The Testing of Your Faith — Jackie Pullinger

Running the Race With Perseverance

So we're talking about the long haul Hebrews 12 verse 1 since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses. Let us throw off Everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance.

The race marked out for us. I think I believe that we all have a race Which Is different from some we're not in competition with one another. So it's not that it's. Have you begun your race and are you going to?

Finish it says here run with perseverance and It goes on to talk about Jesus and his race if you like or his Portion. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith Who for the joy set before him endured the cross scorning its shame and?

Sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus saw what was before him. For the joy set before him the joy set before him was you and me With him for eternity and because his he saw the the joy set before him he could endure the cross and Scorn it shame.

Jesus Finishes the Work Given by the Father

In John 4 he talked about His work on earth. Verse 34 my food Said Jesus is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work Jesus finished and said as he was about to die it is Finished when his disciples tried to dissuade him From going to Jerusalem because there are always those that want to dissuade us.

But for some reason we have a phrase which has appeared Amongst Christians, but it can't be a Christian term burn out. It's the wrong words. You cannot burn out if you are Running your race with his fuel.

You can burn out if you are trying to run someone else's race and Doing it without his fuel. That means that for whichever Purpose he has created us For whatever race it is you are to run and I am to run we can Endure and we can finish.

Vision, Calling, and the Goal God Gives

This is what it says in Luke 13 you if you got Bibles I'm very pleased to see some of you actually got books here. It's Awfully encouraging because yeah, I never quite sure if people are messaging, you know when they've got those other things.

Luke 13 32 His disciples are trying to Sorry the Pharisees Say leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you and he replied go tell that Fox. I will drive out Demons and heal people today and tomorrow and on the third day.

I Will reach my goal. He knew what his goal was it was to die. In any case I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day for surely no profit can die. Outside Jerusalem, this is on another subject, but there's a difference between vision and goals.

You know, we we live in an age where some people preach you can have what you want. Absolutely rubbish. That's called ambition very dangerous. Vision comes from the Lord. It's not something that you make up and it's given by him and It means That it will come about.

Maybe not in your lifetime. But it will come about the vision Jesus had was us. With him in eternity his goal on earth was to die different. And of course, it didn't look awfully good when he died. His score was low 12 disarrayed men.

And some faithful women after all the miracles he hadn't even multiplied his cell group once and we live in an age and I'm so sorry if you're young because it's harder for you where you Think we think we've got to come up with something to prove our calling.

We don't have to come up with anything at all except to run our race and be obedient and Love people and heal them and cast out demons along the way. That's it. That's all it's very simple. Joshua 14.

Caleb’s Perseverance and His Inheritance

This is a story about an old man, and I thought I would Talk to about an old man because we've and Mike told me that this morning. There are some less young people. Josh you are 14. This is when the People of Israel are finally going to cross over and take the land the promised land which has been Promised which they could have entered 40 years previously, but they got stuck Because of unbelief and Joshua who was with Caleb when the 12th spies had gone out to recce the land.

Verse 7 of chapter 14. I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Baniya to explore the land. And I bought him back a report according to my convictions. But my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear.

I However followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever. Because you followed the Lord my God Wholeheartedly.

One of the things I'm I'm not good at is the immigration queues. And at airports, I I have a happy knack of picking the wrong queue. I You know, it's one of my most unhealed areas. Is I get very annoyed when I've Queued and it's not yet me and you know, they've changed the man he's gone off for lunch or something and My worst of all one was LA Airport one day this was I Got through immigration the quickest, you know, I mean they have improved in LA they no longer look surprised that a plane has arrived and So or annoyed, you know, but they're very they're very not not not not not welcoming even though the signs say they are so I This was this was a couple of years back I thought I'd done awfully well because I made it to the desk in two minutes and then this man he Insisted on talking to me for a long time and and he said did you know?

That Prince Harry's brother who's Harry's brother William. Yeah print Prince William is going to change his son's name. Because they've been too many Georges so they get to call him Ludwig and. And I said really sorry, this is really off the point.

Really Yeah, and he said yeah, he was just joking with me, you know funny anyway so, you know after five minutes of this joke, I joined the the the the security queue that and I was. You know, I lost all the gain I'd made in the immigration queue.

I said I just never got there, you know, I do I don't know why I just. After half an hour I got to the man and he said he was sending me to the penalty area. So I went into the penalty area and they purposely have nobody.

Nobody dealing with the penalty people. I don't know why I was a penalty people. So It's on purpose. Eventually, I saw some people being looked after they've got huge huge luggage, you know, I got tiny I only ever travel with hand baggage and didn't know why I was penaltied and and After another, you know, I got to change planes.

I was gonna miss the next one, you know. Finally after about three quarters of an hour. I got to the man. It was my turn to for him to look at my penalty case and he said oh you can go and I said, excuse me.

But what was that all about? And he said oh your immigration officer forgot to make a tick on your form. So there you are. I'm not good at picking queues and I think that there are many of us that Think I'm gonna miss out on What God's got for me.

Someone else is going to get my portion. You know just like some people think if I don't go for this man someone else is going to get him. I mean, that's terrible. What why would we think we have to lay hold of?

What God may not have planned for us though, we hope so this is what the Lord says about Caleb in verse 10. He has kept me alive for 45 years since the time he said this to Moses While Israel moved about in the desert.

So here I am 85 years old. No, he didn't speak like that because he said I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out. I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then now. Give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.

Whatever the Lord has made you for He's not going to give it to somebody else. It is kept for you. And if you will not do it I Don't believe he hands it round. I believe it is kept for you because you are so important to his plan and No one else can bring the kingdom in that place for those people.

Except you who are created for that race that goal that land that inheritance those people and We're going to pray later For the old that you will be reassured if You thought you'd missed it. That it's kept for you and you can claim it and you must.

Training the Younger Generation for Endurance

And I'm going to pray for the young. This is what it says in Jeremiah 12 5. I love the scripture if you have raced with men on foot and They have worn you out. How will you compete with horses? If you have stumbled in safe country, how will you manage by the thickets in the Jordan?

It's a great verse look it up. He's actually saying you need training For your race if You give up because you're worn out. It's Jeremiah 12 5. Then you may never Get to see all that he's prepared for you.

You may never Learn all of the heart that he wants to share with you because you have given up out of weariness or Disappointment. Hebrews 10 36 says you need to persevere. Says that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he's promised.

Perseverance very good word. First it's not a it's not a word for this generation and it's hard for this generation because they have a bad time at school or Their boyfriend doesn't give them flowers and they send a sad face.

Everybody is stroking them Instantly when people come to join us in Hong Kong. Their parents are mad with us if they haven't Texted within 10 seconds of landing. It was much easier for me. I Made my first phone call home.

After one year I I had to book it and take a bus to the telephone station and I could just afford two minutes and you know my family they're hopeless on the phone, you know, because. Because we you know, we had a money box by ours and and it was in a cold place deliberately and and So I'd say I said, oh happy Christmas daddy.

Oh, happy Christmas Jackie. I'll give you to mummy. Happy Christmas Jackie. I'll give you to Nikki. Happy Christmas Jackie. I'll give you to Julie. You know, that was how it went. They all I'll give you to someone, you know, that was So is much easier for me you see.

So much easier because when I left I left and the when we are to Go and preach the gospel. We are to leave. Abraham was to leave and today it's so hard for young people because they take all their friends with them we we had a we had a Young lady, she won't mind me telling you this story.

But she was came from a very well-known Christian family very famous in from England and she arrived and it was Everything that She decided was Extremely subjective. What is the Lord saying to me now?

I'm the opposite I'm objective What does the Lord say in his word? And then How does this work out for me? Okay, not yet. So she had to you know, do I leave this Wednesday or do I leave in two weeks time?

I must pray, you know and I said there's a job to do. Could you please decide to do the job and then leave? You know, but anyway, I must pray about it. And I knew what she was doing. She was checking with her friends on The on the machine, you know friends see how many like is she got, you know, and I To myself I I said she's got a Greek chorus.

You probably don't understand that do you it's classical. You know in classical Greek plays. They had a Greek chorus that were always you know wailing on the side and Oh She's gone for the Greek chorus again, you know, it's very hard when you are when you are living with the poor.

One of the first things the poor always say to visitors is when are you leaving in case they're disappointed. One more person has come to look at us and say they've helped us for three weeks or three months or six months and You know what most of the people who live with us They they've been they've been beaten.

They've been sold. They've been raped. They've been abandoned. And they just want family. They want people who will love them and stay with them and not add them to their missionary tally and trips I have made.

They they really that's that's what they want to know how are you staying. Eventually this wonderful girl She she married one of our men Who was also from Britain he was helping and I discovered That as I was saying to myself the Greek chorus, there was a Greek chorus.

She and her friends had made a pact that they would consult themselves on everything in Greece where where they had villas and things like that because that's the family they came from but It's so hard for young people is it not when you have to check with your friends the will of God.

Likey not likey and be prepared perhaps To miss all their weddings. I Missed most of my family's weddings. I I missed I missed my mother dying. I Missed my father dying. I just wasn't there. I Couldn't couldn't get back in time, but you think I missed anything.

Just a little bit on this earth. But as as both of them had come to the Lord before they died. What have I missed? I Will be with them for eternity. I Don't have to have it all. Yeah, you need to persevere.

Patience, Unbelief, and Serving the Poor

I came up with this Little phrase patience. We need. What's the opposite of patience? You think it's impatience. It's not. The opposite of patience is unbelief when I first went to Hong Kong and got got involved with well, it's a very long story, but I Was I was in this walled city and if you think it is brave it wasn't Brave, I really loved it.

It was Quite easy for me to be there. So Mike got it wrong. It wasn't ten acres. It was about six acres with a hundred thousand people and no Electricity when I first got there just later on they stole electricity from outside.

It was left out of the treaty between Britain and China. That's why there was no law. And although you there wasn't any law there there were a lot of corrupt policemen who knew what was going on and used it and Got a huge amount of bribe money from the drug dens which were just outside wall city where you could see a hundred people at a time chasing the dragon, which is a method of Inhaling heroin and It was at that time that the They would pile the bodies up.

Of the addicts who died in the night by the only toilet which was just outside the wall city no water. You know, so it was one of those awful toilets. You've got to see if you can go in one breath. But I Saw this walled city and the old people old ladies with needle marks in the back of their hands that's because the veins in the other places have been used up and Those old ladies sat on boxes in the street.

And they were guarding the young girls who were prisoners the young prostitutes. That's what you must do. If you've been a young prostitute you don't have insurance plan and You end up guarding when you're older but they were all heroin addicts and Then the opium dens and then the gambling dens and then the girls themselves.

And the boys who joined the gangs. There was no compulsory school in those days and it wasn't free. And I looked at all the men Just outside the wall city because it was a squatter area Just as dark Lining up after they'd taken their drugs and I knew that most of them would be dead within a year.

And I remember saying dear Lord It would be worth my whole life if you'd use me to save just one and by the way, Lord, I Don't need to know Who I just asking you if I can be in it So wasn't hard for me.

I Was really happy to be there forever and not see anything. I Didn't understand. I met a lot of depressed missionaries. I didn't write about the depressed missionaries because I don't want to write negative things, but they they they mostly just come out of China with because I was there in the 60s and they'd mostly come out of China and They said oh, there's a dark spiritual cloud over Hong Kong.

Nobody gets saved and They didn't see anything happen. I didn't know I didn't understand why they would be depressed. Because it says in in 1 Corinthians 15 58 I have to look it up. Oh Yeah, not therefore be steadfast unmovable.

Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Knowing that nothing you do in the Lord's name is in vain. So I was thinking It doesn't matter if I never see anything happen. It won't be wasted now. You have to believe this.

This is what he said. Nothing you do in the name of the Lord is in vain. It's hard if if we're growing up in an age, which counts. Where if somebody's apparently led a thousand people to the Lord you think they've done better than you.

It's not true. We are only to be obedient to what he's called us to. To Heal the sick to love the poor to share our food to open our home to cast out demons along the way the results Are up to him. One sows and one reaps and He says I sent you to reap what you have not worked for.

