Remember the Words I Have Spoken — Erlo Stegen

Christ’s Promise of the Spirit of Truth and Persecution

Our text for this day, we find in As itola ngoka chohane isa shugo. Ishum neslhanu i vezi langamashumamabili nestup.

John 15, verse 26.

Ngai sefigi ilum tutuzi engia rumtumelagini. Evela gubaba umoiawe kini iso Opumagubaba nguyena oyagufagaza ngami.

But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

Nani nyagufagaza nguguba beninami kwasekaleni.

And you also will bear witness because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Loko ngikulumegini unguba ningakubegi.

These things I have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble.

Bayani kukipa emasinakokini. Yebo sieza iskati soguba lo onibulalayo.

Uyagutukonzumkulunkulu. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

Lokuge bayakuguenzanguguba bengamazangubaba nami.

And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.

Kepa loko ngikukulumegini uguzaguti Ngagufiga lesoskati nikumbule uguti Gani tselagona angini tselangalo kukwasekaleni Nguguba benginami.

But these things I have told you that when the time comes you may remember that I told you of them And these things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with you. Ogo kalanamigengitandukbongunkulunkulu Ngalababatatu abantuanabengkosi Abaisisebensikanyenam.

Gratitude for Faithful Co-Workers and Persevering Service

To start with, I also want to show my appreciation, thankfulness to the Lord for these three people who are co-workers, they are co-workers in the service of the Lord with me. Njibongunkulunkulukubangomusawake.

Anige laumanja. Ugubanibaisibonelesisekitina. And I thank God for His mercy that He has granted you strength that you have continued to be a great example to us. Nakalansebasha Niseumakoti Nisebasha Gotwa Unkulunkuluantwala Unguba Ungshizegelagwenikosi Gungeshi Gotwakubegelapambi.

You started out on the road of the Lord very young, you were still young people or newly married, but the Lord has kept you all this time and instead of a dwindling of love for the Lord, it has only grown.

Growing Stronger With Age and God’s Faithfulness

Kukondisetembisesisepaipelin. Etinjengogwezintuguzenu Kuzobanchalo nasemanzenenu Ngogukulawentugu Ngogwandawentugu Kuzogwandanamanzenu. There is a verse in the Bible which says, As your years increase, so shall your strength increase.

As your days, so will your strength be. May that be true. Not only of you, but all the others.

Moses said that the years of a man shall be 70, and if he has more grace for years, 80. But Moses himself began his ministry when he was 80, continued till he was 120. We don't know how long each of us will live, for our lives are in the hands of God.

But to grow old is a blessing, for the Lord also says that the grey hairs are symbolic of wisdom. I think of Duncan Campbell. He preached his first sermon when he was 13 years of age. You children, have you preached yet?

Have you stood before adults and preached about Jesus? Campbell was just 13 years of age when he stood before the congregation, adult older people, and preached the gospel.

He was just 13 years of age when he preached. He was just 13 years of age when he preached.

Campbell Morgan, Narrowing the Way, and Evangelistic Zeal

One day I'd like to take his theme, that which he preached when he was just 13, and re-preach it to you. What are you 13 year olds and you teens doing? Have you reached this age, or maybe you're 17, 18, whatever, and you still haven't brought testimony of the Lord?

You've never preached to others. Shame on you. The devil will go around with you in his belly, seeking you to devour you.

Sorry, it wasn't Duncan Campbell, it was Campbell Morgan.

So Campbell Morgan's first sermon was when he was just 13. When he was over 70 years of age, And then, at 70 years of age, he said these words, that it is a curse among Christians that they try to broaden and liberalize the way as far as possible.

He says the curse amongst Christians is that they have got a passion for breads. He says, oh, if the people of God would only narrow the way of God. If the people of God would only narrow the way of God.

If the people of God would only narrow the way of God. If the people of God would only narrow the way of God.

It is a curse, he said, that Christians are so passionate about making the way of the Lord as broad as possible, whereas we should rather make it as narrow as possible. For the Lord said, narrow is the way that goes to heaven.

Instead you find Christians, and you can see it, it's evident, you see by their stylishness, their hair, their clothing, the manner of speech, all indicating a broader way. You try and imitate the world, for you love to imitate the world's fashions and its dresses, making it as tight as possible, doing whatever is worldly.

He started at 13 years of age, so the spirit of God in him was not decreased with age, but just grew with his days. He loved the Jews. I don't know whether it was because he had some Jewish blood in him, or from his ancestry, but if you look at his nose, it was a particularly Jewish type nose.

He loved to preach the gospel to Jewish people, he had a heart for the Jews. He had four sons. Campbell Morgan had four sons, all four of whom preached the gospel. It is just an excuse and a worldly idiom that says a preacher never has children who are also preachers.

If I would believe what you believe, I wouldn't rest until everybody has heard it.

That's what he said. If I would believe what you believe, I wouldn't rest until everybody has heard it. That's what he said.

If I would believe what you believe, I wouldn't rest until everybody has heard it. If I would believe what you believe, I wouldn't rest until everybody has heard it.

If the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn't shake you up and stir you up to go out and bring this gospel to a needy world, then you are a citizen of hell.

You are a citizen of hell. You are a citizen of hell.

You are a citizen of hell. You are a citizen of hell.

You are a citizen of hell. You are a citizen of hell.

You are a citizen of hell.

You are a citizen of hell.

You are a citizen of hell. The Bible says, do not be drunk with wine, but rather filled with the Spirit. Is it evident that you are full of the Holy Spirit, or is it the intoxicating effect of alcohol and the things that go with it?

Wine. Wine is... Wine is... But if you are led by the Holy Spirit, He will lead you into all the truth of heaven. The Spirit of truth that comes from the Father and from the Son. The Spirit of God Himself that is in him is the Spirit that dwells in you.

And if that Spirit which comes out of God is in you and leads you into all the truth, can you be the person that you are?

The Holy Spirit, Friendship With the World, and Spiritual Compromise

The Bible says, he who desires to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

If that is the mind and the Spirit of God, and that Spirit is in you, surely you can't compromise. You can't say, let me get as close as possible to the world. Let me behave as the world does. Let me act as they do.

Don't be too much of a fanatic. As close as possible to hell. Because the fact is you are a child of hell. That's why.

He says, the Spirit of truth Who testifies of me. And you will also bear witness of me. For you have been with me from the beginning. Now John and Nathaniel and the others had been with Jesus from the beginning.

Through his suffering, his death, his resurrection, ascension into heaven, they had been there. I love this text where it says, you were with me from the beginning.

Remaining With Jesus From Conversion to the End

But now I'd like to imply to you. Have you been with Jesus since the day you got converted? You are with me from the beginning, from the day you were born again. You were with me. Or were there times when you gave room to the devil?

Where you sinned? Where you went to the prostitutes? Where you got angry? Where you became jealous? And when you gossiped a damnable thing amongst Christians. That they can't control their tongues because their tongues are cursed.

You were with me from the beginning. How wonderful when a person becomes a Christian. That they are totally immersed in him. Their life, their thinking, their actions is full of him all the time. How wonderful if the Lord Jesus can say that of you.

That you were with me from the beginning. And I wish this also for you three whom we're celebrating with. And for us all. That you won't be like some old people who, they start out well. But right at the end they go off on a tangent and go astray.

Jesus. Jesus. And Jesus said when you were young, you dressed yourself as you liked. And you went where you wanted to go. But when you're old, another one will lead you by the hand. To where you don't want to go.

May that be the same for you older people. That they would be rejoicing in heaven and not mourning that something of the devil has gotten.

Of course he said that of the death he'd die. But we Christians, we die every day. We are killed every day. And somebody else leads. As we can't go our own way, our own wishes. We can't do what we like.

If you want that Jesus will say to you, you were with me from the beginning of your spiritual life.

So that daily we would say, not my will be done, but thine be done.

What a tragedy if a person starts in the spirit and ends in the flesh. What a damnable thing. What a curse that is. What a disgrace to our Lord and the kingdom of our God. And then he continues.

Standing Firm Amid False Messengers and Persecution

And then he continues. He continues to say in our text that you should not be made to stumble. It insinuates in the German that you would not be made upset. Because there are those who will come ingratiating themselves with you saying I'm a messenger of the Lord, I have something from the Lord for you.

But actually is there to turn you astray and to lead you onto a different path. And the Lord continues to say, and they will persecute you, even kill you, thinking that they do him a service. And you'll find that if you're not really on fire for the Lord and you're walking anywhere on the broadway, nobody's upset by your life.

You can calmly continue onwards. But if you are on fire for the Lord, really serving him, then you will make others uncomfortable. They will turn against you. They will decide to persecute you and kill you.

They speak evil of you. Jesus said woe to you. Woe, woe, woe. If everybody speaks good of you, speaks well of you, it's a sign that you don't know the Father, you don't know the Son, and you're not filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said don't be disturbed or upset. Don't be upset by people who speak all manner of evil against you. Rather rejoice, be extremely happy for your reward is in heaven. Those who do not know the Father, do not know the Son, do not know the Holy Spirit, how will they speak nicely about you?

Remember also, those who desert the way, who leave us, become the greatest enemies of the Lord. They are very active and with great zeal they seek to destroy the narrow way. At a time when there were things in the newspapers as well, rumours being spread, somebody came to me and said don't worry about it, these are just enemies trying to have a field day with their rumour mongering.

I said I know it, and I know that they will receive their reward one day.

Those who do not know the Father, do not know the Son, do not know the Holy Spirit, how will they speak nicely about you? And I pray that the Lord would forgive them for they don't know what they do.

How is it that you get along with those who are enemies of the Gospel? You get along in fine communication and you are buddies with those who hate the Gospel and you send your SMS's and you are in cell phone contact and you have that relationship with enemies of the Gospel?

What are the things that you discuss? Because the heavenly things don't seem to be the subject of your discussion. What is it? What is your point? But remember, with the eyes that we have, we can see where you belong, to whom you belong and what your end is going to be.

Remembering the Gospel and Remaining Faithful

Let me draw towards an end, it's getting close to one. Remember what I told you. Very sad that Christians forget what Jesus taught them in the beginning.

Don't ever forget dear child of God what God has spoken to you and told you in the past. Don't turn against it. Remember it. Remember it. Some people say God has called me to this and they go against it.

God called me to this Gospel and they fight it today. Remember what God has told you in the past. And that stands for time and eternity. He says remember what I told you when you were a child, when you started with the Gospel.

What did you do and now when you get aged, when you get middle aged, you don't abide by that? You turn off into another way. You lose your blessing.

Remember what Jesus taught you in the beginning. Let what he says stand. Stand. Stand. Stand remembering that the chosen apostles, they all followed the Lord, were chosen. One of them though betrayed the Lord.

He ended up committing suicide. All the... Welcome friend. Welcome. Welcome friend. Are there Judas Iscariots in our midst as well who dip into the cash, who are dishonest, they don't pay their debts and that dishonesty will lead them to where they belong, where the devil will welcome them and taunt them forever.

Holding Fast to Salvation: The Story of the Man on the Cliff

Now this is the closing point.

Where he says remember when you meet up with situations like this.

Never forget what God has told you in the past. Abide by it. Hold to it with both hands. Remember the story.

Remember the story of that young man in Scotland who loved rearing birds, rare birds and that and he saw that there was a special bird that would breed there in the cliffs and he just wanted to get hold of one of those chicks.

The most beautiful feathers he had ever seen.

So he followed them. He did his best to try and find where is their home, where are they nesting and he noticed that they go to a cliff, a very steep precipice and that right down there, there were rocks at the very bottom but half way down the cliff they were nesting.

It was about two, three hundred meters deep and he saw the birds diving down.

So he said let me go home and fetch a rope. He got a spot on top where he made a knot and tied it to himself. Then he let himself down to get to the level of those rare birds. Then he noticed that as he went further down there were some of the rocks that were like a ledge and the birds had nested right there, that's where they had their chicks.

He let himself down to about 150 meters until he was swinging between the sky and the ground. He was delighted to discover that they were there. As he hung down this precipice it went in so that he was then hanging beside it and it went inwards.

Then he was shocked because it didn't go right down. It was like this so he was far away from those rocks.

Then he saw the birds taking fright and suddenly they left their nest and flew away but they left behind their young. They thought what am I going to do? Let me swing and swing further with momentum from side to side saying I'll use that pendulum momentum so that I can swing and then drop off onto that ledge and take some of those chicks back home with me.

Every time a bit nearer, getting nearer as he swung until he saw I'm close enough and then he could let go and jump and hold on to that rock. He found himself right there among the chicks of that bird.

Then he suddenly realized to his horror that the rope was swinging away from him.

It slipped out of his hands and you know if something goes like this every time it's a bit further away, a bit further away. And he saw the rope dangling and he said oh my God!

He said oh God it suddenly slipped out of my hands and it's swinging further away from me every time. I'm going to be lost and I'll die here exposed here outside.

When the rope came the second and third time, every time further away from him, he says help me God, I must jump or I die. He said oh God, I must jump or I die.

He forgot about those rare birds. He lost immediate interest in them. His only interest now was survival. He said oh God help me and he jumped when it came the third time and he said oh God thank you because he could cling to the rope.

He clung to that rope with all his strength, with all his might, with both hands. He says if I let go, I'll be food for the fish. He tied the rope around his wrist, around his waist, and made it what?

Shifing! And he knotted it, pulled himself up till he reached the top.

He heaved a sigh of relief and said I am saved. I say to you as well, you backslider, you attracted by the things of the world, busy with secret affairs, realize that you need to jump and hold on to this last chance of this rope of salvation and hold on tightly.

Hold on to that what God has spoken to you in the past. Your calling. Where did he send you? What did he say to you? Will you be faithful to the end? The author of Pilgrim's Progress, he said he saw a man who was at the gates and portals of heaven and just before he entered, he fell down.

Repentance, Prayer, and Walking in the Truth

Speak to God now in your heart, even if you don't vocalize it, but speak to God. Speak to God about what he speaks to you. Whatever he has spoken to you, respond to him. We're going to stand to our feet and we'll be praying, but I want you to respond to the Lord, what he has said to you.

Let's stand to our feet. Each of you, you tell the Lord what you need to say to him, to the eternal one. Lord, even if I don't hear their prayers, you do. Even though I cannot detect their thoughts, Lord, you are the one who knows all things from afar.

The one Lord who says, God have mercy on me, forgive me, Lord, show that person mercy and grace. And Lord, the one who realizes that they need to turn their back on those rare and pretty birds in the sky.

And jump and cling to the rope of salvation, which you extend to them, that they would cling, Lord, to you, never to forsake you, being held by you. Then Lord, you have said that you were going so that you would send the comforter, the one who would lead us into all the truth, so that we would know your will, that we would follow your will, you heavenly father.

That there would be no Ananias and Sapphira in our midst, lying to the Holy Spirit. That we would walk in all the truth, revealing the exact state of our heart, and everything that is secretive would be brought out into the light.

Amen.