Kingdom Impact | Four People Who Changed My Life
The Bible shows us that interpersonal encounters and relationships are the bridge by which Kingdom substance is transferred from one individual to another. We see this clearly in the life of Paul. His encounter with Ananias triggered his Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and his early relationship with Barnabas served to channel the unpackaging of his ministry.
As I reflect on my own life and development in the Kingdom, I would like to mention a handful of people who have impacted my life by transmitting a Kingdom deposit which is still active in my life and ministry today:
My uncle Mike was married to my dad’s sister – my dear aunty Jen. They were Jesus-people and elders at a charismatic church in Durban North, South Africa. When my growing hunger for God culminated in an outspoken desire to speak in tongues, the family knew who to call… Uncle Mike.
Uncle Mike spent about one hour with a shy teenager in what later became my “prayer room.” He shared the Biblical basis for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and then proceeded to lay hands on my head and pray over me. As I listened to the most beautiful heavenly language pouring out of him, I experienced the tangible presence of God like never before. A warm glow flooded over me and I started speaking in tongues for the first time.
I have spent the past 33 years assisting others in the process of receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the release of their heavenly prayer language. Click here to listen to a message about the Baptism of The Holy Spirit and speaking in tounges.
Just the mention of his name invokes a deep outpouring of gratitude within my heart. Neil found me as a socially awkward 14-year-old kid and graciously allowed me under his wing as I pursued a connection with him. Neil was a spiritual father to me and shaped my early understanding of the Father’s love and grace. One day I opened my heart to him and it led to the single most transformational experience of my life. Multiple demonic strongholds were broken in my life during two powerful prayer and deliverance sessions. I experienced a disorienting identity crisis due to the accelerated internal transformation.
During that time in my life, Neil demonstrated, encouraged, and coached me in the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. I started experiencing words of knowledge, discerning of spirits, and the gift of healing. The Kingdom came alive in me and I was on fire.
Since then I have experienced the privilege of taking hundreds of people through a process of finding freedom from demonic strongholds, besetting bondages, and cyclical sin. I could not imagine doing church or ministry without the active power of the Holy Spirit.
It was a privilege to come under Fiona’s leadership when I attended Bible College in Pinetown, South Africa. Fiona was a formidable leader with a passion and priority to preach the Word - the Word, the whole Word, and nothing but the Word. She taught the truth with reverence, even through obvious times of hardship and testing. I realized that the inexplicable quality she exuded when teaching the Word had everything to do with her deeply personal submission to its authority in her life.
Fiona’s leadership of the Bible College served to dismantle cultural stereotypes regarding the role of women in ministry and leadership. My time under Fiona’s ministry and leadership poured fuel on the fire of my love and passion for the Word of God.
Billy is one of the hardest people to introduce. His gifts and experience are extensive. Spiritual leadership and ministry, business entrepreneurship and organization, financial investments and strategies, and a scary accurate gift of prophecy. While many others with less success and experience would use it to justify an attitude of aloofness, for Billy it only accentuates his kind humility. He is a tremendous example of how to carry blessing and success with grace.
Billy expanded and enriched my world in categories that I would never have given attention to, particularly in the area of finances. When I met Billy, I was living month-to-month and my main financial goal was survival. Today I own a healthy portfolio of rental properties and I have the vision to see finances funneled for world transformation.
Billy’s “bigness” collided with my “smallness” and I was greatly enlarged. I have a desire to help hundreds of others step out of financial smallness and into the bigness of Kingdom impact.
There have been many others, and hopefully, there will be many more. God’s Kingdom will keep transmitting from one person to another until Jesus comes back.
How about you? Which people made a Kingdom impact in your life? Give them a shout-out in the comments!