My team is shooting a video on peace. We started interviewing people and asking them, “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of peace?” “How do you achieve peace?” and similar questions. After the first night, I realized I may not be able to fully communicate the peace that the Holy Spirit brings that I feel inside, and if I’m doing a video on it, I should have some answers! If we want authority in peace, we need to walk in the peace we talk about. With this project, we want to talk to the people we interview about the peace of God.

I decided the best thing to do is to a study on peace in the bible. In no way is it exhaustive but it might give me some language to explain the inner completeness I feel inside through the Holy Spirit.

Pursue and Seek Peace (Psalms 34:14)

To have peace you need to seek it. We learn that the Spirit of God brings peace so ultimately we need to seek God (which in Roman 5:1 it says exactly that). Also, the verse says TURN AWAY from evil and DO good. My thought is when we DO good it is going in the opposite spirit/direction of evil.

Give control of your mind to God (Romans 8:6)

Our natural minds lead to sinful nature and death, but a mind that is given over to the Spirit of God leads to life and PEACE.

Peace is in Jesus (John 16:33, 14:27)

Through faith in Jesus we receive peace through the Spirit. It’s as simple as that. He promises a different peace than the world offers—a peace of mind and heart.

Peace comes from loving God’s Commands(Psalms 119:165, Isaiah 48:18)

Its interesting because its not just obeying the commands but loving them. God placed his commands as a safe zone for us. In my life, when I am outside of God’s commands, it always creates baggage and distress!

The Deeper meaning of Peace

I’ve learned the peace from God is deeper than the traditional english definition of peace. God’s peace brings fullness, fulfillment, and favor. I’m into that peace! I also noticed how closely peace is linked to righteousness. The ultimate conclusion is that God gives us the gift of peace through the Spirit when we believe in Jesus.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord give you everlasting peace in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit! AMEN

Check out our Trailer video for SEEKING PEACE:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Follow us on our team blog: www.seekingpeacedocumentary.com

My final conclusion of the week is that we all need to be supporting Andrew York for doing this not just ONE week but the whole time plus all the other administrative tasks and campus responsibilities! He probably does the same workload as any CEO of a mega corporation but has one major difference. He lives his life centered around the presence of God and works out of a response to the love of God. Never do you see him complain, but always patient and willing to offer advice and listen! What an amazing leader we have! I’m thankful that God has led me to this DTS.

This week we also were in full swing planning for our outreach to India in September. Visas seem like a far off goal, but we are believing God will open the doors. Visas are the gateway and the enemy of course will try to block it but we are in full spiritual warfare! Jesus will open the gate.

Our team also has been praying into how God wants to use us and feel strongly that a documentary is what He has in mind. After further prayer, we all were feeling like PEACE is a great topic to cover in a land that offers a counterfeit unfulfilling peace. Check out our video intro:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Visit http://www.hansonsatywam.com/outreachproject/ for more information on our video project!

We started our Mystery Fun Night with a movie that I watched in my DTS, Finger of God. Its meant to build faith in a God that heals, does miraculous signs and wonders and is moving around the world. The whole time during the movie I was feeling this impression of a struggle in the room. I think it was many of the students wrestling whether what they saw was real or not as the documentary showed people having “gold dust” on them, healings, and other miraculous things.

One student came to me after the whole night and said he was mocking it in his head but prayed to God that if it is real that he would reveal it to him. That’s just what God did.

After the movie, we tried to get on with showing outreach locations as all of us staff were super excited to show the students. I about hit play on the movie but had to make a change. Just then I saw people enclosing around Chris and Shalom, our married couple. I pretty much ran over because at this point people were shouting, gasping and everything in between. What I saw was Chris sitting in shock with tears streaming down his face. I looked at his body and it was COVERED with what I guess can only be called “gold dust” but it looked more like glitter to me.

We asked him to get up and speak about what happened and he said he saw a little gold dust even before the movie but played it off. By the end of the movie, he was covered and couldn’t deny this was from God.

We were all stunned, some of us trying to rationalize it by looking around for where they could have rubbed against a place, some of us laughing and clapping because that’s all we could formulate into a response. Andrew, our leader, got on the mic and just kept saying, “I don’t know what to do with this, I just don’t know” A thought had popped into my head that maybe, just maybe this was a step to build faith so I made a suggestion to ask if anyone needed healing of any kind. Andrew announced it and students and staff started praying for Jesus to heal each other!

