Month: May 2020

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JESUS LOVES MUSLIMS TOO – UNDERSTANDING ISLAM FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 003 –The Convergence and Divergence of the Principle of Expansion in Islam and Christianity

JESUS LOVES MUSLIMS TOO – UNDERSTANDING ISLAM FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 003 –The Convergence and Divergence of the Principle of Expansion in Islam and Christianity
LESSONS OBJECTIVE
To correct negative stereotypes about Muslims
To better understand the convergence and divergence of the principle of expansion in Islam and Christianity
To appreciate positive aspects of the Islamic religion and culture
To Foster meaningful harmonious relationships between Muslims and Christians
To challenge Christians to break religious and cultural barriers and reach out to their Muslim neighbors with the love of Christ.
MORE THAN JUST A RELIGION
Both Christianity and Islam embrace the fact that they are more than just another religion. Orthodox Muslims teach that Islam is not just another religion , actually a divine principle. And this is the divine principle ; If you want peace in the world; if you want peace in your country and in your community; if you want peace in your heart, then you must submit to the will of God. Two very important words imbedded in the meaning of Islam are peace and submission. Muslims believe this is the only way the world can survive; this is the only means of salvation – complete submission to God’s will.
Likewise Christianity also teaches that not just another religion. “Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship”. Therefore Christianity is not a religion. Similarly Christianity promises peace to its followers. “John 14:27 Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid”. This were the words of Jesus before he was taken up to heaven.
Orthodox Muslims believe that God has revealed His will in the form of rules. He reveal what people must do and what they must not do. God has revealed these rules through His revelations to the human race. These make up the Law of God, the shari’ah. Thus, in orthodox Islam, The Law of God is the basic means of salvation. The Law of God provides people with divine guidance, and with this guidance they can survive and succeed. Without this guidance, people are lost – destined for self-destruction and eternal punishment.
On the other hand salvation in Christianity is obtained only by God’s grace. 1 John 5:11 – 12 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.” The bible teaches that salvation is only by faith in Christ Jesus. It teaches that man’s sinful nature separates him from God. Rom 5:8 “But God demonstrate his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God reconciled mankind from their sinful nature by allowing His Son Jesus Christ to die for humanity as a penalty for their sins. According to Christianity man cannot obtain salvation through human goodness, human works, human morality or religious activity.
The moral man, the religious man, and the immoral and non-religious are all in the same boat. They all fall short of God’s perfect righteousness. The bible teaches that God is holy and perfect and cannot entertain sin. On the same breath it also teaches that God is love and full of grace and mercy. 2 COR 5:21 “God made the one who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” Christians therefore receive salvation not through their acts of righteousness , but by placing their faith in the complete work of the cross. John 3: “For this is the way God loved the world : he gave his one and only Son that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world , but that the world should be saved through him. The one who believes in Him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
According to orthodox Muslims, one must first understand the idea of the divine principle of Islam and then he is ready to understand the need for the religion of Islam. The religion of Islam provides a system of justice for those who violate God’s law. Muslims believe God began to reveal His will or His laws in stages. Thus , He revealed major portions of the law in increasing measure to prophets such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Each one of these prophets embraced the principle of Islam; therefore, each one of the prophets was a muslims ( one who finds peace by submitting to God’s will).
Coincidentally, Christianity teaches that the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. Bible Scholars estimate that more than 350 Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The prophecies were intended to give God’s people hope and help them identify their Saviour. [Old Testament Scriptures] Gensis 12:3 “ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[Fullfilment in New Testament Scripture] Acts 3:25-26 “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenants which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities”.
[Old Testament Scriptures] 2 Samuel 7:12-13 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” [Fulfillment in the New Testament Scriptures] Matthew 1:1 “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Muslims hold that prophet Jesus came, and nearly 600 years later the prophet Muhammad appeared. What Jesus received as revelation from God was good and necessary; however according to Muslims, it was not enough – there was more revelation to come through the prophet Muhammad. One day God said something to Muhammad that he did not say to any previous prophet. He said, “This day have I perfected your religion (system of belief) for you and completed (bestowed) my favor upon you in full, and have chosen submission(al-Islam) as the creed for you.” Quran 5:3 . Muslims understand this to mean that the revelation Muhammad received was the final divine revelation. The Quran calls Muhammad “the seal of the prophets””[Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but a messenger of God, and the seal of the prophets. God has knowledge of everything] Quran 33:40. Hence to Muslims there is no need for any other prophet, for Muhammad possessed the completion and perfection of true religion. According to Islam, Prophet Muhammad received the complete teaching of the Law necessary for the salvation of mankind.
In contrast Christianity teaches that the only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ. John 14:6 “ Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Acts 4:12 “ Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name {Jesus Christ} under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

