Your Son is Making People Mad

It was the following year, 1999. I had returned home to my hometown, and word quickly spread that we were holding an all-night meeting at the Redeemed Christian Church nearby.

By evening, the small church was packed — men, women, and youth filled every corner, some standing by the windows, others lingering outside, eager to feel something from heaven. I could sense a deep thirst in the air; everyone seemed to have come with an unspoken hunger.

As I mounted the pulpit to minister, I could feel the presence of God brooding like a heavy cloud. And when the worship rose, heaven opened.

The power of God fell.

There were screams, tears, laughter, and deliverances. Some fell under the power; others trembled as unseen forces let go of their lives. The scene became almost uncontrollable — the kind of move you can’t organize, only yield to.

Some of the young women began to manifest under the power in strange ways, so I quickly instructed that they be tied with scarves or head ties, to prevent any indecent exposure as the Spirit moved upon them. It was raw, it was wild, but it was God.

Miracles broke out.

Healing, deliverance, and impartations filled the night. Chains were broken, burdens lifted, and many found freedom they had never known.

But as with every true move of God, not everyone understood what was happening.

Some who witnessed the outpouring ran to my mother at home — panicking, they told her,

“Your son Austin is making people mad in the church!”

My father’s house was just three houses away from the church. My mother didn’t come out that night, but she couldn’t sleep. Her heart pounded with worry, torn between fear and faith. She prayed silently until the early hours of the morning.

At about 6:20 a.m., I returned home — drenched in sweat, exhausted, but glowing with a deep joy that words couldn’t describe. When she saw me safe, relief washed over her. She didn’t say much, but her eyes said everything.

That night became one of the turning points of my journey.

Looking back now, I realize just how merciful God was to us. We were young — full of zeal, short on wisdom. No mentors, no guide, just a burning desire to serve God. We made mistakes, stumbled through trial and error, yet God kept us.

He covered our ignorance with grace,

and turned our youthful fire into a testimony of His faithfulness.

Indeed, God has been faithful and exceedingly merciful.