Four days at the Conference in Finland!
by Virginia Fech
Day 4
Conference “Towards Heaven” in Jyväskylä
Dr Gayle Claxton taught in the second last session on “the mercy of Jesus” and spoke about the miracle for the 5,000 people in Mark 6. Jesus stood in the boat and saw the crowd and had compassion for them. He couldn’t just walk away and so He went to the people. The disciples were not particularly pleased and had no food ready to feed the 5,000. But one little boy was willing to give the small amount he had for Jesus. Jesus prayed for the bread and fish, thanked God for this gift and gave the small pieces to the disciples. The moment the disciples began to feed the crowd, the miracle of multiplication began. So, when we give God what we have He will transform it into the instrument needed to save the lost. But it is not we who are the miracle workers but God through us. It’s time for us to get out of our comfort zone and start investing in the people around us. It will cost us something, but it will bring excitement to the lost. When we give what we have God will bring blessing and provision. Through mercy and the willingness to give so many people have been reached. Therefore, we should follow the mercy of Jesus and be willing to serve.
The conference was drawing to a close and Dr. Rev. Suzette Hattingh preached in the last session on true salvation. She took the story from Luke 7 in which Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to his home and suddenly a prostitute came into the room and fell right at Jesus’ feet. She anointed his feet and honored Jesus. The Pharisees were furious. Their religiosity and self-righteousness showed that they did not want to honor Jesus at all. Suzette made it clear that the religious attitude keeps us away from what God has prepared for us. But in God’s eyes the Pharisee and the prostitute were the same. Without Jesus they were both sinners in need of forgiveness. The only way for salvation is Jesus Christ. Through His blood we are cleansed when we come before Him and ask for forgiveness. We all need Him. He is the only way to the Father in heaven. We need to move away from religion and towards relationship because Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
At the end of the conference Suzette prayed and anointed every single participant who wanted to receive prayer after the sermon and God worked among them as the worship continued. He gave words of knowledge, healed and set free. Some made a new decision to truly surrender their lives to Jesus and leave religiosity behind. Others experienced deliverance or received prophecies. God showed himself in His power and we were able to witness His glory.
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.“ 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NIV
Day 3
In the 3rd session Dr Gayle Claxton preached on “the power of forgiveness”. She shared a testimony from her life where God showed her what true forgiveness is and then preached on this topic. Forgiveness is a command from God, and we must learn to live it out. It starts with realizing that unforgiveness is in our heart and then letting the power of the greatest forgiver wash it clean of pain. Forgiveness is a choice. If we don’t, we are limited by the pain in our lives and cannot walk in what God has intended for us.
Therefore, we must forgive and bring the pain to the cross. To the place where Jesus shed his blood for our forgiveness. His blood is what cleanses us and frees us from all pain. Even if the person who hurt us never apologizes to us, we can still through the forgiveness we have chosen stand before God and praise Him in freedom. At the end Gayle called those who have unforgiveness in their hearts forward to the altar call. Several participants came and experienced deliverance and forgiveness as God worked among them.
In the evening Dr Rev. Suzette Hattingh preached on healing. She also began by sharing a testimony from her own life where God worked in her life through healing. She continued with the story of the paralyzed man from Mark 2:4. At the moment he was brought down from the ceiling to reach Jesus faith met the author of faith. We can believe in the same way. We can be sure that God will heal us. In this context she taught about facts for healing. God will heal us because it is His unchanging character. He gave his Son who freed us from the curse of sickness through His blood. His word promises it. Every sickness was nailed to the cross. We cannot earn it. We receive this promise when we accept salvation through Jesus Christ and believe in his blood shed for us.
Every sickness was nailed to the cross. We cannot earn it. We receive this promise when we accept salvation through Jesus Christ and believe in his blood shed for us.
Suzette also made an altar call for those who want to give their lives to Jesus. All the sick were then asked to come forward and were also prayed for.
Once again, we witnessed people being reconciled to God and miracles taking place. Many received faith and experienced healing. Some testimonies were shared that once again confirmed: The Lord is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals.
Day 2
In the evening session Dr Rev. Suzette Hattingh preached on true repentance. We so often talk about the word revival and need to understand that revival can only rekindle the fire that was once there. That’s why we need to go back to the start and come before the Lord. David was taken as an example with the incident in which he gave in to temptation and sinned. But David realized what he had done and ran to God. Lord, I have sinned before you – 2 Sam 12:13 He brought his sin before the Lord and God himself showed him mercy. We must understand that sin separates us from God and the only thing that can reunite us with Him is the forgiving blood of Jesus Christ. So, if we want revival it must start in our heart and lead to repentance.
We so often talk about the word revival and need to understand that revival can only rekindle the fire that was once there. That’s why we need to go back to the start and come before the Lord.
Suzette then made an altar call, and many participants of the conference came forward and were reconciled to God again.
Day 1
The 2nd conference “Towards Heaven” in Finland Jyväskylä started and was introduced with a deep teaching by Dr Gayle Claxton. “Live the life of fire through the fire of revival” was the title of her sermon. She taught us that we need to be aware of what is happening in the spiritual realm and be ready to walk into the fire of God.
In this walk very often, distractions will try to take our focus. The smallest compromises can extinguish the fire. Using the example of Daniel she showed us that the world presents us with a choice: Bow or burn. When we are confronted with such situations we need to stay strong and show perfect faith. Having this faith means that we focus on the cross and know that it is finished. Even if we then go through the fire God will guide our every step, keep us and never leave us alone.
In the 2nd session of the evening, Dr Rev. Suzette Hattingh preached on “true prayer” and guided us through the topic using various examples. First and foremost, prayer is true worship. A worship in which we stand before God with open hearts and give Him the glory.
So, when we are in our prayer room we should learn to speak His word and use it in prayer.
At this time, we go into his presence and enter our prayer room. In prayer you will only be able to move forward and walk with power if you walk in authority according to your faith. How do we get there? Through prayer according to his word. So did Moses and Abraham. They reminded God of his promise and prayed according to what He promised. So, when we are in our prayer room we should learn to speak His word and use it in prayer. After the sermon we went into practice, worshipped God together, took a Rhema word and prayed over the nation.
It was a very strong start to the conference. We are looking forward to the rest of the days and especially to what God wants to speak and do here in Jyväskylä.
The event is jointly organized by Fire of Revival Church, Jyväskylä Pentecostal Church, Jyväskylä Port Parish, Jyväskylä Free Parish, Missio Church Jyväskylä, Vaajakoski Baptist Church and Vihtavuori Baptist Church.
Kohti Taivasta (Towards Heaven) – Instagram
photo credit:
day 1+2: Tuomas Kämäräinen; day 3: Jimi Malmberg; day 4: Severi Peura