It turned into a session of laying on of hands and praying over all areas of sickness and injury! and, man, were the people healed! As I prayed for people about every few minutes I’d hear a shout of joy from another group and then from my group! One guy got healed from something in his back (I wasn’t praying for him so don’t know exactly what it was) and just took off running and jumping for excitement! All I know is he was free of pain. Backs healed, legs healed, colds healed. A few people were not healed (also a mystery we must trust God on).

So do YOU believe it? Its hard to fathom why God does this. Some websites I’ve seen say well its not of God, its of Satan. Satan is doing a pretty bad job of getting people to go farther away from God as we praised God well into the night. These manifestations brought us closer to God and got us more hungry and excited to read the Word and get to know more about the God who heals (Jehovah Rophi, Exodus 15:26).

Can I explain it? Nope. All I can do is continue to bring all things before God, but rejoice when He decides to do something amazing and touch His people.

I just want more of you God! The real, out of the box, raw, authentic, one and only God! Open up our eyes to your wonderful workings and mysterious ways. All glory and honor to you, my God. AMEN

Here’s what we prayed for before the formation of our team:

• a small team (We loved the closeness developed in Finland & Sweden)
• 1 worship leader

Here’s what God gave us:

• Team of 5 (plus us)
• All of them play an instrument or sing
• All of us love film and photography
• A gifted group of people that love the Lord

All we can say is thank you Lord for your goodness in answering a desire of our hearts (Psalm 37:4)!

Please pray with us as we seek His path for this outreach. We really feel God has some specific things in mind for this group and location. Also, the area has been known to cause confusion in Christians, so pray for protection of our mind and heart and discernment in all things. We will be praying for the Lord to strengthen our faith in Him.

Here is a video I created announcing the other awesome outreach locations:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You see, the Awaken staff, leaders, and I can prepare and try to teach students about God, but it ultimately comes down to the individual and God. What is happening right now in hearts is that God, the God that created the Heavens and the Earth, is in pursuit of and captivating the hearts of the students. Although we care about our students, it will never measure up to God’s love for them. We must partner with God in this process for any lasting results.

The Spirit of God is stirring alive as the revelation of Gods character permeates their very being. The old lies that were attached to students are being replaced with the Truth about how God created them beautifully and wonderfully and with purpose. It has to be one of the most beautiful things to watch. Although most of the transformation is internal, you can see physical manifestations like brighter complexion/eyes and extreme joy and peace.

What is happening is a miracle. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth, is dwelling inside of a human. Isn’t it crazy to actually take a second and think about? Jesus gave us such a gift. Gone are the Old Testament days of the select few people with the Spirit on them or that have access to the Holy of Holies. We have full access to the Spirit 24/7!

Jesus talking about the Holy Spirit:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:15-18

I don’t know about you but I think a gift from God deserves some examination and exploration! What is crazy is this gift keeps giving. With the Spirit, we have access to wisdom, understanding, discernment, reverence of the Lord, and council, the fruits of the Spirit as well as gifts like prophesy, teaching, leading, speaking in tongues, and many other things probably still to be discovered. It is a lifetime of exploration and understanding of just who the Holy Spirit is!

The Spirit was there in the beginning of time hovering over the waters and will again pour out over all the land in the end of time. I believe we are experiencing it!

Thank you Lord for not leaving us empty handed when you left, but you had a perfect plan to give us your Holy Spirit! I pray you continue to release the pouring out of your Spirit on all people! AMEN

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image…” Gen 1:26

Camille and I were sitting at Kona Joes (coffee place) with friends and fellow staffers Ryan and Haley. We started talking about God, students, DTS, staffing, art, photography, travel and many other random topics. During the midst of this conversation, I was looking out at the sea, the trees, the beach, the birds and all the things in my sight, all of which God created.

The revelation really came together with the topics of creating/exploring and talking about God. We are made to create. Think about it. The first sentence of the Bible has God creating and He has never stopped! It’s amazing that God chooses us to partner with him and create and in fact blesses us saying “Be fruitful and increase in number” (Gen 1:28). Also, God created all the earth and everything in it and he gave Adam the fun task of naming the animals. He loves when we partner with him in creating beautiful things. As it says above, we are made in God’s image, so we too have the desire to create!

We definitely took the license to create and ran! Humans, cars, buildings, businesses, cities, art—we have created many amazing things. The beauty is the freedom we have. We can chose to participate. It also leads us to a decision. Shall we create good or bad?

