HisWay Magazine 4th Quarter Edition

HIS WAY

Fourth Quarter Issue www.hiswaymagazine.com

Hle Ntombela Mthethwa

CONTENTS EDITORS NOTE VONGANI NKUNA

COVER STORY A WORSHIPERS HEART - HLE NTOMBELA MTHETHWA

ARTICLES - GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE - WHAT YOUR PAST SAYS ABOUT YOU TODAY - BEND EVERY PLEASURE TO GOD - TEN TIPS TO ASPIRING WORSHIP LEADERS - CAN YOU REPENT WITHOUT CHANGING? - FESTIVE SEASON LOOMING - HAVE YOU EVER FREAKED OUT ON GOD?

PROFILES - I AM NEWIE - MOMENT OF THE QUARTER - NONKOSI KHUMALO - EDITORS 4TH QUARTER TOP 10 - SEASONS VOLUME 1 ALBUM REVIEW

EDITOR'S NOTE

Time indeed flies when you are having fun. Just a few months ago we dared to be obedient to the call to start a digital Christian publication. The journey has been filled with challenges but greater than that it has been overflowing with God’s grace and favor.

This is our last issue for 2018 and I am overwhelmed by the progress and warm embrace we have received, we have had the honor of profiling people we have admired for years, with cover personnel stretching through our four editions such as Dr. Tumi, Khaya Mthethwa, the amazing Queen of gospel Dr. Rebecca Malopeand finally a powerhouse who during our cover selection meeting the whole team decided it would be Hle Ntombela Mthethwa or no-one at all.

We are hungry to see God’s Kingdom penetrating and dominating our media, with content that is uncompromised and undiluted. We have set out our 2019 year plan to achieve that, we pray that you hold us accountable.

HLE Ntombela Mthethwa

A WORSHIPERS HEART “But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him” – John4v23 It is an absolute life altering experience to witness scripture manifest in front of your eyes, in a honorable and effortless manner.

Tramain Hawkins, Mahalia Jackson and John Starnes may never know how a mere cover of their songs (as per request of her parents) would spark within an 8-year-old a love for music that would grow to be a source of healing to thousands of Africans.

Born and raised in Newcastle, Kwazulu Natal, Hlengiwe who is fondly known as ‘Hle’ Ntombela Mthethwa has come a long way from the 8-year-old singing “I found the Answer” and “You are the King of who I am” with her sister. She is not only a lover of music Hle Ntombela Mthethwa is a student of music as post completing her Interior Decoration Diploma, the calling spoken over her at the age of 16 began intensely demanding her obedience. Through the wisdom of her father she enrolled at Howard College School of Music.

The world was introduced to her in 2012 when she decided to face her fears and audition to be part of Joyous Celebration. Joyous Celebration which is the house that is responsible for developing most of South Africa’s greats such as Ntokozo Mbambo, Nqubeko Mbatha, Keke, Zaza Mokhethi and many more.

worship is a language that can be best established through a relationship with God

Her Joyous Celebration season was so fruitful that not only is she now venturing on her own as a solo artist, she went into Joyous Celebration a Ntombela and left as a Mthethwa BUT THAT IS HER STORY TO TELL NOT OURS.

What is Worship to you?

Worship is a language that can best be established through a relationship with God

We met up with Hle (I can call her that because we are friends now, not sure if she knows that though) and we only had 3 questions for her:

Ministry Scripture: 1 Timothy 4v14

What are you go to scriptures?

Emotional Scripture: Galatians 5v1

Visit www.hiswaymagazine.com to view video interviews.

What brings joy to our hearts as co-laborer’s in Gods Kingdom is meeting someone who not only is incredibly talented, but someone who is deeply rooted and sold out to the calling over their life. She is easily lovable, respectful, lover of the Word and humble which are the perfect ingredients for the path that God has called into.

We can confidently quote John 4v23 and refer people to view her ministry in order to see that scripture manifest.

We cannot wait for the project she will be releasing in 2019

God Knows What You Don’t Have / BY ABIGAIL DODDS

“God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don’t have now, we don’t need now.”

When Elisabeth Elliot (1926– 2015) says it, I perk up. I nod in agreement. I remember her life, her murdered missionary husband, her devotion to the gospel, her absolute earnestness about Jesus, and the congruity of her words and practice, and I say, “Amen.”

and trust she had in Jesus could come through a life of ease. I found out that in order to be like her, and to know God in such a way, I would need to learn the glad surrender of discipline. I would have to walk a path through suffering, and I would need to discover the beauty in my own strange ashes.

The circumstances of her life were the stuff of legend for me as a growing girl. It was undeniably evident that God was orchestrating all the hardships and massive disappointments she experienced, at the very least, to help all the rest of us. I wanted to be like her, because I wanted to know her God as deeply as she did — the kind of God who made every trial worth it.

What Are Our Needs?

I stood in the doorway of the biggest ER room at our state-ofthe-art Children’s Hospital.

There was barely room for me as thirteen medical staff moved with urgency, bumping into each other, with forceful words coming from the doctor in charge. And in the middle of it all, our 13-month-old son, looking still, pale, and lifeless. I wanted to cry loudly, or yell my son’s name, or make someone tell me how this was going to turn out.

But I hadn’t fully reckoned with the means of her unflappable faith in God. I thought, or at least hoped, that the intimacy

I did none of that. I stood quietly, not moving, clenching my hands, while my heart did not pound, but seemed to

dissolve. I thought that if I was quiet and composed, they would allow me to stay near my son. I watched them put an IV directly into his bone to get the meds into his marrow as quickly as possible. And I followed behind the gurney with a dry face as the nurse rhythmically pumped the manual ventilator, breathing for our son, until we arrived in our room in the PICU and he could be hooked up to the machine.

