IDOL WORSHIP

Idol worship is one among many sins which has made God to either destroy his people or allow them to be taken into captive.

WHAT EXACTLY IS IDOLATRY?

The book of Exodus 20 V3-4 The bible says; you shall not have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of ANYTHING in heaven above or on the earth benearth or in the waters below.

The book of Colossians 3 V5 the second part says; dont be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

An idol is therefore ANYTHING which can be valued more than God.

IDOLATRY PROVOKES GOD TO ANGER

God wants us for himself, the worshiping of idols makes people ignore him and worse still people use God's resources to sacrifice to these idols.
Ezekiel 16:16 say; you used the lovely things i gave you to make shrines for idols, and jumping to verse 17 it continues to says; you took the jewels and gold and silver ornaments i had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them.
He further says in the same book that people give expensive gifts to these worthless gods yet the poor and the needy are suffering at their doors. He likens this conduct to the behaviour of unfaithful wives who  pays to commit adultery with other men. She uses her husbands wealth to give to her lovers.

IDOLATRY HINDERS PRAYERS

James 4v3-4; and even when you ask. you dont get it because your motives are all wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure. Verse4; you adulterers!(those who devote to many gods) Dont you realise that friendship with the world makes you an enemy with God?
These passages enright us that our prayers can be hindered if we begin to trust in other things  other than God himself. The other reason for unanswered prayers in this context is that God knows we will misuse his resources, using them to satisfy our desires than worshiping him with those substances. Therefore if God gives us what we want, we will use it to sacrifice to idols, using the same things he gave us to provoke him.

What do we do to get our prayers answered then?
Perhaps we should change our motives, get the right motives which are inline with God's will. Check his requirements and do everything right.

DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 6v4-6 explaining it without quoting it, the bible is saying that God will destroy these idolaters infront of their idols to see if they can save them. He continues to warn that he will even proceed to destroy their gods.

Let us all worship God alone not our gadgets, cars, job, education,musicians,our heros, etc
These things are good but we make them idols when we devote our time to them more than our God.

THE SHEPHERDS

The message about the birth of Jesus came in different ways in Bethlehem. Herod got it from the wise men who came from the East. The wise men saw the star which indicated the birth of  messiah.

The message was specially delivered to the shepherds through God's angels.

The bible says in the book of Luke 2v3 that the shepherds received the message from the angels of the Lord, who appeared to them in their fields.
If you could put these three groups of people who received the message in a hierarchy, you could end up in this order; Herod, the wise(Astronauts), the shepherds.Meaning that the shepherds belongs to the lower class according to human understanding. However God viewed them in a different way, in his eyes they were as important as everyone else.

God's favour rests upon everyone,
we are all precious in the eyes of God,
God uses a different criteria in recognising us,
its not our skin colour,
its not our origin,where we came from,
its not our class or education.
infact he extends his invitation to everyone
starting from the king to the slave,
he wants us all to be partakers of his kingdom.

Merry xmas !!!!

LEARN FROM KING HEZEKIAH

2 kings 18 v1-5

King Hezekiah was the king of Judah who ruled for twenty-nine years. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.

ASSYRIANS INVASIONS
2 Kings 18&19, Isaiah 36,37
There came a time when the king of Assyria came to attack Judah. Hezekiah tried to make peace by settling the king of Assyria with gold and silver. Nevertheless the Assyrian king sent his commander-in-chief to confront Hezekiah in Jerusalem. After failing to meet Hezekiah, they started shouting insults at the officials who came to meet them, they boasted about their military skill and strength, they went on to say that no one can save the people of Judah not even the God of Israel.

HEZEKIAH PRAYED TO GOD
The king of Assyria sent a threatening letter to Hezekiah, telling him that he should not trust in the Lord, the God of Israel. He said in his letter that he had managed to destroy many nations before who trusted in their gods.
Upon receiving the insulting letter, Hezekiah went up to the Lord's Temple and spread it before the Lord. He wanted God to see Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God.
The lord answered through prophet Isaiah that Sennacherib's army will not enter Jerusalem and they will not even shoot an arrow at it. That same night the angel of the Lord went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers and Sennacherib was killed by his own two sons.

We may seem vurnerable in the eyes of the enemy and he may try to take advantage of us but if we choose to spread all the ridicule before God, allowing him to fight for us, the devil faces the catastrophy because nobody mocks God. I learnt from Hezekiah that he really trusted God even if the enemy tried to put some doubts in his mind, by saying look we defeated you before and your God did not rescue you. However God said that i myself allowed you to conquer them, it was my plan, they rebelled against me.

HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS
Isaiah 38.
Hezekiah prayed to God again when he became deadly ill and he was told by Isaiah the prophet that he was going to die. Hezekiah pleaded with God, reminding him of his faithfulness and he was healed of his illness and God added another 15 years to his life. This again assures us that God is willing to hear our case, he says come let us reason together. Therefore whatever situation we are in God can turn it arround, he is waiting for us to trust him, talk to him. PRAY!

LIFE WITHOUT GOD THE CREATOR IS MEANINGLESS

Reading the book of Ecclesiastes one may think the author is one of those who teaches against riches, saying that they are not associated with Godliness. However he is the same teacher who authored the book of Proverbs in which he is teaching us to work hard to avoid poverty(proverbs10v4). In the book of Ecclesiastes 2v18-23 he questions the value of all this hard labour since we will not take any wealth when we die.

Does the teacher contradict himself or there is something he wants us to learn from his experiences?
please stay with me and read on God will reveal to you even more secrets.

King solomon was very rich and famours but ended up being disappointed because he did not find peace in any of his riches. He started writing this book of Ecclesiastes saying; everything is meaningless and completely meaningless.
If you go through what this king had acquired you may agree that if he did not enjoy life after having all those things, then life is indeed is meaningless. This king had built huge homes, planted vineyards and animal parks(Wild animal parks), he had herds and flocks, slaves, gold and silver, women of all kinds, even personal singers for himself just to mention a few.
This king did not have all the peace as he expected because he tried to do it without God, he stopped trusting God and thought that many women or riches will make him happy.
He became frustrated and saw no difference between the poor and the rich and more over both of them die, their fate is the same he said. He argues therefore that, what is the point of acquiring much wealth yet you will leave them behind  when you die. In other ways he is saying being rich without God is as the same as being poor, and if i may add this poor may be better off if he knows God because at the end of life there will be a scenario of Lazarus and the rich man.
The teacher has also made other comparisons like the wise and the fool, the wicked and the honest
and sees no distinction in them if both does not obey God.

Brothers and sister after reading the words of this successful man, king Solomon, though he was frustrated i have learnt in his conclusion that life without God is indeed meaningless.
I have also seen the rich fellows committing suicide because of stress, that means the only happiness is in our creator not in many workers, personal jet, huge homes or holiday homes,bespoke cars etc. God wants us to have all those and enjoy the peace in his kingdom, he is the real source of happiness, our Lord Jesus is the Prince of peace.

May be you started pursuing happiness without God and is like chasing the wind, sleepless nights yet you have got everything, frustrations, disappointments, stress. Why not do the right thing by seeking his kingdom first, before you start hating life, meet the author of life and enjoy it to the full.
Please do not hesitate to email me should you need any guidance.

God bless you.

KAYA AMAGANIZA BWANJI ANTHUWA

KAYA AMAGANIZA BWANJI ANTHUWA.

Anzathu ali pataliwo amakhalitsa,

koma ife aliyense atinyanyamila.

Ndi awo omwe owopa utali,

amantha kukwela mmwambawo,

nawonso apezelapo mphumi,

ena angotitengela lung'wanu.

Kaya amaganiza bwanji anthuwa.

Kusilira anzathu akamasintha,

akamacha kuvala za chikasu.

Ife timangothela biliwili,

sitifika patali amangotipulula.

Ena amakatiundika mmanguti,

koma si tonse timalama.

