The Gospel in the Nike Outfit!

The Inner-City Mission!

     I used to do volunteer work for an inter-city mission where I helped in the serving of food to the homeless, poor, and utterly destitute. 

 I would pray for their needs, talk with them, disciple homeless men, sweep and mop floors, wipe tables, and generally be available to assist the mission in whatever tasks it would have me to do.

          I have never done this type of thing in my life until my wife and I went to the mission for the first time to help serve food to the poor and homeless.

The Lord Speaks!

After we got back home, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “I want you to go back and start praying for and loving and blessing the individuals’ I lead you to.”

 I told the Lord I would obey His word.  Previous to this, I had never been concerned about the homeless, nor did I realize how God was so concerned about their plight.  I noticed God’s thoughts about the poor in His Word:

·        He made them (Proverbs 22:2);

·        He regards them equally with the rich (Job 34:19);

·        He does not forget them (Psalm 9:18);·       

He maintains their right (Psalms 140:12);

·        He delivers them (Psalm 35:10);

·        He protects them (Psalm 12:5; 109:31);

·        He exalts them (Psalm 107:41);

·        He provides for them (Psalm 68:10; Ps 146:7);

·        He is their refuge (Psalm 14:6);

·        He does not despise their prayer (Psalm 102:17);

·        He says to defend them (Psalm 82:3-4);

·        He says not to shut your hand or harden your heart against them ((Deuteronomy 15:7);

·        He says not to shut your ear to the cry of the poor (Proverbs 21:13);

·        He says to give your food to the poor (Proverbs 22:9);

·        He says he who gives to the poor will never want (Proverbs 28:27);

He says the capable wife extends her hand to the poor (Proverbs 31:20);

 He says those who help the helpless are blessed, He

will deliver from trouble, protect, and keep him alive,

sustain him upon his sickbed, and restore him to

health (Psalm 41:1-3);

·        He says to freely open our hand to him, and generously lend him enough for his need in

whatever he lacks…for the Lord will bless you in all your work and in all your undertaking

(Deuteronomy 15:8,10).

Jesus Speaks!    

Jesus Himself was poor from a Western civilization and worldly perspective for He had no home or a closet full of clothes and shoes, or no large bank account, or an accumulation of things and stuff, and in most instances did not really worry about where His next meal was coming from or how He was going to pay Caesar’s tax.  Jesus said,

…” The foxes have holes

 and

the birds of the air have nests,

 but the

Son of Man

has nowhere to lay His head.

(Matthew 8:20)

Jesus himself lived as a poor person and preached to the poor when He further said,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

because He anointed Me to

 preach the

gospel to the poor.

 (Luke 4:18)

And, finally, in Psalm 72:12-13, the Psalmist says of Christ,

For He will deliver the needy when

 he cries for help,

 the afflicted also,

and

 him who has no helper.

 He will have

compassion on the

 poor and the needy,

 and

 the lives

of the

needy He will save.

  He will

rescue their life 

from oppression and violence.

A Man Called Joe!

I say all of this to drive home the point that the poor and the destitute have a special place in the heart of God and He regards them highly. 

At the same time, there are blessings and favors upon those who are called to minister to the poor as we have seen from the above scriptures.

       Thus, a journey begins for the Lord who says to reach out to these people who many have absolutely nothing in this life but their name and the clothes on their back - people who live in utter poverty, not knowing where they will eat each meal, living on the streets, sleeping under porches, in parks, on the sidewalks, on abandoned loading docks, or in cars or trucks. 

Most do not have jobs, some have just got out of jail or prison, or some are recovering from drugs or alcohol.  And many are living out of dumpsters to survive.  I know all this to be true because each week I used to minister to these individuals.

   This brings us to a man I will call Joe.  One summer day while serving at a downtown mission, I noticed a rather tall and large man setting and eating his lunch.  He looked like a professional football player. I went over to him and sat down and began to talk with him.

            I asked him what he wanted the Lord to do for him.  Immediately, he responded, “Man, I need clothes.  I do not have any clothes.  I need shoes.  What you see on me is all I have got.  I need clothes.”  He said this in a gruff and demanding manner.  But I knew that the Lord was in this and that the Lord was going to use me to minister to him.

