Lifeway Magazine (July - August)

VOL 8 NO 3 JULY  AUGUST 2008

ISS N 1 5 9 5-5 4 0 0

ISSUES IN THE CHURCH

N500 GHC5.00 £3.00 US $5.00

THE CHRISTIAN VOICE

Decoding the Prosperity Gospel p25

SINGLE & MARRIED

What to do if your partner is the jealous type p34 VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING

The Warfare of Dreams p40

MINISTERS' MANNA

Seven Secrets to the anointing p48

PROPHETS OR MAGICIANS? • Phone number prophecies rock the church • The Ghana connection • Bishop Charles Agyin-Asare speaks out

We are like the clay in the hands of the potter.

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received with great shock and sadness the suden passing unto glory of Emiola Yoloye of the Free Gift Drama Ministry.

She and her husband had left their lucrative careers to pursue their call to preach the gospel through Christian drama. For many years they organised and funded several stage plays for free at choice venues all over the city. Last year they celebrated the tenth year anniversary of the ministry. By any standard one could have safely assume that sister Emiola would live till a ripe old age. But as it turned out that was not the case. During her lifetime, there was a deep need in her life that I’m aware she did not receive until her sudden demise.

Even though she did not receive this desire, l watched her throw her self fully into the ministry God committed to them. I witnessed the birth of many souls into the kingdom through their drama ministry. And when we gather at the judgment seat of the Christ it is not going to be about the things we had or did not have. It is going to be about how we fulfilled purpose; it is going to be whether we served our generation or not according to the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20).

As l mourned and meditated on the going home of Emiola, l struggled not to question God. Is God really good to His own? When is God good? When He meets our needs/prayers or not? Does God reward our walk of faith?

Does our diligent walk of faith produce reward?

When, where or how do we qualify for the reward; in this life or the life after? What do we do when the reward is not forth coming? I came up with a few thoughts that l would like to share with you.

• God is good all the time; goodness is one of God’s attributes. This is a truth we must learn to accept by faith regardless of the circumstances that we face in life. I will be the first to admit that it is difficult to see God’s goodness in the midst of financial hardship, emotional trauma, ill health or childlessness. However, we must realise that we know in part and see in part, and more importantly His ways are not our ways. In situations like this, we just have to trust in

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His goodness and acknowledge His sovereign rule over our lives. Please we should not use our limited human knowledge and experiences to try to explain that which cannot be explained. I am certain we just won’t understand certain things about life on this side of eternity. How do you explain the beheading of John the Baptist? Even this great forerunner of Christ struggled with his incarceration and was tempted to question Christ. But Christ’s response to John is His response to us today. “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:6).

• Acknowledge His Sovereignty: We are like the clay in the hands of the potter. Romans 9:20-21 says; “but indeed o man, who are you

When Trust is our only Hope

last word

BY Y INK A JACK SON

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to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this”. Does not the potter have power over the clay….” In other words, when pitched against God’s sovereign plans and purposes for our lives, we are faceless and speechless.

God may give us that husband/ wife we have desperately prayed for He may not.

GOD may answer that desperate longing of our heart or He may not. It is not about us; it is all about His plans and purposes for us and His kingdom agenda (check also Isaiah 64:8). Remember the three Hebrew children in Daniel 3:16-18. They kept their focus on the God they served. They made a bold declaration in the face of their adversity. “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace…. But if not, let it be known to you o king that we will still not bow” (vs 17). In this life we may win doing the will of God or we may suffer terribly for doing so. Whatever be the case we must not lose sight of to whom we belong and whom we serve (Acts 27:23). Thankfully, God chose to demonstrate His power to the powers in Babylon by rescuing Shedrach, Meshach and Abedenego. But we see in the same Bible that some heroes of the faith “were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented… of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all of these, having obtained a GOOD TESTIMONY through faith, DID NOT RECEIVE THE PROMISE” (Hebrews 11:37-39 Emphasis mine). There is a Hall of Fame like the one in Hebrew chapter 11 waiting for our names to be eternally engraved in it. God is looking for a people who will stay focused, a people who are not ashamed to keep trusting in Him whether or not, like my sister Emiola, they receive the promises. Emiola sacrificed a lot to serve her generation. Adieu, dear sister.

Mrs Jackson is associate publisher and marketing director of lifeway. You can reach her on yinka@lifewaymag.com

MINISTERS’ MaNNa

In other words, he actually followed the teachings and directives of John the Baptist.

John was a man of violent preaching and water baptism. Jesus Christ joined fully and flowed with everything. When it was time for baptism, He went forward and participated in it. There are many people who do not follow the teachings and instructions of their spiritual fathers. They hang around and are associated with the ministry but do not actually submit themselves to what is being taught.

S T E P 3: H U M B L E Y O U R S E L F I N T H E KINGDOM When Jesus came to John He humbled Himself and joined the ranks of the congregation. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized” (Luke 3:21). Jesus joined fRoM faMINE T allothe people and received His baptism as fEaST a commoner. It is important to be humble in the church or ministry God has brought you to. Older, rich people rarely receive the anointing. It is difficult for people who are elevated in society to receive the anointing.

The master key to receiving anything in the kingdom is humility. Jesus said, ‘Unless you are humble like a little child you cannot enter the kingdom’. Entrance into the anointing is granted through the key of childlike humility.

If Jesus had not humbled Himself and agreed to be baptised He would not have received the anointing.

S T E P 4: D O N O T B E L E D B Y M E N “But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptised of thee, and comest thou to me?”

(Matthew 3:14).

The fourth step to the anointing involves avoiding the mistake of being led by men. Do not let any human being keep you from doing anything you must do to become anointed. John the Baptist tried to prevent Jesus from being baptised. You may be surprised to know that men of God sometimes give advice that directs you away from the anointing.

The anointing is the most precious gift you can receive from God. It therefore comes with the most stringent tests. Who would suspect that the words or advice of a trusted man of God could actually direct you away from the anointing? That is a difficult high-level test for anyone. This is what happened when Elijah tried to stop Elisha from following him. From Gilgal to Jericho to Bethel and even at Jordan, Elijah tried to get rid of Elisha. This very difficult

test shows whether the man desirous of the anointing is tuned to hear God’s voice even in the most doubtful, vague and unclear circumstance. When you become anointed you will have great authority and you must be in tune with God. S T E P 5: C O M P L E T E A L L N E C E S S A R Y FORMALITIES AND FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. You may not know that there are legal requirements for you to be granted access to the anointing. Just as there are formalities that have to be completed for you to enter a school, a bus, an airplane or even a country, there are things you must fulfill in order to legally qualify for the anointing. It would have been a great mistake for our Lord to miss the baptism. His submission to John the Baptist’s ministry was essential to legally establish His own authority. Years later, when Jesus’ authority was questioned He only made reference to John the Baptist and asked if they recognised John the Baptist’s authority. When John Wesley was challenged about the authority by which he preached, he declared that he preached on the authority given to him by his ordination under the Church of England. Every great minister must legally establish the basis for his spiritual authority by having submitted himself to the ministry of his man of God. Unfortunately, many ministers deprive themselves of this legal spiritual authority by not being properly ordained and ushered into ministry.

offering to this fellow every year? What people do not understand is that there is a time and a season for everything. Jesus would live His life and conduct His ministry independent of John the Baptist. He would even preach and teach on a completely different theme. But at that time of His life and ministry He needed to attend the meetings of John the Baptist and submit to the practices of John. What are you supposed to do at this time? Do not abort your ministry by misbehaving during a crucial and humbling season of your life.

S T E P 7: P R A Y E R A N D S P I R I T U A L I T Y “Now when all the people were baptised, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21).

Pray for the anointing! Pray for the Holy Spirit! Prayer is an important step to receiving the anointing. If you pray and ask God for the Holy Spirit He will give it to you. Whilst the rest of the people were probably holding their noses to keep the water out, Jesus was praying. He prayed and the heavens opened and the Holy Ghost descended. Perhaps the most important prayer you will ever pray is the prayer for the anointing. Jesus taught us to specifically pray for the Holy Spirit. This is a prayer for the anointing. The Holy Spirit is the one thing all ministers should pray for.

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13).

Entrance into the anointing is granted through the key of childlike humility.

S T E P 6: U N D E R S TA N D T H E T I M I N G S O F GOD “And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now” (Matthew 3:15).

The kingdom of God operates with times and seasons. Jesus knew that it was time to be submitted to someone else. There is a season for everything. To become anointed, you must discern when it is time for you to do certain things. Sometimes we are afraid to relate to certain people or do certain things because we feel we will have to do it forever. Do I have to honour this man of God forever? Do I have to submit forever? Do I have to give an L i f e W a y

The Holy Spirit will help us. The Holy Spirit will fall on us and our desert ministries will turn into green filelds.

“Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field” (Zechariah 10:1).

- An international conference speaker and best selling author, Bishop Heward-Mills leads Lighthouse Chapel International in Accra, Ghana., a fast growing denomination with over 800 churches spread over five continents.

You can reach him on evangelist@dagheardmills.org

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MINISTERS’ MaNNa

Seven Steps to the Anointing

The most important ingredient for a fruitful ministry is the anointing; unfortunately many Christians are labouring under the yoke of barrenness because they simply lack oil on their heads. It is easy to receive the anointing if you know what to do.

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By Dag hewarD-mIlls

very true minister of God must be anointed because no one can accomplish his ministry by natural might or by human power but only by the Spirit. (Zachariah 4:6). True ministry will be successful only by the power of the Holy Spirit. A false ministry operates at the level of a schoolteacher, lecturer, or a motivational speaker. Decide to become an anointed person and enter into true ministry. Lift up your ministry by the power of the anointing. Without the anointing, you can do nothing. A minister must seek to be anointed because even Jesus Christ waited to be anointed in order to begin ministry.

“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened. ‘And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph’. (Luke 3:21-23).

This event marked the beginning of the ministry of Christ. Up until the age of thirty we do not hear of Him. From this time, after the Holy Spirit (the anointing) descended on Him, Jesus began to preach, to teach and to heal. In the seven steps to the anointing on the Jordan, we see how our Lord Jesus received the Holy Spirit and became anointed for ministry. Within these few

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verses lie powerful revelations that will lead you to the anointing you desire. They are steps that our Saviour Himself took. They are the steps that lead to the highest kind of anointing. The anointing Jesus carried was the anointing without measure.

“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice L i f e W a y

fRoM faMINE fEaST from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well please” (Matthew 3:13-17).

S T E P 1: G O T O Y O U R M A N O F G O D ‘Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John … (Matthew 3:13).’

God has an anointing for you and He will give it to you through His servant.

Unfortunately, many people join the wrong church or ministry. In so doing they end up not receiving the anointing. Sometimes the person carrying the anointing you need is younger than you are or from the ‘wrong’ country. Maybe he is black when he should have been white. Maybe his accent is different from yours and you despise him. John the Baptist lived and ministered far away in the wilderness and wore homemade panties to minister. He ate locusts and wild honey for lunch everyday. Yet this was the person that our Lord was attracted to. You must be attracted to the anointing. You must see beyond the physical. You must see beyond the unattractive human frailties and buy into the anointing.

S T E P 2: S U B M I T T O Y O U R M A N O F G O D “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized” (Luke 3:21).

Jesus did not only attend John the Baptist’s ministry, He submitted Himself to it. When everyone was being baptised He joined them and received His blessing. He did not become a spectator and a commentator. He did not become a critic of John the Baptist’s ministry.

He was actually baptised by John the Baptist.

THE SPIRITFILLED CHRISTIAN LIFE

Publisher and Editor Jackson Ekwugum Associate Publisher Yinka Jackson (Mrs) Correspondent Leonard Ackon (Ghana) Columnists Sam Adeyemi, Anselm Madubuko, Sam Amaga, Deola Ojo, John Paul Okwok, Omokorede Fashoro, Jane Pela, ImoAbasi Jacob Art Direction Ogbenyi Egbe Advisory Board Elder Segun Olusanya (Chair), Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, Chiadi Ndu, James Okwara, Ebele Nduka-Irabor, Violet Onyemenam, Austen Ukachi, Richard T o Olubameru Editorial Committee Rev. David Ahove (Chair), Rev. Yinka Ojo, Evang. Elishamma Ideh, Pastor Imo-Abasi Jacob, Pastor Godman Akinlabi, Chido Nwakanma LifeWay Media International Limited Corporate Office 21, Ladipo Oluwole Street, off Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja. P. O. Box 5541, Surulere, Lagos Website: www.lifewaymag.com E-mail: mail@lifewaymage.com.

Phone: +234 1 8523729, 0802 3265116 Ghana: +233 248 824431, 239 175629 LifeWay is a publication of of LifeWay Media International Limited.

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The Vision: LifeWay is a general consumer magazine set up to proclaim the knowledge of Jesus Christ through the power of the printed word in a professional, uncomplicated and readerfriendly format that will appeal to both the believer and unbeliever.

The Mission: LifeWay is founded under the Divine inspiration and mandate to provide through the medium of mass communication, quality spiritual food that will empower Christians in their daily walk and service, reflect God at work in our lives and society and reach out to the non believer through evangelical articles presented in a context familiar to the reader.

in this issue...

L E A D S T O R Y

16 In god's name plc?

A strange phenomenon of phone number prophecies is gaining ground in the church.

F E A T UR E S

25 Issues In the church

The dangers of prosperity gospel

30 Business life

The art of decision making

34 single & married

What to do when you have a jealous partner

40 spiritual warfare

The warfare of dreams

48 ministers' manna

Seven steps to the anointing C OL U M N S

32 singles platform

6 first word

With Deola Ojo

By Jackson Ekwugum

10 success power With Sam Adeyemi

12 the revival

33 faith @ work

With Imo Abasi Jacob

38 ask aunt korede

With Omokorede Fashoro

With Anselm Madubuko

14 apples of gold With Jane Pela

22 the outpouring

39 school of power

With John Paul Okwok

50 last word

P E O P L E & E VE NT S 43 The battle for Winners Chapel Ghana shifts to the court 45 Liberians seek God’s intervention 46 The evils of slavery 47 Women urged to walk in divine purpose

By Yinka Jackson

With Sam Amaga

our contrIButors

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• LADI THOMPSON is the Senior Pastor of Living Waters Unlimited Church in Anthony Village, Lagos. He takes an insightful look at the prosperity gospel and concludes that there are inherent dangers in that message which may have caused the church to derail from the purpose of national transformation.

Rev. Thompson is also the International President of Macedonian Initiative, a non

government organisation that fights the cause of persecuted Christians.

• DEOLA OJO, pastor, author, columnist and marriage/ re l at i o n s h i p s counsellor, in her inimitable style, discusses the issue of jealous spouses/ intending couples. It is a must read.

• RICHARD UDOH writes on the warfare of dreams in an expository article on the subject of dreams. He is the Senior Pastor of the fast growing The

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Father’s House in Akute, Lagos.

•D a g hewarDm I l l s , evangelist, bestselling author and international conference speaker writes on one of his favourite subjects: the anointing. You will be blessed by it.

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chichi Bismark urges women to walk in purpose

The proof of a changed life is in the fruit that we manifest.

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n March this year, eNew Man magazine conducted a poll among Christians in America to find out what constitutes the greatest threat to Christianity. The first item on the list of over 60% of the respondents was spiritual indifference and complacency among Christians. Materialism in the church came second. In other words, going by that survey it was obvious that the greatest threat to Christianity is the Christian, not the many cults and mystery religions, or persecution from the government. The result may have come as a surprise to some people, but it shouldn’t be so if we pause to review the history of the church worldwide. The greatest threat to the spread and growth of Christianity has always been inside the church, often by way of toxic doctrines, corrupt priests, and worldliness among those who profess to follow Christ. They are the enemies within.

From the early days of Christianity, the church has had a running battle with false prophets and false teachers. (You can call them the ancient and modern disease of the church.)

Almost all the Pauline and non-Pauline epistles devote considerable amount of space to these charlatans and the subversive doctrines they were peddling. The problem demanded such urgent attention that Jude, who originally planned to write about “our common salvation” (Jude 3), had to shelve the idea and deliver what till date is perhaps the most scathing attack on these false teachers who had “crept in unawares” (Jude 4). Not much has changed since 2000 years ago when the epistles were written. If anything, the enemy has become smarter and more sophisticated.

