Roger Aubrey

With the sons of God

Dianne and I got home yesterday afternoon following a really good week in Ottawa. We were with All Nations Church there, which is led by my good friend Steve Wilkins. The church is quite young but is already at about eighty members, most of whom came away for the weekend camp. It's also young in age, with the oldest until recently just about thirty five years old! The people were really pleased that a couple nearer sixty have started to come along (always room for the mature - if they're in faith).

We were asked to teach the church on our identity in Christ as sons of God. I was very blessed by the response from the church as we spent many sessions going through the Word, explaining what the Bible teaches about the miracle of the New Creation. We also put a lot of practical application to the teaching.

One of the most amazing things that happened came on the Sunday morning session when I was teaching on moving in faith as a son of God. I was talking about using the name of Jesus and our authority to do so. I was pointing around the room, using the name and demonstrating the authority in that name. At the end of the session a young lady came up to me. Apparently she had been suffering from an injured knee and was intending to ask Dianne and me to pray for her. She said that I pointed at her when I was saying the name of Jesus: 'in the name of Jesus, be healed'. At the very moment I said it she was completely healed! Just shows how the Holy Spirit will use us at any time. When we're in the anointing anything can happen.

Blessings in soaking wet Stafford

The floods are beginning to subside across the nation; the forecast for this week is lovely - praise God. The Bible Week at Stafford was a great success: over 1500 people braved the elements, fought their way through flooded roads (literally) and camped under wet skies (and stayed in hotels!) to enjoy the blessing of God. The atmosphere on site was tremendous: no grumbling about the weather, just enjoyment at being together as the family of God, worshipping Jesus and receiving terrific teaching each day.

On the Wednesday night the annual sowing and reaping report was given. The people of God over the past year have given over £800,000 to various projects that we are involved in - Cuba, India, South Africa, The Philippines, among others. The heap offering that night was £106,000! These people are the best in the world.

The ministry is available on DVD and CD. You can get it from the MWB administration. It's worth it.

Philippines Update

News from Noralv Askeland:

Celebration in Kadilawan!

The inauguration of the multi purpose house in Kadilawan was a great experience. This village was totally destroyed in a typhoon six months ago. We have seen a restoration take place both in their individual lives and for the whole community. We celebrated Gods goodness with the deputy head of all the schools in the whole region, and the barangay captain as our guests. First we gave thanks to the Lord and after we sang My Jesus is alive, alive for evermore, we shared the word of God from Psalm 40. After cutting the ribbon, we all marched into the building singing Great is thy faithfulness! Inside the children from the village had a special number and the public officers had greetings to the whole village! The barangay captain was in tears over what he witnessed in Kadilawan. In good Filipino tradition we conclude the celebration enjoying a good meal together. The whole village has worked very hard the last week to finish the project. It is wonderful to be among them to give glory to God for his marvelous help!

Shalom

Noralv

Class of 2007

Happy to report the graduation ceremony for the School of the Word Class of 2007 was a great success - phew!

It's always an emotional occasion for all involved; these men and women, many of whom were strangers to each other back in September have now become lifelong friends. To see them laugh, cry and take pride in each other is a joy to witness. I now have 23 more favourites!

The Wind blew, the Fire fell...

Just thought you'd like to know that our Pentecost celebration this past weekend was incredible. The people of God at All Nations were so hungry and thirsty in faith for a visitation from God - and that's what happened. I'm not going to give a blow by blow account of the weekend; there was so much going on! On Saturday night I spoke for a while on the importance of us having the same experience as the 120. All I can say is that after the word there was an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which went on for over 90 minutes.

Sunday morning was just as, if not more powerful than, Saturday. I can't say I really preached! As soon as I got up the Holy Spirit told me to pour a jug of water over myself as a sign of wanting to be filled with him. I did! That started over two hours of ministering from Acts 2 accompanied by demonstrations and signs of the Spirit. Andrew Caughey joined me several times to move in the Holy Spirit.

Sorry I can't go into more details; I could go on and on about this moment or that person. It was a case that you just had to be there. These were two of the most powerful times in the Holy Spirit I have experienced at home for a long time.

