The Special Seed for Life - Vol. 1, Issue 1

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Vol. 1

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Issue 1

SA NOT FOR

The Special Seed

for Life A weekly devo-zine, with gospel tracts that seeks to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God to salvation and lead all who believe to a purposeful life that gives glory to God. (Romans 1:16)

What’s Inside?

Daily Devotions For The Week Caterpillar To Butterfly – The Great Story.

Questions And Answers.

Counseling

Weekly Quote

“The greatest miracle in your life is salvation prepared by God, moving from spiritual death to spiritual resurrection – it is the answer to true joy, happiness and to a purpose driven life that focuses on eternal legacy”.

The Heart Intelligence Corner

– Victor Nkomo, Founder of The Special Seed.

God’s Promise for This Week

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” – Hebrews 10:17

www.thespecialseed.com

The power of God to Salvation The Special Seed for Life

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Devotions: Day 1 My New heart: Story of my Life Every problem in our lives can be traced back to a certain cause, but often we cannot find a solution because we dwell on the symptom of the problem. In my past life I struggled with anger, I lost relationships, I left companies prematurely, lost opportunities all because of my anger. In trying to find a solution, I read books, attended psychology sessions, I prayed, fasted but all this did not work. The obvious advice I use to get was, when the anger is developing count 1 to 10, move away from the scene. And when you offend other people with your anger apologize and work on rebuilding the relationship. All this did not work, I lived a life of regrets. The question is how did I conquer my anger?

Friends, if you are going to get control of your anger in your life, you must base your identity on Jesus Christ, understanding that He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). If you build your identity on anything else, you’ll struggle with insecurity your whole life. You can build your identity on your job, but you can lose your job. You can build your identity on how good-looking you are, but you may lose your good looks. You can build your identity on the person you married, but your spouse will eventually die. You can build your identity on being popular, but you’re not always going to be popular.

Building your identity on anything that can be taken away from you will only breed insecurity – a result of not having a true relationship with Jesus. This was the root cause of my anger. For years I was fighting a symptom not the root cause. When you get angry, your mouth just reveals what’s inside your heart. A harsh tongue reveals an angry heart. A negative tongue reveals a fearful heart. A boasting tongue reveals an insecure and self-trusting heart. An overactive tongue reveals an unsettled heart. A judgmental tongue reveals a guilty heart. A critical tongue reveals a bitter heart. A filthy tongue reveals an impure heart.

On the other hand, an encouraging tongue reveals a happy heart, a gentle tongue reveals a loving heart, and a controlled tongue reveals a peaceful heart.

Do you know what must change to get rid of your anger problem? You need a new heart. We are all conceived in sin as David puts it in Psalms 51:5. My problem was the sin inherited from Adam. Fortunately, God through His begotten son Jesus Christ specializes in resolving the disease of our hearts which is sin. It’s called Salvation! God gives you a brand new heart and a brand new identity. You don’t have to find your identity in your job, bank account, good looks, or

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your relationships because you find your identity in what God says about you. The Bible says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

For years I used to think that I was saved. I used to think I was a Christian (Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car) but I had no story of Salvation.Every church that I visited, I would go to the alter and rededicate my life to Jesus, but all this could not take away my emptiness and anger. I usually joke when giving my testimony that what was left for me was to convert to Islam, but I am happy and joyful to say, God with His amazing Grace, removed my old heart and gave me a new heart, – and automatically the anger disappeared. Those that have been following my “Special Seed” devotions will note the difference of the more recent devotions. Previously, all my devotions were motivational and inspiring and I had huge following and that proves that the world loves temporary instant things but now the devotions are focused on Jesus Christ which I believe is the true gospel. Motivation is temporary (Colossians 2:8) but Jesus is eternal. Motivation focuses on earthly legacy whereas the gospel of Jesus Christ focuses on eternal legacy and the key to eternity is forgiveness of sin, salvation prepared by God. The tract that you are reading is a result of a promise I received in my heart in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the power of God to salvation…” Friends, I was lost and Jesus found me. I was the prodigal son (Luke 15:12-32). Salvation is the foundation of a joyful and peaceful life, (Hebrews 10:10,17) it is not a function of our efforts but a function of Jesus Christ

by His grace. If there is one word that summarizes the Bible the Word of God, it is Jesus, that is why John 1:1 says Jesus Christ is the Word. Today, discard your thoughts, throw away your righteousness, return to Jesus Christ in faith, and in your heart receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Zeal for God through your own righteousness or your good deeds is foolishness (Romans 10:1-4). “The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.” (Proverbs 29:25)