The New Testament writers mainly confronted a form of Gnostic heresy, which taught that matter was inherently evil, and therefore divinity could not take on the form of humanity.

The Gnostics taught that the man Christ was distinct from the spiritual Christ who descended upon Jesus during His baptism but departed from him just before His crucifixion.

Their teachings were a flat denial that Jesus came in the flesh, which was what prompted John to write: “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). This is the source of confu-

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• The co-senior pastor of one of Zimbabwe’s largest churches says women must take their rightful position in the next move of God. sion for many Christians today. Based on this scripture some people, for instance, claim that T.B Joshua is a man of God because he mentions the name of Jesus Christ. What they don’t understand – and have not been taught - is that Apostle John was not making a general rule for all time; he was addressing a specific problem in the church at a certain point in time. The devil has since changed tactic. He has empowered and released a new breed of impostors who call on the name of Christ and proclaim Him as the son of God, but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. From careful study, we will see that the epistles have given us a three-pronged approach to dealing with the problem of false prophets and false teachers.

Rebuke the church. In Galatia, when some teachers attempted to alter the message of the cross, Paul wrote to rebuke the Christians and defend the gospel of grace. Like Apostle Paul,

The Enemies Within

first word

BY JACK SON EK W UGUM

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our first attention should be directed at the brethren who are sucked in by the false message. They have to take responsibility for their gullibility and foolishness; we must not make it look like they were under some kind of magical spell and therefore could not help themselves.

(In fact, the people are sometimes the source of the problem because their selfish attitudes and demands often put the pulpit under pressure – 2 Tim 4:3, 4). In his letter, Paul paid scant attention to the false teachers; instead he directed most of his venom at his spiritual children. Check out words like, ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from him’ (1:6), ‘O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you’ (3:1), ‘I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain’ (4:11), and ‘I stand in doubt of you’ (4:20).

Maintain discipline. In writing about the danger of false teachers, Apostle Peter in his second epistle stressed the need for Christians to cultivate the discipline of Christian character. The proof of a changed life is in the fruit that we manifest, and our ability to submit to the dealings of God without grumbling, complaining or becoming resentful. At the end of the day, you discover that one major reason many people are cheap prey for false prophets is because they are looking for quick fixes – they want the easy way out! But it is not for nothing that the Bible uses such words as ‘fight’, ‘wrestle’, ‘persevere’, ‘resist’, ‘endure’, ‘overcome’, ‘run’, ‘contend’, and ‘pursue’, to describe the Christian life. This life calls for some serious discipline!

Expose the Deceivers. Paul, Peter and Jude gave ringing condemnation of these false prophets and false teachers. Like Edmund Burke once said, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to keep quiet. Without mentioning the names of the apostates, the apostles spoke OPENLY against them and their unwholesome teachings and practices.

Paul cursed them (Gal.1:9), Peter condemned them (2 Peter 2:17-22) and Jude pronounced judgment on them (14, 15). Our cover story is our modest attempt to unmask these hucksters and expose them for what they really are – deceivers! Shalom!

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fects across all spheres women arise.” of life in the continent.

These leaders, she Rev. (Mrs.) Bismark explained, must be nurdisclosed that African tured from childhood problems can only be by godly mothers with addressed effectively by positive values such as Africans, saying foreign selflessness, patriotism, aid and assistance were service and love. She always self-seeking and said such children counter-productive. “Afwould naturally bring rica can never be changed a new paradigm to because of the EU, World governance when Bank or America. They given the opportuare only interested in what nity and avoid the they can get from us. That booby traps of greed, is why we have to rise to do graft and selfishness it ourselves,” she stressed. that have become Women who can do the bane of African Presiding Bishop of TREM, Mik e this, she disclosed, must be Okonkwo praying with gueDr nations. “God have st speaker Rev (Mrs) Chichi Bismark from wise. The acronym WISE, put us (women) in Zimbabwe she said, stands for a Watcha position where we woman who is Involved, can mould lives and determine the destiny of nations,” she asserted. "We are the Self-reliant and Efficient. She declared that it was mothers from which future leaders emerge. So high time African women became alive to their we must nurture them with the word from the responsibilities and made wise choices. For this scratch and teach them how to stand for God to happen, Bismark stated that African women and positive developments. If we do, they surely must change their mindset and break loose from will not derail when they attain prominence in the tradition that negates the word of God. This, she argued, was necessary for them to become the future.”

Encouraging African women to mobilise radical change agents worthy of divine trust and for sustainable peace and development across assistance. “Africa will not change until when the continent, she said this could be achieved women arise to their responsibilities. We must through intercessory prayers and engagement in break from the traditional moulds and join the social actions that will engender the desired prog- move of God for transformation,” she charged. ress in the nation. “There are those wondering Just like God used women like Mary, Elizabeth, how they can save Africa, thinking the continent Ruth, Naomi and others, she opined that God is too big for a woman somewhere to change. If was out to recruit female soldiers for the kingnot anything, get involved by dom agenda and interests in the continent.

“This is the time to get involved. It is not just interceding against violence, corruption, greed and perver- about being in the church but getting into the sion in the continent. Prayer move of God for the redemption of this generais a powerful tool that can tion. God is counting on us and we dare not fail change anybody anytime,” Him,” she admonished. She encouraged women she remarked. She also chal- not to be deterred by the traditional odds against lenged women to form com- them in the continent but stretch themselves munity and interest groups and faith to become agents of transformation. to campaign against some Also speaking at the conference, Bishop Peace unacceptable situations in Okonkwo said the choice of the theme was inthe continent such as lust, formed by the fact that women can be better perversion, graft and bad mothers with a little application of wisdom from er, L-R Bishop Peace Okonkwo, Cenet Chenier,r'sFound governance. This, she ar- the word of God. , Texas from President and Director of Fort Bend Potte 2008 gued, would have spiral ef- - By Sunday Oguntola in Lagos.

USA, during the Every Woman A Minister Conference

frican women have been charged to become transformational in their mentality and approach to save the continent from the myriad of sociopolitical and humanitarian crises facing her. The co-senior pastor of New Life Convenant Church in Zimbabwe, Rev. (Mrs.) Chichi Bismark gave this charge at the opening ceremony of Every Woman A Minister Conference (EWAM) and the 10th anniversary of the International Women Conference organised by The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM). The theme of the conference was “The Wise Woman.”

According to Mrs. Bismark, women have significant roles to play for Africa to overcome her seemingly intractable problems and become a force in the comity of nations. She noted that women have always formed an integral part in the prophetic moves of God since Bible days, saying the black continent was in dire need of ordinary women with extraordinary faith, courage and purpose to rise to greatness. Bismark, whose husband, Bishop Tudor, pastors one of Zimbabwean largest churches, bemoaned the deteriorating standard of living among Africans, a development she hinged on the continent’s loss of self worth and positive values. “African nations are going deeper and deeper into retrogression,” she lamented. “When the world talks of Africa, they see a poor continent with people living in extremely hard conditions. We are the poorest despite the enormous resources in our lands. People have said perhaps we are jinxed but I insist we only have the problem of leadership.

In every nation in the continent, there are no leaders but rulers. We need a new breed of leaders to steer our ships and that can’t happen until

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p e ople anD e V ents

church leaders at slave port, say africans are to blame for slave trade

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group of church leaders gathered in a sober meeting at the Slave Port in Assin Manso, Ghana, in June this year and came up with the verdict that materialism among Africans was at the root of the inhuman slave traffic. The Slave Port in Assin Manso is midway between the notorious Emina Castle in Cape Coast and the North of Ghana where salves were given their last bath and cleaned up before being sold off to the slave masters. Slaves were transported on foot from as far as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso by the slave merchants. The slaves had to endure a gruesome trek that sometimes lasted months during which time they did not have a bath. Once a slave reached the port at Assin Manso "his fate was sealed" because LifeWay learnt that during the trek they often hoped to escape if the convoy met war on the road.

At Assin Manso, the last point before the salves were shipped to Europe, the slaves were given a bath and cleaned up so that they would be worth the merchant’s money. The ones with grey hair had their hair shaved and dyed so that they could command a high price from the slave masters from Europe. Also it was here that the slaves were branded for the purposes of identification by their owners. It was an eerie feeling that dominated the atmosphere as the Tour Guide explained to the Board and crusade team of Healing Jesus Crusade headed by Evangelist Dag Heward-Mills, how sometimes babies were snatched from their captured mothers and brutally slaughtered. Obviously grieved by the hideous practice, Rev. Prince Addae blamed the evil of the slave trade on the greed and wickedness of the African. “It shows that human beings have the potential to be so evil,” he lamented “It was not white people that came to fight us and carry our people away.

Our own ancestors were the ones who sold them, some of them in exchange for a mirror, some in exchange for just an alcoholic drink, and sometimes for just a match box.” Pastor Grace Krobo-Edusei told LifeWay she could “almost feel the pain” of the slaves. “People were just captured on the roadside, and they had no chance to say good bye to family and children, and they were basically treated like cattle as they were stripped naked.” Describing it as “heart

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Rev. Amuquandoh

Pastor Oludoyi

rending,” she wondered that “it must have been very confusing for them; they must have been in shock. I am sure their spirits left them even before they were transported out. May God have mercy on us.”

Pastor Bernie McLaughlin from Cornerstone church in Scotland identified with the grief of the slave trade but stressed that Africans must not allow what happened make them “slaves to racial prejudice,” because “Africa has been renewed in the spirit of liberation.” “We have repented of the sins of our forefathers and it is never going to be repeated,” he declared.

Pastor McLaughlin was careful to point out that David Livingstone, a Scot, was at the forefront of those who fought for the abolition of slavery, adding that “most of the people that knew about it didn’t want it to happen.” He was of the opinion that “if we look at it in the proper way, it can change our lives; if we leave the chains of the past in the past, then we can go on to live a new lease of life.” Pastor Sola Oludoyi of Royal Connections (R.C.C.G) Plaistow, London, led the prayer of repentance as the small entourage were obviously burdened by what they saw and heard as they went on the trail of slavery in Africa. According to Oludoyi, “when blood is shared, there has to be repentance, identifiL

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cational repentance to cancel curses and ask for God’s blessing on the land.” He told LifeWay that “the quest for money can easily lead people astray.” He said the experience has taught him how “easy it is to switch from the straight and narrow path to another way. It is very easy to be used to commit atrocities without knowing it.”

Commenting on the issue, Rev. Sam Amuquandoh, the General Manager of Challenge Bookshop in Accra, said there was the need for Africans “especially Ghanaians” to “really wake up and examine the issue properly.”

According to him, Ghana had the "highest number of castles" as exit points for the slave traffic. “Have we really asked for forgiveness like Daniel did? Our ancestors who were sold out rained curses as they died with the pain of bitterness. We have to look at this issue the way God looks at it so that the spiritual blockade over sub Saharan Africa can be lifted.” Amuquandoh was concerned that “our materialistic nature is still there,” and “we still have a multiplicity of gods.”

Furthermore, he referred to leaders in Africa “who give away national assets as another form of slavery.” Africans, he said, must seek God first because “His righteousness breeds supernatural wisdom to run the affairs of the state.”

- By Jackson Ekwugum in Assin Foso and Accra, Ghana.

liberians embrace christ for national healing, restoration Liberians stepping forward to repe nt of the sins of their country

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housands of Liberians acknowledged and submitted to the Lordship of Christ last June at the National Repentance, Healing and Restoration crusade organised by Lagosbased Abraham Evangelistic Ministry (AEM) in the capital city Monrovia. The crusade was part of the Operation Nehemiah intervention of the ministry in the war-torn nation, which also included a ministers’ conference aimed at mobilising local church leaders to spearhead the restoration of Liberia through spiritual reforms.

At the crusade held at D.Tweh Memorial High School, Bushrod Island, Monrovia, Bishop Abraham Olaleye, president of AEM, noted that war is always the aftermath of sins. Specifically, he said there were three sins Liberia had committed, for which the nation was suffering. The first sin, he revealed, was shedding of innocent blood, especially those of children and women during the civil war that lasted from 1989-2003.

“The life of a man is in the blood. So when you shed it, especially without good reasons, you are offending God and incurring His wrath,” he pointed out. He said the situation was more condemnable because the carnage was all because some people wanted power at all costs.

“Any nation that sheds innocent blood is on the anger list of God. God is angry with Liberia and you need to repent of this,” he stressed. The Nigerian evangelist also cited the “alarming rate of sexual immorality” among Liberians as a major sin for which God was angry with Africa’s oldest independent nation. Referring to the number of teenage mothers and prostitutes on the streets of Liberia, Olaleye insisted that the battle for survival was not a good reason why women should sell their bodies.

“Sexual immorality in Liberia has reached the heavens. Your girls depend on their God-given bodies to make a living. You go round this city and find ladies willing to sleep with any man from any where just for money. Your men exploit helpless women to satisfy their sexual urges. This is a great abomination before God and you must repent for healing and national restoration,” he declared. He also condemned the nation’s penchant for copying and depending on America in every sphere of life. According to him, many Liberians look up to America for guidance and help rather than God. “America is not your God. You depend too much on America. America cannot help you, not when she is also in trouble with God,” he asserted. He said the adoption of American values and culture in Liberia was an anathema to the restoration of the nation. “You copy American lifestyle and ignore

heavenly standards. These foreign values are why America is in trouble with God,” he maintained.

Moved by the deplorable state of life in Liberia, Bishop Olaleye Olaleye insisted that only genuine repentance would set Liberia on the right path of restoration. “Liberia must repent and turn back to God to experience speedy recovery. You can recover all that you have lost if only you will turn to God,” he told them. He then proceeded to ask those who participated in the war or whose relations were part of one of the bloodiest wars in human history to step forward for prayer. With teary eyes, hundreds stepped forward, heads bowed, pleading with God for mercy and forgiveness. Olaleye knelt with them and cried out for forgiveness, and also requested those involved in sexual immorality to follow suit. Made up of mostly teenage girls and ladies in their 20s, hundreds again came out, shedding tears for commercialising their bodies. With the help of his wife, Gbemi, a renowned worship leader, Olaleye led them to confess Christ as their saviour and master.

In her message titled “Follow Me and I will make You” Rev. (Mrs.) Olaleye proclaimed that they were in Liberia to recruit end-time soldiers for Christ.

According to her, those who follow Christ never get stranded in life or fail to become the best God created them to be. “If you follow Christ, He will certainly make you to become who you should be,” she assured.

Rev. Toyin Kehinde, AEM Vice President, spoke in the same vein, adding that the post war conditions in Liberia could not limit God from raising the people to greatness. “Even if UN and International bodies stop aid to Liberia, even if you have lost your parents and everything during the war, Jesus is insisting He will make you,” he declared. He challenged the people to walk in total consecration and obedience to Christ, affirming that only those on the Lord’s side are

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destined for greatness. “Don’t look to economic policies, governmental measures or foreign aid for national restoration. God’s people are the solutions and answers to the challenges of Liberia.” He was even more direct, saying “the solution to Liberia is not with President Sirleaf Johnson or UN but the church of God.” He said the church must champion holiness, purity, integrity and selflessness for the restoration of Liberia.

Bishop Olaleye rounded up the programme with a message titled “Prosperity and the Blessing.” Concerned by the level of crushing poverty in post-war Liberia, he urged the people to have faith in God. “Stop blaming the war because it has ended and God has opened a new chapter in your life,” he charged. To break free from the cycle of poverty, he said four things must be done.

He told Liberians not to accept the situation but become angry with it. He also called for aggressive prayer and for the people to embrace the culture of hard work and productivity. Finally, he tasked them to submit their failures to God because “the best of human effort can never make one prosperous.”

Rather than seek for prosperity, Olaleye urged Liberians to rather pursue after the blessing. He used the life of Jacob as an example, noting that although he had material possessions, he lacked the blessing. That, he disclosed, was why he clung to the angel and asked to be blessed despite his apparent financial and material prosperity. “Prosperity is not a big deal; the blessing is what is important. Many herbalists and unbelievers are prosperous with cars, houses and material possessions. But they are not at peace because they lack the blessing,” he claimed.

Thousands of Olaleye’s book were distributed free to new converts.

