Hey all I haven’t had the time to update you all on what is going on, but soon I will write an update… what a ride… wow. Here is a video of our latest conference in Vancouver with our students, enjoy:
Quick Update Video…
Reply
Tag Archives: time
Counting the cost and adding up the value
Bill Johnson said, “You get what you need for free and you pay for what you want!” It costs to follow what you believe God is calling you to, but it turns out what costs you, you didn’t need. My wife and I left our full-time career and followed what we believed the Lord calling us to. We left our comforts and security for a life of risk and faith. We went out on the ledge of Christian faith and jumped off. We have never lacked what we need, ever. When we needed it, the Lord has always been faithful at the right time with the right amount.
Once, while in Nicaragua, we needed $150, we had nothing and a man who was visiting from the US, stopped dead in the middle of his conversation with us and said: “You need money! The Holy Spirit just said I need to give you money! I need to give you $150!” – just when we needed it, we got it. I remember another time we had no food left, all but one thing of oats was left for our family of five and we planned on having that for breakfast and, as if by chance, a pastor called us from another town and offered to pay for our whole family to come stay there while we ministered in his church. The timing was perfect. In amongst the hungriest of people we found the most supernatural generosity. Time and time again we have seen God perform miraculous provision as we have followed Him. Even today I marvel as someone donated tires for our van just before we have to head to Edmonton, (a 3o hour drive in winter with bald tires) and another generous person from Yukon Bible Fellowship donated enough money for all the gas and another donated money for repairs. And before we left for the Yukon, someone felt lead to pay off our $20k debt! We are not getting rich following Jesus, but we are living rich following Jesus and lacking nothing. :)
Today as my hope was dropping, I am purposely remembering all that He has done, all He has provided. And today I can truly say, what we needed we got for free, but what we wanted we had to pay for. And what we paid with we didn’t need anyway, so there was no loss only gain. We wanted to go where He said go, we wanted to say what He said and it cost us all the false security and comforts we thought we needed. Although, in the moment, I miss the simplicity of a steady pay cheque and I am constantly challenged to remember His faithfulness, when I think about the big picture, I would trade it all again for the knowledge of His love demonstrated in His provision for us. I would gladly exchange my false comfort and security for the security and comfort of knowing that my God is able to do what He said He would do.
Even as I was writing this, another generous person from Yukon Bible Fellowship, donated more money to us for our trip. God is sooooo generous and knows what we need even before we ask for it. It felt like it cost a lot, but all it has really done has removed the dependency on things that we’ve realized we never really needed.
This end signifies a new beginning.
Coming Home to Kelowna for Nov 1st 2010
Well the inevitable end to a great ministry time has come. This lifestyle we have chosen comes with an eventual end to our time together. I mourn the end of our ministry time and the leaving of the people and the location. But it isn’t the end. We have made great, deep, life-long relationships as we gave ourselves 100%. It was fun. God really called us to strategically shift the atmosphere and celebrate their focus. The pastor and several leaders have created this culture of passion for His presence. I am convinced more than ever that God is planning a visitation here, so I became convinced that we were to teach the ‘glue’ that sustains revival from generation to generation. To focus on building relationships (or strengthening the horizontal love encounters), to establish royal identity and to teach the importance of remembering the testimonies and the promises of God.
So it is time for a new beginning for my family and this ministry. We don’t know where we are going next and starting over seems more difficult than staying in one location, building influence and relationships. I think this is why this isn’t a popular ministry choice, but I am aware that this is needed more than ever in a time like this. We will go where no-one will go. We will go where there is a hunger and no ability to sustain a school or a full time team. We will go and prepare the ground for those coming. We will leave a church hungry for more, strong, courageous and relentlessly pursuing God’s presence. A church that has a priority for His presence, is focused on building up the body and is engaged in strategically deploying it’s members into the community to be Christ’s hand extended – will see revival in it’s community.
So pray for us so that we will know what the next place is that we are supposed to go to. For now we are headed to Kelowna, BC. Canada, awaiting our next deployment. Which may in itself become our sortie for a season.
Cheers,
g.
Good time was had by all…
Well we started last week officially what we are now calling the “Revivalist Equipping Nights” for all those aspiring to lead or who feel called to lead what God is so evidently doing at YBF. It was fun. I spoke about intimacy vertically and horizontally. The priority for heart to heart connections with the Father and with each other. Then we proceeded to break up into small groups and practice the David model for intimacy. We ended the evening getting each other filled with Holy Spirit… it was a time of tipsyness! LOL *hic* It was really great!
