Hearing the Father's Call

I am now a middle-aged man and was led to the Lord at the young age of seven, having a real consciousness of the nearness and Fatherhood of God. I felt I was a marked out person, one of destiny, hopefully to satisfy God in His plan, purpose and economy.

I sought to pursue God in my denomination, in Sunday School, Bible Class, faithfully attending every Sunday church meeting, prayer meetings, (where I was the only adolescent present), lay-preaching lessons, and even attended a nationally-recognized Bible institute, still having a love for the Lord, but the influence of modernism was eroding the faith of many.

I wanted more of the Lord! By the Lord's sovereign leading I came in contact with some Christians who were enjoying the Lord in the church life. I realised that they were members of my enlarged spiritual family. With them I began to experience a more enriched and enlarged Christ. Then I was convicted by the Lord to leave the denomination behind. This meant closing the door to being an ordained minister but opened the way to God's best.

In 1971, I heard Witness Lee speak in a series of meetings in Palmerston North. I was captivated by his anointed speaking, feeling my own human spirit activated, although many aspects of the meeting were somewhat dissimilar to other meetings I had attended over the years. The most notable impression I recall was Brother Lee coming to another brother and myself, shaking our hands and inquiring where we were from. It was in that moment I realised here was somebody who was dying daily to self and was living for Christ and the church. Now I am in my Father's house, enjoying His bountiful provision in the rich green pasture-the church life. J.P.