Others have done the hard work and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. There are so many scriptures that teach us that one sows and one reaps. The one who reaps is not better than the one who sows.

It's the Lord who brings the harvest. So I was happy you see to be there and see nothing. Happened because I knew there'd be a harvest. He said faint not there will be a harvest if you faint not. At the proper time we will reap a harvest.

The problem is we're expecting to reap the harvest of what we've sown when most of the time we're going to reap the harvest of what someone else's own and I find that people get stuck in positions. I'm just sewing.

I'm just sowing or Nothing's happening here. I'm going to go to where the harvest is so they take planes to wherever Revival happens to be happening and I tell you the poor cannot take planes. And over the years I've seen so many people rush off to the latest move of God.

While people are starving I tell you there will be a move of God if you will stay and feed the starving. You take a plane to where a revival is happening. You take a plane and you say if we pray enough It'll get to the ends of the earth.

It will not get to the ends of the earth until you leg it. That is how the gospel came. The gospel came not with a message from heaven, but with a son Who came in flesh? There is not a substitute for going and legging it.

The Incarnation and Embodied Gospel Service

Physically and Going and serving with your hands physically because that's what Jesus did for us and That's what John that's what Peter. He said our eyes have seen our hands have touched he dwelt amongst us.

That's what they were so excited about the incarnation of the love of God. Demonstrated in the person of Jesus Christ. Who touched who healed who loved he lifted up? Those who are cast down I'm back to Hong Kong saying dear Lord.

If nothing if I never ever see anything happen, it's fine. Because I know there will be a harvest if I faint not. But at the same time that was patience you need to have patience at the same time I was impatient.

Now impatient is quite right because The promise is From Jesus in John 14 12 in my name you will do what I have been doing and even greater. And I said now Jesus. I'm not seeing this. I'm happy to live here for the rest of my life and see nothing on one hand.

Because I know there'll be fruit even if Somebody else gets to see it. However, dear Lord, I'm Impatient to see what you've promised. Because if I don't see what you've promised the people I love now are going to die before they've lived for their sake.

Come quickly. Now this is a good word. It's called quickening. We hasten the kingdom of God. We hasten the return of the Lord By loving those that have not yet lived. By preaching the gospel with our lives by feeding them by sharing our homes with them By holding them in our arms We hasten The coming of the kingdom of God, so I prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit, Tongues, and Evangelism

I spoke in tongues and was Unimpressed. I mean I was impressed with the miracle, but not impressed with my emotions and Where you know, I've learned quite a lot about them emotions. Because we have some Americans living with us and No, no, I'm really not joking you know, I where I grew up we we we had them, but we didn't know we had them and We sure didn't know how to explain them, you know, so So when I spoke in tongues my my my first reaction was oh I mean, I was in a terrible place.

I was in a it was a in in a couple's home in Hong Kong because they told me I needed The Holy Spirit which I said I'd got already anyway. They they put their hand on my head and I was sitting on a plastic black sofa and Sweating because it's very humid country and I think oh god, you know, this is terrible.

I'm never going to speak and they've got two plates on the table to celebrate when I received. One was oranges and the other was handkerchiefs for me to cry into and I thought oh God we're not gonna need either plate, you know nothing's happening and and Eventually, I spoke in tongues and I'm an oboe player if you know what that is.

So I knew this was the Lord because I you know, my tongue went really quick and that's quite a hard thing to do if you're a ball player and. But I was embarrassed and my reaction was oh, thank thank you Lord.

That they were Chinese. I couldn't have done this with the Brits and anyway Speaking in tongues didn't do anything for me. And it was a whole year later that I met some Americans who said Jackie do you pray in tongues, you know?

And I said no and they said why not and I said well, you know I thought everything was gonna change. And you know, I just feel silly praying in tongues and they said you're very rude. You the scripture says you're going to be built up spiritually it doesn't say you're gonna feel built up spiritually so get with it girl.

So I be I did start to pray in tongues and I this time it was the first time I prayed differently. I said dear Lord, there are these people dying and I want to speak to this one and this one and this one and this one.

