7 More Miles

Dear Friend,

I am in debt to you my dear friend, partner and co-worker. What a joy to be at your door again and thank you for the privilege. I just returned from the great continent of Africa. Jesus is definitely also Lord of this great continent. The more I embrace the African people, the more I intend to do it again. You cannot help but to love them dearly.

Being back on US soil, I had the same feeling for Africa. Naomi and I both felt a strong call as we touched down days ago. God is about to do something for the American people. I have a fresh awareness over me that He is about to touch many in our upcoming meetings.

A NEW EXCITEMENT IN AMERICAN CHURCHES

Yes, since I wrote the above paragraph; it happened. It’s here! Awareness that He is watching us is overwhelming in the meetings. I love the words of John the Baptist in John 1:26 – 27 when he said, “… there stands One among you whom you do not know … whose sandal straps I am not worthy to lose.” Can you imagine the excitement amongst those who stood in that group? Someone among us whose sandal straps we are not worthy to lose. This is a thought to rethink. This is what is happening in the meetings. Jesus is watching the crowds and without any push, healing after healing starts to occur. I invite you to go out of your way to attend one of these meetings. It is going into a new level of excitement and joy with a freedom amongst the people that is electrifying. Young people that were cutting themselves are being delivered.

7 MORE MILES

I ministered recently on the two men on the road to Emmaus. Apart from all the great revelations that came out of this chapter in Luke 24, this one truth remains with me as I came back from South Africa. When the two men arrived in Emmaus on their journey from Jerusalem Luke 24:30 – 31, it says the following.

Now it came to pass as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened…

Since they ate this bread coming from His hands, they rose up in verse 33 and returned to Jerusalem. What was in this bread that made them turn around and walk the seven miles back to a place they literally left the same day in sadness? Why could they not stay overnight and then go back? What happened with the sadness and the tiredness they had in their bodies? These are all questions we may ask.

MISSION NOT COMPLETED IN EMMAUS

The key truth I feel the Holy Spirit wants me to share with you is that many of our perceptions of where we are in life will change once we spend quality time in His presence. What they thought was a 7 mile journey became a 14 mile journey. What they thought would end in sadness ended in gladness. Running away from a city called Jerusalem that was emerged in confusion became their new mission and destiny. Eating bread from His hands can set us up for many more years of purpose.

Are you at the end of what you think is the end? Did you arrive at what you think is the end of the road? One piece of divine bread will open your eyes and reset you for a new journey. Let us not settle for retirement now. Let us not come to conclusions that were born out of our frustrations and misconceptions. Let us not call Emmaus our destiny when our destiny lies in bigger places. Let us not settle for valleys when He promised us mountain tops.

ANGELS FOOD ON THE MENU WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY

They ate bread blessed by Jesus. Do not allow the food and nourishments of this world to fill your plate. Do not allow the enemy to fill your plate with food that will harm you. The same manna that God rained over the two million Jews in the Old Testament and rescued them from a disaster was also criticized by others. In Numbers 21: 5, some called the manna “worthless bread”. The King James Bible refers to this verse and calls it light bread or bread with little value. Needless to say, it was the same bread that David calls “angel’s food”. Those who ate the bread had no feeble amongst them and all of their swollen feet were healed.

Be careful to bad mouth the bread that David called “Angel’s Food”, for it could be the bread that set you up for destiny. The moment Jesus served them bread in their village became a destiny moment. Depression will make you end in a valley of sadness. Eating divine bread in your moment of depression will make that place the departing place of purpose and destiny.

I DECREE, THIS IS YOUR DAY

Let us discern the hour. Let us take captive the moment. God is extending the lives of many believers. Your time is not over. Your end is not in sight. Your funeral is not in the making. Your sickness is not gravely. Your best moment has arrived. Eat His Revelation bread, let your eyes be opened and see your future. Jerusalem is your mission and your mandate. It is time to serve notice on the enemy that what he intended for confusion is seasonal. Remember they left Jerusalem confused, but they returned with this revelation Jesus is alive.

Take one more bite of His bread and move forward for your best season has just begun. Can someone praise Him out there?

MEET PASTOR GLADYS HLONGWANE 

This is a dynamic woman of God. The moment I met Gladys, I knew the Lord had given her incredible authority. She is a powerful voice of God in her region, and she deserves all the help she can possibly get. Pastor Gladys is one of our next church plants we intend to support. Thank you for praying for Gladys.

NEW BEGINNINGS CENTER 

This center has become the breeding ground of new hope for torn apart people. This is a center where new hope and new dreams are birthed with the help of the Holy Spirit and Pastor Stephan du Plessis. Can you imagine what it takes to coordinate approximately 1,100 people every day with all their personal addictions and hurts? This is a massive undertaking. Ex murderers, prostitutes, drug addicts etc. are all dependent from the vision one man had for such people.

Amongst all this brokenness, many children need to be taken care of. Every morning, a few hundred Africans line up on the outside of this facility for bread. Who can turn a blind eye? Who can ignore such hurt? Who can imagine the pain and rejection of these people? These are dear human beings Jesus died for. On that Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago, Jesus thought of these people. Let us be the hands of Jesus. Let us be the feet of Jesus. Let us be that voice of comfort and help. Send your seed to our ministry office ASAP. I will fly out to this rescue center again in July this year and extend our help. There is a new beginning for all who seek that new beginning. His word declares; He will do a new thing.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 13 – May 15

Calvary Tabernacle

(908) 709-9600

May 20^th

Gateway Church

(440) 275-7720

June 3 – June 5

Faith Community Assembly of God

(610) 258-0858

June 10-June 12

Newport Assembly of God

(717) 567-3333

June 17 – June19

First Assembly of God

(501) 362-3379

June 24 – June 26

Lancaster First Assembly of God

(717) 397-1112

NUGGETS FOR MEN (SEE NAOMI’S ARTICLE FOR WOMEN)

Some people reach the top of the ladder of success only to find it is leaning against the wrong wall. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” Matthew 6:33

God has a history of using the insignificant to accomplish the impossible. “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” Mark 10:27

Only when we have knelt before God, can we stand before men. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

You, I and our God together, are a winning team.

