“Jesus did not come just to show us what He could do but what we could do,” Robby Dawkins told the crowd on the third night of School of Power and Love 2018.

“He destroyed the works of the evil one by healing the sick. Casting out demons. Raising people from the dead. It’s normal and shocking at the same time … And it’s the most dangerous thing on the planet – because it’s mass destruction against Satan, death, wars, disease.

“It’s not a war against people. It’s a war where love is the weapon. The kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. His throne on earth was a torture device called the cross.”

Together with evangelists Todd White and Tom Ruotolo, who have held over 100 Schools of Power and Love globally, Dawkins was relaying a message that had been resounding through the conference: To bring Jesus to souls, and souls to Jesus, as we walk closely in His footsteps and the power of His Spirit.

“Don’t play it safe. Self-preservation is the death of faith in the church. It kills faith. Everything inside you will want to move to the place of safety and self-preservation.

“But Jesus said if you try to save your life you will lose it, but if you’re willing to spend your life for the sake of the kingdom, you will have more life than you can ever imagine.” (Matthew 16:25)

To bring Jesus to souls, and souls to Jesus, as we walk closely in His footsteps and the power of His Spirit.

In a society of paiseh and kiasi, being challenged to step out and be Jesus produces an understandably reverse knee-jerk reaction of sorts for the typical Singaporean.

Sharing the Gospel message is one thing, but to relay a prophetic word of knowledge or pray for healing? I dare to wager that most of the new students of this school were about to be greatly challenged out of their comfort zone.

Were we ready to die to our fear of man and lose our faces for the sake of bringing people into the Kingdom?

“People don’t need to hear what you believe – they need to encounter what you believe,” Dawkins continued, explaining why the power of God as manifested in signs, wonders and miracles are important tools in being witnesses of our faith.

People don’t need to hear what you believe – they need to encounter what you believe.

“You’re never going to argue anyone into the faith – what they need is an encounter.”

And indeed, over three full days of equipping and empowering, encounter is what many who crossed paths with the participants of Power and Love got. 

Every day after meal time, during which teams were encouraged to minister to those around them and apply what they’d learnt in the sessions, voluntary lines would form on stage as people excitedly waited to tell their tales of intense and intentional outreach.

This is what impressed me most: Almost every other group that came up to share had led at least one person to Christ – and quite a few had even more!

These people weren’t seasoned evangelists or preachers. In fact, most of them still bore the look of surprise as they told of how a simple of word of knowledge or prayer for healing had turned into a decision of faith for the person they’d approached.

Jesus didn’t die so that I can be in the church – He died so that I can be the Church.

Some had muddied their shoes to walk to the person whom the Spirit was pointing out to them. Others had gone all the way back to the hawker centre during dinner to find a cleaner they wanted to pray for at lunch.

One had even shared the Gospel with the men who were delivering water to the church – and led them to faith!

“It takes one, it just takes one,” Todd White said during our interview with him. “If I can see somebody out there on outreach, stepping out, all of a sudden it infects more … I’m seeing people step into what they are called to be – and they are called to be one with God.”

“I’m not putting down the church at all, but it is not just about going to the building, it is about being the temple everywhere you go and walking with God fully in your midst and living that life, so that other people would see.

“I can either believe enough to get into Heaven, or I can believe enough for Heaven to get into me. Jesus didn’t die so that I can be in the church – He died so that I can be the Church.”

I can either believe enough to get into Heaven, or I can believe enough for Heaven to get into me.

And that was the real lesson we took away from the School of Power and Love: It’s not about signs and wonders; the miraculous is not a magic show.

Power without love is terrifying, and love without power is just feel-good. Jesus walked in both, and this identity, this privilege of Sonship, is bestowed upon every believer – if we just choose to believe and live it.

“People are not closed under love. We’ve been so used to coming to them with a message to tell – but when that’s our first priority, people sense it,” Tom Ruotolo shared.

“The Holy Spirit loves to work through love,” he continued. “1 Corinthians 13, our universal chapter on love, is sandwiched between 1 Corinthians chapters 13 and 14 – which are on the gifts of the Holy Spirit – because that’s how these gifts flow.

We have to make that decision to allow God to manifest His power through us; we are the ones who must carry the love of Jesus to others.

“People don’t want to be convinced, to hear your agenda. God already has a plan. We can just put on love and watch how it changes everything.

“When we focus on love, the gifts of the Holy Spirit will flow.”

We don’t have to feel pressured to make the miraculous happen, to heal or comfort anyone in our own power. The power we already have is the one of free will – of choice.

We have to make that decision to allow God to manifest His power through us; we are the ones who must carry the love of Jesus to others.

“The thing we have to get out of the way is ourselves,” Ruotolo urged the listening crowd. It is very usually our refusal or hesitation to pray, bless or intercede for others that stands in the way of power. 

“You were created for love – just like Jesus! You were designed to look like Him. We weren’t designed to be sinners. We want people saved, but more than that we want people transformed.

“Transformed back into the image of Jesus.”

For more information on follow-up events for the School of Power and Love, please follow their Facebook page here.