Category: Inspiration

Categories
Inspiration Road Trip Testimony

My Wildest Ride of Faith

People around me know that my motorcycle is my favorite way of transportation. I love motorcycles. I am a pastor, and when I ride I spend time in prayer. That is where I feel closest to heaven. It makes my heart jump! I heard somebody express it like this. “Four wheels move the body, but two wheels move the soul!”.

This blog is dedicated to one of my most adventurous bikes, a red Yamaha 1300 V star 2013, that has followed me since 2018. I only had it for a short time, but my time with this bike has been a a powerful testimony about Gods guidance and provision in my life.

God Loves Motorcycles

One day as I was riding my bike, God spoke to me with an audible voice. “Sell your bike, and send the money to your dad in Denmark”, He said.

This was my chance to clear the debt to my dad, so I listed my motorcycle for sale and waited for months, still riding the bike.

After three months somebody contacted me from Trinidad. He had seen the add, and he was ready to meet me at the church the following Sunday. He already knew I was a pastor, and he knew he was supposed to buy the bike. Gold told him to buy it!

I thought this was very interesting. I am convinced that God loves motorcycles and especially mine!

A Significant Sunday

The following Sunday the man from Trinidad was in church sitting in the front row together with his wife. During service a pastor friend of mine showed up outside. He said God had told him to come to our service, and that he had something to share.

We invited him to the pulpit. This pastor had just finished cancer treatment and looked like skin and bone in a suit. This was his first Sunday in church since the treatment, so I understood the significance, that he was with us in Orlando and not in his home church in Daytona Beach.

We all looked at him as he took the microphone. “I am here in the office of an apostle. God has given me wealth and I am here to distribute it”, he said.

What happened next was unbelievable. I was sitting in my seat as he pointed at my son and daughter in law. “God is giving you pick up truck and a car”, he said, and then he turned towards me. “And this is for you pastor Christian…”

Next thing I hear is a roar from huge motorcycle, like the one I just sold to the man from Trinidad in order to pay the debt to my dad. I looked at the pastor from Daytona Beach. “God has seen your sacrifice, this is for you to keep and not to give”, he said.

I was chocked and so was the man from Trinidad sitting next to me. He was here to buy my old motorcycle, and right there God was giving me a Yamaha V star with lower mileage and all the extra equipment that I had been dreaming of!

The following week I looked in my calendar and realized that God had given me this new bike exactly one year after another significant church service in August 2018 where I gave my former motorcycle in the offering in order to raise the downpayment for us to buy the church!

I Yamahappy Biker

The following months I was driving my new bike, and my new friend from Trinidad was driving my old bike. He invited me and my wife to stay in his house, and we became biker buddies. He even gave me a t-shirt so we could ride together. The printed message on the t-shirt was clear. “I Yamahappy Biker”, it said.

One day my new friend was heading back to his home in Trinidad, and the day he left, he left the keys to the motorcycle in the offering at the church. “God told him to do so”, he said.

I was still living in his house, and the motorcycle was still standing in the garage, next to my motorcycle. But now it was my job as a pastor to find a buyer for my old bike, so that the money for the sale could be given back to the church.

This was the second time I posted the same bike on Facebook, but this time it did not belong to me. It belonged to God, so I believed He would have to find the buyer!

MC With A Mission

It took a while, but in the beginning of March 2020 during a conference in Texas, I was sitting at the breakfast table telling the testimony about the motorcycles, how I gave one in the offering, sold one to give the money to my dad and was blessed with a third one on the exact same day as I gave the first one in the offering.

I was sitting next to a native pastor from the Rosebud Sioux Nation and showed him a picture of the bike that now belonged to the church. I had no idea that he was looking for a bike, so right there, at the breakfast table, we made the deal.

Right there I called my friend in Trinidad, and when he heard the motorcycle was going to the Rez in South Dakota, he started laughing. He told me, that he always have had a dream of visiting the Rosebud Sioux nation, so he was super excited to know that his motorcycle would be owned by a pastor on the Rez.

Long story short. The motorcycle was sold in March and delivered in July. I put it on the bed of a truck and drove it to Amarillo TX where we met with the pastor from South Dakota and unloaded the motorcycle from my truck to his trailer. The ride continues, and only God knows what happens next!

Categories
Inspiration

Perfect Love Drives Out Fear

The other day I read an article from my home country Denmark speaking about “being skin hungry”. I guess it is a new word in this pandemic, and the definition of “Skin Hunger” is the need of a physical touch, a hug and a kiss. In other words, we need to be loved!

Truth is that we are all social creatures and in this time of global social distancing because of the pandemic, people are starving for physical contact. We can’t live without it, and some people are so under stimulated right now, that they go crazy.

The Fear of Death

Social distancing seems to be a necessary curse right now but I wonder if the consequence of separating people is worth the prize compared to the many broken families, suicides, depressions etc that inevitably will swipe through the world as a consequence of the lock downs and separation of people.

Right now fear is in the front seat. People are afraid of getting sick. People are afraid of being a carrier of the virus. People are afraid of dying. And in order to control the fear of death, people all over the world are trying to control the spread of the virus, instead of turning to God who conquered death and gave us a living hope!

A Jesus Touch

At Powerhouse Church we reach out to some of the weakest people in society and for them the church is an important daily salvage raft that gives them hope and joy and a Jesus touch when most needed.

For them surviving daily in the streets is a much bigger threat than the virus and they need the church now more than ever. We daily follow the news of the streets of Orlando, news of murder, rape, broken families, addictions, gang, aids etc. We see people with cancers, open operation wounds, stab wounds. For them the corona is just another thing on the list to fear.

What Are We Waiting For?

People are telling me to shut down the church and to wait. To take care of my self and not risk the life of our members. My question is; Wait for what? Jesus did not wait for nobody, he touched the lepers and hung around sick people on a daily basis as he was doing his Fathers business. Paul said in 2. Cor 6:2 “Today is the day of salvation, now is the appointed time”. This is the Bible. No government order can postpone God timing.

I do not fear the virus. I do not live by fear, I live by faith, and my faith is being expressed in love. Perfect love drives out all fear. In times of social distancing, it is our time to show our hearts. While Christians all over the world are praying in their homes, their neighbors are sick of isolation and fear. This is the real killer! Who will show them the way to salvation, who will teach them to cry out and pray in times of distress?

Rise And Shine

This is the time for the church to rise!

Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

This week we have started a daily feeding program, so that people can come and get a hot meal, meet some people, still keeping social distancing, and experience the love of God in action.

Today we received pallets of food and drinks for our food bank, reaching out to homeless and low income individuals and families in our community. On Sunday we have drive in service in the parking, serving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that is lost.

We Need Your Help

We don’t know how long this is gonna last, but we will continue to do as much as we can. Right now we need pop up tents to protect the people from the Florida sun and money for food to continue giving out the daily meals.

We need your help. If your conviction is to stay home, I am okay with that, but you can still help us reaching out to the poor. If you can’t go yourself, your money can make a difference. If you want to partner with Powerhouse Church and our ministry in this season, please help and donate today!

We see people with cancers, open operation wounds, stab wounds. For them the corona is just another thing on the list to fear.

Categories
Inspiration

A Day in the Studio

A few weeks ago I joined Rich Marshall in Orlando as his guest on the God@Work television show. This program, that highlights how God is at work in people’s lives around the world, is produced by GodTV and my segment will air on March 16th at 8:30pm Eastern time. I really enjoyed my time with Rich and his other guests as we explored the power of God at work in our daily lives. Please tune in and tell your friends about this opportunity. 

GodTV is on channel 365 if you have DirecTV; or you can get it online at www.god.tv/work. I am on episode 110. You can also download the GodTV app; God@Work is under the GodTV Originals section.

I genuinely hope you will watch the March 16th program and drop me a note letting me know what you think. GodTV reaches out to million 300 homes on the globe with a potential of 1 billion viewers.

If you are one of them, plz let me know!

Remember, put it in your calendar: Channel 365 on DirecTV; online at www.God.tv/work or on the GodTV app.

Categories
Inspiration

What Are You Leaving Behind?

Right now we are traveling in Denmark preaching the gospel visiting family and friends. The other day as we were heading for our next destination Karen told me to stop and turn the car around. “Did you see the sign at the roadside”, she asked, “It says “Nødhjælp fra Hjem til Hjem”… (Danish meaning “Disaster Relief from Home to Home”).

Could that really be? The sign looked very official, but it looked familiar to me. It was the name of a non profit organisation that Karen and I founded back in the 1990’s as we started collecting food and clothing for poor families in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldavia. God gave the vision, and God gave the provision – for when God guides, He also provides!

We went down the dirt road. On the right side was a barn. The door was open. I could see piles of plastic bags with clothes at the right side of the wall and stacks of wheel chairs, bikes and hospital equipment on the left side. In the doorway there was an old man in work clothes.

“Helmer?”. The man in the barn looked at me. It has been more than 15 years since last time we met, but obviously he was still here, still going strong 86 years old collecting donations and packing stuff for the next transport. Since we started the work it has been 228 trailer loads with 9 trailers last year. Hundred thousands of people have received helped over the years because of one mans vision.

This was my first big assignment before entering into full time ministry. I was visiting the former Sovjetunion when God told me to make a food drive and collect clothes for the people there. I was just a young man and I had no clue what I was doing, but the collection laid the foundation of what we are doing today.

From Home to Home

It was so cool to meet Helmer and hear about the work how it continues to bless people in great need. What started in our home has now spread to many homes. Amazing to see how this work of the Lord keep going and growing, spreading to different nations.

After this experience we went north to the coast to visit the thrift store that has been the financial engine behind the transports. Karen and I started the thrift store in 1998, as a teamwork between the church and the city, and there it was, still in the same location as a monument of the faithfulness and the goodness of the Lord.

As I entered in I found three ladies working in the store. Only one of them looked familiar. I did not introduce myself. “Do you remember me?” I asked, and when I said my name, she smiled. “This gentlemen was here from the beginning, he was here before anybody else” she explained and now we were all talking.

Old pictures came out of the drawers together with old articles from the local newspaper, and we talked about the first trip, when I brought a group of ladies to Ukraine. When they saw the poverty they were changed for life, they cried for a week, some of them gave their lives to Christ, and after this they gave themselves 100 pct to the work.

The Story Continues

It was amazing to see how the work of the Lord has not been in vain. How the vision that He gave came through, and how the seed that was planted back then is still growing for the benefit of many, even though we are not there anymore.

God has called us all to make a difference where we are at, to be history makers, trail blazers, vision bearers, life changers. Question is, what do we leave behind when we are not here anymore. What are the fruits, have we been faithful to do what He called us to do?

I live every day for him. That’s my passion, my only desire. I want to be obedient to all that He calls me to do. Not to say “no” but to go wherever he tells me to go. To Denmark, to Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, to Ecuador, Greenland, Kenya, leaving a trail of testimonies behind.

Categories
Inspiration

Living With Christ is A Blast

As a traveling preacher, I always take time to go around to see places and enjoy God’s creation. So far I have visited more than 70 nations. I know preachers who go from airport to hotel, to church and back without seeing anything of the country or the state they go to, but that is not my story. Taking time off, meeting new people inside and outside the church and keeping my program for adventure keeps me original and fresh, on fire but not burned out. I have been doing this since I started fulltime ministry in 1996.

This year I have been two times in the Amazon Jungle in Ecuador to preach the gospel. First time I went with a group of pastors, and as I checked into my hotel, I decided to go fishing. It turned out that the owner of the hotel had a brother who was an expert in jungle trips. We spent the afternoon fishing, and his wife cooked the fish for us in the evening. This was before the crusade, and I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw the tour guide at the meeting, standing in front of the platform, giving his life to Christ later at the crusade!

The second time, I went with my youngest son, a Danish pastor and a ministry friend from Texas. We came two days before the meetings so we could have time for adventure.  The tour guide picked us up in the airport, and we spend the first day in the jungle with him, visiting remote villages, fishing, eating fresh fish, swimming in waterfalls and river rafting on the Postaza River. While we were doing this, another tour guide ended up giving his life to Christ! This was priceless, such a blessing, both for me and for the team. 

The next day, a lawyer whom I had met on my first trip came to see us. He was flying in a little two-seater ultralight plane together with another new missionary friend of mine. They flew us into the deep jungle to visit and to preach to the villagers. I used to fly my own plane years ago, so they allowed me to fly on the way back and land the plane. How cool was that! I felt so rich, knowing that we could not have paid that day with money, this was the blessings of God!

The crusade in Puyo was powerful. We had heavy rain because of the season, but still, 3-500 people showed up during the evening meetings. I was interviewed by radio and television, we ran a Facebook campaign to advertise for the event, and many people got saved, healed, filled with the Holy Spirit and set free. For me this is the ultimate adventure, nothing thrills me more than witnessing God touching peoples lives.

After the meetings I went with my son and the lawyer across the Andes, which are the biggest chain of mountains in South America. We were riding motorcycles, and the lawyer followed in his pickup truck as a backup in case something should happen. At one point I could not see the car in front of me because we were driving so high in the mountains, actually, we were driving through the clouds, through heavy rain showers, for 10 hours till we finally made it to a hotel surrounded by natural hot volcanic baths. We were frozen to the bone so we stayed in those hot baths for a long time!

Next day we started the descend to Esmeraldas on Ecuador’s Pacific Coast, I found out that the lawyers family own an apartment there right next to the beach. It was dark when we arrived, we were so tired, but waking up early the next morning was worth the drive. The ocean with its big waves was speaking to us about Gods greatness. “Let’s go fishing”, I said, and right there at the table in the breakfast restaurant, we found a young guy who knew a fisherman who would take us out on the ocean. Within a few minutes, we were sitting in his boat, miles off the coast with lines and hooks and bait catching lots of fish. God must have been smiling to us because the fish kept biting and biting.

On the way back I asked the fisherman if he knew how to grill the fish. We made a fire on the beach, and I invited him and his whole family to come and join the party. He had seven children and no wife, was poor and sweet and hardworking and that night was again priceless around the fire with the wonderful man and his children and friends. As we were eating, my lawyer friend started telling his testimony of how Jesus had grabbed him when he was at his lowest. We were all touched, and late that night around the fire the fishermen and their children gave their lives to Christ. Some of them got baptized in the Holy Spirit right there on the beach and spoke in new tongues.

That night we walked back to the apartment on the beach with the big waves rolling in, thanking God for his goodness and kindness. Tired and satisfied we returned to the airport the next day, meeting up with the rest of the team who had been preaching in different churches. We boarded the plane at midnight, and landed at 5 o’clock in the morning, picking up a rental car that brought us back home, just in time for my son’s wedding the following day.

Some people think that Christians are boring and that all they do is pray and go to church. I must say that is such a wrong presumption. My life is never boring. Life with Christ is a blast.

Categories
Inspiration

Look What The Lord Has Done

stalker

Last week I went to London to celebrate my Bishops 20th anniversary in London. Imagine I was there at the very first meeting 20 years ago when they started the ministry in England. This was how it all began. My Bishop showed me how to heal the sick and I caught faith! It was in those meetings Gods power came over me and I came back a transformed man. In less than two months I had a revival going on in a Catholic Church in Denmark and became known in the whole country as an evangelist. It was wild!

For two days I attended the meetings with Bishop Teresia Wairimu and her FEM (Faith Evangelistic Ministries) staff in the meeting hall in Westminster. People came from Europe and Africa, including the youth dance team from Nairobi, Kenya. However, one of the biggest experiences took place outside the conference and in the middle of the night. We left the meetings at Westminster very late and did not arrive at our hotel before after midnight. We were hungry and the only place to eat was in the lounge. My friends were waiting for me in the lounge. We sat down, and the woman in the reception came running straight to me, not to pick up my order, but to talk.

“I am not stalking you”, she said, “but you are you not a pastor?”. I looked at her. I could tell she was desperate. She was so sweet. My friends next to me wanted to order their food, they did not realize what was about to happen. This was more important than food. “I know you are with the people from the conference”, she continued, “I checked you on the Internet,. I am not stalking you, but I desperately need God in my life”.

She told me that she had been to church this morning for the first time and was touched by the message. She also told me that life was a mess, so she was desperate for change. When my friends from the conference came to see me and ask her to call my room, she got my name and found out who I was.

Again she told me that she needed a miracle in her life. I realized this was real. She was asking for help to receive Jesus, so I asked her to tell her story one time more and listened really carefully. Sure enough, she had prayed that day for the first time for God to meet her, she wanted transformation now!

I looked at her hand. She had a splined wrist all bandaged up. I asked her what had happened and she explained how she had fallen and how she could hardly use her hand. Now I asked if she believed that Jesus Christ could do that for.  She looked at me. “Absolutely, beyond a doubt, He can heal me right now”. I said a short prayer. I realized this woman had faith, so I prayed and told her to take the bandage off. She moved her hand back and forth and was completely healed!

The receptionist was chocked in a positive way. She had never experienced a miracle but was ready for the next. I asked again, “Are you ready to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour” “Absolutely” she answered, and right there in front of everybody she prayed Jesus Christ to come into her life and save her.

It was a very late but beautiful experience and when I left I was wondering what and how that just happened. When I passed by the reception later that night she was still  “high” on Jesus Christ at the reception desk.  I was so amazed to see what had just happened so I asked if I could shoot a video with her so that you (and my wife!) could see how Jesus Christ had called this woman into his Kingdom. Look what the Lord has done, you can check the video here was she a stalker?

Act 8:39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The official did not see him again but continued on his way, full of joy.

Categories
Inspiration

Woman Healed From MS

Screen Shot 2018-09-06 at 10.22.15 AM

This lady came to our church in Orlando suffering from MS (multiple sclerosis). During our regular Sunday service, we called for prayer and many sick people came forward to be healed. When the service was over, a man came to me asking, if I could pray for his wife. I knew that somebody already had prayed for her, so why would I pray again?

The husband insisted. We went to the back building to eat lunch and now I saw how the lady was dragging her legs. She could not walk, and the husband explained that she was suffering from MS. I found out that it was a nurse at the hospital who had invited her to come. The woman was a believer and she came from another church, where they did not believe that healing was for everybody. I told her that we don’t share that belief!

I know from experience that a lot of sicknesses is related to past pain and unforgiveness because of trauma. MS is the same thing. After lunch, I asked the lady to bring the Bible to the table and we started reading how Jesus was healing the sick. She took notes and I could see that this woman had faith! I knew a miracle was about to take place and I told one of my ushers to be ready with the phone to film and document the miracle.

I started ministering to her about forgiveness, and in the video, you can see how she starts forgiving people that had hurt in the past. It is a very touching moment. In the end, I ask if she is ready to run? I start counting 1-2-3, and immediately she starts running so fast that the cameraman is left behind. He runs out the door and sees the nurse who is looking for the lady but she is already around the building, so the nurse and the cameraman turns around and now they see her running towards them, out the door and around the building another time!

Now the lady is running around the church in loops praising Jesus. You can also see her husband crying, still sitting at the table inside the building. He is in chock and testifies how she has never been able to do this before.

Watch the video here

Never give up. Never lose hope. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the author and the finisher of our faith, and He is working out miracles today if we only believe.

Romans 8.11. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Categories
Inspiration

Seeking the Reality of Pentecost

hands-worship

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of the Christian church, the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit entered into this world with the sound of a mighty wind and tongues of fire transforming ordinary believers, empowering them to become witnesses for Jesus Christ to the ends of the world.

