Lichinga, Mozambique
Sunday, April 25, 2010
.
A Word from God for the City of Lichinga
So
when we arrived to Lichinga, Mozambique last September, all of
the missionaries at the IRIS Ministries base laid hands on us to pray
for us. Many prophesied over us, giving words to us each individually. One of the missionaries, Tyren, said that God was going
to give me a word for the city of Lichinga. At that time, I sort of
cataloged it, thinking, “Who am I that God would give me a word for an
entire city?” Yet for the past seven months, I have just pondered this,
wondering if God was really going to give me a word for Lichinga. After I
received this prophecy from Tyren, I thought back to a time of prayer
we were having with Bogdan and Gosia before we left Poland for Africa,
and remembering a prophecy that Bogdan had given me. He had said that he
saw me like Aaron, with an ephod on my chest. And just like the
priest’s ephod had twelve precious stones in it, God was going to give
me twelve cities in my life and ministry, and that Piotrkow-Trybunalski
was one of them. Not knowing what it meant that God was going to “give
me cities,” I realize now that in different cities He will bring me to,
God is going to give me words or revelations about those cities, or
perhaps regions that will be very significant in the spiritual realm and
have eternal implications.
.
The Lord began to reveal to me this
word for the city of Lichinga as I was just studying the Yao language.
Come to find out, the word, “Lichinga,” is actually a Yao word that
means, “a place where goats are kept.” As I learned this, God began
revealing His truths to me about the city. He took me to Matthew
25:31-46, which speaks about how God will separate the sheep from the
goats on the day of judgment. The sheep on the right side are those who
saw real needs in people’s lives and met them, whereas the goats where
people who saw real needs in people’s lives and decided not to prefer
others before themselves, passing the needy people by. Jesus said that
it was the least of these who was in need of a drink, in need of food,
without clothes, sick and in prison, and that helping or not helping the
least of these was like helping or not helping Jesus Himself. The
eternal destination of the sheep is heaven while the eternal destination
of the goats is hell.
.
I don’t know why Lichinga got its’ name.
Perhaps the person who named it saw a lot of goats around and named it
accordingly. But I believe through revelation that there is more to it
than that. Nearly every time I go to the bank to withdraw money from the
ATM machine in Lichinga, at least one Mozambican cuts in front of me
and sticks his card in before I can, even though I had been waiting for a
long time. Cultural? Perhaps, but definitely not preferring one another
before themselves. Let’s take the central market as well. Whenever I
want to go but a flat of eggs from the central market, the sellers lined
up nearly fight with each other to sell me their eggs. I always buy the
eggs that I can get for the best price. But I have never seen one of
the sellers say to another, “Look my brother. I have already sold three
flats of eggs this morning and you have sold none. Why don’t you take
the business of this white man?” Never, not once have I seen this
happen. I could tell plenty more stories just like these. The key here
is that you don’t see people preferring one another over themselves. Or
if they do, it is because they believe they will have bad luck if they
don’t. I know that there are exceptions, but Lichinga, at a glance
spiritually looks like a place where goats are kept; a place where
people only care about themselves and not others. If you take it even
further, the place where goats are kept for eternity is literally, hell.
So in a sense, you could say that Lichinga is “hell on earth,” or at
least that would be Satan’s plan for the city of Lichinga.
.
It
is interesting that in Matthew 25:32 that all the nations are gathered
before God and that He will separate them, the nations, one from
another. When Jesus was on earth he spoke to entire cities, saying to
them that if the wonders that had been done in them would have been done
in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented. Jesus said it will be
more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for
the cities He was speaking to. I know that each person will give an
account of their own life before God one day as well, but Scripture
clearly states that cities and nations will be judged as well. God then
began to bring me to the lives of people like Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezra,
who after they realized what a bad state the nation of Israel was in,
fell on their faces and repented, not only for their own sins, but for
the sins of the entire nation. God was planning on pouring out his
judgment on Israel, yet because of one man’s contrition and public
repentance on behalf of a nation, God would avert his wrath. Others
would then catch on and join in this repentance for nation. It comes
down to this: Are we humble enough to take the responsibility of the
sins of our city, nation or ethnic group? What would happen if one, or
two or a group of people fell on their faces before the living God in
repentance of a city or a nation? Scripture says, “Can a nation be saved
in one day?” I say, “Yes.” And if a nation can be saved in one day, why
not a city, and why not the city of Lichinga?
.
Even though
Satan’s plan for Lichinga is for it to remain a place where goats are
kept; where people don’t help the needy and don’t prefer each other over
themselves. Satan’s plan for Lichinga is to be hell on earth, yet God
wants to turn everything around. God’s plan for Lichinga is for it to
become a place where sheep are kept; where people have compassion for
and help the needy and where people prefer others over themselves. God’s
plan for Lichinga is to be heaven on earth. How can this happen? By
taking our cues from the heroes of the faith who have gone before us. By
falling on our faces and publically repenting for the sins of the city
of Lichinga, for the sins of the Yao people and for the sins of the
nation of Mozambique. Only then will God’s wrath be averted. Only then
will change begin to take place. This repentance will need to take place
at different levels of society as well. As you travel through Lichinga
and its’ various suburbs, you literally see goats everywhere…I mean the
animals. I believe that as a prophetic act, that the people of Lichinga
should raise sheep instead, for milk and meat.
.
This was God’s
word to me for the City of Lichinga. Like I wrote in a blog post earlier
this month, I first gave this word at the prison, where everyone
present fell on their faces before God in repentance for the sins of
Lichinga. Tonight, at the City Church that our IRIS Ministry base
leaders planted at the beginning of this year, I also gave this word.
And everyone present got on their faces as well, publically confessing
the sins of Lichinga and repenting on behalf of the city. I could
literally feel a shift in the spiritual atmosphere above us as the
people prayed. I am enjoying seeing the nations transformed by the blood
of Jesus and through the power of His Holy Spirit, one person at a
time, then one city, then one nation, and then the world. I am not sure
where else I will have an opportunity to share this message in the city
of Lichinga, but if you think about it, can you pray for me, that God
will give me more opportunities to do so as He sees fit? Thanks. Bless
you all.
.
Christian Young
Lichinga, Mozambique
