Users can sow alongside their prayer points if they like – see here for details on how to sow.

Nearing completion, we present Jesus Sanctuary’s “Modern School” in Ugwunso, to the glory of God.

If you are led to sow a seed-faith into the ministry to support such works, you can do so here.

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Israel from 17th to 24th November, 2022.

This is a report concerning the pilgrimage to Jerusalem by the members of Jesus Sanctuary Ministries. Two of the pilgrims came from outside London. One was from Sheffield and the other was from Austria. The Church congregation of 26 members met at Heathrow Airport and departed to Tel Aviv Airport. The essence of the trip was to pray at the strategic places as it will be discussed in the body of this report. The trip lasted from 17th November to 24th November 2022. The experience brought the Bible to come alive in the lives of all the Pilgrims. The wife of Prophet Uzor Ndekwu (The Senior Pastor), Pastor Mrs Uzo Ndekwu led us for the pilgrimage. The coordinator was sister Iby.

Day 1, Thursday 17th November 2022
Arrived at Tel Aviv Airport.

Tour Guide and transportation – Transport – Private bus/coach with a tour guide from Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem, about one hour’s drive to Ramat Rachel Hotel.

Ramat Rachel Hotel – The hotel was very comfortable with various amenities including gym, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, spas that offered massages, therapies, treatments, a swimming pool etc, and everything for improved healthy living. The hotel provided breakfast and dinner. The restaurant serves assorted Israeli dishes alongside international cuisine. There is also a pool-side bar and a café in the lobby. The hotel is located in the heart of Jerusalem in a tranquil garden setting. It is about 15 minutes’ drive from Jerusalem city centre. There are public bus stops by the hotel and buses are every 20 minutes.

Places we visited were accompanied by a driver and a tour guide. The tour guide is very knowledgeable in the history of Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s reflection of the Bible. We prayed at all the places we had visited.

Day 2, Friday 18th November 2022
The Garden Tomb – For prayer. There was also another tour guide at the Garden Tomb who lectured on the history of the Garden Tomb before we prayed. God granted us open heavens and other tourists were attracted to our prayers, and some joined us to pray. We also went in groups of three to pray briefly in the Tomb of Jesus Christ.
The Wailing Wall – For prayer. Men and women prayed in separate sections of the walls. Friday is a day for Shabbat/ feasting/celebration, a tradition that is observed by the Jews on a weekly basis.
St Peter’s at Galicantu – We prayed in the dungeon where our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was kept the night prior to His crucifixion. The Church is a Roman Catholic Church located on the Eastern slope of Mount Zion, outside the Old City of Jerusalem. This was where Peter also denied Jesus. God granted us open heavens and it was a spiritually refreshing experience.

Day 3, Saturday 19th November 2022
The Upper Room – We prayed at the upper room. Other tourists were amazed to witness the intensity of our prayers.
Gethsemane – We observed the garden where Jesus went to pray with 3 of His disciples: Peter, James and John before His arrest. We also participated in the Church service at the Church by Gethsemane. The Church is known as The Church of all nations (Agony or Basilica of the Agony). It is a Roman Catholic Church. Gethsemane has ancient olives trees. Gethsemane is near to the Mount of Olives.
The Pool of Bethesda – We had a tour of the Pool which has dried up,
The Pool of Bethesda is located near the Lyon’s Gate or St. Stephen’s Gate.
We also prayed inside the Catholic Saint Anne’s Church. It was also a relaxing moment. This is the Pool where Jesus miraculously healed a paralytic man who had been sitting by the Pool for 38 years (John 5:1).

Day 4, Sunday 20th November 2022
River Jordan – Many people were baptised; some had previously been baptised in this same place. The heavens were opened with white butterflies around those who were being baptised. The baptism was conducted by Pastor Mrs Uzo, supported by Pastor Peter and brother Tobe. Some were led by the Holy Spirit to be baptised and they obeyed. The participants reported total peace following the baptismal event.
Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes – tour guide took us around the building and the beautiful garden and informed us on the history behind the building and the environment. The Beatitudes as written in the Bible was read by sister Onyinye.
Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee – It was great to walk around the hometown of Jesus Christ, in the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee. This is where the oldest Church and the Old Temple in the world that was ruined. We saw Apostle Peter’s house and where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. We went into the New Church which is built on top of Peter’s house.

