Published by Jerry & Sheryl York ~ March 30, 2008 ~ http://www.imentoru.com/

 

1. From the Administrator

Sheryl L. York

Dear TAFN Subscribers,

 

This quarter I had the pleasure of interviewing two of our dearest friends, Curtis & Renae Forbes. Jerry & I have known this precious couple for quite some time now, and we have truly been blessed to build a tremendous covenant relationship with them both. In fact we are still blown away by the similarities in our lives, callings, and even our families.

 

I am doing something a little different this time and you will notice this right away once you scroll down. Now that I am putting out The Apostles' Feet Newsletter only quarterly I hope to add more articles and give those that I interview even more room to share. One way that I am doing this is to start the interview on this page, but instead of running it all on one page I will place a link below the first question and response so that you can jump over to read the rest or so that you can flow into other articles of interest and take the time to come back to the interview as you would a magazine in your own home. I cannot tell you how this interview impacted me and I truly hope that you will read it through. You won't be sorry I assure you.

 

Because He Lives,

Sheryl L. York
 

 

Chosen@IMentorU.com 

 

 

Curtis & Renae Forbes

Proton Ministries
http://www.protonministries.com 

 

 

Sheryl ~ Please share with our readers a little about yourselves. I always like to start out an interview by asking if you will share from your conversion experiences to when you knew you were called by God. After sharing that you can bring us fast forward to where you are today.

 

Renae:

I grew up in Eastern Kentucky, in the coal mining country and lived a pretty sheltered life. I really can't remember a time specifically when I was born again, since I was raised in church from the time that I was about 2 years old. My grandfather was the pastor of a Pentecostal church and so I literally grew up in church. My mom was a minister at our church as well, so I was very involved with church. I began with playing the piano and guitar at around age 10, and then later teaching Sunday school classes. As I got older, I began to sense a calling of intercession on my life, and many times would be awakened at night by the Father to pray for those on their death bed.

 

I was married at 16 then divorced at 18 due to a very abusive marriage. I moved to North Carolina in 1989 after my parents moved to find better jobs. I met Curtis in late 89 and I knew that God had answered my prayers to bring a man into my life that I could serve in ministry with. We were married in 1990. We have 4 beautiful children, Faith age 16, Caleb age 13, Mekayla age12 and Alex age 7. Our children are all walking with God and are being developed in their own talents and giftings. God has truly blessed us in our marriage! We will be celebrating our 18th anniversary this May!

 

Since that time, I have been on a learning journey, having gained a foundation from the Word of Faith church we attended. For many years now, I have been learning more and more about how important the prophetic is in my life and learning how to make myself available to the Holy Spirit to work in and through me as He wills. I have also known for about 5 years now that I was called to minister to women who have been abused, and also called as a spiritual mother. God has slowly been moving me into more of a prophetic impartation anointing and I am looking so forward to where He is taking me now.

 

My years as a child and teen were not filled with awesome testimonies as far as what Curtis has shared, because of growing up in a pastor's family; I stayed out of trouble for the most part. But I know the keeping power of the Holy Spirit and have learned that even though you grow up doing the right things and going to church and doing "church work", that in itself is not the key to effective ministry. The key is to have a relationship with Abba Father and to allow all other aspects of ministry to flow out of that relationship, not trying to use those things to bring us to God or earn anything from Him.

 

 

Curtis:

My conversion experience was quite dramatic and extensive, from the age of 8, it seems like I spent a lot of time in church. My mom was a new Christian at that time and she was so hungry for the Lord, but by the time I was 12 years old I had smoked pot for the first time. By the time I was 13, I started using pot and pills on a regular basis .Even as a young teenager I had become increasingly violent. It seemed like I was always in a fight - in and out of school, I always got into a ton of trouble. By the time I was 18, I was involved with very heavy drug usage including marijuana, hashish, mushrooms, cocaine, ecstasy, crystal meth, LSD, and various pills (uppers and downers) even dealing drugs and growing small amounts of marijuana plants. Needless to say, I never even made it through my senior year high school. I ended up dropping out, twice!!!
 

I was always being watched by the police and had a well known reputation as a trouble maker. Also at the age of 18, I had been arrested a few times on minor possession charges but quickly found myself in very deep trouble with the law. I was actually looking at two years in prison when I had a violent clash with the police on a very cold December night in New England after a 10 day drug and alcohol binge.
 

