PETRUSBURG SEKONDÊRESKOOL: KADETTE IN DIE VYFTIGERJARE.

 

In die laat vyftigerjare van die vorige eeu was Kadette die lot van ons seuns. Nie dat dit sleg was nie, inteendeel, ons het dit in ons storm en drangjare geniet. Die noodsaaklikheid hiervan was moontlik die uitvloeisel van die konteks waarin ons geleef het. In 1957 het Pres. Kwame Nkrumah die eerste Swart President van ‘n onafhanklike Afrikaland geword wat nie juis vriendelik teenoor Suid-Afrika was nie. Pres. Nasser van Egipte, Mangisto Marijam van Somalië en die Indiese Eerste Minister Neruh was skerp krities en vyandig. En ons moes gereed gemaak word vir ‘n moontlike militêre aanval. Dus is ons Kadette ‘n voorbereiding op die Weermag wat volg.

Nouja, die eerste was: ons bruinklere moes netjies gestryk wees. Ons kamaste moes spierwit wees. Ek het my Ma smekend gevra om dit te stysel. En as jy die kamaste aantrek, gee die wit af en moes jy die kouse skoon maak. Op parade was mnr. Badenhorst, hy het die rang van Luitenant gehad, maar soos ‘n generaal homself geprojekteer, maar soos ‘n sant-majoor gebulder. En daar staan ons  gedienstig en gedwee, maar onder draai die duiwel rond. Mnr. Badenhorst het so ‘n marsjeerstokkie onder sy arm vasgenyp en flink die bateljon ge-inspekteer. Ons staan daar met ons poker-gesigte, want ons durf nie glimlag nie. Maar ons drie belhammels, Hennie du Plessis, Ernst Kleynhans en ek, het die ouens in marsjeer-oefening gepooitjie, as die bevel linksom was het ons met opset regsom gedraai. En as die inspeksie op sy ernstigste was met luitenant Badenhorst wat ons inspekteer kon Hennie du Plessis ‘n burb maak wat ons op die rand van die afgrond stuur. Die reaksie was nadelig: ons moes straf opstote doen. Ons ander mnr. was te dierbaar en stadig in Kadette. Sy bevele was stadig: hy het gesê: links lank gewag en ons het dan die om voltooi. Dit is boaring om die storie te lees. Ons as tieners het Kadette gate uit geniet.           

The great benefits of HOPE

 

The theme on which we dwell at the beginning of this year, is HOPE. It is one of the greatest and most important themes in the Bible.

Have you ever thought about the wonderful benefits of hope?

Tonight we take Eph 1:18 as our text verse. Paul writes to the congregation (the church) of new believers in Ephesus:

I ask that your minds may be opened to see his (Christ’s) light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people,

Let us start with a definition of hope.

John Calvin said:

The word hope I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.

John Calvin derived this wonderful definition from Eph 1:15, 18 and 19. 

 

“For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people…   I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, and how very great is his power at work in us who believe.

 

 

In the same pericope, in Eph 1:16-17, Paul also gives a beautiful definition of Christian faith. He does so because Christian hope and Biblical faith are overlapping realities. 

Hope is a portion or part of faith.

Biblical faith is a gift from God and it becomes yours when the Holy Spirit reveals God to you, exactly as it is stated in  Eph 1:16-17:

 

” I remember you in my prayers and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him.”

 

The Holy Spirit reveals God to us by

·       testifying about Christ,

·       by making us understand the teachings, the love and the work of Jesus Christ.

 

In Rom 10:16-17 Paul writes:   But not all have accepted the Good News. Isaiah himself said, "Lord, who believed our message?" So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.

 

Biblical faith is accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the only Hope we have. “Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us." — Acts 4: 11-12.

 

But let us return to what HOPE is. 

And to what HOPE does in us,  for us, for our families and in the world. 

 

 

John Piper says:“Hope comes from the promises of God rooted in the work of Christ. Hope is faith in the future tense. So most of faith is hope.”

 

Does John Calvin’s remark make sense to you now?

The word hope I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.

 

THE BENEFITS OF HOPE

 

 And now we move on to an aspect of HOPE that some of us have actually never paid attention to.  Did you know that the Bible spells out the most amazing benefits and blessings of Biblical hope to us? 

  

 

1.       An anticipation that the world does not know, is one of the benefits of hope that is rooted in the living Christ.

 

1Pe 1:3-4  Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away.

