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Mighty Miracles in Malawi
The Lord executes justice for the oppressed, he gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. (Ps 146:7-8)
Christopher Alam was born in Pakistan, fled to Sweden when he became a Christian, moved to the United States after a while, and today he travels through Asia and Africa to preach at big gospel and healing campaigns. The power of God is powerfully manifested as the poor and broken experience all kinds of biblical miracles. “God [has] chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (Jam 2:5). Alam reports on his Facebook page:
MZILIKAZI, MALAWI: Several thousand people received the Lord Jesus tonight. Many deaf ears were opened. A lady who was carried to the crusade got up and walked perfectly! A baby had a huge tumor the size of a grapefruit that instantly and totally disappeared. A totally blind girl received her sight. A man who became totally blind at night and a girl who almost totally blind also received their sight. A girl with one totally blind eye was also healed. Many others were healed from different diseases and infirmities.
All Glory to our Lord Jesus who Alone is Worthy! What a wonderful Lord and Savior He is!
Friday Night: Tonight was a great night. I asked Pastor Dennis Hunsinger from Penn-Del to preach and I prayed for the sick. Pastor Dennis shared a powerful testimony on how God had healed him from cancer. Several thousand received Jesus and there were many miracles tonight. Lots of deaf ears opened tonight. A blind lady received her sight. Many others testified of the wonderful miracles that the Lord did in their bodies.
All Glory to our Lord Jesus!
(more…)
Charismatic Pacifists in the Evangelical Free Church of Sweden
I was sitting together with around 3000 others in a big, old barn; listening to one of the best pacifist sermons I’ve ever heard. It was in August 2010, we were attending the Frizon festival – one of the biggest Christian youth event in Sweden (it doesn’t require much to be big in this country). The preacher, Jonas Eveborn, talked about how Jesus’ triumphal entrance to Jerusalem is a political contrast to how Pilate entered Jerusalem every Passover feast – while Pilate was riding a white war horse with armies and flags, Jesus rode a peaceful donkey with kids and palm leaves! Jonas went on contrasting the cross and the sword, and told us that he was convinced that Christians should not use violence.
After Jonas had given his message, the organisers of the meeting came forward and explained that the Evangelical Free Church – the church organising Frizon – had “a pacifist Baptist tradition” where “many had chosen not to do military service”. Then they invited those who wanted prayer to come forward – for salvation, for supernatural healing and for wisdom concerning Jesus’ peace message.
Holy Roller Mennonites
I discovered the Hopewell Network of Churches today, an interdenominational network which was birthed when Charismatic renewal hit some Mennonite churches. Though more denominations are included today, the network still enhance Anabaptist values – especially the pacifist stance – which makes this a unique and, in my opinion, more biblical type of Charismatic network. I love when they write:
We are charismatic in that we believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as a subsequent experience to salvation that is available to each believer. We believe all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available for the believer today.
We have the expectation that the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be embraced and taught in our churches. We desire to see believers in all our churches encouraged with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and taught how to exercise these gifts in their lives. We do not teach that the gift of tongues is the initial or only evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. There is flexibility in how these gifts are administered in the context of public services and the life of the church. Leaders are expected to lead people into a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit and to encourage the accompanying gifts.
We are Anabaptist in that we hold to many of the values of Anabaptism. We have the expectation that Anabaptist values will be supported and encouraged among the churches. The Anabaptist peace position, for instance, is the official position of the network in that we encourage forms of service other then the military. At the same time, we do honor individual conscience on this matter. It would be our expectation that every young person in a Hopewell Church has heard a clear teaching on the Anabaptist view as they make their life decisions about service.
We are evangelical in that we believe the primary focus of the church should be on the centrality of Jesus and his commission of reaching the harvest. We take a clear stand on the full authority and inspiration of Scripture.
Dead Raisings and Food Miracles
One of the most amazing books I’ve read is called Voice in the Night by Surprise Sithole. It’s an autobiography where Surprise tells about how the external, audible voice of God saved his life as a young man and called him to go and preach the Gospel in his homeland Mozambique as well as other nations nearby. He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the poor and planted churches, just as Jesus had told us to do. Later on he became a leader in Iris Ministries.
In the video above Surprise shares a few of the stories that can be found in his book. Not only has he raised eight people from the dead, he has also seen a lot of food miracles. Like many other saints, he combines signs and wonders with poverty reduction. I think he is a wonderful example of a humble and joyful leader with really strong faith and burning compassion. We need to listen more to these guys also in the Western church!
