the prophet Nahum, read Nahum 1:3 first. God Rules, O.K.? Have you ever wondered why God does not intervene more quickly in events? Why do people suffer so long before relief aid and development? Why does a war decades long injure and kill so many before peace – prayed for by many for those decades – finally comes? The answer, as the answer to so many of our questions, is found in the character of God. The people of Judah knew their neighbour Israel had fallen to the world super power, and now Assyria was threatening them too. Various kings paid taxes to Nineveh (the major city) to acknowledge they served the oppressor. People hated the dominance of Nineveh and the Assyrians in much the same way as the recent Colonial powers (last 2 centuries) including my own people, the British are viewed today: some may say the Americans are at this moment. How people longed for Nineveh to be overthrown! Jonah was a prophet of God who was going to dance a joyful jig when it happened – but the people of Nineveh repented at his preaching and he was rather disappointed. The prophet Nahum’s name means ‘comfort’. The message he brought was a comfort to those oppressed and exploited by the superpower. 1:1 “An oracle concerning Nineveh.” 1:8 “with an overwhelming flood He (God) will make an end of Nineveh.” 1:11 “From Nineveh one has come forth who plots evil against the Lord.” 1:14 “The Lord has given a command, Nineveh; ‘You will have no descendants to bear your name.’ ‘I (God) will destroy your images and idols … and prepare your grave.’” 2:1 “An attacker advances against you, Nineveh.” 2:8 “Nineveh is like a pool, and its water is draining away.” 3:5, 6 “I am against you declares the Lord Almighty … All who see you will say ‘Nineveh is in ruins’.” Nineveh was on the River Tigris, in today’s Northern Iraq opposite today’s town Al Mawsil. It was originally built by Nimrod, son of Cush, in Genesis 10:11, 12. It developed over centuries, thanks to brilliant hydro-engineering – the construction of dams, canals etc. It is interesting to note these very features – which brought strength, wealth and domination – were to be used by God in the city’s judgement. Application: When I read Romans 1:18-2:2 I see God’s judgement already on my own country England, and on much of the west. It is not ‘ready for judgement’ because of sin, as some think, but is already being judged by God in the rampant spread of sin. The sexual deviations it boasts of as ‘freedoms’ and ‘signs of mature tolerance in society’ – (reported frequently in the Khartoum Monitor incidentally, which shows what their editorial team think is important about the west!) those ‘freedoms’ are actually signs of God’s giving up on them: God lifting His restraining Holy Spirit: and God beginning to judge them. Nahum 2:6-8 show how it was the pride in their own achievements, hydro-engineering, that was used to bring them, Nineveh and Assyria, down in flood. Illustrations: Saddam Hussain spoke of it, my ears pricked up! Heard of no more. Nineveh was never rebuilt. God promised it would never be. Nahum 2:10 “She is stripped … 3:7 in ruins with no comfort …” Zephaniah 2:13-15 (the other prophet against Nineveh) “God will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert … The desert owl and the screech owl will roost in her columns. Their calls will echo through the windows, rubble will be in the doorways. This is the carefree city that lived in safety. She (the city) said to herself ‘I am, there is none beside me’. Direct mockery of God. “What a ruin she has become.” Why didn’t it all happen sooner? Nahum chapters 2 and 3 are basically descriptions of Nineveh’s capture. I don’t propose to look much at them. The destruction happened in August 612 BC history records. God raised another super power: Babylon to judge Assyria. God works in history’s events. Nahum’s prophecy refers to the destruction of ‘Thebes’ 3:8 “situated on the Nile.” Thebes was on the site you and I know of as Luxor in Egypt. 3:8-10 describe its downfall – leaving the ruins for tourists to visit today. That all happened in 663BC. So, between 663 and coming forward to 612BC Nahum prophesied: the God who brought down Thebes with her allies Cush, Egypt, Put and Libya, will soon bring down Nineveh and Assyria as well. Why didn’t it all happen sooner? The answer is in Nahum’s description of the character of God. (ch.1) Illustration: When things don’t work out as you think they should, remember God is God and you are not! I love theology. I love the study of God. The more I discover about God the more I love the God of theology! You and I have so much still to learn and to appreciate about God. He is much, much greater and more, more able than we realise – no matter how much we believe! He is bigger, better, brighter. He is more able, awesome. Nahum’s beliefs about God. (I am beginning to conclude!). In your questions, e.g. 'Why so long?' take comfort from: 1. The jealousness of God. As a husband and father jealously protects his wife and children, so God (Who is infinite in knowledge) always does what is right for His children. Dictionary – Jealous, not bad, but good. The watchful protection of the vulnerable. 2. The Vengeance of God. As a court of law is empowered to take retributive punishment on a properly convicted criminal, so God takes retributive punishment (the suitable, appropriate action, to see justice done). God is totally fair and equitable. God is beyond corruption. God cannot be bought. God is in nobody’s pocket. God is under no-one’s control but his own. God will repay every sinner for the sinner’s sin, unless that sinner knows his personal Saviour Jesus Christ. 3. The wrath of God. Since God loves all that is right and good, He hates all that is opposed to His own moral character, including His goodness, His love, His justice etc. Lobby groups reflect this today. Why do some people oppose what is judged to be wrong? They reflect God’s image. All peaceful legal means can be used in opposition. God intensely hates sin and has worked to deal with it. In Jesus, God the Son, He bore Himself the retribution He Himself exacted from sin in expressing His holy wrath. So deep is His love. God the Son plunged into sin to rescue sinners from it! 4. The self-restraint of God. “The Lord is slow to anger.” Immediate retaliation is often wrong. How many times have you regretted something you have said or done ‘in the heat of the moment’? Illustration: I’ve recently been the subject of tirades of anger, accusation and abuse. Inwardly I jumped up, grabbed, kicked, punched. Outwardly I remained silent and unmoved. Thank God!! Do you remember what Jesus did before He drove the money-makers from the temple? He was consumed in righteous anger at their profiteering from religious practise. But John 2:15 records “Jesus made a whip out of cords” and then drove all from the temple area. While He was plaiting the cords He made sure He was not reacting simply in the flesh. Maybe He prayed for the objects of His judicial wrath. It was no uncontrolled flare-up. It was timely, self-controlled action. Even now in a just war there is great reflection of God’s image in ‘controlled’ weaponry. Unlike God though, we humans make mistakes. We don’t always get it right. God is God. Always 100%. We are not. We cause collateral damage. Innocents are hurt. Be careful. The destruction of Nineveh was ‘the studied response of the long-suffering Majesty'. “He is slow to anger.” 5. The mega-power ability of God. “Slow to anger and great in power.” In the next verses He is compared to nature’s greats: God is like a … whirlwind, storm, clouds, the sea, the seasons, the mountains, the earth itself “trembles at His presence”, Nahum 1:5 Illustration: Sudan Power is limited in the power it can generate. We all enjoy power cuts (and give thanks to God in them: part of the ‘everything’!?). Many empty posts surround this city – do they deliver power cuts? God has no shortage of power. He can and He will do all that He pleases. Nahum’s God is greater than all of nature added together! 6. The secure memory of God. “The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.” Nothing escapes God’s sight. Illustration: Many of us wear glasses; He needs none. Nothing said escapes His ears! Some use hearing aids or read signs! God needs neither. Never too busy like phone systems. All there is to know He knows always! The best computer back-up system does not compare with our Almighty ever able God. 7. The goodness of God. Such awesome power and ability in the hands of someone evil would be disastrous. But God is totally good. Illustration: Look at the world: remember absolute power is in the heart and hand of the only One who is absolutely good – through and through. Thank You, Lord! 8. The refuge God provides. A person is secure only if they are in a right relationship of trust and care with this awesome God. This is a prophecy/message of comfort to those who live as God’s friends. It is only a prophecy/message of judgement to those who are determined to live as God’s enemies. Which one are you? God’s timing of our history is not forever. While He permits you, will you plead for His mercy? There will come a time when it is too late. God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum International Church 27th October 2002.

Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. - by David Mamush Jangjuol The role of Christian leaders in their society is commonly assessed[1] by the leadership in our churches and in various Christian institutions and communities. I believe society as a whole – not only churches – needs first and foremost leaders who are God-fearing people who sought and seek counsel from the Almighty God. Christians should assume[2] leadership in society by bearing[3] Christian values. Christian leaders must lead wherever they are by using biblical principles, not contradicting them. In Acts 1:8 Jesus instructed His disciples to bear testimony of Him in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, and finally to the remotest parts of the earth. They were to preach and win souls to Christ. If we say the home is our Jerusalem, the church is our Judea or Samaria, then the community/society is the uttermost part of the world. Let us not presume leadership in our community until we have first assumed true leadership in our family and in the church. To be in a leadership position or role does not necessitate that one holds a leadership title nor even has a leadership position. Several of the most effective leaders in my congregation today do not hold any office or wear a title. The same is true in any local church and community. Leadership is not position or being in decision-making but rather an attitude and a lifestyle. The most powerful influence any of us can have on others is by virtue of who we are as individuals. Any person who has invested his life in helping others achieve their highest goals and dreams has had the greatest influence. When he has done this long enough, people will follow him because of his integrity and his character. The key to leadership or an influential position is investing yourself into the people of your community. Invest in yourself by being a person of integrity and character. Invest in your community by being involved in their various activities. One of the most basic things every one of us can do to be leader in the community is simply to be and keep informed. Stay attached to the happening circumstances in the community. Keep your finger on the pulse of your society. Put a lot of effort into listening to people, reading and applying the Bible, interacting with people outside your church groups. Like our Lord Jesus, associate with sinners and eat with them, Matthew 9:10-11; 11:19. You cannot lead if you do not know what is going on. Being informed, involve yourself in public meetings where ideas are exchanged. Exercise your influence either in big forums[4] or small ones through showing and speaking Christian values. Speak up in town meetings when issues arise that need a word from the Lord. Do not be timid. Our Christian involvement in society needs to extend beyond knowledge and the dispensing of information into the more public arenas of service. When we understand that leadership is influence, not a position or a title, then we can accept the fact that “the measure of a leader is the not number of people who serve him, but the number of people he serves”.[5] Jesus taught the principles of leading by serving when He washed the disciples’ feet, John 13:1-16. Great leaders throughout human history have been people who have practised the art of servanthood. Under current Christian leadership do you think the future world would be more under the rule of God than at present? I would answer ‘yes’, because the solution for the Christian leaders to bring the world into the future leadership of God is to encourage personal fear God in every area of life, including in national life. As a Christian leader, the responsibility and character of God must be seen in your own life as you bring yourself and your Lord Jesus into society. Having the foundation of integrity in your heart and being a good steward, Christian leaders must exercise Christian values and put them into practice in all their work places, not just in the church. Many Christians who attended the Sunday meeting today are working in business places and in the political arena Mondays to Fridays. To me as a Christian servant, it is a great opportunity to be in such positions. Dallas Willard writes of such people, “They alone have at their disposal the means to bring their surroundings increasingly under the rule of God. On the one hand, they have, “all power (authority)” that is from the hands of the One who bid them go and teach all human groupings to do as He commanded when He promised to be with them always, Matthew 28:18-20. On the other hand, the teachers of the gospel have ‘Christ’s kingdom fellowship’ to live in and to offer to all. They have millions of people around the world who regularly come to them, submitting to their leadership in spiritual life even when unclear about what that means. Above all, they have knowledge of concrete practices of submission to righteousness which give an adequate teaching and example, and their hearers can make regular remarkable progress into the character and power of Christ himself”.[6] Because of that, the current Christian leadership might fully anticipate the future leadership under the rule of God more than the present, by showing the very best examples to their society, being God fearing men and women at the community level as well as in the church. It is necessary to become involved in your community, interacting with the local people in the community. By doing so you let them see you as a God-fearing servant with the heart of integrity. What is the relationship between the Great Commission, discipleship, and the Kingdom of God/Heaven? In the Great Commission Jesus instructs His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”, Matthew 28:19-20. This biblical mandate, known commonly as the Great Commission, instructs Christians to move outward in making disciples, teaching all people in the Christian faith, and initiating them into the worldwide fellowship of the Church. With respect to being a disciple of Jesus, Willard noted, “as a disciple … I am with Him, by choice and by grace, learning from Him how to live in the Kingdom of God”. Jesus specifically trained His followers to carry on His work of ministry, although Willard argues, “the main burden of this work of disciple-making no doubt falls to some of us who lead and teach, in whatever capacity, in our churches”. Jesus first called the fishermen and the tax collectors, not the educated or the great teachers of Law, to be His early disciples, Matthew 4:18-23; 9:9-13. We are aware of many great Christian leaders, but it is each and every one of us who is called to “go” in the Great Commission. Be Christian leaders responsible for the future of the world. Because the resources of God’s Kingdom are available to Christians, responsibility for the condition of the world in a year, or in centuries to come, rests upon the Christian Church. We alone have at our disposal the means to bring our surroundings increasingly under the rule of God”. (Quotation slightly amended). Vision, intention, means Willard gives a simple model for how people change. He calls it VIM, as in the phrase “vim and vigour”.[7] VIM stands for Vision, Intention, and Means. Briefly these are the three aspects of change, focusing especially on the using of spiritual disciplines as ways that we can trust to make us more the kind of leader God wants, with the vision, intention and means of Christian formation and transformation. I believe this is an excellent model of how Christians can seriously go about engaging with God and engaging with society in ways that are positively transformative: · Vision – things we need to understand clearly · Intentions – values we need to commit to · Means – what we can do to foster[8] transformation I believe this model offers the proper balance for living with God and participating in society. To engage effectively in this process, there are certain things that we need to envision and understand well. There are also some values that we need to commit ourselves to. There are certain means available to us by which we can deliberately open ourselves up to the kind of relationship with God that helps us in transforming society. You may notice I amend Willard’s order: Vision of Kingdom life: The vision of our life in the Kingdom of God is the place we must start. This vision underlies the spiritual transformation of Christian likeness. Christians can see the life now and forever in the range of God’s effective will, that is partaking of the divine nature while escaping the devastating corruption of the world, 2 Peter 1:4. What we are aiming for in this vision is to live fully in the Kingdom of God while in church and in society, and to live as fully as possible here and now, not just in the hereafter. Means for spiritual transformation: these include such practices as solitude, memorisation of and meditation on the scriptures, fellowship with all other Christians and positive accountability to others. We must pray and work to replace the inner character of the ‘lost’ with the inner character of our Lord Jesus: His vision, His understanding, His feelings, His decisions and His character must be nurtured. In doing that the old and merely human nature will not function as controller anymore, because all people become new creations in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here”, 2 Corinthians 5:17. We are not left to ourselves in finding such means. We have rich resources available in the teaching of Jesus, in the scripture, and through God’s people historically and currently. At the local church level, all members must put these things into practice on a daily basis. Intention to live in the Kingdom as Jesus did: Jesus makes it possible for us to intend to live in the Kingdom as He did while on earth. We can actually decide to do it, to live with Him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not ‘in the Kingdom, out of the world’, but ‘in the Kingdom while very much in the world’! Concurrent living – in Christ – in the church – in the community – all under and displaying Jesus’ Lordship. First of all, trust Him, count on Him being the Anointed One, the Christ. Concretely intend to live in the Kingdom of God by obeying the precise example and teachings of Jesus. We show we trust Jesus by doing as Jesus did. Similarly, it is the vision of life in God’s Kingdom that provides an adequate foundation for the steadfast intention to obey Christ. It is this general intention to please God in all things, that stirs attending church services and programmes, going to Bible studies, prayer meetings and responding through water baptism, bringing offerings and in many other ways. One key way many believers regrettably ignore pleasing God is by living considerably less than as 100% Christian while they are in the non-Christian workaday world. I urge you not to be like them. Dare to be different, following our Lord Jesus! What would the church in your context do differently if its leaders truly intended to be and to make Christian disciples? The church would grow spiritually. The members would love one another and have the foundation of Christian integrity firmly in place. The church will be reaching out to those outside the church through evangelism and mission. Those who are inside the church will bring encouragement, fellowship, praising to God, and love-sharing in small group meetings. All of these relationships work together in balance and are necessary for each other to function properly. Most importantly, remember to seek God in prayer, spend time in His word, listening to the Holy Spirit to show what He wants to best structure the ministry of your church. The structure of the ministries in the local church should follow the function and purpose of the church. The ministry of the local church is not just in the church building or activities by ministers. Most of it is (or should be) by individuals from the congregation serving in whatever roles God has opened to them in their wider society and community. What would such a decision “cost” in terms of sacrifice or change? John Calvin used the term “self-denial” to summarise the entire Christian life. Self-denial must never be confused with self-rejection. Self-denial is an overall, settled condition of life in the Kingdom of God, perhaps better described as “death to self”.