Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

I pray that your heart is filled with joy during this wonderful season of Hope and a Future!  The Son was given so that we might have Hope that life can be meaningful and everlasting.  And each new day we wake is God's promise that we have a future!  May the Lord bless you during this time and in the new year, may His Face shine upon you, may you have peace in your home, and may the grace of God make a way for you!  May the due of heaven surround you and cover you!  May the presence of God satisfy your deepest longings!  May the Lord answer you when you call!  And may this year be the year you enter into the destiny and dreams that God has planted in your heart!

I have a favorite song that I wanted to share.  The song is called "Hymns" and is beautifully sung by Cynthia Clawson.  It is a wonderful inspiration to me and speaks of the grace, majestic splendor of God, and hearts that were inspired by beauty from heaven.  It speaks of lives that were changed and impassioned with adoration for the King of Heaven...lives that became a sacrifice and a light for generations to come.  This is my desire for you this year and for my family.  May we be inspired to greater passion for Christ!  May this coming year be a mark in time that one day we'll look back to and say "God met me that year and I entered into the Joy of His Life"!

HYMNS

I hear their songsTheir words of beauty reaching deep
Within cathedrals of my heart
Angelic choirs
Reverberate the stained glass windows
Of saints and sinners in their place
Singing out “Amazing Grace”
While in the glory of their faith
I’m drawn to find my part
And sing with all my heart

I know their words
Their thoughts reflecting simple truth
Of testimonies rich in love
Their eyes can see
The mystery of loving kindness
Of chains and blindness torn away
Power found in each new day
The Lord’s compassion on display
His touch from Heaven above
Gave words to speak their love

Composer of my soul
Show me all You show to them
The hymnwriter, hymnsinger
Let me know their eloquence
Let me share their offering
Put the notes in my heart,
The lyrics on my lips,
And let the essence of my life
Be a song that others will want to sing

I see their lives
Like tears that fall upon a page
A mark indelible in time
What sacrifice!
Their hearts poured out like raging water
For sons and daughters to believe
And generations to receive
The harvest white from all their seeds
No greater love sublime
Could change this heart of mine

Composer of my soul
Show me all You show to them
The hymnwriter, hymnsinger
Let me know their eloquence
Let me share their offering
Put the notes in my heart,
The lyrics on my lips,
And let the essence of my life
Be a song that others will want to sing

Glory in Costa Rica

My recent mission trip to Costa Rica was the most glory intense trip I’ve ever been on, from beginning to end.  I went with great expectation, but God exceeded that.  I want to share with you some of the wonderful experiences we had on this trip to encourage you and to give you expectation.  I believe we are just on the brink of the greatest move of God’s spirit on the face of the earth.  To me this trip was a taste of the first fruits of glory to come when the spirit of the Lord is poured out on all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your old men (and women) will dream dreams (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17).

Four weeks before going on the trip, I had a dream about going to Costa Rica.  This is the journal entry I made the night after the dream.

Last night I had a dream where I flew to Costa Rica. When I stepped out of the airport all of the roads were filled with water at least a foot deep. I wondered how am I going to get to the property with all this water. I drove a car through the water to get to the property.

I also recognized that I was in a hurry and I hadn't packed my bags with any clothes. When I got to the property I started walking towards the door and hung on a line right in front of me were two shirts. One shirt was green and the other blue. The green shirt I recognized was a shirt I used on many mission trips where I would use it when I was preaching at a meeting. The blue shirt was a longsleeved shirt and more formal. In the dream I thought I must have forgotten these although I didn't remember ever leaving any shirts in Costa Rica.  Neferty (the property manager) was in the house and she came out to greet me with a kiss on the cheek and told me about how she was so glad to see me there.  That was the end of the dream.

To me this was a dream about part of what God is going to do while I'm in Costa Rica. The water symbolizes the holy spirit and that he's going to be in every road and every junction like rivers of living water filling the streets. The fact that I forgot my clothes was not as important as God made provision and gave me clothes.

I also believe that the shirt style and colors represent a message.  The green shirt was something I was familiar with and had worn there before.  To me this spoke of God continuing the ministry I've had there before.  The color green also stands for new life, freshness, prophecy, and new beginnings The blue shirt I believe represented a new role I will have in Costa Rica...more formal.  The blue shirt was something I would wear at work so it could stand for a more formal work of ministry there or business role there.  Blue also stands for the Holy Spirit, revelation, river of God, healing, and God's throne.

Part of my prayer in going to Costa Rica is that God would open up the ministry of healing to me and more supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I think this dream is an answer that God is going to answer my request.

Now that I look back at what happened, I realize how true this dream was.  Everywhere we went, the Lord’s presence was there and we witnessed many miracles, answers to prayer, salvations, healings, and deliverances.  All in all, we saw 12 people give their life to Christ, we saw more than 15 healings occur (there were more than that, but we didn’t get a chance to interview people from the last service we were at), a family of 8 received deliverance from demonic oppression, I had opportunity to preach at 4 gospel meetings on the father’s heart, we prayed for impartation to 3 young leaders who have the heart for evangelism, we saw miraculous answers to prayer, and met with over 24 pastors in making connections for future ministry opportunities.  All in one week!  When I went to Costa Rica, I had no agenda established.  Not that I didn’t try, it just didn’t happen.  I remember praying on the first morning there for God to lead me and the mini-team that we had.  And He did.  It was so perfectly orchestrated, I marvel at what happened.  

So, to write about all that happened would make this a really long blog post.  Instead, I’ll share just some of the stories.  Maybe there will be a part two blog later.  Our mini-team consisted of myself, Bob Wyant, Judy McCrea, and our interpreter Emerson.  

