DO WE UNDERSTAND THE GREAT COMMISSION?

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1 Newsletter No July 2017 DO WE UNDERSTAND THE GREAT COMMISSION? What did Jesus commission His disciples to do really? If we wish to know God s heart, we surely need to have a closer look at His final instruction recorded in Matthew 28:16-20 and Mark 16: Go into all the world, preach the Gospel, teach, cast out demons, heal. To what extent is the church teaching, as opposed to preaching? And where is the church casting out demons? How much of the church is into healing? Notice, by the way, that casting out demons precedes healing. Why? Because most sicknesses and diseases are caused by demons. Let s look at this more closely. Jesus said: Preach the Gospel. He said go and be a witness to Who I AM, that I am alive and tell them what I have done. All in the anointing, the ability of the Holy Spirit. Preach the truth, the good news. The Word spoken in the anointing of the Holy Spirit is the power to draw people to Christ. If they refuse it, it is a choice THEY make. It is not our job to save the lost per se. Our mandate is to preach His Word. Then HE will save the lost. We try too hard to do through programmes the things that the Lord has said that HE will do. We do not go into the streets and stadia to save the lost. We go to preach the truth. We go to lift up Christ Jesus. We go to tell them what Christ has accomplished on the cross. Programmes will not save anyone. Only the Holy Spirit drawing people through the anointing on the Word does that. And this is where the church also misses it. We don t preach the Word only to the world the lost but to the saved, the church. Because His Word is what changes us into His image. It is His Word that gives us revelation of what He achieved on the Cross. It is His Word that explains our inheritance, our position, our identity in Him, so that we can grow up into Him and reign as kings in life through Him. So that we can claim our freedom and For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. [Heb 4:12 NLT] SWORD MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER 1

2 Rain in Strand, Cape Town, at last! walk in it. And it is the Holy Spirit who activates that Word in our lives and makes it real and personal. But look at the churches. Full of people who are broken, sick, depressed, defeated, oppressed, poor and demonised. And what answers are there? Every Sunday the same people fill the church building; the same people come forward for prayer; the same people come out looking bored. Is it any wonder that the world is not interested in becoming a believer? What for? Because the church is not providing the answers that Jesus has procured for us. The church is not preaching the gospel to the church. And it is because in most church assemblies the Holy Spirit is not welcome - there is no anointing, and only the anointing destroys the yoke of slavery. Study Mark 16 vs Jesus said preach if they believe they will be saved. The word saved refers not only to salvation, but to all the blessing that comes with salvation: forgiveness, redemption, deliverance, provision, healing, protection and our new position in Him. That applies just as much to the church as to unbelievers. How many believers actually know who they are in Christ and what their inheritance is? First salvation then? Once unbelievers have been saved what is the first instruction He gave? Cast out demons. Why? Because it is demonic oppression, often inherited from generational sin and curses, that st0p people from walking in the liberty, joy, peace, health and prosperity the Lord has bought for us. Once demons have been cast out, only then, note, Mark reports Christ Jesus as saying, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed. All the remarks that precede that about taking up serpents and drinking deadly things have reference to the activities of deliverance. We know that serpents refer to demons. [Gen 3:1] This was apparently acknowledged and accepted by Jews of the time as referring to satan; serpent If you wish to contribute to our ministry, please make your donations to: ABSA Bank; A/c name: EF Westoll; Type: Current; Branch: Helderberg; Branch Code: ; A/c No. : NUMBER 07/2017

3 is also a picture or type of sly cunning, which is associated with demons. Drinking deadly things are references, among others, to those occult and witchcraft powers that seek to destroy through curses. So why is the church not casting out demons? Especially since Christ specifically instructed us to do it? We have become too civilised and sophisticated to admit the presence of demons. We are embarrassed to admit that we might have a demon. It s a kind of mark of distinction these days to have a therapist or consult a psychiatrist or attend a psychologist. Because that s professional and scientific. Having a demon is somehow unclean. And the tragedy is that those professions know nothing about the spiritual dimension and in most cases, compound the problems via their advice and drugs. Jesus said, These signs will follow them that believe, they will cast out demons... There is an overwhelming need in the church for deliverance from demonic oppression. But the church turns a blind eye. In some churches, we find teaching on blessing, the favour of God, the grace of God, who you are in Christ which are great and wonderful and essential teachings, but they neglect the basics. Many ministers preach that their members should go out and preach the good news to the world, when they themselves don t know it! They are sick! They are oppressed! They are demonised! How can they bring hope to others? In Jeremiah 6:14 and 8:11 we read the indictment of God: You have healed the hurt of my daughter but slightly. Because people in the bondage of the consequences of unconfessed generational sin and curse are not being set free and healed. People who have opened doors to the devil in their own lives are not being taught how to repent, cast out the demons that have taken advantage of those sins and close the doors that gave them entry. People who are sick are not freed from the chains of demons of infirmity. The famous scripture about the Messiah in Isaiah 61: 1-4 is speaking primarily of Christ s ministry to the church! One could even argue that preaching good tidings to the meek (poor/afflicted/humble) is telling those afflicted among believers that Christ has the solution for their problems and they can receive freedom, healing and provision through His victory. What is the point of saving thousands or millions and bringing them into the church if they are to sit there in the same condition they were in before they were saved? Oppressed, fearful, sick, depressed, demonised, angry, resentful, full of unforgiveness and bitterness unchanged. Still labouring under curses. Unaware of their inheritance in Christ. It is no wonder that unbelievers look at the church and people in it and shy away. Because in the church we are not being who Christ said we should be. He said it is by the love we have for one another that we will attract the attention of unbelievers. By THIS they will THE SWORD NEWSLETTER This newsletter is written and produced by Sword Ministries, Postnet Suite 5, Private Bag X15, Somerset West 7139, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Tel Cell: westoll@sword.co.za. Website URL: Sword Productions cc. We wish to express our gratitude to those who have contributed and donated to our ministry and provided financial support. We are praying God s richest blessings on you, His restoration, renewal and strength. Know that you have a part in everything we do. SWORD MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER 3

4 know that you are My disciples. [Joh 13:34,35] Not by what we say. Or tell them to do. By our self-sacrificial love for one another. [Joh 15:12-14] But believers are so tied up in demonic bondage that it becomes almost impossible to allow that self-sacrificial love to flow. The church needs to restore the ministries of deliverance and healing to believers. Believers are being cheated and robbed of what belongs to them of what Christ gave His life to provide. Jesus said that deliverance was the children s bread. Family day and baptism Saturday 15 July was Family Day and Baptism at the Restoration Centre. Errol had already taught about the meaning of baptism on preceding days so the young men knew what they were proclaiming. They were saying that they died with Christ on the cross (descent into the water) that they were buried with Him in the grave (being under the water) and that they were raised up with Him into newness of life (rising up out of the water). He explained it to the families who were gathered to witness this very important proclamation of their sons that they were turning their Ps Ulrich welcoming the guests/witnesses. backs on their old lives and beginning a new season in Christ Jesus. It It appears that most believers do not truly understand the import of baptism. In every occasion in the Book of Acts, where new converts were made, they were immediately baptised (by full immersion), so it was clearly considered by the apostles as an essential component of salvation. Jesus Christ Himself, in giving the great commission, instructed that we should preach and baptise all those who were saved. We have seen that it is a powerful spiritual declaration that has dramatic consequences in Invited guests 4 NUMBER 07/2017

5 the spirit and therefore afterwards also in the world around us. When Hindus, Muslims or those of other faiths are converted to Christianity, while there is hostility to those converts, they are still, to a measure, t0lerated within the community. But let them be baptised. Then all hell breaks loose. They are ostracised, denied as family and even targeted for death. So there is clearly an inherent power and proclamation in baptism that we have not yet fully grasped. So if you are born again and have received the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Saviour but have not yet been baptised, (in Afrikaans groot doop ) it is time for you to get before the Lord. So-called Christening is not water baptism. At best, that is dedication by the parents of their child to the Lord but for the most part, it is just an empty religious ritual or tradition that means little unless the parents have been taught and are fully aware of the fact that they are assuming responsibility for bringing up their child in the knowledge of the Lord. As to parents handing over any kind of spiritual authority to god-parents,that is the worst kind of religious error, and surely anathema to the Lord. Water baptism requires a conscious decision on the part of a person who has been born again, has entered into a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and has received His forgiveness and a new life in Him. After the baptism there was a great relaxing time of fellowship with the guys and their family and loved ones. It was wonderful to see how parents were rejoicing in the change and progress happening in their sons lives. Pastor Ulrich had earlier exhorted them to remain an integral part of their sons journey from bondage to freedom, supporting and loving them through the process. Part of the restoration programme focuses on re-integrating the young men into their families, where so often great damage and distrust have been caused because of drugs and their repercussions. Forgiveness and restoration are core to the programme. SWORD MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER 5

