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September HeartBeat

By DAVID Watterson

again, CMA, you have left us speechless! And for those of you who know me, you know that this is quite a feat! Standing on that stage this past June was, once again, a moment when there were so many emotions, so many thoughts, and so much praise that it left me momentarily dumbfounded. Your commitment to taking the Gospel into all the world, to having an impact on so many countries, on so many pastors and believers, is little short of God-inspired!

At that moment, I actually recalled the story of Elijah standing by the altar in 1 Kings 18. He had challenged the prophets of Baal to see whose God was more powerful. The prophets of Baal did everything they could to call down fire to consume their offering to no avail. Even after Elijah mocked them, their God was nowhere to be found. But then it was Elijah ' s turn!

1 Kings 18:30-38( NKJV) says,“ Then Elijah said to all the people,‘ Come near to me.’ So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying,‘ Israel shall be your name.’ Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of

seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said,’ Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.’ Then he said,‘ Do it a second time,’ and they did it a second time; and he said,‘ Do it a third time,’ and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said,‘ Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.’

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.” Elijah prepared his sacrifice, and before he did anything else, he had the altar surrounded by a trench filled with water. Then he had them drench the altar not once, not twice, but three times before he called upon the Lord God of Heaven. And then what happened? Fire immediately fell from Heaven and consumed the bull, the stones,

the altar, the water, and even the water in the trench!

Why did I think of that while I stood there on stage? Because I immediately knew that no amount of water could drench the power of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that was in that room that warm night in June. You set a new record for Run for the Son because you were obedient in what God has called you to do, and you were faithful to your brothers and sisters around the world! Why should I be surprised when God shows up and answers, not just my prayers, not just your prayers, but the prayers of the thousands upon thousands of believers who are persecuted, alone, scared, beaten, tortured, and struggling to survive!

As Elijah ' s story passed through my mind, I saw something in the crowd. Not … literally, but formatively. Maybe supernaturally? Like a special effect in a movie, I saw people gathered around that space on Iron Mountain who were not really there. Not people in CMA patches, but more in a spectral sense. Very much like a cloud of witnesses. I saw believers from every county, every language, and every tribe gathered around us and standing with us.

This“ cloud of witnesses” stood with us, celebrated with us, and laughed and cried with us. I think I“ saw” this because God wanted to remind me that there is only one church. There is only one Savior,

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