Though there is only one way the Father draws people to himself – through Christ, each of us will have a different journey in which we find life in Christ. This has been my journey. I tried to keep it short but that’s impossible – I’ve had an eventful life!
Growing up
I was raised in a Dutch Reformed culture/tradition/religion (though I attended church I no longer consider myself to have been a true Christian) and went to church regularly with my parents. I also read the Bible fairly regularly, probably as a matter of religious ritual, and had a personal conviction of Jesus as the Christ, but did not follow Him in faith. To me Christianity was a matter of morals – about what is right and wrong? I did not consider, or even know about, what it was really all about. That I was only to find out much later in life. And thank goodness I did!
One day, during a Sunday school class the teacher told a story about Jesus who knew about something in advance and told others about it. I forget the detail, but what I do remember is that she said that Jesus had not told the absolute truth – she said “Jesus told a white lie”. To me that was devastating. Of course she did not mean that Jesus was being dishonest but what she said about Jesus absolutely shocked me. How could this man who claimed to be God tell a lie? Why will I follow someone who told lies? How could this God expect me to do things He was not willing to do Himself? I carried doubt about Jesus as the ‘solution’ with me for many years. Only later, when I learnt the truth about the Word, was I set free and did doubt leave me.
During this same time I heard a sermon preached that quoted Jesus as saying ‘you need to be more righteous than the Pharisees, otherwise you won’t make it to heaven’. I thought to myself, ‘Pharisees are preachers. I don’t want to be a preacher! Then how can I ever surpass the righteousness of a Pharisee? That’s impossible. I might as well give up now’. What the preacher failed to point out — or what I perhaps didn’t hear him say — is that righteousness does not come through knowledge or good works – as was my impression – it comes through repentance and faith in the resurrected Jesus Christ.
What these incidents tell me today is that the slightest mishap in sharing the truth may have a very significant bearing on another’s life. Also, that the only way to be sure that you know the truth is to find it yourself. Though it is important to grow spiritually under the guidance of a priest or pastor or other minister, we cannot delegate our obligation to find the truth about God’s character in His Word to a priest or a pastor or a home group leader. We must find it ourselves by the guidence of the Holy Spirit. That is what it means to ‘walk with Christ’. Top
First contact with Scripture
As a child at primary school my mom bought me a daily devotional by Dr. Solly Ozrovech and I read it every day. It was great reading because the Bible was a little boring to read. I believe it helped me get some moral compass in addition to a good upbringing through my parents. I used a book marker that had the words of Romans 12:21 on it, ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good’ (paraphrase). I believe my mom also got me that marker. It is amazing how that stuck with me over the years. Top
Family tragedy
During my final year at school my elder sister was killed in a tragic motor car accident. Before then, during that same year, on our way to my grandmother’s house following the passing of my grandfather (my mom’s dad), my brother, father and I were in a serious car accident that saw my dad crush almost every bone in his face. My brother had fractured his pelvis and was to spend several weeks in traction whilst I had memory loss and a 20 centimetre cut to my forehead. My father and brother were in hospital in a town 200 km’s away for several weeks while my mother and I stayed at home. I had the least injuries of all. The death of my sister that same year and the events that followed our car accident rocked the family, and my parents divorced a year later – the first year away from home during my first year of conscription military service. I had many issues to deal with on an emotional level and life in the military far away from home did not help much with the process. Nevertheless, I prevailed.
During the drama that unfolded my mother kept her faith, and I think it is the only thing that helped her keep her sense of internal strength. She needed to be strong keep a level head and to sustain her children, and that is exactly what she did. My mom is an incredible woman! Had she not been there for my brother and I following the death of her own father, the death of her only daughter, the serious injuries to her husband and remaining sons, and the trauma of the divorce that followed, we may have gone off the rails completely. To her considerable credit my mom remained anchored in her faith and internal resolve and instead advanced her career through further education. Top
Military service
Nevertheless, due to the decisions I chose to make, I lost my way completely after school (post 1986) and had an on & off attitude towards Jesus and faith. But, before that happened I had other plans for my life. It had been my life-long ambition of mine to become a pilot. Since I can remember I had a special affilliation with aircraft – military aircraft in particular. And so, when I was drafted to the Air Force I saw an opportunity to undergo training through the Air Force and follow a flying career in the military. But life was about to deal me a cruel blow. A silly judgement call made by my platoon instructor changed the course of my life. Though I had been stationed 200 metres from the Institute of Aviation Medicine – the testing and traininf facility for prospective pilots – and although I had received an official command from Head Quarters to report for testing, my instructor simply refused to let me go. To this day I have no idea why?
