Fire of God, Stockholm

Omid was saved after he heard the audible voice of Jesus Christ: “I’m real. Don’t take your life.”

Yesterday I was attending the Fire of God Revival Conference in Stockholm. I’m not a big fan of the setting (giant auditorium with coloured spotlights and smoke machines) but the Spirit and message was awesome. Three ordinary guys – Patrick, Charles and Omid – have together with Nigerian pastor Francis Anene arranged the conference. At this first meeting they shared their testimonies, and of the four Omid’s testimony touched me the most.

Omid Seppänen

Omid Seppänen was born in Finland, raised in a family with a Muslim father who taught him the Qur’an and a Christian mother who brought him to church. Needless to say, he became religiously confused. As a teenager, he rebelled against his parents and became an atheist. He went to parties every weekend for two years, drank and used drugs, and started to become very depressed.

One night, he saw the devil himself, physically, standing in his room. He was shocked, not the least since he didn’t believe that the devil existed! This vision terrified him, and his depression increased.

Finally, he went to a Pentecostal church to pray. He thought that he would give God one chance, otherwise he would commit suicide. Nothing happened during the service – it didn’t make much sense to Omid – and finally he started to walk towards the exit. He knew that it was for real, after he had left the church he would kill himself. He literally had his hand raised to grab the door, when he heard an external, audible voice: “Omid, sit down.”

He quickly turned around. There was no one there. Confused, he sat down at one of the pews in the back. The pastor then said that they would now pray for first-time visitors, that they would be touched by God. As the congregation prayed, Omid physically felt how a blanket was removed from him. He felt something like electricity and started to tremble. He had no idea what was going on and felt like yelling to the other church members to help him. Then, he heard the Voice again:

“Omid, My Name is Jesus. I’m real. Don’t take your life.”

Some time later Omid met Francis Anene, who had just arrived to Sweden as a missionary. As they were talking about African religions and witchcraft Francis suddenly said “Don’t commit suicide.” The Holy Spirit had spoken to him. Obviously, Omid never killed himself but instead he, Francis and two other friends arranged a conference about the fire of God. Praise the Lord!