Power of Blessings!

And then it came to me, and so I’m back to the message on blessing, and I trust it will be helpful to you today. I’m calling it the power of blessing, and I’ve given you some notes today that you’ll find. I think you’ll receive them on the way out, or maybe you got a copy of them on the way in, and it’s talking about the blessing, and there’s scriptures on there, and they all are pertaining to a blessing, and I’ve made enough of them with this hope that you will get enthused about this, and maybe there’s somebody lives down the hall from you in your apartment that you have become friends with, or maybe there’s a neighbor that you’re good friends with, or maybe you have a relative that you’d like to pass this on to, because blessing, blessing is a wonderful opportunity for the moving of the spirit and the refreshing of the soul.

I want to talk about the power of blessing today. So we’re going back, first of all, to the book of Genesis chapter 12. The Lord had said to Abram, go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, but whoever doesn’t bless you but curses you, I will curse, and all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.

I went back and researched again how it was I came to the point of believing that the word blessing for us in English is actually better translated from the original Hebrew to the word kneeling, kneeling, kneeling down. And I’ve been struggling with this thinking, I hope you didn’t make a mistake. So I spent hours again digging, and I have discovered I’m on the right path, and it literally does mean to kneel down.

And in the kneeling down, the significance is the word blessing, kneeling down to do so. There’s this principle of adoration, the principle of, I’ll use the word worship. So when we kneel down before the Lord, we’re there to bless him, and we’re there to receive a blessing.

I looked up in terms of historically in that part of the world, and maybe elsewhere as well, but I just checked out the Middle East. And most of the countries that we could recognize by means of a map today were not countries back in that time. The borders kept on changing as one country would war against another.

So we’ll leave that part out. But that entire region, kneeling down as a means of communicating, surrendering to a deity is very, very common. But then the kneeling down also is a reflection of a person to another person, or a person to a group, to a tribe.

And it’s a means of showing submission, of giving up, and allowing whatever would come from that person that you are in front of, allowing them to do whatever they want to do. And so we know that in wars, when one army defeated the other, the defeated army, the leader of that one would come, and he would bow down before the leader of the other army saying, whatever you’re going to do, get it over with. They oftentimes just severed their heads off.

It was just, it was a moment of submission. But it was also a moment of, do with me what you will. And at times, the leader of that defeated army would not be killed, because that would enrage the people from whence that army came.

And so at times there was grace and there was mercy bestowed upon the defeated captain, so that there wouldn’t be a continuous problem. So there he was saying, you can kill me, or you can bless me, you can help me. So when bowing down, he wasn’t worshipping, but he was showing honour, he was showing respect.

And he was saying, if it was a war that had gone on, he’d say, you’re the winner, you’re the victorious one. So this word blessing and the kneeling, it all fits together. And as I have also reached out to the number of places in scripture, the word blessing, it oftentimes was accompanied with the fact or the idea of kneeling down.

So for a Jewish person of the old historic culture, to kneel down was an act of worship. It was an act of worship. And that’s why the word barak, I know we don’t care about the Hebrew, but B-A-R-A-Q, that means to kneel.

And in so doing, it means to kneel and adore. It means to kneel and worship. So that’s why the word blessing and the word kneeling actually are paired together.

I’m sorry if I seem to be rambling here, but this is what I need to do to share with you. So when Abraham got that promise, that promise was solid. And this is interesting.

When the blessing that’s spoken of in the word of God, when the word blessing comes and it’s communicated by God, say to Abraham, it cannot be retracted. It cannot be removed. It is solid.

It’s in place. And so when Abraham was going to pass, it says that he gave all of his, everything that he owned, he turned it over to Isaac. And we don’t read of a particular little ceremony where Abraham imposed it upon him like the laying on of hands.

I look, it’s not there. But there wouldn’t have to be the ceremony of placing the hands because the placing of the hands centuries later was a visible picture of the intention of the patriarch, of the father, of the many sons. This is the one that I choose to pass on the lineage.

This is the man that carries on our name, our dignity. He represents us. So you see with Isaac, Abraham blessing Isaac with everything that he had, he did not have to go through a formality.

He did not have to do that. But then Isaac had a son. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob.

