Monday 14 April 2008

Invading the Impossible - Part 12

This sermon was one that I was particularly looking forward to with great anticipation because of a comment Rob made in "Invading the Impossible - Part 11" just before he went to Sydney for the "Grace and Glory Conference". He said;

"I am coming back directly because I feel God says come back and I will be here the following Sunday and we will have a riot. I want to teach the good stuff!".

And indeed it was good. Here it is!

"Invading the Impossible - Part 12 - The Power of Testimony" - Sunday 6th April 2008.
I really believe that Joshua Mill's visit here is not a coincidence. I believe it is a divine incident. I really believe it is the arrangement of God. We were not meant to have them - they were meant to go somewhere else. And God said to Joshua; "No - don't go there because the best church in the world is City Church!!". No but they were meant to go somewhere else but were turned down amazingly so we got them and it was God I believe. I am not looking for extra meetings - I have just preached 12 times in the last few days. I am tired of my own voice and nearly ran out on my voice. But next Sunday morning is not just another religious slot. If I could get away with it - I would cancel Sunday morning and let's just meet in the evening with Joshua and then Monday.

But I feel under the instruction of God to have a Sunday morning meeting because so few of you in Hong Kong get an opportunity to encounter God in close proximity of meetings. There is something about the first meeting where you open up to God - He speaks to your heart - you get anointed - you get lubricated and immersed so that by the second meeting in the evening with Joshua you will be best positioned to go into the realms of the glory.By Monday night it will just be an awesome time! I have seen that over and over again. There is very little you can actually do in a single meeting. Sunday mornings are great and we are breaking through.

In fact the expectation levels in the church in the prayer meeting this morning are much higher than when I left two weeks ago! Something has happened in the last 2 weeks! There is a new level of hunger in this church!

More and more of you are telling me; "I see this grace message now - the light of revelation has come on! I see it clearer now!". That is in the last few weeks! So I believe we are going up to a new level. But this is an opportunity to have 3 meetings and you will see how it grows.

You pick up where you left off and go to another level and every meeting is like a rocket booster that takes you to another level in God and so it is so important - if you can make all three then please make all three!

It is costing us a lot of money to have Joshua and his wife here. We are taking it out of our own tithes and offerings that come into this church. I would rather have you here at all three meetings than have to give anything financially. I just want you to be here.

I am jealous for you with a holy ambition to take you to another level. When you come into the glory - you get liberated! In the glory, you become undone! I want to take you into the glory further and further!

If you can't make 2 Sunday meetings then the choice you make is to come Sunday night. Please come to be here with Joshua Mills and on Monday.

Okay - "Invading the Impossible - Part 11" or whatever it is. "By the Power of Testimony". The Bible says in the Book of Revelation that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

"Testimony" comes from the word; "To do it again". When you share a testimony of what God has done in a miracle in your life - that testimony is a sharing of a prophecy and it carries with it a power to duplicate what you are testifying happened to you.

So I give a testimony that I was healed of cancer or pray for someone who was healed of cancer and as I am giving that testimony, it is a prophecy carrying the power to duplicate what I am describing so if you have got cancer as you are listening to that testimony the power in that testimony that healed someone else duplicates it's power in you and heals you. So that power of testimony is what I want to talk about. I want to talk about our time in Sydney and Australia.

By the way we want to put the communion emblems out every week - it will be there during the worship. Go and download the message I preached on "The Power of Breaking Bread" - there is power there in communion! "Do this in remembrance of Me". What happened on the Cross? "By His stripes you are healed". The more and more you understand the revelation of the gospel - the blood and you remind yourself again and again of the gospel then healing comes to you. That is why the breaking of bread is a powerful meal.

Last Sunday Ryan preached on "Sanctification by Grace" and I have to say (and not just because he is my son!) but I was stunned. I have been preaching for 30 years and I have never heard such a clear, simple teaching on the subject of sanctification. "You are bringing people around us who compliment each other Lord!" - I thought. The revelation He has given me on righteousness as a gift - equally so He has revealed to Ryan the concept of sanctification and how you move on in holiness and liberty and freedom from the foundation of the gift of righteousness and it is just profound clear teaching. Please get that!

2 Sundays ago we went up to China and 20 folk from the church came with us and I preached for 17 minutes! 20 Chinese people got saved and on a first time visit to the church! I preached a simple message on; "Jesus got what we deserved so we could get what He deserved". Some people said that sounds like a good deal to me - I am buying into that one! Most of them were baptised immediately afterwards in the same service. So - the power of testimony!