Christy Wimber: Taking the Vineyard back to its roots
When John Wimber died in 1997, he left behind a movement with hundreds of churches (in fact, they’re over 1500 now) that strived for the radical middle between evangelical faithfulness and charismatic power. The Vineyard movement was here to stay. Unfortunately, parts of the movement has walked away from the charismatic theology that John introduced. But Christy Wimber, John’s daughter in law, fight the good fight to keep the Holy Spirit in the centre of the Vineyard. This is an excerpt of an awesome text she has written.
Christy Wimber
I have been in service after service throughout the world these past few years where miracles are taking place and the response of the people is one of surprise, not expectation. In fact, I heard a Vineyard pastor say not that long ago that he didn’t really know John, and his model and influence comes from a different Movement. He in fact said he doesn’t particularly like the whole signs and wonders part. And I know this Movement that’s influencing him doesn’t move in the gifts.
That’s fine to me, except it left me wondering as to why he is a pastor and leader in the Vineyard Movement? What is happening now in the Vineyard that he signed up for and bought into?
Isn’t the defining reason as to why the Vineyard was asked to leave another church Movement [in fact a few] was due to the Holy Spirit moving? If we stayed ‘seeker sensitive’ there would have been no reason for the Vineyard to be birthed.
I’m not against seeker sensitive models; I just don’t get where it fits in the Vineyard. That model is so opposite of how we began. We’re pioneers doing Kingdom stuff. And Kingdom ministry is messy. And in the long run I wonder if we aren’t calling people to die to themselves, but rather to a convenient Christianity? Are we actually doing a disservice because we aren’t showing people the high cost of following Jesus? I’m afraid we may not be equipping people to learn what it means to sacrifice. Jesus wasn’t a car salesman; He told people upfront they would lose their family and friends and people will hate them. What’s comfortable about that?
Remember, were called to make disciples, not Christians. It’s a death sentence.
Deadly Deportation to Iran today
Update 17:39 The deportation is canceled due to the activism!! Praise God!
Siavash’s daughter Jasmine with a sign explaining her pain. “Stop!! Stop!!! I cannot live without my dad!”
Siavash Rahimi is supposed to be deported from Sweden to Iran today, although his life is in great danger there since he has converted from Islam to Christianity. Let’s send e-mails to the airway company and ask them to stop this.
Send the following message to Turkish Airlines at stockholm@thy.com
Hi!
Today, Siavash Rahimi may be deported from Sweden to Iran with your plane.
It may be a violation of Human Rights, since you are helping Sweden to break up the family, which is against the UN Convention on the Right of the Child. The mother is ill in cancer and cannot take care of the children, and they will not make it without their father.
What is even more disturbing is that Siavash is threatened by execution in Iran since he has converted from Islam to Christianity.
We are not sure, but it is possible that he will be deported by your 17:25 Istanbul TK1796 flight. If so,PLEASE STOP THE FLIGHT!Kindest regards,
[Your name]
Amazing Testimonies from Kampala, Uganda
Two months ago I wrote about the great Christ for all Nations campaign in Gulu, Uganda. Here are some testimonies from the earlier Kampala campaign, written by evangelist Daniel Kolenda:
Day 1
Last night we were received by the president of Uganda, his wife and his whole family at the state house, where we had dinner and wonderful fellowship. Afterword evangelist Bonnke preached the Gospel and we prayed over the first family.
Formerly blind lady
Tonight evangelist Bonnke preached a powerful evangelistic message and thousands responded. Then we prayed for the sick and wonderful miracles of healing began to take place
An old lady who was totally blind in both eyes received her sight tonight.
A father carried his daughter from the hospital with the intravenous catheter (from an i.v. drip) still attached to her arm. She was inflicted with both typhoid fever and malaria.
Tonight she was totally healed and she walked, unaided, up onto the platform to testify.
Jumping healed man
A man who had a severe back injury in a motorcycle accident was confined to a back brace. Tonight, after the power of God came on him, he ripped that brace off and began to dance and jump!
Day 2
- A lady who had four lumps in her breasts said that, during the prayer, she felt heat cascade over her and she felt like things were leaving her body. Afterward, she checked her breasts and found that
all the lumps had completely disappeared along with all pain!
A woman who had fallen into a pit and broken her arm went to the doctors, who put it in a cast, but it did not heal properly – it was twisted and misshapen. But during the prayer she said she could hear popping and cracking coming from her arm. Before her very eyes that twisted arm snapped into place and is now perfectly normal! (more…)
John Wimber and the “No Hype” Value
John Wimber, whom I’ve written a lot about now, is perhaps mostly known for proving that it is possible to be charismatic without being fanatic. At the end of his life, he told his fellow Vineyard pastors: “Ruthlessly assert the Vineyard value of ‘no hype’ in all communications. Avoid pumping people up for the ‘new thing’ God is doing. Demystify new emphasis even as the Vineyard has attempted to demystify spiritual gifts. Understatement is a key Vineyard value that I pray will flourish for many years.”
