Living In A Buffet World
Genesis 3: 1 – 7
The enemy’s threefold strategy is like Eve, to make us…
1. Doubt God – v.1 ‘Did God really say ‘you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’
2. Reject God – v. 4 ‘You will not surely die’
3. Replace God – v.5 ‘For God knows when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’.
1John 4:1-3 ‘Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.’
PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Dear heavenly Father, I confess that I have not loved You with all my heart and soul and mind. I have sinned against You, by violating the command not to have any other gods before me. I ask You to bring to my mind anything that I have done knowingly or unknowingly that involves occult, cult or non-Christian teachings or practices. I renounce all worship of false gods and chose to worship and serve only you. I cancel any ground Satan may have gained in my life through my idolatry and renounce all satanic assignments for my life.
I recognize that there is only one true and living God who exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is worthy of all honor, praise and glory as the One who made all things and holds all things together. I recognize that in Jesus Christ, God came in human form to save us from the power of sin. I believe that He demonstrated His love for me, by dying for me while I was still a sinner. I declare that I am complete in Christ and that Satan and his demons are subject to me in Him. Therefore I obey God’s command to submit to God and resist the devil, and I command Satan in the name of Jesus to leave my presence. AMEN
As with all other prayers for the week, this prayer is adapted from Neil Anderson’s, ‘The Bondage Breaker’ (available locally in Christian bookshops)
Blog.Mavuno 
February 14, 2010 at 11:33 am
Wah!really touched by your sermon today.I was a fan of the ‘secret’ but i will be a fan of the Bible because that is the only truth!God bless you all and happy valentine!
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February 14, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Todays sermon dint seem like it was for me at all till I listened carefully. I dint even think stuff I was doin was borderline occult…I read the secret and the alchemist which has similar teachings….what really hit me though was Iv been a firm believer in abstinence and I have wanted to wait till I get married for as long as I can remember..when Pastor M spoke about people changing their abstinence beliefs it hadnt even occured to me that I had….but I realized that recently,something subtle changed and I dint care to much for waiting….fortunately I havnt gone thro with it but my heart has really changed concerning that..Im letting God work on my heart from today and Im praying He reveals to me how to go back to the girl I was before (maybe even make me better:) )…..todays sermon may very well stop a whole lot of heartache and mistakes in my life…thank you.
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February 14, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Hi Pastor M. You know, I was introduced to The Secret/Law of Attraction last year. For most of the time, it worked. But I found myself ‘forgetting’ God, probably coz everything is attributed to the ‘self and universe cycle’. I have been doubting it for a while now, wondering how God could instal such a system in the universe yet it draws you away from Him. I started suspecting something wrong with it and today God confirmed my doubts in today’s sermon. Thank you. 🙂
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February 14, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Hi Pastor M,
Thanks for the sermon. It really hit home for me. My story is along the lines that was described. It started with watching the video of the secret with my friends, then I got a Daily teachings from the same Secret series. In searching further, I subscribed to a website where I got a regular newsletter on positive thinking and the vibrations and all that stuff. Next I got a book by Esther and Jeffery Hicks about the Teachings of Abrahm. As you can see it surely is a slow progression to something bad.
I am attending mizizi this season and my life is not the same. God has been speaking to me so clearly that its scary, its truly been miraculous. May God continue to use you to reveal the trickery of the enemy.
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February 14, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Great sermon.thanks alot pastor M.
my story,l watch too much T.V series,soups,talk shows everythng that wil make me feel good about myself.
it makes me 4get bad thngs that hapen 2 me or bad memories.
ever since my both parents died which l dont like talkin about coz it makes me all sad n questionin God why me?at times l need someone 2 talk 2 so badly wishin l had a mum like my friends.
my mum was very much saved.n she used 2 pray for my dad 2 change but it neva hapend instead dad brot these sickness that kill’d both of them.
mum pray’d 2 be well but died stil.now am here hurtin n hatin life.joined mizizi but want out.
am lookin 4 love in all the wrong places,datein a married man, am into drinkin.
am lost n l need 2 know if these God is real.
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February 15, 2010 at 3:41 am
Hey guys,
The sermon was great and unveiled a lot of truth that we probably knew, but which had clearly been sugar-coated to seem entirely different and practical.
I would like to pick up from a particular note where we more or less explored how impractical it is to choose to avoid ‘low energy level’ people and focusing on the attraction of positive energy for a ‘better lifestyle’.
Now, how would you compare this to concepts such as ‘birds of a feather flock together’ or as put in scripture Proverbs 13:4 says, “He who walks with the wise grows wise.” And as Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good character.”?
Thank you for your feedback on this.
That said, the sermon was actually great!
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February 15, 2010 at 8:45 am
Thank you pastor M for yet another amazing sermon.
I believe we are undergoing a generational and cultural shift in Kenya as the world becomes a global community and the 24 hour news and entertainment media becomes the new evangelist of post modern ideas that are aggressively anti Christian. Like in most western countries soon in Kenya it will okay to promote all other religions but bash Christianity.
Sadly however, i believe the Kenyan church is partly to blame for the lack of relevancy of Christianity today especially among the new generation. We are doing a very poor job of training our young people in the fundamentals of christian belief and comparing them against other belief systems. If there is ever a time we need series on Christian Apologetics it is now and I’m sure a church as relevant and progressive as Mavuno will sometime in the future present a series on Apologetics.
