Serving Others

Sunday morning I spoke @ the Halifax Metro Vineyard on becoming servants of Jesus. Like Philip in the New Testament did everything from passing out lunches to disgruntled widows, to healing paralytics and driving out demons (see Acts chapters 6 & 8), every follower of Jesus is called to a life of practical and empowered service.

See, we’re called to do all of it:
Wash the dishes, cut the grass, help out our neighbors, lay down our rights, forgive people who offend us, get prophetic words, heal the sick, and cast out devils! Whatever is in front of you in the moment is the area of ministry God has for you.

After the message, we made space for the ministry to break out. A large number of words of knowledge for conditions like cold sores, TMJ, misaligned tailbones, arthritis, dental problems, thyroid disorders were given, and then everyone engaged with praying for the sick. The power of God was touching people all over the room.

During ministry time, I noticed a guy in his twenties with power coursing through his body. A few of our young adults were praying for him. He had suffered with a jaw condition for a long time that caused severe pain and limited his range of motion. As the Holy Spirit touched him, we spoke to the condition, commanding it to leave and his jaw to return to the way God designed it to be. His pain disappeared and he exclaimed- “It hasn’t felt this good in months!”
In addition the physical healing as the kingdom broke in, God grabbed his heart in a fresh way and encouraged him with a sense of His deep love. I got to speak prophetically to him about his destiny as a friend of Jesus, and he was deeply moved.

This is what God has told the Church to do when we come together: Worship Jesus, teach His Word and serve each other with the spiritual gifts He gives in the moment. When we catch this vision as a movement, we’ll witness this unstoppable force called the Kingdom of God advancing in ways that transform our world.

Regional Camp Update

The weekend of Sept 18-20th was our second annual Atlantic Vineyard Regional Youth Retreat @ Malagash Camp on the North Shore of Nova Scotia.

Everywhere I go recently I’m talking about making disciples. It is so crucial to call the next generation of the Vineyard Movement to embrace Jesus and His kingdom as a way of life. In typical Trevor style I talked for nearly an hour on this (Yes I lost track of time!), telling healing stories and speaking prophetically to different ones God highlighted.

During the ministry time, a large group of teenagers and young adults responded to Jesus’ call for their lives. Some came to him for the first time ever; others re-focused their direction and decided to pursue a lifestyle of obeying Jesus’ words and doing His works.
God visited many with power, encountering them through words of knowledge, prophetic ministry, healing and deliverance.

This whole thing of announcing Jesus’ kingdom reminds me of the parable of the Sower:
We throw the message out to people everywhere and it either takes root and grows, or it gets stolen away before it gets a chance to reach maturity. I’m going for thousands of people who want to become deeply rooted followers of Jesus, doing His works in this next generation.

Impact in the West

This past weekend in Calgary, Alberta went phenomenally well.
I arrived Friday night to a wonderful welcome, and taught the first session on “Becoming Apprentices of Jesus” on Saturday morning. The whole theme was that Jesus not only calls us to obey His words, but also to do His works (announce the kingdom, heal the sick, drive out demons, demonstrate authority over nature, care for the poor, speak words from God, raise the dead etc). Ministry time kicked off right away with both teenagers and adults being touched by the Holy Spirit in powerful ways. The sense was that God was opening up the environment to prepare people for all He was going to do that weekend.

The next session was a practical talk on healing and how we get started. During the ministry clinic, some youth received words of knowledge for physical healing and we found some victims!

A lady was there who had had severe arthritis in her hands for 8 years. She had also suffered a previously fractured knee, and was dealing with complications from that. She was in constant pain. A 13 year old girl got a word of knowledge for pain in the hands, and as the group began to pray, the power of God instantly hit this woman. She began weeping and shaking as power coursed through her body. Her arthritis pain immediately disappeared, giving her a full range of motion, and her knee was healed on the spot as well. She actually jumped up, ran outside and went for a run! She was so grateful to Jesus for bringing his rule to her, and days later, she had no sign of pain.

