Elijah Challenge Training Powerpoint Slides

The Elijah Challenge Basic Training I www.The Elijah Challenge.org

Welcome to Basic Training I for Special Forces Kingdom of God Session 1

Table of Contents Why has the Church failed? Restoration of the spirit of Elijah Jesus used the same approach The Three Offices Reports & Testimonies I Our approach specific to the task How Jesus ministered healing What about disciples? – Luke 9 Praying for vs. healing the sick Apostles – Matthew 10 “Ordinary” disciples – Luke 10 Authority different from the gift Failure of the disciples to heal What is mountain-moving faith? Reports II – Uganda Contextualization – Indonesia Houston Fall Festival The Message to be confirmed Which is the one true God? Authority is like talents Peter & healing in Acts Peter walking on the water Faith & fear are opposites Fear & unbelief in Numbers How Paul ministered healing The End Time Model Authority over our flesh Basis for the laying on of hands Healing-at-a-distance Faith is “additive” Broader authority The gifts of healing Ministering to believers Spirits which cause infirmities “Spiritual warfare” Why do infirmities return? Keeping the right balance “Final examination”

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The Great Commission Why has the Church failed to complete it after 2,000 years? Complacency; lack of holiness We have not been trained Fear and doubt, which have resulted in the lack of demonstra-tion of God’s power to the lost Return to Contents

The Restoration of Power and Boldness to the Church It will require you to go far out of your comfort zone Not all will step out of the boat and walk on water successfully You will need perseverance and determination to obey the Lord.

The Restoration of Power & Boldness to the Church for the End Times Return to Contents

Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. What does this mean? What did Elijah preach? Repentance to the backslidden Israelites

Let’s look at the ministry of Elijah during the reign of Ahab

I Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

Elijah’s Challenge to the servants of Baal

I Kings 18:24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

I Kings 18:36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “ O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

I Kings 18:37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” I Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!” Only after the Israelites saw the visible demonstration of His power did they repent and acknowledge Him. Could it be the same with God’s people today?

The spirit of Elijah is the spirit of: boldness power and holiness

The Lord desires to raise up a generation of mighty “Elijahs” Will you be one of them?

2 Kings 2:9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “ Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

2 Kings 2:10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.”

… 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

2 Kings 2:14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

… 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “ The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.”

These Elijahs will raise up even greater “Elishas” for the end times

According to the prophecy in Malachi 4:5, Elijah would be sent before the great and dreadful coming of the Messiah. Malachi’s prophecy would be fulfilled through the coming of John the Baptist. Before his birth, an angel spoke to John’s father Zechariah…

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. … 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. John was not sent to the unbelievers or Gentiles, but to the people of God .

… Luke 1:17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, ….to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” John was sent to prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah. What kind of message did John preach to prepare them?

Luke 3:3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

It was not enough for them to be Abraham’s descendants, to be called Israelites. “Out of these stones…” They were required to repent and to produce fruit. This what John preached when the spirit and power of Elijah came upon him: Repentance and the producing of fruit for God

Today we may be in the last days before the Second Coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ. Malachi’s prophecy tells us that the spirit of Elijah is being restored again. What will we preach when the spirit of Elijah comes upon us?

We will preach repentance to God’s people to prepare them for the great and dreadful day of the Lord. We will teach them that they must produce fruit for God: the fruit of personal holiness, and the fruit of good works in obedience to God’s commands.

But God’s people might say to them-selves in response to the preaching of repentance: “ We are Christians and we are already saved; God loves us. Our sins are forgiven --- we are saved by grace through faith, not by works.” How might John the Baptist answer us today? “ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up ‘Christians.’”

Luke 3:9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” John taught that true repentance will result in the producing of good fruit: holiness and works of obedience. This is not taught in the Church today, resulting in many unsaved “Christians.” They will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

The spirit and power of Elijah will appear again during these last days preceding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ… to prepare His people for the Lord’s coming, and… to enable the Church to reach the gentiles---Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, idol-worshipers---who never knew the true God.

In the endtimes we will preach the gospel in the spirit and power of Elijah---with miraculous signs---for the purpose of: Bringing the lost gentiles to the Lord in fulfillment of the Great Commission, and preaching repentance to God’s people.

What is the Lord saying to the Church in these last days? Let’s look at His messages to the seven churches of Revelation.

To the Church in Ephesus: Revelation 2:5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

To the Church in Pergamum: Revelation 2:14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, What is the “teaching of Balaam”? who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

According to Strong’s Dictionary, “committing sexual immorality” can also be translated “to practice idolatry” in the figurative sense. What kind of idolatry are some believers practicing today?

Ephesians 5:5 …No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater— has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Today there are Christian ministers who teach “how to get rich.” But 1 Timothy 6:9 says: “ People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” Could this be the idolatry for which Jesus is rebuking a part of the Church during these last days?

Revelation 2:16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. We must repent of the idolatry of greed, and of friendship with the Lord.

To the Church in Thyatira: Rev 2:20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality [or idolatry] and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality [or idolatry], but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

To the Church in Sardis: Rev 3: 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

To the Church in Laodicea, whom some believe is the Church of the last days: Rev 3: 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

To the Church in Laodicea: 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

Only once did Jesus say “I love you” to one of the seven churches. To the Church in Philadelphia: Rev 3:9 … I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

Jesus said “repent” to five out of the seven churches of Revelation. Mixed in were words of commendation to some of them. Only once, to the church in Philadelphia, did he say “I love you.”

We are not saying that God does not love the Church. But … Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

This verse is not an evangelistic appeal to the lost, but a call to the Church. 20 I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him… Do we hear His voice? Do we open the door for Him? If we do, it means we accept His rebuke and discipline. It means that we obey & repent.

During these end times we hear many messages about God’s love and blessings, but few about repentance. We now understand that God’s love includes rebuke and discipline which lead to repentance. Rebuke is not “condemnation.” Remembering that we all will one day stand before the Lord, we must now correct this gross imbalance.

We must now go beyond drinking “milk”---which includes the teaching about God’s blessings for us in this life---and go on to take solid food which is for the mature. The Church must now grow up. When the spirit of Elijah comes upon us, we will preach repentance to God’s people.

Let us remain sober about the Second Coming of Christ… Luke 21:34 “ Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.

Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Before the Great Commission can be fulfilled, there must be repentance in the Church. The miraculous healings we will learn to perform will be the sign that the Church must repent from lukewarm-ness, self-centeredness, and greed. We must live holy & fruitful lives. This is an essential purpose of the spirit of Elijah during these last days.

Matthew 6:31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus Christ used the approach of Elijah to prove that He was the Son of God Return to Contents

John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Luke 7:20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’” 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.

22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Jesus healed the sick to prove that He was in fact the Promised Messiah, the Savior.

John 10:37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

John 10:25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

Jesus Christ was: Priest Prophet King Return to Contents

The three offices of the Body of Christ priestly office prophetic office kingly office

We are going to focus on the restoration of a particular aspect of the kingly office to the Church

The kingly office uses authority for the purpose of enforcing the rule of the king

The kingly office can be for war and for destroying the works of the enemy King David was a man of war

Some characteristics of the kingly office… authority to command---kings do not ask or beg boldness, fearlessness actual power to destroy enemies or the works of the enemy

Report from Pastor Joel Biao of Campaign Sponsor World Vision of Niger (World Vision is the largest Christian humanitarian organization in the world. It is evangelical.)

"I can't still help smiling as I am trying to figure the way that God led this Campaign. Of course (we) started talking about this without any conviction the first day. And we did a very short prayer that day. I couldn't imagine, Brother William, that this would end into an event so great in the history of the Church in Niger.”

“ My life as a pastor and leader is really affected: I have learned to be bold in ministering the healing. I have got much more in faith. Through that campaign I can say God added something more to my faith.”

“ I could through the campaign know the kind of message we [need to] give when we try to bring people to know the transforming power of God. I also concluded that without signs, wonders and miracles we only do very little in winning the souls.”

