A message preached by brother John Mark Louse when he visited Zambia in 2014.
Category: Book releases
Books authored by Andrew C. Phiri
[The following is an excerpt (Chapter 7) from the revised edition of “Answering the Question: Who created the Creator?”]
A strange dream.
Here I am on a special aircraft which moves at a speed of 30 km per second! I am with so many people but strangely, no one knows where we are going. But even more strangely, there appears to be no control room where you can find a pilot and a steering wheel of some sort. However, everyone seems to be at peace because despite all these odd facts, the aircraft seems to be extremely well-programmed! From the time we aboarded, it has never crashed despite moving through space which is littered with different kinds of aircraft and dangerous objects.
The technology of the aircraft system looks very sophisticated. Our aircraft is labeled PE and resides inside another aircraft called SS which moves at an unimaginable speed of 828,000 kilometers per hour! However, this is nothing compared to MWG, an extremely enormous aircraft which houses SS – it moves at 2,100,000 kilometers per hour!
I look around in the aircraft and notice everyone is very busy. Many have smart phones in their hands and headsets in their ears. I see young men deeply immersed in reading academic textbooks. I see men and women being conferred degrees at some ceremony. Other people are partying. I see others embracing and kissing. Then I see millions of children getting born on this aircraft. But many other people are dying too, and I see crowds gathering as they sob in tears for the deceased. A strange dream it is; one time I feel excited at what I see, and at another time deep anguish grips my soul.
Somewhere on a wall I see a clock ticking. Time in this aircraft seems to be in fast forward motion. I can see babies…Oh, they have become toddlers and learning how to make their first step! A little mustache appears on the young men and swelled breasts on the young women. They join the routine – wake up, eat, grow, work, make children, get old, die, and get buried!
In a distant corner somewhere, I see a cheering crowd. No, they are not cheering at me. Their eyes are fixed onto a podium. I see men beautifully clad in uniforms, giving a salute to one among them who has been sworn as their leader. Next, he makes promises of how he will make their lives better. The event looks so colorful, peaceful, and joyous…Oh no!…I am distracted by a terrible noise…
Dark smoke is rising from buildings. There is commotion on the streets. A crowd of people are chanting slogans with placards in their hands with words of demanding justice and freedom. Gunshots are fired. Corpses of men and women, boys and girls are lying on the streets. Then I hear a weary voice of an old man asking: “People, where are we going, and what’s the purpose of this journey?…Just how did we get here?”
“Get on with life, old man!” a teen retorted. “You’ll get mad if you start asking such questions. This super plane we are on simply exists and the only reality is, ‘We are here!’”
No, it’s not a dream.
We are here on planet Earth. Yes, it moves around the sun at a speed of 30km/s! The Earth is in the Solar System which in turn also moves at a speed of 828,000 km/h. But this speed is nothing compared to the speed of the Milky Way Galaxy which houses our Solar System – 2,100,000 km/h! These are not a figment of someone’s imagination. They are scientific facts. And if facts then it is most important to answer the old man’s question!
On the pages of time…
We surely are on a journey through time. In this journey we have found ourselves equipped with the ink of blood and pen of life and are to write a story on the pages of time. This moment you are reading these words, think about how far you have come in life. How old are you? What story have you been writing this far? What’s been the theme of your story? How many pages do you think are remaining before your covers close? If today your covers close, what will the owner of the ink and pages say about your story – “a waste”, “meaningless”, or “well done, my good and faithful servant”?
We are on a journey…we have found ourselves equipped with the ink of blood and pen of life and are to write a story on the pages of time.
One thing is certain, one day you will put a final stroke on your last page, the covers will close and you will be shelved away from the land of the living. But…“the books were opened”… the eyes of Saint John saw the vision: “and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”[1]
Surely a day of reckoning is coming when you will have to account for how you used the ‘ink’ of life and ‘pages’ of your earthly days. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” prayed the Psalmist.[2] The ink of blood and pages of time are not our resources and it isn’t just a wise thing to get started with a life story for which we don’t know the purpose or destination. Prudence requires that we ask ourselves, Why am I here? What story am I supposed to write?