Asthma, allergies, depression and all sorts of pain disappeared as the kingdom of God broke into this world and touched various people.

The next session was on the gift of prophecy. The whole room engaged to give words to certain people, and the presence of God fell in tremendous ways. Some incredibly significant words were given to people, and you could see the Spirit of God visibly stirring their hearts.

By the end of the weekend, a number of people devoted their lives to this call to follow Jesus and to do what He does. God set up divine appointments and prophetic events all throughout those 4 days. It was a tremendous time of kingdom impact!
I’m looking forward to going back sometime soon.

Ministry Trip

I fly out to Calgary, Alberta this weekend to spend a few days with the North Calgary Vineyard, teaching on doing the ministry of Jesus. The sense of expectation for breakthrough is almost tangible.

You know when you get that surge of absolute confidence that God is going to do something big? That's what the author of Hebrews calls "faith"; the confident expectation that what we hope for will actually happen.

I'll be speaking at 4 different sessions on becoming disciples, doing healing, advancing the kingdom and growing in prophetic gifts. The whole goal is to equip others, who will equip others to do this stuff.

I'll post an update when I get back after Labour Day. In the meantime- invite the kingdom to come with me this weekend!

The Divine Reflection

Have you ever wondered what the Creator’s like? How would you describe his personality, his emotional chemistry, his desire for his creation?
Philosophers and theologians have discussed the ontology (the nature of being) of God ad infinitum, and yet the New Testament gives us a vivid illustration of who he is:

The Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly… Hebrews 1:3

When I read this again a couple of days ago, the words seemed to jump right off the page into my spirit, energizing me in an incredible way.
Jesus is the reflection; the exact representation of God at work in the world.
So, if you want to know what God’s like, or what his will is, or how he feels about people, just look at Jesus in action:

-The Jesus who spends his Saturday nights healing entire towns of sick people and driving out their demons (see Mark 1:32-34)
-The Jesus who loves when a group of friends tears apart a roof to get to the healing power of God (Luke 5)
-The Jesus who extends mercy so freely all throughout the Gospels-

This Jesus is the exact representation of the Creator’s personality.

So, when we talk about the will of God as it relates to healing, forgiveness, deliverance from evil spirits, or any other issue, our first point of reference must be Jesus. What do we see him doing as we read the Gospels?
From there on out, being in God’s will is simple- just join up with Jesus and do what he does. Enough talk- go do the stuff.

Stirring the Waters

We had a great time yesterday morning at Valley Gate Vineyard in the Annapolis Valley.

They had invited me to come and speak on vision for the next generation in the Vineyard Movement, so during the teaching, I talked about the ingredients for what Ed Piorek has called “Classic Vineyard.”
Those 3 main ingredients are:
1) The manifest Presence of God among us in worship
2) Teaching the Word of God (specifically the themes of the Kingdom and Mercy)
3) Doing the Works of Jesus (healing the sick, driving out demons, prophetic ministry etc)

After the teaching time, we made space for a ministry clinic to learn to do the works. Well, on the drive out to the Valley, I had asked the Holy Spirit what specific conditions He wanted to touch that morning. God gave a list of about 10 or 12 things that I wrote down and shared during ministry time.
We saw people with melanoma, bursitis, drug addictions, severe depression, infertility issues, slipped disks etc, dramatically touched by the power of Jesus.

One of the words of knowledge was for a man who was struggling to give up cigarettes; he wanted to quit but kept feeling the pull back to nicotine. A young man about 21 years old responded in amazement- saying that he had just been talking to God the night before about wanting to quit and he actually decided to come to church that morning to get people to pray for him. When I shared the revelation that God had spoken, his faith was elevated dramatically. He knew God cared specifically for him and was listening to his prayers. We prayed for him and had a sense the addiction was broken. We’ll see what happens with his progress.

The Kingdom of God broke in with power, as God was touching people all over the room. Many conditions completely disappeared or were partially healed.

