The Refeshing Magazine - Edition 2

© Copyright 2009 ear2hear Ministries

Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be re-produced in any form or by any means without the publisher’s written permission. Any unauthorised re-production of this work will constitute a copyright infringement and render the doer liable under civil and criminal law. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information con-tained within this pub-lished work is accu-rate, the editors, pub-

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Published by: ear2hear Ministries

Postal Address: P.O. Box 26730, Gezina, 0031, Pretoria,

Republic of South Africa

Telephone: +27 83 429 1284

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Website: www.ear2hear.co.za

FIRE: 3

Baal worship & Deception!

FALSE PROPHETS: 7

Alive and well in the Church!

LIGHT UP: 15

The Living Word of God!

RESTROSPECT: 1

Mid-year 2009.

EDITORIAL: 2

A letter from the editor.

POETRY IN MOTION: 10

Poems for inspiration.

JESUS CHRIST IS GOD: 11

A Bible study of significance.

STARTING LINE: 13

A return to the beginning.

** Front page photography by

Amorie Tredoux

ear2hear Ministries Presents

The 1st

MEN OF FAITH

CONFERENCE 2009.

• REGISTRATION

OPEN!

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AVAILABLE.

• Book early to avoid

disappointment.

• For further inquiries:

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Call us: +27 083 429 1284

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Reserved!

Much has happened since our last magazine issue. What ex-citement is gripping the hearts of Christians around the world? Jesus is coming soon! The last days are at hand! Deception is

at an all time peak. God is doing a final round-up for His King-dom; and never before have there been such times as these. We cannot keep our heads in the sand any longer! Otherwise we could miss out on all the excitement around us and fall short of God’s glorious purpose for our lives. With two confer-ences under our belt and several days of Prayer and Fasting behind us; we can see God really opening doors like never before. New cell groups / home groups are starting regularly and the hunger for Jesus seems to be insatiable - only the Lord can keep up with all the responses we see to His work.

On top of this, publishing of new products, revamping our im-age, website and expanding the network - has made 2009 a very productive year. However there is so much more to be done. Now that winter is behind us, there is little excuse that we can make. We need to serve the Lord with everything.

So the challenge stands before each and every one of us. Are we going to rise up in the name of the Lord and start pulling men and women “out of the fires of hell”? Or are we going to

resume our old, traditional Christian lifestyles? This Christian life was never meant to be a comfortable one. We have a re-sponsibility to Jesus and the people of this world. Let’s live life for our Saviour to the full, without having regrets when we stand before Him.

Broad based issues to pray for:

• Jesus to build the Church. • Baptism in Water & the Holy Spirit.

• Separation and holiness for evangelism and outreach. • ear2hear Ministries hosted conferences. • ear2hear Ministries and their partner ministries, cell groups and the greater

network - that grace be given to complete the mandated vision set out by God.

Page 1 The Refreshing Mini-mag www.ear2hear.co.za

Jesus said: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men…” (Matthew 4:19) Je-sus was serious when He called us to follow Him. Many people believe that to be a Christian, you simply have to have everything in your personal life right; and then there is no further responsibil-ity on your part toward Jesus. However

once we follow Jesus, we are committed to carry out the great commission or task set out by God for us. That is, to go out and make disciples; baptizing them in the name of God the Father, God the Son and God The Holy Spirit. Rarely is this command truly followed in full. Most people are comfortable with being “fishers of men”; often with disastrous results. They don’t really “fish for God”

but rather “fish” for their OWN following of people. They start their OWN churches and their OWN Ministries us-ing their OWN names. Rarely, is it Jesus who is ever looked to as being the “head of the Church”. Jesus said through Paul the Apostle that He is the head of the true Church (See Ephesians 5:23). Yet false shepherds and prophets are com-ing in and making a following for them-

selves. It seems that the enemy is not just an external one any longer. The en-emy has become an internal one too (See 2 Corinthians 7:5). The enemy has sown weeds (false wheat) in between the good wheat. We need to ask God for wisdom and His perfect timing; because we may try and rectify things on our own. In the process we might pull out the good wheat while trying to remove

the weeds. We may only think that God deals with that which does not belong in the Church, on judgment day. Yet, when

God has put it within our power to spring into action then we

must deal with false teachings, false prophets and dead gods. We must get down to praying, fasting and watching. In these desperate times we must ask God to shake the Church’s foundations;

so only that which has been established by Him will remain. In this issue we deal with many important matters that Chris-tians need to be aware of. We Deal with topics relating to people who come in the name of Jesus, creating a following under the banner of “Christianity” and “Revival”. Yet, their practices certainly do not follow even the most basic foun-dational teachings contained in the

Scriptures. We also have articles which inspire us to return to the basics of Christian living and warn us to stand on God’s Word as our only authorative guide. We also consider the nature of Jesus Christ’s divinity with step-by-step Word-based study by the late Dr. Pieter Conra-die. It is time for

us to follow Je-sus. Those who hear His voices are called His sheep and they follow when He calls. Many Jesus’ are come into the world calling a following after them-selves. Are you ready to follow when the ONE true shepherd & “fisher of

men” (Jesus Christ) calls us? We hope that by the end of this issue that you would truly think of the im-plications of a fully-employed, life in Christ Jesus.

God Bless, Dwayne Foxley, Editor

www.ear2hear.co.za The Refreshing Mini-mag Page 2

“...When the en-emy shall come

in like a flood, the Spirit of the

LORD shall lift up a standard

against him.”

