Monday 28 June 2010

What Can God do in your life?

A while back I wrote asking how big is your God. Now the Lord is speaking about us releasing our ‘bigger’ God to do what He wants to do. I had almost a valley of dry bones experience this morning when the Lord asked me, “What am I able to do?” I answered it by saying that “You alone know Lord.” And He said “You are right. Tell your people not to limit Me.”

I thought about this for a second or three. Do I limit God? Do I ask Him to do much less than He is able to do? Why do I do that? Why do any of us say to God “This far but no further.” Maybe it’s because our minds could not cope with the true enormity of our God. Maybe we just don’t realise what He can or could do in our lives – if we let Him.

Look at what He was capable of a wee while back. He parted the Red Sea to allow, what, two million people to pass through before closing it again on their pursuers. He parted the sea !! – you know I don’t really think our minds have gotten hold of that one yet. Later on, He took Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones. He pulled the bones together, put flesh on them breathed into them and brought them back to life !!

So what is it you are limiting Him from doing in your life? You know He will not let us carry a load that is too much for us to bear. You know He does not choose anyone for any task that He does not equip them to do. You know He does not give anyone a Word to speak that will not achieve what it was sent out to do. Do you know that Christians are sometimes the most unbelieving people. What is the first thing they say when confronted by a real miracle? “Oh my God – I don’t believe it!!” Where is the faith in that ???

Listen to me now – The precious Holy Spirit is so much more able to do than we are ever able to imagine. Learn to just stand back and allow Him to move in your life and ministry. He is so much more capable than we realise or believe. He is so much more willing to do for us that which we do not realise or believe.

Please just LET GO and LET GOD. What can God do in your life that you are limiting Him from doing right now? Let Him do it and you will be amazed. Build your own faith and JUST DO IT.

Friday 25 June 2010

Report on RoFMI Visit to Norway 17 to 21 June 2010

Not such an early start this time as we, Keith and Jean, left for Norway on the 8.25 am flight from Stanstead, arriving at Oslo Rygge airport at 11.35 am Norwegian time. There we were met by our hosts, Leif and Karin Sophie and her son, Nils Michal. After about half an hour's drive through the lovely countryside in brilliant sunshine we arrived at their home and were treated to a sumptuous breakfast on the patio prepared for us by Karin Sophie's youngest daughter Isabelle. Some time to chat and get to know each other and share something of what the Lord has been doing in each of our lives, then down to ministry, first to some members of the family.

On our first evening we went for a short walk to the edge of the Oslo fjord which is about ten minutes from their home.

As with Chris's recent reports much of the five days in Norway was spent in personal ministry to individuals, which for reasons of confidentiality cannot be shared, but we can say that we saw the Lord move powerfully in the lives of each one. Each day we talked and prayed with two or three people, sessions taking between 2 to 3 hours where the Lord revealed many deep hurts, some going back to childhood and before, and He ministered His healing into those wounds, setting them free from curses and demonic oppression much of which had come down the generational lines. One thing which stood out was the number of instances of suicide occurring in the families of those we prayed with. Maybe this is representative of something over the nation?

On Friday evening a number of people from the church gathered in Leif and Karin Sophie's home for our teaching on Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare, and we were greatly aided in this by Rose who interpreted for us into Norwegian. Both Rose and those who listened had great 'staying power' as there was a lot to be packed into the one evening session and the two coffee breaks were very welcome. Everyone seemed to be listening eagerly and many expressed their appreciation for the teaching. At the end we gave the opportunity for anyone who wanted to take part in a corporate prayer to cancel out any legal rights Satan and his demons may have had in their lives, including breaking of curses and cutting off things that had come down the generational lines and then expelling demons from them. Everyone present took part and we believe many were set free. Some asked for further prayer and came along for individual sessions with us during the next few days.

On Saturday evening we were privileged to enjoy a family barbecue to celebrate the engagement of Karin Sophie's eldest daughter to Aaron (not sure of the spelling) and also his birthday and to meet Leif's son and daughter and their families. It was also good to meet up again with Robin who had set up the visit for us. We took time out of the celebrations to pray with one of Leif's grandchildren and it gave us great joy to see the change in her countenance after the prayer and ministry.

On Sunday we were able to minister to two people who had been at the Friday evening teaching and the Lord brought some deep healing and release to each of them. One had suffered so much brokenness and trauma in her life that it seems incredible that she could have survived and still walk around with a smile on her face. Such a testimony to what the joy of knowing and walking with the Lord can do in a person even though those hurts and pains were there deep down.

