Day Five

I want to start by just saying – WOW WHAT A DAY!

Last night the four of us met and discussed what we have observed and made some adjustments to our lessons. We have been observing that some that we have much work to do but we have found a base to that work with. John Kabul has a heart that is made of compassion for truth. He is but a babe who has been put into a teaching position. Yet, in private conversation with him today that Jimmy and I had we found him to be further along than we expected in his knowledge and his wisdom of what is happening here in Sierra Leone among those who have been baptized is just great. Christian Asgill and Theopolis have proven to be very knowledgeable (they were taught the gospel by those who uphold institutionalism several years ago) and eager to learn more about the way to do the proper work of the church and to assist us with information about different congregations set up by the same folks who taught them years ago.
We had hoped and prayed that we would be able to study with these good brethren one on one and in the last three nights we have had two in-depth conversations with Christian and Theopolis. We have now had several discussions privately with John Kabul and they have been very profitable.

Tonight I was extended an invitation to speak Sunday at Priscilla Street (a congregation started by those of the institutional teaching years ago). Also, today Dan Barker received an invitation for us to go to a congregation started by the same ones years ago that is just over the mountain a congregation of about 50 people in Wilberton. The Lord is opening doors all around us and we are trying to adjust our schedules to get through everyone of them. Of course Satan is working hard against and we have to deal with that also.

Dan Barker started us off with his best lesson yet and he has now had three good ones – but today he was so intense with his teaching that you would have just had to be here to feel the intensity. He really got into what makes one a New Testament Christian – it was powerful and yet he just taught and taught and taught – he did not let up at all and the audience was with him all the way – Dan is a former basketball player and coach – folks he had the full-court press on today and he was trapping the unbelievers at every corner. What a lesson it was. WOW was the only word I could come up with as I was just speechless (and you know that does not happen often).

Jimmy and I were just slobbering all over ourselves about what a great lesson Dan Barker gave when Dan Byers got up to teach. Well, folks the slobbering had just started!

Dan Byers gave the best lesson I have ever heard on Husbands as God would have them to be. While Dan’s two previous lessons on the family had been just fantastic – today’s lesson had the whole room in awe – both men and women. He walked us through the idea that God made woman from the rib and then gave the rib back to the man in the form or woman to make him complete – it was beyond words the points he made and how he made – also it was such a powerful lesson that Dan Barker who worships at Fayette said “This is the most excited I have ever seen him get.” As we were looking at Dan Byers during this lesson sweat was pouring from him – he was working folks and he drove home his points – WOW is about all I can say.

Well since I was still in the state of slobbering Jimmy decided I guess that I needed to stay there. Here he came after a short break after Dan Byers lesson starting with Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17. He then went into a brief study of how apostasy came about to set up his main thoughts of what the church of Christ is and how can we fulfill the prayer of unity that Jesus prayed for. He walked the aisles – he had the audience to answer questions – he drove home points from the scriptures that he knew were points of contention for many in the studies –he never let up – now folks I am sitting there in the state of slobber thinking Dan Barker hit a home run – Dan Byers hit a home run – Jimmy Lee has hit a home run and I am on deck – it was an overwhelming pressure – they had taught their hearts out and while everyone of them had been teaching great they raised the bar today – WOW is all I can say.

I followed these three great lessons with a lesson on church history (part one). I gave a history of how the world had changed from when the Old Testament was completed and we pick back up with the New Testament. My goal was to bring them along that Jesus came into the world that was full of religious confusion and that it was a world of different religious sects. Then I walked them through how Jesus was the Messiah that had been prophesied and that He Himself spoke “prophecy” we stated I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Also how he spoke about ones who would use His name to do things but that He would tell them He never knew them because of the iniquity they worked – in other words they were not doing the will of God. The audience stayed with me even though we were approaching the 5 and ½ hour mark of our studying and teaching.

We had started the study an hour earlier than normal today because of so many questions – we answered questions for an hour and a half before we started teaching. At the end of my lesson (our last lesson of the day) we went back and answered more questions – total studying time at Ebenezer Hall today without stopping – about 6 hours and 45 minutes! It then took us about an hour and 20 minutes to get through traffic to get back to the hotel – we were sweaty – stinky and hungry!

We decided to eat first and then shower. While we were eating Christian and Theopolis came to the restaurant to talk with us – we were so thankful for their visit – then we came back and had our nightly prayer and discussion – the other three have had their showers – it is 11:28 P.M. and I am really “cruddy” from all the slobbering during their lessons – the sweat from the heat and the work – not to mention the normal layer of dirt from just the traveling the streets of Sierra Leone.

All I can say is today was a WOW day – who knows what God has in store for us tomorrow?