Earlier the team had paid courtesy calls on top political leaders, including the vice-president, Dr Joseph Boakai, the Senate President and the Speaker, to ask them to embrace righteousness for the restoration of the country. Olaleye later addressed the Liberian Senate the following morning, calling on the legislators to rule with the fear of God and work for the people. “Liberia belongs to God and that is why the devil is fighting her. We have been wounded but God will bring healing when you make laws that will benefit the people and ensure that the rule of law prevails,” he charged them.

- By Sunday Oguntola in Monrovia.

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p e ople anD e V ents Ghana is fighting another war on the home front. The church’s former accountant, Daniel Okpoku, is currently undergoing interrogation for allegedly embezzling at least GH¢11,200 (N1.34m) from Heritage Academy, a school belonging to and run by the church, as well as several thousands of cedis allegedly pilfered from church coffers, usually after church service, when the offertory had not been properly sorted and counted. In separate operations, Opoku is accused of forging the signature of the head of the church, Bishop Agyeman, and that of his Associate Pastor, Maxwell Tweneboa-Kodua, to withdraw GH¢15,000 (about N1.8m) from the church’s account at Prudential Bank.

According to sources, the cashed cheque from Prudential Bank was paid into a bank account of a fictitious company operated by his private secretary at Daniops Limited, whose name was given only as Edith, with the Adabraka branch of Merchant Bank. It was based on the interim report of the auditors that a formal complaint was made to the Commercial Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service. When Mr Opoku was contacted, he told The Statesman of Ghana that though the matter is still under investigations, he had an agreement with the church’s administration that he will pay the cheque worth GH¢15,000 (N1.8m) and cash of GH¢1,900 (N228,000.00) in installments to the church and that the church has written to the police to that effect.

However, a close source to the administration of the church denies ever having that discussion with Mr Opoku, saying that although he has proposed an idea like that at the Police Headquarters, the church is yet to take a position on that proposal. “This is a criminal matter so it is the police who have to deal with the matter.

We have not taken any decision like that. The only letter we wrote to the police was the one requesting them to take action on Mr Opoku and his accomplices for their involvement in the fraud and embezzlement.

“In any case, how can we make such a suggestion when the final audit report that will specify the real amounts involved is not ready, we have not done any such thing,” the source added.

Mr Opoku reportedly admitted to The Statesman that some amounts of money got lost from the church account when he was the accountant but he does “not remember the exact amount.”

He denied the forgery charge. According to him, when he used to work with the church, he made some unauthorised payments which the administration did not agree to. “It is the

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unauthorised payment that I have been asked to pay by the church.” Meanwhile his secretary and alleged accomplice, Edith, told reporters that she was in the office last year when her boss, Daniel Opoku allegedly called and asked of her account number which she willingly gave to him. According to her, Mr Opoku later called to inform her that he has deposited some money into her account. She said three days later, her boss asked her to withdraw the money he paid into her account for him.

“After withdrawing the money, I asked him why he decided to deposit such huge sum of money into my account and the response was that he was trying to build my account.” Edith said some months later Mr Opoku invited her and Mrs Daniel Opoku to the police headquarters where she was interrogated by a police officer about the issue. She said two cheques bearing her name were shown to her. “I told the Police Officer of what I knew about the case and was cautioned by the officer to be careful of such things”.

The former accountant is further alleged to

have created an unsigned copy of the auditor’s report that uncovered his alleged crimes, allegedly changing the figures in the report to indict Doko, whose name is also mentioned in the report.

Media reports suggest that funds suspected to have been pilfered directly from the offertory box after normal church service was over GH¢2 million (N240m). But church authorities are tight lipped about the total figure, fearing that it might drag the name of the church into disrepute.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior church official said the church receives on average of over GH¢40,000 (N4.8m) as offertory every Sunday.

However, the Commercial Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service appears reluctant to pursue the case, even though a report has been made to it. Mr Opoku was appointed as the Accounts Officer of Winners Chapel, Ghana on 18th August, 2003 and promoted to Acting Head of Accounts from 6th November the same year.

- By Leonard Ackon in Accra with media reports

‘I Give Pastors ‘Powers’ – Fetish Priest Claims

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ana Kwaku Bonsam, a dreaded fetish priest from Akomadan-Aprencho in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, is claiming that he has given over 1,000 pastors in the country powers to perform signs and wonders. According to him, for the past six years he has assisted pastors with his ‘Kofi-Kofi’ powers to heal the sick, prophesy and pray for people to get instant results. The fetish priest said for the past six years he had kept a low profile and not blown the cover of the pastors, but was ready to expose them now because the very pastors he had helped were now condemning him in public, with some even daring to challenge him. He has expressed his readiness to go into a supernatural contest with one of his fiercest critics, Rev. Ebenezer Adarkwa Yiadom, founder and leader of the Ebenezer Miracle Worship Centre at Ahenema Kokoben in the Ashanti Region.

Bonsam who has failed to name the 1,000 pastors he claims to have given powers, got media attention recently when he allegedly revoked the powers he had given to one Pastor Collins Agyei Yeboah of Vision Charismatic Chapel at Kato (near Berekum in the Brong Ahafo region). “He came for miracle powers from me and was misbehaving to an extent that my gods asked me to go and collect the power else I would pay with my life” he reportedly said in one the newspapers. According to him, he exposed the pastor because he refused to honour the obligation attached to the powers he gave him, threatening that he would expose the other pastors who are also “misbehaving.” Bonsam revealed that he is only against those false pastors who had come to him for powers and yet were not keeping their mouth shut but rather making provocative statements against him, adding that he was not challenging God. He said he would continue to assist Ghanaians who want to travel, make money, grow their business, and get protection.

Among some of the claimed prowess of the dreaded fetish priest is his ability to conjure money, gold watches and handkerchiefs. He is reputed to be able to plant cocoa and mango seeds and get them to germinate that same day; kill a house-fly, resurrect it to fly round for all to see; and also conjure a ‘Kente’ and a pair of royal sandals. Meanwhile, Bonsam who appears to be very rich has donated some items and an amount of money to the Osu Childrens’ Home in Accra.

By Leonard Ackon in Accra.

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PEOPL E A ND E V ENTS The faster you alter your thoughts the faster you alter your life.

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our mind is a critical asset required for your achievement of success in life. Your mind has the power to create pictures and those pictures eventually become your reality.

You are literally what you think. The quality of your life is only as good as the quality of your thoughts. To improve your life you must improve your thoughts. Proverbs 23:7 says “for as he thinks in his heart so is he.” Romans 12:2 in the Bible says; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” You see, to turn out differently you must think differently. The level of thinking that brought you to where you are cannot take you beyond where you are. When you alter your thoughts, you alter your life.

The faster you alter your thoughts the faster you alter your life. In other words, the rate of change in your mind will determine the rate of change in your life. Pay attention to your mind. It is a lever with which you move things in this world. The development of your mind will give you mastery over the affairs of this life. The law of cause and effect works in the realm of the mind. It is the things that happen inside us that control the things that happen outside. Any thought that stays long enough in your mind will eventually attract its material equivalent into your life.

The main substance that the mind handles is thought. In the invisible realm, thoughts are tangible things. When you can manipulate thoughts, you have the ability to create things.

Also, when God communicates with us, He does so with thoughts, ideas and impressions.

The development of the mind enables us to receive and interpret information from God. So, I encourage you to educate your mind.

Education is from the Latin word educo which means to draw out or to bring forth from within. Education is the development of our inner faculties to design and create solutions to the challenges we come across in life. The more educated you are, the better able you are able to handle challenges in our world, which is changing at such a fast pace. I encourage

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that you go to school or take courses that will increase your effectiveness in the line of your career. Self education is also important. Read books. Through books you rub minds with sharp minds and the mind once stretched by an idea does not go back to its former shape.

Attend seminars on finance, business, marriage or health. Take time to listen to audio and video tapes.

Your creative powers are best expressed through your mind. Look at all the things that man has created through the use of his mind.

Microphones, radio, television, the computer, cars, jumbo jets and space crafts are all products of the human mind. The human mind has also discovered and designed theories, formulae and philosophies that give us better understanding and control of our world. All things are created twice. There is first a mental

Think Success

success power W ITH SA M ADEY EMI

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creation and then a physical creation. This world only pays you promotion, recognition and wealth in direct proportion to the things you create with your mind. The wealthiest countries in the world today are those where the mind has been used to create things that are useful for man. That is why it is important for you and I to develop our minds. Wealth is created in the mind. It is ideas that attract money. In fact, someone said that money is only an idea. You see, the poor man is not essentially the one who does not have money in his pocket. The poor man is the one who does not have ideas. The money you have not seen in your mind you are not likely to see in your hand. To achieve financial success, you must continue to learn till you become an expert in your chosen profession. Also, you must study the subject of finance. Read books, attend seminars, listen to tapes and very importantly, have a financial mentor. Having a mentor will quicken your journey because mentoring helps you to achieve better quality thinking at a fast rate.

The same process applies to marriage. A good marriage is not an accident. When we learn how to handle the differences between a man and a woman, the differences in personality types and the differences in our backgrounds, we can better create harmony in our homes. The training of children too, cannot be left to chance. Reading books, attending seminars and learning form mentors can help us to develop mind sets for successful marriage. It is up to you to create your world. When you can control thoughts you can control this world.

Actually, you can control your world. Take time to pray. Ask God to give you new ideas.

When God wants to take you to a new level, He introduces new thoughts into your mind.

If those thoughts can stay long enough in your mind, they will become the reality of your life.

Rev. Sam Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre in Lagos, is also the President, Success Power International. He can be reached at successpowerng@ hotmail.com

'Conspiracy of Silence' as Tussle for Winners Begins in Court

• Agyeman’s church allegedly swindled of almost two million dollars

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he Holy Bible teaches that Christians should refrain from suing one another in a court of law under the authority of unbelievers (1 Cor 6:1-7), but it seems the warring parties in the Winners Chapel tussle would have none of that. The legal rumpus over the ownership of the Winners Chapel properties between Winners Chapel Ghana and Winners Chapel International formally began at an Accra Fast-Track High Court on June 12, 2008. Members of both churches, who stormed the court premises, filled the courtroom to capacity while some stood outside in anticipation of the proceedings. They were however disappointed when the case had to be adjourned to October due to the legal vacation which was just a couple of weeks away.

LifeWay sought the opinion of church leaders in the city of Accra on what many perceive to be an unwholesome development, but in what appears to be a conspiracy of silence, they all declined comments saying that the case was “too controversial.” Others simply claimed to be ignorant of the facts of the case. Bishop George Agyeman of Winners Chapel Ghana who broke away from Winners Chapel International, the mother church and one of the defendants in the case, looked calm and well composed when the case was called in a court presided over by Justice K. Ofori-Atta. Bishop Agyeman and fifteen other church elders have been sued by the Winners Chapel International, founded by Bishop David Oyedepo, with its headquarters in Nigeria, for still occupying the church building after they broke away four years ago.

Bishop Agyeman, was a pastor of the church in Nigeria serving under Bishop Oyedepo, till he was transferred to Ghana by the founder to help propagate the gospel and form another branch of Winners.

Allegations of incompetence were raised by some elders of the church in Nigeria against Agyeman, who also alleged that the church in Ghana had been paying $100,000 a month to the mother church, a development which sparked a national debate on whether churches should pay taxes since they could contribute so much for a mother church outside the country. Some of the

church members sided with the resident bishop in the heat of the altercation after he was said to have been dismissed from the church and opted out of the mother church to form Winners Chapel Ghana but refused to vacate the church premises. The mother church moved to another location under the name, Winners Chapel International, and took the matter to court and wants an order to take back the church which it claims is its property. Bishop Oyedepo also wants a declaration that Bishop Agyeman is illegally using the church and is a trespasser. The mother church was represented by the resident pastors of the Ghana branch and had Thadeus Sory as their counsel, while Bishop Agyeman and his codefendants had lawyers from Quarshie Idun Chambers in Accra representing them. After the adjournment members of both sides were seen in groups discussing the case.

A woman donning a Winners Chapel Ghana T-shirt who pleaded anonymity told Accra's Daily Guide that there was no way Winners Chapel International could come all the way from Nigeria and claim properties that they as church members in Ghana had contributed to own. According to her, everything in the church was bought with contributions from the members of the church, and not from Nigeria. A pastor, believed to be from the mother church, refused to comment on the matter, saying once the mater was in court everything should be left to the Judge.

Two years after he controversially broke away from his mentor Oyedepo in 2004, Agyemen granted an interview to The Guardian of Lagos in which he claimed he left because he felt the mother church had lost focus.

“I noticed that he was drifting and I told him this and said let’s get back. But I did not get a response; that was the beginning of the problem,” he claimed. The issue basically bordered on the administration of the church. He was towing a different line and when I pointed L i

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that out to him, he felt, ‘oh I did not call him to the ministry’. He brought me to Ghana here although he later said that I should come back to Nigeria. In the process of going back to Nigeria, I discovered that there were so many things that were the undertone. There were scheming; and these things came to light. I passed everything on to him, but he brushed everything aside. It was then that I said no, no, no. I knew that my going back to Nigeria was not of God as he was making it to appear. So, I stayed back and he did all that you people know just to get me either to come back to Nigeria or destroy whatever is here.”

Agyeman also made spirited attempt to defend his refusal to vacate the property even though he was there as a representative of the mother church in Lagos. “You see, why we are holding on to the name is that, well with po Oyede p Bisho him, everything boils down to property now,” he explained.

“This place was registered with the name that came from Nigeria. But as far as God is concerned, name doesn’t really matter. It is he that has personalised Winners. The truth is that Winners as a name, started in 1989, when we entered Lagos. When we got Kumasi to begin the church, there already existed a Living Faith church there. So we changed the name of the church to Kumasi Christian Centre. But now, he is laying claim to the name Winners. In fact, the second time he took us to court, it was on the name. He asked why the Registrar General allowed us to register Winner’s Chapel; that they should have known that it is his name.

But I want to challenge you: when you get to Nigeria, find out when Winner’s as a name was registered. It was never registered and if it were, it would be after July 2004. Any day outside this is a complete lie. You go and do that private assignment. The registered name in Nigeria is Living Faith Churches World-wide. I was there when all the process took place.”

Meanwhile, Agyeman’s Winners Chapel

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w innin g the in v isi b l e w a r

dream recall and dream details are often lost.

Se ven Foundational Principles for Interpreting Dreams 1. Most dreams are symbolic (including Biblical dreams), so view them the same way you would view a political cartoon. Program yourself to always say, “Look at this symbolically.”

2. The symbols will come from the dreamer’s life, so ask, “What does this symbol mean to me?” or, if working on another’s dream, ask, “What does this symbol mean to you?”

For example, Joseph was a shepherd, and he dreamt of sheaves and sun, moon and stars bowing down (Gen. 37:1-11). These images surround a shepherd boy who lives in the fields. Nebuchadnezzar, a king, dreamed of statues of gold (Dan 2:31), which surround kings who live in palaces.

3. The dream generally speaks of the concerns, which your heart is currently facing. So ask, “What issues was I processing the day before I had the dream?”

For example, Paul was wondering where to go next on his missionary journey and had a dream of a Macedonian man motioning for him to come on over (Acts 16:6-11).

Nebuchadnezzar was thinking his kingdom would go on forever (Dan. 4:28-33) and he had a dream of a tree being chopped off at the roots (Dan. 4:9-27). Once you know the thoughts that were on the dreamer’s heart when he fell asleep, it is much easier to draw out the meaning of the dream.

4. The meaning of the dream must be drawn from the dreamer. Realise you know nothing about the dream, but through dependence upon the Holy Spirit and the skillful use of questions, you can draw the meaning of the dream out from the heart of the dreamer.

As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams (Dan. 1:17).

Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out (Prov. 20:5).

5. The dreamer’s heart will leap and “witness” and say, “Aha!” when it hears the right interpretation, so never accept an interpretation that does not bear witness in the dreamer’s heart.

6. Dreams reveal but do not condemn. Their goal is to preserve life, not to destroy it (Job 33:13-18).

7. Never make a major decision in your life

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based only on a dream without receiving additional confirmation from the other ways that God speaks to us and guides us (peace in our hearts, the counsel of others, illumined Scriptures, God’s still small voice, prophecy, anointed reasoning, etc.)

Addi t i o n a l T h o u g h t s Concerning Working with Dreams 1. Dreams are reliable messengers. They reveal the condition of one’s heart (Dan. 2:30), as well as the voice of God within one’s heart (Acts 2:17). They may from time to time reveal direct attacks of Satan or demons upon the heart. (Job 4:12-21 may be an example of a demon speaking accusation leading toward hopelessness and death - this is the only possible Biblical example of a demon speaking through a dream).