I went to school and worked in the west for more than a decade and saw so many young Kenyans who left Kenya saved loose their faith or embrace spiritual buffets because they had not been equipped to mentally counter false beliefs or post modern ideas.
How many Christians in Kenya can really sit in a debate with people of other religions and argue about the existential struggles and needs of man and how Jesus best adequately addresses them with logically consistent answers coupled with empirical relevancy or for that matter defend the resurrection of Christ. And you can not start quoting the Bible to them because they consider it a book of fables. That many sound like a question you would find in a philosophy round table but soon that will be the conversation on college campuses and on our intellectually challenged radio talk shows.
Kenyan christian for a long time have lived in an incubation chamber but the spirit of post modern thought and the new age is upon us. This I believe is a form of spiritual warfare which in addition to prayer will be won by educating the mind on the truths and fundamentals of Christianity.
1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
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February 15, 2010 at 9:25 am
Hi Pastor M,
As usual, super sermon. Last year I had some major issues with God and in the heat of the moment, I left off reading His word and began to delve in other ‘alternative spirituality’ as you put it. These included Buddhism and Baha’ism, both of which had similar traits to what Samantha talked about on Sunday. Well, it seemed pretty interesting to the intellectual I am and sooner or later I began to get deeper and deeper into it, and I realized I was in trouble when I began to get these demonic visitations at night; I’d wake up and some creature or another would be perched at the end of my bed. In addition to that, I began to have psychic episodes of knowing what would happen before it actually happened. As these things began to happen and I began to fall deeper into that pit that is alternative faith, I suddenly realized that it was no longer just an intellectual trip I was taking, but rather that it had quietly evolved into a spiritual affair that was chipping away at my faith in Jesus. When I realized this I immediately left off reading and studying these Eastern faiths and went back to the only Book that has the Truth, the Bible. I am grateful for the sermon this past Sunday because many people get sucked into these ‘buffet’ faiths and belief systems and for some not as fortunate as Samantha, and myself they find themselves on a one way street to hell with no option for a turnoff in a different direction. However, to God be all the glory for delivering us and for proving there is nothing too difficult with him. I would like to encourage and indeed warn, my fellow brothers, the Devil is a master tactician, he knows how to bait and slowly and silently reel you in, and before you know it, the hook is so deep in, only a miracle will get you out. So do not start the trip if you are not ready for the ride.
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February 15, 2010 at 9:48 am
Thanks for all the comments. I totally agree with everyone and really hope the Church leadership would place more emphasis on this issue (& last weeks issue on bondage & generational curses). I admit while i am fully engaged in the sermon series the last 2 sermons have felt like an overload. Even at the lifegroup level, we didn’t manage to conclude on generational curses, now this week we look at other bondages.
All these ideas need to be thrashed out significantly and given more time to explore and address the very real issues that they raise.
By way of example, 2 issues that have arisen based on the two sermons at LG and discussions after Church jana. Firstly, what if one genuinely does not believe in witchcraft and all that, how then does one embrace the concept of generational curses. Secondly, what about the issue of Ala Carte and Buffet..Is Christianity the Buffet?
Pastor M, you usually are the ultimate communicator, lakini jana, the concepts and ideas seemed to be jumping up from no where with no interconnected line. Eg. Samantha? So what was wrong with her yoga and readings (Conversations with God, is not a good book?) though some elements of her story of believing we are all “gods” obviously didn’t make sense, but unless the ultimate wrong is stated, are Christians not to read any other books? Ok, perhaps we should always use the Bible as a reference, lakini if you come across a book that can guide you into becoming a better worker, husband or friend, what should one do?
I kindly request that more time and explanation be spent on these very sensitive issues that affect all mavunites in various ways.
But kudos Mavuno for being bold enough to raise issues that we previously considered “taboo”..
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February 15, 2010 at 10:40 am
Dear God,
Najua nimekuwa nikikulet down often, nimefanya matendo zingine za ufala sana, na saa zingine na feel niko tu stupid, na kama nataka ku give up, But Bible ina ni show kuwa Your joy is my strength… Wakati mwingine na behave kama msee hajui God… nime come kukuomba msamaha.. na confess my sins, na najua utanitakasa na unifanye niwe righteous tena, ndio prayers zangu ziwe powerful na effective, na zi produce results..
God, nimefika point ya maisha penye naku need tu sana, uni complete as a woman, ndio niache ku feel lonely inside, niache ku feel nikama nina need a man to complete me, God niko na issues za insecurity and low self esteem, na nime realize kuwa siwezi keep my friends nikiwa hivi.. mimi huwa niko scared ya kuwa peke yangu, please God come u sort hizi ma issues.
Nime kuwa nikiomba uni wezeshe kumeet na the one meant for me, lakini nimekubali ya kwamba hata ukinipa that person right now, siko ready.. nita fanya hiyo relationship i die coz siko complete as a woman, sijui where to start, or even what to do.. but na believe una work behind the scenes kuni complete.. na once you are done making me over, nita shine kama jua… na nitakuwa lovable zaidi kuliko vile niko sasa….
Thanks For your unconditional love, ile love ilifanya uniokoe kutoka kwa dhambi, am greatfull coz ya hii place niko sasa, hata kama ni painfull, najua the glory after this, will be greater than the glory before. God nakupenda sana, na sita choka kukuinua na kukuita nikiwa kwa shinda, nimeamua kuwa still and kujua wewe bado ni God… In my pain and joy.