Kaya amaganiza bwanji anthuwa.

Ena atichotsa mchimake,

ndiye timayambapo kunyala,

kenako kusanduka zinyalala,

Ena ndiye atiyesa ngati miyala,

yolasila awo ali patali.

ativunga, tiphulika,tigwa chikaa!

Kaya amaganiza bwanji anthuwa.

Koma manthuyu amayesetsa zedi.

kuwapatsa mphepo ya yezi yezi,

kuwapatsa chakudya, mthunzi,

kuwasungila madzi mu nthaka,

kuwakongoletsela dzikoli,

koma iwo atitseketa tonse

Kaya amaganiza bwanji anthuwa.

Timabwelera Magule

kusowa zochita mmudzimu,

maka tikaweluka kuminda,

timangoti khale khale mmakonde,

ngati nkhuku zowutila,

popanda zisangalalo kuli chuu

kudikilaso kuche tikaswe mphanje

ndiye poti awa amabweletsa magule,

tonse timangoti unji unji komweko

tikatakasuke kutopesa pakhomo.

kuno timabwelera magule,

pokhapo ndiye ndiwulule,

osati nthano zawozo za mthira,

tinatopa ndi kumatidwa phula,

ndi awa otidyela masuku pa mutu,

muwaona akafika pa mpando,

safuna kuponda mudzi wawo,

ati tiwalodza ndife a thakati,

ife amene tidawasankha,

atatiudza atibweletsela chitutuko.

Lero akana kumwa madzi athu,

akuti awacheka mmimba.

Ife timwa zithaphwi zomwezo,

iwo amwa a mmabotolo ogula.

Ana awo aphunzira ndi azungu,

ife athu aphunzilira pa mtengo.

Apita ku zipatala za pamwamba,

ife ichi chipatala chisowa azamba.

Akhala mwa ngwee mmagetsi,

Ife tingolowa mu mdima wogwilika.

WHO CAN STOP GOD'S PLANS

Ezra, Chapters 1,2,3,4,5 and 6. This sermons explains how the the Israelites who had been captured by King Nebchadnezzer, who were returning to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem faced resistance. We will learn how God used King Cyrus of Persia(crowned as King of Babylon) in the process of restoring the temple of Jerusalem. I would also like to show how the enemies almost succeeded in frustrating the Israelites and how God interviened so that those who were trying to stop the building of the Lord's temple were the ones forced to help in providing labour, finances and other resources. We shall look into how their own accusations against the Israelites turned against them, just like the returning fierce allow back to the sender.

KING CYRUS DECREE

King Cyrus was the king of Persia, he conquered Babylon and therefore became known as the King of Babylon. He made a decree which can be called a law in modern terms, he decreed that all the Jews must return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He said that the Lord had given him all the kingdoms and chosen him to build his temple in Jerusalem(Ezra 1 verse 2) The Priests and the Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned to start the construction work(Ezra 1V5)

 THE BULDING OF THE TEMPLE.

The Israelites knew the importance of this temple, that is where they used to offer their sacrifices to God who helped them to fight wars. The bulding of the temple was also like the reunion with their mighty God. Therefore all of them had the unified purpose to bulid the temple so that they can offer sacrifices to their God again.They left with gifts from their neighbours, articles given by king Cyrus which were in the old Israel temple before king Nebchadnezzer captured Israel. The Israelites started buliding the temple, they hired carpenters and bought cedar logs from the people of Tyre and Sidon. The work force was made of everyone who had returned from exile. The Levites who were 20 years old and above were put in charge, the whole work was supervised by Jeshua(Ezra 3V8-9) The bible says that when the builders completed the foundations of the Lord's Temple, the Israelites celebrated with music to praise the Lord just like in the same way David danced when he saw the Ark of God returning. The elders cried when they saw the foundations of the temple(Ezra3 verses 10-13) They must have remembered the old temple, and how it bought victory to them when they made sacrifices to God. They remembered how they took the temple for granted before, to the extent of abandoning it and start worshipping foreign gods, their rebellion ended them in captivity, God allowed their enemies to capture them so they were taken as slaves to Babylon. I will not be surprised to see them crying, overwhelmed by the mercies of God who had given them another chance. He is a long siffering God, ever loving father, a forgiving God.

