living My Word in your world makes the difference

SCHIZOPHRENIAA spiritual perspective

DANCING IN THE ARMS OF GODTop SA ballet couple

dances for God

TAKE UP YOUR BED AND WALKOnce paralyzed, Debbie Lewis

heard God say: “Get up and walk!”

Issue 6 - 2005

Carnelian

It’s all about100 pages of inspiration, values and real life

Thank you to all our readers for writing toMY World. Your letters are precious!

Thank you also to everybody who continues to phone us, inspiring us to greater heights. We love hearing

from you.

Please e-mail your letters to letters@myworld.za.com or post them to

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Letters to

Thanks for the magazine MY World sent to me. The two

issues have been a great blessing to me. I thank God for

using you.

I wish you all the best in your life and ministry.

Yours with love

Faith Oluwamakinde

Pretoria

Thank you for a lovely, scripture-based magazine. We have been waiting for it.

What joy to read MY World and to be drawn closer to our Father.

This was certainly a GOD PLAN and not a man plan. I thoroughly enjoy your magazine and will definitely introduce MY World to my family and friends.

Yours faithfullyMiss MJ PretoriusEmpangeni

Thank you so much for the two copies of MY World which you sent some time ago. Sorry for the delayed reply. I am really impressed with the excellence of your magazine – really classy with wonderful graphics as well as good, relevant articles.

May your magazine go far to encourage and build the body of Christ in our nation.

God bless you all in the work you do for Him.

He is worthy!

Linda PattersonHoneydew

It is with an overwhelmed heart

that I write a BIG THANK YOU for

my magazines. I am blessed out

of my socks. I have never picked

up a Christian magazine that is

so brilliantly written; the

articles are real and touch our everyday lives. I am at

present reading through the “Special Key Issue”, which I

am thoroughly enjoying. I cannot wait to get my teeth into

Issues 1, 2, and 4.

Much love and God bless

Sylvia George

Kennilworth

Welcome to Carnelian - Our issue of unity!

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As you know by now, I always ask God for the word that is upon His Heart for “From my heart”. One morning, once more as I was driving to work, God gave me the word for Carnelian. The words “Take it!” fell into my spirit. I have been praying earnestly that I would be able to interpret “Take it!” correctly as it should be given.

I know that we are living in an important time. It is a time in which God has called His children to be strong, courageous, uncompromising and not at all mediocre. We need to take our place and fulfil the divine destiny that God has for each of us. This could be an interpretation of “Take it!” But there was a deeper meaning to “Take it!” I was about to discover it the day I was to write “From my heart.”

Rynu (one of my colleagues) and I were chatting. He had recently celebrated his 33rd birthday. He is only two months my senior, so I too shall be seeing 33 shortly. We often talk about the dynamics our specific age group is faced with. That particular morning however, as he mentioned the age 33, I thought of Jesus. At 33 Jesus took upon Him the Cross! He was 30 when He performed the first miracle and stepped into His ministry. Within 3 years He had completed what He was called to do and He became who He was meant to become, our Saviour. Yet when I think of Jesus, I don’t think of Him as being as young as 33, but I think of Him as being ageless and absolutely Awesome.

“Take it!” What was God saying to me? As I sat down that evening to write, I searched God’s Word for the answer and faith-fully, He gave it to me.

In John 10:17 Jesus said “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.” It was as if the words “take it” jumped off the page.

Before Jesus was crucified, He was in the garden of Gethsemane. He withdrew from His disciples for a while and knelt down and prayed, “Father if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from Heaven, strengthening Him.

“Take this cup” was in the natural - the death on the cross, yet “take it” was in the Spirit, to be seated on the Right Hand side of God for eternity! Jesus knew that He had to lay down His natural life so that He would be able to “take it” again.

When God says to us “Take it!” His Heart is filled with such tender love, dearly encouraging us to take that which He has in store for us. It is all in the Word, it is all in Jesus!

I now understand why I see Jesus as being ageless:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and with-out Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men…He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1: 1-4; 10-14).

God knows what we have to lay down and He is prompting us to say, “Not my will be done, Father, but Your will” because He knows the eternal reward! He has created “it”.

So as we “take” the Word, which became flesh – Jesus, as we absorb the Truth and “It” becomes life to us, we are strength-ened. We will discover God’s will for our lives and we will be able to “take it!” - eternal life!

“Take Jesus!”

Approximately two weeks before God gave me the word for Carne-lian, I assigned our photographer Liezl to take photos of people’s hands for our section pages.

The photos are of different people, holding the same flower. I only now understand why God prompted me to place the hands.

We must take and cherish the life we have in Jesus!

Schizophrenia is an extremely sensitive topic. People do not want to speak about it,

read about it or even think about it. We choose to isolate this topic and in so doing

isolate the victims. Reports do however surface in media from time to time. The

latest incident in South Africa was that of a 67-year old institutionalized woman.

The newspaper headline read: “67-year old pensioner kil ls fel low patients with bare

hands.” The report stated that she was diagnosed with and institutionalized for

schizophrenia.

Another recent case reported was that of a schizophrenic woman who stabbed an

elderly lady to death in a shopping mall. She was legally released from an institution

under her father s guardianship and whilst having coffee, she got up and kil led the

elderly lady who was busy shopping.

Most of us have heard of or even know somebody who struggles with some form of

mental disorder, whether it be the “common” depression, anxiety disorder or the so

dreaded schizophrenia.

p h o t o g r a p h y : a n d r e a b a d e n h o r s t w o r d s : e n a d u p l e s s i s , l i n d i e g o u w s , c h r i s t a c l o e t e i n t e r v i e w s : d i n i e s t e r h u i z e n

schizophrenia

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schizophreniaGOD MADE MANIn Genesis 2:7 we read, “And the Lord God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person.”

Furthermore we read in Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

From this we can conclude that we consist of body, soul and spirit.

THE BODY

We read in the commentary for Genesis 2:7 in the Touch Point Bible, Tyndale, “‘From the dust of the ground’ implies that there is nothing fancy about the chemical elements making up our bodies. The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with His ‘breath of life.’”

THE SOUL

The human soul is the individual’s essential self, life or being. Deuteronomy 6:5 states “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” So as human beings we have a mind with intellectual abilities, thought processes, a will and emotions.

THE SPIRIT

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.”

In Genesis we read that God’s Spirit hovered over the earth and created everything in order. God did not need to create the universe; He chose to create it. God created the world and everything in it, even the people, as an expression of His love.

In Luke 10:18 we read that Jesus replied: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Satan was an angel who rebelled against God and who was thrown out of heaven together with an angelic force who chose to follow him. Their nature is to rebel against God and it is Satan and his angels who are the “mighty powers of darkness who rule this world” as mentioned above in Ephesians 6.

In a commentary in the Touch Point Bible, Tyndale, we read that although Satan is trying to tempt everyone away from God, he will not be the final victor. In Genesis 3:14 and 15, God promises that Satan will be crushed by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

In Luke 4:18 we read that Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has appointed Me to preach the Good News to the poor, He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.”

After Jesus had concurred death on Calvary, He ascended to Heaven to be seated at the Right Hand of God in a place of intercession and authority. Jesus said in Luke 24:49 as He ascended to Heaven, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised.”

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In John 14:16 we read, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Coun-sellor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”

Galatians 5:16-17 states, “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants and the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.”

The spiritual dimension is a reality. There is a constant battle for the soul of man. Yet, in all of this we have a choice.

WITH THE ABOVE AS A FIRM FOUNDA-TION, WE NOW TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT SCHIZOPHRENIA.

WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?Schizophrenia is the name given to a large and diverse group of mental symptoms, which vary from sufferer to sufferer. So great is the variety in possible symptoms, and so different the combination of symp-toms from one sufferer to the next, that some professionals believe the grouping together of these symptoms under one name to be rather artificial. These professionals argue that so-called schizo-phrenic symptoms are frequently present in sufferers of many other disorders; and that most diagnosed schizophrenics have sufficient symptoms of other disorders to justify additional diagnoses.

MODERN PSYCHIATRY

It has, in fact, not been until just before the beginning of the 20th century, that schizophrenia was described and distin-guished as a form of mental disorder.

Modern psychiatry grouped together four disorders that were previously regarded independent, classified them as four types of one disorder, and named this disorder schizophrenia. Among the main reasons for grouping these four disorders together, was that any one of the disor-ders had the potential to transform into another, and that sufferers very often displayed symptoms of more than one of these disorders throughout the course of their illness.

Modern psychiatry further classifies schizophrenia as a psychotic, functional disorder. Functional disorders are disor-ders that are not caused by brain damage. The functional disorders are further divided into three types: psychotic disorders, neurotic disorders and character disorder. Of these three, the psychotic disorders are the most serious, as they cause sufferers to lose touch with reality.

The psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) explained the difference between psychotic and neurotic disorders as follows: “Psychosis denies reality and tries to substitute something else for it; neurosis does not deny reality, it merely tries to ignore it.” As psychotics, there-fore, have lost touch with reality, they do not realise that they are ill and therefore do not even attempt to seek treatment. Neurotics, on the other hand, do know what reality is, are intensely aware of their problem, and consciously want to get well.

The third type of functional disorder, character disorder, is also called person-ality disorder or psychopathic disorder, and encompasses those types of deviant behaviour which cannot be described as either psychotic or neurotic. It is marked by a blatant disregard for society’s rules.

Whilst typical examples of neurotic disor-der are anxiety reaction, depressive

reaction, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour, the two major psychotic disor-ders are schizophrenia and manic-depressive behaviour. Of these two, schizophrenia is not only the most common, but also the most serious.

POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZO-PHRENIA INCLUDE:

DELUSIONS:

False ideas about him/herself or surroundings (such as receiving special messages from the TV or radio, having unusual powers that no one else has, or being singled out for persecution).

HALLUCINATIONS:

Sensations that only the sufferer hears, sees, smells, or feels. The most common form of hallucination is auditory – often in the form of voices talking in a nega-tive way or commanding dangerous behaviour.

DISRUPTED THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIOUR:

Trouble concentrating and maintaining a train of thought; unpredictable or incon-sistent behaviour.

AN ABSENCE OF WHAT IS NORMALLY NOTED IN THE GENERAL POPULATION:

Lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities, not taking care of oneself, social withdrawal, restricted facial expressions and emotionlessness.

The symptoms vary from person to person, and even within the same person. Not every person with schizophrenia will have all of these symptoms. A combina-tion of these symptoms needs to be present, accompanied by a decline in general function in everyday life for at least six months, in order for a diagnosis of schizophrenia to be made.

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PROGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

The prevailing view in psychiatry today is that generally the outlook for a schizo-phrenic patient does not look good. Some professionals are challenging this idea, though, maintaining not only that there are massive variations in outcome, but also that many people diagnosed with schizophrenia, do recover. The form of treatment for schizophrenia is based upon the professional’s belief of the cause of the disorder.

PERSPECTIVE FROM MEDICAL DOC-TORS

DR STEPHAN MARAIS

Dr Stephan Marais, a medical doctor currently specializing in psychiatry at the University of Bloemfontein, says, “The person’s total being is involved and affected. With the therapeutic approach of treating the patient on the levels of body, soul and spirit, the stabilization of the person’s condition is much faster.”

DR DEVIN STEENKAMP

Dr Devin Steenkamp qualified as medical doctor at the University of Pretoria, did his internship at Baragwanath Hospital and is now doing his community service in Barberton. He told us how his relationship with Jesus Christ adds to his perspective on certain illnesses.

“I think the Holy Spirit quickens your mind so that you are aware of the more spiritual and vulnerable side of people’s lives. You are not necessarily as dogmatic as you would have been because you know that Jesus came to people that were vulnerable, weak and ill. Sometimes you would really like to say to a patient, ‘May I pray with you?’, and in my practice I have often done it.

“You have to be aware that there is

more to emotional and spiritual illness. It’s not just a broken bone.

“In practice the perspective that I was taught is largely that schizophrenic patients are treated with medication on a biophysical and biomedical profile; we give them drugs. Medical science sees sufferers as being merely physically ill, they have a neurotransmitter brain chemical disturbance and they respond well to treatment. But I definitely feel there is more to it.

“In psychiatry, where some of the most aggressive research is being done, a specific permanent cause of schizophre-nia has still not been singled out. That is one of the things about schizophrenia that makes it difficult.

“Schizophrenics often have hallucina-tions and delusions. Hallucination is perception disturbance. They often have a notion that they hear voices; they hear people speaking to them that aren’t actually there. Delusions are fixed, false beliefs which are often so strong that you can’t tell them that it is not real. What is interesting is the number of people from all sorts of cultural and religious backgrounds who believe that they are Jesus, or whose delusions have some religious connotation.

“What I have often asked is why, if you’re of another religion and you don’t even give that much thought to Jesus, do your delusions not incorporate the gods or the leaders of your religion? Why do they always bring out Jesus?

“To me that’s quite significant because a lot of the time they discredit Jesus. The religious delusions schizophrenics typically have, are very slanderous and blasphemous. It’s almost as though some spiritual force is working that is trying to discredit Jesus. Why not discredit another deity? Why specifically discredit Jesus?

“You then take the next logical step: The whole purpose of Satan and demons is, largely, to discredit the name of Jesus and to cause doubt in the minds of people; but also, he is anti-Christ. Where I have seen people that have manifested, a lot of the stuff was blatantly against God and it is more anti-Jesus than anything else. Some patients think they are Jesus. Amazingly they know the Word well, and you don’t know where it comes from.

“A lot of the visual hallucinations are, for lack of a better word, quite evil. You get different types. The monsters that I have heard patients describe – probably because I am more aware of it – are evil and demonic. There are horns and tails and some of them can describe these monsters that they see in such vivid detail, that you wonder what they actually see and where the voices that speak to them, come from. Some people have recurring delusions or hallucina-tions. They would for instance describe a monster with a specific appearance that torments them, tells them things they don’t want to hear, ridicules them, and swears at them.

“Schizophrenics are not more likely to commit a crime than people in general. The majority are too ill and too disorga-nized to commit a crime in an orga-nized fashion. There are cases in psychiatric hospitals where there are patients who, secondary to being ill, have committed crimes, murders or violent acts. They are usually put in the maximum security parts of institutions.

“Schizophrenia has a very bad prognosis with repeated hospitalization and recurrences. The disease is character-ized by these relapses and after every relapse a patient’s condition deterio-rates. A lot of sufferers end up in hospi-tals for life when they just can’t func-tion any more.

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he

“It is such a difficult subject. As a doctor you are expected to remain within the boundaries of medical science. Yet, in light of my relationship with Jesus Christ and the knowledge of the Word, I under-stand the cases that I work with in a different way.”

PERSPECTIVE FROM DELIVERANCE MINISTERSIn our quest for perspective on schizophre-

nia, we found much truth and insight in the

writing of Frank and Ida Mae Hammond. The

following is an excerpt from their book Pigs

in the Parlor, published by Impact Books,

Kirkwood, USA (1973).

Schizophrenia is a very common problem. Some authorities in the field of mental illness estimate there may be as many as fifty million schizophrenics in the United States. This is about one out of eight persons. Schizophrenics account for half the population in psychiatric hospitals. Of course there are varying degrees of schizophrenia. Some cases are acute while others are quite mild. Many schizo-phrenics have never been treated profes-sionally. Schizophrenia has remained a very baffling problem to mental health professionals. The cause and cure have remained shrouded in uncertainty.

The disturbance and disintegration of personality known as schizophrenia or dementia praecox is frequently encoun-tered by the deliverance minister. I would estimate that as many as one fourth of those who come to us for deliverance are found to have the schizophrenic pattern. The Lord has graciously given us a special revelation on the problem which enables us to deal with such cases more effec-tively. Since the revelation came to my wife, Ida Mae, I have asked her to write the remainder of this chapter.

The schizophrenic revelationIda Mae Hammond

We were working very closely in deliver-ance with a person who did not show much improvement after repeated ministries. This person was very earnest about wanting deliverance. She loved the Lord very much, she believed with all her heart that deliverance was the answer to her problems and she cried out to the Lord in desperation. She was completely co-operative with the minis-try. Nevertheless, the overall results were disappointing.

Time after time we felt that the victory was gained. For a few days her personal-ity would show signs of stability, then suddenly everything would go into upheaval. We would be right back where we started.

Then one night after an especially violent upheaval I was awakened from sleep. The Lord was speaking within my spirit. The Lord said, “I want to give you a revelation of what is Sarah’s problem. The problem is schizophrenia.” Now, I was not knowl-edgeable on the subject. In college I had studied some psychology – enough to be familiar with such general terms as manic depressive, schizophrenia, paranoia, psychosis and neurosis. I reached back in my memory to recall that schizophrenia is sometimes referred to as “split personal-ity”. The Lord gave me this definition: “Schizophrenia is a disturbance, distor-tion or disintegration of the development of the personality. You will no longer call her Sarah but ‘Sarah One’ and ‘Sarah Two’, for she has more than one personal-ity in her.”

I was still in bed - still had sleep in my eyes – as the Lord continued giving the revelation. He instructed me to put my hands together, palms facing and with fingers laced together tightly. He said this represented what the schizophrenic

nature was like. Each hand represented one of the dual personalities within the schizophrenic, neither of which was the real self. They were tightly interlocked. The Lord said, ”Your hands represent the nest of demon spirits that make up schizophrenia. I want you to know that it is demonic. It is a nest of demon spirits and they came into this person’s life when she was very, very young. I will show you how it operates.”

Next, the Lord instructed me to take my hands apart VERY SLOWLY. As my fingers were slowly disengaged, the Lord showed me that these demonic spirits in the schizophrenic must be separated, cast out and given up. The process requires time. It is a shock to the person to discover that so much of his personal-ity is not the real self. He may be afraid to discover what his true personality is. He needs time to adjust and to fall out of agreement with the false demon person-alities, point by point. He must come to loathe the schizophrenic personality, and fall out of agreement with it, The Lord recalled to my memory Amos 3:3. “How can two walk together except they be agreed.”

One by one my fingers disengaged, illustrating the pulling apart of the demonic personalities. (Later, each finger was given a demonic designation). The last fingers to come apart were the middle fingers on each hand. The Lord showed that these fingers represent the core of the schizophrenic – Rejection and Rebellion. When these are finally separated, the person can consider himself healed – delivered and knowing who the real self is.

The control demon is called “Schizophre-nia” or “Double Mindedness”. The Bible says, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). This is the scriptural designation of a schizophrenic.The Amplified translation says: [For being

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as he is] a man of two minds – hesitating, dubious, irresolute – [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about every-thing (he thinks, feels, decides).

The phrase translated “two minds” comes from a compound Greek word literally meaning “two souls”.

The next stage of the revelation came a few weeks later. The Lord instructed me to draw the outline of my hands on paper. Then He named the fingers as various demon spirits and showed me how each demon sets itself up in the schizophrenic. The control demon of schizophrenia invites other demons in, in order to cause the distortion of the personality. Schizophrenia ALWAYS begins with “rejection”. It commonly begins in childhood or infancy and sometimes while he child is yet in his mother’s womb. There are many causes for rejec-tion. Perhaps the child was not wanted. It may have been the wrong sex desired by one or both parents. The conditions in the home may have been unsettled. There are many “doors” that lead to rejection.

Schizophrenia can be demonically inher-ited. Noticed I said “demonically”. By that I mean it is not in the blood systems, not in the genes – it is in the demons! In other words, demons seek to perpetuate their like kind. It is easiest for them to do this within a family. For example, the schizophrenia nature is in the mother. The demons will pick out one or more of her children to feed down through. The schizophrenic mother feels rejection. She is the one who is primarily respon-sible for feeding love into the family. She is the one who touches, handles and fondles the infant. The rejection within herself creates problems in her relation-ships with the child. So, the child is open for rejection by the mother’s instability. I repeat, schizophrenia ALWAYS begins with rejection.

Now, one can have a rejection spirit and not be a schizophrenic. In other words, it is all in the matter of forming a personal-ity. You can have a rejection spirit and still manage to form your own personality and be secure in yourself.

To the contrary, the schizophrenic is always floundering…“Who am I?” The identity of the true self is confused or lost.

Rejection is the control demon in one of the personalities set up within the schizo-phrenic. Rejection depicts a withdrawn type personality. (It is a feeling within – it is agony within…it is a starvation of love…it is insecurity…it is inferiority…it is fantasy…it is unreality – it is all on the inside – “I don’t share in this.”) This is one personality the demon set up.

The second personality set up by the demons is “rebellion”. When a child does not have satisfactory love relationships in life he grows up being unable to feel and share in love relationships. A rebellion sets in. He begins to fight for love. Or he lashes out at those who have starved him of love. Rebellion asserts itself in stubbornness, self-will and selfishness. Here is another personality. This one is not inward and withdrawn. It is aggres-sive and lashing out in anger, bitterness, resentment, hatred and retaliation.

The schizophrenic is literally under these two opposite powers. He can switch from one type personality to the other in a moment’s time. The Lord showed me that I was to refer to the schizophrenic person as “Sarah One” and “Sarah Two” – the “Sarah One” being the real person and the “Sarah Two” the schizophrenic personality which has two sides to it. Therefore there are really three person-alities involved – the real personality, the rejection personality and the rebellion personality. In thirty minutes’ time one may see all three personalities mani-fested. Naturally, this brings much confu-

sion to the person himself as well as to others around him.

The real person is neither of the “hands”. The demons have not permit-ted the real self to develop. The schizo-phrenic does not know his real self. When the schizophrenic begins to be delivered, the real self must have Jesus. Jesus must start growing in the person, developing that personality, and making it what He wanted it to be. It is why the schizophrenic deliverance required time – sometimes several months or even a year, or longer. The deliverance must work in balance with the development of the “Real Self”. It cannot be rushed, for there is nothing for the person to fall back upon. If every demon in the schizo-phrenic person were suddenly cast out he would feel totally lost. Identifying with the “Real Self” required time. As the schizophrenic nature is knocked out the true personality must come forth to replace it.

Let me illustrate what can happen when a schizophrenic is in the process of deliver-ance. He may be learning submission to authority. He is faced with a test. There is a situation where he is required to be submissive. He is not in the habit of being submissive. What will he do? Will he fall back into rejection…go to his room?..cover his face?..refuse to talk to anyone? Or, will he fall back into rebellion…expressing anger?..becoming defiant?..showing stubbornness? Or, will he permit the nature of Jesus to come forth…cooperating?..yielding to author-ity, becoming submissive? The decision is his. He must be willing to fall out of agreement with the demons and to break old habit patterns. The “Real Self” must have become strong enough to carry through on the right decision.

The schizophrenic person continually creates “storms” around himself. He is caught in these storms and others must

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relate to what is happening. If the person trying to relate is also unstable he brings his storm into the schizophrenic’s storm. You then have a storm within a storm. A person who is stable and can relate to the “storm” in a stable way, can do so without being damaged or being scarred. He is not captured by the turmoil. The deliverance minister must be able to come in as such.

These times of storm cause the root of bitterness to form and to be driven deeper and deeper. Now, let us see what the other fingers on the left hand repre-sent. The “ring finger” is designated lust. The Lord showed me that this demon “weds” a person to the world for love. Lust is rooted in rejection. If one has not received satisfactory love through the normal channels of life, the carnal nature will begin to search for its kind of love – sensual love. Thus, the door is opened for the demon of lust to enter. A companion spirit in this group is fantasy lust which may cause the person to imagine he is some great lover of the motion picture world or to fantasy sexual experiences as a prelude to overt acts. The harlotry spirit in women may first manifest itself in dress and provocativeness. Sexual perversions represent extreme attempts to overcome rejection. Sexual experi-ences, real or imaginary, can never satisfy the need for genuine love. They are the devil’s substitutes for real love and leave a person ridden with frustration and guilt.

The little finger on the left hand repre-sents insecurity and inferiority. This is yet another manifestation of rejection. The person who has a deep sense of rejection feels insecure and inferior.

The index finger on the left hand is “self-accusation”. This demon causes a person to turn against himself and tears down his sense of personal worth. In most cases, we have found “self-accusation” coupled with a “compulsion to confess”. For

example, if the person has fallen into immorality, he cannot rest until he has confessed his wrong-doing. He usually confesses to those who should show him the most love. He is driven to do this in an effort to “shock” others into giving him forced attention and thereby find a substitute for love.

Now, let us move to the right hand. The middle finger is designated “rebel-lion”. As we have seen, rebellion iden-tifies one of the false personalities set up by the demons. This group of demons may be considered compensat-ing spirits for “rejection”. Rebellion is the opposite of rejection. One is expressive and turbulent. The other is withdrawn and insecure.

The ring finger on the right hand repre-sents self-will. This demon weds a person to selfish desires. This opens the way for stubbornness, selfishness and unteachableness. Again, we see the compensation for rejection. Since the person has been rejected or fears rejec-tion, he is driven to pamper self…to push self. He is thereby trying to overcome feelings of rejection.

The index finger is called accusation. It, too, is a compensating demon. It draws the attention away from the rejection. It seeks to eliminate a concentration of self by calling attention to others. The left index finger points at self – “I am to blame,” while the right index finger points at others – “You are to blame.” The accusation demon opens the door for companion spirits of judgmentalism.

The little finger on the right hand is self-deception. Its companions are delusion, self-seduction, and pride. These three spirits of “self” inflate pride. Pride is another compensation for rejection. One who feels rejected wants to feel impor-tant. The spirit of delusion comes along and says, “You are REALLY somebody”;

“You are a spiritual giant!”, or some other kind of giant. The ego that has been wounded appears to be given a boost. But it is all demonic. It only leads to greater frustration and disappointment.

In one case ministry, the spirit of self-deception has convinced a thirteen-year old girl that she was nineteen. She took on another name to go with her other person. She attempted to think, talk and act like an older girl. She was pushed beyond her abilities and her normal maturity. It added greatly to her oppression.

Through the revelation the Lord showed how the thumbs represent the “Paranoid” phase of schizophrenia. Part of it is repre-sented in the left thumb because it is rooted in rejection. On the rejection side are spirits of jealousy and envy. Those who are deficient in reciprocal love relationships become jealous and envious of those who do experience satisfying love. On the rebellion side are spirits of distrust, suspicion, fears and persecution. There is another demon in this later group and it is called “Confrontation with honesty at all cost“. Suspicion and distrust build up in the person until he is compelled to confront the other person. After the confrontation, the pressure dies down within him for a while. But it leaves the attacked person to handle hiswounds. The person acting under the influence of paranoid demons is quite insensitive as to how many wounds he causes, yet he is super-sensitive to every offense toward himself.

The revelation portrayed in the fingers and thumbs has proved to be infallible, as judged by numerous ministries with schizophrenics. There is no flaw in it.

The demons listed down the left hand are representative of other spirits that are commonly found within the rejec-tion side of the schizophrenia pattern. These will have some variations from

1717

1. Keeps one from giving and receiving love - both God’s and Man’s2. Weds one to the world for love3. Makes one tell all, seeking attention, punishment and correction4. Includes inordinate affection for animals5. With honesty at all costs. Seeking evidence for suspicions

6. Keeps one from looking at self.7. Disobedience and anti-submissiveness.8. Weds one to selfish desires.9. Both mental and spiritual. Seductive: to tempt, mislead, decoy. Delusion: a misleading of the mind, false belief, fixed misconception (as to cling to a delusion).In psychiatry: a false belief regarding the self - common in paranoia.

PARANOIDANGER

the real self

INWARD OUTWARD

SCHIZOPHRENIASTORM

UNFAIRNESS

PERFECTION -

Fear of Judgment Judgmental Pride

Unteachableness

INSE

CU

RIT

YIN

FER

IOR

ITY

JEA

LOU

SYE

NV

Y

SELF

-WIL

LSE

LFIS

HN

ESS

(8)

STU

BB

OR

NN

ESS

SELF

-DE

CE

PT

ION

SELF

-SE

DU

CT

ION

SELF

-DE

LUSI

ON

(9)

SUSP

ICIO

N

PER

SEC

UT

ION

CO

NFR

ON

TAT

ION

(5)

DIS

TR

UST

FEA

RS

Fan

tasy

Lu

st

FEA

R O

F R

EJE

CT

ION

SELF

-RE

JEC

TIO

N

LUST

(2)

RE

JEC

TIO

N (

1)

RE

BE

LLIO

N (

7)

SELF

-AC

CU

SAT

ION

(3)

AC

CU

SAT

ION

TO

WA

RD

OT

HE

RS

(6)

Har

lotr

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rve

rse

ne

ss

Co

mp

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Co

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n

Pro

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ion

SELF - PITYFALSE COMPASSION (4)FALSE RESPONSIBILITYDEPRESSION - Despondency

CONTROL - POSSESSIVENESSDespair - DiscouragementHopelessness

SUICIDEGUILT - Condemnation

Unworthiness - Shame

Pride Intolerance

Ego ImpatienceVanity - Frustration

WITHDRAWALPouting - Unreality

FANTASY - DAYDREAMVIVID IMAGINATIONSELF-AWARENESS

Timidity-ShynessLONELINESSSENSITIVENESSTALKATIVENESS

NervousnessTension

FEARS - PeopleMental InsanityGerms, Etc.

