Talk—G?deon Muluzi
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Praise God, brothers and sisters.
Are in Michigan.
I thank God for giving me this opportunity to speak to you today for those who don't know me.
My name is Maluzi Rugenabanga Gideon from Goma Assembly, a very young assembly in Goma from the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are living in the eastern part of our country. We say thank you for your prayers. Thank you for everything you brothers and sisters you do for us.
Here in Goma.
And for my family and all the sons from my local assembly, today I am going to speak about forgiveness.
Yes, I know that maybe some of you will not encourage maybe all the message because of my accent. You know, our accent is some sometimes different from yours.
But I hope God, this, the Spirit of God, will help us to understand the very message that He wants His people to know and to understand.
Today we are going to speak about forgiveness and our main structure is from the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 6.
All the 1St 12:00 and we look after also verse 14 and 15 as well.
It's about the Lord's Prayer as he was telling his disciples, and he said in verse 12 of Matthew 6.
And forgive our debts.
As we also forgive. As we also have forgiven our debtors.
This is our Lord speaking.
Showing his disciples how they should pray and he mentioned this. Telling them they should pray and ask for forgiveness.
But there is a particular thing that I see in this scripture that they are asking for forgiveness. Forgive our date as we forgive.
Those who are our doctors.
Normally I often start this speech with a question, the question that maybe you will not be able to answer right now, but maybe you will answer it later and feel free also to ask.
Me Some questions about my speech according to what the Spirit of God will enable me to speak.
My first question is.
Have you ever?
Did wrong to someone?
It may be your parents, your neighbors, your wife, your husband, your children, your boss, your employees. Have you ever did wrong?
And maybe the person tells you that you have done wrong to me.
Or yourself.
Within your heart, you recognize that you have done wrong.
To somebody.
That is my question, Have you ever done wrong to somebody?
And if yes?
What was your attitude?
How did you feel?
After.
Have you have done wrong to somebody? How did you feel? What was your attitude? Did you go to ask for forgiveness?
00:05:12
Or you just let it pass.
And the second question.
Have you ever been?
Offended. Have someone ever wronged to you?
And when that person has done wrong to you, how did you feel? What was your attitude?
I want.
You to think about when someone has done wrong to you and you did not forgive him or her.
What will happen to you?
And what happens to you when someone does a bad thing, sins against you and the person did not ask for forgiveness?
Are you free to forgive someone who did not ask for forgiveness?
And if someone asks for forgiveness, what is your attitude? Are you free to forgive him or her?
For if we read.
The next verse is the verse 14 and the verse of 15.
The Bible is telling us something very special, something that is going to.
It it's telling us something.
Let's read the verse for if we forgive the people.
When they seen against you.
You Heavenly Father.
Will also forgive you. That's verse 14 and verse 15 says.
But listen to this.
But if you don't forgive others their sins, your Father will not.
Forgive your sins.
If you don't forgive.
The things that people have done to you, if you don't forgive them, your Father in heaven will not forgive you also.
Do you hear that? Do you see how dangerous?
Is when you don't want to forgive people. Do you see the danger you are crossing when you don't want to ask for forgiveness to the people whom you have sinned against?
And sometimes I do look on this issue, on this matter of forgiveness between married people. I don't know how about your country, how about your farm, your town or your village where you're coming from. But for those who know Africa and those who have visited Africa.
And know about the African cultures.
Sometimes it's too hard. It's too difficult to people to man married man to ask for forgiveness to their wives because they think that they are above.
Their wives, they are above the women, and a man cannot ask for forgiveness.
In front of a woman, yeah, that's the culture. But our culture is not above the gospel.
You need to ask for forgiveness and you need also to forgive.
Even to your children. You can ask for forgiveness to your children. Your children also can ask for forgiveness to you. Yeah, you. It's a must as a Christian. Remember the Bible says that if you don't forgive, you will not be forgiven as well. I know it's a hard thing to do.
00:10:00
But since we are Christians, we need to obey the word of God. I want to tell a special man, especially those who are married.
It will not cost you something to ask forgiveness to your wife.
It will not cost you something you will not lose.
Your power of being man, being father or husband, you will not lose something, but forgiving or asking for forgiveness heals your heart.
And it gives you a good place, it gives you the self-confidence, it gives you all the power, it gives you the security in our Lord because you respect His words, you respect His commandment. That is my brother who are listening to me.