That's how I used to pray. Will you help me when I was praying in tongues? I did the other way around I said dear Lord, you know who you want me to speak to you know who you've got ready. Please lead me to the people that you've got ready.

And he did after about six weeks of daily praying in tongues for half an hour. Still feeling nothing. I started to meet these gangsters and all these because I'd had a youth club. So I knew them all and Tell them about Jesus and fall down in the streets weeping and Who's amazing and like, you know, I thought oh my Chinese got so good.

But But I was actually saying the same thing that I'd said before it's just this time. I'm saying it to the right person. That's what evangelism is. Do you get it? You can't persuade anybody. The whole jobs done by him.

He leads you to somebody he's got ready you can say tomato ketchup and they believe in Jesus, you know and Then you can really and then you you cannot be proud. You just know God did the whole job and the Holy Spirit led you to the right person.

Jesus came and presented himself and you you you got your finger on it. I mean, that's what it is. So and by the way, because last night we prayed for the. And we blessed the praying grannies. Especially from the the black community the african-american community the faithful prayers.

And I found that of all these people that were coming to the Lord in every single instance that I could trace that been someone else before me a Grandfather or a grandmother or a teacher or someone and I was simply as the scripture says Reaping what someone else had sown.

I couldn't be proud but I was Delighted and Then came the Holy Spirit to bring people off drugs miraculously the first one was somebody who'd been sent to guard me because my youth club got Smashed up and I won't tell you that long story, but He was sent to guard me After it had been smashed up, it's a very small room just big enough for ping-pong table and They painted sewage on the walls and broken the windows and these were the people that I loved you know, I'd spent by this time six years with them and I'd got their sisters into schools.

I'd paid their gambling debts. I'd looked after their grandmothers, you know Doing what what I call normal gospel, that's what you do. Anyway, and Then they smashed the place up anyway, I There was a man sent to guard me on that first night after I cleaned up and He he he sat He stood he didn't come in to to to the room that the street is just two or three feet wide.

You understand? It's dark and He stood there and he he said You got any problems? And I said Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Who are you? And he said well Coco has sent me and Coco was the name of the gang leader of the the there were two main gangs in Wall City 14k and another one called Kingi and So he he was in charge of about 20 ,000 people who they Opium dens and gambling dens and women and Protection rackets not just in Wall City outside as well but they could hide in there because they couldn't be arrested and So he said Coco sent me and Coco says if anyone touches you or touches your place we're going to do them and I said Thank you.

It's really that that's very kind of you but Please will you go back to go go and tell him? Yeah, I don't accept his offer Because Jesus looking after me and he said teasing, you know she's cracked because his job in the gang was to fix fights and you know, he chose whether it was knives or choppers or Bottles or whatever.

Deliverance, Discipleship, and Life With the Poor

So Anyway, I although I refused his offer I Got his protection anyway, and every time I came in or out of the wall city there were about 16 entrances just you wouldn't know it was the entrance to a city.

It just looked like a little passage you had to squeeze into. And Because they wouldn't let outsiders or people they didn't want inside. So every time I came in that I got this man's Protection and I knew he was an opium addict but he didn't know I knew and he started to tell me about his friend and Could I help his friend get off opium and I said, oh, that's really easy.

You know, we'll just find a house in the in the countryside. And When nobody will hear him screaming and we'll Preferably will pad it. So so he won't kill himself when he goes crazy. We'll lock him in and After three days, we'll let him out because after three days he'll be off drugs.

It just takes 72 hours for the Stuff to get out of the bloodstream, of course. The problem is once you've opened the door his legs will go straight back To drugs because drugs is not a problem of the body.

It's a problem of the heart. So I Only know one person who can fix hearts and that's Jesus. So I told him about Jesus and he didn't want to hear but he was under orders from Coco. So he he had to take it.

So So this went on for a few weeks and then one day he never came into the youth club then one day he he stood Outside and I said Why don't you come in and praise God and he said okay and He came in and he started to sing the only song that he Knew Christian song because I used to have meetings you see in inside I was the only one that went to the meetings Me and the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, you know.

But he'd heard me singing this song which goes it's a very old song. Some of you might know if you're very old Give me oil in my lamp to keep me burning which is which is very good for opium addicts. So so he He's he started to sing this song then he started to pray.

