Here are my mother and my brothers

Audio Service:
Listen in English/Zulu
Listen in French – Traduction Française
Listen in German – Deutsche Übersetzung

Video Service:
View on live streaming in English/Zulu

Introduction: Dirk Combrink

We are blessed and thankful to have our dear friends from Namibia. We have had a blessed time with them this week. They are from the Henties Bay municipality: Councillor, Mrs Orbis, Deputy Mayor, Mrs Hangutenya and Mayor, Mr Honeb.

Mr Honeb

By God’s grace I can stand in front of you. Since we arrived here we have experienced a certain strength which is a spiritual strength. When Reverend Stegen visited Henties Bay we were inspired by his spiritual strength. He always said that he is a young man of 84 years. I realised what he meant. He has the strength that comes from the Almighty. He said that he would help us turn the barren land green. We did not believe that a desert could be turned green. He invited us here to show us how he has turned the barren land into productive land. The first mission was undertaken last year and my colleagues were inspired. This time, though, we had much negative publicity but we decided that we would come in spite of it. We were mocked because we were visiting KSB. We have been inspired by what is being done. The people who conducted the tours did not speak much but actions speak rather than words.

I am interested in community empowerment and we were impressed with the places where the agricultural activities are taking place. At Maqhogo we were impressed by the way women till the soil and their testimonies touched us. In spite of the heat there we were interested when these women expressed their sincere appreciation for what the mission has done for them.

On behalf of Namibia and my fellow councillors, I express our sincere appreciation to Reverend Stegen and his team. Everything that we have witnessed is because there is a stronghold with the Almighty. Unless we have that stronghold, nothing will be successful. I call on the Deputy Mayor to add some words.

Mrs Hangutenya

Good morning. Firstly, I would like to thank our Lord Jesus. Allow me to speak in my language – Khwe-khwe). We appreciate the fact that we could see Reverend Stegen. I would like to share what I have observed this week at the Centre. When I prayed, it was revealed to me that there was a fight within the mission between the Spirit and the flesh. In this fight, someone fought himself out of the flesh and with the spiritual bond he has conquered the flesh.
Last night I received a message to share with you. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20: 15 – 17. It was the message the Lord said I should pass onto to you. Do not be afraid. Do not be weak. The fight is not ours. The fight is from above. We should pray, keep the bond and fast. With these few words may our Lord bless us.

Dirk Combrink

Thank you very much. May the Lord bless you richly as you return and grant you all that you need to fulfil His will. Mr Honeb said that he thanked God that someone had broken through the level of the flesh to grasp the spiritual and conquer. My siblings and I can testify how often we went to Reverend Stegen with disturbing things we had heard and met up with. His response was: “Keep your hearts clean and serve the Lord.” We thank God for leaders like him who lead us through these times.

Sermon: Mr Jabulani Dube

I greet Reverend Stegen and his family. I feel unworthy to stand here and I am also a little nervous. A father’s presence can make you feel nervous because he will be quick to spot your errors.

When our Namibian friends spoke, I noticed that their language is similar to IsiZulu because of the click sounds in the words. Thank you for your encouragement. Your words give us strength to go forward. We are aware of the raging spiritual battle that aims to destroy God’s work. We are grateful that you grasp the mystery and are united with us.

In 1963 Reverend Stegen was mocked and regarded as a tramp because he was led by God and called to serve amongst the African people. He has sensed God’s inspiration, His leading and His presence right into the present. At Maphumulo people fought against him. He was prohibited by the Verwoerd government from conducting funerals so he had to obtain permission from the white magistrate each time. He requested permission so often that the magistrate eventually gave him the freedom to continue. The Zulus themselves requested that Revered Stegen conduct the funerals. Reverend Stegen is a bond servant and slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been faithful in bringing the gospel to the African people.

In 1963 when I was 13 years old, we sought God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Reverend Stegen sought God’s will and His guidance and he brought us God’s word. God worked mightily through him and many congregations were established through his work.

When we arrived at KwaSizabantu there were sugar cane and wattle plantations. When God revealed to him what he should do, he was obedient. He began planting things so that he could feed people who came here. People wondered what was wrong with him because he removed the wattle and sugar cane plantations. But God guided him and he did what God commanded him to do. He had a small group of African co-workers with whom he shared ideas. He would say, “I feel something on my heart. Pray about it.” We should continue with that which God has laid on his heart.

It was said that in 2019 that we would see big things. People of his own race turned against him and other African co-workers on the mission. Lies are being published which aim to extinguish what God has done. The blueprint is in Reverend Stegen’s hands. He remains a man of vision. There are many things which he still aims to accomplish. Many wish him dead but there are those who appreciate him. Do not lose that which God has given and which was born through the travail of prayer. Do not throw it away.

Let us turn to God’s word:

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”  Matthew 12:46 – 50

The IsiZulu Bible has a heading for this text which says: The true family of Jesus. If a person is not a true relative of Jesus, they will oppose Jesus. The word makes it clear. The people had pity on Jesus’s mother and brothers who were outside and Jesus was inside. But Jesus said that his real mother and brothers were those who were with Him on the inside.

As Jesus preached a man interrupted and told Him that His mother and brothers were standing outside. Jesus answered in an unexpected way. He pointed to his disciples and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!” Matthew 12:49.

If you are not in God’s will, you will go against God and find yourself on the outside. You will feel urged to write things in the papers or on the internet. You will be drawn to pornography on your cell phone. You will defile yourself. If you use your phone under the blankets while others are asleep, are you inside or outside? Look at what the people in the world are busy with. Maybe you are in the service physically but mentally you are looking at pornographic images. Some change their complexions through darkening or lightening creams but when you reach heaven, God will expect you to look the way He created you. Where there is a black preacher preaching, some people sleep or leave the service but when you reach heaven, God will remind you that you slept during services.

Are you inside or outside? Do you sing in a choir with sin in your life? Are you doing the will of God – reading your Bible, praying and singing – but you are not free from sin?

Africans born with a white skin are created by God but they are sought and killed by inyangas for use in medicines. People who kill are outside the will of God. Satan has been let loose. Notice how people are being killed. The lives of fathers, shop and taxi owners are in danger. One thing will help us -return to the Lord – go inside with Him.

Jesus once said the following words to His disciples: 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. John 6:56 This was something hard to accept. Some of them became upset, angry and irritated. They were offended. When God’s word reaches you and tells you to get up and go and make something right with a certain person, do you become offended? People opposed Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, who died for us. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” John 6:67  68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68.

It was after this that Satan entered Judas. He gave Judas the idea to betray Jesus. Judas went to the high priest and they agreed on a fixed amount of money in order to betray Jesus. Can you imagine that Judas Iscariot who had been with Jesus, was trusted with the purse and had witnessed the miracles, betrayed Him? Satan entered his heart. Do not lend an ear to Satan. He can give you demonic plans to kill a certain person or to do defiling things at night. Satan plays around people of all ages because older people are troubled with lust just like young people.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, it offended them so much that they left. Brethren, let us not become confused. The mayor and deputy mayor encouraged and strengthened us. It is easy to be affected by what you read and hear. Doubt enters and then you pack your bags and leave. You are on the outside. Jesus may say of you, “You are not my brother, not my mother.” How is it possible that Jesus said of the men, “Here is my mother…”? Jesus was speaking a different language here.

The choir was once on an outreach and the whites were put in one venue to sleep and the Africans in another. Two of the white brethren said that they could not sleep apart from their African brethren. They wanted to sleep in the same venue as they slept. Do you see what happens when people meet Jesus and He works in their lives? We serve one Jesus and we will go to one heaven. Reverend Stegen brought us this message years ago – there is one heaven and one hell. There is no segregation either place. Which heaven will you go to if you discriminate?

When Jesus brought the message that they should eat His flesh and drink His blood, they could not grasp it. They did not realise that Jesus was speaking a spiritual language. They just left.

There was once a man whose life was not straight. He said that a person who keeps dogs and breeds with them will never enter heaven. We tried to correct the person’s ideas by saying that when the Bible refers to dogs it means two-legged ones, not four-legged animals. Peter said that people should not return to their sin like dogs who return to their vomit. People can live a dog-like life, an immoral life. This person refused help and left.

In Proverbs it says that the one who confesses and forsakes his sins will find mercy. Someone in another congregation said that a person can confess their sins but everything is not necessary. Practise discernment. Do you still have that close fellowship with Jesus? You must part from and forsake your sin. Many people do not like this message and they do not want to hear it.

Conclusion: Dietmar Joosten
Some of the worst enemies of the cross are so-called Christians but do they do the will of the Father in heaven? God’s will means that you humble yourself and are obedient to what He says. We want rights but in the kingdom of God there are no rights, only those who do the will of My Father are My family. The will of our Father is that we come to Christ with all our iniquities and hold nothing back. There should be no sin that we do not want to expose.

CCE Choir

Song by the Namibians

KwaSizabantu Choir