Right now I am in my hotel room in Malmö, Sweden thinking about the past days. Serious meetings is just the first name of what my spirit feels after being on this journey since wednesday last week. I left my hometown Vasa, Finland early in the morning last wednesday and it took three flights to get to southern Sweden where my brother and friend Nils Eden picked me up at the aiport here in Malmö. Together we drove to Sölvesborg with some stops here and there and we even got to share the gospel with people where we stopped. It is something about being far away from home sharing the good news. It works way better and it gets better and better for every day.
Thursday I took a long walk in this small but beautiful town. Hung out with Pastor Tommy Lilja for a while and at night it was time for the grand opening for the eastern conference at Folkkyrkan and PTL-Ministries. Sister Paige Junaeus was sharing the word of GOD the first night and the atmosphere was thing right away from the beginning of the night when the worship team started to sing and worship our Lord. I already knew by then that this weekend was going to be something special, something serious and something else.
Sister Paige had a wonderful message about the Body of Christ and the church how we have to take care of the next generation. I can just say amen to her sermon regarding this as what I have seen our churches are stuck with old religious styles, traditions and rituals. I am not saying that we should get rid of anything old but as Paige said we need to encourage the youth to have their style, to keep their pink hair and music. We live in the world now but not of this world. Todays young people are growing up now and not when we grew up. My personal opinion about today and when I grew up is that it is very different. It is both good and bad and what worries me is that our children don't have the opportunity to be children as long as they should be children and our children do not play the same way as I did when I was a child. Internet is one of the things that has changed our world very much since I was a child. Then we did not even have mobile phones or computers.
On friday morning Pastor Tommy Lilja held the morning meeting and he had a really speaking sermon, "Bounce Back". It had all to do with that we people make mistakes and we fall. We all do this. There are no perfect people and no people who never do any mistakes. The good thing about hanging out with JESUS is that GOD can use our mistakes to raise us up higher than ever before. I can personally relate to this and again I can say amen. I lived in a mistake and my life became a big mistake because of myself. I fell really deep but when GOD came into my life I bounced back up to a higher level than ever before. With higher level I do not mean that I would be something but that the quality of my days and my life is on a way higher lever than ever before. This is because of JESUS! I am born again and saved, all my sins ARE forgiven, even the future ones. My fears are gone and I am free from drugs and alcohol and I am totally healed. Can it be better?
I also met a brother I met many times before this wonderful good friday and it was a surprise to me to see Christer Borg coming there. We had some great talks during the conference and he is such an inspiration not only for me but for my ministry. I think it was GODS plan that I met him as it has been every time I met him in the past. I feel that this wonderful brother is mentoring me and he always come to places as a surprise when I need it. Many of my questions got answered. Praise The Lord!
Another wonderful brother that I met for the first time was the priest Hans Weichbrodt. He is a priest in the Church of Sweden and I just get so happy when I hear what this brother has to say. I got a strong feeling that Hans Weichbrodt and Carl-Erik Sahlberg will have a big influence on the Church of Sweden and that religious spirits and religion will not longer be so strong. We do NOT need religion we need relation and a personal relation with JESUS! Hans preached about JESUS! Thats it! He preached the right thing: JESUS! He managed to paint the life of JESUS up with his mouth like a movie. It felt like being there 2000 years ago walking around with Messiah. I just thank GOD for this brother and I know that he will have a big influence on many churches around the world. His testimony was awesome! Check him out!
Friday night was special! Right away the atmosphere changed to something I would call a spiritual mine field. I felt it right from the beginning that it would be a crazy night in the presence of the Lord. I got to sing a couple of my songs and give a short version of my testimony and as I closed my session with the song "Thankful" I almost fell off the chair.
Pastor Tommy Lilja held a "crusade" meeting in the same style as he does when he is somewhere in Africa or India. He was rockin' and I have to say that I really like this brothers style. He is definitely not an ordinary man. He is something special and that because GOD have called him to such big things. So you can understand me I will relate him to Reverend Reinhard Bonnke. Yes, Tommy Lilja is the swedish version of Reinhard Bonnke and what Tommy Lilja is doing at his church and in his ministry right now is just the beginning. Pray for him and check him out when he comes near you. He will be at Frank Mangs Center in Närpes, Finland this coming summer in august for a three day bible study with nightly revival meetings.
Straight from Hollywood
Straight from Hollywood comes Evangelist and Life Coach Tim Storey. He took care of the last meetings on the conference and he is such an interesting personality and brother. He hangs out with people as Hillary Clinton, Brad Pitts mother, Gene Simmons, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Jack Lemon, Paris Hilton and tons of other celebrities. He said that these people started to come to his bible study he started very small in Hollywood back in the days and it kept growing. Brother Storey is a well respected preacher and life coach and you could tell he is American when you saw him preach.
His message was just great. It was encouraging and nothing else than encouraging. I just wish more pastors and preachers would start to encourage the church instead of returning from far away countries telling about how big things they have done there and how bad it is "here at home" and how lazy Christians we are. Personally I do not think that anyone gets a good wibe out of that kind of preaching. People need to hear the word of GOD about who they are in Christ Jesus and that they are born for VICTORY! You could tell that Tim Storey has been a blessing to many people coaching them out of misery to a new life in Christ. Tim says that there is a hunger for GOD in Hollywood when we think that people in Hollywood don't need GOD.
All I can say is that all meetings were so exciting and so strong in the spirit. Being there in nine meetings in four days have felt crazy and intense but today I feel that I actually got way more than I first thought I would get. First I thought it became a bit too charismatic as in Finland we tend to be scared of manifestations of the Spirit. Well, I get scared when people shake and manifest without The Holy Spirit and when people do a show out of it. Here it was real, it was pure and it was HOLY! I know it is real when I see an almost 90 year old woman stand up and run around the church, shouting in tongues and praising the Lord. I know it is real when I see the power of GOD knock down children and people for the first time ever, especially when they have decided to stay in an upright position. I know it is real when I am dancing with Pastor Tommy Lilja on stage and after a couple of minutes I wake up pinned to the floor. It was such an outpouring and this is just a taster of what is to come.
Yesterday I left Sölvesborg and I had the privilege to spend the day together with my brother and friend Nils Eden and brother Tim Storey. We had a really good time during our journey to Copenhagen and just hanging out with brother Storey did much to me. The anointing rubbed of from him to me and I really do love this brother. I can't wait to hook up with him in Texas later this year. All I know is that GOD has something in mind.
Tonight I am flying back home and I will have some weeks off before our USA-Ambassadors are coming to Finland. One week before they come I am traveling to southern Finland for some meetings in Hangö. I am looking forward for the summer and the bike season but right now am most looking forward to get home to my family. This weekend we are getting our new family member, our Chow Chow Ozzy. I also have lots of work to do on our house as well as on the record. It will be good to do some creative things too.
Love Ya'll!
Pontus
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