Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. (Mark 2:4)

Why would these men dig a hole through a roof and lower their invalid friend through it to sit at the feet of Jesus?  I would suggest to you that they had an “expectation” that God would touch their friend through the life of Jesus.

One of the most powerful fuels to motorise the work of God in your life is “expectation.”  When you live in the place of expectation then you are saying: “I believe God and I believe what He says that He can do, He is going to do.”

Whenever I go to a place to minister, I expect God to move and I expect Him to move on a grand scale in the lives of those that come to the meeting.  I am never certain what He is going to do but I know that He is going to do something and everyone will know that it was God who did it when it occurs.

There are dozens of potential miracles in the making at any one moment.  I would not want to assume that I understand everything that might occur nor would I want to limit God to my own limited desires of the supernatural.  My expectation is that He will move and that He will do it in His own way.

If God wants to heal around me, then He can do it.  If He wants to heal a very broken heart, then He can do it.  If He wants to send thunder, lightning or winds into the meetings, then He can do it.  I am comfortable with gold dust, oils, blood signs, and aromas occurring in my meetings.  I live in the expectation that something will occur and because of this I have been seeing so many signs and wonders take place around me that I could not dare tell you how much I have seen.

Recently I was a part of a series of meetings in which I brought together many of my revivalist friends to see what God would do.  I knew that these friends carried certain kinds of anointing on their lives, particularly for healing, and I further knew that If I brought them together these things would occur in the meetings, and they did.

I have one friend that through time has been used by God to pull people out of wheelchairs.  He has a gift to bring healing to very difficult physical cases.  I expected God to use him this way, and God did.  One of the greatest miracles in those meetings occurred through his life.  For that I was very thankful.

Our expectation that God will operate is the fuel that ignites the supernatural.  Now I want to be careful in stating this because God is sovereign and can do whatever He wants whenever He wants.  God is not limited by my belief or unbelief, but those who believe see many more miracles than those who don’t believe and I would state that those who expect see more still.

I just want to be a reporter in the midst of what God is doing.  My expectation is to be in the place of revival or the atmosphere of His presence.  I long for it more than anything else in life.  I would do whatever God desires me to do to stay in that place and that is the truth and God knows it.

I would ask you this day, “What is your expectation?”  If the truth were told, do you expect God to do the miraculous?  If not, seek Him and ask Him to show you what He can do.  He can change “unbelief” to “belief” very quickly.  I have seen Him do that many times.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us… (2 Corinthians 1:20)

I have had a number of friends lately write me to tell me that they are going through intense storms in their lives.  I understand the storms.  They come into all of our lives, but the way through those storms is not to focus on the dark clouds and thunder and lightning of the enemy, but on the promises of God for your life.

Recently I was preaching in Lacona, New York for my good friends Sonny and Melody Rudd.  They have a tent down on their property and have meetings throughout the summer months.  Just as I was about to get up and speak, a tornado-like wind came onto the property and the tent started to go up into the air.

For a moment I didn’t know what to do: should I stop preaching or should I preach through the storm?  People started to run all over the tent reinforcing the supports in case the tent collapsed.  One lady ran out into the field where the sun had just set and the rains and winds were crashing into the tent and began to pray in the Spirit for the storm to cease.

I stood in the middle of that tent just waiting when two friends of mine began to tell me that they thought I should preach through the storm, and so I did.

As I began to speak, my mind raced back to the promises of God for my own life.  I knew that this storm was not going to take me out because I knew that God had much in store for my life.  I began to focus on those promises in the face of the crazy winds, and as one of the main poles began to give way I knew I would not be hurt.  There were four salvations that evening.

And that is the way we must be in the face of the dark clouds that rise upon us.  We must be bold and hold onto the truth that God has spoken. When the enemy comes with lies and depression and anxiety, we must speak in the face of these things and command them to cease.

Just last night I was driving to pick up a friend for supper.  On the way a rainbow appeared in the sky and was bursting through a dark cloud.  Just above the rainbow an opening appeared in the dark clouds and you could see fluffy white clouds and blue sky behind them.

