I never got around to the sermon

It’s my last night in Livingstone. I’m a bit tired after preaching at a total of 10 meetings in 12 days (Finland + Zambia). When I was praying during the afternoon before the meeting, the Holy Spirit showed me that I should ask everyone to lift their hands, stand quietly and wait. I did what He said. First we called out to Jesus together, and then I asked everyone, all 40-50,000 of them, to lift their hands and stand quietly. And they did! After a short while the Holy Spirit began to work, some people were baptized in the Holy Spirit, others manifested because the presence of Jesus grew stronger, and eventually it was all just chaos. The Holy Spirit took over and it was one big mess! I couldn’t preach, but then I didn’t need to. Jesus was there!

After everything calmed down, I gave an altar call for salvation and thousands of people rushed forward. And remember, the handful of churches in Livingstone aren’t very big.

When it was time to pray the salvation prayer, the presence of Jesus increased again, and we barely made it through because while all of these people were receiving Jesus, many were being delivered. Others just fell to the ground.

I had planned a longer teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but I couldn’t teach. After a few examples and explanations, we went straight into the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

No one wanted to go home. The people cried out for another week of meetings. It was a historic crusade.

Tonight we are expecting 60,000 people!

Livingstone has reached its boiling point. Everyone is talking about the crusade and about the power of the gospel. Yesterday (Friday) the number of visitors grew to 40,000, and tonight (Saturday) we are expecting 60,000! Thousands of people are receiving Jesus and right now we don’t know how to take care of the harvest. If I give an altar call tonight, as many as 10,000 people could come forward.

The wave of healing continues, but mostly it is the number of deliverances that has surprised me. Yesterday when we prayed for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, about 2,000 people raised their hands when I asked if it was the first time they had spoken in tongues. Hundreds of people manifested and were delivered.

Two emptied wheelchairs at the first meeting

There were two empty wheelchairs on the stage after the first meeting. I started by giving an altar call for salvation, and about 500 people came forward. At the first command about 50 of them fell to the ground and had to be carried off.

There is an enormous focus on Jesus. If it continues like this we are going to turn all of Zambia upside down before the crusade is over on Sunday night. I have never experienced a more powerful first meeting. If it is by the finger of God that Jesus drives out demons, then surely the kingdom of God has come.

By the way, there is a sign outside my window that says, “Beware of the crocodiles, hippos and snakes.”

We are his workmanship - born for victory!

In Ephesians Paul writes that “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:10

Before you and I got saved, we were going our own way. It was a way filled with misery, where we worked by the sweat of our brows to save ourselves. But the Bible says that: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Is. 53:6. Today we are going on a new way, God’s way. We are his workmanship. It is his power that is working through us in such a powerful way. The purpose of life is to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives. All of us have different missions, gifts and callings, but there is a purpose for all of our lives that is bigger than ourselves. There is a goal and a purpose for our lives, and that is to do everything we can to make the kingdom of God a reality on the earth here and now.

We are born for victory, called to live in victory, and if the Lord tarries, then we will die in victory, because he who believes in the Lord Jesus will live even though he dies!

You might think I'm exaggerating!

The Holy Spirit is all-knowing. But depending on how long you have been walking with God and how clearly you have learned to discern his voice, it can be difficult to find out what the Holy Spirit is saying. I know many Christians who have a very hard time differentiating between their own ego and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Others aren’t able to differentiate between their own thoughts and those of Holy Spirit.

I can tell you how the leading of the Holy Spirit works in my own life. In some way, the Holy Spirit is there all the time - on his own conditions. Over time I have learned to trust him and he never lets me down. But his agenda is the one we follow, and I can’t force any other way. As I am saying this, you must remember that I have made many mistakes throughout all these years of seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I don’t always understand what is right or wrong right away. Sometimes I have to take a small step and then sense whether or not I’ll be able to figure out what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing. Some times I have rushed forward too quickly, but then the Holy Spirit usually stops me abruptly, which I am thankful for!

I am especially careful about big decisions and carry them meditatively inside of me, and think about them when I am praying. That is when I wait for full assurance in my spirit. What I am describing has to be experienced personally, because when I have full assurance, then I know that it is the Father’s will and that means that it will happen. This assurance has become more and more important to me over the years, and it depends on both what I do in the little things and in the big things. It can be everything from buying a pair of pants to making decisions about a big crusade. The Holy Spirit always knows best.

Another way that I know that I am heading in the right direction is when I feel the anointing. One example is when we started PTL in India. There was so much resistance, mostly from Christians, but each time I spoke about what we were going to do in India, I felt powerful rushes of the presence of God.

So what do I do if I don’t get full assurance in my spirit, or an indication from the anointing? Then either the Holy Spirit tells me that it is wrong, or it gradually fades away on its own. But if I don’t have an assurance in my spirit, I don’t do it.

You may wonder what I do when someone prophesies over me. I listen carefully and carry it inside of me. But if neither assurance nor anointing accompanies the prophecy, then I let it go. If you only knew some of things that have been prophesied over me over the years! Some people have meant well but they haven’t really been prophesying even though they thought they were. But other times, the anointing has been so powerful that all of the hair on my head stood on end! You might think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not! When I write my next book about visions, I’ll tell you more about that experience – I still have that prophecy on a cassette tape!

Your life moves in the direction that you speak!

Your life moves in the direction that you speak! But you can break the pattern if you need to. When your thoughts have been set straight again, your self-image will automatically be adjusted based on what the word of God says about you. When your self-image more accurately reflects who you truly are, the consequence is that your way of speaking will be changed. You will speak in the direction that you want your life to go.

You can try it right now! Go off somewhere where no one can hear you and proclaim the following 12 truths out loud:

I, (your name), proclaim that I am blessed:

-with God’s supernatural wisdom, and that I have a purpose and a clear focus for my life.

-with creativity, courage, opportunities and abundance

-with a strong will and self-discipline

-with a great family, friends, good health, faith and favor

-with success, supernatural strength and development, and God’s protection

-with an obedient heart and a positive attitude to life

-with the blessing of Abraham, so that every curse, evil word and all evil that has been directed toward me is now broken off of me in Jesus’ name

-in the city and in the country, when I go in and when I go out

- and that everything that I do is successful

-and that God’s overwhelming, enormous grace and goodness are in me and with me

-with a fantastic life.

How did that feel? Wasn’t it wonderful?! Do you know why that felt so good? Because you just proclaimed who you are in Christ. Now imagine yourself in the future always speaking in alignment with the truths that you have just proclaimed! Not one negative word will cross your lips. Instead, everything that comes out of your mouth will be filled with love, faith and hope. When others are speaking of defeat, you will speak of hope! When others are criticizing, you are speaking of possibilities! You haven’t just changed your self-image – you have gained a new vocabulary!