Naku bless, naamini umenisika, na utani sort vile siwesi jisort.
Amen
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February 15, 2010 at 12:43 pm
@ Lost pole sana for all that you are going through.Just an encouragement don’t quit Mizizi just yet hang in there for just a bit and see where this leads. I felt nothing for Mizizi when I started out in Jan 2009 but when it was all over, I realized that it was the best thing I ever undertook in my life… just hold on for a little longer
@ Confused Journeyman I feel you on the need to actually have the two sermons expounded further perhaps we can have sermon series’ on the same.I hope the church will hear us on this one.
@ Torch yenyewe (lol!) it is true as Christians we must represent 1 Pet 3:15. My belief is that The Bible is our manual and offers us what we need for daily living. I am one of those taking the study that Pst M mentioned in his blog yesterday and the practicality of the Bible in daily living comes soo alive. My view is that the education we need is to stay connected with God’s mind and that is the Bible. By understanding the precepts of the Lord then we are not only able to defend it when asked, but to live it so that it is evident to all.
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February 15, 2010 at 2:59 pm
@confused journeyman – ditto. I was wondering the same thing. What about books that are written from a ‘neutral’ point of view and actually help one become a better person? Should we now throw away all books that are not based on teachings from the Bible?
Yoga has real (scientifically proven) health benefits. How about if you just do the exercise & skip the meditation? I have read Deepak Chopra, Robin Sharma, Paulo Coelho – some things do not make sense, some chapters are skipped, but there was still a lot of useful information. Nevetheless the Bible remains my final authority on how to live life.
If one is walking in the Spirit of God, then they will have discernment…
What is so wrong with teaching that human beings ought to live in peace with one another & respect and tolerate each another and our religions of choice? Intolerance is why we are seeing suicide bombers & Jihads etc.
Isn’t the essence of Christianity Love? How will we win over our friends and neighbors if we are judging them & not showing them love…?
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February 15, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Pastor m THANKS ALOT FOR THE GREAT SERMONS.
AM STILL CONCERNED ON HOW WE RESPOND TO THE GREAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BLOG AND ARE HURTING AND NEED INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION. YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS PLEASE PASTOR.
thanks for your great sermons am truly undergoing transformation.
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February 15, 2010 at 5:47 pm
@ Confused Journeyman
You raise a good question. I am not authority on anything but here are some perspectives on some of the questions you raised.
On the witchcraft issue you like most educated people like me probably do not believe in most witchcraft stories which for the most part are fueled by superstitious cultures and ignorance, but there is practical and real witchcraft which happens when people summon and reach out to the devil for some benefit of some sort or by dabbling in occultist activity.
Also on a mental note just because you do not believe in something does not necessarily mean that it does not exist.The actuality and f actuality of the world in all its dimensions is independent of current human knowledge or opinion.
Also appealing to logic again if you examine three generations of a family and you see the same maladies and self destructing attitudes repeat would that not make the issues of generational curses probable.
On yoga Samantha emphasized on the Meditative eastern religion aspect of it. There is the simple yoga which is nothing more than stretching and breathing exercise but then you have the more spiritual Kama yoga’s that are laced with emptying your mind and chanting religious mantras.
On books clearly there is difference between reading a book on leadership development based on industry practices and reading a book on how to meditate and channel the inner leader in you. Question is not so much as what is wrong with reading the books but whether you embrace what it says. “Conversations with God” mocks holiness,the Bible and the very idea of the Christian God , so what would be your motivation in reading it unless you are doing it in a comparative religion setting were you already hold the Bible to be the authority.If a spiritual author is in total opposition to everything that God says what could he possibly teach you apart from common sense which is often free lesson via the university of life.
The bottom line is that all this “new religion” or self help books appeal to us because they give us a sense of spirituality while “freeing” us to still pursue whatever we want unshackled from holiness basically making us “good sinners”
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February 15, 2010 at 6:20 pm
My troubles begin with my personality, i’m a skeptic and almost question everything including some passages of the bible. There are some glaring inconsistencies in the bible e.g. the death of Judas read Mat 27:5, then read Act 1:18…and many more (i’m sure you know about this). I have never doubted the nature of God and His perfection, that’s why i dont believe that an All knowing God would intentionally separate people by giving them different tounges – the number one reason for all conflicts in the world i.e. tribal clashes, ethnic clensing etc – just so that people dont have unity of purpose (c’mon!)?.
In my quest for seeking God’s purpose, i have learnt amazing things. Most born-again christians have no idea what they profess, they have no idea of the true meaning of half the things that Christ said. That’s why, people will never change no matter how much they go to church..its a repetitive weekly cycle.
Until we learn to see ourselves through the actions of others, and forgive without condemning, knowing very well we are forgiving ourselves. Its only until then, shall people speak with love and give love and truly understand what Christ meant by Love thy neighbour.
PS: Our politicians are a mirror image of ourselves, they are the best of us.
