At 11:45 yesterday morning I hear the report that it is snowing and I immediately jump up to see it. I have never lived in a place where it has snowed before and have only been in snow a few times. I was worried about how long it would take to get my windshield clear so that I could drive to school, but to my surprise it all came off when I first turned on my wipers and left a huge (ok, maybe not huge) pile on the ground.
After Bob Jones we got to hear Pastor Bill at school yesterday. Talk about amazing. It was like being at a conference or something. Yikes, we are still recovering from the last one. Anyway, Bill was different from how I have ever seen him before. I could tell that something had really happened in him and it became obvious after listening to him that he still wasn’t even sure what it was.
He says to us, “Some of you are assigned to help us (Bethel Church) complete a task.” He spoke to our class, even though we were also with second year and a lot of visitors, something that he has never told another class before, that we were going to significantly alter world history.
Additionally, God puts favor on your life so that you can give it away. One man in the school tossed me a ball of snow that he brought in from outside. When God give you something incredible it is because you are supposed to give it away! If you have an amazing healing anointing you should not stay locked up in your house!
Sometimes the struggle is that we don’t realize what we have. If I only think I have trash to give I am not going to try to give it away to people. In the past few months people have been telling me a lot that I have so much to give. Just recently I have started to understand and see a little bit of what they are talking about. Yesterday I was reminded of it again though as when I was praying for someone they looked at me with the look of, “You don’t understand what you got!”
As I got home last night I was thinking about how oftentimes I don’t feel the power of God, or when I do, how it doesn’t manifest in such a powerful as to make me unable to speak. At the conference last week another student challenged me to be filled with the Spirit yet to still be able to control myself to speak to crowds. I am not trying to put God in a box when I say this, but there are not many speakers or pastors that I know of that are flopping around uncontrollably while trying to speak.
One thing that I can be sure of is that I need more of God. I don’t think that I am something because the reality is that often times I feel like nothing. The times in my life when I thought I was something special didn’t turn out too good, so I think I’ll stick with what works. God, give me something incredible so that I can give it away!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Healing is not an option
Bob Jones made it very clear to us as a school that healing is not an option for us. We must not back off when faced with impossibilities because to true disciples, nothing will be impossible. He also spoke of the new authority that we will be walking in and the importance of having our tongue under control. Since we will have authority to curse cancer and disease we must make sure that we don’t speak negative words that will paralyze the progress of others.
One thing he told us that was somewhat of a wake up call to me was that we must build a house on the foundation that has already been laid. If we build that house then the healings and miracles will increase and become very consistent. Furthermore, I am a child of God and I can do anything my Daddy does!
He also reminded us to not give up praying too soon. He probably could have just said never stop praying, but his point was that we should never let discouragement keep us from continuing to go after breakthrough. Remember, healing is not an option!
One thing he told us that was somewhat of a wake up call to me was that we must build a house on the foundation that has already been laid. If we build that house then the healings and miracles will increase and become very consistent. Furthermore, I am a child of God and I can do anything my Daddy does!
He also reminded us to not give up praying too soon. He probably could have just said never stop praying, but his point was that we should never let discouragement keep us from continuing to go after breakthrough. Remember, healing is not an option!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Big News!
That’s right, you did see me on the Video Announcements today. If you missed me go back and look again, really hard. I was only a few feet away from the camera but it flashed by me so quickly that I only am on screen for a split second and am only a blur. Oh well.
In other news I got to spend some quality time with my Tallahassee boys today. It was a blast. They got radically touched by God which made me more happy than a clam, which makes me wonder how happy clams really are.
I had a few key conversations with people today that confirmed my desire to travel as much as I can through second year. A pastor suggested that I go on the firestorms as they are very cheap to go on but are very valuable in gaining ministry experience.
After almost three weeks off of my big prayer season, I feel like God is taking me back into it again. I am kinda glad about it because I felt way more productive when I was praying a lot.
On Friday I will be going to San Francisco and Berkeley as we are going to be doing a conference in addition to our normal outreach.
And 2 weeks from now I will be on my way to Mexico! God bring your fire!
In other news I got to spend some quality time with my Tallahassee boys today. It was a blast. They got radically touched by God which made me more happy than a clam, which makes me wonder how happy clams really are.
I had a few key conversations with people today that confirmed my desire to travel as much as I can through second year. A pastor suggested that I go on the firestorms as they are very cheap to go on but are very valuable in gaining ministry experience.
After almost three weeks off of my big prayer season, I feel like God is taking me back into it again. I am kinda glad about it because I felt way more productive when I was praying a lot.
On Friday I will be going to San Francisco and Berkeley as we are going to be doing a conference in addition to our normal outreach.
And 2 weeks from now I will be on my way to Mexico! God bring your fire!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Powerful testimony
I can’t really express how I feel right now. I had the experience of praying for a man with very severe cerebral palsy tonight and seeing his family have to roll him away in his wheelchair seemingly untouched.
I felt fire on my hands for the entire time that I was praying for him which was at least an hour. Power surged in my body at times but without fail the fire was there for an hour.
Several times as I was praying in the spirit I was thinking, “God, how can this be?” or “Jesus, the price you paid was sufficient for him!” and finally, “Worthy is the lamb that was slain for him!”
Several times tears welled up in my eyes as my heart broke for him. I asked a few of my friends to pray and so they began to pray for me. I thank God for them as they were really there for me.
Then I don’t know what happened. Simultaneously one of my friends and I got hit at the same time. It took a lot out of me. I don’t really know how to describe it other than it was like having the life sucked out of you.
Next thing I knew my head rested on a support between his crippled feet. Within a minute I was drained and fell to the floor. I still tried to pray now with my friends hand on top of mine, but after a minute or two I was done.
The fire was completely gone and I could no longer feel God’s presence. My friends then prayed for me. Within a few seconds of them beginning to pray, the fire came back and I could feel God’s presence again. However, I was still drained.
I was done. I didn’t have anything left in the tank.I know that God was the only way this man was going to be healed, but so much happened as I laid hands on him that it wore me out.
But praise God for two wonderful friends who were there to encourage me as a coach would just encourage his own player who just lost the game for his team even though he gave his all.
It gets harder each time I have to watch someone go away without having been healed, but even more-so each time I see someone in a wheelchair or with a developmental disability go away without their healing.
It was just a fresh reminder to go after breakthrough. It is so hard to watch believers not receive healing. Although I don’t think they will be reading this, I do just want to say thank you to my to encouraging and praying friends. You blessed me tonight more than you know.
I felt fire on my hands for the entire time that I was praying for him which was at least an hour. Power surged in my body at times but without fail the fire was there for an hour.
Several times as I was praying in the spirit I was thinking, “God, how can this be?” or “Jesus, the price you paid was sufficient for him!” and finally, “Worthy is the lamb that was slain for him!”
Several times tears welled up in my eyes as my heart broke for him. I asked a few of my friends to pray and so they began to pray for me. I thank God for them as they were really there for me.
Then I don’t know what happened. Simultaneously one of my friends and I got hit at the same time. It took a lot out of me. I don’t really know how to describe it other than it was like having the life sucked out of you.
Next thing I knew my head rested on a support between his crippled feet. Within a minute I was drained and fell to the floor. I still tried to pray now with my friends hand on top of mine, but after a minute or two I was done.
The fire was completely gone and I could no longer feel God’s presence. My friends then prayed for me. Within a few seconds of them beginning to pray, the fire came back and I could feel God’s presence again. However, I was still drained.
I was done. I didn’t have anything left in the tank.I know that God was the only way this man was going to be healed, but so much happened as I laid hands on him that it wore me out.
But praise God for two wonderful friends who were there to encourage me as a coach would just encourage his own player who just lost the game for his team even though he gave his all.
It gets harder each time I have to watch someone go away without having been healed, but even more-so each time I see someone in a wheelchair or with a developmental disability go away without their healing.
It was just a fresh reminder to go after breakthrough. It is so hard to watch believers not receive healing. Although I don’t think they will be reading this, I do just want to say thank you to my to encouraging and praying friends. You blessed me tonight more than you know.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Anointing
I don’t know where to begin. I suppose I could start at the beginning. God is really doing something huge in me. I am being completely honest when I say that I normally don’t feel anointed. I believe that comes from the fact that I don’t normally feel the Holy Spirit on me.
In the past few days I have been highly more aware of God’s presence and also the Holy Spirit. With that in mind, there have been many times when I have felt the power of God surging through my body.
Additionally, there have been people who have gotten in my proximity and have felt the presence of God. That excites me because I want to give people an encounter with God and it has also been a dream of mine to walk into a room and have the presence of God heal everyone there.
God is definitely taking me somewhere. He is molding me to be able to handle a greater anointing. His presence is what prepares me. In His presence I am changed.
