Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Bible reading Psalm 139:1-24. I have just completed reading through the Psalms devotionally in my daily quiet time with our Lord Jesus. I read just one Psalm first thing every morning. I started in February 2019 and finished mid-August. First, I prayerfully read the due Psalm in my NIV Bible. Next I read the relevant Africa Bible Commentary section about it. Lastly I read it in ‘Words of Wisdom’, a beautifully leather bound Living Bible translation that Dr Billy Graham gave to me after ministering together in Mission England 1989. (My role was much, much, much smaller than his was!). Reading Psalm 117 was very quick, with just 2 verses. Psalm 119 with 176 verses took a lot longer. Over the weeks I enjoyed the rich devotional expressions of love for God and marvelled at His blessings on the world and on me. But I freely admit that quite a few verses in some of the Psalms are positively hard to understand when seeking to live as a sensitive and loving Christian. These are often known as ‘imprecatory psalms’, from the verb “to imprecate”, which means ‘to pray evil against’ or ‘to invoke a curse upon’ someone else or something.[1] Praying a curse In the familiar Psalm 139 verses 19-22 fit into this category. The Psalm’s beginning verses are gentle and worshipful. They include: “You have searched me, Lord … You know me … You discern what I do … You are familiar with all I do”, vs1-6. The writing progresses through a description of God as comfortingly present everywhere, vs7-12. God has a purposeful plan for each person, even from before their conception and birth, vs13-16. The writer moves on to marvel at the greatness of God’s thinking which he acknowledges is vastly superior to his own, vs 17-18. Yet through all this something is really troubling King David. Awkwardly and accusingly he unleashes his pen’s restraint : “If only You, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of You with evil intent; Your adversaries misuse Your name. Do I not hate those who hate You, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against You? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies”, vs19-22, (italics mine). I ask myself, ‘Will it ever be right for me to request God to “slay the wicked!”, that is to kill violently people who I see as against me’? Can I ever rightly ask God for vengeance on my “hated” enemies? Honestly, I find those tough questions to answer. Yet there are plenty of similar examples in the Psalms. I have listed 34 I found, in the footnote below.[2] When we are under pressure from evil people, or wicked ungodly regimes, we will understandably feel emotions rising within us. We must learn to keep those feelings under control and not be obsessed or taken over by them. Anger, hurt, pain, resentment, loss, outrage, annoyance are all deep human feelings. They can be right for us. They are part of how God has made us. They are natural for us to feel and they have a role to play in our Christian lives, but surely not a controlling role? What should I feel towards, and what should I pray for, the drunken driver who killed my mother outright in a head on car smash back in London during 1971? How ought you to respond to the soldier who set your home on fire and made you a displaced person or refugee? What is it right for you to want to happen to national or state leaders responsible for harsh corruption which has robbed you and those around you of basic human rights and a reasonable standard of living? Loving enemies while invoking God’s judgement Our Lord Jesus told us to love our enemies and to pray for our persecutors. His perfection has very high standards: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”, Matthew 5:43-48. Again read Jesus, this time in Luke: “But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you”, Luke 6:27-28. How does our Lord Jesus want us to react to what life has dealt out to us? To get balance, or, I prefer to say, to hold the proper biblical tension, we must remember that our Lord Jesus also imprecated! In warning the crowds and His disciples about some of the religious leaders, people who said one thing but lived another, Jesus repeated seven times: “Woe to you, … woe to you, … woe to you … teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! …”, Matthew 23:13,15,16,23,25,27,29. He also said: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”, Matthew 23:33, (italics mine). Again: “Jesus replied, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man will go just as it has been written about Him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born’”, Matthew 26:23-24, (italics mine). Compare Psalm 41:8-10. There is no difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. He is one and the same God. The message we learn from all of the Bible is one message. “God's moral law is immutable (unchangeable) and is everywhere the same. We must be careful never to pit Scripture against Scripture, as if to suggest that the Old Testament calls for a different, perhaps inferior, ethical response to one's enemies than does the New Testament”.[3] Every Sunday without thinking? We should consider the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. It includes the phrases: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, Matthew 6:10. This is surely to invite or request divine judgement on all other kingdoms and everybody who opposes God’s reign. The coming of our Lord’s kingdom certainly includes the vanquishing of all the King’s enemies, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12. Do you realise you probably pray an imprecatory prayer almost every Sunday in church? Self-searching under God the Holy Spirit’s guidance Returning to Psalm 139 for a moment, King David knows that he needs spiritual protection lest he “hate” God’s enemies for his own personal reasons. So David concludes with the Holy Spirit-searching prayer that God reveal his true condition to himself, to purify his motives and protect his heart: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”, Psalm 139:23-24. When David speaks of “hatred” for those who oppose God’s kingdom, vs21-22, I believe he is neither personally malicious nor bitter nor vindictive. He is not moved by self-centred resentment. Rather he most certainly is jealous for God’s name and firmly at odds with those who blaspheme God.[4] Such jealousy is a good quality for a Christian to have but brings a hard balance to hold. We must learn to keep the tension between: 1. our selfish thoughts of personal, family, tribal or national lack of forgiveness, perhaps with revenge, 2. while trusting our great God to give ultimate justice in His time – which will always be fair and true justice given at the right time. This applies whether we see people as ‘our enemies’ or as (when choosing to sound more spiritual) ‘enemies of God’. Every estranged person needs to be brought to a reasonable and fair treatment for those who have broken the acknowledged laws of their community or country. This will honour God. It is right to pray and work for justice on earth. God Himself will work with you, as long as you do it His way. Holding in tension two almost contradictory things I recently read an article online which challenged me. I share all of it with you. The author writes: “I want to explore how Scripture supports praying the imprecatory psalms in a personalised way, provided we exhibit a specific attitude. To pray for God to execute His righteous judgment upon evildoers is permissible and, in certain ways, even useful for believers. My aim here is also, in part, to provide Christians with a biblical account of the impulse we may feel to wish God’s destruction upon persecutors of our brothers and sisters in Christ”. Part of a whole truth “First, we should guard against overemphasising the place of these (imprecatory) psalms in the Christian life. The church is not undertaking the conquest of Canaan (as the Israelites were). Our mission rather is to care for souls as we take the gospel to all nations, Matthew 28:18-20. We aim to expand and feed the flock, not to eradicate anything that isn’t a sheep! That is the difference between the (Christian) gospel and (Moslem) Sharia law. Praying the imprecatory psalms can be useful when done with this caution in mind”. Jesus thought differently “Second, the Christian reader must begin by accepting these Psalm-prayers as they are, by and large the cries of God's people for vengeance after unspeakable atrocities against them as God's people, and also against those places sacred to them and to Him. The best reading will refrain from spiritualising the enemy or the petitions or the blessings, thereby diminishing the depth of the agony felt and the vehemence of the action sought. Beyond these instructive appropriations the imprecatory prayers must point the followers of Jesus beyond themselves to a loftier vision of prayer, as noted above from Luke 6:27-28, praying for, not praying against, ‘the enemy’. It is a form of prayer taught by our Master, Matthew 5:11-12, 43-48; and modelled by the earliest church, 1 Peter 2:19-25. This vision does not set aside the call for justice and vindication, but places those matters in God's hands for the eschaton, (the final event in the divine plan; in other words, the end of the world), Romans 2:1-16; Revelation 2:19-29, Revelation 18:1-24”. Let God be sovereign “Third, we must recognise God’s sovereignty in acting out His own justice on evil. To be sure, until that judgement, Jesus commands us to love our enemies, to pray for them, even to bless them, Luke 6:27-28; Romans 12:20; 1 Peter 3:9. (But He also spoke about bearing the sword and causing division in places like) Matthew 10:34-35 and Luke 12:51-53. Paul also instructed Christians: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse”, Romans 12:14, and almost immediately continued, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’, says the Lord”, Romans 12:19”, (italics mine). “In that sense, when making specific imprecation, we must always balance “Father, save the lost!” with “Father, pour out your wrath upon evil!” The contingency that holds together these two ideas properly submits to God’s sovereignty—His justice and (His) mercy—without assuming that only one of the two options will bring Him glory”.[5] I know that was a long quotation. I included it because I feel it explains well the Christian tension we must be ready to hold in this matter. It is not wrong to pray, “Father God, save the person who has done so much wrong to us”. But neither is it wrong to pray “Father God, judge evil in your holy righteous anger”. Both prayers are right, dare I say, as long as we pray both prayers together at the same time, for the same person or the same people, with our hearts ‘self-and-Holy-Spirit’ examined? It is never a good idea to pray with an uncontrolled bad temper! It is much better to pray with a sanctified and God-centred motivation that accepts God as the ‘more than able Person’ Who knows what is best for you and Who will do it. Be holy in every attitude This next Scripture was written to “All in Rome who are loved by God and called to be His holy people …”, Romans 1:7a. “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law”, Romans 13:8-10. If you don’t think you can live like that because of tremendously hurtful things that have happened to you or those whom you love deeply, remember how Paul suggested you would be able to. His greeting continues: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ”, Romans 1:7b. Receive from our Lord His ability to do what you cannot. Accept and use His grace and His peace. Some helps in our spiritual warfare Christians can train for spiritual warfare as any regular army trains to fight, both in defence and in attack. 1. Pray well In your spiritual warfare you can wrestle or struggle in prayer against “… the powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”, Ephesians 6:12. This focusses on where the real action is. 2. Patiently wait You can also be patient and sensitive in waiting for God’s perfect timing to arrive. Wait like the saints in heaven who: “called out with a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’”, Revelation 6:10. Verse 11 emphasises they were told to ‘wait a little longer’. I have an Omega watch that my father gave me for my 21st birthday, now almost 50 years ago. I lost it once, in Nairobi, when a young boy grabbed it from my wrist and ran off. He was stopped nearby by people who saw what had happened. They made him return it to me! The watch uses no batteries, nor do I have to wind it up once a day. It is an ergonomic watch which winds itself up as I move my wrist while wearing it. Now, because of its age, it does not quite do what it was designed to do. It’s a bit like me! Occasionally it stops if I take it off overnight when I’m asleep. I am learning to be patient with the watch and to treat it how it needs to be treated ‘in its older age’. (I hope people will do the same to me! ). All Christians must patiently and spiritually await God’s timing for perfect justice. He is not wearing out because God does not age with the passing of time like we humans do. We believe God will always do what He knows is the right thing to do. Here is another opportunity for you to trust Him. 3. Think about our Lord Jesus’ cross Next, keep your mind and heart on our Lord Jesus. It was our Lord Jesus Who bore the punishing vengeance that the imprecatory psalms ask for. He died paying sin’s penalty and for the sinner’s atonement. Jesus suffered in His human life for the sin of all sinners: “The imprecatory psalm leads to the cross of Jesus, and to the love of God which forgives enemies. In this way the crucified Jesus teaches us to pray the imprecatory psalms correctly”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.[6] 4. Discern carefully Paul prayed imprecatory prayers. Here are two examples: “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be accursed. Come Lord!”, 1 Corinthians 16:22, (italics mine). “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse. If anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse”, Galatians 1:8-9, (italics mine). What can we learn from these? “Accursed/curse” anathema means ‘devoted to destruction’.[7] We must not receive any so-called Christian workers who teach a different way of salvation to the true gospel. Even a slight difference could bring an entirely different final destination. Be very careful about this. Sincere people can be sincerely wrong. Eternal hell awaits false teachers and their deceived followers. 5. Keep in God’s covenant In praying imprecatory prayers we actually ask God to keep His eternal covenant promise, originally given to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”, Genesis 12:3. Christians today are the inheritors of this promise from God to bless and curse Abraham’s descendants: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”, Galatians 3:29. Christians no longer trust in ‘doing lots of good things’ for our salvation. The grace of God has saved us from that curse of sin. The perfection of Christ is ours by God’s gift, see Galatians 3:11-14, and then quietly shout ‘Hallelujah’! 6. Follow our Lord Jesus’ example Peter wrote about Jesus: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him Who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed”, 1 Peter 2:23-24, (italics mine). Truly Christian disciples are those who follow through life in all of the footsteps of Jesus. Make sure you are one every day. Discussion guide 1. Why does praying ‘imprecatory prayers’ (see the first page of this chapter) seem difficult – even wrong – for Christians? Is this good or bad? Why? 2. Can you share any circumstances when you have prayed, or at least have wanted to pray, for God’s judgement to come upon somebody or some group? 3. What do you understand by Jesus’ phrase “woe to you …” in Matthew 23:13 and following verses? The words are exactly the same in all English translations I looked at except for: “How terrible it will be for you” Good News Translation “You … are in for trouble!” Contemporary English Version “It will be bad for you” Easy to Read Version “How horrible it will be for you” God’s Word translation “I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless” The Message “What sorrow awaits you” New Living Translation Remember these are our Lord Jesus’ words. Why do you think He saying this? 4. What are some good helps in keeping a good Christian tension between a. “our selfish thoughts of personal, family, tribal or national lack of forgiveness, perhaps with revenge, b. while trusting our great God to give ultimate justice in His time – which will always be fair and true justice given at the right time”? Share as many as you are able to, using Scripture and personal experience as appropriate. 5. Is it ‘more Christian’ or ‘less Christian’ to pray either or both of these prayers?: a. “Father, save the lost!” b. “Father, pour out your wrath upon evil!” Give reasons for your answer. 6. Explain carefully how our Lord Jesus took the punishment the imprecatory prayers asked for. In what ways does understanding this help in keeping the tension of these and other prayers? 1 Peter 2:23-24. [1] www.biblegateway.com/resources/asbury-bible-commentary/Imprecatory-Psalms . [2] Other Psalms which call down curses or misfortune include: Psalm 5:10; 6:10; 7:6; 9:19- 20; 10: compare vs2&15; 17:13; 28:4; 31:17-18; 35:1,4-8,19,24-26; 40:14-15; 41:10; 54:5; 55:9&15; 56:7; 58:6-10; 59:5,11-15; 63:9-10; 68:1-2; 69:22-28; 70:2-3; 71:13; 79:6,10-12; 83:9-18; 94:1-7; 97:7; 104:35; 109:6-20,29; 119:84; 129:5-8; 137:7-9; 139:19-22; 140:8- 11; 141:10; 143:12. [3] https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-imprecatory-psalms.html [4] https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-imprecatory-psalms.html [5] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/should-we-pray-the-imprecatory-psalms/ Slightly adapted for clarity to readers whose first language is not English. Words in (brackets) are my additions. [6] Quoted by Daniel Nehrbass in Praying Curses: The Therapeutic and Preaching Value of the Imprecatory Psalms, page 42, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id [7] John MacArthur Study Bible ESV (Crossway: Wheaton, ILL) 2010, page 1712.