The Special Seed for Life

Devotions: Day 2

Focus

on “The Special Seed”

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n my past life before I received salvation every time I read the book of Matthew, I would skip the genealogy of Jesus Christ in chapter 1. It looked boring, time wasting and of no value. Today however, I would like to emphasize that the genealogy of Jesus Christ is the bone marrow of God’s Word.

It is from the genealogy of Jesus Christ that one discovers that the 39 books of the old testament, though they do not mention the name of Jesus Christ, but the theme of old testament is “the Special Seed” who is Jesus Christ!

Why was Abraham blessed and protected? He carried “the Special Seed” of Jesus Christ. No matter how much Esau wanted to kill his brother Jacob, he could not succeed, why? Because Jacob carried the “the Special Seed” of Jesus Christ. David could not be defeated by a lion, a bear and even Goliath and could not be killed by King Saul. Both Saul and David sinned, but God protected David, do you know why? David carried “the Special Seed” of Jesus Christ. In 2 Kings 20 Hezekiah received Grace from God after a long illness and was about to die. God extended his life by 15 years why? So that the genealogy of Christ could continue and Manasseh was born in those 15 years before Hezekiah died.

In Luke 1:41 we are told the longer the pregnancy of Elizabeth progressed, the more concerned she became as she didn’t feel

any movement of the baby as expected. It took a surprise visit from her also-expecting teenage cousin, Mary, to allay her fears.

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb.” At that moment Elizabeth knew the child was alive. She knew the promise would come to pass! Mary was carrying “the special seed” of Jesus Christ. Mary didn’t even have to say anything profound. She just said hello, and the promise within Elizabeth came to life. Mary was pregnant with JESUS CHRIST the son of God. Elizabeth was pregnant with JOHN the Baptist. When the promise in Mary connected with the promise in Elizabeth, there was an explosion of faith, do you know why?

The answer is found in Matthew 3:13-15. We all know that Jesus Christ died for our sins, but when were our sins transferred to Him? In the Old testament the Isralites received forgiveness of sin by laying their hands on a blameless lamb, and since the wages of sin is death, the lamb was killed in the tabernacle and the sinner became righteous (Lev 4:27-31). When Jesus met John the Baptist who was the representative of mankind, John initially refuses to baptise Jesus but Jesus replies “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”

Friends what is the opposite of righteousness, sin right? And when one is baptizing is there no laying The Special Seed for Life

of hands? There is! This is the point that all our sins were transferred to the blameless Lamb of God Jesus Christ through John laying his hands to Jesus – because the wages of sin is death, Jesus had to die for all of us to receive forgiveness of sin.

John 1:29 – “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”.

My beloved friends, all along you might have been knowing that Jesus died for you but you have not believed from the root of your heart. Today is the day to believe, to forsake everything and focus on “THE SPECIAL SEED“ who is Jesus Christ. Storms might come, but when you have the rock solid foundation (Matthew 7:24-27) of true Salvation, nothing can shake you. It is not about motivational preaching, miracles, or prophesy, it is about Jesus Christ. He is our Highest Priest, King of Kings, our greatest Prophet as He is the Word (John 1:1).

