B. CALLING AND BIBLE SCHOOL
.
GOD’S SECOND MOVE TO LEAD US INTO FULL-TIME MINISTRY
My parents had been in touch with a Missionary organisation that held a yearly meeting for all its supporters which they referred to as their Birthday meeting, for on that day, they commemorated the founding of the Mission and in the course of the meeting workers of the Mission gave testimony of what God had been doing through them during the previous year.
At that meeting my mother met with a worker called Piet Smit and later on introduced us to one another. As I shared with him about our own salvation and about how we felt in our hearts as far as the work of God was concerned, he invited me to go with him on one of his outreaches. His ministry was to the Indian people of Pretoria and he was concentrating on a certain area called Marabbastad. This was a very backward, in fact a slum area.
I did not respond to his invitation because I felt myself totally unworthy to accompany a worker of that Mission in preaching the Gospel. I saw them as people on pedestals, people of a spiritual stature way above mine and I just did not feel at ease to go out with him. I made all kinds of excuses and never went, but as time went by, I discerned that I no longer had the peace of God that I had had before. It was as if there was a continual sort of unrest within me and as I prayed about it, I knew, and God said to me, that I was being disobedient to His call. He had called me to go out to do His work and I was holding back; I was postponing this for a later date, not getting to the point to take that step and say: “Here am I Lord, I am now going”.
Then, on a certain Saturday morning I could stand this unrest within me no more. I said to the Lord: “Lord, there are many jobs around the house that I have to do, but I am going to sit down this morning and wait upon You until You tell me what is wrong within me, for I can’t stand this unrest any longer at all”. I did so, sat down in the lounge and switched on the radio.
It was at 10:15 and there was a 15 minute Christian broadcast. The speaker was a pastor from a congregation in Pietermaritzburg. What he said was: “Why are you sitting in your easy chair this morning. Why don’t you go out and preach the Gospel?” This was such a direct answer to my question, that I knew for certain that God had spoken to me and so I immediately went into my bedroom, put on a suit and tie, grabbed my Bible and told Martie that I was going to Marabbastad to wait for Piet Smit, for I felt that that was what God was telling me to do.
When I got there, I drove around in our Opel, but could not find him anywhere. That was at about 12 o’clock. I parked under a tree and prayed: “Lord, I can sit here like a fool for the rest of this day, but I will not leave until You have taken me a step further and shown me what You want me to do”. At 2 o’clock that afternoon, on driving through that little suburb again, I spotted Piet and his team walking down the street. I stopped and said to him that I had responded to his invitation and if he agreed, I would appreciate it to go with him as he was going from house to house, sharing the Gospel. Piet immediately agreed, so I parked the car under a tree and went with him.
I felt so inadequate. Most of those people were Muslims and what do you say to a Muslim? How do you bring the Gospel to a Muslim? That was my question. In the very second house we entered, were two ladies and Piet asked me to speak to them. The Holy Spirit right away came to my assistance and put into my mind the portion of Scripture of the two men that were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. As the story goes the Lord Jesus suddenly joined up with them and asked them what they were speaking about. Their answer was: “Are you a stranger in Jerusalem? Don’t you know what has been happening regarding this prophet that was ministering for a considerable time, doing many miracles but was now crucified?” The Lord Jesus then started from that point, explaining the Gospel to them and eventually, at their invitation, joined them for a meal at their home. Having eaten, He just suddenly disappeared and they were left alone. What He had done during that time was that He had revealed to them that He was not only a prophet but that He was what He had all the time claimed to be, namely the Son of God, the living Christ. So my message to these two ladies was: “You people believe in the Lord Jesus but you see Him as a prophet only; as a mere human being. He is so much more. You must put your trust in Him as the Son of the living God, being one with the Father and with the Spirit.” Well, they did not respond to that immediately or accept the Lord Jesus as Saviour as I would have wanted them to do, but at least the message I brought to them was relevant; it was from the Word; it was inspired by the Lord and I felt so good about it.
Piet then acted very wisely. He realised that God was doing something special in my life and that Martie had to share in this; she had to become part of it. He phoned his wife at home and asked her to bring Martie over so that she could, together with us, attend a little meeting which they would be holding for the residents in a small church building that night. I did not know that he had done this and was surprised when, suddenly, there she was. So we attended the meeting. There were just a few people and one of them to whom I spoke, smelt so strongly of methylated spirits, that I doubted whether the Word that was brought reached her mind. The other listeners too, did not seem to appreciate the importance of the message, but to me it was like heaven. I sensed the presence of God and just knew that this was what the Lord wanted me to do for the rest of my life. I was convinced that He was calling me into this Mission as a full-time evangelist.
WHEN GOD LAYS HIS HAND ON YOUR SHOULDER, DO NOT TURN AWAY!
⇐ INDEX ⇒
◊
Have you enjoyed reading this page, or do you disagree with what was said or do you have questions? Please share with us whatever is on your mind by using the “REPLY” window provided below.