Where in the World is God at Work
Jonah 1, 3, 4 April 4, 2003
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: [2] "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
[3] But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: [2] "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."
[3] Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city--a visit required three days. [4] On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." [5] The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
[4:1] But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. [2] He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. [3] Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."
[4] But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"
[5] Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. [6] Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. [7] But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. [8] When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."
[9] But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
[10] But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. [11] But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
CCI: God’s work in South Africa is a window through which we can see our role in God’s work around the world.
Intro: I have great news for you, I have chartered a jet to take our congregation to Baghdad tomorrow morning. We are going to go as missionaries and our message to tell this great city that God has seen their wickedness. How many of you are ready to go to Baghdad as missionaries tomorrow morning? That is exactly how Jonah felt.
The situation in Baghdad is terrible. Saddaam has willfully slaughtered thousands upon thousands of his own people. His Ba’ath party has brutalized Iraqis and Chaldeans and Shi’ites and Kurds for decades. We don’t want to go there, God could not possibly us to such a dangerous situation. But listen to the description of the brutality of the rulers of the city of Ninevah:
“The Assyrians were guilty of gross idolatry and cruel violence. Historians tell us they would ram a sharp steak through the chest of a prisoner. Then they would laugh while the prisoner squirmed and died. They sometimes would tie their enemies to the ground and peel the skin off their enemies. The Assyrians would decapitate those they defeated and pile their heads outside the city gate so they could have a literal ‘head count.’” (a sermon by Dr. Bill Shereos, First EF Church, Chicago, IL)
They were wicked. And these were the people God called Jonah to serve. Jonah was not excited about it. When God called him, he jumped on a boat heading the other way. It was as if God said, “Go to New York” and Jonah went to Los Angeles. But God continued to work, the fish got him where he was to go and then God moved in the hearts of the Assyrians and they repented, all of them, even their king and their cattle were humbled before God, and God forgave them. Jonah was not happy, in fact 25% of the book is about his anger, but God wanted to redeem this people, and he used an unwilling prophet to do it.
You see, the book of Jonah is not a book about a man and a fish. It is a book about God’s heart for the world. It is a contrast between our heart and God’s heart. It is a book about mission, it is a book that opens a window into God’s dream for the world. This morning, I want to share with you what God is doing in one corner of our world.
That corner is South Africa. Most of us know little more about this country than that until the last decade, state ordered apartheid kept the land segregated in every way possible. Black South Africans were not permitted to live in certain neighborhoods, ride public transportation, vote in national elections, attend certain sporting events, or worship with white South Africans. We know that through the leadership of Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela black South Africans were given an equal stand in the country. We know that South Africa is rich in mineral resources like gold, and diamonds. But beyond that, we know little else. Let me share with you a few facts:
(The following Statistics are taken from “The World FactBook”, a publication of the CIA, available at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html )
∙ South Africa is slightly less than twice the size of Texas.
∙ In that country lie two other countries who are independent states composed of individual African tribes, Lesotho and Swaziland. For convenience, we will include these nations in our survey of South Africa because they have very close political ties.
∙ Water shortage is a major issue throughout the country, in Lesotho, there are only 10 sq Km of irrigated land. The rivers that are there, are severely polluted and soil erosion is turning much of the land into a desert.
∙ Across the nation the life expectancy is 45 years and in Swaziland, it is 37 years.
∙ In 1999, out of a population of 45 million, it is estimated that 5.6 million are infected by the HIV/AIDS virus and an estimated 320,000 people died in 2000. The rate of infection among adults is from 20% to 35% depending on the area of the country. By contrast, in our population of 280 million, there are 850,000 living with AIDS/HIV and there were 20,000 deaths.
∙ The infant mortality rate ranges from 65 to 110 deaths per 1,000 births.
∙ Cocain consumption is on the rise and the country has become an attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region.
∙ 50% of the population live below the poverty line and 40% are unemployed.
∙ The South African currency, the rand, had an exchange rate of 4.6 per US Dollar in 1997, today it is 7.9 to 1.
∙ There are slightly more than 5,000,000 telephone lines, and in 2001 there were 7,000,000 cell phones. Across the country, approximately 8% of the population have internet access.
∙ The crime rate is horrendous. In letters from Missionaries we have learned that in most upper middle class neighborhoods, the residents hire their own private police to patrol the gated and walled properties. On top of the walls surrounding homes are razor wire, embedded glass and steel spikes. (Rick and Anita Gutierrez, personal e-mail)
Clearly the land of South Africa is facing momentous challenges and monumental changes. But in the midst of this, God is at work. Despite all these problems, a reconciliation council has been established that is bringing together former victims and their tormentors. After hearing the confessions of the aggressor, the victim has the right to recommend the punishment. Many times, forgiveness is offered. Reconciliation is occurring. People are being freed from their guilt and hatred.
However, with the rise in organized crime, South Africa is today, one of the most dangerous countries on the earth.
Today, about 60-80% of the population, claim the name of Jesus Christ. These South Africans are our brothers and sisters in Christ. These believers are eager to reach out to their Animist, Islam and Hindu neighbors and families with the message of Jesus Christ. If reconciliation is to continue, the God of peace must be introduced to the rest of the nation.
Ten years ago, Rick and Anita Gutierrez completed their medical residency. Two doctors in one family, the world was open before them. They settled in Kalamazoo and started a family. About the same time, the Baptist Church of South Africa began to overwhelmed with the increasing burden of HIV/AIDS victims and their families.
As American Baptist, we look to the local church for direction in mission. We do not select an area and decide from our Valley Forge office that this is where we should minister. Rather, our partners around the world make requests for mission assistance based on their needs. And so, about the time Rick and Anita were starting their West Michigan careers, our South African partners made a very unusual and difficult request. They asked for a Missionary family, that consisted of two medical doctors, a doctor team that would have a passion to minister to HIV/AIDS victims. No where in the world have we ever had a Doctor couple on assignment. As you can imagine, they are rather rare.
Our International Ministry office accepted the request, told them not to hold their breath, but listed the need.
That is when God began working in the hearts of the Gutierrez family. It was a lot like Jonah. “Go to that great land of South Africa and serve among the AIDS victims in that land. Their cry has come to my ears, and my heart is breaking for them.” As members of FBC, Kalamazoo, they knew a bit about ABC mission so they contacted our office in Valley Forge. And God brought together a Doctor couple and a church in need.
In a journal entry in March, Anita wrote, The Baptist Mission of South Africa is a convention of fifteen Indian Baptist churches located in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. This group has invited Rick and I to work with them to develop outpatient church based health ministries. About three years ago, Pastor Jacob, Baptist Mission Church of Tongaat, and the church's missions committee felt God calling them to respond to the needs of a neighboring Zulu community. They began by bringing food. In the one room Zwelisha Farms community center building, Pastor Jacob began holding Sunday worship services and weekly prayer meetings. He is now mentoring a young Zulu man who may one day take over the pastoral leadership of this church.
American Baptist missionary Cheryl Jones leads a weekly bible study at the community center. The need of this community that cried out to Pastor Jacob and the women of the Tongaat missions committee was health care. They had no healthcare background, but this did not stop them. A local Christian doctor provided them with some basic information about how to establish a rudimentary lay health clinic. They obtained donations from a pharmacy of over-the-counter medications such as fever and pain relievers, cough suppressants and anti-scabies cream. They have distributed these once a month after the morning worship service for the past one-year. These women know that they are taking a risk. They speak little Zulu. There are current animosities and cultural differences between the Indians and Zulus. HIV/AIDs is rampant. They are aware of the crime in black townships. These women have crossed these barriers and in doing so something important has happened. They have shown the people of Zwelisha Farms that their church cares about their health. They have begun their journey of understanding how God can use their church to heal in a holistic way.
A church is being born as women from the Tongaat Baptist church literally run to the border, they are hearing the call to go to Ninevah and God is working.
Oh yes, God is at work! This morning He is calling you. He may not be calling you to Baghdad or to Durban, SA, or he may. Investors know that the greatest return only comes with the greatest risk. So I ask you, What is your Ninevah? Where is God calling you to ministry? What is the risk you are willing to take with God? Is there a person in your neighborhood who you have avoided? Is there a child who needs your attention, or a neighbor who needs your love?
This morning we will be sharing in the Lord’s Supper. As you receive the bread and the cup, I challenge you to first, remember the risk God took loving you. And then, in taking these symbols, let them be a sign of your willingness to go to the Ninevah of God’s choice.
