• Pastors of local churches;
• A psychiatrist;
• A black lady who had a child out of wedlock;
• A single lady who stars in a popular TV soapy;
• A financial advisor;
• And a journalist to a local newspaper.

Looking at this list you know that it will make for some very interesting conversation. Well, I was not left disappointed, but still I left with great disappointment. Allow me to tell you why!

If we look at something so straightforward as the institution of marriage, or so I thought, you have to approach the Bible and find out what it says about the topic. I still have the opinion that marriage is a holy institution that originates from God, not from Dr. Phil or Oprah like some people think. Therefore marriage comes from God, I have no doubt that He will have something to say about it.

Two of the speakers communicated that with great vigor and it blessed me without end. The rest of the panel was trying to be quite sophisticated and accommodate the current cultural situation that we find ourselves in, or take actual cases and force fit it into the “truth.” Obviously you cannot fit the largeness of truth into your situation, so the next best thing is to skillfully prune the truth into your reality. That left me disappointed, very disappointed.

Os Guinness has the following to say about compromise:

Isaiah 66:2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I look, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, AND TREMBLES AT MY WORD. You will either have a great view of God or on the other hand you will have a great view of man. They are mutually exclusive, they cannot dwell together. Marriage vs. living together is a reality in our day and age, what will you decide?

I want the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God!!   

Today we have so many different vehicles to help us define our relationships. Science, technology and the likes are rapidly advancing towards greater and greater heights. Adam and Eve had very little to keep them busy, maybe giving names to all the animals and the eating from the fruit of this tree and that tree, but very little else. Except for God that came and dwelt with them in the afternoon breeze, they had no one else to relate too, so maybe in that simplistic context one can maybe understand why God would consider calling their relationship method or vehicle a covenant.

Today with 6,5 billion people on this planet, not to mention all the high and lofty things that we keep ourselves busy with like career and fame and fortune. Clearly covenant is total overkill, maybe God did not consider our prowess and the intellectual and innovative capability of man when he cut covenant with our great, great, great grand parents.

 Let’s look at some of the modern day methods we make use of when we regulate our relationships:

• A friendship is an association or friendly relationship you have with someone. We all have many Facebook friends and feel good about the number of friendship we have, but how strong and healthy are those relationships? What are those friendships worth to us? One of the ways that we can measure worth is to determine what we are prepared to pay or sacrifice to have something. Ultimately friendships may be determined by what we are prepared to lose in order that we may keep them. So often after we counted the cost it is very easy for us to let a friendship go. After all it is all about myself, is it not?
• A partnership is an association between two persons joined in a common business venture. Partnerships will normally add up to a 100% and not more. This means if your partner contributes 50% to the wellbeing of the partnership you should likewise bring 50% to the table. Some people like partnerships because they cannot over commit. A common misconception from married people is that marriage is a partnership, I give 50% and my spouse gives 50%. Well it does not take a rocket scientist to see where that marriage will end up. 
• A contract is an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified. A good contract would include certain terms and conditions and would clearly indicate if and when one of the parties is in breach of the agreement. This breach would normally end in the other party receiving compensation or in extreme situations the contract can be overturned and ended. So a contract would be conducive to keep a relationship between two parties going as long as things are mutually beneficial. But if one of the parties feel undone they can push to end the agreement, sometimes with and sometimes without costs.
• A covenant likewise is an agreement between two parties but with one major difference. Even if one of the parties does not own up to their part of the bargain, the other party has no recourse. How crazy is that! Does it mean that if my wife does not love me like she should, I must keep on giving a 100%? Jip! But that does not seem fair in our modern day society? Surely I have the right to be happy!!

O, how I thank God for covenant!! He does not treat us according to our performance. The mighty hand of God is ever present to hold onto our weak and puny little hands. He will not let you go, Jesus said that no one can snatch us from of the Father’s hand. Covenant promotes pleasing others and is devastating to self-preservation. Jesus understood covenant and joyfully endured the cross. He likened our relationships to a kernel of wheat.

