The 3 Keys to Revival

During the youth-led overnight on Friday, we were challenged to rediscover our zeal for Christ Jesus and walk consistently with Him as I here below report 
 

It was a wholesomely blessed Friday night at Makerere Full Gospel Church during the youth-led overnight. The blessedness of it all for me was in the sharing by the church administrator, David Kamugisha, who gave us three 'Keys to Revival' and challenged us to continue praying for revival in the land.

His sharing was drawn from Hosea 10: 12 –"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."

The three keys to revival he gave are:
i) Sow yourselves righteousness
ii) Break up your unplowed grounds
iii) It’s time to seek the Lord.

His portrayal of the wickedness of the heart, or natural man's desperate inclination to evil, was meticulous as he challenged and exhorted us to take an effort and sow righteousness like a farmer picks a hoe to break the ground and sow. "It's the renewed man who can seek the Lord," he said.

He said our lives can sometimes go fallow even when you're an intercessor and Sunday school teacher! Here he touched a sensitive nerve; how we can sometimes drift into routine without even knowing it and turn worshiping God into a religion. But God's looking for worshipers to worship in Him in truth and spirit, so the quick prayer you and I mumble every morning's not be enough. We're basically too busy for God, for which our lives have become "fallow." I've just checked this word in the dictionary –and to be fallow means to be "currently inactive." Synonyms include: unseeded, unused, untilled, barren, unproductive, idle, inactive…

See, sometimes after a day of fasting or praying in tongues, we relax and it takes another week before we get in the spirit again. Look at the few church members that attend overnights. How are we going to learn from each other and grow in unity and understanding, exhorting and learning from one another? Of course it's true that the business and busy-ness of the world have oftentimes unavoidably kept us away, but that's inexcusable because truly knowing the Lord we serve means putting Him first in everything, and risking to lose our jobs or even close family ties for His sake. Hosea warns us to plow the unplowed ground that when rain from Above comes down, it'll find a well-tilled spiritual ground to permeate.

We cannot afford to let our lives be hardened like some untilled land. As Kamugisha advised, we must constantly plow our spiritual grounds like a diligent farmer tills his land for after we've plowed, our spiritual ground's ready to receive the Holy Spirit. This is where seeking the Lord must become our preoccupation. How about walking toward righteousness instead of walking to work!!

Listen to David in 1Chronicles 28:9: "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever."

Yea, God's more than willing to work through us mightily, but first, we must make seeking Him more important than everything else and once we find Him, we shall have found everything.

What Uganda Needs Today Are Men Like Strong Pillars

In March this year, the Men's Ministry of Makerere Full Gospel Church took the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Bajjo. I was there, and here relay how it went

Some of the strong men that went to Bajjo

The English evangelist and author Leonard Ravenhill once voiced his disillusionment with men who are willing to spend years fighting in cold wars but are unwilling to spend half a night in a warm church battling principalities and forces of darkness. Well, the members of the Men’s Ministry of Makerere Full Gospel Church have chosen to be different. And oh how God is working through them! On Saturday morning, they were praying in preparation for outreach when a Muslim named Abubakar appeared and announced at once he wanted to get saved. 

It was a rare experience that testified to the effectiveness of the prayers of the righteous in breaking the ranks of the devil; having the Holy Spirit lead the lost to the sanctuary to be delivered.  
     

After leading him to Christ, the prayer warriors continued tallying in the presence of God, pleading for the salvation of more souls, and for every church in this land to transform into an army of spirit-filled believers. 

In alignment with this year’s theme to build strong men like pillars in the home, business, church, and the general community, the Men’s Ministry on Sunday morning then went on a ministering mission to Bajjo Full Gospel Church in Mukono District.  

They had dug deep into their pockets and collected one million shillings to support the development projects of this nascent church but their main desire was for the natives of this area and beyond to be stirred into the deeper knowledge of God and begin experiencing the transforming power of Jesus Christ.  

Mr. Paul Matembe represented the visitors behind the lectern; preaching about what faith –even the size of a mustard seed –is capable of. He encouraged the congregants to continue growing in faith like Abraham, and in due time they would be elevated from their humble circumstances to greater heights in accordance with God’s plan and purpose. 
 

Bajjo Full Gospel Church may still be housed in a shack yet it blossoms with spiritual giants seeing the zeal and joy with which they prayed and worshiped the Lord. Pr. Daniel Ofwono was led to plant this church in 2006 after completing his university studies. 

“I could not afford to sit down while people were perishing, so I heeded the call of God to come here,” he said humbly. “We started with kids but God has been adding more people, and we continue to feel His blessing upon us.” 

The last born in a family of six, Pr. Ofwono also testified how he suffered poor self-esteem and a numbing fear of people, but like Gideon of the Bible, God saw him as a mighty man and called him to a noble assignment of preaching the gospel to the lost and being the light to His flock in Bajjo.  

He was visibly overwhelmed by the altruism of the men of Makerere Full Gospel Church; thanking them for being strong pillars and true imitators of Jesus Christ from whom his church will continue to look up to for mentorship. 

In turn, the guests bowed their heads and stretched their hands to pray for the youthful preacher, saying, “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). 

Martin Mwende broke into a song; and soon the place reverberated with resonant voices singing about the sovereignty of Jesus; the eternal, immortal, invisible and everlasting God whose faithful love endures forever and surpasses human understanding. 

After the service, they discussed the issues affecting the church today. It came out unanimously that the Ugandan church is standing on shaky ground because of an insufficient number of father figures; men who have not conformed to the standards of this world. Men who espouse a lifestyle of prayer, fasting and discipleship; men that have purposed in their hearts to minister, instruct, motivate, influence and to enlighten and enliven others in the things of God. 
 

Dr. Geoffrey Okaka who chaired the dialogue said such men are rooted in the Word of God and joyfully sacrifice their time, skills and resources to attend to the spiritual and physical needs of the church. This is the kind of man he summed as the “3M” man –Model, Minister, Mentor! 

“It’s a responsibility and call upon our lives to authenticate Christianity by serving one another,” he said. “We must stand out for others to emulate through a consistent track record of love, joy, peace and patience, and generally be the good tree that is recognised by its fruit.” (Luke 6:44). 

It was such a Holy-Spirit inspired sharing that a young man named Vincent Odhiambo stepped forward and gave his life to Jesus. It was another rejuvenating answer to the prayers of the men of Makerere Full Gospel Church who have embraced a divine call to provide life-giving leadership for the greater good of the Kingdom of God.