Africa Day 5
Kampala, Uganda March 21, 2015
Sunday. We worshiped twice in the morning at a a church called Christ’s Church. The pastor is Steven Sebyala. Google him. He has a big ministry to East Africa to “save a billion souls, one soul at a time”. Pastor Steven was mentored by David Wilkerson like a son.
Dr. Dennis preached both services in the morning. He called his sermon “The Song of Faith” and told the story of Paul and Silas in jail – beaten, stripped, placed in the ‘maximum security’ cell in the prison, and put into stocks. Yet in the middle of the night they were singing. Then Dr. Dennis danced and sang “God is good, oh God is good. He is good, He’s so good to me”. His point is that we can easily sing that song at noon; can we also sing it at midnight when the things in our lives are dark? Then came the earthquake that set them free and caused the jailer and His family to accept the Lord Jesus. Powerful message.
There was ministry during the service. We were all called up to pray over people and Dr. Dennis prayed over individuals. There was healing and deliverance. One woman had a demon cast out of her. As usual, some people were caught and gently laid on the floor. Some of our team thought the first of the two worship services was ‘too western’. Not in my church!!!
Then we went back at 6:00 PM for a prayer gathering. Dr. Dennis preached a shorter message based on Matthew 8:1-4 about the healing of the man with leprosy. Here is part of that scripture “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said ‘Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing’ he said, ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy”. There is so much power in this passage.
I have been reading the book by John G. Lake titled ‘On Healing’. As it happened, I had read about this Matthew passage a few hours before Dr. Dennis’ sermon. Here is what Lake said about what was going through the Leper’s mind: “That man knew that Jesus had the power to heal him, but he did not know it was God’s will and that Jesus had committed Himself to the healing of mankind. If he had known, he would have said, ‘Lord, heal me’. It is always God’s will to heal…God is willing, just as willing to heal as He is to save. Healing is a part of salvation. It is not separate from salvation”. I know a lot of people in the Church in the west, particularly in mainline churches, struggle with this idea. But it is settled in my mind. “For I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26), Jehovah Rapha. It is God’s will to heal.
You can tell, based on Dr. Dennis’ message, that it was a healing service. And, wow, it really was. There were probably 500 people in the church. Dennis prayed over some individually, but then called groups forward: women who were molested and raped were called forward for prayer. They were prayed over by a woman on our team who was healed by Jesus from this experience. Men who either had no father or were abandoned by their dads were called forward for prayer. I prayed for them. At first, when Dennis issued the invitation, no guys got up. I thought, well not much for me to do tonight. But then one guy got up and the floodgates opened. There were over 100 guys lined up for prayer. All the guys on the team pitched in and Robbie (a 27-year old guy on the team from Liverpool) and I worked together. As I laid hands on each man I felt the woundedness and pain that these men carry in their hearts, some for their entire lives. I felt the power of the words “receive the Father’s love” as I embraced each man. How can they love and believe in the love of the Heavenly Father if their earthly father was so absent and/or abusive? I realized that there is a huge ministry here. Forget the typical men’s ministry where we sit around at 6:30 AM listening to a speaker, as if we were at a Rotary Club meeting. We need deep-healing ministry for men.
Dr. Dennis also called forward women who never knew the mother’s love. These women lined up and Dennis called Judy to pray for them. It was powerful as she went down the line, embraced them, and prayed words of love over them. One woman received Judy’s words and collapsed onto the floor (but caught by a team member). Judy brings this powerful gift to the team – the mother’s heart.
Other groups Dr. Dennis called included those trying or wanting to start a business, youth needing to be released into a career, and those with creative gifts looking for ways to release those gifts to glorify God. I might have left one or two groups out, but you get the point. Each group was lined up parallel to the stage, and then team members worked along the line, laying hands on each person, praying a personal word for them.
About a half-dozen women were delivered from demons. This took more work and was generally done by two of our team members. But the results were amazing.
I believe that many people were healed, most emotionally and spiritually. I prayed for the physical healing of two people. I did not see immediate healing that evening. And of course there was deliverance. But I believe that when a believer who has power and authority granted by Christ prays for another with the laying on of hands, power is released and this power has a transformative, healing effect. That is the Kingdom and promise of God.
The power of God and the authority to use that power given to all believers is the heart of the ministry of Jesus. It is the Kingdom of God, it is how the Kingdom is expanded. Satan gets us all ‘wrapped up around the axle’ about power, authority, and healing to the point where we not only do not use the power and authority, we don’t acknowledge that we have it. We don’t even talk about it. We are no better than the rest of the world. What distinguishes us from them? No wonder the Church in the West is dying and in many places is totally dead. Many of those churches that are still alive have nice, neat, ordered worship services, with beautiful hymns and anthems. Good sermons on the word of God. But there is no power!! Who benefits from that in the Spiritual realm? Come to Africa and see God’s power at work in individual lives. Yes, Africa is a dark place; a midnight place. But it is at midnight, when we are praising God and believing Him for miracles, that the power of God sweeps over the land. At least in Africa they know it is midnight. It is 11:59 in America but we are still asleep. Will the earthquake of revival come, or will we continue in our religious isolation and comfort, cut off from the culture around us and the millions and millions of hurting people? God has a plan; the faithful, powerful Church is the plan. Rise up in the power and authority God has given us to set people free and release the prisoners from darkness and chains. We are the Church, lets do the work that only the Church can do in the only way the work can be done: with the power and authority given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.