“Nurture”, A Closer Look by Rick Sons

Hujambo
Jina langu ni Rick Sons
Mimi nizaliwa tena
Mimi ni hapa kukupa neon                    
Mungu ni mwema
Yesu anakupenda

Nurture: to care for and encourage the growth or development of.

Today we will learn about Nurture as it fits in our JOURNEY.  The Scripture we use for Nurture in our JOURNEY is:
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” – Ephesians 4:11-13

What is discussed in these verses is the follow-up of what God has done on the cross through Christ. We would expect the resurrected Lord Jesus to remain on earth, but He didn’t. Instead, we know Christ’s Spirit came upon His people and lives through them. Christ is living Himself out through our lives. So Christ, in a real way, is living His life out on earth through our lives.

The first thing that is mentioned is how God, through Christ, has made it possible for all of His people to receive the truth they need to live right and good lives. God gave certain gifts and associated them with certain key positions in the church. These men are not called leaders here but certainly play that influential part. There are five categories: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

While on our JOURNEY as disciples, we are to see that the Word of God is passed on to build the body of Christ. In a few short months, four of us will be going to Kenya to do just that. When I opened my lesson today I spoke to you in Swahili. Which along with English, is the main language of Kenya. I said,

Hujambo – “Hello”
Jina langu ni – “My name is Rick Sons”
Mimi nizaliwa tena – “I am born again”
Mimi ni hapa kukupa neno – “I am here to give you the Word”
Mungu ni mwema – “God is good”
Yesu anakupenda – “Jesus loves you”

These are simple phrases alone but together they form the beginning of a powerful and true statement. I have been working on some of the Swahili language for the past month so that when I go, the people will know that I am serious about being there to help them. To nurture their love of Christ, to equip the people of Kenya, to nurture their walk, so that they too can build the body of Christ – this is our main goal as believers and disciples of Christ. This may not be done in a faraway country, as not everyone can take on this type of ministry.  Still, it is out the comfort of the doors of our congregation. We say, “I am saved and I am a disciple” (as long as I can do it from the comfort of my pew). My friends, a JOURNEY is traveling from one point to another and if we stay put in the pew our JOURNEY will stop.

God will be calling and raising leaders from among our congregations to these positions. Are you one of them? Are you so burdened down by misconceptions that you cannot seek God’s best for our congregations?

If we start opening our eyes in faith to the God who is serious about equipping the church, then He indeed will bless us. We must not fall into the mindset of doubting our need for any of these gifted men. 

We need to pray that God all the more equips us, like the Antioch church. God is serious about training His people. We need to get with it and start recognizing those He has gifted around us, otherwise we will never get where God wants to take us.

Asante sana – “Thank you very much”