Edwin Ogenio -Women In Ministry
By Edwin OgenioOver the years I have been asked the question many times whether women are allowed to teach in church or have a leadership position in church or ministry. Those who ask me this question usually ask because of the following scripture, which according to them is very confusing, since this scripture often has been used by religious leaders to justify the fact that women among other things should not be in church leadership position. Yet, there are many Christians who believe that it is perfectly fine to have women teaching or being the pastor of a church, but when they are asked to give a scriptural explanation by those who question it, they have a very hard time doing so.
Women should listen and learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was the woman, not Adam, who was deceived by Satan, and sin was the result. But women will be saved through childbearing and by continuing to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty. 1. Tim 2:11-15 NLT
Let’s clear out the misunderstanding! The apostle Paul who wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus did not forbid women from teaching. First of all, we know this because it was Paul who complimented and honored his co-worker in the ministry, Priscilla, who together with her husband Aquila, taught the preacher evangelist named Apollos.
Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had just arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord and talked to others with great enthusiasm and accuracy about Jesus. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately. Acts 18:24-26 NLT
Greet Priscilla and Aquila. They have been co-workers in my ministry for Christ Jesus. In fact, they risked their lives for me. I am not the only one who is thankful to them; so are all the Gentile churches. Please give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. Rom 16:3-5 NLT
To be continued…
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May 22nd, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 1 Comments
Edwin Ogenio
(Continued)
It was obvious that the Devil was doing whatever he could to discredit and destroy me. I have always lived a simple life and my home was always open for anybody and I have never had anything to hide. I also had a small studio where our radio shows were recorded and I could prepare sermons. I have never heard of anybody who told me that I falsely prophesied over them. Anybody of you out there who feels that I have hurt you, I sincerely apologize and ask your forgiveness because that was never my intention. I sincerely love all of you and it’s always my desire to build God’s Kingdom no matter where He sends me. I want to encourage you, if there’s anything you want to ask or discuss with me, feel free to write me at edwinogenio@yahoo.com.
The bible says whoever wants to live a fruitful life will be persecuted. 2. Timothy 3:12 “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
It is my desire as Jesus said: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35God bless you all,
Edwin Ogenio
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April 17th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio
(Continued)
The mother of one of these girls started a big media persecution against me and we suffered greatly for that. Later we found out that this lady was well known among Christian leaders and was clearly controlled by the Jezebel spirit, also persecuting several other churches. Taking these girls in also ultimately led to my wife at that time falling in sexual sin with one of the girls. This situation now finally propelled us to go to America to seek counseling. I took upon myself the blame for her sin and many stories about my person surfaced which I tried to deal with to the best of my ability. I went back after some months to try to salvage the church but the new leadership refused. I warned them that I wanted them to give back the responsibility of the church to me for me to take care of the situation. I ultimately had to give it up. It was clear that God didn’t want me to go in that direction. I met with most of the church members who really was a blessing and an encouragement to me. I was able to reconcile with many of them and I also wrote letters to those who felt inappropriately treated. After staying a while on my birth Island of Curacao I left for the US as the Lord called me to. Since then God has done many miracles. He gave us a mansion in Montrose, Texas where God called me to minister. Again, we have seen many miracles, many being saved and set free. After two years God told me to hand over the ministry and move to California where I built ministries in San Diego, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I never had sexual relationship with anybody in Holland (or anywhere else). I have never embezzled or stolen money. As a matter of fact when I left Holland the staff had control over all finances and insisted on continuing the church. The IRS (Tax) was never after me. That is a total lie. I never had pornographic videos either. I have even been accused of molesting children in Curacao. That’s how sick and far it went. (continued)
Edwin Ogenio
Los Angeles, CA
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April 16th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio
Dear Friends,
First of all I want to thank you. Secondly and prayerfully I would love to set the record straight when it comes to allegations directed to my person posted by some of you. About 17 years ago God called me to start a ministry among young people in Holland. The name we gave it was God’s Pleasure. This ministry was under the supervision of an existing church. By God’s grace this ministry grew in 7 years from nothing to about 300 members. Many gave their lives to Jesus Christ and have been set free from drug and alcohol addiction. We have seen many miracles of healing and restoration. We were able to buy as we called it “boys and girls homes” in order to rehabilitate those who needed it and also to promote biblical living and sharing together. Beside weekly Bible studies and Church service we also organized Christian rock concerts. Decision D was one of the house bands which later became well known. We ultimately had about 35 people working in the ministry. During this process I acknowledge that I and my staff have made mistakes, partially also due to our inexperience and lack of wisdom in how to administrate and balance the right care and help for so many diverse people and therefore have hurt some of them. At that time a great majority of the Dutch religious Christian establishment didn’t particularly approve of the way we were reaching out with the Gospel using tools like heavy metal music and radical preaching. In 1994 God called me to go to Houston, Texas and I told my staff at the time that I wanted to resign. They felt it wasn’t the time. But after all I believe it was me sinning against God by not obeying his call to resign and leave for the US. Right after two girls came to the ministry and wanted to be admitted to the girls-houses. I didn’t have peace about that but was weak enough to be persuaded. (Continued)
Edwin Ogenio
Los Angeles, CA
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April 15th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio - STOP HOPE AND PRAYER FOR JEZEBEL!
Almost on a daily basis, Edwin and I encounter people who have their own story to tell of having been in contact with the spirit of Jezebel in various ways. There is one concern that keeps coming to my mind, when it comes to effectively breaking the relationship with the person they know, who is possessed by the Jezebel spirit who has caused suffering, and horrible consequences in their lives. What worries me the most is many Christians expressed desire for that person to repent and be delivered.I believe we have to understand, that what the Bible speaks of as the outcome for a person who possesses the Jezebel spirit is death (2. Kings 9:33), and the other is sickbed (Rev. 2:22). Contrary to what we hope and believe, Jesus says in Revelations 2:21 NLT that: “I gave her time to repent, but she would not turn away from her immorality.” As far as we are concerned, we have never encountered anyone who has been possessed by this demonic spirit of Jezebel who has been delivered. One thing is to have character traits similar to Jezebel. Another is to be a full-blown operating, possessed, surrendered host of the Jezebel spirit on assignment from hell to destroy Godly activities. Do not be condemned if you have experienced controlling behavior in your own life, but arrest it immediately and make sure to get prayer and deliverance so it doesn’t take root in your life.
Because the vicious, manipulating and controlling Jezebel spirit is so strong in creating SYMPATHY with people, we believe the best thing to do is to cut all contact, as many people have done. However, many times we don’t realize to what degree we actually have to cut contact, in order to be completely, mentally and spiritually free from this spirit that continues to linger and cause damage.
The problem with so many people who have been bitten by the Jezebel spirit is that they continue to believe in the restoration of this person. Out of a good heart, they continue to HOPE and PRAY for this person to come to repentance. This, we believe, is exactly what the Jezebel spirit is working towards; to manipulate through sympathy, to keep the person in control and bondage, even after the relationship is broken.
Therefore, we believe the best thing is to totally and complete let go of even hoping and praying for the person, and completely give them back into God’s hands and God’s control, forever, and never go back there in your mind!! Whatever happens to them after this point of release IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY! But in many cases, we are still led by guilt and obligation to pray for this person! Beware of thinking that you may also have contributed somehow and therefore feel guilty and intimidated. Guilt is a tremendous tool in the devils hands to keep you hooked, keep you feeling somehow spiritually responsible to “save” these people. This merciful and loving act of praying and hoping for them, actually gives the Jezebel spirit an open door for continued influence in our lives.
We pray for continued revelation to expose the Jezebel, as it is a war that we have to be warriors to win. For those who have the specific calling to war against Jezebel, the next step in battling her is to attack and eradicate that spirit, in order to put a complete stop to her evil ways. These are warriors like King Jehu, and present time Kings, such as men and women anointed with the mantel of leadership who will not allow the spirit of Jezebel to continue in the church. See 2. Kings 9:30-37. Remember the Jezebel spirit is out to destroy the prophets of God and any prophetic voice and utterance on the face of the earth.