I arrived in Costa Rica Sunday afternoon.  That evening we met with a local pastor, counseled with a young leader, and showed the video “Father of Lights” to a couple who one day will pastor a church.  After the video, we prayed for this young couple.  As we did, the power of the Lord came in that room so strong.  My hands were burning like fire and heavy.  I thought, what will happen if I put them down by my side?  As I did, the power began shooting up my arms up to my elbow, like electricity.  And it didn’t leave, it remained.  Not knowing what to do, we layed hands on the couple and began blessing them in the name of the Lord.

The next morning we went to see a pastor whose church was nearby.  He confided in us about some things for us to pray for.  And he told us about his father who was very sick.  His father had not been out of his bed for 15 days, and was so weak that he couldn’t control his body functions.  Consequently, they were constantly having to clean him and his sheets.  I felt before we prayed for the pastor that we should honor his father and pray that God would raise him up.  So, we all went into his father’s room and began praying.  The presence of the Lord was there and it was good.  Nothing appeared to have happened immediately, but we released our faith in God to touch his father.  Just to fast forward, two days later (on Wednesday) his father was up and moving around.  He was able to get to the kitchen and rest room without any help.  Praise God!  And then on Saturday (six days later) I walked into the church right before the Saturday evening meeting.  An older gentleman was sitting on the back row and I felt compelled to go up to him to bless him.  And to my surprise, it was the pastor’s father!  Hallelujah!  He had enough strength to make it into church and participate in a gospel meeting!  Come on!

On Monday evening we went to a small home group meeting in a very poor neighborhood.  But the Lord was there!  I shared a word out of Acts 3:20 and Revelation 3:20; having been given Acts 3:20 a week before and given Revelations 3:20 that night.  Emerson shared a message with the group and then we began to pray for those who were sick or had a loved one that was sick.  One woman who came to the meeting was so touched by the presence of the Lord. She didn’t want us to stop praying and she didn’t want to let go of the Lord’s presence.  It was intense.  Afterward she was so touched that she asked if we could please come to her home Tuesday morning and pray for her daughter who had chronic headaches.  We agreed.  

The next morning we went to this woman’s home.  We interviewed her daughter to find out what might be the source of these headaches.  She started receiving them when she was four years old and they grew more intense over the years to the point that she got them everyday and was in pain almost all the time.  As we interviewed her we found out that her grandmother had been involved in witchcraft of some sort.  So we first annointed to the door posts of the home, took authority over unclean spirits, and then broke the curse of generational sin over this girl.  Just as we pronounced this, their dog came up right behind this girl and began throwing up.  That was weird!  But I took it as a sign.  After we prayed, the girl had no more headache!  This was on Tuesday.  We saw her again on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday and she had no more recurrence of headaches!  Praise God!  Fast forward to Thursday, we went to pray for the grandmother, two other sisters, and a brother of this first woman.  God sent deliverance, we led the grandmother to renounce practices she was involved in earlier in her life, she confessed and received joy!  The brother who had been practicing witchcraft repented and received Christ as his savior.  And a sister got saved as well.  All in all, God redeemed a family of eight, three generations of this family during this week!

On Wednesday morning we went to visit an orphanage and another woman who was starting a foster care-type home for orphans who couldn’t be placed in a home for various reasons.  While visiting with the woman, I felt impressed to tell her that the next time I saw her she would have children in her home.  She has been working on establishing a home and getting approval to have children for the last four years.  At the time we saw her, the paperwork was in an agency to be reviewed but there was no indication as to when approval would come.  Everything in Costa Rica takes time, and she’s had many delays in this process.  She said that would be wonderful, but that she would really like to have kids before Christmas.  So I said, let’s pray and ask God to do the impossible, because nothing is to big for Him.  So we prayed.  The very next day (no lie) she got approval from family services to have 7 children in her home.  Fast forward 6 days, she then found out she would get some of the children 12 days before Christmas!  Praise God!  Oh I think the Lord likes surprising us with impossible answers to prayer!  I love you Jesus!

Wednesday night we held a healing service.  Prior to the service, I asked the Lord for words of knowledge regarding what He wanted to heal that night.  The morning of the meeting, I woke with two visions; they were both x-rays, one of a heal and the other of a knee.  I also received 10 other words of knowledge through impressions in my body, one of which was a pain in the back right below the rib cage on the left side of the body.  I called these out in the meeting and then opened up the altar for anyone to come forward that had these problems.  We then prayed over the group of 20 or more people who came up.  We stopped after a few minutes and told everyone to check themselves and see if there was any difference.  Four people began waving their hands that they had a difference in their body!  I said ok that’s good, but let’s pray again.  Then I told them to check themselves again.  This time eight people began waving their hands that something was different and they were healed.  Praise God!  

But then I said, ok lets have some of you come up and give your testimony.  So then a young girl comes up and testified that she had pain in her heels constantly whenever she walked.  But after prayer, it was completely gone!  Another came up and said her knee was bad and constantly popping when she bent down.  She had to stop playing soccer.  But when she went to check her knee that night, it popped one time going down the first time, but not anymore after that.  She also got healed of headaches, which was another word of knowledge given that night.  These two girls also testified again on Saturday night, having continued to bear witness that they had been touched by the Lord on Wednesday night.  The next woman came up to testify, that she had the pain in the back under her rib cage.  It resulted from her lungs.  She had received a doctors diagnosis that she was not getting the proper volume of air in her lungs and would not be able to live much longer in that condition.  That night as we prayed, breath came into her lungs!  She was able to breath deeply again!  She was so touched that she couldn’t stop crying!  Hallelujah!  All in all we had more than 10 people testify of healings they had received that night; there were more but we didn’t get a chance to speak with all those who had waved their hands at the end of the meeting.

Thursday afternoon we went to a men’s prison and while there Emerson gave his testimony.  This was key, since Emerson had been in this prison a few years ago.  God set him free while there and now he is on fire for Jesus!  The men were very receptive of Emerson’s testimony and afterward 10 men gave their life to the Lord!  Go God!

