Influencers Weekly Devotional

A Cop, an Ex-Con, The Journey….and a powerful move of the Holy Spirit

By Chris Hyslop- Tulsa, OK

Have you ever been excited for that anticipation of seeing what your God would do at any given situation? Did His working ever meet or surpass your human expectations to the point that you were in absolute AWE of your Father and the great power of His spirit? It is my desire to share with you, my Journey brothers, such an experience Last Sunday night, our church had a men’s event to launch “The Journey”, which is near and dear to my heart. I asked myself if God could reach our men with a church-based initiative of The Journey. The morning of our event during regular church service, we had a special guest speaker come to deliver a message mostly to men. The words that were spoken were both challenging and encouraging at the same time. The worship and service created a sense of excitement for the evening plans for God to show Himself in a MIGHTY way. I asked myself, “What are you going to do, God?” The one thing I knew we needed was prayer. Our Journey brothers from California to Arkansas were bathing this event in prayer. Our hearts yearned that God would show up with the power of His Spirit and ignite a fire in our men and that they would see something that would encourage hunger and create excitement in each man's walk. I will put into detail the night to the best of my ability so that you can share in the event that you prayed so hard for in the ministry that has transformed so many of us. Our Journey event was supposed to start at 6 p.m., but the room was already filling and buzzing when I arrived at 5:30. The spirit of anticipation was great. There was great excitement in the air. Free BBQ always helps create a buzz. We had over 250 men packed into a room that could hold about 250. The night started with our new first-class Journey video that contained video testimony of many of our leaders within the Influencer ministry. This will be released to everyone soon. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to watch a professional grade video about our great ministry. Amidst all this, there was one thing that was bothering me a bit. It seems that we had this date pre-planned at one of the worst times we could have chosen. The number one man in Tulsa that needed to be at this event was on vacation in New York City. In his absence, I felt there was only one man to give a testament to the power of an intimate relationship with Christ. I just knew that Frank needed to address our men. I worried we would not give him enough time to share. I prayed for Frank, who is a Tulsa Police officer, because he is going through one of the biggest personal battles I have seen a man face in my many years. I knew Frank would rely on God's Spirit and power to say what He wanted to say, not on what Frank wanted to say. Frank was intimidated as never before, but he has been tried by fire and by the GIANTS he has journaled about so much as of late. Frank began by telling of the Journey and his personal experience, especially when it came to journaling. Then, he started sharing about how he gets to share his love for Christ in his job as a police officer. Many times, Frank has to ride with inmates on their way from the state prison back to Tulsa. He always rides in the backseat with the prisoners. Each time Frank does this for an inmate, he asks them if he can get anything for them on the ride home. Frank often talks about how the #3 Combo from McDonald’s is one of the most popular requests. One of my favorite stories was on a typical summer day in Oklahoma with triple-digit temperatures and Frank asked an inmate if he could get him something for the ride. This man said he wanted a Pepsi. So, Frank had the driver pull into a gas station, and he found the coldest bottle of Pepsi he could find. He handed it to the inmate, much to the surprise of the other officers and the recipient. Frank talked to the men of our church about how The Journey had helped change his heart toward these criminals. He talked of the power that God gave him to love these men and to do things that, prior to the Journey, he may not even consider. There was a hush amongst the room as he shared the secret of why he did these things. After these random acts of kindness shown toward inmates, Frank said that every time the inmates would ask the same question. WHY????????????????????? Why would you do this for me? What followed would be an explanation of the REAL LIFE GOSPEL. And guess what? The door was always wide open. Frank finished up and I was so proud of him. Righteous pride. He had shared exactly what needed to be shared at that exact moment. Praise and worship in the men's evening was amazing. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! There is something so powerful and undeniable in strength than that of men worshipping and praising God together. These times for me get right to the core of my being and rock me. Our guest speaker Ted wrapped up the evening about men of course. The core message was men's hearts. His words were rocking. His flow was amazing and funny. The words landed hard on many of the men, including me. There was a sense that time just did not matter. Who cares how long we go???? This was an amazing place to be. The grand finale of the evening was getting ready to take place as men who had issues were asked to stand and bring their issue to the Father. Men stood and other men came to their side to join in prayer. As I left my seat to take a position at the Journey table, I noticed one of our pastors out in the hall, engaged in a conversation with a man. Their conversation looked somewhat troubled and serious in nature and I could see something was happening in this man. A few minutes later, our pastor came walking in the main room and interrupted our closing. He had to share something with the men. He told us about the man who had been struggling in the hall. What happened next was something only OUR GOD could orchestrate. We gave this man the microphone to share what had happened. The man said he had to leave the room when Frank was speaking of loving inmates. Every word Frank spoke was striking this man in the wrong way. He could not understand what he was hearing because he had been in and out of prison and had had many bad experiences with officers in the past. For all intents and purposes, this man was a COP HATER. This man told us he left the room because he could not process his anger. He was so confused at how a cop could share his love and get on an inmate’s level and care. It struck him when Frank had said, “One person is not better than another.” This young man admitted that he had not cried in 14 years and suddenly, he could not dry his eyes andcould not quit shaking. Minutes before, in the hallway, our pastor had helped him understand how he needed to give all his burdens to Christ. This young man spoke of the Joy that was radiating off of him. The joy in this man's heart was tangible. IT WAS UNDENIABLE. OUR MEN GOT TO SEE THIS UNFOLD BEFORE THEIR EYES. And then, in a moment I will probably never ever forget, Frank stood up and went forward to address this man. This man jokingly said, “Hello Officer” which drew great laughter and then, in a very special moment that blew my mind, the two men embraced in a hug that said FORGIVENESS. God was not finished yet. Before the evening ended, this man needed to be baptized. I thought the worship of 250 men was powerful. Little did I know how powerful it would feel to see 200 men celebrating together over a man's Baptism. Another man was so touched by the evening’s events that he decided to jump in, as well. Our men concluded the evening by singing an old time anthem hymn over these men. As I manned the Journey table to sell Journey books, I quickly realized that the 50 Journey books we were selling would, in no way, cover the interest in the men. The Journey was represented in such an overwhelming way that I was filled with emotion. These men got a glimpse of this abiding relationship with Christ, the relationship THAT RADICALLY CHANGED MY LIFE! God surpassed any and all expectations for this evening. I could not let this go without sharing it with my journey brothers around the world. These are the things God wants to show us in the future. This is just the beginning men. I know we have been a ministry for some years now, but I must tell you that we are in the beginning stages of seeing the SUPER POWER of our KING. My heart’s desire is to thank Rocky for being obedient in his pursuit of a ministry that God planted in his heart. I wish to thank Evans Rector and Bryan Craig for their unreal efforts in Tulsa. In a bigger sense I wish to thank every man who represents The Influencer ministry from California to Arkansas to Brazil. I specifically wish to thank Arkansas and California for paving the way for the church-based initiative that thought wouldn’t work in Tulsa. It has been an honor and a pleasure to see this develop right before our eyes. We have done this at a pace that, many times, has seemed humanly slow BUT IT WAS HIS PACE! I must tell you that I feel great amounts of momentum of HIS spirit carrying us into the coming years. I wanted to write you this for inspiration. I know when I hear of God stories from our California, Arkansas, Egypt, and Brazilian contingents, I am energized to keep going and to take THE JOURNEY to the fields. With sincerity and an unexplainable admiration for Christ, Chris Hyslop