THE SPECIAL SEED = JESUS CHRIST = WORD = THE SECRET. In the Bible we see that everyone that carried the seed of Jesus Christ was blessed and protected

by God, if you truly believe Jesus died for your sins, and you believe that you are no longer a sinner but you are righteous because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ that means Jesus now lives in you (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 13:5) and Grace and blessings are inevitable. Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17). “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.”—(Romans 8:10)

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Devotions: Day 3

Go to the

Source of your Pain T

here were two sons in the house of Abraham. One was Ishmael, who was borne through humanistic methods, and one was Isaac, who was borne through the faith and belief in God. These two sons grew up in the same home. Since the son who was borne of the flesh was much older than the son borne through the promise, Ishmael mocked Isaac whenever he had the chance. Sarah, upon seeing Isaac being mocked, tells Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son.”

Abraham was the father of faith, yet he had many humanistic thoughts much like us today.

Ishmael was already grown up and Abraham had great expectations of him. Abraham had no intentions of casting Ishmael out. He was deeply worried when he heard Sarah’s words. However, in Genesis 21:10 God told Abraham to cast this son out as well. You may wonder, “How could merciful God say such a thing? Ishmael is also a son of Abraham and God must love Ishmael as well. Why did he command Abraham to cast him out?” There are many parts of the Bible that we do not understand. But after some time, we come to know that God accepts nothing done through the methods of man and only accepts the things accomplished through God, having come from the heart of God. The story of Cain and Abel’s offerings in Genesis 4:17 is a similar example. Abel offered the firstling of the flock and the fat thereof to God. Abel did not know how to give the offering and wanted to gain the heart of God. “I wonder what offering pleases God.” Abel asked and sought of God, and came to know that the firstling of the flock and the fat thereof is the offering that pleased God. Not so for Cain. The crops and fruits from his farming looked so desirable that he offered them to God. This was Cain’s heart, but was not something that pleased God. The “fruits of the ground” Cain offered refers to the fruits of the cursed earth (Genesis 3:17), and also represents the product

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of the thought of man. It means that God cannot accept the fruits of the ground that come from the flesh.

There are things in our lives that may seem good, honest, or holy in the eyes of man, but to God they may not be things of faith. People for the most part, trust in this: “He is such a good person.” “That person is so good he needs no laws.” “He is such a moral person.” “That person is so godly.” But God has never said this. This is the difference between God and man. God said, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9). God said that good does not dwell inside man (Mark 7:2123). It is completely different from our thoughts. God is the same today. He is sending you the same Word.

Throw away everything you do through your human methods, those things are useless and can only bring pain to you. Friends, it might be your relationship, business, and career – as long as it comes from your humanistic methods pain is inevitable. Martin Luther King sums it very well for us “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands that I still possess”.

Abraham took a handmaid and bore a child of distrust.

Even so, Ishmael was held in high hopes by Abraham because he had grown so much. God, however, ordered Abraham to cast out this bondwoman and her son. This means that God will not accept things accomplished by the methods of man. That which you have done honestly and good, as well as the thanks you have given from your heart, God does not accept. God accepts the things that emanate from God, which are the things that come from the heart of God. “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord…..” (Jeremiah 45:5) “From God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

The Special Seed for Life

Devotions: Day 4

Lose To Win M

ost of the people who live spiritual lives today know what is written in the law. It is said that there are 613 laws in the Old Testament, some recite the 10 commandments by heart, but there are problems in how they receive it. In the law it says “Though shalt not steal”, “Though shalt not commit adultery”, “Though shall not murder,” etc. The biggest question is how do you receive these words or laws?

In John 10:26 Jesus asks the same question, “How does this law read to you?” There are two kinds of people. First group says ”Well the Word of God said, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not murder, so I will try hard not to steal, not to murder and not commit adultery.” They try to keep God’s law. the second group tries not to steal, not to murder etc. but are unable to do so, they say “God I just can’t keep your law, God you do it for me., I cannot do it”. They give up, waving a white flag in front of God. People understand God’s law in these two different ways.

People who have been going to church not out of formality, who have tried to live a true spiritual life, sincerely, and unanimously agree that the more they are determined to not commit sin, the more sin they actually commit.

