Thoughts

Confident Faith

2011-06-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

We all experience more than a few trials in this life.
Each of our trials may be different but they all require the same thing.
Faith.
Reading the letter to the Hebrews always brings me a fresh revelation of New Testament faith.
I always get encouraged. Faith is the theme of the letter to the Hebrews,
it is full of hope and expectation. It is one of the greatest theological letters in the New Testament. Verse after verse, thought after thought,
the author builds an absolute case for our secure position in Christ,
our total forgiveness of sin and our place as heir to the all the promises of God.

As the author writes all this, he intertwines an exhortation to
believe this incredible reality.

In short, the letter to the Hebrews is written to encourage
faith in and for the promises of God.

Hebrews describes a faith that is not a 'might-be' faith nor a 'maybe' hope
..NO!...the entire letter is intended to boost the saints' expectation for
the reality of God's promises to be true!

Too many Christian live with the idea that God's plan is to build us up
in a strength that can live with the disappointments in life and
still believe that God exists.
This is a type of 'hang-in-there' faith with little hope for God to intervene in
our circumstances. God is reduced to a 'comfort' in the trial.
The building of character is His goal for the Christian.

This would be a great concept if we define Biblical character as
having radical confidence in the power of God on our behalf.
Unfortunately most Christians define character in terms of personal
discipline and self confidence. Though these are good traits to have
in life they can be found in a lost person as easily (and sometimes
more frequently) than in a Christian.
I believe that the Bible reveals that a faith in God that includes an
expectation of miracles is a truer definition of faith.

This should not be a difficult leap for Christians since we all believe
the greatest personal miracle we will ever experience in life,
the salvation of our souls.
That miracle requires Biblical faith because it cannot be seen in the natural,
how much more should we believe that the our Savior who loved us so
much would also provide supernatural intervention for us in this life?

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us,
who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son,
but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him,
graciously give us all things?" (Rom. 8:31-32)

Because we do not always see the miraculous intervention of His power
in our circumstances we can tend towards developing personal doctrines
based on disappointment rather than on His Word.
When a body of Christians does this collectively it can create an
atmosphere of unbelief rather than of expectation, faith and hope.

We often get in trouble and fall into doubt when we too easily
give up on true faith.
Faith is not singularly trust or belief,
faith requires a commitment to His truth,
it is a choice, it is a confident expectation of good.
Faith is more than a belief that God exists,
even the demons believe that.
Faith is the anchor of our heart in another Kingdom,
a belief in a superior reality that expects the goodness and power
of God to manifest in us, for us and through us.

Sometimes it is an effort, sometimes it is patience,
but faith is never stagnant, it is never in a doctrine.
It is not a 'way' to believe, it is belief itself.

The author of Hebrews addresses this in chapter six:
"..we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness
to have the full assurance of hope until the end,
so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who
through faith and patience inherit the promises.
For when God made a promise to Abraham...
He swore by Himself, saying:'Surely I will bless you and multiply you.'
And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise
unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath...
in which it is impossible for God to lie...so that we, who have fled for refuge,
might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,
a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf...."

God cannot lie, He swore an oath by His own Name
that His promises are true.
He swore this oath so that we could put a stake in the ground
and hold fast to His promise.
Faith is an anchor when we are faced with the trials of this life.

At the heart of faith is a rest and assurance,
but we can never truly rest when we doubt His promise,
nor be 'assured' if we think that God is the source of our trials.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)

This Blog is not a 'hang-in-there' encouragement,
it is an exhortation to BELIEVE!

Faith in His Name!

2011-06-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

At the Radical Gospel Monday Night Meeting,
when we lay hands on the sick or prophecy in the Spirit,
we are incredibly mindful of who's power is at work through us.

When a person is healed as we pray, sometimes in astonishing ways,
we become humbled by the awesome privilege to be used of God
as a transmitter of His virtue.
When the evidence of a healing manifests before our eyes there is
no way any reasonable person could take the credit for it.

Yet, it is the tendency of man to look at the individual through
who's hands (or prophetic word) the miracle came about. (and it always
gets a little disconcerting when the individual who prayed thinks it is 'about them').

The first officially recorded healing in in the post-Pentecost church is found in
the third chapter of the book of Acts. Peter and John declared healing over the
lame man at the Temple, "...in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk!"

An astounded crowd gathered around them and when Peter saw this
he had to teach, "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare
at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made this man walk....
...His Name, by faith in His Name, has made this man strong whom you see
and know; and the faith which is through Jesus has given the man this
perfect health in the presence of all of you."

At Radical Gospel we believe that faith in the Name of Jesus is at work in our
midst. We believe that this same faith, 'which is through Jesus' is not a special
blessing upon any man or woman or ministry,
it is a faith that is with-in the spirit of every believer.
It is a faith that grows and develops in an atmosphere of His Presence.
It is a faith that is encouraged by the agreement of many. It is a faith that only
requires a turning from doubt to 'belief'. It is a 'faith which is through JESUS' so
that all men may know that it isn't about them, not their lack, nor their own power.

We believe that the miraculous is normal Christianity. The more people who
see the miraculous through their own hands, the more we will get the over the
idea that it is 'about' one individual or one ministry.
We are committed to equipping His People in the supernatural for this reason:
We believe that God poured out His Spirit to empower a People who are called
by His Name in order to be a blessing upon the earth!

At Radical Gospel we hold the absolute conviction that we are not special,
but we are His People!

You are His People!

In His radical NAME!,
Ray

Meeting every Monday Night at 7pm at the facilities of the Open Door Church in Petaluma.
(click on the 'itinerary' page for directions)

Faith in intimacy

2011-06-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

"This God - His way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true, He is
a shield for all those who take refuge in Him." (King David in: 2Samuel 22:31)

David had a quite a few troubles in his time on earth. He created some of his challenges all by himself and some were thrust upon him by the madness of kings and men.

But David had an absolute conviction; God was good, God was faithful to His promise
and God backed him up.
David believed this even though he lived under an inferior Covenant.

God hasn't changed, He is still the God of David...David simply saw beyond the Law of
Moses and looked into the heart of the Father.
God did change His Covenant though, that is why it is called NEW.

In this New Covenant in His blood we do not need to strive to look beyond the Law
to see the Father. God took the Law away so that we might be able to realize a relationship of intimacy with Him that is based on faith.

"If God is for us, who or what can stand against us?, He who did not even spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him?" (Romans 8:31-32)
"For all the promises of God find there YES in Him. That is why we can shout AMEN through
Him, to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Our faith through Christ shouts AMEN to His promise; and that kind of faith brings Him glory.

"This God - His way is perfect!"

Believe it!

2010-11-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

God's astonishing power and Presence continues to amaze me as He privileges us to see the manifestations of His signs and wonders in our Monday Night meeting.
Judy is cancer free today. She was diagnosed with stage 4 Ovarian cancer. She was given two months to live. In July our healing team prayed for her.
Recent tests confirm that she remains cancer free.
John came in this past Monday Night and reported that his latest PSA numbers (tests indicating Prostate cancer) were now below normal, his tumor had shrunk 50% after prayer two weeks ago, now these tests show further healing. Thank you Jesus!
Though the healing of cancer seems to us as a greater miracle, I am consistently blessed by the pains and sicknesses that flee in Jesus' name every week. He cares for all our needs. He heals all our diseases and carried all grief and sorrow.
He heals the sick and the brokenhearted.

For me, the revelation of the finished work of the cross that brings healing
to hearts and minds is a very great miracle.
It cannot be separated from the miracles of healing, nor all the signs and wonders.
It seems to me that it should be the easiest thing.
It is, after all, the central message of the gospel. We should know this.
But for some it is difficult to believe.
We might even be able to believe for healing of our bodies before we can grasp the wonderful reality that is the basic message of the gospel: we are totally new creatures in Jesus Christ.
And as such we have access to an open heaven and all the promises of God.

"His grace gift inspires me to say to you that your thinking
must be consistent with everything that is within you
according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned to every individual.
Let the revelation of redemption shape your thoughts."
Romans 12:3 (the Mirror Translation).

"Let the revelation of redemption shape your thoughts."
This is another way of revealing how our minds can be renewed,
transformed, by the message of His finished work.
The word for 'transformed' in Rom.12:2. is 'metamorphic',
like the change from a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Utter and total transformation.