In that situation, you had to have a, you know, a clear line of separation. Esau, because he was the firstborn, was to receive the right hand upon his head. And then Jacob would have received the left hand, which is secondary.

The right hand spoke of, you are at my right hand. Where’s Jesus today? The word of God says, sitting at the right hand of the father. It’s the place of honor. So in the case of Esau and Jacob, Jacob wanted the blessing. So you know that he beguiled his father with the help of his mother. And when Esau realized that he was not going to get the blessing, he pursued his father.

He begged his mother. He as much as groveled and said, retract it, take it from Jacob. But the thing is that when that blessing was imparted, even though the dad didn’t realize that he was being tricked, the fact that it was spoken, it was a judgment, it was a blessing, and it had the hand of the daddy became the hand of God.

Much like the rod of Moses became known as the rod of God. So that hand that went out, it wasn’t just words. It wasn’t just words. I’m blessing you. I’m causing you to be the leader of our family. We’re going to have nations. My name, Abraham, Isaac, our name is going to be a blessing to the entire world. And I choose you to be in that lineage. So it wasn’t just words.

It was a powerful thing that fell upon the head of Jacob. And Esau, although he sought it with tears, he could never get daddy to take it back. It wasn’t in the old daddy’s opportunity. It wasn’t in his authority to take the blessing away. Think about that. It was within his authority to pass it on.

He had no authority to pull it back because you see, he had done it in the name of the Lord God, Jehovah. It was a done deal. Now, a unique thing happens when Jacob is very old and he’s living among the Egyptians, remember, and he has all of these sons, but the son that he loves so very much is named Joseph.

And we know the story about Joseph. So it came time when Jacob was going to pass on that Joseph got a message, your daddy is dying if you wanna see him before he goes, you better go now. So when Joseph went to see his dad, Jacob, he did not go alone. He took two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh was the firstborn. So he deserved to have the hand upon him and that the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then it should have been Manasseh.

But when the two boys were placed in front of the old man and Joseph said, daddy, before you go, I need you to bless my sons. And he really meant, I need you to put your hand upon Manasseh because I believe because he’s the firstborn, he’s in line for the blessing. But the old gent couldn’t see, but he knew that there were two forms in front of him.

Manasseh was in front of his right hand and Ephraim was in front of his left hand. But the old blind gentleman reached out and he crossed his arms and he put his right hand upon Ephraim. Joseph got most upset. He’s saying, no, no, no, no, no. You’re making a mistake. You’re making a mistake. And the old gentleman said, stand back. This is how it will be. So there you go.

It mattered on whose head it mattered on upon whom the blessing was to be passed along. As we go along in scripture, we find that the Lord speaks to Moses who passes it on to Joshua, who passes it on to Levi. Levi being the brother of Moses.

Have I got that right? No, help me, Bible scholars. I’m lost here for that. Anyway, it was Aaron the priest who was to say a blessing over the people. God said, I want this blessing. And you know it. So let’s say this blessing together, shall we? The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. I’ve already spoken this passage, but I had a unique moment come in my life just within the last eight days.

I’m quite sure I told you a story that I just will remind you of it for just a moment. A story about when I was a discouraged pastor in the city of London. I had at the authority of the district superintendent at the time, go and take care of the little crowd in London, but we’re gonna close it anyway.

So if you insist on going, you can go, but we’re gonna close it. And when I got there, even the board were discouraged. And one of them announced them to me in the spot. Here I am sitting with these four men. And the one said, whether you come or don’t come, I’m outta here. This is my last board meeting anyway.

That’s how excited they were. But the Lord impressed upon me, this is where I want you. So I accepted the position of leading between 15 and 18 people to lead them. And I gave it everything that I had. I knocked on doors. I did this, I did that. I preached like a foghorn and nothing was happening. Nothing was happening. People weren’t getting saved.

And I’m an evangelist, so I’m not a caretaker. I’m an evangelist. I want to see things happening.

And I got so discouraged. I’m sure I told you this. I went to the church one night on a Saturday night and my determination was tomorrow morning, Sunday morning, I’m resigning.