It is important to note that answers to these questions can only come from the creator. “But how possible is this?” someone may wonder. This question even becomes more important at this time when the world of religion is full of bogus testimonies of the supernatural. However, falsehood will never diminish the existence of truth. There are many people who have truly experienced hearing the voice of God in their lives, and the experience never leaves a person the same. I make this statement with confidence as a witness who has experienced the manifestation of God’s power. Of course there are many people who have wondered why if God exists He never has spoken to them or everyone else. Well, it’s all really a matter of a person’s attitude. C.S. Lewis beautifully illustrated it this way:
If you are a geologist studying rocks, you have to go and find the rocks. They will not come to you, and if you go to them they cannot run away. The initiative lies all on your side. They cannot help or hinder. But suppose you are a Zoologist and want to take photos of wild animals in their native haunts. That is a bit different from studying rocks. The wild animals will not come to you: but they can run away from you…Now a stage higher; suppose you want to get to know a human person. If he is determined not to let you, you will not get to know him. You have to win his confidence. In this case the initiative is equally divided…When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him. And, in fact, He shows much more of Himself to some people than to others – not because He has favourites, but because it is impossible for Him to show Himself to a man whose whole mind and character are in the wrong directions (p.164).[3]
These are important wise words. Finding God, or understanding his ways, is much a matter of attitude. God is not inert matter which you can study, verify and validate using man-made methods. It is here that many wise people of the world often exhibit foolishness and it is no wonder that God would reveal himself many times to simple minds: For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.[4]
Finding God, or understanding his ways, is much a matter of attitude. God is not inert matter which you can study, verify and validate using man-made methods.
Surely God does reveal himself to those who are sincere and humble enough. It is at this point that talk about the supernatural becomes a matter of personal experience which cannot be duplicated or imitated. Without a personal experience of God, one is only left with speculation about the divine. But when one tastes and sees His goodness, a new life of trusting (having faith) in God begins – “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”[5]
Having tasted the reality and power of God, in this life I have chosen not to write my own book but His – the Book of Life, which is the Word of God! As the Scripture says, “Ye are [an] epistle… known and read of all men.”[6] If I write my own story one day it shall be called ‘his story’ and it shall spell history. But like Paul of old I want to say “It is no longer I living but Christ liveth in me.” Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His story is alive to all those with ears to hear and eyes to see. Amen.
[1] Revelation 20:12-13.
[2] Psalm 90:12.
[3] Clive S. Lewis in the book Mere Christianity (1942). Published by Harper Collins.
[4] 1 Corinthians.1:26-27.
[5] Psalm 34:8.
[6] 2 Corinthians 3:2.
A message by brother John Mark Louse of Uganda. Shared during an evening home fellowship in Lusaka, Zambia on 7th August 2017.
Bro James M. Veremu
Preached at Believers’ Assembly – 4th March 2017
Available here
This is a simple-to-understand book, written to answer the most asked question by atheists – “WHO CREATED THE CREATOR?” This question, when casually looked at, may seem impossible to answer, but not when you consider mind-blowing facts which have been revealed by the science of cosmology and astrophysics concerning the beginning of the universe. Through reading this book as a believer in God, you will be equipped with knowledge that will not only strengthen your faith but will enable you to“be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
ARE YOU ABOUT TO GET MARRIED? Read this before you do. Are you already married? ITS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT that you read it!
Buy a copy here
Poor financial management, a poor sex-life, and a large family which is beyond a couple’s resource capacity can lead to many problems in a marriage. Sadly, many counselors would try to solve a problem presented to them by only trimming off its ‘leaves’. In this book we endeavor to deal with the ‘root’ cause of the many problems that often rock marriages by looking at the BIG PICTURE of a nexus of factors that affect the success of a marriage. Read and practice the principles taught in this book and you will stop enduring your marriage and begin to enjoy it!
Preached 4th January 2013
Worldliness has so much infiltrated the church that people can no longer distinguish between things of God and those of the world. Churches have become more of social entertainment houses than houses of prayer. What is now known as gospel music is hardly any different from what is sung in pubs and taverns. Gone are the days when a sinner would find himself in tears of repentance at the church altar; a sinner now finds himself in a church only to be fully armed with business acumen. The modern church is so far away from the admonishment of the Lord that “ye are not of the world” (John 15:19). What is more, many so-called Christians live defeated spiritual lives, being overcome by the temptations of lust, fornication and adultery. Despite this discouraging trend however, no matter how evil and deception may rage, there will always be a minority of sincere people who desire truth, for “the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.” (2 Tim.2:19). And the truly chosen of the Lord are they that overcome the things of the world.
But, what are the “things of the world”? Are they riches? Not exactly so for the Bible is full of names of some servants of God who were rich just as there were those who were poor. There are three things of the world which a child of God should guard against. These things have borne fruit to the sin, iniquity and trouble that has filled the earth: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). Spell out a sin, you will find that its origin can be traced to what the eyes looked at, the flesh desired, and the pride of life hindered a person from repenting.
The Lust of the Eyes
Eyes are curious, ever desiring to see things. They have an insatiable appetite which if not controlled will lead a person to feed on anything, including poisonous carrion. It is important to be aware that “the eye is not satisfied with seeing” (Ecc.1:8). Have you ever wondered why some men, despite being married to a beautiful woman, have found themselves in promiscuous behaviour of lusting after other women? Such are slaves to lust. Their eyes are heavy with adultery and fornication. When a sin is committed, in that moment, a person realises the filth and pain resulting from the foolishness of his actions. However, it won’t be long before he finds himself in other similar iniquities. A married man once asked me a question:
“Pastor, I am always troubled by lust: I have a beautiful wife but I find myself lusting after other women. I have tried to pray and fast, and each time I do this, I seem to have some victory over the lust but it will only be short-lived and I find myself trapped in the same old habits. I love God but I wonder why He permits such things in my life.”
Dear friend, there is no such a thing as being automatically drawn into lust against your will. And to further blame God or Satan for such a wrong habit should be unthinkable. It is important to know that lust is a result of what one permits through the windows of his soul – the eyes. Not even Satan can force you into fornication! Scripture has an important admonition concerning this matter: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren” (James 1:14-16).
Was this not the case with King Solomon? He recounted that “whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them” (Ecc.2:10). So, should we then wonder why he ended up having 700 wives and 300 concubines? Clearly, if this king had a much longer life, he would have added more to the thousand women he already had. The obsession of lust knows no limits. Solomon never restrained his eyes; he saw many beautiful women, he fell for them, and his testimony was marred![1] The problem of the lust of the eyes is recorded to have occurred right in the beginning when Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof” (Gen.3:6). A child of God should beware of what is before his eyes. Eyes are not just two balls of liquid in the sockets of the skull; they are windows to the soul. What they see is processed in a person’s active memory and then passed onto to the subconscious. And what is in the subconscious is ultimately what subtly guides a person’s behaviour. Sadly, some believers are so careless in their spiritual walk, going about casting their eyes on anything they see on the internet, television, magazines, etcetera. Some always find themselves in environments that expose their eyes to all sort of seductive things. It is important to know that eyes can be a blessing or a curse. When the eyes look at the right thing they are light, so to speak, feeding the mind with healthy and right information. The Lord said something about this: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23).
Notice that what the eyes sees will eventually build an appetite in the flesh. The appetite craves to partake of a wrong thing. This appetite can be so obsessive that it becomes…
The lust of the flesh
“And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem…from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon…And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her…And the woman conceived” (2 Sam.11:1-5).
The first thing to notice here is that David was in a wrong place: at the time when all kings go forth for battle, he decided to remain at Jerusalem. Why did David do this? Was it a result of becoming so satisfied with past victories that he felt only his juniors could go on the battlefield? Well, being found in a wrong place (of relaxation instead of the battlefield), on the house-top, his eyes fell on a naked woman. He entertained the luring sight until the flesh began to crave for the woman. What followed marred the testimony of this once honorable and righteous king. Although he later repented and begged God for forgiveness, he had to live up to the harsh unbearable consequences of his sinful actions. Saint Paul stressed on the gravity of the sin of fornication (a product of the lust of the flesh) in this manner: “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
The pleasure of lust is only for a moment but the consequences thereof may last a lifetime. Many people have been caught in the trap and would try to fight their guilt by praying, fasting and trying to yell at the ever troublesome ‘evil thoughts.’ Many times these efforts never yield any results simply because one can never win a warfare in which he is trying to fight an enemy using wrong methods.
