Welcome message from Richard Steel

Jesus Christ is wonderful beyond human description! This is a blog about Him, not really about me or anyone else, but The King of glory and what He wants to do through us to reach people for Him.
I’m Richard Steel, and thanks for visiting. When I started this blog in January 2008 I had no idea how it would unfold, but wanted to be obedient to what I believe was God’s leading in documenting supernatural street evangelism. You can read written accounts and watch videos here of partial and full healings and miracles that have taken place as The Lord Jesus Christ has intervened in people’s lives outside the four walls of the church building here in my local community and elsewhere as they have been prayed for by myself and other members of our church. If you are not sure about the reality of Jesus Christ check out the videos in this blog. God desires for you to encounter Him too!

The whole focus of this blog is God, His glory, His love for every human being, His desire to seek out and save the lost, and what He wants to do through regular people like you and me in these exciting days to that end before He calls us home to be with Him forever. I want to stir your faith to share Christ, and to encourage you that through His Spirit He has given us tools to use to enhance the communication of the gospel. Without His presence, without His resurrection power there can be no miracles. I want Jesus to be seen and experienced through this blog. We owe it to those He shed His blood and died for to make Him known, for His love and power to be displayed and freely given. He paid too great a price for that not to happen.

We owe it to the unsaved to give them an encounter with God outside of the church because otherwise they may never discover Jesus Christ.

You will see ordinary people on video share how the power of God has touched them in the streets, and in some cases you can watch miracles unfold. Many of these people were not believers until they experienced the reality of the living God for themselves, and conditions like deafness, partial blindness, arthritis, broken bones, terminal COPD, body pain, and more have gone as Heaven has invaded Earth right here in the UK. I want to show that Jesus Christ is real to those who may not know Him, and to encourage those who do know Him to release His love and miracle working power to touch people’s lives. Yes, all of us can do this within our sphere of influence, not just the high profile ministers! What I do at the moment is one to one ministry which is what we are all called into. You see Jesus wants to build His Kingdom through all of His Church in these days, angels are being released, and I believe that miracles will very much contribute to bringing in the great end time harvest of souls! Of course the greatest miracle is salvation. We need to ask people where they think they would go when they die, then point them to Jesus as the only way to Heaven. More than that we need to keep in contact with people so they will become discipled in our churches and not just converts as good as that is. Relational evangelism has been shown to be the most effective kind in making genuine disciples, but we need more. We need the government of God on The Earth, The Kingdom of God preached with signs, wonders, and miracles that follow. It WILL ultimately make a major difference. It already IS.

When Heaven breaks through through the miraculous it gets people’s attention, pointing them to the reality of Jesus Christ. Romans 2 verse 4 says that the kindness of God leads people to repentance. The supernatural is God’s gift to all of us, its unmerited, and it is for His glory alone. So as you read the accounts and view the footage focus on The Lord, get deeper with Him, and find out what He wants to do through YOU!

Are miracles just for the third world nations? No, God is visiting the Western nations. His presence, His glory changes everything! His love and miracle working power need to go outside the church so more people encounter God. This IS now happening outside the church! I have no doubt that as God’s presence and power increases we will see genuine revival, conviction of sinners, and our churches flooded with people so let’s push in for more of God. I want to show you a little foretaste of what is to come which will prove to be very exciting, and unspeakably awesome as we see our nations changed!

The entry below is the most recent, and while there are some articles relating to the ministry of healing and miracles, there are many archived entries with video documentation of the power of God for you to view if you have not already done so. Don’t put too great an emphasis on me or anyone else that are merely vessels, but draw closer to The King of Kings. I was a sinner saved by the amazing extravagant incredible love and grace of my Saviour. I want to share that with people and see them get to know The most wonderful person, The One True God in the entire universe that He fashioned in eternity before time began.

Miracles are evidence of God’s love for every one of us. Jesus Christ is revealing who He is in these days, and wants to reveal Himself through you and me. To God be all the glory!

Video: Woman’s leg grows, she leaves wheelchair!

1) Report 2) Video 3) Summary

Today was an encouraging day on the streets. I prayed for one lady who started to feel “woozy” as God’s presence hit her, and then as I prayed for her arthritis she told me that she felt more of God’s presence and no pain! More importantly she accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and I took contact details from her. She expressed an interest in doing something like an alpha course or similar.

