The Sword of the Spirit is the word of God.
A little further into Gaza province from Zongoene is a place called Chicumbane where we came across a young teenage girl who had been bitten by a spider. She had gone to the local clinic for treatment. Unfortunately, an unsterilised syringe was used to administer the treatment and the wound had become gangrenous. The girl, whose name was Theresa, came to the crusade site and asked for prayer and treatment. Our fourteen year old daughter, Lisa, was with us on this trip. She had felt such compassion for Theresa, being a similar age, and yet their lives were so different. I came looking for Lisa and found her under the crusade platform where she had taken Theresa and given her some of her clothes. Theresa was incredibly grateful but was in a lot of pain. The girl’s wounds were deep, exposing the bone, and were oozing fluid. As I began to redress the wounds, Lisa had tears running down her cheeks and held Theresa’s hand the entire time.
As the crusade was about to begin, I asked Lisa if she had anything to say to the huge gathering of approximately 3000 people. To my surprise, she stood up, wiped away her tears and agreed. When I gave her instructions about speaking through noise, commotion and alongside interpreters, she reminded me that she had watched me on numerous nights. When she had mounted the steps and had begun to bare her heart, I was captivated as our ‘little’ Lisa began to roar the Gospel like a lioness. I was so proud. The crowd had never seen a young white girl preach. They listened intently to her words. At the end the response to salvation was great — about 1000 people become Christians that evening. A long line of people came for healing. Many women came to Lisa for her to pray for their healing that night. They left walking, dancing, laughing and praising God for their healing as their crutches were left behind. Lisa was changed. The call of God was upon her and that was a moment that marked her forever. As a Father, I could not have been more grateful to our Lord.
From the book: “Sword Oil & Fire”