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February 15, 2010 at 9:20 pm
I can’t thank God enough for what he is teaching us everyday. About books, my father has always reminded me of the saying, keep books and friends few and close. There is something about books and sources of information that is so powerful. What we study shapes our thinking. The human mind is hungry for info and we as we feed it then it takes that consolidated info and then we act. It is also very curious, so once you start it wants to keep going. You know the saying as a man thinketh, so he shall be. Its true. Romans 12 : 2 says don’t be conformed any longer to the patterns of this world but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind. Clearly God is highlighting the importance of our minds as being the centre of or pattern of behaviour. Selfishness is the root of this self help books, and may God deliver us from this attitude of our heart. Its true the devil is the father of all lies and remember lies are often said in the most attractive way to hide the harsh reality. Let us hide in the shelter of the almighty. May his word reign in us.
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February 15, 2010 at 9:32 pm
PastorM,
I deeply feel that the topic on bondages and generation curses should be re-visited in great detail.
I am eager to interrogate the living word on this issue & Ibelieve that most mavunites if not all would be keen to gain understanding this spiritual reality .Perhaps you should take a lead on this?
would the leadership of this great church consider a re-run for this topic?
Barake tele.
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February 15, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Pastor M,this past two sermons have been too deep.its funny how we christians take things for granted we find ourselves twisted in wierd stuff coz of our ignorance and yet all this things are in the Word of God,but thank God we are learning this in church.
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February 15, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Thanks for the sermons and especially the one on bondages and generational curses. i strongly believe that there is a generational curse on the male offsprings in our family and have been praying tirelessly for a breakthrough. im delighted cz i know know that i can wrestle with the father on behalf of the family. I also thank you for the sermon cz i have a father who is so much involved in witchcraft and has been threatening to curse me because i dont approve of his ways bt now i know better and have assurance that a curse that does not deserve cannot stick.
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February 16, 2010 at 12:58 am
Waaa, kudos to Pastor M and Mavuno for coming head on with serious stuff in our generation. Seated in church, sometimes I feel like I am being dissected. It is painful but well worth it.
I agree with all the above, Pastor M, please come back with the last two sundays packaged as series in themselves. Reason being that we have read the secret, The new earth, The Alchemist and many other books and have almost believed in them. We do have many questions and beliefs that need to be debunked.
For the rest of us, I have a friend on facebook who used to be a pastor at ICC who really helped me in dealing with the teachings of The Secret and The New Earth. He blogged about “why He does not believe in the Secret, read the note here http://www.lifession.com/?p=82 and also wrote about the new earth “Is it a new earth already or should we wait. Find it here http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=199882583899&id=692482293&ref=share
I just thought the two notes might help others like they did help me. If it was wrong to post links, please forgive me Pastor M but I think he is a credible servant of the Lord.
On a different note, CB, I was thought Pastor M wrote and said they do contact the people through mail who write here and are hurting or going through issues, if it was not him, then it was Pastor S. I believe our pastors are on top of the game in such issues.
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February 16, 2010 at 8:53 am
the intellectual matters in this blog is fascinating!!!!
@Torch i totally like 1pet3:15. got engraved in my mind after listening to “preach the gospel” by Christafari. and as Mark Morh points out in the song, “preach the gospel,USE WORDS WHEN NECESSARY”
the balance of proclamation and demonstration is really cool.even as we give answers to those against our faith it is important ot remember Titus3:9″but stay away from those who have foolish arguments and talk about useless….those things are worth nothing and will not help anyone”
@seeker
the “inconsistencies” you’ve pointed out can easily be reconciled as for others. for judas>>>>the story in the book of acts is just a summary of a well known story at that time.the name of the field is the same in Matthew’s account and in the book of Acts.full reconciliation th4 shows he hanged himself on the land the chief priests bought and his body was not found immediately but while rotting hence the name of the place.
🙂
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February 16, 2010 at 9:07 am
woooooooah,sunday surmon really touched me it really informative,keep it up pastor M.NOW ILL BE READIN MORE OF THE BIBLE,actually iv promised my self that my first salo(currently job searchn) ill buy a small bible so i can b carryn it every where am going?AM SO EXCITED
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February 16, 2010 at 9:24 am
@ Seeker
There is nothing wrong with questioning stuff but you have to be a honest skeptic.
On the alleged inconsistencies, the two verses actually complement each other. One just shows how Judas died and the other one what happened after his body decomposed.
The Bible may have some minor copy errors here and there, e.g. the inconsistency of the age of age of Ahazia in 2 Chronicles 22:2 and 2 Kings 8:26 at one place it says he is 22 and on the other he 42. Copy error occur during copying from the original manuscripts to published editions.
But note this about copy errors:
They don’t affect the central message of the Bible the story of Jesus, The trinity, His Virgin Birth the Plan of salvation and Holiness. There are no contradicting stories when in comes to the fundamentals.
Also copy errors are extremely rare and most bibles nowadays note that in the margins.
Also the original manuscripts have no errors.
If you take time to research on the history and authenticity of the bible you will realize that most scholars many who are not Christians but archaeologist or ancient Greek scholars vet the bible to be 99.9% true with supporting archaeological and linguistic consistency support. The margin of error is only to accommodate grammatical and rare copy errors.
Sad but true when you said that many Christians cant defend their core beliefs but still that does not mean they are all not authentic in their faith. My grandmother can barely read and she lacks intellectual sophistication but that woman is a mirror image of Jesus, most of what she has learnt about God has been by going to church so in all honesty you can’t say that being a part of fellowship of believers does not change people. By the time this series is over I can bet you a lot of people in Mavuno will have been changed. Exhibit A being me.
