Beauty & The Gospel ISSUE NO 9 VOL 2

Beauty & The GospelM A D E P E R F E C T T H R O U G H J E S U S C H R I S T

"even when the sun sets, JesusChrist is still LORD!"

PASTOR MOKGADI SENOMADI

IS YOUR TONGUE PRODUCTIVE OR DESTRUCTIVE?

ISSUE NO 9 VOL 2 OCTOBER 2019

THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST !

PLUS!HURRICANE LIFE => obeying God & How Do Christians Observe the Biblical Festivals

ROMANS 15:20-21

VISION

20 Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ’s name was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; 21 but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture], “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand.”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:17

MISSION

17 For Christ did not send me [as an apostle] to baptize, but [commissioned and empowered me] to preach the good news [of salvation]—not with clever and eloquent speech [as an orator], so that the cross of Christ would not be [b]made ineffective [deprived of its saving power].

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PASTOR THUTO GEZANI

D E L I V E R A N C E F R O M A L T A R S

PROPHET GEOFFREY GEZANI

R E L I N Q U I S HY O U R A L A B A S T E R B O X

*CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE*

DR ANDRE & JEN ROEBERT

UNCLE ANGUS BUCHAN

PASTOR BONGANI

KENDRA DUBLIN

PASTOR NTSAKO

MINISTER MONICA

W H A T G O D S A Y S A B O U T R E L A T I O N S H I P S

A M B A S S A D O R S F O R J E S U S C H R I S T

H O W D O C H R I S T I A N S O B S E R V E T H E B I B L I C A L F E S T I V A L S

O N E S O U L I S P R E C I O U S T O G O D

W H E R E A R E Y O U L E A D I N G G O D ’ S P E O P L E T O ? ? ?

H O W T O Q U I E T Y O U R M I N D S O Y O U C A N H E A R F R O M G O D

HOW DO CHRISTIANS OBSERVE THE BIBLICAL FESTIVALS??

B Y : W W W . U C G . O R G

Guide to God's Holy Days

The progression of the biblical festivals throughout the year vividly portrays the glorious plan of God to bring many children to glory in His family. The Bible lists seven festivals that God gave to the nation of Israel for them to celebrate each year (Leviticus 23). The New Testament shows many examples of Jesus, His apostles and the Church of God observing them as well. Each festival is full of rich Christian symbolism, pointing to God’s plan for humanity and Jesus Christ’s role in each step.

Most of the festivals are also special annual Sabbath rest days, which are observed in addition to the weekly Sabbath day.

Passover The first, the Passover , is a memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. The original Passover was a reminder of how God spared the firstborn of His people from death in Egypt. As the ultimate fulfillment of what the Passover pictures, the New Covenant Passover reminds us that -

"EACH FESTIVAL IS FULL OF RICH CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM, POINTING TO GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANITY AND JESUS CHRIST’S ROLE IN EACH STEP. "

Christians are saved from sin’s penalty of eternal death by Christ’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God. In the United Church of God, we approach this period of the year with deep spiritual introspection. We commemorate the Passover with a service based on the instructions of the apostle Paul and the New Covenant Passover ceremony that Jesus instituted in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

The solemn Passover service begins after sundown the night before Passover day, according to Jesus’ example. The service starts with a brief

explanation of its purpose and readings from the Gospels. Then, following Jesus’ example and instructions in John 13, Christians wash one another’s feet. Then there is an explanation of the symbols of the Passover, unleavened bread and wine, which represent the body and blood of our Savior. Each baptized member of the Church eats a small piece of the unleavened bread and drinks a small glass of the wine. Passover is the only festival that is not also a special annual Sabbath day.

(See: Exodus 12:1 50; Leviticus 23:5; Matthew 26: 17-30; Mark 14:22- 24; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28)

Feast of Unleavened Bread The Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolizes a Christian’s responsibility to strive to live a sin-free life. Church members prepare for the festival by removing leaven and leavened products (please see “What Is Leaven?” for more info) from our homes. Christians also don’t eat anything made with

PASTOR MOKGADI

a woman after GOD'S

heart

I got the chance to have a chat with South Africa's anointed Pastor, entrepreneur, wife, mother, gospel artist, designer and model Pastor Mokgadi Senoamadi. May we be enlightened further with this exclusive interview.

Q. Who is Pastor Mokgadi Senoamadi, personally and professionally and where are you from? A. Pastor Mokgadi Senoamadi is a wife to Evangelist Abiott Senoamadi and a mother of three of girls. I was born in Moletjie at a village called Kgohloane , South Africa. I’m a Pastor, Musician and a businesswoman.

Q. Who does Pastor Mokgadi say, THE SON OF MAN IS? A. The Son of Man is my Comforter, Redeemer, My Healer, My Deliverer a friend when I am alone, My Savior and my everything!

Devotions by the anointed Dr André and Jenny Roebert

Earnest Prayer

Message taken from James 5:16b (AMPC)

James 5:16b (AMPC): "The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]."

The word earnest conjures up an image of someone who is set on what he believes, and is prepared to boldly move forward in it - on the most serious of terms. In his book Sparkling Gems From The Greek, Rick Renner explains how the Greek translation for the word earnest describes the type of prayer that strongly attracts the power of God, and puts it into action in the strongest possible way. When you are facing a problem that deeply concerns you, don't be afraid to earnestly go to the Lord in prayer. That means: when you pray, have His Word back your request. Since He always honours His Word, and responds to our faith, this gives Him something most powerful to work with. We can approach Him confidently, expecting Him to move on our behalf when we are serious about what His Word says, and know that He is always willing to honour it concerning us. The book of James teaches us that timid, doubtful prayers are completely ineffective. So pray the way God's Word tells you to pray: deliberate, faith-filled and in line with His Word. That's the earnest kind of prayer that brings results without fail.

-FEATURE-

BY: JACK ZAVADA

3REASONS TO

AVOID BITTERNESS

-sermon-

IS YOURTONGUE PRODUCTIVE OR

DESTRUCTIVE?

Article by Rick Adams

Summary: This message focuses on controlling the big fish in the mouth called the tongue.

It seems that lately you can’t hardly turn on the television without hearing about some new development in the moral decay of the Catholic church. More and more accusations are being hurled at priest regarding sexual misconduct. In no way shape or form am I defending what these priests allegedly did, but every time I hear of these things, my heart breaks in two. The reason being is because the eyes of the world are watching, and perhaps thinking, “I told you that the church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.”

I want to bring your attention to another matter that is plaguing the church of the Living God. One that hasn’t popped up as of late but has been around since the foundation of the church. What’s the problem? The inability for God’s people to tame their tongue. You may be asking yourself, “How does that compare to what’s going on within the Catholic church?” Because the eyes and ears of the ungodly are watching and listening. They are hearing good Christian people verbally lash one another all the while wondering, “If I was in that church, would they talk about me like that?”

Someone coined the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Whoever said that could have never been more wrong. Broken bones heal much quicker than the wounds left by an out of control tongue. I know people to this day, and there may those sitting in this room this morning, who are still suffering from the aftermath of a tongue lashing. When Dr. Tim Dailey was here with us, he and I sat down for coffee on afternoon, and he told me that some of the most encouraging words he’d ever heard came from Christian people. Then he went on to say that some of the most hurtful words ever spoken against him came from good Christian people.

You see, our tongue can either burn the Kingdom of God, or it can build it. Simply by what comes out of our mouths can destroy what God is trying to accomplish in and through a ministry, or it can build it. So, I want to ask you, “Is your tongue productive or destructive?”

Our Scripture text this morning comes from the book of James. The book of James’ theme has been labelled by many scholars and theologians as “practical Christian living.” James speaks more about the tongue than any other book in the Bible. If James is truly a book for practical Christian living, then there must be something essential about the tongue and living an effective Christian life.

Read James 3:2-10

featured

“The theme of God’s judgment spans the length of human history and is as marvelous as it is sober. It is both awesome and frightening, wonderful and terrible, just and merciful.” – Daniel Kolenda

Have you ever played a word association game? Word association is an interesting way to see how someone categorizes and connects ideas, feelings, experiences, and information. So if I say a word, what is the first thought that comes to your mind? For instance, if I say “dog” you might think “cat.” If I say “heart” you may think “love.” If I say “fur” you might think “coat. “But what if I said “judgment”?

What comes to your mind? Almost certainly you would associate negative thoughts wit judgment. In fact, our modern world hates few ideas more than judgment. The one Bible verse that most unbelievers seem to know is, “Judge not so you will not be judged” (Matt. 7:1). Even many Christians now ignore—or even reject—the idea of judgment altogether.

It is true that human judgments areflawed at best and corrupt at worst.And there is nothing more repulsivethan chronic criticism andjudgmentalism. But when it comesto God’s judgments, they are aswonderful and perfect as He is.That means we should not avoidthe theme of God’s judgments.Rather, as true followers of His Son,

we should understand and appreciate them.

One of the reasons for confusion around this topic is that, for many people, the subject of God’s judgment seems to contradict other doctrines they hold dear. For example, didn’t Jesus say, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24)? And yet Paul says explicitly, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). Both statements are true without any contradictions because they are not referring to the same event, but to different judgments. In fact, Scripture describes a number of distinct judgments—past, present, and future.

-feature-

Deliverance from evil altars

BY: dr daniel olukoya

We are looking at a message entitled,“Deliverance from evil altars.” And as youread this message, I advise that you pray theprayer points attached to it. I also encourageyou to pay attention to everything in it so thatyou can be richly blessed after going throughit. In the book of I Samuel 7: 7-11, it is written,“And when the Philistines heard that thechildren of Israel were gathered together toMizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went upagainst Israel. And when the children of Israelheard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.And the children of Israel said to Samuel,Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us,that he will save us out of the hand of thePhilistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb,and offered it for a burnt offering wholly untothe Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord forIsrael; and the Lord heard him. And as Samuelwas offering up the burnt offering, thePhilistines drew near to battle against Israel:but the Lord thundered with a great thunderon that day upon the Philistines, anddiscomfited them; and they were smittenbefore Israel. And the men of Israel went outof Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, andsmote them, until they came under Beth-car.”

We notice in the above story that the Lordthundered with a great thunder upon theenemies of Israel after Samuel built an altarand offered a sacrifice to the Lord.

WHAT ARE ALTARS?

In the Bible, altars are designed for sacrifices and not just for decoration (Exodus 20: 24). The Bible also described the various methods of constructing these altars. Some were made of sand or unhewn stones, that is, stones that have not been chiseled with any tool, and some were made of bricks. In some cases, a natural rock could automatically be turned into an altar. Altars were either constructed for God or idols. Any altar constructed for the purpose of idolatry incurred the wrath of God. In the Bible, we read the story of a king who was sacrificing by an altar and God sent a prophet who prophesied to it. This shows the role of altars in spiritual transactions. As a Bible student, you would find that the great men of God in the Old Testament built altars. This was because an altar served as a medium of communication and worship. Abraham, Noah, Joshua, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Samuel and David built altars. When Elijah challenged the Baal worshipers at Mount Carmel, he told them to construct their own altar and when it got to his turn, what he did was to repair the broken down altar of the Lord.

An altar could also be described as a place where animals are slaughtered for sacrifice, that is, a place where blood is shed and where blood cries. It is a spiritual dinning table where spirits are offered food.

-CONTRIBUTOR-

Preparing our families for heaven

by: Pastor Bongani Gama

Proverbs 3:1-7 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So, you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

I. Introduction

A. The lesson is inspired by the famous words of Joshua 24:15 “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”

B. Our biggest service is to our family (what I learned from the retreat is that this can be wrong if it is the only focus because this can make us ignore the greatest mission which is to preach the gospel to all)

C. But we have a responsibility to our families, we owe it to God to build a sustainable Christian environment at our homes (a child should not know about God only on a Sunday) Remember the theme we are called unto heaven

D. Men should emulate God on a daily basis, women should emulate God daily because kids are watching

E. So basically, we teach with our action in our households, because the ultimate goal is to go to heaven and be with God.

II. The Text

A. The text we are dealing with is known to have been written by the wise king Solomon son of David due to Proverbs 1:1 “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

B. Solomon did not write chapter 30 and 31 as they have their authors Proverbs 30:1 “The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, OGod; I am weary, O God, and worn out. Proverbs 31:1 “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

C. The name Proverbs was given to the book based on the content of the book. A Proverb is a moral truth or statement arranged or written in one or two lines, it is written in symbols to express principles of social behavior (God does care about your social standing)

D. Mainly directed to the training of young People (a good book for a Christian family)

E. This part was written by the great wise King Solomon

1. Proverbs 1:8 “Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for yourneck.

a) Both parents are to be actively involved in teaching these children the way of God b) There is value in these teachings because they are God’s counsel and God ‘s counsel is never wrong (blessings) c) Ornaments and pendants are visible for all to see, so this means that children who continue to follow the good behavior of their parents, many will be attracted to God i. Everlasting lesson that comes from God will be like that sweet aroma that will always follow you around where you go. ii. And it so strong that it will be a great smell to others around you as well.