I then saw a lady in a wheelchair being transported by a man I presumed to be her husband. She had multiple infirmities, not least a spinal injury, an ankle problem, arthritis, and as I later found out one leg half an inch shorter than the other. She was in pain. As I prayed the power of God hit her. She felt heat, and pain left her back. As I continued to pray strength for her, I encouraged her to get out of her wheelchair and she took some steps, supported by her husband initially yes, but pain free! Not only that but I asked her to bend her legs which she hadn’t been able to do without pain! Jesus is wonderful! I prayed for her ankle and again she felt heat and pain leaving her. I asked her if one of her legs was shorter than the other. She told me her right leg was, but by this time faith had risen in the atmosphere of Heaven that was there tangibly and we believed that God would do this miracle. As I prayed she testified to feeling a pulling on her leg and warmth as God’s healing and creative power touched her. She walked again and testified that her leg had grown! See this video:

They told me that they were born again Christians who already attend a church. Many people think that miracles on the streets are just for those who don’t know Jesus. Not so, Christians must believe for their healing because it was provided in the atonement of Jesus. His Word says that “By His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53 : 5)

As excited as I am by the power of God, as you can see from my previous entry I really want to build relationships with those I meet on the streets so they really will feel welcomed into the church family if they are not already in it. God is stirring my heart and others in our church to reach out to the homeless, the broken, the drug addicts and the orphans. We need mercy ministry and power evangelism, it’s not a case of one or the other, after all Jesus combined both when he was on the Earth around 2000 years ago, so should we! Acts 10 verse 38 says that “Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.” Matthew 14 verse 14 tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion toward the crowd and healed the sick. When they were hungry He multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed thousands. We need this wonderful marriage between mercy ministry and power evangelism with signs, wonders, and miracles rooted and grounded in the love of God. Roland and Heidi Baker exemplify this so wonderfully in all The Lord has done through them in Mozambique and elsewhere. This is the restoration of proper biblical Christianity, but it will go way beyond the book of Acts as the body of Christ embrace their Heavenly mandates.

Rodney Howard-Browne in Dudley and evangelism update

1) Rodney Howard-Browne meetings at Revival Fires Church, Dudley
2) Update on street evangelism in Dudley

1) We were privileged to have Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne visit our church, and encourage believers to reach out more to the lost. Dr. Rodney imparted fresh fire, fresh passion to reach out to the unsaved. In fact there is a downloadable soulwinning script any believer can use at his website revival.com to witness to the unsaved. It starts by asking people if they know that God loves them and has a great plan for their lives. It then asks the searching question where do people think they would go if they were to die today? I’ve encountered so many people who either think they are too bad or in most cases good enough to go to Heaven. It is all about Jesus and what He did on the cross by cancelling out the debt we all owe because of our sins. Many times people just need to be told the distinction between being saved by faith as opposed to good works and they will get born again. Romans 3 verses 23-24 are used in this script, and the script moves on to inviting someone to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. There is then an opportunity to get contact details from the person and invite them to church. In many cases there are people who already attend a church or have a connection through a friend, family member or acquaintance with a church but do not know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. When they are lead to the Lord it may not mean that they will necessarily attend your church, but Jesus is still building His Kingdom.

2) I felt inspired after Dr. Rodney came to the church, and that week God gave me divine appointments enabling me to lead a number of people on the streets to Jesus, three of whom other church members were involved in witnessing to as well. In fact when I was on the streets I met up with other church members who had also got inspired to share their faith. The wonderful thing is that we can all do it, not just the itinerant evangelists! One man for example already attends The Salvation Army on and off but had never accepted Christ and did so after a simple explanation of how to get saved. I prayed for one young woman and a young boy with her who apparently was her cousin. He had a broken arm. When I prayed he felt God’s healing power and the pain left him. The young woman felt the presence of God so strongly she felt as if she was drunk! She accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. When contacted the next week, she said that her cousin had had no pain since he had received prayer! I prayed for a Hindu man who got healed of various infirmities who then prayed to accept Christ and I contacted him the following week but he is not ready to come to church yet. I ministered to an Asian Buddhist young man who felt the presence of God and prayed to accept Christ. We have been in contact since, he now has a bible, and has come into our church once so far. The one issue for him is letting go of his buddhist past because of the cultural and family roots. I am in contact with him though. More recently I prayed for a Mormon young man who received healing from a problematic jaw. He had been away from his Mormon church for two months, and prayed to accept Jesus. I’ve had some not so fruitful debates with mormons. It’s so much better when they experience Jesus for themselves in a tangible way!

