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!