In the past few days I have been highly more aware of God’s presence and also the Holy Spirit. With that in mind, there have been many times when I have felt the power of God surging through my body.
Additionally, there have been people who have gotten in my proximity and have felt the presence of God. That excites me because I want to give people an encounter with God and it has also been a dream of mine to walk into a room and have the presence of God heal everyone there.
God is definitely taking me somewhere. He is molding me to be able to handle a greater anointing. His presence is what prepares me. In His presence I am changed.
Drinking Time!
Ever since getting back from Winter Camp I have been heavily under the influence of the Holy Spirit. It has been very excited as it is something that it feels like I have been waiting a long time for. When you think about it, it would make sense that when the power of God shoots through your body you might shake or twitch just a little bit. Also, it would seem to make sense that typically the people who show such physical manifestations, or at least did at some point, seem to walk in a greater anointing than those who don’t or have not in the past manifested.
Similarly, when the spirit is so heavy on you, it makes sense that it would take over your body for a little while. Well, being drunk in the Holy Spirit is just like that. To be honest with you I don’t like saying “drunk” when referring to being under the power of God so much so that you appear to be drunk. In each of the past few days I have gotten “hit” by the Spirit so hard that I ended up on the floor laughing for 30 minutes or longer.
To many, that is just nonsense. And while it doesn’t necessarily make perfect sense to me as to why that helps, I can’t argue with the fruit. Just go over to the testimonies from tonight and you will see that God was moving powerfully. I can’t even begin to make a case against getting drunk in the Holy Spirit when the result is that many people get radically touched by God.
After all, Jesus did tell us to abide in Him and that He is the vine. He then said that you will recognize people by their fruit. I can confirm that I recognize this fruit as being from someone who has been with Jesus. The result of which is some pretty amazing fruit. I think I will stick with the vine and see how much fruit can be produced.
Testimonies can be found on healingrevivalist.com. Enjoy!
Similarly, when the spirit is so heavy on you, it makes sense that it would take over your body for a little while. Well, being drunk in the Holy Spirit is just like that. To be honest with you I don’t like saying “drunk” when referring to being under the power of God so much so that you appear to be drunk. In each of the past few days I have gotten “hit” by the Spirit so hard that I ended up on the floor laughing for 30 minutes or longer.
To many, that is just nonsense. And while it doesn’t necessarily make perfect sense to me as to why that helps, I can’t argue with the fruit. Just go over to the testimonies from tonight and you will see that God was moving powerfully. I can’t even begin to make a case against getting drunk in the Holy Spirit when the result is that many people get radically touched by God.
After all, Jesus did tell us to abide in Him and that He is the vine. He then said that you will recognize people by their fruit. I can confirm that I recognize this fruit as being from someone who has been with Jesus. The result of which is some pretty amazing fruit. I think I will stick with the vine and see how much fruit can be produced.
Testimonies can be found on healingrevivalist.com. Enjoy!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Winter Camp
Well, I have now had the chance to sit at home for a couple hours to let my mind catch up with what happened the past few days at Nor-Cal Winter Camp. To be honest, I didn't know enough about it to come in with any expectations whatsoever, so I must say that I came away completely floored and so happy that I went. Rather, I am so thankful that I was asked on Tuesday by one of the youth pastors to come on the trip.
Just like the trip to Brazil last summer, I immediately felt like I had become a part of a huge family. I must say though that this trip was definitely the best bang for the buck of anything I have probably ever done. I got my money's worth by just eating the food (for those of you who don't know, I can eat a lot!). Anyway, I had a great time hanging out with our youth and also having a little fun with them and the Holy Spirit.
Yeah buddy. Granted, I think most of us were having some fun with the Holy Spirit, myself included. So many of the kids were touched by God. It was fantastic. Many were touched for the first time. I can't wait to hear all the testimonies about what happened to all our youth. It was really an impactful few days. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had three great student leaders in my room and we were definitely all getting rocked by God after we had to be in our rooms at night.
I don't really know what to say about it other than that the youth are great and that I love God. I am so thankful that He became real to me with His presence last summer and that now, almost a year after realizing that God is really doing something in the United States, I am going into deeper things with the Holy Spirit than I ever knew was possible. God is so good. I am so grateful to have Him around all the time.
Just like the trip to Brazil last summer, I immediately felt like I had become a part of a huge family. I must say though that this trip was definitely the best bang for the buck of anything I have probably ever done. I got my money's worth by just eating the food (for those of you who don't know, I can eat a lot!). Anyway, I had a great time hanging out with our youth and also having a little fun with them and the Holy Spirit.
Yeah buddy. Granted, I think most of us were having some fun with the Holy Spirit, myself included. So many of the kids were touched by God. It was fantastic. Many were touched for the first time. I can't wait to hear all the testimonies about what happened to all our youth. It was really an impactful few days. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had three great student leaders in my room and we were definitely all getting rocked by God after we had to be in our rooms at night.
I don't really know what to say about it other than that the youth are great and that I love God. I am so thankful that He became real to me with His presence last summer and that now, almost a year after realizing that God is really doing something in the United States, I am going into deeper things with the Holy Spirit than I ever knew was possible. God is so good. I am so grateful to have Him around all the time.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
building a foundation on Christ
It is becoming more apparent to me with each passing day how important it is that I am radically obedient to doing anything that God asks me to do. The foundation of radical obedience is intimacy with God. As our guest speaker shared today, we must be like Paul and “consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ,” (Philippians 3:8).
We are too quick to drop our commitment to Jesus when things don’t go as easy as we would like. Being unfaithful to my wife even once would be unthinkable, yet we can be unfaithful to Christ daily without worrying about it. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead,” (Philippians 3:10-11).
It was making me sick to think of all the times that I do things that I don’t even consider important instead of spending that same time knowing Jesus. I can’t start with the the good things that are not God things, I need to start with the foolish things like reading about cell phones that I will never buy. To be honest, I don’t know why I waste my time reading about different things, because I know that in the end I would give it up in a heart beat.
Furthermore, I must think of how to steward financial resources in the same way that I must steward my time. I must be faithful with the little if I want to be entrusted with much. That is in the bible. It is so amazing that God will give us opportunities to redeem our faithfulness when we have in the past been unfaithful. However, it may even be more incredible that He doesn’t give us constant opportunities when we are looking failure in the face. He isn’t going to set us up for recurring failure, so He waits until we are ready to handle the task He will bring.
God is so good. He is building a strong foundation in me so that when He gives me a command I will be ready to obey it fully and see His army advance. His heart is to promote us when we are ready to receive direction from the Commander. But, a General must be willing to do whatever the Commander says and that kind of obedience will only come from a deep trust that is birthed in relationship.
We are too quick to drop our commitment to Jesus when things don’t go as easy as we would like. Being unfaithful to my wife even once would be unthinkable, yet we can be unfaithful to Christ daily without worrying about it. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead,” (Philippians 3:10-11).
It was making me sick to think of all the times that I do things that I don’t even consider important instead of spending that same time knowing Jesus. I can’t start with the the good things that are not God things, I need to start with the foolish things like reading about cell phones that I will never buy. To be honest, I don’t know why I waste my time reading about different things, because I know that in the end I would give it up in a heart beat.
Furthermore, I must think of how to steward financial resources in the same way that I must steward my time. I must be faithful with the little if I want to be entrusted with much. That is in the bible. It is so amazing that God will give us opportunities to redeem our faithfulness when we have in the past been unfaithful. However, it may even be more incredible that He doesn’t give us constant opportunities when we are looking failure in the face. He isn’t going to set us up for recurring failure, so He waits until we are ready to handle the task He will bring.
God is so good. He is building a strong foundation in me so that when He gives me a command I will be ready to obey it fully and see His army advance. His heart is to promote us when we are ready to receive direction from the Commander. But, a General must be willing to do whatever the Commander says and that kind of obedience will only come from a deep trust that is birthed in relationship.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
thankful on valentine's day
For those who haven’t been around me for an extended period of time in the past 2 weeks you might struggle to comprehend what I am about to say. For years I longed to know God and to hear His voice. I started literally crying out to God when I was probably in the 6th grade. I was confused. I struggled at times with thoughts of suicide, not because people were mean to me, but more like the book of Ecclesiastes: I thought everything was meaningless. So I wanted to know that there was something for me to stick around for. I wanted to know that God was real.
Ten years later I felt the presence of God for the first time while in Brazil on a trip where I saw God heal thousands of people. Ten years of frustration released in just a moment when God opened the floodgates and remained hidden no more. Proverbs 25:2 comes to mind: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, the glory of kings to search it out.” I finally found what I was looking for!
It wasn’t a cakewalk from there though. As soon as I left Brazil, God’s presence escaped as well. I can only recall feeling His presence once after I got back from Brazil and that was at a worship concert the day after I got back. When I moved out to Redding I was able to recapture some of what I had lost, but it was still inconsistent and sometimes difficult to enter into. There were times when I would spend hours every day just waiting and not feel a thing.
I think that God probably removed His presence because I didn’t value it. I thought that it was a neat trick. I could put my hands out and focus on Him and it would just come like turning on a light switch. Now that I think about it, I bet that may have also happened when God started to give me words of knowledge back in November. I got so many of them that for a couple days I thought that it was almost comical. Literally, I could be writing you an email and get a couple things for you without trying. I would just feel them and they would be right. I thought I had done something to deserve it and I certainly didn’t value it.
So far in 2007 I have felt God’s presence every day. That is 45 days so far. Additionally, in the past two weeks or so I have started to manifest when the Holy Spirit comes upon me. Don’t be alarmed, it was something that I desired. I had also desired to be “drunk in the spirit” (which I might add, I don’t like saying around people who don’t understand it), and recently that has been happening as well! Tonight at youth I enjoyed the extended time of worship by just laying on the floor for an hour in the presence of God. It is like I had a keychain with 100 keys and only 1 got me into the presence of God. Sometimes I could find it, other times I couldn’t. Now, I have found it and memorized it so that I can find it very quickly. I am so thankful.
That is a valuable lesson for me to learn. I don’t want to ever go through a season again without the presence of God. Ever. It isn’t worth it. His presence is worth any price. Just like how power costs, presence costs as well. Now that I realize it, it is time to recover the word of knowledge gift that I didn’t value. This valentine’s day I am so thankful that I get to experience God’s love in such a huge way and that I got to spend all the time that I wanted to with Him. Sure it cost me a lot, but it was worth it more than any roses or chocolate will ever be.
Ten years later I felt the presence of God for the first time while in Brazil on a trip where I saw God heal thousands of people. Ten years of frustration released in just a moment when God opened the floodgates and remained hidden no more. Proverbs 25:2 comes to mind: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, the glory of kings to search it out.” I finally found what I was looking for!
It wasn’t a cakewalk from there though. As soon as I left Brazil, God’s presence escaped as well. I can only recall feeling His presence once after I got back from Brazil and that was at a worship concert the day after I got back. When I moved out to Redding I was able to recapture some of what I had lost, but it was still inconsistent and sometimes difficult to enter into. There were times when I would spend hours every day just waiting and not feel a thing.
I think that God probably removed His presence because I didn’t value it. I thought that it was a neat trick. I could put my hands out and focus on Him and it would just come like turning on a light switch. Now that I think about it, I bet that may have also happened when God started to give me words of knowledge back in November. I got so many of them that for a couple days I thought that it was almost comical. Literally, I could be writing you an email and get a couple things for you without trying. I would just feel them and they would be right. I thought I had done something to deserve it and I certainly didn’t value it.
So far in 2007 I have felt God’s presence every day. That is 45 days so far. Additionally, in the past two weeks or so I have started to manifest when the Holy Spirit comes upon me. Don’t be alarmed, it was something that I desired. I had also desired to be “drunk in the spirit” (which I might add, I don’t like saying around people who don’t understand it), and recently that has been happening as well! Tonight at youth I enjoyed the extended time of worship by just laying on the floor for an hour in the presence of God. It is like I had a keychain with 100 keys and only 1 got me into the presence of God. Sometimes I could find it, other times I couldn’t. Now, I have found it and memorized it so that I can find it very quickly. I am so thankful.
That is a valuable lesson for me to learn. I don’t want to ever go through a season again without the presence of God. Ever. It isn’t worth it. His presence is worth any price. Just like how power costs, presence costs as well. Now that I realize it, it is time to recover the word of knowledge gift that I didn’t value. This valentine’s day I am so thankful that I get to experience God’s love in such a huge way and that I got to spend all the time that I wanted to with Him. Sure it cost me a lot, but it was worth it more than any roses or chocolate will ever be.
Power costs.
As crazy as it may sound, I believe that a word that I heard tonight at my home group may be the most significant word that I have heard up to this point in my life. Sure, if there hadn’t been other words previous to this one, I might not have realized just how important this is, but regardless this one will change my life.
We were fortunate enough to have another one of our interns there tonight, meaning we had four 3rd year students and one graduate - not bad. Well, one of the interns started to talk about how we must be dependent on God. We must abandon our other options and sell out completely for God. He likened it to his time before he came to Bethel and did not hold a reputation for being a student at Bethel. Before he came he only had God. God was his only source. He didn’t have leaders to fall back on to give him prophetic words or encourage him. He had his bible and he had God. Other people are great, we need them, but we must be dependent on God.
Then he shifted to a powerful dream he had. I won’t share the details, but he ends up in an argument with the Holy Spirit, who finally answers him with, “Power costs!” This is in the context of restoring the anointing from the 1950s healing revival. Purity is something that is quite often looked at with a negative light among Christians these days. The Religious Police go after purity like the Georgia Highway Patrol go after speeders. So many people make compromises because they don’t want to be religious. So we end up with a huge group of non-religious Christians who walk the line more than Johnny Cash.
Power costs a lot. Walking in absolute purity is just part of the price we have to pay to walk in power. We have to really want it. Many times I have asked myself how I would act if every person I prayed for got healed. The answer is that I would have to pray for every person I ran into with a visible problem. There would be no option. I would have to pull over my car, let my food thaw out, and delay getting to wherever I was going next in order to see that each person got the healing that God was going to bring to them. But with that would come a whole lot of rejection. I would probably be made fun of extensively and take the brunt of many rude comments and expletives.
So is power worth the cost? You have to determine that for yourself. To be completely honest, I had to think about all that it would cost me. I had to realize that I must start paying the price now. You still pay the power bill when only one light is on, you just pay more when every light is on. I must start acting as though every person will get healed. There is no other option. Power is worth the all the hard work. Power is worth the cost.
We were fortunate enough to have another one of our interns there tonight, meaning we had four 3rd year students and one graduate - not bad. Well, one of the interns started to talk about how we must be dependent on God. We must abandon our other options and sell out completely for God. He likened it to his time before he came to Bethel and did not hold a reputation for being a student at Bethel. Before he came he only had God. God was his only source. He didn’t have leaders to fall back on to give him prophetic words or encourage him. He had his bible and he had God. Other people are great, we need them, but we must be dependent on God.
Then he shifted to a powerful dream he had. I won’t share the details, but he ends up in an argument with the Holy Spirit, who finally answers him with, “Power costs!” This is in the context of restoring the anointing from the 1950s healing revival. Purity is something that is quite often looked at with a negative light among Christians these days. The Religious Police go after purity like the Georgia Highway Patrol go after speeders. So many people make compromises because they don’t want to be religious. So we end up with a huge group of non-religious Christians who walk the line more than Johnny Cash.
Power costs a lot. Walking in absolute purity is just part of the price we have to pay to walk in power. We have to really want it. Many times I have asked myself how I would act if every person I prayed for got healed. The answer is that I would have to pray for every person I ran into with a visible problem. There would be no option. I would have to pull over my car, let my food thaw out, and delay getting to wherever I was going next in order to see that each person got the healing that God was going to bring to them. But with that would come a whole lot of rejection. I would probably be made fun of extensively and take the brunt of many rude comments and expletives.
So is power worth the cost? You have to determine that for yourself. To be completely honest, I had to think about all that it would cost me. I had to realize that I must start paying the price now. You still pay the power bill when only one light is on, you just pay more when every light is on. I must start acting as though every person will get healed. There is no other option. Power is worth the all the hard work. Power is worth the cost.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Presence so thick you can hardly sit
The flight back to San Francisco wasn’t quite as enjoyable as the one to Atlanta. The plane on our way there had DISH Network for every seat and so even though I was trying to read, and did do a good job of reading, it was fun to be able to watch TV. Also, we had lots of leg room due to our exit row seats. I love the exit row.
So, on the way back the exit row turned out to not have any extra leg room which was a bummer and the seats didn’t have screens on them. All would have been fine until I realized that I left my headphones in Atlanta and that I couldn’t listen to soaking music after all. No worries though, they have been located and I just continued to read.
We decided to hit up the In-n-Out that was right near the airport for lunch once we arrived in San Francisco and happened to see two of the flight attendants there. Don’t worry, that was a good thing as they were super friendly. I must say that of all the flight attendants I have ever had, these were the two best. So we chatted for a couple minutes and enjoyed our food before heading to Sacramento.
We got there about 90 minutes before the meeting started. It seemed funny that it had only been a week since the last time we were in a meeting with Todd Bentley, but we were excited nonetheless. Before the meeting started I figured that I would just take a few minutes to enjoy God’s presence, which I did. So much so that the woman next to me, who was just as fun as the two flight attendants (what can I say, African American women are great!), started to get whacked as well. So after a few minutes we had the whole row getting blasted by the presence of God. It was so good.
Then we had worship. Oh geez. I am so thankful that God has taught me how to worship when the music would otherwise distract me. However, after a while the worship leader just took over on keyboard and really set the tone for worship. Michael Larson is his name, and I must say, he does it quite well. So, after worship I just stayed there in the presence and after somewhat listening to Todd speak for another 90 minutes I was exhausted from the presence. I suppose that is what 3+ hours does to you. God’s presence is so good.
So, on the way back the exit row turned out to not have any extra leg room which was a bummer and the seats didn’t have screens on them. All would have been fine until I realized that I left my headphones in Atlanta and that I couldn’t listen to soaking music after all. No worries though, they have been located and I just continued to read.
We decided to hit up the In-n-Out that was right near the airport for lunch once we arrived in San Francisco and happened to see two of the flight attendants there. Don’t worry, that was a good thing as they were super friendly. I must say that of all the flight attendants I have ever had, these were the two best. So we chatted for a couple minutes and enjoyed our food before heading to Sacramento.
We got there about 90 minutes before the meeting started. It seemed funny that it had only been a week since the last time we were in a meeting with Todd Bentley, but we were excited nonetheless. Before the meeting started I figured that I would just take a few minutes to enjoy God’s presence, which I did. So much so that the woman next to me, who was just as fun as the two flight attendants (what can I say, African American women are great!), started to get whacked as well. So after a few minutes we had the whole row getting blasted by the presence of God. It was so good.
Then we had worship. Oh geez. I am so thankful that God has taught me how to worship when the music would otherwise distract me. However, after a while the worship leader just took over on keyboard and really set the tone for worship. Michael Larson is his name, and I must say, he does it quite well. So, after worship I just stayed there in the presence and after somewhat listening to Todd speak for another 90 minutes I was exhausted from the presence. I suppose that is what 3+ hours does to you. God’s presence is so good.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Atlanta trip: a day with the youth
Today was a great day. We went to the church and spent some time soaking with some of the Georgia Tech students as well as a few of the leaders. They then shared how God was touching them. It was really cool as they all expressed how they were amazed that they were able to stop thinking about things and just focus on God. While then praying for them, one of the students got wacked. Luckily I realized that he was falling over so I was able to catch him. Haha. God is so cool. Also, we got to prophecy over the leaders which was fun. Then they turned the tables on us and prophecied over us.
I was radically blessed by the words they gave me but even more so when they told me that they felt like they should wash my feet. I mean wow. It made me cry. I could have been because my shoes smelled really bad, but it was actually because of how touched I was by the two people who were washing my feet. They had paper towels, but then they were just touching them with their hands. Now my feet don't necessarily look bad, but I still wouldn't just be sticking them on other people. It was rad. So thank you Ashley and Mady (spelling?)
So, a little after 3 o'clock we finally went to get some lunch. We then spent some time with the amazing Youth Master :). I learned so much from her. For me, the hour or two I spent talking with her was worth the trip. Seriously. It was mega learning. It was practical ministry experience with someone who connected the dots a lot better than I would have. Now I really know what to do for any future ministry trips instead of going in with just what I had been thinking and seeing whether or not it would be more successful than this trip.
So then we had the youth meeting. OK, let me just say that these kids are amazing. Ashley, I envy you for the fact that you get to spend so much time with them. It seriously makes me want to be a youth pastor. Shoot, maybe I will be one for a while. During worship the presence of God came in there like a freight train and wrecked me. I was crying so much that I couldn't see a thing when I had to go up and speak. And since God wrecked me I totally didn't end up speaking how I would have. I had planned several weeks ago of preaching so hard that I would impress all who were there to hear it. Well, that was a stupid idea, well, at least the heart behind it was stupid. I think it was better for me to kneel there and cry while I spoke softly than to stand up wave my arms like crazy and scream.
Then Jeremy came up to share two testimonies from yesterday of God healing people. Following him, a woman from the church, who just happens to be married to a great friend of mine shared her testimony of God healing her last year of some pretty serious stuff. After that we prayed for several people. The first felt heat go from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. She didn't have any way to immediately test it out. The second wasn't seeing breakthrough at first but after a little discerning action by Jeremy, some stuff was broken off and his pain went away. Another had her neck healed and was needing to go eat some food to test out whether the acid reflux was gone. Another had some of his back pain go away.
Then we prophecied over everyone. That was a blast. They are amazing if I haven't already mentioned that. We got the opportunity to pray over the Youth Master and prophecy the radical growth that is coming to their group in the coming years. Then, they prophecied over us! Finally, over 2 hours after the meeting was supposed to be over, we finally stopped so they could clean up their stuff and we could go out to eat. Haha. Well, it is almost 2 am so I better get to sleep since we are leaving for the airport at 7:15. It has been a great trip and I hope to be back soon. Signing out from Atlanta...
I was radically blessed by the words they gave me but even more so when they told me that they felt like they should wash my feet. I mean wow. It made me cry. I could have been because my shoes smelled really bad, but it was actually because of how touched I was by the two people who were washing my feet. They had paper towels, but then they were just touching them with their hands. Now my feet don't necessarily look bad, but I still wouldn't just be sticking them on other people. It was rad. So thank you Ashley and Mady (spelling?)
So, a little after 3 o'clock we finally went to get some lunch. We then spent some time with the amazing Youth Master :). I learned so much from her. For me, the hour or two I spent talking with her was worth the trip. Seriously. It was mega learning. It was practical ministry experience with someone who connected the dots a lot better than I would have. Now I really know what to do for any future ministry trips instead of going in with just what I had been thinking and seeing whether or not it would be more successful than this trip.
So then we had the youth meeting. OK, let me just say that these kids are amazing. Ashley, I envy you for the fact that you get to spend so much time with them. It seriously makes me want to be a youth pastor. Shoot, maybe I will be one for a while. During worship the presence of God came in there like a freight train and wrecked me. I was crying so much that I couldn't see a thing when I had to go up and speak. And since God wrecked me I totally didn't end up speaking how I would have. I had planned several weeks ago of preaching so hard that I would impress all who were there to hear it. Well, that was a stupid idea, well, at least the heart behind it was stupid. I think it was better for me to kneel there and cry while I spoke softly than to stand up wave my arms like crazy and scream.
Then Jeremy came up to share two testimonies from yesterday of God healing people. Following him, a woman from the church, who just happens to be married to a great friend of mine shared her testimony of God healing her last year of some pretty serious stuff. After that we prayed for several people. The first felt heat go from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. She didn't have any way to immediately test it out. The second wasn't seeing breakthrough at first but after a little discerning action by Jeremy, some stuff was broken off and his pain went away. Another had her neck healed and was needing to go eat some food to test out whether the acid reflux was gone. Another had some of his back pain go away.
Then we prophecied over everyone. That was a blast. They are amazing if I haven't already mentioned that. We got the opportunity to pray over the Youth Master and prophecy the radical growth that is coming to their group in the coming years. Then, they prophecied over us! Finally, over 2 hours after the meeting was supposed to be over, we finally stopped so they could clean up their stuff and we could go out to eat. Haha. Well, it is almost 2 am so I better get to sleep since we are leaving for the airport at 7:15. It has been a great trip and I hope to be back soon. Signing out from Atlanta...
Atlanta trip: 2nd day at Georgia Tech
So I realized that really I should have come in with a better plan of attack. I know in my mind what I would like to do but I am not always good at communicating that to others, which is something I need to work on. First off we should have just spent time praying from the beginning. Second, we should have asked God to show us the people He was wanting to talk to so that we could be more strategic with our time.
Think about it. God is the best strategic planner there is. Hands down. He wins every time. So, He would be the one to know who we should talk to because He would know that they are either really ready to get involved in something or they are just really needing to hear that God loves them. Anyway, it makes sense to me.
Well, today was rough for me. Not because Georgia Tech is a tough place, but because I allowed my vision to get blocked. I allowed it. It would have been nice had the block not been there to begin with, but regardless I allowed a block to get in the way of a man in a wheelchair potentially getting healed. Man that is tough. I really can't describe how much it is bugging me right now. Not only for the young man, but also for the souls of the 50+ people that would have been there witnessing the power of God touching him. Not to mention the hundreds of other students that were there as well in the building (we were in the student services building). What a testimony that would have been. Thousands of people could have gotten saved.
Anyway, as we were walking towardsd campus in the morning, Jeremy spotted an older woman with a brace on her wrist. He prayed for her and asked how it felt. She said that it hadn't been hurting at the moment but that she was so happy that he stopped to pray for her. About 5 minutes later as we were still walking, now on a different street. She pulled up in her car and stopped in the middle of the road to tell us that it didn't feel the same anymore and that God healed her!
Later Jeremy saw a guy on campus who was on crutches but was booking. I mean he was moving. So he ran after him and prayed for him. The guy had messed up his ankle really bad and couldn't put any pressure on it. After Jeremy prayed once the guy responded that all the pain left and that now it was just stiff, probably due to the fact that it was pretty swollen. So he prayed again and the guy ended up putting the crutches over his shoulder and walking off! He even started to call some friends and family to tell them what happened! Praise God!
So, nobody got up out of a wheelchair, thousands of people didn't get saved, and we didn't have to move our meeting into the football stadium. However, my friend was encouraged just to have us there laboring with him on the campus with him and after the meeting also said that this is the most fruit that he has seen since he has been here. Jeremy and I were talking the first night about how it would be great to leave them encouraged and equipped to do the work. It would have been my heart to bring in a bunch of people and get them saved so that he can disciple them, but it doesn't always work that way. I definitely learned a lot from my first trip to a campus where I was trying to see some immediate fruit.
Think about it. God is the best strategic planner there is. Hands down. He wins every time. So, He would be the one to know who we should talk to because He would know that they are either really ready to get involved in something or they are just really needing to hear that God loves them. Anyway, it makes sense to me.
Well, today was rough for me. Not because Georgia Tech is a tough place, but because I allowed my vision to get blocked. I allowed it. It would have been nice had the block not been there to begin with, but regardless I allowed a block to get in the way of a man in a wheelchair potentially getting healed. Man that is tough. I really can't describe how much it is bugging me right now. Not only for the young man, but also for the souls of the 50+ people that would have been there witnessing the power of God touching him. Not to mention the hundreds of other students that were there as well in the building (we were in the student services building). What a testimony that would have been. Thousands of people could have gotten saved.
Anyway, as we were walking towardsd campus in the morning, Jeremy spotted an older woman with a brace on her wrist. He prayed for her and asked how it felt. She said that it hadn't been hurting at the moment but that she was so happy that he stopped to pray for her. About 5 minutes later as we were still walking, now on a different street. She pulled up in her car and stopped in the middle of the road to tell us that it didn't feel the same anymore and that God healed her!
Later Jeremy saw a guy on campus who was on crutches but was booking. I mean he was moving. So he ran after him and prayed for him. The guy had messed up his ankle really bad and couldn't put any pressure on it. After Jeremy prayed once the guy responded that all the pain left and that now it was just stiff, probably due to the fact that it was pretty swollen. So he prayed again and the guy ended up putting the crutches over his shoulder and walking off! He even started to call some friends and family to tell them what happened! Praise God!
So, nobody got up out of a wheelchair, thousands of people didn't get saved, and we didn't have to move our meeting into the football stadium. However, my friend was encouraged just to have us there laboring with him on the campus with him and after the meeting also said that this is the most fruit that he has seen since he has been here. Jeremy and I were talking the first night about how it would be great to leave them encouraged and equipped to do the work. It would have been my heart to bring in a bunch of people and get them saved so that he can disciple them, but it doesn't always work that way. I definitely learned a lot from my first trip to a campus where I was trying to see some immediate fruit.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Atlanta trip: 1st day at Georgia Tech
So today was our first day on campus at Georgia Tech. We passed out 500 fliers and went to this sweet place for lunch. We had some awesome chicken tenders. I was gonna prophesy over the business to the owner but after I was waiting for him to finish doing something I was prophesying over some other guys and I didn't see him leave. So at first while I was waiting for him I started talking to a running back on their football team. After a few minutes his food came and so I threw in a prophetic word about his character getting him influence and places of leadership. His response was, "I receive that, I am a Christian..." He was a super cool guy. The other two guys were industrial design majors.
After that we were kinda pooped and so we sat down inside and just started to chat. It was fun getting to catch up and just talk about vision and strategy. Those are so fun to talk about! Casting vision has got to be one of my favorite things to do. So after just hanging out for a while we heading over to the room we had to pray before the meeting. The building we were in was just finished and boy was it nice. It was a huge building too. I might like to get my hands on the architecture for a church building that looks like that.
So, nobody new showed up to the meeting. It was just their regular group. So after preparing a short message for people who would not believe that God is real, that plan was changed as we started the meeting. So we talked. I shared some testimonies and a little bit of my journey to get to where I am now. Then I had Jeremy come up and share a bit before he prophecied over everyone. That was fun. He also gave some words of knowledge and so we prayed for those people at the end of the meeting.
One guy had a problem with a tooth and said at first that he felt a sensation in his mouth like licking a 9-volt battery! He later told us that it actually felt more like rubbing a butcher knife on your tongue. Just not the sharp part! We prayed for people's eyes and both of the girls that we prayed for started to feel something different in their right eye. We prayed for the right knee of a guy who demonstrated to us how it pops when he bends it all the way. It was a pretty nasty mulitiple popping sound! Well, after we prayed it would only pop once. After a few minutes, as we were leaving, he told us that he felt like his legs were being corrected. He used to skate and so has some pretty bad problems with his knees. He really was feeling a difference as though God was supernaturally fixing his legs!
So we walked over to the student center to try to get something to eat. After finding out that it was closed, we delayed and tried to figure out what to do from there. As we stood there, out of the corner of my eye I notice a woman in a wheelchair. After a splitsecond arguement of "I could just pretend that I didn't see her" I quickly walk after them. After getting the attention of the woman she was with, she asked her friend to stop. Praise God. For whatever reason they were willing to stop for a guy at Georgia Tech at 10:40 at night! So I start telling her about how we believe that God wants to heal people and after correctly asking if she had spina bifida, I shared with her the testimony I have of a woman who God was radically touching in the church parking lot at the end of November. So we begin to pray and afterwards we ask what she was feeling. She goes on to tell us that she started to feel heat on her spine while we were praying for her! Glory to God! Her friend by this point was crying and Jeremy started to prophecy a little bit. It was great. Since it was so late and they had been on there way out I didn't want to force them to do anything else, although I suppose I could have just asked if they would mind if we prayed again. But praise God! That was the first person all day that I saw in a wheelchair. The only other person I had seen with any kind of visible problem had turned us down. Today we are gonna go looking for more. We need a bona fide miracle to breakthrough in this place. Otherwise we might just have another meeting with no new people. Please continue to pray.
After that we were kinda pooped and so we sat down inside and just started to chat. It was fun getting to catch up and just talk about vision and strategy. Those are so fun to talk about! Casting vision has got to be one of my favorite things to do. So after just hanging out for a while we heading over to the room we had to pray before the meeting. The building we were in was just finished and boy was it nice. It was a huge building too. I might like to get my hands on the architecture for a church building that looks like that.
So, nobody new showed up to the meeting. It was just their regular group. So after preparing a short message for people who would not believe that God is real, that plan was changed as we started the meeting. So we talked. I shared some testimonies and a little bit of my journey to get to where I am now. Then I had Jeremy come up and share a bit before he prophecied over everyone. That was fun. He also gave some words of knowledge and so we prayed for those people at the end of the meeting.
One guy had a problem with a tooth and said at first that he felt a sensation in his mouth like licking a 9-volt battery! He later told us that it actually felt more like rubbing a butcher knife on your tongue. Just not the sharp part! We prayed for people's eyes and both of the girls that we prayed for started to feel something different in their right eye. We prayed for the right knee of a guy who demonstrated to us how it pops when he bends it all the way. It was a pretty nasty mulitiple popping sound! Well, after we prayed it would only pop once. After a few minutes, as we were leaving, he told us that he felt like his legs were being corrected. He used to skate and so has some pretty bad problems with his knees. He really was feeling a difference as though God was supernaturally fixing his legs!
So we walked over to the student center to try to get something to eat. After finding out that it was closed, we delayed and tried to figure out what to do from there. As we stood there, out of the corner of my eye I notice a woman in a wheelchair. After a splitsecond arguement of "I could just pretend that I didn't see her" I quickly walk after them. After getting the attention of the woman she was with, she asked her friend to stop. Praise God. For whatever reason they were willing to stop for a guy at Georgia Tech at 10:40 at night! So I start telling her about how we believe that God wants to heal people and after correctly asking if she had spina bifida, I shared with her the testimony I have of a woman who God was radically touching in the church parking lot at the end of November. So we begin to pray and afterwards we ask what she was feeling. She goes on to tell us that she started to feel heat on her spine while we were praying for her! Glory to God! Her friend by this point was crying and Jeremy started to prophecy a little bit. It was great. Since it was so late and they had been on there way out I didn't want to force them to do anything else, although I suppose I could have just asked if they would mind if we prayed again. But praise God! That was the first person all day that I saw in a wheelchair. The only other person I had seen with any kind of visible problem had turned us down. Today we are gonna go looking for more. We need a bona fide miracle to breakthrough in this place. Otherwise we might just have another meeting with no new people. Please continue to pray.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
God is REALLY sovereign
Well, we made it to Atlanta and I ate food so all is well. Praise God. My jaw was almost getting tired since I haven't chewed anything in so long. As we were on our way out of Redding my car started to overheat. I was first of all in shock, but then was like, dang, this isn't good at all. So I pulled off and drove slowly to the next exit to buy some coolant. Somehow the coolant tank was completely empty. So, I filled it up and got back on the road. We stopped to use the restroom about halfway at a place that is also good to get gas and when I was washing my hands I made a very small connection with an older man who was waiting for the soap as I was getting paper towels. I excused myself and he gave me a smile as to say "no worries." So I went outside and moved to a pump to get some gas. Well, the same guy came out and started talking to me when he saw my Florida license plate. It was then that I noticed that he had hearing aids in both ears. Jesus might as well have showed up right in front of me because I totally lost comprehension and before I knew it he was gone. Bummer. I missed a perfect God-ordained opportunity because I was so surprised that he came up to me and was a legal target (a legal target is someone that has a visible problem such as a limp, cast, crutch, hearing aid, etc...). Argh, I just pray that I will start having dreams that will show me these things so that I can be on the look out for them.
At the airport Jeremy recognized a few people from a dream he had. To him it was just confirmation that he is doing what he is supposed to do. I must just say that I think it is so cool to have dreams about stuff that is going to happen. God is so cool! When we were waiting at our gate, a man who looked like he could be 60 came over and talked to us for a while. At first he was cussing a fair amount and talking about alcohol, alcohol, and more alcohol. Since we never really joined in he eventually switched topics. Also after mentioning that he thought religion was bad for society we almost acted like he never said it. It was really funny because he was totally changing what he was saying based on how we were responding. Eventually he stopped cussing and admitted that when he was in the army out on the battle field that he was praying a whole lot even though he wasn't very religious. Turns out he was 74! I am really believing that God is going to grow me very quickly to the point of getting words of knowledge or prophetic words for people like this man just as I talk to them to give an open door to further ministry, but as of now it has still just been talking.
As we were flying and I was enjoying the leg room that my exit-row seat provided, I for some reason thought about a prophetic word I had received a few years back about having wealth because of being a good steward (there were other details, but that is the main point). Anyway, so I started to think about how I would live right now if I was pulling in a good amount of money. Actually the thought I had was gaining a very large sum of money. I would put it in something safe such as a CD and live off of part of the interest it earned. I would be free to help finance the ministries of people who are taking the gospel of power to places that I can't go. I actually started dreaming of hiring people in different countries to do ministry there (for instance hire a radical Brasilian to keep sharing the gospel, but now being able to do it full time and making enough to live comfortably on). Imagine what you could do if you had a budget of $500,000 a year. You could provide the resources for a radical army of revivalists! On top of the things I would do with the international ministry I would actually eat healthy (I would stop eating hot pockets), I would live in a nicer place (not luxury, but just not roach infested), and I would travel a lot more (to places where I know people who could use a helping hand). Oh praise God that it is coming. I need to pull that tomorrow into today.
At school they have asked us recently how we would live differently if fear wasn't an issue. That is a wonderful question to ponder because it makes you think of all the things that you want to do, but you don't do simply because of fear. However, I just thought of another great thing to ask yourself: What would you do if money wasn't an issue? Seriously. Think about it and let me know what you would do if money wasn't an issue. What would you do with 100 million dollars? I think the answer will reveal what is important to you which is an important thing to know. I didn't desire a new car, although I might have needed one if I hadn't gotten some coolant into my engine, but I did want to get a little bigger place with some furniture (right now I have an air matress, a tv table as a desk, a desk chair, two suitcases, and some boxes from Costco as furniture). Mainly though, I wanted to be able to give money to my church (they are going to see Redding get transformed!) and to people who were out giving people the gospel of power. Other than taking ministry trips myself I would just allow myself to spend more than $2 on a meal (break off that poverty spirit in the name of Jesus!). With the bulk of the money I would invest it so that it lasted forever and was able to continually support these ministries and leave an inheritance for the next generation. Anyway, I am rambling now, but seriously what would you do with 100 million dollars? Or if that is too big a number for you, how about $10 million?
At the airport Jeremy recognized a few people from a dream he had. To him it was just confirmation that he is doing what he is supposed to do. I must just say that I think it is so cool to have dreams about stuff that is going to happen. God is so cool! When we were waiting at our gate, a man who looked like he could be 60 came over and talked to us for a while. At first he was cussing a fair amount and talking about alcohol, alcohol, and more alcohol. Since we never really joined in he eventually switched topics. Also after mentioning that he thought religion was bad for society we almost acted like he never said it. It was really funny because he was totally changing what he was saying based on how we were responding. Eventually he stopped cussing and admitted that when he was in the army out on the battle field that he was praying a whole lot even though he wasn't very religious. Turns out he was 74! I am really believing that God is going to grow me very quickly to the point of getting words of knowledge or prophetic words for people like this man just as I talk to them to give an open door to further ministry, but as of now it has still just been talking.
As we were flying and I was enjoying the leg room that my exit-row seat provided, I for some reason thought about a prophetic word I had received a few years back about having wealth because of being a good steward (there were other details, but that is the main point). Anyway, so I started to think about how I would live right now if I was pulling in a good amount of money. Actually the thought I had was gaining a very large sum of money. I would put it in something safe such as a CD and live off of part of the interest it earned. I would be free to help finance the ministries of people who are taking the gospel of power to places that I can't go. I actually started dreaming of hiring people in different countries to do ministry there (for instance hire a radical Brasilian to keep sharing the gospel, but now being able to do it full time and making enough to live comfortably on). Imagine what you could do if you had a budget of $500,000 a year. You could provide the resources for a radical army of revivalists! On top of the things I would do with the international ministry I would actually eat healthy (I would stop eating hot pockets), I would live in a nicer place (not luxury, but just not roach infested), and I would travel a lot more (to places where I know people who could use a helping hand). Oh praise God that it is coming. I need to pull that tomorrow into today.
At school they have asked us recently how we would live differently if fear wasn't an issue. That is a wonderful question to ponder because it makes you think of all the things that you want to do, but you don't do simply because of fear. However, I just thought of another great thing to ask yourself: What would you do if money wasn't an issue? Seriously. Think about it and let me know what you would do if money wasn't an issue. What would you do with 100 million dollars? I think the answer will reveal what is important to you which is an important thing to know. I didn't desire a new car, although I might have needed one if I hadn't gotten some coolant into my engine, but I did want to get a little bigger place with some furniture (right now I have an air matress, a tv table as a desk, a desk chair, two suitcases, and some boxes from Costco as furniture). Mainly though, I wanted to be able to give money to my church (they are going to see Redding get transformed!) and to people who were out giving people the gospel of power. Other than taking ministry trips myself I would just allow myself to spend more than $2 on a meal (break off that poverty spirit in the name of Jesus!). With the bulk of the money I would invest it so that it lasted forever and was able to continually support these ministries and leave an inheritance for the next generation. Anyway, I am rambling now, but seriously what would you do with 100 million dollars? Or if that is too big a number for you, how about $10 million?
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
When God sets you up
So one of my friends here got sick last night. He called me this morning to have me pray for him over the phone. Then when I was at school he called again to see if I could go pick up some water for him. He just moved into a new apartment last night where he will be mentoring a teen who has been in foster homes and he wasn't sure if the tap water might be bad. So I told him I would be there as soon as I could. Well, we were having a fire tunnel at school which I didn't want to miss so I took the few minutes to wait in line and then go through it before leaving. On my way I thought it would be quickest to take the Freeway. However, when I got to the intersection to get on it, I missed the light for the turn signal so I decided to just keep going on the city roads. Bad idea. I got the next 5 lights all red and would have already been halfway there before I got to the road that I was now going to take. Basically, it took me probably 10 minutes longer to get there this way. I was upset because I was wanting to get there as fast as I could so that I could get back to school and hear as much of Pastor Bill as I could.
As I was getting closer and got out of the bad traffic areas I thought that God was going to do something significant. There would be more than just me dropping off water to my friend. I imagined myself casting out some demon that was causing him to get sick. He had been fine last night when he went to the ER with a couple of the pastors to pray for people. So I decided that instead of going to the conveniece store that was probably more expensive that I would go to Rite Aid. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot I noticed a man walking very slowly with two crutches. I knew that this was going to be a good opportunity and that it would probably take a while.
After I parked my car I immediately head over to him as he approached the store. I asked him how he was doing and if he needed any help. At first I couldn't understand his response but thought that he was going to turn me down. However, instead of saying that he didn't want me to talk to him, he asked me if I was an angel. Yup, you heard me right, he thought that I was an angel. I explained to him that I wasn't, but that I am a Christian and that God did send me here to pray for him. His response to me was to grab my hand and kiss it. He ended up doing this a few more times throughout our conversation. Wow. Talk about being honored. It almost made me want to cry.
While praying for him I did feel a release of anointing onto his back where he had several crushed discs. He said that there wasn't anything he could do to test it out and I didn't want to force anything upon him since he was very old and moving slow as it was. We ended up talking for a good 20-30 minutes before I explained that my sick friend was waiting for me and was probably wondering where I was. So I went in the store to get some water. After I checked out I said goodbye to him as I left and he started to cry. Wow. I am speechless.
At home group tonight a prophetic word was released about the Father seeking us. Man was it good. We have been in a season of seeking out God's presence but now we are going into a season of Him seeking us out! I feel like I have been walking in that all year so far (since January) but hadn't thought of it in that way. I couldn't sit up, so I just laid on the floor. I was down for two hours. Most of that time I don't even know what was going on. Well, when I finally break out of it (whatever it was) my left hand was sweaty and my right hand was dry. Typically my hands would just feel tingling or hot, but not one sweaty and the other dry. I was also feeling some stuff when I was in the prayer house after school which was sweet. It really is as though God is seeking after me! I love it!
Prayer request: Jeremy and I leave tomorrow for Atlanta to do an outreach at Georgia Tech. We will be speaking at meetings on Thursday and Friday night on campus and then on Saturday night we will be speaking at a youth group. Please pray for safe travel, for miracles at the airport, and then for crazy open heavens at Georgia Tech and in Atlanta when we go looking for people who need a miracle!
As I was getting closer and got out of the bad traffic areas I thought that God was going to do something significant. There would be more than just me dropping off water to my friend. I imagined myself casting out some demon that was causing him to get sick. He had been fine last night when he went to the ER with a couple of the pastors to pray for people. So I decided that instead of going to the conveniece store that was probably more expensive that I would go to Rite Aid. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot I noticed a man walking very slowly with two crutches. I knew that this was going to be a good opportunity and that it would probably take a while.
After I parked my car I immediately head over to him as he approached the store. I asked him how he was doing and if he needed any help. At first I couldn't understand his response but thought that he was going to turn me down. However, instead of saying that he didn't want me to talk to him, he asked me if I was an angel. Yup, you heard me right, he thought that I was an angel. I explained to him that I wasn't, but that I am a Christian and that God did send me here to pray for him. His response to me was to grab my hand and kiss it. He ended up doing this a few more times throughout our conversation. Wow. Talk about being honored. It almost made me want to cry.
While praying for him I did feel a release of anointing onto his back where he had several crushed discs. He said that there wasn't anything he could do to test it out and I didn't want to force anything upon him since he was very old and moving slow as it was. We ended up talking for a good 20-30 minutes before I explained that my sick friend was waiting for me and was probably wondering where I was. So I went in the store to get some water. After I checked out I said goodbye to him as I left and he started to cry. Wow. I am speechless.
At home group tonight a prophetic word was released about the Father seeking us. Man was it good. We have been in a season of seeking out God's presence but now we are going into a season of Him seeking us out! I feel like I have been walking in that all year so far (since January) but hadn't thought of it in that way. I couldn't sit up, so I just laid on the floor. I was down for two hours. Most of that time I don't even know what was going on. Well, when I finally break out of it (whatever it was) my left hand was sweaty and my right hand was dry. Typically my hands would just feel tingling or hot, but not one sweaty and the other dry. I was also feeling some stuff when I was in the prayer house after school which was sweet. It really is as though God is seeking after me! I love it!
Prayer request: Jeremy and I leave tomorrow for Atlanta to do an outreach at Georgia Tech. We will be speaking at meetings on Thursday and Friday night on campus and then on Saturday night we will be speaking at a youth group. Please pray for safe travel, for miracles at the airport, and then for crazy open heavens at Georgia Tech and in Atlanta when we go looking for people who need a miracle!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Going to another level
My roommate Jeremy and I just got back from the mall. We went with the sole purpose to pray for people. After I approached a man with some fairly serious injuries due to being shot many years ago we decided that we would step out in the word of knowledge on each person that we approached.
Speaking of the word of knowledge, someone has a problem on the left side of their chest, perhaps the ribs, but I believe that it is the left lung. God wants to heal you right now.
Jeremy felt like if we had told the man that he had been shot (through a word of knowledge) that he might have been open to us praying for him. But without it he shot us down. There comes a point when being polite does not do anything for you.
Soooo, the next "legal target" we saw we did not approach for a few minutes as we asked God to show us things about him. Well, when Jeremy went to talk to him he just forgot the words he was gonna give and went right into asking if we could pray for him. :) Well, we ended up praying for him, but there wasn't anything that he could do to test it out. We were also discouraged (not really, but something like that) to hear him say that he believed that Jesus only came to save and not to heal. He then said that he believed that when Jesus returned he would take away sickness. We believe though that God is bigger than this man's beliefs and will heal him anyway.
We had a woman laugh at us when we were praying for him. We are gonna get a word for her one of these days to make sure she knows that God loves her. Additionally, the man's wife conveniently walked away as we prayed. It is so sad that Christians are embarassed to be seen praying in public.
Next we went into Macy's. After getting turned down. I thought I got word of knowledge for the collar bone. So I approached the clerk that was nearby and asked her. She didn't have that problem but that immediately opened a door to talk to her as she asked if we were from Bethel. We then rattled of a dozen words of knowledge. They were all wrong. Haha. She was fun though. She was just happy that we were stepping out in faith. Just after we started to pray for her she got a phone call and we could tell it was someone in the store. So, we got asked to leave. Haha. We got kicked out of Macy's.
So that was it. We decided that we would press in more for words of knowledge and we are believing that as we step out, God will take us to another level. Redding is going to be transformed!
Speaking of the word of knowledge, someone has a problem on the left side of their chest, perhaps the ribs, but I believe that it is the left lung. God wants to heal you right now.
Jeremy felt like if we had told the man that he had been shot (through a word of knowledge) that he might have been open to us praying for him. But without it he shot us down. There comes a point when being polite does not do anything for you.
Soooo, the next "legal target" we saw we did not approach for a few minutes as we asked God to show us things about him. Well, when Jeremy went to talk to him he just forgot the words he was gonna give and went right into asking if we could pray for him. :) Well, we ended up praying for him, but there wasn't anything that he could do to test it out. We were also discouraged (not really, but something like that) to hear him say that he believed that Jesus only came to save and not to heal. He then said that he believed that when Jesus returned he would take away sickness. We believe though that God is bigger than this man's beliefs and will heal him anyway.
We had a woman laugh at us when we were praying for him. We are gonna get a word for her one of these days to make sure she knows that God loves her. Additionally, the man's wife conveniently walked away as we prayed. It is so sad that Christians are embarassed to be seen praying in public.
Next we went into Macy's. After getting turned down. I thought I got word of knowledge for the collar bone. So I approached the clerk that was nearby and asked her. She didn't have that problem but that immediately opened a door to talk to her as she asked if we were from Bethel. We then rattled of a dozen words of knowledge. They were all wrong. Haha. She was fun though. She was just happy that we were stepping out in faith. Just after we started to pray for her she got a phone call and we could tell it was someone in the store. So, we got asked to leave. Haha. We got kicked out of Macy's.
So that was it. We decided that we would press in more for words of knowledge and we are believing that as we step out, God will take us to another level. Redding is going to be transformed!
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Website!
Greetings!
I have news! Well, it may not be all that exciting, but it is to me. I have made a website (with the help of my computer) and have also made an easy domain name for my regular blog.
Now, you can go to this blog at www.healingrevivalist.net
If you want to go to my website, then you can go to www.healingrevivalist.com
Healingrevivalist.com will be strictly testimonies for the time being. I will put on there a link to my blog, but I was wanting a way to differentiate testimonies from just my own thoughts. Also, I will share testimonies from other people. Friends, church, anyone! Well, time to go hear Todd Bentley one more time! Sha ba!
I have news! Well, it may not be all that exciting, but it is to me. I have made a website (with the help of my computer) and have also made an easy domain name for my regular blog.
Now, you can go to this blog at www.healingrevivalist.net
If you want to go to my website, then you can go to www.healingrevivalist.com
Healingrevivalist.com will be strictly testimonies for the time being. I will put on there a link to my blog, but I was wanting a way to differentiate testimonies from just my own thoughts. Also, I will share testimonies from other people. Friends, church, anyone! Well, time to go hear Todd Bentley one more time! Sha ba!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
More fire
So I was backstage tonight. Don't worry, that wasn't an unfair advantage, we couldn't see anything during worship (because we were behind the band behind a curtain) and the sound was really bad since speakers are directional. Anyway, I tried to make the best of it and just got by myself to worship God. Well, I ended up sitting down and after a while my hands were on fire. By the time worship ended my buddy Wes came over. Haha. It was thick. :) I eventually just had to lie down.
Anyway, after Todd started to pray for the sick I got the chance to pray for a guy who had just been prayed for who was paralyzed. He was making improvements when Todd was praying for him, but I wanted to see him walk home. So I joined with two of BSSM students to pray for him. He said that he felt a lot of joy and that it was the best feeling in the world. We kept praying and he said, "that's weird, my leg feels stiff." He said that he felt muscle tone. We had him stand, which he did for several minutes. When he finally sat down he said that his legs didn't get tired at all! Todd had him stand on the stage but probably for less than a minute. He stood with us for a good 5 minutes! Glory to God!
Anyway, after Todd started to pray for the sick I got the chance to pray for a guy who had just been prayed for who was paralyzed. He was making improvements when Todd was praying for him, but I wanted to see him walk home. So I joined with two of BSSM students to pray for him. He said that he felt a lot of joy and that it was the best feeling in the world. We kept praying and he said, "that's weird, my leg feels stiff." He said that he felt muscle tone. We had him stand, which he did for several minutes. When he finally sat down he said that his legs didn't get tired at all! Todd had him stand on the stage but probably for less than a minute. He stood with us for a good 5 minutes! Glory to God!
Burning ones...
I stepped away from the Convention Center for a few minutes because I was really wanting to write down what God has been doing. I will try my best to briefly put to words what has happened.
Friday at school Todd shared a whole lot of stories of him encountering demonic spirits. They were radical. Then he was praying for us and telling us the need for mass evangelists. Even though it seems like so many people are getting out and doing the stuff, there is still such a huge need and there are relatively few evangelists that reach the masses. Well, hearing Todd in general has gotten me stirred up. The miracles, the salvations, the deliverances are just amazing. When he said that I knew it was me. Yes there are other things I feel called to, but one thing is to do crusades in big stadiums. Doak Campbell Stadium, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, The Rose Bowl. Just start holding a meeting and keep going until the city catches on and brings in all the sick and those who don't know Jesus.
Well I had been envisioning having to hold meetings in the football stadium at Georgia Tech because there would be no other room big enough (now that I think about it, the basketball arena would work, but I had never been there so I couldn't see it, whereas I can picture the football stadium....). Anyway, on Thursday night the people in my home group were praying for me for the trip to Atlanta and one of the girls said she saw a football stadium! JESUS! Fast forward again to last night before the meeting, one of the incredible moms that is in the school and also helps with the youth gave me a word that was the song, "Hot Time (in the Old Town Tonight)" and said that I would be like that cow and just light cities on fire. JESUS! We played that song in Chiefs (marching band at FSU) every game and one of my other dreams is to go into cities and just invade them with the power of the gospel. Basically I just want to lead an army that will take a city. Well, many cities, but one at a time. :)
Anyway, so last night was awesome. The worship band was off the hook. The glory fell. Todd went to heaven and had a radical encounter. A healing angel showed up and turned it into a healing meeting. I got wacked. It was so thick in there that about 30 minutes after worship was over I contemplated leaving. This is the presence of God thick, not demonic thick. Not only could I not stand up, but I couldn't really sit down either. It was intense. Tons of people got healed. Before all the healing Todd explained his encounter. It was so good (as was this morning) that I went ahead and ordered the DVD. Man. I don't even know what to say. Maybe I don't really need to say anything. I got wacked. More wacked than before. I am burning more than before too.
On Friday at school I was burning. I couldn't actually "feel" it though. I was so much that other people were telling me. I got called out by one of the interns as being the type of evangelist that Todd was talking about. I had some people that I was praying for go wild and say that I was burning. Then another person I was praying for just for hunger got really wacked. We don't really use catchers here unless it is a guest speaker. I just was touching her hands with my fingertips and she went down hard. I mean really hard. It sounded like hitting the bass drum. She fell down like a tree. Don't worry though, she was fine. At one of the workshops today I asked a guy if he had pain in his hip through a word of knowledge. He did from a snowboarding accident. Well, Jesus touched him. He said it wasn't 100%, but that it was "a lot better". Praise God. Well, time to head back to the convention center. Healing crusade tonight. Glory to God!
Friday at school Todd shared a whole lot of stories of him encountering demonic spirits. They were radical. Then he was praying for us and telling us the need for mass evangelists. Even though it seems like so many people are getting out and doing the stuff, there is still such a huge need and there are relatively few evangelists that reach the masses. Well, hearing Todd in general has gotten me stirred up. The miracles, the salvations, the deliverances are just amazing. When he said that I knew it was me. Yes there are other things I feel called to, but one thing is to do crusades in big stadiums. Doak Campbell Stadium, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, The Rose Bowl. Just start holding a meeting and keep going until the city catches on and brings in all the sick and those who don't know Jesus.
Well I had been envisioning having to hold meetings in the football stadium at Georgia Tech because there would be no other room big enough (now that I think about it, the basketball arena would work, but I had never been there so I couldn't see it, whereas I can picture the football stadium....). Anyway, on Thursday night the people in my home group were praying for me for the trip to Atlanta and one of the girls said she saw a football stadium! JESUS! Fast forward again to last night before the meeting, one of the incredible moms that is in the school and also helps with the youth gave me a word that was the song, "Hot Time (in the Old Town Tonight)" and said that I would be like that cow and just light cities on fire. JESUS! We played that song in Chiefs (marching band at FSU) every game and one of my other dreams is to go into cities and just invade them with the power of the gospel. Basically I just want to lead an army that will take a city. Well, many cities, but one at a time. :)
Anyway, so last night was awesome. The worship band was off the hook. The glory fell. Todd went to heaven and had a radical encounter. A healing angel showed up and turned it into a healing meeting. I got wacked. It was so thick in there that about 30 minutes after worship was over I contemplated leaving. This is the presence of God thick, not demonic thick. Not only could I not stand up, but I couldn't really sit down either. It was intense. Tons of people got healed. Before all the healing Todd explained his encounter. It was so good (as was this morning) that I went ahead and ordered the DVD. Man. I don't even know what to say. Maybe I don't really need to say anything. I got wacked. More wacked than before. I am burning more than before too.
On Friday at school I was burning. I couldn't actually "feel" it though. I was so much that other people were telling me. I got called out by one of the interns as being the type of evangelist that Todd was talking about. I had some people that I was praying for go wild and say that I was burning. Then another person I was praying for just for hunger got really wacked. We don't really use catchers here unless it is a guest speaker. I just was touching her hands with my fingertips and she went down hard. I mean really hard. It sounded like hitting the bass drum. She fell down like a tree. Don't worry though, she was fine. At one of the workshops today I asked a guy if he had pain in his hip through a word of knowledge. He did from a snowboarding accident. Well, Jesus touched him. He said it wasn't 100%, but that it was "a lot better". Praise God. Well, time to head back to the convention center. Healing crusade tonight. Glory to God!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Great Faith!
So in the past week I have now prayed for 3 people with sore throats who have gotten healed! The second was last night at Awakening Youth and the third was tonight. God is so good! I think He is really taking us to the place of contending for divine health. Too often we just accept our own sickness while we fight for healing for others.
Today was my first time hearing Todd Bentley. Wow. I got so much revelation from what he spoke to us. I will hopefully have time to write on it soon, but it was so deep that we spent the whole time at home group tonight talking about it. It was so good that I was get blasted at home group! I think one of the main things that I got out of it was to just be intentional in going out into the city to bring heaven to earth. When we prophecy or pray for the sick in public we are taking ground for the Kingdom. Additionally, God is going to accelerate the work in us to get us ready to reap a harvest. Never wait until you feel anointed to do the great work, step out to press through the veil to fight for that breakthrough. The difference between you and the person that has the breakthrough that you want is that they have taken risks in situations where you reasoned that you didn't carry the supposedly required anointing. Remember that tomorrow's miracle has already happened in heaven and that you can pull on that to access it today. Faith is now. Hope is for the future. Great faith produces great miracles before your eyes. Hope produces a happy thought that helps reduce depression when you never see the miracle.
Today was my first time hearing Todd Bentley. Wow. I got so much revelation from what he spoke to us. I will hopefully have time to write on it soon, but it was so deep that we spent the whole time at home group tonight talking about it. It was so good that I was get blasted at home group! I think one of the main things that I got out of it was to just be intentional in going out into the city to bring heaven to earth. When we prophecy or pray for the sick in public we are taking ground for the Kingdom. Additionally, God is going to accelerate the work in us to get us ready to reap a harvest. Never wait until you feel anointed to do the great work, step out to press through the veil to fight for that breakthrough. The difference between you and the person that has the breakthrough that you want is that they have taken risks in situations where you reasoned that you didn't carry the supposedly required anointing. Remember that tomorrow's miracle has already happened in heaven and that you can pull on that to access it today. Faith is now. Hope is for the future. Great faith produces great miracles before your eyes. Hope produces a happy thought that helps reduce depression when you never see the miracle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