Andre van Zyl

GOOD NEWS TO THE NATIONS

The Eye of the Spirit

Greetings to all our Partners & Friends,

It is with joy that I come to you from the continent of Africa. Yes, we are over here because of you. The Lord is stirring the hearts of many. He is releasing fresh oil into the meetings, and that causes a new expectancy in the hearts of many for the impossible. I have seen many people healed, and the prophetic gift is stronger than ever. After 32 years in ministry, it still amazes me how powerful one single word from God can become and how that word reconstructs the lives of people.

THE EYE OF YOUR SPIRIT

Let us pioneer into the best that God has for us. He is real, and everyday should be a walk in the world of the impossible. In Jeremiah 1:11, God asked Jeremiah this question, “What do you see?” Why will God ask something like this? If there is nothing to see, He will not ask what you see. There is a bigger picture. Apart from everyday life, there is the world of the Spirit. Jeremiah answered and said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” The Lord answered him and said, “You have seen well.” Remember the world of the Spirit works differently. An almond tree in the natural may speak of nothing, but most of the time something unimpressive in the spirit world speaks volumes.

SEEING OTHERS AND SEEING YOURSELF

In Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah declared that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne and what followed from verses one to four. Isaiah gave much detail of what he saw. The world of the spirit is detailed and highly impressive. In verse six, Isaiah made another powerful acknowledgement. He said these words, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” This is a confession that man does not make easily. Being in God’s presence is like looking at yourself in a mirror. Seeing God will always show you yourself.

IN GOD’S MIRROR

A mirror never shows you other people; only you. It is like the story of the cat that saw himself in the mirror with the reflection of a lion. That was in the cat’s dream to see a lion. Mirrors are a part of our everyday life. It is a human necessity that we all look at the mirror in the morning before we start our new day. We want to look respectable and make an impression by our looks. Nothing is wrong with that, and please keep doing that. It is sad to say that we do not take ourselves everyday into His presence to get God’s perspective of what we look like. Let us bring back this, “Presence of God mirror”, in our lives.

In Isaiah 5, you find five woes; if I may call it that. In versus 18, 20, 21, and 22, Isaiah was the one that identified these woes by pointing the finger at others. Needless to say, when his spiritual eye saw the Lord, he called himself a woe.

Powerful statement: When we are quick to reveal the woes of other people, it is a sign that we ourselves have not spent time in the presence of God. For those who do spend time with God will be slow to judgment as the mirror of God’s presence will always show you.

THE APOSTLE PAUL’S BLINDNESS

In Acts 9, we find Saul who will later become Paul on a murder threatening mission. Verse one and two of this chapter made it very clear that Saul had letters from the high priest to take people of the Way into captivity. Saul, being blind in the spirit, thought he worked for the Lord. A religious spirit is a blind and very dangerous spirit.

On his journey in verse three, a light shone from heaven and struck him. He found himself slain on the road to Damascus. Then God spoke telling him that he is persecuting Him. Acts 9:5 … then the Lord said: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

In Acts 9:8, Saul is now blind in the natural. Saul had to be led into Damascus by those who were with him on the road. Sometimes God needs to blindfold the eye of the natural so that we can discover the other eye. Saul was blind for three days. The rest of this story is just remarkable. God spoke to Ananias to come and pray for Saul. Verse twelve stated clearly that Saul saw Ananias coming in to pray for him and Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit. The powerful thought here is that Saul saw Ananias in the spirit. Since this day, Paul never again persecuted the church. The church was running away from him, but now Paul had to escape through a basket. Paul wrote two thirds of the New Testament. Amazing how your life changes when you see things the way God sees things.

Let us all ask the Lord to open our eyes of understanding so that we may see things in a Godly perspective.

NUGGETS TO REMEMBER

Expose yourself daily to the mirror of The Holy Spirit

Take care of your own woes before identifying the woes of others

To see the way God sees is seeing the bigger picture

In His presence, the flesh takes the back seat

To be used by God, our spiritual eye needs to be open

In His presence, we develop a new and fresh love for what matters to God.

FRESH ANOINTING

Thank you for all your prayers. The Lord Jesus is doing a fresh thing. I am amazed how He sets people free. It is so encouraging to see how He touches people through the Word. His word is different than any other word ever spoken. He is the Word, and that settles it. Make sure you come, for great things are happening in my travels. Jesus is touching, healing and delivering people 24/7.

THE SPIRIT TO PROPHESYING AND DECREEING

Freedom is what I hear the spirit saying. Freedom is over the valleys and the mountains. Freedom is coming to thousands. Through New Testament preaching and declaring the truth over churches week after week, I see freedom. People are starving for fresh bread. It is here. Healing, miracles and shifting are taking place wherever we decree. Take up your trumpets and shout for the Lord of hosts is about to release the new. He is our life and He is our being. No man can live without God. The world has nothing to offer. Expose yourself and bring yourself into these meetings for much is about to happen.

BACK IN AFRICA

Yes my dear friend, I am writing you from Africa. I am speaking here at an Easter Conference and also taking care of other ministry needs. The Gospel of Jesus is destined to touch the Globe. Thank You, my dear partner and friend, for your love and passionate friendship. I am so grateful to the Lord for you. Your prayer in America and my voice in Africa are linked like a lightning over the Atlantic Ocean. His power links us for Kingdom purposes. Thank you for thinking of us.

GROUP OF NEW CHURCH PLANTS

Pastor Andre standing with Pastors Brian Makhaba, Wilson Sihadi, Glady’s Hlongwane and Bongani Khumalo.

RAY OF SUNSHINE VISIT

Naomi and I will visit these precious children on this visit to Africa. It is always a joy to embrace abandoned children. I will have a detailed discussion with Merle concerning these children and their future needs.

NUGGETS FOR MEN

1: A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. Therefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord. 2 Corinthians 6:17

2: Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened. Stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV

3: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Anything is possible if you have faith. Mark 9:23 TLB

I CHOOSE

to live by choice, not by chance

to make changes, not excuses

to be motivated, not manipulated

to be useful, not used

to excel, not compete

I choose self-esteem, not self-pity.

I choose to listen to my inner voice,

not the random opinion of others.

I love you dearly my friend. You are my precious friend and partner and I thank Jesus daily for you.

Shalom,

Andre van Zyl

March, 2012

Dear GNN Partner,

I assume the Lord’s hand is upon you, and you are still proceeding strong in Him. Together, with many others, we are all so fortunate to live the life of fullness in Christ Jesus.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we see the impossible.  Nothing pleases me more than to see how this Gospel touches ordinary people in everyday life.  Let us never become so excluded from where the greatest majority of the world’s population lives.  This Gospel is desperately needed in the valleys and obscure places where they live.  Let us always be His extended hand to these people in need.

Here in the USA, the Lord is doing the impossible.  A week ago, the Lord healed people, and I am still receiving healing reports two weeks after the meetings.  I invite all of our dear American friends, in so many cities and states, to join us. There is a fresh excitement in the air. You will find the schedule on our ministry web at www.gnni.org.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

You are one of a selected group that receives this letter.  It is directed to you for your stand in a partnership with GNN.  I always feel I am in debt to you.  Your giving is something we will never take for granted.  You are precious to Him, and we are extremely honored that you chose GNN to release your financial seed. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES.  I look forward to receive your prayer requests.

THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

So many times, we try to offer a solution when, in all honesty, we do not know the answer.  We embrace the thousands of answers presented by man in how to, when to, and what to do, just to find out it did not work.  There comes a time that we need to admit we need the God for the impossible.  Man’s ideas are falling apart these days. Believers realize that unless something super natural happens, our challenges will not go away.

VISITING YESTERDAY

In Ezekiel 37, God placed Ezekiel in a valley of dry bones asking if these bones could live again.  To say the least, it is amazing that God asks such a question to man.  The valley speaks of history and the past.  The bones speak of lost hope, dreams, opportunities, seasons etc.  Why will God go back into the past and expect Ezekiel to prophesy life into what is history? Why would God think of resurrecting the past?  How could this ever make sense?  How could God expect man to embrace such a thought?  It simply goes beyond our human thinking.  The truth is; we have lost complete understanding of who God is.  He is a God that has the ability to amaze beyond our understanding and what makes sense.  It is beyond explanation. Yes, the world of the beyond is where He took Ezekiel. Do you have challenges you feel are beyond the world of the possible?

YES, NO, OR YOU KNOW

The question to Ezekiel was, “Can these bones live?”.  Ezekiel did not answer yes or no but said, “You know”.  Let us admit that we do not know.  Ezekiel would have loved to impress the Lord by saying yes to God’s question.  This time Ezekiel admitted that only God knows.  The fact is; God knew it was a convincing yes.  This gives us hope.  The things we doubt, or simply have no answer to, is the very thing God is ready to do.  God asked Ezekiel questions about a world of bones he has never entered.  We must admit that we simply do not have the answers, and that is when God steps in.  He took Ezekiel back to revive history and make it current. Make it current?  Make it relative again?  Bring yesterday back into the now?  Yes sir, that’s my God.  He wants to take your past and lost seasons and make it current again.

Not only can God forgive our past but He even has the ability to take our lost dreams and seasons and bring them to the present.  The valley, in a certain sense, was a museum of the past.  A museum is a place that carries evidence of the past.  Bones are the evidence of a nation that once existed.  God was ready to bring back that nation.

You and I may have failed in the past, but by His grace, God has the ability to revive past missed opportunities and give them back.

WHAT IS GOD REALLY SAYING TO YOU?

God can give your lost dreams and seasons.  Things you missed in your twenties and thirties can be revived in your fifties.  God expected Ezekiel to prophesy to people that lived many years ago to come back and relive life. This is amazing, incredible and mind boggling.  Your God is so powerful that He can not only restore your current life but recapture lost opportunities of the past.  Jesus resurrected Lazarus who was already dead for four days.  In Ezekiel 37, God resurrected people that were dead for even longer periods of time.  We serve a scary good God.

REASONING AND THE IMPOSSIBLE

We live in times that unless it can be reasoned, it is not God, and if it cannot be reasoned, it cannot be accepted. We are all dead wrong. God is the God of the impossible!  The word impossible only exists in our natural world.  The word impossible does not exist in the heaven for heaven does not know such word. In our world of limits, borders and boundaries, the word impossible does exist.  In heaven you will never hear the word impossible. In God’s world, thinking is not a limited experience. For God enters our world and tries to find people that dare to believe in the impossible. God found in Ezekiel the man he was looking for.   Through our impossibilities God will reconstruct our environment by doing the impossible. He needs our valleys of limited boundaries to demonstrate His unlimited abilities of who He is.  Your valley is the greatest moment God has waited for.

Man never walked on water.  Peter asked the Lord if he may walk on water. What did Jesus say?  Yes!  Yes for the impossible.  Peter knew man could not walk on water, and that is why he asked.  Jesus never asked anyone if He could walk on water. Jesus has no limits to where He can walk.  Jesus operates in the world where the word impossible does not exist.  He gave Peter permission to walk where it was previously impossible.  Man can achieve the impossible if we can believe He takes us there.  Ezekiel would have never gone to the valley by himself.  Verse one mentions that the hand of the Lord came over him and put him there.  God loves to expose us to the world of the impossible by showing us how it is actually possible.

VALLEYS PRODUCE A STANDING ARMY

Ezekiel prophesied an army emerging from the valley. Army?  Yes sir, army.  The one key thought emerging from an army is the word, protection.  Your greatest protection will come from your greatest valleys.  This is what I call a WOW thought.  My greatest defense can come from my lowest places.  The word says they stood on their own feet.  God will bring slain things to a standing position. Unless you stand, you cannot defend yourself.  They stood on their own feet by themselves with no help.  Rejoice! Your days of being slain and defeated are finally over.

