Bishop, I wasn’t supposed to be alive today...

Since birth, I’ve had a tough life. I’ve suffered through many problems; the first was when my father abandoned me, shortly after I was born.

I grew up with a lot of hatred bottled up inside. To make matters worse, my mother starting dating another man who would violently beat me. I suffered through a lot of physical abuse. There isn’t enough space here for me to write it all out in detail, but one day, he went as far as punishing me by tying my hands to a hot radiator until it burned me.

There was a lot of abuse and daily torment. I remember the first time this man attacked me in our own home. My mother didn’t hear anything. I don’t remember if it’s because she was under the influence of drugs at the time or if she was sedated from all the different kinds of pills she took every day. I might have been young, but I lived through many problems.

I didn’t like being at home and much less being around my family. I reached a point where I started cutting myself with blades. I even wrote ‘I hate u’ on my arm with a knife.

My world became darker after I got involved with some youths from the opposite side of the tracks. I joined a gang and dove deep into the criminal world. We robbed and attacked people just for fun and committed many other kinds of crimes. As you can see, I never had a childhood.

I started smoking marijuana at the age of 9 and at the age of 14, I started selling cocaine, heroin and ecstasy because I was looking for fast money. The problem was that I spent all my money getting drunk.

I was attacked by rival gangs several times. Once, they broke a glass bottle on my back.

One time, I was stabbed so bad that I went into a deep coma for two weeks. On another occasion, I got stabbed in the neck, the knife miss my artery by two centimeters. Overall, I was stabbed five times by different rival gangs.

My life was filled with one disaster after another. But I didn’t know any other way of living except this one. Ever since I was a small child, all I saw was violence, so I thought this was all life had to offer. I was so full of anger and hatred that I couldn’t think about ways to get out of that lifestyle.

My friend Ryan, who was also involved with gangs, invited me to a youth group meeting with the Victory Youth Group. At first, I rejected the invitation. But, because he insisted so much and I saw how much his life had totally changed, I decided to go.

The pastor spoke about the dangers of this world and mentioned about the Carnival. I paid attention, but I kept thinking that all this wasn’t meant for me. My friend gave me a small Bible and I put it in my jacket pocket.

The next day I went to party at Carnival with some of the boys from my gang. We ran into another gang that we had problems with and I ended up getting stabbed in the chest. I saw the knife going into my jacket, but I didn’t feel anything at the moment. My body was completely paralyzed with shock. I felt around my chest, but there was no blood.

That’s when I remembered that the Bible, the one I received from my friend, was still in my jacket breast pocket, from the day before. The knife pierced through and stopped in Psalm 27, but it was supposed to have gone all the way through my heart.

That day, the Word of God literally saved me. I finally understood that life isn’t a game and I had to do something to change.

The following day, I went to church and the bishop called forward those who would like to erase their past and start a new life by getting baptized in the water. I regretted wasting so many years living that awful life and I was baptized. Three months have passed and I am no longer the same person.

I gave it all up ― gangs, drugs, promiscuity, etc... Every youth group meeting I attend gives me the strength to continue with my new life. I'm learning how to be a true man and how to develop a relationship with God.

It’s not easy, Bishop. Today, I’m able to understand why my family carried such anger in their hearts. I know that a lot of the things that happen in our life are spiritual and they can only be solved spiritually. I pray for their change.

Now, I want to do the work of God. I want to save souls. I have an immense joy, which is something I never experienced before in my life. Today, I’m able to give others a sincere smile. I didn’t like talking about my past, but now I have no problem doing it. I use my past to help those living in the situation I used to live in, to show them that there is a way out.

I have gone back to school and I'm using all the possible resources to catch up with the time I wasted. I know God has much more in store for me. I'm only 16 years old and I have a bright future ahead. Today, I can say that I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for God, the Universal Church and the tireless work of the youth group.

God bless you,

Lance Scott
London - England

Holy Spirit

It’s not enough to be religious. It’s not enough to be an active member in the church.

It’s not enough to have the title of assistant, pastor, bishop or whatever it may be.
It’s not enough to be a tither and faithful offering giver.
It’s not enough to do what’s expected of you.
It’s not enough to worship God.
It’s not enough to know the Bible.
It’s not enough to have a good marriage.
It’s not enough to have a good education, a college degree, to be successful, rich or to have the world at your feet…
Nothing is enough when you’re not born of the Spirit of God.

Only He has the power to create the spiritual nature in us, that is, a Divine nature.

