Testemony of a Lawyer from Rome

"Good evening, Bishop. I would like to share this testimony with you because it is very strong. Especially, for those of us who have been doing our best to help this woman come to know the Lord Jesus and truly surrender her life to Him. She has a real thirst for His presence and this time she wants to get it right."

Bishop Wagner Simões-Italy

Good evening, Bishop Wagner.

I thank the good Lord that I was present on Sunday, November 13th, for Bishop Edir Macedo’s service and I would like to share my personal experience.

I heard many people criticizing Bishop Macedo, however, I had also heard others speaking very well of him. Because I have a strong personality, I usually judge people right away, sometimes without having met them. But I will not deny that I’ve always been very intrigued by the bishop.

And who would have thought that one day, my faith would be greatly impacted because of this great man of God. Nothing magical or out of this world happened during the service, but the simplicity and power he transmitted showed me a different side to Christianity. Unfortunately, my faith had been destroyed because of a religion.

Without exaggerating and I mean this in a good way, I think he represents to us what the pope represents to Catholics. And through the words that came out of his mouth, filled with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, God showed me what faith truly is.

I have always loved God, but I felt that my religious etiquette acted as an obstacle between us. I was once a devout Catholic, who prayed the rosary, but then I turned to another evangelical religion.

And so, I began to feel like I was perfect ― I paid my tithes, I remained abstinent, I did not smoke or drink, among many other things. However, my life didn’t change. I reached the point of thinking that God was a figment of my imagination.

Bishop Macedo's message about the new birth and the meaning of living in the Kingdom of God, delivered me completely. Do you know why?

Because this message was coming from a man with a faith that is authentic and TRUE. Nothing fabricated, nothing false, nothing hidden; just a SPIRITUAL man who reached out his hand to a SPIRITUAL woman, named Rosaria, to deliver her from the slavery of her own intelligence, from the slavery of her rules and from the slavery of her culture.

The deliverance I received was so great, that I’m unable to put it into words in this e-mail. One thing is for sure: my life changed from that day forth. This date will always remain marked in my calendar.

These last couple of days, I’ve remained in prayer, asking God to bless and protect Bishop Macedo’s life.

I would like to conclude by thanking you for the work that is being done in Italy and a especial thank you to Bishop Macedo, who is a great man of God.

Kind regards,
Rosaria Salomone - Lawyer.

The foolishness of Faith

The Message of the Cross ― faith accompanied by sacrifice ― is foolishness to those who are perishing. I Corinthians 1:18

Who, in this perishing world, is willing to sacrifice their life for Someone that is invisible? Or for the new life that follows the sacrifice of the old one?

Many have sacrificed estates, money, cars or jewelry in exchange for greater blessings. But who is willing to sacrifice their parents, children, family members and especially their own life in exchange for a Christian life apart from sin?

Few. Very few.

The message of faith requires much more of a sacrifice than a measly exchange on top of the altar.

Jesus clearly said:

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:37-39

It's an all for all. That is why the message of the cross is considered foolishness.
It was God’s All, His Son, in exchange for our all.

What is our all? A happy life? Prosperity? Health?
No! A thousand times, no!

Man’s all has been a life completely turned upside down. Failed relationships, failed marriages, failed careers; that is, constant agony of the body, soul and spirit. And as if that weren’t enough, some even have their health compromised, not to say, they have one foot in the grave.

That’s right! What is the all that you are willing to exchange for God’s All?

Salvation is for those who believe in practice, not theory.
Practical Christian belief requires sacrifice, that is why it is foolishness to those who are perishing.

God bless you.

From Psychotic Episodes to Psychologist

My life was always pretty happy and as a young child, I always had what I wanted. However, at the age of 19, I ended a relationship on bad terms and from then on I began having an inferiority complex and feelings of guilt, which caused me to isolate myself from everyone.

That year, I tried, for the second time, to apply for admission into college, but once again, I was denied. This caused me to close up even more. I spent almost a whole year locked inside my house, without seeing anyone!

Some time later, I was finally accepted into college, but I was not feeling very well and started having psychotic episodes. I was really going crazy!

I began going to different doctors, neurologists and psychologists, who treated me with different medicines and antidepressants.

A year later, around the same time, it started all over again. I was in a new relationship, which ended soon after the episodes started. That's when I think I reached my limit. After all, this was the third time I was falling into depression.

Besides all this, I suffered with constant headaches from the age of 14, which would last for a very long time. Over the years, I tried several treatments but none of them were permanent solutions and it really interfered with school.

I had to be rushed to the emergency room on various occasions because of the pains. Without an apparent reason, I’d faint in the middle of the street and the quantity of medicine I was taking was causing a lot of stomach problems.

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

Until one day, a friend invited me to go to the Upper Room of the Holy Spirit. Over time, I was completely delivered; I no longer had nightmares, fainting spells or headaches. Everything began disappearing, until finally, I started feeling great!

Before long, I had the opportunity to participate in the Campaign of Israel. It was a difficult time for me because I was finishing my degree. In this Campaign, I asked God for something that seemed impossible. I wanted to get accepted into one of the best universities in Europe, which is located in Barcelona and has an excellent psychology department. Everyone told me that it was impossible for me to get accepted.

However, two hours after I sent my application by e-mail, I received a positive response. So, I went to Barcelona for nine months and got my masters for Clinical Health Psychology.

I truly feel that God has changed me from the inside out, and now I have something I’ve always wanted: peace, happiness and the will to live – the complete control over my life! Today, I’m able to help others!

From my experience, we can only help someone if we’ve overcome a similar problem.

Ana Corte - Portugal

JESUS' FOOD

"In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat.’ But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat of which you do not know.’

Therefore the disciples said to one another, ‘Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work’."
John 4:31-34

One of the reasons behind the failure in the spiritual life of many assistants is in their food, that is, what they are eating.

Pay close attention to the quality of Jesus’ food.
First, His food was to “do the will of Him who sent Me”. This is the bread and butter of the gospel, it is the foundation that gives us strength to bear the weight of the struggles, trials, persecutions and insults that we will face while doing the work of God.

Doing the will of God is nothing more than sacrificing our own will to obey the Word in everything we do.

A relationship with God includes fasts, daily Bible reading and constant prayer. Sometimes you might not even say anything, you could just be praying in your head. It doesn’t matter, as long as you seek the "good, acceptable and perfect will of God" for your life. Along with constant vigilance in what you say, hear, see, think and feel.

This food has the greatest nutritional value for those who want to be spiritually healthy.

Second, His food was to "finish His work”. He expressed faith with full force by healing, delivering the oppressed and announcing the good news of the kingdom of heaven.

That also describes the beginning of the ministry of many assistants. They were strong, healthy and ready to do the good work. But as time passed, they began to feed from their works and not from the will of God and because of that, they began getting weak and eventually fell by the wayside.

Knowing that if we don’t nourish our bodies properly we will be subjected to all kinds of diseases, the same goes for our spirit. Without the necessary food it will be subject to demons. Isn’t that what we’ve seen recently?

WARNING! ASSISTANTS, THE QUESTION IS:
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR DAILY FOOD?

Bishop Sergio Correa

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