Sid: My guest by way of telephone is Ira Kellman. Ira is a Jewish believer in Jesus. He is just red hot for the Lord. Talk about red hot he was almost fried because he was literally hit with 125 million volts of electricity. Before we get to Ira I want to read to you from the book I’ve been reading from all this week called “The Wigglesworth Standard.” You see an author by the name Peter Madden found 37 unpublished manuscripts of Smith Wigglesworth the great healing evangelist. I mean Wigglesworth has laid hands on many dead people have come back to life. Limbs have been restored. Wigglesworth felt that an army would be raised up in the last days that would walk in the same signs as Jesus even greater signs. This book I believe will be the standard to learn how to walk in the supernatural. I want to read this to you from the book:
“Smith watch me when I’m preaching. I get so near to heaven that someday I’m just going to take off.” He thought back on these words that his dear Polly had once spoken. Well he mused “She certainly must have preached tonight.”
It was New Year’s day 1913 the local doctor and a policeman had met him just as he was stepping out the front door on his way to Glasgow to minister at some meetings. However the look on the 2 men’s faces as they met him told him something was wrong, “Polly’s dead. She fell dead at the mission door.” Just a few hours before Smith had bid her well as she was leaving to go preach there. How he loved his Polly she was everything in the world to him. In the natural he was devastated but deep down inside he knew that she was where she wanted to be. He began to speak in tongues and praise the Lord laughing in the spirit.
Soon the house was filled with people her body had been brought to the house. At Wigglesworth’s instructions they took her up to her room and laid her lifeless form on the bed. “She is dead and we can do no more.” Wigglesworth just smiled he knew differently. Asking everyone to please leave the room he closed the door. When the last one left he turned around and walked over to the bed. He knew that she was with her beloved Lord as she had so longed to be. Standing before her now he couldn’t bare the separation “In the name of Jesus death give her up!” Polly’s eyes opened and looked straight into his “Polly I need you.” “Smith the Lod wants me.” An incredible struggle was going on inside of him now oh how much he wanted her with him. How could he go on without her he thought they would have so many more years together?
That still small voice came that voice he knew so well the only one he loved more than hers. “She’s Mine her work is done.” With tears streaming down his face he yielded to His Lord “My darling if the Lord wants you I will not hold you.” She smiled as he kissed her cheek tenderly. Then he simply said “Goodbye for the present.” Her eyes closed and she was gone.
“Yes Lord” he obeyed and turned and walked out of the room. It was the hardest thing he had ever done.
I’m reading from the book “The Wigglesworth Standard.” My guest Ira Kellman is a man that has been hit or had near hits from lightning 7 times. Ira I’m going to take you to a particular date July 12, 1987 preaching in a church in Indianapolis what was going on?
Ira: I was preaching on obedience and lightning was blasting all over the place it was a torrential rain day I mean just really coming down heavy heavy rain. Lightning was blasting all over the place…
Sid: I understand you found out the next day that at least 2 people died from lightning that evening.
Ira: Lightning hit their house blew it up and killed 2 people. Yeah it was terrible I mean really really terrible. Very low thunder blast things of lightning all night long. Lightning was blasting all over the place and all of a sudden the Holy Ghost says “Pray pray protection.” I started praying protection you know Psalms 91 “No evil shall befall us no plague shall nigh our dwelling.” I’m binding the devil from everything from cars to buildings, the other situations around the buildings. I get the last word out of my mouth “Devil I bind you in the name of Jesus!” and lightning hit the top of the roof went down the wall the lightning. I had a lapel microphone it went through the lapel microphone blasted me in the chest threw me back and I felt the presence of angels catch me. I saw flames jump off of the roof because there was a skylight, the place got filled up with smoke. You could smell the sofa, the system was buzzing people were just sitting there thank God the peace of God came upon the people. I talked to people later on their ears were ringing for hours and hours and they checked everything out. Nothing happened nothing happened to me…
Sid: But wait a second, we have an actual sound clip and you can hear the thunder, you can hear the crash from the lightning. Let’s go to that clip right now.
Excerpt: Sound clip
Sid: Ira before you got hit with lightning you were talking about supernatural protection reading from Psalm 91. Quote that from memory right now.
Ira: “No evil shall befall us no plague shall come nigh our dwelling.” Because what I did was I said “God even wants to protect me from the cats.” I have to pray protection from my cat you know that’s when I felt led to pray. “There shall no evil befall you shall any plague come nigh to your dwelling.” Your dwelling is anywhere it can be in a plane, a car it can be anywhere. “No evil shall befall me no plague shall come nigh my dwelling.” Then it says right after that verse “Then He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.” When I got blown back that’s when the angels caught me.
Sid: Why do you think that was angels that caught you?
Ira: Oh I felt the presence of angels. I know I’ve had angels manifest in meetings so I know when an angel is there.
Sid: Out of curiosity do you think you would have had such supernatural protection if you weren’t so grounded in the word and speaking the word at that precise moment?
Ira: I don’t think I would have no. I think would have gone off to glory. It was just knowing the word, knowing authority, and God has a plan for me. Thank God for His hand of protection.
Sid: Was the meeting over after that happened or did you continue preaching?
Ira: It went on for another 45 minutes…
Sid: (Laughing)
Ira: …because I had to go and pray for the sick (Laughing).
Sid: (Laughing) You’re too much Ira.
Ira: (Laughing) You know when it happened Sid?
Sid: What?
Ira: It threw me back and I started, I sort of kept on preaching and they put the system off and I started laughing with the best. I said “You know lightning hit out there. Whatever it hit out there you know it went through the system and hit me.” I was just delirious and I kept on preaching. I said “Oh my God I just got hit by lightning and I’m still alive thank you Jesus.” I really didn’t think that much of it because I was just caught up and thank God for the presence of you know the Holy Spirit on me. I just got caught up into the anointing.
Sid: You really prayed for the sick afterwards?
Ira: Yeah!
Sid: Was anyone healed?
Ira: Yeah there were many healings in there!
Sid: (Laughing)
Ira: Allergies, broken bones, yeah I still have the tape from the…
Sid: I’ve got to ask you this though, since you’ve been struck by lightning has the anointing of God increased?
Ira: Oh the anointing… right after this I think the next meeting I did in Vegas it is like it’s been increased a 100 times more. You know all things are parallel and God just stepped up the anointing of the Holy Ghost… like I said He has a sense of humor. What the devil meant for evil God turned it around and made for good. The unusual thing about this was the newspapers picked up on this and it went on the front page of the Indianapolis paper and from there it went all across the nation and around the world front pages and everybody gave a positive story to this. Thousands of people have been saved through this with me going… and having meetings, and teaching, and giving my testimony my conversion, my lightning story. God saved a lot of people, healed a lot of people and it gets people’s attention because I bring the tape, they hear the tape and it just blows people away and they go “Oh my God!”
Sid: What’s going to happen on tomorrow’s broadcast?
Ira: Well tomorrow I want to pray for people for healings, for miracles, for peace, for joy, I want to pray for people for a hunger and thirst after God, after the word of God, after the Spirit of God. I want to pray for people who want to be used for God. Sid if God can take me knowing nothing, I didn’t even know what the word evangelist was. Not knowing nothing and send me around the world and teach me the bible and be a blessing to people, He can use anybody who wants to be used.
Sid: I just believe also there’s going to be a gusher of God’s Spirit in a tangible form just pouring out of the radio tomorrow.
Ira: There is, there is, there is.
Sid: I mean there’s a presence of God right now, but I mean there is going to be a gusher Mishpochah. Tell me again Ira how important Smith Wigglesworth’s teach was to you.
Ira: He formed my early Christian life into what I am doing today because I said God I had a heart crack “God I want to be like Wigglesworth.” I want miracles everywhere, I want to pray for people everywhere on the streets in planes, in trains, bathrooms, restaurants and that’s what I’ve done. “Lord I want to be like Wigglesworth.” So He formed… God used his books and his testament to form my life to what I am doing today and what I’ll be doing till Jesus comes.
Sid: Very quickly tell me one miracle that comes to mind.
Ira: In any area?
Sid: Any area.
Ira: I prayed for this contorted body it was one of the most amazing things I’ve saw. Did you ever see someone so totally twisted they can hardly walk because they have a carrier? They are twisted from arthritis rheumatism….
Sid: How the woman that was bowed over for 18 years had to walk looking at the ground?
Ira: That was miraculous but this person I saw with my own eyes. That was amazing without seeing it. This person the arms are up, the hands were back, and the legs were twisted, and the whole body was straightened and walking and leaping and jumping and running after I prayed.
Sid: Is there anything to compare to be able to see someone set free like that in the name of Jesus?
Ira: That’s what it’s all about.