I capped off this 10 day drug and alcohol binge, by drinking a half gallon bottle of whiskey straight and chasing it with beer (which was not uncommon for me at that time in my life), when I blacked out for about 8 hours and should have died from blood alcohol poisoning alone. On top of that I got into a brutal fight with three guys in my third story apartment that ended up three stories down and out into the street. When the police showed up, I turned my violent aggression toward them. They called for back-up three times and it ended up taking 7 police officers, 45 minutes to get me down and get me handcuffed. I was under the influence and absolutely out of my mind. I narrowly escaped death three times just in that one night.

 

The first, from the blood alcohol poisoning; second, from a deep laceration to the left temple from being knocked down onto a sharp, jagged, chunk of ice; (The Dr said that a fraction of an inch further in, or at more of an angle, would have killed me instantly) third, I was so intoxicated as well as under the influence of several drugs and so violent, the police had no choice but to use brutal force to subdue me. They had to beat me severely just to get me handcuffed and in the police car.

 

The doctors at the hospital said that they had never seen anyone with a blood alcohol content at that level that ever lived to tell about it. Only three other people came into that hospital with blood alcohol poisoning as bad as mine; one went into a coma and never recovered, another one went into a coma for a month, came out but had some major complications and died a month later. The other one went into a coma, came out and lived but remained in a vegetated state. They told me that it was nothing short of divine intervention that I was even alive period, say nothing about the multiple lacerations, concussions, and cracked ribs from the severe beating I took. I was a mess! It took a bunch of stitches to put my face back together and I had so many chemicals in my blood that they could not even give me so much as an aspirin!!! Yes, I was still conscious and I was very well aware of what was going on. I felt every single stitch, but I never said a single word! At this point I felt like I deserved every bit of it! The doctor also told me that although the beating could have killed me, ultimately it probably ended up saving my life . I had already been blacked out for about 8 hours, they said that I was well on my way to slipping into a coma from which I most likely would have never recovered, but ironically that beating is the very thing that brought me back to consciousness!

 

It took me several weeks to recover from that night but I still continued to drink heavily and use heavy drugs. I remember one night not even 5 months later, being very high on ecstasy and drinking heavily, a friend of my brothers convinced me to steal into the yard of a paper mill in the middle of the night and we then walked right through the entire mill in full operation without being caught then climbed up a 150 foot tall silo and drank a beer while checking out the view over the town, leaving the cans up there just to say that we did it. I have had so many more encounters that could have very easily taken me out of this world in an instant. I survived multiple drug overdoses that the Lord miraculously delivered me from, during which I actually had some very dark and evil spiritual encounters that would make the hair stand up on the back anyone's neck.

It is only by the grace of God that I have never been shot, I have literally stared straight down the barrel of a loaded .357 pistol that was stuck right in my face during a drunken street brawl. I have had two .45 caliber pistols stuck in my chest at the same time by the same person, and I had a .38 special pulled out on me during a fight with one of my best drinking buddies. I know, I know . with friends like that, who needs enemy's right? Consequently we were no longer friends after that night!

 

Growing up in school, I was a fairly big guy; I was 6`1 tall, and weighed 180 - 190lbs. I was a country farm boy and an avid weight lifter, bench pressing over 350lbs and could full parallel squat over 612lbs 10 times without stopping. We lived on a lake so my brother, two sisters and I would swim long distances with no spotters, just for the fun of it! For several years I ran 5 miles a day, even if it was 20 below zero! Eventually drugs, alcohol and violence completely overtook my entire life. Once I was out of school I hardly ever got into a fight one on one, it was always two or three guys against me or someone with a weapon.

 

I am saying all of this for a reason. In April 1989, I was 22 years old and I was finally at the very end of my rope from being so totally controlled by demons, literally almost losing my mind from all the drugs and the severe torment of so much iniquity! I knew that if something did not change and fast, I was a dead man for sure! This was completely beside the fact that at this time I actually had people looking for me to kill me and this was no game whatsoever . these people were crazy and this was for real! There was no doubt that certain death was closing in from every side!

 

I cried out to God one night and asked that if He was real, would He please get me out of this demonic torment or take me out of this world because I did not want to live in this condition any longer, I just could not take another day! A peace came over me that night and the very next day I got a phone call from a Christian uncle that I had worked with during the summer months painting in New England but he would also go south to the Carolinas to paint in the winter. He called me and offered to get me a ride to South Carolina and pay for everything. He even had a job for me and a place to stay! Within three days of that prayer I was on my way out of state, headed for the Carolinas . I knew the Lord was giving me the chance of a lifetime . to live free!
 

