So Who is This Rob Rufus?

Julie posted recently urging her readers to go and listen to Rob Rufus's online sermons. This is a call that I would strongly second! But it suddenly occured to me in the shower (where I get most of my spiritual revelations) that while Julie, myself and others may go on about Rob Rufus - some may not be aware of him. I wasn't until "Together on a Mission 2006" last year. So I thought it might be helpful to do a short post highlighting what an awesome servant of God this man is - especially those booked in to come to "TOAM 2007".

The best introduction to Rob is the interview with Nigel Ring in the Newfrontiers magazine. He is involved in a church in Hong Kong called "City Church International" and is part of an apostolic family of churches called; "New Covenant Ministries International" which was started by a man called Dudley Daniel. As soon as Rob Rufus met Dudley, the touch of God was heavy upon them. Rob said; "I got the shock of my life! I felt God say, ‘I have joined you to this man for ever!". The church in Hong Kong has grown primarily not through ex-pats but from people attracted to the message of grace. Shasher wrote very accurately; " ... if you want to learn anything about Grace... you've met your teacher!".

So he's a man of grace - but he is also a man of doctrine and earnest commitment to the Word of God. In every one of his four sessions at Brighton I learned something new from the Word of God. This broke one particularly bad sterotype in my mind - that a charismatic man of power cannot teach the Word and a teacher of the Word can't impart power! Terry Virgo himself said that he learnt a great deal of new material especially about the laying on of hands from one of Rob's sessions - and you can't meet a more ardent student of the Word of God than Terry! To me the fact that Rob Rufus can do this answers powerfully one of Terry's laments in an old Newfrontiers magazine;

"Why is it that we are so rarely privilidged to experience at the same time the manifestation of the Holy Spirit´s power and true respect for the Word of God?" - Newfrontiers magazine - August/October 2002

Finally you cannot deny that he is a prophet of God. He listens to God and God speaks to him. That was one of the first things that caught my attention about Rob. I was listening to a sermon of Terry Virgo preaching at Church of Christ the King and he mentioned this man who had come to Reading and conducted some meetings with unusual success and anointing. Rob then went back to Hong Kong and God told him he would be invited to speak at a major conference and that would be evidence that God was going to move upon the United Kingdom in power. In his own words (from the Nigel Ring interview).

Nigel Ring: You referred earlier to what God was saying about 2006. Can you expand on that?

Rob Rufus: I came to London in November 2005. I was praying in Richmond Park and suddenly felt the clear voice of God saying He is going to come with a visitation of His glory to the British Isles. It may seem unlikely or wishful thinking but I just felt it so strongly. He said He was going to call me back and have some involvement in facilitating, in a small way, some of those things. Something would rise up within these British Isles. It would be for everyone who is hungry for God. It would require people to look at wineskins to avoid another charismatic movement that will run for a while then burst.

Prophetic ministries around the world are picking up an excited expectation of something significant. This time, hopefully, we won’t have a Philistine cart with our Uzzahs and Ahios. We will receive this visitation with a lot more reverence and honour who this is for. This is for the honour and pleasure of our great God, not to make certain movements more famous or our churches grow faster. This is to see the glory of God come into the nations that multitudes can be saved".

So if you are a broken-hearted, wounded Christian who has been bruised viciously by the evils of legalism then Rob Rufus is the perfect teacher for you. Just scroll through the Archives of his ministry. You'll find the word "Grace" a lot. Rob wrote this concerning his son Ryan's excellent book on indwelling sin (it isn't free for much longer!). He said;

"When we understand our position in Christ the Spirit of liberty can with supernatural sequential increments of glory transform our condition while keeping us secure through the process".

If you are not sure whether God intervenes miraculously in time and space any more then visit the "City Church International" website. There are some testimonies of the miracles that God is doing TODAY that you need to read. One point about the miraculous that was actually pointed out to me by Scott. In the interview with Nigel Ring, Rob was asked whether people can be discipled into this ministry or whether it is by impartation. Rob said;

"Both! The main way is impartation. It is through association with people that are moving in the supernatural, like Elijah to Elisha, Paul to Timothy, Moses to Joshua and so on!".

I experienced a degree of this impartation because I had the first proper vision that I have ever had in my life during the ministry time after Rob's session - and the vision was for Scott. This is how he described it as happening;

"I prayed with my hands out in front of me, and taking Rob at his words, I knew the way to Jesus was to know the Spirit better, so I just let it wash over me, and then I felt a weight on my hands; it was as though Jesus was standing in front of me holding my hands, willing me to believe just how much He loves me, and I just welled up with pure emotion, he wanted me to know that I'm His brother.

It didn't stop there; as I kept praying to know the love of Jesus better, all of a sudden Dan put his arm around me and told me very quietly that he had a picture for me. But before I share that I need to put in some background information.

My parents had 4 children: Martin, Simon, myself and Stephen. Now Martin had severe Cerebral Palsy, which meant he could do nothing and spent most of his life in pain, and in and out of hospital. Martin died at the age of 9, I was 4 years old.

The picture Dan had for me (keeping in mind that Dan knows very little about Martin), went something like,"I've just had this picture, and it was of your brother Martin, and he's in Heaven with Jesus. And he's running about, free from pain and playing happily with Jesus. I feel that He's shown me that for you, to let you know that He rally does love you, and you are one of His brothers". WOW !! Well, I just cried !!! I seriously sobbed my heart out. One, I knew more than ever that Jesus truly loves me, and that he gave that picture to Dan who didn't actually know that that was on my heart; and 2, that Martin is in Heaven with our Lord, as well and pain free as he deserved to be. I now consider myself to have 4 brothers, not 3!!!"

I don't share that to boast at all - anyone who knows me properly would know that. I share that to testify personally to the awesome anointing that is on this man of God. Things happen when he is praying and talking to his Father!

Finally if you are like me and are desperately hoping that the tide has indeed turned and something big is coming to our dry and barren nation then Rob Rufus is a prophet of hope turning our eyes to a God who is passionate about the glory of His Bride the Church.

As Julie says; "Come on now!" - you can't remain ignorant about this servant of God any longer. He's going to be in Brighton in July - there is NO EXCUSE to miss him and more importantly what God will do through him!