Searching for the Mind of God

By Pastor Tran Thi Ngoc Linh Ferguson with Pastor Richard Dean Ferguson

The Bible is unlimited in wisdom and information, but too many people limit their knowledge to what they hear in church. The New Testament tells us what we must do to live a Christian life, but the Old Testament gives us examples of how to do it. This book explains many areas that we must work at to have a close, personal relationship with God. It gives a deeper understanding of the teachings of the prophets and apostles. The Bible tells us there is one baptism that has three parts. There are three levels of anointing and five levels of faith. These are just a few of the things a person must be aware of to have that close, personal relationship with God. This book is designed to help people draw closer to God. As you do, He will bless you abundantly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645151487

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Visit to Heaven

Our daughter, Pauline, went to be with the Lord about 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, 1989. Her struggle was over, but ours had just begun. We had taught Pauline to believe in God’s healing. She, through her faith, had faced death several times and overcame it. Why, then, did God let her die without manifesting her healing? We were angry and devastated. We had lost one of the most precious gifts God had ever given us—our daughter. We could not pray. We could not let go of Pauline. The grief and anger were crushing our hearts. All night Tuesday and all day Wednesday, Rick struck out at God in fury for His failure to honor the promise in His Word.

Then, sometime during the night of March 22, Rick fell into an exhausted sleep, and when he awoke the next morning, he had total peace.

Shortly after he fell asleep, he was caught up in the spirit to be with Pauline. She was standing in an indescribably beautiful garden, and in the background was the magnificent gemstone wall of heaven. He saw a vision of beauty in Linh’s wedding dress (Pauline was buried in her mother’s wedding dress). As Rick stared, she put her hands out from her sides and turned slowly around. Then Rick heard her say, How do I look, Daddy? Only then did he recognize her. She was five feet and six inches tall and had the beautiful full body of a young lady. Gorgeous, long, shiny black curls cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes sparkled with joy, and her skin was a soft golden tan. She was dancing in her new high-heeled shoes amid a menagerie of animals. Rick had seen her healing in the spirit several times, but in all her radiant beauty, what he remembered could never have compared to the Pauline standing and dancing before him now. He was about to ask her about that, but suddenly a voice said, When you saw her healed in the spirit, it was before her death. Therefore, she did not get to have her perfect body. What you are privileged to see now is her perfection in God.

Rick reached out to hold her, but the angel that had stood by her bed for so many months stepped between them. Pauline said, No, Daddy, don’t touch me. I’m afraid you will pull me back again, and I want to stay with Jesus.

Why ‘again’? Rick asked.

She replied, Daddy, I love you and Mommy so much, and I know how much you both love me. My mission was finished in 1985 when I was about to die at Fitzsimons Hospital, but your love kept me from leaving then.

Rick said, I’m sorry, baby. We didn’t realize.

She answered, Don’t be sorry, Daddy, and don’t you and Mommy feel guilty. I had a choice, and because of your love, I stayed.

But you suffered for four more years because of us, he said.

Oh, it wasn’t much to do for your happiness. Besides, it just meant more jewels in my crown, she answered.

Can your mother see you? Rick asked.

Here a shadow crossed her face. No, not yet, but when she’s ready, I’ll let her see me. She’s not ready to release me yet, and she can still pull me back. For now, you can tell her what I’ve said.

Why didn’t God heal you? Rick asked.

But he did, Daddy! Look at me! You and Mommy saw my healing in the spiritual realm, and you assumed it had to be manifested in the natural world. But my mission was completed. Look in my Bible, and you will see that I stayed longer than I was supposed to. So God did heal me, but he healed me in the spiritual realm. (We later looked in her Bible, and she had written, My manifestation in the world is completed! February 19, 1989.)

Pumpkin, why did you have to suffer so in this life? Rick asked.

For a moment, she paused, and then she answered, When you get here, you will understand.

During their talk, Pauline told Rick that her brother Frankie, both of her grandmothers, and many friends and relatives met her. She knew her brother immediately even though she had never seen him in this life. About her grandmothers, she said, Oh, Daddy, they are so beautiful!

