Volume 2, Issue 2
HOLY LIFE TEACHING NEWSLETTER
Introduction
T
o become a vessel
of honor is the heart
and soul of the call
to Christianity. The new
birth experience gives us an
opportunity to work out our
own salvation with fear and
trembling, so as to become
vessels of honor prepared
for the Master’s use. There-
fore, the new birth experi-
ence presupposes truth in
our dealing with God. Truth
is the basis of our mutual
engagement without which,
we become vessels of dis-
VESSEL OF HONOR
“Write, for these words are true and faithful.” [Rev.21:5]
honor while God remains
faithful. God requires us to
be absolutely faithful to
His will. We have heard
that Moses was faithful in
the house of God. ‚Thus
Moses did; according to
all that the LORD had
commanded him, so he
did.‛ [Ex.40:16]. This
means that Moses carried
out the divine instructions,
allowing no deviation
from the standard. For
Moses to have been that
faithful to God, it also
means he properly under-
stood the will of God. This
understanding therefore
K
ing Saul pro-
vides an exam-
ple of how one
can relapse and become a
vessel of dishonor. God
rejected King Saul as
King because he rejected
the word of God. Hence,
the purpose of this able
and resourceful newsletter
July 2023
Stephen S. Bikko
Inside this Issue:
was the basis of his faith-
fulness. King Saul on the Obedience to
2-5
God’s will
other hand failed to meas-
ure up to the required Distinctive
marks of the 6-9
faithfulness to God, when Vessels
he was commanded to at-
Soldiers of 10-12
tack and wipe out the city Christ
of Amalek. Saul chose to
Recipients of
spare Agag the king of the 13
Grace
Amalekites together with Building the
14-16
the best of the sheep, the Temple
oxen, the fatlings, the Fairness of
God’s 17-20
lambs and all that was Judgment
good, contrary to the in-
structions he was given. The Shepherd’s 21-22
Voice
(cf.1 Sam.15). He did as
he pleased, but not as
pleased God.
is to redefine genuine
Christianity in this last
times of the church. The un- The concept of grace has
derstanding of true Christi- been misunderstood. Under
anity has been cunningly the guise of grace, sin is
eroded by the tremendous allowed to continue unabat-
influx of evil, to the extent ed. The grace of God is
that sin has been accommo- used as an excuse to allow
dated and tolerated as part evil to reign supreme in the
and parcel of Christianity. hearts of many.
 VESSEL OF HONOR
Obedience to God’s Will—Part I
O
bedience to God’s
will establishes
our faith. There
can be no genuine faith
without obedience to
God’s will. Many at times
in Christian circles, we
exercise self-will in utter
disregard of known God’s
will. For example, King
Saul did as he pleased
when he chose to amend
Power, popularity, pres-
tige, pleasure and even
mere religion cannot fill
the God-shaped void in
“The whole duty of man’s life but God Him-
man is summed up in
obedience to God's self. However, if we see
will.” life ‚under the sun‛ from
God’s perspective, life
takes on meaning and pur-
pose. The lingering doubts
of this life and despair sud-
T
he fear of God
involves abandon-
ing the self-will
and seeking and embracing
what pleases God. No man
can find his true purpose in
life without the fear of
God, in seeking fulfill-
ment, apart from the fear of
God, he ends up empty or
with vanity. As Moses was
faithful in God’s house as a
Page 2
God’s instructions con-
cerning invasion of the
Amalekites. He knew the
instructions but deliberate-
ly chose his own will, be-
lieving God would be more
pleased with his amend-
ments. We can live our
lives the way we want to,
but we have to conscien-
tiously interrogate whether
our lifestyles as Christians
denly melts away when the
fear of God is added as an
antidote. King Solomon
realized that the whole duty
of man for which he was
created is to fear God. He
says, ‚Let us hear the con-
clusion of the whole mat-
ter: Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is
man’s all.‛ [Eccl.12:13].
servant, so he feared God.
Therefore, we are hereby
informed to, ‚...consider
the Apostle and High Priest
of our confession, Christ
Jesus, who was faithful to
Him who appointed
Him…‛ [Heb.3:1-2]. The
greatest assignment of the
Holy Spirit is to inspire the
fear of God in us, so that
like Christ Jesus, we may
fall together with God’s
requirements. The ultimate
will of God for all of us,
has to do with how we re-
late to God and fellow
men. King Solomon was
the wisest, richest, most
influential king in Israel’s
history and he looked at
life ‚under the sun‛. From
the human perspective, he
declared it to be empty.
The fear of God is man’s
full, original purpose of
his creation. The fear of
God is the object of God’s
providence, the root of
character, the foundation
of all happiness and the
adjustments to all inhar-
monious circumstances
and conditions under the
sun.
be faithful to God. As a
firstborn among many
brethren, Christ Jesus was
faithful to the One who
appointed Him. ‚For whom
He foreknew, He also pre-
destined to be conformed
to the image of His Son,
that He might be the
firstborn among many
brethren.‛ [Rom.8:29].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Obedience to God’s Will—Part II
T
he use of ‚many
brethren‛ denotes
His house or church.
Therefore, the notion being
advanced here is that the
members of the Son’s house
share in His faithfulness. The
Lord’s faithfulness to the
Father is testified in His fin-
ished work on the cross.
First, He said, ‚For I have
come down from heaven, not
P
aul encountered
an unbelieving
church at Corinth.
They were overcome with
envy, divisions, strife and
such like. Therefore, he
addressed them as though
they were unbelievers, and
in the true sense they were.
He said, ‚And I, brethren,
could not speak to you as
to spiritual people but as to
T
he Holy Spirit
teaches us to be
holy and right-
eous, and the natural Chris-
tian so to speak, will not
appreciate those teachings,
but prefers to hide under
the cover of grace while he
walks in envy, pride, strife,
un-forgiveness, selfishness,
hatred and such like. The
to do My own will, but the
will of Him who sent
Me.‛ [Jn.6:38]. His as-
signment was to destroy
sin and neutralize death
and upon completion of
the assignment, He de-
clared, ‚It is finished!‛
However, if He finished
His work, why does sin
and death still reign? Sin
and death, as defeated
carnal..‛ [1 Cor.3:1]. He
had to address them as
‚brethren‛ so to speak,
who have not the Spirit of
God. They were non-
spiritual! Men of the flesh,
in whom the carnal nature
predominates, and not the
divine nature by the Spirit
of God. Technically, such
are not part of the house-
hold of God. And we are
call to holiness is meaning-
less nonsense to him.
Therefore, those who are
considered as true believ-
ers have received the en-
grafted Word in humility.
When Christ came to His
own, and they did not re-
ceive Him. They did not
bother to open the door of
their hearts while He was
Page 3
foes, still reigns among
those who have not be-
lieved in the Conqueror,
Jesus Christ, in the true
sense of the word. If they
have not believed in Him,
they cannot be as faithful
as He was! Non-believers
are not only those who
have not accepted Christ as
is commonly thought, but
we have non-believers in
the church too.
further informed that,
‚...the natural man does
not receive the things of
the Spirit of God, for they “God's will is hard
are foolishness to him; nor only when it comes
can he know them, be- up against our
stubbornness, then it
cause they are spiritually is as cruel as a
discerned.‛ [1 Cor.2:14]. ploughshare and as
The nonspiritual, natural devastating as an
earthquake.”
man does not welcome
into his heart the teachings
of the Holy Spirit.
knocking on it. However,
those who heeded the knock
opened their hearts to re-
ceive Him in, to dine with
them. ‚But as many as re-
ceived Him, to them He
gave the right to become
children of God, to those
who believe in His
name…‛ [Jn.1:12].
 VESSEL OF HONOR
Obedience to God’s Will—Part III
J
ohn chapter 1 verse
12 continues to
verse 13, to identify
those who have received or
welcomed the Lord into
their hearts. It says they
are, ‚...born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but
of God.‛ However, First
John chapter 3 verse 9 tells
us that if we are born of
B
earing fruit is the
Father’s will, and
when we are be-
ing told to ‚...consider the
“I am your servant to Apostle and High Priest of
do your will, and that our confession, Christ Je-
will is sweeter to me sus, it means that Christ
than position or riches
or fame, and I choose provides the blueprint of
it above all things on the fruit. The fruit is the
Earth.” divine nature which we are
expected to emulate. In
I
n His capacity as the
firstborn Son of the
house, He says, ‚All
authority has been given to
Me in heaven and on
earth.‛ [Matt.28:18]. How-
ever, in such a house, we
know that there are dis-
tinctly dissimilar vessels;
some for honor and some
for dishonor. ‚But in a
great house there are not
Page 4
God, then we cannot delib-
erately or knowingly prac-
tice sin. The unbelieving
church at Corinth were
deliberately walking in sin.
Therefore, even though
they had the new birth ex-
perience, they were not yet
born of God. If we only see
ourselves as ‚born again‛
without emphasis on bear-
ing fruit that establishes
Christ are all things that are
needful for life and godli-
ness through the full, per-
sonal knowledge of Him.
These things are classified
in Micah.6:8. ‚He has
shown you, O man, what
does the LORD require of
you but to do justly, to love
mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God?‛ Thus,
only vessels of gold and
silver, but also of wood
and clay, some for honor