2. In the Bible, when people woke up, they acted upon their dreams. Act on your dreams!

3. Do not pose as an expert on interpreting others’ dreams until you have been interpreting your own successfully for a while. You can offer ideas and advice to others concerning their dreams; however you are not to pose as an expert.

4. As with prophecy, the messages and warnings in dreams are conditioned upon man’s response (Ezek. 33:13-16). The dream is calling you to act or change so some calamity will not befall you. If you respond appropriately, the calamity will not come.

9. Successive dreams on the same night are usually dealing with the same issue, presenting various approaches to it and offering the proper solution to the dilemma.

10. The dream calls the dreamer to action.

11. As you approach the dream, recognise that you know nothing about the dream. The dream and the dreamer’s heart will need to tell you what it means.

12. Religion tries to get to God through developing theologies, stirring up emotions, and setting one’s will. God comes to man through directly encountering his heart and spirit with His voice, prophecy, dream, vision and anointing.

13. Dreams release divine creativity. Many discoveries and inventions have come through dreams. The location of the hook of the sewing machine needle came through a dream. The discovery of the round formation of the Benzene molecular structure came through a dream. These are just two of what I am convinced are thousands of examples.

Warnings about Dreams and Visions 1. There are no warnings in the Bible to beware of your own dreams, with the possible exception of Ecclesiastes 5:3,7, which is probably best understood as a reference to “daydreams” since all other references in the Bible to “dreams” are positive. When one verse contradicts many others, you need to seek to understand that one verse in light of the volume of references on the other side of the topic.

Nightmares are the scream of an unhealed heart or mind under satanic attack.

5. Sexual dreams should be viewed symbolically and most are direct satanic attacks. Sexual intercourse is a symbol of union, so ask the question, “In what way is there a union or joining taking place within me?

6. Repeated dreams occur because you did not hear and act on the message of the dream when it spoke to you the first time.

7. Nightmares are the scream of an unhealed heart or mind under satanic attack. Apply the prayer ministries of inner healing and deliverance to the areas of need within you.

8. The most natural interpretation is most likely correct.

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The only Biblical caution concerning dreams, then, is when you are listening to another’s dream. They may be trying to lead you astray, to go after other gods (Jer. 14:14; 23:16,25-27,32; Ezek. 13:1,7; 12:24 Deut. 13:1-5; Jer. 27:9-11; Zec, 10:2).

References: • Christian Dreams Interpretation 2003, Mark & Patti Virkler • Dreams series - Peter Tan • The Dream Code - Elisha Goodman Dr. Richard Udoh is the Senior Pastor of The Father’s House in Akute, Lagos. You can reach him on

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Unbroken convenant with the devil is like a bridge from hell.

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he issue of deliverance from ancestral bondages is so strong in my spirit that I have to touch on it again. I believe that people need to have mature understanding of revealed truth so that they can be free to live life the way God desires for them. Freedom comes from knowledge and understanding. God is all-powerful, but He works by principle. I see people living under yokes that are not of their making; they work hard, they are smart, and they make the right moves, yet things do not go right for them. They meet with unexplainable hindrances. Why? They may be under a curse.

When there is a curse operating in your life, you sow seeds but you do not get to harvest it. At the point of harvest the enemies would come and eat it up. In other words, good things do not come their way. There is always something hindering their progress. It is a natural principle that you reap what you sow.

But a curse negates it and a higher principle comes into effect, which Satan capitalises on for his own evil assignment – to steal, to kill and to destroy.

As we saw in previous issues on this subject, the first thing God said to Gideon was, ‘Go and destroy your father’s altars’ (that thing which the enemy is capitalising on to hinder you). Notice that it was after Gideon had destroyed the altar that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him to do exploits and prevail over the enemies. (Judges 6:25; 34.) The Spirit of the Lord will not dwell where there is a curse in operation until that curse is broken and destroyed. It will not abide where there is sin and spiritual uncleanness. It will not remain where there is idolatry. When you are a child of God and still habours those things that mark you out for the enemy he will surely carry out his assignment “to steal, to kill and to destroy.” But by mercy God makes a way

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for deliverance. For you to work in power against the devil you must let go of his property. Unbroken covenant with the devil is like a bridge from hell; whenever the devil likes he comes in, and the more you bind him, the more he takes from you. It will look as if God has no power but the truth is that the devil is riding on the back of something that has not been dealt with. Once you have taken time to deal with pacts with the devil God will move in your life; and for every shame you had, He will honour you with much more blessing.

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment upon all men came to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon

The Reality of Deliverance

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all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18). This scripture talks about the redemption that Christ Jesus brought to all men after the fall of Adam. You can stand up today and say to the devil: Enough is enough and apply this scripture to your situation. With the mistake of one ignorant man or the iniquity of one wicked man that lived in your lineage in time past, judgment has remained upon your family. But thank God that because you will rise up to correct it freedom will come to all after you. Friend, you have to fight that evil power that is denying you access to the next level of your life; that spirit on assignment because of the history of your past to limit and delay you. Oftentimes satanic altars operate like a time bomb. They are set to a time in your life and they may not work until you get to that point when they are scheduled to detonate. And it is usually timed to explode when the time of your glory comes. Suddenly, disaster happens, and in some cases evil strikes at a certain age, yet the people may be bornagain and love the Lord. I read a story of a man whose children died just before they were all thirty years old. What was the problem?

Many years ago when the king of their village died they laid hold of a pretty thirty-year-old woman to bury alive with him as a sacrifice.

The young woman cried and as they were forcing her into the grave she cursed them that they would have children but none of them will live to her age. As I said earlier, God respects principles. When there is a reason for evil to be enforced it will be done. But through your enforcing the finished work on Calvary, deliverance will come to your generation. If you act your children will not suffer what you or your fathers went through.

Apostle Madubuko is the General Overseer of Revival Assembly Church in Ogba, Lagos. You can reach him on anselm_madubuko@yahoo.com

It was also discovered that if a person is awaken every time REM begins, preventing them from dreaming, after about three nights, the individual will begin to show signs of having a nervous breakdown. So, Dreams are also inner release mechanisms which help provide for us emotional balance and maintain our sanity.

General Nature of Dreams At least 95% of our dreams will be about your and will reveal things that are important to you, to encourage, affirm, warn or discourage.

Often expressed are areas such as: emotional, heart struggles, health, business, family, future, relationships etc.

Dreams about self most times are for the dreamer and his descendants. It is often given to one with authority or influence and not randomly.

The Dreams for others may be prophetic in nature; in the Bible, they were almost always given to kings or their advisers concerning the future of their kingdoms. Again, they are not given to just anyone but to those with power authority or influence to effect change.

Intercessors may be given revelation concerning others, so that they can pray for them NOT TO enforce upon such people or to insist compliance.

Please know for sure that God reveals to redeem and will not give a dream you will not understand (Num.12:6).

Types of Dreams There are 4 types of dreams. They are:• Symbolic Dreams • Actual Dreams • Message Dreams • Demonic Dreams Sym boli c Dreams These are dreams that come in symbols and similitudes. Ask yourself:• How did you feel immediately you woke up from this dream?

• What was or were the predominant actions etc?

• Who are the people in the dream – known or unknown?

• Who were the predominant people in the dream?

• What were the animals in the dream?

They often represent our emotions.

Numbers in dreams generally represent the identical numbers in real life?

See Gen.37:1-11; 39:12-18; Gen.40:1-23 and 41:1-49 Ac tual (l ife s itua ti on ) Dreams These are real life situations that play out

in your dreams to give information, direction, and encouragement or tell you the location and expectations concerning a thing or situation.

See: • Matth.1:20-25- Joseph – about the pregnancy of Mary • Matth.2:11-12 – The wise men warning on Herod • Matth.2:13-15; 19-23 Joseph to protect Jesus • Personal : - Misplacement of money in house. In a dream I was told where it was.

• Looking for a particular information was directed in the dream to where to go get it.

The Message D ream Often a lot of things play out here, but only one dominant message. This is the message you often remember when you wake up.

There are times messages for others or about a future event is communicated.

See: Gen.15:1-21; Gen.28:10-22;31:10-31, Judges 7:9-18, Acts.16:9 Di scerni n g Go dl y Dreams • Write it down in a secure place • Be as detailed as possible • How you felt, what you saw, who was there etc.

• Be careful of who you share it withRemember Joseph (Gen.37).

• There is always a witness in a child of God’s heart about a dream from God even if you do not understand it.

Literal or a c tual dream s These need no interpretation.

God may just warn you about a journey or

observer?

• When you see yourself as an observer in your dreams, it often indicates that the dream or its message is bigger than you and may involve a larger populace or body. The issues and circumstance are beyond us.

• Does it agree with the Word?

The written word is the final authority. Any dream that bends, distorts or is contrary to the word of God should be viewed in the light of what it is i.e. satanic.

• Don’t expect all the details to be exact in real life • See Gen.37:9-14 • Ask the Spirit of God for leading • Speak with other mature brethren • Be interested in the details • Godly dreams often contain enough details for their interpretation • Ask God to remind you. He will.

• Watch out for your disposition or feeling in the dream etc.

God desires you understand, because the interpretation given to a dream often conveys its power or effectiveness (Judges 7:13-15; Matth.2:11-12).

Recalling D rea ms Let it be a daily routine with you to fellowship with God before you sleep particularly praying in the spirit for a while.

Confess to yourself that you believe God still speak to people through dreams. Speak to yourself to awaken immediately after any dream because, if you don’t wake up within 5 minutes

Have a journal and biro beside you to write or record your dream upon waking up.

an investment etc Reoccurring Dreams • Sureness of their coming to pass • They come in symbols • Could speak of divine opportunities and open doors • Real life situation after reoccurring dreams are to be watched also • Always note or record the reoccurring symbols Your reoccurring symbols may not mean the same for another person.

Yo ur sta tus in th e dream • Were you part of it or you were just an L i f e W a y

of the dream you will most likely not remember it.

Ask God to speak to you through your dreams as you sleep.

Have a journal and biro beside you to write or record your dream upon waking up. Most dreams are forgotten before morning so, write them down and then go back to sleep.

Where possible get good sleep 6-8 hours, for some, 4 hours may be okay. Whatever you do, the last hour of sleep, the dream hour is very important.

As much as possible wake up naturally, without the use of alarm clock as alarm shatters

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s p iritu a l w a r f a re

Winning the Invisible War • How learning to correctly interpret your dreams gives you mastery over life situations B y Ri c h a r d Ud o h

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Preamble

n January 2007, we did our first prayer conference on Dreams and Night Visions in our church. I do believe it was a huge blessing to the brethren that attended or listened to the message on tape. This article is meant to do a follow up on that teaching re-emphasising some of the earlier mentioned truths and bringing out others to assist brethren understand or acquire a good working knowledge of dreams, their dynamics and how to handle them.

What is a Dream/ Vision?

Dream Oxford Talking Dictionary: A series of thoughts, images, sensations or emotions occurring in the mind during sleep.

Webster’s Dictionary: A sequence of images, etc passing through a sleeping person’s mind.

Vision Oxford Talking Dictionary: A distinct or vivid mental image seen in a dream or trance.

It could be prophetic, revelation or supernatural in nature.

Webster’s Dictionary: A mental image.

Please Note: From our text, Hebrews (Jews) maintain a close connection between Dreams and Vision; some times, they are used interchangeably.

Both dreams and Visions involve viewing of images on the mind’s screen.

Dreams can be considered as the flow of images while sleeping while vision can be likened to the flow of these images while awake.

Dreams in Biblical and Contemporar y Times • Abimelech - Gen.20: 3-7 • Jacob - Gen.28: 12,31:10 • Laban - Gen.31: 24 • Joseph - Gen. 37:5-9 • The chief butler and Baker of pharaoh – Gen.40:5-19 • Pharaoh - Gen.41:1-7 • A midianite - Judges 7:13-15 • King Solomon - I kings 3:5-15

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• Nebuchadnezzar - Dan.2:1,31; 4:5-8 • Daniel - Dan.7:1-28 • Joseph the Carpenter - Matth.1:20,21 2:13-20 • The three wise men - Matth. 2:11-12 • Pilate’s wife - Matth. 27:19 Contemporar y Jack Niklaus – World Golf Champion was directed in his dreams on techniques of play that secured him his world championship in 1964.

Adolf Hitler: When he was 28years old as a corporal in the German Army had a dream while sleeping in a trench that hot metals smoldering pile of dirt and blood fell into the trench he was in. He woke up and left the trench immediately, he had hardly settled in the new place, when a mortar fired landed in the exact trench he had just left. His life was spared.

Elias Howe: The inventor of the modern sewing machine credited his invention to a dream.

Niels Bohr: A Nobel Prize winner claimed that he had seen the structure of the atom in a dream.

Christopher Columbus: He credits his discovery of The Americas to a dream he had.

President Abraham Lincoln: Dreamt about his death before it, but he didn’t understand, so could not take any action against it.

Personal Experiences: Journey to Jos In a classroom receiving lectures from a man of God and then a stone is thrown.

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Origin of Dreams Dreams come from one of these three sources • God Dreams from God come to give us direction or understanding or insights. It comes to believers and nonbelievers alike. Examples: • Abimelech - Gen.20:3-7 • Pharaoh - Gen.41:1-7 • Nebuchadnezzer - Dan.2 • Man Dreams can originate from man due to some inputs received into the mind/spirit. Examples: • Watching of horror movies; • Multitude of desires/ worries • Desperation or trouble over a matter • Circumstance of life and our imaginations • See: Ecc.5:3; Isa.29:8 • The Devil or Demonic World Characterised by dreams to put fear or solicit the believer to sin or enter into unholy alliances. Satan does disguise as an angel of light (2Cor.11:14) to mislead or torment believers that have opened the door for him (James 3:13-17), or even make an effort to encroach on the believer’s liberty (2 Tim.1:7).

Science and Dreams Extensive researches have been done in sleep laboratories in the advanced world on human sleep processes or cycles. Some of the results are: • Light sleep called alpha Level • Deeper sleep called theta Level • Deepest sleep called delta Level At the end of every 90 minutes of sleep, the individual returns to the alpha level and dreams for 5 minutes. The next alpha level he dreams for 10minutes; the next for 15minutes and so on. So in an 8 hrs of sleep time, the last hour of sleep is spent essentially in the alpha level.

A major characteristic of the alpha level of sleep is the Rapid Eye Movement (REM), where because of the dreams, the sleeping eyes move rapidly to catch up with the images he is seeing. It is said that everyone goes through this stage, so everyone dreams.

God's idea is that you have to die to live.

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dentity is vital to purpose. Every time notable people introduce themselves or are introduced by someone else, people see a picture of what they represent; holiness, flamboyance, justice, corruption, godliness, humility, integrity and so on. Companies and organisations would do anything to have some of these brands of people on their board of trustees, why? A good name says it all. A good name is better than wealth and riches. The memory of a good name is often remembered over and over again.

What about titles? I have seen people livid and steaming with rage when someone forgot to mention the title attached to their names. Why the anger? They feel the person has reduced their importance by missing out the titles. Some even walk out of the occasion entirely and never return; others give a sharp correction. “Bishop please and not pastor,” they cut in. You wonder why some of our brethren in the western world who have been in ministry for years and years live longer than some of us in Africa. Whether you introduce them as pastor or doctor, or reverend or simply as a brother or sister, they don’t mind.

Don’t get me wrong! We ought to give honour to whom honour is due but there is a thin line between craving the honour that comes from God and the honour that comes from man. Thank God for our accomplishments, which of course has God as the primary contributor but at the end of time, what will count are not our titles or our accomplishment. Who did we touch? Who did we love? Who did we impact? Who did we save?

Some people “make’ it in ministry, in business, and otherwise and burn all the

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bridges behind them. They forget the people who aided them, who encouraged them, even people who sponsored their education.

They tell themselves, ‘all that is past, where I am now is more important’. One of the signs of the end of this age is unthankfulness. These same people would cling to their titles as if they were born with them.

There are some levels of God you will never experience until some attitudes leave you.

