Month: June 2020

HEALING OF THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF MAN SERIES 003 – WRONG THINKING FORMULATED FROM FOUNDATIONAL LIES
“….I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6 “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” Psalm 51:6
FOUNDATIONAL LIES
WHAT IS A FOUNDATIONAL LIE ?
Another type of bitter root — a type of personal stronghold (2Cor 10:4); A message we believe about ourselves, others, God or life that does not agree with the truth of God’s Word, His character and His Nature.
About self : “I am stupid”, I don’t belong, I can’t be loved

Case Study : Matthew (not his real name ) was brought up by high performing African parents who had struggled to get an education and achieve middle class status in society through sheer determination. They had worked hard to break out of the poverty of their village by studying tediously and performing well in school. Matthews dad was a prominent city lawyer, while his mum was a senior government official. They had worked hard to provide for Matthew and his siblings a comfortable living in an otherwise difficult environment. They provided for their children the best education and expected them to perform exceptionally well. Matthews siblings met their parents expectations, however Matthew lacked interest in academics and his class performance was below average. He had well-built body and preferred soccer and the arts. His parents being ultra-high academic performers would from time to time lose patience with him and compare him with his siblings and once in a while lose their temper and burst out how slow or stupid he was compared to his siblings. By time Matthew was in high school he had a low self-esteem about himself and believed and felt he was a failure in life.

About others: “People can’t be trusted; Nobody cares; All white people are racists ; All black people are lazy”

Lydia was brought up in the eastern part of her tiny African Nation. She went to a nearby primary school and high school where most of the pupils and teachers were from her tribe. The other tribe in the western part of the country were quite different in their ways and customs from Lydia’s. She grew up hearing many stereotypes about the other tribe. She heard her parents, teachers and other community make negative comments about the other tribe. ‘They can’t be trusted’ ; ‘They are violent’ ; ‘They are lazy’; and Lydia believed what she was hearing. After high school Lydia qualified to join one of the national Teachers Training Colleges. She was excited about this opening , because her lifelong dream was to become a teacher. However there was challenge. The Teachers Training College was in the Western part of the nation. She wondered how she would cope with people of ‘the other’ tribe.’ Her first year in college was a difficult one. She kept mostly to herself or interacted with people from her tribe. She hated everthing about the college and felt home sick. Unfortunately this affected her performance and just barely passed her end year exam to qualify for the following year. This experience made her to make new resolutions for the following year and chose to be more positive about her new environment and to be more friendly and outgoing. That year they began a friendship with Philip who was also a final year student in the college and also from the western tribe. Initially the friendship was rocky and unstable, but they both became committed to the colleges Christian union and began to grow in their Christian faith they became inseparable. Amazingly after three years out of college they become married in a colorful Christian wedding and last year they celebrated their fifteenth wedding anniversary.They are blessed with three lovely children.

About life : “Life is meaningless; life is unfair; life is hard

Timothy’s father died when he was just four after contracting H.I.V Aids. He watched their unemployed mother struggle with them until he was ten, when she began to ail and finally succumbed to the same disease after just eight months due to lack of anti-viral drugs. Timothy and his younger sister were forced to move in with their maternal uncle who had promised to educate them. Unfortunately after just one year in the school, his uncle’s lost his job at the local factory and could no longer afford to have Timothy and his own children in school. Therefore Timothy was forced to remain behind and perform menial work in his uncle’s farm as his cousins went school. Timothy began to feel hopeless in life. He moved out of his uncle’s home at fifteen and survived on low paying jobs to make ends meet. He also became addicted to the local cheap brew. When Timothy came to church and gave his life to Christ he felt a sense of hopelessness. Even after giving his life to Christ he still felt that he would never recover the lost opportunities he once had. After a series of prayer and counseling with his pastor, Timothy began to have a positive outlook in life. He moved from just depending on menial work to earn a living and today he has a thriving cobbler business.

