Yesterday, at 6 pm, I was in a church in Gothenburg with friend Andreas: I have no idea of the name of the church, but the Pastor, Mattias, was so welcoming, and the meeting kicked off with ‘fika’, a spread of cheese, ham, salad, bread, cakes, and tea. It’s a good way of getting to know people BEFORE the meeting.
The area we were in Angered, a district of Gothenburg, and, I was told, where a huge percentage of immigrants live. It also looked, at a relatively quick glance, to be not one of the better areas of this lovely city, so I felt quite at home!
Mattias, the Pastor, has a huge vision, both for his area, and for God to invade it with the power gifts and power evangelism. They have a ‘Healing School’ once a month, and pray for many. He also has a passion – and great connection with – some of the ‘tougher’ young people, and some came last night. I also had an instant connection with him, as he spent a year living in Cartagena, Colombia :)!
He (the Pastor), led with the worship with a keyboard player, Frank, and it was a lovely time. So, with the church’s passion for healing, and good worship, it was an easy platform to speak from. Andreas – whom I’ve only known 3 days (he’s the boyfriend of Bjorn & Maria’s daughter, Kristin) is a really great bloke, and it was great to spend part of yesterday, and the evening (and quite a bit of the night, as it turned out!!), with him. Mattias, though speaking excellent English, asked Andreas to translate: he’s never done it before, and sometimes, in situations like that, your hear sinks as the speaker, but he was terrific, and he’s a young man with a very strong faith and big vision (he and Kristin hope to go to the Baker’s Bible School, in Pemba, Mozambique, later in the year).
Throughout out the preachy bit, I could sense faith rising: that’s one of the (few??) things I know that God has given me, to assist Him in raising faith levels. The response was instant as the invitation for healing was given.
I’ll just list those I can recall right now, rather than ‘tell their story’, though there is a story that happened at the end I have to write!
- A lady, Annamarie, I think: just wanting desperately the power to see God heal through her, and – like I used to be – very shy. God gave the first and dealt with the second…
- Desmond: a lovely man, I guess in his 60s, from Sri Lanka. Long-term, deep depression, his face sad and strained, no trace of of much else in his face – and carrying ‘guilt’ as he hadn’t been what he knew God wanted him to be. I prayed for him, that Jesus’ sweat blood, from Gethsemane, for the healing of every emotional and psychological disorder, would percolate down through his skull, and into every area of his emotions. Andreas had a lovely word of knowledge about how Desmond had built a wall around his heart, to protect himself, neither letting God in OR out. He just sat there as God’s Spirit and Jesus’ blood did their stuff, and Andreas and I just sat and watched as not only his face changed (huge smile) but his whole persona was transformed. I kept him with us to pray for other people, which blew him away, and he saw others healed….
- Names are fading now…. but three major different back issues were presented to us, and then of course to God(!): all were healed, instantly, pain going.
- Two more deaf ears were opened
- A lady with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, just in case you don’t know!), other colonic problems, and terrible pain in her stomach. Healed – thank you Lord!!
- Linda, with horrible ‘after-effects’ from brain surgery 2 years ago, was also transformed. God spoke right into her own emotional insecurity, too – she was one of the ‘hearing ex-deaf!
- Ulle, a lovely gentleman, was just filled with faith
- Stig, with a streaming cold, also had something much more serious, which my tired mind can’t remember (if it comes back to me, or when I see Andreas again Saturday!) I’ll tell you. The cold all but disappeared, immediately.
- A number of major back issues were healed.
- And there were more….as always!
Some of the young people I mentioned above, were there. Right at the end, one – Armin – came a sat down and said ‘Prove to me that God exists then!’. I think his background was muslim – many in that area are muslims: asked him, do you have pain? Yes, bad pain from many years back when he was beaten badly. He was just a typical teen: these days perhaps more precocious, arrogant, and a challenge to authority. Where’s the pain, Armin? Two main areas, the middle, and somewhere around the sacroileac area. His face, which had had a slightly ‘defiant’ smile instantly turned into utter amazement as all his pain went….you know something major like that has happened when the response is ‘What the f*** happened?’!!!!! He’s on his way into the Kingdom! A friend of his, David, 15, also had bad back pain: he’s already saved, and God just removed all pain from is back and shoulder. Putting his jacked on was always painful for him – until late last night….
It was lovely to see long-time friend Anne Lucca, who lives in Gothenburg with her terrific son, David: not seen them for about 3 years, David’s doubled in height! Seven years ago, in my friend Stojan’s church, in Kungsangen, God did a major instant healing miracle on David’s ankle and lower shin. He hadn’t – if my memory serves me right! – been able to run, or play sports, but he leapt off the platform and ran that evening….
From a 6 pm start, Andreas and I left the meeting at past 11 pm, and took Anne home: so we were only back in Borås about 15 minutes to one. Totally knackered… and could I get to sleep with all that Holy Spirit adrenaline flying around my body? Well, yes, but not until 4am!!
GOD IS AMAZING, ASTONISHING, POWERFUL, AND GOOD!
Today is a whole mass of people coming to the house here, for another ‘doctor’s surgery/waiting room’ scenario.
