Copyrights

Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the
Bible.
The Amplified Bible, New Testament. Copyright © 1954, 1958 by The
Lockman Foundation. La Habra, Used by Permission.

The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest

Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights
reserved.)

Hebrew and Greek word meanings are taken from Biblesoft’s New
Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-
Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)

First Edition: October 2017

ON WINGS OF EAGLE & DOVE

ISBN: 978-981-11-0211-0

Published by: Jesus Ministries Pte Ltd

Bukit Timah
PO Box 322
Singapore 915811

Copyright © 2017 by JESUS MINISTRIES PTE LTD. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.

Cover Artwork: Kathy Berry, USA; © Jesus Ministries

Book Design: Johnny Lim, Jesus Ministries
Printed in Chennai, India
Dedication
This book is worshipfully dedicated to the Heavenly Father for His grace
and mercy, to the Lord Jesus Christ for revealing these precious truths, and
the Holy Spirit for inspiring and teaching me to write this book

and

to every dear and sincere believer who had greatly desired to be used by
God in the gifts of the Holy Spirit but did not know how they could be
recipients of the matchless Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to the Last Days’
Army of God
Acknowledgement
I want to humbly express my deep and profound gratitude with thanks,
acknowledging the sacrifices of labor and love that the followingdear
brothers and sisters rendered to make this book a reality:

Jeremiah Godsman, for tireless work to transcribe these messages from CD

into manuscript,

Amutha Arnasalam, for burning the midnight oil to proofread the book
before it went to the press,

Johnny Lim, for his tireless work of designing the art-cover and doing the
layout of the book,

And to

Bartek Muszynski, for his painstaking labors of love in proofreading &

editing this book.
Preface
It was in March 1980 when I first heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit
and began to pray earnestly for it. Subsequently, I was filled with the Holy
Spirit in September 1981. However, my desire and quest for the gifts of the
Holy Spirit and the deep things of God wereas awakened in earnest after
witnessing the life and ministry of the late Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran (1935-
2008), an apostolic-prophetic evangelist from Chennai, India This man of
God not only moved mightily in the gifts of the Holy Spirit but also walked
and talked with God like the prophets Enoch and Moses

Seeing the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon his life, first in 1981,
spurred me to cry out like the prophet Elisha, “Where is the God of Elijah?”
(2 Kg 2:14). Day and night, I earnestly cried out to the Lord God for the
power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Then, on December 22, 1982, as I was
lying on my bed and meditating, in a vision I saw cloven tongues of fire
descending upon me and tangibly felt an anointing flowing all over me
(Acts 2:3). I then audibly heard the Lord calling out my name twice (cf. 1
Sam 3:4-6).

Two days later, while caroling on Christmas Eve, I witnessed my first

healing miracle. I was asked to pray for a church member’s daughter who
was suffering from a severe stomach disorder. She was instantly healed
after prayer. This miracle greatly excited me and caused a deeper hunger for
all the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Subsequently, one day in March 1994 in Kalimpong, India, as I was

waiting on God, the Lord Jesus visited me, and said, “My dear son, today is
your birthday. I have come to give you a birthday gift.” Every year on my
birthday, the Lord will always come to bless me with a gift. But I had
totally forgotten that it was my birthday that day. When He appeared before
me that day I was as excited as always. I turned to Him, “Here I am Lord.
Lay Your blessing hands upon me and bless me.”

With a gentle smile, the Lord Jesus put His hand into His pocket and
took out a little box. It was like one of those small boxes that would carry a
ring inside. It was beautifully wrapped in gold and silver foil, which also
looked green and orange at the same time. Tied around it with a beautiful
ribbon that was also green and orange in color.

Our gracious Lord said, “This is for you.” So very excitedly I received
the gift from the Hands of the Lord. I thought it might be a gold ring or
something like that in the box. However, when I opened the box, I was quite
surprised. Instead of a ring, I found a small piece of paper that was folded in
two. I looked up to the Lord, and said in my heart, “Lord, what is this?”

With a smile, the Lord answered, “You had been praying for this gift
for 10 years. Today I am blessing you with this gift.” When I unfolded the
paper, I immediately realized that God could not have given me something
better. No, not even a 24-carat diamond would have satisfied me more than
what I saw written on the paper. On it was written, ‘ISA 11:2.’

For about 10 years I was constantly praying and asking the Lord to
bless me with the Seven Spirits of God. The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are
for all believers. But the Seven Spirits of God are for mature believers and
ministers who really walk with God. When I looked at my birthday note, the
Lord said, “Kneel down.” So I knelt down. He laid His hands upon me and
said, “I am blessing you today and filling you with this gift. From today
onwards all these seven Spirits of the Lord will manifest in your life and
will begin to flow, not only with the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit but in the
fullness of the seven Spirits of the Lord.” And sure enough, from that very
day, these gifts began to manifest.

Though I was overjoyed to receive such a great blessing from the

merciful kindness of the Lord, I didn’t understand much about this subject.
There was hardly any teaching on it. So I said to the Lord, “Lord, I never
ever heard anybody ever preach on the Seven Spirits of the Lord. So how
do these Spirits manifest? How do they work? How can I learn to flow in
the Seven Spirits of the Lord if I do not have any understanding about
them? I must have some understanding so as to flow in all the Seven Spirits
of the Lord. I must know when that anointing is manifesting so that I could
cooperate with the Holy Spirit and flow along. What principles are there?
What are the dos and don’ts of the gift?”

After hearing my humble and childlike plea, like a loving Father, the
Lord Jesus Christ smiled at me with a very sweet smile. He then said,
“Alright, now I will teach you.” So for the next one and half hours I sat
down at the feet of the Master Teacher–my Lord and My God and He taught
me all about the workings of the Seven Spirits of the Lord—what they are,
what they constitute, how they work, and how to flow or soar in them.

Over the last 37 years of my ministry for the Lord, it has pleased the
Holy Spirit to graciously manifest, out of the manifold riches of God’s
grace, all of these gifts as the occasion demanded.

The first time I ever taught on this subject was in October 1994 in
Perth, Australia. The second time was in 2003 in Lancaster, California. In
July 2015 the Word of the Lord came unto me: “Make known the Gifts of
the Holy Spirit and the Seven Spirits of God.” Subsequently, I wrote two
books—albeit in abridged form, On Dove’s Wings and On Eagle’s Wings.

On August 11, 2015, just a few days before the conference at Lancaster,
California, I was walking on the aerobridge at Narita Airport in Tokyo,
Japan to board the connecting flight to Los Angeles when I felt a presence
come alongside me (cf. Lk 24:13-15). When I turned around I was
pleasantly surprised to see the Lord Jesus Christ. He walked alongside me
and said: “At the conference in Lancaster you shall declare the beginnings
of the manifestation of the powers of the age to come—the last days’
anointing that shall be poured out upon this world.” of---of and – powers
tsn
 In this book, I open my heart and share candidly the things of the Spirit
—the hidden riches of the secret places. And I believe you too will believe.
It does not matter if some people don’t believe because there’ll always be
some skeptics—those who will not believe.

Once, while in the course of sharing these messages, a saint from

heaven appeared to me and said, “Don’t be bothered about those who don’t
believe. You must teach this to make the people know the reality of such
things so that when it happens to them, they will know it’s not demonic.
They will know they’re not imagining it. And they will know it is real and
from God.”

As always, in public meetings with limited time, it is never possible to

share all that needs to be shared. But, in a book like this, except for the
volume of paper, there is no limitation of time. Therefore, I have
endeavored to share more than what was publicly preached.

In this book I have put into writing in simple terms the practical aspects
of what the gifts are about and biblical examples of their manifestation so
that every believer could learn the simplicity of the working of the gifts and
flow effortlessly with the Holy Spirit in demonstrating the power of God (1
Cor 2:4; 1 Thes 1:5).

This book first appeared as two separate volumes: On Dove’s Wings

and On Eagle’s Wings in July 2015. Over the past two years, more
revelation has been added. I felt that the two separate books, since they
complement each other, should best be presented as one book because each
is not complete without the other.

In these last days, it is the expressed desire of the Lord to pour out the
powers of God—nine gifts and the seven Spirits of God upon all—the
whole body of Christ (Ezek 37:1-10). The Lord has moved me to write this
book for such a time as this.
 So get ready to be filled with the powers of God!

Sundar Selvaraj
October 2017
Introduction
“Spiritual Gifts are for this day and age we are living in;
the only reason for their scarcity is that Christians have
become lukewarm and heathen again, with only a dead
form left.” – John Wesley

In the year 1983 I had a dream. In this dream, I was sitting at an oval
conference table with my church pastors and the Lord Jesus. I was telling
my pastor about my calling and the ministry which the Lord wanted me to
do for Him. My pastor was listening to me with a patronizing smile. The
Lord Jesus told me, “He will not believe what you will tell him. Don’t be
disheartened. I am with you and will use you mightily in the days to come.”

The next morning I made an appointment to see my pastor and related

to Him my call from the Lord. When I observed his reaction, it was an exact
replay of the dream which I had the previous night. With a patronizing
smile he said, “Thambi (little brother), I am not a fool to believe what you
just told me. I spent four years in a theological seminary and I know that
God does not speak by visions and revelations anymore. Those days of
revelation were finished when the Bible was completed.”

Like the above-mentioned pastor, there are many seminary-trained

theology professors, clergymen, and believers, who also believe that the
days of miracles and revelation ceased when the last period after the final
word “Amen” was put in the Bible. Or they may say, “The gifts of the Holy
Spirit have ceased operating since the death of the last apostle.” Is that true?
Are the gifts no longer valid, functioning and operating today?

Let us briefly leaf through history to see whether the gifts of the Holy
Spirit had ceased since the first century A.D. In the 4th century, there lived
a brilliant Christian teacher called Augustine of Hippo. In his tract, On True
Religion, he wrote, “Miracles were not allowed to continue because they
were no longer needed to kindle faith.” Yet thirty years later, seeing the
demonstration of miraculous healing in his North African diocese, he could
no longer deny that God was still performing miracles.

History gives us a full menu of men and women who moved in the
power of the Spirit of God:

1. Ignatius (33-109 A.D.), the third Bishop of Antioch, frequently had the
manifestations of the gift of prophecy.

2. Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) noted in about 135 A.D. that Christian
believers exercised the gifts of the Holy Spirit in his days.

3. Irenaeus (130-200 A.D.), the Bishop of Lyons (France), reported that in

his ministry the believers saw visions, prophesied, healed the sick,
spoke in tongues and even the dead were raised.

4. Tertullian (160-225 A.D.), the greatest theologian during his days, used
to encourage new Christians to be filled in the Holy Spirit and exercise
the gifts.

5. Eusebius (260-340 A.D.), the father of church history, in his writings,

mentioned that the church exercised all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

6. Athanasius (296-373 A.D.), the Bishop of the African city Alexandria,

wrote that during his days even the bishops moved in signs and
wonders.

