Mt. Shepherd's Conference 2000
Meltdown
4-3-00
Great Falls Christian Center gets a Gold Star for their hosting this
year's conference at the Central Assembly of God facility. The hospitality was wonderful,
the décor was excellent, the meals were very good with generous amounts of food, the
worship was great, the presence of the Lord felt, and we were all blessed. Doing the meals
together in the same facility as the meetings helped with the fellowship and relational
connections. Thanks Bob
Johnson and GFCC Team! You aced it!
God was in the House! I realized that God is not always fair, but he is just. One person should not be allowed to have so much gifting in one package; however, we were blessed to be on the receiving end of the Lord expressing himself through Joseph Garlington and his lovely wife Barbara. Worship, word, jokes, impartation, laughter, weeping all characterized the meetings.
We were challenged to get the "Main the thing to be the Main Thing"! We were told to lie down on the floor and soak in the presence of the Lord getting into the Holy Spirit more than our work! We were encouraged to build an atmosphere for the Presence of the Lord! It takes time, but it is worth it. You can't be balanced and in love was a term that ministered to all of us. We also had a Holy Ghost 'Duh' revelation with the statement about the Ark of God. "The 'Box' is not just for the House, but for the City. The presence of God is infectious. We all laid down on the floor at the end of the meeting and enjoyed Joseph's playing and singing in the Presence of the Lord.
Friday Barbara ministered powerfully to the ladies with her testimony and impartation
through prayer. Joseph ministered to the men about reconciliation. We all received a
powerful message on how God is not counting our trespasses against us. It really is Good
News. There were so many excellent statements, phrases and points you must listen to the
tapes. We were encouraged to model for other men the heart of worship. Get the Big
Rocks in place first.
Joseph ministered at the pastor's lunch and at the end we were all encouraged to pray for the children of the leaders that were on the edge or away from the Lord. About three quarters of group stood for this need. I believe this is where the Lord began to turn us toward his heart for this year's conference.
Friday night Joseph spoke about brokenness and tears being the seed for the Harvest. No tears, no harvest! God uses the lame and broken to accomplish his purposes. Revivals don't come from dry eyes they come from weeping eyes. Joseph prayed for pastor Bob's son and exhorted us to pray for the lost children, esp. those who were raised Christian and have turned away. Parents began to weep for their children and then literally cry out the names of those away from the Lord. It was like Rachel weeping for her children and couldn't be comforted. I believe next year we will hear testimony after testimony of those children coming back to the Lord from the parents who cried out that night for their kids calling them back to the Lord.
Joseph then called Lockley, a First Nations brother up to the front and we gathered around him and he prayed for his nation and others began to pray and repent. David Works said his multiple great great Grandfather was President Jefferson who sent whites to our area with the promise of protecting the Indian Nation. He asked forgiveness for the negative actions on behalf of his ancestors and family name. Others prayed and it was a very emotional time. We believe something significant happened in the heavenlies. We anxiously await physical signs of what happened in the Spirit that night.
It seemed Saturday morning like we may have already experienced the highest spiritual high of the conference on Friday night, but that was not the case. After another excellent worship time Joseph was given the microphone for one more message. He stated that if something was going to be funny later, it is funny now! Start acting like it is so, even when it seems not to be so, in-order for it to be so, because it is so! Interjected in the message was the story about Smitty mowing his lawn come hell or high water!
We were told that 'Shameless persistence' is the key to moving the hand of God. He who asks and keeps on asking is the one who receives. In-order to maintain Revival; we must maintain Brokenness at least every two weeks in our lives. One of the main statements of the morning was, 'You can't solve problems with the same thinking that created them!'
Jacob, Rachel and Leah were discussed in the context of what is it that you love to do that is not producing and what do you put your hand to that is producing? Give yourself to what is producing! It was also mentioned in the context of worship being what we love, but prayer and intercession is what produces! We were told to toss our oars and be a boat that lets the river of God guide it. Oars represent man's struggle and desire to have his own way.
Joseph then said that he believed in impartation and he wanted to pray over everyone. He said that he could impart brokenness. Everyone came to the front and he began by simply touching our hands and praying brokenness over us. At some point in the prayer line he began to weep and sob and the presence of the Holy Spirit intensified. Some went to floor unable to stand in their weeping while others stood weeping or in a quite mode. It was a powerful time. Bob then offered communion to those who wished to take it. The executive board stationed themselves at the prayer rails and people came randomly to receive the Lord's Supper. It was an excellent ending to what the Lord imparted to those who were there.
One pastor's wife told me later that her oldest son had gone from being a deacon and
worship leader in their church to being a professed atheist. She was prayed for by Joseph
and ended up on the floor involuntarily. She said while she was there, she asked for a
vision from the Lord and he gave her one. She saw her son playing a violin with an
electric hook-up. He was in a church that was unfamiliar to her. He was playing a song of
the Lord. He stood up and came to front of the platform with tears running down his face
and played an upbeat song of the Lord. She asked the Lord to let her see his face more
closely to see if he was wrinkled or not and if she could see what he was wearing, if they
were closes he presently owned. She didn't see any of that, but she was set free to know
that her son is coming back to the Lord and she was delivered from the bondage of his
spiritual condition keeping her from going forward. She was a new refreshed person after
this experience. On a side note, she laid on the floor for forty-five minutes and the when
she tried to get up her legs wouldn't work. This condition continued for twelve hours. She
had to be carried out of the building, into and out of the restaurant and eventually
helped to bed that night. It was like the Lord was showing her that she had to totally
trust in Him, as she had to trust others to help her around since her legs would not work.
It was a liberating encounter with the Lord for her and her husband. We look forward to
the report of her son coming back to the Lord.
May God bless you and keep you and we look forward to next year's conference in Missoula with Wendell Smith.
Your brother in Christ,
Stephen R. Valentine