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 

Holiness

Today has been a quiet day and I spent time finishing my book by Andrew Murray entitled "Called by Christ" in which he urges ministers of the church to be earnest about the state of the Church and the need for spiritual renewal in the Body in order to be effective in missions. He writes,

"It is for this that we need a revival, that the Holy Spirit may take possession of us that the Father and the Son can live in us, and that fellowship with them, and devotion to their will and service, will be our chief joy. This will indeed be a holiness revival."

This evening I spoke to a group of youth leaders from different churches and organisations. We gathered in the home of a couple that are youth leaders for Youth With A Mission. The presence of God was wonderful and I was prompted to share about the need for leaders to be examples to the church as they follow the example of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). We then looked at the holiness and glory of God and noted how God commands the Church to be like Him (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 1:15,16; Matthew 5:48) and therefore the Church must depend completely on the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of God's holy presence within her (Gal. 5:22). After God's Word I invited everyone to be prayed for and we had a very special time as the Holy Spirit ministered to each person present. As I prophesied over many, there were tears and conviction of sin and it seemed as though God's holiness began to manifest in the room. It was wonderful. The most amazing thing was that these leaders were from many different denominations including the catholic church! God wasn't concerned about denominations tonight - He was touching the hearts of His people! Christ, the Barrier-breaker! Hallelujah!

After the meeting Berwyn, Julius and I headed for McDonalds as I was curious to compare the taste with German McD's. I had a cheese burger and fries and to my amusement, Berwyn and Julius ordered chicken with ......RICE!! They serve rice at McD's here! Much healthier I suppose!

Tomorrow I will be leading a youth seminar and probably teach on Kingdom Culture. I will need to check with the Boss in the morning.

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Cor. 11:1

____________________________

The Fullness of God

Today was the third and last day of our prophetic leadership conference. In the morning the Lord spoke to us about what it means to fear Him and how to honour His presence in our lives. After lunch we looked at Heb. 10:19-23 and the Lord showed us how to enter into the Most Holy Place. We then spent time in the Lord's presence and worshipped Him. The room was electric with God's presence and people began to respond to Him in various ways as He revealed Himself to us.

After a coffee break I asked everyone to sit next to each other in a large semi-circle so that after teaching from John 13 on Servant Leadership, I could wash everyone's feet, bless them and prophesy as the Lord led. I cannot explain in words what I felt as I ministered to these precious people, taking time to share God's heart with them. People wept and were overwhelmed with God's love for them. Many times I myself wept because of the Lord's compassion and had to wait until I could speak again to continue to share the Father's heart. After 90 minutes I had washed everyone's feet and the room was filled with God's love and tenderness. God did something in our hearts today that I will never forget! Jesus truly showed us "the full extent of his love" (John 13:1).

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Eph. 3:17-19

Testimonies of God's Grace

Today was another wonderful day in the Lord. The word has spread and over 120 leaders attended today's prophetic leadership conference. A Free Methodist seminary professor cancelled his class and brought his entire class to the conference because he heard about the revelation God is pouring out upon His people. In the morning we continued to look at the nature of the prophetic and after a tasty lunch (including a whole pig and a birthday cake for me), we gave people the opportunity to testify about what God is doing in their lives and what has really spoken to them. We spent over an hour listening to stirring testimonies of what God is doing during this conference. Some testified that they were about to give up the ministry but God has so encouraged them and so strengthened their faith that they have recommitted their lives to His call. The Lord is really enlightening the hearts of the leaders with spiritual revelation and everyone is being revived by the Word and the Spirit - it's more than I could ever ask or imagine. Glory to God!



After the testimonies I taught on "Building Kingdom Culture" and how the leaders can apply what they have learned very practically. The feedback is very positive concerning the simplicity of the communication and the clarity of the messages. God's grace is evident and we are rejoicing in God's revelation to us.

"...this grace was given to me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery..." Eph. 3:8,9

Prophetic Leadership Conference

Today was the first day of our 3-day Prophetic Leadership Conference. About 50 pastors from Butuan and the surrounding villages attended. These precious people are so poor that they would not have been able to attend if we hadn't paid for their bus fare to get to the conference hall! We also included a free lunch and refreshments to bless these men and women of God.

In the first sessions we looked at the diffrence between the natural and the spiritual, and the nature of the prophetic and how it is revealed in the lives of Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul and the early Church. On this first day the Lord led me to emphasise the foundation of "Christ in us" and to encourage the people to realise what they have received in Christ by being united to Him. We also looked at the significance of spiritual revelation and how the believer can only know the secrets of the Kingdom by the Holy Spirit.

