| KWASIZABANTU
MINISTERS’ CONFERENCE IN SWITZERLAND
1 – 4 May 2006
Link
to Swiss Report
Link to preaching tour
Link to invitation
Over 450 delegates were welcomed at the beginning of the Conference,
mainly from different countries in Europe such as Germany, France, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Poland, the Chech Republic and Romania. Others were from Great Britain, South
Africa and other countries.
Rev. Erlo Stegen (RSA); Director of KwaSizabantu Mission, South
Africa 
More than conquerors
Romans 8:37
The word "conquer" in Greek means more than just to conquer.
Paul tries to describe what we are through Him who loved us. God didn’t just make us
to be "conquerors", but "more than conquerors".
It is clear that there are things which must be conquered. What is it
that we have to conquer? Paul mentions in chapter 8 verse 35: "affliction",
which means "distress", "trouble", "hardship" or
"suffering" in the original text. These are things which can shake our being. If
our Christian life is genuine, then hell will react, because the powers of darkness are
aware of danger.
Paul further speaks of "hunger". Perhaps he doesn’t mean
only physical hunger. Even if we are hungry we want to be conquerors and faithful to
Jesus.
Paul mentions "nakedness" - it might be lack of clothing, but
you can also be denuded by things which are outspreaded over your person. Everything will
be torn off from you, Paul knew about that. Often they tell half the truth, to expose the
preacher.
"Death", "life", "angels",
"demons", "the present", "the future", "powers",
"height", "depth" – in all these circumstances we are more than
conquerors.
Rev 6 verse 2 – here John sees a man who is receiving a crown to
go and be victorious. And this hero was victorious indeed. Paul speaks of "more
than" conquerors. This is exactly what we can be through Jesus who is risen and
speaks for us.
A person who doesn’t know such a life is a preacher without
authority and is hell‘s mockery. We should know the victorious life in our families,
congregations and on the mission fields.
Mostly we sin with our tongue, but with this same tongue we dare to
stand on the pulpit to preach the Gospel.
Are you part of those who are more than conquerors? To be able to
answer this question, we need to be like an open book before God. If we are not prepared
for that, how will we be able to pass the Gospel on to others?
Rev Bill Bathman (USA), Founder and President of In Touch Mission
International 
Everything … - except for the power
Jeremiah 2:6-13
At the beginning of the chapter God reminds his people
about their first love and shows how far they have gone astray.
To understand better the testimony of a man of God it is
important to know the time he is living in. Jeremiah lived 40 years before Judah was taken
into exile. He warned the people, but they didn’t want to listen. Everything went
downwards in the land; the people got used to the strange culture and joined in with the
idolatry. Jeremiah mocked their gods.
Israel left God, the Well, and instead they turned to
wells that are fragile.
In John 4:11 a woman sat at a well. That Jesus didn’t
have a vessel to draw water, which made her doubt his power. How often we see only the
problems and don’t trust God to work in the challenges of the 21st century. But it is
our calling to show that His power is unlimited.
In America and Europe the materialistic thinking grows so
that even the spiritual life is influenced by it. We refuse to be light and salt to the
world. We are involved in an eternal war of good against evil and there can’t be a
cease-fire until the King of kings returns.
Equipped with all – but often the power is missing.
Yet it is written in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on you.”
But in our time we miss the power to bring people to Jesus and to convict them of sin! As a result of this leaking of power we try to
imitate the world and water down the Word of God. Sinners then feel themselves
entertained, but not anymore convicted.
God calls his people back. Here is a world that ruins
itself, millions who go to hell and an almighty God who looks for pastors, evangelist who
will share this burden with Him.
In Luke 3:1&2 we see all political, military and
religious leaders of that time being mentioned, but Gods Word reached Johannes. Johannes
was a man who God could trust. He carried out Gods command fearlessly, even when it cost
him his life. Who is willing with Gods power
to be more than conqueror?
Prof A. Vanbeckevort (Belgium)
Romans 11:16-22
I would like to look at the root of the olive tree which
Paul describes in Hebr 5:6-10. We will
understand better what this root means when we look at Melchizedek. Amongst others the names “King” and
“Righteousness” are used for him. Yet
he is not only king and high priest, he is also a prophet.
When he met Abraham he gave him bread and wine (the Lord’s supper). Now Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in
the order of Melchizedek.
Also Moses and David were kings, priests and prophets. God’s Word calls the believers “a royal
priesthood“.
In Ezekiel 14:12-14 Noah, Daniel and Job are mentioned. They also show forth the royal and priestly
aspects.
Noah – a man who lived in a perverse
generation (Gen.8:20). He built the first
altar – which made him to be a priest. In
building the ark he was prophetic, and then he received the royal command to preserve a
part of the creation (which made him a king). He
did his work while the people around him were mocking him.
Are you prepared to work while being mocked?
Job – he was rich. Simultaneously he sacrificed daily for his
children, who obviously went into the world (sacrificing was a priestly duty). In the book Job are also the royal and prophetic
parts revealed. He suffered, lost his
possessions, children, his health and reputation. Yet
he held out to the end.
Later Job prayed for his friends. Are you prepared to love under all circumstances?
Daniel – he was next to the king in Babylon,
he was a prophet and at the end of the exile of his people he was priest. He was sorely tested as a man of prayer, and
confronts us with the question: “Are we prepared to be faithful to our faith until
death?”
Jesus is our eternal High Priest. God wants to reveal the royal, priestly and
prophetic characteristics in His children. These
characteristics should be found in our hearts as well.
The high priest is
directly connected to the Tabernacle (2.Sam.6). Who
understands this verse can’t believe a prosperity Gospel any longer (Hebr.9:4). It
speaks about the presence of the ark of the Lord in us.
The budding of
Aaron’s staff – The staff budded in the desert. Do you know times of desert in
your life? Times in which we are called to be “more than conquerors”? 2
Peter.1:10+11 – we must make our calling sure, so that we don’t stumble. When I
was blamed I decided to love and refused to be drawn into discussions.
I can testify that
by this decisions Aarons staff more and more was budding in my life.
The tablets of the
covenant – God wants to write His law into our hearts and character. The more we have
His law in us the stronger the Holy Spirit will remind us of His Word.
Eph.6 – many
who read this chapter forget that Paul writes in verse 18 that we should pray for each
other in every situation and be watchful. We should pray to receive the Holy Spirit; only
then the armour of God will be complete.
Like Job, Noah and
Daniel you will become part of the Gods salvation work in this time and nation. Psalm 110:
the time will come that people will hear.
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Florent Varak (F) 
Matt 26:36-46
Col 2:15 - Even the devil was deprived from his power and
conquered at the Cross.
Rom 6:6 - our old nature is crucified and in the Holy Spirit
we have a Comforter who will be for always with us.
Gethsemane means “oil press”. It was there that
the Lord Jesus went through the last struggle/ battle (verse 36-38). Lukas writes that
here the Lord’s sweat
turned into drops of blood.
Only three of His disciples were with Him, but they slept.
He was alone. But the toughest
suffering for Him was in the knowledge “the time has come that I will be made
sin” and so He would drink the cup 2 Cor 5:21. In
a moment’s time the wrath of God would be poured out over Him.
This text is to me the most beautiful example of
a magnificent victory. A victory over
one’s own emotions, culminated in the prayer: “Not My will, but Your will be
done.” Can you pray like that? I don't mean the prayer: “Lord, give me a
Rolls Royce, but not my will be done.” That
kind of prayer canno be compared to the one which God has preserved for us.
Verse 41: Here
is the advice of the Lord Jesus to His disciples: “Watch and
pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” What Jesus says here means a continuous watching. We are called to watch because we don't know when
Jesus returns. An admonition which is found
over and over in the New Testament (1 Cor 16:13; Rev 16:15).
We recognize the extent of Christ' obedience (verse
45+46). The Lord Jesus wasn't handed over to the Romans, Jews or Pilate, but He was handed
over to sinners. He was obedient to the
divine salvation plan of the Father.
A lesson we learn here:
In 1 Cor 10:13 God promised that He will not let us
be tempted beyond what we can bear. If
everything goes well in our lifes we are in danger to quickly lose our dependence on God. That
is why I need some burdens to teach me to pray: “Lord, not my will, but Your will be
done.”
Let us learn in truth to pray this prayer, so that we will
become conquerors.
Rev Friedel Stegen (RSA) 
Victory in Christ
2 Cor 2:14
Through the victory which we are given from God, He reveals the
fragrance of knowing Him. Because of this victory it will be obvious that we know God. God
said to Abraham: "I know you". Do we know this intimate fellowship with Jesus? I
am aware of the fact that no sacrifice was too big for my God, to save me. Now my life
should be a testimony that Christ lives in me.
Jesus was a man with sympathy for His people. Are you touched by the
condition of the youth, of the broken families? Are we able to help young people out of
their desire for friendships, sports, cars, etcetera, that we can lead them to the point
that Jesus will have the first place in their hearts? We will only be able to help those
people as soon as we can testify: "We are more than conquerors".
Jesus Himself said to His listeners: "Everything the Scribes say
to you, do it." We can also pass on the right message. But then Jesus continues:
"Don’t do what they live." It is impossible that I preach that people
should live holy to the Lord and I myself don’t live a holy life.
If a person comes in a family in which conquerors live, than one can
feel a special atmosphere. It is the same in a congregation, where God is present. Whoever
comes in this congregation, gladly bows his knees before the living God.
We are called to live in a new life. What a Gospel, that we can
proclaim: "Lord Jesus, You are the Conqueror!"
Pastor Gilbert Léonian (France) 
Seven Steps to Victory – Gideon, the true Hero of God
Judges 6:1-6
Judges 6:1-6
God would like to make a victor of every single Christian. Hebr 11:33 – I would like to look at one man.
He was a man like us, but God made him to be a fighter, shepherd and leader after the
heart of God – Gideon.
The seven steps are:
1 – To face the enemy with courage.
2 – God seeks people whom He can prepare for His
service.
3 – God prepares the individual in their families and
own homes.
4 – God creates the conditions needed for being part
of His army.
5 – God equips His army.
6 – God leads us to victory and shows us His
strategy.
7 – After the victory, rest in God.
Israel was in the land of milk and honey. Joshua had received the promise that no enemy
would conquer Israel. His nation only
shouldn’t deviate from the Word of God.
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Philip Bell (Great Britain) 
Worldview conflicts & the importance of Creation – Answers
from Genesis
2 Cor 10:3-5
It is God who works in the heart of men and
changes it through the Holy Spirit, but still Paul urges us here to convince people to
demolish arguments.
An important discussion is the theory of evolution and it is important to have arguments
for the creation. Many reject the Bible as the true Word of God. If we believe it, it is
important to believe everything right from the beginning. Not only that the Bible contains
the Word of God, but also that it is the Word of God. How can we believe that Jesus has
been born from a virgin as well as believe in the resurrection, when we doubt the
creation?
Why does the society of today doubt at the Bible and God? People
let their feelings lead them. They see with their feelings and hear with their eyes.
A rejection rules, an unbelief towards the absolute.
The Christian teaching is separated from its historical foundation. When the foundation of
a teaching is wrong or absent or when a congregation compromises, then the education has
lost its function.
Prov. 30:12 Living sexually pure before marriage - yes, but that
was meant for the time Proverbs was written in… When you think in such a way you
don’t believe the Bible to be God’s Word. Which arguments do we give for
believing the only marriage God has assigned is between husband and wife?
Charles Darwin has said: “A person who doesn’t have a
personal relationship with God, who doesn’t believe in judgment and reward, can only
let his impulses and instincts lead him and follow the strongest person or the one who he
likes the best.
Darwin didn’t receive a scientific education; he studied at a
Preachers seminar, but turned his back upon God’s Word.