Satan is spirit.

How can we overcome him when we are not spirit?
How can we overcome evil spirits when we are not holy spirits?
How can we overcome spirits of darkness when we are not spirits of light?

Only those who are born of God overcome the world and hell itself.

Because of this we would like to invite you to join us every wednesday 6:30pm and Sunday at 8:00am or 10am to take part in a special meeting totally dedicate for those who want to have an encounter with God and consequently be filled with the Holy Spirit and have the power to be called a child of God

PR JULIO DASILVA,

ADABRAKA FORMER WAREHOUSE,CLOSE TO ADABRAKA MARKET,

HELP LINE: 0302 222 400, 020 048 7534

Testemony

I didn't have money to kill myself

Education is one of the keys that unlocks the doors to success in life. Without it, people often don’t find higher-paying jobs.

When Mabel completed her matric, she could not further her studies because she had no one to pay her fees. She also struggled to get a job. A single mother of two, Mabel was unemployed for more than five years. She depended on her neighbours for donations of food and clothes to care for her family. Sometimes they went for a week without food and she had to give her children water to drink to fill their empty stomachs. She rented a one-roomed shack but could not pay the rent without any income.

“I could not stand the pain of seeing my children crying every day because they were hungry. I wanted to save them from suffering by killing them and myself. I wanted to buy poison, mix it with food and give it to my children so they could eat and die,” she explained. Because she could not afford poison, she went in search of money and walked past the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Out of desperation, she attended one service. Since that day in 2002, she has never looked back. She took part in the chains of prayer on Mondays for her finances. “In these meetings I learned not to accept the situation I was in. I fought the suicidal thoughts that I had and God gave me the strength to resist them,” said Mabel.

She applied for jobs and found one working as a cleaner in a restaurant. She earned R500 per month which was too little for her needs. “I believed and trusted God for greater things,” said Mabel. She continued using her faith and applied for other jobs. She got a response from one company and was given a good offer. Gradually her life started to improve. “In one of the services I attended, the pastor taught us that we should not relax and wait for God to perform miracles. He also encouraged us to invest in our careers. I put that into practice and I saw the results,” said Mabel. She enrolled for a part-time course in administration and business management. Later, she was promoted to the position of branch manger with a good salary and managed to move into a flat.

“When the Campaign of Israel was introduced I took part and I was inspired to start my own consultancy and estate agent business. I started saving money so I could get an office and buy furniture for my business,” said Mabel. Through her faith and hard work, God helped her to change her situation. Her business became a reality and she employed three people to work with her. “My business grew. Now I have three branches and 18 employees. I was able to pay cash for a three-bedroomed house and a car. I am living a good life with my children. I thank God for helping me to escape from misery,” said Mabel.

T

his transformation may happen to you too.

Adabraka,Former Warehouse,close to Adabraka market,

Help Lines: 0302 222 400, 020 048 7534, 024 366 8067

Pr Julio Da Silva

Faith and Sacrifice

God is not a magician. Yet, most Christians insist on thinking, believing and expecting Him to magically transform their lives overnight.

Usually, they expect to do the minimum amount of effort in exchange for all of God’s blessings. During some time, they’re able to maintain this illusion, but when the results are not as expected, they become discouraged. Hence, the reason why many so-called Christians have fallen away disappointed with God.

Few understand that in order for a miracle to happen, a joint process must take place between the Creator and the creation. None of the miracles written in the Bible happened solely because of God’s doing. If we look carefully, we can see that each miracle had the participation of man and of God.

For example, in order for Noah and his family to be saved from the flood, he had to obey God’s command and build the ark. The same happened with Abraham. In order for him to be the father of a great nation, first he had to sacrifice his will and obey the Word of God by leaving his land, the home of his parents and his relatives.

In order for the Lord Jesus to heal the blind man, he had to cry out to Him. Before Lazarus could be resurrected, the disciples had to remove the stone from the tomb.
Now, we can conclude without a doubt that the miracle we hope to receive in our life depends on our attitude of faith towards God.

If you are tired of suffering and want to change your life around, then you must call out to God. This change is only possible if you act by faith. That is, completely surrender your life by faith to the Lord Jesus.

Until your life is totally surrendered on the altar, new life won’t spring forth. It’s impossible to conquer a new life and try to MAINTAIN THE OLD ONE at the same time.

Hence, the urgent need for a sacrifice of faith.
Like the Lord said: "Turn to Me with all your heart ..." (Joel 2:12).