A woman came up in agonizing pain from bursitis in her shoulder. As teams prayed for her, tremendous heat began to radiate from the area. The pain disappeared and she was able to move freely. We also got the opportunity to speak prophetically to her about the things God had placed in her heart. She was overwhelmed with the love of God and began crying as she encountered Him in a significant way.

Another home group leader was struggling with an intense sense of depression that would follow her around like a dark cloud over her head. She had a powerful call to ministry, but every time she would try to advance, the depression set in and sidetracked her. This power was broken as teams spoke to her condition, and she experienced a wonderful freedom.

The response from the church pastors and leaders was that their community needed this fresh injection of expectation and the renewal in the ministry of Jesus.
I was reminded again yesterday how close the dynamic rule of God is to each of us. I never get tired of this stuff! What a great way to spend a weekend…

In the Moment Ministry

At its best, the Vineyard has always been about looking for what God is doing in the moment, and going with that. From the very early days of our movement, John Wimber modeled what it means to look for those little nudges of the Holy Spirit and take the risks to obey.

Sometimes joining God in His work comes with a distinct sense through a word of knowledge, an impression or a strong leading of the Spirit, while at other times, you seem to sort of stumble into something great, almost by accident, a la Forrest Gump.
I suspect that God does it this way sometimes just to remind us that this whole power ministry thing has been His idea all along. He’s actively reaching out to the people around us, even when we don’t have a clue what’s going on.

A couple of weeks back at the Halifax Vineyard, I prayed for a woman who had been experiencing such a profound heaviness and discouragement that she had basically checked out of life. As I recall, “the ministry” was a very simple prayer with no particular signs of power associated with it at all. We took authority over the discouragement and depression and commanded it to leave, invited God’s Spirit to fill her, and then wrapped up. I told her to check back and let me know how she was doing.

Well, yesterday morning she came to me and reported that since we prayed that day, she has had such an amazing sense of life. Her relationship with God has been revolutionized, and she is moving forward with great energy.

You never know when the most “un-anointed” prayer, the simplest prophetic word or the most basic act of faithful obedience will absolutely transform someone’s life. So let’s look for the leading of the Holy Spirit and step out to obey Him both when we sense great unction, and when we’re simply being faithful to what Jesus has called us to do. Keep going for the kingdom!

Healing Stories

Just a couple of quick healing stories that happened recently:
Last Sunday night, I taught the final VBI Authority to Heal class at the Halifax Metro Vineyard. During the class we emphasized the fact that in the Gospels, Jesus never commissions us to study healing, rather, He commissions us to heal the sick. Confident expectation, risk taking and faithful obedience are all a part of this tremendous invitation we have to join God in His work of bringing wholeness to hurting people.
Well, after the lecture it was time for the lab. We made space to apply the reality of Jesus’ words right there in the classroom of the Vineyard building.
A student was there suffering with severe ear pain and TMJ. I stood back and let the class do what we had been talking about. As the class gathered around her, and invited God’s presence, noticeable changes began to occur:

-Power surged through her body, and immediately the blocked ear began popping, the pain disappeared completely, and she was able to hear perfectly. The muscles in the jaw also instantly loosened, and the condition vanished.
Needless to say, the class was excited! The authority of Jesus flowed through them to another person in such a wonderful way. I’m looking forward to classes beginning again in September as we continue equipping a new generation of Vineyard leaders.

The following Tuesday at a youth ministry gathering, one of the students was suffering with a stomach condition. During ministry time, 5 or 6 students came around him and prayed, and instantly the condition lifted off of him and he was in perfect health.

Jesus has called us to obey His words, and to do His works wherever we go. Right now, there’s a sense of momentum building as more and more people find themselves hooked by the call to join this mission.

This summer I’ll be traveling to Vineyards in the Anapolis Valley and Western Canada, as well as speaking at the Regional Atlantic Youth Camp, on this call to Jesus and His Kingdom. I’m excited to see this dynamic in-breaking of God’s rule continuing to advance.