Also I think you give humanity too much credit if you think that if we spoke the same language or we had one tribe we would get along much better. How do you account that for most murders in the world, the victim and the murderer often are related and speak the same language. Also if you look at the world since 1900 you can with certainty say that language or geography is no longer a barrier at all to human interaction thanks to modern technology, yet the last 110 years have been the most bloodiest in History.
You are right in saying that the politicians are somewhat of a mirror of our society by their impunity and corruption but it’s an overstatement to say they are the best of us, that is a bit nihilistic. There are still good people in the world that live Godly lives and live to glorify God and serve their brethren, they may not appear on news because as Kenyans maybe we believe that 75% of our news coverage should be on politics.
It’s important that what you believe in your heart make sense in your mind and I pray that in your honest skeptic journey God will give you the answers you seek.
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February 16, 2010 at 9:53 am
My humble submission to the discussions are these as a LG leader and recovering sinner, the issues i raised are very real and i have 2 LG members who “refuse” to accept the issue of witchcraft kabisa kabisa..One of them holds 2 undergrad degrees, a masters and is pursuing a phd, so the question about logic, common sense and education are really not the issue because the other one is a guy in campo.
You see this blog for me is an opportunity to ask both our leaders and our fellow mavunites for their views, prayers and guidance coz for sure if we had all the answers there would be no need to come to Church..
On books, i’ve been a voracious reader for many years and actually plan to start a book club, my question very sincerely is this how do you dismiss a book? (I am in no way justifying any dodgy philosophies & teachings) lakini i’d like to be able to reach the point of discernment that allows me to expand my knowledge on various issues through books, without ever compromising my spirituality.
@growing daily thanks for the link, it clarifies a number of things..
Clarity on the matters at hand is key to aid in our individual and collective growth as a Church and our role in our nation (& continent)..
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February 16, 2010 at 11:14 am
Thanks Mavuno staff, Pastor M and may God continue to use you and bless you immensly.
Colossians 2:8-9
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ, for in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.
I watched the secret early last year tried to use its teachings but after awhile realised that the void could only be filled by God through Christ Jesus and this led me to Mizizi and during the prayer counselling i denounced all” teachings” from the Secret plus other books i had read like feng shui……For all those who have not taken the Mizizi class ….no words can xplain the transformation in my life.
Be blessed,
Lisa
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February 16, 2010 at 11:53 am
This was a very relevant sermon and the whole occult thing is around us subliminally wether we see it or not , it is creeping into our society especially via the media.
I never read the Secret or any of the New Age philosophies being exalted by Oprah et al cos I am consciously watching out for things of that nature.
However, the music vidoes have a subtle way of getting into your subconcious without you knowing it and you end up singing or humming the songs without even knowing it. And we all know the power of confessing something with your mouth!
Artists like Jay Z , Rihanna, Beyonce , Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed peas have of late being inferencing their vidoes with blatant occult symbolism such as the all seeing ey, the Freemason Pyramids , and Baphoteph ( devil horns) and we have not even noticed it. In fact it has become fashionable to be Gothic/ Dark ? Occultic check out this website vigilantecitizen.com for more details…. But its a war out there and you have to keep your eyes open!
I noticed myself humming a Lady Gaga song and I DONT EVEN LIKE HER MUSIC!
Thats why I support effortts by our young cats A-Star and them to Clean up our airwaves!
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February 16, 2010 at 11:58 am
Thank you again Pastor M. for the informative sermon.I have in the past received several invitations from friends to attend meetings that preached alternative spiritually.However,at that point I was so clueless on the effects of alternative spirituality and had no idea it was even wrong.I can now confidently say that God had been working behind the scenes to protect me from attending these meetings.,who knows what would have happened had i attended them.On the motivational books,i read a lot of them and thanks to the sermon I will now be more careful as I pick out books.Thanks again and may God continue to use you in mighty ways.
And yes,could we have a re-run of the curses sermon..I like the idea of having it as a series.
God Bless!
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February 16, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Hi Pastor M
Its funny how God answers your questions if your patient enough to listen. Your sermon this sunday about the new age is a climax of what has been revealed to me in the last few weeks. I had a huge music collection that I trashed based on the blatant symbolism of the new age that is in secular music today. I cringed with what has become the norm that we are blind to in our society. I fear for the teens and anyone who think of it as nothing but flexing of the creative muscle to sell music and a lifestyle. its gotten to a point that these artists are proclaiming to have sold their souls to the devil but everyone laughs it off like a prank. We love music but as for me its not worth my soul.
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February 16, 2010 at 1:02 pm
@ Emily- i’m totally feeling that prayer. Amen. Reminds me of that line by votaries- nina mark time na sin,na nina wonder,ni nini na mimi?God bless you abundantly,you are always his child.
@ torch, i’ve been down that road of apologetics, and though it may work some of the time,people cannot be brow beaten into accepting God by clever arguments.it’s just something the Spirit has to work in you.all we can do is present God’s word.
@ seeker- keep searching:) Jesus equates God’s kingdom to a pearl of great value in a field.the find after the search is invaluable,believe you me.