The miracle of the new birth or new life takes place in two stages:

First: mankind's attitude toward God - No one can be born of God without first turning from or abandoning their sins. Conversion requires a change in behavior towards Him. Lying, stealing, adultery, prostitution and all the works of the flesh must be abandoned. Galatians 5:19. That is true conversion.

Second: God’s attitude toward man - When the Holy Spirit sees your effort in trying to replace your will with the will of God, He comes down upon you and transforms your life. Thus, concluding His participation in the miracle of the new birth.

Whatever the miracle, the process remains the same. First, the creation must take action towards the Creator; then, the Creator acts accordingly towards His creation.

As you can see, there's no magic in this process; on the contrary, it’s the result of a personal relationship between mankind and God.

May God bless you abundantly.

The Donkey

As the young colt happily returned home, he told his mother:

- I went to a city and when I got there I was received with applause, as the crowd shouted with excitement. They spread their clothes on the road... Everyone seemed so happy to see me.

His mother wondered if he had been alone, and so the donkey explained:
- No, I was carrying a man by the name of Jesus.

His mother then said:
- Son, go back to that city, but this time go alone.

The donkey answered:
- Whenever I have a chance, I’ll go back there.

He went back to the city alone, but this time, everyone blurted out awful things at him as they passed by and they even hit him.

When he returned home, he told his mother:
- I'm sad, nothing happened. There was no applause, no clothes, no honor... I only got hit! I was cursed at and mistreated. They didn’t recognize me, Mom.

Annoyed, the donkey asked his mother:
- Why did this happen to me?

His mother said:
- My dear son, without Jesus you are just a donkey...

Soul Predators

This is a cruel world. There's no escaping it without getting hurt. It demonstrates limitless cruelty towards the children of Light. Therefore, those who love the world become an enemy of God.

However, worse than the evils of this world is hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy can be characterized by the expression of false virtues. It’s a false faith, insincere feelings, deceitful compassion, etc.

It's the diabolical skill of insincerity that condemns the just and rewards the unjust.

"The prince of darkness is a gentleman." (William Shakespeare)

Jesus was arrested, tried and convicted by the insincere faith of this world, a world of hypocrisy.

However, before that, He prophesied their final destination. All of its inhabitants are enclosed in this prophecy. Matthew 23.

He warned His disciples: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Luke 12:1

The purpose of putting yeast into bread or cake is for it to appear more healthy and tasty.

Appearance. Hypocrisy works with appearance.

Jesus would not have made such a comment, if the Pharisees’ false faith didn’t harm the sincere faith of the new Christians.

I believe that now in days, spiritual leaven has sent more souls to hell than this wicked world.

Skillful in handling the words that are written in the Bible, the hypocrite is easy to identify, approach, convince and ultimately, devour beginners of the pure Christian faith.

They are real soul predators.

They have no mercy on their prey, because one day, they were also a victim.

If you have been careful to preserve your faith from the contamination of this world, then don’t put your guard down, don’t disarm and always be very careful, especially when you’re around brothers of the faith.

Don’t think that because they carry around a Bible and speak like someone that’s of the faith, they are of the faith. Watch out!

It doesn’t matter if they’re from the same church or the same denomination; regardless of whether they are a member, an assistant, an assistant pastor, a pastor or a bishop. You must constantly keep watch.

Pay no mind to their appearance, to the way they speak, their kindness or anything of the sort.

Remember: the soul predator is cautious, clever and likes to flatter. They never say what’s really on their mind. They are extremely dangerous.
The Lord Jesus ordered us to: beware! ...

The apostle John advised: "test the spirits ..." 1 John 4.1

Your faith is your greatest treasure. It is personal and non-transferable. It is your direct line of communication with God. The salvation of your soul depends on it. If you lose your faith, no one will lend you theirs and you'll be hopelessly lost.

May the Spirit of my God, in His infinite mercy, instruct you, like He has done with me; so that you don’t run the risk of losing your faith.

Spilled Milk

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law and four-year-old grandson.

The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the table, but the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing eyesight made eating difficult.

Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grabbed his cup, milk spilled on the tablecloth and his son and daughter-in-law became irritated by the mess.

- We must do something about Grandfather - said the son.

- I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating and food all over the floor.

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.

Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.

Noticing that his son was playing by himself on the floor, the father asked the child:
- What are you doing?

And the boy answered:
- Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food when I grow up.

Very strong, isn’t it?

Collaborated by Fernanda Bezerra