Recently I had one of those moments as I was reading Psalms 51:10-12 when I was struck by the words “steadfast and willing.” The passage reads, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” What struck me about this passage were the words, “renew a steadfast spirit within me”, and “grant me a willing spirit to sustain me” When I looked up “steadfast” in the dictionary it said, “unchanging, steady, loyal, constant.” Then I looked up the word “willing” and it said, “to decide on, to choose, to yearn for, desire.”

As I thought about this, I realized that in order to be steadfast and willing in my journey with God I was going to need God to show me how to do this because I could not be willing and steadfast in my own fleshly power. I turned over to Proverbs and began reading chapter 3. As I was reading He started to answer my earlier question, “God, how do I do this?” He begins in verse 1 with, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart.” My response was okay, but why? He continues, “for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” This is good I can understand this.

Then He says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” Again I’m thinking why, “Because you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” By this time I’m becoming very interested. As I continue to read He says; “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” Why? “Because this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” Health and nourishment, that’s good I like this, so I read on.

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.” Okay, what’s the benefit? “Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Then He ends with “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke.” Why? “Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” I’m thinking wow this is great stuff! God shares with us His wisdom, and shows us exactly how it will affect us.

It makes sense that if you don’t heed his counsel what you will reap will be the opposite of the good that God desires for you. What was exciting for me was when I fully began to realize that when we ask God to help us be steadfast and willing in our walk, He has already provided not only wise counsel but the benefits of relationship with Him as our loving Father. What a privilege to be able to benefit from the wisdom of God.

God bless,
Mike

In the Gospels we are commanded to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. When we bring in the Kingdom of God human brokenness in all it’s forms is healed. The disabled jump to their feet, the deaf hear, the blind see, the dead show up for dinner. The strong message is that we are to bring in the Kingdom of God by doing exactly what Jesus did when He was here on earth.

I have come to the place in this journey where my expectations are so high when I pray for someone that I am surprised when they are not healed. Let me be quick to point out that while there are many I pray for who are healed, there are also those who are not healed. But that doesn’t stop me from praying and expecting healing. When you pray for people to be healed, pray expecting them to be healed. Don’t pray hoping something will happen but pray expecting something to happen.

We live in a broken world where doctors can treat much of our sickness and disease. And that is often who we turn to when sickness first strikes. I have found that much of the time rather than seek prayer first, we seek medical help and if that doesn’t work then we try prayer. To me that is tragic! Should not prayer for healing be the first thought that comes to us?

Why do you suppose we seek medical care as our first response? I believe in part it is because we have easy access to medical care. If we show up at most any hospital emergency room they are required by law to treat us. In many countries people do not have access to hospitals, doctors or medical care and so prayer for them is their only hope.

Also, what I have observed in my journey as I’ve prayed for people is that they often focus on what has not happened rather than on what has happened. I’ve conducted a number of healing conferences, workshops on healing, etc. Often during these workshops as part of the training and equipping we pray for the sick. If we pray for ten people and nine of them are healed the focus often turns to the one who was not healed. I always say, “I do not have an answer about the one who was not healed because I am not God. But why not rejoice and give thanks for the nine who were healed!”

We are living in an age where the majority of the denominational churches are shrinking in influence, power and numbers, especially among the young. Why is that? I believe it is because they are desperate for something that works, something that is applicable to them that is real and gives them answers for what they are facing. I have found that when you show them the power of the Holy Spirit and they see or experience His healing both physically and emotionally, they want to be involved. So let’s don’t hand out crutches, let’s be bold and take the risk and do what were told to do, Go Heal The Sick!

FREEDOM! SEMINAR AND RETREAT
Friday – Saturday May 22-23, Bakersfield, CA
This retreat is being offered in a format that will allow you to set aside a Friday and Saturday and cover what we normally do over a four-week teaching period. This retreat is designed to address a wide variety of issues using Mike Evans’ latest book, Before You Get Here. Subtitled, Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, it is a guide to assist in discovering freedom from the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat many Christians today. Topics included are: The Traps of Unforgiveness, Healing the Wounded Self-Image, Healing the Father Wound, Breaking Curses and Soul Ties, and Understanding Inner Vows and how to renounce them.

