The Albuquerque Fire Pit

A Visitation from Heaven that Changed My Life Forever

Pastor John Hamel

“Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words I speak unto thee…”          (Daniel 10:8-11)                 

Televangelists. Who needed them?  Not me! I didn’t like them and I surely had no need for them.  Especially that one who was always raising big money for one reason or another.  To make matters worse, his wife had really big hair.  People in Boston didn't look like that.  She cried all the time, too, mascara running down her face like Niagara Falls.  "They need all that money to keep her supplied with false eyelashes, mascara and hairspray," I thought to myself.  I was spiritually dead and ruled by pride. Therefore, I had no need for either one of them.  That is, until my former wife and I became far more involved with drugs and alcohol than we had been previously.  Pride, drugs and alcohol are a deadly combination and not exactly the prescription for success.  I was about to discover the high cost of traveling life’s low road.

Everything started falling apart.  My wife took the babies and left me.  I was in a state of shock. My heart was completely broken.  I was devastated. To make matters even worse, I then lost a business I had worked so hard to build.  Five of my friends, including one of my suppliers, had recently died using the same bad drugs I was using.  Why I didn’t die, too, I couldn’t understand.  I was scared.  I knew I needed the kind of help that only God could give.

Three years prior to this I had given God my word that I would serve Him in exchange for His help but I did not do so.  At that time my wife was giving birth to our daughter, Kristin, and serious complications developed.  A nurse came to me in the Father’s waiting room and said, “Mr. Hamel, I don’t know whether you believe in God or not but if you do, I would suggest that you pray.  There’s a great possibility that you are going to lose both your wife and your baby tonight and you’ll want to be prepared for that.”  She stoically turned away and walked out of the room leaving me standing there alone.  Fear hit me like a Tsunami wave.

I dropped to my knees that night and cried out with my very best emergency prayer, “Oh, God, if You’ll let them live, I’ll give you my life.  I’ll do anything You want me to do.  I’ll give you my life if only You’ll let them live.”  Although I did not know enough about the Bible at that time to pray to God in Jesus’ Name, He had great mercy on me.  Shortly after that prayer of committal from my heart, my newborn daughter, Kristin, was wheeled out to me in an incubator.  She was lying face down on her belly.  As I looked down upon her she pushed herself up with her arms, lifted her head and turned to look up at me.  Her eyes were wide open as she looked directly into mine.  The nurse exclaimed, “Oh, my God, in all my years of nursing I’ve never seen a brand new baby do something like that.  She’s pushing herself up and looking right at you. Oh, my God!”  It was rather astounding even to me.  To this day I believe the Spirit of God moved upon Kristin supernaturally enabling her to do such a thing, confirming to me that it was Him indeed Who had intervened in response to my prayer of commitment.

Although I kept in mind what I had promised God for the next three years, I was unable to fulfill my promise to Him.  I simply did not know how one went about giving their life to God.  In fear, frustration and anxiety we continued using drugs and alcohol. Now here we were once again, three years later, desperately needing His help. Would He help us again?  Even after I did not keep my word to Him? I remembered how my Dad had told me about a big prayer that God had answered for him years earlier, too.  Dad wasn’t exactly the personification of all that is patient, good and kind himself.  I mean, I loved him in spite of himself, but he was one exceptionally hard and cruel taskmaster.  Although years later I would lead him to salvation in Christ, I would rather have been raised by Godzilla!  At least Godzilla was kind to and protective of Baby Godzilla!  Yet, God answered my Dad’s prayer.  So, I thought something like, “Maybe, just maybe, God will help me, too.  I guess it all depends on how angry He is with me.” 

I realize now that I was unfairly judging God by my earthly father’s anger and cruelty. Plus, the Denomination I grew up in taught us about a God Who could get pretty angry.  I figured surely He must be pretty ticked off at me because of the drugs and all.  But I had to find out for sure.  It came to my remembrance how when I was 17 years old, standing alone in front of the corner store, lighting a cigarette, I heard a voice.  A voice that said, “I love you.”  I always wondered if that was the Voice of God.  Certainly the words “I love you” didn’t go with what my Denomination had taught me.  Maybe they were wrong.