Paul is writing with an understanding that this is not an instant revelation for the Christian who is born of the Spirit.
It is implied in this chapter of Romans that we need to have our minds renewed to realize who we are!
We need to remind ourselves, and each other, of our new identity in Christ.
One way to do this is to minister to one another with the understanding
that we are already new creatures in Christ.
Done deal, past tense and finished.

So I preach to this reality, I minister with this assumption. My words and my prayers are directed to what has been done, not what needs to be done.
The mystery of the gospel should be no longer a mystery...it has been revealed.

"He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose,
which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth." Eph.1:9-10

He has united, in Jesus, all things in heaven with the things of earth.
Wow!
Now read Ephesians 1:1-10 and you will note that Paul says these words after he
thoroughly makes the point that we are 'holy and blameless', he writes: ' we are destined in love', 'purposed in His will', 'freely bestowed with grace', 'lavished with grace', 'redeemed by His blood' and 'forgiven from all our sins according to His riches in grace'.

That was His mystery revealed in Christ, and it is a 'uniting of heaven and earth' because we must think from heaven when we look in the mirror and when we look at each other.
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;
even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard Him thus no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.." 2 Cor.5:16-17
I posted a thought on FaceBook that was re-posted several times and commented upon in several countries. It struck a cord.

Ray LeBlond: Imagine yourself as a totally new creature in Christ...

Ok,... now stop imagining it and believe it.

Believe it.

We are continuing to meet on Monday Night with the expressed purpose of learning to think and 'believe' from heaven instead of earth.
This in demonstrated by how we prophesy , preach and pray.
We do not ask God to heal the sick, we command sickness to go in Jesus name,
knowing that it is His power but our authority as new creatures in Christ.

We preach to the transformed man and consider the 'old man' dead, crucified with Christ.
We believe that a revelation of your true identity in Christ will 'transform' you, complete you, heal you, and restore you, bless you and refresh you and renew your mind!

And Believe!

Monday Night Supernatural

2010-08-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

We have been meeting every Monday Night for five months now. We started out in an 'upper room', which is quite appropriate for a class on the Supernatural.
It has been a wonderful and wild experience. It has become much more than a 'class'.

In March I was asked to start a new class for people who were interested in learning more about the supernatural gifts. Some people are hungry for revival. Many are interested in the 'things' they are hearing about in church.
There is a definite 'buzz' in the Body of Christ surrounding the move of God in the realm of the supernatural. Everywhere people are hearing about someone getting healed of major illness. The 'prophetic' gifts are being expressed in many of churches. Signs and Wonders are becoming common place. (if you are paying attention to that sort of thing).

The 'buzz' is not always positive. There is always the fear of weirdness and abuse. Still, the news of 'revival' is out there. People are curious.
There is coming a time when it will not be able to be ignored. But for now, it is enough to say that the 'revival' is being noticed. The 'fruit' of this renewal is touching many lives in a very positive way.

So I began the 'class' intending to continue for 10 weeks. We wanted to cover the various gifts. We had a special evening on the prophetic gift, then one on healing the sick. Some of our guest 'instructors' were regular folk who had a strong gift in some area. Most of them were members of the 'class' itself.
We never really advertised it. We sent out a few emails. Put a note in several church bulletins.
The response on the very first night gave a hint of things to come. We had more than 25 people show up and five churches were represented. This went on for several weeks. New people kept coming, the curious and the hungry, the questioners and the seekers. Before long we lost track.
(I have been told that we have had over 100 people come and visit the meeting over the past five months, they have come from 10 or more different churches, 30-50 return every Monday and new people keep coming).

The classes were, at first, instructional. We also had times for prayer and ministry. The fellowship was always good. But we soon realized that something else was happening.
The Holy Spirit was the One leading the meeting. The 'atmosphere' in the room could not be explained by good teaching, great fellowship or ministry.
Our 'worship' consisted of a couple of songs on CD or Video. The teachings on the various gifts were not given by experts or great speakers. But the Holy Spirit showed up every time, and we began to recognize that something extraordinary was happening.
Before the '10 weeks' were up we all decided that we were having too much fun to stop. We decided to keep the meeting going every Monday. After a while we realized 'this is no longer a CLASS'. (unless we were to admit that the Holy Spirit had become the Teacher). We recognized that there was some other dynamic happening.

This meeting had the atmosphere of revival.

I think it is important to recognize when the Spirit is at work. It is not something that allows us to claim special favor or blessing, rather, it is a attitude of 'honoring' His Presence and being grateful. In that light, I am very grateful for this moment.

We lay no claim to a 'revival atmosphere' like Azusa Street. Nor are we anywhere approaching the full measure of what 'revival' can look like. I have been to places like Brazil, Kansas City and Redding Ca., where the manifestations of His Presence are astonishing. I have been out of my own 'comfort zone' in some of these places. I have seen people touched by the Spirit in ways I cannot explain with any natural language.
Still, I sincerely believe that we must honor what we do have on Monday Night and not compare it to what we might think is 'better'. When we focus on what (we think) we 'lack' we inevitably dis-empower the very thing we 'have', and the result is that we get stuck there.

Honoring what God IS doing is extremely important. It is important as it pertains to our own growth in our own gifts, and it is important in our churches and ministries.
When we 'see' God's hand moving elsewhere, in one Christian or in another location, it is an invitation to 'go after that thing' for ourselves.
God never shows us something we 'lack', He only reveals something we can have. When we see something in the Spiritual realm that we desire, we 'press into' it, It is an invitation for 'the MORE' that is always available to us through the finished work of the Cross.

What we do have on Monday Night is wonderful. We have His Presence. We have community. We have people being healed of sickness. (a woman was healed of stage 4 ovarian cancer last month). We are seeing consistent manifestations of the prophetic gifts. Words of knowledge, Words of encouragement, Words of wisdom. Angelic visitations. People falling in the Spirit.
There are many reports of His tangible power in the form of heat and tingling throughout a persons body. And more testimonies of people being touched by a sense of His love then can be counted.

It is the atmosphere of revival.
To call it anything else would be dishonoring to what God is doing in our midst.

To illustrate this point Bill Johnson uses an apple orchard: In an orchard you could pick, of one tree, a ripe apple and find it full of flavor and satisfying fruit. Then you might find a small unripe apple on another tree. But to say it is 'not an apple' is untrue. It may be immature, yet it is still an apple.
Be thankful for the apple, it is full of potential !
Just as Jesus gave thanks for one boy's tiny lunch of loaves and fish, before it was multiplied to feed the thousands, we must thank God for what we have, bless it and watch it grow.
God always multiplies what we are thankful for!

I am very thankful for what God is doing on Monday Night.
But I realize that there is more going on than 'signs and wonders'.
I believe people are coming to Monday Night for more than the curious manifestations of His Spirit.
The atmosphere in the room is filled with His Presence because we focus on His Presence.
We expect it because we have come to understand something wonderful about our God: He is good.!
The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus, He loves it when the gospel is preached. And the gospel is a Person, Jesus.

When we focus our attention on the Finished Work of His Cross, we focus on Jesus.
When we take our eyes off ourselves, and even off the manifestations that touch us in the supernatural, we begin to 'see' the Kingdom. We can see the Kingdom of God best when we first recognize the King. (read my previous Blog: 'The Kingdom of God').

The message of God's grace opens up our hearts to understand why God would touch us with tangible expressions of His love. When He heals the sick, it is a touch of His love. When He gives a prophetic 'word' that reveals to a person something only He would know, God is saying, "I see you and I care to speak to you of my love".
We can understand why God would allow us to 'sense' or see the presence of His angels, and why He might let His Spirit fall so gloriously upon a heart that the person would 'fall' at His touch.
Even laughter and shaking, gold dust and feathers can be seen as the gentle revelation of His goodness. When we discover that He really is good.

He is good to us because He likes us. His goodness is expressed in His love.
The ultimate expression of love is the laying down of one's own life. So it is as Jesus defined it in John 15: 12-13.
It is interesting to note that Jesus used the word 'friend' when He spoke of laying down a life. Clearly He was referring to His own 'greater love'. And then, in context, He tells us that we 'are His friends'. (vs 14). He likes us!

I have noticed a wonderful thing.
I point it out simply because some people are sure to draw attention to the following words Jesus spoke in verse 14: "I call you friends if you do what I command you".

Some would say that this makes His love conditional. Some would point to this as an admonition to avoid (what some might call) 'the nonsense' of the supernatural. Some would say that we are not focusing on the command when we take pleasure in the supernatural manifestations of His love.

But the wonderful thing I have noticed is that the people who are touched by His tangible love are the very ones who are most likely to DO the thing Jesus said was His command, they tend to love one another. (vs 17). and they tend to demonstrate His love with real action and genuine expression.

I think people are coming on Monday night because they know that they are loved.
Loved.
By God, and each other.

We also know that, as 'friends' of God, we are capable of hearing what He is saying. We know that because of the finished work of the cross we all have access to everything Jesus paid for.
We are new creatures in Christ.
Supernatural ones. And because of His love, He does not play favorites.
We all are filled with His Spirit, gifted and called.
On Monday night we tend to remind each other of who we are in Him. Personally, I think that is what Biblical encouragement should really look like.

So it is, in our Monday Night meeting, that I find we have a group of people who are loving one another because He first loved on them with tangible expressions of His love.
Not to mention that they are taking His love to the streets, healing the sick and inviting the lost to discover a God of power and love.
Not to mention that in context of John 15: 14-17 that we are 'no longer called servants, but friends', and as such we are capable of 'knowing what the Master is doing'.

I think the Master is doing miracles!

And Monday Night is miraculous.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2010-07-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

There were many in Israel who saw Jesus, a few saw Jesus Christ.

There were many in Israel who saw the power of God upon Him, a few realized that the Kingdom of God had come unto them!

When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night in the 3rd chapter of John, he was aware that the power of God was upon Jesus. But Jesus' 'answer' to his observation was unexpected. Jesus told him that one must be born anew, or from above, in order to 'see' the Kingdom of God. Jesus went on to explain that to be born from above is to be born of the Spirit.
I believe that when we receive Christ as Lord and savior we all receive the Holy Spirit. That means we have the ability to 'see' the Kingdom. But lately I have become aware of a simple conviction; I have not seen the Kingdom at any time, in my 30+ years of being a Christian, as I now see it.

What I mean is this; Jesus invited us to see something more. More then fellowship, church, tradition, ministry, prayer, Bible study, conferences, Sunday school and programs. He invited us to a relationship that can experience the invasion of heaven upon our tangible world. My world has been turned up-side right by this invasion and I am overwhelmed by the wonder of it.

Three Gospels record the event where Jesus heals a blind and dumb man and He is accused of doing so by demonic powers. His answer is astounding; first He makes it clear that it would be stupid of satan to heal the disease he inflicted upon the man, then He challenges them to see what really just happened. "If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!" (Lk.11:20) It was an invasion of heaven. A touch from the Kingdom into the realm of this reality with super-natural power.

It is just here that I want you to see something significant; the Kingdom of God is now! And it has power for us to be able to tap into a realm of glory we have always been meant to access but only a few realize. It is available to everyone who believes!
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God was to come, they imagined it to be a earthly restoration of the house of David with a Messiah to rescue them from worldly oppression.
They looked for a prophetic 'sign' of that appearing. Jesus told them that "the Kingdom of God was not coming with (outward) signs that can be observed (in the natural realm); nor could anyone say 'Lo, here it is!' or 'there!' for behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you (or within you)." (Lk.17:2o-21) 'It is like the wind,' as Jesus told Nicodemus.
Like the wind in the sense of the Spirit.
Like the Spirit in the sense of 'wind'.

A Kingdom that becomes 'tangible' for those who are born of the Spirit.
A 'Kingdom of heaven' which is more 'real' than the 'reality' we touch with our five senses.
It is there/here all around us. It is available to everyone who believes.

I believe that Jesus gave an invitation. Mark 1:14-15 records: "Jesus came preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent (change your mind), and BELIEVE the gospel'."
Many believe the 'good news' of salvation and are saved. Many believe in spiritual gifts and experience the wonderful blessing of tongues. Most Christian love Jesus.
But is there MORE to 'believing' the gospel? Can we experience greater levels of intimacy? Can we experience more of His tangible love?

There were many in Israel who saw Jesus, but only a few saw Jesus Messiah.
A King with a Kingdom.

It is my belief that the Kingdom of God is greater than many of us yet see.
I believe that Jesus is greater than we think.
I believe that there is more to the Christian life than we have experienced.

If you have read any of my previous Blogs you will certainly know what I am alluding to.
I am experiencing astonishing things.

The Kingdom of God is in our midst, it is 'with-in' us.
The King is inviting us to MORE.

Astonishing Things Are Happening

2010-05-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

The amazing journey I have been on these past few years gets more exciting every day. I believe we are living in the greatest moment in Church History. The exponential increase of the signs and wonders of His Spirit are daily reported across the planet if you care to take notice and know where to look. It is not in the media news. Yet.
Why? Why the increase? I truly believe that it is not because God is pouring out His Spirit in greater measure, rather, I think the church is catching on to what has always been available to us. Because more people are understanding who they are in Him, more is happening!
That is not to say that there is not evidence in history of unusual and seemingly unexplainable outpourings of His Spirit. Done by His will and His design and His purpose alone.
But as a student of Revival History I have discovered that most of these seemingly arbitrary events of great outpouring can all be traced to a few who believed God. They believed God to be greater than their experience and sought Him for the power they read about in the Book of Acts! God was more than willing to answer. The Holy Spirit is attracted to faith.
He always has been. It is irresistible to Him. We did not establish the principle of faith, He did.
It is everywhere HIS word.
Many of these 'revivals' were short lived. Lasting only a few years and confined to certain geographical areas. (Though these revivals had a real 'ripple effect' across the planet the benefits of which are still felt today).
Still there is something different about what is happening now. Thousands of people at all points on the globe are seeing signs and wonders in astounding measure. Healing, deliverance, miraculous provision. The dead are raised, the lepers are cleansed, the hopeless are encouraged.
Young people are finding a reason to live for God. Thousands are being saved. (The reports of the youth leaving the church in droves are drawn from statistics provided by traditional churches. Look to the non-traditional churches and ministries if you want to be encouraged).
Powerless Christianity holds no draw for this generation. We blame a lack of character on their part for their inability to attend a service with 3 hymns and a four point message. "Kids these days have no respect for tradition". "Parents haven't trained them to sit still so maybe they would learn something".
Frankly as a former church 'pastor', I am with the youth, this is my generation, I am as bored with the messages I once preached as they are.
I want Revival, I want God, I want His power, I need His Presence.
By 'revival' I do not mean ol' time religion. I do not mean a tent, an alter call and a 'mourners bench'.
I mean honest to goodness Holy Spirit signs and wonders with the 'wind' of His Spirit and the presence of angels. I mean healing of disease, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see, the dead are raised to life.
I mean a worship service where the atmosphere is thick with the tangible sense of His Presence.
Where lifted hands are covered with oil and chests are pounding with an awareness of His astonishing love.
It is happening whether you are in touch with this news or not.
And the young (and old) love it.

In the Mall last week a group of giggly teenagers gathered around my friend Coelho, my daughter Hannah and a few others from various ministries in our area. They were caught up with amazement as their friends were healed of various ailments. They had stopped giggling when the first healing happened before their eyes. A few ran away, most stayed to talk, several gave their lives to Jesus.
This is revival.
Coelho goes out everyday. He likes to take people with him. But whether alone or with friends he heals the sick shares the gospel and demonstrates its power.
It is just one story but it happening everywhere.
And this is what this generation is looking for.
A wondrous revival that is all over the planet because leaders and preachers have learned that it isn't about them, it is available to anyone who has the faith to believe it. And because many are being encouraged to believe, it only 'appears' to be a great 'outpouring'. It is, in fact, a great 'infilling' that is 'spilling-out' from individuals with the rivers of living water they always had within them.
This is a great moment in history, I am happy to be alive.
This is my generation.

Report from IHOP-KC

2009-12-14T01:21:00.000-08:00

There is, what they are calling, an 'awakening' happening at the mission base for the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. It began with on November 11th with the students in the college there. There is no doubt in my mind that it is a genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit which is often otherwise called 'revival'.