THE COMMUNITY OF ISLAM
Orthodox Muslims regard the followers of Muhammad as the only community qualified to administer God’s laws. In their view, the community of the prophet Moses was good community, but it did not have the complete set of laws. Likewise, the community of Jesus was a good community, but it too, lacked the complete set of laws. According to the Quran, God said to the community of Muhammad , “Of all the communities raised among men you are the best people evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong and believing in God. If the people of the Book(Christians) had come to believe it was best for them; but only some believe, and transgressors are many” (Quran 3:110) .
Christians also believe that belonging to the church is the only way to access the eternal kingdom. John 3:3 “ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again(become a Christian), you cannot see the Kingdom of God.’
As Muslims searched the Quran for the laws of God, they discovered that while most of the laws spoke in general terms some issues were not even addressed. Orthodox Muslims were concerned that the Quran did not give detailed rules for everyday life; however, they found assurance in some verses that relieved their concerns. For example, “Verily in the messenger of God [Muhammad] you have a good example” (Quran 33:21) also, “……Whatever the messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids, abstain”(from it) (Quran 59:7) and “Say O Muhammad to mankind: if you love God, follow me” (Quran 3:31).
For Christians on the other hand there focus is on Jesus Christ who is there example and role model. The bible teaches that he is the founder of the Christian faith. It further says states that at the end of the world ,He will also be Judge of all mankind. Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Orthodox Muslims believe that God intends for all humankind to become subject to his laws. In other words; God intends for all humankind to convert to Islam. “Quran 9:33 ‘ It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the true faith in order to make it superior to other systems of belief, even though the idolaters may not like it.’ Hence there is an underlying principle for expansion of Islam.
Equally Christianity also has a similar underlying principle of expansion. One of the most profound statement in Christianity is normally referred to as “the great commission”. Matthew 28: 18 -20 “ Jesus came and told his disciple, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Most Muslims are content to let God do this in His own way and in His own time. They believe that one way God will do this is through biological expansion. Many non-Muslims today are content to have only one or two children, but the hadith encourages Muslims to have many children. So if Muslim families continue to have ten children, including the fact that Muslim men are allowed to marry upto to four wives at the same time. That means one single Muslim gentleman can easily have forty children. With this exponential growth within the Muslim population it is logical that in time it will easily exceed the non-Muslim population.
Evangelical Christians on their part depend on the preaching the good news of salvation by grace and mercy of God and not human effort and miraculous signs and wonders being made manifest in current human circumstances. Mark 16 :15 – 20 “ And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up inot heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

LESSONS OBJECTIVE
To correct negative stereotypes about Muslims
To better the convergence and divergence of the principle of expansion in Islam and Christianity
To appreciate positive aspects of the Islamic religion and culture
To Foster meaningful harmonious relationships between Muslims and Christians
To challenge Christians to break religious and cultural barriers and reach out to their Muslim neighbors with the love of Christ.
Primary SOURCE : – Muslim Ministry in the African Context by Harry Morin.
Compiled by Pastor Willy Ochieng.

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Moving Your marriage from the rocks to the ROCK series 003 – Simple tips of building a strong family Altar

MOVING YOUR MARRIAGE FROM THE ROCKS TO THE ROCK SERIES 003 – SIMPLE TIPS OF BUILDING A STRONG FAMILY ALTAR
SIMPLE TIPS TO BUILD A STRONG FAMILY ALTAR
A family that prays together stays together. Praying families make strong churches, praying churches make strong communities, praying communities make a strong Nation.
PRAYING TOGETHER
Reasons for Praying Together
There is power in agreement (Matt 18: 19 – 20). “ I also tell you this : “if two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them”.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY: – Being an introvert I really enjoy moments alone with God. I would not trade anything for those wonderful times alone in the presence of God. Sometimes I take many hours or days in the alone seeking the face of God. This moments with God alone have been life transforming in my walk with God. However I have realized that sometimes the answer that I am seeking for from the Lord when I am alone; takes along time to come by. In contrast when Nancy (MY WIFE) and I , set time aside to pray together , the answer to our prayer seems to come much faster and easier. The prayer weight seems lighter to carry.

