Adam Short's Blog

Wow God, I just had an awesome Holy Spirit appointment with two ladies in Earthfare! I was just asking the Holy Spirit what He had on His heart for anybody in the store.

I was walking by a table that had free tea samples, and there were 2 ladies there getting a tea sample, and I struck up a conversation with them about whether or not the tea was good. At first, I thought one of the ladies worked there. Then the blue stone she was wearing on her necklace caught my attention, and I asked her what the story was behind that. She told me that the stone was Lapis Lazuli, and I remember reading about that in Ezekiel 1:25-28 when he described heaven.

As it turns out, this blue stone used to be her birthstone, and she said that every time she wears it, she has the most interesting encounters with people. I thought to myself, "Well she's about to have another one!" I was free to by myself in the Spirit around these two ladies...their names were Beverly and Peggy. Beverly was the one with the blue stone necklace. She went on to say that her stone gives off really good energy. I thought to myself, "YES! Somebody who believes in the supernatural! This will be easy."

So I point blank asked Beverly if she has ever had spiritual readings before? She said yes! I told her that I do them. She was really intrigued and interested. I began to share with her how there is always a word available for us at any time from the Lord, and all we have to do is ask Him. Then I told her, "Let me tell you what just happened a couple weeks ago when I was in California." I went on to tell her the story of Larry the deaf guy and how the Lord gave me a word of knowledge about him and how He led us to the very house he lived at. Then I shared how the Lord healed their son Danny of knee problems, and how he felt the tangible power of God go into his knee.

I asked her and Peggy if we could do a spiritual reading right there in the store. They were all about it. I began to invite the Holy Spirit and ask Him what was on His heart for Beverly and Peggy, and I waited a couple minutes. I felt like the Lord said "allergies." So I opened my eyes, and I asked Beverly if she has allergy problems? She asked me if I meant respiratory allergies. I said that I don't know...I just felt like the Lord said that she had allergies that He wanted to heal. Beverly began to tell me how she had been a smoker for 40 years, and that she works in very toxic environments where there is flying ash and other impurities in the air, and so she's been having lung issues lately. She works with a power company and goes all over the country and lives from hotel to hotel, working on replacing boilers in the heating rooms. She said that after this current stint she's on, she quitting her job and going to become a healer doing colonics and irradiotherapy or something like that...it was something I had never heard of. She believes a lot in energy (so do I--Holy Spirit energy!)

So I had heard right from the Lord about the allergies. Yay God! So I asked Beverly if I could lay my hands on her and pray for the healing of the Lord to come and touch her lungs. I felt faith rising in my heart for the True God to manifest His power in Beverly right there and for her to experience the love of God in her body. She was completely all about it...I could tell. This was exciting for her. But her friend Peggy was more withdrawn, kind of skeptically observing off to the side. But Beverly said wholeheartedly that she wanted me to lay my hand on her and pray. So I did.

It's very simple...hear the Lord, invite the Holy Spirit, and He does the rest. That's all I did...it's not complicated. As usual, I felt the tangible anointing of the Holy Spirit in my hand as I laid it on her and asked the Holy Spirit to come and bring healing. I commanded healing into her lungs in Jesus' name, commanded cells to realign, etc...the usual. Just in case I addressed any spirits of allergies that may have been bothering her, but I don't believe that was the problem...this was related to natural causes of smoking and her job.

I finished praying, opened my eyes, and noticed she was looking straight at me, not in the least bit nervous or weirded out. She was probably watching me the whole time I was praying. I asked Beverly if she felt anything happening in her body. Immediately she said YES! She said she felt energy coming out of my hand into her shoulder, where my hand was laying!!! This is awesome. This is the tangible anointing of the Holy Spirit, which was healing her. It's like when the lady ran up through the crowds to touch Jesus' robe, and Jesus KNEW about it, because He felt power going out of Him.

Here's Mark 5:24-30, "A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and SHE FELT IN HER BODY THAT SHE WAS FREED FROM HER SUFFERING. AT ONCE JESUS REALIZED THAT POWER HAD GONE OUT FROM HIM. He turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched my clothes?' "

There was another instance in Mark 6:55-56 where they laid all the sick people in the public market places, begging Jesus to let them just touch His cloak. And it says that as many as touched it were being healed!!!

So this isn't a New Age concept for literal, tangible power from God to go forth when we lay hands on the sick. It's been around for 2,000 years. The God of the universe lives in us, and we just need to tap into the Holy Spirit by faith, just like the lady by faith went to touch Jesus' cloak.

So back to the story with Beverly and Peggy. She told me that she felt "energy" going into her shoulder. She believed that the Lord was touching her! She didn't doubt one bit. I began to explain to her that right now, cells are being healed and created, and that her lungs are being healed. I'm so excited about this! I told her how big the compassion of the Lord was towards her, and she told me she knows. Then SHE told ME a story. She pointed to the beer that she had in her shopping cart, and it was Red Tail Ale with a picture of a red hawk on it. Beverly has been searching in tattoo shops all over the place trying to find somebody who could give her a tattoo like that hawk on her beer carton. She hadn't found anybody yet. But there was something that she cared deeply about with that Red Hawk's feathers. Heck that reminded me of what happened with us in California at Bethel Church in Redding and how those feathers fell from out of nowhere...the manifest presence of God showing up to such a level that feathers fall.

See New Age people can handle genuine, authentic stories about the supernatural power of God that most Westerners can't handle. If I told the story about the feathers falling to most people, they would think I'm a part of a cult! Well these stories are all throughout the Bible! Elijah and Elisha would take off their cloaks, roll them up, strike the Jordan River, and it parted for them to cross. Elisha, by the power of God, made an axe head float...solid iron (2 Kings 6:1-6)! There's tons and tons of supernatural stories all through the Bible, and they're NOT just for the time of the prophets and apostles of old.

So I told Beverly how these feathers are signs of the manifest presence of God in our midst. Then I felt like the Lord wanted me to share more with them. I told them that the real Jesus is quite a bit different that the Jesus that is presented in most churches as a boring, stale, stoic Jesus. I described to them how Jesus has eyes of burning fire, a sword is coming out of His mouth, He wears a white robe dipped in blood, and His feet are like bronze on fire! This isn't the Jesus we often see portrayed in churches.

Beverly's heart was really moved at that point, and I knew the conversation would come to this at some point. She explained that this is the reason that she decided to not be a part of organized religion...all because of what happened during her growing up in church and hearing that the Baptists were the only ones going to heaven. Not even the Methodists were going to heaven, according to what she heard. And the Catholics...well damn them! That's what she heard growing up.

It's a shame that we have taken a biblical truth and reality (hell) and twisted it to our own narrow-minded understanding. Yes, there is a real hell. It is beyond terrible. I shutter to think of how bad it is. But to come to the place to say that if you're not Baptist, then you're going to hell? That is terrible. It's one thing to preach the whole gospel, but it's another thing to tell people that they have to become like WE are before they can go to heaven. Baloney. It's by faith in Jesus ALONE.

Beverly went on to share with me that when her husband died, she had him cremated. A preacher came over to her house and told her that when Jesus comes back and raises up all those who have died from the grave, her husband wouldn't have a body because she cremated him! Wow. She kicked the preacher out of her house. Beverly shared with me how she believes that if you take ALL the religions in the world, put them in a box, and shake them up, what you will get out of it is all basically the same thing. She's right. Religion is all the same, no matter which one it is, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, even religious Christianity. It's all man's attempt to get to God. The thing is...Jesus and religion have nothing to do with each other. The Pharisees were the ones Jesus blasted the most. They were THE religious of the religious. Nobody topped them. They were also the most miserable.

