This is a cross-post from Brandon’s site that sums up where we are at right now and where we are going. Make sure to read to the end to figure out why we’ve been so silent lately:
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Here are some of the motives people have when doing signs and wonders (obviously not comprehensive).
- because they want to get over their own fears
- because they want to see what they’re capable of
- because they want to see the miraculous
- because they want to be seen by others
- because they want attention
- because they want money
- because they want to build up a ministry/name/reputation
- because they want to prove someone else (or group) wrong
- because they want to validate/prove their own beliefs
- because they want to prove their identity
- because they want approval from God
- because they hate the devil
- because they want to do what Jesus said
- because they want to steward what they have been given
- because they want to provoke others to good works
- because they have compassion for the lost and broken
Reading through this list, I am sure you can pick out the “good” and “bad” motives. But the point I want to make is that there is a “good,” “better,” and “best.”
There is only one motive that Jesus repeatedly mentioned and demonstrated in the gospels, and that is, compassion. He did do what His Father said, He did have a hate for the work of the devil, He did provoke others to good works, but the only one he preached was compassion.
Every one of those motives that I listed, I’ve done at one point (good and bad), but I have since found that compassion must be the first and foremost motive while I am demonstrating this gospel.
About 8 months ago when I was first starting up, there was a point where I got bored even in the midst of seeing many, many miracles. Everything somehow started to become routine and the luster of seeing the impossible happen began to wear out.
I started from pure excitement to see what else I could do with resurrection power (Rom 8:11), to feeling completely satisfied because it felt like I was on top of the world, to feeling bored because I wasn’t seeing the “bigger” breakthroughs.
I was pondering this to myself when Holy Spirit matter-of-factly said, “You’re not walking in compassion, you’re not serving, you’re being selfish. This has been all about you you you.”
Ouch.
I thought for a few minutes and realized what I had done. I was healing the sick for my own satisfaction rather than having compassion for people and serving them.
Healing the sick had become about me, rather than the person in front of me.
“Which miracle I can see today?” rather than “How can I serve my brothers and sisters?”
“I can show you a miracle” rather than “I want you to experience the freedom that Christ has paid for.”
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Why is this relevant?
Jesus placed a very high value on motive.
1.) Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)
Jesus never said charitable deeds were bad, but if you’re doing it with the wrong motive, “you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
2.) Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread… If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down… All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:1-11)
Jesus never denied his ability to do any of those things. The issue was not about the task, but whose voice He was listening to.
3.) And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Cor 13:2-3)
You can read someone’s mail, you can have the greatest revelation, you can have mountain-moving faith, you can feed the poor, you can die a martyr’s death, but if it isn’t because of the outworking of love, you’ve missed it.
Let me explain…
1.) If you are healing the sick for the purpose of getting a name or reputation, or building a ministry (to be seen by other people), you’ve missed it.
2.) If you are healing the sick for the purpose of proving your identity, or to prove someone else wrong, or prove your theology right, you’ve missed it.
If someone challenges you by saying “If you are who you say you are, prove it” or “If you can really do what you say you can do, prove it” you are being tempted on the level that Jesus was tempted.
My friend Cornel said this recently:
The greatest temptation is not porn, alcohol, drugs, success or wealth.The greatest temptation you will face is when you are asked to prove your identity by supernatural manifestations.
The devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and the Pharisees tempted him twice (Matt 12:38, Matt 16:1). Both times, Jesus passed the test and didn’t comply to their request.
3.) It is possible to do signs/wonders – even other things we have been commanded to do – without love and compassion.
‘Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ – Matthew 7:22-23
You can do everything Jesus did, but not actually know Him. You can mimic His acts, but still miss His ways. You can have all the supernatural signs and wonders, but not have supernatural Love.
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35
Again, to reiterate, not every single motive is bad. Healing the sick because you hate the devil and his work or because Jesus said to do it are both good motives. But let it first and foremost be because you have compassion for people.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Cor 13:13
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If you’re walking in resurrection power, it is very easy to go back to your church to “prove” that healing is for today. It is easy to confront powerless preaching by demonstrating power.