Last week I prayed for a young man’s leg. He received healing, and accepted Christ. His fellow house mate, a Jehovah’s witness had her theology challenged when she saw the healing. She also renounced her religious past, and prayed to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Today the young man Matthew who had got a healing for his leg contacted me. I met some of his friends, one of whom I believe I had a word of knowledge for. He told one of his friends Dan about the healing he had received and encouraged him to get some prayer for his painful leg. In fact Matthew seemed to have even more faith than I did that his friend would be healed! I prayed for Dan and initially nothing seemed to happen, so I encouraged him to receive God’s love and let any wall down. Dan started to receive God’s manifest presence. I believe this released faith in both of us. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 17 declares “Where The Spirit of The Lord is there is liberty.” Dan’s leg got healed to his amazement. Then Matthew and two other young men came into our church coffee shop to have a cold drink as it was a warm June day. Earlier I had ministered to an elderly lady who asked me what was so good about Good Friday. I was able to share the gospel, and she accepted Christ, and as I prayed for her hip she felt relief from pain.

Other young men that I had previously ministered to on the streets have seen me or contacted me in the last few days. Building friendships and relationships can take time, but I believe it’s a vital key in evangelism. Through relationship we can see converts become disciples. It’s time to harvest the harvesters. Let’s not hold back any longer, let’s stop making excuses, let’s go after the lost! Jesus paid too great a price for you and me, and them not to share our faith!

Healing miracles lead to salvations in Dudley with video testimony

1) Reports 2) Video

1) It has been a very positive time out on the streets. On Saturday I went out with my group from church which I co-lead and we saw the Lord heal and save people. In particular I had been given a word of knowledge by the Lord during my time with Him earlier in the day about spondilitis. As my friend Tim and myself approached this couple we asked them about their physical condition and we got to pray for various ailments. The man confirmed he had spondilitis. As we prayed Jesus touched him, and pain left him as he was able to move more freely. The lady who had arthritis felt better after prayer, and I asked her if one of her legs was shorter than the other. Having seen God touch a young man a few weeks ago by growing his leg, faith was released and she felt tingling and something happening! Tim felt led to ask the lady if she suffered from deafness. She said she did so we prayed and there appeared to be improvement. They both accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Like many others, they had been under the impression that their good works would get them to Heaven but the simple gospel convicted them of their need for Jesus.

Today I went into town and was led by The Lord to a couple who both had problems with tinnitis, and the man suffered with partial deafness needing a hearing aid. I prayed for the lady and she felt The Spirit of God touch her and the tinnitis leave her. I prayed for the man and he could hear much better and the tinnitis left him. I asked them where they thought they were going when they die. Again they thought that good works would save them, but after sharing the gospel, they both accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. They do know of a local church in their locality (which is not Dudley), so if they don’t come to fellowship at our church they may end up there. See this video as they share what The Lord did for them:

Young man receives creative miracle, his leg grows!

Since my last entry I’ve been out on the streets here in Dudley and also went to Cambridge where I saw the Lord move with my friend Tim where we had some time to do some prophetic evangelism, and saw one man accept Christ. In this entry though I especially want to share what happened today as Jesus manifested His glory by not only healing a man’s leg so he was able to discard his crutch and even run, but grow his other leg by about an inch so it would be the same size as his right leg!

Things started out fairly quietly, and after a while of not much happening I sat down on the bench and asked The Lord for direction. I felt him leading me to walk in the direction of a certain shop and gave me a word about coronary artery. I ministered to various people, and prayed for healing including an 82 year old man, a Christian who had had a heart problem. He felt God touch him, and we believed by faith he is healed. Then I ministered to another couple who also know the Lord but hadn’t been to church in a long time. The lady wanted healing of depression, and as I prayed she felt God’s Spirit and felt better. The man had had a major accident where he was in a housefire caused by poor electric wiring and had had to jump. This had caused him to be in constant pain down his back leg and ankle. I asked the man to pray to forgive his landlord, and I broke off trauma from him as well. As I prayed he felt heat all down the affected side, and the pain literally went.

