To The Precious Saints !!!!!!
Today and forever just remember you were all bought by the death and blood of Jesus Christ.
How does one put into words the way Christ and His Spirit does a continuous work in our lives, how he provides for us each and every day, how He builds and strengthens our faith which is far more precious than gold.
This past Sunday morning alarm goes off. Oh no what time is it? 6.30am do I really have to get up, I mean will anyone miss me, most of my guys in my Sunday school class will be on youth Alpha anyway, some more excuses flash through my mind but eventually I get up(heavy conviction by His Spirit) and wake everyone else up.
Eventually we all clamber into 'ole Stanley(1978 Japanese vintage Mazda) and Stanley really ain't feeling to well lately(something about a burnt valve, and worn rings giving him permanent indigestion!). So we hukkel and sukkel down the N7 and we are really smokin' as we crawl up the first bridge. Allie starts praying aloud that we make it there and exhorts all of us to do likewise. Hey there goes Natalie. Hi Natalie, bye Natalie, as she passes us in her car. Into Frans Conradie and Stanley reckoned no that's it and no further so we got out and started to walk. Not very far because Natalie did a U turn and came back to fetch us. So I kinda told Stanley to chill and we'd be back for him, how, I did not have a clue.
Get to Sunday school and we have half a band, the half that is there would rather be somewhere else and are in a bit of a churning spin. What do we do? Most of our kids are away on Alpha and we can't do some of the skits. How are we going to keep those kids that are here occupied? What to do?(jeepers why did I get out of bed this morning) Haven't a clue lets just ask Jesus. So we pray and we just ask God to help make us available for Him and then to be obedient to His will.Surprise surprise everything works out fine. The band is great(definitely could have done another song). We do some skits. Clint was great in motivating our group of non conformists(no don't wanna do nothing!) to get them to do their skit. Michelle had such a neat idea getting us all to go outside and asking us to find something that reminded us of Gods' love for us.
Then there was the problem of getting home and picking up Stanley on the way. By this time however my fellow teachers all knew of our predicament so we had three options of a lift home. Then Grant said he'd just bought a tow rope on Thursday because God had laid it on his heart to be prepared to help out others with car problems. So that was sorted. As you can imagine it was a laugh a minute with Grant towing us home. EISH my bro!
Got home and just decided to go and buy some petrol. We had already raided the bank(Matthews piggy bank) and got some money together for petrol. Poured in the magic liquid and voila Stanley started(after a few burps and poeps), no wonder he didn't want to go any further earlier on.
Then off to a honour a breakfast invite from Cheryl, lekker stuff. We had great fellowship(and food!) and I fiddled around with the pool equipment for a while trying to get it to work a bit better.
Going to worship God with the rest of His Body is always such an awesome experience. Intercessory pray before service is always a blessing. Then saying hi to most of you. Apologies to the ones I missed. Then what a blessing there was a group of ladies from Table View Roman Catholic(we shared an Alpha weekend together, beginning of the year) and I finally got to meet Anne Rodrigues in the flesh(I have been communicating with her via email for almost a year now). The youngsters had just come from their Alpha weekend and were so excited and revved up for Jesus. Testimony time and man its always just so stunning to see God's work of grace in peoples lives.
Just after the service one of our sisters came up to us and said that we must not worry if the money for the purchase of our new car does not come through in time(we need it by the 28 September) as they would lend us the money until our money comes through(huh, yea, okay, WOW!!!!). Then ministry time and guess what Anne R comes up for prayer on behalf of her daughter, but we sommer prayed for her as well. Then during ministry His spirit just flowed as we were available and obedient again and as always I was just blown away by God's majestic work.
We had to take Madelyn back to St Josephs and we didn't think Stanley was really up to driving along the N2 so Bev came to our rescue and took her to the home. I went with her. Afterwards we had some supper at our place chatted listened to some songs and then she was off home.
I have probably left out so much but I hope this is the gist of it. Thank you all for who you are, may the love of Christ continue to grow within you and may you grow ever closer to our Holy Redeemer.
Here is a great song by Third Day (words by Mac Powell)
Who is this King of glory that pursues me with His love
And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of glory who offers it to me
Who is this King of angels , O blessed Prince of Peace
Revealing things of Heaven and all its mysteries
My spirit's ever longing for His grace in which to stand
Who is this King of glory, Son of God and son of man
His name is Jesus, precious Jesus
The Lord Almighty, the King of my heart
The King of glory
Who is the King of glory with strength and majesty
And wisdom beyond measure, the gracious King of kings
The Lord of Earth and Heaven, the Creator of all things
He is the King of glory, He's everything to me
The Lord of Earth and Heaven, the Creator of all things
He is the King of glory, He's everything to me
His name is Jesus, precious Jesus
The Lord Almighty, the King of my heart
The King of glory
LoCTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Monday, September 13, 2004
Worthy is the Lamb
My Family in Christ !!!