7. Hilary (315-367 A.D.), the Bishop of Poitiers (France), specifically

mentioned the gifts of tongues, prophecy, healing and miracles being
exercised in the church during his days.
8. Epiphanius (315-403 A.D.), the Bishop of Salamis (eastern
Mediterranean), was a prophet himself and used to minister in
prophecy and words of knowledge and wisdom.

9. Cyril (315-387 A.D.), the Bishop of Jerusalem, used to encourage new

believers to expect to receive the heavenly gifts of the Holy Spirit.

10. Augustine (354-430 A.D.), carefully documented miracles of raising the

dead, healings of paralysis, breast cancer, hernias, blindness and even
of people being slain in the Spirit in his diocese.

11. Severus (465-538 A.D.), the patriarch of Antioch, wrote of incidents of

healings, revelations, prophecy and miracles.

12. Pope Gregory the Great and Gregory the Bishop of Tours (540-604
A.D.), chronicled miracles and spiritual gifts in manifestation during
their time.

13. Aidan (651 A.D.), the Bishop of Lindisfarne, demonstrated signs and
wonders in his missionary work. He prophesied, healed the blind, the
lame and even raised the dead.

14. Joseph Hazzaya (710 A.D.), wrote a beautiful treatise on the signs of the
Holy Spirit.

15. Ulrich of Aungsburg (890-973 A.D.), worked miracles throughout

Germany.

16. Anselm (1033-1109 A.D.), Bishop of Canterbury, performed healings

and miracles across England.

17. Hugh of London (1140-1200 A.D.), was famous for healing, miracles,
prophecy and words of wisdom and knowledge.
18. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 A.D.), the greatest theologian of the
Middle Ages, wrote in his Summa Theologica of how God worked
miracles through believers.

19. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380 A.D.), worked miracles, raised the dead,
prophesied and had words of wisdom and knowledge. She even
counseled kings and popes who sought her for her spiritual gifts.

20. George Fox (1624-1691 A.D.), in his Book of Miracles, documented

150 healings which took place in his ministry.

21. John Wesley (1703-1791 A.D.), founder of the Methodist Church, was
also used by God in divine healing.

22. Edward Irving (1792-1834 A.D.), exercised the gift of tongues and
supernatural healing in the National Scottish Church in London.

23. Consider the following comments by Protestant-Era and later reformers:

a. John Calvin (AD 1509-1564) wrote in his Commentary on the

Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, Vol. 1, pg. 437
(making reference to 1 Corinthians 14:5): “… there are at present
great theologians, who declaim against [prophecy and tongues]
with furious zeal. As it is certain that the Holy Spirit has here
honored the use of tongues with never-dying praise, we may very
readily gather, what is the kind of spirit that actuates those
reformers, who level as many reproaches as they can against the
pursuit of them.”

b. The following statement is found in Souer’s History of the Christian

Church, Vol. 3, pg. 206: “Dr. Martin Luther was a prophet,
evangelist, speaker in tongues and interpreter, in one person,
endowed with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”
 c. Rev. Dr. R. Boyd, a very intimate friend of Dwight L. Moody, in
writing about him in his book, Trails and Triumphs of Faith, 1875
Edition, pg. 402, wrote: “When I got to the rooms of the YMCA
(Victoria Hall, London), I found the meeting on fire. The young
men were speaking with tongues and prophesying. What on earth
did it mean? Only that Moody has been addressing them that
afternoon! What manner of man is this? I cannot describe Moody’s
great meeting: I can only say that the people of Sunderland warmly
supported the moment, in spite of their local spiritual advisers.”

Ancient early Church Fathers taught that the spiritual gifts listed in 1
Corinthians 12 will continue until “that which is perfect” comes (1 Cor
13:10). The perfect thing, according to the Church Fathers is the second
coming of the Lord Jesus. Irenaeus, an early church father states that, “that
which is perfect” and “face to face” refer to the Second Coming (Against
Heresies 4.9).

Throughout the first 400 years of early church history, the Church
Fathers taught that spiritual gifts were a necessary part of the church and
they were exercised by believers.

1. Justin Martyr, AD 165: The prophetical gifts are only manifested

among Christians and still continue (Dialogue 82).

2. Origen, AD 240: Christians still expel demons and heal the sick
(Against Celsus 1.67). Christians still do miracles, and prophesy
(Against Celsus 2.8).

3. Archelaus, AD 280: The gifts still operate, prophecies and tongues, in

all languages of the world (Acts of Manes 37).

Dr. Conrad Von Orelli, a highly esteemed historian from the University
of Basil, Switzerland wrote that all through the pages of church history—
even during the Dark Ages, evidence for the operation of spiritual gifts were
found in the churches.

Jaroslav Pelikan, a former professor at Yale University once said

(being a non-charismatic), “The history of the Church has never been
altogether without the spontaneous gifts of the Holy Spirit.” What more
could be said? The days of miracles have not finished nor passed because
the God of miracles is still reigning on His throne. The gifts of the Holy
Spirit will continue on till the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

Consider Joshua.

JOSHUA 1:2-5
2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go
over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land
which I am giving to them — the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon
I have given you, as I said to Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the
great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the
Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down
of the sun, shall be your territory.
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days
of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
I will not leave you nor forsake you.

After the death of the prophet Moses, Joshua was mourning and
probably wondering who will lead the children of Israel into Canaan. The
Lord God told him, “My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this
Jordan” (Josh 1:2). Joshua may have thought, “Who am I to do this?” He
was not the prophet Moses—the miracle worker! Reading between the lines
in verses 3-5, the Lord God may have been saying to Joshua, “Moses,
through whom I worked miracles is dead, but the God who worked the
miracles is still alive!”
 I lovingly urge you to thoroughly study the book of Acts. It is the book
which does not have an end. Why? Because the exploits of the church
continue. The saga of the Holy Spirit’s manifestations through His gifts has
not ended yet.

In our examination of all the gifts—the nine spiritual gifts and the
seven Spirits of God—we attempt to be technical and specific in defining
them, looking at each one as an individual gift. However, as Derek Prince
has so nicely explained, they are like the colors of the rainbow: violet,
indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Each color in the rainbow is
distinguishable, but it is difficult to say, where one color ends and the next
color begins. They blend into one another.

So what should we do? Let us not be misinformed about the gifts of the
Holy Spirit, but rather, earnestly pursue and desire after them, so that we
could be witnesses for the Lord Jesus (Acts 1.8; 1 Cor 12.1; 14:1).
Chapter 1 - The Gifts in the Gift
1 CORINTHIANS 12:1
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not
want you to be ignorant.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:1 (Greek)

1 Now about spiritual gifts – the special endowments
of supernatural energy, I do not want you to be
uninformed or have any misunderstanding about them.

The phrase now concerning spiritual gifts in the Greek is peride ton
pneumatikon which literally means now concerning spirituals. It speaks of
spiritual matters concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Since the gifts of
the Spirit are spiritual matters, the apostle Paul exhorted the Church not to
be ignorant of them.

The word “ignorant” in Greek is agnoeo meaning to be ignorant of,

without knowledge, not to know, not to understand, unknown, to mistake, be
wrong. In that one word agnoeo the Holy Spirit was implying: Do not be
mistaken or wrong, nor remain in a state of not knowing and
understanding; neither be uninformed about the spiritual gifts.

There are two kinds of ignorance. One is to be ignorant of the existence

of something and the other is to be ignorant of the operation of it. Both are
dangerous and unprofitable.

Once, Charles Spurgeon visited a poverty-stricken old lady who lived

in his alms-house. As he was looking at her meagre possessions, he noticed
a certain picture frame with a piece of paper in it. Noticing a signature on
that piece of paper, he asked the old lady what it was. She told him that
years ago she had nursed an old man. On his deathbed, he wrote his name
on that piece of paper and gave it to her in appreciation of her labors of
love. So she had it framed and hung it in remembrance of him.

Taking the piece of paper from the frame, Spurgeon examined it

closely. To his utter amazement, it was a check—so he immediately took it
to the bank. Upon examining the check, the bank manager told him, “This
man’s fortune has been lying here for years and we were wondering who
was coming to claim it.” Spurgeon, handing the money to the old lady, said,
“If you had not been ignorant of what you had possessed, you would not
have lived in poverty for so many years.” This illustrates that we should not
be ignorant of what we have.

There was once a young boy who was very fascinated by cars. One day,
he saw a car parked outside a certain house with its engine running.
Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to test drive the car. He got
into it, and being ignorant of how to drive, just started pulling, pushing and
twisting the knobs. Somehow the car kicked into gear and began moving. In
his joy and excitement, he held on to the steering wheel and kept on going.
Soon, he realized that he did not know how to stop the car and drove it
straight into a ditch. This illustrates that, not only should we know what we
possess, but also how it works.

It was for these reasons that the apostle Paul exhorted us not to be
ignorant of the spiritual gifts. We must study them carefully, deeply and
diligently until they function and manifest through us. First, we need to
learn and possess the knowledge of their existence. Second, we must learn
to flow with the Holy Spirit to make ourselves available for the
manifestation of the gifts. Third, we need to learn to properly use the gifts
for the glory of God rather than for self-seeking publicity.

The Promise

ACTS 2:33-39
 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God,
and having received from the Father the promise of the
Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and
hear.
34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he
says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My
right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the
heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
“Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and
to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God
will call.”

The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if
any one steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things
that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the
Father” (Jn 14:12, AMP). He further whetted their spiritual appetite by
saying, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they
will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up
serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;
they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mk 16.17-18).

The disciples, without doubt, were quite perplexed and confused by

what the Lord Jesus said. Having the power of God was not new to them,
because when the Lord Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel, He also
gave them the power to perform miracles (Matt 10:1,7-8; Mk 6:7,12-13; Lk
9:1-2,6; 10:1,9,17,19). Why they were confused now was because when the
Lord Jesus was with them, He gave them the power. Now that He was going
to be taken away, where could they get this power from?

The Lord Jesus, knowing their thoughts and concerns, like a loving
mother said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. And I will
pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide
with you forever” (Jn 14:16,18). He said that to put their minds to rest that
He would still be with them, but in another form—in the form of the Holy
Spirit. Before He was taken up to heaven, He reminded them of His Word
and promise by saying, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you;
but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on
high.” “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Lk 24:49; Acts 1:8).

This was the command and promise of the Lord Jesus. It was not just
enough to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It was also
necessary to be witnesses to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus—to the fact
that He is alive—by demonstrating the power of God (Acts 3:1-16).
Demonstrating the power of God is the evidence of the kingdom of God in
our midst (Lk 11:20).

Consider the Lord Jesus Christ. After His baptism in water, He prayed
for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:21). Realising that without the Holy
Spirit and His power, His ministry would not be effective, the Lord Jesus
Himself also prayed for the Promise of the Father (Isa 11:1-2; 61:1-2).
Having received the Promise, He then went about teaching the
commandments of God, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and
healing all those oppressed of the devil (Matt 4:23; 9:35; Mk 6:56; Lk
4:1,14; 8:1; Acts 10:38).

