God’s Testimony
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Testimony definition - evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof.
Coalen (Coal) and Lisa Swann
This really isn’t our testimony, it is Gods testimony.
You are going to learn from this testimony that God is REAL, He Heard You, He wants a relationship with you, and He wants to help your situation!
The first time Lisa and I walked into the Lighthouse Church Sanctuary, we were broke and broken, but we nearly fell down. Literally, we both had to sit down due to an overwhelming experience of the Holy Spirit. I will never forget the look on our faces as we looked at each other and said “what is this”. It was a feeling of warmth as if someone was putting a blanket over you, EXCEPT this started from the inside and worked it’s way out. I think in the first 5 years we were here we were on our backs more than we were on our feet. This was from being “slain in the Spirit” as we went to the alter for prayer.
We were learning in real-time, and God is the teacher.
1979 - I met Lisa
1982 - we were married
1988 - we had our son Cade
1995 - built a house
1999 - my work moved us to Dallas Metroplex new years eve of 1999. The next 9 years were some of the hardest times we would experience as a family.
2000 - God tried to get us to the Lighthouse Church through our son and the youth concerts the Lighthouse hosted. However, we didn’t listen. We lost Lisa’s dad to cancer in 2000.
2009 - we lost Lisa’s mom to cancer - we were broke and broken. We finally listened to God and came to The Lighthouse church. It took us a couple years to get back on our feet.
2012 - 2020 we held several church roles over the next 8 years: Door Greeters, Prayer Team members, Children’s Ministry, Young Adult Leaders, Ladies Ministry, Security Team, Deaconship, Eldership.
We had to learn more about the Holy Spirit after the experience of just walking into the Sanctuary. When we would pray to God for understanding and answers, God would put someone from within this church body in front of us or bring someone new to the church with answers to our questions. This would happen over the next few years.
Mary Anne Brown - was one of those folks we met. We had not been at the church very long when we were invited to listen to Mary Anne Brown talk at a prayer meeting. We were so moved with what she had spoken, we asked her to pray over us. These were her words to us: “you two, as husband and wife, will be in ministries of Prophetic and Healing. She said as you prophesy you will encounter people that will discourage you, or the enemy will try and tell you your prophecies are lies. She said stand strong and know what you have heard and what you have in your heart is from God”. Lisa and I would go to the alter for prayer (Lisa and Leticia) would encourage me to go, by pushing me.
Just about every time we went to the alter for prayer Lisa would be slain in the Spirit. I was determined I would not go down. :)
Lisa has always experienced dreams, but she didn’t start understanding them until her encounters with God. She would wake up telling me what she dreamed and we started seeing them come true. Lisa also started receiving words of knowledge before she prayed or as she would pray for people. At the time we didn’t understand what was happening. This happened time after time. It would bring truth to them who God really is and they would know www.Godheardyou.org.
I will never forget the first time she received a word of knowledge. We were in a connect group in the little room at the coffeehouse. A young lady and her parents sat in our connect group meeting. This was the first time we had ever seen them and we didn’t know it was her parents until after the meeting.
At this point, I said God I want to experience what Lisa is experiencing. Please have your way with me! And then one night a couple came to the church to speak and pray over the church body (Tom and Vicki Leuther). That night Lisa and I both fell on our backs in unison as they prayed over us. It felt like someone hit me in the stomach and knocked me off my feet and I floated down to the floor. My eyes were opened that night and I started experiencing visions during the day, dreams at night, more prophetic words were coming to me and a sensation of electricity running through my body. I still experience this during every worship we are in. Through the Holy Spirit our prayers felt more strong as Lisa and I prayed together for people. We were feeding off each other and seeing results.
A group of us started going to the Sojourn church to learn more about healing prayer and experience praying for people off the street. This encouraged Lisa and I in a big way by seeing how we could help people we didn’t even know. To see a persons reaction when they hear that “God heard you!” He conveys details through His messengers only that person and God know. It is absolutely amazing sight to see and what a wonderful feeling to be apart of. I can tell you many stories we experienced during the next few years, but in respect of time that will have to be a different day.
And then 2019 came along - the Tornado hit - I can’t imagine what Pastor was feeling. I believe we all felt lost.
2020 - Pandemic hit - first part of 2020 Lisa and I felt God wanted us to step down from our church leadership roles. We truly struggled with this and prayed on it for half the year. It finally got to the point we both felt we had to obey what we were hearing.
August 2020 - Lisa and I stepped down from our church positions. We isolated at home mostly due to my Job at first. We watched Sunday service online, but maybe two. Lisa also continued to pray with the ladies on Tuesday prayer. God continued sending us dreams and visions. God also continued chiseling on our rough edges while we were away from the church and He is continuing to fine tune our discernment while increasing our antennas. We know in our hearts while isolated He was preparing us for what’s next.
Today - God has given Lisa and I a direction in moving forward. God has a plan to use us to teach and share our experiences, share our testimonies with others through the Holy Spirit of what the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit has done in our life. We are praying for what is next. We want to make sure it is Gods will and in His timing.
I do know God wants this Body of Christ to pray for people and let them know He is REAL!
To lay hands on them as we pray to provide a discerning of what needs to be prayed for. To provide words of knowledge. To provide words of wisdom. To discern what chains need to be broken off. To discern what healing needs to come to set them free.
God wants you and the world to know that He is NOT dead and He is willing to do miracles in our time of need.
I am going to close with this word:
Randy Clark said:
“Faith is spelled “R, I, S, K”
As God’s messengers we need to step out, claim our authority in Christ and take a risk with God. All we have to do is deliver the message, God will do the rest.
However, we need to also understand, if we don’t physically see the healing right then, it doesn’t mean healing didn’t happen. It means it will happen in Gods timing.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
Ephesians 3:12 (AMP): 12 In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).
Galatians 3:27–29 (NKJV): 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the Promise.
Ellicott's Commentary:
(28) This verse continues the proof that all Christians are, in the fullest sense, “sons of God.” Galatians 3:27 showed why this was so; the present verse shows that there are no exceptions, no inequalities. All Christians alike, no matter what their race, status, or sex, stand on the same footing of sonship before God. There is a unity in the Christian body. What is true of one is true of all.