Correspondence with Arthur Ssajjabi
On June 24th, 2006, Arthur Ssajjabi wrote to Victor:
Dear Victor
I believe the lord is bringing me to you to have his Rest in my Heart and ministry. please pray for the people of Uganda we have not rested have not recieved this rest you people have in the lord. we have not entered or recieved the fruits of sabath which the lord God want his people to have.
Our Hearts are not at rest even the people we are leading.
This is my prayer Now the difference in Divine love church shuld be on the Rest the people get once they join the church. How can we have it?
Many people have problems it also appears as if God is not providing for ugandans and they look to be very active n their works ,giving praying day and night but they are living a life of lack and misery.
Send me more teachings on the Rest spiritual sabath
we have not recieved it if you have please may the lord Use you that you may lead us to enter in that rest. we can not see the fruits of this rest ,i have never recieved it and i have seen my grandmother, fathers all have never recieved the rest.
It will be a great miracle for the people of Uganda first of divine Love church to enter in this rest. our Hearts are Tire especially my heart I need the Rest once this comes in me then i would be happy to be with jesus in heaven. But can that be achieveble? and where is the way that leads to The rest? and what should be the fruits of God’s rest in our lives and Generation?
Waiting to hear from you
Pastor Prince
Victor replied:
Arthur,
I was pleased to receive your letter speaking and asking about the Rest of God. Where in our literature did you read about it?
In 1973, I was granted the repentance of Passover. In 1975, I was granted the Spirit of the God of Pentecost. In 1984, He spoke to me, notifying me that I had entered the city of great pyres, but it was not until the year 2000 that I entered into His Rest, tabernacling with and in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His reward. He is the Rest. The Rest is the fulfillment of Christ’s work in a person. It is the overcoming declared for each of the seven churches in Revelation, to be fulfilled in this life.
In a few days, Lord willing, you will receive, the poem on the Rest of God. I wrote it prophetically (the Lord gave it to me) years before I entered the Rest myself.
Once you have overcome (entered into the Rest), you have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. He, in maturity, dwells in you and you in Him. Then you will ask and receive, and He will be all things to you. This is not only for ministers, but also for all. As you rightly say, Arthur, the Lord God wants all His people to have it (to enter the Rest). Indeed, if one does not endure unto the end, he or she will not have the reward, I assure you. Notice that the Hebrews writer solemnly warns and exhorts all to enter into rest (Chapters 3 and 4). Those to whom he was writing had repentance (sins forgiven) and the Spirit (what is sometimes called, “the second blessing” or the “full Gospel,” but it is only “two thirds of the Gospel”). The “third blessing,” or final stage of the salvation process, or the “full Gospel” is the entering into rest, the third and final Feast of Tabernacles, God taking up His rest in one, and one taking up one’s rest in Him. It is the victory few know.
Few are those who become eggs, yet can do nothing. Fewer are they that become caterpillars, yet can only crawl. Least in number are those who become butterflies, and can fly. When Israel kept the Feast of Tabernacles, they built booths to dwell in for their third and final festival of the year. Caterpillars build cocoons to take them to the heavens. Can they build those on their own? No, it is in their God-given nature to do so.
Many keep the true Sabbath day of the week, the last day, (Saturday), which is fine, but God’s will is that we have the Sabbath within. Without the Sabbath within, the weekly Sabbath is not the same. When the fourth commandment is fulfilled within, so are all the others; they are one. When the fourth commandment is not fulfilled within, neither are the others. It was not until the Sabbath Rest was fulfilled within me in 2000 that we began to keep the Sabbath of the week (Saturday instead of Sunday). Until that time, for nearly 3 decades, we kept Sunday, predominantly traditional in nominal Christendom. Receiving the internal Sabbath, He crowned us externally with the weekly Sabbath, the day of rest. The physical crown does not make the king. The king receives the crown because he is king. The weekly Sabbath is not the substance. It is an honor because of the substance.
The rest is the victory, Arthur. It is rest from our works, from the carnal drive to do, to accomplish, and to meet needs; it is the deliverance of God from TRYING (IN VAIN) TO BE GOD FOR OTHERS. Jesus said:
“Come to Me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke and put it on you, and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 GNB).
Jesus was not referring to farming, or fishing, or hunting, or carpentry, or driving, or any of the carnal and worldly occupations. He was referring to our self-righteous works, to our laboring without Him. Have you not complained, rightly and honestly observing that things were not getting done, needs were not being met, and wondering why? Arthur, as men, we devotedly and proudly do the “work of God,” and try so hard to “do His will,” not knowing that His will is that we might primarily and simply know Him:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent” (John 17:3 MKJV).
And His work is that we believe on Him:
“Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him Whom He has sent” (John 6:29 MKJV).
Men deceive themselves, thinking they are trusting in Him, when truly, they are trusting in themselves. What is worse, they are trusting themselves in His Name. That is sin, known as “taking the Lord’s Name in vain,” the breaking of the Third Commandment, and consequently, all of them.