” The first important thing the Campaign has achieved for the churches is the unity. That was the first time [in Niger] that really the churches worked together in real spirit of unity.”

“ Also many barriers have been knocked down; indeed some of the churches that ministered healing [in the Campaign] didn't believe in it at first. They thought that [it] is for the pentecostal churches….

“ Through your teaching and training they were convinced that anyone who is engaged in announcing the Good News in the name of Jesus can do so.”

“ Moreover, henceforth the churches are united and free to work together without any denominational discrimination….

“… The Church in Niamey (the capital city of Niger) is confident in preaching the Gospel with signs and wonders.; the church knows how to handle the spiritual warfare; the church is really bold in preaching the Gospel.”

” The Gospel will become effective in Niger as the Muslim people will themselves witness miracles in the name of Jesus. There will be much more fruit than what we had previously….

“ The Church in Niger will become really bold and effective in reaching out to Muslim people. The harvest will be great."

The same basic approach was used in…

Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam July 2003 At the time, the largest gospel meeting in Vietnam since its fall to communism

The blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame walked, cancers were healed, miracles of healing were multiplied as the trained servants of God ministered to the sick

Nearly thirty denominations and organizations, both conservative evangelical as well as charismatic, joined together for the training and Crusade in Vietnam.

The Lord used pastors and believers from both traditions to minister supernatural healing in the Crusade.

Hundreds of Vietnamese Buddhists accept Christ as Lord and Savior after they heard the gospel and saw the miracles of healing

The Lord heals the sick… in different ways

Our approach to healing… is specific to the task Return to Contents

For example, the “gift of healing” The “gift of healing” is primarily for ministering to sick believers and can be manifest in gatherings of believers.

Gifts of Healing 1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. … 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,

1 Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

However, there is something more foundational than the gift of healing for ministering to the Church: Healing the sick to demonstrate to the lost that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world

Our task here is to learn to minister healing in the context of proclaiming the gospel to the lost--- just as Christ and his early disciples did.

Therefore we will first study how Christ ministered healing to the sick in the gospels… Return to Contents

John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. Let’s examine how Jesus healed the sick after he was anointed by the Holy Spirit. In the same way we will heal the sick.

Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives…

The fulfillment of Isaiah 61 Luke 3:21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened

Luke 3:22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days… Fasting can be important if you want to minister in power and boldness

Luke 4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Luke 4:31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

Luke 4:33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us?.…

What might a typical believer do in such a situation? Flee pray to God Charismatics might pray in tongues “ Father, in the name of Jesus we command this demon to come out.” What might a scripturally well-trained believer do?

35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Did Jesus pray for him? Did Jesus say: “Father, we command this demon to be quiet and to come out of him”? Do you think Jesus closed his eyes? Was there any “priestly” action directed to the Father?

And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. How did Jesus do this miracle? He did the miracle by exercising the authority given to him by his Father. Authority is not exercised by praying, but rather by commanding.

36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” We are not saying that Jesus never prayed, but that there were specific occasions on which he did not pray, but rather commanded.

37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

How did Jesus deal with a purely physical infirmity?

Some of us may have been taught that we believers have authority to cast demons out of afflicted people. But… if someone has a purely physical infirmity, we can only pray for him and trust God to heal him.

Let’s see how Jesus dealt with a purely physical infirmity… ...38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and t hey asked Jesus to help her.

Luke 4:39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Did Jesus pray for her? Did Jesus say: “Father, we rebuke this fever”? Did Jesus close his eyes? Was there any “priestly” action directed to the Father?

The same incident from: Matthew 8:15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. Mark 1:31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

Jesus did three things in healing Peter’s mother-in-law: he rebuked the fever he touched her hand he helped her to get up he did not pray for her

According to John 14:12, can you do this as well?

Luke 4:40 When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

Luke 5:12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. Did Jesus pray for this man? Did Jesus say: “Father, we command this man to be clean”? Did Jesus close his eyes? Was there any “priestly” action directed to the Father?

Matthew 12:9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there…

13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” Did Jesus pray for this man? Did Jesus say: “Father, we command this man to stretch out his hand”? Did Jesus close his eyes? Was there any “priestly” action directed to the Father?

So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

But Jesus is now in heaven…. So now who does the work that He did when He was on earth?

John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater works, for I am going to the Father.

What did Jesus do? He preached the gospel He healed the sick He cast out demons He made disciples He actually did not pray for the sick

Therefore, you are going to: preach the gospel as Jesus did heal the sick as Jesus did cast out demons as Jesus did make disciples as Jesus did So do not just pray for the sick, heal the sick as Jesus did!

Does the Bible specifically teach that we disciples of Christ have been given any authority to heal the sick as Jesus did? Return to Contents

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. How many of us actually heal the sick in the way that Jesus did?

What is the difference between praying for the sick and healing the sick as Jesus did? Return to Contents

Which is easier: Praying for the sick, or healing the sick as Jesus did ?

What does it mean “to pray for the sick”? Is it possible to fail when praying for the sick?

What does it mean “to heal the sick” as Jesus did ? Is it possible to fail when healing the sick as Jesus did?

Few servants of God and believers actually heal the sick as Jesus commanded His disciples

Why are miraculous healings rare in the Church today?

The primary reason why miraculous healings are rare today is because the Church has failed to obey Christ’s command to heal the sick as He did

Luke 9:6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere. Preaching the gospel and healing the sick are a single package

Matthew 10:1 And when He had called to Him His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Apostles may be given a very high level of authority to heal the sick Return to Contents

7 And as you go, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. These were the commands Jesus gave to the twelve apostles

Jesus commanded his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven and to heal the sick His final command before returning to heaven is found in Matthew 28, also known as the Great Commission

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Therefore today we must teach disciples to obey what He commanded his disciples 2,000 years ago: to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven, to heal the sick, and to obey His other commands as well

What about disciples who are not apostles? Return to Contents

Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

… Luke 10:9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ Authority over diseases was also given to the 70 disciples---who were not apostles---when they were sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God

This clearly means that in the context of evangelism, the Lord’s will in general is to heal the sick.

… 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

There is something additional which is important to note. Let’s go back to the first verse of Luke 10

Luke 10:5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.

… Luke 10:9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ In Brazil in July 2010, 620 trained disciples visited 9,577 homes & the streets over six afternoons of the “Visitation of God.” 1,920 people were healed and 1,440 people accepted Christ during the week.

… Luke 10:9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ This approach was also successfully applied in the Philippines, with over 50 house churches planted in 5 months by mostly new believers: the “man of peace” of Luke 10:6.

...17 The seventy returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

What conclusion do we draw? The Twelve were given power and authority over disease and demons when Jesus sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The Seventy were also given a measure of this power and authority when they were sent out.

Conclusion A measure of authority over disease and demons was given to whomever the Lord sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost

Every disciple of Jesus Christ is sent out to the world as a witness

This authority over disease is not identical to the “gift of healing.” There are 4 major differences. Return to Contents

Difference in time: the authority to heal was given before the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came.

Difference in function: The authority was given not to build up the body of Christ, but for proclaiming the gospel to the lost.

Difference in frequency: Every believer was given this authority, while not every believer was given the gift of healing.

Difference in operation: the operation of the authority to heal is very different from the operation of the gift of healing.

Christ’s disciples experienced failure to heal the sick Return to Contents

Matthew 17:14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

1 17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?

How could Jesus have possibly expected and even demanded His disciples to do the miracle? His theology on this issue differs sharply from the theology of the Church. Who is correct: Jesus or the Church?

They were His disciples and were being trained to do what He did He had given them authority to heal the sick and cast out demons He had sent them out and commanded them to heal the sick

Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

There are four reasons we give to explain why the sick are not healed when we minister to them

It’s not God’s will It’s not God’s time The sick person has sin The sick person lacks faith Some of these reasons might sometimes apply, for example, when a believer fails to confess sin

It’s not God’s will It’s not God’s time We are essentially “blaming” God

3. The sick person has sin 4. The sick person lacks faith We are essentially “blaming” the sick person

How very convenient! We rarely blame ourselves when the miracle does not take place

What reason did Jesus give in this particular situation to explain why the miracle did not take place?

