Nearly 3 years ago, me and some college classmates were sitting outside at 2am studying for an exam. Out of nowhere the Holy Spirit told a friend of mine we needed to go to the Dairy Mart a few blocks away. We put down our pencils and picked up our bibles, not realizing what we were about to encounter. We arrived at the dairy mart and saw no 1 in sight, except 1 guy who was standing suspsiciously by the payphone outside of the door. Being the bold one, I approached him and began talking to him about Jesus. Within 3-4 minutes, the man was weeping, speaking in tongues and holding our hands as we prayed for him. We took him to the 24-7 doughnut shop next door and conversed with him about his life until about 6am. At this point, schoolwork had taken a back seat to the supernatural, a precious soul, whom the Lord of glory died for was in need of care. As the conversation concluded he confessed to me, that he had a gun and just moments prior to our arrival had every intention of robbing the dairy mart. He had already prepared a get away car and was literally 20 seconds away from committing the crime. He showed me his gun and told me how he had just been released from prison and had no place of employment, or place to live. He was a desperate man, not a criminal. He was a hopeless man, not a killer. He was a dead man, He knew not Christ. I gave him my number and had every intention of re-connecting with him and helping him to find housing and a church home, but for whatever reason I never saw him again after that…..
This morning at 6:00am, at a church located right next to the homeless shelter in my city is a prayer meeting that gathers for prayer/worship each morning. Last night, I was so restless, desiring more of God, hungry to be truly found in Him, I gave my eyes no rest, all night long I dialogued with the Lord about the future of America, the hope of the gospel to save the souls of India, and so, after many hours of prayer, I figured, I should hop in the car and head down to the other prayer meeting. Each morning the homeless intercessors come into the meeting and cry out to God for revival in our city, tell their stories of hope restored, share their pain and struggles, and truly, miracles are happening among these people! Well, Lo, and behold, we all join hands and begin praying and the guy next to me introduces himself, and guess who it is!? it’s none other than the man I met on the street nearly 3 years ago! He instantly recognized me, and just like it was at our first meeting, within 30 seconds of our encounter this man was shouting and speaking in tongues, praising God for His wonderful power to save, heal, and deliver. He found it more amazing than I did that the Lord had reconnected us! I saw in his eyes that he was a little nervous to see me, knowing that I knew something about him no 1 else in the room knew, but when I looked at him, God’s love pierced him and he simply began to weep, God’s furious love drove out fear in the blink of a redeemed eye. We begin to pray, me the pastor, some old mothers, some homeless people, some former crack addicts, some former homosexuals, all of us washed in the blood of Jesus. Holding my other hand was a young lady who just returned from a missionary voyage in Haiti, there we stood unified on the narrow way, looking toward the hills as the ekklesia of God, calling forth His will in our city by the Holy Spirit. That is a family, that’s what Jesus died for.
Moral of the story: Proverbs 24:30-34 says “I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; 31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I saw it, I considered it well;I looked on it and received instruction: 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest;34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
Each of us have been given a sphere of influence whether that be your family, school, city,or nation(s) and as the laborers in the harvest field we must not be lazy, but diligent workers because a sure crop of souls are ripe for deliverance. There is true hope in Jesus. When my friends and I made the decision to yield to the Holy Spirit, we not only stopped a crime from happening, but we intercepted the plan of Satan to destroy a life. I wondered if my sharing of the gospel with that man had fallen on good ground or bad ground, because we never truly know. What I do know is that the gospel seed can penetrate and grow in even the most hostile of hearts, if it be planted by love in truth. So this morning, I learned that God is a good gardener, he knows when to plant and how to plant, but he’s inviting us to be his plowmen. Let us never take our hand off of the plow, for if we follow as the Holy Spirit leads, we will see souls pulled out of darkness. God is a relentless lover. If your city is covered with nettles, the spiritual walls are broken down, then consider your life? Are you out sowing the seed of the gospel? The gospel is the only hope for America. We must plant, We must water, and God will cause it to grow in due season, even if it is 3 years later, or 30, 300, or even 3,000 years. There are 2 seasons. Seed-time and Harvest. Jesus sowed His life as the seed, we are in the hour or harvest, look unto the fields, for they are already white!
P.S. I actually got a 100% on my exam the next day