and some for dishonor.
Therefore if anyone cleans-
es himself from the latter,
he will be a vessel for hon-
or, sanctified and useful for
the Master, prepared for
every good work.‛ [2
Tim.2:20-21]. There are
two types of vessels within
our faith in God, then we
are deceiving ourselves.
‚Every tree that does not
bear fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire...Not
everyone who says to Me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My
Father in heav-
en.‛ [Matt.7:19-21].
when we are willing to
consider the Apostle, the
Holy Spirit is more pleased
to help us conform to His
stature and are made par-
takers of His divine nature,
and not only that, but we
are His household. The
Son has the custodial re-
sponsibility of all affairs of
the household.
the household of God, the
vessels of gold and silver
are for honorable or reputa-
ble use while the rest;
wood and clay are for dis-
honorable use. God uses
the latter on contract basis
and thereafter, they are cast
away. ‚...I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who
practice lawless-
ness.‛ [Matt.7:23].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Obedience to God’s Will—Part IV
T
he vessels of dis-
honor are recklessly
determined to disre-
gard God’s will. There hearts
are hardened through the
deceitfulness of evil. They
estimate themselves as wise
before God, but we are ad-
vised that, ‚Let no one de-
ceive himself. If anyone
among you seems to be wise
in this age, let him become a
However, even though No-
ah was righteous, he later
got drunk and naked. God
transferred His covenant to
the household of Abraham.
Abraham preserved the
covenant well until Christ.
From Noah to Abraham is
the second generation. Be-
tween Abraham and Christ,
Moses appears with the
Law. The Law was a pre-
T
his is the genera-
tion where signs
and wonders are
employed as yardsticks of
true spirituality. The quest
for truth is no longer the in
thing. We are after prophe-
cies, signs, miracles and
breakthroughs but not after
the truth. These are the
times where many will not
fool that he may become
wise.‛ [1 Cor.3:18]. To
guard against this reckless-
ness, the Holy Spirit puts
forth an announcement to
warn against rebellion. He
says, ‚Today, if you will
hear His voice, do not
harden your hearts as in the
rebellion…‛ [Heb.3:7].
‚Today‛ here refers to this
last generation, which the
LORD found to be com-
cursor to the coming of the
Messiah who would make
all things perfect. There-
fore, from Abraham to
Christ is the third genera-
tion. From the cross up to
now is the fourth and last
generation which is called
TODAY. Now, God gives
this warning, ‚Today, if
you will hear His voice, do
not harden your hearts…‛
endure sound doctrine, but
according to their own de-
sires, because they have
itching ears, they will heap
up for themselves false
teachers, who will not
teach the truth but instead
give worldly prophecies,
miracles and signs. The
vessels of dishonor are
described in 2 Tim.3:2-5.
Page 5
pletely rebellious. He says,
‚A wicked and adulterous
generation seeks after a
sign…‛ [Matt.16:4]. The
first generation was from
Adam to Noah. God made a
covenant with Adam but
Adam disobeyed Him and
Caption describing picture
broke the covenant. He
or graphic.
again fetched for Noah who
found grace in His sight and
made a covenant with him.
as a last resort to humani-
ty. There is no tomorrow
for we are all well in-
formed that the final op-
portunity of salvation is
TODAY. The dispensa- “When your will is
tion of Christ marks the God’s will, you will
end of generations! Unfor- have your will.”
tunately, this last genera-
tion is the most wicked
and adulterous! Many
Christians in the church
today are after signs.
‚For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of mon-
ey, boasters, proud, blas-
phemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unho-
ly, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-
control, brutal, despisers of
good, traitors, headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God.‛
 VESSEL OF HONOR
Distinctive Marks of the Vessels—Part I
T
he vessels of dis-
honor have a
form of godliness
but deny its power, and
we are told that, ‚...from
such people turn away!‛
This warning is repeated
in 2 Timothy.2:21, and
what we learn from the
cautionary advice is that
bad company corrupts
good morals. There are
T
aking into account
the vanity they
submit to the hear-
ers makes them worthless,
“A willing heart is the that means the hearers are
first step in finding
God's will in our made to share in their
lives. We cannot worthlessness as vessels of
expect God to force dishonor. ‚Therefore if
us or to plead with us
anyone cleanses himself
about the calling in
our lives..” from the latter, he will be a
vessel for honor, sanctified
T
he disturbing phe-
nomenon in this
expose’ is that
they are many. He says,
‚For many walk, of whom
I have told you often, and
now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of
the cross of Christ: whose
end is destruc-
tion…‛ [Php.3:18].
Page 6
some people who are al-
ways praying for break-
throughs and such like but
little do they know that the
company they keep for
fellowship is responsible
for their misfortunes. It
was for reasons such as
this that God dissuaded the
Israelites from considering
false teachings and prophe-
cies. He told them, ‚Do not
and useful for the Master,
prepared for every good
work.‛ [2 Tim.2:21]. One
major inequality between
the vessel of honor and ves-
sel of dishonor is in what
they present as a gospel.
The gospel each one sub-
scribes to, determines their
conduct. Paul says,
‚Brethren, join in following
I anxiously remember Mat-
thew.7:13 and 14 where
the LORD talks about the
Narrow and the Broad
ways. ‚Enter by the narrow
gate; for wide is the gate
that and broad is the way
that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go
by it.‛ [Matt.7:13]. He says
while many walk on the
broad way which leads to
listen to the words of the
prophets who prophesy to
you. They make you
worthless…‛ [Jer.23:16].
That means these false
prophets and teachers were
teaching in the name of
Baal. They could teach
vanity; emptiness, falsity
and futility and fill the con-
gregation with vain hopes.
my example, and note
those who so walk, as you
have us for a pat-
tern.‛ [Php.3:17]. The ves-
sels of honor have their
cradle in the holiness of
Christ. Paul continues to
expose the underlying for-
mation of the vessels of
dishonor—they are the
enemies of the cross.
destruction, few have found
the narrow way which leads
to life. This cannot be a
coincidence but what is
quietly unfolding before us
is that the many in Php.3:18
are actually the many that
walk on the broad way
leading to destruction. That
tells us that these are ves-
sels of dishonor!
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Distinctive Marks of the Vessels—Part II
N
ow that we have
began to see the
distinctive differ-
ence between the vessels of
honor and dishonor, it is
imperative to go a little
deeper and discuss the niche
of the vessels. Christians are
basically enlisted as soldiers
in the camp of God. The
word of God is a major
weapon by which we wage
A
n Ethiopian eu-
nuch in Acts.8:26-
40 was returning
from Jerusalem where he
had gone to worship. As he
sat in his chariot heading to
his destination, he was
reading a place in the book
of Isaiah which he did not
understand. The man was
troubled because he could
not understand what he
Saying ‘Know the LORD,
‘for all shall know Me,
from the least of them to
the greatest of
them.‛ [Heb.8:10-11]. The
teachings of the Holy Spirit
brings us a revelation that
impacts our souls, since
those teachings are fixed
deeply in our minds and
hearts. These are no mere
successful warfare. The
word must be written in
our hearts first, to fight a
good fight, but it cannot
be written when we only
study the scriptures and
leave it at that. ‚Let the
word of Christ dwell in
you richly in all wis-
dom..‛ [Col.3:16]. The
Scribes and the Pharisees
loved to study the scrip-
tures and that alone could
was reading, and so heaven
had to move. The Holy
Spirit dispatched Philip to
the eunuch and asked him,
‚Do you understand what
you are reading?‛ [vs.30].
The eunuch responded,
‚How can I, unless some-
one guides me?‛ [vs.31].
When we have prolonged
unfulfilled desire to under-
stand the things of God, the
head knowledge! These are
teachings that shapes our
general conduct, and no
theological class can bring
such level of transfor-
mation. Paul says, ‚But
God has revealed them to
us through His Spirit. For
the Spirit searches all
things, yes the deep things
of God.’ [1 Cor.2:10-11].
Page 7
not qualify them to be chil-
dren of God. They had no
desire to follow Jesus and
gain gradual understanding
of the scriptures they so
studied. ‚You search the
scriptures, for in them you
think you have eternal life;
and these are they which
testify of Me. But you are
not willing to come to Me
that you may have
life.‛ [Jn.5:39-40].
Holy Spirit is more than
ready to guide us into all
truth! What we have un-
derstood from the teaching
of the Holy Spirit is now “When you're full of
written in our hearts. ‚...I yourself, God can't
fill you. But when
will put My laws in their you empty yourself,
minds and write them in God has a useful
their hearts; and I will be vessel"
their God, and they shall
be My people. None of
them shall teach his neigh-
bor, and none his brother,..
What is to be revealed now
is the wisdom of God which
was kept hidden from hu-
man understanding. The
LORD said this about the
Holy Spirit, ‚He will glorify
Me, for He will take of
what is Mine and declare it
to you.‛ [Jn.16:14].
 VESSEL OF HONOR

