We are asking for serious prayers for the continuing testimony of a godly man Pieter van Rensburg who went on to be present with the Lord. Pray for his expecting wife Annette. Awhile ago Pieter sent us an sms with the great news. Here is his sms:
Good day! We have received good news today to share with you! Annette and I are expecting a son and as the Lord wills Gertjiie will be born early in May. Praise the Lord! Psalm 127:3-5”
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
But on Thursday we received news from Annette's parents that Pieter went on to be present with the Lord. Annette's parents, Johan and Linda Grobler, sent us the following message:
Annette's husband, Pieter, went to the Lord on Thursday after an electric accident on the farm. Funeral to be held on Wednesday morning, March 17th, at 10:00 am. Please pray that the service will draw many close and make decisions to follow Christ.
This photo was taken on 7 March 2010 their 1st wedding anniversary.
Pieter was working on an irrigation centre pivot on the farm. We don’t know exactly what happened. It is likely to be an electric shock.
Thank you for your prayers,
Both families are very strong people in the Lord but still need our prayers in this time for their continual testimony in this crisis time (crisis humanly speaking but not in God's eyes).
Oh, that God will receive more glory in the lives of one of His servants who has stood for His righteousness! Precious in His sight is the death of the righteous!
Among many reasons which we don't know all of them, our sovereign King chose Pieter to go ahead and be a beacon for us who are left behind still in this imperfect miserable world. In which we groan together with nature till the coming of the Lord. That which the Lord sovereignly did with Pieter becomes a beacon for us to stay faithful and we will see him forever in God's eternity for which we all live for and die for. Apart from the temporary loss of his presence for a short while yet, the glory of what the Lord has done is that we must stay faithful and be sure to put off and keep off all the world that like him we may also be found faithful to enter our King's eternal kingdom that we so long for and live for.
Happy is he that went ahead to be with the Lord! His testimony will live on. And oh we must pray. Pray much for salvation of souls through his taken life. That he may behold as the angels and all heaven rejoice with every soul that repents and comes in to the Lord. But we must seriously pray that God will do this. We will certainly stand in prayer with you to see great and awesome things for the Lord.
We were blessed with the cry of the old Moravian Christians; that the Lamb that was slain may receive the reward of His suffering! Yes, that the Lamb that was slain will receive the reward of His suffering!! How glorious is this! We live for this. We die for this. That our Saviour and King will receive the reward of His suffering both in Pieter and through them that will come to repentance through his testimony that will live on and his faithful life be a reminder to all of us who stay behind. He certainly was a man who loved the Lord with all his heart. That we all know.
We pray that Annette, the parents, brothers and sister, family and close friends will greatly be strengthened and encouraged with heavenly minded vision and that they will truly rejoice in eternity for which we must live ceaselessly till Christ is formed in us and those around us. And we are blessed to know that the family does live for all these things because we know their faithfulness and testimony as they are lights in a dark and perverse world but it always stays a wonderful thing to truly encourage and carry each other in all kinds of times that befall us.
Is this not wonderful; Pieter lived in such a way that God will live on in the memories of Pieter because he lived for and practiced the disciplines and precepts of his God. Oh for more men of God like Pieter that we will be set afire by God through his life. Oh, that Pieter may see many many times how the angels and all heaven rejoice as more souls come in through the lives of his loved ones till all of us one by one go to be with him again. What a thought that in his presence with the Lord he also is beholding every time heaven rejoices as souls come in. And he certainly will know when men and women come in because of his testimony.
Here is a quote from Charles Spurgeon: “God is too kind to do anything cruel. . . . too wise to make a mistake; and too deep to explain Himself to us.”
From God we must learn:
- That His ways are higher than our ways
- That He runs the universe (and our lives) according to His unfathomable wisdom
- That He never calls us to understand His plan or explain His ways
"The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21
This must already be the Lord's purpose, at least part of it, but let us pray in accordance to what He is busy with: that His name will be glorified and His Kingdom furthered more through Pieter's death than it would've been if he had lived.
Let us run, run with the Lord! Another precious soul proceeded us to heaven!
We know for Pieter had a sure FOUNDATION Christ Jesus.
ARE WE ALL STILL ON THE SAME FOUNDATION ?
Let us do what we should to leave this world ready as Pieter did for the hour we know not!
We can thank God for Pieter's ready life! Will we live to have this same testimony? It's the kind that lives on in eternity.
Pray for fruit from Pieter and Annette's continuing testimony in the Lord.
God bless you, brothers and sisters
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