The FREEDOM! Retreat is conducted by Mark & Dawn Thompson. The hours tentatively scheduled are Friday 6-9pm and Saturday 9am-6pm. This will give us an opportunity to conduct the teaching and minister to you as each topic is covered. We have to limit the number of people attending so if you are interested please contact us as soon as possible. Phone Mark Thompson at 661-333-7888 or mrk.s.thmpsn@gmail.com

BEFORE YOU GET HERE!
Why wait until heaven to be freed of the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat you? God wants you to face those burdens now, on this planet, and through the power of specific prayer be freed from them. My newest book, 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 you. You can buy my new book in the Wholeness Bookstore.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

God bless,
Mike

If you allow unforgiveness to remain in your life, you will be imprisoned by one of these three traps: Condemnation, Intimidation, and Accusation. An easy way to remember these is the acronym C.I.A.

THE FIRST TRAP: CONDEMNATION

Condemnation means, “To pronounce judgment against or to declare unfit for use.” Occasionally in ministry we run into people who feel as if what they have done is so bad that even God will not forgive them. They feel that whatever punishment comes they deserve. Or, in some cases, when they are forgiven they cannot forgive the people who hurt them. Some feel like the woman caught in the act of adultery in John.

“Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. ‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.” (John 8: 1-11, NLT)

Obviously, she was being used by the Pharisees to bait Jesus. And, she knew her behavior violated the Law of Moses and just as surely she knew that the penalty of adultery was death. Her accusers were condemning her and they were correct and justified in their condemnation. What do you think she was feeling while standing there? Afraid? Degraded? Guilty? Ashamed? Probably she was experiencing all of these and more. But then after Jesus dealt with her accusers and they left, He turned His attention to her. “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11, NLT)

What has just happened to her? Suddenly she is forgiven, free from condemnation. She is no longer facing death. She has been declared not guilty! Just as the Pharisees had a choice when Jesus challenged them, she is faced with a choice:

First, there is the reality of accepting this forgiveness. She may have gone away from there not really able to accept that she was forgiven. She may have been so ashamed and guilty, knowing full well she deserved the punishment of death, that she allowed the enemy to keep her trapped under condemnation even though she had been clearly forgiven by Jesus. If it were totally beyond her that she could be forgiven, Satan would find her an easy target. He whispers things like, “You really haven’t been forgiven. Look at what you did! Do you think God could forgive you and love you after what you’ve done?” Satan loves to trap us in this condemnation.

Her second choice was in how she would handle giving that same forgiveness to her accusers. She needed to release them from what they had just done to her or carry her anger, resentment and bitterness toward them around with her. It could destroy her. It would be easy for her to be bitter. She had been spied on, and then dragged out in front of everybody and embarrassed and degraded. Now the whole village knew about her affair. That bitterness and anger could be easily turned around to keep her under condemnation. The unforgiveness brings the condemnation, because it is sin.

This condemnation can be in the form of words spoken to us by people who are very significant in our lives. Words such as, “You’ll never amount to anything; you’ll always be a loser.” These words are like daggers stuck into our hearts and can be the very words that condemn us to becoming losers and failures. Numerous times we have prayed with people who heard these words from their fathers, mothers or other significant people in their lives and these words have brought condemnation because they believed them and lived as if they were true. They felt “unfit for use.”
This is a trap you can work your way out of by understanding who you are in Christ and that you are free from condemnation! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Satan knows that if he can keep you from understanding the truth of your forgiveness and who you are in Christ, he can keep you trapped by condemnation.

THE SECOND TRAP: INTIMIDATION

To intimidate means to fill with fear, to coerce, inhibit or discourage by threats. This often happens after you make a commitment. If the enemy can intimidate you he has won a great victory. He will use any means he can, but most often he will use those people around you who are your friends or associates.

A number of years ago when Wholeness Ministries began there was significant opposition to it. This ministry was birthed with great pain. At that time I was in a traditional Baptist church and the area of physical healing was just beginning to be explored. There wasn’t much problem with physical healing but when we began to move into areas of inner healing and deliverance there were problems. During this time I was trying to learn everything I could about healing. I was attending seminars, reading books, and hanging out with people in the healing ministry. We were beginning to see some significant results as we prayed for people. However, it wasn’t long before some people in the church began to raise questions about what we were doing. We were accused of manipulating people, of being unscriptural, of being “New Age.” This was because of some of the books we were reading and the ways in which the Holy Spirit was manifesting during church services.

