3 Visions received in 3 Churches

This summer (Philippine summer), my wife Amy and I have been travelling in the USA for several purposes. Illinois, Wisconson, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California. The first is that we are getting Amy her green card. This is her first time to come to America. Secondly, my 14 year old son Ethan is seeing family in Chicago. Third, we are visiting my eldest son, Chad in Las Vegas. Fourth, we are preaching and meeting with Pastors and others who we might partner with. We have also tried to get to as many services as possible even when we aren't ministering, to receive from the Lord and also to experience other Church services.

Interestingly, in most of the Churches that we visited, the Lord sent visions my way during worship which gave me a pulse of what was going on in each Church, usually with each Pastor. If the Lord opened the door to share these, then I did. If not, or if I sensed that the Pastor was not open, then I did not unless the Lord strongly prompted me to anyway.

Though these visions were about those other Churches/Pastors, I have found that they either in part or in full also apply to me and to the Church which I pastor in the Philippines. I want to share three of them with you because I believe that they might apply to you or to your Church as well.

Church #1

I saw the Pastor, a humble yet confident man who is open to the Spirit but is more about the Word, holding 2 spouts with handles and buttons on them like the soda dispensers that a bartender would have. The spout in his left hand was carbonated water and the spout in his right hand was syrup. Standing behind him was Jesus and He was speaking into the ear of the Pastor, giving him directions. "Now more Word. Now more Spirit." As Jesus directed him, he would pour either more soda or more syrup or both at the same time. The syrup represented the Word of God and the Soda represented the Spirit of God. This was a really interesting vision analogy that I had never thought of or heard about before. And frankly, the more I have considered it, the more it has challenged me. It has challenged the way I have been operating as a Pastor.

I have been very open to the Holy Spirit and have been very careful not to quench the Spirit. But when I say I'm open that means that I usually just wait to see if He is going to pour some soda into the mix. Now that I have carefully considered this vision and the scriptures that go with it, I realize that I have been holding back. I need to turn on the soda whenever Jesus prompts me to. God has given us the authority to move in the Spirit. This is why some of the greatest men of faith have said some things that many people misunderstand as arrogant. For instance, Smith Wigglesworth often said,

"If the Spirit does not move me, I move the Spirit." To better understand what he meant, first consider another thing Wigglesworth often said: "As I start out in the natural, in faith, the Spirit of God always meets me and anoints me, so that although I start in the natural I continue in the Spirit." Smith was not saying that he would or could force the Holy Spirit to do anything, but he was expressing the fact that faith moves God and that the Holy Spirit expects us to stir things up and operate in faith. It is not enough to just be open, we also have to be willing to start so that He will meet us. Think of how often a miracle happens unless someone by faith begins to pray, making declarations first. Not very often. Faith is the spark that welcomes the fire of God.

The main point is to be led by Jesus in the mixing of the Word and the Spirit. It is not normally going to be a constant 50/50 mix. There are times when it will be more Word and other times when it will be more Spirit. If we are led by Jesus, then we will become better at knowing when to focus more on one over the other while always making sure to bring the overall balance of the Word and of the Spirit according to Jesus' directions.

What I saw at the end of the vision is that when the mix was right (according to Jesus' instructions), the beverage became very refreshing and healing and many people were blessed and the Church grew in a way they had not previously experienced.

We could apply this principle in other areas as well. For instance, there are times to focus more on love & grace and less on judgment & consequences. But there are also times to speak about consequences & judgment. Again, we must be led by Jesus in this. Overall, there must be a balance to it because if we do not present the whole gospel, we become heretical in our teachings.  Jesus is the One who spoke about hell more than anyone else in the Bible and in the most vivid terms in order to warn people so that they would not fall short of the grace of God.  He is also the One who in many instances did not mention peoples sins to them and focused on the positive, not beating them up since their guilt was already huge.  He knows the appropriate times.