[9] Calvin wrote, “If we, then, are not our own, 1 Corinthians 6:19, but the Lord’s, it is clear what error we must flee, and whither we must direct all the acts of our life. We are not our own; let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own; let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own; in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, We are God’s; let us therefore live for Him and die for Him. We are God’s; let His wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s; let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward Him as our only lawful goal, Romans 14:7-8”. [10] The cost in terms of sacrifice is through Jesus, who paid the price to redeem the whole world. Being a follower of Christ, you must sacrifice your life and take the yoke of Jesus to follow Him. Jesus said, “Whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it”, Matthew 10:39. As a leader you must give your time to teach and train the members, attending many meetings, and you must be an example in how to give your tithes and offerings to the church, to relief and to mission. According to Dallas Willard, “a discipline is what you do to modify your inner person. It is an activity in my power that enables me to accomplish what I cannot do by direct effort”. This is the same with spiritual disciplines. The point is that the way to offer more and more simple acts of care and kindness is to become caring and kind in your own heart by using spiritual disciplines to grow in God’s grace, 2 Corinthians 6:3-10; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:12. From the life of Jesus there are a number of spiritual disciplines to help us grow in God’s grace, to receive His kindness so that we become more kind, readily and consistently doing kind things for other people. Getting alone with God to be quiet is one of the foundational Christian disciplines to help us to become more like Jesus, Luke 5:16; 9:10; 22:41. The nature of the spiritual disciplines is with the physical body, whereas most evangelicals emphasise only beliefs and feelings. How can things that we do with our bodies result in spiritual growth? Willard concentrated on the whole part of the human being for the spiritual disciplines, because it is all, not part, of our person that reflects our character. I believe spiritual transformation happens best when we work on the elements of our ‘self’ in a specific order. When successful, spiritual transformation unites the entire body and the person can then bring remarkable harmony into the groups in which he/she participates. The body is our personal presence in the physical and social world. In union with it, we come into existence and become the persons we shall forever be. Often this body shows our fallenness into sin. But at the same time, this amazing capacity of the body means that it can be reformed to become our ally in Christlikeness. Such a reformation of the body is one major part of the process of spiritual formation. The evangelicals emphasise beliefs and feelings. Feelings are central to our spiritual formation in Christ. We may feel good or bad in studies of the Bible, prayer, fasting and other activities within the church. Feelings of fear may also influence our going out, meeting the needs of other people and ministering to them in their various places. In the revolution of our character, many of our feelings, emotions, sensations and desires must be changed. Feelings can properly move us to positive action, so enjoy being moved! Scholars and philosophers put such an emphasis on spiritual disciplines that it becomes dangerously close to trying to earn your salvation by works. How would you respond to this criticism? I believe spiritual discipline does not begin when someone offers to follow Jesus, but when Jesus calls someone already in love with Him to follow Him. It is a response to Jesus’ call of love. A person can only follow Christ when his heart is filled with love for Him. It is not how much you do or try to do by your own ability. Willard’s definition of a discipline is, “any activity within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort”. The application to the spiritual life is not too difficult to understand. If your life as usual has not been a fertile as usual, (perhaps not like it once used to be), or has not been the fertile ground in which God can confidently bring change, you may need to fall in love with Jesus all over again. The distinction between “effort” and “earning” [11] “Effort” sounds very much like “earning”. Both words move hand in hand. But God is much more interested in my effort. He wants me to press on to reach my goal, Philippians 3:13-15. Paul writes about how he “presses on”, which he also describes as “straining forward”. This is an effort. In effort you put weights and power, with sweat dripping out of you, in order to achieve your goal. Effort is not the same as earnings. Willard explains it, “while it true that we are saved by grace, that God alone is the author of our salvation, and it is impossible to change our wayward hearts on our own, we must understand the critical truth that God is opposed to people making an effort to earn salvation. God is not opposed to effort but to earnings”, emphasis mine. Salvation cannot be earned by anyone. It is a gift generously given by God, Ephesians 2:8-9. The distinction between “trying” and “training”[12] for living a Christ-like life In fact, training is required for any significant challenge in life, even including our spiritual growth. By trying by myself I cannot make myself more Christ-like. Practical training and more biblical application to life, with experience, will always be more successful than merely trying. Let all of us genuine Christians play our roles in society by faith, learning on the job at the feet of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and word. African world views and values: in what way do they challenge the leaders? According to the Bible, God is holy and deals with hearts, so that sins will no longer rule in human life. God is the only One who has authority and power to rule in us. God may seem far away, but He lives with us not only in times of bad circumstances but all the time. In the general African world view, god cannot dwell in human heart; people only bring god into their lives out of fear. They try to prevent things from going wrong with offerings and so on. In times of need when things do go wrong, they may run to him for help. When those needs are met they need not have anything to do with god until the next time. People do not generally understand that the Creator God came to dwell in the lives of people and graciously rule over us in a divine human partnership. As He works in us so we who know Him must work with Him everywhere in His world. I suggest that in contemporary Christian training schools and other teaching we should put more emphasis on discipleship and the role of discipline in our physical bodies. These two help me to grow in Christ-likeness. As a leader, your physical presence and participation in the church during times of need, such as during bereavement and funerals, will greatly assist church members. But why not offer these ministries to those outside in the wider community too? Visiting the sick, the housebound or hospitalised, the prisoners are all complementary activities to the prayers that a Christian leader must be involved in. Unfortunately, many of us are falling in this area today because of so many programmes that keep us away from meeting the physical needs of our own members. And if we do not have time for helping our own people, we are going to have to radically change and work really hard to minister Christianly in the wider society. But we must do it, ourselves and especially through our congregational people, if we are going to bring our nations, our states, our provinces, our cities and our towns more under our God’s influence, for ourselves in the present and for our children in the future. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted “To be in a leadership position or role does not necessitate that one holds a leadership title nor even has a leadership position”. True or false? Why? Give practical examples. What do Matthew 9:9-13 and 11:16-19 say about living ‘outside of’ the Christian community? Is this an example for us to follow? Why? What do you think will bring “the future world … more under the rule of God than at present”? List ways this may happen. Bring Scriptures as you share your ideas. 4. “What would the church in your context do differently if its leaders” (indeed all of its people) “truly intended to be and to make Christian disciples”? 5. From Philippians 3:7-16 discover and share things that will help all of us to live Christianly in a largely non-Christian environment. What does it mean to “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of” us? Verse 12. [1] “assess – to think about something carefully and make a judgement about it”, Macmillan School Dictionary (Oxford, England) 2004. [2] “assume – start to control something; take an important position in”, Ibid. [3] “bearing – seeming to be (Christian, in our context); having and showing (Christian) qualities”, Ibid. [4] the plural of forum can be either fora or forums, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english accessed 4th October 2017. [5]John C. Maxwell 21 Laws of Leadership (Thomas Nelson: Nashville, TN) 1998, p.62. [6] Dallas Willard Living a Transformed Life Adequate to Our Calling http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=119 , accessed 3rd October 2017. All the following quotations from Willard are from this article. [7] “vim – exuberant vigour and energy”; “vigour – physical and mental energy, enthusiasm”, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english accessed 3rd October 2017. [8] “foster – help something develop, encourage the progress of” Macmillan School Dictionary (Oxford, England) 2004. [9] Dallas Willard Living a Transformed Life Adequate to Our Calling http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=119 page 56, accessed 3rd October 2017. [10] John Calvin lived from 1509 to 1564AD. Among his many writings is, The Christian philosophy of unworldliness and self-denial; we are not our own, we are God’s: http://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2005/10/the-sum-of-the-christian-life-the-denial-of-ourselves/ accessed 3rd October 2017. [11] “effort – an attempt to do something that is difficult or involves hard physical or mental work”. “earnings – the amount of money that someone receives in exchange for working” Macmillan School Dictionary” (Oxford England) 2004. [12] “trying – attempting to do something for yourself”, “training – the process of teaching/learning a particular job or activity”, Ibid.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan today. Mission section. by Manase Woja Alfred In the beginning of 1990 strange things began to happen especially through Christian youth in the Sudan. The civil war centred mainly in the south had already made many Christians come to the north. Most settled in the capital Khartoum. They continued with their usual Christian activities through hardship and persecution. God began to move in a special way. Groups of youths organised youth fellowships, prayer meetings, conferences and night vigils. In these fellowships many people committed themselves to serve Christ. Healings and casting out of demons were commonly practised. People fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. They spoke in tongues and they prophesied. Those who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit preached the word of God with boldness. Across the capital Christians were praying with loud voices, fasting and having all night vigils. Youth evangelised in the schools and higher education institutions they attended. Mass conversions to Jesus Christ were taking place in conventions. Much as Jesus sent out His original disciples and gave them power to cast out unclean spirits and heal all manner of sickness and disease, these Christian youths started operating in similar ways. Like the earliest disciples they experienced many God-given signs and wonders. Please read Matthew 10:5-10 and Mark 16:14-20. The phrase “drive out demons” is in both passages of Scripture, Matthew 10:8 and Mark 16:17, as well as in many others. Facing evil spirits is one of the things Jesus expected His followers would need to do as they preached the good news of the kingdom of heaven to people everywhere. What does this phrase mean? 1. Demons are evil angels who sinned against God and who now continually work evil in the world. They are also called “evil spirits” and “unclean spirits” in the Bible. Compare Matthew 10:1,8. The words are used inter-changeably. Angels are sometimes called, “the heavenly hosts”, Psalm 103:20-21; 148:2. They are “spirits” who “minister”, Hebrews 1:14. They are not the souls or spirits of people who have died, as some Africans mistakenly think. They are unseen spirits who invisibly serve in this life and in the life to come, Luke 16:22. All angels were originally good. They were part of God’s creation, Genesis 1:31.But by Genesis 3:1 Satan, the serpent of Revelation 20:2, was working against God. He had become bad. He tried to deceive the first human beings and to disrupt God’s plans for the world. Satan wants to be worshipped. He even tried to persuade Jesus to worship him, Matthew 4:8-9. Satan, with some of the other angels, proudly rebelled against God, 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6. In the Bible we are not told clearly what happened. Isaiah 14:12-15 may describe it. Satan and all the rebellious angels are all still accountable to God. They are being taught lessons by God. God sometimes uses human beings as examples in teaching demons, see Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. Jesus Christ came to earth to destroy all of the devil’s work, the devil’s people and the devil’s power, 1 John 3:8. 2. Driving out demons was a characteristic of Jesus Christ’s own ministry. He said the conflict with demons showed that the kingdom of God was arriving among people, see Matthew 12:28. Look at the example of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel: 4:23-25 people brought to Jesus were healed 7:21-23 Jesus warned of evil people, using His own name but falsely 8:14-17 spirits were driven out by a spoken word 8:28-34 demons were sent into pigs and then destroyed 9:32-35 Jesus enabled a dumb man to talk. 10:1, 5-10 Jesus gave authority to the disciples for their work. 12:22-28 Jesus enabled a blind and dumb man to see and talk. This was misunderstood by His opponents as the work of the devil, not the work of God. 12:43-45 Jesus taught on the need to fill life with good things in order to prevent a worse possession by an evil spirit or a group of them. 15:21-28 Jesus healed a suffering daughter in response to humble faith. 17:14-20 Jesus mercifully healed a suffering son by a word of rebuke. 25:41 Jesus taught that the devil and his angels will be sent to eternal fire by the King of God’s kingdom, (that is by Jesus Himself). The New Testament word “demon” means “evil spirit”. The word “drive” means to “forcefully push out”. We may conclude that, where it is necessary, as Christians we will be able to defeat opposition from bad spirits. When we face demons as we preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus will help us overcome them. The Sudanese Christian youths affected by God in this way in the 1990’s conducted their meetings in the former Catholic Club, near Khartoum Airport. They gave themselves the name Young Christian Fellowship (Y.C.F.). Within a short period Y.C.F. became famous all over the nation because of the move of the Holy Spirit. The youth witnessed wherever they could. The objective of Y.C.F. was to strengthen the Christian youths and through them to influence the life of all Sudanese churches. They were distinguished from other Christian groups by their praying in unison, speaking in tongues, experiencing divine healings, casting out demons, powerful evangelism and visiting families. Their emphasis on the Pentecostal parts of the New Testament naturally shaped their Christian practice. In the first Y.C.F. prayer and fasting conference in 1992, many youths came from Malakal and Renk, towns in southern Sudan, and from Kosti, in western Sudan, to attend. Through them this emphasis – some would say revival – moved to those towns. Outreach was organised to various parts of the Sudan. Usually after the annual prayer and fasting conference, groups of youths would be sent to various towns to train youth leaders and Sunday school teachers. They held youth conferences, Sunday school conferences, family conventions and outreaches to the neighbouring villages and towns. Literature was distributed and the Jesus film shown. The churches in the Sudan became suspicious of the youths because most of their youth groups began worshipping in the style of Y.C.F. “Our youth meetings have become Pentecostal”, some said. Some also realised the hand of the Lord in the movement. It was impossible to ignore the positive changes in young lives. Those who used to go to parties stopped participating in them. Drunkards left drinking and the immoral stopped practising immorality. Even the behaviour of the youths in their family homes changed. What happened? What was the cause of all these changes? It was the work of the Holy Spirit. Young people committed themselves to live for God, to serve Him, to pray and study the word of God. That was why the glory of God manifested itself. God began to speak through various ways to people. This confirmed the word of God in Joel: “And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions”, Joel 2:28.This was an answer to the prayers of those praying for the Sudan. As students in Egypt between 1985 and 1990, some Sudanese students and I used to pray daily for revival to take place in Sudan. Some of the miracles I saw reflected miracles recorded in Scripture. Here are seven examples. 1. At our first prayer and fasting conference in June 1992, for five days at Gereif Bible School, many more people came than we had planned for. At meal times the number was more and the food was less! The bread was less than the number of people. We decided that two persons would eat one and a half loaves of bread (the number of the participants was almost 200). But when everybody had eaten, there still remained more bread. Each two persons was given their half bread, still the bread remained. When we asked the ladies serving, they said that whenever they got bread from the sack, the second time they dipped their hands into the sack they got more bread. Praise the Lord! Please read Matthew 14:13-21 and 15:29-39. 2. In the last day of the conference, we had a night vigil, praying, worshipping and sharing the word. Early in the morning there was a mighty manifestation of the power of God. Many people were baptised by the Holy Spirit. The power of God was so strong that many people were falling down and speaking in tongues, worshipping and praising God. When we asked everybody to leave, no one wanted to, instead many were crying. So we decided to leave as a group and took buses. There was so much joy that the youths continued to praise God and preach Jesus in the buses until they arrived in the central bus station. This unusual time in Khartoum was the work of the Holy Spirit. Please read Acts 2:1-12, 4:23-31, and 13:1-3. 3. Once we went to pray for a lady at Arkwait, a residential area in Khartoum. She was complaining of continuous sickness throughout her life. After giving her life to Christ, we started to pray for her. A demon manifested itself by throwing her down, crying and moving on the ground like a fish swimming in the water. We cast out the demon and the lady was delivered. Then we prayed for her healing and laid hands on her to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Later on she confessed that she had a relationship with a sea-spirit called Arus al Bahr (the bridegroom of the Sea).When we examined her we realised that her body shape was like a fish. After some years we heard that this lady went to Wau, a town in Southern Sudan. Through her testimony many people gave their lives to Christ. Please read Luke 9:37-43. 4. In Renk a lady who had epilepsy came and asked for prayers. She had scars from burning all over her body. Her right hand finger could not move because of the burns. She told us she used to fall into the fire when she was on her own. We cast out the spirit and she was delivered. Her fingers began to move. God healed her. We went to their house and burned all the things that belonged to the demons. As we were burning the items, a relative who was living with her, fell down screaming. She showed signs of demon possession. She was also delivered. Praise the Lord. Glory to God Who is faithful to His word, delivering people from the power of darkness. Through that incident Christians in Renk were encouraged and many people gave their lives to Christ. Please read Acts 19:11-20. 5. Among the cases of deliverance in Renk there was an outstanding one in which we spent four hours before breaking through. As we worshipped, a lady fell down and crying. There were seven demons in her. We commanded them to leave in the name of Jesus, but the girl was so violent that she struggled to stand and a voice spoke through her saying that she wanted to go to the river. The demons demanded the necklace, the cross and the ring we had removed from her earlier. They spoke in Shilluk and Arabic languages. They claimed that they would not leave unless the things were given. They mocked our faith but after four hours she was wonderfully and completely freed in Jesus’ name. Please read Luke 8:26-39. 6. In El Obeid youth conference, someone came for prayers, walking very slowly using a stick. He told us that he had been lame for ten years. He could not walk without leaning on a stick. We prayed for him and then removed the stick from his hand and asked him to walk. He started walking slowly, then faster and faster. He began to run. Praise the Lord! Jesus is alive; He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews 13:8. Please read Luke 13:10-13. 7. A lady came to S.I.M. (then the Sudan Interior Mission) in Khartoum asking to be prayed for. One of our colleagues set a date and invited us to come and pray for her. As we counselled her she said that she had recently come back from Japan. She went there for cancer treatment, but she was not cured. She was a Muslim. We prayed for her and she was healed. Later on we heard that she went to Egypt for medical check up. All her medical documents indicated she had cancer, but there was no cancer found in her body! There were only marks of a healed one! Please read Luke 17:11-19. In the spiritual battle every Christian faces, how can we discern the presence of evil spirits and how can we defeat them? 1. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God, 1 John 4:1-6. Notice that a demon can recognise Jesus as the Son of God. Bad spirits will use the name of Jesus and the appearance of worshipping Jesus to deceive if they can, Luke 8:28; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34. “Acknowledging Jesus”, 1 John 4:2-3, means agreeing with Jesus about everything and consequently living as Jesus wants. The demons in Luke 8:28 and 31 knew the right words to say but did not let the man live in a God-honouring way, see Luke 8:27,29. In legal usage, “to acknowledge” means “to recognise the authority, rights and claims” of another. Paul would not let the evil spirit in a fortune teller continue to speak in support of his ministry, Acts 16:16-18. Notice that Jesus warned about many people who will work false miracles in the later stages of Christian history, Matthew 24:24. Christians should not accept everything that claims to be done in Jesus’ name. 2. Know and keep the faith. 1 Timothy 4:1-16 warns about “deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”, verse 1. It also reminds that a correct reading and application of Scripture (our Christian Bible) leads to visible evidence of progress in Christian discipleship, verses 13, 15-16. This spiritual struggle is described in Ephesians 6:12. “The faith”, verse 1, refers to Paul’s gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, see 1 Timothy 1:3-11, 15; 4:6; 2 Timothy 2:8. When people apparently without faith in Jesus tried to copy Paul by casting out evil spirits, they were physically hurt, Acts 19:13-16. The name of Jesus is not to be used easily and by anyone. 3. Remember the symptoms shown by demons in Scripture. Blindness, deafness and dumbness, Matthew 12:22; Mark 9:17; 9:25; Luke 11:14 Unusual strength, Mark 5:3-4; Luke 8:29 Unusual noises, including loud speech Mark 1:23-26; 3:5; 9:26; Luke 4:33-34; 4:41; 8:28; 9:39; Acts 8:7 Self-harming, Mark 3:5; 9:18; Luke 4:35 Foaming at the mouth, gnashing teeth, a rigid body Mark 9:18-20; Luke 9:39 Body convulsions, Mark 1:26; 9:20, 26; Luke 9:39, 42 Crippling of the body, Luke 13:11-13,16 Troubling and the destruction of usual human life, Luke 6:18; 7:21; 8:27, 29; 9:39; Acts 5:16; 13:8; 19:16 It is important to remember that all of these symptoms may also come from physical or medical conditions. They do not always indicate the presence of demons. 4. Rightly use the name of Jesus and encourage Christian discipleship. Reading again many of the gospel accounts already quoted notice how Jesus and later, the disciples, dealt with evil spirits in people. Examples from Jesus (in Luke): He silenced and ordered the spirits, Luke 4:35 He rebuked the spirits, Luke 4:41; 9:42 He commanded, conversed and permitted the spirits, Luke 8:29-32 He drove out the spirits, Luke 11:14 He spoke healing to the person, and confirmed the result by laying His hands on her, Luke 13:11-13 Examples from the disciples (in Acts): people were freed and healed in response to their requests. We are not told exactly what the disciples did, Acts 5:16 they linked exorcism and healing to preaching Christ, Acts 8:7 Paul (with Luke and Silas) commanded in Jesus’ name, Acts 16:18 very unusually even for miracles, things Paul had touched conveyed Jesus’ power to release others, when shared, Acts 19:11-12.5 John Stott wrote in his BST book the Message of Acts, “The wisest attitude to the sweat-rag miracles is neither that of the sceptics who declare them spurious, nor that of mimics, who try to copy them, like those American televangelists … Bible students remember that Paul regarded his miracles as his apostolic credentials (2 Corinthians 12:12 and Romans 15:19) and that Jesus himself condescended to the timorous faith of a woman by healing her when she touched the edge of His coat”, 5. Take the necessary follow up actions. Burn and destroy the objects of demonism, fortune telling and witchcraft, Acts 19:18-19 Fill the space emptied by the cast out evil spirit with good Christian things, Luke 11:24-26. The Holy Spirit lives in a believer and produces good things through a discipled life, Galatians 5:22-25 Remember, having once followed demons and evil spirits does not exclude you from living close to Jesus now, Luke 8:1-3. There is no reason for any Sudanese Christian to be afraid of demons and evil, unclean spirits. Witchdoctors and their curses or spells, ancestral spirits and traditions, the idols, amulets and sacred places of other religions, may appear strong and fearful. But, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”, 1 John 4:4. “The ruler of the kingdom of the air”, Ephesians 2:2, “the prince of this world will be driven out”, John 12:31. Jesus Christ is Lord! “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”, Colossians 2:15. Jesus Christ is Lord! Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. Since Satan wants to be the centre of our attention and worship, what is the main danger we must avoid as we consider and deal with his evil spirits? How can we avoid this? Matthew 4:8-10; 1 John 3:7-10. 2. In what undeniable ways did the Holy Spirit change young people (see above) as He came upon them? List at least seven ways are mentioned. 3. Why is it always a good idea to compare our stories of confrontation with demons today with those in Scripture? Mark 4:15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9; 2 Timothy 3:12-17. 4. Explain the importance of “testing the spirits”, 1 John 4:1. Why are the words spoken by them not enough to discern good from bad? James 2:18-19. 5. Compare Acts 2:1-13 with 1 Corinthians 14:26-40: How was the “bewilderment” of Pentecost explained? Why are “order” and “peace” essentials for Christian ministry? What is the most important result of any spiritual confrontation? Why? 6. Comment on the statement, “There is no reason for any Sudanese Christian to be afraid of demons and evil, unclean spirits”. Why do some Christians still fear spells, ancestral spirits, amulets, etc.? Where should their focus be? How can a person live with their focus securely on Jesus Christ?

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. God's word written down and published. I believe that whatever the Bible asserts to be true is true. Sometimes things are figuratively or poetically true, rather than literally true. For example Psalm 91:4 says of God: “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.” The usual meaning of ‘God having feathers’ is not meant. God does not have ‘a flat, light, waterproof outer layer of plumage’ like the delicate and colourful feathers of the birds we see around us! God is Spirit (see chapter 7). The writer of this Psalm is simply using birds’ feathers as a picture of the protection God gives to His people.Just like a bird is kept cool, dry and able to fly by its amazingly and deliberately designed feathers, so God can always be trusted to look after us in our circumstances. The Psalmist is using picture language to describe a truth. So, I do not believe everything in the Bible is one hundred per cent literally true. But I do believe that the Bible never teaches anything that is not a true fact. The Bible does not lie, it always tells the truth. As in everyday English language, there is approximation in the Bible. If you were to knock at my gate I may call out to you, ‘Wait a minute please, I’m talking on the phone’. I do not mean that in exactly sixty seconds I will open the gate! You will have to wait, and the ‘minute’ is a fairly good guess at how long. It is true that I will come in a short time, rather than in a long time. Similarly, when Jesus fed a large crowd with specifically five loaves of bread and two fish, it was ‘about five thousand men, besides women and children’ who enjoyed their lunch (Matthew 14:13-21). I speak the truth when I announce that I am going to preach on ‘the feeding of the five thousand’. The number is understood to be approximate. The Bible quotes freely, and not exactly, from itself. Old Testament verses are quoted in the New Testament, not word for word exactly the same, but still conveying the same meaning and still being true to the original context. (In the NIV, for example, see Exodus 20:13 /Deuteronomy 5:17 and Matthew5:21, which have one difference between them; or see Psalm 16:8-11and Acts 2:25-28, which have four differences). You may be waiting at your church for the visiting preacher to arrive. You have personally arranged for him to come. As time passes people ask you where he is. You reply to them: “I don’t know where he is. He said he would come”. You have told your people the truth, although you did not use the visiting preacher’s actual words to you, which were: “I will see you at Fittihab church to preach this Sunday at 5pm”. The truth is passed on, but in different words. The Bible is God speaking in a way He does not do anywhere else. God speaks words that express His will and encourage His will to be done. It is the accurate and complete word of God. The person with the Spirit of God living in their hearts and lives will understand these ‘spiritual truths’ (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). No other words have the same authority. Jesus Christ accepted the eternal truth and value of the Scriptures (Matthew 5:18; John 5:39,40; John 17:7 and 18). He frequently quoted from the Old Testament and never once questioned its authority (Matthew 4:4,7,10; Matthew 12:40,41; Matthew 13:14,15). Someone has discovered that Jesus quoted from 22 out of 39 Old Testament books. In Matthew there are 19 Old Testament quotations, in Mark 15, in Luke 25, in John 11, in Hebrews 85 (quotations and allusions), and in Revelation 245! Jesus accepted the Old Testament as a body of objective truth and so did His early followers. He applied it to life as it was being lived when and wherever he was. Christian disciples today are followers of Jesus Christ, so our attitude towards the Bible should be the same as His. He knew it in His mind and heart. He placed His life’s situations alongsideScripture and decided what should be done by letting God’s Word be the guide. He was committed to the total trustworthiness of Scripture. The debate about ‘inerrancy and the Bible’ in America, (or ‘infallibility and the Bible ’in England), has caused much thinking. In my English dictionary, inerrancy is defined as a less common word for infallibility! They are interchangeable terms. Because the Bible is God’s word, it must be totally true, as God Himself is true (see chapter 20). If the Bible only contains the word of God, and is not itself completely the word of God, then someone will have to decide which parts of it are the word of God and which parts are not. That person is almost sitting in judgement on God Himself. We are not police detectives investigating the word of God. We are disciples proving the word of God to be true in our daily lives. I am willing to trust God and to believe that the entire Bible is God’s word and it is therefore free of imperfections or mistakes (Psalm12:6; Proverbs 30:5; 2 Timothy 3:16). We do not have any of the original Bible manuscripts for which inerrancy is claimed. There were thousands of copies made over the centuries, some of whole sections, others just small parts.To have so many copies must mean there were originals to begin with. In the making of these copies, we know that some unimportant errors may have crept into the texts. People do make mistakes. But the essential message of the original Bible is still clear. God can be trusted to have given us the truth in words He wants us to have. Thinking it through. (a). ‘Every word in the Bible is literally true’. Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer. (b). List five or more things that Jesus did with the Old Testament. (c). “Truth is truth. It means what it says”. Think of some things that you say, or others say to you, that make you want to challenge this statement. (For example: ‘I died from embarrassment’).

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Bible reading Psalm 35:1-28, especially verses 17and 22. Often in my lifetime I have wanted God to do something for me, but He has not obliged. For example, this weekend has seen the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, the uprising of Gay Pride which started after police raided a bar for homosexuals in the Greenwich village area of Manhattan, New York, USA.[1] Now – and in my view, very sadly – the Gay Pride movement has spread to many countries of the world, with an estimated one and a half million people attending just this weekend’s march and celebrations in London. I think to myself, ‘Why doesn’t God do something to stop this movement, which, as we will see, is so clearly against His will for humanity?” My own belief on the sexuality issue is that our Holy triune Creator God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, made people the way He intended for the continuing reproduction of His human race: “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them”, Genesis 1:26-27, (italics mine).[2] Some believers in my country say that one day God will judge the United Kingdom for this evil behaviour. I disagree! I believe God is already judging my country (and others) and that this “wickedness” and “sexual impurity” are signs of His righteous and just judgement already in action: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, … Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another… Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error… Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done … Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them”, Romans 1:18-32, selected verses, (italics mine). God gave them over Notice three times a terrifying phrase is used in the above verses, “God gave them over”, NIV and NASB. What exactly does this mean? Different English translations interpret the words the following ways. Each is a commentary on the meaning: “God gave them up to”, KJV, “God has given them over to”, GNB, “God let them go ahead into … God let go of them”, TLB, “So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get””, MSG, “God abandoned them”, NLT, “God lifted off His restraining hand” TPT, “So God gave them just what their lustful hearts desired” … “God released them to their own vile pursuits, and this is what happened: they chose sexual counterfeits”, VOICE.[3] In our reading at the start of this chapter, Psalm 35:22, the far from sinless King David speaks to God, expressing what I was (and am?) feeling: “Lord, You have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord”. The whole Psalm is a prayer for justice and truth, God’s rule, everywhere. Of course it is not specifically about homosexuality or the current aggressively rampant LGBTQ community.[4] King David had people contending against him, fighting with him, seeking to kill him, plotting his ruin, trying to catch him in a net or a pit. People slandered him, mocked him, gloated over him and hated him maliciously. David had asked God for help, but it seemed nothing was forthcoming. How long O Lord? “How long Lord, will you look on?”, Psalm35:17. This is an anguished cry repeated often by the Psalmists.[5] My own experience in many prayers is that God apparently does nothing when I think He should. Why is this? Unbelievers may well say, ‘It is because God does not exist’, or that ‘He has other, bigger, much more important things on His mind for the moment’. ‘He loves everyone and doesn’t really mind how we act in life’. Other people who are Bible loving Christians may correctly say that some sin or sinful attitude in my life stops God answering me. They may quote Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”, KJV, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened”, NIV, “If my thoughts had been sinful, He would have refused to hear me”, CEV.[6] Assuming I was examining my heart and life in God’s presence, then confessing and repenting over the sin I found, followed by asking God for His mercy and forgiveness in my Saviour Jesus’ name, then it will not be this that is causing God apparently not to answer my prayers. Other Christians may also rightly say that may be I am praying for something outside of God’s will, or perhaps a right thing but at the wrong time for God. It is true I must always pray the greatest prayer of faith possible – “please, if it is Your will, Father God …”.[7] Because I am not the omniscient, all-knowing God, I may make mistakes in discerning what God’s will is. Only God knows God fully. Only God knows every detail of His will infallibly. Remember what Paul wrote about a living sacrifice? “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will”, Romans 12:1-2 (italics mine). My daily sacrificial offering of my life to God will always improve my understanding of things which are, or are not, happening. It will help me be able to see things from God’s point of view and not just drift along with the way everyone else understands. Now, assuming I am asking God something, from a clean life, with a renewed Christian mind, and something in line with God’s will, why is God still silent? Why is God inactive? We must learn to think Christianly, to think differently “The spiritually minded person does not differ from the materially minded person chiefly in thinking about different things, but in thinking about the same things differently. It is possible to think materially about God, and spiritually about food”.[8] We must learn how to think Christianly about ‘God’s visible inaction’. I do not know what you are asking God to do at this time. I’m certain it will be different from one reader to another. Perhaps you have been waiting a long time for a loving life’s partner? May be you feel desperate to get back to your homeland from the refugee or displaced camp you have lived in several years? I’m sure many will be praying for a secure, lasting and just peace in Sudan or South Sudan? It could be you are praying for the removal of a corrupt official who poisons everything he or she is involved in? Possibly like me you have been struggling with serious illnesses and facing bodily pain every day? Or any of these items may touch you through someone close to you if not you yourself? Whatever situation you are in you will do well to let Scripture be your guide and employ the Holy Spirit as your Counsellor or Advocate. The Lord Jesus said He would be Someone similar to Himself, as if Jesus was still present with each disciple. Read our Lord’s words to His first close disciples: “If you love Me, keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you”. John 14:15-17, (italics mine). “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”, John 14:25-27, (italics mine). Learning to listen to and then be led by God through His Holy Spirit and His word is a sign of growing Christian maturity. Silence can be helpful for listening My wife Brenda suffers from loss of hearing. She wears one hearing aid in each ear. Part of her difficulty is picking out what she wants to listen to from all the other noises around and about. This is noticeable in and after meeting as church. She can often hear the sermon quite well, but trying to converse with a friend when the service is finished, and everyone else is chattering to their friends at the same time in the same place, makes discerning one conversation distinctly hard. Silence certainly can help hearing. May this apply to those times God seems not to hear our prayers? I do not mean that God needs hearing aids! But I do mean that we can make better use of the silence coming from God by: 1. Examining our hearts and outward lives for hidden sins 2. Looking critically at the motives behind our prayers 3. Considering why God is withholding His answer at this time 4. Imagining alternatives we could be praying for, on the same issue 5. Praying in a different way, along a different line 6. Learning what it means to ‘wait on God’. Point six is interesting because we live in an age when everything is expected to happen as quickly as possible. I know that farmers have to wait a few months from planting to harvesting, or wait patiently for their animals to develop and go to market, but I think it is generally true that ‘instant’ is a characteristic of being alive today. For us ‘waiting’ may be seen as the opposite of ‘instantly’. There are several meanings of ‘wait’ in English. Here are four: “When you wait for something or someone, you spend some time doing very little, because you cannot act until that thing happens or that person arrives”. “A wait is a period of time in which you do very little, before something happens or before you can do something”. So when we are waiting on God we may have to stop for a while, until God moves. Stopping takes time, but time not wasted but keenly anticipating what is going to happen. “If something is waiting for you, it is ready for you to use, to have, or to do”. Could it be that God is ready and waiting for us, but first we need to get His perspective, or a more pure Christian motive in ourselves, or even to change our prayers by bringing them into line with His will? “If you say that something can wait, you mean that it is not important or urgent and so you will deal with it or do it later?” I wonder if God feels that we often put Him to one side? When we should be learning from His silence are we too busy following other things in life? Sometimes we are so busy having to do activities we just ‘don’t have time’ to be a real person waiting quietly in the Divine presence. [9] In the Bible perhaps the best example of ‘wait’ in our context is when Paul describes the early Christians in Thessalonica as prepared: ‘to wait for the Son of the Living God (Jesus) from heaven’, (my paraphrase), see 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. The new believers knew what they wanted to happen. They also clearly believed it would happen. They simply did not know when! Now they have long since died and we are still waiting for our Saviour’s triumphant return! Love expressed with patience – both ways The essence of Christianity is to love the Lord our God with every ounce or gram of our being and to love our neighbour similarly. Defining agape love Paul lists its characteristics. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Notice that the first and the last qualities of Christian love are both types of patience. Makrothymia patient, is made up of two Greek words meaning ‘to put anger far away’. Hypomone, perseveres, is also a compilation of two words, and describes a person who ‘is willing to “remain under” great stress or suffering’.[10] God shows His love for us by putting up with our slowness to learn His ways and our impatience wanting our own answers quickly to our petitioning of Him. We must demonstrate our true love for our loving Heavenly Father by “patiently” “persevering” when all seems silent from His end. It is another opportunity to surrender in trust to God and say to Him, “I know you, and I know you know best, always. Have Your way in everything, because You are Lord of everything”. The sin of rainbow pride I am still waiting for answers to my prayer regarding the Gay Pride movement, mentioned at the start of this chapter. It is ironic to me that the movement uses all the colours of the rainbow to promote itself. Of course the original rainbow was given by God as a covenant sign, immediately after He had judged the whole world with a devastating flood, because of His troubled heart over the continual bias towards evil of human beings, Genesis 6:5-7 and 9:12-17. I also find it ironic the LGBTQ people involved today use the word ‘pride’ in their adopted title. I remember that according to the Bible it was ‘pride’ which caused Satan’s downfall and later caused many people to rebel against God’s authority over their lives. God’s speaks to Satan, who He created and anointed to be a guardian cherub, and He says: “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour. So I threw you to the earth and made a spectacle of you before kings”, Ezekiel 28:17-18. Speaking to His own chosen, but disobedient, people God warned them: “If after all this you will not listen to Me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit”, Leviticus 26:18-20. Challenging Sennacherib the king of Assyria, God’s prophet Isaiah says: “Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against Whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!”, 2 Kings 19:22. When our Lord Jesus’ disciples were accused of defilement by not ceremonially washing their hands, in His reply He taught us all to be very careful over the right things: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person”, Mark 7:21-23. Arrogance is just another English word for pride. ‘Pride’ is used in this text by some Bible translations including the ESV, GNB, NASB, NRSV and TMB, but the NIV chooses to use ‘arrogance’. Arrogance is defined as the quality or state of being arrogant; with overbearing pride or self-importance. Someone who is arrogant behaves in a proud, unpleasant way towards other people because they believe that they are more important than others. [11] God promises judgement as well as salvation When anyone becomes sinfully proud of themselves, their achievements and they exalt their status compared to others, they are setting themselves up while God wants us to humble ourselves down. As the abbreviated phrase from Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before a fall”. At the same time God is not doing nothing about the anti-Christian discipleship homosexual movement. He has given them over to their sin and is exercising His judgement upon them. When I can see what is happening in this way, from God’s perspective, I am able to start answering the questions around God’s ‘apparent’ inaction. Please understand me carefully here. None of this means gay people are beyond God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. God loves all so-called gay people as He loves us, and all sinners. Their way for salvation is like ours. There is only one way: Respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and recognise individual sinfulness Repent over your sinful nature and specific sins Receive by faith the blood-cleansing of the Lord Jesus Christ Resolve to follow Jesus as Lord through all of life, however hard it may be, whatever the price to be paid Receive the Holy Spirit Who will help you to think issues through and choose to live Christianly. At the 1998 Lambeth conference of the worldwide Anglican church human sexuality was discussed. A report was written from which I quote: “Human sexuality is the gift of a loving God. It is to be honoured and cherished by all people. As a means for the expression of the deepest human love and intimacy, sexuality has great power. The Holy Scriptures and Christian tradition teach that human sexuality is intended by God to find its rightful and full expression between a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage, established by God in creation, and affirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Matrimony is, by intention and divine purpose, to be a life-long, monogamous and unconditional commitment between a woman and a man. The Lambeth Conference 1978 and 1998 both affirmed 'marriage to be sacred, instituted by God and blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ'”.[12] Nearly two years later I was at all Saints Cathedral, Khartoum, when several bishops reported their own actions. I think after a sub-committee discussion of some sort, these brave men stood to oppose proposed steps to move away from the Church’s traditional understanding and application of Bible teaching on Christian marriage and sexuality. I was very pleased to shake their hands and affirm them in the position they had taken, along with other African bishops, against the more liberal Western world churches. I pray their godly lead may long continue. Whatever you are waiting on God for at this moment, and however long you have been waiting, may I encourage you with these words, the first and last verses of Psalm 27? “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold on my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Verse 1. “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and take heart And wait for the Lord”, verse 14. Fix every bit of your attention firmly on your Holy Lord God. Discussion guide: There are two subjects in the chapter – homosexuality, and unanswered prayer. Our guide will cover both in turn. Homosexuality 1. What does creation teach us about God’s plan and purpose for male and female, humans and animals? Consider carefully all these Bible passages: Genesis 1:26-28, 31; Genesis 2:20b-25; Genesis 4:1-2; Genesis 6:18-20. 2. How do we know our Lord Jesus took this as authoritative for life? What were the circumstances when Jesus answered with these words? “‘Haven’t you read,’ Jesus replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’” Matthew 19:4-6. 3. In Romans 1:18-32 in what ways (with what words) are divergent sexual practices described? List them. I found at least a dozen. Since this is God’s word speaking, how ought we to view these practices? 4. Explain your understanding of the phrase, “Therefore God gave them over” in Romans 1:24, 26, 28. Provide supporting reasons.[13] 5. Do you think God’s warnings, like Leviticus 26:18-20, apply still today? Why? Why not? Share Scripture where you are able. Unanswered prayer 1. What is the best way to learn how to think Christianly about my phrase in this chapter, ‘God’s visible inaction’? 2. How does the Holy Spirit help? John 14:15-17 and 25-27. Share personal examples. Suggest ways to people who may be struggling with this issue. 3. Discuss my six ways to ‘use the silence coming from God’. Which do you find the most difficult? Why? 4. What do you understand by ‘waiting on God’? Do you find it easy or difficult? Is there anything that would make it better? 5. Since Paul puts ‘patience’ first on his list of the characteristics of ‘Christian love’ agape, see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, may we infer that by not answering our prayer immediately or in the way we wanted, God, out of His love (agape) for us, has another purpose in His mind? What? Could He be testing and refining our love for Him? How? [1] 28th June 1968. [2] See also Genesis 5:1-2; Psalm 100:3; our Lord Jesus’ comments in Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9; and Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:7-12. See Psalm 96:13for the Creator’s judgement. [3] New American Standard Bible, King James Version, Good News Bible, The Living Bible, The Message, New Living Testament, The Passion Translation, The Voice. [4] LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning, terms promoted to describe a person's deviant sexual orientation or gender identity. [5] For example – Psalm 6:3, 13:1-2, 35:17, 74:9-10, 82:2, 89:46, 90:13-14, 94:3, 119:84. [6] Contemporary English Version. [7] Our Lord Jesus exercised this faith in Gethsemane, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done”, Luke 22:42. [8] Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple Nature, Man and God (Macmillan: London) 1953, p.468. [9] All four definitions from www.collinsdictionary.com . [10] Kenneth E. Bailey Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (S.P.C.K.: London) 2008, pages 389-390. [11] www.collinsdictionary.com . [12] www.anglicancommunion.org/resources/document-library/lambeth- conference/1998/section-i-called-to-full-humanity/section-i10-human-sexuality.aspx [13] I have not tried to give a full Bible explanation of human sexuality here. The reader is directed to John Stott Issues Facing Christians Today (Marshalls: Basingstoke) 1984, part IV especially pages 301-316 for a good starting point. There are updated editions.

the prophet Habakkuk 1:13. God Rules, O.K.? Let us read Habakkuk 2:20 out loud, together: “But the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth be silent before Him.” Suppose – you survived a world-wide nuclear war?* - You lost your husband/wife and children?* - While you were serving in Sudan your back home home was lost?* - Your health deteriorated and you couldn’t work?* - Your enemies won the war. You lost!* Now read each statement again and read Habakkuk 2:20 after each one. I suspect you would have many questions to ask God were any of this to happen! Our Bible book of Habakkuk records conversations between the prophet and God, after evil seemingly triumphs over good. Habakkuk asks God ‘Why’? This is an unusual prophecy because it is not so much God speaking through His prophet to mankind, it is more God teaching His prophet a lesson which would unlock the answers to his questions. We are eavesdroppers on a conversation 2,600 years ago, that God thought so significant He preserved it in our Bibles. Instead of the public speeches of this prophet what we have is the inner conflict behind them. ‘How can I say “God is in sovereign control”, when atrocities, injustices, corruption and evil seem to win all the time? Goodness and love are trampled in the ground!’ Habakkuk, a man of God, was attacked from within himself. Many prophets faced persecution and danger from enemies opposed to their message. Habakkuk was attacked by his own heart and mind rebelling against the Lordship of God. ‘If God really is Who He says He is, Whom I believe Him to be, He couldn’t possibly allow this to happen’. What are the keys to understanding Habakkuk? 1. Note Habakkuk’s questions to God. 1:2 “How long, O lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen?” 1:3 “Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong?” 1:13 “Why do You tolerate the treacherous? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” Illustration: This is like saying: ‘Lord, we have prayed and prayed for the visa process to be easier in, around and out of Sudan, yet it’s worse now than before!’ It is like praying: “God … why do You not intervene when innocent Eritreans are arrested and imprisoned without charge?” It is like praying: “God, why does another religion dominate? One that rejects Your given Saviour God-incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ? Why do they triumph over simple Christians?” Why am I so disappointed with fellow missionaries? My calling? 'This is not what I want'. Habakkuk’s questions – like ours – may reveal that something is lacking in our understanding of living as Christians honouring God. We all know we start the Christian life by faith. Turning from sin and self we embrace the Saviour, Jesus. But then we seem to forget faith (except perhaps when it comes to trusting God for money!). Habakkuk (and many of us) must learn that Christian living is a walk of faith. A continuing walk of faith. Illustration: Fitness freaks: bulging muscles etc. Squash players’ arm and shoulder strength. Rugby players’ thigh and back strength. How do muscles grow and strengthen? They need to be resisted. So a weighted bar is lifted to strengthen muscles. The easier it is to do, the more weights are added, to strengthen the athlete’s body. And so God puts more weights on the bar of our lives to strengthen our faith. The harder our situation the more benefit it is to our faith! Illustration: Here is a colleague tough to get on with. Here is a rejection and misunderstanding by a national church. Here is amoebic dysentery. Here is unemployment. Live out your Christian life carefully and Christianly. 2. Note Habakkuk’s personal trust in God. 1:2 “How long, O Lord?” 1:12 “O Lord … my God, my Holy One.” “O Lord … O Rock.” As Habakkuk asks the question ‘Why?’ so his focus gradually moves over more into ‘Who’ is this God Who allows? I wouldn’t allow evil. He does. I am not God. He is. What can I learn? What must I learn about my God? God ordains all circumstances. Through them God disciplines me (like an athlete in training). Through them Satan tries to make me sin. (Not better but bitter). Who do I listen to? Application: There are many times in the Christian walk when we may not fully understand what is going on, or why it is happening, but we can always know Who is giving it permission to happen. God has a timetable. He will not be rushed. Neither will He be indifferent. For the Christian, living by faith often means walking in the dark. Secure only because life is in His hands. 3. Note God’s requirement is our faithfulness to Him. 1:5, 6 “I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.” Notice the six challenging words. Today that may be the equivalent of saying: “I (God) am raising up those who you see as extremists and fundamentalists and I am going to use the terror they create to accomplish my will. They will serve My purpose although they do not honour Me. See how great I am? How small your view of Me is!” “Babylon and Iraq is the sump of the middle east, the low point to which other problems drain.” Habakkuk’s question 1:13 “Why are you (God) silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” (1:12-17) is not given a direct answer. Psalm 76:10 gives a glimpse – skipped over too often. “Surely your wrath against men brings you praise.” I don’t understand the why or the how, but I do understand the Who. God is God and He will always be right. Only He knows everything. He is working out an overarching plan. I must be faithful to Him whatever the evidence to my other senses is. Habakkuk 2:4 God’s answer “The righteous will live by his faithfulness.” Application: Christian, do you walk by sight or by faith? If you don’t walk by faith, you are not faithful to God. Only faithful people find God to be faithful – in spite of what other evidence says. 4. God will exercise His wrath and His rule. Chapter 2 verses 1, 9, 12, 15, 19 “Woe to him.” God points out injustice and sin – and says, verse 16 “It’s your turn … the cup from the Lord’s right hand (wrath) is coming around.” God is no idle idol! Verse 18, 19. “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.” 2:20. Application: Though God may use Babylon to judge His own people, God will also in time judge Babylon for its own evil. Though God may use terrorism to judge the west for disregarding/marginalising/taming Himself, God will ultimately judge terrorism and terrorists. “The Lord is in His holy temple.” And in case you think this is an Old Testament message only, remember New Testament messages like Romans 8:28. “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” All things – world events, personality clashes, resources lacked, health gone etc. 5. Note Habakkuk’s final prayer, chapter 3:2. “Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” The God of the past is just as active as God in the present! God is Who matters today, and don’t let what you see deceive you otherwise. “God the Holy One in glory, splendour, power – stood and looked. His ways are eternal. In wrath (He) strode through the earth.” Habakkuk realised God was using the Babylonians. His eyes, his attention shifted. One moment his focus was on the Babylonians – why? Now his focus was on God – Who? Application: A Ramadan thought. Since God uses world powers – does that change your view of Islam today? (The Islamic world? September 11th?) Does it change how you pray? Circumstances are morally neutral. The chief focus of prayer should be on our reaction to circumstances. Turn to God for good, or to Satan for harm? 3:16 “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound … my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.” Deal with the problem, or the problem will deal with you. Circumstances may or may not hinder our ministries: but a sinful attitude (e.g. 'I hate those authorities') certainly will. Challenged by what he sees – and what he does not like, the prophet Nahum faithfully places his trust in his God. Verse 17 there are no real signs of hope “no fig buds, no grapes on the vine, no food, no livestock”. Vs18 “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.” This too, is a New Testament message. James 1:2, 3 consider it pure joy walking in refining trials of your faith. 1 Peter 1:7 trials prove genuine faith and God is glorified in them. Illustration: When the disciples woke Jesus in the storm on the lake. Luke 8:22-25, “We’re going to drown.” They pleaded for help. Jesus rebuked nature’s anger – and pointedly asked His disciples “Where is your faithfulness?” “Didn’t I say we were going over to the other side?” Don’t let a rough ride take your eyes from Jesus. Application: Whatever you face, whatever questions you have – will you fear the storm? Or will you let the storm be used by God to stretch and strengthen your faith? 3:19 The Sovereign Lord (title brought in at end) is my strength.” God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum International Church 3rd November 2002.

Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. I am writing just after the 9th July 2016, the 5th anniversary of South Sudan’s independence from Sudan. It is also the 60th year of Sudan’s independence from the United Kingdom, and nearly three weeks since my country, the United Kingdom, voted to leave the European Union.[1] Independence is a strange thing, far from totally explained by these dictionary definitions: “freedom from control by another country or organisation; the ability to make decisions and live your life free from the control or influence of other people”.[2] In the middle of the word ‘independence’ is the word ‘depend’. “If one thing depends on another, it is changed or affected by the other thing”. At the finishing end of ‘independence’ is the word ‘dependence’ which means: “a situation in which someone needs someone or something else in order to live or succeed”. Many people everywhere want independence because we want to be free of outside influence and control. Yet as independents we soon realise we need other people and other countries in order to live. We must do business deals with them to earn our way in world life. God planned for communities of human beings from the time of creation onwards. He made male and female with, together, the ability to reproduce and grow families, Genesis 1:26-28. All this was “very good”, verse 31. Experience teaches us that independence may not be a good thing. Each person needs others simply in order to live. Alone he cannot be employed, she has no one to sell her produce to, we cannot converse on our own, we have no advisors or counsellors if we are by ourselves when facing life’s issues. Every country needs others to trade with, to partner with for major events like dam building and river flow control, like gold mining, refining and selling, like developing modern city hospitals and distributing impregnated mosquito nets to the rural poor. When we struggle for independence – and then we get it – suddenly we realise it is not exactly what we thought it would be. When we are enslaved or exploited we have an idealism, “If only we can be free, everything will be OK”. Yet when we become free, ‘we’ soon fall out with one another because my hopes are not the same as your hopes for our ‘freedom’. We quickly become disillusioned with our new state. What we thought it would bring us, it does not.[3] The blamegame starts, often leading to serious falling out between previous friends. A friend who becomes an enemy is hated – but wrongly so according to Jesus, Matthew 5:43-48. Our Lord Jesus also said: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”, Matthew 5:5. Notice, it is the ‘gentle, the humble, the considerate and the courteous’ who will inherit, not the mighty![4] If we Christians really listened to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapters 5-7, letting Him address and apply it to our 21st century circumstances today, we would together be changed to become the alternative society with a strongly attractive witnessing presence that He wants us to be. We must show our quietly dependent trust in our Saviour and Lord. The two candles lighting each other at the top of my bimonthly Encouragement articles are meant to show one Christian passing the light of Christ on to another. The more we do this the more our Lord Jesus will be spreading His light. As we trustingly depend on Him so He can more effectively use us. Proverbs 3:5-6 reads: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to (acknowledge) Him, and He will direct your paths (make your paths straight)”. No Christian should wish to be independent of God. We must ‘trust’ Him, rely on Him, believing He is always good and honest in His dealings with everyone. We do not always have a choice over our national independence, although many could and did vote in Sudan before July 2011 and I voted in the United Kingdom during June 2016. (Even I am too young to remember 1955/1956, , though I witnessed many a firework celebration on 1st January when Brenda and I lived in Khartoum!). But we all have a choice about depending on God or preferring to go our own unthinking way, “Lean not on your own understanding”, Proverbs 3:5. Every day most of us will use fuel of one sort or another. It may be petrol or diesel for a car or a bus. It may be home electricity generated from hydro or oil, perhaps even nuclear power plants. It may be solar energy, using the sun to cook or power our phones and calculators. It is very difficult to live without trusting someone or something else to provide power, even charcoal for preparing food. Think about this as a lesson in dependency rather than independence. Thank God for the people we do not know, and probably will never see, but who nevertheless help us most days. Thank God for His plan to make us dependent on one another. Ask God’s forgiveness for events we have allowed to make us selfishly independent and even resentful of others. Commit yourself to being one of God’s real partners through whom His light can shine brightly, piercing the dark, dark world where we live. “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”. “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock”, Matthew 7:21, 24. Let us get building! Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted 1. “Many people everywhere want independence”. Why is this? What are people looking for? Does this apply to children from parents? Younger people from older people? Name any other situations you can. 2. What was God’s intention in Genesis 1:26-31? Does His “very good” apply to human dependence or being independent? Justify your answer. 3. Everyone needs other people. What is wrong with trying to live completely on your own and in control of your own affairs? Why? 4. How can you be “one of God’s real partners through whom His light can shine”? Express this in turn, in relation to your family, community and national life. [1] In order above: 9th July 2011; 1st January 1956; 23rd June 2016. [2] Macmillan School Dictionary (Macmillan Education: Oxford) 2004. [3] John Stott Christian Counter Culture (IVP: Leicester) BST series, 1974, p.15. [4] John Stott Ibid. p.42-44.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan today. Mission section. by Dick Brogden You cannot live in Sudan without interacting with Muslims. You cannot speak with Muslims as friends, neighbours, employers, employees, or colleagues without issues of faith arising. Issues of faith cannot long be discussed before Muslims raise objections to basic Christian beliefs. Living among Muslims opens a tremendous opportunity for Christian witness. Muslims are by belief and practice very religious. This is to be welcomed not feared. It gives us repeated opportunities to witness. We will look at five main objections Muslims have to Christianity and suggest answers we can respectfully share with them. “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander”, 1 Peter 3:15-16. Objection 1: The Christian Scripture (Bible) Has Been Corrupted When you love Muslims you soon see how much we have in common with them. Christians and Muslims both believe in one God. We believe there are angels and demons. We believe that God has spoken through His prophets. We believe God has left us a reliable, written scripture. We believe in the Day of Judgement. We believe that there is an anti-Christ. We believe that there is a Christ and that He will come again. The list goes on. After some initial agreement and mutual affirmation, we very quickly realise that there are also crucial differences. Christians believe that God is merciful, and that sin cannot be forgiven without shed blood (atonement being made). Muslims also believe that God is merciful but He can forgive our sin without needing to shed anyone’s blood. When it comes to the respective Scripture texts we run into an impasse: The Bible records Jesus as saying “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. Islam rejects the concept of God as Father. God is not allowed “His one and only Son”, John 3:16; Sura 2:116, 10:68, 19:35, 23:91. The Qur’an further states; “If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him and he will be counted in the ranks of those who are lost.” Sura 3:85. For servants of the texts of either faith, pluralism is not a viable option. They cannot both be true. If one is right, the other is wrong. Christianity and Islam are mutually exclusive. I often quote the above verses in conversation with Muslim friends. Then, with a smile, I slap their knee and say, “My friend, one of us is in serious trouble!” Most Muslims respond to the contradictory issues in Islam and Christianity by saying that the Bible is not trustworthy because it has been corrupted. When I am addressed by a Muslim who doubts the trustworthy nature of the Bible I respond by respectfully sharing one or more of the following thoughts: 1. Inspiration verses Dictation I point out that Muslims and Christians have different understandings of how our respective scriptures were revealed. Muslims believe in dictation. God spoke. Gabriel listened and then spoke the exact same words to Mohammed. Mohammed listened and then spoke the exact same words to his followers. The followers listened and then recorded the exact same words on bones, skin, and parchment. These recitations were then later compiled into what became known as the Qur’an. This means the exact words that God wanted known were passed from God to Gabriel to Mohammed to Muslims. It was an oral dictation that was eventually written and collected. Since the exact words themselves are God-sourced (in Muslim belief), if there is a factual error or grammatical mistake, the backward-traced implication is that God is at fault. A God who makes mistakes? If you point out an error in the Qur’an, you have succeeded in pointing out an error in God. An errant Qur’an thus would show that God is not the author of Islam, because God cannot make mistakes. It is this understanding of “dictation, not inspiration”, that Muslims apply to our Christian Bible. They do not understand the Christian concept of revelation by inspiration. They view the Bible as if it had been dictated word by word. Scribal notes and errors of transcription in Bible translation over the centuries thus prove to Muslims that the Bible has been corrupted. Take, for example, 1 John 5:7-8. It seems a great verse for defending the Trinity: “For there are three that testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement”. The problem is that this verse is not found like this in the most reliable and earliest manuscripts. A scribal note made through time seems to have merged into the text around the sixteenth century. The earliest collection of Greek manuscripts (called the Majority Text) and the N.U. collection both indicate that the original text was: “For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” Muslims use additions such as these in our Bible to claim the Bible cannot be trusted. They also stumble over parallel passages with apparent discrepancies. For example, who moved David to count the warriors of Israel? Was it God as 2 Samuel 24:1 says? Or was it Satan as Chronicles 21:1 says? Their usual thinking about a God-dictated text sees a contradiction. Christian belief in a God-breathed inspired text is able to recognise the awesome greatness of God. God chooses to weave Satan’s work into His own, much greater, purpose. It is as if God says, “You have the freedom to do it, Satan, but I always keep the right to determine the results”. Our Bible was revealed to us through inspiration. God had a certain message that He wanted us to understand, so He whispered it into the souls of prophets and apostles. They in their own hand, their own dialect, and with their own grammar, wrote out what God wanted us to know. The result is that forty different contributors were breathed on by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Paul the scholar wrote in Greek language that was quite classical. Peter the fisherman wrote in a more colloquial Greek. Both Paul and Peter tell us something of what God wanted to say. Both communiqués are trustworthy. We hold both together, letting one interpret the other and vice versa. God has clearly revealed to us what He intends us to understand. Whether one writer said “Thou shalt not steal” and another one wrote “Do not steal”, is of no consequence. We perfectly understand that God does not want us to steal. Matthew 7:1 records Jesus as saying, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged”. John 7:24 records Jesus as saying, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgement”. We understand we are to be discerning on spiritual matters but not condemnatory towards anyone. Only God is the Judge, Romans 2:16. The Qur’an never accuses the Bible of being corrupt. Numerous Muslim theologians of the 7th through 10th centuries accepted the truthfulness of Christian Scripture. The word “corrupted” only appears four times in the Qur’an, 2:75-79; 3:71; 4:46; 5:13-14, and it never applies to the Bible itself. It always refers to meaning. Three times it is directed at the Jews and accuses them of changing the meaning of the text. Once it is aimed at Christians, likewise accusing them of changing the meaning of the text to suit their understanding and belief. The context of these accusations is found in the city of Medina. When Mohammed was originally expelled from Mecca, he travelled to Medina and tried to reach out to the Jewish tribes who lived there. They mocked him (Mohammed was allegedly illiterate) by telling him twisted Bible stories. He subsequently presented a “revelation from God” that was different from the Bible. Names would be wrong, facts would be out of order and the Jews would laugh at Mohammed behind his back. It was this deceit, together with the practice of hypocritically twisting the scriptures to allow their own sinful living, that opened Jews and Christians to Mohammed’s “corruption” charge. The meaning of the text had been corrupted. The text itself never was. 2. God’s Sovereignty The second response to the Muslim who accuses the Bible of being corrupted is an appeal to the sovereignty of God. When my friend – I’ll call him Joseph – meets a Muslim who accuses the Bible of being corrupted, he lifts his voice so all can hear and says; “God forgive you for your blasphemy! Is God all powerful yet not able to defend His word?” This answer of course demands of the Muslim the justification for his indirect attack on God’s ability to defend His revelation. If the Bible was at one time the recorded truth of omnipotent God, how could it be possibly altered by weak and limited man? Enlarging on this theme, another friend I’ll call Maajid uses the following analogy: I love my son very much. Because Sudan is so hot, whenever my son returns from school I prepare a cup of cold water for him. I set it on the table and when he walks in, he immediately refreshes himself and quenches his thirst. Let us imagine that my enemy sneaks into my house and replaces that cool water with a cool, colourless poison. Under what conditions would I as a father allow my son to drink that poison? It would have to be one of these three: (1) I did not know my enemy had switched the poison. (2) I was afraid or overpowered by my enemy. (3) I did not love my son enough to warn him. Now God is omniscient, omnipotent, and all loving. None of the three above explanations can apply to God. Therefore, if the Bible was poisoned God would have warned us, Galatians 1:6-9. If the Bible was poisoned and the Qur’an was the trustworthy word of God, surely every page of the Qur’an would shout out a warning? Rather, the Qur’an says: “If you are in doubt about what we have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Book (the Bible) from before you.” Sura 10:94. 3. Chronological Logic The third response to the Muslim who doubts the trustworthiness of Scripture is to point out the impossibility of his accusation. The Bible could not have been corrupted before the Qur’an was allegedly revealed and collected because the Qur’an affirms the Bible. If the Bible was corrupted, the Qur’an is flawed! Yet we have copies of early Bible manuscripts dating to the third and fourth centuries, 100 – 200 years before the Qur’an. The scriptures we have today are the very same scriptures available in Mohammed’s day. Once again the onus of proof is on the disbelieving Muslim. The Bible is innocent until proven guilty. If our Bible is forged, where is the original? If our scripture was corrupted after the endorsement given by the Qur’an, who changed thousands of copies? How is it possible that the translations we use today match those available in 600 AD? 4. Scripture Content For the sincere Muslim inquirer, for the Muslim who is willing to read the Bible for himself or herself rather than depending on the already biased and twisted thinking of some Islamic apologists, the best appeal we can make is to the Bible itself. If a Muslim can be encouraged to read the Bible with an open heart, over time the word of God changes him or her. Not only will the Bible speak to the heart, it will also speak to the mind. He or she will begin to notice that the God of the Bible is very different from the God of the Qur’an: The Bible will tell the seeker how much God loves him, while the Qur’an will state five different times that God does not love sinners, Sura 2:190, 2:195, 2:276, 3:31-32, 3:57. The Bible will tell the believer to “love your enemies”, Matthew 5:43-48, while the Qur’an will tell him to “kill the unbeliever wherever he finds him”, Sura 9:5. The text of the Bible accompanied by the wooing of the Holy Spirit is the best answer to any charge of corruption. Objection 2: The Trinity is Nonsensical The central doctrine in Islam is called ‘tawhiid’ in Arabic. The word ‘tawhiid’ is linked to the noun ‘waahid’ - meaning one. In effect it refers to the indivisible oneness of God. God exists in absolute oneness. He will not, He cannot partner with anyone. He is transcendent. No one can partake in God’s nature. (Contrast 2 Peter 1:4 which tells us we are partakers of the divine nature). According to the Muslim, not only is it impossible for God to be a plurality of oneness, it is abhorrent. The Muslim mind’s objection to the Trinity is both empirical and emotional. Christians are accused of making up the doctrine of the Trinity since the word itself is not found in the Bible. Before I mention some of the more common analogies (all of which break down at some point) let me set the philosophical base for our answer. It is important that we agree with Muslims on a few key points. Our agreement on these does no harm to the truth of the Trinity. First, we agree the Trinity does not make sense. If God is transcendent, we as finite humans cannot understand everything He does or He is. If we could completely understand God we would be equal to Him. There is an element of trust to all Faiths (otherwise they would be called “Knows” or “Facts”, not “Faiths”). Muslims and Christians choose at different points to believe what we cannot understand. The word “mu’min” (believer) is applied to both Muslims and Christians in the Qur’an and in the history of Muslim/Christian dialogue. Second, we agree to underline the omnipotence of God. He is able to do whatever He wills. Third, we agree that the term ‘Trinity’ does not appear in the Bible. But this is not an issue of concern because the term ‘tawhiid’ does not exist in the Qur’an either! Yet ‘tawiid’ has become Islam’s cardinal doctrine. In this discussion with Muslims it is always helpful to point out that there are transferable concepts. This equalising of the playing field usually does not convince anyone, but it lowers the barrier erected by categorical rejection of the other’s view. If the Muslim can admit to the necessity of trust in his or her own faith, he cannot deny it to another. Let me illustrate how this can be done when talking to Muslims about the Trinity. In the Qur’an there is the famous verse that refers to Jesus as “The Word of God and a Spirit from Him.” Sura 4:171. I find it interesting to ask Muslims if Islam teaches a duality in the Godhead. Is God separate from His Word? Which came first? Was His Word created? There has to be simultaneity of existence. If God existed from eternity past without His Word, was He mute? What about the Spirit of God? Did God exist without His Spirit? How could that be? When did God’s Spirit start? To the Muslim it is obvious that from eternity past God had a voice (His Word) and God was alive (His Spirit). In a way, the Trinity of ‘God – Word – Spirit’ is already at hand for the Muslim. This is of course the best analogy to use. The Biblical view of Jesus as the Word of God, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God, and the Fatherhood of God is not so far a leap from the Islamic understanding of God, God’s Word, and God’s Spirit. The obvious gap is the Fatherhood of God, which Islam rejects categorically. It is wise to begin any explanation by making sure that Muslims know we do not believe the old Marianite heresy of a ‘God – Mary – Jesus’ Trinity. It was this false teaching that fostered a misunderstanding in fifth century Arabia and prompted some of the Qur’an’s verses against supposedly-Christian teaching. Fallible Analogies Let me repeat the disclaimer that while analogies can help, they all break down at some point. Here are some of the common ones that can be used. I will list them in order of my personal preference. 1) God – Word – Spirit (detailed above) 2) One Human as Father, Brother, Son In conversation with Muslims I will often use the people themselves as examples: “Is your father living?” “I am sure you are a faithful son to your father”. “Have you any brothers?” “How many?” “I am sure you are a good brother to your brothers. “How many children do you have?” “I can see that you are a loving father to your children”. My friend, do you see the point I am making? You are a father, a brother, and a son – but you are one person. You respond in different ways to these varied groups of people, but you remain absolutely one individual. The main short coming of this analogy is that unlike any human being God is eternally all that He is. There never was a time when He was not all that He is. 3) Mind – Thought – Analysis My mind (not my brain) is an abstract. With my faculty of thinking I can dwell on one thought. As I dwell on that thought I can analyse whether that thought is noble, selfish, or trivial. Thus I have a plurality in thought of thinking ability, thought, and analysis of thought. The main short coming of this analogy is that God is not influenced or controlled by anything outside of Himself. He is always God in and of Himself. 