HATRED RESENTMENT

UNFORGIVENESSANGERRETALIATIONMEMORY

RECALL

VIOLENCE

MURDER

ROOT

OF

BITTERNESS

19

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sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 6:10,11,13-18).

Furthermore, we must protect our minds, our thought processes. Only once we have the mind of Christ through the empower-ing of the Holy Spirit, will we know His thoughts towards us and will we be able to discard any other false thoughts about ourselves.

“I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them” (Hebrews 8:10).

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:11). We should thank God daily for His grace! For He says in His Word: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My Power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthi-ans 12:9).

There is hope, deliverance and salvation in Jesus Christ!

“Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live” (Ephesians2:21-22).

REFERENCES:

Hammond, Frank & Ida Mae. Pigs in the Parlor.

Impact Books, 1973.

McKenna, PJ. Schizophrenia and Related Syndromes.

Hove: Psychology Press, 2002.

Read, John et al. Models of Madness. Hove: Brunner-

Routledge, 2004.

Thio, Alex. Deviant Behavior. Boston: Allyn and

Bacon, 2001.

Touch Point Bible. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers,

1996.

could result between the spirit, soul and body. We advise that a person diagnosed with schizophrenia or another mental disorder should be assisted to go for Christian spiritual counselling.

It is important to continue in prayer, for prayer is powerful and direct communica-tion with God.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will expereince God’s peace, which is far more wonder-ful than the human mind can under-stand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

We must also actively resist the attacks of the devil. It is therefore important to submit to God and resist the devil so that he will flee.

“Submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you”(James 4:7).

We have to guard ourselves daily. We do it through the protection of the Blood of Jesus and by mindfully putting on God’s full armour as He instructs in His Word.

“A final word: be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil...Use every piece of God’s armour to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the

sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins – that he was suffer-ing their punishment? He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.

“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honours of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners.”

IN CONCLUSION

In this article, we have depicted the most serious of mental disorders, schizophre-nia. We do not attempt to discredit medical and psychological treatment, but we have endeavoured to bring an under-standing of the spiritual dimension which is so often overlooked. This subject is deeply spiritual.

In the absence of true unity between God and an individual through Jesus Christ, disunity

20

In our Sapphire issue, we featured

an article: Our world is changing.

We took a closer look at the

changes happening in our world at

present. We looked at the physical

as well as the spiritual and

prophetic significance.

On page 18 of our Sapphire issue we

stated that all evidence, scientific

and Biblical, warn that we are in for

a very rough ride, facing increas-

ingly more natural disasters, wars as

well as persecution.

Within the last three weeks of July

2005, just before publishing our

Carnelian issue, the following

events were reported to have

taken place.

NATURAL DISASTERS

HURRICANE DENNISHurricane Dennis roared toward the north-western Florida and Alabama coast at 200 km/h.

Hurricane Dennis was a category four storm, which would make it one of the most powerful storms on record in Alabama.

HURRICANE EMILYHurricane Emily, classified as a dangerous category three storm, swept through parts of Mexico causing devastation.

Emily is the second Atlantic hurricane of the year. It formed just days after Hurri-cane Dennis roared across the Caribbean and into Florida, leaving at least 62 people dead, most of them in Haiti.

EARTHQUAKE IN TOKYOA magnitude 6 earthquake shook Tokyo. News reported that the earthquake was the strongest, as measured on Japan’s sliding scale of tremor intensity, to hit Tokyo since 1992.

HEATWAVE IN THE USAA summer heatwave reached tempera-tures as high as 46 degrees Celsius. News reports said that at least 18 people died in the western part of the United States.

The withering heat burnt and dehydrated those exposed to the sun.

EARTHQUAKE IN NEW DELHIA powerful earthquake hit India’s Nicobar Islands and part of Indonesia.

Although the magnitude 7.2 earthquake triggered a tsunami warning, no tsunami took place. No injuries or damage was reported.

is changingOUR WORLD

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FEEDBACK ARTICLE

ATTACKS

Terror attacks, in the form of bombings, (directly affecting people) took place in the following areas:

BAGHDAD

EGYPT

LONDON

Many people were interviewed on television and one defining cry was: ‘Where in this world will I be safe?’

Our world is definitely changing. We could

either be alarmed by the above, especially

in the view that it all occurred within a

three-week period, or we could take heed

to the following as stated in the Touch

Point Bible, published by Tyndale, Illinios

(1996), page 1261:

“From terrorist attacks to abduction of

children in broad daylight, random acts of

violence seem to fill the news reports

night after night. Is anyone really safe

anymore? Does faith in God offer any

guarantees that our children will be safe

at the bus stop or on the highways?

“Scripture reveals God to be concerned

about and committed to our safety. But

to more fully understand the concept of

safety we must recognize who we are –

eternal beings wrapped in mortal

bodies. While God is concerned about

what happens to our body, He is much

more concerned about what happens to

our soul.

“Once we have confessed faith in Jesus

and the Holy Spirit comes to live within

us, He is at work protecting our soul

from being snatched away by Satan.

This is the essence of God’s promise

for protection.

“Yes, God is also concerned about the

safety of our physical body, and we

probably experience His hand of

protection more than we realize.”

We give you this reassuring truth:

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into

problems and trials, for we know that

they are good for us – they help us learn

to endure. And endurance develops

strength of character in us, and charac-

ter strengthens our confident expecta-

tion of salvation. And this expectation

will not disappoint us. For we know how

dearly God loves us, because He has given

us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with

His love. When we were utterly helpless,

Christ came at just the right time and

died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely

to die for a good person, though someone

might be willing to die for a person who

is especially good. But God showed His

great love for us by sending Christ to die

for us while we were still sinners. And

since we have been made right in God’s

sight by the Blood of Christ, He will

certainly save us from God’s judgment.

For since we were restored to friendship

with God by the death of His Son while

we were still His enemies, we will

certainly be delivered from eternal

punishment by His life. So now we can

rejoice in our wonderful new relationship

with God – all because of what our Lord

Jesus Christ has done for us in making us

friends of God.”

Romans 5:3-11

21

22

Passionately performing exqui-

site “pas de deux” (a ballet step

for two) as principal dancers

of South Africa’s largest ballet

company, married couple Iain

MacDonald and Karen Beukes’s

lives are testimonies of the

fact that God plans wisely for

His children!

JUST AS THE FEMALE partner in a pas de deux, supported by the hands of the male dancer, is taken much further and higher than she would be able to go when danc-ing on her own, God is taking Iain and Karen further than they would ever think or imagine. Floating gracefully about the stage, they cause their audience to marvel at the breathtaking beauty radiat-ing from their unity.

Iain and Karen both joined PACT Ballet Company after matriculating from the National School of the Arts. Following the closure of the State Theatre in 2000, they, with four other people, founded The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) in 2001 where they are currently mem-bers of the Executive Committee as well as ballet master and mistress (taking the company classes and rehearsals).

Iain acknowledges the touch of God’s hand in their lives. “I’ve never made a conscious decision to become a dancer. One thing led to the other, auditions came, and I just went along. God had a plan for us.” Karen and Iain’s faith in God was tested when they both lost their jobs in 2000. This happened as a result of the closure of the State Theatre in Pretoria in June 2000, following the withdrawal of government funding from the arts. In due course God provided for them when they were approached to, together with Angela Malan, choreograph a production of The Nutcracker Suite, which was performed in December 2000. “We saw God’s Hand in this opportunity. The actual production was a success, but we had a rough time financially. For months we had no income.”

Iain and Karen sent their CV’s overseas, but they started realizing that they had a vital role to play in the continuation of arts and ballet in South Africa. “Eventu-ally six of us founded SABT in February of 2001. When doors were closed, new doors opened for us. What felt like a disaster then, proved to be a huge bless-ing for us now. We never thought that we would together be part of the manage-ment of a company.”

Having been good friends for a long time, Karen and Iain were married in January of 2001, six months after the closure of the theatre. “We just know that we were meant to be together and that the work that we have to do for God is together,” says Karen. “Despite the fact that the theatre closed down, leaving us without our jobs, we still went ahead and planned our wedding. We had no money, but we held on to God and He provided. We had a beautiful wedding.”

Within these trying circumstances they experienced their faith being built. “We really were blessed with the gift of faith. We learned that one should only trust God, because He knows what the bigger picture is. He really knows best although

we think we know best.” Various trials strengthened both these beautiful people’s individual faith. “For a period of five years early in my professional career, it felt as if nothing went right,” says Karen. “I suffered many injuries and every time I thought I was having a break-through, another setback occurred. During this time a lady at church, when praying for me, said that God was teach-ing me stamina for later in my life. Now I know why – it takes strength to be a principal dancer as well as part of management of a company. God needed to toughen me up.”

A few years ago Iain developed severe pain in his hip. His condition deteriorated so much that he needed to constantly use painkillers in order to continue dancing. “Iain had a lot of pain,” Karen remem-bers. “Sometimes he couldn’t even get out of the car.” Iain underwent a hip replacement in February 2004. He has successfully returned to dancing. God had again proved His faithfulness.

When asked about their unusual relation-ship and the challenge of working together as a married couple, Karen answers, “Iain and I are incredibly similar. At church we discovered our respective gifts. Our first three gifts are exactly the same. Iain’s fourth gift is leading and mine is helping – we fit together perfectly!” Iain says, “We were brought up in the same way; we have the same morals and values. What is awesome about working for the same company, is that we can spend so much time together. If we had different jobs, we would never have seen each other.”

24

“We pray that

the

Holy Spirit

be our style.”

27

p ho t

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testimonyThe words, “Don’t be afraid,

My daughter, stand up and

walk”, changed Debbie

Lewis’s life radically. This

was not the voice of a

human being, but the

audible voice of God. And to

Him, the One who healed

her paralyzed legs, she com-

mitted her life. “I can’t live

without Him. Everything I

am is because of Him.”“TA

KE U

P YO

UR

BED

AN

D W

ALK

”DEBBIE, NOW 36, was twelve years old when one day her right leg started aching severely. Medication brought no relief. At a second visit to the doctor in only two days she was given antibiotics and more painkillers, and her leg was bandaged. After two more days of constant pain, her mother took her back to the doctor. “She told him that something had to be wrong. I had so much pain that I cried right through the night. It felt as if something was eating away my flesh.” When the doctor took off the bandage, the body tissue of Debbie’s leg erupted. She was admitted to hospital that same day.

After three days in hospital, several medical tests and much pain, physicians agreed on surgery. After two operations and no diagnosis, they decided to extract bone marrow. Debbie was diagnosed with a form of osteitis – a bone marrow disease that causes inflammation, usually spreads rapidly and has the danger to infect the whole body.

After spending almost a year in hospital Debbie could only walk with crutches or a walking frame. Since no medication or treatment brought about the required results, doctors told Debbie’s parents that amputation was the only solution to prevent the disease from spreading. “My mother is a born-again Christian and she never stopped praying. The day before my leg was going to be amputated, the Holy Spirit told my mother to take flour with her to the hospital. She obeyed and upon arriving at the hospital, she felt led to put the flour onto my sore leg.”

Being delayed at home the next day, Debbie’s mother arrived at the hospital just in time to watch Debbie being pushed back from the theatre. The operation had been cancelled and rescheduled because of a misunderstanding with the theatre booking. Her mother’s childlike faith had been rewarded. Debbie still had both her legs.

“From that moment things just went downhill. I couldn’t really walk any more and I had extreme pain. Doctors told my parents to expect the worst. Gradually my conditiondeteriorated even more and I was transferred to the intensive-care unit.” Debbie recalls family members and friends stopping by to wave goodbye through the window. She then slipped into a coma.

28

testimony

People started clapping hands and

I remember Mr Pool exclaiming,

“Praise God!”

Debbie’s mother spent her days and nights at the hospital, praying. After ten days in a coma, Debbie miraculously gained consciousness. Tests, however, showed that she was paralyzed. She slowly gained strength and after a few days she was transferred to a normal ward and was given a wheelchair. The hospital became like a second home to her. “I made a lot of new friends and we had a lot of fun together.”

Then feelings of loneliness and hopeless-ness crept in. The reality of shattered dreams started taking its toll. She realized that she wouldn’t be able to get married and have children of her own or even return to a normal school. “I cried a lot and started asking questions such as, ‘Where is my life going?’ I felt that I might as well die.”

In the ward next to hers lay a woman by the surname of Pool. Her husband regularly brought friends from church to have fellowship and prayer at his wife’s bedside. One evening Debbie was invited. “I knew about God but wasn’t sure that He really existed. I thought people preaching on street corners were mad. I was a bit irritated with these people having church services in hospital. I often heard them singing.

“Meanwhile, I started reading the Bible in the drawer next to my bed. When they begged me to join them, I thought, ‘My situation is so hopeless; I can’t lose anything by accepting the invitation.’”

Debbie joined them and was miraculously touched by the healing power of God. “That evening while they sang AmazingGrace I heard a voice saying, ‘Stand up and walk.’ I looked around but didn’t see

anyone looking at me, let alone speaking to me. The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘I hope this disease is not spreading to my brain.’ Again I heard a clear, audible voice saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, stand up and walk.’

“I turned my head to the nurse standing at the back of my wheelchair thinking it might be she speaking to me. But, you know, God is so faithful. The previous evenings I had read about Samuel and Eli in the Bible. The Holy Spirit reminded me about how Eli instructed Samuel to say, ‘Here I am’. For a third time I heard the same voice, ‘My daughter, don’t be afraid, stand up and walk’, whereupon I replied, ‘Here I am’.

“What happened next I find difficult to describe. I had emotions of shock, but of calmness and peace as well, and then I felt my toes moving. Strength rushed through my body. It took me a while to stand and then, like a child learning to walk, I started walking. I walked for about five metres, turned around and returned to my wheelchair. People started clapping hands and I remember Mr Pool exclaiming, ‘Praise God!’”

