My Worldview and Spiritual Development
I am now very optimistic, though I used to be a pessimist about the absolutes of reality concerning human destiny, that God knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb (see Ps. 31:15; 139:13-16; Jer. 1:5, 6; Gal. 1:10-24). Growing up as a deeply introverted but shy boy in a predominant African village in a Roman Catholic home, my spiritual, moral, educational and human developmental attitudes modeled a belief that could accept all things as acceptable to God if one could follow provided rules and laws. Soon I gained additional religious insights into Methodism from school and then added on some faint Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and Baptist insights while in the Senior High School through the Scripture Union. You do not have to get me wrong, but I know that I did not truly know the Lord; I was only trying to be a Christian by doing pious things. May be like Nicodemus or Cornelius or even Paul in their prior religious zeal. I saw nothing wrong with casual sins, fetish practices of the day, traditional religious faith and Islam. Mentally, however, though tragedy seemed to prevent me from following a certain line of academic pursuit, I rather gained a solid Scientific Mind, with a Sixth Form Economics added subject as skills for living. Later in the University, I undertook a year of Engineering Drawing skills before deciding to settle for Mathematics as a major. By the second year in the University, I had been apprehended by the Lord; and started weaning off the unscriptural teachings from my Catholic traditions. While growing up in the Lord as a Mathematician, I thought of majoring in Statistics. While a young Christian, I was privileged to learn Comparative Religion through the University Christian Fellowship. At the time my master teacher was the Holy Spirit who taught me difficult texts from the Scripture in my night visions. I also had the privilege of linking up to varieties of world acclaimed men and women of God; through their magazines, some few takes and religious (but mainly leaning on Christian) books.
Soon my friends and peer mentors took interest in me; especially from believers in the Christian Fellowship, Ghana Fellowship of Evangelical Students (GHAFES). A few Christian lecturers and GHAFES travelling Secretaries became friends and senior mentors. In those days, we used to attend non-denominational Christian Fellowship Prayers in Bantama, Kumasi. But then, as if by design, J S Gyimah (now a late Apostle) of the gospel appeared on the scene and he having grown in the Church of Pentecost started leading me to some of their dynamic prayer meetings. Before long we were visiting the Walkers, the Kyeis in Kumasi and especially Edward Dankyi in Dunkwa-On-Offin. Now having developed an analytical but logical frame of reasoning as a mathematician, I soon got myself attached to finding the secrets behind power, revelatory and deep level inspirational evangelism and church planting. If you ever have the privilege of staying with, praying with and ministering with the late Edward Dankyi at his prayer tower in Dunkwa and in his Regional Conventions, then you will understand the ways of God in training and imparting to people. If you stood close to F D Walker in Evangelistic and Healing Crusades, then you will experience the multiple effects of the gift of faith. No sooner then, I was exercising almost all the gifts of the Spirit. These were times of much in the school of the Holy Spirit with emphasis on the imminence and certainty of the return of Jesus. I got to know that speaking in tongues was the tip of the iceberg but the edifying and opening of streams in Christianity! I spoke in tongues a lot but not in Church because that was not allowed in the Catholic Church. By then I was not also fully in the Church of Pentecost until I got baptized by the late E Kyei, then District Pastor at Bompata, Kumasi in 1974. I started exercising gifts in fellowship meetings and gaining insight into Christianity as beyond Pentecost; for the Resurrection after the Feast of Passover and Pentecost were the starting points in Christianity. There was the Feast of Tabernacles which corresponded with the Ingathering or Rapture (Ex. 23:16; 34:22; see Matt. 17:1-9; Acts 2:1-4, 12-21; 2 Thess. 2:1, 2). So, we were to grow and mature in righteousness from faith to faith (Rom. 1:11-17).
