Welcome to the Victory Blog

It all started January 29th, 2011. My wife had just ended a smoothie and liquid fast, and was easing her way back to food. She started off by eating soup and chips. After that had settled, a few hours later we shared an ice cream. Around 1am the next morning, my wife woke up with pain on the right side of her rib cage that radiated to her upper back. The pain was constant and was not going away.

It wasn’t until 10pm that night that we decided to head to the emergency room to find out what was going on. We told the doctor we had just ended a fast and told her what my wife ate. The ER did an ultrasound and blood tests. The doctor said everything looked normal and the only thing she could think was that my wife’s gall bladder had a bad reaction to food after the fast. On Monday morning, she gave my wife pain medication and sent us home and said the pain should go away.

While at the emergency room, I applied for emergency Medicaid. I didn’t get too far with that because the nurse said we made more than $500 a month and we didn’t qualify.

By Wednesday, my wife was still in a lot of pain, sleeping very little, tossing and turning. We were trusting God for His healing, seeking Him first. Having to see my wife in so much pain, I was crying out to God for His guidance and healing. I felt the Lord was saying, “He works through the hands of men and He is in control!” When my wife called the emergency room because her pain not going away, the nurse said “You have gallstones and you need to call the surgeon for further assistance.” We were kind of shocked because they didn’t say anything about gallstones when we were in the ER.

Now that changed everything, we were now facing the possibility of surgery and huge hospital bills, with no insurance. I really didn’t want to damage my wife’s faith by suggesting surgery, but still felt the Lord say “I gifted the hands of men to heal.” So by Friday my wife had been in horrible pain for almost a week. She was worried about going into more debt with hospital bills. I told her, “Babe, none of this matters: the business, the house, the cars…it could all go, without you none of it matters! Have you heard the joke where a town was flooded and a man was stuck on his roof, a boat came by, a helicopter came by, and he refused their help because he was waiting for God to save him, well he died and then faced the Lord and asked why didn’t you save me? The Lord said I sent you a boat, a helicopter, what more did you want?” So then I said, “God has given us doctors to use, the bills don’t matter, only you matter.”

I was able to get her into the specialist that day at 1pm. The doctor said, “I’m sorry, but you need to have your gall bladder removed!” He determined this just by looking at the ultrasound from the ER and the state of pain my wife was in. We told him we did not have any insurance to cover the surgery. He then told us, “I do charity work on the side and my normal fee for this surgery is $4,500 but I’ll do the surgery for $500”. We were amazed!!! Why did he just offer that to us??? He then said he could do the surgery the coming Monday. The doctor told us that the hospital bill would be what we needed to worry about because he has to use their equipment and their costs are high.

The doctor’s assistant really did what she could in helping us get some financial assistance at the hospital. The person at the hospital told me that they could probably help with 50-75% of the bill, if we qualified. At that moment the calmness of the Lord came upon me and He said 100% covered! When I heard the Lord say that, I no longer heard what the lady was saying about the finances, God spoke and His word stands!

My wife went through the surgery and returned home after two days of recovery in the hospital. The doctor wanted to make sure she recovered well after her struggle with the pain for a whole week. I had to fill out some paper work for the assistance procedure and sent them everything they asked for. The bills started coming in one after another totaling over $20,000. I continued to say 100% covered in Jesus name! All of the paper work for the financial assistance I had sent the hospital came back to us a week later with no answer on it. We were unclear why it was sent back, they had highlighted a couple areas and wrote ‘Not self employed’.

On the way to see the surgeon for my wife’s checkup we stopped by the hospital to speak to the financial assistance department to ask why they had sent the paper work back to us. We were in their office less than five minutes, and she said everything looked fine to her and that she would take care of it. The whole time I felt calm and peaceful. We left her office and left it in God’s hands. A week later my son and I checked the mail, I saw the envelope with the hospital address. When I opened it all I saw on the entire letter was 100% covered! I looked up to the sky and shouted “HALLELUJAH! Thank you Lord!” When I got to the house and showed my wife the letter, she started crying and thanking the Lord. God not only healed her through the doctor’s hands, but He also took care of all the hospital bills. Glory, Honor, and Praise to the King of Kings!

What does God’s will for your life really look like?  We are a product of His endless grace and mercy, and we bless others as a result, but there’s more lying dormant in most Christians.

The Bible says those who believe in Him will do the works Jesus did on the earth…and more (see John 14:12-14). That’s His will for your life and mine, right there. But how many of us can honestly say we’re living that way at all? How in the world do we do what Jesus did—the healings, the casting out of demons, the miracles?

It’s the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to do the works Jesus did. We are vessels, and the Holy Spirit operates through us to demonstrate the power of God. But in order to demonstrate the power of God, we must cooperate with His power.

Understanding the anointing and learning to yield to it are two ways we fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit. I know “anointing” is another one of those words that freaks people out, but it’s biblical. Exactly what is the anointing?  I explain more in the message from this past weekend. Click here to watch.

May 1^st the parking lot near the cross had been transformed into a baptismal arena.  Five large pools blanketed the asphalt below the platform stage constructed for this life changing event.  Changing tents outlined the sidewalks leading to the cross, accompanied by large barrels of water on this hot pre-summer day.  If you were unaware, one would have thought there was a pool party or concert about to transpire.

