A man in Haridwar District in India had been under the care of a local doctor for advanced liver disease. The disease had progressed to the point where the man was very jaundiced and could not even sit up in bed to receive water and food. He was totally confined to his bed. The doctor told him, “I am sorry, Sir, but there is nothing else I can do to help you. You need to get ready to die.”
However, a member of this man’s family had recently gone to a Feeding Event in their village, where he became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. He heard the gospel and saw people healed who were prayed over in the name of Jesus, the Son of God. The preacher of that Feeding Event was our Elijah Challenge-trained Missionary Mange Singh, so the family member called Mange and asked him to come pray over the man who was about to die.
Feeding Events India provides ministry training to all the pastors in our network. Mange had been previously trained and, as a busy missionary pastor, he had grown in his faith to the point that he was not intimidated by situations that look to be impossible. He has the kind of faith that Paul mentions in Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (NLT)
When the pastor arrived, the man was dying, literally knocking at death’s door. He was very jaundiced with yellow skin and eyes, and he was so weak he could not sit up in his bed. The sick man and some close members of his family believed what the doctor said, so they had gathered together to say goodbye and were waiting for him to die. But then the man of God, started telling them about Jesus and boldly ministered to the dying man in Christ’s name.
Even though this family is religious and their Hindu priest had already sincerely prayed for their relative in the name of his god, the man was still dying. Besides Pastor Mange and the new believer who had asked him to come, no other member of this family had ever heard about Jesus. That was about to change.
Testimony of Elijah Challenge-trained
Missionary Pastor Mange Singh
By faith Pastor Mange rebuked the liver disease and the jaundice in Jesus’ name, and told the man to sit up. Imagine the surprise of this family when this dying man, who was almost unresponsive, did as he was commanded. The Lord completely healed the man and he was able to take water and food to restore his strength.
They had seen this miracle with their own eyes, yet the family was skeptical and doubted their relative had really been healed. They called the doctor to tell him what had happened. The Hindu doctor insisted that they bring the man in for an examination. Sure enough, upon examination the doctor confirmed that the man had been totally healed. Even the jaundice had disappeared. He was shocked. Never had the doctor heard of or seen anyone healed through the power of the name of Jesus, so he called Pastor Mange and questioned him. “By what magic did you heal this man?” Mange responded, “Doctor, it was not by magic, it was by the power of Jesus’ name that this man was healed.”
Feeding Events India requires that all network pastors attend our Joshua School of Evangelism, where they study God’s word and are taught how to serve as Missionary Pastors—which includes The Elijah Challenge Training. They learn how to minister miraculous healing as the early disciples did in Acts to demonstrate to the lost and gospel-resistant that our God is the only true God and that Jesus is the only way to Him.
The challenges they face are huge compared to what pastors face here in America. They are poor and most of the pastors have had no formal biblical training, so we stress the importance of knowing the gospel, believing the scripture and relying on the Holy Spirit. Through The Elijah Challenge Training we train these disciples the way Jesus trained his disciples in the gospels, by word and demonstration, and only then do we send them out to be Christ’s disciples in their communities.
The Elijah Challenge in North India
This report is just one example of what the Holy Spirit does through these disciples as they set out to expand God’s kingdom. They truly bring the kingdom of God near to those who welcome them (Luke 10: 9-10). One miracle often results in whole families accepting Christ. That is what happened when this man was healed of terminal liver disease. Perhaps the doctor will soon become a believer and follower of Christ. He was so impressed that he told Pastor Mange he wanted to send his terminally ill patients to him for prayer. Hopefully this doctor will do exactly that.
If this were an isolated event we might doubt that the Holy Spirit actually healed this man, but it is not an isolated event. Many other evangelical ministries, including Christ In You and other conservative denominational missions groups are experiencing the same thing in India. We have been privileged to see God heal and set captives free in every one our Feeding Events and it’s not limited to just our Feeding Events.
Just as it was the first time Jesus sent out his disciples in Luke 9 and 10 and then later in the book of Acts, the gospel is being preached with great boldness and with the explosive power of the Holy Spirit as he confirms the gospel. As a result of what God is doing, Christianity is growing faster in India than any other country, including China. Unfortunately this fact has not gone unnoticed by the government. Neither has it gone unnoticed by our enemy, the accuser of the brethren, and those under his control.
Information about Haridwar (From Wikipedia)
Haridwar is regarded as one of the seven holiest places (Sapta Puri) to Hindus. According to the Samudra manthan,[2] Haridwar along with Ujjain, Nashik and Prayag (Allahabad) is one of four sites where drops of Amrit, the elixir of immortality, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda.
This is manifested in the Kumbha Mela being celebrated every 3 years in one of the 4 places, and thus every 12 years in Haridwar. Amidst the Kumbha Mela, millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists congregate in Haridwar to perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of the river Ganges to wash away their sins to attain Moksha. Rahma Kund, the spot where the Amrit fell, is located at Har ki Pauri (literally, “footsteps of the Lord”) and is considered to be the most sacred ghat of Haridwar.
These pictures show Hindus trying to wash away their sins in the “holy” Ganges River and two Hindu priests that earn their living praying to their gods on behalf of the people. Into this culture of pagan worship God has strategically placed Missionary Pastor Mange Singh. He has been threatened and beaten for the sake of the gospel, but God’s grace has sustained him. Now Mange is one of our three Missionary Evangelists doing Feeding Events, starting new village churches and Bible studies. The man who was healed of liver disease had his sins washed away when he accepted Christ. He no longer relies on washing himself in the Ganges to attain Moksha (forgiveness). Out of concern for his personal safety we cannot show his picture or give his name. He is but one of thousands who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ in Haridwar at one of our evangelistic Feeding Events.
Prepared by Bill and Sammye Willis
Founders, Feeding Events India
May 2015
(Bill Willis is an Elijah Challenge Board Member)