It is easy to do miracles just because it’s exciting, but if compassion is not your first motive, people can tell when you are treating them like projects rather than a person.
It is easy to see miracles everyday, but it’s just as easy to get to a point where you do it mechanically, “Ok, be healed. Awesome. Jesus loves you. Bye” rather than flowing in compassion and actually caring about the person.
If you’re just starting out, it’s very easy to get caught up with seeing more miracles. That’s not bad in itself, but don’t stay there, learn to walk in compassion for people.
If you’re around old friends or skeptics and you want to show them real power, it’s tempting to get caught up in trying to prove that what you have is real, rather than walking in compassion.
If you’re praying for someone that seemingly isn’t getting better, it’s easy to get angry at the devil and have that become the driving force instead of having compassion.
If you didn’t think “outreach” wasn’t good/successful solely because you didn’t see anyone get healed, something is off.
If you feel like you can’t minister to a person just because that person doesn’t have a sickness or ailment, then you’ve missed the point. The point is to demonstrate Jesus and have compassion for the person you are in front of.
If the only reason why you’re doing the Great Commission is because Jesus told us to do it, rather than it being an overflow of the Greatest Commandment, you’ve missed it.
The point is NOT to build a healing ministry, the point is to have a life that looks like Jesus; to walk as he walked (1 John 2:3-6) and re-present Him (1 John 4:17). In the context of the whole book of 1 John, it is overwhelmingly clear that “love” is the command.
Love is not contained in healing the sick, but healing the sick is an act of love. If you feel like you can’t minister to someone if they don’t have a sickness, you have not learned to love [fully]. Some people just need a glimmer of hope (Proverbs 13:12), some people need Wisdom from God (Eph 3:10), some people need some cash to buy food, and some people just need a listening ear.
Let me reiterate, most of these motives I have listed are not bad (or evil),and I have done them myself at one point, I’m just saying there is one motive that we are told to operate in.
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and intruth. – 1 John 3:18
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On a different point, we, at the house, have decided to take an indefinite amount of time off from the internet to answer some questions that we have. We understand that many people have been impacted by what we are doing, but we have failed when we have created a following that looks to us rather than the Teacher Himself.
Self-educate. Take responsibility for the world around you. Get answers for yourself. If you have something to say, say it. It is not pride to shout something you know is true and/or if you know that it will set people free.
When Paul said, “Imitate me, for I imitate Christ,” I think he was saying, “Do what I am doing, I am following Jesus; you should follow Jesus.” He was NOT saying, “Copy me, because I copied Jesus.” He was saying, “Copy me, in the sense that all I am doing is learning to be like Jesus.”
If you make a copy of a copy of a copy, eventually you will look quite different than the Master.
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” – Hebrews 1:1-3
Jesus is perfect theology… Anything you think you know about about God, that you can’t find in the person of Jesus, you have reason to question. – Bill Johnson
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If you guys really need to connect with us, email will work and you can use the contact page on our site to do that.
So until next time, peace to you, grace to you.
- Ryan, Laura, Brandon, SueEllen
This is a cross-post from Brandon’s site:
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“On Saturday, I went to Santa Rosa with Ryan/Laura and Andrew. We were invited by an acquaintance, Jose Coelho, who we met in Redding, to minister at a healing crusade. We arrived at VerticalCall around 10 in the morning, and Coelho brought us behind the church building.
There were about 50 people there waiting in line for food to be handed out and Coelho announced to everyone that we were there to heal them. A couple of hands went up (they were more interested in getting food) and we went to each one individually to pray.
I prayed for a few who needed jobs and had sick family members.
One lady was healed of neck pain (3 years) after Ryan laid hands on her.
There wasn’t much happening, so we asked Coelho to get a chair so we could start growing legs out. For the next ~20 minutes we grew legs out, causing backs, nerve problems, knees and various ailments to be healed. A crowd finally started to gather because people were praising God and clapping after hearing that healings were taking place.
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We all laid hands on one of the leaders who was about to go in for a test for the possibility of cancer.
Laura ministered to a boy who had a cast on his arm had metal in it had his pain decrease. He regained lots of movement.
A family brought their little girl up for prayer because she was born with asthma. Ryan commanded it to go, and went running with her. The family was in awe!
There was a boy who was diagnosed with ADD and Ryan ministered to him (didn’t see any apparent change).
An older woman came up to us also had asthma and carried 2 inhalers with her. We ministered to her for about 10 minutes and she coughed up stuff and got set free from a bunch of demons. From what I heard, she received the Lord and was also baptized in the Holy Ghost. She was able to run by the time she left!!
Many people with all kinds of pain in their bodies came for healing, all those where healed.
There was more that happened, but I don’t remember them all…
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After we left VerticalCall, we went to the Fairgrounds where the “Healing Crusade” was going to take place. We arrived to see only about 20 people in the room, but we worked with it.
Ryan was directed to pray for a lady who had some kind of pain, I don’t remember what, but she got healed.
Nothing else was really happening until we saw a lady with a wheelchair roll in. Andrew and I went up to her and asked if we could pray. She had really bad problems and weakness in her hips or something. We hit it once, told her to walk and helped her up. She stood and started to walk around.
When people around us saw what was happening, they joined in and prayed, and before we knew it, they had taken over. Everyone else gathered around her and continued to minister to her while Andrew and I just waited off to the side.
Andrew and I were feeling bored after a little bit so I said, “Hey let’s grow some legs out.”
We saw a group of tough-looking younger guys with tattoos, so we went up to them and asked if they had ever seen a leg grow out. We started growing out all their legs, and it opened up conversation to other problems they had. Some of them used to do drugs, and wanted prayer for hepatitis C.
One guy had a screw in his knee, and after we commanded it to be better, he could do squats without any problems (he couldn’t before).
I got to share with some of them about authority, and told them they could break the power of addictions off of their friends that were still doing drugs!
We were going back to Coelho’s house to have lunch, so on the way to the car, Andrew approached a lady sitting on a bench, but I think he got shut down.
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We had homemade Brazilian food for lunch (Coelho’s wife cooked, the food was awsome). Ryan got a word of knowledge for Coelho’s daughter’s back pain. He grew out her leg, and her arm, and all her pain left. She told us about her bad knee and it got healed too.
What was great about that was because she had been hurt a lot in the past (with religious stuff), so Ryan was able to bring some peace to that.
After we finished lunch, we probably grew out another 7 legs (neighbors that Cuelho knew). We got to talk and share testimonies with Cuelho (he’s got a lot of experience) for a few hours before we went (again) to the Fairgrounds where the healing service was.
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When we got to the fairgrounds, we pulled out Ryan’s “free healing” sign, set it up outside, and waited for the fish to jump in. For the next few hours we ministered to whoever stopped by.
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I laid hands over an older lady who had a cataract, posture problems and some other stuff… didn’t see much change.
Andrew and I went up to a guy we saw sitting with his cane, Andrew hit it a few times but the guy didn’t really feel comfortable with any of it.
We had plenty of rejections…
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I went inside the “healing crusade” building because there was a guy with some deafness that needed healing. When I found him, I grew out his leg and his wife’s leg.
We spoke a little more and found out that the wife had pain along her whole left side. I hit it once, and she said most of the pain left, but her lower half still hurt a bit. I hit it again and then she said there was even less pain, but still a little bit in her hip. I hit it again and then it was good.
Then, she told me that she had a weird ache in her right ring finger. I commanded the pain to go and then she told her husband, “hey I think the growth is shrinking!”
I laid hands on the husband for his deafness (and ringing in the ear), but he said he couldn’t really test it unless there was less noise. Also prayed for some rash he had on his stomach, and a week-old encounter with poison ivy (no apparent change).
I took 5 minutes to teach them basics on healing the sick and they were very thankful because they had been planning to go to a school of ministry. I simplified a lot of things for them and gave them Ryan’s card. They told me they had been listening to Andrew Wommack’s stuff, and I told them they would enjoy listening to Curry…
A mother asked Ryan to pray for her son who was born with club feet. So first, Ryan grew out his leg, and then we took turns laying hands on her son. We told him to go run and his mom and sister were quite surprised because his walk/run looked a lot smoother (it was more crooked before).
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We decided not stay for the “healing crusade” part of the meeting because there were too many Christians (ironic) there. Coelho suggested that we go to the mall because it would probably be more fun.
At the mall entrance, there was a group of ~10 young teenage girls. Ryan went up to them and asked if any of them had any pain in their body. At first, most of them didn’t take us seriously, but when some of them started getting healed from a variety of pain, they started to listen.
Coelho grew some of their legs out, only a handful of them stayed to listen to what he had to say. The rest of them were weirded out to some degree…
We wandered around the mall until we found the food court. I saw a girl on crutches and asked what happened but she totally ignored me. Cuelho followed her and created a conversation out of thin air. He was able to lay hands on the leg and the girl walked off 5 minutes later with her crutches in her hand.
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Andrew spoke with some of the workers at the Mrs. Field’s cookies and found out that they were believers. The girl that worked there (Christy) ended up asking us to pray for her aunt who had some health problems (she ended up being healed from a variety of things).
The aunt stayed with us all throughout the night, and she had us pray for some of her friends and relatives over the phone.
One of her friends on the phone had poor eyesight in one eye, and by the time they hung up the phone, their eyesight was equal to the good eye.
Andrew prayed for someone else (not sure who) on the phone and some growth completely dissolved (that’s vague, sorry…).
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Andrew and Cuelho went up to a group of 4 teenage guys and started up a conversation with them. Cuelho told them that there was an angel right next to them and then instructed them to put their hands where he saw the angel. Most of them felt a really weird presence and were amazed.
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I saw wheelchairs multiple times (we were on the 2nd floor) and I would run ahead and down the stairs to meet them. One time, it was a guy that had been in an accident (he was probably in high school) and said he’d be in the chair for another month. I asked if he wanted to get better “now.”
He was curious, so I told him, and asked if I could pray for him. He was fine with it, so I prayed and told him to try walking. He told me that he could already walk, just not for more than 5 minutes. He didn’t want bother with trying, but he was very appreciative though.
The other wheelchair encounter was a woman with MS. She could also walk, just not for very long. After I laid hands on her, she didn’t feel any apparent change and told me that she was believing God for it.
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I think I missed about 3-4 words of knowledge. Got rejected 2-3 times.
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Ryan chased down a guy with a word of knowledge. He found out that the guy was hearing impaired (had hearing aids). I’m not sure how the story ended…
Meanwhile, Christy from Mrs.Fields took us to minister to another employee who was deaf (100% in one ear, and severely deaf in the other) and mute. The guy was sitting at a table with other employees just hanging out, and when we reached them, I prayed for him once, but nothing really happened… but Coelho showed up a few minutes later and put his hands over the guy’s ears and commanded his ears to open.
From what Coelho told us later, all of a sudden, the guy reacted in surprise as he started hearing from the ear that was 100% deaf. The employees around him were very surprised and Coelho continued to command the guy’s tongue to be loosed. Coelho slowly kept enunciating “Jesus” as the guy tried to repeat after him. BOOM.
Shortly after, I don’t remember how, but Ryan got another one of the employees to get her legs checked. They grew out, to the employee’s surprise (right in the middle of the food court).
As Ryan grew the employee’s leg out, I saw a family of 3 standing by and watching. After the leg grew out, I went up to them and asked which one of them had a knee problem. The daughter translated for the mom and found out that she did have a knee problem. I commanded the knee to be better twice, and the pain was completely gone by then. They both thanked me because they were curious as to what was happening.
