LK 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

For many of us as Christians, we have prayed for many people over the years for different things and we have seen God help some of these people, but we have longed to see God heal people and deliver them from evil spirits as we laid hands on them in much a greater way, and so God sent us into the Wilderness to prepare us to be more stable and responsible so that He could in fact flow through us in greater power to help those in need. The disciples had walked with Jesus for several years being prepared to walk in power, and so finally Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel in power and these were the instructions He gave them;

MT 10:7 As you go, preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

MT 10:11 "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

I believe that these guidelines and principles still apply to us today, and that we will soon be going to the streets, the malls, and many other public places preaching the gospel and having God demonstrate His power to heal and deliver so that people will believe and be saved. No matter how many people you have prayed for before where nothing happened, now you will lay hands on people and God will in fact heal and deliver them. God just needed to build a more stable, humble, and holy life in you first, so that He could flow through you without you falling or failing because of sin or pride. No matter how good your gifting is, God will only grant His power to people where Christ's character lives through them so that His power and message is not discredited by bad character or sin. Always remember, that as many people as you can help, will also be as many people as you can hurt. Here are the above guidelines in a nutshell;

1. Pray for everyone that God places in your path. With God's power comes great responsibility, so you are on His schedule and you must be willing to go and to do whatever He tells you to no matter how inconvenient it may seem, or how tired you may feel. Don't be choosy about who you will or won't pray for, if God sais to pray for them, then just pray for them.

2. Don't charge them money for what God does. There will be times that God will allow you to receive from others to help meet your needs, to meet the needs of others, or to do something that God wants to do, but you must not charge people for what God gives them through you. If they want to give an offering and God sais that it's ok to receive it, then that's fine, but otherwise just turn it down and tell them to thank God for what God did for them. Freely you have received, so freely give.

3. Don't take along a bunch of extra supplies and money when you travel for extra security. God will provide what you need as you just go forward and do the work, so just trust Him and do not let fear drive you to make back up provision for yourself. This may mean leaving your credit cards at home and just allowing the Lord to give you what you truly need while serving. God wants His ability, and goodness to receive the glory for all provision, not your Visa card.

4. If you travel, stay with people that God wants you to stay with where peace reigns in the home. If it is the right place then don't move around to other peoples homes. If God wants you to stay in a home then just stay there regardless of your preferences or how you feel about the people, and don't go to a hotel just because you think it would be more comfortable and easy. You never know what kind of ministry or hidden blessing awaits you in each home you stay in.

5. If the home or the town does not receive you, then just move on and leave them to themselves, God will deal with them later on. Try not to get all upset and rattled just because some people will reject you and refuse the ministry God wants to give to them through you. They are rejecting the Lord, not you (unless you are doing something inappropriate), so try not to take it personally or argue with them about it. Just ask the Lord what is next, and move on. You will have both good and bad reactions and experiences from different people while serving.

6. Be wise, careful, and discerning as you walk out what God wants to do, and stay clean from all sin and defilement. Be discerning and wise about what is really going on with people and in the spirit realm, but avoid being paranoid or overly suspicious over everything that happens. Stay away from practicing any secret sin while you are doing God's work especially. We must walk blameless because there will be even more "blamers" while you walking in God's power.

Now, when you begin to walk in power, you can expect opposition to come and try to intimidate and discourage you. They will challenge, oppose, refute, slander, criticize, and gossip about everything they can, and these modern day pharisees will attack you just like they attacked Jesus and the disciples when they walked in God's power. But do not be afraid, God will be with you and you must stand your ground and not give up. Spend time with God every day and do not allow yourself to get so busy with ministry that you neglect recharging yourself spiritually and physically, even Jesus knew when it was time to take a break.

MK 6: 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

People and spirits may try to flatter, attack, or bribe you when you are walking in God's power, but you must remember who you were without God's power and virtue flowing through you when you were being renovated during the Wilderness. Just agree with them that God is good and give all the glory to Jesus. God showed us who we were without His grace in the Wilderness so that we could walk in true humility once He moved through us in a greater way. This is all about helping them anyway, it's not about us. Trust God to deal with attackers when they attack. The disciples ran into these kinds of problems, and this is how they dealt with it.

AC 14:8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

AC 14:11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!"

AC 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.

AC 13:6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

AC 8:18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

AC 8:20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

These will be exciting, challenging, and very busy days ahead where we will see many new people come into the kingdom all at once. Prayer, worship, and reading and teaching the word will be our daily manna. Remember that new Christians still have alot of their flesh still intact, so it will take alot of patience and grace to walk with them. Share the load with others and don't try to be a spiritual Superman. Lead new believers to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that He can help them to grow and heal more effectively. He is the master Teacher and Counselor, teach them to hear His voice and to become more dependent upon Him. This harvest will be bigger than any other in history, and the opposition and warfare will be intense so we must draw upon God and each other for much needed strength and support. Get ready to be clothed with power and to go forward to conquer in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ.

AC 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.