For the last following weeks, I have been watching Todd Bentley (Fresh Fires ministry) on God TV. I remember channel surfing and I passed by. I will be honest; I was a bit sceptical of this healing crusade thinking they were like all the other crusades: FAKE. I was hearing about a revival breaking out in Lakeland Florida and tuned in just to see what this was all about. At first, I was turned off by a man’s testimony about a gold tooth. I was about to change the channel when I saw a deaf 12-year-old girl walk up with her mother. She was looking for a healing for her deafness since birth. I was looking for anything that might discredit Mr. Bentley. I said to myself watch she will start talking then I will know he is a fake. Todd went up to her laid hands on her “I command in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, loose this spirit of deafness off her life. “ His style was similar to R.W. Shambach. He did this a few times, and kept snapping his fingers. Asking the mother a few times, can she hear? At first, this girl could not hear but after a few times of Todd commanding the spirit of deafness to come out of her. It appeared that the little girl was starting to hear something. He whispered quietly in her ears a few times “Jesus”…because she was deaf since birth…she tried to mouth the words “Jesus” as he was whispering in the ears…it came out marbled but it was obvious she was hearing the word “Jesus”. This caught my interest. As I watched during the days, children were coming up for a healing or were being healed of asthma, diabetes and all them claiming the love for Jesus. But there was a bit of a sceptic in me UNTIL I saw the little young man with
Cerebral palsy. Prior, Todd said, “God told him that someone was going to be healed in the wheel chair. He said in FAITH, Go AND GET UP. JESUS HAS HEALED YOU. HE COMMANDED THEM TO GET UP FROM THEIR WHEEL CHAIR. In the distance, you see people wiggling their feet but no action. Todd went back to healing others and then in the background you heard the crowd started shouting “Jesus” Todd said what is that commotion, and did not see what God TV was showing. What I saw broke my heart. This boy appeared to be age 7, tried to get up from his wheel chair. He had cerebral palsy and had never walked in his life. I knew this was not fake and that it was real. This YOUNG MAN was taking a LEAP of FAITH. The crowd was chanting Jesus…but Todd did not notice. I was crying and stretched my hands forth and started to pray for this young boy to be healed in Jesus’s name. Out of faith that young boy got out and tried to walk. How many viewers did the same as I did and started to pray for that young man?
Even Chris Cole who was the regional director mention these weeks later on how that affected him seeing that young man get out of his wheel chair. The child gets up the stairs and says the most profound thing. In his garbled voice, he says, “I had a dream that Jesus said I will be healed. I believe Jesus can heal me”. His faith was so innocent and made me cry. The following day, he came back to show that he was starting to walk…this child believed the promise from Jesus that he will be healed. I am sure many saw this on television and yesterday; they had only those with terminal ill diseases, deafness and blindness only. They were real. Those tears of desperation could not be faked especially they knew they were dying. That young man’s faith was a testimony for those are terminally ill. Todd did not fake it that they had been healed…it was service for us as a body of believers to pray for each and every one in the name of Jesus. . They were dying and their only hope was Jesus. They were desperate and at their ends wit. I have been watching ever night and praying along with Todd. The compassion I felt was nothing that I had experienced before. I suddenly understood how Jesus must have felt when everyone was coming to him to be healed of terminally illness or death. It was although He wanted me to feel what He felt when He was healing people. This is why He wept when Lazarus died. By watching Todd’s programme, the Lord was opening my heart to MERCY AND COMPASSION. God has been birthing something in me.
I know what people are saying about Todd Bentley, that he is of the devil (because he saw angels or did this or that when he was younger). Yes, I know about the last days, for us to beware of that in the last days about lying wonders and spirits will be strong enough to fool even the elect. But the Pharisee accused Jesus of the same thing when he went about healing people. But Jesus tells us to look at the fruits: is it good fruit or bad fruit. From what I saw: Todd has brought people to Jesus (said the sinners prayer a few times), healed those who were sick (physically and mentally, those who were addicted to drugs and alcohol). Talked about the spirit of offence and unforgiveness. So far, I did not see any bad fruit.
God brought to my remembrance a movie I saw years ago…called a “Leap of Faith” starring Steve Martin. The movie was about a con artist (who did not believe in God) posed as a faith healer going around the country to “heal” people and creating miracles. At the end of each of his tent crusades he would rake in thousands of dollars. But God will not be mocked and he had something planned for this con artist. One night the truck breaks in a small community-farming town. So, the con man brings his truck to the local garage to be fixed and decides while he was there he would make a few bucks to pay for the garage expenses and set up his tent revival. He had some of his fake healings-taking place. Every thing appeared to be going good until one-night…two events happened. A farmer (father to the mother of the young boy that I will mention below) got up and asked the con man for Jesus to bring him rain (for their town had been experiencing a drought and their lively hoods were being affected). Con man told the farmer that Jesus told him that rain was coming in two weeks. Con man knew he was going to be gone from that town before people discovered he was a fake. Con man thought he just got off the hook until a sick boy in a wheel chair asked the con man if God could heal him and make him walk again. The con man knew this was not one of his fakes and told the boy with his mother that he needed to come back tomorrow. (continue on next blog page)....
Cerebral palsy. Prior, Todd said, “God told him that someone was going to be healed in the wheel chair. He said in FAITH, Go AND GET UP. JESUS HAS HEALED YOU. HE COMMANDED THEM TO GET UP FROM THEIR WHEEL CHAIR. In the distance, you see people wiggling their feet but no action. Todd went back to healing others and then in the background you heard the crowd started shouting “Jesus” Todd said what is that commotion, and did not see what God TV was showing. What I saw broke my heart. This boy appeared to be age 7, tried to get up from his wheel chair. He had cerebral palsy and had never walked in his life. I knew this was not fake and that it was real. This YOUNG MAN was taking a LEAP of FAITH. The crowd was chanting Jesus…but Todd did not notice. I was crying and stretched my hands forth and started to pray for this young boy to be healed in Jesus’s name. Out of faith that young boy got out and tried to walk. How many viewers did the same as I did and started to pray for that young man?
Even Chris Cole who was the regional director mention these weeks later on how that affected him seeing that young man get out of his wheel chair. The child gets up the stairs and says the most profound thing. In his garbled voice, he says, “I had a dream that Jesus said I will be healed. I believe Jesus can heal me”. His faith was so innocent and made me cry. The following day, he came back to show that he was starting to walk…this child believed the promise from Jesus that he will be healed. I am sure many saw this on television and yesterday; they had only those with terminal ill diseases, deafness and blindness only. They were real. Those tears of desperation could not be faked especially they knew they were dying. That young man’s faith was a testimony for those are terminally ill. Todd did not fake it that they had been healed…it was service for us as a body of believers to pray for each and every one in the name of Jesus. . They were dying and their only hope was Jesus. They were desperate and at their ends wit. I have been watching ever night and praying along with Todd. The compassion I felt was nothing that I had experienced before. I suddenly understood how Jesus must have felt when everyone was coming to him to be healed of terminally illness or death. It was although He wanted me to feel what He felt when He was healing people. This is why He wept when Lazarus died. By watching Todd’s programme, the Lord was opening my heart to MERCY AND COMPASSION. God has been birthing something in me.
I know what people are saying about Todd Bentley, that he is of the devil (because he saw angels or did this or that when he was younger). Yes, I know about the last days, for us to beware of that in the last days about lying wonders and spirits will be strong enough to fool even the elect. But the Pharisee accused Jesus of the same thing when he went about healing people. But Jesus tells us to look at the fruits: is it good fruit or bad fruit. From what I saw: Todd has brought people to Jesus (said the sinners prayer a few times), healed those who were sick (physically and mentally, those who were addicted to drugs and alcohol). Talked about the spirit of offence and unforgiveness. So far, I did not see any bad fruit.
God brought to my remembrance a movie I saw years ago…called a “Leap of Faith” starring Steve Martin. The movie was about a con artist (who did not believe in God) posed as a faith healer going around the country to “heal” people and creating miracles. At the end of each of his tent crusades he would rake in thousands of dollars. But God will not be mocked and he had something planned for this con artist. One night the truck breaks in a small community-farming town. So, the con man brings his truck to the local garage to be fixed and decides while he was there he would make a few bucks to pay for the garage expenses and set up his tent revival. He had some of his fake healings-taking place. Every thing appeared to be going good until one-night…two events happened. A farmer (father to the mother of the young boy that I will mention below) got up and asked the con man for Jesus to bring him rain (for their town had been experiencing a drought and their lively hoods were being affected). Con man told the farmer that Jesus told him that rain was coming in two weeks. Con man knew he was going to be gone from that town before people discovered he was a fake. Con man thought he just got off the hook until a sick boy in a wheel chair asked the con man if God could heal him and make him walk again. The con man knew this was not one of his fakes and told the boy with his mother that he needed to come back tomorrow. (continue on next blog page)....