As he was receiving healing, a young man walking awkardly with a crutch came near. I asked the man who had just been healed to share his testimony with this young man so faith could be released. I started ministering to this young man. God told me a word of knowledge about him being a landscape gardener. I asked him if he had been operating as a gardener before his leg condition, and he confirmed that he had been a landscape gardener who had fallen on hard times and had had an ulcerated leg for a very long time and needed a crutch. I then noticed a friend from church, John and asked him to come and pray too. As we prayed quite literally the power of God went into this young man like electricity as he described it. The pain left him. He couldn’t believe it and he discarded his crutch. He was overwhelmed that he could walk and the joy that was overflowing from him was very infectious. Jesus is so wonderful, His love is so amazing isn’t it! I asked him if he wanted to come and have a cup of tea at our church which he did. I felt led to ask him if one of his legs was shorter than the other during our walk there. He confirmed that his left leg was about one inch shorter than his right. At this stage John and me had faith as the atmosphere of Heaven had well and truly invaded! As we prayed in town I commanded his leg to grow in Jesus name! That morning I had been reading Proverbs 18 verse 21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat the fruit its fruit.” Also God lead me to Hebrews 11 about faith. In particular He made me focus on verse 3 which talks about creation coming into being through God’s Word, and goes on to say “the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” God has given you and me the ability through Christ to realise creative life into people, wow! Anyway, he testified with bewildered amazement that he could feel muscles stretching as we were praying and the leg grew. In fact after about 5 minutes he felt like the leg was now too long! I had just kept on saying “in Jesus name grow, grow, grow grow!” We then had to pray that God would shorten his leg to be aligned with the right leg. The Lord did this! The young man then came into church, met some people in the coffee shop, and testified to the miracles he had experienced. I could have videod some of this, but I didn’t feel The Lord leading me to do this at the moment. I want to get to know him better, and see him discipled. This man had had something of a church background, but rededicated his life to Jesus in the coffee shop. I am looking forward to staying in touch with him, and seeing him become an active part of our church.

Let’s remember that miracles point to the miracle giver, The Lord Jesus Christ, and we must always be more excited about Him than the awesome things He does. Also let’s not forget that the greatest miracle is salvation, a life changed forever. Some people through the street evangelism have become part of our church family, but I am believing for many more. Let’s allow God to use us to give people an encounter with Him, lead them to Christ, and then build relationships so that they will feel comfortable about becoming part of our churches, and genuine disciples. Let’s harvest the harvesters to the glory of God!

Evangelism teaching with video

It’s been a busy week. I’ve had the privilege to teach at The School Of Supernatural Living here at Revival Fires. I taught on street evangelism during the week, drawing on The Word and some of my own experiences, and then we went out onto the streets and did some! We saw healings and miracles and one lady accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour! There is a CD available with 75 minutes of teaching in two parts available through Revival Fires (go to www.revivalfires.org.uk) I talk about soul winning, maintaining contact with those you meet, and moving in presence evangelism, prophetic evangelism, and signs wonders and miracles. I’d like to put just a sample of that teaching into this blog for the benefit of anyone who wants to touch their world around them with Jesus Christ, and His love and saving power.

Why are we called to preach the gospel? Jesus commanded all believers to do so. Mark 16 verse 15 tells us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (KJV) If we love God we will obey His commandments (John 14:15)

How do we approach people: I believe that honesty is better than putting on some kind of churchy mask that people can see through. Of course you can ask people how they are, talk about the weather or something else but at some point you need to ask people if they want prayer or what they think about God, even ask them where they think they are going if they were to die today! I usually tell people that I’m a Christian out praying for people, and ministering to their needs. No one likes someone pushy, a gentle approach is the best. You might prefer to be sat on a bench, or be in a line at the supermarket rather than go up to people on the streets like myself but find what works best for you. It may seem scary at first, but The Lord rewards boldness when it is rooted in faith and love.

Sharing the gospel: Romans 2 verse 4 says that the goodness and kindness of God leads people to repentance. In Matthew 14 verse 14 we see that miracles came out of the compassion of Jesus. Jude 22 tells us to save some with compassion. However verse 23 tells us “save some with fear”. I believe we have shifted in our generation to a gospel more centered around God’s unconditional love than the threat of an eternity in Hell such as was preached in previous centuries. What we need is the unconditional love of God balanced with the undiluted gospel message. If people have an encounter with God that leaves them without conviction that they need to truly repent, go to church and get discipled then perhaps we didn’t convey the need we all have as sinners for a Saviour. Sometimes I have asked people where they think they will go when they die. I get a mixture of responses. One of the most common, especially from older people who had a religious experience of church is that they hope that they are good enough to be accepted into Heaven. I then ask people why they think Jesus came to Earth. Many people don’t know! Then I explain, and ask them if they would like to accept the gift of salvation by turning from their sins and giving their lives to Jesus. A number of people have got born again like that.

