South African experiences! Matric farewell!

A few weeks ago were the farewell of the senior candidates, of my sister’s school. I was privileged to join them to the occasion. It was a Buffet dinner. The hall and tables were beautifully decorated and set. The young people going to be the following seniors in the coming years welcomed us and the VIP guests who are the seniors of this year. They were also the waitresses and looked after their guests in a brilliant way. The new school year in SA usually starts January running through to the first week in December of the same year.

As the VIP guests arrived they were photographed, announced and showed to their seats. The girls looked absolutely stunning and the partners coordinated with their colours; all of them in special evening wear.

It is a vibrant group of young people with a future ahead of them. Some will be going on to University and colleges to further their education and follow their dream career. They had a brilliant Christian guest speaker Dr. Lechuti, who used the opportunity to motivate and inspire the young people to grab hold of their opportunities and be grateful for them. He also challenged them to think about whom they are and where they are going in life. It was so good that we ‘oldies’ felt like just taking up the challenges ourselves.

After we ate it was the turn of the head girl, deputy and any of the others in the group who felt like giving a word of appreciation and farewell to their group of friends, whom some of them were together now in this school for four to twelve years and some together in the hostel.

Their speeches were spontaneous and every one spoke about being challenged in their years at school with the Gospel. They appreciate the Lord and gave Him honour and glory. They came forward as a strong group, with a great potential of leaders, knowing the Lord. Appreciation for the teachers and their education were part of their speeches, joys, humour, laughter and tears of farewell followed. Each of them in the group was presented with a farewell gift from the school, and then they could dance and enjoy the rest of their evening.

They had the opportunity to crown Jesus as their Lord. Word foundations have been laid and now they will be out there in the big world. We and the parents can pray and trust that they will make quality decisions and choices every step of their life’s journey.

My experience was one of joy looking back on South African history to see these children internationally educated in South Africa and giving them wings to fly with confidence.

You can’t get more it is provided for already!

I had to come to the conclusion where I realised that all my prayers for more of the Holy Spirit, more of Jesus, more of the Father is fruitless and futile. All my prayers for revival all my life is not going to produce revival. We sing Christian songs where we constantly plead for more of Him. We think we will move God to do some supernatural sign or wonder so that we can believe that He heard our prayers or to prove that we are special in his sight!

The first step was to realise that God has given us all things that pertains to godliness and life in and through His Word the Bible. He already told us exactly what He has made available to every one of His children. He left nothing out that we should try to get from Him today. While He provided everything we can possibly think of and He provided even more than what we can think of or even ask.

See Ephesians 3:19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

3:20 Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]-

How did Father God provide me with all things? The answer: IN JESUS CHRIST! Even though we know the answers with our fleshly minds we need to grasp this with our WORD renewed minds. We can also say that we need to keep on renewing our minds until we grasp what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us. We have all heard the saying that it needs to drop from the mind to the heart. I have recently learned that it should be the other way round. The knowledge of the Holy Spirit living in us should be pushed from our spirit man to the un-renewed mind through the washing and transformation by the Word.

See Ephesians 4:23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],

4:24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.

All the healing I have needed in my body to be free from cancer (or any other disease) has already been provided through the cross where Jesus became the curse, took the penalty for my sin and sickness then died on my behalf so that I could live. He sealed this testament with his resurrection and further by the out pouring of the Holy Spirit, God with me today. Therefore we lack nothing and should not continue to try and get healing from God but just take what He has already provided. It is not true that some people receive healing from God and others not. He does not choose whom He will forgive and whom He will heal. He healed everybody equally on the cross and forgave everybody equally on the cross.

The problem is thus not with God. Now what is the problem that some do not get healed and others do? I think in the first place we think God must still heal us in the future, so we keep on asking Him to heal us and due to our impatience, decide that He might not do just what we ask. God cannot give or provide more healing than what he has already done. My healing was accomplished when Jesus cried out on the cross: “It is finished!”

The second reason is that we might not understand; it is God’s will that all should be healed as it is His will that none will perish without everlasting life as He took away the sins of the world.

Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

People are not perishing because of sin but because they did not receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they did not believe in the One sent by Father God as the Saviour of the world. God’s grace is more, superabundant more than all the sins of the world put together. Thus repentance is not the act by which Jesus removes our sins. Repentance is the act of changing our minds to receive what God has already provided in Christ Jesus more than two thousand years ago for everyone who calls on His Name for salvation.

Healing for our bodies works the same way, it has been provided and this provision is sufficient to cover every disease lurking in our bodies. We need to see this with our spiritual eyes, hear it with our spiritual ears and receive it in our spiritual heart so that the process of this truth will be manifested in our bodies. Don’t get stuck on the time aspect, time is not the issue here, what is important is the fact that my healing has been provided. I do not have to change God’s mind to provide me with healing, I need to change my mind and begin to understand that I have been healed two thousand years ago. God cannot provide me with more healing or forgiveness than what He has already done. “It is finished!”

John 6:40 “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

1John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us.

Matthew 8:2 And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me.

8:3 And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.

Another problem is that we get hung on the “faith” aspect. We might feel and be deceived by fear that we might not have enough faith to get healed. The good news is that all of God’s children have sufficient faith for their healing! How is this possible? When you were born from above and received the Godhead dwelling within you, you have the same faith as Jesus available to you.

Heb 12:2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source (beginning) of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its (our faith) Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

You need none of your own faith any longer you operate in and through the faith of Jesus Himself.

Therefore faith should no longer be our problem. We have all the faith we need to believe that we have been healed and will see the manifestation in our bodies. God cannot give us more faith. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ He has already provided me with all the faith I might ever need. Jesus Himself became my faith. Thus all I need to do is to operate in this gift of faith provided for me free of charge. We cannot ask for more faith because Jesus is sufficient at all times. Jesus is more than enough!

So after all this: “What must we do to be forgiven or healed?” Only believe in the One the Father has sent to accomplish such a great salvation for us, our healing included. Ask for a Holy Spirit revelation on Jesus Christ, your brother and the real Son of God willing to share His entire heritage with us. He is our Healer, and then takes your free gift of healing. This is our son-ship right!

John 6: 28 They then said, what are we to do, that we may be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?]

6:29 Jesus replied, this is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].

I trust this sharing will be a blessing to you as it is to me. My heart overflows because I do not have to perform and weary myself out to be in the Lord’s presence! Just believe Him and what He said in His Word, by renewing my mind.

Psalm 46:10 Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.

South African experiences!

I would like to share some real South African experiences in this blog.

My sister and her husband are running their own Christian Private School which presents the Cambridge Curriculum of the UK. The school accommodate children from pre-school to A-levels. Ninety percent of the children are from the townships and some out of more average and affluent homes.

What amazes me is the parents’ attitude towards education. Doesn’t matter how poor they might be or the difficult circumstances they have to face, their desire is that their children would be in possession of a final international senior certificate to ensure a better future. They will work hard even holding down more than one job to be able to give their children this opportunity.

Every Monday morning the school has an assembly where the children are introduced to and reminded of God’s Word and have the opportunity to praise and worship. My brother-in-law is more than the owner, accountant, managing director, he also ministers the Word. He asked me to present my testimony at the last assembly where the senior learners were present for the last time before they commenced with their prelims and final examinations.

The praise and worship was amazing, children so excited about Jesus and praising Him. His theme was ‘Prison Break’ and as he showed a DVD clip and used the story to minister to them I realised the privilege these kids in Africa have to meet and being taught about Jesus in an early stage of their lives…they are not doubting the Creator, of heaven and earth.

I shared with them how Jesus has brought me through this cancer ordeal and that I am alive because of His Salvation and deliverance through Jesus to me. I am also ‘breaking out of the prison of cancer’ I told. The little faces lit up with big smiles and spontaneous clapping of joy and brought great joy and big smiles to my face. You can imagine how God blessed my heart in these moments. Spontaneously we gave God the glory!

A month or so afterwards a young man walked up to me at the church where I join the family. He gave me a big hug and said, ‘You are blessed by the Lord and He has wonderful plans for you’. I received it and gave God the glory. I enquired about this young man from my brother-in-law. He told me he was one of the senior candidates, very confused due to circumstances in his life and he was present at the assembly where I had the privilege to bring my testimony. That morning he realised that Jesus is still in the business of healing the sick. He went to speak to their student counsellor who is also a devoted God loving Christian and this young man had his ‘prison break’ from dark confusion unto Jesus the Light of the world. I only praise God; even if this healing from cancer was only to reach people like him it makes my experience worth the while.