Please, being a man does not give you the right of not.
Asking for forgiveness.
You ask for forgiveness and this will happen in two ways.
What you recognize yourself say that something that I have done to my wife, something that I have told my wife was not good and this is not fair. You just go humbly as a son of God and ask forgiveness to your wife. You tell my dear wife, please.
I have done 123. Please forgive me.
And she will forgive you, she will feel better, she will feel good, she will feel loved when you ask for forgiveness at the man.
Think about your children.
Despite the age your children have, one of your children can be three years or five or something, but if he sees or she sees you, ask for forgiveness, although at the age he has or she has, this will help.
In two levels. The first one it will help her to feel.
Like.
He or she is healed from something that you have done to him or her and have offended the person in question. The child will be healed and the second level it will be like a teaching. The child will learn how to ask forgiveness because the child will say OK if adult.
People can humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. So how much more for me, the child underage, How much for me if I can ask for forgiveness? And this will be the best teaching because it's a teaching that is done by action. Thank you very much.
If my brothers who are married can consider this and from this time start asking for forgiveness.
To their wives and children. I want to tell also my sisters, my married sisters who are listening to me. You also you don't really. You will not lose something when you ask for forgiveness to your husband or to your children. It will build up your faith. It will build up the love.
To your husband or to your children?
When you ask for forgiveness, sometimes married people, especially sisters, sometimes they don't also have that free will of asking for forgiveness. Sometimes they, they recognize really that I have offended my husband or my children, but they don't directly go and ask for forgiveness, but they will show actions.
The action and I want to tell you that.
Maybe there are not all people who are able to interpret the action that you are making for asking forgiveness. So as a child of God you also you better go straight to the point and ask for forgiveness. It will not cost you something.
00:15:24
You tell your husband, please I have done wrong to you, I have offended you when I did 123 please forgive me.
Oh, Can you imagine how happy will be your husband or your children when you ask for forgiveness? When you humble yourself to ask for forgiveness, this will make a goodwill create a good way to.
Build your face to build the love in the family and this will also be done.
To the neighbors, to the colleagues.
Working place in your fellow Christian, in the local assembly, in your house, maybe the people you employ. You know everywhere. You need as a Christian to ask for forgiveness and to forgive your people. Remember that the Bible is telling us that if you don't forgive.
The scene that older people have.
Done to you. Your Father in heaven will not forgive you as well. It's not my saying, it's the Word of God, and it's a word spoken directly from our Lord Jesus Christ, not this.
If you don't forgive or ask for forgiveness.
Nor that you are disobeying.
The word of God.
You don't respect what God have said.
You need to know that.
Our God and Father.
Has a particular intention.
Intention in this issue of forgiveness, remember that you don't forgive someone because he is good you don't forgive someone because you just forgive but it's a must remember the Bible says that when we were yet.
Seen as Jesus died on the cross for us, don't wait people to be good. Don't wait your neighbors to be good, your fellow Christian to be good, your children, your parents, your husband and wife to be good so that they can deserve your forgiveness. No, our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for us when we were yet sinners.
And if we look at this week.
We understand that.
Although.
Sorry, despite the.
Situation in which this someone who have done wrong to you is you need to forgive him or her because of the love of Christ in you.
We don't forgive.
Because of what people have done to us, we don't forgive because of the attitude that they show us, but we forgive because of the love of God that He showed us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Love people. Although they have sinned against you, you love them and that love will take you to a high place where you will not only see what the people have done to you, but the love will. You will show love and that love will push you.
To forgive people. Amen. And this will be a good.
Way of seeing things.
00:20:02
Forgiveness is very important that if you can read the structure from the book of Matthew chapter 18, chapter 18, verse 21 and 22. Let us read.
Verse 21 and 22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who seems against me?
Up to seven times. Then our Lord Jesus Christ answered in verse 22. Jesus said, I tell you not.
Seven times, but 77 times, you see. Oh, thank you, our Lord Jesus Christ, for giving us this light of.
Your words think that we don't even count the times that we need to forgive the people who have sinned against us. Because as Peter is asking.
Is really seven times, but the Lord is saying not 7 but 70.
Seven times.
