Last week, the homeless men and women wanted to take time to thank all of you who have given of your time, your finances, your prayers and your support. You know who you are! They all signed this "Thank You" card for those of you who have blessed them.
We also want to thank Community Fellowship, New Life Community Church and Freedom Baptist Church in the Martinsville/Ridgeway, VA area for helping us meet the needs of our friends here locally by providing coats, hats, socks, etc. We'd also like to thank our friends at the ROC (Richmond Outreach Center) for allowing some of our men to enter into their discipleship homes. We are all very grateful to God for all you are doing to help. Thank you!
Matthew 35:25-26 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I
was sick and you looked after me, I
was in prison and you came to visit me.’
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice! Great is his faithfulness! Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again rejoice! He is the author and the finisher of our faith! The holy one! The worthy one! The risen one! The one who takes away the sins of the world! Who is like the Lord, our great God? Who can compare to this mighty one? Who can understand the depths of his love and his mercy? The earth is the Lord's and everything in it belongs to him! He makes all things new! A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out! Lift up your head, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The one who restores! The good Shepard! The one who leads us beside still waters and quiets our soul with his love. His name is Jesus Christ! Our God and our King!
This is the message we brought to W. 19th street tonight. Many received the word with attentive ears and open hearts. We prayed for many people, laying hands on the sick, praying for those who are suffering, declaring God's promises over their lives, tearing down strongholds, wrecking the works of darkness by the power of His word!
Several weeks ago, as I was seeking direction from the Lord, as to what he would have me say to these men and women who have been lied to for so many years by the enemy. I heard him say to me, "Show them who I am, show them how different I am" Each week, I read John 3:16-17 before I preach to those who sit before me. I hone in on the part that says, "He did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world." I've showed them how Jesus responded to the woman of Samaria at the well (John 4), the woman caught in adultery (John 8), the man who laid at the pool for 38 years (John 5) and this week I shared about the raising of Lazarus (John 11). I've drawn their attention to how different He is from any other. His love is real, his patience is rich and His mercy is unfailing. There is none like him in all the earth!
The testimony of a prophetic word:
A few weeks ago, as I was praying for Clifton - a man who the Lord is changing by His grace - the Lord gave me a prophetic word for Him. Here's the word..."Go home to your family as the Lord is mending relationships, even now. Go and sin no more!" I received this word as I was praying for Him. At the time, I wasn't sure of his relationship status, but I wanted to be faithful to what the Lord was saying, so I delivered the word to him as I was praying.
Many of you know, that last week, I went to pick Clifton up to take him to the ROC (Richmond Outreach Center). When I arrived downtown - around 3:30 - he wasn't there. I was sad in the moment, because I felt like Clifton was ready to check into the discipleship home and begin to grow in his relationship with the Lord. When I asked the others where he might be, they said they saw him getting into a black vehicle earlier that day. I later found out that the person driving the black vehicle was his wife, who he has been separated from, for the past several months.
Last night, I saw Clifton and he told me that when I gave him the prophetic word a few weeks ago, he called his wife. Although, she didn't answer at first, she did call him back and she came to pick him up to spend the day with him. He's been talking to her on the phone regularly and occasionally she'll come pick him up. The Lord knew how to instruct Clifton, even though I thought he was supposed to go to the ROC.
The Lord provides:
Tonight, as I was preaching, I noticed a car pull up behind me. It stopped in the road. They rolled their windows down to listen to the message. I wasn't sure who they were, but at the end of the message - when I invited our friends for prayer - I noticed them get out of the car and walk towards us. I looked back to see what they were doing and realized that they were coming to help us pray. In that moment, I was overwhelmed with joy, as there were several people who were waiting to receive prayer.
Steve, Aaron and Jon couldn't be there tonight, so it was me, Jeremy, David, Nick, Rebekah and Noah. Jeremy and Rebekah were playing guitar and singing over them, so it was David, Nick and I who were available to pray. The onlookers took their rightful place as they laid hands on people to pray for them. How awesome is the hand of the Lord our God!
When we were done praying, I approached this elderly couple to introduce myself. They said they would like to join us on Saturday nights. This is the exact vision of "A Church Without Walls." We exist to break down the denominational barriers that exist in our day and age and to see the bride of the Lord working together in perfect unity. (John 17) We desire to see people break away from the pew and step out into the works of service that have been prepared for each of us. We are all ministers of the gospel and we've been commissioned to go!
Great is thy faithfulness:
Last week, I was getting a little nervous as we only had $54 in our ministry account. Typically, we spend around $100 - $130 for food and drinks. Thankfully, I remembered the word of the Lord..."Be anxious in nothing, but in everything, with thanksgiving, make your request known to God." Thus far, we've always had enough money to buy what we were taking to the streets. Not only have we had enough, but we usually have an extra week or two in the account, so we haven't really thought about not having enough to buy food for our friends.
We have watched the Lord provide week in and week out, but now our faith was being put to the test. On Sunday night, I went away to pray. I specifically asked God to provide for our needs. As I was praying the Lord said, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? I remembered, "You have not, because you ask not," so I asked the Lord to provide for the work. On Monday, we received $112 in the mail! On Friday, we received $100 in the mail and also $40 cash from a friend who sold some items on the craigslist thrift store. Isn't he faithful?
As I said earlier, Steve, Aaron and Jon weren't able to come this week. Steve was celebrating 25 years of marriage with his wife, Aaron and Monique were attending a wedding for a friend and Jon had to work late. However, the Lord showed himself faithful, again. Initially, I thought I might go out alone, but my friend Jeremy and his wife Rebekah wanted to come. When Jeremy showed up at my house, David was with him. God was providing the people that we would need for this very special night. I received a call from Nick, whom I spoke with earlier in the week. He expressed interest in going out with us and called me to see what time we would be going. To be honest, I forgot about my conversation with Nick, but the Lord was again providing for His people on 19th street. The Lord showed up tonight in power!
My favorite part of the night was seeing one of our friends sitting in a chair as Rebekah braided his hair. Jeremy, David and her were singing over him as she braided. I immediately thought about Jesus washing the disciples feet as I watched her braid. Scripture was alive in that very moment!
The Lord is faithful and worthy to be praised! "Who do you say that I am?" I call you faithful, Lord!
It never fails that as I bring the Gospel of God to others the Lord in His mercy teaches me something new. Tonight, as we ministered to the homeless in Norfolk a storm was brewing. We could see the clouds moving in.
Jen and Harry Serving
We grilled out with our friends tonight and we served over 50 homeless people burgers, dogs, beans, potato salad, chips, sodas, and ice cream. The clouds moved in closer as Aaron preached an encouraging message revealing that we don’t have to ‘get ourselves right’ before coming to the Lord. He took our wrath, He drank from that cup… every lick of it…. so that He could make us righteous, something we cannot do on our own.
His grace is sufficient for us. His mercy is complete. We need only faith and He will clean us up from the inside out.
Steve ministering to Antonio
The Lord gave me an adjoining word, but I failed to share it. I should have shared it, but at the least I will share it now, with you our readers….
A storm is coming. We can see it over our shoulder. We can taste it in the air; we can feel the temperature drop and the winds picking up. We can see the clouds, we hear the distant thunder, and the lightning flashes as the storm draws near.
There’s another storm brewing too. A storm that is much bigger, much more significant. It is the storm of our jealous God’s wrath. In the storm we see behind us we know that when the rain comes it will cover every tree, every home, even every single blade of grass.
The storm of the Lord will cover every person, it will not miss a single soul, and no one can withstand its coming; not the rich or the poor; not those who live in homes or those who live on the streets; not the free man or the slave; not the living or the dead – there is not even one who can avoid it.
Aaron Preaching
In this violent storm our kingdoms will fall, our relationships will fail, our thoughts will fragment, and our strong towers will falter. Who can stand on the day of Lord? Who will save me from this coming storm of wrath?
Praise be to God for Jesus Christ our Lord! As Aaron preached tonight it is by His grace, His mercy, by His perfect sacrifice that I might stand, and yet not I, but Him and I will stand by faith
in Him.
Not by knowing His name. Not by saying a ‘saving’ prayer. Not by attending church.
Jimmy ministering to David
Do not deceive yourself thinking that by these things you can be saved. Be saved and He will put off your drunkenness. Be saved and He will put away your violent nature. Be saved and He will end the adulterous relationship you are in. Be saved and through Him you will leave behind your life of laziness. Be saved and by the power of God you will stop being self-centered. Be saved and He will cast off your love of money and this world.
