The incredible trip that gave me the opportunity to meet Rupak, provided me with some other great stories that I hope to eventually get to and today I will write about another one.
During this trip we went from village and had some incredible opportunities to share about the King. Most of the time people were very accepting of at least hearing the Truth, but there where a few times that we were completely rejected. One of these times was particularly heart breaking; actually crushing to both heart and soul would be more appropriate.
We had been in this particular village for only a few hours. This was the team’s first day of trekking and we had arrived at a believer’s house. We dropped our packs and eat ate a little food. The guys were pretty exhausted and while this was not the hardest trek my team usually does, I will give these guys a little credit. The trek had been on the incline the entire time. I will take a little jab at them just in case they are reading this. The trek should have taken no more than two hours, but the hills (mountains) here have been known to turn grown men into boys. This can have the same humbling effect as the first time a person tries skiing or snowboarding. Watching women walk past you carrying a eighty to a hundred pounds of corn in a basket strapped to their head is similar to the humbling and utterly useless feelings you get when an eight year old Shaun White (Michael Jordan of snowboarding) laughs at you while you watch him fly by from you severely bruised and beaten down backside. It had been a long hike though and we were all glad to be looking back down at the trail knowing the first days walk was finished.
It was middle of the afternoon when we arrived in this village and we had some time before dinner so we decided to head out and share with anyone that would listen. I went with one of the guys on the volunteer team and a national that was going to do some translating for us. We went to a couple of houses and shared about the King and people listened. The first house we went to there were only a few people. The next house went from about three people to twenty by the time we were finished. There were no stories of salvation at either one of the houses, but praise Him that many heard his truth. Once we finished at the last house we headed down the side of the mountain to a small group of about four houses to see if we could find anyone else that would listen. The first house we went to something unique happened.
We walked around the corner of this house and were greeted by a young man, probably in his mid thirties. We said hello and before we could even tell him why we were there he impatiently asked if we had any medicine. We told him that we did not. He then told us how his father was sick and was dying. He asked again for medicine, and again we told him that we did not have any. I then mentioned that while we had no medicine we did have access to the One that could heal. I told him that we would love to come in and pray over his dad. I do not know if God would have healed his father but should we not have faith that he could? That he would? We were never given the chance though to pray with him. The local witch doctor was already in this man’s house and was doing what he could to heal him. I do not know what you know about spiritual warfare, but one thing I have learned since being here is that the witch doctor is not without power. This power is not from God, but it is power. This situation yielded a result that was not in the favor of the witch doctor.
We offered also to share with this man about the King, but we were asked to leave. This was not a complete shock, so onto the next house we went. Once we arrived at the next house we began to tell the family about the King. They listened and then man that had just rejected us joined the audience. He sat quietly and listened as well. The men then asked a few questions when we finished, and that was the end of our visit. Before we left though I told the man that I was going to be praying for his father and before I could even finish the sentence the man told me no. This man did not want me praying for his father. Why not? What would make a man refuse the power of God? Why would he not let me ask God for healing?
We left the house and returned to the believer’s home. We ate dinner and then had a small time of worship. The next morning we woke up to the crow of the rooster, but another sound was also on the air. The drums were beating and the horns were blowing. That night the man that we had pleaded to pray with had died. He died and that night his soul was bound for an eternity of torment. He is in hell, forever. I wondered that morning what would have happened had we been given the opportunity to pray. I wondered if that man would have been healed or even more incredible would have encountered amazing grace.
Why were we refused? I think the truth lies in fear of God’s power. This man, as my local friend pointed out, knows that believers have power. If we had prayed for this man and he had been healed, this man would be faced with a decision. Would he continue to deny the One True God or would he call Him, Savior. How could he continue in the uselessness that he called religion when it could not heal? How could he deny the power of a Risen Savior? His dilemma may have lead to the death of his father, but I think this is a dilemma that we to sometimes face?
We deny situations that challenge our faith. We are satisfied with who God is to us. I think often we are scared of God showing himself to us, so we do not let him. What if you were in a situation where you had to trust in Him. I once heard a preacher quote Adrian Rogers. I could not verify if this quote was true, but I will go ahead and use it. “I do not ever want to know that God is truly all I need.” I think this is very true. This man did not want to know that God had power. He did not want to have to answer to such power. We do not want to have to trust him with everything. We want to believe that we have power. This man wanted to believe he had power to heal. He does not, and neither do we. God alone is the great provider. He has the power to heal, the power to sustain and he and he alone has the power to offer life. You must have faith in Him, and you cannot deny him. You can continue to live with a weak view of Him or you can continue to give more an more of you life to the Sovereign King. Paul said he consider all things loss to the surpassing greatness of knowing God, but we often know nothing of this surpassing greatness. Would you not like to know though? You can partake of this same knowledge that Paul spoke so passionately about, just as this man and has father could have. Can you keep denying Him?
