Grace Requires Gratefulness
When churches are becoming smaller and older we need a real work of God to be revitalised. I was deeply influenced by the African revival when I spent some time in Uganda on my medical elective.
In the 1920’s, the Anglican Church in Uganda and Ruanda had stagnated spiritually. Two men had one burden. They were the Englishman Dr. Joe Church and the Ugandan Simeoni Nsibambi. Church was a Cambridge graduate greatly influenced by the message of the Keswick Convention in England. He was going to Gahini, Rwanda, as a missionary. Nsibambi was a government employee and wealthy. He had been converted in 1922.
Their common burden for the Church led them to the Scriptures and prayer together on Namirembe Hill, Kampala in 1929. Both were burdened with the nominalism and syncretism in the Church. The unity of English and African, white and black that existed between the two was to become a characteristic of many other such cohesions in the East African Revival.
Nsibambi led his own brother, Blasio Kigozi, to Christ. But it seemed that Kigozi had ‘a double portion’ of the Spirit who rested on Nsibambi. God called him to Gahini Mission Station as a missionary schoolmaster in 1929. Blasio’s fervor in prayer and preaching lit the fires of Revival. He asked three insightful questions:
1. What is the cause of coldness and deadness of the Church of Uganda?
2. Why are the people allowed to come to the Lord’s Table who are living in open sin?
3. What must be done to bring revival to the Church of Uganda?
We could ask similar questions today, especially when institutional Christianity threatens to replace our precious faith. Unfortunately, he died during the early days of Revival in 1936.
God chose Gahini, a small unknown place in Rwanda to launch the fires of Revival. There was much contrition over sin that marked the work of the Holy Spirit from the beginning. Unbelievers saw how they were destined to perish if they did not turn to Christ. Those forgiven by God testified to all and sundry about their newfound faith, and others were drawn to the Saviour too.
October 21, 2013 a week-long convention was held in Kabale in September, 1935 led by Joe Church, Simeoni Nsibambi and Blasio Kigozi. Although few were saved at the first convention, the next months were to reveal a deep divine conviction of sin and unflagging zeal for righteousness. Revival had come to the Church in Uganda, with the same marks of conviction of sin as had been witnessed in Rwanda. Since then, deca-annual conventions are held in Kabale, the next will be in 2015.
Bishop Stuart of Namirembe welcomed the team from Gahini to conduct a mission at Bishop Tucker College in June, 1936. Forty students were converted and they became the living embers of revival wherever they were posted in Uganda. They witnessed as individuals and as teams.
The clergy and the missionaries were for the most part the least eager for the evangelistic task, except for the few who had been revived. God used the laity to enthusiastically proclaim Christ. Thus evangelism became the common life of the entire Church, both ordained and lay, a phenomenon in East Africa today attributable to this Revival.
In fact, the East African Revival introduced a mode of evangelism yet unknown in the church, namely, using every opportunity to preach the Gospel. All manner of social or religious functions were used to proclaim Jesus Christ. Both happy and sorrowful events are an opportunity for the Gospel. Funerals of Revival brethren (and even unbelievers) are evangelistic campaigns as much as their weddings! Paul’s exhortation to “preach the Gospel in season and out of season” became and is the lifestyle of revival brethren. Interestingly this has become accepted by all, believers and unbelievers alike.
Remarkably, the ‘Brethren’ or ‘Balokole’ (the Saved), as they were called, felt strongly God’s call to stay in the Church. There was no doctrinal compulsion to leave. Even Roman Catholics who were saved did not leave until their church sent them out.
The Balokole were marked with a sincere love for one another and overflowing joy. They endured hardships together and rejoiced together. One of the most distinctive features of the revival is the song “Tukutendereza”, which is sang joyfully across East Africa among revivalists. The words are:
Tukutendereza Yesu, We praise You Jesus
Yesu Mwana Gw’endiga Jesus the Lamb
Omusaayi Gwo Gunaziza, Your Blood has cleansed me
Nkwebaza Omulokozi I thank You, Saviour
The first line in the song, “Tukutendereza Yesu” also became the greeting used when two Balokole met. Today it has received various iterations such as, “Praise the Lord”, or “Praise God”, and so forth. How do such vibrant experiences relate to the Bible stories?
For many, the stories of the Old Testament are just archaic accounts of little relevance to people today. Nothing could be further from the truth – they conatain a timeless message about the necessity for everyone to walk personally with God, ‘to walk in the light’ as the Balokole like to say.
