“For the Bible, like the great God Himself, is not to be approached with chatter and clatter and bustle, a la modern ‘Introductions’, Bible Dictionaries, or Cyclopedias Biblical; but with contrite spirit, bruised heart, and prostrate form; but above all with shoes off the feet, rather than shod with the boots of modern ‘criticism’ of patent leather, and high heeled, and creaking at that”
“Let us be clear that the Body of Christ is not something remote and unreal, to be expressed only in heavenly terms. It is very present and practical, finding the real test of our conduct in our relations with others. For while it is true we are a heavenly people, it is no use just to talk of a distant heaven.Unless we bring heavenliness into our dwellings and offices, our shops and kitchens, and practice it there, it will be without meaning…We may be surprised, for I fear many of us who say we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ display a very questionable walk in our homes” – Watchman Nee in Sit, Walk, and Stand.
I looked at him in amazement when during preaching he said he didn’t believe he would die; he was trusting God not to see death. At that I realised that brother John Mark’s faith knew no limits.He had a reason to live like that: he had such a close walk with God, and so much faith that all things were truly possible with God for him.
From Zambia I had arranged with brother James Veremu for Brother John Mark to visit Zimbabwe. From there he would come back to Zambia and then move on to Kenya. One day whilst eating and chatting with him on a table in the sittting room we were talking about his itinerary, and how it would be good for him to visit Asia again. Smilingly he said, “You know, the Lord had spoken to me about this. He told me that he would raise someone for me to have another round of moving to different places to preach.” After saying this, brother John Mark wondered, “After all the things I have seen in my ministry, I wonder what great things will happen again.”
Those words sunk into my mind. My thoughts went back to some months earlier when I was driving home with my wife and I suddenly stopped a conversation we were having, saying, “Lets arrange for Brother John Mark to come, Won’t it be wonderful?” It wasnt long before I informed brothers and sisters at Believers Assembly of the need to start raising money for the transport and upkeep costs of brother John Mark. Well, the rest is history. We were able to bring him over to Zambia where he moved about in different congregations to preach. In all this, one thing caught my attention – the simplicity of the brother’s apostolic ministry and how it didn’t excite many people in a manner they get excited when it’s some European or American missionaries visiting. But here in our midst was a man who had such a unique and supernatural calling into the ministry!
Shortly after brother John Mark had returned to his home in Karamoja, I phoned him. His voice sounded frail and I wondered why he sounded like that. He spoke slow. Later on when I was informed by his eldest son that he was critically ill,I realised the reason for his ill voice. Later, after I had travelled to and returned from Singapore, we received the devastating news that brother John Mark had gone to be with the Lord on 26th February 2015. This shook our souls. About a week after that, our fellowship received a comforting word from the Lord through brother Annel Silungwe, a brother at Believers’ Assembly. Here is his testimony:
In my dream, to this day, I remember so vividly the sentence “Do not worry about the passing of Brother John Mark” like it happened yesterday. After much interaction and travelling to the southern province of Zambia in Choma, with Pastor John Mark, where we stayed for one week I was personally inspired by his humility. Many times at our lodge Pastor John Mark and I shared moments especially when he spoke of very simple but powerful testimonies of how he recovered his stolen bicycle and money on a bus. Some years before I had read his testimony of how he was called into the ministry and I was very much privileged to have accompanied him on this trip.
When Pastor John Mark was finally back home in Uganda I phoned him to just check on him and find out if he travelled safely but he sounded so low that I thought he had not recognized me. I said, “It’s me brother…” As I tried to introduce myselt he responded saying, “I know brother”. We spoke for a short time and the network connection got cut.
I kept wondering what was wrong until the day I received the news of his passing. I was confused, heart-broken and I kept asking “why Lord have you permitted this to happen? A gallant servant, an anointed man to die?” It was unbelievable. A thought struck and I remembered that he had run and fought his fight well. Then I had a very strange dream in which I was crying and mourning, still asking the Lord as to why he had taken brother John Mark. Suddenly a voice came and said “Do not worry about the passing of Brother John Mark”. I woke up and found tears still running down my face., I was literally crying. I testified of this incidence during the main Sunday service at Believers’ Assembly.
In pondering over all these events, I realised that brother John Mark’s visit to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya was “another round”. The messages he preached admonished believers to stand on the Word and to have faith. More importantly, before his journey, he had a strange dream of seeing ministers naked. He was distressed by the dream as he wondered, “Why are these ministers naked?” The Lord answered him that the nakedness meant the lack of the Holy Spirit in many men who are professing to preach. In this round, this apostle of faith bid farewell without knowing that his ministry had run its course.
The next post will be a sermon by brother John Mark that I have transcribed from an audio recording. It’s a message that believers should hear – The Way of Escape. Although already available on our YouTube Channel, other people may not be aquinted with his Ugandan accent and hence miss out on important lines of thoughts brought out in the message. May God bless and keep you.
The man was in the field and got bitten by a poisonous snake. He rushed to brother John Mark to be prayed for. Brother John Mark called on the Lord to heal the man. But with time the fever was worsening and he could feel death approaching. His strength was leaving him and he had to crawl to the room where Brother John Mark was, to be prayed for again. “I am dying, pray for me again” he pleaded. “I already prayed” Brother John Mark angrily answered: “You can die and we will bury you!” Upon hearing this strange response the man stood up from his knees and walked away. He got healed and did not die.
This testimony was both strange and funny; when he shared the testimony the church was filled with both amazement and laughter. But the testimony reminded us of a profound lesson: It is clear that healing was already granted and could only manifest when it was received by faith. Many times we cannot see the manifestation of God’s promises because we live by what we see, feel or smell. But a believer ought to live by what God’s Word declares, not by what he sees or feels (2 Cor.5:7). The Lord Jesus said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mar.11:24). Amen.
At the end of his sermon a long prayer-line formed. There were different cases: some serious and others usual ailments. But for all the people, brother John Mark would put few drops of oil from a small bottle onto his finger, and then smear it on a person’s head as he spoke very few words of prayer.
Next in line was a very sick girl who had been brought to the meeting by her relatives. Her legs were swollen and she had difficulties breathing. My wife was sitting next to her in the church. She felt sorry for her as she could not sit in one place.She was in pain and kept fidgeting. The problem was with her liver. It was swollen and had enlarged. Before brother John Mark could pray for her someone signaled to me to explain the serious condition of the girl. I wisphered to brother John Mark explaining the problem. “Oh, that one is very simple!” exclaimed brother John Mark as he put oil on her and spoke the same words he had said in prayer on all the other patients.
At the end of the line, I noticed the family of the young girl still waiting. They requested for a private prayer session where he could say a longer prayer (perhaps what they considered a more serious prayer). But brother John Mark answered: “No, we have already prayed they just need to believe.” Well, the following Sunday we received news that the girl had been healed and was playing. Two years after the incidence she was still in good health.
When I think about this testimony I remember the words of brother Branham when he said he had seen prostitutes coming to the prayer line and instantly get healed and yet someone saintly would never get healed. Why is it so? because a believer may spoil themsleves into trying to work somerighteousness inorder to earn themselves healing, and an unbeliever on the other hand, may come merely believing in God’s grace!
Some Christians think healing comes by long prayers or fastings, and others think they have to live righteously inorder for healing to manifest. It is not so. Healing is only a result of faith, not fasting or living rightously. Fasting is good. Living right should be the life of a believer, but never allow the Devil or your carnal mind to deceive you into thinking that you can buy healing from God by some works of righetousness, prayer or fasting. Here is what brother Branham said concerning this:
Healing is based upon faith, not upon how righteous you are, how good you are, how much you keep the commandments, or whatever it is. It’s based solemnly upon faith. ‘All things are possible to them that believe!‘ It’s not based upon how good you are. I’ve seen prostitutes come to the platform and be instantly healed and a sainted woman cross the platform and miss it. Sure, its based upon faith – ‘if thou canst believe’ – not upon righteousness. (Questions and Answers, August 23, 1964).
May the Lord bless and keep you.
He was far away from his home, attending a convention where he was preaching the Word.
One day whilst waiting for another service he sat down resting on a sofa when someone came, informing him that something bad had happened at his home but all was well. After speaking the person disappeared. “It was then I realised that the fellow was an angel” brother John Mark narrated.
It was when he returned home when Sister Louse, his wife, explained what happened. Their young daughter had died, and women had started crying over her passing. However, brother John Mark explained, Sister Louse is also a woman of faith and usually prays for people when I am not around. In faith she decided to remain alone in the room where the dead child lay and she prayed earnestly to God. The child came back to life and there was no funeral!