“That night I couldn’t sleep. In my mind I went over the events of the evening again and again. I had these little chats with God. All my dreams were given back to

me. It was awesome.” Debbie was released from hospital within a week, about one year and 4 months after she had first been admitted. She only returned later in her life for plastic surgery to remove scar tissue from her leg. At a campaign hosted by Reinhard Bonnke she gave her life to the One who called her His daughter.

Debbie currently lives in Goodwood, Cape Town, with her husband Thomas, and her three children Daryl (12), Tarryn (6) and Chaela (4). Debbie works for Old Mutual. She also serves as the ministry coordinator of Parousia, a Christian Dance Group consisting of 12 members. Parousia (Greek for second coming of Christ) was estab-lished in 2000 with the vision to assist and invest in the body of Christ through the powerful medium of dancing. Parousia performs at churches, functions and conferences and has since 2002 been offering education in Christian dancing through video.

Debbie almost lost the use of her legs forever, but God remained faithful and true to His words of healing depicted in Luke 5:24-26 when He spoke to the paralyzed man: “... I tell you get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Truly Debbie’s faith in Jesus has made her whole! We still continue seeing God perform acts of compassion, power and authority. And when God performs these miracles in our midst, surely we should praise Him!

Debbie is content and her faith is unwavering in Jesus

29

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Exhausted and very hungry after an interview and two photo shoots in a very busy and hot Sandton, Liezl (our photographer) and I stopped at a service station in Rivonia Road to buy something to eat.

Still busy deciding what to buy, I noticed the wide variety of mouth-watering, freshly baked pastries. Behind the counter stood Daisy (51), whose proud handiwork was the cause of my watering mouth.

She was smiling broadly to the customer in front of me. Her friendli-ness lightened up the whole place and definitely our day as well. Daisy says she doesn’t find it difficult to be so friendly all the time. She knows Jesus and she loves people.

w o r d s : r e t h a f i c k

After weeks of weighing the pro’s and cons, I finally decided to buy the white second-hand car. My car had been stolen a while before and in the meantime I borrowed my mother’s car, which I could not do indefinitely.

From the first day I met Ryan and Bronwyn Penny – the owners of the well looked after white car – I knew they were special. Great was my surprise when I received my new second-hand car with a tank full of petrol and the ashtray filled with sweets!

Such kindness warms one’s heart and yes, they love the Lord!

w o r d s : r e t h a f i c k

fruitfruit fruitfruitfruit fruitfruitfruitfruit w o r d s : l i n d i e g o u w s

One Sunday on my way to church I quickly ran into the Spar close to my home. The car watch, Allan, smiled broadly when I took notice of him. I asked him to keep an eye on my car until I get back, which I said would be in no more than five minutes. When I returned to my car, it was still there. I beckoned to Allan so that I could give him some money. “Are you going to the House today?” he asked me. “Yes,” I said. “Do you go?” “Oh, yes,” he said. “Do you believe in Jesus?” I asked him. “Yes, of course, I know Him. He is my personal Saviour.” I immediately understood the Source of his broad smile!

A couple of days later I stopped there again. Allan was still there. Faithfully watching people’s cars. This time I did not pay him but only spoke to him. As I drove away, I looked in my rear-view mirror and waved at him. He smiled broadly. I realised that Allan’s service was unconditional, an attitude given by God!

FAITHFULNESS

GOODNESS & KINDNESS

33

kindness

Western Capespir i tual f ru i t

p e a c e

Mpumalangaspir i tual f ru i t

l o v e

Northern Capespir i tual f ru i t

s e l f - c o n t r o l

Gautengspir i tual f ru i t

pat ience

Free Statespir i tual f ru i t

j o y

Kwa-Zulu Natalspir i tual f ru i t

fa i th fu lness

Limpopospir i tual f ru i t

gent leness

North Westspir i tual f ru i t

goodness

Eastern Capespir i tual f ru i t

The main town and commercial

centre of the beautiful Waterberg

district, Modimolle is often consid-

ered the gateway to this beautiful

region of the Limpopo Province.

Previously known as Nylstroom,

Modimolle is famous for its export

grapes and is rapidly developing

into a popular retirement locality.

Surrounding hot mineral springs

and game farms provide a peace-

ful getaway for city dwellers. In the

heart of this small bushveld town,

people are coming together to

pray. Their prayers are impacting

the community of Modimolle by

moving its inhabitants towards even

greater love and unity.

Children in the streets of Modimolle

The door of a church in

Modimolle:

It reminds us of JESUS

being the only Way, the Truth

and the Life.

Modimolleproduces

much fruit!

“Farmer’sweekly” inModimolle

35

NylstroomNylstroom/Modimolle, a town with welcoming arms

and a home for all who appreciate its natural serenity.

A group of woman

had been praying

every lunch hour

since 1984,

fasting regularly.

p h o t o g r a p h y : l i e z l d u p r e e z w o r d s : r e t h a f i c k

Recently God provided His church in Modimolle with a house of prayer called Sparrows, where any person, irrespective of race, culture or church denomination, is welcomed at any time of the day. A businessman donated this building in Nelson Mandela Street, formerly a restau-rant by the name of Sparrows, to the Body of Christ. Many people regularly meet here to seek God’s face and find refreshment in His presence. Signs of answered prayer are unmistakable. “We are reaping the fruits of many years of faithful prayer,” says Christien Botha who moved to Modimolle in December 2004 and is now involved in networking and mobilization of prayer.

Modimolle has a rich history of faithful intercession by individuals and groups of people through the years of transforma-tion in South Africa and the accompany-ing political tension.

One such example is the prayer group started by Rebecca Mhlanga years ago. Rebecca had her own clothing reparation business at the time. On the 6th of September 1996 Dina Mosomo was busy doing her tasks as domestic worker when she heard a powerful Voice telling her to go to a specific building in town during

her lunch hour. When she reached the place the Voice had directed her to, she found this group of women praying fervently. The power of the Holy Spirit and the special quality of love she witnessed between these women moved Dina to commit her life to God that same day.

The group of women, she discovered, had been praying every lunch hour since 1984, fasting regularly, and pleading for the power of God to be known amongst them, for unity between black and white, for

one another’s needs and for lost souls to be won for the Kingdom of God. After joining them during her lunch hours, Dina witnessed many answers to prayer, such as supernatural healing and freeing of demon-possessed people. God built her faith during these meetings. “We must just be quiet; God will do the work,” says Dina.

Another result of the many years of faith-ful prayer has been the first interdenomi-national, interracial Day of Prayer held at the soccer stadium in Phagameng on the 15th of May 2005. “One thousand people attended this event. We experienced wonderful unity amongst believers. This day was an incredible day for the spiritual climate in Modimolle,” reports Rev. Ewald Schmidt from the Dutch Reformed Church Nylstroom East.

Sarah Mpsa, a domestic worker, feels strong about unity in the Body of Christ: “What weakens us is that we talk of ‘my church’”, she remarks. “There is only one church. We must not talk much. We should pray that people open their hearts to God.” When asked about reconciliation in Modimolle and her own attitude towards people from other races, she smilingly replies, “If you have the Holy Spirit, you don’t see colour.”

Rev. Joël Moagi from the Church of God Assemblies is equally excited about what the Spirit of God is doing in Modimolle as a result of prayer. “We pray night and day. One cannot pray only once. We should trust God for His timing. The most important thing is that people should realize that Jesus is the only answer. If we are of one heart and one mind, change will come.”

And as the sparrow referred to in Psalm 84, which has found a home near God’s altar, so many believers in Modimolle are continu-ously seeking God’s presence for the outpouring of His Spirit in their town.

38

p h o t o g r a p h y : l i e z l d u p r e e z w o r d s : e n a d u p l e s s i s

CHRISTCHRISTRIDING FORRIDING FOR

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

MY World spoke to Brian Wegerle, the owner of the four Harley Davidson dealerships in

South Africa. He loves God, works as if for Him and when he mounts his favourite mode

of transport, he rides as an ambassador for Christ. He answered when Jesus said: “Are

you going to ride with Me?”

7

CHRISTRIDING FOR

“God has shown me that it is not the work of my ministry; it is the ministry of my work.”

40

THE OWNER OF 80% of the Harley David-son dealerships in South Africa does, in his own words, not run a money-making business, but a Kingdom-advancing business. 51-year-old Brian Wegerle says his business is his ministry.

“God has shown me that it is not the work of my ministry; it is the ministry of my work. It is my hope and dream that other Christians will stop being sick of their work, and make their work their ministry. Research has shown that now, more than ever before, people are living for the day when they can stop working – looking forward to weekends, and opting for early retirement. It is tragic that Christians share in this viewpoint, thinking that one day, once they have stopped working, they will enter their ministry. Our ministry is right here, in the workplace. I am not in this business because I am a good businessman. My business skills are lousy. God has put me into this business to minister for Him.”

And that it was indeed God who put Brian into this business, is very clear when one considers how it all happened. Brian has been “messing around on bikes” since the age of 12, and bought his first motorcycle at the age of 19. In 1997 he bought his first Harley. This was after starting a consulting practice called Civic Institute with his wife Jenny in 1995.

Then, about five years ago, Brian saw in a magazine advertisement that Harley Davidson was looking for investors. He immediately was enthusiastic; but Jenny was not at all interested. Brian tried his best to persuade her, telling her to bear in mind how successful the Harley business has been in other parts of the world. “Let’s apply and see what happens,” he suggested to her, and Jenny agreed on that condition.

About 55 more people applied with Brian. After a process of elimination, 23 people

remained. Because the Wegerles were still uncertain, Brian decided to be frank with Harley Davidson, telling them that, should they keep him on the list, that would be at the risk of his falling out at the last minute. They still kept Brian on the list. A further elimination process took place; 12 people remained and then seven. The seven were interviewed, and out of the seven a final three were short-listed, of whom Brian was one. The reality of this news shocked the Wegerles – whatif Harley chose Brian?

Brian and Jenny decided to go away for 10 days to pray about the matter. “At the beginning of our 10-day retreat, Jenny still was hesitant, and I felt no leading from God. On the second-last day Jenny said, ‘We’re going to do it.’”

Right then, a large sum of money was brought in to the Wegerles through a very good deal concluded by Civic Institute with a big client. They showed this amount to Harley as proof of creditwor-thiness, obtained a bank loan for the rest of the required amount, and the business was theirs.

At that stage there were only two Harley dealerships in South Africa, and Brian was to take them over. Only once the transaction had been concluded, the Wegerles discovered that the previous owners of both dealerships had been going bankrupt.

That was June 2001, and with the bomb-ing of the World Trade Center that September, the exchange rate shot up dramatically within four months. “As a

result we were totally undercapitalized and the venture was looking impossible.”They decided to close down the shop in Pretoria, and focused on the one in Sand-ton. “Within 12 months it became hugely profitable. Our sales reached a point where the United States and Europe started noticing us. Right now, at a growth of 46% per year, we have the fastest-growing Harley dealerships in the world. Harley Davidson cannot believe this – they want to know what is happening. “They know that I am a Christian. Although I don‘t continuously proclaim it, quietly inside I glorify God – because I know it is a miracle.”

Brian says that, when things looked so tough initially, they coped by taking one day at a time, praying, trusting, and doing the best they could with what they had. “Even in those early days we could see the fruit of our perseverance and hard work. And now, with hindsight, we realize that every day was a little better than the previous.

“Our shops are now used as benchmarks by Harley Davidson. When I got the one in Rivonia Road, Sandton, it looked like old doctors’ consulting rooms.” This shop has in the mean time been transformed into a marvellous showroom.

To Brian, success for the sake of success is not what it is about. “I think there is such a tendency in modern Christianity to emulate successful people for the sake of success. As a result, people try extremely hard; and the more they try, the less they depend on God. This is all because of this tendency to put people on pedestals. I want people to know that what has happened in my life, is beyond my natural abilities. Things have to happen in our lives in such a way that people see that God is present. We must let our light shine and not hide it under a bowl. Thereby people will praise God in Heaven.”

41

Brian has not always been this passionate about the Lord. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with Him until the age of 27. Says Brian, “I was a really naughty boy since I was about 12. From around that time until I was close to 27, I was getting drunk at least one night a week, usually more often. I got into lots of trouble. It had nothing to do with the way I was brought up – I was raised in a good home, by loving parents. But I had a low self- esteem, and naughtiness was a way to get attention and boost my confidence.

“I was almost expelled from school more than once. When I got older, from about 18 onwards, I had this belief that no trouble was too difficult for me. I went to varsity, taking five years to finish a three-year degree. I was kicked out of res for getting drunk; I was in and out of jail five times; and in my final year I was expelled from varsity.” At that stage, Brian had already been going out with Jenny. She was 21 then and he was 22. She suggested to him that they should get married. He then pleaded with the Chan-cellor to, based on the planned marriage, being a sign of stabilization in his life, allow him a second chance.

The Chancellor agreed that Brian would be allowed to write his exams; and with some help from Jenny, he passed. Brian and Jenny got married, and he started working as a human resources officer in the mining industry, where he “became known as the main man, who would out-

drink anybody.” Shortly after their getting married, Jenny became a Chris-tian. Brian did not want anything to do with Christianity. “I was a conscientious objector to God. I knew He was there, but I did not think much of Him, because of all the suffering I saw in the world. Whenever I shared these feelings with Jenny, she would break down in tears.”

Brian reached his turning point on the day when their son Greg (now 24) was born. After 25 hours of labour, the sisters started panicking and called the doctor out, as there appeared to be an emergency.

“By then Jenny was hysterical and exhausted. She called me over to her bedside and asked me to phone her pastor and ask him to start praying. I just couldn’t do that; but I couldn’t tell Jenny that I wasn’t going to, either. So I phoned my mom. When I had her on the line, my throat locked up. I was too proud to say that we needed help and that I couldn’t sort the situation out. I tried three times to tell my mom, and then I burst into tears. I said, ‘Look, Jen’s having trouble; could you please get the pastor to pray.’ It then turned out that my mom had felt she should ask

the pastor, as well as a number of other people, to pray anyway; so we had a whole group of people praying for us.” As Brian returned to Jenny from the telephone, he ran into a very irritated doctor – there was no emergency and Jenny was sleeping peacefully! A few hours later, Greg was born. “As I stood there with this perfect little boy, I realized that this was a piece of trouble I couldn’t solve. I asked God to take care of my little boy, and He did. Within months I became a Christian. That was 24 years ago and I have never looked back. From the day that he could think and talk, Greg has loved the Lord; and all he has ever wanted to do, is to plant a church. That is still the plan, as soon as he has finished his degree.”

Brian at first had no idea how he was going to make the transition from being known as the “main man” to someone who passionately loves the Lord. At a church camp about four months after Greg’s birth, he decided to make a public confession for the first time. “I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and a new ‘me’ emerged. Within the first six months, I read the Bible from cover to cover twice.”

Today, 24 years later, Christ-like gentle-ness and kindness are shining from this leather-clothed biker’s eyes; and an overwhelming passion to win souls for God’s Kingdom is evident from his entire outlook and attitude.

42 DUDU (32) IS EMPLOYED as a buyer in the procurement division at a large Black economic empowerment company. She has an NQF6 higher national diploma in catering and tourism management as well as a diploma in financial manage-ment. She has recently also started a degree in logistics.

Dudu’s job as buyer entails huge respon-sibility: finding and buying the best products - from stationery to company vehicles - and simultaneously trying to save the company money. Dudu loves her job. One of her responsibilities is issuing employees with corporate clothing, with the result that everyone in this huge company knows her. “I like to work with people,” says Dudu.

Her even-temperedness fits her job. When pressure builds up, Dudu still smiles. Even in a very busy day, you will find her calm and friendly, doing her job

Dudu Dube

Zealous about lifebecause of Jesus

p h o t o g r a p h y : l i e z l d u p r e e z w o r d s : r e t h a f i c k

with the same amount of enthusiasm. “I see my personality as a gift from God. I do not easily get irritated or angry. You will always find me the same.”

Dudu’s career aspiration is to get involved in industrial catering – a field that she has a special interest in. Previ-ously she couldn’t pursue this passion, because the demanding working hours of the catering business were not reconcil-able with her responsibilities as mother to her three boys, Tawana (10), Thabiso (6) and Thulani (4). Maintaining balance between the demands of her current role as career woman and caring for a family is no threat to Dudu. “I am so passionate about all these aspects of life: being a wife, being a mom, doing my job; I’ve never felt I‘d rather be doing the other while busy with the one. I try to do all three things the best I can. When you ask the Lord to help, nothing can become too much. He promises to carry us and to

take us through difficult circum-stances.” She does not take her respon-sibility as a parent lightly. “I try to do the best I can to help my children to learn to make the right choices, even at this young age. Parents’ dream for their children is to get the best out of life. Every day when I lay my hands on my children, praying for them, I realize that if my children get to know the Lord, the rest will fall into place. I trust God for that.”

Taking stock of her own life’s history, she thankfully acknowledges that God had known about and granted her needs even before she asked. “You are young and inexperienced when you make life decisions such as which career to pursue and whom to choose as a life partner. In these two important decisions I just know that my choice had nothing to do with my own cleverness. God granted me His wisdom to make the right decisions. In an amazing way I know I am exactly where I should be.

“God gave me a gentle, caring husband who knows Him and supports me in everything I do. I really see the Hand of God in that. I’ve never regretted the ten years I’ve been married to Boyiki.” Even for her current job, she gives God the glory. “It is amazing; before I came to this company, I prayed for a job in an environment where God is honoured and I believe God answered my prayer. Most people in this company know Jesus. I asked for a job where the real me can come out. God answered that prayer as well.”

Dudu is a lady who is influencing many people by her love for God and her positive outlook on life. She is truly a vessel in God’s Hand!

Whatever she has she sees as a gift from God. Her passion for God, for

life, her family and her work is what keeps Duduzile Dube going. This

beautiful Zimbabwean born woman knows how to meet the demands

of her different roles as career woman, mother and wife.

“Why be like the pagans who are so

deeply concerned about these things?

Your heavenly Father already knows

all your needs, and He will give you all

you need from day to day if you live

for Him and make the Kingdom of God

your primary concern.”

Matthew 6:32-33

zebrazebraAN ANIMAL THAT REFLECTS GOD’S CREATIVITY AND INTRINSIC FLAIR FOR DESIGN

p h o t o g r a p h y : l i e z l d u p r e e z w o r d s : j e f f g a i s f o r d

51

MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH

ZEBRAS – those so-called “striped

horses” of the African Plains. Zebras

are indeed related to horses, as well as

to the Somali wild donkey which

occurs solely in remote parts of Ethio-

pia and Somalia and is possibly the

ancient donkeys much used in Biblical

times. These “African horses” are

immune to many of the stock diseases

that plague imported strains of horses

in Africa. Zebras are not easily domes-

ticated either, which is why one never

sees anyone trotting along on the

back of one - in spite of a recent film

that showed otherwise! In the days of

gold fever on the Reef, men tried to

use them to pull the famous Zeeder-

burg Coaches - there are photographs

of a coach with its double line of mules

led by two zebras. But the zebras were

hard to control and did not have the

staying power of the horses, so they

were dropped.

The zebra is one of the most strikingly marked of the African Plains animals with its black and white striping. Most animals have colours that blend with their surroundings. Look at a kudu or a nyala hiding in a thick bush – unless they move they remain almost invisible. So

why is a zebra so garishly coloured? Is this good camouflage to protect it against predators?

There has been long-standing debate amongst zoologists as to what purpose the stripes serve. One argument is that stripes serve to confuse predators. The zebra is a herd animal, so we find it in groups of varying sizes. When one looks at a group of zebras one sees a lot of black and white stripes moving around. Imagine what a lion sees at a waterhole when a herd of zebras comes down to drink. The lion decides on one particular animal, after a creeping stalk the big cat charges, the entire herd of zebras panics and flees, and for some minutes there is a great whirling of dust, with black and white stripes dashing in between in a manner that could confuse a predator completely.

Also, the zebra has a powerful kick and more than one lion has ended its days due to a kick to the head by a zebra.

Another argument favours striping as a way of avoiding the attentions of tsetse flies. Tests have shown that some tsetse flies will go for dark animals but not take notice of animals with horizontal stripes. As a zebra's legs are horizontally striped and in the grazing position the zebra's head and neck stripes are also almost horizontal too, and given that these tsetses usually fly within a metre of the

ground, they probably do not even see the zebra!

Many books on wild mammals describe the zebra as being basically white with black stripes, although our Burchell's tends to have light brownish “shadow” stripes.

QUAGGA

Tragically the quagga is extinct. A species of zebra found in the south of our country in earlier times, the quagga was hunted out of existence by the middle of the 19th century. The last quagga died in captivity in Amsterdam, Holland in 1883, and its skin was preserved in a Dutch museum.

SPECIES OF ZEBRA

There are several different species of zebras in Africa.

Grevy's zebra occurs north of the equator in the far eastern corner of the continent. Burchell's zebra has the widest distribu-tion and is our commonly known local species, having as relatives Grant's, Selous's and Chapman's zebra, all occur-ring in various regions of East Africa. The true Burchell's is our common bushveld zebra so well known in many of our game reserves. There is also the Mountain zebra which occurs in the mountainous areas of the southern Cape, with its relative, Hartmann's zebra, occurring in the mountainous regions of Namibia.

Zebras are as uniquely African as the call of the fish eagle. Many of us tend to look on them as “common” when we see them in the game reserves, but spare a thought for them – they are really hardy and enduring animals – and well deserving of our admiration.

Zebras are as

uniquely African as the

call of the fish eagle

azebra

As God’s children we should pray daily to be and remain in His

perfect will and timing for our lives. Jesus Himself taught us

that we should pray: “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on

earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). When Jesus was in the

garden of Gethsemane, before His crucifixion, He prayed to the

Father: “Yet I want Your will, not Mine” (Matthew 26:39).

Jesus knew the calling but He also understood the timing.

As I started to earnestly seek God’s will and divine purpose for

my life, I soon came to realize that besides having an under-

standing of the calling upon my life, it was imperative to

understand and know God’s timing for certain events to take

place in my life. I knew that I should never be too early; I

should never be too late; I had to be precisely on time.

After a recent trip to the United States, God spoke to me through

a very practical example, concerning the timing in a person’s

life. On an international flight each passenger usually has his or

her own mini television and set of earphones with a choice of

channels and movies to watch during the flight. Without my

earphones on I browsed the channels as a matter of interest. As I

switched to one of the channels I recognized one of our South

African actors. I put on the earphones and watched the movie for

less than ten minutes.

In those few minutes God spoke to me about timing.

The story-line was about a very gifted trapeze artist who was to

perform a difficult act, a triple somersault. He would perform

this with a partner who had to catch him as he finished the

somersault. He was extremely focused and devoted much

practice to perfecting this very difficult jump. He trained very

hard, preparing himself both mentally and physically. This he

was to perform in front of a large crowd at a trapeze show.

Then came the evening of the show. Confidently he mounted the

platform metres above the ground. Because he was so well trained,

he knew exactly what he had to do. He dusted his hands with

powder and took the bar into his hands. He was just about to jump

off the platform when he looked down. As he looked down he saw

his brother, whom he had not seen for years and with whom he did

not have a good relationship, walk into the arena. From the artist’s

facial expression one could see that for that split-second he was

suddenly distracted.

w o r d s : l i n d i e g o u w s

52

You can be too early or you can be too late, or you can be perfectly on time!

He however immediately regained his composure, jumped off the platform, swung through the air, built up the momentum necessary to perform the very difficult, eagerly awaited somersault.

Part of this act would be for the trapeze artist to let go of his bar and allow it to swing back and forth whilst he performs the somersault, then to link up with his partner and hold on to him while swinging from the partner’s bar. The artist would then let go and take hold of his own bar again as it returns due to the momentum. The trapeze artist performed the somer-sault and then let go of his bar to take hold of his partner’s hands. His partner’s timing was correct, but the trapeze artist could not take hold of his hands. For that split-second the trapeze artist was too early…or too late! And he fell! That night was earmarked by a failed attempt.

I realized the following:

The trapeze artist had all the necessary skill. He was well trained and had a sound knowledge of what he had to do. He also had enough faith in his partner, trusting that his partner would be there to catch him. However, at the most crucial time, he looked down when he was supposed to keep looking up. Instead of being uncompromisingly focused, he lost focus of the importance of the moment and allowed his brother (something of his past) to distract him. He lost a split second of the timing.

Through this practical example the Holy Spirit opened my spiritual eyes to see the importance of being in God’s timing.

I compare it to our lives as follows:

You might have a God-given dream in your heart - you might have received a specific promise from God and you are waiting for it to come to pass; or you might be waiting to step into the fulfilment of God’s calling upon your life. You have all the faith that it will come to pass, and you may have even been equipped to receive or perform whatever you are waiting for. But you are either becoming impatient or allowing something (maybe something of your past or your present, or

even an unnecessary concern about the future) to distract you. That could be just at the most crucial moment and it could make you move out of God’s timing for the fulfilment or realization of what you are waiting for.

In forcing a situation due to your impatience or by delaying it due to your concern, you could, like the trapeze artist, fall and lose the moment.

We need to learn from the analogy of the trapeze artist. We must not allow our circumstances to push us forward or hold us back. If we do, we could become impatient for God to act and instead of standing still, we could be moving or even the opposite – instead of moving, we could be standing still.

How, then, do we stay in perfect harmony with God’s timing?

We can do this by keeping our eyes fixed on Him. Do not look down to the state of your impatient or troubled heart. Look up into the eyes of God and know that He is faithful.

We must become like the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.

Hebrews 6:15 says about Abraham, “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” James 1:4 teaches us “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” That means that if we wait patiently and listen attentively to God’s Voice and not look down, patience will make a “perfect work,” never to be forgotten!

Look up, stay focused! Equip yourself, do all you know to do and wait for God to say: “Now!” And when He says: “Now!” don’t delay.

God is there, as your Father, Instructor, Partner and Helper, faithfully waiting, watching and knowing the perfect timing for your life. Be still and know that He is God! His timing is nothing less than PERFECT!

53

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“…to another the working of miracles... But one and the same Spirit works all these things,

distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

(1 Corinthians 12:10,11)

The Gift of

p h o t o g r a p h y : l i e z l d u p r e e zw o r d s : d i n i e s t e r h u i z e n

GIFT OF MIRACLES

One of the best definitions of a miracle was given by C.S. Lewis: “A miracle is an interference with nature by a supernatural power.”

Miracles in the Old Testament are something that Israel look back on as a demonstration of the fact that God is able and willing to help in a time of crisis, to act for His followers, to give them guidance and revelation and that He is here beside us.

In the New Testament miracles serve two purposes. Firstly they authenticate Jesus as the Son of God and as God’s spokesman. A second purpose of miracles is to teach us how He chooses to use His power. In almost all the situations where He uses miracles in the New Testament, He does so in response to human need. He uses His power for the healing of mankind.

The New Testament uses three words to describe miracles: Signs refer to miraculous interferences with nature to authenticate a message. Miracle is a work of God that demonstrates his love for people. Wonderis a demonstration of God’s power.

61

Heaven upon them. These were hailstones large enough to kill many Amorites, giving Israel, God’s people, the victory.

Then Joshua commanded, “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, in the Valley of Aijalon” (Joshua 10:12). Apparently the sun “stopped” in the midst of heaven over midday. The sun could only stand still by the earth’s stopping its rotation on its axis. Some believe that God bent the rays of the sun by retraction and still others believe that God created light in the valley where the battle was. What-ever the explanation, God performed a miracle that transcended the rules of the universe.

TESTIMONY

In Argentina we experienced many signs and wonders, but something worth mentioning in this context was a super-natural phenomenon other than a healing. For a couple of decades this South Ameri-can country had gone through a slump in the economy. People were still driving very old cars that had been purchased just before the middle of the fifties. This had the result that the cars were not only old and scarce, but all more or less the same year models, Ford Falcons being most common. It felt a bit like driving in an old movie.

The crusade began near Buenos Aires in a very poor community. These people were so happy to receive us that they decided to take us on a sightseeing trip on the first day of our arrival. They took us in the community’s only two cars, two Ford Falcons. We were driving all day. Having driven such distances, the team decided to fill up their tanks. As the attendant put the nozzle into the first car’s tank, it

appeared that the tank was completely full and the petrol immediately spilled onto the concrete below. We were all completely surprised and one of our team, a South African pastor, made the remark, “Wow, look at that man wasting petrol!”The attendant told the surprised driver that the car was full. He walked to the next Ford Falcon and exactly the same thing happened. We were speechless.

Experiencing this miracle at the begin-ning of our outreach to the country, increased our faith dramatically. In the city of Goya near the border of Paraguay we preached on the Kingdom of God. We were so greatly encouraged by the sign of the petrol in the district of Buenos Aires, that we had the faith to expect signs and miracles. As the invitation to salvation was made, many came to the front. Among them was a deaf lady. Part of the miracle was that she could not have heard the invitation. Another part was that the video camera that was recording the service, captured her facial expres-sion of surprise as she regained her hearing while walking to the front.

A lady in the prayer line started crying loudly. Out of concern the local pastor, Juan Jose Churruarin, who acted as inter-preter, and the team moved towards her. She then said that her seventeen-year old son standing next to her had come to the service blind and there he stood, looking us in the eye.

Experiencing this miracle increased

our faith dramatically.

This brings home the truth expressed in Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all genera-tions, for ever and ever! Amen.”

SCIPTURE REFERENCES ON MIRACLES WHICH MEET HUMAN NEED

THE PROVISION OF FOOD AND WATEREx 17:6; Nu 11:31-32; Nu 20:10-11;Jdg 15:18-19; 1 Ki 17:5-6, 8-16; 2 Ki 2:19-22; 4:42-44; Mt 14:15-21;Mk 8:1-10

HEALINGAc 5:16; Nu 21:6-9; 2 Ki 5:1-14; Lk 9:6; Ac 3: 1-10; Ac 9:33-34; Ac 28:7-9

EXORCISMAc 16:18; Ac 9:38; Lk 9:49; Lk 10:17; Ac 8:7

THE RAISING OF THE DEADJn 11:38-44; Ac 9:36-41; Ac 20:9-12

MIRACULOUS BIRTHSGe 18:10-14; 1 Sa 1:20; 2 Ki 4:14 -17; Lk 1:34-37

MIRACLES INVOLVING MILITARY VICTORYS Ch 32:21; Ex 12:29-36; Jos 10:12-14; 1 Sa 7:10-12; 2 Ki 6:18-23; 2 Ch 20:22-26

MIRACULOUS HELP IN TROUBLEDa 6:27; Da 3:19-27; Mt 8:23-27; Mk 4: 36-41; Ac 12:6-11; Ac 16:25-26

GIFTS OF SUPERNATURAL STRENGTHJdg 14:5-6; 1 Ki 18:46

NATURE MIRACLES2 Ki 2:7-8; Ex 10:13-23; Ex 14:15-22; Jos 3:14-17; 2 Ki 2:13-14; Mt 21:18-22; Mk 11:12-14;

REFERENCES:

Richards, Lawrence O. Richards’ Complete Bible

Handbook. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1987.

Right now, as you are reading this article, Jesus is interceding for you in Heaven

with the Father!“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

1 John 2:1-2

Right now, as you are reading this article, Jesus is interceding for you in Heaven

with the Father!“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

1 John 2:1-2

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INTERCESSORS CAN AND SHOULD be the movers and shakers. Interces-sion has the capacity to change the way in which God will deal with a sinful nation – instead of destruc-tion, intercession can open the way for God to deal with the sins of that nation, thus changing the course of the nation.

Do statements like these sound far-fetched? In Ezekiel 22:30-31 God says through the prophet, “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one. So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them in the fire of My anger. I will heap on them the full penalty for all their sins.” The sins of Israel listed in the preceding verses can be applied to nations in the present time. God is still looking for a man (or a woman) who will stand in the gap before Him on behalf of the nation.

The intercessor, the one who intercedes, is the one who stands in the gap. Accord-ing to Webster’s Encyclopaedic Diction-ary, intercede means “to go or pass between; to act between parties with a view to reconcile those who differ or contend; to interpose; to mediate or make intercession.”

Jesus Christ is our example as intercessor. At Calvary Jesus reconciled us with God by “going between” God and us. He is still our intercessor as we read in Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and inter-

vene for them” (The Amplified Bible). Jesus Christ is the ultimate intercessor. Not only did He reconcile us with God on the cross by standing in the gap for us, but His continuous intercession serves as an ongoing introduction and confirmation to the Father every time that we come before the Throne of God in His Name.

Using the Name of Jesus is much more than a habitual ending to our prayers. When we use the Name of Jesus it is as if God sees and listens to His perfect Son. When we pray in the Name of Jesus, we are basing our prayers on the finished work of Christ on the cross. We stand on the victory Jesus achieved on the cross and we are actually enforcing His victory through our prayers.

In his book Intercessory Prayer, Dutch Sheets defines intercessory prayer as “an extension of the ministry of Jesus through His body, the church, whereby we mediate between God and humanity for the purpose of reconciling the world to Him.” He also states that through our intercession we are standing “between Satan and humanity for the purpose of enforcing the victory of Calvary.”

When we pray we have a meeting with God and as intercessor, the one who goes between, we may also be praying for somebody else to meet God. We ask God to meet with that person in the Name of Jesus. We pray for instance, “Father I bring my child to You.” That is creating a meeting between God and the child to make whatever we prayed for possible. We should realize that only those who have accepted the gift of reconciliation achieved by Jesus can “go between” God and man.

We, the church of God, have a tremen-dous responsibility to pray. In his book Prayer is Invading the Impossible, Jack Hayford says it very well: “Prayer is essen-tially a partnership of the redeemed child

of God working hand in hand with God towards the realization of His redemptive purposes on earth.”

How privileged we are to be in a relation-ship with God. Andrew Murray, another famous intercessor and writer, confirms the fact that our prayers are necessary for God to move. He says, “God’s giving is inseparably connected with our asking… only by intercession can that power be brought down from heaven which will enable the church to conquer the world.” Jesus taught His disciples to pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. As inter-cessors we are doing that, whether in the life of an individual, in a situation, or in a nation.

The work of intercession that Jesus did on the cross was not only between God and man; He also intervened between man and Satan. Jesus reconciled us to God and broke the power of sin over our lives. Through our intercessory prayers we have to take the light of Christ into the places where darkness still reigns. Jesus has already overcome the darkness; through our prayers we release the power of Christ’s victory into the areas of darkness.

Let us make a difference by obeying God’s Word by continuing in fervent, intercessory prayer for God’s Word says in James 5:16 “The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

REFERENCES:

“The Consolidated Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary.” Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1954.Hayford, Jack W. “Prayer is Invading the Impossible.” South Plainfield: Bridge Publishing,1995.Murray, Andrew. “The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer.” Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1981.Sheets, Dutch. “Intercessory Prayer.” California: Regal Books, 1996.

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e zunityunity“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be com-

pletely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”

(Ephesians 4:1-3).

The following is an excerpt from Living to Please God by Andrew Murray,

published by Christian Art Publishers (2004).

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS is divided into two equal parts. In chapters one through three, we have the divine life in its heavenly origin as revealed in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit. In chapters four through six, we see the Christian life in the ordinary conduct of our daily walk. The two halves correspond to what we said of devotion as an act and as a habit.

The first three chapters begin with adora-tion: “Praise be to God... who has blessed us” (Ephesians 1:3). They tell us what all those blessings are and end by glorifying Him who is able to do above all that we can ask or think. In every act of prayer and praise, the soul takes its place in the midst of all those riches and seeks to enter more fully into their possession.

The last three chapters begin with an admonition to walk worthy of our high calling. We are taught how to show our devotion as a habit in the common actions of daily life. Devotion lifts us up into the heavenlies to return to this earth charged with blessings. In all our actions, we will prove that our whole life is devoted to God alone.

THE EVIDENCE OF OUR CALLING

The opening words of the second half of the letter brings us down to the roots of the Christian life. The great mark of our high calling is a Christlike humility. The unity of the Spirit is to be maintained in our relationship to our fellow-believers. Amid all diversity of character and all the tests and trials arising from the imperfec-tions of those around us, the first mark of a life wholly devoted to God is this: “Becompletely humble and gentle.”

To realize the full impact of this command, first look at it in its connection with the first three chapters. Think of the heavenly blessings God has given us. Think of the greatness of His power to us who believe and of the Holy Spirit who reveals that power in us. Through Him we have

access to God in Christ and are built up as a habitation of God. We are mightily strengthened by Him according to the riches of God’s glory so that Christ can dwell in our hearts.

Take time to form a true understanding of the wonderful standard of spiritual life indicated in these words. The one fruit of this astonishing revelation of the grace of God and the one mark that you are truly a partaker of it will be a deep and never ceasing humility. Your humility proves that God has revealed Himself to you and brought self and pride down into the dust.

Humility and gentleness should underlie your attitude toward people as well as toward God. You can have no surer proof that God’s spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus have reached and control a person than humility and gentleness in relation-ships with his fellow men. The greatness of God’s power raised us out of death with Christ Jesus and brought us to His throne. This same power makes us, like Christ, willing to wear the servant’s robe and do the servant’s work. What is impossible with men is possible with God.

FOLLOWING JESUS’ EXAMPLE

We see the true Christlike disposition in Paul’s words to the Philippians: “Donothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). The Master Himself, the humble and gentle Lamb of God commanded us, “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

Paul emphasizes what he has written by adding, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, taking the very nature of a servant ... became obedi-ent to death – even death on a cross”(Philippians 2:5,7-8). The self-emptying of the heavenly glory, the nature of a servant during His earthly life, and then the humbling death of the cross – this was the

mind of Christ. Our salvation is rooted in the spirit and practice of a life like this. Through our humility and gentleness, as we bear with one another in love, Christ will be magnified and our hearts sancti-fied. It will become obvious to all that we have been with Jesus.

The heart of a servant diligently works to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is not what we know or say about the beauty of love, the unity of the Body, and the power of the Holy Spirit that proves the true Christian life. Only our gentleness and humility in our daily dealings with our fellow Christians. Even when they test and try us, we show we will sacrifice anything to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Jesus says that the servant of all is the one who is great among believ-ers. It may not be easy, but Christ came from heaven to bring humility back to this earth and to work it out in our hearts.

Is the Church teaching the gentleness and humility of Christ and giving it the place it holds in the will and Word of God? Do we make an effort to maintain this standard of Christian living and keep the unity of the Spirit from being disturbed by pride? In our own search after a deeper spiritual life, is this humility and gentleness our heart’s desire and confident hope?

Let this be the first thing we ask of God – a heart humbled by His infinite love and yielded to His Holy Spirit to work out in us, and in His Body around us, the blessed likeness of Jesus our Lord. By the Spirit’s grace, humility can become the habit of a life devoted to God.

Let us not forget to link the thought of a Christlike lowliness with the Holy Spirit and His power. In the power of the Spirit, Christ humbled Himself on the cross as a sacrifice to God. As we fully yield ourselves to the life of the Spirit, the gentleness and humility of our Lord can be found in us. Let us believe that He can and will work it in us.

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THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM

THE BOOK ‘THE DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE’ BY

ANDREW MURRAY, PUBLISHED BY WHITAKER HOUSE,

SPRINGDALE, USA.

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“And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” Luke 15:31

The words of the text are familiar to us all. The elder son had complained and said that though his father had made a feast and had killed the fatted calf for the prodigal son, he had never given him even a kid that he might make merry with his friends. The answer of the father was, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” One cannot have a more wonderful revelation of the heart of our Father in heaven than this points out to us. Here we have a far more wonderful revelation of the father’s love in what he says to the elder son.

If we are to experience a deepening of spiritual life, we want to discover clearly what is the spiritual life that God would have us live; to ask whether we are living that life; and, if not, to ask what hinders us living it out fully.

THE HIGH PRIVILEGE OF GOD’S CHILDREN

We have here two things describing the privilege: first, “Son, thou art ever with Me” – unbroken fellowship with your Father is your portion; and secondly, “All that I have is thine” – all that God can bestow upon His children is theirs.

God whispers to His children, “Thou art ever with me. I am always near you. You can dwell every hour of your life in My presence, and all I have is for you. I am a father with a loving father’s heart. I will withhold no good thing from you.”

In these promises, we have the rich privileges of God’s heritage. We have, in the first place, unbroken fellowship with Him. A father never sends his child away without the thought that he cares about his child knowing that he loves him. The father longs to have his child believe that he has the light of his father’s counte-

nance upon him all day, and that if he sends the child away to school or anywhere that necessity compels, it is with a sense of sacrifice of parental feelings. If it is so with an earthly father, how do you think it is with God? Does He not want any child of His to know that he is constantly living in the light of His countenance? This is the meaning of that word, “Son, thou art ever with me.”

That was the privilege of God’s people in Old Testament times. We are told that “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24). God’s promise to Jacob was, “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Genesis 28:15).God’s promise to Israel through Moses was, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Exodus 33:14). And in Moses’ response to the promise, he says, “For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not that Thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth” (Exodus 33:16). The presence of God with Israel was the mark of their separation from other people. This is the truth taught in all the Old Testament. Since that is so, how much more may we look for it in the New Testament? Thus, to those who love Him and who keep His word, we find our Saviour promising that the Father also will love them, and Father and Son will come and make Their abode with them.

Let this thought into your hearts: the child of God is called to this blessed privilege – to live every moment of his life

in fellowship with God. He is called to enjoy the full light of His countenance. The Spirit came to dwell in our hearts and there reveal God to us. However, He came not to dwell near us, but in us, so that we might be filled with His indwell-ing presence.

We are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Then the Holy Spirit would make God’s presence mani-fest to us. That is the whole teaching of the epistle to the Hebrews: the veil has been rent in two. We have access into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus. We can now come into the very presence of God, so that we can live throughout the day with that presence resting upon us. That presence is with us wherever we go. In all kinds of trouble, we have undis-turbed repose and peace. “Son, thou art ever with me.”

There are some people who seem to think that God, by some unintelligible sover-eignty, withdraws His face. But I know that God loves His people too much to withhold His fellowship from them for any such reason.

The true reason of the absence of God from us is rather to be found in our sin and unbelief, than in any supposed sover-eignty of His. If the child of God is walking in faith and obedience, the divine presence will be enjoyed in unbroken continuity.

Then there is the next blessed privilege; “All that I have is thine.” Thank God, He has given us His own Son, and in giving Him, He has given us all things that are in Him. He has given us Christ’s life, His love, His Spirit, His glory. “All things are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23). All the riches of His Son, the everlasting King, God bestows upon every one of His children. “Son, thou art ever with me; and all that I have is thine.”

“My presence shall go

with thee, and I

will give thee rest”

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Is not that the meaning of all those wonderful promises given in connection with prayer: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do” (John 14:13). Yes, there it is. That is the life of the children of God, as He Himself has pictured it for us.