So, to be honest, it's a real challenge for me to know how to respond to people when they say to me that all religions are basically the same thing. I've argued with enough people when they've told me that, and it's useless. So in love, I told Beverly what Peter told the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:12, " 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.' " Beverly agreed with that. So I ask You O God to do a full healing in Beverly's lungs, and draw her to the Living Jesus through this miracle.

Yay God. This was awesome. I want to be more and more available to the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. It's extremely easy to do this in Africa, but in my hometown is a far greater challenge. (And America in general). But the anointing of the Spirit overrides everything! It doesn't matter what the obstacles are if you're walking in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I was just reading John Crowder's book, and he was saying that there will come a time that physical mountains will move under the power of God through His people. Why not? It's not to dazzle, but that the people of this earth might know that He is the One God of heaven and earth!

I felt the Lord leading me to share more with them about Jesus. I told them that the most important thing I could tell them was that Jesus bled on the cross for their sins and my sins so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life. I shared with them too how Jesus saved my life from suicide. When we parted ways, Beverly told me that I was the sweetest and kindest person. I walked away wondering if about how the prophets and apostles were stoned for telling people about Jesus. Hmmm...

Posted by marseille at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I am so thoroughly enjoying and reveling in the routine that is developing as I continue in the place of extended prayer.

I wake up with something on my heart, bring it before the Lord, then ask what is on the Holy Spirit's heart, and He leads me to a section or sections of the Word to enlighten my path and give me anchoring and understanding in what I am seeking Him on. It's beautiful. I love You Holy Spirit of Truth. You always lead me to all truth. You anoint Your word and when I receive understanding, it is because of this anointing upon the word that is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing between soul and spirit, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. I am so thankful and full of gratefulness in my heart to You O Holy Spirit because You are my teacher, and You unveil my eyes to the truth.

Here are a few passages that the Holy Spirit brought to mind before I delved into Acts...these describe the beautiful way in which the Holy Spirit reveals the Truth to us by the Word:

Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

John 14:26, " 'But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.' "

John 15:26, 16:13, " 'When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of Truth Who goes out from the Father--He will testify about Me...when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.' "

1 John 2:20,27, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in Him."

I love the anointing so much! I'm hungry to know more of what the anointing is.

All three of these passages have proven true in my heart today as I have sought the Lord for wisdom, understanding, direction, and revelation about His leading for specifically the outreach team that is supposed to go to Marseille this summer. I am going to write out what the Lord showed me as He led me to glean from the life of Paul and other apostles and disciples in Acts today.

The Holy Spirit first brought to my mind the incident when Paul and his companions were blocked twice by the Holy Spirit from preaching the gospel in two certain areas, and this spurred on an open window of manna from heaven in understanding in a greater way the leading of the Holy Spirit as it happened in the lives of the apostles in Acts.

Here is Acts 16:6-10 which describes how the Holy Spirit blocked Paul:

"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, HAVING BEEN KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM PREACHING THE WORD IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA. When they came to the border of Mysia, THEY TRIED TO ENTER BITHYNIA, BUT THE SPIRIT OF JESUS WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."

I see a pattern in how Paul and the others followed Jesus in the book of Acts. They were sent out by Him when He set them apart, and they would continue taking every opportunity that they had to preach the word of God, strengthen believers, endure persecution, at times flee persecution, demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit--and I see that they assumed that basically all the opportunities they had WERE the will of God unless they were divinely blocked, like what happened here. I find that we do it the opposite. We usually are sent out when the Lord leads us, but we usually won't take the opportunities that we are presented with UNLESS we hear a YES from the Lord. We assume that the opportunities are NOT from the Lord unless we hear otherwise.

I decided to go all the way back to when Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 to trace the first part of his journey in following Jesus and proclaiming the gospel so that I could gain more understanding for my own life of knowing the leading of the Holy Spirit better in this crossroads season of my life.

So in Acts 9, Paul is full of hate and murder towards any and everybody who "belonged to the Way" (Acts 9:2), and set out by the authority of the high priest in Jerusalem to go to Damascus to take prisoner anybody who followed Jesus there. I think it is incredible that Paul, a Jew, encountered the God of heaven near Damascus, Syria, a place which is staunchly Muslim now.

Paul is ambushed by God, saw the glory of heaven before him, heard the Lord ask him why he was persecuting Him, Jesus told him who He was, and gave him commands to go into Damascus to get further instructions from God, then he was struck blind for 3 days. Again, as usual in the book of Acts, (and as what I believe is usual for today), the Lord simultaneously broke into Ananias' life through a vision, telling him that he is to go meet this man Saul/Paul who is praying and has had a vision of Ananias laying hands on him to restore his sight (Acts 9:11-12). Ananias of course objects at first, afraid of Saul for obvious reasons, but ends up going, laying hands on Saul, and he was healed and filled with the holy Spirit and then was baptized (Acts 9:17-18).

I am going through this in detail so I can get a better picture of the leading of the Holy Spirit and use it as a mirror for the Lord's leading in my own life. So all in the matter of 3 days, Paul encounters God, gets healed of blindness, believes in Jesus, is filled with the Holy Spirit, and is told by the Lord to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and that he must suffer much for the sake of Jesus.

So at this point he starts preaching the gospel in the synagogues, and everybody was amazed that this was the same man who used to persecute Jesus followers. Already he is threatened to be killed by the Jews (Acts 9:23-24). He even had disciples who followed him and helped him escape the plot that was against him to kill him (9:25).

Observations I'm making about this: Paul immediately preaches the gospel with boldness. He is with some of the disciples in Damascus. He doesn't even wait on the Lord for an extended time before he starts preaching. He immediately begins. How contrary to the way we usually do things nowadays...we wouldn't dare "allow" a new believer to do this! Especially one who had persecuted Jesus followers like Paul did! But not only was Paul baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit immediately, he preached immediately. Some of the disciples in Damascus became knit with Paul even at this early stage.

Paul went on to Jerusalem, to try to join the disciples there, but they were afraid of him, and they thought he wasn't really a true follower of Jesus (9:26). The second disciple who the Lord sent to Paul in these early days was Barnabas. Just like Ananias was sent to him to heal him and fill him with the Spirit, Barnabas came along and took Paul under his wing, and went to introduce him to the apostles (9:27). This relationship with Barnabas ended up being a long-term relationship, because years later, the Holy Spirit set apart the two of them to be sent out for the work He had for them to do (Acts 13:1-3). But before Paul even went to Jerusalem, he spent 3 years in Damascus preaching the word of God (Gal. 1:17-19). After that was when Paul went to Jerusalem to meet Peter/Cephas (Gal. 1:18-19) and James.

He got his second death threat in Jerusalem, being only there 15 days (Gal. 1:18). By this time, the believers in Jerusalem had obviously taken Paul under their wing because they took him out of Jerusalem and sent him back to his hometown of Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30). Barnabas was such a mentor and encourager and advocate for Paul, and I see how it was through this relationship that Paul was finally accepted among the believers there in Jerusalem as a real disciple who had been really transformed by the power of God.

So in the direction of the Lord at this point in Paul's life, it's a combination of both supernatural encounters from heaven (when he first met the Lord he had both the visible encounter with Jesus, then a vision of Ananias laying hands on him to heal him of blindness--Acts 9:12), AND the leading and help of fellow believers like Barnabas and the disciples in Jerusalem.

I see both of those in my own life as well.

Paul is out of the picture until Acts 11:25, after spending 10 years in Tarsus! Sheesh that's a long time. At this point, the gospel has now begun to be preached to the Gentiles through the outpouring of the Spirit on Cornelius and the encounter that Peter had where the Lord spoke to him that the Spirit was to be given not just to Jews. The dispersion of the Jews across the Roman Empire because of the persecution and stoning of Stephen (Acts 7) created a fertile ground for the spread of the word of God in places like Antioch (Acts 11:19). Barnabas was still in Jerusalem at this point, and the believers in Jerusalem sent him to Antioch.

