Moriel Missions Southern Africa August 2007

Dear Friends

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all, we apologies for being out of touch for a while. As some of you know, I was due to tour the USA when I got news that my dad was not expected to live, due to a mass found in his bowel; and also my gran was about to go to be with the Lord. This meant that instead of going on the 12th July, I was to be in the UK and then the USA from the 19th of June, shortly after getting home from my Australia tour. We thank the Lord that after an 8 hour operation to remove the tumor and resection his bowel my dad is now well on the way to a full recovery. My gran did pass on and it was an honor to take her funeral although difficult to sum up a life that spanned 100 years.

It was at the end of my prolonged trip that I received a call from my son that my wife Lyn was in ICU due to Pneumonia and on top of this, the x-ray they took showed growths on her right lung. I quickly rushed back to South Africa to find her very ill and due to have a biopsy. Well the day came and a 20 minute procedure became a 90 minute one as they removed the growth which was some form of cystic decease. Lyn has made a wonderful recovery and although still breathless and a bit weak, she is now at home recovering.

All this has happened when our phone lines have been stolen yet again and we are in the middle of organizing two tours for Jacob Prasch and DR Calvin Smith, so please forgive me if we have been a little hard to get hold of. I would like to thank all those who have lifted us to the Lord in prayer. The emails and calls we have received have really humbled us and strengthened us during this time.

However I wish that was the case with everyone. You along with me will know that when things get tough, sometimes they can only get tougher. For example while everything seemed to be going pear shaped we had visits from Social workers trying to remove children, visits from health and registration departments and also a host of interpersonal problems. One of the things though that did get me thinking was the way we Christians treat one another. In the last week I have seen little fruit of the Spirit directed at either me or our workers and since I don’t count us as something special; they must have a similar attitude with others too. It got me thinking about how in our circles we criticize others such as Rick Warren and company for doing things the world’s way as far as ministry is concerned and yet some of us shout and bawl like spoilt bullies showing the same kind of Spirit which is antichrist in nature. In Matthew Jesus said “Blessed are the meek”. Let me say for those who are a little confused, MEEKNESS does not mean WEEKNESS. Meekness means that you have the power to do something but choose to withhold that power for the greater good. It’s a Christ like quality and is the result of the Holy Spirit sanctifying a person over a period of time and yet we seem to be surrounded by leaders who show little fruit in this area, in fact like Rick Warren they are working out their faith according to business practices and not the word of God.

As a reminder to myself and everyone connected with me; I want to just share what the apostle Paul wrote concerning the fruit of the Spirit and maybe as a practical aid, we can print it out and place it above our telephones and computers as a spiritual check before we decide to verbally abuse the person on the other end of our wrath. And my commitment to you is this; if I or anyone of our staff treats you in a manner that is rude and undignified, devoid of spiritual grace, please tell us and we will repent. Similarly, if Moriel SA receives any ranting and ravings from so called brothers and sisters we will politely remind you of the Fruit of the Spirit and end the call.

But the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, against such things there is no law

Jacob’s Tour

The only difference from the published tour is that the inclusion of the Friday evening session was a mistake. There will be no Friday night session. Aletheia community church has the following dates

Saturday 25th August
Last Days Tent Meetings
Venue Aletheia Community Church
6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs
Time: 2.00pm & 4.00pm
Contact Dave Royle 011 815 3900
Cell 0823739297

Sunday 26th August
Last Days Tent Meetings
Venue Aletheia Community Church
Time; 11am & 2.00pm
6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs
Contact Dave Royle 011 815 3900
Cell 0823739297

Some people have asked “will Jacob be covering the same topics as Elijah ministries?” I have requested that the teachings are different so that some of our guys can go to Elijah and Elijah guys can come to us.

Dr. Calvin Smith

Calvin will be the guest of Aletheia Community Church. It is our aim to bring in to South Africa a really godly man who can help us in our spiritual growth. This year we have asked Calvin who has visited us several times before. Calvin is a man of many qualifications but a humble spirit and yet is unafraid to tackle the controversial issues of today. Your are warmly invited to join us for this unique occasion at the following venue and time’s

Saturday 8th September
Venue Aletheia Community Church
6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs
Time: 2.00pm & 4.00pm
Contact Dave Royle 011 815 3900
Cell 0823739297

Sunday 9th September
Venue Aletheia Community Church
Time; 11am & 2.00pm
6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs
Contact Dave Royle 011 815 3900
Cell 0823739297

Wednesday 12th September
Venue Aletheia Community Church
Time; 7:30pm
6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs
Contact Dave Royle 011 815 3900
Cell 0823739297

Sunday 16th September
Venue Aletheia Community Church
Time; 11am & 2.00pm
6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs
Contact Dave Royle 011 815 3900
Cell 0823739297

Refreshments will be provided, it would help if you could phone ahead of time so we know how many to cater for.

Mission News

Please pray for Salvador as he itinerates in the UK and also Lyn and I when we go to the UK 20th September. Itineraries for both tours are to be found at www.moriel.org

God has been good to the children. Paulina has received her new electric wheelchair and Deven has received a new wheel chair especially designed for his needs. We want to thank everyone for the kind donations that totaled R30,000 for the two appliances.

It was sad to see Becca and Sussie go home to the UK. They spent nearly six months with us on mission involved with all kinds of jobs. Deven especially misses Becca who built a close bond with him.

All the children on ARV’s are doing well, CD4 counts are high and Viral loads are down, apart from that it is just the usual coughs and sniffles that winter brings.

Diane is working like a trooper. As you can imagine she was needed to help with the children while I was away and Lyn was in hospital so Bethesda has been neglected for a while. However the project is going very well with Diane, Salvador and Loraine visiting Kwazinzele several times a week to take bible studies and build relationships with young mums and their Gogo’s (Grandparents)

My tour to the USA went well with several people coming into a relationship with Jesus in California. My trip to Florida also seems to have had an impact with a renewed zeal to mission.

Moriel Italy

Anthony and Liz are still awaiting the birth of their first child. Even so the next outreach at the Vatican is still being planned for November. Anyone wishing to help by coming along or sponsoring the outreach with a donation should contact them at

16 Erw Wen Road
Colwyn Bay
Conwy
LL29 7SD
North Wales
UK
TEL: 01492 535 741
email [email protected]

Moriel Tanzania & Kenya

We thank the Lord for brothers Moses and Norbert who are forever preaching the gospel and planting churches. As well as this they look after the plight of widows and orphans. It was especially good to speak to Moses on the phone who was quite concerned about Lyn and said that the Saints in Kenya were praying for her. This really touched us personally and shows us what a lovely Moriel family we have world wide.

Norbert and Moses realize that with Islam on the increase, Christianity is under constant attack. This makes it difficult to get buildings. In an attempt to plant churches they have requested the following so that the work can continue.

• Large Tents
• Generators
• Benches
• Bycicles for pastors

Some personal expence money for Moses and Norbert so they can work for the Lord full time.

If you can help in this area please contact me asap at [email protected]

Teaching

True Fellowship Part 3

Fellowship Forbidden

2 Corinthians 6:14″ “7:1

Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

In the last two teachings we looked at the word Koinonia and the depth the Word of God encourages to fellowship together. We then looked at how we are to fellowship in the Gospel, in the Mystery and in the sufferings, and of course who we must fellowship with. That fellowship is not only with man, but also with the Tri-unity of the Godhead and indeed if we do not have fellowship with God all fellowship is incomplete. But there are times when fellowship is to be avoided; indeed there are things and people whom God totally forbids fellowship with ” “ why? Because if you remember back in Genesis God designed us for fellowship with him first of all, then with our spouse, then with our family. And as I said it’s frightening to see how in this day and age these three areas have come under so much attack that all three areas are under crisis. The way we relate to our spouses is in crisis. There’s more divorce now than ever in so called Christian marriages. And the way family relates is in crisis. The truth is the Devil wants our children, he wants their minds, he wants their allegiance and to do this he has made them often a generation of self centred individualists. And the way our relationships come into crisis is through wrong fellowship. In fact all the areas that we are going to discuss have an underlying cause, idolatry. Some obvious and some not so obvious.