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Whose “fault” was it that the miracle did not take place?

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. The disciples failed because they lacked “mountain-moving faith”

Verse 21 does not appear in all Greek manuscripts 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” We conclude that prayer and fasting increase mountain-moving faith in order to cast out demons successfully.

Exactly what is mountain-moving faith? Return to Contents

Mark 11:12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

Mark 11:14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

… 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. How did Jesus perform this miracle? Jesus exercised authority over the tree essentially by commanding it to die.

21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Jesus answers by explaining to Peter exactly how he used his authority to curse the fig tree.

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. Equally valid, according to the Greek: “ Have faith of God,” Jesus answered. Most literal versions of the Bible render this verse “Have faith of God”.

23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Faith of God: No doubt in your heart “ What I say must be done”

Five illustrations of “ faith of God”

1. How would God move a mountain?

Mark 11:23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ Does God doubt that the mountain will obey Him? and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Did God have any doubt that the light would appear? Why not?

3. Jesus cursing the fig tree

Did Jesus have any doubt that the fig tree would wither? Why not?

4. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead

Did Jesus have any doubt that Lazarus would come back to life? Why not?

5. Do you have any doubt when you tell your dog to “sit”? Why not?

How not to tell your dog to sit How not to tell your 5-year-old to sit down and eat his dinner How not to cast out a demon

Now something on the lighter side for you…. This is how we would like demons and diseases to obey us in the context of evangelism…

But often this is what we really see….

When someone---like a military commander---gives a command to that which is under his authority, he utters the command with no doubt or fear of being rejected. Because he has been given authority in that realm, he believes that what he says will happen.

Disciples of Jesus Christ who are sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God have been given authority over disease and demons. (We are not suggesting that believers have all authority like God Himself)

When in this context we command diseases and demons to go in Christ’s name, we speak with faith of God, without doubt or fear of failure.

Authority over diseases and demons must be exercised with faith of God or mountain-moving faith. The consequence of lack of faith could be failure.

Authority - Exousia “ Potential energy” in you given by the Lord Mountain-moving faith transforms this potential energy into miraculous healing

Jesus never told his disciples that they lacked “the anointing,” rather he rebuked them for lacking faith of God, with which they were to exercise authority over diseases and demons.

It can be more helpful to view healing the infirm as the process of “moving a mountain”… Rather than as an instant, all-or-nothing, unpredictable event

If you are using authority to heal the sick, do not mix praying and commanding. Operating in the gift of healing, however, may involve prayer.

Note: It is not always necessary to raise one’s voice when healing the sick. In many settings it may not be appropriate to use a loud voice. It is possible to exercise authority quietly yet powerfully.

Faith of God (kingly actions) for commanding disease & demons Mark 11: 23 … if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Faith in God (priestly actions) for our relationship with God Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Forgiving others For our relationship with other people Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

God Disciples of Christ Disease & demons & flesh “ faith in God” “ faith of God”

Directions Priestly office: up Prophetic: horizontal Kingly office : down

Priestly office Not primarily for fulfilling the Great Commission, but for ministering directly to the Lord

Prophetic office Not primarily for fulfilling the Great Commission, but primarily for ministering to the body of Christ and for speaking forth God’s words to others

Kingly office Primarily for fulfilling the Great Commission: for destroying the works of the enemy--- for healing the sick and proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the lost

How can the Church apply this teaching to fulfill The Great Commission?

“ Tons of healings taking place in the middle of the street” Testimony of New York disciples after Basic Training

"My name is John Slionski. I run a ministry called Army For God with my wife Heidi on Long Island, New York. I wanted to first thank you so much for being obedient to set the example and to raise the bar. I always preached this type of message but never the detailed revelation that you had gotten.

In fact, a lot of my sermons are in exact line with your ministry. I sat through the Basic Training two times, plus I watched your videos of it and have to say it has lit a fire in the ministry like crazy.

… In July (2009) alone we ministered to 691 people and by August 6 we had already ministered to 106! We have seen tons of miracles and healings taking place right in the middle of the street!

People walking out of wheelchairs, cancer being healed, tumors going away, popped knee limbs moving back into place, arms, backs and necks healed, epilepsy healed---twice. God is on the move and people are getting saved left and right.

People can't stop witnessing and demonstrating God’s power right in the middle of supermarkets, parking lots, Chinese food places, etc. The fever of Jesus is catching on! People won't be able to stop the revival. What God is going to do has never been seen before!

From April 2009 (when they were trained) to the end of that year, Army for God reported 850 miraculous healings in their ministry on the streets and other public places of New York.

Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil July 2010 620 trained disciples visited 9,577 homes & the streets over six afternoons of the “Visitation of God.” 1,920 people were healed and 1,440 people accepted Christ during the week.

The Philippines … Luke 10:9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ This approach was applied in the Philippines, with over 50 house churches planted in 5 months by mostly new disciples

Houston disciples go door-to-door healing the sick and sharing Christ October 2009 Ossy Ebadan trained with TEC in August 2009

We went out to a "not so poor, but not so rich" lower-middle-class neighborhood to preach the gospel. The people were very receptive. We split up into two groups of four (there were eight of us). And we went ahead.

With my group, the very first person who we spoke with was RIPE and ready for the harvest! We barely even had to do anything. We just told him we were in the neighborhood sharing the love of God and praying for people's needs, and he opened up.

We prayed for his mother who was on drugs and then he said he didn't have a serious relationship with the Lord, neither had he repented from his sins. So we all counseled him and prayed with him, and he was saved! Hallelujah!

At the next house we went to, there was an elderly woman who could barely speak English. My sister and another friend who spoke a little bit of Spanish told her why we were there and asked if she needed prayer for anything. She then exclaimed that a nerve in her leg, from her hip all the way down to her ankles, had been bothering her.

We, immediately with excitement, began to rebuke the sickness and pain and had her test it out. She said it was a little better....so we ministered to her again. After the second time she was completely healed! We were able to pray for a number of people and share the gospel with them.

There was one more person who received salvation, and… then I believe one more miracle was performed (with the other group) ---another leg problem. It was a great experience! Thank you so much for your teachings AGAIN!

We will do this again very soon. Hopefully in a more poor and disease-infested neighborhood.

Randy & Jennifer Campbell Open Door Fellowship, Houston, TX Soup Kitchen Ministry

The Elijah Challenge in Seattle By Tom Briggs of Salt Ministries September 18, 2009

Lenny stopped to inquire what my banner meant. It said: "WANTED: The Lame, Deaf, Blind, Possessed, Tumors ... FREE PRAYER FOR HEALING"

His back was injured when in his 20s and was now on constant pain management drugs. He let me minister to him, so I laid hands on his lower back and you know the rest.

Then I also asked if he wanted to be free of the pain drug addiction. YES, of course. He was skipping around, and showing people how he could now bend over as you see in the video. He went around the whole intersection from one crosswalk to the next.

… he was smiling, hopping and saying God healed him! Lenny took a copy of John's gospel and a gospel tract. He probably heard us preaching later at Pike Place Market, because I saw him there that afternoon.

Mission Trip to Haiti in April 2009 Testimony of other New York disciples after six hours of Basic Training

Chris Faraguna of Isaiah 58 House: “ I just want to tell you how important it was for you to come here when you did. … It affected our Haiti mission trip tremendously. We saw over 80 people healed and over 100 people saved.”

“ One healing was tremendous---we commanded a mute spirit out of a boy and commanded his tongue to be loosed and he spoke. He had not spoken to anyone for over 10 years; now he is communicating with others. We have this on video.”

Pastor Mel Melato of Long Island (associated with David Wilkerson of Times Square Church): “ We also had two major deliverances in the meetings. We commanded the evil spirits out of two girls and then they accepted Jesus.”

“ It was something out of the Book of Acts. We then trained about 12 pastors on the kingly office [using the one-hour version of the Training you gave me]."