a practical Christian discipleship course. Introduction and Contents Many times I have wondered what it must have been like in ‘Barny’s Bible class’ at Antioch. The class began in Acts 11:22-24. The need for it arose when people tuned in to the Good News about the Lord Jesus and then turned to the Lord themselves. Barnabas saw evidence that God was at work in the lives of these people (verse 23). His task was then twofold. Firstly, he encouraged them in their new-found relationship with God, and secondly, he helped them in evangelism among the people around and about them (verses 23-24). Their class continued for more than a year. Barnabas brought in a young teacher called Saul (later Paul) and the two of them schooled the believers in Christian truth and Christlikeness (verses 25-26). As they raised the standard for Christ, so they raised the standard of Christian living. The Lord gave them great success. The people of Antioch could clearly see the difference between those in the class and those not in it. The students were so much like Jesus Christ and so taken up with His teaching that those who knew them called them ‘Christians’. This practical discipleship course has developed from material originally compiled for weekly study classes led by Brenda and Colin Salter for Redruth Baptist Church, Cornwall, England. It is offered here with the prayer that you will be able to grow in your Christian walk and witness as you follow these directions to the Lord Jesus, His word and His will. Discussion Guides. We have been offering suggestions for group discussion at the end of every section, since the 2010 edition of Raising the Standard. 1. Readers should look carefully at what the Bible passages quoted actually say. What is their simplest meaning? 2. Readers should ask what the passage meant to those people who were the original receivers of it. How does the first century context influence the meaning of the words and events? 3. Only then should readers try to apply the passage to their own lives in their twenty-first century context. Always ask 'How must I live to please God?' Placing the way we currently live our own lives alongside what God is teaching us through the Bible (God’s own word), comparing the two, and then changing our lives to be more like what we learn we should be, is a great way to progress in Christian discipleship. Please study the Bible passages referred to in the text. This book is not a substitute for the Bible, but rather a signpost to it. Discussion Guide on the Introduction (above): Read Acts 11:19-30. 1. Why do you think Jerusalem’s church leaders sent Barnabas to Antioch when they heard that so many people had become believers? 2. As a person begins the Christian life (a life to honour Jesus Christ) what kind of things may they have to learn to do or not to do? 3. What do you think Barnabas meant when he “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts”? verse 23. 4. Why was such encouragement necessary? 5. Give some suggestions as to why the Believers were called Christians in Antioch? 6. The last four verses show those new Believers in Antioch responding to a need elsewhere. In what way does becoming a real Christian influence how we use our money? CONTENTS - all 60 lessons, divided into 10 sections: The Master’s Instructions about Himself 1. God the Father 2. God the Son 3. God the Holy Spirit 4. The process of Christian growth 5. Worshipping God The Master’s Instructions about the Gospel 6. Why do we need it? 7. What is it? 8. How should we respond to it? The Master’s Instructions about the Christian Life 9. Receiving and relying upon the Holy Spirit 10. Learning to please God 11. Learning to confess sin 12. Learning in fellowship 13. Learning how to pray 14. Learning how to learn The Master’s Instructions about Everyday Life 15. Living as a Christian at home 16. Living as a Christian at work 17. Living as a Christian child 18. Living as a Christian husband and father 19. Living as a Christian wife and mother 20. Living as a single Christian 21. The Christian attitude to money 22. The Christian attitude to time 23. The Christian attitude to sickness 24. The Christian attitude to other people 25. The Christian attitude to the future 26. The Christian’s attitude to his/her own abilities 27. The Christian’s attitude to his/her own body The Master’s Instructions about Specific Christian Problems 28. How to overcome temptation 29. How to know God’s will for your life 30. How to pray 31. How to fight the spiritual battle 32. How to lead another to Jesus Christ 33. How to grow through problems - Joseph The Master’s Instructions about Christians Together 34. Born into the family of God 35. Brought up in the family of God 36. Becoming what God wants me to be in the body of Christ The Master’s Instructions about the Bible 37. The authority of God’s word 38. The value of God’s word 39. Ways of studying God’s word Mark’s ‘Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ’ 40. The place of Jesus Christ 41. The purpose of Jesus Christ 42. The prayer life of Jesus Christ 43. The miracles of Jesus Christ 44. The message of Jesus Christ 45. The man Jesus Christ 46. Jesus taught the sinfulness of man 47. Jesus taught the sufferings of the Son of Man 48. Jesus taught the resurrection 49. Jesus taught the coming of the Son of Man The Life and Ministry of Peter 50. Starting off with Jesus 51. Stepping out with Jesus 52. Seeing who Jesus is 53. Slipping back from Jesus 54. Struggling to stay with Jesus 55. Sorry, then sent by Jesus 56. Speaking out for Jesus 57. Stepping out for Jesus 58. Suffering for Jesus 59. Still learning while serving The End Matters 60. One final request directly from me to you - your personal commitment. Originally published by Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne, England 1987. Printed in Khartoum 2001 in English, reprinted 2010 with added Discussion guides. Reprinted in Juba 2018 in English. Printed in Arabic 2006, reprinted in 2008 and 2018. Printed in Dinka Padang 2007. To freely download please click the book cover here or (for the English language) at the top of the article.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan today. Mission section. by Another Friend Southern Sudan is a very large and diversified land. The vast majority of people (by some estimates upwards of 95%) are functionally illiterate. With hundreds of different tribes and languages represented, having a common unifying curriculum in one language is going to be a long time implementing. A written curriculum will reach only about the upper two percent of the population. The only practical and feasible alternative is an oral based programme that can cross all the geographical boundaries and be understandable and teachable to most of the ordinary people. It is no secret that orality and its variety of approaches, is fast catching on in the areas of the world where illiteracy is predominant in a population. A commonly used curriculum usually consists of five separate tracks: Evangelism, Discipleship, Church Planting, Spiritual Maturity and Eschatology. The tracks can vary in size, some with as many as forty two stories and some with as few as eight. To go through all five tracks should take about two years of study and practice. One of the foundational elements in this type of Biblical instruction is knowing the worldview of the people group you are trying to reach. Tribes that live in a desert environment should not be told the same stories that a tribe living alongside of a lake would be. For instance, a people group living along the shores of the Nile should quickly grasp and understand stories about Jesus walking on the water or calming the wind on the lake or “fishing” for men. At the same time a tribe from the deserts of northern Sudan, who may never have seen a large body of water, would have trouble grasping some of the aspects and concepts of those same stories. For this reason each set of stories should be uniquely put together by the researchers and leaders for that particular people group. This can be a lengthy process, but it will be extremely beneficial to that people longer term. It is common in southern Sudanese communities to tell stories around the fires in the evenings. This is one way that their rich cultural traditions are passed on from generation to generation. What a wonderful opportunity we have as Christ followers when we can join those times and share stories of truth and lif with those who are gathered. One need not be literate to pass along these stories and precepts. Women share with other women the next day around the water wells. Youth and children exchange the stories they heard while out tending the goats or cattle. And the elders share the same truths while sitting under the shade of the Lulu or Mahogany trees throughout the day. Not a written word is needed. We have even begun other oral practices, with the help of modern technology, to more rapidly spread the Good News. One such technique uses MP3 players that have an entire story set in a specific tribal dialect recorded on them. The church leaders that have these players walk around all day, or listen to them in their tukels at night. They quickly memorise the Bible stories that they will pass along during their daily ministries. Some even have small speakers that can be attached to the players to enable larger groups to listen. Another practice is using personally, and distributing to the local FM radio stations, CDs with story sets recorded on them. Stations play them over the air each day. This latter practice greatly increases the number of people hearing the Good News. Many, many families have radios which are a primary source of information gathering from the outside world. There are several groups in the south that are using oral methodologies and most are eager and willing to share their knowledge and training abilities with all who desire to use them. If you have access to the Internet you will be able to pull up a multitude of sites that can also be helpful to you in understanding the importance of orality in today’s cultures. This is not a silver bullet – not the answer to everything – but rather another strategy to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is one that is “close to home” for the majority of African cultures for whom the transmission of information is by oral methods. There is opposition to this method in some circles with cries of, “you just don’t want us educated”, or, “why are you trying to keep us down?” But I assure you that we who are ambassadors for Christ have no such intentions. We have been called by the Master to be faithful in delivering His message to all peoples of all nations, and finding out the best way to do that is our heart’s desire. There are many ways to present Christ to the nations. We must look at the most effective ways to reach the highest numbers of people while being the best stewards of time, money and opportunity that we can be. Orality must be considered as one of these ways when we look at the facts before us. The fact that Christ used mainly parables and stories to teach while He was on this planet should give us a hint as to the importance of this strategy. We must have oral strategies for reaching Sudanese. And we must use them well. Discussion guide Using this chapter: 1. Why do you think Jesus told so many parables – human stories with a deeper Christian lesson? See, for example, Matthew 6: 19-24; Matthew 13; Matthew 18:10-14. 2. How do you understand together Acts 16:14, “The Lord opened her heart to respond”, with Luke 8:10, “…to others I speak in parables, so that, though … hearing they may not understand”. Let one verse comment on the other, and vice-versa. 3. Consider a people group you know of where oral story telling would be a good idea: Which Bible stories would be especially good for them? Why? Are there any you would not use, or would need to explain very carefully first? Why? How can you ensure you get the true “Gospel of Jesus Christ” across? 4. List the advantages of speaking the Gospel to some people, compared to distributing the written Word. Are there any disadvantages? What are they? How may they be overcome? 5. Mark 12:37 says of Jesus, “The crowd listened to Him with delight”, (N.I.V.), “the common people heard Him gladly”, (K.J.V.). Think of ways you can help the common people of Sudan and South Sudan hear Jesus today.

Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. – by Colin Salter Please read with me Romans 13:1-7: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour”. Giving proper respect to God-given government, while at the same time speaking a prophetic word against some of their present practices, is a tricky balance to hold in tension. Like the way a refugee tent is kept in useful shape by strong ropes pulling in different directions, so Christians have to be spiritually wise in relation to our political expression. It is of course right for Christian believers to be involved in politics and in government, both nationally and locally. Our Lord Jesus told His disciples to be influential “salt and light” everywhere, Matthew 5:13-16. He did not exclude the sometimes ‘dirty world’ of politics. During my early visits to Sudan from 1979, I was shocked in discussion groups to discover many Evangelical Christians taught believers must not get involved! Not surprising, perhaps, that adverse tighter religious control has crept in since events like 1983/1989/1993/2011? The Bible also tells us to be involved as we regularly pray for those who “rule in authority over us”, 1 Timothy 2:2. Again notice there are no exceptions made. When this instruction was written, the world-conquering Roman Empire ruled many lands not originally their own. They badly oppressed local populations. In the Church of England here in UK, and the Episcopal Churches of Sudan/South Sudan, the ‘Prayer Book’ services include words like: “O God, in love you provide for your people by your power and rule over them: be pleased to bless your servant Elizabeth our Queen so that under her this nation may be wisely governed and your church be free to serve you in godly quietness”. “Most gracious God, we pray for the Prime Minister, members of Cabinet and Government and all elected to the Parliament and councils of this realm. Direct and prosper all their consultations to the advancement of your glory, the good of your church, and the safety, honour and welfare of all the peoples of this land; so that peace and happiness, truth and justice, faith and godliness, may be established among us for all generations; through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Amen.[1] These are good prayers to pray for all national/state leaders, whoever and wherever: Minister: God save the Queen/the President; People: and mercifully hear us when we pray to you. Minister: Endow all in government with righteousness; People: and make your chosen people joyful. “Here, in South Sudan, we use the prayer book too, but pray for the 'government' - and somebody leading the prayer can mention the president, ministers, and those in authority, instead of the Queen”. Elisama Daniel.[2] “In our Bari Prayer book, done when we were one country, we have a ‘Prayer for leaders of Sudan’. It prays for our leaders who govern Sudan, that the people would obey their rulers so that we may live in peace and love as per God’s will. It mentions all leaders of the country and refers to District Commissioners and all leaders at different levels. A recent revision in Bari refers to the leaders of South Sudan”. Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo. [3] We now pray: “Minister: O Lord, save our Rulers; People: and teach their counsellors wisdom”. Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo. Do we seriously pray for our national leaders in their work? Here are some steps. Do we believe that God the Holy Spirit can: 1. Make them aware of Who He is? At present “there is no fear of God before their eyes”, Romans 3:18. 2. Convince them of their own personal sinfulness? “there is no one righteous, not even one”, Romans 3:10. 3. Bring someone to them to speak of our Lord Jesus? “righteousness is given through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe. There is no difference between (anybody)”, Romans 3:22. 4. Draw them to Himself for personal salvation? “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood – to be received by faith”, Romans 3:25. 5. Change our country into what He wants,[4] one person after another? “to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness”, Romans 4:5. “It is God who has ordained the church and the state and their separate divisions of labour. It is not the function of the state to preach the gospel, to do evangelism, or to administer the sacraments; it is not the function of the church to wage war or to have the sword. They are different institutions with different responsibilities, but both have been ordained by God, and both are answerable to God.” “The minute a culture or a government claims independence from God, it becomes godless. It is the responsibility of the church to have a prophetic voice in the culture, to call sin “sin” whenever it arises in government or anywhere else in the public arena”.[5] (emphasis mine). Explore in your Bible: Ahab, Naboth and Elijah, 1 Kings 21:1-29, especially vs17-19. At least four kings were challenged, sometimes face to face, by Isaiah: Isaiah 1:1; 7:1-20; 20:1-6; 39:3-8 etc. Tradition records that Isaiah died as a martyr by being sawed in two at the hands of Manasseh, perhaps Hebrews 11:37? Herod was confronted by John the Baptist, Mark 6:14-29, who died as a result. Our Lord Jesus spoke of His own kingdom to Jewish religious and civic or military leaders, Matthew 21:1-17 & 23-27; 27:11-26; 8:5-13. May I challenge all South Sudanese and Sudanese Christians? to: (1) Play your part in politics (2) Pray for all God’s appointed civic and other leaders (3) Preach prophetically to big groups and to individuals, as God opens the ways for you (4) Always be ready to Pay the price asked by our Lord Jesus. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted 1. Precisely what does Romans 13:1 mean by “The authorities that exist have been established by God”? What implications does this have for those who are “subject to”, verse 1, and those who “rebel against”, verse 2, authority? Include Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17 and John 19:11 in your thinking. 2. “Do we seriously pray for our national leaders and their work”? Why? Why not? Survey the five prayer points I have suggested then add (or subtract  if you must!) some of your own. Give reasons either way. 3. From the true story of King Ahab, Naboth and Elijah, in 1 Kings 21:1-29, especially verses 17-19, are there any lessons to draw for our witness to leaders today? List opportunities and obstacles. Consider the price of both – doing something or doing nothing. [1] http://www.churchsociety.org/publications/englishprayerbook/EPB_Prayers.asp [2] From private correspondence with me, 16-31st August 2017. All three quotations. [3] Kitap Kwakwaset, (SPCK: London) c.1953. http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Bari/index.html Bari is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by about 500,000 people along the Nile River, primarily in extreme Southern Sudan but also in Uganda. It is a major language used by Anglicans in Episcopal Church of Sudan, and the diaspora. [4] Not necessarily what we want! Almighty God always knows best. [5] R.C.Sproul Acts Expositional Commentary (Crossway: Wheaton, Illinois, USA) p.259, 2010.

the prophet Malachi, 1:14(b) God Rules, O.K.? The word Malachi means ‘My messenger’ or even ‘My angel’. History has moved on from Zechariah, Haggai etc. and the Temple has been made reusable – though not in its former glory. The Israelite returnees are offering sacrifices and the Temple in Jerusalem was the heart of the system. But God’s message is that the priests and the people are keeping up the appearance of worship, but their sincerity is in doubt. Their own hearts are not in what they are doing. This is a common Bible theme. Love for God turns into lukewarmness. Revelation 3:16. Reverent respect for the Almighty God turns into ritual. Holiness is replaced by habit. God has charges, accusations to make against His people throughout Malachi: 1:2 Why do you complain that I don’t love you? 1:6 Why don’t you give Me due respect? 1:13 Why do you find it a burden to worship Me? 2:8 Why do you teach half-truths? 2:13 Why do you cry false tears in the temple? 3:1 Why do you say bad people are good? 3:5 Why do you tolerate social injustice (and blame Me (God) for it)? vs1 3:10 Why do you only give Me part of My dues? 3:14 Why are you self-centred in following Me? Perhaps the summing up of all these accusation God made against His people is in 3:7. “You have returned to Jerusalem, returned and built the temple, but why have you not returned to Me?” 1. Notice: The Greatness of God. The God of Malachi is the God Who speaks “the word to Israel”, 1:1. He is the God who chooses, 1:2, 3. His love is declared supremely in that He chooses (He elects) some people to be His. God is Almighty, 1:4, able to do everything He pleases – the frequently used title in Malachi. 1:5, “Great is the Lord – even beyond the borders of Israel.” God is the covenant God, 2:4, 5, who always keeps to what He has said. God is the Creator God, 2:10. God is the blessing God, 3:10. God is the God of the Law and of the Prophets, 4: 4, 5. Application: Oh that we Christians would think more about our God. While Muslims can recite 99 names for God and display them on wall posters, Christians hardly understand God as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - leave alone anything more! Muslims frequently say “God is great”, Many Christians don’t appear to know! Malachi’s God is also great in His wrath, 1:4, His cursing, 2:2, (including the solemn phrase “I will curse your blessings.” He is the God of judgement, 3:5. And He is unchangeable, 3:6. We dare not play with Almighty God. The phrase ‘playing with fire’ does not carry the awe-full dangers of the all-consuming fire of God. Let’s read 1:11 & 14. “‘My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to My name, because My name will be great among the nations’, says the Lord Almighty.” That puts into proper perspective statements made about Khartoum and Sudan by President and Government ministers. They make good speeches, but God’s word (not theirs) is final. “‘For I am a great king,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And My name is to be feared among the nations.’” 1:14(b). The greatness of God. Malachi brought this word to people who had lost the wonder of God. Illustration: Do you remember the third of the Ten Commandments? “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” Exodus 20:7. Most Christians I know do not swear. A few do. Most don’t. But they do so easily break this commandment! Their words may be pure … but are their works so pure? Now we will just highlight some of Malachi’s message to test our own works. (2) Take These Tests of our own works. 1. Second-best is given God. 1:7 “You place defiled food on my altar.” The Jews were to give their very best animals to sacrifice, but they didn’t. The ones that wouldn’t sell at market were given to the Lord. And the Jews had settled for the fact this was OK. People and priests concurred. Instead of being able to honestly and sincerely offer, letting their lives be shaped by submission to God’s will – their choices were based on economics, on personal tastes and benefits. God describes this as “useless fires on my altar”, 1:10. The motions of worship without the meaning. Application: God is more pleased with no worship than half-hearted worship! The half-hearts will be among those on judgement day who say: “We’ve done this, that and the other, in Your name,” and the Lord will say “but the one thing I wanted, you never gave Me. I never knew you.” Test yourself – best or second best given to God? 2. Heart set to honour God 2:2. “You have not set your heart to honour Me.” There is a comical, yet awful picture in verse 3 of God smearing the dirt from the offerings over the faces of the priests. Why would He do this? I think the answer is that this would make them unable to sacrifice. They would obviously be unclean! “But”, God is saying, “to Me they are already obviously unclean.” “You may realise it then if I smear them with dirt, but I know now that their outward actions are not supported by their inward ambitions.” “Levi” the priestly founder, 2:5 “revered Me and stood in awe of My name.” He spoke and lived the truth. But you, 2:8, are an obstacle for people following God – not an opportunity. The prophet Samuel had to learn when looking to anoint a king that while man sees only the outward appearances – God looks deeper into the hearts. Application: Test yourself. Your body is in church tonight, but where is your heart? People regard you as a fine Christian – what does God see that they do not? Even the blessings God gives can be a curse if they lull a sense of false security on eternal reward. 3. Broken faith. 3:14. As if God was your first wife, you have taken a second and divorced Him! Four times in verses 11-16 come variations on these words “do not break faith”. Illustration: 32 years ago, when I said ‘Yes’ to Brenda becoming by wife, I said in effect, ‘No’ to every other single woman in the world! And Brenda is my only wife! 40 years ago, when I said ‘Yes’ to Jesus becoming my Saviour and Lord, I said in effect, ‘No’ to any other allegiance having priority in my life! Is Jesus still my only Lord? Illustration: How easily rivals creep in! They are as persistent as the desert dust blown here in Khartoum. They must be dealt with daily to prevent them taking over. You cannot worship God and live as you like. There is wise advice in 2:16 “Guard yourself in your spirit.” Test yourself - how many promises to God have you broken? 4. Works do not back up words, 2:17. “You have wearied the Lord with your words.” There is a saying you may have heard among pastors: “Christians don’t tell lies – they sing them”! Are your songs of praise and worship Holy or Hollow, Real or Ritual, Inspired or Illicit? Beware of ‘double-speak’, (dictionary: hiding the truth, giving watchers the wrong idea) “empty, deceptive or ambiguous talk – especially by politicians (should we add, AND Christians?).” I must move on quickly. 5. You stop your own blessing. 3:8-10. You steal from God! Do you honour God with your money and possessions? 6. You wrongly blame God. 3:13. How often do we think or say ‘God has let me down’? do you say, 'I've done my part, I'm still waiting for God to do His?' 7. You are only a Christian for personal gain. 3:14. We think ‘it is not worthwhile for me to serve God here’. We move somewhere else just for a bigger salary. (3) Choose to Use A God-given opportunity. 3:7 “‘Return to me and I will return to you’, says the Lord Almighty.” Chapter 3 speaks of judgement day and therefore speaks of God’s provided Saviour. Judgement is a sign of both God’s love and His justice, 3:5. This great God is like a refiner’s fire – He will put us through the heat of a furnace to make us more holy, if we’ll let Him, 3:2. Illustration: Sudanese reminder. He is like a laundry soap – able to remove the deepest stains, if we’ll let Him. Illustration: Shirt to wash, use a machine, scrub with a board, take a boy to the bath. The objective is to get clean. 3:1 Jesus, the “Lord you are seeking will come to His temple.” Good News, a Saviour is born. 4:2 Jesus, the “sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” God News, a Son is given to save. 3:17 God is making for Himself “a treasured possession.” Something that means things are special. 3:16, Those who fear the Lord – who obey Him, who do what is right, who are different from those around – 3:17 “‘they will be Mine’ says the Lord Almighty.” The treasured possession are those God has chosen to be His! Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; 26:18. Since God has chosen you to be His, will you choose every moment of every day in every issue to be really His? Remember how great He is. Test your own works. - What do you give God, best or less? - Where is your heart set? - Have you broken faith? - Do your words accuse you? Will you take today’s opportunity to return to the Lord? He has given us the Saviour Lord Jesus! We need nothing else. We only need Jesus.. God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum International church 8th December 2002.

