by
Lonnie Mackley
LK
24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city
until you have been clothed with power from on high."
For
many of us as Christians, we have prayed for many people over the years for
different things and we have seen God help some of these people, but we have
longed to see God heal people and deliver them from evil spirits as we laid
hands on them in much a greater way, and so God sent us into the Wilderness to
prepare us to be more stable and responsible so that He could in fact flow
through us in greater power to help those in need. The disciples had walked
with Jesus for several years being prepared to walk in power, and so finally
Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel in power and these were the
instructions He gave them;
MT
10:7 As you go, preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver
or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or
sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
MT 10:11 "Whatever town or village you
enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you
leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is
deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to
you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust
off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it
will be more bearable for Sodom and
Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore
be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
I
believe that these guidelines and principles still apply to us today, and that
we will soon be going to the streets, the malls, and many other public places
preaching the gospel and having God demonstrate His power to heal and deliver
so that people will believe and be saved. No matter how many people you have
prayed for before where nothing happened, now you will lay hands on people and
God will in fact heal and deliver them. God just needed to build a more stable,
humble, and holy life in you first, so that He could flow through you without you
falling or failing because of sin or pride. No matter how good your gifting is,
God will only grant His power to people where Christ's character lives through
them so that His power and message is not discredited by bad character or sin.
Always remember, that as many people as you can help, will also be as many
people as you can hurt. Here are the above guidelines in a nutshell;
1.
Pray for everyone that God places in your path. With God's power comes great
responsibility, so you are on His schedule and you must be willing to go and to
do whatever He tells you to no matter how inconvenient it may seem, or how
tired you may feel. Don't be choosy about who you will or won't pray for, if
God sais to pray for them, then
just pray for them.
2.
Don't charge them money for what God does. There will be times that God will
allow you to receive from others to help meet your needs, to meet the needs of
others, or to do something that God wants to do, but you must not charge people
for what God gives them through you. If they want to give an offering and God
sais that it's ok to receive it, then that's fine, but otherwise just turn it
down and tell them to thank God for what God did for them. Freely you have
received, so freely give.
3.
Don't take along a bunch of extra supplies and money when you travel for extra
security. God will provide what you need as you just go forward and do the
work, so just trust Him and do not let fear drive you to make back up provision
for yourself. This may mean leaving your credit cards at home and just allowing
the Lord to give you what you truly need while serving. God wants His ability,
and goodness to receive the glory for all provision, not your Visa card.
4. If
you travel, stay with people that God wants you to stay with where peace reigns
in the home. If it is the right place then don't move around to other peoples
homes. If God wants you to stay in a home then just stay there regardless of
your preferences or how you feel about the people, and don't go to a hotel just
because you think it would be more comfortable and easy. You never know what
kind of ministry or hidden blessing awaits you in each home you stay in.
5. If
the home or the town does not receive you, then just move on and leave them to
themselves, God will deal with them later on. Try not to get all upset and
rattled just because some people will reject you and refuse the ministry God
wants to give to them through you. They are rejecting the Lord, not you (unless
you are doing something inappropriate), so try not to take it personally or
argue with them about it. Just ask the Lord what is next, and move on. You will
have both good and bad reactions and experiences from different people while
serving.
6. Be
wise, careful, and discerning as you walk out what God wants to do, and stay
clean from all sin and defilement. Be discerning and wise about what is really
going on with people and in the spirit realm, but avoid being paranoid or
overly suspicious over everything that happens. Stay away from practicing any
secret sin while you are doing God's work especially. We must walk blameless
because there will be even more "blamers" while you walking in God's
power.
Now,
when you begin to walk in power, you can expect opposition to come and try to
intimidate and discourage you. They will challenge, oppose, refute, slander,
criticize, and gossip about everything they can, and these modern day pharisees
will attack you just like they attacked Jesus and the disciples when they
walked in God's power. But do not be afraid, God will be with you and you must
stand your ground and not give up. Spend time with God every day and do not
allow yourself to get so busy with ministry that you neglect recharging
yourself spiritually and physically, even Jesus knew when it was time to take a
break.
MK 6:
31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even
have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a
quiet place and get some rest." 32 So they went away by themselves in a
boat to a solitary place.
People
and spirits may try to flatter, attack, or bribe you when you are walking in
God's power, but you must remember who you were without God's power and virtue
flowing through you when you were being renovated during the Wilderness. Just
agree with them that God is good and give all the glory to Jesus. God showed us
who we were without His grace in the Wilderness so that we could walk in true
humility once He moved through us in a greater way. This is all about helping
them anyway, it's not about us. Trust God to deal with attackers when they
attack. The disciples ran into these kinds of problems, and this is how they
dealt with it.
AC
14:8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth
and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked
directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out,
"Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to
walk.
AC 14:11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done,
they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in
human form!"
AC 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul
heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:
15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.
AC
13:6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There
they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an
attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man,
sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But
Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to
turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul,
filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 "You
are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full
of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right
ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to
be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."
Immediately
mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead
him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for
he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
AC 8:18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given
at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said,
"Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may
receive the Holy Spirit."
AC 8:20 Peter answered: "May your money
perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right
before God.
These
will be exciting, challenging, and very busy days ahead where we will see many
new people come into the kingdom all at once. Prayer, worship, and reading and
teaching the word will be our daily manna. Remember that new Christians still have
alot of their flesh still intact, so it will take alot of patience and grace to
walk with them. Share the load with others and don't try to be a spiritual
Superman. Lead new believers to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that
He can help them to grow and heal more effectively. He is the master Teacher
and Counselor, teach them to hear His voice and to become more dependent upon
Him. This harvest will be bigger than any other in history, and the opposition
and warfare will be intense so we must draw upon God and each other for much
needed strength and support. Get ready to be clothed with power and to go
forward to conquer in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ.
AC
8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip
went down to a city in Samaria and
proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the
miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With
shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were
healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
