RWANDA Mission/ Come Holy Spirit I am waiting for You

RWANDA Mission/ Come Holy Spirit I am waiting for You

RWANDA

We spent the first night in the city of Kigali. After that it was pretty much dirt roads and wilderness the rest of the time. Our team consisted of three girls and three guys. Unfortunately one of the ladies had been the previous team leader and felt that she was still leading the team. The man who agreed to lead the team said he would not return to Africa on a trip with her but wound up going again anyway as the new team leader. He did an excellent job in the midst of major adversity. That woman was constantly butting heads with him, and as for me, she hated my anointing. I found this out the first night in Kigali when I was asked to preach. She did not agree with the way I ministered and how I was praying for the sick. She said it was not Saddleback style.

We went on this mission as part of the PEACE plan from Saddleback Church.

I was the designated pastor of the trip assigned to leading the daily devotions. At the airport in LA before we ever even got off the ground, this woman asked, "Could I talk to you for a minute?" She saw my name listed as the leader of the devotions so she said, "I would like to discuss the daily devotions with you. The way WE do it…" She was heavily steeped in Charismatic Witchcraft, the kind that tries to put curses on you through their prayers. She even asked the girls in the kitchen to stop singing and closed the door. I immediately opened the door and asked the girls to sing to the Lord even louder. This woman was always saying, "Let’s pray" and then using that platform as her sort of soap box to gain control. I struggled through the first day’s devotion with her but the opposition was not worth it to me so I let her take over the devotions for the rest of the trip. I was not in Africa for Orange County Christianity. My focus was to bring the Holy Ghost to the people of Rwanda; the ministry of the Holy Ghost that has been so severely shunned here in America.

When I arrived back at the hotel after that first nights meeting everyone was asleep and there was a book lying on my bed. I thought the team leader had placed it there for me to read. I desperately needed to hear from God because I just came from praying for a group of people’s eyes and from all I could see they were still blind. I sat down on the side of the bed at a crooked angle one foot on the floor. I opened the book to the first chapter and read the first sentence. I nearly passed out when in this position I read the first words: I SIT ON THE BED AT A CROOKED ANGLE ONE FOOT ON THE FLOOR, God was letting me know that He was orchestrating my every move.

One morning I had an interesting dream just as I was waking up. I shared it with the team leader and then asked if he wanted to come with me to a church service at the high school. I said, "The principle asked me to come and share with them so I had better get over there and see what it is. I think it starts at 8:00." He said, "Are you sure, because I thought it started at 7:00." When I arrived it was packed, about twelve hundred people, and overflowing out the back of the building. I went to the back and just decided to stand and watch the service. A young man came and said follow me. He took me to the front and we sat down. Then he asked, "Are you ready because you are on after this song." It was glorious how the Lord used me in that service so I sort of floated back to the house full of faith. When I walked in, I was in my dream from earlier that morning. You would have thought by the look on everyone’s face that I had just said a curse word word. I had their attention, but they hated me. The pastor of the church where we were staying freaked out because I went out preaching beyond his jurisdiction. He didn’t know that the principle of the high school personally invited me as his guest and that he was there at the service.

I dreamed that I was in a living room full of people at the house we were staying in but no one could see me. I was there and they knew I was there but they chose not to see me. They were ignoring me. I would try to say something but I was talked over and no one would acknowledge me. In my frustration I said an expletive in a loud voice, just the one word. All of a sudden you could have heard a pen drop; all eyes were on me, now they had me. Ahaa, we got him now!

They found what their religious spirit was looking for: Fault. The next morning the team leader had a similar dream that made him feel as if detached from everyone and then a predominate figure came into view, the old team leader and then he thought now I know what the Bible means by a demonic spirit.

After looking at me like they had just seen a ghost they said, "We need to talk" and proceeded to tell me that I needed to respect spiritual authority and that they were in charge. After that we all sat at the table for breakfast and the girls that worked in the kitchen were waiting to see which chair I would sit at. When I chose a spot they took my plate that had a cold scrambled egg on it into the kitchen. They purposely heated up my egg, steaming hot. The Ex team leader lady happened to be sitting right next to me and said, "These eggs are freezing cold" I responded, "Mine are so hot I can barley taste of them." God sets a table for us in the midst of our enemies. Later, those sweet singing girls from the kitchen asked me to pray with them. They cried and cried as they poured out there hearts.

The day we were leaving that village I saw from the van window as we were passing by a young boy about ten years old with his right eye shut tight. We stopped just about fifty feet ahead of him for the pastor to drop off some papers at a government building. I got out of the van and walked over to him and in the kenywandan language said. "Come Holy Spirit, we are waiting for you." I prayed earnestly for his eye to see. This was my last chance and I would not back off, I was not about to give up. I was all alone as far as the team was concerned but I was surrounded with people. I was down on one knee to be eye level with the boy and that turned out to be a good thing because I didn’t know the pastor was freaking out again and saying this uproar in front of a government building could cause him a lot of trouble. He sent the team leader to get me but I was surrounded with people. Back at the van they were having a heyday of gossip. The team leader said, "I sure took a lot of (opposition) for you, but good job, I’m with you."

I finally just opened the boy’s eye with my hand and so he kept it open but there was no eye ball color, just white. Then I saw a pale faint bluish spot rolled way back in his head. It rolled in position and lined up perfectly strait with his good eye. Then the little spot began to darken and expand. I thought to myself, he should be able to see out of that. So I covered his good eye and held up one finger. He held up one finger. Then I said, culayba: (to look, to see), and I held up five fingers. He held up five fingers. Then I held up three and he held up three. He was gukeza: (healed). Back at the van I was pure junk, but out in the harvest field I was highly valued by the Lord himself. God gave me a notable miracle of divine healing, and I watched Him at work right before my very eyes. I pastor Tilson Shumate witnessed a New Testament miracle in the year 2008.
Gweno Umucawayla ndagutegereje

Come Holy Spirit I’m waiting for You
Pastor Tilson Shumate

Isn't it amazing how the old wineskins cannot take in new wine?

Jesus said:

Matthew 9:17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Mark 2:22And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

This is always the case when the Holy Spirit is at work. Those who see themselves in spiritual authority will oppose those who the Holy Spirit has sovereignly chosen to move through in authority.

Jesus said:

Matthew 13:57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

Mark 6:4But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Notice how the kitchen workers were 'in~tune' with Pastor Tilson, while those from Rick Warren's SaddleBack church were not. The kitchen workers understood the anointing upon the man of God while the Saddleback people rejected the man of God for his anointing. How very sad...

Pastor Tilson went to Rwanda with an open heart to be used as God saw fitting. He had no adgenda. He was not pole~positioning for attention or recognition. He went to Africa in obedience to a visionary dream that God had given him while asleep one night years ago. In this dream, angels of God took him from his bed one night and flew him through space over the earth to a place in Africa. They then took him back to his bed. Nothing was said to him by the angels. Pastor Tilson related this dream to his wife and drew a rough map of the place in Africa that he had seen. They got on google and soon knew the name of the place, Rwanda.

I have heard Lonnie Frisbee tell the same type of stories about his personal ministry. Always he faced opposition. And yet God would move through him inspite of the opposers. Today the testimony of the works of the Holy Spirit through the yielded life of Lonnie Frisbee in Africa are well known.

You see, God loves to move thrrough whom He chooses to move through. Not always those who are in recognized, organized positions. To be sure, there will always be opposition to those whom God moves through. Todays prophets are all opposed and rejected. And yet God still moves through them. Rejection and loneliness are a prophets portion it seems. I know this of a certainty!

Pastor Tilson has so many stories to tell about how God has promoted him to the 'front of the line' to share or speak in unexpected places without any prior arrangements other then the Holy Spirit opening wide the doors. This man of God has been well hidden in the 'back side of the desert.'

The world has yet to see what the Holy Spirit can and will do through his humble yielded life!

Today a ten year old boy has his eyesight in Africa. Twelve hundred people heard the gospel in power. Because a yielded man of God was obedient to humble himself and get his passport and shots and give up some weeks of his own life to go thousands of miles away to Africa. A man of God who understood spiritual warfare and who understood human nature. A man who knows that the Holy Spirit manifest Himself at any moment. A man of God who was not afraid to take a chance and move on what the Spirit of God showed him.

When it came down to it, those who were on the Saddleback PEACE plan with pastor Tilson, were nothing of the sort in reality. They had no clue to whom the Holy Spirit is. They actually were in opposition to Him and His choice for leadership. They were not peaceful at all.

I worked in a wonderful Christian man's home who told me that he was employed by Proctor and Gamble as a marketing expert for over 25 years. This same man, with his marketing research background, helped Saddleback church to organize these trips to Rwanda. When he told me his story of how they did their 'marketing' research of who would most likely go on these trips and all of the steps they used to 'refine' their prognosis. I asked him, "And then you asked the Holy Spirit for His guidance."

He looked at me puzzled for a long moment and then he quickly said, "Ya, sure we did." I knew in my spirit that he was just saying what was right to say for the moment. I knew that they never truly asked a 'person' named the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them every step of the way. And now I see by Pastor Tilson's experience in their midst that they know not the Holy Spirit.

It is no wonder that our churches are powerless in getting people saved. Sure we can draw them in with our Starbucks coffee bars and our entertaining services and our wonderful buildings. But without the Holy Spirit having the freedom to do as He will, no true conversions take place. Nothing that we do can change anyone. Only what the Holy Spirit of God does can.

My point in all of this is that the Holy Spirit will move through you and when He does you will be opposed. Be ready for it. Things will not go down as you expect. Be open for anything at any time.

In the early eightys the Holy Spirit once said something to me that caught me off guard. He said, "David don't listen to your friends, there is 'poison on their lips."

Turned out that they betrayed me big time. They pole~positioned, leaving me out of the loop. I had to get up off the ground and keep moving forward in Christ. You will not always be received by those around you, while being used of the Holy Spirit. You will be attacked personally and strongly opposed at times.

Stay focused, do the work of the ministry inspite of it.

Pastor Chuck Smith and Pastor Greg Laurie did not just get to where they are in ministry today with out opposition. Even now they face opposition. And yet these great men of God still stand and deliver the Word of God to others.

Follow their example and believe in your ministry. Do what you have to do. Don't give in to the opposers. Plow through in obedience.

Pastor Tilson did it and so can you...

Come Holy Spirit I’m waiting for You

Pastor David Sloane