I wonder how old these cobblestones are that I am walking on? I’m wandering down the narrow alleys of Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde, and there is an ancient feeling that hangs in the air. The cobblestones under my feet are black and slick from ages of wear. There’s no telling how old they are. Old is measured here in centuries, not years.
I can just picture Portuguese soldiers in shiny breastplates and those funny curved helmets running down these very same alleys with their pikes and habergeons to the breastworks to defend the city from another attack by French or English. Rusty old Portuguese cannons from the 17th or 18th century lay around as if they are discarded reminders of wars from times past.
The Plateau, as they call it, sits high above the harbor overlooking a deep blue ocean while a tropical breeze flows in cooling these old brick and plaster walls from the equatorial sun directly overhead. In a typical sidewalk café under an expansive orange umbrella, you can sip a cup of strong espresso and enjoy the peaceful feeling of a lazy afternoon. Old men gather to play chess around a table and argue in rapid-fire Portuguese with old friends, while young men and girls can be heard laughing at the next one. Time doesn’t really pass here – it floats away. It is almost as if there is no time, and life drifts softly into the sunset. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound maudlin, but there really is no other way to describe it.
It is in this hypnotic landscape that Christianity has had such a hard time gaining a foothold. It is as if these islands are in a dream world where there is no tomorrow, no yesterday, only the languid presence of now. No one cares about anything because they would have to work too hard to take it seriously. The prospect of pleasures today far outweighs the consternations of Hell tomorrow.
But there is a group of pastors who know better. They know they need something from God that is strong enough to shatter this dreamy illusion. Even their congregations are affected with a laissez-faire attitude toward church, sinners, and Eternity. Instead of their focus being directed to the Cross, it is directed toward them; instead of looking for ways they can serve God, they are looking for ways that God can serve them. It is the intoxication around them that has affected their outlook.
But there are pockets here of real Christians who really want revival, and it is for them that I have come. I believe that they will be the lightning rod that God will use to break the demonic spirit that has such a hold on these islands.
Last night, we ministered at such a church. Very few people showed up for the first service and I wasn’t sure if it was just another example of “African time”, or just nobody really cared. The Lord gave me a simple and a short message, so I delivered it and sat down. Oh well. That was all He gave me.
I figured that it was pretty much over and that the evening service might be a dud when a girl in the congregation said she had a question. A question? Wow. A spark of life! She wanted to know what real-life experiences I had with revival. Ah-hem. Excuse me, but how much time do we have?
For the next 45 minutes or so, the crowd came in and sat mesmerized as I described what true supernatural revival is really like. They sat with open hearts drinking it all while I painted a picture for them in vivid colors of what revival was really like. By the time I was finished, the place was packed! The pastor encouraged them to put what I had said into action and handed them Gospel tracts to hand out in the streets around them for the next thirty minutes and then come back in time for the evening service.
Needless to say, that service was a great! I don’t know how long I preached, but I know how hard. The Spirit of the Lord had taken over and we were in His presence. What a service!
And then, as I handed the microphone to the pastor to close with an altar call, a woman came forward with her two girls to get saved. She had gotten a tract during that 30 minute session between services and had come to church to hear the Gospel. What an incredible breakthrough! I felt like jumping up and down yelling, “See? See? I told you it works!”
But I didn’t have to. They were jumping up and down themselves.