IGNORANCE IS NOT A CHOICE

The atmosphere was charged with the presence of God by the wonderful hymns of the SCOAN Thessalonica worship group. The hearts of those who attended were filled with joy and prepared to receive what they searching for; a touch from the Almighty Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!

Then, evangelist Stavros Michailidis preached a message titled “IGNORANCE IS NOT A CHOICE”, in which he offered valuable lessons to those in attendance. He began by saying that we live in a time of rapid change and re-alignment and many of us try to be updated with the events and developments in the world through the media; consequently, making it a way of life, while our thoughts integrate with those of the world. The opinions and philosophy of the world have become the database of our own personal opinion. The vital question, however, is, “What is God’s view of the events that take place all over the world and in our lives?”.

Reading from John 3:19-21, the evangelist reported that most people live in a sphere of ignorance, something that is not accidental, but it is the pursuit of most because their works are evil. They have loved the darkness more than the light and do not want to come to the awareness of the Truth, so their works do not fall under scrutiny. Ignorance, however, does not justify us from doing the wrong thing before God. Reading from Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”, he emphasized that ignorance is a more lethal disease than AIDS / HIV. Then, reading from Acts 5:1-10, he referred to the example of Ananias and Sapphira, so we may avoid such acts. These people, as believers, decided to surrender their lives to God, sell their possessions and give the money to the Apostles for the work of God. Along the way, however, they lied about the amount of money they received. What they did not know is that they did not lie to man, but to the Spirit of God! So while they were expecting a reward, the judgment of God fell on them… Their ignorance eventually led them to death. The evangelist characteristically stressed: “Unless you decide to look at life from God’s point of view, you would live a defeated life and you would go to the grave prematurely.” 

He also pointed out that many of us have made the decision to remain in ignorance, thus justifying our mistakes and our sins before God. Others, on the other hand, say that we know the truth of the Word of God and do not admit that they are ignorant. So we need to recognize before God that we suffer from the illness of ignorance and that we need treatment. This treatment will come only if we turn to the Word of God, because: “The spiritual awareness of Jesus Christ comes as you read your Bible with devotion as if your life depends on it!” Only then will we leave aside the way of thinking of the world, and receive the truth and the wisdom of the Word of God that will lead us to deliverance, healing, and blessing. The evangelist concluded that ignorance should not be a choice. Let us make the decision to devote ourselves to the truth of the Word of God and God will reveal to us who we were, who we are and who we will be in Christ Jesus.

Mrs. Valbona Ago from Albania has been experiencing serious health problems for many years. She came to the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Thessaloniki, with gladness of heart to testify the wonderful deliverance and healing that the Almighty God brought to her life.

She married at the age of 24 and just after one month the problems began. She suddenly began to have unbearable pain in her abdomen! She decided to go to the hospital, thinking she had appendicitis. When the necessary examinations were done, they found her to be pregnant, but the pregnancy was ectopic. The doctors put her in surgery and accidentally cut off one of her fallopian tubes. Mrs. Valbona was informed of this mistake by her doctors and that it would be difficult for her to have children. In two years she was pregnant again, but she miscarried! After this event, the strong abdominal pain began again, causing breathlessness and insomnia. Full of despair, her mother went to a witchdoctor. Even then she did not see any improvement in her health.

She eventually managed to have children with her husband but noticed that her health problems continued. Along with the abdominal pain she had headaches, and after her father’s death she also had gastritis. She constantly had pain in her abdomen causing her not to eat. As if all of this was not enough, in addition to her already overwhelming condition, she had a slipped disc in her back, which also caused her pain and limitations since she could not work and sleep, creating even more difficulties in her life. The doctor suggested surgery, but she was afraid to do this surgery. She followed all the treatments offered by the doctors she visited, however, everything was without effect.

She finally decided to register for the prayer line believing that God can do everything! After the prayer of the man of God Harry, the difference was immediate. The pain stopped! Now she can do everything without limitation; eat without vomiting, sleep normally without having nightmares! She is joyful and full of gratitude! She even visited the doctors who had diagnosed her illnesses to confirm that she was actually healed from gastritis and slipped disc that had plagued her! After all this, she advised us to believe that Jesus Christ is truly Almighty and promised to follow Him until the end of her life.

In Luke 8:43-48, the example of the hemorrhaging woman, who by listening to other people’s testimonies of the miracles Jesus did, her faith was strengthened and she received the certainty in her heart that only Jesus could free her from the health problem she was facing. For the people of the world, trouble, affliction, poverty and the like are a poison that kills man’s happiness and zeal to move forward but to the people of God, these things serve as a tonic, a driving force to a higher aspiration. So, when you know God’s will is to heal you, sickness will test you but will not destroy you, because Someone is planning your healing. Jesus Christ wants you to turn your test into a testimony, your failure into success! 

Mr. Julius Ogunlade came from Athens to the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Thessaloniki, to join the prayer line, believing that only God could put an end to all the hassles he had suffered for many years. Knowing that his problem was not normal, but something purely spiritual, he decided to seek the face of the Almighty, Jesus Christ.

During the prayer line, the man of God revealed the root of his problem by giving him the following prophecy: “Your father worships an idol. He kept the idol in his bedroom where he used to sleep… I do not know you and you do not know me, you have not told anyone, this is a secret of the family, even you yourself are ashamed of it. Your name is there, the name of your wife and your children is there in this idol… All your family is in front of a demon, in front of an idol. As I tell you this, I will pray for you and your family so that you can get free … Tell your family, you have to throw away this idol! You must pack all these things and burn them in the name of Jesus Christ, because I see this connection. This idol wants to destroy you all.” Then the man of God prayed in the name of Jesus, disconnecting Mr. Julius from any chain that satan used to connect him with himself, and the spirit of the idol that affected his life was finally cast out!

Thus, Mr. Julius returned with his wife to the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Thessaloniki, to confirm the prophetic word he received from the man of God! He said the prophecy was 100% true since he knew from the day of his father’s funeral that his name was in front of an idol. A few years later, his mother explained that the reason he was there was that he had to replace his father after his death in the worshipping of the idol according to the tradition that existed, even though he was not the first-born son of the family. This idol made him feel shame and was a big hindrance to the lives of all the family members. It brought on the premature death of his two brothers at the ages of 56 and 48 respectively, and he has been facing the problem of unemployment and poverty for many years; although he has had many professional qualifications. This affected his career as a mechanical engineer and as a professional driver. It also did not allow him his license for three months, he was given various excuses and postponements. He did not find any work, and if he had found it for a short time, he was not paid. The survival of his family and himself was an everyday feat, as they were trying to cover their obligations with the little money from his wife’s salary.

Following the prayer line, Mr. Julius, full of joy and deep gratitude to the Almighty God, he testified to all the wonderful changes that began to unfold in his life and the immediate breakthrough that began after the prayer he received. Returning to Athens, he went to the licensing department and they handed him the driver’s license directly. A few days later, he accepted two job proposals and, after communicating with them, he immediately started working! The salary for his first job was very good. Nevertheless, God had prepared for him something better! For a child of God, better is not good enough, the best is yet to come! After soem time, he accepted a job proposal from a company that hired him with double the salary and with many additional advantages, and even asked him to recommend other people to the company so he can teach them himself! Definitely free and full of appreciation to the Provider of his blessings, he advised us all to remain close to God, even after the solution to our problem is given. He finally promised to be always with Him.

Behind every situation there is a spirit and only a genuine man of God can see beyond this state!

Below we see photos from the prayer line. People came from different parts of the world, determined to bring their situation before Jesus Christ and receive from Him the solution through Prophet Harry.