Saturday night was the last meeting I was in before leaving Sunday morning.  At this meeting, the prayer time was more intense than the meeting on Wednesday.  We weren’t able to interview anyone after the prayer time because it had gone on so long and the people had to leave to get on their buses to get home.  But this was evident; after the prayer time, the scene looked like a battle field, with people laying everywhere, people weeping at the altar, and others praising the Lord!  As Bob prayed for one woman who came up with a tumor, he literally felt the tumor disappear!  It was as large as an orange, but went away!  

Many more things happened  of which only God could do.  I only marvel at how intense this week was and how wonderful it was.  This is just the beginning of what is to come with greater intensity and I believe in all parts of the world.  

Acts 3:20  Get ready for the appointed time of refreshing that is coming from the presence of the Lord!

Blessings to you!

David Bates

Your Call to Greatness

In Matthew 14 we read of two of the most astonishing miracles recorded in the New Testament.  This chapter is packed full of powerful insight and I believe keys to what God is calling the church to in this hour of history.  The first of these amazing miracles is the feeding of the 5,000 (which actually was more like 15,000 since they only numbered the men).  Jesus had compassion on the crowd and wanted to feed them.  His disciples counseled Jesus to send them away.  But Jesus said, let’s look at this with a different set of eyes.  First, bring me what you have.  So they did.

They were able to find five small loaves of bread and two fish.  Not even close enough to feed five people, let alone 15,000.  But again, Jesus didn’t flinch.  He said bring them to me and He took them, blessed the food, broke it, and distributed it to his disciples.  How do you think these disciples felt when they were carting over the tiny amount of food they had to the first group of 50 people they were to feed?  I can hear Peter saying...”does Jesus think this is a joke?”  And as Peter handed out what he had, to his amazement the food kept multiplying.  THE FOOD WAS MULTIPLYING IN THE DISCIPLES HANDS AS THEY GAVE!!!

What was this that Jesus was teaching?  Yes, you are weak.  Yes, what you have isn’t enough.  Yes, the task is too big.  But these are not the deciding factors.  JESUS IS THE DECIDING FACTOR!!!  You have been sent by Me to feed the hungry.  The Lord will bless and multiply what you have.  I just want you to be faithful to give what you have been given.  In the giving, the provision will be multiplied.

Now, what would have happened if the disciples took the little bit of food they had and kept it for themselves; or worse thrown it down in doubt.  The walk from Jesus to the crowd was a test.  Each step another step of faith or yielding to doubt.  For the disciples this day became a day of triumph, though it started in doubt and weakness.

However, the day’s lessons were not over after the crowd went home.  Jesus told the disciples to go in the boat and cross over to the other side and He would meet up with them later.  After they left, a storm rose and was tossing their boat all over the sea waves.  They struggled for hours, but didn’t seem to make much progress.  It was then that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the boisterous waves.

Peter said if that’s you Jesus then command me to come to you.  And so Jesus did and now a man was walking on water.  

On this day, two impossible things happened.  Something was created out of nothing, and man walked in a place that defied natural laws.  On this day, Jesus invited the disciples to broaden their perspective, expand their horizons, and participate in the unthinkable.  He was assaulting unbelief and giving them grander vision.

Since the Lord is no respecter of persons and His mission for the church today is just the same as 2,000 years ago, guess what that means?  He’s inviting you and I to enter into the impossible-possibilities of God.  And I find that wonderfully exhilarating!!  What kind of a God would we have if all that can be accomplished is that which has been done already?  God has no boundaries, except that which is good and right and glorious.

The generation we live in now in America is perhaps as wicked as its ever been.  Since the passing of Roe vs Wade, our nation has slaughtered 55 million innocent babies.  We have kicked God out of our schools and out of our government.  We refuse to allow prayer in school, but instead teach safe-sex, homosexuality, evolution, and pass out condoms.  Our children are learning ever efficient ways of killing people through video games, movies, and television programs.  We praise and admire those who make millions, have nice homes, and hold powerful jobs while ridiculing Christianity as weak, powerless, and polite but misinformed.

And here we live...sounds impossible?  But God is not finished!!!

One of the greatest moves of God is about to occur in the history of earth.  A great harvest of souls is about to come to the church.  And we are going to feel strained, under equipped, and overwhelmed.  But, we are to take what little we have to Jesus and ask Him to bless it, break it if necessary, and then distribute what He hands us.  God will  multiply it to satisfy the hungry.

God wants us to believe in the unbounded power of His love, and trust Him.  Launch out onto the impossible waves you face!!!  God will catch you.  Stretch out your horizon, God has more He wants to do.  Believe and exercise yourself in running toward Jesus!!  You will experience the thrill of victory.  

Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is upon you!!  Read Isaiah 60:1-9 and see what you've been called to and what God will do in this day.  

What God Did While I Was in Texas

I was in Texas the past two weeks and while I was there the Lord blessed me with some wonderful encounters.  This blog post records those encounters and the nuggets of wisdom God gave me through them.

On the plane ride to Dallas, I asked the Lord if He would give me someone that I could speak to about Him.  When I got to my seat, a young woman was sitting in the middle seat.  She was very friendly and introduced herself to me.  We chatted about normal things that strangers chat about and then she mentioned that she works for a consulting firm helping financial institutions develop controls for mortgage operations.  I said "Oh what a coincidence; I'm a bank examiner going to Dallas to examine a mortgage operation."  I then asked her what company she was consulting, and she told me Bank of America.  I said that's who I examine.  And then she said, what office do you work in while in Charlotte?  I told her the location and then she said their firm works in the same building.  By that time, I realized God had sent this person to me to speak to.  After talking for a little longer, she took a nap since it was a long flight.  

