God’s Strategy
King Jesus through John 15:7&8
informs Believers;
“if you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This
is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples”. NIV
I believe the Father delights in
hearing the prayers of His children spoken in authority in the name
of His son Jesus. He waits for them to rise like a fragrant offering
and then causes the heavens and earth to move in accordance with His
Word through the prayers of the Saints. We know the Lord’s will
regarding prison ministry, for Jesus himself came to set the captives
free. When we pray for favorable weather, for the hearts of the
inmates to soften, for their spiritual eyes to be opened and the
scales to fall away, for salvations and recommitments, for favor with
correctional staff and administrative planners and organizers, we are
praying the will of the Lord.
The Christian Light Riders know not
only to pray but to pray with authority which means making
proclamations and declarations well in advance of the scheduled
event. A warrior who comes unprepared to a battle without sword and
shield is a foolish man who will taste defeat at his own hand. It is
glorifying to God when we spend time with Him in preparation before
ministry. In doing so we show Him reverence and honor and respect. We
acknowledge that on our own we can do nothing but that with Him, “I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”
Philippians 4:13. The mighty warrior David, preceding his many
victorious battles, would inquire of the Lord. We are to do the same
and in doing so acknowledge that Jesus is supreme and Lord over all.
The Lord would give David a strategy for victory which he would not
have held had he not spent time with God. In preparation for our
prison ministry and spending time with the Lord, I experienced this
first hand. God is no respecter of persons so why wouldn’t He bless
me and our group of warriors with a strategy?
The strategy came a few days prior to
the Saturday prison visit. I had received the afternoon event format
from Chaplain Bernie who is in charge of the provincial corrections
chaplaincy program. However I hadn’t paid much attention to the
time lines per group. In past years there would be several groups
presented to us and our visits would consist of twenty minutes per
group. The chapter president would address the first group with a few
words and a brief testimony leading into a time of personal
interaction amongst the CMA members and the inmates. Then other
chapter members would take turns addressing the successive groups. As
President, I like that format because it gives several members the
opportunity at a leadership role. We all need to be stretched and
confidence grows through stepping up and out of our cocoon. Jesus
delights in having us sit under His apple tree and experience His
lavish love, but there comes a time that He beckons, “Arise, come,
my darling; my beautiful one, come with me”; Song of Songs 2:13.
Jesus desires that our response be the same as that of the Shulamite
woman in Song of Songs 4:6; “Until the day breaks and the shadows
flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense”.
The mountain of myrrh represents the difficult places and ministry
challenges, while the hill of incense represents the times devoted to
prayer. All this to say; I like to encourage others to step into
leadership roles, so when the Lord shared a new strategy that
“appeared” to take some of that away I wondered to myself if I
was hearing right. However, I now realize the Lord provided us with a
new strategy because of the changes that BCC had instituted the
previous year. Instead of several smaller groups, we were presented
three larger groups with 45 minutes to minister to each group. I
hadn’t recalled this change probably because I subconsciously
didn’t want to and hoped it would return to the old format LOL. I
felt the new format of fewer groups but larger numbers, encouraged
greater resistance to personal ministry and I saw many walk away
rather than participate or remain in large groups who socialized
amongst themselves rather than with us. I didn’t realize there
needed to be a “new strategy” and that a God birthed strategy
would make ministering to the larger groups even more effective than
the smaller groups; but of course the Lord knew.
The strategy the Lord put on my heart
was to share about a fifteen minute message of salvation with each
group. My first thought was would this allow sufficient time for
individual prayer and witnessing? However I continued to listen for
further instructions. The Lord reminded me that in past visits the
inmates were very receptive to prayer for their loved ones but more
resistant to receiving prayer for themself. Each visit I would
challenge them affirming that I’d be honored to pray for those they
loved but that I also desired to lift them up in personal prayer for
their needs and for salvation. The responses were remarkably
consistent from one inmate to the next; “I did the crime and I’m
doing the time”; “I screwed up and I have this coming to me”;
“I made bad choices and deserve my punishment”; “when I get
straightened out then I’ll think about giving Jesus my heart”.
The Lord said these responses convey that they feel unworthy to
receive my love and they have no understanding of the fact that I
have already taken all the punishment on their behalf. Can you
imagine how few Christians there would be if God expected us to get
all straightened out and get it all together before accepting Jesus
as Lord and Savior? That would defeat the whole purpose of why He
came to earth to die as the son of man. However these inmates are
deceived just as I was deceived by the lies of the enemy and by
religious strongholds that existed before I received my revelation of
Jesus’ amazing love for me.
The strategy provided by the Lord was
to share with the inmates the events of Jesus’ crucifixion in
particular the initial conversations between the two being crucified
alongside Jesus. Through this conversation we hear that one condemned
man experiences a change of heart, acknowledges his sin (that he was
guilty and deserved the crucifixion), and asks Jesus to remember him
in the Kingdom thus acknowledging that Jesus is Lord. Next we witness
the mercy of the Lord being poured out on the guilty man. Instead of
condemning the man and condoning his sentence and punishment, Jesus
welcomes him into paradise. This is a persuasive illustration of
Jesus’ amazing love and desire to have all reconciled to Him
regardless of the crime. Only the worst of criminals suffered death
on a cross yet Jesus forgave the worst of the worst. He wants to do
the same for the prisoners incarcerated today. God had set aside a
special day for the prisoners at BCC, calling it today. That day was
to be May 25, 2013; a day for them to embrace liberty through the
knowledge of Jesus’ love, mercy, and grace in His forgiveness of
all their sins.