           I assured him that the Lord would meet that need.  Then I asked Him what size he wore in terms of shirts, pants, and shoes.  He told me something like 3x or 4x shirts, size 12 or 13 shoes, and a rather large waist for pants. 

Since it was hot summer, I asked him if he would like a nice pair of shorts and shirt.  Of course, he said yes.  I talked with him a little more about his life and then told him that the Lord would provide and that he needed to come back to the mission in a few days.

“Go to the Mall”

As I left the mission that day, the Lord said, “Go to the mall and get clothes for Joe.”  “Go to the mall, Lord?”  I responded, “the only clothes at the mall are for sale.”  No, He said, “I will get clothes for you, and they will not cost anything.  Ok, Lord, you are in charge.”

He did not specifically tell me where to go or who to see.  Just, “Go to the mall.”  I sensed that this was the Lord testing me to see if I would obey.

So, I went to the mall and not knowing where to start, I went to the Sears Men’s Clothing Department.

           I asked for the manager and told her I had a strange request.  I needed a nice pair of shorts, shirt, and large tennis shoes for a homeless man.  She looked at me and said that they would have to go through their Chicago headquarters on a request like this, but they usually don’t give clothes away.  I told her that’s ok, I will try somewhere else.

So, I went over to Dillard’s Department Store to the men’s clothing section.

I told the Lord that I hoped I would find someone there who will meet my request.  I asked for the manager and when she came, I told her what I needed.  I got the same story I got from Sears - they usually do not donate clothes. 

The Divine Contact!

          I left Dillard’s thinking that the Lord had me at the wrong mall.  As I was walking out of Dillard’s, there was a vendor right outside of Dillard’s in the middle of the mall hallway who had all kinds of shorts, shirts and other products for the athletic minded.

 I walked up to the lady, who happened to be an American citizen from India and the owner of the little stand and told her I needed some clothes for a homeless man. 

She responded, “No problem, what size do you need? When I offered to pay her, she did not want any money for the items!

 I was shocked and realized that this was the person all along that God wanted me to see and that he had already prepared her heart to be open to my request.  Talk about a divine contact and set-up by the Lord!

She was not a believer but was a Hindu.  God uses all kinds to meet His needs.  We just must be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and be prepared to go.  He is in the driver’s seat, and we are the passengers.

          She happened to have the most beautiful pair of Nike silk shorts and Nike athletic jersey that I had ever seen in the size that would fit Joe. 

I asked about shoes, but she said that she did not carry shoes. She said she had lots of clothes at home that she could bring, and I could give to the other people at the mission. 

I had hit the goldmine all directed by the Lord and my hearing Him to “go.”  If we do not go, we cannot bear His Fruit. “Going” involves obedience, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and possessing a great expectation that miracles can take place.

So, I took the shorts and shirt and told her I would be back.  I drove home praising the Lord for His love for the poor and His wanting to minister to them in grace, love, and truth.

Joe and His Big Smile!

A few days later, I went to the mission with the shorts and shirt and as soon as I entered the mission, the other volunteers told me that Joe had been asking for me. 

As soon as He saw me from a distance, he stood up, and I raised the sack I had with the shorts and shirts, and he just smiled from ear to ear.  I gave them to him and told him that these things were from Jesus and that Jesus and I were working on getting him shoes and more clothes.

Grace and Truth!    

Little did I realize that the Lord wanted me to know that the Gospel of Christ was in those

Nike shorts and shirt.  The Lord impressed upon me that grace always precedes truth and relationship comes before testimony and witness.  You might want to read this paragraph again and let it sink in for I felt the Holy Spirit giving it to me very strongly.

The word of God shared without grace or relationship is an incomplete Gospel.  In addition, when truth is shared, it will not be centered or take root many times in the heart of the individual when grace and relationship are absent.   

          When Christ called His disciples such as Peter and Andrew, He said to them,

 “Follow Me,

and

I will make you

   (become) fishers of men.”

                       (Matthew 4:19)

He called them to relationship with Himself.  He afforded grace before thrusting the disciples into the truth of ministry. He said, “I will make you.”

 In other words, out of their relational standing with Christ, Christ would mold them to fulfill their mission - to be fishers of men.  Grace- relationship first, and then truth and love to the inner man follows. 

          From relationship flows life and from life flows grace and truth to the individual’s heart and mind.  Christ imparted His Life through relationship with the disciples. 

