Jay Smith

Evangelist Jay Smith talks about his crusade in Tanzania with Christ for all Nations - Cfan.

Transcript

Transcript

00:00:00 Nicola

I would like to welcome evangelist Jay Smith to the Cold Water podcast.

00:00:04 Nicola

He's just come back from a crusade from Tanzania with Christ for all nations.

00:00:10 Nicola

Would you like to tell us about this Jay ?

00:00:12 Nicola

Your trip to Tanzania?

00:00:14 Jay

Yeah, so we just spent two months in Tanzania.

00:00:18 Jay

Five of us were selected to organize our own crusade in a predominantly Muslim region.

00:00:24 Jay

I believe the statistics wide it was 90% Muslim and in fact not too far away from where we were based. There was an Islamic bombing.

00:00:34 Jay

So when we got the news of that taking place, you know, uhm.

00:00:39 Jay

This is actually happening and otherwise you know we could lose our lives.

00:00:42 Jay

So but Jesus told us to go into all the world, not just the nations ways to the most safe.

00:00:49 Jay

As we went, we conducted our own Crusades. We pulled it together in about four to five weeks, which was absolutely incredible on a nightly basis. We saw around 2000.

00:00:59 Jay

People attend, but on the final night there were about 3200 people and over a period of five days we saw 960 registered decisions for Jesus we saw many miracles. We saw Muslims get saved.

00:01:11 Jay

Get healed, people get healed.

00:01:13 Jay

Deaf ears open, blind eyes open, joint pains be gone and we saw incredible miracles.

00:01:20 Jay

Then right after the initiation this town crusade 

00:01:25 Jay

I was a part of a operation called operation Decapolis, which is one of Cfans.

00:01:32 Jay

Fairly new initiatives.

00:01:33 Jay

This is where they plan to enter into the decade of double  harvest through the initiative of multiplication so they have 5 simultaneous crusades take.

00:01:43 Jay

In place at the same time throughout Tanzania, in which.

00:01:47 Jay

Daniel Kolenda would

00:01:48 Jay

preach one set every single crusade so we were there in the city of Oringa for about 5 weeks.

00:01:55 Jay

I was there for five weeks and this was also a fairly Muslim region.

00:02:01 Jay

Also, though not as.

00:02:04 Jay

Dominated as the other place I was in Mtwara.

00:02:07 Jay

So we organized a crusade for five weeks and then over 5 days we saw nightly between 24 to 35,000 people attend these crusades, which was incredible for me.

00:02:20 Jay

I've never seen anything like this before, and we saw thousands give their lives to Jesus every single night we saw

00:02:27 Jay

Miracles, in fact, one of the most incredible miracles that we.. I saw personally.

00:02:32 Jay

We were living in an area and in this area they had like a place where their higher death dumping people that couldn't talk or hear and one of they.. they brought their people to the Gospel crusade.

00:02:48 Jay

And one of the gentlemen was healed in the name of Jesus.

00:02:52 Jay

His ears opened and we were told this at later on by a team member.

00:02:58 Jay

So many, many things happened.

00:03:00 Jay

But we had an incredible time in Tanzania.

00:03:03 Nicola

Yes, I bet you're missing that, are you?

00:03:06 Jay

I miss it so much.

00:03:07 Jay

I miss the people like people were wonderful, but I also missed the atmosphere of leading up to a crusade.

00:03:14 Jay

And obviously the crusade itself in the five cities over 5 days we saw 62,715 decisions for Jesus Christ. There's one thing that I did forget

00:03:27 Jay

to mention. The whole boot camp, there is about 100 students and we literally we went to hold kids crusades.

00:03:35 Jay

In Tanzania we could be preaching at 567 schools in day or sorry 567 places a day and.

00:03:43 Jay

From literally we saw.

00:03:45 Jay

Over 300,000 decisions for Jesus, which was absolutely incredible to

00:03:52 Jay

Say the least.

00:03:53 Nicola

Amazing, I bet you didn't think this was going to happen a year ago.

00:03:58 Jay

I have no idea, I I wish I've been blown away by the hand of God.

00:04:04 Jay

I've had words have been spoken over my life and every time I thought that that's a great word.