Day 5, Monday 21st November 2022
Day for us to relax and celebrate – shopping, explore other avenues in Jerusalem, etc.
Morning – Bus/coach drop off at Manilla for shopping for those who wanted to do so. This was exciting for some of us who enjoy shopping and interacting with others and sharing the Good News. The tour guide was with us to show us around, some of us gently indicated to the tour guide that he should take a break and pick us up in the evening, which he kindly obliged.
Evening – picked up from Manilla to the hotel.

Day 6, Tuesday 22nd November 2022
Wall of Jericho – located near the southern end of the Jordan River Valley in the modern Palestine. It is the oldest city on Earth as well as the lowest one. It is also north of the Dead Sea. We spent some time praying on various prayer points on the top of Jericho (after listening to the video/audio commentary about Jericho). Jericho was one of the places that Jesus visited on his trips to Jerusalem.
Mount of Temptation – It extends between Jerusalem, Jericho and the Dead Sea. This is where our Lord and Saviour was tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:8). We took the cable car from Jericho (called Tel Jericho) to the Mount of Temptation. There is a Greek Orthodox monastery build into the side of one of the mount’s steep slope. We also prayed one by one in the place our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ stayed praying during His forty days and nights fasting. We also saw the exact stone he stood on as he was being tempted by the devil. During the visit to this Mount, our Church did experience some devil’s temptation, but we overcame, and the devil’s agents disappeared or went off the scene, just like when the devil left Jesus.
The Dead Sea (also called the Salt Sea) is a Salt Lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel to the west. It is the Earth’s lowest elevation on land in which one floats and does not sink. Some people purchased items made from the minerals of the Dead Sea. Almost everyone went into the Dead Sea for the Dead Sea experience, some collected mud from the sea.

Day 7, Wednesday 23rd November 2022
Bethlem & Shepherds Cave/Field – located at Migdal-Eder. This is where the shepherds kept watch over their flock. It has been identified as the Shepherds’ Field. It is a place where the shepherds were informed by the angels of God about the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Luke 2:7). The tour guide did not accompany us on the trip to Bethlehem, however, the driver was a Palestinian who took us to Bethlem where a Palestinian tour guide welcomed us and took us on a tour guide to the caves and the Church of the Shepherd that nestles in the slopes east of Bethlehem. The Church is believed to be over the caves where shepherds watched over their flock. We prayed in one of the caves. The Palestinian tour guide also joined with us to pray. It was obvious that he marvelled at the way we prayed. The Shepherds Field is identified with Boaz, who owned a wheatfield, where he met Ruth, while Ruth was picking barley. (Ruth 2:4-7). Furthermore, the Shepherds Field is also associated with Jacob in Gen. 35:21. We also went to the Palestinian Christian shop.

Day 8, Thursday 24th November 2022
St Peter’s at Galicantu – Prayer.
Depart Jerusalem to Tel Aviv to London.

Summaries of experience by member
Almost everyone reported their experience of the trip as being a lifetime event that will remain with them forever. Some reported changes in their spiritual walk. Some have stated they will travel again to this great Holiest City and will encourage their family members and friends to travel with Jesus Sanctuary Ministries. In addition, the prayers had great impact in their lives in positive ways.

Conclusion – due to Jerusalem’s Biblical association, it has attracted Christian pilgrims for centuries. God is with Jesus Sanctuary Ministries to give us the opportunity to make to visit this Holiest City, a life changer.

To the glory of God, Jesus Sanctuary’s “Modern School” in Ugwunso is now also underway!

If you are led to sow a seed-faith into the ministry to support such works, you can do so here.

See it for yourself:

Instead, we will begin remote live streaming services for our members and viewers, so that the Word of God can be delivered directly to your homes. As such, remember to periodically check our events section for the upcoming streaming schedule.

Also, as always, Pastor Uzor will remain available for contact via telephone, e-mail, or social media such as WhatsApp.

God bless and keep you and your households as we abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91), which is our theme for this year 2020.

Deuteronomy 6:16 warns that “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God…” When the Israelites questioned God in Exodus 17:7, saying, “Is the LORD amongst us or not?” they were practically trying to cause God to prove Himself to them because they lacked water to drink. They only needed to pray to God in faith to provide water for them and not trying to get God to prove to them that He was with them. We see something similar in Matthew 4:5-7 when the devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tempted Jesus to prove that he is the son of God by throwing Himself down so that God would send His Angels to catch Him. Jesus responded by saying, “It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

We don’t have a right to test or prove God. It is God that tests us or allows satan to tempt us in order to prove us. The son doesn’t test the father, the student doesn’t test or examine the teacher. It is always the other way round. God doesn’t need to prove Himself to us, we walk by faith not by proving God. We must believe all God says even if the manifestation has not come or isn’t apparent – Romans 1:17 and 2 Corinthians 5:7. We can only please God by walking in faith – Hebrews 11:6.

Proverbs 3:5 commands us to trust in the LORD with all our heart. We are not to lean unto our own understanding in a situation but trust wholly on God. Adam and Eve did not wholly trust God, and, as a result, the tempter (satan) got them. The way that seems right to a person will always end in death – Proverbs 14:12. Only God’s way is sure.

Nevertheless, why does mankind tempt God? The answer is that there is a tempter (satan) whose duty is to tempt us and cause us to tempt God. In Revelation 12:9-13, we see that satan is the accuser of the brethren who is quick to accuse us before God once we succumb to his temptation.

Unfortunately, a lot of Christians have bought into the lie that satan doesn’t exist, or that he is powerless, or he is unable to be in the Church or around Christians. If satan had the audacity to come around Jesus and tempt Him, why should we think he cannot do the same to us? In Job 1:6, when the sons of God presented themselves to God, satan came as well. He didn’t come as satan, but as an angel.

Satan’s aim is to cause people to fall into reproach – 1 Timothy 3:7 and 2 Timothy 2:26. Adam and Eve fell into reproach after falling into temptation and were cursed and driven from God’s presence in Eden – Genesis 3:1-24. David fell into reproach when he slept with another man’s wife – 2 Samuel 11:1-5.

What are the sources of temptation?

The sinful nature of man – Ephesians 2:1-3: because of this, man is vulnerable to temptation as a result of the lusts in our lives – James 1:13-15. For example, if we love food, food can be used to lead us astray. Likewise praise, money, lustful desires, worldliness etc., are points of entry for temptation.

Other people: the temptation that penetrated Adam was from Eve – Genesis 3:1-7. Proverbs 5: 3-6 – Some people’s tongues are as smooth as silk. They sound sweet and enticing but if one listens and obeys, the and thereof is destruction.

Ourselves: our inordinate desires can cause one to fall into temptation. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 – The love of money is the root of all evil therefore those who desire riches fall into temptation. Some steal, kill, prostitute and join occultic societies just because of money.

Lust for power: the lust for the power that satan offered Eve in Genesis 3:4-6 caused her to fall into temptation.

Pride – 2 Chronicles 26:16: King Uzziah was full of pride and this led him to transgress against the Lord. In fact, it was pride that caused lucifer, who became satan, to fall – Isaiah 14:12-15.

Seasons of Temptations

Loneliness and temptation go hand in hand. In Matthew 4:1 – Jesus was alone in the wilderness and the tempter came. Psalm 78:17-24 and Psalm 106:14 – The Israelites continuously tempted God in the wilderness.

Temptation also comes in times of abundance and rest – 2 Samuel 11:1-5. Tribulation will always be in the world – John 16:33 – we need to be aware and be prepared. Having said all this, we must realise that God will never permit us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear. He will also make a way to escape for us – 1 Corinthians 10:9-13. Also, always remember that Satan has limitations.

Jesus has gone through the same temptations and is able to see us through – Hebrews 4:15.

God is aware of every temptation – Job 1:12. Job never knew that God approved his temptation. Jesus knew satan was after Peter and prayed for him – Luke 22:31.

God uses temptation to teach, chisel, and humble us – 2 Corinthians 12:7. The thorn in Paul’s flesh was to keep him humble and dependent on God.

When we are alert and prayerful, it is difficult for us to fall into temptation – Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38, and 1 Peter 5:8.

Let God ever grant us the grace to follow him by faith and not by temptation, and to ever overcome the temptations of the enemy. God bless you as you reflect on this message and share it with others, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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All have sinned – Romans 3:23 – but we cannot by our own strength be righteous before God – Isaiah 64:6 – because they are like filthy rags before Him. Our Adamic nature makes it impossible for us to be righteous apart from God – Romans 9:30.

