Pastor Hellmers

Pastor Helmers:

Grace be to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 10:34

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day

In the name of Jesus, my dear friends, it is truly an honor to be here with you this morning. This is my second visit to Kijabe Hospital. I was here in 2017, and was honored to witness the ministry of Kijabe hospital. I was able to walk to you and see what you do for Jesus and his people in Kenya.

When I left Kenya and went back to the United States, and I can honestly tell you. I couldn’t stop talking about this place.

I was impressed with your motto, everywhere I turned staring at me, healthcare to God’s glory.

I was impressed with the commitment of all of you, the commitment providing quality healthcare for the people of Kenya.

The commitment to providing training for future healthcare workers in Kenya.

The commitment to minister to the spiritual needs of patients in this hospital.

I’ve never witnessed a hospital in the US that had healthcare to God’s glory.

I see it everywhere here, and it struck me so deeply.

And your commitment to the three pillars of your ministry. I was also deeply impressed by your commitment to Jesus. He’s our savior isn’t he? But he’s also our Lord. Lord of the church and Lord of our lives.

See what you are doing here in Kijabe Hospital, I would say in simple, plain English is a downright good thing.

That’s what Peter is trying to say as he describes Jesus’ ministry in his sermon.

Peter talks about Jesus’ death – a death on on the cross that atoned for the sins of the world, so that everyone regardless of their race, their nationality, their language – all might live with God forever.

He talks about Jesus’ resurrection, a sign that the power of sin and death over us has been destroyed by Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God. And that because he lives, we too shall live and join that great throng mentioned in the book of revelation, that throng from every tribe and nation and language offering praise to God forever.

I made special emphasis in reading of one line, that always grabs my attention, “he went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”

One simple line, isn’t it, “he went about doing good.”

What better thing could be said about a person at the end of their earthly journey, “he went about doing good.”

What better thing to be engraved on a headstone in a cemetery, “this person went about doing good?”

You’re doing good at Kijabe Hospital, you are doing what Jesus did – going about doing good.

Why did Jesus do this? Go about doing good even to the extent of dying on the cross.

Very simply put, Jesus was filled with compassion.

Several times in the gospel it says Jesus met this person, Jesus met that person, and he is filled with compassion.

In the Greek language it says, his gut was moved by what he saw.

Compassion is a Jesus word, isn’t it? It’s what Jesus is all about. Compassion is his nature. It’s his words and his works as he shows his love for people.

I think there are three things that encompass compassion. (every good sermon has to have three parts!)

Compassion means having eyes that see

It’s easy to look away sometimes. Some situation are so tragic that it’s downright hard to look at them.

I’ve been going to Uganda once or twice a year since 2005. the first time that I went I saw thousands of children, protruding stomachs, children who were hungry, who were sick, who were dying. I remember being overwhelmed by it.

I had seen it on television in the united states, but to see it up close with my own eyes, that was something else.

Jesus had two good eyes. He saw people who were hungry, lame, deaf, blind. He saw people who were grieving over the loss of loved ones.

Jesus was not afraid to see hurting people with his two good eyes, and that’s where compassion begins.

Compassion means having hearts that can be moved.

Sometimes we get hardhearted don’t we? We may see a tragic situation and say, well, that’s not my problem. Or we may see someone in need and say, well, they brought it upon themselves.

But Jesus, this son of God, son of Mary, he’s an emotional guy. He has a heart that can be moved.

We are told in the gospels that Jesus looked out over the city of Jerusalem and he cried, because they rejected them as messiah.

When his friend Lazarus died, Jesus wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. He wept.

Jesus is not afraid to let his feelings be known. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable. He sees and hears and his heart is moved.

Compassion is having eyes that see, hearts that can be moved, and willingness to do something about it.

We see and feel sorry for someone, sometimes it’s difficult to take the next step. Maybe it’s too costly, maybe it’s too dangerous. We’re not willing to give God what God has first given to us. But Jesus, he’s not only able, Jesus is willing.