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. God's word written down and published. Hermeneutics is the science that teaches principles, laws and methods of interpretation. Biblical hermeneutics tries to take the student into the time, place and cultural understanding of the forty or so Bible authors. The aim is to discover the mind of God Himself and what He wants us to know and to do today. Because the Bible was written a long time ago, in a different language and culture to ours, when people had different understandings of the world, we need hermeneutics. How can we understand the Bible correctly? To be able to test what preachers and teachers are telling us, we need good methods of understanding the Bible for ourselves. To be able to preach and teach others, we must correctly explain and interpret the Bible to ourselves first. “The pulpit is not the place to ventilate our own opinions, but to unfold God’s Word”. We are all sinners and our own thoughts are badly affected (2 Corinthians 3:14-18; 2 Corinthians 4:4). Good interpreting of the Bible involves examining the text itself. Don’t just read commentaries or listen to preachers! What does the Bible actually say itself?Reading more than one translation, or in more than one language, may help here. Next, discover the meaning of the text. What did the writer want his contemporary readers to understand when it came into their hands? What is the most obvious and common sense understanding of it? What do we know from elsewhere in the Bible about the content and context of this passage? If the actual practice described is not relevant today, what principles are found there that may help us understand up to date issues? It is very important to put today’s life alongside the Bible and see what needs to be changed in our lives to make them more Christian. I call this putting God’s word into practice. Having read what the text says, then seen how it fits into to the entire Bible message, we must bring our lives into line with what God wants. We put our lives under God’s authority using the Bible like this. Cultural transposition concludes ‘this is what God was saying then, and this is how it applies today’. Interpreting the Bible in this way removes the clothing of the ancient text and dresses it with modern life, but it does not change the living text at all. We can discover and apply biblical truth, without necessarily using biblical terms. All of our Bible reading should be with the aim of meeting the eternal God whose speaking it is, in a fresh new way. The principles He has given are universal and timeless even as our practices will vary from place to place and year on year. These twelve helpful guides are good to follow when you study your Bible: 1. Prayerfully seek the help of God the Holy Spirit. 2. Generally take the words to mean their usual, everyday meaning. 3. See if the surrounding context requires a different meaning, or confirms the usual one. 4. Keep the whole of the Bible in your mind to let it guide your understanding. 5. Leave debatable issues until you have a good grasp of the essentials! 6. Remember the original readers and what it all meant to them. 7. Begin with the easier to read passages, like the Gospel stories. 8. Move from the known to the unknown, as one passage explains another. For example: discover what Acts says about Ephesus while you read Ephesians. 9. Enjoy biblical imagery. It makes the Bible sparkle. Word pictures are to make you think. 10. Be aware of differences between short term and long term prophecies. Some have been fulfilled while others have not. 11. Get the big picture first. Read whole letters or historical narratives, noting issues to return to for study later. 12. Recognise your limitations. God’s ways are beyond full finding out (Isaiah 55:8-11). None of us will ever ‘know it all’! The Bible is one book and yet it is made up of sixty-six. The Bible may be said to have one ‘Author’ over its many writers. The Bible has one theme running throughout all of its many events. Context, style, purpose, and actual words used, must all be carefully thought about while reading in a particular chapter. God the Holy Spirit can be trusted to make our study effective as we do our hard work (2 Timothy 1:6,7; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16,17). Meaningful obedience comes from applying the Bible to today. Thinking it through. (a). Why is it necessary to follow rules for reading, understanding and applying the Bible? (b). Why is it necessary to ‘get the big picture first’, and see where an individual verse, or story, or Bible book, fits into the whole Bible? (c). Discuss the twelve guidelines given towards the end of this chapter twenty-seven. Which are the most important for you at this time? Why?

The Master's Instructions about Himself, Matthew 5:43-6:34 The Bible word for ‘father’ comes from the same root as words meaning ‘one who nourishes, protects and upholds’. The secret of successful Christian living is in developing a living relationship with this living God. Every morning when you leap out of bed singing at the top of your voice, you pull back the curtains and see the glories of the new day. If the curtains were on the outside of the window you could not do anything about seeing the day. Someone outside would have to pull them back for you. We can only see God if He reveals himself to us. We cannot pull back the curtains because they are on His side of the window. We rely on the fact that He will show Himself to the person who is sincerely seeking. God is beyond our understanding. The prophet Isaiah says that the everlasting God, the Creator God, the living God, is outside the capacity of our human comprehension. The distance between God’s thoughts and our thoughts is the equivalent to the difference between everything and nothing. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways My ways,’ declares the Lord in Isaiah 55:8-9. Yet God is beckoning our understanding. Since the first command God gives us is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, then we must assume that He wants us to know Him. We cannot love Someone we do not know. Jesus told the woman at the well that the Father is seeking worshippers (John 4:23-24). Jesus also told His disciples that eternal life is knowing the only true God through Jesus Christ his Son (John 17:3). We must anticipate that God is seeking us as we seek after Him. Since it is His will that we all have eternal life, our growing in the knowledge of God is both available to us and acceptable to Him. God is eternal Genesis chapter 1 tells us about the beginning of everything except the beginning of God. God was before this world and He will be beyond it. Moses wrote in a Psalm, ‘From everlasting to everlasting You are God’ (Psalm 90:2). John wrote that God revealed Himself as the ‘Alpha and the Omega … Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty’ (Revelation 1:8). Consideration of the eternal God sets our lives into proper perspective. Our years are like the flash of a camera in relation to the sun. Yet God beckons us to understand Him! God is unchanging Everything about us changes. If you look at old photographs of yourself you may hide them in embarrassment when someone looks over your shoulder. Hopefully your wisdom has increased with your wizened looks, because then at least you can claim maturity! ‘I the Lord do not change’ (Malachi 3:6). Our feelings may change, but our Father does not. What we read about God doing in the Bible, He still does today. His intentions then are His intentions today. His attributes in the past are His attributes in the present. He beckons you to understand Him. God is holy Not only is He holy, He lives in holiness, everything He does is holy and every thought He thinks is holy. Isaiah sees Him as three times holy and Moses sang about His majestic holiness (Isaiah 6:3; Exodus 15:11). We are exhorted to ‘worship the Lord in the splendour of His holiness’ (Psalm 29:2). We are also told that ‘without holiness no-one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). Any sin in our lives is a barrier to our understanding of God. We must be willing to dismantle these barriers. God is our Father and not just a force The Old Testament shows His dealings with the family of Israel. The New Testament shows His dealings with the Christian family. As our heavenly Father He is the source of our life. He guides us; He counsels us; He disciplines us; He loves us; He commands us; He gives to us; He lives with us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about ‘your Father, Who sees what is done in secret’ (Matthew 6:6, 18). Though He is unseen, He sees us. Though we don’t know Him, He knows us. The secret life we live with our heavenly Father will be the secret of success in our Christian walk. To be children of our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:45), we must take great care of the faith in our hearts. Discussion Guide on ‘God the Father’ Read Matthew 5:43 to 6:34. 1. Share every statement about God the Father – at least 14, some duplication – you can discover in this Bible reading. Perhaps you can make two lists: What is the Father like? … What does He do? 2. “The secret of successful Christian living is in developing a living relationship with this living God”. If you have had a good relationship with your human father, share what made it good? Share things which helped the relationship develop. Discuss if, and how, these may apply to your new relationship with God. 3. In John 4:23-24 Jesus expresses that the Father is looking out for people who will worship Him in the right way. Since Jesus also said that the greatest commandment ever given urges individuals to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” (Mark 12:30), describe – from both passages – the qualities you would expect to see in a Christian’s relationship with God. When my wife Brenda used to teach these classes she developed a simple phrase, in just a few words, that pointed towards how we should learn to view our Father God in heaven: “Unchanging and infinite is holy Father”. 4. Look up these verses for each of the key words. It is a good idea to use your own Bible if you have one. You will get to know your way around it given a bit of time. If you are in a group, some of you look up some passages while others look up others: God the Father is Unchanging – Psalm 33:11 Malachi 3:6 Hebrews 6:17 James 1:17 God the Father is Infinite – Job 11:7-9 Psalm 90:2 Genesis 1:1 Psalm 139:7-10 Jeremiah 23:23-24 Job 42:2 Matthew 19:26 Luke 1:37 God the Father Is – Psalm 115:3 Isaiah 40:18-28 John 5:26 Acts 17:24-25 Romans 11:34 Revelation 4:11 Isaiah 66:1-2 2 Timothy 2:13 God the Father is Holy – Exodus 15:11 Isaiah 6:3 Isaiah 57:15 Habakkuk 1:13 Revelation 4:8 God the Father is Father – Malachi 2:10 Ephesians 4:6 John 14, many verses! Matthew 5:43-6:34, many verses! Because God is unchanging I can have confidence in Him. Because He is infinite I am in awe and wonder. Because God IS I am never alone. Because God is Holy I must be careful in my own life. Because God is Father I have my security in Him. Why not finish your own sentence? “Because God the Father is … I am…”

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Bible reading Titus 2:11-14. We are going to end this book right back where we started, in Titus 2:11-14. We’ll read it in a moment. First, let me say I am using the script of a sermon I was honoured to preach at Khartoum International church on 19th December 1999. Brenda and I were concluding our first six weeks of residential service with KIC. It was almost Christmas time: “At Christmas time many people make plans. Some from our congregation are at home, travelling to be with family. Some friends will meet next Saturday, Christmas day, for food, may be eating a traditional Christmas meal together (whatever their tradition was). Most churches have special programmes enabling Christians to have fun together celebrating the mighty miracle of Christmas. In the original Christian Christmas Joseph and Mary journeyed to their ancestral home for a census ordered by the government. The plans for the birth of their child did not work out however. Jesus was born in a rented or borrowed stable with no special cot or cradle, just a trough or box usually used for animal feed. Our plans are not always God’s plans, but God’s plans are always the best ones. The sign God gave to authenticate His own message of good news was apparently insignificant. No thunder and lightning. No earthquake. No sky-writing. Not even a golden halo around the baby’s head in the manger. Just one Baby born. He was the sign. John 1:1, “(God) The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”. By coming from the highest glory in heaven to be born a man among the lowliest conditions on earth, God showed just how much He loves us. What was His purpose? Read Titus 2:11-14 because it gives an answer which we will look at together for a few moments. “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that (who) are His very own, eager to do what is good”. Notice the planning of God: (a) He acts in human history, verse 11, bringing Himself to intervene. God came to us because we could never get to Him. (b) He saves. No one and nothing else could do so. (My older 1985 NIV translates verse 11 as “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men”). We don’t deserve it, merit it or earn it. God’s grace offers us the chance to be saved from sin and to live in a friendly relationship with God Himself. (c) He shows or reveals what He is doing. “Appeared to”. While God can always be seen in the natural world around us, here He moved into a position where we humans could readily see and begin to understand Him. All God’s promises recorded in the Old Testament were being fulfilled in this Person in the manger. Christians don’t only have a book, we have a Saviour. The word “appeared” is the same root word as Epiphany. It means here a “visible appearance of something or someone until now invisible, a coming into view of what has been previously concealed”.[1] Like the morning sunrise. Like an enemy emerging from hiding to ambush you. Like a mother running into a yard to rescue a child from a wildly barking dog, so is God showing Himself involved. Involved in the lives of common people like Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. God involved with educated scientists like the wise men. God involved with royalty like Herod. God involved with every man and woman in the whole human race, Luke 2:10,14. God acts. God saves. God reveals. This was and is His purpose. Titus 2:12-14 explain God’s purpose for this intervention in our own lives. Let’s make sure this Christmas time – and always – our lives match up to God’s purpose. 1. God purpose a disciplined life for us “It (God’s grace personified in Jesus) teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions and (to say ‘Yes’) to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”, verse 12, (italics mine). If you discover, when you reflect on your life this past week, that you have blown your top in worldly anger when someone lets you down; or that you have allowed thoughts of envy when someone has something you don’t have; or when you have caught yourself being un-Christlike in any action or attitude, if you discover any things like this, then God’s purpose for Christmas is not being fulfilled. If you ignore God’s grace personified in Jesus and do not let Him bring discipline into your life, then you can enjoy as many Christmas parties and dinners and carol concerts as you like – God will not be having a ‘happy Christmas’ with you. His grace teaches us to be always discerning, choosing right from wrong and living the right way. 2. God purposes a directed life for us “(We live this way) while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing (Epiphany) of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ”, verse 13 (italics mine). Notice this title of our Lord Jesus Christ. The “Megas Theos”. The great God. This challenges another view that we hear expressed at least five times a day all around us here in this Muslim capital city. This verse gives us a clear declaration of the Deity of Jesus the Christ. He is God far greater than any other god. We live 100% for Jesus on this earth, but remember we won’t live 100% on this earth. Christians will share in God’s glorious heaven. We are only temporarily here. We are waiting for something much better. Do we live with our eyes on the dust of the Sahara, or on the broken furniture and fittings, or on the unkept promises? Or do we live with our eyes on the glory of heaven where termites don’t eat anything, where water, along with everything else, is absolutely pure, and from where our gracious Saviour Jesus is getting ready to leave to come here once again and give us a lift to our real home? Christmas is an Epiphany of grace. The second coming of Jesus will be an Epiphany of glory. “He Who appeared briefly on the stage of history, and disappeared, will one day reappear. He appeared in grace; He will reappear in glory”.