Psalm 104

Healing in the name of Jesus

"they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." - Jesus in Mark 16:18(b)

      This week I started teaching my kids’ group (5-8 year olds) about healing in the name of Jesus.  It’s a simple format: we read from the Word, see what Jesus did, and respond. To respond we needed people who needed healing in their bodies. So I grabbed a couple guys who are a part of our church family and needed healing to come into my class and let us pray for them. It was a success and a good starting point.

      Sunday was my day of the month to teach children’s church. And, when thinking on what God might like to do, I felt led to continue what I had started this week. So when Sunday morning came I announced to the congregation that if they were looking for a miracle in their bodies and wouldn’t mind being our guinea pigs, the kids and I were going to be praying for healing back in the classroom.

      To be honest, I was worried. I figured no one would be willing to step out of their comfort zone like that. But to my surprise, 5 adults joined us to be prayed for. Here’s what happened…

One man had an injured toe and found it really painful to walk on – healed. Flexibility restored and everything.

A woman came in with a migraine. We laid our hands on her head and it left. Completely pain free!

A man (now this one I was going after like it was personal) had one leg significantly shorter than the other. I sat across from him, holding his outstretched legs by the feet and watch the shorter leg grow out right in my hands!

Another man had a torn rotator cuff in his left arm and couldn’t lift it up in the air without assistance from his other arm. Healed! After we prayed he stood up and raised his arm as high as it could possibly go without any pain!

One last guy we prayed for had severe pain in his knee whenever he would try to turn. We prayed and his knee had no pain when he turned to test it out.

      The presence of Jesus was heavy in the room. The image in my mind of a bunch of us adults bouncing around, celebrating what God was doing, still makes me laugh. 

I am overwhelmed by the kindness Father is showing us.

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." - Jesus in Matt 10:8

- Olivia Wantz  9-25-11

Deep Cries Out to Deep

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Rev. 19:10)

      Since the beginning of the year, Pastor Pam (aka mom), has been teaching on “throne life”, which is basically giving us an understanding of yes, we have received salvation and are fully reconnected to the Father, but if God is offering us the fullness of himself, why are we not operating at 100% power? The understanding is that we have to unpack the lies we’ve believed and really know who God is, who we are, what He has for us and grow in relationship with Him. So for a constant reminder and visual demonstration (for visual people like ME!), we have placed 30% and 60% markers going down one of the aisles and 100% placed on a throne which is seated on the stage. This is something we put up every Sunday. God has been taking our church down that proverbial aisle, giving us more and more revelation of who He is so that we can operate at 100%.

      Partnering with this, God has called me back to Dayton with a promise and goal in mind (which I won’t go into right now). The promise is true and the goal is good, but because I came back with the attitude of “okay, let’s get this done, God, so I can go back to Monroe,” I wasn’t able to see what He was doing. Right now, even though I’ve been back for over 2 months, the ache in my heart for home has not eased up. My will has been and is set on what God has asked of me, but my heart has been the one in the middle of this spiritual battle. Despite that, I’ve slowly but surely warmed up to the process God has me in right now and I have to say it’s been a struggle. Crying to God that “His desires become my desires” has not been an easy prayer to pray when everything in me wants to go the opposite direction. Praising Him through my own heartbreak is a whole other challenge in itself.

      See, when God gives us a promise, He is always…always faithful to them. The issue that trips us up when we receive God’s promise is that we want it immediately. Promises are wonderful but the biggest part of them is the process as God takes us from where we are to the place of fulfillment. Not just that, but the enemy loves to throw everything at us that contradicts what God has spoken into our lives. So until recently I’ve been on a hamster wheel of emotions. In RMS, I remember learning that right before God brings us breakthrough there usually is something that rises up that gives us something to break through.

For it stands in Scripture:
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame." 1 Peter 2:6

“Indeed, none who wait for You shall be put to shame,” Psalm 25:3


      Early on, when I first came back to Dayton, God set on my heart to play Deep Cries Out from the new Bethel album for worship Sunday morning. I had no idea why, but I obeyed. Then He asked me to play it Sunday after Sunday for weeks! (You have no idea how out of my comfort zone that is for me), but I did it anyway. The funny thing is I’ve been asking God to increase the prophetic in my worship. Little did I know that by singing out that song week after week, I was using the prophetic in worship, it just wasn’t what I expected it to look like! As for the congregation, they responded well to singing out this song week after week and joined me. And God responded.

      Holly Benner, my worship leader, came down from Monroe to Linden Ave and delivered some fantastic teachings on identity in God, intimacy with Him and worship. Grandma Patt and Derek Robinson joined her in ministering to and refreshing us over that weekend. Their visit blessed me more than I can put to words. My church is grateful and looks forward to seeing them again sometime in the future.

      From August 6th through the 13th, Linden hosted the Restoring Lives International ministry, which came and did 38+ hours of ministry for an entire week. It was an intense and thorough process. Throughout the week I slowly watch people around me being freed up of lies they’ve believed, sickness that had afflicted their bodies and addictions that have held them captive. On our last night together I led worship and it was the easiest time I had doing so in quite some time. The atmosphere was so thick with gratitude and exaltation that, getting closer to the end of the worship set, everyone continued to sing out without even needing me to “spur them on”. I kind of just wanted to lay face down on the floor before The Almighty as their voices sang out “We lift You higher, higher, higher!” It filled a desire I had vocalized, just earlier that week, of an experience I’ve always wanted to have.

      We heard testimonials and those that gave them were able to hold this giant sword in the air as we all shouted “FREEDOM!” We also had a fire tunnel that night; people were being filled with the joy of the Lord and laughter roared through the room. It truly was a Holy Ghost party!

      Thank Jesus, this past Sunday morning continued the momentum of celebration and growth. I felt God’s leading on how He wanted the “service” or “God Event!” to go and it was confirmed by Pastor Pam (aka mom). The majority of the morning was spent on continuing the testimonials of God’s healing (both physical and emotional) and deliverance, which was fantastic! There were baptisms and it was like a giant family celebration the whole way through. At the very end the people who testified of their freedom, breakthrough and healing, prayed and proclaimed the same thing they received over other people in our congregation. Just watching that has revived the hope inside me. I can see spiritual maturity rising up. Saints equipping saints.

“Deep cries out to deep, so we cry out to You, Jesus”

      This past weekend I have also started an Abiding Group that will be meeting weekly, where we get in God’s presence and share what He says to us. This is something I felt prompted to do after Holly Benner spoke over our church that we were going to become “profession abiders”. I believe that the people of Linden Ave will become one that know they hear from God and respond. The children will grow up understanding that God wants to and does speak to them – that there is no junior Holy Spirit.

“We’re falling into deeper waters, calling out to You. We’re walking into deeper waters, going after You.”

      God really must love Linden Ave and have great plans for it if He has sent us so many wonderful people who have given up their time to come and bless us. I have been excited by these recent events and really wanted to share. Please pray for our church. Pray that we stay in His presence and not forget the things He has done for us and has promised to do with us.

- Olivia Wantz 8/16/11