“But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way”(KJV). I urge the children of this ministry to know the vision, being ready to answer for your faith, to be submissive to God, the Apostle and leadership.
Know the presence of and depend on the Spirit, pray like you know you will die today, give as much as possible (or even “as impossible”!), plan with preciseness and do things right. However, if we do all this without love it amounts to a heap of dung: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing”
By Bishop Pride Sibiya
By Bishop Pride Sibiya
Moving The Church To The Next Level: Love One Another |
(1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Charity is the deep love for others that moves you to offer self and assist. Love and unity are pillars of the Church and all commandments are summed up in one commandment : Love.
Love is a strong desire, strong wish towards another or something. It means affection for, to adore, or to care for. There are different kinds of love, for example the love for your parents differs from compassionate love you feel for an unknown destitute, which differs from the sensual love you have for your spouse and so on. So the phrase “I love you” is a heavily loaded one and has been used and abused cross-culturally. I think it is actually one of the most important phrase ever used on earth, don’t you. In this chapter I will allude to all the kinds of love but will mostly discuss love in general, making use of the agape principle of unconditional love.
Believers should love their fellow believers and the world will know we truly belong to Jesus for God is Love. We love, simply because a person is God’s image, though the person is “unlovable”, socially irrelevant, boring or even spreading rumours about you. I still love the people who, spiritually, were responsible for my father’s death, the late, adorable papa Stanley Sibiya. This is agape kind of love. We do not love because of a person’s social status, financial standing, educational achievements, gifting and others. I ask myself, “do people love me because I am God’s child or only because God has gifted me?” I know that some follow me that I may prophesy to them or enhance their status.
This is being egocentric and selfish and is not good. It’s like men who think that a woman is a sexual object created to just gratify their sensual pleasures. Women need love and all of us do. Spiritual, professional or even physical gifts indeed make a way for a person’s greatness but this should not be the basis of our loving that person. A person should be loved simply because munhu chete, ngumuntu kuphela (he/she is a person)! If we understand this we will have no problem loving the poor, sick, those who hate us and even the prostitutes, witches and Satanists. Jesus loved them and still does, so why should you be any different. This will avoid classes in the Church of God and in the community.
In a dream God taught me to love the “unlovable” by giving me sick and totally insane people to love and embrace. This is what ministry is all about. Many think that ministry is about praying for people and seeing them fall, under the power of God. I think this is wonderful and ask God that my ministry be accompanied by such but we are more than just this. We are an extension of God’s arm of love to the world and Church. People need love. They are members in Churches, have exciting preachers, gifted prophets, are married, have friends but still are unloved. If you genuinely love people they will appreciate it and you will restore their self-confidence.
In a dream God taught me to love the “unlovable” by giving me sick and totally insane people to love and embrace. This is what ministry is all about. Many think that ministry is about praying for people and seeing them fall, under the power of God. I think this is wonderful and ask God that my ministry be accompanied by such but we are more than just this. We are an extension of God’s arm of love to the world and Church. People need love. They are members in Churches, have exciting preachers, gifted prophets, are married, have friends but still are unloved. If you genuinely love people they will appreciate it and you will restore their self-confidence.
People will go where there is love because they feel comfortable in safe hands and know “I belong here.” Signs and wonders, healings, miracles, great preaching draw people to our church but it is only a sense of personal security, love and being appreciated that will make people stay. When a “powerful” preacher comes to town, people will run from their church and follow that preacher. However if there was love at their former church they will soon realize that the preacher does not have genuine love and flock back to their original church. This has happened often to the church that I pastor. I hope by now you have realized that Apostle loves you. If not let me reiterate this, apostle loves you! Just do me a favour of passing that same love to your neighbour. Greet people in Church, smile at them, appreciate them and thank them even for very small things.
However, love is not love until it becomes an act. Give away your love and move to “faith in action”. We have to perform acts of love to those in need. Preaching is one way and the most important of all but there is more to it. Remember that according to James 2:14: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man says he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
However, love is not love until it becomes an act. Give away your love and move to “faith in action”. We have to perform acts of love to those in need. Preaching is one way and the most important of all but there is more to it. Remember that according to James 2:14: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man says he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Practical help is needed in our society where H.I.V/ A.I.D.S is wreaking havoc, children are being raped, and hospitals are full of sick people, jail-houses are full, we have widows and orphans, we have street kids, the poor. Love should also be directed to the rich and famous very much also, the healthy, the married and others because a person may have all material things and still feel unloved and with no self- worth. The celebrities know that people admire them for their prowess and talent not based on genuine love as we defined before in this chapter. The day they realize they are headed for paralysis or have a disabling or chronic condition they will sink into serious depression. If anyone has no self –worth, no confidence, they feel they are a failure hence feel unloved by all people and that is why people kill themselves. We must stop this by the unstoppable power of, and the unquenchable fire of love.
Love will break even the hardest heart into pieces. Kana uchida kukunda munhu, mude! Help people even from out of our church and non- Christians (though first preference is to Glory Ministries’ members). Even if a witch-doctor has lost a child go to funeral. Bless your enemies because God also loves them, God is love and will not change eternally (1 John 4:8, 11, 20). This is why you must understand that when you get angry with someone it does not mean God is angry automatically, so do not just go about cursing people because you are a believer of Christ. God loves all people even those that hate you, and Him, and His loving arms are still open to them all. We should maintain such love as the kind of love the Father has bestowed upon us: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…” (1 John 3:1)
So, in this church, I encourage you to love your father and family, your pastors, leadership, and love one another. Love your God, family, relatives, friends and your Church, unbelievers and be an example to all people of Godly living. Also love your profession, pets and all. Above all, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 13:29-31) Love, love, love! This is the more excellent way.
Receive Jesus Christ today and go to church for spiritual fellowship.
Follow Apostle Pride Sibiya (Bishop: Glory Ministries) on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Periscope, WhatsApp, Google+, Instagram, Instaclips, and all social media.
Copyright: Brand Pride Sibiya (tempering with the article without permission of Brand is a criminal offense).
The views shared in this article may not necessarily be the same as those of the brand.
So, in this church, I encourage you to love your father and family, your pastors, leadership, and love one another. Love your God, family, relatives, friends and your Church, unbelievers and be an example to all people of Godly living. Also love your profession, pets and all. Above all, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 13:29-31) Love, love, love! This is the more excellent way.
Receive Jesus Christ today and go to church for spiritual fellowship.
Follow Apostle Pride Sibiya (Bishop: Glory Ministries) on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Periscope, WhatsApp, Google+, Instagram, Instaclips, and all social media.
Copyright: Brand Pride Sibiya (tempering with the article without permission of Brand is a criminal offense).
The views shared in this article may not necessarily be the same as those of the brand.