Chapter 7 – I Know Not Paul or Jesus but I’m Acquainted with You
Ling gave his wife a toothy smile and said, “Of course I heard you sweetheart. I’m a bit worried about today’s service at Hegel’s church. I can’t pretend not to know that I’m not a favorite topic among core Pentecostals. Oh, I forgot to tell you that he called last night to inform me that the ministration starts by 11a.m. instead of 9a.m. He said he needed time to prepare grounds for me. I understand that to mean that some form of opposition has reared its head. I’m not bordered though. Even Jesus wasn’t a favorite of the religious Jews of his time.
As to your question on what we should give our host and his spouse, I don’t believe we have much of a choice. You ought to have brought that up in Hong Kong knowing…..”
Yan sighed and cut in, “That was remiss of me sweetheart. I was too busy preparing for the trip to remember to pick souvenirs for them. We still have two copies of your Financial Bible. I could add the new shawl I picked up in Dubai for Hegel’s wife.”
Ling nodded and said, “That’s okay. Who knows, we may end up killing two birds with one stone. Hegel’s a very popular pastor. Giving him the Bible could open more doors for its distribution in Stuttgart and other cities in Germany. God works in a miraculous way all the time but few discern His moves in the routines of everyday life. Let’s spice that up with some of my cassettes. I believe we have enough to extend to pastors and deacons. Hegel can reproduce and sell to other members if he so wish.
By the way, sweetheart, did you pack my pink handkerchief for the special ministration? His wife arched her brow and said, “Take it easy with me darling. Is this grilling because I forgot the souvenirs? Of course, I packed all your ministry materials myself. If you need to check them out, you’d better do so because your German representative, Klein should be coming in anytime from now to convey them to the church.
Although Ling picked the irritation in her voice, he decided to ignore it. Petting women had never been one of his strong points. This generated some uneasy moments in their early years of marriage, but he felt he needed to weather that storm to enjoy a marriage free from hypocrisy. In fact, he’d always been his own man right from his secondary school days. This fetched him a lot of punishment but he held his ground and became the better for it.
When he gave his life to Christ in his final year in the university, his love for independence fired his zeal to explore the riches of Christ beyond what some of his critics termed ‘acceptable boundaries.’ He had cause to challenge one of his teachers at the Episcopal Bible School in Hong Kong to define the boundaries of Jesus’ ministry while he was on earth. When the school couldn’t contain his radicalism, its Director, Sui Kim called him to his office and returned the fee his parents paid for the entire term. To other believers in the school, he was infected with spiritual HIV/AIDS!
He was too glad to leave the school despite the pains it brought his parents. After spending three months at home, he got another admission into a Bible College in neighboring Hanoi. He’d taken time to study the philosophy of its founder, Lin Cheng and it suited his temperament. It was there that he found his niche in Christendom and evolved into an icon of what he liked to describe as ‘frontier Christianity.’
A knock on the door signaled the arrival of Klein and two burly looking young men. Klein introduced them as members of the security unit of the church. Yan led the way as the trio moved from room to room to clear the ministry materials.
As the entourage left the hotel, Ling buzzed Hegel on his pager. He needed to be sure that all was set for him to make a grand entry. He’d always frowned at the conduct of some pastors who belittled their exalted offices by pretending to be more humble than the Lord Jesus himself. Did the Lord not ride into Jerusalem with pomp and pageantry? He grinned when he saw the reply from his host. Of course, the coast was clear!
The ride to the church was uneventful and they arrived in less than twenty minutes. His host and the entire pastorate were waiting at the foyer of the church along with the press corps. His ministry had always attracted the press and he loved every bit of the publicity. He took his wife’s hand as they were introduced to the pastors by Hegel.
The formalities took precisely five minutes. With a satisfied smile, Hegel led the way into the thirty thousand capacity auditorium. The applause that greeted the entrance of the men of God and their entourage was deafening. Hegel walked over to the podium and signaled to the choir to render a special number in honour of the August visitor. As the noise abated, he led his guests to their seats.
The moment the choir finished its rendition, Hegel climbed the podium again to introduce his guest and his wife. The air was thick with expectancy borne out of newspaper reports of Ling’s exploits in Munich. The controversy surrounding his person and ministry did not diminish the cult of personality fuelled by miracles that attended his ministry.
The two men embraced as the choir sang the refrain of a popular gospel song, ‘My Redeemer Lives’. The atmosphere was already charged as Hegel handed the microphone to his guest and returned to his seat. Ling was joined on the stage by his personal interpreter, Wilhelm Hurst, a German based in Hong Kong. Both men held hands and prayed before Ling brought out his special handkerchief. He waved it for about two minutes before he inserted it in his Bible placed on the podium. A pin dropped silence enveloped the hall.
Ling walked briskly to the edge of the altar and thundered, “I come as an Ambassador of Jesus Christ my Lord, with a message of hope and deliverance for those who need a special touch. Open up your spirit and let God have his way in this place. I know many of you here are skeptics. God does not lend himself to scrutiny by mere men.
You won’t receive any help if you don’t come trusting. In a short while, I’ll pass round some items that have touched my body. As you touch them, by faith key into the anointing God has been so kind to deposit in me. I assure you that your lives will never be the same if you believe that Christ himself is here to destroy your bondage as he did for Lazarus.”
He turned in the direction of the choir and said, “Receive the anointing to worship the Lord with new songs.” As he stretched his hand over them, the choristers fell backwards without any trampling on the other. Ling merely smiled and walked back to the podium. From there, he beckoned on Klein and his team of helpers to join him on the altar with some of his ministry materials. He picked twenty pink handkerchiefs and touched his forehead with each before handing them over to the workers to pass around to worshippers.
