Naturally enough, their next question was, “Why do I need to be born again?”  Firstly, because Jesus said so.  Secondly, the Bible tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory.  Therefore, we must be born again in order to have our sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.  Trusting in Jesus Christ alone, the only One who paid our penalty for sin when He died on that cross, is what it means to be born again, spiritually.  If we act on those meanings, the Bible gives us the good news that we are new creatures (creations) - the old has gone the new (fresh) has come 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Jesus also told us that unless we are born again, we cannot see the kingdom of God.  That means we cannot perceive or understand the rule or the realm of God’s reign, as it applies here and now and, in eternity.  That is why people mock and ridicule God, Jesus Christ, the Bible and non-compromising biblical believers.  They don’t get it, because without a spiritual rebirth, they can’t get it.  And they will never get it, unless they humble themselves before God, acknowledge their sin and then, acknowledge Jesus Christ alone, as the one and only Solution to their sin problem.

As practising Christians, it is most important that we grasp this, because if we fail to do so, we run an immeasurably high risk of being chewed up and spat out by the false doctrines of religious men and their institutions.  Jesus told us that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him because He (the Spirit) had appointed Him as the Anointed One (Messiah) to preach the good news to the poor (beggar, as cringing); to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity) Luke 4:18.

As a public messenger of Christ, I spoke with literally hundreds of church-goers, but it was an extremely rare occasion to encounter one who was born again.  Roman Catholic or Protestant, it made no difference.  One of the ways to discern if a church-goer is born again is to listen and observe their response to the Bible’s declaration about the need to be born again.  Responses with anger, abuse, insults and guilt gave me clear indication that such a one was not.  But often the same applied to those whose response was one with fear – fear of God certainly, but equally, fear of church leaders and their doctrines. 

A typical response of one trapped by fear went something like, “I don’t care what your Bible says, my faith is in my church and their teaching and I will never leave it.  Ours is the one true church!  I was born a (Catholic, Jehovah Witness, Mormon etc) and I will die a ……..!”  These responses sounded good, faithful and noble, but the reality was they were not made by people grounded in faith.  They were grounded in fear.  They dare not leave their “faith” because if they did, in their thinking, they would lose all hope of heaven.  They were taught that, they believed that and they dare not shift from that.

These are the very people Jesus Christ came for.  People in all sorts of captivity, spiritually blind, downtrodden, bruised and crushed by the weighty, false doctrines of men, none of whom will lift a finger to help them.  They can’t help them, because they themselves are trapped by the same stuff.  It has been said that the great defect of all man-made religious systems is that they demand obedience but they do not provide the power or the dynamic needed to do so.  It’s true.  Leaders who are not free cannot led others to freedom.  In other words, you cannot take others where you can’t or won’t go yourself.

The Scripture tells us in New Testament Galatians that Christ has made free (completely liberated), all who claim Him as Saviour and Lord.  It also tells us to stand in that truth and not to be hampered and held ensnared and submit to a yoke of slavery.  So here is a test as to how free you are.  Whether you belong to one of the above mentioned denominations or some other - are you free?  What do you believe would happen to you if you made a decision to leave your denomination or group?  Regardless of whether you were “born into it” or not, what do you believe your state of mind would be?  Would it be one of freedom – or fear?

It is most important for a Christian to be able to answer that because we devalue Jesus Christ and His word if we fail or refuse to do so.  To place one’s faith in one’s church, believing it to be the true one, is not placing one’s faith in the biblical Lord Jesus Christ and His Bible.  Therefore, it is not faith at all.  And the Bible tells us that what does not originate and proceed from faith, is sin Romans 14:23.  What is not of faith, can be the sin of presumption (speaking or acting without warrant) and the Bible gives us plenty of examples of people who paid a very high price for indulging in that.  

To presume upon God, if not acknowledged and repented from, brings defeat, loss of power (especially spiritual power), rejection and destruction.  I saw that outworked in seventy-eight year old Roman Catholic lady Mrs Lang.  She was bed-ridden, riddled with arthritis and fear.  With rosary beads in her hands on each visit, she often told me, “the Bible is a load of blabber!  Jesus started the Catholic church at the Last Supper and He gave Peter the keys.”  She said she had great faith; but in Christ, it was nowhere evident.  Fear of death was written deep into her.  It was a religious spirit of fear that prevented her from hearing Christ’s word in context.

