The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, transforming lives from darkness to light. It illustrates this power through personal testimonies, including The passage's own calling to missions and the dramatic conversion of a cannibalistic tribal member named Okalufu, who sought forgiveness from both God and the government. The message emphasizes that believing in Jesus Christ is the means by which individuals access God's saving power, leading to transformed lives and active witness for Christ. It concludes by urging believers to actively share the gospel, recognizing its transformative potential in every life.
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I'd like to give an item for prayer, which is selected, pointed to some to me, effort that's being made in England to interest Christians in England to cooperate in an initiative, an evangelism, seeing the godless condition we see in America. The contrast has got even more marks in England in these last days. I'd just like to read this one paragraph. I think this is from Tom Huston, who's a very good friend of mine. He was a Catholic Baptist church in Nairobi, Kenya for some years, and he knew very well.
This is the letter he writes. I think in retrospect, as he reviews the year, the highlight of the year, they prove to be the assembly of nationwide initiatives in evangelism. Nottingham University in September, for whose planning I was responsible, supported by a good committee and excellent staff. More than nine hundred people came from every county in England and from all the denominations with good representation of their leadership. It was a highly motivating event, whose impact on evangelism has been felt for some time to come. I must pray that they go into that program.
the nationwide initiative in evangelism. I'm going to refer back to Romans chapter one. I had the privilege of speaking on this last Lord's day in the evening, and the time got away from me and I hardly touched the last item. The three subjects were, and this is Romans chapter one, verse fourteen. I am debtor. And the second was, verse fifteen, I am ready to preach the gospel. And the third was, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believes.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And I hardly had time to touch on that. I'd like to emphasize that this morning and give an example, one of the examples of the power of the Gospel in Zaire. I feel that these accounts of some who have come to know the Lord Jesus dramatic because the difference between darkness and light was so very evidently evident in their cases that I can pass them on and we can be rejoicing together in what God has done. Notice this sixteen verse, I might mention for some who have come in in the course of the week, that I was using this as an outline of our own personal history, connection with going out to serve the Lord, in which I was telling that my grandfather was led to Christ through the faithful ministry at the corner of a black man in Aberdeen, Scotland, a church of Christopher James Davis, and how as a family we had a sense of tendership to the black people.
give them the gospel. And then I was telling how the Lord called me as a young man, when I had Christian young man, when I had ambition in a career in advertising and was studying those things that had to do with the graphic arts, ideas of going to the advertising business and how the Lord turned me around as a missionary was testifying at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, where I was attending evening classes. and working during the day in a commercial art and engraving studio, which I at eighteen was the production manager. And how the Lord that night spoke to me, as the missionary spoke to Jeremiah eighteen about the potter and the clay, emphasizing our need to put our lives into the hands of the Lord, a clay in the hands of a potter to be molded and made according to His will.
And this was the changing. time in my life, and I told how the family went out from Africa in nineteen twenty-nine to serve the Lord there. And the third of these three phrases, I am better, I am ready to preach the gospel. The word, let me to understand that night in Los Angeles, is verse sixteen, which is the purpose of it all. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it. You notice there are all sorts of kinds of power. I remember when we first out there in Africa ventured out to have electricity in our home.
We had one of these wind chargers and we put a propeller up in the wind and as the wind blew it charged the battery so that we had every evening, every night, we had electricity in our home from this battery because of the power. Of course we needed a charger, we needed the propeller in order to get the power and utilize the power. And some of you may know we have struggled for some years now to get some sort of power from Niyankundi, the mission station in northeastern Sair. And the purpose of that is that we've been buying diesel fuel at great cost to provide electricity for Niyankundi, for our homes and for the hospital and for the various fool buildings and so on.
And it's only now that we have realized the advantage of the electrical power from a hydroelectric plant, from the gold mines that are not too far from Yankundi. We've had to build a power line from Yankundi for eighteen miles. And we had to get electric, so I say, metal towers, three-legged metal towers to lifting the wire into the air to carry the current from this point of contact, actually the hydroelectric plant is farther along, but to get the power from a point where we could make a contact with them is about eighteen miles.
And this whole project has taken us about eight years to accomplish what we're happy to say this in the first of August. Last year we've had electricity in any quantity we want at the Akundi, since the twenty-four hours a day. And the cost is exactly one-third of what we were paying when we were generating our own power with the caterpillar engine and the general electric generator, giving us thirty-five kilowatts of power. So that our presses and the hospital and the homes are using electric power that just comes from the water. And I've got to be showing a picture of this river going down, not actually the water power project, but nevertheless the sharring river.
Power utilized. So there it is, a turbine, in the water, utilizing that water power and giving us electricity at Ngunna Kuntin for their own goldmine trade to carry on their work. Power. I remember too, one time I was asked to go and kill an elephant that was destroying field of corn just around the side of the hill, if you can. I went over there early in the morning with a gun, sat waiting in the door of the huts there, waiting for the elephants to leave. Actually, there was only one elephant that morning. I could hear him smashing the corn stalks with me, was eating some, and just walking and trampling on the others.
And as the sun was coming up, I was getting ready to go and take a shot and went off into a forest. little forest that was not far away, the finger of Elijah forest, and I couldn't shoot it. He went off into the forest. And then, foolishly, I followed after him. I had an African who was carrying the gun, so that when the time came to shoot, my hand wouldn't be trembling, but I was to be able to get a good shot. I would often do that. He went in, followed me in, and had no difficulty knowing where he went, because he just left us out of open country where every, open brush wherever he went. as I was waiting and getting ready, and the gun was still in the hands of the gunbearer, suddenly he rose up with great fiorar and came in my direction.
Fortunately, their eyes are not very good. He didn't see me. He sent those there, and he passed by very close on the side. Well, come the gun-bearer was so excited. He threw the gun up in the air that came down. He was the first, and he had some time feeding the mutt out of the ground. But he went and followed it, and when he went, followed the elephant very long. He said, gone into another piece of forest a little farther along, and in going down had touched a tree, leaned against the tree. It was a large tree, and had just broken it off. And I said, oh, my, all that power is going to waste it. He could only utilize that power. Well, I got the elephant, and of course the people were delighted. They had a lot of for several days and they ate everything.
And they just very much enjoyed. Some years later, I visited a farm in the northern part of Namir called Gangarana Bodeo, where the Belgians were training young elephants. And I saw seventy-five elephants being trained. They could get them when they're young and train them through all sorts of garden work. They were pulling plows and pulling of this and that and doing things that require a lot of strength. Power. Well, this power we had here, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation. But even as to get the water power we need a turbine or wind power, we need a propeller.
It has to be that initial thing that gives us. the means of availing ourselves of available power. And for salvation, God's power is the gospel. And as we give the gospel in a miraculous way, lives are changed. Those who are walking in darkness see the light of life. The Lord said, If any man follow, I am the light of the world. If any man follow me, he shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. What a joy has been received. so many out there in Africa, turning from darkness, became light. I think of that verse I often quote of Paul when he was giving his account to King Agrippa.
He said, as he had seen the Lord on the road to the masters, the Lord, that I send thee to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they might receive forgiveness of sin, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. And he said, Whereupon, O King, I was not displeased unto the heavenly this. He was right away preaching the gospel. And so it's been wonderful out in Africa to preach the gospel and see what God is doing. One day I was walking along in an African village and I saw a boy sitting in the door of his hut and he was peeing in an arrow.
He was a knife in his hand. He was peeing in an arrow. And I like to get people talking. on almost any subject so we can get to the gospel eventually. And so I said, what are you doing? He said, I'm seeing my arrow. And I said, let me see it. And he gave it to me and I looked at it. And in order to get him to talk, I said, it doesn't look to me that it's very straight. Is this a good arrow? And he was quite angry. He jumped to his feet and he said, don't you say my arrow is a bad arrow. It's a good arrow. I killed an antelope, ducked with that last week and the whole village had meat. And you're calling my arrow a bad arrow. I know it's a good arrow. It worked.
And that's the way I came along to the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation. It's everyone's business. But that, which is, if you like the turbine or the propeller, that which is the means of availing ourselves of the power of the Gospel is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in His name. Because it's God's power, the salvation to everyone that believes. And that's why we urge men and women to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to be saved. I want to tell you this morning about a man by the name of Okalufu. And we expected to remember the name Okalufu, Okalufu.
I went out to a place in the tribe, it's the same tribe of which the man I spoke of yesterday, Marcellus and Recki, had gone. But this village had not ever had the visit of a missionary. And they heard that, as you went and preached and gave the word, that sooner or later they built a little building, and those who had believed the Gospel were in this building to study the Word of God. And so they, in anticipation of my visit, they built a little chapel. very simple of course. They built this chapel and when I went to the village there they were sitting, they heard I was coming and the first time I had ever been there, first time any white man as far as I know, any missionary certainly had ever been there.
And they were sitting around this little chapel that they built and they were smoking their pipes and waiting for me to come and follow the gospel. You know we always ask as we're doing visitation work, safari work out there, Lord, lead us to hearts prepared by the Holy Spirit of God. And this was certainly the case. We call it that Christian word. And one man who trusted the Lord, in the course of the several days I was there, was so colorful. An elderly man, a poor little looking man, and yet his heart was touched. He lifted his heart to the Lord and very evidently entrusted Christ as his Savior. And then there too later, as I saw was in the village, giving a follow-up instruction from the Scriptures, he came to me and he said, I'm so happy that God has forgiven my sins.
But he says, you know, I'd like the government to forgive my sins too, because the Lord has forgiven my sins, I know. Isn't it right that he's forgiving my sins? I said, well, Certainly you forgive your sins that you confess to him because of the efficacy of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, he said, you don't know, but he said, I'm a muñota. And that's a word that gives terror to the hearts of many people because there is a leopard club out there, a leopard society out there known as the muñota. and a singular would be a munyata.
A man who is a munyata is a cannibal who is one member of this leopard society in which the members wear leopard skins on their bodies and they creep into a village in the evening when people are sitting around their campfires and in their hands they have an instrument, a wooden handle, and on the edge end of the handle there are pieces of metal that are shaped to simulate leprosy claws. And they creep in, and number them together with their leprosy skins on their body, creep into this village and elect a victim and go to this innocent person, an older person, usually, and plunge this into this person's neck and then carry the person off, the body off, for cannibalistic purposes.
This was quite a while ago, you know. Although it does sometimes break out, time to time. At the time I met this man, as the Belgians were hanging, anyone who was convicted of being a mungyota. And here he has said to me, I am a mungyota. Now the one says, I was just rejoicing, the Lord has saved the cannibal. Praise God for that. But then you went on to say, I know the Lord has forgiven me. I've trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. God has forgiven me. But I have sinned against the government. I think the government should forgive me too. He said, I think I'm going to go and ask the government to forgive me, forgive me, to be a Munyatta. I'm not a Munyatta anymore. I'll never be a Munyatta again. What do you think I should do?
I had a, you know, a government minister in that. He finally decided that he would go. And so, I was prepared then. I'd gone back to my village, a mission station. He went to the government official, three days walk, and he arrived at a rumble, and the government official went. And he came to the soldiers who were standing there in front of the office. He said, I want to see the administrator. I have something to tell him. He said, you want to talk to him yourself? Yes, I want to talk to him. Well, he said, if you just sit down under the tree, he will tell you when you can come. So he sat under the tree all morning, and they didn't call it. And at noontime, the administrator came out, and they all stirred attention.
And off he went to have his lunch. And then... Oh, Kalufu was coming to disturb. He said, I asked you to let me talk to him. I want to talk to him. Don't worry, he'll be back at two o'clock. You can talk to me at two o'clock. And so he sat under the trees and walked. And at two o'clock the administrator came back, and the soldiers were in attention, and the pupils were sounded again, and all the formality of a military tank was administration, and he went into the house. And again, Kalufu wanted to get in. Finally, they said, well, all right, we're going back. And they went and said, there's an old man out here who's been waiting for this morning, wants to receive it. What did you want to do? Well, he asked whether he wants to tell you privately.
I tell him that I'm a churchy man. And the administrator told him he said, I have trusted the Lord Jesus as my Savior. And I say the administrator was Catholic. I'm very glad that was under the control of the priests of the area. And he was listening to the story as this typical man was telling how he had found peace for his heart. to trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, you know, I have been a bad man. He said, I have been a munyota. And I said, what? Yes, I've been a munyota, a cannibal. Yes, but God has forgiven me my sin. And I'm coming and asking you to forgive me. The Belgian government should forgive me for my sin. I don't know where you are.
Where is your leopard skin? Where is the claw that you use to kill people in your cannibalistic raids on villages? We said, that's at home. Go and get it, and I'll believe you. Give up. And so he turned, and off he went this three days back into his home and got his leopard skin and his bra and came back all the way to the administrator. And when he arrived back, the soldiers didn't come to sit under a table. They immediately ushered him in. They heard the story, and they knew he was a manota. And they were all afraid of the manota. Now he went to the administrator, and the administrator said, O man, you're back again? Yes, I'm back again. I'm asking you to forgive me.
God is forgiveness. I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. He couldn't avoid giving a testimony every time he spoke. According to the way the story is told to me. And the man said, well, this leprosy, if you look at this leprosy, old leprosy. I think they did a start to say the thought, well, this would be a nice curio for me to take back the velvet. That's my own thinking. At any rate, he looked at the man he couldn't believe. Here's a man confessing to something that was known to be punishable by hanging. And where's the, where's the cloth? There's a cloth. He looked at me and said, Well, why are you telling me this? Don't you know? I can have you hang for this. You can die for this. Yes, Vana, I know that.
But God is forgiven. And I want the government to forgive me for it. Well, the man fought some time and he didn't talk about, I'll take these curios home. And anyway, he said, you're, you've been a very bad man. And I'm going to put you in prison because you've been such a bad man. Three months in prison. And he just marked the things with disargement conduct or something like that and gave him a soldier notice and said, take us there to prison. For three months. And he said that after three months, will you forgive me? Go to prison. Yes, you will forgive me. And so he went to prison. Well, one of the joys in the story is that when he got down there to prison and he knew that three months more he was going to be forgiven by the government, He just opened his mouth and told people about the Lord Jesus Christ when that day.
Day after day he was telling about salvation and peace through Christ. Oh, how we praise God for how he works in the hearts of poor people like this. And they know the Lord Jesus Christ. And one after another, individuals wanted to know more about the Lord. And some professed Christ to trust Christ's faith. And then the priest in the area heard about it. And so he went to the administrator and he said, What is this I hear about you having put a Protestant evangelist into the prison? He's converting the whole prison. Get him out of there. Get him out of there. And of course the administrator was fearful about this. And so he said, Oh yes, I'll let him go.
I'll get him out right away. Don't leave him there. He sort of turned the whole prison into Protestants. He called him the priest. The man said, yes, I'll take care of it right away. Well, then the administrator sent a soldier down, said, tell O'Kalupa to come up here and bring any things he has because I'm going to let him go. And so they brought O'Kalupa up to the man and he came up, wondering why he was bringing his things. And the man said, okay, O'Kalupa, you can go home now. But one, I've only done six weeks of the three months, you said. Never mind, I'm going to let you go. He said, would you forgive me then and let me go? Yes, you can let me go.
Yes, you can be forgiven. Wait, I'll find it. It's all free. There's your paper. You're going to go home now. Well, what a joy it was to the old man's heart. He thanked the man, sent it one up. He thanked him very much for what he had done in forgiving us and letting us go. And he went back to his church. Well, I knew O Khalifa for the following years. Why, he still lived. He was there in his service, a humble believer, one who knew the Lord Jesus, and rejoiced in his salvation. And so when we say, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, it's the power of God unto salvation. I'm thinking of many, many out there whose salvation was remarkable in that they were turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and having forgiven for sin.
But many of them became... active witnesses for Christ in the land. I wonder if on our own lives we who have known the Lord Jesus, probably ought to have known the Lord Jesus for many years, if we are as active telling others the Lord Jesus. This impressed me as we travel around and as we go to gas stations and as we meet people here and there, that we are perhaps definitely the one the Lord is the one the Lord is counting on to give the message. And we try to bring it in. A little word of heaven in the year and year.
And don't despise the idea of casting on the craft, because I could give you stories of some who have trusted the Lord. When they found a craft and they were reading in their village back at home, reading it, reading it, and you found the Lord Jesus Christ. If we're speaking about the need in England, for missionaries and the Christian banding together in the evangelical initiative of the country of England, how much that's even more we can say, are we here in America and in Canada? The need for active witness for the Lord Jesus Christ as individuals.
We may know something about this power in the lives of others, those who trust the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know about that. a greater sin on earth. And to have someone who has been living in sin and far from God, who knows the power of the gospel in his life, a sound salvation will come and bring your hand and thank you that you've gotten to the Lord Jesus Christ. You have in that first chapter of John, you know how Andrew, and then Philip, Philip Bradley, and then Andrew, how they... brought the friends to the Lord Jesus Christ and he just answered that and then we get it right and closing the marks of that he made.
First of all we have the disciples and then Ambrose gets Simon Peter. He binds his own brother, Simon, that's him, he found the Messiah and he brought him to Jesus and laid it down And we have met Daniel as we were visited individuals. That means it's communicating the gospel person to person. And it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone who is saved. Our gracious Father, we're not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. We've felt its mighty power in our own lives.
As we've come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, as we come to enjoy Him in daily fellowship, as we put our lives into His control day by day. That Holy Spirit will use our witness. Thank you, Lord, for this witness here at Parkerva. We come from many places and we'll be going back to many places. Give us, Lord, that we may go and plant the seed of the Word in those areas where we are, having a special testimony, each one of us. For the Lord Jesus Because that which we are offering in the energy of the Holy Spirit of God is not ours.
But it's this wonderful thing, the gospel of God's redeeming grace in faith and worship. Thank you, Lord. We praise you for that faith. And keep that blessing this day. We thank you for that.