Freeing the Captives
Greetings in the Lord!
On Friday night I joined an outreach team at the St. Louis Dream Center to go to the inner city neighborhoods of St. Louis for street evangelism. I don't mind telling you that I was a bit nervous--St. Louis has received top billing as the most dangerous city in the US. The words the Lord gave me were not much comfort either. The first word, based on Ezekiel 22, talks about Israel's rampant violence, immorality and idolatry and the Lord rising to deal with them.
"Then the word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace to melt it with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you." Ezekiel 22:17-22.
The other word comes from Psalm 12:
"Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, 'We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips--who is our master?' "Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the Lord. "I will protect them from those who malign them." And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men."
~Our first stop was to a crowded bus stop. As soon as we started handing out sandwiches and soda, an eager crowd gathered for the free handouts. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at first, I sat back and handed out food and drink while watching our two leaders as they wasted no time in getting to the point with the mostly male, all-Black crowd; "Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior?" "Do you have any prayer concerns I can pray for you for?" and so on. Many of the men took the free supplies and shrugged off any "God talk." They were pros at this routine. Give a little lip service to God and take the goodies--continue to the liquor store next door.
A few however, were serious about prayer and we prayed for them. One man cried about being an alcoholic--he really wanted to quit drinking. Another couple re-dedicated their lives to Christ. I realized that in one way we had an advantage evangelizing in that area--it was exclusively African American and they at least by culture are expected to be Christian.
It was about that time that a man walked up to me to ask for "another sandwich and a blessing," with a dirty grin on his face. I recalled that he had earlier groped one of the female staff members so she went back into the van. I looked in his eyes and saw deep blackness--serious oppression. With a partially eaten sandwich still in his hand and a smirk on his face he kept asking for food "and a blessing." The Spirit ignited a fire in my belly and started to give me knowledge of that man. He had known Jesus--a long time ago. He used to go to church with a female relative that loved God. This was a divine appointment.
"The Lord says, "You know better than this," and I said staring at him. "You know Jesus. Who did you used to go to church with when you were young?" He said his mother. His demeanor changed dramatically and he was shaken. I continued with the word of the Lord: "The Lord is going to come upon you; and like wax melts before a flame, He is going to melt the hardness of your heart away. He wants you back."
~"But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils." Luke 11:20-22.
The man said he was scared and kept saying, "you're dominant with God." I think he probably meant that Jesus had touched him that day. Indeed, Christ the King is alive and wants us to go out and free the captives in His name. Amen and amen.
On Friday night I joined an outreach team at the St. Louis Dream Center to go to the inner city neighborhoods of St. Louis for street evangelism. I don't mind telling you that I was a bit nervous--St. Louis has received top billing as the most dangerous city in the US. The words the Lord gave me were not much comfort either. The first word, based on Ezekiel 22, talks about Israel's rampant violence, immorality and idolatry and the Lord rising to deal with them.
"Then the word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace to melt it with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you." Ezekiel 22:17-22.
The other word comes from Psalm 12:
"Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, 'We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips--who is our master?' "Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the Lord. "I will protect them from those who malign them." And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men."
~Our first stop was to a crowded bus stop. As soon as we started handing out sandwiches and soda, an eager crowd gathered for the free handouts. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at first, I sat back and handed out food and drink while watching our two leaders as they wasted no time in getting to the point with the mostly male, all-Black crowd; "Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior?" "Do you have any prayer concerns I can pray for you for?" and so on. Many of the men took the free supplies and shrugged off any "God talk." They were pros at this routine. Give a little lip service to God and take the goodies--continue to the liquor store next door.
A few however, were serious about prayer and we prayed for them. One man cried about being an alcoholic--he really wanted to quit drinking. Another couple re-dedicated their lives to Christ. I realized that in one way we had an advantage evangelizing in that area--it was exclusively African American and they at least by culture are expected to be Christian.
It was about that time that a man walked up to me to ask for "another sandwich and a blessing," with a dirty grin on his face. I recalled that he had earlier groped one of the female staff members so she went back into the van. I looked in his eyes and saw deep blackness--serious oppression. With a partially eaten sandwich still in his hand and a smirk on his face he kept asking for food "and a blessing." The Spirit ignited a fire in my belly and started to give me knowledge of that man. He had known Jesus--a long time ago. He used to go to church with a female relative that loved God. This was a divine appointment.
"The Lord says, "You know better than this," and I said staring at him. "You know Jesus. Who did you used to go to church with when you were young?" He said his mother. His demeanor changed dramatically and he was shaken. I continued with the word of the Lord: "The Lord is going to come upon you; and like wax melts before a flame, He is going to melt the hardness of your heart away. He wants you back."
~"But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils." Luke 11:20-22.
The man said he was scared and kept saying, "you're dominant with God." I think he probably meant that Jesus had touched him that day. Indeed, Christ the King is alive and wants us to go out and free the captives in His name. Amen and amen.
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