The Refreshing Magazine - Edition 4

with ONE SPIRIT,

GLORIFY GOD, & INSPIRE TO SERVE!

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Bible In Basic English (BBE): Public Domain 1949 / 1964

Modern King James Version (MKJV): Copyright © 1962 - 1998 By Jay P. Green, Sr.

International Standard Version (ISV): Copyright © 1996 - 2008 The ISV Foundation.

Scriptures in this magazine are taken from the Holy Bible:

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of the copyright holders.

© Copyright 2010 ear2hear Ministries. Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the pub-lisher’s written permission. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained within this published work is accurate, the editors, publishers and printers take no respon-sibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of the reli-ance upon the information contained therein. This publication is subject to terms and conditions. Read at your own risk.

FEATURED ARTICLES PG

VISION 2011: 1

What God has done in 2010 and in 2011.

EDITORIAL: 2

A letter from the editor.

ACCEPTABLE APOLOGETICS: 3

Making A Stand Like Jesus Did.

WILL YOUR LOVE GROW COLD: 7

Christian love in the last days.

A GREAT FALLING AWAY: 9

Don’t Leave Your First Love!

THE ULTIMATE MAN: 11

What is a real man?

READY TO GROW: 13

New: Basic Discipleship Course

NETWORK NEWS: 14

• Mission Africa

• Reflections Conference 2010

• Choir Festival

• Valuable to Jesus Campaign

• Mission Asia 2000

• Bana ba Kgosi Christmas Day

• Habakkuk2 Introduction

• OpenMind R20 project

• Book donations

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Good News Bible (GNB): Copyright © 1976 - 1998 New York: American Bible Society.

New Living Translation (NLT): Copyright © 1996, 2004 Tyndale Charitable Trust. Tyndale House Publishers.

Illustrations on Cover page and in Article “Acceptable apologetics” Provided by Gustav Dorè

God has accomplished so much through so little. A tiny cruse of oil became much, five loaves fed thousands and empty nets have been filled in abundance. No we are not talking of money or prosperity, for these things have no perma-nence. We are talking about the spiritual lives of people. 2010 has been a memorable year that God has shared with us. A magazine such as this one has just too little space to share all that God has done and we are amazed at what He is still doing. We are only able to give you, the reader, a small peek into the greater picture of His work. The Kingdom of God is ever growing and expanding and it is a glorious vision to behold - we encourage you to call on God to receive this vision for your own life. 2010 hasn’t been without challenges though. We have experienced many grow-ing pains and we have learned many lessons; and we will continue to learn till Jesus comes. We have been blessed with many opportunities to reach out and preach out - touching many lives in the process. We are amazed, considering that the teams we work with are small—this makes it a miracle of God!. We encourage you to look for a networking partnership; be it with us or another Network in your part of the world. You don’t have to serve God alone - we are all in this together! We are looking forward to what 2011 has in store for every one of us. Already we are hear-ing Great things and we don’t want you to feel left out; so KEEP IN TOUCH. We will inform you electronically or via printed media of all upcoming events. You may keep up with all that is happening on a weekly basis. The ear2hear Network started a Facebook group which you are welcome to join. We also maintain a YOUTUBE account - where we will release audio and visual presentations via our YOUTUBE page. Don’t forget that you can also catch up on some of the latest news by visiting The ear2hear Network’s website or follow up through our BLOG. †

Page 1 The Refreshing Mini-mag www.ear2hear.co.za

"Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from pray prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray". (Samuel C Prayer has been a defining point for all partnering ministries, missions, churches, business and Christian individuals. Wisheep. We forget that prayer is not about funding our worldly lifestyles; but rather it is an opportunity to connect wiLove! How can we ever know the Will and desire of our almighty God, if we do not commu-

Let us learn to pray at all times. Let us learn to pray with respect to our Lord. Let us not fear connecting with our maker and friend. Let us learn to pray according to God’s will.

Dear friends,

2011 has started and almost a 4th of the year is behind us. We are barely into the New Year and we can already see that across the board, many face a trying time. Love ones may have passed on, people are gravely sick, young people are facing many pressures from a world in economic recession - all this adds to our weariness. Yet God is teaching us to PRAISE HIM in all circumstances. Paul and many dis-ciples went through many worse things than we did, including many hours in the worst prisons imaginable; but even prison did not stop them from shouting and singing out to God with voices of tri-umph. We mustn’t forget that we are al-ready victorious through Jesus Christ. So much that we go through is insignificant compared to the fact that eternal life awaits all who have put their Faith in Je-sus, the son of God. Despite the hardships, we are still more than conqueror’s. We thank God for the fiery trials, because they perfect us. We praise God for the shaking, for it brings people to Jesus our Saviour. We glorify

God for the tests of Faith, for it proves if we have walked worthy of our calling. Clearly God will use every means, both good and bad, to bring about His awe-some plan for our lives. All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His pur-pose. There will be those glorious mo-ments as you walk with Jesus by grace; but we will also get to see the ugly ani-mal side of our humanity and sinfulness. One thing is for sure, God is building you! He is making you into a testimony of wonder that will bring honour to Him. This issue is going to be as exciting as ever. We love sharing the stories and ex-periences from people partnering with The ear2hear Network. Everyone has applied themselves wonderfully in 2010, and 2011 has been no exception. We love hearing from you. Testimonies and encouragement are always appreciated, so please write to us. Your prayers are also deeply desired, so please pray for us..