 

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, looks forward. Yes, we grow old and frail. Yes, life is difficult and dangerous. But a believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, lives in quiet anticipation.

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, absolutely believes what Jesus said in John 11:25-26:  "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die.

Such a believer looks forward and sees the New World with the eternal City of God, the New Jerusalem as its capitol.  Such a believer sees his or her real home, the place of many mansions, the place where rich blessings are already kept for us.  And the greatest blessing is seeing and knowing and being with  God as HE IS.

 

For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.

And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble.

For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever. — 2 Cor 4:17-18

 

 

 

2.       The return of joy and peace is one of the wonderful benefits of hope that is rooted in the living Christ.

 Psa_31:24  Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, can overcome and will overcome fear, depression, feelings of despair and the urge to withdraw from life. Such a believer will have peace and joy again, and that joy and peace will come from the Lord, in Whom the believer has chosen to put all his trust.

·       Can you just imagine what a difference this makes in family life?

·       Can you even begin tot hink what a difference this will make to the atmosphere in our home, the atmosphere in church and in the congregation?

·       Can you imagine what difference it will make to the vibes you send out at work, on the farm, in the supermarket?

·       Can you imagine what a difference it will make in dangerous, unpredictable and depressing times in our country and in the whole world?    

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, says what Paul said:

 

2Co_1:10  From such terrible dangers of death he saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in him that he will save us again,

2Co_3:12  Because we have this hope, we are very bold.

 

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, becomes a courageous person. People are inspired by the unfaltering faith and hope in such a believer.  And Christ, the One from whom all hope comes, is glorified.

Can you just begin to imagine what influence this will have on your children and grandchildren, the young ones who have to go and live in a world of yet unknown ideological forces, weapons of mass destruction, new world powers, new wars, new teachings and unforeseen distasters in nature?

 

 

3.       SANCTIFICATION is a benefit of hope that is rooted in the living Christ.  

Those who are filled with the living hope that is rooted in Christ, live a life that becomes less and less contaminated by the the reactions of the flesh and the world.

1Jn_3:3  Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure.

 

This is just logical. It makes complete sense. A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, has his eyes upon Jesus. Such a believer is listening to Jesus, not to the predictions and rage of the world. Such a believer is not preoccupied with bitterness, anger and feelings of being disadvantaged and treated unfairly that rise from his own flesh, his old nature. 

 

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, walks with God. Such a believer will never remain in the darkness.  He will not dwell in the hopeless, destructive, exhausting, contaminated and foul places of darkness, those place to which his old nature will always want to take him. Such a believer lives and walks in the Light. 

 

Can you just begin to imagine what difference this will make in the world?

People in darkness will begin to wonder and ask what is different with us.

And we will be able to tell them about Jesus Christ and the living hope rooted in Him alone.

 

4.       Different funerals is a benefit of hope that is rooted in the living Christ.

Funerals are different to those who are filled with the hope that is rooted in Christ. So is life after the death of a loved one.

 

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, experiences sorrow and loss, berievement and pain when loved ones are buried; when the finale farewell on earth is taking place.  To bury a father, mother, child, grandchild or spouse, is the most heartbreaking and traumatic experience one can ever have.

 

But the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ is powerful with the power of God.  It lifts us up. It enables us to stagger to our feet again.  It enables us to cope, to pick up the threads, to live and be victorious in our new normal.

Paul writes: 

1Th_4:13  Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope.

 

 

5.       A completely different set of priorities is a benefit of that that is rooted in the living Christ.

 

A believer who is filled with the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ, still has to pay for groceries. He still has to budget vor medical aid schemes, taxes, short and long term insurance, instalments on his house.  He /she still has to ask the Holy Spirit to guide him, to give him insight, peace of mind and wisdom in all important matters.

BUT:  there is an enormous difference between those who ARE filled with the living hope that is rooted in Christ, and those who are not. The difference is found in 1 Tim 6:17:   

 

Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.

 

Can you imagine what a difference this will make in your heart?  What a difference the living hope that is rooted in the living Christ will make to your physical and mental health?  What peace and contentment you will have in your disciplined, prayer-filled, frugal (spaarsamige) life?

 

 

And so we can continue for hours.

 

At some stage in your life  time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God's promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God. —Ep 2:12

 

But now the true message, the Good News, has come to you, you heard about the hope it offers.

 

And now, says the Word of the Living God, you must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel. Col_1:23 

 

·       Have you ever considered the spiritual and emotional losses we suffer when we choose despair instead of hope as part of faith?  Have you ever thought about the real meaning of just saying: “My situation is hopeless?”

