Worship

“My Testimony” by Elevation Worship

Scripture

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” -Isaiah 52:7, ESV

“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.” -1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, ESV

“On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.” -1 Thessalonians 2:4a, ESV

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” -Acts 4:29-31, ESV

“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” -1 Corinthians 4:20, ESV

“For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” -1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, ESV

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” -Jude 1:3, ESV

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” -Philippians 1:21, ESV

Wonder: God’s Faithfulness in the Mountains

I am coming to you this morning, ready to testify to the Lord’s goodness! I just returned from the Himalayan Mountain range where three unreached villages are now entirely reached with the gospel of Jesus! I am here to testify to the wonder and power of Jesus that is alive and moving to confirm the gospel message! He longs to perform His Word! This devotional this morning may take on a little change in form, but what I want to show you is that the Word of God is true today, yesterday, and forever! His glory will cover the Earth, and the nations will come to know Jesus!

I have led teams all over the world and never have I encountered a mix-up of travel due to just one delayed flight like we did. Satan was doing everything possible to hold us back from getting there because the Lord had gone ahead of us. There had to be a mighty war over that region that we were unable to see. Tucked away in the mountains of the Himalayas were three specific villages that were being prepared to receive the power, presence, and Person of Jesus! These three villages went from unreached to reached in just three days. Praise the Lord!

God’s Grace Through Prayer and Ministry

I want to tell you about a man who was blind and prayed to receive Christ in hopes to see again. My teammate, Maya, had shared the gospel and prayed for his eyes, and the Lord was working. My translator and I came up on their encounter, and she invited me to pray again for him. I got on my knees, anointed his eyes with oil, and a concert of prayer for his healing began. Jesus released His power right there on the porch of this home where a desperate man longed to see again.

Jesus in His compassion came and healed this blind man! News of the miracle spread quickly, and we got word that 20 families longed to follow Jesus now!

Let me tell you about another man, Darsh*. My translator, Andrew, and I walked up to him. He was with two other men building his new home. He greeted us with a huge smile and eagerness. As we shared the gospel, the Holy Spirit was opening all of their eyes, and before Darsh prayed to receive Christ, he said these words: “There is coming a time when every person will receive Jesus.” What was soon going to actually take place was most of Darsh’s family was going to receive salvation!

As we continued down the road, we stopped in the yard where one of our team members, Caleb, had just led four men to Jesus. They wanted us to tell them more about Jesus—each so eager to learn about this Savior that they had just come to know. As we told them about Him being our perfect and final sacrifice, they were understanding more and more as the Holy Spirit was teaching them. They were getting perfect doctrinal revelation as we shared with the Holy Spirit teaching them. As we ended the conversation, the oldest man among them said to us, “There is coming a time when every person will receive Jesus.” Andrew and I looked at each other wide-eyed because just 45 minutes earlier, Darsh said the same thing! The Lord was confirming His Word to us—we are in an era of harvest, Bride of Christ! The fields are ripe and needing our beautiful feet to run to them!

Faith Amid Persecution

I want to share just one more story about two women. One was just two years older than me, and her daughter was 24. They invited us in for tea, and both couldn’t stop smiling as we shared our message of hope. The husband was at school teaching, but his worker was there listening and peering through the slats of the wood in the other room.

We shared the gospel, and oh, how they longed to receive it! But if they did accept Jesus, or even gave us permission to pray for them, the husband would come home and beat both of them. That said, the mom needed healing in her back. As we left, she came and threw her arms around me, and I prayed, “Back, be healed in the name of Jesus.” She told Andrew that they would sneak away on Sunday and go to the church. I know they could not confess with their mouths, but they believed, and I know Jesus will save them.

God’s Faithfulness Through Trials

What I didn’t indulge you in detail is that the enemy tried everything to keep us from getting to these villages. A simple agenda of three flights turned into three red-eye flights through three countries and then two more additional flights through South Asia. We experienced delays, setbacks, lost baggage (for the whole trip), and trials beyond our energy to endure. But Jesus had the final victory, and the great work He did in this team of nine is represented in the Scriptures above. Paul only had three weeks when he began the church in Thessalonica. We had three days to bring the people the gospel before we left. I believe that deep unto deep, God’s purposes were accomplished in the mountains and in the lives of our team. He was fashioning in us a people who would contend for the gospel. Would we be ones who go forward with nothing but the clothes on our backs? Would we be OK if all our comforts were removed and our plans delayed? Would we be OK to allow the Lord to allow us to face trails of many kinds so that the testing of our faith would make us mature and complete, not lacking anything?

A Call to Action

My challenge to us, as I ponder the takeaways from my Himalayan journey for the Bride of Christ is twofold: 1) Would we be willing to forsake life as we know it to take the gospel to those who don’t know Jesus yet? 2) Will you be a forerunner who Jesus would choose to be prepared to help the Bride of Christ endure under fiery trial and still advance the gospel forward? Would you ask the Lord to restore the joy of your salvation so that you would overflow with good news to everyone you meet?

“The Lord is calling some to embrace a season of RIGOROUS PREPARATION to prepare others for the greatest transition in history, the RETURN OF JESUS.” -Mike Bickle

I will not just leave with these rhetorical questions to ponder and pray only. It is my passion to help get us ready for this end time harvest and to go! My friend, Wade Aaron just wrote a 50-day devotional and activation book that we are going to go through together: “The Reward of the Lamb: A Journey of Discovering How to Walk Like Jesus”. It’s time to stretch out and learn to share Jesus and pray for miracles! We will be meeting in person and over Zoom beginning in June for six weeks. Sign up soon!

If you live in Dallas, we are heading into the harvest on May 14 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. to bring people the love of Jesus. We will train you and get you ready! Email [email protected] to join us!

I pray that these days of intimacy and preparation get us ready to partner with Jesus to bring Heaven to Earth. I pray that we would be bold as lions and move with deep love and compassion for people. I pray for you to have a heart for the world Jesus so loves and yet be willing to forsake a love of the world that would sideline you and keep you entangled. I pray that His Spirit would fall on you like fire, and you would preach the Word boldly as you move with power. Sisters, it’s time to get our beautiful feet shored with the gospel of peace and run with ferocious faith together!

*Names have been changed for security purposes.