Testimonies from 2015

The Fruit of Obedience!-September 2015

It was Thursday evening and I was teaching at my home church congregation on listening evangelism.  The teaching was part of a four-week event called “Prayer in Motion” that I was team teaching with Andrew Sisson.  This particular evening, I taught the participants about encountering the love of God, bringing that encounter to others, praying for the lost, and being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Among the participants was Tommy, a 30-something year old man hungry to go out and make a difference.  Having Tommy present was special to me in more than one way.  During the Summer of 2014, I had apparently prayed for Tommy in the Rosa Parks area of downtown Grand Rapids before He knew Jesus Christ.  Though I don’t recall all the details of that evening, less than a year later Tommy (who had come to church and met Jesus Christ personally) was out on the streets with me and Andrew in the Spring of 2015.  That night as we traded stories we began to put things together.

So as I taught that Thursday evening, I was given permission from Tommy to share about our history.  I remember telling the group something along the lines of: “There are more Tommies out there.  Let’s pray for them.”

After our teaching time, we went out on the streets for a time of activation.  Participants were encouraged to listen to the Lord for “clues” on where to go, whom to talk to, what to pray for, etc.  As always, it was a stretching but exciting time.

Our time was short, but after going out for nearly 1 hour, we returned to debrief.  Tommy had a powerful story of how the vision he received from God before hand was exactly what he experienced.  God’s guidance led him into an encounter and a time of prayer!

I had to process this.  Tommy was now moving in the Spirit just as I had when I met him.  He himself was being used by God to fulfill the prayers we had prayed.  Who better to find the “Tommies” out there than Tommy himself!

Outreach at “The Barber Shop”-August 2015

It was a beautiful August evening in Grand Rapids.  I was joined over the course of the evening by Nate, Donnie, Alex, and Michael to do some outreach.  We met at Gold Avenue Church to begin the evening for prayer, and then started off.  One piece of guidance that I received that night was “a figure 8.”  I sensed that we were to prayer walk in “a figure 8,” with the church at the center.  So our first circle began.

We didn’t feel moved to talk to many people as we walked in the first circle.  One lady declined our offer for prayer, but otherwise it was mostly a time of intercession.  When we finished, we began walking the second circle of the “figure 8.”  As we approached a small park near the Gerald R. Ford museum, I sensed we should walk around the hills and see if anyone was on the other side.  Right as I was sensing that, Michael suggested the same.  I love the way the Holy Spirit brings  agreement in prayer!  There is much confidence to go forward in such cases.

As we rounded the corner of one of the hills, we saw two men, probably in their 50’s sitting on a bench.  Another man was holding a hair clippers in his hand on the edge of the hill. Our evening was about to get a little more exciting!

I approached one of the men (we’ll call Him “Al”) and asked him how he was doing?  Then for some reason, I was prompted to ask Him, “Where are you going in life?”  Al’s answer was sharp and blunt:  “Straight to Hell.”

What do you do when someone responds like this?  I was caught off guard a bit, but asked Al the obvious question:  “Do you want to do something about that?”  There is a time for everything, and when people are blunt with me, I’ve learned to be blunt back.  It seems to get through most effectively!

This led to a discussion of faith, and it was clear that there were wounds from Christianity amongst the group.  Al declined our offer to pray for healing for his body, which was disappointing.  There was some awkwardness, yet I sensed we were to continue to love and dialogue.

Al began receiving a haircut, and we began conversing with another man in the group (we’ll call him “Bob”).  Bob was open with us and as we loved on him and shared our life stories with him, the atmosphere in the “Barber Shop” changed.  I shared that I had been wounded from church/other Christians myself, but that forgiveness and blessing was the answer, not bitterness.  This seemed to really bless Bob, especially when we gave him some grocery money that He did not directly ask us for.

When Al and “the Barber” joined us after the haircut was finished, Bob shared that “we were different” (in a good way).  All of the guys blessed us and even Al seemed to change his opinion and spoke words of life.  These guys all “knew” the gospel.  What they needed was to see people who cared and lived it out.  Love without  strings attached.

How many touches will it take for folks like this to get off the streets and begin to think differently?  I don’t know but it always feels good to our part in bringing them an encounter with the Kingdom of God.  We parted ways with mutual blessings and finished out the rest of the circle to complete the “figure 8.”

Asian Adventures in Starbucks-June 2015

Late June found me in Asia, where I was spending 9 days with some friends who were hosting me.  It was Sunday evening, and I began taking a look at my schedule for the next week. One theme of my trip to Asia was trusting God to fill open spots in my schedule.  As I look back, He was certainly was faithful to do just that!  As we prayed that evening, I sensed God wanted me to do some evangelism that week.  Monday morning my schedule was wide open.  I told my friends we should pray and ask God where he wanted me to go.  As we prayed, I sensed one of my hosts would get the leading.  This was indeed the case and in a bit, “Starbucks” was confidently shared with me.  So Monday June 22nd, I headed for Starbucks.

When I arrived, God instantly showed me to go upstairs and pray.  I was puzzled, thinking that the Starbucks must have an upstairs. However, that was not the case. Rather the Starbucks was in a large mall, and the upstairs offered a great view of the city. From there, I prayed for the people in this large Asian city.  The Holy Spirit interceded through me for some time. Then I went back down into the coffee shop and finished reading my book.

As soon as I finished praying, I had a nice talk with some church leaders whom I had seen the day before in the International church. We encouraged each other and then I left.  At that time, it didn’t appear like all that much had happened: Go to Starbucks.  Pray.  Encourage a few people.  Move on.  It was a little puzzling.  However, I had a clear peace and knew I was obedient.  I moved on with the rest of my day.

Yet the story does not end there.  On Tuesday June 23rd, I woke up and was about ready to read my Bible.  I clearly heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Go back to Starbucks and do your devotions there.” This seemed odd and was definitely not in my plans, but I went obediently.

So there I was, in faith, back at Starbucks:  Bible out, notebook out, pretending like I was in my living room.  After a bit, a young man came and sat next to me. The Holy Spirit whispered, “He speaks English.” A few seconds later, I introduced myself in English and he responded back. He did, indeed, speak English.  Our conversation went no further at that point and we both were focused on our tasks in front of us.

After finishing my devotions, God began to reveal very clearly to me my first message for my sermon in South Korea the following Sunday: Walk by the Spirit from Galatians 5:16-17. I scribbled down some notes in my notebook. It was ironic this was happening as I was stepping out in faith “following the Spirit.”  The message came to me very easily.  It would be the start of many that God would give to me in a similar fashion on that trip.

After I finished taking notes, I was led again to talk to the man next to me.  He was quite receptive to me. I learned his name and that he was a 25 year old computer graphic developer (or something like that).  He knew English very well and was about to take a trip with his girlfriend to Italy. I asked him about his story, his nation’s culture and eventually religion. He shared he had no religious beliefs, but I was “nudged” by the Spirit to say I was Christian. When I did, he mentioned he had just read the Bible recently!  I asked if he understood it, and he shared, “Not really.” This was my que!

I asked if I could explain the main message of the Bible to him and he gladly said, “Yes.”  I began sharing.  I highlighted God’s creation, man’s fall and our universal problem of sin separating us from God, and how our Heavenly Father loved us enough to send His Son Jesus Christ to redeem the world.  His Holy Spirit would come and live in and guide all who would trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and turn and surrender to His Lordship. As I shared, I drew things out in my notebook for him.  I could tell it was a lot for him to process, but he was intrigued and thankful.

Because much time had past by this point, I had to go soon to get back for my next meeting.  I wanted to stay longer, but I sensed the Lord was finished for the day.  I told him I would pray for God to help him understand what I had shared and he was thankful.  We exchanged contact information so we could communicate via social media and I took off, very blessed by the experience. Later I was able to connect him to my local host through a three-way message.  Follow up could now happen.