Later we met with a beautiful young girl who was so shut off from her emotions she felt that even God didn't want to know her. As we prayed through incidents in her life that she shared with us the Lord revealed that she had made an inner vow never to let anyone close to her again. This was not a conscious thing but something that had happened subconsciously because of trauma and had not only caused her to push people away but God also. It was very hard for her to repent of this but, because she wanted to get free, eventually she was able to get the words out and immediately there was a remarkable change and a smile on her face at last. We pray that God's love will now be able to warm her and melt the ice that had formed around her heart.

On Monday we were at last able to spend some time praying with Karin Sophie, who had been so busy up to then providing us with wonderful meals and drinks every time we emerged from ministry sessions, and also with her daughter. Then last of all a young man who's life exhibited every indication of a family curse. The enemy had stolen everything from him, so much so that he could not even maintain a job because he was so sick and drained of strength and energy all the time. The Lord revealed several curses and areas where the demonic had taken control which were dealt with and we then commanded that the 'thief restore sevenfold everything that he had stolen'.
We look forward eagerly to hearing the results of the ministry in this young man's life and in the lives of all those we were privileged to meet. We feel so humbled by the fact that people we have never met before are prepared to share such deep things in their lives with us and trust us to minister to them. We praise God for the gifts He has given us and for allowing us to be a part of what He wants to do in people's lives.

We are also so thankful to Leif and Karin Sophie and their family for welcoming us into their home and making us feel a part of their family. It was so good and uplifting to share in their enthusiasm for what the Lord is doing.

So there was just enough time to have a last meal with the family and Robin before we were off to the airport to catch the 10 pm flight back to Stanstead. Amazingly the plane actually took off 10 minutes early and landed in Stanstead at 10.25pm English time, 45 minutes early. Peter and Glenys were still on their way to pick us up, Peter having only arrived home himself from Denmark at 10 pm.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

RoFMI Visit to Denmark 18 to 21 June 2010

Two teams – one to Norway and one to Denmark !! That’s a new one for us to have two teams on simultaneous visits. This intrepid reporter went to Denmark so I will concentrate on that for now and tell you about Norway later. Six of us went in two cars to the airport fairly early on Friday morning and arrived in Billund Airport in Denmark around 10:00am to be met by Michael, our host, and Frank. Their mini-bus was sufficient for all of us so we all piled in and drove to a town called Middelfart, which means the middle way, and which is just about as central in Denmark as you can get.

We went to the church where we met Heidi, Michael’s lovely wife, and their children. We then deposited Jean & John with them before Peter, Ruth, Keith, and I went to stay with Dan and Greta our lovely personal hosts – about a mile away. Now let me explain here that only about 20% of what we do on these trips is reportable so I can only give you a flavour of what happens. So – the four of us (Peter, Ruth, Keith, and I) went on to Frank & Helge’s house/building project about 15 km away. I say building project because they are 6 months into a rebuild and complete refurbishment of an old farm house and stable block. When finished this will be a beautiful home for them and their four children – and sheep , ponies, dog, and cats. Wonderful fellowship for an hour or two.

Back at the church in the evening for fellowship with some people from the church and where Peter spoke briefly on the coming revival – signs and prophecies about it and generally preparing folk for the impact it will make to their lives. One word given was this – “Get ready to train your teams for the time of preparation is coming to an end. This is for the shepherds as well as the flock for some shepherds I will pass over – I have told them and told them and they have done nothing.” How will revival come? Through ordinary repentant people like you and me !! God cannot use us unless there is repentance. Do you think God will bring people like Reinhardt Bonnke here to bring revival? No – he will use ordinary people like you and me !! It is time to tell Satan who we are in Christ and not who he tells us we are. Satan is a liar !! It is not so much who you are but whose you are.

On Saturday morning we went to Jakob & Dorthe’s home for more fellowship where the Lord showed Peter a map of the Middelfart area and drew two lines across it – dividing it into three smaller areas. Various prophecies were given for them and their two lovely girls – one of whom ‘adopted’ Peter with all sorts of wonderful little gifts. We prayed for the whole family before lunch and then returning to the church for another open meeting on the prophetic and revival. A group of around 25 people assembled including our great friends Preben and Maureen from Korsor who were in the area on holiday. Peter spoke on the price of revival and of the prophetic ‘signs of the times’ spoken of in the Bible. Signs like the 11 year old girl who had a very clear vision of the return of Jesus – like the 10 or 11 year old children prostrated before the Lord under the power of the Holy Spirit – like the 86 year old lady who has been promised that she will not only see end time revival but also the Bridegroom coming for His Bride. We also heard about something absolutely unprecedented where in one church the entire leadership team stood down so that younger people could step up into leadership positions !! Peter also gave a word on John 21:15-19 “Do you love me?” Prayer and prophecy concluded the meeting.

