What would you do if a drug dealer wearing dark sunglasses suddenly walked in the middle of sanctuary during the middle of your sermon at a church located in one of the most dangerous cities in the US? The suspicious man sat in the front row with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
I woke up early on Sunday, May 25th, 2014 to prepare my message at Tree of Life Ministries just north of downtown Indianapolis. I have been thinking about the message in the past several days but could not get myself to write it. I knew I will be speaking about the occasion – Memorial Day. While researching and writing my message, I suddenly felt my heart beat fast, I hyper ventilated and I felt that I was being attacked by the enemy. I prayed and continued writing my message while I breath hard to suck more air in my lungs.
My parents came with me to the church and we arrived just on time. The church rents a space at a store front located at a busy intersection. I heard just several months ago, there were shootings at the intersection. This is an area that is considered 17th most dangerous neighborhoods in the US. This small church has only 3 rooms – the sanctuary, the back room with 2 restrooms and a pantry. They were just finishing their Sunday Bible Study when we arrived.
At the Bible study, they were talking about marriage and somehow they started talking about addiction. When I heard the word “addiction”, I thought I should mention something about it when I preach. After the Bible Study, we had a brief intermission, then I saw my daughter pulling up at the curb and my instinct told me I should help her to park. As soon as I got outside, my daughter immediately said that she does not feel safe because the people on the street were staring at her suspiciously and she is afraid to park her car on the street. I assured her that nothing bad will happen.
The style of the church worship team is southern blues. I really like the freedom to worship with them. After a few minutes of worship, I felt shaky and weak. I was trying to figure out if it was because of low blood sugar or I was just nervous. I went to the back room and helped myself with a doughnut and coffee to regain my strength. Then, I prayed for strength and for clarity of mind.
I still felt a little weak as I approach the podium. However, I forgot about my physical weakness when I started to talk. “Even just for one” was the title of my message. There were about 20 adults including my parents, my daughter and me. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as I was getting into my message. Suddenly, a man wearing rugged clothes with dark sun glasses walked in the middle of the sanctuary and sat in the front row. I was talking about the Parable of the lost sheep. Jesus left the 99 to find the lost one – the backslider.
“I’m a drug dealer”
All of a sudden, the person who walked in late, raise his hand. After acknowledging him, he said, “I am a drug dealer, I need help.” It took me a couple of seconds to compose myself. I told him that God can heal him. He took his sunglasses and his eyes told me that he was serious. I asked the pastor of the church if we can take a few minutes to pray for him. After prayer, I encouraged him with positive words and affirmation. A couple of people were wiping their tears as they were praying.
He received a mighty move of God in his life
Before I ended my message, I prayed for the leaders of the church for wisdom, protection and provision. As soon as I got to my seat, a well-built man came to me, shook my hands and gave me a big hug. Then, the pastor came and did an altar call. The same person who shook my hands came to the front to receive Jesus as his Savior. The entire church raised up to their feet, clapped their hands and more people started to weep. I found out later that he was the son of one of the church leaders. It was a chain reaction. When he saw the boldness of the drug dealer who confessed publicly, he opened up to the grace of God. God has been pursuing him and He used the drug dealer to communicate His unconditional love.
As they were praying for this gentleman, the pastor’s wife began to praise God with her voice and her entire body. She was being filled by the Holy Spirit. I gave the man a big hug and encouraged him by telling him that he will be used by God mightily by leading an army of God.
I was awe struck by the entire service. In my years of preaching at different churches, I had never experienced someone interrupting my sermon by saying he is a drug dealer. Through him, the “one” who was lost was found. This happened in a small church located in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the US. The small church had no fancy sanctuary but they have authentic congregation, the church sits in a rough neighborhood but they have peace inside their building and in their hearts, the church is definitely not the building, but the people who cares for everyone. It is a church that welcomes everyone, prostitutes, drunkards, addicts and the poor in spirit, similar to the crowd that Jesus hanged out with. It is a church that is willing to interrupt the service, let go of their plan for the service and let the Holy Spirit take over the schedule for the day. They are small in number but they have big hearts for the lost. More is not always better and the central point is not always bigger.
Later, I realized why I couldn’t get myself to sit down and to write the message, why I hyper ventilated while writing the message and why I felt weak during the worship. God was about to do something very special for 2 people and the entire congregation that Sunday morning. The person who walked in late and interrupted the service by saying, “Preacher, I am a drug dealer!” was used by God “Even for just one” lost sheep.
Praise you, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, my Lord and my Savior.
