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Matthew 8.9 “For I am a man under authority; having soldiers under me: and I say to this man Go and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”

One Saturday night, I was asleep on the couch when the Lord woke me and directed me to go over to a friend’s house. The command was urgent. I hastily dressed and drove over to Waycross where my friend lived. I knocked on her door but could get no answer. She was a single parent and had been experiencing many problems. Her main problem was that she had never been born again. I had often talked to her about the critical importance of accepting Jesus as her personal savior. I hadn’t talked to her or seen her in a few months.

After about 10 minutes of knocking, I finally got her to come to the door. She asked, “What are you doing here?” I replied, “The Lord told me to come. Are you okay?” She looked at me in that way when I talked about Jesus. She thought I was a little off my rocker. Let me tell you, you will be called strange by the unsaved when you follow after the Lord. Well, she started talking nonsense and acting fidgety. I recognized that the devil didn’t want me to be around her,

After about 10 minutes she suddenly said, “I’m so silly.” I replied, “What are you talking about?” She said, “I ain’t gonna tell you.” After a few minutes, she finally said, “I just took 40 pills right before you came. My life is useless so I’m going to put an end to it.” The Holy Spirit came on me and I said, “Devil, you are not getting this woman. I’ve been praying for her.” I convinced her to get in my car and I drove to the hospital. They immediately went to work on her, pumping her stomach. After this procedure was over, the doctor told me if I hadn’t brought her she would have died or would have kidney failure.

I called her sister and told her what had happened. My “friend” got mad at me and wouldn’t talk to me for a long time. Despite this, I continued to pray for her. Her daughter had been born again in my car and the Lord was working on her son. About two years later, my friend that tried to commit suicide called me and told me that Jesus had come into her heart. Immediately, my spirit bore witness with hers that indeed she had been born again. The Lord used me to snatch her from the pit of hell. Later, her son, too, was born again.

Jude 23 “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

This is story number 23 from my book, My Walk with the Lord, www.selahbooks.com

About the Author

author, preacher, retired military

Sent church is definitely a buzz-phrase that is everywhere these days. The fact that we have to label places of worship, missional, has since the beginning of creation been a tiny bit strange to me. please, shouldnt all places of worship be missional in their very core? all churches, at its very base, yearn to meet their culture and community with the story of Christ as a missionary would in a different country? Isnt it what the churches is instructed to do in the great commission in Matthew 28:19? Our own local area deserves this brand of church. Austin church is slowly going to what Jesus instructed in the Gospels.

Jesus gives the command in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 justifies this concept as, right before Jesus Christ goes up to Heaven, He sends the disciples on a story that would launch right in their personal community. He begins with their local place of Jerusalem, and then stretches the call to the far parts of the globe.

As followers of Christ, we are not called to privacy, but to be missional persons who are passionately going out and meeting people right where they are with the gospel. We have observed this throughout history: God sends Abraham on a mission to move from his city and his people and go to the city that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God motivated Moses on a mission to renew an enslaved people and lead them to joy (Exodus 3:8-10), God motivated Jesus on a journey to globe to bring back all things to Himself through the blood of Christ (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending believers on a mission to engage communities, cities, ethnicities, and even nations with the message of Jesus (Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we abandon this motivation and continue to see the church buildings like a members only country club ” encouraging that people resolve their talents, pay their dues, and drive to our place of worship God will continue His mission without us.