Sunday Message · Fountain of Grace International · Pretoria North
Your Success Depends on What You Do Before It Arrives
Most people wait passively for good things to happen. But breakthrough doesn't work that way. Your marriage, money, health, and purpose all follow the same rule: preparation before arrival.
Pastor Ricardo Zaal · Fountain of Grace International, Pretoria North
You've been waiting for your breakthrough to just appear
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This message is for you if:
- You keep waiting for things to change but nothing shifts
- You've received blessings that fell apart because you weren't ready
- You work hard but don't know what you're actually preparing for
- You need a plan that actually connects to where God is steering you
Why Waiting Alone Won't Work
Most people mistake patience for passivity. You sit at home hoping your ship arrives while standing on dry land. But a ship needs water to move. Your breakthrough-whether it's marriage, financial security, health, or purpose-requires one thing before it can arrive: the foundation you build in advance.
Pastor Ricardo calls this 'the digging.' Before you build a house, you dig. The bigger your dreams, the deeper the foundation. A small structure needs shallow trenches. A skyscraper needs digging that reaches hundreds of meters down. Your breakthrough is the same. The invisible work you do now-the learning, the discipline, the small acts of obedience-these are the trenches that hold up what's coming.
God doesn't hand you something you're not prepared to steward. When you pray for a car but you're not ready for the responsibility it brings, that blessing becomes a curse. When you ask for marriage but you haven't learned to manage your own life, that relationship shipwrecks. The waiting is real. But the preparation is what makes waiting matter.
Three Things Your Breakthrough Requires
First: the work you do in advance. Buy the winter clothes in summer. Set money aside before the season changes. Learn the keyboard so you can step in when no one else can. Learn basic sound mixing so your church doesn't go silent. These aren't glamorous. Nobody celebrates you for preparation. But every ship that arrives safely had maintenance done while no one was watching.
Second: the right relationship with God as your rudder. A ship without a rudder drifts. Wind pushes it. Rocks wait for it. You steer with your will, your choices, your mindset-but God holds the actual rudder. If you're making decisions based on fear, on what others say, or on what you think you deserve, you're steering straight toward a wreck. Jesus slept during a storm because He knew who controlled the wind. Your job is to trust that God knows your purpose before you were even formed. That changes how you navigate.
Third: understanding that breakthroughs come on God's schedule, not yours-and often invisibly. Your ship in your marriage might have already arrived when you got pregnant, but you're still waiting for it to look like what you imagined. Your ship in your finances might have come as a promotion you didn't celebrate. Your ship in your spirituality might have arrived while your career sits in winter. The confusion comes from measuring all your ships by one ruler. Each area of life has its own season.
When Your Ship Arrives, Will You Be Ready?
Pastor Ricardo tells a story about becoming a father. He wasn't ready. His friend showed up with six packs of nappies, bought supplies from the chemist, prepared everything. Because Ricardo hadn't dug the trenches in advance, someone else had to do it for him. God sent help. But the lesson sticks: when your ship comes in without warning, will your life be organized enough to receive it?
People win the lottery and lose it all in months. Not because the money was bad, but because they had a twenty-rand mindset trying to manage twenty million. The preparation isn't just physical-it's mental, spiritual, relational. You need a growth mindset. You need to know how to work with increase. You need to understand that blessings are tools God gives you to build His kingdom, not toys for your comfort.
Start now, where you are. If you don't know how to manage five thousand, you won't manage fifty thousand. If you can't keep one relationship healthy, multiplying them won't help. If you flee from small challenges, big ones will destroy you. The work you do in obscurity-the faithfulness no one sees-this is what determines whether you can hold your breakthrough when it arrives.
God Knows What Will Wreck You-And What Will Build You
Sometimes God doesn't give you what you ask for because He already knows it will sink your ship. You pray for something with all your heart, convinced it's the answer. But God sees further. He sees the car that pulls you out of church every Sunday. He sees the business opportunity that turns you into someone you don't recognize. He sees the relationship that looks perfect but slowly destroys your faith.
This isn't punishment. It's steering. When God withholds, it's not because He's cruel. It's because He's the captain and you're still learning to trust the rudder. The longer your relationship with God grows, the easier you understand His guidance. You start to see why He said no. You start to recognize the rocks before you hit them.
In the meantime, some of your ships are already here. Your spiritual breakthrough might have arrived while you're still waiting for the financial one. Your child might be heading toward restoration while you think they're heading toward ruin. The 'dent' you see might just need patching, not a complete rebuild. God is more patient with you than you are with yourself.
The Rudder Is Not You-It's Trust in Jesus
Every person has the same challenge: life throws wind at your ship. Unexpected losses. Betrayals. Health crises. Financial setbacks. Dreams that don't materialize the way you planned. The wind is real. The rocks are real. Your job isn't to stop the wind. Your job is to keep your hands on the rudder and remember who's actually steering.
Jesus slept in a storm while His disciples panicked. They thought He didn't care. But His sleep was the answer. It was Him saying: 'I know who I am. The storm knows who I am. You still have to learn.' That's your model. In any crisis-financial, relational, health, spiritual-you can choose to panic or you can choose to rest in the fact that God knows the destination and the route.
Who's driving your ship today? Is it fear? Is it what people expect? Is it what you think you deserve? Or is it trust in Jesus Christ, who knew you before you were formed, who has already seen every turn you'll make, and who is steering you toward a life of abundance, not harm? That answer determines everything.
Start Digging Now
You don't need to see the whole picture. You need to prepare for the next season while you're still in this one. Buy the winter coat in summer. Learn the skill no one is asking for yet. Save the money when you don't think you need to. Strengthen the relationship that feels solid. Deepen your prayer life when things are going well. Read the book. Take the course. Practice the discipline.