Saturday night we drove to Sallinge to Pastor Saresh, his wife Eva and their children – all 7 of them – where we had a wonderful meal before their church joined us for an evening of praise & worship and fellowship. I spoke briefly about the gifts of the Spirit given to children being the same gifts that we adults receive. The Peter spoke about personal holiness and that judgement starts with the church – us – first. We need to clean ourselves first. He spoke of a vision of the harvest fields being ready but full of mice nibbling away to the harvest and destroying it. The enemy is trying to rob us of the harvest but we have the authority to stop him so we need to tell him to leave the harvest alone. Once again the picture of who we are in Christ – whose we are – came up. Jesus words – “greater things than these will you do” were emphasised. None of us is too old or too young to serve the Kingdom of God – whom He uses, He qualifies. The key is repentance and Peter used two examples from recent events in Norway. We got home a bit late early Sunday morning J

At church on Sunday morning we had a short time of ministry before lunch and then a more extended time after lunch. After anointed praise and worship, Peter spoke about Amos 3:7 where nothing happens without God speaks to his prophets first. Peter warned the church that there is a major move of God coming to Middelfart and the whole of Denmark. He went so far as to say that, if there is not a significant move of God within the next three months, then they may call him a false prophet and tell every church in Denmark and have his name banned too. That sent a shock-wave through the whole church. But then, he put up the town map and invited all who were prepared to pay the price of revival to join him and lay hands on the map and call for God to move in power in their town. He spoke of an Acts 2 series of events – that everyone in the town knows where their church is (it’s in the former mental hospital) and that it could become the focal point for all whom God calls to repentance and revival.

One of the people at the meeting on Friday was asked what they would be doing later. They said they would be watching the Denmark/Cameroon match on TV. Peter asked if he wanted to know the score – before the match began and he went on to say that it will be 2-1 to Denmark which was correct. Peter then used this as an example saying that if God could correctly give football results as a sign then why wouldn’t any other prophecy be fulfilled. Houses are being shaken too (just as they were in the Hebridean revival) – Yes even in Denmark! In Korsor where we went two weeks ago, people are reporting that their houses are shaking and that they are hearing strange noises from the sea – so much so that they have telephoned the military to find out what was happening. Then they returned to the home of the Christians where we had the outreach BBQ. Peter reminded the church of this; and that elsewhere, people are coming under conviction and seeking the Lord through the nearest Christian they can find. He said, “As in Acts we here are now in one room and of one accord – in agreement. If we give God our permission now, then He will move just as He promises in His Word.

Revival is not what we do, but it is what God does as a sovereign act – and we need to be ready. He then proclaimed the end of Satan’s authority in that town – he called for the Holy Spirit to come in power and fire to Middelfart in the precious Name of Jesus !!

After a period of ministry, we all departed for Peter and Anne-Lise two missionaries who have returned to the town for such a time as this. After this we went to Aage & Bente for more times of ministry and fellowship before concluding a wonderful Lords day with the church and people of Middelfart.

On Monday we drove out of town to Gurli & Helge’s lovely home for lunch and more fellowship. They have a beautiful home with a huge garden – it is two old houses joined together as one where they can accommodate around 12 people. There were several words of prophecy for them all before we came back to the church to collect all our stuff together and have a final coffee & cake session of fellowship together with Michael and Heidi and their family. A good flight home, a coffee with Peter & Glenys before I finally made it home too.

A wonderful trip – all praise and Glory to God \o/

Monday 14 June 2010

God is Everywhere

I was just listening to the radio the other day when I heard this psalm read out. It was one of those almost mystical Bible moments when I realised the beauty of the language and the wonder of the meaning of the Word of God revealed.

Just read it for yourself and marvel at the completeness of Gods knowledge of you and of how totally He has you covered by His presence with you. He is Omniscient and Omnipresent. There is nothing He does not know; nothing He does not understand; and nowhere He cannot either be found or find you. Nothing is too big and nothing fazes Him. There is nothing too hard for Him and no situation He cannot turn for our good.

Psalm 139 (NIV)

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Wonderful, wonderful words – incredible truth – comfort and ease for our souls.

What a mighty God we love and serve

Sunday 13 June 2010

How BIG is your God ?

Sometimes I really do believe that we undersize God. We short change Him. We totally forget just who He really is. We forget just what He has done. In short we virtually discredit Him by our lack of belief and faith.

I hear some of you saying, “Now wait a minute there buddy. . . . . .” OK let me try to justify some of my reasons by telling you just a fraction of what He has done and is still doing day by day.

