do what jesus did

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DoWhatJesus

DiDa real-life field guide

to healing the sick,

routing demons and

changing lives forever

Robby DaWkins

G(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Robby Dawkins, Do What Jesus DidChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2013. Used by permission.


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2013 by Robert Dawis

Published by Chose Boos11400 Hampshire Aeue SouthBloomigto, Miesota 55438www.choseboos.com

Chose Boos is a diisio oBaer Publishig Group, Grad Rapids, Michiga

Prited i the Uited States o America

All rights reserved. No part o this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or trasmitted i ay orm or by ay measor example, electroic, photocopy,recordingwithout the prior written permission o the publisher. The only exception isbrie quotatios i prited reiews.

Library o Cogress Catalogig-i-Publicatio DataDawis, Robby.

Do what Jesus did : a real-lie eld guide to healig the sic, routig demos, adchagig lies oreer / Robby Dawis.

pages cm.Icludes bibliographical reereces.Summary: A Chicago pastor oers a real-lie eld guide to healig the sic, rout-

ig demos, ad maig a dyamic impact or the Kigdom o GodProided bypublisher.

ISBN 978-0-8007-9557-3 (pb. : al. paper)1. Eagelistic wor. 2. Missios. 3. Miracles. 4. Demoology. 5. Spiritual heal-

ig. I. Title.BV3790.D4155 2013269 .2dc23 2013002788

Uless otherwise idicated, Scripture quota-

tios are rom the Holy Bible, New Itera-tional Version. NIV. Copyright 1973,1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used bypermissio o Zodera. All rights reseredworldwide. www.zodera.com

Scripture quotatios idetied ESV are romThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version(ESV), cpyight 2001 y Cwy, pu-lishing ministry o Good News Publishers.Used by permissio. All rights resered. ESVText Editio: 2007

Sciptue qutti ietife GNT e mthe G New TltiSec Eiti.Copyright 1992 by America Bible Society.Used by permissio.

Sciptue qutti ietife ISV tke mthe Holy Bible: International Standard Ver-sion. Copyright 19962013 by The ISVFoundation. All rights reserved internation-ally. Used by permissio.

Sciptue qutti ietife MESSAGE erom The Message by Eugene H. Peterson,copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001,

2002. Used by permission o NavPress Pub-lishig Group. All rights resered.

Sciptue qutti ietife NASB e mthe New American Standard Bible, copy-right 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972,1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 y The Lckm Fu-datio. Used by permissio.

Sciptue qutti ietife NIV1984 tke

rom the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNA-TIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973,1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission oZodera. All rights resered.

Scripture quotations identied NKJV arerom the New King James Version. Copy-right 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Usedby permissio. All rights resered.

Sciptue qutti ietife NLT e mthe Holy Bible, New Livig Tlti, cpy-right 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale HouseFoudatio. Used by permissio o TydaleHue Pulihe, Ic., Cl Stem, Illii60188. All rights resered.

Scripture quotatios idetied TLB are romThe Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used bypemii Tyle Hue Pulihe, Ic.,Wheato, Illiois 60189. All rights resered.

Scripture quotatios idetied KJV are romthe Kig James Versio o the Bible.

All events in this account are actual. How-eve, i ccce with the wihe ceti

participats, some ames hae bee chagedi order to protect their priacy.

The iteret addresses, email addresses, adphone numbers in this book are accurate atthe time o publication. They are providedas a resource. Baker Publishing Group doesot edorse them or ouch or their cotetor permaece.

Coer desig by Gearbox

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)



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this boo is dedicated to the memory o the loig lie ad

miity my mthe, Re Mie Dugl Dwki. He

loe or Jesus ad her seless sacrice or me ad may others

whom she pastored ad led hae shaped my lie oreer. Time

ad agai, I saw her reach out ad sere people, icludig the

homeless ad metally ill i our home. I the early seeties,

my uwy hmele tee u mthe lvig m

i her embrace. We too so may people i whom she would

loe, coo or ad share Jesus lie-chagig message with. Her

aith ad relatioship with Jesus were ushaable. Ee i her

nal days o battling painul colon cancer, she turned to me

oe ight ad said, Jesus loig-idess is better tha lie.

