Preaching the good news and healing the sick
in New Zealand, Nepal and the world
By team member Kerry Barclay
I was apprehensive on the way to the church. I felt very unprepared until God said, ‘If you remain in me and my word remains in you, you will bear much fruit, without me you can do nothing.’ I knew that was the message for both me AND the church! As l bumped to the meeting on the back of the motorbike joy bubbled up inside me at the privilege of serving the Lord in Nepal. That joy set the tone for the day.
We were greeted at the church by the pastor and his family, along with several pastors from branch churches. Pastor Indra has a congregation of 300, and a total of 2000 with the 15 branch churches. Many of those pastors had come to hear the visiting foreigner who was speaking. I quietly prayed, ‘God, this church is ten years established and without you, l have nothing to give them.’ He heard my prayer…
I was then introduced to the pastor’s mother and within a few minutes we were wrapped in a huge bear hug as we shared God’s love. She was soon sobbing and l felt that the presence of God had overwhelmed her.
Over lunch, Pastor Indra shared that all 300 were saved but that only 50% were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
‘l believe God`s going to fix that today,’ I laughed.
In the meeting, they were abandoned to complete and utter joy in the Lord. What a fabulous atmosphere to walk into! Then the pastor said, ‘These people want you to speak for three hours!’ ‘Well, Lord,’ l thought, ‘it’s all about you. I will be struggling after 45 minutes.’
As l began, the Lord prompted me to call up a young girl who had looked very ill while we were worshipping. ‘We are one family, commanded to love each other,’ I said. ‘Therefore it wouldn’t be right to begin speaking without first ensuring that she was healed by Jesus.’ I laid hands on her and commanded the fever to go in the name of Jesus. She was instantly healed and spent the rest of the service happy and looking well! It was a wonderful demonstration that healing is part of loving each other. Later I realized that God had used that healing to raise our faith for what was yet to come.
I began with my testimony and shared with them how God had rescued me and begun to transform a life of sadness and the weight of human responsibility and effort, into an indescribable love for Jesus. I shared the exciting journey that had led me to Nepal.
I described the depth of our heavenly Father’s love for them and reading from Exodus 20, explained that the Ten Commandments are God’s Love Laws, a revelation that caused a young man to resubmit his life to Jesus, as he later testified.
I then felt led to call a little girl to the front. ‘If you knew this little girl was going to be beaten, persecuted, and hung on the cross could you as loving parents send her out for the benefit of the nations? Or would you want to hold her close and protect her?’ The room went very quiet as they gained a full revelation of the depth of love required for God to have sent Jesus to die to take our sin and the curses of our forefathers.
I had been speaking for over 2 hrs when I felt the Spirit prompt me to pray for the believers that had not been filled with the Holy Spirit. As I began to pray and lay hands on people individually, they broke out into song, praise and worship at the top of their voices. It was amazing to see the church in so much abandoned joy. Turning to the pastor, I yelled out, ‘There’s nothing special about my hands, come and pray with me!’
Laughing together we raised our hands, and a wave of fire spread throughout the church and believers fell under the power of the Holy Spirit in waves. Some were falling as I walked toward them. Some were standing rigid, and as the Spirit led me to command the demons of Hinduism to get out, or break curses from them, they were delivered, and then also fell under the power of God’s love and healing. Almost 90% were powerfully touched and healed by the presence of God.
I was alternating between sobbing with joy and crying out love and praise for our amazing Lord Jesus. In the periods of calm I would cry out, ‘We need more of you Lord, come heal our hearts. Transform us for your glory, Lord.’
We all worshipped for another hour and at 4.00pm the pastor asked for testimonies. People lined up eager to share what they had experienced. Some said they had been healed of pain while I was preaching the word, others that they had been healed after they fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. A young girl’s mother said her daughter had been unable to walk for several months and yet this morning she walked over 1km to church. A mother testified that her 3 month old baby had cried incessantly since birth and after the Lord gave me a word of knowledge about her spine being damaged in the birth canal she was healed, had stopped crying, and looked really content and peaceful.
A pastor’s wife from one of the branch churches had struggled with pain and depression for a long time despite many prayers since converting from a Hindu faith. After I prayed for her she felt completely released and all pain left her body. Her eyes were shining and the clouding and darkness had left her. I discerned that another lady had an unclean spirit on her and a word of knowledge uncovered that she had visited a witch doctor in desperation to be healed of pain. I explained to her that the pain may have gone, that the devil put it on her and could take it away, but in the process her spirit had been damaged leaving her in a worse state than before. She willingly repented even though she felt very ashamed and she was completely set free from the demon and her countenance just glowed.
What an amazing wonderful day in God’s mighty presence and power. The pastors, leaders and my interpreter and I shared Nepali tea (chia ) and laughed with the joy over what had taken place. After much hugging and laughing Hira, my interpreter, said it was time to go and I reluctantly agreed. The congregation ate a very belated lunch at 5.00pm! So feeling like I was leaving wonderful friends I climbed back on the back of the motorbike and was driven home, a very changed girl.
One week after I returned to New Zealand, I received an email from Pastor Indra saying the testimonies had continued to come in including one man who had been to the doctor the next day and been told his kidney had been totally healed. He said revival had broken out in his church since that day and he was very happy.
Kerry’s Revival - March 2011
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