There is so much to tell you about the visit
we had in Navrongo. The pastor, Joseph Sapio, is a wonderful man of God; he carries himself with the dignity that true humility
brings to a person’s character. His wife Esther is just living Joy; she is full of warmth and love, and she gives the
greatest hugs. The love and the gentleness of the parents shine in the smiles of the beautiful children. It was a wonderful
visit.
Starting sort of at the end of the visit,
I will share the Sunday service with you. It was Tithe Sunday. When Pastor Joseph first told me it was Tithe Sunday, I think
I figured he must collect tithes on certain Sundays of the month and so I had not asked him what it was.
We arrived at church at 8:20 am, being told to be there by 8:30. Bible study was already
in progress; I don’t know what time it had started. There were several studies going on concurrently, some in English
and some in Frafra, the local language. Mostly adults were in attendance, but some children were there as well; it was a sizeable
crowd.
At 9:15, the announcement was made that there were 15 minutes remaining.
At 9:25,
the announcement was made that there were 5 minutes remaining.
At 9:30, the worship leaders began
the service.
It was most impressive; Ghanaians on a time schedule, actually keeping time.
Worship
was most enjoyable and lively; the Africans dance before the Lord differently than we do. They sing till their feet move,
and then form a short line and do that dance everyone does at weddings, gently waving white handkerchiefs. Then the first
line of dancers returns to their seats and another forms. After awhile, mostly the women come one at a time and do special
dances of thanksgiving and praise: their feet stomp the ground at incredible speed and their hands move up and down, brushing
their knees vigorously as they yield to the Spirit, all very joyous and awesome. Sometimes it is difficult not to get caught
up watching the wonder of the worship and remember to worship!
None of the songs were in English;
they must have been local songs as I could not recognize the melodies. But I enjoyed worshipping anyway; how could anyone
not be filled with thanksgiving in such an atmosphere?
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| This delightful woman broke into a spontaneous dance of welcome as I walked up the road. |
Then came the announcements (yes,
Village of Faithers, announcements!) and then a visiting pastor taught the Word; after perhaps an hour and a quarter came
the time for Tithe Sunday.
For the first time ever, the scriptures
I have read so often in the Old Testament came to life as they actually took form before my eyes; I saw what it was like in
the Tabernacle and the synagogues as the tithes were brought to the sanctuary and placed before the altar of God.
Bags of grain, rice, beans, and ground nuts (peanuts) were carried in by women and piled at
the altar. The people here live off the land; few are employed. Farmers with chickens and guinea fowl stood holding the birds
by the legs to keep them still (chickens in church! I can truly say now that I have seen a holy chicken). Time-worn villagers
humbly coming before the man of God to worship the Lord with their tithes on the increase they had experienced that year.
It was a sacred sight to witness; my heart had to bow in the Presence of our Holy God as the
people honored His Word and He honored their faithfulness.
The blessings
of Deuteronomy just flooded my heart seeing them so vividly illustrated in front of my eyes. The Lord has promised to bless
us in the land where He has placed us, the ground here had yielded up its fruit, and the people were blessed and had come
to bless the Lord.
Pastor Joseph stood in front of the tithers and their
tithes and blessed them for their obedience as they worshipped the Lord. Then he had the salaried members of the church who
tithe stand up and he prayed over all the tithers and their tithes and blessed them. Those who remained seated were obviously
not tithers (wait till word of this gets around!).
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| Tithes of grain and produce and animals at the altar. |
In his prayer, he thanked the Lord
for blessing His people because of their obedience and asked Him to open the eyes of those who were not yet tithing to see
the goodness of God. The pure humility of this man before his God convicts your soul.
Truly I can say that the holiness of the God of the tithe filled the air and that tithing has become a true
matter of worship for me.
During his time
of ministering to the people at tithing time, Pastor Joseph told us of a bus hijacking in Nigeria.
The bus was on its way from Lagos to Ibadan and was stopped by thieves, who told the travelers
to get off the bus. Once off the bus, they were told to separate into two groups: those who attended church on one side and
those who did not on the other. Then the thieves turned to the church group and told it to separate into two groups: those
who tithe and those who don’t.
The thieves spoke to the non-church
goers: We have every right to steal from you and beat you because you are heathen like us and you do not serve God.
They then proceeded to do so.
To the non-tithers the thieves spoke: We have
every right to steal from you and beat you because you have robbed God and you are cursed, and we know He will not protect
you from us.
Again, the thieves beat and robbed the
people.
To the tithers, the thieves said: Get back
on the bus. We know your God will protect you from us and cause punishment to come on us if we try to steal from you. We know
that your God has said so in His Word.
And so Joseph’s point was that the
ungodly in the land know the power of God better than the believers at some times (and yet they continue to refuse to serve
God!). My heart is so touched with the humble courage this man has in his service to our holy God.
Later that night, I spoke with Pastor
Joseph to tell him how much the service had impressed and enlightened me, giving me new understanding. How gloriously the
Lord can change a person’s heart toward His Word when His Word is so graciously and boldly displayed. I then asked him
about Tithe Sunday, and this is what he told me.
The local people were once animists
who consulted the soothsayers (witch doctors) for guidance. In the beginning of the year, they would go to the soothsayers
to find out their fortune for the year, get his “blessing” and then return at the end of the year to pay him with
a cow, goat, or sheep, regardless of how their year went. Such has been the custom in this area since the beginnings of time,
it seems.
What Pastor Joseph has done to help bring the
people into understanding of God’s Word is to establish a consecrating and blessing Sunday at the beginning of the year
wherein he teaches the Word concerning tithing and then prays with the people over their seed or livestock and poultry for
God’s blessing on their farms. The people then commit to tithe on their increase.
When Tithe Sunday comes at the end of the year (keep in mind that there are only two seasons here: rainy
season, which lasts from late May to end July, and dry season), the people come in to present their tithes. For those who
continue to consult the soothsayers, it must be a great object lesson for them to see the blessing of God on those who are
obedient to His Word; for those who have had a bad year and still have to pay the witch doctor, I can see how their hearts
would be convicted into repentance and salvation.
And so while I
am writing this, let me include one more great testimony that Joseph shared with me.
Not long ago in Bolgatanga, a city about 30 miles from Navrongo, one of the local chiefs repented and received
Jesus as his Savior. He took all of the idols that he had worshipped all of his life and piled them in the village for the
villagers to see. He shared his new faith with his people and lit the pile of idols and let them burn to the ground. Here
in Ghana, the chief is still the governing head of his village even though the state government supersedes his authority;
however, in reality, the local tribal system still drives the villages.
His
people were so horrified at what he did that they tried to kill him; they came to his home and used bows to shoot poisoned
arrows at him. Eight arrows pierced his robe but none touched his skin. He stood in front of them with the arrows dangling
from his clothes and declared the mercies of God to them.
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| I walked up the road with this bull to see what bulls do on their strolls. Nothing much. |
This incensed the villagers even more
and so they had him arrested and tried in Bolga court. The court judged him guilty of sacrilege and condemned him to be hanged.
Because he appealed to the state, the chief was granted a new trial in the capital city of Accra, which is 800 miles or so
to the south (does this sound like the Apostle Paul’s experience or what?). The chief was acquitted at that trial and
returned to his people, once again pleading with them to repent and be saved.
Joseph
told me that because they could not kill him with the bows and arrows and could not get him hanged as a criminal, yet for
all their efforts he still stood before them and pleaded for their souls, the entire village was converted.
I like testimonies like this one! This one is
especially wonderful for I have been in Bolga and felt the power of the spirit of darkness in the air.
So, back to Sunday service: the service
lasted just over 4 hours. It was well over 100 degrees and there were about 300 or so people crammed into the room, yet not
one person got up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, not one phone rang, and no one turned to talk to a neighbor. The people
sat on crudely made benches that are really uncomfortable and not one kid made any disturbance during the entire service.
These people truly come to church to celebrate their salvation and to hear from God.
Smiles
If your heart is touched with
the work that Pastor Joseph does among the children in Northern Ghana, please contact him at:
Ambassador Assemblies
of God
Pastor Joseph Sapio Naa
Box 43
Navrongo, UER
Ghana, West Africa
Pastor Joseph has built
schools for the children and ministers tirelessly in the Savannah heat to share the love of Jesus Christ with the local tribal
peoples. His email address is sapionaa@hotmail.com ; please understand that electricity is not readily available and is unstable when it is. Pastor's access to the Internet
is somewhat limited.