I arrived in the upstate of South Carolina around the second week in April, 1989. I came off all drugs supernaturally; it really was a total miracle! I still had not learned to sincerely turn my life over to the Lord, so I still continued to drink just to kill the severe pain in my soul. I really was not sure that I was really saved so I played church for a few months, but later that summer during a Wednesday night service on Aug 4 1989, the power of God fell and I had a real old fashioned encounter at the altar weeping like a baby! It was so real; it was like I had taken a breath for the very first time, ever! I knew that I was born again! A week or so later in my own prayer closet, I was filled with the holy spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I was so indescribably hungry for the Lord that I devoured the word of God, many times for most of the night up until 4 or 5 am and still working 8 - 10 hours a day in the South Carolina heat painting outside. I figured that if I could drink and party all night long with the devil, I could study, pray, and hang out with Jesus just as much and more! I was so hungry to know Him!!!

 

I started having very powerful dreams and visions almost immediately. There seemed to be a tremendous flood of healing, deliverance, and restoration spirit, soul, and body while developing quickly and learning how to operate in the prophetic.  It was actually very scary! I knew almost immediately that I was called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ with signs and wonders following and I witnessed several tremendous miracles even as a young Christian that showed me how much God loves to touch people.

 

I met my wife Renae soon after becoming born again and less than a year later we were married with a unusual manifestation of God's presence and a very powerful word of prophecy during our wedding, it was awesome! Within a year of being married we were "sent forth" into the ministry and a year later we were licensed as ministers. We also were set in place as youth pastors and I started preaching in the jails, on the streets, and everywhere else anyone would listen. It was like that famous old saying; I would preach at the drop of a hat . and I would drop the hat! I had the privilege of impacting thousands for Christ mostly the rogue outcasts praying with hundreds of them to receive Jesus Christ as Lord. There were so many awesome testimonies!

 

Like so many other people who are called into the prophetic and apostolic, we really struggled through so much opposition over the years, even within what we considered as our "home church" as well as the organization which that church belonged to. This church whom we deeply considered as family was responsible for so many really powerful developments in the very foundation of our belief systems that we still stand on to this day; but yet they themselves did not grow and develop corporately. This automatically caused them to become more and more controlled by religion and jezebel. It is easy to see that before long we became a target of much control, manipulation, intimidation, even fear tactics.

 

One day in April of 2004. the Lord spoke to me and told me flat out that he had had enough and would not allow His seed within us to be suppressed and held back any longer and He opened up an opportunity for us to move to Florida. When we presented this opportunity to our pastors at that time they became very angry with us and by their own choice; even their own words to us directly, we were actually cut off from them after 15 years of what we thought was a covenant relationship.

 

The Lord miraculously provided everything for us to move and we ended up exactly where we needed to be. It seemed like we immediately exploded in growth and began to develop exponentially under an apostle whom we grew to love very much. Nobody had ever ministered to our need like this church did; I will never forget their generosity! Soon this season began to develop its own level of stiff opposition and we had to learn to grow through all of that as well. We learned so much through adversity and we actually benefited greatly although the pressure at times was extremely intense.

I am sharing this because I know that there are so many other people out there who are going through something similar or will be faced with similar things. We cannot be angry with leaders who tend to hold this "new breed" generation back. They are simply trying to train the way they were trained. At the same time the older wine skin generation should not deal harshly with the new breed generation simply because they do not see and perceive according to the older paradigms of teaching.

 

If we will all be patient with each other, work with one another and remain open to the Lord; we will all benefit greatly! Not only did we encounter very strong opposition, but also persecution from friends, family, even by some of those who were leading us; simply because we did everything we knew in great effort to obey God. So many people tried to force us into their box and we just did not fit. They tried so hard to make us into something that we were not. We were not rebellious in any way; we tried very hard to do everything we knew to be cooperative and subordinate. We always considered relationship to be extremely important! Even still, we have been called false teachers, false prophets, false apostles, heretics, an occult - and my personal favorite - "a lying spirit in the mouth of a false prophet". what do I say to all of this? The very same thing I would say to anyone else in this situation . welcome to the ministry!

 

I really feel like it is important to mention these things because if you continue to walk in love toward your accusers and pursue God with all of your heart and just embrace His will for your life; whatever you are called to be, your mantle and giftings will absolutely blossom. The Lord spoke to me during a huge attack from some people who we love very much and He told me to stand before Him as a priest and repent on the behalf of my accusers. I did just exactly that, for over a year. I do not know if it changed them, but I know it changed me. It provided tremendous salvation to my own soul!

