Teachers of the Nations

Today, the team from YWAM Perth joined us for a farewell meeting. After declarations and the song of worship, the team presented the gospel based on the four types of seed and soil. One team member represented the person distracted by wealth, and the word is "stolen off the path." Another person represented the individual who allows the thorns of life's problems to choke out the word's life.
Another represented the rocky soil of the person who receives the word with joy but never matures or grows. Lastly, a fourth team member represented good soil. The students were asked which camp they found themselves in. Joel then instructed them to go to the team member who best represented their spiritual state.
Afterward, he provided various instructions to help them find life in Christ, including journaling, talking with friends, asking God for forgiveness, confessing sins to one another, engaging in Bible study, visiting and learning from others via social media, and even walking in nature.
To grow, a plant needs light, which represents Christ's presence. It needs good soil, which represents a teachable spirit. It needs to be watered, which represents practicing God's presence, and it needs air, which means engaging with other believers and in God in unique ways to remain refreshed.
We ended our time with hugs and prayer as we sent the team out on their way back to Australia. Please pray for safe travels and for God to restore them spiritually, physically, and emotionally. 

We were blessed with a team from YWAM Perth, Australia, on Wednesday. After our declarations, they sang several songs, including "I Have the Joy of the Lord in My Heart." They focused on teaching the children about the joy of the Lord. With a poignant skit, they portrayed how often we try to find our joy in things, whether expensive watches, phones, or even other people. At the end of the skit, the person who had been trying to find joy in things asks how they can receive it. The response is to accept Jesus as Lord.

Then, two team members shared their personal testimony of how God delivered them from anger and from acting out when they were younger, and helped them reconcile with their siblings and respond with patience. They asked if any children had not received Christ into their hearts.

I stressed that Jesus didn’t just come to be our Savior but also our Lord. We cannot produce joy or any of the other fruits of the Spirit without the presence of the Holy Spirit. Later, they asked a child to pray for them. I was impressed with Candace, who prayed with such sincerity and authority in Avian Park. It shows me that God is making disciples who can worship in spirit and truth.

Today, we were blessed with a team from YWAM Australia. We had a wonderful time with worship at the noon service. I brought the message. The main goal of missions is worship. The reason missions exist is that God does not receive the worship due His name. But how can we minister effectively unless we abide in the vine?

During the recent storms, there was a period without water or electricity. The lack of key infrastructure made life difficult. Without water to bathe, we became smelly. We couldn’t keep things clean. We were thirsty. Without electricity, we couldn’t cook or see clearly.

Christians are the light of the world. We also have the living water flowing through us. Jesus said that out of our bellies will flow living water, which means we must connect to the Holy Spirit. Spiritually thirsty, people come to us to drink. We must be connected to share the living water and the light of Christ. 

Christians are called to be the light of the world. But if we do not remain connected to the vine as Jesus describes in John 15, then we don’t have a power source. Just as the electrical grid and water system require maintenance, so do our spiritual lives. We can use facsimiles to try to meet the need, but it doesn’t work. During storms, I used solar-powered batteries, gas canisters, and bottled water. But they were all poor substitutes for the municipality's infrastructure.

After a week, it became tiring to try to find water, see in the dark, and cook without electricity. In the same way, our spirits get weary when we try to replace God with things, success, and people. Ultimately, we need the real power source and life-giver, Jesus Christ.

When our lives are full of worship, we attract people who want to know where our joy, strength, and resilience come from. Rather than forcing people into active mission, our lives radiate his power and presence, attracting people who witness us shine his light. We ended our time by listening to the song "I Just Want to Speak the Name of Jesus." Jesus has the power to burn through the darkness to destroy every stronghold and shine like a fire.

Today, we went deeper into our study of the armor of God. Our feet are shod with peace. That means that we should have God's peace wherever those feet go. If they’re bound to the paths of righteousness, where God is leading us, according to Psalm 23, we will have peace. When we step out of God's will, there is no peace.
God's peace enabled Queen Esther to face King Xerxes. Even though she knew her life was in danger, she was able to go before the King without his approval because she had God's strategy. 

Our souls can use the spiritual strategy of “Red Light, Green Light.” God tells us what he will bless, such as honoring our parents and being people of integrity. Those things have the green light. God's word tells us what a red light is, things that he commands us not to do, and things that he outlines as sin.

When we go against those rules, we will not have God's peace. We will experience anxiety, and the enemy will have an open door to attack us. When we experience a check in our spirit, we need to stop. Just as we would stop at a red light. If we don’t, we’re likely to get hit by a spiritual Big Mack truck. 

Often, we don’t wait for God's strategy. We need to be more like Esther. She fasted for three days until she knew what God would have her do. Then, and only then, did she move forward, and she had success. When we do likewise, we experience peace.

Whenever there’s a check in our spirit, that should tell us to be cautious;instead, we should wait on the Lord to give us further instruction. God's promises to give us direction no matter what in Isaiah 31:20: “Whether you turn to the left or to the right, you hear your voice behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it.’”

He’s promised to give us his peace, which serves as an umpire in our souls, saying that’s out of bounds or that’s a home run. Another spiritual game that will teach us a valuable lesson is “Mother May I.” Before we do anything, we should say, "God, may I," and let him respond, “Yes, you may,” or " You may not.” Doing so will ensure that the shoes of peace stay on our feet.

The Holy Spirit is the one who equips us with his shoes of peace, as peace is one of the fruit of the Spirit, together with love, joy, self-control, goodness, kindness, patience, faithfulness, and long-suffering. With the shoes of peace, we make spiritual progress in the hard places. For Roman soldiers, boots had nails that penetrated the soles, providing traction on slippery, dangerous surfaces. In the same way, God's peace makes us surefooted.

