Post by Jerod W. Rickert on Nov 27, 2007 19:43:21 GMT -5
Ok, I figured this is an ideal place for this story...
A little background to explain: I heard this story first time many years ago at a Youth retreat I was at (1988, I believe). Now I will not attempt to tell you the specific dates, numbers and names that go with this story, as my memory has left out many details with the passage of time, but the gist of the story, and the impact it made on this lone person, will never fade and are as vivid today as they were 20 years ago.
(For the record, I BELIEVE that the person telling this stroy was either Pat Hurley or Josh McDowell, but again, I will not swear to it, LOL)
So, without further ado...
Many years ago, there was a man, living for himself and with no love or thought for God. He was spending time in Australia (I believe it may have been with the military). He and his friends spent many nights in the bars and pubs, drinking excessively and then staggering home after. One night, his friends already having left, this man took a shortcut back to his destination. As he walked past a darkened alley, a little old man stepped out of the shadows and asked a question: "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend your eternity? Heaven or Hell? The choice is yours, toodle-loo." And the old man turned and walked back into the alley and disappeared. Now the man was quite taken aback and stood there, now drunk AND confused. This simple question began a thought processing that would take him on a journey of spiritual and self-discovery, culminating in a decision to accept Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.
Further, this man, through the Grace of God, went on to become a speaker of some note, traveling extensively and sharing the Gospel of Christ throughout the world, seeing 1000's of lives given to the Lord. Now, by the by, this man would go on to attend several Christian Leader's retreats. (These are the kinds that you or I would not be able to attend, these are the ones for Christian leaders, artists, singers, etc. The people who effect 1000's or 10,000's of lives. This is not a critique of effectiveness, worthiness or general usefulness for the Kingdom of God, just a fact of the type of retreat this occurred at.) And at one of the seminar's, the time was opened for people to share their salvation experiences. Well, as it turns out, this particular gentleman had been thinking about the experience in Australia and wondering if he had encountered an Angel or if it was simply a faithful old gentleman whom he had encountered. So he decided to share his story in hopes of perhaps answering a question that had bothered him for years, now.
After he shared his simple story, he was approached by several others in attendance, singers, authors, speakers and the like. Each had had the exact same experience in that little backwater town in Australia. The man was now amazed as the staggering fact that this experience, whether Angelic or Mundane, was responsible for 100,000's of conversions to the Kingdom, possibly Millions!! The man left this gathering, having determined to return to Australia and seek out any possible information on this man or like experiences.
He was to spend nearly a month in Australia, asking questions and walking the same path, every night, for hours and hours, but with no success. A few people had heard of the "crazy old man", but most agreed he was seldom, if ever, seen any more. Finally, only 2 nights before he was to leave and return home, as he walked that same set of streets, more than a little discouraged, lost in deep thought, he was startled by a creaky old voice: "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend your eternity? Heaven or Hell? The choice is yours, toodle-loo." The startled man spun as the now venerable man began to limp away with the use of his crutch. The man called out "Wait!!" and rushed to intercept the old man. The old man, startled, froze and waited.
The man, in tears now, asked "Do you have any idea what you have done?" The old man merely shook his head and waited. The man went on to explain how much this old mans words had effected his life and the impact they had had. He went on to tell him of the others, and what the Lord had allowed each to accomplish, and of the untold numbers of souls now free from an eternity in hell. The old man began weeping uncontrollably, sobbing and gasping. The man could not begin to understand this response and waited, asking the man why he wept so.
The old man, finally able to speak explained: "I am a poor and uneducated man, there is no church within 100 miles of here, and I am unable to read. Many years ago, a man traveling through set up a tent and taught about Jesus. I could not remember many things, but I knew that it was only through this Jesus that we could go to Heaven and not Hell. I have never been able to learn more, but I have always remembered this fact. I asked Jesus for many things, and he has always come through, meeting my needs. I spent almost every night of my youth doing this, and as my wife became sick and wasted away, I was unable to do it as often, and after she passed, as my own health has failed, more nights than not, I have been confined to my bed, unable to rise. But I vowed to God many years ago that I would do whatever was in my power to save others from the hell that He saved me from. And He has been faithful to me, I could do no less. My time here is marked by days, not years, now, but tonight, I felt there was a need, so I prayed God to help me and strengthen me, and He did. And now I know why. Until this very night, this very moment, I have believed my work to be for nothing. I have seen nothing from my efforts and believed that my life had wasted. Now, I see that God is still faithful to me beyond what I ever could have seen. I have prayed so many times that He would allow me just one opportunity to see someone come to know Him, and this request is the only it had seemed He never answered. Now, I know that even though I could not see it, He has answered this prayer, so many times over. Thank you, Thank you..." And the man wept profusely.
It would be only 2 weeks later, the little old man would pass away. A forgotten, nameless man who changed a generation.
This story has affected my life in so many ways, that I can not even begin to express to you what it has done. The most important fact it has revealed to me is that it is not for us to judge our results, it is for God alone. And it is NEVER time to give up on what God has called us to, just because we see it as unfruitful. Sometimes, the truest test is simply seeing if we will be obedient, even in the face of "failure". What if this man had given up for lack of "results"?? I am one life that would never have been impacted, and as Josh McDowell and Pat Hurley were both so instrumental in my OWN salvation, it chills me to think about "what could have been". I am only one of 1000's, but I thank God every day for the faithfulness of one lone man, lest I should never have known the precious redeeming love of Christ...
God Bless and Keep the Faith, no matter what...
A little background to explain: I heard this story first time many years ago at a Youth retreat I was at (1988, I believe). Now I will not attempt to tell you the specific dates, numbers and names that go with this story, as my memory has left out many details with the passage of time, but the gist of the story, and the impact it made on this lone person, will never fade and are as vivid today as they were 20 years ago.
(For the record, I BELIEVE that the person telling this stroy was either Pat Hurley or Josh McDowell, but again, I will not swear to it, LOL)
So, without further ado...
Many years ago, there was a man, living for himself and with no love or thought for God. He was spending time in Australia (I believe it may have been with the military). He and his friends spent many nights in the bars and pubs, drinking excessively and then staggering home after. One night, his friends already having left, this man took a shortcut back to his destination. As he walked past a darkened alley, a little old man stepped out of the shadows and asked a question: "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend your eternity? Heaven or Hell? The choice is yours, toodle-loo." And the old man turned and walked back into the alley and disappeared. Now the man was quite taken aback and stood there, now drunk AND confused. This simple question began a thought processing that would take him on a journey of spiritual and self-discovery, culminating in a decision to accept Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.
Further, this man, through the Grace of God, went on to become a speaker of some note, traveling extensively and sharing the Gospel of Christ throughout the world, seeing 1000's of lives given to the Lord. Now, by the by, this man would go on to attend several Christian Leader's retreats. (These are the kinds that you or I would not be able to attend, these are the ones for Christian leaders, artists, singers, etc. The people who effect 1000's or 10,000's of lives. This is not a critique of effectiveness, worthiness or general usefulness for the Kingdom of God, just a fact of the type of retreat this occurred at.) And at one of the seminar's, the time was opened for people to share their salvation experiences. Well, as it turns out, this particular gentleman had been thinking about the experience in Australia and wondering if he had encountered an Angel or if it was simply a faithful old gentleman whom he had encountered. So he decided to share his story in hopes of perhaps answering a question that had bothered him for years, now.
After he shared his simple story, he was approached by several others in attendance, singers, authors, speakers and the like. Each had had the exact same experience in that little backwater town in Australia. The man was now amazed as the staggering fact that this experience, whether Angelic or Mundane, was responsible for 100,000's of conversions to the Kingdom, possibly Millions!! The man left this gathering, having determined to return to Australia and seek out any possible information on this man or like experiences.
He was to spend nearly a month in Australia, asking questions and walking the same path, every night, for hours and hours, but with no success. A few people had heard of the "crazy old man", but most agreed he was seldom, if ever, seen any more. Finally, only 2 nights before he was to leave and return home, as he walked that same set of streets, more than a little discouraged, lost in deep thought, he was startled by a creaky old voice: "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend your eternity? Heaven or Hell? The choice is yours, toodle-loo." The startled man spun as the now venerable man began to limp away with the use of his crutch. The man called out "Wait!!" and rushed to intercept the old man. The old man, startled, froze and waited.
The man, in tears now, asked "Do you have any idea what you have done?" The old man merely shook his head and waited. The man went on to explain how much this old mans words had effected his life and the impact they had had. He went on to tell him of the others, and what the Lord had allowed each to accomplish, and of the untold numbers of souls now free from an eternity in hell. The old man began weeping uncontrollably, sobbing and gasping. The man could not begin to understand this response and waited, asking the man why he wept so.
The old man, finally able to speak explained: "I am a poor and uneducated man, there is no church within 100 miles of here, and I am unable to read. Many years ago, a man traveling through set up a tent and taught about Jesus. I could not remember many things, but I knew that it was only through this Jesus that we could go to Heaven and not Hell. I have never been able to learn more, but I have always remembered this fact. I asked Jesus for many things, and he has always come through, meeting my needs. I spent almost every night of my youth doing this, and as my wife became sick and wasted away, I was unable to do it as often, and after she passed, as my own health has failed, more nights than not, I have been confined to my bed, unable to rise. But I vowed to God many years ago that I would do whatever was in my power to save others from the hell that He saved me from. And He has been faithful to me, I could do no less. My time here is marked by days, not years, now, but tonight, I felt there was a need, so I prayed God to help me and strengthen me, and He did. And now I know why. Until this very night, this very moment, I have believed my work to be for nothing. I have seen nothing from my efforts and believed that my life had wasted. Now, I see that God is still faithful to me beyond what I ever could have seen. I have prayed so many times that He would allow me just one opportunity to see someone come to know Him, and this request is the only it had seemed He never answered. Now, I know that even though I could not see it, He has answered this prayer, so many times over. Thank you, Thank you..." And the man wept profusely.
It would be only 2 weeks later, the little old man would pass away. A forgotten, nameless man who changed a generation.
This story has affected my life in so many ways, that I can not even begin to express to you what it has done. The most important fact it has revealed to me is that it is not for us to judge our results, it is for God alone. And it is NEVER time to give up on what God has called us to, just because we see it as unfruitful. Sometimes, the truest test is simply seeing if we will be obedient, even in the face of "failure". What if this man had given up for lack of "results"?? I am one life that would never have been impacted, and as Josh McDowell and Pat Hurley were both so instrumental in my OWN salvation, it chills me to think about "what could have been". I am only one of 1000's, but I thank God every day for the faithfulness of one lone man, lest I should never have known the precious redeeming love of Christ...
God Bless and Keep the Faith, no matter what...
