40 Stories: Honour Jesus and each other

Richard Evans, an Elder Leader of the Kuwarra People in Leonora, Western Australia, believes revival will come to Australia when Aboriginal people walk in harmony with God, with each other and with non-Aboriginal people.

My name is Richard Evans. This is my land, my tribal people. Jesus has opened up my life so much that I just live for him and he looks after me daily, in big ways. I can’t see myself ever falling away from Jesus because he’s my life, he’s the truth and he’s the way.

This is one of the special places where we come.

There was a law here at one time, that the neighbouring country to the south there came in, tried to try to take over this area. My father was here at the time and he fought for this land and drove the people back out.

I went bush and the Lord started speaking to me about this land here and all this stuff here.

He led me through the word to Deuteronomy 32, verse 7 and 8: “Ask your father, and he will tell you. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, he set the boundaries for the people.” So my boundary’s been set a long time ago. Now, according to that word, also it says that cursed is the man that removes the ancient boundary stones.

So what do we mean by boundary stones? The stones that we put up as markers, they’re boundary stones, but also, it also means in the spiritual realm. There’s protocols that we do amongst our own people, tribal things that we do, how we treat our mother, how we treat our father. How we treat our children, how we treat our uncles and aunties – there’s protocols to that and that’s the boundaries that God has set before us.

The missionaries did an unfortunate thing. They tried to tell us that our tribal ways were of the devil; that’s the biggest mistake that missionaries have said to our people. It’s like they have shut out of the spirit of our people. Our people are very spiritual people. But it’s like they chucked a cold, wet blanket or whatever over that spiritual side of things so we’ve been struggling ever since in our Christian walks.

The teaching of the Holy Spirit was not around at that time. So, we got involved with the Holy Spirit.

I see a lot of my people why they fall away is because of that reason. I said to the Lord, “Look, Father, I need for you to show me something in this place. If you don’t do something in this area, in this church of mine, for me, I don’t think I’ll be here much longer.” Because the gambling that I used to do was very powerful, very spiritual, powerful stronghold it was and this church had no power here. So I asked the Lord about that and a couple of weeks went by and the Lord actually showed up and showed us why and what for and how, and it was really the teaching of the Holy Spirit was not around at that time. So, we got involved with the Holy Spirit. You can never take me away from this church; you can try and entice me, but it won’t take me away because I know the power that God has had over my life, especially through the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus was on earth before he went up the heaven, he said, “Go ye into the world and preach the gospel.” So Australian people and the South Pacific Islanders, we are the ends of the world, end of the earth.

His plan is if we, as Aboriginal people we made the boomerang, it returns, so you and I, South Sea Islanders, we are going to take messages back to Israel.

In Isaiah chapter 55, he says, “My word when it goes forth does not come back to me empty.” So that word has gone out. It’s gone right to the ends of the earth. Now, Australian people, people in the South Pacific islands, you have to get out and you have to take the word of God back to Israel. That’s where it comes from. God has a sense of humour. His plan is if we, as Aboriginal people we made the boomerang, it returns, so you and I, South Sea Islanders, we are going to take messages back to Israel.

That’s the message that I want to give to young people. “Come to Jesus now. I mean, you can break your drug addiction, you can break your alcohol addiction, your gambling, your everything that is not of God, you need to break that. God is the way.”

What God has put on my heart is when our people start walking with God in the way that God has intended us and that we work in harmony with one another, non-Aboriginal people, no matter who they are, Australia will start having revivals. We have got no clue of how these revivals are going to be, but because we are in tune with one another and we are attuned to God, that will take place.

To him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask. Even just think about how God will accomplish these things for us, according to the power that God works inside of us. So we have the power that God has given us to go and do all this stuff.

Richard Evans, Leonora, WA, by 40 Stories is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.