Sharp Dressed Mon

Written by Kermit Harpold; missionary to Jamaica, pastor of Destiny Church and Ministries, and Keeli's father.  Kermit writes about a powerful, transforming encounter one demon possessed man had with Jesus Christ at Lemon Hall Church in Jamaica. Before church one night, I noticed a man sitting alone in the center of a pew.  I walked back to shake his hand and, as I did, I was overwhelmed by the mixture of body odor and alcohol as well as the sight of bugs crawling in his long dreads.  As I held his hand, he shared that his sister said if he went to church that I would be able to cast a demon out of him.  He shared that he had not been sober in over 15 years and that he wanted to be normal and work again. I shared the love of God with him and took authority over the spirits that had wrecked his life.  He received Jesus as his Lord, was baptized in the Holy Spirit, began to speak in tongues and, for the first time in 15 years, was instantly sober.

The next night, there was a man sitting in the same place this man had been sitting the night before.  He was dressed very sharp and I thought he may be a preacher from one of the local churches who had come to visit.  As I stepped forward to welcome him, I realized it was the man from the night before.  God had not only done a miracle in his spirit, he had done a miracle in his physical body.

That night, he was healed of many ailments in his body, including diabetes and Hepatitis C.  He ministered with me, seeing many healed as he laid hands on people in Jesus’ name.  God, definitely, is good!

Kermit Harpold

Heart for Harvard - Part 1

As a junior in college, I found myself praying for revival in the Ivy League schools.  I spent a night immersed in the presence of God, full of hope, that God’s presence would be known on Harvard’s campus.  After praying I began to think about how “strange” it was for me to have a heart for Harvard when I did not attend an Ivy League school. The next morning, I decided to research the connection between revival and the Ivy League campuses.  When I sat down to the computer, I searched Google for “Ivy League Revival”.  The very first link that came up took me directly to the registration page for the Yale Institute of Campus Revival and Awakening.  Although the website for the institute clearly explained that they were looking for campus ministers and professors with a heart for the universities, I knew God had ordered my steps and that I was to attend this gathering.  I completed my registration not knowing what the person on the other end was going to think when they saw I was a college student.  After applying, I told God that I expected for him to cover all of my finances to attend what I had just applied for.

A few days later, I received a phone call from an unknown number.  It was Dave Warn from Collegiate Impact who was planning and hosting the institute.  Dave shared how they appreciated my interest, but at that time they were not accepting college students.  If they changed their mind they would let me know.  After the conversation ended, I told God that I knew I was supposed to be there and I would go ahead and raise the financial support to go.  I wrote a letter and began sending it out to friends, explaining what the Lord had placed on my heart.

About a month before the institute began, I received my second phone call from Dave.  He let me know that they had decided to let me come if I could get my finances together in such a short period of time.  Little did he know at that time that I was already working on the money!  I told him the money wouldn’t be a problem.

A man from church offered to buy my plane ticket and I continued making plans to be somewhere that would reveal my heart’s desires.  It was amazing to see how God took care of every little detail including my two professors who allowed me to miss the last full week of summer school.

On my way to Yale, I had a layover in Hartford, CT and changed to a much smaller plane for the last flight into New Haven.  When I boarded the plane, a man in front of me named Gary Stratton asked if I was going to the institute and I told him I was!  He explained that when we were waiting at the terminal God spoke to him and told him there were specific young people God was raising up to lead His next move and when he closed his laptop to board the plane he saw me and God said, “She is one of them.”

That week, Gary was my dad away from home!  I have had the privilege of meeting part of his beautiful family and they are such a blessing!  I was in awe of how God not only takes care of our finances but also provides family and relationships everywhere we go with God!

Through that week I heard so many incredible ministers.  I met men of God who have had hundreds of angelic visitations in their home and took their time to pour into me that week.  There are men and women of God who have radically laid their lives down to see the fullness of God’s heart known to all men and nations.

On the last night of the institute, the President of Life Action Ministries, Byron Paulus, spoke after our dinner.  He shared the story of a man named Gipsy Smith who would take a piece of chalk and draw a circle around himself.  Smith would ask God to fill that circle with revival.  He knew if he was overflowing with God the presence of Jesus would pour out of him everywhere he went.  Revival begins with you!

That was a life changing message in my life!  From that night my heart has been to be so full of Jesus that I leak Him everywhere I go.  I want to radically love Jesus in such a way that every person I come in contact with knows Him.  Although I am blessed with an incredible family and friends, it was my passion from that night forward to know that my destiny, provision and happiness depended on God alone.  I knew that, even if it was just me and Jesus, we would see transformation together in the entire world.

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. -Psalm 2:8

Keeli Fawcett

Spiritual Warfare

Combat boots.  Fatigues.  War paint.  Spiritual warfare is perceived in numerous ways in the church.  I used to believe that the authenticity was found in the intensity – the volume of my voice, the way I moved as I worshipped, and the manner I shouted and screamed at the devil.  The devil is not intimidated by our performance.  He is intimidated by Christ in you: the hope of glory!  What does spiritual warfare look like? First, we must ask: What do we war for?  To advance God’s Kingdom on earth.  Jesus came to reveal and demonstrate the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven and give authority to us to advance His Kingdom like He did.  So do we pray until heaven hears us?  No.  Heaven has heard!  A vital part of spiritual warfare is praying the prayer of faith.  The prayer of faith is not lost in a state of confusion that questions the good, perfect and pleasing will of God (Romans 12:2).  The will of God is found in Jesus.  His will is for all humanity to be saved (I Timothy 2:4) and for you to live an abundant life (John 10:10).  The finished work of the cross was finished when we were crucified, buried, raised, and seated in heavenly realms with Christ (Romans 6:4, Ephesians 2:6).

How did Jesus “war”?  First, He loved and was moved with compassion for the hurting.  Then, He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out devils, and cleansed the lepers.  I don’t recall a moment He did something to help someone without it being a supernatural occurrence.  Even feeding the hungry was supernatural.  Like Jesus, you have a weapon of power to dispel darkness and bring Light.  He commanded us to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils.  In doing so, the Kingdom of God becomes our atmosphere (Matthew 12:28).

Is the devil our equal?  No.  He is a defeated foe.  Jesus has already fought and won the war.  He is the blueprint for victory.  Now, in Christ, we carry out our authority and dominion by faith, knowing that Christ made a public spectacle of the enemy, disarming them by the power of the cross (Colossians 2:15).  When we engage in spiritual warfare, we tend to credit the devil (who has no authority) with more than our God (who has all authority).  Personally, I don’t converse with the devil.  Focus your eyes on Jesus.  The overflow from your intimacy with Christ is like raining hell on the devil’s camp.

I have met a number of people that put much of their focus on warring in the Spirit.  Seldom have I seen them rested, joyful, and full of peace.  If we are worn out after we war, it was out of our flesh and not in the Spirit.  The Kingdom of God is righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17).  The Kingdom of God is on the inside of us (Luke 17:21).  We should have an abundant, infinite flow of righteousness, joy, and peace when we have the source of our victory living on the inside.  The Holy Spirit does not leak out of us.  He gushes out and continually fills us back up!

What about the armor of God?  I sleep in my armor.  The armor of God – aka Holy Spirit – does not run off and need to be summoned every time I go to sleep and wake up.  Did we forget that He is with us always (Matthew 28:20)?  There is not secular Jonathan and believer Jonathan.  When the Holy Spirit sealed my salvation, there was only believer Jonathan.  It doesn’t mean I am perfect.  It’s revelation that all my sins – past, present, and future – are dead.  The old man died and I count myself dead to sin (Romans 6:11).  It is out of intimacy with Him that my awareness of His presence grows.  When we become aware of Him, we grow sensitive to our assignments.

So how do we war?  First, we approach every matter from a position of victory, rest, righteousness, peace, and joy.  The devil is defeated, not us.  We are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:17).  Next, grow in your intimacy with Jesus.  When you receive a revelation that the finished work of the cross has given you access to every blessing so that you can bless others, compassion unlocks living faith that is activated by your action.  Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6).  Your assignments, birthed from your intimacy with Christ, will lead you to opportunities to supernaturally advance the Kingdom of God with an unfair advantage over the enemy.

Your arsenal is love.  Rest well in your armor.

Jonathan Fawcett

Click on the photo to hear an outstanding 3 minute teaching on this topic.