Last month was the Easter vacation in Ethiopia. The Kale Heywert School of Missions sends all of their missionaries back home for a rest. Samuel, like most students, took the time not as a vacation, but an opportunity for more ministry and sharing the gospel. Samuel was asked to speak at a Christian gathering. He said God was speaking to him about imparting a passion for mission and miracles. He started speaking to the crowd of 25,000 people who had gathered about Acts 1:8. He then spoke through the whole book of Acts recounting what God had done. As he spoke, he continued because he could see the presence of God moving over the people.
As he continued to speak, he saw a big commotion to one side. Several people had fallen convulsing on the ground manifesting demons. People around them began to pray for them as did Samuel from the pulpit. Samuel has a lot of experience in delivering people from demons, so he was not surprised by the shrieking manifestations.
As the commotion was going on, a man slipped up on to the stage and stood behind Samuel. The elders, who were seated facing Samuel, thought he must have been a friend of Samuel, but with such a large crowd it was not usual to have people walking about the stage. Samuel, engaged in the deliverance going on, did not notice the man who had come in behind him.
Suddenly, Samuel noticed the faces of the elders change. In an instant, the man standing behind him opened his shirt and pulled out a huge one meter long sword. The elders screamed at Samuel to run. Samuel looked over his shoulder to see the man raise the sword to slash off Samuel’s head. He crouched behind the podium and screamed at the same time “In the mighty name of Jesus I bind you!” This happened in a millisecond.
Instantly, the man froze. His arms and legs were as if they were bound. The sword crashed to the floor. The would-be assassin was frozen and trembling. All 25,000 people were in shock. The elders rushed to the stage. The assassin remained frozen and could not move. It was if his arms and legs had been bound by an invisible rope. Samuel was unscathed.
The police took the assassin to the prison where he confessed that he had been hired by another religion, and promised the sum of 5,000 to kill the preacher. I enquired as to the amount. “Was it dollars”, I asked.
“No, Bir”, said Samuel. (Bir is the Ethiopian currency).
That’s pretty cheap. That’s only $300. Samuel and I had a good laugh.
Samuel is finishing up a year of missions training. He hopes to be a church planter in a foreign country or among the unreached of Ethiopia. Wherever he goes, he wants to see people set free from the bondage of demons and Satan’s control.
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