If one is born again by the Spirit of God, he or she will know by experiencing the witness of the Holy Spirit, that the same power given to Peter, in fact belongs to every disciple of Jesus in all ages.  Nowhere in the New Testament is there any hint of authority either claimed or exercised by Peter, or conceded to him above the rest of the apostles.  But in his second epistle, we see that Peter has plenty to say to the church about the trustworthiness of the prophetic biblical word, destructive doctrines, the doom, depravity and deception of false teachers and, for us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ alone.

Mary, an ex Roman Catholic, now Jehovah Witness, could not admit it but it was not love for Jehovah that put her out on the street door-knocking.  It was fear and terror of Him.  Like Roman Catholic people, JW’s believe that they are the one true religion, all others are an abomination in Jehovah’s sight.  The basis for their theology is reason and they build on that foundation, the teachings of Scripture.  They are taught to use reason to attack the beliefs of others in their conversations.  They decide what is “logical” to believe and then twist and change Scripture so it supports those beliefs.  See my post: Tell me the difference between you both.

JW’s must accept without question the interpretations of the Bible as presented in their literature.  That alone is what is what they accept as truth and they are excommunicated if they don’t accept that.  They have to work hard for their salvation.  That is the reason they are so zealous, dedicated and persistent in their evangelism.  Each member must maintain an active one-hour house to house witnessing a month, minimum.  But many struggle to do so and live in fear as a result.  Ten hours is the quota for a person in good standing.  JW’s may appear self-assured about their beliefs, but most are not.

Michael told me that he would “feel lost indeed” if he was to leave his “one true church.”  He was a Mormon.  Mormons talk a lot about faith, but what they really mean is feelings.  Mormonism is based on subjective experience – that is, praying about something and having God confirm it to their hearts.  That is the basis for accepting Mormonism and the test for all truth as far as they are concerned.  The Bible tells us that our hearts are “desperately wicked” and that is why we must be born again and renewed by the Holy Spirit as He dwells within us and teaches us according to His written word. 

They say they believe the Bible is the word of God, but that it’s unreliable.  Therefore, it has to be interpreted through the Book of Mormon.  Mormons need an “unreliable” Bible, because the Bible contradicts almost all of their doctrines and practices.  Most Bible doctrine that mainstream Christianity has accepted as truth down through history has been disputed and rejected by them.  God the Father is viewed as one who was once a spirit child of a previous God, born on another earth who had to earn and attain god-hood.  They teach that He is married and lives with His wife, the heavenly Mother!

Mormonism teaches that Jesus is a created being, the first-born spirit child of a long line of children who were sexually conceived in spirit form by this heavenly Father and heavenly Mother.  They teach that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers in the spirit world and that the Father chose Jesus to be the Saviour of the world.  Lucifer argued with that decision.  He wanted to force mankind to be saved, but Jesus wanted to allow man to choose, which God the Father preferred.  Lucifer, being angry, rebelled against the Father, who threw him out of heaven, taking one third of the angels with him to become Satan and his demons.

The Bible declares to all who are born again in Jesus Christ that it is no longer fear and dread that exists, but rather it is a full-grown, complete and perfect love.  A Divine love so powerful that all fear is cast out, along with every trace of terror.  Fear brings with it the thought of punishment.  Every church-goer who is not born again and who willingly allows the word of God to be substituted or replaced by the word of religious man will continue to remain in captivity, spiritually blind, oppressed and downtrodden – here and in eternity.  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7.

© 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

There was nothing special about me.  Why would anybody want to knock back what they too could have?  That was the purpose of it all.  Jesus said for us to go and tell the people what He had done for them and if they received His message by faith, then by that very same faith they would receive and experience the reality of Him.  By receiving Him, they would be receiving Truth.  Truth is a Person - Lord Jesus Christ.  It is the truth that sets us free.  It was the truth that set me free and I wanted to tell others.  How could one possibly be apathetic and indifferent to personal freedom?

It was clear they were not free, despite all their efforts to convince otherwise.  The very look in their eyes and upon their faces gave them away each time, as did their speech.  But so did their actions - restlessness, hurry, haste, striving – driven people, not at all sure of who they were and where they were headed in life.  Lovely homes, furniture, gardens, motor cars etc, but difficult to enjoy however, because the never-ending pursuit of the mighty dollar to maintain it all ruled the day.  The Bible does not speak of human beings as “lost” for no reason. 

I did not judge these people.  I was in no position to do that because up until three years prior, I was one of them.  Whatever their faults and fears, whatever their actions and anxieties, whatever their works and worries, I understood perfectly where they were at.  When I was caught up in it I used to say, “that’s life.”  But when I met The Life, I realised the lie of that statement.  It was not life at all, it was mere existence.  I was like a ship on the water without a sail or a rudder being tossed every which way by the wind.  It was not judging that motivated me, it was empathy.  I knew of a better way and wanted them to know as well.

A change of circumstances lead me to seriously question the meaning of life.  Mrs Barry was the same.  The first couple of times I spoke with her she was guarded and reserved, but sure of herself.  She spoke of her church practice, the future that she and her husband had mapped out for themselves and the family and, “we are doing fine thank-you very much.”  In her thinking she had every reason to be smug and self-satisfied.  But all that changed.  It was during the announcement of the first Gulf war when I once again called at her home.  This time as she stood in her doorway she was white-faced, trembling with fear.

Her husband was not in the armed services but he had hinted to her that he could be called up to go and the thought of that frightened the both of them.  In my previous visits I had not talked in depth about the Lord because I was not given the chance.  This time it was she who wanted to talk.  In spite of her religious practice Mrs Barry knew little of the biblical Jesus Christ and certainly nothing that could sustain her in this time of great need.  We spoke for twenty-five minutes that day.  At the end of our time the colour came back into her face and the trembling stopped.  The Lord’s presence was made real to her for the first time in her life. 

Mr Herrick’s circumstances changed too.  For fourteen years he was working as an engineer at a famous motor car company.  The day before Christmas Day he was given notice of his retrenchment.  Six months later when I spoke with him he was still in shock.  He lived in a large brick Edwardian home with beautiful surroundings and he was worried as to how he was going to keep and maintain all that.  He told me that he’d never given God any thought until just recently, further saying that, “up until this time there was no need to.”  In other words, “Life’s good.  Who needs God?”  That’s how I used to think too.

In my experience God takes advantage of such circumstances.  How else can He get through to us?  That was my challenge to Mr Herrick.  That day he had a lot of questions to ask about God and the meaning of life etc.  I explained that true meaning in life comes out of developing a relationship with God in Jesus Christ.  I told him that God is love – not rules, not guilt, not fear.  In fact, it is rules, guilt and fear that drive people away from Him.   I discovered that’s one reason why people don’t want God in the first place – all based on completely distorted and perverted views as to who He really is.

Sixteen year-old Danny was another one who was shaken by the announcement of the first Gulf war.  He was a Year Twelve student who attended a “Christian” school.  But it was clear his school had no answers for his fears and worries on the day I spoke with him.  He told me that he and his parents and teachers had all contributed to the painting of a perfect future for his life, but now, ”I’m full of sin and guilt and I don’t want to die in a war.”  Danny was visibly shaking when he expressed that.  I asked him what knowledge he had of God’s nature and character.  His response was so typical of kids who attended “Christian” schools - none at all.

Danny learned some truth about God that day.  He learned that in spite of any circumstances that he and the rest of us might encounter, God is always in control.  He was told that never is there a time when God is not in control Isaiah 45:12; Daniel 4:35.  Added to that, Danny learned that it was God’s desire to make Himself real and relational to him on a moment-by moment basis.  He’d never heard that before and he struggled with the truth of it.  His school, his religion and his parents had never told him of such a possibility. 

He did not know that if he acknowledged his sin and guilt to Christ and let Him take care of it, that he would then be opening a door for God to personally reveal Himself through Christ, and that this revelation would continue and intensify as he submitted himself to the Scriptures.  I explained to Danny that if he made a choice to do as recommended, he would not only experience God’s truth, but he would also experience God’s power and love.  Countless people, apathetic and indifferent to Jesus Christ, could not come to terms with the biblical God as a God of Love.

What had once been a good life for Paul turned sour on him too.  When I met him he’d been divorced for nearly twelve months after a nine year separation from his wife and three children.  The divorce left him a broken and confused man, as until it happened he’d lived with the belief that one day they would be reconciled.  He was a religious practitioner but he found no answers to his questions about God and the meaning of life for him, so he’d recently, “gone around all the churches,” ours being one of them.   

He came for private ministry at the church a couple of times, where he gained insight into some root causes of his troubles.  Paul learned that even though his marriage was over, with the surrendering of his life to the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ, he could be set free from any guilt arising from his part in the breakdown.  He didn’t want the guilt, but at the time, I was not sure he wanted the gospel either.  He was going overseas the following week so I gave him a copy of “Ultimate Questions” by John Blanchard to take with him to read on the plane.  “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33.

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

I called mid-morning a couple of days later.  John and Rebecca were a retired couple in their late sixties and although John appeared to be a healthy man, I could see that Rebecca was a very sickly lady.  It wasn’t too long before she shared that she was in a constant state of sickness due to the after effects of breast cancer.  She said she had one breast removed eleven years earlier and the other one removed seven years after that.  The medicine, whilst it was achieving it’s purpose for the cancerous part of her body, it brought discomfort to other parts. 

No sooner had I taken a seat when I was given a cup of coffee and a piece of cake and then asked by Rebecca, “What can you tell us about life after death?  What happens?  Where do we go?”  There was an urgent appeal written in her eyes and across her face, with similar expressions from John.  Experience of almost three years as a public messenger of Jesus Christ told me that this was no meeting to discuss philosophical curiosities and the sharing of opinions and the like.  Whatever those might have been for this couple before their adversities clearly meant nothing to them now.  The Spirit of God was upon them both and they wanted to get real.

I responded to the question by asking them if they were aware of the true message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Rebecca spoke first, telling me that as a child she was a practitioner of Roman Catholicism, “and I always had a fear of going to hell.”  She said, ”I can still see the priest banging his fist down warning us to be good or we’ll die and go to hell, and I don’t want to go there.”  Although partial truth was expressed here, with such a reply, it was easily discernible that Rebecca was not aware of the true gospel.

John told me his background was with the Church of England, “not that I attended very much, but I’ve always remembered the advice mum gave me and lately, I’ve had a lot of time to think on these things.”  The advice John’s dear mother gave him had certainly raised his God-consciousness but from what he told me, he too had not been informed correctly of the true message.  Essentially his mother’s advice was to live a good life, be kind to others and count your blessings every day and give thanks to God, taking nothing for granted.

One of the greatest deceptive messages expressed by priests and ministers, is their admonition given in churches for all people to, “be good.”  A child soon learns that he or she must be “good” in church, at home, at school, and in society in general and when they develop and mature into adulthood that admonition stays with them.  I mentioned this to John and Rebecca and then asked them to interpret “good” for me.  

I also asked them to tell me what standard or yardstick they were using to measure this “goodness.”  The standard they used was the Ten Commanments, both saying that they believed they, “had not broken too many of them.”  As a result, they saw themselves as good people.  And no doubt they were good people.

But I challenged them by asking them, if it were really true that they saw themselves as “good” people, “why are you both so concerned about where you will go when you die?”  Clearly, John and Rebecca could then see the flaws of their belief system.  The word “subjective” was not used, but both saw their interpretation of “good” as exactly that - all based on opinions, experiences and the common practices of life.  The beliefs of this couple of course, were no different than what my own had formerly been, or those of multitudes of others in every generation since the beginning of humanity. 

Whether people believe in God or don’t believe in God, most of them only think in terms of morality.  Which means for them, if they don’t violate moral laws they don’t see themselves as anything but good - at least, “better than others who do violate those laws.”  Therefore, not only do they become judge and juror of others, but of themselves as well – the only difference being that of the “sentence” they impose upon themselves.  A careful study of biblical Christianity versus man’s religious teachings and practice, shows us that “good” rather than “bad” is the greatest problem God has with human beings. 

God interprets our “goodness” as “self-righteousness.”  Self-righteousness breeds pride.  I explained to John and Rebecca that if being ”good” got us to heaven, then Jesus Christ would not have needed to come to earth to show us the nature and character of God and His required standard for us all, nor would He have put Himself on a cross to die in our place for our “goodness.”  Therefore, it is not “goodness” that God seeks from us – it is “righteousness.” 

Next, John and Rebecca needed to hear that as far as God is concerned, only He is truly righteous and only in Jesus Christ can we stand before God as righteous people.  That is part of the gospel proclamation religious man fails to preach and teach.

In substitution for this failure however, religious man has burdened his people with the call to be “good” – go to church, pray, read the Bible, do good works, don’t do that, don’t say that, don’t go there etc, et, etc.  Jesus called such religious men hypocrites.  They controlled the people, whether the people were practitioners or non-practitioners.  They filled them with religious slavery, guilt and fear and would not lift a finger to help them get released from such.  Most were not in a position to bring release anyhow, because they were trapped themselves and didn’t know it – or didn’t want to know it.  It was a religious sham and it still goes on today in far too many churches and religious institutions. 

John and Rebecca were blessed to hear what was said, they readily identified with me.  I then explained that biblical righteousness is not simply doing what God says either, but actually being like Him – and – there was no way we could be like God without receiving the inner righteousness of Christ Himself – which means each of us must humble ourselves, turn away from oursleves and turn to the Lord and ask Him to come into our life and transform that life according to God’s righteouness. 

Both were told that God has a very high standard, but the good news of the gospel is, that God Himself is the one who works out this standard within us, through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  That’s not being religious, that’s experiencing reality.

After that explanation in answer to their questions on life after death, God’s plan of redemption in Jesus Christ became much more meaningful to them.  They now were beginning to get a grasp of the true meaning of repentance, plus the true meaning of biblical faith and trust - all of which was to be in a Person, Jesus Christ alone - not in any man, woman or angel - dead or alive, or any religious system or institution.  The burdens that I observed God lifting from their shoulders were amazing to witness. 

The truth of Jesus’ promises of freedom from religious slavery were coming alive in them before my eyes.  It was then that both John and Rebecca wanted to pray and surrender their lives to Christ, in exchange for eternal life - God’s quality of life, the abundant life.      

There were many disruptions in the five hours I was with them.  The phone rang four times, their neice called and stayed an hour, (enabling her to hear some of God’s word) and in between all this, Rebecca had to use the toilet every twenty minutes or so.  I had all the time in the world, as did that dear couple.  I saw them numerous times over the next few months.  

Religious ways are not easily cast out from any of us and Rebecca was no different.  A couple of times I prayed for her and God touched her immediately.  Each time she said to me, “That’s because of you.”  I had to remind her it was because of Jesus Christ and that I was simply a messenger - or as Billy Graham would say about himself, “messenger boy.” 

It was a blessing to witness the miraculous God in the midst of us on each visit.  After one such visit Rebecca excitedly phoned me at home to tell me she did not have to go for any further cancer tests for the next twelve months.  It was also a blessing to take home to my family the wonderful freshly baked pies that Rebecca and John cooked for me.  One time John phoned to tell me to call and pick them up, for they were, “not long out of the oven.” 

We stayed in touch for some months, and they told me God was also blessing them in, “mighty ways” through listening to the radio program I present on Sunday mornings.  “For He (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we may become the rightousness of God in Him (Christ).”   2 Corinthians 5:21.   

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

When I introduced myself, immediately her hurts surfaced and she began to cry, expressing anger towards God, saying she could never believe Him to be a God of love and peace.  Maria was a Catholic lady but she said to me, “Jesus couldn’t possibly exist.  A loving God could never let that happen to my daughter.”  This was no ordinary, chance-meeting I was having with this broken, hurting lady, it was a divine appointment (one that I had no intention of making) so I remained quiet and listened to her.  Wiping her eyes, she invited me inside.

As we walked up the footpath towards her door she repeated with anger, “You’ll never convince me.  You’ll never convince me that God is who He says He is.”  As she made some coffee, Maria again repeated these words.  I replied by saying that I agreed with her entirely, that no person can convince another of the reality of God or His attributes.  But I then gently asked Maria, “Are you willing to be convinced?”

In her home, like most Catholic homes I’ve been in, I saw religious pictures on the wall that supposedly depict Jesus and Mary and the like, but it was very apparent that this lady had absolutely no experience of the reality Jesus in her being.  For all her religious beliefs and practices, whatever they might have been, they failed to support or sustain Maria in time of her greatest need.  Once again I was to observe the futility of outward religious practice substituting itself for an inward relationship and fellowship with God.

Maria grew up with the knowledge that, “Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins,” but in her hurting, her question was, “If He died to take away sins, what was the point, when there is still so much sin in the world?”  I then asked her what her understanding was of that question before this tragedy came into the family.  She didn’t answer, she just kept shaking her head saying, “I can’t believe.  I can’t believe.”  Clearly that was true.  Maria had never believed.

The word “believe” in the gospels, means: commit, trust, put in trust with, to entrust one’s spiritual well-being to Christ.  Multitudes of religious practitioners are told to put such trust and commitment in, “the church” or “our church” and in it’s teachings - which effectively bypasses the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  The Roman Catholic church, for example, is one among many who teach this.  She claims to be God’s one true church and all members are to promise obedience to the Bishop of Rome, whom she claims is successor to Saint Peter, Prince of Apostles and Vicar of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, a biblical “experiential believer” – or – one who experiences the moment-by-moment presence and reality of Jesus Christ deep within them, recognises the Holy Spirit’s ministry as one that guides us into all the truth of the Scriptures, where we read that Jesus did not leave His church to human leadership.  He Himself is still the Head of His church. 

All biblical experiential believers know that Jesus Christ speaks to them both personally and corporately through His infallible Word the Holy Scriptures, as ministered to them by His ever-present and infallible Holy Spirit.  He or she knows that Jesus Christ is the Rock and only Head of the Church and that no other foundation can be laid in His place.  He or she knows this and it lives within, deep in their spirit, not simply in their head, intellectually or academically.

It was this such belief, that Maria lacked at this time.  So when she said, “I can’t believe,” she was responding as naturally as any religious practitioner might who knew nothing of the reality of Christ.  In the three and a half years I did this work, such responses (and far worse) from multitudes of Roman Catholic practitioners were as common and as predictable as night following day.

Man’s institutionalised religion is powerful.  In those years, I observed 2 things in people presently affiliated or once affiliated with churches who claimed to be, “God’s one true church.”  This applies not just to Catholic people. 

1. For those presently affiliated:  They are deceived with regards the true Jesus Christ and become slaves to the religious doctrines of men.  The by-products of such slavery are expressed through fear, guilt, bitterness, anger, sickness, idolatry and religious legalism.
2. For those who come out from them:  They remain fearful, guilty, bitter and angry, to the point where they say they hate God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible and the church and want nothing more to do with them.  Such people will say, “I came out!  I left!”  But the sad reality is, it hasn’t come out of them.  It hasn’t left them, they are still trapped.  Unless these people allow the true Lord Jesus Christ to reveal Himself and release them, they remain trapped regardless of what they say or don’t say.  Read more in my post:  The Religious Spirit.

Maria told me that her fear was greater than ever before.  She was constantly worried and scared.  I said to her that being fearful, worried and scared could never bring her daughter back, “but if you ask the Lord Jesus to come into your spirit, He will do so right now and in time He will make it His business to heal you spiritually and mentally of your grief and hurts, as a result of your great loss.” 

I explained to this dear lady that the taking away of sins is an individual issue, not a world issue.  I then asked her if she was willing to be convinced of the God who says He is loving and merciful.  This time she nodded and said, “Yes, I suppose so.”  I led her in a prayer and then she asked the Lord to forgive her for her anger and unbelief towards Him and to reveal Himself to her.  She shed lots of tears, telling me she had “doubtful feelings” about God’s love and mercy. 

I encouraged her through the Bible, that says it is by faith that we believe, not feelings, telling her also that God would give her the faith she needs, we cannot manufacture it.  The fact that Maria could speak the words, acknowledge and ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness, then claim her forgiveness through the shedding of the blood of Jesus, proved to me another fact.  Nobody can do any such thing, unless God Almighty Himself, in the name of Jesus Christ, through the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit, is in the midst urging them to do so.

Maria also told me that she had never been able to cry for her daughter, that is, really grieve.  I encouraged her by saying that God would assist her in that and that the moment she felt it coming on, to go into a room, close the door and let it come out.  Later that afternoon I was walking on the opposite side of Maria’s street.  She was outside collecting her bin.  I gave her a big wave and she did the same.

I saw both Maria and her husband quite a few times in the street after that visit and they smiled as we stopped to greet each other, but no further ministry took place.  “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock.”  Matthew 7:24-25.     

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

The release from these things for me took place exactly the way Jesus said they would, by trusting in Him and His finished work on that cross – by asking Him to enter my life and change me.  It really is true.  Old things do pass away, all things do become new.  Things begin to change, they’re not the same anymore and neither am I.  I am a new creature (creation).  Essentially, that’s the Christian gospel message.  Jesus said He came to set the captives free.  Why would anyone in their right mind not want this? 

I met Mrs Milton, a lady in her late 30′s with four children from about 8 years old down to 4.  Her mother was a Jehovah’s Witness but her upbringing was Roman Catholicism.  She spoke firstly about her desire for the kids to go to Sunday School because that had once been a brief but enjoyable experience for her.  She said the children had previously gone to one up the street but the teacher was old and her teaching methods meant nothing to them.  Another time she and the children were on their way to the church I was associated with (we’d never met) but as they walked towards the door she realised they were late.  Mentioning that to the children, embarrassment set in so they all turned around and walked back home. 

Although I could see Mrs Milton was suffering from worry, confusion and guilt, I also saw that she was searching for reality because she asked a lot of questions about the Bible and Jesus Christ saying she believed He came into the world, died on a cross for sin and rose again.  At this point however, she became reluctant to put her beliefs to the test when I invited her to do so by encouraging her pray to the Lord and ask Him to release her from her sin.  I pray she did so at another time.  She told me her husband had a drinking problem but was in denial about it, as he was about God.  He would laugh and mock her and the children whenever God, Christ or the Bible got mentioned.

I never saw this lady again.  Some months later I took a food parcel to the home and I met her husband.  Mr Milton was very grateful for this as he told me his wife took the children and left him a couple of months earlier.  He said he’d like to get the children back but he couldn’t care less about her.  I don’t think he really meant that last statement, it seemed to be a natural response to rejection.   As I looked in his hallway I could see beer cans scattered around, so I told him that I too once had a drinking problem.  I told Mr Milton I over-drank for more than 20 years but when I asked Jesus Christ to set me free from it, He did.  He looked at me and listened in silence for ten minutes as I spoke about my drinking life, the denial I was once in etc.  Then he said he had to go, but he asked me to write my name and phone number for him to get in touch later.  He never did so. 

I met a young man in his late 20′s, who, when I introduced myself, told me that he’d had enough of God, Jesus, the Bible, informing me he’d had religion “rammed down my throat” as a child, saying also that he had bitter experiences from his time in Roman Catholicism.  I didn’t ask what his experiences were but his anger was deep-seated as a result.  I’ve listened to many a sad experience from people as I do this work but I believe the bad religious experience to be the saddest of all because it distorts and perverts their concepts of the true God. 

I simply asked this man if he’d give me 10 minutes to share the God of the Bible as He reveals Himself in Jesus Christ.  The young man listened to what I had to say, and I observed him relaxing before my eyes as he heard for the first time of a God Who is nothing at all like the god he grew up to believe in.  I say that because of the softening he expressed on his face and in his eyes.  This softening cannot happen unless God witnesses the reality of Himself at that very moment to such people.  He thanked me as we shook hands and parted.  Twenty minutes later he sounded the horn and gave me a smile and wave as he drove past in his car.

A practicing Church of England lady was angry and upset with God because He never answered her prayers.  I explained to her that this could not be true because the Bible tells us He will answer.  That response made her angry with me.  I further explained that Jesus was not interested in her religious activity, He was more interested in having a relationship with her and all she had to do was simply believe His gospel, act upon His written word as He reveals it to her and she would see her prayers answered.  She too changed before my eyes as a smile came upon her face. 

I encountered some rude, self-righteous church goers living in the streets nearby their local church.   I even encountered their local parish minister who went out of his way to avoid me by quickly walking back inside from his letterbox.  So I walked up to his door and knocked.  He opened the door with a forced smile on his face as he said hello.  I introduced myself and explained my work, thinking we might have something in common and I also informed him of this rudeness expressed by some of his parishioners. 

 He made excuses for their behaviour saying that, “perhaps it was because of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who frequently come to the area.”  With that, he backed away wishing me well, but it was not obvious to me that he meant it.  That’s the difference between religious practitioners and those who experience the reality of Jesus Christ.  The first type are quick to make excuses and justify bad behaviour, the latter will always acknowledge such behaviour, repent of it and move on in Christ, and, under the power of His Holy Spirit will seek to share His message and practical love wherever they can.   

One lady from this same church however was very different.  In her profession she was a primary school principal but she was also an active member and influence in her church.  She invited me inside and asked about the way my church did things.  The fact that a church would involve itself in a practical manner with non-church goers with no strings attached, impressed her a lot.  I explained that this activity was the result of 2 years of planning and praying. 

She then informed me that her church was looking for ways of reaching out.  I didn’t tell her of my previous encounters with some of her people or the minister, but as far as I know nothing ever became of her desires to follow up in outreach and it’s not hard to see why.  Also, although it was obvious, she told me she had conjunctivitis so I asked if she would let me pray for her that God would reveal Himself to her and bring healing.  She was very surprised with me suggesting that, but was more than happy for me to do so.  “ The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down……The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”   Psalm 145:14, 18.  

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

Even those who appeared to be the nicest people at the start would turn in a second to become the nastiest.  I tried to make no judgements on the latter (sometimes I failed) because I knew that many (not all) people in life have bitter memories of hurts and experiences under Christian ministers, priests, parents and the church in general.

I too had a religious upbringing and whilst nobody ever did me any physical harm, the church doctrines I was taught did me a lot of mental and spiritual harm.  When I began to read and study the Bible many years later I found out that those doctrines were perverted and twisted by religious men – the result of all that being that I had developed faulty concepts of God.  My problem was, I used to be scared of God, but because of what’s happened to many others they now have downright hatred for Him.  

When I met someone who would share with me their concept of God, it was nice to be able to say to them that I hated that god too!  Those who allowed me to show them the true God as He reveals Himself to us in Jesus Christ through the Scriptures were then enabled to develop more accurate concepts of Him. 

Most of the meetings with people on the streets are very brief.  One day I shared Christ with a young lady in her twenties.  Immediately she told me she believed in evil spirits.  She felt one crawling on the floor a couple of years earlier and told it to go away in the name of Jesus Christ and it did.  She then informed me that her Christian friend told her to do exactly that if she ever encountered one.  Naturally she was feeling pleased with herself because it confirmed her friends’ chat with her that Jesus Christ was real and very powerful. 

 So I mentioned to her that if she was to invite Christ into her life and allow Him be Saviour and Lord, then she would get to experience a lot more of Him, all of which would make for a very productive, creative life for her.  She was all smiles and thanked me very much, we shook hands and I never saw her again. 

Standing at his letterbox at the gate was an old man who nodded and he stopped me for a chat, when it’s usually the other way round.  He told me his name, he said he was 86 years old and a world war two veteran.  He also informed me that he was an ex-prisoner of war in Singapore.  I had known that these men suffered most inhumanly under the Japanese so I asked him if he had ever experienced the reality of God during that time.  He said that he had not.  He told me he’d never prayed himself but he watched the Catholic boys pray and, according to him, they never got any answers so they gave up and died. 

He then said he was willing to be convinced that there was a God.  I asked him if he thought it was coincidence that we were speaking about such matters here and now or did he think that perhaps God was revealing Himself to him in this conversation.  He said he’d never thought of it like that before but would now go inside and do so.  He thanked me for talking with him.         

I met a very talkative 75 year old visitor from England, an ex Army Colonel.  He was a very religious man, he spoke about his Church of England prayer books and hymnals, he said he was a regular church-goer and because he was staying just down the road from the Catholic church, he attended there rather than have to drive to the C of E, further away.   He had a lot to say about God, but he also asked me why I was doing this work, remarking that he’d not seen such for years even in his own country. 

I simply told him a little of what my first personal encounter with the Lord had been, that He’d instantly physically healed me a couple of times, that He’d taken away my desire for swearing and drunkenness etc, and the Colonel was fascinated.  I told him that as a young person, I too used to go to church but never had I experienced the reality of God – for me it was just a religious duty.  I explained to him that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ makes all the difference, then shared the gospel with him and encouraged him trust in Christ’s promises as revealed in the Scriptures.  He genuinely thanked me for my time and told me He was very glad I called in to talk.

Some of the rudest and nastiest people I encounter in my  work are church-goers.  This the account of one of them.  One day I knocked on the door and an old lady answered.  She looked to be a gentle person with a smiling, welcoming expression on her face and I told her I was from the local church up the road.  The next moment a car pulled up outside her home.  The lady told me it was her daughter.  She looked to be in her 50′s as she came striding up the path and she asked me what the purpose of my visit was.  I explained her it was to pray for people and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She told me she had her own church that she attends. 

As I spoke on, I could see she was very irrate (that’s the reality and power of Christ) but was doing her best to cover that up.  I could also see that this message was setting her up for a bad day so I thanked them both for their time and then left.  Moments later as I was making my way to another home, a white panel van pulled along side – a police white panel van.  The policeman in the passenger seat beckoned me over and asked me what I was doing in the street so I told him.  He asked me for my name and address and some identification.  He looked to be satisfied with everything and was about to send me on my way, but I asked him if he’d mind turning their radio down, which he did.  

I then said to both him and the driver that we’d all agree that the job they do is a very dangerous one and that police often die in the line of duty.  I asked, if that should happen to be them today, what would they tell Jesus Christ when they stood before Him.  The passenger policeman said that they’d be ok because that wasn’t going to happen.  Simultaneously, he turned the radio back up, wound the window up, the driver slipped it into gear, planted his foot on the accelerator and got away from there as quickly as he could! 

The police (rightly so) asked me about my physical activity, God (I believe rightly so) used me to ask them about their spiritual activity.  That too was a demonstration of the reality and power of Jesus Christ.  Later on one of the pastors got a call from the daughter informing him that a very rude man from his church had called to her mother’s house and upset her mother.  “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved……..”  Joel 2:32.     

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.