Day 8: Acts 5:17-41

“Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I love proclaiming it.  There is such liberty and freedom in the message.  But you should now that in the time that I have been ministering for the Lord many people have tried to stop me from speaking.

I remember one time I was pulled into a room by a group of people I was ministering with.  They told me that I was a money hungry preacher who needed to repent because I was lying about the miracles that were taking place in my ministry for money.

These kinds of things happen and they have a way of throwing you off because you realize the people do not understand your heart at all.  In fact if the people truly knew my heart, they would realize that this is far from being the truth.

I have had people try to shut me down many times through the years.  I have been ignored, overlooked and under-rated.  I have had demon-possessed people show up at my meetings and make a display.  The enemy has tried to keep me out of cities.  I have countless times almost been in accidents while driving into towns and yet I am still here.   I have almost been shot and I have been in danger a number of times.  I have gone sleepless nights and days but I keep preaching the gospel, because I know that God is with me and signs and wonders will follow.

In fact God seems to increase the power every time I am opposed.

There are regions that are in my heart so firmly that I do not care about the opposition that I face in those regions, because I am determined that I will have a harvest there for the Lord.  I keep going into them even though they are dark, knowing breakthrough will surely come.

Men may oppose you, but don’t worry about it.  Just continue to preach the word and let God defend you.

Many of my decisions in ministry have been opposed by those around me, but I must follow the Lord’s lead and not man’s.  I leave my opposition in God’s hands for him to deal with.  I just figure that the people will realize that I am a servant of God when they see the signs and wonders and fruit of my ministry and if they do not that is their problem and not mine.

It is not about me that I make the decisions that I do, but my decisions are made in prayer with the leading of Christ.  He is the one my heart wishes to please and not man.

Just know that if this is also your heart then God will protect you and promote you in the earth.  Nothing in hell can rise against you and no man can stop you.  God will continuously bless you.  The scripture says that he will give you a table of food in the presence of your enemies.  They will see God operating through your life, so continue preaching for the gospel’s sake.

Day 5: Acts 4:1-22

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. (Acts 4:13-14)

I am certain that if you have been in charismatic circles long enough, you have heard this passage preached many times.

You know the story.  Peter and John are on their way to the temple when–bing, bang, boom–up rises a cripple from the ground when prayed for in the name of Jesus.  This simple declaration and prayer completely messes up the religious spirit in that place.  The leaders who just wanted a normal little church service now have to deal with some things.  Possibly they were bent over in pain not knowing how to proceed because of the mess the apostles had made.

A miracle had taken place.  This much was obvious.

Miracles and signs and wonders have a way of legitimizing the name of Jesus and the persons who preach in His name.  It is not about the person preaching, but about the Name. The person who is filled with the Spirit simply declares in the Name believing that things will take place and they do.

A lot of the times the message could seem hard to an audience.  People don’t want to hear about God’s grace or His mercy or how He creates from nothing, so He backs up the truth of what is being said with a sign and wonder.

When I get up to preach, I just open my mouth and speak.  I am not concerned if the audience before me likes what I am saying.  In fact many get up and walk out as I preach.  I find this funny because if they really knew me, they would like me.  I am a nice guy, but the words are too much for them.  It comes against their mindsets which are firm.  Many of them believe lies which have more power than God in their lives, so when confronted by the truth they run because the truth is too much for them.

People will tell you not to speak in that name.  They will tell you that you are too bold or you shouldn’t have said this or you should have been kinder with that, but the bottom line in our job as men and women of God is to say what God tells us to say.

The true preacher has a fear of God in them and will say what he/she says because they don’t want the people in front of them to walk away without knowing the truth.  There might be a little self-interest in this for the preacher.

The Lord often tells me to read Ezekiel 3:18, which says, “When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.”

When such a word is in your heart, you preach because while you might not understand the full implication of what it means to have blood on your hands and for these souls to be lost for eternity, you certainly do not want to be responsible for it.

I know this is a tough word, but you just need to preach.  It is not that I don’t feel fear, but rather I fear God more.

So I pray for you today and ask God to strengthen you and empower you to speak even when you feel fear. I also pray that signs and wonders will follow you when you do speak in Jesus’ name.

 

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Day 2: Acts 2:1-21

This passage of scripture is probably one of the most exciting in the entire bible.  When I read it I am filled with awe and wonder at the mighty work of God.

This passage says that “a sound came out of heaven, like a mighty rushing wind that filled the entire house” (Acts 2:2).

Think about the construction of this thought for a moment.  It says–emphatically–that the sound originated out of heaven.  There was no question in their minds.  It was no man- made sound.  Those who encountered it understood undeniably that the source of this wild wind was heaven itself.