The story o my birth illustrates my moms aithuless to

God. Sata appeared to her ad told her that i she allowed my

birth to tae place, he would ill both o us whe I was bor.My moms respose was, The Lord clearly has a pla or this

childs lie that you want to stop, and I will not put my hand

agaist Gods plaee i it meas the loss o my ow lie.

From that day o, she battled regular isitatios ad tormet

rom Satan as he tried to get her to terminate the pregnancy.

Her answer was always rm; she would not do it. I was born

o Easter Suday morig. Though there had eer bee aycomplications during her pregnancy with me, as the doctor

departed the delivery room he turned to my ather and said,




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Do What Jesus Did

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I just let a war zone. Both mother and child are ne, but it

wt withut fght. I elieve tht ccue ecue wht

is cotaied or you withi the pages o this boo.

Special Thanks

I also wat to tha my woderul wie, Agie, ad six sos,

Judah, Micah, Isaiah, Eliah, Caah ad Caspia, or their u-

dying support and patience in this process. You seven are all

my ispiratio.

I wt t epecilly thk Nicle Velkel, withut whm thi

proect would hae eer happeed. Her research, writig ad

passio or the message i this boo were so sigicat. I am

oreer appreciatie o her aithul dedicatio.




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9

Ce

Foreword by Bill Johso 11

1. Gagsters i the Doorway 13

2. First Glimpse 29

3. Dry Boes 39

4. The Upside-Dow Kigdom 55

5. Nicels i Gods Pocet 75

6. God Speas: Learig to Recogize His Voice 99

7. Destroyig Satas Wors 123

8. Freedom or the Capties 137

9. Walig i Authority (You Hae More Tha You

Realize) 149

10. Wouded Healers? Hope to a Hurtig World 171

11. Doubt Is No Disqualier 189




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Do What Jesus Did

10

12. Raisig the Dead 207

13. Perseerace: Dot Let Discouragemet Wi 227

MeDo What Jesus Did? 245

Notes 249




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11

Frewrd

oe o my aorite Bible stories is about the two discipleswalig o the road to Emmaus. Jesus had ust died, adto say they were disappoited would be the uderstatemet o

the cetury. Jesus had brought hope to eery area o lie, ad

ow that hope was dead.

A tge jie them they wlke lg the . He eg

to share his insights about the Messiah and His need to suer

on behal o humanity. The disciples were so moved that they

persuaded him to stay with them at their destiatio. Whe they

t w t et, the m tk e ke it. I tht mmettheir eyes were opeed. It had bee Jesus the whole time. He was

resurrected! Ad as quicly as He was reealed, He disappeared.

Their discussio ollowig His departure is what moes me

mt. Whe eeig t Hi cveti with them, they i,

Didt our hearts bur withi us?

My heart bega to bur while readig Robby Dawis Do

What Jesus Did. I ow o o other way to explai it. My heartu with pi, hpe the we wht cul ecme

o my lie with this boo i had. His miracle stories carry the




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Do What Jesus Did

12

DNA o the resurrected Christ. What moes me most is Jesus

perormig superatural wors through ery atural people.

I h iteetig expeiece while eig thi k. O epge my het wul lep ve the ty micleecue

th the eemptive wk Jeu the cuge the uth.

O the ext pge my het wul lep ve Ry wim

isights as see i his approach to a situatio or to the Scriptures

themseles. This boo is lled with wisdom ad testimoies

both o which are great treasures to belieig belieers.

While poderig this, I remembered Psalm 19:7: The testi-

my the Lord i ue, mkig wie the imple (nasb). Tht

pweul cmiti tetimie wim tility

to eery ollower o Jesus. May loo at the pursuit o a lie o

micle m, cele upect. Biliclly, hweve, the

testimoy o the miraculous is suremeaig stable ad sup-

ptive. Stie micle ig the tility wim it thelie the elieve. A thi k peet thi elity eutiully.

I have the eeling spiritual giants will emerge at the reading

oDo What Jesus Did, because somethig gets awaeed i the

hearts o believers that has been either bruised by disappoint-

met uie y lie. Ry e mvelu j lettig the

ee kw tht i he c wlk i micle lietyle, ye c.

He ckwlege the elity the e t lwy gettig ie,

the bills sometimes barely gettig paid ad healig ot always

maiestig as we thi it should. It is hoest ad without hype.

The thee i the ct tht micle metime hppe i pite

o aithless prayers. It was this experiece that set Robby o

a die ito a Gospel that does what it says it will do. Do What

Jesus Did is the product. Ad we are all better or it.Bill Johso, seior leader, Bethel Church, Reddig, Calioria;

author, When Heaven Invades Earth ad Hosting the Presence




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1//

Gger e Drw

Father, mae o me a crisis ma. Brig those I co-

tct t ecii. Let me t e milept igleroad; mae me a or, that me must tur oe way

or aother o acig Christ i me.

Jim Elliot

the door o our church swug ope, ad i sautered two

the pice m the Lti Kig, the mit ggin our city. Our church is located in the hub o East Aurora,

Illiois, a Lati Kig hot spot. As they waled i, they simply

squared up to me i greetig, hardly twitchig a muscle. With

t the , they eg pitig ut ieet ullet hle

i the buildig ad other scars recallig their past battles. This

was a typical Dot mess with us threat. Whe they waled

ito my church that ateroo, it was because our city was oa bri o a all-out gag war, ad they were maig it clear

that I was deitely i their territory.




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Do What Jesus Did

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Aurora has a long history o violence, rom its Al Capone

days i the 1930s ad 40s to the eer-icreasig gag iolece

o the 80s ad 90s, whe the getriyig o Chicagos urbaslums squeezed whole eighborhoods o lower-icome teats

ito our wester suburb. The resultig pressure betwee war-

rig gags that were beig chaeled ito smaller ad smaller

oerlappig territories ote boosted our homicide rate higher

than Chicagos. Thanks to exhaustive eorts by community

lee, chuche the plice, the ituti h flly egu

to stabilize. The the threats bega. Outraged by a icreasig

ee mgilizti lck epect m the plice,

the Lati Kigs bega issuig warigs that blood would soo

ow i the streets. Seeral drie-by shootigs occurred, ad a

repeat o history seemed immiet.

Alarmed, police bega callig me. As a police chaplai I had

mediated several high-prole situations in the past and had

seen God radically work in the gang community. I currently

had several major exgang leaders attending my church who

had conrmed that a war was on the horizon. Ater talking

with some insiders, I connected with an Aurora businessman

committed to commuity-gag relatios. He had grow up i

school with oe o the maor Lati Kig leaders, ad through

thi cecti he te w le t eve lii. He geeto set up a meetig or me with two o the mai leaders. They

had street ames lie Diablo. I had see their aces o the po-

lice statio walls or years, ad ow seeig them ramed i the

church doorway with nothing but thin air between us sent a

quic olt dow my spie.

Oe gag leader, Shotgu, was i his orties, a ercely grim-

aced ma who seemed possessed by a obsessio with death.(Shotgu is a icame I gae him; Ie chaged some ames i

my tie t ptect peple pivcy.) Hi ec m, Dil,




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Gangsters in the Doorway

15

w mily ilet ut kept hi eye lcke me the whle time,

wtchig my evey mve. A wm with them, Di, h l

come. She looked rough when she walked in and was a erytaler. She had o problem lettig me ow who she was ad

what she was about.

I had two o my dear rieds with me. Todd White was oe,

and Darren Wilson was the other. Darren was working on a

documetary about the power o God.

Shtgu wt t iteete i itucti. He w ig

mt the tlkig. I ci etil, he ecie u ht-

out that had occurred o the rot property o the church ad

the killig tht tk plce t the ce u uilig. He w

letting us know just who it was I was dealing with. Without

beig too specic, he let us ow that they were about to do

some damage i tow. He told me that some people i the

gags weret happy, ad i that ept happeig, there wouldbe blood i the streets. He said a lot o people were goig to get

really aced up, ad added, I people aret careul, thigs

are goig to get really crazy aroud here.

I had watched Shotgu beore, i the par across the street.