No to Religion, Yes to Experiencing God-April 2015

I invited a number of folks to join me to do listening evangelism that April evening, but it ended up only working for me and my friend Nate.  In some ways I was disappointed, but I realized that God’s agenda is not the same as mine.  He knows best and I just need to be obedient.  That is where the freedom lies.

Nate and I circled Rosa Parks in prayer.  After a few laps around it, I was prompted to talk to a young man sitting on a bench.  Nate joined me and we began making small talk.  After a few minutes, we shared with him what we were doing.  Because we were so natural and nonchalant about it, he wasn’t turned off.

We talked for a while with the young man and eventually I offered to pray for him.  He really couldn’t think of any prayer requests, so we talked some more.  I asked him about his religious beliefs, and he shared that he was a Christian.  I shared honestly some of my story with him, growing up learning the Bible, coming to faith in college, and later learning about hearing from God and deeper relationship.  He was eager to hear more about the last part.

When I asked him if we could practice “listening to the Lord” for him, he eagerly said, “Sure!” I told him and Nate that we would keep our eyes open so as not to make a public scene.  There was no need to make things awkward.  This comment seemed to put all of us at ease.

The Lord gave us many words of encouragement for him, and then we talked a bit more.  I could feel the Holy Spirit had brought us together in trust and love, but I also felt the Spirit leading us to move on.  I wanted to honor this man’s schedule, as he had mentioned he had a few other things to do.  I gave him a copy of my business card and offered to meet up in the future if he ever wanted to talk further.  He was clearly blessed and thankful for our interaction.  I am excited for the future God has for Him!

Subway Surprise-March 2015

It was nearly 2 pm, and I had not yet eaten lunch.  I’d overslept, eaten a late breakfast, etc.   The point is, my day wasn’t going exactly like I had planned it, though I was at peace in my spirit.  I’ve learned that a day is never wasted, and God can take a day that seems amiss and use it powerfully for good.

As I was about to head to the refrigerator for lunch, when I heard the Spirit say to me, “Go to Subway.”  “Ok God,” I said.  And I got in my car.  I had to run an errand anyway and I decided I’d do that and look for a Subway.  After I finished the errand, I checked in my GPS and a Subway that I had never before visited was .1 miles away!

When I went in, the girl behind the counter tried to guess what kind of bread that I wanted for my sandwich.  She told me she thought she was psychic.  I felt the Spirit quicken with me, and I knew I was to “use that.” I asked her if she believed in psychics and she told me she did.  This provided me an opportunity to share about prophecy and how I had been to a prophetic speaker the night before.  As she thumbed tomatoes on my sandwhich, she was engrossed in our conversation.  Thankfully, I was the only one in the restaurant at that hour.  Remember, it was after 2 pm!

As I got to the register to pay, I shared that God had given me a few words for her.  She gladly gave me permission and I shared them with her.  She shared that other words had been spoken over her in her childhood: words about being a leader.”  She said she was at a Christian camp when someone had told her this.  Interesting!

I ate my sub, and the Lord began to show me some things I needed to pray off of the young woman.  Words had been spoken over her by others that were acting as a curse.  He also showed me that there were good things He had for her, doors He wanted to open.  But she needed to surrender to Him to walk in the blessings.  I shared these with her as I finished.  Another customer came in and she continued talking with me while her co-worker tended to the customer.  Eventually, she needed to go and I didn’t hold her up.  She was clearly pondering what I said and thanked me.  I could almost see the Lord connecting the dots from her childhood to her present.  He was showing her that Christianity didn’t have to be boring and could be very spiritual.  But it needed to be based on surrendering to Jesus Christ as the “Greatest Spirit.”  In Him is LIFE!

This little interaction provided a great story for me as I headed to my 3:30 college men’s group to teach them more about evangelism.  We never know ‘when’ and ‘how’ God will use us.  And we often don’t see the fruit of our obedience.  But it still pays to be obedient.  Moments like this can change a life.  And moments like this make us come alive!

May God’s surprises continue in your life and in mine, for His glory, our joy, and to advance His kingdom!!