Press on strategically

Reverend Julian Kyula

2nd Corinthians 4:7  | Philippians 3

Authority is the ability to decide and act without hindrance. The Word of God carries authority, God sends His Word and it completes His will. That is how it was in the beginning, in Genesis and that is how He still operates in our day. His Word enables us to live out His Will in authority. 

We can access this authority through faith in the Word; God never checks on the budget we’ve prepared for Kingdom work, He looks at our faith. This requires us to unlearn worldly perspectives and calculations and embrace only the principles in the Word of God. 

(1st Corinthians 2:6-8), (Isaiah 60:2-3), (Proverb 25:2)

Africa has gathered here and it’s great; but what will happen after we have gathered, What comes after? We must understand what to do with the authority we’ve been given. Christians are not using the resources available to us as we should.

God has hidden wisdom that is revealed only when we seek it in having fellowship with God. One of the things that affects revelation is the environment we’re in. We are all a product of an environment, which dictates its own biases. Therefore, there will always be a need to unlearn and relearn. (1 Corinthians 2:6-8, Isaiah 60:2-3). Good teachings help us to have doxology (knowledge to praise God) and praxeology (practice and interpretation) is our everyday practice based on this Word we’ve learnt.

As Christians, we should exert impact in any environment; politics, infrastructure, education etc. We ought to contribute to every endeavour of our nation. When we have access to these spheres of life, we can fight to ensure that the system is working for us. However, sometimes it is not combat but cooperation that helps will give us influence. Using Joseph as an example, the King sought after a person with wisdom and revelation and Joseph knew what to do with his access to the King and the political and economic system. 

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Education is imported into Africa, but we can reshape it based on the principles in the Word of God. When you sense dissatisfaction in the current state of things, that can be a driver for innovation and change. We cannot afford to just be churches with large attendance and still not impact the educational system. We need to be able to change financial policies, economies, etc. wherever change is needed  - and we need to bring change according to God’s word. The world can only come to Jesus when they see things in a society that has never been done before. 

(Romans 11:11)

Q&A

What we deed in our church in Kenya is raising people to take positions, expertise and all needed in the system. The church has a fifteen years’ strategy to take over the city. 

In Africa, the population is rising in a high percentage, the youth contributing the biggest share. We have hope for the future of the continent. However, the older generation must start to do the work so that the next inherits. There has to be imagination and vision for Africa, and we as Christians should be the ones doing it. When they see the work we have done others shall see what God has done. 

To the church in Smyrna (Africa)

Pastor Mussie Fisseha is the Worship Pastor for the English Congregation at Beza International Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty- yet you are rich." Revelation 2:8-9

As we are reflecting on the issue of Identity in the African continent as an extension of the Africa Arise conference, these words of Jesus come as an assurance and reminder to us that in the midst of affliction and poverty, Jesus is still in control and stands as the First and the Last of who we are. It seems like narratives about the past, present and future of the people of the continent have gone ahead and have even dictated its direction. But those things are not the ‘First’ of our identity. Who Jesus is and His authority over us as our maker and redeemer is the ‘First and Final’ say. His firstness goes beyond and proceeds every affliction and darkness. This is such an encouraging passage to read; while everyone else sees the affliction and the poverty, Jesus calls out the richness of the church. Jesus still secures our identity. 

The hope the church and what it is called to proclaim is that Jesus is the first and last; that He died and rose again. This is the truth that brought us out of darkness into his marvellous light and from bondage to freedom. And this same hope is what will bring out the people of Africa from confusion about identity to embracing the words of the one who is Alpha and Omega. If any man is in Christ, He is a new creation. "The old has passed away and behold all things have become new." 2 Co 5:17

Dear brothers and sisters of the church of Africa, let us keep proclaiming the gospel to those around us for that is the only power that will change our names and will change our identity. The power of the gospel preached purely is what will wash us from all the filth and dirt of sin and of this world. Our hope is that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega and He still lives.

God is a linguist!

A reflection on Identity by Tsion Driba

Tsion Diriba ministers in the youth ministry at Beza International Church and was the former Africa Arise Coordinator.

God is a linguist.

We know him to be the source of all language; not in the way of human dialect but in all the ways He chooses to communicate who He is to us. The best way He has done this is through His son (Heb 1:2). Another way He has communicated is through humanity, His creation!

God used Himself as the standard and source when He began to narrate humanity. This shows that our Identity is very important to Him, and if this is the case, that means it should be important to us as well. 

On the first night of Africa Arise, our Pastor poured oil on the place of Identity’ and we prayed for the breaking of all the false narratives that defined our Identity in the African church. 

Why was that necessary? 
It was necessary because God’s narratives always precede and give way to His plan. In Job 38:2, we hear the Lord speaking to Job “Who is this that obscures my plan with words without knowledge”.  Many times, we perceive words without knowledge (narratives not sourced from God/not sourced from light) and end up obscuring God’s plan. Seeing where the African church is today, it is obvious that she is not fully living out the plan sourced from light. We have witnessed and are witnessing so much darkness. This is due to the false narratives that have been spoken about her. 

But in this season of the Gathering, because the children of God understood how vital identity is in the spirit, we came together and agreed in prayer for a changed narrative once and for all. With the prophetic act of pouring oil, we were able to restore God’s purest language for Africa. 

Then what now?
NOW as we continue to embrace and live out our identity, it becomes vital that we focus our eyes on his continued redemptive plan. Every action of the Lord is for redemption and the way we perceive it will affect how we live out that restoration. When we think of Africa rising in her truest identity, it is nothing but FOR redemption. The areas most damaged would become wells of healing; the hands of those who were abused will extend to bless. and misused resources will become streams of water for the nations.

Vertical Theology

By Pr Zerubbabel Mengistu

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins … 1 Chor 15:3

The church leaders in the 5th century, found themselves debating the nature of Christ; while one group contended that He was fully God and had only a divine nature, the other side believed that He was both man and God and therefore had two natures. These debates caused a divide within the church that has remained to this day.  

In 1 Chor 15:3, the Apostle Paul emphasises that the issue of ‘first importance’ in the Gospel is that Christ died and has been raised to life. This is in line with what Jesus teaches in Matthew 22, that the ‘most important’ command is to love God and love our neighbours just as we love ourselves. We learn from these two passages that, there are issues that are most important and issues that are less important in the Kingdom of God. I would like to label this perspective ‘Vertical Theology’. 

When we fail to understand this hierarchy in commands, we put an equal weight on every aspect of our walk with the Lord and then proceed to judge our fellow believers based on this improper measure. I have labelled this pattern ‘Horizontal theology’. 

Horizontal theology is dangerous. It means that we only cooperate and worship with those who have the exact same theology as we do and exclude those who may understand some things differently. This theology is divisive. The scribes/religious leaders were victims of horizontal theology. They knew the commands of God; they just did not have them ordered in degrees of importance. They contended among themselves solely on issues that were of secondary/less importance. 

But vertical theology is different. It focuses on the issue of first importance, which is that Christ died for us and that we are now included in this new covenant where we can love the Lord and one another. Every other command comes after these issues of first importance.  

The arc of the covenant was designed so that four people would carry it in tandem. If those four find themselves unable to walk together in harmony, there is no way the arc could move. It is therefore important for all the church to move together sharing the love, not the theology references we have. The Lord’s prayer in Mat 17 is that we will be one, as God is one, not that we will be right and have all theology right. 

If we are not in the right standing with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we cannot be in the right standing with God. We need to adjust our theology and move it so that we can come together in unity to exult Jesus, so the world can see Him. In a vertical theology, there is room for everyone. 

Therefore, we have one Messiah, Jesus Christ, who died for all.  This is the love that He has displayed to us. This is the love that we show the world through our love for one another. Love will achieve what theology cannot do. 

Find some scripture references to illustrate the concept of first importance - Galatians 3:1, Philippians 1:9-10, Galatians 5:6, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Colossians 3:14, Revelation 2:4, Ephesians 3:17-18).

Africa Arise Session #5: Together

Pastor Sameh Maurice

Kasr el Dobara Evangelical Church 

The word “together” is a key word in the Kingdom of God. It is mentioned several times in the Book of Acts. (1:14; 2:1; 2:44; 4:24)

There are three ways to fulfil God’s command for us to be together. We learn from the early church that they fulfilled this assignment, first by praying together. The disciples raised their voices together in prayer to God (Acts 4:24). It is very important to pray together because we are praying to one Father and one kingdom. Second, they were together in fellowship and had everything in common (Acts 2:44). The church should be together sharing what we have with each other so that no one is in need. Third, they were together in proclaiming the Gospel. If we want to be like the early church, then we have to be together.

What are the things that bring us together? The most important is the vertical theology. We have one faith and believe in one church. However, we are different in our doctrine but that is second in importance. What makes you a Christian is not your doctrine, but your faith in Christ. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:3-6 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

The second thing that brings us together is love. We have been ordered to love one another (John 13:34). The third element that unites believers and the church is vision. There is a difference between vision and calling. Calling without vision might divide the church. Jesus gave his disciples one vision - to take the gospel to the ends of the earth - but He gave them different callings. Paul went to the gentiles and Peter went to the Jews.

If we don’t see the big picture and vision, we will be divided. The big vision is about God, His desire, and His heart. We might not need each other for our callings but we do need each other for the vision. Follow the vision and you will find yourself closer to your brother.

Why do we need to be together? First of all this is the desire of our God. The Father wants one bride for His son Jesus Christ. This is the heart of our Father and desire of our Lord Jesus. If we love Him we will do everything we can to be together.

Second, Jesus prayed in John 17: 21 that we may all be one, as He and the Father are in one another and that we also may be in the Father and the Son, so that the world may believe that the Father sent Him. Indeed, the world will believe when we are together.

Third, Jesus continued His prayer in John 17: 22-23 and said “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.” The goal of the glory is to be one. If we want the glory and authority given to the Son, glory to change history, to bind and loose, and bring down strongholds, then we will have it only if we are one with each other. We will only change the history of our nations and Africa if we are one - in prayer, fellowship and in preaching the gospel. It is up to us.  

It is very hard and costly to be together. The church belongs to Jesus Christ. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and the world rulers of this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12). Since the resurrection many antichrist spirits came into the world. And the problem of these spirits is that they not only want to deny the incarnation or the divinity of Christ, but also want to swallow the world and control the nations. We can’t fight them alone. Only the church of Christ united together can stand against these strongholds and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Therefore, we need one another.

In closing, we need to repent for our divisions in the church and undo what we have done. Nehemiah prayed “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.” (Nehemiah 1:6) That’s why it is very important to do everything possible to keep the spirit of unity and declare the church as His church and not our church. The hope of the world is Jesus Christ and His church. May the Lord help us to gather His family and His church together.

Find footage of Day 5’S MORNING SESSION of Africa Arise below!

Africa Arise Evening Session #4: Beyond the Gathering

Bishop Joshua HK Banda

Beyond the Gathering: Exploring Mandate Guidelines for Community Transformation

 Zephaniah 3:9-12

This Africa Arise gathering is by God’s mandate. The Mandate is to: Reconnect, Reflect, Refuel, Rekindle and Recharge. What happens after this gathering, therefore, is more important than the moments we experience during the gathering.

The dictionary defines mandate as “an official order or commission to do something.” As children of God, we must understand that there is a calling on our lives, and within that calling, several assignments. Specifically, there are things God has spoken during Africa Arise this week that are assignments.

Assignments are for others. John 7:37-39 shows how the rivers flow out. This rivers are not for us. 

A few facts about Zephaniah’s mandate:

1. Zephaniah was a fourth generation descendant of King Hezekiah. (Zephaniah 1:1)

2. Zephaniah’s name means “The Lord Hides, or the Lord protects.”

3. At the age of 20, Zephaniah was to bring a prophecy of judgement.

4. Zephaniah’s primary audience was Judah, which was in a state of apostasy.

5. Zephaniah’s model was for community transformation to the nations. 

Judah was at a crossroads and so is Africa. Transformation needed. Beyond the gathering, God has people amongst us who are pregnant with assignment. 

Three key guidelines:

1. The privilege of revelation: Zephaniah 1:1 This verse specifies the revelation that came to Zephaniah. Luke 10:21 would remind us that there are times when God hides a matter, and  times when He reveals a matter. Revelation is both rare and a privilege. It must be properly stewarded. 

Revelation is for others. “It was revealed to them, that they were not serving themselves, but you…” (1Peter 1:10) To come back next year the same way we were is a squandered opportunity. We must, “Learn from the past, Obey in the present, Shape the future.”

2. The primacy of relevance: We must consider ourselves as transformation agents wherever we are. Like the sons of Issachar, we must understand the times, and know what to do. Zephaniah addressed Judah, Jerusalem, the Philistines, Assyria and Moab. Zephaniah addresses the context, and says that He will deal with the people who have taken advantage of their vulnerabilities. (Zephaniah 2) For those thinking of plundering Africa, know that God will act accordingly.

3. The promise of restoration: Zephaniah 3 Divine restoration is characteristically:

i. Instructive

ii. Protective

iii. Transformational

Educate yourself about Africa to remain relevant. When we speak of the restoration of Africa, we need to be aware of the priorities on the continent. Nicholas Murray said, “There are those who don’t know what is happening, those who watch things happen, and those who make things happen.” We make things happen!

Find footage of day 4 of Africa Arise below

Africa Arise Evening Session #3: My Testimony

Bishop Dieudonné Nahimana

Burundi

There is no future for Africa without forgiveness and reconciliation. The Bible says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creature and that God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-18).

We know our Heads of State are not far from here. We know some of them are sitting together but don’t love each other. But our ministry as the church has power to bring together people who have hated each other and be reconciled and start to build a new Africa.

Growing up in post-colonial Burundi, from a very young age I started to realize that my country was very divided. I started to notice the injustice and segregation in my community. Even at church we would sing the same songs, pray to our Father in heaven, but after that we wouldn’t mix with one another.

I grew up during the civil war in Burundi. I was in a boarding school when I received news that my father had been killed along with 19 other people from my community. Our house and cattle were destroyed and there was no possibility to go back home. It was very hard for me because I was close with my father. What was worse, I found out that the leader of my church was the one behind the killing. My faith in God was shaken. I ended up questioning everything.

My boarding school was closed because of the war and I ended up on the streets because I had no home to go back to. A friend invited me to stay with him at his university dorm. When he started preaching the Gospel to me, I was very skeptical.

I asked him for a Bible, because I was determined to prove to him that there was no God. I came across the verse in Matthew 5 which tells us to love our enemies. Immediately I felt as though someone was the room with me. He filled me with peace I had never known., and this would lead to my decision to make Jesus the Lord of my life. I heard the Lord clearly say to me, “You are no longer an orphan. You are going to take care of orphans and you are going to change them into future leaders who are going to change this nation.” That was the beginning of my street children ministry and since then we have worked with thousands of street children.

Ten years later I went back to my hometown with a group of young people to see the man who killed my father face to face. I had been preaching about forgiveness and I wanted what my reaction would be. Was I really a new creation? 

Truly that day I was able to say I am a new creation. I felt love and compassion and I wanted to see him born again. The entire community was touched by my message of forgiveness. To this day my wife and I have paid school fees for all of his children and supports them in all their needs. 

Jesus is the head and the church. We are his hands and feet (Ephesians 1: 15-20). I don’t understand people who go to church and speak in tongues but don’t understand their full mandate to bring peace, reconciliation and economic development in their countries. We are born again for a reason. I personally took up the challenge and I ran for President in my country of Burundi. We have to take every opportunity to be agents of peace reconciliation.

 Find footage of day 3 of Africa Arise below

Africa Arise – Evening Session#2: Breaking the Horns of Limitations

Bishop Joshua Deng Leek

Zech 1:5-20

In the above passage we find the Lord is speaking comforting words to Israel. I believe it also reflects the Lord’s heart towards Africa. If we fail to properly address mistakes in our past, they will live on in our generation.

The second half of this passage talks about the horns that have scattered Judah and Israel. If we don’t see what the devil is doing, we are not equipped to demolish it. As he looked up he saw four horns. These horns were keeping all of Israel from lifting up their heads. This is what has happened in our continent. There is a spiritual limitation that is the cause for all of our failure and poverty.

The horns that are raised up in this continent are greed, tribalism, poverty and shame. We need ask ourselves why we struggle with all these failures and poverty in the midst of such fertile ground and good weather; why we are so divided. These horns of limitation have scattered us. 

Politicians have tried, but have not been able to address these horns and unite the people. The church is different because we have spiritual authority, and the protection and grace of heaven.

We are positioned for such a time as this in history. We are here as the craftsmen of the Lord to dismantle and demolish these horns. We have the power of heaven on our side and we are equipped by His spirit. We pour the water of cleansing according to Ezekiel 36:24-25.

 Find footage of day 2 of Africa Arise below