In boxing you must fight until you win, some fights go up to 12 rounds until there is a winner but in the match between God and us, we need to get beaten very quickly. Actually, we need to surrender and pass out quickly. The more we struggle to do something for ourselves, without falling down, the more painful it is for us. Friends, the reality is that we are deceived by Satan. We think that if we make up our minds not to sin, that we will not sin, but the more determined we are not to sin, the more sins we seem to commit.

Fortunately God was not deceived. He knew that we were not people who could avoid sin, only because He told us to. No matter how much He told us not to sin, we are humans who could only sin. So instead of telling us not to sin, He gives the strength to overcome sin, so we won’t fall into sin. We can never overcome sin by our own effort and determination, we need to receive the strength that comes from God for us to be freed from sin. God gave us the law to reveal sin in us (Romans 3:20), for by the law is the knowledge of sin and also for us to realize that we need Christ. On our own we cannot take away sins, as Galatians 3:24 put it, “therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we must be justified by faith”.

When a person is drowning, the wise person does not jump in right away, he waits until that person loses all his strength. If he jumps in while the other person is still full of strength, the drowning person will grab onto him and both of them will end up going under. He has to wait until the strength of the person is completely sapped. When the person drowning loses all his strength, then the rescuer or savior jumps in and rescues him. Friends, this the way of SALVATION. The Lord does not work when we are laboring on our efforts. Remember the man who fell among thieves did nothing, the Samaritan who Jesus represents, did all the work. Jesus went to him and poured oil and wine on his wounds.

Friends, surrender is not the best way to live: it is the ONLY way to live our spiritual life, nothing else works.

Lose to win, Jesus LOST His life on the cross to WIN us against our sins. To win against sin, you need to lose the battle of trying to keep the law by your efforts because it is a lost battle already. Let the Savior save you. ”Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20) “For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32).

The Special Seed for Life

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Devotions: Day 5

What will you E

ach of us was uniquely designed by God, with talents, gifts, skills and abilities. The way you are ‘wired’ is not an accident. God didn’t give you abilities for selfish purposes.

They were given to you to serve others for the glory of God. The Special Seed experience is an ideal, which posits that the Christian “family” should be inseparably bound by the need to unashamedly proclaim the Gospel of Christ. Friends, we bring God glory by telling others about him. God does not want His love and purposes kept a secret. Once we know the truth, God expects us to share the goodnews with others, we are expected to be the transmission cables of God’s Word to the world.

The bible says “As God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ,… God will receive more and more glory” (2 Corinthians 4:15). Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships and everything else. It means you moving away from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat and letting Jesus take the steering wheel of your life. My friend who are you going to live for, yourself or God? You may hesitate wondering whether you will have the strength to live for God.

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live for?

Don’t worry, you don’t have to labor to live for God. God will give you what you need if you will believe His Word. Right now God is inviting you to live for His glory by fulfilling the purposes He made you for. It is really the only way to live, everything else is just existing.

Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ.

If you are not sure in your heart if you can do this, you will need to go through the process of salvation as prepared by God in His Word.

You will need to receive and believe God’s offer of salvation. It The Special Seed for Life

is the only way to a peaceful, joyful life. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:19-20)

Devotions: Day 6

Diamond from an unlikely mine being a dirty ore to a rare diamond from an unlikely mine – earth, which in the beginning was without form and void (Genesis 1:2).

W

hen we understand the purification process that precious metals must endure to have the brilliant precious metal we know so well, we start to understand the significance of God’s Word. When God went looking for an Apostle to the Gentiles, He didn’t look inside the church. God went to the most unlikely mine imaginable and dug out some ore that no one would have chosen. When God was finished refining and shaping that ore it became the diamond called Paul. When God went to choose a new king for Israel, God didn’t look in Saul’s palace. God went to the most unlikely mine called Bethlehem and dug out some very unlikely ore. When God was finished refining and shaping that ore, He had David, “a man after God’s Own heart” (Acts 13:22). When God sought a man to lead His people out of Egypt, He didn’t choose the likely candidates. He went to an unlikely mine and dug out the ore of a washed up, eighty-year-old fugitive who was keeping his fatherin-law’s sheep. When God finished refining and shaping that ore, He had a Moses.