00:04:09 Jay

But you know, what’s that look like how's that

00:04:10 Jay

Going to work out and to my complete surprise.

00:04:13 Jay

I ended up in Cfan in January and you know still in Orlando right now about to head back in the UK soon.

00:04:21 Nicola

Yes, wonderful.

00:04:23 Nicola

I I actually thought you were in the UK, so that's that's that's a miracle in itself that you're connected from Orlando, so that's lovely.

00:04:31 Nicola

How did…

00:04:32 Nicola

Cfan come to the front of you know there's  many ministries out there and

00:04:40 Nicola

What was it that

00:04:40 Nicola

That, you know, connected you to Christ for all nations.

00:04:45 Jay

Wow, what a question?

00:04:47 Jay

So I was introduced to Evangelist Reinhardt Bonnke.

00:04:50 Jay

I've lived here in my time in Bible College and I saw the their crusades and then I read his autobiography.

00:04:57 Jay

I've I've read it now four times, I'm leading to it now for for like, for the fifth time, but just to see how powerfully.

00:05:06 Jay

God used him and he would say, you know, like there's nothing special about

00:05:10 Jay

him, he just had faith in God and he said yes every time God told him to do something.

00:05:15 Jay

He did it so, and even in terms of what Cfan are doing, I don't think there's another ministry on the planet currently that are doing what they're doing.

00:05:22 Jay

You know a

00:05:23 Jay

lot of people, ministries, will want to keep their

00:05:26 Jay

ministry to themselves they want to like you know, one man holding the microphone.

00:05:30 Jay

But evangelists Daniel Kolenda his heart is multiplication.

00:05:35 Jay

You know, the only way that we can see you know millions of people come to Jesus Easter, literally raising up new evangelists and and you know, like sending them.

00:05:44 Jay

And that's what C fan has done.

00:05:46 Jay

You know they they they.

00:05:48 Jay

They have their boot camp, which they.

00:05:50 Jay

Bring in about 100 boot camp students and it's very intense.

00:05:54 Jay

Just because they go through a vetting process to make sure that you know that you're right for the mission field, because why single could happen is you get sent on to the mission.

00:06:02 Jay

Field and you have a

00:06:04 Jay

crash while you're out there.

00:06:06 Jay

So Cfan are very good at what they do.

00:06:10 Jay

They're very integral.

00:06:12 Jay

They're very conservative, you know, even in their reporting of their statistics and the miracles you know it's it's underestimated rather than overestimated.

00:06:22 Jay

So in fact, our mutual friend Peter Cavanna, he sent me a video of the vision.

00:06:29 Jay

The tale of three dreams, which was two dreams that Reinhard Bonnke had and then one dream that Daniel Kolenda had.

00:06:36 Jay

And then I mean, I was like this, is it so I applied and here I am today.

00:06:40 Nicola

That's amazing yes yes.

00:06:42 Nicola

Peter Cavanna is a great encouragement.

00:06:44 Nicola

He really is.

00:06:46 Nicola

How did you become a Christian Jay?

00:06:49 Jay

What a question.

00:06:51 Jay

So I've been a Christian now almost for 9 years.

00:06:54 Jay

I didn't grow up going to church, really.

00:06:57 Jay

My mother took us to church, maybe to the age of four, and then for 12 years that had nothing to do with church. I didn't really have anything to do with

00:07:07 Jay

Jesus, the only time I'm praying this is if I wanted something you know, but any other time my God wasn't even in the back of my mind.

00:07:15 Jay

And at the age of 15 you know I got involved in some things that I should have been involved with.

00:07:20 Jay

You know, drinking, smoking, etc hanging around the wrong crowd and what happened in in.

00:07:28 Jay

2012

00:07:30 Jay

I was, uh, I was robbed.

00:07:31 Jay

I was at knife point.

00:07:32 Jay

I got hit round my head with a golf club and the thing was I knew the people and some of them.

00:07:38 Jay

They knew me and they didn't even live too far from me.

00:07:42 Jay

One of them.

00:07:43 Jay

So I told the police and how it goes on the on the streets as they say, is that you know.

00:07:49 Jay

If you snitch, you'll get stitches, so I was just living in fear for my life.

00:07:54 Jay

I had anxiety and I could go places.

00:07:58 Jay

I was afraid to take certain bus routes just because I didn't want to meet with these people had my front window smashed.

00:08:05 Jay

One of the guys knew where I live.

00:08:07 Jay

So I was just living in constant fear.

00:08:10 Jay

My mother who was living in Cornwall at the time.

00:08:12 Jay

You know she she asked me if I wanted to go to church so we went to church.

00:08:16 Jay

She came up to where I lived in Birmingham and we went to church.

00:08:20 Jay

So I started attending church on the evening services.

00:08:23 Jay

I don't ever remember hearing a clear presentation.

00:08:27 Jay

Of the gospel, I don't ever remember hearing, you know, an invitation to give our life to Jesus.

00:08:33 Jay

Uhm, but one day we found out my brother was demon possessed and I didn't believe in these things at the time.

00:08:41 Jay

I thought there is no way that

00:08:43 Jay

this is real you

00:08:44 Jay

know and my mother told me about what had happened.

00:08:48 Jay

They were listening to a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

00:08:51 Jay

How when he died.

00:08:53 Jay

And went to the pits of Hell to pay the price and get the keys of life and death that no devil or demon could touch him and it was at this moment his eyes turned black.

00:09:03 Jay

He started to convulse and literally the demon with throw him around the room.

00:09:08 Jay

My mum took him.

00:09:09 Jay

To a local priest.

00:09:10 Jay

And the priest the demon spoke through my brother to the priest and saying, you don't intimidate me, your faith is weak and then this demon threw my brother on the floor and began to convulse the priest didn't solve the problem.

00:09:23 Jay

But thank God we had an auntie in our family who was a born again Christian and.

00:09:29 Jay

We arranged to come up to Birmingham to a church to Mount Zion community church to see a pastor, Calvin Young.

00:09:35 Jay

And you know, for the first time I saw my brother Demon possessed, and those demons got cast out in the mighty name of Jesus.

00:09:45 Jay

And I got offered an invitation to give my life to Christ.

00:09:48 Jay

At this time.

00:09:50 Jay

It wasn't necessarily that I wanted to really.

00:09:52 Jay

It's more that I knew that I needed Jesus in my life.

00:09:56 Jay

You know, before I probably think about you know what will my friends think, but right at this moment I I.

00:10:02 Jay

Put both hands on on grabbing Jesus.

00:10:05 Jay

That's why I invited Christ into my life.

00:10:08 Jay

I said  what we call the sinners prayer confessing my sin, receiving Christ as Lord and Savior.

00:10:14 Jay

And then I had this powerful life changing experience.

00:10:18 Jay

It kind of felt like I was plugged into a socket and electricity was just.

00:10:21 Jay

Flowing through my body.

00:10:23 Jay

My hands they went like this and they stretched out one like this.

00:10:27 Jay

My legs kicked out straight and then I started speaking the language I never learned and I was thinking what on Earth is going on?

00:10:34 Jay

You know, I've never learned this before.

00:10:36 Jay

I've never experienced this before, and then I tried to call out for Jesus.

00:10:42 Jay

And I could not say his name and I struggled and I tried.

00:10:47 Jay

There was something within me that just didn't want to say the name of Jesus and it lies with the scripture in the Bible where the I think it's in the book of Romans where Paul says no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the spirit of God.

00:11:01 Jay

I couldn't even say Jesus.

00:11:03 Jay

Let alone Jesus is

00:11:04 Jay

Lord and I tried for a while and then I started screaming and then whatever is inside of me.

00:11:10 Jay

It came out and from that day on I felt clean.

00:11:13 Jay

I thought brand new my life radically changed.

00:11:16 Jay

For some people they go through, you know, a process of you know, stop doing certain things but for me it was instant.

00:11:23 Jay

I start swearing, stopped drinking stop smoking.

00:11:26 Jay

In fact, a few weeks later I had a friend party for his 16th birthday and everyone was drinking and smoking.

00:11:32 Jay

But my desire 

00:11:33 Jay

was to go there, tell them about

00:11:35 Jay

Jesus and go home and that's.

00:11:36 Jay

what I did and my life was never the same ever since.

