Sons of God's Generals: Unlocking the Power of Godly Inheritance (17 page)

My biggest test of this truth came in 2007 when my father died of cancer. He was given three months to live, and he lived thirteen months. Every day in that thirteen-month period, I called him to tell him he was my hero and I commanded cancer to die in the name of Jesus. Then one day a phone call came to get home ASAP if I wanted to see my father alive again. At that time I was attending my second year of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry at Bethel Church in Redding, California. My encounter with love in Hawaii had so changed me that I had allowed my parents to be a part of the decision of what my life should look like once I graduated YWAM. They went on separate adventures to check out some of the ministry places that could have a deeper effect on what my life purpose was all about. So together we chose Bethel mainly because of the character of one man and his wife.

Bill and Beni Johnson seemed to value people more than ministry. This was a huge factor for my decision, because I had been raised in this environment once my own dad had been changed by his encounter with the Father’s love. While in this school I saw hundreds of people healed from all types of sickness and even cancer. It was a normal part of my life to see someone or hear of someone getting healed of cancer.

The whole flight home across America I was crying out in intercession for healing for my father. After what felt like the longest flight of all time, we finally landed. I knew there was something wrong when my mother did not pick my sister, her husband, and me up from the airport. They had their chaplain and lead intercessor, Johnny Lewis, pick us up. My sister needed to stop by Target before heading to the house to see my dad. While they were in the store, Johnny turned around and broke the news to me that my father had passed away while we were traveling across the country.

Before I allowed myself to mourn, I turned my affection toward God, who would become my only source of a Father now. I allowed myself to make a choice to believe that God was sovereign and that no matter what He would find me. I allowed the Father to hold me in His lap and love on me. In the arms of my heavenly Father is where I mourned the death of my earthly one.
If you choose to mourn without the presence of God it will only lead to bitterness.
And I refused to become bitter at a God who was so good that He would love me before I loved Him. A God who would give His Son to a race of people who disdained Him and turned their back against His gift of love. A love that I encountered through my experience growing up in this amazing house of generals. I could never betray this love that so transformed my own life a couple years before.

The last words I heard my father speak were a charge to keeping running the good race. He told me to keep on doing what he was no longer able to do.

The most important lesson I learned growing up in a household of generals was how important it is to understand your own inability to love while being willing to allow the goodness of Father God to find you and change you. This will involve allowing love to find you in your weakness and turn it into your strength. This was the legacy that both of my parents learned the hard way, but it was my dad’s willingness to lead his home through his own personal journey of being willing to change the negative learned behaviors that was the catalyst that brought change to our family.

The message I want to leave the world is that I want to be an example of allowing love to change the wounded areas of my life so that I can love God with all my heart and make that love known to the next person I meet. It is a legacy that I am willing to die for. Another main lesson I learned from my parents is that if you want to become a legend you must be willing to have enough courage to embrace the process of change. Watching one life—my dad, who was motivated by the reality that he was loved and that he belonged—changed not only our lives but lives all around the world. The result of this changed life is the restoration of relationships in other families, thus ushering in the next great revival. A revival of Malachi 4:5-6. A revival of restoring the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents.

This is life! The only life that I embrace today is receiving love that motivates a person to begin the process of discovery. The discovery that you belong, so you can believe that you are loved and if change is needed in your life you can position yourself for God’s love to find you.

My motto in life is, “Belong, Believe, Change.”

I know I belong to the Kingdom of Love. I believe that I am unconditionally loved, so I position myself daily for the Father of Love to show me areas of my life that I might need to change so that I can continue to bring this revelation to the world.

You see, I am the next generation of sons who are in our own right on our own path to becoming generals for the next generation. Why? It is the foundation to lasting revival on the earth.
Thy Kingdom come
on earth as it is in heaven!

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for loving me without any conditions and seeing the end result of the great destiny of my life.