FAITH OR WORKS?

Once again the presence of God dominated the atmosphere at the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Thessalonica. The children of God worshiped and praised, in truth and in spirit the one and only Living God; who took them out of the darkness and brought them into His wonderful light!

Following, one of the evangelists preached a message of encouragement entitled “FAITH OR WORKS”. He began by saying that just believing in Jesus Christ is not enough, yet we must have faith and works. In our spiritual walk with God, sometimes it seems as if we are troubled on every side. Under such situations, many cry unto the Lord, not out of faith but out of fear, panic and lack of faith. As the evangelist pointed out: “Trusting God does not consist in prayers alone; there are times to pray in faith and times to act faith. In other words, there are things we must do ourselves and others we must expect of God.” 

The evangelist read from James 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”, and explained that our faith must go hand in hand with our works and that there are some steps we need to take to reach spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is faith with works! As Christians, then, we are commanded to follow these tiny steps of faith with patience in Christ Jesus for there is no shortcut to spiritual maturity. This means that we need to go through our trials, our sickness, and our poverty, maintaining our faith in God, while showing with our works that we trust in Him. During the time of our trials, Satan aims to check our faith in the Word of God and to make us question the truth in the Word of God! We are then called to show by our works how much faith we have and to answer the devil with the Word of God! Concluding his message, the evangelist advised us to devote time to our fellowship with God so that we can mature spiritually, and urged us to seek faith in God, saying: “If you realise your capacity to believe is not enough, you can offer prayers of faith for it and Jesus will enlarge your spiritual coasts.”

Mrs. Pandian Paodjia comes from the Philippines and lives in Athens, Greece, permanently. She decided to visit the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Thessalonica, to testify to all the miracles that took place in her life after the deliverance she received from her previous visit, through the prayer of the man of God Harry.

Her life was unbearable, nothing was going well. She had problems with her health, finances and marriage. She had nightmares every night, which caused her to not sleep well and feel sick during the day, unable to cope with her daily duties. At the same time, she had severe headaches and swelling in her legs which made it difficult for her to walk. She had serious problems with her job. She was in charge of her sector and when one of her subordinates made a mistake, her boss punished her by keeping part of her salary. This had a major impact on her finances and caused her difficulties. In an effort to raise her income, she set up an online store where she tried to sell her products. She created advertisements to boost sales, on Facebook and pamphlets, but nothing changed. No one around her encouraged this endeavor because they believed she would not succeed. She made great efforts to succeed, but failure was always ahead! Her marriage was also in crisis, as she and her husband had frequent quarrels over trivial reasons and lack of communication. Mrs. Pandian felt that something was pushing her away from her marriage, while her husband felt that he was living in hell since depression was prevalent in their home.

However, after the prayer, everything changed! Nightmares, swelling in the legs and headaches have disappeared. In fact, her sleep is excellent, since she no longer has nightmares, and in the morning she wakes up rested, full of energy, ready to tackle all her tasks. Mrs. Pandian has also received a professional breakthrough! Immediately when she returned home, customers began inquiring to buy her products and subscribing on her website. Orders for her products are uncountable, she does not even have time to take all her phone orders. Indeed, sales and subscriptions to her website were so high that she was rewarded by her company. Furthermore, the relationship with her husband and the communication between them is now harmonious. They are both enjoying their marriage, they have health and a breakthrough in their finances! Their change is complete, God has turned depression into joy and their home radiates happiness! After all, Mrs. Pandian advised us to seek the face of God and to believe in Him, for nothing is impossible for Him!

We were created to think, talk and act with God. When we do this our victory is assured. We need to see the image God sees when he looks at us. When God looks at us, He sees us as a successful person who thrives and grows, just as He created us to be. When God sees us, He sees something else that everyone ignores.

Mr. Ashwin Vroom and his wife came from the Netherlands to SCOAN Thessalonica to thank God through their miraculous testimony of all the changes that have taken place in his personal life and in the life of his whole family after the prophetic word he received from the man of God Harry!

The problem that Mr. Vroom faced, was that he was unable to find permanent employment for many years. He was a Physics professor with additional specializations in this field and although in the Netherlands his profession was in high demand, he could not find a stable and permanent job. For nine years, he worked at a different school every year and was never sure if she would stay in the same workplace at the end of the school year or even have a job. Even though they recognized his experience and how good he was at his job, they fired him anyway at the end of the school year. His age was another aggravating factor in finding something permanent, as he was 62 and it was extremely unusual to hire someone at this age to work in schools. He was also facing an additional problem, which was difficulty in breathing, making it even harder to maintain a job, because it affected his mobility. He had to stop and rest frequently, especially when going upstairs. As a result, he was considered too old and unable to meet his work obligations. This situation was very frustrating for Mr. Vroom and his wife, who had to work for nine years without stopping, many times even in the evenings. At the same time, their two children, both having degrees, could not find a permanent job either. They were praying to God and waiting for His solution, but the answer was delayed. They decided to come again to the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Thessalonica, to first give their testimony and thanksgiving to God for healing Mr. Vroom of his respiratory problems and the overall evident change of his health and to once again lay down the problems they were facing in His capable hands. They knew from their previous experience that there is nothing that Jesus Christ cannot change in their lives.

So they took part on the prayer line, and in astonishment, Mr. Vroom heard the man of God say to him: “Jesus loves you. You haven’t seen anything yet. The best is coming! What you are experiencing now is just the beginning!”. Keeping this prophecy in his heart, Mr. Vroom returned home and continued to pray with his entire family, waiting in faith to see even more of God’s hand in his life. The breakthrough did not take long to appear! Excitedly he described how his breathing gradually improved, to the point that he could go to work on his bike at a distance of 25 minutes when he could not even bike for 5 minutes before the prayer line! The headmaster of the school where he worked, recognized his experience, skills and overlooked his age, in August offered him a permanent job at the school until the end of his career, although he could have hired two younger employees with this salary! The miracles of God and the best of God do not stop there! Their unemployed daughter was simultaneously accepted into four companies where she applied for a job and eventually opted for a position in a large area of Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, while their son, who had a specialty degree from Nasa, was hired by a company he sought and dreamed of working for.

Deeply grateful to Almighty God, Mr. Vroom confirmed that the prophecy he received was true, as it proved to be catalytic for his life and that of his family! In fact, desiring to glorify and thank the Living God for the restoration of his breath and the breakthrough He granted him, Mr. Vroom offered Him a hymn with all the power of His heart and promised to worship and glorify Him all the days of his life with the voice that He gave him! Finally, he exhorted all believers to always focus on Jesus Christ and not give up; He will appear at the right time!

When you focus on Jesus Christ, God will become the strength in your weakness. Recognize, that God’s response is not for those in a hurry. For all problems, there is God’s time. God’s time is the best! In God’s time, everything is beautiful!

Following are photographs of the prayer line. People came with the conviction to change their lives by receiving their own miracle from Jesus Christ.