We probably have heard of this Bible text: "The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control." (Gal 5:22,23a, NIV); but are we aware that
there are bogus fruit as well? Here's the list: "The acts of the flesh
are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissension, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like." (Gal
5: 19-21a, NIV)
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
I'm living in the
Peninsula at Mile 13. I was with some friends from the same community,
sitting on the shoulder of the road. We are having a good time together,
drinking and having fun. We saw a car pass by, and then stop just past
us. The gentleman got out of the car. We had never met him or seen him
before. He approached us and greeted us. He introduced himself to us,
that he was Pastor Andrew. We welcomed him.
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."
we
replied, "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.
Rob Chaffart