Keep in touch and God Bless, Dwayne Foxley

"Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from pray -ing. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray". (Samuel Chadwick)

Prayer has been a defining point for all partnering ministries, missions, churches, business and Christian individuals. Without it we are like little lost is an opportunity to connect with the Lord whom we -nicate with Him regularly. †

Let us learn to pray at all times. Let us learn to pray with respect to our Lord. Let us not fear connecting with our maker and friend. Let us learn to pray according to God’s will.

www.ear2hear.co.za The Refreshing Mini-mag Page 2

We live in a world where there are many different beliefs and value systems. True Christians believe, and quite rightly, that they have the truth and that any person or institution that believes differently is wrong. This is right. From this point on, however, things are not so simple, for when one has established that something is wrong, what does one do about it?

A Biblical or Fanatical Approach?

Many at this stage will say: “We will make a stand for the truth and oppose false truths”. Many take things further, believing that we must go beyond disagreement and ensure the bringing in of a world where the truth will be enforced on those in error. The

scriptures point out quite clearly that this approach is only for the world to come. The Bible has quite a different approach, appli-cable for all generations. In Matthew 13:24 - 30 the Lord Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the weeds, (i.e., differentiation between the children of the Lord and those of the Devil). He pointed out the danger of uprooting the weeds saying “you’ll uproot the wheat if you do”. The farmer in the par-able recommended that both be allowed to grow together until the harvest, whereupon he would then tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them. The wheat would then be put into the barn. Apologetics is often an attempt to root out the weeds (seen as representing error and those who spread it). The trouble is that in doing this “pulling out”, many true Christians have been stumbled and deeply hurt when a fanatical group or individuals set to work tackling “the offenders”.

BEWARE: Crusaders On The Loose!

The Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day were dedicated apologists who pursued matters to the bitter end. Throughout the ministry of Jesus they would accuse Him and His disciples, one such occasion being when the disciples were walking through the wheat fields, rubbing grain in their hands and eating it. This was something they felt was violating Jewish Law concern-ing the Sabbath day.

The Lord Jesus made it clear to these reli-gious Pharisees that if they had known what the scriptures meant when it said: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice", they would not have condemned those who are not guilty (the disciples) (See Matthew 12:1 - 8 MKJV). Jesus accused the same Pharisees of double standards saying: “Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swal-low a camel” (Matthew 23:24 GNB) This statement must have amazed the crowds that heard and followed Him; many of


By Alan Foxley

whom had grown up knowing only of a re-ligion which was a burden, rather than a blessing.

Making a stand for what is right, is impor-tant; but the act of criticism can lead to self-deception and may even stumble others. The Lord asked those who were with Him in Luke 6:41 - 42 (MKJV) why they looked at the splinter that was in their brother's eye, but did not see the beam that was in your own eyes. He called all who did this hypocrites, and suggested that they first cast out the beam out of their own eye so they could then see clearly enough to pull out the splinter that is in their brother's eye. The Christian doing this can then fulfill their duty to help their “brother or sister” in error (I emphasize “brother or sister” for a rea-son). One thing is clear, only Christians ex-amining their own lives first may perhaps qualify to lead other Christians to the truth.

Preparations To Make A Stand.

Before one takes up the sword and shield and bashes someone else, they should sin-cerely ask: “What am I trying to achieve?”

It is important to examine or test your own heart before trying to work on the hearts of others. In Romans 2:3 the Apostle Paul asks all people judging others but commit-ing the same sins whether they think that by judging others that they shall escape the judgment of God. He questions if it is not perhaps that they despise the riches of His kindness, patience and longsuffering, not realising that it is the kindness of God that leads a person to repentance. When we are quick to judge others, we forget that we ourselves were once sinners. It was God's goodness that won our hearts over to Him. You may say “no, I was won over by the fear of God”. I quote again: the kind-ness of God leads a person to repentance. Many Jews in Paul's day insisted on Chris-tians being circumcised. They felt that it was “the right

thing to do”, but Paul said in Galatians 5:6 (MKJV) that in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any spiritual value, but faith working through love does. In Ga-latians 6:15 (NLT) He goes on further to tell them that it does not matter whether we have been circumcised or not, but whether or not we have been transformed into a new creation. What Paul states is that we can only become new creatures in Christ if we have been won over by His love. Dear friend, I say to you sincerely: If you have not been won over (saved / born again) by the love of God, then you are no child of God.

If you were won over by God's love, then Titus 3:2-6 (MKJV) will have a witness in you heart, where it says that we ought to speak badly of nobody, not be argumen-tive, but patient, behaving meekly towards everyone. Why? - Because in the past we ourselves also were once “foolish, disobe-dient, deceived, slaving for various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another”. This all changed in our lives only when the kind-ness and love of God our Savior toward mankind became real to us.