Now, three years later, my wife had taken the children and left and we both needed to be free from drug and alcohol abuse.  I was desperate.  To whom could I turn to tell me what God was really like?  The money-raising Televangelist and his crying wife with the mascara problem and the Texas-sized hair were the only ones who came to mind.  I felt like a hypocrite but decided to give them a try. Desperately flipping channels, my blood system full of drugs, I finally found them.  The Preacher’s face appeared on the television screen and he immediately began speaking to me, directly.  I was shocked as he answered the very reasoning of my heart. 

“If you’re a drug addict and you think God’s mad at you, YOU ARE WRONG,” he declared.  “God loves you.  If you’ll ask Him, in the Name of Jesus, He’ll set you free from your drug addiction.”  I fell to my knees and began to sob.  I cried, “God, if that’s true and You’ll set me free, I’ll serve You for the rest of my life. I give you my word. I’ll serve you with the rest of my life.” 

Do you know what happened after I prayed that sincere prayer from my broken heart?  Nothing! Absolutely nothing at all.  Maybe the Televangelist didn’t know what he was talking about after all.  Maybe God was just sick and tired of me and really, I couldn’t blame Him.  He had already given me one chance and I squandered that.  I didn’t deserve another.

A Helping Hand of Love

Soon after praying that prayer, I lay down on the sofa, covering up with a blanket, so discouraged and full of despair.  The drugs and alcohol affected my circulation so severely that my feet and hands were constantly cold.  I was an emaciated wreck.  Approximately one hundred and twenty pounds on a five foot ten frame.  My fingernails were bitten and bloodied.  I had been literally surviving on local chocolate-covered donuts and imported beer.  I felt that I would die of rejection and loneliness lying there. 

Suddenly, from behind me, someone softly laid a hand upon my head.  This wasn’t just any hand.  This was a giant hand that absolutely startled me.  As a boy I would ride the train into Boston Garden to watch “Professional” wrestling matches.  I once saw Killer Kowalski take on Andre the Giant in a “Death Match.”  I thought Andre had the biggest hands in the world until this hand came upon my head.  I turned to see who had sneaked into my house, coming up behind me.  No one was there.  I jumped up and went through every room and every closet, looking to see who was hiding and playing games with me.  I frantically checked every door and every window.  They were all locked.  I was alone.  I must have imagined it.

Lying back down on the sofa that giant hand rested upon my head again ever so gently.  I jumped up, repeating the entire search process.  Once again I was convinced that I was indeed alone and that my tormented mind was simply playing tricks on me.  After all, drugs, alcohol and a steady diet of chocolate-covered donuts can produce imaginary experiences. 

For the third time I lay on the sofa.  As soon as I settled down, the giant hand was placed gently on my head again.  It was so large that it easily reached both my ears and my forehead.  This time there was no getting up.  Something began to “pour” out of that hand.  Some sort of warm, liquid substance began to pour into me through my head.  It felt like hot honey was being poured into me.  I was paralyzed but not with fear.  It was as if I was being paralyzed with love -- hot liquid love.   Down into my cold fingers it flowed so peacefully.  Down into my cold, cold toes it slowly went.  I was being overwhelmed by some sort of hot, liquid love that poured into my body through a giant, invisible hand on top of my head.  I lay there basking in this love that I had never experienced before when suddenly I lost consciousness.

What happened next, I do not know.  I didn’t wake up until NEARLY THREE FULL DAYS LATER.  I realized that during that entire time I had not changed positions.  Neither had I dreamed.  Every bodily function had shut down entirely.  Some may struggle with this but I am convinced that I was not even breathing. 

Years later I discovered how Sister Maria Woodworth-Etter had a similar experience while preaching in St. Louis, Missouri, around the turn of the century.  She was preaching in a tent meeting when the power of God came upon her.  She had her hand up and her mouth open, about to say something, when suddenly she froze in place.  She stayed in that position for three full days and nights, neither moving nor uttering a word.  All of her bodily functions ceased as well, including breathing.  Grown men attempted to move her from her frozen position and were unable to do so.  She was literally locked in place as a testimony to the Power of God. (Ezekiel 33:22; Acts 2:43)  Over 20,000 people filed by to witness this astounding sign, wonder and miracle of God.  At the end of three days and nights she began breathing and moving, PICKING UP HER SERMON EXACTLY WHERE SHE HAD LEFT OFF.  The St. Louis newspapers covered the story.  Her life story can be found on the Internet.  

