May 29, 2006 - Julio’s Confession—The Devil Gives His Due

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Julio’s Confession—The Devil Gives His Due

By Brad Lambeth
May 18, 2006

My father, Bishop J.B. Lambeth, passed through the open door of eternity into heavenly bliss on March 10, 2006. A multitude of witnesses confirm he was a mighty man in Christ; I was honored to be his son. In addition to that, I was honored to be a living witness of his missionary ministry.

Yes, it is a wonderful thing to rub shoulders with the great ones as they perform in real-time under the anointing of the Holy Ghost. To watch the great men of Pentecost during the operation of the Holy Ghost is an awesome thing to see! I am not alone with these types of feelings. Other friends have shared with me their eyewitness accounts of momentous (and historical) events. I listen in awe hearing of the spiritual boldness of my, and our, spiritual heroes. As I listened, I thought to myself “I wish I had been there to see that.”

This is especially true of Jesus, the ultimate showcase of anointing. Who would not have wished to be by His side when Jesus performed mighty miracles?

We’re Not Left Behind
Looking beyond the justified sadness of the departure of our spiritual heroes, however, I have discovered that there is a “post-death anointing” that they leave us. May I venture to say that this “double-portion mantle” anointing is ordained of God. It is almost as if these spiritual heroes in our lives deed us a spiritual inheritance to build on with greater things. After all, Jesus said, “…and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12).

Much like the bones of the prophet Elisha that revived another dead man (II Kings 13:21), our prophets have left in our hands unusual power to use and expand on. We are given the opportunity to build on the spiritual foundation they left us. Spiritually speaking, I am a millionaire! My grandmother, Lottie Lambeth, left me very little in an earthly sense. But my spiritual inheritance from her was huge. She knew how to pray the prayer of faith, and I am positive that she left me an inheritance called prayer. She knew how to pray and passed it on to me! The adventures in faith I have been blessed to witness in my own ministry were birthed by a praying grandmother.

I now receive the spiritual inheritance from my father. And, because of an unusual event during his funeral, I suddenly discover that the spiritual legacy from my father is greater than I supposed. All of this came to me just a few days after my father’s death.

I was sorting through the funeral pictures and began viewing the floral arrangements that were graciously sent from friends around the world (thank you). One bouquet stood out because it was minimally identified with one word—“Julio.”

Sympathy From the Devil
Julio? “Who’s Julio?” I thought to myself. We have no family friends named Julio. Then I heard from one of the Brazilian ministers the rest of the story.

While that minister stood at the front gate of the church directing the crowds toward the viewing location, a young lady stepped up with a bouquet of flowers. After pressing the bouquet into his hands she turned to leave. The minister suggested that she carry them into the appropriate area to be placed around the coffin. She said, “I cannot step inside the church.”

With his curiosity piqued, he asked why not. She responded, “I am a devil worshipper and this church is the only church I cannot go into because it is covered by Holy Blood.”

The minister then asked who the flowers were from. Still outside the gate she said, “They are from Julio, the strongest satanic warlock of this city.”

Then, as she turned to go, in a tone of reverence and awe, she finalized her mission by saying, “Julio said that your man of God was the greatest man to ever live in this city. Julio said that Bishop JB commanded the full respect of every devil of this region.” What an inheritance my father left me!

Inheritor’s To What?
Yet, I am not the only beneficiary named in my father’s spiritual will. Like so many other godly giants, it seems to stand true that their post-death anointing is available to all that were impacted by their ministry. No one has an exclusive handle on the anointing that remains available for deeding; rather it is available to any that are willing to pay the price that the double-portion mantle requires. The reason why Elisha was blessed with a double portion is because, apparently, he was the only one that sought for the blessing!

Now, I stand at the edge of the beginning of the final phase of my life (I am almost 50 years old), and my main thrust is focused on sharing my spiritual inheritance with my son and anyone else interested in carrying forward the (now) heavy torch of Apostolic apostleship. I hopefully pray for new ministers willing to pay the price that this anointing requires of prospective heirs.

Julio’s confession makes me wonder; surely there are some in our ranks interested in receiving (and using) what has already been provided by our giants. Why grovel at the edge of the sandpits of spiritual life when you can stand on the shoulders of the Apostolic giants that have paved the way for us?

ninetyandnine.com

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John Bradley Lambeth is a life-term apostolic missionary to the country of Brazil. He also works occasionally as a pro-bono attorney for the underprivileged. Because he is “uniquely missions minded,” he believes in “wowing” the world for Jesus and has fun doing it!