Kenneth laughed. “You’ve got a point there.”
“Hey, do you think Jabez had one of them angels you told me about?”
“Jabez became a great man. He would have needed God to dispatch angels of protection.”
Tommy shook his head. “You really believe that stuff don’t you?”
Kenneth shrugged. “It’s no great thing that I believe. I witnessed angels protecting me. I wish I could have believed without having to see them in action.”
“With a name like pain, the angel probably had to help Jabez out of some tough spots.” Tommy turned away. “I wonder what my name means.”
“Is your first name Tommy or is that your middle name?” Kenneth asked him.
“Actually my name is Thomas. Everybody just calls me Tommy.”
“I’ll look up the meaning of your name,” Kenneth told him.
And being true to his word, Kenneth returned to the hospital the next day. “Your name means twin.”
Tommy rubbed his goatee with his thumb and index finger, then he turned to Kenneth. “What do you suppose that has to do with who I am and what I’ve become?”
Kenneth pulled his lower lip between his teeth. “I don’t know. What do you think of when you hear the word twin?”
“I think of two, or double.” Tommy snapped his finger. “That’s it.” Tommy laughed. “For as long as I can remember, I have led a double life. I have been dealing with women and men, but I tried to keep both sides of my life separate.”
Kenneth’s mouth hung open. He sat down and asked, “Are you prepared to do something about this double life you’ve been leading?”
“You know,” he said as his hand rubbed his chin, “I guess if Jabez could ask God to bless him so that he would not cause pain, I could ask God to give His grace and mercy to me so that I could stop living a double life.”
Kenneth rested his hands on the bed rail and smiled.
Tommy picked up his Bible. “I read in the ninth chapter of Romans today how God said that He would show mercy on whomever He chose.” He looked at Kenneth. “But how do you know if God has decided to show you mercy or not?”
“By faith, Tommy. Begin to believe that even you are worthy of God’s mercy. Trust God and see what happens.”
“Even me, huh?”
32
Kenneth and Elizabeth were setting out folding chairs in the back of Hope Center II. “Are you ready for tonight?”
Elizabeth unfolded the last chair, then stood to face her husband. A look of uncertainty was on her face. “We’ll see.”
Kenneth walked to his wife and put his arm around her. “This is your thing. Baby, you were born to serenade the Lord.”
She smiled at her husband. The passing years didn’t change a thing for her. She still loved that man. “I know you’re right, Kenneth. It’s time for me to get out there and do what God has called me to. So, ready or not, I’m going to set that stage on fire tonight.”
“All right now, baby. That’s what I want to hear,” Kenneth said with a big grin on his face.
They finished getting the area ready for the service later that evening. They had enough seats for two hundred people. Tonight they would give the dredges of society information about a new center for the homeless and downhearted. Before that, he would preach the gospel and offer them Jesus.
He stood behind the pulpit and breathed in deeply. “This feels a little strange. Am I doing the right thing, Liz? I mean, I’m no preacher.”
Elizabeth was knelt down praying over the seats. When the people arrived, she wanted to make sure that their seats were already warmed with the Holy Ghost. She turned and looked up at him. His stance was regal and authoritative. “You’ve had the itch for a long while now. It’s where you belong, baby.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so,” she told him with a smile. Kenneth flexed his muscles, doing a couple strong man stances behind the pulpit. “And besides, if you start preaching, maybe you’ll let me get some sleep at night. And I won’t have to hear every revelation God gives you.”
Kenneth twisted his lip. “Oh, so I’ve been bugging you? Is that it?”
She laughed. “I was just kidding. Don’t get all weepy on me.”
After a moment, the smile left her face. Kenneth asked her about it.
“I was just wondering if Tommy will show up tonight.”
***
Tommy had been released from the hospital a week ago. Kenneth found a rehab willing to accept him, so there he was. When Kenneth had brought him to this place, he had said, “Cheer up. It’s better than living on the street.”
Tommy wasn’t sure about that. Nobody searched his bags or asked him to pee in a cup on the street. Tommy shook his head; still amazed at the downward spiral his life had taken. “What happened?” he asked out loud.
“God wasn’t there for me, that’s what happened,” Tommy told himself. Now Kenneth wanted him to believe, wanted him to trust that God’s mercy would be there for him.
Tommy put his head in his hands and for the third time that day. He thought about what Kenneth had said to him: “Don’t you know that you can trust the Lord?”
Tommy stood and paced around the room. How could he trust in the Lord when he had issues with the Lord? Or maybe it was like Elizabeth had said, and he needed to stop blaming others for the choices he had made.
Tommy wished he could trust God. Wished he could turn over his life to the Lord and start fresh. But he knew first hand that God didn’t care. Tears rolled down his face. He and God had irreconcilable differences. Just as Tommy’s own dad had been missing in action, God had also played the absent father role in his life. “You weren’t there for me,” Tommy repeated.
He stood in the middle of his room, half expecting to hear God apologize for His absenteeism. But that would be admitting wrong, and of course, the Almighty was never wrong.
On his nightstand was a flyer announcing the grand opening of the new Hope Center. It invited the downtrodden to come out for a night of enlightenment, food, and fellowship. If God wouldn’t provide answers for His neglect, Tommy was going to get it from Kenneth. He put on his shoes, snatched up the paper and left the rehab center.
33
Kenneth looked out at the sea of hungry and dejected faces. For two years, he had fed and ministered to them. Nothing had changed. Not much anyway. Oh sure, a few souls gave their lives to Christ here and there, but that was only a momentary fix. They usually ended up right back on the streets and further away from God.
Was he doing the right thing? Was this really the ministry God had for him? If so, why was he so ineffective? The people that came to him were the walking dead; corpses just waiting on a casket. He felt like Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones. Dead men didn’t listen. What was he doing behind this pulpit? Maybe he should just scream, “Soups on,” and line them up for dinner. That’s why they came to this grand opening anyway. He was just about to turn away from the pulpit, when he heard his Lord.
Son, can this situation be turned around?
He lifted his eyes toward the crowd again. They had given up. The world had pimp-smacked them one time too many. Shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, hands always out. That was the posture of the homeless. And for the first time, Kenneth wondered what each one of these people used to be. Had the man seated in front of him, with the patched-up coat and holes in his tennis shoes, once been an executive or maybe a doctor? What about the woman seated to the left of the podium---
Son, can this situation be turned around?
Okay, Lord, I know that with You all things are possible. So yes, I do believe that this can be turned around. But am I the right man for the job? I don’t know what to do.
Speak to their situations. Speak to their problems. Son, feed My sheep.
Kenneth smiled as he opened his Bible and flipped the pages. He had fed God’s sheep soup and peanut butter sandwiches. Today, he would feed them the Word.
“Turn in your Bibles to John, chapter four
. I’d like to introduce you to a woman from Samaria, who came to draw water from a well while Jesus rested there. Let’s start at verse seven.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is Who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.”
Kenneth lifted his head just as Tommy walked in and sat down in the back. He smiled, Tommy nodded, and Kenneth continued reading the story of the Samaritan woman. He told his congregation how this woman asked Jesus to give her a drink of the living water He talked about. And Jesus instructed her to call her husband.
“She told Jesus that she didn’t have a husband. Jesus affirmed her statement. She didn’t just have one husband, but five. And the man she was with now, wasn’t her husband.”
He looked out at the crowd and moved to the side of the pulpit. “Why do you think Jesus asked her to go get her husband when He knew that she couldn’t produce one?” After a sufficient pause, he continued, “This woman had a problem with men. She had had five husbands, and the man she was currently with wasn’t even her husband. It’s possible that she had a lust problem or maybe she was lonely, and that caused her to run from man to man. But what Jesus was really saying to her was, ‘Go get your issue.’ Go get the problems and situations that have kept you away from Me.”
Kenneth walked down the aisle. He stood in front of Tommy. Their eyes locked as he said, “God wants you to bring your issues and problems to Him. The things that keep you up at night, the very issue that has kept you on the wrong side of salvation.” Turning away from Tommy, he scanned the crowd.
As Kenneth walked away, Tommy mumbled under his breath, “My issue is with God.” Then he boldly looked to the heavens and mouthed, “You were never there for me.”
“Remember,” Kenneth was saying, “sin entered into the world, and it must run its course. Bring your problems to God. Let Him wipe away your past.”
Unrestrained tears ran down Tommy’s face.
Kenneth continued, “Do you think crack is too big an issue to bring to God? What about the spirit of failure that looms over your life? Do you think that God can’t provide a place for you to live and put your family back together? What about sexual immorality?”
Tommy lifted his eyes.
A man in a raggedy overcoat, shabby shoes, and pinstriped bell-bottom pants stood and advanced on Kenneth. “Shut your mouth! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Kenneth turned and looked at him. His countenance wreaked of evil. The man stood several feet away from him, as if a force field stopped him from coming any closer. “Please sit down.”
“No,” he growled. “I’m tired of you lying!”
Elizabeth stood. She was on the platform, but was willing to take her shoes off and get busy with anybody that messed with her husband.
Kenneth turned to Elizabeth. “Let me handle this.”
Remembering that angels protected Kenneth, Elizabeth sat back down. If she had a stool, she would’ve kicked her feet up.
Kenneth held up his hands. “What am I lying about?”
The man wobbled as he pointed an accusatory finger at Kenneth. His reeked of alcohol. He jerked a couple of times, then vomited all over his bell-bottoms and passed out.
Kenneth’s congregation ignored the vomit on the floor and the man who lay next to it. They continued to listen as Kenneth expounded on the goodness of God that leads men and women to repent. They amened and high-fived each other.
He turned to Elizabeth and asked her to grab the mic and stand by him. He wanted to implore them to come to the Lord. He was willing to promise them the moon and then some. But instead, he opened his mouth and told the people, “I don’t want to sell you a bill of goods. You all have been through enough storms in your life to know when to come out of the rain. So, I’m not going to tell you that if you come to Jesus all your troubles will be over.” He smiled at the people. “I do believe that Jesus will wash away your sins and your trouble. But it might not feel like it has happened right away. You might have to struggle to hold on to what you believe, but you’ll never regret turning your life over to Jesus. Come my friends, come to the Lord.”
Elizabeth began to sing:
Whosoever will, whosoever will, let him come.
Jesus said come unto Me all you who are weary
and heavy-laden. You will find rest for your soul…
Two ladies in the front stood and walked toward the altar.
God had surrounded Tommy with His love. No matter how he moved, he still felt the gentle presence of the Lord. It was pulling him, asking him to come to Jesus. Kenneth’s words had struck cords of emotion. Yes, Tommy had a lot of issues. He didn’t think the Lord could deal with all his problems. But maybe, that was God’s job. Maybe God could mend the broken places in his heart, he thought.
So, as Elizabeth serenaded the Lord and enraptured her listening audience, Tommy stood. He’d tried everything else, now he was willing to give God a try. Maybe God would have mercy on him just as he did with Jabez. Tommy took a step toward God's mercy seat, then fear gripped him.
What if he was not a Jabez, but an Esau? What if God had already reviewed his sins and found him unworthy of forgiveness? Could he live with that? No, he could not. Better to reject God, than to be rejected. Tears cascaded down his face as he turned away. His shoulders slumped from the weight of his world, his troubles. But he kept walking to what he knew – his comfort zone.
Elizabeth watched Tommy leave. She didn’t get disheartened or become disillusioned. She had learned some tough lessons during her walk with God. One of which was that sometimes prayers are answered slowly. She looked to heaven with a partial smile, tears in her eyes, and a confident heart. Tommy would find peace. She knew this because she wasn’t going to stop praying until he did. “I trust You, Lord,” she whispered, then continued her serenade. “Whosoever will, whosoever will, let him come.”
Kenneth and altar workers from his church were busy leading each person in the sinner’s prayer.
Sandy and her children walked to him and asked for prayer.
The prayer was not, now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Kenneth asked a series of questions:
“Do you believe that you have sinned? And that God can forgive and deliver you from a life of sin?”
Sandy bowed her head. “Yes. Yes, I’ve sinned.”
“Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died and rose again so that you could be saved?”
She raised her hands in submission to God. “Yes. Oh Lord, yes.”
“Then enter into the kingdom of life.”
Tears ran down Sandy worn face. She embraced her children. “I’m free,” she told them.
Elizabeth searched the crowd for Kenneth. He was praying for a woman and her small children. She smiled. She and Kenneth were in this thing together. Their mission in life was about loving God, loving each other, and saving souls. She would have it no other way.
Epilogue
The smell of death and decay ruled the air. Fire licked the walls as smoke carpeted the floor. Satan fueled the fire with his lust for revenge and anger. He stalked his domain. Eyes ablaze with unshed fury. “Assassin!”
The hulking figure trotted into the evil one’s presence with the confidence of one who had wielded many victories. The notches on the belt that held his well-used sword were many.
Satan opened his mouth and spewed out fire. It consumed Assassin and licked his pockmarked flesh, until nothing but ashes remained.
“Destroyer!”
Destroyer’s bat-like head hung low. His flesh-devouring fangs scraped the ground as he bowed down to Satan. “How can I serve you, my lord?”
Satan towered over him. “Assassin disappointed me. You are now the captain of the hosts.”
Green slime dripped from his crust-laden lips. “You won’t regret this, my lord.”
Satan’s lip curled as he trampled over Assassin’s ashes. “Assassin lost a very important battle last night. He sent the wrong demons. See that you don’t make the same mistake.”
“No, my lord. I won’t.” Destroyer stood.
Satan kicked him in the stomach, sending him across the room, smashing into the wall of the lost. “Who told you to stop bowing?”
Destroyer rubbed his ribs. “No disrespect intended, my lord. I-”
“Call your demons!”
Within minutes, thousands of menacing spirits were snarling, howling, and scratching the tunnel walls. Blood drizzled down the walls, as demons poked through the muck and mire that incased lost souls.
Satan oozed evil as his troops stood before him. The angels that were kicked out with him were changed into the howling, snarling demons that stood before him. God’s little way of allowing Satan to see inside himself.
“Quit drooling,” Satan told one of his front-line warriors. “It makes me sick to look at you.”
The demon backed up. He didn’t stop moving until he reached the ninth row. Satan smiled as he strutted before his troops. “You have been brought into my presence to tear down, kill, and destroy. I will accept no excuses for failure. Do you understand what I am saying?”
A unanimity of “Yes, my lord,” filled the polluted air.
“Now, bow down before me while I tell you about a human I hate.”
***
The loud sounds of the trumpets, guitars, flutes, and drums could be heard throughout heaven as angels lined up on the streets of gold. They were getting ready to get their party started with music and dancing. Shoot, the Electric Slide was invented in heaven. The angels rejoiced over the sinners that repented when Kenneth and Elizabeth had reached out to the homeless.
God was seated on His throne. His omnipotence glistened through the emerald rainbow arched above the magnificent throne. The twenty-four elders surrounded Him, also seated on thrones, and clothed in white radiant robes. They wore crowns of gold on their heads.
Abundant Rain Page 19