Red Iron Bars part II

That is my prayer. It’s not about me, God. It’s not about my life, my comforts, my thoughts, my feelings. It’s not about my desires and wants. Its all about You God. Receive glory from this weak and imperfect vessel today!!

Here’s the deal. I’m a bit overwhelmed. I’m tired. I’m sick. My throat’s hurting. And I’ve just been told that I am to preach at the prison this afternoon.

You got to be kidding me God? This is ridiculous. I got about nothing ready! And I’m scared! But of course He‘s pretty serious about saving the Lost. A lot more serious than my anxieties. And a lot more loving than my fears!

So I pull myself out of bed at about 7, I better get some time alone to cry out to God for help. Nothing worse than preaching without being filled up in the closet. Not to mention I need to gather some thoughts. God did give me the text to preach on, Rom 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption of Jesus Christ.�

I’m thinking, “Sweet, Matthew, I got all morning, and then lunch to pray and prepare. I got this.â€�  But God tends to both laugh at our plans and our personal strength. Today, both these towers were coming down.

So I roll up under a bamboo shed, fixin’ my nice little place to get into God’s word and in prayer, and before I can even sit down, Benhard comes up to me and says, “Matthew, Good morning. Will you teach bible study? I forgot to tell you last night.�

“uh�

“Yes, you teach, that would be okay with you? They want to know why there is Heaven and Hell.�

Inside laugh. (God, I need help!). “okay, sure. When do I need to start?�

“Now, they are waiting.�

I look inside and realize that, yes, today is Sunday, and a church meets here. They have bible study and then a worship service.

“Benhard, will you translate?�

“Yes, I will translate, this is your practice for the prison!�

I then ask, “so, how long?�

“one hour.�

Okay, God. This one is on you!!

One of the great benefits of having a translator is that you get to think about what in the world you want to say while the translator is translating.

The first words that come out of my mouth were, “Heaven and Hell exist for the glory of God!�

Inside I’m pushing into this, 2^nd Cor 9:8, “All grace has been given to us, so that having an all sufficiency in all things at all times we may abound in every good work.�

Grace was on the move. I opened my mouth, He spoke. At least that’s the hope. We covered the subjects, and I personally couldn’t believe how God wove the lesson together. It was totally Him!

Worship service continued. The body of Christ at work in the Philippines! Awesome!

After church I felt terrible and needed to get a nap. Soon after that, it was time to roll up to the prison. I had nothing. I was in a place of spiritual dependency. I say I had nothing, but I had everything! The word abiding in me is all that I needed, and this was my hope and confidence as we left:

Isaiah 61,

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison for those who are bound.�

The next couple hours were so surreal. I felt like I was in a dream. We make our way to the third cell… one of the spiritually darker cells. Benhard by my side, ready to translate.

(Hold up…Who is Benhard? A servant. Man of God. Passionate follower of Christ. 27 years old, lives at the orphanage were we stay, leads devotions and weekend camps for the kids, helps cook. Goes to school at a local university. Has blazed a trail for the gospel in the prison. He receives shelter and food for his work, but no pay…. Benhard is the man!! He is the type of guy I would work an extra job to support! oh, and his favorite singer is Steve Green, “People need the Lord” haha!)

So we both stand in front of this cell. Probably twenty to thirty faces waiting to hear from us. Oh God, speak!!

Rom 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption of Jesus Christ.�

I was humbled as I realized how unworthy I am to bring such good news to men. I shared much of my testimony, letting them know that I am no different from them. That we have “all� fallen short. And with grounds of our sinful condition covered, moved into, “and are justified by grace as a gift�. How precious is this gift of justification?! Of being made right with God! And not of our own doing, but as a gift in order to magnify Jesus Christ!

I closed with honoring them for their sincere love and faith. I told them I would be pleased if I had half their faith. I told them I knew many people outside these walls that are truly bound in prison, so wrapped up in self, fame, money, worldly pleasures, that there is no room for God, there is no song of praise on their tongues. I told them, “You are free because your hearts worship… and that is the essence of freedom… worship of Jesus! Anything else is prison.�

It was liberating to look these men in the eye, against everything even my flesh would scream, and proclaim, “God has a plan for your life. He has a sovereign and good design for your life. Be full of hope, for the Lord loves you with an everlasting love.�

The Lord granted us favor.. It was a captive audience. Perhaps because of my white skin, or perhaps because of the Spirit of God… maybe both.

Benhard was incredible!! I could not outdo his passion. The stronger I preached, the stronger he preached. It was unbelievable. Sometimes I would say one sentence, and he would feel compelled to go on pleading with the men for 5 min. I’m not used to seeing a man so sincerely plead for others. Wow! Talk about the Lord giving us something to speak… we ended up preaching for 2 hours. Haha. Glory to God!

Red Iron Bars lost their power to stop the proclamation of the gospel!