The scriptures say in Jude 1:22-23 (MKJV): that we should pity some, making a distinc-tion between them and others who should be motivated to repent “with fear, snatching them out of the fire; hating even the gar-ment having been stained from the flesh.” Her it is speaking of ministering to fallen Christians who have been given a garment of righteousness, but who are not respond-ing to God's loving approach to them to re-turn from sins they have committed.

The Wolf Coming into the Fold

If you are an apologist who enters other fel-lowships physically (or by your words to their members) but you have not been saved by the love of God, then hear the


words of the Lord Jesus, the chief Shep-herd: “I am the door. If anyone enters in by Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to de-stroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abun-dantly” (John 10:9-10 MKJV). You are only allowed to enter into fellowship and have interaction on a spiritual level with other be-lievers if you yourself have come into a spiritual experience by Jesus Christ and have thereby been born-again. The Lord also says: “ ...He who does not enter into the sheepfold by the door, but going up by another way, that one is a thief and a rob-ber. But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep” (John 10:1-2 MKJV).

Where not to Criticise

Where do we draw the line with criticising others? 1 Peter 5:1-4 speaks of the elders of a local Church fellowship caring for the flock. These are not unscriptural so-called “super-elders” who speak on “national level”, but men appointed to care for believ-ers in local fellowships. Some are de-scribed as those who “labor in the word and in doctrine” (1 Timothy 5:17 MKJV), and so it is really at the local Church level that cor-rection ought to be taking place. We should therefore very careful at launching out at error where we ourselves could be stepping over God’s line in terms of local Church au-thority. I also see in scripture that nowhere in the New Testament was the emphasis on criticizing heathen religions. That they are contrary to the Word of our God is some-thing any born-again child of God will auto-matically know, as those delivered dark-ness’s power and “translated” into Christ’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13 MKJV). Paul in fact says in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (MKJV/NLT): that with regards to sacrifices to idols, that he knew that they all had ade

quate knowledge, but that knowledge tends to make people proud and anyone thinking that they “know” anything in actual fact “...knows nothing yet as he ought to know”. Love, on the other hand, tends to enlighten people and the person who loves God is the one who God recognizes. When we set ourselves up as critics “for the sake of the Church” our knowledge of what is wrong can cause us to become puffed up as we consider “how superior we are” in compari-son to the ones we find fault in. A love for other people will do much more to “edify” (i.e., enlighten) them than a criticism of them and their beliefs.

Where to Draw the Line

There is a line that one must draw when criticizing others and/or their beliefs. In Ezra 4:1-3 (MKJV) God's people were faced by those who claimed to be part of the work of God but were not. They frankly told the impostors: “You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God. But we ourselves together will build to Jehovah”.

The Lord Jesus criticized the Pharisees be-cause they pretended to be the Children of God, but inwardly they were not. Where people plainly say that they do not agree with the Christian way, I see no problem, it's when they say they do, but lie, and/or bring in false teaching that one must make a stand for the truth in love. It's much like dealing with money. If someone came to you offering to pay you in foreign currency, you could choose to either accept, or de-cline. If, however, they came to you offering

you counterfeit money, you would immedi-ately be facing someone committing a criminal act and would have to reject their offer and report it. In much the same way, heathen religions are what they are; differ-ent, and openly so – so why criticize them?



Contact: Dawid De Wit • (+27) 083 253 1644 (Mobile) • www.habakkuk2.co.za (Website)

Good News posters with an eternal message!

(Continued from page 5)

Be Not Many Teachers – Exhort One Another Daily

In Jeremiah 23:28 (MKJV) the Lord told His people that whoever had His Word (not criticism of other faiths) should speak His Word faithfully, asking them: “...what is the chaff to the wheat?“ In James 3:1-2 (MKJV/NLT) the Apostle told the brethren that not many of them should be teachers, knowing that those with such a ministry will be judged more strictly, seeing we all make many mistakes - and with good reason if we teach only to criticize! In fact, if I go around with a desire to teach others, I have to question my motives – is it be-cause I want to impart my “superior” knowledge to others?

However, if I go around wanting to share the love that I have received from God, this love that enlightens people will win them to Christ. We will overcome the Devil's lies not by hitting others with criticism, but by winning them with love – God's love. Revelation 12:11 (MKJV) says that they overcame the devil because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony...” - What testimony? - of the goodness and love of God. In 2 Corin-thians 1:3 - 4 (MKJV): Paul the Apostle blesses God as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. He explains that God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we may be able to comfort anyone in any trouble, using the means of comfort which God used to comfort us. Armed with the blessings we have received, we can encourage each another daily. (Hebrews 3:13 MKJV). Encourage - don't criticise, motivate - don't break-down others! Do this and you will see how much more effective your testimony of the Lord Jesus will be in their lives!†

End time teachings (Referred to as Escha-tology) fascinates Christians and non-Christians alike. People are usually curious and very concerned about the future of the world they are living in. “What is going to happen to me?”, is a common question that burns within the hearts of every man and woman. Recently while on holiday (on one television station alone) I counted 6 pro-grams dealing with the topic of the “end of the world”. Whether it be natural or unnatu-ral - there is this growing, universal fear in the back of peoples minds that the end is coming. Furthermore Hollywood movies and thriller Novels are lining the shelves describ-ing terrible world events to come. The two huge earthquakes and subsequent destruc-tion in Japan alone has the world seriously pondering he future. What can we say about such things? There are many dooms-day predictions, but this should not concern Christians if their hearts are right before God. We understand that as living, spiritual beings, death is not the end, but rather a glorious new beginning where we are taken into a new, second life with Jesus Christ. So what should concern us in the last days of this world? The Bible often tells us to be “sober” - we should cause ourselves to sit up straight and take note of events that could threaten our spiritual survival. In Mat-thew 24:12 (NLT) Jesus warned us that be-cause of persecution in the last days, “the love of many will grow cold”. Love is foun-dational to the Christian’s existence. Other Faiths attempt to claim the same thing in their devotions - but they fail most miserably in their proofs. True Godly love was taught to us by Jesus.

The greatest two commandments placed upon new covenant or New Testament be-lievers is that we need to love the Lord God (Mark 12:30) and love our neighbour (Mark 12:31). Without love 1 Corinthians 13 says that “we are nothing”. Jesus puts it plainly before us saying: “...now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then every-one will know that you are my disci-ples." (John 13:34 - 35 GNB). Love is the foundation of everything we do in the Christian world. Christians have failed miserably throughout history when love was absent from their motives. Love is a strong unifying factors that transposes Christians beyond racial, gender and cultural differ-ences. Love also puts Christians into a posi-tion where they are required to share TRUTH. If Christians really love as Jesus taught, then we have to re-examine how we love people. If we say “we love”, then we must be willing to make a stand for that which is right. If we say “we love” it means that we must be willing to tell others about sin, the cross, the coming judgment and sal-vation. Even if it means we lose our free-dom to see others set free. “Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:10 GNB). The Bible says many shall grow cold and hate. Are you going to go down that road. In a world growing darker by the day, who knows what lies ahead? - only you can work together with Jesus to prepare your heart to love people (even if they treat you badly). We need to share the truth even if it costs us. How do we grow in our love for Christ Jesus? - Walk with Him daily, obey His every commandment and read the Word. The more time you spend with someone the more your love for them will increase. Busy people often find that they are too busy for Jesus and their love dies all to quickly. Make time for God! †


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“I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” (Revelation 2:4 NLT)

In the greater Christian world there is a big drive encouraging couples to preserve their marriages. Millions of Rands are spent in South Africa alone, promoting books, courses, seminars and counseling on keep-ing a healthy relationship with your spouse. So much effort is put into keeping this spe-cial and sacred institution, yet there is a greater marriage, the relationship the Chris-tian Church has with its Bridegroom, that is even more important than any earthly rela-tionship. Though this is the most important relation-ship of our time, yet it is a deteriorating one for many Christians. Though believers spend so much time and effort trying to please their earthly partners, many forget to please the most important person of their lives, Jesus Christ. The Church is given many illustrations on how to treat the Bridegroom, Jesus. The Songs of Solomon gives us a good descrip-tion of how the Church should be towards Jesus, saying: “I (the bride) came face to face with him (Jesus) who is the love of my soul. I took him by the hands, and did not let him go” (Song of Solomon 3:4 BBE) Such love, such passion, but throughout much of the world it is evident that the pas-sion for Jesus Christ is dying. The Church has not learned from the mistakes of the past, nor have they remembered the poor choices of the Children of Israel. The Bible has many examples for us to reflect back upon - starting in Genesis with Adam and Eve. The times we live in tell a very sad tale; the evidence of an unfaithful Church is evident for all to see. False doctrines and phony prophets; fake Churches; and ministries with another vision. The Apostle Paul was very worried for the future of the Church. Paul addresses the Corinthian Church in 2 Corinthians 11:3 (BBE) saying: “I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked

by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.” In Johns Revelation, the Ascended Jesus points out to the Church of Ephesus that they have left their “first love”. It is the one complaint we never want to hear from our earthly spouses. Yet Jesus our Spiritual bridegroom is making a serious statement. The Church does not love Him! The Church is busy with many things that are concerned about Christianity; but often forget to love the one who gave it all for us. The Church of Ephesus were good Christians, but they stopped being good companions of Jesus. Almost every Apostle in the New Testament warns Christians against those things that would distract us from having a focused re-lationship with Jesus. To serve the Lord Je-sus is much more simple than we think. Christians have complicated things and have turned much of our beloved


Christianity into a religion of man. Many have cheated Jesus of their love and have placed it elsewhere. The ultimate betrayal will be when many in the Church will leave Jesus Christ for an alternative Christ known as “the Anti-Christ”. Paul says to the Thes-salonian Church in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that the arrival of the Antichrist or false Christ will be indicated by two events:

1.) A great falling away, and 2.) the physical appearing of the Antichrist.

Point 1, the “great falling away” is of vital im-portance for all Christians to know about. The Greek Lexicon refers to the phrase “falling away” as “apostasia”. This word “apostasia” is also referred as a “defection”. This is vague since the bride is not a mem-ber of a political party. Further investigation shows that “apostasia” is derived from the feminine word “apostasion” which means: “a separation for the purpose of a divorce” or “divorcement”. Now looking at the context of the article, this makes the concept of the “falling away” much clearer. Jesus fore-warned us that this separation was one of the signs of the last days. The “great falling away” is in essence this: A separation of Je-sus and His Bride. In Jewish custom the only reasonable excuse for a legal divorce was if your spouse was guilty of adultery. Would you want anything to do with some-one who constantly cheats on you? The Church has shared it’s bed with unholy gov-ernments, people, religions and doctrines. Paul warned the Church, saying: “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with dark-ness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what un-ion can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate

yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14 - 18 NLT). This is a good question, how can the good partner with that which is bad? We do not need to fear even if our lives are at stake - God is in control. We do not need to make friends with governments or make claims over territory. We do not need to fear Satan, the demons or curses for under Jesus they have been conquered. We do not have to fear other religions for one day “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Je-sus as Lord” Roman’s 11:14. All we need to do is to allow our testimonies to SHINE; all we need to be is the Salt of the earth. The question laid before you today is: will you depart from God’s ways, will you take on the “false vision” of the rising false Church rather than the TRUE vision of Jesus? Jesus said “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Are you building a nice little kingdom for yourself or other men on earth – while in a moment it can be taken from you? Or are you building with Jesus toward a heavenly Kingdom? If you want God to help you follow the right way, then all you need to do is to repent of your wrong ways and ask God to show you the right way. Remember your first love should be Jesus, not religious Christianity. Further-more, the LORD has shown us what is good. What he requires of us is to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God. (Micah 6:8 GNB). It is time to awaken out of our sleep. (Matthew 25: 1 - 12) Do not be like the five sleeping virgins. If they had loved the com-ing bridegroom, then they would have been ready, awaiting His return. Rather Be like those who, as the spotless bride with pre-pared lamps, are ready to meet with their beautiful love, Jesus Christ, to live with Him for ever.†



Throughout the world we are bombarded with images of what “a real man” is. Pay a visit to a local supermarket and the shelves are filled with men’s magazine content con-cerning “the Ultimate Man”. In today’s morally liberal countries you will find magazines with bulging muscle men, with their super toys and successful hair-styles. These “men” are expected to be the high performance hero’s; “sex gods” capable of satisfying their latest female conquests. In the more conservative environments, men are under the same kind of pressure to “perform” - The "ultimate man" must earn a good salary; have a big car and house; be a devoted husband in public; a successful fa-ther; and a community leader. He is the kind of guy who must seem to have all the an-swers. While these two examples above may seem a world apart and too simplified, they essen-tially portray what is wrong with the world’s view of things. Everyone has an image of what the Ultimate man is. Satan our enemy has been dictating the roles of men and women since the Garden of Eden. He is so good at it too. While it may seem ideal to the world – successful earthly lifestyles are often just a lie. Sometimes it is good to put aside our glossy magazines and for once ignore the social demands of the world around us. Then, maybe, we will hear God’s opinion about what a real man is: Abraham left his family, the family homeland and all the security offered by his country, to seek out a new land God had promised him. In the process he fought a war; saved his nephew by praying for the city of Sodom; and almost sacrificed his son in a test of faith. This certainly doesn’t sound like the kind of man demanded by the global society we live in today. Yet God called him “the Fa-ther of the faith” – a friend of God. David was a great man, but that title only came after he: killed his giant, Goliath. If you

read this account of David’s life you would think that we are talking of an Olympic champion or even a war hero. On the con-trary, the Bible tells us that David had a “fair” complexion. According to Bible scholars it suggested that David had an effeminate look to him. (This is a kind way of saying that David was no muscle man). Despite the “failures” of not meeting up to the worlds ex-pectations, God called David a man “after My own heart”. Noah was considered nutty! Well at least in the eyes of most people during his day. He was building a boat on dry land where there was no water! However, God considered Noah a righteous man - the only one on earth. God honoured Jesus as “my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”. Jesus did not fit into the role of what was considered a real man. Neither did he fit the world image of

The Ultimate Man

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Our experience in China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia has shown us that there are millions of people ready to accept Jesus Christ ... if there were only somebody to guide them! Are you willing to assist us in reaching millions of people as

co-workers in expanding God's Kingdom? We need you to pray faithfully and sup-port the work financially. Let us honour our precious Saviour by our obedience and faithfulness while the opportunity still presents itself. We do not know when the doors may close, so call us and get involved today:

Telephone: (+27) 012 332 2601 / 2 OR E-mail: [email protected]


(Continued from page 11) “Saviour” or “Messiah”. Yet, Jesus pleased the Father through be-ing obedient; and so God has exalted Him above all things in heaven and earth. Maybe, it is time for men to see what God is telling them. These examples above are not given to us in the Bible for nothing. They teach us that only God’s opinion must be valued highly. When we stand before God one day, God will not judge us on how big our muscles were; or how big our salaries were; or how many kids we had; or if we obtained a college de-gree. Rather, God will look to see how deep and strong our relationship with Him is. Do we love him, obey him and please him in all areas of our life? For these are the qualities that can be found in a real man. These are the qualities that cause God to say: “this is my be-loved son in whom I am well pleased”. Men need to recheck all their values and see if it aligns up with the values God holds to, this will quickly remind us that without Jesus we are “Ultimate Losers”.†