My integrity and honesty were attacked. My motives were called into question. I was asked to go before a group in the church and defend what we were doing and answer charges they were making, charges over things I had said or written which were taken completely out of context. Things that were said about us were not true and were deeply wounding to me personally. It was a tough time for my wife and me. We lost some friends that we’d had for years who couldn’t understand what we were doing. I found myself angry and resentful at the people who were doing this and I couldn’t understand why. I remember sitting by a river complaining to God about all the flack I was getting. I remember saying, “God, why is this happening? All I want to do is pray for people. What’s the big deal here? Why can’t we just forget about all this hassle over how we’re doing what we do and just do the stuff? All I want is for people to get healed.”

I found myself becoming angry towards some specific individuals and it was beginning to affect my ministry to people. I even began to question what I was doing. Maybe I was wrong. This intimidated me and I became very careful of what I said and did, because I was afraid of being attacked and having to constantly defend myself. What happened was that these people eventually left the church. As I look back on this entire event I see how easily Satan was using this to manipulate, divide and destroy people. Because of these accusations, before I could move ahead, I had to later work through some unforgiveness issues with people who had hurt me. What I did by granting this forgiveness was pull the ground right out from under Satan. I released to God those very things Satan was accusing me of – anger, bitterness, and resentment. And God forgave me. If I had allowed Satan to keep me in this trap the ministry we were doing could have very well been destroyed.

Another way Satan will intimidate you is through Scripture. He will use people in positions of authority to quote verses to you. They will say to you, “It says right here in Scripture that we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, purchased with his blood and forgiven for all of our sins.” Therefore, according to their reasoning, since I have been washed in the blood, all the past is done and I don’t need to think about it anymore! This is deadly! This is a trap of the enemy.

While those Scriptures are certainly true, it doesn’t mean that we will be exempt from the consequences of our sins. This includes both those sins we commit and those sins committed against us. We have churches full of people walking around with anger, hatred, jealousy or bitterness in their lives. And people dealing with addictions and compulsions that keep them from living victorious lives. Most of the hurt that remains in people’s lives is hurt which they have not been able to release.

THE THIRD TRAP: ACCUSATION

Accusation means bringing charges against someone. We know from Scripture that Satan is the accuser. “For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth – the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10 NLT) How many times does Satan try to stop or destroy us with accusation? He accuses us before God and he accuses us to our face. He will say, “Who do you think you are? You are nothing! You are of no value to God. You don’t have any power to overcome that sin. You are such a hypocrite. You call yourself a Christian. How can you be a Christian and do that? How can you feel that way?!”

I was eighteen when my father was killed. I had just graduated from high school. My father was not an alcoholic but on occasion he would go out and come home drunk. One night he went out and didn’t come back, so my mom went out looking for him. She found him outside a bar, brought him home and then took him to a hospital after she determined he was indeed seriously hurt. We learned later that he was beaten outside a local bar in the town where we lived. He died a week later from the blows to his head. When this came up for a legal hearing the entire case against the men who had beaten him was dropped because there was not enough evidence to bring them to trial. I felt betrayed by the judicial system. I was angry at the police, the sheriff and the judge. As a result, I began to distrust and rebel against authority, especially anyone associated with the legal system. I felt anger toward my father. My reasoning was that it was his fault that he had gone out, gotten drunk and gotten into a fight that left me without a dad when I needed one badly. I felt abandoned and lonely without my father.

I was angry with him and angry with God for taking him. I couldn’t let God love me deeply and intimately, nor could I respond back to Him, because I didn’t want to risk getting hurt again. I found it difficult to get very close to other men; thus, most of my friendships were very superficial. I kept a guard on how close I let anyone get to me. It took a number of years before I was able to come to grips with this and let the hurt and pain surface. After I faced it and dealt with it before God, then I could accept God’s love and let others who wanted to be friends become close to me. Only after I did this was I able to get on with my life and move into an intimate relationship with God and others. After this happened God was able to use me as a channel of His love to others.

What makes this so significant is that many of those years when I was so guarded I was in full-time ministry. I was supposed to have an intimate relationship with God, I was supposed to be open and loving, I was supposed to know how to help people move into loving relationships through forgiveness. But I had given the enemy ample opportunity to accuse me, which made me pull back because of the anger I was hiding. Remember this, Satan stands before God at any opportunity to accuse you and he takes every opportunity you give him by holding on to unforgiveness.

If we have been trapped by Condemnation, Intimidation or Accusation then we are faced with a question. Am, I going to forgive or not? The answer to this question will either keep you trapped or bring you into freedom.

(This is an excerpt from my book, Before You Get Here: Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven.)

Dear Friends,

In early February I was at St. Dennis Catholic Church in Lockport, IL for three days of training and ministry. Derrick Steele accompanied me on this trip. What an incredible time we had at St. Dennis. During the day Derrick and I taught workshops on how to pray for the sick. Then, at the three evening meetings I conducted healing services. During each of these services the teams we had just trained joined us as we prayed for healing. We taught from my book Learning To Do What Jesus Did.

The first time I was at St. Dennis was eight years ago when we introduced them to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The first two evenings this time during the healing service God moved powerfully to heal both physical and emotional pain. During the last service on Saturday night Fr. Jim Curtin and I prayed specifically for an impartation of the Holy Spirit. Everyone stood in a large circle in the sanctuary and Fr. Jim Curtin and I walked around placing our hands on each person. The presence of the Holy Spirit was powerful. For all three services God gave specific words for healing and we saw a number of people healed and free from pain in their bodies. We were also able to guide some into deep level healing as they let go of baggage they have been carrying around for years. It’s such a privilege to be invited to go into this Catholic Church, as Fr. Jim is a priest filled with such love for his people and openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit.

Every time I have been to this church something unusual happens. This time was no exception. During the second evening the presence of God was so powerful I was having a difficult time speaking. I had prepared my talk for the evening but when I began to speak it was as if God closed my mouth and would not let me say anything. When I was finally able to speak it was a simple word from God. I kept hearing over and over, “Tell them how much I love them.” When I was able to speak it clearly was a message they needed to hear. Later that evening two people came up to me and shared what they saw while I was speaking. The first one said, “I saw Jesus standing next to you while you were up there trying to speak.” Then a short time later a man walked over and said, “While you were speaking I saw a huge angel standing over by the wall just to the right of you.” I have no reason to doubt either of these testimonies as this has happened in the past at other conferences.

WHY NOT WASTE TIME WITH GOD?
I have been teaching a class one night a week at Summit Bible College on the topic of spending time with God. I always challenge the students to take 3-5 minutes a day for seven days and do nothing but sit still and be with God. This is always a great group to teach and I want to share a couple of testimonies with you.

“Have you or do you ever just sit before God and enjoy His presence, not praying, praising Him or listening to music? That’s what we are being asked to do in the class at Summit Bible College called, The Fire of God in You by Mike Evans. He asked us to start with just 3 minutes, just sitting, maybe having a cup of coffee. I have to admit it was challenging to me and the others but after trying it, it may be the most revolutionary, powerful thing I’m experiencing since being filled with His Holy Spirit. Mr. Evans class is such a breath of fresh air just learning to be still and be in the presence of the Almighty God, just to learn to enjoy being in His presence.” Celine

“In my first class of the evening we learned what it means to be child like in Christ. One thing Mike Evans pointed out is that children recognize when they need help and aren’t afraid to ask for help. At the end of the evening I recognized my need for help. I felt the Lord prompt me to humble myself but I told him no. I didn’t want to. I refused to ask for help. Finally after 15 min of stubbornness I asked. Thank you to my classmates who made me feel comfortable in my weakness and thank you God for solidifying my understanding of child likeness. This is a lesson I will not forget. I believe I have a bit more growing to do in this area.” Angela

WOMEN’S RETREAT
Also during early February Danny Ruiz accompanied me as we conducted a women’s retreat in the mountains near Crestline. CA. We taught on developing an intimate relationship with God and then offered to pray for any physical issues they wanted prayer for. This was a group of Catholic ladies from Southern California and I knew that much of this was new to them. As we invited them to come up for prayer they were hesitant at first but as we prayed for them and they witnessed God’s healing power it wasn’t long before we were praying for most of them. It was great fun to watch.

Thank you for your prayers and support of our work.

God bless,
Mike