Funeral of Inge Joosten – The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?

Jabulani Dube

I do not feel worthy to say that there are only 3 of us African brethren left who were there in the 1960s at the start of this work. Apartheid was rife at that time. Rev Stegen needed a place where he could hold services for the African people. He found the place at the Joostens at Efaya. He loved that place. Dietmar’s father prepared rooms for us to sleep in. We were well treated and enjoyed it. We dreaded a time when the family would turn against us but that never happened because Opa and Oma loved being with us. (Gopapa Stegen from Mbalane married a Witthoft, and so did Oom Jan Joosten. Dietmar’s mother is a Stegen. She was the 14^th child in the family. Opa was the 15^th child in his family.)

The Lord Jesus saved many people at Efaya. A tractor brought people from the Pomeroy and Tugela Ferry areas to Efaya, in sunshine or rain. Others would come with trucks and pickups from different farm areas. At that time the Lord’s work had not grown like today where buses and sprinters fetch people.

I loved soccer. I was the best at dribbling and scoring. Services would start on a Friday and end on the Sunday. When I saw that I would miss out on the weekend services, I played very badly. I missed the ball and was moved further back in the field until I got kicked out of the team and I could attend the services. We did not complain about the transport or weather because we were on fire for the Lord.

At Efaya, a man dreamt that there was a huge wall in front of him. As he confessed his sins, the bricks fell out of the wall one at a time. This man had the courage to wake Rev Stegen in his room and tell him about his dream. (His room was always open. He was unmarried at that time.)

He did not know what his dream meant. After he confessed his sins, he could hear a person on the other side. Isaiah 59 says that when we confess our sins, the wall breaks down and we have communion with God. The wall between man and God is built from a young age – stealing sugar puts bricks in the wall. Rev Stegen was still young at that time and the Lord revealed this. Rev Stegen shared that testimony and it helped us. The Lord worked and moved in our hearts.

As the Lord worked, people came to the mission. They saw where Rev Stegen stayed. That is how the blacks and whites began mixing – in church, for funerals and weddings.

At Mbalane and Efaya the doors were open. We could eat with them in their homes. We were amazed. Their eyes were opened. They realised that there is only one hell and one heaven. That is how the Lord worked.

The songs that the choir sang were the songs they sang for Oma. At the time they sang for her, this came to me. I said, ‘Oma, if the Lord Jesus comes, put out your hand and grab hold of His.’ As I said it, I saw her face change, I got a fright and thought she was dying right there. There was an amazing brightness and glory on her face. Another one said, ‘Don’t look left or right – if the Lord Jesus comes, stretch out your hand.’

Tante Inge was not proud. She revealed what the Lord had shown her and for which she needed prayer. One day Dietmar asked me to visit his mother. Dietmar is an amazing person, he understands these secrets. As I arrived, she said, ‘The Lord has revealed this to me, please pray for me.’ If you confess your sins something happens in your heart. If you apologise to someone, something happens in your heart.

Dietmar and the Joosten family, may you be comforted by the privilege you had.

Oma chose the text of Psalm 27:1-2 for her funeral, and I thought it was quite challenging to preach on. When I prayed, God showed me what I could say.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1-2

Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight. Oma has fought the good fight; we saw the way the Lord helped her. Amazingly she held onto that refuge which is the Lord Jesus Christ. She was in the stronghold of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the storms came, they didn’t affect her because she was in the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

When others deserted, she could have joined them and infected her husband and children, but she fought the good fight. When I told her that her gown and crown were ready, her face changed. She looked forward to that. These are the type of people we need who support their husbands and children and do not infect with an evil spirit. Their families are blessed by their openness.

Saul persecuted the Christians and dragged them to prison. (Acts 9) Imagine how many of them died, but through that, the Lord Jesus came with the light in Acts 9:3–5

³ Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

If you oppose God’s work and His children, you persecute God Himself. Those who attack the preachers of the word, the mission and God’s work, attack God. Those who gossip about preachers and God’s children, persecute the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁶ But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” ⁷ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:6-9

Saul went blind. Annanias was instructed to pray for Saul, but it was difficult for him. There are people who need a lightning bolt to realise that what they are doing is wrong. They touch God’s eye if they speak about God’s children and those in the work of the Lord. When you gossip with your wife, you do not realise you persecute God. Therefore, you need this lightning to show you what you have done that is wrong. We need to pray for those who oppose the work of the Lord, that their eyes may be opened to see the love of the Lord and that they are persecuting God Himself.