So, what does the topic mean? Dimension and dynamics of righteousness has to do with the different angles or measurements of righteousness and the action or activities associated with it. Jesus made us to understand that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees – Matthew 5:20 – which was steeped in self-righteousness due to their knowledge of the law, their obedience to the oral tradition of the Jews and the Mosaic law, and their ability to measure up even the minutest details of the law, like tithes of herbs like mint etc. – Matthew 23:23-24.

In today’s world, a lot of people are more concerned with the doctrines and traditions of the Church they attend than what the Word of God is saying – Matthew 15:1-9 and Mark 7:1-13. Just as Jesus was angry with the Pharisees because their oral traditions were more important to them than the Word of God, how much more we who are under grace are upsetting God by adhering to dead traditions, doctrines and laws that are devoid of life, do not bring us closer to God and cause us to know God less, become self-righteous and hypocritical.

A classic example of self-righteousness as exhibited by the Pharisees is seen in Luke 18:9-14. A Pharisee and a Publican went into the temple to pray. Whilst the Pharisee was extolling his own good works and debunking the so called “evils” of others before God, the Publican saw himself as he really was and as human beings really are: sinners and unable to be clean apart from God. The Publican was the one justified before God and God expects us to realise our hopelessness without Him.

What are the manifestations of the righteousness of the Pharisees?

1) “Do as I say, not as I do” – Matthew 23:1-4 – The Pharisees put yokes and heavy burdens on others which they themselves cannot and will not carry. As Christians, we should not put expectations on people that we ourselves are not willing to meet. Calling Jesus “Lord lord” doesn’t mean anything if we are disobedient to God`s will – Matthew 7:21 – It is the doers of the Word that are justified. We might fill ourselves with God`s Word, quote it, speak it but if we don’t obey it, we are self-righteous – Romans 2:13 and James 1:22. Don`t do things to get man`s applause and don’t work in eye-service to be seen by others – Matthew 23:5-7 and Matthew 6:1-8.

2) Those who neglect some aspects of God`s Law – Matthew 23:23-24. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for majoring on minor issues. We cannot pick and choose the aspects of the Word of God to accept and obey and those to ignore or push aside.

3) They are lovers of money – what you love, you cannot easily give out but what you do not love, you can easily give out. Those who love money cannot give to God or others. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 – The love of money is the root of all evil and can become a snare to those who love it. The Bible clearly states that we cannot serve God and Mammon – Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13. Pharisees are only after what they can gain to feed their own desires – Philippians 3:18-19 – and they do not care about those who are in lack – James 2:14-17. Pharisees are worldly and think that they are better than others because of their wealth and status. I John 2:15-17 warns against worldliness. The standards of the world are not of God. A worldly person can never be righteous. The lust of the things of the world can cause one to become self-righteous. When we depend on the righteousness of God, pursue after righteousness by having a living relationship with Christ, obey the Word of God by being separated from the world; we will give glory to God with our lives as He has always intended.

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In Matthew 13:3-8, our Lord Jesus refers to the Word of God as seeds for sowing, and our hearts as soil under different conditions: some hearts are stony, hard to penetrate and lacking root; others are thorny, barbed with the lusts of this world; but some hearts are good and fertile soil, cleared of rubbish and ready to receive the Word of God (hence breaking up your fallow ground). In Matthew 13:24-30, he goes further to teach us that it is not only God that sows His Word into our hearts – Satan, too, is always out to sow evil seeds into our hearts when we’re not alert: seeds of doubt and unforgiveness in our relationships, seeds of lustful and unclean thoughts, seeds of malice and malignance. In fact, Jesus says that all that we say and do is rooted in our hearts (Matthew 12:34-35; 15:18-20). That is why Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to “keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

It takes a regenerated heart to obey the voice of God and fulfil His commandments (Romans 2:28-29). It takes a mature heart to handle the abundant blessings that God has ordained for each and every one of us and to not forget Him along the way (Deuteronomy 8:16-18). Even in the area of spiritual warfare, the need for our hearts to be aright in the sight of God cannot be emphasised enough. As soldiers of Jesus Christ, according to 2 Timothy 2:3-4, we cannot afford to engage in prayer warfare based on our emotions, on carnal anger, on hatred, on anxiety or fear. Our emotions are carnal. However, the fight we fight is not carnal, but spiritual (2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:12). Like soldiers in the natural sense, warring based on our emotions can leave us to be dangerously exposed to demonic reprisals. Even worse, like natural soldiers, continual warring with a heart that is spiritually immature and that has not been touched by God can at long last leave one to be spiritually traumatised. That will never be your portion in Jesus’ name.