Understanding the battle
Temptation seeks to control the mind. The mind is the driving seat which controls a person’s lifestyle. That seat can be occupied with right and inspired thoughts or wrong and filthy ones. What one permits in the mind is what ultimately characterizes his life. This world has different lusts that seek to influence the mind. If one lives like a person of the world, feeding his mind with all the filthy stuff, he or she will surely manifest a defeated and fruitless spiritual life. May I emphasize here that such a life does not happen haphazardly. There is no such a thing. Every person – his behaviour, attitudes, and thought-patterns – is a sum total of what his mind feeds on. The mind is fed through:
- What we spend time seeing and hearing (magazines, movies, books, music, etc.).
- The kind of associations (friendships) we have.
- What we spend time thinking about.
These factors are not one-time occurrences; they thrive over a period of time. They are also inter-linked: it is futile for one to try to change his sinful habits by stopping to expose his eyes to the filth of the world but all the while spending time around a people whose talk does not glorify God. Such a person with wrong company will soon or later find himself in filth conversations, laughing about dirty jokes. And it won’t be long before the feeling of guilt grips his mind. He or she can yell at the Devil, not knowing that shouting words into the air will never transform him in any way. The problem is not out there somewhere; it is in his mind. Therefore to live a righteous and victorious spiritual life a person should “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). But, how can the mind be renewed? Well, by:
- Spending time to hear the anointed preaching of the Word of God.
- Spending personal time in fellowship with God, through prayer, fasting and reading His Word.
- Spending time with spiritual people who have a sincere and true walk with God.
Fellowship with spiritual people is very important to a believer’s spiritual welfare. Remember that just as wrong company corrupts good morals, the right one inspires you to become spiritually stronger. Actually one good sign that a person is backsliding is when he begins to get comfort in the company of unspiritual people, with an increasing disinterest in spiritual fellowship – “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead” (Proverbs 21:16, cf. Hebrews 10:25). The first Psalm admonishes:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:1-6).
Other manifestations of lust
Now, the lust of the flesh isn’t just about such filth as fornication or adultery. It refers to all things that are results of carnality such as the quest for recognition and vices like anger, hatred, contentions, and outbursts of wrath. A man who is always full of debate and wanting to be heard and slamming at any person who is at variance with him is simply carnal – “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal.5:19-21).
Today, much of the problems of divisions and schisms among believers are simply a result of many people being full of the flesh which always pulsates them to seek for attention. Usually gossip is quite common in such unhealthy religious environments. In such groupings it is rare to hear people share the good tidings or testimonies that would edify them; when people are together, it is either they are gossiping about other groups they perceive to be wrong, or they are simply talking about certain individuals within their group that they don’t seem to see eye to eye with. This situation is exacerbated when people can’t discern the wrong spirit among them.
I am thinking about a message that the Lord once gave to that gallant servant of God, apostle John Mark Louse of Karamoja, a few months before he died, during his last visit to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. He narrated his experience on 7th August, 2014 at my home during an evening fellowship (quoted verbatim from audio recording):
…There is a lot of ignorance in this Message. People are more peaceful and yet the lives they live, according to the Scripture, which is a weighing machine for every activity, is totally empty. Actually, before I left for this journey, I got a dream which shocked me. I saw many believers, including ministers, naked. Totally naked! And then now I was wondering, ‘What could this be; what is the problem? What is the meaning of all this?’ The Lord told me, ‘Anybody who is not baptized by the Holy Ghost is totally naked as you see.’
In this age when many people have false testimonies about experiences of spiritual experiences, one may be tempted to ignore this dream. But anyone who knows the testimony of the call and ministry of John Mark Louse would give serious heed to the message of the dream (Read the testimony of John Mark Louse here).
