A
sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 24 March 2019, the Third Sunday of Lent,
by the Rev. Roy Njuabe. The scripture readings that day were
Isaiah
55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9; Psalm
63:1-8.
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ:
I am so glad to be home. I can see
many old faces that I remember, some new ones too. All look good.
Greetings from the Vine Church,
Branches of Hope, greetings from Agape Home Foundation in Cameroon that I will
be talking about shortly, greetings from my family, who are not here with me
today, because today is my daughter Mizpah`s birthday and she had a date with
her friends this morning. You know, as a parent, do not disrupt the plans of
your children because of your duties. Yes, I can see some parents nodding their
head. I hope you can understand what I mean. They are having fun now. While they are having fun, I am glad to share
with you what God put on my heart.
Let us pray; Lord, may the word of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You my Lord. Amen
There are so many troubles in our
world today. Everyday somebody is killed, either by a bullet, or natural
disaster. Over the past weeks, the world had witnessed all kinds of disasters;
Mozambique and Zimbabwe were affected by cyclone Idai, that took away the life
of more than 200 people and the death toll keeps rising. The plane crash in
Ethiopia that killed 158 people. There
is a lot of hate in this world that the word love is like a myth. Is there true
love?
At Christchurch, a white supremacist
took the lives of 50 people in a mosque, African migrants killed in Libya and
some sold as slaves, those fleeing persecution drowned at the sea trying to
reach a safe place. In Nigeria hundreds of Christians killed by extremists.
Politicians disappeared, and nobody is held responsible.
As I am speaking right now to you,
people are dying in Southern Cameroon. The military that was stationed to
protect civilians are the ones killing them, raping women, burning homes and
stealing properties.
In the mist of all the Chaos, God
still speaks love through people. There are people who are working day and
night to help those affected. Some provide the resources, others their time and
skills. We all need to come together to make a difference.
In Cameroon, people are dying every
day, women and children live in bushes because of the fear that they will be
killed by the military or armed separatist group. In a country where the
military is above the law, there are some within the military that will take
advantage of their impunity to commit crimes against humanity. A community
without a strong legal system always keeps the weak at the mercy of the
powerful. Children can be abandoned by family, there is no law enforcement about
child neglect. Parent can beat their children, there is no law enforcement
about child abuse. Women can be raped, there is no law enforcement about rape.
Where can the victims run to when their attackers got the power and money to
pay their way out of justice? Yes, nothing will happen to them, so they can do
whatever they want; beat that child, rape that girl, kill that politician, oh
yes, I got the power and money. When a system is corrupt, we find it hard to
bring real justice. When the weak cannot find justice, they stay quiet and
buried their hurt, because there is no one to fight for them.
Standing with the vulnerable:
What can we do with all these
problem in our world, in our communities, in our homes? Who will fight for the
most vulnerable in countries where the strong can get away with their crimes,
who will speak up? Who will stand with the vulnerable?
God is calling us. Are you ready to
move? When God calls you, remember that He want to send you. God is not just
interested in calling you or you coming to Him, He is interested in your
transformation and you going out to bear witness and stand with the vulnerable.
That is why Isaiah prophesied about the Spirit of God that is on Jesus so that
He will “proclaim
good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the
captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn
(Isaiah 61:1-2b).
Agape Home Foundation:
There are people and organizations
that God has called, transformed, anointed so that they can proclaim freedom to
the captive and bind the brokenhearted. One of these organization Agape Home
Foundation in Cameroon. The people of this organization, both staff and volunteers,
walked through the streets of Cameroon, enter homes and dangerous places
looking for victims; those abused, children abandoned, raped victims, pregnant
ladies with no husband, widows abused by family in-law. They took these victims
into safe places where they can start to rebuild their lives again, fight for
justice and empower others. They provided children with the opportunity to go
back to school, young pregnant women to learn new skills in order to take care
of their children, and to fight for justice for those abused. Over the past
years this organization had endeavored to empower thousands of young women,
children and widows across Southern Cameroon.
However, the last few years since
2016 had been the most challenging time of this organization and other working
on the ground to serve the vulnerable. Their work has become even harder
because the crisis in Cameroon had caused many children to become orphans
because their parent was killed in the fighting. Many women became widows
because their husbands were killed, many young girls became pregnant because
they were raped, and many families became homeless because their homes were
burned down. In the midst of all this chaos, the world is silent and gave the
attacker an upper hand to continue the attack on the most vulnerable. When
things are going bad, and the world is silent, know that there is God who is
never silent. Even when the world was silent God spoke through a mad man as he
wrote on the wall “If Biya (President of Cameroon) joke, Me God I don’t joke.
He was arrested and later released.
Turn to God:
When things go wrong, let us turn to
God knowing that He does not joke.
That this
why David when he was in the desert in Judah cried out to God, God my God,
earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where there is no
water (Psalm 63:1).
Why did David cry out to God,
because the remembered the power and glory of God that he saw in the sanctuary,
he remembered that the love of God is better than life as he said “I have seen
you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory, Because your love is
better than life, my lips will glorify you” (Psalm 63:2-3). What a beautiful
way to express agony. Even in the mist of agony we can still trust God and
glorify His name.
The people of Cameroon can still
trust God because of His love.
The Love of God:
God truly loves the world, but Satan
has made it a place for killers. As Jesus once said, you turn the house of God
into a place of robbers. The world God created and said it is beautiful has
become a graveyard for innocent people. However, God still loves the world that
is why He send his only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not
perish but have eternal life. Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor and
bind the wounds of the brokenhearted. Out of an overflow of His Love, He died
on the cross so that we can be transformed. Remember that His death on the
cross was for free, we don’t need to pay for it. As Isaiah said, let them turn to
the Lord, and he will have mercy on them and to our God, for he will freely
pardon. (Isaiah 55:7b). All we need is repentance as Luke 13: 3 says “unless
you repent, you too will all perish”. God has
paid the ultimate price of our transgression by offering His Son out of love so
that we can be free.
Acknowledgment of God`s Love:
When I look back into my life, I
think of the things that I did wrong; the people I hurt, the offenses I
committed; the people I betrayed, the hate, jealousy and the cheating. I wonder
what kind of life I will live without God. I was so ashamed of myself and
wonder what kind of life did I live; am I even worthy to stand before God? Who can forgive me? I failed so many times,
no matter how I tried to be good, I failed, no matter how I tried to trust God,
I failed, I failed so badly that I don’t know what to do. Then I think of the
cross, I think of the power of the cross, the power of God`s salvation, His
love. I listen to Him calling my name saying Roy, my son, come with me. I will
show you my love. No matter what you did, yes, it was wrong, yes it was bad,
but I am glad you confess them to me and stand firm not to do them again. Of
course, my child when you make a mistake, do not hesitate to come back to me
because I am your God and will always love you. Do you remember the cross, the
one which I died on? It is not just the cross, it is God’s love that make the
cross visible. When Jesus said it is finished, it is all gone. Then I realized
how much God has done for me, I remember His power and glory, so my lips will
glorify His name. Because of His love, I stand with the afflicted, the
brokenhearted so that they can experience the love of God. The people of
Cameroon and the refugees in Hong Kong and all of us, listen the Lord is calling,
come to me those who are thirsty, and I will give you Living water.
Do not give up:
God called, transformed and sent us
to work in His vineyard. Sometime the work can be disappointing. No better
result, there is still war, people are still dying, the powerful and wicked
people still own the land. Yes, even the refugee crisis never stops, the war in
Cameroon is still going on. Why should I waste my time and money? I have worked
so hard Lord, it is time to give up. I wanted you to see some fruits of my
labor, but there is nothing to show. I just want to stop being a Good
Samaritan. Lord for three years you have being coming here and there is no
fruit on the tree, oh yes, many years of hard labor, giving out money to
organizations, let us stop now, because there is nothing fruitful. Wait a
moment, Lord give me one more year, yes that is what Luke told us, the
caretaker of the Vineyard asked for one more year from the owner of the
Vineyard, yes one more. Yes ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it
and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it
down.’” (Luke 13:8). I will dig around it, add some more
fertilizers, yes, I will give more time to it, maybe more money, I will apply
more strategy or better still I will pray more. Remember we need to keep taking
care of the vineyard even if it does not bear fruits. When you are tired and
one to give up, do not stop, ask God for one more year, ask Him for strength. I
have been working with refugees for more than 12 years, sometimes I felt tired,
nothing changed, God why am I doing all these things. Last year we sent about
12 refugees to Canada, yet we received 20 new more cases, we gave financial
support to hundreds of refugees yet we received thousands of them. Are we going
to give up? No.
This scripture reminded us to be
resilient- never give up keep working. Say to God give me one more year, keep
adding those fertilizers, water, love, money, time and joy, one day you will
gain your reward. Though the Bible did not tell us whether the vineyard
actually bore fruits or not. I am sure it did because of the caretaker was
determined, I am sure the caretaker asked not just for one year but many years.
The fruits:
Sometime the fruits might be
invisible, may be just a few fruits. Know that the way God sees fruits may not
be the same as we see. We may look at the fruit in human sense, but God looks
at it with spiritual reality. His ways are not ours, we may want to see changes
in this world according to human standard but is reminding us that His ways are
higher than human ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). Listen,
God’s ways are powerful. He will surely make a way for us.
The fruit might be that single
mother who can now take care of her child, it may that one raped victim who got
justice, the fruit may be that 12 refugees who got a new home in Canada, the
fruit may be that refugee who became a pastor preaching the gospel. The fruit
may be sitting next to you or running towards you.
Are you willing to be transformed by
God`s love so that you can bless others?
Yes, God is the one who promised His
love to you. As you receive God`s love, love others, and God will draw people
closer to you.
When God transforms you with His
unconditional love, people will be running to you, even people you don’t know.
As He said in Isaiah 55:5 “Surely you will summon nations you know not, and
nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”
Yes, many people from different
nations will be running to you. Even people you do not know will run to you.
Kowloon Union Church has shown God`s unconditional love to many people, you can
see how people from different nations are running toward this Church, not
because she invited people to come, but because of her unconditional love.
I am one of those people who was
drawn to this church by the love I experienced here. There are a lot of
memories in this place: I got married to my wife in this church, my two
daughters were baptized in this church, I got my first scholarship to study at
the seminary in this church, I got my first paid job in Hong Kong in this
church, I got my first experience as a board member in this church when I was
elected as a council member, I preached in this church when I was a refugee, I
was a liturgist in this church when I was a refugee. This church truly
demonstrated what it means to be “Where all are one”.
I came here as a refugee, broken and
hopeless, yet I experienced an unconditional love, I became Hong Kong resident
when I was in this church, and today I can say this church taught me how to
love and I can move on to love other vulnerable people.
Conclusion:
God is
calling you: come to me all who are thirsty, come to the waters. Come to me all
who burden and want to give up, come to the Lord and He will fill you with the
power of the Holy Spirit. When the harvest is ready, we will be delighted in
the richest things of God. May God keep
us all strong as we labor in His Vineyard taking care of the vulnerable, may we
be transformed by His Love now and forever Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Wednesday, March 27, 2019
