Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt November 16th, 2025
Being The Friend Of God
Text: John 15:15–21
Many of you may be familiar with a period of time referred to as the East African Revival. It was a powerful and significant move of the Holy Spirit that started in the late 1920’s and spread throughout the church in East Africa especially in Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.
Some have written that it began around 1929 on a hill called “Gahini” in what was then called Belgian Ruanda and Burundi. This was during a time of spiritual stagnation within the church. Many Christians felt empty because the state of their faith and the church practices were no longer life giving but dry and rote. They were merely going through the motions.
It was initiated by a British missionary doctor, Joseph Church, and a Ugandan Christian, Simeon Nsibambi, who felt led of the Lord to address the spiritual lethargy they perceived within the church. Their meetings emphasized public confession, accountability, and a return to a more authentic Christian faith.
The Lord moved upon their request and the revival quickly spread to neighboring countries Uganda, Kenya, and the eastern mountains of the Belgian Congo. It brought the much-needed change that has brought spiritual renewal to the Anglican Church in East Africa. This brought about a surge in conversions and emphasis on the need for transparency and brokenness, encouraging people to confess their sins openly, leading to a sense of community and healing.
I have found that its very helpful when we can all acknowledge that we’re all a mess and desperately need Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s one of those truisms that will never change.
The East African Revival isn’t a single ongoing event but an historical movement whose influence continues today through ongoing focus on worship, teaching the Word of God, and regular revival gatherings. This has had a lasting moral impact on many believers, and new movements that seek to adapt its spirit for
the current generation. The thing is that it still requires that they faithfully focus on glorifying the Lord, preaching His word, and praying for revival.
Many Christian leaders today point to that period of time as the beginning of a walk with Christ that brought the power of the Holy Spirit and a deep hunger and sense of longing for a deeper relationship with the Lord. Because in some places the revival is still going on today, I suspect that is the reason why there is also a renewed expansion of churches plus a renewed attack from those who hate Christianity and are committed to destroy it. Those two realities seem to go hand in hand.
Over the years I have at times shared with you a story about Teresa and I having dinner with one of the Rwandan bishops 16 years ago. I had met Bishop Louie a few years before while in Rwanda. This was the night before Teresa and I left to go to Trinity Anglican Seminary in Ambridge, Pa. There was a dinner at our pastors home in Daleville- a small town outside of Roanoke. I was giving up my job as Associate Rector at Church of the Holy Spirit-Orchard Hills. I had been there for two years and eight months. I had friends who were trying to understand my reason for making such a move. At that time Teresa was definitely in their camp.
Essentially, I was leaving a job to get a seminary degree that would enable me to get a job much like what I was leaving. Also, I was giving up a very nice income. I knew exactly what the Lord had directed me to do, so I was doing it. In truth I was also uncertain about the move but had no doubt I had to do it.
Bishop Louie a precious man of God was a Bishop in Kigali, Rwanda. He asked if he could join us for dinner. He knew what I was doing and why. Initially his focus was on Teresa because he could sense that she was not happy about the move.
He told us the story about the time in 1994 when there was genocide in Rwanda where approximately one million Tutsi were killed by Hutu extremist seeking to wipe out the minority Tutsi population. Bishop Louie and his family were Tutsi, and they had to escape into Uganda. Louie, his wife, and children hid during
the day and traveled by night. They had lost everything, many family members, their home, their bank accounts, their car, and clothes, accept for what they were wearing. They were overcome with fear. If they could make it to Uganda their was hope of survival, but what then. One day as his family rested Louie was crying out to God. It was then that he heard the Lord say to Him, “Focus on Me, glance at the problem.” That became their mantra, “Focus on Jesus–Glance at the Problem.” He realized that what he had been doing was focusing on the problem which seemed insurmountable and occasionally glancing upon Jesus.
They finally got to the border in Uganda and there were friends meeting him there. That was at five in the afternoon. By eight o’clock that evening they had a car to drive, a house to live in, and money to buy what they needed. That simple mantra was still a part of his life, and it still is for me too.
Our brothers and sisters in Africa pray for us in America because they know we are often inclined to focus on the wrong things, things that are hard to give up. If we are to flourish spiritually then we must be intentional in our focus on God and His word. If we want revival to come then we must be prepared for the enemy to react badly and depend solely on the promises of God. That’s easier said than done.
You may have noticed that each of our scripture readings this morning encourage us to not fear but be courageous because God is with us. When I read Hebrews 13: 6, “So we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me?” I realized that I could think of a few things that man could do to me.
7th-century theologian Maximus the Confessor is known for defending the Orthodox Christian faith against heresies attacking the human and divine natures of Christ. He was a faithful man of God who was tortured for his faith but was not martyred. Although cruelly persecuted physically he stood his ground. He was called the “confessor” because he suffered greatly for the Christian faith but was not martyred. I want to share a quote from one of his writings,
The Logos (Word) of God (who is God) wills always and in all things to accomplish the mystery of his embodiment.
Let me explain what he was saying. We often speak of the “incarnation of Christ” as God coming down from Heaven and taking on human form. This is at the core of Christian teaching. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of
God’s presence on Earth, fulfilling the prophecy of Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel” (God with us). Maximus the Confessor taught that Jesus Christ had several embodiments. He can be found as Creator in creation, as Author in His Scriptures, and “Word made flesh.” John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” However, we can also point to a fourth embodiment of Jesus: His church—the body of Christ.
Jesus often promised that He would be found within His church and among His people. Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Hebrews 13: 5 that we read this morning, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
After His resurrection Jesus promised in Matthew 28:19–20,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It didn’t take long before it was clear to His disciples that He meant what He said.
After Pentecost in Acts 2 we find the disciples and those who had responded to the Gospel being preached and taught had a new kind of life. In Acts 2:42–47 we read about this phenomenon. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit brought with it a new way of thinking and living.
They were bound together in Love: They were devoted to one another. They worshipped together, shared meals together, prayed together and studied the word together. They took care of each other together.
They were hungry for the Word: they were devoted to the Apostles teaching. They were eager to hear from the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. They were hearing the teachings that would later be apart of the New Testament.
They were devoted in Worship: They were devoted to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. That was to be the rhythm of word and sacrament, of prayer and praise, that shapes our life, where the crucified and risen Lord meets us, bringing a sense of awe to our gatherings.
Lavish in Generosity: They had received much and they gave much. They were filled with the Spirit and emptied themselves in generosity. They knew that God had them in His hands, so they opened their hands. No one had seen such generosity before.
They were Committed to the Mission: Luke wrote that they quickly gained “favor with all the people” and “day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” As people poured in there were many new Christians who moved out returning to their homelands from their Pentecost Pilgrimage. Every where they went they took stories of what had happened. More importantly, wherever they went, He went too.
I suspect that many who read the stories from the Book of Acts wondered how many of the thousands who came to saving faith right after the day of Pentecost stayed the course. Of course we don’t have a way to know exactly but we can know that the church grew quickly and before long the persecution began in earnest.
It’s likely that the vast majority of the new converts were not religious scholars, but ordinary people like you and me. However we can know with certainty that the church continued to grow and flourish and soon spread to the Gentile nations as well.
The amazing part is that most of them were common people who suddenly had their lives dramatically changed, without any preparation that prepared them deal with the opposition that would come. I think it’s safe to say that they were living way beyond themselves and yet they grew in their faithfulness to spreading the Gospel message throughout the land.
Back in Jerusalem the disciples when threatened by the religious leaders spoke confidently from the Scriptures. All the time they evidenced a surprising joy, a boldness of character, a new courage, and compassion that seemed to come from somewhere else. From someone else. These were not the same men who fled at Jesus’ arrest. Acts 4:13,
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Indeed they had been with Jesus, and they still were but now they had received the promise of Jesus in John 14:25–27,
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
This was a promise to Jesus’ disciples and not only the original 11, but to all who come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Of course this included all those who had come to Jesus Christ and were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Maximus the Confessor phrased it carefully: Christ was now embodied in his people. In using language like this he was drawing on a feast of metaphors used by Jesus and his Apostles to express the unbreakable connection between Christ and his church.
He dwells in us: This and nothing less is the profound reality at the heart of our redemption. “Christ in you” (Col. 1:27; John 14:20,23). The result couldn’t be missed. When people looked at his church, they caught sight of Jesus. They cannot be separated.
We are called…his flock (John 10), his branches (John 15), members of his body (1 Cor. 3), his temple (1 Corinthians 6), his building (1 Corinthians 3), his home (John 14), his family (Matthew 12).
We are given every part of his character: (Galatians 5), his joy, his peace, his love, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness, his self control.
He draws us into every part of his life: (Romans 6; Colossians 3) We share in his baptism, his teaching, his prayers, his table, his persecutions, and his sufferings. We will share in his future, in his glory.
In considering our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy 31: 1–8 I wondered what was in Moses’ heart when he spoke these words to what was actually the second generation of those who left Egypt 40 years earlier. Their parents had been stubborn and really frustrating so they had to wander in the wilderness until that generation died.
In this brief section Moses began the preparation of transferring authority to Joshua who would lead God’s wayward people into the promised land. Moses was 120 years old and before he led Israel out of Egypt he spent 40 years in Midian tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro.
This was time well spent because he had learned the climate and geography of the Sinai Peninsula in preparation for leading Israel through the wilderness for 40 years. I wondered if he really cared that God wouldn’t allow him to go with them into the promised land. I think he was probably tired anyway and relieved that he was done with the task that God had given so many years ago. In whatever time he had left he would focus on Joshua his successor.
After all these years Moses had learned the secret of leading this people and he could say this with certainty. Listen to Deuteronomy 31: 7–8,
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
In Psalm 25 we read the words of King David who laments his sins but expresses a quiet confidence that the Lord will be with him in any and every circumstance. Listen to Psalm 25: 4–5,
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
David was another example of a sinner who had learned to trust in the mercy of God when there was repentance.
I chose to use these scriptures this morning because I believe that we are on the cusp of a revival. Many have read about the recent outpouring of God’s Spirit on college campuses around our country. At the same time we see those who are committed to evil practices like abortion, and sexual perversions that are hard to fathom. The good news is that there are many Christians speaking out in the public arena against these practices. The evil one has objected, and a godly man was assassinated for standing up against this evil. The result was a groundswell of those who have finally decided to fight.
We’ve been praying for our brothers and sisters in Uganda and Nigeria who are being persecuted for their faith. Many are dying and yet many who have been the enemy are coming to Christ. This shouldn’t be a surprise because this is the very definition of spiritual warfare.
If we are to see God moving in us here then we must be prepared to fervently pray for revival and begin publicly declaring the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to be faithful whatever the cost? Please be asking God to help you focus on Jesus and glance at the problem.
Let’s pray.
