STREET MINISTRY UPDATE #3: PINEHURST

BACKGROUND STORY:

Last Spring, Vanessa and I were going to a "Beginner's Prophetic" group at Church.  One Saturday we were scheduled to do a street ministry outreach with our group, and we all scheduled to meet at Panera Bread beforehand to pray and map out the day.  Only Vanessa and I showed up, as well as a friend she brought from the youth group, Elizabeth.  That day, last April, was wonderful, and the Lord started honing our eyes to see and ears to hear from that point forward.  We met a number of people, and God touched many of them through prophetic insight and prayer.  We also had a blast!  Elizabeth was right there with us as we began doing a new thing for the Lord, and she contributed, too, with prayer and words of knowledge which revealed God's heart.  From the start, the Lord has really directed our street ministry time together.

Fast forward to this year.  Last Sunday, we went back to Grace Church and there was Elizabeth.  We invited her to do street ministry with us again!  Last time we went with her, like I said, was almost nine months ago, and it was our first time doing any sort of prophetic ministry outside of the Church.

Since then, this sort of outreach has become routine for Vanessa and I.  We have enjoyed, and even become accustomed to, being used by the Holy Spirit to minister encouragement, prayer, and God's healing to people.  Just as our adventure last April with Elizabeth marked the start of our street ministry together, our next get-together with her marked the start of something new: this time, we would be using our new Go-Pro cameras to document testimonies and miracles.  I thought that was fitting.

FRIDAY'S DOWNTOWN MINISTRY:

So, this past Friday was the first time we were blessed to incorporate our Go-Pro cameras into street ministry.  And God really, really blessed us.  Vanessa and I drove to downtown Southern Pines and met Elizabeth there.  We discussed how we might approach people with the cameras, and concluded that younger people might like being on video, so we would ask them if they wanted to answer a few questions for a documentary on healing we were making.  In hindsight, this worked well.  It's easier to be turned down a chance to someone a couple questions, than to be turned down after asking someone if they'd like prayer.

When approaching older people, though, we decided to ask them if they wanted prayer first. If they accepted, we told them about our desire to make a documentary about it, and asked if we could film it. Almost all of them said yes! One lady thought about it for a second, and then said, "Alright! I'll do it for the Glory of my Savior!"

FIRST HEALINGS:

We started off with this plan in mind, and began doing loops around downtown.  The area we encircled was probably four blocks long and one block wide.  On the backside of our first loop, we saw two younger guys playing basketball in the court.  One of them had sat down on a bench, and we asked him if we could ask him a couple questions for our documentary on healing.  He said sure--he had asthma and stiffness in his hands.  Vanessa asked if she could pray for him.  Afterwards, he said the stiffness was gone.  The other guy also had pain--pain from a wrist injury, and a painful ACL.  I prayed for his wrist and felt such a weightiness in it.  Huh--more on this later.  I prayed again and it was much better. I prayed for the ACL, and it felt them same. I think Vanessa had more faith than I did, so she prayed for the ACL.  It got better slowly. She prayed about 4 times and it felt better every time, but in the end he wasn't fully healed. We weren't given any words of knowledge about why he wasn't fully healed. We are still learning with every day. A lot of the time the Lord shows us that unforgiveness prevents a person from being fully healed. I did feel the Lord impress upon me to tell the young man to go to church with his parents. We shared some encouragement and then left the two, praising God for the healing that He did do!

CUPCAKE SHOP ADVENTURE:

Prior to starting our outreach, we were seeking the Lord for people, places, and things to be on the watch for during our time downtown.  Often He shows us in mental images or visions what He wants us to be on the watch for.  I saw a cupcake, and I didn't feel it was symbolic.  So, we decided to go into the cupcake shop.  The cupcake I saw (with a heart on the top) was there...and so were a few nice ladies working there who said they both had back pain. They seemed really shy about being on camera, so we just asked if we could pray for the pain to leave. They joked back and forth about it, but shied away from accepting prayer.  That was a little disappointing, but we left in good spirits.  Once outside the store, we asked the Lord to reach down and heal them.  We prayed for His presence to come into that building and reveal Himself to them.  We never did go back in ourselves, but some things, you just have to take by faith.  We are hopeful in the Lord that He did something there.  It takes faith to be assured of the things you do not see.  

