Hello. So many things to think about, Tom's message this morning, but the thing I think most about is that young man, possible 12 or 13 years old, dressed in all white raiders clothing with a scowl on His face while we brought church into His gang infested part of the world. I had learned just that afternoon that Rudy had prayed for a place to send His raven teams into, that while reading a article in the Press Democrat about two young men killed in a gang related fight right in this neiborhood, that God asked Him to go there. Think about it,taking Christ into the highest crime area, gang related killings ,and poorest of communities, Christ was already their waiting for us.
I heard about some comments on how Rudy ran this outreach, I guess they didn't know I was the bullhorn man. I grabed Bobby Chance and his grandson Dakota, and with Bobby playing guitar, knocked on over fifty families front doors bringing the good news about church that had come into their neighborhood along with clothes and a barbecue for all. So many surprised faces, so many gracious thankyous, being able to move among them with my testimony, the little bit of Christ that is in me, that because of Him in me, that I wanted it for them through His love for them.
Twice I made the attempt to talk to him, and twice he disrespected me in Spanish for all his little hood buddies to see, I knew he understood English for when I would mention that we were their for Christ, he would then just ignore me. Throughout the afternoon he stayed off to the side, just within earshot. As we were wrapping up, my son and myself took a couple plates of food to a invalid women who we had prayed over earlier. As I was walking back to the vehicles, I see that he had gone and got himself some hot-dogs to eat. To perfect to just be a coincidence, as he turned around to leave, I was standing right behind him, busted! I looked right into his eyes and said " that is a Jesus hot-dog, and after you eat it, Jesus will always be in you, so think about it and do what is right and be safe, God bless you." Praise the Lord.
2 comments:
God bless you all for your great faith and fearless spirits. Our holy war has begun.
Check out what this Chinese guy has to say about why America
isnt experiencing revival..... (its a short artical.) He's on the money!! .... Amen
--Steve
NOTE: The following is an extract from a wonderful book,
'The Heavenly Man' by Brother Yun - one of the House-church
leaders from China who has been imprisoned and tortured for
his faith. He is speaking here of what it will take for the
Western church to see Revival:
CHINESE LEADER SPEAKS OUT - Re: "Revival in the West"
-Brother Yun.
Many pastors in Europe and America have told me they want to
see great revival. I'm frequently asked why China is experiencing
revival but most places in the West are not. This is a big question
to answer, but some reasons are very apparent to me.
When I'm in the West, I see all the mighty church buildings and all
the expensive equipment, plush carpets, and state-of-the-art sound
systems. I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty
that you don't need any more church buildings. Church buildings
will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more
possessions will never bring revival. Jesus truly stated, "A man's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." -Lk 12:15.
The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the
Word of the Lord. God's Word is missing. Sure, there are many
preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of Bible teaching,
but so little contains the sharp truth of God's Word. It's the truth
that will set you free.
Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to
that Word. There's not much action taking place.
When revival came to believers in China, the result was
thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the
nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. When God
moves in the West, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His
presence and blessings too long, and build an altar to your experiences.
You can never really know the Scriptures until you're willing to
be changed by them.
All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with
action and soul winning. When God truly moves in your heart you
cannot remain silent. There will be a fire in your bones, like
Jeremiah, who said, "His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire
shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
Jeremiah 20:9.
Furthermore, it's only when we step out in obedience and share
the gospel with people that we come to know God's blessing in
every area of our lives. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote to his
co-worker Philemon, "I pray that you may be active in sharing
your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every
good thing we have in Christ." -Philemon v.6.
I've seen people in Western Churches worshiping as if they're
already in heaven. Then someone invariably brings a comforting
message, like, "My children, I love you. Don't be afraid, I'm with
you." I'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody
seems to hear a Word from the Lord like, "My child, I want to
send you to the slums of Asia or the darkness of Africa to be my
messenger to people dying in their sin."?
-From 'The Heavenly Man' - pg 296-297.
Book available from 'Amazon.com' and other outlets.
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