Week four into Crusade - In the last week the focus changed from “conversions” to a real atmosphere of God building His Church
Charles
Spurgeon said: “If you are a Christian and you do not have
the heart to save the lost, then you are not a Christian at all, you can be
sure of that”…
These
are harsh words that jar the mind and heart, but we are living in harsh days
with the highway to hell getting wider and wider to accommodate the ever
increasing number of lost going there...
As we witnessed thousands coming forward in answer to His Call and many raising their hands in acknowledgement of wanting to give their lives to Jesus, we were reminded that we are in the morning of the 3rd day of Jesus’ second coming….
The total number of new converts who registered throughout the crusade numbered thousands. We were unable to register them on some of the nights for the sheer numbers who put their hands up in response to His Call. We estimate that many thousands have responded during the crusade month. Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus. Now we continue to pray for these You have given us that the devil will not be able to steal and rob, protect them, supernaturally guard them, we pray, and help us to reach each one in the months to come…
In the last week the focus changed from “conversions” to a real atmosphere of God building His Church, leading them into praise and worship with sound teaching. Many came forward for prayer, healing and deliverance. Many were set free…
Another 28 new converts completed the discipleship training course in week 4 and were baptised on the Sunday before the church service. We will be taking this training through into the church as it becomes the foundation training for the church. We have already begun to teach at the site, this week on spiritual warfare, to our staff at Lungisani Indlela who are working in the schools in Amaoti…
The 3 tents will remain as the tabernacle, with teaching/ training, and ministry each day as we equip the new Christians and bring them into maturity.
The Message:
KwaMashu Christian Centre continued to bless us as they partnered us with their musicians, led by “rubber legs” Zamo, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday they brought their whole choir which was like listening to angels singing in His Throne Room!
Nicholas Mzimela, the leader of K.C.C., preached with the anointing power of the Holy Spirit on Tuesday and on Thursday Zonke (the 5ft dynamite-filled, diminutive young lady from K.C.C.) returned to give the word she was unable to bring the previous week when God moved and focused that night on deliverance.
At one point she became airborne in her stiletto high healed boots and flew through the air off the stage onto the ground in front with a perfect landing! How awesome it is to see God using members of His Congregation…again salvation and deliverance came to many.
Steve Booysen’sseasoned crusade campaigner, preached the Monday night on being filled with the Holy Spirit with His anointing and power, encouraging them to get into the River of God and not remain in only 2 inches of water… New converts were prayed for first and then they and others were delivered and filled with His Spirit. How awesome to see the miracle of lives being set free…
Many were healed physically and spiritually that night…
Angus Buchan came on the Wednesday night, all the way from Greytown, because of the Father’s love for the people of Amaoti. His message focused on the prodigal son (Musa) returning to the Father who was waiting for him with open arms. He brought the Good News from God that He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and is still the God who heals…many black, white and Indian folk came forward to receive healing and salvation…we wait for confirmation of physical healings of Jehovah Rapha (our God who heals)…
The New Amaoti Community Church emerges:
Our God continues to remind us that He is in charge and we need not fear…
When contact was made with guest artist, singer/preacher Benjamin Dube, to confirm he and his band for Sunday night, he had double booked … The result was that they came for Friday and Saturday nights.
Brian Dennison came from Gauteng to give the salvation message on the Friday night and God used Benjamin to set the tone for the ongoing church. The word Benjamin Dube brought was strong and hard hitting for the church, not to play games with God but to turn from their old ways…
The Lord showed us not to close the crusade, as this was just the starting block and it needed to flow into the church. The Sunday night was changed to the Sunday afternoon and became the 1st church service. Over 1,500 came with excitement, hope and expectation… Zamo and K.C.C. musicians led us in praise and worship and the joy was tangible…Tich spoke on the vision going forward for the church, and the horror of going to hell. We had over 50 people come forward for 1st time salvation and many others stood in agreement to go and bring in the lost… many also came forward for prayer and to receive the Holy Spirit baptism.
The first 12 home cell groups are being prepared in the different areas as we identify the potential leaders.
The focus will be on prayer, using the crusade prayer directive, and the previous Sunday teaching. God has shown us clearly to be a praying church…
“If God is not in it you won’t have to stop it, but if God is in it no man can stop it”
We are, once more reminded that this was our Lord Jesus’ Crusade and we continue to heed His warning for all involved to humbly keep our heads down (woe to us if we lift our heads to receive recognition!!). HE chooses cracked pots to use. May He find us worthy to continue to be used for His Glory?
There is nothing more important for Christians living in these end times, than to reach out to the lost.
We need urgently to get on our knees, repent on behalf of the wickedness of our country…Pray for the harvest…and GO into all the world (around us and beyond). “If My people will get on their knees and pray and repent of their wicked ways … THEN I will hear and heal their land…”
As we went and touched people’s lives, and loved the unlovable with His love, we realized that it is only possible to love like this when you move toward them and touch them, and then He fills you with His love. We witnessed this surge of His love as we watched the congregations from many churches come to the crusade and serve. They will never be the same and nor will any of us. Our prayer is for all of us to never lose what God has placed in us, until He comes again.
We need to continue to take the church of Jesus Christ out into the highways and byways just as HE did, and when we have finished our race we will hear the beautiful sound of our Lord’s Voice say “well done good and faithful servant...”
The Way Forward:
God is building His church, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the gates of hell will not prevail.
We earnestly ask all of you to continue to pray for the people of Amaoti for many more to come and be saved, for God to fulfil His dream of changing this community from a place of poverty and in crisis to a place of abundance, peace and joy… only He can do it… but He has chosen us to get the job done.
You have all heard the cry from the Father’s heart for the lost, we ask you to continue to partner us as we continue to run this marathon race assigned to us.
The vision is for all the churches involved during the crusade and others, to pray, encircle, support, train, teach and financially support the Amaoti Community Church. If we are serious about unity this is where
the “tackie really hits the turf…” Let us throw out all preconceived ideas of church and rise to His Call…to save the lost, feed His sheep, feed the poor, the widows and orphans and see lives changed…
The week after:
Many church leaders, men’s groups, companies and individuals have responded and are ready to link arms and move forward with us.
A missionary lady, working in India, flew back to South Africa on the 22nd October to tell the church to heed the warnings of living lukewarm lives, to walk righteously in the fear of the Lord, and to ask God to break our hearts for the lost. She had a vision of hell with so many lining up to go into hell and many were people who are sitting in church but don’t know Jesus as Lord and Saviour, even ministers of the Word…
God gave her the same prayer directive to tell the church to repent, fast and pray this prayer directive of repentance, putting on the armour of God, and declaring war on the strategies of the devil in our land, as a prayer/fast chain continually over our cities and country… to break the terrible spiritual atmosphere of darkness over our country and the continent of Africa. The war is ongoing… She asked “how Lord” and He showed her, just as He showed us: Each church must take a week in the year… the recruitment begins again…
We move forward with fear and trembling knowing that the worst thing we could do is sit back and say we have done our bit…
We thank you all for your incredible support. Many have asked how we managed to keep going every night for a month and we can humbly say only by His Grace, Mercy and Strength…in answer to your prayers.
May you be truly blessed and continue to link arms with us as we take ground for JESUS. Amen.
Fondest love,
Tich and Joan
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