A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day – April 18, 2019
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2:19-20)
Some people (even Christians) look at the life of a Pastor or Evangelist as a walk in the park. They think it’s all smooth sailing with no problems. Not so!!!! We are human beings just like any other human being except we have a big target on our back because we are dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. That is why it’s so important for us to stay close to God and to also have people covering us with prayer as we go out into the harvest field.
Let me give you an example. This last weekend we ministered in an event in Chicago, IL. We knew this was going to be a special weekend because things started happening before we even left. By things, I don’t mean good things. I mean things that hinder. I call them hindering spirits. Our home air conditioning went on the blink the day before we were to fly to Chicago. I also had a dream the night before we left that something bad was going to happen in Chicago and we should not go. We have done this long enough that we know the tactics of the enemy and we said on the way to the airport that something great must be going to happen.
Well, we had a tremendous weekend in Chicago. People were getting set free at our book table one after another. It snowed Sunday morning but the Sunday service in the hotel was just a continuation of that same type of anointing. The scheduled preacher never really preached because God showed up so strong in the praise and worship that all the preacher had to do was give an altar call. At least 50 people gave their life to the Lord which was just amazing.
Now, here comes the hindering spirits again. About 500 flights were delayed or cancelled on Sunday due to weather so we could not get out of Chicago until the next day. The airport terminal looked like a refugee camp on Sunday night with hundreds of people sleeping on cots and on the floor.
One of the things we have learned over the years is that the enemy will throw every hindrance in your way when he knows lives are going to be changed. We are raiding his camp and it makes him mad. We call these attacks PVTs which means either Pre or Post Victory Tribulations. However, greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world. You just have to keep pushing forward and never back off. God has always had our back and He had our back in this case.
A week before we went on this trip an anonymous donor sent us a contribution. This was very unusual because we could not tell who sent it. That donation will more than cover our air conditioning repairs. As we were trying to make a decision on whether to sleep on a cot, or on the floor in the airport, we got a call from one of the leaders of the organization that sponsored the meeting. They were able to get a plane out and they had already paid for a hotel suite for that night so they gave us their suite. Believe me, a suite is much better than a cot or the airport floor.
As we were sitting in the airport the next day waiting for some word on whether we were going to get out our Pastor called us. We told him what was going on and he said he would get some people to pray. Within about two hours our airline brought in an extra plane and setup an unscheduled flight for the ones that had been delayed over 24 hours. Just a coincidence? I don’t think so!!!
The main reason I wanted to share this with you (especially to young ministers) is that sometimes, if you are not aware of how the enemy works, you will come to what you think is a reasonable, intellectual decision that you should back off and delay or postpone going to a scheduled event. Don’t do that unless God tells you to!!! Recognize the signs of hindering spirits and rejoice that something wonderful is about to happen.
Satan’s stop signs should always be our green lights!!!
