Urgent Call for Missions

How do we prepare for the coming of our glorious Redeemer?

I wish to make an urgent appeal in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ: Christian Brother, will you go out with the gospel? Do you not know that there are many communities who are yet to hear the gospel of Christ? The great commission (Matt. 28:19-20) is as fresh today as when it was given on the first century. The Lord does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, He said,

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14)

What is the gospel? It is the glorious good news of the salvation of sinners from their sins, misery and eternal woe; by the most loving and gracious saviour, Jesus Christ. Christ perfectly obeyed the Law of God, which we could not obey, and so purchased the righteousness of God for us. He died our death and perfectly satisfied divine justice. The gospel brings sinners to the kingdom of God under the reign of Christ.

This gospel will not be proclaimed by the angels – it will be proclaimed by Christians. It is financially supported, not simply by the wazungus... it is by us, here in Nairobi, here in Kenya. So my friend, what are you doing for the gospel to be proclaimed?

The gospel is to be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. As we speak, there are many communities in Kenya who are yet to know of Christ. Right here in Nairobi, there are Nubians, Somalis, Rendille, Boranas, and so many other people groups who are without God, without Christ! Believe it or not, there is a community that is devoted to moon worship here in Kenya – the Rendille. How are they going to hear?

The love of Christ controls us, (2 Cor. 5:14) so that we no longer live for ourselves, since Christ has died for us. You should consider leaving what you are doing and go out to make disciples of all nations. Remember that the coming of Christ is tied to this glorious enterprise of disciple-making.

The Lord says here, “…and then the end will come.” Shall we not ‘hasten’ His coming, humanly speaking? Surely we want others to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). But this cannot happen unless they hear the gospel. And they cannot hear the gospel unless someone preaches to them. But no one will preach to them without being sent (Rom. 10:14-15). Are you going or will you send someone? Surely, those of you who have recently completed college can spare a year or five for the cause of the One who left the glory of heaven for you, and He is coming again to take you to His kingdom, can’t you? If you can’t go, then give for the support of those who have heeded the call to go. And you have sent someone, then commit to regularly visit him, will you?

What is your role in world missions?

You wonder, then, if there are specific men that the Lord God has graced, equipped and placed in the local churches, from where they are specifically sent out to be the heralds of the gospel, what is my role as ‘an ordinary Christian’ in the evangelization of the peoples? This is a very important question that should be so highly regarded for in it lies the hope of those unreached peoples to hear of the wonders of the grace of God in Christ, our Saviour. We do not need the so called 'radical Christians' - we need faithful believers. Those who take the Commission of Christ serious enough to move with the gospel, in His power and presence. When the Lord gave the Commission, there was no requirement to be radical, but to just to be  a faithful follower, a disciple.

To be a missional Christian, you ought to live a life of faith. Be fully engaged in the life of your church – devote yourself to those means of grace that the Lord has ordained.  The early church had men and women who devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Act 2:42-47.

You can only be missional if you are a faithful Christian in your local church. This understanding is most important at this time when everyone is being told to be a missionary. You don’t all have to go to the mission-field – there are those who have to go and will go because God has put it upon their hearts to go, and He has provided the means of sending them through His church. But the sending church has to remain functioning as a church! This means that there are those who will be left to be part of the sending church, who are crucial in the support of the work. We must resist the pressure from para-church organizations that put undue pressure on us all to abandon our churches to go on missions. Please remember that missions are not an end in itself – the purpose of missions is to plant churches. But churches are only to be planted by other churches - if they will be properly constituted churches.
Missions gather peoples, nations, tribes and languages into local churches, which exist to offer worship to God. In the words of John Piper, missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship exists in the local churches, because they gather, just as heavenly worship is of a gathered assembly. Therefore, faithfully gather with other people who have known God’s saving power and worship God – you were saved to glorify God. The church is the institution designed by God through which His manifold wisdom is displayed in the universe. And in all eternity, God will be magnified by His people whom He has graciously saved. What does this mean for you?

1.       Devote yourself to the Word of God – Be there to hear the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Listen to the Word preached and unite it with faith and then it will benefit you greatly. You realize that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart – it will powerfully work in you. Spiritual growth will occur where there is a healthy, consistent spiritual diet of the Word of God, which is the Bread of Life (1 Peter 2:2). The spiritual growth will enable you to be discerning - knowing the will of God, and the people that He has appointed for His work, even as you also serve. When you value the Word of God  by devoting yourself to it, even unbelieving relatives and friends could be forced see that it is such an important thing for you, and want to come to find out for themselves what is this that is so important to you. When they come, hopefully, they will be converted. You will be greater use to those in the mission field if you are more knowledgeable. It could be that through your knowledge of the Scriptures, you can be a better qualified support staff in the field, if the church deems it wise to send you as such.

