Story - Wesley Steelberg.
Almost 100 years ago young Wesley Steelberg was on his own in the basement of his house doing his weekly chore - cleaning it up. It was a job he didn't really like, but he knew he had to be obedient to whatever his parents asked him to do. Suddenly Wesley heard someone calling his name "Wesley, Wesley." "That's my Dad" thought Wesley "He's the only other person in the house right now." Ascending from the basement, Wesley approached his dad. "Yes dad, what do you want?" His dad replied "What do you mean, what do I want?" "You called me." responded Wesley. "I most certainly did not " replied his dad, "Now get back down to the basement and finish your chore."
Feeling rather puzzled, Wesley returned to the basement "I'm sure someone called my name, but if it wasn't my dad, who could it be?" thought Wesley. Wesley had hardly started work again when he heard the voice a second time "Wesley, Wesley." "That's definitely my dad this time" thought Wesley as he came up from the basement again. "Yes dad, you definitely called me this time" said Wesley as he approached his dad. Wesley's dad began to look rather angry. "I did not call you" he retorted "If this is some trick of yours to get out of cleaning the basement, it's not going to work. Now get back down those stairs and finish your job."
Back in the basement, Wesley was beginning to feel a little scared. If his dad hadn't been calling out his name, who could it have been? "Wesley, Wesley" came the voice for the third time. A rather frightened Wesley ran up the basement stairs, three at a time! "You've been kidding me" said Wesley as he came up to his dad. "Please tell me you're having a joke with me. You've been calling out my name, and then pretending it wasn't you?"
Wesley's dad was just about to send his son back to the basement when he suddenly remembered a story that he'd read in the Bible about a little boy called Samuel who was about the same age as Wesley. Samuel worked in God's temple for the High Priest, Eli. One night while in his bed Samuel heard someone calling his name. He thought it must be Eli, but Eli said that it wasn't and sent Samuel back to his bed. Twice more, Samuel heard his name being called. On the third occasion, Eli worked out what must be happening. If he wasn't calling Samuel, it must be God! So Eli told Samuel to go back to his bed, but if he heard his name being called again to say "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." That is what happened, and God did speak to Samuel in an audible voice - and told him lots of things that were going to happen to Eli's family.
Wesley's dad thought "If God could speak to Samuel in an audible voice, perhaps He also wanted to speak to Wesley in the same way." Thus Wesley was instructed to return to the basement, but if he heard his name being called again to say "Yes God, what do you want?"
A fourth time Wesley heard his name being called "Yes God, what do you want" he replied. And God did speak to him. He said "I want you to go to your next door neighbour and tell him that I love him and sent my Son, Jesus to die for his sins." Wow! Not only was God speaking to him, He was actually giving him a job to do - and there is nothing more important than being used by God. There was only one problem. Wesley didn't really like his next door neighbour, because he was a bit of a 'grumpy' man. However Wesley reasoned that if God was telling him to go to the man, it must be important, so he was obedient.
Wesley knocked on his neighbour's door, and asked to see the man. However, he was told that he couldn't do so because the man was very sick. In fact, he was not expected to live for much longer. Wesley pleaded to be allowed to see his neighbour, and eventually was allowed into his bedroom to deliver God's message. "God has sent me to tell you that He loves you, and sent his Son, Jesus to die for your sins." On hearing the message, the sick man immediately burst into tears.
As it turned out, that man had lived all his life as though God didn't exist. He just lived a very self-centred life. In fact, he wasn't even sure if God was real. But when he got sick and realised that he was dying, he became very worried because he didn't know what would happen to him after he died. So that very day he had prayed for probably one of the first times ever. His prayer was "God, if you are real, if you really exist, send someone to tell me about you." And God heard and answered his prayer. God didn't send a famous preacher to the man, or even the local Pastor. He sent the little boy from next door!
That night the sick man repented of his sins and gave his life to Jesus. Shortly afterwards he died, and we believe he went straight to heaven, not because he had led a good life, but because, in the end, he had put his trust in Jesus.
When Wesley Steelberg grew up, he became quite a famous preacher, and used to speak to thousands of people about Jesus in his meetings. But God first began to speak to and use Wesley while he was still a young boy. This reminds us that you don't have to be old (or clever, or rich) to be used by God. You only have to be one thing - Obedient, just like Wesley.
Conclusion. God can speak to us in many different ways, the most common one being through His Word, the Bible. But the way He choses to speak to us is not important. The important thing is: Will we be like Wesley and be obedient to what God says?
Illusion - WOW / MOM.
All you need for this illustration is a square piece of cardboard - ideally about 30 cm x 30 cm. On one side of the cardboard write the word "MOM" (The American for Mum) in large letters. On the other side of the cardboard, again write the word "MOM" in large letters, but this time from bottom to top.