One day as we sat in the living room with my family and talking about prayer, brother John Mark said this important thing: “For me, its not everything that I have to pray and fast over; some things I just refuse and reject them. You can refuse the works of the Devil and believe that no harm will come on you!“
Brother John Mark often complaigned about how many Christians are defeated because of their lack of faith. During his visit we had arranged for him to pray for one sick lady. He prayed for her but nothing happened. Later on she asked to be prayed for again but angrily he answered “I already prayed but its now upto you to believe and receive what God has already given“. It was after this incident that we sent brother John Mark to Zimbabwe. After about two or three weeks when he returned, he told me the dream he had over the lady before he had travelled to Zimbabwe. “In the dream I saw her looking very weak. She is very weak in faith!“
I am working to get more details on names, dates, and places of these testimonies and so we may keep updating and revising the text as more details come through. I hope you find the testimonies refreshing and a blessing.
From Zambia brother John Mark Louse travelled to Kenya. Brother Kimani Njogukim of Kenya shared the following testimony with me.
By brother Kimani Njogukim (Kenya)
Brother John Mark was a real man of faith who never guessed on his relationship with God. From visiting Zambia he came to Kenya. He told me about how one day he was invited to attend a convention in Kampala. A white brother from America was among the ministers. The American brother stood up to preach and said, “I don’t have a message of my own, I am here to tell you what our prophet said.” This statement irritated brother John Mark so much that he stood up and directly faced the American preacher telling him, “If you don’t have a message get out of the pulpit!” You can imagine the reactions of other ministers.
There are many ministers who think they are humble when they say, “I have no message of my own but only what the prophet proclaimed”. Well, that is not humility but foolishness. Such preachers may have faith in the prophet, or even in the Lord Jesus but yet dont realise that they lack the most important thing – having the faith of the Lord Jesus! “I am crucified with Christ” Paul wrote, “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal.2:20).
Brother John Mark’s everyday lifestyle was characterised by faith. Faith was not a religious sentiment but his everyday reality. One day I took a long walk with him, going to trading places and moving around the various avenues of the place where I stay. On our way back, walking to home, we reached a point where two roads merged forming a “V” shape, and I jokingly asked brother John Mark: “If you were dropped here at night and you were all alone, show me if you can remember where our house is!” Surprisingly brother John Mark did not answer me jokingly. He said: “I can’t be lost. If that were to happen, the Lord will send me an angel to lead me to your house.”
During this time when brother John Mark visited us, my wife, Norah, was expecting Terry. It was a troublesome pregnancy. She was getting dehydrated as she always vomited about every hour or so. This problem went on into the third month of the pregnancy. Before brother John Mark came she had been admitted for medical attention. Her condition had worried and stressed me up.
One evening brother John Mark explained saying, Even if others would take such problems to be a normal pregnancy problem, you ought to have the faith to ask the Lord to take it away. He then testified to us of how his wife also use to vomit and would go in problems with earlier pregnancies but when he sought the Lord and prayed for her, it ceased. Brother John Mark then prayed for Sister Norah, asking the Lord to stop the vomiting problem. It was a simple prayer but a miracle happened. As he prayed, sister Norah felt a strange movement in her womb and she never vomited again from that moment!
Read the Call and Ministry of John Mark Louse here.
When I invited brother John Mark Louse to Zambia, we arranged a series of meetings which involved travels to and from various places in the country. Each time he waited for other trips he lodged at my home. The total number of days he spent with my family was somewhere between four to five weeks.
The moments we spent with that humble apostle of faith will forever be remembered. Every evening my family would gather in the living room for some time of fellowship and testimonies before going to sleep. One day my wife was curious to know more about how the Lord Jesus looked when He first appeared to brother John Mark Louse (read the testimony on Prophetic Revelation website). Brother John Mark then narrated an incident when he had a terrible toothache.
One day the toothache so much troubled him that he could not rest or sleep from the pain. It was at night but he had to go out to look for medical help. If my memory serves me right, the clinic was either closed or they didnt find a dentist. After returning home, as he lay in bed, the Lord Jesus appeared on the side of the bed where he lay his head. The Lord touched him on the side of the cheek where the pain was. It was at that moment that the pain stopped, and he talked about how wonderful the touch the felt. “I didnt want the Lord to go. I wanted his hand to be on me forever!”
Brother John Mark later slept and upon waking up found himself alone. The Lord wasnt there but that was the end of the toothache. If I have the time, I hope in the next few days, to share other testimonies brother John Mark shared when he stayed with us at home.
In Christ, Andrew Phiri.
Read about the Call and Ministry of John Mark Louse here.