Then I finished University and I was directed to teach at Apam Secondary School. What a privilege of the Lord to have the Pastor’s wife Mrs. Mary Buah dreaming about a young man the night before the Sunday morning service; from when I became son to Pastor J M Buah. From that time in 1975 till 1978, I literally continued directly and indirectly to make disciples of giants in the Church of Pentecost and beyond. Strangely, this is the ingrained afternoon vision in 1972 when the Lord was teaching me a timeless principle of intercessory prayer to propel power evangelism (Acts 6:4; Eph. 6:10-20; Rev. 12:11-17). Indeed thereafter, I was made the Prayer Secretary in my Hall Fellowship and I was enlisted in the few Prayer Warriors of the Historic GHAFES Crusade in Larteh in 1974. So, I became the right hand man of Ps. J M Buah at Apam serving as District Witness Leader, District Secretary, Acting Presiding Elder and Personal Attendant of the District Pastor in most errands and duties. Oh, what a training school of Hands On, Value Driven, Character and Charisma Capacity Building of originality from those who knew the founding fathers.
My Life’s Journey:
My journey in life as a Christian began from childhood with very humble beginnings in a devout Catholic parental home in a remote idolatrous village, Asankran Oda in the Western Region of Ghana, West Africa since 1949. At an early age of four and half, I attended a Methodist School where I learnt about Methodism. Between ages 12 and 15, I lived with guardians some of whom were adherents of The Church of Pentecost in Asankrangwa. Around my fifteenth birthday, in or about 1964, I started my secondary school education and was introduced to the Baptist thought at the Scripture Union. I also gained some Presbyterian liking from my Headmaster at the Asankrangwa Secondary School, who was a Presbyterian. Prior to this time, I came into contact with an uncle who had become an adherent of Islam but also practiced the Koranic, herbal fetish ('ism'). All this while, I was looking great morally but inwardly and spiritually, I was very empty, sinful and devastated. This is because, though very sincere in thinking all was approved by the true and living God, my religious worldview had become unacceptable to Him. It was a kind of religious syncretism that embraced everything like the tolerance philosophy held by today’s New Age Movement. I did not understand Biblical Holiness and Righteousness. I was not born again and therefore not Heaven bound. Hence, I was merely acting very religious, a good chorister and pious church-goer with no demonstrable saving faith in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and no kingdom power from the Holy Spirit.
In or about 1971, I gained admission into the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra, Ghana to pursue a course in Agriculture. About three weeks after my enrolment, I intuitively abandoned my course and enrolled at the University of Science and Technology (as it then was) in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, to study Mathematics. Whilst at the University, I joined the Christian Fellowship of one of the University's traditional halls of residence known as Independence Hall. Up until then, since I was entrenched in my staunch Catholic faith but with the additional religious enlightenment, the world of faith was very hazy. However, I longed deeply for the Truth! I did not know how to handle demonic activity and religious and doctrinal deception. Issues of lust and lying were a normal trait of my life although I was a reserved social gentleman. I also accepted herbal levels of fetishism having witnessed rampant activities of dwarfs and other demons from childhood. Furthermore, I thought the practice of religious syncretism was acceptable to God. What a shame! Nonetheless, the Lord of all grace was still prodding on my heart’s door. All glory and honour to Jesus!
In or about October 1971, the Lord in a night vision revealed Himself to me, showing the brightness of the glory at His return with His glorified saints. The glory of Jesus with saints in sparkling white on one side and lots of pictures of those fleeing from His glory as depicted in Revelation 6:15-17 were vividly seen. At that moment, I realised that Christianity and going to heaven are not about being either morally upright or even highly religious but only through experiencing the glory of God that is vested in Jesus Christ! In or about October 1972, the night vision was repeated with intensity. I dare say that it could compare to some of the experiences recorded in the Bible like that of Abraham (Acts 7:1, 2); Peter, James and John (Matt. 17:1-9); Paul (Acts 9:1-8) and others. Indeed, these two experiences have left an indelible mark in my heart to date as a glimpse of the entire panorama of Revelation 6-19. I desired to merit this glory of the Raptured saints, to join them and then always be with the Lord Jesus. And I was fully determined that nothing would keep me from this; what amazing and awesome GRACE to me!