So, flying was no longer an option because the first opportunity I would have to apply for testing would have been two years later. Somehow I could not wait that long.
Whilst I was still reading my daily devotional by Solly Ozrovech I made a deal with God. I said, ‘if you allow me to play for this or that team, I will serve you’. That year I not only played for that team, I went one step further; that year, as an 18-year old, I represented my country in the Under 20 team, which opened many doors for me to follow a successful sporting career.
Following Basic Training in the Air Force and during ‘Second Phase’ I was fortunate to spend personal time with the son of a prominent preacher in town. This man was known through-out the country – a real man of God. His son, ‘Andy’, was a genuine and sincere guy who accepted my friends and I for who we were. But he never compromised his faith to accommodate us. That always impressed upon me. Top
Andy and his dad’s church
One day Andy took a friend and I to his dad’s church and before long I found myself on stage working with the “Power Team” during one of their demonstrations. These guys were Christian strong men and body builders from the United States displaying their personal strength while sharing the Message of Salvation at the same time. Only the former part of their ‘presentation’ impressed me but I am sure some of what they said got stuck somewhere in my heart (Mark 4:13-20), hence my recollection of the event. Andy is still in ministry today and serves the Lord with his whole family. He was (and still is) a wonderful example to me, something I was oblivious to at the time. Top
Losing my faith
Following 1988, and after I completed my military service, I found a job at a gold mine, which had promised to send me for further studies given taht I no longer pursued a career flying aeroplanes. My school grades were too poor to allow me to go to university (probably because I never expected anything great of myself academically (I didn’t consider myself as the smartest apple of the bunch) but especially given the trauma following the death of my sister and the injuries from the car accident in my final year at schoo)l. My parents didn’t have the money to send me to university anyway, so it never was an option anyway.
One day, whilst working for the mine, I attended the Dutch Reformed church in town. After the service the preacher invited all with sickness and disease to stay behind for prayer. This was not (and still is not) a regular occurance in the Dutch Reformed Church. Nevertheless, that night, for the first time, someone prayed for me and I got healed from my ailment. It was a revelation to me that this could be done!
I used to suffer from severe migraines but since that night it stopped completely. Today, if I do get a headache it is stress-related. What’s more I can count the number of severe headaches (not migranes) I have had on my one hand. Despite this I didn’t live up to my end of the deal with God (that I would serve him if I got selected for the team I was aiming for) and was still living a life of sin. I was being unfaithful. God was being faithful.
Nevertheless, I realised that there was more to the ‘life of faith’ I was living although I knew that for me it was not to be found in the Dutch Reformed church. I knew people from that church who were truly saved and I knew I was not one of them. So, although I was living a sinful life, I started looking for alternatives religious options.Top
Search for my faith
Shortly after this while I was still working for the gold mine I was approached by someone whom I played sport with who was a member of The Church of Christ of the Latter Day Saints (aka ‘the Mormons’). My impression was that these were good people. Perhaps their doctrine and the basis of their faith is in question but I saw in them a level of sincerity and humility that I had not seen before. Apart from that the Mormans seemed to have a real focus on the family unit. That, obviously, is a good thing. Though I was impressed with the people, I just could not see myself following their beliefs and their ways, so I moved on.
When the gold price dropped a year later and the mine postponed my college studies I had had enough of the mine and decided to take matters in my own hands. I called a talent scout from university whom I had met a few years before and explained my situation. Dawie was glad to hear from me and it didn’t take long for me to get an invite for studies at the university as well as accommodation and a bursary to contribute to the costs. I was thrilled. I sold my car and took out two student loans with different banks to pay off the loss in the sale of my car as well as to cover the difference in study costs. Dawie came as a real blessing to me and his effords changed the course of my life, once again. He also took care of my admission for university studies. The university allowed me in provided that I did a bridging course to account for my poor school results. I set off at great pace expecting the worst in academic results. But a few months into my first semester I realised that university wasn’t all that hard. I realised that I could do it! Three years later, I graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce – something I could never have imagined.