There is increased authority and power in spiritual warfare . (Deut 32:30). “ How could one person chase a thousand of them, and two people put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given had given up?”. It is easier to carry a heavy load in the physical world when you are many in number. The contrary is true if you are fewer in number. The load becomes difficult to carry. The same principle hold true in the spiritual realm. When a couple pray together in agreement they release limitless spiritual power able to transform any area of their lives.
The spouse is the ideal prayer partner
It is a “strange phenomena” for married couples to have prayer partners that are not their spouses and not pray together with their wives or husbands. This is a recipe for disaster in any marriage. It is okay to have prayer partners with other people, but when you are married; your primary prayer partner is your wife or husband.
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYING TOGETHER
Set a definite time each day.
Have a planned and specific time to pray together. Whatever is not planned for, never gets done. Take into account your temperaments and personalities. For instance my wife Nancy is a morning person, while I am a ‘night owl’, that is I function optimally at night. Nancy is most active in the morning. Because of our personality differences have negotiated a compromise for our ideal time of prayer together.
Start with short prayer times and devotional reading
Every big thing today, had a small beginning. Allow your prayer altar to grow gradually accommodating both your prayer capacities. The norm is that most couples are not at the same prayer level; therefore the stronger of the two should be able to accommodate the weaker without prejudice. That is each party should be considerate of the needs of the other party.
Do not critize your spouse’s prayer
During our first years of marriage , I particularly had a great challenge in this area. I was this young man “on fire for Jesus”( thank God I am still on fire for Jesus – but wiser) intercessor and very loud prayer warrior. Every prayer I made then, had to be loud and aggressive. My wife Nancy on the other hand was more of a worshipper and quietly soaked in the presence of God. I simply didn’t understand or appreciate her style of worship. Although I didn’t speak it audibly, internally I wanted her to pray like I did. So we conflicted about this and struggled with this issue making our prayer altar very weak. Finally God dealt with me about this issue and I began to appreciate and accommodate our different prayer styles. God has not created clones , we are all different and unique. God loves diversity. Infact most likely it is yuor difference that attracted you in the first place. Do not critize your spouse prayer. God is not looking for eloquence in our prayers , He is more interested in a broken and contrite heart.
Take turns praying
I love it when Nancy prays now, she always seems to remember that one thing that was so important and I would not think of. It is powerful when you take turns and pray with your partner. You are able to cover a vast area together in prayer , because you both think differently. Prayer also becomes restful when you pray in turns. Prayer is spiritual work requiring effort. Praying in turn spreads out the effort , hence making the work load lighter.
While one is praying in the understanding , the other may pray in the Spirit (1 Cor 14: 14-15)
“For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will also sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in the words I understand.” Great heights of prayer are reached when each partner is filled with the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. Prayer shifts to a different level when we are able to pray in tongues. Especially when we engage in it as a couple. This gift is available to all born again Christians who desire it. You only need to desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit and asked and receive by faith. We will soon be teaching on “Being filled by the Holy Spirit” in details.
Pray for needs that are of Concern to both of You, especially finances, guidance , health , children and family problems.
God answers prayers. It is a great idea to journal your prayer requests and tick them as the Lord answers . This builds faith in a big way and also allows to specifically thank the Lord for the answered prayer.
Use philippians 4:6 as a guide for praying.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

BUILDING THE FAMILY ALTAR
Reasons for Having Family Devotions
It is an opportunity and a command from God to train your children in the ways of the Lord (Deut 6:6 -9).
“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.”
It gives your children a reverence for the things of God.
It provides a role model for your children in showing them how to present their needs to God, how to intercede for others, and how to do spiritual warfare.
There is power and authority in the prayer of agreement as members of the family touch on a matter in faith.
It teaches children how to pray out loud and read the scriptures,

Guidelines for Family Devotions
Keep them short and simple.
Do not preach or lecture.
Encourage participation from all family members.
Set a definite time and place to have them daily.
With younger children, you may want to teach short Bible stories, followed by discussion and prayer.
You can also do brief topical studies.
Compiled By Pastor Willy Ochieng
Senior Pastor Busia Lighthouse Church

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Finishing the Race Of Your Destiny Strong

