And God said, “I am going to have you fast because I’m going to show you that I am enough for you.” He said, “I want you to go on a juice fast for three days, and I am going to sustain you. I am going to show you that I am enough.” And He said, “Your focus isn’t going to be to lose weight this time. Your focus is going to be to be joined with Me.” He said, “I am going to meet every need that food’s ever met in your life, and I am going to let you have My presence.”
Because, you know, when you have repentance, you enter into God’s presence. And it’s just a turning of our heart. It’s not a work’s thing, it’s a turning of our heart. I said, “God, forgive me.” I saw it. And so at that point, He said, “Stop weighing yourself, stop dieting.” He healed my metabolism. I went on the fast for three days.
And He said, “Now I’m going to teach you to eat until you’re satisfied, not until you’re uncomfortable, not until you’re gorged. And, also, when you pray before you eat, you’re going to offer up your food with thanksgiving as a sacrifice. And you’re going to say, God, this food, You’ve provided it for me. It’s a good thing. It’s not something I lust after. It’s something that equips me and strengthens me.”
And so I offered my prayer. I started to use my faith when I prayed over my food. And I tell you what, we have been married for 15 years now, we have four children, and at that time, He said, “I’m going to tell you what you should weigh,” because, see, Hollywood can’t tell me what I should weigh. God made me. You know, He knows what I should weigh. And He said, “I’m going to tell you what you should weigh.” And He gave me a figure. He said, “You should weigh,” and He told me I should weigh 116. Now I thought I should weigh 103, because I had such a weird concept of what normal was.
And so I wrote that down in my Bible, and I went four weeks of just eating until I was satisfied and just fellowshipping with the Lord and not dieting and not concentrating. And on the day that we got married, I weighed myself and I was 116. I had dropped like 25 pounds in like three weeks. God just totally balanced my system out.
RR: Wonderful book. A brand-new book, The Fear of the Lord. Discover the key to intimately knowing God and fear in terms of reverence.
J: Reverential fear.
LR: John wants me to have that book.
RR: And then, of course, Lisa’s books. Lindsay has endorsed one of these books, Out of Control and Loving It. And this is the Christian Bookseller’s 1996 book of the year, is that right?
L: It was one of the CBA ones.
RR: One of the CBA books of the year.
J: It’s number five in the nation this month.
RR: It is? As well as a brand-new book, The True Measure of a Woman. And we’re going to share about how you can get a copy of these books. But, John, one of the things that you deal with in your book on The Bait of Satan is offenses and how to deal with unforgiveness, how to deal with bitterness. And Jesus said if you have ought against your brother, you know, when you come to pray, go and make it right. If you don’t forgive, then God won’t forgive you. How does a person, how does a Christian who has offenses, they’ve been hurt, they’ve been stabbed in some way and they don’t know how to get over it and then it turns into unforgiveness, it turns into bitterness, it turns into anger, it turns into hatred, it just gets worse and worse and worse, how does a person deal with that?
J: Well, you’ve got to deal with it. The first way a person can deal with it is to realize what they’ve been forgiven of. A person, a Christian, let’s deal with a Christian tonight, a Christian that cannot forgive is a Christian that’s forgotten what they’ve been forgiven of. Jesus tells us a parable in Matthew, because Peter came and said, “My brother sins against me seven times and I forgive him, is that enough?” And Peter thought he was being magnanimous.
RR: Maybe he wanted to hit him on the eighth time.
J: Yeah, that’s what he was saying, because they lived under eye- for-eye, tooth-for-tooth. You hit me, I hit you. And he though Jesus was going to say, “Oh, Peter, you got it. Blessed you are.” But Jesus looks at him and says, “Not seven times seven, seventy times seven.” And in Luke’s gospel He said, “In a day.” Now that’s 490 times in one day. Now if I was to sin against you 490 times in one day, I’d have to do it once every three minutes,provided you and I don’t go to sleep. That’s heavy duty. And Jesus said, “Look, let me tell you a parable, Peter. Make sure you get this. You have a servant that owes this king $4.5 billion.” I’m going to shorten this. That’s an unpayable debt. What we owed God was an unpayable debt. Jesus chose to forgive us before we ever said, “I am sorry.” Now this is what Christians don’t understand. I’ve heard so many believers say to me, “I’ll forgive them when they say I’m sorry.” Well, if Jesus were to have done that with us, He never would have forgiven us from the cross. He hung from the cross and said, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” And He was not only speaking to them, but He was speaking to us in generations down passed.