00:11:40 Nicola

Yeah, that's that is amazing.

00:11:43 Nicola

I was I was more of a.

00:11:44 Nicola

slow burner.

00:11:45 Nicola

So I always sort of.

00:11:47 Nicola

I mean, I I've had encounters with Jesus since, but I I do love testimonies like that.

00:11:53 Nicola

They're really, really encourage me.

00:11:55 Nicola

Because just to see the transformation of  like stepping out.

00:11:59 Nicola

From darkness into light.

00:12:01 Nicola

You know, I think that is just just amazing.

00:12:04 Nicola

It's absolutely amazing.

00:12:05 Nicola

And what would you say to anyone?

00:12:08 Nicola

These questions are a bit sort of jumbled in a way because I this I'm going to skip back to your evangelist, even I'm just evangelistic ministry.

00:12:17 Nicola

So I'm going to say what would you say to anyone who's thinking about?

00:12:19 Nicola

Becoming an evangelist.

00:12:22 Jay

I would say just do it.

00:12:23 Jay

You know some people are waiting to hear a voice from heaven.

00:12:27 Jay

You know other people are waiting to steal you.

00:12:30 Jay

Well have feelings with without fear or from fear not to be present, but it's simply not the case.

00:12:36 Jay

I would say just just step out and just do it.

00:12:39 Jay

And even for those who may not feel called to the evangelistic ministry, just as a Christian, you know, Daniel Chan recently said, he said, I don't preach the gospel because I am an evangelist.

00:12:50 Jay

Instead, I've preached the gospel because I am a Christian and when you see in the scripture where Jesus touched someone’s life and he said to them, see, didn't tell no one, and he says that that person went around telling everybody because when Jesus touches your life, it's impossible to keep to yourself.

00:13:06 Nicola

God, brilliant Amen.

00:13:09 Nicola

How would you encourage anyone listening who doesn't know Jesus to get to know him?

00:13:14 Jay

Wow, he is the source of your life.

00:13:18 Jay

The very reason you exist is because he created for you to be here.

00:13:22 Jay

He climbed for you to be here the very strength, the very house that you have the very life.

00:13:28 Jay

They don't come from your own wealth.

00:13:30 Jay

It came from God and the best you can do is to surrender your life to him.

00:13:34 Jay

We must remember.

00:13:36 Jay

This life is like a vapor of smoke.

00:13:39 Jay

You know Jesus said your life is like a vapor smoke.

00:13:42 Jay

Soon as it comes it

00:13:44 Jay

goes and we must remember that death is not an event somewhere in the distant future.

00:13:48 Jay

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke once sent to a young man who said I will choose Jesus at the end of my life.

00:13:54 Jay

He said young man do

00:13:55 Jay

not know that death will run

00:13:57 Jay

side by side.

00:13:58 Jay

with you all the days of your life and you can cross over at any moment.

00:14:04 Jay

And we need to.

00:14:04 Jay

Consider this with our own life.

00:14:06 Jay

The Bible seasons appointed for man, wants to die and then the judgment.

00:14:10 Jay

So we must keep this in mind.

00:14:13 Jay

You know the best thing you can do is give your life to Jesus.

00:14:16 Jay

After all, he gave his life in you.

00:14:18 Jay

He shed his blood, Bible says.

00:14:20 Jay

That he

00:14:21 Jay

Who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ.

00:14:26 Jay

So how did you not give your life to Jesus?

00:14:29 Jay

You know the world will cheer you up and spit you out, but Jesus will bless you and fill you

00:14:35 Jay

with life you must keep your life to Him.

00:14:37 Jay

There is no other way.

00:14:39 Nicola

Thank you, that's perfect.

00:14:41 Nicola

Absolutely perfect.

00:14:43 Nicola

What is your?

00:14:44 Nicola

What is your?

00:14:44 Nicola

Hope for the UK.

00:14:46 Jay

My hope is for the UK to be saved.

00:14:50 Jay

Many people think the times of large gospel crusades are over.

00:14:54 Jay

I disagree, you know, we we now more than ever we are in need of large gospel crusades because how are we going to reach the nations?

00:15:05 Jay

The UK alone has.