Attitudes, like always trying to protect and defend yourself even when no one is offending you. This is selfish and will make you a very insecure person. Insecure people often see other people through their own eyes. You

The Craze for Titles

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add value to your title. The title does not and should not add value to you. You are who you are with or without the title. The title will not follow you to heaven. We leave everything here, right here on earth and walk into heaven, free, lighthearted, and free from every form of physical and self dependence.

Jesus said that for a seed to produce and bear fruit, it has to die. Dying is unpleasant.

Dying is a bad feeling but God’s idea is that you have to die to live. You are not humble until your humility level is tried and tested.

You are not meek until your strength is put to the test. You don’t know how much you can forgive until you are used and taken for granted. When we begin to “fight” for prominence, when we begin to struggle to be commended, we have forgotten the errand and we are on our own mission. A man’s gift will announce him and give him a good reputation; he will not be obscure and many will come to learn from him. Hear Jesus, “l can of myself do nothing. As I hear, so do I judge and my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own but the will of the father who sent me” … “How can you believe, who receive honour from one another and do not seek the honour that comes from the only God?” (John 5: 30, 44) This is instructive. Thank God for where you are. Thank God for your accomplishments. How could you ever have made it if not for his grace- great grace, his ability in our talents, gifts and skills? When you know this, you will realise that you are who you are irrespective of any title. God is working out his best plan for your life. Allow him to do just that. Love ya!

Pastor Jane, a renowned worship leader, is co-pastor of House of Grace Church in Navy Town, Lagos. You can reach her on pj.applesofgold@gmail.com

Ask Aunt Korede Dear Aunty K, I am a young man of twenty five, and graduated about two years ago. I have gotten a number of job offers, but am a bit confused as to which one of them to accept.

How can I know which one is the dream job for me? B.A. Dear B.A. Congratulations on the various job offers you have received. Let me begin by telling you, that God is not the author of confusion. The Bible says in 1Cor.14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace....” In essence, God’s plan is not for you to get confused at this stage you are in.

He desires that you pursue what exactly He has ordained for you before the foundation of the world. Now, you asked the question

about how to know what your dream job is? I would want to know what your dream or vision is as a person? Your dream/ vision talks of the picture you have of a desirable future. It is a picture of where you are going in life, what you desire for yourself in future, where you want to be say in 5, 10, 15 or 20 years from now. The Bible says that when people do not have any vision, they cast aside every form of restraint. In order words, a person that has no clear vision of where he is going in life will live his life aimlessly and carelessly. Such a person will take any kind of job that comes his way, even if he hates it just so long as his bills are paid. Vision helps you to set goals for your life, part of which has to do with your career.

Once you have a picture of where you are going in life, it will help you decide which job to take so long as it is in line with your vision as a person. Take the example of a graduate of say Physics that would one day love to own a school. For such a person, the wisest thing would be to take a job in the teaching profession, so that he/she can be in an environment where he can work and learn at the same time in preparation for his ultimate goal. Even if working in a school for some years will mean taking a lower pay check than say working in a Bank, he will be better fulfilled because he is on the path that will help him realise his ultimate ambition.

Take a time to ask yourself some questions about what exactly you are aiming for in life.

Prayerfully consider the things you love, the talents and gifts you have, and the skills you have acquired over time. What drives and motivates you as a person? All these are a pointer to the problems God has created you to solve. I hope this will help you in making a decision. God bless you.

Dear Aunt K, I am a woman that works in a multinational company here in Lagos.

Recently, my company allocated to me an official quarter as part of my entitlements.

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with him because it appears that he is not pleased with my progress as a person. What can I do? F.A. Dear F.A. All you need at this stage is divine wisdom.

The Bible says A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish one tears it down with her hands (Prov.) With the wisdom of God, a woman is more than able to tackle the most difficult of all problems. Let me begin by asking you how your relationship has been with your husband. Has it been cordial? Is the communication line still open, or has it been closed over time? Have you been consulting him before taking some steps, especially as it relates to your job? Also, is he working or out of a job? A number of things could have been responsible for his action. Perhaps you have unconsciously acted in a way that has made him feel threatened by your success as a woman. A man has been divinely created

by God to be the head of the home, to be in charge, to be the provider of the home.

The moment he is not able to fulfill this role it affects his self esteem and can make him edgy and sometimes aggressive, except of course he allows God’s Spirit to rule in his heart.

You need to humbly take time to ask him why he has taken this stand on this issue.

Let him know you are ready to obey him no matter what. Should he still maintain his stand, I would suggest that for the sake of your marriage that you wisely consider some other options that might be available for you at work as it relates to the accommodation issue. For instance, do you have the option of collecting cash and using it at your discretion?

If you do, you can begin to think of starting to build your own place with the money - of course, with the consent of your husband.

Prayerfully consider the options available to you, with the interest of your home and marriage as top priority. Remember, a job is temporary, but your marriage and home will be for as long as you live. You must make a resolve to keep it intact. Once again, may the Lord grant you divine wisdom in Jesus name, amen.

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BETHEL MINISTRIES INC

The workplace is the greatest test ground of our faith.

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igeria can rightly be described as a faith-based country. We are a people of faith. We have learned to lean on the Lord as we cope with excruciating economic and social conditions produced by bad leadership over the years. We pray without ceasing, believing God for deliverance from bad government one day. But a key question friends from other countries often ask is why has our collective faith not produced national transformation? Why our importunity in prayers has not yielded the desired result is puzzling to Christians from other countries.

Recently, as I reflected on this dilemma, I came across the scripture in 2 Peter 1:5-10 and I suppose that this provides the answer to the questions above. The overriding conclusion from this scripture is that faith is not enough.

Faith must find its expressions in virtue or character, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love for it to produce desirable effects such as national transformation or righteousness in the marketplace or workplace ethics. Our search for these values ends up in prayers or our wish list. I gather from this scripture that God wants us as a people of faith to add to our faith values such as character, deep knowledge of God and His ways, self control, patience, godliness, kindness and love. I call these values the expressions of faith. Indeed, if our profession of faith does not produce these values, it is adjudged dead according to James 2: 14-26. A person can profess all the faith in this world but without these values, it profits nothing. In a way, we have professed great faith in this country and seem to have left out the essential fragrance of faith such as character. Very little is taught about this or demanded from us by church leaders. We are taught to believe God for financial breakthroughs but they seem to forget to teach us to cultivate integrity to sustain that level of prosperity.

The work place is the greatest test ground of our faith. The causality level is very high because many do not prove their faith by good works.

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Faith is meant to be revealed in the good works we do [James 2:18]. Though faith is an important first step for a Christian, it is expected to grow and produce good works [Colossians 1:3-6], otherwise it is dead [James 2:17, 26].

The interesting thing is that our non-believing bosses and colleagues expect to see these values in us. How does one produce the fragrance of faith? According to Bob and Debby Gass, “building strong character requires self discipline. Self discipline is the ability to do what is right, when you don’t feel like it.” Plato asserted that “the first and best victory is to conquer self.” If you are serious about building strong character, set higher standards [Biblical standards] for yourself and refuse to lower it, adopt Jesus as your role model and each day, look for

How to Become a Change Agent

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an opportunity to say ‘No’ to yourself in some small area. The payoff will come when you need to say ‘No’ to yourself in some big areas.’

In addition to a disciplined lifestyle, the expressions of faith come from the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It comes from a deep walk in the Spirit and yielding to the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16,18). When our faith level in this country produces the fruit of the spirit, national transformation will come that day. A cursory look at the life, faith and works of Rahab, the harlot reveals that this is attainable. She is an unsual Bible personality to qualify for a character study. But she was specially chosen by God to reveal the richness of His grace. You will find in her life the interplay of the expressions of faith and the reason she made it to the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.

Rahab added to her faith [Joshua 2:9] virtue or character, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. These produced the sweet fragrance of the works of righteousness that resulted in her being married to a Jew named Salmon [Matthew 1:5]. The marriage produced a godly seed in the person of Boaz who married Ruth with an uncommon expression of chastity [Ruth 3:7-15; 4:13].

Even though Rahab came into the Kingdom as a harlot, her transformation, spiritual growth and stability earned her a place in the geneaology of Christ [see Matthew 1:5]. This is what the Lord demands of us today as people of faith. Our transformation, spiritual growth and stability should extend Christ’s geneaology [ a very potent tool for workplace evangelism and the fulfullment of the Great Commission]. For this to happen, we must realise that faith is an important first step. We must add the traits listed in 2 Peter 1:5-10 to faith. That is what Rahab did to transform her workplace [from harlotry to a godly home] and the nation of Israel, in turn. .Imo Abasi-Jacob is President of Haggai Business School in Surulere, Lagos.

He also serves as a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God. You can reach him on imoabasi@yahoo.com

ANNUAL

Ministers’ Conference

MIND SHIF T THEME

:

Audience: G.O.’s Snr.Pastors Church Leaders Church Workers

Free Hostel Accommodation And Feeding

DATE :

13T-18TH OCT 2008

Ministering

God’s Choice Servants Bethel Wor s hi p Centr e F o r A l l N ati ons

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Host

Roselyn Oduyemi

lEad SToRy

Unmasking the

FALSE PROPHETS in our midst

A troubling phenomenon of ‘phone number’ prophecies is rocking the church.

By Jackson ekwugum …the leading Book Selling and Library Consulting Company in Nigeria known for excellent service delivery which is based on integrity.

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the people swooning with a mixture of excitement and awe as he Prophet Luca proceeds to deliver his prophecy – and the killer blow. For the word out there is that he is also a good fund raiser. As a matter of routine, Luca follows up this revelation with calls for money that vulnerable parishioners are too glad to give. That often of course means a lot of money for Luca and the church hosting him. Sometime ago he called out a woman by her name from the crowd and said: “You have twin daughters.” The woman’s gasp for breath could be heard at the end of the auditorium. “But I see two graves in front of them.” To save their lives, she was to sow a particular amount of money to connect with the prayers that would be offered on their behalf. Pronto the woman obliged. The prophecies – and the solutions - were similar for those in business, those seeking the fruit of the womb, and those who he said were under some form of demonic bondage.

astor Magnus Luca (real name witheld) is a stout figure at some five feet nine inches. A resident of one of the neigbouring West African countries, he is highly sought after in some Pentecostal/ Charismatic circles for his special gift of prophecy; he is almost held in the same awe that Simon the Sorcerer was regarded by the people of Samaria during the days of the early church. After his first visit to a church in Nigeria where he mesmerised the congregation with his ability to reveal personal details of members of the church, he has become the toast of many pastors who are falling over themselves to have him in their churches. During ministrations he seems to have this special ability to call people he has never met before by their names, often their full names. He would then follow up by calling out their phone numbers, and in some cases also call the plate numbers of their cars. That usually leaves 16

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Is a colleague too close for comfort?

When a man starts going on and on about ‘Francisca’ or ‘Evelyn’ his partner naturally starts wondering if there is something else going on.

Some people are naturally suspicious and when they notice that their partner keeps mentioning a particular person of the opposite sex, who said this, wore this, did this or bought this for them, they start getting jealous.

Do you spend enough time together?

Many people feel jealous when they feel that as an intending couple you are not spending enough time together. When two people are in love, it is natural for them to want to spend time together. If your partner starts feeling that you do not want to spend time with him or her, then the assumption is that there must be someone else with whom you would rather spend your leisure time with. Some ladies can be very flirtatious in their conduct. When a lady starts giving guys hugs, pecks and allows guys to hold her or touch her in suggestive ways, her fiancé may start wondering if she will really be faithful to him after they get married.

Danger signs to watch out for.

There are times that a partner is so possessive that it may endanger the life of his or her partner.

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lEad SToRy

There are also a few people who just get overly jealous without reason. A man is too possessive when: • He forbids you from having female friends. When a man feels that he is the only friend a lady needs and tells her not to talk to any of her old friends not because they have a negative influence on her or because they have offended him in any way, but just because he wants to have complete monopoly of her attention, it is a sign that the lady may be walking on dangerous ground.

• He does not like his fiancée’s family members and tells her that once they get married he does not want to see any of them in his house. A man who really loves a lady will accept her family members.

• He asks for an account of your time, hour by hour and minute by minute and gets angry when you refuse to fill in all the details.

• He asks for an account of how you spend your money or insists that you should put the money in an account where you cannot have your money when you need it.

• He hires a private investigator to follow you around and take your photograph whenever you are with another man.

• He stalks you and accuses you of having an affair even when you know that you are not even contemplating having one.

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• He calls you at odd hours just to ask you where you are, whom you are with, and what you are doing.

• He gets angry when he sees you talking with someone else even in church.

• He checks your phone and demands to know all those who called you and what they said and for how long.

• He snoops around, looking into your handbag.

• He tells you that he is travelling and then shows up in the evening just to find out whom you are with when he is not in town.

If you notice that your fiancé does all of these, you may need to seek help. Some men have stabbed other people to death just because they thought that those people were in a relationship with the lady they want to marry. Some ladies have been known to pour acid on another lady because they thought that she was trying to snatch their boyfriend. If a lady could pour acid on another lady for taking her boyfriend what would she do to a lady who tries to take her husband?

Jealousy that is not managed during courtship can prove to be deadly after marriage.

Pastor Deola Ojo is co-pastor of Grace Family Church in Oregun, Lagos. She is the author of “Give Me A Spouse Or I Die.” You can reach her on pastordeegfc@yahoo.com

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But can the blessing of God be bought? What, as a matter of fact, is prophecy? What is the role of prophecy in a believer’s life? Are these people real prophets of God or are they tricksters? And why is this phenomenon spreading so fast in the church in Nigeria? Rev. Humphry Erumaka of Wordbase Assembly in Okota Lagos says he considers this group of prophets “suspect.” Averring that the “Holy Spirit is not a gossip,” he wonders why such prophecies are often geared “to get you to a point of making a financial commitment.” According to him, “if it were all geared towards setting you free, averting danger, or telling you precisely something that is coming, it is a different thing. But each time I have seen this spirit operate it boils down to how much you will bring to make the thing come to pass. And why is it always prophecies of doom? Why is it all about death? Why is it all about failure?” Rev. Yomi Kasali of Foundation Of Truth Assembly speaks of his experience with one of these prophets in a church in London. “This man had phenomenal insights into people’s lives,” he recalls. “He would tell you your name, phone number and car number. It was quite compelling; it could arrest anybody’s attention. But then at the end he kept collecting seed, seed, and more seed! If the motivation is to collect money then it is not from God. God reveals to redeem; God reveals out of compassion and love. When God reveals, it is because He wants to help you.” It is his opinion that Christians are “easily carried away” by the information given instead of trying to discern the motivation of the preacher. “The ultimate test of a prophecy is motivation,” he asserts. “The motivation that followed the girl with the spirit of divination in Acts 16 was gain. All the things she said about Paul were facts but the motivation was gain. The ‘Why’ reveals the character of a person.”

Pastor Peter Unoarumhi, a theologian, agrees.

According to him, “false prophets can be identified by their love for money. When prophecy is tied to money, it betrays the character of the false prophet. In true prophecy, when giving is involved the amount is not mentioned. Giving is a secret between God and man, and it is the Holy Spirit that instructs what should be given.” For him, the true test of a prophecy is the message. “Don’t be carried away by somebody knowing your phone number or some personal details. The issue is what is the message? If the message is saying you should bring something to get something, then God is being treated as some kind of Stock Exchange.”

Erumaka points out that Christians need to take a closer look at the lifestyles of these prophets. “Most false prophets,” he insists, “are temperamental; they are quick to curse and are often immoral. They lie

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and the endpoint of every thing they do is money.

This is the reason why Jesus said by their fruits you shall know them.”

Unoarumhi, the Head Pastor of Cornerstone Anointed Church Of Christ, in Aguda, Lagos, minces no words in describing this group of people as “fortune tellers.” Stressing that there is a difference between fortune telling and forth telling (see box), he challenges Christians to also assess the attitude of these prophets. “Any attitude that exhibits arrogance betrays the person as not being of God; arrogance in the sense that the prophecy just zooms and focuses on the person’s ability to see, hear and speak forth,”

The operations of God are determined by God. He is not a machine that you can turn on and off as you wish. If it becomes mechanical, predictable and natural, then it is not the Holy Spirit. We can NEVER rule out the place of HIS will.”

