An Incident in Stockholm

At the company where I worked in Stockholm, over 200 of my co-workers went on strike because I wouldn’t join the union. The union had a stranglehold on that workplace, and I didn’t want to join them because they were communists and engaged in political activism. The other union members be­came livid. One of my co-workers spat on me, and one morn­ing when I arrived, several of them were standing there with their fists in my face.

“I would love to hit you,” said one of them.

“Go right ahead,” I replied.

“Yeah, and then what?” he asked.

“You’ll find out, if you have any memory left afterward!” I answered.

I felt full of the spirit of glory and power. Afterwards I went up to the manager’s office, slammed my fist on the table and said to him: “I am being dragged through this crowd of people who hate me, and you are doing absolutely nothing about it! I get harassed because I stand up for my democratic rights. I have a right to my own opinion just like the rest of you, and I have a right to disagree with you if I want. How dare you be­have like this? You’ll pay dearly for this!” Then he started trembling in his shoes.

The following day, I gave him some good advice about how to stop unionists from harassing people. When I said goodbye on Friday afternoon, most of them probably thought I was leaving for good. But, of course, I turned up again on Monday morning: “Hey, it’s seven o’clock, men—isn’t it time to start work?” The union foreman came, and I gave him a tongue lashing until there wasn’t even a “peep” left in him.

Spiritual warfare gives you joy and peace in your heart. We must remain in the will of God and be faithful to the Spirit’s voice. Then we will become free and happy. Paul appealed his case to Caesar in Rome—he wasn’t out to please all of the people. Most people end up in the flesh when they wage war, but we must learn warfare so we become full-blooded war­riors for the Lord. It has to get into our blood and become our life. Be who you are—be “full-feathered” [in full array] as they say in Swedish. When you fight for something, do it with a passion, because you care for your “land and people.” Don’t use those sorts of opportunities as a springboard for some­thing that will later bring you personal gain. Stand up for what you believe, even to the point of death! We must be given to the Lord—totally, utterly, with nothing held back. Eunuchs like this are the driving force of the church. Matt. 19:12. They have willingly been circumcised from any other possibilities in this world. They have burned all their bridges to the world and are worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

Those who have been shepherds among us have been car­ing, helpful and generous people, in contrast to the “drill sergeants”—miserly and egotistical. These “drill sergeants” thought and acted according to what was advantageous for them. The shepherds stood up for others: they stood in the breach for them, despite the fact that they themselves ap­peared to lose out. That is how those who are shepherds have worked—to protect and to safeguard. There are others who you can say are good brothers and sisters, but they have never stood up and fought for anyone or anything. They don’t do anything until they know what the outcome will be. They are not true shepherds.