Category Archives: Spiritual Gifts

-Lakeland: So What Now?

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Todd Bentley announced a separation from his wife this week. The blogoshere is full of “see I told you so’s” and “this proves that Lakeland was bogus” tirades.

So what does this mean? Are those folks that were healed now required to give back the blessing? Those who where raised from the dead around the world in response to prayer, are they now required to give up and die? All the folks that I know who received a blessing from the Lakeland Outpouring–are they now supposed to deny that it ever happened?

This is a personal tragedy for Todd and his family. What really bothers me is how gleeful and celebratory some ‘Christians’ are in response to a brother’s difficulty–no it actually make me rather sad and angry at the same time!

The old adage that “we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water” really does apply here. Let’s change the bath water so to speak and let the Revival continue.

Is Todd’s whole ministry and anointing now to be questioned? I was reminded this morning of some of the Judges in the Old Testament that had some personal problems and yet were blessed of God tremendously—particularly Samson. We haven’t heard the last of Todd Bentley and I am sure his future will include something more than just bring down the Philistine temple. My prayers go with him and his family.

-Egypt: A Kentucky Fried Miracle?

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Nearly 10,000 attended a pastor’s conference in Cairo, Egypt conducted by evangelist Marilyn Hickey (From Charisma Mag-Link NLA). That in itself was said to be a miracle—the largest gathering of Christians ever in this ancient city.

However, a miracle of the Biblical kind occurred during lunch. 3,500 boxed-lunches from KFC were ordered, delivered to the conference, and distributed to the crowd. But there were far more in attendance than they had prepared for. Another 2,400 were supplied with box lunches that miraculously appeared out of nowhere:

After the food was completely distributed, and after the crowd swelled to about 5,000, she said volunteers were astonished to return to what should’ve been a room of empty tables to discover 1,200 more lunches. She said after they handed out the mysterious extras, another 1,200 appeared, leaving a surplus of food and dumbfounded witnesses. Hickey’s staff called it a “loaves and fishes” miracle.

“I am fully convinced that this was a supernatural occurrence,” Hickey told Charisma.

“It is something I have believed to see on my ministry and am overjoyed that it happened.”

The miracle was observed and verified by Egyptian and even non-Christians sources—the lunches were handed out by local volunteers and left everyone involved including many non-Christians marveling at what had happened. 

-Re: Prayer and Angelic Protection

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Here’s a powerful devotional I received today from Charisma On-line:

clip_image002 Angelic Protection

Today’s message is from Mrs. Gertrude Reidt.

One time in Africa thirty medicine men gathered to put a curse on a missionary and his family. It was a thirty-day contest between the medicine men and Jehovah God. The missionary, for some reason, said that he could not leave his station and call for help, so he decided to stay there and fight it out. The medicine men did put every type of curse on the man and his children. His children did get sick—but they prayed through together and the children became well again.

The medicine men were so desperate; they couldn’t fail. The last night of the thirty-day contest, the men came with their torches to burn down the grass huts, and to burn out the missionary. What did they meet? Tall men in white garments with great swords drawn so that they could not break through. Prevailing prayer—what a power there is in intercession. It is a great weapon in spiritual warfare.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
READ PSALM 34

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for the powerful protection of Your angelic host! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-Stillborn Baby Raised from the Dead

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Here is the testimony of some teens from North Carolina who went on a ministry trip to Guatemala. In one village they visited in the home of a young woman who had given birth to a still born baby the day before. They proceeded to pray for the dead infant:

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“We prayed for thirty to forty minutes.

At the end of that time, Julia screamed out to God, telling Him that she believed with all of her heart that this baby could be raised from the dead. After Julia screamed out, everyone was silent. We were quietly interceding and praying.

Within a few minutes, the baby started moving. Then the baby coughed and began crying. The mother came rushing into the room. She was screaming, what is going on? No one could answer her. We were just staring at the baby, who had come back to life. The mother asked us again, what is going on? She began crying as she saw that her baby was alive.

