Paul Cain’s Late 80’s, and the Vineyard
Paul Cain’s credibility was becoming very significant at KCF. In November/December of 1988 is when Paul Cain got everyone’s attention. In early November Paul called Mike saying, “That the Lord wanted to deal with some staff-infection and that the Lord wants to make the staff as white as snow. Oh, and by the way, on the day when I come it will be dry before the meeting and it will be white as snow after the meeting is over.” Paul then said to Mike, “You pick the date.” So, Mike arbitrary named the day for the staff to meet. Paul came around Thanksgiving and all the KCF staff with their spouses came and about 60 to 70 were there. They arrived around 6 p.m. and it was dry out. Paul started out by complementing the staff. In that it was a rare thing for a staff of this size not to have significant sin, like adultery or another gross sin to have afflicted at least a few staff members over the years. Then he challenged the staff of KCF for losing their original vision. Paul spoke a very serious message about different attitudes that individuals were dealing with then and God convicted them: as Paul spoke about seven or eight different types of sins. Then 8 or 9 staff members repented with weeping for having bad attitudes and the meeting lasted for several hours longer than usual. When the meeting had finally concluded there was about an inch of snow on the ground. Paul then told Mike that the staff is now white as snow and this kind of thing (prophetic activity) was going to happen all the time through his ministry.
Mike relayed this story to John Wimber, John decided to invite Paul Cain to the Anaheim Vineyard. John Wimber was excited about meeting Paul Cain, and asked Jack Deere, a senior Vineyard pastor and theologian who knew Paul, “Do you think that the Lord will give me a sign when this guy comes?” Jack called and confirmed that Paul was coming to California. Jack asked Paul, “Well, do you think that we could have a sign, when you come out?” Paul said, “Yes, why sure. The Lord just wants John to know the importance of the word that the Lord is going to give him which is Jeremiah 33:8, “I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have trespassed against Me.” And the sign is this: That on the day I arrive, there will be an earthquake in California and then on the day after I leave, there will be a large earthquake somewhere else in the world. Oh, by the way, why don’t you have John pick the date? John was astounded at Paul’s boldness and decided on Dec 3rd. Sure enough, on the morning of the 3rd at 3:38 a.m. John was startled out of bed by a small earthquake. This was the morning of Paul’s arrival at the Anaheim Vineyard. John called Mike that morning and started screaming over the phone: “THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE! There was an earthquake this morning and happened at 3:38! 3:38 is the same number as the verse he gave us! This is unbelievable, I am scared to death! HE IS COMING IN AN HOUR! WHAT DO I DO?”
Mike said, “Well, try fasting.”
John said, “It’s only an hour. I don’t think that is going to work?”
So, John being really moved, humbled himself greatly before the Lord before Paul arrived for their meeting. Paul told John that he had received the Lord’s endorsement concerning his leadership over what the Lord was about ready to do, concerning His plan to use the Vineyard in revival for the church in America in the coming days, because of the way John humbled himself. The Lord gave Paul some very specific words of knowledge concerning a plot to overthrow John’s leadership over the Vineyard in order to make him only a figurehead. The reason that these leaders were going to do this was because the Vineyard was going through a period of stagnation.
The Lord gave Paul words of knowledge concerning the names, addresses and phone numbers of each of these individuals, which helped John in maintaining his leadership over the Vineyard movement—before the internet too.
Mercy was what the meeting was all about. Paul gave the Vineyard the Scripture Jeremiah 33:8—the same time that the earthquake took place that morning. Then Paul shared, “Grace, grace for the If the Vineyard repented, God would spare them from judgment for their sins. Paul admonished John to no longer tolerate low standards in the Vineyard and to raise up people of purity and holiness (Equipping the Saints: 1989). Then when Paul Cain left on Dec 7th, there was very large earthquake that took place in Armenia that was still part of the former Soviet Union. This took place at the same time Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was visiting United States to meet with Presidents Reagan and President-Elect Bush. The Lord spoke to Paul that because John had trembled at His word, according to Isaiah 66:2, that John was His chosen leader in America at this time. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” In early February John Wimber introduced both Paul Cain and Mike Bickle to the Vineyard in conferences in both New Zealand and Australia.1 For John the messages that Paul Cain and Mike brought to the Vineyard where almost a lifesaving for his movement.
Leonard Ravenhill came to visit KCF for three days in February and preached on sanctification and revival. Pat loved listening to Leonard Ravenhill and made it to church for all three of these meetings and I heard them too. Shortly after Leonard came to Kansas City. He shared on the life of Samson and quoted from Hebrews 11, “that people who know their God will be strong and do exploits.” He then said, “there is no substitute for the anointing of God.” Ravenhill encouraged us to find ourselves in the place of Holy Spirit travail in prayer for the church and the lost. We need God’s power, and we need to pray for the Lord to give us one more chance. His message was for us to be fervent and hungry for God. Leonard shared that he had a vision from the Lord “in which he saw a wheel and a road coming down from every direction and he saw people converging in Kansas City to see the magic (mighty) power of God. “That we desperately needed the favor of God. Pat really liked most of what he had to say. I also attended some of these meetings. Around this time Rick Joyner also shared concerning a ‘Vision of the Harvest’ that the Lord had given him two years previous and which he later turned into a book. Paul Cain preached on the ‘Jealousy of God’ and that we were to be like Phineas, of Moses's generation because of his zeal, who stopped the plague that was going through the camp of the Lord because of sin, while Israel was in the wilderness.2