Some of your ships have already sailed because you weren't ready when they arrived. That's the past. Other ships are coming. The question isn't whether God will send them. The question is whether you'll be the kind of person who can steward them, lead them, and use them for His purpose when they arrive.
Pastor Ricardo survived a near-frozen night in the desert as a teenager because God was steering him toward a larger purpose. He's survived health crises, ministry betrayals, financial struggles, and family challenges because his rudder has always been his trust in Jesus. Your story doesn't have to look like his. But your survival, your breakthrough, your ability to navigate depends on the same thing: preparation before arrival, and Jesus at the wheel.
"Your ship doesn't come because it's your turn-it comes because you've prepared the water, dug the foundation, and trusted God to steer."
- Pastor Ricardo Zaal
Key Takeaways
- Preparation Determines Arrival Every breakthrough you want-in your marriage, finances, health, career, or spirituality-requires invisible work done in advance. You don't build a house the week before you move in. You dig the foundation months or years before. The deeper your dreams, the deeper you dig. Most people fail not because they don't want success, but because they wait passively instead of preparing actively. Start now with what's in front of you. Learn skills before you need them. Save money before crisis comes. Strengthen relationships while they're still strong. Build your foundation before your ship arrives.
- God Is Your Rudder, Not Your Wish Machine A ship without a rudder drifts into rocks. Your life needs steering too. That steering doesn't come from your desires, your fears, or what others expect. It comes from trust in Jesus Christ and obedience to His direction. Sometimes He withholds what you ask for because He sees it will wreck you. Sometimes He gives you something that looks like a curse because it's building your character for something bigger. Your job isn't to control the destination. Your job is to keep your hands on the rudder-your will, your choices, your obedience-while trusting that God knows the map. The closer you get to Him, the easier you recognize His steering.
- Your Breakthroughs Are Invisible Until You Know Where to Look Most people measure their entire life by one ruler and then feel like failures. You might be thriving spiritually while your marriage sits in winter. Your finances might have already turned a corner while your health is still struggling. Your child might be on a path to restoration while you're grieving what looks like ruin. Ecclesiastes teaches that there's a season for everything-planting and harvesting, weeping and laughing, breaking down and building up. Your ship in one area of life might already be here. Your breakthrough might have arrived invisibly. Stop measuring everything by the same standard. Ask God to show you where your ships have already come in, and prepare to receive the ones that are still on the horizon.
If you are in Pretoria North, come on a Sunday - these messages are preached live every week at Fountain of Grace International, 323 B Danie Theron Street.
Frequently Asked Questions
I've been praying for years and nothing has changed. Am I doing something wrong?
Prayer without preparation is like waiting for a ship on dry land. God responds to your faith, but faith requires action. You might be waiting for a spouse while avoiding the work of becoming the kind of person a healthy marriage needs. You might be waiting for financial breakthrough while making no plans to steward money. You might be asking God for healing while ignoring the physical and spiritual disciplines that support it. The Bible shows us through the parable of the talents that God blesses people who work with what they're given. Ask yourself: What foundation am I building right now? What skills am I learning? What relationships am I strengthening? What disciplines am I developing? Your breakthrough isn't delayed because God is slow. It might be delayed because you're not yet ready to hold it.
What if I prepare and still don't get what I want?
Sometimes the answer is no. Not because you failed, but because God sees further than you do. The car you prayed for might pull you away from church. The business opportunity might destroy your integrity. The relationship might slowly chip away at your faith. God doesn't withhold to be cruel. He withholds because He loves you more than you love yourself, and He knows what will actually build you and what will wreck you. But here's the part most people miss: while you're waiting for that 'no' to become a 'yes,' God is almost always saying 'yes' to something else. Your spiritual growth might be booming. Your character might be strengthening. Your family might be healing. Your purpose might be becoming clearer. Stop measuring your life by what you don't have. Ask God to open your eyes to the ships that have already arrived.
How do I know if I'm really prepared for my breakthrough?
You're prepared when you've built the habit, not just when you've had the thought. Can you manage what you have now? If you can't steward five thousand, you won't steward fifty thousand. If you can't keep one relationship healthy, having multiple won't help. If you panic at small problems, big ones will destroy you. Real preparation shows up in discipline when no one's watching. It shows up in the small acts of obedience that seem pointless at the time. It shows up in your willingness to learn, to submit to God's steering even when it doesn't make sense, and to trust that He knows the destination. Start where you are. Do the small, invisible work. Learn the skill nobody's asking for yet. Save the money when you don't think you need to. Deepen your relationship with God when things are going well. When your ship arrives, you'll be ready-not because it's easy, but because you've dug the foundation.