While she was napping, I asked the Lord to give me a prophetic word for her.  I figured, hey, God speak anywhere, why not on the plane?  And he showed me two things.  One that God was going to give her revelation while she journals.  And the second thing I felt was heat on the side of my face.  I knew that stood for healing, but then I wondered what God wanted to heal.  God then touched my lower forehead, nose and mouth area.  I didn't understand what that meant at the time, so I wrote down what I thought it meant.  Later when she woke, I handed her the two messages I received.  She thanked me and then we talked about churches we go to.  In passing she mentioned that she had been to the doctor the day before the flight.  She came down with a sinus infection and had to get antibiotics since it wasn't getting better.  And then I knew why God had showed me healing, and touching my lower forehead, nose and mouth...He wanted her to know that He's going to heal her sinuses!  I didn't realize she was sick, so I didn't understand why God had touched me this way before; but then I realized it and told her about it.  She was very encouraged!  And so was I!

What did I learn from this...I had asked the Lord to speak to me and give this woman a word from Him.  And this is what He showed me.  God is interested in healing and touching every aspect of our person, and every person we encounter.  He could have told me anything, but this is what He chose to show me.  I'm still stunned by that revelation.  Although maybe I shouldn't, because Jesus demonstrated this while He walked the earth.  And He said greater works shall we do (who are His disciples) because He goes to the Father...and will send the "Helper" to annoint us with power and authority.

The weekend of September 22nd I was in Waco, TX where I had gone to college and lived several years.  I visited a church on Sunday where a few of my friends were attending.  As I walked in, a greeter gave me a bulletin and I sat down waiting for the service to start.  I read through the bulletin to see what the church was doing and then noticed their address...it was 4777 Lake Shore Drive.  Immediately I knew this was a prophetic address; in fact the Lord had led me to learn about the meaning of the number 4 that very weekend.  In the Hebrew alphabet and number system, every number also is correlated with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  And each letter has a meaning; unlike the English alphabet.  The number 4 means "doorway" in the Hebrew system.  Within scripture, 7 represents completeness and 3 represents the trinity.  So putting this together, this church is a doorway into the fullness of God...that's their ministry and calling.

As worship was being held, I again felt surrounded by the Lord's presence and could hear hundreds of voices worshipping Him there, although there was only 70 or 80 in the service.  I knew this was supernatural what I was hearing and again felt God dropping messages in my heart for this church.  I told the Lord if He wanted me to share this with the pastor He would have to make a way since I didn't know Him and didn't want to interrupt their service.  

The pastor spoke after worship service and gave a message that I had actually wrote about on this blog site several months ago..."Who Am I?"  He went through many of the same scriptures that I detailed in one of the Who Am I blogposts.  And He talked about part of the vision of this church was to minister in every Spanish speaking nation on the earth.  In fact, they were broadcasting this service on Telemundo television network (a Spanish speaking broadcast).  After speaking, he invited anyone to come and receive prayer.  He and his wife prayed along with several elders prayed for all who came.  I went up and stood in the pastor's line and when I got to him he asked what my prayer need was.  I told him that I had a word for him and the church.  So he listened to what I shared regarding their address and the "sound of many voices" and how this church would get larger and need more capacity.

I expected the pastor to thank me and that would be it, but to my surprise he asked me if I would tell the congregation what I had told him.  "Sure" I told him and he directed me to sit down on the front pew while they finished praying with others.  He called me up later and I told the congregation what the Lord had showed me.  After I sat down, the pastor got up and told the church that long before they even moved to this property (they had been located somewhere else in the city just a few years ago) he had been asking the Lord to give them a prophetic address.  The church they were now in had been vacant for several years and was deeded over to them just over a year ago.  When they received the property, the pastor didn't want to keep the old address, so he petitioned the city of Waco to change it to a different street the property was on.  The city of Waco told them he could have any address from 4700 to 4999 since the frontage of the property was so long on Lake Shore Drive.  So they picked 4777...but the pastor confessed he had no idea what "4" meant, he just liked having three seven's in the address.  When I declared this word to him, it was an answer to his prayer for a prophetic address!

The pastor then told us that over 30 years ago another prophetic-evangelist had been to the church building that they now occupied.  And this evangelist prophesied that God was going to use this church to be a major revival center for the city of Waco; however it was not going to be the church who occupied the property at that time, but another church that would be multi-cultural.  When I prophesied that God was going to use this church in touching hundreds and thousands and that they would need a bigger facility this was a confirming word to the "multi-cultural" church that now occupied that property.  Whew...go God!

What did I learn from this...I'm still downloading lessons on this, but the first impression I have is not to doubt the still small voice of the Lord.  The revelations I received during the service did not come from a loud booming voice or an angel appearing to me.  They came from the still small voice of the Lord speaking to my heart.  And I just acted upon what the Lord gave me.  I didn't try to draw attention to myself by stopping the service and declaring things, I went to the pastor and told him.  The pastor was directing the service and it was his call to do with what I had heard that morning.  And I learned that God is interested in establishing His word...sending me to that church 30 years later to confirm what He declared many years before.  Get ready Waco...God is going to invade your land with shouts of praise and victory!  The spirit of the Lord shall flood the earth and Waco will be a place of refuge for the weary and thirsty.  The Lord will come in mighty waves in that city...just watch and this church called "Christ the King" will be a mighty influence of good in that city.

I have many other things to share, but this blog has already become long enough.  Until then...may the mighty one of Israel flood your home with joy and victory!

David

Walking on the Water

1 Corinthians 14:1-3 (NET) Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God, for no one understands; he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit.  But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation. 

Over the past few weeks I have been extremely encouraged in the gift of prophecy.  God has been stirring my heart in this gift and I’ve had an unusual vision given to me while working in New York.  This blog post is to encourage you to move forward in the admonishment that the Holy Spirit gives us through Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.  