[2] Where are you looking in life? Where is your focus? Don’t let your ministry take your eyes away from your Master. Make eternal life govern your daily life and not the other way around. 3. God purposes a ‘doing’ life “Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good”, verse 14. God’s will for each one of us is a life dedicated to Him in everything, in every moment, every day. Jesus came through the cradle to the cross. There He purchased us, “redeemed us” , to purify us, and to possess us, “to make us His very own”. The last part of verse 14 tells us why. God wants to do good through us. Good works will never save us, but the absence of good works shows that we are not yet saved! Paul writes using Old Testament words to show how God has always been planning and doing this: “Jesus Christ gave Himself”, the Old Testament system of sacrifice and the Passover. “To redeem us”, the Old Testament Exodus from Egyptian bondage. “To make us His very own”, the Old Testament Covenant at Mount Sinai. Jesus Christ is our Passover. Jesus Christ is our Exodus. Jesus Christ is our Covenant.[3] So, how do we live in order to fulfil God’s purpose in that first Christmas? “The best way to live now, in this present age, is to learn to do spiritually what is physically impossible, namely to look in opposite directions at the same time”.[4] Look back on an Epiphany of grace. Look forward to an Epiphany of glory. Don’t hold on to anything, remembering Jesus Christ left everything and made Himself nothing, for you. Focus your purpose (you, not only your ministry) on Jesus Christ, the Word Who became flesh. Love Him. Live for Him. Not just one day a year but 365 days a year in every decade, or even millennium, until whenever our Lord Jesus returns. The sign of God at work today is much the same as it was at that first Christmas: the life of the Lord Jesus presented in common ordinary surroundings. That is great witnessing. May your life be one that radiates your Lord Jesus. May God help us all to humbly join His purposes from this day onwards. Amen”. Discussion guide 1. Explain why John Stott views our Lord’s initial coming to earth as an ‘epiphany of grace’, very different from Jesus’ second coming which Stott says will be an ‘epiphany of glory’. Share some of the differences between this ‘grace’ and this ‘glory’. How do they impact on our daily lives? 2. Paul describes Christians as “a people that (who? ) are God’s very own, eager to do what is good”, Titus 2:14. a). What does the word ‘eager’ mean? b). What are some of the ‘good things’ we must do? c). Does your life display this? How? 3. Describe ways in which the triune God helps Christians to join in with His purpose for living. Look at our reading, plus Titus 3:1-8, especially. 4. What life lessons do you draw from the three Old Testament pictures to which John Stott refers? Jesus Christ is our Passover. Jesus Christ is our Exodus. Jesus Christ is our Covenant. 5. Share thoughts to help us living “the life of the Lord Jesus … in (our) common ordinary surroundings”. [1] John Stott The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus (BST IVP: Leicester) 1996, p.192. [2] John Stott The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus (BST IVP: Leicester) 1996, p.194. [3] John Stott The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus (BST IVP: Leicester) 1996, p.195. [4] John Stott The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus (BST IVP: Leicester) 1996, p.196.

Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. – by David Mamush Jangjuol I am really excited about God’s mission in relation to His sovereignty and human salvation. One of the great doctrines of the Bible is the sovereignty of God. It is evident throughout scripture. God has absolute authority and power over His creation. He can do anything He desires to do. Kane points out that “God is creator and sustainer of all things; He is absolutely supreme and orders all things according to His liking”.[1] All creation is subject to His plan and purpose. Revelation chapters four and five provide a picture of the ultimate worth of God as well as the ultimate purpose of creation. The apostle John reveals the purpose for creation is to honour and magnify the Creator. Man was made in the likeness and image of God, Genesis 1:26. Being made in the likeness of God means humankind shares similar characteristics or attributes with God, such as love and holiness. The nature of God explains His mission to bring all things into harmony. He desires love, peace and unity in His Kingdom, just as we do in our world. May our leadership and nation-building fit well alongside God’s plan. God’s nature also explains why He determines to save mankind instead of allowing the tragedy of sin to run its course to eternal destruction for all people. God is the only eternal Being in existence, with His nature revealed in scripture as being holy, loving, just, and the loving grace of God is immediately recognised when He is seen creating all things. His holiness, love and justice are also observed in the redemption and restoration of fallen creation. Hence, the mission of God had its origin in God’s efforts to provide humankind with eternal life in His Kingdom. His sovereignty is seen in three of His divine activities: Creation, Revelation 4:11 Redemption, Ephesians 1:5-9 Judgement, Revelation 15:3-4 and Romans 9:18-23. Everything God does He does according to His own plan and purpose, on His own initiative, by His own power, for His own glory. No human leader should work for his own glory. Regrettably, too many do. Only God Almighty can do so because He alone is worthy of all the praise and the glory creation can offer Him. This chapter discusses the concept of God’s mission in relation to His sovereignty and salvation. And we will seek to discover how our leadership of nation or church can dovetail into it positively. The thesis is that for humanity’s reign on the earth God has purposely extended His mission and demonstrated His love to save man, thus restoring mankind to his proper and original position in God’s Kingdom. Ultimately, the mission of God and His own sovereignty finds its fulfillment in man’s worship and service to God in His Kingdom. Do you lead by worship of and service to Almighty God? God is the Supreme Ruler over this universe He created. His plan affects every detail of creation. This plan is eternal and unique. He has wisely chosen a plan in which all details will be seen to finally work together to bring about the greatest good for His personal glorification. Since God is the absolute truth, goodness and love, His plan reflects His own being and nature. Nevertheless, God carried out His all-inclusive plan by a variety of means. His vivid mission from both Old and New Testaments is unquestionable. Charles Van Engen says that “God’s mission works primarily through the people of God intentionally crossing barriers from church to non-church, from faith to non-faith, to proclaim by word of mouth and by every deed the coming of the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ. Through the church’s participation in God’s mission of reconciling people to God, to themselves, to all other people in the world, and by gathering those who will into the Christian church through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit, it is hoped to transform the world as a sign of coming of the Kingdom in Jesus Christ”.[2] Reconciliation and harmony among all the people we are responsible for are excellent ways to be working with God, rather than against Him. God called Abram to pursue His mission, Genesis 12:1-8 “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to land I will show you’”, Genesis 12:1-3. Abram’s election (selection) and God’s covenant with him represent the first expression of God’s redemptive concern for all nations. As a result, Abram should be regarded as “the pioneer in mission”, the spiritual forefather of the people of God scattered throughout all races of humankind.[3] Abram’s call is the beginning of a partnership between God and humanity in mission, as He reveals His saving grace through His own acts. Peters states that “God is not localised in His interests and activities; He is God of nations”.[4] God’s plan for man is to live in peace, to love another and to pursue His mission to reach the entire world for the gospel of Christ. We do well to remember it is only what God does through us that will count for anything in the end. All other results from our national or church leadership will be burned as wood, hay and stubble, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. Abram was chosen by God for a specific purpose It was God’s choice to elect Abram with a view to eventually making a covenant with him (Abraham) to become “a father of many nations”, Genesis 17:5-6. This dual act, election and covenant, can be comprehended only in terms of God’s election love and covenant love.[5] Abram was chosen sovereignly by God for the legal purpose of exemplifying and proclaiming the mission of God to the Gentiles. Genesis 12 begins with the living God, later known as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, Exodus 3:6,15-16, etc., acting in sovereign freedom and calling Abram with Sarai his wife to leave Ur of the Chaldeans, Acts 7:2-4. God called in grace and promised His blessings to Abraham and all of his people. Abraham’s blessings Genesis 12:1-3 reveals how God would bless Abraham in a three-fold manner: Abraham would father a great nation he would be personally blessed he would possess a great name. The purpose of this blessing was that Abraham would become a blessing to the Gentiles. This text serves as the primary mission text for the remainder of biblical revelation. The salvation of the nations was God’s ultimate motivation in making Abraham’s name great and being the God of Abraham’s innumerable progeny. This universal purpose totally dominates the covenant. God stresses in various ways His promise of hope for the nations of the world.[6]“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘all nations will be blessed through you’”, Galatians 3:8. What a privilege to be used by God to bring God’s blessing to a multitude of people, a privilege all of us who lead nation, community or church should pray to God for. Physical descendants of Abraham Abraham and his physical descendants were not singled out exclusively to receive eternal life. God began to show how He would elevate one group of people to carry out His plan of redemption and restoration, which would include many others. Although the focus of Genesis 12-50 is primarily on Abraham and only secondarily on Joseph, (the descendant who brought deliverance from famine and corresponding social distress to Egypt, the greatest nation of the ancient world), we see anticipatory fulfillment of the promise of Abraham’s seed blessing the nations.[7] Abraham was chosen for the specific purpose of furthering God’s initiative to reclaim that which had been lost so soon after the creation. God’s sovereignty and mission to the people of Israel The mission of God involves the encounter between the people of God and the rest of the nations, as it unfolds through human history. The Exodus is a prime example of God’s mission working through Israel among the nations. In the case of Egypt, God is working amid the principal political power of the region. Repeatedly God, speaking though Moses, explains His intention: that Pharaoh in Egypt and the surrounding nations “will know that I am the Lord”, Exodus 7:5, 17; 9:14-16. In this passage, God delivered the nation of Israel from Egyptian captivity, with His specific purpose that they could serve and worship God in their own territory. It was God’s will that all the people on earth know Him through Israel and for all earth to be “filled with the glory of the Lord”, Numbers 14:21, Psalm 72:19; Habakkuk 2:14. Here, the sovereignty of God is based on three outstanding attributes, which in their fullness belong to only to God: His almighty power, Isaiah 40:12-31 His perfect wisdom, Romans 11:33-36 His intrinsic goodness, Psalm 145:17. All three of these great attributes are essential to the concept of sovereignty. God delivered the nation of Israel To enjoy the benefits of their majestic calling, Israel was required to obey the Lord. Through their obedience God’s plan to fill the earth with His glory would be accomplished. The key to their obedience was their faith. They were to believe God, trusting in His ability to give them victory while providing for their needs. Further, they were to live according to God’s standards, in that respect being separated from the Gentiles. Surely this is a reminder to today’s leaders? We must honour and obey the Lord in all we do publicly and privately. The sovereignty of God upon Moses The Hebrews began to cry to God for deliverance. God graciously raised up Moses to be their liberator. After a period of ever-heightening confrontation with Pharaoh, God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. I take the record of this historical sequence at face value. In this case, God worked miraculously to care for the people of Israel and delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. God passed on His mission to deal with the people of Israel as His chosen people and continues working up to the present day through Jesus Christ and the people of the Christian Church who respect and cooperate with His sovereignty. In our leadership roles today, political or pastoral, we must take great care to serve with the sovereign God. If His hand is not upon us we will find ourselves fighting against God – and we will certainly lose that struggle in the end. The role of worship God’s missionary purpose for the nation of Israel is made very evident through the Old Testament. They were to serve God by becoming a “light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth”, Isaiah 49:6. All nations will worship and praise the Almighty. The Psalmist proclaimed, “so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations”, Psalm 67:2. God’s plan was that when the nations saw the blessing of God on Israel, the people would come to believe in the God of Israel and be saved. The sending of Jonah to Nineveh makes known the will of God for Israel’s evangelisation of other nations, Jonah 1:1-2; 3:1-10. When Solomon’s temple was built, it was not exclusive to Israel. Rather, it was to be a house of prayer for the nations, 1 Kings 8:41-43. Malachi envisions the Gentiles and Israel living together in peace. The whole earth was to be engaged in the worship of the God of Israel, Malachi 1:11. The message of the Old Testament is a longing for the redemption and restoration of the entire earth through God’s chosen people. It is certainly an honour to be called to lead under Almighty God. But remember, He is always ‘the boss’! The Lord’s chosen servant to His people and a light for Gentiles Isaiah 42:1-11 God’s plan for all people in the scripture should be encouraged more in mission today. Isaiah’s declaration of the worldwide mission is central among the prophets. The message of this prophet and the others was unfinishable; God the Eternal One is the God of all nations. Everyone will be judged with righteousness and justice. The need for salvation and the call for repentance with the offer of forgiveness are universal. The Messiah must suffer for all and, after His resurrection, this message must be proclaimed in the whole earth, starting in Jerusalem to all the ends of the world. Christian mission is part of God’s sovereign activity in the realm of redemption. Kane said, “From first to last the Christian mission is God’s mission, not man’s. It originates from the heart of God. It is based on the love of God. It is determined by the will of God. Its mandate was enunciated by the Son of God. Its rationale is explained in the Word of God. For ultimate success, it is dependent on the power of God”.