From these great men of God it is clear that God’s ways are different from our ways. The world looks at the externals, I call this the Pharisee’s mentality. “Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” (Matthew 23:26).

Our good deeds are a function of the externals, in contrast to God who looks at the heart, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7). The Bible says we are all born as dirty ores – “For I was born a sinner – yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). However, it is so comforting to know that God prepared Salvation for all of us to be refined from

How do we become this precious diamond? Most of you will agree with me that, when we were growing up, we were all taught to be good, not to lie, to pray hard, not to miss church among many other ‘good deeds’, and this was the passport to heaven. Basically, we were taught to depend on our own righteousness.

Friends, tradition does not make something right. With such deeds that look good from the outside, people remain as dirty ores after trying so hard to be good. It is the HEART that must change and the heart can only change after it receives the Word of God by faith. In the beginning was the “Word” – John 1:1.

What makes us to be the dirty ore, is the disease of sin that we inherited from Adam (Romans 5:12) not the symptoms of sin: crime, lying, adultery, fornication etc, that many labor day in and day out trying to get rid of. The sin from Adam is like a root of a tree and symptoms of sin are like branches, if you want to destroy the tree, you need to remove the roots not the branches because the branches would still grow.

We need to receive true forgiveness of sin for us to be the rare diamonds like David, Paul, the Prodigal son, women caught in adultery etc.

Jesus came on earth for only one reason – to free us from sin, not to make us churchgoers. The heart of God and your heart must become one in order for you to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit working powerfully. Friends, when you become freed from your thoughts and accept the Word of God, you too, will become a person of faith, a diamond of God! Then the power of God will overflow in your life.

Until and unless we forsake ourselves, have our hearts connected with the heart of God, and have Jesus Christ live in our hearts, we will continue to walk in the flesh, fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Friends, you can only walk in the spirit once it is no longer you that lives but Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:20). “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 8:1)

The Special Seed for Life

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Devotions: Day 7

God Who Makes G

od made us unable to keep the law by our efforts so that we could realize our true image. Who can keep the law? There is no one who can keep the law (James 2:10). God has made you unable to live a life that pleases Him, therefore, He crumbles down your heart’s belief in yourself. When the faith to believe in yourself crumbles down, the faith to believe in God begins to arise in you. It is impossible for us to reach the seat of blessing through doing well, our righteousness, keeping the law and serving God well.

One should be blessed not through himself but through the faith to believe in God. To have this faith you have to give up on yourself. For this to happen, God had to let you fail. Even though you grind your teeth and make up your mind to not sin and live a life of pleasing God, it does not work. Isn’t that so? You have failed.

“God, now I will keep the law! From today I will not sin!” – you say to yourself.

Today there are countless church-goers who become determined and make up their minds. For some this becomes their resolution each new year, but they fail before January 15th. It is impossible with your

You Fail

strength, why? Because God has committed you to disobedience (Romans 11:32). That is exactly like Peter’s determination when he said, “Though they will deny you, I will not deny you, Lord! Though I die with you, I will never deny you Lord!”. Did Peter do as he was determined to? He did not, he failed, he denied Jesus three times. If God had allowed things to go according to our determination and efforts, people would believe in themselves and exalt themselves.