However we live in a sceptical world that is looking for evidence. Perhaps it’s always been like that because Paul saw the need for people to see “the demonstration of The Spirit’s power” (1 Corinthians 2 4-5) rather than “enticing words of man’s wisdom.” So where people need physical or any kind of healing, ask them if they want prayer. Remember nothing is impossible for God and it is “Christ in you the hope of glory” (See Colossians 1 25-29) who is working through you. As a Child of God you are seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2 verse 6) and you can do all things “through Christ which strengthens you”. So don’t disqualify yourself, it’s not about self-confidence, it’s about putting your confidence in God! If you pray for someone and nothing happens, don’t be discouraged. Some healings are gradual. If you notice improvement, then pray a second time. Ask the person if they are feeling something. Often before I pray for someone for healing I will ask The Holy Spirit to touch the person with the love of Jesus, with the love of The Father. If they feel something this increases faith for both of us (see 2 Corinthians 3 verse 17).

The importance of follow-up for converts to become disciples: It’s important to remember that relational evangelism is very powerful, and it’s one thing to make converts, quite another to see newly saved people come into our churches and get nurtured and discipled. What we can do is stay in contact with the people we meet in the marketplace by getting their contact details, and if they don’t feel ready to come to a church service, they might be interested in just meeting for coffee or going to something specially set up for new Christians such as an Alpha course or similar. All we can do is our best, but we must remember that it’s God who brings the increase, and we shouldn’t get discouraged if we don’t see fruit, we are just called to be obedient to God. Let’s never lose the joy of intimate relationship with The Lord by getting too focused on external results that people might judge. In any event, The Lord Jesus is building His Kingdom, we are just the vessels. That means that people may not come into our church, at least not immediately, and we may have to be patient before they turn from converts into mature disciples.

What I would say is spend time with the Lord, seek His face, pray, as you feel lead fast and pray which I believe is a major key to move powerfully in the gifts of The Spirit, worship Him, read His Word so that you have an answer to give people on the street beyond your own personal testimony. Personal testimony though is very important because it’s difficult for people to argue against it. Also Tithe and give, this is one of the keys to ministering under an open Heaven. We need His presence, so seek His presence, seek His glory, and remember that only as we abide in the vine of Jesus Christ can we do anything (John 15 verse 5). Spend time soaking, resting and being still so you can hear His voice and allow Him to fill You with His Spirit, and with His oil. When we hear His voice, He can give us clues as to the people we will meet. This is known as treasure hunting (see Luke 15 :8). For example, he might tell you what they are wearing, where you need to go, and a word of knowledge about them. When you share something that you didn’t know in the natural it opens their heart to the reality of Jesus.

Ministry is the overflow of Your relationship with Him, so get close, cultivate intimacy with The Lord. Remember too that God releases angels to minister with you. Jesus is building His church in these exciting days, and wants to use you to bring in the end time harvest. Be encouraged as you see this testimony of a lady healed of arthritis and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour. God wants to use you too:

Prayer: Father, touch that person reading now with Your Spirit. Draw them into a deeper relationship with You. Let them receive impartation to move in the fullness of the gifts of The Spirit as they go out and minister to people. I pray for divine appointments, and lasting fruit as souls are won to Your Kingdom becoming disciples and not just converts. Let it be all for Your glory alone in Jesus name Amen

Heavenly encounters, miracles, salvations in Dudley

Updates, evangelism , and video

There is no doubt that God is still moving powerfully in our meetings at Revival Fires Church even though we have scaled down the meetings from last year. He is also breaking through into our local community as well. I have been really seeking The Lord for fresh prophetic revelation. As we tune in more, get intimate with Him, we can receive dreams, visitations, and downloads from The Throne Room. We can then impact the world far more effectively. Angels are being released to gather in the harvest.

