The Hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Our Shared Purpose

Good morning. It's such a wonderful time to be here.! I'd like to greet you in Jesus' name.

! Praise the Lord! Amen! I would like to bring greetings from African Community Fellowship Church.! I bring greetings from African Community Fellowship.

You just clap one star as a demonstration of you receiving them. Do you receive them? Yes! Thank you. I feel at home now. There you go. Grace and mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I mentioned, it's such a joy to stand before you today at Covenant Christian Reform Church here in Appleton City. Every time God's people gather together to worship, it is a great testimony to His faithfulness.

When we gather together, it's such a great testimony and our demonstration that we recognize that we don't belong ourselves, whether it is in body, soul, or mind.

All of the things that we have belong to God. And when we pause on a Sunday morning to come before Him, it's so humbling. And it's just a response of faithfulness, recognizing who we are.

Before I open God's Word, I want to introduce myself. I was born and raised in Kenya. I was born into a pastoralist and nomadic context in northwest Kenya among the Pokot people in a polygamy family.

But I am blessed to be married to my beloved wife, Lois. And the Lord has truly smiled into our marriage and blessed us with three children, Samuel, Josiah, and Joyce.

And both of them are in their pursuit in terms of education, range from junior high school to sophomore in college, respectively.

These four people, including my wife, are the greatest source of joy in love and in the sharing of this gospel ministry together.

They are my primary support. Support in prayer and support in encouraging me as I move forward. For the first 17 years, I have had the immense privilege of being a CRC pastor in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving African Community Fellowship Church.

A ministry that was began 25 years ago by what you used to know as home missions. For nearly two decades now, I have watched God gather people from different nations, languages, and tribes, weaving them into a beautiful mosaic of faith.

I have seen fast that the gospel knows no boundaries. For nearly recently, beginning of, towards the end of last year, the Lord has started our hearts as a family and personally, especially myself, to transition into a new chapter in ministry.

I have accepted a call as Pastor Keith has mentioned to serve as a full-time missionary with Resonate Global Mission. As a family is preparing to relocate to Soroti, Uganda, where I will be serving as leadership developer.

As I prepare for this transition, the Holy Spirit has locked a singular burning vision into my heart, or rather vision into my heart. It is the truth that breaches Grand Rapids, Michigan, Appleton, Wisconsin, and the Uganda, and Uganda in Africa.

It is the conviction that the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ is our shared purpose globally. And it was reflected by what the church does as far as the mission of God is concerned.

We have that shared vision, and that shared vision is the hope of Jesus Christ is our shared purpose globally, regardless of our location, regardless of our age, our size in terms of congregation.

This is the primary purpose why the church exists, that we are here alive to continue becoming the agents of this great good news.

That scooped a nomadic boy from the northwestern Kenya in the plains of Laikipia and the deserts of northern Kenya. And I'm here to proclaim the same good news that was brought by a missionary through African Island Mission many years ago.

And we have to continue this as long as it's today. The Lord is calling his church to continue earning the baton from one generation to another as one of our eems was sung today. And therefore, we have no room to shut up from this.

It is truth that the world needs. But the enemy has to fight in many ways to try to discourage us that we're no longer relevant.

That is a lie. This gospel is alive. It can transform. It can change. It can restore. And therefore, it is central to the life of the church, whether it's in this city, whether it's among the different people living in the city, the new arrivals, including the Congolese community, and other immigrants, or you people that have been here for a longer time, this gospel doesn't change regardless of when and what time you come in.

It is a common denominator, an equalizer. The hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ is our shared purpose locally and globally.

The Congolese brethren here in Appleton need this truth. The Covenant CRC needs this truth. The church in Uganda needs this truth.

We all need to live, breathe, and proclaim this reality. In advancing this shared purpose in the early church period, Apostle Paul reminded believers of three significant moves.

First one is the universality of the problem and the provision as an antidote to that problem. In the passage that we are going to read, Romans 10, 12 to 15, Paul provides three different movements in terms of the reality and the centrality of this gospel.

The first one is the universality of the problem, the predicament that is there, but also it provides the solution through which the church can be an agent to solving it.

Let's listen to this chapter passage in Romans 10, 12. It says, For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is the Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

The apostle Paul was writing to deeply fractured world this time. The Roman Empire was divided by strict rules of ethnicity, citizenship, status, and religion.

Jews and Greeks looked at each other with suspicion and hostility. Sounds familiar? We've never graduated from this problem as human beings.

It doesn't matter where you come from. Whether you live in Kenya, Uganda, or you live in Wisconsin here, we still carry the same, same problem, the selfishness of human beings that was reflected in the Roman church in the early century.

What does Paul say here? But Paul steps into the public square and dismantles those walls with a single declaration. There is no distinction.

There is no distinction. No distinction. Whether you are Greek, whether you are a Jew, whether you are a Roman, whether you are a Gentile, regardless, there is no distinction.

Christ broke that wall. He pulled it down. And he sees us as his children chosen by him through the redemption that he gave to us.

Why is there no distinction? Because human identity is leveled at two distinct points. Number one, we share the same brokenness.

What the reformers call the total depravity is ingrained in our blood. We are sinful. And because of that brokenness, sin does not care about your passport.

It doesn't care. It doesn't matter if you are from United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Uganda. Sin separates us all from God.

That is the basic predicament that we all suffer. Secondly, we share the same Savior. And that is the antidote.

The problem is real, but also the solution is very real. Paul says the exact same Lord is Lord of all.

He doesn't have to separate policy for the global north and the global south. He does not over water down grace based on your economic status.

He bestows the exact same infinite lavish riches on everyone who calls on his name. That is the requirement. It is a solution to the predicament of sin to whoever calls the name of the Lord who is for us all.

Not people in Jerusalem. Not people in Palestine. Not people. For us all. Regardless of where you live. This is the solution. And here is something that should come to our faces with great shame.

The church bears this truth. And we must be foolishly serious, devoted into it, sharing it with boldness and with courage.

Like our brothers and sisters in the early century. Yes, grace is free. Salvation is free. But it costed a lot of matters in the early century for us to be where we are today.

Even up to the time of reformation in the 16th, 17th, 18th century. Yes, it is free, but it comes with a little bit of cost.

Total devotion. Because we know that this is something worth dying for. Do you believe that? Yes, I do believe that. My friends, this is where our global shared purpose begins.

We cannot have shared purpose until we realize we share the same Lord. The reformed theology is very solid.

Where it emphasizes that in every human being. Whether they are smart, their IQ is up in the skies.

Or they are born with a disability. Or they are different from different places. Or they are poor. The reformed eye of seeing humans.

Is that every human being bears the image and the likeness of God. And therefore, we must realize that this is our shared solution to the predicament we have in the world.

That Christ has come to bring hope. To bring restoration. At the African Community Fellowship Church in Grand Rapids, I watched immigrants arrive with absolutely nothing to their name.

Yet, when they continue to kneel before the Lord. Trusting him and taking the issues of life.

They have received the exact same riches of Christ as the world's donors in Michigan. Or their brothers and sisters who are there. The equalizer is trusting God.

And recognizing that as the basic, basic richness each one of us can have. Our salvation in Jesus Christ. The Congolese brethren sitting in our pews today or living in our neighborhoods understands this.

They have crossed borders, survived hardships, and navigated displacements. But when they call on the name of Jesus Christ, they are not second class citizens in the kingdom.

They are coerced to the riches of God. Covenant CRC and the global church must stand on this foundation truth. We serve one Lord who is rich towards all.

This is interesting that this common denominator that we start on. It's not conditioned by any circumstances.

The only thing is recognizing that it is Lord and Savior. Second move that Paul is calling the church to is taken from verse 13 to 15.

And this is what Paul says. If our Lord is rich towards all, and if anyone who calls on him, his name will be saved. Then Paul hits us with an unavoidable rapid fire sequence of logic here in verse 14 and 15.

Listen to what he says. Very dramatic. He says, if we believe, and I believe we do believe, that Christ is our Savior, and therefore this gospel proclamation is worth it, our life.

This is what Paul challenges us to listen today. Listen to what he plays around with language. And he says, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? Or, and how are they to hear without someone preaching?

And finally he says, and how are they to preach unless they are sent? So Paul comes around and says, yeah, you take this seriously? And I hear us saying, yes.

And then he says, follow the sequence. Preach the word. Live the word. Believe it. Let people hear. Sent people locally and internationally to proclaim this good news of light.

Notice the chain reaction. Saving faith requires calling out. Calling out requires believing. Believing requires hearing.

Hearing requires preaching. And preaching requires sending. Notice that very carefully. This text is the ultimate mandate for global mission, for local missions as well.

It exposes a chilling reality. The gospel is a rescue message that must be carried out. It does not travel on the wind.

It travels on human feet. It travels through the voices of men and women who are willing to go. That is why he says, listen to what he says.

Paul angers this with a beautiful quote from Isaiah. And he says, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.

So this good news travels through people, you and I. Whether it's locally here, it has to be done by people. Internationally, it has to be done by people.

And you know that. This is a church that has participated in missions many, many, for many years. I'm not bringing a new thing. But do not quench the fire of missions.

Do not quench the fire of evangelism and reaching out to your community within the confine of your context. It is something that needs to enlighten, fuel us all the time.

Until our knees refuses to move. Then we hand over to the next generation to carry on and on and on and on. And Jesus in Matthew 28, the first 20 says, go to the nations.

And I leave quite a young there. And I will be with you until the end of the day. That is a promise. It's with us. It's with this generation. This generation no longer able to straighten their backs or bend their knees.

And say it's time to hand over the baton to the next generation. Until he returns. May I hear amen. Amen. Think about for a moment.

Think about our feet for a moment. Feet are rarely considered beautiful. They are not considered beautiful. They get dirty. Bruised.

Blistered. Tired. My feet are preparing to step onto the dust soils of Soroti, Uganda.

The feet of the Congolese believers travel thousands of miles through pain and uncertainty to arrive in Appleton, Wisconsin. Your feet has been traveling.

Neighbors here reaching out to people and doing whatever you are doing for the causes of the kingdom. Our feet. Our feet is not the most beautiful part of our body.

But it's very significant. It carries us everywhere. That dirt. That tiring of the knee. It's an investment for the causes of heaven.

So let's keep walking. Yeah. Let's keep walking. Why does God call them beautiful then?

Because of what they carry. They carry the ultimate antidote to human despair. The hope of the gospel.

The hope of the gospel. And Matthew puts it in a very profound way. He says, you are the light and the salt of the world. And therefore carry that lantern and that taste that you are to the world.

And what takes you to those different parts of the world that needs you as a salt and that needs you as a light? Your feet. Hallelujah. Feet.

And that's why God says, that's why Paul says, blessed are the feet for those that carry the gospel. This logic of proclamation demands a response from us.

If the chain breaks at sending, then the world does not hear, does not believe, and cannot be called out. Sending is not a secondary ministry of the church.

It is the livelihood of our shared purpose. Moving. Sending. Keeping active here in our city. It's not a passive thing, but it's an organic living thing that needs to remain alive and alive again.

The final move that Paul calls the church to is the bearing of the fruit in the whole world. Listen to what he writes in Colossians chapter 1, verse 3 to 6.

Paul is not only calling us to a barren kind of a tree, but is envisioning this as a healthy tree, a seed that has been planted.

And therefore there is an expectation. And the expectation is fruit. I don't want to belabor this. Most of you are farmers. You grew in the middle of the farms and you know exactly what the seed is to the fruit that comes at the end of it all.

But Paul uses this symbolism and he tells the Colossians. He writes, he writes, thanking them.

And says, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing.

The gospel of hope is the gospel of hope. The gospel of hope is the seed that will continue to bear fruit, not only locally, but also wherever you send the feet to bring the seed, to cast the seed wherever.

And Paul says, it will not only grow locally, but the whole world. The whole world. Look at those words.

In the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing. Think of the time in the early church in Acts chapter 2 or even the 11 that were left.

Only 11 of them and then it continued to grow. The seed was blundered and it began in that after ascension of Jesus Christ and now we are where we are now and we have millions and millions of Christians all over the world.

Indeed, it is continuing to grow. When Paul wrote this, the church was tiny, persecuted minority. To human eye, it looked like small Jewish sect struggling to survive under the heavy boot of Caesar, at that time the Roman Empire.

Yet, Paul looks through the lens of the Holy Spirit and declares that the gospel is a global force that cannot be stopped. It is growing, multiplying, and breaking fruit across this globe.

I am a living witness to this truth. 25 years ago, home missions planted a seed in Grand Rapids, the African Community Fellowship Church. It was small. It was immigrant church.

Some might have wondered if it will survive. But the gospel bears fruit. For 17 years, I pastored that congregation and watched people heal, leaders rise up, and children grow into faithful believers.

And now, the fruit of multiplying again. The church that was once a mission project is now sending a missionary.

Hallelujah. They are sending me back. The recipient of global mission is now the participants in the global mission.

This is how the kingdom works. Can you believe that you seated on those pews, supported home missions many years ago before it became resident global mission?

So, I want you to see me as part of the fruit that you supported in home mission many years ago. So, don't despair. The check that you write, the prayers that you pray for missionaries, they don't fall on a bare ground.

They yield fruit, and sometimes the fruit might come to speak in Covenant CRC in Appleton, Newcastle. Hallelujah. My passion, my vision, my prayer for the leaders and churches in Uganda and the entire East African region is that they fully embrace the reality.

I am not going to Uganda to bring God. God is already in Uganda. The gospel is already bearing fruit. My role as leadership developer with Resonate Global Mission is to come alongside the local pastors, church planters, and leaders.

I want to help them see that they are not isolated workers on a forgotten continent. They are vital partners in the global grid of grace and gospel proclamation.

And therefore, this is where I invite you all to journey with me that my brothers and sisters at the Covenant CRC here, so that we can move together.

Because we live in a world that thrives on division. People group themselves by nationality, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, and race.

Even within the church, we can easily fall into these tribalistic assortments, focusing only on our own local budgets, our own buildings, and our own comforts.

But the text today calls us out of isolation. For example, the Congolese community here in Appleton is not just another group of people.

They are brothers and sisters. They are our partners in gospel. The believers in Soroti, the same thing. And therefore, I just want to invite you that when I relocate to Uganda, I cannot go alone.

Resident Global Mission does not send alone rangers. We send ambassadors backed by body of Christ across our denomination and across the Christian family.

My feet may do the walking in Soroti. But I need your feet to stand firm with me here in Appleton.

I need Covenant CRC to link arms with my family in two tangible ways. Prayerfully. I need your prayers.

The spiritual warfare on the mission fill Israel. Pray for Lois and me as we transition. Pray for Samuel, Josiah, and Joyce as they adjust to a new culture.

But they will not be coming soon as they visit. Or even as they take their own transition life as adults in school and in college. Pray for the pastors and leaders in Uganda that they will receive us with joy.

And that our leadership development strategies will bear lasting fruit. Secondly, I need your financial investment. To step onto the ground in Uganda to provide the resources, training materials, and travel necessary equipment that will foster the possibility of doing the ministry effectively.

Requires financial backing. I'm inviting Covenant CRC to become part of the churches that will be pushing ahead and investing in this venture.

To join into this chain of logic in Romans 10 that Paul is calling us to. I am in the last continuum in that description, the one which is being sent.

Because you believe the message that we are taking together with you. By investing in our ministry, you are directly funding preaching which allows for the hearing, which fuels the believing, which brings our salvation and continues the good news.

As we come to a close, my dear brothers and sisters, cast your eyes, lay out to the streets of Appleton where the Congolese community is trying to build a life.

See them. Encourage them. Walk alongside them. Finally, stretch your imagination across the globe to the green, sand-drenched hills of Soroti, Uganda.

And imagine yourself being there also, and you can be there spiritually. What binds us all together?

It is not our culture. It's not our language. It's not our wealth. It is the hope of the gospel in Jesus Christ.

The hope tells us that sin is defeated, death is conquered, and Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. The hope tells us that there is a day coming when a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, will stand before the throne crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

Until that last day comes, we have to go to work. We have that shared purpose. Let us live outright here in Covenant CRC.

Let us support the ministries locally and internationally, and let us send it forward to our brothers and sisters across the globe. May beautiful feet rise up from this place, and may the name of Jesus Christ be praised across the entire earth.

To him be the glory now and forever. Let us pray. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, almighty God, we thank you for the beauty of your church, purchased by the gracious blood of Jesus Christ.

We thank you for the believers gathered here today at Covenant CRC. Lord, we lift up this congregation to you. Bless them, protect them, and fuel their fire for your kingdom.

We lift up the Congolese community right here in the Appleton City. Comfort them, strengthen their faith, and let them feel your deep embrace.

We also look across the ocean and lift up the churches in Sorote, Uganda. Prepare their hearts, raise up their leaders, and let your word flourish in their midst.

Bind us together today by your Holy Spirit, O God. Strip away our distractions, so that we may hear you.

We may hear your voice through the scriptures. O Lord, thank you for allowing us again to listen to you speak to us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.