FINISHING THE RACE STRONG
2 CHRONICLES 24: 1-5 ; 17-22
Although King Joash of the nation of Israel started the race of his destiny strong, he finished the same race very poorly. God had miraculously rescued him from the evil plot of his wicked grandmother, Athaliah to destroy him together with the entire royal family so that she could assume power after the death of her son Ahaziah.
He was hidden in the temple for six years without the knowledge of His wicked grandmother, who ruled the nation at the time. On the seventh Year of Athaliah’s reign; Jehoida the priest together with five army commanders successfully plotted and overthrew Athaliah from the throne and killed her. They then installed the seven years Joash, as king of Israel. Jehoida the priest acted as his guardian and trusted chief counsel.
The bible records that the young King Joash began his leadership very well as he keenly followed the advice of the trusted priest Jehoiada. Their relationship must have been very close like that of a son and father, since it was Jehoiada who chose of him his two wives.
One of their outstanding projects was the repair and restoration of the temple. Where the kingship and priesthood synergized their energies and efforts and refurbished the depilated Temple at Jerusalem after years of neglect from corrupt and backslidden previous leaderships.
QUESTION :- What happened to this Great king who began the race so well , but ended so poorly?
After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Israel approached King Joash and offered to be his new advisors, now that his longtime advisor was dead. This was the genesis of King Joash’s problems. The advice that he received from the group of these leaders was, bad advice. What kind of advice are you receiving today. The advices we receive influence the decisions we make and ultimately the course of our lives. The advice we receive in our lives must be in line with the word of God. Jehoiada being a priest, must have adviced the young king in accordance to the word of God. His new set of advisors had vested interest as they advised the king, hence he soon got himself in deep trouble. The next question you must ask yourself is what is the character of the person offering me advice. Jehoiada being a priest must have been a godly person, hence his guidance was beneficial. The bible does not talk about the character of King Joash new advisors. However we can clearly see the results of their advice, therefore we can deduce what kind of people they were. It is foolishness to expect an orange from a lemon tree or bananas from an apple tree. A wicked man is only capable of producing wicked fruit, while it is a natural for a good nurtured woman to be helpful. Before you receive advice from anyone analyze the individual giving the advice; are they experienced in the area of interest? Have they succeeded in the same area? Do they have special knowledge in the area of interest? Are they trustworthy? What is there testimony?
King Joash also finished poorly because He abandoned the temple of the Lord. The temple is a place of worship and service to God. They neglected the most important thing and replaced their relationship with God for other things. The bible says that God is the author and finisher of our faith. He has the ‘blueprint’ of our lives. The moment we push him out of the ‘equation’ of our lives or we relegate him to second, third or fourth place in our lives, we are doomed to finish very poorly. Unfortunately many, including Christian believers we have pushed God down our list of priorities. Our Jobs, families, husbands, wives and even Christian ministry have taken the place of God and become idols, just like the Asherah pole worshipped by the backslidden ancient nation of Israel.
King Joash finished his race poorly because he refused to listen to the servants of God that were sent to him. The bible states; The prophets warned them, but still the people would not listen. Some Christians find it hard to believe that God still speaks. If we believe that we serve a living God who has created us in His own image, we should not have a hard time believing that a living God speaks and also like his creation made in His likeness desires to constantly communicate with us. God speaks to us through his written word the bible, through circumstances and situations, through an inner still voice and also through his servants. Therefore we must be alert and sensitive to know when he speaks. The word of God assures us that if we belong to him we will know when he speaks. In addition we can always ask Him in prayer to confirm His word and He will. To finish strong, You must listen and obey what God is instructing through His Prophets.
King Joash had a poor finish because, he repaid Jehoiada the priest who rescued him, brought him up and finally installed him as king with disloyalty by murdering the priest’s son. King Joash simply forgot where he came from. He repaid the good he had received with evil and as a result he had to reap what he had sown. God has instituted upon the universe the law / principle of sowing and reaping. We you sow beans you must reap beans. When you sow corn you must reap corn. The same principle applies to intangible or abstract objects , like love, hate, bitterness, loyalty etc. When you sow love you will reap love, when you sow bitterness, you will reap the same. King Joash sowed disloyalty and he reaped the same when his own officials assassinated him as he lay in bed.
FIVE THINGS TO HELP YOU FINISH THE RACE OF YOUR DESTINY STRONG
PURPOSE TO PLEASE THE LORD – The bible says that initially King Joash did what pleased the Lord. He was keen on knowing what was the will of God on every matter and did his best to do the bidding of the Lord. For You and I to complete the race of our destiny well, we must always ask ourselves; what is the mind of God in this matter? Remember that a true believers life is surrendered to Him. It is not about “me”, it is about Him. Our purpose in life is only discovered when we totally surrender and submit to His will. Amazingly we only get fulfilled when we begin to fulfill His purpose for us. Every believer must stop living a self-centered life and begin to life for him.
”Mark 8:35 -37 : For whosever will save his life shall lose it; but whosever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” In order to finish strong do not live for yourself, live for God. Self-preservation cannot really protect us , instead surrender to God and He will take care of you better than you can take care of yourself. The best place to invest your life is in the hands of the “Giver of life himself”. Investing your life on the things of this world is okay, but risky, because there security is temporal. Investing in pleasing and living for God is better because you are sure of eternal security. Hence it is more profitable to invest in an Eternal God.
Be a Team Player :- King Joash began as a great team player, involving the inputs of the priests and the levites in the mega project to restore proper worship in the temple. Although he was king with all authority to do as he pleased. He found it necessary to involve and recognize the inputs of other experts. “Do not walk alone”. “Do not be a lone ranger”. “Don’t be a superstar.” It is much better to work with likeminded people to achieve your goals. Even Jesus Christ , formed a team of twelve to win the world , in spite of the fact that he was the Son of God with all powers. When you are a team you are able to share the risks, burden of the work, expertise and finally you must be ready to share the profits and spoils too.
Be diligent: – Initially King Joash was diligent in his project. The king delegated the collection of the temple tax to priest and the levites as a means to fund raise for his mega project. After a while he realized that the priests and levites were lax in undertaking there responsibility and no funds were coming in. He therefore took it upon himself and closely supervised and followed up to ensure the project was a success. Do not leave anything to chance. We must be diligent in whatever assignments the Lord has given us in order to finish strong. “Proverbs 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks and look well to thy herds.” God expects as to be diligent in whatever project or work he has availed to us. We need to give 101% of ourselves in the family, work , business, ministry that we are involved in, so we can finish strong. There is no room for laziness if we really desire to finish strong.
Lead from the front :- King Joash assumed leadership of the temple project that normally would have been initiated by the chief priest of Israel. He realized the broken temple was hindering the prosperity and progress of Israel. Instead of starting “the blame game” or “passing the buck” to the priesthood , he chose to ‘lead from the front’ and ensure the project was completed. Leadership is not a position, but ability to influence others towards a worthy cause. Your influence causes others to give you permission to lead them and your combined efforts produce desirable results. The entire leadership process should be able to produce growth in the particular area of interest. You do not need to be given an office or title to lead. Take the initiative to help others and solve problems like King Joash did and you will become a leader who will finish the race of destiny strong.
Be accountable and practice integrity :- King Joash and Jehoiada the priest handled all the public funds the received with great accountability and integrity. The bible says “This pleased all the leaders and the people, and they gladly brought their money and filled the chest with it”. Unfortunately this joy that was evident with the public, during King Joash reigns; with how their funds were handled is currently very rare. Public fund managed by governments, businesses, ngos, church ministries are normarlly dogged with controversy and conflict, because of lack of transperancy and a lack of integrity with the funds. Many great men and women, politicans, pastors, bishops, ceo’s finished the race of destiny poorly because of lack of integrity. I pray that the lord will enable us to be men and women of integrity so that we may finish well.

Sermon By Pastor Willy Ochieng
Senior Pastor Busia Lighthouse Church

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Simple Practical Principles to Achieve a Life of Excellence

SIMPLE PRINCIPALS TO ACHIEVE A LIFE OF EXCELLENCE
BASED ON PROVERBS 1
Excellence :- The quality of excelling; possessing good or desirable qualities in high degree ; outstanding feature
“These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel “.King Solomon the Son of King David is credited to being the most wise and successful human being who ever lived. When it was time for him to inherit his father’s throne. He was one of the youngest of his father’s sons and the least qualified. He knew he would have to face many challenges beyond his knowledge and experience, therefore he prayed that God would give him wisdom. God answered his prayer and he established one the most prosperous kingdoms of ancient times. He built for God a glorious Temple in Jerusalem. He also wrote the book of proverbs that is full of practical principals that can help us live a life of excellence.
The first principal we learn from King Solomon is to “ask for wisdom from God”. Although he was King with all the resources and all the ‘trappings of power’ he still relied on God to guide him and lead me into paths of integrity, success and excellence.
The book of proverbs teaches that knowledge and wisdom for excellence is available to those who will desire, who will seek for it and who will ask for it.
“There purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline to help them understand the insights of the wise.” In order for you to excel in any area of your life you must be ready to learn. If you have a “know it all “attitude it is difficult to succeed .There is always something new to learn. You need wisdom to succeed. One of the definitions of wisdom is accumulated knowledge. That is wisdom is actually knowledge you have gathered over a long period. That means do not expect “a quick fix” to wisdom. Time is an indispensible asset to obtaining knowledge and wisdom. Experience is still the best teacher. Young people can benefit from older people with experience of applied knowledge. The young may have more knowledge; unfortunately this knowledge has still not been tested. The young must humble themselves and allow to be mentored by older people who have “walked the same path” before. Discipline is essential to success. Discipline is synonymous to following instructions or procedure in order to achieve a specific objective. Do not try to “reinvent the wheel”. The path has already been marked out. The parameters for excellence are marked out. Hard work, determination, courtesy, Focus, consistency, honesty and virtues are principals of success we cannot circumvent if we really want to achieve excellence. Discipline has to do with sacrifice, self-denial, delayed gratitude and humility. Discipline is the price we pay for excellence. Like they say there is no gain without pain. The question is; are you ready to pay for the price of excellence? The other quality to possess when preparing to excel is insight. Insight has to do with in-depth perception. That is the ability to see things that the majority of the people cannot see. Bill Gates was able to see the benefits of computer software before most people had the idea how computers would revolutionize the world. When you have insight, you have the ability to see clearly what may seem vague to most people. May the Lord give you a crystal clear vision for your life and destiny today in Jesus Name.
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment, and equity. The word receive in Hebrew is laqach (pronounced “law-kakh’) means ; to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry ,take a wife ,snatch , take away. Hence there is deliberate action you must apply in order to obtain wisdom and excellence. The word instruction is musar (moosawr) which means discipline, chastening, correction, rebuking, restraining , check (checks and balances), bond. In order to achieve a life of excellence, will sometimes have to do what you do not necessarily enjoy doing. It is not the easy or popular path that leads to success , but many times it is the difficult and unpopular path that gets you to the place of excellence and glory. The human nature hates to be disciplined, humbled or corrected. However the path of wisdom is a humbling path of submission and delayed gratification. Jesus Christ taught His followers to choose the narrow path that few find and follow and avoid the wide path that is popular with the majority of humanity. Once in a while we all miss the mark and need someone in our life that can tell us : “hey! You are on the wrong path!”. We all need someone who can speak into our lives and correct us. Non of us can ever get “too big to be mentored”. QUESTION : “Who have you allowed to speak into your life as a mentor, father or authority?” For you to achieve a life of excellence , you need someone who has already gotten where you desire to go, and allow them to speak into your life. Mostly they will encourage You, guide you and speak blessing upon you declaring that as they have made it ,you too will make it. There also moments where they must , correct you, rebuke you , when you loose direction. Ask God to connect you to the right mentors. Many have been abused and misused with wrong the mentors. Others have been misled with timid mentors who are not bold enough to tell them that they are on the wrong path. For you to achieve excellence You must appreciate correction even when it hurts (Proverbs 3:11 – My Son despise not the chastening of the Lord neither be weary of his correction.) Take every correction and rebuke you receive positively and you will become wiser and better. A majority of people generally receive criticism negatively and miss out on the “learning points” they received from the rebukes. All things work for good for those who are in Christ Jesus.
EXCELLENCE TIT BITS
PRAYER
DEPEND ON GOD FOR GUIDANCE
DESIRE WISDOM AND EXCELLENCE
BE WILLING TO LEARN FROM OTHERS
INVEST IN TIME
PAY THE PRICE OF DISCIPLINE
DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN AND THEN ACT
ACCEPT POSITIVE CRITICISM
GET A MENTOR / A SPIRITUAL PARENTS
Written By Pastor Willy Ochieng
Senior Pastor
Busia Lighthouse Church

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HEALING OF THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF MAN SERIES 002 – PAIN AND HURT

HEALING OF THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF MAN SERIES 002 – PAIN AND HURT CAUSED BY INNER VOWS
“Do not swear at all …..Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and ‘No ‘, anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:34, 37 NIV
“Come now, you who say , “Today or Tommorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills we shall live and also do this or that .” But as it is , you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:13 – 17)
WHAT ARE INNER VOWS ?
The promises or statements one makes as a result of the negative expectations he/she holds. It is an inner determination we make to ourselves normally at a young age to keep us from ever being hurt again. Because we normally make them early in life we often forget that we made them.
Biblically and spiritually an oath is a legally binding contract.
“Or if anyone, without thought, takes an oath to do evil or to do good, whatever he says without thought, with an oath, having no knowledge of what he is doing; when it becomes clear to him, he will be responsible for any of these things.” Leviticus 5:4 BBE
TESTIMONY
I come from a very musical family; both my father and mother are great singers. All my siblings Victor, George and Cynthia (now late) have beautiful voices. I am the odd one out. Interestingly as a child I remember singing and leading my family in worship songs. An incident occurred when I was about twelve or thirteen years. My younger brothers and I were actively involved in our local church musical group. We were so excited about the group and actively engaged in composing songs and singing. There was one particular song that I contributed immensely to its composition and really wanted to be the lead singer. While practicing I insisted on leading it. Others also wanted to be the lead singers. As I child I thought I was best placed to lead it, being the oldest and having contributed more to composing it. However the group thought that my leading the song was terrible. I was so hurt especially when my own brothers made fun of my singing. I quietly said to myself “I will never sing again or lead a song”. From that moment I lost all interest in singing. In high school I had to take music as a subject. I hated it. Amazingly I still used to be the top of my music theory class. When I got to form three I dropped the subject I really hated. I had lost my ability and to sing, because of the inner vow I had made never to sing. This became a big challenge when I got involved in active Christian ministry where I was required to sing from time to time. Singing became a big handicap for me. I thank God for the continued work of the Holy Spirit today my singing has improved greatly and I love to worship the Lord in song. However I still rely heavily on my wife Nancy and other anointed servants of God to lead worship at our church. That is a simple illustration how an inner vow can drastically affect your personality.
We use inner vows as type of personal fortress or stronghold where our emotions can be safe from ever being hurt again. The inner vows we make protect us from pain, but they are harmful in the long run and can hinder us from reaching our full potential in life.
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”. 2COR 10:4 KJV
Scriptures says guard your hearts (Prov 4:23). But we are to do this by God’s strength and motives not our own. When we depend on our own strength and flesh to protect us using the vows we have made internally, we idolize our own abilities instead on depending on God and that is a form of Idolatry. We normally make inner vows beginning with the following words, “I will,” “I won’t “, “I will never”, “I will always”. This words indicate self-determination, pushing “SELF”, onto the Centre stage of your life and decisions while , God is pushed into the background.
Case Study: Susan (not her real name) came for counseling. By any standards Susan is a beautiful successful African lady. She is a senior nurse at the county referral hospital. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in nursing. She is actively involved in her local church choir. She provides comfortable living for her aging mum and supports most of her nephews and nieces with their schooling expenses. Apart from her work at the hospital , Susan and her younger sister have set up a successful hair salon in the upmarket part of the town.
In spite of being one of the few success story in this part of the world. Susan is struggling with a serious problem. Next November, Susan will turn 48. By African standards, Susan is fairly late for marriage. The pressure is piling on Susan to get married. Some of her maternal aunts have even schemed for her to get married as a second wife (polygamy in Africa is accepted under customary law). They consider this delay a shame or a curse in their family.
Susan desires to get married to a good serious Christian man, in a proper Christian marriage. She just does not understand what the problem is. She began dating at twenty eight years and has been in about a dozen relationships. Most of her past relationships began well and a few got to the level of engagement. Unfortunately they all seem to break at some point for unexplained reasons. She simply loses interest or the gentleman loses interest. It has simply been difficult for her to get into a relationship that can lead to marriage. Initially she excused herself for being busy creating the career she desired. Now that she is more settled and stable she still has the same problem.
When Nancy and I took her through counseling we began to understand the genesis of the problem. When Susan was 7yrs old, her father left Susan’s mum for another woman. Susan’s mum was left to take care of Susan and her two older brothers. Susan watched the pain and struggle her mother went through to bring them up alone. She felt the pain of rejection. As a child she somehow blamed herself for her father living them. Susan at that tender age made a decision.
“ Men are unreliable , I will take care of everything myself”. Over the years , she simply forgot the inner vow she made and moved on to be successful , fuelled by this inner vow. However the same vow that made her to excel and succeed in life also haunted her in the area of marriage.
Common inner vows we make at an early age.
I will never cry again
I will never sing
I will always be strong
I will never open up again
I will never get angry
I will never trust men again
I will never trust women again
I will do everything perfectly

The children also made vows that caused them pain and harm. Numbers 14:2 “ All the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron. Then the entire assembly responded, “We wish that we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness.” The children of Israel had confessed again and again that they were going to die in the wilderness. They expected to die. They said they would die and sure enough, God said “I am going to give exactly what you are believing for and confessing. You will die in the wilderness.”

How To differentiate the different stronghold that affect our spiritual hygiene
A foundational lie is what we believe
A Bitter root judgment is how we judge
A bitter root /negative expectancy is what we expect
An Inner Vow is a promise to protect oneself from further hurt
Soul tie when you enter into a covenant with another person
Generational sins and curses sin energy passed on from one generation to another through the family line
Trauma leaves negative pictures that produce sin energy or demonic energy.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INNER VOW
Inner vows are common to most people. We use it as a defense mechanism to avoid future hurt and shame.
Inner vows are mostly unspoken and appear like a vivid thought in your mind. However sometimes they are consciously spoken in an audible voice.
Inner vows are strong and they command us to think, act and feel only as they instruct us.
They get ingrained into our characters and personalities and take a life of their own. They begin to produce bitter fruits in our lives.
True sincere repentance is the only remedy. The effects of inner vows cannot simply disapper when we receive Jesus. We must identify the sin and specifically repent to destroy their effects in our lives.

We have all made many inner vows of varying intensity and tenacity. There are good and helpful vows as well as destructive ones. Even the good vows need to be dealt with at the cross of Calvary and released so that we are not lead by the flesh , but by the Spirit. Inner vows act in our lives as a software programme does in a computer. The software installed in the computer determines the functionality of the computer. The computer cannot simply execute functions not installed in its software. Inner vows act in the same in the same way in our lives. We get ourselves doing the same undesirable actions we would like to change. Until the “software”(inner vow) is upgraded or changed we simply remain the same.

Our habit provide a platform for our inner vows to function
It is through our habits that we fulfill the programmes designed by our inner vows. Hence as we repent of the inner vows it is also proper we repent the habits that are associated with them. An inner vow to withdraw might be fulfilled through spending a lot of time on your phone or T.V, isolating from others, or refusing to talk. An inner vow to not feel , might be fulfilled through addictions, denial or avoiding relationships. When you repent of the inner vows you remove the power of sowing and reaping. Therefore some habits disappear immediately own their own. In some instances you must deliberately dismantle through repentance the bitter fruits caused by the inner vow. You must also establish new disciplines especially in cases of addictions.

