I Don’t Do Sermons Well! (Part 15)

http://wallcodes.com

Boomer relied on a gut feeling when he turned into a large parking lot, which looked like it had been an auto dealership before that day. Maria and Jose followed him past smoldering autos to the rear of the property. There he saw a sliver of light coming through the window of a metal building. Boomer found the door and pushed it open to find a car wash and detail center.

Twenty-seven adults and children, sitting on blankets and folding chairs, turned to look at the newcomers. Two men jumped up and walked toward them.

“Quickly, follow me,” said a short black man.

He led them to the back of the building into an auto wash stall.

“No time for modesty. Take off your clothes and throw them over there,” he said, pointing toward a pile of rags. “We’ll hose you down and try to remove as much radioactive fallout as possible.”

The threesome obeyed by ripping off their clothes and standing naked while the taller man rinsed them. The short man handed them shop towels and auto service coveralls.

“These aren’t the fanciest, but they’re clean. You’ll have to put your wet shoes back on.”

As soon as they finished, they walked back into the main room.

“What is this group?” asked Boomer.

“My name is Alvin Roberts and we are a church,” said the black man, offering his hand to Boomer. They shook hands.

“A church, huh? What’s the name?”

“We are the church that meets in Dom’s Used Car Dealership.”

Alvin clapped his hands. Everyone looked at him.

“Hey, let’s pray for them.”

The group gathered around Boomer, Maria, and Jose. Without formal introductions, they laid hands on the three and began to pray. Some openly thanked the Lord for their safety. Others prayed for cleansing and total healing from any possible radioactive poisoning. Many just stood and prayed softly in tongues.

As the group quieted down, a twelve-year old, sandy haired boy walked up to Boomer and touched his arm.

“The Lord gave me some prophetic words and a vision for you while we prayed. Would you like to hear them?”

Boomer nodded.

“Sure. Why not?”

“The Lord told me, ‘Tell the big man not to worry about the rest of the team or the coaches. They are all safe.’ Now, in my vision, I saw three soldiers and you in a rubber raft. It looked like you were ambushed and your friends were killed instantly. From the vision, I understood that you wanted to know why you were spared and they had died. The Lord told me, ‘My divine destiny for his life was not finished. So, my angels shielded him from the bullets. As for his three friends, I chose to promote them to a higher rank. They are now stationed in heaven as a part of the cloud of witnesses.'”

Boomer fell on his knees as tears washed away years of hurt and anger he felt toward God. The Father then smothered him with His love.

The group brought cheese sandwiches, potato chips, and water. The nourishment satisfied their hunger, but also brought on drowsiness. The three struggled to keep their eyes open as people handed multi-colored blankets to them.

“Hey, Alvin,” asked Boomer, “help me with something before I fall asleep.”

“Sure, if I can.”

“Why are you all assembled in this building?”

“This morning, one of the wives had a visitation from an angel. He told her to have the church gather at the dealership at 1 p.m. and bring extra clothes, blankets, food, and water. We just obeyed the angel.”

“Why didn’t you leave the area if you believed something bad was going to happen?”

The look on Alvin’s face revealed a depth Boomer did not understand.

“We’re the Body of Christ, not some brick building or group which meets only one or two hours per week,” snapped Alvin. “Jesus is our head and He tells us what to do. We are His hands, His feet, and whatever He needs.”

Before falling asleep, Boomer prayed, “Lord, this is the church I want to be member of.”

(Excerpt from The Day LA Died by Larry Nevenhoven, ©2015 Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook)

In The Day LA Died, the main characters – Luke and Cat Stoner – planted two hundred and seven home churches in the LA area. So, when disaster struck LA, the churches were set in place to help the suffering people.

Never abandon a friend— either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away. Proverbs 27:10 NLT

Who knows? Maybe you should start a home church for your neighborhood.

(Conclusion…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)