GOLDEN NUGGETS TO REMEMBER

In my life, I always remember nuggets of truth.  One nugget, or as some would say a “one liner”, is the way God speaks with me.  One phrase, one word, or one thought is God speaking to me.  Let us now divide the above said in nuggets to remember. Valleys are not a “no go zone” but a “go back zone”.

•Valleys are a chest of hidden possibilities

•Valleys are an opportunity for God to prove His power.

•My valleys will become my second chance.

•Nothing is lost and forever gone unless God says so.

•With God in my life, I just abandoned the word “impossible”

•My defense and security is in my lost dream

•My valley is God’s ground to show His Glory

•My past humiliation will become my present promotion and honor.

•God’s breath will move the unmovable and make stand the slain things

•Wasted year’s is not my song anymore for He gave me a grip on my wasted years.

TENT – CHURCH PLANTS FOR 2012

On my recent mission to Southern Africa, I had an interview with 15 new pastors that we will help to establish a church within the next few months.  This will be done through tents.  Thank you for praying.  Remember:  Every church we neglect to plant, or start, is a vacuum we leave for the enemy to fill it with a counterfeit. Let us leave Satan no space to operate. Church planting is the only way to effectively capture the earth with the Gospel.  It is the New Testament way.

LOUIS PIENAAR – AFRICA CHURCH PLANT FIELD COORDINATOR 

Louis Pienaar is our tent plant field coordinator.  He also oversees the New Beginning rescue center and all other ministry aspects concerning Africa.  Louis is currently working on all our new church plants.  We also plan to complete a smaller steel structure for a church for Pastor Agnes.

RAY OF SUNSHINE – HOUSE FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN 

Report from Merle Ray: “Dear Pastor Andre, I thank you greatly for your recent donation to our ministry for abandoned children and babies.  This week I bought groceries with a realization.  Unless the Lord supplies, we will not be able to take care of all our children this month.  As soon as I said that, your mail came in for another financial blessing towards the kids.  I am in awe of the Lord’s timing. Thank you for thinking of us as we are challenged to feed our hungry children.   I am now aware our children are on His budget and stand amazed at His provision.  I thank you and GNN for your generous gift.”

NEW BEGINNINGS RESCUE CENTER 

This is a rescue place for 1,100 plus people from all walks of life.  I can never tell you in an effective way what the Lord is doing here.  Three thousand meals a day are needed to make this center a success, and it is happening.  The most torn apart people you can ever imagine live here.  We have just reached out to this center and provided much needed help.  Make sure you go to our new web site at www.gnni.org for more information on New Beginnings.  It is such a joy to see how The Holy Spirit is restoring people that some people will not even give a second chance.  His love is a burning fire that consumes people back into Heaven with no difficulty. When you see this, you see passion in practice.

AFRICAN BIBLE SCHOOL

During my recent visit to South Africa, I also ministered at this school where approximately 700 pastors are in follow up training.  What a time we had.  It is amongst this group of people that we released and helped plant more churches. We are also in need of extra training.  We are now busy printing training material and should have this available soon. I will be back at this school within two months’ time, and I am looking forward to work with these dedicated men and women. See more comments below.

GNN – SCHOOL OF THE SUPER NATURAL

This is not a theological school.  It is a school for all who are interested in an effective walk with the Lord.  It is fresh and for all people.  It will help you hear the Voice of God again and learn how to please Him more than ever before.  This School of the Supernatural will be presented in eight classes with practical application during training.  I plan to introduce this to many churches and will also make it available online.   We will update you constantly.

DEON VAN STADEN

Pastor Deon van Staden is an incredible help to GNN at the moment.  He is helping us with all our video editing material for Africa, and the printed material for the School of the Supernatural.  Deon also assists greatly in the general preparation of many other books and booklets for our partners and training in general.  Pastor Deon will also assist in training once all our materials are ready to go.  Pastor Deon could also travel with me to Africa in the near future.   We need a miracle here.  He walks in faith, and we need to help this couple.  Deon and Rynette are highly skilled and valuable people in His Kingdom.  Any gift to the ministry will assist us in putting food on their table.  Thank you for your help in this regard.

NATIONS 

The more we bless, empower and expand, the more the cry of desperation comes our way.  Apart from people in need, we have leaders in need.  Let us go where He sends us.  I have specific voices from Russia and Siberia.  Yes, it is in these utmost places where God is willing to pour out His Spirit.  Man sometimes determines what a bad investment is.  God pours out His Spirit where man will never invest his money.  He loves nations, and your prayer will help us make key decisions on how, when, and where we ought to be.

UPPER ROOM & THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER

God’s voice is calling nonstop.  He is calling for the church to find Him on her knees.  I will update you on this command in a separate mail.  Two extremely important Upper Room gatherings are finalized.  I am again busy with pastors to see how we can raise the sleeping giant, called the church.  Watch out for separate news on the command, “Back to the Upper Room.”

NUGGETS FOR MEN

A man is not finished when he is defeated.  He is finished when he quits.

Galations 6:9; And let us not be weary in well doing:  for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

The man who makes no mistakes does not normally make anything.

Psalm 37:24; Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand.

Pursuing Him, For He Pursued me,

Andre van Zyl

ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE GREATER

Dear Friend of the Nations,

Loving people is to love God for when you love His creation you will love God.  With breath in our lungs, we can take it for granted that God wants us and needs us.  The breath in your lungs is the sign that He still plans to fulfill your destiny on the earth.

A THOUGHT FROM GOD TO YOU

In 2 Kings 4:8, we find a Shunamite woman preparing a room for the man of God.  In verse 8 she said these words, ”I know this is a Holy man of God passing by us regularly.  Let us make a small upper room for him so that he can turn in here.

Read your seasons

An extraordinary man passes by and she noticed it.  Key times in our lives are times to be noticed. What she saw and took notice of was about to redo the landscape of her life.  Do you believe that God can bring such a moment to you in 2012?  I believe that God will grant many a moment in this year that can change the rest of our lives.  The Spirit of God is hovering all over the earth seeking for a place of rest.  Let us open our eyes and take notice of a possible pass by opportunity coming up.

Be creative

There is always a prize for advancing in life.  This woman built a room she was never asked to build.  It is amazing that she realizes that to get what Elisha had she will have to do the extraordinary.  People want it all but do not want to give it all.  Let us go out of our way in sowing, building, advancing and pioneering until God has no choice but to turn in and take notice of us. Doing the extra is what brought the extraordinary to her. She received far beyond what she ever anticipated.  The room she built was costly, but once she embraced a son the room, as a seed, seems so small.  Once God blesses us, our seed seems so insignificant.

Happenings

It happened one day when Elisha turned in.  I like the words, “it happened.”  God will always fill what you built.  Are you someone that has much happening for you?  You are probably a progressive person always busy to make things happen for His Kingdom and no wonder you live in constant happenings of the Holy Spirit. Reinhardt Bonnke once said, ”God moves with a man that moves”.  Move and He moves, give and He gives back, build and He will fill it with your desires.

Know what you want

Elisha offered her the honor to meet the king and the commander of the army.  She refused both.  Why will you settle to meet important people when you know the Holy Spirit?  This non compromising approach she had was the very reason why she received the ultimate blessing in the form of a son. Never compromise for what looks good because God gives more than what is just good.  He gives honor, for that is the meaning of the word “son”.  2012 is a God year in which God will give us the ultimate for we have seen the one who passes by for who He really is.  She gave the king and commander a NO.  She gave Elisha, a type of the Holy Spirit, a YES.

On the threshold

Being exposed to change can be challenging.  Elisha called her, and she stood in the doorway.  Another translation says, she stood on the threshold. This was the best place to be.  Exposed to the prophetic, she was about to hear what only Elisha could say to her.  Her ears are about to be challenged.  She will hear something beyond her understanding.  Her mind will be tested.  She stood on the threshold that she built herself.  She herself will be the reason why she will be blessed.  Through her giving and building, she created her own blessing.  She is now positioned for creativity.

Would you believe if God said to you, you stand on a threshold. The reality of what she saw was not Elisha, BUT A BOY. You may see a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, but in reality it will be something else in real life.  Your everyday life will testify to the fact that you were exposed to His presence. This is your 2012 prediction. Something greater is coming to you. 

Expect the unexpected

On the threshold, she heard the unexpected.  She heard something she honestly believed does not exist.  She will have a son.  Her husband is old, the season is gone.  With God in the house no season is lost.  Beyond her understanding, outside of her sphere of expectancy God created a miracle for her.  Expect a greater than life miracle for that is who He is.  He is greater.

MY EYES HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH HURTING PEOPLE – NEW BEGINNINGS

My tongue is too inexperienced to tell what my eyes have seen.  1200 people rescued in an old prison.  It is called “New Beginnings”.  We embraced this breathtaking outreach in South Africa.  Ex-murderers released who found Jesus.  Prostitutes and so many people thrown away by life rescued in the New Beginnings center.  It is impossible to tell.  When you have a glimpse of these people and how 3000 meals a day is served supplied by God’s modern day ravens you will stand in awe.  Looking at all of this I hear one cry from the bottom of the hearts of these people.  That cry is HELP!!!!!  Partners, I will be back in Africa within two months and will embrace this group of people and many others.

NEW BEGINNINGS CENTER – STANDING IN LINE FOR DAILY BREAD 

This bread line is all the “expired bread” that street people come to collect.  I ministered at this center one night and what a time we had.  Giving them the bread of life and then daily bread to overcome another day.

CURRENT CHURCH PLANT 

I visited this pastor to view her tent, day care center, and steel structure for new church.

PRE-SCHOOL IN ZINK BUILDINGS 

Pastor Andre at the day care center with children.

PASTOR ANDRE AT SQUATTER CAMP 

Pastor Andre in squatter camp near tent church.

ANDRE WITH DORAH & HER HUSBAND FROM THE DORAH’S ARC ORPHANAGE 

 

ELEVEN YEARS IN THE USA 

January 17, last month we celebrated 11 years of living in this great nation.  Eleven means added measure.  I believe that He will give extra measure to our ministry.  Thank you for accepting and embracing us.  Thank you for working with us although we come from a different culture.  The American people are people that make room for others.  God spoke this word in 1982 concerning America and how honored are we that we as ordinary people can be elected by God to come to speak a word to America. We are now proud Americans and love everyday day being just that.

NUGGETS FOR MEN

Personality has the power to open doors, but character keeps them open.

Proverbs 10:30 – The righteous shall never be removed.

He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever.

Matthew 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 

CD OF THE MONTH – ONE STEP INTO THE GREATER

Where is the greater?  How can I step into it?  Everyone asked John if he is Christ.  Some assumed he is Elijah or a prophet.  He then boldly said I am not but the greater is already amongst you.   He referred to Jesus.  The greater in your life is NOT WHERE YOU ARE, BUT NOT FAR OUT EITHER.   The greater is in touching and reaching distance. The Promised Land was not via a road they were on before but were in reaching distance.  Naaman could not be healed in the known rivers but the Jordan River where he would be healed was close.  Jesus, outside the boat, invited Peter to step out into the greater.  Your greater miracle is ONE STEP AWAY.  This CD will reveal to you that THE GREATER is already in your everyday territory and one small step or small adjustment could get you right into it.

I am so blessed to have you on my side in 2012.  Thank you for your kindness and love so generously demonstrated to me and my mission.  I am in debt to you and offer you my sincere prayer at any time.  Be encouraged for what I do for His Kingdom is for your account in heaven.  I run because you made it possible

Together Until the End,

Andre  van Zyl

Dear Partner, …

Dear Partner,

     What a joy to greet you from the soil of Africa.  Jesus is alive and that is the foundation of our lives.  I love you dearly and invite you to join us for another year in touching the lives of people. I am in South Africa, and we started 2012 on a high.  I am ministering a powerhouse of potential world shakers in the form of an advanced training school for pastors.  We expect over 700 pastors for an evening of empowering.  I am also interviewing 20 plus pastors for expanding their churches and the planting of several new churches. We are visiting two orphanages and are also looking into a new model of how to help orphans by putting them into normal households. 

