Samuel Peterschmitt is the pastor of probably the largest evangelical church in France, La Porte Ouverte of Mulhouse. Before everyone was quarantined and people realized the danger of public meetings they had a conference in their church.

Many people were infected with the Covis 19 virus and several died. Pastor Samuel was also hospitalized and had a real physical trial because of the virus. He is recovering and recently appeared on the Internet program, “On est ensemble,” (We are together) with the host, Eric Celerier.

He shares some powerful truths and I believe has a prophetic word at the end. Keep in mind, this is a church which has seen many miracles of healing. This article is from notes that Francois Ranvier made of the appearance.

“So I will be honest there are times when I was so badly (sick) that I could not even pray, or even read my Bible anymore. This is where I also became aware of how faith is not only this theology where we proclaim that we are strong, where we go forward. It also manifests itself in weakness.

“Faith” That Reduces God To a Performer

“…I must say it, on that night when God raised me, on this famous night, it was not the result of this manifestation of faith as we understand it. (This kind of faith) which is sometimes, forgive me, arrogant. It seems to me to reduce God to simply being performer.

“No, it is the faith that makes us dependent on Him, entirely dependent. And if I’m here today, I have no more merit than my friends who died; they had the same faith as me.

“There is an approach to faith today that seems presumptuous and which for me is clearly the result of a lack of knowledge of who God is. I told a friend of mine I feel like I have had a second new birth. (I feel I) know God so differently.

“Job said : “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.” (Job 42: 2-3, NLT)

“I discovered God in another dimension and realized that always wanting to provide answers leads to wrong conclusions.

“…I was surprised you know, I was in the hospital I was crying because all of a sudden I saw all kinds of people who wrote: ‘why did the Coronavirus hit us? Why did the curse come on us?’

“Videos were made … It was for the first time that I had the feeling of being the wounded on the way to Jericho next to which the Pharisee and the Levite pass without considering him but just looking for explanations for his situation.

Lord, you know, you know

“It was extremely trying for me and I said ‘Lord but you know, you know …’ And that’s why my faith was not shaken. Far from it. We have to come back to a lot of humility … We have been too often presumptuous, we speak of God as if we had studied him, as if we had walked around him, when it is He who knows us.

“We are very small, we have to come back to a lot of humility. I understood what it meant to be led to the desert and to listen. You know we sometimes preached on subjects but when we did not experience them from the inside; we realize how much we talked about things that we did not understand.

“And the fact that we don’t understand them, we made theories of them and sometimes with our speeches we crushed people, we made them feel guilty, we asked them things they couldn’t do, we sometimes been tough and demanding. May God forgive us, God forgive us! May God help us !

“Jesus said ‘Happy the poor in spirit. In other words happy are those who know they are dependent on Him, happy are those who know they know nothing, happy those who know that every day they need Him, happy those who are not seated in their certainties and on their throne of knowledge, happy are they because the kingdom of God is theirs.

“It blew up in my face. We have to learn to know God again, we have to discover him in a whole other dimension, we have to come back to humility. I bless God for this confinement. The church is forced to return to simplicity.

Back to Simplicity

“Not that the platforms and lighting are not necessary but we come back to this Christ who taught aboard a boat in the middle of the Lake of Galilee. There are no more frills, all the frills fall, all that is useless falls. There is no more gospel spectacle. There is just the Word and may God be blessed for these times of confinement.

“I have heard a lot since this crisis. I was impressed by the number of prophets, I just wish they had been there before. I just wish I had heard clear prophetic voices to warn us.

“Today there are a bunch of prophets who make friendly comments who prophesy nothing. I believe that in this area too, the fear of God must return so that we do not speak in His name lightly.

“Do not trust everything you hear (or) pay attention to everything that is said. Here’s what I believe: I don’t believe it’s the end, I don’t believe it’s the apocalypse.

“Everyone said in the last war that it was the end and then the war ended and life went on… life will go on simply because many men and women are not yet saved.

A sign of the end… not the end

“It’s a sign of the end of time but it’s not yet the end of time. Many men and women will come to a real awakening. All those who today are asking themselves existential questions, who realize that what they have invested in can collapse in a day, will seek what remains.

And I also address Christians: so many Christians have invested in the land. Jesus said “seek first the kingdom of God and its justice and all things will be given to you.”

Stop looking for things from the earth. Stop putting your priority on what will collapse and what you will have to leave. Invest in the Kingdom and all these things will be returned to you. Seek God.

Image par pixabay.com/MiroslavaChrienova