Thread by @GbengaWemimo

Growing up in the church, he used to wonder why "Thus says the Lord" was conspicuously absent during worship services
The term "Thus says the Lord!" was how his mother, who was born a Muslim but converted to Christianity in 1979 at CAC Agbala Itura used to describe the prophetic!

His father was a fourth-generation churchgoer whose gospel wasn't powerful enough to bring his mother to Christ
His mother came to Christ because she was at home one afternoon when a street preacher said "Thus says the Lord, there is a woman in this neighborhood, a Muslim

from Ogun State. You have three daughters and you are trusting God for a son. The doctors have told you to give up on having children because of the complications that you experienced when having your last child. The Holy Spirit says to tell you that He will heal your womb and

give you "a son and a son" if you will come to the three days revival I am organizing at Onipepeye area from so and so date to so and so date"
His mother said she had chills in her bones as she listened to that message
She was barely holding on to her home at the time because of

the family pressure she was facing over her inability to provide his father with a son
She went for the crusade
She gave her life to Jesus on the first day
While she was praying on the revival ground on the second day, a child walked up to her and embraced her as if she was

his mother
She opened her eyes to look at the child and then the child walked briskly away
A few minutes later, the Holy Spirit said "I am giving you double, a son and a son!"
She said at the time she thought God meant she would have a set of twins
Nine months after the revival

his mother gave birth to him
Two years later his mother had another son
Then she understood what the statement "A boy and a bit meant" but she couldn't stay in that church because of his father
She wanted him to start going to church and he insisted it had to be his old church

After much talk and arguments, his mother agreed to his father's terms
She really wanted his entire household to be working and active for God
His mother chose to leave the "Thus says the Lord" church in order to encourage his father's return to the faith
That was how the family

ended up in the old church
His mother said she learned how to read the Bible in the old church and she also learned many things about the Christian faith but she missed the supernatural
She would say "There is no Thus says the Lord in that church"
All they do is by the flesh and

doctrine
They cannot walk by the power of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual gifts
All they do is preach the logos
It was very frustrating for his mother
At a point, she began to sneak to the "Thus says the Lord" churches during the week, especially whenever she needed clarity on

certain life issues
It was at such a meeting that she got the message about her first daughter's marriage and everything worked out as prophesied
She never joked with the supernatural
One day, as he was growing up, he went to see the Reverend of their church and asked him why

"Thus says the Lord was missing in the denomination"
The reverend doctor told him the prophetic is subject to too much uncertainty and manipulations in the hand of carnal men
He said "Somebody may not like another person and declare such a person a witch just for that reason. He

said he saw a pastor's wife who went into a supposed trance and declared that a certain lady she believed had caught the eyes of her husband was a member of the marine kingdom who was sent to pull her husband down in ministry"
The lady was sent away from the church
The pastor's

wife admitted she did what she did in order to secure her home
The reverend also mentioned examples in advanced countries where a lady said God told her a certain man was her husband
The man was married but the lady insisted she heard from God
The lady went to get a wedding gown

and chose a date for the wedding
She said she was so sure it was God's will
Her action caused so much unrest in the body of Christ and made a laughingstock out of the church for many years
Visions, prophecies & their likes are too prone to manipulations for stability and growth

The reverend told him several families were basically torn to shreds because someone who claimed to be spiritual started giving prophecies and word of knowledge without any recourse to consequences. Husbands were told they married the wrong woman and wives were snatched by greedy

men all under the disguise of walking in the supernatural
He heard so much that he came to distrust the supernatural
He came to see it as unstable and volatile, a dangerous path that men of reason shouldn't tred
Then he had had a girlfriend whose church was very diabolic
They met

in the neighborhood
His friendship with this lady opened his eyes to so many things that so-called "spiritual people" can do by the spirit
He witnessed for example the case of a man whose friend was working in Germany
His friend sent some cars to Nigeria through him
The deal was

for the friend in Nigeria to sell the cars, take out his commission and send the rest to the family of the friend in Germany that are also in Nigeria.
The friend in Nigeria sold the cars and kept all the money
The friend in Germany returned to Nigeria that December & informed the

police of the evil his friend did
The friend in Nigeria heard that his friend in Germany had returned to Nigeria and was planning to arrest him
The friend in Nigeria ran to this church
The prophetess went into the spirit and told him to get some materials
He got them and some

"spiritual" things were done for him
The next day, the friend from Germany arrived with the police officers and totally lost his mind
He was just laughing sheepishly at the sight of the friend that defrauded him
The police officers and his wife tried to talk some sense to him

but it fell on deaf ears
He returned home with his wife and the police officers
They were unable to arrest or even accuse him of his wrong doing
He saw everything and it left a bitter taste in his mouth
"What sort of God defends the unjust?"
He also saw drug barons and fraudsters

visiting that church and getting all sorts of consultation by the "spirit"
They were given a date and time to travel with their drugs and special spiritual clothes were sown for them to sleep in and commit their frauds in.
These guys always return to the church in big cars for

thanksgiving service every first Sunday of the month.
He spent seven years in that church with his girlfriend and he saw a lot of things
Strange things that he knew couldn't be from the God of the Bible he was brought up with
After breaking up with his girlfriend , he went back

to his previous denomination
He kept wondering if there was no positive side of the Holy Spirit that was as potent and real as the one he saw in the demonic church
His denomination was still lifeless and he found himself choking in the lifeless religion they were practicing...

That was when he met the Holy Spirit
He didn't have to do trial by error or learning by conjecture
He met the Holy Spirit and he began to learn his ways
The Holy Spirit was a meticulous teacher
One of the first things the Holy Spirit taught him was not to use his senses to

decode spiritual things
The second was to speak less and be moved more
The Holy Spirit said "Many ministers stumble in words in the place of ministering because they do not pay attention to the person of Jesus, study him"
He did
He studied Jesus and King David
He studied the

apostles too
When it comes to dealing with evil spirits he knows he didn't need mush words
And when it comes to giving counsel, he knows he must not leave room for misinterpretation
Good intention is not good enough when ministering to God's people,it has to be by the spirit only

When the Holy Spirit has not spoken, don't be hasty like King Saul who was looking at physical signs and decided to offer a sacrifice he ought not to offer. And when he speaks do not delay.
Remember that be builds, equips, and edifies
He does not tear down or condemn
It was sheer

joy
His walk with the Holy Spirit
Never was he quoted by anyone or any family that he accused people of witchcraft or manipulated human relationships
He had a stellar reputation in his ministrations because he did everything as taught and led by the spirit
Too many words is a no!

When he met possessed people, he casts out the demon
There was no need to start announcing that someone is a witch or another is an ogbanje
Jesus didn't do that
If you cast out a spirit and it proved too stubborn for you, go back home, fast and pray and return to cast it out

Don't label anybody in the church of God
Where else was a possessed person supposed to go for deliverance?
When you give a word of prophecy, it must be judged or you must explain it clearly leaving no room for ambiguity
It is very easy for people to misinterpret spiritual things

Finally, the goal of the fruits and gifts of the spirit is to equip and edify the church
If you notice you have any motive apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit, please keep quiet.
Dont give prophecies to someone based on your feelings for them
When in doubt, shut your mouth!

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