This is pretty normal when it comes to encounters with the Holy Spirit.  The one who encounters heaven is never the same.  Doubts have a way of disappearing.  Thoughts have a way of changing, especially those that are opposed to the ideas in the word of God.

This sound produces a radical shift in character and in beliefs.

“Peter stood up and raised his voice.” 

Only 50 days prior he was a coward when questioned about his relationship with Christ.  He denied his Lord three times.  His character encountered this sound from heaven and then he begins to proclaim the gospel with power.

Paul on the road to Damascus was a hard covetous sinner.  He was a murdering, legalistic Jew bent on destroying anything in the path of his holy orthodoxy, and yet when the sound came out of heaven, he was changed instantly and became a brand new man.  The rest of his life he recalled that encounter to congregations, to religious leaders and to kings.

We need to pray and ask God to open the floodgates of heaven and let people experience the sound of heaven all across the earth. In fact we need to advance as the army of God into the earth, trusting the sound will meet our feet on the path toward destiny.

This is the way I go out in ministry.  I know that wherever I go, the sounds of heaven will come with me.

We need to leap up like Peter and boldly proclaim the message of Christ.  The sound of heaven is the message of Christ and when we proclaim it without worrying about those who might oppose it, it has a way of producing that which it was sent to do.

There are times when I preach that I simply pray: “God you better come because what I just said needs backing up with power from on high.” That is when the sounds of heaven come and people are changed from the inside out.

It is not about me, but it is about the sound that God wants to make in the earth.  When we encounter it, it transforms us and we are never the same.  We couldn’t even be the same if we tried.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

One of the more interesting ideas presented to my mind recently is that God can be found in the contradictions of theology, meaning that there is truth presented in all Christian ideas of God and yet each is only a glimpse of His total being.

Theology is man’s pursuit to understand a God who is understandable and unknowable at the same time.  Each time we examine a part of God’s nature we come to see Him a little more, and yet the polar opposite idea of who He is can be true at the same time.  I can hear you saying now, “My God what a strange thought!  Are you saying that the Roman Catholic and the Protestant expressions of faith are both correct?”

Yes, I am.  I am trying to suggest that each has only embraced a glimpse of His nature.  God is highly organized like the Catholic Church in hierarchy, and yet He is also very much free-spirited and non-hierarchical like the house church movement.  Each expression of the Christian faith is really a prophetic glimpse into the nature of our God.

God is both near and far at the same time.  He is both loving and severe.  He is both father and mother.  He is Jesus, the Son of Man who could be hung upon a cross and the One who sits eternal upon the throne with fire in his eyes.  He is like the fire, but he is also like the rain.  He is in the earth and in the sky.

We can understand God by making generalizations about His character and by describing what He isn’t.  He is both the seed and the tree.  He is the beginning and the end.  He roars like a lion and yet is as meek as a lamb.  He is in the light and he is in the darkness.

As soon as you think you understand God, He reveals Himself to you again.

I have had encounters with His humility and His severity.  I know what it is like to desire Him near and to desire Him to be far off.  I know what it is like for His Spirit to touch me like a gentle rain and I know what it is like to be completely bent in fear by His presence.

There are some things that we know about God.  We know what He calls holy, because it is defined in His word.  He will not argue with you about what constitutes sin.  You cannot negotiate with Him.  All you can do is turn from sin toward Him.  You can have one or the other, but not both.

And yet God is with the saint and with the grossest of sinners at the same time.  He is touching them both, drawing them closer, constantly in communion with each.

He is with the Republicans and the Democrats.  Wherever man lives, God is found in the midst of them.  And while we may not understand how this might be, God is comfortable with each one of us and our differences, even when we war with one another.  He is in the prayers of opposing forces.  He is in the prayers of opposing teams. He loves each one the same.  He loves you enough not to let you stay in the place where you are currently. He is drawing you deeper unto Himself, constantly feeding you His manna from heaven.

God is in the contradictions, and as we embrace the contradictions, we come deeper into wisdom and into God.

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.  For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.  All nations will come to your light;     mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” (Isaiah 60:1-3)

I am sensing urgency in this hour.  I believe that God is about to move in glory across the nation of Canada.  I feel that He will open the eyes of the blind and heal the ears of the deaf.  He is going to make the lame walk and the oppressed will be set free. All of this is for His glory.

No man can hope to share in the glory of God. While the Word does say that the righteous shall be known in the earth (this is the blessing of Abraham), it won’t be for their own glory or the glory of their churches that they will be known, but for the glory of God.  When He shines they will shine.  They will be like rarefied jewels under the glory of His brilliant presence.

