Ern Baxter Joins the William Branham Crusade!

I have purchased a new CD-Rom from the wonderful "Revival Library" run by Tony Cauchi of Newfrontiers down in Southampton. It is an amazing historic collection of "The Voice of Healing" magazines from 1947 to 1966 - tracing the Healing Movement.

It's interesting - the Healing Movement is often criticized by cautious people who were put off by certain excesses or at times heretical statements made by some of the men and woman leading the Movement. But the actual miracles of healing don't seem to be denied. And I want to read and learn how these men and women were used of God so that we can not copy their mistakes but see these signs and wonders come back!

One comment on the back of the CD-Rom caught my attention particularly concerning Gordon Lindsay. It says;

"God raised up Gordon Lindsay to be a catalyst and chronicler of the revival and the Voice of Healing magazine was the vehicle he employed".

I have often wondered what my calling from God is - and I probably feel most affinity with this; "chronicling" through my transcribing. Now all I pray is that God will begin a move of His Spirit to chronicle! But I wanted to show one article in particular that is of special meaning to me:

One to One with Rob Rufus and Nigel Ring

I found this interview between Nigel Ring and Rob Rufus taken just after the "Together on a Mission Conference" in Brighton in 2006. It's so stirring.

NR: Were you brought up in a Christian family?

RR: I had an incredibly happy childhood but my mother was an agnostic and my dad was an atheist but a very good father. From about three years of age I was conscious of God's Presence and about the age of seven or eight, I began to read the gospels. However in my high school years I really went out of my way to undermine Christian faith; but I was longing for them to win the argument. When I finished high school my dad had convinced me that Christianity was a modern form of sophisticate superstition but I had the privilege of leading my dad to Christ many, many years later, three weeks before he passed on!

On "call-up" in the military I began to ask questions about the meaning of life even more. Then at university I got very involved with the Hare Krishna movement. I even joined a Hindu Ashram full time.

NR: Had you met Glenda at this stage?

RR: We met at university and got married. We had our first son Jay (Hindu for victory) by the time we had joined the Hare Krishna movement. In the meantime Glenda had an amazing encounter with God and was "born again". I ridiculed that a martyr could save the world. It seemed foolish that Jesus died on a cross; He could have done better as a teacher. One day a man wanted to join our community. I asked him how long he wanted to stay and he said as long as was necessary! That night he suddenly sat straight up and pointed at a picture of Krishna, shook his head and just said; "Jesus Christ is the pure sacrifice of God and He is the only way" - a pretty courageous thing to say in a Hare Krishna temple!

I was suddenly aware that I was not right with God. When I got up at 2am he had gone and I never saw him again.

NR: Angelic?

RR: I don't know Nigel. For months I tried to increase my performance in Hindu rituals. Then in the Ashram on my own, Jesus came and said; "My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Come follow Me!". So I was "born again" in a Hindu temple! That was in 1977.

NR: Did you walk straight out?

RR: I did leave as I was called up again by the South African military. But I went back and witnessed to every single one there. I heard later that some I had spoken to had left the movement.

NR: I think your second child had been born by this stage?

RR: Yes, Ryan was conceived whilst we were in the Hare Krishna movement. He is now part of our leadership team. We also have a daughter Bonnie who leads worship in our church.

NR: When you left Hare Krishna, how did you engage with a church?

RR: We went back to the university on a post-graduate course. I met Christians who had fasted for forty days for us when they heard we were going to the Hare Krishna people. They burst into tears and were amazed! We joined them as a community of people.

NR: How did you plant a church?

RR: After I graduated God called me to plant in our home town but there was nothing supernatural there. I began to read Acts and God asked me; "Do you believe everything that is My will will automatically happen?". I said; "Yes Lord!". "Do you believe it is My will to save people every week and add them to you?". I said; "Yes Lord!". "Do you believe it is My will that people get healed miraculously?". I said; "Yes Lord!". "Then how come it isn't happening?".

He spoke to me about going to sit under the ministry of Kenneth Hagin for three days. Initially I was quite critical and analytical but I watched the miraculous happening. Then God said; "Lift your hands - you can do this!". The Presence of God came on me overwhelmingly and powerfully for the first time in my life. The next Sunday our church was hit by the power of God. People with deaf ears began to hear, different people began to cry out. I felt God say; "Pray a blessing over the people". So I asked them to stand and said; "Father would you bless ..." and I didn't get any further.

I heard this amazing rushing sound through the building and saw people being picked up and carried two to three rows through the air. We had never seen anything like this. I called out and said; "You have seen that God is real. Come and get saved!". People literally ran to get saved that day. Even the local rugby team visited and broken bones were healed. The church grew by hundreds. Then God said; "I am going to lift this heavy anointing off you for a season and I want you to get to know me. I am going to link you with people that I want you to be accountable to. I want you to develop your doctrine and knowledge of Scripture. I am going to bring this power back on you at a later stage".

It was at that stage I met Dudley Daniel.

NR: Has God brought that power back to you?

RR: Every year I asked God; "Is this the year?". Every year He would say; "Be faithful - this is not the year". By 2001, 2002 I wondered if God would ever do this again but at the beginning of 2006 I heard God say; "This is the year not just for you but for much of the wider body of Christ". He promised He would restore this power at a higher level and I feel certain that as the year progresses we will see this more and more.

NR: Is this world-wide?

RR: There is fresh expectation in many parts of the world and reports of some unusual signs and wonders. I think 2006 is the year our Lord is taking His finger off the "pause" button.

NR: Such ministry comes out of an intimacy with God. How did you deepen your personal walk with God?

RR: I love to get out to solitary places; the mountains and the forests. When I first planted a church I would spend a day or two every week alone with God, not trying to prepare messages but wanting to get to know Him. I learned to fine-tune my spirit to hear His voice and talk to Him about who He is. He said; "Rob I want you to ask Me questions about Me. If you open your heart to me, I will open My heart totally to you - and reveal things to you". I found that if you develop a depth of relationship with God in the solitary places I could start hearing His voice in the noisy places. I can even stand in Mongkok - one of the densest population areas in Hong Kong and hear the voice of God.

NR: Many leaders would ask; "How did you carve out that time? Did you have a team with you?".

RR: Yes I did have a good team but there is also unnecessary guilt that comes. One day sitting on a mountain looking out over factories where members of my congregation were working, God said;

"Son those people want you here - they want you to come with dew of heaven on your shoulders and speak the living word of God".

NR: Moving in these dimensions, do you experience opposition?

RR: Yes! The enemy is against the anointing because it destroys the yokes, lifts the burdens off people's shoulders and breaks his strategies and attacks. There are anti-Christspirits trying to get the church to be more secular, to run programmes, entertainment with human wisdom. Reaction is mainly from religious people; the world longs to experience something that is supernaturally authentic. We need to redeem the supernatural back to sound theology, basing it on good doctrine, expressed by people who have healthy marriages, healthy families and so forth.

NR: Where do you find your own peer relationship that will keep you secure and where you weigh each other's ministry?

RR: A very good question! When God exploded into our church I had no understanding of proper Biblical government foundations or biblical wineskins. I had difficulty in hosting a big crowd! As I mentioned, it was then in 1984 that I was introduced to Dudley Daniel. I first met him on his day off. He came out of his study in a pair of shorts and hugged me. I got the shock of my life! I felt God say; "I have joined you to this man forever!". I began to realise that Dudley had an apostolic wisdom, understanding and grace on his life. He helped us lay proper New Testament patterns and Victory Faith Church is still very healthy today.