Distinctive Marks of the Vessels—Part III

T
he Holy Spirit
discloses or re-
veals or transmit
to us, the mysteries of the
Kingdom of heaven, this is
essentially the mystery of
godliness. Upon disclosure,
it is no longer a mystery
because we understand the
information which is now
written in our souls. That
information is the word of
God! The Holy Spirit
comes and His most im-
portant mission is to
TEACH! ‚And when He
has come, He will convict
the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judg-
ment.‛ [Jn.16:8]. He will
teach that unbelief is the
sin, and that all other
works of the flesh are con-
sequences of unbelief. He
is the One who will teach
us the righteousness of
Christ, and an orderly life.
‚But concerning brotherly
love you have no need that
I should write to you, for
you yourselves are taught
by God to love one anoth-
er.‛ [1 Thess.49].

“The indwelling
Spirit shall teach him
what is of God and
what is not. This is
why sometimes we
can conjure up no
logical reason for
opposing a certain
teaching, yet in the
very depth of our
being arises a
resistance.”
T
he Holy Spirit will
also teach and
cause us to under-
stand that he who does not
accept His teachings and
revelations is on the path to
self-destruction and con-
demnation just as Satan is.
That is the judgment!
‚...but he who does not
believe is condemned al-
ready, because he has not
believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemna-
tion, that the light has come
into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds
were evil.’ [Jn.3:18-19].
The effect of the teachings
of the Holy Spirit is evi-
denced in the Christian’s
life. This evidence is the
fruit of the Spirit which
makes one to become a
vessel of honor. He who
has love has God and has
become an overcomer! He
who has love has the great-
er One inside him!

fore formal letters that was

T
he vessels of hon-
or are epistles of
Christ written by
the Holy Spirit. They are
specially long, formal let-
ters that are read by every-
one including the kingdom
of darkness. No wonder the
evil spirit told the seven
sons of Sceva, ‚Jesus I
know, and Paul I know,;
but who are
you?‛ [Acts.19:15]. This
means that the seven sons
of Sceva are examples of
vessels of dishonor. They
were soldiers who were
fighting against their own
kingdom and the evil spirit
they purported to fight
leaped on them and over-
powered them. Paul and
Jesus were examples of
vessels of honor, and there-
even read by the evil spirit.
‚Jesus I know, and Paul I
know… These were not
subjects of demonic harass-
ments and defeat. The Holy
Spirit makes us vessels of
honor when we accept His
teachings. Understanding
His will gives us faith,
boldness and power. This is
the anointing of the Spirit!

Page 8
 Volume 2, Issue 2

Distinctive Marks of the Vessels—Part IV

T
he anointing of the
Holy Spirit first of
all gives us power
over the self. There is no
anointing of the Spirit upon
one who is overpowered by
the flesh. ‚For if you live
according to the flesh you
will die; but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of
the body, you will live. For
as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are the
sons of God.‛ [Rom.8:13-
14]. The power of the Ho-
ly Spirit comes upon us as
we fellowship and are
taught by the Spirit. We do
not receive the anointing
by being prayed for and
mere fasting like the Phari-
sees were used to. As the
Holy Spirit teaches us in
fellowship with Him and
His teaching is truth, we
are gradually being em-
powered to overcome the
wiles of Satan. ‚Therefore
take up the whole amour of
God, that you may be able
to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to
stand.‛ [Eph.6:13]. I re-
member Luke chapter 4,
the LORD was led by the
Holy Spirit into the wilder-
ness.

We note that the word of
God was the armor by
which Jesus withstood the
subtle deceptions of Satan.
Jesus could always say, ‚It
is written…‛ which means
the word was written in
His heart. He understood
and lived the word, so he
could not fall for the wiles
of Satan. Satan however,
quoted the scriptures and
not the word! The word is
scripture revealed for our
understanding by the Spirit
of God. ‚The entrance of
your words gives light; it
gives understanding to the
simple.‛ [Ps.119:130]. Sa-
tan is the father of lies, and
how could he quote the
scriptures? He knows the
scriptures but he does not
know the word of God. He
remains to know only the
scriptures because of his
evil nature. The Pharisees
and the Scribes knew the
scriptures but like Satan,
they could not go beyond
that because their nature
which is attributed to Sa-
tan was a hindrance. Only
the doers of the word are
justified before God.
"Fear of the devil is
nonsense. Fear of
demons is foolish.
The Spirit of God
anointing the
Christian heart makes
the soul impregnable
to the powers of
darkness."

I
t is never enough to
know the scriptures
like the devil does,
but to know Christ. We
know that not every one
who says, ‚Lord, Lord’
shall enter the kingdom of
heaven but he who does
the will of God. We are
asked that, ‚What does it
profit, my brethren, if
someone says he has faith
but does not have works?
Can faith save
him?‛ [Jas.2:14]. Indeed,
faith without works of
righteousness is dead. The
fear of God in us validate
our faith. Satan would ra-
ther we rejoice in the
knowledge of scriptures
alone without correspond-
ing works of righteousness.
It makes us feel righteous
while surprisingly, there is
no righteousness of God at
all. Its like a rocking chair;
it keeps swaying but going
nowhere. The wiles of Sa-
tan is intended to keep peo-
ple occupied in futile spir-
itual ventures which takes
them nowhere near God.