John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

John Piper: “The reason there is so much misery in marriage is not that husbands and wives seek their own pleasure, but that they do not seek it in the pleasure of their spouses.”

I have to admit that God knows best when it comes to covenantal relationships. What this relationally disfunctional world needs more than ever is people that live and understand covenant. Like the words of the song goes; ''He ain't heavy, he's my brother.''

One of my favorite worship songs coins the phrase: “You are worthy, You are worthy!” Worth is a very subjective concept it seems to me. Worth is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder. I did some reading on the subject and this is what the father of economics, Adam Smith came up with in 1776 in the book “The wealth of the Nations”:

“The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What everything is really worth to the man who has acquired it, and who wants to dispose of it or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people...”

Not shedding any new light on the subject of worth is it? But the concept holds true for us living in the 21st century. Ultimately we mortgage houses for 20 to 30 years, depending on how much toil and trouble is needed to cover the capital and the interest. We pay of cars in 5 years because it gives immense pleasure to look to your left at the traffic light and say to the motorist: “Jip, she’s mine!”

But what caused me much thinking and contemplation was the magnificent portion of scripture in Revelations 4, written by John the beloved disciple, trying his utmost to describe the vision of the throne in heaven. He describes the open door of heaven, with a throne and someone seated on the throne. The one who was seated on the throne had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.

Around this big throne were 24 other thrones with elders on them. Around this throne of God were the four living creatures, one like a lion, one like an ox, one like an eagle in flight and one with the face of a man. Day and night the four living creatures continuously say: ”Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Now comes the part that intrigues me, when they proclaim the Excellencies of the one on the throne, the 24 elders would stand up from their thrones, fall down and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say:

If we look at scripture we will see that crowns are a symbol of inheritance and rewards. The elders did not lift a finger to get into the open door of heaven, but they sure did good works of service to receive the crowns that used to be on their heads. Now I had the privilege to go and see the crown jewels in the Tower of London. What do you think it is worth? According to Adam Smith it came at great toil and trouble to many other nations in the Common Wealth to bestow the British Monarchy with such splendor and grandeur.

I know the Crown Jewels’ worth cannot be measured in this life, but compared to the golden crowns of the elders seated in heaven, it must be tuck shop money. God rightly rewarding them for their faith, their sacrificial living, their courage, and ultimately losing their lives, and yet they do not quibble for a second to take those crowns and cast them before the feet of the Worthy One. The only conclusion I could come to:  

The modern church is not known for suffering. Many believers get very nervous when they experience any form of suffering and hardship. They rebuke the enemy and start to meticulously scrutinise their lives and past behavior. Surely Jesus did it all on the cross, He suffered so that we can live in fullness and prosperity. Every time I switch on the television the preaching is on the topics of headship, fullness, health and wealth. I cannot recall when last someone preached on cost, hardship, trials and tribulation.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.  5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Maybe Paul had a hard day when he wrote the 5th chapter of Romans or maybe he had a revelation of the fullness and extent of the true gospel. Paul had such a fear and reverence for who God is that he did not dare misrepresent Him in any way. We don’t need to make God nicer than He is.

God as a loving Father comes and reveals Himself to us in and through our walk with Him. There are seasons when He is so close and intimate with us, we daily experience His love, favor and blessing. Everything we ask for are granted by His loving hand and we are carried by the currents of the Spirit to higher and sweeter places and experiences. Lets call that SUMMER.

Likewise we can also experience times of dryness and toil. Sometimes it feels like God is far away, the heavens seems to turn to brass. How can such a big God hide himself? Can I call this a season of WINTER.

Now if God in his sovereignty decided that it is WINTER in your life, you can go out of your house with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, empowered by the authority of the Word and rebuke this foul weather. I have a very good idea of what will happen-you will freeze to death! Why? Because God’s kingdom is not divided. So what do we do when we encounter some hostile weather, we put on a jacket, we adapt to the season and the elements.