⁹ Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 1 John 2:9

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalms 27:1

We need to be in the light so that we can receive salvation. If you are in a refuge, a stronghold even if you are shot at, you will be in the Lord Jesus Christ and safe. If the Lord Jesus has worked in you and transformed you, you will not have evil thoughts, but you will be a new creation.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:11

Spiritually, you are a person walking in darkness. When it is dark a person can sleep even if a mamba lies next to him but when the light comes, the mamba will be seen. When the light enters, you will see that this child or husband is no longer living in the light, and you will look for help for the person. When the light enters it expels the darkness. Light and darkness do not go together. Do not say, ‘I am a Christian. I pray, sing and praise God.’ But if you still have hatred towards your brother, you live in darkness. If you are in the light, you are in this refuge that is our Lord Jesus Christ. If your salvation is not in the stronghold of the Lord Jesus Christ, it will be taken away. Return to the Lord so that He can put that light back into your life. It does not help if you say that you are a Christian, a believer, but you still hate your brother.

²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25

Some Christians hold onto grudges, and it is difficult to forgive others. Paul says that a person must die with regards to sin. Rev Stegen taught us and it says in the Bible that you should confess your sin one to another that you may be saved.

Brethren and family, be comforted, our heroine has gone to be with God. She supported her cousin, Rev Stegen. She stood with him. She was not like a pole that could be moved because there was a weak foundation. She was firm and immoveable. If you are a child of God, yet spiritually you are insecure, ask yourself whether you are in this refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ. The choir sang, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ If you are the Lord’s sheep, you will not just eat anywhere. The Shepherd guards you. If you are living a life of sin, do you have a Shepherd? The deceased said, ‘The Lord Jesus is with me. I am walking with Jesus.’

I am reminded of my father who was in the room with my mother, and he said, ‘There is the Lord Jesus coming to fetch me.’ Mt mother said that she could not see Him, but my father could. If someone speaks like that and they are about to go and one could assume that they are crazy because they see things people cannot see.

Allow me to leave you with this: Do you have this light in your heart or are you ruled by Satan?

Blessed are those who, when they age, stay in the Lord otherwise you will notice anger and irritability coming out of their mouths. Brethren, let us hold onto the cross. It might be heavy but let us go forward and serve the Lord. The word says, if my enemy wants to devour my flesh, we will stay in the Lord Jesus.

Dietmar’s father once told me that a person who opposed him phoned him. That person spoke and spoke, so Dietmar’s father put the phone down. The phone rang again, and the person said, ‘I was speaking to you.’ Dietmar’s father responded with, ‘Oh, I thought you had finished speaking but if you still have something to say, say it.’ The person spoke and then he put the phone down. He felt that he should not respond if someone had spoken in that manner. So he remained silent. We thank the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that reveals if there is light there is no more hatred or grudges.

Lastly, I saw a person at Maphumulo who said that he was not teaching even though he had the qualifications. I asked him why. He said his problem was that he hated his sister. She had a position in the church. He asked me to pray with him so that he would be hired by a school. But I refused because he hated his sister. I asked why he hated his sister. He said he was told that when he went to a school for a job, his sister advised the school not to hire him and because of that he hated her. I said I would pray that his hatred would end. The man phoned back after three weeks and said that he still hated his sister. I said that I would continue to pray for his hatred to end. After some time, he phoned and said that his hatred had gone and then I agreed to pray regarding his work situation because he had forgiven his sister.

²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  Mark 11:24.

A week later he phoned to say that he had got a teaching position. When your prayers are not answered, you are living in darkness and hatred, your life is not helped.

Dietmar’s mother said, ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation, my refuge will be in the house of the Lord where I will serve Him.’ Titus makes it quite clear that this salvation is a gift from God. Pray and ask God for this gift that you can also be saved. Tell the Lord, ‘I need this light because You are the light.’ If you are in the light and if God is the owner of the light, why are you still in darkness and being overcome by it?

³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. Matthew 22:30

When your family backslides, won’t those who have gone ahead, see you? You think you can live any way you want to but are those who have gone before us disheartened or sad when they watch us?