So As By Fire

I believe it was in the Summer of 1966 while we were planting Avalon Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Alabama that I was invited by Pastor Ben Powers and Zion Baptist Church in Winfield, Alabama to participate in a revival in that Church.  I can still remember the blessings of that experience.  But there was one incident that was not altogether a happy occasion.   As was the custom, Pastor Powers and myself spent a few hours each day of the week knocking on doors and sharing the gospel with the lost and encouraging Christians to support the services.  As was and I assume still is the normal practice of Pastors there,  we also made daily visits to the local hospital to visit members and friends and relatives in particular who were ill.  One such visit was a real blessing but also placed a heavy burden on our hearts.

The patient was terminally ill and obviously had very little time left on the earth.   Brother Powers gave me his background.  His wife was a faithful member of the Church.  She and the members had been praying for her husband for a number of years.  A number of Pastors had tried to lead him to the Lord but to no avail.  His attitude had been stubborn and defiant,  But Pastor Powers was not ready to give up and ask me to challenge him to be saved if the man would allow me to do so.

The Lord was gracious and loving and the Holy Spirit was present in all His power and the man was gloriously saved on his death bed. Jesus said there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels when one soul is saved and  we Pastors were rejoicing as well.  But after a few moments the newly born Christian began to weep bitterly.  Puzzled, we asked him why he was doing so.  He responded something like this:  "My wife and her friends and a number of Pastors have shared the gospel with me and begged me to be saved.  But I have stubbornly refused God's love.   Now I know for sure I am saved and will stand before Jesus at the Judgement Seat.   Here I am in this bed and cannot even be baptised now and will really soon go to see Jesus but I will have nothing in serving him.   I will be empty handed there."   Even though he was happy that he was on his way to heaven he was sad that he would be ashamed before Jesus at the Judgement Seat.  (See I John 2:28, II Cor. 5:10, I Cor. 3:1-5)

This from a Mission Report Shared With

Supporting Churches In 1975

".....But the highlight of the month had to be the service held at the Kilbride Nursing Home. About 60 people from our group went bearing gifts and the gospel to the lonely old people there. For weeks the people had planned and saved and made and bought enough gifts that we were able to give at least two gifts to every person there. In addition each one was presented with a gospel of John. The children's choir sang for them. Scripture readings and testimonies were interspersed and God really blessed us with a spiritual blessing. At the end the ladies of the church served all of them with "Christmas Cake" and punch and the very warm response of these so very lonely people was touching. In spite of their obvious longing for us to stay, we finally had to leave.

Five of us remained behind and were able to share out testimony of Christ with a few who could not leave their rooms for our service. Of all we met that day we only had two to tell us they were born again Christians.  I will never forget the testimony of one of them, an eighty year old man. As we talked to him about Jesus he began to cry. We tried to comfort and reassure him  but he would have no part of it. Here is exactly what he said, "I was a young man, and once thought I was called to be a missionary, but I would not go. I have lived a checkered life. I have done nothing for my Saviour and now I will never leave this bed. It's too late to serve Him now. I am ashamed to meet Him face to face." And this man, who according to his wife  had been a hero of Gallipoli, and had been severely wounded in two World Wars, cried like a babe. May we all read again I John 2:28 and dedicate ourselves anew to His service.

A Glimpse Of Heaven

It is tremendous that in the midst of the unveiling and revelation of all the apocalyptic events of the great tribulation and all the terrible judgements to be poured out upon the earth, God allows us a glimpse of heaven and what it will be like. What a contrast and what tremendous words of comfort and assurance He provides in His Word.

Until I had the privilege of staving a few weeks with a pastor friend and preaching in a number of rural churches in the pristine and beautiful mountains of West Virginia, I could not appreciate the words of John Denver's beautiful song, "Almost heaven, West Virginia..." Until my daughter and her family moved to North Carolina, the history, geography and contemporary nature of the place were of little interest to me. But now I find the place has a strange attraction and fascination for me. Perhaps it's because I have loved ones there.

Until I was sure God was calling me to plant churches in the great land down under, I knew very little about it, nor did I have any particular desire to make the long and exhausting plane trip to see it. But now, since I have so many loved ones in Australia, both in the physical and spiritual sense, the Lord has given me a deep love and affinity for the country.

Of course, although there are many beautiful spots on God's green earth, none could compare to the marvellous wonder and beauty of heaven. Even so, the main attraction of heaven for the Christian is not the place but the people. And the main Person Who draws us heavenward is Jesus Christ. In heaven, we shall see Him face to face. Just as our roots sometimes tug at us, drawing us back to the places and people of our origins, so does our heart draw us heavenward and homeward.

But even if the most important aspect of heaven is the presence of God and His people, we should not minimise the awesomeness of heaven itself. Imagine the amazement of our rural forefathers if they could have seen the wonders of our modern cities. I am sure the wonder and awe of heaven will amaze us even more. Heaven is a place designed and built by the architect of this vast universe. "For we know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (I Cor. 5:1)

Just imagine a place that multiples infinitely the beauty of this earth. Imagine a place without sin or all the sorrows and sadness of earth. Imagine a place of absolute unity and harmony. Imagine a place where all will be equal. Equally rich, equally happy and equally contented. Imagine a place where all will be busy, yet blissfully at peace and rest.  We could go on imagining, but we could never really get more than a glimpse of the wonder of it all!

The Call To Preach

God's calling me to preach was a very special experience.   As I have shared in giving my testimony in times past, the calling was so clear and conclusive that it seemed at the moment I recognised and surrendered to it that He laid a clear life path before me that left me no doubt nor choice but to obey His will!  

It was a dark night after a service and I was sitting with the evangelist who had preached a revival at New Friendship Baptist Church in Benton, Arkansas.  We were sitting on the back-steps of the church overlooking the cemetery.  He was trying to help me determine what had been convicting me all week during the services.  Since I was saved and I knew it and had confidence in my security in Jesus Christ, he was exploring possibilities.  In doing so he just casually said,  "Do you think the Lord might be calling you to preach."   The next thing I knew it was just as if a light flooded my soul and I was sprawled on my face on the ground thanking the Lord for calling me to preach!   Until that moment I had not even entertained such a possibility;  especially since I could not see how a shy country boy like me could be called into the ministry.  After this,  we immediately sought out my Pastor, Gilbert Heflin,  who had been waiting on us on the front steps of the church.  We had a great time of rejoicing and praising God.  

Mom had not attended the services that night.  She was home with the children. Although it was  getting close to midnight the two preachers followed me home to share the good news with Mom,  When she opened the door to let us in Pastor Heflin said,  "Do you know what happened tonight?"  She replied without hesitation:  "My husband surrendered to preach!"  She then said that she had felt this was happening for quite sometime but did not want to mention it to me for fear of influencing me one way or the other.

But this was what might be termed a general calling.  Each step along the way since has been a specific calling to go to a particular place and do a particular work:  the calling to Australia being the greatest challenge.   As far as being called as a missionary is concerned, this has been a matter of specific and special guidance along the way.  I believe we have a permissive will of God as well as a directive will of God for our lives.   I do believe I have always been blessed to be in the directive will of God  but that if I had taken different steps God still could have allowed me to serve Him in a different place.   For instance,  I was tempted to stay at the church we successfully planted in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Avalon Baptist Church,  and try to build a larger soul winning church for the Lord there.  I believe He would have blessed such an effort.  But He called me specifically to Australia.   For instance,  I served at Sherwood Hills Baptist Church in Campbelltown as a Missionary Pastor,  and then got off the mission field and stopped my support from overseas and was an Australian Pastor and Christian School Principal from 1980 to 1989.  Then I felt God's specific leadership to come to the Gold Coast and plant our fourth church for the Lord. Which we successfully did, establishing Hinterland Baptist Church.   My testimony is that the centre of God's will is the safest, most blessed and productive place for any child of God.  God called preachers especially!