I was wrong!
I was wrong. The best way to release and increase the kingdom wasn’t through a better system or open source curriculum or even people doing the ‘stuff’. This statement seems rather ridiculous when it is written out, but it was an all to real realization the other night when I had one of the craziest encounters with His consuming, furious love.I had talked myself out of going to the prophetic conference in town, for all the ‘right’ reasons, “…we just got back from ministering in Nicaragua, I’m tired and need to rest…” etc.. So I decided, because of the subtle hints of my friend Holy Spirit, that I should go. Sometimes we need to act in the opposite spirit than that of which we are.
We arrived at the dry lake bed with parched people doing the ‘normal’ horizontal watering of their proverbial soil… it was rough. I needed more, and pushed in again, by dancing then lying on the floor to receive all He was making available… it was good, but nothing near what was about to happen.
Heidi Baker, in her tender way, declared she was going to do something different, which really isn’t that different for her. She said that the alters are open and we were going to press in to God and give Jesus a drink. This was all my friend an I needed. So along with all the chapped-lipped Christians desperate for something else, we ran up and dove face down at the apostle’s feet. For most of the duration of her message, she laid hands on my friend and I, as she soaked, prayed, preached and poured out her heart to heaven. I felt the throngs of His love physically flowing through me as I lay there face down, it was incredible, but still nothing compared to what happened next.
I think the Spirit was telling me, “Servants beg face down, but lovers lie on their back!” So I turned over and lay on my back, the whole time Heidi was laying hands on my head and chest intermittently. It ‘physically’ felt like I went from the experience of God touching me, to having Him enter me. Like another level of His love.
There is more! There is more of His love than we can imagine or dream about.
With this new encounter came the an overwhelming thought,
“I don’t ever want to leave!”
… and I mean ever… I decided I was going to hold onto this moment forever, no matter what. Well that was the beginning of the longest incoherent, trance-like state I had ever been in up until that moment. For 24hrs I couldn’t walk without staggering around and falling down. I could barely open my eyes or speak without laughing spontaneously. I was reminded of the biblical references where Peter said, “These men are not drunk as you suppose!” and when Paul said to the Ephesians, “Do not be drunk on wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit.” My friend and I were filled, and we were drunk, drunk, drunk in His intoxicating love. It was completely marvelous and yet this was only a hint of what is available.
It wasn’t till the next day in a very controlled church service that I began to sober up. It was a pity. We spent the better part of 24hrs on our backs or crawling around under the weight of His presence. This isn’t a new thing. The biblical and revivalist fathers of old experienced this all the time. It was said of Smith Wigglesworth that he could bring the anointing so strong that most people couldn’t stay in the same building under the weight of God’s presence. A physical weight, they could feel baring down on their bodies.
It wasn’t till the next day in a very controlled church service that I began to sober up. It was a pity. We spent the better part of 24hrs on our backs or crawling around under the weight of His presence. This isn’t a new thing. The biblical and revivalist fathers of old experienced this all the time. It was said of Smith Wigglesworth that he could bring the anointing so strong that most people couldn’t stay in the same building under the weight of God’s presence. A physical weight, they could feel baring down on their bodies.
The point is there is more love for us hidden in God, than we can imagine or dream of. There is always more and there is always higher. The metaphor for this increase seems incredulous to me considering the salvation theology that says His presence comes to live in us. So what is this ‘more’ and why have psalmists and worship writers for generations penned the echo of our hearts over and over again? How can we have more of the ‘all’ that lives in us? Could it be that we don’t really see ‘all’ of what we have; that we don’t comprehend the height, depth and breadth of He who is in us? That somehow, we need to see more, comprehend more and experience more of Him who lives in us. And then what?
When we experience intimate, heart-to-heart, deep love we can’t help but love. It reduces the fist commandment to an overflow of the love that we already experience in our hearts. We become agents of His love, reflecting Him in the communities we live in. All over the world the agents of love are being released and are changing the world as more and more people experience the mystery of the kingdom. Love is contagious and cancerous (yes I am using this work on purpose), especially cancerous to the works of the enemy and the gates of hell which can not prevail against it.
“We love, because He first loved us.” [NASB] 1 John 4:11
The bible says you can’t love without being loved by God. I didn’t write that, it is in the word… so that means that any love we are experiencing today is a run off or an overflow of love experienced by someone who at one point was connected to God.
The word ‘Theophany’ from the Ancient Greek Θεοφάνεια – Τheophaneia(meaning “appearance of God”), refers to the appearance of a deity to a human, or to a divine disclosure.
