I greet the congregation and those listening through livestream or on the radio. I pray that you will be blessed this morning.
I was blessed by what I heard on the radio this morning where they discussed issues such as abortion and women having more than one husband and gender issues. Where is our country headed to if we persist in this direction. The choir has just sung that people should see us as the light of the world. Preachers of the gospel need to speak courageously despite the consequences. Speaking the truth could result in imprisonment. Many Christians have been jailed because they preached the truth. Do you realise the direction in which the world is moving? Each person should plead with the Lord that He will work. We are facing a battle. The world is evil. Murder, rape, theft, looting is the result of the evil in the world. We should go deep in prayer.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Psalm 33:12
Here on earth kings rule nations. In cities and townships councillors and mayors have been selected and it should be clear how they help the people. Chiefs rule over certain areas. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. When you see some nations, is God their God? If you see what they are doing, is the Lord their God and does He rule over them?
God created the world and He created man in His image. God created many different things and then He said, “Let us create Man in our image.” He created man in the image of God - three-in-one. People should not sin as they have been created in God’s image. People who are called the children of God should not sin. If you call yourself a child of God, you become part of the nation of God. A child of God should not sin, confess it and then return to it. I cannot understand it when a person calls himself a child of God, but he commits sin - he smokes, drinks alcohol, gets drunk - but he says he is a child of God. He gossips, speaks evil, tells lies, but he says he is a child of the Lord. Does such a person belong to the nation of the Lord and is he blessed? If we are children of the Lord and call ourselves by His name, we become the nation of the Lord and although we are from different backgrounds and cultures, we belong to that one nation which belongs to the Lord. Yet before God you do not belong to God’s people if you live a life of sin. The blessing lies on those people who belong to the Lord’s nation. We children of the Lord, of faith, we are His inheritance.
The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; Psalm 33:13
The Lord looks from heaven and sees the sons of men. God sees us all over the world. He sees everybody. When it is dark and there is no light, God sees you even though you think nobody else sees you. When you mock and speak evil of the other children of the Lord, God is there, He sees it.
The Bible says, do not be deceived… In the Zulu translation it says do not go on wrong ways. You can liken it to a person who says he is going to Durban, but then points in the direction of Kranskop. He is going in the wrong direction. How many people who were with us haven’t been deceived? They had a wonderful home in a good environment, lovely children but then they left because they had been deceived. Have you not been deceived if this happens? A spirit has entered you. You are hearing things, like when a person who plans to commit suicide is stopped just before he can do it, he may say that there were voices telling him to kill himself and to do it quickly. There are people among us who hear such voices.
A Christian can be likened to a diesel-powered car. Once it has run out of diesel it cannot continue. When the tank is then refilled and you want to start the engine, you must wait until the air in the system is removed. If that is not done properly the car will travel a short distance and switch off again. There are people who still have the spirit of 1995 - which is why they stop and start. They criticise and mock. If the spirit of 2000 has entered your life, you will find mockery and criticism just like a person who is drawn to porn on the internet. That spirit has never left him. When he goes onto the internet for something, he is immediately drawn to the images that pop up and they feed that spirit within.
When we counsel them, it is clear that such a person is rotten to the core. His whole mind is warped. It is hard work to remove that spirit from his mind, through the grace of God. You pray for him that that spirit may be done away with and that he may be saved from the chains of the devil. These chains cause a woman to see a man and undress him; a man sees a woman and undresses her. Why? They watched pornography and looked at those evil pictures. Those people who reveal themselves like this are devil worshippers. People murder themselves when they look at such pictures. A person who is 21 years old may be looking at pictures of naked people who are as old as their parents. If you are in such a state, can you say you are a chosen nation? Have you come out of darkness and entered light?
We pray for those who have left and were deceived. To deceive someone is evil. You can hang a dead snake in front of people in order to scare them. Everyone runs away because they have been deceived. Once the air has been removed from the diesel engine, it will go on forever. If that strong spirit is removed from your life, then the engine can go forever. If you have been set free from the spirit of pornography, I thank the Lord for you. It is obvious when you meet with people who are bound by porn - they are depressed. How can you be called a child of the light if you walk in the darkness?
…from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth… Psalm 33:14
From His dwelling place, God looks at you. As you sit in this service He looks. If you are at home, He sees you. When you commit sin, He sees you. When you commit sin in the toilet, He looks at you. When you commit that sin which causes your confusion. He looks at you. While you are in your beautiful home, He sees you. How are things going in your life? Do you belong to God’s nation? Young person, are things going well? Can God testify that you belong to His nation? God possibly says, “No, you do not belong to my nation.” Others may have also observed that you do not walk on the right way.
…he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. Psalm 33:15
God sees everything that passes through your mind and heart. Jealousy enters through the eyes, to the mind and to the heart. He who created our heart looks. What does He see in our hearts? What does He see that is wrong? Bring it to light. Reveal the hidden things so that you might be free. We have a Gospel that sets a person completely and abundantly free. Have you experienced this? Do you serve the King of kings who can set you free so that you can serve Him? Some people fall asleep in church because they do not sleep at night. Why? They are driven by lust.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love…Psalm 33:18
God’s eye is upon those who fear Him and follow Him. How much more when we commit sin? If you are proud, even in the way you walk, His eye sees you. A leader once said that the sin of pride goes hand in hand with the sin of lust. If a person confesses that he is proud, a counsellor should question him about the lust in his life. Some people’s lives are ruled by the way others see them. They dress for the opposite sex. They dress to be seen by others. They dye their hair so that it will not look grey. All that is part of pride.
