Run to the Battle
At a time in the late 70's I was vacationing in Sacramento, Ca. I was staying with some catholic friends. We were invited to a home fellowship and prayer meeting. This was around the time of the charismatic movement in the catholic church. The gifts of the Spirit, and praying in the spirit were accepted and practiced. At this meeting the Lord revealed by his gifts the condition of ten or twelve people, and healed each one.
There was a broken bone in one's neck. Another had been born in pain and was to that day still in pain. The Lord gave an explanation of what had happened, and instantly healed her. She had always though it to be her fault, she was in her 60's at the time. You cannot imagine the joy she had, knowing it wasn't her fault, and that she would never have that pain again. Relieved of false guilt, and pain, the Lord does thorough work. These are just two examples.
This display of love and power of the grace of God changed my course. I would no longer be content with any thing other than be a willing vessel for the Lord to work through. I then went back home to Michigan and put everything I had need of in the car. Gave away, or sold everything else and went back to California. If God saw fit to use me, then I would see that I was available.
There is a saying around christian seminary circles; some are called, some are sent, others just up and went. I am in the last bunch, I just up and went. The disciples ran into a bunch like me. They told Jesus that others were preaching the kindom, and healing the sick in his name, and the disciples told them to stop. Jesus told them not to stop them, they were working with them.
No one asked me to come, no church sent me, no one called for me, but the Lord proved himself more than enough to keep me. I love the scripture of Paul: "I resovled to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified". And, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power".
I put that on my card. For the next few years, I traveled up and down, and side to side, throughout northern California, Oregon, and Nevada. There ended up being 7 different denominations of churchs that had opened the doors for me to minister. There was never a time when I didn't have a open door to minister. The Lord would give me favor in whatever city I ended up in, and He always honored his word, with healing, and gift's of the Spirit, and provision.
I was abundantly supplied, and never sleep on the street, nor missed a meal. His favor would often be on the pastor, and I stayed with them. At times it was hard to leave them, and I would return as often as I could. There were several of these special people of God. One brother, who was a pastor and good friend is a funny story.
While I was staying with him at his house, at night a demon came walking into my room. I rebuked him, and commanded him to leave this house and not return in the name of Jesus. The next day at breakfast I asked if he knew anything of this. He said yes he had seen this demon walking around in the house before. I told him it would not be back, I had commanded it to leave and not come back, in the name of Jesus. At this he said, so that's why the babysitter has left. His babysitter was from India, and had a demon, her room was across the hallway. I had to ask why he never had it leave. His reply was, "The first church I had was in the swamps, and usually no one ever showed up, except for evil spirits and wild animals. So I would preach to them".
There is authority in the name of Jesus, of things in the heavens, in the earth, and under the earth!! He has disarmed them though the resurrection from the dead. He has given us, the church, authority to use His name.
After traveling and ministring for a couple of years, I was in Oreagon. I came upon a meeting of different church's and ministers. They invited me to stay a few days, it was a sort of camp meeting. These people were the result of an organization for ordaining ministers, and this was the organizations annual meeting. They were all pentecostal preachers that the founder had ordained. After a couple days the founder asked me if I would join and be ordained. He said sense you are doing the work of the Lord, it is to benefit you, a support of the spirit and not to constrain your works. I was honored and was ordained.
The story of this man is amazing. When he was young he was in a logging accident, and was drowned and was under water for 45 minutes. When he was brought up a christian old lady prayed fervently, and would not be stopped in intercession for his life. The Lord answered and brough him back to life. He could no longer work, for the awe of his fellow workers. They wanted to hear about his story. And so he became a preacher, and later he was directed to start this fellowship for ordaining those the Lord provided. When I meet him he was in his 70's, and when you mentioned Jesus, and told of his works, this man would light up and go to shouting. That's the Jesus I know!
There was a broken bone in one's neck. Another had been born in pain and was to that day still in pain. The Lord gave an explanation of what had happened, and instantly healed her. She had always though it to be her fault, she was in her 60's at the time. You cannot imagine the joy she had, knowing it wasn't her fault, and that she would never have that pain again. Relieved of false guilt, and pain, the Lord does thorough work. These are just two examples.
This display of love and power of the grace of God changed my course. I would no longer be content with any thing other than be a willing vessel for the Lord to work through. I then went back home to Michigan and put everything I had need of in the car. Gave away, or sold everything else and went back to California. If God saw fit to use me, then I would see that I was available.
There is a saying around christian seminary circles; some are called, some are sent, others just up and went. I am in the last bunch, I just up and went. The disciples ran into a bunch like me. They told Jesus that others were preaching the kindom, and healing the sick in his name, and the disciples told them to stop. Jesus told them not to stop them, they were working with them.
No one asked me to come, no church sent me, no one called for me, but the Lord proved himself more than enough to keep me. I love the scripture of Paul: "I resovled to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified". And, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power".
I put that on my card. For the next few years, I traveled up and down, and side to side, throughout northern California, Oregon, and Nevada. There ended up being 7 different denominations of churchs that had opened the doors for me to minister. There was never a time when I didn't have a open door to minister. The Lord would give me favor in whatever city I ended up in, and He always honored his word, with healing, and gift's of the Spirit, and provision.
I was abundantly supplied, and never sleep on the street, nor missed a meal. His favor would often be on the pastor, and I stayed with them. At times it was hard to leave them, and I would return as often as I could. There were several of these special people of God. One brother, who was a pastor and good friend is a funny story.
While I was staying with him at his house, at night a demon came walking into my room. I rebuked him, and commanded him to leave this house and not return in the name of Jesus. The next day at breakfast I asked if he knew anything of this. He said yes he had seen this demon walking around in the house before. I told him it would not be back, I had commanded it to leave and not come back, in the name of Jesus. At this he said, so that's why the babysitter has left. His babysitter was from India, and had a demon, her room was across the hallway. I had to ask why he never had it leave. His reply was, "The first church I had was in the swamps, and usually no one ever showed up, except for evil spirits and wild animals. So I would preach to them".
There is authority in the name of Jesus, of things in the heavens, in the earth, and under the earth!! He has disarmed them though the resurrection from the dead. He has given us, the church, authority to use His name.
After traveling and ministring for a couple of years, I was in Oreagon. I came upon a meeting of different church's and ministers. They invited me to stay a few days, it was a sort of camp meeting. These people were the result of an organization for ordaining ministers, and this was the organizations annual meeting. They were all pentecostal preachers that the founder had ordained. After a couple days the founder asked me if I would join and be ordained. He said sense you are doing the work of the Lord, it is to benefit you, a support of the spirit and not to constrain your works. I was honored and was ordained.
The story of this man is amazing. When he was young he was in a logging accident, and was drowned and was under water for 45 minutes. When he was brought up a christian old lady prayed fervently, and would not be stopped in intercession for his life. The Lord answered and brough him back to life. He could no longer work, for the awe of his fellow workers. They wanted to hear about his story. And so he became a preacher, and later he was directed to start this fellowship for ordaining those the Lord provided. When I meet him he was in his 70's, and when you mentioned Jesus, and told of his works, this man would light up and go to shouting. That's the Jesus I know!
posted by pete porter | 9:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home