We are revisiting the text from the last two items, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15) The story of the New York City firefighter and the road markers reinforced the truth that Jesus’ mission is not an afterthought or "Plan B," but, the ONE thing for which Jesu came into the world.
In 1989 Pat and I were leading a church planting team in Fort Lee - Cliffside Park, NJ. Our weekly routine was to spend Friday mornings fasting and praying. Something happened on one of the sunlit autumn Fridays which we will never forget. The target area was difficult terrain physically and spiritually. The communities of Fort Lee and Cliffside Park are perched on the Palisades, cliffs overlooking the Hudson River which separates New Jersey from New York City. Nearly 60,000 people live in 3.5 square miles. High rise apartment buildings, complete with magnetic card activated security doors and gates, and doormen dominated the landscape and made meeting people difficult.
During the prayer meeting embedded in our memory, I looked out the window and viewed the "Greenhouse," a residence for wealthy and influential people, Asian executives representing their firms throughout the Orient, professionals who worked in New York City, scientists, educators, and entrepreneurs. In prayer I lamented the reality that residents protected their privacy and our team was having difficulty making friends, or communicating face to face. An effort to reach children in a local park was met with a threat of arrest. Nothing was working!
During prayer, I sensed the Lord speaking. "Do you really want to reach people in the Greenhouse?" My answer was swift and affirmative! Then the Lord simply urged, "Ask me, and I will give you the Greenhouse as I gave Jericho to Joshua." Of course I was eager for that to happen, but not for the qualifying conditions. Because, I knew that I had to lead a dozen students on a prayer walk around the building for the remainder of the morning – after explaining that I had heard from the Lord! I wrestled within, "What if this doesn’t work?" The students will tell their college dean and that will be the end of internships! They will tell others and I will look like a fool! But, I was convinced that Jesus had spoken and that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Walking and praying was worth the risk of embarrassment. The Spirit had spoken.
What happened is worthy of telling again and again! I’ll share the "Cliff Notes" version. While we walked around the Greenhouse praying, Rita, a young professional lady’s possessions were being moved into the building. Rita was Lebanese. Her family had fled to Paris, France, from Beirut during the wars and she attended a French University. As a student, Rita was led to the Lord by a campus ministry led by missionaries from Texas. Upon graduation, Rita was hired by a French firm who convinced her to take a leadership position in the United States. It was Rita’s furniture being moved into the Greenhouse while we prayed.
Shortly afterward, we met Rita and she became an active member of the newly forming congregation. When we needed a place for worship one Sunday, Rita arranged for the congregation to use the Greenhouse community room situated between the elevators and the swimming pool. I noticed an older couple observing our worship through the glass partition and invited them to join us for the meal that followed. The conversation with our new acquaintances was pleasant and opened the door to a most unexpected event.
The Monday evening following the meeting in the Greenhouse, I was watching a football game on television when our phone rang. It was the couple from the Greenhouse. They had just been informed that the man’s brother, who had been injured in World War Two and had lived in a Veteran’s Hospital in Brooklyn for more than 50 years, had died. They called asking, "Will you lead a funeral service for our relative? We haven’t attended a church for decades."
On the evening of the funeral I arrived at the mortuary situated next door to the Greenhouse. I found the last parking place in the high rise garage and made my way to the front door of the mortuary and was greeted by the funeral director who asked me to start immediately because of the overcrowded conditions. I discovered that my new acquaintances, whom I met the previous Sunday morning, were the longest tenured residents in the Greenhouse and the long-term chairpersons of the "Welcome Wagon." Hundreds of Greenhouse residents attended the funeral. Buddhists, Jews, devotees of Oriental religions, Muslims and Christians estranged from their spiritual roots had converged to that place to hear the Gospel. The prayer meeting that had circled the Greenhouse brought about a miraculous experience akin to Jericho!
One of the interns later served as the Greenhouse doorman for several months and welcomed many to worship service. A midweek Bible study met in Rita’s apartment for more than a year afterward. While it is the will and purpose of God to save sinners, it is also His work and power that saves sinners. In short, God knows how to do His work! It is for us to obey and follow His lead.
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