It had many things going against it. I broke a personal rule to do it. There was little time to advertise. The leaders wondered if they had even gotten the word out. But then something bigger than anyone could have predicted happened.
We are mounting the greatest invasion ever in California: Living Proof Hanford. My standing rule is to postpone all speaking engagements and prepare myself for the Tent.
My friend Ron Mcintosh from Tulsa is closely tied to James and Tracy Boyd at Grow Church in Naples, Florida. He wanted them to experience our tent crusade in Batavia last October because he believed that Grow Church was on the verge of a great awakening.
It was after they saw what God did in New York that they believed I should come to Naples. They knew that many of the churches in that area would join together at the two thousand seat outdoor meeting place known as the Barn.
The Barn is a famous semi-outdoor meeting hall that was just purchased by Destiny Church, led by Greg and Bobbie Ball.
For months we went back and forth. When it became clear that Hanford was going to happen, I knew I could not add a one-night miracle rally in Naples. Still, I had a nagging feeling about it.
I had heard a credible prophetic word years ago about a visitation of God beginning in that very region of Florida that would rush north across that state. Questions abounded. “Is this it? And, how much promotion is actually needed when there is a sovereign outpouring of the Holy Spirit?”
And, how much promotion is actually needed when there is a sovereign outpouring of the Holy Spirit?”
It kept growing on me. I could not shake the conviction that this trip was important. I had to pray and ask the big question, “Is God opening the door to Florida?”
So it was, with very limited promotion, that tonight happened. And what happened was supernatural. Local leaders could not explain it. We drove up to the venue and saw three parking lots were filled. People were walking along the Boulevard from many blocks away.
The crowd overflowed to the point that the fire marshal told us we were way beyond the limit. Still, we persevered. The worship electrified. The Glory of God dropped on the people.
I can count on one hand the number of times that a sermon set a crowd on fire like it did tonight. The fire marshal was concerned about the wrong kind of fire! This crowd was famished for the Bible and the moving of the Holy Spirit.
This crowd was famished for the Bible and the moving of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God stopped me at a certain moment in my message. He told me that souls were ready to be saved. This was one of the most shocking and unexpected things I have ever seen. Hundreds and hundreds poured out of their seats to be saved. I stopped them because there were so many coming forward that I needed to clarify that this was for souls to be saved, not rededicated. Some went back to their seats, but the majority kept coming and would not be dissuaded.
Only God knows the real number of souls who were saved tonight. But that was not the end, and because I am rushing to get this news to you, I cannot tell you about the multitudes of people who were healed of every imaginable sickness. What a display of the power of the Lord!
Obviously, I am now coming to California with even more fire and expectancy. This is a double win! Not only did we see a mighty and utterly unexpected breakthrough in Naples, Florida, but I was given a very special surprise. What I thought was a distraction from getting prepared for California, turned out to be the very best way to get ready for our greatest tent crusade ever!!