John Wimber
Jake Kail writes on his blog:
Recently I watched some old videos of the late John Wimber preaching and ministering. One of the things that was so refreshing to me was his authenticity. Rather than pushing people so that they would fall to the floor, he would encourage people to stay standing as much as possible. He would tell people that if they did not feel any positive change after prayer for healing, to simply be honest about it instead of trying to make the one praying feel good by claiming to be healed. He gave words of knowledge in a very simple and natural way. The overall feel he gave was “you can do this stuff too” not “I am a great man of God.”
I believe that there is a great need to recover authenticity in ministry today. If we are going to walk in the true power of God, we need to get real. The Bible indicates very clearly that a “love of the truth” is a safeguard against deception (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). Part of loving the truth is being authentic. (more…)
John Wimber’s Amazing Prophetic Gift
In the clip above, John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement, shares how he led a couple to Christ on an airplane thanks to the gift of prophecy. God told John that the man was cheating on his wife, John said to the man that he has to repent because of this, the man realized that John only could know this if God had spoken to him, and thus he got saved and led his wife to the Lord as well – after telling her the painful truth about his sinful behaviour.
Jack Deere
These sorts of events happened from time to time in John’s life. Jack Deere shares in his book Surprised by the Power of the Spirit another event when John’s prophetic gift manifested quite dramatically (at a time when Jack himself was very sceptical towards the Charismatic movement):
[Wimber asked] the Holy Spirit to come, and then he was silent. So was the audience.
About a full minute later, he looked up and said, “O.K. I think I know what the Lord wants to do tonight. He has given me some words of knowledge for healing.”
Presumably that meant that God was communicating to Wimber that he would heal certain people in the audience that night. I had never been in a service like that, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
Wimber said that God wanted to heal people with back pain. Quite a few people came down to the front of the church to be prayed for by teams of church members rather than by Wimber himself. After a few minutes he said, “There is a woman here who has severe back pain, but you haven’t come forward yet. Come forward; I think the Lord will heal you right now.”
John Wimber Quotes on Poverty, Wealth and Social Justice
John Wimber, 1934-1997
Not only was John Wimber a great Charismatic leader who was used by God to perform miracles and teach others to do the same, but he also had a burning heart for the poor and oppressed, and especially in his later years he emphasized to remember the poor and to work for social justice. Here are some quotes by him concerning this issue, mainly found on the John Wimber Twitter and Facebook accounts.
“The same Lord who gives sight to the blind and creates miracles through our hands is the very One who feeds the hungry through our hands and watches over the immigrant. We must never ignore the poor & needy. We must never spend any outpouring of Gods Spirit on ourselves.”
“Faith is spelled, R.I.S.K….Commitment is spelled, M.O.N.E.Y…”.
“The call to social justice is not adding to the Gospel, it flows from the heart of God. Great leaders in the history of the Church have understood the relationship between the Gospel and justice.”
“When we stand for social justice, we testify to the presence of the Kingdom.”
“We need the poor as much as they need us…” (more…)
God Bless John Wimber!
John Wimber, 1934-1997
John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement who went home to the Lord in 1997, is one of my heroes in faith. As a man dedicated to combine signs and wonders with evangelism and social justice, he is of great inspiration to me. The text below is taken from an article by Jon Panner which can be found here.
“Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:7-8).
A president of an evangelical seminary once introduced John Wimber with these words: “John Wimber is the greatest theologian of the 20th century.” I nearly burst with laughter. John looked at me, winked, stood up, shuffled slowly to the microphone and opened with, “Really, I’m just a fat saxophone player trying to get to heaven.”
[…]
At moments like these, he seemed like our collective grampa. His Santa Claus demeanor reassured us, “Kids, I’ve read the end of the book. Guess what? We win!” (more…)
A Yankee Imperialist Pig Filled with the Spirit
Bob Ekblad
Bob Ekblad has for 30 years been a Christian activist, eagerly working for peace and justice – especially among poor immigrants, prisoners and Guatemalan and Honduran farmers. In the clip above, he shares that eight years ago, he realized that something was missing in his ministry for the poor and oppressed. Somehow nationalism and egoism seemed to be stronger than the Gospel he preached.
