God the Keeper

(The church in Siyabuswa)

This is the first sermon of Pastor Thulane Iven Mahlangu who spent 2 years in prison. He had recently been released from prison on the 16^th of August 2010. This is the first sermon I attended since he was released from prison;

God the Keeper

Psalms 91:14-16

14. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15. “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.

16. “With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

The are seven things that God promised to do for those who are obedient to him.

God said,

· He will make you free. This will happen if ONLY you are obedient to Him; if ONLY you live by His word, and you stay in Him. If you want to be free from whatever situation you are facing, do His word.

· God will raise you up. Philipians 2:9, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above all names.” The same way God raised His Son, He will do it to you. He will lift you up. If you are obedient to Him, He will raise you up. David was obedient to God; that is why he conquered if the feared man during his time, Goliath. God raised Him up even if no noticed him because he was obedient to God. We are given the name that we will use so that He can lift us up. No matter what kind of storms we are facing, God will be with us.

· Verse 15 “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.” God will answer. If you call unto Him, He will respond. God respond any time you call on Him. He respond in the morning; He respond in mid-day; and He respond in the evening. Jeremiah 33:3 “Call me, and I will answer; and I will tell you great and deep things you are not aware of.” No matter who you are, God will respond to you. God will take you to an amazing level if you call upon Him. We can do nothing without Him.

· God will always be with you. God will be with you in troubles. He will not take you out of troubles as you expect, but He will be with you. He was with Meshack, Abednego and ... God was with these men in the fire. He did not take them out just like that, but He had to with the first. When it is an uphill in our lives, God carries us on His shoulders. God will free you, and He will carry you.

· Verse 16, “With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation”. God will surely give us long life. If you know Him, He will expand your life span. Verse 7, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” If you trust God, thousands will fall, but you will stand still. People will ace storms, but you will stand unshaken. People will be amazed, what type of a person you are. God promised us good things if ONLY we are obedient to Him. Be to God ans stay in Him.

(Evangelist Thulane Mahlangu with his little daughter, Mpumie)

John 15 “I am a true vine, and my Father is the gardener, 2. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bera fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

God prunes us so that we can be more fruitful. If you are facing any storm, you must know that God is preparing you for something great. He want you to be a better person. Yes it is painful, but you need to go through pruning for you to be a better person.

(Ps. Thulane Iven Mahlangu)

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” (2 Corinthians 5:17) As we turn our calendars over and embark on another new year, our thoughts turn to starting over, making things better in the coming year, resolving to change things in our lives. Often these efforts are short-lived and have little lasting positive effect. The Bible has much to tell us about making a new start that can make this New Year truly different. Let's look at the typical approach to effecting change in our lives and compare it to God's approach.

One approach to making changes in our lives is to focus on the negative things in our lives and attempt to change them for the better. This seems rather intuitive and there is no shortage of self-help books, tapes, and lectures that will prescribe this approach. So why does it so often fail us? Because it operates under the direct influence of our sinful human nature. We enter an improvement plan with a lot of enthusiasm and energy but over time we gradually revert back to old habits and behaviors. What really happens underneath is we are in a continual battle with the very sinful nature that drew us into the negative behaviors in the first place and we simply tire from the fight and relent. We are trying to change the old.

God's approach to improvement and positive change is completely different. It starts with the word that is central to all of God's activity - "new." God is the eternal expert on 'new.' All of creation was spoken into being by God - made new by God Himself. And God is continually making things new all the time. Let's look at some ways He does this:

New Mercies - God extends new mercy to us each day (Lamentations 3:22-23). Each day is a new opportunity to receive His loving-kindness and to start fresh. Nothing that has happened in the past, whether on the previous day or in years past, can in any way remove the love and forgiveness He has ready and waiting, simply for the asking. To God, every day is New Year's Day, filled with the opportunity and promise that we tend to assign only to January 1! God does not promise to change our hearts, He promises to give us new hearts and then fill them with His Spirit! (Ezekiel 36:26) The Bible likens our human, sinful hearts to stone - hard to penetrate, hard to change. So rather than offering to chisel away at it, He offers to take it away and replace it with a heart that is soft, pliable and able to contain His Spirit - His very power to help us focus on those things that He focuses on.

Armed with new hearts that are filled with His Spirit, acutely aware of His never ending mercies, we are not who we used to be, drug down by our sinful nature, but we are new creations, reborn into new lives. (John 3:3) God sent His Son Jesus into the world for the very purpose of making us new. (John 3:16) Jesus taught that patching the old wasn't the answer, but being made new in Him was the key (Matthew 9:17).

This new year, you can truly change things by giving the old to God and letting Him replace it with the new.

Your Destiny

Have you ever pondered in your heart why you are here and are there really a plan and purpose for your life? Does God actually have something important for me to do? And if so, how do I find it out and walk in it? In Psalms 139:16, the Word of God tells us "your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." In other words, God fashioned our destiny before we were even born. He is the Master Potter who sculpted us and brought our future into existence. Yes, even before you were formed in your mother's womb, God was sketching out your life.

What life did God design for you? Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. I looked up that word expected and found it to mean "an expectation and the thing that I long for ." God has things that He longs for in your life. What are they? According to Jeremiah 29:11, two of them are to have peace and to have no evil. Surely, we all wish those things were true in our lives!

Did you know that you also have a "holy" calling from God? In 2 Timothy 1:9 the scripture tell us what kind of calling we have and why--"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. This calling has nothing to do with how great we may think we are, it is not because we have talent, even though He uses our talents and personality with the gifts He has given us. It is because of who He is and because it is His divine calling which makes our calling holy. He has designed you and called you to meet a need in the body of Christ that nobody else can meet quite like you. Our walk is supposed to have meaning--to fulfill God's plans.

How do we allow God to contribute His plans to our plans? First, we need to understand that our life does not belong to us anymore. It has been purchased by God through the blood of His son Jesus. Therefore, God must be the one who orders our steps, not others or ourselves. Jeremiah 10:23-24 says it so clearly, I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. We must learn that our lives are predestined to His calling. You do not determine your destiny, you are to discover God's destiny for you. If you go through your whole life creating your own destiny, you will probably miss God's perfect will and plan for your life. For me, this relieves a lot of unnecessary stress. I do not have to create my destiny. I only need to go to God and ask Him what is next on the agenda; be at peace, and trust Him with the outcome.

Psalms 16:11 tells us that He does make known His path of life to us. Yes, it is important to learn to hear God's voice so that you can clearly have a vision for your life. You may make mistakes as you walk out your destiny and stuff will always happen that you didn't expect, but God has already calculated that into the equation, so you don't have to worry. He's got you covered! Just love on Him, stay close to Him, is quick to repent and His divine plan will be accomplished in your life.

I personally have a quiet time everyday with the Lord. It is not always easy to have that time with God in a world that has you turning like a spinning top, but it is vital to make quality time with Him in order for your God given purpose and future to be revealed. This close abiding is necessary and it takes effort on our part to get close to God but the rewards are out of this world. It produces a harvest of blessing and a prosperous future.

We have been summoned into His Majesty's service and He expects us to complete His plans and purpose for us. I really like what Colossians 4:17 says, "Take heed to the ministry (official service) which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill (complete, fill to satisfaction, finish) it.” Wow! I like how that sounds "official service." Those of us who thought that being 'just a' homemaker or mother or 'just a' blue collar worker or any other 'just a' position was an unimportant position; can now know that we serve in a very lofty position. We have a royal calling that is important enough for the King of the Universe to summon us to.

Ephesians. 2:10 is worth memorizing and reminding ourselves of often. "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]." How many times have you heard people say that they want to live the good life? Well, there it is. God's plan for you IS the good life. This world has nothing good to offer you. This world is temporal but God's world is eternal. God's 'good life' is worth having and striving for.

Ponder this, I know many of you are in church, working on an auxilary or some office in ministry, is it God's perfect will for you? I encourage you to seek after God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and reach higher than you ever have before to grab hold of the good life He has destined for you. It is worth reaching for.

The Whole Armor Of God

God has provided us a wardrobe to wear as we enter in battle each day. As you dress in the morning, you need to suit up in God's armor as well(Ephesians 6:10-18).

Belt of Truth: For the first item in the armor of God, Paul writes to "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist." Truth is having sound doctrine which can only come with careful study of the Bible. Many times, Satan uses half-truths, or lies which sound like the truth, to deceive those who do not know better. As Paul encouraged Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Knowledge of God's word provides you with the truth they need to combat Satan. Buckle it securely around your waist. Know that God is with you every step of the way. He alone is the truth in life. Spend time in His Word and learn His truth.

Breastplate of Righteousness: The breastplate of righteousness is the second piece of the armor of God. Righteousness comes from standing free of condemnation before God, but it is not something that anyone earns. In (Romans 4:6-7), the apostle Paul writes, "David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” Satan may confront you with past sins but God's forgiveness provides you with the breastplate of righteousness you need to protect you from Satan's attacks. As you put on your breastplate, thank God for His never ending mercy towards us. He has given us righteousness when we follow Him. He will teach us every day if we open our eyes and ears to see and hear Him. The cross is an excellent example of God's mercy to us. He gave His Son for us so that we may spend eternity with Him.

Sandals of Peace: Paul identifies the next part of the armor of God when he writes that you should have their "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." This alludes to what the prophet Isaiah wrote, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" (Isaiah 52:7). Those who have spiritual footwear are prepared to go out and share Christ's gospel with those who will listen. Without God in our lives, we could not have peace. The "peace that transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) is available to us only as we give our lives entirely over to His control. As you strap on your sandals each day, give your cares and concerns to Him and ask Him to carry them. God's Peace will be left in their place.

Shield of Faith: For the fourth item in the armor of God, you are encouraged to "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The shield protects the soldier's body and can be moved to counter an attack. Likewise, faith in God's promise of eternal life serves to deflect the doubts and fears that assault you. Faith has to be developed. As stated in (Romans 10:17), "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word Of God." So therefore, faith can only grow through continual Bible study. This is another defensive weapon in our arsenal. We use this piece of armor to guard against the constant assaults by the enemy. Each morning as you pick up your shield, thank God for your faith. Faith that comes in knowing He will never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Helmet of Salvation: An important part of the armor of God is the "helmet of salvation." In (1 Thessalonians 5:8), Paul also refers to the helmet as "the hope of salvation." One of Satan's schemes is to cast doubt into the minds of believers, making them wonder if God is real of if his promises are true.The helmet of salvation is based on "a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised from the beginning of time." (Titus 1:2).When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given this defensive piece of armor to protect us. We know that we have been saved to battle with Him here on the planet Earth. We can do so willingly, knowing that we will spend eternity with Him.

The Sword of the Spirit: The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God; the holy scriptures. When faced with temptations or some other moral choices, using scripture can help to win the battle. As (II Corinthians 10:3-5 )declares, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." This is our only offensive weapon in the armor of God mentioned in this passage. Our sword is His Word, the Bible. With it we can slay the evil in the world as it presents itself to us. Read your Bible, learn His Word and memorize verses. Keep it on the tip of your tongue. Dressed in this armor daily, we are prepared to enter the world. Without it we will be prey to attack. Think about each piece as you put it on. Thank God for supplying us with His armor to protect us. God Bless You,The Worship Center