Kingdom Stories

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is in Luke chapter 5 where Jesus is in someone's living room teaching, and the Spirit of God breaks through to touch people. Luke 5:17 describes it like this:

"One day he was in the house teaching, and the power of the Lord was present to heal the sick."

Moments like this happen regularly throughout the ministry of Jesus. He walks into an environment, looks for what the Spirit of God is doing there, and simply joins up with that.
Luke 6 tells the story of Jesus standing outside and the power of God coming around him so strongly that people pushed through the crowds just to touch him. The results were phenomenal: people with all sorts of chronic conditions, illnesses and demonic obstacles in their lives were being healed by the manifest presence of the Spirit of God on Jesus' life. These are some demonstrations (or signs) of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God into our world.

Well, our commission is the same as Jesus' commission: to announce the kingdom's presence and to do the ministry of the kingdom (make disciples, heal the sick, drive out demons, take authority over nature, care for the needy, show love and mercy, raise the dead, and all the other wonderful stuff of the New Testament). Now, I think if we're going to have any success at all in this mission we've been given, we'd do well to learn from Jesus and become sensitive to those times when the Spirit of God becomes present in a manifest way for a specific purpose (ie: healing the sick).

We've seen God move like this several times over the last couple of weeks:

-Daniel, the friend I wrote about in my last post who came to the equipping class at the Halifax Vineyard, just sent me a message yesterday saying that his doctor ran additional tests, and it's medically verified that he has been healed of diabetes. After more than 5 years with the disease, it is completely gone and his body is operating normally!

-Daniel and Evelyn's friend who had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer also found out she was pregnant. Doctors had little hope for her or the baby's future. But as a group of us came around and prayed for her and the baby, the power of God came on her. The prognosis has now changed for her and the baby. She's feeling great, and the baby is perfectly healthy and able to be born safely.

-I taught at a youth gathering last night where we told stories about Jesus' ministry today, and then invited the presence of God's Spirit.
The students got words of knowledge for physical conditions, they prayed for their friends' sicknesses and saw God show up.
Demonic oppression was broken: as one kid fell on the floor and was writhing in pain we spoke to the opposing force with the authority Jesus gives us, and it left immediately.
Other students were empowered tremendously by the Spirit of God, shaking as His power surged through them, filling them with His Presence.

God is actively at work all around us. We have been given the ministry of Jesus! Let's begin to look for those moments where the Spirit of God becomes manifestly present to demonstrate his rule to every group of people on earth.

Building Bridges

Jesus taught us so well that God is always at work all around us (John 5:19). He's always working to draw us to himself, to touch and heal people's lives, to expand the presence of his kingdom. If we will simply look for God in our midst, we'll see him at work and be able to join in what he's doing at that moment. This became evident to me again over the past couple of weeks:

Daniel is a new friend of mine from a Native Canadian background. One day a number of weeks back he and his wife were driving in their car listening to a Vineyard cd. The disk was scratched and so when he got home, he Googled the Vineyard in Canada to see if he could order a replacement cd. He came across the Halifax Vineyard site and decided to visit the church that weekend. He enjoyed his time and decided to come back that night for the equipping class I was leading on Kingdom Ministry.

That first night during the ministry clinic, someone received a word of knowledge, and Daniel was healed of diabetes. He went to his doctor, and the blood sugar that had previously been sitting at around 25 for a couple of years was now around 5. His doctor ran tests and informed him that there is no sign of diabetes. He has gone off his medication and is completely healthy!

Well, Daniel and his wife shared the story of how Jesus healed him with some of their friends from the Aboriginal community. One of these friends had recently been diagnosed with a severe form of cancer, and after hearing how God worked in Daniel's life with power, she was open to receive prayer. Daniel suggested that we all get together at their place, have some dinner and pray for her. At first there was some uncertainty when she found out that we were not Native, but she accepted, and
we all gathered at Daniel and Evelyn's for a barbecue.

After dinner as we prayed for her, the manifest presence of God came around her and she began to feel His power surging though her. The area where the cancer was grew incredibly hot and it was evident that God was at work.
We spoke to the condition with the authority that Jesus has given, and had the opportunity to share some prophetic words for her concerning what god has made her for. Angels showed up in the room, and the environment was like Luke 5:17 where it says "the power of the Lord was present to heal the sick."
After praying for her, this woman with tears in her eyes, embraced us so warmly and said, "I'd like to come to your church." She showed up on Sunday morning where everything that went on seemed like it was tailor-made just for her, and received more ministry.

The latest news from her today is that she's "doing better and feeling good." Apparently her doctor's appointment went really well and she received a good report. I'll tell more of the story as it unfolds.

Jesus loves to touch the people around us. When his kingdom breaks in, cultures are transcended, walls between ethnic groups come down, and bridges are built that brings a community of the kingdom together. I'm excited to see the reconciliation that happens around this.