“if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Pray that prayer before you go out today and then look forward - look up, not look down, because your redemption is nigh.
And go and put your arms around those loved ones who are left behind and dry their tears and tell them that that loved one is not dead.
You will see them again, very soon.
Read MoreI remember like it was yesterday, we had one of our earlier Mighty Men Conferences on the farm.
There was an old gentleman who arrived in his little pick-up, his bakkie.
He was all by himself. He put up his little one-man tent and he sat, looking out over the farm.
Nobody noticed him particularly.
He was quiet and he was spending time in the presence of his God.
That night…
Read MoreI want to say to you, that one of the hardest times in my entire life was when my dear little nephew, Alistair Buchan, fell of the tractor that I was driving and was killed.
My brother and his dear wife were so gracious to me, I am eternally indebted to them for their comfort, but I was struggling and losing sight of eternal life.
I remember a neighbor coming over one day and saying to me, “Angus, I have come to ask you, do you have a shotgun?”
I said, “Yes, I do which I use for shooting vermin and wild pigs that were destroying my mealies.”
He said, “Can I take it for a while?”
Read MoreYou know, I went out early this morning just as the sun was rising and what a glorious, beautiful summers day.
Jill has got a hedge of Jasmin. The scent was absolutely pungent, delicious!
The birds were singing in the trees and I thought, “Lord, what a beautiful day!”
And I remembered that Latin saying, “Carpe Diem” - make the most of the present time.
Seize the day, my dear friend.
Read MoreOne of my heroes is a man by the name of William Carey.
William Carey was a cobbler and one day they tried to mock him a bit and they said, “I believe you are just a shoemaker.”
He said, “No sir. I can’t make shoes. I am a cobbler. I can only repair them.”
Read MoreI remember hearing a story - a man from a different religion once said, “We all serve the same god. He just has a different name.”
No sir! We don’t!
The difference between other gods and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is that He has a Son and His name is Jesus Christ.
Other religions don’t…
Read MoreHe said, “Well, it is like two dogs in my stomach. There is an evil one and there is a righteous one, and they are fighting.”
And Hudson Taylor said to him, “And which one is winning?”
And he said, “The one I feed the most.”
Read MoreOh my dear friend, the Lord God has made us as eagles to ride the thermals when the storms of life come against us.
Unlike that crow that is sitting on the power line looking for scraps on the earth, the eagle screeches with excitement when there are thermals stirring, caused by big storms are coming.
He gets excited and he spreads out his wings and he flies even higher.
Read MoreThe preacher was adamant, He said,” I am a preacher of the gospel. It must be there. I demand to see God.”
The angel put the cowboy on his back and they flew to heaven.
He put the cowboy down on a floor of shining gold and then he heard a voice, so loud it was like a massive waterfall, like thunder and lighting.
“Who are you and what do you want here?”
It was God Himself. He was petrified. He didn’t move, he just lay there.
A second time the voice said,” Who are you and what do you want here?”
Just then, this petrified cowboy lying with his face on the floor heard footsteps coming from behind him.
Someone wearing sandals and the swishing of a robe.
Read MoreI remember like it was yesterday, we had that massive tent on the farm. Remember, there were 30,000 men inside and 30,000 men outside.
We had fully extended ourselves.
We had nothing left in the kitty, not even a cent, and the organising committee came to me and they said, “We need more speakers.”
I said, “We don’t have any more budget.”
They said, “If they can’t hear the message, what is the point in having the meeting.
Reluctantly, I went to the Lord and said, “Lord, we need more money.”
And I said, “Go ahead”, by faith, “and get the extra speakers.”
Read MoreThere is nothing so sad for me as to see an old man holding on by his fingertips, the business or the farm or the ministry that he has built up and will not hand that baton over.
Eventually, the young man leaves and he goes somewhere else and makes his own way and the old man sits there and everything that he has built up disintegrates around him.
We really need to get out of the driving seat, walk around and get into the passenger seat and let your son or your daughter drive the car.
Read MoreI remember many years ago when I was doing my agricultural training in Scotland, that I would spend weekends with my Uncle Ronnie.
He was my dad’s brother and he was a very, very compassionate and good shepherd.
He had been sickly all his life. He never had much opportunity to go to school because he was always in hospital.
So he became a shepherd and a very good shepherd at that.
He was a compassionate man.
Read MoreAnd then he got off the train and he saw her but he got quite a shock.
She was a middle-aged woman.
She was very plain, quite poorly dressed. She was in a shabby green dress but she had a beautiful red rose.
He was very shocked. He was actually disappointed.
But he had to make a choice and he could have walked right passed her as she had never seen him either, but he didn’t.
He kept his promise and he walked up and he introduced himself to her and she said…
Read MoreI will never forget it as long as I live, one of the highlights of my preaching ministry, to see those wonderful people on their knees on the sand dunes in Mitchell’s Plain, asking God to send the rain and then it started raining.
Do you remember? And I don’t think it has stopped since then.
My young farmers, in the Western Cape area, say they are looking at the best crop they have had in many, many years.
God is a prayer answering Lord.
Read MoreOn a Thursday night, he was relegated to speak to a few old ladies.
I love old ladies because they are prayer warriors, and they filled the front row of the church, all these old ladies but he was looking for men.
But you see, the lady who was playing the pump organ had a little boy of a about 13 years old, who was pumping the organ at the back and when the man of God spoke about the lost in Africa, his heart was on fire.
That boy was…
Read MoreGeorge Matheson, a budding young Scottish preacher, many years ago - he was tipped to be one of the best preachers in Scotland - he was engaged to a beautiful young Scottish lass.
They were going to be married but he was having trouble with his eyesight so he went to see the doctor and the doctor told him, “I am very sorry to tell you but you have a degenerative problem.
You will be blind in just a number of years.”
He was totally shattered…
Read MoreAnd you know, there are many, very, very famous opera singers - Pavarotti and many others but when they lead, Andrea Boccelli, he usually wears a white suit ,and they lead him onto the stage because he cannot see where he is going, and they lead him up to the microphone, and they let him go - folks, I want to tell you, it brings a tear to my eye every time, and he sings like a bird.
That man has risen above his circumstances.
Read MoreYou know, I remember in 2008, we had the biggest tent in the whole world pitched on this farm, here at Shalom.
It took up four rugby fields. It took us three weeks to erect with professional riggers, Attie van Staden and his team.
It took seventeen thirty ton lorries to bring the tent to the farm.
It even had its own weather station.
The tent was so big they had to know when to tension those ropes that were made of that steel wire.
It seated over 30,000 men inside and we had 30,000 men outside. What a weekend!
Read MoreRight in the middle of my message, there was a commotion that came from the back of this huge hall and two ladies, middle-aged ladies, were walking up the middle of the aisle and they were weeping uncontrollably.
I didn’t know what is going on.
I said to the ushers, “What is the problem?”
I stopped preaching and as you know, I am not a man who has a quiet voice, and I was so excited I said, “Bring them onto the platform.”
They brought them onto the platform and the one lady started to speak while her friend was standing there with both their hands up in the air, praising God.
She said…
Read More“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
He will keep you warm.
He will show you and lighten up your path and show you the way home.
Today, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and He will lighten up your life.
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