People who believe in themselves cannot believe in God. True spiritual life is made of REPENTANCE and FAITH. Repentance is not merely confessing, “I committed theft, I committed adultery.” It is saying ”I had believed in myself, I absolutely should not trust myself! I am not worthy of being trusted! I am weak, evil and dirty!” and turning from trusting yourself. Then you can believe in God. That is true repentance. “... I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants…….” Luke 15:11-32. (Read all verses)

The Heart Intelligence Corner

“It is the heart that must change first” – Pastor Ock Soo Park

Pain, the Medicine for a Mature Heart “Everybody experiences failure in their lives. One might get disqualified for a job interview, lose a best friend, get an illness, or go terribly wrong with something. All of those failures bring pain in our hearts. That pain is a good medicine. Although it might be difficult to endure that pain, it will teach us a great lesson and redirect our lives towards the right path. Once one’s heart is humbled through pain, one will be more prone to listening to others and be able to freely talk about one’s heart. That person will surely live a blessed life. If might be good if one can avoid that path of failure, however, human beings are destined to experience pain whether it be a small or big failure if they go down the path of believing in themselves. One must properly learn from the pain received and turn away from the life of arrogance. If one’s arrogance persists, even after going through the pain, that person can only be a foolish person.” (Pastor Ock Soo Park, Tomorrow Column, July 2011, Vol. 8)

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The Special Seed for Life

a new heart of Jesus for me to have sustainable change in my life.

Caterpillar to Butterfly

— The Great Story Davidson Hlalo, South Africa

M

y testimony starts when l was a kid. My mother used to force us to go to Sunday school and I attended my secondary education at a mission school. I never took Christianity seriously. I knew that God existed but l planned my life, followed my own thoughts. It was my own plan, it was about my will not God’s will. As l started growing up things started to be difficult in the sense that whatever l did wouldn’t go far. I would mock God. l was so emotional. I was chasing after material things.

I got married but the first marriage was a lie and the following three marriages were also a disaster.

I had kids from some of the marriages and also outside. I thought l had great plans for my life and my kids but everything l touched failed. I made sure l was not in contact with my children as a punishment to their mothers for leaving me. I could not understand why they were leaving me as I considered myself a good person.

I started looking for mechanical ways to fix my mess – prophets and other ungodly people who could help by telling my future and why l was not prospering. I labored so hard to create wealth as l wanted to live a wealthy life. I was very vindictive, spiteful, deceitful and a pathological liar. Whatever l buildt would immediately collapse but I trusted and believed in myself so much as l had created this perception in my mind that l was smart. At this stage my spiritual

life was completely dead. I would attend a church services but would come out so angry – even after going for the alter call to be ‘born again’. My life was not getting better but worse. I falsely tried to commit suicide twice. I spent so much time with friends that l would be always be doing things for them so that they could accept me into their inner circles. Strangely, l was so lonely and miserable. I decided to go to Bible school but it didn’t go far as l fell off. I read the bible as an ordinary novel – using my education to read the bible.

I feared dying and going to hell so l forced myself to pray and worship but l would fail so hard. Nothing was progressing on the business front. I knew something was not working but l had pride. I lost everything, deep down something was telling me that I needed Salvation. God connected me to Victor Nkomo who l knew loved God. He connected me to Good news mission under the leadership of Pastor Richard Hong from South Korea. I started studying the bible with Pastor Hong leading to me receiving forgiveness of sin.

This was the first time that I understood the process of salvation, that Christ died for all my sins, that I am no longer a sinner but I am now righteous not because of my good deeds but because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

This was an eye opener and it made me realize that all along my problem was the problem of sin that I was conceived in. I needed The Special Seed for Life

What moved my heart was the word of God in Genesis 1 – God created the earth and it had no form, void and full of darkness. This was the state of my heart which was with no form, void, dark and full of evil deeds. I needed the Word of God to bring light into it.

I was a mechanic trying to fix my problems. I didn’t look to the cross where all had been done for me for free.

I trusted my experiences, education and thoughts which took me no way except to the ground. I have fallen so many times but trying to get up on my own. The word of God has always been there for me but always choosing to believe my dirty heart. My wakeup call has been the word that God imprisoned all of us to disobedience so that we can receive his mercy (Romans 11:32). The word of God works.

Every time when facing difficult ies, refer to the Word, what it says about the situation and believe all will change for the best.

It must always start with God’s plan, God’s will and God’s Heart.

