Daily Meditations from John N N Ng'ang'a: 20-26th sept 2010 ..... Witnessing includes both Words and Action but start with Verbal Confession

 

Day 1

Col 1:28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. NIV

A lot of us, the reason we cannot witness is because we don't want to have any negative feelings about us. Now they are not killing us, they are not beating us, but just the discomfort of not being accepted in your neighbourhood. How will we ever share Christianity?

Some time back I had an appointment with somebody who had just come back to kenya after he finished PhD in the US. He was trying to share his experiences in the last four years in one of the states in the US. He found that when he is in church, very few people, (and of course he is a guy just around forty), are younger than him. At forty he is a young man in that church. And then he told me the church that was nearest where he was staying, they were only twenty five people. They are many young human beings, but they don't go to church. The Christian Union of the university he was in was not different. The university I think was a campus of thirty thousand, in the inter-varsity group, the equivalent of FOCUS in Kenya, he said there are only twenty five students in a campus of 30,000. Now that's Christianity in a Christian nation.

Now, Americans don't even have to move far for missions , there is need of witnessing within the US itself. So we are not just talking about Kenya Christians needing to make witnessing a life style. All Christians everywhere are commanded to make witnessing their way of life.

 

Day 2
Col 1:28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. NIV

But why has Witnessing fallen out of fashion. The book of Colossians is telling us, I rejoice because of opportunity to suffer persecution for the extension of the gospel. I am suggesting to you, if you don't choose to enjoy suffering, there isn't much impact you will make for Christ.

You know a lot of us argue ……people will get saved through my actions. The new emphasis is, you don't have to say you are a Christian…they will just see …through your actions. I don't know where they get that in the Bible because the Bible is clear… you must confess with your mouth.

The Bible knew you can confess with your actions, but it never said you confess with your actions only . It said you confess with your mouth. But the new Christianity with modern professionals is that if you do a good job people will know about Christ. You know the best any one watching your life can know is you look like a Christian. This gives you the chance to now say who you really are. That's the best that can happen…a chance . Until you yourself confess that Christ is your saviour, there isn't any proof you that He is.

 

Day 3
You know the Bible says in Romans 10…, faith comes by hearing.

Rom 10: 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV

Why doesn't it say it comes by seeing? You know ,I have heard the opposite from pulpits. People are saying, don't bother saying anything, just be a Christian. What does it mean just be a Christian? To be just be a Christian means don't drink…etc. How many non-Christians don't drink? It means don't, whatever else it says Christians don't do.. There is always somebody who is like you but that doesn't mean they are Christians. I still remember a professional that I learnt was getting letters from FOCUS that minister to CUs in universities . He is a young man and was an accountant... I assumed he was an associate of FOCUS. He never said he was a Christian. But I thought for a guy to be receiving such letters, it means when he was in the university he was a serious member of the CU.

So I went, one day, I tried every means to find a way of confronting him so that he tells me his relationship with Christ. I decided to make a joke. It is the days where you had accountant in closed office , and his accounts clerks on this other open office side. I went and stood in the middle and I made a joke. I told his clerks, 'have you ever heard that your boss is a Christian?'. Because I wanted him to either accept or deny ,then obviously I would leave the matter. I had tried other means of knowing his stand without success.

Sure enough it worked. He said, 'who told you I am a Christian?'.' But you receive the letters from FOCUS' I replied.. Now he asked me a very simple question, 'does it mean only born again people receive letters from FOCUS'. It is true I receive. Does that make me a Christian?' I had to admit from the Bible receiving a letter from FOCUS doesn't make you a Christian. Ooh but you know, actually the guy was not drinking. We used to go for company parties and the guy would not drink…so I said ' But you don't even drink.'.' He asked me a question, 'does it mean only born again people don't drink? What about people who don't like the taste of alcohol.

You know I was running out of options. Then I said, …'but you must have been attending the Christian Union when you were in the university. How did I realized I had embarrassed myself. He was able to beat me at the game. He did all the things Christians do but he is saying openly, I am not born again, I am not a Christian. I had to apologize. I said, I apologize, I will never claim again that you are a Christian.

You need to understand that if you do not confess with your mouth, there is no Christianity of actions only. I know of course what you tell us is, actions speak louder than words. But you need to understand why they speak louder than words. You know a microphone, its work is to amplify. If I say nothing, can you hear me? But if I say something it amplifies it. Actions amplify words.

 

Day 4

Col 1:29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. NIV

Although I have emphasized the need for words ,actions are still very important.

The reason actions are so critical is because if you only speak words without actions, nobody will hear you. You need both words and an amplifier to be heard clearly. You require actions to amplify words. So that when you say I am born again, we watch your actions. And if your actions contradict your words, your message will not be understood..

So I am not suggesting that you say words without actions, people will not hear you. It is like noise, it will cause noise. Instead of the amplifier amplifying, it will be creating noise. Nobody can hear you. So you must not only believe Jesus in your heart, confess with your mouth, people must see your actions consistent with your confession.

But again actions without confession, are totally useless. It doesn't say anything. You must begin with confession, or rather you must be willing to admit in words why you are doing what you are doing. There are many people who have different motivations for doing good. Like for example, helping the poor. How many, many Hindus help. we can't even come to the competition with hindus about the amount of help they give. Does that make them born again? It is very important to understand that there is absolutely nothing you can do that makes you a Christian before you confess Christ as your personal savior. The thing that can prove you are a Christian is first and foremost your admission that It is Christ who motivates your actions. Then the actions now support what your words.

