#2 Matthew and Casey (& Robert?)

Have I said before how amazing how God is? Am I being redundant? Well then, so be it – because the power and mercy of our Creator IS undeniably amazing! Okay, here’s what happened on Saturday 9/13/08 . . .

I went back to the Ocean View Community Beach boardwalk where I was last Sunday. I had with me my daughter Toni, a friend of hers from Youth Group – Trey – and Toni’s friend Jackie. They went to the beach to sun and swim while I set up to read. It was a hot day and I was grateful for the shade I was able to find. After about an hour, Trey got bored and came to hang out by me. My voice was much stronger and never did strain even after almost 2 hours. I’ve been doing these vocal chord exercises with my tongue that has made a big difference.

During my reading, a man and woman approached me and, while offering words of encouragement, put $10 in my hand. I thanked them and said, “God Bless you!” I thought, ‘Well, I’ll use that money to buy more Pocket Guides.’ But God had other plans, as I was soon to find out.

Just before I finished reading, I noticed a man standing by the edge of the pier. When I stopped reading and was sitting on my stool stretching out my back, he approached me and said, “Going fishing are you?” I was caught off guard and wasn’t sure what he meant so he said it again. Then it dawned on me he was talking about the Word of God. I acknowledged that and we introduced each other and started chatting. His name was Matthew and he began to tell me about his life and the tough times he had endured. He had been anointed by a preacher about 9 years prior and was to be “a prophet of God during the end times” but had strayed from God. He told me he had some serious anger issues that he was getting a hold of and, up until a couple of weeks ago, had been homeless. He said that as I was reading the Scriptures, he was saying the words in his mind and that he knew that God had brought him to the Community Beach for a reason. He was supposed to be there to hear those magnificent words. It became clear that his heart was ready for Jesus again and so I asked him if I could pray for him and he agreed. After I prayed, he said, “Mark, I want to pray now.” And we held hands as the Spirit of God moved in our hearts, with the complete assurance that Jesus Himself was right there with us. (Matthew 18:20) Matthew prayed that God would forgive him and fill him with His Spirit and give him the direction he needed. Glorious! That’s what it was to be in the midst of the most incredible miracle that can occur – the redeeming of one’s soul! We were both overwhelmed and I reminded Matthew of the angels that were rejoicing in Heaven right at that moment. (Luke 15:7)

After just a few moments, hardly enough time to catch our breaths, another man approached us and wanted to know “what this was all about.” I took a deep breath and explained what Matthew and I were doing and he began telling us about his life. It seems he, too, was homeless and had just come to the Beach to take a shower. (I did finally notice he was wet) He said his name was Casey and had been watching us after he came out of the shower. He didn’t know why, he said, but he felt “compelled to see what we were doing, and strangely drawn to us.” When I heard that, I knew God had put him in the right place at the right time. Though guarded and a bit defensive, Casey was nonetheless very forthright about his situation, saying that he had had a great job and had gotten laid off and was living in his car. He made a point of saying that he didn’t want to take any literature and didn’t want our money (though we hadn’t offered) that he “just needed to know what was going on.” I opened my mouth to speak, but it was Matthew who took over and began to minister to Casey. Wow! The Word came pouring out of him as he spoke with boldness to Casey and related to him in a way that I couldn’t begin to. On two occasions Casey used the word ‘foundation’ as he was talking about his life. After awhile, I felt God nudging me to get to the point - his Son. I told Casey that Jesus was the foundation that he needed and asked him if he believed that he was a sinner and that Jesus came to earth to die for him? He said “yes.” And then I asked him the ‘question of all questions’: Was he ready to ask God into his heart? He looked me straight in the eyes and said “yes” again. So, Matthew and Casey and I linked hands to pray. I told Casey I would pray first, and then he would repeat after me the prayer to invite Jesus into his heart.

But wait! Just before we started praying, a young man in a bathing suit came over and joined us. Casey said his name was Robert and that they had met last week. Robert joined hands with us and, as I led Casey in the sinners prayer of repentance, Robert prayed also, as did Matthew – once again for good measure. It was an extraordinary worship experience. Robert left just as quickly as he had come. Meanwhile, Casey and Matthew and I exchanged numbers and I invited them to my church the next day. Just before Casey left, I yelled out and said “Here! This is for you!” I dug into my pocket and gave him the $10 I had gotten earlier. He protested at first, but I convinced him that the money had been freely given to me, to give to him. (1 Corinthians 2:12) See, I told you God other plans for that money . . .

What a day! I really hadn’t thought that God would use this ministry quite like this. I thought that my sister Annette was right on target when she said, “You may never know who you will impact with the Word until the day you’re in Heaven, and all the truths are revealed.” And so, that’s what I anticipated. I figured that I would read the Word and God would use it as He saw fit. I didn’t dream that He would bless me – a simple, undeserving man struggling with his share of ugly sins – with the joy and awe of seeing Him move in the hearts of people, and save their souls from despair and eternal damnation. As one prayer states: ‘I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I will be healed.’ I am not worthy to behold God’s greatness in this way when there are so many people who do so much for God and never see the fruits of their labor. I can only get on my knees and thank Him for allowing me to see these miracles and, even more astounding, be a part of the process! My spiritual father and great friend Dick Waters used to always say, “Get plugged in to the Power Source!” Well, I’m plugged in, folks. And God is moving in a mighty way. Please pray for Matthew and Casey and Robert – and for me – and I’ll keep reading the precious and powerful Word of God. If God wills, I’m going back Tuesday evening and hope to see Robert. God Bless!