I’m a flop, I’m a failure, I’m done. I had to look up to see the bottom. And so I went over to the church and it was in darkness.

I left it in darkness. That’s a story. And as I was about to go into the pathetic little office, which was the principal’s room of a four-room school, which we were using as our church, something I noticed on the floor.

And it was a vase. Is this story resonating with you? Okay, so there was a vase. And in the vase was one flower, a carnation. And there I was ready. I’m gonna quit tomorrow morning. I’m finished. I’m a flop. I’m not even called. I’m finished here. This is it. I would have left the ministry. I was done.

And I stepped in my little office and I turned on the light. Here was a single carnation, not a rose, not an orchid. Do you know what a carnation was worth in those days? You could buy one for about 25 cents. And the vase was probably worth a buck and a quarter. Whoever did this was the last of the big time spenders. And attached to it was a little piece of paper, this size right here.

Attached to the stem. And on the stem it said, Dear Pastor, I want you to be encouraged. You’re a wonderful pastor. God brought you here to this place. Those words are so simple, aren’t they? That wasn’t like a speech made by some prime minister somewhere. It wasn’t designed to change the whole world.

It was just, Pastor, be encouraged. But there was something powerful, I can’t explain, something powerful about it. It struck me in the very core of my being. I literally collapsed in an old worn out principal’s chair. And I cried and I held on to that vase. And I cried like a baby. I held on to it like it was a teddy bear. I cried and I cried and I cried. And I, like I bellowed.

Because I just received a word of God. Be encouraged. God is on your side. We’re with you. That’s all it took. It was a huge thing. It was massive. Whoever wrote that note brought me with their words and with that little investment. They put me back in touch with God. And I had been praying. I was at that church every morning at five o’clock calling on God. I wasn’t living a careless life.

I was working a part-time job just to feed my family. Like this was a rough go. I was not a lazy guy. I needed help. I needed help. And where did the help come from? From a little lady who had no idea what she was up to. She felt impressed to bless me with a carnation and about 10 words on a little piece of paper. And I’m gonna tell you what, the reason I’m standing here before you today is because a lady spent that little bit of money and wrote with a ballpoint pen that little message. God blessed me.

And that blessing has never been taken away. That blessing cannot be retrieved. It has sat upon me like a mantle, like a great majestic coat upon me. And I have felt it from that day to this. Why am I telling you that? Because for 45 years, I did not know who wrote the note. And I told this congregation a week ago yesterday at noon in the city of London, a lady had passed away and she had left word with her family.

When I go, you have to call back Pastor Dave. 45 years, 50 years maybe have passed. All those years, I wondered who wrote the note. And it was about five, six years ago. So I told this story to this crowd. This little lady had passed away. And so now last Saturday, I’m telling a funeral crowd about the lady whose picture is up on the screen. They’d all gathered to honor her memory. Her daughter is sitting right here.

Her granddaughter is sitting right here. The only person in that crowd who knew where this story was going was Colleen who’s sitting on the front row. And how come she knew where the story was going? She’s the only one that knew.

Because Colleen had taken her mama, we called her Auntie Hody, took Auntie Hody to a camp meeting up on the shores of Lake Erie. And I was there to preach about five, six years ago. And in the crowd at the camp meeting, there sits Colleen and Auntie Hody sitting right in the second row.

I was thrilled to death just to see them. It had been so many years since I’d seen Auntie Hody. She was just a weathered up little thing sitting there. And I felt impressed of all things. I felt impressed to tell that story. I don’t remember why.

But I’m telling the story of how somebody had written a note. And I said to the crowd that afternoon, that evening at that camp meeting, I said, all the eight years following receiving that flower, I said, I took very cautious care over every lady in that church because I didn’t know who had blessed me. And somehow I wanted to say thank you.

But who do you say thank you to? I told that crowd at Lake Erie, I said on the final Sunday night, I said, the place was packed. Everybody was in tears. I was in tears. I really felt it was time for me to leave. The board didn’t believe it. The people didn’t believe it. I had to leave. And I told that crowd at Lake Erie that at the close of that service, back in what was it, 1980, I said, the last thing I did, I said, I stood and I said, there’s one more thing I have to do. There might be a lady sitting here who bought a carnation on a Saturday afternoon and left it at my door.

I don’t know who you are. If you’re here, I owe you so much. It’s because of you that we’re now a gigantic church. We’re running about a thousand people. It’s because of you, God rescued my soul. I don’t know who you are, but God bless you. And so then I went on for another 35 years of silence. I don’t know who it is. So now at this Lake Erie thing, I’m saying the last thing I did.

And as I said those words, this little lady, she was just a big bag of wrinkles. God bless her heart. She pulled this funny smile. And I said to the whole congregation there, I said, would you just excuse me here? I said, I have a little business to conduct. I think I stepped down off that platform and I faced Andy Hody. Her daughter, Colleen is sitting, holding onto her hand.

Colleen did not know. The only person in the world who knew about that carnation in that note was that little wrinkled lady. I said, Andy Hody, it was you, wasn’t it? And this beautiful, oh man, she had a set of teeth.

I wish I had a set like that. I can’t afford them. She showed me all her little teeth. And she said, yes, Pastor Dave. She was so humble. She was such a beautiful, like she lived from hand to mouth. Her family last Saturday talked about how they lived as a family. The father was a drunk. He didn’t supply for them at all. And they lived on bread. They didn’t have anything. They didn’t have anything.

And Colleen got up and told the story about how they’re in McDonald’s for supper one night. And Andy Hody noticed a man just sitting all by himself, doing nothing, totally by himself, no food, nothing. And Andy Hody went up and ordered her little burger and fries.

And she went over and she gave them to him. And Colleen said, that was my mama’s supper. But she said, that was my mama. Do you know what Andy Hody did in that restaurant in the McDonald’s? What a pathetic place to do it. But gee, you know what she did? She blessed that man, whoever he was. She blessed him. And Andy Hody blessed me. You wouldn’t believe the emails I got following that service last Saturday. I got people who were going around saying, how do I contact them? Like I got emails.

One person wrote me and said, that service should have been recorded and it should have been sent off to the Bible college because that is how to do a funeral and honor somebody. So Andy Hody’s service, Andy Hody’s care for me generated a new life in me. It was like the old Jacob putting his hand upon Ephraim.

It was a glorious, it was nothing magic. It was a glorious moment. It wasn’t just words when he did that. There was an empowerment that came. So I stand before you again and again and again. And I say, bless people, bless people. And here’s what I told that congregation last Saturday. I said, the congregation that I’m pastoring in Vineland, we’re tiny, we’re just a tiny little group. But we know how to bless each other.

We speak prayers of blessing over each other. Just these words, God bless you. And I said, I believe it’s making a difference in people’s lives. There’s a power in your mouth. There’s a power in blessing people. And you can bless people in so many, many ways. It can be something actually tangible. You can take somebody out and treat them to a lunch. You can take somebody a bouquet of flowers.

You can quote a verse to them. Here’s a suggestion. You’re gonna get a list of verses today that speak of blessing. It’s written on two sides, you’ll see it. That you’ll get lots of papers today. But one of them, it’s a folded piece. And it’s scriptures. I’m gonna tell you what? That the most powerful thing that you can do to bless somebody is to give them the scripture. The Lord bless you.

The Lord bless you. Keep you. Lift his face upon you. That’s the word of God. And when you speak and exercise the word of God, you’re exercising a spiritual dynamic, a spiritual power. I have been the recipient of so many people who have blessed me.

I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them. Psalm 115, may the Lord cause you to flourish. When that little auntie Hody bought me that flower and gave me that vase, she was literally acting out the, may the Lord cause you to flourish.

Did that vase, did that word cause me to flourish? It did. May you be blessed by the Lord. The power of blessing, speaking life over someone.

I’ve taught so many people the wording of the apostle in the book of Romans that says, so from here on, we do not know each other according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. To me, I’ve broken that down. And it’s this, you will come to know people who were away from the Lord or who never knew the Lord.

And they might even be a person of poor, poor, poor reputation. But they get saved. They’ve been down the rocky road.

They’ve messed it up. But God plucked them out of the burning embers of life. And you know the story about them.

You know the, you know the deed, you know it. But you will now, because that is a chosen person of God, you will now no longer know that person after the flesh. But now you will acknowledge them as a person in the spirit.

We’re new, we’re new creatures in Christ Jesus. And I also preach a whole series of sermons on, if you’re looking for cracks in this pot, we’re called vessels. The other word is a pot.

We’re all pots. And some of us are cracked pots. And if you’re looking for a crack in this pot, you won’t have to look far. Because I am not a perfect person. I’ve told people over there, don’t you dare call me reverend. I don’t feel reverend. I put my jeans on the same way you do. And when I get sick, I make a mess. I get sick. When David’s sick, he’s really sick. I am a mess just like you are. I’m a cracked pot.

But I beg you, I beg you, look upon me as in the name of the spirit. Do not know me after my mistakes. Know me not after my succession, but know me as a man who longs to walk with God. Bless me with your words. The contrary also is very powerful. I won’t go on about this.

But when I was in grade three, a teacher had me stand up in the classroom. And she asked me, I guess what she thought was a simple question. I’m not sure that the tears weren’t running down my legs. She scared me to death. She asked me a question. I probably should have known a simple answer. But out of fear, I froze. I was so fearful of her. And she said this prophetic word over me.

David, you disgust me. You know what you are, David? I’m not making this up. David, you are stupid. And nothing will ever come about positive in your life. I lived with that for years. I lived with that for so, so long.

And I confess to you that the day that I felt so compelled to get alone with God, it was on a Sunday morning, it was in church. I don’t remember the message of the pastor. I don’t remember anything about that.

And April was sitting beside me. I was dating her. And at the close of the service, we always went to her mom and dad’s for lunch.

We had to go there. They didn’t trust us to go anywhere else. They knew my reputation.

So they thought. And I turned to her and I said, you go to your mom and dad. I can’t go.

Why? I said, there’s something I have to do. You go. I went to the basement of that church.

And I waited until I knew the caretaker had locked the last door. And then I cried until I screamed. I was alone in this massive old building.

And I cried out, what do you want? And I got this, I got this notion. I want you. And I cried out, believing that that is what he was saying to me. I cried out, I have nothing to give you. Because you see, I was convinced. I was a failure. I was never any good in sports. You know how they would line you up? Two teams, two groups. You say, okay, you take the first.

So, okay, I’ll take George. Guys, I’ll take Harry. I’ll take Tim. I’ll take Ralph. I’d be the last guy standing there. And they’d argue. You can have him. No, I don’t want him. You can have him.

What sport was that? Every sport. So I was a flop. Do you know once I was playing on the football team for the high school? You didn’t have to do it.

If you had a heartbeat, you could get on the team. I scored for the other team. I took the ball and I ran. And guys were yelling and screaming. Yes, I’m doing it. I never told you that April. I scored for Hill Park High School. I carried the ball across the line. I was a failure in every way. What do you want with me? But I felt compelled that I had to go. So I went to the Bible college. I’m piecing together some stories.

Pieces I’ve told you before. I went to the Bible college. And I got a tap during the chapel service on my shoulder. And I turned and there was a student behind me. You dare not talk in chapel. But this was important. He said, there’s a man at the back of the auditorium. He wants to see you. And that had been passed from student to student to student up to where I was sitting.

There’s somebody wants to see you. At the close of that service, I walked back and there stood a man who had been in a fire. His ears were gone. His face was all due to surgeries and put all together. He reached out to shake my hand and all that was here was a stump with a thumb. And he said, yes. He started to cry. Yes, you’re a forest. You’re a, you’re a regis son. I said, yes, sir. You never knew your uncle Milton. No, sir.

My uncle Milton, my father’s brother and three other fellows were in a Sunday night service in London Gospel Temple. They walked out having been prayed over and they headed out in a car for Springfield, Missouri. And they never made it.

A big truck met them head-on and my uncle Milton was decapitated. All over Ontario as I’ve gone out and preached here and there and it’s happening less and less because I’m not traveling, but it’s happening less and less because people are getting old. But I went to different churches and people come up and say, Forrest, did you ever have an uncle named Milton? And when I’d say, yes, they say, he preached revival in this church.

That young man had something about him. The revival followed him. These are the stories that I heard about my uncle Milton. And he was taken out so early. The only person that survived in that crash was this man who’s standing in front of me. And when they found him, he was on fire.

That man became one of the top dignitaries of the assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri. For some reason, he was up in Toronto with the head office and he must’ve made some inquiries and he showed up at the Bible college with one purpose to see if he could see David Forrest. He’d never met me.

He just knew that Milton Forrest had a nephew who felt called to the ministry. And as I stood there looking at this emaciated piece of humanity, he reached out and put his arms around me and he cried like a baby. And then he said a word over me.

Your uncle was a powerful evangelistic preacher. Revival followed him. The Lord saw fit to take him. But that mantle is upon you, David Forrest. God will use you. That was like a burst of sunlight on my soul. I’m not a wasted being. I’m not lost out. God has a purpose for me.

Those little words that he spoke were prophetic. So when you say God bless you, that’s sufficient to raise the heart and the life of an individual that you’re looking at. I say it in the grocery store. People almost stagger when I say it. They don’t know how to respond. God bless you.

Not once did I have somebody say, who do you think you are? Not once did I hear somebody say, don’t give me that Christian drivel. Most of the time, they will in a mumbling fashion, try and say, well, thank you, or same to you, or I never get pushback. I believe that when I speak those words, that something is happening in their soul.

And it’s called prevenient grace. It’s before saving grace. It’s prevenient. It’s not convenient. It’s prevenient grace. First Thessalonians 5.11 says, comfort yourselves together. Comfort yourselves together. Edify one another. Somebody said to me the other day, how old are you, Dave? I literally replied with this. I just had somebody say to me the other day, this was my reply. I had somebody say to me the other day, you know, for a guy 90, you don’t look so bad. We are to edify one another.

And how do we do so? We do it this way. When I think of the oldest person who might perchance be in this church on a Sunday morning, I think of you, little Doris in the back. The very fact that you’re here is a blessing to me. It’s a blessing to everyone here. When you’re not here, the angels are listening. This is me speaking the truth.

When you’re not here, I miss you. I miss you. Because your very presence in this place is proof to me it’s worthwhile. It’s worthwhile. Don’t give up. It’s worthwhile. You say, I still have the faith, David. David, don’t you back off. I believe what I believe. And you are a blessing just showing. You could have slept in this morning and drank Newfoundland tea, but you could have ordered, you could have ordered a beautiful, something baked out of an oven with a hole. I’d like to know who gets the hole.

I think they’ve got some little chipmunk that chews out the hole and then they, yeah. It’s so good to see you just being here. You’re a blessing. You’re a blessing. I went to Longview, Washington. You don’t have to show the next slide. I went to Longview, Washington because I heard about something that was going on. I heard about a revival that was going on down in California and I went down and visited. You know, Kelsey Grammer played the part of a famous preacher evangelist.

They made a movie a couple of years ago about a pastor down there. His name has escaped me, forgive me. It was a huge revival and it was on Look Magazine, Life Magazine of thousands of people being saved and that ministry is carrying on right now. They’re running stadiums with 50,000, 60,000 people and that revival is still carrying on. I heard about this. I flew down.

I flew down and I took it in a little bit. I was absolutely amazed and then I flew up to Longview, Washington to visit with a pastor that I knew from years ago and I went into his church and I stayed with him for about four days and I went to the Wednesday night meeting and this was one of the most unique meetings I’ve ever been in my life. He said, Pastor David said, it’s time for body ministry and I thought, he’s gonna let the people wrestle on the floor.

It’s time for, but you see, we are the body of Christ and there were microphones in the aisles. He said, who will be first? And so somebody got up and went to a microphone and they told of a challenge they had in their life and this went on for about an hour that this person told about a challenge and someone stood up over here and went to a microphone and said, Pastor, I believe I have a word for this sister and this person would speak a word of encouragement, a word of edifying and the place would applaud that they sense it. This is a word from the Lord and it happened all evening where people said, I have a problem and people got out of their chairs, went over, surrounded that person, laid hands on them and prayed.