City Church International - the day is coming when we will see 20 people saved every week! Amen? People will start bringing the lost and we will see 20 saved, then 40, then 80, then 100 and then 200 and then every week we will see 1000+ saved here in City Church International!

I long for the lost to get saved! That is my yearning! They got saved when I was preaching in Sydney! The "Glory and Grace Conference" in Sydney was just AWESOME!

I have to say it went up to a higher level than what we had in Hong Kong not because the people there were more hungry or open - it is just the glory is going to another level. That's all! If we would have had another one here at the same time then we would have gone higher than we did in October last year. It is just going to another level.

I shared and preached on God's visitation to me on my rooftop a few weeks ago when He said;

"Son please tell My people to stop trying to impress Me and one another but tell them to allow Me to impress them".

That when God impresses us it just does the most awesome things - He can do in every area of our lives. So my prayer life has changed since then. Any challenges I am facing since then I am saying; "Father, I give up trying to impress you as to how I am going to get out of this. I give up trying to impress people as to how I am going to get out of this. I am looking forward to how you will impress me Lord in doing something in this situation". When I spoke on the glory in Sydney (this is what people told me) and on the glory of God in the last session - many people (not just one or two) said they went into trances while I was speaking!

Some wives would say; "My husband is always in a trance" - no these were Holy Spirit trances! This is what they said - as I was talking on the glory, they actually SAW the glory coming out of my mouth and they went into a trance and the Lord took them into the glory realm where it was three-dimensional and they SAW what I was talking about! The Lord in technicolour demonstrated to them what I was talking about. They went into the heavenly realm and some of them saw a picture. God painted a picture for some of them to see what I was talking about.

Then Jesus appeared to many people. We've got lots of emails pouring in telling us of how they went into the heavens and saw Jesus and He showed them the heavenly realms. People heard and saw (I don't know how you can SEE and HEAR - I know some of my friends went on LSD and said they could SEE sounds and HEAR colours) - but anyway;

The Glory Realm is not limited to the time/space world we live in right now. We were created for the glory. We were meant to live in the glory. We are going to live in the glory forever when we go to heaven but God is bringing His glory here!
People heard sounds from heaven with many angelic appearances. Open visions of angels! You say; "Rob what is that?!". Just open your Old and New Testament and you will see angels appearing to people all the time!

There is something abnormal if the Church today doesn't have angelic visitations.

I taught on what the New Covenant is so clearly that if an angel appears to you (Paul says) and preaches a gospel other than the gospel he preached then let that angel be eternally condemned. In other words I taught clearly what the New Covenant is in comparison to the Old and said; "God is going to come and visit so many of us with angels that you don't have to be afraid of deception if you know the New Covenant so well and so clearly you can easily discern the difference between the Old and the New". I am told that bank tellers when they learn how to recognise counterfeit money don't get to see any counterfeit at all. They train them by getting them to handle real money for hours and hours. So they become so familiar with the real that the moment the counterfeit passes through their fingers they recognise it instantly.

You and I need to discern and become so familiar with the New Covenant versus the Old Covenant (which is obsolete and redundant) - so the moment an angel comes to you and says something that is contrary to the New Covenant then you will know that angel is not from heaven.

Any angel that comes to you - don't worship that angel! That angel comes to help you worship Jesus - to minister to you. Jesus was ministered to by angels when He was so exhausted after His wilderness experience. So angels were seen and actually many saw angels outside the the meetings. While they were walking through the streets of Sydney, people saw angels standing behind people. Angels reaching out to people and trying to save people.

I am so glad that the Church is becoming normal again.

It takes concentrated glory - it takes 5 days of people being in the glory. When we first started you could feel people coming in with their woes and the baggage of the world. It took us about 10 minutes and then the prophetic word came like a trumpet and lifted the meeting and we blasted off and had about 12 meetings on top of each other and then by the end we were in the glory zone! I mean we were so in the glory that there were several sessions where we didn't need to preach - no man or woman could stand up and preach - God was there! Me the preacher - I was unconcious on the platform! The Holy Spirit came and He became the preacher. That is a testimony!

There were two gold fillings as you might have heard - both from the UK. We had visitors from the UK - people from around the world but the one is Millie who is coming to join us from Hong Kong. She had a platinum filling and the other was an elderly man. I am careful about saying "elderly" because he is probably only about 60 and not so old to me anymore! He had a pure gold filling and my friend Tony is a dental technician and I asked him to go and examine it. I want it to be real. I don't want to get embarressed afterwards and make these claims and then it is fakery. I am not into playing stupid religious fakery games - I want the real deal! So Tony went and examined him and said;

"Rob that is the real deal. That gold is so pure that there is no scratches on it. It is brand new!". God just filled their teeth! Why? You see when the glory comes there are manifestations in the natural just as signs pointing to God's glory. That is why I am so eager for you to come Sunday morning, evening and Monday night.

