Whoever Calls (10/9)

On this day on which we have celebrated a man who believed that He had been sent to a faraway land to preach the gospel to the lost, we reflect on the calling God has given to each of us, to be ready to share what God has done for us. Romans 10 says:
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?"
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Each of us has been dispatched in order to proclaim the truth of God's Word by our actions and our words. We have been equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we can know that His presences goes before us. We can bring those "glad tidings" because we have been redeemed!  We know that the Word of God, as it is proclaimed by faithful saints, as the book of Isaiah says, "will not return void."  So, we can go forth with confidence to share the truth of the Scriptures with a world that needs to hear it. 

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In Galatians 6, in the next chapter after Paul is directing readers to walk in the Spirit, he outlines the components of the full armor of God; we can read these words:
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...

A young man had embarked on a coaching career back in the early 80's.  Just a handful of years into that career, he had advanced to join the coaching staff at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.  In Lubbock, he heard an evangelist named James Robison preach, and his life was changed forever.

His name is Rick Gage.  Quite a few years back, prior to a crusade in Newnan, Georgia, the local newspaper, the Newnan Times Herald did a feature story on Gage.  It relates that Gage said that he was "living a lifestyle of sin."  But, after that meeting featuring a message on repentance by Robison, he went down the aisle in tears and recommitted his life to Christ.  He quit his job at Texas Tech, went back in to coaching at Liberty a few years later, and then began his own ministry, which is called Go TELL Ministries.

Recently, he preached in Baxley, Georgia - from Montgomery, you would travel east and then bend southeastward toward the Georgia coast, about 5 hours away.  The Georgia Baptist newspaper, The Christian Index, reported it this way:

In a scene that harkened back to evangelistic crusades of yesteryear, they crowded around the platform where the man dubbed the “small-town Billy Graham” had just wrapped up a fiery gospel sermon that warned of judgment for unrepentant sinners and promised eternal life for those willing to turn from their sins and commit their lives to Christ.

Over four nights of preaching, some 10,000 people gathered into the stadium in Baxley, a Bible Belt town with a population of 5,000. Of the attendees, Gage said more than 1,600 made commitments to Christ...

The article notes:

An Associated Press article from 20 years ago said Gage fills stadiums just as full as Graham did, except that the stadiums are much smaller. That’s how Gage got the moniker “small-town Billy Graham.”

Regarding the Baxley crusade, the article says that Gage and two other evangelists "ramped up excitement with personal appearances across seven counties;" they "hopscotched throughout the region, appearing on local TV and delivering motivational talks in school assemblies." The article adds:

They also shared the gospel in local jails where about 50 inmates made commitments to Christ.

At nearby Brewton-Parker College, 150 students made commitments to Christ after Gage preached in a chapel service.

“The Holy Spirit was moving in a way I have never seen before,” said Steve Echols, a longtime preacher and Christian educator who serves as the college’s president. “I have seen some marvelous things, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more precious than this.”

Echols noted, “So many students responded that you couldn’t even get down the aisles,” adding, "They were completely full of students on their knees praying. We lost count, because they kept coming.”

And, in one of the stadium services, Rick Gage reflected on that transformative night in Texas when he was in his early days of coaching, relating:

“When that altar call was given, I made a beeline to that altar, got on my knees, a 25-year-old football coach, weeping, sobbing, crying,” he said. “My spirit was broken; my heart was broken; and I told God, ‘I’m sorry for my sins. I’m sorry for the lifestyle I’ve been living. Please forgive me of my sins. I give you my heart. I give my soul. I give you my life. … God invaded my heart. God saved my soul. God changed my life. And I have never gotten over it.”

The Christian Index also reported:

The impact in Baxley started days before the crusade, when, on September 13, some 600 people gathered for a pre-crusade youth rally. Nearly 300 of the attendees made decisions for Christ.

“It is a cause for great rejoicing when see such a great harvest,” Echols said of the Baxley crusade. “Truly, south Georgia has been touched for the glory of God.”

One man's obedience has contributed to scores of souls being saved.  Rick Gage decided to draw near to God, quit doing things his own way, and to surrender to the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit.  You may not be called to speak to thousands, but you can speak to one, or two, or whoever God appoints you to reach for Him.  We just have to be willing and allow God to love with the love of Christ and to speak through us. 

The Bible talks about the steps of a good, or righteous, person being "ordered" by the Lord. This day has been set aside to commemorate Christopher Columbus, and the Daily Citizen from Focus on the Family included this quote in a recent article from a book that the explorer had begun to write in 1502:

I have seen and put in study to look into all the Scriptures … Our Lord has opened to my understanding (I could sense His hand upon me), so that it became clear that it was feasible to navigate from here to the Indies … All those who heard about my enterprise rejected it with laughter, scoffing at me … Who doubts that this illumination was from the Holy Spirit?

We can make sure that we are seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, and to be willing to walk in the way He shows us.  We can be sensitive to the ways He is leading and to whom He is leading us to share.  Rick Gage is someone who decided to lay down His life and allow Christ to live through Him. We can make sure that we are totally surrendered to doing the will of God.