She ran out of the house and banged on every door in the village, telling all of the people that God is real because her baby was alive. Within about thirty minutes, the baby’s skin tone and movements had become completely normal.”

What an incredible experience! These young Christians will never be the same and obviously the Young woman, her baby, and that village also. Praise God!

I found the link to this on iamhealed.net blog. Kathi Sharpe mentions in the post that the teens had watched some of the Lakeland meetings on GodTV before they left on the mission and that’s where they got the idea to pray for the dead baby.     

-Muslim Converts After Vision of Jesus

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This is an incredible story.  Yasmin became a Christian after she had  a vision of Jesus during the difficult birth of her son. She tried to keep her faith a secret from her family, since she was afraid of how they would react. Later, when they did find out that she was a Christian, the persecution followed.

clip_image002clip_image004According to Yasmin, she was harassed on the street, and disowned by her family. Her husband hired thugs to beat her up and planned on having her killed. She finally moved out to another part of the country with her children in secrecy. Her husband tracked her down and tried to take the children, objecting to them being raised by a Christian. Here are some excerpts of her experience:

“He continually intimidated and harassed me and hired someone to beat me in the street. Wherever we went there would always be a car following us and watching us.”

“Everyone in the local Muslim community knew I was a Christian and didn’t want to know me. People would cross the street rather than greet me and often spat in my face. They tried to pressure me to leave town. But I had already been chased out of one town so I was determined not to let them intimidate me.”

“One of the most difficult things about becoming a Christian from a Muslim background is losing your family. There are such tight family networks in our communities. If someone becomes a Christian then they are considered to bring shame on the whole family and the only response is to cut them out of the family.”

Response: I hear of and read that more and more Muslims are converting to Christianity through Visions and direct experiences with Jesus. This is becoming common, particularly in Muslim countries that outlaw conversions and missionaries.

What is really incredible about this story, and the surprising and stunning punch line is this—Yasmin lives in the UK!

We really do need to remember to pray for Yasmin and her children. Also, for all the others like her who have converted and face persecution and even death for the sake of their faith in Jesus.     

-Have Faith in God’s Ability to Lead

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This is today’s devotional from Charisma mag.” Bread of Heaven“, you can sign up to receive daily devotionals here. I found this message from Wesley Campbell to be a particular blessing—enjoy!:

Have Faith in God’s Ability to Lead

Today’s message is from Wesley Campbell.

Pastor John Arnott recently told me an encouraging story. He met an Indian pastor named John Babu who asked Arnott to come and speak at his churches in Madras, India. Babu’s testimony is most interesting.

Years ago he was dying of a liver disease, and there did not appear to be any hope left. As a Hindu, Babu went to the Hindu temple to seek help from the many thousands of gods in which they believe. But nothing had been working.
Finally in desperation he looked up and prayed piteously, “Surely there is one of you up there who can help me. Please heal me, and I will serve you forever.” His reasoning was like the Athenians who had an altar with the inscription, “To the unknown God.” Afraid of missing a deity, Babu invited any god to answer his prayer for healing.

In an instant Jesus appeared to him in the midst of the Hindu temple and said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Lovingly Jesus reached out and touched his body. Immediately Babu was healed.

In gratitude and worship, Babu became a follower of Jesus Christ. He has since gone out and started more than five hundred churches.

Today we have Christians telling other Christians to be careful when praying at the altar for the filling of the Holy Spirit. “You never know which spirit will fill you or answer your prayer,” they warn. We need to have more faith in God’s ability to lead us than fear of Satan’s power to deceive us, especially when our prayers are directed to the one true God!

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Lord, forgive me for living as if the devil has more power than You do.

