Let me see, where do I even begin to tell you about First Friday? It was just too awesome. I told Frank that he started a church Friday night! A Church Without Walls! Whooo-Hooo! Yay God!
We got there about 7 and it was already packed. We had previously claimed, in the Name of Jesus, the spot in front of the Board of Education as our spot and we set up tables with some signs that said, "Need Prayer?" and one that said, "Prayer, Healing, Deliverance." The enemy was lurking but God did something awesome and showed His power. We were there a few hours and found out that Mountain of Worship, the people who put on the conference that Lisa and I went to, had come to Augusta and set up only a half a block away from where we were with worship music and were having a great time in the Lord down there. So, the Church Without Walls had a praise and worship band! HAHAHA! It's so cool that God had this big ole plan. And on top of it, Frank and i have been praying for 18 months for HELP, and for other churches to get involved, and Whala! There were masses of Christians out there passing out gospel tracts and witnessing to people.
Well, this month, Frank felt led to do something completely different. Instead of doing gospel illusions and roaming the streets looking for people, he wanted a stationary spot set up for ministry. Honestly, I didn't know what was going to happen or if it was going to be effective. But I knew something awesome MUST have been in the works, because of all the opposition we were getting. And I was shocked..totally shocked, that people actually came up to the table and requested prayer. I mean, they really came.
Several of them said they wouldn't have done that in their own church, and thanked us for bringing "church" to them. Which was totally the point and SO good to hear confirmation that this was exactly what we were supposed to be doing. One particular incident that just blessed me to be a part of was while I was sitting at a table talking to this man who came by to give us a gospel track. OK, dude, move on, obviously we have a sign and everything...we got it...
Then Frank walks over to me with a woman about my age, maybe a little older...(like 30 wink) and she is looking at me with so much hope. So Frank transfers her hand from his hand into my hand and she grips onto my hand with desperation and looks so deeply into my eyes, like everything she hopes for and desires is dependent on what I'm going to do. It was a tremendous amount of pressure and for an instant, I was feeling completely inadequate and wanted to hand her over to someone else! Well, Frank had introduced her to me, I guess she walked up to the table and told him she needed prayer and wanted salvation. OK, no problem. Actually, it was a very big problem, because I have never lead anyone to the Lord all by myself. You know, with no one there to give me the "you're doin' it right" looks. So I was like, OK Lord, it's just You and me. So I sat her down, her name was Madeline , and I asked her what brought about this decision. I mean I was wondering if she was just walking around and suddenly became convicted of her sins and suddenly wanted Jesus, or if this was a process she was working up to over a span of time. So she says, "Well, I already asked Jesus to save me years ago, BUT..." So then I was like, OK, so not a salvation, something else. And I wish you could have seen the desperation in her eyes. She told me she was backslidden and out of church and she just knew that God didn't even know who she was and had forgotten about her. She went on to explain that she just got laid off and she doesn't know what she is going to do and she just needs someone to help her. And she kept saying she just needed help. At first I was thinking she might be wanting me to give her some money or something, but then I realized she meant spiritual help. She said her husband had recently come out of rehab for a crack addiction and she just wanted God to be real to her again so her husband could see God for himself. She said that she knew God was not available to her and she just needed help. And that He abandoned her and could I just please help her. Just help.
OK, so I started to pray with her and she held on to me like a little girl, holding on so tight I thought I wasn't going to be able to continue breathing. Then I finished praying for her and she confessed some more stuff and said she lived with doubt and fear. And we talked some more. Finally God told me that she needed deliverance from some spirits, specifically the spirit of doubt and of fear, and a few others, so I went to rebuking and binding and etc, then WOAH! She just went all free! I could tell she was totally delivered from some stuff. Her countenance completely changed and she LOOKED lighter. I mean it's so hard to explain, but she had been oppressed with so much junk from the enemy, that she just didn't have any victory or confidence in who SHE is IN Christ. So after a little more praying and crying and confessing, she was all excited and just started to worship God, right there on the streets! It was literally as if it was just her and I and God. That's all. No one else. No padded pews. No pretty alter. Just the three of us. AWESOME!! And then, and this was so humbling, she began to pray for ME! She quoted more scripture than I even know while she was praying for me! Totally blew my mind.
So finally we were done and we were talking about her getting back into church. She goes to a church up the road from my house, but she said she was too embarrassed to go back there because she was so backslidden and lived with so much doubt. I reminded her that she had just been delivered from all that. So she was saying maybe she'll go back to her church then. Then guess what happened? This man comes up and gets her attention and she immediately melts into a blubbering puddle all over again and starts to shout, "Thank You Jesus!" I had no idea what was going on until she told me that this man was the pastor of HER church! So, how cool is that? Obviously a serious sign from God! LOL! So I told her pastor what all had happened with her, and how God just delivered her from some stuff and that she was just contemplating on whether or not she could show her face in church when he showed up. He got so excited and said he was at home taking a nap at 6:30 that evening and suddenly woke up and had this strange inclination to come downtown to First Friday! It was amazing. So I handed the baton over to that guy and went on with "church" on the streets.
Frank prayed for so many people that his voice was hoarse by the end of the night. A grandma came up and got him to pray for her grandson who was separated from his mom who was on drugs, so he prayed for deliverance from drugs for that lady and the grandma was so touched and built up in her faith. We had a lot of people come by for prayer. I couldn't believe it. People are so hungry for a touch from God and The Church has failed so many people with all their programs and rules and cliques and social club mentality, that they avoid the church, but still desire a fresh touch from God. It was so amazing. SO AMAZING! And we actually had help from a couple in our small group who were newbies to street ministry and help from a couple from a different church who are into street ministry too. It was a really good night. And we were supernaturally protected all night! Later on the news they showed that right after we left, there were a lot of shootings and fights. In fact, the very building we were standing in front of had a bullet shot through the window on the side we were on!
So we ended up going to Denny's with a married couple that we had recently hooked up with. The night before, she and I and another lady went to this mexican place for a mom's night out. And we were talking about giving and tithing and that sort of thing and one of them said that when she and her husband get out of debt, they will be able to up their giving to beyond the tithe. So I was telling her how the economy of God is very different than the economy of the world and they should consider studying what the Word says about it. So my other friend was telling her some testimonies of things God brought her and her husband through financially with giving and etc. So when we were at Dennys, Frank got the check and it was $18.69 and Frank told me to make the debit card amount out for $25. So I was kinda whining about giving that lady such a large tip, considering she didn't even smile at us or refill anything. She practically ignored us. So he said, No, the Lord told me to do it, so let's do it. Okie Dokie. So then Frank goes into this teaching with our friends there about giving and stuff and tells them how God eliminated $15,000 in debt we had in two years by us giving our way out of it. They seemed impressed with what God's power could do, but were apprehensive to try it. So, because God is a God of signs and wonders.....LOL!!.....we leave the restaurant and walk out to the parking lot together and guess what was laying on the ground? A ten dollar bill. So Frank laughs, picks it up, and says, "See, God's economy is different. Give your way out of your debt. You'll see." Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, a lot of other really neat stuff happened but I'm exhausted and I'm pretty sure I need some ice cream.
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