(Acts 2:1-4) ”When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

When the Holy Spirit came, it turned the life of the church upside down. At this time, there were gentiles and Jews from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem, and they were all wondering when they heard how the disciples began to speak to them about God’s great deeds in their own language.

It was so wild that the critics blamed the disciples of being drunk in wine, even though it was early morning 9 am. They did not know about the new wine that the Holy Spirit was serving, and it seems like the same critics are around today!

Speaking in tongues has become a rare phenomenon, even in the Pentecostal church. Here we can find so-called believers who believe that the gift of tongues is not for everybody to receive, together with people who no longer speak in tongues in the congregation because they have become so seeker friendly that they don’t read their Bibles. Check it out. It says that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for the believer, but for the unbeliever. 1 Cor 14.22.

Let me give you an example. On my first crusade in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, I stood on the platform in the biggest sports arena, not knowing what I was going to preach. As I looked through a few different preachings, I suddenly realized that it was the actual day of Pentecost, so what would be more natural than preaching about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I preached with boldness and spoke the Word, and after that, I invited people to come for prayer. The first 5 came to the altar, then 10, then 20, then 30, then 40 and so on. Finally, there were about 100 people, who wanted to be filled with Holy Spirit and power.

Everybody stood, staring at me, expecting that I was going to fill their mouth with unintelligible sounds, and again I had to stress the importance to them, that it wasn’t me, but God who gives. Instead of praying for people individually, I released the power of God in the hall.

“Be filled,” I shouted, but at first there was no reaction. People just stood with their mouth open like young birds waiting for God to fill them and heaven to open up.

When I looked out to the people, my eyes caught a young guy, who had received the language of the Spirit the night before. The Holy Spirit showed me that I should ask him to come up on the stage. And when I put the microphone in front of him, he immediately started speaking in tongues.

This young man’s family was known by everybody in there so it became a mighty sign for the people gathered. Immediately when he started speaking in tongues, it spread to the first row. More and more people began speaking in tongues, and soon the stage and the floor was full of young, elderly, and old people, praising God in new tongues. After the meeting, a parent went on stage to take his daughter home. She was among those slain in the Spirit. When I left the arena, he came walking all by himself. I rolled down the window in the car and asked about his daughter. The man told me that he had to leave her on the platform because she was too drunk to walk on her own!

Pentecost is wild. It might not look presentable when the Holy Spirit falls on people but it is definitely needed for revival to break out. It is not our plausible words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that does the difference. We need the supernatural. More miracles and less apologetics, so that our faith should not rest in the wisdom of men but in the Power of God (1 Cor 2.4-5).

If you want to learn more about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you can read more in Christian Hedegaard’s new book, “Holy Spirit Wildfire”, who is available on Amazon.  Holy Spirit Wildfire

Categories
Inspiration

On The Road With Jesus

19756607_10155554263142430_1414080713129550423_n

Every year we travel across the continent to preach the gospel and to visit friends. This year we did more than 9000 miles in our car, ministering in Florida, Pensylvania, Kansas, Texas, and Nevada. The picture above is from Poconos PA where Pastor Christian was able to ride with a Christian motorcycle ministry. It was an amazing trip, thank you all for receiving us so well.

On the road, we launched Pastor Christian Hedegaard’s new book “Fallow Ground”, which is his first book written in the US about discovering and recovering your full potential in Christ. The book is inspired by the work we do among the homeless people in Orlando, with teachings and testimonies from the church and the street.

After the road trip, we decided to start a ministry blog so that we can keep you informed of what is going on in the ministry, not only in Powerhouse Church on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando but wherever we go, to other states and into the nations. New doors are opening and we need your prayers and support!

This week pastor Christian Hedegaard will have 3 days of revival in Open Doors Ministries in Georgia, in September he will be preaching with Titus Ministries on a crusade in Lima, Peru, and in the first week of November, we are planning a mission trip to Denmark for another 3 days of revival. If you wanna know more, follow us here.

John 4.35.Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.