One occasion, in First CRC in Sarnia Ontario, after I had guest preached a woman previously unknown to me came forward showing much discomfort and tentatively ventured that she felt she had something to tell me that she believed to be from God. This was on February 3rd 2003. It was an awkward moment, with people milling around, and this obviously jittery young mother taking the risk of approaching a pastor with something serious. I asked her to tell me what it was. Here’s what she said (reprinted exactly as she eventually wrote it down):
I will increase your fold
I have heard your prayers
I know your desires
They are my desires too
I love you
I am your rod and staff
I will make you mount on wings of and eagle
I will comfort you in times of sorrow
I will not forsake
I love you, more than you can understand
My justice will be at your right hand
Victory will be yours
I love you
I love you
Right near the end, I remember becoming embarrassed as she was saying those words while people walked by. Misunderstandings are easily created when you are a pastor. Yet I was intrigued enough to ask her to write it down for me. I just had begun the process of communicating with new locations to serve as a pastor and this sounded relevant to that process. The church I was serving was clearly not going to grow, and I had a strong sense it was time to move on. But she did not know that. But God did. So the first line was a grabber for me: “I will increase your fold.” I took it as encouragement to search for other pastures to pastor in where my desire for outreach growth could be lived out.
A few months later, in June, it was known that we were going to move to the West Coast, and I preached at that church one last time, and again she came to me afterward. She was more confident this time, and told me she was in a group of people who were developing their spiritual gifts, so she was getting more comfortable operating in it. She had the message written out already this time:
I will show you more
Look to the ancient path
There you will find the Truth
Remember you worship me in spirit and in truth
Don’t look to the church fathers there is more
Your faith is in me not your ancestors
You cannot receive fresh revelation if your faith is in the church fathers
Do you understand.
Peter there is much much more to be revealed
I want to tell you, you are a chosen one
I have picked you out of many
Look to me
1 Tim 4:14
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which says: “Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.” NLV
I politely recieved these from her on those occasions. But I did not put huge stock in them. Except that I found several things far too personally relevant to be conincidence. In future posts I will continue the story.