The Rest is the fruitfulness and power of faith. We come from bud, to flower, to fruit. The Rest is the manifestation of His faith in us, and not our faith in us. Jesus said:
“Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise” (John 5:19 MKJV).
Jesus goes on to say:
“For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all the things that He Himself does. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and makes alive, even so the Son of Man makes alive whomever He wills” (John 5:20-21 MKJV).
Arthur, if it was about meeting physical needs, could not the Father have shown the Son more than He had? Why was only one man singled out at the pool of Bethesda to be healed? The place was full of needy folk. But the Father was not doing all those things we think He should or would be doing. Yet, the Scripture says that the Father showed the Son all the things that He Himself was doing. See also that the Son says He makes alive “whomever He wills.” Does He not want all alive? Yes, but the timing is in the Father’s hands. This then, is the fulfillment and spirit of the words, “Your will be done, not mine.” Those are the words that bring the Rest.
Does that eliminate our responsibility to our brothers, sisters and neighbors? No, not at all. On the contrary, when we truly believe and rest in Him, we will be found with right attitude and spirit in all things toward Him and our fellow man. We will love our neighbors as ourselves. It may appear that we are cold, calloused, irresponsible, unloving and ungodly when in the Rest of God, just like many appear to be the opposite while not in the rest of God. Man’s works are, or can be, very impressive to men. But it does not matter how man sees; it only matters how God sees.
Think about it: At this very moment, God could wipe out every famine, disease, and known evil. He could send rain where needed, and perform any number of miracles to solve every problem and meet every need. Why does He not do it?
For example, He could have sent Elijah to every widow in the famine in those days, but He only sent him to one. He could have healed every leper in Elisha’s day, yet He only healed one, and that one was not even an Israelite, but a commander in a gentile nation’s armed forces, one that had a history of enmity with Israel! Realize that God could have prevented any of this from happening from the very beginning. If He did not, then there is a purpose for it all, is there not? Read The Purpose of Evil.
The Rest of God, my friend, is to have His Mind and His perspective on things, instead of, not as well as, our own. All things are proceeding as designed and predetermined, both good and evil, whether it looks chaotic or unjust or foolish. God is in full control. The Rest is to know that in the heart. It is to love and agree with Him on all things.
Easy to say when things are going well? Yes. Hard to say when pressed all around with tragedy and needs of all kinds? Yes. Nevertheless, our perspective and circumstances do not determine the truth of God. Unbelief is to judge after the outward appearance. Faith looks beyond, to the evidence of things not seen. By faith do we enter into rest.
Can the Rest of God be attained by asking? Yes, but not according to our timing or ways. The Rest is not a short-term answer to our request. Our request, if concluding in success, will be one not of words from the mouth only, but of life, from the heart. It will be a gift of God and not something we can ask for or in any way bring about by our own will, power, or righteousness. The Rest is not ours, but God’s. It is His work and not ours; otherwise it would not be rest, would it?
“For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10 MKJV).
Three feasts did Israel keep, and three times did the young men appear before God:
“You shall keep a feast to Me three times in the year. You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, in the time appointed of the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And no one shall appear before Me empty. Also the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field. Also the Feast of Ingathering, in the end of the year, when you have gathered in your labors out of the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God” (Exodus 23:14-17 MKJV).
It was in the reign of the third king of Israel that there was rest. It was in the third patriarch, Jacob, and not with Abraham or Isaac that the tribes were formed. It was Jacob’s name that was changed to “Israel,” which means “ruling with God.” Abraham was called out (repentance); Isaac was offered up and received from the dead (a new birth, born again) but it was Jacob who endured great trials. As he confessed to Pharaoh, “Few and evil have been my days.” He is the one who prevailed with God and with men, hence his new name, which is carried by the nation today.
The Rest is the overcoming of Jacob, bringing one to sit on the throne with Christ, even as He overcame and ascended to the throne. “Is it achievable?” you ask. I suspect you mean in this lifetime. I say to you, “Most certainly!” Not only is it achievable, it is the supreme command of God! It is His purpose for His chosen.
One can be called, and that is good. One can be chosen, and that is good, and better, but unless one is faithful, the calling and choosing are for nothing. One cannot live and work without faithfulness. The Rest is that faithfulness. It is the very life of God. It is His permanent residence in us. It is His manifestation to us:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (John 14:21-23 MKJV).
Is that what you want, Arthur? The answer then, is right there. Keep His commandments. Does that mean “The Ten?” Generally, yes; specifically, it is more than that. Read Obedience. You must obey Him in all those things He requires of you, day-by-day, and step-by-step.
I was told to go to Lethbridge, where we now live. Where is that specified in the Ten Commandments? It is not. However, it is generally there, in that if He is God and I love and worship Him and Him only, then I will believe, obey and go to Lethbridge when He commands me to do so. Jesus was speaking of personal commands. If you are to come here, for example, if that is what the Lord is directing you to do, then you must come. That is the kind of command of which He speaks. As you obey Him, you come closer to the Rest He has purposed for you, and all those in Uganda, and elsewhere.
Victor