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We pick the story of Jesus in Luke 4:31 right after he has announced his mission statement to the people of Nazareth:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk 4:18-19)
This statement almost got Jesus killed as he left out the parts of Isaiah 61 that called for judgment against the Gentiles. Instead, Jesus offered mercy and grace to all the ‘wrong’ people.
Having been kicked out of Nazareth, Jesus goes to Capernaum, which is located on the northwest shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is there that Jesus sets up his ‘home base’ to reach the nation.
One of the first things that Jesus does after reaching Capernaum is to go into the local synagogue and starts teaching. The people become “amazed” as Jesus teaches with authority of the Holy Father instead of simply repeating words taught to him by this person or another. Think about it – Jesus didn’t have a seminary degree or any “formal” education – but he did have the Holy Spirit!
Amazingly enough, we, as followers of Jesus, have the same Holy Spirit dwelling inside us. Furthermore, Jesus told us that it would be the Holy Spirit that would “guide [us] into all truth” (John 16:13). Practically this means that we must rely on the Holy Spirit for all that we teach – regardless of our intellect, degrees, or lack thereof. No one who follows Jesus has any excuse for not teaching and sharing the Good News of Jesus. We all simply say what the Father is telling us to say at that moment via the power and authority of the Holy Spirit and the Name of Jesus.
We also have to back up our words with actions. In returning to the Gospel of Luke we see Jesus casting out demons in the synagogue right after he teaches. Furthermore, he then goes into St. Peter’s home and heals his mother-in-law , then a whole bunch of folks later that night.
The Words of Jesus were backed up by the Deeds of Jesus. The words and works. One without the other is worthless!!
 One of the things that God convicted me of while I was in Montana was that I was I was spending way too much time praying for folks IN the church and not enough time praying for folks OUTSIDE the church. As a lot of folks can testify, it is easy to slide into a routine focused around one’s church family without really noticing it…
To help break this complacency, I decided was told by Jesus to start going down to God’s Community Pantry and praying for folks at least once a month if not more. Not wanting to wait too long (i.e. the Holy Spirit was on my case), I showed up at the pantry this past Saturday and volunteered to pray with folks, carry boxes or whatever else they needed to have done.
At first I was a tad nervous and a little bit out of my comfort zone (which was all the more reason why I needed to go down there!)…but as the day went on, I warmed up and had a great time hanging out with some awesome people and was totally blessed! In fact, I can’t wait to get back down there and say ‘hi’ to some of my new friends. 
One cool experience I had that day involved a gentlemen whose had very little movement in his shoulder and was in constant pain. I prayed a real simple prayer over him, asking the Lord to embarrass him with His love while commanding the pain to be gone. Afterward I asked him how the pain was – as in, if the pain was at a 10 before we started praying, where was it after we prayed. He said it was at a 8 – which is great! The pain is going away…
Continue reading Praying Outside the Church
 Six days ago I was a different person. True, I had the same name back then and the same general life…but, regardless of the outward expressions of life, I am different now than I was last week Wednesday when I started out on a 1,060 mile road trip with two friends.
So what happened?
Well, the short answer is that we saw Jesus – and, like someone touched by fire, we changed.
The long answer is, well, a tad longer. Imagine that? =P
Last Wednesday three of us guys climbed into a car to head north to Stites, Idaho, to visit an old friend. The next morning we headed over the Lolo Pass to Lincoln, Montana, for a church conference with all the Vineyard churches in Montana (plus the Gillette, Wyoming, Vineyard church).
The speaker at the conference was Robby Dawkins, pastor of the Vineyard Aurora near Chicago, power evangelist and friend of Jesus. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Robby over the past five or six years through the Vineyard Missions conference as well as his trips to the Vineyard Boise. Like always, Robby had a ton of funny and insightful stories of following Jesus into the dark places of the world.
If you have never heard Robby, let me tell you that he is a great story teller! He kept all 50 of us on the edge of our seats for two and a half days simply by telling stories about the God’s Kingdom breaking into this present evil age. Only thing is that he didn’t just tell stories for the sake of telling stories – by no means! Each of his stories had a point and a lesson in them that taught us all more about the love, mercy and power of King Jesus.
Continue reading Changed by the Presence (A Road Trip Summary)
Old medicine boxes found deep in the Hells Canyon Wilderness
One of the difficulties of the internet is that you have to be careful about what you put out there… as such, I don’t typically post items referring to specific people or detailing personal information. The downside to this wise policy is that [...]
 Same conference; different day than the story... Yesterday and today I have been sharing some stories from last week’s Asia Summit about the Coming Age breaking into this Present Evil Age. They are stories of God’s physical, emotional, and spiritual provisions to which we give thanks and praise to the Lord Most High.
These are not the only stories out of that week – nor are they ‘special’ in the sense that they are rare or unique. They are stories God loving His kids.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. –Hebrew 12:28-13:1
Story Two: God at Work
We were supposed to hear from a panel on culturally relevant mission last Thursday evening as part the Summit’s focus on the Vineyard’s Five Values. God, though, had other plans – leading to a night of worship and prayer.
At one point during this impromptu worship session, the session emcee asked if anyone had a word to share from the Lord. Some folks came forward with different pray topics and what not…ok…truth be told, I don’t know what they said as I was too busy thinking about kidneys.