It is easy to think that a jewel has value in itself, but a stone such as a diamond is beautiful, not in and of itself, but because of the way the light interacts with it.  We like to put such stones underneath the sun to see them sparkle and glow in their natural glory.

The righteousness of Christ shines in those who allow Him to touch their lives.  They become the fragrance and brilliance of His righteousness for the world to see.  This righteousness is not their own, but a gift that comes from God.  They get to share in His Glory as He shines inside of them.

There are many people that come into my meetings: the hungry, the curious, the distracters and some who have no idea how they got there at all.  When the glory of God begins to move, sometimes people get up and walk out of the meeting.  In one recent meeting with 40 people, 10 walked out as the meeting progressed.

I was in another place recently where there were a number of demon-possessed people.  When the glory came down, they started getting antsy.  A spirit of intimidation rose up in that meeting.  When the evil spirit began to speak calling the glory a lie, I rebuked it and told it to be quiet.  When it persisted, I removed it from the meeting.  Afterwards healings began to break out.  One lady who had a migraine headache for three weeks was healed.

There was a young man in another meeting around the same time who saw glory dust upon his hands and his hat. You could see the Holy Spirit at work inside of him.  He was being touched and impregnated with faith.  As his heart was touched with joy and faith, his mouth began to proclaim praises to God.

We cannot allow intimidation to hold us down.  We must continue to seek the Lord.  We must become a habitation for His glory.  Only then will we see the move of Christ that we have been longing for in the earth.

I was in a meeting with one of my colleagues recently when the glory showed up and he saw it.  That Sunday he went to church for the first time in a long time.  He is still filled with joy today.

The devil, if he could, would stop these manifestations of glory completely. But I continue to press forward for greater manifestation, because I know that this will not only change individual lives, but entire nations.

So rise up, dear DWOD friend, and begin to press into the glory realm. Then watch as salvation flows into the lives of those you love.

I remember lying on the floor of the Toronto Airport Church in 2007 crying out to God to impart to me whatever happened in that place.  This was my first time to Toronto since the revival broke out in 1994. I had been a prodigal until 2005 and did not experience the revival fires that burst there, but in my heart this was not going to stop me from obtaining the prize.

Lying there I went into an open vision. I saw myself as a priest within an orphanage. I was running down a hall and turned a corner where there were many orphans waiting to be loved and accepted. They jumped into my arms when they saw me.

 

It was a wonderful vision but I had no understanding of what it meant. I wasn’t familiar with what occurred in Toronto enough to understand that what I was seeing was the Father’s heart. I believe a big part of the renewal was the birthing of many fathers and mothers into the earth.

 

I have become a better father since that time.  My track record, if displayed, is appalling.  I abandoned my two daughters at a very early age. I wasn’t there for them at all.  My own addictions and demons kept me from really being there for them.  As a result our relationship is cold at best.

 

With my sons I have tried harder.  I didn’t know how to be a good dad to them, but I was determined to be there for them nevertheless.  Through time I have understood that fathering is about helping our children believe that they can.

 

Two summers ago, my son Joseph learned to ride his bike, with me running beside him shouting “You can do it.”  He didn’t think he could, but at one point as I was looking him in the eyes, he began to realize that he could.

 

I had a similar experience with my son Jonathan last summer.  I was teaching him to swim.  He kept saying to me, “I can’t do it.”  I kept telling him he could.  After hearing me say it many times, there was one time in particular that he looked me in the eyes as I was saying it and I knew that now he wasn’t just hearing it, but believing it.

 

I also had the same experience with my youngest son just this week.  He took his first 6 to 7 steps looking me in the eye and running toward me.  I kept saying “come on, come on” and he kept coming.

 

As a father I want to instill in the hearts of my children that they can do anything that they put their minds to do.  When I was young, my mother used to say this to me and I believed her.  I remember telling my mom one time that I wanted to be like Billy Graham.  I even remember the exact spot we were standing when it was said.  She looked me in the eye and said to me, “and you can do it.”  I knew she meant it.

 

As parents we want to unlock the limitations over the minds of our kids.  We want them to feel free to express themselves and to try to accomplish things they think they can’t accomplish.  I am not talking about forcing them to do something you want them to do.

 

The way I try to do this is that I come alongside of them to see what they are doing.  When they need to hear it, I tell them that they can, and they often do.

 

Now I pray for the fathers to rise up in the churches to do the same with their spiritual children, to look them in the eyes and say: “You can prophesy, you can heal the sick, you can cast out demons.” The Father will be pleased.