The enemy tries to prevent us from creating and tries to get us to destroy. If he can’t stop us from creating, his next attack is to twist our creation to the opposite, destruction. An example might be the use of photography. Photos of people, places and scenic landscapes are beautiful. Photos that lead people into sin/destruction (ie pornography, vulgarity) are bad.

Deep down inside every person has the desire to create beautiful things. Not just for ourselves but to share in community just as God shares his ability to create with us. I consider it spiritual warfare to write, design, and photograph. To create is to go in the opposite spirit of destruction. Its important to have values taught in the bible to make sure our creations are honoring to God. I’ve come into realization that its awesome to invite God into all things that I create. Imagine what we can create as we partner with The Creator!

(Photo: Daniel (staffer) on Shoot for our Awaken DTS video)

Andrew York (Awaken Leader) had carried the name Awaken for his set of ministries he set up. As the staff and leaders started praying and preparing for this year’s Classic DTS, we get a strong feeling that God is wanting to do more. The name Classic just didn’t sound right either. We started seeking another name and immediately things started happening that pointed to using Awaken. A friend of the School, Amy Solars, suggested the name Awaken Nations. Meanwhile, I started sketching designs and the only design that I could see working was with the name Awaken.

During a worship and prayer night, Sarah-Jo (Awaken Staff) felt the Lord leading her to write this:

because you are mine

chosen

loved

and my beloved

hand picked to change

yourself

others

the world

to be mine

to be loved

and forever changed

royalty

righteous

beauty

encouraged

for such a time as this

a celebration of jubilee

to walk with others

because you are mine.

a turning of the tide.

living water

covered in the blood

and protected by the armor

awakened by the spirit

on guard ALWAYS

ready for battle

ready to win

ready for eternal change

experiencing my

favor

fragrance

freshness

dreams

dream for more

MORE

you have yet to see what i will do

with you

through you

in you

awake my beloved

my bride

AWAKEN for you are MINE!

by Sarah Jo Sampson (Awaken Staff)

Months before the school started, staff were issued a set of questions on what God had for the school. Now we are going through these words we sought from God and many are lining up with the theme of Awakening.

For further refining of what God is saying about the school we were asked what Awaken means. Here’s my response:
Awaken is really what I experienced during my DTS. I was dead/asleep living life for money and trying to find the purpose and then God called me by shaking me awake and saying, “I’m God and I’m not asleep but very much alive! Now lets go awake the nations together.” The word “awaken” stirs my spirit! Now I can’t help but see these sleepers and soul searchers and I just want to shout, “What you are looking for is Jesus!”  I love that Awaken almost demands a response. Who shall we awaken? Awaken hearts. Awaken disciples. Awaken the Church. Awaken nations. Awaken the earth. Awaken the return of Jesus!
What does this mean to label/brand this DTS as AWAKEN? I think what Andy Byrd taught last week sums it up. The Awakening process starts as a heart revival and reformation and then progresses to a burning heart to see the same revival and reformation in the church and nations. Its an Awakening that we never fall asleep from. We won’t ever as we learn the Truth about who God is, who the Holy Spirit is, and who Jesus is!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Partner with us in praying for her and her team as they travel around on their outreach!

On another note, I want to give you the best content as possible. If you could take 1 second and vote for what you like/would like most about this blog, that would be awesome. Just select 2 choices (or 1) in the sidebar and hit vote! →

I’ve been finding out how important discipleship is in life. I look back at my life and at how my dad and mom modeled to me how to  live a honest, humble, practical life. On DTS, last year, the discipleship was taken further by teachers and leaders. I realized a life following Jesus is challenging, but worth it. I learned many of the things I once thought was legalism, when done out of resting in the knowledge that our heavenly Father loves us helps us be better followers of Jesus.

Instead of being taught a rule like the bible must be read every day, it turned into a value like reading the bible helps us connect with our heavenly Father and feeds us our daily bread. It’s the why behind the rule. All of a sudden, I was being challenged to read, pray, fast, worship not out of guilt but out of a hunger to know God more. Its the perspective that counts. Without discipleship, I wouldn’t have gotten that revelation.

Now I am entering a season of being able to disciple others. It’s quite intimidating to think about. I’m 26, fresh out of the same training program these students are going into. As in everything, the reliance on God is going to have to be the priority in my life. He will give me and the rest of this school wisdom if I ask for it.

Its quite a privilege to be on staff at this Discipleship Training School. There is a fear of the Lord that I am aware of. It’s His sheep. It’s an great investment He has placed on me, my fellow staff, and leaders. I’ve seen leaders do some “right” things and “wrong” things, but what I’ve noticed is that God has a level of grace. There has to be because we are all human and make mistakes. Its the popular saying here in YWAM, “If you do the possible, God will do the impossible”. Its true even when it comes to leaders. As long as we are trying to disciple students and make them better disciples of Jesus, God honors it.

Its great that we aren’t alone in the discipleship process! This campus has an amazing resource of wise experienced disciples willing to pour their knowledge out on the students.  On my DTS, speakers and leaders were expanding my knowledge and wisdom while the Holy Spirit was ministering to my heart. It will be amazing to be able to partner with the Creator of these students and point them to Jesus and watch as they transform into the loved creations that they were meant to be. We have a partner in discipleship that is more committed to the students than anyone in the world!

A big revelation is that discipleship doesn’t end. Not even when your 50 or 80. We should always be in the process of bettering ourselves to the likeness of Jesus, the model of humanity.

Lord, have your way in this school. Guide us staff and leaders into a deeper understanding of what it means to disciple and be a disciple. AMEN

Feel free to give feedback or thoughts on discipleship. I’d love to learn more.

(Photo: Taken in Kona as we volunteered for the Ironman Triathlon)

Here are some great nuggets of knowledge he gave us about discipling students:

Campus/Class

• Start preparing for outreach early. Pray for a heart for the nation and it’s people and strategies to reach them. Delegate research on the location, currency, weather, history. Learn about the strongholds over the area and pray into them.
• Break fear of man early. Get students to practice their testimony or role play as if you don’t know Christ. How will they present the good news?
• Guidelines actually create security in many students (helps answer the question: does this program have it together? Are they really wanting what’s best for me?)
• Students many times are just testing authority. Are we being genuine? Do NOT pull out authority card. It might work to get them to do something but in the long run it undermines trust.
• Be a friendly leader don’t be just a friend. Staff is called to disciple and it might be hard
• Are students wanting to be discipled? Hopefully! Since it is a discipleship training school, it should be about growing in maturity spiritually and in character.
• Find the leader-student and champion them. It will allow the other students to grow easier.
• Start observing your team dynamics early (who takes charge, lone rangers, trailing behind). Think about cultural differences among students.

Specifically Outreach Prep Tools & Exercises (I really like these):

Click the image below to download a PDF to give students. This is a great tool to get the heart of your students, get some tangible goals, cultivate the gifts they have and look back on throughout outreach. The spiritual gifts section is great when the situation for the need of a certain gift comes up. I designed up  the PDF that can be printed on 8.5 x 11 and cut in half:

Download (741 KB)

Another exercise is to ask students to write 10 attributes they want to experience/use (Intercession, worship, signs and wonders, etc) and then assign a student to each one with the goal of getting 10 scriptures on the attribute. Looking at these during outreach will increase faith and fire students up when a situation needs one of them.

Outreach

• Hit the ground running (slow start sometimes leads to sluggish students)
• If outreach was a ship the leaders should move from the bow to the stern as the outreach progress. Progressively give the students more and more responsibility. Share each others burders and work as a team.
• As a leader “go low” by showing an example (clean the worst part of your accommodations first). Be a servant leader and make students as successful as possible.
• Girls get the best rooms preferably upstairs (chivalry isn’t dead)
• Students Goal for outreach: Bringing the Good News to the people/nation and being obedient to what God is leading us to do.
• Leaders Goal for outreach: Students. This means we are involved in their goal and helping them toward it. The discipleship doesn’t stop when outreach starts. (In fact, really we should be challenged to continue the discipleship well beyond the end of outreach)
• At least 1 meal-a-day together (even with big group)
• Celebrate with a party 1st person saved (and the second and the third). They are having one in heaven!

Two of the golden nuggets that I gleaned was that prayer and worship is a priority before and during outreach (give the Holy Spirit room to work) and that there is no way to prepare for the unexpected (I guess that’s why its unexpected). Really great wisdom in those statements.

I think it’s important for myself and Camille and other discipl-ers (just made up a word haha) to realize much wisdom comes from experience and as much as people can give great wisdom, God holds all the wisdom in the world and to seek Him in all things. Its going to be a fun, challenging experience for sure.