THE LOW EXPERIENCE OF MANY OF US

In contrast with this high privilege of believers, let’s look at the low experience of many of us. The elder son has been living with his father and serving him “these many years” (Luke 15:29). He complained that his father never gave him a kid, while he gave his prodigal brother the fatted calf. Why was this? Simply because he did not ask for it. He did not believe that he would get it, and therefore never asked for it and never enjoyed it. Thus, he continued to live in constant murmuring and dissatisfaction.

The keynote of all this wretched life is evidenced in what the elder son said. His father gave him everything, yet he never enjoyed it. Then he threw the whole blame on his loving and kind father. O beloved, is not that the life of many a believer? Do not many speak and act in this way? Every believer has the promise of unbroken fellowship with God, but he says, “I have not enjoyed it. I have tried hard and done my best. I have prayed for the blessing, but I suppose God does not see fit to grant it.” But why not? One says that it is the sovereignty of God withhold-ing the blessing. The father did not withhold his gifts from the older brother in sovereignty. Neither does our Heavenly Father withhold any good thing from them that love Him and walk uprightly (see Psalm 84:11). He does not make any such differences among His children in the way He deals with them. “God is able to make all grace abound towards you” (2 Corinthians 9:8) was a promise equally made to all in the Corinthian church.

Some think these rich blessings are not for them, but for those who have more time to devote to religious activity and prayer. Some believe their circumstances are so difficult or so peculiar that we can have no conception of their various hindrances. But do these not think that God, if He places them in these circum-stances, cannot make His grace abound accordingly? They admit He could, if He would, work a miracle for them, but they can hardly expect that He would.

In some way, they, like the elder son, throw the blame on God. Thus many are saying, when asked if they are enjoying unbroken fellowship with God: “Alas, no! I have not been able to attain so such a height. It is too high for me. I know of some who have it, and I have read of it, but God has not given it to me for some reason.” But why not? You think, perhaps, that you do not have the same capacity for spiritual blessing that others have.

The Bible speaks of a joy that is “unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8) as the fruit of believing, and of “thelove of God [which] is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5).

Do we enjoy these blessings? Why not get it? Have we asked for it? We think we are not worthy of the blessing, and therefore God has not given it. There are more

among us that we know of, or are willing to admit, who throw the blame of our darkness and of our wanderings on God!

And again, what about that other prom-ise? The Father says, “All that I have is thine.” Are you rejoicing in the treasures of Christ? Are you conscious of having an abundant supply for all your spiritual needs every day? God has all these for you in abundance. “Thou never gave me a kid!” (Luke 15:29). The answer is, “All that I have is thine. I gave it to you in Christ.”

Dear reader, we have such wrong thoughts of God. I know no image more beautiful and instructive than that of the sun. The sun is never weary of shining, of pouring out its beneficent rays upon both the good and the evil. You might close up the windows with blinds or bricks, but the sun would shine upon them all the same. Though we might sit in utter darkness, the shining would be just the same. God’s sun shines on every leaf, on every flower, on every blade of grass, on everything that springs out of the ground. All receive this wealth of sunshine until they grow to perfection and bear fruit.

Would He who made that sun be less willing to pour out His love and life into me? The sun – what beauty it creates! And my God – would He not delight more in creating beauty and fruitfulness in me, such as He has promised to give?

Oh, let us come and ask why it is that believers live lives of such low experience.

THE CAUSE OR THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN GOD’S GIFTS AND OUR LOW EXPERIENCE

The elder son thought he was serving his father faithfully for “these many years” in his father’s house, but it was in the spirit of bondage and not in the spirit of a child. His unbelief blinded him to the conception of a father’s love and

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kindness, and he was unable all the time to see that his father was ready, not only to give him a kid, but a hundred or a thousand kids, if he would have them. He was simply living in unbelief, in ignorance, in blindness, robbing himself of the privileges that the father had for him. If our experience is not what God wants it to be, it is because of our unbe-lief in the love of God, in the power of God, and in the reality of God’s promises.

In the story of the Israelites, God’s word teaches us that it was unbelief on their part that was the cause of their troubles, and not any limitation or restriction on God’s part. As Asaph said in Psalm 78: “Heclave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers” (vv. 15-16). Yet they sinned by doubting His power to provide meat for them: “They spake against God; they said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (v. 19). Later on, we read, “They turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel” (v. 41). When they got to Kadesh-Barnea, and God told them to enter the land flowing with milk and honey where would be rest, abundance, and victory, only two men said, “Yes, we can take possession, for God can make us conquer.” But the ten spies and the six hundred thousand men answered, “No, we can never take the land; the enemies are too strong for us.” It was simply unbelief that kept them out of the land of promise.

If there is to be any deepening of the spiritual life in us, we must come to the discovery and the acknowledgement of the unbelief that is in our hearts. God grant that we may get this spiritual quick-ening, and that we may come to see that it is by our unbelief that we have prevented God from doing His work in us.

Unbelief is the mother of disobedience,

and of all sins and shortcomings – temper, pride, unlovingness, worldliness, sins of every kind. Though these differ in nature and form, yet they all come from the one root, namely, that we do not believe in the freedom and fullness of the divine gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and strengthen us, and fill us with the life and grace of God all the day long. Look, I pray you, at that elder son, and ask what was the cause of that terrible difference between the heart of the father and the experience of the son. There can be no answer but that it was this sinful unbelief that utterly blinded the son to a sense of his father’s love. If men really believed in the infinite love of God, what a change it would bring about!

What is love? It is a desire to communi-cate oneself for the good of the object loved. It is the opposite of selfishness, as we read in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “[Love]seeketh not her own.” Thus, the mother is willing to sacrifice herself for the good for her child. Just so, God in His love is ever willing to impart blessing. God is omnipotent in love and He is doing His utmost to fill every heart in this house. “But if God is really anxious to do that, and if He is Almighty, why does He not do it now?” You must remember that God has given you a will. By the exercise of that will, you can hinder God and remain content, like the elder son, with the low life of unbelief. Come, now, and let us see the cause of the difference between God’s high, blessed provision for His children, and the low, sad experience of many of us in the unbelief that distrusts and grieves Him.

THE WAY TO RESTORATION

We all know the parable of the prodigal son, and how many sermons have been preached about repentance from that parable. We are told that “when he came to himself, he said…I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father,

I have sinned against heaven, and before thee” (Luke 15:17-18). In preaching, we speak of this as the first step in a changed life – as conversion, repentance, confes-sion, returning to God. But, as this is the first step for the prodigal, we must remember that this is also the step to be taken by God’s erring children – by all the ninety-nine “who need no repentance”(Luke 15:7), or think they do not.

We have a picture of so many of God’s children in that elder brother. What the father told him, to bring about a consid-eration of the love that He bore him just as he loved the prodigal brother, God tells to us in our contentedness with such a low life: “You must repent and believe that I love you, and ‘all that I have is thine.’” He says, “By your unbelief, you have dishonoured me, living for ten, twenty, or thirty years, and never believ-ing what it was to live in the blessedness of My love. You must confess the wrong you have done Me in this, and be broken down in contrition of heart just as truly as the prodigal.”

There are many children of God who need to confess that, though they are His children, they have never believed that God’s promises are true and that He is willing to fill their hearts all the day long with His blessed presence. Have you believed this? If you have not, all our teach-ing will be of no profit to you. Will you not say, “By the help of God, I will begin now a life of faith, and will not rest until I know what such a life means. I will believe that I am every moment in the Father’s presence, and all that He has is mine”?

May the Father of mercy grant to all of

His children that deep contrition, so that

they may be led into the blessedness of

His presence and enjoy the fullness of His

power and love!

The home fellowship prayed around a coffee table in the West Rand. “Lord, please send missionaries to Mozambique.” Those were the years when this country was under Communist rule and experiencing famine, drought and war. Having prayed this virtuous prayer, a silence fell in the room. Whom would God send? As the joke says, “Here I am Lord, send Aaron”.

That was a life-changing prayer. We wrote a letter to a number of Christian friends, saying we were reaching out to Mozambique. At that time we were think-ing that we would be handing out tracts. We were so inexperienced and ignorant that we did not even realize that it was not allowed in a Communist country. Our letter was copied and copies were made of the copies. People started contacting us from everywhere. We received calls and letters from people we had never met and cities we had never visited.

A lawyer from Nelspruit told us that a builder from that town and some friends were also reaching out. Evangelist Oupa Benson Nonyana from Soshangove joined and so did a group from the Cape. And still the letter was circulating, reaching an ever-widening circle. We received a phone call from someone asking, “Where is your depot?” “What depot?” I asked. “The depot for the food and clothes you are taking.” We hadn’t even thought of this, but quickly gave the address of an empty house on a plot outside Pretoria. People started carting humanitarian aid to the address. Nelspruit’s bakeries donated day-old bread. Soon the entire house was filled.

A farmer from Louis Trichardt donated his entire sweet potato harvest and this filled the living room up to window level. The sweet potato, however, has a tendency to go off, start rotting and then spoiling the rest just as the prover-bial bad apple does. When they go off, it creates a light hissing noise from fermenting gases building up. A young theological student from the University of Pretoria arranged for a number of his fellow students to keep watch over the sweet potatoes, hunt the bad one down and throw it out before the rest were contaminated.

As the goods increased we were challenged as to how to get it there. A wine farmer from Stellenbosch lent us a truck and permitted us to paint over the name of the wine and paint on a white cross. Reinhard Bonnke lent one of his huge removal trucks with “Jesus Heals Broken Hearts” painted on the side. In the end we also needed railroad carriages.

Mozambican Government officials forbade the preaching of the Gospel in the open air. Then we would need your biggest building, the negotiators said. This happened to be an aircraft hangar at the Maputo airport, which took seven thousand people standing.

We were not able to advertise but the word spread that there were people of God in Maputo. Mozambicans came from Beit Bridge in the South and Tete in the North. By four in the afternoon the doors had to be closed in order to stop the people from trampling one another. The Gospel had not been allowed in the country for ten years and people did not know any songs. They sang one over and

over for hours on end: Kanimambo Esquemba Shama-timba, Hibongile Esquemba Shamatimba, Higenzile Esqumbo Shamatimba. The Shangaan language is so rich that it has three words for thank you, and the song says, “Thank You God Almighty”.

During the worship the presence of God was so profound that a completely paralyzed lady who had been carried in, got up and started dancing. We noticed a small boy dribbling and banging his head on the floor, with only the white of his eyes showing – clearly having some sort of fit. The boy’s limbs were also twisted in the wrong direction. My cousin Drienie and an ex-colleague Dalene approached the child and started calling on the Name of Jesus. About twenty minutes later the child’s limbs moved into the right position, his eyes focused. When my cousin stroked over his cheek, he smiled. We later learned from the old lady who had found this abandoned child, that he had been unable to eat normally due to the continuous spasms.

A blind man from near Beit Bridge received word of what God was doing in Maputo. He started walking and had to persuade children to lead him from village to village. It took him seven days, and when he arrived, the crusade was over and the ministers gone. Only the building’s caretaker was there. “Were you here when the people of God were here?” he asked the caretaker. “Yes”, came the reply. “Then you must pray for me,” the blind man demanded. The caretaker prayed, and the blind man could see the neon lights of the building. “You must pray again”, he said, “I’m not seeing well enough.” The caretaker did that. Then the man saw perfectly.

A delegation of eight recipients of profound miracles went to the president’s office to ask for an audience. They simply sat there until they were heard. They gave their testimonies and said, “You told us for ten years that God is dead, but we have seen that He is alive.” And the end of Communism is history.

70

mission

accomplished

Sweet Potatoes words: dini esterhuizen

photography: liezl du preez

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74

“Christian UNITY is best

described as being the HAR-

MONY of DIVERSITIES. Differ-

ent people, from different

cultures, speaking different

languages, having different person-

alities and personal preferences all

come together in a rich diversity

that is blended together super-

naturally by God to create one

harmonious, kaleidoscopic whole

to the glory of His Name.” - Tim

Healy, Senior Pastor - Discovery

Christian Life Centre

As South African young people we are

truly privileged to be living at such a

time as this. As Nelson Mandela put it at

his welcome home rally at FNB Soccer

City, ours is a progressive democracy in

which all people live together in harmony

and with equal opportunity – a dream that

he kept alive for 27 years while undergoing

imprisonment on Robben Island.

It is now up to us to make sure that the

unity for which our parents’ generation

fought hard with sweat and tears, and many

of them with blood, is kept in check for the

next generation to enjoy and pass on to the

generations that come. Jesus Christ is calling

us to cross boundaries and break down the

wall of division in our communities and in our

country. He gave us a beautiful example of

crossing boundaries in his dialogue with the

woman at the well, related in John 4.

In the midst of Roman oppression, poverty,

ethnic strife, class hatred, gender inequal-

ity and alienation in numerous other categories

of relationships, God sent Jesus to do an on-

site job of reconciliation. God’s on-site job of

reconciliation crossed the boundaries of

race, culture,

and language. As we read the story of the

woman at the well, we see Jesus

overcoming the man-made boundaries of

His day. As this generation, we are called

to do the same and to move beyond our

comfort zones.

CULTURAL OR RACIAL DIVISION

The dividing line was very clear: Jesus was

a Jew and the woman was a Samaritan.

According to the law of that time, Jewish

rabbis were not to cross this boundary. So

for Jesus the Samaritan woman was out of

bounds. Tensions based on issues of race

and culture separated them.

I had my first cross-cultural experience

when I was about 15 years old. My friend

Glenn from church wanted to see how we

lived in Lenasia, the Indian Community

located south-west of Johannesburg.

After much planning, we decided that

Glenn would drive back home with me

after youth meeting one Friday night and

return home to Alberton on Sunday after

church. WOW!!! What an experience both

of us had as he committed to do every-

thing our way, from bathing to eating

curry and rice with his fingers… well,

hands were more like it. It was a great

time for us both and also for the people

in my community with whom we hung out

on the Saturday. He even travelled with

us in the taxi to town… A few weeks later

his family returned the favour and I got to

experience life in Alberton.

The lessons that we learnt from that life-

changing experience have become invalu-

able to me. As you read through them,

embrace them and let us strive towards a

South Africa that is truly people…

LESSON 1: Tolerate Diversity

Learn to understand the differences

between the different cultures by learning

from one another.

Take the time to speak to people from different

cultures. Examine your own feelings and

attitudes towards other races, ethnic groups

and cultures.

LESSON 2: Appreciate Diversity

Unity is not uniformity. During our time

together there was never a feeling between

Glenn and myself that one culture was better

than the other. We are different, yes, and that

is what we celebrated. I love my curry and

rice and he will always like his pasta dishes,

especially lasagne.

