The first and only legitimate fruit are approved by our Heavenly Father:
"Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Gal 5: 23b, 24). The second
list is only bogus fruit, good for nothing: "I warn you as, I did before, that
those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal 5: 21b, NIV)
Notice that the real fruit are approved, while the bogus ones are not. This is
also the reality of those who depend on God for the healing. If anything stands
in our way in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, He will not be able to
hear us, as sin separates us from Him: "If my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked
ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal
their land." (2 Chron 7:14-15)
Sadly, many have been affected by bogus fruit. If our focus is on the flesh,
genuine fruit will not be occurring. We may long for it, but as long as we
harbor the unhealthy fruit, no healthy fruit will develop. The only way to ask
our Father to fill us with His victory is to forsake these bogus fruit and ask
for His fruit to take root within us. If depression hits us, call for the joy of
our Father. If hate and bitterness dominate, ask for the help of God's Holy
Spirit, who will lead us to forgive like never before. If fear leaves us
trembling, ask For God's peace to fill us to overflowing. We can be victorious.
The more we depend on God, the more His genuine fruit will sprout fruit forth
for eternity.
The following real life illustration will demonstrate what happens when God's
fruit germinate in our life: Testimony witten by Pastor Francis Ngobeh
The Lord had spoken to him that he needed to come and speak to us. We were
surprised because we were drinking alcohol and having fun. We tried to tell him
that we were drinking and he was a pastor and it’s not the right time to talk to
us. At the same time he said, “The Lord told me to talk to you and I think it is
important. Jesus loves you and He gave me a message to pass on to you. I have
never seen you, but because the Lord told me to stop and talk to you, I feel
responsible to do that.” He said, “The Lord said to me, that this is not the
right thing you are doing. He has a purpose for you. He wants to manifest His
power in your lives.”
Then we replied, “If you say that this is the Lord’s message you want to pass on
to us, then we accept it.” A couple of the friends didn’t want to listen to
Pastor Andrew, because some of them were saying that we are not convinced with
what you are saying.
At that time, I felt touched by his message, so asked the others to focus and
listen. Pastor Andrew passed on the message, that he saw we were covered with
darkness, but the Lord is pouring His Light on us. We needed to accept Christ as
our personal Saviour.
Then he asked how many of us were Christians? It was 3 of us. The other 4 were
Muslims. They refused to accept the message. The 3 of us, who were Christians,
accepted Christ and confessed our sin. From that day when I accepted Christ, my
life began to change gradually. Pastor Andrew took our contact numbers. He
started to communicate with us and encourage us with the gospel.
He asked if there was any church in Mile 13. I told him no, because it is a
Muslim dominated community. Different churches have tried to establish churches
in this community, but no one has succeeded over the last few years. He told me,
the Lord wants to establish His church in this community. I told him it is not
easy, because the people of this community do not believe in Christianity. He
told me, it’s not by my power but God’s power, to establish the church in this
community.
We started to have evening services in Mile 13, in an unfinished building.
During this time, I was really being touched by the messages and devoted my life
to God. Then I had a calling that I needed to pastor this church. Pastor Andrew
announced this message, during the service that Brother Francis was to be the
Head Pastor of this church. I was really doubtful how this would work, but the
Lord confirmed it. He wanted me to do His work. I just prayed to Him and let His
Spirit flow in me and let His will be done in my life.
I started having some Bible studies with Pastor Andrew and he shared his
experience with me. We continued the Sunday evening services. That is when I
started to have trials and temptations with the community members. They started
abusing me for establishing a church in this community. They didn’t want a
church here, because it’s a Muslim community. So, I was given notice about the
building where we were holding church. They didn’t want us to hold church there
anymore and asked us to leave.
I continued to hold church in the open by the side of the road. I was praying to
the Lord, to make a provision for us to have a place where we could hold church.
The Lord spoke to me, that whenever My people gather and call upon Me, I will
hear their cry. So, with few members in the church, we were all worried about
where we would hold church, because the rainy season was getting closer.
I put my request to the Lord, to make provision for us. I asked members of the
church, to make this a prayer point. One of my friends, who is a member of the
same community, has a cinema hall. I decided to go and discuss this with him to
see if he could help us and let us use his hall, in the Name of the Lord. At
first he said no. I’m a Muslim and my religion cannot accept that. I turned back
home and the Lord spoke to me and said, just pray. I prayed for a couple of days
and went back to see him. Then he told me, that I could hold the service every
Sunday, in the hall, with no cost involved! This was the time; I really started
to sense the wonders of God in Mile 13.
The Lord continued to show His wonders to me in this community, by touching the
members who were trying to stop this ministry from being established here. They
started to communicate with me on good terms. Some of them even testified that
they were surprised that Iris Ministries had been established in Mile 13!
They knew me from my past experience, when I was drinking alcohol, smoking
marijuana and doing illegal things. Today, they are seeing me as a changed man
of God. I told them, it’s not my doing, but it’s the power of the God that I’m
serving. I told them, they need to confess their sin and invite Christ to be
their personal Saviour. If they don’t, they will not enjoy the goodness of God
and enter the kingdom of Heaven. Some of them were looking around at the others,
and some accepted the Lord. I am still praying that the Lord will rule over Mile
13.
We are using this cinema hall temporarily. Someone has offered us some land to
buy, so we can establish our church. I communicated this to Sr. Pastor Andrew,
and we put it as a prayer point, that God would make a provision for his church
to be built in this community.
One day I was praying at home, when a member of the community came and called
me. He said there was a young girl who is led by the spirit of thievery. I went
there and asked her, what is happening in her life? What’s the problem? She said
she had no financial problem, because her family is looking after her. She
didn’t know what was happening to her. I prayed for her and tried to counsel her
for a couple of days, before she confessed that she is led by an evil spirit.
The spirit appears to her when she is alone and leads her to go inside peoples’
homes to steal money or jewellery. The people do not know that she has entered
their homes. The spirit shows her where these things are hidden so she can take
them. When the victims investigated, they discovered she was the thief. The
spirit would disappear from her and then she would realize what she had done.
She’s from a Muslim family. Members of the family said, they were going to take
her to the Juju Man. I told them, no. This girl had been having this problem for
a few months. No one could identify this problem, but God is the One who has
seen it and identified it. I told them, the girl has to confess her sin and to
invite Jesus into her heart because He loves her. She accepted Christ as her
Saviour. Now, when she senses the evil spirit coming to her, she pleads the
blood of Christ over her and rebukes the evil spirit. She has had no more
problems of stealing and her family is very grateful for this. Today, she is a
member in the church.
Thanks to
https://www.irisglobal.org/sierra-leone/journal/mile-13-testimony
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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