CBN SOUTHERN AFRICA PARTNER MAGAZINE
THE GENEROSITY OF GOD ISSUE TWO 2017
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
02 | The Generosity of God
06 | Messages and Testimonies
10 | Living Hope: Our Partnership with Home Based Care
07 | Stephen 04 | On the Lungu's Testimony Ground: Orphan's on Facebook 13 | Pat's Q&A: Promise Bring It On
PO Box 37779, Valyland, 7978 +27 (0)21-7011-776 / 732 www.cbnafrica.org
Visit Orphan's Promise website: www.orphanspromise.org
OUR MESSAGE |
WELCOME
Dear CBN Partners / 700 Club members
TO OUR
Welcome again to Frontlines, where we get the privilege of sharing with you some of the amazing things God is doing through CBN around Southern Africa. The diverse activity we are involved in really comes down to making the Great News of the Kingdom real to both the young and old all across our region. We are, therefore, passionate about constantly expanding and strengthening our reach, and it is your prayers and financial support which allow this to happen!
PARTNERS
There is a lot going on and it makes me so excited, so I wanted to use this opportunity to briefly highlight just two ministry opportunities God has put into our hands over the past few weeks:
Ian Walton,
CBN Southern Africa Regional Director
We decided to open up part of our office space as a Prayer Room on Wednesdays at lunch hour. In anticipation of this, we gave invitations to every business in the immediate vicinity, and trusted God to send at least one person to us. In the 6 weeks we have been running as I type this, we have had between 2 and 10 people in the community joining us in prayer every week, and already a few testimonies have come back to us of God using the time to heal and strengthen His children! In March, to kick off our online evangelism strategy, we shortened a powerful video testimony we had filmed last year and uploaded it to our CBN South Africa Facebook page. The level of engagement with this video - by Southern Africans of all races, religions and ages - way surpassed anything we had anticipated. Right now, less than 3 weeks since we posted the video, over 200 000 people have watched it! I believe it is a clear sign that our online strategy needs to be one of our key focus areas going forward. To read more about the video and the amazing response we have received from it up to this point, (as well as to find out how to watch it if you haven’t seen it yet!), go to our story on page 7. I think you know that we would count it a great privilege to pray with you or someone you care about – about anyone or anything. Please call us at +2721 701 1776, email us at prayer@cbnsa.org or WhatsApp us on +27 71 763 3810. Yours in this exciting mission together – on the air, on the ground and online! Ian
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| TEACHING
THE GENEROSITY OF GOD Gordon Robertson
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TEACHING |
Isaiah 32:8 says "A generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand." It's wonderful for people to be known for their generosity; yet this verse also describes God - for as John 3:16 tells us, "God so loved the world that He gave." God is generous and plans generous acts.
checks, the clerk told him, "It's customery to make an initial deposit." He only had $3.25 in his pocket, and he needed a quarter to pay the toll home - so he gave her the three wrinkled dollar bills. Smiling sweetly, she said, "the checks cost $6." Dad quickly asked, "Can I have that on account?" For some reason, she agreed. And as I look at CBN's Isaiah 32:8 says "A generous man ministry today, I see how much has devises generous things, and by come from that negative $3 deposit! generosity he shall stand." It's wonderful for people to be known for Each of us should construct vessels their generosity; yet this verse also for God to fill - in our lives, our describes God - for as John 3:16 tells personal finances, and what we want us, "God so loved the world that He from God for the future. When we gave." God is generous and plans start with so little, He gets all the generous acts. glory. He is the one who calls us, saves us, inspires us, enables us, and We see this in the story of the poor provides for us. widow who tells Elisha she has nothing but a jar of oil. He answers, "Go borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbours - empty vessels; do not gather just a few" (2 Kings 4:3). It's a step of faith for her to scour the neighbourhood for empty vessels. Yet when she obeys, a miracle occurs. She pours out the oil, filling all the empty jars.