NR: How did New Covenant Ministries begin?

RR: When Dudley was baptised in the Holy Spirit, his denomination kicked him out. He was invited by a small group in Bryanstone, Johannesburg to pastor them. He also felt God say he should build relationships with pastors who are lonely, wanting friendship and looking for togetherness. Out of that came the phrase; "Friendship before function". This began to reflect what Jesus revealed so wonderfully with His friends who were disciples.

There were many BBQs with humour and laughter. Slowly the idea of a trans-local team began to develop; that is when I got involved. God began to open up the oath He made to Abraham to bless all nations. We began to see that we would have to plant New Testament local churches in every nation.

NR: Did you have a particular strategy?

RR: In Scripture proven ministries took the initiative to break new territory. For example Paul and Barnabas having established Antioch moved on. Dudley relocated to Australia. This sent a big signal to us all. We thought South Africa was going to fall apart but God actually blessed us. Then God called Glenda and me to join him.

NR: Were you creating South African churches?

RR: Not at all! As we planted we started working with indigenous people and they started coming on team. We wanted to reflect the culture of the kingdom not a religious sub-culture.

NR: Have you found that God has given you favour with particular sections of the community?

RR: In certain countries, doors open through situations of poverty. In others, it has come through Christian businessmen and women like Priscilla and Aquila.

NR: How did your next transition come about?

RR: When Dudley felt called to work into the USA, he handed the visionary leadership of Coastlands International Christian Centre over to me. In 2002 after seven years God called us to go full-time trans-local equipping churches in evangelism, signs and wonders and miracles so we handed the church over to Dudley's son Tyrone. Then our hearts began to turn to Asia and Glenda and I planted a church in Hong Kong.

NR: Did you know people on the ground?

RR: There were five people in Hong Kong and five young people from South Africa to help us for 6-12 months.

NR: How have you grown?

RR: Originally I thought we would build primarily with ex-pats using the medium of English. However Chinese people started coming because they heard about the Presence of God and were attracted to the message of grace. One young, very intelligent and hi-tech Buddhist man came. The Presence of God was so powerful in the meeting that he began to weep and said; "They are not singing about Buddha, they are singing about Jesus so He must be alive!". He gave his life to Christ and we baptised him very soon after that. We are, probably about 95 adults at this time plus children.

NR: Do you have any comments on multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lingual church?

RR: When diverse ethnic groups come together that reflects the wonderful finished work of the Cross! The idea of the homogenous church for me is foreign to the Scripture. We are enjoying being a rainbow church.

NR: Has the signs and wonders ministry opened doors for you in Hong Kong?

RR: Yes! There is a lot of idol worship that opens people up to demonic influences so when God sets people free they go and tell their friends. The potential to have exponential growth in Hong Kong and into mainland China is enormous. The secular humanistic money culture has left a real emptiness in people's lives.

The Presence and power of God is a major means to impact that part of the world.

NR: Can you disciple others into this ministry or impart it to others?

RR: Both! The main way is through impartation. It is through association with people that are moving in the supernatural like Elijah to Elisha or Paul to Timothy or Moses to Joshua and so on. There also needs to be practical instruction; how to co-operate with God; how to co-labour with God; how to partner with God. I love to coach even in services on a Sunday morning - "This is why we are doing this".

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

RR: I came to London in 2005 and I was praying in Richmond Park and suddenly I 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 like 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 and then burst.

Those who have been faithfully establishing wineskins for years need to start looking with expectation that they have not laboured in vain. Others will need to be looking at Scripture and to people who have built according to a Biblical pattern. This is the time to prepare for this visitation by building proper Biblical government and pattern into the church.

A Biblical wineskin embraces three elements:

1. Biblical authority structures which is proper government based on what the Bible teaches not on democracy.

2. Biblical vision which involves going to the nations and involves reaching the lost.

3. Biblical values - how we do it, with integrity, humility, with team, accountability etc.

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 Uzzah's 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.

NR: Thank you so much Rob - An excellent place to conclude!

Nathan Morris - Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival

I've got God TV on and Nathan Morris - the young evangelist is preaching;

"Why is it that we have to drive miles to find a church filled with the fire of God?".

Makes you think. Here's a video I took of him. I am really excited about the vital combination of ministry and prophetic calls to mission and the advance of the Kingdom of God. So much of charismatic ministry can be quite narcissistic and inward-looking. This guy is an evangelist and his heart is for the lost. Apologies the quality isn't great - my iPhone doesn't have the best video!

Healing of a Baby in Mobile Alabama!!

Being a paediatric nurse I have a very soft spot in my heart for babies and children. So as I have been following the "Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival" (I love that name!) in Mobile, Alabama I was instantly gripped by this video and this beautiful child - who it seems has been healed of deafness. I find it incredibly moving how emotional Nathan Morris is when he hears the child has been healed. Every servant of God who moves in signs, wonders and miracles will generally be accused of being a phony by cessationist septics. This to me isn't a phony man. This is a desperate and passionate man who is thrilled his God is moving and acting.

Here's the video. I took a screen shot of the medical results shown on the video at 2:23. I am quite familiar with these results in nursing. I would interpret this results card as a baby passing all audiology tests but follow-up being recommended because the hospital staff don't understand why the child has passed!

Here's the results screen capture;

And By the Way ....

I know the first thing the cynics always ask is - well where is she now? That's all very well she seemed to have got "healed" at the meeting. But is she still healed now?

I have just found this video of the lady walking onto stage and worshipping;

The Lame Shall Walk!!

I was taken aback by a "sovereign surprise" when I got back from the gym today. I turned on the TV and was channel flicking. Normally I tend to whizz past God TV but was caught by something called "Revival - Mobile Alabama". Intrigued I stopped - Mobile is a place dear to my heart because it's where the Ern Baxter Memorial Library is. What I saw on TV was a young evangelist praying for a gorgeous tiny little baby. It looked somewhat similar to Lakeland although I didn't know any of the individuals on stage.

I'm absolutely gutted to say that my initial thought was; "Oh no - not again". What I meant by that was - not another flash in the pan "revival" that will excite for a few months and then be gradually whittled away by cynics and critics - and even possibly the leaders falling into some error.

But then I kept watching and was softly and lovingly rebuked by the Holy Spirit. Dare I ever let cynicism and weariness from unfulfilled promises tarnish our openness to something new? Surely not! I never, ever, EVER want to become one of those Christians I saw and feared becoming back in Dunstable. Who were bitter and resentful and suspicious of anything new - just because they weren't used to it. This Mobile uprising may perhaps be "another Lakeland" - but I really really want my default position to be - I hope not! I hope it's the start of something new that God is doing in our day! There's nothing I dread more than - nothing.

So here's what I know so far:

Nathan Morris - a UK evangelist - came to John Kilpatrick's (former pastor involved in Brownsville in Pensecola) church in late July to close a conference. The power of God broke out and he has cancelled his other commitments and stayed there to this day. There have been some very notable miracles that Charisma Magazine has reported:

"Woman Walks for the First Time in 22 Years".

This was videoed and has attracted over 100,000 hits on You-Tube! Here it is;

So I don't know what's going to happen - and I don't know how it will all end up. But I'm excited to watch and see what breaks out - and by God's grace get touched by a personal revival myself (because God knows I need it!). I've been listening to Nathan Morris - the evangelist - preach for the last half hour or so and I must say I'm impressed so far by his commitment to mission and the Word of God.