4) Fire – Light – Heat One fire gives off light and heat as it burns. The Bible says, “God is a consuming fire”, Hebrews 12:29. The main short coming of this analogy is that God needs nothing outside of Himself in order to exist. A fire needs wood or charcoal and must be lit by someone or something. God is fully self-existent. 5) Body – Soul – Personality One person is made up of a physical body plus their psyche (mind and spirit). Every one of us behaves individually and uniquely in a way others recognise as being “us”. Again the main short coming of this analogy is that God has no beginning and no end, unlike every human being. Nor are there three parts adding up to one God as a mathematical sum: 1+1+1=3. God forever has been and will be Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity may be “nonsensical” but it is not foolish nonsense. Inspired thinking of God in this way enlarges our wonder and admiration for His greatness, His “otherness”. Our human minds and our hearts bow in worship before Him. Objection 3: The Atonement is not Necessary Muslims do not believe in original sin. While they believe that every person (with the exception of Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist according to tradition) was touched with sin at birth, they do not believe that sin is inherent to the Human race – carried in our spiritual DNA. Further, they believe that God is merciful and if God wants to forgive sin, He certainly can. He does not need to vengefully kill someone else in order for His mercy to be shown. If God wants to forgive, He will forgive. We can sway His opinion of course by a life of good works and veneration of the prophet Mohammed (who can put in a good word for you on judgement day if you have honoured him well). The result is a works oriented religion with a lack of eternal assurance. At the end of the day if you have more merit than sin you will end up in heaven. Even this balance is tempered by the fact that God alone decides. No one can know personal salvation for sure. In dialogue with Muslims, I have found two hypothetical situations of great help in explaining the Christian view. The first deals with the faulty logic behind any works oriented tradition, and the second with the need for atonement, not just forgiveness. 1. Practising Muslims do not eat pork. I will ask them this series of questions: Question: “If you went to the butcher, would you buy minced meat from him if you knew that meat was 90% pork and only 10% beef?” Answer: “Of course not!” Question: “What about if you knew the minced meat was 90% beef and only 10 % pork?” Answer: “Of course not!” Question: “What about if the minced meat was 99 % beef and only 1% pork?” Answer: “I will never touch anything that has been defiled by pork – not even if it is one tiny drop.” Question: Then how can you hold Holy God to a higher standard than your own? How could a Holy God possibly allow a person with even 1% of sin into His presence?” 2. A family and a judge. I ask the Muslim how he would feel about a judge who pardoned a thief, murderer, and rapist. “Let us pretend”, I say, “that a thief enters your house and steals all your money. The thief is caught and brought before the judge. The judge tells the thief; “What you have done is sinful, but because I am merciful I forgive and release you”. The thief thanks the judge, and that night returns to your house and kills all your children. Again the thief is caught and brought before the judge. “What you have done is very sinful, but I am very merciful, so I forgive you and free you again”. The thief thanks the judge and returns to your house that night and rapes your wife. Again he is caught and again the merciful judge forgives and frees him. What would you think of that judge? Would you respect him? He is merciful, but he is not just. Atonement brings together both the justice and the mercy of God. A further objection that Muslims have regarding the atoning death of Christ is the element of suffering. Muslims cannot believe that God would allow one of His Prophets to experience a shameful defeat or death. Muslims deny that Jesus was literally crucified and claim that either Judas was put up on the cross by mistake, or Jesus ‘swooned’ on the cross, He did not actually die. These denials of Jesus’ death seem to run counter to the Qur’an itself. In Qur’an 3:55 God is speaking and says “I will cause (Jesus) to die…” In 5:117 Jesus refers to “…when you caused me to die…” In 19:33 Jesus again says “Peace upon me the day that I was born and the day that I die.” All three references use the Arabic verb “itwaffa” – the same verb that is used today for death. Qur’an 4:157 does say, “You did not kill him, you did not crucify him”, but the text shows that this comment was directed at the Jews and is in line with the claim of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord”, John 10:17-18. When presenting the Biblical view of atonement the logical starting place is the absolute holiness of God. We humans are in an impossible situation. God is so holy that He only allows 100% perfect people into His presence, and yet no one is nor can be 100% holy. No one can attain the level of holiness that God demands. With this as a foundation, we need to show that God, from the very first sin, shed blood to cover the sin. Adam and Eve tried to clothe themselves with leaves, Genesis 3:7, but God killed an animal and covered their sin with skin from the lamb whose blood He shed, Genesis 3:21. The Old Testament story reveals progressively how every sin had to be covered by blood. Abraham on Mt. Moriah tells his son that “God will provide a lamb”, Genesis 22:8. In the New Testament John the Baptist points to Jesus and says, “Look, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!” In the whole Bible context, we see God has always insisted: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”, Hebrews 9:22. Most Muslims are from cultures that appreciate indirection and stories. I have found the best way to illustrate vicarious atonement is by using the following story: In San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century, there lived two immigrant Chinese brothers. The elder brother was industrious and moral. He feared God and lived in right relationship with his community. The younger brother was mischievous, rebellious, and violent. He loved to frequent the bars and brothels. The older brother repeatedly warned and pleaded with his younger brother (whom he loved) to turn from his sinful ways and live a godly life. The younger man happily ignored all his brothers pleas. One fateful night, the younger brother got into a brawl at the local bar. Smashing a beer bottle on a nearby table, he used the sharp end as a club with which to kill a man. Blood from his victim’s clothes splattered all over his shirt. The police were called and the younger brother ran home in abject fear. His older brother welcomed him in and on hearing his frantic confession calmly told him to take off his shirt. The innocent brother exchanged the guilty brother’s shirt for his own. The police arrived, and not able to distinguish one immigrant Chinese from another, hustled the innocent elder brother – in a bloodstained shirt – to prison. In the course of time, this righteous brother was tried, sentenced and executed. Five years passed, and as time went by the guilt feelings of the younger brother increased. He came to a point where he could bear no more. He sought out the judge who had sentenced his older brother to death. He confessed through his tears. “I am the guilty one. My precious brother was innocent of any wrong. He died in my place. What can be done?” The judge was quiet for a moment. Then he gently said, “Blood has been shed. The debt has been paid. You are free to go.” Objection 4: Jesus is not God Every Muslim is quick to affirm that Muslims believe in Jesus. Most will admit Him into the top three Prophets of importance along with Moses and Mohammed. They will agree that Jesus was a prophet, a teacher, and a miracle worker – but the concept of Jesus as God is blasphemous to a Muslim. The Qur’an gives us a great starting point on this question. In numerous places the Qur’an affirms the uniqueness of Jesus (19:18-19, 3:45, 4:171). He is called the Messiah, the Word of God, Virgin Born, and recognised as coming again to judge the living and the dead. The Hadiith even affirms that Jesus is sinless, see Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 506. I love to start any discussion on the nature of Jesus by summarising what Islam admits about Him: Messiah, Sinless, the Word of God, Born of a Virgin, and Returning Judge. I then bridge to the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man and forgiving his sins, Mark 2:1-12. I mention all the things that Jesus has done for me (loved, forgiven, healed, blessed, comforted, forgiven sin, granted heaven) and I ask what anyone else can possibly do. Jesus is very special! Proving the deity of Jesus outside of the authority of scripture is another matter. We sometimes demand belief prematurely. We need to allow Muslims time to come and trust the Scripture, listening to the advice of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ first disciples journeyed progressively into their understanding of the nature of Christ. Several centuries and Councils of our church fathers were needed to clarify our own understandings. We must introduce Muslims to Jesus. When they fall in love with Him (and most of them do before they understand that He is God) there starts a relational base of trust on which the Holy Spirit can secure the heavy truth of Jesus’ divinity. We should never refer to the Qur’an in any way that gives it authority. All of our references should be in question form; “Why does the Qur’an say this or that?” When we ask Muslims questions about the Qur’an we do not affirm it as authoritative. We invite them to begin to question it. We should never use the Qur’an to try and prove the Bible, or any Christian doctrine, true. Why? If you do so the progression is simple and dangerous: 1) You use the Qur’an to prove the Bible is true. 2) The Bible reveals that the Qur’an is false. 3) If the Qur’an is false, how can you use it to verify the Bible? 4) What it says about the Bible must also be false. It is neither advisable nor fair to compare Jesus to Mohammed. Jesus never sinned. Mohammed had to repent numerous times, Qur’an 4:96-97; 40:54-55; 47:19. Comparison is not advisable because we anger Muslims and the red fog of anger then removes any possibility of amicable discussion. Comparison is not fair, because Orthodox Islam never claims Mohammed to be perfect nor the incarnation of God. The Qur’an is claimed as absolutely perfect. It is not too much to say that Islam and Christianity are delineated thus: In Islam, the Word of God became a book (Qur’an). In Christianity, the Word of God became a person (Jesus). Any fair comparisons should compare Jesus to the Qur’an – the Christian Word of God compared with the Muslim word of God. If you can point to an error in Jesus, Christianity crumbles. If you can point to an error in the Qur’an, Islam fails. Fallibility in the life of Mohammed is not central to this argument. The fact that Mohammed gave fallible advice (see the Hadith of Sahiih Muslim ‘Ridaat al Kabiir’ # 1453) sanctioned assassinations, led 29 different violent attacks, and took 12 different wives plus numerous concubines (including one who was six years old, and another he asked his adopted son to divorce so he could marry), is not the point. If a Muslim wants to compare and contrast Mohammed to Jesus we will be delighted to do so. No right thinking Muslim will dare - as it is not a favourable comparison for their prophet. If a Muslim knows the biographical history of Mohammed and presses the point I usually find it enough to ask this rhetorical question: “If Jesus was at one well and Mohammed was at another, to which well would you send your wife to draw water?” Objection 5: God cannot have a Son Muslims will tell you repeatedly that “God does not begat, nor was He begotten” and “God cannot take the form of His creation”. The unpardonable sin in Islam is “shirk” which comes from the verb “sharaka”, to associate or partner. To ascribe an equal to God is the most offensive thing one could do, because it violates God’s “tawhiid”, His incomparable oneness. The term “Son of God” therefore makes Muslims recoil. It is incomprehensible and reprehensible to Muslims to even suggest that God would have physical relations with Mary in order to produce Jesus. Again, the original confusion is linked to the Marianite heresy which taught of a Mary included Trinity. Modern Roman Catholicism has not helped by it’s over exaltation of Mary. Our response begins with the explanation of metaphor. Remember that Muslims acknowledge the virgin birth. We must simply affirm that Jesus was virgin born, and that “Son of…” is a metaphor for a unique relationship. In the Qur’an the expression “son of the road” is used to refer to a traveller, Qur’an 2:177. Sudanese and Egyptians are often referred to today as “sons of the Nile”. In discussion with Muslims I will often ask with a smile, “So tell me, who had sex with the road to produce travellers? And who had sex with the Nile in order to produce you wonderful Sudanese?” The response is always a playful chuckle and the metaphor point is acknowledged. A second means of explanation is to ask, “Who was the father of Adam?” “If God is Adam’s father, then can we call Adam a son of God?” “Imagine you were the recording official when Jesus was born. You were in charge of filling out Jesus’ birth certificate. Who would you write in the space marked “Father”________?” One Khartoum summer on a boat steaming up the Nile, I was sitting next to a dear friend who was a recent convert to Christ. He was asking this very question about the incarnation. I had a tea cup in my hand and with it I pointed to the Nile. I asked him “What water is that?” “The Nile”, he said. I dipped the cup down into the water and lifted it out again. “And what water is this?” He smiled and said, “That too is the Nile.” “And what is the difference between this Nile and that Nile?” “None”, he said. I threw the water from the cup back into the Nile and said. “Jesus is the essence of God. He came to the earth in human form for 33 short years. Then He returned to heaven.” This simple (and imperfect) illustration was enough for my friend. Since that day, the incarnation of Jesus has not been a problem for him. Let me be sure to say the illustration helped largely because my friend wanted to understand. God had made him ready. For others who seek to undermine and accentuate problematic issues, this analogy is limited. Again, let me repeat what I mentioned earlier. Cleverness and polemic argument wins very few Muslims to Jesus. There are thousands of Muslims much smarter and more articulate than you or I. Muslims have been deceived and blinded by the devil and unless the Lord intervenes, none of our illustrations or answers will be decisive in the battle for their souls, 2 Corinthians 4:4; Acts 16:14. I used to think that if only I could learn Arabic, acculturate the message and live contextually, then Muslims would instantly embrace the Gospel. Unfortunately I found out this is not so. Almost every Muslim I know who now follows Jesus has journeyed through several years of searching and questioning. There are usually three encounters that work together as Muslims come to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord: 1) Love encounter an ongoing relationship with a Christian 2) Truth encounter an ongoing study of the Bible 3) Power encounter a dream, a miracle, or a supernatural sign In the end (and following Christians in all ages) we rely on prayer. Yes, we study hard. Yes, we learn how to gracefully “give an answer to everyone who asks us the reason for the hope that we have”, 1 Peter 3:15-16. Yes, we learn Arabic. Yes, we don the robe and drape the veil. Yes, we love and listen to Muslims year after year. We do all this gladly, but we know there is no “magic” formula. We have only the assurance that every person’s salvation is a miracle. We know that every person’s salvation is a very personal encounter between one soul and one Saviour. And we know the only Saviour is Jesus the Messiah, Acts 4:12. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. Why are “gentleness and respect” such important tools in sharing with others? 1 Peter 3:15-16. 2. Explain the differences between the Muslim view of “dictation” for the Qur’an and the Christian view of “inspiration” for the Bible. Why must we keep this in mind when sharing with others? 3. Which do you think is the most useful argument for the truth of the Bible: the Sovereignty of God? or the chronology of the Bible and the Qur’an? Why? 4. Explain the Holy Trinity in a way that a Muslim may begin to understand, or may at least be encouraged to see the real difference between Islamic and Christian understanding. Consider the “oneness” (tawhiid) of God. 5. Explain the Christian doctrine of atonement. Give biblical examples of God shedding blood in order to forgive (to atone for, to cover) sin. Why is God’s mercy not enough by itself to offer forgiveness to humankind? What other attributes of God must be held in a balancing tension with God’s mercy? Why? 6. Why is it “neither advisable nor fair to compare Jesus to Mohammed”? Describe the key difference between the Word of God in Christianity and in Islam. 7. How can we help a Muslim who struggles over whether God can “have a Son”? Consider the Christian and Muslim belief in Jesus’ virgin birth. 8. Share why living in front of Muslims and praying for Muslims are so important.

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. God's word written down and published. Muslims believe the Qur’an was dictated by Allah, through the angel Gabriel.Muhammad learned and recited precisely what he heard. He made no other contribution of his own to it. Any good electronic recording machine would have made an identical text by listening to the sounds he heard (or understood), and then having the words written down. It was all done in the Arabic language. Muslims believe the Arabic Qur’an today to be an exact, word-by-word, reproduction of this dictation. They believe the Qur’an is the earthly edition of this heavenly book. The activity of God’s ‘sending down’ (Arabic – tanzil) the first few verses of the Qur’an, to the lowest of the heavens, during ‘Laylat al-Qadr’– the ‘night of power’, is celebrated towards the end of Ramadan each year. (Many Muslims have the idea that somehow the entire Qur’an was sent down at one time on that night). Orthodox Islamic teaching is that later, over some 23 years, the Qur’an was communicated by Gabriel to Muhammad using ‘divine inspiration’ (Arabic – wahy). This happened bit by bit, and in no particular order. The Qur’an 42:51 gives two brief descriptions of ‘divine inspiration’: Allah speaking from behind a veil to someone, or Allah sending a messenger-angel to reveal his will. Various Hadith literature, or traditions, list the ringing of bells, physical stiffness and concentration, sweating even on a cold day, dreams, visions while awake, and transportation into highest heaven, as all parts of the process which allowed Muhammad to receive and recite the Qur’an. Muslims take the Qur’an in letter and in spirit as the word of Allah. I believe the phrase “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), to mean that God breathed out, over and through the human authors of our Bibles. God’s influence moved these people to write what He wanted. Yet, at the same time, every author’s characteristic style of writing, including his or her own personality and understanding, was preserved. The Bible was not a mindless receiving of dictation, but an actively stimulated and superintended outcome of human research and thinking under God. (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-3). God used His people chosen for this work, in His own way. There is a parallel to consider in how Jesus Christ Himself came to be born. It was definitely God’s will to begin with. He called a willing person, in this case, Mary. God the Holy Spirit ‘came upon’ or ‘overshadowed’ her. This cooperation resulted in the perfect Son of God being born (Luke 1:34,35). Jesus is the living word. His conception was the result of something quite unique. But He was born in a normal, human way. In a similar way, the Bible is God’s word written. God the Holy Spirit has overshadowed it from start to finish. The people, the documents, the words, the ideas and the means of writing were all quite usual. But the resulting words and message remain unique. Since God is omnipotent (see chapter 13), He is certainly more than able to give us His word this way. Someone may ask: ‘Did God write the Bible, or did people?’The correct answer is that “both God and people wrote the Bible”. Imagine you sent your child to the suk to buy bread for a family event. You gave him a thousand pounds to buy a bag with 8-10 pieces in it. Your son physically went along the street to market. He smiled happily at the man in the white jellabiya behind the table, and asked him politely for bread. He looked at the sweets in a box nearby, but he did not buy any. Ask yourself this question: ‘Who bought the bread?’ The shopkeeper met your son and he saw your son’s personality and he recognised the child’s desires towards sweets. Your son handed over your money and returned home with the bag of bread. How do you answer the question: ‘who bought the bread?’ It was your idea, your money and it was at your request. But your son actually carried out your wishes, in his own free way. He went to the shop. He met the man selling. The result was the bread arrived at home for the meal. So, you both bought the bread and achieved your desired result! What we believe about the Bible is very important. If we believe it only to be the product of men’s work, we will share it and preach it as just one book among many others. It is much better to believe it to be trustworthy, divine-given revelation of God through men. Then we will prove its power in our study and our ministry. God uses His word (Isaiah 55:10,11). Thinking it through. (a). What are the differences between the way the Qur’an was ‘dictated’, and the way the Bible was ‘God-breathed’? (b). Why is it important to believe the Bible to be the word of God? (c). Which other attributes of God help you to accept the Bible as God’s word?