Isaiah 59:19

by Dwayne Foxley “Never me, that is for other Christians!” This is the most common phrase Chris-tians say when they hear or read about deception. Many people feel that God would never allow them to be deceived. However, as we often find, it isn’t God, but

rather ourselves that can bring deception upon our lives. Some of us will have to re-think this theory: that we are immune to being deceived. This is exactly why it is called “deception” because few see when they are cheated. In the Old Testament, reference is made in several places to idols [also named “Baal’s”]. Baal is roughly translated as Lord or Master; and acts as an all-encompassing word, representing a

pantheon (of many) different gods. The Israelites themselves were deceived on several occasions getting mixed up with Baal worship. One might think that in the Old Testament, the Children of God would have refined their understanding of Jehovah – not needing any other gods. (The fact is that they already had the ONE TRUE God). Who could ever imagine dur-ing their time that they would be caught up

in deception? The Bible tells us, that these “Chosen People of God” abandoned Jeho-vah and went chasing after other gods. They were deceived! These historical events should stir questions within us; questions such as: 1. Why did Israel turn to other gods? 2. Could this reoccur in our life time? 3. What are the signs? To answer these questions, it would be

prudent to examine one prominent ac-count of Baal worship and the deception

mentioned in the Word. Israel had gone after the false Baal (which included fire

worship). It is here that we are introduced to the prophet Elijah (please read 1 Kings Chapter 16, chapter 17 & chapter 18 be-fore you continue). Elijah, a chosen prophet of Jehovah God, was sent as a light to a nation who had fallen back into darkness. At the time, King Ahab was ruler over Israel and Jezebel was his Queen. In 1 Kings 16 we are given our first impres-sion of King Ahab. It is interesting to find

that verse 30 to 32 contains the answer to our very first question posed: It says: “...Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of Jehovah above all who were be-fore him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jero-boam the son of Nebat, he also took Jeze-bel, the daughter of Eth-baal king of the Sidonians, for a wife. And he went and served Baal, and worshiped him. And he

reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.” (1 Kings 16:30 - 32 MKJV) Have you seen it yet? The key to this first intriguing question is in the phrase: “light thing”. Why were the Children of Israel deceived into chasing after other God’s? It was the casual atti-tude of Ahab, who regarded serving Jeho-vah God as a trivial (light or unimportant) thing. It’s as if his responsibility as the

leader and shepherd of God’s people al-lowed him to behave without thought of the consequences. King Ahab had not ap-preciated the weight of responsibility that lay on his shoulders. An eternal soul of a human being is precious. It is not some thing to play around with. Ahab had lost all sense of what was important. The people should also have known better making a stand for what was right; but sadly, many

did not take their relationship with God Je-hovah seriously either - their hearts were wide open for deception. Now the question that you should be itching to ask is this: “Could Baal worship reoccur in our lifetime again”? Believe it or not, Baal worship is


more prevalent in New Testament Churches than many could ever imagine.

The people of God in Today’s Church often forget that old saying: “History always re-peats itself”. It isn’t for nothing, that God gave us the examples of the Old Testa-ment fathers. We should be learning from their mistakes! (Unfortunately, this article cannot delve into all the proofs concerning Deception in the Church today, due to space restrictions. We are just skimming the very tip of the iceberg.)

Where there is smoke, there is fire…. If Baal worship has resurfaced – what are the signs of this deception? We need to examine the mistakes of the past to under-stand the mistakes of today’s current

mainstream Church. For these are the mistakes of today’s Church leaders and congregants – in that many are making light of the matters of God. You might say that we are being too absolute and that we are better able to withstand false gods and doctrines in the New Testament Church. Here we would strongly disagree; Just see how Churches are slowly aban-doning: God’s Word; His commandments;

and obedience to them; the Souls of men; Holiness; etc… This alone is a sure sign. These matters are not being taken seri-ously enough! They are trivial to today’s Church. Men are told that if they keep to the Word they are being “legalistic”. How-ever the Lord says if you keep His Word then we are being obedient. Evil doctrines and gods have replaced Jehovah God and a new “normal” has been allowed to be-

come part of regular Church. [All in the name of “Christianity”] The evil banners of Emerging Church Theology (Materialism and prosperity; Eastern or New age eso-teric influences such as: anointing FIRE/Laughter, meditations/Breath Prayer, Visu-alization, Manifesting, “word-faith” move-ments, Unnatural and non-biblical signs and wonders - the list is endless). You might say or feel that this is a little

far-fetched but one must understand the History of the new religious movement in

Ahab’s time; and how he and Israel were deceived!

ANTI-Christ Means Substitute!

Ahab was very subtle... He didn’t take away the religious practices of the Chil-

dren of Israel. He just slowly substituted and replaced Jehovah God with alterna-tive, man-made gods. He then replaced all that was holy, every doctrine and principle with the doctrines of Devils. Finally, most of the prophets of Jehovah were killed and replaced by the prophets of Baal (See 1 Kings 18). The temples and synagogues were still left standing. All religious “structures” remained; but they had lost

their underlying meaning. Let’s look at an illustration to this “replacement” theory. Think of how a hermit crab comes to live within a sea-shell. A seashell is a skeleton that belongs to a living mollusk (a sea slug). When the slug dies, the shell still re-mains behind, ready to be occupied by an enterprising crab as quickly as possible. Similarly, when a living, spiritual organism dies, all that is left is the dead religious

shell which Satan and his angels, fill as quickly as possible (and people rarely pick it up). Jesus spoke about the state of many people today saying: "When an evil

Know Your Greek and Hebrew! According to Strong’s Bible Concordance The Word “Antichrist” has a Greek origin. Taken from two words, namely: 1. ANTI A prefix which denotes something as being “going against, In substitute of”)

473 (Greek: anti {Pronounced: an-tee’ }) 2. CHRIST The word Christ stands for “Messiah, Son of God, anointed one”.

5547 (Greek: CristovCristovCristovCristov {khris-tos’ })

Antichrist or would then be referred to as sub-stituted anointed one.


spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it

can't find one, it says to itself, 'I will go back to my house.' So it goes back and finds the house empty, clean, and all fixed up. Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in worse shape than at the beginning. This is what will happen to the evil people of this day." (Matthew 12:43 - 45 GNB) The

changes and deception that the Children of Israel experienced were small – barely marked by those who took to serving of Jehovah with indifference and lightness. Within a short span of time Israel was duped into serving Baal. Baal followers would have no true peace or true deliver-ance. A sad state of affairs, considering that God delivered them so many centu-ries earlier through Abraham, from the

dead religious world. Now the Church is gripped with a similar battle. Considering that Jesus Christ saved her from sin and damnation - the Church seems to be de-ceived into serving another Jesus and an-other gospel.

False Fires Don’t Warm, They Burn. False gods, doctrines, prophets and reli-gious practices do very little for the soul. They might hype people up emotionally; but bring no peace and no deliverance! These are just more signs that there is something wrong! Furthermore, “false fires” often burn the innocent, true Chil-dren of God. It is interesting to note that

people like Elijah, who stood for the truth, end up being marked men. Ahab marked Elijah by asking Him if he was the one who was troubling Israel (See 1 Kings 18:17 - 18). In reality blind Ahab and the blind Israelites were the ones who allowed the deception and troubles upon Israel. Their casual and light attitude about Jeho-vah God’s place in their lives proves that to us. When people make a stand against

misled Church authorities today; they are generally considered marked people. They

are often called “troublemakers”, as Elijah was, and even “heretics”. In some cases they are worked out of Churches, minis-tries, and rejected by family and friends - all because they stand against deception. Take heart, if this is happening to you; re-member the words of Elijah to Ahab: “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have for-saken the commandments of Jehovah,

and you have followed the Baals”. What is really concerning us and many other steadfast Christians is the spiritual state of people; and how very few are taking the warning signs seriously! Paul wrote a sec-ond letter to Timothy warning him about an increase of false fires (gods, false prophets, doctrines, antichrist’s, false spiri-tual movements) He Says these things will: “...Have(ing) a form of godliness,

but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (rejected, castaway) concerning the faith. But they

shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.” (Please read complete chapter in 2 Timothy 3:1 - 9 KJV) This passage de-scribes the essence of casual Christians and the false fires they are bringing into the Church. It is interesting to read about Jannes and Jambres—the two magicians of Egypt. They, like the prophets of Baal, did incredible false signs and wonders;

turning staves to snakes, water to blood; copying and presenting a alternative to the children of Israel to follow. (Read Jeremiah 14: 10 - 16 & Jeremiah 23: 25 - 32)


Calling Down The True Fire. Paul commands: “Do not be unequally

yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship does righteousness have with lawlessness? And what partnership does light have with darkness? And what agree-ment does Christ have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have with an un-believer? And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk

among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore come out from among them and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch the un-clean thing. And I will receive you and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Al-mighty.” (See 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 18 MKJV) We have heard much concerning the “revival of the last days”. Yet in order

for true revival to take place it will require a people who separate themselves and become serious in serving Jesus. God de-sires to pour out His Spirit upon His sons and daughters; and carry out promises upon His people given in the Word (E.g. See Jeremiah 29: 10 - 14 & 2 Chronicles 7: 14). In order for the Lord to rain down upon us with His blessing from heaven, will require us to be serious about our re-

lationship with Him! Elijah’s name means: “My God is Jehovah”. How much more se-rious can you be - where even your name tells of your relationship with the Lord! Un-fortunately, many people cannot say the same about themselves. God is not Jeho-vah in their lives. There false fires burning within their hearts; and many have allowed this without thinking twice. They sell their birthrights as Esau did; making light of

their relationship with Jesus. The writer of the book of Hebrews challenges us and says that you must: “...strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not become worse but

rather be healed. Pursue peace with eve-ryone, as well as holiness, without which

no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled. No one should be immoral or god-less like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterwards, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he could not find any opportunity to repent, even though he

begged for it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:12 - 17 ISV)

“Christians” - many will need to turn back to Jehovah God and become serious before it is too late. Your soul is no laugh-

ing matter. You are not being legalistic if you wish to become serious about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible encourages seriousness saying that we must be: “sober and vigilant for the enemy, the devil is going about as a roaring lion seeking for whom he may consume”. (See 1 Peter 5: 6 - 9) However, sobriety and vigilant hearts only come when we are in the right states, so 1 Peter tells us even before the

warning: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6 - 7) God has been serious about us all along. He genuinely cares for us. It is people who need to show care in return. This is the humbling experience Peter speaks of. Especially true if you have been at the “forefront” of the false revela-

tion shared in mainstream Christianity. Many ex-Christian’s who have fallen away because of false gods and teachings never return to God because they feel that they are too unworthy. However, a hum-bled heart will admit the failing and will turn back to God, casting all matters in His hands. Jesus Christ is serious for us, are you’re ready for a serious relationship with Him; turning away from what main


“...Therefore whosoever heareth these say-

ings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Matthew 7:13 - 27 KJV Popular Preaching And The Unpopular Truth. In Jeremiah 28:1 - 17 (MKJV) The

false prophet, Hananiah, publicly contra-dicted the Word of the Lord spoken through his prophet Jeremiah. While the Lord had clearly instructed all Israel to submit them-selves under the rule of the king of Baby-lon; Hananiah declared that the Lord had

decided to break this oppression and re-store the Jewish captives and treasures that had been taken to Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah calmly replied with these words: “...Amen. May Jehovah do so. May Jehovah confirm your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Jehovah's house, and all that is exiled from Babylon into this place. But hear now this word that I speak in your ears and in

the ears of all the people: The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of plague. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then the prophet shall be known, that Jehovah has truly sent him.” It is clear from Jeremiah's “Amen” that he was no old “stick-in-the-

mud” who just wanted to make everyone unhappy. It's clear that he dearly wanted to tell the people good news from God, but he was instructed to tell them bad news. Why bad news? Simply, because of Israel’s sin. The difference between a true and false prophet is: A true prophet tells the people what God wants them to hear. A false prophet tells them what they want to hear. Needless to say, not only did Hananiah's

stream Christianity has become; to serve the living God? If so, then humble yourself be-fore the Lord in prayer; and ask Him to be the ONE true Lord in your life. Ask Him to ex-

pose all the false fires, gods, doctrines and practices that have reigned in your life. Resist the devil by asking God to deliver you from these things in Jesus Christ’s name - and these things will flee. †

For those who wish to do a follow-up on some of these issues. The following are professional

Christian researchers dealing with counterfeit Christianity: • The Berean Call — (Helen Gevers - RSA) E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.thebereancall.org; Call:

+27119762941 or +2782855 6861 • Spiritual Counterfeits Project — Website: www.scp-inc.org • Discernment Ministries / Africa Watch — Website: www.discernment-ministries.org


words not come true, but Nebuchadnezzar went even further and came to Jerusalem

and destroyed it. He also exiled or executed most of the leadership who were not able to escape, making Hananiah's prophesy to be truly a false and cruel contradiction to all who had trusted in him.

False prophets, Today? Perhaps we feel today that false prophets are a thing of the past. Perhaps we think that the public tricks of men like Hananiah are now just a forgot-ten legacy (remembered only in the Bible). We may even feel secure in the knowledge that we have the scriptures; and in all confi-dence we can know the truth. What we need to remember is that even though we know the scriptural truth, we can still be

misled by those giving a false interpretation of it. In 2 Timothy 2:14 - 15 (MKJV) Paul exhorted Timothy “...not to dispute about words to no profit, to the subverting (weakening) of the hearers. Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly (correctly) dividing the Word of Truth.” Timothy was a Christian man who (like every other Christian man

and woman, boy and girl) was seriously looking into the word of God. One of the things the enemy of our souls does is to get us sidelined by people by using irrelevant subjects, points of view, opinions and de-bates. Paul therefore continued to exhort Timothy in verses 16 - 19 to avoid “...profane, vain babblings...”. From the Greek translation we find the word for “vain babblings” is “keno-phōnia” which means:

“empty sounding, that is, fruitless discus-sions”.

Being “...anyone...” Paul wrapped up this discussion to Timothy with a further warning for him (again against false teachers) and

concluded with this comparison, saying in verses 20 - 21 that: “in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth (clay); and some to honor,

and some to dishonor. Therefore if anyone purges himself from these, he shall be a

vessel (container) to honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” I am certain that every sincere Christian wishes to be the “...anyone...” Paul speaks of here. Moreover, I am sure that they also all wish to do everything the way that God wants them to, in rightly di-viding the word of truth; and to do this not only in theory, but also in practice. The “...vessels...to honor, and ...to dishonor”

spoken of here are not physical attributes like muscles, or good looks, or money. Rather, they are those teachings that we have received that, as vessels (imagine a bucket or basin) allow us to receive things from God or from elsewhere (depending on whether they are to honour or dishonour). [It all goes about how we have prepared our hearts. A wine glass has a more honourable use (i.e., to hold a fine, expensive wine)

thana cleaner’s bucket (which has a dishon-ourable use in that it holds dirty floor water).

Getting what God has to give. You may rightly say: “Thank you Lord for the right containers in my life, but now how do I get

hold of the right contents to put into them?” A good question! The heart made suitable to receive the things of God is a work of God. So then also are the things that God wants to put into that heart. In 2 Peter 1:2 - 3 (KJV) the Apostle declares God’s blessing to believers, saying: “Grace and peace be multiplied (given in abundance) to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord…” This is the “living word” that

Peter is speaking here into their lives; not just the blabber of false prophets that many are so used to. Peter then speaks of God giving the ability for Christians to seize spiri-tual things. (Think of how Jacob wrestled with the angel for a blessing) The false prophet not only makes nonsensical prom-ises instead,, but wants people to “hang on on his lips” as they wait on him for these “promises”, - as if he alone is the source of


all spiritual truth! However, Peter continues to say that God’s “...divine power has given

to us all things that pertain to life and godli-ness…” (The word “pertain” here is trans-lated from “pros”, the Greek word for the term “with regard to”). “Pertain” mentioned here speaks of a divine ability to “take hold of”, or to “acquire” the things of God. We therefore don’t need the help of a “prophet” to do this. The implication is that God wants to give us everything that enables us to get spiritual understanding, power, and eternal

life and to become like Jesus. This is surely every Christian's desire! He says that we get it “...through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue.”

What has this to do with false prophets?

False prophets do not come in and replace the truth with nothing. They cunningly come in and replace it with something very close to the truth and few ever notice. This is why the word “antichrist” is used to clas-sify many of these prophets and their ac-tions. They come with a “substitute, anointed one”. “Vessels unto dishon-our” (i.e. the cleaner’s bucket previously mentioned) lap up what these prophets

have to say because it suits the state of their hearts. John’s comment: “…false prophets speak about matters of the world, and the world listens to them because they belong to the world.” (1 John 4:5 GNB) One of the only ways God will remove the false prophets is to get Christians to become those “wine bottles” only fit for the best; and so they learn not to accept anything else.

Whoever Has, to Him Shall be Given. We therefore need to know more about Jesus and His Word. The more of this we know, the more our hearts will become these “vessels” that can receive even more from God. In Matthew 13:10 - 13 MKJV the dis-

ciples asked the Lord Jesus why He spoke to the multitudes in parables. He answered them that it was because it was given to them, as disciples, to know the mysteries of

the kingdom of Heaven, but to the multi-tudes it was not given. He gave the reason

for God doing this in verse 12, saying: “For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whoever does not have, from him shall be taken away even that which he has.” In this ex-ample we can clearly see the “vessels” that Paul spoke of in action - if the multitudes had hearts changed and prepared of God; their hearts would also have desired an in-terpretation of those parables. The fact

they never asked Jesus, or even His disci-ples, for the interpretation, shows us just how shallow and disinterested they were in knowing the truth. These are those who never allow the Word to really get into their hearts, like the parable of the sower. The seed of God’s word “falls by the way side” (Matthew 13:19) and the devil comes and takes the truth away. Satan often uses the false prophet to do this. Sadly, the peo-

ple being deceived are so blind, that these tricksters often get away with the most out-rageous teachings and behaviour! It is clear then that the problem lies with how much Christians grow spiritually. The more they grow, seeking the Kingdom of God, the less chance there is for them to be deceived.

Why Some Grow, and Others Don't… If you see that you can become a person “made to receive from God”; then you can understand why some people always grow in Christ. While others never seem to grow! In fact, many seem to just stagnate and latch on to every false teaching. These last examples are those whose hearts only con-

tain “vessels unto dishonour”. All people have these vessels when they start out as Christians, but if we have only a small por-tion of the truth, then we can begin to seek and find more spiritual food in the Word – and then we can grow. Many people who are in the Church seem to think that the day they received Christ as their Saviour is the end of their spiritual journey. WRONG! It is just a starting point for all of us. We



SODOM AND GAMORRA (By Tillie Ellis)

It’s Sodom and Gomorrah,

All over. Look around,

See the sin of this world. Covered up,

With pretty paper and paint.

When the lights go out, At night.

Many dangers, Arise in the dark. Screams for help,

They fall on deaf ears. Blood drops,

On the black tar. So far away,

It’s her last breath.

The fetid smell of death, Hangs in the air.

A Mother lost her daughter; A Daughter lost her Mother. O ! wicked world, how long,

Before you lose your grip on mankind? Will the light of mercy rise above it all?

God save us all in this time of: SODOM AND GOMORRAH!

many false prophets are gone out into the world…” (1 John 4:1 KJV). If a man tells

you not to question his ministry, because “it is of God” or “I am the anointed of God” he has already instructed you to disobey what the scripture commands you to do! So, turn away from him, he is a self-declared false prophet! Rather seek first God’s Kingdom and all the promises in the Word reserved for His children will be yours. In doing this you will be averted from the deception over-taking the world in these dark hours. †

don’t always understand that discipleship involves:

1.) Following Jesus on a daily basis; 2.) Regularly receiving from His Word; 3.) Interacting with loving Christians; 4.) Finally, loving and serving brothers and sisters till Jesus returns. Those who fail to begin walking the Chris-tian walk will wither like a cut-off branch and fall away – it's inevitable. That is why Jesus said to the many that followed Him:

“...Walk while you have the Light, lest dark-ness come upon you. For he who walks in darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light so that you may become sons of Light” (John 12: 35 -36). The Bible tells us that Jesus spoke these things, and then left, and was hidden from them. God does this deliberately; to see if we will truly follow Him (or the false prophet). He is not inter-

ested in people who are simply “WOWED” by a good message. The Lord is interested in those who are interested in Him person-ally. We show this attitude by wanting to know more about His Son Jesus.

How God gets rid of false prophets. The false prophet comes in and caters for a demand from people. These people hear only what they want to hear. That’s why God speaks against “...everyone who loves (a lie) and makes a lie...” (Revelation 22:15 MKJV) Note that He speaks first against those who love a lie. The way to get rid of false prophets is to change those who love lies into those who love the truth. Leave the

false prophets alone, concentrate on the deceived believers – this is what Jesus did! When His disciples spoke to him of what the Pharisees were doing He said: “...leave them alone, they are blind leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14 MKJV). We encourage all believers to be-have responsibly and “...try (test) the spirits(teachers) whether they be of God, for

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We often come across people who dispute and debate the divinity (supernatural be-

ing) of Jesus Christ! This is not surprising, because our enemy (the Devil and the world) will always try and belittle our Lord. WHY? The evil one hates the King who was and is victorious over him. Jesus showed up Satan and revealed his evil. People, who dispute Jesus’ divinity, are de-ceived! They quote Scripture out of context to prove their point. We admit that it is not easy to understand how God, who is one,

can also be three. Yet God has never commanded us to understand Him. In-stead He told us to obey, to believe and to follow Him. God did not create us with enough brain-power to understand Him; He is above our understanding!!!!! Jesus Christ is God, because the angel who an-nounced His coming said that “He will be called Emmanuel”, which means: “God with us” (See Matthew 1:23 for this ac-

count). You see: He is God – that is what we are supposed to call Him because that is what the Bible tells us (even before His birth took place) in the very first chapter of the New Testament Gospel of Mathew we find it – so Jesus Christ is God. There is little else to debate about the matter. Cen-turies before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament already pro-claimed that He (Jesus) will come and be

God. (See Isaiah 9:6 - 7 & Isaiah 7:14 & Isaiah 40:3) That is not all… the apostle John also starts his Gospel with these words: “In the beginning (As seen in Genesis 1:1) was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (See John 1:1) In the next three verses of John 1:2 - 4 it is very clearly put across that John is speaking of Jesus Christ, our Lord. People who try to twist

the original Greek translations on this point are not consistent because in the rest of the chapter they interpret the same article differently and by this attempt they already contradict themselves. Clearly John is say-ing Jesus Christ is God – this is the foun-

dational truth of the Gospel and that is why he begins his Gospel in this way. In John 8:58 Jesus Christ said: “… before Abra-ham was, I am.” Here Christ was repeat-ing the very words God, the Father, used when He identified himself to Moses as “I am who I am.” (See Exodus 3:14). The

Jews understood what Christ meant and that is why they picked up stones to kill him, because what Jesus really said was: He is God. In the same words Jesus actu-ally said: Before something in the past happened, namely the life of Abraham, something in the present happened – “I am” (present and eternal). Jesus Christ as God was there from the beginning, at the present and always will be “I am” – the

eternal God. Many people, like those Jews and Gentiles, still cannot accept this truth, because of Satan, the Father of lies, who is working in them.

A Bible Study for Discipleship by Pieter Conradie


Jesus Christ continues to reinforce His divinity throughout His Word.

• He says: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (See Revelation 22:13). When it is combined with the statement of God the Father in Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and Omega” it also constitutes a strong claim of equal deity with God, the Father.

• In Hebrews 1:8 – 12 Jesus Christ is also

called God, creator and judge.

• Jesus possessed divine sovereignty (See Colossians 1:19 & Colossians 2:9). A kind of authority which we might think only God can have; yet it is seen in the fact that He could forgive sins (See Mark 2:5 - 7). In addition, unlike the Old Testament proph-ets who declared “Thus says the Lord” He started His statements with, “But I say to

you”, which is an amazing claim to His own Godly authority. (See Matthew 5:

Verses 22, 28, 32, 34, 29, 44 and many other places).

• Christ is also worthy to be worshiped – which is true only of God alone (See Revelation 19:10; Hebrews 1:6; Philippi-ans 2:9 - 11 and Revelation 5:12 &13). If Jesus is merely a created creature, no matter how great, it would be idolatry to worship Him - yet the Bible commands us to worship HIM as God.

• Jesus Christ claims the power to lay

down His life and then to take it up again (See John 10:17 - 18). Who else than God could do that? Only God could ac-complish something like that. Jesus did - He rose victoriously from the dead.

• The disciples of Jesus and the men who witnessed Jesus’ greatness acknowl-edged Him as God. The apostle Thomas called Jesus Christ, God. (See John

20:28). Peter called Jesus “the Son of the living God” (See Matthew 16: 15 - 17; John 6: 68 - 69). The Centurion at the cross said: “Truly this was the Son of God!” (See Mark 15:39)

• Four works only God can do are ascribed to Jesus: Creation, Sustaining, Forgive-ness and Judgment. (See John 1:3 - 5; John 6:39; Luke 7:48; Hebrews 1:3).

• Finally, consider what Romans 10:9 - 13

and 1 John 2:22 - 23 is saying to your heart? Believing Jesus is God almighty, who came in the flesh are the very first steps to salvation. Denying it are the first steps towards damnation. There are so many other Scriptures in which Jesus Christ is called God. Here are some of them for your own personal research: (See Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:11; Romans 9:5; 1 Peter 2:22; Matthew 14:25; Mat-

thew 28:18; John 8:58, John 9:38; Mark 11:2 - 6; 1 Timothy 3:16) †

MEMORY VERSE:

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

(Colossians 2:9 MKJV)

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When God created man at the beginning of time (depicted in Genesis 1 and 2) He, the

great “I am” already knew that man would fall into sin. Our Triune God, simply put, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, were all involved in the creation of the heavens, the earth, all created be-ings; and mankind. What a relief to know that our existence and that of all creation did not come about as a result of one “Big Bang”. Even Charles Darwin and the great Scientist, Stephen Hawkins, admitted to

flaws in some of their theories. (See Myers, J. Voices From The Edge Of Eternity, Pg

247 - 248) One here reads of Charles Dar-win’s account of seeking Je-sus and admit-ting to making mistakes.

I stand in awe when I realize that God carefully planned my humble, purpose-filled existence. Gene-sis 1: 27 reads: “And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created

him. He created them male and fe-male.” (Genesis 1:27 MKJV) Woman would be man’s helper and man was instructed to work in the Garden of Eden and to rule over the rest of creation. I can’t help think-ing: “Now that must have been Paradise!

Daily talks with my Heavenly Father, all the luscious Fruit, nuts and berries at my dis-

posal except one “no-no…” Only one tree and its fruit I had to avoid - So much nicer and easier than after mankind’s fall from grace. Yet, even so far back there was trou-ble in Paradise. Sin was at the door and mankind was in incredible danger! How dif-ferent our lives would have been if Adam had simply said: “No Eve, God has forbid-den us to eat that Fruit - DON’T listen to that serpent” (Take note that Genesis 3:6

tells us that Eve gave Adam of the fruit as well and He ate too). However sin would snowball and the first example of the “blame-game” would begin. Adam would blame Eve; Eve would blame the serpent. What a mess!

Friend, sin starts so subtly. First a thought, and not too long before the eyes feast on the wrong things; until eventually “all resis-tance crumbles” - and then finally partaking of what God has forbidden. Yet, what a mighty and all-knowing God we serve; for even before the foundation of the earth, God knew that His prime creation, man-kind, would sin. So God prepared a remedy

in order to buy us back into FELLOWSHIP with Himself - The death of His son, Jesus Christ, who would die on the cross on our behalf. Consider now the following illustration:

You created every part of me; you put me

together in my mother's womb.

(Psalms 139:13 GNB)

By Dawn Ceronio


God’s Salvation Plan. It isn’t difficult to understand.

