I cannot be anything but what God has helped me to be.   I cannot deny the commission He gave me as a boy.   Underneath this pulpit (in Columbus, Georgia) is a Bible, the first Bible I ever preached out of.

Years ago, in our old clapboard church building, sitting in the corner was a wood stove with a cooking surface.   There was a sister in our church.   Her dress was long, almost to the ground, with long sleeves and a high neck.   She had a great bun on the back of her head.   She was very quiet and reserved.   I was standing behind the pulpit, my Bible lying on it, and we were into the altar service.   I had quit preaching and she jumped up, and started dancing.   She danced across the auditorium, speaking in tongues.   She spun in little circles across there and sat right down on top of that wood stove.

It was winter time and it had been lit all night long, and the stove pipe was red hot.   It looked like you could see through it.   She sat right down on that cooking surface, and continued speaking in tongues.   Women screamed.   I was such a doubter that when she jumped up, I ran over there to see if the seat of her dress had been scorched.  I couldn’t find one scorch on her dress.   She spun right around and grabbed a hold of that stove pipe and laid her little cheek against it, tears running down her face.   People all over the building ran to the altar.   They knew it was a supernatural sign from God.

But brother, that didn’t compare with what she did next.   She reached down and lifted that little metal latch on that wood stove, raised it and opened up the door about that wide.   Before my eyes, she reached both hands into that wood stove and pulled out two heaping handfuls of red hot coals and never flinched.   She kept right on crying, speaking in tongues and dancing across the church.   (Is someone going to tell me there’s nothing to the Holy Ghost?)

She danced right across the floor, never dropped an ash, and started up to the platform.   She didn’t believe in women preachers and she paused there.   She didn’t want to get on the platform. But the Holy Spirit just lifted her up those two steps.   She danced right across the platform, and there on my open Bible, she laid those two heaping handfuls of hot coals.   People were still screaming.   Brother, if you want to talk about something supernatural, some sign from God…

She came off that platform, turned around and prophesied over me.   “As Agabus was led by visions and dreams, you are called, and I’ll lead you the same way.”

Brother, I am looking for the power of God to come in here one day so real, that every person in the building will fall prostrate before Him.   He gave me a prophecy one time when this church was being dedicated, “Like My presence came and filled Solomon’s temple, one day I’ll fill this place so full of My presence, that every man, woman, boy and girl will fall prostrate on their faces before Me.”   The Bible said that the priests were not able to minister by reason of the cloud.   The “Shekinah Glory Cloud” of the Lord came and filled the tabernacle, and people fell on their faces in the presence of God.   He’s been faithful!   He’s been faithful to keep His Word!