About God : “God is punishing , God is distant”

Shelly was born out of wedlock. Her mom was just in high school when she became pregnant and gave birth at home. Shelly’s strict grandfather was extremely disappointed with her only daughter. He felt that she had brought shame to the family name being a respected church elder. After Shelly’s mom gave birth, her dad quickly arranged for her to quickly move to her aunts home in a far county, while Shelly remained to be nursed with her grandmother. Shelly grew up with a sense of shame and feeling unwanted . Her grandfather was harsh and hardly spoke to her kindly. Later on in life she felt like she was being punished for her mother’s sins.

Our mind might know a truth while our heart believes the opposite. That is because, although thoughts are expressed by the mind, they begin in the heart. (watch out for our study of heart and mind)
“…..Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” Matthew 15:19, NAS
We may be tempted to act out a lie, in spite of what our minds tell us we should do.
If my heart believes the lie that nobody cares, that lie will tempt me not to share my heart even with persons my mind knows can be trusted.
It is not enough to just quote Bible verses or consciously decide to believe the truth. We need to repent of believing the lies, and put them to death on the cross in prayer.
Satan is the “father of lies”, John 8:44. Therefore, lies can be empowered by demons. Therefore Deliverance is sometimes needed. (watch out for our series on “Deliverance and Inner healing).
……LIES ABOUT SELF ARE SOME OF THE HARDEST TO GIVE UP.
FOUNDATIONAL LIES THAT SILENCE OUR SONG
“For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalms 139:13 – 16 NIV
“The Lord Your God is with You, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 NIV.

God created each one of us with our own “song”.
Our parents did not create our identity; we came with one: Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 NIV. The Hebrew says, literally, “ in his way” , meaning the natural bent of the child. Parents are to affirm and strengthen this.
Our parents did not create our destiny. God has preordained plan for us.
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NIV
Parents are to be God’s primary instruments to sing to us, through….
Blessing – calling forth identity, and confirming these truths over and over again, by singing our song
Making it easy to hear these truths, by providing laughter, light-hearted playfulness, affirmations, prayer, etc

As we hear our song sung over and over again, we begin to :
Choose to receive the truth of who we are
This enables us to walk in the works created beforehand (Ephesians 2:10).
We walk in personal authority, confident of our gifts and talents, ruling and reigning as Sons or Daughters of the King.
Know Him and allow ourselves to be known
If we given too few confirmations of God’s truth we may:
Be tempted to believe lies that deny our original design.
Take on a false identity. Temptation comes in the form of ;
Spoken lies about who we are “ Death and Life are in the power of the tongue”. Proverbs 18:21a NAS ; “You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless. Psalm 69:19- 20
Lack of Love – physical care, unconditional acceptance, “I love You”, praise and validation (not just for what we do, but for who we are), play, loving touch, protection.
Abandonment and rejection –
Not wanted from birth – abortion, abandonment,
Lack or loss of bonding (parents away from home;death;divorce)
Abuse
Emotional abuse: unfair punishment, painful silences, shaming for mistakes
Sexual abuse
Teasing and ridicule by peers
Bad things that happen to us
Not being allowed to express our true temperament
Lies taught or modeled from generation to generation
Cultural influences (Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world…
Lies the enemy tells us
Lies we tell ourselves – lies about self; others; life; or God
They gain power and become experiential when we :
Stay bitter towards parnts, God and /or self
Continue to respond this way to similar experiences throughout life
The deciding factor….. Even powerful lies can lose effect and begin to crumble when:
The home is filled with laughter, light-heartedness, playfulness and prayer
Affirmation is spoken; the child’s song is sung.
And….only if our hearts chooses to receive the affirmation and truth
When we are faced with the lack of these blessings, we can still receive them directly from God (Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” Psalms 27:10) though it can be very tempting to believe He is not there.
If we choose to believe a lie and stay bitter toward those who wounded us, the lie can become ingrained and woven into the very fabrics of our lives.
The lie becomes a three fold cord of agreement:
The person who tempted us to believe the lie
The enemy (a liar and the father of lies- John 8:44)
Us

