Chapter Five
Walking In His Timing

Isaiah 57
15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

So much of our spiritual walk with God depends upon our relationship with Him. So many people struggle and work so hard to enjoy what God simply is prepared to give. In the verse above, we see that God is prepared to dwell in our heart if we are humble and repentant and when He does, He is prepared to revive us. What we desire from God comes through Him as we yield to His influence upon our lives. Can it be this simple? Yes, however, it requires us to learn to submit to His will and be led by the Spirit of God. How interesting to learn that God is the source and the means by which we can receive what we desire. We must deal with the fact that we must change.

John 3
30 "He must increase, but I must decrease."

We must yield to the One who created us and the One who desires to inhabit our heart. Without a close relationship with Christ we will not be able to resist this world's influence upon our soul. When we begin to allow God to deal with us and to change us we will have to make decisions that will ultimately determine our receptiveness to receive from God. We have a choice to allow God to have control of our life to such an extent that we recognize that we have changed. We no longer respond to situations in the same way. We begin to find strength to resist sin. We no longer seek to see only our lives blessed; but we desire to see others blessed to such an extent we are driven to help them. If our relationship with Him does not produce change and give us strength to resist sin, then we need to examine our lives and relationship in Christ.

I can remember that when God called me as an evangelist, I immediately began to experience change. The Holy Spirit began to show me things about my life that He wanted to change. My life began to go through a series of steps for months and months. I remember on several occasions feeling like He reached in and broke my heart and put it back. I went through over a year of challenging experiences where He was bringing much change to my life. I asked a friend of mine how long this change would last and He said that it would last for the rest of my life. I was amazed that after each time God dealt with my life I thought it was over and then God would begin to deal with another area of my life. I thank Him for having individually touched my life to such an extent that He brought me to a place to know Him and to experience His presence in my life. Allow Him to change you and to direct your life and you will find the peace and presence upon your life that you have desired. Fellowship with God through Jesus Christ will change your life.

One night I was witnessing in a park and sensed fear from the gang kids following me, but I wanted to focus my attention on the person to whom I was witnessing. I asked God to remove the fear and He asked that I give Him my life. He was talking about my physical life. That very night all fear left my heart and never returned again. I gave Him my very existence and placed full dependancy upon Him. If I live, then I live in Him and if I die, then I die in Him. I have never looked back or been afraid again and I have been able to see others in the street in a different way. I no longer judge someone by how they look or what they say. God wants us to see people as He does. He wants us to see their heart.

After we have established our walk of obedience, allowed Him to change our life, and become more consumed with God's Word, then we are prepared to listen to Him and allow Him to direct our lives to help others. How can God change others' lives through us if we cannot allow Him to change our own life? Being led by the Spirit of God requires us to continue yielding to the process of change and commitment. It's never more about us but more about Him. Following God through our journey through this world and ministering to the lives of others brings joy and satisfaction. Many times when I lie down upon my pillow at night after I have returned from the streets and have seen lives changed, I know that I had been with God!

Being led by the Spirit of God requires us to hear Him through the Word of God and in our spirit. The main question that most people ask when I talk about being led by the Spirit is, "How can I hear God?" Many say, "I want to hear from Him but I just cannot." I have found that the more time I spend in God's Word and in prayer somehow enables me to hear Him. Mostly I hear Him in my spirit and the Word of God. It is His prompting that leads me into areas where He wants me to witness and the time He chooses.

As Christians, we must be able to hear from God. The Bible is the written record of God speaking to mankind. Since the Bible contains the Words of God speaking to us, then we can listen to His voice in the Bible as we read it. We should be able to hear in the Bible what He is personally speaking to us. As we develop our ability to hear Him in His Word, we will soon find ourselves beginning to hear Him in our spirit as we go about our daily activities and quiet times in prayer. Begin to develop your ability to hear God through His Word and expect Him to speak to you and direct your life. Without an understanding of God's Word it would be difficult for God to speak to us. We must know His Word to ensure that when He speaks, it is indeed the voice of God. This simple principle is one of the most important aspects of hearing from God and being led by the timing of God.

Isaiah 30
21 "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

It was a rainy night when a youth pastor and I went to the streets and our witness was unfruitful. I have shared Christ in the streets for many years now and if you are a consistent witness for Christ you will see many souls saved. However, this night was different. It seemed we were in the wrong location or wrong town with our witness. We discussed if we were really in the timing of God or not. We felt led to go to another city to witness. We drove into the drug infested areas and along the downtown area where many bars are located. As we continued to drive we went to the bus station and this seemed to be the place where the Lord was leading us. We talked to a few people outside and they seemed to have a relationship with Christ.

I looked into the bus station and there was the person I felt that the Lord had led us to from nearly twenty miles away. We introduced ourselves and talked about her relationship with Christ. I asked her if she was a Christian. She responded that she was saved and was a YWAM student who had been on a mission trip and was just returning home. She said she does what we do in the streets and everything is fine in her life.

While she was talking to me the Lord seemed to be showing me her heart. I began to hear in my spirit what the Lord wanted me to say. What I was hearing from the Lord concerning her relationship with Christ was opposite to what she shared with us. In faith I spoke what the Lord had shared with me. I said, "I hear what you just said but the Lord has shown me something much different. You have walked away from Christ. I see that darkness has entered your heart. Something has happened to you on your trip and you have much concern over your relationship with Christ." She seemed to pull her coat up a little higher as to hide her face. She was totally aware of what she thought was a secret sin between two people. However, now standing in a bus station with two people she had never met before, what she thought was a secret seemed to be known. Her sins had found her and that God somehow had exposed the sin to make her aware of her need to ask for forgiveness. She asked if we could go outside to talk.

We stepped outside and I felt that she was about to tell us more about what happened and I told her that we did not need to know any more. Please remember this when you are witnessing that others do not need to share all of their secrets with you. I suggest that you remind others that you do not need to know. We led her back to Christ through prayer and I felt that she was indeed sorry for her sins. She seemed so relieved to know that God cared for her so much that he sent two witnesses from over twenty miles away on a rainy night to speak to her. The youth pastor began to help disciple her and to encourage accountability in her life. What an interesting witness to stand in the presence of God and to hear him speak to us and to share with this young YWAM student. I am so glad to know that God was ready to forgive one of His own that had been trapped in sin. I would imagine the enemy had thought that he had stolen one of the Lord's witnesses. However, this was not to be because the Lord can forgive sin and set lives free. It was so moving to see how God had arranged all of this and we were in His timing to see a wounded solider restored.

Psalms 51
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

I traveled to St. Louis, Missouri and was excited about the opportunity that presented itself for me to be in the streets. I waited until nearly dark and hired a taxi to drop me off in downtown St. Louis. I got out of the taxi and walked into the heart of the city. I was walking along the sidewalk and noticed it turned into a small island dividing lanes of traffic out of the city. I was walking on this sidewalk in the direction of a homeless man. He was carrying a large bag and his hair stood out in all directions. He probably had not taken a bath in months. I talked with him about Christ, and he said that he had once invited Him into his heart. Oftentimes, I will lead someone back to Christ when they are unsure of their salvation. The Lord lead me in a different direction. I assured him that God loved him and showed him the scriptures in the Bible. He seemed so glad to know that God loved Him and the new found assurance that he had in his heart.

I noticed that we stood in a dangerous intersection as traffic sped by us in both directions. As I turned to get off this island, a man was screaming and running in my direction from blocks away. I watched other people turning around to see if he was coming toward them but noticed that he continued in my direction. The man nearly got in my face as he demanded my money. I told him that I do not bring money into the streets. He asked me how I got here, and I said, "In a taxi." He said, "Then you must have money." He tried to get me to follow him into the street to show me his car that was off the street and needed to be pulled by a wrecker. He continued to press on. Then I said, "I am not afraid of those that God has called me to share Christ with." I began my witness and shared with him the message of the Cross and what Christ did for him. I read the salvation scriptures in Romans to him. He was no longer wanting money but listening to what I had to say. I now had another friend in the street of St. Louis. This man had once received Christ in his heart, and he was glad when I reassured him of his salvation. I prayed for him and we departed as friends.

I remember that I had a dream a few nights before that I was in the streets of St. Louis. In this dream I was standing on a small piece of concrete, and the enemy tried to take this ground from me. I became so angered at him that I said it my sleep, "I bind you in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus I command you to Go." My wife woke me up and said I was speaking out loud and commanding the enemy and pointing my finger as I gave the command. I remembered as I woke up that the dream seemed so real. This dream is much like the warfare we have with the enemy. He will try to take anything we have. Ironically, I was to live the symbolism of that dream as I stood on that small piece of concrete with a man demanding my money and for me to follow him. One push and I could have been killed in the streets. Our war is not with people. It is with the enemy.

Ephesians 6
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I walked on further into the city. I didn't know where I was going. I just simply followed the leading of the Lord. I had been in two very dangerous situations and I was just getting started in my witness. I knew it was going to be difficult this night as I placed my drivers license in my right shoe and my credit card in my left shoe. I had no other way back to the hotel without my credit card and no way back to Arkansas without my identification.

It was now dark as I came upon a small park in the middle of town. I saw two homeless men sitting on a park bench. I introduced myself, and we talked for a while. I asked them if I could sit down and join them this evening. I told them that I didn't want to look down to them while I was speaking. The men were glad that I had accepted them just as they were and that I understood the conditions of how they lived. I have worked thousands of hours helping the homeless and understand their needs and the problems they face.

I had my cell phone and portable equipment to broadcast live on an Internet radio station to the world. I asked the homeless men if they would like to broadcast on the radio station and tell people all over the world how to help the homeless. I explained that a friend of mine, Arthur Blessitt, has an Internet radio station that could send their message out live. They were excited about the opportunity to share their message. I knew from speaking to them and a few questions that I asked that these men did not have the assurance of salvation in Christ. I was going to lead them to Christ on the air so that others could hear a presentation of the gospel.

