SID: Pastor Stovall, you had this encounter where you’re hearing a voice. It’s Jesus saying the prayer. Take me from there.
STOVALL: You know, I saw Him there on the stage and then I like to say that the heavens were opened. They were just open and I was in the heavenly realm with Him. I’ve walked with God for 29 years now and it’s like I had known Him all along, but there were some things that were very new. Next to the Lord, the first thing was the overwhelming– It was fear, but it was pure fear. It didn’t have any condemnation, yet at the same time there was this overwhelming love. I couldn’t have been more accepted. I couldn’t have been more one. I couldn’t have been more known. Then there was His personality.
STOVALL: That’s the word I like, His personality. He’s a man of action. He was strong. His strength just emanates. I felt like I could headbutt a nuclear bomb. When you’re with Jesus, I’ve always related to the Lord as I’m His servant and I am, He’s God, I’m the servant, but beyond all words or experience with– this is how Jesus treated me, how I felt. That was the entire kingdom. I saw the kingdom, He showed me His covenant, I beheld His glory, and the overwhelming– He treats you as an equal. He’s God, He’s the Savior-
SID: I get it.
STOVALL: –but He treats you like an equal, which is beyond … There’s just no words. Then, you know, I could talk about this for hours but the other thing was in His presence, everyone has their place. I had my place. When you’re next to Jesus, you have to bow. The weight, you would never just look up and look around. That would be so disrespectful. You’re just so glad to have your place. That was my place, at least for that gathering. That was my place. It was like everything was here. He never looked at me and said, “Welcome.” I couldn’t have been any more welcome or known.
STOVALL: It was like I was one and this is my place, and now the best word that I have to describe how I felt, I felt grafted. I was grafted. I was positioned. It was like I was totally one, but I was different. That was a huge component of the mission. By the way, before this night, Sid, I was like a Gentile of Gentiles. I didn’t know Jewish roots. I didn’t know the feast. I mean, I was always pro-Israel, bless Israel, but I wasn’t this big Jewish roots guy. Honestly, I didn’t think any of that mattered.
SID: Are you saying to me, though, this was a table and the apostles were there and Jesus was there and this was a Passover Seder?
STOVALL: I remember my first thought was, before things became clear, “I’m back at the Last Supper.” It felt like the Last Supper. It felt like the Last Supper. But when things became clear I’m like, “Well, this isn’t a dark room. This is heavenly.” Now the word says, “Do this in remembrance of me,” the remembrance up there is like a total reliving. It’s the most visceral remembrance. There’s not a human word.
SID: Just so I understand this, Paul hands the matzo to you. You have this encounter. Did you still have the matzo in your hand in Heaven?
STOVALL: Yeah. All of this is going on and a lot more, and like I’m saying, Jesus is just everything. It just takes a while to talk about anything besides Him and putting things together. But the most personal, where it got very, very personal, everything was kingdom, all that’s happening, but then all of a sudden it was like it was– I know where I was, but it’s like it was just me and the Lord. I was looking at that bread and I knew that the Lord had served me that bread. It was like He was waiting on me. I knew if I ate that bread, I was telling the Lord that He could go die for my sins.
SID: I want to make sure that you got what He just said. Of course the Lord died for everyone’s sins, but what I’m hearing you say is He died for your sins, that revelation, isn’t it?
STOVALL: Yes. I know, mentally, He’s already died for our sins, but in this encounter, it’s like He has but He hasn’t done it yet. It’s like you’re going back and then you realize the King, you just realized the Creator of the universe, this being, how He could love you like this? Then He’s, you know, He’s going to go die for you. He’s going to die for you. I knew if I ate that bread, it was the deepest kind of love, loyalty, bond, covenant, family. It was the deepest kind of bond. It was the deepest.
STOVALL: I knew if I took that bread, I knew I was telling him, “Okay, you can go die for my sins now. But in return, I’m going to lay down my life. I’m going to lay down my life for you and I’m going to allow you to live your life through me so we can carry out the Father’s mission.” It’s about the mission, about the Father regathering His kids. It honestly took me a long time. I didn’t know about the heavenly pattern. I didn’t know about the calendar. I mean, I knew there were Scriptures in the Bible.
SID: Most people look at the biblical feasts as almost entertainment. You’re telling me it opened up everything to you.
STOVALL: Yes.
SID: You took almost a year to process what had occurred before he felt ready to really release this. Are you ready for restoration, for healing, for miracles for you and your family? It’s actually happening in the homes of Pastor Stovall’s members, and he knows it will happen for you, too. More with Pastor Stovall in a moment, but first here is Paul.
PAUL: (singing)