It is His work from first to last. You cannot clean yourself up, but when you become a new creation in Christ, He will make you clean and you will no longer desire to live in your sin.
Come to Jesus. Be His disciple and He will make all things new. Come to Jesus and He will give you life. Come to Jesus and you will rise far above the coming storm. Come to Jesus. Come as you are. Come to Jesus while He may be found.
Last night, Jeremy, David, Travis, Aaron, Monique, Noah and I headed to the inner city to meet with our homeless friends, on West 19th street.We had 15 pizzas, 2 bags of clothes, 2 trays of cupcakes, 6 cases of toothpaste, 4 cases of drinks, a new bible for Clifton and a message of hope for all who were there.
The Lord has been faithful week in and week out to provide for the needs of these people.For those of you who don’t know, “A Church Without Walls” has no pastor salaries, no mortgages for buildings, no light bill, no A/C bill, etc.We believe that we have been called to use the resources that God has given us to provide for the basic needs of the poor and needy.Our purpose is built on Matthew 25:35-36 – “For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was naked and you clothed me.”
As we arrived, the food line began to form.Our friends began to greet us with handshakes and hugs.Each of us moved to our position and began to serve.
Our new minister Shacka:
Last week, while we were ministering in the streets, I was approached by a young lady who attended Norfolk State University.She stated that her and a friend were driving by and noticed us gathered in groups praying for the homeless.She asked if she could interview me about what we were doing, as she held out her video recorder.She said that she was doing a project on homelessness for a class and she couldn’t believe what she saw when she drove by our location.
After the interview, she asked how she could get involved.I told her that we went out every Saturday night and she was welcome to join us anytime.I sent her a text yesterday to let her know we were still going out and although she didn’t respond at first, she showed up with two loaves of bread, sandwich meat, some t-shirts and bottled water later that evening.She ministered alongside of us and encouraged our friends.
Our message:
This week, as I was praying about what the Lord would have me share with my friends, I was led to John 5.I was struck last week when one of the men told me that he had been homeless for 8 years.I immediately thought about the man who lay at the pool for 38 years, before he encountered Jesus.I drew attention to the fact that Jesus goes up to Jerusalem in this story for the feast of the Jews.I found it interesting that Jesus wasn’t at the feast, being merry and eating, but rather he was at a pool where a multitude of invalids were.Out of the multitude He was drawn to one man, who has suffered for 38 years.Jesus asks him a sobering question, “Do you want to get well?”The man replied with an excuse, “Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred and another always goes down before me.”I simply used this message to ask my friends some sobering questions.I asked, “Do you want to be well, do you want to get off these streets, do you want to be delivered from that addiction, do you want your marriage and family relationships restored, do you want to get a job, do you want to have food and shelter?”
Many of them starred at me as if I had the magic answer that they all wanted to hear.It’s as if I could see hope rising up in them as I imagined them wondering, if this was even possible and if I was going to tell me how…I shared passionately as I reminded them what Jesus said to the lame man at the pool.I said, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
My vision – now a reality:
Last November, God began to stir my heart.The theme of his message to me was that I had become a Sunday Christian, living a life of comfort and ease.A scripture that the Lord has burned on my heart is found in Deuteronomy 8.It says, “When you build fine houses and settle down and all that you have is multiplied, then you will forget the Lord.”
I often, like to think about what the Lord has brought me out of and how he has radically saved me.But for several months, I was convicted about going to church on Sunday and care group during mid week.This verse in Haggai continued to confirm what the Lord was saying to me.“Is it a time for you to build your paneled houses, while my house lies in ruins?”
I knew God was speaking to me and this is what motivated me to start going to some of the darkest areas of our city, with a passion to share the gospel.Before I went, the Lord gave me a picture of me preaching in Tidewater Park to the homeless.That confirmed the name of our ministry “A Church Without Walls.”I saw the picture as plain as day, it was a real church service, right there in the city park.This week, unbeknownst to me, my friend Jeremy took some pictures of me preaching in the streets.It was almost exactly what I saw in the vision the Lord gave me last November.Here it is:
