Last night, 19 men came to know Christ after the testimony of one man. Now THAT is truly an act of God. The man that spoke was one of our Squad Leaders, Myles, who minutes before had said that he hated public speaking. But God had a great thing in store. The Holy Spirit guided him to say the right words to turn the hearts of those 19 men to the Lord. See, this isn’t about us. The World Race is not about me or any of my teammates; it is about the Lord and what He can do in and through us to further His kingdom. What if Myles had said no? What if he thought his story wasn’t good enough or worth sharing? What if he let his fear of public speaking prevent him from speaking? What if he let selfishness get in the way of God’s work? Those 19 men would not be sitting in the kingdom and the angels in heaven wouldn’t be rejoicing right now. We are not called to convert people- we are called to be willing. We are called to be willing to do whatever the Lord asks of us even if it is daunting or seems impossible. If you asked Myles before he spoke if he thought 19 people would come to know Christ after his testimony, he probably would have laughed because these are the types of things that seem impossible until God makes them happen.
Last night was a reminder that absolutely everyone has a place in God’s kingdom: the hurting, the broken, the homeless, the children, the orphans, the widows, the lost, the drug addicts, the alcoholics- EVERYONE. Everyone is welcome. And the same is true at Ciudad Refugio. All are welcome to experience the love of Christ. The Saturday night service is specifically for the homeless (they are welcome to attend the Sunday morning and Wednesday night services as well but this is the service that is geared toward the homeless and first-time attendees are given a full plate of food) and let me tell you, it is a beautiful site to witness these men worship. Just like any other service, some people sit, some stand, some jump around, some fall to their knees and cry out to the Lord and it is so evident that the Holy Spirit is moving during worship. These men, who are so often discounted as worthless or lost causes, are truly cherished by my Father in Heaven and I love having the opportunity to worship with them on Saturday nights.
At times I, like many of you I’m sure, have wondered how much I can actually do for God’s kingdom in only a month in each place. I’ll be honest, I’m not going to change the world- not in a month, not in these 11 months, probably not ever, but what I can do, is be the vessel through which God changes the world for one person, two people, or maybe even 19 men. The world looks the same to most but for those 19 men, everything has changed.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is what God can do in just one hour. Imagine what He can do in a month. Imagine what He can do in a lifetime if we are willing to let Him use us fully.
That is why I’m here.
