Smoke Shop Miracles: When Divine Power Meets Human Flaws

Healing doesn't wait for perfection. That's the profound message at the heart of this episode where I share the remarkable journey of a woman in our congregation who experienced God's healing touch three Sundays in a row—first her hips, then her knees, and finally her neck.

But the story doesn't end with her receiving healing. After attending my Encounters class where she learned to identify words of knowledge and minister healing to others, something extraordinary happened. While standing in line at a smoke shop—yes, still battling addictions to cigarettes and alcohol—she suddenly experienced excruciating neck pain. Recognizing it as a word of knowledge rather than a personal ailment, she turned to two women behind her and asked if they had neck pain. Both confirmed they did, amazed that she somehow knew. Stepping out in faith despite her imperfections, she prayed for them as she'd been taught, and both received instant healing.

What moves me most about this testimony is how it illuminates God's grace. "The Lord does not look at our sin as much as we do," I explain. If God withheld His gifts until we achieved moral perfection, none of us would qualify for ministry. Instead, the Scripture tells us "the gifts and callings are without repentance." God's healing power flows through willing vessels, regardless of their flaws. While I'm committed to helping this woman find freedom from her addictions, I'm equally moved by how God is already using her right where she is. Are you willing to let God use you despite your imperfections? Perhaps that's precisely where His power shines most brightly. Reach out to Rivergate Church at 918-492-5511 if you'd like me to share more testimonies and teaching at your church or conference.

Chapters

• 0:00 Linda's Healing Ministry Introduction
• 0:40 Three-Week Healing Testimony
• 1:24 Smoke Shop Divine Encounter
• 2:05 Grace Despite Our Shortcomings
• 3:33 Invitation to Connect

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, I'm Linda Budd. I'm a pastor at Rivergate Church in Tulsa, oklahoma, and I take the scriptures literally. That says that we are to lay hands on the sick and see them recover. And so for several years I've gone after a healing anointing. I've prayed for people dozens of times over the years and I see so many get healed. I've seen all manner of sickness and disease healed. If you have any pain in your body, if you're infirmed, if you have any disease, if you have any sickness at all, I just reach my hand up to heaven right now in the name of Jesus and I call forth the new body part that you need. Listen to this testimony.

Speaker 1: 0:43

A woman who is new in our ministry has been coming for about the last month to our services. On her first Sunday we were not there. We were out ministering but our daughter was preaching and this woman got her hips healed. The second Sunday I was back, got a word of knowledge for knees and she got her knees healed. And then on the third Sunday she was back again and I got a word of knowledge for neck problems and she got her neck healed. She was in my encounters class and she learned how to get words of knowledge herself and how to heal the sick by watching me and and by practicing, and so she reported this to me on Sunday. She said that after the encounter service, that she wanted some cigarettes and some alcohol. I didn't know that she was still addicted to these things, and she said she went to the local smoke shop. While standing in line, she suddenly got horrific pain in her neck and she said she knew it was a word of knowledge, like I had been teaching in encounters. And so she turned around and asked the people behind her. There were two people One was a woman and I believe the other one was a woman also, do you have pain in your neck? And both of them said yes. And they said how do you know this? And she said well, the Lord has shown me through a word of knowledge. And so then she then proceeded to pray for them in the very same fashion that I teach, and both of these people got instantly healed.

Speaker 1: 2:17

Now praise God that the Lord does not look at our sin as much as we do, does not look at our sin as much as we do. Our sin often holds us back from ministering, but this woman, she stepped out and she ministered and it wasn't as if she had a choice. She said the pain that came to her neck as a word of knowledge was so bad she just wanted to get rid of it. But I just praise God that he doesn't look at all of my sin and says that you are not qualified, but instead that he has grace and mercy and that the gifts and callings are without repentance, because if they weren't, there wouldn't be one of us that would be able to minister. And I praise God that this person that was in my class in my church and received all this healing, that the Lord is using her in spite of her sin, and that people were helped. And I do believe that this woman will get deliverance from her cigarettes and from her alcohol and I know that I will help her work on that now, in the name of Jesus. Aren't these just great testimonies of the goodness of God and the healing power of Jesus Christ?

Speaker 1: 3:33

If you are interested in having me come and speak at the motivational event, your church or a conference of some sort, I am more than happy to consider that invitation. Conference of some sort I am more than happy to consider that invitation. Please contact my church's office, rivergate Church, tulsa, 918-492-5511, and we'll see if we can set something up. God bless you.