the one who believe in Christ should however, acknowledge and repent for their sins to be forgiven. All that can keep you today from being saved is the wickedness of your heart that holds on to sin and will not turn to Jesus and trust in Him for salvation. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
In John 3:3, Christ said to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily [this means truly, truly], I say unto you, except a man be *born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In verse 6, He continues, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Apostle Paul also wrote, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians. 15:50)
So, now I advise you to be sincere, turn in shame and sorrow from your sins this minute, and believe in Christ and be saved. Jesus said: “…It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)
The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has also reached us today. So, you may wonder how I *Job Mothiba came to believe in God. Well, God uses various ways to let people come before Him and be saved. Some people did really believed in God first time through near death experiences, after surviving car accident or when they were in their sick bed and a friend preached the gospel to them just like that. “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10)
I remember at the young age of about 8 years, I used to go to (NG Kerk) Die Nederduitse Gerereformeerde Kerk in my village at Ga-Mothiba (Mmahlaka) where *Uncle Juks ushered us there every Sunday. Then, it happened that one day when coming back from school I got knocked by a car, fortunately I survived that accident. Sometimes, the very least of all that God could do, is that He gives to man first and foremost the care and protection that man enjoys without acknowledging Him. So, “If the LORD had not helped me, I would have laid down in the silence of death.” (Psalm 97:17)
The Bible says “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Not only does it say over and over that the gospel is spread by preaching but, common sense tells us that loving deeds, as important as they are as an accompaniment of preaching, cannot by themselves bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, He sets out various people, events, and things so that man may see His existence and His deeds within them. For example, there are some people who believed in God because someone in their family was sick, and they came together in trying to get a solution for the problem so, they start believing in God, and their belief in God has come about because of the situation. Apparently illness befalls but, it is in fact a condition bestowed on them so that they come before God, by means of that situation, they turn to God. So, this was no different with my family. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fails.” (Lamentations 3: 22)
Again, there are some families like this, where all are believers, young and old but, on the other hand there are some where belief is individual. So, at some point, the family life got tough whereby they are being exposed to unexplained suffering or loss, i.e. they experience car accidents every year which causes some of them to die prematurely as a result, they find no peace. Then, a chance or opportunity came along where someone passed on the gospel to them and they start believing in Jesus Christ for peace. “By this I know that you favour me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.” (Psalm 41:11)
In some cases it happen under very normal circumstances with family being at peace through the grace granted by God. As the Bible says, “The LORD will bless His people with peace” (Psalm 29:11, NKJV)
So, most people come to believe in God for many other reasons but, no matter what reason brings you to believe in Him, it is all actually arranged and guided by God, without a doubt. For “…He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3- 4)
It has been a process and long journey for me to come to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour because one need to understand the gravity of his or her decision. As some people come to Christ at some point then, easily go back to the world because of their inability to stand firm to their belief in the Lord. Hence, my first book publication was about encouraging people to stand firm to the end, and to hold on to the confession of their hope in Jesus Christ without wavering.
I took the decision with full understanding in 2003 at Mayfair. Yes, I have passed through many difficult situations in life before and after being a born-again Christian whereby most I created them myself due to peer pressure, immaturity and being conformed to the standards of this world. “So, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also…For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)
Thus, in my growing up I sniffed glue, benzene, drank alcohol excessively and sleep around. One of the things I remember very well is, missing the final examination at the tertiary level because I got drunk the day before writing. I slept that night and, I even forgot about the preparations. It slipped my mind completely. When I woke up the following day, realising that I could have missed the time for exam, it was too late, the time has already lapsed. Then, I had to devise a means to get a medical certificate to be accorded another time to sit for examination. This has caused a delay for me to get the final results.
My parents never knew the truth about what exactly happened, until they received the results through the post office with this remarks: failed-(absent from examination.) It’s when they realised something is wrong and that’s when they demanded explanation.
Of course, there are many other things I did which they don’t know even to this day such as *adult stuff, stealing and cheating but, God knows it all. He knows all things in you including your thoughts and He is very real. “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:31)
I know we are not all Christians and some are new converts so, there are different levels into it. But, you will fully understand as you grow closer to Christ. So, you may not be used to the language, when I say God spoke to me, people may laugh not knowing and understanding that God is Spirit and He can speak by His spirit, not as you and I speak but, differently.
It takes faith and trust in God to allow Him to have us speak in a heavenly spirit language that our mind does not understand or know what is being spoken. Hence, some are given gifts to interpret the language. As most of us live our lives according to what we see, feel, taste, smell and hear but, God wants us to live beyond our five senses and, live by faith.
It is not enough to just look, feel or read the Bible and know the Word without practising it. For the devil doesn’t care if you go to church or read your Bible. He only cares if you actually apply it to your life. So, never allow what you are looking at right now to determine what you believe. Always allow your spiritual eyes to take you beneath the surface.