My Attempt at Q and A on Grace/Healing

I haven't forgotten the "Suicide" post - it's on it's way. Incredibly it seems jinxed though. Every time I type it, Blogger keeps crashing and losing my work! So I have taken it to Word and am typing it there. Until I get it done though - I received a fascinating email asking a key question. My first thought was to pass it onto someone else because I simply do not and am not qualified to answer this sort of stuff. But then I thought I would give it a go.

So here it is. If anyone has any improvements or further thoughts then please, please add comments and let me know!

The question the guy asked was this:

"Since God's grace has brought blessings and made us receive His healing, how come we believers who believe in pure Grace with no condemnation, still fall sick?".

My answer:

"Many thanks for your email - it's great to hear from you.

You ask an excellent question and it's one that I will try to the best of my ability to answer you. But you should know that I answer it from being in a position similar to yourself. I.e - I also believe in God's grace and believe we are not under law, but struggle to understand this. So please don't think I am writing as any expert - merely a fellow Christian seeking truth!

My understanding is this - sickness is and has never been God's will. It is not God's will that any should be sick. Sickness came in as a result of the Fall, and it will never be glorifying to God. I think Christians can glorify God THROUGH suffering but do not glorify God by passively ENDURING suffering.

Secondly I believe that one of the mission points of Jesus Christ was to banish suffering as an effect of the coming of His Kingdom. He said Himself; "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach ... to HEAL .... to bind up" and so on. He did absolutely that during His earthly ministry and then He commissioned His church to "go" and do likewise. The church was equipped to do just that when the Holy Spirit was poured out thereby empowering and anointing the church.

So we have the commission from Jesus - and the empowerment and anointing to do so from the Holy Spirit in the understanding that sickness is not to be tolerated.

Back to your question -

Why then do people get sick? There may be a variety of reasons. Rob Rufus (one of my favourite grace teachers) says that the LESS law is in our lives the MORE glory (i.e healing) we will see in our lives. So like you - I don't believe I am under law. But I wouldn't say that the law has no influence on my life still. I can testify to it's effects - every now and then I feel condemnation creeping in. Once our beliefs starting changing us and soaking into our complete personality then that is when (I think) we will see healing begin to manifest in and through our lives.

That being said, I am NOT NOT NOT saying that people who are sick are guilty of not throwing off law off their lives. There may be a number of reasons - they may be in a church hearing preaching that mixes law and grace. They may be receiving teaching from a pastor/elders who mix law and grace. I think the very grace message means that it cannot be anyone's "fault" that they don't get healed - apart from those whom God has entrusted with responsibility to reveal His Word to them if they are teaching legalism in the gospel - i.e Ephesians 4 Ministries.

So I hope this shows how absolutely vital the gospel of grace is. We have absolutely categorically GOT to believe that God is passionately for us and it is His desire that while we may endure suffering, we should not endure sickness passively. We have GOT to see that it is God's will that we see healing and signs and wonders and miracles come into our lives! Otherwise if we do not believe God is 110% for us, then we will not completely believe that He wants to heal us and if we do not completely believe He WANTS to heal us, then we will question why He SHOULD heal us.

I've gone on long enough! But I hope some of those thoughts are of help. I am no expert in grace, but I'm thinking through these things and pray they will be of blessing to you.

Please don't hesitate to come back to me if you have any further comments/questions".

He Reigns!! ... Even in a Pandemic

I've mentioned every now and then that I've been working on a new job - essentially I'm working on a team at the Children's Hospital focusing on the swine flu pandemic sweeping the nation and the world. Anyone based in the UK will know the West Midlands statistics are very high compared to the rest of the nation so it's quite a challenging role. Part of my job is to take phone calls from staff, patients and relatives who have concerns and need answers and advice. And there is a LOT of concerns which is quite understandable. So these phone calls mean that in the last month I've had to learn a lot, quite fast about swine flu and what it does and may do.

What I didn't expect (maybe naively) was for that panic and fear to worm it's way through the Church. I took a fascinating but rather surprising question from someone in a church. They asked whether (based on guidance from the group of churches they belong to) - whether they should be pre-cutting up the communion loaf to limit the spread of potential infection. I did some research yesterday and I was increasingly surprised to find that this guidance is quite tame. Other churches are looking at sterile pre-packing wafers and a small goblet of wine. Other churches are banning communion altogether.

The most sensible advice I read was by a Lutheran minister in the USA who advices those with flu-like symptoms to stay at home until they are better but states that she will not stop sharing communion or shaking hands or hugging her congregation. This is precisely the advice that I gave - to me, taking the excessive step of pre-cutting the communion loaf is like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. A Christian microbiologist did some research into what germs are in the communion communal cup and found some rather terrifying things. That being said, she concluded you stand more chance of catching something from your children at home than if you partook in communion every day.

Essentially the issue is this - someone with flu-like symptoms who potentially has swine flu should not be coming to church and sitting in close proximity with other worshippers for over an hour. If they are doing so then the flu virus will spread through their coughing and sneezing whether the communion loaf is pre-cut or not and whether each worshipper has pre-packed individual wafers and wine or not.

The Christian bloggers are of course busy debating whether this is the final wrath of God or not on the back of the economic collapse. What utter rubbish. What about the Black Death of centuries back? What about the seasonal flu pandemic of 1968 to 1970? God is not mad. He spent His wrath at the Cross and His Son cried; "It's done! It's finished!". Rather this is an opportunity. This is an opportunity for the Church to stop being afraid and to rise up and show the world that we are not afraid. This is in an opportunity to show the world that healing and signs and wonders really do exist now, right now and totday here in the 21st century.

What chance does swine flu have if the fire of God were to fall in response to the authoratative command of His people? Does He reign or doesn't He? Does He heal or doesn't He? If John G Lake could confidently take some infected saliva infested with bubonic plague in South Africa and put it on his skin and watch it die because of the anointing upon him, then why should swine flu stand any more chance?

Enough fear. Enough cutting up of communion bread. Stop! Do we believe or do we not? Does He reign or doesn't He?

Grace in Action!!

There can be a lot of talk about grace and righteousness and indeed the more preaching and teaching we hear that is devoid of legalism the better. But I find myself getting twitchy when it all remains theoretical with no hint of grace in action. Grace where the rubber hits the road. Grace where it begins to change lives! There are some such glorious amazing verses in the Bible that we can only begin to dream of coming to pass in our lives - yet it must be the will of God! Or why else would it be in the Bible?!

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." - Ephesians 1:18-19

"Surpassing greatness of His power towards us" - what does that actually mean in action? I think that surpassingly great power is evident in the life of our great High Priest - Jesus Christ. I've been impressed recently with the word; "Immediately" in the Gospels.

"Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him ... immediately his leprosy was cleansed." - Matthew 8:3

"Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him" - Matthew 20:34

" ... she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak ... Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction" - Mark 5:29-30

One touch! And everything changed. I love this song from Grapevine;



Just one touch! But surely we shouldn't only limit that historically to Jesus Himself and maybe His disciples. Surely that is the legacy of the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe! One touch - and everything is changed!

That's why I love Rob's sermon; ""The Administration Of Healing Authority" - it changes the emphasis from the traditional charismatic praying and pleading with God to heal someone to "just one touch". I was listening to one of Rob's most recent sermons and he spoke about how our focus and emphasis shouldn't be hoping for more signs and wonders and instead how to increase in our understanding of the glory and wonder of God's grace and lavish unconditional love towards us. Just one touch. That's all it takes to open our eyes to the understand of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us at the Cross!

Why Some Don't Get Healed ...

I am enjoying reading a biography of Kathryn Kuhlman's at the moment and I read this portion last night. The whole issue of signs and wonders and miracles - especially when God doesn't heal - has been on my mind a lot. I read this and it made so much sense. Why DO we always demand answers from God?!

"Most of us have our own personal interpretations of how God should run the universe - based on our own limited personal experiences. Kathryn on the other hand, defied all tradition. She defied the boxes men tried to fit her into. When asked why many who were sick left her service unhealed, she would just shake her head and say; "I don't know - I just don't know". In fact she once said that the very first question she wanted to ask Jesus when she got to heaven was, "Why were some not healed?".

The theologians had answers. Hundreds of them. But the theologians never saw miracles. Kathryn, who was one of the greatest instruments of the miracle power of the Holy Spirit had no answers. "I have no healing virtue", she said over and over again. "I cannot heal a single person. All I do is preach faith. God does the healing. Whom He heals and whom He chooses not to heal is His business. I am, but His handmaiden".

I think that simple faith in God is the key! Stop demanding that we understand God and His ways and just start walking and trusting Him!

And Signs Following ... !!

I found this video clip on You-Tube today. One of the discussions Mark, J-D and I enjoyed was discussing signs, wonders and healing and it really re-enforced my conviction that this is no "secondary" issue to be abandoned and ignored for "true gospel unity". Rubbish! If God were truly to restore signs, wonders and miracles like they saw in the book of Acts then we wouldn't need to be resorting to flashy lighting, amazing bands and music and language and jokes to reach the lost. They'd be hammering the door down to get their hands on this power.

I know my history - you don't need to remind me what happened to A. A Allen and so on. But the fact is they saw signs and wonders and miracles that we are only dreaming of.



And I truly believe the answer is a restoring of the gospel of grace and the faith of Abraham - just a belief that God is for us and God is wanting and willing to bless us!

Which Husband Do You Prefer??!

I was driving home this morning listening to Rob Rufus's session at the first "Glory and Grace Conference" in Hong Kong (still waiting for my CD's of this years!) and it was his penultimate session. He had decided to postpone the awesome fire-tunnel to the following day because everyone was tired and he spoke on "Staying sane in revival". The second half of that message was an awesome treatment of the law and grace. Although I've heard so much now on the law - this morning it was really like seeing this truth again from another level up the spiral staircase.

Here was the quote that I actually had to stop and pull over to copy down;

"The law does not die, the law must stay in the earth thundering out judgements as a school-master to lead the self-righteous to a place of revelation that they are going to hell if they try to keep the law and they will not gain inheritance through the law so they must repent and turn to Jesus Christ!".

So the question is this - which husband would you prefer?

1. A Husband who will make it his life's work to point out every area of wrong in your life - and the more that you proudly conquer an area of wrong - the faster he will find another to point out. (Romans 2:23)

2. A Husband who when he speaks does not expect or a require a response from you and when you do try and speak, you will be told to "shut up" - other than have you obeyed him TOTALLY and 100% PERFECTLY? If you have not - then you are condemned. (Romans 3:19 - "so that every mouth may be closed").

3. A Husband who will only speak to you to tell you that you are a sinner and you have fallen short. Again and again for all time. He will never commend you for a small act of "righteousness" - rather he will condemn you that your "righteousness" is putrid to him. Or rather is like a dirty sanitary cloth to him. (Romans 3:23 and Isaiah 64:6).

4. A Husband who does not require you to have any faith whatsoever and offers no promises to you. Only when you keep that requirement of having no faith - he will again condemn you and find fault with you for that. (Romans 4:14 and Hebrews 11:6)

5. A Husband who will delight in telling you that his only mission in your life is to bring about wrath - but will emotionally taunt you that if he were not around there would be no pointing out of the wrong in your life. (Romans 4:15).

6. A Husband will tell you that you will never be free from him until he dies (and he will never die) but if he did die (and be assured - he never will) then your faults would not be held to your account and you would be truly free. (Romans 5:13 and Romans 7:2).

7. A Husband who simply makes it his life's ambition again and again to point out every area of fault in your life and drives you into such a frenzy of frustration and despair and exhaustion that you end up cheating on him and finding your behaviour is getting worse and worse. And your husband will find out and punish you for those acts of defiance also. (Romans 5:20).

8. A Husband who will face you when you are guilt-ridden after a sin such as lying or pride and will tell you you may as well commit murder or adultery or lust as well - seeing as you have failed totally his requirements of you. And he will even sketch out a graphic description of how good those said sins may feel. But then if you do do them will point out your failures again. (Romans 7:5)

9. A Husband who is irritatingly perfect in every way - and never falls or fails. And never fails to point out that fact either. (Romans 7:7 and Romans 7:12).

10. A Husband who will remind you that before you married him, you were a vibrant, alive, free individual. But when your marriage was secured - you died inside and became an emotional ice-cube. (Romans 7:9).

11. A Husband who you know is 100% accurate about your flaws and failings. He never lies but is only truthful. You can't even claim he is unjust. He isn't. (Romans 7:16).

What a man! I don't know about anyone else but if I was married to someone like that I would be seriously considering suicide. This man is an emotional rapist. He will never, ever make you feel good about yourself. So whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ..... would any Christian want to still have anything to do with this Law?!?! Why?! Are we mad?!?! Especially when you consider how good the alternative is! Rob said;

"When you came to Christ you died to Christ and God cancelled for you the writing of the 10 Commandments. You DIED to the Law! The Law doesn't die - it is still around for the lost! If you are dead to something then you are dead! But you are alive to a different Husband who has sympathy with your infirmities and He mediates a covenant depending on HIS performance! This Husband doesn't point your faults out!

The Gospel isn't a revelation of what's wrong with you but how right you are with the Father in Jesus Christ!!".

Of course as Christians we can choose to stay under Law - but there are consequences. Rob said;

"They will go to heaven but they will never recieve their inheritance. A person under law has an ideal self that they are trying to live upto and fall so short that they feel they deserve the abuse of the law. God will never punish you again because all punishment was poured out on Jesus.

But God cannot allow you to inherit New Covenant life under law. If you commit adultery - stay under grace! God knows how to restore adulterers! He knows how to love adulterers! He wants heart transformation not behaviour modification".

This isn't just theology for me anymore. Another friend of mine has just been diagnosed with HIV. He's only in his mid-20's. And I can't express how it feels to sit across from him and see the pain and the regret in his eyes. The agony as he tries to decide whether to tell anyone. And you know what? I can't recommend any church around here to take him to ... yet. Because he needs signs and wonders and power accompanying the gospel of truth. So I am finding it hard to celebrate so-called unity that is specifically leaving aside "secondary" issues - of which the movement of the Holy Spirit is one. That's not to say my friend doesn't need the gospel which addresses the Cross. He does. But Jesus Christ didn't stop there. He went on.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. To set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord".

My friend needs a Jesus Christ (and a church) who will do this;

"If Jesus was here today and so many thousands of people had HIV or further advanced AIDS - He wouldn't say; "Your sin got you into this". Jesus would heal them ALL".

Angels Are BORED!!

I absolutely love this video clip - thanks to Patricia King and Bill Johnson:



"It's good to be in awe again" - Bill Johnson.

You Have Heard It Said ...

I was reading Phil Moore's "A Healthy Theology of Healing" in the Newfrontiers Theological Papers section with great interest and I've always struggled with the well-known evangelical phrase; "Already But Not Yet". It's never sat quite comfortably with me because it seems to me that there is a built-in excuse for leaving things we can't manage or like to heaven. Sort of like the word "Continuationist" - which admits yes the gifts of the Spirit may continue but there is no suggestion of an "eagerly desiring" such gifts from a willing Holy Spirit to manifest in the church!

Phil Moore presented a much-better alternative!

"The Kingdom now but not yet ... We can say that there is evidence in the Bible that God may not choose to heal everyone immediately, but this is a long way from saying that sickness is either God’s normal means of sanctification or a
primary means for His glory. Jesus and the apostles talked very frankly and in some detail about the suffering we must endure as Christians, but not one of them ever talked about the suffering of sickness in this context despite being surrounded daily by crowds of sick people. Importantly, not one of them ever told anyone who came to them for healing that they should go home and continue to glorify God by the faithful way in which they bore their sickness".

But rather;

“A Healthy Theology of Healing: The Kingdom has Already Come and is Ever-Increasing”

"Despite the fact that Jesus had given the Twelve “authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness” (Mt 10:1), the combined efforts of nine of them failed to heal a child with epilepsy because the disciples lacked faith in the Father’s willingness (v16-20) and had not pursued the kind of intimacy with the Father which results in effective partnership (v21). We have not placed enough confidence in God’s willingness to heal those around us because we would rather not attribute their continued sickness to our lack of the persistent prayer which characterises true faith".

This is such a challenge and I found it so encouraging. Enough with the excuses! God IS willing to heal! The nuclear power station of the empty Cross and empty Tomb are producing enough power to raise the dead! The question is what my fuse box of faith is upto ...

"Laying on of Hands" - Rob Rufus at TOAM 06

This conference was my first encounter with Rob Rufus - a life-changing encounter although I have yet to meet the man! But I had such an incredible touch from God and was so moved by his teaching that I wrote to Terry Virgo to thank him for inviting Rob and enthusing about what I had heard. Terry was gracious enough to write back and made particular mention as to how Rob's teaching on the "Laying on of Hands" was really useful and revelational to him. I listened again to that session while I was driving back from my parents last night and agreed - and felt it had to be transcribed. The laying on of hands is something that I've heard and experienced a diverse range of opinions on. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones taught strongly that the practice should be discontinued. John Stott taught that it was symbolic. Whereas at the other end of the spectrum I've let legalists lay hands on me for prayer and allowed it far too easily. Rob Rufus's seminar really raises the importance of something the Bible clearly teaches (dare I say it - Dr Lloyd-Jones was wrong!)

Here it is:

"Training Track - Session 2" - "Together on a Mission in Brighton" - 2006

I want talk about the laying on of hands today and raising the significance of this incredible truth to a higher level of expectation. The doctrine of laying on of hands needs to be raised up to a higher level. I believe currently it is operating in the church at a very low level. I don't believe we are seeing the level of apostolic understanding as to what it means to lay hands on people. It has become almost too cheap and done too quickly and carelessly and casually and we need to encourage and train and equip people. Never come up and ask people to lay hands on you lightly. Never ask hands to be laid on you without expecting to receive something. It is a foundation doctrine of Christ. Hebrews chapter 6. The laying on of hands is equal to baptism, baptism in the Spirit, judgements, resurrection from the dead, repentance and faith towards God. Alongside that is laying on of hands and you can't go on to maturity without a clear revelation of the importance of the doctrine of the laying on of hands.

We look here in Habbakkuk chapter 3 and let's read from verse 2. "Lord I have heard of Your fame - I stand in awe of Your deeds oh Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known. In wrath remember mercy ... His glory covered the heavens and His praise filled the earth, His splendour was like the sunrise. Rays flashed from His hands where His power was hidden".

I am not trying to make out that God is reduced to human shape but it does say that "rays flashed from His hands" so there is this divine image that the power of God is flashing from the hands of God. I believe that when God's immortal hands come on our mortal hands then there is a divine flash - there is a discharge of heavenly voltage that needs to be restored back to the Church in dimension that was there in the Book of Acts and we have got to recapture today!

Go to Acts chapter 8 please. There are many passages on this. Dave Holden quoted it yesterday - Romans 1:11 and Paul says; "I have come to you so that I may impart a gift to you - a gift that makes you strong". Then in 2nd Timothy chapter 1:6-7 Paul says; "Stir up the gift that is within you through the laying on of my hands ... a spirit of power, love and a sound mind".

In other words Timothy was a timid man but he got something that made him amazingly strong when Paul laid his hands on him and got something amazingly powerful that Paul put into him through the apostolic laying on of hands so that Timothy was standing up and starting to lead well but people didn't like that so intimidation was coming back on him and Paul was saying; "Stir up what you received through the laying on of my hands".

Here Philip goes down to Samaria and has the most amazing signs and wonders and miracles - the whole city filled with joy. The cripples and the paralysed were walking - demons coming out - people getting saved! Then the apostles come down and they don't start off with line upon line teaching.

They add MORE to the supernatural by the laying on of hands for the impartation of the Holy Spirit!

Here is Simon the sorcerer who had just got saved through seeing some amazing supernatural phenomeon and he had moved in psychic counterfeit demonic power and in counterfeit miracles and had impressed the village. But when Philip came down he was amazed at the power of God at work and then he sees the apostles come down and apostles lay their hands on the new converts and here is what it says; (v18); "When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of hands, he offered them money and said 'Give me also this ability'". There are many witchdoctors in Africa and some of them are cons but I have met many that are really moving in dark demonic power. I have heard from pretty good witnesss of some who could reverse the flow of a river. Their curses on people would have power. I never knew of any of those witchdoctors that came to us Christians and offered us money so they could have the power that when I lay my hands on people something happens that is so powerful!

Peter said "Your money perish with you - you will die and even if you repent" and he gets heavy on him.

A witchdoctor or a sorcerer is not going to be impressed with hands being laid on people and nothing happening! He MUST have seen SOMETHING. He must have seen the miracles that Philip did but now he is willing to offer money to get the power to lay hands on people and something is given to them!

Today you see people lay their hands on people and pray for the sick and nothing. We must recover what it means to lay hands on people. John G Lake came to South Africa in 1905 and in five years, 500 churches were planted. It is the biggest denomination in South Africa today and sadly some of it has gone into terrible heresy because unfortunately John G Lake didn't build a proper biblical wineskin and that is the sad legacy of the power without a proper wineskin. But in terms of the power - phenomenal power! Signs and wonders and miracles! When he got back to America they hooked him upto machinery and put all kinds of gadgets on him and saw electrical powers on him. He said; "Gentlemen the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is quickening my mortal body with life!".

One day he laid hands on someone who had a massive festering sore and they had to scrape the maggots of it. So he came in and laid hands on that person in one of their healing schools and he prayed these kinds of prayers; "You foul devil of infirmity - I curse you by the authority of heaven - let the lightning flashes of heaven break through and manifest the power of healing in this body!".

The person went off and two days later they got a telegram back from this person from another city. The open wound was completely healed miraculously! But there is a clear imprint burn-mark about 1mm deep and the full imprint of that hand over where that open wound was!

