How Can They Hear About Him?
How Can They Hear About Him? || Day 2
Romans 10:1-15 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
In the dark hours of Sunday morning, the Lord gave Pastor Jason a dream.
He said, “In this dream, a young lady who is very dear to our family called on me to come and minister to a group of people she was leading. When I arrived, they were in a classroom of a very old church. It was clean and tended to, but it was out-of-date and disorganized. Somehow I knew that the pastor of this church would be displeased with me being there. One by one, she called them out of the classroom to the dimly lit hallway where we were standing and introduced them to me. Each person was so downcast and burdened. I was anxious for the introductions to finish so I could keep my commitment to this dear daughter, and get out of this place. Once we went into the classroom, I sat down and asked what I could do to help. With their heads hung down, they collectively sighed. The young lady who called me began to speak to me, but immediately her words were cut off as the people began to speak in frustration. I sensed that they were about to speak dishonorably about their pastor, and I cut them off. I told my dear friend that I sensed there was going to be a collective complaint against the leadership, and that we should not do it in the church, and behind his back.
“We went to a coffee shop, me driving separately from them and praying in the Holy Ghost. I knew by the Spirit that the pastor did not only not care for me, but that he had been a lazy and selfish shepherd to these people and that their grief was justified. Still, I asked the Lord that he would not be dishonored by these people.
“When we arrived at the coffee shop, ordered and sat down, the group was in an entirely different mood. With excitement and passion they shared with me that they just wanted to see a powerful move of God. With elevated voices and through tears they all began to dream of people being empowered to witness, of them bringing in the lost and the bound, the oppressed and possessed, and watching them be set free by the power of God. I began to encourage them and charged them with the responsibility of reigniting the fire on their own altars and fulfilling the Great Commission. With joy we parted.
“Later, this young lady called me and said that they had convinced their pastor to allow me to come and minister to their congregation. I reluctantly agreed to come.
“I was preaching to a sparsely attended room. There was no organization to the chairs, and the people who occupied them were very downcast and burdened. The pastor stood at a distance in that balcony, watching from the shadows.
“I preached and preached, and in a moment, I felt a flicker of faith rise in the room. I went to a man sitting in a chair, and laid hands on him, speaking in other tongues. Immediately he was baptized in the Holy Ghost and was slain in the Spirit in his chair. I turned to pray for the next group, but the glory of the Lord overcame them and they fell over, speaking with other tongues. Each time I turned and walked toward someone, or a group of people to pray for them, they would fall out, speaking with other tongues, as the glory of God overshadowed them. I looked to the balcony to see that the pastor had moved from the shadows and his face was filled with joy for his people and love for me.
“I woke up, speaking with other tongues, and the Lord gave me this verse…
Haggai 2:6-9 NLT
“For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Let’s pray together…