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Psalm 34:11
You commit sin because you do not fear the Lord. You love sin whereas you should hate it. Young people, what do you do with your hands and fingers? Isaiah 55 makes it quite clear that God hates dirty hands and fingers. This thing rules people who call themselves children of God. Can you say, “Regardless of what I meet up with I am chosen. I have set God before me, and I will not sin.” Husband, wife, are you faithful in your marriage? What dirties your eyes? Such a person gets nowhere spiritually. He is going straight to hell. Hellfire is waiting for such a person. The Bible says, “Woe to the person who commits sin, knowing it is sin.”
What type of lives should we live? Our lives should show that we belong to the nation of God. Are there people in our midst who say that they belong to the nation of God? I am happy if there are those who can say this. Are there those who can say my hands and fingers are clean and pure, there is no defilement on them? If you live an evil, sinful life, where will you flee when that great day arrives? Some people only go to town to feed on the people and evil pictures. A person dirties his own mind. The word of God says Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Kneel and pray, “God teach me what it means to fear you.” There are those who look at evil things on their cell phones, but they tell others not to do so.
What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Psalm 34:12
If you want to see and experience good, fear God. If you desire life, do good before God. Those who do good fear God. They are a chosen nation of God. When you see certain nations, it is obvious God is not there with them. If you are proud, what are you? You are like a flea that any person can trample on, and your life is gone. There are people who are proud when in actual fact they are nothing.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Psalm 34:13
People love speaking evil and deceitful things with their lips. People exaggerate by adding salt and pepper to what they say, although they know it is not the truth. Liars will never inherit life. Ananias and Sapphira lied and died in front of the disciples. You may say that you have been lying for some time, but you are still alive, but before God you are a corpse.
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14
You may have no peace. Your wife and children may see that you are restless. Father, your children may have no peace. The Bible says that we should desire peace and seek after it. If your sin troubles you, pray and seek to overcome. You might have noticed that your own parents are being deceived and going backwards spiritually. There is no greater evil than receiving the spirit of deceit and grudges. It is wonderful if a person can admit that an evil spirit is troubling him - he will get help quickly. If a person admits that he has the spirit of anger or grudges, he can be helped. If a person says that he has no peace and he cannot sleep at night because of demons, he can be helped.
Today it is very clear whether a nation belongs to God or not. Do our lives as Christians belong to God? God in heaven sees your life, He sees when you go out and come in. Even if your parents do not notice what is going on in your life, God’s eyes behold the righteous day after day. To which nation do you belong, the nation that is blessed? We praise God and thank Him if you belong to God’s nation.
Young people, maybe a week does not go by that you do not have evil lustful thoughts. What is your thought life like?
We learned in the 70s to pray first before we drive a car. What does this teach us? It teaches us not to leave the Lord Jesus behind when we do things, we should ask Him before we start things. May He lead and guide you in all that you do. If you leave Him behind, things will not work out for you. Invite the Lord, ask Him to be with you. Pray, “Lord, today this and that needs to be done, please help me.” Even if you have confessed your sin, go back to the Lord and pray, “God, grant me a heart of grace.” David said in one of the Psalms, “Create in me, oh Lord, a pure heart.” If you do not respect your parents and other siblings, go back and cry to the Lord and say, “Lord, create in me an obedient, respectful heart. Lord, I have no blessing. I do not belong to that blessed nation.” Some of you know what it means to go with a blessing, you know what a blessing is like and what it means to ask for a blessing and receive it. Sometimes you experience things that you realise are God’s blessings which you do not deserve.
Grasp this: the Lord must go ahead of you and not behind you. A king is a king because of the nation, a preacher is a preacher because of the congregation, parents are parents because of the children and they must be built up.
As I conclude the service, have you been built up? As I saw the choir singing this morning, I realised that it is only God’s grace that once again the choir can sing. It is grace that we may still meet. I do not take it lightly. The song they sang admonishes Christians to wake up. There are some Christians who fool themselves so that when everything goes well, they take it easy. They think they will just stay at KSB, but they do not know what tomorrow will be like. They think their parents will always be there, but they will pass away. We should lean on the Lord and not let Him go. Young person, once you have received the Gospel, hold onto it. Do not use old age as an excuse for sin – “Oh, excuse him, he is getting old.” Let us live for the Lord so that our lives may confirm that we are living for the Lord.
Never preach to tickle the ears. If you must be stern with your wife and children, do it. Do it because God tells you, because this is the Gospel God gave us.
Are we a blessed nation, are we walking on a chosen road? Is God made happy through what He sees? Even though we come from different backgrounds, we are one nation through Him. I feel sorry for you if you still hold grudges against people of another nation. How will you live with those people in heaven?
One day there were flowers in a vase in front of the pulpit and while I was preaching, saying that there was no heaven or hell for blacks and whites separately, the flowers shook. I realised that we had touched hell. Hell is a reality. Heaven is a reality. Believe and do not stop believing. There is no time like today that we can grow firm and strong in the Lord.
(We find fathers who condone wrong in their child’s life only because they know that they are receiving an income from the child, which puts food on their table. We may say don’t dress in this way and their reply is that that their father likes it and allows it.)