“ A six-months pregnant woman came forward requesting healing. She had thought that there was no life in her womb because there had been no movement in her womb. The two volunteer pastors commanded the spirit of death to go. Then something in her womb started to move. Hallelujah! Everyone praised God.”

“ There were three young people and one older person delivered from evil, dumb, and deaf mute spirits. 140 more were healed of various sicknesses, diseases and infirmities.

"My wife and my daughter are continually blessed from the teaching that you brought forth in our midst and everytime we bring "Christ healing to all nations" to churches around New York, the glory of God's healing and deliverance come upon the people.

We have been to Salvation Army Church, to Evangelical Italian Christian Church, once more to Jesus Spanish Church, to Christ All Nations Mission Church and to Open Bible Filipino Church....the effect of your teaching is the same....the miracle healing power of God would just descend upon the people."

"So many healings, so many deliverances since I have learned the 'Elijah Challenge' way of bringing healing and deliverance to people who desire it.

Missionary Carl Henderson (Attended Elijah Challenge in 2006) Mindanao, Philippines August 2009

The healings during the Training included: Many goiters, arthritis, back injuries, stiff necks, frozen-shoulder joints, knee pain, asthma, heart pain, infections, boils, hip pain, migraine headaches and large breast tumors were healed.

One man from the Netherlands who had extremely rotten and infected diabetic feet was present. His feet had open wounds which he called, “caves.” He immediately reported his pain was gone. Mila and I told him to get up and walk. He was reluctant, but slowly stood and began to walk.

By the third step he was normal and was soon dancing, skipping, and trotting back and forth with a large smile on his face. The pain was completely gone. He had come into the building with a cane, moving very slowly and leaning on his wife for support.

Now he was now dancing, walking, and kneeling down with the same feet! During the afternoon, he un-bandaged and checked the wounds. He found they had filled in from the back and the external opening was 1/3 smaller than they had been in the morning.

That evening for the Crusade, he became our photographer, walking all around and standing for hours on his once bad feet.

Another very frail woman in her eighties came in using a crutch. She had broken her hip and femur in a fall. She felt something happen and she gave up her crutch and began to walk tentatively at first then more and more powerfully. Finally she was smiling with a toothless smile and turning and dancing around in joy.

In the Crusade: One by one, the people started getting healed, goiters shrunk, people with hearing and vision problems were healed, female problems, pain and long term bleeding were gone, tumors on thyroids, migraine headaches, slipped disc, back injuries, neck injuries were healed.

An elderly woman with crippled arthritic knees and hips started dancing and testifying to her healing. The miracles were happening everywhere and there was so much joy and celebration. Some were laughing and hugging and others were weeping for joy. Some could not talk, they were weeping uncontrollably, they just said “thank you, Jesus” over and over.

Thirty-seven people came forward and made a profession of faith and repentance. There were even more tears and greater joy as they committed themselves to Christ. In all we had 63 people healed, 2 delivered from demons, and 50 newly trained Filipino evangelists were now ready to do kingdom work in the power and authority of Jesus’ name.

Jim Hathaway, Alberta, Canada (attended Elijah Challenge in 2008) Mission trip to Mindanao November 2009

Jim reported that in the three Crusade meetings he held, every infirm person who came was healed as the disciples he trained laid hands on them. Sinners accepted Christ as a result.

November 2009 In a jungle village in Malaysian Borneo, 23 out of 25 infirm people were healed as trained Malaysian disciples laid hands on them.

Arua, Uganda February 2005 “ Heal the sick, and tell them ‘the kingdom of God is near you.’” Luke 10:9 Return to Contents

Pastor Jimmy Kato reported later in the year: "We have open-air evangelistic meetings every Sunday evening using The Elijah Challenge method and it is beautiful."

“ The Lord has done many things through the teaching you gave us in Arua. About four churches were opened outside of Arua by different church leaders who were in your Seminar.”

“ Many miracles happen and are still happening as a result of The Elijah Challenge ministries.”

“ The church I pastor has grown twice (doubled) or more since you left. We have evening services every day and all-night services twice a week. I was the only pastor before but now we have four pastors.”

“ I praise the Lord for using Wycliffe missionaries Douglas and Anne Sampson to host you in order to bring this great revival to Arua and beyond.”

“ The pastors are now united and form a strong association now registered with the government of Uganda.” “ This is all about what God did in Arua.”

Pastor Benard Okello Homa Bay, Kenya East Africa

Reported in November 2008: “ Missionary Butch Berner came to Homa Bay, Kenya [in September 2007] and taught The Elijah Challenge to my sixty members.

Then my members went and preached the Kingdom of God and miraculous healings began to take place, bringing many converts to our church.

I had pastored this church for six years without increase because it was I doing everything as the believers in my church just looked on.

But when Butch came and taught, we have increased to three hundred active members and they are still in action.”

September 2009 Report Elijah Challenge-trained churches are now the fastest growing churches in North India

Keith Roussel Missionary to the Philippines Trained in June 2007

"I have recently returned from our missions trip. We had a great time! I was so amazed by the results. The students stepped forward in boldness and faith and they performed many healings through the power of God. I could see the look of joy and amazement in their eyes as the people who they were laying hands on were instantly healed!

We ministered in a Muslim community during the trip. This was my first chance to perform the healings before preaching the message, and it worked! When the people saw the healings they flocked to us.

I've become so “addicted” to the success of this method of reaching the lost that I cannot wait for the next opportunity to put it into action!" The details of the outreach to the Muslim community are coming up next…

“… The following night we held a community outreach. While setting up our sound equipment we discovered that we were in a Muslim area and that some of them were already complaining about us. Several of the students began to panic and looked to me for guidance.

Having encountered Muslims before, I knew that if we wanted to reach these people we needed to do more than just preach at them. They need to both hear and see the gospel in action.

Having witnessed the success of the healing challenge in the college [on the previous day] I decided to do it again, but this time it would be before the preaching.

As we began the outreach about 50+ children gathered to participate in the dances, songs and dramas, while the adults stood in the shadows watching with caution and curiosity.

I could sense that they were not sure what to make of us or how to respond. To top that off there was a disco club right next to us. When we arrived they began to play their music louder as a protest of our presence.

This time I had one of my students do the healing challenge. He began to call anyone who was sick or had a problem in their body to come forward and saying that we would heal them by the power of our God. For several minutes he called out until two people responded.

One was a small child with a stomach ache, and the other was an old Muslim woman with a problem in her knee. Our students laid hands on them and they were both immediately healed!

Now with proof to back our claims more people began to respond. Several more people came forward and were healed as our students laid hands upon them.

For over an hour we continued to call for the sick to come. It began with just a couple sick people responding and snow-balled into a mob of mass healing, as spectators were now pushing through the crowd to receive their healing.

People ran home to bring their relatives as more and more sick were being instantaneously healed. Deaf ears were being opened, eye problems corrected, body pains gone, heart conditions healed and so much more!

Muslims were thanking Jesus for their healing! Such a commotion was occurring that the disco club closed and the young people came out to watch the event. Never before had this community seen the power of God move in such a way.

After about 2 hours of healing the sick we preached a message of salvation. We told them that it was through the power of Jesus Christ that we healed them and that He was the only way to get to heaven.

We asked those who wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior to come forward. I was so amazed to see that a large majority of those who responded were adults!

People once looming in the shadows now came forward to accept Christ. Many of the people who responded were Muslims, some were the youth from the disco club and one was a witch doctor!

At the end of the outreach some Muslims approached us saying, “We believe in your God” and thanked us for coming to minister to them.

I could feel such a satisfaction fill me as I watched them put into practice that which I had imparted into them.

Hong Kong City Mall and Vietnamese Baptist Church Houston, Texas

In 2008 it was reported that an average of 100 souls decide to accept Jesus Christ every Saturday at this Mall Outreach.

Whitmore Square Adelaide September 2009

Disciples prepare to heal the sick to confirm the gospel

Disciples prepare to heal the sick

Disciples lay hands on the sick

“ Be healed in Jesus’ name!”

Disciples exercise their authority

Sinners repent & turn to Christ

Houston Fall Festival October 2007 Return to Contents

Drug addicts can quickly be delivered from the craving for the drug by the use of authority and mountain-moving faith. Even people addicted to nicotine can be miraculously set free. MINISTRY TO THE POOR & HOMELESS

A mass movement of the gospel-resistant to Jesus Christ Return to Contents

In late 2003 The Elijah Challenge held Basic Training and a Crusade for the purpose of reaching the world’s largest unreached people group which lives in Indonesia.

This people group of forty-five million adherents of the majority religion of Indonesia was known to be very gospel-resistant when approached with traditional evangelistic methods.

In the Basic Training we taught the servants of God how to heal the sick in the name of Jesus Christ, or in Arabic Isa Almasih, to prove to them that He is the only way to the Father. Isa Almasih is acknowledged in their holy book to be a great prophet.

At the ensuing evangelistic healing meeting, a number of these unreachable people came to hear the gospel and to witness the many miraculous healings done in the name of Isa Almasih by the trained local servants of God. Some of them were healed and they also testified.

As a result, over one-half of these gospel-resistant people attending the meeting made the decision to follow Jesus Christ as their only Lord and Savior.

September – October 2003 Reaching the world’s largest unreached people group: The Sundanese of Indonesia

100 trained believers ready for war: healing the sick to prove that Jesus is the only way to the Father

Many people were healed---including the Sundanese---and testified from the platform

Over one-half of the Sundanese at the meeting accept Jesus Christ

They were not asked to renounce their religion---and thus their culture---in a formal way and then to convert publicly to the western religion called Christianity. Christianity is known to them as the “religion of the white European imperialists.” It is also associated by them with decadent aspects of western culture.

They remained outward adherents of their religion, but as born-again followers of Isa Almasih. They worshipped God and were discipled according to the teachings of the Bible not in a church building, but in locations not associated with a church.

In this way, those who were trained in 2003 have now reached over sixty-five villages of this unreached Sundanese people group for the Kingdom of God. Sundanese disciples have also been trained to heal the sick to reach out to their own people with the gospel. These disciples will be far more effective in reaching their own people than outsiders.

Even higher-ranking religious clerics of this people group are now becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. They are initially drawn by the manifestations of miraculous healing power that Jesus Christ gives to His disciples to be effective witnesses.

Someday soon this “unreached” people group will be re-classified by missiologists as “reached.” No, they will not have been “christianized,” something Christ did not necessarily intend.

Rather, they will have in their own community a powerful body of believers that can potentially fulfill the Great Commission to them.

The Church in the west should consider using this approach for reaching Muslims who live in their midst: You do not approach them as a Christian, but as a follower of Isa Almasih who heals the sick. This is an effective approach for achieving a mass movement of Muslims to Jesus Christ.

The traditional approach requiring them to renounce their religion publicly to convert to Christianity, and then going to church every Sunday will usually not result in a mass movement of Muslims to Jesus Christ.

In undeveloped or developing countries dominated by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists… The historical relationship between imperialism and Christianity America, the birthplace of Hollywood and popular western culture, is seen as a “Christian” country by pagan countries

In undeveloped or developing countries dominated by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists… A gospel devoid of miraculous signs in Third World nations has produced many nominal Christians with a poor witness “ Christians” are native or local adherents of the foreign religion called Christianity.

The terms “Christianity,” “Christian,” and “Church”: what Scripture says Christianity – not found in the Bible Christian(s) – found in Acts 11.26, Acts 26.28 & 1 Peter 4.16

Acts 11.19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch… 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

… 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Acts 26.28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” 1 Peter 4.16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. Peter is addressing true disciples of Jesus Christ. Not all “Christians” are true disciples.

THE VISION: Elijah Challenge Training Centers

The Vision: Elijah Challenge Training Centers to be established in cooperation with leaders and local churches around the world

The Vision: TEC Training Centers The leader is trained as an Elijah Challenge Coordinator with Basic Training II The leader uses a local church facility to train servants of God and believers in his area Teaching materials will be provided by The Elijah Challenge

The Vision: TEC Training Centers Each Training Center will be financially self-sufficient and independent Each Coordinator will have his own webpage on The Elijah Challenge website Each Coordinator will be assigned an Elijah Challenge intercessor

How do we know which god is the one true God who created the universe? Return to Contents

Which god is the true God? The One who has authority over disease and demons Luke 4:31-35

Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Witchdoctors and the powers they serve have no such authority

Which god is the true God? The One who has authority to forgive sin --- Mark 2 ---

Mark 2:1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?

9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins....” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Which god is the true God? The One who has supernatural authority to heal the sick is the One who has authority to forgive sin. Sickness ultimately originates from sin. The One with the authority to remove the physical consequence---sickness---has the authority to remove the underlying spiritual cause.

We will learn to use this supernatural authority to heal the sick in Jesus’ name as proof to the world that our God is the only true God

In contrast, there is no such concrete evidence that religion can forgive sin

Authority can be compared to the talents given by the master to his servants Return to Contents

Matthew 25:24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘ Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ This is what often happens after the Training and Outreach are over. Proper follow-up from leaders is necessary for the talent not to be buried in the ground by the disciples. Often a second or third exposure to the Training is necessary.

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! … 28 ”‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much;

Proper follow-up and organized opportunities for trained disciples to heal the sick in an evangelistic context are essential. Otherwise, the fire will usually die out in a few weeks.

How did Peter and Paul minister healing to the sick in Acts after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost --- when the gift of healing was made available to them? Did they speak in tongues when they healed the sick? Return to Contents

Acts tells us specifically when tongues were spoken: Acts 2:4 in the Upper Room Acts 10:46 with Cornelius Acts 19:6 at Ephesus

Acts 3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” Were Peter’s eyes open or closed as he healed the beggar? 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 Then Peter said , “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Is this the gift of healing or the use of authority? Did Peter say: “Father, in the name of Jesus, we command this man to walk?” Did Peter speak in tongues (whether “private” or “public”)? Was there any “priestly” action at all? (However, with the gift of healing, there is likely some “priestly” action.)

7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. How did Peter perform this miracle?

Peter did three things in healing the lame beggar: He looked straight at him and got his attention. He commanded him to walk in the name of Jesus. He took him by the hand and helped him to get up. Remember this when you minister to the lame.

Acts 3:11 While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.

12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “ Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? … .16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.

It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (NIV)

“ Jesus’ name”: authority “ The faith that comes through him”: mountain-moving faith or faith of God

Acts 4:4 But many of those who heard the Word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. Acts 4:22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Acts 9:32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.

34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Is this the gift of healing or the use of authority? Did Peter say: “Father, in the name of Jesus, we command this man to get up?” Did Peter speak in tongues (whether “private” or “public”)? Was there any “priestly” action at all? (However, with the gift of healing, there is likely some “priestly” action.)

Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

The balance between: waiting for a “rhema” or leading from the Lord, and by faith using the authority the Lord has already given us and commanded us to use to accomplish His purposes

Authority - based “ Spirit (or gift) - based” Healing the Sick “ logos” “ rhema”

John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you,

the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

...26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Logos - based healing Luke 10:9 “Heal the sick, and tell them ‘the kingdom of God is near you.’” Primarily for preaching the gospel to the lost, but is also effective for sick believers

Rhema - based healing “ The word of knowledge” and “the gift of healing” Primarily for ministering to infirm believers

Acts 9.39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Acts 9:40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. What did Peter do differently here?

Turning toward the dead woman, he said , “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. Did Peter say: “Father, in the name of Jesus, we command Tabitha to get up”? Did Peter speak in tongues (whether “private” or “public”)? Do you think Peter remained on his knees, or he stood up on his feet? Were his eyes open or closed?

42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

This miracle had two separate and distinct stages: Prayer – priestly action, followed by Commanding – kingly action During which stage did the miracle take place? What is the consequence of mixing praying & commanding?

Why do we often mix praying and commanding when ministering to the infirm? It is because we doubt that we can heal them as Jesus has commanded us to do for the sake of the gospel

The consequence of doubting that we can do what the Lord commands us to do Return to Contents

Matthew 14:28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

30 But… when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “ You of little faith ,” he said, “why did you doubt ?”

Jesus was displeased with Peter because he had commanded him to walk on the water and expected him to obey the command successfully.

It was not enough just for Peter to step out of the boat. He also had to walk on water successfully.

Why did Peter sink? 31 “You of little faith ,” he said, “why did you doubt ?” Peter sank because he doubted Exactly what did Peter doubt?

In doubting that he could walk on water as Jesus had commanded him, one could say Peter lacked… faith of God

Faith of God (or mountain-moving faith) Mark 11:22 And answering Jesus said to them, “Have faith of God.” (MKJV) 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (NIV)

Faith in God: I know the Lord can do it Faith of God: I know I can do it because I have been given the authority and the ability and the command from the Lord to do it

It is not enough just for us to step out of the boat. We must also walk on water successfully.

It is not enough just to try to heal the sick as Jesus commands us. We must also heal the sick successfully to bring souls to Him. We can heal the sick effectively when we give commands with faith of God and without doubt

Fear and faith are opposites Return to Contents

Matthew 8:23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Was Jesus pleased with their cry?

Matt 8:26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” What did Jesus expect them to do?

Remember the failure of the disciples to cast out the demon?

Matthew 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

When the disciples failed to cast out the demon of epilepsy, it was because they lacked mountain-moving faith or faith of God: they doubted they could drive out the demon as Jesus had commanded them

Faith of God regarding a certain matter means that you have no doubt in your heart about that matter: Mark 11:22 And answering Jesus said to them, “Have faith of God.” (MKJV) 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (NIV)

When Peter sank beneath the waves and cried out to Jesus…

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “ You of little faith ,” he said, “why did you doubt? ” Exactly what did Peter doubt?

Peter sank beneath the waves because he lacked faith of God: he doubted that could walk on water as Jesus had commanded him

Again, having doubt means you lack faith of God: Mark 11:22 And answering Jesus said to them, “Have faith of God.” (MKJV) 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (NIV)

When the disciples on the boat feared the wind and the waves…

Matt 8:26 He replied, “You of little faith , why are you so afraid ?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. What kind of faith did they lack? What did Jesus expect them to do? Such miracles are not uncommon.

An approaching storm was rebuked at a Crusade in North India September 2000

Three times the disciples disappointed Jesus In each case they failed to do something that he expected them to do In each case the reason for their failure: they lacked “faith of God”

Jesus would commend outsiders who came with faith that he would heal them: faith in God In contrast, Jesus would rebuke his disciples for failing to perform miracles because they lacked faith of God He was preparing his disciples to take over the great responsibility of fulfilling the Great Commission after he left

Where we have been given authority to do something, we should not be afraid and cry out to God… but rather we should take action as we have been commanded. The “theology of helplessness” has paralyzed the Church for centuries.

Faith in God: I know the Lord can do it My personal testimony of faith Faith of God: I know I can do it because I have been given authority and ability and the command from the Lord to do it

God Disciples of Christ Disease & demons “ faith in God” to be like Him “ faith of God” to do His works

We all know that Jesus can heal the sick. The relevant question here is: can you heal the sick in His name as He has authorized us and commanded us?

Luke 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God.” Do you agree with this statement?

Matthew 17:20 …if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Do you agree with this statement?

John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing… The Lord can do the impossible through those who have mountain-moving faith---faith of God

It would be better not to start just with “big mountains” like terminal cancer Start also with lesser infirmities that are easier to heal By successfully healing these, you will grow in confidence and be ready to move bigger mountains

After you receive this teaching from the word of God, will you obey it? Or will you allow the spirit of fear to continue to paralyze you and cause you to disobey the Lord’s command?

The consequence of fear and unbelief Return to Contents

Fear and unbelief disobedience and rebellion against the Lord’s command ultimately lead to

Moses and the Israelites at the border of the Promised Land

Numbers 13:25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. … 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.

28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” What kind of faith is this?

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”

32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. …All the people we saw there are of great size.

Numbers 14:6 Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes 7 and said, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up.

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.

Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me…? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them…

[Moses:] 19 “In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, 22 not one of the men who … disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 …No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Hebrews 3:16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert?

18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

This is for us New Testament disciples: Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. This faith includes “faith in God” which should result in “faith of God” leading to obedience

… 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Lack of faith & doubt ultimately result in disobedience… Only two families out of over two million Israelites entered the Promised Land

… 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Lack of faith & fear ultimately result in disobedience… and failure of God’s people to enter His rest

Fear and unbelief disobedience and rebellion against the Lord’s command to the Israelites to invade the Promised Land ultimately led to

The Lord’s command to us heal the sick proclaim the kingdom of God fulfill the Great Commission live a holy life love and do good to others

The Lord commands us to be strong and courageous

Moses failed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land because of their fear and unbelief. The Lord wanted to be sure that his successor Joshua would not fail. With this in mind, let’s see what the Lord commanded Joshua…

Joshua 1:6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous…

… 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Important Alert! There may be times you will be discouraged with: little or inconsistent results trials of various kinds

Persevere and stand the test! 1 Corinthians 4:2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much;

To do the works of God, we must have… the authority of God and faith of God

How can we grow in mountain-moving faith? Return to Contents

Luke 17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.

2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 So watch yourselves.

“ If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘ Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

7 “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?

8 Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?

9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘ We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

If you want mountain-moving faith to drive out diseases and demons, learn to subdue your flesh through mountain-moving faith

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

Make your flesh your “slave” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Written by the Apostle Paul

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.

27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. What is Paul talking about? The answer is found as we continue reading his epistle.

1 Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; (Colossians 3:5 Put to death … sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.)

8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.

I Corinthians 10:10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples [or types] and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live…

Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Infirmities are also our “servants” and can be used to bring glory to God

John 9:1 Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. After that, Jesus healed the man.

As you exercise your authority over disease and demons, be sure that you also exercise your authority over your flesh so that you may live a holy life

What is the basis for the laying on of hands? Return to Contents

Mark 5:24 …A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. Healing power flowed from Jesus to the woman as she made physical contact with him by touching his cloak. This is why Jesus laid hands on the sick. The word for “power” in the Greek is “dunamis.”

He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman…told him the whole truth.

34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.

Where should we lay our hands on the infirm person?

Mark 7:32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears.

Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). Jesus laid hands on the man precisely on the location of his infirmities.

35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Where did Jesus put his hands on a blind person? Mark 8:22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

Mark 8:24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Again, Jesus put his hands on the precise location of the infirmity.

Sometimes you will need to minister more than once for the complete healing. You will need to persevere and to continue giving the commands until the person is completely healed.

When laying hands on the infirmity, it is best if possible to focus your eyes on the infirmity or the person. You are speaking directly and personally to the infirmity, and not to the air. For example, if you are speaking to another person, you look at that person. Therefore, it is best to focus on the infirmity or the person.

A powerful testimony of mountain-moving faith with persistence By Carl Henderson Missionary to the Philippines

My 84-year-old mother was a bedridden Alzheimer patient. She had not walked in over four months, and had not eaten solid food in over a month. The hospice people said she was dying. We drove a long distance to say our last goodbyes to her but I came with a plan to use God's authority and the name of Jesus to heal her.

After my family sang hymns, ministered to her and loved on her, they left the room in tears. There was a dark, palpable spirit of death in the room. I ministered the Elijah Challenge "A-bomb" to her for over an hour continuously, taking authority many times over her many symptoms---those I could remember or that she could tell me about.

She experienced some gradual improvement in some lesser symptoms: headache, blurry vision, and weakness, etc. I also explained to her God's authority to heal her, while I rubbed lotion on her painful feet. I did this to show my love for her and so that she could believe also.

She was in and out of consciousnesses during this time. I continued speaking to her and rebuking the disease. I even rebuked the spirit of death many times.

Many, many times I continued to command healing to her from head to toe, and at the end of an hour she said she felt tingling and warmth in her legs. At that point, I commanded her to get up and walk in Jesus name! I helped her to her feet and walked her around her room.

At first she walked slowly, but within five minutes with confidence and without help. She walked into the living room with me holding her hand (she said "I was her date") and continued on to the dining room table where she sat down. She announced, no longer whispering faint words, that she was hungry and wanted to eat "real food."

My shocked family could not believe what they were seeing. My mother's face was even glowing and had color. The deathly pallor was gone and her voice was strong. My sister who is her caretaker said, "What did you do?" I told her, "God healed her." They made her dinner and she ate heartily and she followed it up with a big piece of pie.

She then walked to a chair in the living room and sat down with my 3-year-old son, her grandson. They sat together, talked and watched TV; he was meeting her for the first time. After an hour she announced she was tired and wanted to go back to bed. We helped her from the chair and she walked back to bed for a nap.

The next day she was still walking around the house and eating by herself. She was actually getting into the refrigerator and frustrating my poor sister. When we left for our long drive home she wanted to come out on the porch to see us off. We hugged her and left her standing at the door as we drove away.

That was four years ago. She went from her deathbed to a nuisance in about an hour because of the The Elijah Challenge A-Bomb.

My sister [now] tells me that at 89 years old, she is going downhill again with Alzheimer's disease and is more in bed than out. However, she already has had four more years of life because of the authority and power of Jesus' name. She says now "she is tired and is ready to go home to the Lord."

Long story made short, don't give up. No one in my family believed after we viewed her terrible condition that she would live---let alone be healed. She was obviously dying; in fact, it was hard to keep from weeping at the sight of her.

I still hoped and believed she could be healed. Someone who believes with ‘Mountain-Moving Faith’ is more than enough for God. It took some perseverance but our God was and is faithful.” “ If you believe you will see the glory of the Lord." John 11:40

Ministering to those with cancer Rebuke this violent disease sternly and forcefully Even after you see improvement, be very alert and continue to rebuke it daily. It has been known to return with a vengeance.

Healing at a Distance… is based on pure authority Return to Contents

Luke 7:2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant…

… 6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “ Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.

7 …But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” The military understands authority. Authority is not affected by distance. “ Authority” in Greek is “exousia.”

10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “ I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

Why did Jesus praise the faith of this man?

Was it because this man had not only faith in God, but also understood how to exercise authority with… faith of God --- with no doubt in his heart that his men would obey his commands?

Perhaps “complete faith” involves having both faith in God and faith of God

The relationship between authority and power for healing Authority (“exousia”) is used for healing at a distance Power (“dunamis”) is used in the laying on of hands

If possible, it is best to both exercise authority over the infirmity as well as to lay hands on the infirm person Because two are better than one!

What is called “mass healing” can be understood as a special case of healing-at-a-distance. Just as authority is not affected by distance, it is also not affected by number. Therefore you can minister healing at a distance to more than one person at a time.

Demonstration of healing-at-a-distance

One person’s faith can be added to another person’s faith to result in a miraculous healing Return to Contents

Acts 14.8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.

Acts 14:9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed Not everyone has faith to be healed

10 and called out , “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. What kind of faith did Paul add? He added mountain-moving faith. The man’s faith plus Paul’s faith were enough to result in the miracle.

Paul’s mountain-moving faith combined with the man’s faith in God for healing resulted in a great miracle… Faith therefore can be additive; the more total faith, the better.

There can be infirm people with no faith or even negative faith for their healing It is usually fruitless ministering healing to someone who has negative faith

Mark 6:4 Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said , “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. When you are ministering to someone with an infirmity in their legs, you may want to help them get up after you give the command.

Matthew 12:9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there… 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

Broader authority in the context of preaching the gospel Return to Contents

Acts 13:6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Was this action from Paul’s carnal anger or from the Holy Spirit?

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. How do we reconcile this with the command to “love your enemy”?

Was Elymas a personal enemy of Paul? 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Elymas was an enemy of everything that is right, an enemy of God sent to stop the advance His Kingdom

12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. In the context of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, believers have a measure of authority to remove obstacles.

The operation of the gift of healing is different from the exercise of authority…. Return to Contents

Operating in the gift of healing may require very little effort

Acts 5: 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. 12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people . And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them , even though they were highly regarded by the people.

Acts 5:14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed. Scripture does not specifically say here that people accepted Christ because of the miracles as it does elsewhere in Acts. Perhaps those who came were mostly already believers or new believers who needed healing and deliverance. Perhaps that is why Peter was operating in the gift of healing on this occasion.

There are different manifes-tations or forms of the gift of healing (according to Young’s Literal Translation, “gift s of healing s ” in 1 Corinthians 12:9 )

There can be overlap between the authority to heal and the gifts of the Holy Spirit

Ministry to Believers in the context of the Body of Christ James 5:14-16 Return to Contents

Who was the author of this epistle? Scholars tell us it was either: James the younger brother of Jesus or a James who lived much later

If he was the younger brother of Jesus, then we can assume, not unreasonably, that James learned about healing directly or indirectly through the ministry of his older brother Jesus.

If the author was in fact someone who lived much later, we can assume that his epistle was based on inspired understanding gleaned from earlier teachings, writings, and Scriptures.

Whoever was the author of this epistle, he wrote it to encourage believers to continue in the teaching handed down by Jesus Christ.

How did Jesus teach his disciples to minister to the sick? He did not teach them to pray for the sick. He taught them to heal the sick by laying hands over them and exercising the authority he had given them over diseases.

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Praying over is not the same as praying for

The Greek word “epi” (pray ‘ over ’) is a preposition that is almost always found to describe the relative physical position between two objects: “ upon, on, at, by, before, of position, over, against, to, over, across.” For example, to “lay hands over the sick.”

Praying over the sick is not the same as praying for the sick. Could praying over the sick be identical to what Jesus taught, which was speaking over the infirm with authority and laying hands over them?

We have seen that ministry to the infirm as Jesus taught his disciples in the gospels was very similar to how the sick were healed in Acts after the Day of Pentecost. Why should healing in the gospels and in Acts be so different from what it was in the time of James and what it is today?

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. What kind of faith? Mountain-moving faith or faith of God However, there are certain conditions for the believer to be healed.

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your trespasses to one another, Unlike non-believers, believers must be forgiven of their sins before God will heal them. Believers are accountable before God. Therefore believers must confess their sins to one another.

Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. When we confess our trespasses to one another and forgive one another, God will forgive us, and we can be healed.

and pray for one another, that you may be healed. After we forgive one another, then we pray for one another in love. This releases God’s healing power for infirm believers. Only then can we pray over the infirm believer effectively with power and authority.

This is why Peter could use authority (and not simply prayer) to raise Dorcas, who was a believer

When ministering healing to believers in the context of evangelism, infirm believers may need to forgive others before their healing can take place

Spirits which cause infirmities Return to Contents

Luke 13:10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “ Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then He put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Luke 11:14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. Demons can cause dumbness

Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “ You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” Spirits can cause deafness

Matthew 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. Demons can cause blindness

What about the possibility of “backlash” from demons that we cast out of people? If they sense you have fear and doubt, they may try to intimidate you. Do not accept it; rebuke them.

The practice of “spiritual warfare” against territorial spirits and principalities Return to Contents

In his word, Jesus commands us to: love God and one another to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, to cast out demons to make disciples of all nations as well as other specific matters Did he ever command us to drive out principalities & territorial spirits?

It might be presumptuous and even risky to attempt to operate in the realm of the supernatural without a specific command from the Lord to do so. Remember Peter’s attempt to walk on water which was specifically commanded by the Lord.

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Jesus has given us authority over “snakes and scorpions.” Their activity is at ground level afflicting people. Therefore they might not refer to territorial spirits and principalities in the heavenlies. Scripture does not clearly teach that we have been given authority over territorial spirits and principalities.

In some church circles today, We pray to God and ask Him to heal the sick on earth, and We directly come against and rebuke principalities and territorial spirits in the heavens Does the Church have it backwards?

