THE SPIRITUAL SHEMBE AND THE UBUNAZARETHA___28/05/2016
May the Sabbath Day be a blessing to the holy multitude. The title of this sermon is "The Spiritual Shembe and ubuNazaretha."
" If you love me, you will obey what I command. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be with you"
There are always debates about the holy Spirit, but in this sermon we will not deal with these debates; instead we shall clarify ubuNazaretha theology concerning the holy Spirit.
In hymn 58 Shembe says," That holy Spirit which you promised us through Jesus Christ the Lord, that you will not leave us alone, you will send the holy Spirit. Let your Spirit come Lord and cure your people."
This hymn is a prayer and is sung while praying in healing the sick. In this hymn Shembe states it clearly that amaNazaretha are healed by the holy Spirit we were promised through Jesus Christ, when Jesus said that he will ask his Father to send the Comforter, who will live wit us for ever, he is the Spirit of truth.
Shembe is therefore saying that that holy Spirit Jesus promised us that he will be with us for ever, be with the sick and heal God's people. This is the theology of ubuNazaretha which associates ubuNazaretha with Christianity for believing in the existence of the holy Spirit.
In hymn 139 Shembe says, "The COMFORTER has come, follow him you nations, it was said that we will not be left alone, he has come, we heard about him." This hymn is a clear quotation of the words of Jesus Christ found in John 16: 7-15 whe he said:
"But I am telling you the truth, it is for you good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me, in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because now the prince of this word stands condemned.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear, but when he, the Spirit of truth, comes to you, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and make it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine, that is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make known to you."
It is unfortunate that there are no believers who ever took time to analyze the words of Jesus regarding the exact work of the holy Spirit. There are many things Jesus said regarding the work that the holy Spirit will do after him. Jesus says that he is leaving without having said all he is supposed to say, but what he did not say will be said by the holy Spirit.
Firstly Jesus says the holy Spirit will explain what God means by sin. The holy Spirit will further explain how a person is heavenly judged. The holy Spirit will explain what is meant by righteosness.
Secondly Jesus says that the holy Spirit will be the Messenger, he will be the prophet. He will tell us of things to come, he will prophesy. Thirdly Jesus says the holy Spirit will glorify Jesus, for he will take what was taught by Jesus and tell the people. Jesus then explains what he means by that; he says that all that is said by God it is said by him, for he is in full agreement with all that is said by God.
Jesus did not give us the name of the holy Spirit other than giving us his characteristics or his attributes; that is why there is such debate as to his name, or into whom it is dwelling. As Shembe says that Jesus was reffering to him, all we need to check is whether what the holy Spirit is characterised with is done by Shembe. However, in this sermon we will not deal with that attribute.
On page 263 of the book written by Advocate Mnyandu entitled," Izintshumayelo zeNkosi iLanga," Lord Galilee Shembe( the second leader of the iBandla lamaNazaretha),says," We at eKuphakameni believe that the Sprit of Jesus descended upon Shembe in this earth, and that when Shembe was called from his home place, and abondoned everything he liked and was doing, the Spirit of Jesus had descended upon him. We believe that when Shembe came to this land of the South, he poured this holy Spirit, this Spirit which makes the people not hate each other, that Spirt which makes people love each other."
Lord Galilee Shembe further says," Shembe(referring to Prophet Isaiah Shembe) said," I believe in the words of the Scripture, I also believe that Jesus was on earth in flesh, but being of God, he is the witness of what I am doing, for I am presently in flesh like the Son of God. He preached whilst he was in flesh, and I am his witness. If a person believes in the words of Jesus, why does he reject the words of the prophets?" The above talk reflects the theology of ubuNazaretha.
Shembe emphasized whilst still on earth that he believed in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that the Spirit of Jesus dwelt in him. He then asked that if a person believes in the words of Jesus, why does he reject the words of the prophets. With this question Shembe was referring to the words of Jesus found in Mathew 5:17-19 where Jesus put is categorically clear that he had not come to abolish the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, but to fulfill them.
Jesus is saying that by teaching the Laws of God the holy Spirit will be glorifying him, for he is in agreement with all that is said by God. Almost to all prophets who came after Jesus, Shembe is the only prophet who revised all the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets.
We are speaking about the holy Spirit which is the Spirit of truth, here at eKuphakameni we call it THE SPIRIT OF SHEMBE; The Prophet and Lord Galilee Shembe used to speak of the Spirit of Shembe.
To say it is the Spirit of Shembe means that that holy Spirit Jesus was speaking about, here at eKuphakameni descended upon Shembe; it is the same Spirit which descended upon the Prophet Elisha and called Him the Spirit of the Prophet Elijah. In 2Kings 2:9 Prophet Elisha asked that he inherits the double portion of the Spirit of Elijah. But in actual fact he was asking for the Spirit of God, and he called it the Spirit of Elijah.
Here at eKuphakameni that Spirit descended upon Shembe, that is why it is called, the Spirit of Shembe. But it is still the same Spirit Jesus was talking about, which descended upon the apostles and thereafter descended upon all the believers.
In 1980's I was at Judea home selling my book entitled "UShembe nobuNazaretha." I was then approached by an old lady who grew up with my mother, she then said, " I am very much excited to see the prophecy of uBabamkhulu unfolding before me.
Do you know that when the Prophet adopted your mother he paid to Dube family 18 heads of catle; then the Priest Mlangeni protested saying it was unheard of that catle can be paid to a woman not marrying to that family.
But the Prophet said," I know what I am doing, among the children born of this child, there will be children who will have the Spirit of Shembe." You are the servant in this home, for your mother was bought with 18 heads of catle."
I was aware that my mother was adopted by the Prophet and that the Prophet paid 18 heads of catle for my mother; but I did not know more than that. I stil do not know what the Prophet meant by all that.
Lord Galilee Shembe used to talk of the Spirit of Shembe or the heart of Shembe; he would further explain what is meant by the Spirit of Shembe. On page 118 of Mnyadu's book, Lord Galilee says:
"That is why I always say that you must have the priests who have the Spirit of Shembe; even if they are young, you teach them; even if they are old, you teach them. Even women can be the priests, but choose priests who have the Spirit of Shembe." On page. 167-168 of Mnyandu's book, Lord Galilee says:
" The affair of Shembe is great maNazaretha; maybe there will be children among you who will be brave and patient enough to learn about your affair.
Amongst ourselves as we say that we are priests and preachers, there is none of us who is brave and patient enough to learn about this affair of Shembe. In my view we are still in darkness, we do not understand this matter because Shembe did not write it down.
Therefore whenever you pray you must not stop asking God to give you children who have the heart of Shembe. Who have the courage and patience to learn this affair of Shembe; for such religious affairs do come and disappear in thirty years. It is not for the first time that faith comes to earth as it has come to you, but it takes a short time and dwindles and people then revert to their original bad life.
This Spirit of Shembe Lord Galilee Shembe is talking about, is the very holy Spirit which was in Jesus, after Jesus which dwelt amongst the apostles and thereafter which dwelt amongst all believers. The Spirit which makes a person hate sin and seek for righteousness, the Spirit which makes people love each other.
The title of this sermon is, "The Spiritual Shembe and ubuNazaretha. What is ubuNazaretha? In hymn 208 Shembe says; "Be joyful, be joyful, ubuNazaretha has arrived. The nations will be saved who were scattered wandering in wilderness because of the lack of your Word. There is no longer any darkness, be joyful and rejoice all ye nations!
We see many nations under the firmament, scattered and singing in disappointment because of the lack of your Word. Grow, grow buNazaretha, nations are thirsty, they want to drink from you and be fully religious because of your Word."
As Lord Galilee Shembe has explained, ubuNazaretha is Jehovah's faith, it is the heavenly faith which is brought to this wolrd by the prophets.(UbuNazaretha is the Zulu word meaning"Nazaritesm).
In hymn 143 Shembe says," This faith of ours, which is ubuNazaretha, is a slippery rock which fail the majority. You like to follow us, you must firstly be brave if you want to go to where we are going." In this hymn Shembe fully explained what type of faith is ubuNazaretha. It is the dificultt faith many people fail to follow, but if you want to go to heaven you should follow the faith of truth.
In hymn 73 the Prophet has fully explained the theology of ubuNazaretha when he says," I believe in his Father, the Creator of heaven and earth and to the holy Spirit; and to the Sacrament of amaNazaretha, and to the fellowship of the holy amaNazaretha. This is the beautiful rock which Jehovah chose because he likes it. He has thrice each year adorned Himself with this ubuNazaretha before all heavens."
Lord Galilee Shembe said that in this hymn the Prophet gave us the Creed of ubuNazaretha. He says we believe in God the Father of Jesus Christ, who is the Creator of heaven and earth; we believe that the holy Spirit Jesus spoke about descended and dwelt in Shembe; we believe that the congregation of amaNazaretha is the heavenly Sacrament.
