Angry clouds and pounding rain threatened to cancel the Tuesday night rally at the Rick Gage “Go Tell” crusade at Belton Honea-Path High School. Just in time, however, the rain stopped, and the clouds gave way to sunny skies.
Thousands attended the “Go Tell” crusade May 20-23 at Belton Honea-Path High School.“It’s like a hole in the clouds,” marveled Joe Givens, a member of Second Baptist Church, Belton. “The Lord never ceases to amaze me.”
The four-night crusade, held May 20-23, was sponsored by more than 30 Anderson County churches.
As he welcomed an enthusiastic crowd, Chuck Sullivan, worship leader and program director for Go Tell Ministries, said, “God commands the winds and waves. What a show he has put on tonight.”
Guest evangelist Ken Freeman said more were present Tuesday than Monday night in spite of the inclement weather, and Gage said more than 6,000 had attended the previous two nights, with 424 spiritual decisions recorded – 237 for salvation. (By week’s end, 618 people had made decisions for salvation, according to Mike Moody, pastor of Honea Path First Baptist Church.)
Guest speaker for Tuesday night was Adrian Despres, chaplain for the University of South Carolina football team. After Sullivan and Joy Waters Fowler led the crowd in a time of musical praise, Despres challenged everyone to put their trust in God, then placed four chairs on the platform and informed the crowd each one of them was sitting in one of the chairs.
Those who are totally in love with Jesus occupy the first chair, said Despres. “People do crazy things when they’re in love. What crazy thing have you done for Jesus lately?”
The second chair is also occupied by believers, Despres said, but time has made them too accustomed to God, and they feel uncomfortable around people in the first chair. They are complacent and focused on themselves. A dangerous seat, it is occupied by “cats” who love to fight with each other.
More than 600 salvation decisions were made during the “Go Tell” crusade, which included preaching by evangelist Rick Gage.Temporarily skipping the third chair, Despres said people who know they aren’t Christians occupy the fourth chair and believe people in the first two chairs are hypocrites.
The third chair is the most dangerous and is the one that makes Satan look great, he said. People sitting there think they’re saved when they really aren’t. “They’re on their way to hell but don’t know it,” Despres said.
He ended his message with a challenge to those who knew they were sitting in the third and fourth chairs, followed by a challenge to those who knew they were in the second. He invited them to stand, kneel or lie on the football field and tell God they were repenting of their sins and were sick of their complacency.
Hundreds heeded his call and gathered on the field as lightning flashed around the perimeter.
But not a drop of rain fell on the Belton-Honea Path High School football field.