The gift of prophecy was given to strengthen, encourage, and edify the body of Christ.  It is uniquely designed to speak into the moment to help the recipient stand strong, move forward in confidence, and receive vision and resolve to pursue.  

Paul goes on to say in this chapter that he has a desire that we we would all prophesy, because of the power that’s released through this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:5 (NET) I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened. When this gift operates in its effectiveness, it uniquely provides strength to the church.

Is it possible that anyone can prophesy?  I believe the answer is an absolute yes.  Consider that the root of prophesying is listening to God.  For a person to prophesy or speak according to God’s Spirit, he or she must first hear what the Spirit is saying.  Who does God want to talk to?  Only people who are designated as prophets?  Only pastors?  Only apostles?  The scripture is emphatically clear that God’s desire is that all of His people hear his voice and communicate with Him.  A person who is prophesying is combining listening skills with faith to declare what he or she has heard.  I believe this is a skill that takes time to develop but is so worth pursuing because of the tremendous benefit given to the body of Christ.

With that said, I wanted to share a few stories of how God has been encouraging me in developing this gift and how God used this to encourage others in the body of Christ.

Two Sundays ago I was at a meeting where we were planning how we could minister to people coming to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention.  A group of us were practicing ministering in the prophetic gift.  I was called on to prophesy over anyone in the group.  I felt a little pressure since this was a new group of people and I didn’t really know anyone more than saying a casual hello.  I prayed silently under my breath and asked God to speak to me.  Immediately after I received a brief vision (mental picture) regarding an elderly gentleman sitting across from me.  In this picture I saw this man as if he was in the prime of his youth, dark hair, and wind blowing across his face and hair.  So I began relating to this man the vision I had received about him and told him that I was getting the impression of his youth being renewed.  The wind represented the spirit of God moving over him and restoring him in many aspects of his person (emotions, health, and spiritual condition).  And as I spoke this, I sensed that this was a work going on in his life right now.  

As I spoke to this man, he began getting tears in his eyes.  Later when I had finished speaking, he told the group that for the past 4 months God has been moving on him in unusual ways.  He has been feeling an unusual amount of tenderness in his heart during this time and will often begin crying as he feels God’s spirit coming upon him.  He looked at me and said “I can’t believe how accurate your word was to me...I’m amazed.”  This man went away from this meeting with a renewed encouragement of what God was doing in his life and that he wasn't just getting "weird" by being so tender.

Later that night I received the beginning of a vision for a prophetic team leader but felt I should wait before speaking this to him.  I prayed for more revelation regarding the brief vision I had received about this man.  On the way to church the next Sunday, I began “seeing” more regarding this initial vision.  It was unusual to me because the entire vision revolved around a medieval setting.  The vision spoke of this man’s character, how he was being trained, and future purpose of his life.  That day I got to share with the leader what I felt God gave me for him.  I figured afterward that either this guy is going to think I’m totally off my rocker and I just blew my chance of having any relationship with this man or just maybe there might be something redemptive to what I shared.  So I asked “Did any of this speak to you?”  And to my surprise he said “totally.”  He then related to me that if I had asked him to describe what God’s call was on his life and what goals he has, he would have related it to me using medieval pictures and language.  He thinks that way all the time!  Oh that was so cool.

A few weeks ago the Lord gave me a vision right before I went to bed one night.  In this vision I saw Jesus standing on the water and he was looking at me sitting in a boat.  In the vision Jesus reached out his hand to me, but he didn’t say anything.  But as I looked in His eyes, I could hear a message coming from His heart.  His eyes said, “Come walk on the water with Me”.  I didn’t exactly know what He meant by this at the time, but I wrote it down and pondered its meaning.  Just this week God showed me more about what He meant by this.  I was reading a book by Steve Thompson called “You May All Prophesy” and in the book Steve relates that every time we prophesy its like stepping out of the boat and walking on the water!  We don’t know if we’ll sink or walk; but if we keep our eyes on Jesus he’ll catch us and lead us.  

So how about it?  Want to walk on the water?  The Lord's body needs to be encouraged and strengthened.  It needs you and I operating in the gift of prophecy.

I believe God is calling many in this generation living to come walk on the water with Him.  In the last days, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy... (Joel 2).

Experiences in New York

Over the past 12 years I have had to travel on occasion as part of my job.  In August 2012 I had to travel to New York to work at a large bank.  I always look forward to these trips, because I use them to seek the Lord and to share the gospel with others.  The way I see it, I could watch endless episodes of TV shows and sit in my room or go and pursue others with the good news.  Believe me its much more thrilling and living on the edge to share the good news!

Picture of me with Ironman in NYC...I got to pray with Ironman in the middle of Broadway.  Hey, did anybody know that Ironman's real name is Stephan!

I thought this would be a fun blogpost to share some of the experiences I had while in New York and pursuing others with the good news.

On the ride into the “Big Apple” I started talking with my cab driver.  He had an unusual accent so I asked him where he was from.  He told me Bangladesh.  I didn’t know exactly where that was so he told me his country shares a border with India.  Not knowing much about Bangladesh, I asked him was his country primarily Hindu and he said no, it is a muslim country.  I made small talk with him about what life was like in Bangladesh and asked him questions about his family.  As he was talking, I was asking God to please help me share the gospel with him.  

So I started talking to him about the difference between what Christians believe and what Muslims believe.  I told him about Jesus and how both Christians and Muslims believe Jesus came from God.  He had a lot to say about that subject, but it was good to get him talking and thinking.  As I talked to him, I felt my own inadequacy, but I called on God and trusted that the Holy Spirit would help me be a witness to this man.  I asked him if he had any assurance that when he died, he would be in heaven.  He told me no.  I then explained to him the big difference between Christianity and Muslims is the assurance of salvation.  This was a wonderful segway into telling him what Christ did on the cross.  I asked him if he wanted to be assured of where he would live for eternity.  And he said, “Yes, I do”.  Hallelujah, I led him in the sinners prayer and he was born into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.  All the while, we did this while driving through the streets of NYC...and no accidents!  Ha!  As I was getting out of the car he told me how happy he felt.  He was smiling and filled with joy!  He then said to me, “Don’t tell my other muslim cab drivers, they’ll kill me if they find out what I did.”  God will help him, I know!