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February 16, 2010 at 1:04 pm
I have watched the secret and its the BOMB!! Why? Coz i never took everything they said literally. The universal force they talk about is simply God! Come on guys lets not be so myopic in a very rapidly evolving world. As Pastor M said reiterated from the bible, TEST all spirits. The Secret has saidiad my maishas from many angles, i dont subscribe to everything on that dvd like rubbing the lamb and am at your service rubbish, but sure there are very many benefitial truisims in there. We cannot ALL be the SAME liking ALL the same things and HATING all the same things. We were created in His image and likeness but with differing personas and individualities. If we were all like Pastor M, who would he be preaching to on Sundays? Lets simply be appreciative of teh fact that there is unity in the diversity that exists in the church today. This is in no way to accent to the the strange teachings of universality and meditation et al, but rather test the spirits. Just because Samantha said it was wrong does not mean that that is the case. Her experience with that side of life is very invaluable, but let the spirit of God lead and guide you. I dont condone Islam or Budhism, but i respect the human being if i meet them and hear them. I pray that one day they too will see the light and appreciate teh Lordship of Christ. Coz he is REAL!!! As everyone else, I also concur that the last 2 sermons should be expounded in depth probably on a Saturday for a month. Over to you Pastor M.
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February 16, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Wolololo…Pastor M. Manze, may God bless you so so so much for Sunday’s sermon. I was touched, i had read the Secret and the Outlier and really believed in the practices as mentioned bu the writers of these books. I normally influence my friends to join in when I get some good stuff out there. Unfortunately, after watching it and internalizing some of the teachings, it was quite hard to convince people to follow some of the lessons there.
‘Positive energy’???? What a mound of stupidity, and to think that I even believed that i can adopt some part of the whole lesson and leave out the ungodly parts. On Sunday, when you preached I realised that if something comes from an evil spirit, you alienate some parts…Its all from the same source. I was a bit confused on some of the things you said, Just as someone asked how can you discern what literature to subscribe to or not? I have read Rich dad, poor dad and the series of books on Motivation especially on Investing…advice???
Thanks again for the message. He really does qualify the unqualified.
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February 17, 2010 at 10:11 am
I am really grateful to Pastor M for Sundays sermon and especially for Samantha for sharing with us what evil that is going on in this world. Its funny that after the sermon, i went ahead to google all about new age spirituality and the devil seems to be carrying out his work pretty smartly. Using self help books, new age bible versions etc. We need to be very careful about the books we read and even the bible versions that we read.
I’d just like to ask the Pastors, which is the recommended bible version? we have all this new versions/translations of the bible some of which completely omit the word “Jesus”. Maybe you need to look at preaching some more about this issue.
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February 17, 2010 at 10:24 am
@ me, myself and irene
You are right about the spirit of God being what really works, but when you are presented with falsehood you must have a good commanding of the truth to counter that. In the west many churches are incorporating apologetic s into evangelism because people are bombarded with so many false spiritual perspectives. If your kid comes home from school and tells you that he was taught that God did not create the world but it was through evolution, you’d better have a good answer to that and you cannot start from quoting the Bible initially because when he goes back to school he will be ridiculed. However, I agree you cant present Christ purely on an Apologetics medium, but rather you incoporate apologetics truths with evangelical basic presentation of the gospel and deliver it with love.
Anyway, bottom line at the end of the day the best way to convince anyone about Jesus being the only way, is to live such an exemplary life that they will look at you with envy and say that they too want that Jesus in their lives.
Half a truth can be more dangerous than a blatant lie.
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February 17, 2010 at 12:41 pm
hi pastor m,
Being in mavuno has been a great experience for me since i started coming here a year ago,i have gone through so much i n my life so as to please other and am always left to pick up the pieces, after going through the extreme makeover i realised its time to move on am a hr graduate from a very prestgious university but all along ave been finding odd jobs just to keep me going and for the money ofcourse,just last week i realised that i really hate the odd jobs i do and i realised God put me here for a porpose and my purpose is for greatness but i have always pulled myself down telling myself that siwezi make in this kenya to get a job if i dont hava the so called links,i made a decision to quit my job and do something different in my life am planning to start my business am praying and am also requestuing you and all the mavunites to pray for my success ,thank you pastor m for making me realise my purpose may God bless you
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February 17, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I’ve been coming to mavuno for a while now…three years to be precise…how changed my life has become i cannot even begin to enumerate…when i fall i fall hard leaves me with bruises many times. but then i come to Sunday service and i get nicely bandaged…totally forgiven and leave felling like Jesus just gave me a warm kiss on the cheek.
then there are those Sundays i come in feeling holier than thou you know i wasn’t up to any naughtiness in the week, I’m feeling so good about myself about myself…ask me there should be a nice shiny halo on hanging on my head….now this is the Sunday Pastor Linda decides to blast me about being a tolerant christian and doing zero about God’s concerns…that Sunday i leave feeling…woooiii Jesus i’m sorry.
so for Pastor M. to talk about a lifestyle I’ve been living in for a while now was a total shocker. i honestly thought it harmless…i tell you i am an optimist junkie. yes i love Jesus. and in as much as i know that he is the reason i get happy. stay protected and stay this blessed, here’s my sin. that when i realized that the Jesus card as i like to call is not so popular with everyone…i didn’t use it as much. i switched to the more accepted whenever i advised a friend…believe in your self..discover yourself.
the world is darkened with dissolution, sadness,pity, loss and so much more, that people will take whatever you’ve got to give. as long as it makes them feel better.
i now know that my doubting Thomas inclination on how people will take my Jesus card..is a total throwback. no wonder my life’s been so disorganized…my spiritual tummy’s got some major indigestion.
the next time I’m giving advise…the Jesus way is the way to go.
