Introduction to Restitution

In 1940, in East London, Ivan got introduced to people who belong to Members In Christ Assemblies. He learned to confess his sins and make restitution according to 1 John 1:9, and Acts 19:18 - 20 etc. (If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 KJV)

He was reminded of the fact that his father gave him a few sheep when he was a young boy and one of the farm hands had shaved his sheep one day. He asked Ivan for a present in return for his services. Ivan had seen a knife in the display case of a store and put it in his pocket while nobody was looking and gave this to the farmhand. The Holy Spirit convicted him of this sin and he returned to the owner of the store and paid for the knife. (John 16:8)

Ivan also remembered an incident where all the youth in town had gone dancing. He saw one of his friends with a beautiful handkerchief in his pocket and he “accidentally on purpose” danced into him, pretending to stumble. He quickly grabbed the handkerchief and put it in his pocket. Driven by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, he decided to make restitution and to return the item.

It says in Numbers 5:7-8 (NIV) “...and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer”.

He went to the man's home and knocked on the door. His brother opened the door and welcomed him in as he was glad to see him. In the living room there was only one place left to sit, right next to the fellow that he had stolen the handkerchief from. Ivan whispered in his ear that he stole his handkerchief. The man didn’t understand him very well and said: “Speak a little louder.” Ivan tried again to confess and said that he had stolen his handkerchief but again the man said: “I'm deaf, speak louder.” Full of embarrassment, Ivan had to speak very loudly. It takes grace to confess your sins, but it is a true humiliation to confess your sins to a deaf person! Justly it says in God's word, “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12 KJV) And, “In his humiliation his judgment was taken away…” (Acts 8:33 KJV)

One day as a young boy Ivan went to visit his aunt. While she was preparing tea, he saw a bunch of money on a counter and he took it. He had read in 1 Cor 6:10 that a thief will not inherit the kingdom of God. He also straightened this out so that he might obtain a pure heart.

Ivan was a sinner just as we all are. One day he got so mad at his brother Ollie, that he threw a knife at his brother so it stuck in his thigh. God's word says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23 KJV) and: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 KJV). A supernatural glory entered his life after he confessed his other sins.

Evangelism and Faith - part 3

The next day during Ivan's open air service to preach the gospel it started raining again. A man came to stand next to him with a large umbrella so that he would not get wet while he was speaking. This man later gave his heart to the Lord. 

One day Ivan was tired from all the walking. He was grimy and soaked with sweat. The driver of a pickup truck stopped to give him a ride. When the native driver saw his condition, he ridiculed him and told him to go sit in the box in the back. The jews had treated Jesus much worse, but He said: “ Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...” (Luke 23:34 KJV)

At one occasion, the Lord led Ivan to go stand near a hotel and start singing the song: “When the roll is called up yonder…” Although he knew the words very well, he could not make it past the first phrase and continued to repeat the phrase over and over. A man who sat in the pub had just consumed his last drink before deciding to commit suicide and he heard the words over and over: “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder I'll be there”. The man came out of the tavern and started to talk with Ivan who led him to the Lord. 

Ivan spoke of a man who preached the gospel of salvation. Whether Ivan was this person or not, I don't know. He shared that this man very much wanted to preach the gospel but no one wanted to pay attention to him. He came up with a plan and he put his hat on the ground and called out really loudly: “I've got him, I've got him,” while running around the hat. People started to gather around and were curious to find out what was under the hat. He eventually picked up his hat and said: “I've got Jesus in my life, do you?” So he shared how he found the Lord. 

Ivan's shoes had developed holes because of all the walking he did. While passing a shoe store, the Lord told him to go inside and have the shoes repaired. He took off his shoes and asked the man to repair them. The man told Ivan he didn't have to pay for the repairs. 

Evangelism and Faith - part 2

Many times Ivan held services in open areas away from buildings and preached the gospel to the multitudes. One day on his way to one of these open-air services he saw two lions laying in the bushes by the side of the road. He realized that turning around and running away would not help him. All too well he knew the scripture in Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion”. (KJV). As he got closer to the lions he got so afraid to the point that his hair raised and his hat nearly fell off, although he knew that the Lord was with him. Even closer, he noticed that they were not lions but the rocks that were naturally formed in the shape of lions. He learnt that while we sometimes fear, there is nothing to be afraid of if the Lord is with you.

A ways down the road, he saw a group of baboons coming down the mountain towards him. Ivan knew all too well that a baboon can shred a man to pieces and he started to pray in earnest. The baboons turned around and left. “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me”. (Psalm 50:15 KJV)

Another time it started raining in the late afternoon and before he arrived at the next village he was soaking wet. As it got dark, he walked into a field, flattened the long grass and lay down to sleep. The next day he noticed that his clothes were full of mud. He didn't have any choice but to continue on. As he was walking he got a craving for chocolate and told this to the Lord.

Not too long after, two men in a Mercedes invited him to ride with them. He stepped in the back and noticed that there was a block of chocolate sitting on the seat between the two men. The one man asked the other if he could give the chocolate to Ivan. He nodded in agreement and Ivan had the whole chocolate bar to himself.

He got out of the car at the next village and while he was walking past a hotel, the Lord told him: “Go inside”, but he replied: “Lord not with these dirty clothes”. But the Lord repeated: “Go inside”. In obedience he went inside but the manager of the hotel began to yell at him: “Get out of here! There's no place for you here!” As he rounded the corner of the street, one of the hotel servants called him and told him that they had a room for him. The servant offered to wash his clothes and to iron them while Ivan was sleeping. The next morning his khaki clothes were nicely washed and ironed and he also had clean socks to put on. The Lord works in exceptional ways to establish His wonders. “He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous…”(Job 36:7 KJV)

Evangelism and Faith - part 1

When God gave him the scripture in Mark 6:8-9 he prayed a lot about the calling of God and the desire became stronger in his life to walk from village to village to preach the gospel. He quit his job, sold his possessions and gave the rest to the poor. (“And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.”) In Luke 22:36 it says that the disciples had only a purse and a bag when they were sent out. It depends on how the Lord leads you. 

Without money or possessions he started walking. As he was walking from Village to Village, his legs became so tired he could barely move. He prayed as Ezekiel did and asked that he would be transported from one place to the other. According to Ezekiel 8:3, a hand took Ezekiel by the scruff and transported him to Jerusalem. Also in Ezekiel 11: 1, 37 and 43:5, and other passages, the Spirit of God lifted him and deposited him in another place.

In the same manner, the Holy Spirit lifted Ivan up physically. He saw how the lamp-posts started flying past him one by one. He started to get afraid and a feeling of disbelief got a hold of him, very much like Peter who walked on the water in Matthew 14:28-31. Although he had to walk the last little stretch, he was strengthened when he arrived at his destination. He took up a position in the shade of a tree and he loudly pronounced all the wonders of the Lord. A woman who owned a restaurant invited him to come and eat at her place. Some other woman also had seen a ring of light around him and invited him to dinner.

On another occasion when he was hungry and had no money, the Lord led him to go to a certain restaurant and order a plate of food. He said to the Lord: “I have no money.” But the Lord answered and said: “Go.” By this time he had learned to recognise the voice of the Lord and with full confidence he ordered a plate of food and asked the blessing before he started eating. Little did he know that the restaurant owner promised God that the first person who comes to his establishment and prays over his food, he will not charge them. So the Lord provided Ivan with a free supper.

Early Evangelism

The Lord led Ivan to go and preach to the natives that lived on the other side of the Ciskey River. The bridge over the river was about 5 km from the place where he lived but he decided to walk through the river since the location of the natives was straight on the other side of his home. The river was high and he wanted to turn back but he heard a voice saying: “jump”. When he heard this voice for the third time he realized it was the voice of the Holy Spirit and he jumped. Two hands reached under his arms and carried him to the other side of the river. The joy of knowing that the God of Heaven and Earth was with him made him jump over a bush.

There were already many people waiting for him when he arrived at the native’s location. He didn't speak the language very well but the Lord gave him the scripture in Luke 12:12 and he opened his mouth and the Lord filled it. He spoke under the anointing for almost an hour ( “For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say”). When he finished his message they brought him a large cup of coffee and asked him to continue speaking. Some came to accept Jesus Christ.

On his way back he tried to jump over the same bush again but he wasn't able to; it was just too high. There and then he learned that God anoints a person for a specific task.

Baptism in the Spirit

Ivan's brother Ollie (Oswald Muller) got saved in a Full Gospel Church and was baptized with the Holy Spirit. One evening, he invited Ivan to a service and together they waited on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A certain brother Thompson fell down under the power of God and began to shake. Ivan couldn't handle the incident and went back home. He waited for his brother to come back and asked him if the man on the floor had died. Ollie answered that the man had been baptized in the Holy Spirit according to Acts chapter 2. Ivan had noticed the radical change in Ollie’s life and although he didn't understand any of it, he knew it was real. 

Ivan suffered from incurable ulcers. As he had seen Ollie do, he started asking God for healing. The scripture in Matthew 6:33 came to him: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV) Ivan started to pray and seek God in earnest.

Ivan started a new job in East London. One day he decided to take an earlier train back home to Stutterheim. Once he came home, he immediately went for a walk up the mountain near his home and started to pray in private. All of a sudden, the mountain began to tremble, as in Jeremiah 4:24, and it sounded as if the leaves of the trees were clapping their hands, as in Isaiah 55:12. There was a strong presence of the Lord and he started to speak in tongues and out of pure joy he began to dance around. Although he had never seen a spiritual dance, he began to dance on that mountain top.

Being full of fire and zeal, he regularly went to pray on this mountain. At home they didn't understand the change and he didn't want to disturb anyone. One day the Lord told him to find a different spot to pray. As he knelt, he noticed that there was a venomous snake crawling from underneath the rock where he had previously always knelt to pray and he realized that the Lord gave him this word.

Early years and conversion

Ivan Muller was born on February 9th,1915 in Stutterheim, in the Cape Province. His forefathers immigrated from Germany in 1857. Although his parents were German, he received his education in English. He was the youngest of six children.

When he was three years old, his mother and three sisters died during the flu epidemic of 1918. He grew up in poverty and his father had to work very hard in a place called “The Good Hope.”

One time at an outing with his brothers he went swimming in the Kubus River and he nearly drowned. He slipped under the water and after he disappeared for the third time his oldest brother jumped in to save him. He had already turned blue and was lifeless. After they turned him on his side to drain the water out of his lungs, life returned to him.

When he was older, his father gave him a few sheep to look after in his free time. At times while he was tending the sheep, he looked up at the heavens and desired to get to know the Good Shepherd.

After he graduated, he went to work for the Shell company and was a capable rugby player. He was drafted by the Springbok team and would have played in international matches. Because of an injury to his collarbone, he was not able to go on tour. Today we realise that this was the will of God.

One day while walking through the streets he heard a woman during an open air service say that the Lord had saved her soul. While he was wondering what this meant, a man approached him and asked him if he was saved. He answered that he was baptized in the Lutheran Church, that he completed the catechism and that he was accepted as a member. The man explained that Jesus blessed the little children and did not baptize them. The man referred him to Mark chapter 10. The disillusionment in Ivan's heart was so forceful that he decided to join the Baptist Church.