Genesis
Genesis begins with the reminder that God created this world and he did so ‘by his word’. The message is clear. When God speaks the effect is very powerful indeed. Consequently to reject what God says is stupidity itself.
Adam and his familyAdam was the first man to walk with God. He had a harmonious relationship until the time came when Adam and Eve decided to go against God’s commands and listen to the lies of Satan. They were told that they could be the arbiters of what is right and wrong and symbolically ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil’. The effect of this rebellion was immediate expulsion from the presence of God.
However not all was lost, because of the gracious character of God. Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain became jealous when Abel’s animal sacrifice was accepted by God but his vegetables were not. The result was that Cain murdered Abel and was subsequently told by God that his punishment was to be banned and to be ‘a restless wanderer on the earth (Genesis 4:12). After this Adam and Eve had another son Seth who himself had a son he called Enosh which means ‘weakness’. This realisation of man’s weakness was highly significant for the next verse reads:
“At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.” Genesis 5:26
We are then given two genealogies early in Genesis. The first is the family tree of Cain, who ‘went out from the Lord’s presence’ (Genesis 4:16) to go and live in the land of Nod, which means ‘wandering’. Cain’s descendents became very successful in farming, music and engineering but it is striking that God is not mentioned at all. In God’s eyes his offspring were left wandering in a godless, selfish world. This family line comes to an end with the arrogant, ruthless Lamech. (Genesis 4:16-24)
In contrast Seth’s family included men such as Enoch and Noah.
“After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.’ Genesis 5:22
“Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Genesis 5:24
The New testament emphasises the lesson we must learn from Enoch:
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Noah
The point of these accounts is obvious, God demands obedience but his grace is available for those who turn to him for help. Noah was such a person:
‘This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” Genesis 6:9
‘Walking with God’ is always demonstrated by a practical gratefulness:
“Noah did all the LORD commanded him.” Genesis 7:5
Noah appreciated the grace God had shown him, by saving his family from the flood, and he demonstrated his gratefulnness by being obedient. Peter later emphasised the effect God’s grace had on Noah’s life
“He did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness . . .” 2 Peter 2:5
Noah had three sons, Shem , Ham and Japheth. The rest of the Bible focusses on the descendents of Shem, the father of all the ‘Semitic’ people which includes Jews and Arabs. They were assigned to be God’s people.
Abraham
After many generations God spoke to Abram, one of Shem’s descendents, who was living in Ur of the Chaldeans, near Babylon, saying,
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you . . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3
Abram responded to this grace of God with obedient gratefulness. The next verse reads:
“So Abram left, as the LORD had told him.” Genesis 12:4
His commitment to the Lord was obvious for all to see. Obedience is always the evidence of real faith. When Abram arrived in Canaan he first went to the Canaanite shrine at ‘the great tree of Moreh’ in Shechen. God spoke to him again, promising this land to his offspring, and Abram built an altar there to the Lord. When Abram moved to Bethel he again:
“ . . . built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.”
True faith is always a practical faith. God always responds to such faith in a wonderful way, he forgives such people all their sin and accepts them into his own family.
“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6
Abraham was a little sceptical about God’s promise to have a myriad of offspring who would inherit this land since Sarah was infertile. The record continues,
“But Abram said, ‘O sovereign LORD, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?” Genesis 15:8
Abram was doubting the word of God! The response of the LORD is striking. Abram was told to bring a heifer, a goat and a ram, along with a dove and young pigeon. These animals were to be killed and divided into two and then all were to be laid our in two rows with an alley between them. All we are told was that Abram had to fight off birds of prey which probably signifies that there always will be enemies to god’s word. At sunset Abram fell into a deep sleep and God answered Abram’s concern by giving more prophecy about how Abram’s descendants would be enslaved for 400 years before returning to take the land from the Amorites. That night Abram saw a ‘smoking brazier and a blazing torch pass between the pieces of the animals. By passing through the pieces alone the Lord was communicating to Abram that it depended upon the Lord alone to fulfil the covenant. Abram’s role was to respond with faith and gratitude.
The gospel always starts with God’s grace but must be responded to by genuine, obedient gratefulness. A covenant or contract is two sided. The Lord said to Abram,
“I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Genesis 17:1-2
A failure to respond with gratitude and obedience will ultimately result in God’s judgement. Jeremiah used this picture to remind a later generation what god has done and expects in response:
“The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. . . I will hand over to their enemies who seek their lives. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.” Jeremiah 34:18-20
The Lord God is certainly not to be trifled with or taken for granted.