Does the Church have it backwards? Instead of only praying for the sick, we should also be healing them in Jesus’ name Instead of directly commanding territorial spirits to leave, we should rather pray and ask God to deal with them if we are burdened about them God may send angels in response (Daniel 10)

(NAS) Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm . 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth… … 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Armor is generally defensive in nature and not for offense. Three times we are told to “stand firm.” This does not refer to driving out the rulers and powers above. Rather it refers to standing firm and resisting their attacks and flaming missiles.

James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? … 4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? … 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. “ Resist the devil” here refers not to attacking territorial spirits above, but to resisting his temptations to sin.

Verses 10 and 11 (“put on the full armor of God”) speak of a defensive posture against the devil’s schemes, not an offensive one. Moreover, the foot soldiers of one army do not directly attack the generals of the enemy army. These verses do not contain a specific command for us to come against these spirit beings directly and personally.

Why do infirmities sometimes return? Return to Contents

Luke 11:24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’

25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.” And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Demons Disease Our flesh are all under our authority and they have something in common

Like demons, the works of the flesh may attempt to return What should we do then?

Matthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Like demons and the deeds of the flesh, the infirmity may also attempt to return

Just as we rebuke demons and the deeds of our flesh should they attempt to return, we also rebuke and resist the infirmity if it returns

Keeping the right balance Return to Contents

The Lord heals the sick in different ways

But… We must be careful to follow Scripture because… not all miracles are from God, and not all who come in the name of Jesus Christ are from God.

Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, and will deceive many. This verse as it stands makes little sense.

Any servant of Christ who comes to us in Jesus’ name claiming to be the Christ will be promptly rejected. He will deceive no one. In line with this, there is no one in the Church today who actually claims to be the Christ. But Jesus warns us there will be many. How can we understand his warning?

Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, and will deceive many. In Greek “I am the Christ” can also be translated “I am the anointed.” Today in the Church there are many who claim to “be anointed” or to have “the anointing.”

The words “anointing” or “anointed” are never used in the New Testament to refer to disciples of Jesus Christ who are enabled to minister to others in power or through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let’s examine the instances of these words in the NIV.

“ Anointing”: Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. This refers to the anointing on Jesus Christ Himself , and not an anointing on any disciple to minister to others.

“ Anointing”: 1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. This refers to an anointing for us to know the truth , and not an anointing for ministering to others with supernatural power.

“ Anointing”: 1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit… This refers to an anointing which teaches us about all things , not to an anointing for us to minister to others.

“ Anointed”: Mark 6:13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. This refers to physically anointing sick people with oil to heal them , not to an anointing on the disciples to minister supernatural healing.

“ Anointed”: Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, This refers to the anointing on Jesus Christ Himself , not on any disciple.

“ Anointed”: Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. This refers to Jesus Christ Himself , not to any disciple.

“ Anointed”: Acts 4:27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. This refers to Jesus Christ Himself , not to any disciple.

“ Anointed”: Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. This refers to the anointing on Jesus Christ Himself , not on any disciple.

“ Anointed”: 2 Cor 1:21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. This refers to us being anointed with the Spirit as a guarantee of our heavenly inheritance , not for ministry.

“ Anoint”: Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. This refers to Jesus being physically anointed for burial , not to an anointing on us to minister to others with power.

“ Anoint”: James 5:14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. This refers to physically anointing sick people with oil , not to an anointing on any disciple to minister to others.

We have just examined all the instances of the words “anointing,” “anointed,” and “anoint” which are found in the New Testament of the New International Version of the Bible

Current usage of the words “anointed” and “anointing” to refer to servants of God who can minister with power does not follow New Testament practice. Proper usage of these words applies to one person alone in the New Testament: the Messiah Jesus Christ. He alone was anointed to save, to deliver, and to heal.

It is clear that as the Christ, Jesus was anointed to save us. The Greek word for save is sozo. The word sozo includes not only saving from sin, but also to deliver or protect: to heal from sickness, to preserve, to save, to do well, to be or make whole.

It is clear that only Jesus Christ was anointed to save us in this way. No man or disciple is anointed to save us and heal us and deliver us as only Christ was.

What about the Old Testament? The Old Testament contains shadows (Col 2:17) and types which are fulfilled in the New Testament. Instances of the anointing upon men and of anointed ones in the Old Testament were all fulfilled in Messiah Jesus: the only one anointed to save, heal, and deliver.

Therefore we should exercise careful discernment toward those ministers who claim to be “anointed” or to have the “anointing” to perform miracles. Some of them may be the false Christs and false prophets about whom Jesus warned us.

Matthew 24:11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 24 For false Christs [or “false anointed ones”] and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.

Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets. …22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

How can we take care not to be deceived by false prophets who can perform miracles? Jesus commands us to “watch out” for them. The only gauge must be Scripture itself.

The miracles must be performed as they are performed in Scripture. We must be cautious toward: methods & practices, and supernatural manifestations which are not strongly supported by Scripture.

In the Elijah Challenge, there are three general criteria for determining what supernatural practices are acceptable. We do this to stay on the safe side. The practice or method must be clearly commanded by the Lord for us to perform it. The practice or method must have actually been performed by a disciple of Jesus Christ in Scripture.

It is best if the practice or method is not simply a one-time occurrence in Scripture, but is based solidly on Scriptural principles. We must exercise caution and discernment toward practices or methods involving the spirit realm that do not meet these criteria.

As just one example, did Jesus ever explicitly command his disciples to drive out territorial spirits and principalities? Was this action actually performed anywhere in the Bible by a servant of God?

These same three criteria we also apply to the many different supernatural manifestations that we see in churches today. As just one example, do the supernatural manifestations of gold dust and diamonds appearing during meetings find strong support in Scripture?

Why do we need to be so careful and conservative? Because Jesus commands us to “watch out that no one deceives you.” He commands us to watch out for the many “false prophets who will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect.”

Matthew 24:11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 24 For false Christs [or “anointed ones”] and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.

If we do not heed the Lord’s repeated warnings seriously, we may be deceived. We will not able simply to blame the false prophet who deceived us. We all have the Scriptures. There will be consequences for those who allow themselves to be deceived.

Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

The Greek word translated “ferocious” in Matthew 7:15 literally means “rapacious” or “ravenous” as when describing an extortionist or a robber.

Wolves prey on sheep to satisfy their excessive covetousness

Who are these false prophets---these wolves in sheep’s clothing?

False prophets: Greed Counterfeit miracles

1 Timothy 6:3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,

4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions

5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you…

2 Peter 2:2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up…

… 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!

15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. (Jude 11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error...)

… 17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

To be safe, it is best to be cautious and to exercise discernment regarding practices or supernatural manifestations that are not strongly supported by the New Testament… and that do not have any actual precedent as having been seen or practiced in Scripture.

For example, the New Testament is mostly silent about the role of angels in miraculous healing. Thus we should be careful not to deliberately involve them in healing the infirm. Our focus should not be on angels.

Not all miracles are from God 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

How do you recognize a true prophet or teacher?

The outward evidence of a true servant of God Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...

Genesis 4:2 …Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

Rejoice not in the authority you have been given, but rather in your salvation

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 20 “ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

“ Final Examination” Return to Contents

Choose one: Faith in God? or Faith of God?

Choose one: Prayer to God? or Commanding diseases?

Choose one: Power of the Holy Spirit? or Fruit of the Holy Spirit?

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Elijah Challenge New South Wales … will be providing follow-up and opportunities for you to heal the sick and preach the gospel in organized settings. If you want to help provide leadership for the team, please let me know. If you are interested in joining this team, please give us your contact information on the sign-up sheet.

If you give us your email on the sign-up sheet, we will also send you via email the links on the internet where you can download this Powerpoint presenta-tion and the The Elijah Challenge Training Manual for free.

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Do you believe that Jesus can heal you?

Matthew 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“ Yes, Lord,” they replied.

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored.

Those who are healed must testify publicly---their testimonies will be the proof that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father

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