I want everyone in this church to experience the weighty glory - the heavy glory - the glory zone! When you have experienced that once - you are RUINED for life!
There is another world and it is called God's realm! And the Kingdom is His world breaking into this world and some of you have so fallen in love with that world that you are not that interested in this world anymore! That doesn't mean to say you are so heavenly minded you are no earthly good. The more you fall in love with that world, the more effective you can be in this world. But I am not interested in living in this world if I can't walk in the glory and live in the glory.

I could not wait for a whole week for a Sunday to get into the glory. That would drive me nuts! I have to experience His glory every day.

If you are bored check how far your distance is from Jesus. Because if you are walking close to Jesus, then boredom is not a word that you can use to describe that individual. Terrified? Frightened? Excited? That would describe it! I said to guys this morning that I wish the Lord would take this excitement off me. I have lived 30 years waiting for the season we are coming into now! I have lived 30 years patiently and what I am hearing happening around the world - I am saying; "Lord I am so excited, I can't sleep properly at night! I haven't had a day off for 2 weeks standing up preaching and counselling! I can't wait!". I am having tomorrow off and I am saying; "Lord take the excitement off me so I can sleep and eat and then back in again!". I can't stand bored Christians! Yuck! You meet with God! Almighty God - face to face! Bored?! You won't be bored - it will be like plugging a hair dryer in that is 220 volts into 10, 000 volts!

The circuits on my system in "Glory and Grace" were nearly burning out! You try sleeping at night! Bored?! We had to go to lunch at one of the end of the sessions and there was a pub down the end of the road and I left the meeting late because I was just talking to people in a long line and so we got there late and there were people from the "Glory and Grace Conference" on the floor laughing and drunk! I look up on the bar table and it was Coke and Coke Light! They were out of their minds drunk in the Holy Spirit and haven't had any alcohol! They are laughing hysterically with joy and some of the Aussies are looking at them strangely!

These men are not drunk as you suppose! They have just been to the Glory and Grace Conference and got filled with the new wine from heaven and are full of joy!

Fini and Isi at their church a few weeks ago came out after a Sunday meeting and they got out and had a 3 hour meeting in the glory! They were staggering to their cars and it was about 10pm at night and they start to fall. They got the car doors half open and Fini is on his back looking at the stars. There was about 5 or 6 of them laughing with joy. Suddenly a big light comes on and there is an Aussie police van going "What's going on here?!". So Fini hears one of the members of his congregation who is hanging half way out the door say; "Oh it's okay officer we have just had church!". And the officer goes; "Oh that's okay then - just keep it down!" and drives off and leaves them!

There's a dear friend of mine and his name is Ollie. He went to plant a church in Mauritius - he was born there but grew up in Australia. I've known him for many years. The church plant didn't work and he came back limping to Australia. I don't know if you know what it's like - you go out and plant a church and it doesn't work. People help you, support you and release money and you have got to come back and admit it didn't work. That is tough! I think we should bring them back and say; "Well done - you are a hero! At least you tried! It is better to get out the boat and try and walk on the water and die trying than to sit in the boat and die of boredom because you won't take any risks!". Amen? So he came back and has been in a state of negativity for many, many years and he came to "Glory and Grace" - he is a prophet.

He came to "Glory and Grace" and he came up to me one night and said; "Rob - I had a dream a few weeks ago and in my dream I saw this hall exactly like it is in the dream (I haven't been in this hall before) and I saw my son standing with a red top on and I saw you praying for him and the power of God coming on my son as a worship leader and just taking him to a higher level of passion for Jesus". So he said; "Will you pray for him?". So I said; "Sure I will". I went across and laid hands on his son who was 16 and the power of God hit him and he went down on his face and lay there for a long time. I walked over to Ollie who was standing looking at his son and laid hands on him and the power of God hit him like a thunderbolt of glory. Low and behold I was too taken out by God and was lying half unconcious on the platform and eventually I looked up and there was Ollie on his hands and knees honestly taking on the persona of a lion!

He was walking on his hands and knees but negotiating his way dozens of bodies lying unconcious in the glory. Rob is that Bible? Yes it's Bible - it is all there! If that DOESN'T happen - it's weird! We are getting normal again friends! How can God come into the house and no one notices?! You go to a football match and feeling is okay - but if God comes into a meeting and there is drunkenness and that isn't?! He is the HOLY Spirit! He is not going to lead you to do unholy things! He will lead you to do holy things and your life will be changed! Ooh no! Hong Kong Football - drunk!? But Holy Spirit is bad?! No maybe we should say Hong Kong drunkeness bad! And Holy Spirit drunknenness good! But the church is saying that's bad! What's okay then!? Nothing!

The only hope for Australia's drug problem is a move of God where they get intoxicated and caught up into the heavens and see the realm of God!

There was a man there who was a pastor at Hillsongs and now part of Fini's church! He got caught up into the heavens and saw Jesus who introduced him to the 12 apostles! I don't believe that.

Fine - sit in your earthly head and just stay bored! Or there is a glory realm that is available and you can walk into it!

So Ollie was walking around and he was like the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and he was walking with such dignity like a lion! I had preached that night that lions born in captivity are not true lions and have been controlled and tamed by the church.

The whole theme of the conference was; "Who is Controlling the Church? Man or the Holy Spirit?". I am preaching about law and grace but it really isn't about law and grace. It is not really about law or grace but who is controlling the church. If you preach law - it is man controlling the church. If you preach grace - it is the Holy Spirit controlling the church.

Now God will use men and women as leaders but under the Holy Spirit. It is all about control! That is the main theme. We went across to Bill Johnson's conference and he was teaching the same thing! Who is controlling the church? Law and grace! All the guys from "Glory and Grace" who didn't behave themselves at Bill Johnson's were all laughing and half-drunk - then every time he said something I had said they were slapping me on the back and saying; "Yere he is quoting your messages!". No he is not! He is downloading from heaven! All the prophets are hearing from heaven and are getting very excited. This is what we have waited for and is now upon us.

So Ollie was roaring and was prophesying like an oracle at the top of his voice;

"No condemnation - no constitution - no legalism - no control of man - Jesus says "My church is My church and I am coming for My church!".

He prophesied for hours and a few days after the conference he rang Fini and I as we were driving under the city harbour bridge. He rang us on conference call and said he had only slept a few hours and had lost kilograms of weight and this is a man who was negative for years because of the failed church plant. He said; "Rob I have got fire burning and my hands are shaking - it is in my bones!". He said; "Fini and Rob - what is this?! I never want it to go away - it's so good!". Freedom from years of discouragement!

No more beating himself up for being a failure - just full of faith! Why? He had a glory encounter. He didn't hear a good sermon. He had an encounter with the living God.

Tony and I planted a church in Perth from Coastlands and when he got back to his church he couldn't preach. The glory just fell and his wife Robyn was a very conservative lady and she got so slammed in Sydney Glory and Grace that she got oil pouring from her hands when she got back to Perth. Obviously many people had got gold dust. We got so many reports of churches that were changed. It finished on the Friday and I preached on the Sunday into Fini's church and on Monday and Tuesday we were already getting emails of what had happened. I love it when pastors and churches are changed but it is really about individuals getting set free!

I want to read you this one - and I have got a lot - this is from a little girl called Emma who is 15 years old and lives in Sydney and she goes to the "Glorious Gospel Church" - I know that church and have preached there many times. 15 years of age. She said;

"My mum is a Christian and I have been going to church and youth on a regular basis. I understood what God can do and how He can radically change someone's life but I never tasted God and so desperately wanted to".

Doesn't that describe so many Christians? They know about God but they don't know God. They have not tasted God. They think they know God but they don't know God because if you know God then the love you have for Him and the passion you live for - the passion for the glory realm will consume you in every day mundane life. Not just a Sunday morning! She said; "I had heard about God but never tasted Him!". All cerebral information - intellectual. That's why the teaching Ryan gave last week is so good on sanctification - spirit, soul and body.

She said; "I have been dealing with depression for 3 years and over the past year and a half it became more severe and cutting got more serious". I don't know if you know this but cutting is a major thing among young in the Western world. They start cutting themselves - it is a big guilt thing in Australia and the UK. She says; "And I began to drink and smoke. I was at my lowest point at the beginning of the year - my boyfriend of 2 years broke up with me and I contemplated suicide. My mum knew what I was dealing with but didn't know how to help me. My leaders at the church also knew about it but didn't know how serious it was because whenever they asked me how it was, I lied and what was going on - would never be honest with them. My mum constantly offered for me to get counselling but I always refused to go".

"I got to a place where I was going nowhere and allowed my mum to get me to go to counselling. I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress". Now I really have concern with psychologists just putting a name on something and not having answers for it. "PTS - it began to get worse. I would hallucinate at times and get very agitated and nervous. I just thought that something was out to get me. I tended your "Grace and Glory Conference" on the Thursday night and was so touched on what Rob spoke about".

