God is supernatural. It is the only way He interacts with us.
What good is an encounter?
A divine encounter brings your faith beyond a relationship with a book and lets you experience the God of that book first hand. You’re no longer just reading about Him. He’s confirming everything you ever read about him.
Furthermore, you own the experience. Your faith is embellished when you have a testimony of your own to stand on. Scoffers can tear apart the scriptures to you, but they cannot take away your testimony.
What does it do for a religious person?
One world wrecking supernatural encounter ends a religious person’s games of competing over who knows the bible the best. Evidence that God is really out there smacks him in the face. That knocks him off his platform. He is humbled with the realization that God has had His eye on him since the beginning. His relationship with God is now tangible. It wasn’t until Jesus knocked Saul off his high horse that he became Paul the Apostle. Saul thought he knew it all. Jesus showed him he knew nothing. It was this miracle that catapulted Paul into bringing the gospel to the Roman Empire.
Once he experienced God’s power, Paul’s faith rested in the power of God instead of the wisdom of men. From that resting point, Paul demonstrated the gospel instead of blabbing about it.
What good does it do to demonstrate the
supernatural to others?
Signs and wonders are a vehicle to get others to Jesus. It is a gospel that preaches itself. When the spiritually hungry witness His glory, they want to know more. What caused it? How did it happen? It strikes curiosity. It opens the unbeliever’s heart to the kingdom. It makes believers out of unbelievers and and strengthens the faith of the believer.
The real miracle is the work that is
done in your heart once you have
humbly stood in awe of God’s glory.
Miracles are a precursor to evangelism.
Did you ever have something happen that was so
great you just had to tell somebody? That’s what
happens to a person who receives a miracle. He
immediately becomes an evangelist, whether or
not he took a training class.
If fear of man ever stopped him from sharing the
good news, he no longer is afraid. He doesn’t care
about looking foolish to men.
Consider the women at the tomb. How foolish did
they look proclaiming “He is risen!” They couldn’t
How would you react if you saw someone raised from the dead? Would it amaze you or bore you? You may consider this question absurd, but I have seen many Christians react with apathy when I tell them about a miracle that happened.
One person told me he has been an eyewitness to numerous healings. He has seen people get up out of wheelchairs and more than one person raised from the dead. Yet, he is unimpressed when it occurs.
Where does this lukewarm attitude come from?
It’s not that they don’t believe. They do believe God is the One Who did it. At the same time, they consider it wise to be unconcerned with the miraculous, deeming it frivolous. They consider it a distraction to their relationship with God.
Why is awe important?
They think that true faith is unmoved by stirring events. Indeed, we should be unmoved by tribulations since they are the works of the devil. On the other hand, a move of God calls for celebration! He is all powerful and we are to praise Him for whom He is!
This lack of wonder over God’s splendor is not obedience. Dismissing a miracle as nothing is rebellion, which grieves the Holy Spirit. To fear the Lord means to be in awe of His glory. That’s where wisdom begins.
Furthermore, thankfulness flows directly out of an awestruck heart. And remembering flows from thankfulness. True disciples will not forget the miracles God has given them. True disciples will yearn for the next encounter, not disregard the last as the Israelites did in the desert.
The Israelites knew what they had was good. They knew Godly encounters got them out of Egypt. But, still, they rebelled. They did not remember. They did not fully drink it into their hearts.
If a person doesn’t receive the miracle into their heart when it happens, how will they believe that God will ever do another one when they really need it? Being thankful and remembering what He has done for you helps you to come to Him.
If you don’t come to Him, you will never enter His rest. If you don’t enter into His rest, you will never know Him. And knowing Him is what it’s all about.
Knowing Him is eternal life.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Look around at the people who are rocking and rolling in the kingdom--the ones who are experiencing God in a tangible way on a daily basis-the Heidi Bakers, the Todd Whites, the Pete Cabreras, just to name a few. I’m talking about the ones seeing miracles and manifestations of the Spirit. How did they get there? What is the one thing that all of these people have in common?
They have all opened their hearts
toward God.
Once I realized this, I began to meditate on opening my heart toward God one night before I went to sleep. The next day, I began to receive revelations from the scriptures like never before. It was as if Jesus were explaining them to me Himself.
Another time I meditated on this, I got really emotional. I could feel Him in my heart saying, “I love you, I love you, I love you. I have so much more to bless you with, so much more, so much more, so much more…” This opened me to a place of peace so that I wanted to experience His love more and more and wondered what He had to bless me with.
