“I’ve got two great pieces of news for you”.

Saturday Night Report
February 19^th, 2005

“I’ve got two great pieces of news for you”.

Those were the words that greeted us as we went out to win as many lost kids as possible to Jesus last Saturday night on Barrett Parkway. What we would be told in the next couple minutes would thrill us and chill us, but first, some background.

About a month and a half before, we went out on a Friday Night to preach the Gospel to these kids hanging out in the parking lot of a giant sporting goods store in Kennesaw, Georgia. We found a big group of country guys, all decked out in camouflage and driving big four wheel drive trucks. With all boldness, a small group of us walked right into the center of them, found the biggest guy out there and said to him, “The Kingdom of God is on the earth and Jesus is King”. As expected, the whole group started to mock and cuss us out to which we replied, “Got any sick folk here? We’ll prove it”.

The big old boy was named Eric and he began to tell us about a heart condition he had. He had severe heart disease that had clogged one of his main arteries and he also had dangerously high cholesterol. He was going in for tests in a couple weeks to decide on treatment for his condition. We asked him if we could pray for him and he agreed. We simply laid hands on him and said, “In Jesus’ name, be healed”. We them told him that when the doctors check it, they would find nothing wrong with him. A couple other guys in the group told of their minor ailments and we prayed with them. We also prophesied over several of them. The words were accurate, so we had their attention.

As if a light bulb went on, Eric told us, “If this stuff is for real, then you need to go pray for my friend at the hospital”. We assured him that we were for real and Jesus does heal today. He then told us about their buddy up at the hospital, a star basketball player for their high school. They said that he was dying of leukemia, that he had been in the hospital for several months and that everyone in the high school was pulling for him. He told us that their high school had raised $160,000 to help the family pay for his doctor bills. The whole school was invested in this guy’s situation. Seeing an opportunity for Jesus to do His thing, we asked where he was and what his name was. They gave us all the necessary information and we promised to go pray for him.

The following week, a couple of us from the church went down to see this guy in the Intensive Care Unit. When we got there, we were shocked at what we saw; a 17 year old kid, hooked up to more machines than you could imagine. He was drugged up, in a lot of pain and was hardly aware. We spoke to a nurse and they told us that it was near the end for him. We let the nurse leave, leaned over his bed and got his attention. “Son, look at me!” Through the pain and drugs we locked eyes and I said, “Jesus Christ heals you”. His eyes got real big and he seemed to be staring at something over my right shoulder. His heart rate and breathing started sounding all sorts of alarms and we started to pray. Simple stuff, “In Jesus Name, be healed!” After a few minutes, we left his bedside, believing that the God who invades the impossible would have His way.

For the next couple weeks, several teams from the church went to pray for this young man. Several people in the church were fasting; believing that this young man’s healing would bring about an awesome testimony of God’s power to the entire high school. All in all, we prayed, fasted and believed that God would work.

Now, back to the parking lot…

We went out on a Saturday night after hearing that there were more people out on Saturdays than Fridays. Upon arriving, the first person we saw was Eric. We walked right up to him and a group of guys he was with.

“I’ve got two great pieces of news for you”, Eric said. “Let’s hear them”, we fired back. “First of all, I went to the doctor, they did my blood work and checked my heart. There is no blockage in my arteries and my blood work is perfectly normal! There is nothing wrong with my heart!” We jumped, we screamed and we shouted! Thank you Jesus for showing yourself to these guys! “But that’s not the best news!” Eric said. “Well, what is it?” we replied. A huge smile crept across Eric’s face, “Remember that boy you went to pray for at the hospital? He is completely cancer free!”

We were dumbfounded. Shocked at the power and mercy of God. This young man, left to die in a hospital bed as cancer ravaged his body, was healed by the blood of Jesus! “They announced it over the school PA system, they told everyone!” Eric told us. “We told a bunch of people about you guys going down there to pray for him, but they didn’t believe anything would happen. One girl told us, I’ll believe it when I see it. She and I were in the same room when the announcement came over the PA. She looked right at me and her mouth fell open!”

Now, the entire school has witnessed the power and mercy of God. We will cash in on it. Many will give their lives to Jesus.

Stay tuned.