When Rick mentioned how much our dogs missed her, she said, They don’t miss me, Daddy. They can still see me. Animals don’t have the barrier to the spirit world as humans do. Remember Balaam’s donkey in Numbers 22:21? The dogs are acting the way they do because they sense the pain and hurt of Mommy and you and others who are coming around now.

About her departure from her body, she said, Mommy thinks I suffered, but let her know that when she saw me look up, I saw Jesus, and I just couldn’t stay any longer. That’s when I left my body and left all the pain behind.

(Her death certificate states that she died of natural causes. We asked the doctors, and they said that her body functions suddenly all shut down and the life force left the body.)

As they talked, she spoke of the assignment God gave her for those last four years she was with us.

When Tran and I were growing up, you always showed us how much you loved us. But then as we got older, you became colder and colder. You didn’t hug us or sing to us or do any of the little things you used to do to show your love. And, Daddy, in all that time, I never saw you cry. You became very hard and seldom expressed affection in any way. Daddy, I knew how much you could love, and I knew you loved us very deeply, so I stayed to teach you how to show love, deep and tender, to others. Now if you think back over the last four years, your heart has softened. I watched you go from a hard, macho soldier to a tender, loving, and forgiving friend and daddy. Remember the people who cheated you in business? You learned to forgive even them. You see, Daddy, God has a great ministry of love for you and Mommy. Mommy has a gift of love, and you need to learn from her. I can’t say any more about the ministry God has for you, but remember that the Holy Spirit will always be there and you will feel His presence through whatever happens.

Then Rick asked, But, Darling, if you were teaching me how to show love, why did you leave us now? It’s still hard for me to express my love to anyone besides you, your mom, and Tran.

The sparkle in her eyes seemed to become clouded for a moment, but then Rick felt and saw such a beautiful, pure love come from her eyes that he began to cry.

Pauline then spoke, "You see, Daddy, you could not and would not cry. The only way I could finalize my teaching was by leaving you. By leaving you, your heart was broken, and the great love you have for me washed away all the years of stored-up bitterness and anger. Look at you, Daddy! You’re crying! And right now, you only have love in your heart because although you cannot see Him, you are standing in the presence of the Holy Trinity. What you are experiencing is the love of God—the very love spoken of in John 3:16. God is letting me talk to you because our hearts are bonded in His love. So He is using me to teach you because even your angels have grown impatient with you. But I love you, Daddy, and I won’t be impatient with you. My time in that broken shell of a body has taught me a great lesson in patience. And as we walk hand in hand in the garden, Jesus will teach me more. Then I will come to you and Mommy to teach you what you should know.

"Now, Daddy, I must warn you that when you wake up, Satan will come immediately to steal what I have told you. So first talk to Mommy. She needs to know I am happy. Then as the remembrance of what I’ve told you comes to mind, write it down. The Holy Spirit will help you, but you must be ready at any time of the day or night.

"Don’t ever be afraid to love. If people hurt you, forgive them. God will make it come out in the end. You have a great capacity to love—as great as Mommy’s. Love is the only thing that, as you give it away, you receive back more than you gave. Remember 1 Corinthians 13. Remind others of it. It has been forgotten in many churches today.

"Minister whenever the Holy Spirit gives the opportunity. In the near future, you will be amazed at the people coming to you and Mommy to be prayed for and to receive your blessing. Give freely as the Holy Spirit leads.

"When people ask you to pray for them, pray first for yourself. Ask God to forgive you and cleanse your heart. Then when you pray for others, you will see great miracles. Remember, you have the power in the name of Jesus. You can do all the things Jesus did and even greater things. He tells us that in His Word. All that mighty power was released to the church when Jesus ascended into heaven. Every individual Christian who will accept the responsibility has power over sickness and death. Once you recognize that, then these are just other names for tormenting spirits. You can attack the source.

"When dealing with demons, always hold your Bible. It is the sword of God and your personal defense. Remember that you must always bind Satan in the name of Jesus before you can deal with his demons. But I will caution you also that you must let the Holy Spirit guide you. Do not pray for someone’s healing unless you feel the anointing of power from the Holy Spirit. You have the power, and as your faith grows, you can, under certain conditions, perform miracles without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. These miracles are contrary to God’s perfect will and will only lead to other more severe problems. Remember Moses striking the stone?