Oe te he ie gt ut c tlle it

the crowded par. Withi a ew miutes, the other me i the

park stopped what they were doing, walked over to shake his

h hi ie, the cke wy ceully. The me tk

their amilies and let. Women pushed their strollers quickly

out o the park, and twenty minutes later there wasnt a sign

o lie o the bloc. This was a ma who wielded ear i our

commuity.

I looed at Shotgu ow ad thought about how much Godctully lve thi pe tig ee me. I tl him quely,

I ow theres the threat o a war, ad that cat happe.




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Do What Jesus Did

16

The two men looked at each other. Yeah, is that why you

iited us here? To try ad stop the war? Diablo ased.

No, I said. Actually, I asked you to come here so that Icould itroduce you to God.

That was obiously the last thig they expected to come out

o my mouth. Diablo looed at me with the stragest expres-

sio, the clutched his crucix ad said, What do you mea?

We ow who God is!

I studied him. Yes, that might be true, but youe eer met

Him the way youre about to. I youll let us, well pray or you,

ad youll meet God. I glaced oer at the busiessma ad

ased, Could we start with you?

This busiessma atteds our church ow, but at the time I

didt ow him well at all. Hes a tall, well-built busiessma

who heads up the Latio busiess etwor i the area. He may

have been rom a mildly Catholic background; I wasnt sure.But whteve hi elie, clely the lt thig he h expecte u

to do right the was to pray. He seemed especially surprised to

suddely d himsel at the ceter o it. Thaully, he agreed

to go alog with it, though I realized that i this didt go well,

he would probably never meet with me again. I intentionally

wanted to start with him because he was the leader o our

meetig the gg lee tute him. Wht he expeiece

would help legitimize it or the others as he encountered the

reality o God ad what He was about to do.

We began to pray, Lord, we bless my riend. I knew he

had had a accidet years earlier ad had suered bac trauma

eer sice. As we prayed, I recalled this ad elt led to pray or

healig. The suerig rom his bac iury was somethig hestruggled with o a daily basis, ad his attempts to d ways

to umb the pai had egatiely aected his lie. I ased him i




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his bac still hurt, ad he cormed that he was i pai at the

momet rom both his bac ad his shoulder.

I told this ma i rot o the others, God is about to maeHimsel real to you and completely heal your back and take

away the pai. We prayed, commadig his bac to come ito

alignment and be ully healed. Ater a ew minutes we asked

him to chec his bac. I could eel Gods presece i the room.

He started to moe ad twist, his eyes wideig i disbelie

as he realized that not a single twinge o pain or discomort

emie. He i ut lu, It ge! I ct elieve it. It ee

ye ice Ive ee withut y pi. He t thee peplexe.

I dot uderstad where it wet.

His childhood ried, Shotgu, looed at him. Are you or

el, m? (Ye, el, t el. F el i vey typicl

phrase i poor urba areas; I hear it i my church eery wee.)

The rest o the meetig the busiessma was silet, his acehal hidden behind his hands as he seemed in deep thought,

cieig wht h jut hppee. He tl me lte tht he elt

heat ad electricity come oer his whole body whe we prayed

or him. Durig the rest o the meetig, he didt try to stop us

or iteree i aythig else we did, although later he told me

it was way outside what he elt comortable with.

Dil h ee leig w tig t me the etie

time, rocig bac ad orth a little i his chair. From experi-

ece, I could tell already rom a ew thigs that had happeed

that he actually was demoized, but I could also see a loo o

great hunger on his ace. It seemed as though what had just

happeed with the busiessma had peeled a layer o Diablos

deesie mas. He seemed a little soter ad I saw desperatioi his eyes, almost lie, I dot ow what this is. It scares the

hell out o me, but I ust hae to hae it. . . . His desperatio




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Do What Jesus Did

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was reaching past the barrier wallpast the dark stronghold

o ear ad destructio that had deed his lie.

We turned to Shotgun and I asked, Can we pray or youext? I also ased him i he had a daughter. I sesed the Lord

tellig me that He wated to heal Shotgus relatioship with

his daughter.

Shotgu aswered, Yeah, I hae two daughters. Neither o

them will ee spea to me aymore.

The I ke him i methig w l gig i hi ck.

I sesed the Lord wated to heal that, too.

He cormed, Yeah, I was shot i the bac a while ago; its

still always i pai. Oe o the diss was permaetly messed

up.

My ie T White, wh w ittig ext t me, l ke

Shotgu i oe o his legs was shorter tha the other.

Yeah, thats right. He odded slowly, as i a bit mystied

by what was happeig aroud him.

T ke i he cul tke Shtgu hte leg i hi h,

and he spoke to it: Leg, get out here! Bones, muscles, skin,

grow right ow.

The leg shot out as we watched. Diablos eyes popped ope,

ad he stood up to chec it. Eeryoe was stued.

Yeah, its straight ow, Shotgu cormed. His bac paiwas also completely goe.

I looked at him with so much love. You know, what God

ust did with your bac, He wats to do with your etire lie.

The guy lke t ech the, it w i methig h

broe i the room. Diablo was ext. I sesed God promptig

us with a word o healig or his torso area, ad Todd said he

elt God highlighting Diablos stomach in particular. Diablolited up his shirt ad showed us scars where he had bee shot

i the tmch. A huge chuk w miig whee the wu h




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bee. We prayed or the pai to leae ad or complete healig

to occur i his stomach.

Diablos eyes wideed, ad he grabbed his stomach. He saidhe elt heat ad electricity there, ad that he had elt it all oer

him sice the momet he rst waled i the door.

We explaied that what he elt was ote a maiestatio o

Gods presece that comes brigig healig. Todd the bega

pyig Dil cig t ippe. Hetly, we cult

tell much o a dierence aterward, but the two gang leaders

swore it had changed and said it was about 50 percent gone.

Shocked, they were stunned into silence. Their posture was

completely dierent rom when they had come in; the hard-

eed arrogace, cursig ad threats that had surrouded their

etrace were goe.

Whe I looed at Diaa, the Lord showed me some o the

spiritual weight she had been under. I told her, Youve been

haig demoic isitatio at ight, hearig oices ad haig

terrible ightmares.

The brassy, outspoken Diana dropped her head down to

her chest ad started oddig quietly. We also sesed that the

L wte t hel he m the tmch tule igetive

problems botherig her. She cormed that she was suerig

i those areas, too.I told her, Diaa, God loes you ad wats to heal you. We

ca pray or you, ad all those problems ca leae right ow.

We started praying and commanding the demonic spirits

that had bee attacig her to leae i the ame o Jesus. As

we tk uthity u them i the me Jeu, Di

began sweating prousely. Suddenly she doubled over in her

chair as i pushed, ad she gasped ad let out a huge sigh oair. With that, a heaiess seemed to lit o her, ad her ace

looed dieret.




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Do What Jesus Did

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We ased her i she had elt somethig leae, ad she od-

ded. Then we told her, This needs to be sealed up so that it

cant return. The only way that can happen is i you want toaccept Christ.

Diaa odded ad agreed she would do that.

We looed aroud the table, ad I said, That goes or all o

you. I you wat to pray right ow ad gie your lie to Christ,

He will cotiue to heal you ad set you ree i eery area o

your lie.

They all odded ad said yes. I ased them to repeat a prayer

giving over their lives to Jesus and making Him their Lord.

Shtgu epecilly, wh w tig ehi Di, w lmt

shoutig the prayer, passioately asig God to orgie him or

every si he had committed.

All our o themthe businessman, Shotgun, Diablo and

Diaaeded up comig bac to oi our church o Suday

mig. Theyve l tte ew eltihip with peple i

the commuity. Today, Shotgu i particular is a chaged ma.

When I met him beore, he was driven by the spirit o death.

Whereas beore he looed completely agry ad hollow eyed,

today he glows with laughter ad oy. He is the rst oe to tell

oes ad welcome ewcomers to our church.

