I was in an airport one time, just sitting there looking at people. Have you ever noticed how people act when they get mad? My goodness, people get mad – especially, for example, if they don’t get what they pay for.
I saw this man at a hot dog machine getting mad because the hot dog wouldn’t come out. Boy, that guy was mad. He’d put some money in the machine and was going “bam! bam! bam!” on the machine because nothing was coming out. He was actually hitting the machine!
People get mad when they don’t get what they’ve paid for. They’ll start punching hot dog machines. They’ll talk to them too: “Give me my hot dog. Boo!” You know, they’ll do or say all kinds of stupid things to a machine. I’m sure you’ve seen that kind of thing before.
I figured I had to teach that man to sit on his problems. So I went up to him and said, “What’s the matter, sir?” He said a few choice words: “Blankety-blank machine! It won’t give me my hot dog!” “Well, did you pray for it instead of beating it up?” I asked him.
He looked at me like I was insane. “Pray for a hot dog machine?” he asked me.
“I’m going to pray for this machine to give you your hot dog,” I told him.
Well, it was a way to get the Word of God to him. You can laugh about that, but the man needed Jesus. When you’re cussing at a hot dog machine in the airport, you need God, believe me.
I felt so stupid, though, laying my hands on that machine. Just as I was doing it, the devil spoke up: “Suppose the weenie doesn’t come out? Then what?”
You know how that would look? Now I was the one talking to a machine. I was standing there laying hands on a machine and talking to it! It looked like I was doing no better than what that man had done! He was punching and cussing at it, and I was laying hands on it and praying for it! I did it anyway. I laid my hands on that machine and said, “devil, turn loose of that weenie! Turn loose of that thing in Jesus’ name.”
As soon as I said that, the hot dog fell out – bam! It fell out right there at the bottom of the machine like it was supposed to. The guy was shocked, and so was his friend. That man had a hippie friend, some dude who was standing right there watching. And when the hippie saw that hot dog drop down, he said, “Say, brother, can you get me one?”
That dude wanted a free hot dog!
“Naw,” I said, “you’ve got to pay for yours!”
But the hot dog came out! I used that hot dog machine as a pulpit to proclaim the good news of the gospel. You laugh about that, but if you pull all the humor out of it, what do you have? I got to witness about Jesus because a hot dog machine didn’t work! Did Jesus ever do that? Of course He did! He didn’t use a hot dog machine, but He used other things to prove that God’s power really works.
Remember the fig tree that Jesus cursed in Matthew 21:18-22? That’s an example of a time when, like the hot dog machine, nothing came out! Jesus cursed a fig tree and told it not to bear fruit. What happened? The tree died. The fig tree died, and no more fruit came out of it.
God will use miracles to proclaim His power. Jesus did it, and He wants us to do it too. There are people out there who need help. They’ve got terrible problems, and God will use anything-even hot dog machines-to prove He’s real.
On second thought, I realized I should have prayed for that man’s hot dog to come out with chili and mustard on it. That really would have been a miracle!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”