And through his teaching for centuries many believed the evolution theories. They believed
that everything developed from nowhere.
Today we see the results: young people who are lost, who even
commit suicide. Suicide is in many European countries the second death cause amongst youth
in the age of 16-25 years.
But if we believe that God has created Adam and we are his
descendants, our lives get a course.
Jes. 33:22 most Christians accept God as King and Savior, but He is also Judge and
Lawgiver.
How can we restore the faith and trust in the Bible?
We must be convinced of what God in the creation as well as in His
Word says. Even when we maybe don’t understand all still we can believe it.
Jes. 66:2 When last have we trembled for God’s Word?
It doesn’t matter what kind of scientific background we have got, we must turn to
God’s Word and bow under it.
Genesis is the foundation of the Christian faith. Simultaneously
in Genesis is found the foundation for the 7-day week, curse, Jesus as the last Adam, the
first and second coming etc.
Concerning marriage - in Math.19:4+5 Jesus takes the Pharisees,
who came to ask about marriage, back to the origin of marriage. God created a man and a
woman.
Mark 10:6 It was right at the beginning of the creation, not after many years, immediately
in the beginning God created men.
Acts 3:19-21 Peter, Zachariah, Mark, Luke and Jesus testify that
men exist from the beginning of the creation.
Concerning the topic of death - the one that believes in Evolution
believes that death is part of the earth and life from the beginning.
The Bible teaches us that death came into the world only through sin - it was not planned
(Rom. 5:12).
God’s judgment “and see, it was good” can’t be
pronounced over a creation which is developing and improving.
Important is the foundation of our faith. We may not build our
Christianity on the Evolution theory.
The Bible should be the foundation and guide in every part of our
lives and even in the science (1 Kor. 2:4+5).
More info on: www.AnswersinGenesis.org
Dr Peter Hammond (RSA) 
A new Reformation!
Judges 2:10-14; 3:1,2+4
Also in Europe a new generation has grown up who doesn’t know their spiritual
roots anymore. This fact takes their power to resist the threat of Islam. Secularism,
humanism and hedonism have starved Europe on moral, spiritual and ethic region.
Instead of building on the rock of the Biblical doctrine the generation of today builds on
the sand of relativism. This situation has many parallels to the Europe before the
Reformation.
Where Europe separates itself from its Christian roots, it inevitable separates itself
from blessings like freedom, productivity and prosperity. At the moment Europe is living
on blessings which are borrowed.
We must learn from history and understand the signs of our time.
Europe is standing before an Islamic Revolution: the European women have an average of
1,5 children, the Muslim women in Europe of 6-8 children.
History shows that the future belongs to those who are fertile.
Many people tend to react on this situation with one or other extreme: either they
don't see the problem or they don't have any hope.
Our answer to the problem is the same as in those days: We need a Reformation which
will bring Europe back to the Bible.
Those who don't accept Christianity haven't got the power to resist to other spiritual
movements. This is the current problem, but how can we be more than conquerors in this
crisis? We must realize the situation and use God’s weapons: the Bible, evangelism,
the power of prayer.
The Gospel has the power to save all. Our commission and that of our congregations is
to lead people to Jesus. And we must do it without fear of men - only fearing God and to
love Him with all our hearts.
Let us work and pray for a new Reformation.
Ps 85:6 "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?"
Rev Ndaba Mazabane (RSA) 
The conquering family: building up a godly heritage in a godless
society
Proverbs 13:23
The strength to conquer doesn’t come from us, but from God.
I would like to see the family as the place where we conquer. I believe that it’s
God’s intension that parents leave a lasting impression on the children. We have the
responsibility to carry on our shoulders those people in front of whom we live our lives -
especially our children.
Today most cultures turn away from God, but we by serving them must bring them back to
God. For example David, he served God and was used by God in his time.
A survey by Barner shows us how little difference there is in the daily life of
born-again Christians and non-Christians.
The fact is extreme sad. The church fails to live their faith in a convincing manner.