Diaa has ot missed a Suday i church sice that day adhas become an outspoken advocate or Jesus to everyone she

knows. She brought her entire amily to our church. Shotgun

ad Diablo brought some other me they met o the street ito

our church or prayer, ad those me also decided to leae their

gags ad ollow Christ. For wees aterward, I would get calls

rom these ormer Lati Kig leaders tellig me that they ept

expeiecig the peece G eveywhee they wetwhethey woke up, in the shower, when they were eating, all the

time. Oe o them told me, Robby, this is the best stu i the




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world. Cryig, he called to say, I dot ow why, but whe

I thi about how Jesus has chaged me, I cat stop cryig. I

wat the world to ow how much Jesus ca chage people!Neele t y, thee eve w y gg w te u meet-

ig, ut th Shtgu Dil e till mewht hute y

their reputatios. Eery time they show up o a Suday mor-

ig, cop cars begi circlig our church. Yet these me cotiue

to praise God, grow i Christ ad brig more ad more people

ito relatioship with Him. Its iterestig how God wors.

At the e u meetig whe eveye h ccepte Chit,

I looed at these guys ad said, What ust happeed here will

chage this city. I didt realize it at the time, but I was giig

a prophetic word. This meetig too place at the ed o 2011,

it has ow made atioal ews that there were o homicides i

all o Aurora i 2012. That hast happeed sice 1946.1

Athe twit t thi ty i tht we tte the chuch ftee

years ago i Diaas sisters liig room! I remember her sister,

Bobbie, asking us back then to pray that Diana would come

to Christ ad tur away rom the lie she was leadig. Fitee

years later, I had the priilege o leadig Diaa to Christ whe

she waled through the door that day. Yet Diaa ad I did ot

ow our coected history through Bobbie util aterward.

The results o our meetig with the gag leaders became aawesome testimoy i our commuity. It was part o a log se-

ries o chages wee see God brig sice we moed to Aurora

to plat the church. May times, it has bee a uphill battle.

Numerous brea-is hae occurred at the church buildig, ad

Ie had my car stole seeral timestwice by members o our

church. At dieret times oer the years wee struggled a-

cially, ad it has bee difcult growig a commuity o peopleas committed to the isio as we are. There hae bee pai ad

hard timesbut in the midst o it all, weve seen incredible




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Do What Jesus Did

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ekthugh time time gi. G h ee t wk hel-

ig, trasormig amilies, restorig marriages, proidig obs

ultimtely chgig the Au cmmuity. He h me it plce hpe whee peple m ieet pt the cuty

ad ee the world come to be traied ad equipped.

Interrupted by God

Maybe you, too, hae see icredible breathrough ad tras-ormatio right where you are, ad lie all o us, you log to

see such things happen on a more regular basis. Maybe you

woder i its possible or the ormal Christia lie to loo

ust lie Jesus lie did.

O pily, yu f it h t elte t the mtic cimil

elements involved in the story I just told. Maybe you wonder

why God hast aswered yourprayers or healig, yet He doesthigs lie healig these gag members istatly. Or you might

be asking, How could this kind o thing apply to the place

where I lie? To the people I ow at my ofce or at school?

Maybe youre looig or aswers ad tools. Youre hugry

t ee the Kigm heve ek i t yu cmmuity. I w

just that kind o person when God used me to heal someone

or the rst time. I was a discouraged youth pastor worig i

mll, yuctil chuch. I elieve G cul micle

i theory, ad growig up I had see thigs that made me log

or more. But the truth was, I was thoroughly tured o by the

hype, maipulatio ad abuse that I had see i may miistry

settings. I knew I wanted to ollow God, but I had come to a

place o simply hagig i there, resigig mysel to a Chris-tia lie based primarily o trudgig it out ad ot expectig

too much. Oe o the highest alues i the Kigdom o God is




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aithulness, but what good is aithulness without aith? My

lie was ull o church actiities ad I was aithul to my tass,

but I still had o clue about the authority that is ours to walinnot or our own sake, but or the sake o the spiritually

hugry ad or the broe world we lie i.

The day that God chose to iterrupt me, I wast thiig o

ayoe but mysel. I had bee hired as a youth pastor, but my

vision o ministry had pretty much been brought to its knees

by the reality o aswerig phoes ad doig the meial tass

that cosumed my days. That particular day, I was i a terrible

mood. I elt deeply uappreciated by my seior pastor ad his

amily. I elt ar rom God and rom all o the things He had

called me to. I was agry ad hurt. This was ot i ay way my

shiig momet as a Christ ollower.