Genesis 1 – God created heaven and earth – right ?? This little speck in the universe, the place we call earth, is one amazing place. Did you know that there are over 9000 species of birds; there are millions of species of insects, and the various animal groups, and millions more of plants mosses & lichens. Did you think God, when he planned and created all of these was a small god?

Then there’s the heavens. We can fit 1.3million of our wee earth into the sun, which can still burn us badly despite being 93million miles away. Our sun is a very small star – one of countless billions of stars spread over countless billions of light years of distance. When God created all of them – did you think He was a small god?

We have a great big God – the Lord God Almighty is His Name. Is there anything to hard for Him to do? Is there anything too complex for Him to understand? How can there be? He is the author and creator of everything including us. We are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. He has completely revealed Himself to us throughout history and particularly in the Lord Jesus Christ, Gods Son, who died for our sins and to bring us back to our creator.

His promises are sure – He wrote a whole book for us to follow and understand Him. His Word, as we call it, even tells us that His promises are sure. Just one example is Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

So why do we still doubt Him?

Why are our prayers spoken more in hope than in belief? “Oh maybe He’ll answer but maybe He won’t!” “Oh I do hope God hears us!” “I can’t see that He will do it – it’s too much to ask!” What sort of faith is that? What is the matter with us?

When we pray we should be expecting God to move. When we pray, we should know that He does hear our prayers and that He does answer us.

Why do we limit our great and Almighty God? He IS the Lord God Almighty. He IS a great big God. STOP making Him any smaller.

My God is a BIG God – how about yours?

Friday 11 June 2010

The Four Word Gospel

There is a very well known old hymn – ‘Praise my soul the King of Heaven’ – we sang it at my marriage to my late wife Linda. It contains these words as the third line of the first verse.

Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven;
To His feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King.

Oh the glorious truth in that one single line – the gospel in four simple words

Ransomed – Yes Jesus really did pay the price for ALL of our sin at Calvary

Healed – Yes we are healed in His wonderful Name

Restored – Yes we are restored to God the Father by His victory at Calvary

Forgiven – Yes, incredibly, we are forgiven too. All our sins ‘remembered no more’.

Oh what a gloriously anointed line – “Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven. “ I am rejoicing even as I type this out. I am filled with joy, with wonder, with awe at our wonderful saviour Jesus Christ.

A friend of mine was driving round possibly the second most dangerous junction in the whole of London. It really is notorious. Just as he drove on to the junction, this line was being sung on the radio. His hands came off the wheel and he began praising God with all his heart – then found himself safely the other side of the junction – on the road he needed !!

What a mighty God we all serve. What a wonderful four word Gospel !! Say it with me now Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven

Shout it out loud - Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven

Go on do it again - Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven

Let the whole world know about the Lord, Jesus Christ

OH HALLELUJAH \o/

Why did Jesus choose you?

I heard an excellent little comment in a sermon recently. It was one of those comments that, as soon as we hear it, we wake up a bit more. It is rather like a slap in the face with a wet fish  Yet it is so profound too. So what exactly was this great comment?

“Jesus didn’t call you to use you, no no no – He called you so you can learn to use Him !!”

Just think about that for a minute. There are so many who may not admit this, but they think it to themselves, “God called me ‘cos He needs me to do things for Him.” As the Word says, it is not by might nor by power but by Gods Spirit. He calls us so we can learn to trust Him and, by using His mighty Name, we can bring Glory to God.

We do all things to the Glory of God. The Bible even says ‘doing all things AS UNTO THE LORD’. So our job isn’t to help God because He doesn’t need our help. I don’t recall hearing Him say, “Oh how I wish I hadn’t made 10 commandments – there should have been 9 (or 11)” I don’t hear Him saying, “That was a dumb thing I just did.” No – Gods plans, actions, and timing are all perfect and He truly doesn’t need our help. Yet He does allow us to call upon His Name so that things can happen – and some of those things could make us look real smart. But He also requires that, whatever we “achieve”, we give Him ALL the Glory.

So we must learn to use Him. As I said earlier, “Jesus didn’t call you to use you, no no no – He called you so you can learn to use Him !!”

Let’s all learn to use Him more and more.

Let’s also remember to give Him all the Glory too.

Thursday 10 June 2010

RoFMI Visit Report to Denmark 3 June 2010

Another early start saw just Peter and I off to the airport at a very early hour of the morning. We were off to Denmark again for two events. A 10th Anniversary celebration and a gathering of pastors and leaders. That we squeezed much more than this into our time is almost a given these days but how much we can report is somewhat limited. The planned schedule is one thing, but what goes on behind the scenes is entirely another matter, and is probably 80% of the ministry.

