I had the privilege of speaking on Sunday, Jan. 1, at Southside Baptist Church in Orlando. Here’s a recap …
Our team faced many obstacles in filming AWAYO a few years back, one of which was rain. It rained almost every day we were there, which meant there were parts of each day when we could film. It was also tough to work inside, because of all the noise on the tin roofs. Getting anywhere was hard, and not just because of the rugged terrain. There was also a lot of mud, and many creeks and rivers and streams.
Yet in spite of abundant water, the Moi people have many skin problems because they do not bathe. And they are frequently dehydrated because they do not drink enough water. You might look at a situation like that and say, “They needed a well.” But the fact is, they did not. They were afraid to access clean water because they believed evil, dangerous spirits live in the water. They did not simply need help with a physical problem; they needed freedom from fear.
They needed Jesus.
When my friend Ron Lindsey went to work among the Siawi people, he couldn’t help but notice that they ate dirt to satisfy their constant hunger. This was odd, since the river just below the village teamed with fish, and the hillside above the village was thick with wild pigs. He later found out that the spirits they lived in fear of put strict limits on everything they could eat, except dirt. They could eat all the dirt they wanted.
They were not allowed to hunt on the hillside above the village. They were not allowed to eat any fish large enough to have scales they could see. So because of fear, they ate dirt. They needed to find freedom from fear.
They needed Jesus.
When Matt Arnold got word that little Maria was still sick after a virus swept through the Southern Tepehuan village where he ministered, he went to visit her. He found her severely dehydrated, so he started an IV of saline solution and gave her parents some oral rehydration salts, along with instructions on how to use them. He left thinking she would be fine.
So he was surprised to find out later that Maria had died. Her parents had removed the IV and had not given her an oral rehydration fluid. Shamans had told them Maria was already dead, and they should not let the body revive. Maria was gone, and if her body revived, an evil spirit would come and live in it. They had access to medicine, but fear kept them from using it.
They needed Jesus.
When Sandra, a Guanano woman, decided she needed help with her marriage, she summoned a chanter, who would chant so the spirits would fix her relationship with her husband. It cost every bit of food she had in the house, but it was worth it to her. However, when her husband came home, he was greatly upset to find that there was no food in the house, and the couple argued.
Sandra knew what the problem was. She decided she had not hired a powerful enough chanter. She would have to borrow money from friends and family, putting the couple in debt, but she would hire a chanter to make things right.
That may sound silly to you and I. But it made perfect sense to Sandra and her people. They did not need someone to come in and tell them how they should do things. They needed to find out that the spirits were not in control of their lives.
They needed Jesus.
There’s a lot of good stuff we can do, such as providing access to clean water, food and medical care. But they’re not the great thing we are called to do: The Great Commission.
[…] at Southside Baptist Church in Orlando on Jan. 1, 2012. I encourage you to first read part one, They need Jesus, and part two, Good or […]