The phe g, I wee it hlhetely. Probably an-

other sales call, I thught, or maybe a message for me to deliver.

The woman on the phone introduced hersel hesitatingly.

Loo, I dot really ow what to as, she bega. I dot go

to church. As a matter o act, Im ot ee a Christia, she

oered apologetically. I ust piced a church rom the phoe

boo because my athers goig i or heart surgery right ow.

Hes i bad shape, ad the doctors say they really dot thi

hes goig to mae it. We had to press them to go ahead withthe surgery.

She souded ragile ad wor as she explaied that this was

her athers third bypass surgery, ad it most liely meat the

ed o his lie. She didt ow where else to tur, but it had

crossed her mid to call a church. She hoped someoe would

bur a cadle, rub some beads or her ather, sig a hym or

say a prayer or him i his al stages.As she tried to ratioalize to hersel ad to me why she had

eche ut t u, I cul tell he w little eme. Mye




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Do What Jesus Did

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she even regretted that she had bothered to call at all. What

could I do? I oered to pray or the surgery with her, though I

didt really wat to. It souded as though her ather deitelywast goig to mae it.

Well . . . I paused reluctatly, I could pray or him. . . .

Fkly, I jut wte t e the phe cll quickly p-

sible. I didt thi much would chage because o my prayer.

As I bega, it souded as i I were giig his eulogy: Lord, ust

be with this mas amily i this difcult time. Youre close to

the brokenhearted. Help them, comort them and be near to

them i their grieig.

I was pretty much buryig the ma i my prayers. My thi-

ing was, Why would God want to heal him? Hes not even a

believer. God barely even heals any of His own kids.

Then the Lord spoke something to me that I didnt under-

stad. I didt hear a audible oice, but I had a strog sesetht He w ugig me t methig. At the time, I cul ly

poit to a ew other occasios i my lie i which I had heard

the Lord spea to me. This was aother oe. Howeer, I was so

itcte y my w cce tht I w lmt ye t the

iterruptio! What I heard God say was, Get out o a limb.

What could He mean by that? I wodered.

The He urged me agai: Tae a ris.

I thought, What am I supposed to do? These people arent

even Christians. Theres no risk to take. Immediately the Scrip-

ture came to mind that says, Open your mouth wide, and I

will ll it (Psalm 81:10 nkjv).

Without really having any idea o what I was about to say

ext, I told the woma, I hear God sayig Hes about to . . .The words umbled rom my lips, ad what I heard comig out

w . . . cmpletely hel yu the give him -ew




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25

heart, ad as a matter o act, Hes goig to gie him ew lugs

to go with it.

This was weird! She hadt said aythig about her atherslug. Hve yu eve he yuel y methig, the wihe

you could reach through the air, grab the words ad pull them

bac ito your mouth, destroyig ay eidece that you spoe

something so oolish? Most married men know exactly what

I mea. As soo as I realized what I had said, I paiced ad

stopped mysel. I began to backpedal as quickly as possible,

saying, Now, wait a minute! What you need to know is that

Ie eer prayed or ayoe ad see them healed beore. You

should know that most o the time when I pray or people,

they get sicer, ad some hae ee died. I ow that God can

do thigs lie what I ust prayed, but Hes eer used me to do

them. What I ust said probably wot happe. . . .

I was paic-strice. What i this woma got her hopes upad woud up horribly disappoited? It would be all my ault.

She iterrupted me. You said God is goig to gie my dad

a brad-ew heart?

I gulped out, Yes, but

She cut me o with a brie Tha you! ad hug up the

phoe.

With that clic o the phoe my heart dropped to my toes.

What i the world was I thiig? I elt that I had doe eery-

thig but mae this womas pai easier. What i they sued the

church? I mea, I was o healer!

Whe the woma called agai cryig hours later, my heart

k. I cult mke ut w he i t ft, I thught,

Oh no, I killed her dad with my prayer. Why did I pray for him?What was I thinking? I started to apologize prousely: I am so

sorry this happeed! I am so sorry or your loss. . . .




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Do What Jesus Did

26

Whatareyoutalkingabout? Whatloss? she

stammered.

I cul jut mke ut he w thugh the , I wtue tht I h uet. Yu , I i, he . . . e?

She said, Nohes doig great!

Nobody was more surprised to hear that tha me.

Yes, thats right. . . . She pressed out the story through her

tears. Whe the doctors opeed him up, they said my ather

had a brad-ew heart! She explaied how seeral years ago

her ather had had a valve replacement. The doctors had im-

plated a heart ale rom a pig to sae his lie. All o that was

gone. All the scar tissue rom the previous surgery was gone.

The doctor said it was lie the heart o a thirty-year-old ma.

I was absolutely stued. Could this actually be happening?

I wodered.

She kept gig: I it eve tell yu thi, ut he h h hl

his lug remoed o that side. You metioed somethig about

God giig him a ew lug. Whe they looed iside, they also

saw that he had a whole lug where they had remoed hal!

I ept tryig to uderstad i I was hearig her right. Are

you sure? I ased. Now, are you sure this happeed? It was

h t wp my i u it. G h hele thi m, I

cul ely elieve it. I tl he, I hve t ee cumetti.Because o my disbelie, she said, Are you sure youre a pas-

tor? That ext Suday, she came to our church with her whole

amily. She ee brought me her athers medical records rom

ee te the ugey. Thugh tht expeiece, he etie

amily belieed God ad decided to ollow Christ.

For me, it was the breaig i o somethig I had loged or

eer sice I was a id. I saw the reality o Gods power ad Hisdesire to wor through us, which I had bee liig i complete

igce . I ht ee me ty-y t i-epth




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27

Scripture study. What I had was a really lousy attitude beore

she calledothig seemed particularly holy or superspiritual

about that day. Quite the opposite, i act.A I thught thugh thi expeiece, I kept weig, Lord,

why did You use me to do this? I dont have that ability.

What I sesed the Lord clearly speaig bac to me that day

was Robby, Im ust looig or people who are aailable.

His Part/Our Part

Gods git to us is ability; our git to God is availability. He

says to us, You go rst. You be available and step out, and I

will empower you i the momet. God does His part, ad we

have a part to play as well. All o us are invited to be part o

the uoldig o Gods Kigdom reig. Its a high callig ad

ot ecessarily a simple ourey, but a step-by-step process oaith thats aailable to eeryoe, whether youre a brad-ew

Christia or the pastor o a megachurch.

Do we really believe that the Spirit o the living God lives

iie u? Wht e Glti 5:16 me whe it y u t

wal by the Spirit, ayway? Its certaily possible to beliee

i God without liig by His Spirit. Jesus spoe that God is

piit, hi whipe mut whip i the Spiit i tuth

(Joh 4:24). By the Spirit we hae bee gie the grace to wal

i a leel o authority ad loe that would truly trasorm the

wl. Oe efiti gce tht I ppecite i the pwe

God, to do the will o God. Liig lie that is what it meas

to be Jesus disciples. Its by the Spirit that we ca ow Him

today, walking with Him and doing the things He did. Thereis o set stadard or compariso o what this has to loo lie,

but there is great ecouragemet i owig that God is able




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Do What Jesus Did

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to do ar more through us than we could ask or imagine (see

Ephesias 3:20).

Whether through traditionalism or a multitude o distrac-ti, thugh puuig u w pliticl ecmic ge-

, mehw the Wete Chuch h lle leep t the elity

G pwe i u live. Rthe th miiteig gce with

uthity uthetic lve, which ig el tmti,

we get caught up in rules and judgmentalism. Yet our nation

is cryig out or hope. Cities are i desperate eed o a people

o God who genuinely know Christ, who live out and refect

His loe. Whats eeded are ot more Christias, but more

Christ ollowers. Theres real authority theread a reedom

that will brea through the sicess ad suerig ad despair

o the most impossible situatios.

Smehw u eligi h me it t ey u t get

the iclly icluive, tle-tuig, pigm-hitig Chit

the Bible, ad istead, subtly buy i to the lie that Christiaity

is a little bit borig, a little bit old-ashioed ad ot quite true

i the parts that cout.

Nothig could be urther rom the truth.

do what jesus did

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