-J.P. Moreland Shakes Up Evangelical Conference Talking About ‘Bibliolatry"

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Talbot Seminary professor J.P. Moreland shook up the recent Evangelical Theological Society conference in San Diego by telling attendees that evangelicals were ‘over-committed’ to the Bible and disregarded other ‘extra-Biblical’ forms of guidance from God. During his address, Dr. Moreland pointed out that evangelical scholars and the movement, as a whole, many times reject:

…guidance, revelation, and so forth from God through impressions, dreams, visions, prophetic words, words of knowledge and wisdom. …

We shut that down because of charismatic excesses, because of abuses, we fear teaching people how to use it. We think its all going to be Benny Hinn or something like that.

Comments: As you can well imagine, his address sparked considerable controversy and response from those who were there and hundreds of comments on the Internet.

What is really shocking, this comes from a major professor from Biola University’s Talbot Seminary. A school which started out and remains squarely in the dispensational camp. Many of its ‘big guns’ in the past have been especially critical of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements.

I have read a number of articles and books by J. P. Moreland in the past and have always found his works to be particularly good in the area of apologetics. We should not look for him to become a Charismatic or a Pentecostal anytime soon, but neither is he a card carrying cessasionalist. He seems to be far more open to the ‘gifts’ than I had ever supposed.

J.P Moreland is a very careful Biblical apologist and philosopher. What’s important here, while his address was about how evangelicals treat the Bible, it is tantamount to admitting that there is really no Biblical basis for the cessasionalist tendencies that have dominated so much of the American evangelical community.

Now what we need is a Charismatic or Pentecostal leader of similar influence reminding Charismatics and Pentecostals to balance out our spiritual gift with balanced Bible study.

I believe we will see a balance when revival comes.

-50% of Southern Baptist Pastors Believe in Tongues?

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A surprising study shows that half of the Southern Baptist senior pastors actually believe in the gift of tongues. On the downside the study also shows that recent Southern Baptist seminary graduates are (55%) far more cessationist in their views.

The study also found that 66% of non-SBC Protestant senior pastors believe in the gift while only 33% said they didn’t.

Comments:

There is a far greater openness to the gift of tongues than what I believed was even possible; particularly among the Southern Baptists which have usually been characterized as being in the ‘cessationist’ camp.

If a similar poll was taken in 1906, I wonder how it would have compared to this one. I believe that it would have shown that opinions and practices have changed drastically in 100 years since Azusa Street. The gift of tongues is no longer an oddity practiced by poor and ignorant folks living on the other side of the tracks and worshiping in a barn.

Re: “My Conversation with God”-John Piper Responds and I Respond to John Piper

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John Piper today posted a response to the anonymous “My Conversation with God” article that appeared in the March 2007 issue of Christianity Today and was posted on-line. I also responded to the article in a rather different way than Dr. Piper.

John Piper starts out his article telling us that he too has heard the voice of God speaking personally to him and gives a detailed account of the experience. However, the article turns in a different direction at the conclusion. Please read his post: “The Morning I Heard God’s Voice” before going on to my comments.
Comments:

John Piper is an incredibly gifted and anointed Bible scholar/teacher and his books and articles have blessed and enriched an entire generation of Christians. Some of his books are among my favorites. However, his article made me sad today. Particularly since I always look forward to his writing with a certain expectancy and today I was disappointed.

In the later part of his posting he responds to the earlier article -“My Conversation with God” and he says this about it:

What makes me sad about the article is not that it isn’t true or didn’t happen. What’s sad is that it really does give the impression that extra-biblical communication with God is surpassingly wonderful and faith-deepening. All the while, the supremely glorious communication of the living God that personally and powerfully and transformingly explodes in the receptive heart through the Bible everyday is passed over in silence.

And then:

I grieve at what is being communicated here. The great need of our time is for people to experience the living reality of God by hearing his Word personally and transformingly in Scripture. Something is incredibly wrong when the words we hear outside Scripture are more powerful and more affecting to us than the inspired Word of God.