Although "Proton Ministries International" was spoken to me by the Lord in January of 2006 it was actually birthed in the middle of the summer of 2006 during some of the most intense pressure I have ever faced in my entire life!

 

Sheryl ~ Your Ministry is called Proton Ministries and your website is located at www.protonministries.com. Your site houses many wonderful pages including poems, links, and teachings. I know that everyone would be blessed if they stopped in. In 2007 I was blessed to use several of your (Curtis) teachings in our Dreams mentoring class called the Matrix (which you named), as well as send out countless prophetic words and poems that you both wrote thru Selah w/Sheryl & Friends. 2008 has much in store for us all and many changes have already come into play for us all. Can you please share with our readers the vision the Lord has given to you both even off line for your region?

 

Curtis:

The Lord spoke to us in Florida in the fall of `06 and said that we were going to be moving back to North Carolina, and again He miraculously provided everything we needed to do so. He also spoke to me and said that we were to join membership with MorningStar Ministries in Fort Mill, SC and we did that as well. We have been attending MorningStar for well over a year now and Renae and I both serve on the prophetic teams.

 

In June of 2007, I started having some very strong dreams and visions that were very strong indications that the Lord wanted Renae and I to become pastors . something that we have never done and really had no desire whatsoever to do at all. But we are very open to whatever the Lord would have us to do.

 

In October of 2007, I had several major experiences with the Lord. During one of those encounters he said to me "You are about to thrust in the sickle into this region and reap a tremendous harvest for me; and when you do many strongholds that have oppressed this region for a long time would be cut off". He then called out 4 specific towns; one to the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one west. When I measured the distance between them, it was a circle almost exactly 50 miles across! We are being given kingdom authority within this region to do battle with major strongholds of religion and jezebel. We are right in the middle of the Bible belt and these spirits have deep roots! The Lord showed me in another very strong encounter with Him that I was receiving an impartation of the Jezreel mantle (from 2 Kings chapters 9 & 10; Hosea 2:22 "Jezreel" means: God sows / scatters, as well as: strength, fruition . spiritual restoration) in direct relation to the accomplishments of King Jehu.

 

In Oct of 2007 the Lord also gave me a kingdom objective of planting house churches throughout this 50 mile circle that He said He was giving me. We are in the beginning process of starting a home church right in our own home. We will pastor a flock of sheep as well as pastoring a flock of pastors that will network together (without trying to create a "network" per` se) the main emphasis will remain on the small groups which will teach, develop, equip and reproduce. I also know that at some point we will have a large building were we all can meet and fellowship together on some sort of regular basis. In 2008, I am also going to really focus on writing more teaching articles than I ever have before and be more faithful to just pour out to others everything that the Lord has been pouring into me!

 

Sheryl ~  You make a wonderful statement on the home page of your website and I will quote you here...

"This is the season of unprecedented revelation knowledge which is the pure gold keys of the kingdom, forged on the anvil of love, in the fire of passion, by the velvet hammer of the Holy Spirit."

 

Please share with our readers what this means to you and to all of us today.

 

Curtis:

I actually started receiving revelation and discernment of this back in December of 2005. And then in the beginning of Jan 2007 I had an open vision and saw that exact picture while hearing the Lord speak this very statement to me. We are truly entering into the most phenomenal time in history where the mystery of God is no longer being held back. As a matter of fact, it seems like the Lord is releasing supernatural impartations of revelation knowledge as never before. We are in "the time of the end"

The foundation for this is found in Rev. 10: 1-7. There is an amazing similarity between Daniel 12:4 -9 and Revelation 10:1-7. The word "time" in Dan. 12:4 was the very element holding back revelation knowledge, but yet the mighty angel in Rev. 10, swore (to affirm, call a person or thing as witness, to promise, swear by an oath or to invoke) "that there should be time no longer". In other words . there shall be no more waiting or delay!

 

Also in Rev. 10:7 the mighty angel says that "the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." The word "finished" here is the Greek word teleo (G#5055: to bring to a close, to finish, to end; generally involving the notion of time, to perform the last act which completes a process, to accomplish, fulfill)

 

Think about this for a moment, the only way the mystery of God could possibly become "finished" is through the birthing of revelation! This does not mean that everyone can sit around all misty eyed, do absolutely nothing, and receive these deep cryptic revelations! At the same time; there is no possible way we are going to get all the knowledge and revelation that we so desperately need by reading books! The same mighty angel in Rev 10 that "roared as a lion roars" and then seven thunders utter their voices which John understood also told him to "eat the little book". We need to consume the "logos" word of God as well as the "rhema" word of God, It takes both!