WHERE ARE YOU LEADING GOD’S SHEEP

TO???

WRITTEN BY: M.K

WHERE ARE YOU LEADING GOD’S SHEEP TO???

Jesus Christ asked Peter to take care, tend, feed and shepherd His sheep. Today the ministers of the gospel have changed their duties and do as they wish. They have moved away from what the bible says and have come up with their own job description. They see themselves as people of authority and status.

STATUS: it is a social position or rank in relation to others.

AUTHORITY: it is the power to give orders to other people.

We tend to forget that we are all His servants and He is the only one who has authority and His word is final.

Jesus Christ asked Peter to feed, tend, shepherd, and take care of His sheep. Today people of God are not taken care of per His instruction. .

As ministers we are given the responsibility and to lead and guide His people.

GUIDE: you show someone the way or help them do something. You are a hired conductor.

LEAD: you guide especially by walking in front while encouraging them to follow you and do as you are doing.

These days’ churches have become abattoirs (slaughterhouses). People are more spiritually wounded inside these churches than outside. It is very possible to find Christians who are so bitter that whatever you say they don’t have the skill of listening to what you have to say before they react.

The church is supposed to be a hospital for the soul and spirit. People come to seek solace (comfort in distress and disappointment) in the church. This is after the devil and his kingdom of darkness has stabbed, slapped, afflicted, disappointed, smacked, whacked, grinded, smashed, struck, treaded upon and broke them.

TO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR

LORD AND SAVIOUR SAY THIS FOLLOWING PRAYER

-SERIES-

BY: PASTOR THUTO GEZANI

WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUTRELATIONSHIPS (PART 1)

Relationships today are more defined by what the world says than what the word of God says. Because this topic has not been thoroughly taught so it becomes much easier to go with what everyone is saying or doing. What I want to achieve at the end of this series, is for you to actually say that I want to become an example of how a relationship should look like.

When you come to think of it, when people think about relationships they don’t think about church, they don’t think about Christians, they don’t think about Gods people and there is a reason. To be real about it, many believers have failed at relationships. You get children of God, who love God, go to church, are committed and die lonely. You preach to the nations but have no friends, to be honest about this issue many of us have had more sexual relationships then you-

can think of, by not being honest we will think that its normal, so, within this sermon I came to tell you that some of the things we do were never taught to us or rather taught us of what is the Biblical model of relationships.

For example, how am I supposed to deal with this relationship. Well we all know and have been told that we shouldn’t have sex before marriage, we know that we are to have a monogamous relationship. Christians don’t date but court but tell me how I am to do all those. Show me how and show me what the Word of God says I want to just break it down on how this thing looks like;

RELATIONSHIP GOALS How many people would actually say that they have relationship goals?

• things that you would want to happen in a relationship.

-contributor-

O N E S O U L I S

P R E C I O U S T O G O D

by: Pastor Ntsako

Scripture reading: Luke 15:10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

A soul is a soul and its precious to God. The above scripture says: “there is joy in heaven when one sinner repents”. He left heaven and came on earth to save the entire world. The bible says: “for God so loved the world”. He didn’t love and die for specific people, but the whole world, so when people repent and come back to Him, it’s a great

joy.

In the book of Titus 2 verse 11 says: “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all

men”. Which teaches us that it is the intention of God for every man to be saved. The question is, how will the lost souls come back to God? As Christians we are the light of this world, we need to go out there and make disciples. It is the mandate of every Christians to win souls.

How good is it when you make heaven joyous by winning souls. As children of God, we must make this gospel fashionable. The bible says: how good are the feet of those who bring the good news. We have the good news of Christ, let’s share it. You cannot keep the good news for yourself, its news because it must be shared.

Make a commitment to win souls for God, be the light you were created to be. God depends on you to win the lost. Commit today to share this good news wherever you

are, at school, work, home, social media and in whatever way, because a soul is a soul and it is precious to God!

CHILD OF GOD, WHEREVER YOU GO CREATE YOUR OWN PULPIT! -PASTOR NTSAKO-

Why Should Christians Celebrate the Feast of Trumpets?

by: http://feast.ucg.org

Christ's return is announced by the seventh and final trumpet

The fourth festival of God (after Pentecost) is the Feast of Trumpets (or a “memorial of blowing of trumpets,” Leviticus 23:24-25), which falls in September or October. This festival is called Rosh Hashanah by the Jews today. Ancient Israel understood that trumpets were used as a way of announcing special, very important messages (Numbers 10:1-10)

.In the New Testament, Jesus Christ reveals that before His return to the earth, there will be the blowing of seven trumpets, announcing progressive stages of the downfall and overthrow of this world’s kingdoms, ending with the return of Christ to take possession of the earth. Christ’s return is announced by the seventh and final trumpet (Revelation 8:2; Revelation 11:15). This day also pictures the time when faithful Christians will be resurrected to eternal life at the time of the seventh trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) to reign with Jesus Christ for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6).

Interestingly, it was around this time of year that Jesus was born—not in the dead of winter (see “Biblical Evidence Shows Jesus Wasn’t Born on December 25 “). And the fall feast season represents the time when Jesus Christ will come to the earth again to reign in glory.

The remaining fall feast days describe steps in the establishment of the prophesied Kingdom of God on earth and judgment of humanity after Christ’s return. The Feast of Trumpets is followed by the Day of Atonement.

Why Should Christians Celebrate the Day of Atonement

(Also Known as Yom Kippur)?

When the meaning of the Day of Atonement is fulfilled in the future, it will set the stage for the sixth festival of God, the Feast of Tabernacles The Day of Atonement is the fifth of God’s annual Holy Days (Leviticus 23:26-32), following shortly after the Feast of Trumpets. Observed by fasting (verse 27; compare Isaiah 58:3), which means not eating or drinking (Esther 4:16), this day portrays the human race finally becoming at one with God.

-contributor-

R E L I N Q U I S H Y O U R A L A B A S T E R B O X !

by: Minister Monica

When disaster strikes and hits too close to home, we often question the God we serve. When we choose to carry the unnecessary burdens of this world, we forget that the same God made a way for us before. In every season of our lives God serves a different purpose or several, depending on where He desires to take us and the knowledge He desires for us to acquire. He is still Jehovah Rapha (the God who heals). Jehovah Jireh (our provider). El Elyon (the sovereign God whom we place all our trust). He is STILL God in every situation and in every circumstance. It is imperative that we do not forget, otherwise we begin to burn out. It starts off by slacking in prayer, slacking in attending church, slacking in our personal time with Jesus, and then our worships begin to dwindle until it finally ceases.

I too am guilty of withholding my worship when life gets too difficult for me to handle. I don’t do it intentionally, but when I choose to focus on the problem more than the problem solver, I lose sight on what really matters and who matters more than my issues.

I love what David says in Psalm 103: 1, Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

David finally understood that no matter what! He would bless the Lord, because God is good and it is just His nature to be a good, faithful, kind, just and loving God. Therefore, He deserves our very best. He deserves our love, our attention, our affection and our communion with Him.

Was it not enough that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us on the cross?

Let’s take look at Luke 7:38 “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed hisfeet, and anointed them with the ointment.”

This woman gave Jesus all that she had, her very best, because she knew the worth of Jesus and honored Him. She used her expensive perfume in that alabaster box to pour it on Jesus as a mark of praise and worship. She could have used that alabaster box to purchase groceries or to pay her rent, but none of that mattered when she saw Jesus. God is calling us to not be distracted by the things we see; the materialistic things, awards, and achievements. He is calling us to love Him wholeheartedly with every fiber of our being.

Take this opportunity to raise your hallelujah to the Most High God and relinquish the hold on your worship because despite it all, HE IS GOOD!

Thank you for reading. Be Encouraged, Love Monica.

-SERMON-

OBEYINGGOD(PART 2)

BY : PROPHET GEZANI

OBEYING GOD : GIVES PROVISION READ : Hebrews 11:17-19 - Abraham offered Isaac back to God - Abraham acted in faith - Abraham was ready to return the promised son back to God. - Abraham obeyed God even if material condition was not favourable. Hebrews 11:17-19 shows us three aspects of Abraham’s amazing faith in the greatest trial he would ever face. I. Abraham’s Test “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.

He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son” (v. 17). That is, we start with the fact that Abraham ended up not having to put his own son to death. And we say, “See, God never wanted Isaac to die in the first place.” Read: Genesis 22:1-2 tells us what was at stake: Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘‘Abraham!” Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, ‘‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.

Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” It would have been enough if God had simply said, “Take your son.” But he qualified that phrase three ways. Your only son— not forgetting Ishmael who was also his son but meaning that Isaac was the promised son. Isaac—the son for whom Abraham and Sarah had waited for 25 years. Whom you love—which might seem as if God were mocking him,