THE INQUIRY LETTER:
Dear Glenn,
I read your Mum's remarkable Heaven and Hell experience at www.testimonyshare.com and the way you responded to enquiries gave me the impression that you are a mature Christian. Please I need your counsel on the issues of my life.
In spite of the fact that I have now answered the call and served God with all my heart. My singing ministry is in a mess.
My siblings are not much better than me. I have prayed and fasted without any lasting results. Please what does God want from me? And how can I make progress from here?
I am a 33 year old Lady. I and my family have been oppressed by a spirit of setback and servitude I never imagined possible. I am a Doctoral student but I have not been able to get and sustain any employment equal to my qualifications.
In recent times it seems I get employed, I work hard but payment keeps eluding me. I have worked online for organisations in different countries. I am still working for a local firm, without regular payment.
The worst part is that I frequently dream of unfinished projects, doing menial services for people, shameful circumstances, oppression and eating in my dream.
My social life has also been affected because I have had marriage proposals from different countries that fizzle out without any explanation.
As I grew up, I realised that ladies in my family do not marry. One of my Cousins who married lost her husband within two weeks of marriage. She now raises her son as a Single mother.
My Christian ministry has not been spared. About four years ago, I realised I had a call to sing for God. I resisted that call until 2015 because my experiences had affected my relationship with people and too many things I attempted had failed.
Your Sister-in-Christ
MY FIRST LETTER:
Hello Dear,
The gospel you hear today is mostly about prosperity and faith.
Pastors will simply pray and bless you yet nothing seemed to happen. In 2009 I
came to the same point you are now and regretted being alive to be experiencing
all these setbacks you mentioned. I won't go into details now due to time, but
I will let you know the outcome of that sober reflection… I arrived at the
following essential truths:
- Devil may not even be the genesis of our setbacks. It is disobedience; provided we break God's word, we have given the devil the liberty to afflict us.
- Most preaching nowadays centers on prosperity and faith. Faith is not when you quote or believe the word of God. Faith is when you ACT upon the Word. When you ACT on the Word, you don’t need prayers. Faith is demonstrated by ACTION. Show me anybody that is financially challenged and I will show you someone that is not faithful in paying their tithes. There is nothing like ‘half obedience’. We sing in church “Abraham blessings are mine” but the bible says “Abraham paid tithe of all” Hebrew 7: 2. I am quoting the New Testament here because many Christians are now of the opinion that “the new testament talked only about giving but not tithing”. But tithe is mentioned allover the bible and it is the only type of giving that is deemed "holy" unto God in the bible because it is separated to honor God, who is our number one (2 Chronicles 31 : 6).
So during that soul
searching session, I reflected on / off over Malachi 3: 8-14 and came to two
possible conclusions... that my setbacks were based on the fact that I was
robbing God in my TITHES and OFFERINGS. So I was CURSED, not just by satan but
by God! It seemed the Holy Spirit was happy that I figured out the truth and He
told me that if only I can pay all my tithes faithfully (as stated in Malachi, minus
offerings if need be) then the windows of heaven will be opened fully to bless me. I asked “why can we omit offerings when giving when God says we rob
Him in tithes and offerings”. And He replied, because “I am merciful”. Though you
rob me in TITHES AND OFFERINGS but I have promised that you can only trust me
enough to pay all your tithes for the windows of heaven to be opened fully open
for you. But when I still doubted and questioned this rationale, the Holy
Spirit told me something that I will never forget… “It is because those who pay
their tithes faithfully never lack offerings to give, as I do bless them well”.
I tested this hypothesis for almost 3 years as I was too poor to give offerings;
I concentrated on tithing first till a day came when I was able to pay my tithe
and as well as give offerings handsomely as I wished. Now I can help others too (church members,
family members, friends, neighbors as much as I wish).
Let me state some of
my failures then for you to understand that I have passed through the tough/lonely
path you are walking through now. As at 2009, I was a dropout from the
University for years, I had no job, sitting at home redundantly, not married,
and the only thing going for me was that a church was paying me N8,000 monthly
(in Nigerian currency known as “naira”) to play music for them, which was super
poverty anyway. But as from January of that year till today November 2017, as I
began to tithe faithfully, I saw my earnings climbed up gradually from N8, 000
till it crossed over N200, 000 monthly, then I stopped keeping track of it in
naira as it was now in dollars. To cut a long story short, I have since gone
back to school, completed my bachelor degree and today I am no more in Nigeria,
but in Italy doing my Master. I am in Sicily right now, where I am typing these
notes to you. God is faithful.
