The Cream of the Crop!
©
Written by Danny Bunn,B.A. (Born-Again believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ)
Chapter 30
Saturday night live
Saturday is here and they get ready for their Bible
discussion, teaching, praise and worship time that they go to
every week-end at a Christian brother's house. It goes for the
two days mostly, people are coming in and out over there the
whole week-end. It is a good time of sharing, praying, receiving
teachings from brothers who have been walking with Jesus for a
while. They bring food and most people who have some to bring do
the same. They have street people showing up, business men,
housewives and their husbands, hippies, red-necks, you name it
and they have probably had them over at one time or another. It
reminds Joe of what he has read in the book of Acts where it
talks about the Christians having all things common and how they
were meeting the needs of brothers and sisters just as he saw at
this house in his city. He thought that it was super cool.
Today when they are there for a few hours and people are sharing
their prayer requests, their joys, their failures, their needs,
etc., Joe gets up and shares with them the building that they are
leasing for a Christian soup kitchen/coffee house. Many of the
brothers and sisters there were excited about it and volunteered
their help when possible.
There was a guy who had been living on the streets for about 7 years
now there and his eyes started watering and he stood up and spoke,
"I don't know what ya'll got here but I know that I want it. I haven't
ever seen or heard people, especially this many in one group, speak in
so much unity, agreement, love. I can't hardly comprehend it. I don't
know what it is but I sure want to hear more and why ya'll do and
say what ya'll are saying and doing." Joe speaks up again and he
says, "Would you like to work at the coffee house/ soup kitchen?"
The guy doesn't hesitate a minute, "Sure I would but look at me.
I like long hair, my clothes are pretty shoddy and I haven't had
a bath in about a week." Joe looks down at the ground and he
speaks again, "Friend, I thought at one time that people who
weren't making money, living with a girl, partying, and so many
other things were losers. I found out that they weren't and I
saw what you are seeing and hearing. I saw that I had a need for
the Lord Jesus Christ and he doesn't look on the outward
appearance but on the heart." The visitor almost shouts now, "I
want this Jesus! Please tell me more about him!" What happens
next totally shocks the visitor, a long haired man, whom Cindy
knows very well now since he was used by God to bring her into
the kingdom, gets up from the couch with bible in hand and starts
ministering the word of God to him and to everyone else there.
There were about 20 people there at the time but the one young
man who was seeing his need would have been enough to set this
preacher's mouth ablaze with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He starts preaching in John 11 about Lazarus in the tomb and he
compares it to the world dead in their sin and Jesus being the
resurrection and the life. The young man listens and is crying
big tears of sorrow and joy for what Jesus has done back then and
what he is doing in his heart right now. When the street
preacher got to the part where Jesus said, "Larazus come forth",
the young man jumped to his feet and came forth as he was crying
for Jesus to forgive him for all the junk that he has done in his
life and asked that he too might experience the resurrection life
in his spirit right that instant. The remarkable took place in
that living room and ever so many were hugging the guy and crying
with him and they could have sworn that they heard angels
rejoicing. The air was electric with the Spirit of God and the
light was turned on in a man's spirit as God desires to do with
each and every human on this planet. To bring mankind out of
darkness to his marvellous light. Jesus being the light of the
world lighteth every man who comes to him since in Jesus there is
no darkness, no darkness at all.
The group of Christians listen as the young man whose name
is Tony shares with them some of the things that he has been
through, some of the battles that he has fought and lost and
didn't know why but now he is beginning to understand. They
start praising the God who is there and as Cindy said, "Is
everywhere!" A guy gets out his guitar and they start praising
and singing to the one who is worthy, the one who overcame and
the one who is coming again and they know his name is Jesus. The
praise and worship goes on for about 2 hours and a sister gets up
and shares her problem at work, her boss has been telling her
that if he gets another complaint about her talking religion at
work then she will be fired. A few in the group ask her, "When
and how are you talking religion?" She goes on to tell them that
she shares Jesus with a lot of people at the lunch hour and that
is her time and it is not interfering with her work in any way
whatsoever. Another sister speaks up and says, "Well it sounds
as though you are going to have to decide if you are going to be
a man pleaser or a God pleaser!" That was the confirmation that
she was expecting and she says, "Well job good-bye, Jesus is my
joy, my strength, and my provider." The praise starts up again
for a few minutes and then another brother says, "Let's pray for
her and bring this to the throne of grace", there are nods of
agreement and prayer time sets in. A brother starts out,
"Father, we stand on your promises, on your word, you told us to
pray in faith, believing and you would answer. We just lift up
Terri before you Lord, we ask you to keep her there if she can be
used in a mighty way for your glory and honour but if not, we ask
you to lead her by your Spirit to another job that you want her
at. She will not compromise what you have called every Christian
to be and that is a witness and I praise you for her
determination to obey you inspite of the threats from her boss."
He closes his prayer and another comes into the picture praying.
This continues for about 2 more hours and they are praying for
the new brother in Jesus, the lady with her job problem, for
Joe's coffeehouse/ soup kitchen and whatever the Lord lays on
their heart.
During the evening hours, there are groups of Christians
praying, some sharing, some discussing certain scriptures in the
word of God such as I John 5:7 and how so many new "versions" of
the bible take that verse out. Another believer mentions Psa.
12:6,7. Peggy, a girl there who used to be a Jehovah's Witness
mentions how Psalm 9:17 in the NIV is nonsense to a Christian but
as a Jehovah's Witness, she thought that it was right on the
money. She is thinking, "Right on the money. Yea, that is what
it is for the bible publishers, right on the MONEY!" She knows
that the true word of God, the KJV says that there will be a
falling away in the last days and what better reason for it to
happen at the rate that it is happening except through messing
with God's word. People don't know where to turn for the
answers. She looks around the place and it is about 11:00pm now
and some are asleep on the floor and one on the couch, the street
guy who got saved tonight was sleeping soundly in one corner of
the living room. He looks so contented, Peggy was thinking.
Peggy gets up and goes over to Joe and hugs him. Joe was kinda
surprised and Cindy was smiling. Joe says, "Well that was a
surprise, what did I do to earn it?" She smiles back and says,
"I just thought that was a way to say, 'I appreciate you and I
thank you for giving that street man a job at your new place."
Joe says, "Don't thank me, thank the one who made the sun, thank
the Son of the one as a Christian singer once said in one of his
songs." They are so thankful for being in God's family but they
know that there are rough times ahead.