When last have you really messed up big time? When last have you spat in Christ's face as he hung on the cross dying for you? When last have you been just like Judas and betrayed your Saviour? When last even though you know your weaknesses and know the Devils tactics as to how he exploits those weaknesses, have you allowed yourself to fall so fast and so hard and then tried your level best to justify your compromised position? I did this weekend and man was I so ashamed of myself. I had a terrible argument with Allie my wife on Saturday morning and of course I blamed everything on her I was just so Mr Perfecto Self-righteous. After we had stopped shouting at each other I just could not bear to be in the house so I spotted the washing grabbed it and ran. While hanging up the washing I could not believe how God could love me I felt so vile. Then I started to experience it really deep down, God's grace and His mercy breaking through my anger and self loathing.
WOW what a God we serve it is just so breath taking there are no words enough that can describe it. Allie and myself later asked each other for forgiveness, by this time His Spirit had knocked me off my selfrighteous perch, and God just started healing us.He used you guys, His Body, to reaffirm who we are in Christ. As he spoke through Hennie at Sunday school. As we stood at the door on Sunday night and we were just so grateful for every one of you coming to worship God. The service was awesome and Allie and myself ministered together last night in such a beautiful way as His Spirit worked through us to heal and bless others. During the worship I felt so humbled by the Majesty of God I just fell down on my knees and put my face to the ground and prayed for all of you who make up this little part of His Body.
God just kept on speaking to me the whole of Sunday. Through the woman who came up to be ministered to. She had asked God just to tell her that He still loves her by playing her favourite song(Power of Your Love),which He did. She has gone through a really hurting period in her life and it all culminated that day. Her life has been radically changed and the change has been and still is soooo painful. But God is keeping her firm and strong. Just pray for her today. Through ministering to Ryan during the worship, the message from God via Geoff and just ministering to others and seeing the love of God on your faces as you worshiped Him,the only one worthy of worship. And speaking to people who are busy overcoming the sin and weaknesses in their lives. Thank you all of you for being specially you.
Just imagine this.
Then I looked again, and I heard the singing of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders.
And they sang in a mighty chorus:The Lamb is worthy - the Lamb who was killed He is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They also sang:Blessing and honour and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.
Revelation 5:11-13
Paraphrased in Michael W Smiths chorus line
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy
LoCTY!!!!!!
When last have you really messed up big time? When last have you spat in Christ's face as he hung on the cross dying for you? When last have you been just like Judas and betrayed your Saviour? When last even though you know your weaknesses and know the Devils tactics as to how he exploits those weaknesses, have you allowed yourself to fall so fast and so hard and then tried your level best to justify your compromised position? I did this weekend and man was I so ashamed of myself. I had a terrible argument with Allie my wife on Saturday morning and of course I blamed everything on her I was just so Mr Perfecto Self-righteous. After we had stopped shouting at each other I just could not bear to be in the house so I spotted the washing grabbed it and ran. While hanging up the washing I could not believe how God could love me I felt so vile. Then I started to experience it really deep down, God's grace and His mercy breaking through my anger and self loathing.
WOW what a God we serve it is just so breath taking there are no words enough that can describe it. Allie and myself later asked each other for forgiveness, by this time His Spirit had knocked me off my selfrighteous perch, and God just started healing us.He used you guys, His Body, to reaffirm who we are in Christ. As he spoke through Hennie at Sunday school. As we stood at the door on Sunday night and we were just so grateful for every one of you coming to worship God. The service was awesome and Allie and myself ministered together last night in such a beautiful way as His Spirit worked through us to heal and bless others. During the worship I felt so humbled by the Majesty of God I just fell down on my knees and put my face to the ground and prayed for all of you who make up this little part of His Body.
God just kept on speaking to me the whole of Sunday. Through the woman who came up to be ministered to. She had asked God just to tell her that He still loves her by playing her favourite song(Power of Your Love),which He did. She has gone through a really hurting period in her life and it all culminated that day. Her life has been radically changed and the change has been and still is soooo painful. But God is keeping her firm and strong. Just pray for her today. Through ministering to Ryan during the worship, the message from God via Geoff and just ministering to others and seeing the love of God on your faces as you worshiped Him,the only one worthy of worship. And speaking to people who are busy overcoming the sin and weaknesses in their lives. Thank you all of you for being specially you.
Just imagine this.
Then I looked again, and I heard the singing of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders.
And they sang in a mighty chorus:The Lamb is worthy - the Lamb who was killed He is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They also sang:Blessing and honour and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.
Revelation 5:11-13
Paraphrased in Michael W Smiths chorus line
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy
LoCTY!!!!!!
Monday, February 23, 2004
Street Evangelism (1)
Introduction: Presently there are two of us doing street evangelism, John Lawton and myself (Raymond White). This is the team!
The broad (and very flexible) plan is to go out on the street every other weekend on a Saturday evening alternating between ministry work at the soup kitchen and walking up Voortrekker Road (using the soup kitchen location as a starting point) up to Vasco station on one side of Voortrekker Road and then back down to the soup kitchen location on the opposite side of Voortrekker Road, just basically talking to people about the Gospel and handing out tracts.
The first time we did this was on the 24 January 2004. We opened in prayer and asked God for His protection and for His Spirit to go before us, we also asked for divinely appointed encounters. We started off at about 7.30pm. We spoke to roughly 100 people and handed out about 70 tracts (The Way to God, in English). We had some incredible meetings and chats with some people, many of the people had had a few drinks and were rushing off to go to another ‘jol’. There were very few people who outright rejected our ‘free’ offer (about three or four) and we were amazed and stunned at how some people just opened up to us. Quite a few of them asked us if we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and when we replied that we were not and explained who we were and where we were from they immediately became more relaxed with us.
Well we finished at about 8.30pm and came back to John’s car at the soup kitchen feeling pretty much on ‘top of the mountain’ but God had not finished with us yet. There were some stragglers at the soup kitchen and we chatted, prayed and encouraged these guys for about 20 minutes. Then eventually we got in the car and John was going to drop me at home in Bothasig. On our way there we noticed the same young woman who we had encountered earlier on the street, walking on the side of the road. When we first saw her on Voortrekker Road she had rushed by us in tears not wanting to talk to us. We stopped and she came running to the car, she recognized us and climbed in. She was very distraught and told us that she had had a terrible fight with her mother and she was on her way to her uncle in Summer Greens. We said that we would drop her off there. When we arrived at her uncle’s place he was not at home. We then took the young woman to my home where Allie gave her supper. We then acted as go betweens as she phoned her step-father to ask him to speak to her mother. After a few phone calls and prayer John took her home to Parow at about 10.30pm, where he saw the mother and her daughter cry and hug each other and be reconciled. John informed me over the telephone (round about 11pm) as to what had transpired. God is a god of peace!
The next time we went out was on the 7 February 2004. We then wanted to just bring the Gospel message to the people at the soup kitchen. Easier said than done. We talked to them informally and told them that we would be reading from the bible on the steps of the FNB bank. Well we had about three people pitch up who basically sat on the steps with their backs to us, slurping their soup, as we read alternating between English and Afrikaans from John’s Gospel chapter three. Talk about a captive audience! However God’s word never goes out with no return. One young guy was moved to ask for prayer for his drug problem and we ministered to him.
We went out again on the 21 February 2004. Again the we followed the same pattern as our first outing and this time I said to John that God was just telling us to walk slower and take more time with the people.
This time we had another tract to hand out, Your Most Important Relationship, in both English and Afrikaans as well as The Way to God. We had also received a stamp with the church’s contact details on it and we stamped all the tracts in preparation before we went out.
The first man we met told us what an important job we were doing (message from God) and told us his favourite bible story. We chatted to the security guards who remembered us from the first time around. We came across a wedding reception and congratulated and blessed the bride and the family. The groom was apparently waiting (hiding?!) inside the restaurant.
We met quite a few people who said they were Christians. One guy was studying the end times and we chatted a bit and encouraged him and I recommended some authors to him.
The street was surprisingly busy in spite of the fact that a really nasty south-easter wind was blowing and we spoke to just over a hundred people and handed out about 80 tracts.
A nasty incident was avoided when one young man decided he was going to pick a fight with some guys who had just passed him on the street. John overheard him and told him to leave it. I basically told John to stay out of it. I think I was praying in my heart and spirit (without realizing it) and then a police van pulled up (the cops just wanted to buy something to eat) and this stopped everybody from doing anything stupid.
We had some wonderful conversations and points of contact with people and again only about three or four total rejections. By the time we were finished on the street it was about 9pm. We then took some soup up to a homeless couple that lives under the stands of the Goodwood sports grounds. John has brought this couple to church twice now. There were also three parties going on there of various noise and intensity and we chatted to some of the folk who were standing outside smoking and drinking.
We don’t force ourselves on anybody we give everyone the option of saying no to the tracts and we say its for free. When we mention the word free this immediately gets peoples attention.
So far this has been a really exhilarating experience for both John and myself, we just step out in faith on a Saturday night and we know that it is God who is doing the work, Christ the redeemer is calling the lost, His Holy Spirit works through us and touches complete strangers. All we do is try our best to listen and be obedient to His Spirit within us. We are so grateful for this opportunity to do His will.
