A young man in his mid-twenties came to the door and when he was informed of the purpose of my visit he told me he was a communist from Yugoslavia. Then he said, “I could be Jesus.” I told him that was not possible, so he asked me, “Why not?” I explained that Jesus was not a communist nor was He from Yugoslavia. I then went on to say that if he really was Jesus, then he’d be doing the work Jesus said He would be doing when He returns.
He then asked what kind of work that would be. I said, “If you’re Jesus, then you can tell me.” With that he laughed, and then went got a little red Gideon’s New Testament and started to read from John’s gospel Chapter 7. Was there any significance in what he was reading? None that appeared obvious. Then he produced an Old King James version of the Bible and proceeded to read something from that.
It’s fair to say that this man was not of a sound mind that day and given the culture of many in his generation I suspect he was on drugs. Regardless, he let me share the gospel of Christ with him and then pray for him. My ministry was to his spirit, not his mind. He was thankful as he shook my hand and parted. I saw the visit as God at work again.
I met Irene, a lady in her twenties who was a music teacher. She told me her church background was Greek Orthodox but she had not been back since she’d left home some years earlier. Then she said that she was studying philosophy and, “I much prefer that to religion.” She was surprised when I told her that had been my exact experience also. I explained to her, that it was as a result of my informal studies of philosophy that I found a pathway to truth that I had never found in practicing religion.
She wanted to know more. I said to Irene that in my personal search for truth I found the writings of the philosophers to be extremely enlightening. In fact, so enlightening that over time I was driven to find out, “where this truth came from.” I then told Irene that my search led me to the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ, whom I discovered to be the Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Reality, just as He said He was.
From there I shared the story from the book of Genesis of our first parents, who originally experienced ultimate truth and reality every day as they walked with God, but when they decided to listen to the Ultimate Liar and embrace the Ultimate Lie, they fell into unreality, and as a result, they lost their paradise. Irene didn’t like what I had to say next however, because in my sharing, I used the word “sin.”
I explained the meaning of “sin” as “rebellion against God” and that this was the problem with each one of us in the world today. It is a problem because we are their offspring and not only have we inherited their rebellion against God, but we’ve contributed with lots of our own as well.
Irene did not like it when I said the only solution to the rebellion problem was to turn to Jesus Christ, the one who died on a cross as our substitute, making it now possible for each of us to turn back to God, to again live in ultimate truth and reality.
She said to me, “You’re making me feel guilty.” My response was to inform her that she was, at that moment, under the conviction of God the Holy Spirit who was confirming to her the ultimate truth of what I was saying. She was lost for words however when I told her Jesus Christ hates “religion” as much we both do and that if she responded to the Lord she would experience the truth of my message. Irene was not over-joyed with what she heard, but she genuinely thanked me for talking with her. I saw the visit as God at work again.
No sooner had I mentioned the word “church” to a young mother and she turned red and fumed with anger. She told me to, “!*!xx!*!” in no uncertain terms and slammed the door so hard the door frame shook. She opened it again, ran outside and picked up a young child playing next to me. I had nothing to lose, so I said to her that she was not angry with me and suggested she stop running from God.
The same lady phoned the church later in the day to complain about the “rude man who was questioning my baby.” She didn’t know it was me who answered the phone so I went on to say, “Jesus said……” She slammed the phone down hard. I saw these events as God at work again.
A mother, in her fifties said she couldn’t give me, “any more than a few seconds” but she actually gave me three quarters of an hour. She stood in her doorway asking questions and was fascinated by the responses given. Then her twenty-one year old academic son, who had been listening inside came out to tell me he was, “only interested in proof of God through science.” His mother told me he was not at all interested in Jesus.
I took advantage of his “no interest” to talk a little about my former life as a foul-mouthed music sales rep and musician who was (basically) drunk three nights a week and smashed the other four. Both mother and son refused to believe it. They told me they just could not imagine that to be true. So I told them if they wanted verification I could get it for them in less than an hour.
I explained that I was no longer that person, but I then asked the young man if he thought the change was brought about by science or by Jesus Christ – given that Jesus promises such deliverances, but science does not. He remained silent, but his eyes were open and so were his ears. I was given time to speak about the power of God, in Jesus’ name, being available for anyone who genuinely wanted to experience it, but that God has always had trouble trying to get through to people who want proof before they will believe Him.
The young man needed to hear that his stumbling block to “proof” was in fact unbelief in disguise. I then suggested to him that his unbelief was a choice – a choice which only he alone could change – and that if he chose to believe, he would prove for himself the truth and reality of God. His mother said she owned a Bible and that Jesus was her Lord and Saviour, “in my own way.”
Christ touched both mother and son mightily that day. Words do not do this testimony justice. Most certainly, I saw the visit as God at work again. “Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” John 7:17.