The Nations Called?

A few years ago Blood N Fire did a live recording. We put Jill Austin at the beginning saying, "So we say, Come Holy Spirit!" A few years after that we were in Cape Town, South Africa prayer walking around the city. Holy Spirit uttered one amazing word: "Tabernacle" I made a mental note to research the scriptures seeking God's intention for us. The tabernacle was the tent of meeting, the place where God met with His people, the Israelites, in the desert when he brought them up out of Egypt. He commanded them to celebrate a feast for seven days whereby they went and built booths where they would dwell, contemplating, remembering from where God had delivered them. So what does that have to do with us 2,000 years later? God called us up out of our homeland to a place He would lead us. Little did we know it would look more like the valley of Achor than the promised land! Wonder if the Israelites felt similarly? Yikes!

God had called us away from our safe, secure, comfort zones to be courageous, not fearful, not shying away but to confront and like Jehoshaphat face our enemies and watch the Lord deliver us!

But there was more in His message. Not too long after I met Pieter Bos, author of the book: The Nations Called. Pieter had come from Netherlands to South Africa to speak about the corporate identity of South Africa.

All of this week the words to a Brian Doerksen song have not only been in my head, my heart but also on my lips.

You Shine

You shine brighter than the brightest star
Your love, purer than the purest heart
You shine, filling us with courage and strength, to follow You

Why should I fear man when You made the heavens
Why should I be afraid when You put the stars in place
Why should I loose heart when I know how great you are
Why should I give up when Your plans are full of love

In this world we will have trouble
But You have overcome the world

You shine brighter than the brightest star
Your love, purer than the purest heart
You shine, filling us with courage and strength, to follow You

I remembered Pieter's teaching, looked up what he had to say about Africa and waited for Holy Spirit to lead me on what to speak to a gathering of refugees from the nations of Africa, vendors in the marketplace in the center of Cape Town. I hadn't read Lee Grady's article from Charisma online till I came home later this evening. God's hand is upon Africa!

Why did they make the decision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem? South Africa? Angola? Congo? Rwanda? Zambia? Mozambique, Africa?

Because the nations are called by God to shine! To reflect the glory of God!
Here are some pertinent points that stood out to me from the book:

Tribes, peoples, cities and states, in general- nations; are corporate persons (community/body?) created by God in His image! The corporate identity of a corporate person (nation or continent) is the expression of God's character in that person because in it contains her destiny in God's purposes and her redemptive gift to her fellow nations!

Africa's corporate identity: Spiritual Authority! Hard to figure that one, eh!

Remember Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 50:19? "You meant it to harm me but God meant it for good to accomplish His purposes..." Hello! Are we listening? Joseph's brothers come seeking help, they fear he will repay eye for an eye. But what happens? Joseph realizes that God meant it all for good! Even for such a time as this! Joseph tells them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?" Do you think this could have gone through Nelson Mandela's mind? How about other world leaders exemplifying God's character? Pieter names a few: Mandela, Emeka Nwankpa, Kwabena & Mrs. Dark, Andre Quiala from Angola; Judy Mbugwa from Kenya. These folks are/were visionary leaders like Nehemiah and who are those leaders today? How about you?

Do people see God's character in you? Really? How about your kids, do they see God in you? Is He shining through your actions, thoughts, words and deeds? How about the way you speak and treat your spouse? Are you interested in how you can serve your family and those around you or how they are to serve you?

In order for God to redeem what has previously been denied we need to take heed to 2 Chronicles 7:14. We need to follow the example of Solomon- he knew who he was and what God had promised he would do. How about you? You know a friend of mine asked me once, "When's it all going to start?" I had no idea! But you know what answer came out of my mouth? "When people take their rightful places." Two or three years on I think I might be beginning to understand this.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is a great prayer but we need to back it up with some action of our own! We need to humble ourselves before our spouses and children/family and turn from our wickedness; seek forgiveness, cry out for God to heal our land and we need to serve our brothers and sisters. Okay, we aren't perfect spouses all the time! Do you treat your spouse like you would treat Jesus all the time? Even in your thoughts? I know I am guilty, here. Let's be honest. And aren't there times when we lash out, say the wrong thing or make a rash decision, even sometimes a mistake? Aren't these opportunities to turn back to God? Isn't that what Jesus modelled for us? "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

Here in Africa we are afraid of our cultural differences. We don't understand each other's languages and cultures well enough and so our destinies and redemptive gifts are not fully recognized and because of this there really isn't freedom to express them! God said to Joshua, 'Do not fear but be strong and very courageous. And I will be with you!" Why don't we do it? Was it only for Joshua? Are we only meant to read aboutnit, talk about it but never do it? Ohhh, how far we really have fallen! We should take up courage to face our cultural differences, embrace one another as siblings not rivals, not competitors! Discerning our different corporate identities will help us see our rightful places and how we are called to come together as a corporate body!

Pieter says, "We, the church, must speak the corporate identity into the nations, the creative and liberating truth of God so that the nations may receive the inner healing necessary."

Africa has been denied expression of her identity and given no opportunity to express her gifting to the world! Europe looks down their noses, colonization and slavery crushed Africa to its core. And the Western church has failed to understand witchcraft which has blocked the discernment of spiritual authority.

Spiritual Authority has been corrupted; occultic and tyrannical leaders are leading in some African nations but there also have been those who dedicated their nations officially to God; showing the authority that reflects God's character- presidents and leaders who recognize God's authority over them.

Redemption of Africa's Corporate Identity: Let us pray that Africa will send prophets to the nations.

That is exactly what God has revealed and prophesied starting in the heart of Africa, in a tiny country where nearly 1 million people were murdered. Isn't it time we allow transformation to take place in our lives, homes, communities, cities, states, tribes, nations and continents? It starts with you, Solomon! Or as William Wallace says to his young friend Hamisch: "It's up to us!"