The Gift
 ACTS 2:38
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.

Do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit or the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Let
us consider this question in another way. Does a sinner need salvation or the
Lord Jesus Christ? Obviously, he needs the Lord Jesus who is the Savior
(Matt 1:21; Jn 1:29; 1 Jn 3:5). The Lord Jesus is the unspeakable gift that
came down from heaven (Jn 3:16; 4:10; 2 Cor 9:15). But, when He came to
this world, He also brought with Him the gifts of grace, truth, eternal life,
righteousness, etc. (Jn 1:17; Rom 5:15,17; 6:23).

Likewise, when He ascended up to heaven and sat at the right Hand of

God, He may have interceded, “Father, those whom You gave Me are like
orphans now. You did not leave Me orphaned because Your Presence and
Your Holy Spirit were always with Me and in Me. Now that I am no longer
with them, please send Your Spirit to them so that I can be with them
always. But not just the Holy Spirit, but also the gifts” (Ps 68:18; Jn
14:16,18; 15:26; Eph 4:8). In answer to the Lord’s prayer, the Holy Spirit
came down, bringing with Him His gifts as the Lord Jesus came down with
His gifts.

I once read of how a saintly Indian man of God, the late Dr. D.G.S.
Dhinakaran, learned of the difference between the Gift and the gifts, while
earnestly praying for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Once, during the very
early days of his life, as he was praying very earnestly with a great yearning
for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he heard a voice from heaven saying, “Come
up here” (cp. Rev 4.1). He then saw in a vision a hand coming down from
heaven which lifted his spirit up to heaven. In heaven, he saw himself
standing before the throne of the Lord Jesus.

With a sweet smile on His face, the Lord Jesus asked him, “What do
you want?” Immediately he answered, “Lord, I want all the nine gifts of the
Holy Spirit.” The Lord did not say anything in reply. At that moment, the
man of God perceived in his spirit that someone was standing behind him
and was pleading, “Lord! You said that the harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few (Lk 10:2). This young man has come forward and is
willing to go through any kind of suffering for You. All that he is asking
You is for the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. Why don’t You grant his desire?”
Only then did the man of God realize that it was the Holy Spirit who was
interceding for him (Rom 8:26).

The Lord Jesus smiled at the intercession of the Holy Spirit and said,
“Well, let’s go to the Father.” The man of God was then lifted up to a
different place in heaven. Amidst what looked like snow-capped mountains,
he saw a very high white throne and perceived the presence of the Father
God on the throne but did not see His face. Suddenly, a voice thundered
from the throne, “What do you want?” Trembling with the fear of God, the
man of God said, “Father, I want the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. After a
short silence, again the voice thundered, “Do you want Me or My gifts
only?”

Not knowing what to answer, the man of God just stood there, confused
and lost. The Holy Spirit then counselled him, “Say, Lord, it is You that I
want.” When he repeated what the Holy Spirit had said, he perceived that
the Father God was extremely pleased with that answer. The man then saw
the Lord Jesus Christ coming out from the bosom of the Father (Jn 1:18).
From the face of the Lord Jesus a powerful anointing of millions of multi-
colored rays of light came and filled him. From that day, all nine gifts of the
Holy Spirit began manifesting in his life.

When the Holy Spirit came to abide in us at the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, He also brought His gifts with Him. It was one gift that came down
from God, because God is one (Eph 4:6), just as light, when it comes from
the sun or a star is one. But when light passes through a prism, it is diffused
into seven colors. Likewise, the one Gift—the Holy Spirit—came from the
Father God. He, in turn, diffuses His nine gifts to the believers (Acts 10:45;
11:17; 1 Cor 12:11).
 Consider a waterfall. If we were to observe a river cascading down a
cliff or mountain, it can be seen that it is falling as a continuous flow of
water. But when it hits the rocks at the bottom, the one river divides and
splashes everywhere. The one good and perfect gift that came down from
the Father God is the blessed Holy Spirit (Jas 1:17). Just as light is one, but
as it passes through a prism it comes out in seven colors, so the one Gift—
the Holy Spirit—when He descends upon us and enter our spirit divides
Himself into nine manifestations of His gifts (1 Cor 12:7).

The Gift of the Holy Spirit that came down on the day of Pentecost was
the same Spirit of God who hovered over the waters at creation (Gen 1:3).
The Spirit of God who enabled the prophet Moses to part the Red Sea and
helped him to commune with God face to face (Ex 14:21; 33:11) is the
same Holy Spirit who enabled us to talk with God through unknown
tongues (1 Cor 14:2). The Spirit of God who came upon Samson (Judg
13:25; 14:6), the the prophet Elisha in double measure (2 Kg 2:9-13), the
prophet John the Baptist in his mother’s womb (Lk 1:15) and upon the Lord
Jesus at His baptism (Matt 3:16), is the same Holy Spirit who comes upon
us when we are filled with Him (Acts 2:4). How awesome!

What then should our response be to the Gift of the Holy Spirit? There
once lived a very generous king in India. One day, he made a proclamation
that all his citizens could come to his palace and take as a gift anything that
was on display. Thousands rushed to the palace and took as much as each
could carry. Finally, an old lady came and looked around at the remaining
valuable treasures. Noticing her disinterest, the king came and told her,
“Mother, you may take of anything that is in this place.” The old lady
caught hold of the king and said. “Since you are also in this palace, I am
taking you as my son. In this way, I shall have all the possessions which
you possess.”

Likewise, let us hunger and thirst for more and more of the Holy Spirit
Himself (Jn 7:37-39).
 Symbols of the Holy Spirit

After we have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we must learn to
yield our free will more and more to Him. As we do that, the measure of the
Holy Spirit will begin to increase within us correspondingly.

Let us consider the symbols of the Holy Spirit and examine their
relation to the ever increasing measure of His presence and anointing in our
life.

1. Seal – Eph 1:13; 4:30

EPHESIANS 1:13
3 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also,
having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit
of promise,

When we are born again, the seal of the Holy Spirit comes upon us, giving
us the authority to become children of God (Jn 1:12).

2. Water – Jn 7:38-39; Isa 44:3

JOHN 7:38-39
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom
those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy
Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.

After we have become children of God, the Holy Spirit would then seek to
renew our minds through the washing of water by the Word of God (Jn
15:3; Eph 4:23; 5:26). The Spirit of Truth would then establish us in the
Word thereby enabling us to build our faith (Jn 16:13; Rom 10:17).

The following Scripture beautifully exemplifies the work of the life-

giving living waters—the Holy Spirit: “And it shall be that every living
thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very
great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be
healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes” (Ezek 47:9).

3. Fire – Mal 3:2-3; Matt 3:11; Isa 4:4; Acts 2:3

MALACHI 3:2-3
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And
who can stand when He appears? For He is like a
refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He
will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold
and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering
in righteousness.

Having washed and renewed our minds through the Word of God, the Holy
Spirit then purges, purifies and refines by baptising us with His fire, so that
we could yield, dedicate and surrender our bodies as a living sacrifice to
God (Rom 12:1). The Spirit of Burning will purge, purify and remove all
the dross from our lives.

4. Oil – Ps 45:7; 133:2

PSALMS 45:7
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the
oil of gladness more than Your companions.
The anointing then comes upon us from God for a call to the ministry. The
anointing begins to flow all over us, saturating our spirits with the presence
of God.

5. Dove – Matt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32

MATTHEW 3:16
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up
immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens
were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

The dove symbolizes purity, peace, beauty and gentleness, all of which
perfectly characterize the blessed Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit came upon
the Lord Jesus as a dove and caused the Father God to speak to Him,
likewise, at this level, the Holy Spirit will enable us to soar with God in an
intimate relationship, enabling us to flow in the revelatory gifts.

6. Wind – Job 32:8; 1 Kg 19:11; Jn 3:8; Acts 2:2-4

ACTS 2:2-4
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of
fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.

As we begin to walk at a deeper level and are bound with the Lord Jesus in
oneness, the Holy Spirit manifests like a wind, enabling us to flow in the
power gifts (cf. Ex 14:21; Job 38:1; 40:6).
7. Cloud – Ex 33:9

EXODUS 33:9
9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the
tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and
stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord
talked with Moses.

We reach this highest level as we totally yield our spirit, soul and body
without reservation to God. The Lord Jesus walked in this realm. That was
why each time the manifest presence of the Father God came to Him, it was
always in cloud form (Matt 17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:34-35). This manifested
anointing enables us to flow in the vocal gifts.

Therefore, the more we yield, surrender and totally dedicate ourselves

to God, the more we are filled with the full measure of the Holy Spirit (Eph
5:18). As this happens, He will manifest His gifts in ever increasing degrees
of power to work the works of the Lord Jesus
(Jn 6:28-29; 14:12).

Let us then possess the Possessor of the possessions.

The Gifts

1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-11
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same
Lord.
6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the
same God who works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each
one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the
Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the
 same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another
prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to
another different kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things,
distributing to each one individually as He wills.

The word “gifts” and “gift” in the Greek is charismata meaning gifts of
grace, to show favor, an undeserved benefit. This word is found 17 times in
the New Testament. Charismata is derived from the basic Greek noun
charis, which is usually translated as grace. And “grace” is defined as the
unmerited favor of God toward the underserving and the ill-deserving.

Nothing in ourselves qualifies us to receive His gifts. It is simply His

grace—His favor and kindness that causes Him to gift us. That was why the
apostle Peter sharply rebuked Simon for wanting to purchase the gifts of
God (Acts 8:9-24).

Adding ma to charis transforms it from a general, abstract noun to a

definite, specific noun. Charisma, is therefore, grace made effective.
Charisma is a specific form, operation or manifestation of the grace of God.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit can therefore be defined as the

instantaneous impartation of extraordinary powers by the Holy Spirit to a
believer for the exercising of a gift for the edification of others. We receive
these gifts as God’s favor upon us without any merit of our own.

God’s Administrative Order

The Lord God has a superb administrative system to execute the

administrations, operations and manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
in the Body of Christ.

1. Differences of Ministries

1 CORINTHIANS 12:5
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same
Lord.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:5 (Greek)

5 There are distinct varieties of ministry, but it is the
same Lord (Jesus Christ) we are serving.

The Greek New Testament renders this Scriptures as: “There are distinctive
varieties of ministry, but it is the same Lord (Jesus Christ) we are serving.”

When the Lord Jesus ascended up to heaven, He received from the

Father and gave to the Church distinctive varieties of service and
ministrations (Eph 4:8). These diversities of ministries refer to two things:

i. Fivefold Ministries: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher

(Eph 4:11).

ii. Ninefold Ministries of Believers: Prophesying (Rom 12:6; 1 Cor

14:24,31); Deacon or Helps (Rom 12:7; Acts 6:1-3; 1 Cor 12:28);
Teaching (Rom 12:7); Exhortation (Rom 12:8); Giving (Rom
12:8); Administration (Rom 12:8; 1 Cor 12:28); Mercy (Rom
12:8); Healing (1 Cor 12:28) and Tongues and Interpretation (1
Cor 12:28).