We began by quieting our spirits and centering our thoughts. All of our worship songs focus on the theme of not being afraid. Today’s lesson is entitled, Using Fear for Good, based on the royal lessons from the book of Esther, Good Girls of Excellence. Esther certainly would’ve been justifiably afraid to speak out, especially since the king hadn’t requested her presence in over 30 days. But Mordecai encouraged her not to think solely of herself, but to participate in the deliverance of the Jews that God had preordained. This biblical example shows us that even in fear, faith can lead us to fulfill God's purpose. See Esther 4:13-14.
Sometimes, fear can paralyze us. We know what we need to do, but we’re too afraid. Esther used that fear, and it made her brave. Remember, true courage is doing things when you’re afraid, inspiring us to grow and face our own fears.

There are many things that people fear: missing out, inadequacy, not measuring up, insects, heights, and ferocious animals. These phobias can limit our lives by forcing us to avoid the things that frighten us. But I reminded the children that God promised in 2 Timothy 1:7 that he’s not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power, and a sound mind. To apply this, we can memorize these verses and repeat them when fear arises, reminding ourselves of God's promises.

He also tells us in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things in Christ Jesus, who strengthens us, and my favorite verse for the last few years is Second Corinthians 12:9: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' We can meditate on these scriptures daily to build our faith and courage in facing fears.

Today’s lesson centered on spiritual warfare. Aline brought the message to life. It was the story of David and Goliath. She dressed a smaller student as David in all the armor of God, including the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and the shoes of peace. She reminded the students that they are involved in an invisible warfare.

Earlier, we had sung songs based on Ephesians 6 about putting on the full armor of God and praying at all times for the saints. One of the songs we reviewed was “Our Struggle," which is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, the authorities, the rulers, and the hosts in the heavenly realms. Paul tells us, therefore, to put on the full armor of God.

She told the students that the greater one, Christ, is living in them, and therefore they have the victory over the enemy. She compared Satan to a dog that barks but has no authority unless we open the door to him through sin. I reminded the children that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And by hiding God‘s word in their heart, the Holy Spirit teaches them how to use the sword of the Spirit against the enemy. Obedience to God‘s word is part of the shield of faith that extinguishes the arrows of the enemy. 
We ended our time asking God to equip us to bring our own soulish desires under Holy Spirit's authority.

Hallelujah, the ministry house and our neighbors have electricity. Thank you for praying. Please continue to pray for the other parts of the Western Cape that still are without electricity. 

A battering storm pummeled two Western Cape provinces earlier this week, leaving 90,000 people homeless. Residential areas suffered great damage, and many informal settlements  were completely erased. This area is known for its fruit juice. Perhaps many of you have purchased Ceres fruit juice. Unfortunately, fruit and wine farms are flooded. Schools and businesses were also destroyed.

In Worcester, passes and bridges were impassable due to damage or destruction. Recently, some passages have been reopened, allowing provisions and needed rebuilding materials to reach the area. 

Since Monday, there has been no electricity in the ministry neighborhood. On Friday, we also lost access to tap water because of storm damage to major pipes in the mountain reservoir. Gratefully, the Breede Valley Municipality is working diligently throughout the night to restore services to impacted communities.

Those living in the informal settlements are the worst affected by the storm. After ministry on Wednesday in Avian Park, I visited several homes that have sustained incredible damage, leaving them with standing water, wet walls: a recipe for pneumonia and upper respiratory infections.  These developments are especially troubling, given the high rate of tuberculosis in the town. 

Ask the Lord to send his warring angels as people do this important rebuilding work. Pray for those who are still living in shelters. Pray for those who are bereaved. Ten people lost their lives in the flood. Pray that God would give us wisdom on how to best help those who have been affected. Please pray for my health and strength, for those assisting the ministry, for the children, and for their families as well. 

Presently, I’m focusing my efforts on providing nutritious meals to the children during meetings and on addressing dampness in some of the homes. If you would like to help, you can message me directly. Thank you to My Father’s House Full Gospel Church for their kind donation. A large thank you goes out to Cell Tronics for helping us with our electricity needs. 

Today, we gathered after the brutal storm. I used the storm and its torrential rains as an object lesson about God's power. I juxtaposed the foolishness of trying to fight powerful storms. In the same way that we can feel the wind and experience the strength and destructive power of a storm, God is also powerful, but he is humble.
Although he is omnipotent and is deserving of honor and praise, he humbled himself and became like one of us. Just as we have a healthy respect for electricity, fire, and nature, how much more so should we honor God and reverence him?
I told the children some interesting facts that really show God‘s love for us: he’s numbered the hairs on their heads, he captures all of their tears in a bottle, and writes them in his book. Despite being the creator of the universe, he loves us individually and personally.
Jesus wasn’t bothered by the storm; instead, he spoke, "Peace be still," and the waves calmed to a whisper, and the sea became like glass (Mark 4:39). Jesus lives in us. When we know who we are in God, as it is promised in the Old Testament, we will do great exploits (Daniel 11:32).
Then I told a story about a pack of dogs trying to attack my friends and me. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, I rebuked the dogs, and they ran whimpering away- just a small example of walking in God’s authority.
Then we reviewed some key proverbs about being wise and listening to counsel, and Riverview enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and cookies. In Avian Park, they received treat bags that Eletje and I prepared the day before. We ended our time by asking God to help us know his love and power in us and to manifest it through us.