Now all jokes aside about how long I preach - that night I spoke for 2 hours. You could have heard a pin drop. You must remember that the 100's of people who were there have not been exposed to the message I preach here. Dozens came after with tears in their eyes and said; "I didn't know it was that good". They sucked it out of me and saw it before eyes! This is a 15 year old who can sit through a 2 hour teaching and say "I was really touched by it".

"I went again on Friday night - at the start I pictured me skiing down a hill and kept stumbling and falling over. I was crying and felt so hopeless. As I humbled myself to God, my back felt like it could hold me up again without feeling like a rock was holding me down. My heart felt so full and some of my scars began to disappear. I was so amazed at what the glory of God can do. Just as we were finished praying I got a vision of me skiing down a hill again and not once did I cry or fall. I was skiing with a massive smile on my face and knowing that God was next to me and I didn't have to worry about if I fell because He would pick me up. I walked out with my head held high - I felt like the years of loneliness had gone. The years of disappointment in my self has gone. The pain has gone! My tears were filled with laughter that God had healed me and I have never been so happy! I went again on Saturday morning and was blown away at what God can do. I went to church this morning with a smile and worshipped and jumped around thanking God for changing my life! My addiction to cigarettes has gone!".

Just remember that cigarettes are the highest addiction - nicotene is a high level addiction. You go without cigarettes for one to two days and you will know about it!

"My addiction to cigarettes has gone and I haven't craved one since Friday night. This conference has radically changed my life and I saw how it has changed a lot of people's lives. Cheers guys! Emma!". Give the Lord a clap! Right at the end of the conference I was trying to get out the door and there was a guy in his early 20's who came up to me. I didn't recognise him - he had tears in his eyes and I was tired and wanted to get out. He said "Rob - do you recognise me?". I said "No I don't". He said; "I am the guy - remember you were in Australia last November and I did a men's camp and preached morning and evening in Coastlands church. I am the guy you prayed for". I said; "Oh I do remember - but you look so different!". At the last session in Coastlands I was heading for the side door and out the hall and his mother grabbed me. I had known them for years because they had been in the church in the years I had led it.

She grabbed me and was traumatised and said that Matthew had blinding headaches because of an inoperable tumour on the brain. They couldn't operate and it was fatal. They said he would have blinding headaches and as the time went by, the headaches began and he was on high painkillers and intense headaches. They said the next stage was loss of memory and a coma and then death. It was inoperable. So I was tired and (I want to show you how God works) said "Sure" moved with compassion. The power of God knocked him clean off his feet and he went down and you could see he was super-dosed! I stood over him for about five minutes continuing to pray and then walked out.

Now this is Matthew and he said; "Do you know - that was four months ago and I haven't had one single symptom or headache". I said; "Now Matthew are you sure you didn't have just one small headache?!". He said; "Not a single one. For four and a half months!". He is going for a scan in April and he has told his doctors what has happened. His mum comes in and is just sweeping me off my feet. She said; "His eyes have changed" so obviously his eyes were affected. I didn't recognise him.

I don't mind if people think I am a nut for wanting the glory of God - the manifestations, the signs, the wonders, people falling. I don't care what they think! I am going to take them to Matthew and say; "Come bring your intellectual religion and put your empty hands on his head and see what you can do! Come try and encourage a man who feels such a failure and is now full of God. Come and try and deal with the young people of Australia and Hong Kong who are actually suicidal and depressed and are suffering all kinds of weird things behind the doors! Come bring your religion and your clever counsel to them and see what you can do. This is the power of God friends!". God changing people's lives!

Let me finish by saying that after the conference finished we went across to Bill Johnson's. It is worth you getting those conference CD's by the way. You can download them straight off our website. We are also putting the Hong Kong "Glory and Grace Conference" teachings on our website so they can all be downloaded for free now. We went to Bill Johnson and it was such a blessing honestly. Just to sit for four days under his ministry. Friends of mine got me a chair right in the second row - Glenda and I. They get there early and we were sitting right there. When I go to hear someone who is further down the road than me I don't want to just sit in the back row there. I don't even like the second row or even the first row. I just want to walk up and down alongside of him while he was talking and follow what he is doing! I was so jealous of him because he just talks like a Papa and I scream and shout because that is the way I am wired. He will say something and then not even talk for 5 minutes and just stand there looking at you.

I am sitting there and most of what he said I had heard before but there were a few things he said that were new to me. I don't mind if I hear it over and over again by the way because you need to hear truth over and over and over!