As I slowly regained consciousness that third day, I became sharply aware of one thing.  I HAD BEEN SET FREE FROM ALL DESIRE FOR DRUGS OR ALCOHOL.  The desire that was always there when I woke up each morning was gone.  I was free from fear.  Anger and unforgiveness were noticeably missing, as well.  God had forgiven me and delivered me.  How could I not now forgive those who had hurt me?  I felt brand new on the inside.  I remember showering after this supernatural 3-day experience and thinking to myself, “I don’t know why I’m doing this.  I feel like I couldn’t possibly be any cleaner.”  I soon discovered that this was because the Bible said I had become a “New Creation in Christ”. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17.)    I picked up an old beat up Bible and started reading it.  Preaching it, too.  I still haven’t put it down twenty-five years later. 

The Televangelist and his wife were right and I was wrong.  God wasn't mad at me.  Now I knew it was Him Who said "I love you" that day in front of the grocery store while I was lighting a cigarette.  It troubles some folks that I would say God told me He loved me while I was smoking a cigarette.  They don’t understand the Bible says that Jesus came because God so loved the world, smokers and non-smokers alike. (John 3:16)  Besides, nobody ever went to Hell for smoking cigarettes.  People go to Hell for rejecting redemption in Christ.  Now, I haven’t smoked a cigarette in over twenty-two years, but God loved me as much when I was smoking as He does now that I don’t.   

As a result of my spectacular conversion and uneducated zeal most of my family and friends said, "Man, Hamel's really lost it, now."  They were right, too.  I lost my old, weak, destructive life and found a brand new powerful one in Jesus. When everyone else walked out on me, He walked in.  I was and still am unashamed of Him.  I love Him now more than ever.  Sadly, my former wife informed me that she would have nothing to do with Jesus as I had come to know Him.  Offering to come back if I would renounce my new found relationship with Jesus, I was forced to decline.  “That was our problem to begin with,” I explained.  “Christ was never the focal point of our relationship or our family. I could never go back to doing things without Him again.”  So, she chose her way and I chose God’s way, hoping and praying that she would change.  She did not.  That’s what an encounter with the God of Creation will do to human beings.  It will harden you or it will soften you, but one way or another you’ll never be the same.

Sure, I made mistakes and early in my walk with the Lord was even tempted by drugs and alcohol at times.  However, those old ways just had no lasting attraction any more.  No power either.  They were counterfeits, substitutes for what I had been looking for all my life.  Love.  God’s Love.  The Love that poured into me that morning through the giant hand placed so gently upon my head three times before I fell unconscious for nearly three full days.  Talk about “falling” in Love!  I soon discovered my three day experience was Biblical, indeed. Many people in the Bible had similar experiences when touched by the hand of God.

Having had multiple Angelic visitations since that day, I have discovered to whom that giant hand belonged.  It belonged to God’s Angel.  My Angel.  One of the Angels that was assigned to me at birth. (Matthew 18:10)  The Angels of God are giant creatures indeed.  The ones that have appeared to me over the past twenty-five years stand on average ten to twelve feet tall.  Their hands are the size of the hand that was placed on my head three times that day.  It was my Angel’s hand.

Yet Another Divine Appointment

Approximately nine months had passed since being so gently, yet so powerfully touched by the “Helping Hand of Love.”  Now another Divine appointment awaited me.  I was sitting in a restaurant one morning, discreetly reading my Bible.  A young man wearing cowboy boots and holding a cowboy hat approached me and said, “Hello.  I see you’re reading the Bible.  Are you a Christian?”  I told him that I was, indeed.  He said his name was Michael and that he was a “Charismatic Catholic.”  He invited me to dinner at his girlfriend Barbara’s house and a Godly friendship quickly developed. 

As a matter of fact, Michael gave me a box of cassette tapes.  They were by a Minister whom I had been listening to on the radio.  His name was Dr. Kenneth Copeland.  Michael’s girlfriend and soon to be wife, Barbara, gave me my very first Christian book.  It was “The Ministry of A Prophet” by Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin.  Soon I was also to encounter the Ministry of Dr. Lester Sumrall.  Little did I realize then how the combined Ministries of these three great men of faith would impact me for the rest of my life.  They became “Spiritual Fathers” to me.  Sometimes when telling the story of how God has used these three men to bring me up in the Faith, I refer to it as “Three Men and A Baby.”