For a long time ear2hear Ministries has been on the look-out for inexpensive Bible study materials designed for the purpose of making solid Christian disciples. There are many, many products: Some are really good; others really poor; some are too ex-pensive; and some are too complicated to understand. The team prayed and agreed about the cri-teria of the material. A Bible study series (or course) was needed that would help people in the best possible way to come to know Jesus Christ. It also had to be the kind of materials that could be reproduced

affordably. The materials should also be easily translated to other languages. With the help of the late Dr. Pieter Conradie, we have been able to meet all these demands without any serious effort. Dr. Conradie de-veloped a series of Bible studies designed for use in the Far East where English as a language was, and still is, struggling to take root. Having a doctorate in education, the Lord gave him wisdom to know how to de-velop these studies so that those who spoke English as a second language, would be able to cope and understand. Dr, Conra-die also felt that these studies had to be easy enough for local facilitators to take over from him and his wife Yvonne, when they were not present at their Missionary of-fices in Asia. After Dr. Pieter’s passing, Yvonne Conradie gave us his Bible studies. Most of them were in his own personal style and notation. We set out to take the ground work laid to produce modules that any person could fol-low on their own, or in peer-facilitated groups. We additionally have added some useful articles and quotes, to enrich the user. So far three modules have been com-pleted and two modules have been trans-lated into Afrikaans. Another module is also in the process of being translated into Chichewa, the local language of Malawi. What has amazed us, is the fact that we have had requests for these modules from people as far away as Malawi. We had not even begun with the modules, yet when people heard of the project—they were ea-ger to receive copies for use in their cell groups, Churches and for personal growth. We would make an appeal that everyone pray for the development of this course and that God would send us translators to help us produce this course into other lan-guages. Module 1 & 2 is available digitally for free via our website. Alternatively contact us for free hardcopies at (+27) 083 429 1284 †

Top Stories in this section:

Mission Africa Annual Report Reflections Conference 2010 Bana Ba Kgosi Choir Festival Valuable to Jesus Campaign

Mission Asia Yvonne & Marietjie Bana ba Kgosi Christmas Day Habakkuk Intro OpenMind R20


“Our God is an awesome God”… this has been the overall consensus of the people sent out this year to share Jesus with our neighbouring African coun-tries. Equipped with over 20 000 Bibles and Gospel translations in eight differ-ent languages, we have seen the Word of God go places. We praise God for including us in His great work. We also thank: Gertrude Phiri & Norah Chiwaya (Malawi); Andrew Gwaza & Rumbi Gwaza (Zimbabwe); Wil-lem Harding (French Speaking Countries & Zimbabwe); Edgar Albano, Rita Albano, Barry De Villiers, Hilet De Villiers & Nico Haefele (Mozambique). These children of God have worked tire-lessly to ensure these resources go to dif-ferent individuals and Churches. Two Mira-cles concerning the outreaches took place namely: 1. Not one of the Bibles distributed was paid for by Mission Africa. It was donated. 2. Not one cent was paid to transport one of the boxes of Bibles. Bus drivers, taxi drivers and private car owners transported these materials for us absolutely free.

Wow - isn’t God amazing? Reports have

come in and are still coming in. We are told by Andrew Gwaza that the Bibles he took came at a perfect time for one community Church in Zimbabwe as they des-perately needed the Gospel of John in Shona for their Bible studies the Sunday he arrived. Norah Chiwaya Tells us how God brought together a new women’s group. They started with forty but they have grown to a group of more than 200

women! The Gospels are certainly going to help them. We will keep you posted as we receive reports. We know God will use every Bible, every word spoken and every opportunity taken to the Glory of His Name. We really ask that you keep praying for us.

Send us your spare Bibles that you do not use anymore. If you have an electronic Bi-ble, then pass those extra books on to us. We always know of someone who cannot afford to buy a Bible. Finally, please don’t hesitate to volunteer spreading the Word. Mission work starts in our homes. Be bold and share with the ones you love. It is time we spread our wings to fly. God has exciting places He wants to take you - if you let Him.†


The Reflections Conference 2010 was a day where Christian women met together with a common goal - to exalt Jesus Christ. The Theme was “Live for Jesus – That’s what matters”. The title was taken from a song, sung by Evie Torquist Karlssohn. It was the Holy Spirit - inspired theme for the conference. Everything relating to the or-ganization went beautifully - God is Good! The enemy tried to delay the day’s events. A strike was underway affecting all public transport systems. Despite that, attendance was still good. The day’s proceedings were excellently led by Beverley Foxley, the conference hostess. She introduced 10 speakers which delivered to us thought - provoking messages through song,

testimonies and encouraging words. We particularly wish to highlight the testimony of Beverley Foxley, the opening message she brought paved the way for the speakers that day. Pastor Doris Molefe from Bana Ba Kgosi Children’s Drop-In Centre, testi-fied of God’s goodness during trying times in her marriage and service as pastor. Deirdre Oosthuizen also shared her mi-raculous testimony of healing she received. Deirdre had cervical cancer yet God has healed her fully. She has been cancer free for 3 years. Rosli Strydom from The Light-house Ministries spoke of her 80

th birthday,

a landmark celebration and the message God gave her about the end times. She said time is short and we have to get our things in order quickly. We were blessed by the very talented singer / songwriter Dian Jordaan. He songs are Holy Spirit - in-spired. He also shared his life experiences

in a very candid way. His de-but single “Your Way”, was truly out of this world! Dian is available for Gospel perform-ances and outreaches and we can truly recommend this u p - and - c om i ng a r t i s t (Contact Dian’s at 082 452 3271). Gidea Lotter pre-sented the ladies with an in-

teresting encouragement. She put together a “treasure box” of goodies to represent the spiritual gifts given to the children of God. These gifts will allow God’s children to be-come more like Jesus if put to action faith-fully in our lives. OPENMINDS administra-tor, Renè Kruger shared her powerful testi-mony of God moving mountains in her life. This day was interspersed with very good food (the ladies were really spoiled); good waiters and volunteers (thanks to the guys from The ear2hear Network team) and blessed fellowship in God’s presence made this years conference, as one lady said, “the best so far”! Praise God, and we hope you will not lose out on this year’s confer-ence 2011. †

Women's Conference

2010

The cause of Christ was championed on Saturday, June 12 2010 when almost 200 children (8 Choirs) came together to share the Good News using music and art. It also gave the managers and organizers an op-portunity to spoil the children a bit with prizes, sweets and food for every child. This may not seem like anything special, but for HIV/AIDS orphans, it can mean the world. Gold, Sil-ver and Blue Certificates and prizes were pre-sented to the winning Choir teams. Please note the Choir conductors are not professionals, but vol-unteer youth leaders who are reaching into these already fragile lives. For the rest of the Choirs, a Partici-pation certificate and prizes were given. The arts section of the fes-tival was also truly exciting. With 7 art students under the guidance of an artistic genius / youth leader – they produce their work with such style and enthusiasm! Many of these children are terri-bly undernourished. One child was so mal-nourished, our jaws dropped at the sight of the skin and bone of his tiny legs. While Bana Ba Kgosi runs a very good feeding scheme, the realities are sadly that often the only decent meal they get is at the Drop-in centre. The Drop-in centre has to close over

the weekends for the volunteer staff to rest and recover. That means that the 700 plus, children cared for must starve over week-ends. While Rosli Strydom, Gidea Lotter & Pastor Doris Molefe fight the good fight, the sad truth is that the battle is not anywhere close to “OVER”. More and more parents and guardians die

daily of TB, AIDS and other sick-nesses which have simply made life impossible for these beautiful children. Currently The Lighthouse Ministries is en-deavouring to build an industrialized kitchen, with better cold storage facili-ties and bigger

working areas. This will help the staff to cope un-der the tremendous strain of hand-peeling potatoes and cooking for 700 chil-dren daily. The industrial-ized kitchen will also al-low a greater number of children to be accommo-dated, since currently the

gates have to be closed to the children if more than 700 of them arrive at the Drop-in centre. This is a chance for South Africans to make a difference, before these children be-come victims of crime, gangs, trafficking, prostitution and abuse.†

Help these people out today, call Gidea Lotter at (+27) 073 604 7772.

Above: Choirs & Judges preparing… Below: Gidea Lotter (Organizer) & Translator


The First Bana Ba Kgosi Choir & Arts Festival

The ear2hear Network was praying about outreach opportunities during 2010, espe-cially during the World Cup soccer tourna-ment. These kind of projects take a few years to plan, and considering that the Net-work was only formed in 2009, we knew that to start planning an outreach pro-gramme for this event would be wasteful. You may be well aware, that with the soccer tournament, many good doors and bad doors have been opened. The bad ones have been child prostitution, increased drug & alcohol abuse and human trafficking. The VALUABLE to JESUS (VTJ) campaign is a means for us to tell children about Jesus. It has also become a way to empower chil-dren against the dangers they face. This campaign is the faithful work of the street ministry called “STRAATWERK” situated in Cape Town. Cape Town is a city with one of the largest statistics in human trafficking, child prostitution, drug abuse and sexual abuse in South Africa. I don’t think the campaign organizers could have imagined that this campaign would have come up as far as Pretoria. This cam-paign has become a true community

campaign and the presentations given are often not only delivered to children, but also to adults too. The VTJ campaign presents the Gospel in a simple, child-like fashion. Each child/adult receives a little knitted doll – representing mankind and how unique and special they are. We saw how one pas-tor became tearful as he witnessed and heard the simple message. The ear2hear Network sent representatives from several ministries to receive the training from Stella Street Church in Menlo Park. Stella Church is leading the campaign in Gauteng and hopes to see this project expanded to other Churches and communities. We believe this project is of the Lord and with His guidance and careful management by Gauteng Coor-dinators: Ina Burger, Mariette Fourie, Ro-nelle Roux and Annelise Fourie we know this will be a successful endeavour. The first outreach took place in the month of June 2010. We were requested to assist missionary, Elzaan de Villiers from the “BUILDING HOPE FOUNDATION”, to reach out to four schools. In a “location” just out-side of Pretoria. This suburb is bigger than the whole of Pretoria itself!! We were able to reach many children of various ages. Many accepted Jesus. In October 2010 we also had the privilege to take this campaign to Generaal Beyers Primary School, situated in Danville. In total for June and November, 1500 chil-dren were reached and each outreach had challenges of their own. Key people who deserve a big thanks include: Ina Burger (VTJ Gauteng Coordinator), Renè Kruger (OpenMind), Mariette Fourie (VTJ Adminis-trator), Leandri Els (Unboxed), Beverley Foxley (ear2hear Ministries), Ronelle Roux (VTJ Coordinator), Annelise Fourie (VTJ Coordinator), Rines Swanepoel (ear2hear Ministries), Elzaan de Villiers (BHF), Amorie Tredeaux (ear2hear Ministries), Pauline Moteme, Janelle Foxley (ear2hear Minis-tries), Odette Jenkins, Julian Mamabolo, Alan Foxley (ear2hear Ministries), Johan Myburgh (VTJ Coordinator). †



