Was raised to life to receive Jesus
In early February, 2017, we received this amazing report from Ted Olbrich. He is the leader of a considerable ministry in Cambodia, which has targeted hundreds of thousands with the Gospel. We render this incredible story exactly as Ted shared it with us.
"John, the Baptist, was unbelievable! As he was sitting there in chains, he was wondering if he had really messed everything up. Was Jesus really «the right one»? John sent three of his disciples to investigate. How much I like the answer Jesus gives them: ‘Go and tell John what you see and hear – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleaned, the dead arise, and the good news are proclaimed to the poor’. This was good news! This put an end to all doubt, and do you know what? We are also called to be like him!"
All kinds of diseases and ailments are healed. Through January, God has used our pastors, members, and leaders to heal all kinds of sicknesses and afflictions. Most of them are not even reported. I’m not saying that everyone we pray for, is healed, but a whole lot of people do.
"We are all going to die one day, so why does God then raise anyone from the dead?” It evidently doesn’t happen as often as we pray for the ones who have passed, but there seems to be one common feature. It is like if God is showing his card, presenting himself to a skeptical audience, saying: “This is me!” We have seen eight people raised from the dead since we started our ministry here eighteen years ago. The last one was just three days ago, and it was really a case of exception. There have been two occasions when we saw people who had a certain knowledge of Jesus but who still hadn’t received him as their Savior, come back to life. God gave them a second chance, and that has been a powerful testimony for the local communities of those people. Those two people were very open to Jesus but had a limited understanding of who he is.
However, the last-mentioned person was a 69-year-old man who had been living a licentious life. He had been married six times, he drank a lot, and he was involved in crime as well. His son came to church and received Jesus. He as a new convert and didn’t know too much about Christ, but he shared whatever he knew with his father, who also showed some interest.
This elderly man knew that he would soon die, but his mind was very clear. He requested people from the church to come and tell him more about Jesus. He also asked the pastor to come and pray for him. So, pastor Som Art and some of the church elders went there to minister to him. He lived in a poor part of the city, so his house was hard to find; all to the other side of Phnom Penh.
As the pastor was doing his best in trying to find the way, the man’s son called him and said: “Don’t even mind coming; the doctors are here and they have already declared my father dead”. Son Art did not turn around and go back home. He thought that he, at lease, might go and comfort the family. So, he arrived there about twenty minutes later. The man was pale, no pulse, starting to get cold. The doctors confirmed that he was dead, but as Som Art knelt down beside the dead body together with the other elder from the church, the color gradually started reappearing in the man’s face. His heart started beating, and he began breathing. Then, he opened his eyes and started to speak: "I was at the gate to Heaven, it is a beautiful place, but I was not yet ready to go there."
Everyone in the room, his family members, the doctors and Som Art, were astonished. The pastor shared with him about Jesus, who has paid for all the sins we have done, and that if we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and we make him become Lord in our lives, then we will be saved. Then there will no more be any barrier for us to enter Heaven, we will have free access. The old man prayed and received with a silent smile, and then he said: «Now everything is ready». Later, that same night, he peacefully left this world to be with the Lord. The entire community didn’t have anything else to talk about than this very special event.