Street evangelism: On Monday I had a lengthy conversation with an elderly lady. She wasn’t a believer but told me that she had had a meaningful supernatural experience about two years ago. I noticed she had a problem with her foot. She told me that she had had an operation a while back which had involved her having to have her toes removed to avoid gangreen. We shared some more, then I prayed for her. She felt tingling in the foot affected. She believed this to be God’s touch on her, and prayed to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

On Friday, as I was spending time with The Lord soaking and listening to Him, what seemed like a random thought came into my head, “yellow socks”. I wondered what that meant! When I went into town I didn’t get into conversation with anyone very much, so used the time to pray. I then saw two woman, one walking with two crutches. Having seen breakthroughs with people with crutches I got into conversation with this lady. It turned out she was from another faith and culture but said she had a relationship with Jesus. I prayed for her and she was touched by God. Her friend told me that although she had been to church, she was also a member of a different faith. I prayed for her and she didn’t really feel anything. We continued to talk, and she told me she had back pain. I prayed for her and Jesus healed her. After a while, she wanted to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour as well, trusting Him alone for salvation. This time during the prayer she felt The Holy Spirit touch her. I invited them to church that night. They came and were touched by God, especially the lady with injuries who had a radical encounter with Jesus. She and her friend told me that since I had prayed for her the pain had gone, and during the meeting The Lord continued to touch her leg.

Coming Soon: People have been asking me how I go about one to one evangelism on the streets. I would like to address that in a post soon. One point I do want to make is that it is all about allowing The Lord to work through us, and it is not about what we do but who we are. As we draw closer to God, allow His love to touch us, we are able to fall more deeply in love with Him, and consequently meet people with the love and compassion of Jesus.

Heavenly invasion as God encounters the lost in the mall!

I’ve been going  just outside Dudley recently to a nearby shopping mall with some friends from church, and God has opened up divine apointments and touched people through us because He wants to draw them to Himself.  Last week The Lord drew me to a group of 4 Asian young people. I felt led to ask them if any of them had pain in their body. One young lady confirmed she had painful feet. I prayed and she told me she felt a lightness and the pain just lifted off! I was able to tell her and her friends, none of them Christian, that Jesus is The Healer, and Jesus is The Son of God. I would have liked to talk more but they had to go.

Yesterday we went in again to the mall and had some meaningful contacts. I noticed a group of young people again, three in this case, and The Lord gave me words of knowledge to share with each of them which was good because they doubted the existence of God. This opened their heart to receive prayer. I prayed with one young man, he felt the touch of Holy Spirit, and I led him to Christ, and we agreed to keep in contact even though he lives some distance away from me. The young lady in the group who I had had a word about occult involvement was prayed for by Sarah, one of our group who goes to my church. The young lady confirmed that she had had a family history involving witchcraft. As Sarah prayed she too felt God’s touch, and Sarah led her to Jesus Christ.

There is a sense that while God continues to mature His church through His refining fire, we are on the verge of another wonderful move of God to bring in harvest. Going outside Dudley means that it may not be so easy to bring people into our church although I think this will happen anyway, but Jesus is building His church. The key is to share Christ. Of course we like it when people come into our church, but having been out on the streets for a long time now, I’m aware that people like having a real tangible encounter with God, one of the last things they want is more religion shoved down their throat and a feeling that they are being “recruited” to another organisation. As we build relationships with the people we come into contact with within our sphere of influence, whether that be on the streets, our workplace, our circle of friends, or whereever then people will naturally want to come to our church anyway because they are drawn to “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1 verse 27.

Divine appointments with God’s healing and saving power

God has been opening up divine appointments. This has been a relatively quiet season of prayer and reflection, and only recently have I started to go out on the streets again to share the full gospel. Last week I met a young man on the street just outside our church and invited him for coffee in our church. As I shared something of what I saw he opened up to me. I prayed for him and The Lord’s power touched him. He gave his life to Jesus. Today I went out with Tom and we met a young man with a leg injury. I asked him if he had sustained it playing football and he confirmed it. I believe this opened his heart to receive prayer, and he felt the pain go as we prayed for him. He was also able to move his toes, something he said he couldn’t do before without pain. We had some more contacts and Tom prayed for one man who had been suffering with high blood pressure.

I believe that as we get closer to The Lord he gives us a heart for the lost. As we minister out of His love and compassion so we can expect to see Him touch lives more powerfully through us. Although we seek outpourings and revivals, and it is right to do so, we must first seek Him, and through intimacy it becomes so much easier to share Kingdom truths with people in demonstration and power. If we feel our hearts getting colder, we need to position ourselves so we allow God to pour His love into our hearts. When we discover how much He loves us, we cannot but help fall more in love with Him. As we do so, we see people through His eyes of mercy and compassion. Miracles can abound as we abide in Him and in His love (read John 15) .