Life had been reletively fair to me, academically speaking, as well as on the sports field, and socially too! By the age of 23, I was doing my final year at university, and, I got married. At the same time I played semi-professionally, worked as an insurance sales man and we were expecting our first child. In addition, I was awarded the captaincy of the team. Life was bysy! Perhaps too busy for it was to all come tumbling down sooner than later!
After I finished my studies I found a position with a prestigious international firm while playing professionally. Managing two careers – one on commerce and one as a sportsman wasn’t easy as many team mates quit their jobs to focus on their sporting careers. I did the same as being a professional sportsman would only last for a season. Money was not much of a problem and I had social recognition as well. Life was good!
Spiritually speaking, however,I knew I had ups and downs. During the ‘bad times’ I displayed very poor judgement and inflicted much emotional damage on myself and the people around me, including my wife at the time and my daughter. By this time I had moved to another franchise while knocking on the door of the senior international team. We travelled a lot and the social recognition I was receiving caused me to look more inwardly than ever before. It was all about ‘me’ – more so than ever before.
Needless to say, that wasn’t going to last and what followed was a divorce which left a child of four years split between two parents. Where was God in this? Frankly, I didn’t care much. I had quit my job at the professional firm and was climbing the ladder of success on the sportfield. What else could I ask for?
During this time I attended a morning service in a church in another town. I listened to the preacher describe the reasons why Jesus said we need to ‘turn the other cheek’. He explained that it had something to do with embarrassing the other party and went to great lengths to describe the cultural symbolisms in the Biblical story. I don’t know why exactly I was so irritated with his sermon but I said to myself, ‘That is absolute rubbish. Does this man expect me to come here every Sunday to entertain me with clever arguments and silly stories?!”. His preaching had more to do with a lesson in ancient culture than with faith in Jesus Christ. I never went back to that church and probably took umbrage to the church going in general. To me it had become a farce and a good excuse to stay away from church almost completely. Top
A close call
At this junction I was playing sport professionally and my career was going really well. But that was about to change.
One day, during a practice session, I was tackled and landed awkwardly on my neck. Thank goodness I yelled out loud to warn everybody that I had been injured, which kept them from piling in on top of me. I went through that set of checks which is really scary, … left hand fingers – check!, right hand fingers, … check!, left foot toes, …. check!, right foot toes, … check! What I knew straight-away was, ‘I was going to be able to walk!’ Grace given to a sinful man.
My limbs were still working fine but the weird tearing sound that came from my neck as it all happened worried me. I was taken to hospital and an MRI was done. It wasn’t good news. I had suffered severe tears of the ligaments that hold some of the vertebrae in my neck together. It was ‘touch & go’ or my spinal cord had been snapped. I was a lucky man. I could easily have broken my neck and died on the spot. Apart from that, it meant the end of my playing career. Later-on I learnt that had I received better medical treatment and advice I would have had a better chance to recover from the injury. In the absense thereof my consition had become permanent and irreverseable.
1996
This, of course, did not sit well with me as political conditions in the country at the time were of such that people from my ethnic background found it hard to secure a job particularly in Human Resources where I had been a manager before. Thus, my life had taken a dramatic turn. I was without a playing career – unable to return – and I was without a commercial career – also unable to return. I was stranded! Top
I’m okay with God
I did have some investments which sustained me during this time, so while I was frustrated about securing an income I could still pay the bills for a while. And so I continued to live an ungodly life, thinking I was ‘okay with God’, because I was going to church every now and then and I was also reading my Bible from time-to-time. During my ‘up times’ I looked into different denominations / belief systems – and even considered either converting to Judaism or Catholicism.
I particularly experimented with New Age philosophy and practices as I endeavoured to change my circumstances to my liking. What I found that New Age techniques actually work. The only thing apart from the fact that it is ungodly is that it is unsustainable – you need to ‘fix problems’ all the time because new ones keep popping up. Moreover, I later realised that New Age theory actually stems from, amongst others, Biblical principles, and that some church doctrines like Prosperity preaching that is being preached nowadays actually rely heavily on them. Nevertheless, I knew there was something more out there, I just didn’t know what it was and where to find it?
False conversions / commitments to Jesus
At times I came across churches, whether established or informally meeting in school halls, where I would come to a realization that I needed to “give my life to the Lord”. And then, as the pastor called sinners to the front to pray the “sinner’s prayer” I would go. But, it never seemed to ‘stick’. I probably prayed the sinner’s prayer three times on different occasions believing what the Bible said was true – that if I gave my life to Jesus I would become a different person. Yet, that never happened.
Before long I would live a life of sin, again. I can only imagine that the many people who heard of my ‘salvation’ – that I was now a “reborn Christian” – would see my sinfulness and determine for themselves that ‘being reborn’ is really only a farse. In a way they would have been right because what I experienced during these occasions was not being reborn at all.
Only later, when I truly became reborn did I understand the reason why it never ‘stuck’; I had never truly repented before I tried to believe for my salvation. And, although I tried really hard to believe, because I had not “died to sin” I could not “rise with Christ”. The temporary change in my life following these church meetings was simply due to my determination to change, and not on the basis of a renewed spirit. Jesus noted to Nicodemus in John 3 that ‘unless you are born of the Spirit of God you cannot enter the Kingdom of God’. Having since experienced a rebirth of my spirit this is something I now understand more fully.
Today, when I see people going through the same routine being ‘born again’ I wonder how long, if ever, they would take to come to see the difference between their ‘salvation’ and being truly reborn. And I wonder how much damage it brings to the world’s view of Christianity when people become ‘reborn’ but never actually receive a regenerated spirit.
This was the person I was – an unregenerated ‘reborn Christian’ – something I regret. I also know that I was fortunate to have come to see the difference for myself. The difference being that I needed to lay down my own will before I could accept Jesus’ will for my life in faith. This is absolutely vital. Repentance has to come before faith (Hebrews 6:1-6). Not the other way round like, regrettably, is tought. I know – I have seen the difference it makes. I am no longer fooled by largely Calvinistic rhetoric in this area, noting that I concur with him on many other issues. My interpretation is not on a clinical analysis of the Greek or Hebrew text. It is based on true, real-life experience. Laying down your will – whether you have been a good person all your life or not – has to happen before you can receive Him as Lord of your life in faith. Once I did that I saw the difference immediately.
Even though at this stage I was not a true believer and even though I was not living up to my end of my deal with God (that I would serve Him if He caused me to play for the team I aimed for in 1987) – which I had forgotten about anyway – I still prayed and God still answered my prayers, … even as an ‘unsaved person’ God still answered my pryares. What this has tought me is that having your prayers answered is no guarantee for having been saved by God through His grace. He still wants us to repent, believe and live a life in obedience to Him.
At that time I had enrolled for post-graduate studies. I had a background in human resource management and completely underestimated this particular module which was part of my post-graduate business degree. After the HR exam I went on my knees in a total panic and asked God for mercy. I knew I had no chance to pass that exam, which would have put me back at least one year. But, God remained faithful. I passed I got 50% exactly. I was thrilled. Still, I did not repent and still I did not follow Jesus. I was being unfaithful. As He syas He will always be, God was being faithful. Top
The seed of the Word
During that time I worked with a ‘fellow Christian’ who loved the Lord and told everybody about it. I had done a good job so he offered me a director’s position and gave me shares in his company for free. We worked really hard and we built that business into a good operation. Then came an offer from another company to buy the business from us and we accepted. But, something went wrong with the payment scheme and my business partner became very irritated. A large amount of money was at stake – enough to make me a millionaire a couple of times over. We believed that God was going to bless us financially because that was what God was all about, wasn’t it? And so, clearly it was Satan who wanted to steal our finances taht was causing the problem (or, was it us who had made a god of money? I think the latter.)
I didn’t know too much about legal agreements at the time but what I did know was that you cannot take assets out of a company once you have sold it. So, when I had evidence of this happening, I had no choice but to quit. My moral compass ‘kicked in’.
And so, in a matter of days, the millions I was supposed to have came to zero, because the aquisition agreement clearly stated that if the outgoing owner was to resign from the company he would forfeit all proceeds from the sale of the business that was due to him.
And so, in a harsh sense of injustice, I learnt a lesson about Christian businessmen – a false sense of entitlement (of God’s blessing) can cause you to seek after material things in a way that is not healthy. Top
A closer call
At this time I was still not saved but I was getting closer to God, most likely due to the influence of my Christian business partner. Strange how God uses people. Despite the money I lost I am grateful to my previous business partner for re-introducing me to God.
