Faith is spelled R-I-S-K

I was the guest speaker at an urban church one Sunday night and hundreds were there. When I finished, the Holy Spirit told me he wanted to talk specifically to some people – things that only he could know, and that would bring people face to face with his power.

The first guy that stood out for me was sitting in the back. “Tell him God wants to give him a different spirit.” I can’t do that! What if he’s a new Christian and he’s wondering if he’s on the right track? What if he’s just recently experienced the Holy Spirit and he’s wondering if it was genuine? I mean, if the visiting ‘guru’ says to you that God wants to give you a different spirit, it could seriously mess with your head!

So I didn’t say anything. I was obedient with talking to other people, but every time I looked around, he kept standing out. “Tell him God wants to give him a different spirit!”

In the end, I just did it. “God wants to give you a different spirit.” And the more I spoke, the deeper the hole I dug! “This is urgent. You’ve got the wrong spirit…” Oops! Thought I better shut-up at that point. I called people forward for prayer and you guessed it… he came out. And got down on his knees!

My heart sank! Only devout people get on their knees! “What have I done?!” So I left him for the ministry team to sort out. 10 minutes later, he was still being prayed for. The guy who was praying for him called me over. “You need to talk to this guy.”

Great! “How did what I said sound to you?” His answer floored me! “I didn’t hear much of it, other than God wants to give me a different spirit. You need to know something. My mother and father are priestess and priest of a satanic church. I’ve never been to a Christian church. Six months ago, I bought a Bible. I’ve just finished reading it so I thought I’d go to a church. I came in, sat down the back, and you picked me out and told me God wants to give me a different spirit!”

Miracles are awesome! They change everything – circumstances, what you think of God, what you think of you – everything! But they don’t happen without risk. If you want to hang around Jesus, I mean REALLY hang around him, your world will be filled with Risk. But if you dare to follow him, it will also be filled with stories like mine – miracles.

Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.