God’s Activity in Africa

As I write this I am on my way home from South Africa. I am trying to process all I experienced. Many things have impressed me on this trip. Not the least was when I checked in at the South African Airways flight from Capetown to London so I could return home. The agent looked at my passport and said, “Are you related to Henry?” I said yes and asked how he knew of my dad. The ticket agent reached into a drawer in front of him and pulled out the book, Hearing God’s Voice which I wrote with my dad. The man told me that God had been speaking to him through the material and he sensed God might be calling him into ministry!

I was also delighted to speak for almost five hours at the Randburg Baptist Seminary in Johannesburg. Blackaby Ministries International has given free copies of Spiritual Leadership and Experiencing God to the students of three Bible colleges and seminaries in South Africa in a partnership with Texas Baptist Men. In February, Don Gibson led a group of Texas Baptist Men to lead many pastors/wives retreats throughout South Africa. They led the couples through the material from my book, Putting a Face on Grace. I met one of the pastors who had recently attended a retreat. He came up and gave me a bear hug and declared that the retreat had revolutionized his marriage.

While in South Africa I also had the privilege of teaching spiritual leadership to the Campus Crusade missionaries and leaders from throughout Africa. They were a wonderful group who are dedicated to impacting that continent for Christ. I heard wonderful stories of African Christian government leaders who are seeking to lead their nation according to biblical principles. Several of them are striving to address the poverty and human suffering that plagues their people. These Christian leaders are asking Christian business people from the west to come and help them create jobs and provide medical services for the poor. I pray there will be those from North America who will rise up and offer their skills and business acumen to these fine African Christian leaders.

Finally, I had the privilege to return to Fish Hoek Baptist Church, located about 25 miles south of Capetown. Pastor John Thomas has been doing a wonderful job leading that congregation to see where God is at work and then to join Him. Roughly 25% of the people living within five miles of the church are HIV positive and estimates are that at least 5,000 people living by the church will die of AIDS in the next ten years. This church has developed a huge ministry to those who are HIV positive. The stories John tells of HIV positive seven year olds or eleven year old prostitutes who have no hope of reaching the age of twenty is absolutely heartbreaking. I led a spiritual renewal weekend in this great church and it was wonderful to see these dear people drawing closer to their Lord so He might use them and their church in a more powerful way in the coming days.

Be praying for Africa. God is at work there! If you have never visited, ask the Lord if He does not want you to go on a mission trip. It will change your life. If you are a business person and would be interested in investing your life and resources into some of the huge projects taking place in the name of Christ, I’d be glad to help put you in contact with those involved.

Reading

I have been reading a fascinating biography on the life on the life of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. He was ruling the known world when Jesus was born in a manger in the backwater town of Bethlehem. Augustus was the most powerful person of his day. No one dared to disobey him. Yet after a 44 year reign over the known world, his own wife is suspected of poisoning him to make way for her son Tiberius. It is also suspected that Tiberius, the successor to Augustus, who ruled during most of Jesus’ life on earth, was ultimately suffocated to death while lying in bed by his successor. Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his own body guards. Emperor Claudius was poisoned by his wife to make room for her son, Nero. The infamous Nero who terrorized early Christians and probably had the apostles Paul and Peter executed, committed suicide as his enemies were pursuing him. These emperors lived in luxurious mansions and held absolute political and military power. They would have laughed in derision at the thought that the itinerant Rabbi from Nazareth was a king who deserved their respect. They would have ridiculed the suggestion that former Galilean fishermen could influence the Roman Empire. Yet each emperor was supplanted. The Roman Empire came to an end. But the kingdom established by Jesus continues to grow and thrive two thousand years later. Every generation in history has witnessed political and military leaders who pranced across the world stage boasting of their power and threatening anyone who opposed them. Every one of them has come to the same end. Every one will kneel before the Rabbi from Bethlehem to receive their eternal judgment. Those world leaders who dominate the newspaper headlines today will be gone tomorrow. But God’s work moves relentlessly forward. Whether or not you know what today’s world leaders are saying and doing or not, be certain you are familiar with the activity of the King of kings as He continues to direct and expand His kingdom.

Scripture

While I was at the Randburg Baptist Seminary, its president shared with me an insight into the life of Daniel. Daniel declared, “Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel . . . “ (Dan. 9:20). Daniel needed to know what was on God’s heart and mind about his people. Interestingly, Daniel did not hear God speak until he first confessed his sin. One of the best ways we can ensure that we hear from God is when we first confess our sin. Often the confession of our sin opens our spiritual ears to then hear what God is saying.

Posted by Richard Blackaby at 10:05 am