God's Multi-level Marketing!

     Excuse me for the clumsy and tactless comparison of God to a business strategy, but it was the closest thing I could think of to describe the joy I am experiencing these last few days. You see, it's been four years since God challenged us to walk this path of Deliverance Ministry and Inner Healing. As I stop to consider where we started and where we are now, it seems like we've been enrolled in an Advanced and Accelerated course; learning how to work with Jesus and the Holy Spirit to continue the work that the Lord began during His short time on this earth.

     I'm not sure Mark and I fully understood just how much the Father would immerse us in this calling, or the gravity of the need for healing in people's lives. All we knew was that our hearts and spirits couldn't say "no" to the Father's desire to use us to heal and deliver His children. We hardly ever knew what would happen when we sat down to listen to the pain and the wounds of those tormented by the Enemy, but we were always aware of the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and fully trusted Them to guide us through the process of setting the captives free.
     And from the very first time that we witnessed Jesus healing the damaged soul and spirit of a Believer, we knew a small amount of the joy that God must feel when He sees His enemy defeated and the chains of bondage come off His beloved child. And we got to be a part of that! There are not enough exemplary words to give praise to our amazing God for that gift.
     Now, four years later, we are beginning to see those we have helped to see Jesus [in their circumstances] start to help others.  They have freely received the grace of God and want to freely give that opportunity to another -- and this is where my clumsy comparison comes in. Just like multi-level marketing, we share the goodness of our product --  in this case, freedom from torment and victory in Christ -- and train the recruit in the ministry, so they can go out and share "the product" with others. This results in a network of "freedom fighters" for the Kingdom of God.
     But unlike the worldly marketing strategy, which often involves coercion and arm-twisting to build your "line", the word-of-mouth about what God can do for you is the best strategy -- you don't have to up-sell peace, freedom from pain, and the destruction of the lies of the devil! And instead of earning money, which is only worth the paper it is printed on, the distributors of God's offering earn heavenly rewards from the fruit they produce.
     Let me tell you, nothing feels like success more than witnessing someone getting free from a false identity due to molestation, physical or emotional abuse, generational curses, sins they have committed or sins committed against them -- all the things the Enemy can use to keep a child of God in captivity.  It has been our privilege to witness the removal of dirty veils, the breaking off of chains, and the destruction of strongholds in people's lives -- and all with the knowledge that Jesus is there and the One doing the work. 

     And now we are witnessing those who have been set free, setting others free. The seed of freedom that was planted in our hearts has borne fruit and new seeds are being planted. And I can't help but see the plant process as a metaphor for what God is doing in His multi-level ministry model. Excuse me as I try to connect these dots ... Once a seed germinates and breaks through the surface, it starts the steps to produce leaves. This starts the process of photosynthesis (utilizing the Son Light) while the roots search and absorb water (the Living Water) for the new seedling which slowly grows into a mature fruit-bearing plant. 
     Do you see it? Mark and I are just the product of the seeds planted by Dr. Charles Kraft and Barbara Bucklin of Luke:14 Ministries. They planted the seeds, and participated with the Holy Spirit to give us the Light of God and His Living Water until we matured into a fruit-being servant of the Kingdom.  Our obedience produced new seeds planted in new ground, and now those plants have sprung forth bearing fruit, with the intent to reproduce more seeds. It is for complete freedom that Christ paid the price to set us free. And with each new "level" of freedom that permeates the Body, it's another defeat for the devil and one more step towards the imminent destruction and failure of his agenda.
     So, I hope you don't mind the way I've tried to explain the joy I am experiencing. I don't know any other way to describe what it's like to see those whom we've had the blessing of ministering to now passing their freedom [in Christ] on to others. Seeing their obedience to share what they've received is a reward beyond anything this world has to offer. Thank you, Jesus, for trusting Mark and me with administering Your precious gift of freedom.  We are truly humbled.

Galatians 5:13     Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.