2009: After global shaking, God maturing the body of Christ.

After the outpouring in Dudley and elsewhere  in 2008, what does 2009 hold? I truly believe that God wants to do even more, but that He plans to mature the church this year so that we can be carriers of revival, and enjoy the habitation of God rather than just visitation.

The Lord led me to John 21 where there is a threefold commissioning of Peter. Three times Jesus asks him whether he loves him but the Greek translation “agape” is used. In telling Jesus that he loves him, The text uses the word “philio” for love. What’s the difference? Agape is a mature love, a sacrificial love, whereas philio is associated with affection. Its interesting to note that when The Holy Spirit brought a fuller understanding to Peter of agape, we see that word used no less than nine times in his writings. The threefold commissioning occurs after each time that Jesus asks Peter about the depth of his relationship with Him. Peter is called to “feed my lambs” “tend my sheep” and “feed my sheep”. A significant part of Peter’s ministry was to be pastorial and as a teacher.  How would this be most effective? Through intimacy. How will any ministry be effective?  Through intimacy, the intimacy of intense passionate “agape” love for The Lord where we will do anything for Him whatever the cost.

At the start of 2009 I believe He is asking the same question to you and me. How much do we love Him? What price are we prepared to pay in following Him? Romans 8: 19 says “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” The Greek word for revealing is “apokalypsis” which is defined as what was hidden now being manifest. The church has been hidden, but it is now time for her to be revealed to the world. People might say this is ahead of schedule,  but this is what we must press in for because the world is getting darker and more people are getting deceived by the enemy to pursue a path that leads to a lost eternity. With global economic meltdown and voices already calling for one world government there is clearly a shaking of the nations, yet as we read in Haggai God says “and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of all Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory.”  It’s interesting too that in verse 9 God doesn’t just promise the greater glory, but peace as well. We can’t put our trust in the economy, the politicians, our jobs, and people. Peace only comes through our relationship with Christ. He IS our peace. In Exodus 14 verse 14 Moses exhorts the Israelites by saying: “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” I believe that as 2008 has seen many battles and tests, for those who have been faithful there will be great favour to overcome.

What a glorious opportunity for the body of Christ! We must not waste it. As it becomes more clear that the answers are not found in world systems, for those who put their trust in God I believe there will be the rich reward of revelation direct from Heaven, the kind of wisdom that can only be spiritually discerned. We can expect to get new divine strategies as Jesus uses us to build His Kingdom. I want to see greater power on the streets too this year, I believe this will happen, and also more of the body of Christ taking a risk to reach the unsaved outside of the church walls within their divine sphere of influence.

I am not in any hurry to rush out into the streets this week with the weather so cold, but will still look for divine appointments. There is a time to pursue intimacy with God in the secret place so He can be more glorified through our lives, and for me that time is now.  Paul says in Philippians 3 verse 10 “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death.”  It’s not even about knowing Him with an agenda, just because we love Him with an everlasting “agape” love as He loves us.  It might seem paradoxical though, but as we crave more of Him, more of being with Him and in His wonderful presence, when we sit at His feet He won’t let us stay there for too long even if that is all we want to do. Like Peter, He has commissioned us. Let’s draw as close as we ever have to The lover of our souls, The King of Kings, and be obedient to all He asks us to do in 2009 for the sake of love,  for the sake of His Kingdom,  for the sake of the lost, and most of all for His glory.

2008 review : the church empowered as miracles hit the streets in the UK and around the world!

Review of miracles on the streets  in 2008 with video footage, and the challenge for the church in 2009!

It was December 1994. My health had deteriorated, I’d split up with my fiance, and I didn’t want to live anymore. On December 10th I attempted suicide with my world shattered. Perhaps seconds from death, and a lost eternity someone rescued me and called for the ambulance. I still don’t know who it was, but I know they were Heaven sent. Half way across the world in California on the very same day, my wife to be, who I had never met at that stage, was attending the funeral of her late husband who had been mugged in Los Angeles. Within four years we were married as hope and destiny returned again. This year we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I love her more than anyone, except the one who gave His life for me nearly 2000 years ago, The Lord Jesus Christ.

If Christ  gave up everything to come into this world to die for you and me, what is worth sacrificing everything for? What is truly worth getting excited about? I get excited when I see Newcastle FC and the Minnesota Vikings win which happen too infrequently for my liking! But what really excites me is knowing The Creator of the universe, glorifying Him, knowing His love, and seeing Heaven break into Earth,   the supernatural intervening as a higher reality than natural law. I get excited when I see someone else experience God’s touch on their lives, and coming to know Him too. That’s worth fighting for, surrendering everything, even dying for. The wonderful thing is that every human being on planet Earth was created to know Jesus, and not only that, but be used as a vessel to see His miraculous touch break into other people’s lives. As I share some highlights from this year, I want you to know that God wants to use you in the coming year to bring Heaven to your sphere of influence.

in 2008 we saw a powerful outpouring of God’s Spirit hit the Western world for the purposes of empowering the worldwide church to evangelise the lost, not least through signs, wonders, and miracles. It brought opposition, controversy, failure, and a challenge to the church to get refined, yet despite this a lot of fruit and grounds for much optimism as we go into the new year. God is depositing His very glory into regular people like you and me, and releasing His gathering angels, so that His Kingdom will be extended. The question is do we let the new wine get old and stale? Of course we need new wineskins, but what will we do with the treasure we’ve been given in 2008?  As I share highlights of my street ministry activity in 2008, be encouraged that God wants to use you too because Acts 10 verse 34 tells us that God is no respector of persons ( Acts 10 verse 34 and Romans 2 verse 11) . To God alone be all the glory.

2008 review: On April 7th my wife Sasha and I went into town to share the love and power of Jesus Christ with someone. Sasha called out an elderly man for me to approach. He told us that he didn’t live in Dudley, and was legally blind in one eye. We prayed for him, and the power of God touched him. He gave his life to Jesus Christ. Here is his testimony recorded seconds after the double miracle. (apologies for the picture quality which was limited before June) :

Earlier in March, I had prayed for a lady stone deaf for over 10 years in her right ear, and Jesus had healed her ear. She testified about 2 weeks later:

In June Sasha, myself and a friend prayed for a group of people, some of whom got miraculously healed and saved. Here is one testimony:

One man testified of healing from a terminal lung condition after prayer, having had confirmation from his doctor!

One young woman, not a believer got touched by Jesus as we prayed for her in July. See the miracle unfold here:

There is much more video footage and testimonies, if you are interested go to the monthly archives on the right column of the blog.

I’ve done this blog to show people seeking spiritual truth that the answer is found in Jesus Christ. I want to motivate and encourage all Christians to share their faith, and pray for the sick and infirm, as well as releasing His presence and the prophetic, the demonstration of The Spirit’s power ( 1 Corinthians 2 verses 4-5). God wants to use all believers in the end time harvest of souls. If you have never received an impartation to move in Kingdom power to release healing and miracles then there is a prayer at the end of this blog entry for you to receive what God has for you. Then, the challenge is this: will you take a risk for Jesus in the coming year? Too many people are dying without Jesus, we need to share His love and power like we never have. We need to get closer to The Lord through spending time with Him, there is a need to fast and pray, we need to allow Him to refine us, but when all is said and done, we must not hold back anymore through feeble false excuses in reaching out to the lost. People may not feel worthy or anointed, but if they’re born again, then Jesus Christ (The anointed one and His anointing) lives inside them! Do I consider myself worthy to carry an anointing to move in signs, wonders, and miracles? Do you?  Well is anyone? The wonderful mystery revealed through God’s word is that He calls all of us to be His vessels. Let’s use what He’s given us, and believe for the greatest demonstration of His miracle working power. This could be the greatest hour for the church! It is time for her to rise up in maturity, authority, and power and take ground! Here is my prayer for you. Receive all that God has for you by faith:

“Father,  release Your healing anointing and Your fire to those who want to share their faith with love and power to the unsaved right now. Give them a fresh hunger and passion for Jesus Christ. Let them pursue new levels of holiness through the sanctifying work of Holy Spirit. Through intimacy, let them know Your voice, and be obedient to the great commission. Let them know you in a deeper way, and let Your love for them overflow into people’s lives. I pray for boldness, and divine appointments. Let Heaven touch Earth. Send Your angels to gather in the harvest. Empower Your people for Your glory Lord in Jesus name Amen.”

Now use all that God has given you to release within your sphere of influence.  Be persistent even if you don’t see immediate results. God is faithful to confirm His Word. May God bless you in the coming year, and thank you for visiting my blog. Please pray for me and my family, our church and our community, and don’t forget to check back for updates. If you have any prayer request or just want to get in contact please email me at steelsfirm@aol.com

“For God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1 verse 37