Church #2

This vision was of a Pastor and his Wife who in this Church is the Co-Pastor. I saw them flying through the air but they were a part of a large flying tree. Their heads were poking out of the tree and they're faces and hair were blowing in the wind just like skydivers. But they were not diving down, they were shooting up. Moving very fast. The tree represented the Church and the limbs, the bark, leaves and fruit were all people. The thing is that as they were moving, the speed at which they were moving was too fast for some of the people and there was a pruning going on. Limbs, leaves, bark and fruit were being ripped off and falling to the ground as the tree continued to rocket along. Simply put, people were leaving or had left the Church. The Pastor and his Wife began to worry and began to wonder if they were moving too fast. They looked back at the tree and saw the large number of people falling off. But then Jesus pointed at the bark, leaves, limbs and fruit that fell off and they were able to see that the majority of the fall-off, not all of it, but most of it, fell into pots of soil and they began to grow and thrive where they landed. Even though much of the fruit left their tree, it was still fruit that remained and God credited them for it (John 15:16). Not only did the fruit last, but it multiplied!  Jesus said, "Keep going fast. You are moving according to the vision that I have given you. Don't worry. You are in My will. Unless there is a pruning, you will not reach the highest place that I have destined for you."

I have found in ministry that God often calls the leaders to move faster or in a different direction than what many in the congregation are willing. Some of them don't want to move at all. But the point is, that if it is Jesus telling us to move fast, even when many don't come with us, we will end up doing more for Him and the ones who fall off are safely in His care. After all, we aren't building our own kingdom! We are building His Kingdom even if that means some of those who were with us end up in a different Church!

Church #3

This Church is very similar to ours in the Philippines and this vision spoke to me the most out of the 3 visions I'm sharing today. It is even the same age as ours. I'm going to share this one with my congregation.

I saw the Leaders (husband and wife Pastors and a team of other Pastors and Leaders) as being a pregnant woman. Then I saw in the womb that the Baby was a New Wineskin. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Jesus' teaching about not putting New Wine in Old Wine Skins, you are probably going to need to do some research to understand this :-) (go to Matthew 9 and find some sermons about it on-line)

The woman ended up in the delivery room of the hospital and Jesus was the Doctor who was going to perform the delivery. But he told the woman, "Don't push. You cannot give birth yet. The Wineskin is not ready." And so they waited. Everyone had to wait because Jesus would not allow the delivery to happen unless the Wineskin was ready. The impression I had is that if the Wineskin was not ready by a certain time, then Jesus would call the delivery off entirely. There was an urgency for the Wineskin to be prepared. In the vision, I saw that the woman was in the third trimester which gave me a time frame of about 3 months until it would be too late. But I don't know if it was a literal time or just reflective of a season that only Jesus knows the timing of.

I asked the Lord at that point, what is it that needs to be done for the Wineskin to be prepared? He showed me in the womb again and I saw that stitching was going on. Threads were being sown into the wineskin and each thread represented a person from the Church. A unified group of people who were all on the same page with one another in the Spirit according to His vision for this particular Church would make up the Wineskin. Another way of looking at it is that there is a certain environment or atmosphere that needs to be nurtured and protected for this Church to be what God wants. I know this is a controversial thought to many. I used to serve with a Senior Pastor who basically thought that developing a certain atmosphere was wrong. But I have found it to be true and every Church has a particular atmosphere or flavor whether they want to admit it or not. The Pastor who didn't like the term "atmosphere," ended up developing a very dry and limited one.

I had a sense that there was a very good chance that it would happen, but it wasn't going to happen by osmosis. There needed to be an urgency, an alarm sounded, an intentional move to get it done or else it would not happen. I'll share more on that in a moment...

The most interesting thing about this vision to me is that God said to me, "If they deliver this one, the next one will be much bigger." God was already looking to the next pregnancy! And just as with physical pregnancies where usually, the babies get bigger with each, this is what usually happens with spiritual pregnancies as well! The impression that I had is that after delivering this one, they would have one more intense pregnancy and then they would experience a move of God in a way that many dream of but never experience. Obviously, it takes time and faithfulness in a process to get there.

The Pastor then got up and preached a message right on the same page. He even preached about Wineskins. The best part of what he preached is his understanding that for this congregation, God wants them to move from being a Community to a Movement. Wow! And that is exactly what I have in my spirit for the Church I am currently pastoring. That we would go from being a normal type of Church to a movement!  His message was for me!

After service, the Worship Pastor prophesied to me during lunch that I am "Fathering a Movement." That is true to an extent, but I feel that I have been falling short. I ended up re-committing myself to the process of Fathering a Movement. That prophecy helped me to begin to re-focus.

High Level Training.. No Ministry Budget

Luke 10:4a (NLT)

4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals.

Jesus decided to send 72 disciples out to get them moving in ministry. He sent them in pairs and gave them a bunch of instructions on how to conduct themselves personally and in ministry.

One of the more interesting instructions was to not take any money with them. Not only no money, but no traveling bag and not even an extra pair of shoes!

What modern day missionaries or preachers do you suppose would do something as foolish as that?!? You really wanna know? Only the greatest ones! And even they won't make a habit out of it but will do so only when they are specifically led of the Lord to do it. Most of great ones I know have done it more than once or twice!

Why would Jesus do that? Remember the context. This was a launching.. a training.. they had never gone out before. Later, I'm sure that they would be allowed to bring more with them, especially on longer journey's, but they needed to learn how to be effective in ministry. On a side note, later, Jesus told them to take money with them. But as of the moment, they needed to learn not only to trust in the Lord, but they needed to learn to trust that the Lord could actually cause people to take care of their needs. Each pair would experience supernatural provision as God would lead them to a house that would welcome them, house them and feed them.

Jesus knew that if we don't know how to do ministry WITHOUT money, then we won't know how to do ministry WITH money! Dependence on resources often equals lack of dependence on God! Remember what Peter said to the man who couldn't walk? I don't have silver and I don't have gold, but I have the power of God! In the name of Jesus, walk! And that beggar picked up his mat and walked!

Jesus knew that if they operated in faith and reliance on the Father, if they did it with a spirit of love, then resources would follow. And they always do!

A career mind-set is one of the greatest pit-falls of the minister. Doing it for a paycheck or even for a lunch is danger-ville! Your spirit will get ruined by falling for that stuff!

I don't know about you, but something begins to stir inside of me when all I have is Jesus! Some people get all defeated and give up... and that can be a temptation for me as well. But when I overcome myself and begin to operate in faith, all heaven breaks loose!

And look what happened to these 72..

Luke 10:17 (NLT)

17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

The training paid off! Rather than throwing money into programs with limited results, they actually talked to people, cared for people, went out to reach people, healed the sick, cast out demons and won the lost to Jesus Christ!

Let's do the same shall we? Let's break the shackles of reliance on resources and believe that Jesus actually is more than enough!

What is God Most Interested In?

To find out what God is most interested in regarding our lives and situations is a huge key in accomplishing our mission.

In the past year, I have had two very strong prophetic experiences where seasoned prophets who knew nothing about me spoke directly from the heart of God to me... they read my mail!  One was from India and gave me the prophetic prayer in Malaysia and the other was from Holland and gave me the prophetic prayer in the Philippines.

As I have been contemplating what God has spoken to me through these experiences and through other direct and indirect communications He has been sending me, the one thing that hit me this morning is not what was in the messages, but what was not.

The Lord has literally been ignoring some of my questions.  In the case of the Dutch guy who prophesied over me just last Monday, I had been asking God very specific questions during the worship service and about 75% of them were answered in the prophecy.  It went something like this.  "You have been asking ___________ and the Lord is saying ______________."  It was very specific.  But yet 25% of what I asked was ignored.  On purpose  :-)

So what has been missing?  What questions are being ignored by the Lord?  He has told me very little about the ministries and the Church that I oversee.  That is, He is not giving me any new information at the moment even though I am asking Him.

Instead, He has been focusing on me, personally.  Telling me to keep developing, keep growing, keep going, look at the big picture, don't get stuck, stay light on my feet and so much more.

To me, that seems weird.  I would assume that the Lord would be much more interested in the ministries that I oversee than me personally.  After all, the well being of many people is at stake!  But that is where my human mind-set is wrong.  God is always more interested in the minister than in the ministry.  In the person and His personal relationship with them than He is in what they do, even if what they do is for Him.  The ministries are His responsibility and He really is in control.

He wants me to focus on growing my character, my capacity, my intimacy with Him!  If I will continue to work on my relationship with the Lord, the natural out-flow of that will be that I am more able to help others!

Is God concerned about the Church I Pastor?  The other ministries?  Absolutely!  But it would be a mistake for me to think that I am irreplaceable and it would be a mistake to work on the Church more than to work on me.

What is God Most Interested In?  Every single person individually.  Every single one is precious to Him and He doesn't look at them primarily grouped in Fellowships.  He reaches each one.  Does He use a ministry to reach an individual?  Yes!  But the point always will be to reach the individual.  Not just to grow a group.

Now I do want to clarify.  There are times that God does speak to me about the specific ministries. Our whole mission and all of our goals are based exclusively on having heard from Him.  But those issues are not as important and the communication about them is not as regular as about my personal relationship with Him.  They are not as important as God's individual plan and communication for each person.

My final thought that I hope to drive home is this.  Could it be that what is getting in the way of many people moving forward in God, an over emphasis or too high of a priority on ministry rather than on relationship?  I believe so!

We need Funding.. Would you Partner with Us?

Hi everyone!  Sometimes I feel like the guy shipwrecked on the deserted island, throwing the message in a bottle out into the vast ocean, hoping that someday, someone will read it.  Or actually, even more so, I feel like the Apostle Paul, out on a missionary journey, writing yet another letter, marveling at the fact that God has been faithful but at the same time explaining that I have learned how to be content during the miracle moments of high provision and the other times when I have to do very normal types of things to survive like writing fund raising letters.  It's hard to imagine the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest men to ever live, having to make tents or make appeals for funds, but he did...

This has been an amazing year!  The ministries are doing very well, the church is thriving, organizing, uniting, maturing, growing!  The outreach efforts in their various forms are doing very well.  Every week, dozens of people are touched and impacted with the love of Jesus in homes, offices and public areas!

Personally, I haven't been so happy and content since I was a kid.  My marriage to Amy has been wonderful!  She brings so much peace and stability into our home and has become a partner in every area of life both to me and also to Ethan who is now 14.  We will celebrate our one year anniversary on March 07.  Thank you for your kind love and show of support.  I cannot explain to you how much it means to receive the messages of kind words from you which are like anti-oxidants to my soul!  Though the numbers of negative jabs we receive have been many, your kindness far over-powers the attempts by the enemy to discourage.  God is great!

The challenge that we have is that the fuel light is blinking red on our dash.  We are about out of gas.  I look on the horizon and I don't see a filling station anywhere in sight, but God sent a message to me from a trusted prophetic lady minister from Bangalore (India) saying, "I have instructed my people to give, once again, to the ministry that I have entrusted to you.  Raise the banner.  Send out the message.  They will give."  So, I trust the Lord.  Here goes!

As missionaries, our support comes from the Lord through His faithful people who give offerings.  Sometimes that comes when I guest speak and other people just send funds as they are led, either monthly or occasionally or one time.

Many of our previous supporters have dropped off in the last couple of years.  Some are now with the Lord, others are now under-employed or their businesses are not doing well.  Things are pretty tough everywhere including in the States.  We are left with 2 consistent supporters.  One Church in Tacoma, Washington which faithfully sends $230 a month and one couple who sends $50 bi-monthly.  That's $330 per month. 

Our budget isn't large.  We could really use $1,200 a month or as close to it as we can get.  That covers most everything.  Housing, food, fuel & transportation, electricity, utilities, school expenses for Ethan and incidentals.  It of course doesn't cover things like emergencies or medical, but we have a private Physician named Jesus! 

Calculate with me and you will see that what I'm looking for is $870 per month in support.

Would you be so kind as to consider the possibility of doing something?  A one-time gift?  A monthly amount?  Something large?  Something small?  It doesn't matter how much you can do, God takes small things and makes them big!  If all you can do is $20, please don't feel bad about that.  $20 pays for gasoline for an entire week!  That's a tremendous help that propels us to the places God sends us!  But if you can do more, that would be greatly appreciated as well!

Thanks for your kind consideration!

The best way to send funds to us from America is through our good church friends in Tacoma, Washington.  They issue all the donors a tax deductible receipt and they get the funds to us within a week.  For those in other countries who don't require a USA tax deduction, there are faster and more direct ways to send to us including Xoom, Western Union, Bank Transfer and more.  Please contact me directly to coordinate at pastorstevemckinney@gmail.com.

Abundant Life Fellowship

5917 South Thompson Ave

Tacoma, WA 98408

USA

- Make checks payable to "Abundant Life Fellowship"

- Include a note and write in the memo section, "Steve McKinney"

Check them out at www.alfellowship.org or call Pastor Rick at (253) 472-3600

Place Everything in God's Hands

I recently preached for a week-end at an amazing church in Singapore, Eternal Life Assembly.  The fantastic Lead Pastor is Bob Lum who also serves as the Assistant General Superintendent of the the Singapore Assemblies of God.  This is the Sunday morning service.  Eternal Life Assembly is celebrating it's 49th year which means they are completing 7 cycles of 7 years.  We call this a "Sabbath's Sabbath!"  And so this year for them has to do with Sabbath Rest and this sermon describes true rest not as sleeping or relaxing, but as placing everything in the hands of God.  The first 45 minutes are the sermon and the rest of the video is a time of response and worship.  The intro is by Pastor Bob and the worship at the end is with the mightily anointed Worship Pastor Daphne Lau on keyboards.  

In addition to the main text of  Hebrews 4, I also tie in the stories of Jericho and of the Loaves and Fish as examples of resting in Jesus.  Enjoy!

"You Are Like a Veggie Tale"

I preached in Singapore recently for a Church for a special week-end as they embark on their 49th year in ministry.  A "Sabbath's Sabath."  That's 7 times 7 and a very significant time leading into the Jubilee that the Bible speaks of where debts are canceled, slaves are freed, etc.  Exciting!

We had a wonderful and impactful time.  A few days later, I was still in Singapore, preparing to go to Jakarta for the next week-end of ministry.  One of the Church families invited me to an amazing dinner.

During the dinner, the daughter in the family asked me, "do you know Veggie Tales?"  I responded that I know Veggie Tales very well as my youngest son Ethan watched them for years, often in the car as I drove and so I know the sound of Veggie Tales more since I wasn't watching, but listening.

Then she said, "Did you know that you are like a Veggie Tale?"  Before I could answer, and because something got stuck in my throat at that very moment due to being startled, she further explained, "I'm not the only one who thinks so."

I was imagining the characters by this point... the tomato, the cucumber, and for some reason, even the annoying orange who is not even a veggie tale!  I said, "Which one do I remind you of?"  She told me that I don't remind her of one in particular...  she said, "all of them."

What I surmised is that after a service, after one of my times preaching, that she and at least one other person if not a small group, talked and decided that I'm not like Billy Graham or Francis Chan or Jentezen Franklin or Steven Furtick or like any of the other preachers that I wouldn't mind being thought of as similar to, but that I am like a Veggie Tale.  Hmmmmm!

