SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/11/2023 11:40 AM
We continue to look at the sermon by John MacArthur on the first chapter of Daniel.
“Now, let me sum up those first
three points. I want you to get them. When you live an
uncompromising life, number one, you have an unashamed boldness. Number
two, you set an uncommon standard. And number three, you enjoy an unearthly
protection.
“I thought I might illustrate those
three, just to sum them up, from a portion of a book that I have read and I
hope you’ve read. I’ve commented on it before it was in print and it is
in print now. It’s called A Distant Grief. It’s the story of Kefa
Sempangi, that marvelous pastor of the church in Uganda, the church which was
so terribly brutalized by Idi Amin before he was removed from leadership.
And here is just an excerpt from the book.
“This was a particular Easter Sunday
when the Christians had been persecuted and terrible things were happening as
Amin’s Nubian killers were moving out to do everything they could to disrupt
Christianity. This is what the writer Kefa says.
“Despite the growing shadow of Idi
Amin, Easter morning, 1973, began as a most joyous occasion for the redeemed
church. The sun had just risen and the sky was empty of clouds when the
first people began arriving at the compound where we worshiped. They came
from almost every tribe, from the Baganda, the Besoga, the Banyankole, the Acholi
and the Langi, the Bagweri, and the Bagisu. They came from as far away as
Masaka, a town 80 miles southwest of Kampala.
“There were old men with walking
sticks and young women with babies on their backs. There were small
children with flowers in their arms. There were doctors and lawyers,
businessmen and farmers, cotton growers and government workers, only a few
traveled by car or taxi. Most came on foot or rode bicycles. Others
crowded into lorries so lopsided they seemed ready to collapse at any
moment. By 9:00, over 7,000 people were gathered. It was the
largest crowd ever to attend Sunday service at the redeemed church. When
there were no more places in the compound, people climbed trees or sat on the
roofs of the lorries. A few large groups set up in nearby yards with
their own amplifying systems and hundreds stood in the streets.
“Before the service, the elders and
I met in the vestry, an empty house by the compound, to pray. We felt
deeply the hunger in the hearts of the people who had gathered for
worship. We knew their desire to hear the Word of God and prayed that
their lives would be transformed by its power. As we poured our hearts
out to the Father in agonizing intercession, desperate scenes from the previous
week flashed again in my mind.
“I saw a face burned beyond
recognition and a woman huddled in a corner weeping. I saw a crowd of
soldiers standing in the park cheering. And I heard the sound of boot
crunching against bone. I remembered the arrogance of the mercenaries and
the dreamlike deadness of my heart. And once again the triumph of evil
overwhelmed me. I felt a deep fear. I myself had fallen, how could
I hope to strengthen others on this Easter? Who was I to feed God’s
children in this most desperate hour? What words could I speak?
“My brothers and sisters needed
courage to stand firm in the growing terror. They needed strength to
sustain them in suffering. They didn’t need my sermon. They didn’t
need my thoughts on the resurrection. My father had been right. ‘In
such times, men do not need words,’ he had said, ‘they need power.’
“I took my Bible and went to preach
that Easter morning with new courage. My message was the suffering of
Jesus Christ. I spoke of His triumph over evil and His victory over death.
I spoke of the power of His resurrection. And behind me were the elders,
sitting on a bench and praying. In front of me, thousands of unfamiliar
faces. There were believers in need of encouragement and unbelievers in
need of salvation. At 12:30 the sun was pouring hot on our heads and I
tried to close the service.” That’s three and a half hours later.
“The people refused to leave.
‘We have not come for a church service,’ someone shouted, ‘we have come to hear
the Word of God. Go rest yourself and then come back and preach
again.’ The crowd clapped and shouted their approval. I went to the
vestry for a brief rest and returned in the mid-afternoon. Hardly a
person had moved. I preached for three more hours. And this time
when I finished, no one objected. The sun was going down and everyone
knew the hour had come to close the meeting. It was not safe to travel
after dark.
“We didn’t know whether we’d ever
see each other again or when God might call us home, but we went out in peace
because we had seen with our eyes the salvation of the Lord. And with a
loud ‘Amen’ from the people and a final chorus from the choir, the Easter
service ended, and I turned to the elders and we embraced, praising God.
“It seemed as if days instead of
hours had passed since we had met for prayer. I was exhausted, but there
was joy in my heart. God had answered our prayers. He had broken
bread and fed His people. I had to push my way through the crowd, and
when I finally arrived at the house, I was exhausted and too tired to notice
the men behind me until they had closed the door.
“There were five of them. They
stood between me and the door, pointing their rifles at my face. Their
own faces were scarred with the distinctive tribal cuttings of the Kakwa tribe,
and they were dressed casually in flowered shirts and bell-bottom pants and
wore sunglasses. Although I had never seen any of them before, I
recognized them immediately. They were the Secret Police of the State
Research Bureau, Amin’s Nubian assassins. For a long moment no one said
anything and then the tallest man, obviously the leader, spoke, ‘We’re going to
kill you,’ he said. ‘If you have something to say, say it before you
die.’
“He spoke quietly but his face was
twisted with hatred. I could only stare at him. For a sickening
moment I felt the full weight of his rage. We had never met before but
his deepest desire was to tear me to pieces. My mouth felt heavy and my
limbs began to shake and everything left my control. ‘They’ll not need to
kill me,’ I thought to myself. ‘I’m just going to fall over. I’m
going to fall over dead and I’ll never see my family again.’
“I thought of Penina, home alone
with Damali. What would happen to them when I was gone? From far
away I heard a voice. And I was astonished to realize it was my
own. ‘I do not need to plead my own cause,’ I heard myself say. ‘I
am a dead man already. My life is dead and hidden in Christ. It is
your lives that are in danger. You are dead in your sins. I will
pray to God that after you’ve killed me, He will spare you from eternal
destruction.’
“The tall one took a step toward me
and then stopped. In an instant his face was changed, his hatred had
turned to curiosity. He lowered his gun and motioned to the others to do
the same. And they stared at him in amazement but they took their guns
away from my face. And then the tall one spoke again. ‘Will you
pray for us now?’ he asked.
“I thought my ears were playing a
trick. I looked at him and then at the others. My mind was completely
paralyzed. The tall one repeated his question more loudly, and I could
see that he was becoming impatient. ‘Yes, I will pray for you,’ I
answered.
“My voice sounded bolder even to
myself. ‘I will pray to the Father in heaven, please bow your heads and
close your eyes.’ The tall one motioned to the others again and together
the five of them lowered their heads. I bowed my own head but I kept my
eyes open.
“The Nubian’s request seemed to me a
strange trick. ‘Any minute,’ I thought to myself, ‘my life will
end. I do not want to die with my eyes closed.’
“ ‘Father in heaven,’ I prayed, ‘You
who have forgiven men in the past, forgive these men also. Do not let
them perish in their sins, but bring them unto Yourself.’
“It was a simple prayer, prayed in
deep fear, but God looked beyond my fears and when I lifted my head, the men
standing in front of me were not the same men who had followed me into the
vestry. Something had changed in their faces. It was the tall one
who spoke first. His voice was bold but there was no contempt in his
words. ‘You have helped us,’ he said, ‘and we will help you. We
will speak to the rest of our company and they will leave you alone. Do
not fear for your life. It is in our hands and you will be protected.’
“I was too astonished to
reply. The tall one only motioned for the others to leave. He
himself stepped to the doorway and then he turned to speak one last time.
“ ‘I saw widows and orphans in your
congregation,’ he said. ‘I saw them singing and giving praise. Why
are they happy when death is so near?’
“It was still difficult to speak,
but I answered him. ‘Because they are loved by God. Because He has
given them life and will give life to those they love because they died in
Him.’
“His question seemed strange to me
but he did not stay to explain. He only shook his head in perplexity and
walked out the door. I stared at the open door of the vestry for several
moments and then sat down on a nearby straw mat. My knees were no longer
strong and I could feel my whole body tremble. I couldn’t think
clearly.
“Less than ten minutes before, I had
considered myself a dead man. And even though I was surrounded by 7,000
people, there was no human being to whom I could appeal. I couldn’t ask
Kiwanuka to use his connections. I couldn’t ask the elders to pray.
I could not appeal to the mercy of the Nubian killers. My mouth had
frozen and I had no clever words to speak. But in that moment with death
so near, it was not my sermon that gave me courage, nor an idea from Scripture,
it was Jesus Christ the living Lord.”
I’m Sorry this is so long but I
think that it was worth the read.
12/11/2023
11:43 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment