Baptism of the Holy Ghost

Why You Are Ready for Power

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Is something holding you back from being the bold believer you are?  Perhaps you have been told, "Before you can hit the streets with the Gospel, you must worship for three hours to get ready." Maybe you heard, "Before you heal the sick, the key is to fast for a solid 24+ hours." Whatever the justification, there's a word I (and the Apostle Paul) like to use for this kind of formulaic "do this to get God to do that" nonsense: bewitchment.  Pray enough, and God will move.  Pray the right prayer, and He'll do a miracle.  Fast enough, and the heavens will open.  We have heard this kind of reasoning in the past.  In fact, we used to live this way to some degree.  But living a life of resting in God's grace far outweighs the self-righteous striving to bring revival.  The truth is - revival is here.  Plus, people have families to care for, kids who have school the next day, mouths to feed, homework to complete, chores around the house, and jobs that require a good night's rest.  Who has time to churn the wheel of religious striving.  Even if it is "charismatic" in nature, it is still rooted deep in religion as religion is the efforts of humanity to appease God.  The Father is appeased with Jesus and He has poured out the fullness of His Spirit on all flesh.  I rather trust that than do something that would suggest I do not believe He has already done it.  I rather rest in His finished work than toil in mine. Last summer, we had family come into town.  Two of the girls were 12 and 9 years old.  They hadn't really been in church in a long time, voiced they found church boring, and couldn't even quote John 3:16.  They didn't really have a grid for the Bible or the Holy Spirit.  We took them on a hike one day, returned home, and Keeli began asking the youngest about Jesus.  In a few moments, she was a believer!  Keeli prayed with both of them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that same night.

48 hours passed.  Two days.  We were going to take them on their first treasure hunt/power evangelism outreach.  You may be thinking, "There is no way they were ready in two days!" This testimony is a great reminder that we have the fullness of the Godhead living inside of us - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Colossians 2:9-10) and that the Lord gives the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).  We didn't soak in worship for three hours.  We had full bellies so we clearly didn't fast.  We simply asked Jesus where we needed to go, who we needed to speak with, and what we needed to look for.  We prayed in the Spirit for a few minutes, wrote down our clues, and compared notes.

Keeli's parents were babysitting Anneli but joined in on the clues even though they weren't going with us.  We had a vast array of clues (that we later saw which were truly astounding).  But our favorite testimony from the night dealt with the following clues: Keeli's mom and I had the same location - a dessert location in town.  Keeli had clues dealing with crime.  Keeli's dad had the clue pen.  The 9 year old girl read the organization's name written on the side of the pen she was writing her clues with and said, "What if we meet a girl named Samara?" That's not a name you hear every day.  We didn't think anything of it.  We just headed out.

When we arrived at the dessert hot-spot, the place was packed.  But nobody was really standing out.  We got the girls something to eat (because who is going to pass up some great dessert?) and after a few minutes, the place cleared out.  It was closing time.  I asked Keeli to see if the two employees behind the counter needed prayer for anything.  They looked at each other with dismay and said, "Actually, yes." They explained how they had to call the police on someone.  The culprit knew these two called the cops on them and they were afraid what would happen when he was out of jail.  Keeli's clues were confirmed!  We agreed to pray for them and asked their names.

"I'm Samara," the second employee said.  All of our eyes were as big as saucers.  Did our 9 year old relative who is only two days old in the Lord just get a word of knowledge of someone's name?  It wasn't a common name, either.  It wasn't a Josh, John, or Jessica.  It was Samara!  We shook ourselves out of our bewilderment and prayed for God's protection over these two.  We still have the receipt from this establishment with the name of the employee who served us: Samara.

"If this is church, we want to do this everyday!" the girls said.  When we returned home, the girls ran down to tell of their adventures.  It's like someone turned on the joy switch!  Everyone needs an encounter.  No one should be denied an opportunity to partake in what the Holy Spirit has ordained us to do.  When stipulations are put on a person before they can see the Lord work miracles, we burden ourselves and forget that His burden is easy and His yoke is light.  The role of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Jesus.  There is no junior Holy Spirit just like there is no junior devil.  The devil doesn't have an age limit of who he wants to harm.  In the same manner, Holy Spirit doesn't have an age limit for those He wants to fill, empower, and operate through.

 

Student Invitation

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Our visit to Washington, DC for the Awake East Coast conference was nothing short of spectacular.  Being around like-hearted believers stirs us to see even greater than we’ve seen before.  Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Being around wild believers who are passionate about seeing their college campuses transformed is fuel to the fire – spurring us toward love and good deeds.  Some believe these verses are meant to encourage us to have better behavior and stop being so rowdy.  When I reflect on the friendships I’ve had with believers who live to experience all God has called them to do and receive all that He has done, our conversations were dominated with testimonies, our lives flooded with miracles, and our time spent together was ministering to the sick and downtrodden.  Our very nature became supernatural because we constantly spurred one another towards love and good deeds. Good deeds/God's power without love are like a train without tracks.

During our time in DC, students from multiple campuses were planning what they could do to effectively see their campuses transformed. We were once students and experienced a movement on our campus.  We've worn a lot of hats.  So we asked ourselves, what do we love to do and how can we be an instrument of creative inspiration, reinforcement, encouragement, and sustainability with college students hungry for revival?  After much prayer and discussion, we arrived at the Mountaintop Experience.

It’s our desire to host students from college campuses around the nation and give them the opportunity to receive coaching, training and equipping in the beautiful environment of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Boone, NC.  We want to give students the opportunity to practice what they've learned and give them the experience they need to see God's power released on their campus.  You can't beat the setting and the family atmosphere.  If you are a college student, know a college student, or are about to become a college student, learn more, spread the word, and register to join us for one of the many weekends available.

We’ll see you on the mountain!

-Jonathan & Keeli Fawcett

It's Been a Long Time... Then Texas

It has been a few weeks since the last blog post and I apologize for the delay.  Among other things, I was sent to Austin, TX for ten days in response to the floods that affected the community.  I was sent to train volunteers on a new computer system that the organization I work for launched and, before that, I was beta testing, training, and creating training materials for those involved.  But here we are. The Austins - Bible DedicationWhile in Texas, I was up before 6:30am and down after 11pm.  I shared a room with a fellow employee in a Sunday school room at the Baptist church that opened its doors to us.  During a disaster response deployment, one meets the most selfless people on the planet.  They take vacation time and travel (on their own dime) to volunteer in the country’s most devastated areas.  Floods, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes… They prepare the way for these compassionate volunteers who are there for one main reason: to show people the love of Jesus Christ by cleaning up their home.  There is something to be learned by them.  Having worked for the organization for three years, this was my first deployment to a disaster.  Although I never enjoy leaving Anneli and Keeli behind, I gained perspective I otherwise would not have.

FireA camera lens cannot capture the smell, the feel, and the enveloping sensation of being at ground zero like being there can.  Each homeowner helped receives a Bible signed by the volunteers.  I was given the honor of presenting the Bible to the Austin family.  They were on their honeymoon when the floods happened and returned to see the first floor of their home destroyed.  They had been married for ten days when I first met them.  I was also given the opportunity to lead devotions for the volunteers.  The day before I left, one of the church members let me pray for his shoulder.  After we prayed, I asked him how his shoulder felt.  He said it felt great and that he couldn’t hold his arms out like he now could before we prayed.

GloryIn my absence from North Carolina, Keeli gathered with believers from UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian State University.  Our desire is to know the hungry, the passionate, the laid down lovers of Jesus.  The following Tuesday, we met at a house near campus where these students worshipped, prayed, and ministered to one another.  Keeli led the students in a prayer to receive the baptism of fire.  I love testimonies of the Lord’s power but I am anticipating greater than we have ever seen.

We often wondered why we didn’t feel the unction to reinstate Something More School of Ministry this year.  Now, we know why.  If we had, we wouldn’t have encountered these students who gather weekly the same night the school would have met.  Pray for these students.  They realize the campus, the community, and their classrooms are mission fields ripe for receiving the love of Jesus.