But he said, there is a civil war coming to the church and brother will fight brother on the issue of the goodness of God. It is an issue of law and grace - those that are standing for preaching the law and condemnation and those that are preaching the goodness of God. There are people preaching that God is bringing the storms and God is shaking the world and God is killing people with storms. Bill Johnson said - did you EVER see Jesus bless a storm?! No, He commanded them to stop! And He expects the Church to do the same thing!

You say oh rubbish Rob! Well what did He say when they woke Him up? He said, "Oh ye of little faith" - He wanted them to do it! So civil war is coming to the church - and I can just feel it. It is an issue of law and grace - it is an issue of the goodness of God. Bill said there are people preaching that God gives you cancer. That is a LIE! Jesus is perfect Theology and He healed them ALL! Every person! So did the Book of Acts in Acts 5. He said;

"I hope the civil war takes place in the right context and not for the world to watch".

Then he spoke about restoration - and I am not going to teach on everything he said. I know what you want me to get onto - that I had lunch with him! Okay I am getting there now! I am nearly finished! Lucky I am secure when I walk in this morning! It was not; "Oh hello Rob how are you?" - it was; "Oh I want Bill Johnson's anointing from you!". That is okay and I am secure about that!

I want everything God will give me! I want to pastor a desperately hungry people for God and that is what is happening in this church! Some of you are getting fantastically hungry and that is so lovely!

(*Rob gets overcome by laughter!*).

Bill Johnson's church (as best as I know) has seen every kind of disease healed supernaturally. They see cancers healed regularly. His dad died of cancer and he developed a hatred for cancer like I have a hatred for cancer. My dad died of cancer too. So they have brought down the level of cancer because they have a cancer hospital in their city in Reading, California and they have brought the cancer cases down by 80%.

So a church can change the atmosphere! You can have divine atmospheres that began to hang over a region because there are churches there that are hungry for God. They are not just Sunday morning attenders and are religious. They are hungry and contending for God's will to be brought into this world.

They see bi-polar healed regularly now and mental disease healed. They have seen fingers that weren't there grow out and many body parts replaced. They have revelation that God has got a body part department in heaven and many of their people have been into heaven and seen the spare body parts room! Hundreds and hundreds of their people pray for the sick regularly in the streets.

One lady was ministering in the team and one person came up without a patella (a kneecap). She said; "Oh I don't have a kneecap - my knee is all messed up". The lady from the church said; "Oh that's no problem - I will just reach into the spare parts room in heaven ... oh I have got it now". And she put her hand on the woman's knee who started screaming because the whole new patella was there!

Now if God created your DNA and your genetics and all of that then surely He can replace missing body parts? In fact God was a Creator before He became a Healer! Healing had to start because of the fall of the planet into corruption but He was a Creator before then so if you get recurring kidney problems and you get healed and then get it back and then get healed and get it back then God want to give you just new kidneys!

You will never get new kidneys just in the anointing - you have got to get into the glory realm. When we get into the glory realm, all this huffing and puffing and begging and pleading for people to get healed will be all over. Sit in the glory for a while and you just get healed! You just get healed in the glory - it is easy!

Hong Kong doesn't have one church like that yet. Not one! Not even one! But it is going to have many. All it takes is just one Roger Bannister to break the four minute mile and then hundreds start doing it. Why are we being opposed from the invisible realm? Because the devil knows just one church breaks through into the glory and sustains it week after week and month after month and there will be many other churches that will. And what has happened in Australia this last week will happen to precious Hong Kong Chinese people. This city desperately needs it - and would you say "Amen" just looking around?!

So what they are doing is that they do not have crusades. They just have normal church like the book of Acts church was. They have healings in their meetings and they get people fly in from all over the world to their church and get healed. Not everyone - some people don't get healed. He is very honest about that. His eldest son is deaf in the one ear - and he is refreshingly honest about their failures as well. How many of you have had failures in praying for the sick? Me - lots! Most of their healings take place in the market place and in the street. People say; "Where's your market place programme" and he says; "We haven't got one! Our people are trained and inspired to pray for the sick and any sick person is open game - a legal target". So some of their people for recreation go and sick in the Emergency wards and wait for people to come in and then say; "Holy Spirit lead me" and then go up and pray for the sick and then people get healed and they don't need to go in! This is happening all the time!

When you first hear this you think they are exaggerating! When you hear Joshua Mills talk about teleporting in the Spirit - when you first hear that you think he has got to be a liar. Someone has got catch this guy - he is fradulent! Then you realise you can't keep doing this year after year. It is happening! Joshua Mills is coming here!