Oh, this is wonderful. So don't say that. Don't tell your wife, Don't tell your husband. Don't tell your children or your parents, your colleagues, your boss, your employees. Tell them that you have seen.
Against me two times and now you come again to ask for forgiveness. No don't count. Don't please count. You just love people despite how many times they have seen against you. But the love of our God and Father will help you to forgive.
These people, God loved us so much.
When we were yet seen as St. Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Yes, you see.
Although you are, you are having pain in your heart. You are really crying day and night because of the bad things that people have done to you. You are really offended. You are somehow maybe depressed.
And although you are in touch, a situation.
Love people, and the love will help you to forgive the people.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Please pray God so that he may help you to have love towards people and the love will help you to forgive people who have done wrong to you and this will give you security. This will heal your heart and this will.
Make God be happy, and once God is happy, you are happy as well and.
You will be happy with people and people will be happy to you. Remember as I finish that if you don't forgive people who have sinned against you.
Your God who is in heaven will not forgive you as well. Thank you very much. And I will ask you to listen also to my testimony because these teachings, it's not just a speech, but it has also helped me so much when I read these verses.
And there was people who have done terrible things.
To me and my family and my tribe. But by the grace of God, by the love of God, I have forgiven those people.
Praise God, brothers and sisters.
I thank you for listening to my speech about forgiveness.
As I promised that I will share my testimony as well.
00:25:01
Now this is the time for sharing my testimony, my personal testimony.
Of things that I went through.
Things that made me hate the whole tribes of duties.
Though it's not all of them who killed my family members, but I hated them all.
A short story of my country. My country is DRC. The Democratic Republic of Congo are located in the central of Africa. Now my village is at the eastern part of my country. My country has more around 400.
And 50 tribes.
And there is a tribe which is called 30 tribe. They originally came from Rwanda, a neighbor country to DRC.
And what the truth is did to my family made me like wherever I saw them. I mean the people from that tribe of Tutis whenever I saw them.
I felt like I want to have revenge against them.
I remember those days.
When I was 12 years old.
My mother were coming from the farming field at lunchtime. We were ready at the table eating beans and pumpkin. We were not eating it because we like it, but it's the food that we often afford.
To the village, Yeah. We were eating pumpkin and beans and suddenly people came in.
Those were duties from the tribe.
They came in, they had guns, they had knives, they have cans, so all kinds of weapon they have.
They came in and commanded us to lie down.
We lay down.
As they commanded.
And.
On the ground, my father, my mother, my sisters were all there, and all other some relatives as well.
The truth is, obliged my elder brother to stand up, told him to defend the family. He couldn't.
He just started crying, so we did. After that they took a knife.
And slaughtered him.
We were there seeing but could not help, he cried.
Cried and he died as a goat, slaughtered.
We cried, begging their mercy and beauty.
They did not even want to listen or to answer to our requests.
After that.
They took my two eldest sisters, one was 16 years old and the other were.
14 years old.
The tortoise raped my two sisters in front of my parents and me and the rest of the people who were in the house.
On my sights I saw everything my father saw, everything my mother did. So it was very sad.
After ****** them.
They slaughtered them.
00:30:00
Two, it was very sad.
That same time they killed 7 people in my house.
Two brothers.
Two sisters and three relatives who were living with us in my father's house. Can you imagine?
You are laying down on the ground.
In the mists of seven dead people.
Your own people who were not sick but killed by other human being using knives.
It was very sad.
Seven people, seven dead body.
The blood is spread all over the saloon, in the house.
Like water?
You are lying on the ground as if you were streaming in the blood of your own people, people who are not sick but killed.
Not thick. They had their projects. We were eating together.
We were laughing together, but sometimes later killed by their fellow human being.
The only faults, the only thing that they did that made them be worthy of death.
Was being in a different tribe. They were killed because they were. They were not two thieves killed by knives. Can you imagine?
Sometimes, some weeks later, my father passed away. I think he was affected by what we all see and witnessed about the death of my four people, brothers and sisters.
And.
The other relatives who were living with us in my father's house.
We stayed helpless, often no one to pay school fees.
For me.
Later on.
One of my neighbors in the village.
Decided to help me.
Paying school fees and other expenses for me.
Very sad, very sad.
The same people, people from the same tribe.
Killed that man who was willing to help me, to pay everything for me. And that happened when I was studying in Uganda, a foreign country.