Punishing those who do wrong* - the prophet Obadiah verse 15. God Rules, O.K.? Obadiah is one of 5 books in our Bible just one chapter long. It is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Scholars are not quite sure where it fits historically into time: Jeremiah 49:14-16 are the same as Obadiah vs1-4. 49:9-10 are the same as Obadiah vs5-6. Did Jeremiah quote Obadiah? Did Obadiah quote Jeremiah? Did both quote an earlier prophet? No-one knows for sure! We do know both Jeremiah and Obadiah prophesy against Edom, south east Israel between Dead Sea and Red Sea (Obadiah 1:1; Jeremiah 49:7-22), and we do know why there was conflict, painful conflict, between God’s people and the people from Edom. They were close relatives. That is always painful. To understand and apply Obadiah we must first look at God’s sovereign choice in Genesis 25:23 – when Rebekah and Isaac were expecting twins. God said to Rebekah “two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Esau became the oldest, firstborn, and Jacob the youngest – his hand grasping Esau’s heel in an attempt to overtake during birth! The Lord’s prophecy became true: as an adult Jacob tricked his blind father Isaac into blessing him in preference to Esau, Genesis 27. (Note how God showed His sovereign knowledge in advance of what would happen). Since that time, the sons of Jacob (also known as, the children of Israel) have always been enemies of the sons of Esau (a.k.a. Edom). You get glimpses of this, as for instance Exodus 15:15 and Numbers 20:18 when, after the Exodus, Moses requests permission for the Israelites to cross through Edom to the Promised Land, and Edom refuses to give it! So, Obadiah verse 8 “the Edomites … men of understanding in the mountains of Esau” – who continued through history to hold a grudge against their close relatives Israel – were going to be judged by God. And Obadiah warned them what was coming. We can learn four lessons for ourselves from this short book: 1. God is more important than anyone else. What God thinks is more important than what anyone else thinks. 2. God is totally against any human pride. 3. God will always bring sinners to judgement. 4. God is ultimately bringing His own kingdom to rule. His overriding purpose. The awesome sovereignty of God Application: You’ll be aware, of course, how human reasoning and logic can easily come out on Esau’s side in the Genesis 27 story. Jacob tricked and deceived Esau. In a way that emphasises my point. God is right, even when He seems to be wrong, because God is the sovereign God. Does God do things you wouldn’t do if you were God? Is He wrong? Or are you wrong? I believe I know which! “God’s exercise of power over His creation is (sometimes) called His sovereignty (His omnipotence, His power)”. God rules as King over creation. God has free will to act as He chooses in history. Human pride usurps God’s authority. Man does what he wants. “I am right,” he says. But, God is still God! “The doctrine of the sovereignty of God … gives meaning and substance to all other doctrines.” “In order to be sovereign God must be all-knowing, and all-powerful and absolutely free.” Any limits would negate His complete sovereignty. If God is not sovereign, something could happen to thwart His love and purpose – we could rely on nothing. “God (even) permits sin for His own reasons.” Some people wonder why I don’t issue invitations for people to trust in Christ – almost every week here at KIC. Their own church background expects it. The answer is in the sovereignty of God. The Sovereign God commands repentance and submission to His appointed King Jesus. (He does not invite it!). Any individual’s eternal destiny is decided on that. Have you chosen to be really free by submitting to God your Creator’s choice? Or are you choosing to stay bound in proud rebellion against God: saying, though not verbalising, “I don’t need You, God. I’ll do OK on my own – or with a distorted version, cheap imitation of You.”? Who is most important in your life? Sovereign God or self? “The Sovereignty of God is His right and power to do whatever He pleases with everyone at any time.” God is answerable to no-one. He is at peace with Himself. He is perfectly free. His holy and righteous character is guarantee that this privilege and prerogative will never be abused. The awesome sovereignty of God Four truths from Obadiah: 1. God is more important than anyone else. Verse 1 “Obadiah” means ‘servant of the Lord’ or ‘one who worships the Lord’. There are 12 men so named in the Bible. About this one we know nothing. It may not even be a name – just a title ‘a servant of the Lord’. And here is the point. The servant does not need to be known. His name is unimportant. He is insignificant. But, the prophet writes, you must recognise my God! Verse 1 “This is what ‘The Sovereign Lord’ says”. (a) My God speaks – verse 1 “a message from the Lord”. Verse 4 “declares the Lord”. Listen to this. Listen to Him. (b) My God is sovereign – verse 2 “I will make you small, Edom.” Verse 4 “I will bring you down.” Verse 8 “I will destroy the wise men of Edom.” You may not realise it, want it or accept it but ultimately God determines what will happen. E.g. New York/Bali/Yemen/Iraq. Hussein/UN inspectors/secretary general/President Bush. God is in charge. 2. God is totally against human pride. Verse 3. “Edom: the pride of your heart has deceived you.” Plenty of pride in those situations I’ve just described! Verses 3, 4 describe Petra, the capital of Edom. Temples, homes and businesses carved out of rock in an impregnable canyon – reputedly 12 men could defend it against any army! The Edomites built a great fortress. Tourists go there today. Brenda wants to visit. God says: Your pride, against other human beings may be OK. You are invincible world champions. But I hold the world. Remember, I am God. Much more than human. More than a match for you.” Verses 3, 4, God is stronger than rock. God is higher than eagles’ nests. God is beyond the stars, in His unreachable greatness and majesty. In these verses God testifies to His omniscience – He sees and knows everything. His omnipresence – there is nowhere to hide from Him. His omnipotence – He is more than able to do everything He pleases. Illustration: Edomites may boast of their greatness! But it is like the man with his gun, suddenly realising he is surrounded by dozens of police marksmen, all with bullet-proof clothing and each with a rifle trained on to his head or chest. Outnumbered. Out-thought. Outmanoeuvred. Undone. 1. Pride is a sign of godlessness in the end times, 2 Timothy 3:2. 2. God detests the proud, Proverbs 16:5. 3. Pride brings automatic opposition from God, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5. 4. Pride caused Satan’s downfall, Isaiah 14:12-14. (Application: “Are you too big? Is your God too small?) The all-important sovereign Lord God asks you …(?) Greek: Tuphoo = wrap in smoke, hence puffed up, conceited, place self above others, high-minded. 3. God will always bring sinners to judgement. Verses 8-14 list eight violent acts: “You stood aloof … you looked down on your brothers … you rejoiced in their destruction and trouble … you marched in to add to their defeat … you made worse their calamity … you plundered them as easy prey … you did not spare the survivors.” As a sinner myself I observe that the all-seeing, all-remembering God had a list of charges against Edom (as He does against me and you I am sure). These things happened over centuries, but God still had them fresh in mind. Decades for us. The facts were indisputable: God is always right. And now, verse 15 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations.” Verse 16 The cup of the Lord’s anger must be drunk. Illustration: Hard to say ‘No’ to wonderful hospitality here in Khartoum. I am a diabetic, often offered Coke, Pepsi, sweet tea. Very hard to refuse, but I have to! Note, it is Impossible to say ‘No’ to God’s offered wrath! The word ‘near’ is a problem to some. How come the Day of the Lord was near in 586BC and is still near today? Two solutions, both true. 1. Prophecies had an immediate fulfilment – Babylon attacked soon after this and laid Edom to waste. But these prophecies also have an ultimate fulfilment (yet future), when God will judge every person and every nation in the great final Judgement Day. 2. Imagine a book balanced on the edge of a desk. Finely balanced. Any movement and it will fall. No-one can say when it will fall. It depends when movement close to it occurs. But it will fall. So, “The day of the Lord is near.” Secure in Saviour – OK! Illustration: Christmas plans are probably made although there are several weeks still to go. 4. God is ultimately bringing His kingdom to rule. Verse 17 even in judgement there is “salvation/deliverance” for those in the place (person) “made holy”, Mount Zion, (Jesus)! Those in God’s house will receive their inheritance. Verse 21 “And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.” NIV, KJV, RSV. “And the Lord shall be king.” LB. “And the Lord Himself will be King.” GNB, TEV. The Sovereign Lord is reigning now: steadily working out all things to the day of His choosing, when everyone will recognise Jesus is King on the throne of world history. Application: Security comes, not in nuclear armaments, but in the arms of God! Safety and prosperity come not in any work of your own, but by investing your life in God’s bank. Justice comes when God brings people to account before Himself (not an International Court, but an impartial, unimpeachable, incorruptible divine session). How should you respond? On your knees to beg God for mercy! Verse 15 “The day of the Lord is near for all … as you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” Ask King Jesus to be your Saviour, now. God is love. Christ died for us. Read verse 17 “on Mount Zion – deliverance.” Rock solid rock, not Petra. It is Jesus! God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum international Church 17th November 2002.

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Bible reading Philippians 3:20. Writing of other people Paul says, “Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our bodies so they will be like His glorious body”, Philippians 3:19-21. My depressing disability of having no proper voice due to cancer, will be finally sorted and mended when I am given a new voice in heaven, which is my real home. I will be able to speak again in praise of our Lord Jesus Christ. I look forward so much to that! Where is your citizenship? Where do you as a person legally belong? To where and to whom do you have the rights, duties and responsibilities of simply living? Some of you are or have been refugees and displaced people. You may have had your earthly citizenship summarily taken away by the authorities. You may have lost your birth nationality. Many of you had to make a choice when South Sudan voted to eventually become independent of Sudan in 2011. My country (the United Kingdom) is going through a similar trauma as I write this, trying to peacefully leave all of the other 27 countries of the European Union on 29th March 2019.[1] As long as I remember I have said, tongue in cheek, ‘I am British by birth, Cornish by choice (Brenda and I make our home in Cornwall, England), and European because I have to be’! Britain joined what was then the European Economic Community in 1973, when I was 24yrs old. The younger people growing up in your countries face similar choices. Should they stay at home with their families, or move away to University in a big city, or to find a satisfactory job, and even to marry? We must pray for and trust them as they make these tough decisions about where to live, while in their teens or twenties. The New Testament Greek word for ‘citizenship’ politeuma signifies ‘the life condition and the heavenly status of the Believer’. While journeying on earth we Christians try to live the heavenly life. We try to show where we really come from. Perhaps it is better to say, we must live showing where we are so confidently travelling to. Most of us work and earn money to support our living down here on earth. It is necessary of course! But, for the Christian, it is not the ‘be-all-and-end-all’ of life. We know that life goes on for us after we die here. A wise Christian is regularly investing his or her time and talent in their real home, which is with God the Father in heaven. Heaven is being where God the Son, our Lord Jesus, is. Now we must follow the promptings of God the Holy Spirit directing our lives to follow Jesus twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and for the fifty two weeks every year we are given to live by God. Holy Spirit controlled living works itself out in self-controlled living, Galatians 5:22-25. I have just turned 70 years old. When you read this, God-willing my whole family will have gathered to celebrate, with a meal prepared by my son and his partner at their home overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Significant birthdays may be milestones in life on earth. But our birthday into heaven is infinitely more significant. A Christian is born again into heavenly citizenship, John 3:3-7. Please make sure you are! We read of Paul using his earthly Roman citizenship for the furtherance of his gospel ministry here on earth. See Acts 16:37-40; 22:25-29; 23:27; 25:10-12; 26:32; 28:19-20. He also writes twice of a higher “citizenship with God’s people”, see Ephesians 2:12-19. Through the blood of Jesus Christ believing Gentiles and believing Jews have become one united Holy Spirit filled Christian family. God lives today in and through this believing household. Not only a Roman citizen, with many, many, others, Paul knew he was a citizen of heaven. I may live to be 71 years on earth next January 2020, or even to 100 years 29 years beyond that! God only knows. My friend of 40 years, Rev Nagi Konagi in Khartoum Bahri, seems to be living on and on for ever and ever. From 1979 when we travelled together around what was then Sudan, he was virtually free to journey anywhere, as long as there were no security issues. (Note the cover photos on this book). This was because he was (and is) a Sudanese national. But I had to show my British/European passport, my Sudanese visas to enter and to stay, my area travel permits for where Nagi wanted to take me, my camera documents and all my money receipts. Very different treatment! Good job we are both, firstly, citizens of heaven! Three concluding thoughts on being a citizen of heaven: 1. Citizenship brings responsibilities. “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”, Philippians 1:27. “Set your heart on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things”,Colossians 3:1-4. In everything be a living advertisement for our Lord Jesus. He told us to spend our lives wisely for heaven, Matthew 6:19-21. 2. Citizenship brings hope. “We remember before God … your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”, 1 Thessalonians 1:3. Keep an eye on the sky with an ear listening for the trumpet, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Justice will be done in heaven and hell even if it is often not done here. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people to be most pitied”, 1 Corinthians 15:19. 3. Citizenship brings protection. Our lives are safely preserved until God calls us home. The apostles were released from jail, Acts 5:17-21; Stephen was martyred, Acts 7:55-60; Ananias of Damascus was preserved, Acts 9:1-16; James was executed, Acts 12:2; Peter was miraculously released from prison, Acts 12:5-11; Paul was rescued several times, though he was last recorded a prisoner under house arrest, Acts 9:23-25, 16:22-36, 21:35-40, 23-25, 27:42-44, 28:4-6, 28:30-31. Our starting reading promises transformation for us when we arrive in heaven. We will have sound minds and bodies. We will speak the right language and maintain a good holy, Jesus-like character. Our Lord and Saviour will be the centre of all our attention. We will be enjoying the life that God made us for. Citizens, all at home in God’s heaven! Originally written as BiMonthly Encouragement, 10th February 2019. Discussion guide 1. Share any earthly ‘citizenship issues’ you have had. What are some of the obstacles you have (or have experienced) to being where you want to be? 2. Describe your “birthday into heavenly citizenship”. Highlight any circumstances that brought you to that point. 3. Consider Philippians 3:20 and John 3:3-7, then explain this “birthday” in the light of those Bible texts. 4. In this chapter I mention the passport, visas, health documents, travel, and camera permits I needed on my Sudan visits, 1979-2003. Use your own words to say in one sentence everything you need to be a citizen of heaven. 5. From the Scriptures share the responsibilities of a Christian citizen of heaven. My concluding thoughts above will give you a start, but there is much more. 6. What do you understand by ‘Christian hope’? How does it help you live in Sudan or South Sudan, or anywhere else on this earth? 7. Compare and contrast those “who have no hope”, 1 Thessalonians 4:13b, with those who are waiting “to meet the Lord in the air”, 1 Thessalonians 4:17b. [1] 1st January 2019.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan today. Mission section. by Moses Angupale Kelili Sudan, being the largest country in Africa with a total area of 1,556,108 square miles, has a complexity of 254 people groups. Almost the same number of languages are spoken. The Sudan has suffered war since shortly after independence in January 1956, making it hard to get proper census data on religious population. Most estimates indicate that Muslims are 75%, Indigenous Traditional Religions are 15%, Christians 8%, with others 2%. History tells us that Christianity was the first to come to Sudan. Islam came shortly after the death of Prophet Mohammad in 632 Common Era (c.e.). Ten years later the Islamists invaded North African countries including Sudan. History records that in 652 c.e. the Christian cathedral in Dongola was destroyed. We can read how Islamization then spread southwards into traditionally Christian areas. The fact this happened so easily probably reflects poor understanding and practise of Christianity. Since then the Islamization carpet rolled southwards with little effort made by Christians to counter its effects. The difficulties and complexities in Sudan for the gospel include the numerous languages spoken, with few people having Bibles translated into their own languages, and the scattered population of 45,955,116 all over Sudan, with no good road connections. Statistics made by the Global Status of Evangelical Christianity in April 2008 state that unreached people groups in Sudan are 234 with a population of 42,980,973. Comparing these figures with the unreached Kenyans, 43 people groups out of 60, there is much more to be done in Sudan. The effectiveness of mission in Sudan lies with the national Christians. Some argue that Christianity must have come to Sudan as early as second century. If that is the case, then the strategies used in spreading Christianity were not the right ones. The efforts to reach the unreached people of Sudan lag well behind where they should be. There is a need for a paradigm shift of mission work in Sudan. The best strategy is to involve the Sudanese themselves. Sudanese must take the lead in the evangelisation of the whole country of Sudan. For this paradigm shift to take place, the church must undergo a thorough preparation. With many natural resources coming from South Sudan and also with the greatest number of evangelical churches there, Sudanese missionaries sent by their own churches to all over Sudan, can be supported on a self-initiative basis. I believe the solution to Sudan’s searching for peace can only be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He brings peace, Ephesians 2:13-16, Sudanese Church leaders must take this into consideration and act immediately. Gospel mission within Sudan by Christian Sudanese, will promote peace in Sudan. The Sudanese Church Must Undergo Preparation for Gospel Spreading To be effective in any successful accomplishment requires preparation. In Scripture we see the success of Christianity involving the preparation made by the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist. He came and prepared the ground by levelling it for Christ, Matthew 3:1-17; John 1:29-31. Christ was able to use the levelled ground to plant the gospel effectively. Studies show that the countries which are most developed on this planet prepared their citizens with good education. In the light of these examples, I suggest that for the gospel to be preached extensively in Sudan to all the unreached people groups, the church must undergo a very extensive preparation. This preparation must cover three basic areas of need: Theological education with an emphasis on missions a change of mindset for the Sudanese church the practice of sending indigenous missionaries and supporting them to reach the unreached people groups in Sudan. We will explore these three basic areas for preparing the Sudanese church in more detail. 