Become a Windblown Person of God

Become a Windblown Person of God

AN INVITATION TO A TRAINING RETREAT ON HEALING

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it,

but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes,

so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

– Jesus of Nazareth (John 3:8)

At this moment in their conversation, Nicodemus realized Jesus was calling him to let go of control. This must have been quite a jolt for him. People in any human government want to be in charge, and Nicodemus was a member of the High Council of Israel, which was a mix of human government and religious government. People in governments want to be able to arrange the world so that it runs the way they think it should, but Jesus is inviting him to be a part of the kingdom of God, or government of God.

Jesus was telling Nicodemus that if someone is going to be in God’s kingdom, the wind of the Spirit will blow them this way and that. This means you and I need to get ready to be sent in unexpected directions: “So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus was basically saying, “Nicodemus, if you want to be born anew from above, you will no longer be in control of your life, the Spirit will be.”

Being a part of God’s government means the exact opposite of being in charge. To be in his kingdom, you are surrendering control of your life to the Holy Spirit.

Being windblown by the Holy Spirit means you will let God’s Spirit direct you. Nancy and I have seen God do many healings. Sometimes we were expecting it and were asking God to minister through us at retreats, healing services, etc. But on many other occasions, God’s Spirit took us by surprise and opened up ministry opportunities in stores, in restaurants, on city sidewalks, in parks, barbershops, airports, beauty parlors, while camping, while walking in hallways of hospitals, in offices, when people telephoned us and asked for prayer, or we have even had a stranger walk up and say, “God just told me to come over to you and you would heal my back.” We never know when God will use us to lead someone to accept Jesus, to share words of prophecy or knowledge, and to minister healing to someone. To be in God’s government means we are willing to be swept along by the wind of the Spirit to when he wants us to serve.

Nancy and I want to invite you to attend a Healing Prayer Ministry Training Retreat at Camp Egan, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on March 20-22. Check-in will start at 1:00 p.m. and the first session will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. We will be finish by 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Our son-in-law, Nathan Cates, will be leading the music and singing. We will have worship, teachings, small group times, testimonies, practice prayer times, and a healing service. Register on the Oklahoma Conference Website okumc.org by March 13. We want to thank the Oklahoma Methodist Foundation for helping sponsor the retreat and for providing scholarships of up to 100% so that everyone can attend.