The book of Genesis is primarily teaching that there re only two types of people, the righteous and the unrighteous and that God will eventually bring judgement on those who reject his rule. This is highlighted in the destruction of the immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the salvation of the righteous Lot and his family. When told of God’s plan to destroy these cities because of the way they live, Abram pleads with God, as this was Lot’s home:
“Then Abraham approached him (the Lord) and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:23-25
In fact there were not even ten that God had credited with righteousness in that city. A story is told demonstrating the evil present in that city so, after rescuing Lot and his family, the city was destroyed. The rest of the book Genesis gives examples of righteous and unrighteous behaviour yet God still achieves his goals - as he always does.
To be a descendent of Abraham means to share the faith of Abraham and to put your faith in the Lord and in the Son of God who was the descendent of Abraham. Paul later wrote,
“Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand then that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith , and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:6-8
Jacob
There can have been few people who were so duplicitous as Jacob. He deceived his older brother Esau out of his birthright and then lied about his identity to his senile father to obtain his blessing. He had to flea for his life. He was then out-cheated by his uncle Laban. Then, after wrestling with God and injuring his hip, he was renamed ‘Israel’ which means ‘he struggles with God’. From then on Israel was a changed man, and the Jews, the Children of Israel are all descended from him. God can use what has been ungodly for his ends, he changes people.
Moses
God called Moses to deliver the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt when he was exiled in the land of Midian because he had murdered an Egyptian. Subsequently ten miraculous plagues led to God’s people being released. During this time God told Moses:
“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Exodus 9:16
What a tragedy it is when those who claim to be God’s people have forgotten that they have been chosen to proclaim the Lord throughout the world.
Whenever God’s people disobeyed him he became aggrieved – he said to Moses,
“How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?” Exodus 16:28
What God expects of his people is not sinless perfection, that is an impossibly high standard, but a deep love and gratefulness for the Lord who has saved us and a dependance on his character and his word. God proclaimed his character to Moses after giving him the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished . . .” Exodus 34:6-7
What a joy and privilege it is to be accepted into the service of such a God. Moses subsequently reminded God’s people:
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” Deuteronomy 10:12
Just before Moses died he reminded God’s people of their obligations after being accepted by God:
“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands that I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2
Moses then gives God’s people a stern warning:
“However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” Deuteronomy 28:15
The lesson is always the same, God’s grace in accepting and forgiving us must be met by a love and obedience of him for the rest of our lives.
The love Moses had for the LORD is made abundantly clear from his last words:
“There is no-one like the God of Jeshurun . . The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms . . . Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.” Deuteronomy 33:29
Joshua
The LORD’s blessing then passed on to Joshua. He had been born as a slave in Egypt and his parents obviously hoped that he would become the saviour of Israel His birth name was Hoshea which means ‘Saviour’. It was Moses who realised that a man can never save God’s people so he changed his name to Joshua, which means ‘The Lord saves’ (Numbers 13:16 ). Joshua also had this intimate relationship with the Lord:
“As I was with Moses, so will I be with you: I will never leave you nor forsake you . . . Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of courageous. Do not be terrified; nor be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:5-9
Joshua became a very effective leader of God’s people but he realised what it was God wanted to see in all his people. At the end of his life he passed on this essential message to all God’s people:
“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Joshua 22:5
Such is the only type of worship that God wants from his people; beautiful liturgies and exciting music are only worship if people’s hearts are right before God. Outward religion is easy but it is not what God wants. The later prophets repeated this warning:
“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” Joel 2:13
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
To walk humbly with God is the key to Godly living. Religious services and festivals are no substitute in God’s eyes for our devotion:
““I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Amos 5:21-23
Oh that we can all see ourselves as God sees us. He alone is the source of blessings both in this life and the next:
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Psalm 84:11
“. . . but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.” Jeremiah 7:23
Summary
Can we walk with God in such an intimate way today? The simple answer is, ‘Yes’. If we ask God to give us his Spirit we shall be empowered to live as God wants. The gift of the Holy Spirit is very real and powerful. God has said,
“If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them; I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Leviticus 26:3
What a joy it is to know that this same warm relationship with the Lord is now available to all of us. Paul summarised this when he wrote:
“For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16 (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27)
How can I, an immoral human being, walk with God? In Jesus we have this same God who has now entered his world in the flesh. If we come under his Lordship we will receive his pardon, we are credited with his righteousness:
“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7,
True fellowship with God and true fellowship with one another are made possible through and by Jesus Christ, God’s Son and his gift to his people of the Holy Spirit.
BVP
