In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of knowing one’s identity and role within the church as a foundation for effective evangelism. He shares a vivid account from a mission trip to Kenya, focusing on three local figures: Janet, the Adventist church treasurer who skillfully facilitated audience questions; Mary, a Maasai matriarch who narrated how adopting traditional Maasai dress and customs enabled the community to connect with their neighbors and invite them to the Adventist faith; and Joseph, Mary’s son who translated her story. The narrative illustrates that cultural embodiment—dressing and behaving as the Maasai—was crucial for reaching the people with the gospel, encapsulated in the principle, “To reach Maasai for Jesus, we must first be Maasai.” The speaker links this incarnational approach to the example of Jesus becoming human, urging believers to embody the culture of those they seek to reach. The talk blends personal anecdotes, theological reflection, and practical ministry insight, concluding that authentic identity and incarnational ministry are essential for drawing others to Christ.
Chapters
In the church, who are you? Knowing your identity and your role in the church leads to drawing people to Jesus. But if we're not sure who we are or what our purpose is, we are not as intentional, and we're not as focused on doing what he's invited us to do, or challenged us to do. When I was over in Kenya, one of the ladies who was there, she was the treasurer of the local Adventist church, and she could speak English very, very— only a little bit. And so she would always speak through the translator. And after my presentations, which were with a translator, so I would speak for maybe 15, 20 minutes, then the translator would as well. So they were already 35, 40 minutes long. Then the question time would come, and boy, they had amazing questions. And so we often— the question time went longer than the sermon. And Janet, this is the lady, the treasurer, she would set up questions for other people in the audience to have a story to tell. And she was brilliant at it. She was a fantastic leader. And she once asked this question. They all dressed beautifully in Maasai clothes, and she said, "Is it right or wrong to dress as a Maasai if we're an Adventist?" And I said, "Ah, it's beautiful." that you're dressed as a Maasai. It is so beautiful. And then the matriarch, and this was quite amazing because she hadn't said anything at all. She couldn't speak any English, but she obviously knew this was the time she was supposed to speak. She stood and she said through— her son was the translator, "Can I tell a story?" And I said, "Please do." And she, her name was Mary, she told this story. She said, "I remember when the Adventist message came to our village, to our valley." And the evangelist, my family was the first one who heard this message, and we said, "We want this. We believe this. We want to be part of this." And he said, "Then let's have some meetings. Go and invite your friends, but you can't dress like natives. You have to dress properly." So he gave them Western clothes, and they went and they stood out. And the way that the Maasai people greet each other is they wave from a distance at each other, and then they basically yell, "I see you!" And they yell back, "I see you." And then they come together. And so they're standing and they're yelling in Maasai, "I see you." And the people are going, "What is wrong with that person? They look like a Maasai from here up and from the wrists forward, but the rest of them looks very strange." And all of these neighbors and friends who knew them very well went right around them and wouldn't have anything to do with them. And so Mary said, "So we were standing there and we were trying our best, and then I said to the other ladies," She says, "Come, let us go put on our Maasai clothes and our best Maasai jewelry," which is what they would put on when they went to weddings and feasts and festivals. And she said, "Then we'll come back to the field." And so the evangelist is watching. He can't understand what they're doing. He just sees them disappear and then they come back and he's, "Oh, great, I failed." They're all back in their old clothes again. And they come out and they go, "I see you!" And the neighbors come over, "I see you. What is it?" And they say, "Come to this amazing things that we're hearing about the God who loves us." Oh, we will come. And they went and got all their families, and they came. That entire valley is now Seventh-day Adventist. Because they were first— and this is what she said at the end of her thing. And when Joseph translated it, you know, it's his mom, he got teary as he was translating it. Because his mom said, "To reach Maasai for Jesus, we must first be Maasai." And this is the incarnational ministry of Jesus. To reach humanity for God, He must first be human. And he came and became one of us, and then he challenged us to do the same.
