Evangelist Dr. Morris Cerullo 1931 – 2020

Honouring a General!

By Helen Jesze, 31^st July 2020

“A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men,”

Proverbs 18, 16 New American Standard Bible

“A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men,”

Proverbs 18, 16 Berean Study Bible

“Pay to all what is due them … respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due,”

Romans 13,7 NRS

On 11th July 2020, one of God’s great Generals, Evangelist Dr. Morris Cerullo went to be with his Lord. He was the last great Man of God who had started his ministry from the time of the huge revivals which took place in America and spread to many countries, in the late 1940’s and 1950’s, so in a way, this was the closing of an era.

The above verse speaks about a man’s gift, and through my late husband, George’s gift of interpreting, (he spoke English, German, Polish and Russian) many doors were opened for us, giving us the privilege and opportunity to meet many great men and women of God, who also impacted our lives and ministry. I would like to share a little of that today.

In 1967, George and I returned to England after pastoring some years in Switzerland. One day a magazine was delivered to the house where we were lodging. It was called Deeper Life and from the ministry of Evangelist Dr. Morris Cerullo. We were seeking guidance as to our next step, and hungry to know more of God’s power in our lives, and devoured the contents.

The next year we attended the first European Deeper Life Conference in London. It was a wonderful week of teaching, culminating in Easter weekend. God planted many truths in us at that time. We heard more about Dr. Cerullo’s worldwide ministry of salvation and healing through Jesus Christ and after God’s command of “Son, build me an army!”, about his huge teaching programs for millions of ministers and missionaries. On Good Friday afternoon, the Holy Spirit moved so mightily that Bro. Cerullo never did get to preach. Ministers were weeping and travailing, kneeling on the floor, crying out to God. A crowd gathered outside waiting to get in for the evening meeting.

On Saturday, we heard Bro. Cerullo’s testimony. This rebellious Jewish orphan boy, had been led to know Jesus his Messiah by Mrs. Kerr, a born-again Believer, when he was 15 years old. Caught up to Heaven in visions, God called young Morris to preach the Gospel. For the first time we heard about the importance of loving and praying for the Nation of Israel, as God’s Chosen People, and that God still has a divine plan for Israel today. We had saved a little money, it wasn’t much, but to us at that time, it was a lot. We gave this money towards the Israel outreaches, and this was the beginning of us learning to give larger amounts to God apart from our tithes, and expect a harvest of blessing and increase.

We continued to receive inspiration through this ministry, then God led us to live in Frankfurt, Germany. One day our three children and I got chickenpox. Lying in bed feeling awful, I was listening to one of Bro. Cerullo’s audio-cassettes about the Passover Lamb being slain and eaten and the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt. He likened this to God bringing us out of our ‘Egypts’ of trouble, sickness, etc. As he prayed for his listeners, I cried out to the Lord about a certain ‘Egypt’ I wanted deliverance from. A few hours later, I passed some strange-looking things in the toilet, which I fished out and put in a glass jar to show the doctor. He declared them to be gall-stones, which I did not know I had! God had healed me as I listened to the cassette the day before!

A personal encounter with Dr. Cerullo was on our 6 week tour of German-speaking churches in America. We attended one of his World Conferences and visited him at his office in San Diego. As he entered the room, the presence of the Lord came with him. But we had no more contact until in 1982, God showed George we would be meeting up with him soon again.

In February, came a phone call, asking George to meet Walter, a former crusade manager of our friends Missionary Evangelists Tony and Marge Abram, who was now working for Dr. Cerullo. He explained that they wanted George to help organise crusades in Germany and Switzerland, and interpret. Right from the start there was fierce opposition (especially from religious circles) to the meetings, which resulted in fewer people attending and hardly any Christians volunteering as counsellors and helpers. George was jack-of-all-trades as well as interpreter, and I played the piano for the local services.

People were saved and some healed, but we could not help contrasting the results here compared to what we had seen in England, when we helped with interpreting and playing in the European School of Ministries in London and Holland. Sometimes we think we only need a well known speaker and God will move in a mighty way. But this is not the case. The attitude of the hearers or the person seeking healing makes a big difference. Critical and religious spirits can rob us of God’s blessings!

This was still the time of the closed borders in Europe and one meeting was held in East Berlin, which was under Communist domination at that time. George and the team drove over by car, waiting a long time at the border while a car in front of them was turned inside out by the guards. One was searched for 5 hours! Permission should have been obtained to have a foreign speaker at the church, but the pastor had not received this. The meeting took place anyway, but as the windows were open because of the heat and Bro. Cerullo often shouted as he preached, George and the other Europeans were happy when they could leave and cross over at the American Checkpoint Charlie into West Berlin again, with no-one being arrested!

East Berlin, Germany. LtR: George, Dr. Cerullo, pastor, Dr. Alex Ness

These are just a few of the memories with Dr. Cerullo. God has a way of using things in our life, sometimes in an unusual way. George, a refugee, born in Poland from German ancestry, fleeing from death and war to England, did not know then that God would use his language skills for the purpose of His Kingdom. There may be something in your life which you have overlooked or not considered important, but God may pick up that very thing, and use it in an astonishing way! I knew a Christian young lady, who felt she should learn sign-language. Soon afterwards she met a man who was deaf, who later became her husband, and they started a ministry to deaf people!

I want to encourage you today to make a new surrender to Jesus, and give Him permission to go into some of the areas, the ‘rooms’ in the house of your life, which you have kept closed to Him, perhaps in rebellion or in fear, and see how your relationship with Jesus will deepen and become more precious, and new opportunities and doors will open for you. Have you taken Jesus just as your Saviour but not yet made Him your Lord?! Why not do it today?

George and Dr. Cerullo in London