Erlo Stegen emphasizes the importance of honoring our vows to the Lord, warning that failing to keep our promises can lead to curses instead of blessings. He shares the story of Mandla, a young man who neglected his commitment to God and faced dire consequences, ultimately finding redemption only after confessing his sins. Stegen urges believers to remember that God holds us accountable for our promises, especially on Judgment Day, and encourages them to break any sinful vows made to the world. The sermon serves as a reminder that true blessings come from fulfilling our commitments to God.

Deut 23 21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. Many Christians make a promise to God only to quickly forget about it and so bring a curse upon themselves in stead of a blessing. You must obey and do what you have promised to the Lord. God doesn't forget the promises you've made and on Judgement Day will recall it. If you keep the promise you've made to the Lord He will bless you but if not you will bring a curse upon yourself. Maybe you've made a promise to the Lord to serve Him and preach His Word. Have you kept it? A certain boy, Mandla, came to me and said that he felt called to preach the Gospel. His mother too became a Christian but his father didn't want anything to do with Christianity. He was a violent man. He would beat his wife and told his son to go find work in Durban. Mandla forgot about his promise, and we lost contact. Not long afterwards news came to me that he was in prison. He got involved with a gang and they killed two people. His knife was the weapon used although he didn't do the actual stabbing. All of them were sentenced to be hung (this was during the time of the previous government when capital punishment by hanging was still done). He sent me a letter from jail and asked me to, "go through all the world and tell the people that if you make a promise to God to keep it. I asked u. Waldemar to visit him in prison and he confessed his sin and made his life right. Before that it was a pitiful sight and he cried but after he made his life right he sang until the day of his death. Initially when Mandla cried the leader of the gang mocked him, but as the days came nearer and the leader of the gang knew his day of being hanged he started to cry. If you have made a promise to God let no one stand in your way but keep your promise. But the promises you've made to worldly friends to sin together and keep it secret, those are the promises you need to break quickly and bring it to the light. The curse is that we are quick to make a promise to God and then quickly forget about it again.