A bride and groom are to be wed. The wedding date is set and they are ready to begin their life together, start a family, and live happily ever after. But the wedding date has been changed. It was expedient for the wedding to happen as soon as possible because the bride’s mother has cancer. She was not given long to live. In fact, she was not given enough time for the original date of the wedding. Hopeless. Depressing. Disheartening. Just a few words that come to mind. This dire situation proved bleak in a time that should be joyful. How many times have we heard similar stories, look at the ground and solemnly shake our heads with a sad countenance? The moments of silence should be ruptured by radical faith.
This scenario is true. The wedding took place and the mother, consumed with cancer, attended. Thankfully, one of the guests had radical faith. He was standing in the corner, praying in the Spirit and heard the voice of God say, “Ask her [the mother of the bride] if she honored her father and mother. Her answer will mean life or death.”
The mother of the bride was surrounded by a crowd. As the guest began his approach, the crowd regrouped elsewhere to have their picture made. She was left alone as the guest asked her the question.
After acknowledging that she did, indeed, honor her father and mother, the guest proceeded to tell her that this was the only commandment with a promise: long life on the earth. He then prayed with her and commanded the cancer to leave her body in the name of Jesus. It wasn’t a long prayer. Thirty seconds at the most. The reception continued and the bride and groom went on their honeymoon.
Upon their return from the honeymoon, the groom called the guest who prayed for his wife’s mother. Upon asking how she was doing, he quickly put his bride on the phone.
“She went in for a scan. They scanned her. Then they scanned her again,” she explained.
Waiting for clarification, the guest asked, “What does that mean?”
The bride’s mother was cancer free! It could not be found! This has been over a decade ago and the mother is still alive and healthy.
So, who was the guest who boldly asked the cancer patient about honoring her parents? It was my wife’s father, my father-in-law: Kermit Harpold. Kermit taught me how to lead a supernatural life empowered by the Holy Spirit. He demonstrated the Father’s love, the power of faith, and unhinged freedom of God’s grace. The Gospel he preaches always yields fruit, maintains its simplicity, and yet it continues to confound me with its depth. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
In honor of a great father, father in the faith, and a man who shows honor and love to all he encounters, Kermit Harpold has been used by God to disciple leaders that will change the world. With him, our vision is stirred and our passion is fueled as we seek to multiply God’s kingdom on earth.
Jonathan Fawcett