One weekend I was invited to go motorcycle riding with a friend. I loved riding but I was a novice. My friend wasn’t a novice and so when I found myself not making the turn coming out of a ‘classic S’ while racing after the friend I had a choice to make, very quickly!; ‘put the BMW on the deck, take the slide and hope for the best, or, try and negotiate the turn on the shoulder of the road, on the side of the oncoming traffic’. I opted for the latter.
All would have been almost fine had it not been for the oncoming pick-up truck that was occupying that part of the road while watching my friend race past and following him in his rear view mirror! This, I was sure, was the end. I was going to collide with the pick-up head-on.
You don’t apply breaks with a motorcycle while the bike is not upright, so breaking wasn’t an option. The only other choice I had was to bring the bike upright by crossing the road to the other side, go on the grass on the other side of the road and then down a very sharp embankment. Some would call it a cliff. All of this happened in split seconds. As I did this I slammed on the bike’s ABS brakes and headed straight for the embankment. Bu the ABS brakes had no bearing on the bike as my bike slid across the grass.
When I got to my senses I had gone off the embankment completely. But instead of tumbling down the hill I was caught in pine tree branches. A few days earlier they cut off a number of trees at that exact point. The branches served as a very effective ‘catch’ as I found the bike virtually in mid-air being held up basically by pine tree branches. The bike’s ABS brakes had ’blown out’ and for some reason my helmet’s visor had broken off, but apart from that I was sitting upright and had no scratch whatsoever.
Despite all the commotion the bike had not even fallen over! Extraordinary! The lesson to be learnt there is that God remains faithful. He provides at the very point of your need. No guessing that I still did not turn to God although I sensed that my time was starting to run out. Top
More seeds of the Word sown
I needed to figure things out, but was struggling. Several of my friends from post-graduate studies tried to minister to me but I dismissed their good intentions with scepticism and clever arguments. The lesson to be learnt there is that it is the seed of God’s Word that makes the difference, not the cleverness of our preaching.
They ‘spoke the Word in love’ – not the ‘softly-softly kind of love, but the tough kindof love. Exactly what I needed. I believe the seeds that these men and women were sowing, were on their way to germanise and bring forth a true commitment to Jesus. These people didn’t become disheartened because of my resistence and they were unashamed of their conviction. Hennie, Vicky and others stuck to their love for me and their love for God as they brought Truth into my life – they were ready to “preach the Word in season and out of season”. Sometimes the things they said offended me and sometimes they said things that hurt me. But the Word was at work in my heart and I did not even know it. I thank God for those men and women. Top
Jean
There is another event that stands out. I learnt from a man (whom I had not known prior to my salvation), some time after my salvation that he was shown in a vision to pray for me. Jean knew my face and name from our our under-graduate studies, but I did not know him. I don’t believe we ever conversed. We only shared one subject at university. What made this vision so amazing was that he had been in prison for quite some time at the time he prayed for me. He knew nothing about my personal life since I graduated in the early 90’s.
Following/shortly before his graduation he had been sent to prison for politically-based crimes, testimony to the rapidly changing socio-political landscape we lived in at the time. At the time of his capture he had not only been an atheist, he also believed that the church was nothing else but a huge conspiracy designed to trap ‘intellectually inferior’ people (funny, sometimes, how those who consider themselves ‘intellectually advanced’ really can be so dumb!).
Whilst awaiting trial for his crimes Jean became involved in various ‘Christian’ and non-Christian sects in prison. Then, after he was sentenced, he started reading up on New Age philosophy. And then, after 3 months in prison, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour and he was saved.
Jean’s time in prison had estranged him from his wife and he had become very depressed. Life became unbearable for him up to the point where he decided to just lie on his bed until he died. He ate nothing and drank nothing. All he wanted to to do was die. Jean had hit ‘rock bottom’.
But the Lord was gracious towards him. After 3 days of not eating or drinking the Lord spoke to him, as he recalls: “On the 7th of December 1994, whilst I was in prison, I heard a voice say to me, “Jean, all you need in your life is Jesus Christ”. I knew it was God speaking to me and I fell on my knees, prayed for forgiveness and asked Jesus to come into my life. Prison was the toughest time I have ever experienced but I will not exchange it for anything in the world!”
Jean went on to live a life submitted to Jesus. He started a church in prison and then another one after he was transferred to a new facility. After having started his second church in prison God showed him my face and my name on several occasions and said, “pray for this man”, which he did. “It was as if I beccame facinated with your face”. Some months later I got saved. Today I realise how important it is to pray for people. To this day Jean’s testimony remains a wonderful tribute to the grace of God.
Moreover, Jean’s testimony tells me that God can even use what is ‘obvious error’ for the good of His elect. He used New Age in addition to all the different sects in and outside of prison so that one man – Jean – can start believing in the Bible, get saved and pray for another man — me — with whom he had no contact whatsoever, so that I could get saved and restore some of the damage I had inflicted upon myself and the people around me. Though I may not agree with how some churches operate I know God uses even these for the growth and good of His elect. Top
Getting saved
By the grace of God and amidst these extraordinary circumstances I came to truly believe in Christ only in 1999 whilst attending a charismatic church on invitation from Vicky. Pastor Sam preached a message that day especially for me. For the first time in my life someone preached the Word and did not compromise one little bit. And that was what I needed.
Sam preached both repentance and faith towards God in Christ and that is what made the difference. Because, as I had experienced earlier in life, without repentance it is not possible to truly believe for your salvation and then confess it openly. That is why I believe John the Baptist was sent – to preach repentance so that people may believe in true faith.
That same day I was asked by an elder of the church, “do you know why you will go to heaven?” I said, “Yes, because I am a good person”. John’s answer shocked me: “No, that’s actually not right”. I knew right there and then I was ‘in for the ride of my life’. John was caring and loving but he didn’t mince his words. A lawyer by profession he told me as it was – we are saved because of God’s grace through our faith. Period. I knew I had much to learn.
I ended up going to home group at John and Irma’s house. These were Godly people and they too, along with every other member, tolerated my perpetual tears during home group meetings. Moreover, they were available to me for the many questions I had and challenges to the Bible I needed to air.
Thus, as it unfolded, following my true repentance, true faith and then open confession of that faith I was baptised in water, as the book of Acts tells us about, and I received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands in prayer. From that experience I started praying ‘in tongues’, which is something I cannot quite explain in writing. Top
Getting healed
I loved that church and also found healing and restoration of my soul there from abuse I had suffered as a toddler. My parents knew nothing about the abuse and neither did I until two other people – husband and wife pastors at this same church counselled me. Jannie and Tobi literally spent hours with me in counselling. They were patient, loving supportive and they spoke the truth of God’s Word into my heart and into my life.
They also appointed “prayer warriors” for me — three in total. These were people who would intercede for me during my restoration. Julie not only prayed for me she also kept me company during services. She taught me many things and she comforted me in a time of immense heartache and pain.
I probably cried for two years in every service I attended. I couldn’t help myself. One night I cried so loud that the pastor, who was visiting our church, stopped the meeting for what felt like 10 minutes so that I could calm down and so that he could be heard. Have you ever sat in a church for 10 minutes waiting for someone to stop crying?! I sobbed and whaled while lying flat on my back right in front of the stage. It must have been a sorry sight, but he allowed God to do a work in me.
That preacher loved me and so did every one of the members who sat there patiently waiting for me to get a hold of myself. In my heart tremendous things were happening but I was still spiritually timid and weak. Top
Getting delivered
During that same time another man from another church guided me through deliverance. To be honest, I was tricked in order for me to get to see Francois because I didn’t want to go. His son, Werner and his wife Erika knew better: They invited me to dinner. It was a lovely dinner but before I knew it Francois and I were alone in the room. Right from the get go he told me stuff about my life that no-one else knew – “Your father is a Free mason”, were the first words he said to me. That was absolutely right. Although my dad had resigned from the Free masons many years prior, the consequences of his decision to join them still had a bearing on my life and I didn’t know it. I suddenly sat up and listened. This was serious stuff. It was no joke – I could tell from the completeness of the revelation given to him about my life.
Many people will question the authenticity of this type of ministry. There are preachers whose sermons I really enjoy who do not believe in this type of ministry nor do they believe in the curses of the Bible. For them all of such has disappeared. Yet, I know that in my own experience my life changed suddenly and significantly following my deliverance from curses, most of which I had brough upon myself through poor decisions and simple ignorance.