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Proverbs 4:18)

I was attending Bible College in the early 1990’s when I was challenged by a story someone told me of Billy Graham who reportedly read one chapter of Proverbs every day. They further challenged me to do the same thing for one year, and so I did.

Proverbs 4:18 entered my heart in those days. I have always been fascinated with the sunrise. I remember as a teenager in one of my science classes, for one of our reports the teacher asked us to get up early to describe the sunrise.  I don’t know if I ever submitted that report, but I do remember falling in love with God’s creation at dawn in that moment.  It was the first sunrise I had really considered.

Just this morning I was up early to go to work.  I went to the gas station to fill up my tank before my 50 kilometer drive downtown.  As I started to pump gas, I glanced up and noticed the sun just piercing the sky in the distance.  In the two short minutes that it took to fill my tank, I watched the sun break the sky and become full circle on the horizon.

This scripture in proverbs came to my mind in that moment.  The word has a way of coming to the surface of our experience when it is planted firmly in our hearts through reading and meditation.

As I have meditated on this scripture in times past I would often think of the breaking of dawn as something negative–as in, my life will be more brilliant come the full light of day, but for now I will have to settle at my light being dimmer. 

But as I watched the sun rise this time I looked and saw how much light was in the sky.  There was enough to see everything for miles around. The darkness was indeed gone in the coming of the morning light and while the light would increase as the day moved ahead, the morning sun had succeeded in pushing back the darkness.

Even when we are new in Christ, our light shines brightly.  Anyone who has watched a rising sun knows the brilliance of that moment–how you have to squint and look away quickly in order to enjoy the break of dawn. You cannot continue to look into it because there would be too much light and pain for your eyes. You glance and then you glance away in order to glance again. You cannot miss the sun rising in that moment.  It is there in all its glory.

I just want to encourage you today. Perhaps you feel brand new or perhaps you feel like you lack maturity in Christ.  Just know that if you are in Him and He is in you, then His brilliance is in your life. No matter how imperfect you might be, whenever someone in darkness sees you, they squint at the brilliance of your rising life.

Bad theology, unbelief!  Call it what you want, but some people just don’t understand our miracle-working God.  There are some who believe that all miracles ended when the 12 Apostles died.  There are other people who claim everything is a miracle even when it isn’t. But neither of these extremes changes the fact that we serve a miracle-working God.

 

There are times when I stand up in a church to speak and I can tell that the people just don’t want to hear about the miracles that I have seen.  Sometimes I tell them anyway.  I guess I am trying to snap them out of their complacency.

 

There are some people who operate in miracles, signs and wonders and have seen God do tremendous things, but when a new miracle begins to occur, they are very uncomfortable with it.  They have faith to believe that God can heal the sick, or raise the dead but they do not believe that Manna or Angel Feathers can fall in a meeting.

 

I understand where they are coming from.  I remember the days before I ever saw gold dust, I was pretty skeptical about it.  I wondered why God would do such a thing, and truthfully, I still do.  But He does do these things and when I experience them, I am in awe.

 

There are people who feel that we will be led astray by signs and wonders.  They often quote the scripture in Matthew 24:23-25 that says:

At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time.

 

They emphasize the part about false prophets and signs and wonders.  In fact they are quoting this scripture out of context, because this passage is speaking about people who come claiming to be the Messiah performing signs and wonders and saying that is evidence that they are the anointed one.

 

The people I see performing signs and wonders are giving glory to Jesus as the Anointed One.   I remember at a meeting in Texas a woman came forward and we saw gold dust on her hands and on all of her family’s hands, including her husband’s.  I said to her, “How does that make you feel?”  She said, “I now know that Jesus is real.”   The sign pointed her to Christ as Messiah, not me or any other person.

 

You see, signs and wonders follow the preaching of the gospel (Mark 16:15-17).  Signs and wonders followed the disciples.  Strange signs like clothes that touched their body healing the sick.  Some of them floated into the sky.  Others walked on water.  Jesus told Peter to go to the shore to get a coin from a fish’s mouth to pay taxes.  Jesus also multiplied the fishes and the loaves feeding thousands.

 

Jesus said that we would do greater things than He did (John 14:12). In another passage it says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  Jesus lives inside of our hearts and is still performing mighty signs for the world to see.  If you only believe, all things are possible.

 

I am like a child in my father’s arms looking at the stars for the first time every time I see God perform a new miracle.  It is exciting–so exciting–for me.

 

Dear DWOD friend, I pray that signs and wonders will follow you as well on the road to your destiny and draw many to Christ.