My Response:

For me, it is wonderful and essential to experience the word of God in a variety of ways. While I am praying and meditating the Holy Spirit reminds me of things to pray about and changes that need to be made. When I am reading the Bible, the words leap out to me and become the word of God for me personally. On a number of occasions I have experienced the ‘voice of God’ speaking literally to me. For me all these experiences of God are Biblical and all are “surpassingly wonderful and faith-deepening”.

What does “extra-biblical” mean? Does it mean that God is now limited to only speak to us through the scriptures? Only the printed and translated words are to be trusted? I have studied under some of the top Bible scholars in the world and yet they were not believers. They knew the words far better than I ever will, and in the original languages. But it wasn’t the Word of God for them.

The words of the Bible become the Word of God for Christians because believers can experience the same Holy Spirit, who inspired the words in the first place. When believers read the words of the Bible today they are inspired by the Holy Spirit all over again.

The same Holy Spirit counsels us in our prayer and meditation. The same Holy Spirit teaches us and may even speak words of prophecy to us or through others. The same Holy Spirit inspires and anoints teachers and writers like John Piper. The same Holy Spirit enlivens the words printed on the pages in our Bibles.

It is his use of the words ‘extra-biblical’ that bothers me the most. It is way too close to ‘un-biblical’ and many will read that meaning into the words. According to the Webster’s Dictionary ‘extra’ used as a prefix means: outside, beyond, or besides (e.g.: the Mormon scriptures and theology are ‘extra-biblical’- outside, beyond, and besides the Bible). Can anything that the Holy Spirit does be characterized as ‘outside’, ‘beyond’ or ‘besides’ the Bible?

The Bible is the Word of God in a special unique way. The scriptures are the foundation of our faith and all other experiences must be tested and understood through His infallible Word. None of the other experiences or ‘words’ that we may receive should ever replace or contradict the Bible.

I believe that this is John Piper’s major concern; that some may see their own experiences and personally received ‘words’ as more important and as a substitute for the Bible. The scriptures should always be the primary source for Christians along with the Holy Spirit which enlivens the Word.

However, as important as the Bible is, the really great need of our time is for people to experience the living reality of God that enlivens the Word, the Holy Spirit who comes into the lives of all those who respond to the call of God, to come and have faith in his Son Jesus.

-“My Conversation with God”: An Anonymous Testimony That made My Day

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I just finished reading an incredible article that I received from Christianity Today. It actual made my day and my night also! It is an anonymous testimony from a professor of theology which is obviously not Pentecostal or Charismatic. In fact he says:

I’m a middle-aged professor of theology at a well-known Christian university. I’ve written award-winning books. My name is on Christianity Today’s masthead. For years I’ve taught that God still speaks, but I couldn’t testify to it personally. I can only do so now anonymously, for reasons I hope will be clear.

A year after hearing God’s voice, I still can’t talk or even think about my conversation with God without being overcome with emotion. That’s one reason I know it was real; I’m not a person who shows emotion easily. Plus, I’m a skeptic about things supernatural. Not that I don’t believe they can happen; I just doubt most miracle stories except the ones in the Bible. I’ve even been known to criticize publicly what I consider to be overly experiential forms of Christianity. I suppose that makes this story especially ironic.

Here’s the link and the title: “My Conversation with God“. It is well worth the five minutes or so it takes to read it. warning: Kleenex might be needed. I had to hunt some up half way into it. Read my comments following:

Comments: Stuff like this happens every day in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles. However, when the Spiritual gifts start breaking out in the life of an regular Evangelical -admittedly non-Charismatic- theology professor who continues to be self-conscious about it, can real Revival be that far behind? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Actually I am doing both right now.

I really believe that the Lord is going to be moving in new and unique ways among all Christians, particularly among leaders and Pastors. Watch for healing and Spiritual gifts to informally break out in churches and places where they have never been recognized before. This is like a small first wave. Look for more to come later.