Excerpt
Excerpted from Fruit-Bearer : What Can I Do For You, Lord?
An urgent call to grassroots believers—the harvest is ripe!
by Candy Abbott. Copyright © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
From Chapter 1, Wake Up to God’s Alarm Clock:
"You did not choose me, but I chose you . . . to go and bear fruit --fruit that will last" (John 15:16).
Listen Up, Lazybones—God Needs You! That was the original title when I began writing this book in 1984, but I realized I couldn’t insult the reader and expect to make any sales. Not only that, but in reality, God doesn’t need anything from anybody. Today, as in 1984, Jesus is calling all believers. Do you hear Him?
“Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God” (Revelation 3:2).
Do you see these words flashing as if they were written with neon ink on this page? His call is more urgent today than ever before. God is fairly begging us to wake up, hear His voice, and respond to it.
I can wake up all right, but who am I to strengthen what remains of the church? That’s what I wondered when this Scripture first revealed itself to me when the Lord began nudging me to chronicle my faith journey. As the years went by and I saw God’s grace and power manifest itself more and more in my own everyday life, it occurred to me that if I did nothing more than heed Christ’s voice daily and point Christians in the direction of the Holy Spirit, the church would be stronger. I became convinced that every believer has a vital role to play in the global drama that is unfolding before our eyes. This is an exciting time for us!
Like so many of us do when we reach a certain comfort zone in our faith walk, I developed the easy habit of devotions on the run as I focused on my daily tasks. I hit the snooze alarm on my spiritual clock and went about the Father’s business in my own way and on my own timetable. Then, on September 11, 2001, the alarm jumped out of snooze and rang loud and clear.
My husband Drew and I were vacationing in Bermuda. We snapped some great pictures of the Twin Towers as our cruise ship left from New York Harbor three days earlier. Little did we know when we floated joyfully past the towers that the New York skyline would be forever changed.
I was standing knee-deep in the clear water of John Smith’s Bay, and Drew was strolling along the pristine beach when we heard the news. Stunned, I flopped on my beach towel where moments before I sat without a care in the world. The reality of the terrorist attack washed over me, draining me of energy, peace, and joy.
Then my eyes fell on the cover of the book I was reading. There, in eerie shades of red, orange, yellow, and black was the artist’s prophetic rendering of the Twin Towers in flames! The alarm clapper was ringing loud and clear through the “light reading” I had chosen for my vacation. It was Dr. David Jeremiah’s Escape the Coming Night, a commentary on the prophecies of Revelation (see Recommended Resources).
Despite the spiritual alarm sounding over the earth, in the surreal surroundings of crystal clear skies, turquoise water, and pink sand, peace flooded my soul. I flipped through the pages to re-read the part where I left off that said in the last days terrorism and other evils will increase, but we should not be afraid as these things must come to pass.
Supernatural Fruit
So many things are happening in our world these days that we can’t explain—not only chaos but supernatural mysteries like the appearance of angels and demons. Understand this: The supernatural is real.
I used to be a skeptic about things like visions until I heard firsthand accounts of people who said they’d actually seen and talked with supernatural beings. Then I had some hard-to-explain encounters of my own. I’m no longer skeptical and secretive about my conclusions.
It seems perfectly natural to me that the Lord will use every available means at His disposal to awaken His people—to get us on our feet and prepared for His return. By using willing believers as receivers to transmit heavenly signals around the globe, those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will not be caught off-guard at the crucial moment. Conversely, our enemy Satan will use similar tactics to derail God’s children.
What if an Old Testament angel appeared to you in modern-day clothes and confided that you had only a couple of months to get ready for the Lord’s return? What would you think? What would you do about that encounter?
My daughter and I both have had to answer these questions.
Kim’s Story (Dateline 1990)
“Mom, Mom!” my daughter called, her voice charged with electricity as she rushed through the door, returning home from a college class. “You’ve got to hear what this girl told me today.”
I sat down to give her my undivided attention.
“She’s not somebody I know very well—in fact, we only have one class together—but we had a few minutes to kill and struck up a conversation. She said from watching me that she thought I must be a Christian.”
“That’s great, honey! She could tell from watching you? Your faith must be showing.”
“Yeah, but that’s not it. This girl told me the most incredible thing. She said she had to tell somebody or she would burst. I still have goose bumps thinking about it. Her mom and her aunt were driving along, talking about the signs of the times. They’re deep Christians, the kind who like to talk about the Lord more than anything. Well, they passed an old, dilapidated car by the side of the road. When her mom looked in the rear-view mirror, she saw a man—an average-looking, humble sort of guy, medium height and build, wearing everyday work clothes. He wasn’t hitchhiking, just walking along with a gas can.”
“Where was this? Locally? Or in some other state?” I asked.
“Somewhere near here—Seaford, Salisbury, Milford, somewhere like that—I can’t remember. But local, yes. Please don’t interrupt, Mom. This is important.
“They pulled over and asked if that was his car back there. When he said it was, they told him the next gas station was miles away and offered him a lift. Normally they wouldn’t have dreamed of picking up a stranger, but this was different. Something told them it was the ‘right’ thing to do. So he got in the back seat. Her mom said he had the kindest blue eyes.
“‘We were just talking about the signs of the times and thinking that the Lord might be coming back soon,’ she told him.
“‘When do you think He might return?’ the man asked.
“‘Oh, twenty years, maybe?’
“‘Sooner,’ he said.
“‘Sooner than that? Well, there’s a lot of discussion about the year 2000.’
“‘Sooner.’
“‘You mean you think the Lord will come back before 2000?’
“No answer. They turned to look at him, and Mom,” Kim exclaimed, “nobody was in the back seat! He was gone!”
I asked Kim to get the young lady’s phone number so I could interview her mom or aunt to clarify some of the details. Several weeks later, when I reminded her, Kim said, “You know, it’s funny, but I only saw her a couple of times after that, and then from a distance. I haven’t seen her around campus in weeks.”
Like Kim, I thought this must surely have been an angel. In fact, in the early ‘90s I heard numerous versions of this same mysterious man appearing in Georgia, Ohio, and other states. But something didn’t ring true. In the first and second editions of Fruitbearer I noted a disclaimer, citing Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but only the Father.”
So, was this an angel sent to prepare believers for Christ’s return? Surely not! I can’t recall a single biblical instance where God sent messengers of misinformation to His children. In fact, according to 2 Corinthians 11:14–15, Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Like the little boy who “cried wolf,” we need to be careful to not let our guard down when the real thing comes along.
Although I couldn’t find this particular incident listed, urban legends and e-mail hoaxes are rampant these days. Before passing along a story you’ve heard, you may want to check with www.hoaxbusters.ciac.org or www.snopes.com, etc.
I don’t believe in setting dates. Too many well-intentioned believers have brought discredit to the church by attempting to predict the day of the Lord’s appearing. But the Word of God clearly tells us to be ever watchful and ever ready. All signs clearly indicate that the time is short.
