Greetings all who wrestle for the Kingdom,

[This month's Update is again a little early because Claudia and I heading to Denver this week to teach and minister at a Regional Conference for the RCA on Healing Prayer.  Please remember us in your prayers]

I had some of my thinking rearranged this past month.  I was at "Marketplace Warriors", a monthly businesspersons gathering in Grandville, MI, and one of the things the speaker said related to John 10:10.  We who are long in the tooth in the Christian walk have heard this verse used, and/or have used it ourselves, as descriptive of the work of Satan.  "For the thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy.  I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly."  Since Satan is the Father of lies and does roam about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might destroy it is an accurate verse for describing his work product; killing, stealing and destroying.

Without diminishing the accuracy of its normative use within Christian culture it is not what the passage is addressing.  Who is Jesus addressing in this passage? 

Satan? 

No.  He is talking to the Pharisees.  The religious leadership of his day.  It is in the context of discussing who is a good religious leader and who fails the test.

So what?

So  .....  to the degree we are letting our religious structures and programs operate without direction from God, through Jesus via the Holy Spirit we are actually making decisions that could steal and kill and destroy the sheep.  The Spirit of God was sent to continue the teaching and revelation of Jesus and the 'Kingdom of God'. On our own we behave like the Pharisees. Destroyed sheep cannot be effective ministers  ....  they are robbed, killed and destroyed.

My prayer since hearing that message has been, "Lord, forgive me for any area in my life where I have stolen, killed or destroyed your sheep by traveling in my own wisdom or in my own strength.  This is not your plan and I repent and ask you to forgive me and to cleanse me from that unrighteousness."  Help us Lord to have clean hands and pure hearts as we work to advance your kingdom here on earth.

Enough of the introspective side of the house.  How are we doing as a ministry team?  We are growing.  Not so much in numbers but definitely in growing people in confidence and leadership.  I have a couple of examples that have been a specific encouragement to Claudia and myself.

The first one is a woman who has been coming to the "W" for a little over two years.  We'll call her Carolyn.  When she first came she was interested but skeptical and wrote down every verse that was stated in teaching or ministry and was like the Berean's in scripture "searching the scripture daily to see if it was true."  Gradually coming to the point of being confident enough to pray for people herself for their healing (with some amazing results I might add) and last week leading a small circle of prayer at the "W" for the first time using the verses and knowledge she has learned to minister to the people asking for God to move in healing.  Go read Matt 9:35 through 11:1 and you will see the leadership training path that was followed to reach this point.  Bless God for raising up strong workers to bring the kingdom of God to earth.  Show them, empower them, send them out, and build them up.

The second example is a young lady we have prayed for and with over the past three years and seen God accelerate her into a state of health and confidence that is awesome.  Two weeks ago there was a woman in her small group at the "W" who was going to undergo an extreme procedure for depression that our young lady was aware of.  God had her pray and minister to the woman during the prayer time.  Afterwards our young friend came over and told me what had happened and how she literally 'felt' God moving as she prayed.  She pointed at the other woman and said, "she is SO healed".  This past week the woman who was prayed for gave testimony that she went to her Doctor on Monday and they postponed the procedure for six months because "all of her levels were normal" (which is not possible in her condition).  They did not declare her healed but had no explanation for the change in test results.  Also, she had energy and joy and strength all week like she had not had in years. God then used her to give wisdom and encouragement to people in her group last week.  The ones who were broken now prompted to pray for other broken ones, obeying that direction by the Holy Spirit and God blessing all in the transactions.  A reality of being fruitful and multiplying God's blessings.

We grow our faith by exercising and trusting God.  As we step boldly through our initial discomfort with what God is asking us to do we see supernatural results and fruit that remains.

Are you mentoring anyone right now?  Are you being mentored?  Are you walking out the 'leadership development' path that Jesus showed us in Matthew?  We all need to be making disciples as a normal part of our walk with Jesus

A few more examples of God's agenda at work  .......

REPORTS:

*  A young boy was prayed for (by proxy in one of the small groups, we never met him).  We heard back that he was completely healed and sent home confounding the doctors with his recovery.  God, you sent Your Word and healed him.  Thank you.

* A woman who had been a runner on the GVSU track team had been suffering with back issues for over four years.  She had to quit the team a year ago due to severe pain issues.  She came with a friend to the "W" and was healed of the pain as we prayed for her.

* God also touched the young lady who had come with her for support.  She had had a bad experience with a Pentecostal fellowship years back and wanted nothing to do with that culture anymore.  As we had testimonies and teaching that night relating to healing she closed up inside and wanted to leave.  When her friend was healed as she sat next to her she then asked for prayer herself to be free of any wrong attitudes toward God from past experiences.  The group prayed for her and she was set free.  They both came back over the past two weeks rejoicing with what God was doing in their lives every single day as a result of the sudden transforming power of the Holy Spirit.  Gracious Father, you take us where we are at and gently move us toward your heart.  You are wise and we bless Your name.

* We heard back from a woman who came to the "W" in an email;

"Because of learning about the power of prayer at the "W" I was more bold when a friend called because her son had the flu.  I prayed over the phone and the next day he was better.  It is still amazing to me that we actually have authority in the name of Jesus.  Thank you for opening our eyes to this reality."

* We prayed for a young man who was adopted out of Guatemala that he might find his mother.  On a mission's trip to that country last month, through an unusual series of 'coincidences' he located his birth mother and was able to share Christ with her.  God is faithful.

* We heard back that a woman who had been suffering from nightmares for years was healed.  The night she came to the "W" (her first time) there was teaching about not hiding secrets and the fact that confessing them is one of the platforms for healing (James 5).  She went home that night and brought the secret into the light with her husband and from that point forward has slept like a baby with no more nightmares, only deep rest.  Bless God for His Word ids true and we can trust it, and Him.

* A young man who could not remember directions or how to get home if he left a two block radius who was healed of this disorder came to the "W" last week with his Father who cannot believe the change in his son and wanted to see what this group was all about.  Father, you unify families with the work of your Spirit.

*  A woman who is in the middle of a separation and possible divorce reported back that she has been flooded with peace since receiving prayer.  Thank you Father, our peace is in You.

*  We heard from a woman who had been healed of a tumor in her Uterus when prayed for at the "W" and had returned to ask for prayer for a job.  We bumped into her at Panera last week and within a week of the prayer she had been hired into a good job.  Adonai Jireh we love how You provide for us.

*  As I was writing the Update I got a call from one of the members of the Old Man Worship Band.  He has been having pain to greater and lesser degrees constantly over the past 35 years since having a neck injury while playing football at Missouri.  This past week the pain became unbearable and he went in for X-Rays.   They found that he had 'the hangman's break' in his neck and he should have been in a wheelchair years ago.  Well, bless God he is not but still experienced debilitating pain.  Yesterday he was prayed for by his wife and her sister in HI (both wonderful intercessors who walk deeply with the Lord) and he was able to sleep last night without pain and the daytime pain today has reduced to "manageable".  God has also been showing him an old root that is still operating and it was contributing to the pain.  We prayed for him again today and are now believing that the MRI scheduled for Monday will read "no break" and he will be fully healed to glorify the name of Jesus.  Please pray with us for a complete healing.  God you really do love us and care for us even when we do not know it is happening. He faithfully will give wisdom and understanding to His people.

* Speaking of back pain.  We prayed for a young lady Wed night who is 29 and had a degenerative disc disorder that had caused constant pain for over a decade along with arthritis and calcium deposits along her spine.  When we finished praying she was completely pain free.  Thank you gracious Father for blessing your child with this freedom.

And these signs will follow those who believe  ...  they will lay hands upon the sick and they will recover.

Here are some additional things to be aware of as WT members;

OPPORTUNITIES:

·         Next weekend is the teaching sessions related to Mars Hill's X, Y, Z's.  There is still time to register.  Please call the church or go to the website to register.

·         Please pray for the staff, leaders and volunteers at Mars Hill as they begin to train on what the XYZ's should look like on a practical basis.  Continue to pray also and ask God where you fit in this picture.

·         There are resources available now at www.hearinggod.org and www.thewrestlingteam.com.  We have some of the Updates loaded there as well as the healing verses, a reading list and some of the prayers that we have found effective will be loaded soon.  These are not Mars Hill sites and are only there for the purpose of easily dispersing information and resources.

·         Please pray for Ted and Claudia as they speak and minister around the country;

o        April 22. 7PM T&C will be speaking, doing extensive Q&A on healing and then ministering healing prayer at Spring Valley Community Church (RCA) in Allendale, MI.  Open to the public.

o        April 27-29 Regional Healing Conference for the RCA in Denver, CO with Tim Vink.

o        May 13^th Orchard Hill Reformed Church in GR, Sunday AM service.

o        June 13 - 16 Church Prayer Leaders Network National Conference. The CPLN was started by Pray! Magazine and is run by the founder of Pray! Magazine, Jon Graf.  The National conference is in GR this year at Sunshine Church up on the Beltline.  I will be doing a six hour seminar on Healing Prayer as a pre-conference session and then speaking a couple of times during the conference.  For information or to register for this event go to http://prayerleader.com/content/view/313/5/.

You are appreciated and prayed for often.  

Ted and Claudia Kallman

Wrestling Coaches

"In emotionally healthy churches, people live and lead out of brokenness and vulnerability."

-Peter Scazzero