One night during one of my regular visits, Michael and Barbara were playing their guitars and singing to the Lord.  Michael began to softly speak in a strange language.  I stopped him and asked, “What is that?  What is that language you are speaking?”  He answered, “It’s Tongues.  It’s a gift.  Ask God and He’ll give it to you.”  “But what is it?” I insisted.  Michael repeated, “It’s Tongues.  It’s a gift.  Ask God and He’ll give it to you.”  He returned to playing his guitar and speaking in that strange language. 

Something “went off” on the inside of me at that moment.  I could no longer sit still.  Whatever this “gift” was, if it was of God, I was determined to have it.  Jumping up and grabbing my jacket, I headed out into the crisp winter night.  All the way home I repeated these words, “God, if that’s from You, I’ve got to have it.”  Over and over I repeated those words, hurrying home through the moonlit snow.  I had a special prayer place in the attic.  I just knew when I got there God would give His special “gift” to me.

Pushing the attic door open, a literal, soundless, explosion of white Light enveloped me as I stepped inside.  It was a white that was whiter than the whitest of all earthly whites.  The Apostle Paul referred to this explosion of white Light as being “above the brightness of the sun” when describing his Damascus road encounter with it. (Acts 26:13)  How accurate!  The Light of God’s Glory is above the brightness of ten thousand suns!

It knocked me to my knees.  Enveloped in this shining Light from Heaven, I fell on my face praying profusely in other tongues.  It seemed as if I had fallen into a Heavenly blast furnace.  How long I stayed enveloped in that supernatural Light, praying in other tongues, I do not know.  My next recollection was waking up the next morning in my bed not knowing how I got there.  I had received the “Baptism with the Holy Spirit” as evidenced by the speaking in other tongues, in a very dramatic way, even as I had been saved and delivered in a very dramatic way nine months earlier. (Acts 2:1-4; 19:6)  This was the “gift” that my friend, Michael, was referring to.  A “gift” that would prove invaluable to me from that night on. 

Babies Live and Babies Learn

I had been miraculously delivered from the bondage of drugs, alcohol and fear by God’s assigned Angel and supernaturally baptized with the Holy Spirit.  However, I was still just a baby Believer with practically no knowledge of God’s Word or God’s will for my life.  This being the case, I wrongly took a job that was not God’s perfect will for me.  That job was driving semi-trucks for a Hollywood Production company.  I now found myself touring America with popular Rock ’n’ Roll bands and Hollywood/Las Vegas-based entertainers.  I had no idea at that time how wrong this job was for me. 

I would drive between major American cities listening to my Kenneth Copeland teaching tapes and praying in other tongues.  Upon arrival at each destination, I’d back my semi-truck up to the staging area to be unloaded for the type of “entertainment” that is definitely not pleasing to the Lord.  I simply did not know any better.

One evening I was in Texas working with a very popular Mo Town entertainer.  I was sitting in the special employee section in front of the stage.  This man suddenly stopped singing and began “preaching” as the music continued.  As he stood there dressed in silk pajamas, to my shock, he began to explain how performing certain sexual acts while praying in the Name of Jesus could actually bring physical healing to the sick.  The moment those shocking, demented words came out of his mouth, I heard an authoritative voice say to me, “He’ll be dead in two months because of the very words of his mouth.” 

Startled, I looked all around to see who had spoken that to me.  With the exception of another employee and his two guests a distance down in front of me and to my left, there was no one else in this reserved section.  I knew that no one in that entire area could have possibly spoken those words to me so clearly above the sound system.  I thought about what that authoritative voice said for a moment and then got up to leave the auditorium.  I was shocked that this entertainer believed such a thing.  His Dad was a Minister.   I was further shocked that he’d stand up and speak it in front of thousands.

Two months later, back home in Las Vegas, I walked up to a newspaper display and looked at a headline.  It read, “(Entertainer’s name) Shot Dead By Father.”  My mind raced immediately back to that night in Texas when that authoritative voice told me that this was going to happen.  Still, I didn’t realize how wrong it was for me to play a supportive role in that industry.  Neither did I understand that the authoritative voice is one of the ways that God can speak to New Testament Believers. (Acts 9:4; 10:13,15)  However, I was about to learn in a very convincing way.

The Voice of Authority Speaks Again

Soon after this I had my semi-truck parked out front just prior to another short tour with a different entertainer.  It was loaded with lighting, staging, costumes, instruments, sound system, etc.  I was to drive from my base of operation in Las Vegas to Albuquerque, New Mexico on behalf of "one of the biggest names in the business.”  Before heading out I decided to pray, asking the Lord to bless my trip.  As I stood in the living room praying, an audible voice said to me, “Don’t go.”  I literally jumped off the floor.  I looked around to see who had come in.  Of course, no one was there.  I searched the entire house to see who was “messing with my mind.”  No one was there.  I was alone.  Certainly God wasn’t telling me to not go.  He understood that the truck was loaded and I had “no choice.” 

I continued praying.  As soon as I began to speak, that voice spoke to me again, audibly.  At least to me it seemed audible.  I know now that it was coming out of my own Born Again human spirit.  It repeated with tremendous authority, “Don’t go.”  I knew then it must be the Voice of God warning me to not take this trip to Albuquerque. 

I took an extra moment to explain to God the situation I was in.  I told Him whom I was working for.  I explained how the truck was loaded with hi-tech equipment, costumes and hardware.  I also explained that it was too late for me to back out.  There was no one else to take the truck to Albuquerque in time for “the show”. 

Having straightened that out with God, I proceeded to climb up into the cab of my tractor-trailer and drive to Albuquerque.  I was confident God understood.  Besides, it was quite possible that I had imagined that voice that told me not to go.   Both times. 

Every mile I drove was another mile driven out of the revealed will of God.  I suddenly began to feel sick physically.  Nausea and slight dizziness began to overtake me.  The further I drove the sicker I became.  Further and further I drove on heading for Albuquerque.  Sicker and sicker I became as well.  I discovered that by listening to my Kenneth Copeland tapes through headphones, the nausea and dizziness would subside to where I could continue to drive.  The Anointing on the Word of God would override the sickness as long as I kept the headphones on.  When I took them off at truck stops, etc., the dizziness and nausea would literally overwhelm me.  Although I couldn’t walk, I could actually drive my semi-truck as long as I kept God’s Word going into my spirit through my ears. (Proverbs 4:20-22)

Finally arriving in Albuquerque, I half-climbed, half-fell out of the cab of my truck.  I staggered into the high-dollar hotel lobby looking like a drunken man.  I was so dizzy and so nauseous that I literally slid along the hotel corridor walls in order to reach my room.  Stumbling into my room, falling onto the bed with the room spinning all around me, I lost consciousness and went immediately into a dream.

A Revelation of Accountability

In the dream I was standing on the huge outdoor stage just prior to “the show” in Albuquerque.  I was looking out across the massive outdoor arena.  The crowd was beginning to filter in from the parking areas.  As I stood on that platform wearing my flashy navy blue “roadie” jacket, I was feeling rather proud of myself.  “After all,” I thought, “this show couldn’t have come together without me.  I brought the lighting, the sound system, the instruments, the costumes, risers and everything else necessary to make this possible today.  If I hadn’t brought all this high dollar equipment there would be no show.  THIS WOULDN’T BE HAPPENING IF IT WEREN’T FOR ME.”

As I stood on that platform eight to ten feet above the crowd, I could hear voices.  Someone asked, “Who’s that standing on the stage?  Is he with the show?”  Someone else asked, “I wonder if he knows (entertainer’s name)?”  My chest was swollen with pride.  I was feeling pretty heady knowing that I had “backstage access” to such a popular venue. 

I continued to deliberately stand on the stage where I could be easily seen.  I was enjoying the attention knowing that people were looking at me, wondering who I was.  The crowd began to swell and the sound of multitudes of voices grew much louder.  Soon there were thousands of people filling the outdoor arena.  I could clearly hear laughter and enthusiasm in their voices.

Suddenly people began to rush for the few remaining seats in front of the stage.  People began to push and shove frantically.  The massive crowd pushing from the rear was forcing the people in front forward.  The sounds of laughter and enthusiasm began to change to cries of fear and terror.  Soon they were screaming in absolute horror.  Thousands of people in the back kept pushing, pushing for the remaining front seats.  They didn’t seem to realize that they were crushing and hurting the people in front of them.  The screams of agony and terror intensified. 

During all of this I was only focusing on the people who were pushing and shoving from the rear.  When I finally looked down at the crowd directly in front of the stage, I was horrified by what I observed.  Multitudes of people in front of me, being shoved from behind, were helplessly falling.  Only they weren’t just falling to the ground.  They were falling into a massive pit that had somehow opened in front of the stage.  The pit was as long as the stage.  It was also so wide that it was virtually impossible for the people being pushed to jump across to save themselves.  They just kept falling and tumbling into the pit. 

