I don’t usually blog reports of our meetings and travels, but this one was extra special. When the invitation came months ago to minister in a little obscure place near Toronto, Ontario in Canada, honestly I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. But remembering the word of the Lord and the call to what He referred to as the “underground” Church of the West, we were happy to go. When we began to pray for the conference our hearts were filled with anticipation of what God would do because of the faith and hunger we sensed coming from our hosts and the people.
We are not a big ministry. Our platform is small to the natural eye. The casual observer won’t notice the workings of God. But there’s something about small places. Jesus began His ministry in the villages. His words and wonders had a domino effect and a chain reaction in the region. His fame spread far and wide.
Never despise your labor in obscurity, away from the limelight, your time with the one, or a hungry remnant. God can save by many, but He loves to save by few, so man won’t glory in the flesh. This has been one of the marks of our ministry for years now.
Don’t forget, the nations will be judged based on how they treated the least. “For I was an hungry, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me” (Matt. 25:35-36). Sadly, these works are the least esteemed in modern day ministry.
FROM BIG TO SMALL
Big and small are relative terms.
Just because someone or something is big doesn’t mean it’s godly (and it is also understood that bigness is not tantamount to ungodliness either). In fact, it’s a greater test of our devotion to be big (whatever “big” means to us) and yet remain holy, than it is to be small (whatever “small” means to us) and holy. And let’s not forget that smallness is not equivalent to godliness either. Discerning the difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God is what’s important. But we are so often fooled by the “big” while being unaware and undiscerning of the “small.”
We’ve ministered to multitudes. In our earlier years we taught in Bible schools that had 1000 students both overseas and in America, preached on the streets and evangelistic campaigns in West Africa with 100s and 1000s of unsaved people. Then here in the United States we were even a part of a great outpouring now known as the Brownsville revival. Then, almost mysteriously, the Lord commissioned us to be sort of missionaries/sent ones to the Church in America. It didn’t make sense to the natural mind. We wrestled with it. Then came the call to write. Then more open doors. Then we finally saw what God was after. There was a season of perseverance and pioneering a bonafide travel ministry, so to speak.
In retrospect it’s quite amazing to see what God has done in the last few years. My admonition to you is to never despise your assignment in the Lord, however small it may appear. And I’m not just talking about Ephesians 4:11 ministry gifts. Each believer has an assignment.
Don’t seek greatness. Don’t seek popularity and crowds. Don’t seek recognition or attention. Seek God. Walk with Him. For example, I know hard working younger families that meet in their home for prayer and discipleship with a remnant. They are raising godly children and families, and just being faithful in their local fellowships and communities. They hustle every day of the week to balance life and work. They give of their time, their talents, and their treasury (finances) to building God’s kingdom. They don’t separate life and work from kingdom; it’s all one. I know single individuals, young and old, who are doing the same, all maintaining a posture of just simple obedience as the goal. Just walking with Jesus is their passion and pursuit, and the delight of their lives. They see Him in every little thing or work they do. That is authentic Christianity.
Be encouraged. God is only pleased with obedience. The simplicity and supremacy of Christ in your life is always the goal. The Lord told a good friend of mine: “Son, the day you seek to be a success in ministry is the day you stop being a success in my eyes.” What a compelling heart-piercing word!
Now for those who are interested, here is a report of the stirrings in Canada:
LEADERS EXPRESSED GRATITUDE:
“Our new American friends! We so love you! We thank Almighty GOD for your consecrated ministry to us! We are humbled and so full of gratitude that you would so give of yourselves here in our nation of Canada, to transmit God’s heart and instruction for us, collectively and individually, so that we can better know how to do our part to achieve a much, much, deeper walk with Him!”
“Bless you, bless you, bless you and your wife for how you both poured out so selflessly for us from your hearts even through flu-like symptoms trying to come at you guys.”
“The reason we wanted you to speak at our conference is because you foster the work of the Holy Spirit, and that is what the Church needs in this hour.”
HERE’S WHAT THE PEOPLE SAID:
“Before the conference the Lord told me not to have any preconceived ideas about what would happen. I’ve been to conferences where it was all man directed and flashy and super showy. To the point that I would leave because it magnified man. When Bert sang in the Spirit the first night. I could hardly stand. It wasn’t Bert’s voice I heard. It was the Father’s and it was confirmation for me to sing the song that He has been brewing inside my soul. I could have listened to that voice on repeat. I haven’t been born again for as many years as my beautiful friends but I know that I have a greater responsibility to the Lord now. I am a part of that holy generation and I will never look back.”
“So many people’s spirits “leapt” within them, and many, many said there lives will never, ever be the same!”
“For me, family and friends, this weekend with the Farias’ was awakening, refueling our lamps, learning, and experiencing. Canada, including me, needs to be shaken in Spirit and Truth.”
“Thank you so much LORD! Thank you so much Bert & Carolyn for teaching us and showing us how to be much more yielded to our LORD so that He can use us in a much greater way for His Glory!”
“I never in my 20 years of being a Christian have heard a message so radical regarding prayer and fasting and birthing the new born in Christ Jesus. I always pray and fast as I grew up in Panama and speaking in tongues. But there are a lot of things and your experiences (explanations) with Father Nash. I’m almost finished the 2 books I bought, and thanking God for that. I will talk about them with my pastors in Panama seriously as I have this confidence. My husband David was in shock on Saturday night that he was speechless until next day. My son Allan went on Sunday and he started asking me questions and I asked him to read the Prayer book. With no exaggeration this weekend has been awakening for too many people here and around.”
“This was one of the most incredible messages I have heard! The experience, the wisdom, the maturity was foundational, and the necessity of this message for today! I was blown away and, God-willing, this will be one that will burn in my heart until the day I die!”
WHAT THIS DEAR WOMAN TESTIFIED SUMS IT UP:
“The things I have seen and heard in the past 30 hours (two of the three days of meetings) are literally the fulfillment of at least 25 years of prayer and intercession. In the lives of many, not just my own self. In the remnant of Christ, in families, in nations, in regions…probably more.
“I know how often we hear the words “shift” and “transition” and “revival” in the church, and how cliche these words can be to many who feel like they wait and wait, but never see the “thing” they wanted to see. It is easy to give up and hard to be faithful. It is even harder to prepare for something by faith with nothing in sight. But we are commanded to walk by faith and not by sight for a purpose beyond ourselves. And one is, so we never miss when an hour of visitation is upon us. When God speaks a thing, He does it. In His timing, but He does it. And if He shows us to wait patiently for something, it is an invitation to partner with something He will do. But, if we don’t believe in waiting and in doing our part in preparing as we wait, there are times we fall asleep and miss the very moment He meant for us. He gives it to those who are awake and ready and were faithful to prepare.
“We live in a day when many want a drive through Jesus. And when they pull up to the window, they want to get exactly what they ordered. No surprises. But God is not something we “order” and get exactly what we want. Scripture in Isaiah 40:31 says, “They that wait on the Lord He shall…” Waiting is important. Waiting has a very specific purpose. It is working something out in us, so we can see with spiritual eyes when key things are fulfilled before us. If we are stuck in our natural eyes, we can miss the very thing we have waited for, and even neglect preparing so we are not ready to move the moment it’s time!”
What jumped out to us from this lady’s wisdom was that very often we fail to realize that we are the answer to the prayers of others.
LET US WAIT ON THE LORD AND CONTINUE TO PRAY AND SEEK HIM FOR THE GLORY THAT OUR HEARTS LONG FOR.
Please invest in yourself by getting our latest book, Cleansing The Temple, that speaks strongly to these issues. Our books are forerunners to personal holiness, the move of God, and the return of the Lord. They also combat the departure from the faith and the turning away from the truth we are seeing in our day.
Also, this ministry is sustained by the freewill offerings of those who believe in the mandate and message of revival that this ministry carries. Again, if this article has been a blessing to you, would you prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible contribution through our Paypal button to help?
Thank you, and may God’s richest and best be yours.
The Flaming Herald 