·       Have you ever considered to abandon fear, to leave anxiety behind? To live in HOPE, to stick to faith in Jesus Christ? To live exactly as Jesus so often told his disciples to live: Do not fear?  Fear not!

 

Have you ever said to yourself:  “There is no need to try to feel hopeful.  There is Christ, Who is One with the Father.  My hope comes from the promises of God rooted in the work of Christ.”

 

May the Lord help us to live in Biblical hope. To experience the blessings, the benefits, the joy, the peace and the difference that hope makes.  To glorify God by walking with Him in this deeply dependent, deeply spiritual, deeply trusting way.        

BY VOORBAAT DANKBAAR!

 

Iemand het gesê:

Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on.

Maw wees by voorbaat dankbaar. Wees by voorbaat dankbaar teenoor God vir al die seëninge wat jy dag vir dag uit sy hand gaan bly ontvang. Wees dankbaar vir al die seëninge wat jy elke uur ontvang sonder dat jy daarvoor vir God vra. Wees dankbaar vir God vir al die seëninge wat jy sommer as vanselfsprekend aanvaar. Is jy genoeg dankbaar teenoor God? Is jy  meer as dankbaar:  is jy ook vol blydskap daarvoor?

Is jy bewus dat dit God is wat alles VOORDAT jy daarvoor vra in Jesus Christus vir jou verniet skenk?

Kom ons luister na die Bybel. Gedagtig aan wat ons pas in Lukas 17 gelees het omtrent Jesus Christus wat tien melaatses genees het, weet ons dat ons hier met God te doen het. Die Bybel sê dat Jesus God is, in Johannes 10: 30 staan daar: “Ek en die Vader is een.” Dus is dit  Jesus Christus wat met Goddelike krag, die krag van God die Vader die 10 melaatses genees het.  Dit is net God wat hulle oombliklik kan genees, want geen aardse geneesheer is daartoe in staat nie. Die Bybel sê in Mat 19:26 “Maar Jesus het hulle aangekyk en vir hulle gesê: By mense is dit onmoontlik, maar by God is alle dinge moontlik.” Maw Lukas 17 getuig van Jesus wat tot alles in staat is, want Hy is God die almagtige. Dit bevestig en is presies wat aan die heel begin in Genesis gebeur het. God het net ‘n woord gespreek en dinge het gebeur. God het in Genesis 1: 3 gesê:”  En God het gesê: Laat daar lig wees! En daar was lig.” En nou hier in Lukas 17 vers 14 spreek Jesus ‘n woord en die tien melaatses word genees: “ En toe Hy hulle sien, sê Hy vir hulle: Gaan vertoon julle aan die priesters. En onderwyl hulle weggaan, het hulle rein geword.” Dit is Goddelike almag wat die tien melaatses genees het.

Lukas 17 getuig van hierdie almag en genesende krag van God. Hoe vergeet ons nie van God se almag nie! 

Ons wil sien, dan sal ons glo.

Ons wil syfers sien, dan sal ons veilig voel.

Ons wil seker wees, dan sal ons seker wees.

Tog bely ons dat ons glo in Jesus Christus wat tot alles in staat is.En in die praktyk kan dit so moeilik wees. Die Bybel sê in Heb 11:1: “Om te glo, is om seker te wees van die dinge wat ons hoop, om oortuig te wees van die dinge wat ons nie sien nie. “ Kom ons dink weer diep na oor wat ons pas in die Bybel gelees het. Oor hoe dit ons raak.

Dit is nog steeds dieselfde God wat die tien melaatses met ‘n enkele woord genees het in WIE ons glo. En dit is dieselfde God wat met ons praat deur sy Woord, die Bybel. En dit is dieselfde God wat vir ons sê in 1 Petrus 3:12:” Die Here sorg vir die opregtes en luister na hulle hulpgeroep.”

Maw voordat ons iets van die Here God vra, sorg Hy lankal reeds vir ons. God gee doodeenvoudig alles wat ons daagliks nodig het. God gee voordat ons vra ons geestelike sowel as ons daagliks Brood. God gee dit sonder dat ons vra.

Selfs Job kyk terug en skielik is hy so verbaas oor wat hy agter hom sien. Hy besef skielik dat hy eintlik nie gevra het vir wat hy ontvang het nie: Job 10:12 “Die lewe, ja, guns het U aan my bewys, en u sorg het my gees bewaak.”