So, arriving in Copenhagen at 9 UK time or 10 Danish time, we were met by Jens and Lotte Nielsen, our hosts from Stege on the southern island of Mon. We were to spend three glorious days with them. Glorious because the weather was wonderful and glorious because the Glory of God came to that place. They are building a habitation for the Lord right there is Stege and very soon the whole world will know of it. We had rather a relaxed schedule but we soon filled that in with home visits to the surrounding area of pin-neat and picture perfect little villages. What a blessed and idyllic spot !!

The first official meeting was at 7.00pm and we were entranced by the children (aged 2 to 11) leading us into a time of worship. There is something so powerful when children are encouraged to take the lead and we were all greatly blessed by the two ladies leading the children – their anointing was there for all to see. After the children left us we continued with anointed worship. I felt led to give Jens and Lotte a word about sowing and reaping. There is a cloud on their horizon and the rain is coming. This apparently confirmed very clearly a word Lotte had received at the new year and again almost repeated what Peter had said a couple of months ago – about neither of which I knew anything. Peter then spoke about the coming revival in the whole of Scandinavia – relating many confirming events, most of them being in which we have been directly involved. Several words of prophecy followed and Peter themed on Jesus last words in Mark 16:15-end. He reminded everyone that God does not lie and when He says ‘signs and wonders following’, then He means just that. Yet there is the price to pay for this and there is no pace for sin in our lives – no place for unforgiveness.

We eventually got to bed at 1.00am – a 21 hour day – and Friday dawned very bright, warm and sunny. We did two home visits to Brian and Yvonne, members of the Stege Church, and then to Mette, Jens & Lotte’s daughter. After lunch with Mette, she drove us all the way to Korsor, where our dear friends Henrietta and Lars who had an open BBQ for all their saved and unsaved friends and neighbours. After a ‘cautious’ start the whole thing went wonderfully well and everyone there was greatly blessed. Our new team member, Tonny, then drove us back to Stege for the final night of celebration. We got ‘home’ at around 3.30am – it was almost light; the birds were singing etc etc. Not much change there then – the usual RoFMI trip of long days and unusually short nights. The Lord is so good as He gives us His supernatural energy to keep going.

Saturday, we went to find Joanna & Simeon. I say we had to find them because the satnav took us the three places before we got the right one. The enemy really didn’t want that meeting to take place. Joanna had laid out a red carpet (!!!) leading to the gazebo in their garden – a sign of the respect that some people afford to the prophets in Denmark. We spent the whole afternoon there and they held another wonderful BBQ for us before we all came back to Stege for the final 10th Anniversary celebration. I felt very strongly that Jens and Lotte are ‘a heralds trumpet’ and that they will be heralding the coming revival to the whole area. Not just a beacon but the heralds of revival !! The main speaker this evening was Pastor Jens Garnfeldt from KBC Church in Copenhagen. This gifted man of God spoke about revival and how it comes and then, with Peter, ministered to everyone present. I received a powerful personal word which encouraged me greatly. A relatively early night at 01.00am.

On Sunday we bid a very fond farewell to Jens and Lotte and moved to Copenhagen for the second part of our weekend in Denmark. Tommy Joseffson is the owner of 5 TV channels and he had organised for a group of pastors and leaders from both Denmark and Sweden to gather together at his studios for a meeting. Little did we realise . . . . . After a short period of praise and worship, he invited Peter to take the meeting – that was at 11.20. Apart for a break for lunch we didn’t finish till just after 7.30pm – the longest meeting we have ever had. The time just went !! Peter was speaking about the price of revival and he illustrated it with anecdotes from his ministry. As I said – the time just flew by.

Then again on Sunday, we had another session with the pastors and leaders when Peter spoke about the price of pastoring – touching on issues that most pastors cannot share with anyone as they have no-one with whom to share these things. On both Saturday and Sunday, there were many words of prophecy and we were all greatly blessed by the fellowship and especially so by a couple of very moving moments of testimony and confession. As Tonny, our new team member quite rightly observed, “THIS is church”!!!

Then, finally, we went into central Copenhagen to where our very good friend Rene has just opened a Christian Café and he asked Peter to officially declare it open. So Peter duly cut the ribbon to the cheers of about 30 gathered friends and we launched a café. Isn’t God amazing? He has made this venture possible on a virtually zero budget and even as we fellowshipped and prayed together the good people of Copenhagen were peering in hopefully !! The text given was Matthew 22:9 “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” Very apt for René who is also a street evangelist.

So ended a wonderful weekend – and I cannot even tell you all about most of it !