25
A People In Transit
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage” – Psalm 84:5 (NIV)
Nossi Be is the tourist capital of Madagascar. Every year thousands come to fish in its waters, feast in its restaurants and play on its beaches. But it was not any of these attractions that made me almost miss my flight while transiting through its airport last month. I had four hours to wait and sought to redeem the time by catching up on work on my laptop. But I got so drawn into what I was working on at that moment that I forgot that I was in transit.
The Bible calls us pilgrims – a people in transit. But how often we get so drawn into the moment we forget, that no matter how sweet or difficult what we are facing presently may be, we are in transit! I love the way the Psalmist captures it in Psalm 84:5-7;
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion”
The only way to avoid distraction is to ‘set our hearts on pilgrimage’. It requires fixing our eyes on our destination and using everything that comes our way – good or bad – as a means of getting there. Now, what is our destination? Our destination is the place of becoming completely like Christ and of being with him forever. As John triumphantly declares, ‘…..we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is’ (1 John 3:2). There is coming a day when we will see our Lord Jesus face-to-face and on that day we will be exactly like him. And the road to this place is the path of being transformed daily into his likeness. This is the path we must walk as pilgrims. And this is the only way by which we can be useful in this present life.
Where God is taking us is the place of being conformed into the likeness of his Son, Jesus Christ in every way. He is taking us there in every season of life we go through. And if we avoid distraction we will get nearer and nearer to this place daily. Setting our heart on pilgrimage would mean a mind-set that asks, ‘How can I co-operate with God so as to use my present situation as a means to Christ-likeness?’.
It is this mind-set that makes those who have set their hearts on pilgrimage able to turn ‘the Valley of Baca’ into ‘a place of springs’. The Valley of Baca is literally the valley of weeping. It is the place of troubles and trials. Men who mistake their transit point for their destination are normally buried here. But the pilgrim turns it into a place of the springs, because he sees it as a means of transiting into Christ-likeness. Can you see how all things work for the good of the pilgrim?
This is why the pilgrim goes ‘from strength to strength’ into the likeness of Christ through good times and bad times until that day when he ‘appears before God in Zion’ – that day when he finally sees Jesus face-to-face to be with him forever. It is true that that day will be glorious, but for the undistracted pilgrim, even now his life reflects some of that glory as he is being changed daily. The glory of the life of a pilgrim releases a well-spring of life to the world around him. His life turns the Valley of Baca into a place of springs from which many in this our patched and thirsty world can find life-giving drink.
So beloved, we are pilgrims – a people in transit. We are his, we are becoming like him and are going to be with him forever. Don’t let anything distract you this. Press on to be all that God has called you to be.
20
It’s Jacob, not Esau whom God wants to bless
‘But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.’ – 1 John 1:7 (NIV)
Just imagine Jacob clad with goatskin and saying to his father; ‘I am Esau, your firstborn.’ (Gen. 27:9). His conscience must have been crying; ‘Liar! Pretender!’ Jacob must have had to still his conscience for he felt he had to pretend to be Esau to get his father’s blessing.
How often we pretend to be someone we are not. We believe there is no way that we are going to get to where we ought to be if we do not wear that mask. But oh! how it hurts our souls to live a lie. It confuses our identity. It clouds our fellowship with God and man. It puts us in that prison where we have to continue living a lie just to measure up. Yet we feel it is expedient to carry on this façade if we are to get where we ought to be. We are afraid that if people see us as we really are they may not accept us and so hinder us from getting to where we should.
Now let me show you something. Jacob was so wrong! He did not need to be Esau for God to bless him. All he needed to be was himself, for it was not Esau God wanted to bless but Jacob! Right from the womb, the blessing had been ordained by God for Jacob and not Esau. He didn’t need to lie to get it. Think of how much misery and the years of pain Jacob would have saved himself by just being Jacob to his father.