LoCTY!!!
The broad (and very flexible) plan is to go out on the street every other weekend on a Saturday evening alternating between ministry work at the soup kitchen and walking up Voortrekker Road (using the soup kitchen location as a starting point) up to Vasco station on one side of Voortrekker Road and then back down to the soup kitchen location on the opposite side of Voortrekker Road, just basically talking to people about the Gospel and handing out tracts.
The first time we did this was on the 24 January 2004. We opened in prayer and asked God for His protection and for His Spirit to go before us, we also asked for divinely appointed encounters. We started off at about 7.30pm. We spoke to roughly 100 people and handed out about 70 tracts (The Way to God, in English). We had some incredible meetings and chats with some people, many of the people had had a few drinks and were rushing off to go to another ‘jol’. There were very few people who outright rejected our ‘free’ offer (about three or four) and we were amazed and stunned at how some people just opened up to us. Quite a few of them asked us if we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and when we replied that we were not and explained who we were and where we were from they immediately became more relaxed with us.
Well we finished at about 8.30pm and came back to John’s car at the soup kitchen feeling pretty much on ‘top of the mountain’ but God had not finished with us yet. There were some stragglers at the soup kitchen and we chatted, prayed and encouraged these guys for about 20 minutes. Then eventually we got in the car and John was going to drop me at home in Bothasig. On our way there we noticed the same young woman who we had encountered earlier on the street, walking on the side of the road. When we first saw her on Voortrekker Road she had rushed by us in tears not wanting to talk to us. We stopped and she came running to the car, she recognized us and climbed in. She was very distraught and told us that she had had a terrible fight with her mother and she was on her way to her uncle in Summer Greens. We said that we would drop her off there. When we arrived at her uncle’s place he was not at home. We then took the young woman to my home where Allie gave her supper. We then acted as go betweens as she phoned her step-father to ask him to speak to her mother. After a few phone calls and prayer John took her home to Parow at about 10.30pm, where he saw the mother and her daughter cry and hug each other and be reconciled. John informed me over the telephone (round about 11pm) as to what had transpired. God is a god of peace!
The next time we went out was on the 7 February 2004. We then wanted to just bring the Gospel message to the people at the soup kitchen. Easier said than done. We talked to them informally and told them that we would be reading from the bible on the steps of the FNB bank. Well we had about three people pitch up who basically sat on the steps with their backs to us, slurping their soup, as we read alternating between English and Afrikaans from John’s Gospel chapter three. Talk about a captive audience! However God’s word never goes out with no return. One young guy was moved to ask for prayer for his drug problem and we ministered to him.
We went out again on the 21 February 2004. Again the we followed the same pattern as our first outing and this time I said to John that God was just telling us to walk slower and take more time with the people.
This time we had another tract to hand out, Your Most Important Relationship, in both English and Afrikaans as well as The Way to God. We had also received a stamp with the church’s contact details on it and we stamped all the tracts in preparation before we went out.
The first man we met told us what an important job we were doing (message from God) and told us his favourite bible story. We chatted to the security guards who remembered us from the first time around. We came across a wedding reception and congratulated and blessed the bride and the family. The groom was apparently waiting (hiding?!) inside the restaurant.
We met quite a few people who said they were Christians. One guy was studying the end times and we chatted a bit and encouraged him and I recommended some authors to him.
The street was surprisingly busy in spite of the fact that a really nasty south-easter wind was blowing and we spoke to just over a hundred people and handed out about 80 tracts.
A nasty incident was avoided when one young man decided he was going to pick a fight with some guys who had just passed him on the street. John overheard him and told him to leave it. I basically told John to stay out of it. I think I was praying in my heart and spirit (without realizing it) and then a police van pulled up (the cops just wanted to buy something to eat) and this stopped everybody from doing anything stupid.
We had some wonderful conversations and points of contact with people and again only about three or four total rejections. By the time we were finished on the street it was about 9pm. We then took some soup up to a homeless couple that lives under the stands of the Goodwood sports grounds. John has brought this couple to church twice now. There were also three parties going on there of various noise and intensity and we chatted to some of the folk who were standing outside smoking and drinking.
We don’t force ourselves on anybody we give everyone the option of saying no to the tracts and we say its for free. When we mention the word free this immediately gets peoples attention.
So far this has been a really exhilarating experience for both John and myself, we just step out in faith on a Saturday night and we know that it is God who is doing the work, Christ the redeemer is calling the lost, His Holy Spirit works through us and touches complete strangers. All we do is try our best to listen and be obedient to His Spirit within us. We are so grateful for this opportunity to do His will.
LoCTY!!!
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