And on the island they found an upright broken-down piano from the casino there. And that was the only one that’s on the island. So they bring it out to this village and place it in this huge school room. And here are 500 little Haitian kids surrounding me and I’m playing and they’re sitting there like awed, they’d never heard these sounds before. And then when I was through they were reaching out to touch me and to hold on to me. And my wife Cheryl was there and they were just reaching out just to and if that doesn’t do anything to you. These are little children that are, that do not have food to be fed. I mean, the poverty is incredible, and to be able to go down there and not just share my talent, but also be able to take a piece of bread and just hand it to them and say, “This is for you, representing the Christians of the United States of America.”
SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS Well, but you’re doing more than that, Dino. You’re getting involved in bringing medical help to the people through the hospital. Now I understand your vision because, as you well know, that’s what our vision is, to take medical missions to the nations of the earth. So I understand what you’re talking about.
SPKM DINO KARTSONAKIS You know, for years people have seen me play the piano and perform and wear all these wonderful outfits, etc., you know, and they say, that guy has got it made and he goes from one auditorium to the next, one church to the next, you know, and perform every night in spotlights and what have you. But there’s so much more to it. You know, as Christians it’s not just an entertaining element. We are to minister. We are called as missionaries and I am called. I am called and I have a burden on my heart. Glad Tidings Tabernacle, the little church I was born and raised at in New York City, that’s still there on Toidy-toid Street 33rd , you know, in New York City. We had a pastor that had a missions heart and I was raised with a missionary heart.
And again, not just till recently were we able to go down at the Haitian Community Hospital. And I flew in midnight last night, took five flights to get here. I must really love you, Richard. And, anyway, I got here. Cheryl and I arrived and we feel refreshed this morning with a victory in our hearts because we handed to them a check for $32,000 to complete the wing of that hospital, the radiation department.
And we praise God for that and for people who have given like this letter right here, it’s so inspiring. God has blessed the United States of America because of people like this who have given from their hearts, that’s why God has blessed us. And He will continue to bless us if we continue to give.
SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS And when you open up your heart and when you give, then the Bible says God responds to your giving. Now He describes how He responds to your giving. The Bible says when you give, He will open you the windows of heaven and He will pour you out a blessing where there shall not be room enough to receive it. And He will rebuke the devourer, the devil, for your sake. (Malachi_03:10-11 ) I’ve got good news, God does not need the devourer rebuked. You and I are the ones who need the devourer rebuked. And whenever I face a situation, Don and Dino, where I need the devourer rebuked, the first thing I think of is that Scripture where God told me what to do.
He said, “When you give, I will open you those windows of heaven.” Whenever I feel like my windows in heaven and I’ve got windows up there and so do you and so do you whenever I feel like my windows are shut, I realize that God didn’t shut them, I did. And I realize if I want them open I’ve got to give. And then when I need the devourer rebuked, I know that when I give, God’s going to do it because His Word is true. God’s Word is true, He cannot lie. The Bible says, “He is not a man that he should lie.” (Numbers 23:19 ) God has given us a formula and when we work with His formula, then He multiplies it back to us. And like this person said, I want to double my giving. He said, “I want to double my giving every year.” And I just got a letter from a man in Philadelphia who had just sown a very large seed for our medical missions project. And he said to me, “I’ve got a problem.” And I thought, you know, I’m ready to pray. And he began to laugh. And I said, “You’re laughing, but why are you laughing, you say you have a problem?” He said, “I have a problem. Every time I give money to you, I get money back.” And I said, “Well, what’s the problem?” He said, “I just gave you this large gift.” I said, “Yes, I know.” He said, “The Internal Revenue Service just contacted me and told me that I have a tax refund for almost three times what I gave you, unexpected.” He said, “My problem is, when I give you money I get more money back than I know what to do with.” I said, “Well, I can alleviate you of some of that problem.” But you cannot outgive God.
SPKM DINO KARTSONAKIS You can’t.
RR: And I wanted to call and to share this testimony with you to let you know that the healing ministry that God called you into is still alive and well.
LR: Hallelujah!
OR: Well, no doubt I’ll run into her on one of my plane trips and we’ll get her testimony face to face.
RR: You mean you’re still traveling a little bit?
OR: I’m telling you, I’m traveling ocean to ocean, border to border, preaching 45 weekends a year, and praying for the sick all over this country and seeing miracles. Last Sunday I saw some of the greatest miracles of my ministry. Oh, my goodness, God is on the move.
RR: Oh, I’m so thrilled. Dad, we’ve had so many wonderful testimonies already tonight, testimonies of healing. I wish you’d stretch forth your hand right now where you are because I know there’s no distance in prayer. God’s where you are, God’s where we are, and God’s where everyone is who is watching this program literally worldwide through the Internet and through all the stations that we’re on. I’d like to as you to pray a prayer of faith tonight over people’s lives.
OR: Well, Richard, as I get ready to pray and each person who is listening who wants prayer gets ready to receive my prayer, let me briefly share with you what God has been dealing with me about. He is letting me know that healing is coming back big time, big time. There was a period of years when it seemed to subside somewhat. During the height of my healing ministry, mine and that of many others, it soared throughout the world. And now it is gathering steam. It is roaring like a cyclone, and God is saying to me He’s going to do mighty things, even to creative miracles.
And that was a creative miracle about that child’s head, usually what was commonly called by doctors as a water head. And I’ve prayed for thousands of them through the years and continue to do so. But now you who are ready to receive my healing prayer, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, you receive my prayer as I am an instrument of God himself. God is the healer, but He works through instruments. His call is upon my life to come to you in His Son’s name by the Holy Spirit and to pray for God to heal you, to set you free, to command the devil to take his hands off God’s property you.
You foul, tormenting disease, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, come out. You come out. Come out. And I feel the mighty power of God flowing through me, coming toward you right now. Open up your spirit. Start praising God. Start thanking Him. I am being healed. I am being healed. I am being healed. Oh, I feel that anointing upon me, Richard, as I’ve felt so many thousands of times during these 50 years. And as I feel in this hour of healing that you and Lindsay are embarking on in Jesus’ name. So, my friend, lift up your heart. Lift up your hands and give God praise. Healing is moving in you now. Amen and amen.
RR: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Cheryl Salem, where are you? Come over right now, for there’s a healing flow right now, Cheryl. There’s a healing flow. Let healing flow. Sing it, Cheryl, as the anointing of God is falling. Let healing flow.
CS: Singing “Let Healing Flow.”
RR: Let healing flow, let healing flow, let healing flow. Cheryl, that’s the word tonight — let healing flow. Say it with me, everybody. Let healing flow. You at home say it with us. Let healing flow. Say it again. Let healing flow. Somebody said to me, Lindsay and Cheryl, “Why a nightly healing program?” Let me tell you why. Because people need to have the healing touch of Jesus in their life. People are looking for the supernatural everywhere, Bob. They’re looking for the supernatural, and they don’t know where to find it. They’re going through all types of shenanigans to get it
J: Yeah, that’s what he was saying, because they lived under eye- for eye, tooth for tooth. You hit me, I hit you. And he thought Jesus was going to say, “Oh, Peter, you got it. Blessed you are.” But Jesus looks at him and says, “Not seven times seven, seventy times seven.” And in Luke’s gospel He said, “In a day.” Now that’s 490 times in one day. Now if I was to sin against you 490 times in one day, I’d have to do it once every three minutes, provided you and I don’t go to sleep. That’s heavy duty.
And Jesus said, “Look, let me tell you a parable, Peter. Make sure you get this. You have a servant that owes this king $4.5 billion.” I’m going to shorten this. That’s an un payable debt. What we owed God was an un payable debt. Jesus chose to forgive us before we ever said, “I am sorry.” Now this is what Christians don’t understand. I’ve heard so many believers say to me, “I’ll forgive them when they say I’m sorry.” Well, if Jesus were to have done that with us, He never would have forgiven us from the cross. He hung from the cross and said, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” And He was not only speaking to them, but He was speaking to us in generations down passed. So if a person says, “I’ll forgive them when they come and say I’m sorry,” they’re holding on to un forgiveness, which will eventually develop as a root of bitterness, which will fuel sickness and disease. And we’ll get into that in a minute.
But the reason a person cannot forgive is because they’ve forgotten what they’ve been forgiven of. We deserve now let me tell you what you and I deserve, every one of us we deserved hell. When Adam sinned against God, the Father could have looked at the Son and said, “They disobeyed us. They chose the devil. Let them all ago to hell. We’re going to go over and create another universe and create somebody that really loves us.” But God chose when we didn’t deserve it, to send His Son. And Jesus left glory and came, and He died on the cross for us when we did not deserve it. Now a Christian that does not realize what he’s been forgiven of as a Christian doesn’t have a revelation of hell. I wish every believer could see hell for 30 seconds.