We must deny ourselves to let God fight the battle of sin on our behalf as He is the only one who can win it. One thing that moved my heart was the promise in Hebrews 10:17 God telling me, He will never remember my sins and evil deeds no more. Then why should l labor to keep a law that l know l will 101% break? Who can love me that they can give themselves up for me? Absolutely no one except My Lord Jesus Christ. That is love that cannot be broken. Currently I have joy in my heart and growing day by day in my spiritual life.

God is awesome indeed, I was an ugly caterpillar but with Christ I am now a beautiful butterfly. Time belongs to God. This is my journey to receiving the gift of forgiveness of sin. Glory to be to God!

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Question and Answer Question: Can we keep the laws of God?

Conselling Kelly Ncube, Johannesburg South Africa I lost my job in March. I have gone to many interviews and all I get is negative response. Currently I am on the verge of divorce. We lost our house so, I am back at my parent’s house. Everything I try to do does not work. I feel God does not hear me. I pray, I fast, I tithe, I help people but nothing is working, I don’t know what to do anymore. Please advise me.

From the Special Seed Desk Dear Kelly, Thank you for writing to us and sharing your life with us. There are many difficulties that we meet with in this life. As importantly stated in Job14:1. “A man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble”.

This means we all have troubles from time to time, only that they differ from each other. They fall into these categories: 1. Relationship, 2. Situational or 3. Environmental problems.

The only way to overcome lies not in a man but in God. It is not your responsibility to solve your problem but God’s responsibility. Although we face difficulties there are people who find joy in difficult situations while there are others who are overcome by their difficulties ending up in distress.

Just like swimming, though you know how to swim in the swimming pool when taken to the sea, when storms come you may run away. Same with us, when our heart is weak we can only try to avoid difficulties.

What we need most in order to overcome all our difficulties is to have a strong heart and face difficulties rather than running away from them. This kind of heart is not a function of our actions.

The most important thing to know is that our hearts are weak because of sin in our hearts. Until we solve sin problem, we cannot but be overcome by difficulties because our hearts are weak. Although God wants to solve our difficulties, but because of sin, He cannot work as it is indicated in Isaiah 59:1 “Behold the LORDS hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear”.

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Answer: It is estimated that there are 613 laws of God in the Bible, from the Ten Commandments and many other laws. The book of James 2:10 says “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws”, if we assume there are indeed 613 laws which means if one breaks only one law , he is the same as someone that has broken all laws. Friends no matter how much you may try you cannot keep the laws of God, Roman’s 11:32 says God has committed all of us to disobedience for Him to have mercy on all of us. True spiritual life begins when we surrender all to God, when we accept that we cannot keep the law on our own, the Lord then bestows His Grace and gives us the strength , but on our won we cannot keep the law, otherwise Jesus will have died in vain. God made us unable to keep the law to have us realize our true image. God has made you unable to live a life that pleases Him, therefore, He crumbles down your heart to believe in yourself. When the faith to believe in yourself crumbles down, the faith to believe in God begins to arise in you. It is impossible for us to reach the seat of blessing through doing well, our righteousness, keeping the law and serving God well.

One should be blessed not through himself but through the faith to believe in God. Roman’s 3: 20- “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law it is the knowledge of sin”.

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Financial Wellness & Incisive Solutions from Within Your Heart

2-Hour

Life-Changing

Drug addicts need to go to a drug rehabilitation center, likewise attending our seminar means coming to the best spending addiction rehabilitation center available. It is your heart that must change first!

Seminar

Transformational Conversations with Victor Nkomo What is dragging you to financial distress?

Who is pulling you back into financial wellness?

About Victor Nkomo Victor is passionate about mind and personal finance education, he believes mind education & financial literacy is the foundation of the prosperity of Africa.

He is a Treasury & Finance Expert, Executive Partner and Founder of Corporate Treasury Solutions; a John Maxwell-certified speaker and performance coach. He horned his financial acumen working for top institutions like Rand Merchant Bank and Deutshe Bank among others.