Continue reading Stories of the Coming Age Breaking into This Age (Part 2 of 2)
 Today is Thanksgiving – a time in which we stop our busy lives and give thanks to the Lord for His provisions in all areas of our lives.
Along those lines I want to share with you a couple of stories from last week’s Asia Summit about the Coming Age breaking into this Present Evil Age. As will see over the next two days, these are stories of God’s physical, emotional, and spiritual provisions.
Story One: Gray Feathers
There were four of us standing in a circle praying for unity and tribal reconciliation among the Filipino followers of Jesus. As my companions prayed, my eyes slowly closed and there out of the darkness stood a grey feather off to the right side of my vision. Looking closer I saw that the feather was sticking out of a red headband…
Still not sure what was happening, I asked the Lord what I was seeing. As did I did so, the red color of the headband moved up towards the feather – turning it red before becoming a dense red cloud blocking all sight.
Continue reading Stories of the Coming Age Breaking into This Age (Part 1 of 2)
I was first introduced to Don Williams through a Vineyard Leadership Institute (VLI) course in 2005/2006. As I listened to him teach that day, I knew that he was one of those (unfortunately) rare individuals with a theologian scholar mind and a practitioner heart of compassion.
Since that day, I have had the pleasure [...]
 On October 13, 2010 Pentecostal pastor Samuel Lee posted 15 Theses from his home in Amsterdam that have the potential to transform the global Pentecostal movement. That may sound like a bold statement – but it is a true one as these 15 Theses lay open the Pentecostal movement as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses did to the Roman Catholic Church all those years ago.
I pray with my whole heart that the Pentecostal movement will humbly accept these Theses and work towards reforming their movement as the greater Church NEEDS their input and passion. I pray this as one who, while currently not within Pentecostal movement per say, grew up within Pentecostalism (my family tree is covered with Pentecostal pastors and leaders) and has a love for the greater body of Jesus regardless of doctrines, styles or labels.
[Below is a brief summary of Samuel Lee's full paper - which I would HIGHLY recommend reading as he gives a lot more detail on each of these 15 Theses]
Reforming Pentecostalism
1. Emotionalism versus Balance
Pentecostalism should direct her followers into a deeper understanding of the Word that involves experiencing the Christian faith and church in a broader framework of knowledge. The Pentecostal movement lacks essential knowledge on how to practice faith in a more balanced way and in understanding the Word in a wider context relating to the global society. The Pentecostal movement indeed does offer her own theology on exegesis (interpreting the Bible) and practical matters on individual levels, but we give less attention to essential global and societal matters. We have thousands of books written about prosperity and how to get blessed, or how to become rich in order to have villa’s and private jets for the ministry, yet far more than half of the Christians in these ministries are red in their bank accounts, suffering in poverty not only in the developing world but also in the so called “First World”.
2. Demand to perform versus being yourself
Secondly, there is an over emphasis on performance, numbers and prestige. Let me explain: it is no more about souls, but about numbers….In this Reformation of Pentecostalism, however, we should not focus on numbers but on the fellowship of the human spirit with God, the breaking of the bread and drinking the wine which is the sign of the new covenant!
Lately, I have the impression, as a professing and preaching Christian, there is a demand for me to perform! To perform miracles, to perform in order for people fall on the floor, to perform a prophesy etc. I am tired of this “demanding me to perform”. The Post Modern man needs a new kind of Pentecostal leadership, the kind of ministers who are honest and just. We do not have to perform but be honest in pouring out our hearts, and in speaking about our weakness and confessing them to one another!
Continue reading The Reformation Era in Pentecostalism
“The Charismatic church has enough superstars, far too many miracle makers with jets and bodyguards, but I am looking for a day when the Charismatic church will produce Mother Theresas, Martin Luther Kings and even Mahatma Gandhis….
“I am a Pentecostal pastor. I am very well aware of my background. I like signs and [...]
 I attend an awesome church!
The presence of the Lord was so strong yesterday morning after worship we just sat there – basking in His presence.
Being up front, I had the pleasure of watching the dancing hand of the Spirit as He touched His people: a tear in one place, a smile in another, a tense face relaxing as a wave of peace washing over it, heads bowed in a calm reverence….
Bring up front also made me very, very nervous as I wasn’t sure what to do…God was breaking into our routine and changing all of our plans.
“Oh Lord, what are you doing? How can I join with You?”
Slowly as time ticked by, He told me to open up the microphone and allow people to share with the community what He was or had been doing in their lives that week. So I did it – and it was powerful!
We were blessed by hearing the stories about the King of Kings working in the lives of His people. We were encouraged by the Scriptures as the Author of Life guided our eyes and fingers through the Bible.
Continue reading When God Takes Over…
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Who Writes This Mess? My name is Joshua Hopping and I am a Son of the Most High journeying through a foreign land following the Wild Goose (i.e. the Holy Spirit) one step at a time.
As I journey along the Way, I have the privilege of serving as the bi-vocational pastor of the Payette River Vineyard Christian Fellowship. I am also a voracious reader who loves studying church history, theology, and world missions.
This blog, "Requisite Danger", is a record of what God is teaching and showing me as I try to follow Him wherever He leads as well as occasional random thoughts. I pray that you will join me in this journey through online/offline interaction as this life is lived in community.
May His grace and peace be upon you.
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