Sermon Central
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When God Opened An Unexpected Door For Cliff Barrows
Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 10, 2024 (message contributor)
Dr. James Dobson wrote a book entitled When God Doesn’t Make Sense, and, in his book, he shared an illustration that is very applicable to the point being drawn from this particular verse. Take a moment and reflect upon the following story:
In 1945, a young associate pastor named Cliff married his fiancée, Billie. They had very little money but scraped up enough to take a honeymoon. When they arrived at the hotel, they were told it was now a rehabilitation center and not available to overnight guests.
They hitchhiked to a grocery store several miles down the road. The owner was sympathetic to their situation and let them stay in a room over the store. The owner quickly caught on that they were Christians and he referred them to a friend with a nicer place to spend the rest of their honeymoon.
During the week their host invited them to attend a youth rally at a nearby Christian conference center. The regular song leader was ill that night, so Cliff was asked if he might take charge of the music service. He consented and led the music, before a young evangelist named Billy stepped up to preach.
Cliff Barrows met Billy Graham that night and formed a ministry team that has preached the gospel throughout the world for fifty years. When your plans don’t seem to work out, maybe God has something better in mind.
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