When I first heard of it I felt that the Lord wanted me to go. I found out that Mike Bickle, the IHOP founder and leader, had called Bill Johnson and John Arnott to come and advise IHOP in stewarding the outpouring. They would be there December 7-9. I knew that that is when I wanted to be there. I had no way of getting there financially, and I didn't want to ask my supporters for funds for another trip, so I left it in the hands of God.

On Thursday the 3rd my friend David called from Kansas City and said I needed to get there, he bought me a ticket for Saturday the 5th and put me up in his apartment a mile from the IHOP center. Just in time to be there when Bill Johnson and John Arnott were coming.

I got off the plane and headed to the IHOP center where Wes Hall was leading the regular 'awakening' meeting. I was in for a unique experience and awesome privilege.
The room was alive with the energy and excitement of expectation. There seemed to be a predominately young crowd present, mostly students I assumed. With IHOP staff making up the rest. There was little room left for visitors such as I and we had waited in line for a long time just to get into the auditorium.

The worship was intermixed with prayers and exhortation from Wes Hall. The crowd danced, sang, shouted and prayed with an intensity I have rarely seen. Many crowded the front near the platform where everyone seemed to be praying and laying hands on one another. There did not appear to be a 'ministry team' doing all the laying on of hands, everyone seemed gifted to be able to 'minister' the spirit.

This was not confined to the front, all over the room people were praying for one another and everyone seemed full of the power of the Holy Spirit. Young people were especially having 'fun' with the power of the Spirit. Touching each other and saying 'fire' or 'more' or 'increase' and whoever they were touching were manifesting some physical response. People were falling over everywhere. Some were shaking, some jerking, some doubling over with a sort of bending I have heard called 'crunching'. One young man was shaking in a way I though was physically impossible, he was moving his head so fast I thought it might come off his shoulders.

People, especially the young, were walking around looking quite 'drunk'. Many appeared to have great difficulty walking as they 'crunched' up and down the isles like they kept getting whacked on the head by some invisible board. But all seemed to be enjoying the experience.
Many were on the floor shaking for long periods of time. Many were laughing, some crying, some screaming. I had some idea that Toronto looked a lot like this in 1994. I have never been in more electric atmosphere of revival. It is more then hard to describe, it is impossible!

Bill and Beni Johnson and John and Carol Arnott arrived as expected on Monday night. They were introduced and spoke briefly to the crowd. The same atmosphere was present. They simply observed what was happening. We were told that they would hold meetings with the IHOP leaders during the day. Bill Jonson was to address the gathering on Tuesday at a special meeting at 9 am, and John Arnott would speak on Wednesday at the same hour. In the evening meetings they were there to observe.

Bill and Beni Johnson didn't wait for an invitation to jump in and pray for people though, on that first night (Monday) they got off the platform at the first 'alter call' and prayed for anyone within reach. Being old hands at this stuff they seemed to enjoy diving into the crowd and getting right into the mix of the activity. I wanted to see this up close so I worked my way through the mass of humanity and watched the fun.
I have to use that word 'fun' because I can't think of a more traditionally acceptable word. I make no apology for it though, I have a good sense that God loves to bless His kids with a touch of love that expresses His joy over us in tangible ways.

Speaking of this 'tangible' touch of His love I have to include the physical and emotional healings that were taking place as well. Emotional healing seemingly the 'hallmark' of this particular awakening. The leadership called for testimonies throughout the meetings and person after person came up and told wonderful stories of how God had delivered them from addictions or depression, and even restored marriages. There were several remarkable physical healings too.
The overall message from the Holy Spirit to this group of people seemed to me to be JOY!
If I could express what I think the Lord was saying to IHOP I would declare 'lighten up people' to a organization known for its intensity. I could write a lot about this (see my article 'Grace vs. the Judgment of God' on the 'Articles' page of this website) but I think my opinions at this time would be inappropriate. Suffice it to say that I think the Lord loves His kids and loves to bless them.

I must include a mention of the historical importance of this meeting. There have been many prophetic 'words' seeing a joining of 'three streams of influence' needing to come together to take this worldwide revival to the next level. The prophets have seen the importance of the ministries of IHOP, represented by Mike Bickle, Bethel, represented by Bill Johnson, and Toronto, represented by John Arnott to come to a place of some unity as they represent three important elements in the heart of God. These men would be the first to admit that they are not the only places or people on earth where God is moving, but they do seem to speak for and represent three obvious things happening in the overall 'picture' of what God is doing upon the earth in the international renewal that is taking place. (And they have much they can learn from one another).

On Tuesday the 8th a prophetic declaration and prayer over these men and their wives occurred and I believe something powerful happened in the heavens. (watch iBetheltv's Sunday 13th am message by Bill Johnson for his take on this).
I was privileged to be there to witness this moment. I pray for an increase of the release of revival upon the earth. Open Heaven! And I pray that the gospel of God's grace and the message of faith-righteousness would somehow rise to the top of this outpouring. That the Love of our Heavenly Father and the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ, and the joy of the Holy Spirit expressed in the grace of His 'touch' and 'Presence' would become the overriding expression of the Body of Christ to the people of the earth.

I would ask you to, again, consider donating to the RadicalGospel ministry by clicking on the 'Contact' button on the bottom of this page then clicking the DONATE button. Thanks!

The Kingdom of Heaven

2009-11-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

There were many in Israel who saw Jesus, a few saw Jesus Christ.
There were many in Israel who saw the power of God upon Him, few saw that the Kingdom of God had come unto them!

Teaser for my new Blog.

Out Of Brazil

2009-11-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

I am amazed.
Since my return from Brazil I have been privileged to preach in five unique places, from churches to schools of the supernatural, and I am scheduled for more. In each venue the Holy Spirit 'shows up' in a way I did not experience before going to Brazil. I seem to have returned with a real impartation.

For those of you who do not know what an 'impartation' is, I must briefly explain (without developing the theological basis, for lack of space and time): an impartation is when a man or woman of God lays hands on you and 'imparts' a gift of the Holy Spirit to you. That's as brief as I can get.

I had some experience with this over the years, having noticed a change after someone prayed for me, I developed some supernatural manifestation. For example, when my friend Craig prayed for me a year ago, I began to experience my right hand emanating heat when I prayed for people. I know this sounds crazy to some of my friends, but I trust that you know that I do not lie about such things. The things of the Spirit are not something I am about to mess with.

In Brazil several of the Global Awakening team, including Randy Clark, prayed for all the people on the trip to receive an impartation. All of us experienced an immediate transference of gifting to lay hands on the sick and see healing. I believe that this gift is available to all who believe, "These signs shall follow..." Mk.16:17; but I am increasingly aware that these gifts can be stirred up, increased and imparted to us by the laying on of hands (Rom.1:11, 1Tim.4:14, 2Tim.1:6).

One of the things that appears to be a manifestation of impartation is the touch of the Holy Spirit on those who are prayed for. People respond in various ways to this 'touch', some laugh, some cry, some fall under the power (and peace) of the Spirit. Touched by the love of God. This happened alot to the people we prayed for in Brazil, and it is still happening to those I pray for here since my return.

This is the sign and wonder I am amazed at. I love the blessed joy of our Savior touching folk with tangible evidence of His Presence. There can be no greater joy for a preacher than the joy of seeing people loved on by the Holy Spirit. It is a great joy to have people respond to a message you preach, but it is nothing to compare with having people receive directly from God. He gets all the glory, and you get to watch Him use you. What a privilege!

The thing that I am equally amazed with is the fact that I am amazed at all. When I re-read my own Blogs from Brazil I found that I repeatedly expressed my amazement at God using us to perform signs and wonders in His name. In a way this is an expression of my own unbelief. I am not saying I doubt or lack faith, I am only saying that it should not surprise me that these things happen through us. I never want it to become so routine that I lose the 'wonder' of it all, but I do want to get to the point where I expect God to be God and assume His power is at work in all who believe.

I write this to encourage everyone who reads this to press in to all God has for you. To expect MORE. To abandon some of our preconceived God-concepts and seek Him for all He has for you.
I write this to tell you that I believe we are in the midst of the greatest move of God in church history; a revival, a reformation is taking place and we are all invited. Perhaps I write this for that very reason, consider this your invitation!

I will write more about this and maybe attempt to explain some of the things I am seeing from a theological foundation. But you already know this, if you know me; this is all about His absolute, unconditional grace. Jesus loves us and He loves to love on us in tangible ways.

The supernatural part of ministry should be as natural as it is 'super', we have an awesome God who desires to transcend our tangible and obvious reality (or should I say invade it) with His superior reality. I still have a limited experience with this but it is becoming 'normal' and that is exactly what I have desired for all my life. As I said in my Blog entry from October 4th; "I have found God (that I suspected existed) to be the God He said He was."

I believe that all of us desire to see God be as powerful on our behalf as He reveals Himself to be in His word. So I find this joy: I am not only able to bring the 'Good News' of His great love for us...God is demonstrating and backing up His 'word' with tangible evidence!

Our ministry is increasing, as I outlined at the beginning of this Blog entry; we are very busy doing the very thing He has called us to do. I am preaching more, teaching more, and continuing in the main body of my ministry, which has become writing about my own journey, encouraging others and meeting with many people. The entire family is involved in the same thing. We are all seeing supernatural elements added to whatever we do.

We live by your gifts offerings for our support. Though I receive an honorarium when I preach, my schedule is not such that it meets our financial needs. We are hoping that you will consider supporting this ministry and we have set up a way you can do this right here on this website.

We want to thank everyone who has supported this ministry over the last year (and all who have supported our ministry for many, many years), we are sincerely grateful to you all. I say this on behalf of Jan, Hannah, Ethan and Seth, who have a real part in the ministry we are now doing, and more as a family than ever before.

We have reestablished our non-profit covering for you to be able to make donations to our ministry with greater ease. Some of you will remember 'Testament', this is the name of our non-profit. You will find a new "DONATE" button on our 'Contact' page by clicking on the button at the bottom of each page of the website. It will guide you to the PayPal site where you can use the PayPal system or use a debit/credit card.

Thank you and bless you all!
Ray

Carter Wood's Promotion

2009-10-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

I know that this is my Blog. I get to write about myself. But I am compelled to write this one about someone else because it is a cool story.
I was asked by the Global Awakening Ministry to fill out a report form at the end of our trip to Brazil. They asked practical questions like 'What could we do to make the trip better?' and such.
The more important questions were by way of statistics. Healings and the like. One of these questions was 'What was the highlight of your experience?'
I had to answer honestly. Regardless of all the wonders and healings God did through my hands the single highlight of the trip for me was (I wrote); 'Watching my friend Carter Wood being favored, honored and blessed, walking in his anointing, wearing his mantle'.
It is an honest report. I hope I can explain it here.
First a little background; Carter Wood is the pastor of Vertical Call Church in Santa Rosa, Ca. he is also (along with his wife Diana) the director of the school of the supernatural of the same name.
Cater is an old friend in that I have known him for 15+ years, but he is a new friend too. I felt the Lord leading me to reconnect with a lot of old friends when I got back into this renewal...but the connection with Carter was more than a 'reconnection'...it was a divine set-up! I could give details about prophetic dreams and 'words' re: Carter and my invitation from God to connect with him but for lack of time I will let that be enough.
Before we left for Brazil, Carter and Diana invited me to teach at their 'School of the Supernatural', it was and is an awesome privilege. (and a fulfillment of vision too). Hannah (my Hannah) became a student there. (this was her leading, quite separate from my invitation)
It was Carter who invited me to go with him to Brazil. His desire was for me to have this experience of 'more'. He knew it would be the blessing it was.
I was in class with Carter as he told his students of his reason for going to Brazil; he wanted 'more' too. He was not going to minister, he had no expectations of what was to come.
Carter knows Randy Clark, he has been on trips with him before, Randy has asked Carter to preach for him on some of these trips. But I know for a fact that Carter had no expectations. In fact he signed up as a 'team member' just as I did. His application was almost bumped, as was mine, due to the many number of applications.
So when we got to Brazil, Carter, and the rest of the Global team, sat back and buckled-up for impartation and a wonderful opportunity to pray and observe and be blessed.

More Background; it is not my place to record the challenges that Carter and Diana and the Vertical Call Church have experienced in recent years, but I will say they have been significant. I know the promises of God come in different timing than ours. I also know that the call of God on Carter Wood's life is huge.

So with that background I give this report of what happened in Brazil.
The day after we arrived Carter was asked to fill in for Tom Jones, Randy Clark's senior associate. Carter did a wonderful job. He was familiar with the Global Awakening ministry template and he performed well. The next day Tom Jones lost his voice and Carter was called to fill in again at the main meetings.
This did not stop. Carter filled in for Randy when Randy joined the team in Brazil four days into the trip. He taught the classes to the team and for the churches Global was ministering in. He preached at the main meetings, he was sent with a team to some other churches to minister...(one in particular, recounted in the Blog entry for Oct 2nd, 'What Revival Looks Like'). He preached or taught every day except one, sometimes 2-3 times a day.
This could be an account of how Randy Clark used an available and experienced minister to help him. Except for that 'supernatural' thing...this was no coincidence.... It was a promotion.
We have been taught in this stream of Revival Culture to recognize certain things that occur, which can appear to have a natural explanation, but are not in any way natural....when God moves in a sovereign way...this is what happened for Carter. This revival stream understands what I mean by 'promotion'.
The Spirit of the Lord was upon him...he moved within his gifting and his calling with a grace and ease that was apparently remarkable. Everyone on the team observed this. Many were asking to go wherever Carter was going, wherever he went it looked like revival. And it was a lot of fun.
This is not to compare the times with Carter with those of Randy or Tom..(everywhere the Global team went the atmosphere ripe with the full blessing and power of the Holy Spirit). But I am not going to succumb to 'Christian understatement' any more than I would to hyperbole. The fact is Carter Wood was off-the-charts awesomely used of God to steward some of the most remarkable manifestations of revival I have ever seen. And the team knew it.
I was there as an observer. I was the guy that accompanied Carter Wood to Brazil. In fact I got a little tired of people on the team coming up to introduce themselves to me and saying something like; "Wow, what a privilege it must be for you to hang around with a man of God like Carter"(I say this with a smile, It was and is a privilege).
In all this Carter remained at ease. What I mean is; he saw what was happening and did not change. There was no change. He was the man I have grown to understand and love. A man without guile, simple and uncomplicated, deeply humble, and absolutely without the need for self promotion.
So why do I need to write about this?
For a few reasons; first, there is the 'news reporter' in me...I want to tell the world about something I think should be known and no one else might record.
Second; (I am no fool) I have learned that in this culture when you see a prophet and honor a prophet you share in his reward. (Global Awakening should reap 'big-time' for this alone)
Third; it is a significant encouragement to me to see someone who has waited a long time, paid a huge price, and has such an amazing call of God on his life get the level of recognition Carter got in Brazil.
Fourth and perhaps most importantly; I write this as an invitation to Santa Rosa and the church here. Revival is here. The Holy Spirit is moving in a powerful way. We must set aside some of our need to be important in ourselves and recognize the hand of God wherever and upon whomever it rest..OK...This is my Blog...no one is paying me to write this: I observe a 'general' in our midst.

Of course it may appear out of character for me to be so enthusiastic about some 'one' person...if you know me, you know I do not follow 'men'...but those in the culture of honor will recognize that this Blog is written towards one end alone: honor. I want to honor my friend Carter. I want you to know that watching his 'promotion' was a significant part of 'my' trip to Brazil.

Last Report from Brazil

2009-10-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

I love the joy of experiencing the supernatural power of God. I love it for myself, and I love it for you. (those friends who follow this website).
You know me, you know my journey, you trust my heart. You know I hate exaggeration for any reason. You know that I was a skeptic for years and had to come slowly into this renewal for fear of being led down that path of 'charismania' I so despised. You know that anything I write here is not to sell some idea or force some response from you.
I tell you this story for one reason alone. I have found that God (that I suspected existed) to be the God He said He was. And that this discovery makes me happy. And I want you to be as happy too.
Truly (You know this; if you know me at all); all I want is to know what is really true about God. I have been searching 'after' truth for all my Christian life. My faith, before I discovered how powerful God really is, was strong, (and I believed in a God of power) but not strong enough to keep me from discouragement. (because I found that He appeared to be limited in tangible ways ....I will write more on this soon): In order for God to be as 'good' as He says He is He must also back up His promise. A 'good' that is promised but not kept is a form of evil. It may be the most painful thing, to the heart, than any abuse on the planet.
Last night I saw some remarkable things...on top of the 1,000 physical healings that have taken place on this trip, were the healings of the heart through the touch of God that causes people to fall over and shake, (and come up happy). I am sure some of these are emotional, some 'put-on' so as to be included in the 'happening', but most are too difficult to explain. (unless you want to insult the 200 people who fell last night and call it all hype...the church we are in is modern and sophisticated, full of doctors lawyers and professionals.) People were falling down with just one touch on the forehead. I prayed for one woman who seemed to be touched by God as she trembled but did not fall. I had instructed the person behind her to gently touch her back so that she would know someone was there to 'catch' her if she fell. The woman I had my hands on was still standing when I noticed that the 'catcher' was gone. She had fallen at down behind her and lay shaking on the floor.
Some came forward for healing. A woman with a hole in her right eye with very blurred vision and the inability to wear corrective 'contacts' due to the nature of the problem. After a startlingly short prayer she felt warmth in that eye...we checked and she was at 60% improvement...(this time I had a translator who spoke excellent English)...we prayed for 100%.
It did not take long...within moments she told us she had perfect vision, and I knew it was true because she had that 'look' on her face...the one I now have enough experience to recognize when I see it; 'the look of having been touched by God.'
A young man came up to me with and showed us (my translator and me) his wrist. It bore a 3-4 inch scar where he had surgery after a motorcycle accident. He could move his fingers and hand but he had no mobility in his wrist, it was as stiff as a board. I prayed...again a surprisingly short prayer (I began to think that I was keeping my hands on longer than needed for my own benefit)
he reported heat in the area...we checked and he moved his wrist for the first time....
(20% rotation)..more prayer..50%...more (again; short) 100%!!! I wish you could have seen the face of a young man who 5 minutes before was doomed to a life of limitation, now 'incredibly' normal. I even prayed for the scar to go away...it didn't.. perhaps it will become a lifelong memorial stone'.
Now, as if that was not enough excitement for me;... after all was said and done, he tells me that there was a metal plate in his wrist!!!! I told the translator to tell him to get an x-ray and report back. (I have the translators e-mail, I want to know if that thing is gone!). Even if it is not, as far as I know, surgical metal plates do not bend with perfect wrist rotation.

I have to go back to my original thoughts. Why do I relate these accounts to you?
The nice thing about a Blog is that you get to be vulnerable, people expect you to be yourself.
So here I am absolutely in a state of wonder and great joy...you know that I am experiencing something first hand that confirms what I expected all along...We have a powerful God.
He is still a God of sign and wonders. He still tangibly touches His kids. He still uses the likes of us.
I'll leave the questions for another time; I had one person who I prayed for who did not get immediate healing (I've heard stories of people getting progressive healing)...I must rejoice that of the 25 + people I have prayed for only one did not get immediately healed...'come on'...I have to take some time to 'wonder' about those signs and wonders. (and I have one more night tonight)
Again; the thing that brings my heart to its knees (if you will), the thing that make me literally tremble as I pray for the sick, the thing that makes my heart sore (and soar) from aching....is that awe-full revelation that through 'these' hands someone was supernaturally touched by the living God. Someone was tangibly loved by Jesus....and all the while Jesus is telling me; "see Ray, you were right about me...I am everything you believed in your heart all along". In this way I am tangibly loved by my God.
Jesus is who who He says He is, and greater still.

What Revival Looks Like.

2009-10-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Carter Wood was asked to take a small team of 'Global Awakening' trip members to another church.
Randy Clark was preaching in the main Urberlandia (Brazil) church. We arrived at 8:00pm.
Carter had prepared a message. But became quickly aware that he Holy Spirit wanted to do something else. He began to exhort the congregation to press in and go for God. There were words that encouraged the pursuit of destiny. Carter spoke about the hand of God on every life.
The room was filled with expectancy. The Presence of God was obvious. But when Carter shouted out "God is good" a clap of thunder shook the church, the atmosphere shot up to a level of intensity I have never seen. There could be no missing it, the power of God was in the house.
What follows is a random report of a amazing moment. It was so intense I could not even try to gather it into a perfect consecutive order.
The small team of GA members were on the platform behind Carter. He had just led the team in sharing 'words of knowledge' that the team members had for specific illnesses. ..example; "Someone here has a pain in their right shoulder"...the person with that illness was to stand.
At least 100 people were standing...even before prayer...just by calling out the sickness..most were healed...the remaining were prayed for...as before; they indicated their healing by waving both hands (this is a something Randy Clark does at most of his services, often with the same result: many are healed this way, 'sovereign healings,' as Randy calls them) Again, most were healed, without anyone laying hands on them. Carter asked for all the healed to sit...only a hand full remained standing. All sick were asked to stand (those others who did not have specific word of knowledge) again, most were healed....112 people in total waved their hands indicating that they had at least 80% healing. By the end of the evening that number would increase to over 220. Almost 1/2 the congregation.
The Church was getting very excited...Carter required that they respond with appropriate joy...he exhorted them to get excited about this..to give God a shout of praise...the church was more than willing to go along. Every voice in the house was raised with praise and wonder.
Somewhere in this exhortation Carter shouted the words; "God is good", the thunder clapped and all heaven broke loose.
The GA team behind Carter were getting 'drunk in the Spirit'...they started to fall to the ground or shake where they stood. Carter almost lost his translator as Jeff was starting to manifest the power of God on him. It was hard to believe that the church could get more excited, but they did.
The team (those who remained standing) were instructed to go out into the congregation and lay hands on them...chairs were cast aside and quickly stacked...the team went through the crowd...some just required a touch on the forehead and they fell in the Spirit....over 50 people were scattered all over the place. All the church were responding in some manner, they were praying for ech other, laughing, crying, praying or singing in tongues.
The focus shifted to prayer for the sick...the people lined up in front of GA team members (most of whom had some help with translation, a few people in the church spoke English, my interpreter turned out to be a physician with a limited vocabulary but a great education in diseases) I prayed.
The first in my line was a woman about 30-35 with Cancer of the heart that had gone into the spine. She was in pain especially at the back of the upper spine and neck. As I prayed for her she felt a warmth in her chest and back...when I touched her neck she began to weep...then she began to smile...and she began to praise God. An incredible expression came on her face as she looked at me... I cannot describe it... It is something like surprise, joy, (is this real ?) gratitude, and wonder all mixed into one. When our eyes met she and I knew she was healed.
A young man of 18 came too. He had a joint disease that my translator could find no simple English words for...(but it had a good long medical name.) His joints were in pain especially his right knee. I prayed for all of his joints but then focused on his knee. I held my hands around his knee. He soon began to shake all over and then he started to make little hops. I asked my translator what was happening. Apparently he as feeling fire on his legs, especially that knee. Soon the pain was gone but the doctor told me he had muscle loss and atrophy and weakness in the knee...so I went back to praying....soon he was moving his knee back and forth....I asked "could he do this before?"..."no!" The young man was so surprised he pulled up his jeans leg to check it out himself...if I understood my translator correctly; he had all strength and even restoration of tissue. He rolled his kneecap around with his hands like it was a new toy.
There were others in line that were less dramatic but not less important to the person or to God. Everyone I prayed for as healed. (I must qualify that; there as one woman I never got to check back with because she fell over the moment I touched her and spent a considerable time on the floor, I assume she got healed)
There were reports later of hearing loss restored,( along with vision.). Every team member reported the same thing; everyone they prayed for got healed. (Most were totally healed, but some, like my Cancer victim, do not have medical confirmation....I write this for those friends of mine who are not quite comfortable with this revival report and would like to have a reason to continue in doubt and still be my friend: I give you this out as a free gift)
The room was a glorious chaos of wonderful intensity. Carter stewarded the response to the presence of the Holy Spirit and what God was doing with a remarkable, sensitivity, authority and accuracy.
The room was filled with expressions of joy and wonder... I passed one teenage girl who reached out to touch me, when I turned to her she could not speak...she just stared at me a with a puzzled look on her face, I think she was hoping, somehow, that I would be able to explain what was happening to her. Without common language I could be no help. I might not have been able to explain it in English. I just put my hand on her head and blessed her and agreed with whatever God was doing. Claps of thunder and flashes of lighting coming through the open windows and doors of the humid tropical night added to a dramatic and prophetic effect. The electrical storm was at its height right outside (and quite loud at times,) during the healing prayer.
Those on the team who are sensitive to such things spoke of angelic activity storming about the room at the same point.
The song of Brian Johnson kept coming to mind; "this is what it looks like when heaven comes down, this is what it sounds like..."
If this is what revival looks like...I want to live here...(no not in Brazil)....in Revival....... It is indeed wonderful fun, as Carter told us before the service....but it is also wonderfully painful.
As our bus full of the more 'experienced revivalist' (appropriately) celebrated God on the way back to the hotel...I was subdued...I tried to hide the weeping inside my heart...(I am still holding it in as I write this so that I can see to type and also not to drip on Carter's Laptop)
All I could see before me is that woman's face when she was healed...it is a 'beautiful' haunting of my soul, but a 'haunting' none the less...I am in awe of God. I have no words. I am haunted.

Last Tuesday, I was one of a few left standing when Randy Clark prayed impartaton for the team members...I was not 'blasted', (as they say around here)...neither was I disappointed...I have a great faith in impartation....it happens even if you don't feel a thing.

Last night and today I do feel this; I am 'blasted' inside, my heart aches with this glorious 'haunting';..... God reached out from His heavens and touched His child and healed her.... She was tangibly loved by God...I saw it in her eyes...Jesus touched her..."He touched her and made her whole"...and in some way He touched me and made me (more) whole too.
This is what Revival looks like.

First report from Sao Paulo

2009-09-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

The city of Sao Paulo is a huge, sprawling city of over 10 million people.
It takes hours to travel anywhere within the city during the high traffic hours. (which is most of the daylight hours.)
Th following observations are based on very limited exposure, however, I have never been afraid of giving 'qualified' reports of first impressions, especially when they are favorable;
I love Brazil and the city of Sao Paulo. It is both incredibly poor and very cosmopolitan. There does not appear to be one side of the track and the other 'side of the track'. (Not by my observation anyway). In the same way the multi-racial mix of Brazilians do not seem to have any awareness of race. They appear to me to be completely and perfectly color-blind. This has caused me to respond with a very prophetic sense; that this is a cultural set-up for a revival that would cross denominational lines with ease. A church like the one Christ spoke of. His body in unity as the Trinity is One.
Brazil is a remarkable country. I have only been here two days, and only in this one city, but I am very drawn to the people.
I walked through the mega-mall yesterday by myself, just observing, and it appeared to me that everyone was happy.
I know some people study up on where they travel to and have some knowledge of where they are going but I had no time for that for this trip...so I didn't know what to expect.
It may be simply something the Lord is doing in my heart but I know my heart and I normally hate cities. I am uncomfortable in crowds and I would much rather be somewhere I understand the language.
So to have such an incredible sense of peace is huge for me. It is either the Lord or the nature of the Brazilian people. (it is most likely both)
It is supernatural on one level, something I have come to expect in this walk with the Lord. He does things in our hearts that surprise us. ( Don't worry family,this is not to presume I am called to Brazil.)
Now to report on the Revival and the Global Awakening side of things I have to begin (again) with the people: Most of you who read this Blog and are into the Revival stream would be right at home here. (At least at our first church). I did not recognize any worship song, never mind the words, but I recognized the Spirit of God on the worship. The dancers were familiar, the flags and the volume and the shouts of praise. But the heart for God and the pursuit for 'More' of Him was, unmistakably, familiar.
Tom Jones (Randy Clark' senior associate) spoke the first night at the conference held by he local church, (they have been having small classes in the day and big meetings at night). He got things started off by building faith for God to heal the sick. The call for people to come forward for prayer was given. Many came forward. Many reports were given of healing. (I was not fully engaged due to a lack of sleep. I cannot sleep on planes and I had, thus, been awake for 38 hours.)
Last night Carter Wood of 'Vertical Call' church in Santa Rosa California preached. He is recognized by Global Awakening as a 'one of their own' and has done outreaches for Randy Clark. He spoke of our value and position in Christ. He had the people very stirred by the end of his message, the presence of the Holy Spirit was obvious to all. Again many reports of healing.
One man came forward to give his life to Christ and as healed of deafness too! Thank you Jesus!
I am hoping to be able to get more specific reports. We have very few translators and as the team goes about in the crowed we are often alone. It may cause some difficulty in accurate reporting.
For example I approached a teenage man and he indicated (by pointing) that he wanted prayer for his stomach, I have no idea what was wrong, all I know is that after a few moments of prayer he was smiling and giving a 'thumbs-up' sign. (I assumed this was a good thing.) I realized that unless I saw something overtly dramatic, I would never be able to give real clear reports.
Fortunately there is a medical team on this trip doing an independent study (that Global is participating in) where a doctor is checking people (specifically the blind and deaf) before and after prayer. This is an awkward thing in some ways but I am delighted by their being on this trip as I have a few doubters who follow the website.
The power of God in impartation is a subject I will take up in the next blog...all I can report thus far is that after a Global team leader prayed for me (I felt nothing tangible) I turned to pray for the guy next to me and he doubled over.... Learning curve;..... I don't understand much, but what I do understand, I like.
It is a warm, humid, sunny day...there is a bit of a park out side the hotel...the trees and plants are not like home...the park has the feel of the jungle that this city as built upon. So I will walk and pray and enjoy this culture.

I like to keep it simple sometimes.

2009-09-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

As I ready myself for the trip to Brazil I am pondering many things regarding the miracle of healing. The belief I hold is that God always is in a posture to heal the sick. His power is available to us who believe. Healing is an absolute provision in the atonement. Our God is always in a good mood and He loves to bless.
Many of the great healing evangelist of years past, John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, and others, believed that all sickness was of the devil. They approached prayer for healing from this mindset.
Wigglesworth was no theologian, he did not pretend to be, his faith was simple and to the point and he had fantastic manifestations of the miraculous in his ministry.
I have no desire to debate theology in this particular blog. Nor go into detail about the healing revivalist and their successes and limitations. I just want to make an observation;
Jesus came to 'destroy the works of the devil' (1Jn.3:8), He 'went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil' (Acts10:38). I like Jesus.
We are also told that we can do these works and greater works. (Jn.14:12).
Sometimes I like to keep things simple for my own benefit...it works for me.
God does not cause or allow sickness to come into our lives for the purpose of teaching or building 'character'.... Does sickness sometimes draw us closer to God? Yes, of course.... Is God able to bring good from anything that the curse brings our way? You better believe it! But, as I have often said; ' in the Kingdom of God, the end does not justify the means.' (in other words, just because good came out of it that doesn't mean God was in it).
God is not in the sickness and He has taken the curse and became cursed for us so that we could be delivered from it. (Gal.3:13)
Jan (my Jan) observes that satan came to kill, steal and 'destroy' and Jesus came to 'destroy' too. Jesus came to 'destroy' 'destruction'.
In his book 'Taking The Limits Off God', Jim Richards writes; "The most cunning thing the devil does is not to steal, kill and destroy....The most cunning thing the devil does is to steal, kill and destroy, and then convince us that God did it." I hate satan.
All theological implications and debate as to how satan uses the curse 'etc. and so forth' aside. I like to keep it simple sometimes, it works for me; all sickness of the devil and all healing is from God. I like God.

I love God's reality

2009-08-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about the power of God. I know there is something more. I am convinced we have access to everything God has for us in His Kingdom based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross. But, I am aware as I listen, read, watch and pray that people are seeing the Kingdom in ways that go 'off the charts' from my old paradigm.
I was invited by my friend Carter Wood, pastor of the Vertical Call church in Santa Rosa, Ca. to go with him to Brazil on a Global Awakening team led by Randy Clark. The short story is that after receiving prophetic 'words' and dreams the money came in to enable me to apply and be accepted on the team.
I have been listening more intently to men and women who walk in impartation and gifting in the area of healing. I have been tracking with the revival and renewal that is 'now' and is increasing upon the earth. I do not know what those who know me will think. But I must confess that I am going for God in this outpouring.
I intend to report on my experience in Brazil. Our trip will Sept. 24-Oct. 6.
Yesterday at the Giving Tree church here in Santa Rosa I brought a message and a declaration from Is.55:10-11.

"The words that come forth from my mouth do not return to me void, they accomplish the purpose for which they are sent and prosper in the thing for which I send them."

After church, Jan, Hannah and I were praying for a woman who had a pinched nerve in her neck and had much pain and migraine headaches for a long time. Tears of joy came soon as she realized her pain was gone! Just like that, gone! She moved her neck with pain free liberty for the first time in years.
Today I got a call from a man who had a promise from God to have his plumbing business prosper so that he could increase in his 'gift' of giving. He told me about how the economy had made things hard lately. He was at church yesterday too. We agreed together Is.55:10-11 again and he hung up.
He called back 10 minutes later and told me that right after we hung up he got a call from a customer who gave him a $10,000.00 contract!
I don't know where I am going with this 'blog' except to say that it is hard to keep a Theology of doubt when you watch the Holy Spirit love on people in tangible ways like that. I will never forget the look on that woman's face nor the joy in that man's voice when they felt His reality touch and transform theirs.

Revival and the Grace of God.

2009-08-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Many of you who know me know that I take God at His word. I believe that includes the reality of His power manifested in signs and wonders. I believe God always wants to heal the sick. I believe that He desires to provide for us in tangible ways. I believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit can be experienced in visions, dreams, prophetic words of knowledge and wisdom and in many 'wonderful' manifestations that are 'out of the box'.
I did not come to this place of 'belief' through the typical path of following the 'signs and wonders'. (though I love following those who walk in these today.) I came to this point by understanding the grace of God at a very deep level. I believe that faith in a God of demonstrable power is the only natural conclusion I could come to when I began to believe in the totality of His favor.
When we grasp the full extent of the revelation of 'faith-righteousness' we cannot help but realize that there is nothing standing in the way of God's blessing. We have a God who is always good, always for us, and always backs up His promise with evidence. I have seen incredible evidence of God's favor these past several years. But that is not where I started out.
What set me on the journey that has taken me into the realm of God's power manifested in many fantastic ways was not first 'seeing' but first 'believing'. As one 'rescued' from years of legalistic Christianity in 1992 I fully embraced, studied, prayed into and accepted what could be called the 'doctrine of Grace', but it was not enough, I still wondered why my life was not going anywhere near the place I had been promised. It was only at the point when I decided to take God's word literally that I began to see the evidence of blessing. That is not to say it was a quick and easy road. Rather, it took a concerted effort to renew my mind and recover from the years of unbelief I had experienced.
But it was the 'doctrine of Grace' as a foundation which led me to the only logical conclusions I came to. He is so radically in love with us that He wants to bless our socks off. He is so desirous of our lives to be full of His presence that He is more than willing to demonstrate His power in our lives. He is the lover of our souls, the restorer of our hearts, the encourager of our faith, the provider of His promise, the rock of our security, the soundness of our mind, the answer to our questions and He is the God of the universe.
We were created for a purpose and it is good. As ones created in His image we carry with us His very DNA. We can do through Him the things He is known for. He is the God of the impossible. That means that nothing is impossible for Him. And if He is for us then nothing is impossible for us through Him.
I encourage you to read my two articles. The one entitled 'The Power of God' will better explain what understanding 'faith-righteousness' brings us into. 'Self Pity' will help you to understand why I believe faith and belief are important to the way we view God.

It is not your Job

2009-07-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Forgive the play on words. I mean, of course, the 'Job' of the Bible. The one Bible hero none of us want to be like, except at the end of his story. The one too many of us think our lives reflect.

I often include in my sermons some statement that God is not causing or allowing suffering in our lives to build character. After a recent message a woman came forward for prayer. She had a list of trials that she was going through that were very difficult. I assured her that God did not send these trials into her life to test her. Especially the sickness she and her son were experiencing. She asked, "What about Job?"

In the weeks that followed I had several conversations in which the same question came up, "What about Job?" It was not difficult to figure out that people have questions about how the story of Job relates to our present standing in Christ. This is no small issue.

Let me begin by stating the obvious, Job is an Old Testament story. This alone should make us think differently when we draw application to our position as New Testament saints, but many Christians seem to miss something here. They think the only transition between the Old Testament and the New is a blank page in their Bible.

Everything changed at the cross!

I cannot take the proper time in a 'blog' to explain the theological implications of that one statement. I only wish to assure you here that God is not allowing satan access in our lives as he did in the book of Job. (Job 1:6-12) Instead He has positioned us in Christ with a real protection from the enemy that includes 'healing all our diseases' not putting them on us.

Job wanted a mediator, someone to come to his defence. (Job 9:33.) We have Jesus as our mediator. (1 Timothy 2:5) Romans 8:33-34 asks, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?" No one. We are justified before God through the blood of Jesus Christ!

In Job 1:6 satan appeared before the throne of God. This cannot happen any longer. Jesus is there! (Hebrews 9:24) He is there "on our behalf!" Can you imagine satan standing there next to Jesus? I don't think so! The Bible teaches us that satan has been thrown down, cast from the presence of God. In fact satan cannot even accuse us before God because he has no weapon of accusation. (Col.2:13-15)

He is the 'accuser' only when we listen to his accusations in our thoughts. His only weapon is deception. We can only believe his accusations when we believe the lie that God has not taken the "bond that stood against us" away "nailing it to the cross."

There are many stories in the Old Testament that we must interpret through the 'light' of the cross. Job is certainly high on that list.
It is not your 'Job.'

(I intentionally do not capitalize 'satan'...his is not a proper name.)

Law vs. Faith

2009-07-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

"We hold that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law".
I didn't write that, Paul did in Romans 3:28.

Many Christians think that they are living in freedom because they do not live according to the Law of Moses. Some judge the Orthodox Christian faiths as leaning towards the law because of traditions and practices they observe. We miss the point entirely when we think this way.

Paul is writing about 'faith righteousness' and he uses Abraham as his example. He is making the point that we are righteous by faith in the finished work of Jesus not by any effort of our own. Not by performance. Not by good works. Not by man's measure or standard.

Romans 4:13 tells us that all the promises of God came to Abraham by faith. Verse 16 tells us that all these promises are ours by faith.

In the fourth chapter of Romans Paul goes to great length to make sure we understand this. Again, Abraham is his example. Paul is clearly saying that Abraham, before the law, even before he was circumcised, was reckoned righteous before God by faith. Rom.4:10.

What is the point? We hold that any human soul is righteous before God by trust in what Jesus did rather than what he/she does. It is not about the idea that since we are not required to live by the law of Moses any longer that we are now walking in the 'freedom' that the New Testament speaks of. No, we walk in true freedom when we are convinced in our hearts that we are secure in our relationship with God because of the great love He demonstrated toward us by the sacrifice of Jesus.

The point is best expressed in Romans 4:3 " What does the scripture say? 'Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness'"

What reckoned Abraham righteous? "It" What was the it? Belief. Faith. Trust.

God want us to trust Him.

Righteousness

2009-07-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

If you are new to this wesite you will note that we are still working on some of the pages. You will also note, I trust, that this website is devoted to the message of the gospel. I believe that it is the power of God unto salvation as Paul states in Romans. (chapter 1:16&17)

That is very significant in that Paul is saying that the truth of the gospel has a power of its own. He tells us that it leads to salvation. We all have had experience with the power of the gospel bringing us, and the ones we share the gospel with, into reconciliation with God. But the word salvation means much more. It comes from the Greek word 'Sozo' which means wholeness of body, mind and heart along with the promise of blessing.

Paul tells us that this comes by a revelation of a truth revealed in the gospel. Here is where I believe the real power of the gospel is made known to us; when we 'get it', when we have the truth of the gospel revealed to our very soul, we will be transformed.

The incredible truth of the gospel is that we become (by faith) the very righteousness of God. This reality, once understood in its awesome totality, will do something to our spirit that can only be understood in the context of the mystery of God's Kingdom reality.

This is the very substance of faith. God does spiritual work in hearts and lives that goes beyond human understanding. When we receive truth by faith we are walking in Kingdom realms that position us for every blessing and promise that is in the Bible. (Rom.4:13-16) God loves our faith. He wants us to trust Him.

The revelation of 'faith righteousness' will be emphazised on this website because it is the source of transformation. It reveals what God is after. He wants us to be fully alive, restored and blessed so that we can utilize the gifts He has given us to reach the world with His marvelous gospel in all its power. Not to mention that He wants us whole because He loves us!