Stories of Faith - Episode 30

One of our workers in the Underground Church was a young girl. The Communist police discovered that she secretly spread Gospels and taught children about Christ. They decided to arrest her. But to make the arrest as agonizing and painful as they could, they decided to delay her arrest a few weeks, until the day she was to be married. On her wedding day, the girl was dressed as a bride—the most wonderful, joyous day in a girl’s life! Suddenly, the door burst open and the secret police rushed in.

When the bride saw the secret police, she held out her arms toward them to be handcuffed. They roughly put the manacles on her wrists. She looked toward her beloved, then kissed the chains and said, “I thank my heavenly Bridegroom for this jewel He has presented to me on my marriage day. I thank Him that I am worthy to suffer for Him.” She was dragged off, with weeping Christians and a weeping bridegroom left be­hind. They knew what happens to young Chris­tian girls in the hands of Communist guards. Her bridegroom faithfully waited for her. After five years she was released—a destroyed, broken woman, looking thirty years older. She said it was the least she could do for her Christ. Such beautiful Christians are in the Underground Church.

Source: http://radioblast.net/en/articles/libri-suggeriti/richard-wurmbrand-tortured-for-christ

Stories of Faith - Episode 29

Francis Chan tells the story of a 59-year old delivered from cocaine addiction:

"We were out knocking on doors in the inner city in San Francisco and there was this this one guy - James. I knocked on his door, went into his apartment.

He’s smoking pot, he’s on methodone, he’s drinking, he’s been a crack addict for 40 years."

I got to share the gospel with him and he asked Jesus into his life. We prayed for him and we baptized him a couple of weeks later. We brought him over to our house and had a birthday party for him as he clocked 59. He brought all his drugs and paraphernalia and a hammer and we just smashed it all in the backyard and buried them.

Then he said, "but pray for me, the first of the month is coming up. On the first of the month, everyone gets their welfare cheques, we pay our rent and the rest of it we use to buy drugs. Everyone is high on the first of the month on drugs. Everyone is so messed up on the first of the month. It’s a routine for me and I’m scared because it’s coming up in the next few days. Pray for me. I’ve never been clean on the first of the month. It’s been about 25 years since I’ve not been completely bombed on the first day of the month." 

So we prayed for him and I thought, I’m going to do more than praying, I’m gonna go to him and I’m gonna work with him all day long because he’s my brother now. I’m gonna hang out with him all day and make sure he’s doing nothing wrong. 

But then I came down with the flu, and I couldn’t even get out of bed. I felt terrible. I was worried about James. Then one of the volunteers that’s been working with us, a young guy called Aaron called me and said "it’s okay, I’m gonna go visit James today." I was like good, stay with him.

Then I got a call from Aaron at the end of the night, and he said, "you will never believe what happened." 

He said Francis, “So I picked up James in the morning and we put all the money in the bank, so he couldn’t just give it to drug dealers. Then James said it’s been years since he’s not been high on the first of the month, so I said let’s go celebrate. Let me take you out to dinner. So we go out to dinner, I was looking for this one good restaurant but I couldn’t find it on my GPS, then we saw a Popeyes Restaurant, and so I said let’s just go there. So I got to sit down and I walked through Romans 6 to 8 with James and talked about the Spirit and talked about how this can turn him around and how he can stay clean. Then I looked at James, and I asked how did it all start?" 

And James said, “I remember I was 19 years old, I already smoked pot a little bit, I’ve been drinking, and then I came to the restaurant where I worked and my manager offered me cocaine. He just lined it up in the back. I was curious, so I tried it, and I got hooked. I fell in love with it. At first I just sort of did it casually, but I just had to have more and more and more and now it’s been 40 years. I will never forget it, because I was a cook at the restaurant and he brought it to the back room."

And suddenly James stopped and he looked around, and said, "wait, this is the restaurant, and he mentioned the name of the restaurant back then, is this #599.....?"

They said, "yes." 

He goes, "this is the very room where it happened." 

And he stood up, he had chills all over his body 

And he said,"40 years ago, in this room is where it all started and I’ve been lost in this desert for 40 years and God takes me to the very room where it started to deliver me?"

He said, “If I ever doubted God, I will never doubt Him again”. 

Right there they celebrated and worshiped God in the restaurant. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QTHFxeC1Cg

Stories of Faith - Episode 28

Casey Uggen writes: "While I was a pre-believing rebel (at 27), thinking I was cool at the Burning Man festival, I was airlifted after an internal injury from Thunderdome fighting...little did I know the Creator of the Universe would encounter me on the helicopter on the way to Reno Emergency Center; showed me I was not RIGHT with HIM, scared me sober - right out of the morphine. And HE HEALED ME - docs had to release me, they couldn't explain the recovery, people!!! GOD IS REAL! I have a science degree from the U of M that can't even stop me from my faith -- in fact, the more into science you get, the more it EXPLAINS GOD (quantum physics). THANK YOU, JESUS, You are worthy of my life I have surrendered to YOU. I TELL ALL MY FRIENDS this story. I want to see them on that Day."