Another time, He spoke in my heart “Fear not: All these things you fear –in Me, you’re safe.” I know I’ve read the words ‘’Fear not” a million times in the bible, but hearing them directly from Him to me brought them alive. It helped me to trust him.
When your heart is open, you actually receive what the Lord is saying to you. He speaks to us all the time, but when our hearts are closed, we’re not listening.
Here are two different easy ways to open your heart:
1)Imagine your heart is a flower opening up toward the sun.
2)Imagine standing at a door and the door opening up. Jesus is standing there and you tell Him to come on in.
I've discovered that this is a magnificent tool for connecting more deeply with God. If you do this all the time, then your heart is always in receiving mode to receive the things God has already given you.
You can do it for specific things you're trying to receive. Ask him what he wants you to receive right now since your heart is open.
Do this every night before you go to sleep. You can do it anytime, while you're at work or standing in line at the grocery store.
Since He often speaks when you do this, it’s a natural prophetic activation tool.
Try it right now. It only takes 2-3 minutes.
What is God saying to you now that your heart is open?
Every day and in all walks of life, people are tormented by demons. My friend Gene Garner shared his testimony last week during an amazing online fellowship that I attend daily. Gene has been experiencing great success in healing and deliverance and casts out demons by the Spirit of God all the time. He does it because he knows that as a believer, he has the power and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. This is what Jesus commissioned believers to do.
One night last week, Gene received a call from a friend of his. For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call the man Doug. Doug turned to Gene because he was in desperate need of spiritual help. No one knows why it started, but evil spirits had somehow gained entry into Doug’s life. They would rub Doug’s face and grab his throat and follow him everywhere he went. They were tormenting him in order to suck the life out of him. He was reaching the brink of suicide. Satan wouldn’t have it any other way, since he is on a mission to steal, kill, and destroy.
Doug had already sought help from two different Free Will Baptist preachers who pretty much told him he was crazy. He also consulted a Catholic priest, who told him that God was punishing him and trying to show him something. Because it had been going on for three years and no one cast them out, the demons’ foothold became stronger and stronger in Doug’s life.
Now, they had infiltrated his home. The covers would move on Doug’s bed and wrap around his throat, trying to choke him and his wife. This was now a case of borderline possession.
When Gene shared this, I was thinking that this sounded like some pretty scary stuff. I was shocked to learn that he had gone over to the house by himself. I knew that Gene had cast out many demons in his life, but this was a special situation. There must have been a bunch of them and they must have been powerful.
I would have wanted at least one person to come with me that knew what they were doing. Isn’t that how they do it in the movies? Doesn’t a big job call for a big team? What if it overpowered me and threw me out the window and down a flight of cement steps like in The Exorcist?
Gene didn’t think like this. He was confident that the Holy Spirit is with him. He knew there was no time to waste, so he buzzed right over to Doug’s house the following evening.
When Gene and arrived at Doug’s house, he saw what he described as “shadow spirits” moving in all areas of the house from floor to ceiling. As he surveyed the house, they flashed in the corners of his eyes from all directions.
All the while,Gene was not intimidated. Instead, the spirits were intimidated by himbecause he had already earned himself a reputation in the spiritual realm as a guy who kicks out demons. This made the spirits angry and it was evident because Doug’s body was tense from the moment Gene walked in.
Gene came in and sat down with Doug and his wife and shared the gospel with them. He wanted Doug and his wife to know their identity in Christ so that this would never happen again. As Gene preached, Doug was becoming nauseous. Gene was seasoned enough in deliverance to expect this and therefore, instructed Doug to grab a trash can.
As the preaching continued, the spirits were getting angrier and angrier because they knew eviction time was drawing near. Their anger was manifesting in Doug’s body. What had begun as muscle tension elevated to twitching. Then, the twitching escalated into uncontrollable shaking.
He looked at Doug’s wife and said, ‘’Watch this.” Gene exercised his authority by pointing his finger at Doug and ordering the demons, ‘’YOU STOP IT AND STOP IT NOW!” They stopped on cue. This validated what Gene was teaching.
Then, Gene heard the Holy Spirit say in his heart, “It’s time.”