When it comes to the spirit of Jezebel we have to have a complete mind make-over, and realize that our usual nice prayers from the goodness of our hearts are NOT the way to combat Jezebel in our lives. It takes a radical warrior attitude, which I believe we WILL get, as the Lord Jesus Christ leads us into greater revelation on how to effectively combat this spirit in these end times.
May you be blessed and full of strength in Jesus Christ!
With love,
Sincerely,
Edwin Ogenio
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April 14th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio - Defending the Poor, Continues
Edwin Ogenio says: “Do not let anybody talk down on you for not having enough, or make you feel guilty, or less worth, as if you have done something wrong, or don’t have enough faith, because you don’t have enough money. All God is asking of you is to trust Him, because He is indeed faithful whenever we ask Him anything according to His will, to give it to us”.
And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for. 1. John 5:14-15 NLT
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April 9th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio- Defending the Poor, Continues
Edwin Ogenio: “Let me now show you, from a biblical standpoint, how I came to this conclusion and what God says about those who are poor”
The prophet Isaiah prophesied the following about Jesus Christ the Messiah:
He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. He will defend the poor and the exploited. Isa 11:3-4 NLT
These verses clearly explain Jesus’ attitude toward the poor:
Jesus went over to the collection box in the Temple and sat and watch-ed as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies. He called his disciples to him and said, “I assure you, this poor widow has given more than all the others have given. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has. Mark 12:41-44 NLT
Note here, that Jesus did condemn this woman for being poor, or teach her the “ten keys” for unlocking divine prosperity in her life, so she would become a “better” giver. But instead Jesus praised and honored this poor widow for her generous gift, even though it was by far the smallest. That is why it also says in the book of James:
Christians who are poor should be glad, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should be glad, for God has humbled them. They will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away. So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements.
James 1:9-11 NLT
“In other words, the poor Christian should be glad that riches do not mean anything to God, otherwise the poor will be considered unworthy. In the same way, the rich should be glad too, because again, money doesn’t mean anything to God and money is easily lost. Instead, we need to pursue true spiritual wealth!” says Edwin Ogenio.
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April 8th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio- Defending the Poor
As Edwin Ogenio is visiting Europe this time for a longer period after moving to the United States more than 12 years ago, many memories has been triggered him. Especially, memories about mission trips that Edwin Ogenio made with teams of fellow Christians to countries like Poland and Albania right at the end of their communistic and dictatorial governmental regime era, comes to mind. “We were warmly welcomed, by often times very poor Christians, who were living under deplorable conditions, with no hot water or heater and primitive sanitary conditions to name a few”, remembers Edwin Ogenio.
Edwin Ogenio says: “Yet, all these wonderful poor Christians were willing to happily take care of us in every possible way they could. They gave us shelter in their very small homes, and gathered food daily from each other in order to feed us. Besides all of that they loved to pray”.
Edwin Ogenio also remembers visiting, at that same time, an American missionary couple in Albania that in contrast to the poor Albanian Christians seemed to have it all. They had a nice large home in a prominent area of the city, with all the comfort imaginable, including air conditioning, satellite television, and the big double door fridge filled to the brim with groceries. Edwin Ogenio clearly remembers how it struck him that this missionary couple in their fifties was very distant and unfriendly. Edwin Ogenio did not feel welcome at all. They did not seem to be interested or love the poor people of Albania that they were supposed to reach out to with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “I was dumbfounded”, says Edwin Ogenio.
When Edwin Ogenio moved to America, all he heard was how Christians were sup-posed to be rich and have stuff. Many of them said they had the desire to have a ministry in order to be a blessing to the poor. They would, and still will, do anything to achieve that goal, like sowing financial seeds expecting to become wealthy in return, or follow teachings that tell them that God’s blessings are being bestowed upon them in accord-ance with how well they manage to keep a pure and unselfish motive for having and desiring riches. “I also heard many well known preachers and pastors teach on how to unlock the secrets to your financial success, making you believe that being rich has to be seen as a sign of God’s favor and that being poor is basically a curse”, adds Edwin Ogenio.Edwin Ogenio: “Down the road many believers get disillusioned and discouraged because their dream of becoming rich ultimately did not come to pass. I started asking myself the question; “Why do we attribute so much importance to wealth, and give so much honor to those who possess them?” Do Christians who want to become wealthy really desire to help the poor while waiting for their fortune to come through? It is interes-ting to me, that for the five years of me giving out food and clothing to the poor and the needy in Los Angeles on a daily basis, I have only en-countered less than a handful of people who were doing the same thing, where only one of them was a Christian. I concluded that wealth, power and status does not mean anything to God, and that being rich or poor has nothing to do with whether you are favored by God or not.”