That would be like telling a boxer that instead of them reminding them of Ali or Frazier or another one of the greats, you my friend are like a cartoon vegetable!  Wow!  Impressive!

As she continued to talk, I found out that this young lady (in her 20's) meant this statement as a high compliment.  She had only recently discovered Veggie Tales and now had become an avid fan of the series and was in the process of collecting everything she could get her hands on.

And so I started to feel better. Much better..  It was a compliment!

What she went on to say is that the way that I speak with enthusiasm and emphasis in a way that is understandable and interesting.  OK, that's pretty good.

After some introspection and discussion with the Lord about this, I have concluded that if God made me to shine for Him in such a way that I could be compared to a Veggie Tale, then so be it!

I thank God for His ways of helping us to keep perspective.  If all of us try to copy one person and one person alone, Jesus Christ, we will maintain our individuality of how we have been created and become the same in the ways that we are similar to Jesus.

The moral of the story is this.  I was exposed and wrong to have wanted, even in the back of my mind, to be compared to any other minister of the gospel.  I should only want to be compared to one person, Jesus Christ Himself!

Now if someone does seem to think that I remind them of some-one or some-thing along the way, as long as I'm trying to be like Jesus, well then, I suppose that is OK...

Ephesians 5:1-2(NLT)
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

The Risk of Caring for Hurting People

Ministry, at least for some including me, is kind of like being a warden on a wildlife preserve.  You are there serving because of a deep love for beasts that in an instant can rip you to shreds with one claw, let alone two paws full.  With compassion, you do your best to protect them from poachers and help them to have the best lives possible while at the same time are careful not to be devoured by them.  Tranquilizer guns are often used against an attacking animal so as not to kill it while defending yourself from sure death.

I like the often told fable of the Lion with the thorn in his paw that he couldn't get out on his own.  A human comes along and risks his life to get it out.  Can you imagine the increase in the pace of your heart beat if you were to take on such a task?  To remove a thorn from a Lion's paw, a paw that is almost the size of your head?  You would have to be wondering as you are getting that thorn out, if the Lion will respond with thanks or will he turn on you and snuff your life out?!

I suppose that the answer is that the reaction will depend on which Lion you happened upon!  It could go either way and it is a risk!

I've had all reactions.  There have been people who I have helped to deal with the situations in their life respond with gratitude, others have responded with indifference and some have turned on me to try and kill me. Some have done two or even all three over a period of time!

Love has to be the motivation.  Love so strong that a person is willing to lay down his life for that one who is in need even if the one to attack you is the very one you are helping.  This kind of love is only possible when our love is made complete by having a true love relationship with Jesus Christ.  A love with Jesus that is so strong that it comes from our marriage to Him and our shared love for others with Him.  Many are called to care, but few are chosen.  There are several reasons why and this is one of them.

Sometimes when I have been beaten, bruised, dishonored and attacked, I want to play it safe... withdraw... put up a wall.  But then I find that I become ineffective in ministry.  Thorns stay in paws, people remain harassed and the enemy is not deflected.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be careful.  Of course, a tranquilizer gun is a necessary accessory and if a person has been identified as one who is definitely going to try to destroy you, then you should not place yourself in their line of fire.  But we do need to be willing to get as close as possible to those in need, to spend time when it's not convenient or fun.

We do have to be willing to take calculated and loving risks.

In our Church in Manila, our theme song for the year is "Spirit Touch Your Church."  One of the lines says "I want to care for others, like Jesus cares for me."


John 15:13 (NLT)  "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

Jesus laid down His life for His friends.  That means those who would obey His Word.  That means those who would have a personal relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him.  But He did it for everyone even before they were His friends.  We need to be the same way.  Lay our lives down for those who will become friends of Jesus.