The Gospel according to John 3:16 (ISV) which says it in very clear point and form: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” 1. Looking at the illustration we start at the

top of the cross beam - From God to

man… Romans 5:5 ISV puts this part of the illustration fully into perspective say-ing: “...God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” It reminds us of God’s divine love, grace and provision that came from above, to us here on earth.

2. The bottom of the cross (vertical beam): Represents the fall of mankind. Helping

us to remember that without God we have nothing and are nothing except sinful and lost. Romans 3:23 MKJV puts it this way: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” and 1 John 1:8 - 9 (GNB) which makes it clear to us that: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do

what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.”

3. Finally, the horizontal cross beam re-minds us to take what God has poured into our lives, spread it and share it with others. Jesus even commands it, saying in Matthew 22:37 - 40 GNB “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind... ...Love your neighbor as you love your-

self…”

All in all, this illustration can really be a very useful tool in helping us to remember God’s plan of Salvation for our lives. The moment we take on God’s salvation plan upon our

lives, we are called the “Children of God.” Now as blood-washed, redeemed children

of God - the more time we spend in the presence of the Lord the more His love will pour into our hearts. God doesn’t want the love to stop just there! We are God’s repre-sentatives and the Lord desires that we be equipped with the tools of the Holy Spirit to share the love of Jesus with others. At the cross bar level of the illustration (see num-ber 3) The arms of Jesus were spread open and likewise our arms must be spread

open wide to love others around us. Now the Holy Spirit empowers us, leads us and comforts us to be the LOVE ambassadors of Jesus - in this way we can be a comfort and help to others. To be like Jesus and fol-low His example means that we need to “take up our cross” as we have seen in the above simplified illustration. This is not al-ways fun and games. Not only is your own life being formed and changed; but others

around you need to hear and experience this great Jesus you have found. People will watch you and observe your testimony. Some you will win for Christ with your testi-mony and a good attitude. Others you shall win for Christ with the words He gives. The good news is that you don’t do this on your own (Romans 5:5) The Holy Spirit has been promised to you and He shall teach and guide you on how to be the Love Ambassa-

dor more and more as you walk with God. Remember - Souls are the only thing you can take with you to heaven. People are the treasure of heaven. †

Dawn Ceronio is a celebrated Author and Christian singer who has a deep desire to reach people for Jesus. She works very closely with women and has a special place in her heart for senior citizens. She regularly performs gospel events, sadly, with little or no funding. Dawn is available for gospel presentations or for more information on her selection of books & CD’s; Contact her @ Telephone: +27 12 347 4831 or Cell phone: +27 83 997 6825.

“Mass Production” is a term used in busi-ness. It describes the process where prod-

ucts are made in large quantities on a pro-duction line. In other words, it means that the goods you buy in the shop today are cheaper but have been made very quickly, and in most cases, are often inferior in qual-ity. Over 100 years ago this whole concept would have been unacceptable to the con-sumer. However, mass-produced goods are something that we, in the modern world, have come to accept. These inferior quality

goods at a cheap price are now something that is an everyday norm. (We hardly even give it a thought). We might hear our grand-parents make remarks about how, in their day, quality and workmanship was impor-tant. Other than that it seems to be accept-able to purchase things that just don’t meet up with standards. Just look at the toys that they sell these days and you will quickly agree with me that times have changed.

What often gets the goods sold is the in-credibly high quality packaging and the wrapping. Funny thing is that nobody can really use the wrapping or the packaging. What we are after is the goods inside the “box”.

It is important for us to grasp that when it comes to matters relating to the spiritual, you cannot have a “mass-production men-tality”. Quality is important; and standards are important! Sadly, people have come to accept “second-rate” and “third-rate” in the Christianity today. The “Christians” often package the spiritual goods on offer quite well. They might even be “progressive” in

their presentation of their “products”; but the universal truth still stands out - It is not the

packaging or presentation that counts (See Isaiah 28: 9 - 12 Key word = stammering lips). We are interested in content and that is where most ministries, churches, Chris-tian television and radio stations, pastors and congregants seem to disappoint.

The Word of God was never intended as a poor meal offered to the souls of people. God’s Word is in short… incredible – when it is offered and used as God intended it to be! David says that: “Your Word (Jesus) is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) It is strange to see how Christians will trust a road map or the weather man before they

really entrust their lives to the Word of God. We will accept poor rate spiritual food but if the weather man makes a mistake we are furious. If the map book is wrong we phone up the publishers and complain about the mistakes. Yet, we drink in everything that Christianity offers us – even if what is being said is bursting with mistakes and lies. This is the very reason why so many people, as the Bible warned, are going off-course.

Only the Lord’s Word that can direct us! Not the repackaged Christianity on offer today. The Word of God really gives so much di-rection and light; that those following some-thing else will most certainly lose track of their spiritual life.

Beyond Direction. God’s Word goes beyond giving us direc-tion. It helps us to become “fussy shoppers”



or “selective buyers”. The more biblical term is “discerning”; but that means little to

you and me if we have never put it into practice before. Discernment is the ability God’s Word gives us (in conjunction with the Holy Spirit) to look beyond the “packaging” that is found in Christianity. It is a freely-given ability of God to look into things with a spiritual microscope; to exam-ine the contents and determine if it is fit for spiritual consumption.

Despite being freely given of God, discern-ment is rarely used!!!! If only we realized how much trouble we could save ourselves and others around us, if only we put dis-cernment into practice. Paul emphasizes what an incredible instrument the Word of

God can be when discerning: He says that: “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 ISV) It judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart? When I first read these verses years ago, I thought: “Wow, that could certainly be a very useful tool! The ability to under-

stand the good and evil purposes of man-kind’s hearts!” OOOOOPS… Little did I un-derstand at the time, that there is really only one heart that needs to be judged; and that is certainly not the hearts of people around me (but rather, my own). God’s Word is our personal “spiritual ruler” or guide; offering us the clarity we so desper-ately need. If our hearts don’t measure up; it should cause us to want to do something

about it. Discernment is all about

determining what needs to be done in our lives (and not just the lives of others around

us). Discernment also gets us to ask the questions that makes us so uncomfortable; simply because who can know yourself as well as you do? Only God and you, knows your heart. (Generally, we are not capable of knowing what lies in the hearts of other people). Discernment gets us to question why we accept inferior spiritual food; and it helps us to determine how wholesome our spiritual food is.

