I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't preach a message if you can't preach it in Cambodia and also in California.  That means it ought to be Scriptural and relevant to humanity, not just to a certain segmant of the population.  I know many have wondered, "How do you preach to the illiterate tribesmen of Africa?" The answer is, the same way you ought to preach to Americans (or anyone else for that matter.)  So, for your edification and God's glory, I've included a sermon I preached out at Nkiseu in the Samburu bush on November 11, 2007.  Soli Deo Gloria.

            We all like to be blessed.  We often pray and ask God to bless us.  We sing songs about the many blessings of God.  We even say, “God bless you!” to others.  There really is no one who doesn’t want to be blessed.

            Even Jabez cried out in 1 Chronicles 4:10, “O, that you would bless me indeed…!” And God heard his prayer. 

            The question isn’t so much one of blessing, but rather who is God looking to bless? And what are the blessings that He gives to us?

            1. Who is God looking to bless? In Genesis 12:1-3, God speaks to Abram.  He says to Abram, “I will bless you…you shall be a blessing…and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  More than three times, God promises blessing to Abram.  Why did He choose Abram?  Because Abram walked with God.  Abram trusted the Lord.  In Genesis 15:6 we read, “And he believed in the Lord…”  This is not just a simple, “Yes, I know there is God.”  This was a faith that shaped Abraham’s life.  Abraham could trust God even when things didn’t make sense.  Abraham walked in obedience to God because He believed God and His promises.

            That is the kind of person God is looking to bless.  Do you want to be blessed? Then trust in God.  Let God rule your life.  I’m not talking about a faith that is somewhere out there; I’m talking about a faith that rests content in Him, that listens to Him, and that obeys Him.  Do you have such a faith?

            Faith is not something that we practice at or can decide to do better at.  God is the One who gives faith.  Have you the desire to have faith? Have you asked the Lord to give it to you? To anyone who asks, the Lord promises to give faith.  You might say that is the very first blessing He gives us. 

            If you are not a man of faith, the blessings that you may receive are not true and real blessings, but only temporary ones.  Faith is the pre-requisite for blessing.

            The book of Romans talks about this.  Romans 4:3-8 tells us that, “Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness.”  What we work for is our wages.  If we work a whole day, we expect to be paid for that.  It is not a gift.  A gift is being given something that we haven’t worked for.  Faith is not something that we work for, but it is given freely.  Not only that, but when you take God at His word in faith, you will also be blessed with a heavenly righteousness.  Righteousness from Heaven is nothing to be worked for, but God gives freely by faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

            That leads us to the second question:

            2. What are the blessings that God gives? Or better, what are true blessings?

            Romans 4:7-8 tells us, “Blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven…Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not take into account.” The greatest blessing God gives us is a heavenly righteousness that justifies us before God.  Without this, no man would ever see the Kingdom of God. It is a righteousness that we don’t deserve.  Christ has paid a debt He did not owe, so that our sins could be washed away and we be made clean in the sight of God. 

            I want us to turn to the Psalms, number 32.  This psalm by David teaches us some things about God’s blessing.

            It repeats what we saw in Romans 4, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit!”

            The greatest blessing for us is forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name.  Call it a second chance.  Call it a new beginning.  Forgiveness by God is a real and true blessing.

            But the psalm goes on to tell us how to get that blessing.  Verse 3 and 5 says, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long…I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

            Are you hiding your sin? Do you think you can hide it from God? You may be able to hide your secret sins from your family and your friends, but God sees all and knows all.  Trying to hide your sin from God is like trying to hide an elephant under a bed-sheet – it’s just silly and won’t work.  What are your sins?  Do you lie? Do you steal? Do you cheat others? Do you have a problem getting angry? Do you talk badly about others? Have you committed adultery? Murder? Hatred? Do you covet others’ things? Do you ignore God? Do you fail to trust God? Have you rejected Jesus Christ? Do you ignore God’s Son, Jesus Christ?  All of these, and more, are sins you may be struggling with. 

            Do you want God’s blessing? Psalm 32:6 tells us, “Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found.”  You don’t know what tomorrow may hold.  The time is now.  The time to confess your sins to God and ask forgiveness is right now!  Don’t delay! Don’t wait until next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow.  Do it now!

            God wants to forgive you.  God wants to bless you with real spiritual blessings.  What is holding you back? Now is the time to cry out to God, ask for forgiveness, and ask for faith to walk in His ways.  Be like Abraham, believe God and trust Him!

Africa has been inundated of late by movie stars and celebrities.  U2 singer Bono has highlighted the plight of the impoverished in Africa, likewise Bob Geldorf organized his Live8 concerts to promote relief and development in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Now the latest star-turned-activist, Paris Hilton, wants to come to Africa.  Uggh...

So, sorry, Paris, but you’re not welcome here.  Please don’t leave your mark here.  Your advice and assistance are superficial at best.  We want real and lasting solutions to life’s problems.  Come back when you’re walking with the Lord.

So it is election season in Kenya right now.  Politics is a very interesting (and sometimes entertaining) thing in the Third World.  While Kenya is leaps and bounds ahead of some of its neighbors, it can’t shake the fact that politics is often about power.  In a land where so many have next to nothing, perhaps the leaders can’t be faulted for exploiting their positions for their own personal gain.  In fact, the former President is reported to have shaved off the top more than $2billion just for himself.  So it’s no wonder that candidates fight hard to win seats in the government, it’s a move that will financially pay off at the expense of the rest of the Kenyan tax-payers. 

Things are beginning to gear up for the December elections.  Was does that mean?  That means each day the newspapers will report the goings-on of high profile candidates.  It means there will be rallies held across the country for political gain.  It means the University students in Nairobi will undoubtedly protest something about the government.  And unfortunately, it means people will die in the election process. 

            It was said to me once, “There can be no election in Kenya, without the shedding of  blood.”  It may sound cynical, but history proves it is true.  People will die in the next few months.  Some will be shot by trigger-happy police.  Some will die at the hands of political henchmen trying to make a statement.  Some will just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Whatever the case, get ready for a few months of bloodshed. 

            It’s sad that in a supposedly Christian nation, violence is the easiest way for people to get things done.  Didn’t Christ die to reconcile us to God?  Isn’t He the Prince of Peace?  Isn’t there a better way to walk as a nation?  The fault lies not with our Savior, but with us.  Kenya is Christian-ized, but far from Christian.  There is a form of godliness, but a denial thereof.  In other words, there a lot of church-goers, but a whole lot of them are unregenerate – they’re not born-again.  The answer for Kenya is not more aid from the West, nor more sanctions on corrupt powers.  The answer for Kenya, like the rest of the world, is Jesus Christ.  Without the transforming power of the Gospel in individuals’ lives, you will see no change in the greater sea of humanity.  The prayer for Kenya, and Africa, is that the Holy Spirit will come in power and convict people in terms of sin and righteousness, and regenerate them into new creatures ready to do God’s will.  That’s my prayer, I hope it’s yours too.

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