The ripple goes on

Pastor Vince Burke taught us some history last Sunday. Let me post the story here as he told it in his own words...

Edward Kimble was a shoe repair man who lived in the 1800s. In 1858, God spoke to his heart and he decided to win his students to Christ. One of the students he went to visit worked in a shoe store, selling shoes. And so he went to this shoe store, paced around nervously for a while, and eventually went in and shared the gospel with this 17-year old young man. This young man got to his knees and prayed to receive Christ. And the ripple began because that young man was D.L. Moody. D.L. Moody became, and went on to become one of the greatest evangelists of all time. He invented the paperback book so he could get more literature out for the gospel sake. He created a school in Chicago that today, even today, still sends out one out of every 18 missionaries around the world. Tremendous impact worldwide! And God used him to speak face-to-face to more people than anyone else in history during his time. Up to that point, Billy Graham has since superseded that.

Years later, a man named Frederick Mayer was deeply stirred by one of D.L. Moody’s messages and he gave himself to the Lord; and he gave himself to preaching the gospel and he himself began a nationwide preaching ministry. A college student attended one of his sessions and came to Christ and began following the Lord, and he himself became a pastor and began holding evangelistic meetings in various parts of the US. And he decided to call a young man alongside to help him. His name was Billy Sunday.

Billy Sunday went on to become one of the most famous evangelists of the 1920s, reaching thousands and thousands for the cause of Jesus Christ in the earliest part of the 20th century. At one such crusade, Billy Sunday was preaching and thousands were coming and it just wasn’t slowing down. Billy Sunday had to leave, so he assigned a guy named Mordecaiham to take over and continue the meetings in Charlotte, North Carolina.

During one of these meetings, a young farm boy known as Billy Frank came – couldn’t get it at first until a very wise usher found some seats for them and this young man went forward, got on his knees and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Billy Frank we now know is Billy Graham. And you know the story, Billy Graham went on to reach millions for Christ throughout modern times.

Talk about a ripple, talk about an impact! And where did it start? With an unknown shoe repair man named Edward Kimble who followed the Lord in obedience, who looked at the little rock in his hand, the rock of our salvation and said, “I need to make a difference through that rock.” And the ripple began.

You’re holding a rock in our hand, and God wants to use you to make an impact. Don’t sell yourself short, don’t put yourself on the shelf before God does. He has a job for you to do until He comes and you can do it, by God’s grace.

We need more Edward Kimble’s, don’t we? Because more Edward Kimble’s mean more D.L. Moody’s, and Billy Sunday’s, and Billy Graham’s.

I wanna share one more ripple that’s much more personal. D.L. Moody was preaching in the southern part of United States and there was a young man who wanted to attend the session but he couldn’t get in, it was too crowded. This 12-year old boy was very dejected. He went outside the stadium and sat down on a rock and put his head between his hands and worried, "Oh, no! What am I gonna tell my dad? I really needed to go to this." And he really genuinely wanted to go but he couldn’t get in.

While he’s sitting there, three or four men walked up; and one of them tapped his shoulder and said, "Son, what’s wrong?"

He said, "I can’t get in, it was too crowded."

And this big, old guy said, "Hey, no problem. Get a hold at the back of my coat and I’ll get you in." So this guy grabbed on the back of his coat and followed him in down the aisle, toward the front, up the platform and he sat right next to D.L. Moody.

And that young man, 12-year old boy, put his faith and trust in Christ that day. His name was Paul Rader. Paul Rader went on to become an evangelist in the city of Chicago in the 30’s, in the tough guy El Capone days, very difficult times. God put His hand in that ministry in a very remarkable way, they held meetings every night for six years attended by thousands. Many ministries were spawned out of Paul Rader’s gospel tabernacle in Chicago, one of them was Youth for Christ, a Christian evangelistic youth organization that’s worldwide in scope, new tribes mission was born in that ministry, Paul Fleming came to Christ under Paul Rader and began that great mission. HCJB, a radio station in Quedo, Ecuador which spawned FEBC, I believe, came out of that ministry. A famous news commentator named Lowell Thomas said, "I taught at Northwestern University in Chicago, I bring my speech class down to hear Paul Rader. I’ve never heard of a communicator as powerful or dynamic as this man, Paul Rader."

Paul Rader had a piano player, his name was Lance B. Latham, affectionately known as Doc Latham, to those who knew him. Doc played piano in the crusades and was infected with the power of God’s work as it was happening in those days and Doc was led by the Lord to start a church in the north side of Chicago. He called it the North side Gospel Center. And in their ministry, they created a very creative youth program called Awana. We have Awana here in the Philippines here at CCF. It’s a worldwide ministry today because Doc had a passion to reach boys and girls for Jesus Christ while they’re still moldable, and reachable and pliable – touch them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Doc had the heart of Jesus because he knew how important children were. There’s only two times that Jesus got really ticked off. One was when he turned the temple tables over and the other was when the disciples shoo the kids away. He was indignant, He was furious and He spent the whole next chapter, chapter 18 of Matthew talking about how important kids are. And Doc had that passion, he began to reach boys and girls for Jesus Christ and one little boy that he reached he can barely see him up at the top; he’s the kid with his head cut off right under Paul Rader, his name is Jack Connor. Jack Connor came to this club, became a believer; his parents were divorced, he came from a rough background, he was one of that neighborhood punks, and he came to know the Lord and he became Doc’s boy, and Doc discipled him and trained him, and he began to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and became a real leader for the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the 1972, Jack Connor after having been with New Tribe Mission for twenty something years, came to the Philippines. They went to Tara, in Palawan, and began to translate the Scriptures into the Tagbanua tongue. No believers, no churches and they began to share their faith with these tribal people and spent four years there – some rough times, some good times and many came to know the Lord. And you know, today every Holy Week the Tagbanua people gather for a conference. And over one thousand people gather in one of twelve Tagbanua locations to celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ and they figure out how they’s gonna spread it around the world. The light of God’s glory has come to that place and I was able to go there last Holy Week, not this one, a year ago, and presented the New Testament in Tagbanua and one of the biggest thrills of my life to see God’s work in that regard. They had a daughter, her name was Lorie, she’s the girl in the middle with funny hat. While they were in the Philippines, there was a young guy in Chicago into drugs and Satanism, and gangs and all the rest, and one day was invited into the Northside Gospel Center, and he went and he heard the gospel and put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ and began to follow Jesus and the Lord changed his life. And four years later, he met Lorie Connor and they got married and had kids and came back here. And I could say to you today, I’m so glad for the Ripple.

It’s not about me, it’s about Him; and someday, I’m gonna get to heaven; I’m gonna go find Edward Kimble and probably D.L. Moody, and Billy Graham are gonna be walking behind the sky, trying to touch Him. And I’m gonna say, "Thank you, brother, for throwing that stone in the water. Thank you for starting the ripple. Look how far it’s gone."

Amazing, isn't it? How the ripple Edward Kimble started made such a huge impact that brought Pastor Vince himself to Christ.

Oh, but the ripple hasn't stopped.

In 1993, Pastor Vince stood up in front of a crowd of teenagers in Caliraya Re-Creation Center in Laguna. He told them that Jesus loves them and died to take away their sins. He said Jesus rose up from the dead to prove that He is God and that He has conquered sin and death.

"Picture this," Pastor Vince said. "Imagine all your sins you ever committed... try to remember them, bring them back to mind... the earliest sin you can remember, to the most recent you committed. Okay, now squeeze that sin into a knife. And Jesus on the cross says, 'That knife will kill you. If you ask Me, I will take it away from you.' And you give that knife to Jesus and Jesus dies."

Among the audience was a very sleepy 13-year-old. He was seated at the back, ready to dose off to sleep. But something about what Pastor Vince said made him sit up and pay attention. When he heard the Gospel, he realized for the first time in his life that God loves him and what Jesus' death and resurrection truly meant.

He accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior that day.

That 13-year-old boy was me. I'm now 29 years-old. Married, and father to a one-year-old girl. And the ripple won't stop with me. By God's grace, I will live a life that brings glory to Him, and brings people to Him.