Like I've never heard anyone pray the Holy Spirit came upon him. He spoke in tongues for half an hour and I knew he was off drugs. And I thought oh good. That's the end now all I have to do is Go into the drug dens put my hands on people, you know the Holy Spirit will come and they'll be delivered and it doesn't actually work like that, but I said to him well Praise God, you know bought again Keep away from the bad guys and keep with the good guys and I'll see you at the Sunday meeting it's going to be five of us and So He came to this Sunday meeting.

This was a few days later and he said I really want to praise God. Because I was in the opium then the other night and they offered me free opium now opium then. They're very small. Maybe maybe a hundred square feet with a platform where everything is slimy because the men lie there and stuff comes out from every opening in their body every and So he said they offered me free opium and I really wanted to take it and then I then I remembered oh, wait a minute I can't do this.

I believe in Jesus now. So I knelt on the platform and I sang to them Give me oil in my mouth to keep me burning. So Praise God, I didn't take and I said no, you know, you can't praise God this that you you're just tempting the Lord you cannot go into opium then and Pray for strength not to take opium and he said I lived there.

So when he needed a clean shirt, he he would put his shirt into the laundry and take one out. There I was saying just like it says in James be fed be clothed be warmed go your way. How can you start a new life with Jesus when your home is opium then I tried to find a home for him and could not.

All the Christian hostels wanted a month's rent which neither of us had and Testimony from a pastor and a job. So he didn't have any of that. So eventually, I took him to the place I was living and Then all his friends knocked on the door and said I'm soo jazzed my name if Jesus got him his his name was guac.

I a cunning guy now renamed Winston it if Jesus got him off drugs then I will believe in Jesus and I will come and live in your house this. Because they all always thought that believing in Jesus and living in my house went together which I Think is true.

You you understand this is why they come to Jesus, don't you? Because we don't say We love you we mean it and They know that Is why the fame of Jesus? Has gone abroad and we saw the same Miracle except this time instead of waiting for the sovereign Holy Spirit to land on someone we encouraged them to invite Jesus and Receive the gift of tongues and They would all do that, of course and then pray in that language to get off drugs and But we would sit with them.

We do this for 10 days. Every hour of the day, so that's one man 60 prayer shifts and if we take Four people off drugs. That's 240. I know you understand numbers here because you have Prayer shifts ours are with people.

So there we were. People coming to the Lord and growing up and doing rather well and then leaving. Doing rather well and then leaving. Yes, it is like that with the poor. One thing you must never do is to try to identify leaders too soon.

It's killing. Cannot they're not there for you to shape your future ministry. Or run it or inherit it they're there to be loved and cared for and Allowed to fail. Because they're worth it. Because he died for them and he died for me and thought Apparently I was.

So it didn't look that good. It didn't look that good. Because they came and they went. There was one called our child. How I loved our child. I'd I'd met him and Told him about Jesus and he had received Jesus.

He was a gangster from another gang. I'd met him again in court. It's a long story. When he saw me in court, he had decided to plead guilty instead of Instead of not guilty which he was going to plead because he caught he saw me out of the corner of his eye.

It's a long story. Eventually our child says he he really wants to get off drugs and he comes to live with us on day two. He changed his mind. Now people do it's called the old man and the new man. We've learned to listen To the new man and not to talk to the old man.

Yeah, don't expect you to understand this but He said now I've decided I don't want to follow Jesus after all I think I need to leave so I said you cannot leave. We're going to pray in tongues and you'll be fine.

And he said I will not. I'm leaving. You cannot stop me and I said I will. You see I believe when you said you wanted to follow Jesus. That's what I believe. I don't believe what you're saying. Now, that's.

Ah, he said I will jump while we were living on the seventh floor at that time I've I've rented or borrowed over 300 places Over the years to pray people off drugs. This one was on a seventh floor. He said I'm gonna jump.

I'm terrified of heights. So I turned my back and said, okay. He disappeared and I Later on I looked and I couldn't see a puddle at the bottom. So I went to the lady in the apartment next door the balcony.