The leaders responded very positively and are feasting on the revelation of God's Word. The feedback I have received today is that the teaching is simple, easy to understand and people are able to apply it to their lives. There is a real buzz in our time together - excitement about the revelation of God's Truth, and enjoyment of fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

After the teaching session in the afternoon I invited all those who were hungry for more of God to come forward to be prayed for. Almost everyone came forward with faith and expectation. We began to worship the Lord (without instruments or any "props") and waited for the Holy Spirit to do His work. As I observed the Father touch His people I simply worked with Him and prayed for those who were already responding to God. Once again people wept, laughed, fell over, stood quietly, shouted, spoke in tongues and allowed God to do His work in them. I watched the Holy Spirit fill pastor couples simultaneously as they both fell into the Father's arms. When everyone had been prayed for I encouraged the leaders to do the same with their people and to pass on what they had freely received today. The Lord is equipping His people to spread the fire of His Truth and Presence to the people in this nation. Hallelujah!

We closed the meeting a little earlier than scheduled because the Holy Spirit was done and many of the people still had a 2-hour journey home by bus! These people are so hungry for the Word of God and they so appreciate that someone would come all the way from Europe to share God's heart with them in Mindanao. Apparently US citizens are not allowed to travel to this area because of the radical Islamic terrorists present in parts of Mindanao. Pastor Berwyn had planned for me to visit the "mountain people" on Friday but because of his concern about potential danger, he has arranged for these people to come to his church in Mabini.

Tomorrow promises to be another exciting day in the Lord and I will be sharing some key principles on leadership to help the spiritual leaders become a Kingdom influence in their churches and in their communities. Hallelujah!

"Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, 'Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to build and to plant.'" Jer. 1:9,10

Baptism of Love

This morning I was invited to preach at a church that is associated with the Four Square Church that Treffpunkt Leben also belongs to. The church building has no doors or windows and is basically a sanctuary without walls. The pastor and his wife are good friends of Berwyn's and after a wonderful time of praise and worship (mostly in English) with drums, e-guitar, keyboard, bass and voice I was invited to bring God's Word and minister to the church. The Lord spoke to us about how Jesus has restored our intimacy with the Father and that we have access to know and experience the Father. After the Word I invited the people to come forward who were hungry to know God and experience more of Him. Many people came forward for prayer and as I began to minister to the people and lay my hands on them, the Holy Spirit came. I was not ready for what the Holy Spirit began to do because as I asked the Lord to fill His people and I prophesied the Father's heart, I was overcome with His compassion and aching heart for these people and I wept with His compassion. At the same moment the Father poured out His abundant love on those I touched and some began to weep, some shouted out as though they were being touched where it really hurts and God was healing them, some fell over with tears, some cried out as the Spirit released something in them. It was truly a baptism of love as the Father ministered to His children.

"God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,whom he has given us." Rom. 5:5

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1

No human power nor human words could ever do what the Father did in the lives of these precious people today. I give Him all the glory and I praise Him for His overwhelming love for us!

I had it on my heart to teach the worship team some principles for worship so right after the church meeting I asked to meet with them. They came and so did 20 other children of all ages who also wanted to hear what I had to say. These people are so hungry for God! I then spoke to them about worship in heaven and how we have the privilege as citizens of heaven to bring God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. It was a very special time.

I then had lunch with the pastors and Berwyn and I continued to share the same principles with them as well as how to develop Kingdom culture. They were so excited about the revelation and are now eager to put what they have learned into action. Hallelujah!

After lunch we made our way to another Pastor's home and on the way it began to rain and I mean it poured as though a bucket of water had been tipped out over the Philippines. We travelled in a very crowded bus once again but this time the very poor folk were travelling on the bus who literally have nothing but the clothes on their back. A family was in the bus seated next to me with 2 twins and a 2 month old child, dirty and smelly and very hungry. Berwyn asked the bus driver to pass a place where we could get a few rolls for the babies and so he gave them some food. This family's home had burned down and they were telling us how they simply did not know what to do. My heart aches for these people and for the broken lives I am seeing every day. They so need the Father's love and proper social care.

On the way to Berwyn's parents' home near Butuan, I sat in the bus next to a young girl who asked whether we were born again because she had seen the lad who accompanied us with a Christian band around his wrist. Berwyn and I then told her we were indeed and that we were pastors and I began to prophesy over her and she began to beam from ear to ear. Our God is such an encourager! She opened up to us and told us how her mother is working in Dubai and her father is a drunk and doesn't work. It was a God encounter and she was mightily blessed by the Father. Hallelujah!

It's been another wonderful day in the Spirit and I am looking forward to tomorrow's first day of the prophetic leadership conference. Glory to God!

Mabini Project

Mabini is the name of a small village, near Butuan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. I (Pastor Richard), will be travelling from 7 July - 20 July to this area to pursue a relationship God has orchestrated between Pastor Berwyn and me and between Mabini Christian Fellowship and Kingdom Life Frankfurt. During my 10 day visit I will be leading a 3-day prophetic leadership conference, a 1-day worship seminar for the youth and I will be ministering to various churches and leaders in the area. The purpose of the trip is to establish the work God has begun and to find out how God wants KLF to support and build in this area of the world. I hope to keep a regular report of what God does during my visit on this blog together with pictures and videos.