Now let this liberating truth sink in – It is not the person you are pretending to be that God wants to bless, it is you! You can take off that mask now for it is you whom God wants to bless. It is you he wants – with all your shortcoming and inadequacies. Think of how much pain we will save ourselves from by just being ourselves. I am not talking of indulging ourselves but being transparent – walking in the light with God and man even as you press on towards Christlikeness.
Stop trying to be Esau. Take off the mask and be willing for God and men to know you for who you are. As you walk in transparency before God and men, God will bless you. He will come close to you and transform you from the inside out. He will use you and enlarge your coast. No man will be able to stop you from getting to where you ought to be and you will get there as a transformed real person not a deformed fake person. No one can stop the blessing God has for you. No one can take away your blessing if you will just throw away your mask.
14
Making Jesus Lord of our Appetites
“Everything is permissible for me— but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me —but I will not be mastered by anything” – 1 Corinth 6:12 (NIV)
If we do not make Jesus Lord of our appetites, they will control us and can distort our sense of judgement. Isaac clearly had a big appetite for tasty meaty food. It was not a big issue in his life but it was obviously something that had a hold on him. How else can you explain Gen. 25:27?
‘Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.’ (NIV)
When a man’s love for his son is based on his taste for wild game, then something is not quite right. When our appetites begin to control us then they are out of place. It is dangerous for anything other than the Lord to have a hold on us – even if such a thing is a legitimate pleasure. Paul said,
‘”Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.’ – 1 Corinth 6:12 (NIV)
It is wrong to allow even permissible things to gain mastery over us. It might be an otherwise legitimate pleasure which no one else calls sin, but which you know has mastered you. Often it is those little indulgences that are most dangerous for they seem so inconsequential. Indeed they have consequences for they erode power from our lives making us blunt in the spirit.
Isaac’s out-of-control taste for ‘bush meat’ (as we call wild game in Nigeria) must certainly have seemed inconsequential. Yet a careful reading of the scripture leaves us with no doubt that it affected him and his household negatively. For example, is it not possible that it was his preference for Esau over Jacob because of the ‘bush meat’ that created the atmosphere of rivalry between the two? Was it not because of a relationship with Esau that possibly had been built on his ability to please his father with ‘bush meat’ that caused Isaac to be unable to rebuke him when he married not one but two heathen wives?! But all these are not as troubling as what we go on to read in Genesis 27:4:
‘Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die’ v.4 (NIV)
Note that this was the occasion of one of the most important assignments of the patriarchs – the passing of the blessing of the covenant to the next generation. This was one of those occasions when you want to be sure you don’t miss God. Yet on this occasion Isaac’s appetite took over. Did Isaac need to have had tasty food before giving the blessing or was it not attached as a condition just to gratify his appetite? Perhaps if he hadn’t been so distracted by his taste he would have been sensitive enough to God to know that the younger had been chosen above the older son. Later on when Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, he was not confused as his father had been (see Gen. 48: 8-20).
If we don’t make Jesus the Lord of our appetites they will distract us. And as in Isaac’s case, it can manifest and block off God’s voice at a time when we cannot afford to miss God’s leading. I encourage you to pray and hand over that out-of-control appetite to God and begin to trust him and obey him as you cooperate with him to bring it under his Lordship.
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Comments? Questions? etc. If these messages have been helpful or unclear it would encourage us to hear from you, please write to chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE are you born again? It is not enough to believe in the existence of God, to go to church, or be interested in spiritual things. Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus died to deliver you from sin so that you can come to God. (John 3:16) If you ask him to forgive you and give you a new heart he will. (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-11).Try it. I’d love to hear from you @ chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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Chim’sWRITE are regular articles on Christian living and cross-cultural missions from Chimezie Onyebilanma a cross-cultural missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO is an indigenous African non-denominational cross-cultural mission agency involved in reaching the remaining unreached peoples in 22 countries of Africa and the Middle East as of present. CAPRO is involved in missions mobilization, training, and research as well as church-planting and mercy ministries (literacy, rural development, primary health-care, relief and rehabilitation). CAPRO is a faith mission, both the ministry and its missionaries depend on God’s provision through the giving of his people. None of its missionaries are salaried. All gifts are used as designated.
Surface Address: CAPRO MISSIONS SA, Durban, 47 Sutherland Rd, Waterfall, 3610, Durban, P.O.Box 207, Hillcrest, 3650, South Africa.Tel: +2731 766 2336; +27 794737208 (cell)
To learn more about the ministry of Chimezie Onyebilanma and how you can partner with us please email chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
To learn more about the cross-cultural missionary work of CAPRO visit www.capromissions.org.za
Do you know that your monthly gifts to support a missionary can make a big difference? To learn more about supporting missionaries please visit www.adopt-a-missionary.org or enquire at chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To subscribe to Chim’sWRITE please send a blank email to
ChimWRITE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe to Chim’sWRITE please send a blank email to
ChimWRITE-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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COPYRIGHT — It is required that permission be obtained from chim_ibidun@hotmail.com before these materials can be re-published on a website or in hard copy. However permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials via email, provided that such redistribution acknowledges the source and includes this phrase: “For a free subscription to Chimezie Onyebilanma’s weekly Chim’sWRITE, send a blank email to ChimWRITE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com “
6
Durban Mission Centre
A centre for releasing missionaries to the nations – 6.3 hectares farm with a large farm house, 4 cottages, and a warehouse/workshop.
Dearly beloved,
My trip to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands helped me to see how important our quest to raise labourers is.
That is why I want you to be updated on this property we need. We are excited about the possibility of acquiring this property because of how much it will facilitate and increase this great work of raising and equipping a new generation of missionaries from South Africa especially from among the Black and Indian communities.
Please take the time to view the attached update: look at the pictures of this property, envision with us the possibilities it presents us in serving the unreached and how you can be involved.
I understand perfectly well how the first reaction to Iwhat it is needed to acquire this beautiful property can be ‘how shall these things be?’. But when we remember with Whom we have to do, we can say: ‘Through our God we shall do valiantly, for it is He (not us) Who will tread down our enemies’ (Ps.60:12). A dear friend captured this sentiment so well in a recent mail: ‘It really is a serene and beautiful property – the amount scared me at first but I quickly reminded myself that our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ever ask or dream of.
Wow this property has really pulled on my heart. I won’t be giving heaven any rest on this one.’ And giving heaven no rest on this project is what we need you to do. We believe God wants to give us this property and he wants to use every one of us to make it
happen.
We invite you to pray for this provision and also prayerfully consider how God wants you to be involved in this project. We thank you for your partnership. Together we shall acquire this beautiful property for advancing the gospel.
This property will serve as:
1. A Mobilisation Centre for the entire KwaZulu Natal and beyond
2 A training base both for our residential discipleship and missions training and several other types of training to release hundreds of young people into the mission field.3. A base for our outreach among the very poor black townships around here.
4. Our CAPRO SA Media base – a multimedia production unit and a printing press
5.Staff accommodation for our growing team
We need R3.6m ($US 490,000) for the property. Presently have almost R140,000 ($US 20,000) that is about 4% of the needed
sum. It’s quite a sum but I’m imagining that if everyone gives something as God leads maybe $50 (R350 or N7,500), $100 (R700 or N15,000) or more monthly over the next six to ten months towards these needs, the budget can be quickly met.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Above all, let us pray for God is up to something!
That all the nations may praise Him,
Chim & Ibidun Onyebilanma
4
Ingredients of Effective Prayer (Part4)
‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning’ Isaiah 62:1 (NASB)
I want you to put yourself in Abraham’s shoes as you read the following verses:
‘Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.’
There he stood watching the smoke rise over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah after earnestly interceding for their salvation. If it had been you who had watched and prayed against what was happening, what would be going through your mind? I can guess: ‘God has not answered my prayer!’The disappointment of unanswered prayer is one thing that makes many of us give up on praying, or at least give up on prayer with expectancy. I have experienced unanswered prayer many times in my life, and know the disappointment and questions it can bring. This is especially so when you are certain that you have prayed in the will of God and in his way, just like Abraham did.
But I want you to learn from Abraham. His experience of what looks like clear unanswered prayer did not stop him from continuing to pray and to expect great things from God. Recall that he did not know at the time that in spite of what looked like unanswered prayer, God had in fact remembered his prayer and delivered his nephew, Lot. Nevertheless he continued to walk with God in dependence and expectation of good. He did not allow what he did not understand to distract him from what he understood – ‘that (God) exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’
We must never let any experience distract us from the truth that God is faithful and that he answers prayer. Sometimes, as in Abraham’s case, we say it is unanswered prayer only because we know in part. From the scriptures and from my experience I have discovered that God answers prayer, and that we can trust him to do what he says he will do. Just like Hannah we can testify of specific answers to prayer as a continuing experience. She testified: ‘I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him’ (1 Samuel 1:27 NIV). Prayer is a definite transaction with God. The Psalmist says ‘O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come’ (Psalm 65:2 NIV).
When we are faced with unanswered prayer let us not run away from God, but run to him. Let us ask God what he is saying. Perhaps we have prayed in a wrong way, or maybe it is not yet over and we ought to continue praying, or maybe there is work in progress that we are not seeing. God will give us wisdom if we ask him.
By all means let us not pray the wrong way but learn to apply all the ingredients of effective prayer. But above all let us continue to pray even when it seems like nothing is changing. I believe that many of the things we call unanswered prayers are actually unfinished prayers – prayers on which we have given up too soon before the answer came. The bible says:
‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning’ Isaiah 62:1 (NASB)
This man is declaring his commitment not to keep silent, but to continue to pray until God’s will is done. The emphasis is on ‘until’. We must pray until we see what God has promised.
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Comments? Questions? etc. If these messages have been helpful or unclear it would encourage us to hear from you, please write to chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE are you born again? It is not enough to believe in the existence of God, to go to church, or be interested in spiritual things. Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus died to deliver you from sin so that you can come to God. (John 3:16) If you ask him to forgive you and give you a new heart he will. (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-11).Try it. I’d love to hear from you @ chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chim’sWRITE are regular articles on Christian living and cross-cultural missions from Chimezie Onyebilanma a cross-cultural missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO is an indigenous African non-denominational cross-cultural mission agency involved in reaching the remaining unreached peoples in 22 countries of Africa and the Middle East as of present. CAPRO is involved in missions mobilization, training, and research as well as church-planting and mercy ministries (literacy, rural development, primary health-care, relief and rehabilitation). CAPRO is a faith mission, both the ministry and its missionaries depend on God’s provision through the giving of his people. None of its missionaries are salaried. All gifts are used as designated.
Surface Address: CAPRO MISSIONS SA, Durban, 47 Sutherland Rd, Waterfall, 3610, Durban, P.O.Box 207, Hillcrest, 3650, South Africa.Tel: +2731 766 2336; +27 794737208 (cell)
To learn more about the ministry of Chimezie Onyebilanma and how you can partner with us please email chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
To learn more about the cross-cultural missionary work of CAPRO visit www.capromissions.org.za
Do you know that your monthly gifts to support a missionary can make a big difference? To learn more about supporting missionaries please visit www.adopt-a-missionary.org or enquire at chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To subscribe to Chim’sWRITE please send a blank email to
ChimWRITE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe to Chim’sWRITE please send a blank email to
ChimWRITE-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPYRIGHT — It is required that permission be obtained from chim_ibidun@hotmail.com before these materials can be re-published on a website or in hard copy. However permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials via email, provided that such redistribution acknowledges the source and includes this phrase: “For a free subscription to Chimezie Onyebilanma’s weekly Chim’sWRITE, send a blank email to ChimWRITE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com “