There are also people who have chosen to live with certain afflictions in order to further God’s work on this earth. Remember that Paul spoke of these people in Hebrews 11:35. By sacrificing a little of this world’s pleasures for God’s work, we lay up greater treasures in heaven. Some people will have doubts as you teach this, but remind them of Daniel. He chose not to allow the lions to kill him, so he called for angels to defend him. The angels stood between Daniel and the lions. Since animals have no barrier to the spiritual realm, they could see the angels and could not harm Daniel. It’s all about choices.

The garden where they talked was full of unbelievably beautiful flowers. He mentioned a particular group of flowers and stated how beautiful he thought they were.

Which flowers are you talking about, Daddy? she asked. You see, here in heaven, everyone sees things in the colors that are the most pleasing to them at that moment.

They talked of many things. She told him that as her body lay in the hospital on March 21, her brother Tran entered the room. He asked the nurse if he could be alone with her, and then he talked to her for several minutes. Rick later spoke to Tran about it, and he verified that it happened just as Pauline said, including the specifics of the conversation.

After what seemed to be a few minutes even though it was actually several hours, Pauline said, "Daddy, I have to go soon, but there are things I need to tell you. Tell Mommy before she goes to see my body this morning to remember that I am not actually there.

Now you and Mommy need to love each other as you have loved me. Get to know each other again and walk together with God.

Rick began to panic. But we’ll never see you again until we die! he said.

That’s not true, Daddy. God taught you and Mommy to see in the spirit. Now as you and Mommy practice that, God will allow you to see me and talk to me. He is preparing you both for a ministry, and as you grow, God will let me come and teach you in the spirit.

What kind of ministry? Rick asked.

You will know when it is time. I’ve got to go for now, but I’ll talk to you and Mommy again, she said.

But how will we know to look for you? Rick asked.

Watch the roses, she said.

While she was with us, Pauline had a miniature rosebush next to her bed. When Rick awoke that morning, he went to look at the roses. They had all turned white.

Since that time, periodically one of the roses would turn pink, and Rick or Linh would have a dream in which they talked to Pauline.

Chapter 2

Keys to the Kingdom

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus is speaking to Peter. Unfortunately, too many Christians misunderstand what Jesus is saying. The rock Jesus is talking about is Peter’s faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Consequently, the keys to the kingdom of heaven are for all who believe in Him. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:17 that God had revealed this knowledge to him. In other words, God gave Peter discernment to know that Jesus is His Son. We must seek the Holy Spirit’s anointing so we also can have discernment from God. 1 Corinthians 2:15 tells us, But the spiritual man has insight into everything.

The seven keys listed below are the primary keys for our relationship with the Holy Spirit. There are two more that are brought out in the seven steps. These are prayer and fasting. As you diligently seek God, the Holy Spirit will unlock the multitude of secrets of God’s Word.

Be Grounded in God’s Word

The first key is that we must be grounded in God’s Word. John 15:7 says, If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you. In other words, Jesus is saying, If you live in my will, your prayers will be answered. But what is His will? That’s the second part of the verse: And My word abides in you. God’s Word! The Bible tells us God’s will for our lives! So if we live in God’s will, we have submitted our will to come in line with God’s will. Now a lot of times, someone will challenge this because they think that submitting to God’s will means they have to give up their will or individuality. To respond to that, we must go back to Adam. Now wouldn’t you agree that Adam was in God’s will in the garden of Eden? But when Adam sinned, he unplugged himself (and Eve, for that matter) spiritually from God! So when we submit ourselves to the will of God, we are just plugging back into the Power Source! Often, the primary reason our prayers are not answered is because we are not in God’s will!

In the desert, when Jesus was being tempted by the devil, He answered the devil with scriptures. God loves to hear us pray His words back to him. In Isaiah 43:26, God tells us to put Him in remembrance. In other words, we must remind Him of His promises! Again in Isaiah 55:11, we are told that God’s word does not return to Him void. Remember when you