I had learned years before (perhaps not as well as I should have) that God doesn’t owe us children. And that sometimes he takes them away after he’s given them. My naïve twentysomething self was shocked by this reality. Subconsciously believing myself to be immune to miscarriage, I was surprised when it happened. The simple words of Job comforted and frightened me: “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away” (see Job 1:21).

And now, with five living children — the youngest with serious medical problems — I was faced with another plan that didn’t match mine. Which, to be fair, is a daily occurrence. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a day go according to my plan. But the differences between my plan and God’s have, with some notable exceptions, generally been of a small scale. Watching my son’s life hang in the balance was not a small-scale difference between God’s plan and mine.

What It Means to Thrive That night in the hospital, alone with my unconscious son and the sound of the ventilator making a terrifying sort of silence, God was reworking my understanding of neediness and flourishing. Over the coming years, I would be faced with lots of questions about what I needed and what our family needed in order to thrive as his people.

Beware of Small Trials I had the idea that in order for me to disciple my children, I needed to be coherent and less desperate. I had the idea that in order for God to use me to point them to him, I needed to shed this raw, at-the-end-ofmy-rope status. I was okay with being brought low — I’d been there many times — but just how low did I have to go? I mean, I’d read Christian articles that declared, Sleep is an act of humility. So, why would God deny me that humility? I wanted to trust him with my eyes closed.

But God wouldn’t let me set my heart on lesser needs.

We have bigger needs than sleep. We have bigger needs than our health or the health of our kids. We have bigger needs than a spouse or relief from chronic pain. We have bigger needs than coherency. We have bigger needs than that job, or career, or home. We have bigger needs than serving God the way we hoped.

Did I need my son to be healthy? How healthy was healthy enough? Did our older kids need a childhood untarnished by suffering? Did they need a family with fewer “needs”? Did they need me to homeschool them full-time to develop into decent Christian people? Did I need sleep? How much? Did I need less vomit in my life?

How coherent did I need to be in order to be a kind human?

What I really needed was to read more closely in Philippians 4 in order to discover that Paul himself had gone without his basic needs met. He says it like this: “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Philippians 4:12). Paul faced unmet needs, and he had learned how to abound in them.

You likely have your own questions. Do you need a healthy marriage? Do you need your child to be saved?

Do you need to move to a different city, a different house, a different neighborhood? Do you need to be rid of your chronic pain? Do you need God to give you a “yes” to the request that you’ve been bringing him for the last twenty years? Do you need to be rid of your aloneness?

Do you need stability or change?

In Every Circumstance God’s ideas about our flourishing are different than ours.

We think flourishing means eight hours of shut-eye, a good job, being surrounded by people who treat us with respect, being given the opportunity to succeed at something, good medical care, a loving marriage, and happy children. Those are good things, but they are not the things God is most concerned about supplying us in this life for our flourishing.

What exactly does Paul mean when he promises, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)?

The Calm After the Storm My son made it through that traumatic hospital stay. So did I. Although it wouldn’t be the last time we were there.

I felt like declaring victory. We survived. My faith was intact — even strengthened. But one discovery of the last decade of my life has been that the big trials aren’t always the test we think they are.

Somehow, we get through those Big Scary Trials. By grace and prayers and the help of God’s people, we hold on to hope in God’s promises and endure. But often, it’s the little trials that follow the big ones that threaten to unravel us.

Even more, the circumstances of being denied an earthly need or desire are often his tailored means of accelerating our holiness and happiness in him. When we want, we are given more of Christ. When we suffer, our solidarity with him grows.

As usual, Elisabeth was right, “God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don’t have now, we don’t need now.” And what we do need now, we do have now: God the Father’s loving, sovereign hand working all things for our good (Romans 8:28); Christ the Son as our advocate, Savior, and righteousness (1 John 2:1; Philippians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 1:30); and the Holy Spirit’s intercession, help, and comfort surrounding us day by day (Romans 8:26–27).

So, at the end of our lives, we truly will be able to say, “I never wanted for anything. I never had a ‘no’ from my Father that wasn’t a ‘yes’ to better and deeper things.”

REISE | PAGE 4

A couple years after that ominous hospital stay, when I should have been thrilled at my son’s progress and how well things were going, I found myself telling God at two o’clock in the morning, “I can’t. I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t do the things I’m supposed to be doing each day with so little sleep each night. I need you to give me relief. I need you to relent of this nightly disaster.” You see, our son has disrupted sleep because of his neurological problems. It’s improved in fits and starts, but by and large, the five years of his life have been challenging in the sleep department. And it was this small trial that was threatening to undo me.

In God’s economy, we flourish when our need for him is met in him. Dear brothers and sisters, there is no circumstance under heaven that God isn’t using to grow us into oaks of righteousness. There is no need that he won’t fill with himself. The promise is really true: God really will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). There is nothing we truly need that is not found in Christ.

WHAT YOUR PAST SAYS ABOUT YOU TODAY BYÂ MARGARETTE SAMSON

My son was working on an art project one day, and I walked over to look at his progress. “Hey, Buddy, don’t push down so hard with your pencil. Remember what your teacher told you? You’ll end up with ghost lines.”

stained world. The war has already been won, but there are still battles left to be fought. We have forgiven others who have wronged us, but painful, unwanted memories still linger. This is why we cry, “How long, O Lord!” and, “Maranatha! Come quickly!” Even perfected martyrs in heaven ask when their blood will be avenged (Revelation 6:10). The earth itself groans in anticipation as it waits for the day when redemption and restoration will be fully and finally complete (Romans 8:22–23).

WHAT YOUR PAST SAYS ABOUT YOU TODAY He sighed. “I know.” Picking up his eraser, he scratched furiously at the lines. But they were still there. My son learned in art class that when you are drawing in pencil, it is important to sketch lightly because if you need to erase something, you won’t have ghost lines.

But if you push down when you draw, no matter how hard you try to erase it, there will be a faint line showing what was once there.

Lines in Us My life is filled with ghost lines. Most days, when I glance at the portrait of my life, I don’t notice them.

But sometimes I am forced to step in close, like when something triggers a memory. Many of these memories, though redeemed through Christ’s work in my life, still reveal ghost lines scratched onto the canvas of my life. In fact, the closer I look, the more lines I see.

Times when I’ve been rejected by friends.

Losses I’ve experienced.

Sins I’ve committed.

People I’ve hurt and people who have hurt me.

Dreams that have been dashed. Wrong paths I’ve taken.

I’m not alone. We all have ghost lines on our canvases.

Things from our past that we’ve done, things that were done to us, hard things we’ve experienced — all etched into our memories.

Time marches on, and the lines fade, but they’re still there. There may have been redemption, forgiveness, rescue, healing, and new life, but the evidence remains of what once was. For those whose lines run deep, pressed deep into the fabric of our stories, it’s a constant battle to fight for joy in the present because we still feel the pain of the past.

So how do we live with lines like these? How do we look at the beauty of the portrait God is painting, without being distracted by those glaring ghost lines?

Living with Painful Longings Our lines are part of what it means to live in the “already / not yet” of God’s redemptive story. We’ve already been freed from the power of sin, yet the presence of sin still remains. We are already saved citizens of heaven, yet we still live in a sin-

While I wait and live with my ghost lines, I take great hope as I remember that my Savior has lines of his own. They mark the places on his hands, feet, and side where he bore the punishment for our sins, our failures, our regrets. These marks are carved into his resurrection body, the human body he took into heaven, the body we will one day see face to face. He has chosen for all eternity to live with these scars, ghost lines of his love, mercy, and grace.

Good News in Ghost Lines Ghost lines tell stories. And one important story they tell is that things in my life have changed. The shadows of lines from my past remind me of how far my Lord has brought me. The fact that they are only shadows shows me that he is in the process of redeeming all things, even the hardest, most painful things. They also remind me that he has been with me all along. They are marks of his glory and grace, tracing for me the ways he has carried me, saved me, rescued me, and forgiven me. Like Paul, I can look back at the stories these lines tell and see how Christ has been my strength in weakness. I can show my canvas to others, point out the lines, and boast in what he has done.

My ghost lines also reveal to me that God is an Artist, intimately involved in the masterpiece of my life, creating something amazing, despite my childlike scrawls and scratches. As I watch it take shape over the years, I can see a transformation taking place. I cling to the promise that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

On that day, we will all stand in the galleries of heaven and see all of God’s finished work. What a thrill that will be! The portraits will all be complete.

They will be perfect, no longer marred by sin and shame, and we will celebrate forever what the Master Artist has made.

"THE WORLD DOES NOT NEED COOL CHRISTIANS WHO ARE CULTURALLY SATURATED. IT NEEDS EXILES WITH THE SCENT OF HEAVEN AND THE AROMA OF CHRIST."Â JOHN PIPER

BEND EVERY PLEASURE BACK TO GOD article by: jon bloom

God takes great pleasure in helping us grow in the happy grace of gratitude. And the almost unbelievably wonderful thing about this is that he uses pleasures to do it. This casts a whole new light on the blessing, often used as a table grace, “For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful.”

One gift among many we can be truly thankful for today is the life of C.S. Lewis, who pointed so many of us to a life of joy-drenched faith and gratitude. Jack (as he preferred to be called) spent much of his adult life learning to look up the sunbeams of God to their Source, and write what he saw so we could learn to do this too. Such looking caused him to ponder, What would it be to taste at the fountainhead that stream of which even these lower reaches prove so intoxicating? Yet that, I believe, is what lies before us.

The whole man is to drink joy from the fountain of joy. (The Weight of Glory, 44) Fifty-five years ago today, Jack Lewis drank at that fountainhead for the first time and finally saw unfiltered where all the beauty came from. And he

experienced in full force what he knew here in part, that “joy is the serious business of Heaven” (Letters to Malcolm, 124).

Would you like to be a more joy-drenched, thankful person?

Learn, with Lewis, how to bend every pleasure back to God. A Cruel Twist on Grace When I was in the fourth grade, I was in a local production of the musical “Oliver” (adapted from Dicken’s Oliver Twist). The musical begins with poor Oliver incarcerated in a dungeon-like London workhouse for orphans, managed by the terribly stern, even cruel, Mr. Bumble. Every meal the orphans eat is a single small bowl of thin “gruel” (think icky oatmeal). And before the orphans are allowed to partake of their pitifully meager meal, Mr. Bumble threateningly proclaims, “For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful.”

Mr. Bumble’s version of this table grace is a tortured one.

He believes “truly thankful” means something like a cowering, complaint-less, resigned subjection, and God’s way of making people truly thankful is via authoritarian decree with a not-so-subtle

threat of punishment — such as taking away what little one has.

The “Lord” to whom Mr. Bumble refers bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Bumble himself — “a hard man” (Matthew 25:24).

We too can be tempted to think of God as an austere, severe overlord, who, when he commands us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), is expecting his poor, oppressed subjects to wring thanksgiving out of the dry rags of their weary, malnourished souls for the rather parsimonious portion of gruel he gives them. This, of course, renders the act of thanksgiving about as pleasurable as paying taxes to Caesar.

At one time, C.S. Lewis held such suspicions of God. But the more he delved into Scripture and the world, the more he saw how wrong such views are.

Shafts of Glory Lewis discovered that God doesn’t make us truly thankful by threatening us; he draws it out of us with pleasures. And these pleasures are pointers to something greater — they become our tutors in

thanksgiving.

I was learning the far more secret doctrine that pleasures are shafts of the glory as it strikes our sensibility. As it impinges on our will or our understanding, we give it different names — goodness or truth or the like. But its flash upon our senses and mood is pleasure. (Letters to Malcolm, 119) Pleasures are shafts of God’s glory. What kind of pleasures?

“No pleasure [is] too ordinary or too usual for such reception; from the first taste of the air when I look out of the window — one’s whole cheek becomes a sort of palate — down to one’s soft slippers at bed-time” t(120). No pleasure is too small to be a preacher of the kindness and mercy and goodness of God. This means we are bombarded by shafts of the glory of God all the time. All around us is fuel for the fire of thanks, if we will but notice.

Objections should come quickly (if we’re thinking).

Surely, not all pleasures are shafts of glory. We’ve indulged in too many forbidden pleasures to believe that. Lewis agrees, but clarifies something important: Certainly there are [bad pleasures]. But in calling them “bad pleasures” I take it we are using a kind of shorthand. We mean “pleasures snatched by unlawful acts.” It is the stealing of the apple that is bad, not the sweetness. The sweetness is still a beam from the glory. That does not palliate the stealing. It makes it worse. There is sacrilege in the theft. We have abused a holy thing. (119)

Looking Up the Sunbeam So how exactly do pleasures — these shafts of God’s glory — become our “tutors” in gratitude?

We learn very early in our Christian life that Scripture commands us to feel grateful to God (Psalm 106:1; Colossians 3:15). Very often, we learn this before we really understand how thanksgiving works. So we try to work up a sense of thankfulness and worship over abstract things like “God’s beauty,” or goodness, or blessings, or love, but we wonder at the wispy, ephemeral quality of our gratitude. The problem is, we can’t emotionally connect with an abstraction that isn’t sufficiently grounded in specifics. As Lewis said, [We] shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest. At best, our faith and reason will tell us that He is adorable, but we shall not have found Him so, not have “tasted and seen.” Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy.

These pure and spontaneous pleasures are “patches of Godlight” in the woods of our experience. (122) Pleasures teach us about God like patches of forest sunlight teach us about the sun.

The golden glow in an autumn wood, the happy laughter of a beloved child, the bright red cardinal alighting in the snowy white bush just outside the kitchen window, the savory bite

of hot Thanksgiving turkey with just the right amount of cranberry sauce — these are patches of Godlight.

And it’s in glimpsing these “shafts of glory,” these specific pleasures, for what they are, that the glory of the greater abstract realities begins to dawn on us. We discover that “to experience the tiny theophany is itself to adore” (120). And it makes us wonder, “What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscations are like this! One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun” (120).

Tutors in Thanksgiving That’s the key to understanding pleasures as tutors in thanksgiving. They are sunbeams filling the woods of our experience with patches of Godlight. And as we follow their beams up to their Source, they point us to far greater glories. When Lewis made this discovery, he made it his goal “to make every pleasure into a channel of adoration” (119). And he has been so helpful to us in seeking to do the same, thanks be to God! Does God command our thankfulness? Yes. But it is not the exacting command of a tyrant. It is the loving command of a father whose desire is his children’s highest happiness. Therefore, unlike Mr. Bumble, God does not coerce thanks out of us with threat. He draws it out with pleasures. For he takes pleasure in pleasing us. And the more pleasure we have in him (resulting in more thanksgiving to him), the more glorious he becomes to us.

That’s the purpose for all these patches of Godlight.

BEING BLESSED

WRITTEN BY: JUDE OARHE

Have we become so consumed with the material that else while spiritual things was particularly satisfying. Whether negative or positive.

These days, I am blessed because I got a car? Am I not blessed because I gave back the correct change or didn't not inflate the amount on the receipt at the office? Am I only blessed because I was first and not because I wasn't?

To be blessed means to have empowerment to do or receive something. The idea that to be blessed ends with receiving or doing subtract from entirely the meaning of being blessed. I believe that when something is taken from you that has made you less than you ought,is also being blessed. Job talks about taking the good and the bad wasn't presupposing that God invades us with bad but dismissed the attitude that there's never such a time when things might not go as supposed. Job 2:10. He didn't know that it wasn't God who brought the bad as we know today.

Too many hang on to things that make a ship wreck of their Faith due to uncertainties. If it fails God bless you as well. God's blessings makes rich and adds no sorrow.

Not only when I get but when i let go too.

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Be Born Again The bible says in John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Again scripture says, 1Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. Being born again and receiving Christ as your personal LORD and savior is a prerequisite to serving before

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GOD.

Be Grounded In The Word And Given To Prayer & Fasting The word of God is key to your success in life and ministry make it the foundation of your being, Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Prayer was a custom our LORD and Savior was committed to on a daily basis, do likewise Luk 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And Fasting causes your spirit man to rise above the flesh, i have seen the power of setting yourself apart over many years. Consecrate

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yourself with prayer and fasting often.Â

Love The LORD With All Your Heart & Worship Him Alone In Spirit And In Truth John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him

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Ten Tips To Aspiring Worship Leaders

Seek First The Kingdom Of GOD [Or His Way Of Doing Things] Matt 6:31

Have A Sharp Ear To Hear GOD's Voice

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Walk In The Fear Of The LORD And Give Not Room To Proclivities Of The Flesh  Paul says, "I Die Daily" and again encourages us to, "walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.." and Galatians 5:16-26 says.."This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another,

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envying one another

Possess A Good Character & Heart Of Service a good name is rather to be chosen than riches and in everything you do, do it as unto the LORD

Possess The Spirit Of Excellence Dan 6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

Be Creative & Depend On The Holy Spirit For Inspiration Always

Practice Practice Develop Your Instrument & Skill A skill is something one is born with or acquires through practice. Both individuals need practice, learn to apply the 10.000hour Principle, whatever you do for 21days becomes a habit but whatever you do repeatedly for 10.000hours [approximately 1year 1month & 20days] it becomes a part of you, practice practice

Jesse Priestly

Newie

To those who don’t know you, who would you say Newie is?

I was born and raised in Limpopo Vleifontein (Venda), I, Ronewa Nthabalala known as “Newie” started singing while I was still at Sunday school under Apostolic Faith Mission Assembly (Vleifontein Venda Branch), that in itself just made music to be part of my life. I am a wife to Marcus Nkhangwe who is also my Producer and a life coach; I a mother to 2 beautiful Girls Adie and Cienna

Lately Gospel music has become more about the fame and fortunes, how do you resist this and remain grounded?

The word of God keeps me grounded, I believe that God lifts those who humble themselves

What is your favourite song in your current album and why?

All the songs are my favorite, especially considering the message that they entail. But currently, the song which is dealing with me left, right and center is the title song "U Mudzimu E Ethe". God is talking through that song

Your latest album has been received very well, did you expect such a great response?

All i did was to put my trust in the Lord that He should touch whoever receive my music

What is Worship to you?

Daily lifestyle. What you do daily will tell us what and who you worship

Which other song by a different artist do you love the most?

I don't really remember who the composer is, but it's a song "The blood of Jesus". It keeps reminding me of what the Lord Jesus Christ endured just for me and all His children

Who has been your greatest music inspiration?

My brother Lufuno

What is the instruction/ vision that God has given to you regarding your music?

"To win souls back to Christ". I want to make Jesus Christ more famous than me

How do you want to be remembered when all is said and done?

My wish is to leave everyone with Jesus Christ that i carry along. Less of me and more of Him

Any words of advice to those starting the worship journey you are currently in?

Remain grounded in the word of God. Stay focused and always remember that God has predestined you for greater thing. Your time will come

Issue 27 | 234

MOMENT OF THE QUARTER

05 November is a date that will forever be engraved in the hearts of Gospel Music lover and music lovers as a whole. Great expectation and excitement overflowed as South Africa received word of a Surprise birthday album to be release by Ntokozo Mbambo especially for her fans.

This was something never done before within the gospel industry, what we fell inlove with and made us select the day as our Moment of The Quarter is although Koko Records and Ntokozo Mbambo had a very innovative approach in their Album Launch (which was a breath of fresh air) they were fully surrendered to the mandate of worship, allowing God to be fully Glorified and Magnified

CAN YOU REPENT WITHOUT CHANGING?

For more than 25 years, I have counseled Christian men and women who have lived in bondage to sexual sin. I’ve met with people who have hired prostitutes, had affairs, were addicted to pornography, lied, and blamed a spouse for their problems.

I’ve listened while they described financial loss, job loss, sleep loss, and familial loss, all due to sexual sin.

As we look to the future, we see the spiritual and relational threats of sexual sin are even greater in the coming generation. Preteens are increasingly engaging in oral sex, and large numbers are likely to access porn (intentionally or unintentionally), often setting in motion a life of bondage. A few generations ago, dating relationships for teens moved from the front porch to the back seat, changing sexual behavior forever. Today, “friends .

with benefits” and sexting are becoming increasingly normal

misbehavior is the heart’s arrogant attempt to deal with pain, and that the pain itself is not the problem.

The already serious problem of sexual sin in the church is growing even more A proper diagnosis should dictate the serious. treatment method. If the diagnosis is wrong, the treatment will be Diagnosis Dictates Treatment ineffective. But if we believe in God, Critical to addressing the increasing and trust his word, we can receive a amount of sexual sin in the church is correct diagnosis and know our Master understanding that sinful behavior is Physician. an indication of a deeper problem.

Tragically, our therapeutic culture often wields greater influence on what needs to change, and how change occurs, than the church does. Contrary to what many believe, freedom from sexual sin doesn’t begin with addressing past painful experiences. Having counseled thousands of men and women, I find that the first step in overcoming sexual sin is to understand that sexual

Jesus clearly stated the core problem: “From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality . . . adultery . . . sensuality” (Mark 7:21–22).

In other words, when it comes to sexual sin, Jesus says our core problem is not what was done to us, but what resides in us. If our primary problem is sin — and our corrupt,

rebellious nature — then we know what primarily needs to be addressed. Since a diagnosis dictates the treatment, if sin is the diagnosis, it must be treated with faith and repentance. With sexual sin, real change can only begin with real repentance — a change of the heart.