2.       Devote yourself to fellowship – Christian fellowship is another means of building and edifying the saints. Iron sharpens iron, so saints sharpen each other, as they pray for one another, love, care and even admonish each other. There are those who by their fellowship have been led to believe that the Lord is sending them on missions. When such a person goes from this warm fellowship, he will be assured of a strong fellowship by which he can depend for prayers and support. It is where the fellowship bonds are close, and loving that missionaries are produced. This is both edifying and inspires confidence. It is where there is brotherly harmony and unity that the Lord commands a blessing. Where there is such a fellowship, brethren will be encouraged to share their resources for we have read, And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.

3.       Devote yourself to prayer – There is no question that this church was a praying church. They well understood that as a matter of priority the Lord desires and urges that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions for this is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God desires then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling. There is no doubt that God honours His word and blesses it's obedience. He listens to the prayers of His people whose desire for the salvation of sinners is the same as His own. Such prayers which are in accordance to the will of God are answered by God. The great apostle and missionary Paul, confessed, “You also must help us by prayer,  so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted to us through the prayers of many (2 Cor.1:11). This means that you attend your church’s prayer meetings and pray earnestly both for the ministers and the sinners to be saved. Besides, you may form a special group to pray for missionaries. There is a lovely example of what was called, “the Haystack Meeting” that established a society called, “the Brethren” led by Samuel J. Mills and through which Adoniram Judson et al. were sent out from America to Burma by an association of churches.

4.       Give generously for the cause of the gospel – When we realize how much the Western Christians have invested for our evangelization, then we would be less attached to our money. A number of good Christians men who are consumed by the zeal to see sinners brought to Christ have said, “If you can’t go, then send someone.” To send someone means you work hard, in your job and give generously for the support of those men who have been sent out. It is not for nothing that you have so much salary, or resources. It is not for nothing that the Lord has given you the business acumen you have. The reason why you are doctor, the architect, engineer or lawyer is so that through these resources His cause may be furthered. But too many of you think that it is so that you may change from living in a one-bedroomed to a three bedroom, from Kibera to Kileleshwa, from a Toyota Corolla to Aston Martin. The reason that you have more is so that you can give more for the eternal cause of Christ – the giver. This should be done within the context of your church, lest you be defrauded and make the cause of the gospel to the unreached suffer. Paul devotes the book of Philippians to express his gratitude for their gifts – “… no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again… having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” (Phil. 15-18)

5.       Prioritize being a means of encouraging those who have gone out – Sometimes being in the mission field is very tempting and discouragements abound there. A call or a letter or an email from the brethren who hold the rope from outside the pit can be a means for lifting up the spirits of the downcast. Even Apostle Paul himself confessed, “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…” and again “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need… yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” (Phil. 4:12,14). Finally remember the missionaries are treasures in jars of clay, appointed by God to show the surpassing power that belongs to God so that you will be close to provide the encouragement that is necessary to be effective and useful in the mission-field. At TBC we have requested members to identify some of our church-plants and seek to gather as much information, maintain contact with these men and seek to encourage this work by enlisting the prayers of others. Plan to Visit these communities – There is no doubt that there are those who go to live among these unreached or least reached communities but there is a need for those who support to visit and see what actually happens there. You will be able to pray, give and encourage better if you can plan to visit and see for yourself. Do not be content to just read the reports from the missionaries or from those who visit, although we should provide such reports, yet everyone should consider going to see the opportunities and needs that exist. Take supportive responsibilities – You all have been endowed with many skills that can be absolutely necessary in the mission field. Use them to help those who go to be more effective in the gospel. Consider what you can do, and ask those in the mission field how these skills can be invested to farther the gospel cause. Why should the church buy an architectural plan when there are architects in the church? Or employ construction engineers when there are those in the church who can do it? Surely such who have such skills should employ their abilities, skills and strengths (even weakness) to make the gospel speed ahead. Some of you can make excellent translators – if you were trained. Consider all the supportive responsibilities that you can do, you can be a Sunday school teacher, a nurse, a mechanic, etc. so that the one who has been sent to be the mouthpiece of God is not distracted. The company of such men like Timothy, personal assistant and the Apostolic emissary; Dr. Luke the physician and chronicler, and Silas who was sent now and again, was so important for the success of Paul’s ministry. It is out of this desire to encourage missionary workers that Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) was formed to provide cheap air services.

Churches should send mature and tested Christians to the missions  fields. As the church continues in its ministry of equipping the saints for the work of ministry, people are not only trained to godliness (holy men are needed for missions) and are equipped as their gifts and abilities are identified in their churches. We must not think that only zeal is needed to go on missions - you need to be first of all qualified men (if you are not qualified to serve as a pastor of your current church, then you are not qualified to serve as a missionary!). There is no Biblical example of a woman sent out to be a missionary, because primarily the aim of missions is church-planting and women are not qualified, nor suited to be spiritual leaders of a church of Christ (see 1 Corinthians; 1 Timothy 2:11-14). The qualifications for elders are masculine (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9)

Each one should faithfully play his Christian duty, pray, support and give such resources and encouragement that are useful for the effectiveness of the one in the mission field. The faithfulness of both the missionary and the sending church is what flourishes the gospel cause.

Anguish for kinsmen

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. Rom 9:1-5.

This passage has intrigued me for a number of reasons:

1)      Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles is so keen and interested in His own blood kindred

2)      That Paul is himself willing to be ‘accursed and cut off from Christ’ for the sake of his brothers

3)      Paul takes strong vows to show how true this is – “…I am speaking the truth in Christ – I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit…”

The reasons why this is particularly true of Paul with regard to the Israelites as an ethnic entity is because of the reasons he gave those eight things that are peculiar to them – to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all.

This also motivates me to think of my tribesmen – the Merus as a community. This is because more often than not in the Bible we see God pronouncing judgments upon the nations (or ethnic groups) than He pronounces upon individuals. There are things that I see happening in our nation or among other nations or communities and you would be blind to fail to the just retribution and judgment of God upon them as a community. Yet we know that the electing grace of God is directed at individuals, not nations.

The only time the Lord God identified a nation to bestow His grace, it was rejected nationally by the Israelites. They rejected the Law and the Christ who is the Saviour although He came from among them. Therefore, the Lord displayed the richness of His grace by unconditionally electing people from every nation, every tribe, every language. It is this multi-ethnic, international and multi-lingual community that will forever be assembled in heaven to offer unceasing worship to Him. The ingathering of peoples in missions is what is happening now. We all have a responsibility to pray that the Lord in His mercy may send men from local churches to proclaim the good news of His saving power by the means of His Son, who is the propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world where the Lord is believed.

This understanding motivates my desire to see genuine Christian religion among the people of Meru. Although I minister outside the geographic Meru, yet I desire to see more and more people from this community brought to the saving knowledge of our Saviour, even Christ. I pray for them, for among them is my mother, my brothers and sisters and all other relatives the Lord has providentially given me. I desire to see them forgiven of their sins and brought to the lordship of Christ. I desire to see more and more Bible-saturated churches in the major towns in Meru, but also in every village so that Christ may be worshiped as God, and His gracious fragrance spread to the lives of these people.

Background:

Meru people believe that they migrated from the Congo Basin towards the east coast of East Africa and then approached and settled to the east of Mount Kenya. The name Meru refers to both the people and the geographic location. Merus are primarily agrarian, raising a few domestic animals. The Meru tribe is a fairly homogeneous group composed of nine sub-tribes, each of which speaks its own dialect of the Kimeru language.

The oral tradition has it that they were once enslaved by the Nguu Ntune "red clothed people". They eventually escaped and, in their exodus, came across a large body of water called Mbwaa, which they crossed by magical means (reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Jews from the Egyptian bondage). They later followed a route that took them to the coast of the Indian Ocean. They stayed there for some time, however, due to poor climatic conditions and threats from the Arabs, they were forced to travel further north west through the Tana river basin, until they finally reached the Mount Kenya area where they reside today.

They are to the East of Mount Kenya, what used to be Eastern Province. The Ameru people comprise nine sub-tribes (these are also the different dialects of the Kimeru language): the Igoji, Imenti, Tigania, Mitine, Igembe, Mwimbi, Muthambi, Chuka and Tharaka.  The Meru community spreads out into two counties - Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties with 11 constituencies.

Culturally, the Ameru believed in an ancestral god called Murungu or Ngai. There was deep reverence for the spirit of the living dead. The divine leader of the Ameru was called the Mugwe. These were respected persons who made sacrifices and performed healing on behalf of the tribe.

They highly regarded the two huge high grounds - Kirimara (Mt. Kenya) and so would pray facing to the west towards this mountain where they believed their god, Ngai wa Kirimara lived whom they called Mweneinya (the almighty). From him they believed rains and all good things came. They also believed a lesser god lived in Nyambene ridges (Ngai wa Nyambene) and would also face these high grounds. During the severe climatic conditions such as drought and consequent famine, they would offer animal sacrifices (unblemished lambs or goats) to appease the gods. They strongly believed in the ancestral spirits and would pour libation on the ground to please them before taking their meals as a way of appreciating the provision.

