Light Separated From Darkness — Erlo Stegen

Let us pray. We thank you, Lord, for what you've done for us that we can meet like this today. And for bringing together your children in a heavenly, godly way. Be in our midst, Lord, as we have prayed.

As at the wedding in Cana, where you changed the water into wine. We know that in the Bible, wine is symbolic of rejoicing, joy, and also of new life. Lord, be in our midst in a special way and touch every heart.

Amen. Amen. Last night, when I spoke to the bridegroom, I asked him whether he had something on his heart which he wouldn't like me to speak about today. And he said, yes, there is something. So I said, well, what is it?

Light Separated From Darkness in Genesis

He said it's a word in the Bible right in the beginning in Genesis 1. In particular, two words in the beginning. Right in the beginning. In the beginning, God. And then verse four. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

And then in John chapter 12. Verse 35. So Jesus said to them, the light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed from them. I was so happy when I read this word. When the bridegroom told me about his story.

He has a wonderful testimony. And amazingly, it's very similar to the testimony of the bride. This couple have come through a very difficult time. In fact, some of it you could almost say like hell in a way.

The Bridegroom’s Conversion and Commitment to Purity

When the bridegroom got converted, at that time, he went to his family to share with them that he had now become a Christian. Now his father had been a hard man. But he also taught them some upright things.

One day he called his sons together when they were just getting a bit along in age. He said to them, look, now you're getting a bit older, but I don't ever want to hear any stories from other people. I don't want to hear stories from other people and other parents that you have caused trouble among the girls.

This is not a Christian family. So sometimes you find that the unbelievers are better than some Christians. God said to them, look, you're getting a bit older, but I don't want to hear any stories from other people.

God said to them, look, you're getting a bit older, but I don't want to hear any stories from other people. He said to them, look, you're getting a bit older, but I don't want to hear any stories from other people.

So he lived accordingly. So the bride is very fortunate to get a husband who has kept himself pure. That's not something that you find very often. Sometimes girls live a pure life, but it's not often that you find a man who does that.

And usually, if he's been unfaithful before marriage, it's seldom that he'll be faithful in marriage. Now, there's much I could share with you, but the sun would set before we were through, and you still have to get home.

But then when he became a Christian, he went to his parents to tell them that he had now given his life to the Lord. He went to his parents to tell them that he had now given his life to the Lord. And so he, as the text says, that there's no fellowship between light and darkness.

Separating From Ancestral Worship and the World

So he went to tell his parents that he's become a Christian and that he was separating with the things of the world and everything that has to do with ancestral worship. Now, his mother had been a Christian, but you know, as time went along, you know, like some Christians do, they start mixing the things of the world and Christianity.

Holiness, Sexual Ethics, and the Prohibition of Mixing

And so God has his laws. I read these days in Leviticus where God strictly instructed Moses that a man should not have any relations with his sister or his aunt and so on. And he also forbade a man to have a homosexual relationship with another man and a woman with another woman.

That is an abomination before God. And then God even instructed them that they should not plant two crops in the same field. That was also an abomination to the Lord. These days, I was with some ladies and they had in their field, potatoes and matumbes and maize mixed together.

And I said, you know that the Bible actually says one shouldn't do that. And I said, you know that the Bible actually says one shouldn't plant two crops in the same field. And I said, you know that the Bible actually says one shouldn't plant two crops in the same field.

And I said, you know that the Bible actually says one shouldn't plant two crops in the same field. Now I don't want to go into the disadvantages of mixing crops like that, but I want to go into the spiritual significance of it.

Where God is actually teaching us and saying to us, you cannot serve God and the devil at the same time. You cannot claim to be a Christian and yet you have the world in your life. That is an abomination to God.

That is an abomination to God. And so the bridegroom is the eldest son in the family, did a good thing to go to his parents and say, look, I've become a Christian now, so I cannot carry on with those old things and with ancestral worship.

Even though many people today say they're Christians and they just carry on with those things. But he did a good thing by saying he now has to part with it. And the mother, she cried when she heard it.

The Cost of Following Christ

The father was quiet for a while and then eventually said, well, look my son, because of what you've said from today on, you are not going to be counted among my sons. He said, if you choose to become a Christian like you have said, then from today, you are not, you're not like one of my children anymore.

He said, now you tell me who among your brothers must take your place. And then he prayed in his heart. He said, oh Lord, please help me. He said, give me an answer now, because I need the right answer here.

And the Lord gave him the answer. And then he said, Father, it's difficult for me to identify somebody, because what if the same happens to him as happened to me? And then he, that he wants to become a Christian.

And then he says, well, brother, I'm in this predicament now because of you. And the father said, look, my son, from now on, our ways are parting. Don't regard me as your father anymore. Come to me looking for advice or treating me as your father.

And he remembered the word in the Bible that says, where the Lord says, take up your cross and follow me. And so he lived that life and went and looked for work. And so he found a job, but that business closed.

He had to find another one. That one closed. And in his need, he then contacted Peter Dahl. And Peter said he should come and speak. And then it's amazing how the Lord led him from there. And then the mother approached him and said, she's living in the mountains.

There's no electricity, no water. And after some time, the Lord made it possible that the bridegroom was able to buy her a house or get to a house with water and electricity. And I asked him whether his father would be here today.

He said, no, unfortunately, he won't be here. And then he invited them and asked them to be here. But then the father said, no, I'm sorry. I'm busy training. I can't be there. I asked him, I asked him, well, what is he training for at this age?

It was very difficult for him to say it. But eventually he told me that he's training to become a Sango. And the bride has a similar story where she's gone through so much difficulty herself. She's got lots of brothers.

But they haven't come today because there's certain rituals which normally are performed. And she said, I'm a Christian. I cannot do that. And as a result of that, they've said, well, then they cannot come in.

But don't give up hope. Because even though men can be hard sometimes, but it's not impossible for them to get converted. Don't give up hope. Because even though men can be hard sometimes, but it's not possible for them to get converted.

Mary, Salvation, and a Life of Purity

Sin came into the world through a woman, but it's also through a woman that salvation came into this world and she did it, she brought the Lord into this world without the help of a man. And so you women, don't lose the blessing God has given you.

So I encourage the young people to be like Mary. All the young girls. The world is rotten today because of women who live as prostitutes, they are immoral and so it's rotten because of them, but God did not create you to be rotten potatoes that make the whole bag to become rotten.

No, you should pray and have you ever prayed and said, Lord, make me to be like Mary? And so the bridegroom says, in the beginning, God, and he says, that's what I want God to be in my life and in our life, that in the beginning will stand God.

Putting God First in Every Area of Life

And in his own words, and I quote, in everything, I put God first, by God's grace, I put God first in all things in my life and for the future too. And then I know it will go well with me. That's how the Bible says, in the beginning, God.

But unfortunately, many people make God to be like a spare wheel on the car. He's in the boot. You only get him out when there's an emergency, the child gets sick, then you remember God, you pray and you cry to him.

When the child is healthy, you put him back in the boot again. So in the beginning must be God in everything we do, in every country, every continent, in the world, even here in this country, if we don't put God first, you'll see where we'll end up.

And you'll experience that in your personal life, in your family, in your congregation, and even beyond that, you will see what will happen if you make God to be spare. Swiss Air is an example where it was the Swiss National Airline, the pride of the Swiss.

Swiss Air and the Soviet Union Without God

And so for a long time, they had the chief executive and he had then got to the point where he retired. And then they put someone else into his position. When the young man took over, he said, well, now we are free.

Now the old man's gone. He used to open meetings with prayer. Now we are taking over. We're going to do things differently. We're free from that. We don't need to pray anymore. And he led the company without God.

After 10 years, Swiss Air was bankrupt. It was the end of their airliners they'd been so proud of. And now the Germans are running their national airline, much to their dismay. And so that was the end of Swiss Air.

And if you think of the USSR, at that time, they said, we will plow, we'll plant, we'll harvest without God. And they had big tractors on which they wrote, we will plow, plant and harvest without God.

And they didn't just put God in the boot, they just discarded him totally, said he didn't exist. After 70 years, the whole Soviet empire disintegrated. It collapsed. They were poor. They didn't even have food to eat anymore.

The communist empire just collapsed totally. And so it'll go with you. Try without God, it will collapse. It won't work. When I got to Russia, I went into the shops, there was nothing. I wanted something to drink, couldn't find anything.

There was no Coke, no Sprite, nothing. I tried to find something else to drink. There was absolutely nothing. I said, well, what do you do if you're thirsty and you want to buy something to drink? They pointed me to a tanker in the street.

They said, there's some water and it had been sweetened a bit. They said, that's the cool drink that you get here. That was the end of this communist empire. What did they say? They said, we don't want pie in the sky, we want bread now.

Eventually, they didn't even have bread anymore. The bread that was available at that time, I ate of it. It was rock hard. You could hit someone on the head with it and do some damage. Forsake God and you'll see where you'll end.

The Consequences of Forsaking God

That's what you see with people who leave the way. It doesn't take long. You see where they are and you look at their children and it's tragic what you see. If I think back a few years ago, after the beginning of the new South Africa and we had the first Radio Kwezi meeting in Kronskop, the first AGM in Far North, B .C., the station manager asked me to open in prayer.

Thereafter, the chairman of the meeting came and said that must be the last time that we open such a meeting in prayer. So, without God we will not succeed. We must put God first. In the beginning, God.

And we must not mix things. If we choose God, it must be God. If you want to choose the devil, well, then leave God out of it. If you want to choose God, then leave God out of it. If you want to choose the devil, leave God out of it.

Therefore, do not mix things. Things that I wanted in my life I said I want money I want a home and I made this long list and I said but Lord at the end of it I don't want to just do this on my own. I want you to put your seal on it.

I want your stamp of approval. I want you to put your seal on it. I want you to put your seal on it and then I it was early in the morning I opened the Bible and opened to Matthew for where the Lord spoke to Peter and his brother and he said come after me follow me and I will make you fishes of men.

That word struck me it was a slap from the Lord and I understood what he was saying to me but I got angry closed the Bible. I went to my minister I'm just glad I didn't throw the Bible away in my I can still show you the mountain where I was sitting when I said to when I made all these demands of the Lord where I told him what I wanted from him and then the Lord said to me no you follow me and I will make you fish of men.

I had planned out everything in into the finest detail and said God it must go like this now put your seal on it. And I got angry and I said God I'll show you that I won't do it. I went to the minister I said I'm going home.

I got onto the train and headed home. But the minister did tell me he said but didn't you say that God had called you full-time into his ministry. What then has happened to your calling are. And then he challenged me said are you sure this is God's will.

And then I told a lie. I said yes I sure it's God's will. A person who's not got in God's will who goes against God he's a liar of note. And then I phoned home I said pick me up at the station I'm coming home.

And then when I was sitting with my mother on the porch at home and she asked me she said my son tell me didn't you say God had called you into his ministry. And I didn't like that. I said well mom don't you want me at home.

If you don't want me here just tell me. And I got up and I stormed out. Well the next 18 months were like hell on earth for me and I knew if I die now I'm on my way to hell. But I remember the day when I capitulated and I said Lord I'm prepared.

I bow. I want your will to be done in my life. I got up and I went to my mother and I said mother I'm going. I know what it means to live in disobedience to God. Where you go against God such a life is like hell.

That's the first point in the beginning. In the first place must be God. Have you taken note of it. Is he first in your life. Is our friend from France sitting there. He spoke here last Sunday and he told us that God must be first in our lives.

The Goodness of Divine Light

I was amazed that the leaders in France speak in that way. And then the second point is that God saw that the light was good. In verse 4 God saw that the light was good. We've got somebody here who's blind he cannot see.

He became blind when he was still small. And so he then later went on to teach other people to read. And he also translated books in Braille. It was a French person who introduced Braille. He's the one who developed that.

And Braille was inspired by that word in Genesis where he said God said let there be light. And he said that's what the blind people need. That's what we need as well even though we don't see the light of the sun but that light we need everybody whether he has eyes to see or not must see that light.

So our brother Quela read the Bible Isaiah 60 verse 19 and 20. Isaiah 60 verse 19. The sun shall be no more your light by day nor for brightness. Shall the moon give you light. But the Lord will be your everlasting light and your God will be your glory.

That's what we blind people need this light. Have you received this light? You may see the light of the sun and of the moon. But tell me have you seen that heavenly light? In heaven there will be no night.

They do not need the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun for the Lord God will be their light. Now you can go to brother Quela and he can tell you how and when he saw the light. Now tell me you, you women, have you seen this light?

Not just the light of the sun but this light? Not just the light of the sun or the moon or the stars or of a lamp but God himself who is the light. Jesus said I am the light of the world. Has that light reached your heart?

Heaven’s Light Reveals What Is Hidden

I remember Aunty Fawz when years ago she experienced death and then she came back to life. When she came back to life she said I cannot express to you and describe the light of heaven. She said there's no sun there's no moon no stars.

And said well is it dark then? She said no God himself is the light she said. But let me describe it like this with our light here on earth. You see a tree but you cannot see what's under the ground. You don't see the roots.

She said the light in the heaven is an extraordinary light. You see the tree with its branches and its leaves but you can see even what's under the ground the roots and all the rocks everything it brings to light everything.

Nothing is hidden before this light. Everything is exposed for weeks and months. After that I went throughout the world and I spoke about God being the light. And God said the light was good. And the Lord said to his disciples and to the people it's just for a short time that the light will still be with you and work now and be active now while you have the light because the night is coming.

And it wasn't long after that the Lord left them and it was like the light had left. But then the Lord said now you be the light of the world. Light is a wonderful thing. If you have light you can see where you are going.

But if it's dark you lost. You cannot even see where you're going. Do you have this light or you're in darkness. If you go home you have an accident. If you died would you be in your darkness. What will happen to you.

The Light Exposes Idolatry and Demands Faithfulness

And the bridegroom told me last night he said I have no regrets about accepting the light in my life. He said when I accepted the light the light made it so clear for me. And I saw the things that were right and the things that were not right in my life.

If there is no light then the darkness takes over. Einstein said darkness is just the absence of light. Light drives away the darkness. But if you if the Lord isn't there there will be darkness. Even though you think you want to enjoy life you want to be happy.

You will experience none of it without God. When the bridegroom accepted the Lord in his life God made it clear to him that he cannot continue with ancestral worship because God makes it clear that you should not converse with the dead.

And God is not the God of the dead but the God of those that are alive. If someone dies he goes to heaven. If he's not in heaven well then he's in hell. And so it became clear to him here to make decisions.

He went to his parents and when they spoke to him in that way and said that I'm choosing this way they said well then we're not part of the family. And the Lord says he who loses anything for his sake he will receive it a hundredfold in this world and eternal life in the life to come now to the bridegroom you've lost your father for a while.

Maybe it won't be permanent. Maybe he will still see the light now if you think you've lost your earthly father in this way for a while. But if you think of all the other fathers and all the other parents that the Lord has given you you can't even number them.

Now to the bride your brothers aren't here today. But just look around you and just see how many brothers are here today like the sand on the beach there are more than you need even if we lose our earthly family.

But God will reward us with many heavenly in the heavenly family. Now to the couple number 15 that's amazing how God has brought you together. And it just seems as if this lid fits exactly on the pot.

It's just the right size. That's how God works in an amazing way. And then the bridegroom told me he says you know it's interesting. I was never interested in girls. Do you hear that. You you boys said I was just busy with God and to try living to be faithful to him.

And then one day he came here to Siza Bantu and he wanted to buy a CD. And when he got there it was this lady next to him and it was selling the CDs. But at that time he didn't make any impression on her.

He didn't think anything at the time he left and he had no thoughts and it didn't bother him. Not like some people who just think about the opposite sex all the time. And then one day that comes back to haunt them.

God’s Guidance in Marriage

And then after a while he was busy praying and suddenly it was as if he was seeing a vision. And what did he see. It was this lady. And when he saw her he heard this voice saying to him that's the girl that you must marry and when he saw her he heard this voice saying to him that's the girl that you must marry.

And when he saw her he heard this voice saying to him that's the girl that you must marry.