Revival - He Touched Me Matt 8:1-3

People were jammed into the auditorium last night. For the first time the balcony was nearly full. This is uncommon in this day and age. Usually the revival crowds dwindle. God has been adding to our attendance each night and He continues to manifest His presence in a fresh way.

I preached on the leper who came to Jesus and said, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” That took a tremendous amount of courage. He risked contaminating others when he worked his way through the throng to get to Jesus. He risked rejection. God honored his faith. Jesus was willing and this man was cleansed.

I equated the leprous heart that has never been cleansed through salvation with the leper. During the invitation there were several who responded to the altar call but my burden is for people to be saved. I had an elderly lady look up at me to indicate she did not know she was saved. This lady has been a member of this church for a long time. She talked to me last week about having doubts. When she went back to the counseling room, others thought she was coming back as a counselor. It took several minutes for her to get it across that she was coming back to be saved. Praise the Lord.

I did not find out about this until after the service ended. Once again we met for two hours. God was not through though. Jase did not come eat with the rest of the team for a long time. When I asked about him I was told he was still ministering to someone. When he finally got to dinner he made the motions that God was still stirring the waters. A middle aged man trusted Christ for salvation. This man is a former Navy S.E.A.L. and one our youth Sunday School teachers. He confessed he had been wearing a mask all of his life. Last night God touched him and cleansed his heart. He will be baptized along with the other lady at the revival service this evening. HALLELUJAH!

God is touching people. Keeping confidence will not allow me to share all that He is doing but suffice it to say these blogs are only a fraction of the story. I prayed this morning that God would allow me to write an expanded book about this experience in the future. The half has not been told. You must come experience it for yourself.

The momentum continues to build going into day five. The attendance continues to swell and I am convinced that we are about to see a harvest of souls that will astound us. Tonight could be that night. People are talking about God touching lives all over town. People who have not been to church in years, some even in decades, are coming to the services. Families are being restored. Believers have been delivered from sins that have plagued them for years. Relationships have been reconciled.

If you live close enough you should come and experience God for yourself. I can hit some highlights in these blogs but in no way am I doing this justice. God’s people are revived. They are fired up. A group of ladies is showing up at the church in the mornings to pray. I really sense a hunger among the people of God for more of Him. It is not that we are just seeking revival. We are seeking more of God. He is our primary focus.

When I got up to pray this morning I sat in my chair with my journal stunned. To get to behold the things God is doing defies description. I journeyed back in mind to the night I was saved. Everything changed that night. A tear trickled down my cheek when I thought of all the hard days of being an evangelist and wondering why doors did not open for me as frequently as they did for some of my friends. When I started a church it was uphill climbing all the day. What started out as a beautiful dream crashed and burned in the end.

For twelve long years my constant prayer was for God to use me. I begged Him to use me to bring glory to His name. Those were hard years because in my estimation it seemed I was not being used at least not as much I would like to have been. I know God worked in Paradise. The church grew. People were saved. Disciples were made. We engaged in missions work there. Sitting in my chair this morning and relishing in how God is moving in this church and in this revival is a humbling experience. God is working in the services, through the television ministry, and out in the community. I am humbled to be a witness to it and to play a small part in it. There is much more to come. He continues to touch lives.