The Encyclopedia

Of Faith
Eight Topics of Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
Internet Edition
CONTENTS
1. A GREATER FAITH 5
Faith that gets results. There are two kinds of faith: headfaith and heart faith. It is
!ery i"portant to know the difference.
2. LYING VANITY OPPOSES FAITH 19
#on$t let %atan rob you of &od$s best. In this chapter' you will learn how %atan
tries to under"ine your faith and keep you fro" recei!ing &od$s best. ()onah *:+,
3. THE POWER OF THE TONGUE IN FAITH 34
The i"portance of saying the right thing. This e-plores the "any scriptures that
show the i"portance of saying the right thing. (.o"ans 1/:0' 1/,
4. HOW TO CONFESS YOUR FAITH WITHOUT TELLING A LIE 43
The difference between ad"itting' ad!ertising and accepting. Here )oe )ordan
helps you to see why this !ery ti"ely "essage brings "uch needed instruction to
responsible 1hristians on a !ery contro!ersial sub2ect.
5. THE TWO SIDES OF HEALING 51
The gifts of healing and healing through faith. %o"e see only one side of healing
and they beco"e confused. In this chapter' )oe )ordan will endea!or to show both
sides of healing.
6. PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALING IN FAITH
Taking &od$s 3ord as "edicine. In this chapter' you will learn how to utili4e
"ore effecti!ely a wellknown but little understood principle used by e!ery great
achie!er in faith. (5ro!erbs 6:**,
7. HOW TO WITNESS REGARDING THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT 64
7nswers to 8uestions concerning this e-perience. This chapter will help you
understand what the 3ord of &od says about this sub2ect. It is a "ust for e!ery
person who knows )esus 1hrist.
. THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY FAITH 97
How to recei!e the &ift of the Holy %pirit. The 9ible shows the different
ter"inologies in regard to this e-perience. This has been one of the "ost popular
topics. It$s a howto lesson straight fro" &od$s 3ord.
WHAT IS THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF FAITH!
Without faith, it is impossible to please God, (Hebrews 11:6.
Old Testa"ent heroes knew this.
%o did the early church 1hristians. Their o!erco"ing faith literally turned the world
upsidedown for the :ingdo" of 1hrist. Each generation of 1hristians "ust learn how to
put the sa"e principles of faith into action.
;e!er before ha!e 1hristian indi!iduals and fa"ilies been under such se!ere %atanic
attack. 9elie!ers are being buffeted fro" all sides and only those whose faith is deeply
rooted and grounded in the 3ord of &od will ha!e the necessary power to win the
spiritual battles of our ti"e.
This powerpacked "anual will e8uip you to face the worst the ene"y can bring against
you <and win. It is your key to coping with the proble"s of life.
AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR FUTURE
This si"ple but profound teaching series will:
= teach you how to learn and li!e the principles of faith.
= help you identify the two kinds of faith <and understand why it is i"portant to
know the difference.
= gi!e you &od$s prescription for healing so you can ha!e and "aintain good
health.
= show you how to change da"aging negati!e attitudes into !ibrant spiritual
power to o!erco"e.
= transfor" your faith into lifechanging results.
WHY IS THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAITH IMPORTANT!
The Encyclopedia of !aith is a solid spiritual resource help you stand on &od$s 3ord for
e!ery need of your life. 1o"panion tapes on each !ital sub2ect' plus an introductory
o!er!iew on how to get the "ost results fro" this balanced faith training "aterial is also
included <eight cassette tapes in all.
The "ncyclopedia of !aith is an e-citing reference and training tool you will want to
share with friends in your ho"e. It is one of the best in!est"ents for spiritual growth and
wellbeing you will e!er "ake. It crosses deno"inational lines' gi!ing strong counsel and
solid teaching to help you beco"e the person you want to be in 1hrist )esus.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR " #OE L. #ORDAN
)oe )ordan' creator' author and narrator of the "ncyclopedia of !aith, is a nationally
recogni4ed authority on highle!el personal faith de!elop"ent. He has taught in e-cess of
*>/'/// persons through 6'/// se"inars in ?// cities across 7"erica. )oe )ordan has
personally counseled and "inistered on a onetoone basis with "ore than 06'///
indi!iduals during that ti"e.
For"erly national coordinator and teacher for the Institute of 1hristian @i!ing %e"inars'
)oe )ordan has written nu"erous faithbuilding books. He has shared the platfor" with
notable faith leaders including Harald 9redesen' #e"os %hakarian' Father #wain
%ten4el' :enneth Hagin' Father #ennis 9ennet' )udson 1ornwall and others.
WHAT YOU DO
#he "ncyclopedia of !aith is an intensi!e Abasic trainingB course designed to help you
clai" your rightful position in &od$s ar"y of belie!ers across 7"erica. #he
"ncyclopedia of !aith will force you to confront old ideas and replace the" with these
dyna"ic concepts of faith.
)oe )ordan reco""ends that you spend each day re!iewing your encyclopedia. 9uild
your daily de!otions around the %cripture lessons of the eight faith sub2ects. The
continuing reinforce"ent of what you ha!e learned will build and strengthen your
spiritual power.
Cou$ll be a"a4ed at how "any rich truths you$ll unco!er that you "ay ha!e o!erlooked
before. 5ick out at least one idea and share it with a friend.
L$%%&' O'$
A GREATER FAITH
(UEST FOR FAITH
7 "a2ority of 1hristians are looking for a Greater !aith, but ha!e not yet found it. They
are walking in an inferior type of faith and conse8uently "issing out on "any of &od$s
blessings. ;ot only ha!e I obser!ed this in others but know fro" "y own past e-perience
that it$s true.
There was a ti"e in which I ad"ired the strong faith of others' yet I knew I didn$t operate
in faith. I wondered how they arri!ed in such a walk of faith' but assu"ed that a like
blessing for "e was unobtainable.
7 ti"e of crisis ca"e which pro!ed to be a "oti!ating force. In desperation I began an
intensi!e search for the Greater !aith I saw in others. Fro" the testi"onies of those who
attributed great personal answers in prayer to their faith' I knew that surely this Greater
!aith was the key.
In a short while' &od enabled "e to hear teaching of His 3ord which opened up the
a!enue to the faith I had been seeking. In .o"ans 1/:1D it says that faith co"es by
hearing and hearing by the 3ord of &od. This was certainly true in "y case.
7s I listened with such an open heart' I increasingly beca"e aware of the fact that the
strong' effecti!e faith of others was also "ine to possess. I then forsook an inferior type
of faith for a Greater !aith.
TWO TYPES OF FAITH
3e$!e "entioned an inferior type of faith and a superior type. 3e can label the" !ery
si"ply <headfaith and heart faith. Headfaith is the inferior kind and heart faith the
superior one.
Headfaith is that which is based on the senses and circu"stances. Heart faith is based
strictly on the 3ord of &od' regardless of what senses and circu"stances would
see"ingly dictate.
The %cripture definitely shows heart faith to be the preferable one with &od. In .o"ans
1/:0' 1/ it says' AThat if thou shalt confess with thy "outh the @ord )esus' and shalt
belie!e in thine heart that &od hath raised hi" fro" the dead' thou shalt be sa!ed. For
with the heart "an belie!eth unto righteousnessE and with the "outh confession is "ade
unto sal!ation.B 7nd in 5ro!erbs ?:> the whole thing is wrapped up in one sentence:
ATrust in the @ord with all thine heartE and lean not unto thine own understanding.B
This clearly shows that trust or belie!ing in our heart is not the sa"e as belie!ing with
our understanding. The co""and is !ery definitely to belie!e with our heart and lean not
to our understanding.
There are "any ti"es when our "ind (the understanding, will say' A@ook at the
circu"stances and what they dictate.B Cet if those circu"stances dictate so"ething which
does not agree with &od$s 3ord' we "ust cast the" aside and purpose to stand only on
the 3ord of &od. If &od$s 3ord beco"es the basis of our actions and belief' we are in
heart faith.
The 9ible says in II 1orinthians $:% that we Awalk by faith and not by sight.B This is in
our dealings with &od as we endea!or to appropriate His pro"ises. In our natural
e!eryday life there are "any ti"es when )* is necessary and appropriate to walk by sight
rather than faith. For e-a"ple' if we are crossing a busy thoroughfare in a city' we should
not close our eyes and say' A&od' I$" going to cross this street by faith and not by sight'
and therefore I will keep "y eyes closed and e-pect you to protect "e as I walk to the
other side.B &od has gi!en us our fi!e senses and e-pects us to use the".
The crossing of the street is not in the sa"e real" as the healing of our bodies or the
sal!ation of our soul. If we depend on our senses and understanding in the crossing of the
street' we should "ake )* safely to the other side. 9ut the pro"ises of &od in sal!ation'
healing' etc.' are appropriated in faith' the heart kind.
It$s our choice. 3e can either lean to our understanding or belie!e fro" our heart. 7nd I
know fro" "y own e-perience that belie!ing fro" the heart produces "any "ore
!ictories.
E+AMPLES OF HEAD FAITH
There$s a graphic e-a"ple of headfaith in the account of Tho"as. It$s recorded in )ohn
*/:*6*0. It reads as follows:
&erse '( )ut #homas, one of the t*elve, called +idymus, *as not *ith them *hen ,esus
came.
&erse '$ #he other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the -ord. )ut he said
unto them, ".cept / shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, / *ill not believe.
&erse '6 0nd after eight days again his disciples *ere *ithin, and #homas *ith them:
then came ,esus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 1eace be unto
you.
&erse '% #hen saith he to #homas, 2each hither thy finger, and behold my hands3 and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
&erse '4 0nd #homas ans*ered and said unto him, 5y -ord my God.
&erse '6 ,esus saith unto him, #homas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
3e$ll go through this e-a"ple of headfaith !erse by !erse. %o"eone "ight wonder why
we would e!en study headfaith since it$s the inferior one. The reason is si"ple. If a
person is in this wrong kind of faith' he needs to see hi"self and know that he is "issing
out on the Greater !aith. If you are in headfaith' I belie!e this passage of %cripture will
e-pose the fact.
In !erses *6 and '$ we read that Tho"as was not with the other disciples when )esus had
appeared unto the". This was His first appearance to the" since the resurrection and
therefore !ery significant. 3hen the other disciples 2oyfully shared with Tho"as the fact
that they had seen the risen @ord' he began to !oice doubts.
To paraphrase his answer to the"' he said' AFellows' you can belie!e it if you want to'
but I personally can$t belie!e unless I actually see the print of the nails' put "y finger into
the"' and thrust "y hand into His side.B In essence he was saying that his senses would
ha!e to be satisfied before he could belie!e. I find "any 1hristians like that today.
They say that they could belie!e in their healing if the pain would only lea!e or if the
growth would disappear. Their faith is dictated by sense knowledge. If you say' AI$"
waiting until the doctor$s report is good before I will belie!e in "y healing'B you are no
closer to heart faith than Tho"as was.
Eight days after Tho"as "ade his state"ents of doubt' )esus appeared again to the
disciples' and this ti"e Tho"as was with the". Incidentally' Tho"as beca"e world
fa"ous for his state"ents of doubt. There are those who use the ter" Adoubting Tho"asB
and don$t e!en know the origin of it. 9ut despite his current notoriety as a doubter' we
should learn how to a!oid duplicating his e-a"ple.
)esus ca"e through the doors that were shut and said to the group' A5eace be unto youB
(!erse *6,. 7nd then He said to Tho"as' A.each hither thy finger' and behold "y handsE
and reach hither thy hand' and thrust it into "y sideE and be not faithless' but belie!ing.B I
belie!e the co""and to be not faithless but belie!ing is significant.
1hrist was telling Tho"as to at least belie!e now that he had seen. Cou say' A3ell'
anyone would belie!e with that kind of e!idence.B ;ot necessarily. There are those who
say they would belie!e if they could see a "iracle' yet when they co"e face to face with
a "iracle' they refuse to belie!e it. Fany of the unsa!ed are like that. ;ot all are' but
8uite a few fit the category.
I$!e had people co"e to "e and say' AFy son is unsa!ed and I 2ust know if he could see
a certain one of our relati!es healed' he would belie!e.B Faybe so' "aybe not. One
wo"an said that her soninlaw was getting bald and she felt if prayer was offered and
&od would grow hair on his head' he would surely get sa!ed. I thought' AIt$s possible' but
he would probably 2ust end up an unbelie!er with a full head of hair' e!en if &od caused
the hair to grow.B
I prayed for a lady and a nu"ber of "iraculous healings occurred' so"e of the" 8uite
ob!ious. %o"eone re"arked to her husband after the ser!ice that &od had "iraculously
"et his wife$s needs' and the husband replied' A3ell' if &od would do one "ore thing'
then I could belie!e.B I belie!e that "an was co"pletely faithless at that "o"ent.
One wo"an was healed as I prayed for her of an enlarged heart' which she said was the
si4e of a water"elon. 7fter the healing' the doctor said' AIt$s the first ti"e in o!er */'///
cases that I$!e "isread the -rays.B That "an was staring at a "iracle and refusing to
belie!e it. He was co"pletely !oid of faith. He was faithlessG
E!idently that$s the reason )esus said to Tho"as' A#on$t be like so"e in the world who'
e!en though they see a "iracle' won$t yet belie!e. 9ut instead' now that you ha!e seen'
belie!e.B He allowed Tho"as to satisfy his senses and then co""anded hi" to belie!e.
In )ohn */:*+ we read that Tho"as beca"e a belie!er. He says' AFy @ord and "y &od.B
7pparently there were no reser!ations. He was fully belie!ing. This is faith in a "easure.
Otherwise' why would )esus say' A9e not faithless' but belie!ingHB 1hrist was saying' AIf
you belie!e now that you ha!e seen' you will not be without faith (faithless, but in faith.B
The %cripture doesn$t say' but I would sur"ise that Tho"as probably beca"e a belie!er
when he saw )esus co"e through the doors that were shut. 5robably before he e!er saw
the print of the nails' etc.' he was saying to hi"self' AThis has to be the @ord. ;o one else
could co"e through locked doors.B 9ut whether he belie!ed then or only when he saw
the print of the nails' he beca"e a belie!er.
)esus$ state"ent to Tho"as in )ohn */:*0 is our whole lesson su""ari4ed in a few
words. It is so i"portant that you should underline it in your 9ible. 1hrist said' ATho"as'
because thou hast seen "e' thou hast belie!ed: blessed are they that ha!e not seen' and
yet ha!e belie!ed.B Had )esus stopped after the state"ent ATho"as' because thou hast
seen "e' thou hast belie!ed'B it "ight appear that He was endorsing Tho"as$ kind of
faith as that which is all right. 9ut He didn$t stop there. The rest of the state"ent shows a
Greater !aith. He said' A9lessed are they that ha!e not seen and yet ha!e belie!edGB
He was teaching ,$-.* /-)*,. He i"plied that it was definitely preferable. 7nd it still is.
To belie!e before you see is the !ery essence of faith' In Hebrews 11:6 we read' A9ut
without faith it is i"possible to please hi": for he that co"eth to &od "ust belie!e that
he is' and that he is a rewarder of the" that diligently seek hi"'B To ha!e faith at all' we
"ust belie!e that He is' or' in other words' that he e-ists.
I was "inistering in a se"inar in the Fidwest a few years ago' and that night we had two
healing lines. I had in!ite a "inister friend of "ine who also had a healing "inistry to
2oin "e in praying for the sick. He "inistered. to people on one side of the auditoriu"
and I "inistered on the other.
7 wo"an watched as "y friend prayed for a young lady who had flat feet. The arches
raised and the older wo"an got e-cited. %he took the younger wo"an by the ar" and led
her o!er to where I was. A@ook at her arches'B she e-clai"ed. The young wo"an still had
her shoes in her hand' and I noticed that the arches were raised. The older wo"an
continued: AOh' it$s so wonderfulG I wish I could ha!e that "uch faith.B
ACou can'B I said.
A;o I can$t either'B she said. ACou prayed for "e the other night and "y knee is still
stiff.B
A3ould you belie!e that your knee was healed'B I asked' Aif )* was loose and freeHB
AOh' yes' I could belie!e )* then.B
I then asked' A#o you belie!e in &odHB
This sounded like a !ery absurd 8uestion. %he had 2ust been praising &od for the healing
of the younger wo"an and now I was asking if she e!en belie!ed in &od. 9ut I had a
reason for this line of 8uestioning.
%he hesitated a "o"ent' and then said' A3ell' yes I belie!e in &od.B
A9ut ha!e you e!er seen Hi"HB I asked.
A;o.B
A#o you "ean to tell "e'B I said' Athat you belie!e in a &od you ha!en$t seenHB
%he looked at "e rather strangely' as if to say' A#on$t we all.B I let her "editate on "y
8uestion for a few "o"ents' and then she s"iled.
ACou$re catching on'B I said' Aaren$t youHB
ACes.B
A7ll right' you belie!e in a &od you ha!en$t seen. 7nd now you had better belie!e in a
healing you ha!en$t seen.B
3e do not say' A3hen I get to Hea!en and a" able to see &od face to face' then I will
belie!e in Hi".B 9ut instead' we e"brace Hi" now as !ery real' e!en though we don$t
see Hi".
GOD0S REPORT
Headfaith is strong if e!erything is fa!orable. Heart faith is 2ust as strong in the ti"e of
ad!ersity as His in the ti"e of !ictory' because it$s based on the 3ord of &od. Headfaith
rises tre"endously when the doctor$s report is fa!orable. 9ut it plunges 2ust as 8uickly
when the report is bad. It$s what I call the stock"arket kind of faith. Ip and down with a
report.
If you listen to the news on tele!ision regularly' you can hear the newscaster say that the
stock "arket rose by so "any points because of a fa!orable report on the econo"y by an
e-pert. 9ut then' e!en the ne-t day' if another report co"es with any kind of bad news'
the stock "arket will lose all of its pre!ious gain. Headfaith is 2ust as fickle.
It can happen e!en in a church ser!ice. The "inister can gi!e a report regarding one of
the "e"bers. He can say si"ply' AI was by to see our brother yesterday and they don$t
e-pect hi" to li!e.B J3hen he says that' there are those in the congregation who begin to
wonder when the funeral is going to be. The "an isn$t e!en dead yet' but they$re
wondering about the funeral. 9ut then the ne-t %unday the pastor reports that a "iracle
has taken place and their brother is so "uch better that they are planning to send hi"
ho"e in a day or so. %o"e of the sa"e ones who thought he was dead the week before
are ready to praise &od i""ediately. Then the ne-t week' though' the pastor reports that
co"plications ha!e set in and that again he is not e-pected to li!e. 7nd again they begin
to wonder when the funeral is going to be. This is headfaith. It rises and falls by the
doctor$s report.
%o"eone "ight say' AThat sounds e-actly like "y kind of faith' but I 2ust can$t help it.
3hen I hear a good report "y faith auto"atically rises and when I hear a bad report it
auto"atically plunges. 3hat can I do about itHB )ust si"ply base your faith on another
report. 3hat reportH T,$ W&.1 &/ G&12
The beautiful thing about the 3ord is that it will read the sa"e to"orrow "orning as it
does now. &od will back it up 2ust as "uch ne-t week as He did last week' and 2ust as
"uch ne-t "onth as last "onth. In fact' )esus said' AHea!en and earth shall pass away'
but "y words shall not pass away.B &od$s 3ord shall endure fore!erG This should gi!e
us a consistent faith.
7 "other I know was faced with a bad doctor$s report shortly after the birth of her baby
daughter. The child was born with an open spine <spina bifada. The doctor perfor"ed an
operation to close up the spine' but the child still had "uch defor"ity in the lower part of
her body. There was such defor"ity of the legs and feet that the doctor predicted the
child would not walk until about se!enteen or eighteen years of age and only then
because of casts and braces used through the years to straighten the li"bs.
The parents began to belie!e &od. The "other said there were ti"es when the doctor
would be trying to e-plain so"ething to her about the child$s proble" and he would say'
AI$" a busy "an and don$t ha!e ti"e to e-plain fully about it' but I$ll write down on a
piece of paper the condition and you can look it up in your encyclopedia when you get
ho"e and read "ore about it.B
A3hen I would get ho"e'B she said' Athere was a set of encyclopedias' one of the best
that "oney could buy' staring "e in the face. 7nd there was a strong te"ptation to go
o!er and read what was wrong with "y baby. 9ut I refused to do it' and instead' I would
go deliberately to the 9ible and read G&10% .$3&.*.4 %he said this action enabled her
faith to re"ain strong.
I saw this little girl (the sa"e baby, at age si- and she had been walking for three years'
and I would esti"ate that at least +> to 0/ percent of the defor"ity was gone. It would
ha!e been easy for that "other to ha!e centered in on the doctor$s report' but she chose to
re"ain in heart faith by sticking with &od$s 3ord.
E+AMPLE OF HEART FAITH
7braha" is one of the outstanding e-a"ples fro" &od$s 3ord of real heart faith. It is
well worth our ti"e to in!estigate the account in .o"ans 6:16**.
&erse 16 #herefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace3 to the end the promise might
be sure to all the seed3 not to that only *hich is of the la*, but to that also *hich is of the
faith of 0braham3 *ho is the father of us all.
&erse 1% 70s it is *ritten, / have made thee a father of many nations, before him *hom
he believed, even God, *ho 8uickenth the dead, and calleth those things *hich be not as
though they *ere.
&erse 14 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many
nations3 according to that *hich *as spoken, 9o shall thy seed be.
&erse 16 0nd being not *eak in faith, he considered not his o*n body no* dead, *hen he
*as about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of 9arah:s *omb:
&erse '; He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief3 but *as strong in
faith, giving glory to God3
&erse '1 0nd being fully persuaded that, *hat he had promised, he *as able also to
perform.
&erse '' 0nd therefore it *as imputed to him for righteousness.
3hat a beautiful passageG There is so "uch here on the sub2ect of heart faith. 7braha"
certainly e-ercised a Greater !aith. Kerse 16 in our te-t tells us that it$s 7braha" and his
faith about which 5aul is writing. In !erse 1D so"e astounding state"ents are recorded.
5aul 8uotes fro" the Old Testa"ent when he says' A7s it is written' I ha!e "ade thee a
father of "any nations.B This was &od$s state"ent to 7braha". The story is si"ply this:
&od pro"ises 7braha" that he and his wife' %arah' would ha!e a child e!en though he
was about a hundred years of age and she about ninety.
Then &od said to 7braha"' AI ha!e "ade thee a father of "any nations.B #o you reali4e
that &od said this before He had e!en started on the pro2ectH The phrase Aha!e "adeB
speaks of co"pleted action. &od was saying' AI ha!e already done it.B If &od cannot lie
(and we know the 9ible says He can$t,' how then could He truthfully say' AI ha!e "ade
thee a father of "any nationsBH
The last of the !erse shows us how or why. It says that &od Acalleth those things which
be not as though they were.B &od calls things which are not as though they are. Cou say'
AI$" still confused. If &od cannot lie' how can He say so"ething is' when it is notHB I
belie!e He does it in a particular attitude.
I ha!e had people "ake pro"ises to "e and then later' in the sa"e con!ersation' they
would say' A)oe' if I ha!e said it' it$s as good as done. )ust consider it acco"plished.B
3hy did they say it that wayH 9ecause they had confidence in his word' how "uch "ore
does &od ha!e confidence in His 3ordG
E!en though "an would desire to perfor" his own word' he "ight fail in the atte"pt. 9ut
&od does not fail in an atte"pt to perfor" His 3ord. In )ere"iah 1:1* it says' AI will
hasten "y 3ord to perfor" it.B That is &od talking about His 3ord. In fact' they say that
a "ore e-panded translation of it could read' AI will "arshal all of the forces at "y
disposal to see that "y 3ord is perfor"ed.B If necessary' then' &od can send legions of
angels to see that His 3ord is perfor"edG ;o wonder then that He would call so"e
things which are not' as though they are acco"plished.
Cou say' A3ell' I see then why &od calls those things which be not as though they are'
but He surely doesn$t want "e to do the sa"e.B That thinking is wrong. He does want us
to operate in a si"ilar "anner. There$s an interesting "arginal reading of the "iddle of
!erse 1D. (The "arginal reading to which we refer is in the 1a"bridge 9ible' :)K.,
3here it says' Abefore hi" who" he belie!ed' e!en &od'B the "arginal reading says'
Alike unto hi" who" he belie!ed' e!en &od.B A@ike unto Hi"B: &od e!idently e-pected
7braha" to follow in His footsteps and call those things which are not as though they
were. 3ould he e-pect less of us todayH I think not.
%tart clai"ing that healing before you see it "anifested. %peak of it in the present tense.
#on$t be afraid to do it. )ust decide if 7braha" could do it and be pleasing to &od' you
also can do it with &od$s fa!or. 7braha" could ha!e said' AI will wait until %arah is
e-pectant with child' and then belie!e.B 9ut if he had' he would not ha!e been following
&od$s e-a"ple of calling things which are not as though they are.
.o"ans 6:1+ is again referring to 7braha"' and it says' <Who against hope believed in
hope, that he might become the father of many nations3 according to that *hich *as
spoken, 9o shall thy seed be. To beco"e the father of "any nations' 7braha" had to
belie!e according to that which was spoken. He had so"ething to belie!e. &od had
spoken. If &od had not spoken' then it would ha!e been a different "atter.
I hear people talk about Ablind faith.B I don$t like that ter" because I think it gi!es a
wrong connotation. It "akes it see" as though faith is a leap into darkness. 7ctually'
faith is a leap into light <the light of &od$s 3ordG The 5sal"ist said' AThe entrance of thy
words gi!eth light (5sal"s 110:1?/,.B Heart faith is always based on &od$s 3ord.
7braha" was not off on a tangent when he chose to belie!e &od because &od had
spoken. 3here people "iss faith is in not appropriating &od$s 3ord fully. They belie!e
in their theories and ignore &od$s 3ord. If we do not use the 3ord as our foundation of
faith' any action in supposed faith will be AblindB <a leap into darkness. %atan has won
"any !ictories o!er those who ha!e failed to stand on &od$s 3ord.
.o"ans 6E 10 tells us that he considered his o*n body not to be dead... nor 9arah:s
*omb to be dead. He belie!ed that &od could gi!e life to a body otherwise dead in child
bearing capacities. 7nd the sa"e for %arah' his wife. I$!e "inistered to those for healing
who would say' A9ut I$" old and I don$t know whether I can be healed or not.B Or
another "ight say' A9ut I$!e had this condition so long.B They are weak in faith. 9ut
7braha" wasn$t. His age and %arah$s age "ade no difference to hi". If &od had spoken'
that was sufficient.
In .o"ans 6:*/ we read that 7braha" <staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief3 but *as strong in faith, giving glory to God. He staggered not at the pro"ise of
&od. There are so "any who stagger at &od$s pro"ises. 5eople will belie!e their best
friend before they will belie!e &od. The friend calls one day and in!ites the couple for a
dinner "eal the ne-t day. 3hen the phone con!ersation is ended' all the in!ited party has
to go on is the word of their friend. Cet they begin to belie!e in a "eal and ti"e of
fellowship that they ha!e neither seen nor e-perienced. They belie!e fir"ly e!en though
there is nothing in e!idence but the spoken word of the friend. They are belie!ing in the
word of a friend who could fail to perfor". Cet they continue to belie!e.
How it "ust grie!e &od for us to stagger at His pro"ises. He will not fail to perfor" His
3ord' but we fail in faith. I recently saw a "otto on a pastor$s desk. I can$t forget what it
said. It read' A3orry slanders e!ery pro"ise of the 3ord of &od.B Think about that.
%ince then' e!ery ti"e there is a te"ptation to worry' I think about that "otto.
How was 7braha" able to stay strong in faithH The last of !erse */ tells us: )y giving
glory to God= Or by praising the @ord. He undoubtedly praised &od "any ti"es before
the child ca"e. I$" sure it wasn$t easy each ti"e to praise &od. I$" sure the ene"y
probably said "any ti"es' ACou$re a fool for belie!ing &od. It$s been years now and
nothing has happened. Cou thought you heard &od' but it$s ob!ious you didn$t. 3hy
don$t you 2ust gi!e up and 8uit praising &odHB
5raising the @ord in ad!ance is one of the great ingredients of heart faith. I$!e had to do it
"any ti"es. One such ti"e was when I had 2ust concluded a re!i!al "eeting. 3hen I
recei!ed the check for the two weeks of offerings' I 8uickly reali4ed that I would need
"ore than that to tide "e o!er until the ne-t "eeting' which was not scheduled for two
weeks. I began to praise &od for "eeting the need' e!en though nothing had happened.
Fany doubts ca"e. It took a sacrifice of praise al"ost e!ery ti"e I lifted "y !oice. 7nd
then one day I went to the post office and there was a letter fro" the church where I had
closed the "eeting about a week before. The pastor wrote' A9rother' the church board
and I felt that the offerings we ga!e you were not in the "easure they should ha!e been'
in light of the blessings we recei!ed fro" your "inistry. Therefore' they (the church
board, instructed "e to send you this check.B I held that letter and check in "y hand and
tears rolled down "y cheeks. 7n auto"atic praise ca"e forth fro" "y lips. It was easy to
praise &od' since the answer had co"e. Cet I belie!e the sacrifices of praise before that
had triggered the answer to prayer. &i!e glory to &od before you see
.o"ans 6:*1 states that 7braha" was Afully persuaded that' what &od had pro"ised' he
was able also to perfor".B He was fully 3$.%5-1$12 I find a lot of people who are partly
persuaded. %o"e of the" fi!e percent' so"e ten percent' and "aybe so"e are twenty or
thirty percent persuaded. 9ut !ery few are fully persuaded.
%o"e people are so unpersuaded that they will not e!en go forward for prayer. One such
case was that of a wo"an who infor"ed "e at the end of a %unday "orning ser!ice in
her church that she would not be able to be in the rest of the "eeting. %he then e-plained
that she was checking into the hospital that afternoon at three o$clock and would ha!e an
operation the ne-t "orning for the re"o!al of her gall bladder.
I asked her if she would like for "e to pray for her healing. %he looked at "e rather
strangely' and if I could read her thoughts by the e-pression on her face' she was
thinking' A9rother' it$s only a gall bladder operation and I ha!e a good doctor.B It$s
ob!ious she wasn$t e!en thinking about prayer for healing. %he finally answered by
saying' A3ell' you can pray for "e if you wish.B
I prayed for her and all the pain left her body. 9ut I sensed as she left the building that
she was still going to check into the hospital that afternoon and ha!e the operation. %he
did' and the ne-t "orning after the operation' the doctor 2ust shook his head and said to
her husband' AI really wouldn$t ha!e had to operate. The stones were ready to pass.B &od
had healed the wo"an despite her unbelief. %he certainly was not fully persuaded though'
like 7braha".
7fter praying for one wo"an in a healing line' I said' @et$s 2ust belie!e that you$re
healed.B %he crossed her fingers and said' AOh' I hope so.B I thought' A@ady' you don$t
cross your fingers and hope that it co"es to pass. That$s not the way it works. There are
probably "any who would not cross their fingers' but yet would go away 2ust hoping that
so"ehow their healing would co"e to pass. They "ight as well cross their fingers'
because they are certainly not belie!ing. They are not fully persuaded. There is proof in
.o"ans 6:** that 7braha" was e-ercising heart faith. E!en though heart faith is not
"entioned' a careful study of the !erse brings it out. @et$s analy4e it. It says, <0nd
therefore it *as imputed to him for righteousness. The word AthereforeB "eans Afor
these reasons'B and whate!er those reasons were' it was because of the" that it was
i"puted to hi" for righteousness. 3hat were the reasonsH
Kerse 1+ says that 7braha" belie!ed <according to that *hich *as spoken. . .
Kerse 10 <7braha" <considered not his o*n body no* dead, *hen he *as about a
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of 9arah:s *omb.
Kerse */ L7braha" <staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief3 but *as
strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Kerse *1 <7braha" <*as fully persuaded that, *hat He had promised, He *as able also
to perform
For the abo!e four reasons and perhaps others which are not recorded' it was i"puted to
7braha" for righteousness. 7nd it says in .o"ans 1/:1/ that it is *ith the heart that
man believes unto righteousness=
7braha" had heart faith. 3hat an outstanding e-a"ple of the Greater !aith. Each of us
should be continually challenged by the e-a"ple of 7braha" to belie!e fro" the heart.
TESTIMONIES
I would like to share so"e testi"onies which I belie!e are "ode" day e-a"ples of heart
faith. One concerns a friend of "ine who is a charis"atic 1atholic. To" has a strong
faith' one which would put so"e 5rotestants to sha"e. He said that he had a "ole on his
body which' as he described it' was Aangry looking.B One e!ening as he was preparing to
shower' he noticed it and beca"e te"porarily concerned' but then he said' A3hate!er it
is' it$s taken care of in )esus.B He then prayed along these lines' A&od I thank you that
you ha!e taken it away' and by the stripes of )esus I a" healed.B 9ut the "ole re"ained.
How could he say truthfully' A&od you ha!e taken it awayBH He was calling so"ething
which was not as though it were. The ne-t night as he again prepared to shower' he
prayed the sa"e prayer' and again nothing happened. The ne-t night the sa"e prayer
again' and again nothing happened. He continued this e!ery night for al"ost three
"onths without any tangible results.
9ut then after al"ost three "onths of praying the sa"e prayer and belie!ing the sa"e
truth' so"ething happened. He prayed the sa"e prayer that night' and when he took his
thu"b away fro" the spot' the "ole had stuck lightly to his thu"b and he 2ust flicked it
off on the floor. He looked down and there wasn$t e!en a scar on his side. That is heart
faith. Headfaith would ha!e gi!en up after only a few days' but heart faith plunged on'
not knowing how long it would take' but yet in persistent belief.
7n e!angelist ga!e the following testi"ony. 7t the ti"e of the happening the e!angelist
was then pastoring a 5entecostal church. He said so"e young people fro" his church
went !isiting on a %unday afternoon' in!iting people to church. They apparently were 2ust
going to ho"es at rando". 7t one ho"e' a !ery gracious lady in!ited the" in.
They found out that she had a baby who was e-isting Aas a !egetable.B They said' A9ring
the baby to the church and the pastor will pray for hi" and &od will heal hi".B
AOh' I would lo!e to'B she said' Abut I can$t. I$" 1atholic' and we$re not allowed to
attend 5rotestant ser!ices.B That was in the days when 1atholics were not allowed to
attend 5rotestant ser!ices. They are' of course' today.
One of the young people ca"e up with a co"pro"ise. He said' AThe pastor is beginning a
tent re!i!al ne-t week. %o why don$t you co"e and 2ust sit in the car and listen o!er the
loudspeakers. 7nd then after the ser!ice we will ha!e hi" co"e to the car and pray for
your baby. Cou won$t ha!e to go under the tent.B
The "other agreed to this and ca"e the ne-t week.
The pastor said' AI went out to that car' prayed for the baby and handed hi" back to the
"other apparently in the sa"e condition.B 5erhaps we should add another couple of
details. The child was about 1M years of age' couldn$t stiffen his body' and apparently
had no "ind.
The ne-t "orning nothing had happened. 9ut the "other began to e-ercise a real heart
faith. %he said' AI belie!e that &od has healed "y baby' and since he$s healed' he$s going
to walk' and since he$s going to walk' he needs shoes. Therefore' I shall go to the store
and purchase shoes.B %he purchased the shoes' ca"e ho"e' and put the" on the child.
%he then stood hi" up and the child fell to the floor.
The "a2ority of people would ha!e backed off at a ti"e like this. 9ut that "other$s faith
was undauntedG %he picked the child up' holding hi" under the ar" with one hand' and
then pointing her finger at his face' said' A;ow' )esus has healed you and you stand
thereGB They say the child stood and ca"e into co"plete healing.
The e!angelist said that he "o!ed fro" the city shortly after that and did not get the full
story for a nu"ber of years. %e!eral years later' he was back in the city !isiting. He said
that he and his wife were grocery shopping when a little boy wheeled past the"' riding
on the back of a grocery cart. His wife asked hi" if he knew who the child was.
A;o'B he said.
AThat was the little 1atholic boy you prayed for'B she said. He said the child was as
nor"al as any child in the co""unity.
How could that "other say to her child that )esus had healed hi" before there was any
e!idenceH 7gain' we repeat' she followed the e-a"ple of &od by Acalling those things
which be not as though they were.B
7n outstanding e-a"ple of heart faith began to produce results recently with a wo"an in
&eorgia. I know this lady and obser!ed her part of the ti"e she was e-ercising heart faith.
This is 8uite a storyG For twenty years this lady was co"pletely blind. %he said it was as
black as "idnight. There was no light perception whatsoe!er.
The condition was due to the fact that the sockets of her eyes had not de!eloped since
birth. The eyes de!eloped' but not the sockets. This caused the sight to be s8uee4ed fro"
the optic ner!e. %he said' AFor about si-teen years I begged and pleaded with &od to heal
"e.B Then she ca"e into so"e teaching on faith that enabled her to "o!e fro" headfaith
to heart faith.
%he began to clai" her healing and praise &od accordingly. For four years she continued
this without any tangible results. 1an you i"agine the te"ptations towards
discourage"entH Cet she persisted in the Greater !aith. Then' !ery recently' as I
conducted a healing ser!ice in a neighboring town' she attended and was again thrilled at
the "essage of faith and what was happening to others. 9ut she had no way of knowing
what would happen on the way ho"e that night.
%he had attended "any of "y ser!ices before without anything taking place. 9ut that
night on the way ho"e as she was riding with others in a church !an' she noticed two car
lights following the bus. %he had assu"ed that the back of the !an was solid and did not
therefore reali4e it had a back window.
%he studied this pheno"enon for a while' thinking that her eyes were playing tricks on
her. Then' after a while longer' she asked the wo"an ne-t to her if there was a window in
the back of the !an and' if so' were those car lights following the". The friend said'
ACes.B 7nd she said' AI$" seeing the".B ;eedless to say' the dri!er stopped the !an and
they had a praise "eeting. He would put his hand o!er the do"e light and then take it
away' and she could tell each ti"e what he was doing.
That "orning she saw the sun rise for the first ti"e in twenty years. %he could tell the
color of her refrigerator the ne-t day. %he had so"ehow assu"ed that it was green but
disco!ered it was white instead. The ne-t night she didn$t attend church because of
tiredness in her body. %he had been unable to sleep for two nights because of the
e-cite"ent. 9ut !ictory had begun its "anifestation in her eyesight.
For si-teen years she was in headfaith' but for four years she had e-ercised heart faith.
3hy did it take four yearsH I don$t ha!e the answer and she probably doesn$t either.
Heart faith persisted for four long years. If &od had said to her' AIt will take four years'B
it would ha!e been easier.
There are probably those who thought during the four years that she was foolish for
belie!ing in a healing that so ob!iously had not "anifested itself. 3hen you$re in heart
faith' there will be plenty of people around trying to discourage you. They do not
understand the nature of heart faith.
9ut the 9ible says in .o"ans ?:?'6 <What if some did not believe> 9hall their unbelief
make the faith of God *ithout effect> God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a
liar. Hold fast to your faith.
Headfaith fails when the answer is delayed' but heart faith re"ains strong because it
says' AThe answer is surely co"ing and I shall be rewarded e!entually.B
Headfaith leans to the understanding and tries to figure out the whole thing. That$s the
proble" with the atheist. He tried to figure out e!erything and ca"e to the absurd
conclusion that there is no &od. &od has told hi" in His 3ord to Aconfess with his
"outh the @ord )esus' and belie!e in his heart that &od has raised hi" fro" the dead' and
then he will be sa!ed.B #on$t ask for proof of )esus$ being raised fro" the deadE 2ust
belie!e it in your heart.
Tho"as !oiced his doubts and only belie!ed when he saw. That was no great feat. 3as
that the Greater !aith> ;o' certainly not. 9ut 7braha" belie!ed &od when there was
nothing in e!idence. He chose to trust in &od with all his heart and lean not to his own
understanding. 3as that the Greater !aith> Indoubtedly' it was. %uch faith still is the
Greater !aith.
.e"e"ber the words of )esus: A#homas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 9lessed are they that ha!e
not seen and yet ha!e belie!edG
3e should "e"ori4e that state"ent and purpose at all ti"es to belie!e before we see if
we ha!e &od$s 3ord on the sub2ect.
Cou can be another Tho"as if you wish' !oicing doubts' and li!ing a defeated lifeE or you
can be another 7braha"' !oicing praise' and li!ing in the real" of !ictory. The choice is
yours.
9ut let$s be challenged by the 3ord to li!e in a Greater !aith, the heart kindG
L$%%&' T6&
LYING VANITIES OPPOSE FAITH
HEALED BY TRUTH
In a recent "eeting' before the ser!ice began' a lady asked if she could talk with "e for a
"o"ent. %he said' AI ha!e had an incurable condition for a nu"ber of years. I know that
you will probably not agree with "e' but I belie!e it$s &od$s will for "e to ha!e the
disease.B
I assured her that I did not belie!e it was &od$s will for her to be sick.
%he replied' AThe reason I belie!e it$s &od$s will for "e to ha!e the disease is because I
feel closer to &od as a result.B
I said' ACou need to hear the ser"on tonight.B
%he laughed and said' AI told a friend that last night$s ser"on was for her' so I guess
tonight$s ser"on is for "e.B
I suggested that she listen attenti!ely and she pro"ised to do so. @ater that e!ening' as I
neared the end of the ser"on' she began to cry uncontrollably. %he was attracting so
"uch attention that I stopped preaching.
I assu"ed that the 3ord was opening up &od$s will to her and I e-plained to the
congregation that I felt she was being blessed by the truth of the 3ord because of a
particular need.
%he said' AOh' it$s "ore than that. I felt the healing taking place in "y body.B
The ene"y had lied to that wo"an and &od$s 3ord e-posed the lie and e!en brought the
"anifestation of the healing.
The ser"on I preached that night is the sa"e "essage I desire to con!ey in this booklet.
It$s taken fro" te-ts in )onah *:+1/ and II 1orinthians 1/:6' >. @et$s consider first the
passage in )onah *:+1/:
Kerse + They that obser!e lying !anities forsake their own "ercy.
Kerse 0 )ut / *ill sacrifice unto thee *ith the voice of thanksgiving3 / *ill pay that that /
have vo*ed. 9alvation is of the -ord.
Kerse 1/ 0nd the -ord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out ,onah upon the dry land.
WHAT IS A LYING VANITY!
The !erse in )onah *:+ first ca"e to "y attention when a pastor suggested that I use it as
a te-t for a ser"on. He shared a testi"ony which went along with it. 7lthough the !erse
was interesting' I didn$t gi!e it "uch "ore thought at the ti"e. I saw the pastor again
after about two years' and he asked if I had e!er preached fro" the te-t.
3hen I answered that I hadn$t' he asked if I re"e"bered the testi"ony which
acco"panied it. I replied that it was 2ust !ague in "y "ind and he then shared it with "e
again. Then he said' AI seriously think you ought to preach fro" that te-t.B I reali4e now
that &od was leading hi" to say those things to "e' because it spurred "e to study the
!erse and then preach it.
The acco"panying testi"ony was that of a wo"an who was dying of cancer. %he was
!ery spiritual and had en2oyed a !ery effecti!e "inistry a"ong "any. %he had prayed for
the sick and had seen &od perfor" "any "iracles. Cet she was in a dying condition
according to the doctors. %o"eone "ight ask' A3hy was she so ill if she had a "inistry in
praying for others to be healedHB
The fact is that regardless of how "uch &od uses a particular !essel' they ha!e to fight
their own battles in faith. This was certainly true in this case. &od was "erciful' howe!er.
One day' he spoke to an e!angelist who was o!er a thousand "iles away at the ti"e. The
e!angelist was "owing his lawn when &od said to hi"' A%hut off the lawn "ower' go
call that wo"an' and tell her to read )onah *:+ and if she will take care of the proble"' I
will heal her.B
The e!angelist obeyed and the lady belie!ed it was &od$s "essage to her. %he took care
of the proble" and was co"pletely healed. 3hat was the proble"H 7ccording to the
!erse' she had been Aobser!ing -ying &anities and thereby forsaking her own "ercy.B
3hat are these @ying &anities> Fost of the scholars agree that they were specifically the
idols which the heathen nations worshipped and e!en so"eti"es Israel' too. Cou "ight
ask' A3as this lady worshipping idolsHB ;o' but I belie!e there is a greater "eaning to
this !erse' applicable to us today.
E!en though the idol was 2ust so "uch wood or stone' it represented a lie of the ene"y
and definitely an effrontery to &od. &od had co""anded the" to worship Hi" and Hi"
only' yet a lying spirit fro" the ene"y would entice the" to erect another A&odB and
worship it. 9ut how does that apply to so"eone today who is not worshipping an idolH
9ecause there are "any lies the ene"y tells us which are also an effrontery to &od and
His 3ord.
In a broader sense and in line with our present culture' a -ying &anity beco"es a lying'
!ain' e!il spirit which co"es with a "essage purported to be truth' but one which is an
absolute lie. The suggestion to worship an idol in Israel$s day was a lie but paraded as a
truth. 7 si"ilar thing happens today as a suggestion co"es to us which see"s logical' but
which does not agree with the 3ord.
These lying spirits will parade the"sel!es e!en abo!e &od Hi"self' and say' AThis is the
"essage of truth. It is &od$s will for you be sick of this disease' etc.B Then people
e"brace the lie as truth and belie!e it fir"ly. The 8uestion then beco"es' A3hy would a
1hristian belie!e the lie of the ene"y' reali4ing it is the ene"yHB Oh' but the proble" is'
they don$t know it is the ene"y speaking to the".
The -ying &anity does not introduce hi"self and say' AThis is a lying spirit sent fro" the
#e!il hi"self' and I ha!e a pack of lies for you. If you belie!e what I ha!e to say' you
will be utterly defeated. Therefore' I would ad!ise you to= resist "e and I will flee fro"
before you.B It would be so "uch easier if they did it that way. Instead' the lying spirit
will co"e as an Aangel of lightB and clai" that his "essage is truth fro" &od' when it
actually is a lie. His purpose is to under"ine your faith.
This fact "ay frighten so"e 1hristians as they percei!e how easy it is for the lying spirit
to decei!e the". Then the 8uestion beco"es' AHow can I know whether the "essage is
fro" &od or not' if the lying spirit pretends to be fro" &od and purports his. "essage to
be fro" &odHB The answer is found in the words of )esus as recorded in )ohn +:?*:
<0nd ye shall kno* the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
To the degree that we know the 3ord' we can go free fro" the lie and bondage of the
ene"y. 7nything or any "essage that disagrees with the 3ord of &od should be re2ected.
HOW TO FIGHT
The passage in II 1orinthians 1/:6' $ is !ery i"portant to this study. It reads as follows:
Kerse 6 !or the *eapons of our *arfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling do*n of strong holds3
Kerse > ?asting do*n imaginations, and every high thing that e.alteth itself against the
kno*ledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of ?hrist.
The apostle 5aul is referring here to the spiritual war which we wage against the e!il one.
He says' AThe weapons of our warfare are not carnal'B or in other words' not in the
natural. 3e should re"e"ber that we cannot defeat the ene"y by any natural "eans' but
instead that our weapons are A"ighty through &od to the pulling down of strongholds.B
There are "any ti"es in which the ene"y builds a stronghold and we ha!e to tear it
down. How can we do itH The ne-t !erse (>, gi!es us the answer. The first portion says to
Acast down i"aginations and e!ery high thing that e-alts itself against the knowledge of
&od.B The word Ai"aginationsB is better translated Areasonings'B or we could say
Alogical things.B %o"e argu"ents of the ene"y are !ery logical in light of present
circu"stances' such as sy"pto"s of a particular disease. 9ut we are to cast down e!en
reasonable and logical things if they do not agree with &od$s 3ord.
It says to Acast down e!ery high thing that e-alts itself against the knowledge of &od.B
3hat are these high thingsH They are the lying' !ain' e!il spirits' or in other words' -ying
&anities. They are so !ain that they parade their "essage e!en abo!e &od$s 3ord. 3e
are to cast aside any thing like this and its "essage if it e-alts itself against the
knowledge of &od.
3hat is the knowledge of &odH The 3ord of &od. &od has re!ealed Hi"self and His
will for us through His 3ord. It is through the 3ord that we ha!e learned that &od is
"anifested in three persons' the Father' the %on' and the Holy %pirit. It is through the
3ord that we know that the blood of the @ord )esus 1hrist cleanses us fro" all sin.
Therefore' we can definitely say that the knowledge of &od is in the 3ord of &od.
Then it should be clear fro" this scripture that we are to cast down any "essage and any
thing that e-alts itself against the 3ord of &od. Fore than e!er' then' we should
re"e"ber to check e!ery "essage against the 3ord of &od' regardless of how
reasonable or logical it "ight see".
DEFEATED BY A LIE
7 few years ago I was conducting a "eeting in which "any had been e-periencing the
baptis" in the Holy %pirit. 7 "an who had been attending was inspired to tell a friend of
his about the results. The friend had been seeking the e-perience for a long ti"e. The two
"en ca"e to the ser!ice and it see"ed that &od fashioned the ser"on that night for the
"an who had been seeking.
I did not reali4e that the "an was there as a candidate for the e-perience' but I was led of
the Holy %pirit to preach on the sub2ect of the baptis" in the Holy %pirit. 7fter the
ser"on I ga!e an in!itation for those desiring this e-perience to co"e forward. I assured
the congregation that it was easy for anyone to recei!e this precious gift fro" &od and
that a high percentage of those who had co"e forward in past ser!ices had recei!ed. 9ut
no one responded.
7fter I had dis"issed the congregation' the "an who had brought his friend ca"e to talk
with "e. He said' AI brought a friend of "ine who has been seeking the baptis" in the
Holy %pirit for a long ti"e with "e tonight.B He continued' AI thought he would co"e
forward to recei!e' because he was e-cited about the prospect of recei!ing when we ca"e
tonight' but when you ga!e the in!itation' I couldn$t get hi" to go forward.B He then
asked' A3ould you please go back and talk with hi"HB
I talked with hi" and asked' AIs it true that you$!e been seeking a long ti"e for the
e-perience of the baptis" in the Holy %piritHB
He replied' ACes' that$s right.B
I then asked' AIs it also true that you ca"e tonight e-pecting to recei!eHB
He answered' ACes.B
I said' A3ell' praise the @ord. I can gi!e you so"e scriptural instructions and then you
can recei!e.B
His answer surprised "e. He said' A;o I can$t either.B
I asked' A3hy do you say thatH$
He said' A9ecause &od spoke to "e in the "iddle of the ser"on and said' JTonight is not
your night.$B
I tried to con!ince hi" that &od could not ha!e spoken that to hi" because it did not
agree with the accounts in the 9ible' in which it says that if any recei!ed they all did
(7cts *:6E +:1DE 1/:66E 10:6,. E!idently' &od was ready at any ti"e to fill belie!ers with
His %pirit. Howe!er' despite "y efforts to persuade the "an of this fact' he steadfastly
re"ained con!inced that &od had said' ATonight is not your night.B
5eople like this are the hardest to deal with. They think that &od has spoken and'
therefore' would not want to do anything to change it. They forget that &od does not e!er
speak or act contrary to His 3ord. They beco"e perfect targets for -ying &anities.
MISSED HEALINGS
Fany healings are either lost or "issed through people listening to -ying &anities. Faith
is under"ined through the lie and the person then assu"es that it is not &od$s will to heal
the" or for the" to stay healed.
This was al"ost true with a wo"an to who" I "inistered a few years ago. %he ca"e to a
"orning teaching session I was conducting in a church. 7s we were entering the building'
I was 2ust a few steps behind her. I noticed that she had a !ery pronounced li"p. I thought
to "yself' AIf she wants to be healed' she can be.B I didn$t reali4e how significant this
thought was. Cou "ight 8uestion' A3hy would anyone in such a condition not want to be
healedHB 9ecause in "any cases the ene"y has talked the" out of it.
I then began the teaching session' which was on the sub2ect of the fruit of the %pirit.
#uring the ti"e of teaching' I forgot about the wo"an$s condition and to "e she was 2ust
another face in the congregation. 7t the end of the lesson' I asked for 8uestions. The
wo"an raised her hand and "entioned that her 8uestion was not on the sub2ect which I
had taught' but instead on the sub2ect of healing. %he asked if it would be all right to ask
it and I assured her that it would be.
%he then e-plained her condition. %he said' AI was born with a defor"ed hip and slowly
through the years it has been deteriorating' and "y leg is about *M inches shorter than the
other. The hip is arthritic and in constant pain.B %he then asked' A#o you think since &od
created "e in this condition that it would be His will to heal "eHB >1. I didn$t belie!e that
&od had created her in that condition' but I knew that she belie!ed it' and that to argue
the "atter with her would probably not change her thinking. I was groping for an answer
when the Holy %pirit pro"pted "e to say the following. I said' AI will answer your
8uestion with a 8uestion.B
A#o you belie!e that )esus 1hrist did the co"plete will of the Hea!enly Father in e!ery
word or deed when He was here on the earthHB I asked.
%he answered' ACes' I do.B
I then asked' A#id you e!er read that he healed a "an who was blind fro" birthHB
ACes' I ha!e'B she said.
I continued by asking' A#o you then belie!e that it was &od$s will to heal that "an e!en
though he was blind fro" birthHB
3ithout hesitation she answered' ACes' I do.B
Fy 8uestion then beca"e' A#o you belie!e then that it is &od$s will to heal youHB
This ti"e she hesitated a short while before answering. Then she said' ACes' I do.B
I said' A1o"e forward thenE I want to pray for you.B
%he ca"e forward and I had her sit in a chair and e-tend her legs out in front of her on a
le!el with her hips. 7s I held her feet in "y hands' it was ob!ious that where as an
appro-i"ate difference of about *M inches in the length of her legs. I prayed' belie!ing
and thanking &od for the "iracle' and in about fi!e seconds the leg had lengthened the
full a"ount.
%he felt the leg lengthening and began to cry like a baby. I asked her to stand and begin to
walk. %he did and the pronounced li"p was gone. There was a !ery slight hitch to her
step' but if you co"pared it to that which had been there pre!iously' you would ha!e to
say that at least 00 percent of it was gone.
%he took about fi!e steps and turned to the wo"an who had co"e with her and said'
A)essie' I don$t li"p any "oreGB
)essie replied' AI know it' honey.B
%he took a few "ore steps and said again' A)essie' I don$t li"p any "oreGB
%he "ay ha!e repeated that state"ent fi!e or si- ti"es in the ne-t few "inutes. I doubt if
there was a dry eye a"ong the congregation. 3e had witnessed a "iracle. It was e!ident
that it was &od$s will to heal her. Cet a -ying &anity had logically suggested that "aybe
it wasn$t &od$s will to heal her since she was Acreated that way.B #o you see how close
the ene"y ca"e to defeating her through reasoningH %atan doesn$t want us healed and
will do anything possible to under"ine our faith. Thank &od in that case we were able to
e-pose the lie of the ene"y and cause the person to see the truth in &od$s 3ord.
Howe!er' in another instance a person was defeated as she obser!ed the lie of the ene"y.
had 2ust finished a ser!ice when a wo"an ca"e to "e and said' A9rother )ordan' I 2ust
know that it$s &od$s will for "e to die of this cancer.B I looked at her and thought' AHow
can you be decei!ed by the ene"y that wayHB I knew that she had been attending "any
faith classes in which I had been instructing' and also that she had been listening to so"e
tapes on faith by a teacher who was a"ong the best.
I was con!inced that it was &od$s will to heal her of the condition' but to con!ince her of
it was i"possible. %he was unwittingly belie!ing the lie of the ene"y and thinking it was
&od$s "essage to her. %o"eti"es people will 8uestion our belie!ing in a case such as
this' by saying' A3ell' 5aul had a thorn in the flesh and "aybe that$s the reason in this
case that the person has to suffer and e!en die.B They are "a2oring on 5aul$s Athorn in the
fleshB and "inoring on the "inistry of )esus in trying to deter"ine &od$s will in the
It is true that 5aul had a Athorn in the fleshB (II 1orinthians 1*:D,. 7ll we know for sure
about it is the fact that it was a A"essenger sent fro" the ene"y to buffet hi".B 3e
cannot pro!e that it was a physical infir"ity. Cet the ene"y' who does not want people
healed' will say to a person that his illness is the will of &od because of the fact that 5aul
had the Athorn in the flesh.B He doesn$t bother to re"ind hi" that he cannot pro!e that
5aul$s proble" was e!en physical. 7lso' 5aul said that the Athorn in the fleshB was
allowed to re"ain there because of the abundant re!elation he had e-perienced. Intil you
ha!e had si"ilar abundant re!elations' don$t e!en consider that you ha!e a Athorn in the
flesh.B
9ut if you want to know whether it is &od$s will to heal e!eryone or not' look at the
"inistry of )esus. 7s we stated pre!iously' e!ery action' word' or deed of )esus 1hrist
was the will of the Hea!enly Father. 3e do not read that he went about afflicting people
with cancer' etc.' but instead that He Awent about doing good' and healing all that were
oppressed of the de!ilB (7cts 1/:?+,. Oh' surely there were those He passed by at ti"es'
who" He didn$t heal. 9ut they didn$t reach out to Hi" asking for "ercy. Cet when
people would reach out to Hi" for healing' He would not turn the" down nor afflict
the" further' but instead He healed the". 5erhaps you can understand now why I
suggest' don$t "a2or on 5aul$s Athorn in the fleshB and "inor on the "inistry of )esus in
trying to deter"ine &od$s will in healing.
7 coed at a large state uni!ersity was walking across the ca"pus' thinking about the 2oy
and peace she had in )esus 1hrist. %he had a foot that had turned in since childhood and
e!en "ade rapid walking or running difficult at ti"es. %he looked up at the sky and said'
A&od' I know that Cou$re ali!e and that )esus is "y @ord. 7nd I also know that by Cour
power Cou can now straighten "y foot.B %he looked down at her foot and it was straightG
It stayed straight for two days and then turned in again. The ene"y told her that a two
day healing was all she could ha!e.
He didn$t tell her that her foot had not been straight' because she had seen it. 9ut he
endea!ored to talk her out of anything "ore than a twoday healing. %he accepted the fact
of nothing "ore than a twoday healing' not reali4ing she was obser!ing the lie of the
ene"y. %he wrote her parents' telling of this glorious shortter" healing' saying that she
reali4ed it was all &od "eant her to ha!e. Her father had been attending so"e ser!ices in
which I had been teaching on faith' and he reali4ed that his daughter had been listening to
a lie of the ene"y without knowing it. He wrote her and said' AIt$s a lie of the ene"y that
you can only ha!e a twoday healing. &et down to business in faith' resist the de!il' and
clai" a per"anent healing.B
%he resisted the de!il and the foot straightened. It was straight for a day or so and then
turned in again. %he resisted the ene"y again and the foot straightened. In a short ti"e it
turned in again. To su" it up' the foot turned in and straightened se!en ti"es before it
stayed straight.
This was o!er a period of about a week and a half. I saw her father se!eral years later and
he said that his daughter$s foot had been straight e!er since. It was &od$s will for her foot
to be straight' but a -ying &anity had another "essage and al"ost kept her fro" a
per"anent healing.
The second half of the fifth !erse of II 1orinthians 1/ is also worthy of careful study. It
says' Abringing into capti!ity e!ery thought to the obedience of 1hrist.B 3hy are
thoughts "entioned hereH 9ecause it is in our thought life that the ene"y chiefly works.
Our "ind is the battlefield with these -ying &anities. It is rare when the ene"y speaks to
a person in an audible !oice' but it is co""on when he suggests a thought. Therefore'
&od has said to bring e!ery thought into capti!ity.
In other words' ha!e a roundup of your thoughts. 1orral the"G Take an in!entory and
cast out e!ery thought that disagrees with the 3ord. It says to bring the" into capti!ity
for what purposeH To the Aobedience of 1hrist.B That is e8ual to the 3ord. )esus is the
li!ing 3ord. Therefore' if we bring thoughts into capti!ity to the obedience of the written
3ord' it is e8ui!alent to the obedience of the li!ing 3ord' )esus.
If a thought is in agree"ent with the 3ord of &od' entertain it' belie!e it' e"brace it' and
know that it will do you good. 9ut if a thought is in disagree"ent with the 3ord' cast it
out no "atter how reasonable or logical it "ight see" in light of circu"stances. It is of
the ene"y if it does not agree with &od$s "essage' the 3ord. This action will bring
!ictory e!ery ti"e.
FORSA7ING OUR MERCY
7lthough we ha!e co!ered the "eaning of the ter" -ying &anity, we should take another
look at )onah *:+ for an additional lesson. It says' A#hey that observe lying vanities
forsake their o*n mercy.B 3hat does Aforsake their own "ercyB "eanH 7pparently the
fact is that we are keeping &od$s e-tension of "ercy fro" reaching us personally when
we obser!e the lies of the ene"y.
3e know that &od is no respecter of persons (7cts 1/:?6,. If this is true' then why do
so"e recei!e so "uch "ore fro" &od than othersH I can answer fro" "y own
e-perience. There was a ti"e in "y life in which I was !ery weak in faith and was surely
listening to fre8uent lies of the ene"y. I wondered why so"e people recei!ed so "uch
fro" &od and why so "any ti"es I was see"ingly passed by. I know now that in
obser!ing the -ying &anities, I was forsaking "y own "ercy' or in other words' the
"ercy of &od "eant for "e personally. 3hen I learned so"e necessary lessons in faith
and began to belie!e &od$s 3ord "ore than the lies of the ene"y' I found that &od$s
e-tension of "ercy in healing' etc.' was abundant toward "e.
This is especially true with the unsa!ed. In II 5eter ?:0 &od says that he is Anot willing
that any should perish' but that all should co"e to repentance.B Cet we see "ore around
us perishing than co"ing to repentance. The !ast "a2ority of the world is unsa!ed' and
e!en in 7"erica where the gospel is preached "any ti"es daily on radio' fre8uently on
tele!ision' and a!ailable abundantly in printed for"' there is a "a2ority still unsa!ed.
3hyH 9ecause &od is not willing to sa!e the"H ;o' definitely not. He is willing to sa!e'
but they do not will to be sa!ed.
They are listening to lies of the ene"y' and e!en though the "ercy of &od tries to reach
the"' it surges and flows against a barrier of unbelief. %o"e of the lies of the e!il one are
!ery co""on. One of the" is' AThere is no &od.B He gets so"e people to belie!e that
lie. 7ccording to Hebrews 11:6 it is i"possible for &od to e-tend His "ercy to a person
as long as he is belie!ing that lie. The !erse says' AWithout faith it is impossible to please
Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a re*arder of
them that diligently seek Him. 3e "ust belie!e that He is' or in other words' that He
does e-ist. 3ithout that kind of faith' it is i"possible to please Hi".
3e can easily see then why the ene"y tries to get people to belie!e that lie' for he knows
that as long as they belie!e it' it is i"possible to please &od. Howe!er' there are "any
who won$t listen to a lie that absurd. %o he tries another approach. He says' AThere "ay
be so"e kind of a &od or supre"e being up there so"ewhere' but He is not interested in
you and there is no life after death.B That see"s reasonable to so"e and they go through
life assu"ing that there is probably no life after death' so why "ake any preparationH
They figure there is no hea!en to gain and no hell to shun. It$s a lie of the ene"y' but
they don$t reali4e it.
Others say' ACes' there is a &od and a life after death' but the proper way to prepare is
2ust to li!e a good "oral life.B 7gain' it$s a lie of the ene"y. They do not know that
Athere is no other na"e gi!en a"ong "en' whereby they "ust be sa!edB (7cts 6:1*,. The
only na"e' of course' is )esus. They fail to accept 1hrist as @ord and re"ain in sin'
thinking their good "oral life is sufficient. Their sin is their failure to accept 1hrist.
Then there are so"e who fir"ly belie!e that &od e-ists' that 1hrist is the only "eans of
sal!ation' and that they need to accept Hi" as @ord. 9ut a -ying &anity tells the"' ACou
couldn$t li!e the life of a 1hristian if you tried' and you would 2ust be a hypocrite.B ;ot
once does the lying spirit infor" the" that the 9ible says' <#herefore if any man be in
?hrist, he is a ne* creature: old things are passed a*ay3 behold, all things are become
ne* (II 1orinthians $:1%. 7lso' they are not infor"ed by the e!il spirit of the !erse in
)ohn 1:1* where it says' <)ut as many as received Him, to them gave He po*er to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
There are "any thousand who now know that is a lie of the ene"y to tell the" that they
couldn$t li!e the life. 3hyH 9ecause they are li!ing it. It has been esti"ated that there
were hundreds of thousands of young people sa!ed in the )esus "o!e"ent. Talk to so"e
of the" who were deli!ered fro" a heroin habit about li!ing the life. They know they are
deli!ered' that they can li!e a consistent 1hristian life. They know they are Anew
creaturesB in )esus' that they ha!e Apower to be sons of &od.B Cet the ene"y continues to
successfully lie to others with far lesser proble"s than a heroin habit' telling if they
accepted 1hrist. 7s long as they listen to his lies' they are Aforsaking their own "ercy.B
THE E+PERIENCE OF #ONAH
3e can learn fro" )onah$s predica"ent and subse8uent prayer as he was in the fish$s
belly. The account is in )onah *:1D'
Kerse 1 #hen ,onah prayed unto the -ord his God out of the fish:s belly,
Kerse * 7nd said, / cried by reason of mine affliction unto the -ord, and He heard me3
out of the belly of hell cried /, and #hou heardest my voice.
Kerse ? !or #hou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas3 and the floods
compassed me about: all #hy billo*s and #hy *aves passed over me.
Kerse 6 #hen / said, / am cast out of #hy sight3 yet / *ill look again to*ard #hy holy
temple.
Kerse $ #he *aters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round
about, the *eeds *ere *rapped about my head.
Kerse 6 / *ent do*n to the bottoms of the mountains3 the earth *ith her bars *as about
me for ever: yet hast #hou brought up my life from corruption, @ -ord my God.
Kerse D 3hen "y soul fainted within "e I re"e"bered the @ord: and "y prayer ca"e in
unto Thee' into Thine holy te"ple.
0?. This was )onah$s prayer while still in the belly of the fish. Howe!er' before we take a
further look at the prayer' perhaps we should recap the story of )onah as to why he was in
the belly of the fish. There "ight be a few readers who would not know otherwise.
06. )onah was co""anded of &od to go to a city na"ed ;ine!eh and prophesy that &od
would destroy it. )onah refused to go and &od caused hi" to be swept o!erboard at sea'
and to be swallowed by a giant fish. 7nd so it is )onah$s prayer while in the belly of the
fish which we will study.
)onah describes how bad it is. %o"e of his state"ents are Aout of the belly of hell cried
I ... all Thy billows and Thy wa!es passed o!er "e ... I a" cast out of Thy sight ... the
waters co"passed "e about... I went down to the botto"s of the "ountains... the earth
with her bars was about "e fore!er.B
Ob!iously' )onah is despairing for his life. 1ircu"stances dictated this was the end. It
would be "ost difficult at a ti"e such as this to "aintain faith. Cet in !erse D we read'
A3hen "y soul fainted within "e I re"e"bered the @ord: and "y prayer ca"e in unto
Thee' into Thine holy te"ple.B E!idently )onah ca"e !ery close to death before he
re"e"bered &od$s "ercy. 3hen his soul Afainted within hi"B he re"e"bered the @ord.
Then in !erse + he "akes sort of a parenthetical state"ent when he says' <#hey that
observe lying vanities forsake their o*n mercy. He is suddenly aware that by obser!ing
the lies of the ene"y' he could be forsaking the "ercy of &od. He refuses to listen any
"ore to the lies of the ene"y. 3hat had the ene"y told hi"H 3e don$t know for sure but
probably so"ething along this line: ACou$!e disobeyed &od and you$re going to die.B
It is a fa!orite trick of the ene"y to take ad!antage of a ti"e in which we ha!e disobeyed
&od and use it as a "eans of conde"nation against us fore!er if we let hi". I ha!e talked
with people who were conde"ned for so"ething they had done' perhaps ?/ years before'
and were afraid that &od had not forgi!en the" e!en though they had asked for
forgi!eness. It$s a lie of the ene"y' but they don$t reali4e it.
;ot once would any lying spirit dealing with )onah re"ind hi" of the "ercy of &od' but
he re"e"bered anyway. )onah re2ects all lies of the ene"y' re"inding hi"self that Athey
that obser!e lying !anities forsake their own "ercyB (!erse +,' and then "akes his
decision to o!erco"e by saying' A9ut I will sacrifice unto Thee with the !oice of
thanksgi!ingE I will pay that that I ha!e !owed. %al!ation is of the @ordB ()onah *:0,.
;otice that )onah lifts his !oice in a sacrifice of praise while still in the belly of the fish.
This is significant. If he had waited until he was on the beach deli!ered' it would not ha!e
"eant as "uch. It$s easy for a person after the prayer has been answered to offer a praise
unto &od. It is al"ost auto"atic after the deli!erance is "anifested. If a person who has
had cancer is lea!ing the doctor$s office with proof fro" -rays that the cancer has
"iraculously disappeared' it is easy to praise &od. It is difficult' though' before those -
rays gi!e proof. )onah praised &od before the proof.
I re"e"ber a ti"e in "y early "inistry in which there were se!ere financial proble"s. I
was conducting a %unday night ser!ice in a church and &od was blessing. The ene"y
spoke to "e and said' AHere you are praising &od for those things and you ha!e unpaid
bills at ho"e.B That was true' but only because not enough "oney had co"e in through
offerings to pay the". I said to the ene"y' A%atan' I don$t work for you' and I don$t work
for "an. I work for &odE therefore it$s his responsibility.B 3hen I got ho"e the ne-t day
there was a letter fro" a "an I had not "et who said that &od had told hi" to send "e
N1>/. There were tears in "y eyes and an auto"atic praise on "y lips. Cou would think
after that that the ene"y would ne!er be able to te"pt "e with another doubt. Cet' 2ust
about two years after that' I had co"pleted a two weeks$ "eeting in a church and when
they ga!e "e the check' representing the offerings' I knew that the a"ount was far less
than what I needed for the ne-t few weeks.
The ene"y told "e we wouldn$t "ake it until the ne-t scheduled "eeting. I had to
sacrifice praise each day. It wasn$t easy. One day a letter ca"e fro" the church where I
had 2ust conducted the "eeting. They had decided to send an e-tra a"ount of "oney'
feeling that the offerings had not been what they should. It was easy then to praise &od
with the check in "y hand.
)onah praised &od' pro"ised to pay that which he had !owed' and said' A9alvation is of
the -ord ()onah *:0,. ;ote that he said' <9alvation is of the -ord while still in the fish.
Kerse 1/ then tells of )onah$s deli!erance. Indoubtedly' it "akes a difference with &od
when we refuse the lies of the ene"y and instead offer a praise to our @ord.
@esson Three
THE POWER OF THE TONGUE
MORE THAN POSITIVE SPEA7ING
This lesson on the power of the tongue contains probably the "ost dyna"ic truth of any
in our "ncyclopedia of !aith. There certainly is power in our tongue' or' in other words'
in what we say with our "outh. 9ecause I place such a strong e"phasis on the
i"portance of a proper confession when I teach this lesson publicly' so"e "isunderstand
and think it$s nothing "ore than a lecture on the power of positi!e thinking or positi!e
speaking. It$s far "ore than that.
%ales"en are "oti!ated to think positi!ely regarding their product and their ability to
sell. Fany of the" e-perience a definite increase as they adopt a positi!e attitude and
approach. %o"e sales co"panies e!en hire a special speaker to co"e for the purpose of
"oti!ating their "en. It produces results because of certain natural laws which affect
people positi!ely when obser!ed. Cet this falls far short of faith in &od. The reason is'
the sales"an is "oti!ated to belie!e in hi"self and his ability.