"He is the one who calls us, saves us, inspires us, enables us, and provides for us"
If we are expecting God to do a miracle, He is expecting us to do our part to have the faith to build the vessels for Him to fill. I love to tell the story of CBN's first bank account. My father had filed the articles of incorporation for CBN, although he had virtually nothing. He wanted to have a vessel for God to fill - such as a bank account. So he went to a bank near the TV station that God had told him to claim in Portsmouth, Virginia. After he filled out the forms and picked out the
The most precious thing we have is time, and the best way to invest it is preaching the Gospel to every nation, tribe and tongue. We want to spend our time on things that will lead to great joy in heaven. Isaiah 61:11 promises, "As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations." Some plant while others water or weed, but it is always God who gives the increase. God bless you. 03
| IMPACT
PHUMZILE'S DREAM HAS COME TRUE If the above falling apart hut is home, very few of us will want to go home. Unfortunately for Phumzile Ngcobo, an 11 year old, living at Enkangala this was home. Phumzile has 4 older sisters, but unfortunately they all live with different people because Sekwenzekile Ngcobo, mother of Phumzile can’t take care of her children. Phumzile lived with her mum but due to their extreme poverty her mother could no longer take care of Phumzile too.
2017, Phumzile's mother agreed to our request and Phumzile could shortly move to the centre
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Now, this grade 4 pupil has been enrolled at a school close to the Hope Centre. She is showing signs of great physical health again and within the space of a few short weeks has newly found joy as she laughs and interacts with the other young ladies at the Hope Centre. There is no more scrounging for food, or fighting the elements of the weather or the unsafe environment for her. She is now in a loving and caring environment. God has answered the prayer of Phumzile and the prayers of the Crossroads staff at the Hope Centre.
When Crossroads staff first visited Phumzile, we were so aggrieved at the conditions she and her mum were living in. We prayed that Sekwenzekile would allow us to help her by allowing us to give Phumzile a safe and comfortable home at the Thank you ALL for everything that you Hope Centre. On the 11th of January do to make the Hope Centre a reality. 04
IMPACT |
ORPHAN'S PROMISE: LEWAZO OUR HERO People say, “Lewazo you are an extraordinary woman," and I quickly add that, "it is because I serve an extraordinary God and His son Jesus." My face now beams with hope and love, as I work tirelessly to impact the people in my community with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. My motto in life is “Do not destroy your tomorrows because of your todays; as these will soon become your yesterdays!” "I am looking forward to the future because it seems bright for me. Due to God's hand in my life daily, I hope to become a beacon of light to others who wallow in their HIV-AIDS status," says Lewazo with great confidence.
We celebrate her on International Woman’s Day this year.
We would also like to thank our partners for their constant support and prayers, without you we would Lewazo Sentane is just one of the not be able to support incredible extraordinary women who is quietly people like Lewazo. making a difference in the lives of the poor and marginalised people we serve on a daily basis. She is a mother to six adopted children living at Crossroads Hope Center. Her sacrificial life of compassion and love is altering the outlook of the lives of our children, and her contagious smile is restoring hope back into their lives as well. 05
| MESSAGES & TESTIMONIES
SOUTH AFRICA After receiving many calls and WhatsApp messages there have been lives touched and transformed by the power of God's hand. We have had 9 new believers since February this year as well as many salvation responses on our Superbook gospel presentation.
It is evident that God is at work through the various CBN ministries. We have our valued partners to thank for the support in prayer and your contributions which make it all possible.
PRAYERLINE TESTIMONIES A lady called for us to pray for her son who was born and could not breathe and in hospital, we prayed for him and the next day he was discharged from hospital. There have been three testimonies of different people who were either unemployed or had been retrenched. They reached out to our prayerline and we prayed for each one. All three of them called in again to let us know that they had been employed! A man who called in to our prayerline was in desperate need of a car by a specific date. He received prayer for a car and then miraculously received one just in time!
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A lady with a swelling neck and sore shoulders, suspected a serious sickness. On her way to the hospital she realized that she was too unwell to get there safely and decided to turn back. When she got back to her home, she started watching the 700 club. Pastor Seville said during the show that there was someone watching at that moment that has severe shoulder pain. He prayed against that sickness in Jesus name and immediately the pain left her!
Give us a call on 021 -701 - 1 776 or WhatsApp us on 071 -763-381 0 or mail us at prayer@cbnsa.org
MESSAGES & TESTIMONIES |
STEPHEN LUNGU'S TESTIMONY
WHAT YOU SAID: "Wow!!! At a time like this in our beloved Country, we all should listen to Stephen Lungu's Story, searching to find the purpose of life: it is only in forgiveness and Unconditional acceptance of one another that we will experience God's love and mercy to receive His abundant blessings. Thank you Stephen for sharing your story. God bless you and all of us in South Africa."
We had the honour of sharing Stephen Lungu's testimony on our Facebook page on 6th March this year. A testimony of how he was touched by the presence of God in a deeply profound and pivotal way. His encounter with God was enough to stop him and his gang of bombers from killing about a congregation of people in a church tent in Zimbabwe. Thankfully, the Lord touched Stephen through the testimony of a young Soweton girl that day. From then Stephen was adopted and given the surname 'Lungu.' We serve a mighty God who is truly strong enough to save. By the end of March the video has been viewed by over 200 000 people, it has been shared just under 5000 times and has had over 4000 reactions as well as 1023 comments on the CBN South Africa page alone.
"What a wonderful testimony of forgiveness and reconciliation. I am weeping as some of those images are still vivid in my mind, growing up in South Africa." "God is so awesome. Thank you CBN for sharing this with us. We need more of this forgiveness in a broken SA. Only God can save us from the past."
To see the CBN production of Stephen's testimony and to follow us for more testimonies like this one, go to our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/CBN South Africa.
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| IMPACT
OUR VISIT TO LIVING HOPE HOME BASED CARE On the morning of Monday, 6th February 2017, our CBN SA team had the humbling opportunity to experience a day in the life of a Living Hope home-based care nurse in one of our Xhosa townships, Masiphumelele. The home-based care service falls under the Living Hope healthcare ministry in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town. One of the main functions of the center is to send out qualified nurses in order to administer free healthcare, support and advice to people in the community, who do not have easy access to their very specific healthcare needs. After receiving a generous amount of donations from our supportive CBN SA 10
partners, we have been able to bless the Living Hope homebased care ministry with the gift of brand new medical supplies. These supplies are essential to the selfless work these nurses invest into the lives of people and especially their patients within the community of Masiphumelele. We, as a team, found ourselves incredibly uplifted and humbled by the beautiful attitude of the nurses and staff who run the center. One nurse in particular, Joan Klein, told us a bit about how she got to start working at Living Hope. She explained that she was offered a well paid
IMPACT |
position in a government hospital, but turned it down to work with Living Hope. Although the pay would be lower, she rejoices because she is now able to freely pray for her patients and serve the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, in the context of her workplace. An attitude of thankfulness is one that the nurses, we got to spend time with, constantly express in the way they work. The atmosphere of each household is changed just by their presence in the homes, people’s faces literally lighten up as they greet and welcome these ladies into their homes. We are blessed and so thankful to partner with Living Hope in this way.
support, contributions and prayers. Nothing would be possible without your generous devotion to the mission of CBN SA.
"When you smile at someone, you give that person strength." Annelisiwe
We are also immensely thankful to our partners for their consistent 11
WE'D LOVE TO PRAY FOR YOU
Give us a call on 021 -701 - 1 776 or WhatsApp us on 071 -763-381 0 or mail us at prayer@cbnsa.org
PAT'S MESSAGE |
BRING IT ON Pat Robertson Answers your questions
Do you have a question for Pat? Go and visit CBN.com/BringIt Online and follow the instructions.
Q
What is the appropriate age for a child to invite Christ into his or her heart?
A
There's a term we call the "age of accountability," which is the time when a child begins to know the difference between right and wrong. When he gets to that point in his or her life, he becomes accountable. That's when he needs to know the Lord. It's up to the parents to determine if the desire to know the Lord is genuine. It's important not to impose your will and force a child into something insincere. But a child will naturally want to know about God, and parents should be there to answer any questions. Once they begin to know, don't use the excuse that they're too young, because they're never too young. Remember Samuel in the Bible. When he was a child, he heard the voice of God at a very young age and went on to do great things for God.
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