Recording of a service by LaDonna Osborn, daughter of the renowned evangelist T. L. Osborn, through whose ministry thousands upon thousands of people around the world received Jesus Christ as their Lord.
I want to talk to you about why miracles exist and about the importance of miracles in our ministry. Your faith in miracles will be built up. And those of you who have any kind of illness in your body, expect your faith to rise within you.
Sometimes, when we become ill and then are healed, we call it a miracle. But you know that God is constantly performing miracles in our lives. What am I talking about? Miracles are not exceptions; miracles are the rule. In evangelism, I have noticed a recurring pattern. When we talk to unbelievers about Christ, the first thing they notice is love. They recognize us by our love. They listen to us because they notice that something has changed. Love makes the difference. Then they listen to the preaching. This message—the Gospel—is the power that brings them to know God's salvation through Jesus Christ. And when they believe it, they are set free. Then there is also a demonstration. My entire life has been involved in this activity: love, the message, and demonstration (miracles).
I want to tell you a little about my parents. What prompted them to change? They were both saved when they were 12 years old. When they got married, they immediately began to serve. They traveled to different places and conducted revivals. Then they became ordinary pastors. They loved God and prayed for people. My father said that every Friday we had prayer for the sick, and we had to pray long and persistently. But they were sincere about it and did not keep track of whether anyone was healed. They became popular, and my father began pursuing a career up the ladder of his denomination. He was becoming important and felt good about himself. Sadly, if you have religion, that is all you can have.
They began hearing about the needs in India. My father was very logical. India had a greater need for the Gospel. Based on this logic, they submitted their resignation. The missionary board sent them to India as missionaries, as was customary, for five years. They sold everything they had, packed their belongings, and went to India with a small child. But they were not prepared for India. They were shocked by the religiosity of the Hindus; they were calm and kind because everything was considered a god. And the Muslims prayed more than the Christians.
The senior missionary warned them that they could not win the Hindus to Christ. This was a time to learn patience. But my father decided to win someone to Christ…