LESSON 3: Celebrate Diversity

Try to seek out someone from a different

culture and learn as much as you can about

each other.

But how will people know that we are living

in true unity? Unity in the church becomes

possible when we move beyond just talking

about it to actually practising it in real life.

The traits that should be evident in our

lives of unity, are the following mentioned

in Ephesians 4:2

HumilityWe must allow the Holy Spirit to trans-

form us into developing a spirit of

genuine humility rather than falling

prey to prejudice.

Gentleness

One aspect of gentleness is to

remain teachable.

Sensitivity

The word sensitivity sums up the last

two traits mentioned in this text,

patience and bearing with one

another in love.

Remember your heritage; embrace

and appreciate each other’s cultures;

and help create a vibrant, dynamic

future for South Africa – a future

alive with possibility.

3LESSLESSTry try tcultucultu

2LESSOLESSUnitynitytogettoget

in Diversityp h o t o g r a p h y : l i e z l d u p r e e z

w o r d s : e d g a r r a m s a m i

Write Message

options AB 777 T9

(ån i Knøw God s WiLL foR my £ife?

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DoES thE Big BaNG theørY explåiN

(reatiøN? The big bang theory argues that the universe origi- nated from an explosion of a single point of dense matter. The question then still arises: How did the dense matter originate? The Bible teaches:

(John 1:3). This Scripture refers to Jesus. All three members of the Trinity were active in the creation. In Psalms we read about the Father: (Psalm 19:1). The Holy Spirit was (Genesis 1:2).

Reference:

Towns, Elmer L. Bible Answers For All Your Questions. Nashville: Thomas Nelson

Publishers, 2003.

Q:SMSSMShelp!help!

A:Q:

A:

Write Message

options AB 777 T9

SMShelp!

77

A night with MiC in Cape Town

For more info on the band check out the website: www.micweb.co.za

A dark stage… awesome stage set-up… amazing sound equipment and then the countdown begins: 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… The stage lights up and they appear to the joy of the screaming, jumping hundreds of young people gathered in the hall of a school in Cape Town. They begin a heart-thumping, feet-stomping, powerful concert.

They are MIC and they were performing their All Access concert. I have been friends with some of the band members for a few years and it was a great opportunity for me to hang out with them before the concert and have a chat. To be honest, it felt like reconnecting with friends, rather than doing an interview with one of South Africa’s premier bands, who happen to be Christian.

MIC was founded in Hillcrest, Natal by Steve Rothquel. Steve started his band in 1989 as a schoolboy dream. Little did he know that his band would go on to play in front of audiences of 55 000 people in Holland and become one of South African's top pop sensations!

MIC is Steve Rothquel, Peter Stainbank, Marlon van Whye and Theran Knighton-Fitt. Each member of the band contributes in various ways, from song writing to stage clothes designing (bet you did not know that) and as a whole they make up the dynamic sound of MIC, which leads us to…

HEARD WHAT? 'RE INVENTION'…

'RE invention' the album, the tour and the lifestyle… That's what this, the 12th MIC album,

is all about. It has a new sound and songs that have pushed the band’s creativity to another level. The band has kept its pop vibe with elements of Hip-Hop and R & B resulting in a fresh new sound, not often heard from a South African band!

Since its earliest beginnings, MIC's passion has always been to reach and impact young people with a positive message and to see them reach for their dreams. It is out of this passion that their All Access vision was birthed. Through All Access, MIC undertakes to do up to 40 free concerts each year in high schools across South Africa, with the main objective of communicating the dynamic message of hope, purpose and destiny through Jesus Christ to the youth of South Africa through their music and lifestyles.

It was this passion that really stood out to me when I was chatting with the guys backstage – to get into the community and make a difference from within. Steve has a real passion to get young people involved in serving within their community and this passion comes across strongly when they are upfront on stage performing in front of hundreds of young people.

w o r d s : e d g a r r a m s a m i

Helmet Breastplate Belt Shield Shoes Sword

The Sword of the Spirit,which is the Word of God

Antique uses his stick as a powerful sword to scare away any one who would want to hurt him. The Word of God is like a sword. Our enemy, the devil, wants to hurt us. Our powerful weapon against him is the Word of God. If he notices that we know God’s Word, the Bible, and believe what God says in the Bible, he gets very scared.

When you ask God He will help you to love His Word! When we regularly read the Bible, the words become part of our lives. It will cause us to know more about God’s love for us. We will also know which are the right things to do. This is God’s way of helping us to live a good life, pleasing to Him.

Make sure you know God’s Word!

ANT IQUE and ANTOINEIllustrator: Marthinus Palmer

TOUCHING BASE AT JOE SLOVO, UITENHAGE

The project co-ordinators sent us this photo. It is a low resolution photographbut it definitely depicts the work that God is doing.

Clinging to the fringes of the "wrong side of town", looking like a muddled heap of corru-

gated iron and old timber strewn together haphazardly, is Joe Slovo – a squatter camp in

Uitenhage. It is home to a humanity out of reach of the most basic human needs of shelter,

sanitation, running water and electricity.

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WHEN YOU FIRST ENTER you are amazed at the ability of the inhabit-ants to survive among such appalling conditions. You sense mistrust in the eyes of those waiting for you to drop off the Christmas biscuits and then leave, never to return. But somehow you manage to stay – maybe held captive by the longing you see in those same eyes and the stirring you feel in your own spirit – long enough to be there for the first real contact with a fellow human. A door opens and you enter it to find a woman in her early thirties, her frail body drooped across a mattress in the one corner, feebly trying to disguise a raking cough that shakes the tender frame. You pick up what you believe to be her little infant son to feel his warm little body respond to your touch. You have touched base. She positively agrees to your request to pray for her – it’s all you have to offer – and the Holy Spirit places hope in you to release to her. In her faint smile you strangely sense God's favour towards you and it is you who suddenly feels replenished.

As you drive away you realize with shock that this little community may have been preserved for a season more than was necessary, because you and others like you have been slow to respond. You are challenged and stirred into a minis-try far away from the overindulgent green pastures that you have been stuck in for ages. Three years down the line we don't

proclaim to have a special ministry, nor a model that transcends all. We are just so grateful to have been given this door through which we could enter God's Kingdom-building arena. To find the Father ushering hungry souls into our presence, inviting us to be His Hands, His Feet and ultimately His loving, fatherly Heart. And then seeing Him miraculously transforming before our eyes very special people whose names are written on the palm of His Hand. With real hope – beyond an RDP house – of a newly-found dignity, a purpose in life and ultimately a seat in the Father's heavenly house.

Are we constantly tested? You bet! Are we ever despondent? Fortunately only for a short season – He is the One who not only equips but also inspires. There are times when the nagging perception of a bottomless pit threatens to make you want to give up. Then you see the eyes of a family light up at the simple transfer of your own child’s used tackies or discarded bicycle. But that would not be enough to keep you there. It is when God Himself intervenes and you see an old man get out of his wheelchair during a weekly prayer meeting; or an abused woman, her age disguised by the many scars of suffering, fervently and passionately begins to pray. A young woman, at the bedside of her father who had molested her throughout her tender youth, weeps before God for His healing, setting him free.

These are all part of the movement of God in Joe Slovo – like a trickle of water

in a thirsty desert, waiting to burst into a gushing stream of life. Will we see it? We don't know, but we will keep on coming back. We are but guests – but already some are calling us friends. What a wealth.

A passionate male youth worker, who has long been there and has found a haven in our gathering, meets with groups of young kids here and in surrounding areas three times a week. It has been a learning curve for him as well as ourselves but they keep coming, getting not much more than the Word, but sensing God's love for them. We also support him by helping with special holiday fun days. There are two adult Bible study groups meeting weekly and a prayer meeting running weekly in the houses of believers. Here people are baptized with the Word, in water and in the Spirit. There is also a weekly gathering in the open on the adjacent sports field. This is probably the easiest way for those interested to casually come aboard. It has led to some pleasant surprises of God's grace and timing. As a community we relate to an NCMI church in Port Elizabeth and we are led by one of the elders and his wife. They drive through every week to attend these meetings.

It is so easy on the other hand to help with their everyday life. Help is given to get an ID and to set up a simple CV on your PC at home. Followed by prayer, it has opened doors of opportunity. Lending a hand in moving and setting up house, or simply going through the administration of a funeral, lightens the strain and builds trust.

We have to agree with Bill Wilson when he says: "The door that God opens for you will bring a change in your life and to those you minister to, wherever you go."

Here people are baptized with the Word,

in water and in the Spirit.

88

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Ever since the man Jesus came to live among us, the question of who He really is, has been widely asked. The relevance of this question has not subsided – on the contrary, it has in recent months been, and still is, the subject of heated debate in the media. Everyone knows that He was an immensely influential man, one who changed the course of history dramatically. Many, but not all, agree that He is the Son of God. And many of those who believe this, do not know exactly how it is shown in God’s Word.

In Who Is This Jesus? Fred Roberts not only introduces us to the many facets of Jesus’ personality, but also shows how the entire Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, points to Jesus. He furthermore explains how Jesus is pre-eminent in all areas from creation to salvation to teaching. A whole chapter is devoted to His being the Great Physician, ever willing and able to heal not only our bodies, but also our emotions, our relationships, and even our finances. Fred Roberts concludes in teaching the reader about the incredible power in Jesus’ Name, and how Jesus makes this power available to all who believe in Him.

To everyone hungry to learn more about Jesus, this book is a good starting point. It is not intimidating reading – it could be read through in one sitting – but the serious Bible student may want to use it as a tool alongside God’s Word. Fred Roberts’s summary of how Jesus is depicted in each book of the Bible, inspires the reader to re-read the entire Old and new Testa-ments in a fresh light.

No less than 37 pages of the book are devoted to various Scripture verses, from both the Old and New Testaments, highlighting different aspects of Jesus’ character, His role in the Holy Trinity, and what He has done – and is still doing – for us. Even those who have read the Bible from cover to cover and feel that they know the Word fairly well, are bound to gain something of a new perspective on Jesus on reading these verses grouped together.

Who Is This Jesus? could help a great deal in confirming to those who are doubting and questioning, and in re-affirming to even the firmest of believers, that Jesus is indeed the Son of God – and so much more. Referring to God’s Word throughout, Fred Roberts carefully proves his statement in the first chapter, “Jesus, who is He?”: “History is His Story. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the King of Glory. He is the Altogether Lovely One. He is the First and the Last. He is the Beginning and the End. Without Him, life is empty and worthless. Without Him, you can do nothing and you are nothing. Jesus is all in all.”

Who Is This Jesus? by Fred RobertsKairos Publishing (paperback, 130 pp.)

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booook

WHAT I GIVE YOU!

Lord, You know You ve brought so much joy into

my life,

Lovingly removed all sin and pain and strife.

Your kindness far surpasses what I could ever

give –

Thank You for Your mercy and Your grace

by which I live.

I want to give You something though,

For You to hold and always know –

That when I say:

“I love You, LORD”

From my heart those words are true...

Not by command, but my own desire to be in love

with You.

You ve shown me Your glory, and LORD I know

Your power,

I ve seen it in the mountains and the sweetest

smelling flower.

Everything I am, my God, I am because of You –

My life transformed from dirty rags to garments

white and new.

- Angela Rogers -

We would l ike to thank one of our reader s ,

Louis Four ie f rom Crosby, Johannesburg,

for the wonder ful idea of a poetr y page.

Come on! Put your pen to paper

and send your contr ibut ions to le t ter s@myworld.za.com

or Pr ivate Bag 2003, Kruger sdorp , 1740

Congratulat ions to Angela Roger s and

F iona Bezuidenhout on their poems.

They wi l l soon be receiv ing their spec ia l B ib les . poem

soe

ms

mmmmms

mmmmmmmpo

mmmms

ememmmmmmmemememmmmemmmmmmmmmmmmmms

ms

mmmmms

ms

mmmmmeemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmsssHIS NEW LIFE

I stood at the graveand looked around,None could see what

I had found,From inside a smell

so sweet and heavenly,came and driftedall around me,I felt the touch

of my Lord so sweet,I knelt to

His Divine Grace,On this most perfect day

My Lord has made His way, above death s fearful door

For you to see the daythe stone rolled away

the grave was not emptyIt was filled with Life

for you and me.

- Fiona Bezuidenhout -

earteaeeaeeeeaaaaaaaaeaeeeeaeeaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeheeeeheeeeeeeeeeeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehear

In the Bible, the book of Psalms is a collection of 150 poems written to celebrate the glory of God. We would like to encourage our readers to follow the example of David and the other Psalmists, and to send us your poetry.

If your contribution is placed, you will receive a beautiful leather bound Bible (New International Version)

published by Struik Christian Books.

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Down:

1. 3rd son of Adam2. King of Egypt4. Son of Zebedee5. Isaac’s favourite son6. Where Jesus died7. One of the plagues9. Who was cast into a pit12. I stand at the ...13. How many days must you labour14. 6th book of the New Testament

Across:

3. Called the city of palm trees6. Which city did God destroy8. Cast in the lion’s den10. What you ... you shall reap11. He will be coming on the clouds13. One of Jesus’ half brothers15. Naomi’s daughter-in-law16. We are to remember this day17. ...in the Lord

C O M P E T I T I O N

Complete this Criss-Cross puzzle

correctly and send it to MY World,

Private Bag 2003, Krugersdorp, 1740.

The first 5 correct entries will each

receive a subscription for three months.

Criss

living My Word in your world makes the difference

Radio Pu lp i t and MY Wor ld have taken hands to present the “4 Season Lad ies ’ break fasts .”

I t i s a morn ing of pamper ing and most impor-tant ly, rece iv ing sp i r i tua l ed i f i cat ion and food for your sou l .

2 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 5U t o p i a P l a c e , P r e t o r i a

G u e s t S p e a k e r :L i n d i e G o u w s

F o r f u r t h e r d e t a i l s , p l e a s e c o n t a c t L e t s i e v a n d e r B a n k a t R a d i o P u l p i t

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9 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 5T h e L o r d C h a r l e s ,

S o m e r s e t We s tG u e s t S p e a k e r :

R e t h a M c P h e r s o n

F o r f u r t h e r d e t a i l s , p l e a s e c o n t a c t Te r s i a v a n d e r B e r g ( 0 2 1 ) 9 1 9 - 5 9 7 9

o r 0 8 4 5 8 2 8 5 5 5 .

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