Hold the cardboard in front of yourself, with your left hand grasping the top left hand corner, and your right hand grasping the bottom right hand corner. Practice twisting the card over. The secret is to keep your hands still, and let the card make all the movements. Now, change your hand positions. Grasp the bottom left hand corner with your left hand, and the top right hand corner with your right hand. Twist the card over a few times as before. You will note that - depending on where your hands are placed - you can make the word "MOM" appear to either read the same on both sides of the cardboard, or to keep changing to the word "WOW" as the card is twisted.
With a little practice, you will be ready to try this out on your mom (mum). Turn the card in the appropriate way as you say "MOM, whenever I think of you MOM, I have to say WOW, MOM, WOW, MOM. You're so good to me MOM, that I have to say WOW, WOW, WOW, all the time MOM.
Alternative.
On one side of the cardboard draw a large horizontal arrow. On the other side of the cardboard draw a large vertical arrow.
You are now ready to illustrate any story which involves a change of direction (or repentance), e.g. Jonah, Zacchaeus or Saul. I often use this method to share my testimony as follows, changing the direction of the arrow at the appropriate places:-
Once I always went my own way ( <- ) and did my own thing ( <- ) . Nobody, not even God could get me to change my direction ( <- ). But then I heard the good news about Jesus Christ. He said to me what He says to us all - "Instead of going your way ( <- ), you need to turn round and start going My way ( -> ). Instead of living a life centred around yourself ( <- ), you need to centre your life around Me ( -> )." For a little while, I wasn’t sure what to do. Whether to continue going my way ( <- ), or to turn around and start going Jesus' way ( -> ). But then I decided that the best thing I could do was to turn and start going Jesus' way ( -> ), because I saw that His way was the best way ( -> ). For the last 20 years I have been going His way ( -> ), His way ( -> ), His way ( -> ) all the time.
Having tried out your square piece of cardboard a few times, you may wish to try out your story with an Octagon (eight sides). This is essentially the same as for the square, but it has the advantage that - by grasping the shape at two opposite corners - you are also able to make the arrow point vertically upwards or downwards.( With a little practice, you should soon become proficient ).You could then conclude your story as follows :-
Going Jesus' way (-> ) is the best way, because His way ( -> ) leads you Upwards towards God. His way ( -> ) leads you Upwards. But does your way ( <- ) lead you towards God ? No, your way ( <- ) leads you Downwards away from God. So the best thing you can do is to go His way ( -> ), His way ( -> ), His way (-> ) all the time.
Challenge. How tall was the giant, Goliath? If you email the correct answer to mnmsweetsur@xtra.co.nz , I will send you details of how to do a special illusion.
Laugh break - Body challenges.
Here are some fun challenges for you and your friends to attempt. Some are fairly easy, but others are very hard. You will need to look in a mirror to check whether you can do some of these, or you can get a friend to check you out. Remember - No cheating! I am told that one of these challenges is impossible. See if you can work out which one. Who Knows? Perhaps you will become the first person ever to achieve this challenge.
1. Touch the tip of your nose with your tongue.
2. Balance on one leg for 10 sec., with your eyes closed, without wobbling.
3. Pat your head, rub your tummy and hop, all at the same time.
4. Touch your toes without bending your knees.
5. Wiggle your ears.
6. Wink an eye, without moving your mouth.
7. Lick your elbow.
8. Put your big toe in your mouth.
9. Pick up a pencil with your toes.
10. Twitch your nose.
11. Take a deep breath, then hold your breath for 1 minute.
Scores. I managed to achieve 4. (But I am probably a lot older than you). If you score 6 or 7, that is good. If you score 8, 9, or 10, that is excellent. If you score 11 -YOU MUST HAVE CHEATED!
Your Questions Answered.
Why is my brother / sister nasty to me?
(This is one of the questions I am asked most often.)
"Before I answer your question, can I ask you "How about you ? Are you nasty to your brother / sister ? It is very easy for us to see the faults in others, but very hard to see the faults in ourselves. Brothers and sisters are often nasty to each other, and to understand why, we have to go back to the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that brought sin into the world, and spoiled everything. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve and have been born with a selfish nature that wants its own way. Children soon realise that being selfish all the time often gets them in to trouble, so they learn to control their behaviour, especially when they are outside their home environment. However, without Jesus, their selfish nature is still there. When you live with the same persons day after day ( like brothers and sisters ), this selfishness is bound to show itself from time to time, often resulting in "nastiness" to each other.
If your brother or sister is really nasty to you, there are two important things you can do. Firstly, pray that they will hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and allow Him to begin to change their selfish nature. Secondly, whenever your brother / sister is nasty to you, then you be nice to them. The Bible tells us that we are to defeat evil, not with evil, but rather with good. (Romans 12.21).That can be a really hard thing to do, but if you persist in being nice to them, then usually they will start being nice to you !
