Interview Day!

Today is the day. I have an interview with Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm pretty excited. I get to talk with someone who pastors at a place where the book of Acts is being lived. Really, this is a place where the Bible is being lived. When people in the congregation go out, they minister as Jesus did. Demons are cast out and the sick are healed. There are even a couple of testimonies of dead being raised.

For the past several years, I've struggled with two passages...

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
- Mark 16:17-18

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
- John 14:12

I would read these passages over and over again wondering why on earth I don't see these being lived out by the body of Christ today. I grew up in a Pentecostal church, thus speaking in tongues and casting out demons was not new to me. In most of the church, however, I saw none of this. Such things characterized the early church and ministry of Jesus. This frustrated me deeply.

Late last summer, I started to read When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson, the president of BSSM and senior pastor of Bethel Church. As I was reading through it, I was astonished and quite frankly, relieved. Finally, I see that there are people in the church who are doing what these passages say. These folks take this stuff seriously. Since then, I have been exposed to dozens of leaders, pastors, and ministries who are fulfilling the Great Commission as Jesus and the early Christians did. I feel normal again.

Christ called us to heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach the Gospel to the poor (Matthew 10:7-8). All of these are of equal importance. Christ also said that we will be endued with power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts 1:8). The word "power" comes from the Greek word "dunamis" which means "force, especially miraculous power, usually by implication a miracle itself." The Holy Spirit also gives us the gifts (tools) to minister His love to others. All of this is a significant part of the training at BSSM. They go beyond the Gospel of Salvation into the Gospel of the Kingdom. Salvation is the key that unlocks the door to a whole new realm of life, the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit and destroying the works of the enemy (1 John 3:8).