OPPOSITIONS

The enemy did not like to see the Israelites building the Temple because that meant his downfall. They grouped against it and started writing letters to King Artaxerxes so that he can stop the work. Those opposing were led by Bishlam, they were writing in Aramaic language and it was translated. King Artaxexes was the king of Babylon who came after Xerxes and Xerxes took over from king Cyrus. He was not aware of the decree made by king Cyrus and those who may ask how check out how many leaders know the laws of their land by heart even now with all these modern technologies. The devil used this ignorance as a loophole to provoke King Artaxerxes so that he should hate the Jews. He likes this method dear leaders watch out, do not just harvest any anger from anyone else, examine each case, it might be the devil trying to fulfill his evil plans through you to hinder someone. The enemies of the Jews wrote to Artaxerxes telling him that the Israelites are rebuilding the temple and this will put the king to the disadvantage because they will stop paying the tribute. I wonder if they were happy paying tributes themselves since they were also royal subjects of Babylon. The devil has this in mind as he is attacking you,TIFANANE in Chichewa, Malawi language meaning WE SHOULD SUFFER TOGETHER. In their letter they called the temple rebellious and evil city, the devil uses strong words to finish you off. He knows where to press to provoke anger and cause distructions but i know my God, the God of Israel who turns evil into good! The king received the letter and indeed got convinced to stop the construction work, that is after making enquiries about Jerusalem. He found out that it defeated many kings before. Therefore he ordered that the Jews should stop rebuilding the temple.

THE BUILDING RESUMES.

The Lord spoke again through the prophets, Zachariah and Haggai. They encouraged the Israelites to continue building the temple. The enemies approached them again and this time they got a reply from the Jews. They told them that their God has commanded them to rebuild before through the decree of King CYrus who put this as law in the books. The enemies wrote another letter to King Darius who was the king of Babylon at that time, telling him that the Jews have resumed the building work and even challenging that it is a decree made by king Cyrus. The devil will always try his luck even if he knows he is lying, he is a father of lies and all his followers are liars, accusers of the brethrens. The enemies thought that king Darius will not check the previous laws and apply them on the case of the Jews. The king found out that the Israelites were telling the truth, the decree was there and this is what he wrote back and decreed in return; -Do not disturb the construction of the temple, let it be built on its original site where the Jews used to offer their sacrifices to God. -Everyone is to help in the building of the temple, that is including those who have been writing the letters to stop the work. -All the provinces must pay taxes to cover the costs of construction and they must also give provisions to the priests. -The king ordered that anyone found violating these decrees must be flogged and his house must destroyed.

CONCLUSION

The bible says that the work was finished(Ezra 6 verse 15) and was dedicated to God with great joy and celebrations. This teaches us that no matter how strong the opposition may be, if they are against God's plan, they will not succeed. No hand can remove even one finger of God. The devil will not be happy to see you reconciling with God, he knows he cannot touch you again if you make such decision. Therefore he will try to frustrate you. He will use all measures to stop you, castigating you by using powerful language, terminologies which will make you run out of words even forget your rights or arguments, but if you leave God to fight the battle for you, all enemies plans become nothing, God will use some of enemies weapons to help you fulfill your plans, it was the letters from the enemies of the Israelites which made king Darius to revisit the laws, in the end those enemies had to help building the Lord's temple, the work they hated and opposed before. When God said that the battle is mine it is because he knows how to turn bad situations for your own good. What battles are you facing? may the plans of your enemies be brought to nothing by God, may they fast truck you progress instead, it will help to achieve that they wished to destroy. Leave the battle in God's hands, allow the God of Israel to be your God because he is never too late, he shows up in time during battles and he can turn arround any situation.