Thriving ministry flows from intimacy with God! By turning our affection towards the Lord, we can enjoy relationship with Him and learn how to be led by His Spirit. It is through prioritizing connection with Him that we develop a supernatural lifestyle that reveals His goodness to those around us.
To unpack this topic, we hosted Joaquin Evans on a recent School Leaders Revival Chat. Joaquin has been on staff at Bethel Church for the past ten years. He has served as a Revival Group Pastor in BSSM and is the former director of both the Bethel Healing Rooms and Bethel Activation Ministries.
Drawing from powerful testimonies during his ministry travels and his own personal encounters with God, Joaquin shared practical insight on how to increase awareness of God’s presence. We want to share some of these highlights with you today. May this post encourage and equip you to become more in tune with Him, and may you see His Spirit powerfully touch and transform lives, communities, and beyond!
Spend Extended Time in the Presence
The secret place is where we grow in relationship with God. He loves spending time with us and is always present to speak directly to our hearts with love, peace, and encouragement. Joaquin shared that extended time in the presence makes us attuned to how He moves. In fact, it renews our mind and is the key to breakthrough in the environments we are called to impact!
Joaquin also highlighted the truth that we grow in intimacy with God when we allow Him to minister to us. We get to come before Him with no agenda other than to enjoy His presence! Making this part of your lifestyle will not only increase your awareness of His affection for you, but also those around you.
Practice the Presence Anywhere
During the Revival Chat, Joaquin reminded viewers that hunger never goes unnoticed in the kingdom. God’s presence is attracted to hungry hearts! He also reminded us that we can cultivate an awareness of the presence anywhere. It is as simple as turning our focus to the character and nature of God and believing that He wants to reveal Himself more than we want Him to!
Joaquin shared one way simple way that he helps believers become more aware of God’s presence everywhere they go. He has them close their eyes and tune into Him. As soon as they feel God, Joaquin then asks them to open their eyes and maintain their awareness of His presence. This exercise helps them become aware of Him with their eyes open and sense Him in the normal day-to-day.
Partnering with God
Joaquin pointed out that God loves people more than we love people. Again, He wants to show up more than we want Him to! Striving and anxiety in ministry fall away when we remember that He wants to be with us and move through us. We don’t have to twist God’s arm or perform to see Him move through us. When we are willing to partner with Him and hunger for His presence, He comes! We just have to tune into what God is already doing and confidently ask Him, “How can I partner with You today?”
Sometimes, we try to discredit what God is doing because we’re using the wrong standard of success. It’s important to learn to value what God is doing versus on what we might think is lacking. As Joaquin shared, there’s no such thing as “a little bit of God.” It’s either God or it’s not. When it is God, we can rest assured that what is happening is good! As we become thankful for how we are experiencing Him, we learn to steward what He has given us and to invite His increased breakthrough.
Joaquin shared some testimonies that highlight the power of partnering with God:
- While at a church conference in Illinois, Joaquin met a woman with polio who used leg braces and a scooter. On the first day of the conference, she tried to stand, but collapsed due to the braces on her legs. By the last day, she attended without braces and was able to walk properly for the first time in nine years!
- During one of Joaquin’s sessions at a conference in Australia, a 70-year-old woman shared that she was experiencing relief from arthritis. She could move her neck and back better, but her hands were still gnarled. She said that she could feel warm oil from heaven being poured over her. Joaquin stopped the meeting to pray and gave thanks to God for completing what He starts. The next day, she returned fully healed and had pools of oil in her hands. As the anointing grew stronger in the room, the oil in her hands would get thicker and drip from her hands. This woman was the largest band promoter in Australia in the 70s and is now working in the Australian parliament building. After the conference, she returned to work telling everyone about her healing and leaking oil from heaven. She is able to write for herself for the first time in eight years.
God is always speaking and always moving. When we create a value for Him in our lives and in our school environments, we create a space for Him to powerfully move. May you enjoy the journey of pursuing His presence and know that He is also pursuing you!
School Leaders Revival Chats can now be accessed through a subscription to BSSM Equip. Find out more about BSSM Equip by visiting our website at BSSMEquip.com.
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