2. Diversities of Operations

1 CORINTHIANS 12:6
 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the
same God who works all in all.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:6 (Greek)

6 There are distinct varieties of operation, but it is the
same God (The Father) who inspires and energizes
them all in us to achieve His purposes.

The Greek New Testament renders this Scriptures as: “There are distinctive
varieties of operation, but it is the same God (the Father) who inspires and
energizes them all in us to achieve His purposes.”

God is marvellously creative and diverse in His manifestation in each

believer. The call of God on two persons’ lives may be the same, but the
manner in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifest and the modus
operandi (mode of operation) would be entirely different. Let us consider a
few examples.

i. Both Moses and Elijah were prophets according to the fivefold ministry
gifts. Both were mightily used by God in demonstrative signs,
wonders and miracles. But the modus operandi in each was
different. The prophet Moses used a rod to work miracles (Ex
4:2,20; 7:9,19; 8:5,16; 10:13; 14:16), whereas, the prophet Elijah
used his mantle (2 Kg 2:8,13-14).

ii. Both Peter and Paul were apostles whom the Lord used mightily in signs
and wonders. But their modus operandi was also different. The
anointing for healing and miracles flowed through the apostle
Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15), whereas in the apostle Paul, God
worked unusual miracles through his hands (Acts 19:11-12).

iii. In India, there were two apostolic men who were mightily used by God:
Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran and Bro. John Rabindranath. Both of them
stood in the fivefold ministry offices of a prophet and an
 evangelist. But the modus operandi of their respective ministries
was different. Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran’s healing anointing largely
manifested through the gift of the word of knowledge and he
preached with love and compassion. Whereas, Bro John
Rabindranath’s healing anointing flowed largely through the laying
on of hands and he preached fearlessly, rebuking sin like the
prophet John the Baptist.

So we see the same ministry gifts functioning in different ways in

different individuals because God delights in the beauty of variety.

3. Differences of Gifts

1 CORINTHIANS 12:4
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:4 (Greek)

4 Now there are distinctive gifts of grace, but it is the
same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all.

The Greek New Testament renders this Scriptures as: “Now there are
distinctive gifts of grace, but it is the same Spirit who is the source of them
all.”

There are nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. Consider a central air
conditioning system. From one main processing and cooling unit, pipes
carry the cool air to vents in different rooms of a house. There are no
individual air conditioners in each room, but rather one main cooling unit
from which cool air flows to each vent in the various rooms.

Also consider the different forms of water. Water, first and foremost,
exist as a liquid. Then we have ice—solid water; clouds—water as mist;
hail—stone water; snow—frost water, and steam—water as vapour. Water
in so many different forms, but all of these forms are still water.
 Likewise, from the one gift of the Holy Spirit flows nine gifts. They
are: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings,
workings of miracles, prophecy, discernings of spirits, different kinds of
tongues and interpretation of tongues. The Bible describes these gifts as
follows:

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the
Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the
same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another
prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another
different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues.

Let us analyze these gifts from their original language. In verse 8 we

read the word “the” (underlined). There is actually no “the” in the Greek.
Rather it is “a.” So verse 8 should rightly be a word of wisdom, a word of
knowledge. In verse 10, “to another the working of miracles” is literally
workings of miracles. Both words are plural. Likewise, “discerning of
spirits” should be discernings of spirits.

Four of the gifts are plural in nature: discernings of spirits, gifts of

healings, workings of miracles and kinds of tongues. It is important to
understand the plurality of these gifts so that we can know how they
operate.

In the forces of nature, there is a force called the nuclear force. This
nuclear force has a strange property called confinement, by which particles
are bound together into combinations that have no color. A single quark
cannot be observed or studied on its own because it has color—red, green or
blue. As such, a red quark would join with a green and a blue quark. Such a
triplet constitutes a proton or a neutron.
 Amazingly, as it is in nature, so is it in the spiritual (Actually, it is the
other way around). The gifts of the Holy Spirit also come in groups of three,
and fall into three different categories.

i. Gifts of Revelation—the Eyes of God that supernaturally see and

know

When teaching about the Holy Spirit and His works, the Lord Jesus said,
“…even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees Him nor knows him; but you know Him, for He dwells with
you and will be in you… But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you” (Jn 14:17, 26).

In these two verses, the Lord Jesus reveals to us in a nutshell the

manner in which the gifts of revelation work. These gifts enable us to see
into the Spirit realm and to know of things in the past, present and future.

The triple-combination gifts in this category are: a Word of Wisdom, a

Word of Knowledge and the Discernings of Spirits. These gifts are the eyes
of God.

ii. Gifts of Power—the Hands of God that supernaturally do something

The Lord Jesus tells us about this category in John 15:26-27, “But when the
Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear
witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

In these Scriptures, the Lord Jesus reveals the power gifts. Before His
ascension to heaven, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that they could be His
witnesses after they receive power from the Holy Spirit (Lk 24:48-49; Acts
1:8). The gifts of power will enable us to work signs, wonders, healings and
miracles like the Lord Jesus (Jn 14:12).
 The triple-combination gifts in this category are: Gift of Faith, Gifts of
Healings and the Working of Miracles. These gifts are the hands of God.

iii. Gifts of Communication—the Mouth of God that supernaturally

speaks

In the following Scriptures, the Lord Jesus unveils the vocal gifts of
communication: “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe
in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no
more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. However,
when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for
He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will
speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will
take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:8-11,13-14)

Through the gifts of communication, God speaks to and through us

bringing forth a conviction within us and upon the hearers (1 Cor 14.24-25).

The triple-combination gifts in this category are: Gift of Prophecy,

Different Kinds of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues. These gifts are
the mouth of God.

The triple-combination operation of these gifts could also illustrate the

cohesive workings of the triune God in perfect unity and harmony.
Throughout the Old Testament the Lord God revealed Himself through
signs and wonders—the manifestation of the gifts of power.

When the Lord Jesus sojourned in this world, He demonstrated Himself

as the Wisdom and Knowledge of God (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 4:6). He was also
a discerner of the thoughts of man (Jn 2:25)—the manifestation of the gifts
of revelation.
 The Holy Spirit came and enabled us to talk with God. He is the
channel through Whom we talk with God. He also is the channel through
whom God speaks with us (Isa 28:11; Acts 1:2; 2:4; 1 Cor 14:2)—the
manifestation of the gifts of communication.

Interestingly, the first man, Adam, in his sinless state walked and talked
with God through these gifts too.

i. Through the Gifts of Power, Adam had authority and dominion over
everything on earth, air and sea (Gen 1:26,28).

ii. Through the Gift of Revelation, Adam was able to know about animals
and give names to all of them (Gen 2:19-20).

iii. Through the Gift of Communication, Adam was able to commune with
God (Gen 3:8; Job 7:18).

Being a perfect and sinless man, Adam, created in the image and
likeness of God, moved in and exercised power like God (Gen 1:26). This
power was withdrawn from him after his fall from glory (Gen 3:17-19). But
through the multitude of God’s mercy and grace, we have received back this
power through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Possesser vs. Channel

We do not possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit and neither are they our
personal property. God does not give us His gifts. They are His—His
power, His gifts and He will not share His glory with anyone! We are
merely vessels through which the Holy Spirit manifests the gifts. The
manifestation of the gifts is given and determined according to the will of
the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 4:7).
 Consider the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus walked by the pool of
Bethesda and saw a multitude of sick people. But the Holy Spirit
specifically guided Him to one particular man and manifested the gift to
heal him (Jn 5:2-9). After this miracle, the Lord did not conduct a healing
crusade nor advertise the healing of the paralytic for all to see. Rather, He
simply just walked away. The manifestation of the gifts was not there
anymore.

We are merely channels for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to flow through
like a river. We are just like a delivery person, receiving the gifts from the
Holy Spirit and then giving them to those in need. The one gift which we do
possess is the Holy Spirit. When He comes upon us and into us, He then
makes us His channels to manifest and release His gifts.

We do not possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the
Owner who chooses, as the Scriptures say, to manifest His gifts for the
benefit of the entire Body, the Church (1 Cor 12:7). To manifest means to
show forth. The Holy Spirit wants to show forth His gifts so that every
believer can benefit and profit.

The Purpose of the Gifts

Everything that God created and ordained has a purpose. Likewise, the
manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit have their rightful and noble
purpose.

1. The gifts proclaim Jesus as Lord – Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 12:3; cf. Acts 3-
4:12

2. They demonstrate God’s presence among us – Ps 68:18; 1 Cor 14:25

3. They set the captives and oppressed free – Matt 10:1,8; Lk 4:18-19;
Acts 10:38
 4. They provide vindication of ministries – Matt 16:20; Acts 2:22; 8:6;
14:3; 2 Cor 12:12

The authenticating proof of the apostle Paul’s ministry was not his
great oratory skill or his bold courage but the demonstration of the
power of God (1 Cor 2:4).

5. They are for the good and profit of all – 1 Cor 12:7

The phrase “for the profit of all” (as in 1 Cor 12:7) in Greek is pros
to sympheron meaning to the profit or advantage. It signifies a
profit for the common good of the community of believers.

6. They allow us to participate in God’s work – Mk 16:20

As Adam participated in the demonstration of the power of God

(Gen 1:26, 28); likewise, we are allowed to share and participate in
the demonstration of God’s power.

7. They manifest—make real and tangible—the Holy Spirit – 1 Cor

12:7

The phrase “the manifestation of the Spirit” (as in 1 Cor 12:7) in the
Greek is phanerosis tou pneumatos which means the Spirit manifesting
Himself. Through the gifts, the Holy Spirit openly shows Himself visibly
and audibly to all. It also means shining forth.

Just as light from within the Lord Jesus shone forth from all over Him
during His transfiguration experience (Matt 17:2), the Holy Spirit will
manifest like light shining forth from a believer through the gifts.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given for the general good of
everybody. They are not imparted for the personal profit of anyone but for
the edification of others (Matt 10:8). Every believer in the Body of Christ is
a participant in the plans of God. As such, the Holy Spirit apportions the
gifts—His special abilities and powers—to each person (whether they are
spiritually young or old) as He wills. He decides which each one of us
should have (1 Cor 12:11).

These gifts cannot be used apart from the Holy Spirit’s guidance. If
exercised in the flesh, according to our own will, that would make us
nothing more than a charlatan. Though the anointing is upon us and within
us, we must, like the Lord Jesus, constantly look to the Holy Spirit and be
guided by Him for their manifestation.

The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of
our salvation, was Himself filled with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit: “God
also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will” (Heb 2:4). If the
Lord Jesus needed the seven Spirits of God (Isa 11:1-3) and the nine gifts of
the Holy Spirit during His earthly ministry, how much more do we need
them in these last days?

