Monday, May 04, 2009

UMT Weekend Report

A few weeks ago, we hosted another UMT or Urban Missionary Training Weekend here at the church. It’s a weekend training module that we have developed to get folks from being totally “green” at doing the stuff and bringing the Kingdom to walking in the power of the Kingdom, quick! We have some teaching and foundational theology that we preach and teach, followed immediately by the actual “doing” of the work. Folks from all over the country flew and drove in to be a part of the training and outreach and as usual, God showed up.


MY TEAM

Our team had the privilege of having a cameraman with us to document the miracles and ultimately to produce a video documentary of the power of the Kingdom being demonstrated on the street. I’m excited about the project and there will be more to come on that in future updates. But the good thing is that every testimony I’m telling here that happened with our team can be documented, on video. I have a saying around here that says, “The truth can hold up under intense scrutiny!”

One of the first folks we talked to was a gentleman who was grilling outside of his apartment. When I first looked at him, the Lord gave me a word that I have had before. When I looked at him I had a gentle vision of a spider web. It’s a picture that the Lord has given me before to describe someone that’s trapped in a situation/circumstance where they feel that they can’t get out of. So I walked up to the guy and told him, “Hey, sometimes the Lord shows me things for people and I believe that He was showing me something for you.” He indicated that he wouldn’t mind hearing what I had to say so I started to explain to him what I had seen.

As I spoke with the little understanding that I had, the Lord gave me more. I saw specifically that he was actually involved in the drug culture and that he had a desire to do right, but circumstances left him feeling trapped in a lifestyle of sin and compromise. The Lord also showed me that he had a “Nathaniel” type personality like Jesus recognized, “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false”. The Holy Spirit was showing me that he had a love for truth and despised hypocrisy in all its forms. The Lord also gave me some direction about his current girlfriend and that he needed to marry her and “do the right thing”. It was pretty confrontational and direct. His mouth dropped open and he started nodding in the affirmative. He then told us that he had come outside to clear his head and was just praying, “What do I do?” Immediately after that, we walked up and explained his situation in detail. The “What to do” was turn to Jesus, renounce his lifestyle of compromise and ask the Lord to deliver him.

Right there in front of his now smoldering grill he gave his life to the Lord, asking God to rescue him from the foolishness of his actions. It was real, it was authentic and a true conversion. He was repentant and honest, asking the Lord to please rescue him. It was awesome!


HANDICAPPED SIGN & WONDERS
Our little band walked through the apartment complex looking for an opportunity to demonstrate the Kingdom. We had to step out of the street as a car full of people passed, but what got my attention was the handicapped parking sticker hanging from the rear view mirror. I told our little team, “Target Acquired!” From experience, I know that a handicapped sticker most certainly means an opportunity for God to destroy the work of the devil! We waited for the car to park and walked over to the folks as they were getting out of the car. I asked them, “Who is handicapped and needs the sticker?” They pointed to a lady sitting in the front passenger side of the vehicle. She looked sickly and emaciated and asked us why we were asking. We walked around to her side of the car as she tried in vain to get out of the vehicle. She was obviously too weak to even stand up on her own. I knelt down and explained to her that we look for folks that are sick and needing healing so that we can pray for them and demonstrate the power of the Gospel. I looked her in the eye and told her that it was a great day for her and her family! She looked at me like I was crazy!

I explained to her that God’s will is that His Kingdom would come and His will would be done ON EARTH as it IS in Heaven! We came to find out that she needed everything! She had asthma, bronchitis, a high fever, was recovering from cancer treatment and the cancer was in remission. She also had several other symptoms, was in extreme pain in her abdomen and very weak. We asked her if we could pray, “On earth as it is in Heaven” and she agreed. I had her check on camera her physical limitations. She was very short of breath and wheezing and she was completely exhausted, running a high fever. We started to pray for her and the presence of God overshadowed us. It was obvious to me that the Lord was touching her physical body and I asked her what she felt.

On the first check her wheeze and shortness of breath were both gone. On the second check the pain in her abdomen was gone. In just a few minutes strength had come back to her and I asked her if we could take a walk. Without a problem she stood up from the car and began to walk with me as I held her arm. Her apartment was up a flight of stairs and normally she would have to stop 3-4 times on her way up. She walked up with me without taking one rest and sat down in her apartment without pain! Oh yeah and the fever broke as well! By this time her family was gathered around and I was able to explain to them that the Kingdom of God had come near to them! Grandma was initially planning on going straight to bed but with her newfound strength she got up and began to cook for the entire family!


MS HEALED!
Another team in a community just a couple of miles from where we were at encountered a young lady that was walking like a mummy, in obvious pain. They asked her what was wrong and discovered that she had Multiple Sclerosis, just having returned from the hospital in severe pain and experiencing an extreme lack of mobility. They prayed for her, commanding the MS to leave her body and the Kingdom to invade! Right away, the pain left her body and she began to move and do things that seconds before were impossible! The team watched as the lady excitedly began to run up and down the stairs with perfect mobility and NO PAIN!

One week later the young lady attended a service that we were conducting in the Jonesboro area and testified personally to the mighty healing and deliverance that she had just experienced, still PAIN FREE and in perfect health!

Come on Jesus!

No comments: