Out of the Darkness

Thank you. Thank you. Mercy. City Church, let's clap our hands to the Lord and give Him glory. Jesus, we give you all the glory. Jesus, we give You all the praise. You're the God of the nations, every tribe, every tongue, all the peoples of the earth. Lift you up. They join angels in their legions as they worship you. You are king of kings and the Lord of lords, there is none like you, oh King of Glory, receive the praise this morning somebody. Let's give one last round of applause for our Lord Jesus, and give Him thanks. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, yeah, alright, just take your seats and say thank you once again for this warm welcome. Allow to say special greetings from Uganda, not just to you, but everyone who is connecting with us online, all the different locations. I want to say a big thank you. I hope that this time, God is going to speak to us in a very fresh way. I want to bring special greetings from Uganda. My wife said, to make sure for you to know that Uganda is warm, and so warm greetings are from Uganda. I want to say thank you so much to your mercy City Church for lending us. Pastor Martin, Pastor Carrie, they traveled all the way to Uganda, and it was my ultimate joy when Pastor Mark stepped onto my pulpit in Uganda and brought the Word of God to our people who were very desperately hungry. I can tell you that that aroused Uganda's affection for Christ and stirred up the hunger for more. And so I want to say a very special thank you to you for lending us this great servants of God. So once again, thank you so much. You guys have our son and amazing pastor. Thank you. I also want to say to you that Uganda is not the same again. Pastor, Matt and Pastor Carrie didn't come by themselves. They came as part of the next level leadership community, and they partnered with this incredible network called the pastors discipleship network. This is 15,533 pastors across five nations that have come together saying, God teach us how to pastor our people well. And there was such hunger, but since COVID, we had not had a gathering like that for two reasons. One, we didn't have the finances to pull 1200 pastors from five nations together, but they were desperate. You see, most of our pastors in Uganda are scattered across the place. Some are in the islands, some on the mountains of Mali and Renzo and Tanganyika, some of them are so removed that fellowship among pastors, many of them walk around feeling lonely, but then they had a call that the church was gathering, gathering in Uganda. And guess what? Pastor Mark, together with Pastor Kerry and people from next level, gathered with 1200 of these pastors, and God moved. You could just see the visible change in their faces, those who came with a heavy weight, those who came burnt out left field and with a new commitment to serve their people for God. And so once again, to God, be the glory for the great work that he's doing across the land of Africa and around the world. Amen. I also want to say that coming here this morning, I got up and I checked the temperature in Nebraska,and I said, What has Nebraska done to the Lord? You know, so so wrong. People actually live here. This, in other words, isn't an invitation. If you want to feel a little bit warm, come over to the other side, you will enjoy it. Pastor Matt came, and when he came, I think he was so used to living in this wrong place that when he came he was already sweating so much. And you people don't have a handkerchief culture, but we do. Everyone in Uganda walks through the handkerchief, and so this brand new handkerchief was presented to him, saying, hey, wipe off yourself. It was really incredible just seeing the the welcome, the warm welcome, literally warm welcome to Uganda. My name is Richmond wandara. I traveled 8227 miles to be here, across eight time zones, this long distance to this place, I had an opportunity to reflect and to think, what is the message that God would have delivered to this incredible church? I want to bring a message to you, a message of hope, a message that tells you what God's doing around because Christ. Said my father is always working, so I want to sing it loud that God is on the move. God is on the move in valleys, on mountainsides, on islands. God is on the move and he's calling you and inviting you to answer the call to join him on this great move. This move hasn't just started now. See in nine in 1875 the church Missionary Society sent missionaries over to Uganda, a country that is located in East Africa, a country that is 90,027 square miles, 56 tribes in this country. I come from the bagu tribe, which hails from the slopes of Mount elbon. And it was then that our people heard the word of God, and even our King came to Christ. Kavaka mutesa, the first came to Christ. By the time we reached the 1930s over 25% of Uganda's population had said yes to Jesus, and it only kept on rising. But in 1971 we had a president that stepped on the scene. His name was Idi Amin Uganda's worst dictator. He persecuted the church. He forced people into exile. Many people thought it was the end of the world, but today, 2024 84% of Uganda's population say they belong to Jesus. 84% see in Matthew chapter 16, verses 18, Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I can tell you that the Church of Jesus Christ in Uganda is restless. We are moving. We are taking territory. We are taking ground, and God is using the church, the local church, to advance the gospel, but it's not doing it on its own. The church in Uganda is partnering, is partnering with churches like mercy City Church. See in Uganda, we have a saying that Omu tasquam Bucha, that when an individual stands and looks at a mountain that they have to climb, because what they need is on the other side, there is a sense of feeling overwhelmed, and the posture is a bit weak and unsure. But when that individual looks on their right side and they see someone standing next to them, and they look on their left and see someone standing to them and saying, Hey, we can do this, all of a sudden, their posture changes and they get ready to climb. The church in Uganda has looked on its right hand side into the Mercy City Church looks on its left and seen pastors like next level. And we are saying, look together. This collaboration is bolstering us differently, and we are ready to scale whatever the mountain is, however high, we'll get there. We will get there. We will get there. So I want to say thank you. But we're not just partnering with the church. We're also partnering with para church organizations like Compassion International. See a lot of Uganda falls in the line of poverty. Many people in Uganda are struggling for hope because of all that's happening, whether it's poverty or disease or the global food crisis, we are under a York that is unbelievably heavy, and the people that are carrying the greatest part of the York, people whose voices you never hear are the children, and so ministries like Compassion International have committed that they will roll out their rescue mission for children through the local church. And do you know what's happening? Churches like new life, church that are located in some of the worst slums in the country, are partnering with compassion, and they're now coming alongside children, children who are desperate, children who would never turn in. Listen, I was one of those kids. I cannot count the number of times I walked past the church. My greatest interest was survival. I just wanted to know where is food, and so that's where I was going. But when compassion partnered with New Life church, and they said to new life, look, you can now bring 300 of the most desperate children in this community and will connect them to people to bring them hope. Pastor Peter, who is the pastor of the church immediately. I mean, you could, it was exciting beyond and so he announced and so people brought the most desperate children, and I was one of them. I was desperate for hope. See, when I was eight years old, my father had been killed. He was killed in the presence of my mother.on that single day, all lights went out in my life, I remember looking at my mom. I was only a kid, but I could see how overwhelmed she was. See my mother was a teenage bride, married off to my father by the time she was 25 years she already had six kids. She was 100% dependent on my father, so when my father was killed, we were now six kids surrounding her, looking at her and she did not know what to do. She was so overwhelmed that her health began to fail. Soon, our friend told her, Hey, there's this church at the end of the community called your life. You go there Go and tell them your story. You're not a Christian, but hey, if they say no, at least you've tried. So my mother went. We were surprised at how quickly these people came to our home, and I can remember like it happened yesterday, standing before that camera to take my photograph, like it happened yesterday. When that flash went off, it felt like hope had come. I remember being told, Hey, all your ears need to be in the right frame. You understand. And I had the biggest smile. That was the beginning of hope for me, because three months later, David seruwaji, who took that picture, came back to her home with good news, saying, Richmond has found a sponsor. When my mother learned who had sponsored me, she almost fell off her chair, my mother was told that a 15 year old girl called Heather had decided to sponsor me, a 15 year old girl. We've never wrapped our minds around what maturity could be given to a 15 year old to look up and decide to join the fight for justice a 15 year old. I wonder, what do 15 year olds spend their time doing here? What do 15 year olds spend their money on? You know, Heather, she took a listen a baby sitting job a few hours in her week so she could afford the $43 I needed to survive. And her decision, one Act changed my life, one act of sacrifice, she decided to live simply so I could simply live. When we got the news, we went off dancing. I remember See, I come from the bagisse tribe, and we are known for dancing using our shoulders. We are taught finesse from a time we are kids, and here we are my mom. We have this expression the the women do it at such a high tone, like I could hardly get there. And when she started turning around, it was I just knew that's good news. So I run to my mom, and my mom said, You've been sponsored. Long story short, for the I found myself standing in a church for the very first time. My days on the street were over. I saw Richmond. You can now go back to school. Said, Richmond, you come here every week and you get food and bring it to your home, Richmond, this is your mosquito net. Now, those nights of me staying awake, afraid of mosquito bites and the bumps on my skin, because I knew enough bumps men, the chances of getting malaria were high, those nights of fear were over, hope had finally come into our home, all of us as kids pressed under that one mosquito net until we got other news. My sister Doreen had also got a sponsor. From one net. We became had two mosquito nets. Oh, God was changing our lives. Let me tell you, friends, in the midst of desperation, God's hand is not too short to reach out and rescue and save what man cannot do and what's impossible before man is possible, before God and I come to bring a word of encouragement. Here, you might be in a place that is difficult, a place where you feel like there is a weight over you, a place where you feel you failed a place where most of your time has been stolen, you've been distracted, you've made some mistakes, you feel like you're in a cave somewhere down a deep path, and feel where is my end and where is my ritual? I'm here to declare that God's hand is not too short to reach out and rescue even from the greatest death. You. What is impossible before man is possible before God, a man like Apostle Paul, who had messed up, and he said, I am the worst of all sinners. I mean, I belong to darkness. A great light shone in his life, and in a moment, his name changed from Saul to Paul. And I want to share with you that that's exactly my story. The Lord would change my life at the age of 14, after hearing the gospel for so many times under this church, I didn't understand it, but Pastor Peter, he kept delivering the word, and here's to me. At the age of 14, I gave my life to Jesus. I became the first Christian in our home, and everything changed for me by the time I was 16, all five of my siblings had given their lives to Jesus. Listen, by the time I was 19 years
old, my mother. My mother trusted Christ. I can never forget it. It's like it happened yesterday. She was sitting at the back of the church, and pastor preached the Word, and I saw my mother walk forward, kneel down on the pulpit and give her life to Jesus. My whole life changed. My whole family's life changed. We were not the same again. See
if you can picture this with me. Yesterday was Saturday in East Africa alone, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. East Africa, there were 400,000 children who were running across their communities joyfully to their various compassion centers gathered in their various communities, and as they arrived at their centers, they were receiving care. They were writing letters to their sponsors. They were singing songs. They were enjoying nutritious meals. They're hearing about Jesus from their local pastors and their teachers. There is a generation that is rising because of your sacrifice and your partnership with ministries like compassion. That's hope you're giving an inheritance for my nation, those are young Richmonds, people who will live a life that is Christ centered, who will make decisions in the fear of the Lord, who will solve Africa's problems. You are giving my nation an inheritance. So thank you. Just a few weeks ago, when I had the number of kids that were sponsored by this community, by mercy city family, I knelt down and praised God. Thank you. Thank you, because what that means for me is that my little child will grow up in a different country where the leaders are going to make decisions in honor of the Lord. And so I want to say thank you. Listen. At 19, my mother came to the Lord. When I was 24 years old, I witnessed something that would change my life forever. See a few years before, after my father died, my uncle, who should have protected us at that time, took my father's belongings, which legally and rightfully belonged to my mom. To say that my mom hated this man is an understatement, because when she was most desperate, darkness came through this individual. But a few years, when my uncle felt sick of cancer, my mother, who had now come to Christ, she mobilized us and said, Let's go take care of uncle.I couldn't believe I was hearing those words from her tongue, and I was already a Christian, but I hesitated because he had treated us so poorly. But most of you know that in Uganda and many other cultures, when the mother says to do something, you do it. I remember growing up with my mother said, Hey, pass me that big spoon if you hesitated for even two minutes because you're busy on something, whether it is a Sando or a plate or a spoon, you just don't know what was coming your direction. And so I said, Okay, so we went. I remember arriving at Mbali hospital, and my uncle just with these tears in his eyes, he just couldn't look our direction. But I want to share with you that two days before my uncle passed away, I saw my mother's hands in his hands, and she was leading him to the Lord. That sight rocked my call. And I said, I'm an accountant. My sponsor sponsored me, and I ended up becoming an accountant. But here's the thing, I want to be a proponent of the kind of message that transforms a person so much like it's transformed my mother. I saw in that moment that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and from that day, I committed I'll be a student of the Word of God, and I want to bring this pure gospel to my community. That's how, at the age of 24 I moved on into the pastorate, and there is no other words to say today, I have the absolute joy and honor of being the senior pastor of the very church that I walked into as A little boy without hope. But I have something else. See. The story that you just heard is a story of compassion and its power to change destinies of children. And it's not the first time. Just a few weeks ago, people here demonstrated that compassion, the decision to live with less, so that some vulnerable child can live with more. And so I want to say, thank you. But in Jeremiah, in Jeremiah, chapter 38 from verses one to 13, we read an incredible story, and this is the summary of that story. The background is four men are listening to a prophet called Jeremiah, and he's saying things they don't want, things they don't like. Because, from their opinion, he is discouraging soldiers and he's discouraging people, and as he's discouraging them, these people, like men, we have access to the king. We can use that access to destroy this man completely. And so they indeed go to the king and present a version of what Jeremiah was saying to the king, and the king indeed gives them the right and permission to do whatever they want with this man. And then they choose the most excruciating pain and death for Jeremiah. And so they hold him and they lowered him into a system which didn't have water. All it had was mud, and he was slowly sinking in the system. But when they thought they had won compassion, ended up winning the day. So let's take a moment and read that story, Jeremiah, chapter 38 from verses one or through to 13, the Bible says, Shepherd tyre, son of Matan Gedaliah, son of pashul jehuka, son of shelma and pashul son of melchiah Heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, This is what the Lord says. Whoever stays in this city will die by this word, famine or plague. But whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives. They will live. And this is what the Lord says this city will suddenly be given into the hands of an army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it. Then the officials say to the king, these four officials, this man, should be put to death. He's discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things that he's saying to them, this man is not seeking the good of these people, but their ruin. He's in your hands. King Zedekiah answered, the king can do nothing to oppose you. And so they took Jeremiah and put him into a system of Milka, the king's sons, which was in the courtyard of the guard, they lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the system. It had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sunk down into the mud. But EB Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace heard that they had put Jeremiah into the system. And while the king was sitting in the Benjamite gate, a bed Melech went out to the palace and said to him, my lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah, the prophet. They have thrown him into a system where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city. And then the king commanded Abed Malik the Cushite, take 30 men from here with you and lift Jeremiah, the prophet, out of the system before he dies. And so Abed Malik took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury of the palace. He took some old drugs and worn out clothes from there and let them down with the rope to Jeremiah in the system, Abed Malik, the cush said to Jeremiah, put these old drugs and worn clothes under your arms to pad the robs, and Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the robs and lifted him out of the system, and Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. I want you to follow this story and read it slowly with me to appear before the king in opposition to a decision the king just okayed was essentially putting one's life at risk. And we have to ask, Why did a bed Melech do that? Firstly, a bed Melech had heard the cry from the system. I want to share with you this that God allowed Abed Melech to consider the plight that his servant was going through, his son was going through, and the compassion that welled up in Abed Malik's heart drove him to action. He went out and helped Jeremiah, even at the risk of his own life. Do you hear the cry around the world? Do hear the cry in your neighborhood? There are people who are sinking, there are people who are carrying away beyond their ears. There are people who are saying, God, I want out, but I don't know how. And it will take people who can hear their cry, who can quiet their hearts, and actually hear in the midst of a culture that is filled with distractions, most people want to serve God, but the distractions are way too many. Many people want to serve God, but we live in a culture of consumerism, where it's one big toy after another. What's the latest? What's this? And so with these distractions, people want to do good, but their desire and will is drowned up within culture. But if we will quiet our hearts long enough, we will hear this cry from the system, and it will compel us to do great things for God. You know what I like about the tagline of compassion? They say, releasing children from poverty, in Jesus name. In Jesus name, when I consider my mother and how she led my uncle to the Lord, because of the gospel, it wasn't because she had food, now, was because of the gospel. Releasing children from poverty in Jesus name, coming along the local church and saying, there are other ways we're going to go through the United Nations. We're going to go through other ways to intervene, government programs, but we're choosing to partner with the local church that God has planted in that poor community, to unleash it in Jesus name. So every time you make a sacrificial decision, every time you say, I'm going to drink one coffee less a month. Because you know what it means to sponsor a child. Guess what? It's $43 a month. That's like average, about 10.5 cents. I mean, $25 every week. Now, I'm almost certain the men of you who are here today, if you got a memo from your boss saying, Hey, your salary has been reduced by 10 cents. I mean, $10 a week, none of you would say, Oh, I have to move houses or I have to change my life. Ridiculously. No, God is calling you to consider that. Let him be the center. Let him come back to the center and you cry out, saying, all comes from you and belongs to you and will be used to advance your kingdom. Listen. Abed Melech stepped out of comfort into the space of compassion. Do you know what the greatest hindrance to impact is comfort? But when a person decides I'm going to seek God, I am going to remove myself in prayer and fasting and seek God, I'm going to see. Take me to the place of discomfort Come what may do your worst or storms, that person has just ushered in themselves into a place where there is no telling what God will do through that person. It was DL Moody, who said, The world is yet to see what God will do with a man or a woman who is fully yielded to him. I look back and I consider Heather's decision. It's a 15 year old girl made a decision to babysit so that I could be sponsored, and all I know is that single decision might have brought discomfort to her, because her week was spent doing whatever she wanted, but now she had to babysit. And the invitation for God, there is a cost to discipleship, and I'd like to invite you to that space where you and I consider what else exists. Is there more to this relationship? Can more impact go out in Jesus name? Jesus said, My father is working, and I can guarantee you, we are seeing this in Africa. In Africa, there's a very strange hunger, and I believe that one of the greatest contributions the African church can bring to the global body of Christ is hunger. There is a very fresh hunger for God. There is an unrelenting desire to say, God, we want more. We want more. We want more, whatever the price, whatever the price. Some of you here today are saying, Look, I I'm going to pray the price. You made a decision two weeks ago, three weeks ago, to sponsor this child. Guess what? God might be inviting you to sponsor another child. What does that mean? Hey, listen, the picture in my mind is a picture of Ruth. Ruth is a young lady in band Islam, just where my church is located, and to paint the picture, if you put a pin at my church, a two and a half mile radius around the church, people have been so affected by poverty that there is almost 300 brothels. The average age of the girl working there is 15 years. They've dropped out of school. They're in utter hopelessness. Their destinies have been wrecked. And Ruth was one of these girls who ended up getting three other children. She can't tell who the father is, but she has decided to dedicate her life to raise these children. When you say, I'm going to come alongside that child, you are a literally ending generation of poverty in families. I don't know what's better than that. I'm an accountant by training. I always think in terms of return on investment. If I invest this $43what would advance the Kingdom of God the most? I think about that all the time. That's why you wake me up at 2am to talk about what it means to sponsor a child on the impact that has not just for the child and the family. I could scream on top of my voice at 2am in the morning because I've seen it. I've seen that it works, and God would have us rally around children, around the next generation. Say, Look, our generation has had its faults, but we're trusting you to advance the gospel in Jesus name you. And Abed, Malik took the risk, stepped out of comfort, and was able to change Jeremiah's life and advance God's purposes. But you will also curiously find that embed Malik used whatever he heard. He used rags. He used rocks to raise the servant of God. Out, God is telling us to use whatever we have, and I'm inviting you to consider what that means and looks like. As I come to a close here, I just want to reflect on four types of people in this place. The first type is the person who said, Look, I have chosen deliberately with noone putting pressure on me. I've seen that God would have me live with a little less, so that a vulnerable child can live with a little more. And I want to say Asante sana, I want to say thank you. Thank you for doing that, because now that child has hope, and the child's mother has hope, but yet, you know that if you made a few adjustments, you could actually sponsor the second child or the third child. Kids are all over in the foyer, I've been looking at some of their faces this morning, and my mind is that God what it would look like if their mothers raised praise to God, and one day came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, because of a decision here. But then there was a person here who you've been hearing about child sponsorship, and you've been suspicious saying, Does this money actually get to the kids? As an accountant and as a former beneficiary of compassion, I have been part of this organization board just close to 22 years. I can guarantee you you will not find a more integral organization. You only have to go online and look and see. A rating of compassion with regard to integrity. You'll be amazed that this money goes and all of a sudden in with one announcement, the children can go back to school. They can have mosquito nets. They can have food instantly. They can access the playgrounds for children in their communities instantly. I don't know what else to say. You know, sitting in my hotel. I said, Look, if there is a person here who is saying, Look, that's not for me, what would I say? What would I say to you, to say, look, join this fight the kids who do not have tomorrow. But then there is a third person here, who you sense in your spirit that there is more. You know that in your heart, God is calling you to the nations. God is calling you to communities. God is calling you to unleash that deposit he put on inside of you. Can I just pray for you? Can I just pray for you that the grace of God to manifest what is inside of you will come upon you today in a heavy way that you will all of a sudden be free. The Bible says, And you rise on wings like an eagle. I'm going to pray for you tonight. And then there is another person here who said, Richmond, you're talking about Christ. I have heard about Christ before, and that's why I'm here, but I have no relationship with Him, the kind of relationship that else is personal. Would you give me the joy of praying with you as well? Sadly, you walk out of here 100% knowing that I'm in the fold of Christ and that I'm going to live my life to advance the kingdom of His Son. So I want to pray with you, if you will just bow down for me, Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for all the kids that are going to be sponsored this morning as their mothers and fathers and caregivers, lift up Praise to you, may you smile and may you receive all the glory. We look forward to seeing hundreds of kids sponsored this morning, and for the people here who are desperate to see more of you to experience and go deeper with you, I pray that you unleash a new, fresh grace upon master city community, that Lord, we will see A flame burning at a level of brightness we've not seen before. We are desperate and hungry for more. Will you unleash that flame? Will you unleash that flame? Will you unleash that flame?
For those who are called to go to the nations, may God give you the grace and open those doors, and for the person this morning who says, I want to step into the fold of God. I want to make this the day when I make a decision to give my life to Jesus. If you'll say these words after me say, Lord Jesus, today I have heard your word. I've seen and felt your love. I give my life to you. Take my life and lead me here on out in Jesus. Name Amen. Glory to God. Thank you.