It Is Not About Us!

   Several years ago I went through some training in Theophostic Ministry. Theo which means God and Phos which means light is a divinely powerful and thoroughly biblical approach in ministry. Emotionally hurting people from all walks of life, with all manner of emotional woundedness have experienced accelerated healing as truth replaces lies, freeing them from life long emotional pain. 

   What I like about this ministry is the fact that it relies entirely on the Holy Spirit revealing the lies that caused the woundedness and revealing the truth that replaces the lie thus leading to healing of the wound.

   To be honest I only went through the beginning training of this ministry and used the technique only once but with amazing results. With this post I want to share that experience. One day I received a call from a friend who had a friend who they knew was wounded and controlled by something from the past. I called the person (Art - not his real name) and arranged to meet with them. I also called a friend of mine (Zach - not his real name) who I was going through the Vineyard Leadership Institute classes with. Zach had hot gone through the training but I needed someone to take notes during the session which we would give to Art and also to witness whatever took place.

   The evening of the session I dropped by Zach's house and on the drive over to the house we were going to meet in I filled him in on what to expect. When we walked into the house and met Art we were sort of taken back because he was wheelchair bounded, bent over and barely looked at us. Zach had met Art before at the place Art worked but I had not met Art although I had seen him from a distance once or twice.

   The following is how the session went.

   The three of us sat facing each other. I began by telling Art that this would be a simple session and that I expected that the Holy Spirit would reveal truth and begin the process of healing.

   My first question was: "Art what brings us together this evening?" "Why are we here?"

Art responded that he wanted to find out why he seemed angry most of the time.

   My next question was: "Are you willing to turn over to God whatever we discover and let Him carry it?" Art answered hesitantly, yes.

   I explained to Art that what we would do three things: 1. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the source of his anger, 2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth and 3. Ask the Holy Spirit to begin healing the wound.

   Then I asked Art and Zach to bow their heads as I prayed. My prayer went something like this: "Father, we come before you to ask you to reveal to Art the root of his anger. In Jesus name amen" I then just let Art hear from the Holy Spirit and after about five minutes Art asked if he could speak and I said yes. He bent his head to one side looking at us and said he knew exactly when he first got angry and what the source of his anger is. He then shared that with us.

   After he was done I asked him if he was willing to give that day over to God and forgive the person who caused him the wound? He answered yes.

   I asked him to bow his head and I said this prayer, "Father, we asked you to take this off of Art's shoulders and reveal to him the truth. In Jesus name amen."

   I again sat there silently letting the Holy Spirit speak to Art. This time the answer came almost immediately. Art began to weap and Zach and I were stunned as he straightened up in his wheelchair and looked us straight in the eyes and told us that the Holy Spirit revealed how much the Father loves him just as he is.

   Except for some passing comments that was our session. Today Art is still bound to a wheelchair but he sits up straighter and looks people in the eyes. He still gets angry at times but not like he use to and he has found purpose in the life that he has.

   Here is what I learned from this event:

   1. Bringing healing into another's life is not about me, it is about the Holy Spirit being involved          in their life.

   2. I do not reveal truth to others, the Holy Spirit does.

   3. We do not have to live by the lies that others have planted in our lives and if we are willing to        turn them over to God He will remove them from us.

   Are you being held captive by lies others have told you?

   Are you wounded from the events in your life?

   Would you like to be set free and have those lies replaced with the truth?

   If so the Holy Spirit is waiting to get involved with you and replace those lies with the truth and heal your wounds. Here is the good news: "It is not about you or some specialist working it out." It is all about God. He reveals the source of your woundedness, He reveals truth to you and He brings the healing. 

   God often uses another person in this process but He is not required to do that. The reason He uses other people is for relationships to be built. Although He already knows your wound the beginning of the process is to share it with Him. He will then either lead you to the person He wants you to build a relationship with or He will begin the process of healing. 

   It is all about God not us! 

Going on a Treasure Hunt

Do you have a desire to be challenged and inspired to take risks and realize the Great Commission in an exciting way? Over the next few posts I will share with you some ideas on how to go on "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt." I will be sharing from a book with the same name written by Kevin Dedmon. Hopefully in the next few weeks you will be sharing with me stories of how the Holy Spirit led you to a specific person who He wanted to have an encounter with. If you take up this challenge you will not only be a part of life changing experiences but have fun doing so.

I encourage you to purchase your own copy of the book, "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt."

It is a guide to Supernatural Evangelism through Supernatural encounters. The Ultimate Treasure Hunt is about supernatural encounters. It is about learning to live a naturally supernatural Kingdom lifestyle, in which miracles, physical healing, the prophetic, and setting people free are normal occurrences, as we release the presence and power of the Kingdom of God to the people we know and meet every day.

As a pastor one of my key jobs is to equip, empower, and releasing believers to live a naturally supernatural lifestyle using their gifts in service to others. I will be using this book to share with you how you can engage the Holy Spirit in your life and touch the lives of people He wants to through you.

This book is not about arguing someone into confessing Jesus. It is not about coming up with the right answers to convince someone to agree with your particular doctrine. It is simple a tool to be used in helping you be the hands and feet of Jesus as He draws someone to the Father.

Skeptical?  You should be! If you are like me you have watched men and women stand on stages proclaiming that they are God's insturments of healing. This is not what we will be doing. We are going to simply ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us key things to look for in searching for the person (the Treasure) He wants to encounter. The important thing to remember is searching for the Treasure is not about you but about God and what He wants to do in someone else's life. If you have accepted Jesus as your savior and King then He wants to use you in touching the lives of others. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! IT IS ABOUT HIM!

If you are interested in being involved in finding lost treasure you will be involved in what Luke describes in Luke 15: 8-10 Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

I encourage you to pray about this and ask the Holy Spirit to first show you if you should try this. I believe He will give you a supernatural answer through some form of encouragement. Come back several times this week and I will have new posts on getting started.

I am expecting God to move in a mighty way in your community because you risked being involved in the Great Commission. A Treasure is waiting for you to find it.