A GOOD LESSON
THERE WAS AN EXPERIENCE I HAD SOME TIME AGO. I HAD SET OUT TO LOOK FOR A GOOD FRIEND’S HOME TO PAY HIM A VISIT AND MAYBE GO EAT DINNER. THAT COLD AND RAINY TUESDAY EVENING, AFTER DRIVING AROUND FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, I DECIDED TO PULL OVER TO A CORNER, GET OFF THE CAR, AND LOOK AT THE NUMBERS ON THE STREET SIGN. I REMEMBER GETTING OFF OF THE CAR AND HEADING TOWARDS THE STREET SIGN IN THE CORNER. I READ THE NUMBERS WHICH WERE 5400, AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF, “I’M STILL A GOOD DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE PLACE I’M LOOKING FOR.” SO, I HEADED TOWARDS THE DOOR OF MY CAR AND TO MY SURPRISE, THE DOOR WAS LOCKED! WELL, I STARTED TO
CHECK ALL THE DOORS TO SEE IF ANY OF THE DOORS HAD REMAINED UNLOCKED, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF THEM WERE. THANK GOD I HAD MY JACKET ON AND MY CELL PHONE WITH ME. OTHER THAN IT BEING COLD OUTSIDE AND DRIZZLING SLIGHTLY, I WAS ALL RIGHT AND TRIED TO THINK CLEARLY ABOUT WHAT I WAS TO DO, BUT AS SOON AS I
TRIED MAKING THE FIRST CALL FOR HELP, THE BLESSED LITTLE NOISE CAME FROM MY CELL PHONE WHICH MEANT IT WAS LOOSING POWER. WELL, SLIGHTLY AFTER THE FIRST CALL I MADE HAD ENDED, I SAW A MAN WALKING BY. I EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT I HAD LOCKED MYSELF OUT OF MY CAR AND HIS RESPONSE WAS, “WELL, I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO HELP YOU WITH!” AND WALKED AWAY. SO, I STARTED TO
MAKE A PRAYER WHICH WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS: “OUR FATHER, WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HOLLOWED BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME AND TAKE HIM WITH YOU OR ELSE I’LL SEND HIM TO YOU, LORD!” THEN I KISSED MY FIST AND SAID, “THAT WAS THE PASTOR TAYLOR PRAYER. I DO PAY ATTENTION IN YOUTH SERVICE.” WELL, I TRIED RINGING
DOORBELLS, CALLING THE WORLD AND A HALF AND THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD GET SOMEONE TO HELP ME. THEN, I CALLED MY FRIEND, BILLY. BILLY CAME OVER AND THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TO CHECK AND SEE IF ANY OF THE DOORS WERE UNLOCKED. WITH A GRIN ON MY FACE I TOLD HIM, “BILLY, I HAVE TRIED THAT LIKE FOUR TIMES ALREADY...ON
EACH DOOR!” WELL, BILLY DECIDED TO CALL HIS DAD, BILL. AFTER SOME MINUTES PASSED BY, BILL ENGLISH, BILLY’S DAD, CAME BY AND WE BOTH STARTED TO TRY TO OPEN THE DOOR WITH A WIRE FROM A HANGER. FOR A MOMENT, I PAUSED AND LOOKED AT BILL ENGLISH. I WAS OBSERVING HOW HE WAS DOING ALL THAT HE COULD TO GET THE
HANGER IN THERE TO PULL THE LEVER TO GET MY CAR UNLOCKED. AFTER SOME TIME, I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THE LORD HAD ALWAYS SAID IN II TIMOTHY 4:12: “FOR US TO BE EXAMPLES OF THE BELIEVERS IN: WORD, CONVERSATION, IN CHARITY, SPIRIT, FAITH, AND IN
PURITY.” SEE, BILL ENGLISH COULD HAVE SAID, “BUDDY GOT INTO THAT MESS AND NOBODY TOLD HIM TO BE OVER THERE LIKE A FOOL IN THIS WEATHER. LET HIM FIND A WAY TO FIGURE IT OUT HIMSELF.” I’M SURE BILL WAS PROBABLY IN HIS WARM HOME, CUDDLING WITH HIS LOVING WIFE, OF WHICH WAS ALSO OUT THERE IN THE COLD, DRIZZLY WEATHER
WITH US, AND MAYBE EVEN ENJOYING A CUP OF HOT COCOA OR
CHOCOLATE, BUT LIKE CHRIST WOULD HAVE DONE, HE GOT OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE GET INTO HIS. I WAS STANDING THERE LOOKING AT BILL ENGLISH, A MAN WHO IS PRETTY WELL OFF FINANCIALLY, NICE HOME, USED TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE CHANNEL 57 HERE AT TRINITY WORSHIP CENTER, AND WITHOUT ANYTHING STOPPING HIM, HE WAS HELPING ME, BUDDY, A 20 YEAR OLD DUDE WHO
HADN’T EVEN BEEN AT TRINITY WORSHIP CENTER FOR MUCH TIME. I LEARNED A LESSON THERE THAT EVEN THE HIGH PRIESTS HAVE TO HUMBLE THEMSELVES AT TIMES AND HELP THE HUMBLED. WELL, AFTER SOME TIME PASSED, IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO GET EITHER ONE OF THE DOORS UNLOCKED, SO, WE WENT INTO BILL’S MINI VAN AND
TRIED MAKING SOME PHONE CALLS TO OTHER PEOPLE, BUT IT WAS USELESS. NOTHING WAS HAPPENING AND I WAS GETTING RESTLESS, SO, I GOT OFF THE VAN TO TRY TO OPEN UP MY CAR, AGAIN WITH THE HANGER. WELL, ABOUT 15 MINUTES PASSED BY AND I SEE DARLENE, BILL’S WIFE, GETTING OFF THE VAN AND COMING TOWARDS ME. SHE HAD A SMILE ON HER FACE AND SAID THE MOST BRILLIANT WORDS I HAD HEARD THAT EVENING. OF COURSE, COMING FROM A WISE WOMAN, SHE
SAID, “BUDDY, WHY DON’T WE CALL “POP - A - LOCK”?” I WAS LIKE, “DUH BUDDY!” THEN, I REMEMBERED I ONLY HAD $20.00 CASH WITH ME AND THAT THE ATM CARD WAS IN MY WORK BAG AND MY WORK BAG WAS IN THE TRUNK AND THE TRUNK WAS LOCKED! I TOLD HER, “THAT’S A GREAT IDEA, BUT I ONLY HAVE $20.00 WITH ME.” HER RESPONSE WAS, “OH, DON’T WORRY, YOU GOOD LOOKING YOUNG MAN THAT SEEMS TO BE LOOSING WEIGHT, WE’LL HELP YOU OUT WITH THAT.” OKAY, THAT WASN’T HER RESPONSE. HER RESPONSE WAS MORE LIKE, “OH, DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT. BILL WILL PAY THE DIFFERENCE AND YOU CAN PAY HIM BACK
WHENEVER YOU CAN.” THAT SOUNDED MORE BELIEVABLE, DIDN’T IT? WELL, WE CALLED THE “POP - A - LOCK” PEOPLE AND 20 MINUTES LATER, THE MAN CAME BY AND OPENED THE DOOR IN LIKE 30 SECONDS. MY REACTION TO THAT WAS, “MAN, I WISH I EARNED $40.00 EVERY HALF A
MINUTE. IMAGINE THE AMOUNT OF THE TITHES I WOULD GIVE TO THE CHURCH!” ANYWAY, AFTER THE MAN OPENED THE DOOR, HE TOLD US THE COST OF THE JOB AND I TURNED MY CUTE LITTLE BIG FACE TO MY LEFT AND LOOKED AT BILL. HE REACHED TOWARDS HIS POCKET, TOOK OUT HIS WALLET AND PULLED OUT A $20.00 BILL, GAVE IT TO ME, AND I
PAID THE WORKER. AS BILL ENGLISH WAS GETTING THE MONEY OUT OF HIS WALLET, THOUGH, I SAW HOW HE PROBABLY TOOK $20.00 FROM A PAYMENT HE HAD PENDING, OR MAYBE HE WAS PLANNING ON USING THEM $20.00 TO PAY FOR TOMORROW’S LUNCH FOR PASTOR TAYLOR, OR MAYBE HE WAS PLANNING ON DEPOSITING THOSE $20.00 IN THE BANK THE
NEXT DAY SO THAT ONE OF HIS CHECKS WOULDN’T BOUNCE, OR WHO KNOWS, BUT HE SACRIFICED THOSE $20.00 JUST TO HELP ME, BUDDY. THAT PART REMINDED ME OF A STORY I HAD HEARD A FEW YEARS AGO, EVEN BEFORE THE LORD HAD REACHED AND SAVED ME. THAT STORY WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS: IN ONE OF THEM RIVER TOWNS THERE WAS THIS MAN WHO WOULD WORK AT A BRIDGE THAT WOULD RAISE UP AND COME APART FOR CRUISE BOATS THAT WOULD PASS BY.
EVERYDAY AT 8 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, 2 IN THE AFTERNOON, AND AT 6 O’ CLOCK IN THE EVENING, THIS CRUISE BOAT WOULD PASS BY AND THIS MAN WOULD OPEN THE BRIDGE SO THAT THESE SHIPS, CARRYING THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS COULD PASS BY. ONE DAY IN PARTICULAR, THIS MAN DECIDED TO TAKE HIS SON WITH HIM TO WORK BECAUSE HIS SON WAS FASCINATED WITH SHIPS AND BRIDGES AND SINCE HIS FATHER KNEW THIS, HE WANTED TO SEE THE JOY IN HIS SON’S FACE. THE NEXT MORNING, THE MAN SHOWED HIS LITTLE BOY HOW THE BRIDGE WOULD RISE AND HIS SON STARED WITH SUCH EXCITEMENT. HE SHOWED HIM THE WAY THE WATER WOULD MOVE WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AIR, AND HIS SON WAS THRILLED WITH SIMPLY WATCHING THAT MOVEMENT. AFTER LUNCH, THE LITTLE BOY ASKED IF HE COULD GO WANDER OFF TO LOOK AROUND THE AREA. BEING THAT IT WAS PRETTY SAFE, HIS FATHER AGREED, BUT WARNED HIM TO BE BACK BY 2 THAT AFTERNOON BECAUSE IF NOT, HE WOULD MISS SEEING THE BRIDGE RISE UP AGAIN. THIS LITTLE BOY WENT OFF HAPPY, JUST LOOKING AROUND AND HIS FATHER WENT OFF TO DO HIS OWN THING. THEN, HE LOOKED AT HIS WATCH SOME TIME LATER AND SAW THAT IT WAS ALREADY GOING TO BE 2 O’ CLOCK. HE LOOKED AROUND AND STARTED TO LOOK FOR HIS SON, BUT HE DIDN’T SEE HIM, SO, HE STARTED TO CALL OUT FOR HIM, “SON, WHERE ARE YOU? COME AND SEE THE BRIDGE RISE!” HIS HOLLER WAS INTERRUPTED BY THE LOUD NOISE OF THE BOAT’S HORN. HE LOOKED TOWARDS THE OTHER SIDE TO SEE IF HIS SON WAS THERE AND HE HEARD HIS LITTLE BOY CALLING OUT, “DADDY, I’M OVER HERE, UNDER THIS THING, BUT MY FOOT IS STUCK. I CAN’T GET OUT OF HERE!” HIS FATHER WAS GOING TO GO HELP HIS SON, BUT THE SOUND OF THE BOAT’S HORN FILLED HIS EARS AGAIN AND HE STARTED TO THINK, “IF I DON’T RAISE THE BRIDGE AND GO SAVE MY