A quick overview of the platform 🙂

Post at least one takeaway from each week of the School of Ministry. Respond to at least one other student's post.

“For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his past sins.” This is a powerful, powerful verse that I use all the time when ministering to people who gave their lives to Jesus a long time ago but are not following Him right now. The previous verses, 2 Peter 1:5-8, are Peter's version of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. When someone was genuinely born again years ago, but has been out of church, is not reading their Bible, is not spending daily time in prayer and praise, and is not teaching others in their life to do the same, they are what the church I grew up in would call backslidden. They have slid back from walking with Christ into a lifestyle that doesn't look as much like Christ as it once did. In every instance, the person who has backslidden is living a life that has dwindled in faith, in virtue, in their daily personal knowing of Jesus, in self-control, in steadfastness, in godliness, in brotherly affection, and even in love. This verse not only diagnoses the problem, it also prescribes the solution. The symptoms are the slipping away of the characteristics just mentioned. The cause of the symptoms is being nearsighted even to the point of blindness. A nearsighted person can only see clearly what is right in front of them. This signifies that the person is overly self-focused. They are concerned with what happened to them or what didn’t happen to them. They are concerned with what they did or what they didn't do, and what that means for what others negatively think about them or what God negatively thinks about them. This shame and guilt continue to magnify, sabotaging their faith even unto spiritual blindness. And... what is the root cause of the nearsightedness even to the point of blindness? It is the fact that they have forgotten that they have been forgiven! In the case of the backslidden born-again Christian, they need to be reminded of Romans 4:8. Romans 4:8 says, "Blessed is the man whose sin is NEVER counted against them." Who is that man? Who is the man whose sin is NEVER counted against them? It is YOU! It is anyone who has put their faith in Jesus and has been born again. Your past, present, and future sin was counted against Jesus so it can NEVER be counted against you.

We shared the Jesus with a couple who had a little shop. They had just moved to the area. Adam shared the Gospel, then the man asked for proof. So I shared some testimonies from my life—of healing blind eyes, of the Muslim man on the plane who is now a Christian after prayer and a dream of Jesus. The man told us of an issue he and his wife were both having in their right arm and hand. He asked if Jesus could heal them. We said yes. The wife was in pain at the moment, and it only came at night. So we prayed for the wife, casting the afflicting spirit out. The 2nd prayer, it was 50% better. The 3rd, she was healed and could close her hand tightly, which she couldn’t do before! Thank You, Jesus, for what You did! Thank You for the healing! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 Then Adam prayed for him, and we were supposed to come back and check to see about him. We came back the next morning, and his hand was healed. He then gave his life to Jesus. His wife chose to stay Buddhist. Her hand was healed of the pain and could close, but it closed slowly. 2 days later, the team came back to bring a Bible and to teach them worship songs, how to read the Bible, and how to pray. The wife was completely healed. They asked if she was ready to follow Jesus. She said, “Yes. I was waiting to see if this was real!” Salvation came to that whole family! ⸻ We stopped at a shop, and there was a man sick on the bed in the back of the store. We asked if we could pray for him. The lady who owned the shop was his wife. She seemed to be like a medicine lady in the village. It was very interesting because as we were sharing the Gospel, she kept saying the right things before we would share them. She kept declaring that Jesus was over every spirit. The man showed us his doctors’ reports. He had issues in his leg from his hip down and could not straighten his leg or put weight on it. We prayed. He straightened his leg. We prayed again. He stood up. The wife would not surrender to Jesus. They both said they could not at this time. After we left, we realized that the same spirit that was on the woman who followed Paul, declaring Jesus was the “Son of the Most High God,” was on that woman. She was saying accurate things before we said them and even declaring who Jesus was, but not willing to surrender.

Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119‬:‭111‬ ESV Use this thread to share what God has done in and through your life recently! Your testimony is our inheritance and the joy of our hearts 🙌🏻🙌🏻