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Erlo Stegen
Erlo Hartwig Stegen (1935 - 2023). South African missionary and revivalist of German descent, born on Mbalane farm near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, to Hermannsburg missionary descendants. Raised Lutheran, he left school after grade 10 to farm but felt called to ministry in 1952, evangelizing rural Zulus under apartheid. After 12 years of preaching with few lasting conversions, he experienced a transformative revival in 1966 at Maphumulo, marked by repentance and reported miracles. In 1970, he founded KwaSizabantu Mission (“place where people are helped”) in Kranskop, which grew into a self-sustaining hub with farms, a water bottling plant, and schools, serving thousands. Stegen authored Revival Among the Zulus and preached globally, establishing churches in Europe by 1980. Married with four daughters, he mentored Zulu leaders and collaborated with theologian Kurt Koch. His bold preaching drew 3 million visitors to KwaSizabantu over decades.
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Sermon Summary
Erlo Stegen emphasizes that God is the beginning of everything, asserting His supremacy over all aspects of life. He stresses that our faith is founded on the truth that God must be first in every area, including business and family. Stegen warns against treating God as a spare-wheel, only to be called upon in times of trouble, and highlights God's mercy in responding to such prayers despite our neglect. He challenges listeners to reflect on whether their lives truly testify to God being first and encourages a personal examination before God. The sermon calls for a commitment to prioritize God above all else.
In the Beginning God
Gen 1:1, "In the beginning God ..." God is the beginning of everything. In all walks of life there are different positions and ranks. But God is over all; He is no. 1. There is no one that can be compared to Him in glory or greatness. The foundation of our faith is based upon this word, "in the beginning God ..." Our Christian faith is based on this truth that in everything in life God is first. In business or family life, He must be first. He is the beginning and the end - even in the middle He is first. It is not to be the husband or the wife first, but God first. He must have the predominance in everything. A car has a spare-wheel so that in case of a problem with one of the wheels it can be replaced with the spare-wheel. Now God is not to be your spare-wheel, to be called upon only when you're in trouble. He must be the first throughout your life. The strange thing is that though people treat God as the spare-wheel and only call upon Him in tragedy He is rich in mercy and many times still answers that prayer. Humanly speaking we would say that such a person deserve to be forsaken of God, but God many times still shows mercy. Does your life bear testimony to the fact that He is indeed still the first in your life? Let God change you. It would be good that everyone coming to this wedding ceremony examine his or her life before the Lord in the light of this word.
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Erlo Hartwig Stegen (1935 - 2023). South African missionary and revivalist of German descent, born on Mbalane farm near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, to Hermannsburg missionary descendants. Raised Lutheran, he left school after grade 10 to farm but felt called to ministry in 1952, evangelizing rural Zulus under apartheid. After 12 years of preaching with few lasting conversions, he experienced a transformative revival in 1966 at Maphumulo, marked by repentance and reported miracles. In 1970, he founded KwaSizabantu Mission (“place where people are helped”) in Kranskop, which grew into a self-sustaining hub with farms, a water bottling plant, and schools, serving thousands. Stegen authored Revival Among the Zulus and preached globally, establishing churches in Europe by 1980. Married with four daughters, he mentored Zulu leaders and collaborated with theologian Kurt Koch. His bold preaching drew 3 million visitors to KwaSizabantu over decades.