One afternoon for lunch I asked the Lord to give me a divine appointment.  I wanted to meet with the Lord.  Whether this was an appointment to share Him with others or for God to just meet with me...it didn’t matter to me...I just wanted to be at an appointment with God.  So I prayed and asked Him to lead me. I started walking and after several blocks and passing several lunch spots I turned into a local sandwich shop. After getting the sandwich I sat down and to my amazement there was a guy singing and playing guitar in the shop. He was playing the secular song named Hallelujah! Lol! I knew I was in the right place then. I asked God to give me a word for the young man playing the guitar. And He did. So I told this young man what the Lord gave me and he just sat there in wonderment.  I told him about what brought him here to NYC and what God was about to do in his life.  I prophesied to him that God has called him to be a worship leader and that he would be going through a course of events very soon to change his life and bring him into the destiny God has called him to.  He wants me to correspond with him. Very cool!

One night I walked the streets around Broadway and prayed with a few people God led me to.  Nothing remarkable happened that I saw...but isn’t that the wrong way to think about this.  I think from heaven’s perspective its remarkable that anyone is sharing anything about God’s kingdom.  We never know what God will do with the seeds that we sow.  Sometimes we are in the process of sowing and sometimes we are in the process of reaping.  A farmer doesn’t always reap...he can’t.  If nothings been planted, nothing will grow.  So I look on these times as planting times.  I got to plant much more when I was there than I got to reap.  But that’s ok...the jobs in the Kingdom Farm all pay the same...Eternal Life and Joy Unspeakable and Fullness of Glory!!

One young woman I will always remember.  She was sitting on the sidewalk with a sign saying, “Hungry, Poor, Homeless, Need Help!”  So I stopped to talk with her.  I knelt down and shared as best I could of God’s love and what He’s done in my life.  She seemed distracted.  I think I must have been distracting others from helping her, so she was ready for me to leave...I don’t know; maybe she just wasn’t ready to her about the Kingdom.  She was 21...and looked very depressed.  I gave her some money and prayed for her.  What will happen with her?  I keep praying for her.

On my last night in New York, I prayed and was spending time with Jesus in my room.  And on this occasion, the Lord gave me a vision.  In it I saw Jesus standing on the sea and looking at me as I sat in a boat.  He didn’t say anything, but as I looked into His eyes I clearly could see a message in His eyes.  He said to me “Come walk on the water with me.”  Oh my, how that has affected my heart.  God is calling us out of our comfort zones!  He’s calling me out of my comfort zones.  But don’t be afraid, He will catch you.  Come walk on the water with Jesus.  His eyes won’t turn away from you...he’ll keep you...you might sink a little but he’ll not let you drown.

Confirmation of August 17, 2012 Post

On Sunday my family and I went to
All Nations Church in Fort Mill, SC. Pastor Chavda spoke briefly before having his wife come and speak. Pastor Chavda spoke of the privilege we have to live in this age as we will experience the greatest out pouring of God's spirit to ever occur on the earth. I was so thrilled because both he and his wife were emphasizing this point which was the subject of my August 17 posting. Go God! And get ready!!

Revelation - Part 1

The advance of truth in the church is correlated to revelation God brings to the church.  For example, Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 35-108) once received a vision of angels singing in alternating chants.  He then took this and helped introduce antiphonal singing in the church - alternating choirs singing back and forth.  This type of singing is the foundational notion for what we call stereo music and surround sound.  Yet in the ancient Hebrew tradition, this type of singing was performed with psalms and other scriptural writings.  Ignatius helped restore this gift God gave to the church and man through revelation from God.  

Before Martin Luther, the church was stuck in doubt regarding the security of salvation.  There was tremendous darkness on knowing who was saved and going to heaven, and how one could attain this.  But from Luther and many others in his time the proclamation of the doctrine of grace and the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross came forth.  Now, the majority of protestant churches proclaim and live by this truth.  And all the time, these truths were evident in the scripture, but not understood...revelation was lacking.

It wasn’t until Paul came along that the gospel became actively proclaimed to the gentiles; yet it has always been God’s heart to do so...see Jonah, Solomon, Daniel and Moses for examples.

God wants to break through with more of His life in the church and in your life particularly.  God’s truth is advancing.

I’m witnessing in my life time the restoration of God’s power in the church.  God has always intended for His body (the church) to be His representatives on the face of the earth.  He has always intended that His body operate in love, joy, peace, etc. as well as other attributes of His spirit...healing, visions, miracles, prophecy, signs and wonders.  For whatever reasons, doubt and unbelief have kept a majority of the American church ignorant of God’s available life.  But that is changing; more and more the body of Christ is being restored to evident truths in the scripture.  There are several churches and individual ministers in America operating in power gifts.  It has become more common for each city in America to have a group of believers who operate in some degree of these power gifts.  That couldn’t be said 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 150 years ago, etc.  In fact this type of language or practicing of God’s power gifts a few hundred years ago would have incited riots and accusations of heresy.  Hey, that doesn’t sound too far off of what Jesus was accused of.

I believe what we are witnessing is the beginning of the resurgence of what God released 2,000 years ago on the day of Pentecost.  And yet, what was released then was just the “first fruits” of the full manifestation of what God intends.  Why do I say first fruits?  As a body, we have yet to enter into the fulness of what Jesus commanded when He commissioned his disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, and make disciples of the nations.  There are several instances in the scripture as well as throughout the progression of the church where a truth was introduced and gave immediate blessing, and yet the fulness of that truth didn’t come out until many years later.  Christ is an awesome example of this.  The idea of innocent blood being shed for guilt to be removed was introduced by God in the garden of Eden.  Yet the fulness of what God intended was released much later when a babe was born in a manger and then later crucified in innocence for the remission of sins.  As mentioned earlier, God has always intended for the gospel to be preached to the gentiles however the fulness of this revelation didn’t occur until Paul came on the scene.  And in many ways, this ministering to the gentiles is still being expanded today. 

I feel bad for those who have been around ministers who have abused the “power gifts”.   But to encourage those who have been hurt, God has never abused anyone...He is perfect and right in all His ways.  There have been some major abuses and many minor ones...but in some ways this to me is a normal outcome of a church growing and stretching and learning.  Luther wasn’t perfect in his doctrine, but he began the process of entering deeper revelation.  We are in the process of birthing deeper life and if we’ll hang in there the harvest we reap will be more than can be imagined.

How can we participate in what God is doing?  By asking God to open our eyes...by hungering for more of Him...by reading again what God openly proclaims in His word...and by not being stubborn.  God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Pressing into the Promise

At the Voice of the Prophets (VOP) 2012 conference, there were several great speakers and many great messages.  I know that I received a blessing from each of them.  But the two messages that impacted me the most was from Larry Randolph and Graham Cooke.  Larry emphasized how God was moving in the “suddenly”; that this is a year to posture our hearts and lives for God’s next “suddenly”, and that God is about to move in unprecedented ways in the earth.  Graham Cooke’s message was that we need to lay hold of God’s promises and prophetic words that He has given us.  Graham emphasized that prophecy is not an event but rather a calling from God to enter into a divine process to become that which God has declared.  I believe these two words were divinely sent for my heart to lay hold of.

Larry’s message was so timely for my wife and I because of how God was “suddenly” moving us from Pittsburgh, PA to Charlotte, NC.  We moved to Charlotte at the end of April 2012.  In fact it was just two weeks before coming to the VOP conference that we had sold our home in PA and bought a home in NC.  God moved so quickly that I felt like I had to sprint just to keep up with Him.  This move was so not on my radar up until a month or so before we put the “fleece” out for God to confirm things for us.  My wife and I had labored in the ministry for the past 12 years in the Butler, PA area.  We had founded a home church during that time, then got connected with a new church plant.  We led youth ministry,  an outreach ministry, missions ministry, and had led a move in prophetic evangelism.  We had prayed for some time before hand and felt in our spirits that God was speaking change to us; but we had no idea what form that would take.  Then we received so many sudden changes and door openings and literal miracles in such a short amount of time.  It was no mistake that God was calling us to move to Charlotte, NC.  It was such a God thing.  

God has moved in our life to geographically posture us in the place where He will reveal move of His divine destiny for our lives.  I also am focusing on posturing my heart for God to speak to me.  SInce the conference I have been often pondering the messages I heard there and have been walking in a renewed focus on what God has been speaking to me.   

Graham’s message is a challenge to my heart to believe and pursue.  I’ve had a tendency in my life to seek after God but then believing that God was interested in blessing others but not so much myself or family.  The last several years in the Pittsburgh region were years of a lot of sowing but not much reaping.  I think this put me in a state of hearing God’s word and speaking it or showing it to others, but not believing it would come true in my life.  Graham emphasized that God’s promises and prophetic utterances are not as much an event as a divine invitation to enter into a process that will transform us into His image and become that which God has spoken.  I have received many prophetic words over the years, some which have been manifested in my life and many others that have yet to occur.  I have seen the first fruits of some of these prophetic words, but the fulness of them is not yet manifested.  

I especially was encouraged by the thought that when God declares to us that which currently is not, He is saying that we will survive the “transformation” process that is needed for us to inherit the fulness of the promise.  When God spoke to David he would be the next king of Israel, David had no idea what awaited him and what he would go through before sitting on the throne.  I suppose if David knew everything at the time, he might have hesitated and not embraced what God said.  Thank you Jesus, that you don’t show us everything!  I’m beginning to appreciate more God’s wisdom in hiding some things from us.

In Hebrews 11, we have a picture of ordinary people accomplishing extra-ordinary things because of one thing – faith in God. They were persuaded by God’s promises, God’s word. They didn’t quit although difficult circumstances were in their lives.  They kept pursuing the promise because they maintained the vision of what God had said before them.  We know in reading about their accounts in scripture that several of them had doubts, made mistakes, and battled discouragement. Yet at the end of the day, when the curtain was going down and their day had drawn to an end, they ultimately decided to believe. These in Hebrews 11 have run their course.  Their test is over.  But our race is yet to be completed.  In my heart I hear God saying that wherever I find myself “around the track” there is still opportunity to run hard and win. So…how about it?  What will be my legacy?  I hear God saying “Do hard things!  Believe what God has said about me!  Be extra-ordinary!  It’s only a matter of persuasion!”

After hearing Larry and Graham’s messages I went back and began reviewing the prophecies God had given me over the years.  Graham encouraged us to read them often and recite them before the Lord.  Enter into a divine conversation with God about them.  Whenever we receive a word from God, God is giving us an invitation to begin dialoging with Him about these words.  What is so amazing about God, is that when He speaks, the words evolve over time and take on new meaning.  We can hear a word from God that we received 10 years ago and at the time think that we know all that God wanted to communicate.  And then review it again and the word takes on a whole different dimension than what we previously understood.  

