Refreshing Holy Spirit Moves Mountains
The conflict that resides within our hearts supersedes the conflict we face externally. Though man is known to be man’s greatest competition, that won’t have nearly as much impact in the spiritual realm once we learn to first conquer our own hearts.
The battle I face is ever before me in one fashion or another. I suppose some of that should be expected when I’m consistently making devils angry. Over the past couple of months, I’ve seen an average of 100+ people healed a week, with a healing rate above 90%. All glory belongs to God! There has been an amazing increase in my faith, and this has been a time of real growth for me, both mentally and spiritually. With God’s wisdom, I have been able to teach many pastors how to pray for the sick and set the captives free. There are so many amazing testimonies to share, but there is no way to fit them all in this letter.
My new mentor, Dwight Palmquist, continues to hold his outdoor crusades, and it’s always a privilege to be invited to pray for the sick there. Dwight has shown me what it means to be completely sold out for the Lord. Some 30 years ago, he gave up his wedding engagement to minister to Muslims in a dangerous part of the south.
God has led me to step out with healing revival services inside the churches, which run for several nights in a row. Dwight and I are still close, though we don’t see each other every week. We’re both exercising our strengths, and I’m really learning to stretch my wings once again, praying for the sick in a way that benefits the body of Christ. Now, when the healings take place inside the church, greater discipleship can continue. The new believers keep attending and can be followed up in a way I couldn’t manage before!
On January 29, I was able to preach at two different churches. The evening service happened to be at the church I helped plant last year in the Bicol region. Before the service, the pastor took me to see his landlord, who is disabled. When we arrived, I saw she could hardly shuffle her feet, even with a cane. God inspired me to tell her, “You are going to be healed today.” She told me she had tremendous pain in her hip, and I prayed for her. Within the first couple of minutes, she said the pain was leaving her body.
As I began to pray again, the Holy Spirit swept into the room! Everybody was wailing in tears as His presence came in. You could sense freedom was here, like something you could touch and grab. Then the woman stood up and walked without her cane, which she had used for years! God is so willing to move the mountains that stand in our way!
Starting on Feb 1st, I held one of these healing revivals for five nights in a small church that had just been damaged by a typhoon. The rebuilding finished that week, and the walls were expanded to double the size of the church. I was one of the first to preach within the newly expanded walls. Each night the Kingdom of God was preached with power, healing and exhortation. By the fifth night, the church was so packed that people had to sit outside! God had just doubled the size of the church in 5 days! I have never seen multiplication like this. Praise God for such amazing growth, and for how willing the people there were to invite unbelievers in!
It’s hard not to believe in God when He heals us without payment, and without leaving us worse off, as sometimes happens with folk healers here in the Philippines. Jesus is the only King who took our place so we wouldn’t have to! He always removed both sin and sickness. I am continually in awe of the goodness of God!
On Feb 11th, I was nearing the end of the week of revival. At a central church in Naga, God healed a woman while she was taking notes on the sermon. As I preached on unforgiveness, she released forgiveness and was healed sitting in the pew! Nobody laid hands on her or even prayed for her. God healed her stomach and back issues instantly. None of us should hold onto unforgiveness, because it’s a poison that damages our relationship with God. It’s even written that unless we forgive others, God won’t forgive us. I pray that you too would release forgiveness, experience this amazing miracle from God, and be healed in Jesus’ name!
Can you imagine Jesus praying for the sick by cellphone, text, or TV? I wonder about it all the time, since I’ve seen miracles through text and cellphone myself. Earlier this week I prayed for a young lady who was about to have an operation on her kidney. She was instantly healed. Then, in the middle of writing this, I called my pastora friend in Mindoro. She was suffering from a deadly parasite eating her liver. She too was instantly healed, with not a trace of pain! Come on, Jesus! Before this, her liver was always burning as the parasites ate away at it. What an amazing God we serve! It’s a privilege to be sent out by my supporters. Thank you for praying and for writing back to encourage me.
I do ask for personal prayer, as I recently stood up against corruption involving a minister and brought it to the attention of the proper authorities. Out of fear, those involved have decided to retaliate against me. God spoke to me regarding this issue, that He “Prepares a table before me in the presence of me enemies.” In other words, I will feast on what God provides for me, and there isn’t a thing anyone can do about it. Trusting in God must happen in all areas of our lives. He is either the King of all or the King of none. He has comforted me during this external battle because I overcame the internal battle. I put my cares on Jesus. Though I don’t defend myself, as a sheep unto the slaughter, I walk in peace knowing I have a great Shepherd leading me!
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9
(Left) Pastor Celso and his landlord. I’m holding her useless cane.
(Right) 13 got baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
All those in the photo got healed at one of the revival nights.