“Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.’ And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief” (Mark 6:4-6, NASB).

I Get Prepared for Healing Evangelism on the Streets

For the past week or so, I have been getting my faith excited to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. To heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. To preach the Gospel with signs following–ON THE STREETS like Jesus and the apostles. So, finally the opportunity came. I took a shower, dressed up semi-casual, worshiped to a CD, got into the presence of God, read James 1-5, and a little bit of Andrew Murray’s Divine Healing. We did all we could to get our healing-faith heightened for power evangelism on the streets, and to preach the Gospel in the open air. This would be a first for us, for up until now, we had only preached. No prayer for the sick or anything. But I am a Charismatic Christian, I figured, and I need to start acting like it. What advantage do I have over the non-Charismatic? I believe I can work miracles of healing, signs, and wonders, through faith in Jesus, by the laying on of hands! Faith without works is dead, so I figured now was as good a time as any to put this Charismatic faith of mine into practice. I was so excited! I was expecting a healing or two to draw a crowd of 50 to 100 people–and then I would proceed to preach the Gospel of Christ, like John Wesley, and the Great Awakeners: justification by faith, regeneration by the Spirit, and progressive sanctification by obedience to the moral commandments of Christ.

I Preach a Bold Offer of Miracles,
But I Only Get Non-Response and a Beggar Wanting My Money 

So we went down to Moore Square in Raleigh, NC where we live. It was totally an embarrassing disappointment.  After mustering up enough boldness, I shouted, and preached to a group of about 20 people:

“JESUS CHRIST SENT US INTO THE WORLD TO WORK MIRACLES. TO PRAY FOR SIGNS AND WONDERS, AND PRAY FOR THE HEALING OF THE SICK! WE WILL PRAY FOR SIGNS AND WONDERS RIGHT NOW! WE WILL PRAY FOR HEALING!”

I waited for about 15 seconds or so, and a poor homeless lady on the park bench called me over. “Hello. Do you have a sickness I can pray for?” I said. She replied, “Well, I’ve got this cast on my wrist, but it’s alright for now. I was wondering if you might have some spare change?” I said, “No ma’am. Silver and gold I do not have. But I do have healing for you.” She said, “Oh, nevermind. I’ll be alright.” I walked away totally frustrated. Already I was surprised at the lack of curiosity; and the lack of interest among these people. Nobody even seemed remotely interested, in the fact that I was saying MIRACLES could happen right before their eyes! No interest at all. I gave up on that group.

More Unbelief, Non-Response, a Satanist, and a Discourager

And then I walked to the other end of the park square, where there was another group of poor, destitute looking people. I shouted and preached:

“FREE PRAYER FOR MIRACLES OF HEALING IN JESUS’ NAME! YOU DON’T NEED MEDICAL BILLS TO RECEIVE PRAYER FOR HEALING. WHO WILL COME? WHO WILL COME TO RECEIVE THE PRAYER OF FAITH FOR HEALING?! WHO WILL COME TO RECEIVE SIGNS AND WONDERS?! NO CHARGE. NO MONEY NEEDED. JUST FAITH. NO FEE. NO RIP-OFFS. JUST FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMEBODY. THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMEBODY TO RECEIVE PRAYER FOR HEALING.”

In the midst of my baby crying and interrupting, a black man in his thirties, with a walking stick, and a goatee approached me. He totally just questioned, and challenged everything I was doing, trying to discourage me. I said, “Sir. Do you have any sickness you need prayer for?” “No.” “We’re here to pray for the sick,” I said. “Man, everybody here is sick, man what are you talking about?” I tried to explain—but he interjected—“You walk around this park—everybody’s got problems.” I said, “I’m praying that somebody will come and receive some prayer.” Then he said, “Why are you here? Nobody is coming up to you.” He made me angry, and I said some things not worth repeating. (I didn’t cuss. But let’s just say, I was too zealous in my response, and could have got punched in the face.) He left and said, “Don’t be like your forefathers man, don’t be like your forefathers.” Another guy walked by and shouted, “Hail satan!” right in front of my wife and daughter.

WICKED AND PERVERTED GENERATION! I WONDER AT THEIR UNBELIEF!
We have shaken the dust off our feet against Raleigh (Matthew 10:14).
We will go to other cities to preach and heal (Matthew 10:23).

There Still Remains Hope

After being totally embarassed, discouraged, and just defeated–I encouraged myself by watching some of the videos of John Duncan. I want to be like this guy. He is an open air preacher that sometimes includes healing commands in his preaching. I was blessed to have a phone conversation with him a little while back. He is definitely a man of God. I understand his main influences in the area of divine healing are Curry Blake’s Divine Healing Technician Training Manual and John Wimber’s Power Evangelism and Power Healing.