Our experience in China, the Philip-pines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cam-bodia has shown us that there are millions of people ready to accept Jesus Christ ... if there were only somebody to guide them! Are you willing to assist us in reaching mil-

lions of people as co-workers in ex-panding God's Kingdom? We need you to pray faithfully and support the work financially. Let us honour our precious Saviour by our obedience and faithfulness while the opportu-nity still presents itself. We do not know when the doors may close, so call us and get involved today:

Telephone: +27 012 332 2601 / 2 E-mail: [email protected]

Hearts Ready To Discern. We will only start discerning our own hearts

when we take the first steps of acceptance. Accepting of “what” exactly? That our hearts must reflect the heart of Jesus – we must become like Him. It is a process of “humbling ourselves” to the point where we can finally say: “Heart, it is time the Lord, His Word and yourself start discovering all your good and bad areas so we can clean house”. The letter of the Apostle James deals with this topic. James says: “Don't

think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, "The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires." But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you

hypocrites! Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Do not criticize one another, my friends. If you criticize or judge another Christian, you criticize and judge the Law. If you judge the Law, then you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it.” (James 4:5 - 11 GNB) Our hearts over the years have be-

come a storage place, full of many things. It needs much work before it is ready for heaven. There is no point criticizing the hearts and Christianity of others if you are in a poor spiritual state. Once we have humbled ourselves in the “here and now” (in time and maybe only when we

reach heaven) then God will lift us. The Word of God will light up the dark places

of our hearts if we allow it to. Many people will never have hearts ready to discern, why? Jesus gave the reason in these verses found in the Gospel of John, saying: “This is the condemnation (the judgment), that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil. For every-one who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds

should be exposed. But he who practices truth comes to the Light so that his works may be revealed, that they exist, having been worked in God.” (John 3:19 - 21 MKJV) People who want to discern cor-rectly will want to deal with those matters that have a hold over their lives. They are not afraid of the darkness but they come to the light and in doing so, they wish to ex-pose anything that isn’t in God’s Word; and

anything that isn’t like Jesus. In other words, they begin to discern. However, if we hate the light, then the Word of God will mean little to us, we will hold onto these strongholds (strong places) and the Word ultimately will have no impact. Truthfully, we are at a great risk when we don’t lean on the Word. We will eventually abandon the Lord and we will never deal with the issues in our lives. If this turns out

to be the case then God will have to deal with us when we stand before Him one day. We trust that you will come to love the light of God, the living Word - Jesus Christ. Al-low Him into your life and cause Him to light up your existence while here on earth. †


ear2hear Website: A ministry website packed with fresh, relevant and incredible content to help you in your spiritual race. Let us know of your needs, so that our teams can keep you in their prayers. Listen to blessed audio sermons, find challenging Bible studies to inspire. Read poems and writings, share testimonies; download awesome e-books and even deco-rate your PC with desktop wallpapers. Register with the e-mail or postal subscriber list for special offers - and keep abreast of the latest news. All and more for free at www.ear2hear.co.za.

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meet the challenges of spiritual growth. It is currently, available in English and Afrikaans; and soon in other languages.

Reflections (for Woman): Ministry dedicated to the spiritual needs of woman - With weekly writings and in-spirations from Christian authors.

ear2hear Networking: Does your Church, cell group or ministry, big or

small, wish to relate and network with us? Then join the ear2hear Ministries network and be involved in some great, spiritual building for the Kingdom of Heaven.

ear2hear Conferences: Join us for the annual Unity Conference, Reflec-tions Women’s Conference and soon-to-be -held Men of Faith Conference. These conferences have become in-

credibly popular overnight, owing to the blessed, Spirit-filled atmosphere, great teaching and affordability. Don’t miss out on these excellent opportunities for network and spiritual growth. Go to www.ear2hear.co.za to register early or call +27 83 429 1284 for more informa-tion.


Dear Reader:

If this mini-magazine has touched your heart, then we ask you to consider the following verse: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16 GNB God doesn’t just want to touch your heart; He wishes also to give you abundant life in a relationship with Him. If you would like God to do this, then pray the following prayer today, and don’t delay for one minute longer. Dear Father: I ac-knowledge that I am a sinner and fall short of your Glory. I realize I need your help! I ac-cept that You gave Your only beloved Son to die for me on the cross. I ask You, Jesus, to come into my heart and cleanse me of my sin. I now believe that I am born again and that I am born into God’s family. Thank You, Jesus, that my sins are now washed away… Amen. If

you have prayed this prayer, then don’t hesitate to contact us today so that we can facilitate you in your walk with Jesus.

Write to us: ear2hear Ministries P.O. Box 26730, Gezina, 0031, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa

E-mail us: [email protected]

Telephone: +27 83 429 1284

Web site: www.ear2hear.co.za


Good News Bible/ Today's English Version: Copyright © 1976 - 1998 New York: American Bible Society.

Modern King James Version: Copyright © 1962 - 1998 By Jay P. Green, Sr.

International Standard Version: Copyright © 1996 - 2008 The ISV Foundation.

Scriptures in this magazine are taken from the Holy Bible:

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of the copyright holders.

Call on us and find out how you can make a difference!

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The Refeshing Magazine - Edition 2

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