The Beginnings of Breakthrough

It's hard to believe that we will have been in Halifax for one year at the end of this month. We left Kansas City last year in late May, with no guarantees except the sense that God was stirring a resurgence of healing in the East Coast of Canada, and that we were supposed to join Him in what He's doing. So much has happened already:

In addition to everything that I've written about over the past year-

-I'm now serving on a National Youth Ministry Development Group for the Canadian Vineyard; focusing on equipping the next generations to do the ministry of Jesus.

-I've been teaching Vineyard Biblical Institute Classes at Halifax Vineyard; leading students through the Diploma in Kingdom Ministry and doing training in the areas of healing and spiritual gifts.

-I'm organizing the regional youth/young adult camp for the Atlantic Vineyards this Fall, where we'll be emphasizing growing in intimacy and empowering.

-I'm doing a workshop on Holy Spirit Ministry at the Regional Naturally Supernatural conference in New Brunswick next weekend, and then teaching that Sunday at the Halifax Vineyard on Growing in Intimacy and Authority.

This has been the hand of God leading the whole way. He spoke to us about leaving our home, our church and the people we love in Kansas City to come to Halifax to break up ground and equip people to do kingdom stuff. At times the journey has been difficult, but when I look back on all that's happened, I see we're right on schedule!

Something significant to this whole thing happened this past Sunday night at the VBI class:

I was talking about the role of faith/confident expectation in creating environments for healing. We focused a lot on cultivating intimacy with God, based on what Jesus models for us in the Gospels (withdrawing to pray, active in the moment listening for the Spirit etc).I also highlighted the role of prophetic ministry in breaking open environments and calling out what God has planted in people's hearts.

At the end, we made space for empowering and I started prophesying to different ones about what God has put in them. One of the church leadership team went into full on prophetic birthing/labor pains, lying on the ground with the power of God on her, shaking and groaning with intercession. I've attended all 5 of our babies deliveries, and it was intense as any of them!

This went on for 45 minutes or so. At the same time, 3 other women in the room were experiencing labor pains, and a sense of something significant being born in the Vineyard. A doctor who was there was weeping and crying out in travail with weeping.Tongues and spiritual gifts started flowing; it was like Holy Spirit organized chaos...I think it's significant that it all happened Mother's Day. 29 years after Mother's Day 1980 where empowering hit the Vineyard in a major way for the first time.

God has an agenda for breakthrough in this region and this nation. I'm so thankful that we all get an opportunity to play!

The Importance of the Prophetic

Throughout this lifelong journey of being connected to Jesus and His Kingdom, I've discovered that God absolutely loves to speak to people. One of the ways we get to partner with Him in this is through the gift of prophecy. To simplify things, prophecy is the act of hearing what God is saying specifically in the moment for a person or a group, and speaking it out. Often, the presence of the Holy Spirit accompanies the message in a powerful way, and people's lives are dramatically touched.

In the New Testament, Acts chapter 21 gives us an example of the prominence of prophetic activity among early followers of Jesus:

In this one chapter, we see Spirit-inspired prophecies from the local believers in Tyre (verse 4), Philip's teenage daughters in Caesarea (verse 9), and a recognized prophetic person named Agabus (verses 10-11).

It seems everywhere Paul went on this leg of his trip, the Spirit of God was speaking to him through prophetic messages.

In 1 Corinthians 14: 24-25, we see how important prophetic gifts are to the community of believers. Paul writes that we must "eagerly desire" the gift of prophecy, and goes on to talk about the impact that hearing God's voice can make on people who haven't encountered Him yet:

"But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

Last night as I was sitting with a group of distracted teenagers, the Spirit of God began speaking. I looked at one young man I had never met before, and sensed that God had called him to lead worship. Not knowing whether or not he had any sort of talent for this or not, I took a risk. It turns out he's just begun to play guitar and the "in the moment" prophetic word stirred spoke powerfully to him that God knows him and has huge plans for his life.