 

A quick example; "theology" is mankind studying and searching for God and "theocracy" is a government in which God Himself is recognized as supreme ruler over all. He is the one imparting His divine inspiration and commissioning His servants to do His will. Both are very important! The Lord spoke this to me one day last year concerning theology and theocracy "one having more theology than theocracy, may be educated beyond their obedience ... one having more theocracy than theology, their zeal may exceed their wisdom". It seems like we have a ton of theology, the study of the logos but unfortunately we are extremely deprived of theocracy, the government of God which He extends to those of us who are willing to yield to Him and receive His rhema.

 

Right now the Lord is so graciously presenting to us a truly revolutionary, unprecedented time of revelation knowledge (rhema) which is the gold keys that will open the kingdoms of this earth (the heavens have already been open for 2000 years . we need an open earth!) amen! Gold speaks of the government of the kingdom. (The New Jerusalem being entirely made of gold, even the furniture of the tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness that was made of wood, was overlaid with gold speaking of the humanity of Christ being overlaid with the government of God). Although the anvil is a very hard place to be, it is a place where metals are formed for use and function. A synonym for the word anvil is "thunderhead". Ancient Hebrews held the belief that thunder was the perfect, sevenfold voice of God. There are actually many parallels to thunder and the voice of God in His word which by all means should bring form to revelation knowledge for use and function.

 

The fire of passion is the word of God and it is also the hunger and thirst for righteousness that must outweigh every other hunger and thirst in the world. That fire not only purifies, it also causes gold to be pliable, workable, moldable . no ulterior motives or hidden agendas! The hammer of the Holy Spirit is his word, Jer. 23:29 "is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?"

 

Sheryl ~ I couldn't possibly forget to ask you both about Spiritual Parenting. Spiritual Parenting is something that is near and dear to all of our hearts and in fact we have discussed this many times even recently. Please share with our readers' one of the most difficult and trying things that you two have experienced as a Mom & Dad in the Spirit, and at the same time give us a glimpse of what it takes to walk through the trials so that you and the Spiritual children come out in victory?

 

What did you learn from it?

Are you still pressing through and parenting those the Lord sends in your direction today?

 

And finally to prove what Jerry & I both already know about the two of you which is that you and Renae truly walk in a 'Prodigal Father' anointing I would really love it if you would share your hearts even now towards those who have hurt you and walked away. You just never know when someone whose life you have touched previously may very well be reading this and of course our ministry is about restoration.

 

Curtis:

To be totally honest with you spiritual parenting is something I have really struggled to grow into and I am still striving to grow into. In over 18 years of growing and developing in my relationship with the Lord, I have not had a spiritual father until just in the last year and a half. What I came to realize is that THE Father wanted to be my Father and show me His heart as a true loving Father. In my personal situation, this was probably the only way I could really learn to be a true spiritual father and be able to not only raise up spiritual sons and daughters but most importantly; raise up my own biological sons and daughters who hopefully will develop/ mature in the Lord and impact the nations.

 

I came to learn so much from the way the Lord ministered to me personally in this area of my life. Since then, I not only continue to learn from Him as a son, but I also try to communicate the same principals and concepts to others the way the Lord has communicated these things to me. It is always a flow of love, compassion and mercy. Even when I blow it! So in times of trouble I have learned to run to Him and receive correction and instruction from Him not run away from Him. It is never about punishment or payback it is all about Him getting our eyes off sin and failure and back onto Him as much as possible and as soon as possible. Whatever you focus on the most, you will bind yourself to it.

 

There is so much talk about reproduction as a spiritual parent. We definitely need to reproduce, but it is WHAT we reproduce; not HOW MANY we reproduce. The last thing on the face of this earth that I ever want to do is reproduce myself!!! What I really want to do is reproduce the Fathers heart through the encounters that I have had with Him. To reproduce what was revealed to me and imparted into me during those encounters as well as reproduce the impact that all of this has had on my life.

Personally, I feel that the most difficult thing as a spiritual parent is to keep those who the Lord has given to you in proper prospective of themselves. To speak into their life with such a balance that they are able to overcome all the lies and misconceptions that the enemy has told them about themselves and seeing them able to be free in Christ but yet keeping them from being overzealous and overstepping their boundaries and getting into a place where their character did not take them, and the grace of God cannot keep them.

 

A few times now we have had spiritual children that can see certain parts of their destiny (usually some really good parts) and want to run toward that destiny without proper instruction about all the other not so good stuff. They wanted us to keep telling them all the good things about them but did not want to receive any correction. They had very counterproductive "ideals" and would not see that most things are a process. When we tried to walk them through this development and progression, they became very impatient and began to be very rebellious . to them at the time, we were the enemy!

 

One in particular ended up walking away from our relationship attacking us in a very destructive and malicious spirit, knowing just enough to get themselves in a heap of trouble but not having enough character to keep themselves out of trouble. They became "went ones" instead of letting us properly equip them to be "sent ones". You have to let them go, and that seems to be a very difficult thing! They want you to speak into their "self esteem" when the Lord wants you to speak into their "self worth". You can spend all day long speaking into a person's self esteem (which is only building upon the soul) only to have all of that effort totally smashed by something as simple as one rude comment by someone else, or even by them not liking what they see in the mirror!

 

When you speak into a person's self worth you are speaking into their spiritual destiny which is building a sure foundation under them that is much less apt to be circumvented by the soul (mind will and emotions). It says in Luke 21:19 "In your patience possess ye your souls". If Jesus said we are to possess our souls in our patience, then the opposite is just as true; we will lose possession of our souls in our impatience! My apostle, Bret Wade, has an awesome saying that the Lord communicated to him "The kingdom of God moves at the pace of patience." At this point I feel compelled to give reference to 3 John 2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers".

 

   Many times a person's pursuit of self esteem and a leaders desire to build and establish self worth will collide. Therefore feelings can, and many times do, get hurt and people get offended at leadership. But that is the chance we as parents have to take. This brings a different perspective to 1 John2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us". I have learned the hard way that even though we are very much about restoration, and we desire that 100% but if a person will not allow us to speak into their self worth first and foremost it is like a doctor trying to chase down a patient to operate on them. I have discovered that doctors do not do that, the father of the prodigal son did not do that, God does not even do that. But like any good doctor, like any good earthly father, and especially like our heavenly father; we will always remain open to those who depart prematurely to come back and be established in truth I love what the apostle John said "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth". (3 John 4)

 

Sheryl ~ You have both been serving the Lord and His people now for many years. Can you give us just a little wisdom by sharing what it is that God has placed within you to keep you both so focused on destiny that neither of you have ever cared to look back?

 

Curtis:

One thing for me is very simple, if I go back to my old life, I am a dead man for sure. God brought me out of several brushes with death that were directly connected with the old life so it is not hard for me to not look back. But to whom much is given much is required. There are always levels of complacency, compromise, and disobedience that is just as dangerous (if not more) as anything else in life.

 

When I first received Jesus Christ, I was so on fire for the Lord, but after a few years I noticed that that fiery passion began to wane, and it really scared me. One day I asked the Lord "what do I do?" He and I had a much needed dialog and to make a long story short, the Lord told me to begin to write certain scriptures down and personalize them then read / pray / confess / prophesy them out loud every single day. I ended up writing down a couple pages of scripture and personalized them. (I still have these prayer sheets and make them available for free at my ministry website www.protonministries.com click on teaching, then on prayers of faith and power) I just started by reading this out loud every day and then it turned into a prayer which turned into a true confession of faith. then I learned to prophesy the scriptures over myself as well as different situations with tremendous confidence knowing that the written word (and the spoken) word of God was the will of God for my life (logos and rhema) which meant that the things that the Lord would speak to me in prayer as well as legitimate prophetic words that I received from others I would document them and pray them out loud as well declaring them back to the Lord.

 

The Lord taught me this type of confession/ prophetic prayer on these very foundational yet comprehensive principals:

Philemon 1:6 "That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus". as well as

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Matt 13:12 "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."

Mark 4:24 "And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."

Gal 6:7-8 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. "

Gen 8:22 "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

 

All of this has everything to do with thirty, sixty, "an hundred fold". Please understand something very clearly here, this term "an hundred fold" has been abused so bad concerning giving and receiving finances. It does have an application to giving and receiving, but the original intent of "an hundred fold" is to hear the word of God accurately with a hearing ear and not polluting it, keeping it pure. The Lord spoke this to me one day about 7 years ago after praying a very religious and misguided prayer.