HAND PAIN HEALED:

Next we went up to a black man on a bike at the post office.  He had pain from surgery on both his hands. Vanessa prayed for his hands, and he said they felt better. She said that if they weren't perfect, she'd like to pray again. He accepted, and after the second prayer, they were fully healed! This man was quiet, but afterwards he began asking, "What did you do?  What did you do?"  We explained that it was the power of God, and not us.  We told him that God was expressing His love, and that God has the power to keep him free from that affliction in the future.  The man had a relationship with God himself, which was good to see.  I think this experience marked a turnaround in his life.

BACK PAIN GONE:

A man on his way into the liquor store had back pain.  He said he was really in a hurry to get to work...he took twenty seconds for prayer before he went right into the store.  He didn't really seem to believe.  Vanessa, Elizabeth and I prayed outside the store in agreement that God would still heal Him.  We turned around and saw him exit the store, going back to his motor bike.  He was still in a hurry, but after being asked, he said, "It actually is better!" Praise Jesus!  We prayed that God would finish the work, and more importantly, touch that man's heart.  He's in God's hands now.  

NECK PAIN HEALED:

A nice Christian women had pain in her neck.   She was very open to prayer but, like the last man, also in a hurry--on her way to the chiropractor!  We prayed for her neck and her pain was totally taken away.  She was very surprised and thankful to God!  I told her that she had a great testimony once she gets to the Chiro. Praise God.  

KNEE PAIN GONE:

A nice lady was on her way into the post office when we asked if she'd like prayer.  She said, "of course!"  She had knee problems, and one of her knees had already been replaced.  We prayed for a complete healing of her knees and legs.  The pain went away, and was replaced by a heaviness.  God was right there with us--we enjoyed some powerful prayer and time in the Spirit.  Next, the heaviness left, and her healing was nearly complete.  We believe that 'heavy' sensation is the time just prior to a bad spirit leaving, but it's something we haven't really witnessed before.  God is faithfully teaching, step by step!  We encouraged the woman that God would finish the work.  It was still improving when we left her.  Glory to God!

NERVE DAMAGE HEALED

We said bye to Elizabeth at five o'clock.  Vanessa and I decided to do one more loop around the town. Coming up to the basketball courts, Vanessa received a sharp pain in her left foot.  So, we walked up to the courts and asked if anyone there had any pain in their left foot.  One of the guys said, "What? I do." We told him we believed God wanted to heal it, and he came right over. He had nerve damage in his left foot, and said he'd had it for a while.  He didn't seem to believe, but God was made real to him!  We prayed for new nerves and no more pain.  The other guys there seemed pretty amused and I heard them laugh a little during our prayer.  The foolishness of men can be pretty exciting sometimes, you know?  After prayer, this young man was completely delivered.  Glory!  We shared with him the source of his healing, and a few short words of encouragement in the Lord.  It's up to God to do the convicting.  He's in God's hands.

SUMMARY

All in all, what a richly blessed time.  Our first experience using the Go-Pro in ministry was so wonderful.  All the Glory to our God, who sent His word and healed them.  We are so thankful for His pleasure to use us.  There isn't a whole lot Vanessa and I like more than Street Ministry.  We'll get out the video of our experience as soon as possible.  Stay tuned for that, as well as more updates. Be blessed!

Synchronicity: Prophecy Confirmed

As I said in prior posts, God can and does use synchronicity to confirm Himself. By bringing together an array of events, He can develop for us a new message, or confirm an older one. God's timing is perfect, and if we walk in His will, He can manufacture our future and bring to us aligning circumstances that show us the way.

Synchronicity in Group Prophecy

God uses synchronicity both to produce and confirm the prophetic Word. He validates Himself through bringing together the same messages to different people. When prophesying over someone in a group setting, God often brings to mind similar things to those doing the prophesying.

"...Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Corinthians 13:1

While prophesying in a group setting, you will find that God always establishes a common theme. He gives a vision of a tree to one person, while giving the phrase, "oaks of righteousness" to another. He brings these things together in a synchronistic way. One person gets one puzzle peace, another gets a glimpse of the final project.

"For we know in part and we prophecy in part". 1 Corinthians 13:9

We also prophesy in accordance with the measure of faith God's given us. By demonstrating a recurring theme through synchronistic downloads into many people, God builds collective faith of the group. The body then can build off of itself and release deeper and more accurate words. This is because it takes faith to prophecy! Then comes a blessing from the Lord as "each matter is established". This blessing is of faith, and this faith permits the flow of convicting prophecies.

For example, many times in our prophetic group back in North Carolina, two people will receive the same vision, at the same time, and for the same person. God is so faithful to create, confirm, and carry out His Word.

"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

Synchronicity to confirm a Personal Prophecy

Even after a prophetic word is given, the person who receives it has to remain faithful to God and the implanted Word. It is the Holy Spirit who brings things to remembrance, and God will bring synchronous confirmations to us so that we can have hope for the future. God waters the Word in us, and feeds into the Holy Spirit, to give us faith and "the assurance of the things we hope for". Glory to God! Confirmational messages can be so fun.

For example, one day the Lord spoke to me about my wife. He said that today she would "always be right, no matter what". As it turns out, that day she introduced to me a controversial topic that I otherwise would've probably rejected. But God softened my heart, and renewed my mind, by bringing several confirmations of her opinion to my awareness. Because I was walking in His will, "the Word because flesh" and dwelt with me. God had His Hand in so many synchronous events that day..wherever I went--even if only to the grocery store--I received another sign that confirmed both His direction that morning and my wife's opinion.

"Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:21

God's Spirit will only highlight synchronistic events if they bear witness with the Word. In other words, signs should confirm the bible, personal prophecies, or both! If they do not, we need to realize that we may be acting out of fear. Synchronicity cannot trump the Word of God. That being said, we serve an all-powerful God who enjoys directing all events towards His will. A series of unlikely events may just be God's way to give us hope in a past Word, as means of giving us hope in the future.

His Pen: The Message of His Love

This morning I received a vision from the Lord of a giant pen blasting off, as if it were a space shuttle.  I have seen this image several times, and it always reminds me of the power behind the words that God speaks to me.  (I have an MS word document called "His Pen" where I record the things that God speaks through His still, small voice).  I usually get this vision just prior to receiving a new Word from the Lord.  Today the word was very simple, but sometimes it's the simple ones that really bring comfort against accusations of the enemy.  Here it is:

"A time is coming...I have made you righteous...and I am taking you to a place of constant justification.  I am not mad at you...trust in Me for deliverance from the enemy.  Believe in Me, Thomas, because I love you so much!"

Whenever I get a specific word, the Lord always gives me confirmations that it was from Him, and not just my own thoughts or something.  At this point, I tend to just know when it's Him, too.

So, right after hearing this, I open up a book by my Mom's friend Kay, (called Doing Time with Charlie"), and immediately read the statement, "...Because of the overwhelming love".  This is a good example of how steps 1 and 2 from yesterday's post, Ways to Hear God's Voice, typically work.  And now I'm in the process of step 3 by writing down the rhema word!  

Confirming scripture:

"Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all."  Psalm 34:19

It's easy for us to underestimate the love of God, or even forget about it altogether.  That reminds me...I did a prophetic exercise in a church group early this year, when I was first beginning to really hear God's voice.  Each person had to ask the Lord what He thought about them, especially regarding His love.  So, I tried as best as I could to hear and receive whatever God had to say about how much He loved me.  The first thing I heard, and I won't ever forget this, was "you hypocrite".

That stunned me, and I got pretty scared!  God made His point, though, and continued on:

"You hypocrite, you believe that I love them, but not that I always love you.  You hypocrite, you believe in My mercy for them, but not for you..."  And similar messages continued.  Call it tough love, but the Lord called me a hypocrite as means of getting a point across to me!  In hindsight I see His wisdom in speaking to me this way.  Many believers get into a spot where the enemy has sold them the lie that they have somehow fallen too far, and that God's grace can't reach them any longer.  Whenever I get into a place like this, I find that God's love always manages to bring me back into the fold.  Praise Jesus for a loving savior, who will always go out to find His lost sheep.

Confirming scripture:


"...neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:39

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot disown Himself."  2 Timothy 2:13.

This implies a measure of God the father himself in us!  His promises became flesh through Jesus, and now, through the Holy Spirit, they are made manifest within us.  To disown someone who has the Spirit is never something God does!  Praise God that He keeps us with so much grace.