That’s called body ministry. The word of the Lord says, you’re to get together and you’re to edify one another, care for one another, pray for one another, support one another, admonish one another, prove the faith. It’s a point of blessing.

It’s a point of blessing. This isn’t about me but I think it’s important that we hear stories. It’s important that we hear scripture and then can we put meat on those bones? Is there anything I can say? I believe in divine healing.

Well, who believes that? I do because I have a wife that experienced the healed of cancer. I know what I believe about divine healing. It’s in the word and I have an experience to tell you about it and you can’t take away from me my experience.

I went to St. John, New Brunswick to preach a series of meetings. Pastor’s name, Gordon O’Coin. The attendance was wonderful and at the end of every message, it was expected and it was right down my line.

I always gave an appeal to come around the altar and I would pray with people. Every service was different. The topic was different but this is how and I’ll never forget on the Sunday morning service, place was full and I preached and I gave an invitation.

The people came forward and I went along and I was praying with people here and there and I seldom even ask anybody what we’re praying for. The Lord knows and I got to this couple. I went to pray and I stopped.

I looked and I saw Gordon, the pastor and I motioned him. He came over. I said, Pastor Gordon, I believe I have a word of prophecy for these people but I said, I want you to be a witness.

I said, Gordon, we’ve known each other for many years. If I’m a poached egg this morning, you just tell me. I looked at this couple and I said, here’s what I think the Lord is saying.

He’s calling you two people to commence a ministry in this body to married couples and instantaneously, the two of them simultaneously broke into tears. They suddenly embraced one another crying and carrying on. I thought, I thought I said something nice.

I just broke their heart and she turned to Pastor O’Coyne and said, oh, Pastor, we’ve been praying about how do we approach our pastor? He said, about what? What this just man just said. We have felt it in our heart for a couple of months. We’ve been praying about it and we wanted to come and talk to you but we’ve thought you’d think, well, where do they think they, how do they think they can qualify? But we think that this man just gave us God’s qualification.

Gordon got all excited and he said, I’ve been praying about how can I start up a ministry in this church for married couples? That prophetic word was a blessing. I’ll finish with this. I think I’m finishing.

Blessed is the pastor who knows when he’s done. I’m at the Queensway Cathedral in Toronto. I went there for three days of meetings and I stayed six weeks.

I was pastoring church in Red Deer, Alberta but the pastor asked me to come and just give us a Sunday, maybe Monday, Tuesday. I said, well, okay, I can take one Sunday off. Sorry, I got my staff together.

I said, you guys, we’ve got something going on here. You just keep it going. You manage the church.

I’ll be in touch with you by phone. And by Monday night, the pastor got up before I got to preach and he said, God’s up to something. We’re having another meeting tomorrow night.

And he says, I’m asking David to call his church and see if he can get another Sunday. That went on for six weeks. God was doing something special.

And in one of those evenings, I went along and I’m praying with people and I stopped and there’s a young man kneeling here and there was a man there already praying with him. I paused, I tapped the man on the shoulder. I said, sir, I have something to say to this young man and I want you to be a witness because if I’m way off, you can call the pastor in and strip me of this.

Like I said, I want to be accountable here. He said, that’s okay. I spoke over this young man and I said, I sense that the Lord is telling me that he’s calling you into the ministry.

And this young man, be about 19 years of age, broke into tears and the witness fell upon the young man’s shoulders and began to howl and weep. The man that I asked to be the witness was his father. And the young man had been saying to his dad, I think I’m called, I think I’m called.

And the dad saying, be sure, son, be sure. And for that moment, I was a source, a blessing to that young man. I don’t know where he is today.

I don’t follow things up like that. The power you and I have in our mouths, but we have to be accountable. So be careful, don’t go around and bless everybody with a new Cadillac.

We gotta be accountable. I make myself accountable. If I feel I have a word from the Lord, I don’t spout it out.

I bring somebody out into the arena and I don’t pick my best friend who will say, oh, Dave’s a good guy. I pick somebody who’s willing to say, I think you’re off course here, Dave, because it’s a dangerous thing. When somebody’s anxious to be so used, that’s dangerous.

I don’t long to be used in the ways that I’ve just mentioned. That doesn’t happen a whole lot to me. I don’t have a whole, I don’t have a whole book of stories like I just told you.

I only have a couple of them. You just heard them. I don’t have a whole book of them.

This does not happen to me every day. That’s not my calling, not my ministry. And I’m very, very careful.

Not to long for that. I’m not gonna come and speak a word of prophecy over all of you. I would if I was prompted, but I don’t feel so prompted.

I’d be happy if you prophesy over me and say you got five more years in your gas tank, Dave. You can still run on high octane. I would accept that.

We gotta be careful. We gotta be careful. Wherever God’s fire is abundant, there’ll be sure to be little wildfires.

And I’ve told pastors over the years, if you pray for revival, good. But pastor, you better pastor the revival because fire can give way to rapid wildfire. Pastor it and God will bless you.

You don’t have to use your right hand, but I believe that all of us need to be ready to bless somebody. It doesn’t always have to be, as I’ve already mentioned, I’m closing, I am. It doesn’t always have to be a word.

It doesn’t have to be a scripture. I believe quoting a scripture of a person, if you believe it’s appropriate, send it to somebody in email. You’re praying that morning.

We’re praying over each other, right? We’re praying for, we’re supporting each other. And as you’re praying, you got this compulsion in your heart and you look at those scriptures, maybe that I’ve given you, they’re blessing scriptures. And you look at it and the Lord seems to put his finger on that one.

Send somebody an email and say, I was praying this morning and this verse just came to me. And if this fits your need today, God bless you, send them a scripture. You can’t lose, send them a scripture.

You’re not telling them you’re called to be Chinese and you’ll speak Chinese soon as you land on the property. No, you’re quoting something out of the word. You can’t miss when you’re using the word of God in a professional, spiritually professional way.

Hello? The word of God says, despise not prophesying. Says that, don’t despise it, but be careful. And if somebody comes to you and they drop a prophetic word on you and that’s brand new news to you, it might as well came from Mars or Jupiter.

You don’t have to accept it. To me, anytime, see there, I was in Bible college and I was already there and I was already questioning, Lord, it wasn’t a new idea. This man who was now a dignitary in the assemblies of God, one of the most highly renowned men, he made a journey to Peterborough just to see me.

By the way, the whole college went to lunch following that service and guest preachers like him were always invited to sit at the head table in the cafeteria. I went in there looking to say to my friends, see that man, he spoke over me this morning. The man wasn’t there.

He didn’t even stay for lunch. He drove to Peterborough, found David, prophesied over him, got in his car and he left. What a confirmation to David.

It kept me alive. Somebody needs to hear something from you. Listen to David.

I’m finishing, I’m finishing. Somebody needs to hear something from you and you have all the equipment. I give you blessing verses.

Call them on the phone, send them an email or take a copy of what I’ve given you, go and knock on somebody’s door and say, I really appreciate you. I know you’re going through some difficult times. These are scriptures that I thought might help you.

Give them the whole thing. Be a blessing, okay? You’re the light of the world now. You have a calling.

If Lorne Hunbrick had not prophesied over me that day, what would it be? If Auntie Hody had said, oh, that’s silly. I guess I won’t do that. Where would I be today? God connects the dots.

Heavenly father, I thank you for the privilege of walking with you. I thank you for the word of God. It’s so powerful.

So often we’re told how to function. So often we’re told in the new Testament how we’re to function as a body, as the church. Help us, Lord God, not to so consistently use the remote on the garage of our car, drive our car in, close the door.

Nobody even knows who we are. Lord, help us to be lights where we live. Help us to reach out because somebody is desperate for something that will give them courage to live on for another day, another week, another month.

Help us, oh God, to be faithful in these things. For I ask it in Jesus’ name. If you believe it, say amen.

Yes, Bill and Annette Richards on the East Coast, out on your little island, be encouraged today. We pray for you a lot. We love you guys.

And I’m gonna try and get to see you maybe just after the icebergs have floated far away. We love you people. And Daryl and Elsie, if you’re out there listening, please know we love you.

You’re not alone. We know you’re struggling immeasurably, but we care about you. That’s our word to uplift you today.

God bless you. Amen.