Well it is not easy to
tithe faithfully and when we know that no one is perfect (Job knew his children
were not perfect and that is why he offered burnt offerings in anticipation if they
sin) then we should make rooms for our imperfections. For instance, if I have
the option to pay tithe of N3,200 or more, I always pay the upper figure.
Maybe a tithe of like N4,000. Adding extra money to my tithe, keeping track of
my tithes daily, paying tithes weekly…. were
some of the things I did vigorously in other to get out of poverty as soon as
possible. The reason being that, after that soul-searching reflection, I knew that
for every penny we sow we get blessed.
On a final note, I
want to disapprove certain heretical views. Though what I may say now may be in
line with the prosperity message you have been hearing in churches, but always
pray for God to lay on your heart whom, where and when to give. As a faithful
tither and a giver now, I have discovered that if you need money from God,
maybe a job, a financial breakthrough or upliftment, and so on, it is almost
futile ASKING for that in prayers. GIVING should be done instead of ASKING in
order to unlock the door. For example when it came to the issue of doing my
Master program abroad this year, I started 2017 with fasting and prayers. But because
I have learned that fasting, without alms giving and doing works of charity, is
like fasting to edify yourself (keeping yourself holy) without getting blessed,
I made sure I gave generously this period. Of course, faith is demonstrated by actions
and God blesses our actions of love more than when we do nothing but ask Him for
more. So I gave my first fruit salary to God (I gave it in February). Since the
financial challenge for me to study abroad was enormous, I repeated the same sort
of giving in March again… this time around, sowing my salary help the needy in
my family and extended family. I do not want a day to come when I’d hear them
saying I gave all my money to churches without helping any of them. Giving out money
is foolish according to the wisdom of the world and one of my Ibo friends was
not happy when I told him about my tithing and first fruit sacrifices. He said,
New Testament only mentioned giving but not tithe or first fruit. So I made
sure he saw how God blessed me when the time of reaping came.
I really thought it would
take a very long time for God to bless me after those sacrifices. But from
April till September the flood gate of heaven opened with favors for me. Promotion
came, money came, admissions came, visa came, and when I eventually boarded a
plane to Italy…. joking now... I thought I was dreaming and that I would soon
wake up soon.
Helloooo… When you give,
I noticed that you do not need to ask or pray for money. It will come so if the
challenge is enormous, then your sacrifice should be enormous. Also, I noticed
that tithe does not only make you to be blessed financially but all way round.
Because the Holy Spirit told me to re-evaluate all that have happened to me
since I started to tithe, I realized that God have blessed my struggles, my labors,
and even my abilities. As for marriage, I think financial woes can tear the
home apart too! And make you to sin. However, marriage is a conscious agreement
between two persons. I am not yet married and cannot claim that I have all the
answers yet. But I know that we should try as much as possible to avoid getting
married to the wrong person, since we are believers. Maybe it will be better to
remain single based on experience than to marry the wrong person. And we need
to pray and ask God for help over this issue. I am doing that too!
Best regards,
Dennis Glenn.
THE FIRST REPLY:
Hi Glenn,
Thank you for taking out time to respond to my email.
I have tried paying my tithes regularly but as you suggested, I should be considering a higher limit than 10% since it is common to have tangible gifts that cannot be financially quantified. I also have to be very disciplined with my payment of first fruit.
I think you are right on the issue of incomplete obedience. In my case, there has been this outstanding instruction that I have not obeyed till date though I had no intention to disobey God.
In December 2015, a minister visited my Church and instructed me to bless any Minister’s wife within my city and He (God) will bring an end to the nightmares I had been experiencing. The Minister had also prophesied that people would get healed during my song ministration.
The instruction was simple and the person I had in mind to bless was my Pastor’s wife but I withdrew from her at that time cos she was very cold e.g she was not mindful to acknowledge or return calls and she was very domineering. Several other initiatives to obey this command failed as well. In addition, I considered that I cannot just choose anyone I desire so that I would not set an ungodly mentor over myself and my ministry(For about 3 years I have stopped using earrings and attachments and most Pastor’s wives in church use these things).
I decided to wait on God to show me which Pastor’s wife I should bless. Incidentally, I sent the first email to you at about 3.04am I the morning and I went back to bed. I had a dream that I packed some confectionaries together and presented it to my Zonal Pastor’s wife and she collected the present and blessed me. This Zonal Pastor’s wife had been my very close friend about fourteen years ago, then I was her student in the Faculty of Law where she Lectures. Over the years I became closer to her younger sister, travelled out of Nigeria for Masters, decided to be more discreet with my personal life and we simply grew apart. Though I had considered her before, I could not think of what to buy for her.
After the dream, I realized that this woman has almost everything on my prayer list:
She is happily married with Children.
She is doing well as a Lawyer and Lecturer.
She is healthy.
Financially I consider she is fine.
She has a Doctorate degree – I have been working on my Online Doctorate at Netherland for over 3 years now and;
Her ministry is healthy and vibrant.
I have decided to buy chocolates and present it to her at the earliest opportunity and get her blessing.
I appreciate God’s faithfulness in bringing you out of difficult times. I trust He will do the same thing for me and unlock every closed door as I obey Him. I wish you great success with your studies in Italy.
God bless you.
Your Sister-in-Christ,
MY SECOND LETTER:
Hello Dear,
You are
very close to victory. Yet I do not want you to forget the central message contained
in my previous email. I want you to place your priority right all the time, so that
you'd know exactly why God is blessing you. It is a covenant. Tithe is the only
form of giving that you set aside directly to honor God and it is deemed as
something HOLY. Remember the first commanded that “you shall love the Lord your
God will all your heart”? So put God first on your list of agenda. You are 100%
right to want to sow a seed to that pastor's wife, but do not do that at the
expense of your tithe. Let your need be secondary before God. Pay your tithe
first. There should never be a compromise over this order. It meant that when
you have little money and you being forced to make a single choice to pay your
tithe or give an offering or sow to others, please pay your tithe first. I
cannot over-emphasize on this matter.
Never do it
because your church commanded it, or a Pastor told you to do it, do it because
you are putting God first in your life and honoring Him with your substance.
Secondly, after you have paid your tithe and you are sure you do not owe God because
the tithes are HIS, then you can give an offering or sow a seed to the pastor's
wife. Or else be patient till you can both pay your tithe and sow a seed to
that Pastor's wife, even if it takes 3 months in coming. All forms of giving
should be seconded to tithing, only except when you give the widow's mite
because you have given all (100%). I have never bothered to pay my tithe when I
give the widows mite or my first fruit to God, which is all.
As to why
you had struggled over that Pastor's instruction is because of one basic thing about
giving… it is a “state” and not a “quality”. Giving should be who we
are and should come from the heart “For God so loved the world that he GAVE His
only begotten Son…” can you see that God's LOVE is all about GIVING us His Son
as sacrifice.
Before I
left Nigeria, there were certain pastors I may say I distaste or I hate
something about them (what they have done to me and others). However I no
longer find it a challenge to sow into their lives. (I realized that we are the
light of the world. If the love of Christ in us is dark, how great is that
darkness? We were created in the image of God to manifest LOVE and be a blessing
to others, whether these people are good or bad people. True love is color
blind. Remove all sentiments you may harbor against any church member.
Shortly
before I left Nigeria, a pastor's wife provoked me so much. The husband left a
message that I should share with his church about giving in his absence but the
wife refused to allow me do that in his absence. When an opportunity was given
for me to sow a seed next Sunday to their women's ministry, I gladly did. I
was surprise when the pastor's wife came (along with some women) to thank me repeatedly
till I was embarrassed. Maybe my actions have preached more than a thousand
words could have done. Anyway, in all ramifications in life, it is not always easy
to find someone who will be willing to give to you liberally.
I saw how
you listed all the good qualities of another woman (that pastor's wife). I do
not think anybody is finding it easy as they all have their own challenges. Rather
look onto JESUS the author and finisher of your faith and carry your own cross
faithfully. Rejoice in what God has done for you and be content till the
appointed time.
Best
regards,
Dennis Glenn
THE SECOND REPLY:
Sorry for the late response. Network has been very poor.
Thank you for your counsel.
I will be careful to set my priorities right and carry my cross faithfully and joyfully as I wait for is perfect timing.
God bless and keep you.
Your Sister-in-Christ,
THE SECOND REPLY:
Hello Dennis,
Sorry for the late response. Network has been very poor.
Thank you for your counsel.
I will be careful to set my priorities right and carry my cross faithfully and joyfully as I wait for is perfect timing.
God bless and keep you.