Acts 11:23-26, "When he (Barnabas) arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."

So again, here we have Barnabas, who really is Paul's mentor, who came to get him and bring him along (invite) to partner with Barnabas in laboring at Antioch. I wonder if the Lord spoke to Paul about this too, or if he just went because of trust in Barnabas. So they spent a year in Antioch. Now the next part gets really interesting to me. During the year that Barnabas and Paul were in Antioch teaching the people and building up the believers there, a group of prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.

Acts 11:28-30, "One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the believers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul."

Now first of all, I'm so glad that there is this kind of prophetic activity recorded in the book of Acts. It gives precedence to the abundance of prophecy that is coming from the mouth of God today, particularly regarding disastrous events that the Lord warns us of. But the response of the believers to this prophecy is incredible! How often do we respond to prophecies like this? When a disaster is prophesied, do we respond to help those in advance who will be affected by it? Wow. So Paul's next step (and Barnabas) is out of the response to this prophecy. Because the Lord spoke that there will be a famine in the land, they sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to take a gift from the churches at Antioch.

So now the picture is getting even more interesting in how the Lord is leading Paul. Visions, relationships (both mentoring and other believers), and prophecy of coming disaster.

Now we skip down to Acts 12:25, "When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark."

I wonder how long they were gone from Antioch in Jerusalem. The New Bible Dictionary says that they returned to Antioch in AD 46. Antioch had become Paul's hub already, and no doubt there were many rich relationships that he had with the believers there after spending that year building them up with Barnabas. My lifestyle of roaming around the planet, but still having a couple hubs, all of a sudden feels more normal as I look at the life of Paul and the other apostles and disciples of the book of Acts. For me, my "Antioch" is Kansas City.

The only other time that Antioch is mentioned outside of Acts (and that one time in Galatians 2:11 when Paul tells about how he opposed Peter publicly because of his hypocrisy), is in 2 Timothy 3:10-11:

"You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."

But back to Acts 13...Barnabas, Saul, and John Mark got back to Antioch to join prophets and teachers there (13:1). Simeon (Niger), Barnabas, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, Saul, and John Mark. This is such a key passage that I believe is the norm for how we send out people into the harvest today.

Acts 13:2-3, "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

This is such a significant passage. First of all, there is no evidence that I can find which would indicate that Barnabas and Paul had already planned on being sent out again together into the work of God. They were simply returning back to Antioch after having finished up delivering the gift to the believers in Jerusalem, responding to the prophecy that the Lord spoke through Agabus (Acts 11:27-30). They were gathering with other disciples of Jesus and worshipping Him. That was when the Holy Spirit spoke for them to be sent out yet again. Of course, I think it's significant too that they were fasting. The ENTIRE next phase of the journey of Paul and Barnabas originated in worship, prayer, and fasting. MOST of the time, we DON'T do that. We come up with the plans and strategies and our own thoughts of what needs to happen in the harvest, and then we spin our wheels by pursuing that. The days are too short and the return of Jesus is too soon for us to continue operating like that.

What strikes me too about this is that the Holy Spirit didn't tell Barnabas and Saul WHERE to go. He just told the others with them to set them apart for Him for the work He had called them to. The Holy Spirit didn't even tell them what the work was, either. They already knew. It was so simple. Go, preach the gospel in the synagogues to the Jews, get persecuted, preach to the Gentiles, appoint elders, and move on. So they laid their hands on Barnabas and Paul, and they sent them off. This was so immediate. They didn't wait around a year or two to raise support or even alert other believers elsewhere to pray for them. They just went. Plain and simple.

We have become so bogged down with unnecessary tinsel in sending out workers to the harvest. No wonder the laborers are few! Most of the problem has to do with the fact that a good chunk of the people are being sent out by MEN and not by the Holy Spirit. We need a reformation of the Holy Spirit. Another important thing is that the Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul out together...two of them, not just one. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two also. We need an overhaul in the Spirit in how we send out laborers in the harvest.

Just observing how Paul and Barnabas (and John Mark--see 13:5) traveled around from place to place intrigues me. It validates the God-created calling of an apostle-sent one. This is a calling of going into places where Jesus has not been named, proclaiming the gospel in the demonstration of the Spirit's power, oftentimes with the receipt of persecution, appointing elders, and moving on elsewhere. I believe I have the apostleship calling on my life, though I have yet to walk in it in its fullness.

Luke finally starts calling Saul Paul in Acts 13:9. He went to Seleucia, then Cyprus, and was preaching the word of God in the synagogues. At Paphos (on the island of Cyprus), Paul had a demonic encounter with a sorcerer who tried to oppose him from speaking the word of God to the Proconsul Sergius Paulus, who desired to hear the word of God (13:6-8). I love what Paul did. This is just the boldness and raw power of the Holy Spirit being manifested!!!

Acts 13:9-12, "Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 'You are a child of the deviland an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.' Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord."

Paul and Barnabas went on from Paphos to Perga, and John Mark left them at that point (13:13). Then they went to Pisidian Antioch. Again, they are not necessarily hearing specific words from the Lord to continue on from place to place, but they are assuming that every place they go is theirs in God unless the Lord blocks them, like He does in Acts 16 twice and sends them to Macedonia instead. This is such a paradigm shift from the way we seek the direction of the Lord. We need to be renewed in our minds in the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Paul preached openly in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch (13:14-41). This was such a concise, to the point declaration of the coming of the Messiah and how the Old Testament pointed to His coming, and the necessity that He come because the Law of Moses could not give justification. The simple gospel.

The first time they preached, the Jews didn't revolt. But a week later on the next Sabbath, they came back upon invitation to preach again. This time the whole city gathered to hear the word of God! (13:44). The Jews got jealous and stirred up the crowds, contradicting what Paul said with abusive words.

Paul responded in the boldness of the Spirit.

Acts 13:46-48, "Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: 'We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." ' When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed."

Wow. I want that kind of boldness. We typically are trying to woo people in to believing in Jesus, but Paul didn't. Neither did Jesus, for that matter. Paul didn't decide to camp out at Pisidian Antioch for 5 years trying to convince these Jews to turn to God. Nope. He shook the dust off his feet as a warnign to them and went on to Iconium (13:51). We have everything screwed up! We are trying to attract people to the gospel, but Paul didn't! The Gentiles WANTED the word of God, and they honored it. And they believed and received eternal life too! Man I am being corrected in my thinking of how I do evangelism.

I'm all about prophetic evangelism...getting words of knowledge for people, like the incident a couple weeks ago when the Lord gave me the word of knowledge about the deaf person in Oregon, but Paul was so full of the boldness of the Holy Spirit that he preached the word of God unashamedly without fearing what would happen to him. I want and need that boldness desperately. I've walked in it at various times here and there, but not constantly.

Paul and Barnabas continued to Iconium (14:1). They did the usual, preaching in the synagogue. Both Jews and Greeks believed in Jesus (14:1). But, as became the norm, most of the Jews stirred up everybody else and incited them against Paul and Barnabas. But this time, instead of leaving immediately, they stayed, and signs and wonders were happening.

Acts 14:3, "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking BOLDLY for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders."

Man I am still stuck on this boldness thing. I'm so convicted by my lack of boldness in sharing the gospel with people. O God give me the boldness I need in the Spirit to rise above all fear of man that tries to hinder me in openly proclaiming You.