Gene put his hand on Doug’s shoulder. The second he did, he saw the spirits grab Doug on both of his shoulders. Gene paid that no mind because he knew that they had no power over the Holy Spirit. Then, Gene prayed, He bound the spirits in the name of Jesus. He commanded them to come up and come out.
Doug’s entire facial expression changed.
A minute later, Doug said, “Wait, there’s one scratching my lips.” Gene said, ‘’Guess what. You can fix that.” Gene told him to bind it and command it to leave and he did. It was Doug’s first attempt in his life at casting out a demon and it went! This shows just how easy it is.
Now that Doug was free, Gene went home.
Gene spoke to Doug at 7 o’clock the next morning. He said it was the most peaceful night’s sleep he and his wife had had in three years.
From this, I learned that you don’t need an army of believers to cast out an army of demons. All you need is to be convinced that the Holy Spirit is with you before you even walk into the situation. You need to listen to His every word and obey. There is no reason to be intimidated if you are fully persuaded that He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.
*Gene Garner is a member of Free Truth Seekers Ministries
Do you ever struggle to feel God's peace? I know I do. My mind is so busy all the time. Always thinking, always planning, always worrying, always mulling over the things I have to do.
But, tonight, I made a deliberate attempt to be still. As He recently instructed me to do, I tried sitting in silence in my living room for 5-10 minutes and simply listening to God.
As I quieted my mind, I suddenly became more aware of the cars going by on the road and the crickets chirping. I heard Him say “stillness’’. But, I knew there was a greater stillness I was yet to encounter. I was drawn outside to lie on my car and look up at the stars.
Again, I heard the word "stillness'' I was staring at the stars, I was feeling kind of bored. As I was waiting for something to happen. I asked, ''God, I’m still, now, are you gonna do something or say something?"
In a moment, He showed me something. He had me imagine I was on a date with a guy and we were lying on the car, looking up at the stars. What if I were consumed with talking about plans and worries and things I have to do? That would kill the romantic ambiance. If I were there with a guy, the most interesting thing would be HIS PRESENCE.
Aha! My mind stopped buzzing and my focus changed! I suddenly felt God's presence! The son of Man comes at a time when you think not! I wanted to feel His presence more intensely. I asked Him to make it happen, so He turned up the volume and I felt Him more. I kept saying, ''More, God, more!'' And He brought me to a place of feeling supernatural peace.
He reminded me how I had gotten agitated driving home earlier tonight because what was normally an hour long car drive turned into an hour and a half. I had felt as if I were going to be trapped in that car for the rest of my life. If I walked in this kind of peace all the time, it wouldn't bother me to be stuck in traffic or to run errands or do chores or take care of all my responsibilities.
Imagine walking in His supernatural peace 24 hours a day, every day! All the daily irritations would somehow fade and life would be so much more pleasant. It has to be possible to walk in this all the time. One day, this will be my lifestyle. But, for now, it starts with just sitting in His presence for 5 minutes a day.
I encourage you to try this. What will you hear in the silence?
We are NOT the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our churches. We are forced to choose between Jesus and ''Christianity''. We won't deny people healing. We see our brothers and sisters suffering from doctrinal pollution. We see them working long hours for little freedom and no grace, if they're finding freedom at all. We are seeking everything in the Kingdom while the other 99 percent are satisfied with lack.
We are NOT the 99 percent.
Brought to you by the people who occupy the Kingdom of God. What will YOU occupy?
I receive you with pleasure when you come to Me. You do so with all diligence.
When the ways of men are deceiving you, don’t let your hearts be troubled. I have received you all into My kingdom with glory and honor. You are in it now. If the ways of man aren’t doing you justice, then the ways of glory are the only place to turn.
Surrender your hearts and be justified. The ways of man aren’t holding you up any longer. How can this be when I have come – glorified as the One on the throne? Because your hearts have not yet become as one with My true glory. My true glory is calling on you to come and be at one with My system. My system works. This world system is broken. So, then, why do you turn to it, everyday?
Only the One who redeems your path will bring you into glory. Only the One who knows My name will call on Me to deliver him out of these situations that have not been brought to justice. If only I could hold you and direct your steps, would you hear My voice and know I am King. If you are not only waiting for a Redeemer to come and redeem you from your life, then you are waiting for the one true God to come and save you.
I have called you to redeem the masses out of their own tribulations. But, first, you must discern what is right, what is true, and what the world system is telling you. They cannot redeem you.