[8] At first sight it looks as if Isaiah was a volunteer, for he said, “Here am I, send me”, Isaiah 6:8. A closer look at the beginning of the verse reveals that he was in fact simply responding to God’s call, “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”. Jesus made it very plain: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last”, John 15:16. If you know you are serving where God has placed you, work humbly with Him to serve all people in His creation. God universality in His dealings John 4:13-26 In the Gospel of John, Jesus is described as the bearer of the Spirit and as the One in whose name the Father will send the Spirit, John 3:34-35; 14:26; 15:26. This has tremendous implications when we seek to understand the universalisation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God on the day of Pentecost. One recalls Jesus’ pre-Pentecost words to the Samaritan woman at the well. She wanted to know where to worship God, whether in Jerusalem or on Mount Gerizim, John 4:20. In response, Jesus affirmed what Pentecost provided, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem … when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in Spirit and in truth”, John 4:21-24. How did the woman understand these words? Was Jesus only saying a new day was coming when geography would be of no significance? Jesus’ use of the word ‘Spirit’ spoke to her. She was uninformed. Jesus was more than the Messiah and His representation of the vital nature of God. He Himself was the God of creation and re-creation. She knew that the Messiah at His coming would bring newness of life to His disobedient peoples. Furthermore now, those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. This would mean their submission to God’s active presence in their own hearts in a way that is consistent with God’s covenant. Glasser wrote, “Worship must come from the heart. All formal worship, if devoid of heart involvement, is never acceptable”.[9] We serve in our leadership by worshipping God. We love Him with 100% of everything. Others ought to be able to see Jesus in us and in what we do. The mission of God is cross cultural and universal in nature, transcending all the racial and geographical barriers. It destroys, breaking the barrier walls of hostility, for example, the cultural differences between Jews and Samaritans, John 4. During the common task of getting drinking water this woman sees God’s mission accomplished. She perceives Jesus as the true Prophet and receives her salvation. She went out with joy, witnessing to the whole village about what Jesus had told her. Everybody was amazed with the wonderful news. This is the mission of God. The ministry of Jesus was very simple to the Samaritan woman, but the results were so powerful. His message changed her entire life. As I have seen, God can work through us in different ways as we witness to our relatives as well as to the outsiders. To carry out God’s message does not need academic qualification. It is for every believer, in whatever role, to surrender our hearts to the Lord for the sake of His Kingdom, to take up our crosses and to go out among unreached people groups, ministering to them as commanded by our Lord Jesus, “go and make disciples of all nations”, Matthew 28:19. The birth of the Church at Pentecost Acts 2:1-15 On the day of Pentecost people came from different places and gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. This day was evidenced by the new-birth of new people whom we refer to as ‘the Church’. While they were praying the Holy Spirit came and all were filled with power and the Holy Ghost. They spoke different languages but had now become one people, born again by the Spirit of God. All barriers were broken down, such as religion, social, economic and even geographical. These people soon went out preaching Jesus to the whole world. Glasser said, “The various statements of the Great Commission underscore in a dynamic way the massive priority mission has over all other activities of the Spirit, even the formation of the Church”.[10] Peter’s proclamation when he “stood up with the Eleven”, Acts 2:14, was the first expression of Christian obedience to the task of mission.[11] Indeed, “The first cry of the new-born Church was the proclamation that Jesus is the Lord of heaven and the earth, as well as the Messiah of the Jews”.[12] The Holy Spirit links both Old and New Testaments in this the mission of God. We also see prophecy has been fulfilled regarding the mission as it came from the prophet Joel who wrote, “And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people”, Joel 2:28. Peter used the keys of the Kingdom to inaugurate the beginning of the new day of salvation. Men and women, young and old, could now become new creatures in Christ, Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:26-28. These groups of people could participate in the worldwide mission of the Christian Church. So then, Pentecost makes the initial fulfillment of the prophetic vision of the uplifted Temple in heavenly Zion. The difference that Pentecost made to mission is that the Holy Spirit made possible solid obedience to Jesus’ command to go out and witness. Witnessing was to be the very nature of the Church. What was external became an internal part consuming the disciples. Because of Pentecost, God’s command to go out and witness to what He has done in Jesus Christ became very much like the cultural mandate of the New Testament Church. The Holy Spirit and mission Pentecost created a new race of people where the new ‘law’ was to ‘go forth and multiply’, this time to create spiritual children who worship the same Lord and Christ as their parents do. The Spirit of Pentecost creates missionaries of everyone who is lived in by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of Pentecost burns and purifies individuals so that we might be transformed into people who reflect accurately the love of God to this world. The Spirit of Pentecost, who is the witnessing Spirit, is always desiring to witness to the world of what Christ has done. He moves the children of God into the world so that through His power they might tell others about Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of the Father in glory and power. Pentecost happened so that the mission of God to this world might go on, that the disciples of Jesus Christ might do even greater things than He did, that they might bring the reality of His salvation to the whole world. God’s plan for both Jews and Gentiles Ephesians 3:1-10 In this passage God’s plan for the entire Christian world, Jews and Gentiles, is to proclaim the mission of God to all unreached groups. Upon the reception of the Holy Spirit’s purity and power they were to take the message to the world. They were to be missionaries, not for Jewish culture, but to proclaim the good news of God’s mission of saving and restoring people from sin and despair. They were to make disciples of all nations by teaching the Christian doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ as He had commanded them, Matthew 28:18-20. The eleven apostles were successful at taking the gospel to the Jews, especially in Jerusalem, but it appears they were not as focussed on the Gentiles. Their lack of focus was most likely due to their Jewish cultural barriers, see Acts 10. In the plan and wisdom of God the apostle Paul was chosen for cross-cultural mission outside Israel to the Gentiles, to unite Jews and Gentiles by the gospel of Jesus. Paul did not allow cultural or ethnic differences to hinder the mission of God. He became “all things to all people”, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, to see Jews and Gentiles saved. He conveyed the role of the Gentiles in the dispensation of the grace of God. Paul acknowledged God in the prison. He stated that, (permit my paraphrases), ‘Christ Jesus made me a prisoner, so that I could help you Gentiles’, Ephesians 3:1. In the same way Paul mentioned that ‘God has treated me with kindness. His power worked in me and it became my job to spread the good news’, Ephesians 3:2-7. In Ephesus Paul found “a wide door for effective work.” He also discovered that there were “many adversaries”, 1 Corinthians 16:9. The one often accompanies the other. Paul had a very turbulent career. In nearly every city his preaching precipitated a citywide riot. Time and again he barely escaped with his life. Sometimes he was told to remain where he was despite danger, as in the city of Corinth, Acts 18:9-10. At other times he was told to flee, as was the case in Jerusalem, Acts 22:17-18. But whether he stayed or escaped was inconsequential. His chief concern was to preach Jesus Christ. He never allowed circumstances, good or bad, to determine his course of action. He got his guidance from God. Once he received the green light, he pressed forward without hesitation, knowing that God would hold Himself responsible for all the consequences that flowed from his obedience. Paul realised that safety and security are no guarantee of success. He also recognised that difficulty and danger do not necessarily spell disaster. Application for current mission work Human reasoning and logic would say that if God is truly sovereign over all His creation, the human creatures He created have no opportunity to make individual choices. And if they have a free will that can make personal choices, then God cannot be sovereign, because anything He does not control negates His being sovereign. But Scripture emphasises both the sovereignty of God and the free will of humankind. So instead of judging by human reasoning that both facts cannot coexist, we must honour the integrity of God’s Word, accept it and explain to the best of our limited human reason how both truths can be valid. Over against these statements of God’s sovereignty, we have the Genesis account of God’s earliest interaction with human beings. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, He did not excuse them by saying it was His fault they had disobeyed. He laid the full penalty of the sin of disobedience on them, although at the same time He gave them a promise of salvation and escape from the penalty of their disobedience. In addition to this example of humankind’s responsibility, we also have the direct statement of scripture: “The one who sins is the one who will die”, Ezekiel 18:4, 20. Joshua’s challenge to the Israelites is a challenge for today: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve”, Joshua 24:15. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”, Romans 6:23. God does not force individuals to sin. Yet He has ordained a penalty for voluntary sin, a penalty which must be paid. Every call to repentance in Scripture is an indication that God has given to humankind a free will. In the service God has given us we can choose right or wrong, and we will be responsible before God for our choice. Politicians, civic or church officials, may fear the electorate when their post comes up for renewal. Let me tell you, fearing Almighty God and His judgement is far more serious for you and yet far healthier too. In these passages God reveals Himself to mankind in a unique way. It was God’s intention that man should live in conformity to the law of God and work in harmony with the purpose of God. He took man into partnership with Himself and made him His representative on earth. God wanted His people to share things together and visit each other in home fellowship beyond race, culture and Christian denominations, as we have seen in the Acts of the Apostles. As we participate and share in the body of Christ, people will have different gifts as the scripture says. Some will see visions or dreams. The Holy Spirit will enable the church with the gifts like ministerial gifts and gifts of service. According to Ephesians 4:11-16, these are to equip and grow the church into maturity. Thus, the Holy Spirit allows the Church to engage in mission. Our local church, in collaboration with other Christian organisations, carried out church planting missions to unreached people groups. We lived in a predominantly Muslim country at that time. Missionaries have a special calling and usually expand their witness beyond the general locality of their churches. Their work usually involves travelling to an unreached region to proclaim the good news, set up churches and further preach the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom. The leaders of the churches along with the laity are to support the endeavour of its missionaries. All members of the church are to be unified and working for the Lord in all they do, Colossians 3:23-24. Each has his or her own God-given gift(s) and all are critical for a unified, efficient, missionary effort. The Church is charged with taking the good news of the grace of our Lord Jesus and the incoming of His kingdom to all people. It is also charged with perpetuating itself, using appropriate structures and leadership. As believers mature in the local congregations, missionaries are sent from them and new churches/congregations are established wherever they go. The mission of God will continue, looking forward to the coming Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven. Summary and Conclusion In considering ‘Leadership, Integrity and Nation-building’ all Christian believers must keep in mind God’s mission: to bring about harmony to His world and His Kingdom. His mission continues to progress. The Church currently proclaims the good news of salvation with a view to seeing the coming of God’s Kingdom. In the non-church world Christians can take their stand by living according to the discipleship requirements of our Lord Jesus Christ. One day the grand petition in our Lord’s taught prayer will become reality: “Your Kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, Matthew 6:10. This golden age is eagerly anticipated by all of creation. It is for this purpose God is working through the Church – His people in every sphere – to bring heaven to earth and so restore what was lost from the time in creation when Adam fell. At that glorious restoration humankind will worship and serve the Creator as co-rulers in His Kingdom. May it be soon, Lord Jesus. Please! Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted “No human leader should work for his own glory … Only God Almighty can do so because He alone is worthy of all the praise and the glory creation can offer Him”. Why is it wrong for any person to work for their own glory? How can it be right for God to seek His own glory? Is God horribly proud? Why? Why not? “Reconciliation and harmony among all the people we are responsible for are excellent ways to be working with God, rather than against Him”. Explain this statement. Consider Genesis 12:3b; Genesis 17:1-7; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:7-8. What is God’s ultimate objective? What is the significance of the repeated phrase “and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord” as He worked among them for the Israelite? See Exodus 7:5; 7:17; 9:14-16. Who is witnessing to whom? And through whom? And about what? How does this apply today? How do you understand “worship (God) in the Spirit and in truth”? John 4:24. Why does the phrase “… salvation is from the Jews” expand, and yet specify, this “worship” both at the same time? John 4:22, 24. How is Christianity all-encompassing and yet concurrently exclusive? John 14:6. With all we have seen so far in mind, answer the question of Acts 2:12, “What does this mean”? Why did God ensure so many different peoples had gathered for Pentecost in Jerusalem? Did He want anything from it? What is the lesson for us? Include other stories from Acts in your answer. “In considering ‘Leadership, Integrity and Nation-building’ all Christian believers must keep in mind God’s mission: to bring about harmony to His world and His Kingdom”. Why? Why not? How? Think about another of David’s phrases, “Pentecost created a new race of people where the new ‘law’ was to ‘go forth and multiply’, this time to create spiritual children who worship the same Lord and Christ as their parents do”. From Genesis 1:27-28; 2:15-17 and 2:21-25, draw parallels between what Adam and Eve were to do in their time and what we are to do in ours. Keep in mind we must work with God in what He is doing. [1] Herbert J. Kane Understanding Christian Missions (Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, MI) 1986, p.86. [2] Redford B. Shawn. Biblical Theology of Mission unpublished lecture note: Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya 2012. Slightly amended. [3] Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.57. [4] George W. Peters A Biblical Theology of Missions (Moody Press: Chicago IL) 1972, p.108. [5] Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.58. [6] Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.59. [7]Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.67. [8] Herbert J. Kane Understanding Christian Missions (Baker Book House: Grand Rapids MI) 1986, p.87. [9] Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.260. [10]Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.262. [11] I accept, perhaps the second, if you include waiting in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come, Acts 1:4; 2:1-2. [12]Arthur F. Glasser Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible (Baker Academics: Grand Rapids, MI) 2003, p.262. Quoting Krauss with reference to Acts 2.

Micah 5:2-5 and various other of God's prophets. God Rules, O.K.? The Old Testament prophets were men raised up to call people back to God and living His way. The people of God were constantly falling down on their calling and their promises. God sent prophets as reminders. The people abused the sacrifices. The offering of animals was God’s provision for lapses in obedience. The people used them as substitutes for disobedience. Illustration: I take Diabetic medicine! Some people say who do say, ‘I’m on the medicine, I can eat what I like.’ Others, like me, say, ‘I must be careful what I eat and then the medicine will provide what my body cannot do for itself.’ Less than 2% of prophecy is messianic. Less than 1% describes events still to come. Prophets usually announced immediately future happenings rather than long term future. Their message was always the same – and it is appropriate for us for the end of 2002 and the start of 2003: ‘God rules in history. He calls men and women to repentance. Side with God – and you’ll always be on the right side’. Illustration: My rugby team in UK and my soccer team – both bottom places and in danger of relegation. Often crowds of supporters’ drift away to other teams in tough times! Only the true supporters stay loyal!! Side with God and you’ll always be on the right side. Illustration: Let’s imagine every missionary visa in Sudan was suddenly cancelled. All churches closed. A fundamentalist Islamic government like in Saudi Arabia prohibited Christian worship. The Bibles were banned – confiscated and burned. Popular Christian leaders were imprisoned or killed. The only church in Sudan was an underground church surviving while undiscovered. Only the true supporters of Christ would stay loyal. But, sided with God – they would ultimately be on the right side! Against all the odds. True prophets know the companionship of God, the call of God and the regular consultancy of God. By unique inspiration they became God’s mouthpiece. “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” says Peter in 2 Peter 1:21. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways …” Hebrews 1:1. But there always was a limit to this revelation. It was of God. It served a purpose. But there was an underlying thread that something more is to come. God is going to speak a more definitive word: His spokesmen would be replaced by His sent Saviour; His sacrifices would be replaced by His given Son; His images would be replaced by His very own image! Hebrews 1:1-3 “God in these last days has spoken to us by His Son.” The Son Mary bore, Joseph called Jesus. Jesus was God’s word in flesh and blood. Born to save His people from their sins. Not only to show people their sins (like the prophets) but to save people from their sins. Not a reminder – but a redeemer. And the prophets all have this underlying theme – Jesus, the Saviour, the Son of God, is on the way. The Messiah is coming. “The Messiah” is the official title the Jews later gave to the central figure they expected. Now it would be rather boring just to list the prophecies – Bible book, chapter and verse – together with their fulfilment – Bible book, chapter and verse. I have all the references here in my notes. You are welcome to ask me for them afterwards. Now, just see the amount of evidence there is in the Prophets that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus: Son of God, Saviour. We’ll begin with the events of His birth and then go on to His life, death and resurrection. All were prophesied 400-1400 years before they actually happened! 1. Isaiah said that a virgin would have a son, 7:14. 2. Isaiah said the child would be ‘God with us’. 3. Micah said that a ruler of Israel would come out of Bethlehem, 5:2. 4. The wise men followed His star. (Incidentally, the star did not govern Jesus’ birth. Jesus’ birth was signed by a star. His birth was to govern destiny and His birth was the reason the star appeared). 5. God used the Roman governor’s tax/military census to take Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem from their home in Nazareth, Matthew 2:23; Luke 1:26. 6. God used King Herod’s attempt to slaughter the young boy to fulfil Jeremiah’s words, 31:15, “weeping and great mourning is heard. Rachel weeps for her children.” All boys 2 years old and less were killed by the tyrant! Yet Joseph and Mary had fled to Egypt following God’s warning to them. They only returned after Herod was dead. 7. Hosea’s prophecy, 11:1, had said “Out of Egypt I will call my son.” The family went from Egypt back to live in Nazareth. 8. Jesus grew up there through boyhood to manhood – and Matthew’s reference to a Nazarene, 2:23, stating why ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ in Galilee, rather than ‘Jesus of Bethlehem’ was known. (There is no direct prophecy in the Old Testament on this). So much for Jesus’ birth and early life! The evidence is mounting up. What will you do with this evidence? If Jesus is special, more than myth, more than a prophet, the Son of God and Saviour, do you honour and respect Him as such in your life? If not, how do you expect to get away with it? Illustration: A man went into a psychiatrist’s office and said “Doctor, I have a problem, I’m dead.” – the doctor banged his knee, tickled his feet, fluttered his eye lash. Eventually he asked the man, ‘Do dead men bleed?’ The patient replied ‘No’. The Doctor cut his finger and made his finger bleed. But the patient’s conclusion was: ‘I guess dead men do bleed after all’! Please don't follow that man's mistake with this evidence of Who Jesus is. The prophets pile up more evidence this time on Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. 9. Isaiah 9:2-7. Isaiah speaks of a future king – David’s successor. Isaiah 42:6. He also speaks of light in Gentile darkness, opening eyes and releasing prisoners from fear. “All the ends of the earth will see the salvation of God.” Isaiah 52:10. The Messiah will be a servant, unlike an earthly sovereign. He will be despised and rejected by many; but will still triumphantly achieve God’s will, 53:1-6. 10. Hosea 13:14. Hosea speaks of death being defeated when God Himself pays a ransom to Himself in order to redeem people from sin's consequences. 11. Amos’ championing of the poor finds fulfilment in Jesus’ reply to John the Baptist, “the good news is preached to the poor.” Matthew 11:4, 5. 12. Haggai 2:7. Haggai’s “the Desired of all nations (has) come.” 13. Obadiah’s “the Day of the Lord is near for all nations.” 14. Zechariah’s words in 9:9 ( concurrent with Jeremiah 23:5-6). Zechariah’s prophecy speaks of a King riding to conquer on a donkey, Matthew 21:5. Jesus so rode to His arrest and death in Jerusalem. Zechariah’s words predict Messiah’s betrayal for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus was. Zechariah 11:12, 13. Matthew 26:15. (His hands and feet would be pierced. Zechariah 12:10; John 20:27). 15. He predicts the crucifixion, Zechariah 13:7, - sheep scattering from the struck down Shepherd. Jesus’ disciples left Him, Matthew 26:31. 16. The prophet Jonah, himself three days and nights in the belly of a fish, was a sign of Jesus’ death, burial and subsequent resurrection, Matthew 12:39-41. 17. Joel prophesied the Holy Spirit’s coming on people: poured out from God to declare His wonderful salvation in understandable ways to all people everywhere, Joel 2:28-21. When Jesus ascended to heaven God opened His blessing appropriately! I hope to look at it with you soon, as a series of sermons called, “Living in the Presence of the King.” Evidence after evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and Saviour of the World. Finally think about Micah 5:2-5. This “ruler from Bethlehem”, “(Who) will shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord … and be their peace” is Jesus! The Christmas Jesus is Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ! Hebrews 1:1-3 sums this up perfectly. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various way, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.” Jesus! This Word is the ultimate communication of God to people, becoming a human being of flesh and blood. God the Son, still being God, became son of Mary, a human being. Illustration: I cannot speak, write or read Arabic. Black, red, green recently erected province signs, along with books, phone calls, conversations in Arabic – are all lost on me! God has spoken the language of Jesus. And that I understand, I embrace and I have learned to welcome more and more. How about you? Illustration: Communication with another person in Khartoum – do you use a note, a spokesman on your behalf, or a personal visit. Which is best? At Creation, God made light shine out of darkness. At this Christmas and New Year I pray God will make His light shine in your heart and life. The “light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6. Listen to God speak. Learn what He wants. Live His way, in His strength. Love Him. Lead others to Him. Let me offer you a Gospel of John, for you to read. John 20:31 says, “These things are written that YOU may believe, and that by believing YOU may have life in His (Jesus’) name”. Believe now, I urge YOU. God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum International church 29th December 2002.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan today. Mission section. In the 1980’s I was on a bus and then a lorry travelling north from Khartoum to Shendi and Atbara. They were unpaved roads at the time, and the journey took about twelve hours. From time to time we stopped to set down a few passengers. I watched as the men and women walked off towards their homes on the sandy horizon. I asked my Sudanese travelling companion, “How many believers in that village?” He replied, “None”. I said, “Who is trying to reach them with the Gospel of Jesus?” “No-one”, he responded sadly. “Why doesn’t someone go and visit every home and speak of Jesus?”, I asked. “They would probably be beaten or even killed”, came the reply. These were not Christian villages. My heart was moved with compassion, as Jesus’ heart was touched seeing the lost crowds in Matthew 9:35-36. I believe that was one of several moments God used to speak to me about living and ministering in Sudan. I discovered later that some concerned Christians were starting up book tables on either end of these transport routes. They wanted to “sow Gospel seeds” into travellers’ hearts and lives. Many times since then I have prayed the prayer Jesus said we should in those circumstances, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field”, Matthew 9:38. “Compassion” is a love that moves a person into action on behalf of someone else. Jesus often felt it when He saw crowds of individual people with all of their deep human needs: Matthew 14:14 Matthew 15:32 Matthew 20:34 Mark 1:41 Mark 6:34 Mark 8:2 Mark 9:22 Luke 7:13. Our Lord Jesus summarised the commands of God into just two things Christians should do: 1. Love God wholeheartedly and 2. Love other people with compassionate action, see Luke 10:25-37, where a Samaritan is the good example. Verse 33 “took pity on him” translates the same word as “compassion”. The greatest act we can ever do for any of our neighbours is to tell them about Jesus, His atoning death and His life-changing resurrection. Jesus sacrificed His life to make us right with God. And He lives today. Christian disciples experience Jesus living His risen life through them. Our witness for Him will usually involve us in costly action as well as just simply speaking words. From the book of Acts chapters 8-13 we will now examine: Three people and one local church that God used to reach people with the gospel. Remember as we study, that God Himself is the evangelist! God awakens people to Himself, Luke 3:10,12,14; Acts 2:37; 16:14; 16:30. God brings conviction of personal sin and He leads people to repentance, John 16:7-11; Romans 2:14-15. God shows Who Jesus really is, Acts 9:3-6; Acts 17:2-4 read with 1 Thessalonians 1:5. God gives saving faith, Ephesians 2:8-10. God witnesses to a change of heart in life, Romans 8:1; 8:9; 8:16. Look for these themes while studying our next four passages. As Christians we work together with God in what He is doing. We do not do our own thing and ask God to bless it! 1. Philip—personal evangelism Bible reading Acts 8:26-40. We know Philip was a Holy Spirit filled man, Acts 6:5. He shared personal responsibility for aid distribution, 6:1-6. He was capable of preaching Christ to big crowds, 8:4-7, 40. Are we spiritually able and responsible disciples? One day God led Philip away into the desert to meet one particular man, 8:26. The Ethiopian man: Was important, verse 27, probably a black African royal official. He was important to God as well as to people! Was interested in God, verses 27-28, sincerely performing religious duties of pilgrimage and scripture reading. Was ignorant of the true faith, verses 30-31. He was honestly open to help, but he was hopelessly lost without it. Was asking intelligent questions, verse 34. but, and this is important, God was working in him, verses 29-33. The seed of the word of God, Isaiah 53, is watered by the teacher. God brings Philip to the man where they both have time for a good talk. Made an immediate and a positive response, verses 36-39. He applied what he heard to himself. He was also baptised, a sign showing his commitment. How was Philip used by God to reach this man? 1. He followed God’s whisperings to his heart, Acts 8:26-30. 