Hundreds pre-registered to fulfill their proclamation to Christ.  There were many who decided at the spur of the moment as they were led by the Spirit.  The registration tent abounded with adults and children of all ages; lines went out and around the dry changing tents and continued to arise.   Several times the lines extended the length of the parking lot between the registration tent and the swimming pools.   Tee shirts and towels were available for anyone who needed one.

Pastor Dennis opened up with a brief prayer as the Victory band played softly.  The men of the church really came out in great numbers to assist in this massive baptism as lines formed on each side, one waiting to and the other registering to be baptized.  The lines were continuously growing, one for the younger children and one for the adults.  Both lines went as far back as the changing tents and throughout the lines you heard everyone explaining what led them to be baptized today.   This baptism was simply amazing to witness.

The VicKids teachers were on hand to baptize the children which made them feel comfortable because they approached their pools with boldness. Everyone enteredtheawaiting waters with a look of certainty covering their faces.   One after the other emerged wiping water from their smiling faces as the crowd cheered.  Shouts of joy were heard as families were baptized together.   It was moving to witness mothers and sons and mothers and daughters being baptized together.  As the men assisted an elderly women and a young lady with crutches so they too could be baptized, the crowd clapped and cheered with great joy.  No one was exempt; accommodations were made for anyone who desired to be baptized.

After being baptized, many were embraced and congratulated by those present to witness this awesome event.Those who desired to change or dry off did so in the wetchanging tents; which was set up like a huge dressing room. Victory wet towels went into one bin as bags were distributed to each individual for their wet clothes.  Upon exiting the tents, volunteers handed out literature and briefly talked to those desiring to know what the next steps were going forward.

This massive baptismal was magnificent and an emotional testimony for all who participated.

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Hey, what’s God done in YOUR life as a part of Victory World Church? Please tell us about it. There are so many others who need to be encouraged in their faith by your story. Please, click this link to Share Your Story today!

The subject of tongues makes many Christians uncomfortable. I’ve heard it described as freaky, weird and spooky. It’s often controversial to those who want to stay “safe” in their relationship with God.

I came to a point in my spiritual walk where I wanted more of God’s power in my life. I knew I had to push past safe and put aside religion to go deeper in my relationship with Him. I believe many Christians are hungry for the same.

One way to experience the full power of God is by praying in tongues or praying in the Spirit. It is speaking words that natural wisdom cannot give us. God promised to give us a Helper—the Holy Spirit—to empower us to do things of God. It is the Holy Spirit who fills us and empowers us to speak in tongues and pray the perfect prayer to God.

Praying in the Spirit is scriptural. It’s a gift that builds us up and connects us to the mind of Christ in ways we could never imagine, and it’s a gift that is available to all.

But it’s a choice. Every one of us has the choice to speak in tongues or not.

If you want a greater understanding of tongues, how to receive the gift and the benefits of praying in tongues, I encourage you to click here to hear my teaching in its entirety.

As Christians, our goal is to live life from God’s perspective, to live righteously. It’s possible, but not without the Holy Spirit.

How does the concept of Pentecost fit into all of this?

The very power and presence of God is His Holy Spirit, and that power experienced by the people on the Day of Pentecost in the early church (see Acts 2) is the same power available to you and I in our daily lives today.

I wanted to answer just a few questions about this significant event:

What is Pentecost? From a Jewish perspective, Pentecost was one of three major feasts celebrated by Israel.

What happened on Pentecost? The Holy Spirit descended upon the people (Acts 2:5-11), and nations came together. The first church was established as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

Can I experience Pentecost? All people can experience Pentecost; the Holy Spirit is available to all. Many Christians don’t realize that it’s the power of the Holy Spirit that enables you to live the life of a Christian.

Click here for my in-depth answers to these questions if you want to know more about Pentecost, the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and how it directly involves our lives as Christians.

I think many believers and unbelievers are familiar with the term “Holy Spirit,” but I’m not so sure there’s a clear-cut understanding of the full power that’s available to us because of the Holy Spirit. I want us to be sure of exactly who the Holy Spirit is, and better yet, what the Holy Spirit is not.

We launched into the new Powerline series this past weekend on connecting with the Holy Spirit. Here’s where we started:
The Holy Spirit is our Helper (John 14:16-17; John 14: 25-26; John 15:26), and He’s here to convict or convince us of three things:  sin, righteousness and judgment.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of Sin (John 16:9): At some point in our lives, we become convicted that our sin is not right, and we become convinced to seek Jesus. That convincing comes from the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness (v. 10): The Holy Spirit is the One who convinces us that we are righteous because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We should be quick to receive the conviction or convincing of righteousness just as we are quick to receive the conviction of sin. If struggling here, make it a daily prayer to ask the Holy Spirit to convince you of your righteous status.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of judgment (v. 11): It is the Holy Spirit who convinces us that Satan, the ruler of this world, has already been judged and has been defeated by the Blood of Jesus.

There’s comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is supernatural or powerful, but the discomfort for many is because the Holy Spirit has long been associated with what is strange and unusual or weird. I learned to identify the power of the Holy Spirit by these four benefits:  power, love, fruit and gifts.

If you want more of God in your life, then the Holy Spirit—He, not “it”—is your direct Powerline. The Holy Spirit is God.

I’ll cover a lot more ground over the next several weeks. Click here to get the full message of this first teaching in the Powerline series.