Holy Spirit Power in Perth (November 2019)
Holy Spirit Power in Perth (November 2019)
(Note – *Names have been changed to protect the identities of people I have encountered, except disciples of Jesus Christ who are known publically or permission has been given.)
I had been living in Perth, Australia since graduating from Hillsong College in July. I walked the streets of the city, sharing the Gospel with those who would listen and sometimes fed the homeless. In mid-November, Todd White held a “Power and Love” conference at the city fairgrounds. If you have never been to one of these conferences I highly recommend you attend. Each day consists of three sessions (morning, afternoon and evening) after each session, participants are encouraged to go out into the streets and share the Love of Jesus with strangers. On Friday afternoon, my dear friends Ryan and Jorge and myself set out to share Jesus. Walking in the city we came to a shopping area, cars were in every space and people were all about. Holy Spirit drew my attention to a woman who was sitting under a tree. She had a small Tupperware like dish in front of her and a sign, “Anything will help”. When I saw her my heart went out to her, it was early summer and the temperature was 90 degrees. We walked over to her, introduced ourselves, she said her name was *Cathy and invited us to sit down. Small talk began our conversation but it switched to her and her situation. We told her how much Jesus loved her. Her response was, “Who are you people? You are like the 100th person to tell me that this week!” We told her about the conference and gave her a ticket to come in. She accepted the ticket but would not commit to coming. Cathy told us that yesterday a woman from Germany (*Marta) had told her about Jesus and prophesied that the money she was in need of God was going to triple the amount. She said, “She needed $210.00 to secure an apartment so she could get off the street.” She told us she had been a homeless addict for eleven years and that she was free from the addiction and now wanted to start over in a home. Ryan and I looked at one another, excused ourselves and went straight to our banks and withdrew $250.00 each. We returned to Cathy and Jorge and sat down, still holding onto our gift. Cathy told us when she had told Marta she needed $210.00 a homeless man had overheard her and at the end of the day, he walked up to Cathy and said, “You know that $210.00 you talked about, that is exactly what I got, I guess I needed it more then you.” We all stood up and when we did Cathy pointed across the street and said, “That is the woman who said God would triple my need.” Marta came across the street just about the time Ryan and I handed Cathy our gift. Then from out of nowhere this man walked up to Cathy and said, “God told me to give you this money. The amount was $130.00. Cathy stood there shaking, tears streamed down her face. Marta said, “See God delivers on His promises.” Cathy then said, “I don’t know why I feel this way but I feel I can trust you people.” She then said, “This money is nothing compared to my real prayer and that is to be a Mum to my daughter and a Grandmother to her three year old daughter whom I have never seen.” Because of my addiction, my daughter and I have not spoken for eleven years. Tears were falling everywhere by all who were present. We again invited Cathy to the Friday night session. When I left the women (Marta and Jorge) were praying with Cathy. She never showed up that night. Saturday night was the final session of the conference and like every session before we opened up worshiping our Lord, singing His praises when I was tapped on my shoulder by Marta. She said, “Cathy is here out in the foyer and she wants to talk to you, Jorge, Ryan and me. She has something to tell us.” I said, we will come out after worship as Jorge and Ryan were at the front of the stage.” We all walked out to the foyer, there stood Cathy, shaking and crying, through her sobs she said, “Jesus really does answer all prayers because last night at 11PM I got a phone call from my daughter and she said, “Mum it has been too long, I want my Mum back and I want her to be a Grandmother to my little girl.” Yeah Jesus!!!! Wow! And yes, we all were crying and praising His name. We said to Cathy, “You need to tell your story to the people in the conference because someone may be experiencing the same situation you were in and your testimony can give them hope.” She said, “She couldn’t speak in front of thousands of people” but, we encouraged her and said, we all would be by her side.
Power and Love conferences always have a testimony session where attendees speak about their experiences out on the street before the speaker begins and this Saturday night was no different. The Master of Ceremony (MC) was *Jacob, he saw us standing beside the stage and called us up. I introduced all of us and started to summarize what had happened when Jacob stopped me and said, “Some of the audience may not have been here yesterday so please tell the whole story.” I passed the microphone to Marta and she told how the Holy Spirit had given her a word about the Lord tripling Cathy’s financial need. I then told what happened when Jorge, Ryan and I had heard as well, then handed Cathy the mic. While we were all speaking Cathy stood by weeping and trembling however, when she took the mic the Holy Spirit gave her strength to speak (i.e., no more weeping or trembling). As Cathy shared her testimony people in the audience got up and began throwing hundreds, fifties, twenties, tens, and five dollar bills up on the stage. It was a spontaneous outpouring of love that only God could have orchestrated. The women picked up the money, it filled two envelopes one inch thick. Overwhelmed is what we all were and we took Cathy behind the stage outside and sat her on a chair. Through tears she said, “You all were right! Jesus does love me and He has redeemed me. I want to live for Him and proclaim His goodness.” As I left the scene, Jorge and Marta began praying for Cathy, her daughter, and granddaughter.