Newsletters
Apr / May 2010
P O Box 587, Sea Point 8060, RSA; Tel 021-510-6854; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Apr / May 2010
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Dear Friends,
Probably no other Football World Cup has been preceded by so many prayers as the South African FIFA games of June/July 2010. Almost as soon as the 68.000-seater Green Point Stadium in Cape Town had been completed, some 50.000 Christians met there for prayer, invoking God’s protection and blessing. Shortly afterwards, the Zion Christian Church, numbering up to 6 million members, rallied its members at the annual Easter services at Morea, Polokwane, Limpopo. And from 16-18 April, near Greytown, Natal, the potato farmer/evangelist Angus Buchan hosted between 200.000 and 300.000 Mighty Men on his farm for prayers and praise. Still to come are the Pentecost prayers and, on 23.5.2010, the prayer meetings of the Global Day of Prayer, when millions of intercessors gather around the world. South Africa will celebrate the 10 th anniversary of this Day of Prayer which originated in the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
Moral Victory
South Africa has never needed prayer more urgently than at present, and God has answered her petitions in many a wonderful way. Much of the moral depravity which had been planned for the World Cup has not come to pass. Prostitution was not decriminalised as had been intended - and remains forbidden – though mostly not prosecuted. Similarly, a 24-hour DSTV pornography channel, which had likewise been planned for the benefit of FIFA football tourists (by the internet server MWEB), was so strongly opposed by the Christian community that it was abandoned. A strip-tease ‘naked’ TV-news programme, which was to have been introduced by E-TV, was similarly foiled; and explicit billboards were removed. Rev Errol Naidoo of the Family Policy Institute and Taryn Hodgson of Africa Christian Action did excellent work in alerting the Churches 1), and many believers rose to the challenge, defending their Christian heritage. The Women’s World Day of Prayer movement, too, have been praying earnestly, pleading for the safety of South Africa’s children in the face of human trafficking at the time of the games. Thank God for the Christian Premier of the Western Cape, Mrs Helen Zille. She has announced that 30.000 illegal shebeens will be closed down and youth programmes instituted to prevent drug abuse and crime. 2) For all these things we thank God.
One wonders what sort of person would promote immoral and distressing human behaviour, especially when it harms women and children. God demands that we be pure in heart and body, and St Paul says: “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1) King Solomon warned against prostitution and called it “a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 7:27)
Songs of Hate?
Not only the morals, but also the peace of South Africa, have been endangered, and we need to continue to pray much. After 16 years of ‘democracy’ and just prior to the greatest sporting event it has ever hosted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has started singing its old ‘struggle songs’ again. Last year President Jacob Zuma rallied his election supporters with the song “Bring me my machine gun,” and this year his chief admirer, Julius Malema (29), head of the ANC Youth League, is leading the singing of: “Kill a Boer, kill a farmer!” 3) Though a court has forbidden it, the ANC claims that it is a ‘cultural’ song which cannot possibly do any harm. The fact is, however, that since 1994, 3367 farmers have been murdered. The shrinking number of White farmers (from 65.000 to 37.000) has led to food insecurity because ‘land reform’ has been a failure.
In this climate, on the eve of Easter Day (3.4.2010), the most colourful of all Afrikaner leaders, Eugene Terre’Blanche (69), was cruelly slain on his farm. He was the 3368 th victim of the ongoing warfare against farmers. His fellow farmers and countrymen were angry and distressed. 12.000 to 15.000 mourners streamed to Ventersdorp to pay Eugene Terre’Blanche their last respects - while Julius Malema was singing “Kill the Boer, kill the Farmer” in neighbouring Zimbabwe as the guest of Robert Mugabe (whose own ‘land reform’ had, after 30 years’ rule, brought about total economic collapse).
Stop Farm Murders!
Rev Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), reacted sharply and urgently called on the police to “stop farm murders before something worse happens in the country.” He pleaded with “all Christians to pray for peace in the nation as we need God’s intervention as never before.” -“We appeal to the ANC to abide by the rulings of the High Court in Pretoria and the South Gauteng High Court making the singing of the song unlawful and unconstitutional." - An Afrikaner organisation, the Geloftevolk Koördineringskomitee (GKK), summed up what most South Africans are thinking. They deplore “die volksmoord wat al baie jare woed,” and point the people to God, calling the Afrikaners to zealously “keep our people’s vows. When our forefathers were anchored in faith in their Creator, He carried them through their darkest moments. We are dependent on Him alone for our existence. Let us call upon Him in this dark hour, for He says He will help us.”- They quote Psalm 50:14-15 - “Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (translated)
The Second Stage
Do the events above signify “nation building?” Or are they a sign of new things to come? Rev Shaun Willcock of Bible Based Ministries, who has made a thorough study of the interaction of religion and politics in South Africa, wrote in 2009 in the context of the Mbeki-Zuma change of presidency: “The ANC has been relentlessly pursuing the second stage of its two-stage revolution in SA. The first stage was the one that brought it to power in 1994; and the moment that occurred, the second stage began, the purpose of which is to extend party control over all aspects of life in the country… The time has now arrived for the ANC to increase the momentum, in its judgment; to push forward the Marxist agenda in all spheres at a more rapid rate than before – a more openly revolutionary rate. Thus, the Mbeki era giving way to the Zuma era is merely the next stage in a very carefully laid-out plan. There are forces at work here that are far bigger than these two men. Far bigger.” 4)
St Paul warned us, saying: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) - How strange, that at the very moment when the Soccer World Championships are uniting all South Africans in excited goodwill as never before, an image of hatred is being created which calls for “killing”, “nationalisation” and “strikes.” The FIFA games are being used as a world stage on which to play out commercialised immorality, threatened farm and mine dispossession, and social chaos through strikes. Is it any wonder, that we see in this a sign that “eternal truths, religion, and morality" are being pushed aside and Christian civilisation is threatened? Does it not make a mockery of the spirit of goodwill and kindness with which South Africans are awaiting their soccer friends from abroad? - The Communist leader Lenin said: “We must hate – hatred is the basis of Communism.” And a well-kown Commissar declared: “We hate Christians and Christianity. Even the best of them must be considered our worst enemies. Christian love is an obstacle to the development of the revolution. Down with love of one’s neighbour! What we want is hate… Only then will we conquer the universe!” 3)
Christians struggle against the spirit of hatred daily, and try to overcome it with love. As we have seen above, by prayer and action the victory can be won. We stand amazed and thank God that the depravity planned for the world cup did not materialise, and that even President Zuma has called for the protection of children during the Games!
If we need hope, if we need to know what God can do, let us look back 150 years to the time when the great South African Revival took place under the ministry of Rev Andrew Murray. It was at Pentecost that he preached a sermon on Jonah 1:6: “What meanest thou, o sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God.” The Spirit of God was released, and the people were truly awakened. The Revival which ensued brought blessings which are felt to this present day.
Let us then commit ourselves anew to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us arise and call upon our God. Let us pay our vows. Let us make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey everything that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Let us combat evil, do good, and love our fellow man. Then surely God will fulfill His promise which says: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:27)
May God bless you richly,
D Scarborough.
Footnotes:
- Rev Errol Naidoo, Family Policy Institute, (021-462-7888) e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Taryn Hodgson (021-689-4480) e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will be able to inform, help and advise you.
- Statement by Helen Zille, Premier of the Western Cape, A Comprehensive Plan to beat Substance Abuse, 12.5.10.
- This song was a major rallying cry of the ANC during the revolution, as expressed in its circular No. 213-6 to Staff and Marshalls of June 1993, which ends in “Viva Kill a Boer kill a Farmer.”
- 4. Shaun Willcock, Bible Based Ministries, South Africa Update, Jacob Zuma becomes South Africa’s President, May 2009.
- W Cleon Skousen, The Naked Communist. Statement made by Anatole Lunarcharsky, a former Russian Commissar of Education, p. 350
OUR WORLD BELONGS TO GOD (continued)
A Contemporary Testimony of the Christian Reformed Church, USA, 1986
Drafted in view of the secularisation of modern life and culture.___________________________________________________________________________________
CREATION
7. Our world belongs to God – not to us or earthly powers, 1 not to demons, fate, or chance. The earth is the Lord’s!- Deuteronomy 10:12-14 - “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the
8. In the beginning, God – 1 Father, Word, and Spirit – 2 called this world into being 3 out of nothing, and gave it shape and order.
- Genesis 1 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
- Psalm 33:1-11 - “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth… The plans of the LORD stand firm for ever…”
- Isaiah 40 - “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no-one can fathom…”
- Genesis 1-2 - “And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind…’ On the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
- Psalm 104 - “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart… How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all.”
- Mark 2:27-28 - “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
- Genesis 1:26-30 - “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over… all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it...’ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
- Psalm 8 - “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers… what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour.”
- Matthew 22:35-40 - “One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
- Genesis 1:26-28 - “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image… ’ Male and female he created them.”
- Galatians 3:26-28 - “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
- “Each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfil his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband… Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am… A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.”
- Acts 17:22-31 - “God… is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.”
- Psalm 139 - “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar… For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place… All the days ordained for me were written in our book before one of them came to be.”
- Leviticus 19; 25:35-38 - “Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour’s life… Do not hate your brother… Do not seek revenge. Keep my decrees.” - “When one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him… You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.”
- Matthew 6:25-34 - “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” … “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
- Psalm 147, 148 - “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving… for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat… The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
- Psalm 111 - “Great are the works of the LORD… Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures for ever… He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant for ever… The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."