Welcoming the Stranger

God has been so merciful to us - He sent His Son who gave His life as a gift of love, so that we might be saved. And, our willingness to humble ourselves before Jesus and to obey Him can speak powerfully to the people with whom we come in contact. Colossians chapter 3 states:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Anthony was a homeless man who went to church one Sunday a few months ago, but his behavior while he was there was, well, out of the ordinary.  It occurred at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, where Ed Newton is the pastor. 

As CBN.com related the story:

...Anthony yelled expletives toward the pulpit during an April church service, leaving Newton and parishioners in a bit of shock.

Anthony wasn’t angry, though. He had reportedly noticed the pastor’s shoes and yelled out a curse — an inappropriate reaction inside a church — to express how “cool” he thought they were. The scenario put Newton in a strange position as a pastor on stage, mid-sermon, in front of a massive audience.

Newton said, “We were actually preaching through our core values, and the core value of that weekend was ‘celebrate life change,'” adding, “We [had] … just baptized like over 200 people, and so we celebrate.”  The article went on to say: "After Anthony interrupted, the pastor went back to talking about the story of the parable of the lost sheep found in Matthew 18 and Luke 15, and how the Pharisees were critical of Jesus."

And, Anthony, well, interrupted again - and cursed again.  Pastor Newton reminded Anthony that "little ears" were present and reminded Anthony that he was loved.

Then, as the article noted: "Anthony spoke aloud again and revealed that another man in the audience named Michael had brought him to church that day — and had saved his life."  Turns out that Anthony was planning to take his own life that very morning.  The CBN story stated:

The viral video shows the preacher, who was deeply moved at the pulpit, inviting Anthony and Michael up to the stage, where he embraced Anthony and learned more about his story and how Michael came to encounter him.

It turns out Michael had come to an earlier service, heard Newton’s message about transformation, and promptly went out to feed the homeless.

“He came to the 8 [o’clock service], heard the message and … bought … somewhat of a breakfast meal to give to a homeless person,” Newton said. “And when he went to go give it to her, she wasn’t there. And then, he saw Anthony.”

After the two chatted, Anthony essentially “invite[d] himself to go to church with Michael.” So, the faithful parishioner headed back to church with Anthony to hear the message. Newton said he was truly struck by Michael’s decision to live out the sermon message so selflessly.

The pastor stated, “Michael was the sermon...He lived it out.”

After this conversation, people began to bring money to the stage - $5000 were raised for Anthony.  And...35 decisions for Christ were made.  The article related that the church had helped in numerous ways, including medical care for Anthony.

Pastor Ed Newton's sermon was interrupted that Sunday morning, but it was a divine interruption, and an alternative sermon resulted.  The pastor didn't call for security, he didn't ignore the cries for help veiled by cursing.  The pastor responded in love, and the Holy Spirit took over.  And, this man's life was saved.  Our willingness to demonstrate the love of Christ, I believe, activates the power of the Holy Spirit, and we can find ourselves being used of God as we surrender to His promptings. 

And, don't forget about Michael - he responded to the pastor's sermon and went out to feed the homeless. He, as Pastor Newton noted, "was the sermon."  We can walk in a state of yieldedness to God, being willing to be used of Him.  Our selfless expressions can speak powerfully into the lives of the people we encounter.  Rather than reject people for their outward appearance, we can accept them in the name of the Lord and be willing to reach out with the love of Jesus.