 

Day 5

Col 1:29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. NIV

Paul is saying I rejoice in suffering. But you will not suffer if you keep your testimony it a secret. So the reason you suffer might be when you start confessing Christ as your savior. he is saying …' I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions. In other words, he is not suggesting that Christ did not finish his work. After all ,at the cross He said, it is finished. But he is saying, although Christ suffered and we are born again because of that, once we get born again, there will be afflictions each one of us is allocated in order for the church of Christ to grow.

He is saying, I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions. In other words, my allocated amount of suffering, I am wiling to accept it and I rejoice in doing it. And I think that's what you need to understanding. if you become a witness there will be challenges to it, but like Paul you need to rejoice that you have been counted worthy of that which remains of affliction to be endured in the course of Christ.

It doesn't get people get saved, but it allows the message to reach them.. Only Christ's suffering can save but your suffering facilitates people hearing the gospel. In fact he is saying, I fill up in my flesh, in my body. In other words the suffering will not be something only psychological, it is something that will be physical. It is real. It will be real otherwise he would have said I suffer without ending it with ..body. But he said, my suffering is bodily suffering.

 

Day 6

Col 1:29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. NIV

How does he rejoice? He is rejoicing in the inside because he is happy in the suffering in the body. That's why it is bodily suffering, not spiritual .As soon as you know who God is and you understand that He is with you in the suffering, in your heart you are going to be happy in the suffering. But in reality if you have been cut the blood is flowing..even as your heart rejoices.

If you have been embarrassed… it is real. If you have been taken to court and locked in prison those will be real things. But the critical thing is as you are there, there will be peace.

I remember I had a problem with my car, when I sold it to someone and then he never registered the transfer. Then he went doing traffic crimes. The police just went to the registration office and checked the registration and saw my name as the owner well after I had sold it. So they followed me until they caught me. , I explained it was not my car. True I had signed the transfer forms. They said no, no, no, this is yours. If I wanted to be released …. the guys wanted me to talk nicely. Obviously as a christain I couldn't talk nicely …if you understand in Kenya what it means to talk nicely. I couldn't talk nicely.

Do you know I thought it is a joke but within no time I was locked in a cell. You need to understand that if you don't actually want to stand for Christ, you will be forced into difficult circumstances' really got them really annoyed. Finally I told them I cannot do it because I am saved. They realize this guy will not pay anything. They know these type of people are mikono ngamu. There is nothing they pay. So I was now thrown in the cell fast.

But you need to understand when you are there, aware the reason why you have been thrown in is because Christ expects you not to be involved in something like that..you rejoice., of course it is embarrassing. By the way where I was thrown into a cell I was thrown in the same cell with mama mboga, baba mboga, you know, we were all there. I was in a suit. In fact one person made fun. people were paying money and being removed out of the cell. Looking at the way I was dressed, the man thought, surely this guy must have money. they were paying only two hundred shillings or something small. Obviously I had thousands of shillings in my pocket. So the other guy said now, mkubwa, ikiwa hutaki kujilipia si unilipie mimi niondoke. He called me, boss, if you don't want to pay for yourself to come out, why don't you give me the money I come out?. Because he had seen me as a fool?

Why would you need to be here if at all what they are paying is two hundred shillings and you have more? Now you need to understand the reason why you can continue there is because something tells you, you are not alone, you are with God. Isn't it? And that of course I am sure as that man left that place he left with a testimony it is possible to stand for Christ irrespective of suffering. In other words you don't have to use shortcuts.

That is what it means to suffer in the body. It will be real but the reason the emphasis is on the body is that in your heart you still have peace. That's why he is calling it rejoicing.

 

Day 7

Col 1:24-25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness. NIV

You remember we are talking about commissioning into Christ witness.. we are saying… in order to be sure you have got Christ's commissioning, it will mean you will be willing to suffer for that commissioning.

Secondly, you need be a conscious that it is Christ who has commissioned you. He has commissioned all of us who are Christians. I think it is Lucern committee that has said that the gospel is supposed to be involving the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.

Those are three things that I think is coming out in this commissioning .. Paul is saying I have become its servant by the commission of God who gave me to present to you the Word of God in its fullness. So first of all you must understand it is commissioning that God gave. You know one of the weakness of the church of Jesus Christ is the fact many of us who are serving the church have been commissioned by the bishop, have been commissioned by a church.

Paul is saying, no, no, no, me I never came because of the church in Jerusalem or Antioch. Although they prayed for me.. Remember he heard God's voice, the day he got saved, God said He has set him aside to preach to the gentiles. I can tell you… start understanding that serving the Lord is not serving a church, that you need to hear from God, so that whether the church recognizes your efforts or doesn't recognize, is secondary. Primarily, God who cannot lie, God who cannot forget you.. is the one who has commissioned you. This will give you a lot of difference.

May our appointment to be witnesses be something we are not waiting for people to recognize or to applause because they have not appointed you, it is God who has appointed you.

Paul is also emphasizing, by the commission, I am servant, I am a witness, I am a minister by the commission God gave me. And my prayer is that even as you , will ask what has God called me to do.