Stories of Faith - Episode 32

"In one of the Assemblies of God churches, in Aba District (South-Eastern Nigeria), where my late dad pastored in the 1980s, I remember when a young man came very early in the morning and told my father:

"Pastor, what did I do to you? Why do you hate me so much? I have been born again for almost 1 year and I have won many people to Christ, but why have you not recommended me to join others to go for missions work in the northern States of the country... "

His singlet was torn... And with his zeal, he was crying profusely...

My father did not know what to say...

The young man kept crying: "Pastor, why are you doing this to me... Why are you doing this to me?"

My father told him: "Nna, I know very well that you want to serve God... But you are the only son of your mother and your father is late... If anything happens to you, who will look after your mother and younger ones?..."

The boy started crying the more...

"Pastor, I am the only son and yet I was an armed robber... I am the only son, yet, I was attending meetings in the midnight with native doctors, where many of friends could not wake up alive after diabolically fortifying ourselves against police bullets..."

"Pastor, what would have happened to my mother if I had died in one of those armed robbery attacks? Who would have taken care of her? If I risked my life when I was serving Satan, why will I not risk it now that I am serving Jesus Christ?"

My father was speechless for almost 30 minutes... And it was not long, we saw tears rolling down his eyes...

He held the young man and both of them were crying together...

My father recommended him to join some missionaries that came in the area for missions work...

The day he was leaving with them, the mother and his younger ones were crying... Knowing that they might not see him again, both live or dead... But I can still remember that excitement on his face..."

Stories of Faith - Episode 31

Culled from The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney

I read an account of a group of Chinese Christians who were caught holding a church service. The officials placed a horse trough in the middle of town and forced every man and woman in that congregation to urinate into it. Then they drowned the pastor in it, right in front of their eyes!

Do you know what happened? The church congregation doubled in two weeks, and it wasn't because of their nice sanctuary or dynamic worship team. These kinds of believers don't gauge their relationship with God by whether they received a salary raise this quarter, by how things are going with their bank account, or by how much "fun" they've had during church activities. They joined Paul by saying, "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This is the confession of people in love and in intimate communion with their Maker.

Stories of Faith - Episode 30

One of our workers in the Underground Church was a young girl. The Communist police discovered that she secretly spread Gospels and taught children about Christ. They decided to arrest her. But to make the arrest as agonizing and painful as they could, they decided to delay her arrest a few weeks, until the day she was to be married. On her wedding day, the girl was dressed as a bride—the most wonderful, joyous day in a girl’s life! Suddenly, the door burst open and the secret police rushed in.

When the bride saw the secret police, she held out her arms toward them to be handcuffed. They roughly put the manacles on her wrists. She looked toward her beloved, then kissed the chains and said, “I thank my heavenly Bridegroom for this jewel He has presented to me on my marriage day. I thank Him that I am worthy to suffer for Him.” She was dragged off, with weeping Christians and a weeping bridegroom left be­hind. They knew what happens to young Chris­tian girls in the hands of Communist guards. Her bridegroom faithfully waited for her. After five years she was released—a destroyed, broken woman, looking thirty years older. She said it was the least she could do for her Christ. Such beautiful Christians are in the Underground Church.

Source: http://radioblast.net/en/articles/libri-suggeriti/richard-wurmbrand-tortured-for-christ

Stories of Faith - Episode 29

Francis Chan tells the story of a 59-year old delivered from cocaine addiction:

"We were out knocking on doors in the inner city in San Francisco and there was this this one guy - James. I knocked on his door, went into his apartment.

He’s smoking pot, he’s on methodone, he’s drinking, he’s been a crack addict for 40 years."

I got to share the gospel with him and he asked Jesus into his life. We prayed for him and we baptized him a couple of weeks later. We brought him over to our house and had a birthday party for him as he clocked 59. He brought all his drugs and paraphernalia and a hammer and we just smashed it all in the backyard and buried them.

Then he said, "but pray for me, the first of the month is coming up. On the first of the month, everyone gets their welfare cheques, we pay our rent and the rest of it we use to buy drugs. Everyone is high on the first of the month on drugs. Everyone is so messed up on the first of the month. It’s a routine for me and I’m scared because it’s coming up in the next few days. Pray for me. I’ve never been clean on the first of the month. It’s been about 25 years since I’ve not been completely bombed on the first day of the month." 