The Prophet continues and says ubuNazaretha is Jehovah's beautiful rock which He chose because He likes it. Jehovah thrice yearly adorns Himself with ubuNazaretha. By this Shembe is referring to the holy Festivals when amaNazaretha go for fasting in three different months per year.
As we have explained, ubuNazaretha is a heavenly faith, it is the faith of Shembe who is the Spirit. On pages 66-67 of Mnyandu's book, Lord Galilee Shembe says," But uKuphakama is not yours, IT IS NOT FOR THE VISIBLE SHEMBE; it is for God, it is for Shembe who is in heaven, IT IS FOR SHEMBE WHO STARTED THIS WAYi .( referring to Prophet Isaiah Shembe who is the founder of ubuNazaretha).
If you keep this way of eKuphakameni, this home will not get old, will not become small, it will not need people who will come to worship God. But this will only happen if you remember that the place where this home is established, and the way you are( meaning ubuNazaretha), HAS NO VISSIBLE KING, it is not for any HUMAN."
By uKuphakama Shembe means ubuNazaretha. UbuNazaretha is a heavenly faith, it does not belong to the earthly person, what is ours as the servants of God is to preach and explain to them about the essence of ubuNazaretha.
On page 221 of Mnyandu's book, Lord Galilee Shembe explained this clearly when he said," We shall all perish and leave this earth, but the Spiritual Shembe does not get old, he also does not die. As we lie in our tombs, Shembe shall always be young, shall always talk, shall always preach. Nowadays he is talking only here in Kwazulu, there comes a time when he will be talking in India, in New York in America amongst the White people.
If you had written this book, the Whites would be coming day and night seaching as to where you kept the bones of this person; what did you do with the coet he wore; tyey would be looking for the mat he used for sleeping. They would come to search where Shembe wrote and what he wrote."
By "Shembe" Lord Galilee is referring to the Prophet Isaiah Shembe. When the Angel, Hlaleleni, came to us, She confirmed these words of Lord Galilee Shembe, when She said that it is now high time that ubuNazaretha be no longer be the Kwazulu faith only, but should be spread to all nations, for this faith belongs to GOD. All nations are thirsty, they want to drink from uBuNazaretha and be fully religious through heavenly Gospel.
May the Lord bless His Word.
Sermon By:
Rev M.P. Mpanza
revmpanza@nazarites.org.za
0712198223 (WhatsApp)
May the Sabbath Day be a blessing to the holy multitude. The title of this sermon is "The Spiritual Shembe and ubuNazaretha."
" If you love me, you will obey what I command. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be with you"
There are always debates about the holy Spirit, but in this sermon we will not deal with these debates; instead we shall clarify ubuNazaretha theology concerning the holy Spirit.
In hymn 58 Shembe says," That holy Spirit which you promised us through Jesus Christ the Lord, that you will not leave us alone, you will send the holy Spirit. Let your Spirit come Lord and cure your people."
This hymn is a prayer and is sung while praying in healing the sick. In this hymn Shembe states it clearly that amaNazaretha are healed by the holy Spirit we were promised through Jesus Christ, when Jesus said that he will ask his Father to send the Comforter, who will live wit us for ever, he is the Spirit of truth.
Shembe is therefore saying that that holy Spirit Jesus promised us that he will be with us for ever, be with the sick and heal God's people. This is the theology of ubuNazaretha which associates ubuNazaretha with Christianity for believing in the existence of the holy Spirit.
In hymn 139 Shembe says, "The COMFORTER has come, follow him you nations, it was said that we will not be left alone, he has come, we heard about him." This hymn is a clear quotation of the words of Jesus Christ found in John 16: 7-15 whe he said:
"But I am telling you the truth, it is for you good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me, in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because now the prince of this word stands condemned.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear, but when he, the Spirit of truth, comes to you, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and make it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine, that is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make known to you."
It is unfortunate that there are no believers who ever took time to analyze the words of Jesus regarding the exact work of the holy Spirit. There are many things Jesus said regarding the work that the holy Spirit will do after him. Jesus says that he is leaving without having said all he is supposed to say, but what he did not say will be said by the holy Spirit.
Firstly Jesus says the holy Spirit will explain what God means by sin. The holy Spirit will further explain how a person is heavenly judged. The holy Spirit will explain what is meant by righteosness.
Secondly Jesus says that the holy Spirit will be the Messenger, he will be the prophet. He will tell us of things to come, he will prophesy. Thirdly Jesus says the holy Spirit will glorify Jesus, for he will take what was taught by Jesus and tell the people. Jesus then explains what he means by that; he says that all that is said by God it is said by him, for he is in full agreement with all that is said by God.
