I was preaching on "God Speaks" at the end of the book of Job. We were about 1/4 way into the message and I was summarizing the earlier chapters of Job. (For the new people in attendance.) I talked about how Job suffered and was stricken with boils… we aren't told in the Bible what skin disease Job had. It was painful and he would scrap them with broken pottery. He could have had Aids, Psoriasis, maybe Leprosy? Leprosy… I have seen leprosy. I shared in detail how I prayed for a leper during my last trip to Africa. (See picture below.)
"The leper first came through the marketplace begging for money. People pushed him out of the way like an old dog. I couldn't help it, I was drawn to him like a magnate. I had an overwhelming love for him. None of the locals would interpret for him. Determined, I went to him and asked how I could pray for him, acting out my words with my hands. He proceeded to show me his club hands, deformed feet, and oozing skin. He could hardly stand and walked bent over with a cane. His face looked young but his crippled body looked centuries old."
"I didn't know if or when the leper would be healed, but what I did know is that if it was part of God's will, it would happen! I prayed loudly for him so that the rest of those gathering in the marketplace could hear that healing happens in the power of the name of Jesus Christ. After the prayer, the crowd was multiplying quickly and we were hustled out of the marketplace by our interpreter. I departed not knowing if the man was healed by God or not?"
The next day, one of our teams came back excited from conducting open-air preaching. "Shug, Shug!" "You'll never believe who came to our event? The leper you prayed for in the marketplace! He came forward and received Jesus as his Lord and Savior!"
The inmates listening started to applaud… I then boldly exclaimed; "Jesus Christ wants to heal each of us Spiritually. Like the seven lepers in the Bible, they believed first and then walked in obedience and became physically healed!"
THAT'S WHEN THE FREIGHT TRAIN CAME THROUGH THE PRISON! The Holy Spirit plowed through the auditorium with such force, that I felt I had to hold on to the chair to keep from being bowled over. Many inmates stood up spontaneously and began shouting and praising God. Others, had eyes wide open amazed at what they were seeing. Prisoners lifting their hands up and standing - receiving Jesus as their Lord… because of the POWERFUL presence of the Holy Spirit Himself in the room. Many of us were literally shaking and weak in the knees from what we had witnessed. We were on Holy ground!
Of course, because of this event, Satan was aroused. You could feel the darkness of the enemy lurking around causing minor disruptions during the following second service. Yet, God prevailed! The team estimated around 120 women in all stood up and received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. (Is it coincidence? That is the same number that gathered together at Pentecost in the book of Acts 1:15.)
The entire team was in AWE of the power of our Almighty God. WOW! What's next Lord?
The entire team was in AWE of the power of our Almighty God. WOW! What's next Lord?
PLEASE PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!
- We are beginning our next service with time set-aside for the inmates (and team) to share what they experienced. Please pray that the women and our team will glorify Jesus Christ by sharing what they had witnessed and felt that day.
- Pray that the testimony of others and the blood of the Lamb will bring unbelievers to repentance and surrender to Christ.
- The Holy Spirit will continue to "steam" through the prison and create Spiritual Healing for all!
- Protection for myself and our team and our families from the enemy.
- After testimonies, we will close with our final chapter of Job. Please pray the women will walk in obedience and be doubly blessed like Job.
One team member and myself thought the best analogy was that the Holy Spirit came through like a FREIGHT TRAIN. It didn't feel like a gentle breeze, it didn't feel like a flowing river, it felt like a physical full steam freight train charging through the prison. Wow!
"It just doesn't get any better than this!"
All For His Glory!
Shug
