I sat in a Pentecostal Servicemen’s convention in Kaiserslautern, Germany listening to the speaker share about the harvest for souls being so ripe, and the need for more workers in the vineyard. He used the verse in Psalm 142:4 that said: “I look to my right and observe— no one is concerned about me. There is nowhere I can go for refuge, and no one cares for my soul.”
As they passed the offering plate, the Spirit spoke to my spirit and told me to give all I had in my wallet. At first, I was baffled because I planned to be in France for evangelistic work the next day. However, as the plate got closer the voice got stronger, so I quickly pulled out my wallet and emptied it into the plate.
The next day I left for France with an empty wallet. I had filled up the gas tank in my VW the previous morning, so I was praying I’d have enough gas to get there. I didn’t stop to eat because I had no money. Just as I neared the border my brakes screeched as I tried to slow down, telling me my brake pads were worn out. I didn’t want the border guards to hear it so I used my transmission and emergency brake to stop.
As I arrived at the pastor’s house, I looked down at an empty gas tank as I screeched to a halt with worn out brakes. I shared my situation with the pastor who graciously advanced me money to get the brakes fixed. When the revival was over, he gave me a love offering, minus the money for the brakes. It was just enough to fill the gas tank once again.
As I neared the city in Germany for my next revival, my fuel gauge had dropped to below empty. I started praying, Lord help me make it, please help me make it, since my VW got 10 km to a liter and I had 20 km to go. As I pulled into a parking spot near the church my engine died, my gas tank was completely empty. The pastor met me at the door, but I said nothing about my situation.
The next morning as I opened the door to my room, I found a letter attached to the door. I opened the letter. It was from a serviceman stationed in Germany and it went like this: “My wife and I were praying and asking God where we might send our tithes to help the ministry. I saw a copy of the Servicemen’s On Guard Magazine laying on the kitchen table, and in it I saw an article written by you. Right away, the Holy Spirit said, send it to him. However, I didn’t know where you lived so I sent it to the magazine address. I hope you get it.”
When I opened the envelope, there was a check for the exact amount of money I put in the offering plate two weeks earlier. Right then and there my trust and faith in God rose to staggering heights. After that, I never doubted God to meet my needs for preaching the Gospel. You don’t need much faith, just big enough of a seed to be planted, and you will see things you could never see without it. – Dr. Robert R. Seyda