Other interesting religious activity was the believe in curses (and blessings) incurred through ancestors or parents or through the famous Council of Elders called Njuri Nceke. This council was primarily there to punish the evil doers and mete justice. It functioned like the parliament and would make laws that governed various matters such land, marriage, succession, etc.

Although there is a lot of Christian activities by these denominations and the community is described as having 97% Christianity, there is barely evangelical and Biblical Christianity. Very few churches are teaching the doctrines of the Bible, as the inspired, authoritative and infallible Word of God. Rather, there is a lot of hypocrisy and syncretism with the traditional religions and the word of faith teachings which emphasis extra-biblical revelations which are more often than not subjective and misleading. Many purport to be 'prophets' and 'apostles' and so infallible. This has led to a lot of confusion.

Prayer needs

That the Lord may be pleased to:

1)      send a genuine spiritual awakening through Biblical means of grace,

2)      raise many faithful preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

3)      more healthy churches to be planted,

4)      eradication of such traditions and rituals that are anti-Christian (Njuri, Giachiaro, all forms of idolatry, animal sacrifices to appease the gods etc.),

5)      church leaders to concentrate on church work rather than politics,

6)      Christians to live godly lives that adorn the gospel of Christ.

Ministry in Pokot

THE VISIT TO POKOT – 26^TH JUNE TO 3^RD JULY 2014

We had been invited to preach at a weekend challenge at Kasei Secondary Schools and to later preach at an annual men’s camp organized by the churches there.  We were, Edwin Kabui, Gaitano Mbati, Murung Igweta and Peter Kivati.

We travelled from Nairobi to Kitale town, from Kitale we travelled about 50km to Kapenguria and then about 130km on a dirt road from Kapenguria to Kasei village in North Pokot. The area is generally hilly and a bit cool.

The first Weekend Challenge at Kasei Secondary School

We had two full days of preaching and teaching on Friday and Saturday at Kasei Boys secondary school, which is one of the schools in the area sponsored by the church. We had five sessions daily each about 45 minutes of teaching and preaching on gospel themes such as sin, faith, repentance, death and judgment. The sixth session was for questions and answers on both days. We had the students asking so many questions. It was surprising on the first day to receive questions on marriage but later in the evening, we learnt from one of the teachers that a number of the students had wives and children! With that knowledge, we were able to engage with them more graciously the next day, Saturday.

We got an opportunity to minister at their Sunday morning service where Pastor Murungi preached on Who is a Christian from Titus 1:1-4. We later joined the brethren at Kasei Baptist church for their Sunday worship service. The church currently meets at one of the halls in Kasei primary school. The upper primary pupils who are boarders join the community in the service. At the service, Pastor Murungi preached on Christ Alone from John 14:6.

Trinity Baptist Church Kasei during the preaching and the coming up church building

While at Kasei, we were also able to minister on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights to the neighbors of our host, Pastor Joshua, who he had invited them specifically to hear the teaching that the guests had come with. A number of women, about 10-15, and children turned up for the meetings at Pastor Joshua’s compound and Pastor Murungi taught very simply on salvation from the conversion of Zacheaus, Lydia and the Philippian Jailer. He preached in Swahili while Pastor Joshua translated to Pokot.

On Monday morning, Pastor Murungi spent the morning counseling a couple that would like to get married in October. Nicholas and Claudina (Claudina is Pastor Joshua’s sister). Later we joined the older men for the camp in Kamketo for their annual camp. There were over 50 men present. We were told that the numbers this year were low because many men had taken cattle to Uganda for grazing. They received very little rainfall this year and so there is not enough pasture for their cows on the Kenyan side.

At the camp themes on the gospel, walking in the Spirit and marriage were handled. There were many questions touching on polygamy and the topic of the Holy Spirit. Polygamy is quite a challenge there and most of the older men even in the church are polygamous. Most of them came to know the Lord when they had already married many wives. Our host pastor told me that polygamy made it a bit difficult to find local leaders for the churches there. Illiteracy is also a problem among the older men as most are not able to read the Bible even in the Pokot language. So there was a request to consider adult literacy from the men, because they would like to learn to read the bible for themselves. One of the ways that the brethren want to deal with this problem is to start a theological college that could train men who do not much education.

Peter got an opportunity to preach Kamketo Primary School on Wednesday afternoon. He preached in Swahili from 1 John 3:1-10 about ‘the children of God and children of the devil’. He found preaching in Swahili very challenging.

During the Q&A session at Men’s camp in Trinity Baptist Kamketo

The brothers there are working on starting a girls’ secondary school at Kamketo. They plan to use part of the primary school’s land. The bricks for the school have already been made and being cured. We travelled with Andrew to pick up the school development plan from the Ministry of Labour and Public Works in Kapenguria.

Please keep praying for the Lord’s work in this area.

Peter Kivati