Always Tried and Proven (28 page)

    Callie looked up at the man, and smiled sweetly in response. She put her arm around the man’s neck, and turned to press her body fully against his.  She lifted her face to him in obvious invitation.  He immediately responded, and Callie let him kiss her.

    The feeling that went through Sam’s breast as the man lingered over Callie’s mouth and kissed her again, was something he’d never experienced.  It was enough to kill him.  He could see the intent in the man’s eyes.  His very stance spoke of his lust for Callie. 

     She hadn’t been lying.  This greasy, slick slug would put it to her if she so much as crooked her little finger.  It was agonizingly obvious.  His hips subtly thrust into her, with an expression of his lust.

    Callie was thoroughly enjoying the attention.  She smiled up at the man with a very sexy come-on, and he responded like a bull in heat.  Sam felt bile rise up in his throat as the man put his tongue in Callie’s mouth.  Then he licked her lower lip with the disgusting thing.  A fat bead of spit dripped onto her soft, curving lip.

   Sam sat down in a chair, hard.  He would never have believed that Callie would really resort to this.  The pain was unexpectedly sharp, and went
very
deep.

     “Sam?  What’s the matter, are you all right?”  Sadie asked worriedly.

    “Not really.”  He admitted.  “Sadie, get the team in here.  I need every ounce of prayer I can get right now.”

     “Is it physical?  Sam, you look awful.  Is it your heart?”

    Sam squeezed his eyes closed.  “Yes, I guess it is my heart.  No, I’m not having a heart attack.  Just bring the team in, and pray.  Please, Sadie.  Don't ask questions.  Not now.  I can't explain yet, I'll fall … apart, if I try.”

    “All right, Sam.”  Sadie agreed immediately.  She called Sean over, and had him gather the team.  She herself never took a step away from Sam, never took her hand from his shoulder.  He was trembling, and a cold sweat had broken out on his brow.  It seemed to Sadie that Sam had fallen out of the desert he’d been stuck in, and dropped straight into a very dark night of the soul.  She had never seen him so undone.  Though she didn’t know what was wrong, she knew that it was indeed perilous.  Sam was obviously in very serious trouble.  She was grateful that Sam and she were backstage.  No one but the team should see Sam like this!  He was gray as a gravy boat, and the strain showed on his face.

     “Sam, can you tell me what it is about, at least?”  Sadie asked quietly.

     He shook his head.  “Callie.  You’ll see.”  Is all he would say.

   The prayer team gathered, and surrounded Sam with a hedge of vigilant prayer.  They prayed for strength.  Someone prayed that Sam be given blinders, and he had to smile.  That’s exactly what he’d need tonight, to make it through.

     “Sam,” Sadie prayed almost fearfully, “You'll have to try to detach yourself from your human heart, to get through this night.  Leave your personal misery behind you, and step up into the strength and the glory, in the realm of the Spirit.  Lean on the Holy Spirit tonight as you have never done before, and you will make it.  Reach into God and trust in His
promises
, not in what you see.”

    Sam nodded, and wiped his forehead and upper lip with his handkerchief.  Four or five of the team put their hands directly over Sam’s heart, and began to pray with violent insistence.

     Finally, he began to feel the heaviness lift; and the pain began to numb.  He thanked the team.  They moved to points around Sam, some distance away, but stood as warriors around him in a circle, facing outward, and continued to pray.

     Sadie looked up, and caught a glimpse of Callie sitting in the stands.  She was wearing a very clinging, sexy black dress with low cleavage and she looked like a glamor queen.  She was with a gorgeous man!  He was very sexy, and dressed in a sharp black suit with an expensive designer tie.  His wavy hair was cut cleanly, and shone under the lights.   His teeth were white, and polished.  He looked like some kind of expensive male model; and, he was obviously very intent on Callie.  She was looking very excited and pleased with herself. 

    Sadie caught her breath and felt the overwhelming betrayal, the pain and heartbreak that had hit Sam.  She could literally feel what he had felt when he’d seen Callie come in.  She watched the man kiss Callie, crushing her to his chest;  and anger burned through her like a fire.

     “
How dare she
?”  she seethed.

    “I don’t know.”  Sam answered tiredly.  “I really don’t know.  I guess she just doesn’t realize yet.  Sadie, tell the worship team to take their time, tonight.  I think I’m going to need time to pull myself together, and prepare.  If I get ready before they’re done, I’ll let them know.”

     “All right, Sam.  We will continue to pray.”

    Sam smiled and shook his head.  “Without you guys tonight, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.  Thanks.”

     Sadie hugged him soundly, willing herself not to cry.  “I'm so sorry, Sam.  This is all my fault.  I guess I just didn't know her!  I never dreamed she'd do something like this to you!  Oh, my God!”

    “Sadie, it’s all right.  I’m amazed that I let such a little thing undo me.”  He assured her.  “It doesn’t matter if she comes here with ten men.  I don’t care if she sleeps with the city of Montpelier.  I’m going to stand in faith for Callie.  Her coming here tells me she still cares about me.  I’m a fool for letting this undermine my faith.  I asked God to get her here, and I told Him I’d deal with any circumstances if He’d just do that much.  Well, He did His part, and now it’s time for me to do mine.  He’s faithful.  He’s going to deliver my wife right into my hands.  If not tonight, there will be another night.”

    “But Sam, how could you still even want her after this … this sadistic stunt!”  Sadie hissed indignantly.

     Sam shook his head.  “You know Callie.”  He reproved her gently.  “She’s just trying to get my goat.  If she weren’t interested in me, she’d be down in New York with this oily Casanova in her bed.  But she’s not.  She’s here in my tent with her sexiest dress on.  She’s not sleeping with that man; you can take it to the bank.”

    “She’s as miserable as I am, and she’s trying to force me to make a move.  Well, I won’t do it.  Not what she’s looking for, anyway.  But before this night is over, we’re going to be looking at a very different picture.”

     “You mark my words, Sadie.  God is going to hit her like a freight train tonight.  If and when she leaves this tent, she’s going to have a healthy respect for the Lord God Almighty.  Now, it’s time to start.  You get out there, and don’t you even look at her.  Just stand back and watch the hand of the Lord.”

   Tears sprang into Sadie’s eyes.  She hugged Sam soundly.  “I love you, Samuel.  You’re a great man, and
that girl
does
not
deserve you.”  She said miserably. 

     Then, she went out front.

    Sam found that it didn’t take so very long for him to be ready to take over the service.  His own words had bolstered his faith, and he was very deep in the Spirit when he went out front.

    “Yes, You are faithful, Lord.” He said in a whisper.  He kept his head up and walked tall as he went out into the midst of the worship team.  He had no idea of the impact he was having as he came toward the front.  He was in total communion with the Holy Spirit, and the glory of the Lord seemed to shine forth from his face, changing his countenance. 

     He was looking very sharp and trim in a dark green suit and white shirt, but his face was beautiful.  He looked somehow as an angel who had appeared in the wings of the stage and made its way through the worship team to the front.

    As the song that the team was singing ended, scattered applause began to ripple through the house, as Sam appeared.  But it soon became clear that he was completely unaware of their presence.  A murmur of wonder circled the tent; and soon a shout of praise, and a thunder of applause went up to heaven.  An air of expectancy flooded the tent.

     Everyone could see the glory of God pouring through this chosen vessel who stood before them.  Silence filled the tent, and lay heavily upon every person there.  Sam just stood at the front of the stage, with his hands clasped behind his back, and his head bowed.

    One by one, the worship team around him slowly sank to the floor.  Some were suddenly knocked over.  Some began to tremble violently, and then fell.  But the watching eye could see the hand of God moving across the stage, as one by one, His servants succumbed to His spirit. 

    Soon, only Samuel was left standing.  Still, he stood humble and silent, waiting.  The crowd was so still; it seemed everyone was holding their breath.

     Callie stared at Sam with tight lips, and tears behind her eyes.  It hurt to look at him.  God, how it hurt.  He looked so beautiful, so transparent.  So humble, and precious. 

   She suddenly felt little, and cheap.  Oh, it had been wrong, wrong! To bring Gregory here, to try to hurt Sam and make him jealous, was the most abhorrent thing she’d ever done!  He was so precious!  He was worth a thousand Gregorys.  She only wanted to throw Gregory off the bleachers, and run into Sam’s arms!   She felt sick in the pit of her gut, and it only grew stronger as the moments passed.

     She knew that if Sam had seen her with Gregory, it was already too late.  He would have gone already through the fire, and now would come out on the other side.  She saw his strength as she looked down upon him; yet it was not his own. God had filled Him, and now he was a man that Callie Wilson, with her childish ways and feminine wiles, could never touch again.  If he’d seen her tonight with Gregory, it was very simple.  She’d lost him for good, having chosen this course of action.  Her mother was so wise; why,
why
couldn't she for once, have listened?

    Pete, Shelly and Rose were staring transfixed at Sam.  Callie watched him, too; and they
all
saw the hand of God on this man.  They saw the mantle of power; of healing; of wisdom; of grace and mercy on his shoulders.

     At last, Sam looked up and let his clear eyes travel from one end of the tent to the other.  When he spoke, his voice was quiet and clear, but the strength of it was phenomenal.  It penetrated as though the people were simply empty vessels, just waiting for the voice to fill them.

    “You who would glorify the Lord God Most High.  He has come into His temple.  You who would serve Him, the time has come to lay down your lives.  For His manifest presence is coming back to His temple, to dwell in the power of His glory.  Say no more in your heart, ‘tomorrow’, for the very day has now come, beloved.”

     “There is a window of time for you to come forth and fulfill your destiny in God.  Though it is never too late, the time is short, and this is the day when fullness may be achieved.  If you wait too long, the Lord will put your intended mantle upon another.  You must be obedient.  You
must
not delay.”

     “Just as the virgins did not all prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom, so shall it be for those who do not have an ear to hear, tonight.  My son, I have been calling you.  Did you not hear me?  My daughter, I hand picked you!  Did you not sense my touch?  I brought you to this place, that you might receive your commission from Me.  And yet, you waste much time.”

     Sam closed his eyes.  “Peter.  My prophet, Peter.  Will you come?”

    To the shock of those around him, Peter Wilson fell out of his chair onto his face.  Rose and Shelly began to weep with silent joy and thanksgiving.

     Men and women all around the tent followed suit.  Sam called out name after name after name, and soon people were dropping out of their chairs as though dead, by the dozens.  Callie gripped the arms of her mother and her escort, but it did not stop the Holy Spirit from toppling her onto her face.  And Sam did not even speak her name.

     “You do not know the urgency, the seriousness of this hour.  Come and seek My face.  Seek My purpose, while the door is open.  I would that all would walk this earth in the power of My Spirit, as did My Son; but you have not been willing to seek Me.  You have not set yourselves aside for Me.  Tonight, I am calling. 
Again, I ask you
.”

     Sam waited for the words to sink in.  They were having tremendous effect.  No one in the tent was without conviction.

     “You who came to hear words pleasing to men, shall hear the voice of the Almighty, instead.  You who came to hear minstrels will hear a new song of My choosing.  You who came to see the signs and wonders shall surely see them; and the seeing and the hearing will surely bring conviction and divide you this night.  For those who desire Me shall arise and come in repentance; and those who will not serve Me shall arise in fear and run.”

     Sam’s voice only grew in intensity and power as he went on.  “The day of deceitful, pleasing voices that pander to men’s flesh is gone.  The truth will come like a double-edged sword to divide in the wake of this visitation.  Stand in the light, children.  Stand in the light and allow exposure of your deepest heart!  I will scourge you as sons, but I will heal you, as surely as I cause each day to dawn.  Do not be deceived; I am not mocked.”

     Sam looked around the tent with a keen eye.  “If you came here tonight looking for the old-time religion, the revival tent thrill, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place.  This is not a move to re-visit a prior glory; you will surely be disappointed.  There is an excitement here, but it does not come in the same way it once existed.  There is an expectancy, but it will not culminate in an experience that will satisfy your carnal senses, or only your human soul.”