A man with leprosy came up to Jesus one day and said, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus says, well, I want to! And he touched him.

Jesus is able and willing.

Jesus fulfills those words in Isaiah that talk about the messiah coming and about restoring creation and restoring human beings.

Jesus speaks these words of Isaiah about himself. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

That’s Jesus, with eyes that see, a heart that is overflowing love, deeply moved as Jesus willing to do something about it.

Jesus willing to give what he has a son of God – to give his power, to give his grace, to make people whole again. To go about ministry to the whole person, soul and body.

Because he has eyes that see, a heart can be moved, and he wants to do something about it.

Jesus gives and he gives and he gives, almost until he has nothing left to give, when he dies on the cross to pay the price of our sinfulness, hat we might be set free from a guilty conscience, that we might be set free from the power of the devil, that we might be set free to go into the world and be Jesus to others, to be his hearts and to be his hands.

In the US we have an expression, he’s preaching to the choir. What that means is that the preacher is talking to people who already know what he is talking about, and that they are doing what he says they ought to do.

I feel this morning like I am preaching to the choir:

People who are already the heart and hands of Jesus.

People who have eyes to see, hearts that can be moved, overflowing with love.

People who are willing to give what they have first been given – knowledge, wisdom, skill to make bodies whole, to uplift souls and spirits. To give people the peace of Jesus, peace the world cannot give.

I feel like I’m preaching at the choir, but I’m going to pray for you, but I’m going to go a little bit farther. I’m going to pray that you may continue to do this good work. I’m going to pray that God will pour out an extra measure of his holy spirit so that you may increase in what you are already doing, the existing hospital, future operating theatres, whatever happens in this place, that you may do it all for Jesus for the glory of all.

Prayer:

I thank you that you have given me the opportunity twice now to see a spectacular place, to see a downright good thing that is happening at this hospital.

I pray for each one gathered here today, I thank you for the faith you have planted in their hearts.

I thank you for the commitment you have given them.

I thank you for their willingness to use their gifts for the welfare of your people, for your glory alone.

Be with everyone here, deliver them from evil, be with them from the hour of temptation to be less than what God has created them to be.

Pour our your spirit on them so that they may have courage, faith, and can continue your good work in this place.

In the name of Jesus, amen.”

Ken Muma

I would like to thank Friends of Kijabe

Two years ago we had a retreat to brainstorm about how efficiently and how best to partner together. We came up with a raft of things that looked so impossible them, but they are coming to fruition. I’d like to thank David Shirk, we’ve been walking this journey together.

I’d like to thank your church members from Lutheran, we are forever grateful.

I’d like to thank this boy, Joe Lehman, who started a crowdfunding campaign and the person who raised the most money would have a mention of their university and their university football team for who they love the most. That is why today I am wearing an Ohio State Jersey, because the ones who gave the most amount is from Ohio State.

I want to thank this boy very much, and the family and the parents. Asante sana, wherever he may be, I hope this message reaches him.

I was just comparing him to my boy – while he is doing crowd funding, my boy is chasing after baboons. (laughter) Africans, where did we go wrong?

Thank you to all.

And thank you to a core team that has been instrumental in delivering this project. I saw Dr. Bird somewhere. He has been instrumental in providing the wisdom and experience of how the project was done in the past and bringing that experience to this final concept. I’d like to thank Dr. Barasa who has been the lead of the project as the head of surgery. I’d like to thank and acknowledge Dr. Hansen in abstentia. He has been instrumental, he did the original mathematics about the needs and future needs based on the number of surgeons and the trajectory of the growth of training. I’d like to thank Grace Kamau and the infection control team and the peri-operative nurses and everyone who participated in giving information for the Archeterion team. . .and the people who developed (the design). Thank you very much, even the education team with Dr. Evelyn Mbugua. This is an example of when everything comes together in perfect harmony. But above all, I’d like to thank God for making this a possibility.

Asenteni sana.