Job getuig dat God ook toe hy NIE spesifiek daarvoor gevra het nie, guns en genade aan hom bewys asook sy gees bewaak het teen onverstandige denke en optrede.

Maar God gee veel meer. Luister na Psa 104:10: “Hy wat die fonteine uitstuur in die holtes: tussen die berge loop hulle deur. “ God sorg ook in die natuur: Dit is God wat die fonteine laat uitborrel met water. God sorg selfs dat daar vulkaniese uitbarstings plaasvind. Psalm 104 vers 32 sê: “Hy raak die berge aan, en hulle rook.” God se sorg is dus veelomvattend; Hy is heeltyd aan die werk in sy skepping.  Ons woon hier, en God wat alles gemaak het, bestuur en beheer, versorg en benat die aarde selfs voordat ons Hom vra.

Die vraag is: sien ons God se hand in alles en sien ons dit raak?

·       Glo ons alle goeie dinge kom uit die Vader hand voordat ons vra? 

·       Glo ons veral ook dat alle dinge wat met ons gebeur, ten goede meewerk vir hulle wat God liefhet? 

·       Glo ons dat ALLES in ons lewe — moeilike tye, bang tye, siekte, swaarkry, teleurstellings, droogte, lang tye in die hospitaal — deur God in iets goeds omskep sal word? 

·       Glo ons dat ervarings wat vir ons bitter sleg is, heilige ervarings kan word? 

·       Glo ons dat ons eendag met lig in ons oë sal getuig van wat God vir ons gedoen het toe ons geen tree voor ons kon sien nie, toe alles pikdonker was?

Om terug te keer tot die tien melaatses. Nadat Jesus Christus hulle genees het, het net een teruggedraai om vir Jesus te kom dank. Die Bybel sê in:” Luk 17:15  En een van hulle, toe hy sien dat hy gesond was, het omgedraai en God met ‘n groot stem verheerlik. Luk 17:16  En hy het op sy aangesig neergeval by sy voete en Hom gedank. En hy was ‘n Samaritaan.” Hier kry ons ‘n nie-gelowige, ‘n Samaritaan, en hy stel ‘n voorbeeld vir die Nuwe Testamentiese kerkmense om vir God te verheerlik vir sy genesing en om vir Jesus Christus te kom eer en dank.

Hy kom erken dat hy niks vir homself kon doen nie, Jesus het hom raakgesien en vir hom gegee wat hy die nodigste gehad het.

Hy kom dank God dat hy vir Jesus saak gemaak het.  Dat Jesus hóm raakgesien en Hom oor hom ontferm het.

Hy kom verklaar: U is my Geneesheer, my Hulp, die Een wat nooit by mense in nood verbykyk nie.

En die ander nege?  Hulle dink nie na oor Wie Jesus is nie.

Hulle wil die reinigingsermonies agter die rug kry en aangaan met ‘n lewe sonder innige ontmoetings en dankbare gesprekke met Jesus Christus.

Ons is meer bevoorreg as die een melaatse, die Samaritaan, wat Jesus Christus genees het.

Niemand kan vir ons elke uur van die dag gee wat God vir ons gee nie.

O, as ons maar net in ons leeftyd ,sou begin kies dankbaar te leef!  Dit beteken dat ons kies om God in die doodgewone oomblikke van doodgewone dae vir ons gee dankbaar te wees. Dadelik behoort ons die Gewer dan in ons harte en gedagtes daarvoor te dank.  Al wat dit vra, is net om te leer dink:  Hierdie kom van die HERE af. Dankie, Here!

So leer ons die Here eer en dank vir dinge soos:

·             die veld soos dit nou lyk.  Die veld was droog en siek, en God het dit aangeraak en gesond gemaak.

·             insigte wat ons in siekte en teëspoed bekom;

·             vergifnis en vrede ná ‘n huweliksrusie;

·             druiwe van ons eie prieel, tamatieplantjies wat sommer uit hulle pitjies begin groei

·             die stukkie wysheid om ‘n verhouding wat nie goed vir ons is nie, betyds te verbreek;

·             die heerlike smaak van turksvye;

·             werks- en studiegeleenthede;

·             dat elkeen van ons kinders kan praat en hoor, skool toe kan gaan en die werk verstaan;

·             toebroodjies, aarbeie, spinasie, nagereg, groentesop.

Ons word deur die Woord aangespoor om God se sorg in alles te sien voordat ons hom daartoe vra. Die Bybel sê in: “Laat ons dan onophoudelik deur Jesus aan God 'n offer van lof bring, dié lof wat aan Hom gebring word deur die lippe wat sy Naam bely, lui Heb 13:15. “

Daar is baie Christene wat dit jare lank nie eens oorweeg het nie. Hulle het jare lank net dinge van God gevra.  Dalk was jy ook so gewees.  Dalk is jy nou nog so.

Wat pla regtig?

Dalk die volgende: dat ons bewussyn van al God dowwer raak, so asof sy heerlikheid van my wyk?   

Weet jy wat?  Ons Christene moet bewustelik ontvangers voor God leer word,  mense wat  keer op keer in FLITSGEDAGTES, BEWUSTELIK, vir Hom dankie sê.”

Dit is die beste, mees opwindende leefstylverandering ooit. Spoedig ná die oorskakeling na gretige ontvanklikheid vir wat die Here in ‘n spesifieke oomblik op jou uitgiet, voel jy soos die mees geseënde mens in die wêreld. Hoeveel het jy vir ‘n lug vol reënwolke betaal? Watter rekening kry jy vir die die krag van die Woord;  jou plekkie by vriende se etenstafel, jou vingers wat kan beweeg, die geloofsversterkende woorde van die Psalms?”

Die Bybel wys op ons dwase smagting na die aardse rykdom want Prediker 5 vers 15 sê: “Ook dit is ‘n bitter swaar ding: presies soos hy gekom het gaan hy. Die Good News vertaal die gedeelte in Ecc 5:15: “We leave this world just as we entered it---with nothing.”

‘n Paradyslewe is daar nie op aarde nie. Om jou daarop toe te spits loop uit op niks volgens die Bybel.

Maar gaan fokus op God se alledaagse sorg en wees bewus wat Hy selfs sonder dat ons dit vra, verniet, in oorvloed en aanhoudend vir ons gee.

Hoe meer ons Hom dank en sy sorg in alles raaksien, hoe meer glo ons dat Hy ook more vir ons sal sorg.

Hoe meer ons Hom dank en sy sorg in alles raaksien, hoe meer lig versprei ons in hierdie donker wêreld.

Hoe meer ons Hom dank en sy sorg in alles raaksien, hoe meer praat en getuig ons van Hom.

Hoe meer ons Hom dank en sy sorg in alles raaksien, hoe meer, hoe meer ontvang Hy die offers van lof wat Hom toekom.

Hoe meer ons Hom dank en sy sorg in alles raaksien, hoe minder beangs is ons.

Hoe meer ons Hom dank en sy sorg in alles raaksien, hoe kragtiger word ons getuienis en voorbeeld aan ons kinders en kleinkinders: daar is hoop, daar is ‘n toekoms vir jou, my kind. Want:  GOD IS DAAR.  En hierdie God is getrou aan sy Woord:

“I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!” 6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently say,

“The Lord is my Helper [in time of need], I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”  -Heb 13:5

ENGELSE OPSOMMIMG: What we have read in Luke 17, was about Jesus Christ who healed ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. He healed them, because he is God. The Bible says in John 10 verse 30: The Father and I are one."   Jesus Christ is the Almighty God who spoke a word and the ten men where healed. This corresponds with God’s word in Genesis. The Bible says in Genesis 1 verse 3: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” The same happened in Luke 17. Jesus spoke a word and the ten men were healed. The Bible affirms it that Jesus has spoken and the ten men were healed according Luk 17:14: “Jesus saw them and said to them, "Go and let the priests examine you." On the way they were made clean.” But only one of the healed was thankful. But we are in a better position as the one that was healed. Because before we ask God, God will provide our daily spiritual and real bread. In Gen_22:8  Abraham answered, "God himself will provide one." That means although Abraham did not know how God would provide in his circumstances, he believed that God would provide.

Although we do not know how God will provide for us we can be sure He will. The question is: do you see his provision before you ask him? Do you trust Him that He will give you what you need before you ask Him? Do you see the beauty of the sky, do you smell the lovely fragrance of the flowers, do you taste the delicious flavour of ordinary food? All of this God provides before you ask him.

 

·       The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the more you will believe that He will give you all you need.

·       The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the easier you will tell others about Him.

·       The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the more you will leave fear and anxiety behind.

·       The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the brighter your light — the light of Christ— will shine.

·       This is what it means to walk with God.