After, I saw a guy (teen) leaning against a counter and I got a word of knowledge for him. I went up to him and told him that he had just been in a fight with his mom and that his mom didn’t trust him or seem to care about what he wanted.
“Yea, how’d you know?” He replied.
I shared with him what God showed me when I was in the same situation with my mom. He was very grateful and was completely in awe at the fact that I knew what had happened, and that I called him out on it.
While I was talking to him, Ryan was talking to his friend right next to us. Just as I finished talking to my guy, Ryan pulled his guy over to grow his leg out. We gathered a small crowd and a few more legs grew out.
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Christy wanted to introduce Laura to her sister, Jennifer (who also worked there). Laura asked if Jennifer had back pain (which she did), and then grew her leg out. All her back pain left, and this one gesture started a really long chain of events that lasted until the end of the night.
Every single time we grew a leg out from that moment on, people crowded around to watch. We just kept pulling in people who were watching from a distance and had them sit down, and when a leg was growing we’d pull in people who were walking by.
About 5 or 6 legs later, I saw 2 guys who were curious walk towards us. I asked them if they wanted to know what was going on and of course, they said, “yes.”
I pulled out a chair to show them and I grew both their legs out. They were both somewhat impressed and I proceeded to explain to them why we were doing what we were doing. They were very understanding and were glad to see a fresh take of what “Christianity” actually looked like, not what it sounded like.
The rest of the group was still growing out legs, so I went back to join them.
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We kept growing legs out for another 10-15 minutes…
There was a guy who had issues throughout his entire body (pain, diabetes, missing a toe, a numb finger), so after I grew his leg out, Coelho and I pounded on his other stuff. By the time he left, he regained use of his numb finger, most (if not all) of his pain was gone, and he was feeling very hopeful and encouraged.
You’re probably wondering… but the missing toe didn’t grow out…. yet =]
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At this point, the mall was already closing down. Most of the employees at the food court had already closed their stations.
I needed to go to the bathroom and when I came out, I went up to a worker closing up shop and asked if she had back pain. She said she did so I asked if she wanted the pain to go away. She asked “how” and I told her to give me her hand. She did and after I hit it twice, all the pain was gone.
Just as I was about to go, another employee –who had seen us ministering and watched people get healed– went up to her and started sharing what she had seen. I smiled and went back to the group.
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There was an old lady who was about to leave the mall, but Coelho said to her, “Do you want to be healed?”
The lady had been listening to us minister to people while sitting in the food court for maybe 20 minutes, so Coelho figured she needed something. He ministered to her for a little while and she got lots of healing (I don’t remember what, I wasn’t with her the whole time).
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The group had dwindled down, and Ryan was on preaching mode. We accosted every stranger who was on their way out.. most of them politely declined, some stayed to talk.
We got to share with the handful that remained about the baptism of the Holy Ghost, tongue, healing the sick, the “church” system…
Laura ministered to one of the girls on her own…
Coelho sat down to talk with a guy who used to go to his church…
We shared testimonies and some of them asked questions… we exchanged information and said our goodbyes… they are very excited for the coming weeks!
BOOM.
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There was definitely a lot of seed that was sown. We have tentative plans to visit Santa Rosa again in the next few months…
I definitely learned a lot, Coelho is an awesome guy. He walks the talk… in his half-broken English. He’s learned a lot from Todd White (Power and Love Conference), and it was cool to see him in action!”
- The Blueprint of “Renewing Your Mind” 11/24/2011 Brandon
- Decisions that Define Us – Graham Cooke 11/23/2011 Brandon
- Incomplete Vs. Complete Forgiveness 11/25/2011
- 20 Rob Rufus Quotes On Law vs. Grace 11/23/2011
- Organic Church Introduction 01/30/2012
- Dead to Sin and Alive to God! 11/10/2011
- Five Ways Jesus Revealed Grace 02/01/2012
- Do Everything Jesus Said? 01/29/2012
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