This is not true as we align with &od through His 3ord' and speak in faith that which He
has decreed' because &od is supernatural and there is no li"it to His ability. The
sales"an is li"ited' if nothing else' by *6 hours a day' or a certain nu"ber of people he
can possibly contact' or by a certain a"ount of territory hu"anly possible to co!er. &od
is li"ited by none of these since He is supernatural and can do "ore in a split second than
"an can do in a lifeti"e. Therefore' the truths we are going to share with you will
produce supernatural results because they are scriptural' and conse8uently backed by a
&od who sits on His throne in the hea!ens.
Our pri"ary base of %cripture for this lesson is found in 5ro!erbs 1+:16' */' *1. 3e$ll
e-a"ine these !erses one at a ti"e.
SUSTAINING THE WRONG THING
5ro!erbs 1+:16 says:
Kerse 16 The spirit of a "an will sustain his infir"ity' but a wounded spirit who can
bearH
AThe spirit of a "an will sustain his infir"ity.B 3hat does that "eanH 3ell' it "eans 2ust
what it says' that within our spirit we can sustain the wrong things. ;ow re"e"ber this <
we are a triune beingE we$re "ade up of not only a body' and not e!en 2ust a soul... we
ha!e a spirit' tooG %pirit' soul and body. This is i"portant to reali4e. There are a lot of
people who don$t know this. They assu"e the soul and the spirit are the sa"e thing. They
can$t be the sa"e because there$s a di!ision in the scripture. In Hebrews 6:1* it says that
<the Word is 8uick and po*erful, sharper even than a t*oAedged s*ord, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit. There has to be so"e di!ision between
the two for the 3ord of &od to be able to di!ide between the".
In 5ro!erbs 1+:16' it states that the spirit of a man *ill sustain his infirmity. It "akes a
difference what gets down into our spirit. I belie!e the spirit of a "an is that which is
down on the inside of hi"' the real "an' the real hi"' and conse8uently we can get things
down into our spirit or heart that are wrong' and we can sustain' or harbor' or hold onto
these things and continue to be defeated because of the wrong things in our hearts or in
our spirits. .e"e"ber the scripture' <#rust in the -ord *ith all thine heart and lean not
to thine o*n understanding 75ro!erbs ?:>,.
The heart cannot be understanding' then... they are not the sa"e thing. I belie!e the heart
of a "an is the spirit of "an' the real "an' down on the inside of hi". That$s where we
are to trust in the @ord. 5raise the @ord' it$s "ar!elous and wonderful as we get the right
things in our spirit. 9ut it says' AThe spirit of a "an will sustain his infir"ity'B or in his
heart he can sustain the wrong things. He can sustain a weakness.
There are people who ha!e great faith in the wrong things. For e-a"ple' there are those
who ha!e great faith in their ulcer. They e!en refer to it as "y ulcer. They go around
talking about "y ulcer' and if you want to know about their ulcer' 2ust ask the" how they
are. Cou don$t e!en ha!e to ask how their ulcer is. Cou 2ust ask how they are' "eaning in
general' and you will see that the ulcer is the do"inant thing about the"' for it isn$t long
until they be$ gin to con!erse about their ulcer. They$ll tell you how the doctor says it$s
the worst ulcer he$s e!er seen. They add that he had ne!er had a case 8uite like it' or it$s
one of the worse cases he$s e!er seen. They thri!e on talking about their ulcer' and the
ulcer thri!es as they talk about it. The spirit of a "an will sustain his infir"ity or his
weakness. %o"e people like that don$t want to be free of their ulcer. #his man has faith
in his ulcer.
7s one e!angelist said' ACou$!e got to be sick and tired of being sick and tired before
you "ake any progress.B 7 lot of people are not. They thri!e on sickness. They thri!e on
talking about their sickness <how tired they are' and how "uch their ulcer or how "uch
their allergy is bothering the"' etc. 9ut there are other people who$d really like to be
free. They co"e up for prayer' and I belie!e they are sincere and they want "e to lay
hands on the" for healing of the ulcer or whate!er ... and of course I$" using an ulcer
2ust as an illustration. Cou could e-tend this to any condition. 9ut they co"e up for
prayer' and yet go away talking "ore about the condition' whate!er it "ight be' than they
do about &od$s ability to heal. They keep harboring this thing on the inside of the".
SNARED BY WORDS
I know what I$" talking about' because it ca"e ho"e to us in our fa"ily. 3hen our boy
was about three weeks of age' "y wife had been in the bedroo" holding the baby and
heard hi" whee4ing. %he ca"e into the li!ing roo" and said' AI think :eith has asth"a
and is filled with allergies.B I thought' A3ell' she should know the sy"pto"s because her
father was a !icti" of asth"a.B ;ow I didn$t want asth"a for "y child. I would ha!e
been glad for hi" to be free fro" asth"a' but I didn$t know what to do. I thought' A3ell'
we ha!e to accept it. The sy"pto"s are there.B Of course' we weren$t absolutely positi!e'
but we were building a strong case' thinking 8uite positi!ely that he had asth"a. It wasn$t
long' howe!er' until the doctor confir"ed our fears. 3e had in!ited asth"a into our
ho"e.
Cou say' A9rother )ordan' that$s absurd. 3hat do you "ean' you had in!ited it into your
ho"eHB 3e had' unknowingly' because we didn$t know what to do. 7sth"a had in!aded
our ho"e. 3hat I should ha!e reali4ed was this <that I had authority o!er the ene"y' and
when those first whee4ing sy"pto"s of asth"a ca"e' I should ha!e recogni4ed it was
%atan knocking at the door' and I should ha!e said' A%atan' I a" not going to ha!e asth"a
in "y ho"e.B 7s head of the ho"e I should ha!e said' A1 don$t want asth"a for "y
child. )esus 1hrist took it on Hi"self for a purpose' that :eith could go free. Therefore' I
clai" :eith$s freedo" and !ictory right now.B ;ow' you see' we had to do that for hi" if
we wanted hi" to ha!e !ictory' since he was only a baby. He couldn$t belie!e for
hi"selfE we had to belie!e for hi".
9ut it so happened we belie!ed the wrong way. 3e had great faith in asth"aE in a short
while we had belie!ed for it. 3e weren$t too sure of it at the beginning' but after the
doctor ga!e us the report' we belie!ed in it. Cou know' as far as I can re"e"ber' we
didn$t e!en ha!e hi" prayed for. ;ow you say' A#idn$t you belie!e in di!ine healingHB
Ces' in a general way' as so "any people do. There are people who belie!e in di!ine
healing and say' AI$!e been healed fro" ti"e to ti"e'B but they don$t center in on each
case and say' AThis healing is for "e'B or' AI can ha!e a healing in this "atter.B Instead'
they 2ust suffer through so "any things. 3ell' asth"a was so"ething we didn$t get as
upset about as we "ight ha!e about 8-'8$. or so"e other ter"inal condition. Had it been
cancer' I$d ha!e been running around trying to find so"eone to pray for us' and finding
out so"ething about faith because' you see' that$s a 1$-*, %$'*$'8$. 7sth"a was 2ust a
life %$'*$'8$.
3ell' the doctor did say' AFaybe by the ti"e he$s grown' he will outgrow it.B I don$t
know whether he would ha!e or not' but he said' AFaybe he will.B 9ut at least there was
a sentence placed upon hi" for all his young life. The ene"y had in!aded our ho"e. I
didn$t know that I had authority in the ;a"e of )esus. I didn$t reali4e that )esus took
asth"a on Hi"self at 1al!ary for the purpose that "y son could go free. 3hat I should
ha!e said was' A%atan' I will not ha!e the package of asth"a you are deli!ering to our
ho"e.B Cou see' the first day when the whee4ing sy"pto"s ca"e' he was 2ust knocking
on the door. Fy wife and I should ha!e agreed and said' A3e will not ha!e this in our
ho"eE our baby does not ha!e to be a !icti" of asth"a.B
9ut we didn$t ha!e proper knowledge of the 3ord. It$s not &od$s fault that I didn$t ha!e
the knowledge. I$d been raised in a 1hristian ho"e where we belie!ed in di!ine healing'
but I hadn$t a!ailed "yself of e!en the books a!ailable on faith. Had I had a real desire
for faith' I$d ha!e purchased so"e of the"' and &od could ha!e spoken to "e. I hadn$t
studied the 3ord on this sub2ect enough. I hadn$t listened to ser"ons on faith like I
should ha!e. Therefore' I was illprepared in the ti"e of need. I had been a hearer of the
3ord "any ti"es' but I hadn$t acted on it.
There were fre8uent attacks of asth"a' which took a toll on :eith$s body. 9y the ti"e he
was ready to enter school' the asth"a had weakened hi" to the e-tent that the doctor
ad!ised us to keep hi" ho"e on 3ednesdays so he wouldn$t ha!e to go fi!e days in a
row. 7bout the ti"e he entered school' the doctor prescribed an antihista"ine "edicine
that produced "ar!elous results. The asth"a at tack were "uch less se!ere and "ore
infre8uent. I was happy that the "edicine was working so beautifully' and we had a
situation in our ho"e with which we could li!e co"fortably.
That$s the reason "any people don$t recei!e a healing. They ha!e a condition they can
li!e with' so they don$t press for a healing. &od wants to heal the"' but they$re
unconcerned about it. Howe!er' this easy situation didn$t last but about a year and a half.
The asth"a attacks began to increase in se!erity and fre8uency. I wondered' A#oes the
doctor ha!e a stronger "edicine to go toHB I knew if you took penicillin enough through
the years' e!entually it wouldn$t be as effecti!e as it was at first. 7pparently this was
happening with this "edicine. It wasn$t the "agic for"ula it used to be.
The thought ca"e to "e that we could go to another cli"ate' and I$" sure that' as a last
resort' we would ha!e done that. 9ut that doesn$t always work' and I thought' A3hat if
we "o!ed to another cli"ate and that doesn$t workHB 3ell' these were the things that
were going through "y "ind. I began to get a little bit desperate' and that$s good.
3hen people begin to get desperate' they begin to seek and search. Then' "any ti"es
they$ll co"e into that which &od has for the" because they are seeking and searching.
7nd if their heart is right' &od will allow the" to co"e under the right kind of teaching.
9ut' when they co"e under the proper teaching' they$!e got to listen to it and belie!e it.
There are so"e who will say' A3ell' I 2ust can$t belie!e it that way. I$!e ne!er belie!ed
that way before' and I can$t now'B despite the fact that we$re basing what we$re saying on
the %cripture.
%o I beca"e desperate for "y son$s healing' and it wasn$t long until &od pri!ileged "e
to hear so"e teaching on faith. Through the teaching' I began a real walk of faith. This
happened right before "y son$s eighth birthday. Fy faith was increasing daily. I went
ho"e one day and said to "y wife' AHoneyE we$re going to pray for :eith.B ;ow it says
to Acall upon the elders of the church and for the" to anoint with oil' and the prayer of
faith shall sa!e the sick' and the @ord shall raise the" upB ()a"es >:16' 1>,. %o I said'
A3e$re going to ha!e 9rother &oodwin (the pastor, co"e' and we$re going to anoint
:eith with oil' and that will be the end of that asth"a.B
I didn$t say' AI think that will be the end of the asth"a' I hope it$ll be the end of the
asth"a' or "aybe )* will be.B I said' AThat will be the end of that asth"a.B 9ut do you
know what happenedH 3e anointed hi" with oil' yes. 3e followed through on the
%cripture' and for about se!en days he got worse. He had the worst attack of asth"a that I
had e!er seen hi" e-perience. It looked like we "ight ha!e done the wrong thing in
clai"ing the healing. 7ctually' we had done the right thing' but )* appeared wrong
te"porarily.
One thing for sure' we had stirred the ene"y up. Cou know the reasonH 9ecause we were
putting forth an effort for our boy to escape fro" the prison of sickness. 3hen are the
authorities stirred upH It$s when they see that e"pty cell' or when they catch the prisoner
in the act of escaping. 7s long as he$s sleeping peacefully in his cell' they$re not
concerned. It$s the sa"e with the ene"y. Fany people are 2ust sleeping peacefully in
their cells. They$re going along with it. %o"e are e!en thri!ing in the e-istence in the
prison. They don$t want out. If you ca"e along and' so to speak' opened the door' they$d
say' A%hut itG I$ll 2ust stay here.B
9ut we had gotten sick and tired of our son being sick and tired. 3e$d gotten sick and
tired of asth"a. 3e had taken authority o!er asth"a <had stirred the ene"y up. 7nd so'
for about se!en days' he got worse. #o you know what I did during those se!en daysH I
praised the @ordG I would lift "y hands and praise &od' when I had nothing in e!idence.
This is what 7braha" did. It says in .o"ans 6:*/ that 7braha" <staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief, but *as strong in faith, giving glory to God. That$s
the way I had to be. I had to be strong in the @ord' in faith' gi!ing glory to &od. I had
nothing to gi!e &od glory for' e-cept the 3ord. 9ut that is enough. %o we praised the
@ord. The 9ible says that by the stripes of )esus "y son was healed (Isaiah $B:$. The
9ible says that )esus 1hrist had taken asth"a on hi"self at 1al!ary (Fatthew (+:1D,. It
says .esent His 3ord and healed the" (5sal"s 1/D:*/,. That "eant "y son' so we were
standing in faith accordingly.
3ell' I praised the @ord daily' e-ercising heart faith' and speaking the right things with
"y "outh. 7ny ti"e you praise &od' you are confessing in the right way. If you say'
A&od' I thank you for your 3ord' I thank you for the healing I see in the 3ord of &od'B
whether you see anything in e!idence or not' you are doing the right thing.
7s we continued to praise the @ord' nothing see"ingly happened. 9ut I re"e"ber one
day I was in the office of the church (I was "usic and educational director then' at the
First 7sse"bly of &od 1hurch in 5asadena' Te-as, and 9rother &oodwin' the pastor
walked in. I said' A9rother &oodwin' I want you to 2oin "e in praising &od for the
healing of "y son.B I didn$t ask again.
I think one of the greatest ways to e-ercise faith is to ask once and then start praising
&od. Cou know' if we ask o!er and o!er again <if we keep begging &od and pleading
with Hi" <we get out of faith. 7sk &od once' and then start praising Hi". 1ol. 6:* says'
A1ontinue in prayer ... A 9ut then it says' A3atch in the sa"e with thanksgi!ing' with
praising the @ord.B #on$t continue asking o!er and o!er. 7sk and then belie!e by faith
that you are recei!ing' and start praising &od accordingly.
I had to belie!e by faith that we were recei!ing a healing' but I had to belie!e it si"ply by
faith in &od$s 3ord. I had asked the pastor to 2oin "e in a united praise for :eith$s
healing.
3hen I got ho"e that day' :eith was up out of bed and out playing in the yard. He was
co"pletely healed of asth"a. There were' I think' only two ti"es after that in which
%atan knocked at the door again and said' AI ha!e asth"a for your son.B I re"e"ber one
night in particular that "y wife woke "e and said' A:eith is choking with asth"a.B I
went into the bedroo"' and all I did was walk around the bed with "y hands raised for
about a "inute$s ti"e' saying' A&od' I thank you for the healing of "y son.B He was set
free. These were the only attacks after the healing was initially "anifested. ;ow "y son
is twentytwo years of age' and he$s had fourteen glorious years of freedo" fro" asth"a.
5raise unto )esus' the HealerG
3hat I$!e been trying to point out is that the spirit of a "an will sustain his infir"ity.
#own in our spirit' our hearts' we can sustain the wrong things' and we did. 5ro!erbs 6:*
says' A3e are snared by the words of our "outh'B and that$s e-actly what happened to us.
It initially started when "y wife said' AI think he has asth"a'B and I agreed with her. 3e
were snared by the wrong confession fro" our "ouths' but then set free by the right
confession. Oh' the power in confession' whether good or badG
EFFECT OF REPEATED CONFESSION
;ow let$s consider 5ro!erbs 1+:*/:
1+:*/ 7 "an$s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his "outh and with the increase of
his lips shall he be filled.
A7 "an$s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his "outh.B The first ti"e I looked at
this I thought of it co"pletely in the natural. I thought' A7ll it really "eans is that' well'
as we eat' our physical sto"ach is satisfied with the fruit of our "outh.B 9ut really' as we
read it in conte-t' considering the rest of the !erse' and also 5ro!erbs 1+:* 1' we see that
it surely "eans "ore than that. 7t first glance I had the wrong idea about it. 9ut here$s
what I really think is "eant by the state"ent. A7 "an$s belly ... . A)esus said' regarding
the co"ing of the Holy %pirit' <@ut of your belly shall flo* rivers of living *ater 7,ohn
%:B4. Co* the better translation of it is <innermost being, or <out of the spirit of a "an
will flow ri!ers of li!ing water.B 7nd I think that$s what the writer of the 5ro!erbs is
saying <that really a "an$s inner"ost being will be satisfied with the fruit of his "outh. It
all happens as you say it.
In other words' there$s a "ar!elous tieup between the "outh and the spirit' or the "outh
and the heart. 7 "an$s belly' or his inner"ost being' or his spirit' shall be satisfies with
the fruit of his "outh. %o it depends on what you want. If you want the wrong things' 2ust
start talking about the" and your spirit will be satisfiedE then you$ll be filled with the
wrong things. 9ut if you want the right things down on the inside of you' you$re going to
ha!e to talk in that way. It$s going to co"e about by the fruit of your "outh.
;ow the rest of the !erse says' A3ith the increase of our lips we will be filled.B This is
e-citing to "e. I know it fro" "y own e-perience' and I know how it works with others.
Cou can be filled with doubt' the wrong thing' if you want to be with the increase of your
lips. There are people who are filled with fear because they talk about fear all the ti"e.
5eople are filled with frustration because they talk about how frustrated they are. There
are people who are filled with confusion because they go around saying' AI$" so
confused.B
I$!e had people co"e up to "e for prayer at the end of a ser!ice. They say' AOh' I$" 2ust
so confused in "y "ind.B 7nd' you know' they$re not e!en listening to what I$" saying
to the". They don$t e!en hear "e when I say' A@et$s take authority o!er this.B They keep
talking about the confusion in their "ind' and so"eti"es you$!e got to say so"ething or
do so"ething that shakes the" out of it. I$!e seen people like that' and for a little while
they$d be shaken out of it' and apparently get into faith. 9ut then you see the" the ne-t
day and they$re talking about the confusion again. 3ith the increase of their lips they
were filled with it. 3ith the increase of our lips we are filled with weakness. 3e can be
filled with all the wrong things 2ust si"ply with the increase of our lips.
I used to work in a che"ical plant in the Houston' Te-as' area' and I know there were
fellows who were so susceptible to what others would say that all so"eone had to do was
tell the" they looked ill' and by the end of the day they were illG 7nd so"e of the "en
would do that as a practical 2oke. They$d say' A;ow you watch ... I$" going to go up to
)i" (or )ohn' or whate!er the fellow$s na"e was, and tell hi" that he looks badE that he$s
got dark circles under his eyes.B I$d watch' and it wasn$t long until the "an was co"ing
around asking so"eone if he looked sick. He$d say' ACou know' they told "e that I
looked bad' and I$" wondering <I ha!e been feeling a little weak ... Aetc. 7nd by the end
of the day he would be 8uite ill in his body. 3ith the increase of his lips he was filled
with sickness <because he started talking about how he 2ust "ight be sick' or there "ight
be so"ething wrong' and he was filled with it. A3ith the increase of our lips we are
filled.B
I had the pri!ilege to "inister to an Episcopalian wo"an for the 9aptis" in the %pirit a
nu"ber of years ago. I began to instruct her on how to be filled with the %pirit. 7fter the
instruction I said' A;ow I$" going to lay hands on you.B I did' and nothing happened. I
was speaking in tongues' but she wasn$t doing anything. 7nd you know' I had read in the
3ord' in 7cts 10:6' that when 5aul laid his hands on the"' the Holy &host ca"e upon
the" and they spoke with tongues. I learned a long ti"e ago that if nothing is happening'
it "ight be a good idea to back up and see what the proble" is. I "ight as well ha!e been
laying hands on a fence post as far as the lack of response in her.
%o I stopped and said' A3hat$s wrongHB %he said' AI can$t speak in tongues.B 7nd I said'
ACou can speak in tongues.B %he said' AI can$t speak in tongues.B 7nd I said' ACou can.B
7nd back and forth we went. ;ow' I knew we weren$t getting anywhere by 2ust arguing
the "atter' so I finally stopped her and said' A;ow there is so"ething that will help you'
if you$ll do it.B %he asked' A3hat$s thatHB I said' A%ay' JI can speak in tongues.$B I was
telling her to change her confession co"pletely' to turn it around. I said' A#on$t say' JI
can$t'$ but say' JI can.$ A %he looked at "e rather strangely' and I$" sure she would ha!e
liked to back out' but I pressed the point. I said' ACou said you$d do it. It will help you.
&o ahead and do it.B %he said' AI can speak in tongues.B ;ow she didn$t any"ore belie!e
it than anything.
I want to point out so"ething. 5eople will 8uestion so"ething like this' and say' A3ell' if
she didn$t belie!e it' it was a lie.B ;o' it$s not a lie if it agrees with &od$s 3ord. I don$t
care whether you belie!e it or not. If I say that )esus is co"ing again' I a" speaking truth'
whether or not I belie!e He$s co"ing again. If I say' A)esus 1hrist died for the sins of
"ankind'B I a" speaking truth' whether I belie!e it or not. If an atheist gets up and says'
AThere$s a &od who created the world' and that &od is on the throne today' and that &od
has a son' )esus' who ca"e and died for our sins and was raised for our 2ustification'B
whether he belie!es a word of what he$s saying or not' he is speaking truth. In fact' I
would challenge any atheist to say this long enough' and I belie!e it would begin to sink
down into the heart' and pretty soon he would begin to belie!e it.
Cou say' A9ut what right did you ha!e to tell her she could speak with tonguesHB 3ell'
2ust si"ply this: )esus said' AIf we gi!e good gifts to our children' how "uch "ore would
the Hea!enly Father gi!e the Holy %pirit to the" that ask hi".B Cou say' AThat doesn$t
say anything about speaking in tongues.B I reali4e that !erse doesn$t say anything about
it' but 1hrist was pointing the" to the e-perience they would recei!e on the #ay of
5entecost when it says they were filled with the Holy &host and began to speak with
other tongues. 7nd )esus also told the"' AThese signs shall follow the" that belie!e.B He
said' AIn "y na"e they shall speak with new tongues.B Oh' you$!e got to be a 1hristian
first' but if you$re a 1hristian' you can be filled with the %pirit of &od and speak with
other tongues. I knew she had a right toE I knew &od wanted to fill her with His %piritE
but I knew I was going to ha!e to change her confession.
I said' A%ay it again.B %he said' AI can speak in tongues.B %he still wasn$t belie!ing it. I
could tell by her !oice' the e-pression in her !oice.
;ow you know you can tell by the e-pression of the !oice whether a person is in faith or
not. Fany ti"es I$!e had people co"e up to "e and say' AI belie!e the 3ord is true (and
you know what$s co"ing ne-t,' but I can$t understand why I can$t get "y healing.B
%o"ebody else co"es up and says' AI belie!e the 3ord is true (and you know what$s
co"ing ne-t with hi",E 2ust lay your hands on "e' and I$ll be healed.B 3hat$s the
differenceH One has tears in his !oice' and the other has e-cite"ent. Cou see' you can
pinpoint the faith' e!en in the e-pression and the tone of the !oice.
3ell' I could see this wo"an was still not in faith. I said' A%ay it again.B %he said' AI can
speak in tongues'B <she still didn$t belie!e it. I don$t know how "any ti"es I had her say
it < "aybe */ ti"es. Each ti"e she said it' I could hear faith rising 2ust a little bit "ore in
her !oice' and after about 1* to 1> ti"es' she was saying' AI can speak in tonguesB in a
positi!e "anner.
%o after appro-i"ately */ ti"es' I said' A;ow I$" going to lay hands on you again < be
filled with the %pirit and 2ust lift your !oice and begin to speak with tongues.B I laid "y
hands on her' and I could hear her whispering it out' AI can speak with tongues ... I can
speak with tongues. %he said it about fi!e ti"es in English' and then when she tried to say
it the si-th ti"e' it ca"e out in a language she hadn$t spoken before.
Cou see' with the increase of her lips she was filled with faith' and she had to be filled
with faith before she could be filled with the %pirit of &od' because that$s one of the
blessings that co"e by faith.
5aul asked the &alatians' <#his only *ould / learn of you, 2eceived ye the 9pirit by the
*orks of the la* or by the hearing of faith> (&alatians ?:*,. 7nd he told the" later on in
that chapter that A . . the blessings of 7braha" "ight co"e upon the &entiles through
)esus 1hrist that we "ight recei!e the pro"ise of the %pirit through faith.B HowH
Through faithG
6I knew she needed faith. I knew she needed to e-ercise faith. I knew that faith needed to
be ali!e and acti!e. 7nd I knew as long as she said' AI can$t speak in tongues'B she was
filling herself with doubts. %he was not filling herself with belief' nor with faith. %o I
knew so"ething had to take place. %he was doing the wrong thing. 3ith the increase of
her lips she was being filled in the wrong way. 7nd it was 2ust as si"ple as getting her to
do a co"plete about face in confession. 3hen she did' it "ade an i"pact on her heart.
I want to deal now with this thing of saying it first. Here$s so"ething that$s !ery
i"portant. %peaking it with our "outh first. In .o"ans 1/:0 it says' A1onfess with your
"outh' then belie!e in your heart.B I belie!e there$s so"ething e!en in this order of
action. It$s "ar!elous when we already belie!e in our heart and 2ust begin to talk about it.
That$s fine <that$s good' but there are people who find it difficult to belie!e it in their
hearts' and I challenge the" to begin to say it with their "ouths before they belie!e' as
this wo"an did. Fark 11:*? says' <*hosoever shall say to this mountain, D)e thou
removed and be thou cast into the sea,: and shall not doubt in his heart, but believes that
*hich he saith shall come to pass, he shall have *hatsoever he saith.B That !erse is
pri"arily on saying it. %ay it' say it. That$s Fark 11:*?. Fark 11:*6 says' <#herefore /
say unto you, *hat things soever ye desire *hen ye pray, believe ye receive them and ye
shall have them. 3hen you pray' belie!e that you recei!e and you shall ha!e the". %ay
it' !erse *?E belie!e it' !erse *6. Here$s this "ar!elous tieup again between the "outh
and the heart.
%he did not belie!e it in her heart to begin with' but she began to say it with her "outh'
and so"ething took place down on the inside of her. I don$t know why it works that way'
but it does. 7nd thank &od' I don$t ha!e to understand it. One thing I do need to
understand' and that$s si"ply that it works. )ust accept it' then' go ahead accordingly.
3ith the increase of our lips are filled. Out of the abundance of the heart' the "outh
speaketh. %o we say it with our lips' then belie!e it in our heart' and with the increase of
our lips we are filled with faith.
;ow if you want to continue to be filled with doubt' 2ust say the wrong things and you$ll
be filled with doubt. If you want to be filled with frustration' or with confusion' continue
to talk about it <in fact' e!en increase your bad confession' and you$ll be filled that "uch
"ore with it. If you want to re"ain "ired in defeat' if you want to talk about how bad
things are and what a bad lot you ha!e in life' 2ust continue to talk that way' and you$ll
re"ain that way. 9ut if you want to rise to !ictory' if you want encourage"ent to replace
discourage"ent' if you want boldness and assurance to replace fear' if you want a
clearness of "ind to replace confusion' if you want the e-act opposite' begin to speak in
the right way. Talk about the clearness of "ind that you ha!e in the @ord )esus 1hrist.
Cou say' A3ell' I ha!en$t seen it yet.B .e"e"ber' faith operates before you see it. Faith
is the e!idence of things not seenE blessed are they that ha!e not seen and yet ha!e
belie!ed in their !ictory: 3ith the increase of our lips we are filled.
;ow let$s e-a"ine 5ro!erbs 1+:*1. I belie!e this is the "ost dyna"ic portion of this
whole study. It is certainly a case of sa!ing the best until last. The !erse says:
14:'1 +eath and life are in the po*er of the tongue3 and they that love it shall eat the
fruit thereof.
<+eath and life are in the po*er of the tongue. 3hat does that "eanH It can$t "ean
that we can escape e!entual physical death by saying that we will ne!er die. The sa"e
9ible that states the power in a proper confession' also says that it$s appointed unto "an
once to die. I do belie!e that so"e people die pre"aturely because they don$t appropriate
faith in certain cases' and probably at ti"es because of an i"proper confession. Cet we
"ust all face death e!entually. 9ut what is the "eaning' then' of the state"ent' A#eath
and life are in the power of the tongueBH )ust si"ply that we can put to death those things
which need to be' and speak into e-istence those things which need to be with the power
of our tongue. 3hat a fantastic truthG 3hen I teach on this publicly' I often say to people'
AInderline this state"ent of death and life being in the power of the tongue' in your
9ible. Then put an arrow at the top of the page' pointing down to it. Then put a note in
the front of the 9ible re"inding you to turn to that page and scripture.B Cou "ight say'
AThat$s e-aggerating the i"portance of that scripture.B 3ell' !ery little if any. I belie!e
it$s the "ost i"portant single state"ent in this area of confession of faith' and the
confession of faith is probably the "ost i"portant portion of the co"plete study of faith.
The words we speak with our "ouths are so powerful that they can produce either death
or life.
If you$re a !icti" of cancer' you need to speak death to the disease' and a healing into
e-istence. 1o"e against that cancer' cursing it in the na"e of )esus' e!en as 1hrist did
the fig tree (Fark 11:1*,' and then speak your healing into e-istence. %peak death to
arthritis' allergies' kidney trouble' diabetes' etc.' and your healing into e-istence.
Cou say' AHow do I speak "y healing into e-istenceHB )ust say' AThank you' &od' for "y
healing fro" this arthritis. I clai" it according to the 3ord' for you ha!e said that by the
stripes of )esus I a" healed.B 7nd then hold fast to that sa"e confession as you are
co""anded in Hebrews 1/:*?. @earn to talk "ore about your healing than you do about
the sickness and its !arious sy"pto"s. If a sy"pto" of the illness "anifests itself' say'
A5raise the @ord for "y healing'B rather than AOh' I feel so bad.B It "ay be difficult to
retrain yourself to speak this way' but it$s worth it. It$s possible for people to ha!e Adeath
and life in the power of the tongueB to work against the".
%o"e people speak death to their healing' and the disease back into e-istence. I$!e had
people co"e in a healing line' be prayed for' and ha!e the pain co"pletely lea!e their
body. Cet' fro" their attitude and subse8uent state"ents' it is ob!ious that they don$t
belie!e in their healing. They say' A3ell' yes' the pain is gone' but I don$t know for sure
that I a" healed.B They are probably thinking within the"sel!es' AIf only I had a good
doctor$s report to go on... Aor' AIf I can go a "onth without pain' then I can belie!e ...B'
etc. How tragicG They are speaking and thinking death to their healing' and speaking' and
al"ost in!iting' the disease and its acco"panying sy"pto"s of pain to return and co"e
into e-istence once "ore. 9e 8uicker to clai" the healing than you are the pain. 9ut
re"e"ber' we can speak death to the disease' which is of the ene"y' by resisting and
rebuking the #e!il with the power of our tongue.
;ow let$s deal a little "ore closely with the life that$s in the power of the tongue. There
is creati!e power in the 3ord of &od. It says in Hebrews 11:? that AThe worlds were
fra"ed by the word of &od.B They say there are 8uasars which are thousands of light
years distant. One light year e8uals appro-i"ately si- trillion "iles. Fultiply that ti"es
thousands' and the result is al"ost incalculable. 7ll of this e-tre"ely !ast uni!erse was
created by a &od who spoke it into e-istence. 3e ha!e the sa"e powerful l creati!e
3ord to use and speak forth with out tongue. It will create for us' too. Oh' I don$t "ean
to i"ply that we can create worlds with it' because &od has not ordained that we should.
9ut we can speak !ictories of healing' whether physical or spiritual' into e-istence. The
tongue has power to create both death and life' either for good or bad' and the 3ord of
&od is creati!ely powerfulE therefore' when we co"bine the"' we can see results of
i""easurable' supernatural di"ensions.
The personal healing testi"ony of E!angelist :enneth Hagin is' I belie!e' the epito"e of
an application of this truth. 3hen :enneth Hagin was a young "an of about 16 years' he
beca"e bedfast fro" a serious organic heart condition. He had been a !icti" of the
disease fro" birth' but not an in!alid' until he beca"e paraly4ed fro" the waist down' at
appro-i"ately the afore"entioned age. The doctor said it would be his death bed.
&od then dealt with hi" regarding his soul' and he ga!e his heart to 1hrist. Then he
began to read the 9ible' although he knew nothing about it. He said he noticed there was
an Old and a ;ew Testa"ent' and he assu"ed the ;ew was better than the Old' so he
started fro" the 9ook of Fatthew. He was so weak that he could only focus his eyes for
about ten "inutes each day' but during that ti"e he would read the 3ord. He said he had
deter"ined that he would belie!e e!erything he read' if he possibly could' and if he ca"e
to a portion he could not readily belie!e' he would not go past that point until he could
belie!e.
He e!entually got to Fark 11:*6' where it says' A#herefore / say unto you, *hat things
soever ye desire, *hen ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them. He
said this was difficult' because he desired a healing' and it said to belie!e he recei!ed it
when he prayed' but he had prayed and nothing had happened. He stu"bled o!er the
!erse for a while' but then decided that if he was e!er going on' he "ust belie!e he was
healed' e!en though he was still paraly4ed fro" the waist down.
He said "onths went by without anything tangible taking place' and then one day he
prayed and said' A&od' I ha!e belie!ed in "y healing' but why a" I still paraly4edHB &od
spoke to hi" and said' ACou ha!e belie!ed as far as you ha!e knowledge' but now you
need "ore knowledge.B &od then taught hi" fro" the 3ord that action was needed to go
along with his belief.
One "orning he was inspired to pray this prayer' A&od I reali4e that I "ust put action
with "y faith' so therefore I$" going to get out of bed this "orning and' by faith' walk
away fro" it.B He prayed that prayer e!en though he was still paraly4ed. The ene"y
brought "any doubts' but that did not daunt :enneth Hagin$s faith. 66. He raised hi"self
to a sitting position (he had use of the upper part of his body,' and then "o!ed his body
around until his feet were touching the floor. They were like two blocks of wood' because
he still felt nothing. He then raised hi"self to a standing position' and when he did' his
knees buckled under hi". He reached o!er and grabbed one of the posts of the four
poster bed and held on and began to praise &od. He could ha!e co"plained and "ade the
wrong confession' but instead he accepted the challenge to praise &od and speak faith.
He continued to praise &od for about ten "inutes' and then "ade the following
confession <I belie!e it$s the greatest I$!e e!er heard regarding a healing. He said' AI
want to declare to the 7l"ighty &od' to the Father' to the %on' to the Holy %pirit' to all
the angels in Hea!en' and to %atan and all the i"ps of Hell' that I a" healedGB He said at
that ti"e circulation began to return to the lower part of his body. It felt like a thousand
pins pricking his skin. It hurt' but it felt good to hurt' because he hadn$t felt anything in
so long.
That young "an walked away at that ti"e fro" what the doctor said would be his death
bed' because he dared to declare that which &od had said. He reali4ed that death and life
are in the power of the tongue. He spoke death to his heart condition' and a healing into
e-istence when he "ade the confession to the powers abo!e and below. &od honored that
confession. He honored His 3ord. He honored the faith of a young "an who dared to
belie!e Hi"' despite alar"ing sy"pto"s.
The rest of 5ro!erbs 1+:*1 says' <#hey that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. :enneth
Hag in lo!ed the truth that death and life are in the power of the tongue' and then ate the
fruit of itG
I trust I ha!e "ade this truth so crystal clear that you ne!er forget it. I cannot e"phasi4e
enough the i"portance of speaking death to the work of the ene"y' and the !ictories in
)esus into e-istence' with the power of our tongue.
;o wonder the centurion said to )esus (Fatthew +,' A)ust speak the word' and "y ser!ant
will be healed.B 3e can speak the words of the Faster and they will produce death and
life in the proper areas. I know of no other way to conclude this lesson than to re"ind
you again ... death and life are in the power of the tongue.
L$%%&' F&5.
HOW TO CONFESS YOUR HEALING
WITHOUT TELLING A LIE
CLAIMING YOUR HEALING BY FAITH
There are probably "ore people today hearing and e"bracing the truth of the confession
of our faith than e!er before. How beautiful this is' for certainly the "essage of
confession of faith is a !ery i"portant one. Cet' "any of these' while desiring to "ake a
good confession of faith' do not reali4e how they can do it without telling a lie. To gi!e
proper balance to this study' I want us first to consider a passage in .o"ans 6:16'1D. It
reads:
Kerse 16 Therefore it is of faith' that it "ight be by graceE to the end the pro"ise "ight
be sure to all the seedE not to that also which is of the faith of 7braha"E who is the father
of us all'
Kerse 1D (7s it is written' I ha!e "ade thee a father of "any nations', before hi" who"
he belie!ed' e!en &od' who 8uickeneth the dead' and calleth those things which be not as
though they were.
This is !ery interesting. It says in !erse 1D that &od calls those things which be not as
though they were. Fany people are confused o!er this. They "ight e!en 8uestion how
&od could call so"ething which is not as though it is. They "ight point out the fact that
&od cannot lie and then say' A3ell' how then can He call so"ething which is not as
though it is if He cannot lieHB I belie!e He does it in this particular attitude. I ha!e had
people "ake pro"ises to "e and in the sa"e con!ersation in which they had "ade the
pro"ise say' AIf I said it' it$s as good as done now.B I knew they had not e!en started on
the pro2ect yet' but they were standing there saying' AIt$s as good as done now.B 3hy did
they say thisH 9ecause they had confidence in their ability to perfor" their word. If "an
has that "uch confidence in his ability to perfor" his word' how "uch "ore surely then
does &od' the sa"e &od who sits on the throne in the hea!ens' ha!e confidence in His
ability to perfor" His own 3ord.
;otice in the first of !erse 1D that &od "akes the state"ent' AI ha!e "ade thee a father of
"any nations.B Of course' this is 5aul writing regarding the faith of 7braha" and &od$s
state"ent to hi"' which is recorded in the 9ook of &enesis. The words Aha!e "adeB are
past tense. 3hy would &od' then' say to a "an who is not e!en a father of one' yet AI
ha!e "ade thee a father of "any nations'B as though it had already happenedH &od was
calling that which was not as though it was' knowing of His ability to perfor" His 3ord
in the future ti"e.
In the 9ook of Isaiah' chapter >?' we ha!e the tre"endous prophecy which ca"e through
the prophet Isaiah regarding the co"ing of the @ord )esus 1hrist:
>?:$ )ut he *as *ounded for our transgressions, he *as bruised for our ini8uities: the
chastisement of our peace *as upon him3 and *ith his stripes *e are healed.
This' of course' was regarding so"ething which had not e!en happened and would not
happen for hundreds of years. Cet' it was spoken as though it had already happened.
Fany people rebel at the suggestion of confessing their healing before it is "anifested in
the natural. They do not reali4e that in faith they "ay do so' calling those things which
are not as though they are. 9ut e!en though in faith we can call those things which are
not as though they are' we still "ust be careful not to tell a lie. reali4e that if they are
attacked by a sickness' there$s healing in )esus. 7nd if there are financial needs' then &od
will "eet those needs. They go their way saying' AI know now all I ha!e to do is 2ust
walk in faith and I shall ha!e "y needs "et.B 9ut e!en though a walk of faith will
produce !ictory' they find out after awhile that the walk of faith is not easy. Fany' after
encountering a few se!ere trails of faith' are ready to gi!e up. The 9ible speaks of a trial
to our faith' i"plying that it will not always be easy. I ha!e often said a walk of faith
separates the "en fro" the boys. %o"e of these who ha!e failed beco"e bitter opponents
of the faith "essage. They say' AI thought I could walk in faith and clai" "y healingE yet
I tried that and it didn$t work.B
One "an who was con!ersing with "e about * o$clock one afternoon said' A@ast night' I
got e-cited when you preached on faith' and I decided to clai" a healing for a sore
throat.B A9ut'B he said' Aat 1*:?/ today' "y throat was still sore' so I 2ust ga!e up.B This
"an hadn$t e!en lasted *6 hours in his battle of faith. How did he know the healing
would not ha!e "anifested itself at 1*:? 1 or 1*:6/ or 1:// or whene!er. He had gi!en up
without e!en a significant fight. 7lthough he was not bitter toward the faith "essage' he
certainly was not an enthusiastic participant in it thereafter.
7nother "an heard "e speak on the sub2ect of tithing and decided to go ahead and gi!e
the a"ount of a tithe on a new car he was needing' belie!ing in so doing that &od would
cause hi" to recei!e a new car. His wife called "e after about a "onth and said: AI want
to counsel with you. Fy husband should be the one to counsel' but he won$t because he$s
"ad at &od.B
I asked' A3hy is he "ad at &odHB
%he said: A3hen he heard you speak on the sub2ect of tithing about a "onth ago' he
decided to pay the a"ount of a tithe in ad!ance on a new car and thought surely that in a
short ti"e he would ha!e the new car. It has been a "onth now and he doesn$t ha!e his
new car and he$s "ad at &od.B
This "an was another one who had not lasted through the trial of faith and then had
beco"e bitter at &od and at the faith "essage as a result. Those who are bitter are usually
!ery difficult to help' because often they ha!e "ade a decision in which they are
deter"ined not to e-ercise faith or walk in it.
TO TELL THE TRUTH
Howe!er' there is another category of the opposition which consists of people who I
belie!e can be helped. They are the ones who ha!e beco"e dis"ayed because of hearing
so"eone else who was i""ature who tried to "ake a confession of faith and yet ended
up telling a lie. 7nd those who ha!e beco"e dis"ayed will say' A3ell' I don$t belie!e it
is right to tell a lie and' therefore' I a" 2ust not interested in this "essage of confession of
faith.B I ha!e been able to help "any like that for I can assure the" that they can confess
their faith *ithout telling a lie.
%hortly after "y initial call to the "inistry' a wo"an <Fo" &oodwin <who was old
enough to be "y "other and certainly was a spiritual "other to "e ga!e "e the
following ad!ice: A)oe' when you are behind the pulpit' always tell the truth.B
3hen she said that' I was perple-ed. I didn$t say it out loud' but I thought to "yself:
A3hy wouldn$t I tell the truthH 3hy would anybody not tell the truth when they were
behind the pulpitHB I did not reali4e then the strong te"ptation there would be later not to
tell the truth as I was behind the pulpit. There is an e-pression used in 1hristian circles
which "ay be new to so"e of you' but 8uite fa"iliar to others. It is: AHe or she is
Jspeaking e!angelistically.$ A I reali4e it$s used pri"arily in a hu"orous !ein' but there
had to be "any "inisters e-aggerating or telling half truths for such an e-pression to
catch on. It is a tragedy to our 1hristian faith that it e!er got started.
9y now you are probably asking the 8uestion: A9ut why would any "inister e!en be
te"pted not to tell the truth when behind the pulpitHB I can gi!e you an e-a"ple. 3hen I
finish preaching' I gi!e an in!itation for those who desire to accept the @ord )esus 1hrist.
I gi!e it in this way. I ha!e e!eryone bow their heads and close their eyes. I ha!e noticed
in those ti"es when I ask for a raise of hands for those who would desire to accept 1hrist
that if two or three hands are raised 8uickly' "any ti"es it will inspire others also to raise
their hands. 7pparently there are so"e who are 2ust waiting for so"eone else to lead the
way. Therefore' in "y hu"an reasoning' I could decide at a ti"e such as that to go ahead
and pretend by what I would say that the first two or three hands were raised' whether
they were or not' doing it as a psychological ploy to inspire others to go ahead and raise
their hands. I could feel that I was 2ustified in "y action because of winning souls to
1hrist' e!en though I would actually be telling a lie. 9ut I a" not 2ustified in this. I a"
conde"ned by a certain passage in the 3ord of &od. In .o"ans B:$,6,D we read the
following:
Kerse $ 9ut if our unrighteousness co""end the righteousness of &od' what shall we
sayH Is &od unrighteous who taketh !engeanceH (I speak as a "an,
Kerse 6 &od forbid: for then how shall &od 2udge the worldH
Kerse D For if the truth of &od hath "ore abounded through "y lie unto his gloryE why
yet a" I also 2udged as a sinnerH
5aul is asking a 8uestion here. In !erse >' he is saying: AIf that which I a" doing which is
unrighteous (or wrong, co""ends (or enhances, the righteousness (or the :ingdo", of
&od' what shall we say thenH Is &od wrong if He takes !engeance against "e or if He
gets onto "e for what I ha!e doneHB The answer in !erse 6 says' A&od forbid.B ;o' of
course &od would not be wrong in getting onto "e for doing that' for then if He did not'
how would He be able to 2udge the worldH If He does not 2udge "e on things which I do
that are wrong' how can He 2udge the world on si"ilar thingsH Kerse % "akes it crystal
clear. It says' AFor if the truth of &od hath "ore abounded through "y lie unto his gloryE
why yet a" I also 2udged as a sinnerHB Of course' the fact is the truth of &od does not
abound through our lie unto the glory of &odE instead' any lie that I would tell could
bring a reproach on the cause of our @ord )esus 1hrist.
It is !ery i"portant for "e to tell the truth e!en though I "ight think through a lie that I
would be doing &od a fa!or. I ha!e always been !ery careful to be absolutely honest with
congregations. There ha!e been ti"es in a healing line in which I could ha!e let
so"ething slip through that would ha!e looked like a "anifestation of a healing' but
instead I was !ery careful to tell the truth to the people.
One "an brought his s"all son' three years of age' forward for prayer. He said' AFy boy
cannot walk.B I "entioned to the congregation that the child could not walk. Then the
father added this: AHe can stand and he can take two or three steps' but then he falls. He
cannot walk as a threeyearold should.B I repeated that to the congregation. Then I
prayed for the child and after prayer' I had the father stand the boy on the floor and then
get in front of hi"' coa-ing the child to walk toward hi". 7 child of that age is !ery
unpredictable' especially in front of a congregation. It took about three "inutes for the
child to "ake a decision to e!en take a step. Then' he took about three steps and fell into
the father$s ar"s.
There were so"e shouters there that night and they began to shout louder than I had e!er
heard anyone before. I could not ha!e stopped the" unless I had gone right up in their
faces and shouted louder than they. I didn$t atte"pt to stop the"' but instead I went to the
father and asked' AHas the child walked any better tonight than beforeHB
He replied' A;ot really.B
7fter all the shouts died down' I said to the congregation: A;ow this "ay be
disappointing to so"e of you' but this child has not walked any better than before'
according to the father. .e"e"ber that the father has told us that the child could
heretofore take two or three steps and then he would fall.B I then endea!ored to rally the
congregation in faith. I "entioned that e!en though the child had not walked any"ore
than before that e!ening' ne!ertheless we should belie!e &od. 3e should belie!e in a
healing we had not seen yet. I encouraged the father to belie!e &od' and he went his way
apparently in faith.
I belie!e I did the right thing in being truthful with that congregation. If I had not been
careful to point out that the child had not walked better than before' I would ha!e been
allowing a split report to go forth fro" that "eeting. The shouters would ha!e
undoubtedly said' AThat child walked for the first ti"e in his life.B Others "ight ha!e
re"e"bered what the father had said initially' and they would ha!e said' A7pparently the
child didn$t do any better tonight than he has before' yet they were i"plying that a
healing had taken place.B
Fany ti"es I ha!e had people co"e for prayer who were deaf in one ear. In those cases' I
instruct the" along these lines. I "ention that before I pray for the"' I a" going to check
their hearing. I tell the" I$" going to ha!e the" close up their good ear' and then I will
go around to the deaf side. I will "ake certain state"ents of faith for the" to repeat after
"e if they hear anything. If they don$t hear anything' they are to shake their heads no. I
also "ention that I do not want the" to look at "e so they cannot possibly read "y lips.
In cases such as that' I ha!e gone to the deaf side' said certain things' and noted that there
was no response whatsoe!er. Fany ti"es I ha!e lifted "y !oice' e!en at ti"es to the
point of shouting' and still they were not able to hear. In a test such as that' ob!iously' the
person was co"pletely deaf. Howe!er' in other cases' I ha!e walked to the deaf side and
said' for e-a"ple' A5raise the @ord.B
They would repeat' A5raise the @ord.B
I would then say' AHallelu2ah.B
They would repeat' AHallelu2ah.B
I would back up a couple of feet' "aking so"e "ore state"ents of faith' and they would
be repeating the" after "e !erbati".
7s this is happening' I ha!e ."any ti"es noticed an undercurrent of praise co"ing fro"
the congregation. I knew that all I would ha!e to do is 2ust turn to the congregation and
say: AThis person is hearing "e. &od has healed the".B 9ut instead of doing that
i""ediately' I will then ask the person if they could ha!e heard that "uch before.
%o"eti"es they will say' A;o' I couldn$t ha!e heard anything out of that ear.B Other
ti"es' though' they will say: ACes' I could ha!e probably heard that "uch before. I can
hear so"e out of the ear. I$" not totally deaf' but I do ha!e a D/ percent loss of hearing or
+/ percent loss or whate!er.B The reason I 8uestion the" closely is to be absolutely
honest with that congregation.
TRUTHFUL CONFESSION
I$" con!inced that because so"e "inisters ha!e not been honest with congregations' it
has e!en brought a reproach on the healing "inistry. &od is !ery concerned about our
telling that truth. I "entioned pre!iously that so"e people in their atte"pt to "ake a
confession of faith end up telling a lie. There are those' if you walk up to the" and ask'
AIs there any pain in your bodyHB who would reply' e!en though their body "ight be
wracked by pain' AOh' no' I ha!e no pain.B 7ctually' if there is pain present and they say
they ha!e no pain' they are not telling the truth. 3hat they should say is this: ACes' there
is pain present' but that pain is a sy"pto" of a condition which the ene"y is trying to put
on "e and I will ha!e no part of it. I a" not accepting this condition. Instead' I a"
clai"ing "y healing in the ;a"e of the @ord )esus 1hrist.B If they say it in that way'
they ha!e not told a lie' and they ha!e also "ade a good confession of their faith.
There are three words' which I belie!e will help you greatly to understand this. They are
7#FITTI;&' 7#KE.TI%I;&' 7;# 711E5TI;&. #on$t ad!ertise the proble"s that
"ay co"e upon you and don$t accept the attacks of the ene"y. 9ut it$s i"portant to
ad"it if you are asked that there has been' yes' an attack of the ene"y. If you ha!e an
a!ersion to ad"itting when asked about the attack' you could take what I call the faith
fifth: AI refuse to answer on ground that it "ay incri"inate "e.B Otherwise' if you gi!e a
yes or no answer' you "ust be truthful.
One "an ca"e for prayer at the end of a %unday "orning ser"on. I asked what was
wrong and he said' AI don$t want to tell you.B
I then said' AIt would be better to tell "e what it is' unless it$s so"ething that is e-tre"ely
personal' in order that I can pray "ore intelligently about the proble".B I also "entioned
that there were certain scriptures which would apply to a gi!en situation' and for that
reason I would like to know what was wrong.
He said: AI don$t want to tell you what is wrong. I don$t want to gi!e the #e!il any
credit.B He then turned to the pastor and said' AI don$t want to tell hi" what$s wrong.B
6?. The pastor said' AIt$s all right. &o ahead. He needs to know so he can pray for you
accordingly.B
The "an then said' A;o' I a" not going to gi!e any credit to the #e!il'B and he left in a
huff.
7s I was lea!ing the building that "orning' the sa"e "an ca"e to "e and asked "e to
pray about his "arriage.
I asked' A3hy did you tell "e what it isHB
He looked pu44led and said' A3ell' because I want you to pray for "y "arriage.B
I replied' A9ut you wouldn$t e!en tell "e in there a few "inutes ago what the proble"
was.B
He said: AOh' that was a different proble". That was physical.B That "an had a hangup
on this whole thing of confession of faith. If it was wrong to tell "e about the physical
thing' it was also wrong to tell "e about the "arriage proble". 9ut I don$t belie!e it was
wrong to tell "e about either of the proble"s. Cou "ight say: A9ut I$" like hi". I don$t
belie!e it$s right to gi!e the ene"y credit.B Cou are not gi!ing the ene"y credit as long
as you are si"ply "entioning the proble". If we were to say' AI ha!e a proble" and I
can$t get !ictoryE I don$t belie!e there is any healing for "e' or I a" defeated and I a"
afraid I will stay that way'B then we would be gi!ing the #e!il credit. 9ut it$s not gi!ing
hi" credit 2ust to si"ply "ention the proble". Cou can "ention the proble" and in the
sa"e breath say: AI know that e!en though the proble" e-ists' I ha!e !ictory in the @ord
)esus 1hrist and I a" going to clai" that !ictory. I shall clai" "y healing' etc.' all the
way.B Then' you ha!e done nothing in which to gi!e the ene"y any credit.
7 few years ago one "an related the following story to "e. He said that he was talking
with a friend of his' and they in turn were discussing a "utual friend of theirs. I don$t
re"e"ber the na"e of the friend' but let$s call hi" To". To" was in the 7r"ed
%er!ices. The one "an said to the other' ATo" is now a captain.B
The reply was: AOh' is that trueH To" has been pro"otedHB
The first "an said' ACes' he is now a captain.B The other "an went forth and told
so"eone else about it. The person to who" he was talking asked' A3hen did you hear
thisHB
He said' AOh' last week'B and "entioned who had told hi".
This "an said' A3ell' he would ha!e had to ha!e been pro"oted this "orning because as
of last night' he was still a lieutenant.B The "an who had related the story went back to
the first "an and asked hi"' A3hy did you say he is a captain when he is still only a
lieutenantHB
The "an replied' AOh' I was saying it by faith.B 3ell' if he was saying it by faith' he
should ha!e stated' AIt is by faith I a" "aking this state"ent.B Otherwise' the story was
not true.
3hile it is i"portant to belie!e before we see and while we can call those things which
are not as though they are' we still ha!e to be careful not to tell a lie.
7 pastor' who was a friend of "ine' posed the following situation. He said: A3hat if "y
son were not a 1hristian and I were clai"ing his sal!ationH If I go and tell so"e "an of
the world that "y son is a 1hristian when he actually is not' e!en though I$" doing it as a
step of faith' that "an could say to hi"self: JI know this "an$s son and he is not a
1hristian and does not e!en clai" to be a 1hristian. 7nd here the father is stating that he
is. The father is lying about the situation' he is a hypocrite and no better than the son' and
I will ha!e nothing to do with this "an$s testi"ony' whatsoe!er.$ A The pastor added' AI
could negate "y 1hristian testi"ony on the basis of a state"ent which I "ight otherwise
consider to be a state"ent of faith.B
One wo"an said that a "an in their church had a daughter whose feet turned in. 7nother
"an said to this father: ACour daughter$s feet are 8uite bad. 3hy don$t you get the" seen
aboutH 5erhaps a doctor could operate and they would be "uch better.B The reply of the
"an was' A3hat feetHB al"ost i"plying that. the child had no feet. 7ctually' the "an was
so afraid of ad"itting that a proble" e!en e-isted that he was gi!ing forth an answer that
was see"ingly !ery childish. Indoubtedly' it was like a slap in the face to the "an who
had "entioned the proble". 5eople like this will be turned off ti"e and again by such
state"ents fro" belie!ers who are genuinely trying to "ake a good confession of faith. 7
far better thing for the "an to ha!e said would be: ACes' "y daughter$s feet are turning'
in' but we belie!e that condition is only te"porary' for we ha!e prayed and we are
clai"ing a healing. 7nd we belie!e the ti"e will co"e in which the feet will be straight.
9y faith' we ha!e our answer now.B There would ha!e been no lie in a state"ent such as
that but also a good confession of faith.
One "an ca"e forward for prayer' and he said' AI want you to pray for the back condition
I don$t ha!e.B I knew what he "eant' but I wondered if "any others there that e!ening
knew what he was referring to. 7ctually' in essence' what he was saying was this: AI
don$t want to ad"it there is a back condition' but the sy"pto"s are killing "e.B 3hat the
"an should ha!e said was: AThe ene"y has attacked "y back. There is pain' but I a"
clai"ing "y healing. 3ould you please agree with "e on "y healingHB 7gain' there is
no lie in a state"ent such as that and also a good positi!e confession of faith.
One e!angelist said' A7ccording to the sy"pto"s' I "ay be sick' but according to the
3ord' I a" healed.B If there are sy"pto"s of a disease or condition' that would be a
good way to answer people: A7ccording to the sy"pto"s' I a" sick' but according to the
3ord' I a" healed.B One writer stated it beautifully when he said' AI do not deny that the
sy"pto"s e-ist' but I deny their right to e-ist in "y body.B 3e are not denying the attack
of the ene"y' but si"ply denying his right to continue to oppress
PURE FAITH
One wo"an ga!e a testi"ony which I belie!e is a classic e-a"ple of the necessity to
confess your faith without telling a lie. %he stated that she had heard "e preach on the
sub2ect two nights before. %he said: AI went ho"e and prayed the following prayer: J&od'
I know that I ha!e sinned for there are ti"es in which people ha!e asked if I had pain in
"y body' and I would say at a ti"e such as that' A;o' I don$t ha!e pain.B I reali4e now
that I ha!e sinned and I ask you to forgi!e "e and I will not be guilty of doing this any
"ore.B Then she stated that she had fought sy"pto"s of certain allergies for al"ost a
year' clai"ing healing all the ti"e. 7nd she added: AFro" the "o"ent I asked &od to
forgi!e "e' the sy"pto"s began to di"inish. 7nd now' 2ust two days later' they are
al"ost gone.B That wo"an had gotten into what I call Apure faith.B
5ure faith is that which is based entirely upon the 3ord of &od. 3hile in .o"ans 6:1D' it
says that &od calls those things which are not as though they were' and we know this is
an integral part of the confession of our faith' it also ad"onishes us in .o"ans ?:D that
the truth of &od will not abound through our lie unto His glory. %o' yes' it is i"portant
not to tell a lie. .o"ans 6:1D is no "ore &od$s 3ord than .o"ans ?:D. They are both
e8ual as far as our understanding in faith is concerned.
.e"e"ber the three words' 7#FITTI;&' 7#KE.TI%I;&' 7;# 711E5TI;&. #on$t
ad!ertise and don$t accept' but it is all right to ad"it when you are asked. There are "any
teachers who would e"phasi4e' as I ha!e' the i"portance of not telling a lie when you
confess your faith. Howe!er' "any of the" would not' though' e"phasi4e the i"portance
of a proper confession of faith. In our co"panion chapter called AThe 5ower Of The
Tongue'B you will see the !ital i"portance of a proper confession of faith. %o we wanted
to lea!e you with a knowledge in both areas which I belie!e is a proper balance on this
whole thing of confession of faith: knowing the i"portance of not telling a lie' but also
the i"portance of "aking a strong' positi!e confession of your faith.
L$%%&' F)9$
THE TWO SIDES OF HEALING
TWO SIDES
1. There is one 8uestion fre8uently asked by those who attend a public healing ser!ice. It
is' A3hy were so"e instantly healed and others not healedHB I belie!e there are "any
factors which go!ern this and I doubt if anyone e-cept &od would know all of the". It is
"y intent in this chapter to co!er only one factor which I belie!e is pri"ary: it is what I
call AThe Two %ides of Healing.B One is the faith side and the other is what the 9ible
refers to as Athe gifts of healings.B In I 1orinthians 1*:+11 it says:
Kerse + For to one is gi!en by the %pirit the word of wisdo"E to another the word of
knowledge by the sa"e %piritE
Kerse 0 To another faith by the sa"e %piritE to another the gifts of healing by the sa"e
%piritE
Kerse 1/ To another the working of "iraclesE to another prophecyE to another discerning
of spiritsE to another di!ers kinds of tonguesE to another the interpretation of tongues:
Kerse 11 9ut all these worketh that one and the selfsa"e %pirit' di!iding to e!ery "an
se!erally as he will.
Here we ha!e a listing of nine gifts of the Holy %pirit and in !erse 11 it says that they are
di!ided by the Holy %pirit Ase!erally as He willsBE not as we will but as He wills. This is
!ery i"portant to our study.
I want to "ake a few co""ents regarding these scriptures and then take you to two other
passages. Of the nine gifts of the %pirit listed' one is called gifts of healing or really the
better translation is gifts of healings' both words being plural. J3hate!er these gifts of
healings are' they are di!ided by the Holy %pirit as He wills 2ust as the other gifts of the
Holy %pirit are' such as word of wisdo"' word of knowledge' etc. If it had said in !erse
11 that so"e of the gifts were di!ided by the Holy %pirit as He willed' we could perhaps
assu"e then that "aybe gifts of healings were not included. 9ut since it says that all
these are inspired and brought to pass by one and the sa"e Holy %pirit' who apportions to
each person indi!idually e-actly as He chooses' we can know then that they of course are
included. 7nd now in Hebrews *:16 we read:
Kerse 1 #herefore *e ought to give the more earnest heed to the things *hich *e have
heard, lest at any time *e should let them slip.
Kerse * !or if the *ord spoken by angels *as stedfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a Eust recompense of re*ard3
Kerse ? Ho* shall *e escape, if *e neglect so great salvation *hich at the first began to
be spoken by the -ord, and *as confirmed unto us by them that heard him3
Kerse 6 &od also bearing the" witness' both with signs and wonders' and with di!ers
"iracles' and gifts of the Holy &host' according to his own willH
;otice that it says' <gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his o*n *ill> 7nd now let$s
consider I 1orinthians *:6. 5aul says' <0nd my speech and my preaching *as not *ith
enticing *ords of man:s *isdom, but in demonstration of the 9pirit and of po*er. Fany
ha!e seen this one side of the picture of gifts of healings and yet do not see the faith side.
Others' perhaps' are able to see the faith side but still not understand the gifts of healings.
I want to e-plain both to you that there will not be confusion in your "ind regarding all
of this.
COMPARISON
In the gifts of healings' we ha!e an operation of the so!ereignty of &od. I know the ter"
Aso!ereignty of &odB will bother so"e who ha!e only seen the faith side. It is only
because they ha!e heard teachers use the ter" in a conte-t of unbelief "ore than faithE
howe!er' I want to assure you that I will only be using it in the conte-t of faith. I belie!e
it is &od$s will to heal all' e!en though we don$t see it happen e!ery ti"e in an instant
"anner. In the cases where there is no instant "anifestation of healing' I belie!e the
person can go his way' walking in faith and e!entually co"e into a healing.
In the late :atherine :uhl"an$s "inistry' there were "any instances of gifts of healings
in operation. The huge crowds would gather' so"eti"es as "any as 1/'/// to 1>'/// in
attendance' and while "any would testify to outstanding "iracles of healings' there were
"any "ore who were lea!ing with the sa"e sy"pto"s in their body that they ca"e with
and ob!iously no "anifestation of healing. E!en unbelie!ers "any ti"es would be
!isibly healed' yet so"e who were lea!ing without discenable healing were people who
had apparently co"e in faith belie!ing that this ti"e would be their "o"ent of
deli!erance. This would pro"pt so"e to say: AI 2ust don$t understand why "y friend or
relati!e was not healed. That unbelie!er testified that he was healed' yet "y friend ca"e
in faith belie!ing for a healing and yet she$s lea!ing with the sa"e sy"pto"s in her
body.B They would then conclude that apparently it is not &od$s will to heal in "any
cases and' therefore' faith "akes no difference. For a person to say that faith "akes no
difference "eans he or she has to cast out certain words of )esus.
In Fatthew 0:** )esus said to the wo"an with the issue of blood' A+aughter, be of good
comfort3 thy faith hath made thee *hole. 7nd in the sa"e chapter' !erse *0' he touched
the eyes of the blind "an and said' <0ccording to your faith be it unto you. These are
2ust two of a nu"ber of e-a"ples in which )esus declared that faith had "ade a
difference. Ces' undoubtedly faith does "ake a difference.
Howe!er' apparently there are ti"es in which faith does not "ake a difference as to
whether there is an instant "anifestation of healing. ;otice I said an instant "anifestation
and not an e!entual "anifestation. I belie!e there can be a healing for a person o!er a
period of ti"e to who" nothing' apparently' happens instantly. This can be e!idenced in
scripture. In Fark 16:1+ it says' <#hey shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover. This is referring to belie!ers laying hands on others. The word Areco!erB
i"plies a period of ti"eE therefore' there will be ti"es when we lay hands on others when
nothing apparent takes place at that "o"ent. Cet the person begins to reco!er and o!er a
period of ti"e has a co"plete "anifestation of his or her healing.
TRIAL OF FAITH
There "ay still be so"e who would say' A3ell' I belie!e if anyone has enough faith' he
can ha!e an instant "anifestation of healing.B If this were the case' how could there e!er
be a trial to our faithH In )a"es 1:? it speaks of the trial of our faith working patience. In I
5eter 1:D it says the trial of our faith is "ore precious than gold. If e!ery healing
happened instantly' there would ne!er be a trial of our faith as regards our clai"ing a
healing in our own bodies. 9ut when hands are laid on you and nothing happens
outwardly <there is no ob!ious "anifestation of healing <it then beco"es a trial of your
faith. 7nd if one week goes by and there is still no "anifestation of healing' or a year' it
is e!en "ore a trial of your faith.
7 friend of "ine 8uestioned this and said' A3ell then' &od is playing fa!orites if He
heals one person instantly and lets the other person walk it out in faith.B He then added'
AI can$t belie!e that' because &od is no respecter of persons.B Ces' I agree that &od is no
respecter of persons' and He has healing for all. 9ut in His wisdo" He "ay see that it is
necessary in so"e cases for the healing to be "anifested instantly and in other cases for a
person$s faith to be tried o!er a period of ti"e.
I a" sure that none of us fully understands the trial of our faith' yet the 9ible speaks of it
and we "ust therefore belie!e that it can happen. I ha!e found that e!en with "yself'
so"eti"es I a" healed instantly as prayer is offered' and other ti"es I ha!e to fight for
"y healing. I ha!e to e-ercise faith strongly at ti"es to co"e into a "anifestation of
healing. In those cases' I assu"e that "y faith is being tried.
7 father with se!eral children "ay find that he has to discipline one child "uch "ore
than another si"ply because of a "ore rebellious nature. It isn$t that he lo!es the
rebellious child lessE it is only that he percei!es he or she needs the discipline' and e!en
the discipline that he gi!es is in the conte-t of lo!e. I a" not i"plying that e!eryone who
goes through a trial of faith is doing so because of a rebellious nature' but I a" si"ply
pointing out that &od$s treat"ent of us' e!en in the faith area' "ight differ fro" person to
person.
HEALING DESPITE UNBELIEF
5re!iously I referred to the fact that e!en unbelie!ers were healed in :atherine
:uhl"an$s "eetings. This was probably for the purpose of showing the" that He lo!ed
the"' that He did ha!e power to heal' and certainly for the purpose of leading the" to the
@ord )esus 1hrist as their personal %a!ior.
I$!e seen this happen in "y "inistry. One case in particular was that of a "an who had
one eye which was artificial and only + percent !ision in the other eye. He ca"e forward
in the healing line and "entioned that he had had this condition for 6/ years. He was then
6? years of age. He said' AI ha!e had all the big ones lay hands on "e and nothing has
happened.B He "entioned Oral .oberts and a nu"ber of others. He also added' AI ha!e
fasted and prayed and tried to twist &od$s ar"' and nothing has happened.B 7nd then he
said' AI thought I would let you lay hands on "e.B He didn$t go ahead and add the
following' but if I could read between the lines' he was also thinking' A&o ahead and lay
hands on "e' but I doubt !ery "uch if anything will happen.B If those were his thoughts'
there is !ery little faith' if any' in that kind of thinking. The usual thing for a "inister
such as "yself who teaches strongly on faith is to say to a person at a ti"e such as that'
A%ir' you are not in faith and let$s change our thinking or let$s speak differently about the
"atter.B Cou can do this without being harsh but still get your point across. 9ut instead of
"y correcting any of his state"ents of unbelief' I instead was led to pray for the "an. I
asked' AFirst' can you see "eHB
He said' A)ust barely. Cou$re al"ost blurred out of "y sight.B
I replied' AI a" going to pray for you.B
I reached out and laid hands on hi" and as I finished the prayer' I asked' A1an you see
"e nowHB
He replied' ACes' clearly.B
I backed up a couple of feet and asked' A1an you see "e nowHB
ACes.B There was an e-it sign in the back of the church. I asked hi" to turn around and
see if he could see the e-it sign.
He said' ACes' I can see it.B
There was a clock beside it and I asked' A3hat ti"e is itHB
He hesitated for about a "inute and asked' AIs it 1/:1>HB
I said' ACes.B
He replied: AI could see the hands clearly fro" the "o"ent you asked' but I 2ust couldn$t
belie!e "y eyes. The reason I hesitated is that I didn$t belie!e it was that late' but I can
see those hands clearly.B
That "an was healed despite his unbelief. The 8uestion then beco"es' A3hy did &od
heal hi"HB I don$t know. %o"e "ight assu"e that it was to lead hi" to 1hrist. 9ut that is
not the case here because he was already a 1hristian. Others "ight say' AIt was
undoubtedly your prayer of faith.B ;o' I don$t really belie!e it was. I belie!e I prayed a
prayer of faith' yes' but there were "any others in the healing line that e!ening. %o"e of
the" were instantly healed as the one "an was' but others were not.
3hy then' if "y prayer of faith triggered the instant "anifestation of healing with the
"an who was al"ost blind' were not the others then also instantly healed as I prayed a
si"ilar prayer of faith o!er the"H I know one thing for sure: I did not pray for the one
"an in greater faith than I did the rest. It doesn$t cause a great surge of faith to pass
through you and you don$t stand taller in faith than e!er before when so"eone co"es
forward and says' AI ha!e had all the big ones lay hands on "e and nothing has happened
and I thought I$d let you pray for "e'B and then i"ply that they$re thinking' A@et$s gi!e it
a try and if I get lucky' "aybe I$ll be healed but otherwise I probably won$t.B I really
belie!e it was "ore the gifts of healings and the so!ereignty of &od than it was a healing
that ca"e through faith. )ust what &od$s reasons were' we do not know. Howe!er' &od
had allowed for this in His 3ord by saying there would be Athe gifts of healings di!ided
by the Holy %pirit se!erally as He willedB and' of course' certainly not as we will.
7 doctor said a "an ca"e to hi" with a condition of bursitis in his shoulder. The doctor
diagnosed the proble" and started to treat the "an. &od spoke to the doctor and said'
A#on$t treat hi" but pray for hi".B The doctor then said to the "an' AThis "ay see"
strange to you' but I a" a 1hristian and I belie!e in prayer and I would like to pray for
you.B
The "an replied: A5ray for "eH I don$t e!en belie!e in that stuff. 3hat kind of a nut are
you' anywayH I didn$t co"e in here for prayerE I ca"e in here for treat"ent. 7re you
going to treat "e or notHB
The doctor then started to treat the "an a second ti"e. &od spoke to hi" again and said'
AI told you not to treat hi" but to pray for hi".B The doctor then looked at the "an and
said' AI don$t know what your reaction will be' but I a" going to pray for you whether
you like it or not because &od has told "e to.B
The doctor then prayed for the "an and &od healed hi". He said the "an went out of the
office scratching his head with the hand he couldn$t raise when he walked in. ;ow where
is the faith in that kind of thinkingH The "an had said' AI don$t e!en belie!e in this stuff.
It is ob!ious that he had no faith at all. 3hy' then' did &od heal hi"H I belie!e to show
hi" there was a &od and to show hi" that &od$s power was sufficient to heal his body.
Indoubtedly' it was gifts of healings in operation' the so!ereignty of &od' and not a
healing that ca"e through faith.
FAITH SIDE OF HEALING
I now want to share with you a couple of testi"onies that I belie!e show the faith side of
healing. One wo"an ca"e forward for prayer in a ser!ice. %he had arthritis to such an
e-tent that she could not lift her foot o!er a cord running to a tape recorder. The cord was
stretched across the aisle as she was co"ing forward and was taped flat to the floor. %he
could not e!en get her foot up that fraction of an inch to get it o!er the cord. Two "en
helped her past the cord and then she ca"e to the front. I prayed for her and after prayer'
she began to drag that leg back and forth in front of the congregation with her hands
raised praising &od. %he "ay ha!e "ade as "any as twenty passes in front of the
congregation before anything happened. I did not count the nu"ber of ti"es' but about
the twentyfirst ti"e' the foot began to raise. The ne-t ti"e it raised so"e "ore and the
ne-t ti"e e!en "ore. 7nd by the ti"e she left there' I belie!e she could ha!e stepped
o!er the tape recorder' let alone the cord running to it. I a" confident that was a healing
that ca"e through faith rather than gifts of healings or the so!ereignty of &od.
There$s another testi"ony I would like to share with you that dra"atically shows the
faith side. This testi"ony is also in one of our co"panion chapters called' A7 &reater
Faith'B but because it fits so beautifully here' I want to include it in this chapter as well. It
is regarding a wo"an by the na"e of Frances 5oe. Frances had a rare condition fro" the
point of birth on' in that the sockets of her eyes did not grow but the eyes did. 7s a result
of this' the sight was e!entually As8uee4edB fro" the optic ner!e. 9y the ti"e Frances
was *> years of age' she was totally blind. %he later said it was as black as "idnight.
Ele!en doctors had said that she would ne!er see again. For se!enteen years' Frances
begged and pleaded for &od to heal her. %o"e people think that is faith' but it really isn$t.
The 9ible tells us' for e-a"ple' in .o"ans 6:*/ that 7braha" Astaggered not at the
pro"ise of &od through unbeliefE but was strong in faith' gi!ing glory to &od.B 5raising
&od is one of the ingredients of real faith. 7fter se!enteen years of not being in faith'
so"eone talked with Frances and pointed out that she was not really in faith by her
begging and pleading and e-plained to her how real faith works. They ad"onished her to
begin to clai" her healing' to start praising &od' to praise &od before there was any
"anifestation of a healing. %he did this. For al"ost four years she praised &od e!ery day
for a healing e!en though there was no "anifestation o!er this period of ti"e. That$s a
long ti"e to praise &od without anything being in e!idence. 1an you i"agine what the
ene"y said to herH I a" sure that "any ti"es he would point out to her that she had been
praising &od for a certain nu"ber of days' weeks' or "onths without anything happening.
9ut yet she continued to gi!e praise unto &odE she continued to clai" the healing.
On 7pril *6' 10D6' after al"ost four years of praising &od e!ery day' Frances 5oe ca"e
to a ser!ice in which I was "inistering and heard "e speak on the sub2ect of faith. %he
had been present in "any ser!ices before in which I had spoken because I had conducted
se!eral series of "eetings in the general area in which she li!ed. Therefore' I don$t
belie!e that one particular ser"on had special significance in the "anifestation of her
healing. ;e!ertheless' as she was on her way ho"e that night fro" the "eeting' she was
riding in a church !an' seated ne-t to a lifelong friend of hers. %he nudged the friend and
asked' AIs there a window in the back door of the !an.
The friend replied' ACes.B
Frances then asked' A7re those car lights following the !anHB
Her friend replied' ACes'B and then she asked' ACou$re not seeing the" are youHB
Frances said: ACes' I$!e been seeing the" now for "any "iles.B %he then added: AThe
reason I hadn$t said anything was that I thought the back door was solid. I didn$t reali4e
there was a window in it. 9ut I ha!e been seeing those car lights now for "any "iles.B
The dri!er of the !an said' AI stopped the !an and we had a praise "eeting.B He said' AI
would put "y hand o!er the do"e light and she could tell. I would take "y hand away
and she could tell.B
%he did not see the figures of people yet' but she did ha!e light perception for the first
ti"e in *1 years. %he was so e-cited' she could not sleep that e!ening. The ne-t "orning
she saw the sun rise for the first ti"e in those *1 years. The ne-t day she saw the burners
on her sto!e. The ne-t "orning' again' she saw the sun rise. 7nd the last I heard' Frances
had continued to see e!ery day. The report was that it wasn$t perfect yet' but she had at
one ti"e e!en seen ants on an ant hill. That wo"an is on the road to a "iracle. I belie!e
that if )esus were to appear to her' He would say as He did in the days of old'
One "an ca"e forward with his son' a boy who was about 1* years of age. The boy had
so"ething wrong with his ankle that li"ited certain "o!es with his foot. The father asked
if I would pray for his son and then he said' A9ut perhaps we shouldn$t e!en be up here'
because we do not attend a church regularly.B ;O A#aughter' thy faith hath "ade thee
whole.B Indoubtedly' it was a case of faith on the part of Frances 5oe far "ore than the
gifts of healings in operation. This is the faith side. It is !ery i"portant for people to
know of the faith side. For if they do not' they will not know how to talk it out in faith.
GIFTS OF HEALINGS
BY AN:; FOR THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
9ecause of the fact that I ha!e "uch teaching on faith in other chapters as well as books
on faith' in the rest of this chapter I a" going to gi!e additional teaching in order to
establish the gifts of healings. 5re!iously' we "entioned that &od "any ti"es heals
unbelie!ers and' undoubtedly' He does this for the purpose of leading that soul or other
souls who "ay be affected to the @ord )esus 1hrist.
I said' AThat$s all right' I$ll pray for your son.B
I prayed for the boy and &od instantly healed hi". The boy$s eyes got bigE he began to
"o!e that foot back and forth. He looked at his father and said' A#ad' it doesn$t hurt
any"ore.B
I asked hi" to go ahead and "ake a "o!e that his father said usually bothered hi" when
he tried to "ake it on a basketball court. He "ade the "o!e three or four ti"es without
any pain at all. 7gain he looked at his father and said' A#ad' it doesn$t hurt.B I noticed the
father had tears rolling down his cheeks. I asked hi" if he knew )esus 1hrist as his
personal %a!ior.
He replied' A;o' I don$t.B
I then asked if he would like to accept 1hrist.
He said' ACes'B and then added' Aand I think the whole fa"ily would.B
I looked back at his wife and she was crying. %he ca"e forward with an older son and the
four of the" accepted )esus 1hrist at that "o"ent. Fy' how we can see the wisdo" of
&od in what was done. &od in essence was saying this: AThey will not ha!e to walk this
healing out in faith.B First of all' how could they know to walk in faithH They knew
nothing about faith. 9ut &od was percei!ing that by healing that boy' He would lead all
four of the" into the fold to accept His %on' )esus. I a" sure that was the reason for that
instant "anifestation of healing' and' re"e"ber that &od had allowed for this in His
3ord by Athe gifts of healings di!ided by the Holy %pirit se!erally as He willed.B
One wo"an was e-tre"ely belligerent. Her son had witnessed to her "any ti"es' but she
had repeatedly said: AI will ha!e nothing to do with any of that. I will not go to your
church. @ea!e "e alone.B I was conducting a series of ser!ices in the church where this
young "an attended. He had noticed that a high percentage of those with back trouble
who had co"e forward for healing had recei!ed their healing as I prayed for the".
I would like to inter2ect this: I don$t know why &od heals "ore people of back trouble in
"y "eetings than anything else. I did not ask &od when I started praying for the sick to
heal "ore back trouble than any other condition' but yet that$s what I ha!e seen take
place. I ha!e seen "any healings in other areas. I ha!e seen blind eyes opened' deaf ears
opened' etc.' but I ha!e seen a "uch higher percentage of back trouble healed than
anything else' at least as far as an instant "anifestation of healing is concerned.
This young "an talked with his "other and said' A3hy don$t you go to the church and let
hi" pray for your back to be healed.B 6*. %he said: A%on' I told you I will ha!e nothing to
do with that church. I a" not going to go for any reason whatsoe!er.B
The son left ho"e that %unday afternoon with tears in his eyes. He ca"e on to the ser!ice
that e!ening and said to his "other$s sister' A7unt' I don$t understand why Fother won$t
e!en co"e and ha!e prayer for her back to be healed.B
The aunt said: AI a" going to call her. I think I can get her to co"e.B
The aunt used as a talking point the fact that her only son had passed away the year
before. %he said to her sister' AI don$t e!en ha!e a son any"ore that I can please.B %he
added: ACour son is not asking the i"possible of you' nothing that is bad. 3hy don$t you
co"e for his sakeHB
That$s pretty strong psychology when you "ention that you do not e!en ha!e a son
any"ore that you can please' but it worked. The "other ca"e on to the ser!ice that
e!ening. %he did not respond to the in!itation for sal!ation' but she did for the in!itation
for healing. 3hen I ca"e to her in the healing line' I asked what was wrong.
%he said' AI ha!e back trouble.B
I asked her to be seated. 9efore continuing this testi"ony I would like to e-plain the
following. The "a2ority of those who ha!e back trouble ha!e a short leg. I ha!e pro!en
this "any ti"es in a congregation as I would ask the 8uestion' AHow "any of you ha!e
been to a chiropractor for the treat"ent of lower back troubleHB 7fter the hands are raised
in response to that 8uestion' I then ask' AHow "any of you did the chiropractor check for
length of your legsHB ;early always' 6/ percent or "ore of the hands will be raised in
response to the second 8uestion. Indoubtedly' there is correlation between a short leg
and back trouble. I ha!e an e-cerpt of an article in print put out by the 9ritish Fedical
7ssociation called' AThe %hort @eg %yndro"e.B In it they discussed the correlation
between short legs and back trouble. I reali4e there is "uch "ore wrong in "any cases
with a person$s back than 2ust a short leg. Howe!er' I look at it this way. If the leg is
short' &od will lengthen it. If it is not' we do not lose anything by checking to see if it$s
short or not. 7nd additionally' e!en though there "ight be "ore wrong with the person$s
back than 2ust a short leg' the sa"e &od who will lengthen the leg is the one who will
heal the rest of the proble"' too.
One pastor with a critical attitude asked "e if I did not think that &od could heal a
person$s back without us seeing a leg lengthened. I replied' ACes' I a" sure that He
could.B 9ut I added' A9efore I started praying for legs to lengthen' I only saw one out of
ten backs healed on an a!erage. ;ow I a" seeing about nine out of ten healed.B I$" not
about to back up on those kinds of results.
.eali4ing that correlation between a short leg and back trouble' I asked the wo"an to be
seated and then I picked up her feet until her legs were straight and noticed that one of the
legs was short. I then prayed asking &od to lengthen that leg. He did so in the "atter of
2ust a few seconds. 7nd then &od left her legs suspended in that hori4ontal position on a
le!el with her hips. The wo"an looked at "e and with a strange look on her face said' AI
can$t get "y legs down.B
I said' A#on$t worry about it.B
Of course' it was not "y legs that were suspended. I had seen this happen "any ti"es
before but she had ne!er seen anything like this happen' especially to her. &od left her
legs suspended on a le!el with her hips for o!er an hour. The wo"an was seated at a right
angle to the congregation and after her legs had been suspended for about ten "inutes she
turned toward the congregation and said' AI can$t get "y legs down.B
I ha!e often thought that she probably was thinking' AThey$ll think I$" stupid sitting up
here with "y legs suspended'B but regardless' &od left her legs suspended. 7fter her legs
had been suspended about forty "inutes' the pastor stepped o!er to where she was and
asked if she would like to accept 1hrist as her %a!ior. %he replied that she would and
accepted )esus right there. Indoubtedly' the "iracle working power of &od had "ade the
difference.
.e"e"ber what it says in Hebrews *:6' one of the passages in the beginning of our
lesson' <God also bearing them *itness, both *ith signs and *onders, and *ith divers
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his o*n *ill> 3ith signs and
wondersG Those signs and wonders were co"ing through the operation of the %pirit of
&od' "aking the difference in which this wo"an was open to accept )esus 1hrist as her
personal %a!ior. This was the sa"e wo"an who a few hours before had been so
belligerent that she had stated' AI won$t e!en go to that church.B 3hat had "ade the
differenceH &od$s power' undoubtedly. There are those who say we don$t need the
"iracles any"ore. They are kidding the"sel!es and they$re "issing the "ark. %till in this
day we "ust see &od work in a "iraculous way. For that is &od$s way "any ti"es of
showing His power e!en to an unbelie!er.
There was a 9aptist wo"an who was attending a 5entecostal church' yet she had said' AI
do not want to speak with tongues and don$t e!en talk to "e about it.B ;ow why she was
attending a 5entecostal church if she did not want to speak in tongues' I don$t know. %he
ca"e for war in the healing line where I was "inistering for the healing of her back. I did
not know anything about her e-cept that she wanted prayer for the healing of her back. I
had her seated. I checked the length of her legs. One of the legs was short. &od
lengthened her leg and also left her legs suspended. %he also looked at "e and said' AI
can$t get "y legs down.B
7nd I also said to her' A#on$t worry about it.B
&od left her legs up fro" 11:// at night until fi!e "inutes after "idnight. %hortly after
twel!e' I noticed that the pastor and I were the only "en left in the congregation. There
were still a few wo"en present' but no other "en. I asked the lady if her husband had
co"e with her that e!eningH
%he replied no' that he had not.
I then asked' Ais he unsa!edHB
%he said' ACes' he is.B
I asked' A3hat will he think about your getting ho"e so lateHB
%he replied' AOh' I don$t think he$ll say anything about it' he ne!er does.B Then she
asked' A3hat ti"e is itHB
I replied that it was 2ust a little bit after "idnight.
%he said' AI didn$t reali4e it was that late. I don$t think he will say anything about it' but
I$" not sure. I$!e ne!er been this late (getting ho"e, before.B
I then "entioned that the reason I had asked was I could pray for &od to release her if she
would like for "e to' so that she would be able to go ho"e.
%he then said' A7ll right' but I do not want to do anything against &od.B
I assured her that the sa"e &od who was causing the legs to stay suspended by His power
also knew if she had any ti"e proble" at ho"e and that it would be nothing against &od
for us to pray that He would release her' that He could work on her at ho"e so"e other
ti"e.
%he said' AOkay.B I prayed and &od i""ediately caused her legs to go down when I said'
A7"en.B I heard the feet hit the floor with a thud. It beca"e such a sign to that wo"an
that she rose fro" the chair crying like a baby and went o!er and threw her ar"s around a
wo"an who was her best friend. I started to walk away and let the two wo"en re2oice
together. 7s I was walking away' the other wo"an beckoned "e o!er and said' AThis
lady wants to be bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit.B
I ga!e her a few instructions' laid hands on her' and she instantly began to speak with
other tongues. .e"e"ber this was the sa"e wo"an who had said' AI don$t want to speak
in tongues and don$t talk with "e about it.B &od$s power had "ade the difference <the
gifts of healings in operation that e!ening. &od not only had left her legs suspended and
let it beco"e a sign to her' but He had also healed the proble".
One wo"an had a husband who was an atheist. %he had prayed' A&od' if necessary' e!en
use "e to get through to hi".B %he ca"e forward in a healing line stating that she had a
tailbone proble". I asked her to be seated. I checked the length of her legs. One of the
legs was short and &od brought it out. Then &od left her legs suspended. Her legs stayed
up a co"parati!ely short while and then &od literally pulled her off the chair. %he started
sliding on the chair. I told her to hold on but she said' AI can$t'B and she kept sliding. 3e
had two "en ease her to the floor and then &od began to shake her fro" head to foot. %he
shook as though she were on a giant !ibrating "achine. %o"eone "ight think that$s not
!ery dignified. ;o' it isn$t. ;either is it dignified by "an$s standards when a person is
drunk on the Holy %pirit. Cet that is a !ery legiti"ate scriptural thing. It happened on the
#ay of 5entecost. E!idently then' not e!erything that &od does to us is dignified by our
standards. This wo"an shook for about an hour' then apparently it was o!er' and she was
lea!ing the church' her right ar" started shaking. %he testified later that on the way ho"e
her right ar" would shake as long as she was on a straight stretch of road. JThen she
would co"e to a cur!e' it would stop shaking' and then it would start again as she got on
another straight stretch.
It was after "idnight when she arri!ed ho"e. Her husband was fast asleep. %he stayed in
the li!ing roo" until she thought e!erything was o!er and then decided to go to bed. %he
said that as she approached the bed' the night light was on and her husband had left a
note. There was nothing angry in the note: a !ery sweet note si"ply stating that he had
"issed her and he hoped that she had a good ti"e at church. %he thought' AThat$s sweet
of hi".B 7nd as she got in bed' she decided to kiss hi" on the forehead. %he !ery gently
put her hand on his forehead and as she did' her hand shook up and down hitting hi"
three or four ti"es as it did. He halfway aroused out of sleep' and she said' AHoney' go
back to sleep' e!erything is all right.B Then she said she was lying in bed still as could be'
when suddenly &od took her legs and hit her heels on the bed three or four ti"es as the
legs went up and down. The husband sat straight up in bed and with a wild look in his
eyes asked' A3hat are you doingHB
%he said' AHoney' I can$t help it. &od is healing "e.B He asked' A3hatHB
%he tried to e-plain' but he didn$t understand' and she shook so hard he couldn$t get any
sleep. Finally she said' AI will go in the li!ing roo" and stay all night long' if necessary'
so you can get so"e sleep.B 3hen she went to the li!ing roo"' she decided she would
not get on a couch or a chair' because she would probably be pulled off, so she lay flat on
the floor. %he said that she was lying there when suddenly her feet went up and down
again and her heels bu"ped the floor. The poodle ca"e charging fro" the kitchen
barking loudly. %he said that dog barked louder and longer than any dog they had e!er
had before. Her husband got up' took the dog' and with a few words of profanity' threw
the dog into the kitchen' closed the door' and ca"e and sat in one of the chairs in the
li!ing roo"' and 2ust glared at her. Then she said &od took her and rolled her in three
rolls o!er right in front of where the husband was' with her looking right into his eyes.
%he said by this ti"e his eyes were getting big. There were a nu"ber of other things that
happened that night that were 8uite supernatural. I won$t go into the detail of the"' but
this was the beginning of the turning point as far as her husband was concerned. That
"an attends church now' belie!es in &od' and has "ade 8uite a change in his ways. I
talked later with the pastor of the church that this wo"an attends' and "entioned the
story to hi". He had heard it before because she had gi!en it publicly. I asked hi" if the
wo"an was truthful.
He replied' ACes' she is !ery truthful' and I belie!e e!ery word of that story.B 3hat an
unusual way &od had of "aking a belie!er out of that husband.
There will probably be wo"en who will read this testi"ony and say' AI hope that &od
doesn$t use "e in that way to "ake a belie!er out of "y husband.B 3ell' regardless of
how He does it' that is the testi"ony of this one particular wo"an and what happened in
her ho"e as &od used signs and wonders and gifts of the Holy %pirit according to His
own will.
One other testi"ony regards a young lady who had defor"ed knees. %he ca"e forward in
the healing line stating only that she had knee trouble. I assu"ed when she "entioned
knee trouble that perhaps it was a cartilage or a liga"ent proble". @ater I found out that
her knees had been defor"ed since childhood. Her legs were so wide at the knee that she
had to purchase slacks to fit at the knees rather than the hips or waist and then would
ha!e to take the" in at the hips and waist to ha!e the" fit ade8uately. %he ne!er wore a
dress in public' only slacks because of this defor"ity. I asked her to be seated and
checked the length of her legs. The reason I checked the length of her legs was that I had
found "any ti"es when it was a cartilage or a liga"ent proble" that a leg would be short
and then as &od would bring the leg out' the proble" would also be healed. Of course her
proble" was not a cartilage or a liga"ent proble" as "uch as it was a defor"ity' but I
did not know this at the ti"e I was praying for her.
&od brought her leg out and kept her legs suspended for about thirty "inutes. Then He
pulled her off the chair' and tapped her left foot three ti"es and her right foot three ti"es
and then shook her for about three "inutes. He then tapped the feet three ti"es each and
shook her for another three "inutes or so. This went on in rhyth"' the shaking and the
tapping of the feet' three ti"es each for about an hour and a half. 7t 1 o$clock in the
"orning' I said to her husband' A@et$s get her up and see if she can walk.B %he was not in
a trance. 3e got her up and found out that she could walk' but not easily. %he was still
shaking fro" head to foot. He took her ho"e' and they testified later that she shook until
? o$clock in the "orning. 9ut the ne-t "orning when they got up' there was a slight
indentation on the outside of her knees as though a !isible kneecap was being for"ed. 7
slight indention on the outside of her legs was such a thrill and a sign to her that she
began to belie!e &od and for appro-i"ately one year she walked out that healing in faith.
E!entually after about a year' her knees were nor"al.
Her testi"ony today is this: ACes' &od healed "y knees and I praise Hi" for that' but an
e!en greater thing is this. He taught "e through it all to walk in faith. I now know how to
walk out a healing in faith. I a" now a faith person.B 1an$t you see the wisdo" of &od in
what happenedH
&od knew that the supernatural operation of His %pirit that e!ening would beco"e a sign
to her' and pro!ide the necessary inspiration for her to begin a walk of faith.
Indoubtedly' in gifts of healings <the supernatural "o!e of the %pirit of &od <we ha!e
seen &od in His wisdo" doing it for !ery special reasons so "any ti"es. Fany of the
things that happen' of course' we do not understand' but I learned a long ti"e ago that
regardless of whether I understand e!erything or not' it is good to flow and "o!e with
&od.
7s a 5rotestant' I was thrilled when &od began to pour out His %pirit upon the 1atholics.
I know "uch "ore now about the scope of what &od was doing and why than I did
se!eral years ago. %o e!en though we don$t always understand the supernatural workings
of the Holy %pirit' it is best to flo* and "o!e with that which &od is doing' since it is
ob!iously of &od.
In these testi"onies I ha!e gi!en' I ha!e "entioned that the legs stayed suspended after
the leg lengthened. That is not true all the ti"e as I pray for legs to lengthen. I ha!e seen
"any' "any ti"es in which the legs did not stay suspended' but in so"e cases they do. It
beco"es an ob!ious sign to people of &od$s power when the legs stay suspended for a
long period of ti"e. E!en an athlete cannot keep his legs suspended for a long period. I
ha!e seen cases where e!en elderly wo"en ha!e their legs suspended for ?/' 6/' and
e!en ($ "inutes. In one case' a wo"an$s leg stayed suspended for four hours. This
beca"e a sign to the people there' not only to unbelie!ers' but also to belie!ers.
CONFIDENCE
I trust you can better understand now the need for the gifts of healings in operation and
the i"portance of seeing this one side of healing. .e"e"ber' it is i"portant to see both
sides of healing' because if you don$t' you will be confused by certain things that happen
or don$t happen. These are the two sides of healing: the faith side and the gifts of
healings. 3e certainly praise &od when He works through gifts of healings. Fany ti"es
there are dra"atic things that happen which show us &od$s power' but also it is so
i"portant to recogni4e that e!en when gifts of healings do not touch us in a particular
instance as far as our own i""ediately apparent healing is concerned' we can still walk it
out in faith. %o' I want you to be aware of both sides of healing' to ha!e full appreciation
for both' and to see the" both scripturally.
L$%%&' S)<
5.E%1.I5TIO; FO. HE7@I;& F7ITH
In this chapter' I want to share with you a !ery si"ple approach to healing. There are
"any different approaches a person "ight take in faith toward their healing. 9ut I know
of none that is any si"pler or "ore effecti!e than this. In the 9ook of 5ro!erbs' chapter 6'
!erses */**' we read:
Kerse */ 5y son, attend to my *ords3 incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Kerse *1 -et them not depart from thine eyes3 keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Kerse ** !or they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
The word AhealthB in !erse ** is better translated A"edicineB fro" the Hebrew. %o'
therefore' &od is saying that His 3ord will be a "edicine e!en to all our flesh. The
conte-t of this passage is the 3ord of &od. It is &od talking about His 3ord in His
3ord. He says for us to attend to His words' to incline our ear unto His sayings' to let
the" not depart fro" our eyes and to keep the" in the "idst of our heart. 7nd if we do'
according to !erse **' they' the words of the @ord' will be life unto those that find the"
and "edicine to all their flesh.
3hen He says' Ato all their flesh'B He is not referring to so"e spiritual healing. I belie!e
in spiritual healing. I belie!e if we had to take a choice between the spiritual and the
physical' it would be far better e!ery ti"e to take the spiritual. 9ut' thank &od' we don$t
ha!e to take a choice. )esus said in Fatthew 6:$, AFor whether is easier' to say' Thy sins
be forgi!en theeE or to say' 7rise' and walkHB He was si"ply showing that in Hi" there
was both spiritual and physical healing. Here in 5ro!erbs 6:**' it says that the 3ord will
be a "edicine to all their flesh' which is undoubtedly referring to a physical healing.
There are other scriptures which show that &od$s 3ord will "ake an i"pact on us' e!en
in a physical way. In Hebrews 6:1* we read:
6:1* For the word of &od is 8uick' and powerful' and sharper than any twoedged sword'
piercing e!en to the di!iding asunder of soul and spirit' and of the 2oints and "arrow' and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
If the writer had stopped after the words Asoul and spirit'B we would' perhaps' assu"e
that the 3ord would only "ake a difference as far as our soul and spirit are concerned.
9ut' he goes ahead to say' Aand of the 2oints and the "arrow.B That sounds like our
physical body. 7nd so we see that in so"e way' &od$s 3ord will "ake an i"pact on us'
e!en physically.
In 5sal"s 1/D:1D*/' we ha!e another i"portant passage along this line. It reads:
Kerse 1D !ools because of their transgression, and because of their ini8uities, are
afflicted.
Kerse 1+ #heir soul abhorreth all manner of meat3 and they dra* near unto the gates of
death.
Kerse 10 #hen they cry unto the -ord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their
distresses.
Kerse */ He sent His *ord, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
7 first glance at !erse 1D would see" to indicate that &od is referring to so"e kind of a
spiritual affliction. He says' AFools because of their transgression' and because of their
ini8uities (or' in other words' their sins,' are afflicted.B Howe!er' in !erse 1+' he says'
ATheir soul abhorreth all "anner of "eat.B A3hat does that "eanH It "eans they get so
sick' they don$t want to eat. 7nd it goes ahead to say they e!en draw near to the gates of
death. 7ctually' it is a physical affliction that has co"e as a direct result of sin.
One wo"an disagreed with "e after I had taught along these lines. %he had
"isunderstood what I was saying. %he thought I was i"plying fro" the use of these
scriptures that all who are sick ha!e gotten that way because of sin in their life. ;o' not
e!en the 9ible teaches that. 9ut' there are certain sins that bring with the" physical
conse8uences. E-cessi!e s"oking can bring lung cancer. E-cessi!e drinking can bring
cirrhosis of the li!er. 7nd there are the wellknown social diseases that co"e directly as a
result of se-ual sin. I belie!e conditions such as those are the ones &od is referring to
here. These fools' because of their transgressions and their ini8uities' are afflicted. They
get so sick they don$t want to eat' and they al"ost die.
9ut notice what is said in !erse 10: <#hen they cry unto the -ord in their trouble, and he
saveth them out of their distresses. 7nd' !erse */: <He sent His Word, and healed them,
and delivered them from (all, their destructions. If this does not show the "ercy of &od' I
don$t know what it would take. These people are in a predica"ent because of their own
foolish ways. Cet' &od does not say to the"' ACou got yourself in the "ess' now get
yourself out.B Instead' He says' A3hen they cry to Hi" in the ti"e of trouble' then He
sa!es the" fro" their distress and He sent His 3ord and healed the" and deli!ereth
the" fro" all their destructions.B Cou can use this passage with people who ha!e either
physical' "ental' or e"otional proble"s as a result of past sins. I ha!e had young people
co"e for prayer and "ention that they ha!e a "ental proble" as a result of their past
abuse fro" drugs. They would say: AI ha!e been deli!ered fro" drugs for o!er a year
now. I know that &od forga!e "e and I do not take the drugs any longer' but I still don$t
think clearly.B Then they will ask: A#o you think that &od will heal "eH I know I brought
this on "yself' and e!en though I know I a" forgi!en' I ha!e wondered whether &od will
heal "e or not because of "y participation in this.B
I can say to the"' AI not only think that He will heal you' I know that He will.B 7nd I
point the" to this passage in 5sal"s 1/D:1D*/.
On one particular occasion when a young "an asked "e that' without e!en answering
whether I felt &od would heal hi" or not' I asked hi" to open his 9ible to this particular
passage and read it. He didE a big s"ile ca"e on his face' and he said' AThat answers the
8uestion.B He knew he had been a fool for what he had done' but he also saw the pro"ise
of the "ercy of &od in his situation.
;otice that it says in !erse */' <He sent his word' and healed the"'B again' healing in the
3ord of &od. In all probability' the pri"ary "eaning of that !erse is that in the person of
the @ord )esus 1hrist' &od did send His 3ord and bring healing to the world. 1ertainly'
)esus is the 3ord "ade flesh. 9ut e!en though this "ight be referring "ore to the li!ing
3ord than the written 3ord' I look at it this way: It takes a re!elation fro" the pages of
the written 3ord concerning the li!ing 3ord' )esus' for "e to know what I can ha!e in
Hi". Therefore' if in no other way' there is healing in the written 3ord because of that
re!elation of the li!ing 3ord' the Healer' the @ord )esus 1hrist' that co"es fro" the
pages of the 9ible.
There is a potential for people to be healed e!ery ti"e the 3ord goes forth. I ha!e known
of so"e glorious healings as I ha!e been preaching. One "an ca"e forward at the end of
the ser"on at one "eeting and was the first one in line for prayer. 3hen I asked what
was wrong' he said' AI ha!e a growth on "y leg.B He pulled his pant leg up and could not
find the growth. He said to "e: AThis is e"barrassing. I know I had a growth on "y leg.B
THE FRUIT OF THE WORD
I replied' AHerb' e!idently' &od has already taken that growth away.B For a few
"o"ents' he continued to look for the growth and could not find it. I can$t say for sure
that it left during the ser"on that e!ening' but in all probability it did.
.ecently' as I was teaching' using that testi"ony' a "an said that at that "o"ent he
sensed a headache. He took his glasses off and rubbed the sides of his head. 7s he did'
the headache ceased. He then turned around to look toward the back of the church' and
when he did' he found out that his eyes had co"pletely cleared up. ;ot only was there no
"ore blurring of his !ision' but he no longer had double !ision. The ne-t day' he tried to
wear his glasses and could not. E!ery ti"e he put the" on' they ga!e hi" a headache.
That "an was healed that e!ening as a result of the 3ord going forth.
One wo"an ga!e "e the following testi"ony at the end of a ser!ice. %he said: A3hen I
ca"e here this e!ening' I was a !icti" of "ultiple sclerosis. I ha!e had F% for twel!e
years. 7s I walked in this e!ening' I dragged one leg as a result of the condition. I also
had the tre"endous loss of balance that "ost other F% !icti"s ha!e. 9ut about three
"inutes before the end of the ser"on as you were preaching' I felt a tingling sensation go
fro" head to foot. I knew I was being healed of F%. 7nd' then as you concluded the
ser"on and had people stand' I did so and found out that I had perfect coordination in
that leg again. I "o!ed it back and forth reali4ing that &od had healed "e. Then' when
you had people bow their heads and close their eyes' I did and there was no loss of
balance whatsoe!er.B That wo"an left the building that e!ening apparently 1// percent
healed of the F% condition. That was a "iracle. 3e praised &od for the glorious
"anifestation of healing.
Howe!er' there was so"ething else interesting that e!ening 7nother wo"an was present
who was also a !icti" of "ultiple sclerosis. %he had co"e a distance of *>/ "iles by car
to be healed' and I a" sure the trip was not at all easy on her' %he sat and listened to the
sa"e ser"on' with the sa"e anointing of the Holy %pirit upon "e as I spoke. %he ca"e
forward afterwards for prayerE I laid hands on her (and that is scriptural,' but yet she left
with the sa"e sy"pto"s in her body. Fany would 8uestion why the one wo"an was
healed instantly' and the other wo"an had to lea!e with the sa"e sy"pto"s in her body.
I don$t ha!e all of the answers as to why. I do not know whether one of the wo"en was
in greater faith than the other. I did not talk with either of the" enough to ascertain that.
7lso' it is possible that is was a case of the gifts of healings that contrasted with the
healing that co"es through faith' but I can$t say for sure in those particular cases. For a
"ore thorough study of gifts of healings as contrasted with healing through faith' you
could study our co"panion chapter on the ATwo %ides of Healing.B
9ut I do know this. 3hen people co"e for prayer' and they ha!e hands laid on the" but
nothing happens at the "o"ent' I like to send the" away encouraged rather than
discouraged. Too "any people get the idea that if there is no "anifestation of healing
i""ediately as hands are laid on the" or as a prayer is offered' then it is so"e sign fro"
&od that He does not will to heal the". That is not true at all. For e-a"ple' the 9ible says
in Fark 16:1+' <#hey shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. The word
Areco!erB i"plies a period of ti"e. I encourage people to belie!e whether they see
anything at the "o"ent or not' to belie!e that &od is working regardless of any lack of
!isible e!idence.
FAITH0S PLAN OF ACTION
3hen a person still has the sy"pto"s after prayer' I like to send the" away with a
further plan of action in faith. 3hat I$" going to suggest now is that plan of action. It$s
not the only thing so"eone can do' but it is a legiti"ate scriptural plan of action' a !ery
si"ple thing: taking &od$s 3ord as a "edicine' two ti"es a day' three ti"es' four ti"es'
or e!en e!ery hour on the hour. I suggested e!ery hour to a wo"an and she said:
A9rother' that$s not enough. I ha!e a hard caseE it$ll take at least e!ery fifteen "inutes.B I
told her to ha!e at it. I was not afraid of an o!erdose. I ha!e ne!er known of anyone
o!erdosing on the 3ord of &od. Cou say' ACes' but what if she beca"e addictedHB 3ell'
praise &od if she had to whip the 9ible out e!ery fifteen "inutes. 7nd' so' without
reser!ation' I told her to go ahead with her plan. 7pparently she did' because she ca"e
the ne-t day stating that she had been co"pletely healed of the condition.
Cou "ight do it as one "an did. He said' AI took the !erses e!ery thirty "inutes with a
glass of water.B If they go down better with a glass of water' take the" that way.
*0. I do want to inter2ect this now. %o "any people take e!erything said so literally that
there "ight be so"e who' upon reading this' would get the idea that they are to actually
take the page out of the 9ible' chew it up' and then take so"e water to swallow it better.
That$s not what we$re talking about. 7ctually' we ha!e a stepbystep plan of action in
5ro!erbs 6:*/**.
S*$3 =1> A**$'1 *& *,$ 6&.1% &/ *,$ L&.1. &i!e diligence to &od$s 3ord. #o
so"ething about it. There are "any people who 2ust "entally assent to the fact that the
3ord is true. They ne!er really do anything about it. Oh' if you were to ask the" if
&od$s 3ord is true' they would reply: ACes' I know it$s true. I belie!e e!ery word of it.B
Cet' they ne!er put any action with it. 7s one e!angelist said' AIt isn$t that the 3ord does
not workE it$s that we do not work the 3ord.B %o' we "ust attend to the words of the
@ord. Then he begins to tell us how.
S*$3 =2> I'8?)'$ &5. $-. 5'*& H)% %-@)'A%. The 9ible says in .o"ans 1/:1D that faith
co"es by hearing and hearing by the 3ord of &od. 5eople ought to take e!ery a!ailable
opportunity to listen to the 3ord of &od' whether it is by tape or by hearing it in person.
1ancer !icti"s ought to be lined up waiting to get in to e!ery church ser!ice where the
3ord of &od is being taught. They ought to say' AI ha!e to hear that "essage of faith'
because I know that for "e to be healed' I "ust e-ercise faith. 7nd to get the faith' I ha!e
to hear the 3ord of &od.B
S*$3 =3> L$* *,$B '&* 1$3-.* /.&B &5. $@$%. .ead the 3ord of &od. Though you can
8uote it' still read it. :eep it before you and know what &od has to say in His 3ord.
S*$3 =4> 7$$3 *,$ 6&.1% )' *,$ B)1%* &/ &5. ,$-.*. How can we keep &od$s 3ord in
the "idst of our heartH I belie!e if we incline our ears enough to His sayings and we
don$t let the" depart fro" our eyes' we will keep the" in the "idst' then' of our heart.