He was not just interested in filling their heads with information, meetings, methods, routines, systems, lock-step presentations, etc. and making them model the religious order of His day which was to no effect in bringing men and women to salvation in Christ and into the Kingdom of God.

          One cannot impart the truths of the Gospel without imparting one’s own life.  It is the life of the one sharing the Gospel that makes the Gospel stick to the hearer and brings the hearer to a saving knowledge of Christ.   Apostle Paul knew this well. He was a father to those who he ministered to.

Imparting Life!

 In his letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 2:5-6, he says of himself that he did not come to them with eloquence of speech, or for greed, or for glory. 

 He was not interested in these things. He was concerned with just two things: to impart the Gospel of God and to impart his own life.  He imparted his own soul (feelings, desires, affections), his breath of life, and his heart to those he shepherded.  Here are his own words:

Having so

 fond and affection for you,

 we were well-pleased to impart

to you not only the gospel of God

but also our own lives,

because you had become

very dear to us.

(I Thessalonians 2:8)

Two other translations say:

….we wanted to give you

our hearts.

And we did.

                         (Message Bible)

….in imparting to you not only the

good news of God

but also

our own souls…

(Wuest New Testament Expanded Translation)

          Paul knew that he could not impart the Gospel without imparting his own life.  Imparting life is imparting genuine love (agapao) for the person to meet their spiritual and physical need.

This agapaoi (love) is divine love Jesus gives to those who want to demonstrate His love to others daily.  It is not love coming out of self, but love flowing out of Christ into the heart of the one who needs the love of Christ to give away to those the Lord wants that love to be given to.

And to love the people as Paul demonstrated was to be gentle among them, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children

(I Thessalonians 2:6) as well as giving affection (I Thessalonians 2:8).

          Imparting life is not just nice words or thoughts or things a person would like to do.  Imparting life requires revelation of Him and His command to me – “GO” for when we “GO” “GO-d” goes with us and does the “GO-spel.”   The Lord told me –

Out of revelation comes life and out of life flows relationship, and out of relationship springs ministry, and out of ministry, and out of ministry the spiritual and physical needs of the person are met. 

          Ministry (outward) to others comes from life (inward).  In fact, out of life comes true and authentic biblical ministry.  Ministry based on anything else, but life is not ministry.

It is not ministry Christ recognizes for out of His life poured out for His disciples came ministry – signs, wonders, and miracles to meet the needs of the pour, destitute, homeless, needy, and otherwise.

 Christ ministered out of His Life.  His ministry was an extension of His Life.  His life drew others into a relationship with Him whereby He gave grace and then truth to invite others into the Kingdom of God and possess eternal life.

          The life of Apostle Paul and the life we should impart is the Life of Christ that controls us and wants to jump out of us to meet the spiritual and physical needs of those He leads us to. 

As with Joe, the Life of Christ in me wanted to jump out of me to first to forge a relationship with him and then meet his physical request.  A couple of weeks later, after establishing grace with Joe, I led him to the Lord because grace paved the way for truth (salvation) to enter his heart.

Little did I know that Nike shorts and a Nike Shirt would foster a relationship whereby the life of Christ could be released for Joe to hear, receive, and accept the Gospel of Christ. And to know at that moment of receiving Christ, Christ embraced him and would be with him.

Allow me to add, the word “Nike” in the Greek means “VICTORY.”  It can also be translated “OVECOME” OR “CONQUER.”  Certainly in regard to what I have shared above we can observe that (1) a poor man’s lack was “‘OVERCOME” by the grace, mercy, and love of Christ and the supernatural leading of the Holy Spirit to meet his need; (2) Satan’s hold on this man was broken and CONQUERED; and (3) salvation came to this poor man bringing to him VICTORY (Nike) in Christ.  Glory Hallelujah!!   

          Father in Heaven, I give praise and adoration to you for showing that the presentation of the gospel requires Life from the Son to be given to the one you draw us to who needs your life to be given through us to meet both their spiritual and physically needs. 

Thank you for Joe.  Be with him and continue to speak to his heart.  Give us revelation of grace, truth, relationship, love, and authentic and true ministry.  In Jesus Name, Amen, and Amen.

Rich Arnold

Servant of the Lord

311 Adelaide Ave SW

Hartville, Ohio 44632

330-704-9306

richarnold3@gmail.com