91. God is NOT angry with Cape Town

I read an article yesterday that a known preacher in South Africa told a reporter that God is angry with Cape Town and that is why it is not raining there. And if they do not repent, then the rain won't come. I was shocked when I read this, as I had a lot of respect for this preacher. But what he is saying is not true at all.

Let us begin on a practical level without even going to the Bible first. If it is true what he is saying, then why is it raining in Johannesburg for example? Why does Gauteng have more than enough water and Cape Town doesn't? Is he then in actual fact saying that people living in Cape Town has more sin than people living in Johannesburg? But that cannot be. Any Christian will agree that this is not true. So why is God then punishing Cape Town and not Johannesburg with drought?

Or let us go even further than that. The Scandinavian countries and Switzerland for example are countries known to be mostly atheists. So if God were to judge a country, wouldn't it be one of them? And yet they are so blessed in many instances.  According to the world happiness report, they are every year amongst the happiest people in the world. So wouldn't God be unfair to single out Cape Town and strike them with a drought, but bless countries that have no regard for Him? It just doesn't sound like the God I love and it certainly isn't.

God doesn't judge countries any more. Yes, He did it in the Old Testament. God's judgment came in the form of wars, droughts, famines and plagues. There are so many examples, but believe me when I tell you. When you page through the Old Testament that is what happened when people lived sinful lifestyles and not followed the Law as God prescribed. Go and read about all the curses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and you will see that there were dire consequences directly orchestrated by God to turn people back to Him. For example verse 23, 24:

"The sky above your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder."

Sounds like the drought now in Cape Town doesn't it? That is how God judged people in the Old Testament. But thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ! He came and bore all these curses upon Himself - Galatians 3:13:

"But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

Jesus took all the curses upon Himself, including the curse of 'no rain'. He took it so that it never has to come on us from God ever again. God judged all sin on the cross. And because Jesus bore our sin we can boldly come to the throne room of grace and have communion with God. If what the preacher says is true, then our sins are still unforgiven and because it is we cannot come into God's presence. What was the point of the cross then? If what the preacher says is true, then I see God as a stern unfair Father, punishing certain people and not others. If what he says is true, then it pushes me away from God in fear of unfair punishment, instead of drawing me closer. That is not the God I know. The God I know stands with open arms, waiting for us to turn to Him in love. He will clothe us with a robe and give us His ring of honour. Our punishment today is when we turn our backs on Him and rather go and sit in the mud with the pigs. Our punishment is then self inflicted and not from Him. So yes, sin has consequences, but the consequences are due to our own choices and not direct punishment from God.

You see Jesus came to take the punishment for our sins so that forgiveness is ours. Let us have a look at a couple of Scriptures:

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Ephesians 1:7

"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13, 14

"And you, being dead in your trespass and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." Colossians 2:13

"I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake." 1 John 2:12

Can you see? The Bible clearly tells us that our sins have been forgiven us. All our trespasses have been forgiven, past tense. It is not something that must happen on a regular basis, but something that HAS happened already. Jesus took all the penalty of our sins on Him. He took it all. He took it all upon Himself that we do not have to bear it. That is grace. That is unearned, unmerited favour that He has bestowed upon us and all we need to do is to believe on Him.

We are now one with Jesus Christ. We are His body on earth. When God looks at us today He sees Jesus, He sees the body armour of righteousness that has been given to us as a gift. He doesn't look at us and search for our faults and close the windows of Heaven when we sin too much. And He doesn't stand in Heaven with folded arms until we have prayed long and hard enough to His liking. No! He isn't like that at all!!

It truly grieves me that My loving God is portrayed like that! We live in a fallen world. We live with people that do not look after our planet. We live with global warming and changing weather patterns. So yes, we live in a world with natural disasters, and indirectly it is a consequence of the sin of the whole human race, not looking after the planet as God had intended. Remember God gave humankind all authority over the world in Genesis 1:26-28, He made them rulers over the world. And we haven't been good stewards. So when natural disasters come, that doesn't mean that those people afflicted were more sinful than others. No, our world operates in a fallen state.

But remember one thing, as Christians we needn't fear. God is with us and He will look after us despite all the evil prevalent around us, despite all the disasters. We are His children, part of His new Kingdom. We will inherit all that is His. He will look after us and care for us. We need to stand up in all that we are in Him. That is what I have been teaching for eight months now with my weekly devotions, please go and read who we are in His Kingdom as I cannot go into further detail in this devotion alone.

We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Despite living in a fallen world, we can still rejoice in a loving Father looking after us. The closer we draw to Him, the more of Him will manifest in our lives and the more our environment and living circumstances around us will be changed. The more we realise who we are in Him, the more we will stand up in our authority given to us from Above. The more we allow His Spirit to work through us, the more Jesus can manifest. And when Jesus manifests through us, blessings will come raining down, because that is God's loving heart for us all!!

So my message today to all living in Cape Town is this: You are not more sinful than other people. Realise that God has forgiven you all your sins through Jesus Christ. Draw closer to Him and spend time with Him. Allow Him to become more and more in your life and then allow Him free access in your life to change the world around you into a better place. The more you begin to live and breathe like Him, the more you allow Him to manifest through you, the more changes you will see. A life on fire for God, a life inspired and influenced by Him is a miracle working life. Then look up and see the miraculous manifesting and give Him all the glory!!!

Thank you Father for Your loving kindness. Thank you for loving us and helping us on a daily basis. We want to draw closer and closer to You. We want You to grow in fullness and stature within us. We want to become less and less and You more and more. You are living within us and desperately want to manifest. Take my hands and feet and work through me Lord. Use me as Your vessel, only then can true change come. Jesus changed the whole world in three and a half years of ministry, how wonderful wouldn't it be if He can work through all Christians in fullness for millennia! How different the world will be. Thank you that it is possible. We are open vessels. Use us for the change You want to see in this world. Thank you Father, thank you Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit. Amen

 

 

 

2 comments for “91. God is NOT angry with Cape Town”

  1. Gravatar of HenriHenri
    Posted Wednesday, 07 February 2018 at 4:18:12 PM

    Ek stem 100% met jou saam.Ons staan as geregverdigdes voor God deur wat Christus vir ons aan die kruis gedoen het.Wat die droogte in die Kaap en elders in die land aan betref, moet ons Fil 4:6 as riglyn neem " Moet oor niks besorg wees nie, maar maak in alles julle begeertes deur gebed en smeking en met danksegging aan God bekend."

  2. Gravatar of RonelleRonelle
    Posted Wednesday, 07 February 2018 at 6:19:00 PM

    Living in Cape Town, this comment of the preacher astounded me, I sincerely hope that he was misquoted!! Thank you Ilze for bringing us the truth of who we are in Christ.




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