Once, while praying at a conference, I saw the Holy Spirit manifest like
a gigantic beautiful pure white dove. He was hovering over the meeting. As
He—the Holy Dove—flapped His wings, waves of healing power flowed
forth to heal the people. When I saw this I understood what Malachi 4:2
meant: “But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings.” We must always look with all humility to the
Holy Spirit to show us how to use the gifts.

What shall we do now? You will not receive these precious gifts by
accident. We are told to, “earnestly desire the best gifts” (1 Cor 12:31). This
means to desire eagerly; seek eagerly. Your desire must be so intense that
you must have them. Such an earnest desire will not be denied. The King
James Bible translates the word “desire” as “covert” which means a
burning desire, an intense longing, an intense craving for, an extreme
eagerness. So desire with an unquenchable eagerness for the gifts of the
Holy Spirit—for the best opeartions of the Holy Spirit.

Well, don’t just stare at this sentence, please go on to chapter two.

Chapter 2- The Word of Wisdom
[GIFTS OF REVELATION:]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8a
8a for to one is given the word of wisdom through the
Spirit

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8a (Greek - Literal)

8a To one is given by the Holy Spirit a word of God’s
wisdom

In the Scripture quoted above, we read the word “the.” There is actually no
“the” in the Greek. Rather it is “a.” So, it should rightly be a word of
wisdom. That is, one of many words. Not a word that is already known but a
word as yet not known.

The gift of a word of wisdom belongs to the category of the Gifts of

Revelation. The Gifts of Revelation are the eyes of God because they
supernaturally reveal something. It is the first and most important gift in the
revelation group.

Myths and Misconceptions

When we study the workings of a Word of Wisdom gift, it is necessary to

first know what this gift is not:

1. It is not a deep insight into the Bible. Neither is it the ability to rightly
interpret or divide the Word of God. If that is what this gift was, then
every Bible preacher, student, theologian, and seminarian would
possess this gift. If this gift is the product of diligent and scholarly
 study of the Word of God, then it is not supernatural in origin and
neither would we need to pray for it.

2. It is not the ability to speak wisely in season (Prov 15:23; 25:11). There
are many people who are naturally talented in this area.

3. It is not the wisdom which King Solomon possessed (1 Kgs 3:12,28). The
wisdom which King Solomon received from God is available to any
believer if they too walk in the fear of God, keeping His covenants as
King Solomon did. This promise is found in the Epistle of James: “If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally
and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (Jas 1:5).

4. It is not the wisdom to deal wisely with the affairs of everyday life. Such
wisdom to deal wisely in our daily life is obtainable through the
meditation and practice of the Word of God (Josh 1:8). In fact, natural
wisdom can be obtained by praying for it (Jas 1:5).

This gift is not attainable by the human mind through any means of
gradual practice and faith. Rather, it transcends beyond the mental faculties
of the human mind, having its origin in God Himself. When this gift
manifests, the Almighty Omniscience of God illuminates the human spirit
and enlightens the human mind to comprehend and understand the wisdom
that is from above (Job 32:8).

The Meaning

A “Word of Wisdom” in Greek is logos sophias, meaning: a supernatural

impartation by the Holy Spirit through an instantaneous revelation the
plans, purposes and will of God concerning people, things or events in the
future or looking towards the future. The word “wisdom” occurs 141 times
in Hebrew and 51 times in the Greek.
 Simply put, it means that through this gift, God reveals to us something
that has not yet come to pass. We read in the Old Testament that God
revealed to Abraham that his descendants would be as innumerable as the
stars (Gen 15:5). At that time, not even Ishmael had been born to Abraham.
The gift of a Word of Wisdom is the unveiling or unfolding of secrets
treasured within the mind of God.

Why ‘Word’ and not ‘Gift’?

Both the gifts of a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge are described
by the phrase a word of rather than the gift of. Consider the following
illustration.

There was once a man who was being sued over a trivial matter. He
engaged a lawyer to defend his case and went to his office to discuss it. In
the lawyer’s office, he saw row after row of law books. After listening to
the man’s issue, the lawyer gave him a single sentence of advice. The
lawyer had spent several years at law school absorbing all the intricacies of
the science of law, but he did not share with his client all the law—just a
sentence of the law for his present situation.

Likewise, the Lord God Himself is the source of all wisdom and
knowledge (Prov 8:14; Dan 2:20; Rom 11:33; 1 Cor 1:24; Col 2:3). Before
the incarnation of the Lord Jesus, He had always existed as the Word, being
one with God (Jn 1:1-3; 10:30; Rev 19:13). The Word, then, came forth
from God and dwelt among men, speaking the oracles of God—from the
total and absolute wisdom of God (Jn 1:14,18).

Early in the morning of January 23, 2016, as I was praying, I saw the
similitude of the gracious Lord Jesus sitting on a chair before me. I then
opened my heart and spoke with Him. As I was thus speaking, suddenly, I
saw a huge, man-sized scroll in the place of the Lord. It was the shape of a
man, but it was a scroll filled with words at the same time. It then dawn on
me that this is what it meant that the Lord Jesus has always existed as the
Word.

On March 3, 2017, I saw a continuation of the above-mentioned vision.

I was reading the Scriptures when I heard the Lord’s voice ask me, “Do you
understand what you just read?” My mind immediately recalled a similar
incident in the Bible, when Philip asked the same question of the Ethiopian
eunuch (Acts 8:27-30), but before I could answer, I saw the similitude of
the Lord Jesus again. I saw in Him all manner of letters and words; He was
full of them, like a scroll. Then, out of that one scroll—the Word—came
forth a small scroll, a word unto me concerning the thing the Lord intended
to teach me.

Just as the lawyer’s advice to the man, out of the vast depository and
treasury of God’s wisdom and knowledge, God gives us a minute quantum
to possess an understanding and insight into the ways and purposes of God.

This wisdom concerns something which is as yet unborn, uncreated—

an event that is future or not even formed yet. A good example is found in
the life of the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the
nations” (Jer 1:5). The word, “formed,” in Hebrew is yatsar, which means
to mold into a form through squeezing into shape, especially as a potter.
Even before the prophet Jeremiah was formed—took on shape as a fetus—
God knew all about him. That is omniscience—the total sum of wisdom.
When God gives us a word of His wisdom, He is revealing something that
is not formed yet.

In His omniscience, God knows all things from beginning to end; He

knows the end from the beginning (Isa 45:21; 46:10; 48:3). The gift of a
word of wisdom and a word of knowledge is then a dust-sized bit of
revelation which God, in His manifold merciful kindness, gives out of His
infinite storehouse of wisdom and knowledge.
 As I mentioned earlier, the Greek does not read the word but a word.
The Amplified translation renders 1 Corinthians 12:8 as, “To one is given in
and through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] a message of wisdom,
and to another [the power to express] a word of knowledge and
understanding according to the same [Holy] Spirit.’ The word “a word”
does not speak of a collection of words already spoken into existence but of
a word yet unknown, waiting to be made known.

In the Old Testament, we read frequently of prophets saying, “The

word of the Lord came unto me” (Gen 15:1; Jug 2:4; 1 Kg 6:11; Isa 38:4;
Dan 8:16; Zech 8:18). “The word” in the Hebrew of the Old Testament is
dabar, meaning a word or a matter (as spoken of). In the Greek of the New
Testament, “the word” is logos, meaning the expression of thought.
Interestingly, both in the Old and New Testaments “a word” conveys the
concept of a revelation from God. Whenever God speaks to a believer
directly, He is giving him a word of His wisdom.

Therefore, the gifts of a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge are

fragmentary parts of God’s absolute wisdom and knowledge (Prov 2:6).

Biblical Examples of Manifestations

As we have already explored that the gift of a word of wisdom manifests

the unknown plans, purposes and mind of God, let us now look at some
biblical examples on how this gift was manifested.

1. Destiny of Nations – God reveals His plans and purposes concerning the
nations of the world.

i. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The Lord appeared to Abraham and revealed to him the destiny of the twin
cities (Gen 18:17-21).
ii. Doom of Nineveh

The word of the Lord came to the prophet Jonah concerning the judgment
that was to come upon Nineveh (Jon 1:2; 3:4).

On August 21, 1986, as I was fasting and praying concerning the

ministry which the Lord had asked me to do in Nepal, the Lord Jesus
appeared before me and said, “Tell the Nepalese people that I am going to
shake their nation. I will show them that the God of Israel is the True One
Who lives. I will demonstrate My mighty works to cause My Name to be
known in the land.”

When this word was conveyed to the Nepalese church leaders, many of
them shook their heads in disbelief and said that it was impossible for this
prophecy to come to pass, because Nepal was (then) the only Hindu
kingdom in the world and she very vehemently opposes any form of
Christian evangelism. This word of wisdom concerning the destiny of
Nepal came to pass when the monarchy which existed for 240 years was
abolished in 2008. Democracy was declared and religious freedom restored.
Till today, Christianity is flourishing in Nepal.

2. Natural Calamities – God warns us of natural calamities to come.

i. Famine in Egypt

God revealed an impending famine to Pharaoh in a dream (Gen 41:1-31).

ii. Worldwide Drought & Famine

A worldwide famine was prophesied in the New Testament: “And in these

days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named
Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a
great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of
Claudius Caesar” (Acts 11:27-28).
 I once read of an incident in the autobiography of Demos Shakarian
(1913-1993), the founder of the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship,
concerning how God forewarned the Armenians of a coming bloody
persecution.

The Shakarian family lived in the village of Kara Kala in Armenia. In

this village, there lived an illiterate boy prophet of 11 years old, by the
name of Efim G. Klubniken. One day, he heard the Lord calling him to a
season of fasting and prayer. On the seventh day of his fast, the Lord gave
him a vision.

In the vision, he saw some charts and messages in beautiful

handwriting. He then meticulously copied the form and shape of the letters
and diagrams which he saw in the vision. When an educated person read the
manuscript, he realized that this illiterate prophet had written out in Russian
characters a series of warnings and instructions. The boy had written that at
an unspecified time in the future, every Christian in Kara Kala would be in
terrible danger. An unspeakable tragedy was coming to the entire area when
hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children would be brutally
murdered. There were also instructions that when the time would come,
everyone must flee. Explicit details were also shown in the vision as to
where the fleeing Christians should go.

More than 50 years later, Efim announced that the time had come for
them to flee. Several families sold all their property and moved. But many,
including Christians, like in the days of Noah, refused to believe that God
would speak so specifically and accurately. In 1914, the persecution came
through the Turks who unleashed a blood bath, killing more than a million
Armenians. Every inhabitant in the village of Kara Kala was killed, too. The
legacy of the Shakarian family lives on today because they paid heed to
God’s warning which came through the gift of a word of wisdom.

3. God’s Plans for Individuals

This gift enables us to know God’s plans, purpose and will for each
individual, both living and those yet to be born.

i. Josiah

1 KINGS 13:2
2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of
the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the
Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born
to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice
the priests of the high places who burn incense on you,
and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’”

Josiah’s name and what he would do was revealed 300 years before he was
even born.

ii. Joseph

GENESIS 37:5-11
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his
brothers; and they hated him even more.
6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I
have dreamed:
7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then
behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and
indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down
to my sheaf.”
8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed
reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion
over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams
and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to
his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another
 dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the
eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his
father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this
dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and
I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the
earth before you?”
11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the
matter in mind.