First he told me that I knew nothing about the "hundred fold" (this is after I had been taught that understanding in a heavy duty way for 12 years) I immediately repented for praying with such religion and lack of understanding, and then I asked the Lord to open my eyes to the spirit of truth concerning this. The Lord responded to my request almost immediately and said "I cannot give you what I do not have, I am a perfect God. I do not have thirty fold, and I do not have sixty fold. I only have an hundred fold and I only give an hundred fold; whatever you do not pollute you can keep!!!" This encounter with the Lord absolutely changed my life forever; I have not even thought the same since!

Ever since He told me this, I try very hard to simply hear His word accurately, than keep His word pure and sow it into my heart in an attempt to allow it to reproduce within me at its maximum potential. At this point you literally start to become something new. Then you can give out of that harvest. Please look at Hosea 10:12 "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you".

 

So spending time praying the scriptures over my life as well as spending time praying in tongues as much as possible and soaking in all that influence (grace) I believe that all of this influence has kept me to be so hungry for the Lord, I have been absolutely desperate to know Him ever since I have started doing this. I am not talking about doing works to try to earn anything from God. I am talking about creating an atmosphere of grace that will influence you with the very heart of the Father starting in your very own heart and mind. Literally creating that atmosphere in your home, your bedroom, your car, your job or business, and then learning how to carry it where ever you go! Living in it - operating out of it; this atmosphere constantly burns with so much passion!

 

I have not perfected this by any means, but as I desperately seek this type of communion with the Lord, it just seems to effectively override every worldly desire and absolutely spikes my hunger and thirst for righteousness then it turns in to a tremendous desperation to really know Him, to commune with Him. This has truly become the sum total of my life's passion.

 

Renae: I have to say that even though I have never walked totally away from the Lord, there have been many times when I was not walking with Him as I should. I have felt the pull of the world and have at many times experienced weakness as we all do. But God's love and mercy always pulls me back into His arms and causes me to never want to be without His presence. The times when the busy things of life cause me to feel distant from Him, I know that all it takes is just the whisper of His name across my lips and I can be in His arms again. I truly would not want to walk through this life without my Abba Father. I just could not imagine life without Him!

 

Sheryl ~ Although Proton is your ministry name. Renae has also been the Director and Overseer of Healing Hearts Ministries which she founded online many years ago. I am sure our readers would love to hear more about this wonderful ministry to hurting women.

 

Renae:

Because of my past history with my first marriage being so abusive, for many years, I buried the pain deep within my heart and built strong walls up around them. There were only a handful of people who knew that I had gone through the abuse. About 9 years ago, God led me to an online ministry called Proverbs 31 ministry out of Charlotte, NC and I began to participate with an online group of ladies. I began to drop my walls somewhat and opened up about my past abusive marriage. Through this group, I met a lady named Stacey Wells, who also grew up in Kentucky and we instantly connected. Later I found out that she had gone through an abusive first marriage as well.

 

In November of 2002, Stacey and I were chatting online and talked about starting a ministry for women who had been through abusive marriages. Out of our prayers and sharing with one another, Healing Hearts Ministries was birthed. We began an online group through MSN and begin taking applications. Women who were searching the groups for a support group would find our group and submit an application for enrollment. Because of the nature of the group, and many women still being in an abusive marriage or relationship, we protected their privacy and kept the group locked. We begin to get a flow of requests to join the group and Healing Hearts Ministries began to grow.

 

Over the years, we have provided a safe place online for those who have been through not only domestic violence situations, but also those who have been through sexual abuse either as a child, or were currently being treated for sexual abuse. We would pray over the ladies and have chats to get to know them better. We also would send out things in the mail to encourage them.

 

There have been many wonderful relationships birthed out of this ministry and God has touched women all over the world through us. Healing Hearts provided them with a place to meet other women who had been through some of the same things and who not only survived but were on their way from being a victim to a victor. This platform God provided for me to minister to others has greatly touched and affected my life.

 

In the past 6 months, Stacey and I have been on a Sabbatical, taking time to seek God's direction in which He wanted HHM to go. We are currently in the process of changing over from a MSN group to a forum setting where we will be revamping the ministry structure and will begin to provide more aggressive pathways for those who are truly pursuing inner healing. We believe that every woman has a destiny and a purpose in life. The things that we have gone through in the past can be a gravestone, or they can be a stepping stone that will bring us into a deeper walk with God. But each person has to make that decision, we can be there for them and help them along the way, but ultimately, the degree of healing that a person receives is directed by the degree of hunger and desperation to be healed and set free.