My Christian Thought and Worldview:
The Lord Jesus first apprehended me to a life and ministry with true holiness as the only means of attaining the Rapture with His saints at His Imminent Second Coming. This started immediately I saw the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His saints in the night vision in October 1971 which was repeated in October 1972. Also from this time onwards the reading of varied Christian literature became a hobby. Later, I discovered the doctrinal and practical essence of the “day of Pentecost” together with the “subsequent Holy Spirit coming or falling upon” occurrences in the open-ended book of Acts which led at that time to the believers’ practical experiences in Water Baptism by immersion and their receiving of the promised Holy Spirit. I became convinced that New Birth from above by the Holy Spirit (as the Spirit of God) through faith in Christ must always precede Water Baptism; and then also followed with the subsequent power encounter of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 39; 8:12-20; 9:12-20; 15:6-11; 19:1-7). Such must be the norm for all true Christian believers towards the formation of the true Church, rightly called the body of Christ which is made up of saints i.e. persons of Christ-like ‘Character’ and ‘Charisma’.
I became convinced also from Peter’s response on the day of Pentecost that two major patterns of spirituality will run concurrently in the entire Church Age in every generation. Revival and Apostasy will be happening soon after Pentecost through to the Rapture, until ‘the great and terrible day of the Lord’ as stated clearly in Acts 2:16-21.
They are explained through Paul as follows (2 Thess. 2:1-12):
- Holy Spirit-led Revival Church to be Raptured by the Lord; together with
- Church-going as mere Religion with Sects formation by even pious people but who not fully submitting to the Lordship of Jesus, will pave the way for the formation of the Apostate Church for the revealing of the up-coming Anti-Christ.
It is apparent from the unfolding of Church history and into her Rapture that the present-day DISTINCT DENOMINATIONAL STREAMS will flow together as ONE HOLY, CATHOLIC (UNIVERSAL), APOSTOLIC CHURCH while also creating within it a platform for the formation of the END-TIME APOSTATE CHURCH through absorption of syncretistic (devilish and humanistic) beliefs. Thus, while God’s kingdom work in fulfilling the Mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit goes on in all Churches by the saving and maturing of Saints (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:1-11; 28:28-31; Eph. 4:1-16), Satan’s work will also be permitted on earth (Acts 20:20-32; 2 Tim. 4:1-7) until the up-coming eschatological great and terrible day of the Lord (Matt. 13:24-30; Acts 2:16-21). Jesus Himself taught this in the parable of the wheat and tares as part of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven on earth (Matt. 13:24-30).
Be that as it may, I realized that God was already divinely doing this within the various denominational streams of Christendom as symbolized by the seven Churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3. As a result, one may not find a perfect Church outwardly in this present day.
The true Church, the body of Christ, remains an Organism comprising all true disciples living on Earth who have believed and become committed to the GOSPEL for obedience to the faith. Such believers naturally are members within the Local Congregations of the various Church Organizations or Denominations!
Under the foregoing, I have acquired knowledge concerning all major streams of Christian faith, with basics about African thought concepts of religion such as fetishism, dwarfs, powers of river gods, witchcraft, etc, on one hand; Islam, Judaism and Hinduism (from my travels, associations in life and ministry including India) on another; and Western thought as well as Australian beliefs about reality of life, yet on another.
In all these phases of life, amidst the somewhat seemingly hopelessness in our attitudes as Christians unto the end of the Age, I have witnessed the hand of the Lord building His Church by saving, delivering, healing, justifying, sanctifying, empowering and making multitudes of disciples in our Global Village per Matt. 16:16-19; 28:18-20; Acts 16-21, 38-47; 9:31; 15:6-11; Rom. 1:16, 17; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 3:1-10, 14-19; 4:7-16; and 1 Pet. 2:1-10. (Indeed, countless have become obedient to faith in His commands and promises by the power of His Spirit and Gospel – Rom. 16:25-27)!