As I was setting up my equipment, I was so thankful for the opportunity to be able to broadcast from a park bench between two homeless men. We began our broadcast, and the men eagerly shared their feelings of being homeless and how hopeless they often felt when no one would help them. They said they hoped someone would offer them a drink of water, a bar of soap, or a meal coupon. It broke my heart as I listened to them share not their own needs but the needs of those who were in the streets due to circumstances that were often beyond people's control.

My friends were named Donald and Tony. As we were broadcasting, I watched people search through trash bins to find someone's old lunch bag. I watched as a man opened the bag and took out a half eaten hamburger and ate it. This man did not know how old the food was or who had eaten from the burger. Donald and Tony told me that many times the homeless cannot find food for days. Next they pointed to another man going through another trash bin. They wanted me to see that homelessness is not a problem of race. We had watched a black man find food in a trash bin, and now a white man searched through the trash and found no food. He walked on into the streets in search of food.

I presented the gospel to Donald and Tony. They were excited about the opportunity to ask forgiveness for their sins and to come back to Christ. The radio could not broadcast the change in their faces but those listening could hear the change in their voices. These men were so kind to me and now I was accepted as a friend. We logged off the radio station and were pleased that many heard the message of Christ and the need to help those that find it difficult to help themselves. It is the responsibility of Christians to help those that are less fortunate.

I told the men that I would take them to dinner. They said they would not embarrass me by going in a restaurant. I said that it would not bother me. They asked if I would just order some food and bring it back to the park. I told them to wait here and that I would be back with food for them.

I walked down the street and found a restaurant. I went to the bar to order their food and sat down and drank a soft drink while I waited. A man sat down beside me. He was in a military uniform and had several metals on his uniform shirt. His name is Bryant and he is a military recruiter. God had arranged our meeting. Bryant was an evangelist from several years ago and was no longer in the streets. Somehow the Lord had convicted Bryant with my words and he was called back to the streets. I shared the location of my Web Site and he told me that he would take the course that very night. The next day I received a message from my family that Bryant emailed me and requested a certificate.

I walked back to the park and my friends were waiting for me on the same park bench. A lady had joined them on the next park bench. Her name was Phyllis and she was also homeless. I gave Donald and Tony their burger, fries, and bottled water. They wanted to share theirs with Phyllis, but I told them I would share mine with her. I cut the hamburger and gave her all but the half of the burger. I could have given all of it but it seemed I was led to share the meal with her. She was so glad to eat that night. Donald blessed the food and we sat down and enjoyed our meal. They were so happy to have eaten that night. Donald and Tony kept half of their burger for their breakfast. They said that if someone came by hungry, they would feed them.

I led Phyllis to Christ when she finished her meal. I gave all of them Bibles, stickers, tracts, and other information. Now it was time to call the taxi to return to my hotel for the night. Although I was in the streets at night with people I had never known before, I felt so much peace and so much love that my new friends had for me. I called the taxi and left my friends. They hugged me, and we agreed to pray for each other as the Lord reminded us of our meeting.

On the way back to the hotel, the taxi driver asked me what I was doing out so late in the park. I told him that I was sharing Christ with people in the streets. He asked me if I could minister to him, and shared with me that he was tormented by bad sexual sins. I ministered to him as we drove back to the hotel. When we pulled into the driveway of the hotel, he cried and cried for over ten minutes. He was so glad to know that God still loved him and that he could be forgiven. I gave him a Bible and shared the scriptures to study. This reminded me of the time in Tulsa when a homeless man watched me minister to people all day. When I was done, he walked over to me and said, "Is it my turn now?"

There are so many people in need of Christ, and so many that have so much pain in their lives. Walking in the timing of God will result in many souls coming to Christ that may not have found Him any other way. It is my expectation that sometime in eternity we will discover just how much of our lives were touched by the leading of the Lord.

I believe that we would see more divine appointments and less suffering in this world if God's people would only place themselves in a position to allow their lives to be directed to help others in need. While we desire to follow the leading of the Lord and be in His timing, we should know that the Lord has made it very clear in His Word that we are to feed the hungry, help the homeless, visit those in prison, minister to the sick, and minister to all people. When Christ walked upon this earth He ministered to the needs of people. He ministered with compassion and saw those that were hurting. When you place your life in a position to minister to others you will find your life being directed by the leading of the Lord and flow in His timing.

Matthew 25
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

While we are to expect the Lord to direct our lives with His timing we must first allow the Word of God to direct our lives. The Word of God contains the voice of God and thereby His leading in our lives. Let the Word of God touch your life to the extent that you will have an overwhelming desire to help those that are in need and without hope. As you follow the Lord and establish a pattern of helping others you will find your life led by the Holy Spirit and walking in the timing of God. Enjoy your journey with the Lord as He leads you to others in need and as you find the Lord welcoming you into His kingdom at the end of this life's journey.