So we prayed for him and I thought, I’m going to do more than praying, I’m gonna go to him and I’m gonna work with him all day long because he’s my brother now. I’m gonna hang out with him all day and make sure he’s doing nothing wrong. 

But then I came down with the flu, and I couldn’t even get out of bed. I felt terrible. I was worried about James. Then one of the volunteers that’s been working with us, a young guy called Aaron called me and said "it’s okay, I’m gonna go visit James today." I was like good, stay with him.

Then I got a call from Aaron at the end of the night, and he said, "you will never believe what happened." 

He said Francis, “So I picked up James in the morning and we put all the money in the bank, so he couldn’t just give it to drug dealers. Then James said it’s been years since he’s not been high on the first of the month, so I said let’s go celebrate. Let me take you out to dinner. So we go out to dinner, I was looking for this one good restaurant but I couldn’t find it on my GPS, then we saw a Popeyes Restaurant, and so I said let’s just go there. So I got to sit down and I walked through Romans 6 to 8 with James and talked about the Spirit and talked about how this can turn him around and how he can stay clean. Then I looked at James, and I asked how did it all start?" 

And James said, “I remember I was 19 years old, I already smoked pot a little bit, I’ve been drinking, and then I came to the restaurant where I worked and my manager offered me cocaine. He just lined it up in the back. I was curious, so I tried it, and I got hooked. I fell in love with it. At first I just sort of did it casually, but I just had to have more and more and more and now it’s been 40 years. I will never forget it, because I was a cook at the restaurant and he brought it to the back room."

And suddenly James stopped and he looked around, and said, "wait, this is the restaurant, and he mentioned the name of the restaurant back then, is this #599.....?"

They said, "yes." 

He goes, "this is the very room where it happened." 

And he stood up, he had chills all over his body 

And he said,"40 years ago, in this room is where it all started and I’ve been lost in this desert for 40 years and God takes me to the very room where it started to deliver me?"

He said, “If I ever doubted God, I will never doubt Him again”. 

Right there they celebrated and worshiped God in the restaurant. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QTHFxeC1Cg

Stories of Faith - Episode 28

Casey Uggen writes: "While I was a pre-believing rebel (at 27), thinking I was cool at the Burning Man festival, I was airlifted after an internal injury from Thunderdome fighting...little did I know the Creator of the Universe would encounter me on the helicopter on the way to Reno Emergency Center; showed me I was not RIGHT with HIM, scared me sober - right out of the morphine. And HE HEALED ME - docs had to release me, they couldn't explain the recovery, people!!! GOD IS REAL! I have a science degree from the U of M that can't even stop me from my faith -- in fact, the more into science you get, the more it EXPLAINS GOD (quantum physics). THANK YOU, JESUS, You are worthy of my life I have surrendered to YOU. I TELL ALL MY FRIENDS this story. I want to see them on that Day."

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNacm6zR8eU

Stories of Faith - Episode 27

Narrated by Christine La Vita: "When I was in Assemblies of God church in Australia (Wollongong) back in 1996-1999, there was an old gentleman from England, called Raymond. He used to get up and tell us of the miracles he had seen as a 10 year old boy in England, under the ministry of Stephen Jefferies and Smith Wigglesworth and others. Tears used to fill his eyes and he would choke up as he recounted them. He said one time, all the ministers were seated on a big platform in a hall. Raymond sat up the front row. He said, a mother came forward with a little boy whose legs were so twisted that they were back to front. He stood there in front of them all badly deformed, all alone. Suddenly, Raymond said, the mighty Presence of the Lord filled the platform and all the ministers (healing evangelists and others) ran, they fled from the platform. Raymond said that right before his eyes, he heard bones creaking and watched in wonder, as an invisible Hand straightened the little boys’ legs and feet, until he was totally healed! All the people erupted in cheering and shouting for joy! Other remembrances old Raymond had too."

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/memories-of-wigglesworth-john-fawcett/

Stories of Faith - Episode 26

There was a man who had charge of evangelism in a great church.

A new pastor came who was a zealous soul winner. He took the fellow out in door-to-door witnessing. 

When they returned that night after leading several souls to Christ, he said: "I've been the Sunday School Superintendent of this Church for 33 years. I've presided over our evangelism activities, but tonight I have a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ which I never experienced before."

Culled from SOUL WINNING: Out Where the Sinners Are