I began to hear God say that we are entering a season of the heavens being opened and the promises of God being poured out.  I believe that you also are entering that season and that you should not give up when the darkness comes because God is about to break out over your life.

Just last night my mother had a vision and saw an angel move into her house and all of a sudden people started arriving with many precious gifts for her.  I believe that God is saying that He is releasing the angelic hosts on your behalf and that prosperity in every form is about to pour out over all of our lives.

The world around us might be in for some dark days, but Christ is rising over the lives of true believers.  Many will see the light through our lives in this season because God’s blessing will be very pronounced.  May God bless you all.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine… (Psalm 33:18-19)

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:12)

About a week ago I saw in a vision the eye of God.  It was an ancient eye filled with great wisdom.  His eye stayed on me as I looked at it.  It was like I could not escape it.  It was intimidating, fascinating and wonderful at the same time.

I never thought deeply about it except that I knew that I had a truly beautiful vision.  When I started to tell others about what I saw, they relayed the above two verses to me.  That is when the wheels within my head began to turn.

I had been sowing a lot of money into my ministry work and I had a sense that I was about to go into a famine in the natural.  Now I have sown a lot in the past and know what it is like to have breakthrough afterward, but I guess I was a little wary of what could happen next.

I never saw Psalm 33 quite that way before.  The Lord keeps our soul from death and keeps us alive in famine.  I know now everything will be fine because the eye of God is on me.

And then I got excited when I saw 1 Peter 3:12 because I felt the vision also meant that He was going to hear my prayers and my prayers are generally for God’s people to be revived.  I felt He was going to revive His church and that everywhere I go this will happen.

When you know that God is with you in all that you do great boldness begins to take over your life.  When God shows Himself to you and says He is with you, then you begin to act and pray differently.

What we need in this hour are people with faith who understand that the eye of God is on them.  We need people to get a revelation that God is going to fight their battles and that when they stretch themselves to accomplish great things for God then he is going to act on their behalf.

God is looking to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him.  Are you loyal to God?  If you are, then He will make Himself strong in your life.

The strength of the Lord in your life is a powerful testimony.  The strength of the Lord allows me to say that God is on my side.  I often tell people to look at my life and what He has done for me.  Can people see the hand of God on your life?  They see the prosperity in me and my children, they see the good health, joy and strength inside of you.

Do you trust God?  Do you know God?  It is not a judgement if you don’t.  I am asking you this so that you will seek His face because as you seek His face He will reveal Himself to you.

You will become what you meditate upon.  Are you focusing on all that is negative in your life or are you focusing on God?  When your worship is to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords then great joy and peace will enter into your life no matter what storm comes your way.

Turn to the Lord today and confess your weakness.  He will make himself strong in your weakness.

In essence there are two ways that we can interact with God.  We can receive from him or complain against Him.  The Lord has been speaking this strongly in my spirit over the past two months.  He wants to remind us that in order to please Him, we must receive from Him.

All of us have times when we complain to God, but we must continually remind ourselves that the Creator of the universe has our entire lives in His hands.

It always amazes me how God has the answers to all my problems.  When I address my prayers to Him, He opens up a way where there seems to be no way.

The Israelites complained in the desert and this displeased God and they did not enter into His rest as a result.  God wanted so much for them to enter into the Promised Land which He was offering freely, but their murmuring in the desert kept them from it.

Many of us have had tremendous promises that God has spoken into our lives.  Many do not realize that God intends to help us inherit them.

We have only to remain in faith to inherit them.  When we complain and murmur, we live outside of faith and this can be dangerous.  We can end up going around the same mountain over and over again as a result.

Two people can live side by side and hear the same things from the Lord. One of them enters into the promises of God and the other one simply watches the other inherit them.  God spoke into both their lives and told them what He wanted from them.

One believed and inherited the promise. The other did nothing and ended up with nothing. Esau did not understand what God wanted to give to Him, but Jacob did and thus he became father over Israel.

One person receives the promise from the Lord, while the other complains and receives nothing.

I have had people proudly say that they are not people of faith and therefore settle for less than nothing.  As a result they live unfulfilled lives complaining about it to God and wondering why others have passed them by.

God is not pleased when we stop believing His promises.  There were some virgins who were prepared for the bridegroom when he came and some that were not.  The ones that were not prepared were not excused when the time came to enter into the feast.

Which virgin are you–the one who prepares by filling up the lamp with oil or the one who is lazy and does nothing?

The time will come when you will be held accountable.  Did you receive from God or did you complain?  He knows all things.

As you advance toward your destiny, it is my prayer that you will choose to receive and to refrain from complaining. You will be blessed beyond belief!

I believe that we are in an hour of the rising of the supernatural graces of God over His people.

Just last night I had a vision.  I saw a minister that I know walk into a hospital and begin to pray for the sick in such a way that many were healed.  The gospel was being heard all over the hospital.  I was on the fifth floor and this man of God was ministering in the emergency ward.  You could hear his voice all through the hospital.

I went down to where he was preaching and over 100 people were touched by the power of God.  Some received his word as if it was from heaven, while others considered him a curiosity and something to be ignored.

We are in the hour of the rising of boldness.  The rains are falling from heaven in a most awesome way.  Last year we experienced drought.  The earth cried out for rain.  This year the rains have come and drenched the earth.  In Canada we are seeing major floods within our cities.  When we cry out for rain, the Spirit of God eventually waters His people.

God is coming to touch His people and those that believe and are bold are going to be a part of a mighty move of the Holy Spirit.  This move will not be limited to the Church.

The coming move will take place in the streets.  It will be just as common for people to be forming prayer lines in public spaces like stores and gas stations as they do in churches during revival meetings.

God is able to make all grace abound to you.  He has been shouting this to me for weeks.  We must step into the place of His spirit and let Him bring the renewal that we need to become vessels of His glory.

Two night ago I saw the Promised Land.  As I approached this new land in the spirit the powers of darkness tried to stop me, but I made it in.  When I saw the trees and the hills of that land I can truly say that this land was like no land I have ever seen before.  It was flowing with milk and honey.

We must battle in the spirit and march around our Jericho towns in order to enter into the promises of God.  We will not labour in vain.

A few nights ago I heard Michael Krysty speak and he said that wherever we put our feet to in this hour God is going to take the land.

And then I began to pray and ask God to expand my imagination so that I can see the land that He wants me to take.  Open up my eyes to see the harvest God and show me the methodologies to march forth with the army of God.

Don’t give up hope now.  We are entering the greatest harvest this world has ever known.  Get ready, people of God.  You have been labouring in the fields but now your time has come.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:10-11)

“Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart…” (Psalm 24:3-4)

When mankind ate the apple in the garden, sin entered into the human race.  Sin is like a snare that holds a person captive until the hunter called death comes to take life away completely.  Sin leads to death.  It is because of sin that we die.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  To have a pure heart then is opposite to having a sinful heart.  A sinful heart is a dirty heart filled with every foul wind of evil and hopelessness.  When I live under sin, I succumb to hatred, anger, rage, despair, anxiousness, lust, gossip and every other form of godlessness.  My intents are always evil and never good.

To walk in purity is not possible when we are not in Christ.  I remember that before I was in Christ, I was aware of my own sinfulness and evil, but I could not escape it.  Every time I tried to get myself free from the evil that bound me, it seemed that I would go deeper into sin.  My sins seemed to have a way of escalating and were never satisfied.  My sinful heart sinned more and more and the weight of it broke me.

I was not born to sin.  I was born to worship God.  The feeling of sin in a person’s heart is too much for them to bear.  A young person starts out with much hope of freedom but without Christ true freedom never arises, hopelessness enters in and they die from the weight of it in the end.

I am barely going to scratch the surface of the idea I am trying to create today, but there is a purity that comes from above that only comes upon man by a supernatural grace.  There is a fire that comes from heaven that burns in a man’s heart to set him free.

The gospel of Jesus is the key to purity.  When I receive Jesus into my heart, it opens the way for the fires of God to pour forth from the throne of God and over my life. True purity comes from above.  An angel came with a coal of fire and touched the mouth of Isaiah and he became clean. (Isaiah 6:6)

Purity, then, comes from the throne of God.  I need to be baptised in fire in order to walk with a pure heart.