2. He asked the Ethiopian a relevant question, 8:30. 3. He knew his Bible well enough to speak about it, 8:31-35. 4. He started with what the Ethiopian was interested in, 8:35. 5. He focused his speaking on Jesus, 8:35. 6. He sealed the Ethiopian’s commitment, 8:36-38. 7. He trusted Scripture and the Holy Spirit for follow up, verse 39. Are we regularly listening to what God is saying to us? Do we listen to what other people are interested in? Are we able to be patient, before speaking with Scriptural authority? Do we witness of “Jesus”, rather than Church or Christianity? Are we working on our own—or with God? 2. Ananias—welcoming a new disciple Bible reading Acts 9:1-19. Saul was a leading opponent of Christianity. He acted violently against Christians, 8:3; 9:1. He probably appeared the least likely of all people to be converted. But God saved him, verses 4-6; compare with Acts 26:9-19. When God has born again children He wants them to be carefully looked after, by responsible people (like any parent, He wants the best for His children). God has provided Scripture and the Holy Spirit. He often uses people as well. How was Ananias used by God to disciple Paul? 1. He was already a disciple, a learning follower of Jesus, Acts 9:10. He lived as God wanted him to. 2. He listened carefully to God speaking to him, 9:10. 3. He recognised the Lordship of Jesus over his life—he would do whatever he was asked to do by God, “Yes Lord”. 4. He received a commission from God, 9:11,12. God put one person on his heart and shared with him that the way to witness was already prepared. Ananias was called to trust God in a very big way! 5. He shared his concerns with God, 9:13-14. All that he knew about Saul disagreed with what God asked him to do. 6. He listened to God again, who told him of His sovereign choice for Saul to become a missionary preacher, 9:15-16. 7. In faith Ananias obeyed God and, as he did so, discovered God had opened the way before him, 9:17-19. His first words, “Brother Saul”, show he accepted what God said. The name “Ananias” means “God has dealt graciously”. It was not easy to do what he was asked to do. But because he did, we have all Paul’s New Testament letters to help us today. We hear no more about Ananias, but without his quiet service, Christianity would be much poorer. Are we willing to face the cost of following Jesus? Can God count on us to obey Him in everything? Are we willing to be a “small” person helping “big” people become what God intends them to be? 3. Peter—cross-cultural outreach Bible reading Acts 10:1-11:18. Cornelius was an army soldier, a member of an enemy occupying force in Israel. Caesarea often experienced trouble between people-groups. Cornelius was a Gentile. The early Christian church people were mainly of Jewish background. Could the Gospel of Jesus bridge natural human divisions? The Bible shows that God was working in Cornelius’ life: Acts 10:1-3: “devout”, means, serious in devoted reverence for God. “God-fearing”, means determined and very careful not to offend God in any part of his life. See also 10:22. “Gave generously”, describes him contributing towards meeting the welfare of all the needy local people. “Prayed regularly”, he communicated with God. God spoke to him through an angelic vision, verses 3-7. God knew and used his name. God found a man who was seeking Him. So God prompted someone to tell him of Jesus. How was Peter used to bring this man to know Christ? 1. Peter was a leading apostle, but he kept himself open to God teaching him new things, Mark 3:14-19; Acts 10:34-35. He was praying, verse 9; and he was thinking, verse 17. 2. He was humble—not proud—Acts 10:25-26. God alone was worthy of praise and worship, not the servant of God! 3. He faithfully kept to the message of Jesus. The cross of Christ was central, Acts 10:34-48, especially verses 38-40. 4. He baptised Cornelius as a confirmation of new faith, an expression of irreversible commitment to Jesus, verses 47-48. Pray that God will grant true “fear of the Lord” to people of other religions and of no religion. Do we despise sincerity in others, others God is loving towards Himself? Do we show any prejudice in our evangelism? Avoid it! How can we learn to discover in whom God is working? Remember in evangelism, God’s way is the best way! If we expect God to work in only one particular way, we may miss Him working in a different (even a new?) direction. 4. The church at Antioch—other races, other religions Bible reading Acts 11:19-30. Antioch in Syria was the third largest city in the Roman empire. The first Christian we know from there is Nicolas, one of the first church servants to be chosen. He was a Gentile, converted to Judaism, and then on to Christianity, Acts 6:5. Why could God use the Antioch church to reach out and to make more missionary Christians? 1. The heartbeat of the believers. The church was a gathering of spiritual men. Acts 6:3 describes Nicolas as “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom”. They spoke about Jesus to anyone, wherever they were, Acts 11:20. Barnabas was there, 11:22-24. He had a good knowledge of Scripture as a Levite, and he committed himself with his possessions to the Lord’s work, see Acts 4:36-37. Saul/Paul joined fresh from time learning God’s will for his life, 9:28-30; 11:25-26. Two Africans were in the leadership team: black Simeon (possibly the cross carrier, Mark 15:21; Romans 16:13), ministering alongside northerner Lucius. (Cyrene is on today’s Libyan coast). The mixture of people making up this church and its leadership is a challenge to the single tribe churches of Khartoum. 2. The centrality of Jesus through an effective ministry of the Word. The meaning of the phrase “true to the Lord”, Acts 11:23, can be seen in the sarcastic nickname given to the believers by those outside their number: “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch”, 11:26. These believers lived so much like Jesus! He was at the centre of all they said and all they did. The Scriptures (Old Testament and oral gospels) were taught and applied to life by Barnabas, a Levite Acts 4:36, and Saul/Paul, a highly trained Pharisee, Acts 22:3. Other gifted, spiritual people shared in the teaching, 13:1-2. More people than just one man could minister! Training may spiritually kill good people! Alternatively, it may sharpen their spiritual ministry. The church in Sudan must discern between good and bad training. I have observed that both are offered, within Sudan—and as scholarships to other countries. 3. Keeping the needs of other people in focus. Believers from Antioch sent help elsewhere to relieve famine victims, Acts 11:27-30. They also considered individual needs, such as long term follow up and opportunities to teach being made for Saul/Paul, 11:25-26. The plight of the lost was on their hearts, especially for people who had not yet heard the gospel of Jesus. The local church commissioned some of their most gifted people, and practically supported their mission trips, Acts 13:1-4; 14:26-28; 15:3-4; 15:40; 18:23. The local church had a worldwide vision of the real church of Jesus Christ. Sudan is a huge country. The main responsibility for reaching every Sudanese with the gospel is given—first—to Christian Sudanese! Begin where you are, with those around you, and then move further afield, Acts 1:8. If the people in the church at Antioch had not obeyed God’s promptings in these ways, Acts 13-28, plus all of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy and Titus, probably would be missing from our Bibles! God used these folk to reach fellow countrymen and strangers. He helped them reach people of other religions. He met their own needs as they gave themselves to the service of others. Remember some of the last words of Jesus to those who were His first disciples: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you”, John 20:21. Jesus came to, “Seek and to save what was lost”, Luke 19:10. May we live (and even die) to do the same. Take some time and listen to God. Then reach out to the people He puts on to your heart. He knows every one of the Sudanese who are open and responsive to His Spirit. Discussion guide Using this chapter and the Scriptures quoted: 1. In all evangelism why is it important to remember that “God Himself is the evangelist”? Consider any outward appearances alongside deep work in peoples’ hearts. 2. Think about how God may use you in personal evangelism, like Philip in Acts 8. How can you get ready? What can you pray and look for everyday? How can your church help? 3. Consider how God may use you in Christian discipleship and follow up, like Ananias in Acts 9. How can you get ready? What can you pray and look for every day? How can your church help? and how can you help others? 4. Think about how God may use you in cross-cultural evangelism, like Peter in Acts 10. How can you get ready? What can you pray and look for every day? How can your church help? 5. What are the main lessons you and your church can learn from the church at Antioch which will help in reaching all the lost of Sudan with the good news of Jesus Christ?

Colin was brought up near London’s Heathrow Airport, where his father worked as an auditor. Converted while in the Boys Brigade, he travelled with a Gospel beat group, giving testimony and lugging sound equipment around coffee bars during the 1960s. This led to Bible College in Australia before he and his wife Brenda, (since graduation in November 1970), returned to UK to work with Ambassadors For Christ Britain in itinerant evangelism mid 1971. He became national director in 1973 and concurrently had three part-time pastorates – 1975-9 in Ascot, 1979-81 in Maidenhead and then in Redruth, Cornwall, from 1981-89. He also travelled with AFC International, especially working often since 1979 in Sudan with local church pastors, Nagi Konagi, Alfred William and Mufid Farid. The opportunities for ministry in Cornwall grew and in 1989 he went full-time into evangelism with AFCB again – and a local team was established. Ministry grew as God blessed in schools, community opportunities and a mobile Christian training programme. In 1999 Colin and Brenda left AFCB and went to Sudan to pastor Khartoum International Church. There he also taught as a visiting lecturer for Gideon Theological College and Gereif Bible School. In 2002 while in Sudan he earned an MA in evangelism with Cliff College and Sheffield University, but returned to the UK permanently in 2003 because of ill health. The health problems persist but so does the determination to encourage and teach – now via writing, publishing and via the Web! A number of Sudanese believers whom Colin met there since 1979, long-time friends and colleagues, are among those still supported with encouraging resources at the present time. “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty”, Luke 17:10. The following chapters show how Colin and Brenda’s faith was tested through cancer in his voice-box, with later struggles to square their Christian beliefs with what God was allowing to happen in and around their own lives. They say: “It is not what we would wanted; but it is what we have got”!