Repentance Is Not Recovery Heart change brings high motivation for behavior change. This is not the motivation of self-disgust or remorse over the harm done to others, but a higher calling. The deceitful heart is a self-centered machine that demands, “It’s my way in life, relationships, and sex. It’s all about me.” Therefore, the repentant sexual sinner gives up the illusionary control of personal desires, the control of life itself.

Let me say it as clearly as I can: When it comes to sexual sin and addiction, recovery is not repentance, and repentance is not recovery. Repentance is not merely human effort. It is not a self-help program.

Repentance is God’s surgical procedure, in which he not only humbles the sinner, but works a change in him that is visible from the outside. Yes, the sexual sin stops, but a spouse says of a former sexual sinner, “He’s a different man,” or, “She’s a different woman.”

In repentance, the sexual sinner understands he has broken the law of God and is legally guilty in God’s court. The sexual sinner cries out for mercy, knowing that mercy rests entirely on God’s good pleasure. Biblical repentance not only renounces the sexual behavior; it renounces the world, the flesh, and the devil.

In repentance, the sexual sinner turns from self-seeking and self-trusting to their God. Her internal heart has changed and her controlling desire is for God’s purpose and glory. In other words, there is a new internal drive toward spiritual, relational, and sexual maturity, a striving “for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Death Yielding Life Repentance is a death. When a sexual sinner repents, self dies and God reigns. It is far more than merely giving up one’s sexual sin, but surrendering one’s whole life. n this age, sin will always be present in us. But in true repentance, the sinner’s life is no longer controlled by his sexual sin. Instead, he is governed by a longing to obey God.

ITrue repentance bears fruit, which goes beyond sobriety. It begins a change from the inside out. There is not only change in behavior, but everything begins to shift at all levels of one’s being. A man becomes a different man; a woman becomes a different woman.

And this transformation of heart brings a transformation in relationships. He becomes a different husband; she becomes a different wife. Where sexual sin was destroying a relationship, the fruit of repentance begins restoring a relationship, as each person considers the other more important than himself (Philippians 2:3).

SINCERITY MAKES THE VERY LEAST PERSON TO BE OF MORE VALUE THAN THE MOST TALENTED HYPOCRITE Charles Spurgeon

ARTICLE BY:

bono rambani

FESTIVE SEASON LOOMING: WE ARE SAFE! As the festive season draws closer many people are getting ready to go on holiday to various destinations all over the world. During this time there’s a great deal of excitement as well as a lot of anxiety among people traveling using diverse modes of transport. This comes as a result of the many lives that have been lost because of accidents on our roads during this peak season.

Another cause for anxiety during these times is the rate of crime which seems to increase during these times with perpetrators targeting households knowing people are away on holiday as well as victims falling prey to scammers who want to defraud them of their hard earned money.

As a believer you could so easily get caught up in the fear that’s amplified further by chain messages warning of certain dangers to lookout for during

the festive season to the point that we forget our safety and protection is not dependant on the state of the art security systems that we have in place nor on how cautious and extra vigilant we are but does indeed depend on our heavenly Father who’s love and mercy watches over us as we put our trust in Him (Psalm 127:1-2).

The Word of God speaks about how we dwell in the secret place of the most high (Psalm 91), which I believe is not restricted to a geographic location in the heavens, but speaks of a certain state of mind or existence which we can operate under, while on the earth regardless of where we are in the world.

There are countless testimonies in the bible where God delivered His people in the face of extreme danger and kept them safe during threatening times.

God is the same yesterday, today and forever, therefore He is still faithful and

just to do the same for us in the current times.

I believe that one of the things that the death of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood purchased for us was safety and security. Which is why the Psalmist in the aforementioned portion of scripture speaks confidently about how nothing can by any means hurt him as long as he dwells in this secret place of the Most High.

I am not at all encouraging for us to be ignorant or negligent, I in fact advocate for us to put the necessary safety measures in place and take pre caution where need be. What I am encouraging is that we do not forget our source of protection during these holidays. I urge you to go through Psalm 91 together with your loved ones when you have devotions in order to affirm just what God has promised. Do not be afraid, we will make it through this season untouched with nothing missing and nothing lacking. We are safe!

NONKOSI KHUMALO

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Who is Nonkosi Khumalo?

Nonkosi Khumalo is a South African gospel singer, She was born and raised in the small town called Kagiso, raised by a single supportive mother, Started singing at an early age of 5 belting with notes in Sunday school, that is when my talent have been realized.My gift was natured by

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Out of all genres why Gospel?

Music is my life,music in any stage I found myself surrounded by gospel music,in pain and in happiness gospel music has been there surrounded me and constant friend I have.Gopel music is the only way to honour and to please God,I want to teach others to reverence and

ministering in song at church as part of the worship team.

honour God through gospel music because he is the only

At the age 16 I then started focusing on developing this gift

biggest part on all my relationships,He is mightier and

and passion professionally.Well of my inspiration comes

greater than all,Idlike this generation to revere him and

from GOD

give honour that is due to him that’s why I chose gospel.Gospel music is powerful enough to

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change,build,restore lives and I chose to work hand in hand

Worship is the heartfelt experession of gratitude and praise in response to the Gospel of Gods love in Christ.It can be an act of religious devotion usually directed towards God.An act of worship again may be performed individually in an informal or formal group or by designated leaders life

hearts.

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We all have that one song that we always go to when in need of encouragement,what is that song for you and why?

