READ: Luke 14: 16-24
“…Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” – Luke 14:23
A pastor working with the spirit of ‘anagkazo’ (compelling power) is not prepared to have an empty church service. Many years ago, as a medical student, the Lord asked me to start a church. I had no members in my church. Not even one soul to preach to! But I was not prepared to have an empty church.
I was still a student when the Holy Spirit directed me to the nursing students’ hostel. I remember that very first day. It was around 5 a.m. and still dark. Standing outside the hostel, I clapped my hands and woke them up. That morning several young ladies gave their hearts to God. Up to this day, many of them are still members of my church. Preaching at dawn to people in their beds has been one of my favourite methods of implementing this principle of anagkazo. One morning, I preached at the hostel of public health nurses. A lady threw down a note saying she was a backslider and needed help. She wanted us to speak with her. That morning we ministered to her and God delivered her. She has been a faithful member of our church for the last ten years.
Although I started out with an empty classroom, it soon became filled with nurses who had given their lives to Christ from my anagkazo dawn broadcasts.
Dear reader, I want you to understand something; I did not inherit a church from anyone. I have often gone to places where I knew no one, and no one knew me. I have had to go out and win souls, driving and persuading people to the Lord, until the room was full.