Thursday, May 28, 2009

Salvationist Miracles

I thought this might be interesting. These are a couple of quotes taken from General William Booths memorandum to his officers in 1901 on the subject of healing. I will ask the question and he will answer it.

Has The Salvation Army always been interested in miracles?
From the foregoing, it will be seen that we have never discouraged Officers, or Soldiers, or any other persons, from seeking the intervention of God by Believing prayer on behalf either of the healing of their bodies or the removal of any other afflictions which they may have been called upon to suffer. The very opposite has been the case. With all our hearts we hold that God is the answerer of Believing Prayer.

What do you think about all these different so called manifestations of the Holy Spirit?
I question very much whether there has been a people since the Israelites of old who have been more favoured with marvellous manifestations of God’s power in the rescue of Comrades from difficulty of one kind and another in temporal affairs than we have been privileged to witness.

Arent signs and wonders just for 'out there' people?
I do not believe that there can be a Corps of The Salvation Army, at home or abroad, in which some such signs and wonders have not been wrought.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Prophetic -> Healing -> Salvation

I recieved this exciting email from Catch the Fire ministries Pastor Danny Nahlia. They have a newsletter which they send out to praise God for what He is doing in their movement. Read and be encouraged, click here if you want to find out where their meetings are.

"The weekend gone by saw an increased level of the anointing of the Holy Sprit as the mighty presence of God swept through the hungry crowd of Jesus-seeking worshippers! A young Buddhist man, who came for the meeting for the first time, received a prophetic word from the Lord and came forward to the altar for prayer and the laying on of hands. He told me that he couldn’t lift his left arm as it was paralysed. I asked him whether I could hold and lift it up. He said, “Yes, but do not let go as it drops and hurts me a lot." Well, I lifted his hand and started praying for life to return to his withered hand, with the crowd united in prayer. As I was holding his hand I felt the weight lift off, and I knew that his muscles were getting stronger. I then at once took my hands off and all glory to God as the man continued to keep his hand up. Then I told him to bring it down and lift it up and promptly he responded with no problem at all. The place erupted into shouts of joy and clapping as the Lord touched his arm! This Buddhist man then gave his life to Jesus."

How cool is that? A prophetic word lead to a healing which lead a mans salvation! Hallelujah! The greatest miracle of all is Salvation! Be challenged to listen to God, obey and believe for miracles today! All glory to God!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Miracles

I found another couple of great sites which have a stack of testimonies on them, they range from simple things from hearing God speak to them through to amazing healings!

This one is fantastic with just under 1,000 testimonies of all sorts of illnesses being cured! Check it out here.

The second one os from Bethel Church where Bill Johnson is from. They have a bunch written down and a few video testimonies. check it out here.

If you want proof of a miracle with verifiable evidence check out my blog from Wednesday 25th June last year. Also, check out the comments on that post and you will find a phone number to check out the story further.

Also, if you need a miracle email me @ (james.thompson@aus.salvationarmy.org) with your name and I will pray for you and perhaps you will be able to testify in the coming days!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Luke 7:36-50

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.

41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
49The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
50Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

----------
I love it how "whilst we were still sinners Christ died for us." I love it how God knows exactly what we are like and forgives us even when the world is still brining up our sin. Thank you Jesus!
----------
Perhaps you have never recieved the forgiveness of your sins. The woman in the story came to Jesus humbled herself, gave of herself and had faith. It doesn't matter how sinful you are, infact the more sinful you realise you are the more you will end up loving God! If you would like to recieve this forgiveness, humble yourself - acknowledge your sinfulness, give yourself to living for God - turn from your sin and follow Jesus teaching, and have faith - believe that He has forgiven you!

Peace.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Holiness and Revival

One of the things I love about The Salvation Army is our holiness doctrine. I believe that this holiness doctrine is essential for having and maintaining revival. If revival is brought by the Holy Spirit then we need to allow the Holy Spirit to move and sin grieves the Holy Spirit. This is why it is a big deal when people especially leaders, sin during revival, its a problem becasue it hinders the Holy Spirit.

I thought it was interesting how many of the big revivalists around the world have holiness doctrines:

Reinhard Bonnke
"We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is able to live a HOLY LIFE."

Rodney Howard Browne
"The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ's return."

Benny Hinn
"The Scriptures teach a life of holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Entire sanctification is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to God's Word (Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 1 John 2:6). "

Fresh Fire (Todd Bentley)
"We believe all Christians are called into a life of separation from sinful practices and they should take every opportunity to promote righteousness and godliness (James 4:4; Romans 12:1-2, 13:1-10; 2Cor 6:14 -18; 1 John 2:15 -17). Holiness is the release of Christ within each and every believer, changing us into His image, from glory to glory. (2Cor 3:18 ) "

Bethel Church (Bill Johnson)
"In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live holy and minister super-naturally. The baptism of the Holy Spirit according to Acts 1:4-8 and 2:4 is poured out on believers that they might have power to be witnesses."

Planetshakers (Similar to Hillsongs shorter version...)
"We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to walk in the fruits of the spirit and use spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues, which is the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. We believe the gifts are for every believer."

So regardless of whether people live it out all the time, we can see that the majority of revivalists and evangelists have a doctrince of holiness.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Jesus Culture

Jesus Culture is an awessome movement which is trying to light revival fires all over the world by empowering everyday people to step into supernatural ministry! They come out of Bethel which is the church Bill Johnson is the pastor of. (Speaking of Bill Johnson, I went to see him speak at a meeting here in Melbourne and over 50 people got uo to testify that God had healed them during the prayer time! God is good!) Theyre a great bunch of people. I also had the privilige of going to one of their conferences and it was great, empowering, inspiring and challenging!

Anyways, they have a fantastic website with a cool media player with testimonies, sermon chunks and chats and will motivate you to keep fighting in the salvation war and to remind you to always rely on God! I came across this page on their website which has a bunch of testimonies on it. Well worth the read!

Enjoy!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Christian Demonology

Been doing a little bit of study on demonology today. Thought this was good. Its taken from "Power Healing" by Wimber.

Demonology in the New Testament
· The New Testament clearly shows the existence of the devil and demons. (Luke 10:17-20, Revelation 12:7-10)
· Jesus life and ministry were marked by confrontations with demons. (Luke 4, 6:18, 7:21, 8, 9, 11)
· Jesus gave authority to his followers to drive out demons. (Luke 9, 10, Mark 16)
· The New Testament teaches on Christians authority over demons. (1 Corinthians 2:6-8, 10:20-21, Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 1:13-16, 2:20)
· The New Testament also tells of numerous exorcisms. (Acts 5:16, 8:6-8, 16:16-18, 19:11-12)

What about them?
· They have intelligence (Acts 16:16-18, 19:15-16)
· They are spirits (Matthew 8:16, 12:43-45, Luke 10, 24:39, Revelation 16:13-14)
· They manifest themselves in different forms (Revelation 9:1-11, 16:13-14)
· They are malevolent (Matthew 12:43-45, Mark 1:27, 3:11, Luke 4:36, Acts 8:7, Revelation 16:13)
· They know their own end (Matthew 8:29, 25:41, James 2:19)
· They have supernatural strength (Matthew 12:29, Mark 5:4, Luke 8:29, Acts 19:13-16)
· They must bow to Jesus’ name (Matthew 8:28, Mark 5:7, Luke 8:26-33)

How do they affect us?
· Temptation
· Opposition
· Posession

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

How could you support _____?

What do we do with so called dodgey people who seem to get results in the Spiritual? Do we simply write them off and say everything they do ss demonic, do we make youtube clips demonstrating how trhey are wolves in sheeps clothing? or do we have a closer look at what they see as important and see what they believe and stand for?

William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, was accused of all sorts of things especially when he brought out his book, "In Darkest England and the Way Out." Its been well documented how the press handled him. At that time as a reader you could have though a number of things about him but those who he had ministered to would have no doubt he was a man of God. There would also be those in his meetings who didnt percieve God at work in themselves and would say his ministry was a sham and emotionalism!

Why do I consistantly bring up people who the world sees as dodgey? Because I can see what God is doing in their lives and ministries. I like what Bill Johnson has to say about Todd Bentley and see it as a perfect example of what I am talking about...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

BJ Quote

I like this quote by Bill Johnson that I read the other day in his book, "The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind." It talks about some of the traps we can fall into as Christians... Ive had a think about where I am, are you game to do the same?

"On one hand the mind has been cast off by some creating a mindless gospel that is emotionalism at best, and cultic at worst. They delight themselves in doing things without reason, thinking that only then is God pleased by their great faith. On the other hand there are those who have elevated the mind above its rightful place, creating a gospel that has reduced God to the powerless image of man. This group lives in the illusion that they are spiritually safe becasue they only accept the things they understand, raising carnal Christianity to an elite status. They unknowingly embrace the very deception they hoped to avoid. The challenge before us is to give ourselves completely to the full purpose of God for the mind of man through the model that Jesus gave us, thereby giving us access to His supernatural life style."

Bodies hit the floor

I love these two videos! I know these guys have some dodginess to them, but therre is still no doubt God has used these guys in different ways. These vids are just a bit of fun rather than a theological something! However, Ive fallen over when people have prayed for me on several occasions, sometimes they have touched me other times they have not. For me, my time on the ground was relaxing and I heard God speak to me in a powerful way. It felt as though there was no one else around, just me and God. Enjoy!



Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Purpose of the Law

We have had some good discussion on the use of law in evangelism in todays world. Some believe it has no place, however I agree with Wesley, Spurgeon, Finney, Billy Graham, John Stott, C.S.Lewis, Luther and a host of other scholars and evangelists who say it does have a part to play. Please understand I AM NOT SAYING THE LAW HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE GOSPEL, rather the law leads us to Christ, it shows us our sinfulness and need for a saviour.

Here are some points from Galatians 3.

1) Firstly, I agree, Paul is not saying “we should use the law in evangelism.” BUT from what he has said, and I’ll go into this, it means we can use it in evangelism because of what the purpose of the law is. Before I go any further I want to state that I do not believe the law is the gospel, far far from it!

2) The law that God gave in the 10 Commandments were already laws before God said what we should and should not do. (Sabbath is the only law that we could argue about but we’ll save that for another day…) We see clear evidence of this with Cane and Able, Noah and the flood and many more stories. Sin was sin before and after the law. This is why the 10 Commandments are also known as the moral law. The law then is more of a “Rules for living with a Holy God so that you don’t get destroyed.”

3) Galatians 3:19 is important. “What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.” So people were sinning and God added the law, verse 22 then takes this further by saying, “But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.” It’s saying that everyone is a sinner, with or without the law. Verses 23-25 then talk about how horrible it is to be under the law.

4) So what is the law for? While the Jews had the law they were under it and its consequences. It is in light of how horrible it is to be under law because it is so hard to keep that we understand that a) we cannot be justified by keeping the law and b) we are sinners in need of a saviour. Hence the law is there to lead us to Christ. The law shows us why we need Jesus.

5) Now, in light of Romans chapters 1-3 (I’ll write more on this later) we see that the whole world has sinned, we all have the law written on our hearts, we all have known that there is a God and many have rejected Him. With this in mind that people’s consciences accuse them we can preach the law so that, a) like the Jews they can understand that they cannot be justified by keeping the law or in today’s language, “By being good,” and b) so that they understand their need of a Saviour.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Persecuted Church

Very busy week this week with a bunch of assignments so cant write much now... Instead check out www.prsecution.com. Its a website devoted to keeping us informed and to advocate for persecuted Christians around the world. Click here and sign up for their prayer newsletter.

Peace Out

Monday, May 04, 2009

H.S Evangelism

Just a quick note,

I had to write an article on evangelism and I again realised possibly the most important part of evangelism...

For me, my life as an evangelist happened after the Holy Spirit set me on fire. Once the Spirit did this I had a natural burden for the lost which has only intesified the more I have grown in my relationship with God.

Salvation belongs to God. The Holy Spirit is essential for true evangelism. The Holy Spirit motivates and empowers the evangelist and convicts the sinner.

If you want to be a great evangelist then ask the Holy Spirit to make you one then in obedience preach the good news of Jesus Christ and give people an opportunity to respond.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Graham Evangelism

Here are two great evangelists, father and son, they both understand that we need to repent of our sin to be saved, and both understand that we need to know what sin is before we can repent of it!

Billy Graham is one of the worlds best evangelists, he has preached to literally billions of people and millions have stepped forward to recieve salvation! Billy Graham holds the record for most people at the MCG, (around 130,000), and influenced a whole generation.

Billy Graham “The Holy Spirit convicts us...He shows us the ten Commandments; the law is the schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. We look at the mirror of the Ten Commandments, and we see ourselves in that mirror."

Franklin Graham “Each person we meet on a daily basis who does not know Christ is hell-bound. That may make some folks bristle-but it's a fact. When we refuse to warn people that their actions and lifestyles have eternal consequences, we're not doing them any favors. If everybody feels good about his or her sin, why would anyone repent?”

On a side note, does anyone find it interesting that some of the most influencial evangelists ever have all used the law in evangelism? I find it interesting!