Page 9
 Volume 2, Issue 2

Soldiers of Christ—Part I

T
he vessels of honor
are the soldiers of
Christ. The Lion of
the Tribe of Judah is their
commander and their alle-
giance is to Him alone. The
one who perseveres as a sol-
dier of Christ, will reap the
reward. The long-term re-
ward here is eternal life. We
are therefore told that, ‚No
one engaged in warfare en-
tangles himself with the af-
fairs of this life, that he
may please him who en-
listed him as a soldier.‛ [2
Tim.2:4]. The affairs of
this life does not mean the
daily bustles of life. Spir-
itually speaking, these are
affairs that do not add any
value to our Christianity.
Paul advised Timothy to
avoid words that do not
profit, profane and idle
babblings which false
teachers import into the
ranks of the church and
destroy the faith of their
hearers. These are propo-
nents of false gospel that
does not lead to God’s
righteousness. Of this lot
are the prosperity preach-
ers, grace preachers, New
Age preachers and so forth.
They become false because
their messages will not
conduct the hearers to God.

W
hat they pre-
sent as a gos-
pel are catego-
rized as, ‚...profane and
idle babblings, for they
will increase to more un-
godliness.‛ [2 Tim.2:16].
They ignore the funda-
mental intention of the
gospel of Christ—
holiness, and instead bring
in heresies which spreads
likes cancer. ‚And their
message will spread like
cancer. Hymenaeus and
Philetus are of this sort,
who have strayed concern-
ing the truth…‛ [2 Tim.
2:17]. There destructive
message will spreads
throughout and rapidly and
subtly drawing people fur-
ther away from God into
error. For example, pros-
perity gospel in itself se-
cretly promotes covetous-
ness . The adherents of
such gospel desert the
truth for ear-scratching
words. They seek to be
blessed apart from the
holiness of God. We have
to be alive to the truth
presented in the beatitudes
in Matthew chapter 5
which sufficiently minis-
ters true blessedness.
“Now the true
soldiers of Christ
must always be
prepared to do battle
for the truth, and must
never, so far as lies
with them, allow false
convictions to creep
in.”

H
ymenaeus and
Philetus are ex-
amples of ves-
sels of dishonor, and they
make dishonorable follow-
ers out of their destructive
messages. There messages
are such that they never
check indulgences of the
flesh. They are designed to
abandon there disciples to
the fate of death while
promising them heaven on
earth. Indeed, the disciples
are turned into worthless
Christians. The Lord there-
fore warns that, ‚Do not
listen to the words of the
prophets who prophesy to
you. They make you
worthless...‛ [Jer.23:16].
Destructive teachings
which are presented as
‚another ‚ gospel as pro-
Page 10
fane and idle babblings and
mere fables. All the genuine
servants of God beginning
with Noah are preachers of
righteousness, since the
whole duty of man is to fear
God. Any other preaching
that does not lead to godli-
ness is deceitful and only
promotes vanity.
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Soldiers of Christ—Part II
I
t is worth observing
that in as much as one
can engage in serving
God, there is the possibility
of God using him on a con-
tract basis, meaning, he is a
disposable vessel in the
hands of God! He preaches
Christ but at the end of it all,
he is disqualified as a vessel
of dishonor. Paul says, ‚But
I discipline my body and
V
essels of dishonor
do as they please
and not necessari-
ly as pleases God. In other
words, they are devoid of
the wisdom of God be-
cause they do not revere
Him. They preach Christ
but do not walk according
to His will. Once again, we
are refreshed to the fact
that not the hearers of the
T
herefore, to him
who knows to do
good and does not
do it, to him it is sin. It is
therefore our responsibility
to give careful considera-
tion to how we walk, lest
we be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin and
disqualified. There are
some among us who, even
bring it into subjection,
lest, when I have preached
to others, I myself should
become disqualified.‛ [1
Cor.9:27]. Here, Paul re-
veals if we do not subdue
the body, we end up as
vessels of dishonor and
disqualified at the end. He
says he has to, ‚discipline
his body and bring it into
subjection‛ This means
that we have to check the
word are just before God
but the doers. ‚Therefore
you are inexcusable, O
man, whoever you are who
judge, for in whatever you
judge another you con-
demn yourself; for you
who judge practice the
same things.‛ [Rom.2:1].
One preaches Christ but he
is filled with envy and cov-
etousness for example, but
though they are preaching
Christ, and due to stub-
bornness of their heart,
they are unconscious to the
fact that God has already,
‚gave them over to a de-
based mind, to do those
things which are not fit-
ting.‛ [Rom.1:28]. They
preach Christ but deep in
their heart, there is a cer-
Page 11
indulgences of the flesh in
surrender to the Holy Spir-
it; the lust of the flesh, the
pride of life and the lust of
the eyes are vices that leads
one to be disqualified. We
all want to inherit eternal
life and not eternal death,
especially after preaching
Christ. Therefore, a good
soldier of Christ must not
entangle himself with the
‘affairs of this life.’
severely censures those in
sexual immorality. His
covetousness and envy
will bring him to the same
judgment as the sexually
immoral. This is the idea “The Lord gets His
best soldiers out of
that God submits to us the highlands of
when He persuades us to affliction.”
work out our own salva-
tion with fear and trem-
bling so as to be vessels of
honor sanctified and useful
for the Master.
tain expectation of judg-
ment. God’s voice echoes in
their hearts and leaves a
sense of condemnation.
God’s voice whispers to
them, ‚...who knowing the
righteous judgment of God,
that those who practice such
things are deserving of
death…‛ [Rom.1:32].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Soldiers of Christ—Part III
I
n conclusion of all
these things, we can
say that a time is com-
ing when all the secrets
shall be laid bare, and a
man’s work will either ex-
cuse or accuse him. Paul
concludes this matter say-
ing, ‚What then? Only that
in every way, whether in
pretense or in truth, Christ
is preached; and in this I
N
ot only do they
work evil but are
essentially the
children of Satan. ‚For
such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, trans-
forming themselves into
apostles of Christ. And no
wonder! For Satan himself
transforms himself into an
angel of light. Therefore it
is no great thing if his min-
ness for light, and light for
darkness; who put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bit-
ter.‛ [Isa.5:20]. These are
the perilous times; the pre-
sent times are dangerous
and unsafe not because
God designed it to be so
but rather because men
have generally deserted
God. Evil have inconceiva-
rejoice, yes, and will re-
joice.‛ [Php.1:18]. We are
not in the business to judge
one another but we let
good presentation of the
truth to do that, ‚For the
word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword
piercing even to the divi-
sion of the soul and spirit,
and of joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the
isters also transform them-
selves into ministers of
righteousness, whose end
will be according to their
works.‛ [2 Cor.11:13-15].
It is intriguing how they
transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness
while actually they are not.
They present a gospel that
sounds ‘correct’ on the
surface but underneath it is
bly increased in these times
and it seems Satan is hav-
ing his way. The would-be
soldiers of Christ have
made serious concessions
to the enemy in their self-
will. As soldiers of Christ,
it is His desire that we dine
with Him and put on His
own apparel, which is the
garment of righteousness.
Page 12
thoughts and intents of the
heart.‛ [Heb.4:12]. Christ
Himself is the Judge who
will render to every man
according to his work. He
recruited us to be His sol-
diers but there are some in
our ranks who have com-
promised their allegiance to
Him. These are the unfaith-
ful servants who by shift-
ing their allegiance from
Him to Satan, work evil.
cunning deception. A gos-
pel that avoids introspec-
tion but encourage the
hearers to bury their heads
in the sand. While they
say, Peace, peace then “Philosophically, war is
an extension of man’s
sudden destruction comes
struggle with sin and
upon them! They cover evil in the world.”
imminent danger with
peace and sin with gospel
of ‘grace’ ‚Woe to those
who call evil good, and
good evil; who put dark-
However, as both vessels of
honor and dishonor are ac-
commodated within a great
house, the LORD concludes
the whole matter at the time
of harvest. He says to the
reapers, ‚First gather to-
gether the tares and bind
them in bundles to burn
them, but gather the wheat
into my barn. [Matt.13:30].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Recipients of Grace
T
he power of God
that neutralizes the
effect of sin in men
is hidden in His grace.
There is an attitude that
attracts the grace of God
upon our lives. If one delib-
erately or knowingly walks
in sin, even though he is a
Christian, he has effectively
forfeited his place in the
grace of God. He has fallen
T
he proud deny the
grace of God be-
cause they deem
themselves as wise. They
deny the grace of God by
their sinful lifestyle and
until they are willing to
forsake such life, they can-
not be under God’s grace.
God refers to such Chris-
tians as dead already, ‚I
know your works, that you
sliding deeper into death.
Therefore, God resists the
proud, but He extends His
grace to the humble. A
broken and a contrite heart,
God will not despise. The
humble do not regard
themselves highly before
God and men. The grace of
God has come forward for
the deliverance from sin
from grace! The grace of
God is sufficient in the
sense that the power with-
in cannot be compared to
the power of sin. Adam’s
transgression recruited
mankind into death.
Therefore, death held
sway from Adam to Mo-
ses, the Lawgiver, even
over those who did not
themselves transgress as
Adam did. This means
have a name that you are
alive, but you are
dead.‛ [Rev.3:1]. These see
themselves as alive to God;
but are virtually dead in
spirit and works, and is
representative of dead or-
thodoxy. Such are they
who remember with nostal-
gia how God used them
mightily in the past, they
take pride in the long dura-
and the eternal salvation of
all mankind, but each one
of us has to receive it if we
have to benefit from it.
Therefore we receive
God’s grace when we are
willing to denounce the
unfruitful works of dark-
ness. ‚Come now, and let
us reason together,‛ says
the LORD. Though your
Page 13
that as much as the binding
effect of Adam’s transgres-
sion was powerful to hold
mankind in hostage, the
grace of God is tremendous-
ly powerful to effectively
break the strong bondage to
sin. However, there is a par-
ticular attitude that attract
this grace. ‚God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the
humble.‛ [Jas.4:6].
tion they have been born
again but do not know
they have relapsed into
spiritual anarchy. Every-
“A man may find out
thing has become normal many ways to hide his
to them including sin. sin, but he will never
While they feared God and find out any way to
subdue his sin, but by
abhorred sin in the past, exercise of grace.”
they now say, ‚Everyone
is a sinner and so God’s
grace is sufficient.‛ As
they live in their past glo-
ries, they are gradually
sins are like scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like
crimson, they shall be as
wool. If you are willing and
obedient, you shall eat the
good of the land; but if you
refuse and rebel, you shall
be devoured by the sword‛
For the mouth of the LORD
has spoken.‛ [Isa.1:18-20].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Building the Temple—Part I
G
od has called us to
come and reason
together, and the
meeting is based on His
terms. His terms has to do
with provision of grace,
because He says, ‚..though
your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as
snow.‛ The characteristic of
grace is that it trains us to
reject and renounce all un-
builds on it. For no other
foundation can anyone lay
than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.‛ [1
Cor.3:10-11]. Paul, as a
wise master builder laid the
foundation, which is Jesus
Christ, but somebody may
ask, ‚Who is Jesus
Christ?‛ He is the Son of
God, and the very God.
However, someone may
T
herefore, wisdom
and understanding
is the foundation
that Paul was inspired to
lay. That foundation is Je-
sus Christ! Paul further
goes on to advice that let
each one of us take heed
how he builds on that foun-
dation. If one wants to con-
struct a masonry house, he
godliness and to live dis-
creet lives. ‚For the grace
of God that brings salva-
tion has appeared to all
men, teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously,
and godly in the present
age.‛ [Tit.2:11-12]. We are
empowered by God’s grace
to live victorious Christian
lives and eventually re-
further ask, ‚What is the
Son of God?‛ Appropriate
answer to that question
becomes more imperative,
when we have a desire to
practically understand the
foundation Paul is talking
about here. Now the Spirit
says, ‚Through wisdom a
house is built, and by un-
derstanding it is estab-
lished.‛ [Prov.24:3]. We
will have to lay a proper
foundation that can sustain
the building. If the founda-
tion materials include
stones, sand and cement,
the walls of the house can-
not be made of clay. Other-
wise, the concrete founda-
tion will reject the clay
walls due to incompatibil-
ity issues. Therefore, a
Page 14
warded with crowns of
righteousness. Paul visited
the Corinthian church but
to his utter dismay, he
found them in divisions,
envy and strife. This was
not the foundation he laid
for them to build on, when
he visited them earlier. He
says, ‚...I have laid the
foundation, and another
builds on it. But let each
one take heed how he
realize that the foundation
material is wisdom and
understanding. Again we
are told that Christ is,
‚...the wisdom of God.‛ [1
“Anything this side of
Cor.1:24], and that’s not hell is pure grace.”
all. He Himself says,
