My husband and I attended the Open Heavens Conference 2020 online.
To say the past year has been the most intense struggle we’ve ever been through as a married couple and as human beings understates the challenges we have faced to stay close to the Lord and to stay together. After a separation defined more by the choices of others, although we can see the Lord’s hand in all of it, we were able to be back in the same house in the same state beginning in May. We were forced to face each other and the things that have made it so difficult to live peacefully together. We had a general sense that the enemy was playing us and keeping us in turmoil but no real insight as to what was actually happening. We kept at it and were determined to stay together. Little by little, we would get downloads from the Holy Spirit that would breathe hope and truth into our hearts, but breakthrough still eluded us.
Well, on the second day of the conference, Bill taught on the renewed mind. And, as only God can do, and because of all He’s been working in us through the last year, at just the right time that teaching exposed the enemy! It gave us the revelation we needed to truly understand why we have been struggling so hard! It was stunning and shocking when the truth broke through! It was like light exploding into darkness, and in that instant, we had the understanding we needed! We saw the enemy! We have had so many inspiring conversations since then as we attack the thought patterns/strongholds behind which the enemy hides. It’s been life-changing even at its beginning as we recognize thoughts that come from the enemy and capture them and bring them before the knowledge of God and into obedience to Christ.
May I back up just a little and say this? Since last September, when my world fell apart and the things I loved most were torn away from me, I ran to the Lord and clung to Him. My survival was up for grabs, and I knew He was the only place I could go for the kind of help that was going to restore me. In those early days of recovering, I started listening to Bill’s teachings on YouTube. His revelatory understanding of Scripture, birthed from his affection and worship of Jesus, has brought so much light into my being and my study of the precious Word of God. When Tom was questioning Bill and Sean during the panel session Bill said, “The reading of the Word for me is so that I literally can become what He says.” While I’ve been saved since 1975, this last year has been the most transformative because once crushed, I ran into the secret place. Bill’s voice has played a significant role in my understanding of Scripture, which we all know that once illuminated, is life-changing! I’d also like to shout out to Kris, whom I frequently listen to and who has radically changed my perception of supernatural living! At the last session of the conference when Kris talked about the three snakes, my husband and I gained so much insight into the world in which we live. We also received for ourselves the discerning of spirits when Kris prayed that over all of us who were listening. I’m so grateful for Bethel's leadership. You have lifted the church to new heights in Christ and for me as a follower of the Beloved.