They came up with a plot to stone Paul, but they found out about it and left to go to Lystra and Derbe (14:6-7), continuing to preach. A lame man got healed there, and the whole crowd went wild and started worshipping Paul and Barnabas, and almost succeeded in offering sacrifices to them, but Paul begged them not to...that they are just men like everybody else, and that this is the power of God which has been displayed (14:14-18). It's a shame that this miracle didn't lead to mass outpouring of salvation...probably the reason was because "some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe." (Acts 14:19-20).

This is crazy. The next day after Paul was nearly stoned to death, he went right back into the same city. My gosh. They went on to preach in Derbe, then WENT BACK TO LYSTRA, ICONIUM, AND ANTIOCH, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith (14:21-22). Wow. The very places that they were persecuted, they went back to. They appointed elders in these cities in each church, and with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord (14:23).

Long story short, they returned back to Antioch finishing up this trip, and they told about all the Lord had done in all these places (14:26-28). A dispute arose in Jerusalem over some believers who were a part of the Pharisees who mandated that Gentiles who come to Jesus must keep the law of Moses to be saved (15:1). Paul and Barnabas were sent from Antioch back to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders there about this situation (15:2). They were testifying about all that God had done in their previous trip. They settled the issue with the elders and apostles in Jerusalem, wrote a letter to the Gentiles believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia (15:23-29), and Paul and Barnabas went back to Antioch with the letter.

The believers and churches in Antioch gathered together to hear the letter being read, and of course they were all glad to find out that they actually did NOT have to keep the law of Moses to be saved...just don't eat meat offered to idols, from blood, and strangled animals, and of course sexual immorality (15:29).

This next part really intrigues me. At this gathering, there were Judas and Silas.

Acts 15:32-33,35: "Judas and Silas, WHO THEMSELVES WERE PROPHETS, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord."

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"St. Denis (circa a.d. 250) preached in Paris when it was only a small city, founding a church where Notre Dame now sits, and where formerly there was a pagan temple to Jupiter.

Denis was a very successful missionary during the second persecution, and many people were converted under his minstry. But they were finally all persecuted. Three hundred believers were tortured and beheaded at a place called Martyr's Hill, or MONTMARTRE. As the story goes, after Denis' own head was chopped off, he picked it up and carried it up a hill for two miles. Denis is the patron saint of France and is depicted in sculptures and paintings with his head in his own hands.

There are no written eyewitness accounts of Denis still in existence, but the story is passed down to us from St. Gregory of Tours in the sixth century." (John Crowder pg. 54).

This is crazy that all this happened at Montmartre! All this time that I have spent in that very neighborhood of Paris, having absolutely NO idea that 300 followers of Jesus were killed right there. Man so much blood has been shed in France because of Jesus. No wonder it is such a hard place. Even since the 3rd century, there has been bloodshed in France because of religious persecution.

Here's another account that John Crowder tells about which took place in France:

"St. Nicasius (circa a.d. 451) was the bishop of Reims, France, and was martyred with his sister Eutropia and a group of believers. The Vandals were coming to kill this group of Christians, and Nicasius offered up his own life to them. While he was praying, they sliced off his head. After his head rolled off, he finished his prayer before he died. The wilder accounts of this ordeal tell that the Vandals saw a large Heavenly army appear after the slayings and they dropped their weapons and fled. Then the slain bodies of the martyrs began to glow with a luminosity that could be seen in the night." (Crowder pg. 55).

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This martyrdom story is from my friend Jason Simpson, about a young guy named Joosten from the Netherlands who was martyred in the 1500s:

"While most reformers were attempting to comprehensively compile their theologies and draw little lines in the sand, some radical reformers called Anabaptists were receiving a revelation of the Son of Man, and because of that they began to be a revelation of God's love, and they began to live the gospel of Jesus. Protestants and Catholics alike fiercely persecuted them because they taught people to be disciples of Jesus.

These people lived the real thing; out of the overflow of their hearts they left everything to follow Christ. Fleeing the civil authorities (who were dedicated to the eradication of Anabaptists by "fire and sword"), they met in out-of-the-way places and preached and lived the cross of Christ. They sacrificed their lives on the altar because they had a revelation of God; a God with fiery eyes and a thunderous voice, whose name is jealous. They left stories of going to a martyrs death "joyfully singing and praising God with shining eyes". Here is a short story of one young man:

Among the dairy farms at Goes on the Dutch island of Zuid Beveland, Joost
Joosten grew up singing. He excelled in Latin at school, but his heart was in the
songs he sang, and his parents found a place for him in the choir of the village
church.

People noticed him when he sang -- fair-haired boy with a clear voice -- and liked
him. In 1556, King Philip II of Spain visited the Netherlands. They gave him a
high mass at Middelburg and called upon the choir from Goes to sing. Joost had
turned fourteen. The king saw and heard him. After the mass he said: "Bring me
that boy. He must go back with me to Spain!"

But Joost did not want to go to Spain to live in the richest royal court in Europe.
He wanted something far better. He hid for six weeks until they gave up looking
for him and the king was safely gone. Then, when he was out of school, he made
known his desire to follow Christ. An Anabaptist messenger baptized him in a
secret meeting, and the king's officials started looking for him again.
They caught Joost in 1560 and put him in jail. Four interrogators from the Holy
Office of the Inquisition came to question him. On five sheets of paper Joost wrote
for them what he believed. He also wrote songs and sang in jail.

The inquisitors had Joost pulled on the rack. They had hot steel rods turned
through his knees and pushed through his legs until they came out at the ankles.
But his heart could not be moved. Then the court convicted him and sentenced
him to death.

They made a little house of straw on the town square. The people came by boat,
on horseback, and on foot to see. They lined the streets and the sides of the square,
surrounded by soldiers to hold them back . . . and waited.
The soldiers brought him in chains. The people had not seen him so pale or so thin
before. Then suddenly, what was that? He was singing!

Joost Joosten was singing again . . . the same clear voice . . . a man's voice
now . . . and some of them recognized the song he sang. It was one he had written
as a new Christian: "Oh Lord Christ, in my mind I see you standing always before
me!"

They put him inside the little house of straw. He was still singing when the flames
roared up. It was the Monday before Christmas, 1560, and Joost Joosten was
eighteen years old.

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Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than ALL we ask or imagine, according to the power that works within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

What is the immeasurably more of God? I'm asking the Lord for a revelation of what this is! Everything that we know on this earth is measurable. The highest mountain, even Everest in its seemingly unending crevices and crags and its towering heights, is finite. It is measurable, and it has been measured. It has been conquered by the yardstick. The largest bank in the world which holds the masses of dollars is measurable. The strongest lightning bolt which explodes and scorches everything in its vicinity is measurable in its temperature and voltage. The most powerful hurricane with the fiercest winds is measurable. The worst earthquake to ever strike the planet is measurable on the Richter Scale. The circumferences of the earth and sun are measurable. The Solar System is a specific size that is measurable by the Hubble Telescope. Everything we know in the seen world is measurable. The Pacific Ocean, in all its fury and vastness and depth, is measurable.

But what is the IMMEASURABLY MORE OF GOD?! It's actually true that God is ABLE (meaning "dunamis" power--same word for the raw power of God) to do immeasurably more than ALL we can ask or imagine. Could this be possible? As long as we humans roam this earth, we are constantly in search of filling the eternity that has been placed by God in our hearts. It won't ever be satisfied but by the IMMEASURABLE God Himself, because eternity cannot be satisfied by the finite. It's impossible.

When I think about what I ask and imagine of God, I think about thousands of people coming to salvation in the living Jesus Christ, rescued by His limitless power, set free from sin and demons, whole cities transformed by the manifest glory of God, the poor being fed miraculously by the multiplication of food like what happened when Jesus fed the 5,000+ with a few loaves of bread and a few fish (Jn. 6). I imagine the dead raised, and plan on seeing it with my own eyes. I imagine people in wheelchairs getting up and walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel. I've already seen some of this, but I plan on seeing far, far more.

But what is the IMMEASURABLY MORE OF GOD? The One who is ABLE to do surpassingly and exceedingly more than I can even imagine! That sounds like a tall order and fairly ambitious to see the dead raised. Why shouldn't we expect that? Jesus sent His own disciples out to raise the dead (Mt. 10:8). How much more is the IMMEASURABLENESS OF GOD? No limit or boundaries. I don't care what history says. I don't care what has been the limits of the manifestation of the DUNAMIS power of God in the past. The greater works that Jesus promised that we would do (Jn. 14:12) are within our grasp. This is "according to the power that works WITHIN us!" Sheesh. We possess this power of the Holy Spirit, not to dazzle people, but because the eternal God of Heaven is worthy of it and able to do all this, and He has charged and commissioned us His people to usher in His Kingdom on earth as in heaven (Mt. 6:10).

If the love of God has no limit, then neither does His dunamis power. The time is coming soon when we will see more and more people walking in the IMMEASURABLY MORE of God on the earth. I want a revelation of this. I want to get a grasp of what the infiniteness of God is. If God can declare in a word, "Let there be light", and the sun and moon were created, then why should we be bound to limited power of God on the earth? We have been given an inheritance that cannot be corrupted (2 Pet. 1), every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3). The book of Acts is a launching pad for the Kingdom of God coming to the earth in the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:3-5), and at the end of Acts, it's as if Luke never finished writing the book (Acts 28)! That's because WE are the continuation of the unveiling of the Acts of the People of God upon the earth in these last days where God will pour out His Spirit on ALL flesh (Acts 2:17-21).

What is the immeasurably more of God? I want a revelation of this. We are seeing the gospel go forth in swiftness across the earth today, in some power of God, but there is far, far more. Far more. We can't even measure this level of MORE! We need the unlocking of this mystery of how we already have EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3), but yet the IMMEASURABLY MORE of God is still to be manifest on the earth through us (Eph. 3:20-21). Even under the Old Covenant, a far inferior covenant to the New Covenant, Enoch walked with God and then was caught up into heaven without ever dying.

Genesis 5:21-24, "When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch WALKED FAITHFULLY WITH GOD 300 YEARS and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ENOCH WALKED FAITHFULLY WITH GOD; THEN HE WAS NO MORE, BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM AWAY."

Hebrews 11:5-6, "BY FAITH Enoch was taken from this life, so that HE DID NOT EXPERIENCE DEATH: 'He could not be found, because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and the He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

I believe this is one example of the IMMEASURABLY MORE OF GOD. Elijah never died either. But Enoch was taken up into heaven by faith. Do we believe that? Do we believe that there were 3 men that Scripture records for us who physically ascended into heaven from the earth? [Enoch (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5), Elijah 2 Kings 2:1-12, and Jesus (Mark 16:19; Lk. 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11) ].

What convicts me is what Jesus said in Mt. 19:26, " '...With God all things are possible.' " But then in Heb. 11:6 we find out that there IS one thing that is impossible. It is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith. So even Jesus was limited in the amount of miracles that He was able to do in Mark 6:1-6 because of unbelief.

Mark 6:1-6, "Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to each in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, 'Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?' AND THEY TOOK OFFENSE AT HIM.

Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.' AND HE COULD DO NO MIRACLE THERE EXCEPT THAT HE LAID HIS HANDS ON A FEW SICK PEOPLE AND HEALED THEM.

And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching."

The Son of God was limited in what He was ABLE to do because the unbelief of the people. The word used here is the SAME word used in Eph. 3:20 (dunamis). Except here in Mark 6, the word dunamis is in the negative, meaning, NOT able.

One of the clearest signs that we're walking in unbelief is how offended we are at Jesus. Here, in His own hometown of Nazareth, He was without honor, and "they took offense at Him" (Mk. 6:3b). How many times are we offended by the radical or supernatural things Jesus does? What would have been my response if I were in the Simon the Pharisee's house with Jesus and the prostitute came and washed His feet with her hair and tears, then poured this expensive perfume on His feet? (Lk. 7:36-50). They were so offended and turned their noses up at this. Would I have been offended too?

Luke 7:23, " 'Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.' "

I'm way less offended that I used to be, as religiousness and unbelief continue to erode in me. But I want every trace of offense and unbelief rooted out of my soul...every hindrance to love.

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This is from a book I just started reading by John Crowder called "Miracle Workers, Reformers, and the New Mystics."

"Will we be counted among this company of men who walk in a reckless abandonment for the things of Heaven? I have seen that, in men's lives, nothing is more radically transforming than the power and loving presence of God. Many times, have I seen a man violently redirect his entire life's goals because of one single ENCOUNTER with the living God. Not just at the life-altering moment of conversion, for that is common. The same is true when a man is touched by God in a way that spins him headlong into a chase after the Lord's presence. I have seen many sell all that they own, in order to purchase the pearl of great price.

Many men have lived their entire lives, conscious only of the natural realm around them--realized only through their education or experience as perceived through the five senses. Their faith being nothing more than a dim, esoteric concept. Yet in one instance of tasting the glory realm of Heaven, their entire lives are thrown into upheaval. The awareness of a very real and viable spiritual reality, to which we have been blinded for years, always brings a sudden, irrevocable change that is, on one hand, utterly senseless--and on the other, completely sensible."

--John Crowder, Miracle Workers, Reformers, and the New Mystics, pg. 25
Published by Destiny Image, Copyright 2006 John Crowder

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I'm reading Luke 9-10 today and want to record some thoughts about some radical-ness about Jesus.

Luke 9:57-62 (TNIV), "As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow You wherever You go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.' He said to another man, 'Follow Me.' But he replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Still another said, 'I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.' "

For two of the people mentioned here, they used the words "first, let me..." FIRST! What and who is FIRST in my life, in our lives? This is a powerful word, first. For both of these people who told Jesus that they wanted to FIRST go and do something else, Jesus obviously was NOT FIRST to them! It seems fairly innocent and normal to go and say bye to your family before you follow Jesus somewhere. I do that. But these people were NOT fit for the Kingdom of God! This is strong, radical language. Who are we fooling when we so flippantly say that Jesus is FIRST to us, above all else?

These two people appear to be submitting to the Lordship of Jesus here because they "ask" Him if they can FIRST go do something else. But actually, they were NOT surrendered to Jesus. They had their agenda of what they wanted to do before they could follow Jesus. This is very personal for me right now in my life. When I came back to America a couple months ago from France, I had in my mind a game plan of returning to France in mid-January, spend a month or so there with the team, then go back to Africa. It wasn't that I heard the Lord tell me to do that necessarily, but just logical.

Well I came to a crisis of choice just yesterday where I could either choose MY way or GOD'S way. Ironically, in my heart of hearts, all I really wanted was to continue spending extended time with the Lord in prayer, fasting, and worship instead of jump right back into ministry. But for fear of man of what people would think of me, and the temptation to have to always "produce" results, I just about stepped ahead of the Lord in going back to France yesterday. I had the choice of choosing either Jesus or ministry and my reputation. I chose Jesus. I'm so thankful too.

I can genuinely say now that Jesus is FIRST to me. Not ministry, not family, not reputation, not finances, not any of that. Jesus is FIRST. If it means that I lose ministry (whatever that means), lose my reputation, or anything else, then so be it. I choose Jesus. What does it mean for Jesus to be my FIRST love?