The lukewarm condition of many Christians has become a big stumbling block for some unbelievers to accept the Gospel. The church has become so obsessed with the “Prosperity Gospel” when preaching against lukewarmness and sin should take centre stage. Everything, from doctrine to general conduct to the manner of dressing has become way out of line from what is expected of Christians. The dressing of women folk has become so worldly. The decency of modest dressing has long been abandoned as the church has moved with the tide of winds of change. Worship is no longer flavoured with solemn hymns. Songs of reverence and such as would prepare the heart for the Word of God have been replaced with unholy noise. Surely the Glory of the Lord has departed and many assemblies have become “synagogues of Satan”! On one hand are charismatics who often are too zealous but lacking in Biblical knowledge, and on another are fundamentalists who are ever more careful about letters but yet lack the power and life of the Word; their lives are just as reproachful. However, all this quagmire hasn’t been without God’s warnings. Since time immemorial and in all ages gone by, there has always been a clarion call for repentance emanating from devout men of God. Such men have never been swayed by popular opinion or modern trends but have always been characterised by a solid uncompromising stand on the Word of God. Once there was Martin Luther who proclaimed the “the Just shall live by faith”, calling people to come out of the superstitions and traditional dogma of the Dark Ages. John Wesley came preaching sanctification. And then came William Marrion Branham[2] with a unique gift and message, unprecedented in the history of Christendom. There will always be a call to repentance. But the question is, are there people to hear what the Spirit is speaking? Well, there will always be some who will experience a conviction, and when a conviction takes place in an individual’s heart, he will either respond to it or the third thing of the world will hinder him…
The Pride of Life
Pride is that ego in a person’s heart that prevents him from humbling himself to obey the Word of truth that has convicted his heart. If you are in such a situation, you can go as far as trying to live as though all is well but deep in your heart there will be that constant reminder telling you that your life is not right. Dear friend, never ignore the bidding of the Lord; as long as there is a condemnation in your heart, know that God is greater than your heart and He therefore knows all things – “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20). It is further important to know that the condemnation in our hearts prevents us from having an effective prayer life. Each time one attempts to pray for something, the guilt of sin will rob him of the confidence to stand in God’s presence. The shame of sin will be a dark clothe that stands between him and God. This is a dangerous condition as it makes a believer become vulnerable to all sorts of evil spirits seeking to ruin his life further.
Much of these problems which result from the cravings of the flesh would be avoided when a believer realizes that although he is in the world, he is not of the world. His life should be that of a priest; a consecrated life.
[1] Read 1 Kings 11:4
[2] Read about the life and ministry of William Branham in the Supernatural Book series by Owen Jorgensen (available on Amazon).
Its our wedding anniversary with Norah today, 15th August, and this book is our gift to couples and those about to marry.
When I look back to the years we have been with Norah, it seems our joy and maturity keeps growing. However, its always been distressing to handle counselling sessions of couples whose marriages are on the verge of collapse. It seems everywhere I go – locally and overseas – the marriage problem has one face and language. Even so, its been greatly encouraging to see some marriages get restored and love get rekindled among couples who attend our bi-monthly Believers Couples Fellowship meetings at Believers’ Assembly Church. The new book – “THE JOY OF MARRIAGE: Why some marriages work and others fail” – brings into one place crucial factors that enable a marriage to be successful. If one is humble enough and willing to change, there is another world of marriage that you may have never experienced.
The book is available on Amazon – Buy it here
A bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin depicting ‘a thinker’
Its a beautiful day here in Lusaka, Zambia – wonderful cool weather, after long series of hot dry spells!
It is refreshing to receive various emails concerning how the book – “Why I Believe God Exists” – has helped in demonstrating the interface between faith and science. My hope and prayer is for the believer to know the certainty of faith in God, and also to present an opportunity to those unbelievers who would consider listening, to take time to examine where the scientific evidence points to – “the Non-existence of God” or “the existence of God”? In all this however, true faith is not a mere academic or intellectual exercise; there has to be a real experience of God’s power to seal the testimony in a person’s heart.
I am now dedicating my time on the forthcoming book to be titled: “Answering the Question: ‘Who created the creator?‘”.This is a major question that often comes in discussions and debates between atheists and theists and so I have decided to dedicate a whole book to answering the question. My meditations and reflections on this question this far are exciting me,enthusing me to quickly get done with the writing and let it out to the public. However, at present I have only written a quarter of the book. By January I should be able to tell when likely the book can be published.
Have a blessed day, and always remember that there is “reason” behind “the hope” of a believer”!
God bless you.
A C Phiri