Chronicle Editor
Dr Masimba Mavaza
Zimbabwe has lost one of its true modern-day disciple of Christ, with the passing on of Archbishop Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti.
Iconic, yet humble, he was always faithful to the gospel and to bringing others to Christ.
He founded the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa church and kept it together for decades.
Archbishop Guti’s life always reflected the words he preached from pulpits across the country.
Yet today, even as we mourn the loss of such a great man, Christians around the world know that he has rested and awaits the coming of the Lord.
While others think that he has gone home to be with the Lord he faithfully served throughout his life, the Bible says he has rested.
I first met Archbishop Guti at a function which he had invited the late President Robert Mugabe.
It was my first time meeting him and I felt this blessed liking of him. I never believed in his teachings until the day I met him face to face.
I am an Adventist, but the few moments I spent with Archbishop Guti melted my prejudices very fast.
I admired his love for his country Zimbabwe and his commitment to pray for the country and its leaders.
He was humble and refused to be regarded as holy. He was a humble and sober servant of God.
Words will never fully express our deep love and appreciation for the work Archbishop Guti did, nor the thousands who came to know Christ because of the work he did on behalf of God.
It is our prayer that thousands more will find their way to the Lord because of him even today and beyond.
When someone serves God faithfully and leaves, the church and the country responds with love, sorrow, and blessing.
When someone serves God faithfully in a local church, something remarkable happens.
That is what happened with Paul in Ephesus, and it’s what’s happened here in our country and in church as Archbishop Guti departs from this world.
As part of his third missionary journey, Paul stayed in Ephesus and lived there for about three years.
God used him while he was there, and the church in Ephesus had been marked by his ministry. They knew him. He had lived among them. He was their pastor, their brother, their friend, and their fellow worker. He had already left, but on a layover a short distance away from Ephesus, he called the leaders of the Ephesian church for one last talk, knowing that he would never see them again.
We are experiencing some of the same emotions as a church and a country.
But we know what it is like to be marked by someone’s ministry, and then experience some of the emotions that come with their departure.
I thought this passage would be a helpful guide for guiding us through what we are experiencing today.
While we do not believe our words could possibly do Archbishop Guti justice, we can cry with John in revelation and say “even so come Lord Jesus.”
Archbishop Guti is able to look back on his ministry. He was able to reflect on his ministry with the knowledge that he had served God faithfully, and that he had also served the congregation well.
Archbishop Guti served God selflessly as Paul said “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews…” (Acts 20:18-19).
Archbishop Guti was subservient. He served the Lord, even when it involved humility, tears, and trials.
The word serve here doesn’t simply mean to do acts of service. It means to be owned by another, to perform the duties of a slave.
One of the marks of a faithful ministry is knowing that you don’t belong to yourself, that you belong to God, and that your primary desire is to please him.
That characterised Archbishop Guti’s ministry. It should be how all of us aim to live.
He preached the Word faithfully as Paul said: “…how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ … Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:20-21, 26-27).
Archbishop Guti did not hesitate to preach what was profitable, even when it was hard. He didn’t soft-pedal the truth. He went out of his way to declare and teach people to turn to God and put their faith in Jesus.
Notice the relentless focus on Jesus.
God blesses a ministry that is centred on Jesus. Preach “Christ, and Christ, and Christ, and Christ, and nothing else but Christ.”
We need sermons that are saturated with the news of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. One of the marks of a faithful ministry is preaching the Word faithfully, even when it’s hard, and that leads us to Jesus, because God works through his Word and delights in exalting Christ.
Archbishop Guti guarded the church carefully as Paul said: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood … Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears” (Acts 20:28.31).
Archbishop Guti understood what was at stake. He knew the immense value of the church: that it has been obtained with Christ’s own blood.
Christ died to save them, so he will live to protect them. He knew the church, as immensely valuable as it is, is in perpetual danger, and that’s why he cared for the church’s spiritual condition so carefully.
He knew that the church is always in danger of believing lies and departing from the truth. That’s why he guarded them so carefully.
Archbishop Guti lived among us honourably: “I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:33-35).
People could look at Archbishop Guti’s life and see that he lived with integrity. He was above board in financial matters. He worked hard. He was generous with his money.
What does a faithful ministry look like? It looks like serving God selflessly, preaching the Word faithfully, guarding the spiritual condition of others carefully, and living honourably.
When you have found someone who does those things, you have found a faithful minister. That is the record that Archbishop Guti took with them.
Church: when you get to enjoy this kind of ministry, you have experienced a blessing from God. Don’t miss this opportunity to praise God for the faithful ministry we’ve been able to enjoy these past couple of years. Praise God that he raises up faithful pastors who love him and are willing to serve his flock faithfully.
Archbishop Guti knew the road ahead of him would be difficult, but it didn’t matter. His goal was not to live a comfortable life, but to finish the course and ministry that God had given to him, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Church planting involves spiritual attack, discouragement, sacrifice, and persistence, but it’s worth it if only we may finish our course and the ministry we have received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
That is what Archbishop Guti took with him: a good track record and a mission.
Archbishop Guti was a simple man who had responded to God’s love by placing his faith in Jesus, receiving the assurance that his sins were forgiven, that he would not perish, but would have everlasting life.
Simple faith. Faith that now matters more than anything else.
And that’s what we want to do today.
To the Guti family and ZAOGA family, we are grateful for your ministry. You have become precious to us.
We are sad to see Archbishop Guti go. But we also want to see today as a commissioning, a blessing, as you go to the next phase of your ministry without him.
We pray that God will bless you and work through you just as he has with Archbishop Guti.
Fare thee well Archbishop Guti. We will surely meet again.-VAZET2000@yahoo. Co.Uk
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