Focal Pointe #25
OPPORTUNITY
Genesis 15:5-6 (ESV) – 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Whenever I read about the call of Abram I get a sense of opportunity and vision. God’s saying to Abram, “I’m going to do more through you than you’ve dared imagine”! Of course, that’s nothing new to our Lord. God is always in the business of moving his people upward and onward, frontward and forward. I was reminded once again of this through an e-mail that Pastor Steve sent to one of our prayer teams. It reads:
“Last weekend I was conscious of how the Holy Spirit can really impact people through our services. I noticed a big 30 something guy who appeared to be touched by the message. He was still lingering in his seat a good 10 minutes after the service was over and was obviously in deep thought/prayer. The moment I noticed him and started moving to finish up something I was doing so I could head over and talk to him, Rick Payne, who heads up our Lounge ministry went up to him and began speaking with him. A few moments later they headed off toward the Lounge for further talk and prayer. I was proud of the sensitivity and good work Rick and his team are doing, but also sensitive to how the Lord can really impact people deeply in our worship.”
Rick, later sent an e-mail that sheds some more light on what happened. He wrote:
“It’s funny how God uses us, its not one person doing all the work, it’s the whole body of Christ working together. I was in the Lounge just finishing up when Brad Gage came in to let me know there was a man still in his chair that looks like he needed someone to talk to. As I was going over to talk to him my brothers were going into the Lounge to pray for another brother going through a rough time. I walked over to the man and asked him if he was ok and he said no, then he started weeping, he said he was broken and at his end. I asked if he was a Christian he told me that he was raised in a Christian home and his dad was a Pastor. This allowed me to know how to connect with him and remind him of the promises of God that He has for His children. The man said he had just gotten out of the hospital due to a stroke and his wife was divorcing him. He was truly a broken man at his end!! I took him into the lounge and saw my brothers in prayer, Big D, bald headed Mike and Wilson. I talked and Prayed with him then I introduced him to the brothers so they could minister to him. We actually got him to smile. We let him know he was not alone, we put our hands on him and each of us prayed for him, and as we were praying he collapsed to his knees sobbing. This was his first time to NorthPointe, he said he was in Kingsburg an hour and half ago just driving around. We exchanged phone #’s and invited him to the Men’s Truth Project group we are involved in. We also let him know that we would love to have him come back to church. He came to church the following Sunday and connected with the guys and got to talking about when we prayed over him and stated that he felt many more hands on him than were there. That’s how God works; He gives you nuggets to hold onto!! The man told me that the songs Todd and the worship team sang deeply touched him and the Message was talking directly to him.”
It’s a powerful God working through a yielded person that makes lasting change. Keep believing God for what he can do through you through your life! For the Scripture readings, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. ”
Have a blessed week!
Shane