HOW TO RECEIVE INNER HEALING FROM FOUNDATIONAL LIES
RECOGNIZE :- The lie you have believed about yourself, others, life or God.
REPENT :- Ask the Lord to forgive you for ways you have judged those who told the lies, yourself, for agreeing to believe the lie, break agreement with the father of lies
RELEASE forgiveness and blessing – to those who tempted you to believe the lie.
RECKON AS DEAD :- Pray to bring lies to death and revoke their power in your life. – the words spoken , the negative patterns and habits resulting from the lies.
RESURRECT :- reverse the lie according to the Word of God.
RECONCILE :- Change your attitude towards parents or others, self or life.

MOVING YOUR MARRIAGE FROM THE ROCKS TO THE ROCK SERIES 004 – A COVENANT RELATONSHIP
MARRIAGE A COVENANT RELATIONSHIP

LESSON OBJECTIVES :
Understand the power of a covenant in the spiritual realm
The marriage covenant means accepting God’s purpose for your marriage.
The marriage covenant means receiving your mate as a gift from God for your growth and perfection
The marriage covenant means “ leaving and cleaving”.
The marriage covenant means you allow nothing to divide or break the marriage

PROTECTING THE MARRIAGE COVENANT
QUESTION : What is a Covenant?
It is a binding and solemn agreement made by two or more individuals to do something.
A signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action.
An agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behaviour from them in return.
In relation to God, it is the promises of God to man as found in the Bible.
In a marriage , it is a binding commitment to each other to love each other to love each other and to remain together until one dies.
VARIOUS TYPES OF COVENANTS
Between God and Man
Our salvation is based on the covenant of God with man through Jesus (Heb 9:15).
Other Covenants God made with man include the Noahic covenant (Genesis 8:20 – 9:17), the Abrahamic covenant(Genesis 17:1 – 11), the Mosaic covenant( Genesis 19 -24:18) , the Davidic covenant(1 Chronicles 17:11 – 14) and the new covenant through Christ Jesus.
God will keep His covenant no matter what the circumstances (Is 54:10).
God enables man to keep the covenant ( 2 Cor 3:4 – 6)
Between man and man
They were to bind men together
Example of David and Jonathan (1 Sam 18 : 1-4)

Between husband and wife (Mal 2:14 – 15)
LIVING GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR MARRIAGE
Provide an atmosphere of love and security. Ephesians 5:28 – 29 “In the same way , husbands ought to love their wives as they love their bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the Church.
Teaches us to be servants Ephesians 5:22 “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” – Both parties must submit to each other for the success of the marriage.
Helps us learn to share and give
Produce godly offspring
Become the building block of the Church and Society
SELFISH PURPOSES FOR GETTING INTO MARRIAGE
To obtain financial security.
To get away from parental authority
To feel important
To merely satisfy sexual lust

RECEIVING YOUR MATE
Adam received Eve as a Gift from God (Gen 2:18 – 23) “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “ At last !” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman’ because she was taken from ‘man’.
How to Receive your mate
Accept your mate with his/her flaws. None of Us is perfect. You are NOT perfect yourself. In fact the marriage is God’s tool to perfect both of You.
Realize the basis of acceptance is trust in God. Trust is the ‘glue’ that holds the marriage together.
Do not try to change your mate into your ‘image’. Listen, “You can’t change your spouse, only God can.”
Do not compare your mate with others.
Do not criticize your mate
Be more sensitive to your mate’s needs than your own.

