A Child of the Promise

By Sabelo Mahlalela

This is the story of an ordinary man's life turned into an extraordinary journey; revealing beyond the shadow of a doubt that while man may make plans, it is God who directs his path. In experiencing the limits of success and personal ambition he has discovered the incredible promise that is available to everyone.

In this book Sabelo shares how he has learned to capture the heart of God; to open his heart to intimate communication with the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth and how to live confidently in the knowledge that he is "A Child of the Promise".

This book is not an autobiography. Rather it is the story of God's unmerited favor upon his life; it tells of a God who chose this unlikely young boy at the age 10 and gave him a vision and then, without ever leaving him nor forsaking him, prepared him for a journey he never could have imagined; gave him responsibilities and wisdom far beyond his natural capability and entrusted him with a message for a purpose that is only now coming to fruition.

This book is about his relationship with his heavenly Father, who remains faithful even when he was not; whose love for him, as is evident in scripture, surpasses all understanding.

It is a story of the purpose that God has for his life, not because he is perfect, but because God is. It is a story of thanksgiving because, in Him, we are Children of the Promise. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sabelo Mahlalela
• Release date: Jul 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781393643999

Book preview

Preface

ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT 2016, I awoke in the wee hours and knew, without a doubt, that I had had an encounter with my Lord Jesus Christ and that He had given me an assignment. The assignment was clear. I was to write a book; and not just any book but the book you now hold in your hands. It was to be written within a given timeframe and to deliver a specific message.

Writing the book has, itself, been an experience. Yes, part of it was a trip down memory lane but more than that, it was a time of introspection and deep meditation on past experiences. Additionally, given my greater maturity as a Christian since their occurrence, I now understand events, circumstances as well as personalities that had been a part of my life journey so far, in a new light. Of even greater importance to me is that I have come to a better understanding of God’s favor upon my life and therefore, a better sense of my purpose in this life.

Over and above all the foregoing, I have come to love the Lord my God even more fervently and to feel even more secure than I ever did, in His love and in His promises, particularly this one promise,

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart..." Jeremiah 29:11-13

This book is not my autobiography. Rather it is the story of God’s unmerited favor upon my life; it tells of a God who chose this unlikely young boy and gave him a vision and then, without ever leaving him nor forsaking him, prepared him for a journey he never could have imagined; gave him responsibilities and wisdom far beyond his natural capability and entrusted him with a message for a purpose that is only now coming to fruition.

This book is about my relationship with my heavenly Father, who remains faithful even when I am not; whose love for me, as is evident in this scripture, surpasses all understanding:

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3(a)

As I write this book my desire is that you will be blessed by my story; you will understand the love of God and His desire that you, too, will take your rightful place as a child of the promise because of this Biblical truth,

"That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed." Romans 9:8

"And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:29

It is a story of the purpose that God has for my life, not because I am perfect, but because He is. It is a story of thanksgiving because, in Him, I am a child of the promise. Again, I am by no means perfect, but when I fall, I will always rise because I know, I am a child of the promise. In fact, as you will see in the story, whenever I have fallen He has raised me up so that the promise may ultimately be fulfilled.

For a while I was overwhelmed by God’s favor upon my life and got to wondering what I had done to deserve it. However, as you will discover in this book, I now know that I didn’t, couldn’t, as a matter of fact, ever do anything to earn the favor of God. We, you and I, are highly favored simply because we are the called, the chosen people, a royal priesthood. It is not of ourselves or by anything we have done or could ever do, but by His design, His grace and His mercy that we are joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Kingdom of God.

Chapter One

That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. Romans 9:8

I

was born on 13 April 1969 in a small village called Fig tree, but known as Finki in the Nkomazi region of the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. I am the son of His Royal Highness, the late Prince Philemon Cuphile Mahlalela, and his wife, the late Priscilla Sesana Matsebula. My father, Philemon was the grandson of His Majesty, the late Nkosi Mbudula, of the Mahlalela tribe, whose royal kraal was based in Mbuzini.

His royal empire extended beyond the borders of South Africa, into Mozambique and Swaziland. Today, Mbuzini is a small village in the rural area at the corner of South Africa, bordering both Mozambique and Swaziland. It is one of the areas with clear evidence of colonial boundaries imposed on the African soil resulting in negative consequences on a tribal kingdom. This is the place where President Samora Moises Machel met his mysterious death.

My mother was the only daughter of the late Michael Mbalekelwa Matsebula, the founder of the Matsebula’s Bus Service, as it then was, which later became Buscor (Pty) Ltd. Her father was the eldest son of Timothy Mpopoli Matsebula.

I give this detailed account of my ancestry and draw a parallel to Biblical writings because,

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16

and that also includes the genealogies. Why did God include lengthy genealogies in the Bible? I pondered the significance of persons with names I struggled to pronounce such as Hazarmaveth or Ge-harashim?

However, there is no part of the Bible, not a chapter nor a verse, that is there without a very definitive reason.

The genealogical list in Genesis Chapter 5, is titled the Book of the Generations of Adam. This is not a list of all his posterity, but only of his descendants through the lineage of Seth. This is called the royal line because the descendants of Seth believed and followed God. Through them God’s promise of the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be accomplished.