I don't fully understand what Jesus means when He told the man to let the dead bury their own dead. I think He means that those who have not been invited to follow Jesus are dead spiritually, and it looks like this man's dad fit into this category. (And the rest of his family, it seems, because Jesus said "let the dead bury THEIR own dead." What if a missions organization told that to a prospective missionary when they asked to go to their father's funeral or say bye to their family? They'd probably be sued! But that's what Jesus said. He's so radical, but yet this is normal.

Here are a couple other things I wanted to mention. In Luke 9:1-6, Jesus sent out the 12 disciples to cast out ALL demons and to cure diseases (Lk. 9:1) and also to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Lk. 9:2). Here's what Jesus said to them when He sent them out:

Luke 9:3-5 (TNIV), "He told them: 'Take NOTHING for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.' "

As I was typing that verse, my mind flashed back to images of Côte d'Ivoire. I am thinking about what Jesus is saying to me about going back to Africa (and France)...mainly regarding my possessions. I am strongly considering no longer asking for financial support, but just praying and asking the Lord to provide what I need. I already do that, but I also make my financial needs known. I am challenged by the fact that nowhere in the Bible do I find people asking for money for ministry. Maybe I missed one or two, but here's Jesus telling His disciples to take NOTHING with them. Not even an extra shirt! Why am I taking suitcases then? Why am I taking all this money? Do I really believe that my Father will provide for me?

Jesus said nearly the same thing in Luke 10:1-4 (TNIV), "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go. He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. DO NOT TAKE A PURSE OR BAG OR SANDALS; AND DO NOT GREET ANYONE ON THE ROAD.' "

Twice in 2 chapters, Jesus said the same thing. I'm thinking that if Jesus is serious about us healing the sick, He's serious about us not taking all this stuff with us when we go to the field.

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Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.”

I genuinely feel like I can say that I understand and cry with David in this Psalm to know and contemplate and gaze upon the matchless beauty of Jesus. What would cause a person to wholeheartedly say that, above all else, the deepest desire of their heart is to just look at God because He is so majestic and beautiful? I believe that it is because of an authentic revelation from God of who He is.

In the past several weeks of my life in being back in the USA, I have been beckoned and invited into a season of intimacy with Jesus where I want only one thing: to be with Him. This time has been the deepest intimacy with God that I’ve ever experienced before in my life, and I’ve seen more outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my own life than ever before. It is like the Lord has pushed the “Pause” button on ministry for a little while. Some of you may know that I was supposed to return to France in January, then back to Africa shortly after that. But as the date approached for me to leave, I did not have peace with the Lord about leaving. For the past 2 months, I have been in this place of extended season of prayer, worship, and seeking God, which has been exquisite to be honest. Ministry and everything else pales in comparison to Him. I am finally beginning to understand the Great Commandment to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and THEN love my neighbor as myself. We can’t love people without loving God first, above everything else—even ministry.

So, I had changed my departure from January 25th to February 14th to have more time in prayer before God. That’s today. But the closer it got to February 14th, the more I felt a lack of peace and an increase in anxiety and turmoil about going back to France. I was feeling like if I left for France now, then I would be getting ahead of God and making a move that was outside of the Lord’s BEST. Even while wrestling with God about all this last night, I saw this image of me having surgery, my body opened up, and then I pictured myself jumping off the operating table, running back to France before the surgery is finished.

With the wisdom of one of my leaders Randy Catlett, my parents, and my good friend Tyler, I have decided to return to France March 14th. I will continue spending this remaining time primarily in the place of prayer and worship before God in intimacy with Him. I still plan on returning to West Africa around the end of March.

God said in Proverbs that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. I feel like I’ve been liberated by a huge burden that was on my shoulders of having to return to the place of ministry before it was time. Now I get to spend more time with Jesus! I’m so excited.

I’ve discovered that the timing of the Lord is absolutely vital. I’ve been thinking about Abraham’s life and how he had been given a valid, live promise from God for a son. Many years after the Lord promised him a son, Abraham tried to “help” God out by having a son with his servant Hagar. That was Ishmael, son of the flesh. But then years later, the Lord came through and fulfilled His promise in Isaac. What a stark contrast between Ishmael and Isaac. Son of the flesh versus the son of the promise.

Thanks for your love and support, Adam

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This is an account of an outpouring of the Spirit of God in a parking lot that happened while we were at the Todd Bentley conference in Redding, CA this past weekend.

On the last night at the last session of the conference (Feb. 4th), Todd Bentley of course moved in the raw power of God for many healings...one of the most radical was a lady who came up on the stage with a walker, and she couldn't walk without it. She got healed and walked off the stage without the walker, glory to God. The anointing of the Spirit was so strong and the power of God was released to who knows how many people, and even quite a few who were brought in from Redding, and a couple hundred or so people got saved at the bare bones preaching of the gospel...which IS the power of God (Rom. 1:16). Todd released the anointing impartation to hundreds of youth pastors to carry the manifest power and fire of God back to their cities and churches. I told Tyler that he needed to go down there and receive this impartation from Todd, even though he wasn't officially a youth pastor...but he subs in schools. He went down, and started catching people, and he managed to get to the end of the line and as soon as Todd touched Tyler, he and another guy got knocked down by the power of God, and they fell backwards and knocked down a wall!

Whoa God. Tyler came back trembling and inundated in the power of God. His hunger and desperation for the "more" of God...huge. I love how Tyler just went down there to receive from God, and the Lord so loves it and honors it when we just want Him.

I wanted to be zapped by the power of God myself in a major, life-changing way in a God encounter...and I was even kind of offended that I didn't "get" something more than what I expected. What a crappy way to respond to the goodness of God. But what happened next ended up being the biggest outbreak of the Holy Spirit that I've ever been a part of before in my whole life where literally the Lord used Tyler and I to start a mini-revival that spread spontaneously to about 100 or 150 people who were consumed with the tangible, raw, power of manifest intoxicating presence of the Holy Spirit.

Tyler and I walked out of the convention center, and he was still shaking and trembling under the power of God. I told him I wanted the impartation that what he received from the Holy Spirit, and so Tyler told me to open my spirit 100% with no reservations, and I did, and the power of God came on me, and I began to be intoxicated by the Spirit of God...

Tyler and I both were inundated by the power of God, and I went down on the ground for some time, then eventually was able to stand up again. Tyler was giving away the impartation of the Spirit to others, and Chelsey and Sharon and some others started getting touched by the raw power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Jarrod and I went over to another couple people who were celebrating in the Spirit, and I wanted what they had. I didn't care...I was hungry and desperate. Next thing I know, this man Paul has me in his arms, and I get hit by the power again, fall to the ground, and am out of it. I wanted to receive as much as possible. Not long after that, I had a pile of people on top of me, and I didn't know why. I wasn't completely conscious of what was going on...but come to find out, Paul had seen in the Spirit the impartation upon me, and he told the people who started showing up that if they prayed over me, then they would receive what I had. Hence the pile of bodies on me. I later found out that there was some sort of train of people set up...some people laying on me, then a chain of people touching each other, and as soon as they would touch me or somebody else in the "train," they would also be hit by the power of God.

Meanwhile, Tyler was giving away the impartation as fast as he could, and as long as he could stand up. He is so unselfish. He's a revivalist, fire-starter at the core, even moreso that I am. It all seems a blur to me, but I had several people come by and impart more of the Spirit to me, and some prophetic words were spoken. One guy told me that I have the same anointing on me as Shawn Bolz (I don't know anything about him except that he wrote the book called "Throne Room Company.") Then I received another word that Jesus just gave me a brand new organ in my left abdominal area...he asked me if I had any problems there, and I said not that I know of. Later, the Lord spoke to me that this was the spiritual surgery which Tyler prophesied to me about when we were still back in Kansas City...and the Lord did that surgery on me during that encounter with Him in the parking lot.

