"Being Led By The Holy Spirit"
Dear Friends and Family,
Have you ever sat around relaxing on a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do? If you have, I’d like to encourage you to ask the Lord if there’s something He would want you to do. The following is what happened to us when we thought there wasn’t anything to do.
On a Sunday afternoon Lena and I were relaxing at home. It was about 5:25 p.m. and the Lord impressed on me that we should visit another church in the evening. I mentioned it to Lena and she said, lets go to the church in Berrien Springs, it starts at 6:00 p.m. Needless to say we arrived about 5 minutes after the service had started.
When we entered the church, the pastor was standing in the foyer just outside the sanctuary door. He looked at us with a smile and said, you won’t believe this, but I was just thinking about you two this afternoon, and here you are. He asked us if we would share some testimonies of what God has been doing in our ministry. I asked how much time he wanted us to take. He said at their church, they were open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in the services, and to do as the Spirit leads.
After the Praise and Worship, and the offering was taken, the pastor shared briefly some passages out of Psalms and then had us come and share what God was doing in our ministry.
Lena started by giving a testimony of what happened at K.F.C. She told about all the exciting miracles that God did there. She told about a couple with three children, and how God miraculously healed the two boys with speech impediments. Their mother had been in back pain for 13 years, and was healed as Lena reached around her to give one of the boys a hi-five with her hand. Lena told about a woman that could hardly move and was in great pain, due to her hip being out of place, and how God healed her. Lena then shared about how God healed a woman that couldn’t raise her arms above her shoulders, and how God healed her husband’s knees. How God healed a boy with a migraine headache. Then about a man who injured his knee, and was going to have to have surgery, but God stepped in and healed him, and he was able to walk without a limp or any pain.
When Lena finished, the Lord led me to share my testimony of how God financially provided for us. We became debt free in less that a year. The testimony goes like this.
The last week of January we found ourselves not having enough money to pay all the bills. We had the house payment that was due, health insurance, life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, and real estate taxes all coming due. If that wasn’t bad enough, we just had our car worked on. Sunday morning at church, just before the offering was taken, the Lord spoke to me and said this offering was going to be a special offering. It was going to be a debt retirement offering. The Lord prompted me to mention it to our Pastor. After I told him what the Lord had told me, he said another person had also told him that this was going to be a debt reduction offering. Pastor then had me share with the congregation what the Lord had told me. After going back to my seat the Lord told me how much I was to put in the offering. The amount he told me was to be over and above my tithe.
Because of being faithful and giving the amount that the Lord had told me to give, the following is how the Lord provided. The next week I received a phone call from the place I had retired from 4 years earlier. They wanted me to come in and train someone on how to do a certain job. I was to design a computer program that would do all the mathematics and codes needed to perform the job, and then train someone on how to run the program. I not only designed the program, but I’m now also the person that does the job, and runs the program. The job started out as being five days a week, but now I work two half days a week. That way I can draw social security and a paycheck. God took our offering and multiplied it 100 times, and than gave us back our original offering. Because of being obedient to God and giving the amount He told us to give, over and above our tithe. We are now debt free. Plus by working part time, two half days a week, we have extra spending money.
When I was finished telling my testimony, the Lord prompted me to tell the congregation that God is no respecter of persons. What he did for us He will do for them. I looked at the pastor and asked if it would be ok to take another offering, because God wanted to bless the people. He felt we should. I told the people not to listen to me, but to listen to God. If God prompted them to give in the offering, then they should give what God tells them to give. If God doesn’t prompt them to give, then they shouldn’t.
The pastor then told me that we should have the people bring their offering and place it on the altar, and for Lena and I to lay hands on them and bless them.
The Lord then impressed on me to tell the rest of the people they should all come forward, whether they brought an offering or not. God wanted to minister healing to all that would come. Almost all the congregation came forward.
We believe God is going to multiply the offerings that were given, 100 fold, just as He did for us.
God added His blessing on all the people who gave in the special offering, and He did many miracles and healings that night. Lena prayed for, and blessed the women, and I prayed for, and blessed the men. The following is just a few of the things God did that night.
A young man told me his spine was curved in two different directions and that he was in pain. I placed the palm of my hand on the base of his spine and as I moved my hand upward to the base of his skull, I commanded in the name of Jesus that his spine would become straight, and all the pain would leave. The young man straightened up his back, and the pain was gone.
Another young man said he had pain in both of his knees. I prayed for his knees to be healed, and for the pain to go. I then told him to bend his knees and to march. As he began moving his knees, all the pain left and he began leaping up and down for several minutes. He really got a touch from God.
A man said he had pain in his knee and leg because of playing the organ. I had him sit on the pew. I laid my hands on his knee and leg and in the name of Jesus commanded the knee and leg to be healed. I then told him to get up and walk. After he took about four steps something hit him and the pain went away.
A man said he had pain in his ear, after laying hands on his ear, the pain left. We prayed for many who were in poor health. We prayed that God would bless them.
Lena prayed for a lady with a headache, and her headache left. She then prayed for her knees and as she touched the ladies knees, the lady fell under the power of God.
The Holy Spirit was very strong on Lena that night. It seemed like every one she laid hands on were not able to stand under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lena prayed for several other ladies with migraine headaches, stomach problems, neck problems, sinus problems, back problems, and female problems. Many healings were taking place as she moved from one person to another.
Lena was led to go to the back row of the church and pray for a couple of ladies that didn’t come forward for prayer. She prayed for one with back problems, and the back pain went away.
Lena prayed a blessing on many others who came forward.
After praying for everyone that wanted prayer we left the sanctuary and met with the pastor and his wife in the foyer. We greeted a few of the people as they left the sanctuary. One couple along with their children came up to us and told us they were the ones at K.F.C. with the two boys with the speech impediments, and she was the one that had suffered with back pain for 13 years. They told us the boys were speaking very well now, and at times it is hard to keep them quiet. The mother also said her back is still feeling good. They also were visiting the church that night. It wasn’t their home church. What an awesome God!