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Greetings saints of God,

I want to share an experience with you that happened during our church service on Fathers Day Sunday morning June 15^th 2003. You might call this true story a "Snake in the House".

Some back ground first though will hopefully bring you into a picture of preparation. On June 4^th-6^th I attended a Pastors and Leaders conference at Mt Zion church in Utica NY. Pastor Mike Servello hosted this conference with the speakers being Bishop Bill Hamon of Christian International Harold Caberllos and Emanuel Cannistraci. I have never heard any of these men of God minister before. However I was particularly interested in Bishop Hamon because I have read some of his books.

During the personal prophetic ministry for the senior pastors he gave me a word form the Lord that I knew he could not possibly have known because we had never met before.

He spoke twice on the releasing of the saints and the activation of the saints in this present hour. I was very intrigued as this has been my heart for some time. On Friday morning he preached a message on "Activating of the Saints in there giftings", namely the prophetic. I came home and began to seek God for a message Sunday morning Fathers day the 15^th. I had a special speaker for Pentecost Sunday and he spoke on John 15, the process of Pruning in ones life. So I prayed and began to prepare for the following Sunday, Fathers day.

I received much revelation for this message and at the last minute my youngest son who lives in Ohio sent me a father’s day card Priority Mail. It was then I realized that it was father’s day and that God wanted me to tie the message with the day of celebration for father’s with the activation of all the gift’s and calling’s our Heavenly Father has for us.

I must say the worship and prophetic song that came from the worship team was awesome. I began by reading the card from my son and began preaching the activation message. You could sense the anointing in what God was saying to His People. The Lord had spoken to me that He wanted me to put the notes and scripture on a power point slide program and put it on the new digital projector and screen that He had just provided for the church from someone outside the church. He spoke to me and said "I want my people to See and Hear this message".

Then the most awesome thing happened that I have ever seen with my eyes happened. Towards the end of the message I said to everyone that their home work was to read Exodus 4. The person changing the slides didn’t get the right slide on the screen and so I began giving the details of God’s displeasure of Moses because he was trying to get Moses to walk in His calling and destiny and he was trying to get God to choose someone else.

Moses is telling God why he doesn’t qualify for the task of deliverance. (Delivering the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt) At this point God begins to equip Moses with Supernatural ability to DEMONSTRATE to the people and Pharaoh that God has sent him.

As I am communicating the story of how God says to Moses throw down your Staff (sign of Authority) and the staff turns into a SNAKE.

As I turned to my right and began walking to emphasize the SNAKE, there on the carpet 3 feet from a women’s feet named Carol Pendergrass was what I thought was a Rubber toy snake. I said to my self this is a not a good joke. I immediately thought that one of the teenagers had put it there but realized I had been walking there all through the service and it had not been there. Then an inner voice said "use it to demonstrate the Word you are communicating"! What a good idea I thought. Now whatever was there had not moved in several minutes.

I walked over and as I was saying the words "Moses, now pick up the SNAKE by the tail" I too literally picked up what I perceived as a rubber snake. It felt like rubber and it never moved! As I began walking towards the middle of the church the SNAKE began to move and try and strike at me. I said in a nervous voice "this SNAKE is alive. I now had the complete attention of the congregation. A couple of nervous oh’s and a squirm and movement here and there were noticed and heard. :O)

I continued speaking as the SNAKE tried to strike at me several times. Now taking the SNAKE by the tail is not an Orthodox way of handing a live SNAKE. I am trying to speak and keep the SNAKE from getting to me. I mention that getting it by the head is the proper way.

Then an Inner Voice says "go to the Front Door of the Church and "CAST" it out" so as I’m talking and walking. I open the DOOR and threw it on the side walk. I look around and muse where did this thing come from? There is a huge ash vault parking lot, no grass, no dirt, just brick walls, concrete side walks and a huge mall parking lot. Snakes usually do not cross parking lot as far as I know.

I turned to walk back in still speaking to the congregation and thinking to myself, what just happened? I briefly asked everyone if they had seen it come in or move on the carpet. Everyone said they had not seen any movement or it on the floor. This was a 18 inch SNAKE. Well, needless to say when I gave the call to be activated in their Gifts there was immediate response. What a time, as I led them in activation prayers there was a presence there like no other. I began to ask God what happened there and He said "You are going to Cast the Devil out of the church", so I communicated this to the church body.

During the day at my oldest son’s house I was musing and pondering all that had taken place. All of a sudden the Voice of the Lord said "Jim go look at Mark 16. Wow!!!

It reads like this in the Spirit Life Bible (NKJV) heading

¹⁴Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. ¹⁵And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸"they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."