Archbishop Henry Ndukuba
It has been a particular privilege this week to hear from Archbishops where they face genuine, and sometimes horrific persecution for their faith. Several preached and we will post summaries of their messages on the blog. One such Archbishop, Henry from Nigeria, preached at the final evening service from 2 Kings 19:6-7. (see biographical sketch at the end of this post. Consecrated as a Bishop aged 38 his diocese grew to 150 churches before he became Archbishop of Jos and then of Nigeria).
[below is a summary of the sermon for your encouragement. He finished the sermon with a personal story of when his village faced being wiped out by islamist militants]. . ————————————————————————————————————-
This is the story of when the Lord tells Hezekiah: Do not be afraid of the words with which you have heard. The servants of the King of Assyria have offended me with their blasphemy… I will cause him to return, and fall by his sword in his own land.
This story is assurance from the living God for a persecuted church.
Let me ask you a question. If you came to an airport and were stuck in immigration and had just one phone call who would you call?
We have come here with baggages, concerns, and yes we have this battle in church of God. The enemy has laid a siege against God, his Kingdom, his word and the Gospel of hope, peace and the mercy of God.
Paul talks of ‘perilous times’ in 1 Tim 4. Time when people will listen to the teaching of demons, when they will have itching ears, be hunting for new things, and not ready to take the truth.
This is the lifestyle of our times. We live in perilous times. And we need to be ready to suffer when we are in perilous times.
God still calls us to follow him obediently and faithfully like those who are examples to us. The Apostles, the Saints, our own fathers and mothers in faith.
In 2 Kings 19 we can see what is happening to God’s people.
Hezekiah was a king who set his heart to obey God.
The King of Assyria was an intimidator… he intimidates with words. His tactic is belittling our faith. Making noise. Who would Hezekiah call now?
He called the Lord God.
Like Hezekiah we need to make our one 'phone call’ to be to the living God…
Some of us gathered at this Primates meeting are battling with sickness, some with finances. But the word of the Lord to us is do not be afraid. In the Bible there are 365 occasions where we are commanded ‘Do not be afraid.’ We can wake up to one command every day of the year. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.
The future of orthodoxy, retaining, proclaiming and passing on may be in contention, but our God knows what to do. What we need to do is to trust him…
Even though he chastise us yet we trust him.
Let all men be liars and let God be the true one.
Let there be a righteous anger to do what is right stirs us again.
He is our help in time of trouble. Though the earth quake, and though whatever is around us may break, yet we will still trust him.
Martin Luther wrote a hymn when the reformation was at its most contested and he faced great opposition. It was a hymn inspired by Ps 46. ‘A mighty fortress is our God’.
Praise God for counting us worthy to suffer with him… surely He will show up. He showed up for Hezekiah. He will show up for you and me.
His glory he will share with no man
Do not be afraid.. let us trust him.
And to close let me tell you a story from my own life. When Boko Haram came to rampage through our town, we had been praying as 7 pastors together for four months at 7am every Monday morning. As I heard they were coming in I had a conviction that God would deliver us. They raided the munitions store to get arms, but someone had called the airforce, and even as they were celebrating their raid and were ready to attack the Lord delivered us as the airforce struck the rebels. God is a mighty fortress. He prepared us to stand firm through the pastor’s prayer meeting, but we are ready. We are ready to die for Jesus. We are ready to live for Jesus. No matter what, let all men be liars and let God be the true one. We will stand with him. We can do no other.
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Biographical note: (from wikipedia)
On 21 September 1999, Bishop Henry was consecrated as the first bishop of the Diocese of Gombe, aged 38. On 25 November 1999 the new diocese was inaugurated as the 71st diocese of the Church of Nigeria. As the Bishop of Gombe, the Anglican diocese has grown from 18 congregation to over 150 churches. Church planting and evangelism, raising of lay and pastoral leadership and discipleship remain the core of his ministry.[4] He worked with communities and leaders of Gombe state to establish peaceful coexistence and community development. In order to sustain the ministry of the gospel in Gombe state. On 22 September 2017, the House of Bishops elected Ndukuba as the new archbishop of Jos. He succeeded Benjamin Kwashi, the bishop of Jos. The province of Jos comprises ten dioceses in North-Central of Nigeria. On 24 September 2019, he was elected Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria at the Episcopal Synod of the Church of Nigeria
