I grew up in a teeny tiny Southern Baptist church until I was about 12. I heard about Jesus and fell in love with Him there. I learned about the Father and how He loves us. My eyes were opened to a world of invisible warrior angels and scary demons. I heard stories from ancient pages about miracles and listened with rapture. That tiny church opened the doors of my heart to a world filled with wonder and power and a King that ruled it all.
As I grew older, I continued to be fascinated by the spiritual and ethereal aspects of scripture. How Peter walked on water–his actual flesh and bone feet stood on liquid water. Amazing! How Lazarus was dead and rotting, yet Jesus called him out of the tomb. I’m sure he came out wobbling in his grave clothes in utter confusion. How the shadow of a man would heal someone just by falling on them. Deformed arms were made whole, blind eyes and deaf ears were opened. This absolutely captivated me, and it confused me.
These were glimpses into the Kingdom of God, places where the miraculous intervention of heaven shot through the darkness of the earth and changed things way down to the molecular level. I longed to taste it, to see it, to know it for myself.
People would comment on how miracles were reserved for Biblical times, and I would scratch my head. Hadn’t they read John 14:12 where Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (NIV, italics mine)?
A God who parted seas, made dry bones come alive, caused a donkey to speak, caused a virgin to conceive, brought the dead to life, made blind eyes open. He’s a God who could turn water, a mass collection of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, into sweet and wonderfully-aged wine in the blink of an eye.
His miracles stretched back to the dawn of creation, yet people thought they weren’t relevant today. It made no sense to me. Why do some people assume He has changed? Scripture says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). A God who did miracles thousands of years ago would still do miracles today. It seemed a completely logical assumption, and it didn’t take much to convince me. The Word is His words, and they are truth. The end.
Yet life continued on, and I didn’t encounter God in any way that was uncommon to the average, American believer. My prayers were often shallow and desperate. I wanted guidance, but I didn’t want Him to do anything. Instead, I just wanted Him to tell me what to do and give me favor. Help me pass this test. Help me get my driver’s license. Which college should I go to? Please, don’t let my car break down on the interstate, Lord!
I still believed the miraculous was possible, and whenever someone would tell me a story of wondrous events, my imagination would burst to life, recreating what must have happened. Over the years, the Lord was slowly leading me into a greater knowledge of Him, and one day, I had a pivotal encounter that paved the way.
It was with some DVDs in the living room of an Alabamian stranger.
I was on a weekend away with a friend. We were visiting another friend of hers in Alabama. A day into the trip, my new acquaintance made a comment about Darren Wilson’s films. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. After hearing me say so, she pulled out three DVDs and said we were about to do a movie marathon. Her excitement was obvious, and I couldn’t exactly say no.
She put in the first DVD, Finger of God, and I sat glued to the screen. I also kept trying to sink further and further into the couch. It was weirding me out! Gold dust was falling from the sky. Manna was appearing in people’s Bibles. Perfect gemstones materialized in people’s hands. Gold teeth were miraculously showing up in people’s mouths! God, the ultimate dentist. What the heck was happening?
People were being healed, and this guy, Darren, was taking his camera and capturing it all. I was absolutely freaked out. I knew God was into miracles for healing and saving people, but extravagance for no reason? To me, the people in the video seemed odd, like from-another-tribe kind of odd. What was happening was so foreign to me. It felt like they were from another world. Was this my God? Could this be the work of the Jesus I’ve known my whole life?
The DVD ended, and we took a short respite. Thank goodness! I needed a breather. I hid in the corner of my room and hit my knees. I knew God. I knew my Savior. I knew His heart, but I was coming unglued on the inside. I didn’t know what to think.
I don’t remember much from those prayers, but I do remember saying, “Lord, I want You. I want all of You, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me, or how weird it seems.” I learned that day that God was most definitely bigger than the tiny, little, boxed-in Father I had made Him.
We finished the other two DVDs, Father of Lights and Furious Love. I managed to not be as scared while watching them. I wanted to have an open mind and trust that the Spirit would guide me. My head was spinning by the time the last credits rolled. God had allowed His miracles to be recorded! This somehow seemed blasphemous. Where was the faith part of believing?
I saw a man’s leg grow longer. I saw people with pain get prayed over and the pain vanish. I saw limbs that could barely move return to full mobility—all right before my eyes. Incredible events took place, some for healing, some to just show off, it seemed, and some to give Darren and his crew an incredible experience.
I could spell out everything that happens in these films, but I would be doing a terrible disservice to you. You need to watch them for yourself. They will absolutely blow you away. They will stretch you and strengthen you. They are films every follower of Jesus needs to watch. And if you start freaking out and Jesus starts to feel different from the Lord you’ve always known, just remember the Jesus in Scripture and watch the DVDs through that lens.
He is changeless. He did all kinds of amazing things: present-day healing should be no different than Mark 3:1-6 where Jesus heals the man’s shriveled hand on the Sabbath. Imagine if Darren had been there to record that!
Darren Wilson began with Finger of God at a place of hesitant curiosity. He wasn’t sure God was still in the miracle-making business, yet he had heard stories. He decided to record his journey of discovery, and his career of capturing God in action began. Years later he has now crafted fix feature-length films including Finger of God, Finger of God 2, Father of Lights, Furious Love, Holy Ghost, and Holy Ghost Reborn. You can find them all here on the WP Films website. His latest venture is a TV show titled Adventures With God where he delves deep into God working in people’s lives and shows prominent members of the Christian Faith wrestling with big questions.
To say that Darren Wilson changed my life is a bit of a stretch, but it was his obedience to film God that changed my life. God used one man and a video camera to open my eyes, and I am so grateful. Darren Wilson stepped out in faith to believe that God would show up, and even stranger still, that God would allow Himself to be recorded. It takes a bold man to do something like that, and because of his bravery, he is changing people’s lives, including mine and, hopefully, yours.
Featured Image by Roger Erdvig
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