Encounters with God are intended for more than you!

Kris Vallotton poses the question …. “Did you know that your encounters with God were intended for more than just you?”

He goes on to say … within our Bethel community, when we talk about “God encounters” or “encountering the Holy Spirit,” it’s often to describe the transformative experiences believers have with the Lord. Yet, sometimes, we’ve limited these encounters to physical manifestations, overlooking the profound internal work He accomplishes within us.

For years, I grappled with whether I was genuinely encountering God or not. I observed others around me experiencing the Lord through what appeared to be powerful, physical encounters—falling down, being slain in the Spirit, and rolling over in uncontrollable laughter. However, my experiences with God didn’t manifest in this way. There were no physical sensations or overwhelming emotions. Yet, the truth is, I’ve encountered God ever since my salvation; He has met and ministered to me in ways that transcend physical manifestations of His grace. And I assure you, the same holds true for you!

If you’ve given your life to Jesus and been transformed by His grace, you are living under an open Heaven, crafted for the Presence of God. He is eager to encounter you! Moreover, a beautiful consequence of encountering God is becoming a conduit for others to meet Him as well.

TENACIOUS HUNGER FOR GOD

A thought from Ps Randy Clark

I want to share with you a powerful story that impacted me when I first heard it. It is about tenacious hunger for God. 

In the early days of my time within the Vineyard, I remember an afternoon when John Wimber called for me to meet with him in his office. I remember walking in, only to see John leaning back in his chair with a giant smile on his face. I sat across from him, as he looked at me and said, “Randy, who is the most anointed person in all of the Vineyard when it comes to words of knowledge and healing?” I thought for a moment, and responded “Well John, besides yourself, it would be Blaine Cook.” John looked at me and said “Randy, let me tell you something about Blaine.”

He then began to recall to me a dream that the Lord had given him several years earlier. In summary, the dream was about a powerful outbreak of the Spirit that would sweep the Vineyard as a whole, as the church went to the streets and began ministering to the sick. John continued from there to tell me about inviting Blaine into his office and sharing the dream with him. I should also mention, at the time of this dream occurring, Blaine Cook was not someone with a reputation for being used in healing.

However, once John shared this dream, Blaine became ecstatic. Overwhelmed with a desire to see this move of God, he stood up from the desk, and began asking when they would start going out to minister to people in this way. “Whoah! Slow down! It’s not time for that just yet. The people aren’t quite ready,” John said to him. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do!” But Blaine disagreed. The attitude that Blaine held was one of tenacity. Even though he was not seeing a lot of healing yet, he began to ask John to pray for him, so that God would release an anointing for him to go and see people set free according to the dream. Continue reading “TENACIOUS HUNGER FOR GOD”

Sold into slavery in order to minister Christ to slaves

John Taylor, Missions Director at Bethel Church recounts in a Leadership Minute that Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf – of the Moravian church said this of  Christ …..  “I have but one passion: It is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.”

Johann Leonard Dober was a potter and David Nitschman a carpenter. Men with ordinary occupations, but possessing an extraordinary love for Jesus. From these seemingly insignificant two, the Moravian missionary movement was born, that ultimately catalyzed the Great Awakening. In 1732, they heard about the plight of African slaves on the island of St. Thomas in the Caribbean. These slaves had spiritual hunger but no one to share the gospel with them. Johann and David determined to go to them by any means necessary, and sold themselves into slavery in order to minister among the slaves. As they stood on the ship departing from the wharf, they raised their voice and cried,
“MAY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN
RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING!” Continue reading “Sold into slavery in order to minister Christ to slaves”

Show me you glory

Extracted from Latter House Glory by Larry R Taylor © 2013

Moses had a personal encounter with God’s glory. There was nothing theoretical or hypothetical about Moses’ understanding of glory. He asked for it and He got it: a personal, tangible, life-changing encounter with the manifested glory of God.

Moses had a glory encounter. Peter, James and John had glory encounters (Matthew 17). Paul had a glory encounter that changed everything. He was knocked to the ground and nothing was the same when he got up. His purpose, direction in life, and even his name was changed (Acts 9). Remember the principle of the Kingdom? Ask, seek, knock. “Show me your glory, Lord.”

Everywhere Jesus went He manifested the glory of the Father. The tangible expression of that glory is that good things happened. Everywhere Jesus went sick people were healed, demoniacs were delivered and provision was released. Nothing has changed. Everywhere Jesus shows up He manifests the glory of the Father. Miracles, signs, wonders and supernatural events happen when the presence of God is manifested. Continue reading “Show me you glory”

The Imposter Syndrome

In a blog by Steve Backlund he says …… Imposter syndrome is a psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent, internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud. 

One of the things my wife, Wendy, often shares is this: “You can only receive what you believe you are worth.” Whether it’s finances, favor, or power, once we get blessed beyond what we believe we are worth, we tend to self-sabotage our lives back down to the level at which we believe we deserve to be.

I have certainly experienced this in my own life. When I’ve gone to a higher level, it has put pressure on the strongholds in me that want to limit me and tell me I am not worthy or capable. The “accuser of the brethren” (the devil) works with those strongholds and often uses negative comparison to focus on what we’re not rather than what we are.  Continue reading “The Imposter Syndrome”