At this time, Bob’s younger brother got saved in the Charismatic movement, and simply told him: “You do miss something, you miss the power of the Holy Spirit!” Bob was very sceptical since republican agendas dominated among Charismatics, but eventually he went to the Catch the Fire Toronto Church to be filled with the Spirit.
And filled he was! A prophetic man said to him that he saw a vision of him sitting with men in red uniforms on blue plastic chairs. He said “I believe it’s in a prison, and that the Father says ‘I love how you love my prisoners’.” Bob was stunned. That was exactly how his prison ministry looked like! Then the man prayed for a healing anointing to be released in Bob’s life. (more…)
Crippled by Rebels, Healed by Jesus
This missions report from Christ for all Nations just dropped down in my mail box. Praise the Lord!
Greetings from Gulu, Northern Uganda. Right now, we are in the middle of the territory where the infamous Joseph Kony inflicted his long and bloody reign of terror. The people of Gulu endured 20 years of war and experienced some of the worst atrocities known to man. Mass graves, child soldiers, mutilations, rape, murder and genocide are words that come to mind when one thinks of this place. But Gulu has just entered into a new season – one of salvation, blessing and miracles. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us because he has anointed us to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent us to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18) It is a new day for Gulu!
Menacing clouds darkened the sky for most of the day threatening to wash out our open-air meeting with an East African monsoon, but we went forward to the campaign ground in faith. When we arrived many thousands had already gathered. As I preached a crystal clear Gospel message, the rain began to drizzle, but nobody budged. The message landed in the hearts of the people and was received with great joy. Thousands received Jesus Christ as Savior and then I began to pray for the sick… (more…)
Shell vs Polar Bears
Photo: Chrstian Åslund/Greenpeace Sweden
Yesterday, this lovely picture appeared in my Facebook feed. Around the world, polar bears occupy Shell’s gas stations in a desperate attempt to save their home. Not only is Shell melting the Arctic through their fueling of climate change, now they want to go there to dig for more oil, although the ecosystem is extremely vulnerable in the area and Shell’s rutines to avoid oil spills are insufficient.
Photo: Christian Åslund/Greenpeace Sweden
Of course, polar bears aren’t allowed to occupy gas stations, so they got a bit of trouble with the police force (no polar bear who participated in the occupation depicted above got arrested though). I wrote a month ago about how Greenpeace stated at the Rio+20 fiasco that “we have to intensify civil disobedience” since the legal process to stop climate change s going far to slow. What does climate civil disobediance look like, you may have wondered. Polar bear occupation of gas stations is one example. Human occupation of oil ships is another:
Miracles and Poverty Reduction in Mozambique
I am extremely inspired by Iris Ministries, which is why the background image of this blog comes from them. It is a ministry led by saints like Heidi Baker and Surprise Sithole, which is a ministry that have planted thousands of churches, taken care of thousands of abandoned children and experienced thousands of miracles, including raising of the dead. This is happening all over eastern and southern Africa, but especially in Mozambique, where the ministry is based. While the Western church is experiencing lack of Kingdom and abundance of money, the Mozambiqian revival experiences the opposite, and the thing I love with Iris Ministries is that they combine miracles with poverty reduction. The following text is taken from a newsletter sent last year by Rolland and Heidi Baker, founders of Iris Ministries:
In the last few years we have seen more than two thousand churches planted in this one province of Cabo Delgado. More spring up every week and we cannot keep count. Our “technique” is simple: all that counts is faith working through love (Gal. 5:6).
Every week we send truckloads of leaders, students and our own children to three villages. So many have opened up to the Lord that we are now often welcomed excitedly as we come back to love and encourage the people further. It is glorious to see the Kingdom spreading through the isolated and forgotten countryside of this land as village by village the power and love of our King is becoming known.
No carpets and air-conditioned sanctuaries here. We meet outside in the dirt and in the dark with hundreds and even thousands of villagers. In wind, dust, heat and rain they stand in their rags for hours, absorbing all they can. There is almost no resistance to the Gospel in this environment. Everyone wants Jesus when they feel His love through us all and see what only He can do. Of course they will need much more teaching, and more sanctification by the Spirit. But it is thrilling to see great crowds jumping and shouting “Yes!” to Jesus and His gifts. Every time our teams spread out and pray for everyone possible, resulting in tremendous testimonies. And in the morning we serve food for everyone, make friends, honor the chiefs, visit houses and families, pray for the sick, disciple the elders, preach and teach in simple mud churches, and just keep pouring out all we have. (more…)
The author
Micael Grenholm, a Swedish charismactivist, apologist and author.
A Living Alternative
God vs Inequality
Charismactivism 