On Saturday all my concerns regarding
time lines and personal prayer time was laid down as we witnessed the
Holy Spirit wrap this illustration together in a love package and
place it upon their hearts. I had shared with the CLR group just
prior to ministering, what the Lord had showed me and that I intended
to be obedient. I also value the group’s input as many have more
years of experience coupled with wisdom and we can all “miss it”
regarding direction from the Lord. Thus I said we would meet after
the first group had gone through and I wanted their input on how
effective this was in changing the spiritual atmosphere and leading
some to Christ and personal prayer. Following the exit of the first
group, we did in fact meet and all agreed that the message had been
effective and had kept their attention. I was encouraged by the
Saints to continue with the ensuing groups.
The first group was very large; over
one hundred. Last year we saw many walk away and do their own thing
but this year, most remained and listened to the message and then
engaged members of the Christian Light Riders.
The second group presented themselves
in a fashion I have not seen in my five years of doing prison events.
As we stood there, every inmate came and lined up and shook our hand
and offered an introduction. Leo, a CLR member, joked that he felt we
were part of a wedding reception line. I felt that was fitting as we
are the Bride of Christ .
All three groups were open and
receptive. Correctional Officers were a joy to work alongside as was
Chaplain Bernie.
The Lord took care of the time lines as
we ended up having 45 minutes with each group so there was a lot of
time for personal prayer following the opening 15 minute sermon. The
Lord showed us that through His strategy many more heard the Gospel,
the Good News of Jesus Christ, as compared to in the past when a
Gospel message wasn’t shared.
Rain was in the forecast but the Lord
answered our prayers and kept the rain at bay until after the event
concluded. This was crucial because we minister outside in the
courtyard and have no rain delay date. If it’s raining the inmates
won’t come out and the possibility of ministry would be bleak. We
proclaimed and declared dry weather and even assured a correctional
officer who at one point felt a rain drop, that the rain would not
come because we had prayed. Disbelief was in her responding tone but
the result was no more rain drops and everyone stayed dry. Perhaps in
days to follow she will ponder the power of prayer and standing on
faith. A thank you to Josh for being quick and assertive to come
against doubting words yet doing so in love and without tone or
arrogance.
We truly ministered as a group having
uncommon favor with God and man. What were the numbers you ask? As
humans we tend to equate numbers with significance and the bigger the
numbers, the more God is glorified. I don’t know if that is His
heart. We know from scripture that when even one person comes to
receive Jesus, there is much rejoicing and celebration amongst the
angels in heaven.
In total over 160 inmates heard the
gospel message, the Good News of Jesus’ love for them and the
promise of salvation. Thirty nine (39) received personal prayer
through the laying on of hands. Six (6) recommitted their life to
Christ. Four (4) received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They
were encouraged to connect with the chaplains to begin a discipleship
program. In addition to these numbers, there were many conversations
between CLR members and inmates in which seed was sown.
Seventeen (17) CMA Biker Bibles were
distributed and went to those committing their life to Christ or
under special circumstances (some were Christians who were borrowing
a Bible and did not have their own). Many copies of Our Daily Bread
Biker Version were passed out.
I began this testimony by quoting John
15:7&8 and shared how we, the Christian Light Riders prayed in
authority, believing we would receive as we aligned our prayers with
the Word of God knowing His will and standing in faith that His will
be done. As Jesus tells us, this is to our Father’s glory. Jesus
and our Father are glorified when we apply His Word and petition Him
using His Word. We read in Hebrews 5:7, “During the days of Jesus’
life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries
and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard
because of his reverent submission”. We are to do the same.
We trust in God that the prayers
offered up with authority and stood upon in faith will send demons
scattering as they run and flee for they can not stand before the
power of the Word of God.
At the end of the day the CMA Christian
Light Riders broke bread together and celebrated, boasting in the
Lord and His mighty power over the forces of darkness. Through the
Lord’s counsel and strategy, His light came upon many inmates. May
Jesus Christ be glorified, and only He is worthy of all the honor.
Following the acknowledgement of our
wondrous Lord, I want to thank others who were obedient and willing
to be used of the Lord. CLR members in attendance included Area Reps
Gene and Helen, Vice President Grace, Treasurer Leo, Secretary
Ingrid, Road Captain Hank, Merl, Scott, Hubert, Josh, Cindy, and
friend Deb (aka Pinky). Your support as fellow warriors ministering
alongside me is appreciated beyond words. I am passionate about this
ministry and you support that. Without you these prison events could
not take place. I was impressed with how newer members Josh and Cindy
and our friend Deb interacted with the inmates.
I also want to thank all the CLR
members who were unable to attend but were pivotal in holding us up
in prayer. Also thank you to other chapter CMA members who prayed for
us such as Regional Reps James and Helene.
A special thank you goes to Jerry for
blessing our chapter with copies of the Biker Bibles.
A special thank you to Chaplain Bernie
and the correctional staff at the Brandon Correctional Center for all
the administrative work and allowing this event to happen.
A thank you to my covering, that being
the pastoral leadership at Bethel Christian Assembly, for their
intercessory prayers and to congregational members there and at other
churches where CLR members serve.
Next the CLR Biker Saints are gearing
up for many senior home visits, more church presentations, Bethel
organized God in the Park event, Area 3 Regional Rally, several
secular rallies including Sturgis, Sunday outreach rides, poker runs,
a September prison visit, and many other events. Stay tuned for more
good reports on the wonders and faithfulness of our amazing Lord
Jesus Christ.
Bruce Ewanyshyn – President of the
Christian Light Riders
