Are You Willing?

Mike-P1020072-200Dear Friends,

In his book, The Father’s Blessing, John Arnott writes about setting a high value on God’s anointing. He gives an example of how Elisha kept following Elijah; he was persistent and wouldn’t leave Elijah’s presence until he received a double portion of Elijah’s anointing as described in 2 Kings. When you read about Elijah in First and Second Kings you will understand why Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah’s anointing.

John Arnott wrote, “When the Holy Spirit imparts His anointing to the body of Christ today, testing will come to see if we are going to value the anointing or not. Are we going to treat Him as true riches and not just as someone we can exploit?”

A large part of my journey has been a desire to move closer to God, and operate in a greater measure of power and authority. In this journey, which started for me in 1984, I have sought out those with an anointing of power and authority in praying for the sick and hearing from God. These are the people I wanted to hang around and learn from, as it was obvious from the fruit of their lives that they were operating in that anointing of power and authority.

But I also had to face those parts of my life that God wanted to change. I began to better understand what He meant when he talked about fire and purging. At one point He brought me up short when a young friend gave me this word from God, “I want there to be Love Motivated Obedience!” This says to me that what you do must be from love, not obedience out of a sense of duty or the law or because of what it will do for you, but obedience truly motivated by love. As we move closer to God, the cost goes higher because the anointing becomes greater. Words like intimacy and holiness began to take on new meaning and you begin to understand what friendship with God means.

Sometimes we seek power or we run to the latest place where something is “happening” to catch it, but we don’t allow God to do His full work in us as our lives don’t change all that much. We look for shortcuts to the power of God and at best become frustrated. One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to sense that God is doing something special in our world today. The young people of this generation are looking for relationship and intimacy with God, not church or religion; and they are willing to sell out for it! Pastors of many denominations are actively seeking reconciliation among the churches of our cities. Cooperation and unity are becoming key words among us as we meet and talk with each other.

What an exciting time to be alive! I believe there are two issues facing us today; first, will you value the anointing, and second, are you willing to pay the price of operating in that anointing? It is special what God wants to do with each of us. My prayer is that you will want this more than anything else.

Here is a prayer that I pray in regards to this anointing that God lets me experience. Perhaps you will find this helpful: Father, where I have looked for shortcuts to operate in your power, or not treasured the anointing you have given, I ask your forgiveness. Help me to know and treasure the privilege of walking with you. Though it may be costly, I will value what you give to me for I know it is only because I am your beloved that you give it to me.

BOOK AN IN-PERSON MINISTRY SESSION
We have found these ministry sessions with people to be invaluable in healing them from wounds from their past. In some cases after two or three sessions, they experience freedom! If you need deep-level healing prayer or know someone who could benefit from this, here is how to start the process. Send an email to mevans@wholeness.org or call 661-833-2920 to schedule an appointment. On our website, simply follow the instructions under Personal Ministry.

Thank you for your continued support of this ministry. Your gifts are much appreciated and are used to help bring in His kingdom and bring glory to God.

God bless,

Mike

2019 Will Be A Great Year!

Dear Friends,

I always look forward with excitement to the New Year. It brings new possibilities and challenges. In the past God always surprises us with something that we knew nothing about and I’m anticipating that 2019 will be no different.

I see an interesting transition happening with Wholeness Ministries. For many years much of my work was traveling to numerous churches, training and equipping people in praying for the sick. As of late, an area that has increased is our one-on-one ministry to people who come for deep level healing from those hurts that many of them have carried around since childhood. If you read my book, Before You Get Here, you know there are numerous burdens that oppress and defeat people. Many of these can be effectively dealt with by walking people through a prayer of forgiveness. Over the years I’ve seen God effectively lift these burdens off of people after a couple hours of ministry. The healing is so significant that people leave the office profoundly changed.

Early on in ministry, I loved praying for physical healing as the results were usually immediate. I did not actively pursue this area of ministry as it seemed to take a long time and I thought the results were often negligible. Of course, God in his gentle loving way helped me over the years to see that this healing was often the most profound healing that one could experience. As I came into this realization God began bringing more and more people to me that needed this deep healing. Now it has become such a large part of the ministry that we not only meet with people in the office but minister with people in other states and countries sitting in front of my computer screen using Skype and Face time.

This seemed such a natural transition for us that I cannot help but think that God will continue moving Wholeness Ministries in this direction. In reality, there are very few ministries that do this type of work.

BOOK AN IN-PERSON MINISTRY SESSION
We have found these ministry sessions with people to be invaluable in healing them from wounds from their past. In some cases after two or three sessions, they experience freedom! If you need deep-level healing prayer or know someone who could benefit from this, here is how to start the process. Send an email to mevans@wholeness.org or call 661-833-2920 to schedule an appointment. On our website, simply follow the instructions under Personal Ministry.

Bill Wright Jr.
One of the saddest things that has happened recently is that we lost our dear friend Bill Wright Jr. to cancer. Bill was on our Board of Directors and a good friend. At the meetings he was such a positive person, his attitude was infectious. I would bring up something I thought about doing and he immediately saw all the reasons why it was a good idea. I rarely heard him say anything negative. He was full of ideas. Some of them great and some crazy but I never discouraged him sharing what he was thinking.

After I’d written my first book and had decided I wasn’t going to write another, he not only informed me I would be writing another book but kept asking me if I had started on it yet. And then he had the audacity to tell me I had many more books in me yet to write so I better get with it. I am now working on book four in part due to his encouragement. He kept saying to me, “Michael you have to tell the stories of all the healing and miraculous things you have seen God do. People need to read that, as it would be very encouraging.” So, this new book is about all the miraculous things I’ve seen God do over the last 24 years. When I gave him the first unedited draft to read, even before he had read much of it, he excitedly told me what a great book it was and how encouraged he was by what little he had read.

So it is with sadness we say goodbye to a man and a life well lived. Outgoing, encouraging, enthusiastic, dear friend and close buddy, that was my friend Bill Wright Jr.

My thanks to all of you that have been such faithful supporters over the years. If you receive this newsletter and have not yet made the decision to financially support Wholeness Ministries I would ask that you consider doing so. You can click HERE to visit our “Donate” page where you can send a one-time donation, set up automatic monthly donations, or simply write us a check.

Thank you,

Mike

It’s Hard To Believe!

Mike-P1020072-200Dear Friends,

It’s hard to believe that this year is almost gone and we are heading into 2019! A lot has happened in the last year for which we are very thankful. In addition to all the many miraculous healings we observed we celebrated our 24th Year Anniversary!

To think all of this started with my attending a healing conference in 1984. I was on staff at First Baptist Church in Bakersfield, CA. My boss and Senior Pastor Dr. John Lavender insisted that we go to a healing conference conducted by John Wimber at The Vineyard in Anaheim, CA.

What I observed at that healing conference and the encounter with God that I had, left me a changed man. I came back to First Baptist Church and began forming prayer teams to pray for the sick on a regular basis. Over the next ten years I went to every training event, and healing conference that John Wimber conducted. I read every book I could get my hands on that had to do with healing. This led to writing our first training manual, Learning To Do What Jesus Did, followed by Why Not Waste Time With God, and Before You Get Here.

God has opened many doors for us in various denominations, ministry streams and other countries outside the United States. There have been trips to Qatar, Kuwait, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Serbia, to name a few. Plus we have been to numerous churches around the United States.

God has been faithful in providing for all the needs of our family. Not once have we wanted for anything that we needed. Admittedly, I didn’t know how God was going to provide, but He always did. In addition, along the way He surprised us with gifts that went far beyond our needs. Much like a loving father would do for his children.

BOOKS BY MIKE EVANS MAKE GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS!
Check out the entire Wholeness Ministries Catalog at www.wholeness.org/catalog/ or call Wholeness Ministries at 661-833-2920.

BEFORE YOU GET HERE

Before You Get Here subtitled, Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, is a guide to assist in discovering freedom from the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat many Christians today.

Chapters include: The Importance of Forgiveness, The Traps of Unforgiveness, A Look in the Mirror, I Will Never, Harmful Words and Harmful Connections, Let Yourself Be Loved By God, The Recovery of Intimacy, and more.

Copies are available at Wholeness.org and at Amazon.com.

WHY NOT WASTE TIME WITH GOD?

Many of us draw our value from who we know, what we do, and what we have. Do you long to experience the intimacy, joy, and freedom that comes from being deeply connected, soul and spirit, with your Father God? If so, you must prepare yourself to “waste some time” with God. You will be able to break free from dependence on others for approval.

You can stop your pretense and striving for approval, and instead, sitting quietly with your Father God, you can be confident that you are significant, accepted, and loved.

This is not a “how to” book. Rather it looks at all those things that keep us from spending time with God. You will be intrigued.

Copies are available at Wholeness.org and at Amazon.com.

It has been an exciting journey and I cannot express how grateful that He chose me to walk this journey with Him. Indeed I want to give God all the glory and I look forward to many more years in this exciting journey. Thank you for your continued support. Without you we could not have done all this.