Seated on the front row close to the podium with other pastors, Khan and the Youth Pastor, Louis Goldberg exchanged glances. Both had agreed to be at alert in order not to partake of the strange spirit they believed operated in the life of Ling. Although three seats separated them, their body language communicated resistance to the ministration that was about to commence.
On the balcony overlooking the podium, the two friends, Freud and Reinhardt sat with stony faces. They’d decided to attend the service at the last minute due to pressure from their spouses. Freud in particular buried his head in a Bible on his lap. He ignored several disapproving glances his wife cast his way. Well, that’s her headache, he mused. His conviction about the visiting pastor was strengthened by a scripture the Holy Spirit gave him shortly before he left home for the service.
He’d been pondering on the seeming successes of Ling and his ilk when he felt led to read the New Living Translation of Mark chapter 13, verse 22. It says, “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.” The moment he read the scripture, he put a call through to his buddy, Reinhardt and both of them agreed to petition God to spare the flock at Christ the Redeemer Ministries the pollution they were sure Ling represented.
He read the Bible with so much concentration that he didn’t hear Ling invite those with special needs to join him at the altar. When he raised his head, the pews were almost empty. His wife turned to look at him with imploring eyes but he silenced her with an icy stare. He knew she wanted him to seek healing for the gallstone that had troubled him for more that five years. He’d rather die than allow an agent of the devil deposit darkness in his body. He hummed a tune to himself and returned to his Bible.
Back on the pulpit, Ling draped a red handkerchief round his neck, his trademark for healing and deliverance ministrations. He took six steps backwards before turning around to face the line of seats occupied by the pastors. There was total silence except for soft tunes from the piano. As he whirled around, the handkerchief flew from his neck and dropped at the feet of a gaunt looking man seated on the front row reserved for octogenarians.
As the man bent down to pick it, apparently to return it to the pastor, he keeled backwards and collapsed in a heap. Church workers ran to attend to him but met with the same fate. It wasn’t long before the entire congregation was swept along with the tide of the influence emanating from Ling. In fact, the workers who were still in control of their faculties were overwhelmed and could not do much to restore order.
About forty minutes into the high drama, Ling began to call out healings. In time, the line of testifiers snaked from the altar round the auditorium. Many claimed to have received creative miracles such as replacement of deceased limbs, toes etc. The elderly man through whom the spirit spread through the entire church claimed he had been healed of leukemia. In the midst of the applause, a regal looking woman pushed her way through the throng of testifiers and ran up to the altar.
With tears of joy streaming down her eyes, she embraced the flustered elderly gentleman. Both whirled around with joy. When she had control of herself, she told the congregation that the man that had been healed of leukemia was her former husband. She said their marriage deteriorated when the sickness defied both medical and spiritual interventions. Eventually both of them went their separate ways but she hadn’t forgotten her first love and had prayed for God to heal her husband’s body and their marriage.
While she was still talking, Ling took her right hand and placed the palm on her husband’s head. He then asked her to pray for him. The moment her hand made contact with his body, the old gentleman started shaking uncontrollably. It was a sight to behold. The congregation gave its seal of approval through the applause that rang out across the auditorium.
On the pastors’ gallery, Paul took everything in without as much as a smile. He wasn’t surprised by all the commotion. He was convinced that God wasn’t the initiator of the entire charade. Nothing would shake his conviction even if Ling raised the death. He knew without doubt that Satan was at his best when he tried to pretend to be God. With his chin in his right palm, he gave a yawn and stretched out his legs.
He wished he could just pick up his Bible and leave but knew God wouldn’t sanction his disrupting the service to make a point. He turned behind him and was gratified to see Finn Huber engrossed in his Bible. He’d been attracted to Huber right from the first day they met. He was convinced the Holy Spirit initiated the union. He was therefore not surprised when Hegel took a dislike to the guy at first sight. Indeed, light and darkness operate at different realms!
About 3.15pm, exactly two hours into the healing service, Ling signaled the choir to render a special number he’d practiced with them the previous day. After that, he announced that he would meet with those who desired to give their lives to Jesus Christ by 5p.m.
Before handing over the microphone to a visibly elated Hegel, Ling said, “I want to advise those coming for the evening service to empty themselves of all biases. There’s nothing obsolete about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some people would want us to drink from the same well with our forebears but God desires to do a new thing in our generation. Don’t be deceived into believing that God has stopped communicating new things to us. I’m telling you this to prepare your mind for the message God has entrusted me to proclaim to this generation.”
As is customary, Hegel embraced his guest and escorted him to his seat before returning to the podium. He walked to the edge of the altar and said, “How many of us have been touched by this powerful ministration?” Hands shot up all over the auditorium. With a smile of satisfaction, he said, “Let’s show our appreciation by giving our guest a Stuttgart ‘danke!’(Meaning ‘thanks!’). The noise was deafening as worshippers shouted their thanks in their native tongue. It was electrifying.
When the noise died down, Hegel turned in the direction of the pastors’ gallery and said, “It’s important that all church workers turn up for the evening service. I believe there’s much all of us here will learn from God’s great Ambassador in our midst. Some of us believe we know all there’s to know about God and that fuels our arrogance.
I’ve benefited so much from sitting under the feet of the great Apostle of our generation. Those of you that have been healed or received a touch from God today should come to the church office tomorrow to have your testimonies documented for publication in Christianity Today. Let’s stand up for the benediction.
As the crowd filed out of the auditorium, Paul caught the eyes of Goldberg and both smiled. They knew Hegel’s closing remarks were targeted at them.