Today, we need to sit down and ask ourselves, “What type of heart do I really have?” If we ask God to reveal what is in our hearts and search deeply within ourselves, we would be surprised to see what is lurking inside. God wants us to “rend our hearts, and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord our God” (Joel 2:12-13). Now, more than ever is the time for us to be sincere, open and honest to God. Whether we are young or old in the Lord, we need to ask God to transform our hearts. With a pure heart will we eventually see God (Matthew 5:8), and with a clean heart may we have confidence before the judgment seat of Christ (1 John 3:20-21; 4:17). Even so, having changed hearts is not the final bus stop: we must maintain our hearts and DILIGENTLY GUARD them AT ALL TIMES. Why? Well, Saul, a man whose heart was touched by God (1 Samuel 10:9), later backslid, turning from God due to his own negligence (1 Samuel 15:13-24). Therefore, we need to ask God to touch our hearts DAILY and resist the devil’s attempts to sow evil seeds in them by refusing to dwell on anger, unforgiveness, or any evil thought. We need to ask God for His mercy and touch on a daily basis, and for Him to remove every emotional burden from us when we go into prayer warfare. We need to meditate on the Word of God, sing and listen to songs of praise and worship, and hear good counsel when matters arise. Such and such are sure ways to help you keep your heart.

Let God expose unto you every evil seed that the enemy may have planted in your heart. Let our Lord Jesus Christ touch, cleanse, and regenerate your heart, that you may ever know Him, worship Him, and obey Him in spirit and in truth. Let our Lord Jesus also grant unto you the grace to keep your heart every day of your life, as you interact with people, as you pray, and as you prosper, even as your soul prospers (3 John 2). Above all, Satan shall never find any place in your heart, but your heart shall ever be the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, in the mighty name of Jesus.

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We Christians seem to have a lot of tendencies. We tend to remember the time, the place, and the pew of when we first confessed Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, but we also tend to forget about the first principles of our faith: how to love one another and follow the commandments of God. We tend to make our sowing, almsgiving, and work in the house of God the pinnacle of our Christianity, which are of course good things, but we also tend to forget that our relationship with God is what is most important to Him and should be to us too. We tend to pray, or even go into fasting, with a genuine desire for God’s intervention in our lives and situations, but we often overlook an important aspect of our lives: the aspect that can either propel or hinder our answered prayers, that can beautify or belittle our good works before God, and that is ever before the eyes of the Lord. We Christians are good at offering our praise, our worship, our time, our tithes, and our sacrifices, but it’s high time that we offer up unto the Lord OUR HEARTS. Whether we are seasoned Christians or newly born again, we cannot afford to be near to God with our lips yet afar with our hearts. We are in the end times. We cannot afford to risk our eternity with Christ because of stony hearts. As Hosea 10:12 says, “break up your fallow ground, for it’s time to seek the Lord…”

“… Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you” – Hosea 10:12.

We often mistake our work for God and our relationship with God as one and the same, when in fact, they are two separate things. Using our relationships with people as an analogy, you may be doing things for them without actually knowing (or wanting to know) them in depth. In fact, you may not be doing those things from the heart, but only to fulfill your own interests or get something in return. However, when you have a close relationship with someone, it goes beyond what you do for them: you reach a level of intimacy with that person, and attain a desire to spend quality time with them. So also is the case with God. God wants us to know him beyond the works and beyond the blessings, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. The key to us developing a stronger relationship with God is through the REGENERATION OF OUR HEARTS, where through a changed heart we can indeed worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). No wonder why to obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22)!

Like being born again, the regeneration of the heart is a definite moment when God touches you, removes your stony heart, and replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). Such a heart is tender, willing to hear and obey His voice, and a fertile ground for the Word of God to prosper. It is only with a heart of flesh that we can truly forgive AND forget. Really, we Christians ought to have regenerated hearts to be truly born again (Romans 10:10). The heart is arguably the most spiritual aspect of our bodies, which links the body, soul, and spirit together. As Ezekiel 11:19 shows, the heart is the seat of our relationship with God. Indeed, it is only through a regenerated heart that we can worship God in spirit and in truth, and fulfil His commandments (Romans 2:28-29). This explains why God is so interested in our hearts. But, for what God is interested in, so is the enemy…

Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash