Update- Concord United Methodist Church in Beaver County 2-18-07

I’m going to fill you in on the frame of mind people were in and the setting that I am walking into for this meeting. Back in 2001 the Youth Pastor Rick Dettling asked me to teach twice a day for 5 days at their Camp at Jumonville. In the morning I would do a character study of individual people in the Bible and in the evening we would look at what they did to see God answer by fire. We would then break down the principle and apply it to us.

I can honestly say being in the ministry since 1981 that I have never seen God move more powerfully during a ‘series’ of meetings. At times the heavy, weighty Presence of God would descend in that little Chapel and Rick and I literally couldn’t get off the platform. People were sliding out of their seats onto the floor. At times it would be silent for a half hour to an hour because of the sheer awe of His Presence. At times you could hear people moan, laugh or just praise God. Once we moved things outside after the service and youth were slain in the Spirit all over the yard between the Chapel and the road. Curious passersby would ‘turtle neck’ out their car windows looking at what must have appeared like some sort of disaster with many wounded. Later in the evenings all kinds of ‘Spiritual’ stuff was happening. Some of the Adults came running up at around 2 in the morning and said they had seen an Angel. They were pretty shook up. Each night got more and more intense and the youth were coming in by the end of the week with a great sense of expectation as to what God was going to do next. The thing that really was an earmark of that Camp was the Presence of God, it was incredible.

Now here it is Jan. of 2007 and I get a call. BJ Vucelich was one of the Adult staff at the camp in 2001. She is now more or less in charge of the Youth Program at Concord until they get an ‘official’ Youth Pastor. She says to me that they need something to get a fire going in their youth and my name came up. They prayed about it and called me. I actually had asked the Lord sometime back to open a door for me to minister at Concord again somehow someway. This was months ago and I had forgotten until she called me. We set up the meeting for Feb. 18^th.

Diane, Ashley and I drove up to Geneva College and spent some time with our 2 daughters that attend there. We took Amber, Aleta and Joel (Amber’s boyfriend) out to Appleby’s and a good time was had by all. We left Ashley there with the older girls and Diane and I left for Concord.

This is the kind of meeting I love to speak at. There was a sense of expectation in the air that was thick. Their Worship Team did a great job setting the atmosphere and an old friend “Mark” did a special and I was up. I am going to put the outline of what I said here below, you may or may not get something out of it.

“Kingdom Living”

( Now and later when you graduate and leave home)

- John 3:3 “…unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

:5 “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Difference between seeing/entering the Kingdom. (expound)

I believe v.5 is referring to the 2 Baptisms: Water and the Spirit.

(elaborate on baptisms significance and results of both)

Entering the Kingdom is experiencing Kingdom Living 24/7

The Kingdom defined- “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Rom. 14:17

“For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1 Cor. 4:20

To find the Kingdom isn’t hard. Find the King you find His kingdom. In John 18: Pilate missed the kingdom. :36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate said in :37 “…Are you a king then?”

The Kingdom of God isn’t a ‘natural’ thing of this world, no, it’s a ‘supernatural’ state of being where we are aware of the presence of the King.

Listen to Matt. 12:22-28 Jesus is accused of casting out demons by the prince of demons. He says kingdoms don’t work like that. Then He states in “ :28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Remember the kingdom isn’t talk but power. The kingdom here is associated with a demonstration of power, authority and the presence of Jesus.”

Baptism in water – physical act declaring a spiritual fact. Dead to sin, alive to God. “Public”

Baptism in the Holy Spirit – In Luke 24:49 Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to send the Holy Spirit and to wait in Jerusalem until they are clothed with power from on high.” Wait before you go out until you receive power. In Matt. 28:18-20 Jesus tells them He has all authority and to “Go”. The job would be incredibly hard. Resistance, persecution and difficulties but the one thing that would sustain them is to “remember, I am with you always…” His Presence. Know the King goes with you.

When the light comes on concerning the Kingdom. When we realize that where the King is there is His Kingdom it changes everything. When the awareness of the Kingdom forces it’s way into our everyday existence Prov. 3:5,6 kick in. We consider Him (the King) in everything and He leads our steps. Our present and the course of our future change and line up with what God desires.

Matt. 11:12 The Kingdom advances forcefully

Matt. 13:31 – mustard seed – seems small but will grow bigger than anything else in our life

:33 – leaven – permeates and changes everything

:36 – treasure – sell everything to have it

:45 – pearl – never seen anything like it

We value God’s presence. It becomes precious, valuable, something we guard and are careful with. We become acutely aware of what’s God and what’s not in our lives.

We are told in Matt. 6:33 to seek the Kingdom of God “first”. Before anything else seek that supernatural state of being where we are aware of Jesus, the King in our lives. If we know that He is there we submit to His authority in our lives in every area. His presence becomes something we hunger and thirst for, something we are careful not to offend and cause it to withdraw. All we want is ‘more’ and we can never get enough. We will “sell” everything to have it so to speak.

This isn’t nominal, half hearted, carnal, compromising Christianity. This is glow in the dark, devil stomping, radically obedient, powerful kind of Christianity. This is exciting, real, victorious and will make you stand out in the crowd no matter where you are at. These kind of Christians start a revival or a riot where ever they end up. May that be us.
(I said a lot that isn't here but this is the main message, the outline I had to keep me on track)

Well, that’s the message I had. After it was done I just asked for those who wanted to live having the Kingdom manifested in their daily lives to come up to the front. I prayed that God would cause them to be more aware of the King (Jesus) and that He would touch them. God began to move on them as they acknowledged their hunger for Him. I then asked for those who had a testimony they would like to give to come forward. Things started getting more intense spiritually at this point as one after another youth came up and shared how they were experiencing God and how He had worked in their lives. About this time for some reason I began to think of Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. It’s a Methodist school that had a huge move of God back in the mid to late 70s. I remember reading that God’s presence came down and young people spontaneously began to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness at a chapel service they had. I said, “ I think a spirit of repentance just blew into this place, let your heart break for the things that break the heart of God.” If you want to come up and confess something in your life that you know God is not pleased with come on up. I prefaced that by saying, “Nothing too crazy, for that stuff leave it between you and God.” As if on cue youth began to come forward and ask forgiveness for different things. Many youth were crying, most of the youth that took the microphone had to fight through the tears.

I can’t help but think that the “Saturation Service” we had on Fri. primed the pump and carried over some for this service. BJ said that was just what they needed. There was more that happened but I hit the high points just to give you an idea of how it was. All of the youth that were there were too young to have been at the Camp in 2001. Many of the adults had been there though. They were expecting in a big way and God didn’t disappoint. Some of the youth commented to me before I left, “I’ve never felt God’s Presence that strong before.” Scripture says “What God has done He will do again” Ecc.3:15 He usually starts small and gets bigger as you go. If some of them were just getting their first taste of His Manifest Presence I’m sure it was overwhelming. If they stay hungry there’s more in store down the road for them.

God does like to impress us. He likes it when we come away from an encounter with Him that leaves us in total awe. It’s like when Jesus turned the water into wine, He didn’t have to do that. Scripture says that they had drank all the wine they had. He was dealing with a house full of drunk people. I believe He did it to impress on them that they were not dealing with any ordinary man. When He came to His disciples walking on the water, He didn’t have to do that. He sent them ahead and I believe He planned the whole thing. He did it to let them know that compared to anyone else He was unique. He was like nothing they had ever seen before. You know they were in awe of Him that night.

I love to see people encounter God in ways they never have before. It blows my mind how God will move in services if we just give Him the chance. If we cultivate an atmosphere of faith and expectancy and hunger we have a meeting that He just can’t resist invading. If we give up our “control” and let Him move and do what He wants it’s always exceedingly more than all we think or expect. (Eph.3:20) I'm expecting even greater things for the future.

“Freedom” that’s the name of the game. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom,
Always hungry for more of Him. Freedom Ministry Network,
P. Danny