A PROSPEROUS 2012

     Our prayers are for 2012 to be a very unique year to you and your family.  He is your source, and I pray that even in the midst of challenging times ahead, God will still be your source and comfort.  The world is going through troubling times, but God is our solid foundation.  I pray over you daily and know that He is our only answer.  You and I began this year by His Grace, and that same Grace will be the completion of the year for you and your family. 

 MORE NUGGETS OF REVELATION FROM JOHN CHAPTER ONE

     Unanswered prayers are not an unfamiliar term to all of us.  In Luke 1, we find Zacharias a righteous man.  He and his wife were older people, and in verse 13, the angel announced to them that their prayer was answered.  This was a prayer that both of them forgot about, and they gave up on God to answer this prayer.  Remember, this answered prayer had to happen in the natural God given cycle God ordained for any woman to have a child.  This is a powerful thought.  God answered the couple’s prayer by sending the answer when the season for such a miracle had passed.  Once we realize what happened, one can almost explode with excitement for only God can do such a thing.  God has the ability to answer a prayer even when the natural condition is against it.  Our landscape of circumstances can never withhold God from answering our prayers. 

     Do you have forgotten prayer requests?  Have you made peace with your circumstances and become familiar with the thought that your prayer was not heard by God.  Maybe the enemy told you that you do not qualify.  God answered their prayer at a time they probably forgot they have ever prayed that prayer.  Nothing is ever to late, to big or impossible for God.  Remember, this boy will carry the name of John, and John was the one to announce Jesus.  The reason for your one outstanding prayer is because God has a greater miracle in the making.  A delay by God in answering your prayer has something to do with a greater miracle in the making. 

The muzzled tongue

     We are still in Luke chapter one.  We find Zacharias having a hard time to believe that God can give him a son when the season is gone.  Verse 18 says, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years”.

     The birth of John was so key to God that we find a major intervention in verse 20.  This verse says, “But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” 

     There is definitely power in the tongue.  God answering the prayer of Zacharias was something to big for Zacharias to understand.  In order for John to be birthed, God had to muzzle the tongue of this righteous man.  Yes, even righteous people can stop God’s best from happening.   God does not like when we disagree on something He announced will happen.  God saw John in the future and decided to move man out of the way in order to make sure His desires were fulfilled.  

     The realities of our lives make sense to us as long as nothing extraordinary happen.  When the angel announced they will have a son, it was an extraordinary message that did not fit the landscape of their age.  In their mind, their age was against the birthing of another child.  Yes, they could possibly remember the prayer, but the age of their bodies made the thought of a son impossible.  Many of us will deal with realities that no man can wish away in 2012.  Many will have major challenges, but 2012 could be the year when God will deliver miracle sons that will stun us to be mute as we will view His Glory in demonstration. 

LET US DECREE TOGETHER IN 2012

The year 2012 will be the year in which God will deliver miracles in spite of how negative our life may be.  I pray that by the end of 2012, many of our dear partners will have to admit that God did something in 2012 you never thought could ever happen again.  I decree over your life today:

• This year will bring forth miracles that will stun you to the point of muteness.
• God will do things beyond your understanding.
• God will deliver things of which your neighbors will have to admit it is a blessing from God.
• God will reinstall lost seasons and answer prayers you forgot you ever prayed.
• God will do the impossible in spite of your weak faith.

Two pregnancies linked for a divine purpose

     Your life is linked to the most incredible thing you can ever imagine.  It was never about John but about Jesus.  The thing God plans to do by answering your prayer is to link your miracle to a greater miracle.  Yes, your life can be the stepping stone God will use to accomplish the greater.  The pregnancy of Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, came in their latter years.  The next pregnancy, the one of Mary, came from divine intervention as Mary never new a man as you will find in Luke 1:34. Yes, this was all about the birth of Jesus.  In verse 36, God told Mary that Elizabeth is also pregnant and it is as if God gives Mary this sign as a confirmation to her own pregnancy.  Two women pregnant with two boys that will be prophetically linked for a greater purpose.  This is so divine.  In John Chapter one, it was John that announced Jesus by saying, “There is the Lamb of God”.  John never feared to announce the arrival of Jesus.  John was never afraid that his own reputation would be in danger.  John was birthed by God to announce Jesus.  Whatever God plans to do through you this year is to rejoice over, for your answer to prayer will bless you, and it will have something to do with that. 

A kindred spirit – John leaped hearing Mary’s voice

     In Luke 1:41, Mary entered the house of Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth heard that greeting, the child in her leaped.  John, still an unborn child, already felt the link between Mary and Elizabeth.  Yes, there was a link between the two boys even before they were born.  When you see how significant their relationship was once grown up, you will understand that God was in control all the time.

     His hand on us is so significant that we should expect something to happen in our lives every day.  Never underestimate the stirring of His Holy Spirit in you.  God knows His own desires for you.  He will never forget you or your prayers and still plan to bless you with the ultimate blessing, no matter what your circumstances are.

He will be called John

     The custom was to give the son the name of the father.  This custom did not last for God intervened.  Let us allow God to intervene in our traditions and customs and allow God to call names as He sees fit.  Zacharias was a good man and a good name, but God was in need of a John the Baptist.  Allow your life to supply God with what He wants and not what our customs demand.  In verse 60 of Luke chapter one, Elizabeth made it clear when she said, “he will be called John”.

He is John – On a Tablet

Zacharias is still mute in verse 63.  They asked him what he had to say. They thought he would keep the tradition and name the boy after himself.  He wrote on a tablet and said,  ‘His name is John”.  Now, Zacharias broke away from the custom and tradition of his day  and made it clear this son will not carry his name but carry the name God ordained for this boy to have.  This is so powerful. 

The power of agreeing with God – Loosened Tongue

     Luke 1:64.  The moment Zacharias wrote on a tablet for he could not speak yet, agreeing with what God desired and called the boy John, his tongue was set loose.  People praised the Lord and asked in verse 66 the question: “What kind of child will this be?.  Amazing!  Zacharias finally agreed with the name and his tongue was set loose.  God considers our tongue such a powerful instrument that He will muzzle the tongue that does not agree with His plan. 

     Let us bring our tongue and our confessions in line with His divine plan, for God has a great plan in the making.  Let us not force God to do business according to our customs, regulations or traditions.  Learn to agree with what He has in store, for what He plans for our lives is so remarkable that we cannot imagine.  He is an awesome God, and He is ready to give us fruit and blessings that will expose us to more incredible miracles we can ever imagine.  Allow 2012 to be the year where you allow Him to orchestrate your life in order to introduce you to a new way of thinking in spite of your challenges. 

     Outside the season of opportunities, He operates.  When all odds are against you, He works at His best.  Bring your tongue under control, for He will do what you have never seen before.  He is God, and He can do things when the season for that thing is over.  He gave Sarah a child at the age of 90.  Who can argue with God when He does these things? Abraham was 100 years old at that time.  He did this no matter what man said. 

     Our lives are to His Honor, and He chooses in a sovereign way what He wants.  When He orders it, no age can stop Him.  

I decree again that 2012 will be the year when God will intervene in the landscape of people’s lives and He will do things that is unheard of.  Put a hold on your tongue for you will have reason to disagree.  This is the year our God wants to establish honor for Himself.  It is the year where He will call things names and ordain people to positions of honor for he took control of the landscape of life.  It is time for the John’s to be birthed, for it is the John type of people that will announce the greatness of God.  Jesus is the one, and we need more modern day John’s that will honor Jesus for He alone deserve all honor.

Be an announcer of the greatness of God. 

2012 MISSION

USA Local Churches

     I believe God has something very powerful in place for many American churches.  Make sure you come to meetings close to you.  We plan to empower many and add fresh new teachings during all our meetings that will strengthen and empower the local church.  Many new materials will be made available. 

New Church Plants in Africa

     We are interviewing 20 pastors and how we can help them to expand their churches.  These specific churches are all to be found in rural areas and will be done through our tent plant program.  In Nigeria, the Muslims burned many churches during the 2011 Christmas season.  Let us expand the church and do it with haste before evil forces take over land where we should have invested first.  They may burn our churches but they can never burn Christ in us.  The reason the Muslims burn churches is because the planting of churches is a direct threat to the kingdom of darkness. 

Empowering African Leaders

     Empowering leaders and training them are crucial.  I will be involved in training several times during the next year.  I am now committed to help with the training of 700 plus leaders in South Africa.  Your seed is making this happen. 

Leaders in Africa, Russia, and Siberia

     God just opened doors to help leaders in the above mentioned nations.  This is major.  Pray partners.  Most people do not want to go to some of these places.  When the cry for help comes, who will ignore that cry.  I am in consultation with pastors from South Africa and one from Korea to see how I can assist them in reaching out to these nations.  Only God and our partners will get me there.  Your seed will now touch Russia and Siberia. 

African Orphans

     Needless to say how Jesus cares for children.  I mentioned to you earlier in this letter about these children, and YES, these orphans are high on our agenda in 2012.  Jesus is alive, and with breath in our lungs, we will go and go and go and go.  In Isaiah 6:8, His word says:  “Whom shall I send, And who will go for US?”  Our answer to that is simple, “send me Lord”. 

POWERFUL STATEMENTS

“Forgiveness is the fragrance the flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it.”  David Jeremiah

We to often love things and use people, when we should be using things and loving people.  Romans 12:10 NIV;  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

NUGGETS FOR MEN

I would rather fail in the cause that someday will triumph than triumph in a cause that someday will fail.

2 Cor: 2:14;  Now thanks be unto God, which always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Pray for our safe return.  I look forward to see you in 2012.  Come say hello in the meetings and remind me that you are a partner.  I love you and know He takes care of you, your family and your dreams.

 In Awe of Jesus!

Andre van Zyl

PLACE OF SECURITY

Dear Friend,

     Special greetings to you.  I am blessed to know you and want to bless you.  Jesus is our message and theme.  His Kingdom is our space where we live and enjoy His choice blessings to us.  

     In Ruth chapter three, verse one Naomi asked Ruth this important question:  ”My daughter, shall I not seek security for you that it may be well with you?  Naomi’s name means delightful and pleasant.  She is a type of the Holy Spirit and takes notice of her pure desire for the wellness of Ruth.  When she made the suggestion to Ruth she already had Boaz in her mind.  Boaz is a type of our heavenly father.  Later in chapter three, you will find Ruth at the feet of Boaz.  In chapter four, you will find Ruth as the bride to Boaz.  This is a fairy tale story to a certain degree.  

     Ruth came from Moab, a type of the world as you will notice in chapter one. She was the daughter-in-law of Naomi.  When Naomi decided to return to Judea after the death of her husband, Ruth made an oath that she will not leave Naomi and that Naomi’s God will become her God. In Ruth 1:16 – 17, we find these powerful significant words of Ruth as she spoke to Naomi.  16 “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God be my God. 17 ;Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”

     At the end of the book of Ruth, we will see that David came from the lineage of Boaz as well as Jesus.  God’s Grace directed our footsteps from the Moab world to where we find ourselves in the land of Boaz picking up grain that was dropped on purpose for us.  FAVOR, FAVOR, FAVOR.  We find ourselves married as the bride of Christ to Jesus our bridegroom and now carry eternal seed that will keep us in covenant for eternity.  

WELLNESS AND SECURITY

     The goodness of Jesus is simply amazing.  The bottom line is wellness and security.  The pure desire of the Holy Spirit for you is to be taken care of.  Isn’t that just awesome?  He desires the best for us in spite of our background.  He is willing to go into a covenant with us in spite of our history.  Yes, He intends to bring forth the fruit of destiny from us that will touch generations to come.  He is willing to connect us with royalty although we never came from royalty.  He simply loves us.  THIS IS OUR GOD AND HIS GRACE.  Amazing!

THANKSGIVING 2011

     What a beautiful word, the word “thank you.”! Thank you friend for your wonderful friendship and partnership.  My vocabulary falls short to even think of how I can thank you.  I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving 2011 with friends and family.  Jesus is the bread of life and what you will enjoy on your thanksgiving table this year comes from the Lord.  

     Thank you for what you have placed on the GNN table this year.  Your financial-food if I can call it that, has supplied needs thousands of miles away from here.  Let us pray this year as we get ready to eat our manna from heaven as supplied by God on our Thanksgiving table, that He will also fill up the tables of the poor.  Happy Thanksgiving America and thank you America for embracing the van Zyl’s into this great country.  

NUGGETS FOR MEN

“The way each day will look to you all starts with who you’re looking to.”

Psalm 121:1 & 2. I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

“Live truth instead of professing it.”

James 1:22.  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

POWERFUL STATEMENT –

“Holding a grudge is letting someone living rent free in your head.” 

Let us be Jesus to the world.  We are saved by grace and let us walk in that grace as we always remember where He brought us from.   

I love you dearly,

Andre’

…We Can Not Afford to Stop…

Dear Friend on the Journey,

Life is a journey, and I am so glad you are my fellow traveler on this God-ordained road. What a joy to walk with God!  In one of my recent discussions with African leaders, I was struck by what a great man of God said and I quote:  ”…we cannot afford to stop praying…”  

This dear Pastor, and friend of mine, understands Africa. We discussed the spirit of prayer and the need to proceed with planting more churches in Sudan.  The above statement comes from this humble but powerful man of God. He is the lead pastor of the largest and fastest growing Pentecostal church in Sudan with this quote; ”We cannot afford to stop our intercession and prayer for one minute, or we will be attacked by the Muslims.”

This statement stirred my spirit, and I realized that we must plant many more churches as fast as possible.  We have seen this happen to other places in Africa.  They build a mosque and then buy all properties around that mosque.  They saturate one area completely and supply the basic needs until all become Muslims. In America, we opt-out of prayer with the same ease as if we opt-out of a financial investment.  Opting out of a financial investment or any other investment plan may not affect you, but opting out of prayer will destroy us.   This pastor’s words pierced me, and I realized that this has become so intense that when they stop they are attacked.  The preaching of the Gospel and expanding the influence of the church is not another thing we do. This is the most crucial message the world has to hear.  There is no way out, and we have not one minute to stop.  Let us never plan to ease our involvement or stop our expansion; for This Message will change the world.  

In our discussion this pastor shared with me, there are immediate challenges in Sudan and Liberia.  Pray that somehow the Lord will provide for these nations.

CHURCH PLANTING & SOAKING RAIN

Soaking rain is sometimes the only answer to break a famine and drought.  The area where we will pioneer this year, and even next year, must be soaked with churches as soon as possible.  This one area alone needs 40 new church plants, and we must cover all possible areas once we enter a territory.  My prayer is for the Lord to soak this territory with so many church plants until the enemy flees the area.  I hear about soaking meetings where people sit and soak in the presence of the Lord.  How about a region being soaked in His presence?  This is the only way is to make the church more visible than ever.  

MORE THAN JUST TENTS

The emphasis is not only tents.  One tent is just a covering that gives the poor a place to gather.  Pray with me for support, food, chairs, other equipment, teaching material, and etc.  To touch a person’s life takes more than a sermon.  Even a blanket and a glass of water are included in the full gospel.  We have dozens of tent churches in place that were planted over the years, and our help is still crucial there for it is a process to strengthen each church plant after it was birthed.  I can spend a year just going from church to church teaching basics and will still not cover them all.

WELCOME PASTOR DEON VAN STADEN

Pastor Deon van Staden, a dear friend of mine from South Africa, came on board with our GNN family.  He and his wife, Rynette, have a lot to offer and will now serve on our side to make our ministry even more effective in South Africa. There came a time that Moses needed help to hold up his arms, and that is how I can describe the role of this dear pastor and his wife at this time.   Pastor Deon will immediately help to administrate the tent plants, prepare the ground for me before I go in for the training of Pastors, and work with our orphanages in Africa.  We will introduce pastor Deon and Rynette to you as the time goes by as there are other aspects of ministry they could possibly get involved in.

The cry of Africa is training. We are working behind the scenes on material to make it available for pastors and believers.  Blessing someone with a tent is just a small percentage of what needs to be done.  If we can train a leader, we can influence many more people. Helping someone to catch a fish is better than giving a fish. We thank the Lord for bringing Pastor Deon to our side.  Thank you for your prayers for this couple.    

ELECTRIFIED AMERICAN MEETINGS.

God is touching people in an amazing way.  A fresh revelation of who this Jesus is, is sweeping into the meetings.  People fall in love with Him all over again.  It sometimes feels as if we have just entered a party where exuberant joy comes over the people.  People are being set free as I speak.  It is so encouraging to see how His word electrifies an audience and sets so many free at one time.  A spirit of awe hangs over the meetings, and I cannot really explain what it is.  New Testament dynamics is at work and that does something people and I need so desperately. Join us and come allow this freshness to overwhelm you.  More is about to come, for He is an endless mine with so much more to be discovered.  Healing, freedom, joy, deliverance and so much more is at hand.  Now is the time.  Come.

NUGGETS FOR MEN

1. Responsibility is the thing people dread most of all. Yet it is the one thing in the world that develops us, gives us manhood…fiber.

     Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Luke 12:43

2. Perhaps once in a hundred years a person may be ruined by excessive praise, but surely once every minute someone dies inside for lack of it.

     Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

3. Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking. 

     Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 29:20

NUGGETS OF TRUTH

     One giant oak tree is from one nut that held its ground.

      A ship in a harbor is safe – but that is not what ships are built for.

          John A. Shedd.

 We cannot afford to stop,

Pastor Andre van Zyl.

GOOD NEWS TO THE NATIONS