God revealed to Joseph, while he was just a teenager, the work which he
would do in the future.

iii. The Lord Jesus

Every book in the Old Testament contained revelation concerning the

Messiah to come. Some of the most remarkable revelations concerning the
life of the Lord Jesus are: the virgin birth (Isa 7:14); place of birth (Mic
5:2); manner of sufferings (Isa 53) etc.

iv. Paul

ACTS 9:10-16
10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus
named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision,
“Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street
called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for
one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he
might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from
many about this man, how much harm he has done to
 Your saints in Jerusalem.
14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to
bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen
vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings,
and the children of Israel.
16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer
for My name’s sake.”

God, through the gift of a word of wisdom, clearly revealed to a disciple

named Ananias the apostle Paul’s call and future ministry.

One morning in January 1995, as I was interceding for all the partners
of our ministry, the Holy Spirit suddenly asked me to pray for a dear
minister friend’s wife. She was a few weeks pregnant at that time. The Holy
Spirit strongly impressed upon me to pray for the safety of her baby. As I
began to intercede fervently, I was transported in the Spirit into the mind of
God. In this experience, the mind of God appeared to me as the human
brain. It was grayish and gigantic. I stood at the back of God’s mind. In an
instant, I was transformed into a marble-sized ball of light and entered the
mind of God. I then zoomed at lightning speed, passing through the mind of
God.

As I was passing through the mind of God, every now and then I would
touch the flesh of the brain—the mind of God. Each time this happened, I
was made to comprehend that the minister’s wife would give birth to a boy
(at that early stage of her pregnancy they could not know the sex of the
baby even by an ultrasound scan) and that he would grow up to be a prophet
like the prophet Samuel in the Bible.

This revelation concerning their son and his future manifested through
a word of wisdom, greatly encouraged and boosted the minister and his
wife’s faith. Today, after 20 years, their son is a handsome young man who
serves the Lord together with his father and is studying medicine at a
prestigious university.
4. Wisdom for Business

LUKE 5:4-7
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon,
“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a
catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we
have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless
at Your word I will let down the net.”
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great
number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat
to come and help them. And they came and filled both
the boats, so that they began to sink.

The apostle Peter had been fishing all night with virtually no reward. The
Lord Jesus, a carpenter by natural earthly profession, advised a seasoned
fisherman exactly where to cast the net for a major haul. The Lord Jesus
gave the apostle Peter a word of wisdom for his fishing business. When he
followed and acted upon the word, he received great dividends.

5. Revelation of End-time Events – This gift also reveals future events that
can span ages.

i. First Messianic Prophecy

GENESIS 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise
your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

In the Garden of Eden, God revealed the plan of redemption more than
4000 years before its fulfillment.
ii. Enoch’s Prophecy

JUDE 14-15
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied
about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes
with ten thousands of His saints,
15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are
ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the
harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken
against Him.”

The prophet Enoch was the first person to whom the revelation concerning
the glorious return of the Lord Jesus was given more than 6000 years ago
(Jude 14-15). This word of wisdom concerning a future event was given
even before the first advent of the Lord Jesus.

I was once on a 40 day fast in 1985. On the 40th day, I had a visitation
from the Lord Jesus. In the Spirit, I saw hundreds of angels coming in and
filling my room. As I was gazing at these beautiful beings, the Lord Jesus
came down surrounded by clouds (Rev 1:7). The glory and majesty of the
Lord Jesus made me fall prostrate at His feet.

Lifting me up by the shoulders, the Lord Jesus said, “I will now show
you things that are shortly going to come to pass” (Rev 1:1). The Lord Jesus
then tapped on the wall of my bedroom. Amazingly, the wall disappeared
and I saw, in vivid color right before my eyes, many future world events
including the rapture, the reign of the Antichrist, the great tribulation, the
last great revival that will sweep the earth, etc.

Looking Unto Jesus

As the Lord Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, let us examine His
life for the manifestation of this gift:
1. Destiny of Nations

The Lord Jesus clearly revealed how Israel would be besieged and trampled
down by the Romans (Matt 24:15-20; Lk 21:20-24).

2. Natural Calamities

The Lord Jesus revealed about natural disasters—pestilences, famines,

earthquakes, that were coming in the last days (Matt 24:7b; Mk 13:8b; Lk
21:11).

3. Persecution for Believers

The Lord Jesus revealed how the disciples would be persecuted and hated
(Matt 10:17-23; Mk 13:9-13; Lk 21:12-19).

4. God’s Plans for Individuals

The Lord Jesus revealed that the apostle Peter would be a great leader in the
Church (Matt 16:18) and also how he would die in old age (Jn 21:18-19).
The Lord also revealed the future of the apostle John that he will remain
alive till the second coming of the Lord Jesus (Jn 21:20-23).

5. Revelation of End-time Events

When the Lord Jesus was with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, He
very explicitly revealed many future events from the great deception that
will come upon all believers right up to the judgment day of God after His
Second Coming (Matt 24:1-44; 25:31-46; Mk 13:5-37).

Mechanics of Operation
The Holy Spirit is One, but He is also manifested as seven Spirits before the
throne of God in heaven (Rev 4:5). Likewise, every gift of the Holy Spirit
manifests in different ways. Let us now examine and study how this gift of
a word of wisdom can manifest in our lives.

1. Dreams

This gift manifested in a dream to Jacob. In the dream, the Lord revealed
that He would bless Jacob and make him prosperous in the Promised Land
(Gen 28:11-15). This gift also manifested in a dream to King
Nebuchadnezzar concerning future world empires (Dan 2).

2. Visions

This gift also manifests in visions. (A thorough study on visions is covered

in chapter 4). The prophet Ezekiel was shown in a vision the future
millennial temple (Ezek 40-48). The Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle
Paul in a vision and encouraging him concerning his ministry (Acts 18:9-
10).

Once, Maria Woodworth-Etter went into a trance—vision right in the

middle of her preaching. When she came out of the trance she claimed she
had seen a vision of a massive earthquake in San Francisco. A few years
after this prophecy—a word of wisdom, on April 18, 1906, San Francisco
was devastated by the worst earthquake in recorded history.

3. Angels

Angels of God can bring a word of wisdom. The angel Gabriel appeared
before Zacharias and revealed that a son would be born to him (Lk 1:11-
17). He also revealed to Mary, announcing that she, being a virgin, would
soon conceive and bring forth a child (Lk 1:26-37). He also appeared to the
prophet Daniel and revealed to him things about future world empires (Dan
8:11-12).
 An Angel appeared to the evangelist Philip and gave a word of wisdom
concerning where he should go and what he should do (Acts 8:26-29).

In July of 1994, I came very near to death while traveling in the

wilderness of northwest Tibet. Due to the high altitude (which was about
17,000 feet or 5,000 meters above sea level), my brain was filled with fluid.
This is a medical condition called High-Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE).

It is a medical condition in which the brain swells with fluid because of

the physiological effects of traveling to a high altitude. Its symptoms
include disorientation, lethargy, and nausea. It occurs when the body fails to
acclimatize while ascending to a high altitude. Individuals with the
condition must immediately descend to a lower altitude or coma and death
can occur. People with such symptoms are usually given supplemental
oxygen.

HACE, if untreated, can lead to death within 48 hours, and those who
receive treatment often take days or weeks to fully recover. It is a rare
condition, occurring in less than one percent of people who ascend to 4,000
m. (13,000 ft.).

When I had the fluid in my brain I literally felt that my brain was like
Noah’s Ark on the waters. I prayed very fervently the whole morning for a
miraculous healing, but nothing happened. My condition only deteriorated.
When evening came, I knew that death would soon engulf me. The only
cure was to go down to a lower altitude. But that would take seven days,
and yet here I was just 48 hours away from certain death.

With a broken heart I knelt by a brook and prayed, “Lord, I humbly

thank You for giving me the privilege to serve You faithfully for 15 years. I
also sincerely thank You for allowing me to serve You in Tibet. If my time
has now come to die, I very gladly commit my spirit into Your hands.” As
soon as I said, “Amen,” an angel appeared before me and said, “You are not
going to die. You shall live. For you have to go to Australia to do a work.”
(I was to speak at a convention in Sydney in October 1994.) Within half an
hour of the angel’s word, all the excess water in my brain disappeared
miraculously.

4. The Father God

Very rarely, the Lord God—the Father Himself—may speak, revealing a

word of wisdom. The prophet Noah heard God speaking to him, revealing
details concerning the coming destruction of the world through a flood (Gen
6:13-21).

The Almighty God also spoke to the prophet Moses and revealed to
him God’s plans and purposes for Israel (Ex 24). God’s voice also came
down from heaven, speaking to the Lord Jesus concerning how God would
glorify and honor the Lord Jesus (Jn 12:28).

5. The Lord Jesus

The Lord Jesus can personally appear in the Spirit to give us a word of
wisdom. The Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul and gave him a direct
word concerning what he should do (Acts 22:17-21).

6. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit will also speak to our spirits, either through His still small
voice or audibly, and reveal a word of wisdom (Acts 8:29; 10:19-20; 13:2;
21:10-11).

In July of 1995, I went to Chengdu, China. Together with an associate,

we were to go to two remote villages in eastern Tibet. As I was praying and
waiting on God, the Holy Spirit said, “Don’t go to Songpan (the name of
one of the two villages), but go directly to Zoige.” To go directly to Zoige
would require two full days of traveling by bus in the mountains.
 Previously, I had planned to break the journey into two stages by first
going to Songpan, then following on to Zoige. However, in obedience to the
Holy Spirit’s word of wisdom, we proceeded directly to Zoige. When we
arrived in Zoige, we learned that the bus that had left for Songpan from
Chengdu that morning fell off a cliff and all 26 passengers in it—including
several foreigners—died. A word of wisdom spoken to me that day saved
our lives.

7. Tongues and Interpretation

The Father, the Lord Jesus or the Holy Spirit can also give us a word of
wisdom through tongues and interpretation.

Several years ago, a dearly respected pastor and his dear wife paid me a
visit. Before they left, the pastor asked me to pray for them. As I began to
pray, an anointing came upon me and I began to pray fervently in tongues.
Then the interpretation came, revealing how God was going to bless,
promote and use him, his wife and his children in the ministry.

Although we have split up the manifestations of the gift of a word of

wisdom into seven categories, it must be pointed out that it could also
manifest in various combinations of these different ways. What do we mean
by that? Consider the following examples:

i. As we have already examined, angels of God could appear personally

in the Spirit (Judg 2:1; 6:11,21-22; Acts 27:23). Yet we also read of
them appearing in dreams (Gen 31:11; Matt 1:20; 2:13) and in
visions (Ezek 1:10; Acts 10:3).

ii. God could also speak directly to us (Deu 4:33; 1 Sam 9:15). Yet we
also read that God has also spoken in dreams (1 Kg 3:5) and in
visions (Gen 15:12-17; 46:2-4).
 iii. The
Lord Jesus appears in similitudes as a real person and talks with
us (Num 12:8; Lk 24:15-16, 31). Yet He also appears and
communicates in visions (Acts 9:10; 18:9-10).

Keys to Cultivation

The key to receiving words of wisdom is to enter the realm where God lives
—the bosom of God. If we live close to God and learn to abide in Him, we
can always be recipients of His secrets (Isa 45:3).

Do not be satisfied and contented with just one or two manifestations

of this gift in your life or ministry. Press in and hunger deeply for a
continual and regular manifestation of this gift.

The keys to cultivate and increase the manifestation of the gift of a

word of wisdom in your life are:

1. A disciplined prayer life (Dan 2:20-23).

2. Having the fear of God (Ps 25:14; Ps 9:10).

In summary, through the gift of a word of wisdom we can receive an

instructional word from God concerning His plans, purposes and will – an
insight into the intention, mind, and heart of God.
Chapter 3 - The Word Of
Knowledge
[GIFTS OF REVELATION:]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8b
8b to another the word of knowledge through the same
Spirit

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8b (Greek - Literal)

8b To another the Holy Spirit supernaturally imparts a
word of knowledge.

Similar to the previous chapter, in the scripture quoted above we read the
word “the.” There is actually no “the” in the Greek. Rather it is “a.” So, it
should rightly be a word of knowledge.

The gift of a word of knowledge is the second gift in the category of

the Gifts of Revelation.

Myths and Misconceptions

1. It is not a complete knowledge of the Bible which is attained by diligent

study. Neither is it an academic knowledge of the Bible. The
manifestation of the gift of a word of knowledge is more than
knowledge gained from thorough scholarly biblical study.

There is a man of God in the United States who has memorized about
7,700 Scriptures from various translations of the Bible. The ability to
memorize and know the Scriptures is not a manifestation of this gift,
although the Holy Spirit may bring to our remembrance particular passages
from Scripture for someone.

2. It is not natural knowledge. If it was, then all the other gifts would also
have to be natural. If one gift is supernatural, then all the rest must be
supernatural.

3. It is not the knowledge of God attained through close communion with

Him. You do not automatically get the gift of a word of knowledge by
walking closely with God. A believer can gain a real knowledge of the
heart and character of God by walking closely with Him, but that is
different from the gift of a word of knowledge.

Let us consider an example. We read in the Bible the story of how God
spoke to the boy Samuel (1 Sam 3:4-10). One night Samuel heard a voice
call his name. Thinking it was Eli the priest calling him, he got up from his
bed and went to him. Eli told him he hadn’t called, so Samuel went back to
bed. Again, he heard a Voice saying, “Samuel, Samuel.”

Again he ran to Eli, and again Eli sent him back to bed. When this was
repeated for the third time, Eli realized that God must be talking to the boy,
and Eli told him to answer the next time the Voice called. When God called
to Samuel again, Samuel answered “... Speak, for Your servant hears” (1
Sam 3:10).

Being the High Priest, Eli had been walking with God for a long time.
He knew about the things of God, of course, but he didn’t hear God’s voice
that night. So we can conclude that this kind of knowledge doesn’t
necessarily come by a long time experience of walking with God.

4. It is not being critical or judgmental. Some people attribute their fault-

finding and critical attitude to this gift of a word of knowledge.
 There was once a fine Christian man who lived in Montreal, Canada.
He had a head of beautiful wavy hair. One day, a lady made an appointment
to see him. He received her kindly and asked her very politely to sit down.
She, with solemn face, refused to sit down. When he asked her what the
problem was, she replied that God had sent her to strongly rebuke him for
having put permanent wave in his hair.

Respectfully, he asked her if she thought he had permanently waved his

hair. She said, “Yes, I know it; God showed me.” He smiled, took her to the
kitchen and under her watchful eyes washed and soaked his hair and then
dried it with a hairdryer. He then combed his hair. She was shocked to see
this man’s hair go back into its waves and realized that his hair wave was
natural. She was humble enough to admit that she had been wrong.

Many are quick to criticize and claim to have a word of knowledge

from God.

The Meaning

The gift of “a word of knowledge,” in Greek is logos gnoseos which is a

supernatural revelation from the Holy Spirit through an instantaneous
impartation of the knowledge of God concerning the existence or nature of
a person or thing or event of the past and present. It is the supernatural
revelation by the Holy Spirit of a tiny portion of God’s total knowledge. Or,
to put it another way, it is the supernatural revelation of certain facts in the
mind of God.

This gift manifests as a supernatural influx of knowledge of things in

the past or in the present, knowledge which the receiver’s eyes have not
seen nor ears heard (i.e. knowledge which did not come through natural
means).

God is omniscient—all-knowing. But He doesn’t reveal everything He

knows to man. He just gives him a word or a part of what He knows. A
word is a fragmentary part of a sentence, so a word of knowledge would
simply be a fragmentary part of the entire knowledge or counsel of God.
God doesn’t impart all of His knowledge to us; He imparts a word of
knowledge—just what He wants us to know at a given time for a given
purpose.

About 30 years ago, together with another prophet of God, I went to

pray for a dear lady minister living in Palayamkottai, Tamilnadu. As my
companion was praying for her, the Lord God began giving him words of
knowledge concerning how the Lord saw her and her position before God.
When the prayer was over, with joy in her face, this woman said, “Brother,
you must certainly have memorized the entire book of the Song of
Solomon, because three quarters of your prophecy was quoted from that
book.”

When the lady had gone into the kitchen to make us tea, my companion
confided in me, “You know, I have read through the whole Bible twice so
far. The Song of Solomon is the only book which I did not read or study at
all.” This is a classic example of the manifestation of the gift of a word of
knowledge. The Holy Spirit manifested through this gift, in giving him
knowledge of Scriptures of which he was totally ignorant.

What is the source of this knowledge? The Bible says, “Oh, the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom 11:33a).
The Almighty God Himself is the limitless ocean of wisdom and
knowledge. From His knowledge, God sends us a shaft of illumination,
enabling our minds to see and understand whatever may be needed for the
occasion.

Let us examine the Scriptures further in order to lay a good foundation

for understanding this gift:

JOHN 14:17,26
 17 …the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;
but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be
in you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said
to you.

Let us examine a few key phrases in these two Scriptures: But you
know Him… He will teach you all things… [He will] bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you… These three phrases speak of a
knowledge of the present and past.

Let us examine another Scripture which will put the icing on the cake
of the meaning of the gift of a word of knowledge:

JEREMIAH 11:18
18 Now the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I know
it; for You showed me their doings.

The knowledge which the Holy Spirit will give us of things, manifests
as a knowing. You just simply know it, without ever having learned or been
told something.

Several years ago, I spoke at a certain church. During the ministry time,
many youths came forward for prayer. As I stood before a young girl in her
late teens and looked at her, it seemed that I just knew all about her, as if I
had lived with her from her childhood as a member of her family. As I went
on narrating the incidences in her life and the things she had been praying
for, she kept on saying, “It’s true. It’s true.” She sobbed like a little child
upon realizing that her heavenly Father knew all about her.
 The gift of a word of knowledge is the revelation of God’s thoughts to
us concerning people or nations (Amos 4:13). Howard Carter said that the
gift of a word of knowledge gives a believer a revelation of anything that
can be classified as existing or having existed.

Biblical Examples

Let us now examine some examples from the Bible of how this gift was
manifested.

1. Reveal Condition of Nations

The Lord God looked at the world during Noah’s time and said to him,
“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen
6:13).

In November 1996, we conducted a seminar in a certain Asian country.

As I was waiting on God for a message to deliver on the last night, an angel
of the Lord dressed in white linen and with a golden belt around his waist
appeared before me (Rev 15:6).

Looking at me, He said, “I have been sent by God to tell you what God
thinks about this nation. The Lord God said, “S_____ is a nation I love and
care for. Let her not turn her back towards Me. I will restore her glory and I
will raise her up to be a shining light in Asia, like a lighthouse. There are
saints in this land sleeping in their graves awaiting the day of resurrection,
but there are also saints sleeping in their churches! These will not hear the
trumpet when it is blown (cp. 1 Thes 4.16-17). These are like the foolish
virgins of Matthew 25. Do not lay up treasures for yourselves on this earth.
Channel your funds into the work of the Kingdom of God, for you have a
great work to do.”
2. Comfort the Discouraged

There was a time in the life of the prophet Elijah when he became very
discouraged and yearned for death (1 Kg 19:4). He was very discouraged
because he thought that there were no other righteous people left in Israel
(v. 10, 14).

But the Lord comforted His discouraged prophet by revealing that, “Yet
I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to
Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (v.18). It was impossible for
the prophet Elijah to know of the existence of 7,000 righteous people who
were hidden in caves.

3. Reveal the Enemy’s Secrets

2 KINGS 6:8-12
8 Now the king of Syria was making war against
Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying,
“My camp will be in such and such a place.”
9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel,
saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for
the Syrians are coming down there.”
10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of
which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned
him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.
11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly
troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and
said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for
the king of Israel?”
12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O
king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the
king of Israel the words that you speak in your
bedroom.”
There is no way the prophet Elisha could have known what the Syrian king
had said in his bedchamber and what he was plotting because the prophet
wasn’t there nor was he eavesdropping with any kind of modern listening
gadgetries. No, the plans were revealed to him supernaturally by the word
of knowledge, and it saved Israel from danger.

Through this gift, the prophet Elisha was able to know the secret
military strategies of the Syrian king and exposed them to the king of Israel.

4. Recover Lost Property

1 SAMUEL 9:3, 5-6, 15-20

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost.
And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the
servants with you, and arise, go and look for the
donkeys.”
5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said
to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return,
lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and
become worried about us.”
6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a
man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he
says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps
he can show us the way that we should go.”
15 Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day
before Saul came, saying,
16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man
from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him
commander over My people Israel, that he may save
My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have
looked upon My people, because their cry has come to
Me.”
17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him,
“There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This
one shall reign over My people.”
 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and
said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?”
19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go
up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with
me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell
you all that is in your heart.
20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days
ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been
found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not
on you and on all your father’s house?”

God did not reveal to the prophet Samuel any information about any other
lost donkeys in Israel. The prophet Samuel only knew what God revealed to
him. The revelation God gave the prophet Samuel was a word of knowledge
for Saul that his lost donkeys had been found, and he need no longer worry
about them (1 Sam 10:2).

5. Reveal People’s Identities

God possesses intimate knowledge of our lives even before we are born (Ps
139). This gift also reveals the identities of people. There is a classic
example in the Old Testament of how the gift of a word of knowledge
revealed people’s identities.

1 KINGS 14:1-6
1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.
2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and
disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as
the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah
the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king
over this people.
3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar
of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will
become of the child.”
 4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose and went to
Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah
could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his
age.
5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife
of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her
son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her;
for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend
to be another woman.”
6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her
footsteps as she came through the door, he said,
“Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be
another person? For I have been sent to you with bad
news.