In the Gospel of Luke, Christ’s genealogy begins with Adam and Seth. (Luke 3:23-38) The posterity of Cain, Adam’s son who rejected God is not included here. Eve named the third son Seth, which she explained meant, "...For God has appointed another seed instead of Abel, who Cain slew." Genesis 4:25

Abel believed and followed the Lord. Until the birth of Seth, Cain and his children did not trust God. Genesis 4:26, states that after the birth of Seth men began to call on the name of God again.

God states in these verses that He created man and in His likeness. This likeness or image (Genesis 1:27) means they were like God having a will, intelligence and emotion. God states absolutely that He created them and they were created male and female. This contradicts the theistic evolutionist who seeks to combine evolution and the Bible stating that God used evolution to create man. Our God states that man began as a complete man and woman. This totally precludes any room for them evolving.

God says He blessed them, meaning he showed them favor. God expresses His purpose in that even when man was rejecting God, He still had man’s best interests at heart. God has always sought to forgive and reconcile man to Himself.

The Bible states that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters but does not name them. It is only the genealogy of Seth, which is given because from his line would come the Lord Jesus Christ.

Noted is the death of each patriarch except Enoch. In Genesis 5:24, it says, he walked with God and was not. His death is not recorded. In Hebrews 11:5, the New Testament says that Enoch was translated. Literally it means to transport, change sides or remove. God took Enoch to heaven and Enoch never saw death. Clearly his walking with the Lord, was the basis of God taking him to be with Him. Enoch’s character is seen in references to him in Hebrews 11:5, and Jude 14. Enoch was a man of faith who trusted God. His trust for the Lord was manifested by his godly life.

Enoch had a son and named him, Methuselah. Methuselah’s name has been interpreted to mean, When he dies, it shall be sent. Enoch prophesied of the coming judgment of God and gave them a time frame for this coming judgment. He told them that when Methuselah died the judgment would come. Noah also preached righteousness and warned of God’s wrath. The antediluvian people had ample instruction and warning. They could have turned from their sin, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

Methuselah’s son Lamech had a son named Noah. The Bible gives the meaning of his name, as "He shall bring comfort to us in our work and toil because of the curse God placed on the ground." Genesis 5:29

Lamech must have believed the warning concerning the coming judgment and in naming Noah, acknowledged that God would preserve man through Noah. Lamech begat other sons and daughters. They perished in the Flood because although their father and brother, Noah, believed God they did not. Clearly, many from the line of Seth rejected God and died when the judgment came.

The chapter closes with the record of Shem, Ham and Japheth, the three sons of Noah, who with their wives were saved in the Ark in the Great Flood.

This chapter in the Holy Bible has so much teaching in it; I marvel at how I missed it for many years. I was blindsided by what I saw as repetitive and also by the challenge posed by the many names I could not pronounce. So whenever I got to that part of the Bible I breezed through it and moved on to what I presumed was ‘more relevant’ scripture.

However, the Lord revealed to me that in the same way many were born to these patriarchs not all were chosen. Even more tragically, you will find that within one family there would be those who believed in God and were saved and those who rejected God and died when judgment came.

This, too, is the story of my family and I know for a fact, is the story of many families out there. There are members of my family whom I loved dearly and I am saddened by the thought that because they did not come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation, before they departed from this world, they will not know the peace of living with Him and I, in eternity.

So, as I have studied the Word of God more closely and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our guide and teacher, I have come to the realization that genealogies in the Bible are important for the following reasons:

A) BIBLE GENEALOGIES show that God cares about history:

Recording lineages of important people in Scripture shows that the story of the Bible takes place in actual human history.

There are some that claim that the Bible doesn’t need to be historically true, but claim that we can live with hope in the message anyway, whether or not it is true. This way of thinking is dangerous and reduces the Bible to be a take-it-or-leave-it motivational book with fanciful myths or nice thoughts.

The Apostle Paul firmly believed in historical importance to our faith hence his words in 1 Corinthians 15:14 that,

"... And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty."

Genealogies document actual history and illustrate that the Bible is historically rooted and our faith is not in vain.

b) Bible Genealogies show that God interacts with real people:

This means that each person you see mentioned in Scripture was a living, breathing human being just like us. Biblical characters like Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus all lived on the earth and breathed the same air that we breathe today. Each of the people mentioned in genealogies represent a real life with real idiosyncrasies, real problems, and a real need for a Savior.

c) Bible Genealogies show that God can use imperfect people for His purposes:

Men and women, Jews and Gentiles, people of faith and people of questionable character are all used by God to carry out His salvation plan in His son Jesus Christ. The Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 records several people with well-known sins:

• Jacob, stole his brother’s birthright

Before Jacob and Esau were born, God had said, "Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated." Romans 9:13

Jacob tricked his brother out of his birthright then later stole the blessing of the first born from Esau, that their father Isaac was to give Esau on his deathbed. Genesis 27:1-29

• Rahab was a prostitute:

"Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia