Sometimes when I door-knocked a person’s home it was as though he or she was expecting me to call and as a result I was often immediately invited inside. Gordon did this one morning and no sooner had he done so, when his partner Jill asked, “How much do you people charge for somebody to get baptized?” Guilt was written all over her face when she said it and when I looked into her eyes to respond she turned her head away. I asked her why she wanted to get baptized and she said, “Because I feel dirty.”
I responded by saying that I could baptize her now in her bathtub or at the local swimming pool or church, for no charge, but at the end of it, “you’re still going to feel dirty.” Jill’s thinking was that of multitudes of people who have embraced faulty concepts of God. She thought all she had to do to solve her on-going, inner turmoil, was to engage in some outward religious ceremony or act. This was just another example for me to observe with regards the power and influence that institutional religion has over a community, whether one is a religious practitioner or not.
I explained to Gordon and Jill that in my work, I came across loads of people who go to church, get baptized, read holy books, observe “holy” days and pray at fixed times of the day and night, but who at the same time, are sick, angry, bitter, fearful and guilty. Why? Because they either don’t know the true, liberating, gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ, being slaves to the doctrines of religious men and their institutions – or – they’ve rejected it and have set up their own religious system and practice, worshiping a god of their imagination, whatever that might be.
I spent the next two hours with them explaining the gospel, systematically showing how it promises to deal with guilt once and for all – but only if people are willing to acknowledge why they have guilt in the first place and entrust their whole being to Christ as personal Savior and Lord. They came into the knowledge that true Christianity is not a religion it is a personal, moment-by-moment relationship one has with the Lord Jesus, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As we spoke, I learned that Gordon was thirty years old and was separated from his wife and two children and Jill had recently broken off a long-standing relationship with her boyfriend. She had one child.
So now these two were together, but things were far from working out the way each expected they would. They asked me to call back in two days. In the gospels, we read that wherever Jesus was setting people free, His adversary Satan was there, using people to bring hindrance. It’s no different for Christ’s messengers. It is to be expected. On that second visit we had a string of disruptions. I was teaching something about how the devil does his uttermost to keep people from the true Christ, when the parents of a fourteen year old friend of Gordon’s turned up.
They knew why I was there and as we talked, the level of the father’s intelligence and vocabulary appeared to be quite limited. He was swearing and blaspheming Christ’s name as I spoke with them all, my words falling on deaf ears, so far as it concerned him and his wife. I put up with this for about fifteen minutes, then I silently took authority over the demonic spirits in him and his wife. Then I picked up the Bible and read aloud, Romans 1:18-22. They got up and left.
Thirty minutes later, the son whom they were looking for turned up with his friend. As I read some Scriptures, these two kids sat motionless, staring at me. In answer to a question from Jill about evil spirits, I replied, “Yes. I cast demons out of people in Jesus’ name very regularly, if they ask me to. It’s part of my work.” Those two kids got up out of their chairs and ran out the front door of that house as fast as they could. People say the Bible is irrelevant for today’s sophisticated world. That’s not my experience.
Another disruption came when Jill left to pick up her kindergarten child. When she came home things got worse with her little one crying and yelling. It was at both Gordon and Jill’s request that I stay however, because both said they wanted me to pray for the Lord to come into their lives. This was in spite of the fact of me warning them that if they took Christ seriously, He would do likewise, which might mean Gordon going back to his wife and children. They heard me, but I was not confident that they believed me. I took them into a bedroom to pray, but the little child noisily followed.
Once again I silently exercised spiritual warfare over Satan and his demons, but vocally asked Jesus to send an angel for the child. At that request, there was no longer a murmur from her. The power of God and His reality did not go unnoticed by Gordon and Jill during this whole time and Jill experienced it yet again after praying. She said, “I’m not worried now. It’s like everything will be alright.” I said I agreed with her, but also said, “this is not a quick fix we’re talking about here.” Jill was experienced in seeking quick fixes. She told me she used to shoot heroin straight to the throat, but then she went cold-turkey locking herself in a room.
Four days later I received a phone call from Jill. She was crying, screaming and abusing me because, “Gordon did not come home last night. What did you say to him about his wife and children? You “!**!**!” pastors should stay out of my life!” Bang! went the phone as she hung up. An hour later she rang to apologize. I explained to her that whatever I said to Gordon about his wife was in her presence also. She then worked herself up into a frenzy, followed by more screaming and abuse, then bang! went the phone again.
Only God knows the true motives as to why people turn to Him, and in any case over time our motives can change as we get to know Him better. But in my experience, it appeared Jill was simply one among many who did so, thinking all her troubles would now cease to be. Unlike instant coffee, however, there is no such thing as instant solutions to problems such as were now confronting these two people. Earlier my advice to them had been to simply, pray and read the Scriptures, undertake some foundational life-studies from the Bible with me and as they did so, Christ would reveal to them the next step.
Because of conscience, the “next step” is often more than obvious. What is not always obvious, is the timing of that step and that is why they were given such advice. Religious man says, “do it now!” I am a Holy Spirit-led, Jesus Christ-centered, Bible-based follower of God and I have never experienced Him prompting or saying to me, “do it now!” I hear Him say, “do it” but the “now” more often than not, comes at a later date under His guidance and direction. Religious man, in his insecurity seeks to drive people – Jesus simply says, “Follow Me.” That teaching and example was what I was hoping to model before them both, but the opportunity did not arise.
A couple of days later I took a lady from the church with me to visit Jill. She invited us in and she was polite as we sat and talked, giving some indication that she wanted to go on in Christ and get baptized etc. She set up another time for us to meet and we parted company with that expectation taking place in one week’s time. Jill phoned two or three times in the interim seeking advice on other personal issues and appeared to be grateful for the help given.
On the appointed day for our next meeting however, there was no answer at the door. I believe she was home, but I also believe Gordon was with her. We made every effort to re-communicate but were not successful. I never saw either of them again. “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” Then Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:66-69.