Saturday Night’s Alright For… Friends
Once again, we gathered together with brothers and sisters in Christ on Saturday night. This time, there was a smaller group: only my family and one other family. But, this was a special time for me, because my friend shared what God is doing in their lives and how God is leading them.
I have known this brother and his family for a few years, almost as long as I have lived in North Carolina. Since I have known him, he has believed that God is calling him and his family to move to a particular city in the United States. (By the way, I have no reason to doubt this call.) They do not know when God wants them to move, but they are ready to move whenever God says, “Go.”
This reminded me of a conversation that I had with another brother last week. We were discussing whether or not God calls people to specific locations. I have not studied this in detail, so I do not know if I can make a blanket statement. We know from Scripture that God has called people to specific locations before. For example, in Acts 16:7-10, Paul desires to go to Bithynia. However, the Spirit does not allow him to go. Instead, Paul has a vision that convinced him that God wanted him to go to Macedonia. In this instance, at least, God called Paul to a specific location. So, I ask you, does God call people to specific locations? And, does He always call people to specific locations?
So, what is my friend planning to do once he moves to this city? Does he plan to find a staff position in a local church? Does he plan to start a church? No. He believes that God wants him and his family to move into this city and to begin living as believers in an area where there are very few believers. He believes that God will bring other believers into his life, and together they will live as the church. In this area, the general population does not trust organizations and institutions that call themselves “church”. I think this could probably be said of other communities as well.
This conversation has provoked me to think about my own life and my interaction with other believers. Do those around me recognize my life as being different? Does my interaction with other believers cause unbelievers to desire the same type of community? Are all of my interactions with believers centered around organizations and institutions, or are they centered on mutual relationships with other believers as we are brought together by God? Can I recognize the difference?
This weekend has been (and continues to be) a special time of community for my family. As I mentioned in a previous post (“Reading John…“), we spent Friday evening with several brothers and sisters reading the Gospel of John. Saturday evening, we spent time with this family. And, Sunday, several friends are coming to our home for lunch after our formal meeting. We look forward to what God continues to do in our lives through the encouragement, teaching, and admonishment of these brothers and sisters that He has brought into our lives.
What your friend is experiencing is, in my opinion, right in line with the way God sometimes works. I would stop short of saying it’s a hard-and-fast rule, because I don’t believe it is. But there is definite precedent for it in Scripture.
I don’t often put it in those terms, but reading your friend’s sense of being led to a particular city and a desire to just “live as believers” there reminds me very much of how I ended up in Boone.
Christy had grown up here, but was living in Charleston, SC when we met. I was in Austin, TX (aka Reno, according to Alan).
We came to Boone for me to meet her parents, and while I had been very convinced that God had me in Austin permanently, and had already talked to Christy about her moving to Austin, I had a very strange sense when visiting Boone that we were supposed to be here.
I mentioned it to Christy (much to her surprise!), but didn’t think too much more about it.
That night while I sat in the Houston airport on a layover to Austin, Christy was sharing with me on the phone how her attempts to find a teaching position in Austin were not working, even though there were positions open. The schools just were not returning her calls.
The next day, I returned to Austin to find out that I had been laid off from my job. My financial security in Austin was ripped out from underneath me.
It was then that I realized what I had felt in Boone was truly from God, and He was making it very clear that Austin was to be a thing of the past.
So, anyway….God bless your friends!! It’s always exciting to hear of others sensing God’s leadership in this way.
Okay, can I get some more points for saying that the title of this post is from an Elton John song? 😉
Seriously, I think God does call people to certain locations like your friend. I think that is awesome that he wants to go and live as a believer amongst many unbelievers in order to show them Jesus. I have often thought of that here in Atlanta. There is an area here that I have thought about off and on about for some time now that is nice, a neat artsy area (I like artsy areas 🙂 ), but is also predominantly “anti-Christian”, etc. I’ve often thought how it would be to live there and just walk Jesus among them.
I have spoken with other people from time to time that have moved to certain locations based on a call from God to that particular area. They are great testimonies to hear.
Blessings!
Oh, I do believe that God calls people to certain places! The reason I know is that it is a very important part of my testimony! God moved the friend that witnessed
to me within 3 apartment buildings of where I used to live in Texas many years ago. I was drawn to her
very quickly….even though our
lifestyles were very different. But she faithfully lived and talked
Jesus to me. I really thought she
was a “nut” at the time! We were
there for about a year and then
received orders to move to Alabama.
Guess what? About a month later,
her husband received orders to go
to…..Alabama! We were about an
hour away from each other, but kept
contact. Then she invited me to
her house for a weekend and that
is when we sat on her front porch
and she read Matthew 13 about the sower and the seeds. She may have
read those passages to me before, I
don’t really remember. All I know
is that laying in bed that night
thinking about the seeds is when
I recognized my need for the Saviour…and the Holy Spirit
showing me that He is Jesus!! God
used time and distance and a willing servant to “follow” me so
that I could receive His precious
gift of eternal life! I haven’t
seen my friend since that night in
1992. But we talk all the time on
the phone and one of the things
that really amazes us is His
ability to place us where we
should be. I would encourage
anyone who is convicted by the
Lord to go where He asks. There
may be just ONE person there…
May God receive all the glory!!
I want to piggyback on what was just said above … years ago when Brandon and I bought our first house we couldn’t choose between 2 styles that we liked in the same neighborhood. One was on one cul-de-sac and one was on the main street. I just knew without a doubt that we were to buy the one on the main street, even though the better deal/lot/house/etc. was the other one.
Little did I know at the time that God was positioning us to be next-door neighbors with someone from our highschool. I’ve talked about her before, how I had the priviledge to introduce her to the Lord and disciple her and share my life with her. Ever since that time I have always known that SHE was the reason that God wanted us in that house. To this day we all talk about how it was God that made us neighbors 🙂
Everyone,
Thank you for the comments and for the testimonies. I enjoyed learning more about how God has directed each of you in the past.
-Alan
God called me here to the US. He put the desire in my heart because I didn’t want to come, and after I came I spent several years waiting for the day to go back. Things were going great for me in Brazil. I had a part time job that payed well, was attending university (it is a public, so it was free), was “plugged in” at church, etc.
I asked God that if he wanted me to come (my mom was transferred here and wanted me to come), He would have to put the desire in my heart. He did and I could not escape it. I had always thought I would go back. Then, during my last semester in college, someone asked me if I was going back to Brazil when I finished my education. My answer caught me off guard because I then realized that God had already worked on my heart to “consider” staying here. Good thing, because the person that asked me that question is now my wonderful husband!
Renata,
Thank you for adding your testimony here. I don’t think I’ve heard that part of your story before.
-Alan
Acts 17:26-27 “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”
The emphasis is mine.
Cindy
Cindy,
Thank you for sharing that passage of Scripture. It does seem pretty definite, doesn’t it?
-Alan
Indeed.