The Quenched Desire – Episode 8
The Quenched Desire – Episode 8
© Lewis Dampson
Charles slept and ate very little during the first two months of this great revival. In fact, he only slept two or three hours a night.
Charles was soon showing signs of emotional strain due to his lack of rest. But, despite the overload, he continued to go from one town to another, and pleaded with residents to think of the lost. Whenever friends would encourage him to rest, he reacted strongly against them.
Though his body was rapidly wearing down, the power of God continued to feed the hunger of the people.
(In order to continually operate in the Spirit, we must obey the universal laws instituted by God. We cannot neglect to take care of our physical bodies because we are always caught up in the Spirit. While it is true, that man shall not live by bread alone, if we don’t take care of the flesh while on earth, the body will break down, or even die. God needs our body so that He can impart us to do His work on earth. We carry the assignment on earth for the Father, and the only thing that gives us the permission to do that on earth is our bodies. God knew that rest was important that was why He rested on the seventh day after creation, establishing the principle for us. We are not in our glorified bodies yet. So believers on fire for God must learn to care for their physical bodies. You can’t follow God and hear Him accurately if your body is exhausted and driven.)
Soon, news about Charles spread to other nations. They heard about the wonderful things God was using Charles to achieve. They heard of the massive revival that had brought a halt to prostitution and other social vices in Charles’ town. They longed for such power to be demonstrated in their country.
One of such Ministers was Pastor Lent. He contacted Charles to see if he could get him to his country. When Charles received the invitation, he went into his closet and prayed. He wanted to know if going to that town was in the will of God.
Charles fasted and prayed for three days. He prayed fervently for God to show him the way. On the last day, he had his answer. He felt peace in his Spirit. To Charles, the peace in his spirit was a green light to launch the revival in Pastor Lent’s country.
He came out of the prayer room tired and weary. He had not slept nor eaten for the period he was indoors praying. He immediately told one of his workers to reply to the invitation. He was poised to take the revival of his country to Pastor Lent’s country. Charles had heard of how wayward the people lived and how many of them had lost faith in God.
Charles organized his people and set out to Pastor Lent’s country. He hired a bus and conveyed all the necessary things for the revival.
News about Charles coming into Pastor Lent’s country began to spread. The people waited with anticipation as they have heard a lot about Charles and his miracles. Most of them wanted to verify if indeed what they had heard was true. The anticipation that was met with Charles arrival wasn’t because of the people’s hunger for God, but to test the Spirit.
When Charles got to the country with his team, many people had paraded on the sides of the road all struggling to catch a glimpse of the revivalist. An introvert as Charles was, he was nowhere to be seen.
Finally the evening for the revival was due. Residents from the local towns, surrounding communities and cities poured in their numbers just to see Charles ministering. The Church building was full and canopies had to be erected outside the Church to accommodate for the crowd.
The singers Charles took along with him sang an inspired message from God to the people. When people tried to hush the singing, Charles rebuked them. He believed the Holy Spirit should be given the primary role and that no one had the right to interrupt Him. He felt that so doing invited the wrong kind of authority and control.
To Charles, the Holy Spirit wasn’t some unseen force, but a Divine Person who must be praised and adorned in His own right, and totally obeyed. The people kept mute after Charles rebuked them and the service continued.
Charles took the platform after the singing. As usual, he knelt down and prayed. Suddenly, the Spirit took control, and he started weeping. The people watched in amazement as they had never experienced such a ministration before. The people that criticized Charles’ method of ministration were pastors. “What does he think he is doing? Is that how to preach? Crying like a baby. I thought they said he was a very powerful preacher, but from what I see, I am not impressed at all,” said one minister as he turned to leave the service.
The arrow of criticism he shot had managed to pierce some people in the congregation. They were all convinced that Charles wasn’t really anointed as they assumed him to be. And in response, they headed for the door.
They maneuvered their way through the crowd to the gate. The first person tried to step out, but couldn’t. He encountered an invisible wall. Out of frustration, the others followed suit, and they were met with the same situation. Suddenly, a power struck them down. They all fell to the floor and shook all over as they went into trance.
The whole atmosphere was charged as Charles continued to cry. Some people in the congregation fell while others ran and knelt in front of the pulpit wailing. People confessed their sins as the love of God was revealed to them.
Prominent ministers that had occupied the stage fell onto the floor. With each vibrating uncontrollably on the floor. The whole place was charged up. Signs and wonders were taking place as the Spirit of God continued to minister to His people.
At the close of the revival, fifty thousand people had repented and surrendered their lives to God. Indeed the revival was very successful.
Before leaving the country, Charles thought the ministers by listing the principles for revival and encouraged them to pursue it. With that, Charles returned to his country.
Three years later, Charles’ mind became confused. Sometimes, he would start a service in gentleness and joy, then suddenly jumped up, waved his arms, and sharply rebuked those who weren’t pure in heart. Then he would threaten to leave the service. Charles was hearing different voices, and sometimes he wasn’t sure which was God’s and which was his. This confusion made him an erratic person, not sure of himself.
To be continued