SON, THE BOAT WILL CRASH INTO THE BRIDGE AND THE THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS ON IT WILL DIE, BUT IF I RAISE THE BRIDGE, MY SON, WHICH IS STUCK UNDER ONE OF THE LEVERS, WILL BE SMASHED TO DEATH.” HE FOUND HIMSELF LISTENING TO THE CRY OF THE BOAT’S HORN AND THE CRY OF HIS SON, HIS ONLY SON. OVER AND OVER HE KEPT ON HEARING THOSE NOISES WHICH TO MANY, THEY WOULD BE NORMAL SOUNDS, BUT IN THIS CASE THEY WERE VERY LIFE THREATENING. HE FINALLY WENT TOWARDS THE HANDLE OF THE BRIDGE’S CONTROLS AND WITH MUCH PAIN IN HIS HEART, PULLED IT DOWN. INSIDE, HE WAS GRIEVING FOR HIS LITTLE BOY’S DEATH, BUT THE ONLY THING THAT COMFORTED HIM WAS THE THOUGHT OF SACRIFICING HIS OWN SON FOR
THE WELL BEING OF THE THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS. THE SAME WAY THIS MAN SACRIFICED HIS OWN SON FOR THE REST OF THE PEOPLE AT STAKE, OUR GOD SACRIFICED HIS ONLY SON, JESUS, FOR US. IN JOHN 3:16 IT SAYS: “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON SO THAT WHOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE
ETERNAL LIFE.” HE GAVE HIS OWN FLESH AND BLOOD FOR YOU AND FOR ME. I REMEMBER THAT AFTER I GAVE THE “POP A LOCK” WORKER THE MONEY, HE WENT TOWARDS THE VAN TO GET ME A RECEIPT AND I NOTICED THIS MAN WALKING IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE COULDN’T WALK STRAIGHT. WE ASKED HIM WHAT HIS PROBLEM WAS AND HE SAID HE WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO DOCTORS, NOTHING COULD BE
DONE FOR HIS FOOT BECAUSE THE LIGAMENTS HAD BEEN TOTALLY MESSED UP AND THE NERVES HAD BEEN DAMAGED FOR GOOD. THAT’S WHEN THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY WAS OPENED AND AS I SHARED THAT THERE WAS HOPE FOR THE HEALING OF HIS FOOT, AND HOW THERE WAS NO HOPE FOR MY LIFE WHEN I WAS A BABY ON MY DEATH BED, JESUS MADE HOPE. BECAUSE OF THAT HIS HEART WAS FILLED WITH
HOPE. NOW, THIS MAN HAS THE SEED OF SUPERNATURAL HEALING SOWN IN HIS HEART AND IT SHALL FLOURISH BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS THAT HIS WORD SHALL NOT RETURN EMPTY. I BELIEVE THAT IF I WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT OUTSIDE OF THE CAR, IN THE RAIN, SNOW, OR EXTREME
HEAT, IT WOULD HAVE ALL BEEN WORTH IT JUST TO SEE THE FACIAL EXPRESSION ON THAT MAN’S FACE WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT HIS HOPE WAS NOT OVER, BUT THAT IT HAD JUST BEGUN. I BELIEVE THAT NEVER AGAIN WILL THAT LIFE BE THE SAME JUST BECAUSE I WAS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO LEAVE MY KEYS IN THE CAR AND LOCK THE DOOR, BUT ONE THING WAS FOR SURE: WHAT THE DEVIL ATTEMPTED TO USE AS A CURSE,
THE LORD CAME AND THROUGH HIS BLOOD, USED AS A BLESSING AND AS A VICTORY.
