In Jesus’ ministry, part of the reason for His great impact was the contrast of bringing such great light into a place of such great darkness.
“The people who sat (dwelt enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned.”—Matthew 4:16 (AMP)
We are commanded to do the same thing.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”—Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
There are definite advantages in taking ministry outside the walls of the Church. God gives us incentives for doing this. Along with impacting people with God’s love, we grow exponentially in authority, strength, favor, confidence, and expertise in the skills of ministry because God’s anointing increases as we go out to minister.
In July, 2009, I was in Scotland, waiting for a meeting to begin during the CLAN Gathering conference. While I was waiting, I chatted with the gentleman in front of me. During our chat, he spoke a prophetic word over me, saying that I would enter into Ezekiel 47, experiencing it in my life. That chapter speaks of Ezekiel being led into deeper and deeper water as he went farther and farther away from the temple.
Our conversation was cut short because the meeting was getting underway. The speaker at that meeting was Heidi Baker. Amazingly enough, her message for that meeting was based on Ezekiel 47! She invited us to experience this passage of Scripture, and even had blue silken banners (representing deep water) lifted over our heads, covering us, as a prophetic act of entering into this Scriptural experience.
The principle of Ezekiel 47:1–10 is that the further away we go, outside of the traditional church meetings, into the darkness, the deeper the waters will be. The depth of the waters here indicates the level of the Holy Spirit’s anointing, revelation, and power for ministry.
“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed…
“And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.”—Ezekiel 47:1–10 (NKJV)
Multiple sources report that through Heidi Baker’s ministry in Africa:
- Ten thousand churches have been started.3
- Thousands of people are fed *every day.*1
- Countless people have been healed.3
- At least fifty-three people have been raised from the dead.2
Why is it that Heidi Baker’s ministry in Mozambique has seen so many of these types of extraordinary miracles, but we are not seeing the same things in our churches? Could it be because she obeyed to go into the darkness of Mozambique? She is swimming in deep water now, isn’t she?
Going Into the Darkness Is Not Enough
But just going into the darkness is not enough. Remember the seven sons of Sceva?
“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’
“Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.”—Acts 19:13–20 (NIV)
We must be prepared, and we must have a strategy. When we go into dark places, like Heidi Baker did, how can we be sure that we won’t end up like the sons of Sceva?
References:
1Baker, Rolland, & Baker, Heidi (2003). Always Enough: God’s Miraculous Provision among the Poorest Children on Earth (Reprinted ed.). Chosen Books.
2Grady, J. Lee (n.d.). Heidi Baker’s Uncomfortable Message to America. Retrieved July 2013, from CBN.com: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/Charisma_Grady_HeidiBaker.aspx
3Stafford, Tim (2012, May). Miracles in Mozambique: How Mama Heidi Reaches the Abandoned. Christianity Today, 56(5).