The Lighthouse Ministries: There was an-other hive of activity surrounding Bana Ba Kgosi Winterveld Drop-In Centre as they pre-pared for their annual Christmas bash for 500 hundred HIV/AIDS orphans. However they did not stop there, the community crèche and Sunday school run by Lighthouse also had their own Christmas parties. Rosli Strydom the Chairman, along with Pastor Doris Molefe were very active as the team that cooked for these children worked non-stop to provide 700 children with food daily! We ask that you stand in prayer and support. As this scheme’s main focus is sharing the Good News to young minds - what an opportunity! A video showing the high-lights of what they are doing is available on our website or can be found directly on The ear2hear Networks You-Tube account.. Each child is also prepar-ing to receive their very own pair of new shoes. What a gift - especially if you have never own new shoes in your life before. †

Mission Asia 2000: We are very happy to say that a very beloved Mis-sionary, Yvonne Conradie (76), is back from the Philippines - and if you think she has any plans of retiring soon - than think again! Already plans are in the making for a return trip in June / July 2011. Yvonne indi-cated that the trip of 6 months during 2010, was a success. Marietjie Preto-rius was able to join and Assist Yvonne for a few weeks in the Philip-pines. She said it was a phenomenal experience. Marietjie faithfully works in the Pretoria office for Mission Asia 2000. Reports and full coloured, de-tailed newsletters are available for interested parties. Pray for Yvonne as the Mountainous Island of “Baguio” are no walk in the park. She faces ty-phoons, mudslides, poor road condi-tions and very steep steps. †

ATTRIDGEVILLE: It is always a blessing to find people who are part of the family of God. - Attridgeville is no exception! This township is ready to see God move in power and in glory. The ear2hear Ministries team was able to meet some lovely Sisters and Brothers in Christ. We are looking at getting a fellowship group going. However, our dear Christian family has bigger plans in mind. All we can say that this excitement is conta-gious. Pray for these believers and this heavenly vision. May God’s will be done.†

DONATIONS: We have a very special thank you to Pastor Daryl Adendorf who donated 10 boxes of Books, Bibles and Tapes to ear2hear Ministries. We truly thank God for you generosity. Ear2hear Ministries is making preparations to build up a library of resources for the use of the general Christian public. You to can donate extra, unused or unwanted Christian materials. Don’t let those good books or Bibles lie in the shelves any longer - share the Word of Jesus!†

UNITY Conference 2010: The Unity con-ference was a glorious time for people from all over The ear2hear Network. It was a chance for people from all the cell groups, missions & ministries to get to-gether and share their experiences with each other. We don’t come pretending to be perfect Christians. We don’t come try-ing to be better than anyone else. We join together to love and exalt the name of Je-sus Christ. He is the reason for the unity. He is the common factor in the hearts of true Christians throughout the world. Last year’s conference was really blessed and we know it is not going to be the last. We look forward to Unity Conference 2011. †

Habakkuk 2: The ear2hear Network has partnered with David De Wit and his new ministry “Habakkuk 2”. David is a man with a gentle spirit and his vision given to him by God is to create multi-lingual posters, containing scriptures and will contain the message of the Gospel of Je-sus. He plans to do it at distribution level throughout South Africa. The languages used, among many, shall include Eng-lish, Afrikaans, Shona, Zulu, Pedi, Xhosa and many, many more! The ear2hear Network would encourage you to show your support for David and this incredible idea through prayer, volunteering and even, if possible, through financial assis-tance. This is a new ministry, so it has many foundational stones to lay, and with your help, we believe it may be a great way to bring people into the King-dom. Please call The ear2hear Network for more information, or telephone:

David De Wit @ Habakkuk 2 (+27) 083 253 1644 †


OPENMIND & The 20 rand project: The idea is for each person who would like to donate an amount of money, to pay R20 (or any other amount) into the OpenMind account or Donation box at FOTS events. We feel that donating R20 a month is a small amount to give each month but it grows quickly. If we receive R20 each month from at least 100 peo-ple, we already have R2000 to make up packages for Christmas or to buy blan-kets in winter time. OPENMIND aims to hand out the packages soon, so let us have Open minds and hearts and share the love of Christ. Whether it is the beg-gar or the city executive†

The ear2hear Network invites you to be a network partner with us today. Enjoy all the benefits of networking, without any unnecessary costs that usually come with partnerships. Let us be faithful workers for the King-dom together.

Documents

The Refreshing Magazine - Edition 4