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNacm6zR8eU

Stories of Faith - Episode 27

Narrated by Christine La Vita: "When I was in Assemblies of God church in Australia (Wollongong) back in 1996-1999, there was an old gentleman from England, called Raymond. He used to get up and tell us of the miracles he had seen as a 10 year old boy in England, under the ministry of Stephen Jefferies and Smith Wigglesworth and others. Tears used to fill his eyes and he would choke up as he recounted them. He said one time, all the ministers were seated on a big platform in a hall. Raymond sat up the front row. He said, a mother came forward with a little boy whose legs were so twisted that they were back to front. He stood there in front of them all badly deformed, all alone. Suddenly, Raymond said, the mighty Presence of the Lord filled the platform and all the ministers (healing evangelists and others) ran, they fled from the platform. Raymond said that right before his eyes, he heard bones creaking and watched in wonder, as an invisible Hand straightened the little boys’ legs and feet, until he was totally healed! All the people erupted in cheering and shouting for joy! Other remembrances old Raymond had too."

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/memories-of-wigglesworth-john-fawcett/

Stories of Faith - Episode 26

There was a man who had charge of evangelism in a great church.

A new pastor came who was a zealous soul winner. He took the fellow out in door-to-door witnessing. 

When they returned that night after leading several souls to Christ, he said: "I've been the Sunday School Superintendent of this Church for 33 years. I've presided over our evangelism activities, but tonight I have a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ which I never experienced before."

Culled from SOUL WINNING: Out Where the Sinners Are

Stories of Faith - Episode 25

Story by by Joel Oluyemi: "This happened one fateful night in the month of November 1995.

I was on my way (alone) to the staff quarters in Lagos State University (LASU) which is quite some distance from the University Auditorium where a Christian musical programme was taking place at about 2.30am. At a junction I saw a set of people along a foot path which I was meant to pass through.

Immediately the Holy Spirit told me they were cult members and that they just finished an initiation ceremony. Though there was an alternative to change my route, I didn't even think about it. I headed straight on for the same foot path.

The boys were almost fifty in number wearing black trousers and black T-shirts and they were coming in two's They were well arranged from the beginning of the foot path to its end. The word fear didn't cross my mind. I didn't speak in tongues, neither did I pray. I was just consumed with boldness and I just walked in between them looking into their faces but they could not behold mine. I knew it was not me they were seeing, the Holy Spirit had either made me invisible to them or covered me with a glory that can't be beheld. I walked with my shoulders held up high, looking at their faces shaking my head. After I left them, then the thought came into my memory that I'd just passed between about fifty cult members without being hurt or harassed.

It was then, it dawned on me that it was beyond the physical. There was something extra ordinary about me. The answer was not far fetched, it was not me but the Lord that blind folded the cult boys as He did for Elisha in 2 Kings 6:18.

There was another night that I encountered another set of cult members, about eight in number. This time I challenged them and asked where they were coming from at that time (it was about 2am). Of course, evil must bow at the gate of the righteous. They were mesmerized by the presence of the Holy Spirit in me. If only we Christians could recognize who we are in Christ, we would have taken our world for our Master, but our world is full of fearful Christians who cannot trust their Father to deliver them from carnal weapons like guns, sword, cutlasses and charms etc."

Culled from Holy Spirit, Best of all Friends

Stories of Faith - Episode 24

Narrated by T.L Osborn

"When we first ministered in Java, Thailand it was a 95% Moslem. Around the world we had heard how difficult the Moslems were to reach. They do not believe that Jesus is God's Son or that God raised Him from the dead. We remembered how helpless we were to convince them in India. But now things were different. We knew HOW to believe for miracles.

The first night I preached to that multitude, when I finished my message, I told them that I would not expect them to forsake their religion and accept the Jesus of the Bible unless it would be proven to their satisfaction that Christ is alive. I expressed that I did not feel a dead Christ could do them any good.

They knew that Jesus Christ had once lived on earth. They understood that He was a good man, a sort of prophet even a healer with strange powers to do miracles. But they understood that He was dead.

There is only one argument to win a Moslem. If Jesus Christ is alive, let Him do the miracles which He did before He was killed! He is dead, He can't. If He is risen, He will!

I called for deaf people. I told them I would prayy in JESUS' NAME. If Christ is dead, His Name would have no power. If, He is alive, He would do the same as He did before men killed Him.

The first man up the steps was a Moslem priest about 55 years old, wearing his black fez. He had never heard in one of his ears.

I witnessed to him of Jesus Christ, then I told him how I would pray. I explained how God was looking down on us, how He had raised His Son from the dead, how He wanted men to know Christ was raised for our Justification, and how He would give, this by doing this miracle.

Then I told the audience "If this man does not here when I have finished praying, you can say I am a false preacher and Jesus is dead; but if he does ear, now that 

Christ is risen, because a dead Christ cannot do such a miracle."

I placed my finger in his ear and prayed let it be known that Jesus Christ is thy son, that Thou didst raise Him from the dead and that only through Him and His shed blood can men come to Thee and receive Eternal Life let this be known according to the Scriptures by causing this deaf ear to heal IN JESUS CHRIST'S NAME I pray. Amen!

The entrire audience gasped when the old priest could hear the faintest whisper even the tick of a watch perfectly. Thousands raised their hands that night to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord."