Yorba Linda Vineyard

The huge jumbo jet droned through the clouds as John Wimber glanced across the aisle. His eyes fastened on the man opposite him and he was riveted. For across the mans face was written the word, “Adulterer.” And underneath it was a woman’s name. ‘I just stared’, said John.
As he did so the man realized he was the centre of attraction, leaned across to John and asked, “Can I help you?” 
Wimber commented: ‘What does the name…mean to you?’ The man gasped, blanched and muttered, ‘We better talk.’
They made their way to the small lounge upstairs. ‘How did you know about that woman?’ the man asked.
‘God told me,’ Wimber replied honestly, explaining the revelation. The man confessed that he had been a Christian in his youth, slipped away and was now having an affair with the named woman.
‘But the lady next to me on this plane is my wife; he pointed out. 
Conviction burned so deep he openly confessed his renewed need of Christ in the lounge and then returned to confess to his wife and tearfully led her to the Lord Jesus Christ.
‘I believe the church needs to recapture supernatural endowment,’ Wimber said on a recent visit to London. ‘When you reveal secrets like that it gives you leverage and power. For years I held the view that divine healing was mere charlatanism.
I was totally disillusioned by the behavior of some people and exploitation. But now I see divine healing and signs and wonders as one of the ways God uses to bring men and women’s to himself. I remember when I myself was converted. It was in a small group setting- where miracles were the norm. ‘If my fridge went wrong I prayed for it, and it worked. When I ran out of money, I prayed and money arrived,’ he said. 
Then I decided to go to church.
The first time I went I expected them to pray, use a map of the city and divi up the turf before sending us all our into the sectors in small groups, to speak to people , cast out demons and heal the sick.
‘But we didn’t. We sang about it…talked about it. prayed about it. But we didn’t do it.
‘I couldn’t understand it. When I worked for the devil he let me do things, but Christians didn’t seem to want to know.’ Some older Christians would say to me, ‘you need some sound doctrine.” I remember that I had the doctrine, but then the miracles stopped.
Somehow the church today says it’s enough to believe someone did it. It caused me to be disillusioned.
When the Vineyard began we had a great group of people realizing the importance of fellowship-knitted together in a caring, worshipping group. A unity began to emerge and then in the middle of 1979 miracles began to happen. After months of utter frustration I was so depressed. We prayed for people again and again and no one was healed- they didn’t even improve. ‘Depression grew in my soul and I cried out to God.’ Then the phone hang and I found myself talking to a young man whose wife was seriously ill. This man was starting a new job the next day and had to turn up for work.
So I went to the house and prayed for healing. Then I went into the other room and told the man not to expect too much…. people aren’t always healed. But she was.
While we were talking she got up, got cleaned up, made the bed up.. I was so excited! I have never looked back. But it took some doing. For a period of time it frightened me. I had all the familiar timidity of anyone attempting anything like that. Looking for signs.
I was afraid that I might hurt someone; arouse expectations that could not be met. I was worried about the tensions and difficulties, which could arise in the fellowship. I was afraid of humiliating another person. Now it’s different for me, it just took some time.
I get a bit embarrassed at times when teenagers wont look me in the eye fearful I may know their sins. But I’d never embarrass anyone. If anything like that was revealed to me I would take that person aside and talk personally and quietly.
But I am also keenly aware that there should be some sort of tension in the church. Like mentioned in Acts 5:13 where it indicates that because of the miraculous people were afraid to join the church. Nowadays the world walks into church with all its bravado knowing it will not be challenged. The church should be a dangerous place to be. Instead it blunders along with impotent ignorance. It needs however a number of factors.
Leaders need to establish a credible witness---members have to believe the leader believes in it. Trust needs to be established.
Miracles and signs are a bridge to cross between the known and the unknown and the leader has to be trusted if anyone is going to be willing to accept an invitation to cross the bridge. I don’t know all the answers. I don’t know why everyone isn’t healed. I don’t know. All I do know is that if you pray for the sick some do get healed. If you don’t pray for the sick no one ever gets healed…
We have to live with the tension of failure. And if there are to be failures- there’s sure to be some successes. And the success far outweighs the failures.
The world is waiting for people to do the things that Jesus did. It’s a matter of turf being won or lost. We have been called to win ground and exert influence over every part of Satan’s kingdom. And we have the potential to do it.
I recall one night when a woman came to me one sobbing because the doctors had given her daughter only hours to live. I called out ‘no!’ Then rationality set in and my mind took over. I began to have second thoughts. Should I have raised her hopes?
But I went to the hospital, prayed for the girl and she was healed, returning home shortly afterwards. Its just time we get off the treadmill of discussing and debating the Bible and start doing it. I often ask the question at meetings… “Did you get what you signed up for when you became a Christian?”
Reluctantly many answer no. But I remember I didn’t feel like I did either. But now I feel differently. I get to see the Bible in action.

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