Day 4 - Servant Leadership

Glory to God! 

Today was our last day of our 4-day Heaven on Earth conference in Butuan. After another wonderful time of worship which continued for almost an hour because of the presence and glory of God, I then spoke on the Lord's prayer to summarize what God had been showing us in the last 3 days. 

After a short break, Frances spoke on servant leadership and how Jesus came as an example of how leaders must serve. It was a fun and very powerful message and when I led us into a time of response to the word and as we repented of pride it was as though Jesus entered the room in response. His presence was so overwhelming that we just knelt and waited on Him as He seemed to reveal His humility to us. Heaven truly invaded earth! 

After a lunch break we spent time ministering to God's people as we and other pastors washed the people's feet. It was an amazing time full of joy, freedom and power as people received prophetic words and encouragement from the Father. It was a very special time indeed!

After a short break we had a time for testimonies and invited the people to share what God had done during the 4 days. Many testified and praised God for fresh and reviving revelation from the teaching. Some testified to being healed of diabetes. Some shared how they had experienced the power of God in their bodies even before we got to pray for them. Some were greatly encouraged to renew their commitment to the Lord. One lady shared how she had been set free from bondage. It was awesome and we praise God for all that He has done in these past 4 days! I was especially encouraged to see many young people respond to God! I am convinced that God is reviving the youth in this area and that they are on the verge of a mighty outpouring!

It has been an incredible blessing to minister under an open heaven here. The honour and the love we have received is humbling to say the least! 

We then gathered the youth and invited them to Dunkin Donuts and had a lot of fun with them trying to learn their language and sharing about our lives. Tomorrow we have our day off and we will be spending the day with Julius, Roszel and their children (Yra-lee and Jonkris) and Berwyn and Liberty with their children (Christine and Christopher). Apart from simply getting tine to talk and hang out, we will be looking at what our future plans are together. Hallelujah! 

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John 13:14,15 

Day 2 - The Secrets of the Kingdom

Glory to God!

Today was our second day of our "Heaven on Earth" conference. Around 200 pastors and leaders have been attending the meetings and we are in awe if what God is doing. To the relief of Frances there were no cockroaches under the toilet seat this morning (I have had to rescue her from 2 already). After our mangos for breakfast and a latte to-go we made our way to the convention hall. 

This morning we looked at the otherness of the Kingdom of Heaven and how

God's Kingdom is a realm that is beyond every limitation. We then looked at the secrets of the Kingdom and how the deep things of God are revealed by the Spirit. Consequently we looked at the need for people to be born of the Spirit through dependence upon Christ to be able to see the Kingdom and enter into the Kingdom.

After our lunch break, Frances spoke on the Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy. The leaders have really taken to Frances and enjoy her preaching very much. After a short coffee break I spoke on how Christ is God's gift to the believer and that we must learn to live by faith in Him to access the riches of heaven. This evening we took Pastor Julius, Roszel and their daughter Yra-Lee out for dinner to spend some time with them. Yra is the cutest thing and is an extremely gifted child. She is simply a bundle of joy! Her little brother Jonkris is also adorable!

"The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." Matthew 13:11 

Day 1 - The Reality of the Kingdom

Glory to God! 

Today was the first day of our "Heaven on Earth" Leaders' Conference. As usual we began the day with fresh Mangos and a Latte at Bo's coffee place and then made our way to the conference hall where people were arriving and registering for the conference. Pastor Julius and his young team of musicians led us in worship and as we sang, the Lord manifested His presence! I can honestly say that apart from my encounter with the Lord in 2007 I have never experienced such a tangible presence of God as this morning. Frances had to sit down to contain herself and I was overwhelned by the Lord's presence. It was awesome! I didn't want to interrupt what God was doing so we continued to give the Holy Spirit room to do what He wanted to do. After an hour we were released to continue in His Word. I spoke on the reality of the unseen real and how Jesus came to bring the good news of the Kingdom as well as demonstrate the reality of God's Kingdom.

 

After lunch, Frances spoke on seeing the Kingdom that leads to hope from which faith and love spring. We then looked at worship as a key to bringing heaven on earth and we looked at the kind of worship that takes place in heaven. We then entered a time of worship. 

After a coffee break I then looked at the book of Nehemiah and spoke on how the enemy seeks to destroy our hope and bring us to a place of fear by distracting and discouraging us and by sowing doubt in our hearts to ultimately lead us to despair and fear! In response to God's Word we invited anyone who was discouraged and who had lost their hope to come forward for prayer. Over 40 people came forward for prayer and after 2 hours of prophesying and praying over them we finished the meeting. There were many tears as the Father comforted and encouraged His children. 

Heaven truly invaded earth today and we are looking forward to tomorrow for another visitation of God and we will speak on how to see, enter into and experience the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. 

"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10