Keys to walking in the fullness . . .

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13

What are the keys to revival in America? I have given so much thought to this question. What are the keys to seeing people set free from addictions? What are the keys to seeing families strengthened? What are the keys to seeing people walk in total freedom and in power. The Bible is full of stories of power. It is full of miracles, healing’s, casting out of demons, people dropping everything to follow Jesus. In the gospel, people are willing to shout from the rooftops what they believe. They are willing to die for what they stand for and believe in. I believe the key is reaching out in response to the love of Jesus! A prayer, repentance, a turning away from what the bible calls sin. It takes coming to Jesus in surrender and embracing of the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity. Jesus saves you from your sin and the Holy Spirit gives you the power to overcome your sin. Coming to Jesus and as your Lord and Savior and embracing the fullness of the Holy Spirit is the key to Revival.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Today, many are scared to share their opinions or be a little different from the crowd. Today, what we need are those who are willing to question the current structures of American culture. The nation is in need of change in just about every area. Our government, schools, homes, marketplace, and culture. Close to 70% of church going men view pornography, people are struggling with addictions, and are unsure of how to get free from those strongholds. In Jesus’ day people struggled with sin in the same way; however, the difference was, that the gospel He preached set them free. People left a life of sin and they were healed of disease. People also dropped all they had to follow Him.

In Mark 16:15-20 Jesus said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”

In my first 26 years of life I can honestly say I never saw a person commit their life to Christ in a church service. I really didn’t see people lay hands on sick people in order for healing to occur. I for sure did not see, or hear, anyone pray in tongues, or pick up deadly snakes and drink poison. It is strange, because the Word of God says these will be the signs of those who believe.

In Mark 16:17-18 it reads, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The gospel I witnessed growing up was extremely gifted in the areas of care and teaching. I grew up in a great area where people knew the word of God. They were also some of the most compassionate people I have ever met. They cared about people, which I believe goes along with the greatest commandment of all–To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and next, to love your neighbor as yourself. Now with that being said, I personally struggled with addictions in my early 20’s. I was no church boy, but went to church twice a Sunday. At age 26, God drew me too Himself – I surrendered, and was born again. Those first few years I loved the Lord with all my heart, finally understood the Bible and had a desire to seek the Lord with all my heart. My life began to change; however, through this process I still battled sin. There are certain struggles I just could not overcome. I witnessed others struggling all around me–Christians, struggling with alcoholism, viewing pornography, men struggling in many areas. Little did I know, it was all about to change. In 2009 I had a great friend Randy Hartz ask me a question. Mike, “Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?” I said yes. Again, Randy asked, “are you filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues?” Of course me growing up in a church that never really experienced or saw anything supernatural said no. Randy said, “would you like to be?” I said just like a little child, of course! Randy, his wife Melissa, and a few others prayed over me while praying in their prayer language. Nothing happened to me. Randy made the comment, “we did our part, let God do the rest.” I went to bed that night about 11:00PM. I am an extremely deep sleeper. I was out cold after a later night. Out of nowhere at 4:00AM I awoke like lighting and sat straight up it bed and I had what appeared to be tongues of fire flowing out of my mouth for minutes straight! It was absolutely unbelievable. Just like in the book of Acts, I had experienced tongues of fire.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1-4.

The next six months were absolutely incredible. For the first time in my life I was able to completely walk away from so many things that continued to torment me and hold me in bondage as a believer. I never went back. This activated many new moments in my life as a believer. I started having revelation when I read the Word of God. I began speaking into the lives of others and began leading spiritually in different areas. This was truly the key to the Christian walk. The power button had been turned on. The stories in the bible became real and relevant. I began to live the life we read in God’s word. In 2009 I witnessed my wife committing her lift to the Lord. She began to experience God’s grace in her life. Then a few years back I also saw her receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with tongues as a prayer language. She radically transformed, found healing from past hurts, and the Lord also began to do a work of deep revelation within her. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the catalyst for life change in a believers life. As we go back to the book of Mark it is sign of a believer. Over the last decade, my wife and I have seen many come to Jesus Christ for salvation. We have also prayed over so many for that same activation in their life. We have seen the powerful change become evident as as well. I believe in a supernatural God that still breathes his Holy Spirit in us and allows us to walk in that power that the early believers walked in. We just have to know we have access too it. Some will tell you that the gifts stopped after Paul and Apostles. The word of God has never changed. People just stopped believing his word and the supernatural things the western world just can’t quite comprehend. All good gifts come by faith not our own understanding. Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Jesus himself says in John 14:12; “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Christ himself gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:11-16

My challenge to any believer out there is believe the Word of God. The Word is living and active, and when you take it for what it says and keep it simple, you will begin to walk a supernatural life. Jesus is the Living Word! God will begin to shine in you and it will become evident as others come to know Jesus Christ as well. I invite you to become and believe like a child–dare to dream for the supernatural and you too, will begin to walk with the fullness of power of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I believe we are walking into the greatest days the world has ever seen. I believe revival is at our doorstep. Believe in Jesus, believe in His Word and take it at face value! Become like a little child again. "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3