 

If anyone would like more information on Healing Hearts Ministries, you can go to our website at www.bringinghealing.com . I will be posting updates for the new forum and will have information on how to join the support group once things are back up and running again. There is healing for the hurting woman and they can come from victim to victor!

 

Sheryl ~ And finally I just had to end this interview by saying that one of my favorite scriptures is Amos 3:7 which says; surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. Many know you as Apostles, but I also know that you are both very anointed prophetically as well. Can you possibly give us a glimpse into what the Lord is saying to His Church for 2008?

 

Curtis:

There is so much I could say here about what I have personally seen and heard from the Lord concerning 2008 but most of it would be redundant as they have already been spoken by many well respected leaders within the body of Christ, however I will share a few experiences I have had recently that I feel are relevant to the season that the corporate body is entering into as a whole.

 

The Sunday after Thanksgiving (2007) I had an open vision during a Sunday morning worship service ... I was in a lower courtyard of a very "castle like" setting, I saw a large freestanding, elegant, white arch directly over the threshold (or the first step) of a set of stairs. The stairs started in a beautiful lower courtyard and built up a good distance then entered into a very massive wall. The stairs continued to go up through an arched entry way in the wall and became an arched stairwell (concave ceiling) and went up another distance to a room. From start to finish the stairs had a continual contour or curve to the right and it was all hewn out of stone but it was also "finished" very nicely.

       The stairwell continued to curve just enough to the right so you could not see the door from the bottom. At the top was an extremely brilliant white light that actually had a bluish hue to it as it cascaded down the stairs and reflected off the finished walls of the stairwell ... the door was open!!!

       The Lord spoke to me and said "Come up here ... and my breath will be your communion". At that moment I was absolutely overwhelmed and totally enveloped with the presence and the love of God. It took me a few days to understand what I saw in the vision. After seeking the Lord, this is what he revealed to me. The "castle like" setting is a true "kingdom setting". The arch's represented the apostolic, not necessarily the "office of an apostle" as much as it is the mindset, the characteristics, and the nature of apostolic grace.

 

     The stairs/ stairwell is a process. ("Line upon line, precept upon precept" ... "the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord"), the hewn stone is the finished work of Christ through His sacrifice upon the cross. (see Ezekiel 40 the "millennial temple") and the room with an open door and all the extremely brilliant light cascading down the stairs ... This is an invitation to enter into new dwelling place (tabernacle) of unprecedented revelation, truth, understanding, and wisdom that is found in the glory of God.

 

       "My breath will be your communion" was an extremely interesting and profound statement to me. The word "cool" in Gen 3:8 is the word "ruach" H 7307: wind, breath, spirit, mind, prophetic spirit ... in the NT after Jesus resurrection, one of the very first things he did was he breathed upon the apostles commanding them to receive the Holy Ghost. This word breath was the Greek word emphusao (G 1720) actually meaning "to inflate or expand". In other words Jesus was literally "inflating" them and "expanding" them with the very breath, spirit, mind, the prophetic spirit and life of the risen Savior Himself!

 

       In the vision that the Lord gave me, that room at the top of the stairs was the bed chamber of the groom where the true bride will arise and ascend and become deeply intimate with her beloved face to face, eye to eye, mouth to mouth being inflated and expanded HIS breath, HIS life, HIS mind, HIS spirit ! I know this is strong ... but I heard the Lord in my spirit "It is time to consummate in 2008" the spirit of the Lord says "The time of dating is over, will the true bride please arise and ascend, it is time to consummate". After the true bride willingly surrenders to the groom to consummate the marriage, she will also "replicate" (repeat, reproduce) the groom - "The Christ". He is not looking for a date, he is earnestly looking to consummate and replicate in 2008!

 

       I am totally convinced that we are entering into an unprecedented season where the Lord is literally invoking "an awakening" within us, for us to understand many things concerning His original intent with mankind. To awaken a passion and a hunger within us from the very depths of our heart! For us to truly experience the fullness of relationship with Him! a level that we have never seen before!

 

       At the beginning of this year I had another open vision and I saw the image of two faces - face to face just inches from one another. One was the God Father and one was God the Son, then a third face appeared and it was God the Holy Spirit. All three faces were so close that they were almost touching yet it was still an incomplete circle. There was only one open space; and I knew that it was for the true bride. As I saw this, I heard the words "the community of breath . one breath". I honestly believe that everything that is being communicated to us from heaven right now through apostolic and prophetic leaders, can be summarized by simply drawing close to the trinity; the community of breath, and taking communion with them daily by simply breathing, "one breath" .

 

 

 

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