We don't understand! That was someone who knew how to impart something! That may not be what God wants as the norm but we have to raise the level of the miraculous impartation with the laying on of hands. I know that if I can get people to lower their resistance to the anointing and get it right down low then I know that; "Such as I have - I can give". I know that! The great One lives inside of us and in the Kingdom of heaven;

Wealth is not measured so much by what you have but how much you give away.

So in a sense I believe that when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, we ALL have the Spirit without measure! But that doesn't measure our wealth. What measures our wealth is how much we can give away. I love what Peter says; "Such as we HAVE - we GIVE to you". So if we can help lower people's resistance then when we help lay our hands on them - there comes an impartation that is so powerful it can heal any disease. What about unforgiveness and bitterness in their lives? I think we have gone too hard on that and said "People with unforgivness can't get healed". I know of people that got miraclously healed and they still were bitter! It is like God healed them and delivered them of their sins. Some need to confess their sins of bitterness but there is no formula or checklist! "Any unforgivenss or any bitterness in your life?". Then you don't get healed!

The 1st thing I am going for is to lower their resistance on their faith fuse. Because when the power of God comes into people, He can heal them of bitterness as much as He can drive cancer out their body! Some people don't have the power to get free from their bitterness! But when the power of God comes on them it destroys that root of bitterness that is defiling them and heals their body. I know sometimes that bitterness can block the power of God sometimes and be a resistance but I am not wanting to make a type category here. If we can lower their resistance and lay hands on them then great healings can take place.

I learnt this at what we called in Durban a, "New Africa Celebration". We did a protest against apartheid, sang songs about a new South Africa but we also wanted to see a demonstration of God's power. So I preached a message in this big hall with a whole load of unsaved people there and I preached on God's will to heal and God's desire to heal and called people forward. There was such a corporate anointing that I literally ran down this row just slapping people on the head! About 98% of people got flung back like a baseball bat had hit them on the head and it knocked them and the catchers over! I didn't ask them what their sickness was because you see - I don't have faith to open blind eyes or deaf ears or miracles of healing cripples. I HAVE faith to GIVE the power of God! And it makes it so much simpler! That took 30 seconds to run down this row and then an elder came to me with a woman screaming "I can see! I can see" and a totally blind eye had been opened! How long have you been blind? She said "I was born blind in that eye". I said "I am so glad that you didn't tell me that before I prayed for you".

What I am saying is that I had faith to IMPART the power and she had faith to RECEIVE it. The power of God is like a heat seeking missile and it went and did the job.

Another guy came up and said "I can hear! I can hear!". How long have you been deaf? "I was born without an ear drum!". I am so thankful I didn't know that either! Because if I had known about this ear or eye then I would have gone back to my secular university days and literally tried to work out how God was going to put an ear drum in there and how that would happen.

But I developed my faith in "Such as I have" and I laid my hands upon people and I expect power to go into them! And I had prepared them to receive power.

I have found in the last 20 years that if we don't prepare people with faith to receive then we get about 5-10% healed but if we teach the Word of God clearly then they can be raised up to about 80% and higher. Let me give you several things here and then we can close. Here is some of the things that happen when we lay hands on people and we need to raise expectations. I have watched in services and no one is prepared to EXPECT something to happen when hands are laid on. So you see begging and pleading but I don't see Jesus ever (and I could be wrong) begging the Father to heal people or even asking the Father to heal people. What I do see is Him commanding sickness to go and demons of infirmity to go and healing to come. He just commands it! When I see hands laid on and there is begging and pleading I just don't think it looks like the New Testament! Jesus said to His disicples; "Go to a village and tell them that the Kingdom of heaven is touchable and it is reachable and it is at hand and you can change the way you think - then lay hands on the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons". THAT simple! He is training them to prepare people to receive.

I think once we raise this doctrine of the laying on of hands we are going to see manifestations of God! Now I think laying on of hands is one of the lowest levels of the impartation of the supernatural. But I think if we don't get the lowest foundational Hebrews 6 doctrine right then we can't go on to the greater manifestations. We look at Peter laying hands on the cripple at the Gate Beautiful and him walking to 2 chapters later and his shadows heal the sick. I have watched when we have laid hands on a few in a meeting and suddenly the glory of God covers a whole meeting and suddenly you go into a higher level and people are getting healed in their chairs and we can go onto spitting on people's eyes! Waving clothes around! We can just speak and heal them with our words wrapped in the anointing and people get healed 200 meters back in the hall. But if we don't get the laying on of hands then we are not going to get very far.

The more we lay hands on people to impart the power of God the more we will see the corporate manifestation getting stronger.

Kathryn Kuhlman would go and stay in a hotel prior to a meeting and the people on the floor above and below her would get healed spontaneously even though they didn't know that she was in the hotel! I know of one very well documented case of her speaking at a Full Gospel Businessmen's meeting in a great forum and at the end the anointing was so strong on her and they took her out through the kitchen area so she wouldn't have to work her way out through the crowds and so as they escorted her through the kitchen area and these chefs and unsaved people in the kitchen area were falling under the power! Unsaved people just falling under the power! I think we have got to grow in the laying on of hands and then we can grow to higher levels of the greater manifestations.

Nine or ten things that happen with the laying on of hands:

1. There is an impartation of Supernatural Life.

We become supercharged with the life and vitality of almighty God. For some people it is like the divine defibrillators at work bringing them back to life! That is a heartbeat! Why can't we use a 10v battery? No some people need 10 000 volts to bring a revival into another level of the glory of God!

2. There is an impartation of a gift that makes us strong (Romans 11).

3. Vision can come.

There are five levels of vision and the highest is open vision in front of your very eyes and you can see things happening! I have had a few of those and mostly to do with my children. They used to get so angry! Both my sons got saved properly in their late teens! They were upto all kinds of nonsense although they are all serving God now. My son is a leader with us in Hong Kong and my daughter is a worship leader and my oldest son is serving God in Australia. They would try and get upto all kinds of naughty things. I would be at home worshipping and I would see a vision of my son Ryan and he is meant to be at school. And I would see him standing under a post smoking a cigaratte. So I would come home and Ryan would be there and I would say; "Ryan where were you this morning?" and he said; "Oh Dad I was at school". "No you weren't - you were standing up that post with a cigarette!". He said; "That's not fair - why does God tell on us! Why can't we get away with it!?". I said "Because He loves you and so do I!".

When you lay hands on some people they have instant vision. Revelations of God's plans and purposes for your life! An inward quiet impression is just as powerful as an open vision. Some of the most dramatic breakthroughs I have had, have not been with open vision but with quiet vision! Vision comes through the laying on of hands! People get caught up into the heavenly realm. I don't understand that - that has never happened to me but I have laid hands on people and mainly teenagers have seen the throne room! This is an amazing thing that ten to fifteen years later their lives are still changed. They saw something! I loved what Dave Holden said yesterday - don't try to catch the youth up with a whole load of entertainment to get them related to the church! They are so ready for the supernatural, the young people! When I first went to Australia, all the young people sat at the back cutting up the benches and talking to the girls. These were the youth! Within several months of releasing the power of God they were all near the front and all on the front rows turned unto God. They got under the defibrillator and said "God is real".

