Ministry Moments:
Devils at the Pulpit
by Lynn Ridenhour
It wasn’t long after Linda and I experienced the
mighty Baptist in the Holy Spirit that the Lord put us on the road. We quit
our jobs, had fourteen dollars in the bank, filled up our gas tank, and began
a life of faith--trusting the Lord for our daily needs. That life of faith
lasted for over four years. We ministered the gospel in pool halls, taverns,
and parks & fairs. We literally "prayed in" our daily food. "…Lord,
give us this day our daily bread…" Strangers at times would
approach us and give us money. At the time we were driving a 1968 Fairlane
Ford, and sleeping in it.
As soon as the Lord filled us with his precious Spirit, he sent us back to
my hometown, a little town called Belle, Missouri, stuck away on the edge of
the Ozarks. I went back to tell them what the Lord had done. I rented a
conference room at the only motel in Belle, ran an ad in the town newspaper, "Holy
Spirit Teaching Seminar," and gave the dates.
The room was packed. Some came out of curiosity; others came to hear me
preach and to testify. I think every preacher in town was there. What did this
Baptist preacher have to say about the ministry of the Holy Spirit? I shared
with them how the Lord had lengthened my left hand, how that he had
straightened my wife’s spine, and I shared other miracles we had recently
witnessed.
I had a former college classmate, Charlie Kuhmer, who was attending
Southwest Baptist College in Boliver, MO. I asked Charlie to bring his Jesus
Band and come on down. He did. Charlie and I were very close. We
scheduled high school assemblies during the day and preached during the night
at the motel for about a week. And had a wonderful time. The Lord really
moved, especially in the high schools.
In Owensville, MO, we were scheduled to play the hour immediately before
lunch. We did and the students wouldn’t leave! They stayed in the gymnasium,
wouldn’t go to lunch, ‘till finally the superintendent cancelled all
classes for that day. We ended up leading a couple hundred students to the
Lord in the school gymnasium. Stayed for four hours.
There were so many teenagers led to the Lord that week, I felt I couldn’t
leave. I had to continue on, so we rented a VFW Hall down the road in a small
town called Gerald, MO on highway 50. And went for another two weeks. Teens
came out of the woodwork. From all over. They were sitting on the
floor, all the chairs were full, and they even crammed themselves in the
windows. The place was packed night after night.
I never will forget. We discovered that this little town was a major
stop-off for drugs coming out of St. Louis. The Hell’s Angels were in town.
A brother led one of their bikers to the Lord. One afternoon while getting
ready for the service that evening, the main dude approached me. He was the
Boss Man dressed in black leather and black gloves, a shiny knife sticking out
of the top of his boot, his hair slicked back on both sides.
"…I want you to know preacher man, we’re not happy with what you’re
doing. I don’t like your Jesus Freaks messing with my brothers. I want you
to know, this evening we’re going to bust up your little party."
He took his forefinger, tapped me kind of hard three times on the chest,
then turned around and left on his bike.
I’ll admit, I was a little scared. So I called for Danny, Richard, Jim
& Joe to come pray with me. Richard was a former coke addict and played
guitar in a Metal band. Joe was an ex-convict. Jim was the former drug
supplier for three surrounding counties. And Danny was a former Hell’s
Angels gang member. All of them loved the Lord.
We went to prayer, asking the Lord’s protection on tonight’s service.
I preached that night, and sure enough, in walked two men dressed in black
while I was preaching. "…Lord, what do I do? Do I acknowledge them
or do I keep on preaching?…"
One was slowly walking down the middle of the aisle while the other Hell’s
Angel was walking down a side aisle. It had gotten still as death. All eyes
were focused on the two men dressed in black leather. I kept speaking as they
got closer. I was silently crying out. Finally, they were standing directly in
front of the pulpit—two devils in the pulpit—ready to drag me out
and make a spectacle of me--when the unexpected happened.
The power of God hit them (there’s no other way to say it) and they hit
the floor. Completely collapsed. I watched their knees buckle. Both were slain
in the Spirit and neither could get up. They lay there with their hands
covering their faces as if they expected someone to take a swing at them. I
stepped out of the pulpit, went down to where they were, stepped over them,
and announced, "…God is in this room…"
About that time, I heard someone say, "…I can see out of my eye…"
Bill Shaw stood up, "…my back was just healed…" I made
the announcement, "…if anyone wants to be prayed for, please come
forward…" Everyone got out of their seats!
I continued to minister and pray for the sick for a good twenty
minutes, working around the two Hell’s Angels who lay on the floor. Finally,
the Lord let them up. And Danny, a former member, took them outside and shared
the gospel.
Neither of them became believers, but they never bothered us again.