‚Counsel is mine, and
sound wisdom; I am un-
derstanding, I have
strength.‛ [Prov.8:14].
concrete foundation will
sustain a wall constructed
from the same materials as
the foundation—stones,
sand and cement. If we have
to build on the foundation
of wisdom and understand-
ing, we must therefore, have
the same materials; wisdom
and understanding as agree-
able combination.
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Building the Temple—Part II
T
he determinateness
of success of a
church is found in
her wisdom and under-
standing. Wisdom is the
principle thing, and we
have to get it, but we cannot
get it without understand-
ing. So we have to get spir-
itual understanding, but
again we cannot have spir-
itual understanding without
The natural man disregards
heavenly wisdom and em-
braces worldly wisdom.
We are asked, ‚Who is
wise and understanding
among you? Then told, Let
him show by good conduct
that his works are done in
the meekness of wisdom.
But if you have bitter envy
and self-seeking in your
hearts, do not boast and lie
for jewelry of fine
gold.‛ [Job.28:15-17].
Therefore, like Job, we
ask, ‚From where then
does wisdom come? And
where is the place of un-
derstanding?‛ [Job.28:20].
It is hidden from the eyes
of all living, and even Hell
and Death say, ‚...we have
heard a report about it with
the fear of God. Therefore,
our point of entry into the
graces of God is the fear of
God. ‚The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of
wisdom, and the
knowledge of the Holy
One is understand-
ing.‛ [Prov.9:10]. God
gave His statutes and judg-
ments to Israel through
Moses, then He advised
them, ‚Therefore, be care-
against the truth. This wis-
dom does not descend form
above, but is earthly, sen-
sual, demonic. For where
envy and self-seeking ex-
ist, confusion and every
evil thing are
there.‛ [Jas.3:13-16]. There
is nowhere on this earth we
can acquire wisdom and
understanding, but it has to
be imported from heaven
our ears.‛ [vs.22], but they
don't know where it is! It is
only God who understands
the way to wisdom and it is
with Him alone. Finally,
He reveals the way of wis-
dom to men. ‚...Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is
wisdom, and to depart
from evil is understand-
ing.‛ [vs.28]. The Spirit
Page 15
ful to observe them; for this
is your wisdom and under-
standing…‛ [Deut.4:6].
This tells us that obedience
to the will of God is wis-
dom and understanding.
The natural or non-spiritual
man will not receive the
revelations and teachings
of the Holy Spirit for he
views them as meaningless
nonsense.
through the Holy Spirit. It
is so precious and price-
less that it cannot be on
this earth. Job’s discourse
on wisdom reveals that, ‚It “He who is graceless in
the day of grace will be
cannot be purchased for speechless in the Day
gold, nor can silver be of judgment.”
weighed for its price. It
cannot be valued in the
gold of Ophir, in precious
onyx or sapphire. Neither
gold nor crystal can equal
it, nor can it be exchanged
searches the deep things of
God and reveals it to us, but
first, the fear of God must
be in place. In John chapter
16:14 the Lord Jesus Christ
talked about the coming of
the Holy Spirit, and He said
that when He finally comes,
‚...He will take of what is
Mine and declare it to you.‛
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Building the Temple—Part III
I
n John chapter 16
verse 14, Jesus Christ
is referring to the wis-
dom of God which has been
hidden from human under-
standing, but is now re-
vealed by the Spirit to those
who fear Him. As the Holy
Spirit discloses the divine
nature of Christ, there is a
conveyance of this nature to
us. Henceforth, we grasp
precious stones, wood, hay
and straw are all perishable
things, which cannot fit on
the imperishable founda-
tion. What relationship has
the imperishable with the
perishable? ‚And if you
call on the Father, who
without partiality judges
according to each one’s
work, conduct yourselves
throughout the time of your
death.‛ [Prov.16:25].
For example, some believe
that true spirituality is
measured by the abun-
dance of material posses-
sions, this is how prosperi-
ty gospel shapes people’s
thoughts. Some also de-
pend on their long-time
experiences and skills they
have achieved throughout
the fact that the fear of God
is His wisdom, and to de-
part from evil is spiritual
understanding. Wisdom
and understanding are the
building materials on the
foundation. And the good
thing is that these materials
are supplied by the Spirit.
Our own works doesn't
suffice to build a temple
that pleases God for they
are like filthy rags. ‚...and
stay here in fear; knowing
that you were not re-
deemed with corruptible
things, like silver or gold
from your aimless con-
duct...‛ [1 Pet.1:17-18].
Job tells us that neither
gold nor crystal can equal
the wisdom of God, nor
can it be exchanged for
jewelry of fine gold.
Therefore, perishable
the years and so forth.
However, Paul says, ‚But
what things were gain to
me, these I have counted
loss for Christ.‛ [Php.3:7].
If all that we value in our
Christianity is devoid of
wisdom and understanding,
our own values will not
count in the day of judg-
ment. Judgment will be
Page 16
all our righteousness are
like filthy rags.‛ [Isa.64:6].
Now we are told to take
heed how we build on the
foundation, which means
we have to be careful how
we build on the foundation.
The Holy Spirit is the One
who builds the temple, and
transforms us into vessels
of honor. All that is re-
quired of us is to surrender
to His will. Gold, silver,
things such as gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay
and straw refers to our
own futile ways and “Morality may keep
thoughts. These are things you out of jail, but it
we value and from self- takes the blood of Jesus
will, we expect God to
Christ to keep you out
of hell.”
consider them as a way to
better our salvation. How-
ever, we have to recognize
that, ‚...there is a way that
seems right to a man, but
its end is the way of
based on truth, and we
should not be found want-
ing when our works are put
on a weighing scale against
the truth. That truth is
Christ! Again, if all we are
depending on, are our
works apart from the holi-
ness of Christ, we are bound
to suffer loss in the day of
judgment.
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Fairness of God’s Judgment—Part I
W
e love to get
into our own
spiritual co-
coons where we derive
some comfort but unfortu-
nately, there is danger of
facing a grim reality in the
last day. The Lord warned
that, ‚He who love his life
will lose it, and he who
hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal
E
ach one’s work
will be revealed
when God will
judge the secrets of men by
Jesus Christ. Fire, which is
the truth will reveal it. Eve-
rything we are doing here
on earth whether good or
evil is being recorded in
the books of our hearts;
each one of us knows what
he is. ‚For what man
O
n the Day of judg-
ment, that is, on
the Day that our
souls will depart from our
bodies (death), we will
give an account of how we
lived. ‚And as it is appoint-
ed for men to die once, but
after this the judgment…‛
[Heb.9:27].
life.‛ [Jn.12:25]. The Lord
is talking about ‘life’ and
then, ‘eternal life’. The life
we must hate in this world,
is the sinful lifestyle. We
have to hate it enough to
kill it. So, when the Lord
talks about the life in this
world, He is basically say-
ing that, ‚For all that is in
the world-the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life-is not
knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man
which is in him?‛ [1
Cor.2:11]. The spirit man
records all our works, God
has a copy before Him and
also do Satan. At the mo-
ment, the books are opened
and spiritual entities are
writing on them, depending
on which entity you allow
to write. The entities are
The judgment will be in
such a way that none of us
will be able to refute what
he himself consciously
allowed to be written in his
own book. When one dies,
his book is closed, which
means no more works can
be recorded therein and he
his now prepared for the
final judgment to deter-
Page 17
of the Father but is of the
world.‛ [1 Jn.2:16]. If we
therefore build on the foun-
dation with a life we ought
to hate and kill, we shall
suffer loss. ‚...each one’s
work will become clear; for
the Day will declare it, be-
cause it will be revealed by
fire; and the fire will test
each one’s work, of what
sort it is.‛ [1 Cor.3:13].
either the spirit of anti-
christ or the Spirit of
Christ. And so we are
asked, ‚Do you not know
that to whom you present “He who is graceless in
the day of grace will be
yourselves slaves to obey, speechless in the Day
you are that one’s slaves of judgment.”
whom you obey, whether
of sin leading to death, or
of obedience leading to
righteousness?‛
[Rom.6:16].
mine his eternal fate. The
judgment session bring to
light all things that are hid-
den be it good or evil. At
that moment, the books are
re-opened and he secrets
deeds therein are laid bare.
‚...and books were
opened...and the dead were
judged according to their
works, by the things which
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Fairness of God’s Judgment—Part II
were written in the books.
[Rev.20:12]. We are told
that the fire will test each
one’s work, of what sort it
is. Our works will be sub-
jected to a judgment to de-
termine if they are on the
threshold of eternity with
God or not. ‚And they were
judged, each one according
to his works...and anyone
not found written in the
C
onsiderate regard
for these weightier
matters makes us
to be part of Christ, and
thus, in Christ. The Lord
Jesus says, ‚Abide in Me,
and I in you…‛ [Jn.15:4].
This is what makes the
Christians names to be in
the Book of Life. And then
God will, ‚...wipe away
every tear from their eyes;
the blind leads the blind,
both will fall into a
ditch.‛ [vs.14]. These are
vessels of dishonor who
make others to be dishon-
orable vessels. So the Lord
says that they should be
left alone if they are con-
tented with their Christian-
ity. In the end, they shall
be rejected and uprooted
Book of Life was cast into
the lake of fire.‛
[Rev.20:13,15]. The un-
righteous were cast into the
lake of fire because their
undeserving works would
not permit their names to
be included in the Book of
Life. 1 Cor.3:15 tells us
that, ‚If any one’s work is
burned, he will suffer
loss…‛ The Book of Life
is Christ Himself, and in
there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor cry-
ing. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things
have passed away.‛
[Rev.21:4]. Therefore, we
have to take heed concern-
ing our works, lest our
works be burned and suffer
loss. Therefore, we cannot
build on the foundation of
Christ with unworthy ma-
from the foundation and
thrown into the lake of fire.
However, ‚If anyone’s
work which he has built on
it endures, he will receive a
reward.‛ [1 Cor.3:14]. We
now learn that the only
work which will endure
and secure a reward is
righteousness and holiness.
However, I wish to explain
Page 18
the heading is recorded the
requirements of God,
which are itemized in Mi-
cah.6:8—Justice, mercy
and humility. We remem-
ber that these virtues were
lacking in the Pharisees
and the Scribes. The Lord
told them that they,
‚...neglected the weightier
matter of the Law: justice,
mercy and faith.‛
[Matt.23:23].
terials such as gold, silver,
precious stones, hay and
wood. These shall be up- “At great cost to
rooted and burned on the Himself, God has made
Day of judgment. The it possible for each of
us to live with Him
Lord Himself promised eternally. Those who
that, ‚Every plant which reject God's offer of a
My heavenly Father has heavenly home will be
assigned to hell.”
not planted will be uproot-
ed.‛ [Matt.15:13]. Then
He continues to say, ‚Let
them alone. They are blind
leaders of the blind. And if
further the concept of grace
in relation to works. At
times, God can give a small
window of salvation at the
last minutes of someone’s
life. We now know that, ‚If
any one’s work is burned,
he will suffer loss; but he
himself will be saved, yet so
as through fire.‛