In essence, a curse is the opposite of a blessing in the same way as an angel is the opposite of a demon. If you believe in blessings then you have no choice but to believe in curses. If you believe in the working of angels, as Maria and Elizabeth experienced, then you have no choice but to believe in demons, as many witnesses in the New Testament experienced. Some, without reading the Bible, would be very surprized to learn that God Himself pronounced curses on His people. Moreover, His people pronounced curses on themselves! In the book of Galatians, Paul talks about Christians being free from the “curse of the Law”. Note, it is being free from a very specific curse – the curse of the Law. Self-imposed curses and other type of curses do still apply. But, check this out for yourself. Top
Up to that point “deliverance”, to me meant a special way of counselling. Francois was no counsellor and he made that clear too. Neither was he the scary type who ‘dabbled in the spiritual’, which is what I had expected. There were no loud cries and no chants, only sincere prayer, claiming Jesus’ Blood over my life and Biblical statements charged with authority. And, there was a gentle insistence of forgiveness of those who hurt me. A soft spoken man working with his wife Marie he delivered me from one curse after the other, including attempts to sabotage me and frustrate my life – testimony of the business world and people I was involved with at that time.
Nevertheless, it was the change in my daughter’s life that was most significant to me. At the time she was medically diagnosed with a number of ailments – depression, asthma, allergies, losing her hearing, losing her eye sight. Whilst sitting next to her and hearing simple prayers and the authority of the Word which he yielded in faith, I heard Francois pray for each of these ailments. On our way home I was cautious not to put words in my daughter’s mouth, so I simply asked in a non-assuming way, “How are you doing?” upon which she replied, “Daddy, I feel so happy inside!”. My daughter of 10 years had been set free.
The following day I took her to the psychologist she was seeing once a week. Despite my absolute conviction about her deliverance I was still suprized when the psychologist came out aftre having spent considerable time with her, saying, “I don’t know what has happened to this girl but there is nothing wrong with her”. Today my daughter wears prescription spectacles, like many other people do. But that’s all. The asthma, allergies, depression, failing eyesight and failing hearing all left her.
All of this happened before I knew about what Derek Prince teaches about curses and blessings, angels and demons. This too, was a revelation to me.
What all of this taught me, apart from the fact that the church in general is ignorant of many issues pertaining to the spirit, was that Werner and Erika loved me enough to trick me into doing what was good for me. They didn’t care too much about what was acceptable to me, they did what was good for me. I know that can be a dangerous thing to do but from that experience I now know that ‘good’ and ‘nice’ isn’t always the same thing. What we need to choose is what is good. What is nice has a secondary role. Top
Drinking milk
Notwithstanding all of the things I had gone through I could still only handle ‘spiritual milk’ – sweet words of reassurance from the Bible.
The members and staff of my church were wonderful. They loved me. They ministered the Word to me without compromise. And so did the senior pastor from whom almost every member took their lead. This man, who tragically lost his way somewhat, relentlessly ministered the Word in every service. He preached Jesus – the Word – and we learnt to understand it. We never got tired of it – at least I didn’t. Because the Word he was preaching was setting me free from almost thirty years of believing lies about myself and about the world around me. I had been stuck in a rut and only the Truth could set me free. I thank God for these men and women and I thank God for the church I attended. Top
Derek Prince
Probably the single greatest influence on my Christian walk in addition to the church where I got saved was the radio ministry of Derek Prince. Derek has since passed away but his books and radio teaching remains part of many hundreds if not thousands of broadcasts across the world. Fifteen minutes of teaching every day has made the world of difference to me and many others. It has been a constant in my Christian walk for ten years. Podcasts and other material are freely available over the Internet. Previously a professor of philosophy and a scholar and teacher of both Hebrew and Greek, Derek’s simple, logical and clear style of communication cuts through the world of entertainment and industry so prevalent in many churches today. His personal sacrifice and devotion is testimony to that of and Every Day Believer. Top
The closest call
In 2003, when I was knocked off my (own) motorcycle during peak-hour traffic on the busiest highway in the country, and came out of that completely unscathed I knew that God’s protection was for real. I was travelling at about 80 – 100 kilometres per hour. A swerving car from the middle lane knocked my bike over and caused me to fly over the handlebars before I could do anything. As I came to my senses I was completely fine. To my complete astonishment I was running — at great pace — in the fast lane, having no injuries whatsoever. ‘Wow, how is that possible?!’, I thought to myself. ‘How can that be?’