Never take opposition personally, God is very specific in what He allows to cross our paths. While you are enduring hardship and difficulty we spend too much energy looking for a reason without finding it. From personal experience I learnt that reason normally comes afterwards, not during. Trust God in the midst of it, years later you can look back and see the reasons why you had to endure it. Normally other people will come to you and tell you how different you are, how much you changed.

• God is glorified in and during our suffering. Romans 8:17-18
• Suffering increases our prayer life and teaches us obedience. Hebrews 5:7-8
• God’s discipline authenticates us as legitimate sons.  Hebrews 12:7-10
• Suffering tests the genuineness of our faith. 1 Peter 1:6-7
• To make us steadfast and lead us to perfection. James 1:2-4
• God prunes our lives to increase fruitfulness. (The meaning of “prune” in the Greek language is to cleanse from all filth)  John 15:2
• Suffering reveals our weaknesses and magnifies God’s strength. 2 Corinthians 12:10
• When we personally experience hard times it helps us to comfort others when they go through it. 2 Corinthians 1:4

I am sure there are many other reasons why God allows his children to endure hardship and suffering, but the fact remains that He is more interested in our holiness than our happiness. As disciples of the Master we endure with Him, a servant is not better than his Master. If the world hated Him, they will hate us. Sometimes He beckons us to come outside the camp and bear the reproach with Him.

Ah, but you are quick to cry out: “Not true!” Surely there are many joys and pleasures in the world. How did you feel when the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup, or when Usain Bolt ran the 100 meters in 9.58 seconds. What about the day you got married, or when you stood next to your wife at the birth of your children. What about listening to good music, sipping on a good glass of red wine next to a fireplace? How do you explain the thrills you experienced when you signed off on that multi million Rand deal and everyone at the office looked at you with envy?

All these pleasures are valid and real but they tend to fade away in a fleeting moment. Paul mentions to the Philippians that he has an eager expectation and hope that he will not be ashamed in any way, but with full courage Christ will be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death. For Paul to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Phil 1:20-21)

Paul makes it very clear that the purpose of his life on earth is to magnify, to make great, to honor, to celebrate Jesus in his living and dying. He did not waste futile hours in trying to persuade himself to put to death even some of the worldly things so that he could lay hold of more of Christ. Why would this be? Either Paul was on something, or he knew something!

Like many others in the Bible, Paul tasted the goodness of the Lord. He experienced the fullness of joy in God’s presence and He encountered the pleasures at His right hand. In God’s house we can feast on His abundance and drink from the river of His delights. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!!

In the words of John Piper: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Paul was prepared to die to temporary pleasures so that he could lay hold of the mother load, the ultimate pleasure. God is your chosen portion and your cup. He is the culmination of your inheritance both in this life and the life to come. Jesus is before all things and in Him all things hold together, he is preeminent in everything. So the Rolling Stones are dead wrong, I can be satisfied, but only from heaven.  

 

2.    Prophetic dreams and visions.
- God is bringing an increase in maturity and power to the prophetic sword of 3ci.
- People who hear the prophetic whispers from heaven. God providing the markers and milestones for new wineskins to contain the new wine.  
- God raising up a prophetic community that lives godly lives, loving and honoring scripture and increasing in credibility firstly before God and then men.

3.    Supernatural signs and wonders on earth and in the heavens.
- I believe God will work many miracles, signs and wonders with the supernatural outpourings to come.

- Some of these signs will even include signs in and through nature.

4.    A wholehearted calling out to Jesus.
- Firstly for salvation. I believe that God will add many first time believers to our family. In our simple obedience to preach the word and expecting him to confirm it with signs, wonders and salvations.
- Powerful testimonies of deliverance from calamity. Great and glorious, God honoring testimonies of saints delivered by the revealed and mighty right hand of God from the most perilous situations.
- A single-hearted devotion and love for God. A renewed devotion by all saints to live in a radical and pure holiness before God and others.

Lord, our most intimate desire is for you. Like Michael said so eloquently your precious Holy Spirit is available for us to know and experience. We thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the water that will quench our thirst. As a church we long for the Spirit to remain with us.