“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” [MSG] John 13:34-35
Blessing and Increase!
Well it is time to tell of all that God has done in the last few months and to declare a renewed vision for the future. Remember when you hear this testimony that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy! This means the very testimony you hear of Jesus touching some else’s life has the power in it to do it again. So take this testimony as a prophesy for your situation.
Several years ago, while attending a Bethel Church service, Pastor Bill was moved by the Spirit to have us all pray for those who were having financial struggles. Well we had moved there to attend BSSM and were completely strapped financially having used up whatever cash we had and all of our credit. So we were in desperate need of some prayer and money. As my friend layed hands on me to pray for our situation I had a vision of people putting money into my hands, then the vision changed and I saw people pinning money on my back, then the vision changed again and I was standing in front of the mail box collecting a check that would pay off our debt. This was exactly what I needed to encourage me. Well right after he was done praying people started putting money in my hands while I was standing there. Then later that month I got a job working for Loving On Purpose, right at the point where had no money left, it was amazing.
Now I knew that the first two parts of the vision had come true, money donations were coming in and I was getting money for my labor. I longed to see the third part come true, but nothing. My wife started seeing the numbers 555 frequently. The number 5 means grace and Bill had an encounter where the Lord showed him that the cancellation of debt was upon us and the number was 555. So every time we saw that number we claimed it as the cancellation of debt for us. It was crazy how often we saw it. I mean ridiculous. I would see the number, reach out my hand and claim the promise as ours. Well Kris Vallotton says the word you hear the most often can be a sign of the resistance you will face before you see that promise come to pass. This was a real test for our faith, especially when we felt financially strapped after going to Nicaragua and reducing our salary to only 6% of what I was making when I was working as a video game project manager. God was faithful and provided all the way. There were times in Nicaragua in the middle of the month, when all we had was a bag of oatmeal on the shelf and people came, without knowing and paid to feed us for 3 days, etc. It was truly amazing! Always there, always at the last moment, God came through. However the debt was always there as a nagging temptation not to believe God as the creditors kept calling.
The external pressure to not believe the faithfulness of God to fulfill the promise was intense and just last month it came to a head with a creditor when they threatened legal action. All sorts of questions come to mind like, did we hear God right, were we foolish in giving it all up to follow what we felt God was telling us to do, am I being an irresponsible father, etc etc. It was rough, but no matter what we felt, experienced or perceived we kept reminding each other that the God who answered our prayers in the past is the same God who will answer our promises in the future and that He is more than capable to do what He said He would do. Then in the middle of last month, a couple we know sold their house and gave us check of $20K to pay off our debt. PRAISE GOD! He is faithful to fulfill all that He promises.
Testimonies, Testimonies, Testimonies…
The greatest thing for me to see is the testimonies of Jesus. I really really really love how He works. Especially when He partners with people and changes the paradigm of how to access His presence. This week has been rife with miracles, healings and testimonies. Some of which happened as a result of the teaching we are doing. This is a great reward for us. It is one thing to teach people the principles, it is a another thing to see them put it into practice and see the fruit. I am again just in awe of God’s favor in this time. Praise Him from who all blessings flow!
Last night I was in Managua Verbo Central, it was my honor to teach them the principles of keeping the testimonies and the promises.
However before I got to the podium, I went to pre-service prayer with some firecracker intercessors. Oh I love intercessors…. and did we get drunk. They put oil on my hands, my head my knees, my shoulders, my chest, my feet and my translator. They prophesied up a storm. It reminded me of my new favorite scripture: Is 45:8
Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
And righteousness spring up with it.
I, the LORD, have created it.
[I can just picture his honey dripping from heaven and the righteousness falling like a thunderstorm. ooooooo!]
I went into the church and they were singing, ‘Ancient of Days‘ – ‘Your Kingdom shall reign over all the earth!‘ Best ever, better than the recording….
Then they started to testify of how God has begun to move in the church with a spirit of generosity to break poverty thinking. Since the conference Pastor Ricardo went to in Ecuador with Kris Vallotton, Joaquin Evans & Chris Gore, and since last week when these Guatemala pastors came and taught them about generosity, people have been bringing their possessions into the church and seeing breakthrough in their lives. The church had cars for sale, beds and stereos out in the front. It was awesome. One man came up and told a story of how he owed $26000 and someone gave him the money to pay his debt. Another and another came up with testimonies of how God has blessed them financially and with healing. It was simply amazing.
