ARTICLE
FOR LINKS MAGAZINE.
What
is God Doing?
By
Martin Goldsmith
In
his journal John Wesley stated the task of the Christian is “to
bend his back to second the work of the blessed Holy Spirit”.
The language is out-of-date, but it reminds us of Paul's challenge
to us all to be fellow workers with Christ (1 Cor:3.9 and 2 Cor:6.1).
So what is God doing today? In what are we to cooperate with him?
In
Habakkuk the prophet surveys a situation where violence, broken
relationships and injustice prevail. Habakkuk cries for the Lord
to bring revival to his people, but God seems asleep and doesn't
answer. Into this situation God speaks: “I am doing something
in your day that you wouldn't believe even if you were told”.
The prophet is looking in the wrong direction. God is not working
among Habakkuk's own people, but among the Gentiles.
Today
too God is moving in new ways. Talk of the 21 st century as the
‘post-Christian era' only betrays a blinkered view, which only
thinks of our own nation. God meanwhile is doing a great work
even today, but we often won't believe it ‘even if we are told'!
Only
occasionally in history does God change the whole direction of
the church. In New Testament times the Church, which began as
a Jewish movement, was flooded with Gentiles and became a largely
Gentile movement. This ethnic change influenced everything in
the Christian life and faith – culturally and theologically.
Then
around 400 AD another major change happened. The Christian faith
was centred on the Roman Empire, particularly North Africa, South
Europe and West Asia. Then the wild pagan tribes of the Huns,
Goths, Visigoths and other Asterix peoples swept down from Germany,
sacked Rome and destroyed the Empire. Roman patriarchs must have
wondered whether Jesus was about to come again, for the Christian
church seemed finished. But God worked. These pagan tribes gradually
came under the influence of the Gospel and one by one submitted
to Jesus Christ as Lord.
Now
for centuries the Christian faith has been centred on Europe and
the countries to which Europeans went. Missionaries from there
have gone all over the world, founding new churches. But the Christian
faith was still considered to be fundamentally European – a major
stumbling block against many Africans and Asians committing themselves
to Jesus Christ.
However
today God has moved again. The centre of the Christian faith has
shifted to Asia, Africa and Latin America, where the church is
now large, dynamic and growing. Even in Britain and many other
European countries the main growth of the church is among ethnic
minorities. In Britain the West African and other black churches
have the largest congregations, growing apace. Korean, Chinese
and other ethnic churches also flourish.
There
are now more active Anglicans in Nigeria than in USA, Canada,
Britain, Australasia and S. Africa all put together. There are
now more active Reformed Christians in Korea or in Indonesia than
in all Europe. There are more active Baptists in Brazil than in
all Western Europe; likewise more Pentecostals in Brazil than
in Western Europe. And there are as many missionaries from Korea
as from all of Western Europe, including Britain.
God
has worked and this must influence the whole direction of the
Christian church. As western Christians we have to show humility
today and work in, through and under the national churches of
other countries. We have to be prepared to learn from them rather
than just think we can export our western ideas on conversion,
worship, prayer, leadership patterns and so on. We shall have
to look at the Bible through the grid of their cultural and religious
backgrounds, leaving behind our western approaches and emphases.
As
Christians we are now called to work with the Lord in his work
overseas. For this we need not only short-term workers, but also
those who will sink themselves long-term in another church, language
and culture with long-term relationships. We need people to pray
with faith and to give sacrificially for missionary work. Let
us also pray that God will work again in our country for His glory.
Martin
Goldsmith
is a Jewish Christian, born and bred in England. He and his wife
Elizabeth served for 10 years with OMF in Singapore, Indonesia,
Malaysia and South Thailand. There they were involved in pioneer
Muslim evangelism, and the mass movement to Christ in the reformed
Churches of Indonesia, where churches grew from 20,000 members
to about 350,000 now. They lectured at All nations Christian College
for 24 years and are still associate lecturers there. Martin and
Elizabeth now have a full time travelling ministry, teaching and
preaching both in the UK and overseas. They have three married
children and 6 grandchildren.
Archived
Frontline Articles
1.
'Crossing The Tracks' by Tony Miller
2.
'Keeping On Keeping On' by George Verwer
3.
'Bringing Down Giants' by Faith Forster
4.
'Remove That Mask' by David Coffey
5.
'Dream On' by Jeff Lucas
6.
'From Raising Our Hands To Using Them' by Martin Smith
7.
'Mission Encouragers' by Martin Lee
8.
'Continuity and Change' by John Noble