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higher, higher, his story comes down, we love him higher, higher, his story comes down, his story Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now this morning is one of those mornings where you sometimes when you feel like you could have just went back to sleep but going back to sleep is not taking anybody anywhere except to dreamland. You know dreamland, where the problem is, the problem with dreamland is that you need to wake up to get that dream or to chase that dream. That's the difficult part about wanting to go back to sleep but sometimes to just take a little bit of a 30 minutes and just sleep is also good. It's also good especially when you had a rough week. Sometimes our rough weeks is the weeks that makes us to know that you need to trust on God more because if you don't use that, you're going to be trouble. So I have a message this morning that I want to, if I can say, I don't want to preach it but I want to, no, no, no, can I say teach or preach? Okay, doesn't matter. A little bit of teaching, a little bit of preaching. It all depends on what you would like it to have it but for preaching I would assume this is something that everybody would need or would need to know if I can say that way. Okay, that makes sense. I was wondering what's happening. Okay, so I'm going to entitle my message when your ship comes in, not mine, yours. So when you look at your neighbor, you can tell your neighbor, yours, not mine because you know by helping others, there's this guy's name, Jim Rhoam. He said that by helping enough people get what they want, you also get what you want in return. It's not the exact words but it's more or less what he meant by that. Then when I look at anything we do in life, it's always about trying to help others and then you gain something from there. Let's make an example for a businessman. A businessman is in the business of making money. But making money, he's solving somebody's problem. So when he solves a problem, it means that he's helping the person to solve the problem that he has. And there's a guy called Brian Tracy who says it so nicely that we are all problem solvers. So regardless of whatever your job description is or your title is, whether you are a CEO, a cleaner, whether you are a whatever, you are a problem solver. So your job description is a problem solver but the thing is just that what kind of problem do you solve? So there's no such thing as a job description. There's only problem solvers in this world because the job description just differentiate between how you're going to solve the problem with skill set. I think it's with your skill set. Then when I look at my life, I've been solving so much problems. Firstly, I solve my girlfriend's problem by getting her pregnant too early. I mean, I caused the problem. I'm just joking. But what I'm trying to say is that sometimes we just need to understand that sometimes in trying to solve problems, you might create more. Getting in love with this girl, solving the love issues, you know, love issues. When we are younger, we think that every boy is in love with us and anytime the boy is just touching the leg when the hormones kick in, you are in trouble. So when the hormones kick in, you think that this is a feeling I've never felt before because the feeling you have with your mom and your dad is different than what a 12 year old, 10 year old or let's call it 8 to 10, 8 to 12 year old feel when a boy just touch sometimes in a manner that you feel like it's kind of awkward but it's kind of nice. I don't know what it is. So those kind of feelings make you think that it's different. So when life gives you a time like that, enjoy it because three months after that, you just want to hit this guy or this girl because honeymoon phase is soon going to be over and then the love is something different. So when your ship comes in, it's when the things that you have solved before is giving you now your fruits. So what I mean by your fruits now is like when somebody dig a trench, it can dig a trench for the number of things. Number one, you want to start building a house but it's hard to dig a trench. Maybe you want to put in a cable like the electrician guys, they put in cables in a trench or maybe the trench that you dug up was for trees, like a row of trees. So depending on what measure you dig is the amount of digging you do is depending on what you are about to be doing with that trench. Like for argument's sake, somebody who would want to build a nkuku, this analysis, doesn't need a strong foundation. They just need a strong corner, corners like corner stones. So you put one, two, three, four strong pillars and you dig deep in. But inside you don't need to dig deep. But when you build a house, now you have to go, let's say for a normal house, you're looking at probably 500 to 700 meters deep. So it's not a problem, the digging still depends on how deeper you dig. Now how deeper you dig, now you start to come to a skyscraper. And I must not assume everybody knows skyscraper. Let's call it, you see the three story buildings, the high buildings. So the higher the building, the deeper the foundation. So why I'm mentioning this to you, when your ship comes in, it was dependent on what you have done before. And some of us are still waiting for our ship to come in on dry land. You know us in Pretoria, we will never see ships. No, no, no, I'm lying. There's a place I worked for before, there were ships there. There was a ship there. I was working for insurance company, in fact, in Harzfontein. Water Tlof, Harzfontein, doesn't matter. One of the two, I can't remember what is the area. It's Harzfontein. It's Harzfontein, but the area name is Water Tlof. So when I worked there, there was a ship inside the building, like in the entrance. So those people ship came. So picture that. But when you looking for your ship to come in, but you have not done the work, you need to build a water puddle, a fountain, or a sea, or a river, or a dam, whatever you need to build for you to get your ship to come in. That is what you need to do. And some of us don't understand that the actions that you have done before is the reason why we are where we are today. So when you want your ship to come in, and I'm talking about your ship, because my ship is different than yours. My ship is probably something that I can say to you is the reason why I'm sitting where I'm sitting today and struggling with certain things. You know, ministry is not nice. Ministry is a difficult breed of things, because when you are in ministry, you tend to think it's all about you, and then suddenly it has nothing to do with you. It's about how Jesus is using you. It's about Jesus instead of you, making it about you as a person. And that is why where the people don't understand ministry so nicely. What I mean by this is that somebody is asking you to pray because they are sick. Now, you coming there and praying for them and not getting healed, what they do is they say, you prayed for me, but I couldn't get healed. Instead of relying on the one that is the healer, instead of saying, Jesus, you are the healer. Now it makes sense because your trust was in the right source of healing and not the source of me coming to say, in the name of Jesus, be healed. Then you think, hey, this man's hands are cold because I've not been getting healed ever, ever since I started, this guy has been praying for me two months, three months, six months, he comes in and out. So now you're thinking it's because this guy is not right. So now you attend ministry in a sense of taking that person's words, but forget that for a ship to come in, you need a water to steer it. Today the cold is cold in me, so I'm just need of something warm. So anytime you see me drinking, it's because of I need to make this one wet. So now let me explain. When I talk about a ship that comes in, I'm not talking about something specifically because remember there is seasons for things. When your ship comes in, it does sometimes mean it's your season, it's your appointed time that God has given to you. Now when you go to proverbs for argument's sake, you will understand what the proverbs is saying. The proverbs, I mean the psalmist, no not the psalmist. What is the proverbs guy's name? No. Okay, but that very slum guy, Diana. Solomon. Okay, doesn't matter. Who wrote proverbs? I can't remember. Alright, but doesn't matter. Let me go. Proverbs 3, when you read in Proverbs 3 and you read from, did I say Proverbs? Ecclesiastes man. That's why I can't understand why I get something wrong. Alright, so Ecclesiastes, sorry, Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1 and I'm going to read from 1 to 4. To everything there's a season and a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant and a time to plug up what which is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal and a time to break down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to love, a time to mourn and a time to dance. And as the Bible says, he made everything beautiful in his time. Also he has said the world in their heart so that no man can find out the world that God made it, make it from the beginning up to the end. But what I'm saying is that when your ship comes in, it's what we use as a phrase. It's not a literally something. I think it comes from the olden days, which I'm not going to tell you where it comes from, but that phrase would have been somebody who was staying next to the sea, unlike us staying in the fake sea. You know, they talk about Pretoria ahead of seas. I've never seen it but... Yeah, in St. Julian. Is it? Yeah, when it flooded. So you understand. So these are the things that happen when your ship comes in. It's because you know that things are becoming better. And I don't know where... Laverne? Laverne? Okay, so in life we have a tendency of looking at where I'm sitting at moment. And where I'm sitting, I'm looking at my, let's call it my finances for argument's sake. And I see my finances is in shambles. So my ship has not come in for my finances. But when I look at my marriage, somebody who's in a relationship and still about to get married, their ship is about to come. It's still needing, it needs to come. So there's different areas of one's life where you need to understand that there's constantly a ship that comes in. But the thing is we don't look for it as a ship. We need to make sure that you understand where's the waters that you have put out. The Bible verse put your bread on the water. So when I'm talking about my ship in my relationship, I said I'm married where somebody is still praying to be married. Where my ship has come in, I have kids. Where somebody is still praying for the womb to open. So there's so many things that we're looking at but not understanding that in certain areas my ship already came. In certain areas I'm still waiting for my ship to come. And that is what makes life so confusing because our measurement of where your ship is is what makes you to think that you are in failure. Because your measure of relationship is that when I only get married I'll be happy. By the time you get married. Now you don't understand what's happening. Your measurement if only I can get married I'll be a happier person. Now when you get married you marry a person that is not what you expected. What you have expected to be the person that you want your life to be with. So these are the things that makes us to think that our relationship is not yet arrived. But what is your ship? And what is your ship in what area of your life? And now I'm talking in parables most of the time. But it's something that I need to talk about for a person that is not yet But it's something that I need to to talk about for a person that is going through a lot. It might be a season of winter but summer is about to come as well. Where there's a multitude of many things and when there's a When there's a multitude of many things we tend to not think of the time that is still to come where there will be a little bit of a dry season. You know what I love about ants? I love that about them but I don't love them in my house because most of my house the grass doesn't even grow anymore the way this ants are. I don't like it for that reason but what I like about them is that they make sure that when it's a season of a lot they gather together. They make sure. But what does it mean in our own own lives? How do you gather something at the season where it's in surplus? Because what we have we think that it will last forever. It will never last forever unless you are one of the Motsipes. Okay let me not say Motsipes because it might be Motsipe doesn't have a son that he rejected maybe. But I'm just saying you know some rich guys can literally disown their family because some of them have a tendency of the more money or more of everything you have you are still looking for something that you can't find and somehow you find it in drugs or in okay let me not go too too much. Let me speak by drugs. So when you have too much you don't know what to do with your money anymore. Now you start using your money on things that you think will bring you happiness and it's not what will bring you happiness it's something different. So what I'm trying to say is that if you are in a house where there's a number of everything you open the fridge food is there. How we would love to stay in a house like that where when you open the fridge and you're looking for yogurt is there. When you're looking looking for apple it's there. When you're looking for whatever you are looking for is there. How much would we love to have that? But do you know that even rich people doesn't have everything in their fridges? Some of the things that they would love to have at the moment is suddenly not there that day and then that's when they go out let's go and have eat out like go to restaurants or whatever the case may be. So you will not always have what you want. That's the unfortunate part and that is why I've put my message title when you ship comes in. But I've put a secondary title navigating life's ever changing currents. Now how do you steer a ship? A ship is steered by a rudder. Is it a rudder? Yeah a ship is steered by a rudder and when you have a ship and you need to go somewhere you cannot just leave the ship to do its own thing. You know it's the same thing in your life. You cannot just leave your life and love it as if there's nothing that will stop you tomorrow. I know with me when I was younger I would just take something heavy quickly come on guys you're taking too long and I would take that whatever it is it's very heavy and I can feel it's heavy for me but because I get frustrated with people that taking too long I would do it myself. Nothing nothing wrong about it the job gets done. Then when we play outside and I feel frustrated I would just pick up somebody like this and throw them on the floor fighting and no problem it's nothing. In that moment I feel all right but do you know lo and behold I was steering my current to a bad problem. I was steering that current like literally against the rocks now because what happened as the time goes on I realized oh this bad is all the things that I used to do when I was in score supermarket I was working there when the guy gave me a 25 kg of whatever I would just say put another one let's make it 50 K and I will carry it to wherever it need be instead of using a trolley take the 25 kg put it on the trolley take another 25 put it on the trolley go there and take it out and fix it. So the more I steer my boat or my ship I steer my ship to shipwreck with my health and now where's my health today I keep on have to say So today at the age of 45 soon to be 46 at the age of 45 I can't pick up my daughter because of I had a back operation so my steering of my ship at that time I didn't think of it long term and today when I think of it long short term what I gained in the short term it was yes was fine but it's not That's one example Can you close for us that window please? I'm running to the door and then the door as well please I'm sorry man Thank you So when your ship comes in you need to understand where the ship comes from How many shipwrecks almost missed on the way? Like today I can stand on my feet but just after the operation I couldn't move and I was struggling for about a month or two to move nicely and I was literally moving like your grandfathers or oppa and it was hard for me to move but because of at that time they asked me to go for physio and you know me Har the Cop he didn't want to go for physio I ended up going for physio just to get myself sorted My ship almost went shipwrecking because of my decisions Your season is not your season because it's your season it's your season because there is seasons that you are going through and that seasons that you are going through you need to unfortunately prepare for the next season and do you know how we prepare for the next season the bigger the child is the more clothes you have to buy because every time the clothes doesn't fit anymore now I have to go and get another clothes again go and get another so when winter comes it was cold this last two weeks week or two young let's call it two weeks and you know my daughter have all the summer clothes that you can find and they sit very nicely but there was no nothing winter about it so when when when when I was looking at summertime I didn't think that winter is coming because I didn't prepare for the winter season I didn't put money away or make plan to what is that thing called lay by maybe a few clothes you know lay by sometimes helps because you can take it over a period of three months or six months but the problem is with my child I can't do that you know you know my daughter she will wear a size shoe of of 11 now next next month you buy the same 11 size shoes and she already by 13 now and you think what happened so you can't do something like that but what you can do is put a little bit of money away say this will be for I know she will be grown up by that time maybe I must just rather buy a size let's say for kids size 14 to 15 years of age because she might be looking at and then when it's not that you can just go and exchange it because that's what they do they just exchange it for a smaller size you still gave them the money so you don't have to stress yourself about that but these are the things that you need to prepare for your ship to come in or before your ship can come in now of late I've been having this urge to go and pray for people and praying for people sometimes it's it's tough because people think that you are not a Christian when you pray and you leave and nothing happened but I had the urge to pray for people and you know what I do I will not tell you I pray for you because that's my problem that I don't want their fate to interfere with my fate because their fate might be as small as a mustard seed and mine is even smaller than a mustard seed and here I'm thinking under Wow in the meantime they have better fate than me but why I'm doing it is that I would fully rely on God doing the thing instead of me doing it because I don't believe coming and tell people come let's pray together and then we pray so hard and then nothing happened because somebody did not believe in where we had him. Why I'm mentioning this to you is that I was praying for somebody and praying for the person like me being a human being after praying for the person I did not expect anything from them but when the person told me look I'm going to do this and that I already do calculations this and that and then after praying for the person I left and I said God you be the one that do and I said I'm not going to bother about it anymore it became after such a long time that the person didn't even bother calling me anymore you know where you feel like somebody was promising you something and you now your inner being says to you hey that prayer was a failure nothing has happened and you say God please man answer even though your answer by fire or water doesn't matter but just answer and nothing happened because the person doesn't speak to you or doesn't tell you where's the situation and I always have a thing that when somebody asked me to pray for them I will ask specific don't ask me to pray for you for a car because a donkey car is also a car you see so you need to literally specify what you are praying for so that we know did our prayers work because if you say for a car and then suddenly there's a bicycle that comes your way you thinking ish money was praying for a car now why is this bicycle coming then you wondering you understand so you need to be making it so specific that by the time when you get it you know and this is not about what I why I'm I also need to make sure that you understand this part as well it's not about what we can get from God what I'm praying what I'm talking about is but what we can do to get to where we want to be the shade the remote please but what I'm trying to say is that why I'm preaching it like this is so that you can understand that we have open the gate we have what we call things that we pray for and that we trusting God for I'm trusting God for argument sake that my my my child will be a student when I pray and the results comes out the very first time I still know there's another I almost always say season what is that thing called term there's another term she will do or he or she will do I knew I was praying for a student so now the first term comes that from the D they move to a C I have not stopped praying not that I don't believe in God I just tell God thank you that's a move in the right direction so the more you start praying it becomes DC and then suddenly it's a B and you think wow so your prayer was specifically to know and you need to understand that the more you pray it's not about what you gain but it's about your community relationship with God because the deeper your relationship with God the easier things become for you and I'm saying easier but remember easier in the sense of spiritual side becomes harder in the sense of where the devil now start doing his own things so the more you are grounded in God the more you can easily go to him and change other people's lives because it's not about you it's about him do you know for somebody to know how much money you have in your account it's not a gimmick it's not a something that you do you just saw on a piece of paper it's God showing it to you to make you understand that this person is in need of or this person can be useful so when you see that account you know that somebody is struggling maybe this person have a million rent in the account and that million rent what maybe a hundred rent can help somebody else so when you pray to God God makes you to see things the closer you get to God he makes you to see it gives you a some kind of a word of wisdom to tell the person look this is what you need to do that is what you need to do and the person will think that you know have it all and you know it all but it's never about you it's about God so when you when you pray in a direction that the person did not even ask you to pray for and afterwards things becomes better now you are like wow that is actually wonderful how come this person was telling me this and now suddenly it happens and then you like it now when your ship comes in it's when you have known what kind of ship you're expecting because your ship has already come in but it's because you have not added a specific thing to it to know that your ship is coming some of us our ship in relationship came already by the time when you get pregnant and you think but God my relationship is not relationship in it nicely it's like as if something is not doing it that's when what happened then is that as your relationship grows to the next level because it's at the slow pace you think your relationship is not moving but your relationship has been growing already can you please close the door fast please close the door fast thank you you know you know that the the love of God is such something that it makes you to look at things differently than what the human eye can do a human eye see something ugly but in the ugliness God is there sometimes you find somebody who's who is a drug addict and you think that this is the last of the last and when God changed that person's life when your ship comes in you can't believe it that this drug is the one that stands in front of many and speak boldly about how Christ has left them out of that and here you were seeing only that moment where there it was a shipwreck but you didn't know that the ship was just having an outer case experience just a little bit which can be patched you know when it when it when a ship goes into a how do you call it a ship goes into a rock when it goes into the into a rock net sometimes the the speed they came from it doesn't actually make the rock to to hit it like right through it's just a dent so when when your child is using drugs you think ah this is something this kid is going to be a shipwreck it's just a dent that time it's just a dent because of God is greater things within him or her I remember my eldest son he used to he used to like to to wear like like his mother's clothes and things like that and I used to ask him and it's not because of he was skewed or anything it's just that it was the only clothes that is there he was staying with his mother his his mother's sister and the mom and so the dad's clothes is in the in the the granny's how do you call it not his dad his grandfather's clothes is inside the the bigger place but surrounding him is a lot of woman clothes so it was easier to just take those clothes less did I know it was not about the clothes it was just that that was the things that he had access to and I thought this guy would become maybe a little bit of a that side type of a guy and I prayed you know how I prayed I said this one will never be a gay this one will have so many wives that he doesn't even want a wife anymore he'll be a Solomon you know I spoke because I thought this guy will turn the other way less did I know it was not and it's just a bump your shop is coming in but whatever is happening is just to detour to make sure that where they see this sometimes when you see in the scene you see a small piece of a rock but you don't know that that is actually a bigger thing under there your ship is about to come in and when your ship comes in is that any rock or hard place that is in front of it will be removed it will be removed life is all about seasons and remember that when you talk about seasons you might be in the winter but for somebody there's a summer season now at the moment but that is not the part I'm talking about let me talk about you might be in winter season in your marriage but you you are in in a summer season which is spirituality God has lifted you in your spiritual side and you only see things is not right on that side your ship has already come in but your focus was on the rock that is about to shipwreck my ship Jesus you know God is opening so many things about this now to me that I would like you to think of it this way never ask God what you don't have don't ask him for that because sometimes when we do ask for it it's the thing that makes us not to believe in him anymore I was praying for a car so hard not knowing it's the same car that took me out of church because every Sunday I can go anywhere if Sunday comes this Sunday I'll not be in church I'll be somewhere somewhere the same car that I prayed for as a blessing I was blessed but it became a curse for me and and I'm not talking about myself I just want you to understand that part because when I got my cars all of my cars were serving in God's house all of them not even one of them were not ever in service to God but what I'm saying is the person that might be hearing this you would be understanding that you were the one that was praying for that house but now it's a whole house okay no I mean it's a house that we use for something I'm just saying so some of the things that you need to know is that when God is not giving you something it does not mean that at that time when he gave you he doesn't know what you're about to do he said to Judas no no no he said to the one inside Judas what you want to do do it quick because he knew what you want to do but that one was something that helped him to become the great person that he is today which is Jesus the King of Kings but the moment when Judas was sitting in front of him he already knew breaking bread with somebody who was about to cause my death speaking to somebody and says do you know that you will deny me no me denying you I know no not even once no I will never deny you ah you you're talking about it you will deny me not even twice no no no ah Jesus me nine nine brah how can I be putting you in the lurch here and he said not even once not even twice three times you will deny me and then ah you said three times name and I would never do that before that the hand the hand crew or the crew in on the hand you will deny me and then when the hand goes the guy said I'll be 19 these are the things God is knowing that when he blesses you what to bless you with not to be of a burden to the work that he needs to do in your life if I pray for a for a church building the building is a plan of God to take me to a next level of ministry but do you know some will see it as a they are so jealous how come this guy have a building praising God in now I make more enemies amongst the ones that supposedly be the children of God and when I speak to you men of God I'm not speaking about you if the shoe fits most neck you tell us how if taking is yours if the shoe is yours taking but what I'm saying is that for certain things when God give it to you he looks at your circumstances and he knows that this will become a chef shipwreck for you so when your ship comes in he makes sure that anything that is about to give you a shipwreck he fix it first the day when I when I become a father I was not ready I was not ready for it I was not ready for it you know you know that two days before that before my child was born my my my my best friend even bought grape water nappies I will never forget it is the the dinner cotton nappies not not the new ones that we will find today the dinners and a three-pack by times two he bought six and I didn't I didn't even have anything for that child because I was a child myself I was a child myself that is why I couldn't prepare for a child at that time and when my when my friend come there he said come I'll take you to to chemist like where we are from that when you go to chemist is more expensive place than your shop rights and your whatever so the place is so expensive but yet he told me come we'll go there and he bought so many things I am still grateful up to today for that moment but I wasn't prepared but God knew I wasn't prepared so he sent somebody to help me so that I can see my ship is here you know you don't um people died like they became hundred hundred and twenty without having one child it's it's like that person was praying for all their life just to have one son or one daughter or just a child to hold and he says mine but they died without having it the ship never came because for some reason it's not to to do it's not to to beat them up but God has a reason so that you can trust on him more than anybody else because your trust is maybe too small so he's using that situation to gain you more trust to God and life is tough unfortunately how do you navigate life's ever-changing challenges how challenges will always be there there will always be a wind for ship to push the to push the ship to a different direction but as much as there is a wind that push this the ship there's a rather that can steer it in the right direction what is the rather in your life why does it sound so I'm talking about that thing that you call the will yeah rather I'm right even so when you have that steer steer the wind comes from this side it pushes you and the more it pushes you the more you the more it pushes the more it pushes you push back that is how your life is navigating through to the ever-changing challenges in life is about you making sure that you prepare for it instead of you getting into a ship with no rather you make sure that you don't start moving that thing knowing that there's a rather first knowing that the ship needs whatever it needs I don't know what what does ships needs is it oil or grease or let's say petrol like a cup diesel yeah so if your ship has no no diesel imagine how far you will be driving before you see your your petrol station or whatever they call this yeah it's filling station so you need to prepare for the road making calculations and the calculations that you does this is how you calculate I need to travel about 1.3 kilometers 1300 kilometers the diesel will take me maybe for one kilometer it will be a two-liter whatever whatever so making that calculations to calculate how far you need to go and make sure how much diesel do you have now let's talk about your life have you ever thought of at least at your age how am I going to be able to sustain my love for for for Nike taking you see now when I look at it I'm thinking I'm thinking my mom and dad will not be there forever unfortunately that's the thing about life is only God is certain the rest is uncertain God will always be there doesn't matter what the the the father that you thought demoness is the real McCoy this is the daughter of the daughters this one is the one that anytime I can trust on him when I said to him brah make a plan way the guy is there for you one day he just decide take this open early imagine what will happen that time the one that you trusted the most is gone what is the best thing to do at that time now rely on yourself and on God's wisdom that he can guide you through this one day when I was sitting there with my with my boy as we were sitting the mother went out that night and I was still saying to her no leave me you can go and I remember the the people that were playing there was a disco guy they call it blam now these guys were one of my favorite bands because the music kind of music they were playing made me never to sit down I would dance like right through but that specific night I decided I don't want to go with them I said to her you go and and she went and then what happened is that as I as I was playing with the kid and then it was winter no house it was cold man and as I was playing with the kid the next thing what happened is that he was I was sitting on the chair and then next to the chair was the stove and on top of the stove was standing on like a iron plate thing it's almost like this table so there's a sharp point on the right side and as the kid was playing he just fall and he hit his head so I saw him hitting his head but the child did not cry or do anything he just turned around and as he turned around the stream of blood went like this as he looked at me I started screaming I was so stressed the way the blood came out I you know what can help me is because I already went through somebody something like that before somebody was was bleeding in front of me and I knew there's this yellowish I don't know what you call it in English but there's this yellowish tillington yeah tillington yeah tillington so I knew my mother had tillington and I knew that by using that it will stop the blood so I was already aware I was prepared for when my ship comes in for my ship not to shipwreck use tillington and then when my son when my son is looking at me like this started crying I went ballistic and I'm talking about the guy that was about probably let's call it three to six months he was not even a year yet because he was he couldn't walk he was crawling and I was so stressed but because I was prepared for that situation long time ago God already prepared me to know that tillington will help quickly what is it that you need to learn today so that when there's almost a shipwreck what rather can you use to steer you away from that situation what is the rather that you can use what is the rather that you can use when somebody comes to you and say look I have a business opportunity for you your skill set is the exact skill set I'm in need of and because you know that you are good in a specific skill set like myself I'm not good in selling sell sell like hardcore selling but I have a soft skill in selling so I can sell something soft without you thinking that I'm trying to group you so for that kind of a skill set it's easy but what do you have that you need to know that at that time when the person comes I'll be ready no more ganja we are ready whatever happened we are ready I started I started off by by by buying myself a keyboard you know the keyboard we talking about 2003 and what is it today 2024 so over 20 years that keyboard is old it can't stick anymore but you know what I did is I started to play the keyboard because it was I was not interested in it I just learned a few chords whenever there's a problem in church where the keyboard doesn't come up I'll wait I can't play keyboard for my life but I know a note I need to make sure I put that note you say so preparing for time where this where somebody is not there you can step in when I when I talk about our younger generation do you know our younger generation they love the mechanics what they call these things technologies things for technology they love it for them it's easy my my daughter will pick up the phone for the very first time never seen a phone like that before within two minutes seven years of age within two minutes you will understand what is the phone how it work where to go yes you too it's all I want I know I get it it's easier for them for us who is who didn't grow up in the time of this new technology it's a bit of a difficult one but how do I prepare myself for situation where somebody is not there I need to help do you know that ever since I can remember I don't know nothing about sound but I've been on a on a mixer and fix the sound so many times even people thought that I know what is sound all about it's just because of I made sure that I understand that this speaker cable comes in there and don't use a normal cable use a speak on or use a this and a user I have not known these things but I've prepared myself so that the time when when the sound guy is not there I can put it up myself what is it today that you can think of that you need to prepare yourself for when your ship comes in because your ship can only comes in once and it needs to go and look for something else when it comes back you need to be prepared for it so that it doesn't leave you some some of our ships has been leaving us because we were not prepared for it at the time you know when you're not prepared for your for your ship to come in is that the things that God blesses you with it's too much that you can't handle it somebody slung a lotto 20 million rent within six months five months 20 months whatever the case may be 20 million finish because you have not prepared yourself to work with the money so start preparing yourself to work with millions that's why the Bible says when I when the guy came he said to you and remember I don't like to tell a Bible story like the way it is I like to tell a Bible story do you call it paraphrase okay but I like to tell it in a way that you understand the two brothers or let's say the four brothers are working and then they suddenly the boss says hey brah I have one rent for you two rent for you three rent for you and four rent for you giving the money and then he goes by the time he comes back he said to the guy hey you would with the with the foreign what did you do it oh no he has a foreign he has another foreign ah the brass happy no business is going very well and the guy is happy so when your ship comes in can you take the foreign and make it eight eight rent instead what can you do to make that eight rent then suddenly when he comes back he went up to the time where he goes to the one with a one rent and the guy says what I wonder you know what I'm afraid of you fear has spoken harder than the voice of wisdom in my mind so when the fear comes I thought about hiding the one rent because I know you when you come back you will warm club me if that money is gone not knowing that you could have put that in that you could have put that's English you could have taken that money and put it in the bank and it could have made at least something so what I'm trying to say is that what is it that today that kind of a skill set that you can use to prepare for when your millions comes in somebody says this man he said that for somebody who has a 20 rent mindset will take the 20 million rent and make it a 20 20 rent but somebody with a 20 million rent mindset will take a 20 and make it the 20 million so what kind of a mindset do you have what kind of a way you have to get to a growth mindset a mindset of knowing that even though Pretoria doesn't ever see my ship will still come in my ship will come in regardless there's no sea here in Pretoria but for a ship to come in make a plan get something for some of us we've been waiting for that ship to come in on dry land and you know ship doesn't move on dry land next you can do ship doesn't have wheels ship wheels next ship needs water to move it car can't drive on water let me say not the amphibian cars the normal cars can't drive on water this must be something for you English yeah this this my English is growing the way I've grown but there's a car that can drive on water and it can drive on land there's some of those cars that like that I don't know you've seen it especially us that love the TikToks and Facebooks and what what we've seen those things so it can happen but the ship I've not seen a ship unless there's a vessel that takes it to wherever it needs to be so what is the vessel that you can bring your ship in what is that vessel where's that V8 engine that you can put at the back the ship and you can take it with a V8 engine what is it in your life that you can do now to gain a time where your ship is right I don't want to I don't want to lie to you but I sometimes feel like my ship takes too long I'm human being please don't get me wrong I'm human being so being a human I make mistakes I can tell you now please come to my house come and fetch 50 rent by the time you come that 50 rent is already in the bread I ate it because I'm human being I might forget somebody asked me to come to him on Friday do you know Friday I was working so hard I forgot I totally forgot about them when they called me there was probably Saturday 12 o'clock why didn't you remind me I'm human being I'm human being if you are not human there's no mistakes for you your ship can can can steer but how do you manage the ship even though it's about to go to the rock how do you manage to get it away from me what rather are you using to steer it away your relationship is about to go shipwrecking what mindset can you change so that your relationship can become better is it always about the other person because remember some of the things that we go through it has nothing to do with the other person it's all had to do with yourself I might not love my wife the way she would want me to love her but it's because of my love language is different maybe I'm not the touchy touchy guys who can your your kiss every time I had too many kids to kiss all the time the moment I try to kiss the water say mommy what do you there's no love language like that because there was too many kids around us all the time you don't have you can't even passionately kiss in front of the kids then they will tell you hey how can you do that so how do you learn the love language you do something else to make up for what you don't have and that is how you don't shipwreck your relationship you make up for not shipwrecking your financials you make up for not shipwrecking your the way you grew up your kids there's so many things we can do but the one thing I believe in is that everything that I've said up until now is nothing if God is not the one who is having this fear God on the steering wheel will makes you to drive smoothly you are you are like hey let me be Jesus and sleep while the storm is running here ooh like you know when Jesus was sleeping they thought ah demon he doesn't care about them how can he be sleeping while the storm is way too much so you can be Jesus in any storm if you know who is the one that drive the vessel who is driving your vessel today who is right driving your ship who is driving your car who is driving your your relationship to the next level who is driving your financial side to the next level who is driving your spiritual side to the next level if you don't trust in Jesus for helping you or allowing you and pushing you sometimes you go shipwrecking quicker than what you can think because he knew if he knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb he knows what kind of side steps you will be having he knows how to side step the side step that you thought you will do there's so many things but God be my witness today as I'm standing to you anybody that is under the sound of my voice will take this opportunity and this message that I have sent out and they will run with it and will never go shipwreck even though it felt like it's shipwrecking but God will help you to steer your life in the direction that you want you to go and he will steer you to the destination that you want you to go to if you are under the sound of my voice without the doubt I can tell you the purpose that he has for you is to prosper you and not to harm you the plans that he even have for you is is to give you a life and a life of abundance the plans he have for you is is to make your life of such a way that people can only glorify God and saying your if only you know this guy from that time till now hey this guy he's been going through a lot and it's only by God's grace that I can stand here and still say God is good how many times I almost have been killed I slept on a on a place a crossing I was I was I was funny enough I slept at the crossing while I was cross with my mother and father it sounds so nice so I went now where we stayed is about four to five kilometers from where I stayed I tried to run away one o'clock at night time while it's winter winter time northern Cape's cold is not this cold it was winter winter I ran away and anytime when there's a car passing I will be hiking just to move my my blood a bit I felt tired and there was just after the sign that says Kimberly this side was must put this side after that sign there was a little bit of a ditch and I was so tired I went to go sleep there in the morning when I woke up I felt like I couldn't move my whole joints were stiff and I thought it was still but it was the way it was almost I was I was frozen to death it came to a point that I felt I couldn't get up and I waited for the Sun to come up and I stood in the Sun a bit and I decided no I need to go home when I went home my dad already came with a car not knowing that where he was about to go is exactly where he found me and that was about three kilometers from our house he put me in the car and give me some lecture this and lecture that and I'm he knew that if he would have hurt me or hit me at that time I wouldn't have gotten into the car but he spoke nice words to me and I went into the car and at that time when I get to the car I felt like a warm embrace of because the car was so hot inside nicely I got I don't know what you call that in English but from that night I had sword creep the doctor called it sword creep but I don't know what is it called in English but by the time I I I felt it like there was just green flame on my chest my my chest was I couldn't breathe nicely and the bones were were aching it's it's like you you get pain outside where you can rub it but when the pain is in the bones you don't know how it's painful I survived it because God has a way of that rather to steer me in a direction where I can stand here today and thanks to God I can say amen and today I want to pray God that anybody that is under the sound of my voice wherever they are going for the God you take the steer and redirect them where there is some sort of a shipwreck that will not benefit them steer steer them away from there but if there is a shipwreck that will benefit them let them go for the God let them be get into that shipwreck let it not be something that will stop them from the purpose that you have in their lives in the mighty name of Jesus Christ the Lord say that I pray that anybody that is under the sound of my voice let wherever they go let them see you more on the steering wheel of life any navigation through the ever-changing life let that be where you are this year to it in Jesus mighty name I pray much thanksgiving and praise amen and amen now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest in a bind with us all until Jesus comes surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever in Jesus mighty name we pray amen and amen