So let’s begin by looking at four areas of fellowship taboo I have chosen.

• From our passage in 2 Corinthians 6: 14 we see Paul saying “Do not be bound together with unbelievers” or ‘do not be unequally yoked’. Then he qualifies the statement by making some sharp comparisons. He compares:
  • Righteous with unrighteous
  • Light with darkness
  • Christ with Beliel
  • Believers with unbelievers again; then finally
  • The Temple with idol

So how do we understand this?

By the context of the letter written to a city famous for its sin and Pagan idolatry. In fact the word Corinthian was a catch phrase for a person living a life of sin and debauchery and from within a city famous throughout the Roman Empire for sin, came believers in Christ. Let me ask, when you came to Jesus did you stop sinning over night? Do you still struggle with the flesh and the Devil? Well here was a Church still holding to its Pagan roots, its Pagan past. There were some Jews but it was mostly Pagan. We see in Paul’s 1st letter that some were in incest, there was party spirit, factions among them, a whole host of problems because here were the ‘called out ones’ of Christ acting like the world, if not worse. Paul had to speak into that situation with wisdom and authority and may I say, the world we live in needs the same message but because we often act as Corinthians the Church has lost its voice. Maybe its even right to speak in authority because we often look like a bunch of hypocrites.

• We understand the passage in light of 5: 17. You see, they needed a good reminder; You were unrighteous; You were in darkness; You were aligned to Beliel; You were an unbeliever; You were an idolater but verse 17 says “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.” And when it comes to unbelievers, who are caught still in Corinth, what partnership can we have? Paul says do not be bound, or unequally yoked, and it is a graphic picture of two oxen bound by a yoke. One is alive and full of vitality and the other is a corpse. How can they work together?

You see;

In Christ one is righteous through Him, the other is unrighteous through sin.

In Christ one lives with Jesus, the Light of the world. The other is darkened by sin.

In Christ lives one. The other is a son of Beliel or Satan.

In Christ we are a living temple. The other is a Pagan idolater.

My friends, unequal partnerships can go tragically wrong because of man’s tendency to sink to the lowest common denominator. That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: 33; “Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” And it’s tragic to see so often a Christian business man bankrupt by an unsaved partner, to see a Christian girl made pregnant by her unsaved boyfriend or a Christian boy backslide to get the unsaved girl, to see a Christian marry an unbeliever and the years of Hell the marriage goes through, and yes, sometimes God is gracious and saves the partner but that is often the exception to the rule and the 1000’s of divorce cases each year bare testimony to it. No, do not be bound together with an unbeliever. What direction, what destination, by what rules do we travel with them?

Please turn to 1 Corinthians 5:9″ “13. “I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators; not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world: but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat. For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.” What other fellowship is forbidden? Verse 11 again, “I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.”

Now turn to 2 Thessalonians 3:6 & 14″ “15. “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received of us.” “And if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. And yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” I need to make a distinction here as Paul does, that we treat a believer differently to an unbeliever. An unbeliever is still a son of the Devil, whether we like it or not. No matter how good or moral he may seem to be, they are still in need of saving through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, although we don’t get bound with the unbeliever in marriage etc, we still relate to them in order to share the Gospel with them. In fact Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5: 10 “not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world:” You see, as Christians, we are called to go into all the World as salt and light, but we do not let the world into us. Remember, the word for Church in the Greek is Ekklesia (or ‘called out ones’) the ones whom Christ has called out of the world. But ‘called out ones’, the Ekklesia, caught in unrepentant sin? It’s not right! And the list that Paul uses is very broad. Immoral, covetous, idolater, reviler, drunkard, swindler. How do we fellowship, as Paul says, with a “so called brother”. Paul is quite emphatic. Verse 11 “Do not even eat with such a one”. Again we have a cultural example. You see, the shared table in the Middle East signifies even to this day, the closest form of community fellowship. So Paul is saying to such a one, “Don’t eat, don’t have fellowship, no communion.”

Now let’s remind ourselves of the three core relationships founded in Genesis and how they relate to fellowshipping with unbelievers and unrepentant believers caught in sin.

Relationship with God ” “ Becomes difficult or non-existent.

Relationship with Spouse ” “ Strained at best.

Relationship with offspring ” “ Distant because of double standards.

And the foundational cause? Idolatry, myself before God. Paul says, ‘Don’t eat, keep aloof, have nothing to do with a believer having the affair, caught in immorality. Yet what do we see today? An approach so off the mark that often our churches are full of idolaters, fornicators etc, brazenly flaunting their idolatry and bastard children for all to see. These words may sound harsh but the reality is they are intermeshed with God’s love, a God who not only wants to see the sinner saved but also the backslider restored. 2 Corinthians uses the word reconciliation some 79 times, ours is a ministry of reconciliation but it is reconciliation on God’s terms. Because we are not dealing with small matters but with the eternal destiny of a living soul created in God’s image.

• So we say: Don’t eat with such a one ” “ For a purpose.
• So it is ” “ don’t fellowship with such a one ” “ For a purpose
• So it is ” “ Admonish such a one ” “ for the purpose of reconciling with the Father who loved them so much, He sent His one and only Son.

• So Who else Do we Avoid fellowship with? Turn to 1 Corinthians 10: 14 ” “ 22. “Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we are all partake of the one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: have not they that eat the sacrifices communion with the altar? What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have communion with demons. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?” Verse 20 says “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have communion with demons.” Paul says flee from idolatry. Yet it is Possible to make an idol out of almost anything. The Word idol or ‘Eidelon’ in the Greek can mean a phantom or likeness, according to Vine. In Hebrew it can mean a vanity or a nothing. So in fact an idol is nothing by itself, it can be made of wood or stone or gold or metal. That is not the point. The point is, ‘What is behind the idol?’ An idol is a contact point for a demon to use it to draw people away from the Living God.

Now if this is true, then what of modern idols today. You see modern idols in western society don’t come in the shape of statues or African traditional masks or even sacred cows. They come in the shape of anything that takes your central focus of Jesus. It can be the car, the thing we polish on a Sunday morning so lovingly. It can be the career or job that squeezes Jesus out of the equation. It’s the finances that purchase the beer or wine and choke the evangelism. It’s the Springboks vs Australia or Bafana Bafana vs Ivory coast at 10 AM on a Sunday Morning or their equivalent who empty our churches. Now you may be saying; ‘contact points for the demonic? Surely not!’ But you see often the demonic comes with such good publicity agent enticing you to buy the product, to look at the big picture from his perspective. But you see, “By their fruit you shall know them.” And we have to ask ‘what is the fruit of my idol worship?’ A deeper walk with Christ or an empty worship service? Verse 17 also gets us back to relationships. “seeing that we, who are many, are one body: for we are all partake of the one bread.” What effects one, in essence effects us all. Todays idols may not look like animals, they may not look like birds or reptiles or Buddhas, but the substance, the shape does not matter, the contact point is the same. Often a man or woman has as much demonic contact in their wallet or purse as a Sangoma has in their dolls or ‘muthi’. And it effects us all ” “ our spouses, our children, our fellowship with God.

But there is another serious side to idolatry. Verse 22 says “or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy”. We often forget the jealousy of God. Exodus 20:5 says, “I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God,” Exodus 34:14, “(for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God);” Nahum 1:2 says, “Jehovah is a jealous God and avengeth;” Are we provoking Him with our idolatry? Do we not realize that He will have no money wallet before Him, no career before Him, no car before Him, no sports team before Him? No, I am not saying we are deliberately bowing down to a little Demon with a pitch fork and pointy tail but often the effects are still the same because the Devil comes as an angel of light. Let us ask, ‘What is my idol, my contact point to the Demonic?’

