I felt someone push me forward

I felt someone push me forward

FGB Jaya One/Brother Charlie Yeo/12/10/12

I was sitting down just like you in FGB Meetings, wondering how I would begin to serve when the Lord opened up an opportunity in 1994. In 1995, I was appointed president of my first Chapter in SS15, just a few months after joining. I asked God for wisdom like Solomon. There were massive problems at first, with people coming and going. 50% of the Chapter consisted of ladies. At one stage, there were only 2 or 3 men, with the rest ladies. However, that too is a good thing because ladies are very vibrant in prayer. Without prayer, nothing happens. Then the SS15 Chapter began to boom. Ladies brought their husbands and boyfriends. Then the ladies left, but the men stayed. We still had problems, but then, every ministry has problems. In fact, when there are problems, the Chapter comes alive. Sometimes people persecuted me, but I committed all the problems to God. If my God is for me, who can be against me? If it had not been for God, I would have given up long ago.

Soon, I started to move in the Lord. I called for meetings and people would come. Everyone responded when I laid hands on them. We founded a committee of up to 10 members and began really working together in the ministry. There would be no ministry if we had no love. I prayed for them. Prayer is so important. Lives began to change. God will increase. There is a real joy in having brothers of different denominations come together to pray.

I was given a mandate to build up 11 chapters.  Some chapters which had been vibrant in the 80s, having 20-30 people, now only had 1 or 2. Even if no one showed up, I would still worship. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are there with us. In time, 1 then 2 then 3 would walk in. It’s a joy. All glory to God. We have to keep on praying and let Him do the work. It is the Holy Spirit who works as we pray.

After 4 years I wanted to step down from my first Chapter. One smart aleck said, since God created the world in 7 days, you can only step down after 7 years. Somehow, I automatically withdrew after 7 years and someone was there to take over. I became a field rep for FGB and told the Lord, I want to go further. You need to be submissive and teachable.

I used to do insurance for 18 years. I accepted Jesus through a Singaporean friend who brought me to Calvary church. I was in the car with him when he asked to stop by his church at Calvary. Instead of waiting in the car, he asked me to follow him and sell some insurance to the church people. And so I did. The next day, I was supposed to fetch him back to Calvary again, but somehow he didn’t show. Still, I found myself going there, and asked myself what I was doing here. From nowhere, my friend suddenly showed up and sat next to me. Reverend Datuk Dr Prince Guneratnam was preaching and at the end asked if there was anyone who wanted to accept Christ. Suddenly, I felt someone push me forward. I heard a second calling, and someone pushed me 2 steps forward. Then it was the final call, and someone pushed me 3 steps forward, right in front of the Reverend. He asked me again and I nodded my head.

Shortly after, I was baptized, and I recall pulling all three pastors down with me as I went down into the water, submerging all of us. As I came out, I found myself saying Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ so that it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me. From that day onwards, my life changed. Before, I had been like a gangster, smoking, drinking, womanizing and at the nightclubs almost everyday. Now, I gave up everything. Smoking and whiskey tasted horrible to me. Because of my heavy smoking, I used to cough out black bits, but one day, I started coughing uncontrollably but at the end of it, there was no more black. My lungs were clear. When the doctor examined next, he was amazed how a chain smoker like me could have such clean lungs.

While before I used to be tall, thin and had a moustache, I then put on weight, and became shorter and heavier. When I visited my family in Toronto, my parents did not recognize me at all. At the train station, they saw me but did not recognize me. I decided to play a trick on them, and just sat and observed them. They even asked me once if they saw a man who was tall and thin with a moustache. After an hour, they were so agitated, they decided to go home. Then I called ‘dad’, and the second time, he recognized me and said “you rascal. How did you become like that?” I told them I was a Christian and most of them became Christians too.

FGB requires 4 members to form a chapter. The Head Office gave me 10 prayer groups to revive. When I came the Brickfields Chapter had 1 member and no committee, but now there are 8 committee members. Again, it was the ladies who brought the harvest. This is God’s business. Even if no one comes, and I will still pray. We have to be faithful, available, submissive to God and teachable. We must be FAST men. We must remember that if there is no love, there is no ministry. People like to complain, compare and criticize but let us instead to the 3E’s – Encourage, empower, exhort.