Jonathan Fawcett 

Flat Feet

One of the most memorable miracles I saw occurred twice.  Once, when Keeli was in graduate school at Lee University, I continued hosting Holy Spirit Parties.  But instead of hosting them in apartments, we were holding them in dorm lobbies.  We saw people come and go in those days and never see them until years later.  Normally, people would come, receive teaching from the Bible about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, receive it, and continue with life.  Many of them, when we're reunited, have been instrumental in advancing the kingdom of God.  Maybe they didn't come to meetings we hosted, but they held fellowship with other believers, encouraged many whom we didn't know, and had a great impact.  This was always an encouragement to see these believers steadfast in their faith. During these dorm lobby Holy Spirit Parties, Keeli's father, Kermit, would attend and help lead.  A friend of ours was a runner.  She was a rigorous trainer, ran for miles, and is, to this day, an expert in staying healthy, fit, and strong.  She did, however, have flat feet.  I remember Kermit slapping the soles of her feet while commanding arches to form.  For whatever reason, that night, she only received one arch.  We couldn't figure out why she didn't get a second arch that night but were thankful and excited that the Lord did something fun in front of our eyes.  Perhaps the Lord does things in a way that prevents us from making our own formulas for how He works.  I don't want to be presumptuous, but I believe her second arch came later.

Fast forward a few years later.  Immersion Church was in full swing.  A friend of ours who attended Immersion brought to our attention that she was also flat footed.  She had received healing for a couple of other major things... but I'll blog about that later.  Once again, Kermit commanded arches to form and, sure enough, arches formed in front of our very eyes.

Before our friends received arches, they were doing fine.  Why did Jesus decide to give them arches in the middle of college?  Because their is no limit to His goodness.  There is no limit to how much He wants to do for us and for others.  If we could grasp the revelation of the pleasure that Jesus has in us, we would never doubt His intentions to bless at every turn.

Jonathan Fawcett

Mickey and Jesus

We returned from a wonderful vacation at sea.  Whether you love Disney, hate Disney, support the company, or boycott them, we were inspired by the influence they have on the globe.  We took a holiday at sea on the Disney Cruise Line and found ourselves on a ship with a crew numbering around 1,500 which included representatives from approximately 65 nations.  We began to ask, what can the church learn from Disney?  How did this company's influence see the results and success that makes it so popular?  How can a mouse have such a great impact?  It's a prime example of how art and entertainment can change the world.  We observed closely how every detail was given special attention.  The staff were over-the-top friendly, never rude, and always accommodating.  They went above and beyond to ensure our cruise was memorable for all the right reasons.  Everything was on purpose. Each and every turn we took, Mickey Mouse was there... and was often subtle.  It was a classy art-deco ship.  But the subtleties were everywhere to make sure the Disney image was intact.  Walt Disney was known for saying, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." For us, this life was started by Jesus.  Just as Disney communicates the "happiest place on earth" message, everything we do should be with purpose to reveal Jesus in excellence, in creativity, and with a message that God is over-the-top good and that the Gospel is a sugar-coated message for those who believe it - dipped in caramel, drizzled with chocolate, slathered with a generous portion of whipped cream, a cherry on top, and an Oreo crust.

So let me leave my previous thoughts on the correlation between Disney and the church somewhat open-ended for now to share a testimony about praying in tongues (different than speaking in tongues.  Speaking in tongues + interpretation = prophecy... Praying in tongues - or as Paul often calls it, praying in the Spirit - is fair game!).  Keeli, Anneli, and I were enjoying our dinner with another family on the cruise.  Thankfully, the parents with small children were seated in the same section.  This was a blessing as parents had more grace for one another should another kid have a meltdown... everyone understood!  Anneli began pointing behind Keeli and making a noise to get her mom's attention.  There was a man having what we believe to be a seizure.  Keeli instantly began praying in the Spirit at our table and almost instantly the seizure stopped.  She didn't give a five point lesson to the family we were sitting with about why praying in tongues is beneficial before she began.  When it's hitting the fan, you're "in the soup", or something bad is going down, you don't have time to waste with eloquence or ceremony.  You were given the power to act supernaturally where you are standing.

Jonathan Fawcett

Traveling Band

Dear readers, This blog has been a wonderful means of reaching you with testimonies of the goodness of Jesus and how the power of the Holy Spirit is transforming people’s lives.  We have heard from many of you how the blogs have been an encouragement.  Some of you may have been stirred to believe for your own miracle, healing, or breakthrough and we worship Father God for His continual goodness.

This season in our life is quite different.  Last year, we launched a School of Ministry in Boone, NC while pastoring a church on Appalachian State University’s campus.  Boone has been a landmark for miracles.  Now, we want to see your city saturated with signs of the God of love.

It is our desire to come to you, share testimonies of Christ’s power and love, and impart the desire for God’s kingdom to overwhelm your sphere of influence.

Here’s what you should NOT expect if we come to your town:

  • Long meetings of confession and repentance with a focus on sin.
  • Begging God to do something He already has done.
  • Formulas that accomplish something apart from Holy Spirit.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • An opportunity for believers to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
  • Personal prophetic and healing ministry and training.
  • Power evangelism training and exercises (most notably in the form of “treasure hunts”).

Because of our current employment, we are only available on certain weekends.  As we maintain stewardship in our home by working our jobs, we also desire to fulfill the call of God on our family’s life to train, equip, and empower believers to advance the kingdom of God in their cities and throughout the nations.  Email us at somethingmoreinc@gmail.com with any questions or available dates.  We look forward to hearing from you to discuss the details of a weekend with your friends, family, church group, and other believers who are stirred to see the reality of God’s kingdom.

Thank you and blessings,

Jonathan & Keeli Fawcett, somethingmoreinc@gmail.com

Wrecked

Revelation 19:10 states that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  In my experience, the testimony of what Jesus has done is sure to happen again and again and again because He is unchanging.  On April 19, 2007 (long before Keeli and I were even dating), she hosted a Holy Spirit party in her apartment.  Students were getting healed of stuff all night long. Close to Where Jesus Was Baptized

Our friend Katie was praying for Hannah, a friend with a touch of scoliosis (curved spine).  Hannah laid face down on the floor as Katie prayed over her back while running her fingers down Hannah’s spine.  As Katie prayed, Hannah’s vertebrate began shifting into alignment.  Katie felt the bones move into place.

A couple of years later, I met a student named Margo.  She used to train horses in Georgia until she was in a car accident that happened two years prior to our meeting.  The car accident was so bad, she had to be rescued from the vehicle with the jaws of life.  In fact, a tire had actually impacted her back, leaving her spine curved.  She walked bent over with her neck stretching out.  When she shared the story, I couldn’t help but remember our friend Hannah who, at one time, had a curved spine.

As I retold Hannah’s testimony, without flinching, Margo insisted we pray for her.  Her unrestrained desire for healing was an action of faith.  First, I sat her down in a chair and we measured the length of her legs.  One leg was shorter so I commanded the leg to grow in the name of Jesus.  As I held her feet in my hands, her leg began pushing against me (I tend to push back to show that I’m not pulling, twisting, or altering her legs).  Her legs were even but her back was still bent.

I asked Margo to lay face down on the floor.  There was a group of approximately ten students that were also there.  Everyone laid hands on her back.  I stood off from the crowd and prayed in the Spirit.  The crowd of students began softening their prayers.  I shouted, “Pray in the Spirit!” Everyone began praying in tongues.

Let me digress for a moment.  Now this is the part where some would stop reading or even begin accusing me of risking a great opportunity by frightening Margo as a group of unknown students pray audibly in tongues.  I stand on the Word of God, believing that every good and perfect gift is from God, including the gift of tongues which has a plethora of benefits.  An interpretation of tongues is not limited to a translation but can be a manifestation of another gift.  If I am speaking mysteries but praying the perfect will of God with the Holy Spirit, I am building myself up in my most holy faith, stirring the gifts, and activating an intimate dialogue in the language of heaven, bringing impossibilities to its knees.  It stirs, strengthens, and edifies.  Jesus included this in the ministry of the believer in Mark 16 and each time people were praying or speaking in tongues, marvelous wonders followed.  As Paul said in I Corinthians 14:19, “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” But I pushed the envelope.  I used six intelligible words:

“Jesus!  You’re here!  Heal her!”

