In John 16:12-15 Yeshua said: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
Through this scripture Yeshua said that He had, and still has, many things to teach us. He has information that will advance us in every area of our lives. The information that Yeshua wants to share with His children can only be delivered to us through the Holy Spirit. He will teach truth and wisdom to those who have been born again, and who have become partakers in God’s divine nature. The things He reveals to us will always glorify Christ and will be the living Word of God. It will be spiritual and divine. That means we will only be able to understand it through our spirit, and only if our spirit is one with God and led by Holy Spirit into all truth. If the information in the Word of God is not infused with the Holy Spirit it will not bear fruit, but it will produce religion. Only through Holy Spirit can you hear and learn the things that the natural world and your carnal intellect can’t teach you. It is Holy Spirit who takes us into the greater and deeper things of God; in order for us to become an instrument of God’s anointing.
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:9-14).
There are things that God has for us that are beyond human capacity to understand. God reveals these things through Holy Spirit to those who wait upon Him… to those who are totally dependent on him. The natural mind and senses of man cannot understand these things. Holy Spirit searches all things – the deep things of God’s heart towards His children – and reveals it to His children. All of it is available to us, but we have to go and seek God’s heart for everything in our lives. In that place of rest and dependency on God, when we fix our eyes on him and not the world, will we find the deep things of God. When someone is not filled with Holy Spirit, he will never ever understand the deep things of God’s heart, just as Aldo wrote in one of his letters: “your soul cannot hear Gods voice – it is spirit to Spirit.” Let’s ask God to shine His light on the deep and hidden things that sit behind all the trouble in our lives. For the times that we are going into now, we all need to hear God’s voice and we must learn to pray with our whole heart.
In the book of Matthew 5:6, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” As food is a basic necessity for life, we must realize that our hunger for God has the same implications: being without Him leads to death. Either we crave Him or we starve. I think that most people reading this letter probably have no idea what starvation feels like. In Africa we have seen how devastating starvation can be, and therefore we always pray before our meals: “Thank You Lord for our food, and that we don’t have to go to sleep hungry.”
But does our natural “comfort” (and not knowing what hunger-pains feel like), keep us from recognizing when our spirit hungers after God? To hunger after God is to constantly want more and more of Him, to seek Him and to wait upon Him for new strength.
People don’t move higher into the dimension of the Spirit, because they are not hungry (or should I say broken) enough to desperately seek Him. I can’t teach you anything of that realm if you are not open to receive it. There have been numerous times when people have said to me: “You spoke this same message to us a year ago, but then I didn’t truly understand. Only now, after so many things have happened in my life and I am broken before the Lord, do I understand every word.” It reminds me of Yeshua’s words: “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” (John 3:12).
People spiritually become like spoiled children who eat candy all day long and have no appetite and desire for real and nourishing food. They are full of junk food, and the junk is slowly busy killing them.
Just think about how much time and effort we have to put into eating a healthy diet; and whether we do it or not, we all understand the benefits of eating healthily. The same goes for the spirit. The more you hunger and thirst after God’s truth and the leading of His Spirit, the more you will be filled Him and the better you will hear His voice.
How about fasting of the worldly things to make room for the Godly things for a change? This way, He will be able to renew our minds, to teach us His truth and to lead us step by step in His ways as we walk out 2012 without any fear – only fearing Him.
At the start of a new year, so many people wonder what tomorrow will bring. I can tell you that it will include FAITH, HOPE and LOVE for those who are in Christ. You need not be afraid of anything, because you can surrender every fear, every step, every hindrance to God… and most of all, you can relax in the rest He has prepared for you. We become fearful when we take the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of the eyes into our hearts to displace our faith in God (see Mark 4:13-20).
“How can we fight these fears and lies of the enemy in our minds?” you may ask. I can hear the Lord answer, “If you honor Me, then speak often about the things that you want Me to hear. I am listening to every word when you talk to Me. I love to hear the way you give glory to Me, and when you trust in Me even if the noises of the stormy situation tries to convince you otherwise. Do not spend your time talking about people or situations in a negative way. You are wasting precious time. Because all negative recordings fill the earth with negative vibrations. It will be for your benefit when you start making positive recordings, and those words make a good vibration of life into your situations.
“To trust Me, is to speak life into dry bones, and to worship Me for who I am. Start by knowing My character. When you know and trust that I am good, and kind, and fair, and that I am LOVE, you will be able to sail through your difficulties without fear. I am still the same. I never change – so keep your faith in Me, and not in your situations.”
Always remember to pray that the Lord will enlighten the eyes of your understanding, so that you can start delving into the deeper things of God. God wants to speak to you, and He wants to share His heart with you; therefore enjoy every moment of everyday – because God is faithful!
We arrived back from the Unites States on Monday morning. We had such a good time! I am still struggling a bit to settle into my routine after the holiday. On Tuesday I had to record another teaching CD and there is already a lot of work waiting for me at the office. I have learned that when I walk with God, I will have peace in the midst of it all – no matter how busy my diary is, or how overwhelming the amount of work may seem. I can hear Abba say to my heart, “walk with Me in peace. You must know that if you walk alone, you will never have peace. Only as you keep on abiding in Me will you have lasting peace.” To know this truth makes it able for me to be free from fear. I can take one step at a time, walking out my journey with Him day by day. Life can pass us by so quickly without us actually living it! I can’t wait for the day until Aldo is completely healed before I want to start enjoying my life. Yeshua has taught me the value of living through His Spirit day by day, and to sing the song of life – no matter what the circumstances might be. Sometimes we will wobble for a few steps, and other times we must just sit down for a while and enjoy the moment. (Photo: Ma'am Patrys, Chantelle and Retah at a coffee shop in NYC.)
It was amazing for me to have my family around me this holiday and to be able to enjoy their company without thinking about work. We went to our holiday home in Yzerfontein for December, and then we were off to America for 12 days in the new year. While we were at Yzerfontein the Lord led us to celebrate a special bar-mitzvah for Aldo; and if I look back now, I understand why. God’s timing is perfect. Our unique bar-mitzvah was just a simple ceremony to bless him into manhood.
When we got back from America we all had a chance to share what our favorite event or activity of the holiday was. Josh couldn’t stop babbling about the basketball game between Orlando and Washington that he and Tinus went to watch. Our host, Mr. Blomeley, also bought the official team t-shirts for the boys. After the game, Josh sat on the bed until well after 12 o’clock giving me a play by play of the game. Another highlight for Josh was the deep sea fishing near New Smirna beach. They came back that evening with ten fish, and our hosts prepared two of them for supper that evening. What a treat! And then, also on the list, was his trip to the Cake Boss shop in New York City. Josh even saw Carlo’s sister, Marie, and she posed for a photo with him (see photo on the left). He walked back to the hotel wearing his Cake Boss chef jacket. I had such a time getting him out of it – if I didn’t put my foot down he probably would have slept in it! He enjoyed every moment of our trip to the full.
While we were in Orlando, Tinus slept in Aldo’s room, and Josh slept with me. When we are in new environment we always try to take extra precautions to make sure Aldo is okay. One morning Aldo woke Tinus up at 3 o’clock and started asking him repeatedly where he would be able to find a ring the next day. “Oh Aldo, what do you need a ring for?” Tinus asked, still half asleep. “Aldo, it’s 3 o’clock…. Please, go to sleep. We can talk about this in the morning.”
“No Dad,” Aldo answered, “Wisdom keeps on telling me that today is the day.” Tinus had his hands full trying to get him to go back to sleep. He told him that he had to wait until he was 21 before getting married, and that he first had to finish his studies; so what was the rush in wanting an engagement ring right at that moment? But Aldo kept on saying, “Dad, because that is what Wisdom is showing me.”
In the mean time, I got up early that morning to go for a jog without knowing anything about the restless night Tinus and Aldo had in the room next door. When I walked back into the house after my jog, I could sense the heavy anointing the moment I walked into the door. I immediately turned around and walked back outside to dry my tears. “What could this be?” I wondered to myself, because it felt like the heavens were open over the house. I thought that maybe the Lord wanted me to do something for Him, and so I prayed, “Lord, what is the task You have prepared for me today... does it have something to do with the family we are staying with? Do you want me to minister and pray for the wonderful people who invited us here? Please show me Lord…”
I went into the house, and started helping the rest of the family with preparing breakfast while Aldo was sitting at the kitchen table. Mr. and Mrs. Blomeley came out of their room, and she handed me a box of rings and said, “Retah, at 3 o’clock this morning the Lord spoke to us, and He impressed it on my heart to give these rings to Aldo. (There was an engagement and a wedding ring inside of the box.) Her gesture caught me so off guard, that I immediately said “No, no… I don’t know anything about this… I haven’t heard anything…. Speak to Aldo, and find out from him what he thinks.” I looked at Tinus and he was totally calm and collected. Aldo took one look at the rings and fell down on his knees saying “thank You Abba”, over and over again. Then he stood up and walked directly to Chans, bent down on one knee and asked her if she would marry him. We were all just standing around, watching in awe as this scene unfolded before us. Tinus (who was more prepared for this than the rest of us), took out his i-pad and filmed the whole thing. (Click here to view the video.)
Only later did I hear the whole story of how Holy Spirit had been preparing Tinus from 3 o’clock that morning for the big occasion. It was a testimony of a God who gives life, and who is faithful in all His promises.
And so, on the 7th of January 2012 Aldo and Chans got engaged! I believe it is all a part of the preparation that the Lord is busy with for both of them. Holy Spirit is also busy working in her heart, and healing her wounds so that she can receive healing and restoration for the path they need to walk together. This engagement just made me realize that what is happening between Aldo and Chans is a Godly thing. Nobody had anything to do with how the engagement happened – except for Mr. and Mrs. Blomeley’s obedience of course.
I think back on all those years when I spoke life over Aldo’s situation night after night, and how I told him of his beautiful bride and how she is filled with the Holy Spirit, and that she has God’s glory upon her. I assured him throughout all those nights of uncertainty that God is busy preparing her just for him. I called those things which are not as if they were, and now we have the fulfillment of those promises! God is so faithful! He knew how lonely Aldo is, and that he needs a companion to love him and help him on this unique road he has to walk. All the glory to the living God! No one is insignificant to Him. If could do it for Aldo, He can do it for you.
Psalm 37:5 says: “Commit your way to the Lord, turst also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
I honor God for people who care, and for people who reach out. For people like Stephen and Candice Blomeley that spoilt our family so much with this wonderful trip. They engulfed us with love, and they put no pressure on us. All we had to do was to enjoy ourselves and each other’s company.
Ma’am Patrys and Chans enjoyed it so much! Everything was so big to them. And for me it was especially wonderful that Ma’am Patrys could have been there to see Aldo’s engagement. Chans says the ride through Central Park on the horse carriage with Aldo was her highlight.
When I asked Tinus what his highlight was, he answered and said: “To have my entire family with me, and to see them laugh and enjoy themselves. Nothing can make me more happy than that.”
We give God all the glory! How can we be fearful when we have this loving God who holds our days in His hand? We can rest in His wisdom and in His plans. He is always on time.
We are all full-steam back at work. Josh is back at school. Aldo and Ma’am Patrys are back in front of the books, studying. Together we live life to the fullest, because we are one with the living God. The God of heaven and earth, the Almighty, who dwells not in temples made with hands, but in the hearts of those who love Him.
A message from God: “I am the Lord God Almighty, who created all things. Even the things which are often mistakenly worshipped by man in his ignorance. I overlooked this time of ignorance, but now, I command men everywhere to repent and to get ready to meet Me; for all have an appointment with death and judgment, and multitudes are not ready” (see Acts. 17:23-31).
This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live” (Amos 5:4).
Love,
Retah and family.