The Day in the Life of a Healing and Deliverance Minister
It was 0 degrees Fahrenheit this morning with 25 mph winds, but inside the Champagne Vineyard Church, it was red hot. Seven hundred hungry people gathered to worship God and hear Randy Clark and Robby Dawkins preach. Last night, U.S. National Vineyard Director Philip Strout opened the meeting with a simple prayer of “Come again, Holy Spirit!” This morning, the Holy Spirit began falling before the sermon was done, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Here are two takeaways from this morning to chew on:
- God is looking for hungry people who will press in and not give up.
- When your level of desperation exceeds your concern over what people think of you, breakthrough occur.
Have you stopped pressing in? Has a need for respectability in the eyes of your family, your peers, or your church stopped you from doing whatever it takes to connect with God? If you answered yes to either question, it is time to pray again, “Come Holy Spirit!”
Randy, a former Southern Baptist minister, told how he was driven to desperation. Church was killing him. Ministry was killing him. The disillusionment of Christians who didn’t love the Bible or each other was killing his wife. Their marriage was falling apart. She begged him to leave the ministry and teach school.
Then God got a hold of him at a John Wimber meeting in Dallas, Texas. Beloved, pray to get hungry (Matthew 5:6)!
Nobody wants their life ruined. We do our best to do right, but sometimes our best isn’t enough. When we come to the end of ourselves, that is when mercy and grace intercept us. If you are at the end of yourself, this is the time for mercy. It is the season of visitation. He is come.
February 24, 2014—Los Angeles
For those who question why we need a deliverance ministry, the answer is simple. John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” Jesus paid for our freedom with His life, yet many believers remain bound with sin, old wounds, and demonic infestation. Some have misinterpreted this passage to read that if you are born again, you are free from all bondages and demonic influence. The reality is more nuanced than this. Jesus paid for freedom, but many have not accessed or stepped into the freedom He purchased. It is through prophetic ministry, inner healing, and deliverance that the freedom which was bought for us is released into a believer’s life.
I spoke at a training event this weekend in San Diego where many, many people were freed from food allergies, lingering symptoms of multiple sclerosis, paralysis, deafness (to name only a few physical conditions), and assorted non-physical conditions including rape trauma, sexual bondage, and various neuroses. Several people also told me of healing they received the last time I visited that church, including someone who was healed of partial paralysis due to a crushed spine.
February 28, 2014—Los Angeles
It’s been an interesting mixed bag of ministry encounters this week. On Monday, I was in Long Beach, teaching a class on ministry skills. On Wednesday, I was at Blessed South Bay, teaching on power gifts. Last night, I spoke at a Redondo Beach home group, teaching on distance healing and its relationship to miracles. In each of these places, I tried to coach the prayer teams that gathered around each person who requested prayer, rather than ministering myself. The Holy Spirit moved in each meeting, but the intensity was uneven. I have been thinking about this phenomenon: Those who are seeing more manifest power (however that is displayed) typically have a faith level that causes them to contend for the release. This is especially important when things don’t “just happen” the moment the prayer begins.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was Jesus’s proclamation (Mark 1:14-15), and it is also to be ours (Matthew 10:7). I don’t know why these particular words are important, but I have seen with my own eyes that proclaiming this message has a dynamic and catalytic effect. Second, when we announce the gospel of the kingdom, the Lord will work with us to confirm the message (Mark 16:20). He delights to confirm His word!