Apostle Pride Sibiya, my spiritual father, is a dynamic servant of God who has been called by God as an apostle of the end times.
He is the earthly founder and president of Glory Ministries, an umbrella of five ministries, namely; Glory Tabernacles Church, Dawn Evangelistic Ministry, City to City Intercessory Ministry, Youth Alive and Glory Conferences. In his quest to complete his apostolic mandate, Apostle Sibiya is a prolific author, renowned conference speaker, leadership coach, lecturer, marriage counsellor, family builder, compassion minister, prophetic voice and online (internet) minister of the gospel. Since the day I got connected to him as my spiritual father, I have learnt so many things in life, and I will pick on the top ten and share them with you.
1. Love Souls (Love People) – Apostle Sibiya’s trademark signature statement is “Mega Souls Ndomisodzi Yangu Baba” (meaning, My Tears are for Mega Souls Father). This underlying statement is derived from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJV). It must be noted that God Himself paid the ultimate prize on the cross for the salvation of mankind, and this is because God loves people. Over the years I have seen my father, Apostle Sibiya, emphasise on loving all kinds of people regardless of their spiritual, social, political or financial status. And as Glory Ministries, we love souls; we love people.
2. Even The Heroes They Do Cry – My father has consistently taught and reminded us that nomatter how God can anoint, bless and raise you up, in this world you will still encounter some moments of grief and pain. And in some instances, you will shed tears of pain and heartache. Even Jesus Christ met the same tough moments on the cross. Matthew 27: 46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (KJV). Apostle Sibiya has emphasised this so many times, reminding us that “the church must be taught, that even the heroes they do cry!!” Apostle Sibiya has confessed that he has cried in his closet so many times due to ministry challenges. There are many tears along the way as you make your way to the top.
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| A Must Read -- Ten Things I Have Learnt From My Father Apostle Pride Sibiya |
3. The Law of Sowing and Reaping – My father has taught on many occasions on the need to sow if you want to reap. “In the world, if a farmer wants to reap maize they sow maize, if he wants oranges he sows oranges, if he wants to reap beans then he sows beans, but it’s only in church where people who want to reap money (resources) they sow prayers and fasting. It doesn’t work like that. If you want to reap money then learn to sow money”, said Apostle Sibiya in one of his teachings on sowing and reaping. My father has gone on to identify four characteristics that underline the law of sowing and reaping: (i) you can only reap if you sow something into the ground, (ii) you reap exactly the same type of seed that you sow, (iii) you reap in a different season that the one you sow, and (iv) you will always reap more than what you sow. Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
4. The Law of Progression – Apostle Sibiya’s one trademark verse that he frequently quotes is Job 8:7, “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase”. The law of progression requires that your life be traceable, even as a servant of God. People must be able to define where you came from and in the process see where you are going. You cannot just wake up as a Bishop, Pastor, Prophet or even President of a country. Even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, has a clear traceable history of where he came from, why he came, what he did and when he returned back to his father after finishing off his earthly assignment. “If we take a newly born baby and appoints him the CEO of Microsoft today, how can he do that job? He has the office, the laptop on his desk, and the keys for his company car, but can he perform the job? And if not, why?” laments Apostle Sibiya. In other words, a person cannot just wake up being at the top.
There has to be a history of progression from one stage to the other. My father started Glory Ministries in February 2001, and in the first service he was alone. Today in 2017, sixteen years later, Glory Ministries has more than 85 assemblies in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Bahrain, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. So even in his own personal life, Apostle Sibiya has traceable history of progression.
5. Submission and Obedience – In Chapter Three of his book, ‘His Glory Our Vision’, Apostle Pride Sibiya talks a lot about submission and obedience. “I realised that God has a way of keeping his most valuable assets, his saints and ministers, from pride: He always puts you under people you know that you are better gifted than and can do better than in many ways”, says Apostle Sibiya (Page 37). He has taught many times that without submission and obedience, one is bound to fall dismally be it in ministry or life in general. Take for example the issue of Lucifer (before he became Satan, the devil), in Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High”.
Lucifer failed to submit before God, and he was cast out of heaven and lost his place among the Archangels and became Satan (the devil). All the biblical characters who became heroes and powerhouses, had to submit under someone until their time of recognition came. Elisha submitted under Elijah, Joshua submitted under Moses, David submitted under Saul, Peter submitted under Jesus Christ, and even Jesus Christ himself had to submit under John the Baptist for him to be baptised. “You cannot father someone when you yourself are not being fathered”, says Apostle Sibiya. My father submits to Apostle Alexander Chisango, and Apostle Chisango submits to Archbishop Ezekiel Guti.
6. Passing It On (Grooming and Empowering) – This is one of the greatest traits of true apostleship. Over the years, I have seen my father, Apostle Sibiya, raising a number of sons and daughters within and outside Glory Ministries. He has raised some ministers of the gospel who are flourishing and doing extraordinary things, even more than himself. “There is no success without a successor…. You must raise successors until you become irrelevant”. This is Apostle Sibiya’s usual statement when talking about grooming and empowering people in life.
Things have to move even in your absence. By so doing, you will continue to live even after long you are gone. In Acts 20:20, Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders, he says; “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house”. You have got to learn to be generous with information and knowledge, and share everything profitable with your successors.
7. The Norm versus The Exception Concept – A ‘Norm’ is defined as “something that is usual, typical, or standard”. An ‘Exception’ is defined as “something is excluded from a general statement or does not follow a rule”. Over the years, Apostle Sibiya has counselled a number of people who have resorted to use an ‘exception’ example to justify their decisions in life. “For example, someone can say Bill Gates and Steve Jobs all dropped out of school and still became multi-billionaires. So I can still drop out of school and make it big in life. My friend, those are exceptions and cannot be used as examples of how to succeed in life.
The norm, where the majority of people belong, says if you drop out of school you will find it very hard to make it in life”, said Apostle Sibiya (paraphrased) in one of his teachings on a youth conference. Just like in Luke 23:43, we find a thief having been crucified at the same time and place with Jesus Christ, and having commented positive things about Jesus, he turns his head and says to him, “…Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (KJV). That’s another extraordinary case of an ‘exception’. Someone being rescued from the jaws of hell and straight away going to heaven. Do not benchmark your life with exceptions, use the ‘norm’ and the ‘exception’ will come as a bonus.
8. Your Gift versus Your Character – “Your gift attracts people to you, but it is only character that will keep them close to you”, says Apostle Sibiya. Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (KJV). Job is one person that God himself testifies of his moral and spiritual uprightness. Ladies and gentlemen, it is of paramount importance to work on your weaknesses while you are still ‘small’, because if those weaknesses manifest themselves when you are ‘big’ the resultant damage will be so disastrous to both yourself and your followers. Many servants of God and celebrities have found themselves on the receiving end of this cruel and ministry/career threatening blow. Don’t be a specialist in sharpening your gift while neglecting your character. The two are Siamese twins, and must be worked on simultaneously for your future good.
9. You Need Me, I Need You – “When you are driving your latest Mercedes Benz and you get involved in a fatal accident, it can take a poor man riding his old bicycle to stop, take his Nokia 3310 phone tied with elastic, and call an ambulance that will arrive just in time to save your life”, laments Apostle Sibiya in one of his sermons. My father has always emphasised the need for interdependence in our church. We could have different spiritual ranks, educational qualifications, financial resources or otherwise, but no human being is more superior than others. We are all created in the image of God, and as such we interdepend on one another. A captive your girl from Israel saved the life of Naaman, A Great Commander of the Army of the King of Aram (2 Kings 5). You need me, I need you!
10. How to Receive a Servant of God – My father has taught us more than ten ways of how to receive a servant of God, and they are all biblical. For example, Ephesians 4:8, 11, “Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men… And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (KJV). In this scripture, the Apostle Paul clearly demonstrates to us that servants of God are given as gifts to the world. Whenever you see a servant of God, he or she is not your friend. Receive them with great honour knowing fully well that God has sent them to you as gifts. Even if you think that you are better than them, receive servants of God with great honour so that you can receive the unique gift that God has sent them to deliver to you. My father, Apostle Sibiya, has taught me the importance of receiving servants of God with honour in life.
In conclusion, let me hearken to say that God has blessed me so much in life through the life and ministry of my spiritual parents, Apostle Pride Sibiya and Pastor Anna Tendai Chiweshe Sibiya. I have learnt many lessons which, by the grace of God, I will also pass on to other people.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