What had happened, and I know you may find this extremely hard to believe, was that after leaving the bike’s seat and flying over the handle bars I went head over heals, I landed flat on my back in front of the bike and hopped on to my feet again from where the momentum of the bike caused me to run – at great pace! The Tupperware lunch box in the outside compartment of my rucksack punched a cut in my rucksack in the same way a cookie cutter would. Between the lunch box and my back my Bible, which I was studying during lunch hours, served as protection for my back.
I look back at that story and joke about it; the closest I got to getting injured was pulling a hamstring from the sprint down the highway! It turns out that not one piece of my equipment: my helmet, gloves, shoes, trousers, riding jacket – nothing, had been damaged or even scratched. Under my trousers, on the outside of my right knee, I found a spot where there was a tiny bit of skin missing. But no bleeding. My bike was a mess though. It had fallen diagonally across the fast lane so that no car could pass it and run me over while I was doing the sprint down the highway. Consider that at that time I was still carrying a serious neck injury – ‘gross instability of my C4/5 and C5/6 vertebrae’ – which I sustained in 1996 and which ended my sporting career.
The injury was serious and permanent. Many tests were done to determine my prospects for playing again, including those done by my disability insurance company, who eventually paid out on the basis of my injuries being “permanent and irreversible”. Well, that was until I attended a healing service at church and received complete healing from my neck injury. In the words of the Radiologist who analysed the films when I had X-rays taken some days after the healing service, “Sir, I just need to understand, please, why did you have X-rays taken? Were you in an accident and are these just as a precautionary measure? Because, apart from a slight degeneration of the vertebrae, which is normal for a sportsman of your type as well as your age, I cannot see anything wrong!” Wow, I was healed completely! Today I have full use of my neck and I can play golf again. In fact, I have since the healing had it checked out and given the OK to play again.
I sold the bike not too long afterwards, and I look back, once again, at God’s miraculous protection. Top
The test of Prosperity
I left my beloved church some time later on the basis of what I perceived to be a continued over-emphasis of the prosperity message, which, in my understanding, is not scripturally sound doctrine. I refrained from going to formal church meetings for some years because I could not find one that was not either preaching prosperity or merely following tradition. As a result I attended home church with fellow believers who were at different stages of spiritual conversion and growth. I learnt to listen carefully to what was being preached and I learnt to test all things, including messages from the pulpit. Perhaps, particularly messages from the pulpit! Top
Today
Today I attend a Prebytarian church, which does not preach the prosperity message, and I am part of a home group — a bunch of people who can talk about their faith, understanding of the Bible, their fears and flaws without reservation – a place where believers can encourage each other personally. I thank God for that privilege. There is no perfect church — I have no illusion about that. But I do believe we need to be sensitive to where the Spirit leads us. If that means you need to move to another church, then go. And I do believe we need to pray for all church leaders. They need it.
Every church I have attended — from the first to the current — has played a part in shaping my faith. How can you not be thankful for that?
What I know more now than I knew before is that the words of Jesus are so true, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (paraphrase). Of course, the opposite is then true as well, ‘you who do not know the Truth will remain in bondage’. That’s just the way I see it.
What I can say is that knowing the Truth of the Word is worth more than I could ever have imagined. It took many years for the seed of God’s Word to be sown into my heart, and by many different people and from all walks of life. Some only said one thing to me about Jesus. Others preached a whole sermon. Each little bit has counted and still does.
Once a week I work as a volunteer Chaplain at our local hospital. I work with terminally ill people – many who know nothing about Jesus. Health Services protocol prohibits us from ‘preach Jesus’, unless invited, so, often times, I am just there for them – a listening ear and a caring heart. I try to connect – this is what I can do. It is not much.
Most Saturday mornings I meet with a couple of Christian brothers to have coffee at the beach. These are men whom I respect. And these are men whom I love. But these are men whom I frustrate, immensely (I think) 🙂 . Because these are men whom I challenge concerning their faith, and these are men whom I love to be challenged by concerning my faith. Because, if there is something that I know apart from that Jesus is Lord, it is that He does not look approvingly on those who serve Him with their lips while their hearts are not with Him. Jesus wants us to get rid of the hypocrisy of our ways. If I can be the Samaritan who helps a brother or a sister get rid of their ignorance or their hypocrisy I hope to do it in grace and in love. And I hope they can be a Samaritan for me too – I need it!
Last update: August 2011