Up from the black smoky pit came tremendous heat with flames of orange, red and yellow.  Innocent people just kept falling and tumbling into it.  I looked into the faces of so many of them as they went to their eternal destiny.  They just kept falling and falling.  Hundreds, possibly thousands, went into that massive fire pit as I stood there looking into their faces. 

Then my own prideful, ignorant words came back to me as I watched those precious souls perishing, one after another.  “THIS WOULDN’T BE HAPPENING IF IT WEREN’T FOR ME.”  “THIS WOULDN’T BE HAPPENING IF IT WEREN’T FOR ME.”  I was completely overcome with horror realizing this human destruction was all my fault.  These dear people were perishing for all of Eternity because I was cooperating with “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.” (1 John 2:16)  This was entirely my fault.  Multitudes of screaming, terrified human beings were being mercilessly pushed into this fire pit against their wills.  And I was to blame.  The screams of horror sickened me when suddenly I woke up.

The Voice of Authority Speaks Yet Again

I sat bolt upright on my hotel room bed.  I was in a literal cold sweat.  Before I could even begin to evaluate what I had just witnessed, I heard a voice of authority.  It was the very same voice that had spoken earlier, demanding, “Don’t go.”  “Don’t go.”  This time it spoke with even greater authority.  Tremendous authority.  It seemed to roar as a mighty waterfall. That’s the only way I know to describe it.  It was the Voice of the Most High God.  He said …

 “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; BUT HIS BLOOD WILL I REQUIRE AT THINE HAND.”

This was a verse of Scripture from the Bible.  A VERSE I HAD NEVER READ OR EVEN HEARD BEFORE.  I was hearing it supernaturally for the very first time.  Months after this experience I discovered it in Ezekiel 3:18 while reading my Bible. 

As I sat there on that bed, I realized that my life had just been forever changed.  The Spirit of God had both SHOWN and TOLD me that He would hold me personally accountable for every human being who ended up in Hell because I was playing with the devil for a big paycheck instead of preaching the Gospel.  He had just revealed to me that He would hold me personally accountable for everyone whom I refused to speak to on His behalf.

I knew that very moment that I was all through with the way the world does things.  I gave God my word that I would never again tamper with precious, eternal human lives for pride or money.  Never again would I let pride or fear keep me from obeying Him when it came to someone’s eternal destiny.  From then on when I stood on a stage or a platform it would be in humility, to boldly preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  From then on when He sent me to speak to someone, one on one, I would no longer fear what they could do to me or what they might think of me.  I would go with their best interest in mind, not my own! 

I got on the telephone immediately from my high dollar hotel room.  I informed the tour manager that he was going to have to find someone else to bring that semi-truck back to Las Vegas.  I was unwilling to ever drive that truck again.  I got on an airplane that day and flew back to Las Vegas.  I was going to find a Pastor and a Church where I could learn everything possible about teaching and preaching the Gospel. 

During the flight home I became increasingly better physically.  The symptoms of nausea, dizziness and sickness steadily subsided.  It seemed that every mile I flew was another mile flown back into the will of God.  I just kept getting better and better physically.  By the time that plane landed at McCarran Int’l Airport in Las Vegas, I had been completely and supernaturally healed of all sickness.  Absolutely every physical symptom of sickness was gone and I was completely restored.  What a relief it was to be back in the revealed will of God.

The curse of disobedience had been supernaturally reversed.  Finally, I had gotten the message.  NO MORE COMPROMISE!  

Counterfeit Opportunity Knocks … Hard!

Soon after returning home I received a phone call from the entertainer’s manager for whom I had been working.  He was placing the call on behalf of the entertainer who wanted me to come back to work.  Only this time he didn’t want me to just drive his semi-trucks.  He wanted me to manage that aspect of his operation.  No more driving for me.   All I had to do was to make sure that the trucks and drivers were where they had to be, when they had to be there.  I expressed my appreciation for their confidence in me.   However, in obedience to the revealed will of God, I respectfully declined his offer. 

Turning the pressure up a bit, his Manager said, in essence, “John, I don’t think you realize what you’re refusing.  Money is no problem here.  We will supply you with everything you need to keep this equipment available to us.  (Entertainer’s name) is offering to set you up with a trucking business to facilitate him.  Once you’re in with (entertainer’s name), other contracts will become available to you as well.  This can turn into other things for you.  We’re talking about a lot of money for you here.” 

Again, I expressed my appreciation; only this time I told him why I would not be able to accept his generous offer.  I told him how the Lord had dealt with me strongly and that I was obediently going in another direction.  I told him that I was now focusing on a Bible education to prepare me for Ministry.  Although bowled over by my non-acceptance of such a lucrative, “once-in-a-lifetime” offer, he reluctantly accepted my decision. 

I soon received excellent training for the Ministry directly under Dr. Hagin at his Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The Lord then set me in the Office of the Pastor for over two decades.  This was to help me to understand firsthand the challenges and difficulties Pastors endure on behalf of their congregations.  Certainly this has prepared me to be more sensitive to Pastors as I serve them through the Ministry Offices in which I now stand.

Twenty five years after having refused my former employer’s “once-in-a-lifetime” offer, I am still faithfully walking out my decision.  I will obey the Almighty, preaching and teaching His Word until He calls me home to be with Him.  The high dollar trucking business I refused will come back to me in the form of trucks for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No act of obedience to the Most High God ever goes unrewarded.

The helping hand of love, the radiant light from Heaven, the Holy Spirit baptism, the Albuquerque Fire Pit vision and the Authoritative Voice of God that accompanied it have indeed changed my life forever.   

Jesus is coming soon.  Every hour for saving souls is crucial.  There’s just no time for looking back. 

A Word of Caution about Supernatural Guidance

Throughout this testimony I referred to the Authoritative Voice of God.  Although this Voice is one way that God guides Believers today, it is not the primary way.  God guides Believers today through the Written Word of God and through the Inner Witness of the Holy Spirit.

However, there are times when the Bible does not address a specific situation.  For example, if you needed to know whether or not it was God’s will for you to relocate to another area, you simply will not find Scripture telling you whether or not to do so.  Therefore, you should make your decision and tell the Lord about it.  Then give Him a few days to let you know whether you have made the right decision or not. 

If you have “peace” about the relocation down in your spirit and it’s for legal and moral purposes, God is telling you “Yes.”  If you have “unrest” about the relocation, then God is telling you “No.”  A simpler way to say this is, “If your gut is telling you YES, God is telling you YES.  If your gut instinct is telling you NO, God is telling you NO.”  God’s peace is His “Yes.”  Unrest is His “No.”  Going against this form of guidance will result in disappointment or tragedy every time. 

This is the primary way that God guides ALL Believers when there is no Scripture telling them what to do.  This can be seen in the following verses of Scripture.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”  (Romans 8:14)

This verse of Scripture could also read just as easily, “The sons and the daughters of God are led by the Spirit of God.”  It does not say, “The sons and the daughters of God are led by the Authoritative Voice of God.”  Although the Authoritative Voice is one way God can guide, IT IS NOT THE PRIMARY WAY.  Here’s a verse from the Amplified Bible that will help you.

“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds ...]” (Colossians 3:15, Amplified Bible)

Here the Apostle Paul teaches that Believers are to let “peace” act as an “umpire” concerning all questions that they have.  Everyone knows what an umpire does.  An umpire lets the players know whether they are “safe” or “out.”  The Holy Spirit is the Inner Umpire if one is Born Again.  The Believer makes a decision as to what to do.  Then they give the Inner Umpire enough time to let them know whether they are “safe” or “out.”  He’ll do this through “peace” or “unrest” deep down inside.  Some call this “intuition” or “gut instinct.”

Although I have been led at times by voices, visions and Angels, these are not the primary ways He guides me daily.  Primarily, I am led by the “peace” or “unrest” of the Inner Umpire.  This is the primary way He guides all Believers. No one in the Bible was ever praying to hear a voice, to see a vision or to be visited by an Angel when it happened to them.  God alone determines when these types of guidance are necessary.  I encourage those who have read this testimony to not insist on voices, visions or Angels.  I never have. I never will.  If you do, Satan just might accommodate you. 

Stay safe with the Inner Umpire’s “peace” or “unrest.”  If you need anything more than that, you can trust our Heavenly Father to get it to you!  

Don’t miss His SUPERNATURAL inward “peace” or “unrest” by insisting upon more SPECTACULAR forms of New Testament guidance.  Guidance doesn’t have to be spectacular for it to be supernatural.

For much more detailed teaching on the subject of Supernatural Biblical Guidance, visit our Faith Building Bible Study Centre.  Once there, click on "Guidance."  JHM 2008