Testimony. The night I fought, won... and lost

 It was the late 60's. I had just graduated from Bible College and had begun my personal campaign to bring the whole world to my denomination. I blush to say that it wasn't Christ I preached as much as my "group." My group had not made its way to Albany, New York, in those days. It was fair game for Missionary Bob.

I got myself hired in the Troy Public Schools (Albany, Troy and Schenectady are a trio of cities in Upstate New York), though without certification I still can't figure how that happened. I made friends with the children of the school and invited them to Bible studies I was conducting later in the afternoon. Parents in this highly Catholic neighborhood got wind of what I was up to, told the principal about it, and I was asked to l eave...

I tried other things to "get something started" but was striking out. My holy crusade was about to end in defeat.

One unforgettable night I was sitting on a stoop in the Albany "ghetto" area where I was living, discouraged and about ready to throw in the towel, when a black car stopped in front of me. A passenger was let out. The young man looked around the street and then focused on me. The car went on without him.

Without the niceties of an introduction, this brother in the Lord (as I now know him to be) came and stood opposite me and asked, Have you ever received Christ as your Saviour? (Or words to that effect.)  I gave him my standard Bible College trained answer. He then asked if I had received the Holy Spirit, reminding me of the Book of Acts where a similar question had been asked.

Oh I was really ready to answer that question! We had learned all about the pros and cons of the Holy Spirit  teachings "infiltrating" the "brotherhood" (my denomination). I let the brother have it (verbally) between the eyes. We must have argued a half hour or so. Then, as mysteriously as he had come, he left. He walked down the street, turned a corner, and I never saw him again. He talked with no one else, knocked on no doors.

I was a bit shaken. I had given him glib answers, tons of Scripture, lots of head knowledge about my relationship to the Lord. Maybe I even fooled him. But there would be another night when the Lord would come to me and give me the grace to experience His power and forgiveness, and the questions would be answered on another level. This brother never knew the storm he stirred up in me to begin seeking the Lord more in earnest. Or did he?

May the lord give us grace to be faithful in whatever Word he gives us for someone, and never be discouraged when they fight and seem to reject. The Word is powerful and will do whatever God wants it to do.

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