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Spiritual warfare in action! |
Ellel Ministries International asked evangelist Pastor Clive Carr and I to lead a small team on a mission to strengthen the church in Wroclaw (pronounced VRATS-WAFF) in Poland. Clive was asked to teach on evangelism and I was asked to teach on spiritual warfare.
Several weeks before the trip the Lord asked me not to take any of my existing notes along with me. When Ellel heard that I had no notes with me they kindly offered me their notes and tapes, but in obedience to the Lord's word to me I declined them!
This put me in a very vulnerable position. If God did not come through with something else I was going to be in a difficult place. But God did come through. During my quiet time on the first morning I was to teach, the Lord began to open scripture and teach me. I remember excitedly shouting to Clive nearby "Jesus is teaching me right now Clive - He's teaching me Himself!"
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I duly imparted what I had received that morning to the Polish team and to our own team. The following morning the Lord came through with part two. And each morning that week the same thing happened. (Incidentally, this has never happened again to me in such a dramatic way!) |
Clive Carr and the street team in action on the streets of Wroclaw |
The big test came when we put the teaching into action.
The results were amazing. Beyond our wildest imaginations!
For example: One day we put the old way - the way that the Polish church had always used - into action during an afternoon visit to a large hospital, and the new way the Lord was teaching us into action during a visit to the local drug addiction centre that same evening.
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In the afternoon visit to the hospital only 2-3 people came and sat in an auditorium that would seat perhaps 500. They sat well back, so it felt slightly ridiculous singing and speaking from the stage to an empty hall. When we left the hall to go back to base we found two of the transit van's tyres were slashed and we only had one spare. We were stuck. One of the Polish team had the windscreen of his car smashed and his radio taken. We had no tyre and he had no money to repair his car. We gave him the money to repair his car and several of the other polish members went into the city to try and get our slashed tyre repaired. After many hours they returned successful. By this time we were so behind schedule that we had to drive straight to the drug addiction centre with everyone on board. |
Normally this would not have been a problem, but the drug addiction centre only allowed a maximum of 15 people in and these people had to be named in advance, which meant that perhaps six of the team would have to sit in the van all evening.
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It also meant that we were not able to get back to base to report to the spiritual 'warriors' and had to trust that they would switch as planned to the new teaching for the evening. They did - with dramatic results! Every member of the addiction centre came down to the room we were in - this was something new. And this time they did not mock the young Polish speakers. They listened intently. When the call came for salvation all but one young man came forward. The sense of God's Presence was awesome. All who came forward took a Polish New Testament. |
"The teaching was an answer to our prayers" said Teresa Pisula - leader of the Wroclaw prayer team. Years later we still keep in touch |
The young centre manageress sat watching silently. I remember trying to talk to the through a translator. She seemed unmoved by all that was happening in front of her. I opened the Polish New Testament at John 3:16 and asked her to read it to me. She tried to, but the words would not come forth. Instead she just locked on the verse, staring at it for many moments. It was deeply impacting her right before my eyes. Suddenly she broke the centre's rules and told us to being everyone in who was outside in the van. Gladly they came in and joined in.
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Ellel's Polish team member (centre) in the midst of three drug centre inmates holding their New Testaments (with Pastor Clive Carr is on the right) |
Jim from Cootehill, Ireland, with another inmate who came forward for salvation |
A young offender with aids asked me to pray for him. And before we left they asked for a weekly Bible study to be started.
We were learning about binding the strongman and robbing his palace! We were to put the same teaching into action in Lithuania as well - with great results.
[The teaching that the Lord on this trip gave is now the major part of the spiritual warfare teaching course]
Ela, David & Ala in our garden in Bangor
While in Poland with Pastor Clive Carr and I were privileged to stay in the home of Elzbieta (Ela) Kolaczek. Without question she has a walk with Jesus that was humbling to behold. Saved only a matter of years, her every moment is simply given over to walking and talking with Jesus. Everything that would distract from her focus on Him or would complicate her life was set aside. Recognising how rich Ela was in faith I was keen for her to visit us and enrich us in Bangor, and within the year the Lord brought it about. Ela, David and Ala flew into Dublin and came to stay with us for three weeks It was one of the most memorable holidays we ever had!. Linda and Ela became very close friends, and Linda would say that Ela probably has more of a spiritual influence in her life than anyone else. It remains a very special friendship between both families.
Thank you Jesus!