6 Over the past 10 years, Pastor Ulrich and his team have impacted the lives of hundreds of young men because of what the Lord brought him through. His life is a perfect example of the scripture: All things work to the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. [Rom 8:28] His mother never gave up hope. For almost two decades she May the God of peace... make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. [Heb 13:20-21 NKJV] prayed for this wayward rebellious son. Gangster, drug addict, drug dealer, hopelessly lost. And today the Lord is using his life and his experiences, the hell and destruction he went through, to deliver hundreds of others. So never give up on your child. Your prayers and your faith will enable the Lord to work in his or her life. Pray Hebrews 13:21 daily and consistently over him/her. It is a perfect prayer. Never lose hope in the Lord s love and faithfulness. His Word never fails. Divine connections through Pneuma SA Through Pneuma SA, the wonderful free Christian newspaper that is connecting the Body of Christ on many levels, a ministry in Greyton has contacted us with questions about deliverance. Now we hope to present a workshop there which will encourage others to start doing what Christ told us to cast out demons! Deliverance is an essential part of Christ s mandate to His disciples to us. Yet it is almost non-existent in the church. Pneuma SA is helping to publicise the need and the availability of this ministry to the Body of Christ. And through that same newspaper, the amazing, foundational work being done by Pierre Vivier and the Solid Rock Foundation in restoring family relationships and communities broken by all kinds of problems is being brought to the fore. The challenges that face communities are not on just one level. They have deep interconnecting roots. As the Body of Christ, we need to work together to address ALL of them. Pierre is doing the most remarkable work in helping parents reconnect with children. He is helping couples understand the marriage relationship, giving young children new hope and understanding of who they are and how Christ can fill and fulfil their lives. Through sport, activities, workshops, Solid Rock Foundations, his NPO, is making fundamental changes in communities that were broken and hopeless. Top left: Fun in the sun at a camp for teenagers; Left: Pierre Viviers talking to a group attending a Solid Rock Foundations camp. 6 NUMBER 07/2017

7 Pneuma SA is connecting churches from all different denominations helping create the essential platform of unity for the Body of Christ for all believers to share and minister purely in one faith that of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not yet seen or received a copy and would like to be part of this move of the Holy Spirit, please contact the editor, Johan Lotttering on , or editor@christav.co.za. Articles about your fellowship, what the Lord is doing among you and what He is saying are warmly welcomed. Encourage your business people to place advertisements to support this initiative too. Deliverance workshop We are currently developing a workshop on deliverance which we believe will bless those who want to know more about deliverance, want to experience it, and want themselves to become co-workers with the Holy Spirit in setting people free from the many bondages that keep us captive. We hope to offer this workshop to many communities who realise the need to appropriate the total freedom that Jesus has purchased for us. Sadly, many Christians, through ignorance or the operation of demons of religion or pride, refuse to believe that a Christian can have a demon. So then why did Jesus tell us that deliverance is the children s bread? [Mat 15:21-26 & Mar 7:24-27]. Who are His children? We are. What is bread? Normal, everyday nourishment. Nothing spooky, nothing weird, nothing super-spiritual. Just simple bread. Within reach of everyone, completely safe and non-scarey and essential to a balanced life. Funny ha hah Errol had thought for us to take the month of July off from ministry as a kind of sabbatical, so that we could take more time with the Lord to read the Word, listen to teachings, pray and just rest in Him. Ha. He had no sooner suggested that than the phone calls and pleas for help came in. It was incredible. From having at least two days off (sort of) during the week all of a sudden almost every day there was some crisis where people desperately needed ministry. And of course we ministered. And on occasion, we have realised that it was not the right thing to do. A teaching we had from an American missionery, Dr Vaughan, at a Leadership meeting at Lofdal Ministry recently confirmed what the Lord was showing us: don t take decisions without Me. Don t minister to people unless you have first consulted Me. Because we have been guilty of that. People pour their desperation into your ear and you feel you have to be available, because Jesus never turned people away. But Jesus also said that He did nothing unless He saw the Father do it. Some people we are just not supposed to minister to. But we haven t always consulted Him about it. So we are learning. Thank you Our heartfelt thanks and blessing go to those who have been supporting our work in the Lord. We are immensely grateful for the love and encouragement that we receive. Support comes in the form of food, petrol, finances and other items and it s always as we need it, testifying to the Lord s faithfulness. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. [Psa 133:1-3 KJV] SWORD MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER 7