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April 7th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio -Doctor Jesus
Edwin Ogenio says that Jesus sends out His disciples- and that is all of us who are disciples or followers of Jesus - and commission them among others to cast out demons in His name and heal the sick.
In other words it is God’s desire for us to live a life free from demons and sickness as it is stated in the 3. John 2 NLT;
“Dear friend, I am praying that all is well with you and that your body is as healthy as I know your soul is.”
“He personally carried away our sins in His own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by His wounds!” 1. Peter 2:24-25 NLT
The disciples testified and taught about Jesus as followed:
“And no doubt you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him.” Acts 10:38 NLTEdwin Ogenio says that it is apparent throughout these healing and deliverance stories that we need to believe or have the faith that God can and wants to heal us. People, when they are sick they normally would not go to a doctor to seek medical attention if they do not believe they could be helped.
God is moved by our faith in Him; unbelief hinders the move of healing in our lives.
This is for instance what is being said about the people in Jesus home-town Nazareth:
“And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” Mark 6:5-6 NLT
Edwin Ogenio says: “We need to trust and believe that God is more than able and capable to help us, since it is His will and desire for us to live in perfect health.”
Edwin Ogenio adds: “He can do or use anything to bring us healing. He can do it for example as we have seen Jesus doing through an instant miracle touch or He can use a doctor or physician to accomplish His miraculous will.
In other words we need to put our faith and trust in Him only; Jesus Christ!”
Many people do not receive healing because they are living in disobedi-ence to God and His Word. Edwin Ogenio says: “For instance as I already pointed out in the above, they doubt God, walk in unbelief or live in unforgiveness.”
“Therefore we have to repent and ask God to forgive us for disobeying His Word. And we must forgive those who have hurt us,” adds Edwin Ogenio.
Edwin Ogenio says: “Sometimes God does not heal somebody immediately because He is allowing sickness coming from Satan for that particularly season for a purpose or plan. For instance God allows infirmity for the testing of our faith through suffering or to stay humble and meek. Like God did with Job and the apostle Paul.”
And this is what the apostle Paul said:
“But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud.
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March 19th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
Edwin Ogenio: Stop the Lecturing of Others
Edwin Ogenio asks, have you ever run into fellow believers who almost immediately after telling them about your present situation, start lecturing or teaching you about what they think the Bible says about how or what you should do?In most occasions they tell you, or actually teach you in length, about things you already know, or situations you have already experienced. They will not ask you about your personal view or thoughts, or give you the chance to explain your opinion, since they are so busy lecturing you, and think they know how to give you all the right answers.
They seem to have an unquenchable need to speak about their concern for you that many times goes along with all sorts of critical admonishments and warnings concerning your situation. All you can do is humbly nod and patiently listen to what is being said, since there is no room for you to tell them that you already know and understand what they are lecturing you about, and that you already have taken care of it.
If you try hard enough to get a word in between, it usually ends up in some form of quarreling or uncomfortable confrontation. After it is all said and done, you are left behind with uneasiness and feeling that next time you would want to avoid a confrontation like this again. When you do try to avoid them the next time you meet, they do not understand why they are being rejected by you, and then they believe that it is because of their message, and that you may not have been receiving it.
Edwin Ogenio has experienced countless situations like this, most of the time coming from good caring Christians. Edwin Ogenio started asking himself: “why this is so frequently happening to me. Is it that God is trying to tell me something again, and that I need to listen, as the Bible says in Proverbs 15:31-32 and in chapter 16:20 NLT?”"If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.” “If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.” “Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the LORD will be happy.”
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March 13th, 2008 - Posted in Edwin Ogenio | | 0 Comments