[1 Cor.3;15].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Fairness of God’s Judgment—Part III
T
here is a rare occa-
sion in which one
can suffer loss, that
is, his works before God are
burned, yet by God’s grace,
he himself is saved. Salva-
tion is credited to his ac-
count at the last minute,
despite his underserving
works. I say rare because
this kind of grace is beyond
our determination and is
nothing wrong. Then he
said to Jesus, ‚Lord, re-
member me when You
come into Your king-
dom.‛ [Lk.23:40-42].
These inspired words were
spoken by the criminal as
he was on the throes of
death. He accepted his
deadly fate like a criminal,
and he did not deny his sin
like the other criminal.
counted among those
whose works endured the
fire, and yet so as through
fire, the Lord said to him,
‚Assuredly, I say to you,
today you will be with Me
in Paradise.‛ [Lk.23:43].
His works as a thief was
not going to be remem-
bered against him the mo-
ment he dies. The works of
dispensed by God on His
own volition. For example,
Jesus was crucified with
two thieves; one on the
right and the other on the
left. People sneered,
mocked and blasphemed
Him while on the cross,
and one of the criminals
joined the frenzy. He dared
Jesus to save Himself and
them if indeed, He is the
Christ. Indeed, the criminal
However, his works as a
thief was not worthy before
God. His works were
therefore burned and he
suffered loss. He was not
destined to enter the king-
dom of heaven, but God in
His act of mercy and grace,
caused him to remorsefully
acknowledge his sin. The
Lord Jesus said, ‚No one
can come to Me unless the
the other thief was going to
be remembered against
him and he shall die. Be-
tween the two criminals in
their last moments of life,
God had the liberty to give
amnesty to whomsoever
He chose, and it was purely
an act of His grace. God
presented His redemptive
grace like an opportunity to
Page 19
deserved to die due to his
sins, but on the throes of
death, he speaks blasphe-
mies instead of repentance.
His fellow criminal re-
buked him, saying the fol-
lowing words, ‚Do you not
even fear God, seeing you
are under the same con-
demnation? And we indeed
justly, for we receive the
due reward of our deeds;
but this Man has done
Father who sent Me draws
him; and I will raise him
up at the last day.‛ “There are moments
and there are mysteries
[Jn.6:44]. From the way he of the divine mercy
spoke, asking the Lord to over which the heavens
remember him in His are astounded. Let our
kingdom, he was indeed,
judgment of souls
cease, for God's mercy
repentant, and God gave upon them is
him grace in the last mo- extraordinary.”
ments of his life. There-
fore, he suffered loss, yes
but due to last minute
grace, he was saved and
do good, and the criminal
took advantage of it. God
says, ‚...as for the wicked-
ness of the wicked, he shall
not fall because of it in the
day that he turns from his
wickedness.‛ [Ezek.33:12].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
Fairness of God’s Judgment—Part IV
A
peculiar aspect of
this grace is that it
is a last-minute
grace. We cannot depend
on that because none of us
knows when he shall die.
Some perish abruptly on the
roads, some in the hospitals
without a single thought
about their eternity, some
go to sleep and never wake
up and so on. Our works
He said this: ‚For I am
already being poured out as
a drink offering, and the
time of my departure is at
hand. I have fought the
good fight, I have finished
the race, I have kept the
faith.‛ [2 Tim.4:6-7]. We
have to take advantage of
the grace now and secure a
reward in heaven. In anoth-
er place, we are again ad-
W
e note that in a
great house, the
vessels of hon-
or are recognized as the
heirs of the Father’s estate,
and theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. The vessels of
dishonor on the other hand
are regarded as servants or
slaves. They will not re-
main in the house forever,
have already gone before
the LORD and it is our
hope that they are not
burned, but hope is not
what is required here. We
are required to work out
our own salvation with fear
and trembling to ensure
that indeed, we are vessels
of honor. God has allowed
His grace to appear to all
men, but what we do with
it while we are still alive is
vised that, ‚Today, if you
will hear His voice, do not
harden your hearts as in the
rebellion.‛ [Heb.3:7-8].
We cannot rebel against
God in our self-will, and
seek to build on His holy
foundation as we please,
and then hope for His
grace on the Day of judg-
ment. This is where Satan
has sneaked a rather twist-
a time comes when they
shall be ejected and not
partake of the Father’s
commonwealth. The Lord
Jesus said, ‚Most assured-
ly, I say to you, whoever
commits sin is a slave of
sin. And a slave does not
abide in the house forever,
but a son abides forev-
er.‛ [Jn.8:34-35]. There-
Page 20
upon us. Nevertheless, we
are advised to, ‚Seek the
LORD while He may be
found, call upon Him while
He is near.‛ [Isa.55:6]. This
does not mean that God
will be out of the picture,
but rather, we will be out of
the picture sooner or later.
It is beneficial to go out of
the picture when we have
already found God like
Paul did.
ed deception which many
in the church have unani-
mously embraced. ‚Once
“God's Word is the
saved, forever saved!‛ only reliable guideline
This is a lethal assump- for living. Following
tion. We are indeed saved your heart, without the
by grace only, ‚...if we
leading of His Word
and His Spirit, will lead
hold fast the confidence you to His judgment.”
and the rejoicing of the
hope firm to the end.‛
[Heb.3:6]. This means that
we have to take advantage
of God’s grace TODAY.
fore, the vessels of honor
are they who walk in obedi-
ence to the Father’s will.
These are the Jesus’ sib-
lings, He being the firstborn
among many brethren. ‚For
whoever does the will of
My Father in heaven is My
brother and sister and moth-
er.‛ [Matt.12:50].
 Volume 2, Issue 2
The Shepherd’s Voice—Part I
T
his last discourse on
the vessels of honor
is a recap of the
long discussion of this
newsletter. This summary
seeks to give an overview
of the general happenings in
most of our worship cen-
tres. In this end-times, most
of our worship centres are
utilized to transmit error,
they have been turned into
centres of radicalization in
falsehood. This has been,
health of the congregation.
The spiritual health of the
congregation is here guar-
anteed by administering
truth from the mouth of
God. The word from the
Lord expresses His will,
which provides spiritual
wellness. Therefore, the
Lord tells the watchman,
‚…you shall hear a word
from My mouth and warn
them for Me.‛ [Ezek.33:7].
The message that provides
T
he Lord predicts
profound misery
to those who shall
knowingly or otherwise,
embrace this dark ideolo-
gy. He says, ‚Woe to those
who call evil good, and
good evil; who put dark-
ness for light, and light for
darkness; who put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bit-
and still is, the plan of the
kingdom of darkness, since
many souls are reached
and turned into vessels of
dishonor. There is an un-
seen spiritual phenomenon
in a congregation. Men can
be seated in the pews lis-
tening to a shepherd minis-
tering from the pulpit, yet
events in the spiritual
realm can be puzzling. The
shepherd or pastor in this
scenario, is the watchman.
life and preserves the con-
gregation from death is the
trumpet. Therefore, the
trumpet is a message that
proclaims the holiness and
righteousness of God,
whilst the sword represents
the perils of sin, which is
eternal death. ‚When I say
to the wicked, O wicked
man, you shall surely die!’
and you do not speak to
warn the wicked from his
way, that wicked man shall
ter!‛ [Isa.5:20]. Therefore,
knowing the voice of God
is imperative to our spiritu-
al wellbeing, because such
knowledge guards against
infiltration of falsehood or
vanity in our hearts. ‚But
you have an anointing from
the Holy One, and you
know all things. I have not
written to you because you
Page 21
Therefore, the Lord says
that, ‚...if the watchman
sees the sword coming and
does not blow the trumpet,
and the people are not
warned, and the sword
comes and takes any per-
son from among them, he
is taken away in his iniqui-
ty; but his blood I will re-
quire at the watchman’s
hand.‛ [Ezek.33:6]. The
watchman has the responsi-
bility to ensure the spiritual
die in his iniquity; but his
blood I will require at your
hand.‛ [Ezek.33:8]. There
is a dark conspiracy “He heard the sound of
against the spiritual well- the trumpet, and took
being of the church of not warning; his blood
Christ. Part of the conspir- shall be upon him. But
acy is to allow falsehood
he that taketh warning
shall deliver his soul”
to spread faster like can-
cer, to the extent that it
eclipses the truth. The con-
sequence is replacement of
truth with falsehood.
do not know the truth, but
because you know it, and
that no lie is of the truth.’ [1
Jn.2:20-21]. We cannot
know the voice of God
when we have no zeal for
His righteousness, The fear
of God is the gateway into
all His word. ‚For the
LORD gives wisdom; from
His mouth come knowledge
 Volume 2, Issue 2
The Shepherd’s Voice—Part II
and understanding
[Prov.2:6]. However, in 1st
Corinthians chapter 2 verse
14, we are told that the non-
spiritual, natural man will
not accept the teachings and
revelations of the Holy
Spirit since he does not
walk in the fear of God.
Instead, he walks in strife,
envy, pride and so forth. He
resists the Spirit when He
one to make wise choices
and to stay from the way of
evil, it is just but vain bab-
bling. The Lord Jesus says
this about His sheep, ‚...he
goes before them; and the
sheep follow him, for they
know his voice. Yet they
will by know means follow
a stranger, but will flee
from him, for they do not
know voice of strangers.‛
sheep thus feeding them
with knowledge and under-
standing. ‚And I will give
you shepherds according to
My heart, who will feed
you with knowledge and
understanding.‛ [Jer.3:15].
The true shepherd is a ves-
sel of honor, and so do the
sheep under his watch. The
stranger is not so, but just a
nudges him towards truth,
The truth is the wisdom of
God, the word of God, and
the word is the voice. Now
we are told that, ‚When
wisdom enters your heart,
and knowledge is pleasant
to your soul, discretion will
preserve you; understand-
ing will keep you, to deliv-
er you from the way of
evil.‛ [Prov.2:10-12].
Discretion is the ability to
[Jn.10:4-5]. The sheep of
Christ will follow His
heart, that is, His will
which is His righteousness
and love. His will is Truth!
Paul said, ‚...but I press on,
that I may lay hold of that
for which Christ Jesus has
also laid hold of me.‛
[Php.3:12]. I press on or
follow after… that means
Christ provides the pattern.
hireling. The stranger is
disposed to avoid the truth
and expose the sheep to the
sword. He is after personal
gain and not after spiritual
welfare of the sheep. Of
this lot, for example, are
the prosperity and new-age
preachers! They continual-
ly say to those who despise
God, ‚You shall have
Page 22
make wise choices or deci-
sions. So, divine wisdom
empowers us to make wise
choices and by understand-
ing, we walk in the right
way and avoid the evil
way. Therefore, the content
of the message from the
mouth of God has to do
with transmission of wis-
dom and understanding. If
the message or rather the
voice does not influence
Therefore, those who fol-
low after Him shall be
known by their fruits. The
fruits are due to knowing “If you have trouble
the voice of the true shep- hearing God speak, you
herd. A true shepherd is a are in trouble at the
minister of righteousness,
very heart of your
Christian experience”
since he transmits
knowledge and under-
standing to the sheep. As
the shepherd hears from
the mouth of God, he pass-
es on the message to the
peace‛, And to everyone who
walks according to the dic-
tates of his own heart, they
say, ’No evil shall come up-
on you.‛ [Jer.23:17].
They promise blessings,
breakthroughs and miracles
to those who are impervious
to truth. They speak a vision
of their own heart, and not
from God’s mouth.
 Volume 2, Issue 2

Notes:

Page 23
 Holy Life Fellowship

This is a fellowship founded on the core tenets of true holiness. We believe and teach
Phone: +254729892666 This is a fellowship founded on the core tenets of true holiness. We believe and teach
that the ultimate requirement of GOD upon mankind is to live a new life free from
Phone: +254737070037 that the ultimate requirement of GOD upon mankind is to live a new life free from
unwarranted controlling influence of the old life. We believe that GOD has made a
E-mail: stephenbikko@gmail.com unwarranted controlling influence of the old life. We believe that GOD has made a
provision for the reality of this new life in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
provision for the reality of this new life in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that Micah.6:8 determine the sum of the gospel of Christ which reflects
We believe that Micah.6:8 determine the sum of the gospel of Christ which reflects
the ultimate will of GOD for mankind. “He has shown you, O man, what is good;
the ultimate will of GOD for mankind. “He has shown you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to
and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk
walk humbly with your God?” (Micah.6:8).
humbly with your God?” (Micah.6:8).
We believe that the desire for holiness is a proclivity that GOD delights in and He
We believe that the desire for holiness is a proclivity that GOD delights in and He
will not despise such a soul. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken
will not despise such a soul. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken
and a contrite heart-these, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm.51:17). Conse-
and a contrite heart-these, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm.51:17). Conse-
quently, we believe in the faithfulness of GOD and find comfort is such spiritual atti-
quently, we believe in the faithfulness of GOD and find comfort is such spiritual atti-
tude, because we are fully persuaded that GOD “…satisfies the longing soul and
“...Towards eternity with God.” tude, because we are fully persuaded that GOD “…satisfies the longing soul and
fills the hungry soul with goodness.” (Psalm.107:9).
fills the hungry soul with goodness.” (Psalm.107:9).
Vision
Vision Statement
Statement
AAteaching
teachingministry
ministrywith
withan
anintention
intentionand
anddesire
desiretotosee
seepeople
peoplesaved,
saved,enlightened,
enlightened,set
set
free,
free, discipled, equipped and empowered to worship the LORD Jesus Christaccord-
discipled, equipped and empowered to worship the LORD Jesus Christ accord-
ing
ingtototrue holiness.––“For
trueholiness. “ForGod
Goddiddidnot
notcall
callus
usto
touncleanness,
uncleanness,but
butin
inholiness.”
holiness.”(I(I
Thess.4:7).
Thess.4:7).
Mission
Mission Statement
Statement
We
Welead
leadpeople
peopletotoexperience
experiencethe theholiness
holinessofofGOD
GODininthe
thename
nameof ofJesus
JesusChrist,
Christ,the
the
Son
Son of GOD. We have the mandate to teach the infallible and uncompromisingword
of GOD. We have the mandate to teach the infallible and uncompromising word
of
ofGOD
GODand andtotopractice
practiceititas
asaameans
meanstotodemonstrate
demonstratethetheselfless
selflesslove
loveof
ofGOD
GODtotohu-
hu-
manity
manityirrespective
irrespectiveofofreligion,
religion,creed,
creed,race
raceor
orstatus.
status.

Vessel of Honor
Why vessel of Honor?
Becoming a vessel of honor is the
Father’s will for every soul, and the
foundation of the Christian call. The
new-birth experience presents to us
the opportunity through the Holy
Spirit, to walk in the fear of God.
Therefore, becoming a vessel of honor
involves a process of sanctification by
the blood of Jesus Christ. Apostle
Paul beautifully captures the idea of
sanctification this way: ‚ Brethren, I
do not count myself to have appre-
hended; but one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and
reaching forward to those things
which are ahead.‛ [Philippians.3:13].
Vessels of honor are not only pre-
pared for the Master’s use, but most
importantly they are assured of eternal
life. ‚Beloved, if our heart does not
condemn us, we have confidence to-
ward God.‛ [1 John.3:20].
This newsletter shall be published
monthly and supplied free of charge.
This newsletter is NOT FOR SALE!