The Gospel confronts us with the truth and can change our lives, but I am concerned that
our lives don’t correspond with the faith, because we lack depth.
The discipleship and getting deep roots must start in the family. The family is the heart
of society.
Do we bring, as shepherds, the situation of the families in our country, in our
congregations to God? Do we have a message for them?
As parents we must….
keep holy the hope we have in God and trust God in difficulties
to build up the families upon God’s faithfulness and love Him with all our hearts
pass God’s Word on to our children (Deutr.11:18+19)
put the family at the first place
recognize the time we live in and lead our children in this time
How can we show our children what God has prepared for them?
Let us learn from the eagles:
they build their nests at heights. Symbol of homes being a sure refuge for children.
they are faithful for life to their partners. Symbol how God wants our marriages to have a
binding character.
Their young receive food appropriated their size. Symbol of every child needs its
individual upbringing.
2 Kor.2:14+15 No place spread so strongly an atmosphere, a fragrant as a home.
How does a fragrant develop?
A = Affection
To touch the children shows them we love them.
R = Respect
In the Bible children are called to respect their parents. The parents also can work for
their respect.
O = Order
Children need rules and regularity.
M = Merriment
In the family one should laugh and enjoy.
A = Affirmation
The tongue of the wise bring healing.
Rev Erlo Stegen (RSA)
Do not stand in God’s way - let Him have free sway in your life
1 Corinthians 15:58
After the murder on Julius Caesar, Octavius ruled the Western area
and Marcus Antonius the Eastern part. Marcus fell in love with the Egyptian queen
Cleopatra in spite of having a loyal wife. Finally a war broke out between the armies of
Octavius and of Marcus Antonius. Marcus became an alcoholic although he had been a good
war-strategist.
During the naval war Cleopatra was watching from her own ship. Then she
received the message that the ship of Marcus Antonius was burning and that he was dead.
After that Cleopatra fled. Amidst the fighting Marcus Antonius saw Cleopatra leaving her
ship and therefore he left his ship and his soldiers, hurrying to Egypt, despite the pleas
of an officer to stay: "Your soldiers need you now – the situation is
critical". He didn’t heed anything but just wanted to go to Cleopatra, but after
his arrival there, he didn’t want to see anybody, not even Cleopatra. She knelt
before him and asked him for forgiveness, saying: "I was told you were dead. Where
should I have gone to?" Antonius answered: "You are right, indeed I am dead,
because Marcus Antonius died as he left the battlefield. Now you ask for forgiveness, but
before whom should I kneel? Once you told me: `You can make anything your master, except
your love’."
Later Marcus Antonius committed suicide.
A Lutheran hymn says: "This Man on the Cross is my love".
Jesus Himself said: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of
Me!" Proclaiming the Gospel we ought to teach the people to keep the commands of
Jesus Christ. They should become people who are more than conquerors.
Before the Revival began, I had to ask myself: "Am I prepared for
God to be my Lord and Master? ". In God’s Word He is called "Master"
over 600 times. Jesus asked: "Why do you call Me `Master’ and don’t do
what I tell you!" The word "Master" means that His word is decisive and
He alone determines the way and the price. No organisation can take this place.
How difficult is it for us to bow. A German proverb says: "The
will of a man is his heaven". But the person who can’t pray, "Not my will
but Your will be done", won’t find himself in heaven.
Also our motives in God’s service must be holy. If there is
repentance only to get a better position than it is not the same as if one confesses
"I have sinned" (2 Chron 7:14).
We experience in these days in South Africa that young people reach
thousands with the Gospel. One young person said to me: "If we wouldn’t have
been converted, God would have demanded the blood of these people out of our hands".
God wants to work, but he only can do it if the way is prepared. The Almighty God is
waiting for you to prepare the way for Him. How can we reach the nations without a
revival? Through the work of the Holy spirit it should not be difficult for us drawing
people to Jesus. Our eyes, tongue, feet, hands – everything should be penetrated with
the Holy Spirit. |
