The Revelation of His Rest for these times – A Yoke which produces Rest

Firstly we just want to say that July was an interesting month, being at home and having to do the intercession sets alone, due to lockdown restrictions and religious gatherings not allowed, we were not able to go to House of Prayer. This made us realise how important it is to be part of a group of worshippers and intercessors; it makes enduring in prayer so much easier as you are encouraged by others in the room, throughout the 2 hour sets. Even if it just means seeing someone connect with the heart of God, it pulls you back from your distractions to press in deeper and be more focussed.

Now pertaining to the title of this newsletter;

During one of the Worship with The Word sessions back in the Prayer Rooms just after restrictions on small gatherings (50) were lifted, the prophetic singers were singing Psalm 23 and spent a bit of time antiphonally divulging into the ‘REST’ of God as they sang about the still waters & green pastures mentioned in the famous Psalm. As I sat in the room, this really got be meditating on God’s rest; what is it, do I have it and am I experiencing it. In this time of contemplation, I believe The Holy Spirit gave me the following Revelation. It is for me, and I hope it can be for you too:

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says, ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””

The rest mentioned here is found in the very bearing of His ‘yoke’ (His tasks / assignment for us)…It is far easier a yoke than the one we have placed on ourselves. You see; a yoke according to its dictionary definition is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plough or cart that they are to pull. So the yoke in Matthew 11 by definition is referring to the ploughing & pulling (the work or works we are doing)…So He is saying that His work (task / assignment) for us is far easier than our own and in fact even more than that, it brings us REST…

Think about that quickly: ‘His WORK brings us REST’. How is that possible; how can work which by its very nature is not restful but requires the exerting of effort produce rest (Especially in the context of the kind of modern day, fast pace, stress inducing work we may be used to)?…Well His work (yoke) for us can, and it does…

This equation; His Yoke (work)=Rest is yet another glorious paradox of the gospel…

Only within the very DNA & nature of a Transcendent God can two elements or attributes, seemingly opposite or even contradictory to one another according our finite human understanding, co-exist, complement each other or even be co-dependent upon one another.

Just a side note for another newsletter or 10…million, other similar gospel paradoxes may be, but not limited to;

Un-defiled Holiness – Un-conditional Love

Wrath – Forgiveness

Justice – Mercy

Highlights of July for the Masson Family:

  • We released the first Breathe Worship song called Heal our Land; we felt after the unrest and high COVID infections in our nation we needed to urgently declare this song over South Africa for exactly such a time as this. We are so grateful for the feedback we have received about this song touching and encouraging people. If you have not heard it, here is the smart link for you to hear it on which ever online music platform of your choice:

https://ditto.fm/heal-our-land-jean-michel-masson

You can also watch the Lyrical Video on YouTube by following the following link:

  • Jean-Michel finished recording Lethiwe Sithole’s Album and will now be editing and mixing in August.
  • Nicole assisted a local church, Metamorpha during this time by ensuring their services were filmed and uploaded online for people to stay encouraged even though they couldn’t attend church.
  • Trinity finished her Term 3 assessments; we are so proud of her!
  • Jean-Claude and Hadassah were happy to go back to day care / school 3 days a week when things opened up again.
  • Nicole is now doing the online media for the House of Prayer which includes:
    • Keeping the website updated
    • Creating regular content for the Social Media platforms, this includes:
      • Writing Blurbs
      • Designing Images
      • And Creating Videos

Here’s a video Nicole created to advertise the Joshua Year:

She is excited to assist with this as it will ensure that more people know about the House of Prayer, the Intercession/Worship Sets and the Ministry Training that we offer.

What’s coming up in August:

  • Editing, Mixing & more mixing of Lethiwe Sithole’s Album at the Breathe Worship Studios.
  • We are back in the prayer room!
  • Mariske (who is a full-time prayer missionary and 2nd Year IHOPU student) sadly lost her Father in August, she will be coming to stay with us for a few months as her mother is moving down to the Cape. It is always our joy and privelage to be able to open up our home, whenever there is a need God purposes on our hearts to meet In this way.
  • Our Healing Rooms application has been registered & approved and we are now an official Healing Rooms; Nicole and Myself very honoured to be the directors. We are excited for people to start making appointments and come for prayer for Healing. As a start, the Witbank House of Prayer Healing Rooms will be open to the public to book appointments for Tuesdays 12:00 – 14:00 for prayer for healing in the Healing Room. Our first Tuesday being operational will be 24th August 2021.

Prayer Points:

  • Thank God with us for his provision with the Masson Music Lessons; even though a small amount of students have stopped we have had a constant flow on new student enrolments.
  • Thank God with us that this past month we were so blessed with groceries and financial support from partners.
  • Pray that people who want to study ministry (ministry, worship, media) will see the IHOPU ads and enrol.
  • Pray for Joshua Year Students for next year.
  • Many people in need of healing will visit the healing rooms; pray for our protection as we step into this new role.
  • Please pray for us for provision for a Laptop for Nicole, the programmes that she uses for her ministry media work are more and more giving issues as her Desktop is very old. She also needs a laptop so she can also work at the House of Prayer and anywhere else we may go, at the moment she is limited to only working at home which limits her working time. We are believing for R25 000 for this.
  • Similarly pray for us for provision for a M1 Mac Mini for Breathe Worship Studios with the growing need for more processing speed and space for the recording projects which require a lot of speed and space. To realistically be able to record and produce the amount of Worship Projects we envision as more and more opportunities are opening up in this direction; this addition to our Tech Equipment will be required. We are believing for about R15000 for this.

NB: Please let us know what your prayer request are, we would love to partner with you in prayer.

The Witbank House of Prayer

Our Hours for August:

9-5 Tuesdays to Thursdays and 8-1 Fridays

Our Corporate Hour Sessions for August (these are adjusted to avoid the cold weather in the early morning and late evenings):

Tuesday 8:00-10:00 – Intercession for the Persecuted Church and Israel

Tuesday 12:00-14:00 – Worship with the Word – This will become the weekly time when the Healing Rooms are open

Wednesday 12:00-14:00 – Worship with the Word

Thursday 10:00-12:00 – Worship with the Word

Thursday 14:00-16:00 – Intercession for the Business Sector and South Africa

Friday 8:00-9:00 – Youth Intercession

Friday 9:00-10:00- Intercession for the House of Prayer

If you would like to know more about the Witbank House of Prayer, you’re welcome to browse our website or contact Jean-Michel/Nicole with your questions: https://witbankhop.co.za/

If there is anything in this newsletter that you have questions about or would like more information about, please contact either of us via WhatsApp.

Thank you so much to everyone who has partnered with us financially; we believe that you share in our harvest of the ministry work we are doing, as without your financial support, what we do would not be possible.

If you are not a financial partner, but would like to financially partner with us, here are the details:

Account Name: House of Prayer; Bank Name: FNB (First National Bank); Account Number: 62718897848; Branch Code: 230146; Account Type: Cheque Account; Reference: HVG-JN

If you would like more information about financially partnering with us, please send us a WhatsApp so we can have a coffee. Partnership of this nature is such a blessing to us and goes a long way in covering our monthly expenses as we run full time with the ministry mission God has called us to.

Some of the sets that were streamed this month that we were involved in:

To view more check out the Witbank House of Prayer Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/witbankhouseofprayer