• What else must we avoid fellowship with? Let’s look at three scriptures.

2 John 7″ “11. “For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting: for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works.”

Deuteronomy 13:1″ “5. “If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.”

Deuteronomy 18:20″ “22. “But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

We cannot have fellowship with false teachers and false prophets. God’s word is quite emphatic. Don’t follow them, don’t listen to them, don’t be afraid of them, don’t respect them, don’t greet them, don’t even let them into your home! How clear does the scripture have to be? That God equates fellowship with such as these as unfaithfulness and yet how many in Christ freely compromise in this area. I wish I had a penny for every time I heard some one says, concerning these false teachers and prophets, “Oh he’s such a lovely man, oh he’s so loving, there’s some truth in what he says, he’s not all bad’. And these excuses cover up a multitude of false teaching and false prophecies leaving them unresolved, unaccountable and unrepented. But why is it important that we do not have fellowship with unrepentant false teachers and prophets?

2 John 11 says: “for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works.” Do you know the Greek word for ‘partaketh’ in this case? It’s ‘koinonia’. Now let’s remind ourselves of Vines interpretation of ‘Koinonia’. It means “Communion, a sharing in common, the outcome of fellowship, a contribution.” Now do we see the danger? Unless we stand away from such men and women we will be seen as participating in their evil deeds by God.

Let me conclude ” “ God’s heart is for the unbeliever. He gave His only Son for their salvation. So our hearts too, should be for reaching the lost outside of Christ Jesus. But fellowship, partnership cannot happen as Koinonia with them.

The believer caught in knowing unrepentant sin, God’s heart is for him. He wants to reconcile and bring him back to His side. Our hearts too must be for reconciliation. But fellowship? Not is God’s discipline is to work.

God is a jealous God. He hates idolatry. We too must hate all that opposes the One true God. But why is it often that we have more contact points for the Demonic? False teachers, false prophets; God would desire they repent and we too must reason things out with as many as will listen. But fellowship? No! God’s word says ‘Keep away, don’t greet them, don’t follow, if you do you are participating, having fellowship.

My friends ” “ fellowship is important to how we grow with each other and how we grow in Christ. Good fellowship with the wise, with Saints, with the Triune God who is One will result in depth of blessing. But bad fellowship can affect our relationship with God, our relationship with our spouse, and our relationship with our children. Who will you fellowship with today? With the saints or unrepentant believers? With Christ or with our idols? With the genuine teacher and prophet or with false prophets and his associates?

Prayer

Thank you for your participation in praying for and with us. Please partner us in the following:

• Praise God for my dads recovery
• Thank the Lord for the wheel chairs for Paulina and Deven
• Pray for the ongoing recovery of Lyn
• Pray for Nigel Nicholson who’s wife Jenny has gone home to the Lord
• For our ongoing health and practical needs
• For the children and their health
• For Salvador and his trip to the UK
• For the trips to South Africa of Jacob and Calvin
• For Norbert and Moses in Tanzania and Kenya
• For Chanti and Lilly in India
• For all our helpers as they serve the Lord

How can you help?

Prayer is important, but also the helping hands and the finances that enable us to do what we do. So please consider the following.

Receive a regular News update either by email or hard copy. Just send your address to us and we will pop one in the post for you or email it to you. (although email to save mail size will be without pictures)

Secondly you can apply to be a short or long term missionary. ‚   If the Lord burdens you and you want to investigate more please contact us.

Finally you can give a one off gift or a regular monthly amount to cover the costs of mission. This is simple to do. Just contact the following people or you can contact any Moriel office and they will assist you.

Contacts

For the UK contact:

MR & MRS B Royle
2 Cressington Close
Off Cedric Street
Salford M5 5JS
England
Tel: +44 (0) 161 737 2996
Email: ‚  [email protected]

Moriel SA

Po Box 10807
Strubenvale 1570
Gauteng
South Africa
Phone:+27 (0)11 730 1719
Fax: +27 (0)11 730 1719
E-mail: [email protected]

Psalm 68:5-6