Victor exists on this earth for only one reason, to empower, motivate and inspire people to live their purpose, his dream is to empower people to be successful, happy, become ‘CEOs’ of their lives while serving humanity and build eternal legacy. His philosophy and motto in life is: “be blessed to be a blessing”.

A Power-packed 2-Hour Programme: In the engaging style and heartfelt personal approach that separates Victor Nkomo from other speakers, he examines following: Your Financial Wellness, Personal Finance knowledge and level of your mind assessment.

Your Mind & Heart in Personal Finances – “First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may become clean also”.

6 Levels of the World of the Heart: Reasons why you are in financial distress and in need of a roadmap towards financial well-being.

Incisive solutions and clear analysis on your heart that is unknown even to you.

Mind navigation that shows how the heart breaks free from thoughts that lead to financial distress and births a new heart that leads to financial well-being.

Fundamentals of managing your personal finances – simple tools for crafting a vision for one’s finances and management style that is energizing and inspiring.

The audience will receive a winning blue print for their financial life, have their hearts and mind changed leading to a more productive joyful lifestyle, profitable personal income statement, positive net worth, how to serve others and pay yourself first, Mandatory Savings, Investments and Retirement, and Financial Well-being habits.

Book Victor for a session at your Church, Company, Money club, School, Network

Contact us for available dates & more information: Tel: +27 11 655 7225 / +27 71 714 6830

connect2succeed

e-mail: info@connect2succeed.com

Helping you ACHIEVE your maximum potential

Call for Partnership and Distributors If your heart is free to offer a gift, please be kind to partner with us, pledge the number of copies that you will want to print, we will send you soft copy print file of our devo-zine, you will print and distribute weekly in your area, in return we will have your advert free of charge.

See contact details below “The answer to our challenges in life is receiving true salvation, receiving the gift of forgiveness of sin, being truly born again, allowing Jesus Christ to take over the steering of your car of your life and thereafter the secret lies in preaching the gospel of Christ, not focusing on your needs, that way all other things you need in your life will be added on by God” – Victor Nkomo, Founder of The Special Seed

The Special Seed Profile • The Special Seed is a Christian movement that seeks to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes and lead all who believe to a purposeful life that give glory to God. • The Special Seed ideal posits that the Christian “family” should be inseparably bound by the need to unashamedly proclaim the Gospel of Christ, and derive inspiration from that wonderful affirmation of the Holy Spirit of sacred revelation, brimming with truth and comfort that “The just shall live by faith”.

(Romans 1; 16-17).

• The Special Seed is not a Church but a platform of slaves of Christ who believe preaching the Gospel is the only slavery assignment that brings true joy.

About the Founder

Victor Nkomo is a human being who preaches the gospel of Christ, the power of God to salvation. Victor believes he is just a transmission cable of God’s Word of Salvation which frees people from sin. The greatest gift in his life was receiving forgiveness of sin, being truly born again. Victor received a promise from Romans 1:16-17, to preach the gospel of Christ. Victor is not a believer of denominations but believes true Salvation is key to true joy, happiness, enjoying blessings of God and passport to eternal life. His philosophy and motto in life is “The best way to be blessed is to be a blessing to others”.

Our Programs

Connect2Succeed • Financial Wellness from within your heart – inspired by Luke 15:11-32 • Heart Intelligence – “A change of heart changes everything” • Online Network

Connect2Fellowship • Grasshoppers to Butterfly – The Big Story: TV Talk Show • Individual and group Bible study • Schools and Colleges Fellowship • Prisons Fellowship • Gospel on the Golf Couse • Gospel in the Studio • Gospel on the Soccer pitch • Gospel in the Farm • The Special Seed Villages • Forgiveness of Sin /Born again Bootcamps Connect2Give • Spiritual and Physical sustenance to Orphans and Widows

The power of God to Salvation

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komo Victor N to teach is availableyour church t & preach a our event or at y

Email: info@thespecialseed.com | www.specialseed.com Johannesburg Tel: +27 71 714 6830 |The Kenya Tel: +254 70 6277704 Special Seed for Life