From the desk of Steve Shultz:
I can hardly count the times the Lord has asked me to "step out" in faith and then find myself in the middle of an encounter surely written and appointed by God Himself. If it's in His plan, you can bet that He will come through when you follow Him where He is leading.
This encounter Bill Yount had is just such an instance, and I think you will be encouraged to read it. It can be scary to step out when we can't see the outcome or even if we will have the favor we need to do what God is asking. Let this testimony speak of God's faithfulness ? and be encouraged to step out. The harvest is ready and willing to hear.
First, here are a couple of resources that will take you into heavenly places and help you to step out in faith:
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Bill Yount:
Go Ahead - Step Out By Faith and Watch God Show Up!
On a recent weekend I ministered at a church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for two nights. One block away was Mercy Hospital where I was healed of a brain tumor when I was seven years old. My tumor surgery had to be cancelled. Someone shared with me before I left home that I should go to that hospital and pray for people since I would be that close to it again.
To be honest I didn't think much about it because of my busy schedule and the heavy rush hour traffic that I would confront driving into Pittsburgh an hour away from my mother's home in Ford City, Pennsylvania. Also, I was told by the pastor that I should leave extra early coming down into Pittsburgh on Saturday evening because of a sell-out crowd of twenty thousand people coming to hear Chris Tomlin, a well-known Christian singer, at the Convention Center just two blocks away from our service that evening.
The Lord Whispered, "This is What it is Like to Walk in the Spirit!"
To my surprise, late Saturday afternoon there was hardly any traffic at all as I drove into Pittsburgh. While passing the Convention Center I saw that the huge parking lot was already filled up with cars. There was such a scare of a mass traffic jam that evening in Pittsburgh that everyone seemed to have come in the early afternoon to make sure they got a parking place for the concert that evening.
As I drove into the church parking lot at 4:30 in the afternoon, I realized I had two and a half hours with nothing to do. Getting out of my car I saw the huge Mercy Hospital looming before me reaching to the sky one block away. That's when I remembered the words someone spoke to me about going to that hospital to pray for people.
Upon entering the hospital, I said, "Lord, I am going to need favor for I don't know anybody here and they don't know me. And I would probably have to be on a person's visiting list to get in to pray for anyone." The Lord whispered to me as I walked down the hospital hallway, "This is what it is like to walk in the Spirit! You know nobody and nobody knows you, but you must trust Me."
When I found the information desk, I briefly shared with the woman my testimony of being healed of a brain tumor in this hospital when I was seven and was wondering if I could possibly pray for people who had similar physical problems. The woman said. "I don't think that would be possible without being on the patient's visiting list, but you could go to the sixth floor where the brain injuries are and talk to the head nurse."
As I took the elevator up, I asked the Lord again for favor. Upon meeting the head nurse, I introduced myself and shared briefly about my healing in this hospital when I was seven years old ? and since I was this close to the hospital where my evening meeting was just a block away, would it be possible for me to pray for people? My voice began to break while talking to her and I began to weep as the burden to pray for people came upon me. The head nurse responded, "Praise the Lord! The Lord brought you here! I am going to take you down the hall to a side room and I am going to ask people if they want you to pray for them." I then knew that this was a divine set up by the Lord.
"This is Blowing Me Away and I Am Not Even a Christian or of Any Other Religion!"
As I waited, I thought to myself, If nobody comes for prayer at least I tried. Then down the hall came an old man in a wheel chair pushing himself toward me saying, "I could use some prayer!" And then an old woman being pushed by the head nurse came for prayer, also. I shared about my miracle healing with them and prayed earnestly for God to heal them, also. I then said to the head nurse, "I believe the Lord had you here for me to allow me to pray for these patients. May I pray for you, also?" She said, "Yes."
As I prayed, the Lord seemed to pray through me and He showed me several specific things going on in her life that He was going to take care of. As I finished praying for her, she said to me, "Follow me, I want you to pray for someone else now." She took me down to the nurse's station to another nurse and said, "Pray for her." As I prayed, the Lord was showing me things about her life, also, of what she was going through and what God was going to do in her life. When I finished praying, she said, "Tell me, how did you know these things about me? I cannot believe what you just prayed for me. This is blowing me away and I am not even a Christian or of any other religion!"
I explained to her that it wasn't me, but that I trust the Lord to lead me to know how to pray for people and that "It is God who is making Himself real to you. Jesus, God's Son, wants you to know how much He loves you and He wants to be real to you every day of your life!" She just kept standing there asking me over and over, "How did you know those things about me?" By then the head nurse was bringing another nurse down the hall for me to pray for. The nurse I just prayed for told the head nurse, "This prayer has blown me away!" The head nurse said, "That's what his prayer did for me, also!"
As I prayed for this third nurse, the Lord showed me huge drops of oil falling inside of her to heal her many wounds and hurts from the past. The Lord was closing the door of past hurts and was going to restore relationships in her family. Angels were setting up camp round about her household. I told her that she once walked with God closely but now God was calling her back to Himself. When I finished she said, "This is exactly what I needed!"
I Saw the City of Pittsburgh So Ripe that it Was Falling into the Hands of the Body of Christ in that City!
When I had to leave for my meeting, the head nurse asked if I could come back again sometime as she handed me names of people to pray for. I now have an open door to that hospital.
I want to let you know that it is because of your prayers for me and my family and ministry that the impossible things like this take place. I want to encourage you also to begin to step out by faith and allow God to use you wherever you are and wherever you go. The harvest is truly ripe and people are waiting for us to come to them. These troubled times are causing their hearts to open up to the Lord.
Go ahead ? step out by faith and watch God show up!
Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministries
Email: theshofarhasblown@juno.com