There is also a growing concern that these socalled prophets only seem to major on the present and the past. Erumaka says his suspicion of these prophets is heightened by the fact that “they see the immediate or the past, but they don’t rightly tell the future.” He tells the story of a preacher who during a service called the number of a man whose wife was in the service. A call was placed to the man who was boozing in a beer parlour. He was summoned to the church where the prophet had a word for him. The prophet announced to him that he was to give his life to Christ that day or he will die within a month. The man got angry, Erumaka says, and told the prophet to “go to hell” and stormed out of the meeting. The man did not get born again “and today he is still alive.”

According to Erumaka, “there is no probability” with prophecy. “A prophet is a messenger, and a messenger does not give proverbs. It is not a ‘maybe’ thing.”

In the same vein, Unoarumhi says if a prophet “tells you what has happened to you, he has not told you anything new.” He tells LifeWay he has observed a situation where these prophets are “right now and wrong later. That is not God because truth is consistent.”

Rev Yomi Kasali Asserting that “the devil does not know

God reveals to redeem: God reveals out of compassion and love. When God reveals, it is because He wants to help you. he says. “If you look at the prophets in the Bible, the pointer was always to God and the prophets were out of the way. Even when the prophecies were fulfilled, God was glorified, not them being worshipped.” Citing his experience in the London church, Kasali tells LifeWay he was vexed by the arrogance and pomposity of the prophet. “He was laughing, relaxed and had this attitude of I-can-tellyou-who-you-are. That put me off. You are who you are by the grace of God. You should always make reference to God, and you should act it by letting people know it is not you. Every prophecy must point to God and glorify Him, not man.

The Gifts of God are given as the Holy Spirit wills.

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tomorrow,” Kasali explains that “it is not enough to tell me where I am coming from without telling me where I am going.” Concerning his encounter with the false prophet, “I would have appreciated it if he had told me the secrets of my heart, or where my church would be in five years time.

That would have been real word of knowledge and prophecy in operation.” prophetIc actIons Another issue that is raising dust in the church today is that of prophetic actions. Recently, one of these prophets asked members of a church to put sand in a bottle, call the names of their enemies into the bottle and cork it. They were

a child out of wedlock. As soon as we got married my trouble started. Anytime he heard me speaking on the phone he asked me who was calling and if I did not answer quickly enough, he cut the line. I thought he was just being over protective because I was pregnant.

He did not allow me to go out to see any of my friends. He asked me to stop working, and even when we were in church he monitored my movement. After I had the baby he still insisted that he did not want me to work.

“A month after having the baby, an old friend of mine called while my husband was sleeping. I had forgotten that I had been ordered not to speak with anyone that he did not know or did not approve of. I excitedly started talking to this man not knowing that he had woken up and was listening in the bedroom.

After about five minutes I heard a click. I immediately realised what must have happened, so I quickly shouted, ‘honey a friend of mine from way back home just called because he heard that we now have a lovely baby boy’. I was walking towards the bedroom when he came out and gave me a dirty slap and started beating me. I had bruises all over my body when it was all over. I had become a prisoner in my own home. I could not go out without him, pick my own calls or even have friends visit whenever he was not at home.

If someone had told me that my so called guardian angel was actually a devil I would have run away that day I met him on the bus.”

It is possible for a man to be jealous of his wife within reasonable limits! What a man loves he is possessive over. Every lady should want to marry a man who is jealous over her. A key display of love is occasional jealousy. God is jealous over us His children.

“For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34:14).

When a man is in love with a woman he does not want to share her with any other man. A husband can be jealous over his wife, and vice versa. And because God knows that this will happen to married couples, He laid down rules for a man who becomes jealous of his wife without reason. There are times a man starts suspecting that his wife is having an affair when in fact she is not and is not even thinking about it. To avoid a man overreacting to his jealous feelings, such men under the Old Testament were to go to the priest and make the woman take a drink of the water of jealousy.

If she is guilty her thigh and her belly will rot; if she is not guilty, nothing will happen to her!

“If the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself-- 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering… an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance. 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be,

if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children. ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31 Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’“ Num 5:14-15; 26-31 Though jealousy will rise up in every relationship, it must be managed. Some people are naturally possessive and very suspicious; and whenever they discover their spouse smiling at anyone of the opposite sex, they immediately feel uncomfortable and feel like telling the person to go away before they do something crazy. While it is understandable for a husband to be jealous over his wife and get upset at times if he thinks that she is paying too much attention to another man, it becomes unhealthy when he starts treating her like a possession. A man has no right to be overly jealous over a woman he is not yet married to. Some men have beaten up their fiancées just because they saw her in a car with another man; they did not even care to ask who the man was.

Balance Is crItIcal A lady who finds out that she is engaged to a man who is overly possessive may need to do a critical review. Why is he jealous? There is no smoke without fire.

Is someone else wrItIng you loVe letters?

A lady may be encouraging another person’s interest in her by replying his love letters, and returning his calls. This will naturally make her fiancé jealous.

Is an eX now a current?

Some people just do not know how to put an end to a former relationship. When a man says he cannot marry a lady but he keeps sending her letters, gifts and numerous text messages the lady needs to know that the man does not want her but does not want any other person to have

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her either. He wants to eat his cake and have it! In a situation like this someone is bound to get hurt.

An ex who keeps showing up and keeps acting like something is still going on can put undue strains on a relationship.

Do you work l ate or stay out l ate?

It is natural for someone who loves you to wonder whom you are spending your time with whenever you are not with him or her. If you work late most days of the week your partner will probably start feeling jealous especially if you are usually working late with someone who finds you attractive or someone whom you feel attracted to.

Is someone else picking your calls that your partner does not know?

Some people will feel suspicious if someone else picks their phone? For someone to pick your calls before handing over the phone to you, the person must be in the same place with you, and feel close enough to you to pick your phone. If your fiancé knows this person, or he or she is a relative, colleague, or secretary, it is not an issue. But if your fiancé finds out that the person does not fall into any of these categories your partner may start wondering if you are two-timing.

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Run Baby!

He's too

Jealous It is important that you assess your partner’s possessive tendencies before you say ‘I do’

By Deola oJo

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t all started on a beautiful sunny day three months after I moved to England. Things had not worked well for me in the country and when my parents suggested that perhaps I should just relocate I jumped at it.

I thought London certainly held the prospects of a better life for me.

But I was in for a rude shock. The first thing I discovered was that the money my parents gave me finished soon after I got to London. A friend of my mum who had assured her that she would accommodate me without reservation had moved out of her apartment to a smaller apartment which she claimed was not big enough for the two of us. She then told me that a friend of hers was willing to take me in if I would pay a little token for rent. The little token soon began to increase every week, and when I could not pay any longer she started threatening to throw me out. I immediately started looking for a job but it was just difficult to get a well paying job.

“One day I had reached the end of my rope and as I got on the bus on my way from work, I just started crying. The guy sitting next to me looked at me and said, “Its okay, you don’t have to cry. Is it something we can pray about?”

Because he had suggested praying I assumed he was a decent guy and I started talking to him about all my problems. He got down at my stop and walked me home. He promised to help me and gave me his phone number. The next day I decided to call him and that was how we became friends. I thought I had met my guardian angel! Whenever my host threatened to throw me out, he gave me money to pay the new rent she demanded. He finally he told me that it was better for me to move in with him until I get my own apartment. This is something I would not even have considered while I was in Nigeria but I felt I had no choice. I moved in and even though I had convinced myself that I would not sleep with him, we soon started sleeping together all the time and within three months I had become pregnant. He said he wanted us to get married and I agreed because I did not want to have

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‘It's a Strange Spirit’ - Bishop Agyin-Asare Bishop Charles Agyin-Asare is the First Vice President of Ghana Pentecostal Council, and General Overseer of the 10,000 member strong Word Miracle Church International in Accra, Ghana. He spoke with LifeWay in his Accra home about this “strange” phenomenon.

Are you aware of prophets who give these prophecies and tie them to money?

There was a time in Ghana when we had a group of so-called ministers claiming to have a prophetic ministry. But we in the Ghana Pentecostal Council have termed them charlatans. They would prophesy about the past and present, and claim to say things about the future but most of the time, the things they say are all frightening. The part that we are against is that they would tell you that for you to be free you have to pay a certain amount of money.

We have preached against it here, so it got to a point they did not have enough room here. We are hearing that they are making a lot of inroads in Nigeria and in other parts of the world. Whether the prophetic utterance is from God or not, once money is attached to it, I can conclude that it is a strange spirit.

How should the average believer judge such prophecies in a service where they don’t have the time to check up on these people?

Jesus said that by their fruits you shall know them. This is the easiest way of judging prophecy. Anybody who has to take money before he prays for you is false. The devil knows your past and present but doesn’t know all about your future. So it is not strange if somebody is giving a revelation of your past and present. The important thing to know is that God reveals to redeem. God sent Prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah to tell him that he was going to die. Immediately Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and repented, God changed it. So God is able to change prophetic utterance. But if every prophetic utterance is about somebody going to die and the person dies irrespective of whether the person prays or repents, that prophecy is not from God. The occultists are also able to tell you your past and present, but the sad part is that they are not able to stop what is about to happen. If somebody claims to be a servant of God but can’t pray for God to avert calamity, then there is a question mark.

We understand these ‘prophets’ have a campground here where they pray and train others.

They don’t really have a campground. There is a mountain in the Asante Region where most of them go to pray. I have not been there. I was told that when they get there, some people visit them and tell them what to do. Recently, one of such young men was exposed. A fetish priest (native doctor) went on radio and boasted that he gave power to some of the pastors in the city to do what they are doing. He was challenged to prove it.

He went to this pastor’s church and requested for the juju he gave him. And the guy went inside and brought it out. We were very happy with this exposure because we had been praying L i

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that such things should be exposed. I was asked what I thought of that man of God. My response is that he was not a man of God. The first commandment even says you shall have no other god before me. So there is no argument about it.

Why is this happening?

It has been prophesied in the Bible and it is not a new thing in the church. Balaam was such a person in the Bible. Even though God warned him not to do something but for the sake of money he went ahead. It is a sign of the end time because Jesus said that false prophets and apostles shall arise in the last days. Apostle Paul and Jude said the same thing. During the healing and Charismatic revival in America, there were some people that rose up with powerful anointing but some of them had familiar spirits.

Your final word sir.

We should be very vigilant. We should teach and preach the word of God, and show the people how to differentiate the true from the false. We should let them know that anytime there is a counterfeit, it is proof there is an original; anytime we have one Judas there are 11 others who have not bowed their knees to Baal. The power of God is always greater than that of the devil. Moses’ rod would always swallow the rods of the magicians. e

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instructed to leave the comfort of their beds by midnight and step outside. Then they were to shout “sword of Jehu, sword of Joshua” and smash the bottles. That would mark the demise of their enemies, the prophet said. In another instance, another prophet prayed over a bundle of N50, 000.00 in one thousand naira bills. He asked business and career people to step forward and exchange N50, 000.00 for one of his N1, 000.00 bills. They were asked to pay the N1, 000 into their account by 12 noon the following day, and subsequently there will be wealth transfer.

“That is witchcraft,” says Erumaka. “This is the same thing we complained about with the white garment churches. The same spirit is back, but wearing suit and tie. It is the spirit of clairvoyance (see box).” The plethora of prophetic actions, he claims, has brought a lot of confusion into the church. “I was called to settle a matter recently where a Christian brother was accused of being a witch. He came all the way from Abuja to Lagos to collect sand from the compound he was living in when every body had gone to work.

The compound was quiet but there was one man in the compound who said he saw this brother pack sand and sprinkle salt to some areas. I asked the brother if it was true, and he said ‘yes, it was prophetic action.’” Erumaka explained that when Namaan collected sand from the Land of Israel to sprinkle in his place of worship in Syria, it was because in Bible days people believed that the gods of the nations worked through their land, adding that it has nothing to do with New Testament Christianity. “These so-called prophets make use of faith extenders a lot. They want you to do something, hold something so that you will feel you have done something,” he stresses. “That is the trouble God has always had with man. Man is always looking for something to do when all God wants is for him to believe.”

Pastor Unoarumhi’s perspective on the issue of prophetic actions is that Christians should follow Jesus as their ultimate role model. “Anything that Jesus will not do is wrong,” he says. “Did He come to destroy or to save lives? Any method that glorifies traditional ways of destroying people is definitely not of God. If people will be destroyed it will be by their own actions of opposing God and His people. Vengeance belongs to God.” prescrIptIons “The church needs to come back to the truth,” says Unoarumhi. “Believers need to have very good devotional study and relationship with the Holy Spirit, and we should deemphasise the way we allow man to hear God for us. We are in the New Testament where the curtain in the Tabernacle of old has been

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torn apart so that each person can come to the Holy Spirit and hear God for himself. God is for us all, so let us not make men God.” For that to happen, Kasali is of the view that believers in Christ must adopt a Berean attitude, which is to make it a habit “not to believe anything until you search the scriptures to confirm if what you have heard is true.” Claiming that “our prosperity gospel has damaged the psyche of the people,” he submitted that “we need teachers who will teach us precept upon precept.” According to him, “it took years before believers could be called

Christians in the Bible. The Bible tells us that Paul went to Antioch and he taught for a whole year.

He taught, not he preached, and then the believers were called Christians. It takes a meticulous teaching ministry to breed Christians.”

“Right from Bible days,” says Erumaka, “God has called every pastor to teach people the truth – your place in Christ, your value to the world, the hope of heaven, and your readiness to meet your maker. If we would do these things we would prosper.”

Forth telling versuss Fortune telling

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rophecy is forth telling of God’s word in form of events, and it is always inspired by the Spirit of God. And it must come to pass, otherwise it is not prophecy because God cannot tell forth His word and it returns to Him void.

Fortune telling is always at the root of the problem of false prophecy. Scripture is the primary way to judge prophecy. When you look at the demoniac who met Jesus from the cemetery, he could accurately tell the facts about Jesus but how did he know? It is the same thing with the woman with the spirit of divination in Acts 16. She was able to identify Jesus as the Saviour of the world, Unoarumhi something the religious leaders of the day could not discern. But the medium was also wrong. And in her case it was for financial profit. A man can call the name of Jesus and say everything about Him but the medium he is using is still false. False prophets are full of commerce in everything they do; a lot of prophets can be identified by their love for money. When prophecy is tied to money, it betrays the character of the false prophet.

In true prophecy when giving is involved, the amount is not mentioned because giving is a secret between God and man. And it is the Holy Spirit that instructs what should be given. If a specific amount is mentioned, the prophet has nothing to do with it because it always comes from a heart of humility. But what we see these days is that someone is told to sow some amount and that when he does he will get something in reward. Those things go against scripture and betray such people as fortune tellers. So we have many fortune tellers now, not forth tellers of God’s word. Be wary when somebody’s prophecy is so detailed, especially when the person is giving the specific thing and the date. God reserves such things for Himself. In Acts Chapter 1, when the disciples wanted to know if Jesus had come to restore Israel’s kingdom, Jesus told them that it was not for them to know times and seasons which the father has reserved for Himself. When it comes to personal prophecy we must also receive confirmation from our spirit. Your confirmation is not the fear that prompts you to action because prophecy is always love motivated.

Don’t be carried away by somebody’s ability to reveal your phone number and other personal details of your life. The issue is what is the message? If the message is saying you should bring something to get something then God is being treated as some kind of Stock Exchange. Somebody can be so detailed in telling you some present facts or what has happened before, and if indeed it has happened, he has not told you anything new.

What and who is the message about? Prophecy is the forth telling of God’s event and God’s will and it will always glorify God. Pastor Peter Unoarumhi was speaking to lifeway.

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Meeting people on the internet is a fast growing phenomenon.

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few years ago my husband and I were on a preaching engagement at a church in California. We had a special session for single and married people at the end of which people were free to ask questions. One woman stood up and said she wanted to know why men find it hard to commit long term. She had been married three times and each of the marriages had ended in divorce. She could not understand why the men always seemed to walk out on her after a year or two. My heart really went out to her and I wanted to help her find out what was wrong so that she would be able to find a lasting solution to this problem. I told her that while all men are different, a man who is a committed Christian has a greater tendency to be faithful. It turned out she had met each of them on some internet dating sites. Meeting people on the internet is a fast growing phenomenon. There are some people who have met their spouses and gotten married through the internet. While most of the marriages have not been put to the test of say fifty years of continuous union some of them do seem to be okay.