Jesus did not give us the name of the holy Spirit other than giving us his characteristics or his attributes; that is why there is such debate as to his name, or into whom it is dwelling. As Shembe says that Jesus was reffering to him, all we need to check is whether what the holy Spirit is characterised with is done by Shembe. However, in this sermon we will not deal with that attribute.
On page 263 of the book written by Advocate Mnyandu entitled," Izintshumayelo zeNkosi iLanga," Lord Galilee Shembe( the second leader of the iBandla lamaNazaretha),says," We at eKuphakameni believe that the Sprit of Jesus descended upon Shembe in this earth, and that when Shembe was called from his home place, and abondoned everything he liked and was doing, the Spirit of Jesus had descended upon him. We believe that when Shembe came to this land of the South, he poured this holy Spirit, this Spirit which makes the people not hate each other, that Spirt which makes people love each other."
Lord Galilee Shembe further says," Shembe(referring to Prophet Isaiah Shembe) said," I believe in the words of the Scripture, I also believe that Jesus was on earth in flesh, but being of God, he is the witness of what I am doing, for I am presently in flesh like the Son of God. He preached whilst he was in flesh, and I am his witness. If a person believes in the words of Jesus, why does he reject the words of the prophets?" The above talk reflects the theology of ubuNazaretha.
Shembe emphasized whilst still on earth that he believed in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that the Spirit of Jesus dwelt in him. He then asked that if a person believes in the words of Jesus, why does he reject the words of the prophets. With this question Shembe was referring to the words of Jesus found in Mathew 5:17-19 where Jesus put is categorically clear that he had not come to abolish the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, but to fulfill them.
Jesus is saying that by teaching the Laws of God the holy Spirit will be glorifying him, for he is in agreement with all that is said by God. Almost to all prophets who came after Jesus, Shembe is the only prophet who revised all the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets.
We are speaking about the holy Spirit which is the Spirit of truth, here at eKuphakameni we call it THE SPIRIT OF SHEMBE; The Prophet and Lord Galilee Shembe used to speak of the Spirit of Shembe.
To say it is the Spirit of Shembe means that that holy Spirit Jesus was speaking about, here at eKuphakameni descended upon Shembe; it is the same Spirit which descended upon the Prophet Elisha and called Him the Spirit of the Prophet Elijah. In 2Kings 2:9 Prophet Elisha asked that he inherits the double portion of the Spirit of Elijah. But in actual fact he was asking for the Spirit of God, and he called it the Spirit of Elijah.
Here at eKuphakameni that Spirit descended upon Shembe, that is why it is called, the Spirit of Shembe. But it is still the same Spirit Jesus was talking about, which descended upon the apostles and thereafter descended upon all the believers.
In 1980's I was at Judea home selling my book entitled "UShembe nobuNazaretha." I was then approached by an old lady who grew up with my mother, she then said, " I am very much excited to see the prophecy of uBabamkhulu unfolding before me.
Do you know that when the Prophet adopted your mother he paid to Dube family 18 heads of catle; then the Priest Mlangeni protested saying it was unheard of that catle can be paid to a woman not marrying to that family.
But the Prophet said," I know what I am doing, among the children born of this child, there will be children who will have the Spirit of Shembe." You are the servant in this home, for your mother was bought with 18 heads of catle."
I was aware that my mother was adopted by the Prophet and that the Prophet paid 18 heads of catle for my mother; but I did not know more than that. I stil do not know what the Prophet meant by all that.
Lord Galilee Shembe used to talk of the Spirit of Shembe or the heart of Shembe; he would further explain what is meant by the Spirit of Shembe. On page 118 of Mnyadu's book, Lord Galilee says:
"That is why I always say that you must have the priests who have the Spirit of Shembe; even if they are young, you teach them; even if they are old, you teach them. Even women can be the priests, but choose priests who have the Spirit of Shembe." On page. 167-168 of Mnyandu's book, Lord Galilee says:
" The affair of Shembe is great maNazaretha; maybe there will be children among you who will be brave and patient enough to learn about your affair.
Amongst ourselves as we say that we are priests and preachers, there is none of us who is brave and patient enough to learn about this affair of Shembe. In my view we are still in darkness, we do not understand this matter because Shembe did not write it down.
Therefore whenever you pray you must not stop asking God to give you children who have the heart of Shembe. Who have the courage and patience to learn this affair of Shembe; for such religious affairs do come and disappear in thirty years. It is not for the first time that faith comes to earth as it has come to you, but it takes a short time and dwindles and people then revert to their original bad life.
This Spirit of Shembe Lord Galilee Shembe is talking about, is the very holy Spirit which was in Jesus, after Jesus which dwelt amongst the apostles and thereafter which dwelt amongst all believers. The Spirit which makes a person hate sin and seek for righteousness, the Spirit which makes people love each other.
The title of this sermon is, "The Spiritual Shembe and ubuNazaretha. What is ubuNazaretha? In hymn 208 Shembe says; "Be joyful, be joyful, ubuNazaretha has arrived. The nations will be saved who were scattered wandering in wilderness because of the lack of your Word. There is no longer any darkness, be joyful and rejoice all ye nations!
We see many nations under the firmament, scattered and singing in disappointment because of the lack of your Word. Grow, grow buNazaretha, nations are thirsty, they want to drink from you and be fully religious because of your Word."
As Lord Galilee Shembe has explained, ubuNazaretha is Jehovah's faith, it is the heavenly faith which is brought to this wolrd by the prophets.(UbuNazaretha is the Zulu word meaning"Nazaritesm).
In hymn 143 Shembe says," This faith of ours, which is ubuNazaretha, is a slippery rock which fail the majority. You like to follow us, you must firstly be brave if you want to go to where we are going." In this hymn Shembe fully explained what type of faith is ubuNazaretha. It is the dificultt faith many people fail to follow, but if you want to go to heaven you should follow the faith of truth.
In hymn 73 the Prophet has fully explained the theology of ubuNazaretha when he says," I believe in his Father, the Creator of heaven and earth and to the holy Spirit; and to the Sacrament of amaNazaretha, and to the fellowship of the holy amaNazaretha. This is the beautiful rock which Jehovah chose because he likes it. He has thrice each year adorned Himself with this ubuNazaretha before all heavens."
Lord Galilee Shembe said that in this hymn the Prophet gave us the Creed of ubuNazaretha. He says we believe in God the Father of Jesus Christ, who is the Creator of heaven and earth; we believe that the holy Spirit Jesus spoke about descended and dwelt in Shembe; we believe that the congregation of amaNazaretha is the heavenly Sacrament.
The Prophet continues and says ubuNazaretha is Jehovah's beautiful rock which He chose because He likes it. Jehovah thrice yearly adorns Himself with ubuNazaretha. By this Shembe is referring to the holy Festivals when amaNazaretha go for fasting in three different months per year.
As we have explained, ubuNazaretha is a heavenly faith, it is the faith of Shembe who is the Spirit. On pages 66-67 of Mnyandu's book, Lord Galilee Shembe says," But uKuphakama is not yours, IT IS NOT FOR THE VISIBLE SHEMBE; it is for God, it is for Shembe who is in heaven, IT IS FOR SHEMBE WHO STARTED THIS WAYi .( referring to Prophet Isaiah Shembe who is the founder of ubuNazaretha).
If you keep this way of eKuphakameni, this home will not get old, will not become small, it will not need people who will come to worship God. But this will only happen if you remember that the place where this home is established, and the way you are( meaning ubuNazaretha), HAS NO VISSIBLE KING, it is not for any HUMAN."
By uKuphakama Shembe means ubuNazaretha. UbuNazaretha is a heavenly faith, it does not belong to the earthly person, what is ours as the servants of God is to preach and explain to them about the essence of ubuNazaretha.
On page 221 of Mnyandu's book, Lord Galilee Shembe explained this clearly when he said," We shall all perish and leave this earth, but the Spiritual Shembe does not get old, he also does not die. As we lie in our tombs, Shembe shall always be young, shall always talk, shall always preach. Nowadays he is talking only here in Kwazulu, there comes a time when he will be talking in India, in New York in America amongst the White people.
If you had written this book, the Whites would be coming day and night seaching as to where you kept the bones of this person; what did you do with the coet he wore; tyey would be looking for the mat he used for sleeping. They would come to search where Shembe wrote and what he wrote."
By "Shembe" Lord Galilee is referring to the Prophet Isaiah Shembe. When the Angel, Hlaleleni, came to us, She confirmed these words of Lord Galilee Shembe, when She said that it is now high time that ubuNazaretha be no longer be the Kwazulu faith only, but should be spread to all nations, for this faith belongs to GOD. All nations are thirsty, they want to drink from uBuNazaretha and be fully religious through heavenly Gospel.
May the Lord bless His Word.
Sermon By:
Rev M.P. Mpanza
revmpanza@nazarites.org.za
0712198223 (WhatsApp)