QUESTION:- ARE ALL INNER VOWS WE MAKE TO OURSELVES EVIL?
ABOSLUTELY NOT. A righteous resolution is a pure desire to do what is right, empowered by grace.
I will be a loving mom unlike my mom
I will never drink or smoke like my step dad
Nevertheless an inner vows are motivated by bitterness and self-protection. Therefore even one that seems righteous can coerce to act in a way that is not righteous.
An inner vow to always be gentle might coerce us to be gentle even when God calls us to be stern.
An inner vow to always be “honest” might coerce us to be abrupt even when we should be tactful.
“GOOD INNER VOWS CAN BACKFIRE”
CASE STUDY: – Mark’s late father was a proud polygamous African man. In his generation polygamy was regarded as a sign of wealth, prosperity and honour. Although Mark and his siblings considered their childhood blissful in thier large extended polygamous family. He also related well with his three step mothers and their children in their large home in the village. Mark had many questions about polygamy. He could not help, but notice the absence of his father for long periods of time. His father had to share his time and attention amongst his four wives and twenty three children. It is no wonder that Mark would not have a reasonable conversation with his father for several months at a time. The wives and the children all squabbled and fought for their husband and fathers attention. At his father’s deathbed, Mark had developed “steel in his veins”, and did not care any more about his relationship with his father. All he cared about was his hurting mother who was despised by her co-wives. Being the third wife she was considered a home wrecker. Mark made up his mind and internally declared “I will never be polygamous like my father”. He made this decision out of the pain he and his mother had experienced in their family. Several years later Mark married Emily in a large well attended wedding. The first seven years of their marriage were amazing and Mark was a loving father to his son and daughter. He loved his wife and gave her a lot of attention. Then out of the blues Mark found himself cheating on his wife with the secretary at the office. He was remorseful for his terrible action and purposed to change, by becoming more religious and attending church regularly. Unfortunately the negative habit persisted. He soon found himself with a string of mistresses all depending on him and some bearing his children. By the time he got counsel it was too late. He wife wanted nothing, but a divorce. What happened? Mark’s good inner vow not to be polygamous had backfired. It had put him in a worse place compared to His father.
When we bitterly vow never to do evil, it works in reverse. Eg “I will never be angry, like my mom”, can actually cause a person to become angry.
“I ‘ll never cheat on my wife, like Dad,” can predispose a person towards cheating on his / her spouse.
Reasons for this results :- Bitter Root Judgment and Expectations;- we become like those we judge :- Resentment cannot produce a righteous deed

We must die to all inner vows, “good or bad, so that righteousness is by God’s grace and not by our striving.
Gal 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit , are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Prescription for healing of Soul and Spirit from the Negative effects of inner vows:- Recognize the inner vows you made, a good starting point is identifying the pain or hurt that motivated the inner vow. Many inner vows are not made at any one moment, but are formed over time. Many inner vows were not put into words, but are revealed by your actions. You can see the evidence in the fruit. The next step is repentance. Pray and renounce the inner vow. Forgive all those who tempted you to make the inner vow. Nail the inner vow to the Cross of Calvary and reckon that it is dead. Bless those who wronged you and you wronged and declare victory and a new beginning.
NB:- The ideal situation is to find a Trained Christian Prayer Counselor to guide you through the process.
You are not able to access prayer counselor use the guide above and let the Holy Spirit lead you. You can also pray using the guide below.

PRAYER ABOUT INNER VOWS
Put word to the vow as specifically as possible.
Lord, I renounce this strong promise I made to myself. I ask you to break its power in my life, that my spirit and my body not remember it. Set me free to be restored to your original design for me. Please lift out of my life the requirement to fill, think, and act according to this vow.
Lord, this has been a defense, a hiding place to keep myself from being hurt; it has become my very own homemade armour. I know that this homemade protection blocks out the love, warmth and nature I long for. I come to you because I am powerless to change. Come into my life and dismantled this vow. I want You to be my defense. Lord, help me become vulnerable, able to risk love. Father, I forgive _________ (the people who wounded me and tempted me to make this vow and hardened my heart)
As a set of my will and my heart, I choose this day to let You take down my walls of isolation and connect me to the others within my family and your body, but in a way that honours and builds up rather than crushes and tears down. I declare this regardless of the storm of emotion or the absence of emotions. I give You the loaves and fishes of my trust – I trust Your timing and sequencing of events with as much trust as I have. Lord mend my trust in You. I know that peoples love is not always trustworthy. But for those times when it was, forgive me, Jesus for not trusting the love offered me by ____________ ( my spouse, children, fellow Christians). I ask You to bring people into my life who know how to love unconditionally and still have the courage to hold me accountable. Amen.

Compiled by Pst Willy Ochieng
Primary Resources : The transformation of the inner man by John & Paula Sanford