Far from my village, far away from my country.
It was very sad.
And that.
Made me hate them more and more. I could not eat meat for more than five years.
Whenever I saw meat, I remembered how many people were killed.
Wherever I saw a duty.
My anger grew.
Up the more I hate them.
Later on, I.
I get saved.
Started living a Christian life.
Oh glory to God, I thank God for sending Jesus Christ.
Who died on the cross for my sins?
As a forgiven Sinner.
I tried to forgive people who hated me.
00:35:04
But the more I tried, the more I failed.
The more I tried to forgive people, the more I failed.
Until I prayed God the Father.
And he created.
A love in my heart.
To love my enemies.
I also read.
The verse from Matthew chapter 6, verse 15.
For if you don't forgive people who sin against you, your Father in heaven will not forgive you as well.
And this verse and the prayer that I made to God the Father, who created a great love in my heart.
The love for my enemies changed my life.
I thank God I was able not only to forgive them but also love them. I forgive them and I love them.
As human being, as people like me, I have love for them and nothing.
Can't take away this love.
The Holy Spirit.
Help me.
To continue in this kind of love.
And God made me pass through things that was like the exercise of love towards those people.
Like during COVID-19 lockdown.
Here in Congo.
Were leaving a very hard situation.
The country which?
Is at war, fighting tribes among tribes and countries. Attack the country, this country and those people.
Were.
Living in a hard situation during lockdown. COVID lockdown.
And what happened? Because I used to be the pastor of a denomination before I knew the truth.
Before I read also the book of God's order and brother Tim came several time and sent me some of the teachings and now I am a gathered brother.
But during the local COVID-19 lockdown.
Those people from the church came to live in my house.
They expected to get food in my house.
They thought that I was rich enough to have much food for my family and for them and I could not just put them out. We just stayed in my house and I thank God, through the love He created in my heart, I was able to sell my.
How's my own house? I sold it just to get food for feeding people who came to have a refugee in my house. And among those people who were living in my house, there were three.
Duty families who were living with me, with my wife and my children in the same house.
And we?
Exercised love towards them and my wife and I have decided to put those three families first at the queue waiting for food.
Meaning we could not serve all the people before those three dirty families I met. Sure that those three families are served before we can serve next people.
00:40:09
And I thank God that the people were fed, although we have lost some of the brothers.
Passed away, died from starvation cause of the lack of food but.
God spared us and those three to the families.
From now until when Jesus Christ will come back.
I will be at peace with these families, with this tribe, have nothing against them. I love them, I have forgiven them and in any way if there is a danger.
On the side of toothis and I am able to spare even one of them. I will do it for the love of Christ, for the love that God created in me. I thank you very much for listening and I pray that God help you and I to forgive the people who have sinned against.
US.
Remember, you don't lose your things, you don't lose your personality when you forgive somebody or when you ask for forgiveness. Your questions are welcome. If there is any question, any advice please.
I am ready for answering question and listening for recommendations or advices God.
Bless you all.
Hello, Gideon. We see you now. Yes, hello. I can see you as well.
Praise God, I do have a couple questions.
Your Tootsie neighbor who helped you to pay school fees and other other expenses.
You said they killed him. How did they kill?
That man.
OK. Well, thank you, brother Tim for the question.
It was.
During the the rain here in my village, so my my neighbor the the man who was willing to pay school fees for me was driving his car.
He arrived at a certain point where they set a barrier, but it was not seen like a barrier. He just crossed with his car driving.
And what happened? At about 15 metres they stopped him and told him why did you not stop at the barrier?
Then he said I could not see any barrier here. They said there is a barrier and you should stop, but you did not stop. They took him out of his car.
They commanded him to sit down.
On the ground, he sat down.
Then they they made a queue of about 20 or 25 soldiers.
From the Tutti tribe, they asked him to open the man. He opened the month and one by one passed and speedled in his mouth.
They, they, they, they asked him to open his mouth, and they were spitting into his mouth. Yes, and they did it, and they obliged him. They commanded him to swallow.
Everything and he had no choice. He shall load it. Then they free him and told him to go, but he could not survive.
A few days later, he passed away.
Yeah, the doctors could not help him. That is how, in brief, how he was killed.
00:45:02
Why did they not kill you or your father or mother in the house?