Who have your main GOSPEL INFLUENCES? In all fairness my journey started at church,seeing those who worship/singing at church and I wanted to be like them,They were not recordedartists of some sort but when I saw them I just saw myself on stage.So when I began to come to,I began to see the likes of Benjamin Dube,RebeccaMalope,SfisoNcwane and wanted to be on big stages they sang on.But later on I began to see the greater Tamela Mann and Tasha Cobbs I mean those are amazing singers,Well those are the people I still till today wish to attain to their level

(WAY MAKER BY SINACH) God is fighting my battles even those I don’t see or know arranging things in favour and making a way for me.Even when I don’t see any way.ISaiha43;16 says thus the LORD,who makes a way through the sea and a path above we see that God introduces himself as a GOD who makes a way

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with God,To heal the generation to mend the brocken

What is worship to you?

What can we expect from you in 2019?

My album will be out and I will be doing tours 9 provinces 9 tours,doing promotions of my live project.Hopefully there will be another live concert sometime September 2019

What have the challenges been entering this already saturated Genre of music?

-This industry has a lot of people knowing each other,and if you don’t know anyone either have connections is quiet hard.

-Starting auditions,sometiumes you go to auditions and you are prepared and end up not been taken.that can discouraging you and end up giving up for not making it.

-It is again expensive to record,honestly it is avery expensive industry,When you do not have money or get any sponsors you can end up thinking that you cannot make it.So these are the issues one struggles with in the Gospel industry.

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To those who have never heard of you,do you have recorded albums?

Yes i have just done a live recording on the 30th of September, I am still working on it ,It will be available soon,The title of my album is called SHEKINAH GLORY

Which collaborations have you had,and which do you still wish to have?

I had collabs with SffisoNcwane,SiphoNgwenya…I would like to collab with LEBO SEkgobela and going international I would like to do it with the amazing Tasha Cobbs and the amazing song writer William Macdowell

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When all is said and who do you want the world to know you as?

As a worship of note,A woman of God,A lover of beautiful things,sweet,caring,most humble person,BUT above all as a woman who loves GOD!!!

"THE LORD TOLD ME" IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR "THE BIBLE SAYS" -Voddie Baucham

Have You Ever Just Freaked Out on God?

Every parent has had “THAT DAY”! When this day hits, all the forces of darkness align and the child we care for has decided to unleash terror on the earth by completely and totally melting down. If you think this is rare, you either have never had a child or your name is Mary or Joseph. When THAT DAY goes off like a bomb, the child can be found screaming, hitting, and freaking out. Their parent can be found sighing, praying, and losing.

The book of Malachi is about THAT DAY! The children of God (young and old) have decided

BY MARK DRISCOLL

to declare war on God with a tantum of biblical proportions. Observing God’s response teaches us a lot about our relationship with Him and also has some tips for parents.

For starters, God reminds everyone who is on

Father comes to the kids, speaks calmly,

the floor kicking and screaming that He is the

takes their hand, and begins the walk with

Father. In Malachi 1:6 He says, “I am a

them from where they are to where they

father”. In Malachi 2:10, He reminds everyone

should be.

that they don’t really have any other parent

God starts with love. Despite the children of

since He’s their “one Father”. By revealing

God inciting the equivalent of a prison riot at

Himself as a Father, God is to be known as

the church, God answers their nasty question

both in authority (sovereign), and relational

in Malachi 1:2, “How have you loved us?” not

(love). Next, we learn five things about God

by getting defensive but rather remaining

as our Father.

devoted saying, “‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord.”

God knows what His kids are saying, doing, and thinking. The entire book of Malachi is a conversation between the Father and His kids as he responds to the litany of accusations that they are hurling at Him for being a bad dad.

God calls a family meeting. If your dad ever called everyone to together to sit on the couch, or gather around the table, to have an important family discussion then you understand the tone of Malachi.

God does not act like a sibling. When a child declares war on a parent by yelling accusations, throwing a fit, and making a scene, it’s a tempting moment for the parent to stop acting like a parent and start acting like a sibling. Worn down, a parent can start yelling back at the child, getting offended by the false accusations, and throw their own form of a fit. When this happens, the parent loses their authority and starts acting like one of the kids rather than the parent. God does not do this.

God meets us where we are to walk us to where we should be. As you read Malachi (something you can do in roughly 15 minutes), you’ll quickly realize that it is raw, real, and rough. But like any great parent, God the

YOU NEED TO ASK

SCRIPTURE READING MATTHEW 7:7-12

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you Health and wealth preachers have been known to say: "Whatever you ask of God, God will give you. And if God does not give it, your faith isn't strong enough."

I don't believe that to be accurate!

We have all prayed for things we have not received; sometimes God answers "No" or "Not yet" or "Not in the way you expect."

When Everything Is Going All Wrong?

"Too many people are hurt.

People close to me get cancer and die too soon; my prayers do not take away the pain.

We hear of marriages turn into battlefields, war zones and their children go through an extremely tough, and heartbroken times.

And it would seem that there is no hope, no healing.

In our reading Jesus doesn't mean we can get whatever we ask for or seek after.

If that were so, prayer would be like rubbing a genie bottle, and our every wish would come true. Note carefully that Jesus says, "How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

God wants us to ask for the Holy Spirit and his good gifts (Luke 11:9-13; 1 Corinthians 12-13).

God wants us to ask for things in line with his will (John 9:31; 15:7-8; James 1:17).

God also wants us to ask with all the right motives (James 4:2-3). Amen

THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF ATHEISM IS CHRISTIANS. THOSE WHO PROCLAIM HIM WITH THEIR MOUTHS AND DENY HIM WITH THEIR ACTIONS IS WHAT AN UNBELIEVING WORLD FINDS UNBELIEVABLEÂ -KARL RAHNER

editors 4th quarter top 10 01 SICELO MOYA Solid Rock

02 HLENGIWE MHLABA Sthandwa Sami

03 DUMI MKOKSTAD Inxaniwe

04 WOMEN IN PRAISE No one can

05 NTOKOZO MBAMBO When I Remember

06 NTOKOZO MBAMBO & NQUBEKO MBATHA Oh How He Loves You & Me

07 MABONGI MABASO Yeso Unamina

08 PASTOR RUDOLPH MABASO Yehova Xikwembu

09 COLLIN MALULEKE Shine Jesus

10 JOYOUS CELEBRATION Amagama Medley

people seldom do what they believe, they do what is convenient then repent - bob dylan

WORSHIP MATTERS Worship matters to God. Worship matters to you.

Often, we allow personal distractions to get in the way.

Sometimes we go to church, but we

Worship is a lifestyle. It’s the

don’t worship. We sing songs, but

gathering of believers to practice

we don’t worship. We listen to

our beliefs and celebration of Him.

sermons, but we don’t worship.

Praise is the expression we give to

We serve in a ministry area—but

the ‘worship’ we live. Worship

don’t worship.

involves more than we realize.

All of these things are elements of

1. Worships Involves Surrender of

worship, but they are not worship

Our Lives

in and of themselves, which means

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, in

that you can do all of them and yet

view of God’s mercy, to offer your

have failed to truly worship God.

bodies as a living sacrifice, holy

and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Rom 12:1

from the loss of a child. The loss of loved ones is too great to bear.

After the baby died, the Bible tells us—

2. Worship Is Putting Our Focus on Him True worship is based on the desire to honor God. It requires a personal revelation of God as found in the Scriptures. Worship is not based on my likes or dislikes. It is not based on my personal preferences or priorities.

It is a focus on Him. 3. Worship Involves ‘Getting Out of the Way’ We have to learn to remove our worries, our opinion, our questions and ourselves—so we can worship with appropriate honor. It’s letting go.

Sometimes, we get in the way of our own experience of genuine worship.

4. Worship Involves Personal Sacrifice Praise can be easier when times are good or we have had the big victory. It requires a sacrifice of our own feelings and fears so we can give Him the focus He deserves.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.” Hebrews 13:15 5. We Must Worship in the Face of Pain & Loss King David demonstrated what it means to worship in the face of loss and pain. His baby died. He prayed and prayed, but the baby died. I can’t imagine the pain that would come

Then David got up from the ground.

After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.

2 Sam 12:20 NIV It is so important that in times of pain and loss, we move toward God rather than ‘away’ from Him. David showed us that we have to say, “I feel so much pain, I’m in agony, but I’m going to go toward God because I need Him more now than ever.”

6. Worship Is Celebrating Who God Is and What He Has Done 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the Earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.

5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:1-5 NIV

SEASONS VOLUME 1 ALBUM REVIEW WITH WE WILL WORSHIP

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Your fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of your latest offering, what makes this album different from your previous ones?

What makes every album different is simply that we’re different. We make music based on our personal and communal journeys with God, which is progressive and ever changing, so naturally what we sing about and write about reflects that. And it’s never the same

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This is your 4th album, what has been most rewarding about this journey?

It’s always rewarding doing something TOGETHER. It’s a beautiful thing celebrating accomplishing something as a team. The reward is seeing different people banding together , laying things aside and committing towards a cause or purpose greater than themselves

3 What we love most about WWW is you always bring New Songs, what is the continual inspiration to always come up with new songs?

As faith based songwriters we have an unfair advantage as we have the bible as a reference, which in and of itself is an endless source of inspiration. We try stick to what we know to be real and true in a world that is everchanging and trying to define us.

4 Take us through you latest album Song Title: Vulan'indlela Composer: Langa Mbonambi, Alfred “Z_lus” Ntsimane Inspiration: Song based on Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as He was received as the king with the waving of palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna!” (Matt 21)

Song Title: Ngizolibiza Composer: Langa Mbonambi, Karabo Nchoe, Lebohang Kgapola Inspiration: It’s simply about calling on the name above all names, the only name that saves, the name of Yeshua, Jesus. (Prov 18/ Rom 10

Song Title: Beautiful Name Composer: Lebohang Kgapola, Lesego Lebese Inspiration: Spontaneous moment of worship expressing the beauty in the name of Jesus

Song Title: From The Inside Composer: Joel Houston, Langa Mbonambi Inspiration: Modern Christian classic about worshiping God with everything regardless of our failures along the way

Song Title: Mvini(Rest In You) Composer: Langa Mbonambi Inspiration: A simple song about abiding in Christ as without Him we can do nothing. (John 15) Song Title: I Saw A River Composer: Mahlatse Mashua Inspiration: A poetic piece about what the river of God looks like in Africa

Song Title: Buyel’ekhaya Composer: Langa Mbonambi, Bridgette Mbonambi, Karabo Nchoe Inspiration: Based on the story of the prodigal son. It’s an invitation for all who feel far from God, to come home. (Luk 15)

Song Title: Come Holy Spirit (Uthando) Composer: Langa Mbonambi, Mark Counihan, Denise Counihan Inspiration: No matter what we see happening around us or what we hear on the news, God’s kingdom is alive and is ever advancing. This is a bold declaration of that truth

Song Title: Mfula Composer: Langa Mbonambi, Emmanuel Dlamini Inspiration: Inspired by the river of God that the prophet Ezekiel sees, a river that brings life and revival to all nations

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