I spoke about how keeping the testimonies and the promises perpetuates revival from one generation to the next. I could barely get a sentence out, and they were cheering and freaking out. It was so so so good. I was humbled and I could feel His presence thick like honey on my body. I said testimonies and promises take you outside of time to a place where future provision for your ‘now’ is made available. They cheered. It was electric. I used the ‘David Model’ to explain the power of testimonies and promises and told them testimonies are pregnant with the prophetic anointing to do it again. They cheered. Honestly something has shifted in this church since the last time I preached here 2 weeks ago. I ended with the above scripture and we prayed it as a church – I bet if I could have seen the angelic, the heavens were open and angels were ascending and descending…. wow! When the team comes in March, you will see., they are crazy for His presence.
Afterwards at supper, Pastor Ricardo shared a testimony of a boy he prayed for who had a tumour in his back. He shared how he prayed the way I had shown him and how simple it was. The rest of the testimony is at healingherald.org. Simply incredible. God is so good. Also afterwards I prayed for a man who’s right leg was shorter than the left. Before I could pray it started to GROW! So I quickly said, “In the name of Jesus, right leg grow!” LOL. It totally grew out. He told me he has been praying for people since I last spoke there, and people are getting healed. I am having so much fun. Thank you everyone for this access.
Surprised by the favor
We came to Nicaragua concerned that there wouldn’t be enough time to do one Ignition Center, but now we have done one and we are about to do another. That is two in the space of 3 months… that is crazy. You know when God gives you a dream and then a plan, you still might be a little unsure of whether it will work? I am here to say it works! People really respond well to this mini-school format. This has been a huge proof of concept for us and we thank God that He has organized it the way that He has. We really believe we are called to feed those who are hungry for revival. People need it and we can do it.
Ignition Center Nicaragua
Well it has begun! Who knew that while we were praying and developing this dream for the last 3 years that at the same time God was preparing a place for us, 5 years in the making. He was preparing a man, a champion of champions. His name is Pastor Arsenio and he is one of the greatest men I have come to know. Just when I think he is too good to be true, he shows us another side of his character that is kingdom minded and I become more convinced. He truly carries the hunger, vision and faith to see his city, his country and the world transformed.
Fear is not holding him back from achieving his goals and God continues to provide for them and their vision which is always bigger than they are. They are already several months into a building project that they believe will house a bible school, a leadership school, a new believer’s class and the possible future home to a Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.
Pastor Arsenio started out with a group who met in his house. It quickly grew to +/- 200 people so they sought out land and a tent. They rented some land and after many trials got a tent up on the land that seats 600+ people and when they opened the church the tent was filled and hasn’t stopped growing. They now have two services and a church of 1,600 in a town of only 6,000 people. These people love Jesus, I mean really love Him. You can tell by their worship. Last year the tent blew down and the entire congregation came together and rebuilt it in 5 days.
Pastor Arsenio has a heart for the nation with plans to purchase a TV and Radio Station in the near future. He hopes to reach people with media, drama and new technology. They have programs for feeding and clothing the poor, youth events, drama and much more. As I watch him dealing with the people, I see love, freedom and empowerment. The people around him believe all their dreams will come true. He is assertive and loving, constantly raising people up to a standard and creating a safe place for them to be all they can be. This man is a true champion ripe for the culture of revival.
They have seen some supernatural, but since being with us at the conference in January, Pastor Arsenio and his team of 30 leaders wanted more. They began with John and Shirley Vaughan who spent time fathering them and doing sozo’s on the pastor, his wife and several other leaders. Then it was our turn.
This last week we started, what I will call the first Ignition Center…. it will be called whatever he decides when and if he wants to, but for now I will refer to it as an Ignition Center. Together we decided what they needed and how much they could commit to come to class. I suggested 7 hours they said 8. So we are training them for +/-8 hours a week for 4 weeks.
This week I taught an intro class, Identity & Relaitonships. I was hoping to go faster, but there were so many questions and a lot of social time so we covered what they could take in and I could deliver. On the Thursday night, at the end of teaching, a woman got healed of a jaw/tooth infection as I demonstrated moving from love toward faith. I wanted to emphasize that the only thing we owe people is an encounter with the Holy Spirit! It was so awesome. She encountered His love and her pain and infection went away. Praise God for what he is doing here in Nicaragua.
We believe we are here to impart revival culture. What these powerful people do with it in the future is up to them, but it looks like enough hunger and love for Jesus to truly transform this nation. It’s our privilege to serve them and I look forward to seeing what God is going to do in Nicaragua.