GOSPEL DEFENCE LEAGUE

P O Box 587, Sea Point 8060, RSA; Tel 021-510-6854; e-mail: dscarborough@mweb.co.za

Apr / May 2010

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Dear Friends,

Probably no other Football World Cup has been preceded by so many prayers as the South African FIFA games of June/July 2010. Almost as soon as the 68.000-seater Green Point Stadium in Cape Town had been completed, some 50.000 Christians met there for prayer, invoking God’s protection and blessing. Shortly afterwards, the Zion Christian Church, numbering up to 6 million members, rallied its members at the annual Easter services at Morea, Polokwane, Limpopo. And from 16-18 April, near Greytown, Natal, the potato farmer/evangelist Angus Buchan hosted between 200.000 and 300.000 Mighty Men on his farm for prayers and praise. Still to come are the Pentecost prayers and, on 23.5.2010, the prayer meetings of the Global Day of Prayer, when millions of intercessors gather around the world. South Africa will celebrate the 10 th anniversary of this Day of Prayer which originated in the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.

Moral Victory

South Africa has never needed prayer more urgently than at present, and God has answered her petitions in many a wonderful way. Much of the moral depravity which had been planned for the World Cup has not come to pass. Prostitution was not decriminalised as had been intended - and remains forbidden – though mostly not prosecuted. Similarly, a 24-hour DSTV pornography channel, which had likewise been planned for the benefit of FIFA football tourists (by the internet server MWEB), was so strongly opposed by the Christian community that it was abandoned. A strip-tease ‘naked’ TV-news programme, which was to have been introduced by E-TV, was similarly foiled; and explicit billboards were removed. Rev Errol Naidoo of the Family Policy Institute and Taryn Hodgson of Africa Christian Action did excellent work in alerting the Churches 1), and many believers rose to the challenge, defending their Christian heritage. The Women’s World Day of Prayer movement, too, have been praying earnestly, pleading for the safety of South Africa’s children in the face of human trafficking at the time of the games. Thank God for the Christian Premier of the Western Cape, Mrs Helen Zille. She has announced that 30.000 illegal shebeens will be closed down and youth programmes instituted to prevent drug abuse and crime. 2) For all these things we thank God.

One wonders what sort of person would promote immoral and distressing human behaviour, especially when it harms women and children. God demands that we be pure in heart and body, and St Paul says: “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1) King Solomon warned against prostitution and called it “a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 7:27)

Songs of Hate?

Not only the morals, but also the peace of South Africa, have been endangered, and we need to continue to pray much. After 16 years of ‘democracy’ and just prior to the greatest sporting event it has ever hosted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has started singing its old ‘struggle songs’ again. Last year President Jacob Zuma rallied his election supporters with the song “Bring me my machine gun,” and this year his chief admirer, Julius Malema (29), head of the ANC Youth League, is leading the singing of: “Kill a Boer, kill a farmer!” 3) Though a court has forbidden it, the ANC claims that it is a ‘cultural’ song which cannot possibly do any harm. The fact is, however, that since 1994, 3367 farmers have been murdered. The shrinking number of White farmers (from 65.000 to 37.000) has led to food insecurity because ‘land reform’ has been a failure.

In this climate, on the eve of Easter Day (3.4.2010), the most colourful of all Afrikaner leaders, Eugene Terre’Blanche (69), was cruelly slain on his farm. He was the 3368 th victim of the ongoing warfare against farmers. His fellow farmers and countrymen were angry and distressed. 12.000 to 15.000 mourners streamed to Ventersdorp to pay Eugene Terre’Blanche their last respects - while Julius Malema was singing “Kill the Boer, kill the Farmer” in neighbouring Zimbabwe as the guest of Robert Mugabe (whose own ‘land reform’ had, after 30 years’ rule, brought about total economic collapse).

Stop Farm Murders!

Rev Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), reacted sharply and urgently called on the police to “stop farm murders before something worse happens in the country.” He pleaded with “all Christians to pray for peace in the nation as we need God’s intervention as never before.” -“We appeal to the ANC to abide by the rulings of the High Court in Pretoria and the South Gauteng High Court making the singing of the song unlawful and unconstitutional." - An Afrikaner organisation, the Geloftevolk Koördineringskomitee (GKK), summed up what most South Africans are thinking. They deplore “die volksmoord wat al baie jare woed,” and point the people to God, calling the Afrikaners to zealously “keep our people’s vows. When our forefathers were anchored in faith in their Creator, He carried them through their darkest moments. We are dependent on Him alone for our existence. Let us call upon Him in this dark hour, for He says He will help us.”- They quote Psalm 50:14-15 - “Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (translated)

The Second Stage

Do the events above signify “nation building?” Or are they a sign of new things to come? Rev Shaun Willcock of Bible Based Ministries, who has made a thorough study of the interaction of religion and politics in South Africa, wrote in 2009 in the context of the Mbeki-Zuma change of presidency: “The ANC has been relentlessly pursuing the second stage of its two-stage revolution in SA. The first stage was the one that brought it to power in 1994; and the moment that occurred, the second stage began, the purpose of which is to extend party control over all aspects of life in the country… The time has now arrived for the ANC to increase the momentum, in its judgment; to push forward the Marxist agenda in all spheres at a more rapid rate than before – a more openly revolutionary rate. Thus, the Mbeki era giving way to the Zuma era is merely the next stage in a very carefully laid-out plan. There are forces at work here that are far bigger than these two men. Far bigger.” 4)

St Paul warned us, saying: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) - How strange, that at the very moment when the Soccer World Championships are uniting all South Africans in excited goodwill as never before, an image of hatred is being created which calls for “killing”, “nationalisation” and “strikes.” The FIFA games are being used as a world stage on which to play out commercialised immorality, threatened farm and mine dispossession, and social chaos through strikes. Is it any wonder, that we see in this a sign that “eternal truths, religion, and morality" are being pushed aside and Christian civilisation is threatened? Does it not make a mockery of the spirit of goodwill and kindness with which South Africans are awaiting their soccer friends from abroad? - The Communist leader Lenin said: “We must hate – hatred is the basis of Communism.” And a well-kown Commissar declared: “We hate Christians and Christianity. Even the best of them must be considered our worst enemies. Christian love is an obstacle to the development of the revolution. Down with love of one’s neighbour! What we want is hate… Only then will we conquer the universe!” 3)

Christians struggle against the spirit of hatred daily, and try to overcome it with love. As we have seen above, by prayer and action the victory can be won. We stand amazed and thank God that the depravity planned for the world cup did not materialise, and that even President Zuma has called for the protection of children during the Games!

If we need hope, if we need to know what God can do, let us look back 150 years to the time when the great South African Revival took place under the ministry of Rev Andrew Murray. It was at Pentecost that he preached a sermon on Jonah 1:6: “What meanest thou, o sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God.” The Spirit of God was released, and the people were truly awakened. The Revival which ensued brought blessings which are felt to this present day.

Let us then commit ourselves anew to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us arise and call upon our God. Let us pay our vows. Let us make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey everything that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Let us combat evil, do good, and love our fellow man. Then surely God will fulfill His promise which says: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:27)

May God bless you richly,

D Scarborough.

Footnotes:

 

OUR WORLD BELONGS TO GOD (continued)

A Contemporary Testimony of the Christian Reformed Church, USA, 1986

Drafted in view of the secularisation of modern life and culture.

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CREATION

7. Our world belongs to God – not to us or earthly powers, 1 not to demons, fate, or chance. The earth is the Lord’s!

LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

8. In the beginning, God – 1 Father, Word, and Spirit – 2 called this world into being 3 out of nothing, and gave it shape and order.

9. God formed the land, the sky, and the seas, 1 making the earth a fitting home for the plants, animals, 2 and humans he created. The world was filled with colour, beauty, and variety; it provided room for work and play, worship and service, love and laughter. God rested – 3 and gave us rest. In the beginning everything was very good.

10. As God’s creatures we are made in his image 1 to represent him on earth, 2 and to live in loving communion with him. By sovereign appointment we are 3 earthkeepers and caretakers: loving our neighbour, tending the creation, and meeting our needs. God uses our skills in the unfolding and well-being of his world.

11. Male and female, 1 all of us are to represent God 2 as we do our tasks. Whether single or married, we are called to live within God’s order 3 in lives of loving service.

12. No matter what our age, or race, or colour, 1 we are humanity together, for the Creator made us all. Since life is his gift, we foster the well-being of others, 2 protecting the unborn and helpless from harm. 3

13. God directs and bends to his will 1 all that happens in his world. As history unfolds in ways we only know in part, 2 all things - from crops to grades, from jobs to laws – are under his control. God is present in our world by His Word and Spirit. The faithfulness 3 of our great Provider gives sense to our days and hope to our years. The future is secure, for our world belongs to God.

New International Version.