I've had some emails asking if there will be CD's of the meetings made available. To be honest I doubt it. These kinds of meetings don't lend themselves to that kind of thing. Sunday would be lots of sounds that would need the visuals to make sense of what was going on. I appreciate the hunger and desire for such CD's; but the Holy Spirit is the same where you are. He doesn't belong to us at All Nations.

News from Noralv

Latest news from Noralv in the Philippines. I think the photo of the young lady being baptised is terrific.

We are back in the Philippines. The last ten days a team from the Bible school in Bergen has been a great help to us in the work. First we went to visit the church in Puerto Princesain Palawan. 25 youth were together for three days and 17 of them gave their lives to the Lord. Randy and Tonette are doing a good work there together with June and Carol in the church there. We traveled to Mindoro to visit some of the Mangyan villages and to meet with the church in Camurong. We had a great meeting in the church there. The word of the Lord gave strength to the people, and several people got healed from their sicknesses. One man was blind on one eye and got his sight back. We continued to Aninuan for a youth camp with 50 young people (half of them being Mangyans). The bible school team did very well, and the Lord worked mightily among the youth. 20 gave their lives to the Lord for the first time, 39 were baptized in water and Spirit and the remaining 11 was strengthened in their walk with the Lord. Glory to God. Thanks for your prayers!

Back Home

Dianne and I arrived home in the early hours of Monday morning, after our weekend visit to Skien in Norway. I'm happy to report that the trip was most worthwhile for us and for the church. It was a privilege to be asked to go and spend time with the folks there; they had prayed that if it was the will of God for us to be able to go then he would make it possible.

The church in Skien is really hungry to move on in the anointing of the Holy Spirit and to know an increasing sense of the Presence and life of God. That's a wonderful desire; and that is what we concentrated on during the visit. On Friday night we got off the plane and went pretty much straight into our first meeting - with the Youth. We shared on fulfilling the destiny God has for each one of us; then we prayed for any who desired it. The Holy Spirit came upon many of the young people quite powerfully. Then we prayed for the sick; all who were ill were healed.

Saturday was spent with the leaders. In the morning we met with the core leadership and had a really profitable time together talking about some of the dynamics involved in leading and facilitating Holy Spirit gatherings. In the evening we were joined by some of the leading people and shared more on the lifestyle that we live in the Holy Spirit. At the end we waited on the Lord together and there was a very heavy sense of God's Spirit among us.

On Sunday the brothers kindly gave me the whole meeting in which to teach the Word to the church; I am really grateful for that. I spoke about the life of confession, and the people began to move in it during the meeting. There was a real buzz of life as the saints put into practice what they had been taught - speaking life to each other and to themselves.

All in all it was a blessed time. Dianne and I hope to return later in the year to carry on helping these great people of God build.

Back Home

Well, I'm pleased to report that Dianne and I are back home after a fruitful visit to Ottawa, Canda and Grand Rapids, Michigan. We flew in on Tuesday afternoon and our bodies are now back on UK time. The added bonus is that the clocks went forward while we were away and now we have those longer evenings. God is good!

Out first port of call was with the believers at All Nations Church in Ottawa under the leadership of Steve Wilkins. The church is fairly young in existence and in age: the oldest person is only about 40. We joined them at a long weekend camp out in the middle of nowhere, just outside the back of beyond in the middle of a snowstorm! The temperature was about minus 15 degrees C plus a windchill, but the cabins were warm. The theme of our visit was the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. It was a great time in the presence of God as we taught on various aspects of who the Holy Spirit is and how he lives his life in us. People moved out in new gifts of the Spirit and worshipped in dynamic ways. It was so encouraging to see a largely young church so exuberant in their faith and their praise. We also witnessed people being baptised in the Spirit and getting healed of various diseases. One lady who had had knee surgery and whose leg was all locked up in pain was released. Greetings to all of you in Ottawa!

From their Dianne and I moved on to Grand Rapids to visit New Life Church. We stayed with our dear friends Andrew & Angela Hughes, along with their wonderful kids Keane, Jordan and Kezia. We always feel right at home as soon as we arrive. We had a day off on our arrival; then the next night Dianne spoke at the Ladies' Meeting on Enjoying Life - she enjoyed it! I managed to squeeze in a visit to two of my favourite stores: Barnes & Noble and Baker Book House (heaven).

Our main purpose in GR was to speak at their annual conference; this year's subject was Identity: Who we are in Christ. About 150 delegates were registered - the highest yet. I had felt quite a stirring for some weeks about the nature of the ministry, that the Holy Spirit would manifest himself powerfully through the reading and teaching of the Word. It was the most relaxed I'd felt in speaking for some time; and sure enough, that's what happened. I taught on God's plan for humanity; what it means to be out of Adam and in Christ; being justified and glorified; sonship; and the renewed mind. Dianne also did a session on what it means for her to be a son of God. The feedback was very positive as we sensed the people grasping who they are in Christ and growing to maturity. On Sunday I spoke in the church on What Attracts the Presence of God. I guess you can get hold of the CD's of the conference by contacting the church at office at New Life.

Thanks to all the folks in Ottawa and GR for receiving us so well and looking after us. Thanks for responding to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. And thanks Lord for the anointing.

Viva Cuba!

Back from a great trip to Cuba with Tony Ling. It was a real privilege to be able to go there and be involved with the people of God in that beautiful country.

The main reason for our visit was to speak at the annual pastors' conference of the Methodist Church of Cuba. Ever since Keri Jones met the bishop, Ricardo Pereira, a couple of years ago while out there, we have been visiting these churches. Several teams have gone out to work with the churches, and Bishop Ricardo spoke at our leaders' conference here in the UK last September. This was the first time he had called all his pastors and evangelists together like this for us to teach them. There were over 300 in attendance at their Camp near Santa Clara (where Che Guevara is buried).

The theme of the conference was the Kingdom of God. Tony and I shared the ministry, with Tony painting the big pictures of the kingdom, as only he can, and me filling in the practical applications. Each day was packed with sessions, and the delegates were all hungry for the teaching. Their dedication and commitment to God is humbling to encounter: one man from the extreme east of the island travelled for two days to get to the meeting point, where he got on a truck along with other pastors for the eighteen hour drive to the Camp. He was so determined to encounter the Lord, and gave testimony at the end that it had been one of the most important weeks of his life.

The highlight of the conference came on the last day. We were teaching about the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom and the importance of worship in the Spirit. In the morning session, as I began to sing in tongues, the presence of God began to manifest and everyone began to join in. Wave after wave of singing in the Spirit followed, something they were not used to. The sense of the presence was tangible. In the evening meeting it was even stronger as it happened again. This time Tony prophesied into it about a dam breaking through a wall, gushing out the water of the Spirit on Cuba. We sang again and again as God broke out all over the meeting place. Then the place erupted in praise and dancing that went on for an hour!

Next day, Ricardo instructed all the pastors that they must sing in the Spirit at their next Sunday meeting. At Ricardo's own church in Havana nine people were saved in the first meeting when the Spirit broke out. And pastor Lazarou, who leads the church next door to where we stayed, had over 900 in his first meeting; many people could not even get in, so worshipped on the steps of the building. He told me afterwards that as they began to sing in tongues, God broke out again and people began to fall to the ground under the power of the Spirit. Salvation accompanied this.

Right now there are 800,000 believers in Cuba out of a population of 11 million and the churches are growing at a rate of ten per cent a year. God is clearly on the move in that nation. Pray for the people of God in Cuba as they enter a crucial stage in their history. Their President is dying and that brings a great sense of uncertainty, hopes and fears to the nation. But God is preparing his church; he is in control. The Lord reigns!

Life at Living Rock

Back home safe after a very good weekend with the people of God at Living Rock Church. In each meeting (four in total) we experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit. Friday night we had the youth group and had a great evening showing them how to hear from the Spirit. They were courageous and grew in faith throughout the time together. Saturday morning was with the various leaders; Dianne and I shared on aspects of faith and confession. Tremendous response here. Saturday night we went over to the group based in Coventry; in the living room of the house we met in the glory of the Lord manifested. Finally, on Sunday morning, I spoke on the Holy Spirit as the river of God. Even before I had finished speaking the Holy Spirit began to flow across the auditorium. It was a privilege to witness him moving in the lives of these wonderful people, anointing and filling them for all that he has in store for them.

Thanks to all the folks at Living Rock for having us - to David and Debra Lyon, Steve and Chris Peak, Matthew and Ruth Ling. Special thanks to Julian and Kate Boden for generous hospitality. If you live in the Midlands and want to get with a people who love the Spirit - get along to Living Rock.