Monday 1 July 2013

The Strangers Shall Submit Themselves Unto Me

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Phil 4:13
In my eighteen years of following Christ, He has been so gracious and merciful to me. Even when I am faithless, He shows Himself faithful for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Tim 2:13). What a Covenant we enjoy! A better Covenant, built on better promises! (Heb 8:6).

Over the years, I am humbled to have been used powerfully of our Lord in unexpected ways and in what was seemingly the most ordinary of circumstances. On these remarkable occasions, Jesus has graciously flowed His anointing and love through me to impact lives! And I have come to see, time and again, that it is actually in my weakness that Christ is strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10). Oh that we would cease our strivings and drink deeply of His love and effortlessly flow forth rivers of Living Water.
...Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Zech 4:6
In the next few blogs I will share a number of wonderful testimonies. I pray they inspire you and help fan into flame the gift of God that is within you. All glory and praise to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour!

The Strangers Shall Submit Themselves Unto Me

Just weeks ago I was sitting in my car working through with the Lord some frustrations I had about a pay bungle. An error by my employer meant that I hadn't been paid and, to top things off, the cheque they had given me to fix the problem had just been rejected by the bank. As I sat there praying through my frustrations, little did I know that I was about to put my life on the line to save another man's life and ultimately lead him to Christ!

Sometimes in the frustrations and setbacks of life, we find it difficult to see the Lord's hand. This was actually my prayer as I sat in the car. "Where are You in this, Lord?" I asked. By His grace, I had so far remained polite and restrained in my dealings with my employer and the bank but I was feeling cranky. My afternoon had been spent collecting the cheque and then driving a fair distance to cash it, only to be denied just as the bank was preparing to close its doors. My car was booked in early the next morning for some major work and I didn't want to lose my booking because I had no funds. I spent the next half an hour in the car praying and reading my Bible, determined to find His peace in what seemed like a pointless waste of time.

When I opened my Bible, it fell open at Psalm 18. I read the whole Psalm aloud and knew my spirit was being ministered to ... and yet I could not see the connection with my current circumstances. I voiced this to the Lord. "Thank you, Lord. I love Your Word but I can't see how this relates." As I sat there gazing out the window at a park, I noticed a group of youths and what seemed to me be a scuffle breaking out. "I'm sure it'll break up," I thought, "Surely they'll sort it out." Very quickly, however, I saw that this was a gang of youths beating up one individual. Even from where I was sitting, I could see the intensity of the violence. At this point, I kind of went into auto-pilot. I put my Bible down on the seat next to me and stepped out of the car and headed to the scene, thanking the Lord for His presence.

As I approached I could see a young man with blood all over his face valiantly trying to stand up to a gang of about ten youths. I saw him fall to the concrete and get kicked before he scrambled to his feet just in time for another youth to step in, tag-team style, and land a punch on his nose. The scene was intense; youths were swearing and goading on the attacker. A couple of girls were in the group as well. It was into this scene that I came waving my arms and yelling, "Okay, break it up. Back off. He's had enough." As I did this, there was somewhat of a pause in the attack as the attacker looked at me and then focused back on the young man. Again the yelling and swearing started and I began pacing and praying, "Thank you, Jesus. Help me Lord. Please help me, Jesus. Thank you for authority, in Jesus' name." As a high school teacher, I know how hard it is to break up a fight between two students in the context of a school, let alone a small crowd in a public park in a town renowned for its crime and violence. "Break it up. It's finished," I yelled again. And again there was a strange kind of pause.


At this moment, from the corner of my eye, I noticed a tall Pacific Islander coming across the park. Before I could think about whether he was friend or foe, he shoved the latest attacker to the ground. This was the circuit breaker I needed. I grabbed the young man by the arm and said, "Come on, we're outta here." Full of adrenaline, he started protesting. "Forget about it," I said, "there's too many. You're outnumbered. We're going." I took him to the nearby library and said, "Come in here and wash up and we'll have a talk." The young man was a mess. People in the library made comments and a lady offered to call the police. To me it was all a bit of a blur. The gang of youths in the park, full of bravado, started to fade away into the distance. The young man, who I'll identify only as A_____, emerged from the bathroom, grabbed his skateboard and hightailed it down the street in the opposite direction from the gang.

As I watched him getting further away and listened to people around me talking about the situation, I had a strong urge to follow him. I started running in pursuit, calling out for him to stop so we could talk. "I'm your friend," I yelled. "I'm the one who came to help." He ignored my cries and skated further away before crossing the road. Then suddenly, from across the road I called out, "Hey, God loves you man. He has a plan and a destiny for your life. He saved your life today! I'm not even meant to be here." At this point he stopped and turned around. It was as though he was arrested by something. I crossed the road and continued, "I'm not even meant to be here. I've been sitting in my car praying and reading my Bible wondering what I'm doing here. I'm here because of you! God knew what was about to happen and He just stepped in to save your life." I then introduced myself and we shook hands. I asked if we could walk together. He agreed and started talking and opening up.

"I think my nose is broken," he said. He sure was a sight to behold; blood was smeared across his face. His lips were busted up, his nose likely broken. He complained that his jaw was out. People walking past us looked and whispered. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was feeling it. As we walked I encouraged him to come to back to my car so I could give him a lift to the hospital or home or wherever he wanted to go. A_____, a hurting 17 year-old, shared some of his life with me as we walked. We got back to my car which I realised I'd left unlocked with Bible, phone and wallet sitting in clear view on the front seat. (Not that my wallet had anything in it except a rejected cheque!). We climbed in and I started sharing how I'd been sitting there praying and reading the Bible. He asked me to drive him to his dad's work and so we drove off, with me praying for him hand-on-chest as we drove.

In the carpark of his dad's work, I started sharing the love of Christ with A_____. As we talked, he complained of the pain he was feeling in his neck and shoulder and ribs. "Would you let me pray for you?" I asked. I laid hands on him again and said, "Pain go, in Jesus' name. Healing power flow into A_____'s neck and shoulder and ribs, in Jesus' name." As I was praying, A_____ put his hand to his mouth. He was trying to smile but his dried, bloody lips were hurting. "It's working," he said, "It's working!" I started laughing. "That's the power of Jesus Christ," I said, "He's the Healer!" I then laid my hands on his nose and his head and kept ministering the healing power of Jesus into his body. We had a ball!

I then pulled out a gospel tract that I always like to have with me. And there in my old Tarago in the lightly falling rain, a young man with a world of hurts and nothing to offer God but pain and shame, received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. The change in A_____'s countenance was immediate and the car was filled with the peace and presence of God. We both started laughing. "You are a son of the living God," I said. "We're brothers," I said. "I love you," I said. Together we prayed that God would lead him into a church family where he could love and be loved and grow in Christ. We prayed together for protection from all his enemies. I gave him my phone number and the address details for our church meetings. I committed A_____ into Christ's loving care.


At this point, A_____'s dad emerged from where he worked and we hopped out of the car to meet him. His dad, while very thankful, was understandably shaken because of his son's injuries. I said, "God has his hand on your son's life. He has a real destiny in God." I shared how I'd been praying in the car about my supposed waste of an afternoon when the Lord used me to help A_____. I invited both of them to church and assured them we would receive them with open arms should they come to visit. As we were talking, the rain started falling heavily so we returned to our cars. Mission accomplished, glory to God!

As I reflected that evening, I was sobered by the violence and brutality I had witnessed that afternoon. I prayed for the attackers. They are lost and hurting too and in real need of a Saviour. Then the Lord showed me something very cool! I saw how Psalm 18 fitted! Precious Holy Spirit had specifically led me that afternoon to Psalm 18 so that I might receive an impartation of Divine faith to complete a mission I knew nothing about.
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted ... thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Psalm 18:44-46,48a
When I reflect on this wonderful testimony, I see how little a part I played in the whole thing. It was Christ working through me. I think I was useful to Jesus on that very ordinary-looking Wednesday afternoon, because I find myself today a humbled man and a heavy drinker of His love and grace. We can only flow forth what we are receiving. To flow forth Divine love and power, we must be receiving Divine love and power. We must know how to receive. We must know what it is to love and 'be-loved'.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Eph 3:17-20

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