By this time, I was trying to get up off the pavement so I could give away what I had received to other people. But I could not get up. It was like something was holding me down...the weight of the presence of God. But I was able to scan the parking lot, and there were probably 100 people there, drunk in the Spirit, laughing hysterically, groaning loudly, hollering under the fire and electricity of God. It was a bona-fide mini revival going on! Wow. I was still way out of it though. Eventually I got Tyler and another fiery guy Derik from Bethel School of Ministry to help me up so I could impart to others. I couldn't even stand up...they had to hold me. All I could say was "FIRE" and "POWER"!!!! They took my hand and laid it on a girl named Jackie, and she immediately went down under the power of God.

Jarrod received a mighty impartation of the Spirit, literally flames of fire in his chest that felt like they were going to shoot out of his mouth! He also received tongues earlier that day or the day before. So many people were being hit by the raw power of God. It was beautiful. This impartation of the Spirit of God through Todd Bentley to Tyler, then to me combined to create a revival! Tyler and I later realized that we were the catalysts for this whole deal, even though Paul was instrumental in stewarding it and leading people in receiving the impartation from me and Tyler. It's so fascinating. Healings happened, spontaneous worship happened, genuine outpouring of the love of God for each other happened, extreme joy was produced, and impartations of the Spirit of God which will be carried all over the place and start fires elsewhere also happened.

The amazing thing is that Tyler and I were just ourselves, didn't plan anything, no rules, the Holy Spirit just moved and swept through like wildfire. We realized that this was the very fulfillment of the dream the Lord gave me in Kansas City about he and I being on the wall as watchmen together, and we were agents of revival together. So Tyler and I colabored together in the coming of this revival in the parking lot. We don't and can't take credit, but we do recognize that the Lord used us as major conduits to spread this impartation.

The whole thing went on for a couple hours. Every time I would manage to get back up off the pavement, I would get hit again by the Spirit. I don't know how many times I went down. Finally the Lord spoke to me that He had to keep knocking me down because I wouldn't stay still long enough to let Him speak to me. At that point, the peace of the Lord washed over me. I remember one of the times I was down, I was given another prophetic word: "UNION." Union with God. Yeah God.

I've never seen or been a part of a more significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my life. There were about 100 (maybe 150) people there at its height. The revival would have continued and increased in numbers if we had not been in a secluded parking lot somewhere. It made me contemplate about the ins and outs of why revival and Spirit moving is restricted. Most of the time we people restrict the moving of the Spirit. There were some other words that the Lord spoke to me through Tyler. The Lord said through him that the desire that I have been given by Him in St. Louis to have a son (through the Lauer's son Johnny) is not just for a biological son, but for many spiritual sons that the Lord will give me in Africa, of which one is of course Ablam! The Lord will give me many African sons even at my age, and this is a desire that God has given me. Tyler said that our generation will be more apt and equipped to be fathers at an earlier age than our parents' generation was.

Posted by marseille at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Oh my gosh I cannot believe what the Lord just did. We were driving in Northern California on the way back to WA, and I was sitting in the front seat of the car and kind of in a trance worshipping the Lord, and the Lord spoke to me a few things in a closed vision.

The Lord spoke to me that we needed to stop at exit 154, and there was a person (I thought it was a girl because the person I saw had long hair) who was deaf in both ears. I also felt like the Lord said that this person has a prophetic gifting and that he/she likes Monet art. I saw a striped shirt that the person was wearing. I looked at the road map to find out where exit 154 (off I-5) was, and I found it...in Oregon. At that point in time we were still in California, a long ways from where that exit was. I told Angelo about the word the Lord spoke to me and asked if we could stop there when we came to it, and he agreed.

By the time we approached within 10 or 15 miles from the exit, I asked the Lord again to confirm if this word was Him. He told me again that it WAS him. I really began to be filled with the confidence in the power of the Spirit of God which was present to bring healing to this deaf person that He spoke to me about. So we got to exit 154, and Angelo asked me which way to turn off the exit ramp. I told him I didn't know...but I just said, "Let's go right." So we did. There weren't any gas stations or any other businesses at this exit...it was a rural area (Ashland, Oregon). It was the divine hand of God that led us to make the right turns...I only had the word of knowledge He had given me about this blind person at exit 154 with a few other details, but not exactly where.

But it was amazing what happened next. We made another turn on a side road, and came to kind of a secluded house on a farm. They asked me if we should stop there. I said yes. At that point, the tangible anointing of the Holy Spirit was strong on my head and hands...the oil and fire of God. I had no doubt in my heart at all that the Lord was about to show His power. The process of these opportunities with words of knowledge continues to solidify in my heart.

First, I wait on the Lord in the place of Spirit-breathed communion, now in a kind of trance-like state where my spirit is in contemplative gazing upon God and opened in my heart to hear His voice. I'm really beginning to enter into these periods of waiting on God for revelation and to simply hear and find out what is on His heart at any given point. Secondly, when I hear what He says (in this case about the blind person), I receive the word He speaks into my heart, and oftentimes the outworking of receiving the word is by writing it out, etching it on paper after it's already been treasured in my heart. Thirdly, at that point in hearing the prophetic or proclaimed word of God (rhema or logos), faith comes. It's a measure of faith that comes from the Holy Spirit in me, bearing witness to the truth of what God has said. Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, there then is a choice at hand that is required. I must RESPOND with either a YES of obedience in my heart or a NO of unbelief and disobedience.

But once the decision has been made of YES to follow Jesus in the word of knowledge that He gave, the measure of faith is activated in your heart. And this is what happened with this situation with the deaf person. THEN, once you have obeyed God, when you go to exercise/demonstrate the obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that is when the actual atmosphere changes and becomes charged with ripeness, opening the heavens for the moving of the Holy Spirit. What we're talking about here is partnership between man and God in colaboring to see His Kingdom come to earth! This absolutely SO very exciting to me!

Releasing healing after faith has come is actually easy and effortless, even though it may require persistence and perseverance in declaring it and imparting it to the sick person/people. The reason is because the anointing of the Spirit is fully available. I believe that the "amount" of anointing can be increased too as we recognize that it is present, and we interact with God in pulling on heaven (and in some cases other believers around you in combining faith with the rhema word of God). That's when we can be displayed forth as the beauty of God's revealed sons and daughters in the earth, reigning with Christ in bringing His Kingdom down to earth!!!! OHH I love this!

So back to the story. We pulled up to the house, and I immediately got out of the car, full of the boldness and confidence in the Spirit of God. There was somebody on the front porch of the house, and I approached the house, and said, "Hey there. Sorry to bother you, but we follow Jesus and the Lord spoke to me while we were on the freeway that there was somebody who is deaf in the area of exit 154, and His power is present to heal this person. Do you know anybody in this area who is deaf?"

The boy waited a few seconds before he responded. "Yeah...that's...my cousin." Come to find out, not only had I heard accurately from the Lord about this, but God Himself sent us to the VERY house where this deaf person was! My gosh...this is the most dramatic word of knowledge I've ever had before. We later found out that Larry, the deaf guy, is the only deaf person in the entire town. So I asked if we could pray over his cousin to bring the Lord's healing to his ears.

He went to get his parents, Daniel and Donna. Donna came out, a lady who had a sweet spirit about her, and it became clear through talking to her that she knew Jesus, and Tyler sensed that she had been crying out to God for her nephew Larry who has been deaf from birth in both ears. I told her the whole situation of how the Lord spoke to me about this healing He wanted to do for a deaf person by exit 154. I asked her if we could pray over Larry. She went to get her husband Daniel, and I met him. By this time, the rest of the group had gotten out of the van and came over to join me. Daniel was pretty peculiar. He was skeptical and really eyeing me the whole time, curious and puzzled how I knew that his nephew was deaf. I told him as well the whole situation of how Jesus spoke this to me a couple hours before while we were still in CA. I asked him as well if we could pray over Larry, if he would be willing to come out.