00:15:06 Jay

Almost 60 or 70 million people. If we do want one evangelism, it will take a lifetime and much longer. You know to win all these people, it's simply impossible. So what we must do is have Crusades.

00:15:22 Jay

In fact, I had a dream in December and I'm not really a one to to have dreams, but in this dream I was in Orlando and I was asked to meet with Todd White at the CFan office and as I'm sitting down talking with.

00:15:38 Jay

Him, I turned my head and sitting in front of me, evangelist.

00:15:41 Jay

Reinhard Bonnke and Reinahard said to me, do you have the power?

00:15:45 Jay

And I say yes, I have the power.

00:15:47 Jay

He then he then said in fact he got up and then he he left the room as I was sharing my testimony with him.

00:15:54 Jay

And then he was in another room, and in this room there was a man lying sick on a on a.

00:15:59 Jay

And as I followed him, I saw him speak to the man and say, in the name of Jesus rise.

00:16:04 Jay

Up and walk.

00:16:05 Jay

With their mighty command, and he took his hand, and he helped him up.

00:16:09 Jay

And then I saw this same man standing on a stage preaching to multitudes of people.

00:16:15 Jay

He was holding an open Bible in one hand and a small wooden cross in the other.

00:16:19 Jay

I then turned back my head and I was.

00:16:21 Jay

In the room back where Reinhard was and I looked in the room 

00:16:22 Jay

and he looked at me and intensely, he said we must hold mass gospel crusades.

00:16:29 Jay

We must see

00:16:29 Jay

the lost come to Christ.

00:16:30 Jay

The time is short and then I woke up and that's been really impacted me and each, you know, even encouraged me in what I believe I see from my own life.

00:16:41 Jay

So this is what I'm believing

00:16:43 Jay

for the UK.

00:16:43 Nicola

Yeah, that's wonderful.

00:16:45 Nicola

What are your plans with Cfan next?

00:16:48 Nicola

Just what’s in the pipeline?

00:16:50 Nicola

Have you got anything in the pipeline or?

00:16:53 Nicola

I just just try to peel an orange.

00:16:56 Nicola

In my pocket here really and get something.

00:17:00 Jay

Yes, that's it.

00:17:02 Jay

Oh Cfan.

00:17:04 Jay

They are so incredible.

00:17:06 Jay

I have joined their global evangelism alliance up, which is a network of evangelist worldwide who are a part of the C fan family.

00:17:16 Jay

Of course, Cfan they desire for partnership.

00:17:19 Jay

That's the whole reason for the decade of double harvest.

00:17:22 Jay

So going forward, I definitely want to do another Decapolis operation with Cfan.

00:17:29 Jay

Being apart of the team helping to organize the crusade and literally seeing thousands come to faith in Jesus, so that's that's what I would like to do.

00:17:37 Jay

Also Cfan are.

00:17:39 Jay

They're incredible, they're.

00:17:40 Jay

Gonna you know they're going to assist by sending?

00:17:43 Jay

Now that you are saved booklets, when I do my own gospel crusade and they're going to provide for that which is going to be absolutely amazing, the follow up material is incredible, and it's not just the material for the for the person that gives their lives to Jesus, but there's also a decision card in the back.

00:18:00 Jay

And this helps us out with follow up, making sure that New Believers are integrated into a local church where they can receive follow-up discipleship and care in their walk with Jesus.

00:18:10 Nicola

Fantastic, you've just set up a charity as that right there just to you know yes, yeah.

00:18:18 Jay

It's in it's in the process, so started the proceedings.

00:18:22 Jay

With that I've been told it could take about 16 to 20

00:18:26 Jay

weeks so that's just in the process.

00:18:27 Nicola

Right?

00:18:29 Nicola

So so you.

00:18:31 Nicola

Just let me know the links and I'll put them on the podcast when when you're ready to do that, and we'll, we'll we'll promote that with for you.

00:18:39 Nicola

If that's OK.

00:18:42 Nicola

Well, that was a wonderful wonderful talk.

00:18:44 Nicola

Thank you Jay, and I hope to see you soon.

00:18:47 Nicola

So thank you all.

00:18:48 Nicola

Yeah, thank you.

00:18:49 Nicola

God bless.

00:18:51 Jay

God bless you.