I slapped my hand on her back as the others continued to pray in the Spirit.  Sound intense?  Just wait!  All of us begin to feel her back muscles move.  Each vertebrate began to shift in its appropriate place.  Everyone was wide-eyed and began laughing.  In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).  In His presence, there is healing.  Margo just stayed on the ground.  She just stayed relaxed and received.  When her muscles and bones stopped moving, she stood up.  She was taller, straighter, and had a much better posture.

She took off the ring from her finger and said, “This was the ring I was wearing during the wreck.  I want to throw it away.  I don’t want to hold on to any part of that wreck.” She flushed it down the toilet.  Then, we prayed for her to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  She wanted everything Jesus had for her!

She later told me about her visit to her message therapist (who, by the way, she told me was an atheist).  As soon as the message therapist saw Margo, she said, “What happened to you?” Margo shared the Gospel with her and the testimony of how Jesus healed her back.  Margo finished that semester at Appalachian State then moved back to Georgia to train horses.  She was finally able to do what she loved again.

Jonathan Fawcett

Disciple or Convert

In 2006, I not only met my wife, but I met her father, Kermit.  Kermit, to this day, is one of the boldest men I have ever met.  He preaches straight up grace, heals the sick, casts out devils, prophecies what he hears the Lord speak, and is an outpouring of constant revelation.  Every week, Kermit calls me after ministering at a local prison.  Each time, I hear about men believing in Jesus Christ because of the power of the Holy Spirit.  Cancers are dissolving, Hepatitis is disappearing, broken bones are being restored and new hearts begin beating in these men’s chests.  I dare say that to see miracles in a church meeting, one has to be arrested!  Kermit has been steady, obedient, and ever increasing in his boldness to see lives transformed for God’s glory.  I wanted to do the same.  Here is my question: Are you a convert or a disciple?  When I met Kermit, I became a disciple.

A disciple does not idolize the person who teaches them.  They make themselves available to learn from someone who has experience.  Don’t subject yourself to being a disciple of someone who is depressed, inconsistent, double minded, or doesn’t read and believe the Word of God through the lens of New Covenant grace.

Sometimes, discipleship will leave you in moments of shock.  If your way of thinking doesn’t change for your betterment, then you may want someone else to teach you.  I remember when Kermit sat across the table from me and said, “I don’t ask forgiveness for sins.” My jaw probably hit the table.  I was in shock.  You may even be shouting at the computer screen, “Heresy!”

We have been conditioned to believe that forgiveness is obtained by confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness.  If this is true, then why did Jesus never mention it?  Why did Paul never mention it?  I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” What you may not have known is that I John 1 was written to a sect known as the Gnostics.  This was a group that infiltrated the early church and was corrupted by believing that Jesus did not come in the flesh and therefore did not believe there was a need to be forgiven of sins.  (To watch a great teaching on Gnosticism and how it continues to infiltrate the church, click here.)  When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He was praying an Old Covenant prayer.

At the cross, we were saved by grace.  We were forgiven when He was on that cross.  Asking for forgiveness does not accomplish something that was not already taken care of.  Our transgressions are separated from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) and our iniquities were thrown to the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).  Romans 6:11 (AMP) says, “Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” As Romans 8:1 (AMP) states, “Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

The statement that Kermit made, as contrary as it is to mainstream American church teaching, actually aligns with the Word of God.  Praise God for people who can read God’s Word with understanding through the lens of grace without compromising the finished work of the cross!

My Kermit Immersionchallenge to you: If you have not been personally discipled by someone who is seasoned and experienced in the glory of God (hint: just because a person has been ordained and has a theological degree (or as my friend calls it: being "hermaneutered”), does not qualify one as a believer or expert in moving in the power of the Spirit.  Get with someone who is intimate with Jesus, hears His voice, demonstrates His power on a regular basis, reveals Christ, dreams big, and lives victoriously in the glory, for His glory, operating from the glory.  For me, Kermit was and is that person.  He has been a coach who has been patient with me as I went through seasons of striving, shadow boxing warfare, and silly attempts of trying to accomplish something Jesus already did.  He stirs me with testimonies and encourages me to do the same.  He has never neglected to recognize the call of God on my life.  Because of his investment in me, I have fallen more in love with Jesus as I continually gain an understanding of what Christ has accomplished for the entire world.