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February 17, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Lost,
Am so sorry u had to go through all that, i know God doesn’t look so good or loving for that matter. I have questions too why certain prayers were never answered but well no answer, but God has given me something else even as i go to him in prayer and tell what i think and feel. he gives me joy and peace in spite of what is going on.I choose to trust his word that whatever happens for those who love the Lord.He surrounds his people and acts as a sieve and only lets us go through only what we can handle.He has given u life and a future don’t throw it away because of the past.
God bless
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February 17, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Hey Pastor M,
Thank you for opening the eyes of many. I read and practiced the secret and honestly the devil is quite strategic. He had me fooled but not anymore. You know when you actually think about it….none of that stuff is biblical….its all based on a very selfish point of view….
I pray the Lord will give you the grace to continue i your good work! God bless you!
Thanks
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February 17, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Pastor M am a bit lost man. am the kind of person who starts stuff and never get to the end of it coz i got bored! i really try to do the right thing but nothing. from work to school to social life, even mizizi class , man i cunt attend ati daily i do things in my own convenience and enyewe kama si ifeel i wont do it. i tend to think this isnt a good spirit and i dnt know wat to do!!!!!!!! why do iget bored with pple? i prefer being alone n i even stopped going for LG ( i just dont feel them) wat kind of a person does that? am i cursed?????????? gosh pastor m am lost and i want to be found.
the other thing is that i keep falling into the same sin over and over and over… ata kama i will go cry to God for forgiveness and mercy i will fall again!!! pastor nitado??? me enyewe i dont want to perish but from the way things are going…………. sijui ni do wat? please help!
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February 17, 2010 at 8:38 pm
I loved the sermon on Sunday and it helped me answer a question I asked a friend once upon a time. He ‘s an avid reader – one who quotes chapter and paragraph of some guru or other. After a while it gets boring to hear what some guru or other said. Don’t get me wrong – I get that these authors have a point of view lakini what gets my goat is this – why do I need to sit with my friend to hear him quote these gurus verbatim? I could read the books myself, right? I remember asking him once, ‘where is John in all this? How do you draw it to yourself, make it your own and not just repeat what has been written?’ For me it seemed a bit like cramming the guru-speak. Without it, who is one? I find I am more interested in application because that way I draw it to my life and I pray to be able to discard the trash view. As i say this now, i am wondering if i have not been or am not on the fence with this new spirituality thing.
As Samantha spoke about the new spirituality, I could see how easy it is to head down that path. Been there as a child playing the ouija board like it was just a board game. We had no idea what we were playing at/with. As i have searched to understand who i am and sought where i belong, sometimes just because i was around where the things are being done, I have done all manner – the horoscope thing, palm reading, considered visiting psychics, filled in online forms to have my future with tarot cards like that. Interestingly a friend in Mombasa was at a low and felt the need to have tarot cards read to foretell her future and i talked her out of it. Later, here i was thinking that because mine was online, it was kinda ok. I guess for lack of someone to share my low with who could also hold me accountable. Recently, a friend of mine gave me 2 books as gifts – one about a channelled spirit called Seth and another about meditations for various seasons in life. For some reason, I did not read beyond the first page of either book. And I am now glad not to have proceeded any further down that path.
Wow – it is really easy to just get drawn into the sewage of it all. After a while, it all seems okay and the smell stops being an issue.
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February 18, 2010 at 7:58 am
Good Morning Pastor M. I thank God for the sermon last week this has come at the right time in my life.. and should I say the country?? Look at what is happeneing to Esther Arunga for example.. I am looking at what is happening to society at the moment and truly we need God’s intervention.. One is slowly lured into a cult blindly with half truths. Todays I realise how much the Lord God Loves me because I have been severaly been talked to about such forums but now I know for sure that its God who has been my guide. I thank God also for the Alabastron class that I did and it transformed my life and I came back to realize that my guide and self help book ever since has been my Bible my True Identity Bible has been guiding me and helping me.. I like the fact that the sermons at church are God fearing and help us understand that God Is the source of all our energies. God Bless you pastor M.
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February 18, 2010 at 1:29 pm
SOS….If anyone reads this like right now….please pray for my family….especially my bro and mum. Just received news that my bro has been put in remand pending sentencing (he was in an accident in 2008 and the whole of last year he used to travel to Eldama Ravine for the case….6 people died in the accident). My bro loves God sana and he’s a very good driver…we don’t know why the accident happened. Please pray for his peace of mind. He’s never been in any jail and so this is taking a toll on him, my mum and I and all who care and love him. Please pray. I’m desperately trying to hold on to my faith right now.
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February 18, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Pastor M,
Any thoughts on occultic music ?
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February 18, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Pastor M, it seems your sermon on Sunday was really on time.. Coz of all the news that is goin around about a certain other church…
I know the word says that we shall know them by their fruits…In this case, them being our church leaders. But how really do we do this?
Especially for new believers who are at a somewhat vulnerable place, you know, looking for direction. A direction that is away from the current one they are following…..
And it seems to be the usual thing for these guyz who teach false teachings to quote directly from the bible…
I dont know…
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February 18, 2010 at 4:01 pm
@lito
i actually like the black eyed peas track (i got a feeling).thinking of watching their upcoming concert next month-online. i think freemasonry, Illuminati, order of the temple orietis, skull and bones, order of…. don’t qualify as cults or occults(coz these are false religions) but as False teachings. the false teaching is basically that you must believe in some deity for you to join. th4 you can be a christian and be a mason, a Hindu and a mason… as you add to the knowledge of your faith in their order/way of doing things. PS:they are all boys “clubs” only.
@Mvunaji
as Christians, we ALL HATE what God hates and we ALL LOVE what God loves regardless of our individuality 🙂
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February 19, 2010 at 8:50 am
morning pastor m, first let me start by thanking you about the make over series,i can confidently say that i am getting made over and the lord is slowly showing himself to me.
i have been going through the papers and one thing that has just refused to go away is the story about the tv personality and a so called cultish movement,going by last sundays sermon about neo spiritualism i would love the church to come out broadly with the word of GOD we the youth are being influenced in the most “innocent” of ways that are leading us into worldly spirituality.
please pastor m and the entire mavuno congregation pray and pray hard for the devil is fighting us in our own back yard.he is using religion and spirituality to get the us.
pray for us and ask God to come down and open our eyes to that that is not of him.
the young people of this nation need he’s devine wisdom.
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February 19, 2010 at 10:37 am
Eh Patro M truly we must be living in the end times when there will be lots of false prophets and their words will be mistaken for truth. May God give us grace and Open our spiritual eyes to discern and know the truth. Look at what is happening in Runda very worrying story. Yenyewe we have to be careful at the activities taking place in the world right now.
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February 19, 2010 at 12:02 pm
@ Catherine Nyambura… praying with you and your family
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February 19, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Hi Pastor M.
Early this year i attended the landmark forum and i was just amazed by its teachings and how it changed my life…my whole perspective life was changed. Just before the sermon, i was just from Mizizi and infact invited my prayer partner to attend a introductory session of the Landmark forum on Tuesday. I have to say when you just started the sermon and you were talking about the secret the Landmark forum, the secret, etc i was just smiling thinking i had done all those things and was waiting to hear what next was in line to do so that i could ‘achieve my full potential’. When you continued with the sermon i was baffled at how easily someone can get into this new age spirituality thing. You enter into it so innocently and unknowingly and you wouldnt know its some form of religion till you get very deep into it….who would have known that basing it on no religion is actually a religion? Then its so relevant you just wanna share it with all your friends…they even ask you to invite people in every other session?!
Thanks so much pastor M for the sermon. It would have not come at a better time. God Bless You!
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February 19, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Pastor M,
Am sure by now, we are all aware of the current drama and fiasco. I am not taking sides, I believe God can fight his own battles as well as mine and win, only I need to Abide Nomatter What!
But am disturbed!
My thoughts are:
1) Did you know what was cutting.
2) Did you have inside information this was going on and the story was about to break,
3) Were you cushioning us.
Am kinda disillusioned over everything, and I dont think I will be attending church anytime soon.
It’s too much, nothing seems real anymore.
Help!
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February 19, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Am a little bit confused about the cult story jana. Now if it is indeed a cult, how do we explain tha fact that some of his close buddies in music have been involved in mavuno.This just came in time i believe cos just last week pastor M gave a good sermon on buffet christianity which would include things like cults and false christianity.
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February 19, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Pasi M that was quite an eye-opening sermon!! its kinda wierd though how these occult sagas are surfacing of late,but may God expose them all. it’s everywhere!u name it music,movies,series etc. especially the music industry and the occultism involved has left me completely shocked.its so easy for us to ignore some things claiming that we are being “open-minded” but what we really need to open is our eyes.one event that caught my attention as well as many other music lovers was the MTV awards 2009 where Jack Black led the audience in holding hands,bowing their heads and praying to satan!!!!come on people can it get any more obvious? let’s just be more carefull than we have been in the past and ask God to give us a discerning spirit. dont even get me started on series like ‘True Blood’!!shindwe!NKTEST!
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February 20, 2010 at 11:09 am
@ ck the lord is our refuge in this time of great uncertainty you should be running to him and not away from him,i believe that God does speak to us and in more times through the sermons in church.so you are baffled about the unfolding saga don’t you think it makes more sense that you at least understand what’s going on from last Sundays sermon.
my two sence would be to keep God close so that you can be able to tell when the enemy approaches and how he does it.
this sounds like an ENYEWE moment
kuja church
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February 20, 2010 at 1:35 pm
@ catherine nyambura, I am praying for you and your family. My heart bleeds especially for your mum. My bro was in exactly the same place 3 years ago and my mum’s pain was indescribable. Please hang on.The Lord is on the throne.
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February 22, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Thanks Gogetter. Thanks Caroline. I’m glad you understand how painful it is to see an upstanding member of society, law abiding, loves people, loves God go through this. You’re right. The pain is indescribable. For the past few days i’ve been feeling like I’ve been walking a tight rope about to fall off. It’s so frustrating. I wouldn’t wish any of this on any of my enemies. Some silver lining though…as my bro awaits his sentence kesho, he’s been telling the other guys who are in jail with him about God and he tells me that there was spontaneous praise and worship in the jail cells last night! How about that?! Someone is being ministered to through all this.
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February 23, 2010 at 10:46 am
Update…..my brother is coming home. He’s been fined. No jail. God is real. My faith is restored.
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March 20, 2010 at 7:03 am
@Catherine Nyambura
thanks god for that..
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