Many single people wonder if the internet might be God’s way of providing a spouse for them. Sometimes when people have tried all the traditional ways of finding a spouse without getting result, they may decide to experiment a little. Most internet dating sites ask singles to send in their profiles including their age, hobbies, interests, and enough information for other singles who might be interested in them. Is internet dating for a serious Christian? There is a church that is so huge that they found out that the singles in their church were finding it very difficult to meet each other and get married. They decided to resolve the problem by having an intra-church singles internet dating programme. But I dare say it is fraught with dangers. To start with, one is not completely sure of the real identity of the person. Some teenagers have

been raped and a few even killed by men that they met on the internet. The danger faced by young people who meet people on the internet is so real that some security agents have now been trained in some developed countries to identify potential pedophiles and arrest them before they get to these teenagers and do them bodily harm. One young man thought that he had met the love of his life on the internet not knowing some men just posted false pictures of a very beautiful lady to lure him to a deserted location where they murdered him.

How can someone who meets someone on the internet be really sure that the person is not just raising his or her hopes unnecessarily?

How does a lady know that the person she met on the internet is not out there to prey

Internet Dating vs Arranged Marriages

singles platform W ITH DEOL A OJO

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on her and just waste her time? How can a man be sure that the lady who is portraying herself as a single lady is not already married with children? Dating generally poses some challenges. The advantage when dating someone that one meets in real life is that you have some points of reference. For instance, if you met in an office or through a mutual friend, it is possible to make enquiries about the person and cross check on the information he or she gives about himself or herself. Some people who have met their spouses through the internet usually get embarrassed when people ask them how they met. Some of them just avoid the question or just tell a lie so that people will not condemn them or disapprove of their relationship. Even in developed countries a lot of people still question a Christian’s decision to use the internet to find a life partner.

However, instead of criticising them, it may be better for us to offer alternative ways that singles can meet one another and have the flames of love fanned by compatibility.

I wonder how many married people try to introduce single persons that they feel will make good couples? Some people are scared of doing this because they don’t want to be blamed if problems surface in the marriage.

The truth is that no couple should blame another person for a failed relationship as long as they were not forced into the marriage. Sometimes people ask me if I believe in “arranged marriages,” and I tell them I do, provided it was first of all an arranged meeting and the couple decided whether to go on or discontinue with the relationship. Some “arranged” marriages have worked so well that you sometimes wonder if the marriage was arranged by man or God. Single persons wishing to get married must spend time praying, and ask for the counsel of mature, godly people who are good role models.

Pastor Deola Ojo is co-pastor of Grace Family Church in Oregun, Lagos.

She is the author of several books including the popular “Give Me a Spouse or I Die.” She can be reached at pastordeegfc@yahoo.com

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Every healing or deliverance in the name of Jesus is a curbing of the enemy's powers.

T

he word super-natural simply means something beyond natural explanations. It also means superhuman, spiritual, unearthly, spectral and mysterious. two opposIng kIngDoms: There are two opposing Kingdoms namely the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. The Kingdom of God is made up of the trinity, the 24 elders, the hosts of angels, spirits of just men made perfect and the saints on earth (the church). Satan’s kingdom is made up of Satan, demons, agents of Satan and unbelievers. the kIngDom of goD Is a reIgn of spIrItual power Jesus’ ministry of signs and wonders is fundamental to the preaching of the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught what the kingdom was like through His parables (Mark 4:11, 12, 26, 30). Jesus showed what the Kingdom was like through His miracles (Luke 11:20). The parables were verbal proclamations about the Kingdom of God. The miracles were visible manifestations of the Kingdom of God. (Act 1:1… of all that Jesus began both to do and teach…)

Some ways in which the Kingdom of evil manifests its power and the power of Jesus is shown to be greater • 1.

Satan manifests his power through SIN (1 John 3:8; Prov. 14:34) • a) Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) – Jesus reconciles us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

• b) Sinners are controlled by their sinful nature – only Jesus can set them free (John 8:38).

• 2.

Satan manifests his power through DISEASE • a) The woman with a hemorrhage – Jesus set her free (Mark 5:25-34) • b) The crippled woman – Jesus set her free (Luke 13:10-17).

• 3.

Satan manifests his power through DEMONISATION (Acts 10:38) • a) Legion was possessed by demons – Jesus set him free (Mark 5:1-20) • b) The epileptic boy was afflicted by a demon – Jesus set him free (Mark 9:14-29).

• 4.

Satan manifests his power through DESTRUCTION (John 10:10 • a) The thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy – Jesus the Good Shepherd came to give life to the full (John 10:10) • b) The boat in which Jesus and his disciples were crossing the lake was nearly sunk – Jesus rebuked the storm (Matthew 8:23 – 27).

• 5.

Satan manifests his power through DEATH (John 10:10) a) The little girl was dead – Jesus raised her up (Matthew 9:18-26) b) Lazarus was dead – Jesus raised him up (John 11:38-44) c) The widow of Nain’s son was dead – Jesus

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raised him up (Luke 7:11-17) Christ was crucified, dead and buried, but was raised from the dead by the power of God (John 10:18; Acts 3:15; Roman 1:4). goD’s stanDarD The scripture says “…When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” To lift up a standard means to put the enemy to flight. You must also destroy all evil altars such as territorial, astral and marine altars.

(Micah 5:10-15; Deut. 12:103). Every time someone turns to Christ in repentance, finding forgiveness and eternal life, the kingdom of God is extended. Each time Jesus heals, casts out demons, prevents destruction or raises the dead the kingdom of God is advanced. Every healing or deliverance in the name of Jesus is a curbing of the enemy’s powers and the frontiers of darkness are pushed back. Speaking of His approaching death and triumph through the cross, Jesus said, “now the prince of this world will be driven out” (John 12:31). The process of driving or casting out demons still continues today. We are all meant to be actively involved in deliverance ministry. The Bible says “And these sings d)

shall follow them that believe in my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues.” who shoulD mInIster?

If this ministry is potentially for all, how mature, whole and holy does a person need to be before he/ she can be trusted with power? I dare say as mature, whole and holy as the disciples were when Jesus trusted them with such ministry. I do not intend to justify the weakness of the first set of Jesus disciples neither do I want to prescribe carnality of the virtue we should exhibit. We must live right to serve God in the beauty of holiness.

We notice the following remarkable deficiencies in the characters of certain of the disciples of Jesus: • 1.

Ambitious: They wanted to be great (Mark 9:34).

• 2.

Argumentative: They argued (Mark 9:33).

• 3.

Cowardice: Peter disowned Jesus three times (Matthew 26:70, 72 74).

• 4.

Critical: The disciples questioned the waste of expensive perfume used for anointing Jesus (Matthew 26:8).

• 5.

Deceived: The disciples experienced failure in their ministry (Matthew 17:16).

• 6.

Deserters: Everyone deserted Jesus and fled (Mark 14:50. They all forsook Him and fled.

• 7.

Doubtful: The disciples doubted Christ’s ability to repeat a miracle (Mark 8:4, cf. Mark 6:37).

• 8.

Dull: They did not understand His teaching (Matthew 15:16) • 9.

Faithless: They were lacking faith (Matthew 17:20) and asked Jesus to increase it (Luke 17:5).

• 10.

Greedy: Judas was a thief (John 12:6) and betrayed Jesus for money (Matthew 26:14, 15).

• 11.

Misunderstanding: Peter rebuked Jesus (Matthew 16:22) • 12.

Prayerless: They were lacking in prayer (Mark 9:28-29). They asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1).

• 13.

Revengeful: They wanted to call down fire on unbelieving villagers (Luke 9:54).

• 14.

Unforgiving: Peter lacked understanding about forgiveness (Matthew 18:21).

• 15.

Unloving: The disciples rebuked those who brought babes to Jesus for blessing (mark 10:13).

These were the kind of people Jesus appointed to minister in His name (Luke 9:1-7 and 10: 1-12).

Clearly, these men were not yet mature, whole or holy, yet Jesus chose to commission them to preach and heal.

God is still working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). It is not by might or power but by the sovereign will of the Holy Spirit (Zech. 4:6).

Forth telling versus Fortune telling

Supernatural Ministry

school of power W I T H JOH N PAU L OK WOK

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Apostle Okwok is the Senior Pastor of City of Life Church in Agidingbi, Lagos. You can reach him on okwokjohn@yahoo. co.uk

'I See Danger' - Humphrey Erumaka

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a child. After some time he said he got “annoyed” by her constant coming, proceeded to lay his hands on her and the woman became “three months pregnant instantly.” The woman’s stomach actually protruded, but such things do not conform to scripture. How does it conform to the scripture that says ‘according to the season of life?

These are the confusions we have allowed to creep into the church.

When Elisha prayed for the Shunamite woman to have a child, he said, ‘by this time next year’. That is what we mean by season of life.

Christians need to realise that in the USA and advanced countries of the world psychics can tell you amazing facts about your life. They are right there on television where you can call them for any form of assistance. And when you call they will tell you the colour of your house, where you are seated on the sofa and even what is in your fridge. Then they will ask you for a certain amount of money to send to them so that so-so-and-so will not happen to your son, daughter, wife or husband. It is the spirit of clairvoyance. Even today American crime investigators make use of these psychics. They take them to a crime scene, and when the spirit comes upon them, they would tell the police the last cry, or the last call the person made and from there they get a lead. In the whole book of Acts of the Apostles, there was no anointing service. Read your Bible. There was none because the presence of the Holy Spirit was upon the people. But today people bring bottles of oil to anointing services and wait in line for their bottles to be prayed over. And these prophets have their own bottles for marriage, for children, for business, and for this and that. They will tell you each bottle costs N10, 000.00 but if you want all the bottles you pay so-and-so amount. And then they give the impression that it is a monthly thing. If you tell them, ‘look I had accident last week’, they will ask you if you came for last month’s anointing service. If you say no, then they say ‘ah, you caused it, you should have come to be anointed for this month’. It is all crap. Sometimes I feel ashamed to be called a pastor because some people just group everybody into the same category. But there would not be any fakes if there were no valuable originals.

Anointing is simply the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the people. If you carry the Holy Spirit, you don’t need a bottle of oil before you can be blessed or lay hands upon the people. When Peter and John met the man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, they did not say ‘ah we don’t have anointing oil with us’. And any anointing upon you that does not bring you closer to God is fake.

God told Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons who were to first of all serve Him. Anointing makes you come closer to God to serve Him. It is in ministering to God that you contact the grace to minister to the people. It is unfortunate and disappointing that these dove sellers in today’s church are enjoying the endorsement of prominent leaders within Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.

astors are responsible to protect their congregations from these false prophets. New Testament Christianity is not based on the dictates of the prophets but by the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The early church had prophets like Agabus but the Christians did not live their lives by going to him. Even when he held Paul’s mantle and declared that trouble awaited him in Jerusalem, it did not stop Paul from going to Jerusalem. Paul knew that was the will of God for him.

I see danger in the current trend in the church. This issue is going to explode like a time bomb because a lot of money is getting out of the people to these prophets and the churches that invite them, and it won’t be long before the things the people were told do not come to pass. Are you surprised that so many people who left the orthodox churches to come to the Pentecostal church are going back to their former denominations? People sometimes talk of the

Erumaka

case of Saul when he told his servant that they could not meet Prophet Samuel without some offering to give him. But in that particular case there was no demand for money. Blessing a man of God is voluntary. It is not a case of go and bring N250, 000.00 so that you will not lose your job. One of these prophets gave a testimony of how one woman was “disturbing” him for prayer to get L i

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Catch the fire of the Holy Ghost and you shall create impact.

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any Christians are counting days instead of counting impact; they tell you of when they became born again but they have not a soul to show for their longevity in the faith. It is not how long; it is how well. If you are truly born again the first fruit God expects from your life is soul winning. When I got born again, within the first hour of my getting born again, I took my father’s bicycle and went to one of my friends down town.

We were in sin together. But now the light of the gospel had come upon me. There was fire in my spirit to go tell somebody about Jesus.

As I got to my friend, I told him, “Abdul, if you are not born again you will go to hell.”

Almost immediately, I started back home. I had nothing more to say; besides if he asked me questions I didn’t have the answers because I knew next to nothing about the scriptures.

Friends, give the very little you know to the Holy Spirit. You will be surprised how much He will use you to accomplish. Do not be age conscious; be impact conscious. Some of those who got born again through me are pastors today.

If you truly know your God you will create an impact for him.

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 11:32 Literally, the scripture is saying that the people who are disloyal to the covenant, the enemy will cause them to fall out of faith.

But those who are steadfast and faithful will accomplish great feats through prayers of faith, through evangelism and establishing of souls. Catch the fire of the Holy Ghost and you shall create impact.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,

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baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Amen.” Matthew 28: 18-20.

Some people’s fire has quenched; that is the reason their assignments are no longer as spiritual as they should be; we cannot create an impact without the fire. The power from on high is the fire; the result in your life is the impact.

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Luke 24:49.

Fresh Fire for Fresh Impact

the outpouring W ITH SA M A M AG A

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The main impact is not the three millionnaira contract you got. It is not the blessing.

Your blessings are the gift of God that should help you make impact on earth. You have to catch the fire and create the impact. In Acts chapter 1:8 the power came and the fire accompanied.

“But ye shall receiver power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.

When the fire of the Holy Ghost came, the apostles of Jesus started to impact their world. IMPACT FOLLOWED THE FIRE. “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words” Acts 2:14.

Your words will be very feeble if the Holy Ghost does not accompany them. You have tried to evangelise, but your words are too light to penetrate the hearts of men. Get on fire, and souls will bow as you speak. Peter had a word because he had received the fire. His word pierced their hearts. They received his word and three thousand souls were added to the church in one outreach. Friends we have entered into the era of taking whole cities.

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. Acts 3:6 -8.

In the days when ministers are rather going poetic, we need the fire again on the altar.

Amaga is the Archbishop of Foundation Faith Churches Worldwide. He regularly organises Outpouring Conferences dedicated to raising leaders, teaching them to have a close walk with the Holy Spirit. You can reach him on archbishop@samamaga.org.

10 STE PS TO DEC ISI ON MA KIN G 1. Become aware of the situation 2. Investigate the nature of the situation 3. Determine the objective of the solution 4. Determine the alternative 5. weigh the consequences 6. evaluate or pilot test the alternative 7. select the best alternative 8. Implement the decision, communicate, train 9. evaluate the solution or intervals 10. correct, change or withdraw the solution

why an order was delivered late. This only exacerbated the problem until they changed their focus to measuring and rewarding when orders were on time or ahead of schedule.

6. Trust your gut. This is a tough one for some who are fact-based to accept, but the truth is that when your gut tells you something is wrong you need to pay attention. At the very least, think about the words of Henry Ford when he said, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” Something in you doesn’t believe you can make this decision work.

7. Tell me why. Traditional decision-making

focuses on how to make decisions and it results in only a 50% success rate. You will make better decisions if you focus on why you are making a particular decision. There is a research that suggests you will have better results if you can elaborate your decisionmaking process for each decision.

8. Begin Now. Aristotle said, “Well begun is half done.” Begin the implementation of your decision immediately with the one small thing you can do right now to move you toward the desired outcome. Always remember, there are about three phases of decision making; these are: deliberation, judgment and choice.

- Courtesy: Click

voices mean more options to choose from.

Secondly, involving others in the process facilitates parallel processing versus sequential processing by the lone decider. Multiple inputs also reduce potential union-tended consequences. This does not suggest that you delegate the decision, rather get as much help in the process as possible. The decision is still yours.

3. Consider the Golden Rule. Over the last few years, ethics has become a hot topic in our society. There are all kinds of initiatives being undertaken in the country to address this issue, but the easiest and quickest solution is to teach decision makers to, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto them.”

4. Sleep on it. There are few times in life when instant decisions are required. Most decisions can be considered before any action is taken. This does not mean that you should put off a decision indefinitely. It is sometimes better to sleep on a decision before taking any action. This allows your subconscious a chance to participate in the process and possibly provide you with new insights.