When I seek the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind, He reveals Himself to me. Purity starts with a cry from the heart to see God.  Such a cry sets heaven in motion and God orders His fire to be poured out over man in such a way that true liberty and purity arises in his heart.

And the joy of that liberty is not something easy to explain, but rather you need to experience it.  I will say that when the baptism of Fire occurs and purity is gained, there is such lightness of heart.  You are no longer bound by guilt, but are free.  It is like your innocence is renewed and you walk with a lighter step upon the earth.

I pray that you will experience this fire today.  Call out to God and say, “Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  And it is my experience He will do exactly that for you.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:29-31)

There are times when it seems that all the odds are piled up against you and to actually step out into something might be a mistake.  And yet, inside you can hear the voice of the Lord saying “Get out of the boat.”

The safety of the boat can represent our hidden fears of failure.  It can represent our social anxieties, our need to be acknowledged or honoured.

There are many things that can keep us from stepping out of the boat, but it is only when we do step into the unknown that we can become something much different than before.

Can you imagine how Peter must have thought after he walked on water?  It must have changed him from the inside out.  It must have been exhilarating and he must have had a new idea of his life and his ability to do great things.

There are times that I have stepped into the unknown and not had any idea if I was going to sink or swim and yet because I trusted God and stepped out anyway I gained a testimony of God’s provision or supernatural power in the spot of my own weakness or lack.

It is when I learn to trust God with all my unknowns that I begin to accomplish great things for Him.  These are the steps of the spirit and each one is like walking on water.

Walking in the spirit is walking into the unknown and trusting God to become the rock beneath our feet that keeps us from sinking beneath the wind and the waves.

We learn to trust Him in many ways: with our finances, with our health and with our families.  We learn to trust Him even when our enemies seem to be surrounding us and gloating over us.  We learn to trust Him when our friends turn their backs from us and it would seem that we are all alone.

Have you ever had to step into something brand new?  Have you felt the pain of the unknown and succeeded in the face of it?  That was the day that you grew into something new and exciting.

God is calling you to step into the new and unknown today.  Will you take a giant step for Him and trust Him to become the rock beneath your way? This is the life of  faith.

But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God. My times are in your hands.” (Psalm 31:14-15b)

Did you know that every moment of your life is like a grain of sand in the hands of God?

I once saw all of my times in a vision.  I saw each memory in each moment of time lined up side by side like bubbles.  In my eyes the memories seemed infinite, but all of them together were held in the hands of God.

I looked and saw all my good memories and all my bad memories in that one place.  Everything wicked and everything evil that had ever happened to me did not pass the eyes of God unnoticed.  He saw what occurred and had set a plan in motion to redeem every moment in every time of my life.

I saw that many of my memories appeared like black bubbles. Then I saw the finger of God touch these bubbles and watched as healing flowed into and over each memory.

This is the redemption of God.  He can take any life and redeem every part of it.  He can heal every body, soul and mind.  There is not one person that is alive who has experienced the deepest pains of life that God cannot touch and bring healing to.

I recently was in Newfoundland and passed the place of some of my most painful memories and in their place I saw peace and joy.

In one place in particular where I thought I was going to die, God touched me and I heard the voice of angels sing and saw the Father walk into the memory to heal my brokenness.

He can do the same for you. In every place that you have suffered throughout your life, God can bring healing.  God is not limited to our linear process of time.  Even now God can enter into the ancient memories of your life and bring His peace and joy into the place of your deepest pains.

Your times are in His hands.  Your most painful times are as close to Him as your most incredible Holy Spirit filled moments.  Will you let Him touch you today?

Christ said that He was preparing a place for us where He was and that He was coming back to bring us there.  Each day He prepares this place inside of us when we walk with Him and talk with Him.  The Holy Spirit sanctifies us and cleanses us of all evil.

I pray that today you will turn one more corner with Christ and let Him wash more fully over you.

You will be amazed by what a difference it makes as you advance further on the road to your destiny!