Jonathan Fawcett

 

Transformation

Written by Ann Tobler, a friend we had the honor of meeting at a Holy Spirit Party in Raleigh, NC.  After encountering the love of Jesus, Ann was instrumental in bringing transformation to her high school and community through the power of the Holy Spirit. We track our lives by days, months, and years. We celebrate birthdays, take pride in our anniversaries, and mark our calendars anticipating the exciting events that have yet to come. Most of our lives are marked by dates that can’t be remembered. We have our normal routines, our day to day jobs, our families, and everything in between. But then there are days that change our lives. In my opinion, there are typically two types of life changing days. The days that we rejoice in remembering and days that are attached to events of sorrow or pain. I know, in my life, there are several dates that hold life-changing significance and I want to tell you about two of them.

December 9, 2005 was a date that nearly stopped me dead in my tracks and I mean that literally. As a new Christian, a group of friends and I decided to prayer walk our school campus. At the end of our meeting, a friend and I hopped onto the back of a car to sit and talk. Then it happened. The car accelerated and turned and I was tossed from the back of the car to the asphalt. I skidded 15 long feet on my back and slammed my head into the ground. It was a life changing day. I fractured my skull and broke the bones in my ears. I laid on the asphalt unconscious, waiting for the ambulance, unaware of the extent of the damage. The days, weeks, and months which turned into a year and a half were filled with relearning how to conquer the brain damage, memory loss and the horribly frustrating new trait of being the partially deaf girl. Fast forward through the anger and frustration and rebellion against a God who would “let this” happen to me. On top of everything else, when I felt like God was failing me, science was too. I had re-corrective surgery on my ear to restore hearing and was intensely disappointed when the results were far from "healed and whole".

Then there was May 19, 2007 – this was the day that my life was drastically altered by the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. After a night at a local music venue, meeting the members of a band from Boone, NC, I found myself sitting on a couch in a living room surrounded by a group of faces that were mostly introduced the night before.

I quietly sat and began to listen to two “crazy about Jesus” people and was honestly turned off and frustrated that I even came. Keeli opened with, “Tonight we are going to learn about the Holy Spirit and healing.” What and WHAT? I had never heard of the power of the Holy Spirit and I definitely knew nothing about healing. Then another life defining moment happens. I heard the voice of God in the deepest parts of my inner being for the first time. It was strong, clear and oh so life changing. “Open your eyes and look at where you’re at.” In awe of what was happening I quieted my mind and really began to listen to what Keeli and Jonathan were saying. When they asked a very simple question, “Does anyone need to receive healing,” I reasoned with myself before raising my hand and telling my story. In my head it went a little like this, “This is insane. Healing? I mean if it works, great, if it doesn’t then I have nothing to lose. It’s not like they’re practicing witchcraft on me.” So I raised my hand and explained about how, literally 2 days prior, I received the news that my surgery to correct my hearing was not successful. I even had internal pictures of my ear to prove it. I then was scheduled to return for a follow up appointment 5 days later to schedule another surgery in hopes of succeeding a second time. I saw Jonathan and Keeli’s faces light up with the excitement of their complete faith that I would be healed.

Over the next hour or so, I watched arms grow out, spines straightened, terminal headaches relieved and then there was me. I sat in the “hot seat” and experienced the most intense and overwhelming power of prayer. To be completely honest, I can’t even remember if I cried or not but this warm blanket of God’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit was released in my life. I was spiritually on fire and captivated by what I was experiencing. As my turn in the “hot seat” came and went,  I began praying for someone else and within moments I realized that I was baptized in the Spirit and began speaking in tongues. It was undeniable that God was moving in a powerful way that night. Having experienced God in a miraculous way on May 19, 2007, I can honestly say my life has never been the same. When I went for my follow up appointment, the doctors jokingly said I must have experienced a miracle and that I wouldn’t need a second surgery. I was healed. You never realize when you wake up on just another normal day, that it could just happen to be a life changing day.

Ann Tobler

Ann and Keeli at a prayer and worship gathering held in the football stadium of Ann's high school.  Ann has since graduated from NC State and is a professional photographer.

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