Have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

God bless,

Mike

Is The Child Still Around?

Dear Friends,

I was watching my three year-old granddaughter recently and was reminded of the excitement and wonder of being a child. Everything is new and exciting every day. Looking at a flower or exploring the worms and critters hiding under the rock is a wonder to behold. Watching a plane fly overhead, or swinging ever higher to touch the sky. When she jumps off the chair into my arms there is complete trust that I will be there to catch her. And she is quick to call out for help when things overwhelm her. Each day is faced with childlike excitement at what the new day holds.

One of the dangers of “growing up” is that we can lose the child within and become adults who are critical, distrustful, and independent. While we may realize we have limitations and need help; our pride, pompous piety, fear or self-hatred can keep us from that child within which so easily recognizes its limitations and cries out for help. When things become overpowering children have no problem calling out for help.

Likewise they are incredibly honest and trusting. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is pointing out that we can possess the humility necessary for entrance into the kingdom of heaven if we are prepared to come as little children who are open, trusting and unashamed.

Thomas Kelly wrote, “The life that intends to be wholly obedient, wholly submissive, wholly listening, is astonishing in its completeness. Its joys are ravishing, its peace profound, its humility the deepest, its power world-shaking, its love enveloping, its simplicity that of a trusting child.”

Is the simplicity of the child within a distant memory? Do you look at children and miss the unbridled enthusiasm they have for each day? A wise man wrote, “A child lives in constant wonder, makes toys out of trash and finds life a high romance. A child expects great things of life and finds them.” My question to you is have you lost the child? If so, why not go back to your Father God and rediscover that you are “the beloved.” Enjoy being a child again and discovering each day the wonders around you.

$ $ $ $ $
Yes, this is the place where I talk about dollars, geld, pesos, gold, moolah, etc. We are facing some challenges. Many of you have been faithful supporters for years and I appreciate your faithfulness. Like everything else our expenses creep up from year to year but the dollars never seem to creep up beyond the basic expenses.

We proudly offer secure transactions via PayPal directly from our Donate Page.

Join us in praying for others to come along side as new supporters of Wholeness Ministries. Thank you for you love and prayers.

God bless,

Mike

Riding Shotgun With God

Mike-P1020072-200Dear Friends,

For some months I’ve been impressed to write about the things I’ve seen and experienced both nationally and internationally in my almost 29 years of ministry with Wholeness Ministries. I am currently working on a new book called, Riding Shotgun With God. What I’ve endeavored to do with this book is give as accurate an account possible of the many miraculous healings I’ve seen plus the truly miraculous things God has done as I’ve stepped out in faith to do what he has called me to do. I will do this by sharing excerpts from the monthly newsletters I’ve written while on this journey.

I could tell you many stories over the years that I’ve been involved in through this ministry. As I’ve compiled this material I have over three hundred miraculous things I’ve been able to document from first hand experience. When I think about where I was in the beginning and where I am today it is a testament to the patient loving way that God works with us.

I was first exposed to the healing ministry when I was eight or nine by my grandmother who took me to an Oral Roberts tent revival here in Bakersfield. People were running around shouting, falling over and jumping up and down on the chairs. It freaked me out so after that experience I wanted nothing to do with the healing ministry.

In 1984 I was working with Dr. John Lavender at Bakersfield Christian Life Center. He had been exposed to the teaching of John Wimber who was holding large healing conferences in Anaheim, Ca. Dr. John wanted to go down for a week to the healing conference and wanted me to go with him. I was rather reluctant because of my past exposure to the healing ministry and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So I told Dr. John I did not want to go. In his very firm and yet loving way he said, “Michael, get in the car, we are going to this healing conference.”

This conference had such a positive impact on me that I was never the same. After the week was over Dr. John and I were headed back home to Bakersfield. At one point in the journey he looked over at me and said, “Well Mike I guess it’s back to the same old thing.” I turned to him and responded, “John, I will never go back to the same old thing.” Thus began my journey into the healing ministry.

I’m in the final editing process of this book and hope to have it ready to print by the end of the year. As I’ve gone back over these stories for the last 24 years I have been amazed at the things of I’ve witnessed. Here’s one example:

July 1995 How Is This Possible!
“Tumor Gone! On Thursday evening a young associate pastor came up for prayer. She had a tumor on the right side of her neck that was going to need to be removed surgically. I called over three young people to pray with me. As we prayed we could see the swelling decreasing until she told us that the tumor was completely gone!”

Thank you for your prayers and support. The last couple of months the giving has dropped $700 per month so if you can give a little extra that would be helpful.

Thank you,

Mike