OK, they did not kill us.
Just they were discussing about themselves and they say that they are tired and they will come later, maybe another day to kill us. Yeah. So we were living in Thatcher.
Fear. Anytime when we hear somebody knocking at the door, we say, oh, they're coming. Today is our last day. Yeah, it was terrible.
They just paid Arsenal, I don't know. And the man, they did not kill him in the car because they just want and they say that they cannot use guns because they are going to spoil their magazine and they need to use knives and they cannot use other means to kill them. They just, there is a saying that they say we will kill you slowly, will kill you slowly.
We don't want to kill you at a sudden.
Oh my.
How long did it take after you realized you should forgive the Tutsis before God gave you his love for them and you are able to forgive? Was this something you had to pray for daily for some time or did God just miraculously give you the power one day to forgive?
It took, it took time, it took like one year praying, one year praying before praying. I was trying as a human being to forgive them. But as I said in my my testimony that the more I tried as a human being.
To forgive them, the more I failed to forgive them.
Then I said, OK, I will try, I will start praying. I prayed and every day, every evening before going to bed, I was asking God the Father to give me the love towards those people so that I may forgive them. I pray that it took me like one year or ten months like that, something like that.
And then God created a love, a kind of love in my heart, and through that love I forgive them. And after the forgiveness, after forgiving them, then the Lord gave me now some opportunities.
And in everything that I was doing, God directs some to describe people to come in my things, in my life, in my neighborhood.
And in the church where I was praying, God just brought those people so that I can exercise that love, so that I can exercise that forgiveness, to make sure that really I have forgiven them from the very bottom of my heart.
When is the last time you and your family ate breakfast?
Yeah.
The last time I think that now next to.
Next September.
Will Will.
Will reach five years without eating breakfast, five years my family, my wife, my children and I5 years next September.
Here at our camp, we have 250 people.
And breakfast, lunch, supper and then before we go to bed we eat again. So we have a lot of food here.
While you are suffering, we're sorry for that. Yeah. Another question, are the two, are the two still continuing these killings even now?
And are they still? Are they still holding the city of Roma captive?
Yeah, exactly. They're still doing the same as I told.
00:50:01
They, they, they are fighting, you know, they, they are in a group, A rebel group which is fighting even now, right now. The time I'm telling you yesterday's, yesterday it was Sunday at about 17 kilometres. They were killing people yesterday before we, we went to the.
To the meeting to remember the Lord in his death.
A friend of mine gave me a call and told me that they attacked a village at 17 kilometres from away from where we are living and killed people. Yeah, so they never stopped.
Well, how many of those in your assembly died of starvation during the lockdown?
We have lost.
33 brothers and one kid.
A total four person died of starvation. How did you hear the Gospel be saved?
That there is a friend of mine who invited me to the church. He was trying inviting me to the church. Then I heard the gospel and I got saved and I started going to the church and listening to the gospel then.
After a while that was in Uganda and when I came back in, in Congo, my country.
I backslided, I backslided, I could not go to church again and I start living the normal life and which does not please God.
Then after that.
Somebody else invited me to church and they started praying to me.
And.
Teaching me the the word of God. Then I went back in the church, in Christian life and.
Because I am an interpreter, I do interpret for.
People from English countries to interpret them in Swahili, in French and other local languages.
So through this I met Brother Tim in Kigali for the first time. I was called there to translate for a pastor from Congo.
And I was interested in the things of God, how to being gathered under the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now I am a gathered brother that is in breath. How old are you brother?
I am now.
39 last June 17 was my birthday.
39 You have one wife? Yes, I have one wife and four kids. What are their names?
My first my wife is called Crystal.
Crystal and she's now 29 so I am 10 years older than her and my first born is called Albert.
Albert is 15 years now. My second born is called Armani or Peace.
He's 12 now and my third born is a girl is called Faraja and malas born is seven months now is called Hashima. What does Hashima mean?
Hashima means dignity. How many wives did your father have?
My father had.
Two wives and my grandfather has.
67 wives.
I can't count that high.
00:55:01
OK, our time is about up. Gideon, thank you very much for joining us today.
Thank you also for listening. Thank you for your prayers.
I love you so much. You are my brothers, although we are at a distance. Thank you brother. Greetings and family. Yes, thank you. Bye now. Bye.