“LEAVING AND CLEAVING” ( GEN 2:24 – 25)
“This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Leaving means the relationship with the parents is changed.
You are still to honour your father and mother, but are not under obligation to obey them.
You are not to abandon your parents. (1 Tim 5:8) “But those who won’t care for their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers”.
Leaving does not mean you are to depart from the area where your parents live or that you are not to seek their advice.
You enter into an adult relationship with your parents.
You consider your mates needs and opinions before your parents.
Your mate becomes the main person you try to please (1 Cor 7:33 -34) and not your parents.
You forgive any past hurts from your parents so you will not be bound and driven by the wounds in the future.
“Cleaving “ means to be Joined Together and Faithful to One Another.
Cleaving involves the physical , sexual union (1 Cor 6:16)
Cleaving stress the permanent bond of the marriage.
Cleaving also includes the unity emotionally and spiritually.
Adam and Eve were one before the fall (Gen 2:25)
Sin brought about man’s of himself and hindered his being transparent with his wife.
You need Jesus to make you one as a couple.
MARRIAGE THE PERMANENT SEAL
Marriage is an irrevocable, Permanent Bond (Pr 2:17)
God is a witness to the marriage union and covenant (Mal 2:14) “ You cry out, “Why doesn’t the lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.”
Divorce between believers is wrong (1Cor 7:10 – 11) “But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
Honor the Covenant Vows You Made to Each Other
You made an unconditional commitment to your mate, that nothing but death would separate you.
You committed to be one “flesh” with your mate.
You agreed to “cleave” only to your spouse.
You promised to fulfill your roles in the marriage.
You said you would put your mate’s needs before your own.
LET NO MAN PUT ASUNDER OR DIVIDE THE UNION – RUTH 1:16 – “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you: for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge, Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION SERIES -004 IS THERE A DEVIL?
Many are fearful of him and are not ready to mention even his name. Some deny or ignore his existence. Others believe that he is not as bad has been claimed and are ready to make pacts with him, so that they can benefit for him, financially, politically, socially or otherwise.
He has been honored in art and has even a Museum dedicated to him in Kaunas Lithuania (Zmuidzinavicius Museum)
Wikipedia describes the devil as the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions.
EXPLORING HOW DIFFERENT FAITHS PERCIVE THE DEVIL
BAHAI FAITH
The Baha’i faith does not believe that a superhuman being or spirit entity such as a devil or Satan exists. However the term Satan appears in the Baha’i writings, but is only used as a metaphor for the lower, evil nature of man.
ISLAMIC FAITH
In Islam, the principle of evil is expressed by two terms referring to the same entity Shaitan {meaning astray, distant or devil} and Iblis. The Quranic narrative about the creation story; When God created Adam, he ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. All did, but Iblis refused and claimed to be superior to Adam. Therefore Iblis was condemned to hell, but God granted him a request to lead humanity astray, knowing the righteous will resist Iblis attempts to misguide them. Like Christianity, Iblis was once a pious creature of God, but later cast out of Heaven, due to his pride. Unlike Christianity, the devil did not rebel against God, but humanity. He plays a less significant role as the personification of evil compared to Christianity; he is merely a tempter, inciting humans into sin.
HINDUISM
The earliest Hindu texts do not offer further explanations for evil, regarding evil as something natural. However later texts offer various explanations for evil. According to an explanation given by the Brahmins, both demons and gods spoke truth and untruth, but the demons relinquished the truth and the gods relinquished the untruth. But both spirits are regarded as different aspects of one supreme god. Even some fierce deities like Kali are not thought of as devils but just as darker aspects of god and may even manifest benevolence.
JUDAISM
Yahweh the God of Judaism created both good and evil, Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” In the first chapter of the book of Job, the devil appears with other angels in the presence of God. The scriptures refer to them as the sons of God.

The Biblical account of the Story of Lucifer / Satan:
God created wonderful things even before He created the heavens and the earth. He created angels who are spiritual beings whose purpose was to do the will of God.

Angels we created to worship God and to serve Him for all eternity. Rev 5: 11 -14 : Then I looked again and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders . And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped the Lamb.

Then one of the arch-angels Lucifer rebelled against God. He wanted to be above the throne of God. He rebelled with a third of the angels God threw them out of heaven. REV 12:4 His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.
Lucifer after his expulsion from heaven was separated from the Glory of God and became known as Satan. He lost the glory he initially had.

Ezekiel 28: 11 – 17 – Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign lord: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone – red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx , green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald – all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold, They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.
Lucifer was filled with evil and darkness. The angels who joined in the rebellion also lost their glory , and became demonic powers and powers of darkness in the world.

MAN’S MAJOR ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEVIL THAT CHANGED THE CAUSE OF HISTORY
After God created the world he created man and gave him the authority to have dominion over the earth. Genesis 1:27 – 28: So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground.

God planted a garden for man and gave him the responsibility to care for the garden. Gen 2:15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. God created the woman to be a companion and helpmate to the man. Gen 2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and brought her to the man.

The devil appeared to the woman in the form of a snake and tricked her to disobey God, she later convinced her husband to do the same and in the process they lost their authority they been given to the devil. Their disobedience also attracted a curse in the earth.

Only through Jesus Christ also called the second Adam was this authority restored back to man through His death and resurrection.

SHOULD CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS BE FEARFUL OF THE DEVIL TODAY
The bible warns us to be aware of the schemes of the devil. 1 Peter 5: 6 – 11 “ So humble yourself under the power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen. The word encourages us to depend on God’s power to defeat the devil and not to worry or be fearful so long as we are in Christ. The word of God alerts us that the devil is still active and looking for opportunity to attack believers. We are admonished to be strong in our faith and in the end God will give us victory in spite of the spiritual battles each believer must face against the devil and his army of demons. Ephesians 6:10 – 20 Outlines how a believer must engage and battle with devil and the spiritual tools God has provided for us to overcome the enemies attack. ( Also read and watch my sermon The war we must each fight here on our website and You Tube Channel – https://busialighthousechurch.cw.center/ or t.me/busialighthousechurch ). Therefore Although the Devil possess a limited amount of power , God’s power and might is incomparable . Hence the Christian believer does not need to be fearful. 1 John 4:4 “You dear children , are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

IS A PACT WITH THE DEVIL WORTH IT?

A few years ago, a young man walked into the church compound where I was the resident Pastor. It was after our Sunday Service and church members were streaming out of the church compound. The young man was welcomed into the church with the church caretaker and from a distance I could see them engaged in brief conversation. Suddenly I noticed the caretaker facial expression turn to that of serious concern and near panic. I then saw him usher the young man towards where I was standing and chatting with other church members. We he got to where I was he stated with a shaky voice “Pastor you need to see this young man immediately in the privacy of your office”. I then excused myself from the group I was with and the three of us went into the church office. The young man went straight to the point, “Pastor I am looking for a church where they worship the devil.” I was utterly shocked by that statement and I asked him if I had heard him correctly. He repeated “Yes, I am looking for I church where they worship the devil.” “Why then have you come here? Here we worship the living God.” I asked and stated. He said he had come from a long way and a stranger had given him directions to our church. I finally asked him why he would like to worship the devil. He told me that he had been a Christian previously and also converted to Islam, but being an orphan was not able to pay his school fees. He felt that both Christianity and Islam had disappointed him and now he was ready to make a pact with the devil. I could feel his pain and disappointment, I empathized with him, but I told him he had making a big mistake because of his disappointment. I told him that there were no free gifts from the devil; whatever he received he would have to pay with his very life. I invited him to receive Christ as his lord and savior. I told him that together we could pray and ask God to open a door for his schooling again. Fortunately he accepted the Lord as his savior and I prayed for the Lord to provide resources for his schooling. We have never met again, but I believe God answered our prayer of agreement. John 10:10 Summaries the mission of the devil on the earth and that of Christ. Devil’s work on earth is to steal, kill and destroy, while Jesus Christ mission is give humanity a rich and satisfying life here on earth and throughout eternity. Choose to make a pact a covenant with Jesus Christ Today.

Written By
Pst. Willy Ochieng
BUSIA LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH