Can Jesus Set Me Free?

A Tale of Two Chiefs

Since my second trip to Africa, we have been following up with two chiefs of two distant villages, both very old, and both Muslim leaders in their separate communities. With both chiefs, we befriended them and shared the gospel with them, and both listened initially, inviting us to share more of the gospel with their village.

Then the division happened. One of the chiefs, “Ramen”, who had initially invited us to build a church structure then closed off his village to our church, kicking us out from land he’d given us after we’d built a water well there. He still accepted our visits, but we heard darker and darker stories about him. First of all, he and the village elders kicked out the only believer in the village who was still attending church. Then, as he felt himself growing more and more sick, he turned increasingly to black magic and sorcery to keep himself alive, causing great harm to his family and those around him.

The other chief, “Elijah”, continued to welcome us to his village, repeatedly encouraging his people to attend the church services and listening intently as we preached the word of God. He seemed confused at first, stating that both Mohammad and Jesus could save him, but as we went along, he became more and more solid in his understanding until last January (2014) where we were certain he had trusted Jesus completely with his life. He too was sick, but the situation in his village was more peaceful. Yet the story wasn’t done…

Near the end of 2014, we received news that Ramen had died apart from Christ. He’d relied on his own powers to keep him alive, but there is no magic, no money, and no ransom that can keep you from the grave, and he ended up doing a great amount of damage in doing so, to the point where the people around him were afraid of him. We also received word that Elijah was ill and death was looming; he might not be alive the next time we visited. At the time I received that news, I was on a break from the ministry, but I purposed in my heart that if at all possible, I wanted to return to see Elijah one last time before he died.

So in January when we arrived, my first question to the ministers there was how Chief Elijah was and how he was doing in his faith. They looked at me and told me, “He is alive, but he is confused.”

“Confused?” I asked.

“He thinks he needs to hold on to the gods of Africa to protect him in addition to Jesus, and he is afraid.”

Crestfallen and saddened by the news, I asked further, wondering if they were mistaken. But as they explained his situation, I came to the sobering conclusion that the chief had only accepted the Lord as yet another protection on him, and he was concerned that if he left behind the religion of his fathers, the gods would come after him “like the mafia”, as our African brothers put it.

We set to work praying for him, and began urgently trying to get in contact with someone who could take us back to the chief’s house in the nearby city where he had taken up residence in his illness.

Visitation

Prayer pays off.

We were staying at the orphanage when we finally received word that we would get a chance to visit with him. I began to prepare what I would say to him, knowing that this would likely be the last time I would see him on this earth.

We passed through the city landscape on our way to the chief’s home, a strange, barren, and dusty part of the city without a single tree. We arrived underneath the canopy outside the chief’s house, and his wife bowed low to greet us, calling for her husband.

I got up to meet him as he walked down the hallway toward us. He didn’t smile – he looked like he was distracted.

I reached out to grab his extended hand in greeting, and the moment our hands touched, it seemed like all his life and strength were gone. At that point, I knew he didn’t have long. Short of a miracle, this was our last visit with him.

He sat down, clearly in pain, hardly able to keep himself upright. All of my plans to speak were suddenly gone – I was expecting a vibrant old man who sometimes complained of his bad health, but he was a shadow of his former self, barely present.

Knowing our time was short, we set to work, telling him of his need to come to Christ – of Christ’s sovereign rule over all and his power to protect over any African god or spirit that threatened. We encouraged him to trust in the Lord alone for his salvation. We also told him that we could not guarantee his physical protection, but promised that if he believed, Jesus would indeed raise him up from the dead.

The chief told us he wanted to get his family together to discuss the decision before he did anything, but we reminded him that this decision was between him and God alone, and that he didn’t have the promise of another day, encouraging him to turn to the Lord.

Free At Last

And at the end of the conversation, we sat in silence until he asked, “Can Jesus set me free from the oath my family made to the gods of Africa?”

This, my friends, is the question. Can Jesus set me free from my past? Does Jesus have the power to erase my past and to break the hold of every curse on me? All of us desperately need this hope, because all of us have black pages in our books.

I was overjoyed by his question. Yes – yes indeed Jesus can set you free, we told him. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed, free from every pact and bondage.

The chief thought for a moment, then said, “I have decided to become a Christian.”

Knowing that baptism is a sticking point, especially for those who are coming from a Muslim background, we pressed in, “Are you willing to be baptized then?”

He told us yes, he was willing to be baptized, and we were satisfied that he had truly crossed the line, so we closed out our conversation with joy. We brought out the pictures from our last visit with him, and his face broke into a smile for the first time since we’d arrived. It was as though dark clouds had broken, leaving a perfect day in their wake.

Knowing we only had a short time since we were leaving to minister in yet another dark place, we left him. We were almost back to the road when his wife came running after us as fast as her aging body would allow and told us to come back, because the chief wanted us to meet someone.

When we arrived back, another man stood by the place where the chief sat. He said, “I will translate for my father.”

The chief spoke again, and the man said, “My father would like you to know that he has decided to become a Christian.”

The chief really wanted us to know he’d become a Christian, apparently. I asked the chief’s son what he thought of this turn of events, wondering if he too was a Muslim.

The man smiled and said, “Praise the Lord! I too am a Christian.” He told us he was overjoyed by the news.

I would have liked to have stayed and spoken with him more, but as it seems far too often in missions, you don’t get a chance to enjoy the moment – we took our leave and departed quickly, leaving the chief and his son as we prepared to bring the gospel to a new village we had never visited before. My head was spinning with joy and apprehension as to what the new ministry would bring, and it wasn’t until later that I was able to fully appreciate what had happened.

Homecoming

A month later, we received word that Chief Elijah had gone home to be with the Lord. His body may be gone, but his spirit is more alive now than it will ever be. And just as Jesus promised, one day he will rise again – free from his tortured old body, free from any pact made with the powers of darkness, and free to praise his King.

Yet though we are joyful, please pray for his wife and the family he left behind.

I miss him already; he was like a grandfather to me. I will be in Africa soon, and I regret that I will not see his smiling face this time, but I look forward to the day when we meet again, and on that day, we won’t need a translator.

Know that no matter what you have done, no matter what you face, no matter what pact you have made with yourself, anyone, or anything – there is nothing that can prevent you from being set free, because as Jesus says in John 10:18, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Look to the Son; believe and be saved.

Grace to you,
- Paul