I think that we are in the middle of a very interesting prophetic time.  Last week I was in Texas.  As I was preparing to speak on my first evening, I heard the Lord say that He was about to ride the rain clouds over the nations and that they would experience His glory in the earth and in the seas.

That evening as I was beginning to speak, a rain cloud burst over the building where I was preaching.  The thunder and lightning that came with that storm was intense.  The rain was heavy.  I believe the Lord was showing in the natural what was about to occur in the supernatural or spiritual realm.

Just before the recent flooding in Toronto, I spent a day painting.  Two of the paintings looked like rain was bursting and one of them actually had flooding around houses.

The Scriptures I got in conjunction with what I believe is occurring were Psalm 50:1-6:

The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:
“Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.

And Luke 3:3-6:

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’

This is the hour of the Rising of the Lord.  He will come like fire to those who are not prepared to invite Him into their hearts.  He will come like the rain to those who gladly receive Him.

I am prophesying that evil will be wiped out in the path of the Lord’s coming.  People have defamed His name. They have called evil good and good evil.  The Lord is not pleased how people have justified all forms of sin and justified it by saying that God supports their lifestyles.

The Lord is coming to make His name Holy.  He is sanctifying His name among the nations.  A great sweeping is going to take place as the floods rise to vomit evil from the land.

The land is not pleased with the evil that roams upon it.  From every corner of the earth there is a crying out or groaning taking place.  People will come to know who their God is.  There are those who say there is no God who are about to worship the one true God.  He is going to visit those who didn’t even seek Him and they will become the ones to carry the cross into the earth.

Yes, we are indeed in the midst of interesting prophetic times. As those advancing into their destiny, you and I are called to prepare the way of the Lord—in the dry heat of the wilderness and through the waters of the flood.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Bill Johnson wrote a book called “When Heaven Invades Earth.”  I just love that title.  To me it speaks about the essence of what is good and holy beginning to embody all that is human.  Each day that we are alive is a day that we can live in the hope of this coming to pass – our persons being filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

Not that any of us has obtained the full measure of the goodness of God.  I am always amazed at my own lack of faithfulness and goodness.  There are times when I am worn and tired that I become somebody whom I don’t really like.

Recently I drove 16 hours from Nova Scotia to Ontario.  Toward the end of that long trip, my wife and I stopped for dinner at a fast food restaurant somewhere in the heart of Quebec.  We were about 3 or 4 hours from home.

My four sons, my wife and I were very tired after so many hours on the road.  The boys were especially tired of sitting in car seats the entire day.  I just wanted to continue driving and not stop so that we could get home and sleep the night in our own beds.  After 3.5 weeks on the road the thought of this was a luxury, but my wife wanted us to eat.

While sitting at that picnic table eating one of my sons had a very public bathroom accident.  Instead of using the potty he used the picnic table that we were sitting at eating our dinner where literally dozens and dozens of people were watching.  My wife and I were shocked.   What was worse one of our younger sons started to play with it.

We were both very tired and I was particularly somewhat irritable.  This was not what I wanted to be facing in this moment at all.

It took us ten minutes to get everyone cleaned up and back into the van.  That is when I decided I really needed a coffee, so I went back into the busy restaurant to line up for one.

Two people came into the line after me and butted their way in front of me.  At this point I got upset.  I jumped back in front of them and told the shocked lady at the cash that it was their fault and that they should not have butted in front of me.

I got my coffee, but certainly didn’t feel very good about myself.  I wasn’t kind.  In this raw state of living I had become someone I didn’t like.  I ended up laughing with my wife about the ordeal as we drove on, but the moment struck me as one to remember.

We all have areas in our life that are not renewed and each day as we pray, we need to be seeking God in those areas of our life.  There are dry areas, bitter areas and even downright mean areas that we need to give to God.  Through repentance we become more like Christ.

In that moment I wasn’t happy with whom I was, but I was thankful because I had an area I could give to God and ask him to water with His Spirit.

I pray for you today.  I ask the Lord to touch you and to bring healing to your broken areas.  I ask Him to open your heart in such a way that peace and joy begin to bloom in your life in a new way.  May the refreshing of the Lord overtake you like rain on a warm summer day.