Looking at another student I saw a picture of him in front of groups of people announcing that Jesus is present to heal sicknesses. As I shared it with him, the Holy Spirit confirmed the message with a strong sense of His presence.

Prophecy brings the reality of God down to an experiential life level. So many times I have found that when we listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and speak out in confidence the things we sense Him saying, the whole atmosphere of a room is transformed. All it requires is the confident expectation that God will speak to us, and the ability to setp out and take risks.

Breaking the Power of Fear

Even the most basic reading of the New Testament illustrates that when the Kingdom of God breaks into this present evil age, power encounters occur. The rule of God overthrows the rule of darkness, oppression falls off people, and they come into the mercy of the Father.

This happens everywhere Jesus goes in the New Testament: whether it's a vacation at a lakeside retreat (Mark 4 & 5), a local church gathering or after a dinner at a friend's house (Luke 4). Jesus loves undoing the power of the enemy! As He announces the Kingdom's presence, the pseudo kingdom of the devil is pushed back and evil spirits run for cover.

Two weeks ago during a ministry time after worship, the Holy Spirit gave a word of knowledge about freeing people from nightmares and intense fear during the night hours. One of the people who responded was a girl who had been plagued with fearful dreams and night terrors constantly. We prayed a very simple prayer for her, commanding nightmares to stop by Jesus' authority and inviting the presence of the Spirit of God around her. This girl told me a few nights ago that she hasn't had a nightmare since!

This is the in-breaking of God's kingdom, pushing back darkness and bringing His presence to the people He loves. I'm so glad we get to participate in His work...

Breaking Up Ground

Early on in 2006 a friend of mine, John MacGirvin, gave me a prophetic word about coming to the east coast of Canada:

He said, "I saw you out in a field plowing really hard for about 3 and a half years, coming into a short season of rest, and then going out to plow another field in preparation for a healing revival on the East Coast of Canada."

The first part of this word unfolded just like that- we worked incredibly hard in Kansas City for 3 and half years, focusing on breaking up ground, healing hurting people, and teaching the words and works of Jesus. When it was difficult we pushed forward because we were absolutely committed to see the kingdom break in to that environment.

Then, somewhere around the 3.5 year mark, things got easier: more people got healed, there was a great deal of favor in the community, spiritual gifts were breaking out and the power of God was touching people. For just over a year, it felt like a season of rest. Although we continued to work, it seemed like easier work than it was when we first started out.

Well, in the Spring of 2008 we moved to Halifax and phase 2 began. For 10 months now we have been breaking up ground on the East Coast- pushing into spiritual gifts, the reality of Jesus and His Kingdom, and the manifest presence of God. Already we've seen wonderful signs of breakthrough: physical healings, demonic oppression lifting off people, growing expectation, and an increased awareness of the Holy Spirit's presence. At times it's difficult to keep pushing forward, but I'm continually reminded of Paul's words in Galatians chapter 6: "Don't become weary of doing good because at the right time, we'll reap a harvest if we do not give up."

I'm looking forward to seeing what will grow out of what we're planting right now...

When Jesus Comes to Town

There’s a wonderful dynamic in the Gospels that occurs whenever Jesus visits a neighborhood: people get healed of sicknesses, demons come out in dramatic ways, and the mercy of God touches the lives of individuals in a powerful way.

Last night at our youth gathering @ Halifax Vineyard, I taught from Luke chapter 4:38-on what it looks like when Jesus comes to town:

After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

Jesus constantly modeled “in the moment ministry”; wherever He went He brought the reality of the Kingdom of God to people.

I love the image of Jesus and His friends going for fish sticks at Pete’s house after church one day, discovering Pete’s mother in law has a fever, and so Jesus simply speaks to the fever and tells it to stop. The remarkable thing is that it leaves immediately.

Well, I guess the lady started text messaging her friends or something, because soon after there was a whole crowd of people at the door. And Jesus touches them in the power of the Holy Spirit, heals all of their diseases and drives out a whole bunch of evil spirits.

See, this is normal life for followers of Jesus. Wherever we are- we bring Jesus’ authority and empowering to both announce His rule and to demonstrate his rule. We see this over and over again in the pages of the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts in the life of Peter, Stephen, Philip, Paul etc.

So last night with this group of about 25 teenagers and young adults, I told stories of the things I’ve seen Jesus do when it comes to healing the sick: skin growing back over open wounds, heart conditions disappearing, cysts dissolving instantly, injured bones and tendons instantly restored, blind eyes experiencing healing, crooked spines straightening, diseases being miraculously healed etc. Then we made space for words of knowledge to see what God wanted to touch.

The first girl we prayed for had severe headaches on a regular basis. Throughout the talk she had been disengaged and distracted, and the Lord spoke very clearly to me that He was about to do something powerful with her.

When we called her up to get prayed for, all of that changed. As God’s presence came to her, the power of the Holy Spirit touched her. We gave her prophetic words about her life and the destiny God has for her, and it was like she came alive. For the rest of the night she was praying for other people, completely engaged in the ministry time.

We gave prophetic words to a large number of students, telling them things only God could know, and they experienced his presence in dramatic ways as we spoke. Kids that were oppressed experienced freedom as demons left.

Driving home that night, it hit me again- I love this life that Jesus has called us to! Being with Him and doing what He does is the greatest way we could ever spend our time, energy and money. Remember that wherever you are, if you have expectation and the willingness to take risks, the kingdom will break in!

Know What You're For

I had a brief moment last week where I lost my vision. I forgot why we packed up everything we owned 8 months ago, left a great life in Kansas City and drove 2,200 miles to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

God had spoken to us time and time again about the healing ministry of Jesus breaking out in the Atlantic Coast, about our involvement in stirring up spiritual gifts, teaching and leadership. And yet, somehow, in the course of life, I lost perspective and began to wonder if I should do something else. I actually went so far as to send off a resume to a Vineyard in Ohio, and before I knew it they were wanting to talk to me about becoming their new senior pastor.

Then almost immediately, God began speaking again, reminding me of why He brought us here:
-To equip others to do the ministry of Jesus
-To stir up spiritual gifts
-To teach, heal the sick and lead people to love Jesus with everything they've got
-To welcome the Holy Spirit/the manifest presence of God and help people recognize Him when He comes.
-To plant new churches in Canada that do all these things

So I said, "thanks but no thanks" to Ohio, and my vision is clear again.
See, if you know what you're for, if you know what you're supposed to do, then what you're not supposed to do will become really clear.
I've accepted again the mission we've been given, and I'm so energized to keep moving forward.

On another note, I know from conversations I've had that quite a few of you are reading this stuff. Message me or leave a comment sometime to let me know what's going on in you.

Organic Kingdom Ministry

When we read the New Testament, particularly the Gospels and Acts, we discover a remarkable thing: The Spirit of God is always at work, all around us.

It doesn't matter if we're in a worship service or a grocery store; at any moment God can break in and give us spiritual gifts to touch somebody's life with His power and love. The key to experiencing this is to simply open our eyes and try to see what God might be doing in the people around us.

This past week, it happened in our Sunday morning gathering:

I wasn't speaking or leading the meeting in anyway, but as I sat there with my family, the Holy Spirit just began highlighting people. It was like He was saying, "I'm doing this thing in that person..."

At that point, our responsibility is just to step out and take the risk to join God in what we sense Him doing. So that's what I did:

In a very natural way, I went up and gave prophetic words to the three people God showed me. All were profoundly affected. The power of God came on them, tears flowed, they were filled with encouragement and strengthened in their journeys.

What if we just did this everywhere we went? What if we looked around in our churches, in the Wal-Mart, at the gas stations, and simply said, "God, what are you doing here and can I help?" I suspect at the end of our lives we'd have impacted a lot of people. The Kingdom of God has come close to us- where can we give it away today?