I wish I could tell you story after story! There was a guy in Bill Johnson's church who was flying back from the UK and was tired and just wanted to read a book and go to sleep. An air stewardess spilt a drink on his white t-shirt by accident and he said he was feeling so angry! He said it was just as well he was gracious about it because of what happened next. He got cleaned up and looked across and saw a woman sitting along the row. The Holy Spirit said that woman has had back problems for about 2 weeks - go pray for her. He said, oh Lord here we go. So he moved across to her and said, "Lady did you have an accident about two weeks" and she said, "How did you know?!". He said he was just sitting there and the Holy Spirit told me. He prayed for her and she fell under the power at 30, 000 feet!

One of the air hostesses came running over and said, "Is she okay? Do we need a doctor?!". He said, "No - no she is okay". So then he told her that she had a back problem and he had prayed for her. The woman got up and was saying; "It's healed - it's healed!". She takes over from him and starts preaching to the air hostess saying; "I had a back problem and he came and prayed for me and now I am healed!". So the air hostess says; "I have a back problem too - would you pray for me!?". So he says; "Sure I can do that!". She says; "Do I have to fall down?". And he says; "No you don't have to fall down! You may or may not - it doesn't matter!". So the air hostess gets healed and goes on the intercom and says; "God is in the plane and He is healing people and if you need healing come to aisle whatever, seat whatever!". And now they are lining up and so there people coming and a big British guy comes and says "I will be your catcher!".

So they are having church on a plane at 30, 000 feet! He preaches the Gospel and five people give their lives to Christ! If you are bored just check how far you are from Jesus! This is an ordinary man! We have robbed the church by thinking this is the ministry! YOU are the ministers - the called of God - the signs and wonders people! The Holy Spirit is inside you and wants out onto the world onto people like Emma with depression for 3 years!

So Bill was talking about God restoring - but God will often do the natural first and then the supernatural second. He gives the natural signs first to get our attention and then the prophetic.

In the prophetic God gets your attention as to what He is up to. The prophet's question is always; "What are You upto now Lord!?". You cannot co operate with God unless you know what He is up to! If you don't know what He is up to then you can walk through life as though God never even existed! A Christian can then live like an atheist with no faith for miracles and live like practical atheists.
If you don't know what God is upto then you cannot co-operate with God! So God started showing in the natural that He would restore things to people that they had lost! For example Bill had a friend called Bob Jones who is a high level prophet in the earth today and would put all the psychics to shame and the counterfeit psychics who foretell the future. Operating by demons.

The Spirit of God is the only authentic voice of prophecy.

Bob Jones gave this friend of Bill's a fantastic penknife and he lost it. He went back to his hotel room and was sitting on his bed and he says; "Lord I want my penknife back! Bob gave me it and it is special!". As he said that the penknife appears up in the air and drops onto his bed! Some of you as you heard that went "No - didn't happen!". Examine why your first reaction is one of disbelief. That means you have a preconceived worldview so that anything that affects your worldview, you then dismiss it - no matter what other evidence may come out. So while Bill is talking about this penknife - a guy goes home and he has lost his wallet about 2 weeks ago! He comes together with his family and they hold hands and say; "Father - I want my wallet back!". The wallet drops out of the sky and onto the table!

Now there is a thing in the church where people are asking for their penknives back and briefcases, money in their accounts - MONEY! Where they have been defrauded and money comes back in their accounts! Now people are saying what is this? And God speaks to Bill and says;

"I am restoring all things. I am doing it in the natural and I will do it in the spiritual. The book of Acts church is being restored in the earth today. Signs, wonders, miracles and manifestations".

Having said all that I will finish with this. I have got some wonderful sons in Australia and it was such a joy to see them. Guys like Chad and boys and were all trying to hook me up with Bill. So I said; "Guys - back off. I know what Bill's schedule is like".

In the Christian world there are people who are into the celebrity thing. If you preach to crowds of thousands, then people think that you are a celebrity and they want to have surrogate second-hand value through association with you. That is sick. That is actually sick. There is something seriously wrong with that.

I get sick to the gut seeing how secular stars get worshipped by people when those people are on all kinds of drugs and their lives are a mess! Many of them. The newspapers making money to tell us the sordid details of famous people when we should be praying for them that God would save them and God loves them and protects them.

A dear Australia guy - what's his name? Heath Ledger. He lived at Brontes Beach and couldn't even come out his house because everyone follows him. He goes to the toilet and needs a Saviour like everyone else! And we have got that in the Kingdom. "Oh that's a celebrity - will you please sign my book!?". So I said; "No I don't want to bother Bill - I just want to sit and receive. Why should he come and speak to me!?". "Well he's a reformer and you are a reformer! If God wants to set it up, He will set it up. I am not pushing for a date! The guy is exhausted and it is abusive eventually you know!".

So anyway on the very last session, it is coming to an end and Bill is speaking and I am sitting behind the host - the senior pastor - who hosted this conference. I never met him in my life or spoken to him once. I only know now that his name is David Crabtree. Bill is winding up and suddenly David turns around and speaks to me for the very first time - he doesn't know me and he says; "Would you like to have lunch with Bill today?". So I said; "Let me just check my diary!!". I said; "I would very much like to do that with my wife - thank you very much". So he says; "Go up to the room afterwards and you can have lunch". So I am thinking there will be 50 pastors there. I go up there with Glenda and it is just Bill in the room and one attendant serving us a lovely meal.

So I say hello to Bill and go and get my food very quietly. He is already eating and I sit down on the couch next to him and Glenda is next to me. And he just sits there quietly eating. I thought; "I like this man! He doesn't feel any pressure - he is so secure. He doesn't have to pretend". You know the jabberers?! He is just eating! So I am just eating - 5-10 minutes. Glenda is now kicking me under the table! "Say something! Introduce yourself!". I look at her with fire in my eyes; "Back off - everyone has been trying to force this and God will make it happen". So after about 10 minutes I turned to Bill and said; "Bill I believe you like hunting and fishing. So do I!". His eyes just lit up - someone who is not going to talk church though! He starts talking to me about rifles and talks about his full fridge and his fly fishing and his hunting!

At the end of that I said, "Bill you know at the end of 1981 we had a visitation from God with signs and wonders". He said, "81?! Wow - 81!". "It lasted 18 months and then it began to lift. God said it would come back again at a future time. I have lived so hungry for more of God. I have lived so hungry! I have said to God many times, 'God you either take this - give me the answer to this hunger and give me the increased Presence and increased glory and increased signs and wonders or if you are not going to give it to me God, then take it away because the hunger is driving me mad!". And I said;

"God if you aren't going to do that then take me home because I have no reason to live on this earth unless I can manifest the ministry of Jesus".

His eyes filled up with tears and he said; "That is exactly how I feel! That is EXACTLY how I feel! I am so consumed with God's world and who He is". I said; "Bill would you please pray for me?".

Because you see there is a transfer - what a man has taken 30 years to accumulate, it can be given to you in 5 seconds through the transfer.

Christians say; "Oh we don't run after signs and wonders - they run after us". But Bill Johnson says; "If they are not running after you then you run after them until they run after you". He said; "I went everywhere in the world where there were men and women ministries I put myself under". It is just a matter of humility! He has been prayed for many ministries in the world.

He said; "Rob I would be absolutely delighted to pray for you and your wife". So we talked a little bit more about hunting and then he said; "Let's do it now". So Glenda and I stood up in front of this couch and he came and stood and lifted both hands. I am not lying - I tell the truth. As he stood there I felt a wall of solid glory and it wasn't on me yet but as I stood there I could feel it emenating towards me. I haven't felt it for a long time that strong! As he lifted his hands it shot towards us and we both fell backwards onto the couch. I went; "Wowwww" and Glenda went; "Wow!". Then she was gone and this glory was all over us.

We staggered up eventually and went across the room to give him a hug and Glenda said; "When you laid your finger on me - my head was like I got shot with electricity". He said; "Oh yere - yere that happens!". We gave him a hug and walked out. So how many of you are hungry for the anointing?! Let's stand together. Let's lift our hearts before heaven. Your hunger must exceed your fear of man and your pride. There's not one of us who doesn't have some sort of pride in our life - trying to impress people. I am impressed with Jesus. Bill Johnson is an awesome man but I am impressed with Jesus. The way Bill ministers he looks a lot like Jesus. But that happens when you spend a long time with Jesus. He is re-presenting Jesus. You look like Him and the power starts flowing out from him like Jesus.

Lift your hands to heaven. Father we worship you. We thank You Father that we are a generation that have come into that season.

4 comments:

lydia said...

Dan, you are a transcribing machine!!! This was soo good, I love his sense of "urgency" to keep up the momentum with His church.......

Dan Bowen said...

I feel like I absolutely HAVE to keep up with Rob and CCI!! I'm scared I will miss anything God is saying! I too love the sense of urgency! It's so catching isn't it?!

lydia said...

YES it is!
Somehow, you just have to get Rob singing Bob Dylan's song, from this past Sunday's message, on here...I don't know how, but it would be soo cool!!

Dan Bowen said...

Ha ha - wow yes! Who would have ever thought that Bob Dylan could be prophetic!? I will do my best!!