Girl Attacked by the Spirit of Death
On the first night of the crusade a tragedy happened. A nine-year-old girl named Katalina was hit by a car in front of the crusade grounds. Everyone who saw the accident happen thought she was dead. She is the daughter of Pastor Pedro who has led our publicity team for this crusade and her mother is part of the intercessory team. The girl wandered away from her parents, stepped into the road, and a moment later there was the sound of squealing brakes and the girl went flying.
They picked her up and rushed her to the hospital. She was unconscious and people thought she was dead. Her parents prayed fervently. Soon, the doctors came with a report, “We have good news. She is alive and the only injury is a broken arm.”
Because of this accident, people at the crusade were talking about how the devil is trying to kill people. I decided to preach about what happens when “Death Meets Life.”
In Luke 7:11-17 we find the story of a widow whose only son died. The funeral party was going out of the city to the cemetery, and they encountered Jesus going into the city with His disciples. Death was going out and Jesus was going in. One crowd was crying, the other crowd was rejoicing.
I preached, “The crowd of death illustrates the plans of Satan. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But if you join the Jesus crowd, He will give you abundant life!”
What happened when the crowd of death met the crowd of life? Jesus spoke to the widow and said, “Don’t cry.” Then Jesus stretched out His hand and touched the coffin and the boy sat up and began to speak. The funeral crowd stopped crying and started to rejoice. They turned around and joined the Jesus crowd.
I announced, “It’s time to kick the devil out! Everyone shout, ‘Devil out! Jesus in!’ Shout, ‘Death out! Life in!’ Shout, ‘Sickness out! Healing in!’
When I gave the invitation, I asked, “Who wants to join the Jesus crowd?” I explained that repentance means “to turn around.” I asked the people to turn from following Satan and to follow Jesus instead. Over one hundred people responded to the altar call and gave their lives to Jesus.
24-Year-Old Man Is First to Come Forward
The Bible says all the angels of heaven rejoice when one sinner repents. On the second night of our crusade in Bata, I preached “Jesus is the Bridge to Heaven.” I did a drama to demonstrate how sin separates us from God, but when Jesus died on the cross, He became the bridge to heaven. I asked “How many of you want to ask Jesus to save you from your sins?
Before I was finished giving the invitation, a 24-year-old man named Benjamin walked all the way from the back of the crowd and he stood in front of the platform with his hand raised. He was so ready to give his life to Jesus that he came forward before I had the opportunity to ask people to come. He was ready! He stood right in front of the platform by himself while I finished the invitation and because of his example, many other people came forward to give their lives to Jesus.
I am reminded that God loves everyone. He loves the multitudes, but He also loves each individual. God loves Benjamin so much that He sent me all the way to Equatorial Guinea to preach the Gospel. Jesus died for Benjamin. Now, all the angels in heaven rejoice because Benjamin’s name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
