan is asking from believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. They are asking believers to lay aside the basic principles of our faith, so we can dwell together. In some ecumenical circles you are asked to pray without mentioning the name of Jesus Christ. They will serve and worship their demons; we should not complain about their sin lifestyles but should even permit them to practice them in our churches.

Peter was told to keep Jesus Christ out of his conversation and ministry.

_Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:18-20NIV_

Like most believers of today, Apostle Paul permitted this relationship for “many days”, and everything was going on fine for them. But that was contrary to the will of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that called them out,

_While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Acts 13:2NIV_

We cannot have true success if our present position or comfort is contrary to the reason why the Holy Spirit started the work in our lives. This is something every child of God needs to keep in mind. God does not judge things based on how comfortable we are with them, and the amount of money we bring to church while practicing such things. God judge things based on his kingdom agenda for you and those concerned.

To continue in such a relationship is what is called compromise. The truth is that once a child of God says, No, to compromise, persecution follows. You will begin to see the true nature of the people you thought were your friends. Satan and his agents know that our God hates compromise. They know that for as long as God is concerned, compromise means a total rejection of God.

_You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? James 4:4-5NIV_

In the face of such persecutions, the great news is that God never forsakes His own. If you will stick out your neck for God, God will stick out His neck for you. Apostle Paul and his team stood for God and God stood for them and manifested for them in a great way, even in the prison, leading to the saving of more souls. When they were living in compromise, they could not have result in their ministry. But when they declared their total stand for God, God manifested His power for them.

There are people who are currently asking God to manifest for them but they are not ready to declare their total stand for God. The bible has shown that God never forsakes His own. We should not fear any kind of persecution but through the power of the Holy Spirit position ourselves to confront every activity of satan and his agents.

Prayer is the way and key to do so. If we are in the attitude of continuing prayers,

1. We will be ever ready for all circumstances

2. We will be in a position where God can easily reach and warn us about danger

3. We will have the requisite anointing presence to meet every spiritual circumstances

4. We will have our anticipated result because the prayer of a person filled and led by the Holy Spirit is full of divine power.

5. We will eventually emerge victorious in all conflicts that we engage in the name of Jesus Christ.

That is why I invite you in today’s PNUR Global Day of Fasting and Prayers to stand up in faith and pick up those power Prayer Collections and engage in radical prayers. You may not know what you are praying about, you have to pray all the same. Remember I told you to deal with demons and all agents of darkness through warfare prayers. Say those prayers in faith and I will hear your testimony very soon.

Remember to encourage people around you to join.

Remember to write down your personal prayer requests and choose location and time for your private praying.

You can make request for a specific Prayer Collection to meet your needs.

You should know that I am praying for you.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

IN RESPONSE TO THAT SERVANT OF GOD

 This message is not for everyone.

IN RESPONSE TO THAT SERVANT OF GOD.

In response to many questions and comments I get from some upcoming servants of God I am presenting this message. It is becoming more difficult to understand what is the correct bible standard for servants of God. Unfortunately, these are not the days you will get to know the truth by listening to an older servant of God. Many who walked in accordance with established bible truth in the past, seem to be regretting it. We can say this because the same people are preaching in a reverse gear the messages they preached in the past.

To make things worse, fake servants of God are on the everyday increase and they are very loud. They flaunt material things in a seductive manner and this has become a ground to further confuse genuine children of God.

I want to let us know that our confusion of mind does not in any way mean that our God is also confused.

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." 2 Tim 2:19NIV

This brief meditation is addressed to those who truly belong to Jehovah. The foundation is sure; God knows you but you have the responsibility to intentionally turn away from wickedness of any guise.

In the past four years, I am sorry to say this, almost all the upcoming servants of God who approached me did not give any indication that they are looking for a closer walk with God. Some are seeking means to make more money because, according to them, they have been poor for too long. Others want me to teach them how they can prophesy. Don’t be deceived to think that they are seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit. No. they want mystical powers that will enable them know the secret lives of people, call their phone numbers and see their villages. This is so they can attract attention to themselves and become popular in the city and as a result become rich in material things.

Many of these people have doubtful testimony of their salvation and very few of them belong to any local congregation. Some have succeeded to gain these mystical powers by joining Satanism and learning manipulative ways to hoodwink people. Many sincere seekers of the Lord Jesus Christ have fallen victims to these kinds of people and then conclude that there are no more genuine servants of God.

I want to declare here that there are yet many genuine servants of God. If you are a genuine servant of God who thinks that you are alone, I want you to recognize that the author of this meditation is genuine and there are yet many of us. It is to these genuine servants of God who are still standing that I write now.

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this 2 Tim 2:3-7NIV

Hardship or suffering is part of our inheritance as servants of Christ Jesus. If we want to face the truth, we must concede to the fact that the letter that Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy was not a general message to every Christian. In my book, “The Nazirite”, I made this emphasis that consecration is not a communal thing. Everyone who is serving Christ must be sure that he is in it by personal choice. The Apostle Paul used the phrase, a good soldier and it is easy for us to understand that there are those who are in the same faith as we are, but they are not soldiers. The clause, “good soldier” is not talking about training or expertise, instead it is saying, “soldier indeed”. It is important that we recognize that everyone who claims to be servants of Jesus Christ fall into this class,

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things Phil 3:18-19NIV

The same Apostle Paul wrote this and he was not referring to some folks outside the Church. If you meet someone who claims to be a servant of the Lord who is not seeing suffering in Christian service as our entitlement, be warned that this one is living as an enemy of the cross of Jesus Christ and you must not emulate him or her. There are many who push up their shoulders as Christian leaders or supposing mentors and by the words of their mouth, they have shown that they no longer agree with the words of Apostle Paul to Timothy. They quote the same bible but subtly avoid some very vital points.

If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain 1 Tim 6:3-5NIV

Never in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ have we found a generation that so accurately confirms the words of the Apostle Paul. The Social Media is awash with controversies resulting from these men and women who have lost connection with the Holy Spirit. This has provided grounds for the servants of the devil to make spot of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This has further advanced satan’s course.

If a servant of God does not understand this, he will certainly have problems in his efforts to remain steadfast in the ministry. It is regrettable that many genuine seekers of the Lord Jesus Christ are confused. It is the duty of the genuine to step up and “occupy” till the Lord send this wave of revival we are expecting to manifest very soon.

To these genuine servants of God, the Apostle Paul advises them to borrow lessons from three areas.

Soldier – like the soldiers they must be dressed ready for action every time. They must not live like civilians, they must not eat what others eat and must not go where other people go. They must live the life of focus to please the Lord Jesus Christ who is their commander.

Athlete – For a sportsman to win the price, he undergoes a lot of personal discipline and training behind the scene. Personal fasting and prayers; study and meditation in the word of God are among the things we must devote ourselves to if we will be able to face the challenges associated to winning back the souls of men for the kingdom of God.  

Farmer – A wise farmer observes and takes advantage of the weather for the benefit of a good harvest. The darkness of this age tells us that we need to connect to the Holy Spirit for the right formulae to draw in the souls. We must choose our “seed” of the word of God by the help of the Holy Spirit and determine through His guidance the right soils that will give us the required harvest.

Take note of the way he summarises this advice;

Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Servant of God I want to tell you that you are not alone in this and it did not start with you or this generation. The best thing for us to do is to do our best to focus on Christ and where you can find any, connect to a fellowship of likeminded servants of God.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast 1 Peter 5:8-10NIV

I will like to hear from you.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com