There$s a classic e-a"ple of this. Friends of "ine had a little girl about two and a half
years old who had e-tre"e food allergies. %he was allergic to "ilk' corn' and corn starch
products. Her "other decided to begin gi!ing the child &od$s 3ord as a "edicine. %he
took the cards on healing fro" our nu"ber one card file: ele!en !erses in the back of the
card file on the sub2ect of healing. 7nd then she took ele!en "ore !erses in another
category of that card file which are on the 3ord of &od <what &od says in His 3ord
about His 3ord.
E!ery day she would read the !erses fro" those twenty two cards' flipping through
the"' telling the little girl that &od was healing her' and this was her "edicine. %he did
that for al"ost si- "onths without anything !isibly happening. 9ut %herry' who was
appro-i"ately three years old by now' one day reached for the cards and said' AFy
scriptures.B %he sat there and 8uoted all twentytwo of those !erses !erbati" as she
thu"bed through the cards e!en gi!ing the scripture references. Her "other said %herry
didn$t "iss one word' nor one scripture reference. 3ithin 2ust a week or so after that' the
child was co"pletely healed of the allergy. That little girl had gotten it down into her
heart.
7nd so we can see &od$s plan <that if we attend to His 3ords' if we incline our ear unto
His sayings' if we let the" not depart fro" our eyes' and if we keep the" in the "idst of
our heart then they will be life to those that find the" and health or "edicine to all their
flesh.
This not only is a !ery si"ple thing to do' taking the 3ord as a "edicine three or four
ti"es a day' but it is also a !ery practical thing. The reason I belie!e it is e-tre"ely
practical is that "any people do not know where to begin to e-ercise their faith. 3e can
say to people' A)ust belie!e &od' or 2ust e-ercise faith and you can ha!e your healing.B
Those ad"onitions are fine if those people know what to do. 9ut if they do not know how
to belie!e &od or how to e-ercise their faith' the ad"onition is wasted. 9ut in taking
&od$s 3ord as "edicine' we are suggesting so"ething that is tangible. The person
cannot go his or her way saying' AI do not know how to put it into action'B because we
ha!e gi!en the" so"ething tangible to do. If they can read and if they ha!e a 9ible' they
can put it into practice. ;ot only should the e-act plan of action be suggested to the"' but
also they should be gi!en specific scriptures. Then' they will be without e-cuse as far as
ha!ing a plan of action to follow regarding their healing.
7t the end of this chapter' I a" going to list "any scriptures which will be of great help
along these lines' scriptures that can be taken as a "edicine. %o"eone "ight say' A3ell'
yes' I can read and I ha!e a 9ible and I can take the scriptures three or four ti"es a day as
a "edicine' but if I did' it probably wouldn$t work' for I ha!e tried "any things before
and nothing else has worked. Therefore' if I do not belie!e in it' do you think it would be
effecti!eHB Ces' I belie!e it will be effecti!e and I$ll tell you why. If a person will go
ahead and take the 3ord e!en though he or she does not belie!e in it' it can bring faith to
hi". The person who 8uestions whether this will work or not is one who is weak in faith.
The person who is weak in faith is the one who will say' AI know the 9ible says it' but I
doubt if it will work for "e.B Those who are ob!iously weak in their faith need their faith
built up. 3hat builds faith within a personH The 3ord of &od. It is the !ery source of our
faith. Therefore' if they will take &od$s 3ord a nu"ber of ti"es each day' they will be
encountering the !ery thing that will build faith within the". It$s what I call
progra""ing the co"puter. The strong person of faith does not 8uestion anything such as
this. 3hether he has e!er encountered a scripture such as this before or not' when he
does' he will say' A3ell' if &od says His 3ord will be a "edicine to "y flesh' He "eans
e-actly what He says' and all I ha!e to do is put into practice' and it$s bound to work.
PROPER PROGRAMMING
3e$re li!ing in a day which we could call the 7ge of the 1o"puter. I a" a"a4ed at what
co"puters can do. I ha!e no technical knowledge regarding co"puters' 2ust a "eager
lay"an$s knowledge. Indoubtedly' those "achines are capable of great featsE a fact
which co"es ho"e to "e fre8uently since "y son works for 7"erican 7irlines. There
are ti"es when he can push a few buttons on the co"puter and trace "y flight path across
the nation. One day' I was talking with hi" on the phone and he asked if I had "ade the
flight the day before in .1hicago. I said' ACes' but how did you know I was in 1hicagoHB
He then said' ACou only had fifteen "inutes to "ake this flight' didn$t youHB
7nd I said' ACes' but how did you know thatHB
He said' AI found it on the co"puter.B That$s a"a4ing with all of the tens of thousands of
airline flights e!ery day that he could find "y flight path.
They say a co"puter was used on one of the 7pollo flights to "ake a correction in si-
seconds that would ha!e taken a "an with pencil and paper 60// years to co"pute.
That$s an a"a4ing "achine. Howe!er' the co"puters are only as good as what$s
progra""ed into the"' and so they ha!e hu"an beings they call co"puter progra""ers.
Their 2ob is to progra" the right thing into the co"puter. The progra""ers ha!e a ter"
in co"puter ter"inology called Agigo.B It "eans Agarbage in' garbage out.B That is to
re"ind the co"puter progra""er that if he or she progra"s garbage into the co"puter'
garbage is going to co"e out. 3hat does that ha!e to do with our faith and healingH I
belie!e the proble" with "any people$s faith is that they ha!e progra""ed for too "uch
garbage into the"sel!es' and then they wonder why faith does not e"erge.
The associate pastor of a church was talking with "e about a "an who was in the
hospital. He said' AThat "an is desperate for a healingE in fact' he has called different
people in the church and asked the" what he ought to do.B
I said' AThat could be his biggest proble" right there.B
He asked' A3hat do you "eanHB
I said' AI can i"agine the !ariety of answers he would get fro" the people.B
One person "ight say' AI can$t help youE I had a relati!e die of the sa"e condition last
year.B
%o"eone else says' A3ell' I$" one of the weakest in faith' and I$" afraid that I can$t help
you.B
%o"eone else "ight suggest that he fast and pray ten days and then he would get his
healing. 7fter he had talked with the people' he "ight ha!e gotten so"e good ad!ice' but
he would ha!e also probably progra""ed a lot of garbage into hi"self. I told the
associate pastor to tell hi" not to talk to anyone else about it' but instead tell hi" to get
on a progra" of taking &od$s 3ord as a "edicine. 7nd I said' AIf you can keep hi" on
that progra"' you don$t ha!e to worry about any garbage whatsoe!er.B There is no
garbage in the 3ord of &od. It is the pure source of faith day after day after day.
For reasons such as that' I belie!e this is a good course of action' e!en for people who are
not totally in faith as they start. If they will continue' they will be progra""ing the right
things into the"sel!es' causing faith to e"erge.
There was a tragedy that took place in 1alifornia a few years ago. It$s the story of a boy
who was a diabetic' whose parents took away his insulin' thinking they could effect a
healing. The child died as a result. The only reason I a" including this story is that I
belie!e it pertains to what I a" teaching at this point in the chapter. I do not know the
fa"ily and all I know about the case is what I either read in the newspapers or heard
through the grape!ine.
3hen I first read about it' I said to "yself' AI wish I could ha!e been there in ad!ance. I
"ight ha!e known what the father was conte"plating' and if so' I would ha!e suggested
to hi"' J#on$t take away the insulin' but also don$t 2ust settle for a lifeti"e of diabetes
and insulin.B 3hat a" I talking aboutH To a lot of people' faith is either lea!ing off all
"edicines and clai"ing the healing or nothing at all. I know so"e people to who" there
is no "iddle ground whatsoe!er. There are people who belie!e that if you took e!en one
aspirin' you would ha!e negated your faith fore!er. I know there ha!e been people
gloriously healed as they ha!e stopped using a "edicine. I e!en know of one wo"an who
was healed of a diabetic condition as she stopped using insulin. It was a "ar!elous story
of healing. Howe!er' it ob!iously did not work in the case of the boy in 1alifornia.
Cou "ight ask then' why did it work for one and not for another. One of the "ain reasons
is that people are on different le!els of faith. One person "ight be on a !ery high le!el of
faith and able to lea!e off a "edicine and clai" his healing at the sa"e ti"e. %o"eone
else on a lower le!el of faith "ight hear that testi"ony and say to hi"self' A3ell' that$s
all I ha!e to do. )ust lea!e off the "edicine and I will be healed.B He lea!es it off and he
isn$t healed' apparently.
Indoubtedly' there is "ore to faith' then' than 2ust lea!ing off a "edicine. %o' I would
ha!e suggested to the father' A#on$t lea!e off the insulin' but also don$t 2ust settle for a
lifeti"e of diabetes and insulin.B I would ha!e suggested that he start another "edicine
with the insulin' and the other "edicine is' of course' the 3ord of &od. It$s what I call
the co"bining of two "edicines. %o"eone "ight challenge that. They "ight say' AI don$t
belie!e that &od$s 3ord will work if any phar"aceutical "edicine is being taken.B 3ho
says that it won$tH &od doesn$t say it in His 3ord. I belie!e that the 3ord of &od is
stronger that any antibiotic' stronger than any narcotic' and stronger than any tran8uili4er.
Therefore' I belie!e the 3ord will not be hindered by so"e weaker "edicine.
One "an who was a diabetic got hold of this concept fro" one of our tapes. He said: AI
like this. I$" going to put it into practice.B He continued to take his insulin but started
also taking &od$s 3ord as the cure. 7fter about a "onth' he was getting sicker rather
than better. He finally went to the doctor who ran tests and ca"e out shaking his head. He
asked' AFan' how "uch insulin ha!e you been takingHB
He replied' AThe usual dosage.B
He said' ACou$re kiddingGB
The "an said: A;o' I$" not kidding. I ha!e taken the sa"e nu"ber of units e!ery day.B
The doctor sat there scratching his head' and finally said' AI don$t understand this case. I
ha!e ne!er seen one like it. Cou are ha!ing a tre"endous insulin reaction and apparently
your body has begun to produce natural insulin. If I were you' I would lea!e off the
insulin for a day or two and see what happens.B
3hen I heard the testi"ony' the "an had been free for about a year fro" the diabetic
condition' ob!iously healed by the 3ord of &od.
7 for"er secretary of "ine has a boy who was the hyperacti!e of the hyperacti!es. ;o
one could get any "ore acti!e than :e!in was. His "other "ade a state"ent regarding
hi" that I thought "ight be an e-aggeration' but when I 8uestioned her later she said'
A;o' it was not an e-aggeration.B The state"ent was this: The boy did not sleep one full
night the first fi!e years of his life. The "other said she would put hi" to bed about +://
at night. He would toss and turn until about 1/:?/ and then sleep for three or four hours
and get up and play the rest of the night. This was the case' night after night. They had
hi" on a drug called .italin. .italin helps to control hyperacti!e children. It did not
co"pletely control hi"' but it certainly helped because he was "uch better with it than
without.
I suggested that she begin &od$s 3ord for the cure. I said' A:eep gi!ing hi" the .italin'
but start the 3ord for the cure.B I suggested she use our %cripture 1ard File which has the
scriptures in the back on healing. Of course' all of the !erses are in the 9ible' but they are
"uch easier to find since they are categori4ed in the card file. %he did this. :e!in liked
the idea of the card file. He played with it during the day and took it to bed with hi" at
night. %he ga!e hi" the scriptures e!ery day as a "edicine without anything taking place.
7fter fi!e "onths of doing this' he then began to get "ore hyperacti!e than e!er. %he
continued on for the si-th "onth.
I ha!e often wondered how "any ti"es she "ust ha!e been discouraged as she saw
nothing happening. 9ut at the beginning of the si-th "onth' he began to get "ore
hyperacti!e. The "other' at that ti"e' was working for a doctor. %he "entioned this
proble" to the doctor and he said' A3ell' we could increase the dosage of the .italin
so"e.B They did and instead of it "aking hi" better' it see"ingly "ade hi" worse.
7bout a "onth of that went by and then one day they forgot to get his prescription
refilled. %he said later that if :e!in went one day without .italin' he would be about the
sa"e. 9ut if he went the second day without it' he$d be al"ost cli"bing the walls. The
first day' the child was about the sa"e. The second day' they forgot again to get the
prescription refilled. 9ut instead of :e!in getting worse' he began to get better. The third
day' they still had forgotten to get his prescription. Fy wife was !isiting in the ho"e. %he
noticed :e!in going to sleep while watching tele!ision. This child ne!er went to sleep
watching tele!ision. He was usually turning flips and watching TK in between. Fy wife
looked at 9e!erly and asked' Ais he sickHB
%he said' A;o' I don$t think so.B 7nd then she added: AIt$s strange' but this is the third
day we ha!e forgotten to get his prescription refilled. He ought to be cli"bing the walls'
but instead he$s cal"ing down.B
Fy wife said' A#o you re"e"ber the testi"ony that )oe gi!es regarding the diabetic "an
who could not take the insulin any longerHB 7nd right in the "iddle of the sentence'
9e!erly$s eyes lit up and she said: AThat$s it. &od has healed hi".B That was two and a
half years ago and the child is still co"pletely healed of the hyperacti!e condition. He has
not needed .italin in all this ti"e. That "other is so glad that she put a !ery si"ple thing
into practice.
The doctor' who is a %piritfilled "an' later said that the healing "ust ha!e begun to be
"anifested at the beginning of the si-th "onth. He e-plained that a child who is not
hyperacti!e "any ti"es cannot take .italin because it has a contrary effect. Fany ti"es
it will "ake the AnonhyperB child Ahyper.B E!idently' this is what had happened with
:e!in.
7 school teacher got hold of this concept and put into practice. %he taught in a large
1hristian day school and had a class of handicapped children. %he put the concept into
practice by gi!ing the" fi!e !erses at the beginning of each class period. 7ll of these
!erses were on healing. %he would read the !erses and ha!e the children repeat the" after
her' and then "ake a few general state"ents on faith' again ha!ing the children repeat
after her before she went on with the lesson.
7t the end of three weeks' one of the "others ca"e to "e and said' A7 "iracle has taken
place in this classroo". I want you to know what has happened.B %he added' A%o "any of
the children ha!e been so dra"atically helped that parents are calling the school al"ost
daily and saying' JThat teacher really knows how to handle a proble" child. A Fany of
the parents did not e!en know what the teacher was doing. Indoubtedly' &od$s 3ord
was at work.
I ga!e that testi"ony in another church. 7 wo"an called "e the ne-t day. %he said' AI
also teach in a large 1hristian day school and I ha!e been doing the sa"e thing and did
not e!en reali4e what I was doing.B %he added' AI begin each day with about fifty !erses
fro" the 9ible' not e!en all of the" on healing. I do not ha!e handicapped children' as
such' but there were slow learners in the class and I had already noticed this year' not
reali4ing why' that nearly all of the slow learners had caught up with the others. In fact'
there are !ery few that are e!en slow learners now.B
7nother teacher taught in a special education school. Her class consisted of trainable
"entally retarded children. %he said that as she put the concept into practice' a cal"ness
ca"e o!er the group followed by significant progress. Her father' who is a "edical
doctor' ordered a hundred of "y books on 5rescription For Healing. He began to pass
the" out to the patients. He said there were "any testi"onies of healing.
One was regarding a "an who' at the first' was !ery sick with e"physe"a. The doctor
said he noticed e!ery office !isit that the "an was getting worse. 9ut fro" the "o"ent
he began to take the 3ord as a "edicine' there was significant e!idence of progress (at
each subse8uent office !isit,.
DOne wo"an had a stroke at +:// in the "orning. %he was li"ited to her couch by the
crippling effects of the stroke' but she was able to reach a phone at the end of the couch
and dial her friend. %he told her friend: AI a" sick. I can$t get up. 3ould you please read
the scriptures to "e fro" the card file on healing.B The friend read the !erses and nothing
happened. The wo"an called back thirty "inutes later' still not telling her friend what
was wrong' but 2ust saying that she was sick and needed her to read the !erses again. The
friend did and nothing happened. That went on e!ery thirty "inutes fro" +:// until 6://
in the afternoon. 9ut at 6:// in the afternoon' there was an instant "anifestation of
healing and the lady was able to get up and walk away fro" the couch.
One wo"an was dying fro" cancer. %he was in a co"a. %o"eone suggested to her
husband that while he was sitting there' he read the !erses fro" the 9ible on healing.
They said: ACou$re down there for hours e!ery day anyway. Ise that ti"e effecti!ely.B
He did' and the wo"an was co"pletely healed of the condition. The last I heard' she had
been healed for about four years. %ince then' there has been no e!idence of cancer'
whatsoe!erG
There$s a "an in 5ennsyl!ania who was a "anic depressi!e depressi!e. I did not know
what a "anic depressi!e depressi!e was until a nurse e-plained. %he said: AThe "anic is
the high' the depressi!e is the low. The reason they repeat the word Jdepressi!e$ is that
they are depressed "ore than they are high.B %he added: AThey go fro" e-tre"e highs to
e-tre"e lows. It is de!astating not only e"otionally' but e!en at ti"es physically.B 7
doctor later e-plained that in their highs they are al"ost in a fantasytype situation. There
are ti"es when they want to gi!e away e!erything they ha!e. 7nd then' within 2ust a few
hours' they will plunge to such depths of despair that they are al"ost ready to take their
li!es. This "an had been that way for twenty years' a "anic depressi!e depressi!e. He
was on 1'/>/ "illigra"s of %ine8uan e!ery week. They could not lower the dosage fro"
1'/>/ down to 1'/// without throwing hi" into a real chaotic condition. He heard "e
speak along these lines and &od spoke to hi" and said' AThere is your healing if you
want it.B He wanted it to such an e-tent that he went ho"e and put the scriptures on tape.
He said' AI "ust ha!e listened to those !erses *// ti"es a day' o!er and o!er.B He also
read the" "ultiple ti"es e!ery day. In fact' he took off fro" work to do this for three
weeks. He owned his own business' so he could do that with a "ini"u" of difficulty.
7t the end of three weeks' he was off of %ine8uan' co"pletely healed of the "anic
depressi!e depressi!e condition. That "an knows at least in "easure what &od "eans
when He says: AFy son' attend to "y wordsE incline thine ear unto "y sayings. @et the"
not depart fro" thine eyesE keep the" in the" "idst of thine heart. For they are life unto
those that that find the"' and health (or "edicine, to all their flesh.B
GENERAL VERSES ON HEALING
;ow I want to share with you a prescription fro" the 3ord of &od: 5ro!erbs 6:*/**E
5sal"s 1/D:*/E Isaiah $B:$3 Fatthew +:1DE I 5eter *:*6. Those are the fi!e scriptures the
teacher ga!e to the handicapped children. They are not special !erses for handicapped
children. In stead they are general !erses on healing' and they worked.
SPECIFIC VERSES ON SPECIFIC HEALINGS
The following !erses are "uch "ore specific.
EC$D)$? 16>6
0nd *hen / passed be thee, and sa* thee polluted in thine o*n blood, / said unto thee
*hen thou *ast in thy blood, -ive3 yea, / said unto thee *hen thou *ast in thy blood,
-ive.
This scripture will stop bleeding 8uicker than any scripture in the 9ible. 7lso it can be
used for a diabetic condition. I ha!e recei!ed "any testi"onies across the nation fro"
people using this scripture.
One little boy was a he"ophiliac' that is' a free bleeder. E!en a slight cut on the skin is a
"a2or proble" for a child with this condition. This boy ran into a tree and s"ashed his
nose. There was so "uch bleeding i""ediately as he turned around that it al"ost
co!ered fro" the chest down three children standing nearby. His "other al"ost
panickedE but a friend of the fa"ily was present' and he suggested they read E4ekiel 16:6.
They read it and the bleeding stopped i""ediately. That is a "iracle when a child is a
he"ophiliac.
There$s a surgeon who ca"e to a ser!ice when I was "inistering. He was unsa!ed and he
said later that he was skeptical of nearly e!erything going on' i.e.$ the clai"s of healing'
etc. The ne-t week' howe!er' he was operating on a wo"an and he couldn$t get the
bleeding stopped. He said that he wanted to cry Out to &od in that operating roo" for
help' but it was so out of character for hi" to use &od$s na"e in any way e-cept in
profanity' that he didn$t say anything out loud. 9ut within hi"self' he said' A&od' that
preacher the other night "entioned there$s a !erse in the 9ible that will stop bleeding. I
don$t know whether there is or not' but if there is' I need for it to work now.B He said in
twenty seconds ti"e' the bleeding had stopped. That doctor is now a %piritfilled
1hristian. He not only will operate on you' he will pray for you' too.
7 9aptist preacher shared the following testi"ony with "e. He said that at the ti"e of the
incident he did not belie!e in "iracles. (I would like to inter2ect this. I know 9aptist
preachers who do belie!e in "iracles and those who do not and I could say the sa"e of
!irtually e!ery deno"ination. %o' I do not "ean to i"ply that it is only 9aptists who do
not belie!e in "iracles., This preacher said he had gone to the e"ergency roo" of the
hospital to see about so"eone who had been taken there. The party he had gone to see
was being ade8uately cared for. 9ut he was standing in the hall waiting when a "an was
brought in on a stretcher who was apparently bleeding to death. He was 2ust left in the
hail. 5ossible there were not any a!ailable roo"s at that "o"ent. This preacher was
watching as an intern was trying to get the bleeding stopped. The intern looked up at the
preacher and said' AI can$t get the bleeding stopped.B
The "an on the stretcher looked at the preacher and said' A#octor' do so"ething.B
The preacher replied: AI$" not a doctor. I$" a preacher.B
The "an on the stretcher said: AThat$s e!en better. &et your 9ible out.B
He said' AI pulled a ;ew Testa"ent out of "y pocket.B
7nd the "an on the stretcher said: AThat$s not enough. 3e need the whole 9ible.B
He said: AI went out to the waiting roo" and found a &ideon 9ible on a coffee table.
Thank &od for &ideon 9ibles. I brought it back and asked the "an on the stretcher what
he wanted "e to do.B
He said' AOpen it up to E4ekiel 16:6.B 0*. He said' AI opened it up and asked' J3hat do
you want "e to do nowHB
The "an on the stretcher said' A.ead it' "an' read it.B
He said' AI read it and the intern looked at "e i""ediately and said' JThe bleeding 2ust
stopped.B 9y the way' that 9aptist preacher now belie!es in "iracles.
I%-)-, 43>2
When thou passest through the *aters, / *ill be *ith thee3 and through the rivers,
they shall not overflo* thee: *hen thou *alkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned3 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
This scripture will protect you in the ti"e of fire or flood and it will also heal burns.
I%-)-, 32>2
0nd a man shall be as an hiding place from the *ind,
and a covert from the tempest3 as rivers of *ater in a dry place,
as the shado* of a great rock in a *eary land.
This !erse will protect you in a windstor"' fro" a hurricane' tornado' or anything of that
nature.
I%-)-, 32>3
0nd the eyes of them that see shall not be dim,
and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
This is for the healing of sight and hearing proble"s.
I%-)-, 32>4
#he heart also of the rash shall understand kno*ledge,
and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
This is for the healing of a sta""ering or a stuttering speech i"pedi"ent.
P%-?B% 43>2E
He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
This is for the healing of broken bones. 7ctually' this scripture is prophetic regarding the
@ord )esus 1hrist and the fact that none of his bones would be broken at 1al!ary. 9ut
e!en though it is specific regarding )esus' we are' according to the 3ord' bone of his
bone and flesh of his flesh. Therefore' we can apply it in )esus and it will work.
7 police"an ga!e the following testi"ony. He said that he was called to an accident. 7
"an$s leg was broken so badly it was off at a slant fro" the knee down with the bone
protruding through the knee. The police"an put the leg in a splint' clai"ed 5sal"s ?6:*/
o!er the "an' and sent hi" on to the hospital in an a"bulance.
The ne-t day' the police"an called the hospital identifying hi"self by his badge nu"ber.
He talked to the nurse that had been on duty. He asked about the "an. The nurse said:
AOh' he$s fine. 3e released hi" today fro" the hospital.B
He asked' AHow is his broken legHB
%he said: AOh' his leg was not broken. 3e wondered why a splint was put on his leg' but
it was not broken.B %he added' AHe walked away fro" the hospital today.B That "an had
been healed by the power of the 3ord of &od.
E<&15% 23>25
0nd ye shall serve the -ord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy *ater3
and / *ill take sickness a*ay from the midst of thee.
This is for the healing of any kind of a sto"ach proble": sto"ach ulcers' sto"ach !irus'
sto"ach cancer' and also for the healing of kidney or bladder trouble.
E<&15% 23>26
#here shall nothing cast their young, not be barren, in thy land:
the number of thy days / *ill fulfill.
This !erse is for protection of an e-pectant wo"an fro" a "iscarriage.
M-.D 16>1
#hey shall take up serpents3 and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them3 they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
1This is for the healing of snake bite or the drinking of poison. There are so"e who ha!e
said that &od has co""issioned us in this passage in Fark 16:161+ to deliberately drink
poison. I do not belie!e &od e!er intended for us to do any of these things deliberately.
#o not slash your wrists to see if E4ekiel 16:6 will work or not. #o not set fire to yourself
to try out Isaiah 6?:*. 9ut it it$s an accidental happening or so"ething inflicted on you by
so"eone else' you can clai" the scriptures.
One wo"an' who was a school teacher' said that she was poisoned in a school cafeteria.
%he took a drink of so"e tea. It was e-tre"ely bitter. %he thought' A3ell' it$s 2ust old'B
and she took another drink. 7nd when she did' an e-tre"e burning hit her in the throat
and then continued down the esophagus. %he went to the principal$s office and stated'
AI$" afraid that I$!e been poisoned.B %he said the principal al"ost panicked' but a school
librarian walked in' a wo"an who knew the 3ord of &od.
%he !ery cal"ly said' A3ell' if you ha!e been poisoned' there is a scripture in the 9ible
that will heal you.B %he went and got her 9ible and read Fark 16:1+. The teacher
testified that in one "inute$s ti"e' a coolness replaced the burning. %he was co"pletely
healed. They later sent the tea off to the state capitol for analy4ing at a lab. The report
ca"e back that there was enough poison in the tea to ha!e killed si- people. Cet' this
wo"an had been healed by the power of the 3ord of &od.
P%-?B% 91>5
#hou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night3 nor for the arro* that flieth by day3
This is for protection in a highcri"e area. It is your police nu"ber. 7lso' it will be of
great benefit to anyone who is afraid to stay ho"e alone at night. ;otice that it says'
AThou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.B
P%-?B% 119. 7
0 thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand3
but it shall not come nigh thee.
This is for protection of a soldier when in battle. Two wo"en "ade this obser!ation.
They were not being facetious and I belie!e it was a good idea. They said' A3e$re going
to use 5sal"s 01:D for our children in school' because in these days' the schools are a
!irtual battlefield.B I belie!e it will work' yes' for children in school.
There$s a tract in print about a 9ritish colonel in 3orld 3ar I who taught the officers
under hi" and they in turn taught the "en under the" to clai" 5sal"s 01:D. They say
that not a one of the" was lost in co"bat in o!er three years. One soldier had a ;ew
Testa"ent in his pocket. 7 shell ripped through the ;ew Testa"ent and riddled e!ery
page down to the page of 5sal"s 01.
.ecently' on one of the national newscasts on tele!ision' the following testi"ony was
gi!en. The newscaster said: AThis is an incredible story. 7 night watch"an was shot by
an intruder. The bullet ripped through a ;ew Testa"ent in his pocket' but stopped at the
back co!er.B Fy' what supernatural protectionG
P%-?B% 91>6
Cor for the pestilence that *alketh in darkness3 not for the destruction
that *asteth at noonday.
This will get rid of roaches and ants. One wo"an got e-cited when she heard about this
scripture. %he said' AThat will get rid of those roaches in "y apart"ent.B %he clai"ed the
!erse and stated that there were dead roaches the ne-t "orning all o!er the apart"ent.
7nother wo"an said' AIf it will work for roaches' it will also work for ants.B Her husband
testifying later said' AThey left.B He then added' A3ell' I did see one' but he was on his
way out.B That' by the way' is the difference between a belie!er and a doubter. The
belie!er said' AI saw one and he was on his way out.B The doubter says' AI saw one and it
didn$t work.B
One "an said that they had been plagued by ants for a nu"ber of weeks. They had
actually clai"ed 5sal"s 01:6 without anything happening. 7nd then one day' he got a
bright idea to take the card out of the card file. He put it down in the path of the ants and
he said for two days they went around it and then co"pletely disappeared.
P%-?B% 73>26
5y flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion forever.
This is for the healing of heart trouble. #ick Fills' the e!angelist fro" 1alifornia' said
that he was !isiting a wo"an in the intensi!e care unit of a hospital. This wo"an had had
a "assi!e heart attack and was near death. The nurse on duty did not want #ick Fills to
e!en see the wo"an. 9ut he stated' AI a" a "inister' and she asked for "e to co"e.B
The nurse then said' A7ll right' you can go in for three "inutes' that$s all.B
He said' AI had o!erstayed "y ti"e and reali4ing so' I said to the wo"an' J@etha' I ha!e
to lea!e' but we$re going to clai" 5sal"s D?:*6 for the healing of your heart.B 3hen he
said that' the heart "onitor sounded an alar". The nurse ca"e running fro" central
control and said: ACou$ll ha!e to get out of here. Cou$re upsetting the patient.B
He said' AI then turned to her again and said' J7ll right' I$" lea!ing' but re"e"ber we$re
clai"ing 5sal"s D?:*6.B 3hen he "ade the state"ent again' the alar" again went off on
the heart "onitor. He said by that ti"e the nurse was pushing hi" out of the roo".
On the way out' his wife asked if he knew what was happening. His wife is a registered
nurse. He said' A3ell' I assu"e the nurse was upset because I had o!erstayed "y ti"e'B
%he said' A;o' it was not 2ust that. I was watching that heart "onitor and e!ery ti"e you
would say 5sal"s D?:*6' the reading on the heart "onitor would nearly go off the graph.B
7pparently there was so "uch energy passing through that wo"an$s heart that it was
causing this reading on the heart "onitor. The wo"an is healed e!en today.
I%-)-, 66>14
0nd *hen ye see this, your heart shall reEoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb:
and the hand of the -ord shall be kno*n to*ard his servants,
and his indignation to*ard his enemies.
This is for the healing of arthritis or any kind of a bone proble".
M-.D 11>13F14F2EF21
0nd seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find
anything thereon: and *hen he came to it, he found nothing but leaves,
for the time of figs *as not yet.
0nd ,esus ans*ered and said unto it, Co man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.
0nd his disciples heard it.
0nd in the morning, as they passed by, they sa* the fig tree dried up from the roots.
0nd 1eter calling to remembrance saith unto him, 5aster,
behold, the fig tree *hich thou cursedst is *ithered a*ay.
This is for the healing of cancer. E!en though cancer is not "entioned in this passage' I
belie!e it$s an e-cellent one to use. It is the passage concerning 1hrist$s cursing the fig
tree. I belie!e that He cursed the fig tree pri"arily as an ob2ect lesson in faith. I do not
belie!e that He is interested in our going out to find a fig tree so"ewhere to curse or e!en
finding a "ountain and trying to "o!e it in a literal sense. 9ut instead' I belie!e it is an
ob2ect lesson in faith' and we are to reali4e that we can take authority o!er the works of
the ene"y. 3e can speak death to cancer' death to arthritis' or whate!er the proble"
"ight be. 7nd since cancer has a root syste" and is si"ilar to the tree in that sense' we
can speak death to it fro" the !ery root syste"' cursing it e!en as 1hrist did the fig tree.
#$.$B)-, 32>3 9
0nd / *ill give them one heart, and one *ay, that they may fear me for ever,
for the good of them, and of their children after them:
This is for the healing of a "arriage. 3hat a beautiful pro"ise fro" the 3ord of &od.
P%-?B% 113>9
He maketh the barren *oman to keep house, and to be a Eoyful mother of children.
1raise ye the -ord.
This is a scripture for a wo"an who has not been able to ha!e a child. One wo"an ca"e
forward for prayer and said: AFy husband and I ha!e not been able to ha!e any children.
3ould you please pray that we$ll be able to.B
I said' ACes' but not only will we pray regarding this' but we will also clai" 5sal"s
11?:0.B
%he testified later that for "any "onths' she clai"ed 5sal"s 11?:0 without anything
happening. 7nd then one day in prayer' &od spoke to her and said' A;ow' add to it Isaiah
0:6.B That$s the scripture that says' <!or unto us a child is born. %he clai"ed that and
within 2ust a few weeks$ ti"e' she was pregnant. 7nd as she testified to "e she had a 1/
"onthold baby daughter in her ar"s' re2oicing in the child that &od had gi!en to that
fa"ily. I later heard that she had had her second child. &od "ade a childbearing wo"an
out of that lady.
OUT OF CONTE+T
Cou' perhaps' ha!e noticed that "any of these !erses ha!e been taken out of conte-t.
There are so"e people that get !ery upset if they feel a !erse has been taken out of
conte-t in any way. Howe!er' I belie!e we ha!e a scriptural right to do so. 5aul e!en took
!erses out of conte-t in his teaching. 3hen he applied the !erse fro" the Old Testa"ent
about not "u44ling the o- that treads out the corn as illustrati!e of supporting the
"inisters' he was taking the !erse way out of conte-t. 9ut we belie!e he was led of the
%pirit to do so' 2ust as we belie!e all of the 9ible is the inspired 3ord of &od.
In II 1orinthians 1:*/' we read that all of the pro"ises of &od are in )esus: <!or all the
promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him amen. Therefore' we can apply these
!erses in the @ord )esus 1hrist because they are all in Hi"' yes' in Hi".
In .o"an 6:*? we read regarding 7braha" that the things were not written for his sake
alone' but they were written for our sakes also. %ince that is the case' it "eans that those
things which were pro"ised to 7braha" beco"e ours in the @ord )esus 1hrist.
Therefore' we can clai" the".
One pastor said to "eE A9rother' I don$t belie!e in doing it this way. I belie!e it$s a
deceitful use of the 3ord of &od.B
3ell' I don$t belie!e it$s a deceitful use of the 3ord of &od. I belie!e it$s si"ply taking
that which &od pro"ised to Israel but clai"ing it and applying it in the @ord )esus 1hrist.
If you take a scripture out of conte-t and apply it to the disagree"ent of the rest of the
3ord of &od' it will not work. 9ut if you take a pro"ise out of conte-t and apply it to the
agree"ent of the rest of the 3ord of &od' it will work.
E4ekiel 16:6 does not refer in its conte-t to physical bleeding' but it has "uch "ore of a
spiritual application. 9ut re"e"ber' in )esus which is easier to say' AThy sins be forgi!en
theeE or arise and walk.B There is both spiritual and physical healing in Hi". Therefore' if
we need it for the healing of the physical as well as the spiritual' we can clai" it in the
@ord )esus 1hrist.
7s one "an said' AThe proof of the pudding is in the fact that it works.B 7nd I know that
these !erses work. This is what I call a working knowledge of the 3ord of &od. 7nd so
if you really want to attend to the 3ord of &od as we are ad"onished to do in 5ro!erbs
6:*/' here is a way in which you can do it. 1lai" these !erses as pro"ises fro" &od$s
3ord' apply the"' and see the" work:
L$%%&' S$9$'
HOW TO WITNESS REGARDING
THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
SPIRIT OUTPOURING
3e are li!ing in a day in which &od is pouring out His %pirit upon the earth in greater
"easure than e!er before. 7lthough there ha!e been great !isitations of &od upon the
earth throughout the ages' undoubtedly the scope of this !isitation is unprecedented. It is
thrilling for "e to see what &od is doing and to ha!e a part in it' not only through "y
own personal e-perience' but also in "inistry to others.
In 106+' I was "inistering in a s"all co""unity church near 5ittsburgh' 5ennsyl!ania' in
a series of "eetings. 7 pastor fro" 5ittsburgh ca"e to the "eetings one e!ening' and I
was led of the Holy %pirit to gi!e a word of prophecy to hi" and his wife. 3hen you
prophesy to an indi!idual' it is sort of like a post"an deli!ering a letter. Cou didn$t write
it' and it is not to youE therefore' it is difficult "any ti"es to interpret what is being said'
since you don$t reali4e the significance of the "essage. That was true in this particular
case. 9ut although I did not reali4e what &od was really saying to the indi!idual' he did.
That pastor called "e in a few days and "entioned how "uch he appreciated "y "inistry
and how he reali4ed that it was the Holy %pirit who had spoken through "e in the
"essage to hi". He then asked if I could co"e to 5ittsburgh for two nights of "eetings'
one on a %aturday night and the other on a %unday night. He was pastor of the 1hurch of
the 9retheren in 5ittsburgh' and he suggested that we ha!e the %aturday night ser!ice in
their church and then go to the Fethodist 1hurch down the street for the %unday e!ening
"eeting. He then e-plained why we would change locations on %unday. He said: A7bout
half of our church' the 1hurch of the 9rethren' ha!e been bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit' or
at least is in fa!or of it' and the other half are opposed. The opposition has asked that we
not ha!e anything of a charis"atic nature in either of the %unday ser!ices. The
co"pro"ise we ha!e reached is this: we can do anything we wish Fonday through
%aturday' but nothing of a charis"atic nature on %unday.B A9ut'B he added' Athat$s no
proble" because the Fethodist 1hurch has no %unday e!ening ser!iceE therefore' we can
use their building.B The dates for the ser!ices were arranged.
On %aturday night' we had a beautiful "o!e of the %pirit of &od. 7 5resbyterian pastor
who was present said to hi"self: AI like what I a" seeing. This is decent and in order.B
He deter"ined that he would talk the ne-t "orning' on %unday' to a "an of their church
who was counselor of the young people and suggest that they bring the young people the
ne-t night to the Fethodist 1hurch to e-pose the" to this kind of a "o!e of the %pirit. 7s
far as the pastor knew' he and his wife and the couple' who were counselors of the young
people' were the only four in the church who had been bapti4ed in the Holy spirit. The
pastor had not shared his testi"ony with his churchE therefore' the church knew nothing
of this e-perience.
The ne-t night' the young people ca"e. There were twel!e of the"' and they got to the
ser!ice about twenty "inutes late and "arched in together. I did not know they were
co"ing' and I wondered for a few "o"ents 2ust who they "ight be. I then asked for
public testi"onies' and three people got up and shared what &od had done for the".
Howe!er' I knew there was so"eone else who needed to gi!e a word of testi"ony. I
"entioned this and the counselor of the young people arose and shared a bit of his
personal testi"ony. He then said' A3e are fro" the 5enn Hills 5resbyterian 1hurch' and
we ha!e brought these young people tonight' and we belie!e by faith that so"e of the"
are going to be bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit.B 3hen he "ade that state"ent' I assu"ed that
the young people knew about the e-perience of the baptis" in the %pirit' but 2ust did not
know how to recei!e. Fy assu"ption was wrong' but I began to act according to what I
was thinking. I "entioned that all the young people could recei!e that night if they
desired to.
I preached a general ser"on on faith that night and' "any ti"es through the course of the
"essage' I directed "y re"arks toward the young people saying' ATonight is your nightE
e!ery one of you can recei!e.B The pastor cringed e!ery ti"e I "ade such a state"ent'
not knowing what the reaction of the young people would be since it was all new to the".
He once turned to a pastor sitting ne-t to hi" and said: AI don$t know where this is going
to lead. They know nothing of this e-perience.B 9ut I went blindly on' and &od was
leading in the whole "atter.
7t the end of the ser"on' I said to the young people: A7ll right' this is the "o"ent. 1o"e
forward if you want to recei!e.B It was a consensus of the whole group to co"e forward.
One would look at another and begin to nod his or her head yesE then another likewise'
until they all ca"e forward. I ga!e instructions and then laid hands on the" and they all
recei!ed. Ele!en out of the twel!e spoke in tongues al"ost instantly as I laid hands on
the". The other one recei!ed in a co"parati!ely short period of ti"e. They were all
speaking in tongues whether their pastor thought they were ready or not. They continued
in this new e-perience for about twenty "inutes without stopping. I re"e"ber one of the
boys looked at another and pointed his finger at hi" and probably was wanting to say'
ACou$re doing it' too.B 9ut it did not co"e out in English. The young people worshipped
that e!ening for about an hour. They would speak in tongues and then praise in English.
They would then sing in tongues and sing in English' back and forth for about an hour.
7fter they had been speaking in tongues for a few "inutes' the pastor ca"e to "e and
said: AI a" the pastor of these young people' and I a" thrilled at what &od has done. 7nd
don$t think fro" what I$" going to say that I$" opposing this in any way' because I a"
not. 9ut' do you think it would be wise to tell the young people not to say anything about
this to their parents' since our church knows nothing about this. I reali4e now that I will
ha!e to gi!e "y testi"ony to the church' but I want to seek &od as to the right ti"ing for
that.B
I replied' ACes' I think it "ight be wise for the" not to say anything to their parents.B
7ctually' I had a "ore i"portant reason' I thought. Fy reasoning was this. I had known
of "any young people who had had "ar!elous e-periences with &od' but yet when they
would go ho"e and tell their parents what had happened' "any ti"es the parents would
e-ercise parental authority and say to the"' ACou$re not getting in!ol!ed in anything like that'
and you won$t be able to go to those ser!ices any"ore.B .eali4ing this possibility' I counseled the
young people after a few "inutes not to say anything to their parents about this. Howe!er' that
was like 1hrist healing the people and asking the" not to say anything about it. These young
people weren$t about to keep 8uiet about this e-perience they had recei!ed.
One of the young "en was an hour late getting ho"e that e!ening. His father was !ery strict' and
he said to the boy: A%on' what do you "ean co"ing in at this hourH I told you to be ho"e at a
certain ti"e.B
The boy replied' A#ad' I couldn$t help it.B
The father' then' as a "atter of punish"ent' sent the boy i""ediately upstairs to go to bed. The
"other' though' percei!ed that perhaps so"ething unusual had happened to their son. %he asked
the father to go up and talk with hi"' and she said: AHoney' don$t be harsh. Try to find out what$s
wrong. I belie!e so"ething unusual has happened.B
The father went up and stayed and stayed. The "other got concerned and went up to see about
the". %he found the father sitting there listening enraptured as the son ga!e the full testi"ony of
what had happened that e!ening. 7t the end of his testi"ony' the parents decided that the whole
fa"ily needed to recei!e. 3ithin a week and a half$s ti"e' all of the fa"ily had recei!ed' with the
e-ception of one young child.
One of the girls who had been present the night before was in her 2unior high school classroo"
the ne-t "orning. %he had a habit of talking in class. The teacher had it in for :i". %he caught
:i" talking and said to her: A:i"' you ha!e persisted this whole se"ester in talking in class
when you$re not supposed to. ;ow I want you to stand up and share with the class what you$re
talking about.B
:i" said' ATeacher' you don$t want to hear this.B
The teacher !ery sarcastically said' ACes' I do' and the whole class wants to hear it.B
:i" then said' ATeacher' you ha!e asked for it.B %he got up and for thirty "inutes ga!e
full testi"ony of what had happened the night before.
There are those who say this e-perience does not "ake any difference in our power to
witness. First of all' if a person says that' they are disagreeing with the words of )esus as
found in 7cts 1:+' There He "entioned that we would recei!e power' after that the Holy
&host has co"e upon us. 9ut I would like to add this further. It takes power to witness in
these days in a public school classroo" on anything regarding &od' especially an
e-perience such as this. :i" undoubtedly had power working in her' a power greater than
e!er before to witness and declare the wonderful works of our @ord )esus 1hrist.
I was back in 5ittsburgh again two "onths after that on a %aturday night at the 1hurch of
the 9rethren and %unday night at the Fethodist 1hurch. ;one of the Fethodists showed
up that e!ening' but there were 5resbyterians all o!er the place. I preached that night on
the sub2ect of the baptis" in the Holy %pirit. 7t the end of the ser"on' I ga!e an
in!itation for those to co"e who wanted to recei!e. Fortyfi!e responded. I instructed
the"' laid hands on the"' and they all recei!ed. 7ctually' it didn$t take "ore than about
twenty "inutes fro" the beginning to the end of the line until they were all speaking in
tongues. Fany of those people were parents of the young people in addition to other
adults of 5enn Hills 5resbyterian 1hurch. Indoubtedly' the testi"onies of the young
people had been what was influential. This is 2ust one testi"ony a"ong so "any that
could be gi!en regarding the current outpouring of the Holy %pirit. 3hole churches are
being swept into this "o!e of the %pirit. Oh' I know there are those who say these things
don$t happen any"ore' or this isn$t for us today. 9ut e!en though they say it' they cannot
stop the "o!e of the %pirit of &od. The ri!er of the %pirit is flowing and all we ha!e to do
is plunge in by faith and begin to swi". &od says we can swi"E %atan says we can$t. I
prefer to belie!e &od.
7s a result of so "any recei!ing in these days' this thing is being talked about on the
%treet corners. Fany people of all deno"inations are asking: A3hat is this thing of the
baptis" in the Holy %piritH 3hat do you "ean speaking with other tonguesHB They are
desiring to know and I belie!e it$s i"portant to be able to share the truth with the". The
purpose of this lesson is twofold. First' I want to instruct those who ha!e already recei!ed
as to how they can properly witness regarding such a blessed e-perience' because I a"
con!inced there are "any charis"atic people who' e!en though they ha!e had a genuine
e-perience fro" &od' do not know scripturally how to share this with others. The 9ible
tells us in II Ti"othy *:1> that we are to study to show oursel!es appro!ed unto &od'
work"en that need not to be asha"ed' but instead' ones which can rightly di!ide the
word of truth. Cou need to be a worker that can rightly di!ide the word of truth' so"eone
who knows whereof you speak. 7nd you can be.
7 second purpose for this lesson is that those who ha!e not recei!ed will be able to learn
fro" these instructions 2ust how i"portant this e-perience is and why it is scriptural The
ter" Abaptis" in the %piritB co"es pri"arily fro" the scriptures in Fatthew ?:11 where
)ohn the 9aptist said:
/ indeed baptiFe you *ith *ater unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier
than /, *hose shoes / am not *orthy to bear: he shall baptiFe you *ith 7or <in is also a
good translation the Holy Ghost, and *ith fire.
7nd then in 7cts 1:>' we read the words of )esus in which He said:
!or ,ohn truly baptiFed *ith *ater3 but ye shall be baptiFed *ith the Holy Ghost not
many days hence.
9oth )ohn and )esus were speaking prophetically of that which would begin to co"e to
pass on the #ay of 5entecost' for it says in 7cts *:6 that they were all filled with the Holy
&host and began to speak with other tongues as the %pirit ga!e the" utterance. There are
a nu"ber of ter"s which are synony"ous. They are the baptis" in the Holy %pirit' being
filled with the Holy %pirit' recei!ing the Holy %pirit' the Holy %pirit co"ing upon the"'
etc.
WITH OR WITHOUT TONGUES
There are also two "a2or schools of thought in charis"atic and 5entecostal circles
regarding the baptis" in the Holy %pirit. One is that the baptis" in the Holy %pirit "ust
be acco"panied by an initial physical e!idence of speaking with other tongues to be
scriptural. The other belief is that the baptis" in the Holy %pirit does not ha!e to be
acco"panied by the e!idence of speaking with other tongues' but that if a person
recei!es' he or she will e!entually speak with tongues and probably within a short period
of ti"e. I belie!e the for"er. I belie!e for us to say scripturally we ha!e been bapti4ed in
the Holy %pirit' we "ust ha!e the initial physical e!idence of speaking with other
tongues. I won$t take ti"e in this lesson to e-plain that thoroughly fro" the scripturesE
howe!er' I ha!e co!ered that' I belie!e' rather thoroughly in the chapter entitled' AHow
To .ecei!e The &ift Of The Holy %pirit.B
9ut I do wish to con!ey this. 3hen I first started in "y charis"atic "inistry' I got
in!ol!ed in a lot of needless argu"ents with candidates for this e-perience. There were
those who would co"e forward and say' AI was bapti4ed in the Holy spirit three "onths
ago' but I ha!e not spoken with tongues.B
I would then say to the"' ACou did not recei!e three "onths ago' for if you had' you
would ha!e spoken in tongues then.B
They would say' A9ut I did recei!e back then.B
I would say' A9ut the 9ible indicates that we "ust ha!e this e!idence of speaking with
other tongues.B 7nd' I found out that I was in!ol!ed suddenly in an argu"ent which "ost
of the ti"e was not resol!ed.
I later beca"e aware of what to do. Then' when a person would co"e and say' AI. was
bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit three "onths ago' but I ha!e not spoken with tongues'B "y
reply would be' A3ell' do you want to speak with tonguesHB ;early always they would
say' ACes.B I would instruct the"' and they would begin to speak with other tongues. I
was happy' they were happy' and we had sa!ed four or fi!e "inutes of arguing.
Therefore' regardless of how you feel as to whether speaking with other tongues is the
initial physical e!idence or not' "y 8uestions to you are these: If you ha!e not spoken in
tongues' why notH 7re you ready to speak with tonguesH If you desire to' you "ay.
5eople ha!e accused "e of e"phasi4ing speaking with tongues too "uch. I don$t feel
that I ha!e. I don$t feel that I ha!e gi!en "ore e"phasis to this than other aspects of the
gospel' but I also know that a certain e"phasis has to be gi!en to this because so "any
people ha!e 8uestions regarding it. Fany people ha!e been brainwashed to such an
e-tent against speaking with 16? tongues that they ha!e great reser!ations regarding the
e-perience. Therefore' we ha!e to e"phasi4e the i"portance of it and show the"
scripturally where they stand. Fost of the 8uestions which arise in the "inds of people
co"e fro" three chapters in the book of I 1orinthians. They are chapters 1*' 1?' and 16. I
want to pose so"e of these 8uestions and then gi!e the answers' and in so doing' I
belie!e I can help you.
One of the 8uestions is: A3hy do you say that e!eryone can e-perience speaking with
other tongues when 5aul says in I 1orinthians 1*:?/ that all will not speak with
tonguesHB It is true here that 5aul says all will not speak with tongues. @et$s consider
!erses *+ through ?/. It says:
0nd God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of
tongues.
He then begins to answer 8uestions regarding what he has stated. He asks' A7re all
apostlesHB The i"plied answer is' A;o.B
A7re all prophetsHB A;o.B AHa!e all the gifts of healingHB A;o.B A#o all speak with
tonguesHB A;o.B
A#o all interpretHB A;o.B
9ut yet' why did all the belie!ers who were gathered together on the #ay of 5entecost as
recorded in 7cts *:6 speak with other tongues' and why did all of those at 1ornelius$
house as recorded in 7cts 1/:6666 speak with tongues' and why did all of those at
Ephesus as recorded in 7cts 10:6 speak with other tonguesH 3as 5aul wrong in asking'
A#o all speak with tonguesHB Or' was &od wrong in causing all of those in these three
cases to speak with other tonguesH Of course' &od was not wrong' and I don$t belie!e
5aul was wrong either in stating all will not speak with tongues. Indoubtedly' it was a
pattern in the early church for e!eryone to speak with tongues. 1ertainly' we ha!e the
indication which says that if any of the belie!ers spoke with tongues' then they all did.
3hat is the answer thenH 3hat 5aul refers to in I 1orinthians 1*:?/ is a different
operation of tongues than that which happened at 5entecost' 1ornelius$ house' and
Ephesus. 5aul is referring to the gift of di!ers kinds of tongues' one of the specific gifts
of the Holy %pirit. There are "any who feel as they initially begin to speak with tongues
that they use.
DIFFERING TONGUES
Here is a case if you rightly di!ide the word of truth that you will be able to see the
difference. 7lso' the tongues that are spoken of in I 1orinthians 1*:?/ are the kind that
need to be interpreted because right after the 8uestion A#o all speak with tonguesHB' it
also asks' A#o all interpretHB
The tongues which were spoken on the #ay of 5entecost were not interpreted' at least
supernaturally. Oh' I know there were "en present out of all nations who heard the
&alileans speaking with tongues and were a"a4ed and "entioned so"e of the things
which they were saying in tongues' but these "en did not ha!e the gift of interpretation
of tongues' for that gift is a supernatural operation of the Holy %pirit. Those "en at the
#ay of 5entecost who were "entioning what the disciples were saying as they spoke with
tongues were 2ust si"ply using their own hu"an intellect because they already knew the
language. Howe!er' what was spoken by the disciples on the #ay of 5entecost was
supernatural' for they did not know those other languages. 7t 1orelius$ house' there is no
indication whatsoe!er of any interpretation of the tongues. 7nd also at Ephesus' there is
no interpretation of the tongues.
@OKE
In I 1orinthians 1*:?1' 5aul says' A9ut co!et earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto
you a "ore e-cellent way.B Then in chapter 1?' he begins to teach on lo!e' and he says in
the beginning of the chapter:
Kerse 1 #hough / speak *ith the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity 7or
love, / am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Kerse * 0nd though / have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
kno*ledge3 and though / have all faith, so that / could remove mountains, and have not
charity, / am nothing.
Kerse ? 0nd though / besto* all my goods to feed the poor, and though / give my body to
be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
I belie!e that. I belie!e it is absolutely true' and certainly lo!e is a "ore e-cellent way in
the sense that if we do not ha!e lo!e' all of the others will be to no a!ail. Howe!er' there
are those that take !erse ?1 and say' A3ell' 5aul said that lo!e is a "ore e-cellent wayE
therefore' I do not desire to e-perience any of the supernatural operations of the Holy
%pirit in the gifts' or in any other way because 5aul said that lo!e is greater.B 3ell'
people such as that need to read I 1orinthians 16:1. It says' AFollow after charity (or lo!e,
and desire spiritual gifts.B It doesn$t say either or' but it says both and.
H7% 5E.FE1TIO; 1OFEH
7nother 8uestion that is fre8uently asked co"es fro" that latter part of I 1orinthians
chapter 1?. In !erse +' it says:
?harity 7or love never faileth: but *hether there be prophecies, they shall fail3 *hether
there be tongues, they shall cease3 *hether there be kno* ledge it shall vanish a*ay.
Fany' therefore' ha!e said' A3ell' tongues ha!e ceased' prophecies ha!e failed' and
knowledge has !anishedE therefore' those things are not for us today.B They ha!e not
fully understood the rest of that chapter or they would not say that. In I 1orinthians 1?:0
1*' it says:
Kerse 0 !or *e kno* in part, and *e prophesy in part.
Kerse 1/ )ut *hen that *hich is perfect is come, then that *hich is in part shall be done
a*ay.
Kerse 11 When / *as a child, / spake as a child, / understood as a child, / thought as a
child: but *hen / became a man, / put a*ay childish things.
Kerse 1* !or no* *e see through a glass, darkly3 but then face to face: no* / kno* in
part3 but then shall / kno* even as also / am kno*n.
5aul is saying that when that which is perfect is co"e' these things such as prophecies'
tongues' knowledge' etc. will be done away because of the perfect co"ing. There are
those who ha!e said' A3ell' the perfect to which 5aul refers here is the perfect law of
liberty of which we read in )a"es' chapter 1' and that perfect law of liberty is the 9ible.B
Ces' I belie!e the perfect law of liberty of which we read in )a"es' chapter 1' is the
9ible. Howe!er' "ost scholars agree that the book of )a"es was written before this letter
by 5aul to those at 1orinth' and' therefore' )a"es is saying' A3e ha!e the perfect'B and
5aul says later' AI$" still looking for it.B I don$t belie!e that the perfect to which 5aul
refers to here is the perfect law of liberty' the 3ord of &od. Instead' I belie!e he is
referring to the @ord )esus 1hrist who certainly is the epito"e of perfection and the fact
that in a future ti"e )esus 1hrist will co"e again.
In I 1orinthians 1?:1*' he says:
!or no* *e see through a glass, darkly3 but then 7referring to that time in *hich the
perfect shall come face to face: no* / kno* in part3 but then shall / kno* even as also /
am kno*n.
If 5aul is referring to the co"ing of )esus when he says' A3hen that which is perfect is
co"e'B it "akes a lot "ore sense. 3hen )esus co"es and we rise to "eet Hi" in the air
and are with Hi" fore!er"ore' we will ha!e no need' then' of prophecy co"ing through
an indi!idual or &od speaking through an indi!idual. 3e$ll be speaking to &od face to
face. 3e$ll ha!e no need of speaking with tongues at that ti"e' because the 9ible says
that speaking with tongues is a sign to the unbelie!er. 3ell' there will be no unbelie!ers
in Hea!en. It also says that speaking with tongues is an edification to the belie!er' or in
other words' a building up. 3e$ll ha!e no need of e!en being built up in that dayE the
ene"y will be defeated fore!er' and we will be i""ortal. Therefore' considering all
scriptures in this passage of I 1orinthians 1?:+1*' undoubtedly' 5aul is referring to the
second co"ing of our @ord )esus 1hrist rather than the co"pletion of the 9ible' the
perfect law of liberty.
7NOWN AND UN7NOWN TONGUES
7nother 8uestion which is fre8uently asked ste"s fro" a state"ent in I 1orinthians
16:10. 5aul says:
Get in the church / had rather speak five *ords *ith my understanding, that by my voice /
might teach others also, than ten thousand *ords in an unkno*n tongue.
%o "any ti"es I$!e heard people say: A3ell' 5aul said' JI would rather speak fi!e words
with "y understanding' than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.$ Therefore' I 2ust
don$t belie!e in speaking with other tongues.B 3hen they say that to "e' I ask the" to
please 8uote the "iddle part of the !erse' and they are ne!er able to do so. They ha!e
8uoted the !erse so "any ti"es' lea!ing out the "iddle part' that they don$t e!en know
what it says.
To get a "ore thorough look at this' let us also consider I 1orinthians 16:1+. There he
says' AI thank "y &od' I speak with tongues "ore than ye all.B 9ut in!erse 10' he says'
ACet in the church I had rather speak fi!e words with "y understanding' that by "y !oice
I "ight teach others also.B ;otice what he is saying here' that by his !oice he could teach
others also. He is not talking about all speaking' but 2ust si"ply deli!ering the 3ord of
&od or trying to co""unicate with the people. I ha!e ne!er heard e!en the wildest of
5entecostals preach or teach in another tongue. Instead' they use the known language
(here in 7"erica' of course' English, to co""unicate with the people. Therefore' it
"akes a lot of sense when 5aul says that in the church he would rather speak fi!e words
with the understanding so that he could teach others also than ten thousand words in an
unknown tongue. In teaching or preaching' it is i"portant to speak in the known
language. Cet in I 1orinthians 16:*D' he e!en gi!es a place for tongues in the church. It
says:
/f any man speak in an unkno*n tongue, let it be by t*o, or at the most by three, and that
by course3 and let one interpret.
This is gi!ing the proper order of the use of the gift of tongues in the church and also the
gift of interpretation of tongues. There are those' then' who will say' A3ell' all tongues
then ha!e to be interpreted.B ;o' he is 2ust here referring to the ti"es in which &od
speaks to us through tongues and interpretation of tongues. If all tongues had to be
interpreted' there would ha!e been interpretation on the #ay of 5entecost' at 1ornelius$
house' and at Ephesus. 9ut as belie!ers are bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit' there apparently is
no need for the interpretation of that tongue. The purpose of the tongue at that ti"e is
e!idential. 9ut the purpose to which 5aul is referenced in !erse *D is another'
undoubtedly' that of &od speaking to us through tongues and then the interpretation of
the sa"e.
One young lady said to "e' AI don$t belie!e in speaking with other tongues because the
9ible says' J@et all things be done decently and in order.$ A %he was referring' of course'
to I 1orinthians 16:6/.
I i""ediately said to her' A9ut you "ust consider the !erse 2ust preceding that' !erse ?0'
where it says' J3herefore' brethren' co!et to prophesy' and forbid not to speak with
(other, tongues.$B Or a better translation of it is' A8uit forbidding to speak with other
tongues.B E!idently there were so"e anti1haris"atics in the early church' and 5aul was
writing to the" under the inspiration of the Holy %pirit and saying' A8uit forbidding
speaking with other tongues.B That young lady did not understand &od$s 3ord regarding
the sub2ect. %he was not a work"an that could rightly di!ide the word of truth.
I a" sure that I ha!e not con!eyed all of the 8uestions a person "ight be asked in
witnessing on this great sub2ect of the baptis" in the %pirit. Howe!er' I feel these are the
key 8uestions which a person will be asked.
THE VALUE OF TONGUES
;ow I want to de!ote ti"e to a !ery positi!e side of this whole thing: the !alue of
praying in other tongues. There are "any who will ask' AIs speaking with tongues 2ust a
gibberish' or 2ust an e"otional releaseHB I want you to know that speaking with other
tongues is far "ore than gibberish' and it is far "ore than an e"otional release. It is an
intelligent utterance guided by the Holy %pirit Hi"self. Fan has ne!er spoken as
intelligently as he does when he speaks with other tongues.
In l 1orinthians 16:16' 1>' 5aul says:
!or if / pray in an unkno*n tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
What is it then> / *ill pray *ith the spirit, and / *ill pray *ith the understanding also: /
*ill sing *ith the spirit, and #*ill sing *ith the understanding also.
5aul here is showing two different ways of praying and two different ways of singing. In
!erse 16' he "akes it !ery clear what he is referring to. He said' AIf I pray in this kind of a
tongue' an unknown tongue' "y spirit prays all right' by "y understanding is unfruitful.B
Or another translation is' AIt 2ust doesn$t produce anything.B In!erse 1>' he asks' A3hat is
it thenHB or in other words' A3hat will I do about itHB He said' A1 will pray with the
spirit.B ;otice as an act of his will' AI will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the
understanding' also. I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the understanding'
also.B Two different ways of praying. One reason I a" e"phasi4ing the fact that there are
two different ways of praying is that so "any people are confused about this.
I ha!e had people co"e to "e and say' A1 pray in the %pirit'B and I will reply' AFine'
praise the @ord.B
7nd then they will add' A9ut I don$t speak with tongues.B
I don$t always say anything to the". %o"eti"es I don$t for the sake of not getting into an
argu"ent. 9ut whether I say it or not' I think this: you cannot pro!e you pray in the %pirit
if you don$t speak with tongues. For here 5aul shows that the two are not the sa"e. He
said' AI will pray with the %pirit and I will pray with the understanding also.B 3hen he
adds the word Aalso'B he is clearly di!iding the two. He is not speaking of one and the
sa"e thing. If I say' AI$" going to do this and I$" going to do that also'B I repeat when I
add the word Aalso.B I a" clearly di!iding the two. I a" not saying there is no work of
the Holy %pirit in a person$s life before he or she speaks with tongues. There is e!en a
work of the Holy %pirit in the sinner$s life' leading hi" to the @ord )esus 1hrist. In
Ephesians 1:1?' it says:
/n *hom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the *ord of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in *hom also after that ye believed, ye *ere sealed *ith that Holy 9pirit of
promise.
1ertainly as a person accepts the @ord )esus 1hrist' the %pirit of &od begins to work in a
!ariety of ways in his life' 9ut' 5aul definitely says here that praying with the spirit is not
praying with the understanding and !ice !ersa. %o' there are two different ways of
praying: praying with the %pirit which' of course' would be praying in tonguesE and'
praying with the understanding or' in other words' in the known language.
PROPER PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT
3e "ake a state"ent in 1hristian circles which is fine' if it is 8ualified. 3e say' A&od
answers prayer.B Howe!er' &od does not answer all prayer. The 9ible states in )a"es
>:1> that the prayer of faith shall sa!e the sick and the @ord will raise the" up. It doesn$t
say that the prayer of unbelief will produce anything' but instead the prayer of faith shall
sa!e the sick. 7nd in Fark 11:*6' it says that whate!er we desire when we pray' we shall
belie!e that we recei!e it' and we shall ha!e it. 7lso' in )a"es 6:?' it says that we ask and
recei!e not because we ask a"iss or' in other words' apart fro" the will of &od.
7 friend of "ine called "e one day and said: A)oe' an e-business partner of "ine has
swindled "e out of N11'///. I ha!e this in the hands of an attorney' but he gi!es "e !ery
little hope of winning the case. I don$t 2ust want to win a lawsuit' but I need the "oney
for in!est"ents co"ing up.B He then said' AI would like to pray with you about it o!er
the phone and see if &od has anything to say regarding the "atter.B
3e prayed and then &od ga!e "e a prophetic word. I don$t re"e"ber the whole
"essage' but part of it said this: AForget about the "oney and pray about the "an$s soul.B
That "an had been "ore concerned about the N1 1'/// than he was about the other "an$s
soul. The weightier "atter with &od was the fact that a "an$s soul was perishing. The
9ible teaches that e!en all of the wealth of the world co"bined is not the e8ui!alent of
one soul. The 9ible also says that we are to seek first the kingdo" of &od and His
righteousness and then all of these things shall be added unto us: "aterial things' etc.
This "an got his prayer directed in the right way' and in four days$ ti"e' he had his
"oney. 5re!iously' he had been "issing the will of &od. 7nd' I daresay' a "a2ority of
people would ha!e "issed &od in the sa"e way. It is 2ust hu"an nature to center in on
our own needs and pray about the" rather than the e!en deeper needs of so"eone else.
This "an had been "issing the will of &od in his hu"an thinking and understanding.
9ut' the Holy %pirit does not "iss on one fraction of one percent of the will of &od. He
knows e-actly the will of the Hea!enly Father and the will of our @ord )esus 1hrist and
will pray accordingly e!ery ti"e. Fany people say' A3ell' I 2ust pray' J&od' Cour will be
done.$ A Ces' of course' we want the will of &od to be done' but there are ti"es in which
the %pirit of &od wants to "ake intercession through us and pray "ore specifically about
the proble". In .o"ans +:*6*D' &od shows us what His will is in this "atter of praying.
It says:
-ike*ise the 9pirit also helpeth our infirmities: for *e kno* not *hat *e should pray for
as *e ought: but the 9pirit itself maketh intercession for us *ith groanings *hich cannot
be uttered.
0nd he that searcheth the hearts kno*eth *hat is the mind of the 9pirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the *ill of God. save ,im:s soul.
In the beginning of "y charis"atic "inistry' I was seated beside a "an at a ho"e prayer
"eeting. I knew at least part of this "an$s proble". His wife had left hi" the year before
and was !ery antagonistic toward hi". %o"eone said later she wouldn$t e!en gi!e hi"
the ti"e of day. They had been di!orced for about a year and she had the children with
her. %he had been guilty of an affair with another "an' but despite all of that' this
husband said that he lo!ed her and wanted her to co"e back. I felt led of the Holy %pirit
to turn to hi" and say' AIf you will begin to pray e-cessi!ely in other tongues' &od will
work out the proble".B I told hi" this' and he went ho"e and prayed all night long. +1.
He testified later that as he was at work the ne-t day' he was praying in tongues under his
breath as the custo"ers ca"e in' and he said' AThey couldn$t possibly ha!e heard "e' but
one after another they began to ask 8uestions about &od.B 7pparently' the$ at"osphere
was per"eated with the presence of &od.
5aul says here the Holy %pirit will help us in our ti"e of infir"ity' or a better translation
of that word is Aweakness.B 3hat is the weaknessH He specifically says in !erse *6' AFor
we know not what we should pray for as we ought.B 9ut at a ti"e such as that' the Holy
%pirit will "ake intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 7nd in !erse
*D' he says' AHe that searches the hearts knows what is the "ind of the %pirit.B ;otice it
is the "ind of the %pirit which is "entioned here' not our "ind. It is not our "ind that
1ounts so "uch' anyway. Instead it is the "ind of the %pirit' because He' the Holy %pirit'
"akes intercession for the saints according to the will of &od. This is the way in which
we can know at all ti"es that we are praying in &od$s will.
)esus said in )ohn D:?+' AHe that belie!eth on "e' as the scripture hath said' out of his
belly shall flow ri!ers of li!ing water.B 7 better translation of this' AOut of the inner"ost
being shall flow ri!ers of li!ing water.B I belie!e that "an was ha!ing a ri!er flowing
forth fro" within hi". Ces' the %pirit of &od was praying fro" within his spirit. It was
co"ing out' of course' through his "outh and ascending on up to the Hea!enly Father.
7pparently' howe!er' it was also per"eating the at"osphere of the roo". 5eople beca"e
&odconscious as they walked into that roo"' without reali4ing why.
That e!ening he called his wife' and she was as antagonistic as e!er' but he continued to
pray "uch in tongues for the rest of the week. On Friday' his wife called hi" for the first
ti"e in o!er a year' the first ti"e in which she had initiated a con!ersation with hi". Her
attitude had co"pletely changed.
On Fonday of the ne-t week' she called and asked for prayer' and within a short period
of ti"e' the couple was back together again. The %pirit of &od had worked as a "aster
psychiatrist. How beautiful it is when the %pirit works in this way. Cou know that "an
had been concerned about his wife' and' undoubtedly' prayed "any other ti"es for her'
but probably "ost of the ti"e with his understanding. 9ut when he allowed the %pirit to
"ake intercession' things began to happen.
I "entioned that the Holy %pirit works as a "aster psychiatrist. He knows e!ery proble".
He knows e-actly how it all started. He knows whether it started at age three' or age fi!e'
or whene!er. He knows e!erything that is necessary about the situation' and he can work
so effecti!ely.
7 wo"an heard "e speak along these lines and decided that she would pray in tongues
for her alcoholic brother. %o"eone "ight 8uestion' A3ell' how could she pray in tongues
regarding her brother if she didn$t know what she was praying aboutHB I$" sure we
cannot pro!e scripturally that e!ery ti"e we lift our !oice in tongues we are praying
about a known situation' for the 9ible says in I 1orinthians 16:* that in the %pirit' we
speak "ysteries. 9ut I look at it this way. The 9ible does say it is out of our spirit that we
pray. Therefore' whate!er is the burden of our heart is in all probability that which &od
takes up by this prayer in the %pirit. 9ut I look at it further this way. E!en if I a" praying
about a nati!e in 7frica as I pray in the %pirit <so"eone perhaps that I ha!e ne!er "et <
and I think instead that I a" praying about so"e situation closer to ho"e' if I will allow
"yself to be used as a !essel' I belie!e that &od will not only "eet the need of the nati!e
in 7frica' but also "y need.
The wo"an began to pray in other tongues. %he prayed "uch in tongues for about three
days. On the third night after she had begun to pray in tongues' her brother had poured
hi"self a drink. He said later' AI tried to take that drink and I couldn$t.B He had been
in!ited to the "eeting that sa"e night where I was speaking' but he said later' AI had no
interest in co"ing.B 7fter he tried to take the drink and he couldn$t' he said: AThis is
cra4y. I$ll ha!e to go to the bar and get drunk.B He got in his pickup truck and started for
the bar. To get to the bar' he had to pass the church parking lot. He said that e!ening
when he got e!en with the church parking lot' the wheels of that pickup began to turn'
and !ery shortly he found hi"self parked beside the church. He got out and ca"e in. I
saw hi" co"e through the double doors in the back. He had a !ery wild look on his face.
There was a center aisle in the sanctuary' and he stood looking down the aisle toward the
pulpit for about a "inute before he went o!er and sat down in the back of the church and
put his face in his hands.
The pastor stopped e!erything and said: A;ate' &od is dealing with you. Cou need to
co"e forward and gi!e your heart to )esus 1hrist.B ;ate did not "ake a "o!e at that
"o"ent' but the sister who had prayed for hi" got up and went back where he was. %he
took hi" by the hand' and led hi" to the front. He accepted the @ord )esus 1hrist and
was instantly deli!ered fro" alcoholis". @ater' he was bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit' and I
heard later he had begun to preach the gospel of our @ord )esus 1hrist. That wo"an is so
thankful that she allowed the Holy %pirit to "ake intercession through her.
7n Episcopalian surgeon who speaks with other tongues was in!ited by a pastor in one of
our %outhwestern cities to go to the hospital and pray for a "an who was apparently
dying. 3hen the doctor and the pastor arri!ed at the hospital' the attending physician on
the case and a nurse were in the roo". The two doctors were introduced to each other'
and the attending physician said: A#octor' I a" at "y wit$s end. I don$t know what to do
in this case. If you ha!e anything to share with "e regarding this' please do so.B
The other doctor listened as the attending physician e-plained the case and then he
replied: AI do not know any "ore than you' "edically' about what to do. 9ut I a" a
1hristianE I belie!e in prayer' and I would like to pray for the "an.B
The other doctor said' AFine' this "an needs help.B Howe!er' he did not know how this
1hristian doctor was going to pray. The doctor went o!er' reached under the o-ygen tent'
took the patient by the hand' and began to pray in other tongues. He prayed in tongues for
fortyfi!e "inutes before he stopped.
The pastor said later that after awhile he got a"used watching the other doctor and the
nurse. They would look down' they$d look up' they$d look at each other' then look down
again. I$" sure they were thinking: AThis "an is still speaking in this weird language. It
has been thirty "inutes' now' and he "ay possibly go all night.B 9ut after fortyfi!e
"inutes' he felt the burden lift. He stepped away' and in 2ust a few "o"ents' the "an
ca"e out of a co"a and in about three days was pronounced co"pletely well by the other
doctor and sent ho"e. That is effecti!e praying.
7 pastor related the following story to "e: he said that he li!ed in #allas' Te-as' at that
ti"e' and one %unday "orning he was burdened to pray about >:// a.". He said he didn$t
want to get up at that hour. It was before his usual hour of rising' but he couldn$t shake
the burden. Finally' he got up and went into another bedroo" so he would not awaken his
wife. He said that he did not know what to pray for in his own intellectE he 2ust sensed a
burden to pray. He decided to let the Holy %pirit "ake intercession for him. He lifted his
!oice and spoke in tongues for about twenty "inutesE then the burden lifted. He said that
he had 2ust left that bedroo" to go back into the bedroo" where his wife was asleep
when the phone rang. 3hen he answered the phone' it was his sister. %he infor"ed hi"
that a tornado had 2ust swept through the part of #allas where she and their parents li!ed.
%he said it had al"ost totally de"olished the ho"es on each side of the"' but had not
touched their ho"e in any way. Cou would not be able to con!ince that pastor that there
is nothing to this thing of praying with other tongues. He reali4es' of course' how
beneficial it is' and' undoubtedly' his fa"ily was spared as a result.
One pastor who li!ed in %outhern 1alifornia had a "assi!e heart attack on a %unday
"orning. They rushed hi" to the hospital' and one of the best specialists in the whole
area said: AThe heart attack is so "assi!e he cannot possibly sur!i!e. There is no chance
for hi" to li!e.B 3hat they did not reali4e was this: the "an$s brotherin law' who was a
"issionary to 1alcutta' India' was being burdened to pray at that "o"ent. Fro" the way
the story was related to "e' apparently the "issionary did not e!en know what to pray
about. %o' he began to pray in other tongues' and he continued in tongues for a nu"ber of
hours there in India. 3hen his prayer was finished' he felt the burden lift' and the "an in
1alifornia ca"e out of the heart attack co"pletely healed. The "en' being related' were
later able to co"pare notes and by allowing for the difference in ti"e fro" 1alifornia to
India' found out that the brotherinlaw had prayed in the %pirit o!er the sa"e span of
hours that the "an in 1alifornia was on the critical list. That "an can thank &od eternally
that his brotherinlaw knew the !alue of praying in other tongues. 3hat if the brotherin
law had said' as "any do: AOh' there$s nothing to all of this. There$s no need of speaking
with other tongues.BH
One wo"an said to "e' AI ha!e no need of this e-perience' for I ha!e a pretty good
prayer life as it is.B
I replied' A3hat you are saying' then' in essence' is that you can out pray the Holy spirit.B
%he said' AOh' no' I didn$t say that.B
I saidE ACes' you really did. That$s what you said' in essence.B
I belie!e this e-perience is perhaps one of the greatest that anyone can e!er ha!e. It can
be one of the deepest "inistries a person can e!er ha!e' praying things out in the %pirit.
&od is looking for !essels. If you were to enter the sanctuary of a church which belie!es
in this when apparently no one else was around' but heard speaking with other tongues'
you could look and you would find a person so"ewhere. It is not the Holy %pirit o!er in
the corner ho!ering' speaking in tonguesE it is a hu"an being' yielded to the Holy %pirit.
Our body is the te"ple of the Holy %pirit' and He uses us as His !essels.
This e-perience is for people of all deno"inations. ;ot only ha!e there been a "ultitude
of 5rotestants who ha!e recei!ed this e-perience' but also there are "illions of 1atholics
who now speak with other tongues. 7nd so regardless of your deno"inational affiliation'
&od wants you to speak with other tongues. For those of you who will be witnessing
regarding this beautiful e-perience' it is good to be able to answer the 8uestions you "ay
be asked. It is good to know what the scripture has to sayE but also be sure to e"phasi4e
the !alue of praying in other tongues' for this could be that which would cause a person
to beco"e hungry and say' AI want to recei!e.B
In the chapter entitled AHow To .ecei!e The &ift Of The Holy %pirit'B we ha!e a
thorough e-planation of 2ust e-actly how to recei!e. .ead it carefully' and if you ha!e not
recei!ed' you will be able to do so. Or if you ha!e already recei!ed' you will be able to
instruct so"eone else by using the sa"e instructions we gi!e in this lesson.
L$%%&' E)A,*
HOW TO RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
WHY WE SHOULD RECEIVE
The pri"ary purpose of this chapter is to gi!e instructions about how to be filled with the
%pirit. Howe!er' I want to gi!e you so"e reasons why we should recei!e this e-perience.
Fany 1hristians do not reali4e there is an e-perience of the A9aptis" in the Holy %pirit.B
Others ha!e read about such an e-perience but doubt it is for the". %o"e belie!e they are
filled' but do not ha!e the 9iblical e!idence.
1hrist spoke fre8uently about the co"ing of the Holy %pirit and co""anded his disciples
to recei!e the great gift (@uke *6:60 and 7cts 1:6,. The prophets of old foretold of this
blessing to the church (Isaiah *+:11' 1* and )oel *:*+' *0, 5eter pro"ised the %pirit to all
(7cts *:?0,' and 5aul co""anded the Ephesians to recei!e (Eph. >:1+,. Thus we see the
pattern:
a. 5rophesied (Isaiah *+:11'1* and )oel *:*+'*0,
b. 5ro"ised (Fatt. ?:11E )ohn D:?0E )ohn 16:1>1DE )ohn 16:*6E )ohn 1>:*6E )ohn
16:DE )ohn 16:1?E and 7cts *:?0,
c. 1o""anded (@uke *6:60E 7cts 1:6E 7cts *:?+'?0E Eph. >:1+E and Hebrews 6:1
with Isaiah *+:11'1*,
d. %ent and .ecei!ed (7cts *:6E 7cts +:1DE 7cts 1/:66 and 7cts 10:6,
3ho are we to withstand &odH If the 7postles and the early church needed to be filled' so
do we.
5eter and )ohn went to the %a"aritans (7cts +:161D, 7nanias went to %aul (7cts
0:1D'1+, 5eter went to 1ornelius$ household (7cts 1/:?/66, 5aul went to the Ephesians
(7cts 10:16, all for the purpose that those to who" they went "ight be filled with the
Holy %pirit.
5aul asked the Ephesians' AHa!e ye recei!ed the Holy &host since ye belie!edHB I ask'
AHa!e youHB
YOU MUST BE A CHRISTIAN
7 person "ust be a 1hristian to be a candidate for the in filling of the Holy %pirit. )ohn
16:1D says' AE!en the %pirit of truthE who" the world cannot recei!e' because it seeth
hi" not' neither knoweth hi": but ye know hi"E for he dwelleth with you' and shall be in
you.B In )ohn D:?+' 1hrist pro"ised the Holy %pirit to AHe that belie!eth on "e.B 5eter
declared to the )ews on the #ay of 5entecost' A.epent and be bapti4ed e!ery one of you
in the na"e of )esus 1hrist for the re"ission of sins and ye shall recei!e the gift of the
Holy &host.B Fro" these scriptures we see Jthe necessity of sal!ation.
I reali4e the "a2ority of those who desire to be filled with the %pirit are 1hristians.
Howe!er' I recogni4e the possibility of so"eone reading this book who is not. If you
ha!e not been sa!ed "ay I suggest you read the third chapter of )ohn' and .o"ans 1/:0'
1/. Then go to a "inister or a born again 1hristian and ha!e the" e-plain the full plan of
sal!ation.
If you are a 1hristian but ha!e not been bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit' "ay I assure you that
&od will fill you with this power. 1o"e to Hi" belie!ing' and with a sincere heart and
desire.
TONGUES <THE EVIDENCE
The second step toward recei!ing the Holy %pirit is the recognition of speaking with
other tongues as the initial physical e!idence. 7cts *:6 reads' A7nd they were all filled
with the Holy &host' and began to speak with other tongues' as the %pirit ga!e the"
utterance.B Cou cannot deny this after you study the 3ord of truth.
Fany ask' A3hy do you e"phasi4e tongues so "uchHB The answer is si"ple. 9ecause so
"any balk at the idea of speaking with other tongues. If a choir continually has difficulty
with a certain passage in a song' the director "ust e"phasi4e it in rehearsal if he e!er
hopes for a co"plete perfor"ance. Therefore' if people ha!e difficulty in accepting
tongues' we "ust e"phasi4e the i"portance of the". %o"e candidates for the Holy %pirit
will in8uire' A#o I ha!e to speak with tonguesHB Others want the e-perience of tongues
but already clai" the 9aptis" in the Holy %pirit. They are seeking tongues as a separate
e-perience. It is not a separate e-perience' but the e!idence of being filled with the %piritG
On what part of the 3ord do I base this state"entH
%peaking with tongues was the response of the early 1hristians when they recei!ed the
Gift of the Holy &host. On the #ay of 5entecost (7cts *:6, Athey were all filled with the
Holy &host and began to speak with tongues . The )ews who were with 5eter at
1ornelius$ house (7cts 1/:6666, were astonished because the gift of the Holy %pirit was
poured out on the &entiles also' for they heard the" speak with tongues ... . 3hen 5aul
went to the Ephesians (7cts 10:6, he laid hands on the" and they spoke with tonguesG
The other recorded case of a group recei!ing the Holy %pirit is in 7cts +:1D. 7lthough it
does not say they spoke in tongues' so"ething of this nature is i"plied. %i"on
i""ediately wanted to buy 5eter$s and )ohn$s power' for it was as a result of their laying
on of hands that the Holy &host was gi!en. It is significant that %i"on wanted to
purchase their power. %o"ething pheno"enal "ust ha!e happenedG Their answer to
%i"on "ay gi!e us a clue. They told hi" his "oney would perish with hi" for the gift of
&od could not be purchased with "oney' and they further stated Ayou ha!e neither part
nor lot in this "atter.B The word A"atterB in the &reek is the sa"e as is translated
AutteranceB in other passages' suggesting Aspeech.B This would certainly i"ply the sa"e
pheno"ena of tongues as the other groups had recei!ed. These e-periences of the early
1hristians <when they were filled with the %pirit <certainly show speaking with other
tongues in e!idence. Howe!er' we ha!e "ore than these accounts.
Isaiah prophesied the outpouring of the Holy %pirit. In the *+th chapter' !erses 11 and 1*
we read' AFor with sta""ering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To
who" he said' AThis is the rest wherewith ye "ay cause the weary to restE and this is the
refreshing: yet they would not hear.B In this prophecy &od states that sta""ering lips
and other tongues is the Arest.B This state"ent beco"es !ery significant as we study
about &od$s rest for His people in the book of Hebrews. In the 6th chapter' !erse 1' we
ha!e an ad"onition and warning which e!ery 1hristian should heed: A@et us therefore
fear' lest' a pro"ise being left us of entering into his rest' any of you should see" to
co"e short of it.B In other words the writer to the Hebrews is saying' A#on$t "iss being
filled with the 16 Holy %pirit' which is e!idenced by speaking with other tongues.B 7lso
we read in Fark 16:1D that speaking with new tongues is one of the signs that shall
follow the" that belie!e.
5robably the "ost con!incing scripture of all is in 5eter$s defense to the )ews. The )ews
were contending with 5eter regarding his preaching to the &entiles at 1ornelius$ house.
In 7cts 11:1>1D 5eter has this to say: A7nd as I began to speak' the Holy &host fell on
the"' as on us at the beginning. Then re"e"bered I the way of the @ord' how that he
said' )ohn indeed bapti4ed with waterE but ye shall be bapti4ed with the Holy &host.
Foras"uch then as &od ga!e the" the like gift as he did unto us' who belie!ed on the
@ord )esus 1hristE what was I' that I could withstand &odHB .e"e"ber that 5eter and
those with hi" had no indication of anything happening to the &entiles until they heard
the" speaking with other tongues while 5eter was still speaking. (7cts 1/:6666.,
.eader' if you settle for anything less than an infilling acco"panied by other tongues'
you cannot clai" the 9aptis" in the Holy %pirit according to &od$s 3ord. It is i"portant
that we rightly di!ide the 3ord of truth to recei!e &od$s blessings. This includes the
glorious gift of the Holy %pirit.
RECEIVE BY FAITH
<Co* faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. This
applies to recei!ing the Holy %pirit 2ust as it does to sal!ation or di!ine healing. %o "any
are trying to be filled by other "ethods' but &od$s 3ord declares it is by faith we
recei!e. Fark 11:*6 says' A3hat things soe!er ye desire when you pray' belie!e that ye
recei!e the"' and ye shall ha!e the".B
Fore specifically' 5aul asked the &alatians' <#his only *ould / learn of you, received ye
the 9pirit by the *orks of the la*, or by hearing of faith> (&alatians ?:*., Then in !erse
16 of the sa"e chapter we ha!e the answer' AThat the blessing of 7braha" "ight co"e
on the &entiles through )esus 1hristE that we "ight recei!e the pro"ise of the= %pirit
through faith.B Fy e-perience has been that when I can get people to e-ercise faith' they
recei!e the Holy %pirit 8uickly and easily.
9ut how do I get faithH This is the co""on plea of 1hristians. There is but one sourceG
The 3ord of &od. .o"ans 1/:1D states: AFaith co"eth by hearing and hearing by the
3ord of &od.B Faith "ust be based on &od$s 3ord. &od does not e-pect us to belie!e
beyond His 3ord. Fany are trying to blindly e-ercise a faith that does not ha!e the 3ord
as a foundation. Cou will only recei!e &od$s gift of the %pirit when you follow the 9ible.
AI belie!e the Holy %pirit is for "e but I ha!e not recei!ed it.B A3hy hasn$t &od filled "e
yetHB If you belie!e but ha!e not recei!ed' it is because you ha!e not acted. Faith is in
two parts: belief and action. They are e8ually i"portant. To illustrate this: 7 "an can
ha!e a thousand dollars on deposit in a bank. He can belie!e that it will be in his
possession if he writes a check' but his belief will not produce results until he acts.
;ow that I ha!e established the necessity for both belief and action in our faith' let us
learn how to belie!e and act. 3e will go to the 3ord for our lesson. *>. I belie!e this
e-perience is for us because of the prophecies' pro"ises' and e-a"ples in the 9ible. )oel
prophesied that A&od would pour out His %pirit on all flesh.B ()oel *:*+' *0., ... 5eter
said' AThis pro"ise is unto you' and to your children' and to all that are afar off, e!en as
"any as the @ord our &od shall call.B (7cts *:?0., 7nd then we ha!e the e-a"ples of the
early 1hristians recei!ing.
Howe!er' one of the greatest faith inspiring passages is one of the pro"ises of 1hrist
Hi"self. In @uke 11:111? we read the words of )esus: </f a son shall ask bread of any
of you that is a father, *ill he give him a stone> @r if he ask a fish, *ill he for a fish give
him a serpent> @r if he shall ask an egg, *ill he offer him a scorpion> /f ye then, being
evil, kno* ho* to give good gifts unto your children: ho* much more shall your
Heavenly !ather give the Holy 9pirit to them that ask Him> The words how "uch "ore
certainly gi!e us an indication of the willingness of the Father to bestow this gift on us.
#o you belie!e &od$s 3ord is trueH If so' you "ust belie!e the 9aptis" in the Holy
%pirit is for you. The 3ord declares itG
I belie!e' but how do I actH Fany of you are probably asking this 8uestion now. It has
been "y e-perience that it is usually harder to get so"eone to act than it is to get the" to
belie!e. Fre8uently this is so because people do not know how to act.
AThey were all filled with the Holy &host and began to speak with other tongues' as the
%pirit ga!e the" utterance.B @et u e-a"ine closely what happened. AThey were all filledB
... this is what happened to the". A7nd began to speakB ... this is what they did. A7s the
%pirit ga!e the" utteranceB ... this is what the %pirit did. That second state"ent is
interesting' Aand began to speak.B They is the sub2ect of the sentence so it says they
began to speak. They' and not the Holy %pirit. A9ut I thought it was the Holy %pirit that
did the speakingHB That is the trouble with us "any ti"es. 3e think the 3ord says one
thing and it says another. E!ery ti"e that speaking with tongues is "entioned in the
9ible' it says they spoke. ;ot once does it say the %pirit spoke for a person.
This is a truth "any candidates for the infilling of the Holy %pirit ha!e "issed. There is
no "iracle in the fact that I speak English' because I a" a nati!e 7"erican. Howe!er' if I
begin to speak a language I ha!e not learned' it is a "iracle. The speaking is not the
"iracle but what I a" speaking' the unknown language' is the "iracle. This is what
happens when we are filled with the %pirit. 3e begin to speak a language we do not
know as the Holy %pirit gi!es the utterance. He will gi!e you the words but it is your
responsibility to speak the". This is an operation of faith.
A9ut how can I speak words I ha!e ne!er heard beforeHB Only by faith. .e"e"ber' our
responsibility is to speak and it is the sole responsibility of the Holy %pirit to gi!e the
words. #o not worry if the words are correct. @ea!e that to the %pirit. He is efficient and
knows thoroughly the language he wants you to speak. )ust lift your !oice and begin to
speak' belie!ing the sounds and words which co"e forth are fro" the Holy &host. He
will not fail you' if you are sincere.
A9ut what if they are not !ery clear or coherentHB @et "e illustrate. 3e can "u"ble
English or speak distinctly. The clearness of our speech depends on us. To capture the
beauty of the language' I "ust use "y lips' 2aws' tongue' etc.' correctly and fully. The
Holy &host will guide your tongue and lips but you "ust keep the" "o!ing and continue
to pro2ect your !oice. One young "an to who" I "inistered in recei!ing the gift of the
%pirit' began to speak in tongues but kept his lips in a stationary position. This "ade it
i"possible for hi" to pronounce the letters Ab'B A"'B Ap'B etc.' and greatly reduced the
clarity of his speech. He was as "uch filled with the Holy spirit as I a"' although I was
speaking "uch "ore clearly. 3e do not ha!e proof that all of the early 1hristians spoke
fluently and clearly. 5erhaps so"e of the" spoke haltingly but ne!ertheless were as filled
as the others. 3hen a baby says his first word' we say he has spoken and do not 8uestion
the lack of clarity or "ultiplicity of words.
5robably "any of you reading this book are 2ust now reali4ing how to act on your faith. If
you are hungry to recei!e this glorious gift fro" &od' why don$t you go to prayer nowH
)ust tell the Hea!enly Father that you know His 3ord is true' and that He is "ore willing
to gi!e the Holy %pirit than we are to gi!e good gifts to our children' Then say' A@ord' I
a" asking you for your great gift of the Holy %pirit according to @uke 11:1?. I now
recei!e because I belie!e in "y heart. ;ow I a" going to co"plete "y faith by acting as
the early 1hristians did by speaking forth in other tongues.B Then lift your !oice in faith
to &od and begin to speak whate!er sounds and words co"e forth. #o not speak English
because you can$t speak English and another language at the sa"e ti"e. #o not fear' but
speak out boldly fro" deep within you' for that is where the Holy %pirit is. #o not
8uestion the words' but 2ust speak the" and re2oice that you are now filled with &od$s
Holy %pirit.
If you ha!e belie!ed in your heart and ha!e spoken with your "outh unknown words'
your e-perience is as 9iblical as that of the 7postles and disciples. Cou now ha!e a right
as a spiritfilled 1hristian to speak in tongues daily' and you will be edified as you do so.
.e"e"ber' COI control the speaking and there will be no further "anifestations unless
COI speak.
If you ha!e still not acted upon your faith' read the following chapters and I belie!e they
will help you.
DOUBTS AND FEARS
One %unday "orning in a church ser!ice &od ga!e "e a "ar!elous re!elation in the
%pirit. 7s I sat on the platfor" I noticed that one of the young "arried wo"en in the
congregation had co"bed her hair o!er her eyes. 7s I continued to look I reali4ed it was
"ore of an eclipse of the top half of her head. I could see her eyes and forehead barely
through the ha4e. 7t first I thought it "ight be the lighting but others close by were
co"pletely !isible' so I dispelled that idea. I then began to think this was a supernatural
re!elation fro" &od. That e!ening in the ser!ice I saw the sa"e pheno"ena again. I told
her about it after the ser!ice' still not knowing what it was about. The ne-t "orning I
learned that she had not been filled with the Holy %pirit. Her "otherinlaw and I went to
her ho"e that afternoon and began to talk to her about recei!ing the Holy %pirit. 7s we
talked she began to re!eal the fear she had. %he had belie!ed that a person could not be
filled until he or she reached a state of near perfection. .eali4ing that she had not reached
this place as yet and reali4ing the i"probability of it in the future' she had doubted if she
would e!er recei!e. %uddenly I reali4ed this was why &od had shown "e the darkness
about her "ind. Those were the doubts and fears %atan had plagued her with. I had
supernaturally seen the #e!il at work. 7fter we dispelled the fears with the light of &od$s
3ord' she recei!ed instantly.
In II 1orinthians 1/:> we are ad"onished to <cast do*n imaginations and every high
thing that e.alteth itself against the kno*ledge of God. E!ery high thing ... this i"plies
so"ething that is perhaps e!en !ery reasonable. %atan works in this way. He will bring
logical and reasonable thoughts and doubts that do not agree with the 3ord. He will e!en
talk against hi"self if he can keep you fro" recei!ing what &od has for you. Fany ha!e
told "e' AI felt an urge to speak in tongues but I was afraid it "ight be the #e!il.B That
was the #e!il gi!ing you that thought. The only ti"e we need to fear %atan is if we are
not sincere or are not a child of &od. @uke 11:111? shows how we would not play a
har"ful trick on our children' and can e-pect an e!en greater display of protection fro"
the Hea!enly Father. If you are sincerely seeking &od' He will not let the #e!il substitute
an inferior or dangerous gift.
There are "any other fears and doubts %atan "ay bring your way. These are a few: AI$"
afraid it will 2ust be "e'B A"aybe I ha!e too "uch pride'B Athere is so"ething in "y life'B
Aperhaps I ha!e not prayed long and hard enough'B A"aybe I ha!e selfish desires for
recei!ing'B Ait$s not &od$s ti"e yet'B AI$" not good enough.B #o you notice how "any
of these start with A"aybeHB This is a trick of %atan to keep you doubting and wondering.
I will now deal indi!idually but briefly with each of these doubts.
AI$" afraid it will 2ust be "e.B 5art of it will be. Cou will do the speaking. #on$t worry
about the rest of it. That belongs to the Holy %pirit anyway. Cou e-ercise faith' and
belie!e that &od is true to His 3ord' and that e!ery word you speak is gi!en of the %pirit.
AFaybe I ha!e too "uch pride.B This is doubtful but I suppose it is possible. If you ha!e
so "uch pride that it has beco"e a sin' 2ust confess it and according to I )ohn 1:0 accept
&od$s forgi!eness. This !erse was written to 1hristians. 1lai" it for yourself and forget
about the proble" of pride. This is also true for the person who wonders Aif I a" good
enoughB or Athere is so"ething in "y life.B First we ha!e no righteousness in oursel!es
(.o"ans ?:1/,. It is only through &od$s "ercy and grace that we can recei!e this
glorious gift. %econd' if you ha!e been tor"ented by these thoughts' confess any
shortco"ings and forget about the". .e"e"ber' 5eter was far fro" perfect' but &od
filled hi" with the Holy &host and allowed hi" to be the first %piritfilled preacher of the
early church.
A5erhaps I ha!e not prayed long and hard enough.B 7fter the #ay of 5entecost there is no
indication that anyone tarried or waited in prayer for the infilling of the %pirit. The 9ible
says Awhen the #ay of 5entecost was fully co"e.B This undoubtedly was the day &od
had chosen for the initial outpouring of the Holy %pirit' the beginning of the fulfill"ent of
)oel$s prophecy. 3hat happened on the #ay of 5entecost has continued until the present
and will do so until )esus co"es. The .i!er of &od has been flowing since that #ay and
all the belie!er has to do is plunge in by faith. #o not wait on the @ord. He is waiting on
you. ;ow is &od$s ti"e for you to recei!eG
AFaybe I ha!e selfish desires for wanting to recei!e.B This is a fa!orite trick of the
ene"y. I ha!e 8uestioned those who ha!e !oiced this fear. They usually say' A3ell' I 2ust
want the Holy %pirit for a help in "y 1hristian life.B He was sent that you "ight recei!e
power and edification. If it is selfish to want to be a better 1hristian perhaps it is selfish
to desire to be sa!ed. How absurd to think that a sinner should re2ect sal!ation because he
wants to sa!e hi"self. It is e8ually absurd for the candidate for the %pirit to be fooled by
this doubt.
.e2ect all these doubts and fears and accept by faith that which &od has so graciously
gi!en. 9e filled todayG
TESTIMONIES
5ersonal testi"onies of being filled with the Holy %pirit are thrilling and inspiring.
Howe!er' these sa"e testi"onies can hinder the one who has not recei!ed if they are not
8ualified by the 3ord. 3hat I a" saying is this: there is only one e!idence to the infilling
of the %pirit and that is speaking with other tongues. 7ny other e-perience recei!ed at the
ti"e we are filled is a bonus blessing. One will testify' A3hen I recei!ed' a war" feeling
settled o!er "y head and shoulders.B 7nother will say' AI had a !ision of )esus and wa!es
of 2oy and peace flooded "y soul.B 5erhaps there was a sensation like walking on air' or
!ery little awareness of the natural surroundings. 7nother will say' AI 2ust couldn$t stop
speaking.B
I re2oice with those who" &od has "et in such a wonderful way' but these e-periences
are the e-ception rather than the rule. The "a2ority of people do not recei!e any
"iraculous e-perience apart fro" speaking with tongues. This is the only e!idence we
should seek. #o not be disappointed if you only speak in tongues and do not ha!e any
other dra"atic e-perience.
Those who recei!ed on the #ay of 5entecost were so affected by the power of the %pirit
that accusations of drunkenness were le!eled against the". There is no indication'
though' that the Ephesians' %a"aritans' or 1ornelius and his household had such an
e-perience. The only co""on deno"inator was the speaking with other tongues. #o not
e-pect "ore or settle for less than a 9ible e-perience that includes tongues.
SIGNS
I recei!ed a call one e!ening fro" so"e friends who told "e of a 9aptist "issionary who
wanted to be filled with the Holy %pirit. I arranged for a "eeting later that e!ening. 7fter
a period of instruction I laid hands on hi" and he began to speak with tongues. 7fter he
had finished' he said' AThis e-plains what happened last night when I was praying. E!ery
ti"e I ca"e to the word J@ord$ or J1hrist$ a cra4y word ca"e out.B This was his way of
e-plaining it. The Holy %pirit had tried to get hi" to go ahead and speak. I find this is
true with "any candidates. ;ot that their e-perience was identical' but there would be
so"e sign of the pro"pting of the %pirit upon their !oice or lips.
%o"e of the signs which "ay appear are: a 8ui!ering of the lips' a thickening of the
tongue' a sensation of unknown words in the "outh' a strong urge to say so"ething that
isn$t English' a lu"p in the throat. Others say' AIt see"ed that I sensed so"ething unusual
on the inside of "e.B One "an said' AThere were words in "y "outh' so "any it see"ed
as if bees were bu44ing in there.B 7 wo"an said' AFany ti"es there were words that
see"ed to co"e to "e but I was afraid they were 2ust ones I had heard others speak.B
I re"e"ber one particularly significant instance of the "o!ing of the %pirit. I was
instructing this "an in recei!ing the Holy spirit and obser!ed an apparent speech
i"pedi"ent as he answered "y 8uestions. It was the first ti"e I had "et hi" and
assu"ed this was his natural speech. Howe!er' in a short ti"e he was filled with the
%pirit and after he had finished speaking with tongues' he had no speech defect. He spoke
English clearly. The %pirit had been "o!ing on hi" before we e!en prayed.
These are the pro"ptings of the Holy %pirit. He wants you to speak in tongues and is
trying gently to get you to yield. 3hen I say yield' I don$t "ean 2ust to sit back and let
the %pirit do it all' but rather to encourage the %pirit$s pro"pting by acting upon it. $;.
#o not be dis"ayed or discouraged if you ha!e not had one or "ore of these signs. )ust
as each of us is an indi!idual' the e-perience we each ha!e will also be indi!idual. Fany
people recei!e without ha!ing had any ad!ance notice of the "o!ing of the %pirit upon
the". They 2ust recei!e by faith. Howe!er' if you ha!e noticed so"e of these things
happening' recogni4e it as of &od and yield your !oice to the Holy %pirit by speaking
forth as He gi!es the utterance.
MY TESTIMONY
I feel that "y testi"ony "ight help so"e that are discouraged in their search to be filled.
I was sa!ed at the age of nine. Kery shortly after sal!ation I began to reali4e the need of
being bapti4ed in the Holy %pirit. I knew that a 1hristian should be filled with the %pirit'
but I did not know how to recei!e. Fany tried to instruct "e but usually succeeded in
confusing "e.
A@et the Holy %pirit speak.B 3hen they would say this' I would stop speaking and lea!e
"y "outh open waiting for the %pirit to speak. ;o one e!er told "e that I would ha!e to
speak as the %pirit ga!e the words. Others would say' A&et down to business with &od.B
7lthough there were ti"es when I was discouraged and not seeking &od' there were
"any ti"es when I was earnestly seeking' and "eant business with &od. 7nother phrase
of instruction that thoroughly confused "e was Ayield to the %pirit.B 7t those ti"es I
would let "y body get as li"p as possible thinking this is what they "eant. Others would
say' A3e will stay with you all night if necessary' so don$t gi!e up.B 7lthough I used to
think this "ight be the answer' I ne!er did stay that long.
Testi"onies also bothered "e. %o"e would say' A3hen I recei!ed I was out in the
%pirit.B I gathered that e!eryone was unconscious when they were filled. I knew I had
ne!er e!en approached such an e-perience. I also had gotten the idea that the e-perience
was so supernatural it see"ed as if a bo"b had burst nearby.
Cears went by. 7s a teenager I felt like an outcast at church. I attended a 5entecostal
church and all of the other teens had been filled with the %pirit. I re"e"ber one of our
group who went to 9ible school and when he ca"e ho"e for the su""er he wanted "e
to tra!el with hi" in e!angelistic work as a "usician. This was e-actly what I had wanted
to do but I refused because I had not been filled with the %pirit. I felt "y lack of
testi"ony would hurt his "inistry.
;o one who has not gone through a si"ilar e-perience will e!er know the terrible
discourage"ent and utter frustration. In Farch of 10>/ our church had an e!angelist
co"e for a re!i!al. There was !ery little if any hope of "y recei!ing the Holy %pirit.
Howe!er' the picture changed on Tuesday night of the first week. The e!angelist spoke
on Kisionary Faith. He said if you want to be filled with the %pirit' 2ust begin to picture
yourself recei!ing. This was easy for "e. I had always been a great daydrea"er. I began
to reali4e that faith would bring into being that for which I had hoped.
The ne-t day a great hunger for the %pirit ca"e into "y heart. I could hardly wait for
ser!ice ti"e. 7fter the ser!ice started I could hardly wait for the in!itation to be gi!en. I
was going down and recei!e the Holy %pirit. I "ade sure I was the first one to the altar.
7fter two or three "inutes of praying so"eone said' A%peak these words: Thank &od for
that instruction.B I was so desperate that I thought to "yself... AI$" going to speak
whether it$s "e or the %pirit.B I still had not reali4ed that I would ha!e to speak. I then
began to speak those words that weren$t English and to "y a"a4e"ent they didn$t cease
to flow as long as I would speak. 7nother thing that pu44led "e was the fact that I could
still hear the others around "e. I wasn$t unconscious.
I had been sa!ed al"ost ten years. I didn$t ha!e to wait ten years because &od wasn$t
ready' but I waited ten years because I ne!er acted in faith until the day I recei!ed. Fay I
e"phatically say again' A#on$t wait on &od' He is ready nowG 7ct by faith' and you will
recei!eGB
(UESTIONS AND ANSWERS
I% *,$ B-3*)%B )' *,$ H&?@ S3).)* - %5G%$H5$'* $<3$.)$'8$ *& %-?9-*)&'!
#efinitely. The #isciples had to recei!e although they were already followers of 1hrist.
The %a"aritans had been bapti4ed in water by 5hilip' but the 3ord says' AFor as yet he
was fallen upon none of the".B Then 5eter and )ohn laid hands on the" and they
recei!ed. 5aul asked the Ephesians' AHa!e you. recei!ed the Holy &host since you
belie!edHB
I% )* %8.)3*5.-? *& ?-@ ,-'1% &' -'&*,$. *& .$8$)9$ *,$ H&?@ S3).)*!
Ces. 5aul laid hands on the Ephesians (7cts 10:6, and 5eter and )ohn laid hands on the
%a"aritans (7cts +:1D,.
A.$ 6$ 8&BB-'1$1 *& G$ /)??$1 6)*, *,$ S3).)*!
1hrist co""anded the disciples (@uke *6:60 and 7cts 1:6,. 5eter co""anded the )ews
(7cts *:?+' ?0,. 5aul co""anded the Ephesians (Eph. >:1+,. I would definitely say we
are included.
I% )* 3&%%)G?$ /&. %&B$&'$ 6,& )% '&* %-9$1 *& G$ /)??$1!
;o. The 9ible does not teach this. )ohn 16:1D says AE!en the %pirit of truth' who" the
world cannot recei!e ... A 7ll the pro"ises were "ade to belie!ers.
I% )* 3&%%)G?$ *& G$ /)??$1 6)*, *,$ S3).)* -'1 '&* %3$-D 6)*, *&'A5$%!
7gain I would answer no. 7s we correlate all the teachings on the Holy %pirit fro" the
#ay of 5entecost on' we see that the e!idence is the speaking with other tongues. I
belie!e when we rightly di!ide the 3ord of truth we can co"e to no other conclusion but
that tongues is the e!idence.
H&6 8-' I D'&6 I -B /)??$1!
9y faith in &od$s 3ord. The only physical e!idence that agrees with the 3ord is
speaking with other tongues. Ha!e faith in your e-perience when you ha!e the 9iblical
e-perience.
H&6 1& I .$8$)9$ *,$ )'/)??)'A &/ *,$ S3).)* G@ faith?
Faith is in two parts: belief and action. First' ask the Hea!enly Father to fill you' and
belie!e that he does according to @uke 11:1?E and then act on your belief by speaking in
other tongues. Cour faith is not co"plete until you act.
S,&5?1 I *-..@ *& G$ /)??$1!
;o. The Holy %pirit' this great and "ighty .i!er of &od' is flowing throughout the
church now. )ust plunge in by faith and en2oy it now instead of waiting.
S,&5?1 I $<3$8* - 1.-B-*)8 $<3$.)$'8$ %58, -% %&B$ .$8$)9$!
#o not seek for "ore or settle for less than a 9ible e-perience. %peaking with other
tongues is the only co""on deno"inator of all infillings of the Holy %pirit. 7nything
additional is a bonus blessing' and "ay or "ay not happen to you. #o not be disappointed
if it doesn$t.
I ,-9$ -' 5.A$ *& %3$-D )' *&'A5$%F G5* )% )* 3&%%)G?$ *,)% )% *,$ D$9)?F &. I5%* B$!
If you ha!e e-perienced sal!ation' it isn$t the #e!il' because he doesn$t want you to
speak in tongues. It is the %pirit pro"pting you to go ahead and enter in. .e2oice and be
filled.