By this time, the anointing of the Spirit was really strong on me, and I had no trace of fear in me. Walking in the anointing is awesome and so effortless because the anointing breaks off bondages and chains, and it is accompanied by full confidence and boldness that doesn't take no for an answer.

Daniel and Donna went into the house to see if Larry would come out and let us lay hands on him and pray over him. He wouldn't because he was too scared. That made me more violent in my spirit to uproot the spirit of fear that was attempting to block what God wanted to do. So we began to pray outside of the house for Larry. I was filled with the boldness of the Spirit of God, and it was the same kind of confidence in the Spirit that I walked in when I would pray for the sick in Africa. Heavenly boldness. Oh it was awesome. I spoke directly to the deaf spirit (actually come to think of it, it was a deaf AND dumb spirit because Larry couldn't talk either). I commanded the spirit to loose him and release off of him in Jesus' name. I had no doubt whatsoever in my heart. The power of God was released.

After finishing praying the first time, I asked Donna to go in and check on Larry to see if there was any change in his hearing, and also to see if he would come out. No change happened, and he still didn't come out. Tyler began to talk to Donna, Daniel, and their sons saying that sometimes healing doesn't come the first time you pray, so we needed to pray again. I'm so thankful Tyler was there. So we prayed again. Confronting the deaf spirit and the spirit of fear as well. I was violent in prayer.

Again I asked for them to check on Larry again to see if there was any change. None. He still didn't want to come out either. I didn't know what to do. Tyler stepped up and told me he thinks we need to just love on the family for a while. Man that was the best thing that could have happened. It was the wisdom of God through Tyler. He was absolutely right...love them. The Holy Spirit had filled Tyler with compassion for the family, and as soon as he said that, I felt the compassion of Jesus begin to fill MY heart! Tyler went up and hugged Danny, their son and started connecting with him. I love Tyler. What an amazing guy. I love him with all my heart. (It was such a joy to colabor with him in this God opportunity. I want with all my heart to colabor in the Kingdom with him longterm. Lord let it be).

When Tyler began to love on the family, the rest of us followed in doing the same thing...and I could tell that it disarmed some of the suspicion that the family (particularly Daniel, the father) had. But still, Daniel was resistant in his heart to the whole thing...I sensed some demonic activity going on with him because he would speak to me and look at me in a way that looked like he was consulting demons or something. I'm not sure what it was.

Then we noticed that Larry had peeked around the back shyly looking at us. I got so excited that he came out! That meant we could maybe lay hands on him and cast the demon out and bring the Lord's deliverance to him. He slowly approached us, and Tyler told him that Jesus loves him, and that we weren't there to hurt him, and that we loved him. (All our communication had to go through Donna who speaks to Larry in sign language).

The amazing thing is that Larry has long hair, about 35 or 40 years old. And when the Lord gave me that image, I saw a person with long hair, and that's why I assumed it was a girl who was deaf. But it turns out that the person I had seen was Larry...wow. Eventually Larry gave us permission to lay hands on him, and I asked Donna to explain to him how Jesus spoke to me about him and that He loves him and is going to heal him. Tyler and I laid our hands on his shoulders, and I prayed again, addressing the deaf and dumb spirit specifically. He didn't manifest or anything. Then Tyler went at it. He asked Larry to look him in the eyes, and then he commanded the spirit to leave. There was no manifestation then either. I wasn't sure why healing and deliverance didn't come...I mean the Lord gave me a specific word of knowledge for this, and we believed Him, and so did Donna I think. I don't necessarily know that Daniel believed God would heal Larry, though.

I sensed the Holy Spirit tell me that the reason the healing of Larry didn't happen instantaneously was so that the family would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was GOD that healed him and not man. And I heard Him also say that He has now been healed! (I'm writing this now 3 days after all this happened--2/6/07). Lord I worship You with all my heart, mighty King of Heaven. You are beautiful and irresistible, and Your power is inexhaustible. O bless You my King.

Larry had to leave and go to work (he's a janitor). Meanwhile, I got to talking to Daniel. It's hard for me to really summarize our conversations because what he said was so off the wall. He invited me to come in with him alone into his motorhome, which was parked beside the house. He lives in there separate from the rest of his family. Kind of bizarre. Tyler and I both sensed that he's got something going on in there that is secretive and possibly linked with the occult. Not sure though. Anyway, we talked for a while, and the tangible presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit was still strong on my head and hands. Angelo came in at one point, thank the Lord, and he gave Daniel some prophetic words too, and I believe he received them.

But I could tell that he was still resistant to the Lord, though he did say that he thought that the real reason the Lord sent us to their house that day was not primarily for Larry, but for he and Donna (his wife). Through it all, I know the Holy Spirit was working in Daniel, but he needs deliverance from demonic stuff before he'll be able to fully receive from the Lord. And he needs to break ties with whatever it is that he's involved with in his "inner sanctum" as he called it...the motor home.

Daniel started telling me how he suffers from bad dreams and post-traumatic stress syndrome because he used to be in the military. Eventually Angelo and I responded to the Spirit and laid hands on Daniel to release the presence of God on Daniel...but he wasn't too receptive. He gave me a copy of Da Vinci Code, really advising me to watch it, but I'm not going to.

Meanwhile, when Angelo and I were in the motor home, and Tyler was ministering to Danny, Daniel's son who is 13. The impartation that Tyler received the night before from Todd Bentley for youth in particular was significant that Tyler could minister to him. Danny confessed some secret sins to him that he wouldn't talk to anybody about...and he also told Tyler about different weird things that would happen to him in the night...demonic presences that would come to him while he watches scary movies. And he said it feels like somebody is choking him.

Tyler told him about the blood of Jesus and His love during the struggle. Danny has been sharing Jesus with people at his school too. They prayed together, and Tyler was about to walk away, and then Danny told him that he has knee problems. Tyler asked him if he could lay hands on his knees and pray now, but Danny was uncomfortable by that. He didn't want Tyler to put his hands on his knees. So Danny put his own hands on his knees. Then Tyler release fire on him, and Danny said that it felt like something was poking out of his knees, then he felt a tingling sensation. And his knees were healed! Thank You God.

Wow. The Lord did a healing, and it's amazing how the Lord used me as a vessel of faith to challenge the whole group to hear the word of God and respond to an opportunity that is on the Lord's heart. This is normal to hear this kind of word and be available to the Spirit like this!

Posted by marseille at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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We just stopped at a gas station on the way to Redding, and there was a lady behind the counter with a sling on her right arm/shoulder, and I went up to her and asked her if she has ever been touched by the power of God before.

She said yes. I asked her if we could pray for her that healing would come. She said yes, then I asked her if she would come around the counter so we can lay hands on her and pray over her. She did! Her name is Jane. Angelo and I laid hands on her, and we released the presence of God on her.

After we finished, I asked her if she could move her arm at all or do anything that she couldn't do before...any change in pain? She took off her sling and she could move it! She was radiating with joy, and I asked her if she believed in Jesus? She said YES! Hallelujah! The Lord did a miracle and healed her shoulder! She told her coworker beside her that it feels better, and she was beaming with joy! The Lord healed her! Then I hollered out if anybody else in the store had any bone or muscle problems they needed healing from...no takers, but still the Lord DID a miracle!!! All it is is responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit and taking a simple step of courage and releasing the presence and power of God on somebody!

Posted by marseille at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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