Yesterday I listened to a message about the
Kingdom of God and was reminded again of our primary calling to be a carrier of
his Kingdom wherever we go. This morning it seemed God was reminding me again
as I read in my BIOY notes…’You Are Anointed’ followed later by a prayer which read…Help me to bring good news to the poor, to
bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and to bring
the oil of gladness instead of mourning and despair’
Every Thursday afternoon, along with a
friend, I go into the centre of the town where I live and share the love of
Jesus with people.
We are regularly seeing people encounter
God’s love and sometimes opening their hearts to receive Jesus for the first
time.
As I stepped out today I felt provoked about my need
to be utterly dependent on the Holy Spirit and that apart from him, I can do
nothing. After chatting and praying with a few people I then spoke to a lady
who seemed to approach me. I soon found out that sadly she was very opposed to
knowing God. I tried to share God’s love with her but she walked off
disinterested. For a while I felt a bit discouraged and hung back from
approaching anyone else. I recognised the battle going on in my mind and knew I
had to push through the lies and feelings of rejection, something we can often feel
when sharing Jesus with people.
I saw a young man coming towards me walking very
slowly on crutches. At first he seemed out of reach but he then decided to walk
closer to the shops, which was where I was standing and I knew he was going to
come right past me. I couldn’t avoid him and took courage and spoke to him.
Asking him what he had done to his foot, which was heavily bandaged, he told me
it was his Achilles and he had come out of hospital just 3 days ago after an
operation. I asked him if I could pray for Jesus to heal it. He
enthusiastically said “yes please” which took me back a bit. I was about to
bend down to the ground when he said he’d be too embarrassed and didn’t want me
to. I told him that was ok and that Jesus could heal his foot anyway without me
touching it. After praying I asked if he felt anything and he said a click. I then
asked if he was currently in any pain and he said not really but if he were to
put his foot on the ground, which he was very nervous to do, he would be. He
began to talk about his life, how he had been in prison. He also told me how
thirsty he was. I offered to buy him a drink and something to eat but said I would
love to pray for his foot again first. He was so touched by my love for him and
kept mentioning it. As I was praying for his foot the second time I saw him
gingerly try to put it on the ground and then all of a sudden he began swearing
because he said there was no pain. He kept checking and doing it again. He
couldn’t believe it. As we walked to get
something for him to eat and drink he told me excitedly that this was the
second time something like this had happened to him. In prison a lady had prayed
for him and he had been delivered from heroin addiction with no withdrawals. He
said she had the same power that I had. I told him it was the power of Jesus
and asked him if he knew a personal relationship with him. He said that he had
asked Jesus into his heart lots of times and that in prison he had attended
bible studies but he kept doing wrong things and was very up and down.
He seemed so overwhelmed by the love he was receiving
and kept thanking me over and over. After buying him something to eat and drink
my friend Matt joined us. He had kindly come to check I was ok. I left them
talking so I could go and buy some socks and some plasters. The man said a sock
would be great to put on his foot now he could put it down on the ground. The
plasters were my idea for the blisters on his hands from walking with the
crutches. As he reluctantly let me put them on the broken blisters I felt such
compassion for him and knew they were like a picture of the hurts he had gone
through that God wanted to heal on the inside.
Later, another lady came towards me also on crutches
and I stopped to ask her the Miracle Question…if God could do a miracle for her
what would she ask him to do? Her answer was for God to be able to bring her
husband back. They had been married for 48 years and he had died a few years
ago. I could see how lonely and sad she was and I prayed she would know God’s
comfort and love. Asking her why she needed walking sticks, she told me she had
arthritis all over her body and that her hips were the most painful. She was a
Christian and had received prayer before but she was happy for me to pray
again. After praying, she felt heat. I thanked God for touching her and prayed
for more and asked her how the pain was. She said it was less and on a scale of
10 was now about 6. I asked her what it had been before and she said about 15!
After praying a third time she said the pain had all gone!
After a short drinks break in the café, my friends, Stef
and Matt and I went back out on the street. I had been thinking of leaving to
go home but I am so glad I hadn’t. Matt had just approached a young man and
asked him the Miracle Question and the man had replied that he was an atheist. After
asking him why he thought he was an atheist and chatting with him for a while Matt
brought him across to introduce him to Stef and I. Matt’s question had clearly
impacted him. He also told us the sad news that he had come from his father’s
funeral today. We felt for him and knew there was something significant about
us meeting him. Stef asked him what would stop him having a personal
relationship with Jesus and he said because he didn’t believe in him yet at the
same time he was apologetic, I think, for our sakes. We helped him explore that
a bit more and then Stef suggested he ask God to reveal himself to him. I felt
prompted to share how God had revealed himself to me and as I told him the
story and of the peace and joy I felt in my heart and the presence of the Holy
Spirit in my room he began to cry. I told him God knew the way to reach his
heart too. He turned away because he was so embarrassed he was crying and in
the street. We could all feel the presence of God with us. Stef then
acknowledged that it was a defining moment for him and gave him the opportunity
to respond and ask Jesus into his life. He said with feeling that he really
wanted to and now! and Stef led him in a prayer. We gave him a bible and other
literature to help him on his journey. He said he hadn’t ever read the bible
and asked us where he should start. He was keen to give us his contact details
and to keep in touch. He kept saying it was all so surreal and how he had just
stepped off the bus and it was obviously meant to be. I felt so happy I felt
like dancing in the street…I did actually… just a little one!!
It was later when I got home that I remembered what I
had read this morning from Isaiah 61… about bringing good news to the poor…binding
up the broken hearted…proclaiming freedom to the captives… and bringing the oil
of gladness instead of mourning and despair’
My friends and I got to be Kingdom Carriers
today…something we are all called to be wherever we go.
