After I was born again in 1975, I was asleep in the night and was transported into heaven where I was with God and with Jesus and with The Holy Spirit. I saw no images. It was a spiritual experience.
At that time, I was "merged" into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing.
Two or three nights later, this exact same thing happened again to me.
I was set on fire for things of God and the church!
I owned a small business at that time so I didn't have to go into the shop except to make appraisals of art objects for customers. I could stay at my apartment and read the Bible, which I did do at that time. I also attended church services and special meetings at various churches and a prayer group in my neighborhood.
Almost everywhere I went people recognized a call of God on my life and talked about the "hand" of God being on me strongly.
(Though I had never told any of them about being taken into heaven those two times. Because I thought that happened to all Christians and it was several weeks before I mentioned this to a friend.)
God had given me spiritual gifts of word of knowledge and word of wisdom and when I shared these, they recognized this being from God. Often these things I was shown had to do with some form of healing and a physical problem and people were delighted to receive this.
I Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
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I had also been given by God a gift of exhortation for the church but that came forth several years later.
Romans 12:5-8 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
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At the singles class at the church I attended, our teacher would always say, "Does anyone have a word from the Lord?"
So opportunity was made by this teacher for us to share the gifts of the Holy Spirit which I did each week as God gave utterance by His Spirit.
Several people said they thought I was a prophet.
Ephesians 4:8;11-12 Wherefore HE saith, When HE ascended up on high, HE led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
11-12 And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
(I still had not told any of them about being taken into heaven twice.)
In time, the pastor at that church, from the pulpit said: "Joan is not a teacher. She is a prophetess."
(But pastor, Robert Tilton, Word of Faith, never let me speak at that church group. I think he was afraid of me. He wouldn't be able to control what I might say!)
Amazingly at that time, Marilyn Hickey came to speak at that church group and she gave my own testimony as I was sitting there. Everyone looked at me. By that time, I was on radio and had often given that testimony so many in that church group recognized this.
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One day, I was driving along a road and God spoke to me by HIS Spirit and said: "I have called you and set you in the body of Christ as an apostle."
"Apostle", I cried out.
"What's an apostle?"
(Over the next few weeks, God would teach me about that ministry office.)
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God began with Acts 15 to show me what apostles were to do in the New Testament Church.
A question arose in the early church: Did the Gentile believers have to be circumcised?
The apostles and elders meet to discuss this matter.
After much dissention, the apostle James rendered the decisions concerning this matter.
Acts 15:13-20 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for HIS name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom MY name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Known unto God are all HIS works from the beginning of the world.
Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
By this, I saw that one thing NT apostles do is to deal with church doctrines and render "sentences", decisions. NT apostles have an anointing from God to sort through doctrine and to "rule" on doctrine through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the scriptures.
(I have done this many times concerning divorce and remarriage in the churches. And also concerning such things as homosexuals and drunkards in the church, and through putting certain violators out of the church gathering as per I Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. )
I did not tell my pastor nor our Bible teacher nor anyone else at the church group about this experience with God concerning being an apostle.
Later I did speak of this on my radio broadcasts, telling that which God had shown me about this ministry office and how it functioned in the NT church today.
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During the years between 1975 and 1980, people often recognized a strong call of God on my life.
Dale Evans Rodgers had written a book for Reveile Publishing Company. She came to Dallas to promote her book. The man I was dating at that time worked for the publisher, and he wanted me to join him as he took Dale from place to place while she was in Dallas.
I doubt Bob was even born again but he seemed to realize that Dale would relate to me so he didn't want to be with Dale without my being there.
We took her back to her hotel one night. She and Bob got out of the car and walked toward the hotel door.
Dale turned and returned to me and said, "I don't know how I know this, but you are going to be mightily used by God. You are going to have to stay very close to HIM."
True! Much persecution was to come in the years ahead from the churches.
Prophets of God are always persecuted by the religious people.
Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
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During the 1980-81 period, Marilyn Hickey came to Dallas and I went to dinner with her. As we were leaving the restaurant, Marilyn turned to me and said, "I have a word for you."
Marilyn often had a word for people and at first I didn't think much about it.
Marilyn said to me:
God says:
I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Luke 21:15
(It turned out that Marilyn would later be one of those adversaries!)
God prepared me for everything that was to come in the time ahead.
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