Preached at Zenka, Africa, on Sabbath, 18th December, 1949,
by JOHN MPOFU; and translated from Sindibebe.
Ephesians ii, 11-13—‘. . . That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the World . . .’
At the first service to-day the missionary reminded us that all flesh is grass. This is a truth which we do not like, but it is the Truth of God and we cannot get away from it. When we wash our bodies and comb our hair nicely and put on fine clothes, we think we are very handsome and we find it hard to believe that we are only grass. But that is all we are—just grass! A few strokes of the sickle lay low the finest grass in our valleys, and in a short time all its beauty is gone and it becomes just a withered heap. One stroke of God’s sickle lays low the strongest and most beautiful man or woman and in a short time the person whom we admired is just a mass of corrupting flesh. We should remember this. It is good for us to do so although we don’t like it.
At this service I want to remind God’s people of another unpleasant truth: what you were before God called you to be His. You were without Christ; strangers, having no interest in the Bible or its promises; having no hope and without God in the world. The old nature in God’s people doesn’t like this truth and tries hard to forget it, but if we are to stand firm on Christ’s foundation we must never forget the pit from which He rescued us. We must fight with all our might against this tendency to forget what we were and to give ourselves the credit for what we are. If we are Christ’s people to-day, we are His people only by the power and the grace of God. All we could do was to sink deeper and deeper into the fearful pit; it was Christ and Christ alone who stretched forth His mighty arm and lifted us up and set our feet on the rock. There is no room for boasting in this, and if any believer among us forgets what he was and begins to congratulate himself on his own strength and wisdom and how well he is managing his life, God will come and sweep all that rubbish out of his heart and show him his emptiness and his weakness.
To forget what we were means to forget what Christ did for us, and if we forget that, we have nothing left but an empty shell of religion, which we would be better without. Everything we have, God gave us; everything we are, God made us. We were uncircumcised, but the Holy Spirit circumcised our hearts. We knew nothing of Christ, but the Holy Spirit made Christ more precious to us than all the world. We had no hope, as none of our forefathers had, but God gave us a strong, sure hope. We had no God; now we have a God. There was a wall, a thick, high wall between us and God. No man could break it down or find a gap in it, but Christ by His precious blood destroyed it altogether and brought us into the presence of God in peace. Can we forget that? If we can, the wall is still there, and we must then remember, not what we were, for that would be useless, but we must remember the fate of those who are strangers to God, having no hope and without God in the world. Oh! ye Matabele, ye children of Mzilikazi and Lobengula, beware! beware! Remember how our forefathers treated the Word of God and His messengers when these first came to our country. They would not have God’s Word; they would not listen to His messengers; and where are they to-day? Where are they? My friends, God will be defeated by no man. His plans will be fulfilled whoever opposes them. It was God’s purpose to bring the Gospel to us, and when our forefathers opposed Him they were swept out of His way, and God has raised up witnesses to Himself from among the children of our stubborn fathers. Be careful, then, you who see no value in what Christ has done, lest God sweep you out of the way in order to bring His salvation to others.
And you, people of God, remember what you were so that Christ may ever be precious to you. To-day I stand before you decently clothed and you may not know what I was; but I cannot forget that I was a naked heathen, never having any better clothing than bits of animals’ skins. Who has made the difference? Christ, and Christ only!
God’s people are no longer without hope. They have a sure hope which even death cannot take away. Why are some of God’s people so little afraid of death? Is it because they do not realise its terrors? No, they know something of death’s sting, but they know also that their Saviour has conquered death and the grave, and that death is now His servant, His messenger, to call His people into the presence of God. Christ Himself broke down the dividing wall and brought His redeemed ones into the presence of God, and when His time comes to call them into the fulness of that presence, He sends His messenger, death, to do that work. So death is a messenger of grace to God’s people.
Yes, we have a hope, a sure hope, and if I did not have that hope, my mouth would be closed before you to-day.