August 2009 Newsletter
Hello friends and family,
I just came out of a time of prayer, and God illuminated a passage in my heart that I felt he wanted me to share with you. Mark 5:36: Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid: only believe.” A word had just been spoken that his daughter was dead. Jesus knew the power of our agreements with positive or negative words. Jesus did not want him to agree with the death sentence of his daughter for one moment. He exhorted him to only believe and not fear.
Agree with what God says you can have, and walk in His promises over you today. Don’t give the Devil any agreement. Apply what God says over your life and not what the enemy would have you to believe.
God wants everyone saved, but not everyone is. Why? Because not everyone has come into agreement with His plan. The Devil wants to destroy everyone, but not everyone is destroyed. Why? Because there is a remnant that does not agree with the Devil. Whatever the situation may be: lost loved one, sickness, or even death. We fix our eyes not on what is seen, for what is seen is temporary, and what is unseen is eternal.
Several weeks ago, I experienced an historic moment in ministry. I found myself ministering in the same church that the great Evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth had once preached and raised a man from the dead. It was an explosive time of preaching the Word and experiencing ministry! We absolutely knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was in the room. Scores were saved and delivered.
A good friend of mine was there that night: Sam Star. Sam was instrumental in founding the worldwide Christian television network, T.B.N., and has lived in the area almost his entire life. He told me it had been years since he had seen God move in repentance, salvation, and tears like he saw during the time of ministry while I was there. I was just invited to return to the area a few days ago to mobilize the region and do a massive outreach. I am so thankful for all of my partners because it is your partnership, and by God’s grace that I am enabled to do this ministry and reap a great harvest for His Kingdom.
Revival will bring a greater urgency in prayer, but know this, revival will never come until their is urgency in prayer!
Upon returning home from California I spoke on the phone with Pastor Elmer Rodriguez. He pastors the church I ministered at during my time in Oakland, CA. I also spoke with Sam Star who brought me the same report as Pastor Elmer. A man that I prayed for in the service while in Oakland was almost totally blind. He had to be led around by someone else due to his lack of vision. God completely healed him, they both reported. I was told he no longer needs assistance and now has 20/20 vision. God is a miracle worker! For all who are sowing into this ministry and praying for us, put this testimony on your night stand because you are a wonderful part of this miracle!
This month has not only been a highlight for me, but also about my wife, Trisha. She was asked to speak at the women’s meeting at our home church, where Steve Hill pastors. She was able to minister to the young ladies that if they want to attract a Godly man, they need to dress and be Godly women. She addressed what women face with insecurities and their temptations to dress in seductive ways in order to get male attention. She unveiled the truths that Christian women should not cause their Christian brothers to stumble. And that older women need to be an example to the young women in their lives.
Many wonderful things occurred this month. Here is a direct quote from Amy Tharp, who wrote me this past week to testify of her healing: “I have been taking medication for asthma for over 5 years. When I took a good, deep breath, I would cough. Before I went to sing, I would have to use the inhaler and after singing would cough repeatedly. Different things in the air (perfumes, dust, pollens, etc...) would set off allergies which would trigger an asthma attack. I was having to take what the doctor called a "maintenance inhaler" twice a day. I would have to use a nebulizer when the maintenance inhalers, and regular inhalers did not work. I would have to check my blood oxygen level with a pulse oximeter to keep from overusing the nebulizer. God touched me on Saturday night, August 29th, 2009. Since then, I have not used any of the inhalers or nebulizers. I am breathing better than I have in 5 years. I can take a very deep breath and not have a coughing fit. I can sing without coughing or having to use an inhaler before singing. Hallelujah! I give God all the praise and glory. I have been thanking God for my healing every day. PRAISE GOD!
Fruit that Remains
While in Gans, OK this past month, we had a tremendous time of ministry and outreach. I was with a good friend of mine, Pastor Harold McKeehan. The meetings were powerful and he felt that God used us to bring revival to the church.
One lasting event from the weekend was that we identified two evangelism directors to install in the church. This is something I am very passionate about. A weekend outreach is great, but will die if not maintained. Our goal is to identify and put an evangelism director in place in every church we mobilize to continue touching the community on an ongoing basis. We help them build an evangelism team within the church once the energy for evangelism in sparked from the weekend. I work with the new leaders and help them plan and strategize to reach their community. The team will go through the Acts 29 school of Evangelism I wrote to equip the believer to effectively share the Gospel. The goal is to meet weekly or biweekly to keep evangelism and unity strong and vibrant. The church had over 25 people for their first evangelism meeting after I left! I really believe this church is going to crush the devil and see a great harvest of souls. Partners, this is what you help make happen! You are a part of building up the church to see this nation changed!
America is in the sights of this ministry. We are endeavoring to mobilize this nation for a great awakening and see the greatest harvest of souls possible. Big dream, big God equals a big reality. We will not stop until America is shaken. We are all in this together. This is our nation and we will not settle for ordinary! God will shake this nation again and we have a real part to play!
I have the wonderful privilege of being on TBN this month. I will be on the world- wide Praise the Lord program preaching the gospel. This broadcast goes into around 200 nations around the world and has millions of viewers. You can watch on their website TBN.org under the Praise the Lord listing from Sept. 9th. Please check it out.
Thank you again for all of your prayer and support. Big God, big team equals big results. We will see great things as we work together. Thank you for teaming with me as we work side by side for a great reward. SOULS, SOULS, SOULS!
It takes team work to make the dream work,
Joe Oden