Trances are not just New Age - trances are also biblical. The devil is not a creator but a counterfeiter. We have so overreacted to the counterfeit that we withdraw from the genuine. I think it is Acts chapter 10 verse 10 and Peter fell into a trance! He saw things and it opened up the gospel in a wonderful way into Cornelius's home. How many of you have heard of Maria Woodworth-Etter? Amazing ministry. She was standing preaching in the United States and made a point and fell into a trance and was like that for 3 days. It was like her bodily functions were suspended. She stepped over into the realm of the glory. For 3 days! And after that she carried on with the end of her sentance and wondered why the crowd had grown! They reckoned that tens of thousands had come in those 3 days to come and see this lady frozen - a sign and a wonder and they felt the Presence of God was so sacred that they fell to their knees and repented and they reckoned that for a 100 mile radius the glory of God radiated around that whole region.

Many religious traditions would say; "That's demonic". We are so quick to label everything as demonic. It is easy to pick up when it is demonic! When it is demonic it draws attention to the fact that it is the flesh, it is irritating. When it is the glory of God it edifies you and makes you wonder. When God comes in signs and wonders - it is a wonder! What is the point? People realise God is real and it is sacred!

4. Healing both physical and emotions.

5. Darkness is removed.

Demonic presence is driven out and great peace and clarity comes. Because there were extremes in the deliverance ministry many years ago we kind of backed off casting out demons. I don't believe that any individual has a deliverance ministry. I would never categorise myself as that - I believe that ALL believers are to cast out demons. Soon as you classify yourself as having a deliverance ministry the devil says "Great I will send thousands of demonised people that don't want to be delivered to your house and destroy you and burn you out!". Your identity is not in casting demons out but in God's grace. We just cast demons out as a normal way of life! It is just the Kingdom of heaven breaking in!

6. Visitations of Jesus - intimacy, closeness with Jesus.

He becomes so real and His love becomes so real and it carries over into daily living. Many people live for the rest of their life carried by the wonder of that encounter of how real Jesus was.

7. Callings and Commissionings.

God first calls you and then He prepares you over days and weeks and months or even years and then He suddenly commissions you and activates the calling and from that moment we walk in the authority and anointing of that calling through the laying on of hands.

I don't believe someone can actually function properly as an elder unless apostles lay hands upon them - there is a missing ingredient.

8. Conferring Blessings.

"The rod of instruction drives out foolishness from the child". We never want to smack our children with our hands. I know that is a bit controversial issue today biut it says spare the rod and spoil the child. So we would never use our hands to smack our children but a rod.

Hands are not to punish - hands are to bless with. Hands are for conferring blessing, success, favour, promotion, prosperity and peace - all transferred by the laying on of hands.

9. Ordaining Leaders.

10. You bring relief and an impartation of rest.

It brings a relief from striving that can build up internally over days and even years. Often this pressure does not come out until the anointing accesses those areas like a safety valve being opened.

11. The Personality of the Holy Spirit rubs off on you.

(Galatians 5:22).

The laying on of hands is not an immunisation. It doesn't guarantee you against challenges. But it sure is a powerful doctrine of the Bible that God wants to elevate to a whole new level of faith.

Terry Virgo proves me wrong ... again!!

I am increasingly loving being proved wrong - I think in the past when I used to be puffed up with pride reading my theological books and liking to convince myself that I was something of an "academic" then being proved wrong was horrid. But as I am growing older I am realising that there is a wonderful joy in being proved wrong especially when it is by older and wiser heroes of the faith!

Many know that I expressed some doubts about our recent visit to Church of Christ the King in Brighton and my discomfort with the style of how they conducted the evening meeting. It seemed a bit too "Driscoll-esque" for my liking and I pondered over how effective it is for churches to be so militantly "missional" or whether our focus should be on seeing the Presence of God break out in our churches and then the unsaved will come - as they did in the book of Acts!

The demonstration of true New Testament churches proved to be irresistable to the lost!

Frankly at present the church is anything BUT "irresistable" because we are preaching a mixture of law and grace and bluntly - the non-Christian wants to feel good about him or herself. And they come into church and feel worse about themselves and that is not through an effective preaching of the Gospel for that will bring them to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ - the Saviour! No - the feeling worse is through a preaching of legalism and an atmosphere of judgementalism.

But I digress. I was wrong! Yes I am really grateful that my friend Mark Heath advised me not to judge CCK purely on one service. I guess the danger is to get a snapshot and then draw assumptions from that. My wrong assumption was to worry that since Mark Driscoll's visit to Brighton - CCK, Terry and Newfrontiers were abandoning the charismatic heritage and the emphasis on the Presence of the Spirit for "mission" (excessive!? Me?!?! Well at least I'm not lukewarm Laodecian!).

Terry's latest blog had this comment in it;

"Kings have power downward and priests have power upward prevailing with God. It is through our priestly prayer ministry that we reign with Christ. Without a powerful priestly ministry, ruling is mere ambition. The priority is to reach God, then people – not the reverse".

It is a powerful and wonderful reminder that we have a dual inherited ministry of being a "royal priesthood" and I would love to hear more sermons unpacking that reality in our lives! Rather than constant reminders of how sinful we are. And I love that final underlined sentance - that we reach God and then people! What is the point in going out to the lost multitudes when we have got nothing to show them? What is the point in going if our message is just "words only" but no power accompanying?

I am not saying that we do the Pentecostal-style "tarrying" because we have the power already! The heavens are open! The Spirit has been poured out! We are in a New Covenant!! But the question is are our churches living in the full freedom of that? Are our churches expressions of the full glory of the power and freedom of the New Covenant? Or are remnants of legalism and law still affecting and hanging over? Because I guarantee you on good authority - unbelievers will know when there is law and legalism about. I think they are actually better discerners of it than many Christians.

But John Piper once said that the more we spend time nearer the heart that is white-hot ablaze for God (and there is NONE more white-hot for God than God Himself) the more we will be changed into His likeness "from glory to glory". And that means taking Sundays beyond just the peripheral charismatic "tongues and prophecy". That means prophecies that expose the secrets of men's hearts and cause them to fall down in worship! That means gifts of healing and signs and wonders will be in operation and finally we will see Jesus' declaration come to pass;

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord".

A "Glory and Grace Blank Bible" Entry!!

Since my two volumes of Jonathan Edwards "Blank Bible" have been complimented with my "Notes on Scripture" - I have come to deeply appreciate again and again this form of pastoral and more experiential "commentary" on various Scriptures as opposed to my more academic commentaries. And it has given me a renewed passion to steadily add to the "Glory and Grace Blank Bible" blog I set up last year. I am glad I didn't simply limit it to the "Rob Rufus Blank Bible" as I had a suspicion that other preachers such as Ryan Rufus or Bill Johnson would have something to add. And indeed I've added some quotes from Alec Moyter and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones!

Last night I finished writing the transcript of Rob's third sermon in the "Established in the Gift of Righteousness" series - Part 1 is published here - (I just need more time at a computer - am believing God for a laptop I can take to work!). And there was an incredible commentary that Rob gave on the passage in Luke 11 concerning the crippled woman. It may quite possibly be the longest entry into the "Glory and Grace Blank Bible" but WOW is it worth it! I sat there with tears running down my face wondering how I DARED pride myself on coming from a "Word" church and never seeing the insights that were so obviously there!

Here it is;

(Luke 13:16) "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham" - Abraham had been dead for near 2, 000 years. "... as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years" - Jesus could have said '18 years' - but He said 'long' - He is making a point. " ... should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?" - now that is the law.

How did this woman find out that she was a daughter of Abraham? Those synagogues would have been full when Jesus was preaching. The woman would have sat at the back and she was bowed over and crippled for 18 long years! It wasn't by God but by Satan. As a woman in a chavanistic society - Jesus wouldn't have even been able to see her. But while He is preaching, He is preaching about Abraham.

Jesus would have preached the law to the self-righteous and would have preached Abraham to the broken and to the hungry.

How did she find out that she was a daughter of Abraham? It was the content of His message. He would have been telling them about the covenant of grace. He preached first to remove unbelief and wrong thinking. That is why long preaching is good! Thinking needs to be changed!

(vv7-9); "'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down!" - He is talking about a fig tree that needs to be cut down because it is not producing any fruit. The fig tree represents Israel under law. There are two trees that represent Israel. The olive tree and the fig tree. The fig tree represents the death under law. The abscence of the supernatural, dead religion. Adam and Eve covered themselves up with fig leaves. Jesus cursed a fig tree in Mark 11. If you want to talk about the supernatural and the line of Abraham in Israel - then look at the olive tree.

The olive tree is the life of God. If you go to Romans 9:7, 11:1 - you will see it talks about the descendents of Abraham - not all are descended from Isaac. He had Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was born through human effort and the flesh and Isaac was born through the power of the Spirit in the supernatural of God. In Romans 11:17-24 he says we Gentiles have been grafted into the olive tree.

The olive tree is the anointing - the life of God.

If you read the context going back to Romans 9 then he is saying about not the law - the olive tree is a result of Abraham!

True Israelites are descendents of Abraham - not descendants of the law but the faith that Abraham had! We are not grafted into the fig tree but the olive tree. We have got Christians today trying to get grafted into the fig tree. How will Israel get saved if we get grafted into the fig tree of law?! They will envy us and get saved when we get saved and grafted into the inheritance of Abraham - the olive tree!

So Jesus is preaching Abraham! But when He gets with the arrogant self-righteous He lays the law on them big time to expose how arrogant they are. That they are NOT keeping it!

Don't take the outlandish things that Jesus says in the Gospels and say I have got to live by that. See the context is that He is saying it to arrogant people! Christians say; "That is the new law of the New Covenant! Jesus is preaching under the Old Covenant that you must not commit adultery but under the New Covenant even if you look at someone with lust then you have committed it!". Oh pleaseeeeeee! There is no faith in that! We are ALL dead if that is the case!

He was preaching Abraham however to the broken and hungry for God.

(v10); "He was teaching in one of the synagogues" - Jesus taught, explained and unpacked truth! (v11); " ... she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all" - You will never be able to straighten up under the law. (v12); "When Jesus saw her" - How did Jesus see her? She was sitting at the back, crippled and bent over! "Woman, you are freed from your sickness" - He is speaking in past tense but she is still bent over! (v13); "immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God".

As Jesus was preaching the wonder of Abraham, suddenly in this woman's mind she realised this - "I don't have to be a daughter of the law! Abraham's covenant is still available! I don't have to go to God through the law - I can come to God through Abraham!". And I can imagine that she got a little bit angry. She probably thought; "I have never heard the synagogue rulers tell me that I am a daughter of Abraham. All they told me is that I am a daughter of the law. They told me that to get the blessing I have got to keep the law and deserve it and be good enough and they told me the reason I am sick is that God is against me and punishing me!".

But she said; "Today I realise I am a daughter of Abraham - and this means I can get healed today without deserving it!". Today I can get out of financial debt without deserving it! Today I can get out of depression without deserving it! Today I can get out of bondage and addiction without deserving it!

When you reason in your heart that I can get the blessing without deserving it then you are thinking the thoughts of faith - you are thinking faith! The law is not based on faith. The law would tell you to forget about faith; "Just get good enough to deserve it!".

When you preach Abraham - people realise they can get the blessing without deserving it! That is what produces faith!

Her FAITH got Jesus' attention!

Smith Wigglesworth said that God will ignore 10 million people that don't have faith and find the one in the crowd that does have faith. There was a whole synagogue full but Jesus found the one woman. She was sitting there thinking; "Wow I am a daughter of Abraham - I am not a daughter of the law! I can get things from the Father who loves me - things I don't deserve! They are available NOW!".

This is the tragedy although the story ends well. On the first day that this daughter of Abraham got sick - healing was available that day. The 2nd year healing was available. The 3rd year, the 4th year. Because only when she had a clear message on grace did healing kick in.

For 18 "long" years she had no capacity to have faith for her healing because the law is not based on faith.

She saw herself now as a daughter of Abraham. 18 years of bondage ended the day she understood grace. 18 years of bondage ended the day she understood I am no longer a daughter of the law but He is calling me a daughter of Abraham.

I HATE it when I hear people saying that miracles are only for a certain time - one day in the right time. The right time for this lady was 18 "long" years ago! Why did Jesus say "18 long years"? Isn't it amazing that Grace Himself said; "Should not this daughter of Abraham be healed on the Sabbath?". Why is He saying that? And who is He saying that to?

He is saying that to the synagogue rulers. Jesus is saying it to the law people who have robbed the church of faith. Should not this person have come out of financial debt? Should not this person have a healing in their body? Should not they get a better job? Should not they prosper? He is saying that they SHOULD but you are saying that they should NOT!

All heaven is obligated once they come out of law and rise up in faith - then heaven can't help but be obligated to heal! Those who are of Abraham's faith are blessed along with Abraham - when the law is taken off people then we can get them all healed.

18 long years. 18 is the number of bondage. It is the number in Scripture for captivity. In the book of Judges it says Israel went into captivity for 18 years. 6 - 6 - 6 = 18. 3 = perfection. 6 = human pride and human effort. What is the mark of the Beast? Legalism. Babylonian religion and dead works. Not the Gospel or the Old Covenant! This woman was "bowed over" by a demonic spirit. She attended that church for years and the Pharisees didn't help her. They made her a daughter of the law. When Jesus came she discovered she was a daughter of Abraham.

What was she looking at for 18 years? Dust. The Bible says in the book of Genesis - He says to the serpant Satan - "Dust shall you eat". The woman spent 18 years looking at the food of Satan. 6 - 6 - 6. All she saw was human effort. People's feet. The food of Satan. When Jesus touched her with grace, the first face she saw in 18 "long" years was Jesus the Messiah! When you live under law you spend your life psychologically looking at dust - human effort - condemnation - disappointment and struggle.

When the revelation comes that you are a daughter of Abraham - when that comes, you will see that lovely Face every day shining on you and you will move in a new realm of freedom and glory.

Can you believe these synagogue rulers tried to oppose Jesus and stop Him bringing a member of their congregation out of bondage?! That is how the religious demon has opposed us as we preach this message consistently!

A pastor in that synagoguee tried to oppose grace to keep a member of his congregation crippled in the name of religion!

(v14); "But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath". (v15); "But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites!".

Don't you like Jesus' attitude to religious people?! He doesn't get sweet and back off! He just says; "You hypocrites!". This is the Jesus we love! I love Him!

(v17); "As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him" - In any culture Jesus was not afraid of humiliating people that oppose grace because His eyes were on the broken multitudes that need grace. He didn't hold a board meeting and discuss law and grace - He just preached grace and produced faith in the people.

I promise you this lady would not have got healed if Jesus had preached the law there - because the law is not based on faith. He preached Abraham and she realised in that flash of revelation - that I am a daughter of Abraham and that God will give me what I DON'T deserve!