Pastor Thulane Irven Mahlangu Sentenced

Sentencing of a former Dr JS Moroka Municipality councillor for murder was on 16 October 2009 in the Pretoria High Court on Friday. The 30-year-old former councillor Irven Thulani Mahlangu was sentenced to 10 months. This came after spending 15 months in prison awaiting trial.

His co-accussed; Andries Mandla Kubheka, 42 (not sentenced yet), his father, Sigabela Jonas Mahlangu, 52 (9 years), and his businessmen friends, Mooiman Mahlangu, 45 (10 years), Koos Mthimunye, 35 (5 year suspended sentence) , and Nkululeko Simon Maseko, 44 (6 years). They were found guilty on 13 charges ranging from kidnapping, assault, and assault with intent to cause bodily harm to murder.

The men kidnapped a group of youngsters in November 2001 from Siyabuswa under the suspicion that they were responsible for a series of break-ins in their shops.They took them to a nearby bush where they interrogated and severely beat them up.One of the assaulted youths later died in hospital due to his injuries.The men will be back in court next month.

Pastor Irven Mahlangu was not found guilty of murder, but of kidnapping and assault. His disciples are organising revivals that will take place once a month in the prison he is locked in for the next 8 months (until his release). Local churches will support the revivals and he will be the main speaker / preacher.

Praise

All too often, praise to God is something that many people leave at church, an event that happens only when they come together with other Christians. However, praise should be a part of a believers lifestyle, inter-mingled as a part of their daily prayer-life. At work, in the car, at home in bed, or anywhere; praise to the Lord brings the refreshing of the Lord’s presence, along with His power and anointing.

“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalms 34:1).Praise is an expression of faith, and a declaration of victory. It declares that we believe God is with us and is in control of the outcome of all our circumstances (Romans 8:28). Praise is a “sacrifice,” something that we offer to God sacrificially, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe in Him and wish to please Him. “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

Since praise manifests God’s presence, we also realize that praise repels the presence of the enemy, Satan. An atmosphere which is filled with sincere worship and praise to God by humble and contrite hearts is disgusting to the Devil. He fears the power in the name of Jesus, and flees from the Lord’s habitation in praise. “Whoso offereth praise glorifies me: and to him that ordered his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God” (Psalms 50:23).

When the children of Judah found themselves outnumbered by the hostile armies of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, King Jehoshaphat and all the people sought the Lord for His help. The Lord assured the people that this would be His battle. He told them to go out against them, and He would do the fighting for them. So what did the children of Judah do? Being the people of “praise” (Judah actually means Praise), and knowing that God manifests His power through praise, they sent their army against their enemies, led by the praisers.So on they went, ahead of the army declaring, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever!” And the scripture says, “when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten” (2 Chronicles 20:22).

When God’s people begin to praise His name, it sends the enemy running. No matter what you’re going through right now. I challenge you to become a person of praise, and you will experience the release of the power of God.

Your Relationship With God

“I will never fail you, nor forsake you.” (Hebrews13:5). When we place our faith in Jesus, wanting Him in our lives, we become His child and forever can rest secure in His love. How has your relationship been with God since you first received Jesus as your Savior. We did not earn a relationship with God. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For all has sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24)From the time we receive Christ into our lives, we have a new relationship with God, and a new life. Here is how the Bible describes us now that we have Christ in our life. We are:at peace with God (Romans 5:1) a child of God (John 1:12) completely forgiven (Colossians 1:14) brought near to God (Ephesians 2:13) sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) no longer living in darkness (Ephesians 5:8) members of His kingdom (Colossians 1:13,14) loved by God (1John 4:9,10; John 15:9) given eternal life (John 3:16) secure in God's love (Romans 8:38,39) saved by God's grace (Ephesians 2:8,9) Christ dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17) chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4,5) crossed from death to life (John 5:24) alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:15) righteous in God's eyes (2Corinthians 5:21) led by a caring Shepherd (John 10:27)

If there are sins that you still struggle with, God can deliver you from them, He promised He will. “Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians1:6). This relationship is protected, not by what we do, but because of God's character and Jesus death on our behalf. Jesus purchased our relationship with Him, canceling the penalty of sin that stood between us and God. So we become His child, forgiven, indwelt by Him, declared righteous in His eyes, because Jesus covers our sin.

Unfortunately, we still will sin. We still will find ourselves choosing to do things our way instead of God's way. We should stand secure in this relationship, because of what God says about it. “Therefore, since we have been right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1).Salvation through Jesus is purely God's gift, received once by faith. At that moment we have begun a relationship with God that lasts eternally. Our relationship with Christ does not hinge on personal holiness, or levels of faith, or sacrifices, or good works or religious acts.

God doesn't intend for our focus to be on our performance. He desires our focus to be on Jesus Christ.Unlike other relationships we have in this world, our relationship with God is secure because He brought us into this relationship in the first place, and He is faithful to keep us unto eternal life. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Believe God

"But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him," Hebrews 11:6. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23) and God hates sin. When we don't believe God, we treat Him like He is a liar.

Remember that He is everywhere and sees all things. He is hurt when we act like He doesn't exist, or that He will not do what He promised to do. Only when we have confidence in God and His Word can we please Him. Lack of faith leads to lack of obedience. God's commands can only really be fulfilled through faith. Without confidence in God's promises a man will never really do what God says. Lack of obedience in God's eyes is rebellion. Such lack of obedience dishonors God and surely deserves to be punished. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). We must live by faith in order to be considered by God "right" and "correct".

Otherwise we stand condemned. Those who don't believe God inevitably believe in something else. Either religious tradition, or their understanding of science, or what the women's magazine says, or what their next door neighbor tells them, the education system, the mass-media or a combination of all these things. God is not impressed. "Professing to be wise, they became fools.

" (Romans 1:22) In fact, those who don't fully believing God end up believing the devil somewhere along the track. It is very possible to believe what the devil says without even believing that he exists. Satan is speaking through so many philosophies and religions without openly declaring himself. Not too many actually know they are trusting the words of Satan and his demons. God is therefore righteous in expecting us to believe in Him and what He says. Who is better qualified to tell us the truth and help us to find answers for life and eternity?

Overcoming Your Trials

What do you do when your world caves in? How does a Christian respond when hardship come? All of us will challenge those questions sooner or later. It may not be from behind prison bars, but we will all go through deep trials eventually. When that happens, everything we believe will be put on the line. In the first 9 verses of 1 Thessalonians 3, Paul wrote to some new believers who suddenly and unexpectedly found themselves in great difficulty. They were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. The text shows how Paul reassured them and encouraged them to stand firm in trials. I see 6 truths about trials that can help us hang in there when difficulties come.

Your particular trial doesn’t matter as much as how you respond to it. Often we focus intently on the details of our difficulties as if our problem was the most important thing in the world. It may seem so at the time, but it’s not really. God is much more concerned with how we respond than with the trial itself. Someone has said, “God will take care of what you go through; you take care of how you go through it.”

That means that whatever trial or difficulty you are going through today has been tailor made for you by a loving heavenly Father. He appoints tough times for our good and His glory. Everything that comes to you has already passed through the hands of God and has received His stamp of approval. Paul plainly says that we can overcome our trials by faith. What kind of faith does he have in mind?

Faith in God’s Character—that He is good and makes no mistakes Faith in God’s Word—that it is true no matter what happens to us Faith in God’s Purpose—that He is conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ Faith in God’s Promise—that He will never give us more than we can bear Faith in God’s Presence—that He is with us in the darkest moments of life Faith in God’s Power—that He can deliver us from every temptation There is one other kind of faith that will help us in hard times. That is the shared faith of God’s people. So many believers struggle because they try to handle their problems alone. But God never meant for you to walk through the lonely valley by yourself.

1 Thessalonians Chapter 3:4-8

Living in the promises of God

Living in the promises of God is an act of pure faith. It is having the ability to look beyond the evils of this world, to the glory to come, and then to do whatever can be done to help bring the kingdom glory to our present time. None of us can eliminate all evil, corrupt, cruel, and insensitive things that are continually occurring in the world around us, but we can stop some of it, and be a witness against all such things.There are many Bible verses that can point us in this direction. One is Matthew 6:9-13.

This prayer that Jesus prayed is our example of allowing God’s perfect plan to be accomplished in this world and in your lives. If we are praying for this, then shouldn't we also believe it is possible, and indeed can and should come to pass in both the here and now as well as in the future? I'm convinced we should believe this is possible. It's an act of simple faith. But faith is an active word. Faith requires us to live by our belief.

This passage of scripture states that God will be our Sustainer and Provider(Matthew 6:11). All our need will be met for who else knows what we are in need of daily. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. (II Corinthians 12:9). in fact, He has made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith. Read Ephesians 2:8. It is through an obedient faith that we have access into the grace of God according to Romans 5:2.

God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. Instead, He assures us that a way of escape will be provided. This promise is recorded in I Corinthians 10:13. Jude wrote: "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present your faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude v 24). Darius, King of the Medes, said to Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee" (Daniel 6:16). He did deliver Daniel from the den of lions.

God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. Peter said: "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:32). Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:3,4).

Later on he adds: "but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57). God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28). It may be difficult for us to see and understand how this is accomplished at times, but God has promised it, and He will deliver.

God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. (Read Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38). God has promised His people eternal life (John 10:27,28). Everyday live so that the promises of God will be yours. Be Blessed,The Worship Center