5. Always state your decision in a positive frame. Since we have been trained to approach decisions as problems to be solved, it is not surprising that our decision is to not have the problem. I think there are two things at play here. First, we get what we focus on. Second, our mind doesn’t recognise the word “not.” For example, an organisation had a check list of reasons for L i

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of decision Making

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s businesses grow and become more competitive so also does the art of decision making. Many organisations have lost financial and growth opportunities due to poor decisions made by their managers. This is even more apparent when the Peters Principle is at play. That is, when a person is promoted right out of his field of expertise into a position where he is utterly and helplessly incompetent. Decision making can be ddescribed escribed as the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. This implies that in making a decision, there are alternative choices to be considered, and in such a case, we want, not only to identify as many of these alternatives as possible but to choose the one that corresponds with our goals, desires, lifestyle, and values.

It is important that individuals and organisations take deliberate steps to improve their decision making ability in order to improve their lives and businesses. Writing in ezine-articles online magazine, Bob Cannon gave eight steps which can be used to improve decision making:

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1. When faced with a decision, think about the desired outcome rather than facing the decision as a problem, to be solved.

Problems are negative almost by definition and negative thoughts invoke the constricting “fight or flight� response in us rather than L

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helping us to relax, be inspired and creative.

Good decisions need a creative thought process.

2. Banish the Superhuman thought.

Enlisting the aid of others has been proven to improve decision-making. Firstly, multiple

SPIRITUAL CLINIC: oVercomIng wItchcraft EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH: 10 A.M - 1 P.M @lIVIng waters unlImIteD church 1, APOSTOLIC FAITH CAMPGROUND ROAD, ANTHONY VILLAGE, LAGOS.

d ec o d in g the p r o s p erit y g o s p e l

basics will only serve to create frustration in the working class. The working class forms more than 90% of the labor force in most nations.

These are the people who man our borders, direct the flow of vehicular traffic, police our streets and grind away in our factories. The prosperity ministers do not realise that the average working class person has no desire to become a billionaire or whatever! He wants a sound roof over his head, food on his table, education for his children and prospects for a better life as he improves his skills. The church auditoria are largely filled with working class people and the aptly named “Prosperity seminars” serve only to expand their appetites for the pie-in-the-sky. As soon as a clerk, typist or shoemaker joins the Nigerian Church discontent sets in while inordinate ambitions are encouraged. Godliness with contentment cannot be of great gain when the pulpit continually exalts riches at the expense of virtue! As congregations increase in size it becomes difficult to locate honest believers to count the offering without watching over them with CCTV! Church building projects become grounds for extortion and underhanded deals as the building committee regard the church as an opportunity for their own ‘breakthrough’.

While competing to best one another the pulpits inadvertently encourage its members to source funds by all means and believers have been encouraged to become the pillars of corruption in their different offices. If the pulpits must be turned into capitalist podiums it would be nice if the messages could become more all encompassing. The ministers should also understand that most capitalist countries have moved beyond cash to credit systems while we are moving deeper and deeper into corruption in Nigeria.

Some of the prayer proclamations that make sense in the present Nigerian Church would sound totally stupid in a system where the two sets of ministers ordained by God are working in harmony. A car that is bought and resold in Germany five times over a twenty year period is deported to Nigeria for failing emission tests. After much prayer and fasting with great savings a Nigerian believer would purchase the 21 year old German “tokunbo”

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car and the Church would jubilate! We need to return to preaching righteousness instead of capitalism! If the pulpit would preach righteousness and teach the nation to care for the widow, orphans and respect integrity the nation’s economy would have a firm base. Looking back at the trajectory of economic development that Awolowo’s government followed it is clear that Nigeria would be building its own cars by now instead of celebrating used cars.

The real challenge in the Nigerian economy is the giant of corruption and strangely all the pulpit ministers are silent on this issue! Some even dare to celebrate the cowardly silence as virtue. The ministers that God has appointed for human government as spelt in Romans 13 have failed woefully in Nigeria and the well meaning but half-baked capitalists in the pulpits that sought to correct government mismanagement are killing the little integrity that remains in the country. It’s difficult not to weep when we live in country with such great human capital and natural resources yet we are listed as having the second highest infant mortality rate in the world. We are the most churched nation in the world yet listed as the second most corrupt. We need ministers who like Paul are master builders to deliver the Nigerian church pulpit from the quasi-capitalist’s messages that are enthroning

maidens are sold into prostitution. Sometimes God will instruct a pulpit to build a university or hospital to teach the government a lesson or to set a standard and everyone else jumps on the bandwagon not realising the prophetic import of the venture.

It will never be the duty of the fivefold minister to be the primary source of employment, education, healthcare, agriculture, communication, security and industrialisation. This world and its fashion will pass away but the institutes of divine healing, spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit will abide until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God. We should all abide wherein we are called until judgment flows down like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream. Finally I have a question that begs an answer. A few years ago I learned of a medical doctor in LUTH who had the HIV virus. He spent his last days sleeping with as many students, nurses and other females as possible. Apparently this niggardly fellow had decided not to die alone! I asked the doctor who told me why they did not alert his victims and they said the code of practice would not permit them. Code or no code do you think the ladies should have been warned? If one of his targets had been your blood sister would the code prevent you from warning her?

Please answer me! The spiritual well being of

We need custodians of the Word that will instruct the government and educate the nation.

Mammon in the country. We earn roughly $300 million dollars from the blood money of the Niger Delta daily yet poverty is rife in the country. The church needs ministers that will stand for integrity and correct the governing ministers just as Samuel did to Saul in the days of old. This is what we need before the value of life degenerates to an all time low and violence erupts in the streets. We need custodians of the Word that will instruct the government and educate the nation instead of mouthing pious irrelevances while children die and L

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the church now becomes a matter of utmost priority because a healthy and well balanced church will as a matter of course produce a buoyant and progressive nation while a slight deviation in doctrine or creed can easily trigger the scourge of death and darkness for the same nation.

Ladi Thompsin is Senior Pastor of Living Waters Unlimited Church in Lagos. He is also the International President of Macedonian Initiative, a non-governmental organisation that fights for persecuted Christians in Nigeria. You can reach him on oladi2@yahoo.com

Decoding the Prosperity Gospel Our Guest Writer, Ladi Thompson, declares that the key to national transformation is for the church to take another look at the prosperity and success messages which ‘carry another message within the message’.

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wise man once said that it would take an insane person to lie to his personal doctor, lawyer or pastor. Indeed the services supplied by these three are crucial to a person’s well being. To lie to the doctor is to court premature death, half truths to the attorney could land one in hot soup if not jail and the hope of eternal security could be compromised when we attempt to deceive the pulpit! Imagine then what would happen if the three were to gang up to deceive a good man or supply him with half truths?

If a doctor, lawyer or priest chose to deceive, the results would be catastrophic yet the Nigerian tabloids are rife with reports of such evil doings on a regular basis. Disinformation and misinformation from the pulpit is the most alarming of all and the roots of such misdeeds are not usually malicious even though a few exist whose god is their belly. Wisdom is said to be the principal thing and any obedient servant would take extra care whenever the master sounds an alarm. The scriptures singled out Mammon as a formidable foe that is capable of enslaving a good believer yet we have treated the issues of Mammon with zeal and passion but not caution! Luke 16:13 No servant 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.

Every pack of dynamite carries a warning because of the potential danger it carries and no one handles it with levity. Financial issues are much worse in the potential danger they represent to good Christians. A good servant of God can become totally evil through financial deceptions. Weighing the emphasis

of the scripture it even seems like Mammon represents a greater danger to the destiny of saints than Satan himself. One of the final cards that Satan will play in the end times is the financial card. Mammon is already aware that the organised world has moved beyond cash to the credit economy. The anti-Christ will L i

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corner the business world towards the very end of the age and this has already been revealed to the saints. Rev. 13:16-18 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. The feel-good factor of money is one of the lures with which it deceives good ministers.

Huge congregations are in total agreement that poverty should be hated with a pure hatred but little do they know that concentrated teachings on “how to get rich quick” carry a spiritual trap that’s difficult to discern. The anti-Christ will be able to induce the saints to take the mark of the beast because the devil has already begun to prime their great grandparents towards the goal.

Prosperity and success teachings can carry another message within the message. A subtle demonic message that gets your eyes off God and Jesus Christ unto financial principles and strategies that will ultimately fail. To aspire for wealth because of a hatred for poverty is like running a race while your eyes are fixed on the starting point instead of the finishing line. Extreme poverty makes a person gullible and susceptible which erodes his/her ability to think with a sound mind. Proverbs 10:15b …. the destruction of the poor is their poverty. As more and more bishops, general overseers and ministers get entrapped by the satanic intrigues of Mammon the hopes of a reformation in Nigeria gets thinner and thinner. Looking back today we can say that the demonic penetration of mammon started out when the oil boom

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collapsed and the Nigerian nation was assaulted with the myriad of challenges that follow “failed and depressed” economies. Millions of youths were faced with insurmountable financial problems and all the traditional institutions that would have provided help were a complete failure. The first line of defense was the traditional African family structure and its communal strength but the depression had ravaged this institution to the point that even the nuclear family became challenged.

The military governments of the day did not help matters as they stumbled around blindly sinking the nation into deeper troubles with barracks economics and promoted financial corruption to a new level. The middle class was wiped out and the working class was dehumanised. Things sank to such a low that many disciplinarian fathers were silenced when wayward daughters paid the house rent to save the family with the reward of services rendered to young military officers!

The traditional and orthodox religious institutions were also rendered speechless and the impoverished multitudes began to search for salvation in other directions. The Pentecostal “mushroom” churches came to the rescue, and like a knight in shining armor mounted on the steed of the prosperity gospel. The believers needed an assurance that God could rescue his people from all problems including the ones created by the nation’s financial misadventures.

The Pentecostal assemblies restored hope to thousands and this motivation gave rise to many testimonies of miraculous provision and multiplication. As the numbers swelled in Pentecostal churches the pulpit began to reach into fields of macro-economics, motivational literature and banking institutes for material to feed the flock. The seed that had started out as a solution ballooned into a hideous monster crunching out insane promises to captivated multitudes! Mammon had seized control.

Influenced by the American sheen our newer generations of prosperity and success ministers have gone overboard striving to outdo the first generation of preachers. Gain has unashamedly become the equivalent of godliness while the ground and pillar of truth has become the hotbed of greed and corruption. It may be

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time for the Nigerian Church to pause take a deep breath and look back to take stock of the prosperity journey. While it is true that God is able to feed us in the midst of famine it becomes inapplicable when we do not understand that Nigeria was never in famine!

Our economic problems came as a result of foolishness and corrupt practices. One did not need to be a prophet to know that Nigeria was headed for trouble when its leaders declared in the seventies that money was not Nigeria’s problem in the heady days of the oil boom.

Before any Pentecostal assembly ever awoke to a prosperity gospel one professor of economics had declared openly that the oil boom was actually our oil doom. Professor Ayo Awojobi was not a believer yet common sense showed him that Nigeria was headed for disaster. With tears in my eyes I conclude that this renowned mathematician of blessed memory applied something that seems to be in short supply in the church.

If we really want the truth about the success and prosperity balloon that is blowing hot air across our nation we will have to be brutally frank with ourselves. First, we must admit that there are two sets of ministers that God has ordained for peace and progress in Nigeria. The first set of ministers ordained by God for the progress of the church and the nation are listed in Ephesians 4. Ephes. 4:11 And he gave some,

leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; 2I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: 3And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. Even though the believer of today can appropriate the blessings listed they were originally spoken over the life of a ruler called Cyrus whose birth was predicted about 600 years before the fact. He was the Persian King that was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Temple but the truth was that the man was not even a believer1! Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. Verse 4 of Isaiah 45 reveals this. In that same vein the second set of ministers ordained by God to keep peace and economic stability in nations are mentioned in Romans 13. Romans 13:1-3 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.

Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

Gain has unashamedly become the equivalent of godliness while the ground and pillar of truth has become the hotbed of greed and corruption.

apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; The second set is not as popular as the first but they are no-less ministers ordained by God even though some of them might not even be Christians! God has ordained such ministers in times past to achieve his purposes for His people and a ready example is the often quoted scripture in Isaiah 45:1-4. Isaiah 45:1-3 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two L

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These second set of ministers are also in God’s employment but they are not all necessarily Christians. They are Presidents and Prime ministers of nations, Governors, Commissioners of Police, Ministers of State etc. Romans 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. The scriptures confirm that they are not only ordained to ensure peace and prosperity but also to punish

those who transgress the law. The Almighty God is the source of authority for the “powers that be”. Both of these two sets of ministers that we see in Ephesians 4 and Romans 13 have a clearly defined role in God’s plan and the scripture gives clear instructions on their relationship. The first set is primarily concerned with the perfecting of the saints for the work of kingdom ministry while the second are set in place because of the kingdom of men. The five fold that we are accustomed to, are positioned to bring the kingdoms of this world into subjection to the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. The second set is expected to handle the more mundane things that pertain to daily life and orderly governance. The first set is positioned to ensure godly virtues and morals in the nation. While the second handle affairs like policing, the economy and industrialisation (to mention a few). The first can concentrate on the ministry of prayer and the word so that the second have a good environment in which citizens can prosper. When we remember that the Church is the pillar and ground of the truth we will appreciate the duty of the first set.

There is no human system of governance that can thrive without the basics of honesty, justice and other positive social values. Whether democratic, communist, oligarchic, autocratic or dictatorial, no form of governance can thrive if the foundations of equity and fair play are ignored. Throughout the Old Testament the balance of power was maintained between the first set and those that were licensed to carry the sword. If there was a failure on the part of the ministers in charge of human governance God would correct them through his own kingdom ministers. The life of King Saul is an object lesson in mis-governance, a king who carried the sword in vain, permitting evil doers to go unpunished. 1 Samuel 15:8-9 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Samuel the prophet was sent in to correct Saul’s error in Gilgal and we see

Samuel hacking Agag the Amalekite to death for his crimes against God and humanity. From this example we see that it is possible for God to send the first set of ministers to correct the second set when necessary. 1 Samuel 15:32-33 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Coming back into the Nigerian situation we can easily cite the example of Obafemi Awolowo the Premier of the defunct western Region as a good minister of the second order. Awolowo maintained that a State had no claim to legitimacy unless it provided certain basics which include gainful employment, free education, comprehensive healthcare, industrialization, transportation, agriculture, security and communications. It is on record that the progress that was recorded in his tenure is unparalleled till today. Awolowo’s government produced a buoyant economy that left a legacy in excess of one trillion dollars. It was the Free Primary Education Scheme that he championed that produced a literate society, enabling millions to read the Bible. In his days accountability and wise spending was the watchword. The church had the opportunity to spread the gospel faster and people were well

rule in righteousness. For a discerning minister it is easy to see the trap that Mammon set for the Nigerian church drawing it out step by step from simple exhortative messages into complete dissertations on capitalism. There are certain things that people like Awolowo and his genre of God ordained ministers understood about the systems of the world that the prosperity apostles do not know. We must admit that the Nigerian Government failed its citizens a long time ago and thus created the vacuum into which the Church ministers stepped. Armed with good intentions the church is now preaching the American form of capitalism in impoverished Nigeria unwittingly creating further confusion.

While preaching capitalism there are certain balances that must come into play without which the results would be utter confusion.

Capitalism at its core is motivated by profit and greed and any nation that will embrace this must initiate a social security system that will act as a safety net for those at the bottom of the food chain because the rich tend to get richer while the poor get poorer. The government policy for housing in America is deliberately crafted and designed for home ownership rather than rentals so that the working man has a roof over his head. Failure to do so would lead to a multitude of homeless, desperate, malcontent and poverty stricken citizens. This may be why Jesus mentioned that the poor would be ever

When the church ministers supply integrity and humility the ministers ordained to govern find it easier to rule in righteousness.

fed, housed and most owned news cars without tears!

Indeed righteousness exalts a nation but things go from bad to worse when the Church cannot salt the country with integrity. As the years progressed and Nigeria became militarised the church lost grounds as the pillar and ground of the truth. Corruption in the church led to all forms of corruption in the society until all life was reduced to misery. When the church ministers supply integrity and humility the ministers ordained to govern find it easier to L i

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present in human society. On a second score, capitalism is so competitive that human nature tends to cut corners where possible and this is why an efficient Police Force is not negotiable.

Citizens are never enthusiastic about paying taxes and would avoid it if possible! This could lead to a collapse of the entire system if policing is lax. Again we have seen that capitalism punishes abundance and celebrates scarcity because of the dynamics of market forces.

The Church minister that preaches capitalism in Nigeria without realising these

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