23. My First Real Encounter With Healing and Deliverance 11.03.19

23. How can I describe the events that happened on Friday evening. How can I possibly put into words the depth of that Holy Spirit Encounter service? I don’t think I’ll be able to bring words to explain the full justice of the experience, but I’ll do my best. I encourage you to attend one yourself. I’ll make sure I share the dates and locations for you.

Colossians 3:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

So my original plan was to go to this healing service November 1st. It was in my heart that I’d be there and it was one of those things that you just know that you know that you know that you’re supposed to do. Then travel plans came up for the weekend and I was very happy to be able to take Nash to visit relatives he’s never met. However, internally the whole week I was struggling because in my heart of hearts I knew I’d be at that service and I kept worrying about what would happen or why I’d be at that service instead of traveling. It opened the door for the enemy to put doubt in my mind regarding hearing from the Lord. The enemy was saying If I always feel this strong when it’s the Lord, how can the Holy Spirit be telling me that I’ll be at a meeting I couldn’t possibly physically attend if I’ll be on my way to SC? I can’t be in two places at once. I must not really be hearing from the Holy Spirit when I get this feeling if I couldn’t possibly be at that healing service. I must be confused on what hearing from God is.

See how that works? Demonic influence and the enemy’s voice trying to be as strong as the Holy Spirits direction and trying to derail any progress I (or anyone else on this earth) have made. Self doubt...my biggest stronghold of the enemy. The enemy will get you where he can in a subtle way. He takes subtle strongholds to deceive and twist and manipulate.

So all week I am struggling with self doubt and feeling one way but thinking another. Then Thursday rolls around and I get a message to call Nash’s pap and he tells me the trip has been cancelled. It was cancelled for a good reason, a procedure date was moved. Please say a prayer for Nash’s great Aunt, she’s dealing with a difficult situation. So now I’m sitting there, refreshed with the knowing that I was hearing from the Lord to go to that healing service and I wasn’t crazy and there was no reason to doubt.

Romans 14:23 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

So I had been taking huge bites and choking myself all week with a sin sandwich of doubt. Forgive me Lord.

I feel like in general we do that a lot, we wait for our timing and we pray our prayers saying “God if something doesn’t happen soon, I don’t know what I’ll do”. The Lord says I know exactly what you’ll do. You’ll wait for my timing, my answer and my way. It will be worth it. Timing!

So Friday comes around and I woke up feeling anxious. A few hours later, I received a text from my dad telling me that my Gram had passed away. She was such a sweet and kind woman. I spent so many weekends having sleepovers at her house. It always felt more like home to me at her house than I felt in my own. I’m going to miss her dearly. You never forget your grandmas love. Never. I was hit with emotion, felt overwhelmed. Guilt for not seeing her more these last few years because of how much I always feared and wanted to avoid my dad. Guilt for feeling that way toward my dad, guilt for reaching out to him and not hearing much back and not pushing harder for a relationship. Knowing that’s not Gods way either and feeling guilty for that. Then I realized that November 1st was also the date in 2016 when my Uncle Don from San Francisco lost his battle with his demons and jumped to his death in the early morning hours after Halloween night. We shared a birthday and I always felt connected to him. We were both diagnosed as bi-polar (back when I was drinking and drugging my life away, but praise Jesus that by his stripes I am healed!!). His last years were hard, demonic influences can destroy your flesh if you let them. I had thought I would end up just like him for a long time. God had another plan for me though. I’m so thankful he did.

When you learn people are no longer with us on this earth, it hits you right in the feels. No matter how close you are to someone, when you learn of their passing you immediately think of every memory you’ve ever shared with them and you replay things in your mind. You wish there were different conversations you could have had or you wish you’d have held on a little tighter during that last hug. I was thinking I can’t go tonight.

John 11:25 - Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Psalms 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the death of his saints.

Then the Holy Spirit showed up like lightning and I finished post 20 and 21 and posted them. I felt refreshed but I also heard the enemy egging me on to stay home. Again with the doubt that I’d need to travel almost 2 hours when the Holy Spirit shows up like this in my home. Saying if you already shared so much with people today why go. It’s cold. You’re almost out of gas, you don’t have a cozy jacket, you won’t find parking, you’ve never been on route 65 you’ll get lost, you’ll be late and interrupt the service, and I would be lying if I didn’t wait till the very last minute possible to get Nash ready and drop him off. I was struggling but in my heart of hearts I knew once again that the Lord was saying to me. “Ash, if there is this much opposition preventing your flesh from wanting to go. You better get up and go. It’s going to be good!”

I head that way to the service and Im struggling to get my phone to play the music I want through the car speakers and dealing with traffic on 79 and being from this side of Pa/WV and having speed limits of 70 and being used to driving 80 all the time I was frustrated. Then on route 65 the speed limit is like 40/45 like it is on route 51 and my flesh is screaming in frustration saying I moved away from all this traffic crap, who does 40 in the fast lane, and I think to myself. Ash this is what the enemy wants. He wants you frustrated and angry and agitated so he and his demons can march right into that meeting with you. I did the good ole “Get thee behind me Satan” and made the conscious decision to chill it out. I turned off the radio/you tube and just listened to the navigation. My eta was 7:20 when I left and I think I did make it at like 7:05 so I can’t complain. I decided to pray the rest of the way there.

Psalm 56:9 New King James Version (NKJV)
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me

I walk into the meeting and immediately I’m hit with this at home feeling. It reminded me of everyone gathering at a relatives house for thanksgiving. How everyone is stuffed to the brim with dinner and they all gather in a rustic cozy family room around a fire and share the stories of life. The only difference was that these people were stuffed to the brim with the Holy Spirit instead of turkey and stuffing.

Isaiah 61:7 New King James Version (NKJV)
7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

I find a seat in the back as the music is playing, I wanted to be able to see everyone. Kevin comes over to say hi and asked how far the trip was. I looked in his eyes and immediately saw the fresh crisp love of the Holy Spirit looking right back at me the same way he looked at everyone else in the room. His gaze showed the love and help of a divine Father there to restore his children to their pristine condition. As I’m looking around I start to get words for people there. This has never happened to me before. I’ve gotten words to put here on Facebook, thoughts in my head. I’ve had a word here and there for people I’m close to but I’ve never been in a room and had so much direction to share what I was being given to more than one person. I’m looking around and there is this guy who had a little bit of a limp. He walked to the bathroom and as soon as he got up to go to the bathroom my Spirit was screaming don’t let him leave, he’s walking out of here whole! I’m like ok Ash, chill it out, you’re crazy. How can you know that? The music continued and I was a little lost without the words on the screen. I am no super Christian and I’m not here to act like it. Most of the time I feel like Hei Hei and that Jesus is my Moana. I stumbled through the songs I didn’t know and sang out on the ones I did. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving everyone there.

The crowd was a mixture of young and old. The Holy Spirit moving in words, rhythms, songs, visions all around. It was awesome to see.

The music stops and Kevin begins his message. It was a very good very real message about the way the Holy Spirit moves. His words are relatable and honest, his life stories are compelling, humorous and true. He is always open in his teachings about his own struggles and the struggles of his wonderful wife Amy in a way that makes everything both relatable and educational in the word. I encourage you to attend a meeting in person.

During his message, a woman starts weeping. She’s sobbing so hard. Kevin asks her to come up for prayer and then he asked members of his deliverance team to help her. They take her out to help and instantly by her words I knew she was manifesting. The sounds and words were from her as if she was of sound mind and body, but the discerning of spirits in me knew that when she said “Leave me alone” that those were demons wanting to stay speaking through her. I’d never experienced the discerning of spirits by hearing one manifest like I did in that instant. Then as she was walking out to be helped, my Spirit was overflowing with the words “Pure as snow. She will return pure as a fresh snow flake falling from the winter sky, she will blanket the world with Jesus the way the snow blankets the ground in the winter.” Ok another word. Wow.

Kevin continues his message and you could tell the atmosphere was changed and people were a little freaked out now. He finished his message and asked for everyone to come up for the altar call for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. At this time there is a woman one seat away from me. I get another word. “Tell her if she wants you to go up with her you will.” Now back to the self doubt, my fleshy meat nugget of a brain says to me ok Ash, you don’t know who this woman is and if you ask her and she’s a super Christian who has done this before you’re going to look stupid. She’s going to say no and you’ll feel stupid the whole time you’re here. So I didn’t say anything. Kevin is calling for the altar call doing like a last call and I get a word and the Lord says, “Ok fine, have it your way Ash. Now you have to put your hand up and speak to everyone because that lady and other people here need to know they are in a safe space.” So I struggle and I’m like ok Lord. So I do that half way hand raise thing that you do when you hope you’re not going to get called on, thinking if he nods to me I’ll say it if he doesn’t I won’t. So of course he gives me a nod and my little voice cracking in my throat goes “I think the Lord wants everyone to know that this is a safe space and you can cry here and snot here and ugly cry if you have to. You’re safe here”. He finishes getting people to stand up and the lady next to me goes up. (Of course 🤦🏻‍♀️) So again in my spirit I’m going “I knew it was her!”. Then the guilt sets in for not speaking up like I should have and offering to go up with her. Stupid tormentors.

Now, with the Lord God’s amazing timing, the lady who had been manifesting and was taken out comes back in the room just in time for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Everyone turned to look at her and she from head to toe looked like a completely different person. She comes up for the altar call and Kevin breaks out in “it’s your birthday, it’s your birthday” then we all start chanting “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”Please watch that part of the video I shared yesterday. Watch her testimony. Her testimony was one of the most heartfelt I’ve ever seen. She had planned on taking her life that day. Set the pills out and everything. Called friends saying I’m taking myself out and one of her friends brought her to the healing meeting instead. Her delivered face was the happiest face I’ve ever seen. It was magical. The level of faith was elevated in that room at that very moment!

The baptism altar call goes very well, people speaking in tongues for the first time, being filled with the Spirit, some shaking, some falling, some speaking in tongues like a boss. Then the healing starts and I’m watching everyone come up for prayer and it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Legs growing out, arthritis healed, pain leaving. People dancing and jumping up and down trying to find the pain they had earlier and they couldn’t. Another woman who came in with a foot problem began to get sick and needed a garbage can. People were aiding her the whole way. She had a rough bout because things were trying to hang on to her, but the Good Lord prevailed and her face at the end was filled with joy. The gentleman I spoke of earlier with the limp, he received the Holy Spirit and was prayed for and dude was out cold on the floor for a good 15 mins or more. When he woke up, he looked like he had woken up to being on the beach soaking up the sun and beauty of the ocean. He looked so happy and warm and refreshed. Everyone just going about the work of the Lord God Almighty stepping over people, lending helping hands, praying together to deliver souls from bondage and heal them in the name of Jesus. It was amazing!!

I’m taking it all in like kinda scared, hanging back just watching it and over and over again as people are being helped, healed, minds renewed, faith restored, unclean spirits cast out. There are a few people left and I’m standing up by the altar and Kevin looks at me and says “The Lords got something for you” and I’m like it’s cool I’ll be here all night I’m taking it in, no rush. But he goes, come here and I give him my hands and he calls someone to stand behind me. I know from seeing this that it means I’m probably gonna get knocked on my butt by the power of the Holy Spirit. He’s praying and I can’t even remember what he said, but I remember the power of the Holy Spirit. There I was on the ground with my grin, feeling elated and almost in tears. Then I’m back on my feet with my hands in the air, another prayer and then he puts his hand on me and prays something about the fire. I instantly get warm but not in an all consuming way. I’m watching people get dropped and the enemy instantly made me have doubt that it had affected me as great as it had everyone else. Stupid devil and his nonsense. Kevin does the fire baptism prayer and then at some point (because it’s all a blur) he says “I want you to be on the deliverance team, I want you to come to the deliverance meetings I have and help”. Floored, I was elated and floored. Elated because I knew that I knew that I knew something big was going to be there for me. Floored that the Lord God could use me to help others in this capacity. How? What do I do and say? I’m like a 36 year old little kid lost like what do I do next, Jesus? I was excited because this was the first time I’ve been asked to help with something because someone sees something in my Spirit!

Matthew 3:11 (ESV)
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

So Kevin moves on to talk with others and the one guy who caught me when I fell back was there and I’m still in shock but I say to him “So what do I do now?” and dude looks at me and says “Go pray for people” and goes about his merry way helping others like it’s just that simple. I’m like uhhhhh, ok, so now shy, backwards Ashley is gonna take her big ole mouth and just go around giving words out to people like I’m handing candy out at a trunk or treat. But then I look, I really take a look at the room and I see everyone differently. I can’t explain it. I look behind me and the woman who was delivered was right behind me. So I thought I’ll start there. I tap her on the shoulder and I’m like I’ll give the message quick and go sit and gather my thoughts. So I say “I’m sorry, I just feel like the lord told me to tell you that you have returned as pure as a freshly fallen snowflake and that you will blanket the world with the love of Jesus like fresh snow blankets the earth in the winter.” Then I just out of no where added to that and said “I have stood where you stood, I’ve been there, I’ve tied a noose in my Dyson sweeper cord twice. I got up on the chair once. Jesus wouldn’t let me kick it out, just like he wouldn’t let you take yourself out tonight. You have meaning, you have purpose and you have the love of Jesus with you. If the enemy tries to sneak in a negative thought any time after you leave here, you cast it down. You are a new person!”

So then I’m like ok, so maybe the words do just come when you need them to. Not sure I ever wanted to share all that about myself but it came out so it must have been something she needed to hear and relate to. So I look around and I see this other dude by the corner and I’m like well, let’s try this out again. So I talk with him and boom another instantly relatable experience. Then I see another woman and I chat with her and boom another word just comes out. Like how? Jesus.

Romans 15:13 King James Version (KJV)
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

So the experience continues and I’m getting ready to head out but I’m stopping at the bathroom and and I’m asked to wait a min as I head toward the door. So I go to the bathroom and come back out and as I’m coming out the lady goes in who had her head in the bucket. I looked at her and she looked freaked out. I had a word for her too. I told her that she looked so new and refreshed, not to be freaked out because it happens to a lot of people and it freaked me out at first too. I also told her that if the Lord puts something on her heart that she needs to address or that if she was holding back because she was worried about what it looked like to be that vulnerable in public that Kevin has deliverance meetings on his Facebook and she can go through a full deliverance service in her own home and cough and throw up and not worry about what it looked like to others. She thanked me and I went back out to my seat. I see another woman healed of arthritis and then Kevin comes over to chat and asked me what I thought about it. I was still in shock. I can’t even remember much else but I thanked him, gathered my things and left to get in the car to drive home.

The drive home was worship music, getting gas, praying, thanking the Lord for that experience and the wonders of His word. I was thinking the whole way how this is amazing and crazy and wonderful. I was so in shock that I was asked to be a part of future deliverance meetings but I also at the same time felt this comfort in knowing my purpose was what I thought it was. I loved seeing the look on the faces of those set free from years of bondage and torment in minutes. Then the enemy shows up saying things like this is all impossible, you’re tiny. You’re insignificant and you’re going to help people? Now oh you’re anointed, you’re helping people, you’re close to being prideful in yourself, that’s a sin, you didn’t get the fire, it was barely warm. It was a coincidence. You’re talking out your rear tonight. So I was torn again in my thoughts.

So I’m home taking my contacts out and brushing my hair and the Holy Spirit shows up and shows me the vision of the fire baptism. It wasn’t this big elaborate vision, just a quick little picture of Wiley Coyote like after he’s been blown up by an acme rocket. How he’s instantly all burned up and it looks like he’s all dust and then the wind blows and since he’s dust the dust blows away, but when the dust blew away it was my flesh blowing away into the wind. The new me remained.

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

James 5:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Psalm 147:3 King James Version (KJV)
3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

Matthew 10:1 King James Version (KJV)
10 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease

Mark 1:32-34
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Luke 9:23-24 King James Version (KJV)
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.