There is a popular song I used to sing in Sunday school, “He’s got the whole world in his hands, he’s got the whole world in his hands”. I sang that song many times as a child and even as an adult; yet although I sung the words, I was not truly convicted that God had the entire world in his hands. Every country, continent and island was beyond my imagining.
Until I boarded a flight reaching out to other nations and crossing borders. Before then my reality was, “he’s got my family, he’s got my church, he’s got my country in his hands”, I knew little of what lay beyond.
Fear of the Nations but Confidence in God
The world is a scary place and watching all the documentaries on human trafficking makes it even more difficult to imagine stepping your foot outside of your own borders. Fear causes paralysis and gives you all kinds of scary scenarios to imagine in your head, fear kept me inside the borders of South Africa.
But it remains true, and this is not being over spiritual, that God is with us; the very same God who split seas and summoned the walls of Jericho is with us today. God with us has always been the theme of our lives and will be even when eternity comes.
As Isaiah 41:10 tells us,“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
So I Went
With this confidence, I was convicted of the call that every believer can illuminate the dark corners of the world with the light of the Lord Jesus Christ by simply sharing the Gospel. I was reminded of the need for every unreached people group to hear the Good News.
…every believer can illuminate the dark corners of the world with the light of the Lord Jesus Christ by simply sharing the Gospel.
As it is written in Mark 16:15 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come…”. And so in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So I went…
My Journey Showed me a God with a Heart for the Nations
On my trip I was privileged to witness many testimonies that showed me God’s heart for the nations while I attended the Africa Rising Conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. About 29 denominations attended the conference, including missionaries from Zambia, Uganda, USA etc. We were so proud to represent the church of South Africa and to see so many people responding to God’s heart to serve every nation, tribe and tongue.
The objective of the conference was to meet up with missionaries from different parts of Africa to encourage and learn from one another. Gustav Krӧs from INcontext International says Africa is seen as the ‘sleeping giant‘ when it comes to missions. But even though Africa contributes less to global missions in the form of finances and cross-cultural missionaries, in his journey, he has met many African missionaries.
What I witnessed over the course of a few days was a testimony that Africa is no longer a sleeping giant but a rising giant.
Over the course of the conference, I saw a glimpse of Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.'”
I saw believers from Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, USA, Tanzania, South Sudan all under one roof worshiping God. What I witnessed over the course of a few days was a testimony that Africa is no longer a sleeping giant but a rising giant!
The Testimony of God in Africa
Our sister, Yolande Korkie, author of 558 days in Hell, shared her testimony of the time she and her husband were taken hostage by Al Qaeda while serving in Yemen. She was then later released after eight months, but unfortunately her husband was killed by Al Qaeda. This led her to encourage those in crisis and equip believers to be the aroma of Christ in the darkest places where many deeds of compassion are needed.
A South Sudanese pastor shared his testimony of how he fled from South Sudan and the hardships of the refugee camps in Uganda. This brother, along with the other refugees survived flying bullets, the stench of burning flesh, rape – life’s lowest moments and atrocities. Church leaders went in front to pray for him and sobbed. They wept so much you could feel the brokenness and the sadness of their cries. Despite the many ways our brother has been challenged and pressed, he continues to serve the Lord with great joy in the camps.
God at Work in Africa
A missionary from Zambia who is serving the Maasai tribes testified to the value of awareness. He said that in his experience, despite the barriers (high poverty rate, illiteracy, unemployment, gender inequalities, etc.) African people of this nation are willing to serve. The Maasai are willing to listen, but they require awareness. One, awareness of the Gospel and the other, awareness of the need for missions. He urged us that this is no time for complacency. Believers everywhere should play a role and prioritize missions.
There were so many encouraging highlights; it was a precious time of fellowship. We all went out quoting Psalm 133:1-3,“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head running down on the collar of his robes! It is like dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”
“God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshippers for himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an exhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of his name among the nations”.
Be in Touch with God’s Heart for All People, Tribes and Languages
God has a heart for the nations; he is busy redeeming the nations to himself. As John Piper says in his book Let the Nations Be Glad, “God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshippers for himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an exhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of his name among the nations”.
God is gathering joyful worshippers for himself, blessing them and using that blessing to impact the nations. If we are to live in light of eternity, we constantly have to reorient ourselves to God’s agenda. We need to orientate the role we play in his agenda to redeem the nations. Otherwise, if you are anything like me, you might just believe that God’s global priority is to make us comfortable. Or believe that God has redeemed us for ourselves and our families.
Step Out to the Nations
It is also possible to talk and understand the value of mission, but never take part. There is difference between knowing and conviction. Sometimes, to be in touch with God’s heart for all people, we need to challenge ourselves. We need to step out of our comfort zone. We need to take our eyes off ourselves, and look into the needs of others.
As you reflect with me, I hope that you think deeply about your role in missions. That you may be led to pray intentionally for missionaries. Pray that as God’s people we would realise our worldwide calling. I pray that God would plant His burden for the unreached ever more deeply within us. And overwhelm us all with the privilege of living solely for him and his kingdom.