When God speaks, His words are full of life and a well that never runs dry.  It keeps giving life.  Very similar to this thought, the Lord gave me a dream a few weeks ago where the Lord said to me, “David don’t you know that there are 850 points of grace?”  As part of the dream I saw a diamond turning over showing the different facets of its cut and shining brilliance.  With each turn, something new and brilliant shined that had not been seen before.  I don’t think God was telling me there are 850 different angles of grace, but that I need to consider that there are many aspects of His grace that He wants to show me.  He is calling me to live in new dimensions of His grace than what I had previously considered.  God’s word is an unfolding abundance of blessing.  It makes absolutely perfect sense to stand on His promise and pursue them even if we happen to be going through a dry time or difficult period where we are tested.  Soon, He will reveal more and cause us to see where we have not seen before.

On June 2nd I woke to the Holy Spirit telling me, "You are exceedingly rich."  I have all the promises of God saying to me that they are “Yes! and Amen!” in Christ.  He has given all these promises so that I might be a partaker of His divine nature.  He is calling me into His God life...a realm that supersedes natural laws and earthly thinking.  He has told me “I am rich” because I’ve heard the wonderful report and I am pursuing Him.  How rich is the man who has God as his divine mentor?  Its the fathers good pleasure to give us His kingdom.  I want to see more of the manifestation of God’s kingdom through my life.  And I believe that I am just on the cusp of seeing God’s glory revealed so much more acutely in my life.

Psalms 145:10-13 says that “All he has made will give thanks to the LORD. Your loyal followers will praise you. They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom; they will tell about your power, so that mankind might acknowledge your mighty acts, and the majestic splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.”  We get the privilege of speaking about God's glory and his power.  Guess what that means?  He's going to reveal His glory and power to all His loyal followers!  I'm pumped cause that means more divine encounters for us!  We get to prophesy and testify of the glory of the Lord.  He has made us for this!  This is our moment!  This is our time!  We shall shine in His brightness because He has declared it to be so!

Mediocrity vs Royalty

One of the key battles that every man and woman faces can be summed up in this thought...will I settle for mediocrity or will I press through to royalty?

We are tempted to settle for something less than God’s best for us...often to satisfy a temporary craving.  The craving will actually go away if we submit to God in the storm of temptation.  Yet the consequences of our choices in these moments of testing can be destiny changing and long lasting.  There are enormous consequences to the path we choose.

For Saul, it only seemed fitting to bring Agag, former King of the Amalekites, to his royal dining hall and make him grovel under his table.  Wasn’t this the accepted custom when one king defeats another?  Yet this decision cost King Saul the throne he had grown accustomed to (see I Samuel 15).  Shortly after Samuel delivered God’s message to Saul that the kingship would be taken from him, God directed Samuel to go and anoint Saul’s replacement as the next king of Israel.

You might consider this to be cruel on God’s part, but consider that God is not a man and does not behave rashly.  His patience is unsearchable and His wisdom unsurpassed.  This decision by God was a result of God knowing all that was in Saul’s heart and how he would not yield to God.  The Lord gave Saul an opportunity to reign, but Saul didn’t recognize the importance of following hard after God.

Here is an interesting thought.  What would God have done if Saul had truly repented?  Could there have been a turning of God’s intention?  Would Saul be forgiven and given another chance?  Jesus, who is a reflection of God’s own character, taught his disciples that we ought to forgive an offending brother 490 times in a day if necessary.  I think the answer is obvious...of course God would have forgiven Saul.  But Saul never turned to God with all his heart.  There were times when the spirit of the Lord came upon Saul to help him yield himself to God; but these times were short lived episodes and not a lasting way of living for Saul.

This story is a good illustration of what we face in our lives.  We have the call from God to reign with Him.  He has made us kings and priests unto Him.  The Lord has clothed us with the robes of righteousness and has granted us to be co-heirs with Christ in His kingdom.  Now we are in the middle of choosing whether this calling becomes our pursuit or if we will settle for satisfying temporary cravings.

Kris Vallotton in his book Supernatural Lifestyle states that if we are to walk as God’s royalty on the earth, it is incumbent upon us to:

• Pray Unceasingly
• Give Sacrificially
• Dream Unreasonably
• Serve Wholeheartedly
• Love Unashamedly
• Walk Innocently
• Believe Undoubtingly
• Live Powerfully

Notice that this list focuses on things we must do, it does not focus on what we should not do.  A person who is merely religious focuses on what shouldn’t be done; but a man who is walking in relationship with God is focused on pursuing the king with positive actions and intentions.  Saul was caught in the vortex of religious thought...he was worried that his life was being restricted and he was missing out.  He could only see what he wasn’t supposed to do.  His mindset was hopelessly consumed this way because he wasn’t interested in pursuing relationship with God.  Oh what a tragedy this type of thinking can be.

As Christians we are the most unique beings of God’s creation.  We were made out of clay and we have been infused with the Spirit of Christ.  We are vulnerable, yet possessing the eternal.  God is in us.  We are anointed to manifest His glory on this earth wherever we go.  We are mandated to preach the gospel to the entire earth.  And we have been equipped with the same Spirit which raised up Christ Jesus from the dead.  We have the same spirit that was with God when he created the heavens and the earth; the same spirit that moved upon the Red Sea and part it is the spirit that God has put in us to fulfill his mandate.

So, here are some questions for you to ponder.  Have you settled for something less than God’s royal calling?  God can forgive you if you turn with all your heart to Him.  Is there a place in your life where you know God is asking you to lay it down...but you have been hesitating because you can’t see what life would be like on the other side?  God can give you sight as you step out in faith.  Are you stuck in always thinking of what a Christian isn’t supposed to do?  I want to introduce you to the most creative and loving being in the universe.  He has much to discuss with you.

Christians should be the most creative and innovative beings on the face of the earth.  We are the only ones who have the spirit of the living God dwelling in us.  Yet in many ways the manifestation of the church in our day has been dull and lifeless.  It’s time to rise...it’s time to dream...it’s time to believe...it’s time to pursue.  

Come out of mediocrity and enter into royalty!