1. Theological Education with an Emphasis on Missions This means we need to prepare the church in Sudan through establishing Mission Schools. The preferable teaching medium must be both colloquial Arabic and English languages. Why do we say Theological Education with an emphasis on missions? When we evaluate most of our existing Theological Colleges, their emphasis has made today’s church what it is. The church in Sudan is full of wonderful pastors and administrators. My ten year’s experience as a Bible school teacher and an academic dean can testify that many graduates from our own School become pastors and administrators. Therefore, I disqualify the syllabus taught in the present Bible colleges. It appears unable to produce missionaries. With no emphasis on mission, present syllabi cannot be used as basis for training missionaries. These colleges tend to prepare mainly those who have interests in teaching, pastoring and administration. These Theological Colleges have very little impact on mission. Mission is not their focus. For maximum effectiveness in the spreading of the gospel to unreached people groups, the Sudanese Church must undergo a thorough preparation, with the central focus being the fulfillment of the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:44-49. Theology needs to be simple, like that of the early Church. Read their sermons in Acts 2:14-41; Acts 3:12-26; Acts 4:7-12; Acts 5:29-32; Acts 7:2-53; Acts 8:30-35; Acts 10:34-43; Acts 13:16-41; Acts 14:14-17; Acts 16:31-32; Acts 17:2-3; Acts 17:22-31; Acts 22:1-21. The simplicity of early Christian theology swept across the Empire of Asia Minor. The message of the apostles of Christ was made simple for a common man to understand. They preached about the crucifixion of Christ, the resurrection of Christ and the second coming of Christ. This simple theology drew thousands upon thousands to accept Christ as Saviour and Lord. Complex theology may hinder rather than help evangelism. I am convinced that unreached people groups in Sudan need a simple Christian theology. This simple theology must be taught in a Theological Mission School in a simple Arabic and also in English. We need to establish simple Mission Training Centres all over the regions of Sudan in order to prepare our Christians and their churches. One year of training can be enough for the purpose. Such a basic message, carried by Christian Sudanese to our fellow Sudanese, is recommended because Sudan is a multi-racial, close knit society. We can use this to our advantage in reaching “our own” with the gospel. 1 Corinthians 9:3-12; 1 Timothy 5:17-18. 2. A Change of Mindset for the Sudanese Church The Sudanese people in all the Evangelical Churches (that is “Gospel churches”, not only those named Evangelical Church) need a change of mindset. There must be a transformation to achieve our greatest potential in the fields of mission and missiology, Romans 12:2; Philippians 2:5-11. Attitudes of heart and mind which kill self-initiative must be fought. One attitude is the dependency syndrome practised in all churches of Sudan. In this mindset, the concept that the church is a source of livelihood has made people depend on almost everything coming to them from outside Sudan. The motivation of most people who come to church is merely based on a thought for monetary benefit rather than following God’s call to His ministry. The common saying in colloquial Arabic, “taba khenisa”, means “under the responsibility of the church”. “The church will pay”! Some people even go to the extent of requesting the church to pay their bride price for the wife they intend to marry! Also there are several Christians who have the mentality of dependency which looks at the church as their source of relief. People who think like this come to pastors many times and beg for things to meet their needs. In actuality, they are supposed to support the well-being of their pastors, 1 Corinthians 9:3-12; 1 Timothy 5:17-18. They do completely the opposite. What a curse! The problem with this dependency syndrome in the church is that it has killed the self-image and self-initiative of the whole church in Sudan. It must be revised. The church in Sudan is boxed in a carton where their own local initiatives are seen as sub-standard. The money they raise to meet other ministry needs is seen to be without value. This has been the lifestyle of churches in the Sudan over the years. It must change. Do the congregation really know that the responsibility for the church, and the responsibilities of the church, are in our own hands? To understand this clearly: the running of our churches is in the hands of the Sudanese ourselves. We can do it full of joy! 1 Corinthians 9:3-12; 1 Timothy 5:17-18. The responsibility to run all the church programmes, including sending out missioners (missionaries) to the unreached people groups, should be given to and taken by indigenous Sudanese people. Churches must think of many ways to succeed in their programmes when trying to stand alone. Partners with resources from outside should take the lead in preparing the church to do what she can, before they come to fill any gaps the church in Sudan failed to cover. This is the team spirit required in Sudan. The partners will teach Sudanese how to fish, so that in the shortest possible time the Sudanese fish out their own fish. Our own supply is more secure than waiting for a continued supply by the partners. Therefore, outside church and mission partners with Sudan should invest much in preparing Sudanese people through joint seminars, workshops or even Theological Mission Seminaries, teaching the idea of self-sustainability. The goal is to change our mind set. This is the top requirement. 3. The Practice of Sending Indigenous Missionaries and Supporting them to Reach Unreached people groups in Sudan. This is essential for the Sudanese church. The church in Sudan will not see the potential of her members fully realised until the evangelisation of the whole Sudan (and now South Sudan) is accepted as our responsibility. In South Sudan there are many evangelical churches. I think this is where the focus of sending out missioners to the unreached parts in Sudan should be. Also, South Sudan with many evangelical churches should host most of the training. South Sudan evangelical churches should think immediately to form associations or societies across the denominations specifically to send out missionaries into North Sudan. The traditional mindset, with its common practice of each denomination having its own agenda for its programmes must now stop. We want a shift in mission paradigm in Sudan. A team-working spirit in associations is highly required more than ever in Sudan. Put down other things. The emphasis is on fulfilling the Great Commission of the Lord. There is an obvious danger for any union of churches to avoid. Any organised group made up of the majority of the church denominations in the Sudan will only reflect its members. It will reflect their major objectives of material relief and social work rather than of evangelistic mission. Existing groups have covered wonderful programmes of physical and academic needs. But they have left out one, and that is the spiritual task of evangelism and mission. The reason for the omission is simple. Much emphasis has been placed on the traditions of our denominations – the same churches which make up the united organisations – at the expense of fulfilling the Great Commission. Once Christ said on this matter, “Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition”, Matthew 15:6. Therefore, let the churches in Sudan pay less interest to our traditions and be united in addressing the matter of evangelising the whole Sudan. Then the perfect peace that comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be realised in Sudan, Romans 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:11-6:1; Revelation 5:9-10. Most of the problems that emerged in the Sudan during war and conflict arose as a result of the absence of God. Nepotism, tribalism and humanitarian crises are examples of this. Our lack of sending missionaries to reach unreached groups with the gospel of Jesus Christ has created this gap. The gap, the absence of God’s presence, no acknowledgement of God, has created no fear of God among the government leadership of S.P.L.A./S.P.L.M. in South Sudan. Why do I say so? Two reasons justify this. The good idea of chaplaincy in the army, brought by the late Dr. John Garang, has currently been thrown out. It appears to have died a natural death. The legislators, Members of Parliament of the South Sudan government have voted out prayers in the parliament. Government without God surely has a poor impact upon the people of God it has jurisdiction over. There is the possibility of anarchy where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. The Sudanese church must take the blame for not bringing God to impact upon the leaders who are in government. The church is the watchman for the leaders and the people, Ezekiel 3:17; Ezekiel 33:1-7. We are also to bring the whole counsel of God to the leaders and the people in Sudan, Matthew 28:18-20. These messages can be taken by means of the missionaries throughout Sudan. The whole church must begin to think differently if a change is to occur in the socio-political and economical status in Sudan, Matthew 7:24-27. I am of the opinion that the evangelical churches in Sudan can overcome these problems by forming themselves into societies and associations with the expressed purpose of sending out missionaries to the unreached people groups. They can minister the word of God to politicians and to the heads of governments in the Sudan, so that the fear of God may return to our nation. My view based on the scriptures sees this as an absolute means of attaining peace in Sudan. In order to start societies across the churches, church leaders must overcome their selfish attitudes. Denominational barriers must be broken. Only then may we promote the unity of all Christians with our main focus on fulfilling the Gospel commission,Ephesians 4:11-16; John 13:34-35. Therefore, the fact of sending missioners by the Sudanese Churches must be emphasised. In principle this was the way we Africans received Jesus Christ. The churches in Europe sent missionaries all over the world, including to Africa. The churches in Europe which sent missionaries out would not have received the gospel themselves if Jesus Christ did not originally send Apostles to go out across the world with the gospel. The whole church in Sudan has this present obligation to send her own missionaries to every single area of Sudan. The church must undergo preparation by theological education with an emphasis on missions. The Christian people in Sudan must have a different mindset. And then the Sudanese church should practise the targeting of her missionaries all over in Sudan. Resources the Sudanese Church can Use for Fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. In South Sudan where the most evangelical churches are situated, there are many natural resources. I believe these resources were placed here by God in order to fulfill His will on the planet by the Church worldwide. Isaac Bior and Dr. Odra, editors of the book “Resources and Conservation in South Sudan” said that “South Sudan with an area of 648,051 sq.km. (about quarter of the whole Sudan) has plenty resources in the areas of producing the best agricultural products. 68% of Sudanese Biomass forests are in South Sudan. The Sudd region of South Sudan produces gigantic fish farms. Minerals like gold, copper, zinc, lead and aluminium are available in South Sudan. There are many petroleum products in South Sudan.” Given the rich resources in South Sudan where most of the evangelical churches are, the church in South Sudan should be in the lead tapping into these resources for propagating the gospel throughout the whole Sudan. How can this be possible? The church must be business oriented in order to get the most from the resources. The church can become an implementing partner with the government for extracting of the minerals. The church should take advantage of the current global hunger by farming on large scale for commercial purposes. While doing these and similar businesses the church needs to preach the gospel and win many more people to know Christ and join His church so that more tithes may be collected – enough to support mission work. The church needs faith that can move mountains to translate much of the resources in South Sudan into their own hands for propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. The faith the church needs is both to send the missionaries and to trust God how our natural resources can be used in fulfilling the Great Commission. The Scripture confirms this, “For by Him (Jesus Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him”, Colossians 1:16 (italics mine). Therefore the natural resources of South Sudan were created by Christ and for His purpose of spreading the Gospel throughout the world. The mission of reaching the unreached people groups in Sudan is top priority when the natural resources of South Sudan are used for their right purpose. The church at this time needs to put her faith in Scriptures such as that in the book of Colossians. It is the will of Christ to carry out the Great Commission. If the resources in South Sudan are created by Christ and for Christ then we must claim them for Christ. We can use what we earn to send several missioners to all parts of Sudan. Let me give you an example of this concept of faith undertaken by my church. Our church has dozens of missionaries sent to the Nuba Mountain area in Southern Khordofan, a place in central Sudan predominantly occupied by Muslims. Also some of the missioners were sent to Raga, near the Central African Republic. These missioners and our church had no money. But we had a vision. Our trust was based on the Scriptures. Now for several years the Sudanese missionaries are planting churches and receiving constant support. The light of Christ shines on them giving them a bright future, John 1:1-16; John 17:17-18; John 20:21. I believe the money that comes from developing the resources in South Sudan is being placed where there are many evangelical churches. God’s purpose is the reaching out to all of Sudan with the gospel. Mission by the Sudanese to the Sudanese. Self-supported mission. This money from our natural resources may either be received directly or indirectly according to the plan of God. It can be received directly by the church entering into business ventures with the government as contractors or sub-contractors. The profit realised will then be used for supporting missionaries. The indirect money that will be received for God’s work may come from tithes, offerings and gifts given by members of the churches, from their wages earned working in the industries. The church must then make most of her people’s effort by trying to win as many members as possible. The church must pray for success in people’s employment and business ventures so that they can have something to give to the church – their vital part of the mission work. Therefore, let the Sudanese church not sleep but make most of the opportunities coming from the natural resources in South Sudan. Church leaders should sensitise church members about the importance of making the church and Christian business people involved players in developing the resources and using the money so made. Gone are the days when the church wrongly believed that doing business for profit was a worldly thing. Christians must be at forefront to engage in business because it is a means to work hard and earn money, Exodus 20:9; Deuteronomy 8:18; Daniel 6:3, 28; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. These are resources created by Christ and for His work. Sudanese church leaders should teach the importance of paying tithes in the church, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, and engaging in business by all biblical means, to bring money into the churches for us to fulfill our mission. Conclusion Maximum effectiveness for gospel propagation in Sudan must be made by the Sudanese ourselves. Yes! The fact that Sudan is multiracial, with close knit societies and love among themselves, can make for very effective mission among the Sudanese by the Sudanese. We have some advantages over the foreigners! The foreigners who come may learn classical Arabic which is only useful for reaching a very few elite. Colloquial Arabic language stretches widely from Southern Sudanese to Northern Sudanese ethnic groups. Therefore, it is of great value that Sudanese Christians are prepared for effective evangelism using the right language. Missionary Training Centres which teach mission in colloquial Arabic are to be preferred in South Sudan. This type of training will enable trainers and students to focus on fulfilling the Great Commission. Unlike our current Bible colleges, the courses will not emphasise becoming wonderful administrators, pastors and teachers. Our courses will impact on mission. We must prepare the Sudanese church to change her mindset from a fixed dependence on resources that come from outside for running almost all of her ministries. This attitude kills local initiatives to reach the entire Sudan. The great destruction has brought the church into crisis. After many decades of Christianity existing in Sudan 234 unreached people groups out of 254 shows the church has failed in her business. I recommend the church should take the initiative herself to become self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting. Only this initiative will return the church of Sudan to its rightful track. Lastly, the church in Sudan should take advantage of the unexploited natural resources in our country by becoming a lead agency in extracting them. Profit from business or employment can be used for propagating the gospel. The benefit can be received directly by the church entering into business deals with the government. It can also be received indirectly as church leaders encourage believers and converts to enter into business or employment to boost church income through tithes, offerings and gifts. The church treasury will support evangelism among unreached people groups all over the Sudan. It is my prayer that the whole church in Sudan will shine and obey the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will evangelise all the unreached people groups. The impact of this will bring the presence of God before all Sudanese leaders. The common people will fear God. The peace that comes from the gospel will reign in Sudan for ever and ever. Amen, Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:13-22. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. List the advantages Sudanese Christians have over foreigners in evangelising Sudan. List any disadvantages you can think of. 2. What is the main lesson to be learned from the way Islam was able to dismiss a lot of early Christianity from Sudan? Consider Scripture availability, practical discipleship, recognising truth from error, etc. 3. Why do you think many present day College syllabi are “unable to produce missionaries”? What needs to be done to change this? Consider the support benefits currently offered to a church pastor and those that could perhaps be offered to a missionary sent by a church. What happens where there is no local church to support anyone? 2 Corinthians 8 & 9. 4. Why is the mindset, “taba khenisa” “the church will pay” so terribly wrong? Who are “the church”? Discuss the words of Jesus in Acts 20:35 in relation to this. “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. This beatitude of Jesus is not recorded in the gospels, but Paul and Luke obviously knew of it. 5. What would a “Society across the denominations” to send and support indigenous missionaries look like? What would be its major challenges? How can they be overcome? 6. How does indigenous mission help bring peace to Sudan? Matthew 5:9; James 3:17-18. 7. Discuss how the church can and should be a watchman for the nation. 8. Why must “Christians be at forefront to engage in business because it is a means to work hard and earn money”? How will this help Sudan-wide mission? Acts 18:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:1-27. Are there any dangers to overcome? How?