The prophet Ahijah, who was blind, was living during the reign of the
wicked king Jeroboam. If we examine this passage very carefully, we can
observe that the gift of a word of knowledge had revealed the following
information to the prophet:

i. King Jeroboam wants to inquire of him

ii. Jeroboam’s wife would pay him a visit

iii. they have a son

iv. the child is sick

v. the woman will pretend to be someone else

 When the prophet Ahijah heard the queen’s footsteps near his door, he
courteously called to her, “Welcome Mrs Jeroboam,” even though she had
come in disguise. All the hours she had spent carefully camouflaging herself
were wasted as the blind prophet clearly revealed her identity and the
purpose of her visit. It would be totally impossible for a blind prophet to
know all this if it had not been for the manifestation of the gift of a word of
knowledge.

Several years ago during a taping of a television program in our studio,

a word of knowledge came to me concerning a viewer. Revealed to me were
the name of the person, the city where he was from and what was the
situation in his life that made him so broken. I made mention of these
details on the recording, which was to be broadcast later. A year later when I
went to the same city for a meeting, a man came to me and testified the
following. This man and his daughter had just quarrelled concerning a
marriage proposal for the daughter. The girl vehemently stood against her
father’s choice of a groom for her. The girl’s adamant attitude broke the
father’s heart.

Both of them sat before the television set to watch our weekly telecast.
He was still brokenhearted over the incident. During the prayer session, he
and his daughter were shocked when I called him by name and the city in
which they lived and described the quarrel so accurately as if I had stood
there before them and witnessed the whole incident. The word also revealed
how brokenhearted he was. That revelation, received through a word of
knowledge, brought reconciliation between a father and his daughter.

6. Reveal Conditions of Churches

REVELATION 1:4
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace
to you and peace from Him who is and who was and
who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are
before His throne,
At the time of this spiritual experience, the apostle John was an exile on the
Isle of Patmos. The Lord Jesus revealed to him in a vision the condition of
the seven churches that literally existed in the first century in Asia Minor.
John, exiled to the Isle of Patmos, couldn’t possibly have known what was
going on in these churches. But, through the gift of a word of knowledge,
the Lord Jesus revealed the condition of the churches to him.

7. Exposes Sin

2 SAMUEL 12:1-12
1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to
him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city,
one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and
herds.
3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe
lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew
up together with him and with his children. It ate of his
own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his
bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to
take from his own flock and from his own herd to
prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to
him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it
for the man who had come to him.”
5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the
man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the
man who has done this shall surely die!
6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because
he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus
says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over
Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s
wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of
 Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also
would have given you much more!
9 Why have you despised the commandment of the
Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be
your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the
people of Ammon.
10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from
your house, because you have despised Me, and have
taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up
adversity against you from your own house; and I will
take your wives before your eyes and give them to your
neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight
of this sun.
12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing
before all Israel, before the sun.’”

There was no way that the prophet Nathan could have known through
natural knowledge that which King David did in secret (2 Sam 11). The gift
of a word of knowledge can expose any sin that is unconfessed and not
covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Looking Unto Jesus

Let us examine the ministry of the Lord Jesus for the manifestation of the
gift of a word of knowledge.

1. Identities of People

On numerous occasions, when people came before the Lord Jesus, the gift
of a word of knowledge would enable Him to know their names and
attitudes simply by looking at them. Here are some examples:
a. Peter

JOHN 1:41-42
41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to
him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is
translated, the Christ).
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus
looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of
Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is
translated, A Stone).

b. Nathanael

JOHN 1:47-48
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said
of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called
you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

c. Zacchaeus

LUKE 19:5
5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and
saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste
and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

d. Paul

ACTS 9:4-6
4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying
to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord
said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is
hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what
do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him,
“Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what
you must do.”

When Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, before his
conversion, the Lord Jesus met him and called him by name.

2. Knowing People’s Thoughts

JOHN 2:24-25
24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because
He knew all men,
25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man,
for He knew what was in man.

This gift enabled the Lord Jesus to know the thoughts of people (Matt 9:3-
4; Mk 2:15; Lk 6:8; 11:17).

3. Sins Exposed

JOHN 4:6-7,9-10,13-19
6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was
about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said
to her, “Give Me a drink.”
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it
that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a
Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans.
 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the
gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a
drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have
given you living water.”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of
this water will thirst again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give
him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give
him will become in him a fountain of water springing
up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water,
that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and
come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no
husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I
have no husband,’
18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom
you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke
truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You
are a prophet.

This gift exposed the hidden sins in the Samaritan woman’s life to the Lord
Jesus.

Mechanics of Operation

The gift of a word of knowledge can manifest in any one of the following
ways.

1. Inspiration
The primary and most basic manifestation of this gift is by inspiration. As
explained earlier, it comes as a knowing. It seems like you suddenly just
know about a person or thing or event (cp. Jn 2.24). Or it can be a
prompting – like a repeated pounding on a door – one receives either in his
spirit or mind.

Sometimes we may speak a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge

by inspiration without realizing what we are saying. That was how
Caiaphas, being the High Priest, unknowingly prophesied about the death of
the Lord Jesus (Jn 11:49-51).

Once, a Spirit-filled Baptist brother who was the president of his local
chapter of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship narrated an
experience he had with Kenneth E. Hagin.

He passed by a large Roman Catholic Church in his car and something

seemed to say to him to stop. He pulled into the church parking lot, stopped,
and sat there praying for a little while. Then that something seemed to tell
him that the priest would be praying in his office in the rectory and that he
should go in, lay hands on him, and he would be filled with the Holy Ghost.

The Baptist brother hesitated. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself.

So he sat in his car and prayed a little while longer. Then he decided it
wouldn’t hurt just to go see if he could find the priest and see if God was
really leading him.

The Baptist brother found his way into the church and knocked on the
door of the study. He heard a voice invite him to come in. He opened the
door to see a man sitting in a chair in front of a desk with some books
opened in front of him. As he entered, the priest got up and greeted him and
they introduced themselves.

When the Catholic priest heard that he was the president of the local
Full Gospel Businessmen’s chapter, he immediately said, ‘Praise the Lord! I
was just reading about what God is doing these days by the moving of His
Spirit! I was reading about this baptism of the Holy Ghost and speaking in
tongues, and the Lord just witnessed to my spirit that this is what I need.”

The priest said to the Baptist man, “I am conscious of my own spiritual

lack. Only ten minutes ago, I bowed my head on my desk and said, ‘Dear
Lord, I don’t know any Full Gospel people. I don’t know anyone in this
town who has had this experience. Send somebody by to pray with me.’
And here you are!” That priest then got down on his knees and the Baptist
brother laid hands on him and the Catholic priest began speaking in tongues
instantly, lifting both hands to heaven.

It was the gift of a word of knowledge in manifestation that revealed to

the Baptist brother that there was a priest in that particular church who was
praying to receive the Holy Spirit.

2. Dreams

The gift of a word of knowledge can come through a dream. Let us examine
the following passage for a classic example of the manifestation of this gift
in a dream.

GENESIS 20:2-7
2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my
sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took
Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and
said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of
the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s
wife.”
4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said,
“Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also?
5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she,
even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the
 integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have
done this.”
6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that
you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also
withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did
not let you touch her.
7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a
prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live.
But if you do not restore her, know that you shall
surely die, you and all who are yours.”

In this dream, the Lord God revealed to King Abimelech through a

word of knowledge the following information:

i. The woman was someone’s wife (v.3)

ii. God showed Abimelech his own heart (v.6)

iii. The woman’s husband was a prophet (v.7)

iv. Warning of judgment (v.7)

This example gives the answer to the questions: “How could I know for
sure if the inspiration which I received is from God and not from my own
flesh or the devil?” When God Almighty speaks or shows us something,
first, it will produce a reverential fear for God. Second, it will be precise
and accurate. Third, there would be no unbelief in our hearts. Rather, it will
produce a rock-solid faith knowing that the revelation is from God. Fourth,
our own spirit will bear witness whether a revelation is from God or the
flesh or the devil.
3. Visions

Let us examine another classic example of how this gift manifested in a

vision.

ACTS 9:10-12
10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus
named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision,
“Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street
called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for
one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he
might receive his sight.”

In this passage, a word of knowledge gave very accurate information to

the recipient. Ananias was given Saul’s name, exact address and even what
Saul had seen in a vision.

A dear minister of God once related to me how he received a word of

knowledge in a vision. After he had finished speaking at a certain church, a
woman came to him for prayer. As he looked at her, in a vision, he saw
what appeared to be dark paint all over her face. He then knew that she was
living in the sin of adultery. As he kept looking at her, again, in a vision, he
saw how many children she had, the age of each one, the name of the man
with whom she had committed adultery and the places they had gone
overseas to do it. The gift of a word of knowledge exposed her hidden sin,
which led to her repentance.

4. Angels

Angels can also bring a word of knowledge.

 ACTS 27:23-24
23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the
God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be
brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted
you all those who sail with you.’

In April 1995, our ministry conducted an evangelistic meeting at

Darjeeling, West Bengal. During one of the morning meetings, about 100
youths dedicated their lives to serve God. As I was exhorting them to yield
their lives completely to the Lord, I saw an angel coming towards me.
Standing very near to me and pointing his hand to one particular young girl,
he said, “This girl has a very special call upon her life. God has anointed
and called her to preach to the youths. But she is timid and afraid.
Sometimes she even wonders if God hears her prayer. Tell her that she has
been praying for a greater boldness and anointing to preach. God has heard
that prayer and blessed her.”

As I narrated to her whatever the angel told me, the young girl, who
was the pastor’s daughter, cried like a little child. Later she came and told
me that everything the angel revealed about her was absolutely true.

5. The Father God

1 SAMUEL 9:14-20
14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming
into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward
them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day
before Saul came, saying,
16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man
from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him
commander over My people Israel, that he may save
My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have
 looked upon My people, because their cry has come to
Me.”
17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him,
“There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This
one shall reign over My people.”
18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and
said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?”
19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go
up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with
me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell
you all that is in your heart.
20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days
ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been
found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not
on you and on all your father’s house?”

Examine this passage closely and see how detailed is the information that
God gave to the prophet Samuel concerning Saul.

6. The Lord Jesus

ACTS 23:11
11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and
said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified
for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at
Rome.”

The Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul while in prison and gave him a
word of knowledge greatly encouraging him.

As I was meditating on the Word of God one morning in November

1986 in Kalimpong, West Bengal, the Lord Jesus appeared before me. With
a stern look on His face, the Lord Jesus handed me a notepad and told me to
take a look at it. The name of a certain pastor in the Himalayas was written
on it. There were also written five things which he was secretly doing,
which had greatly angered the Lord.

The Lord Jesus then said, “Go and warn him of these things. Ask him
to repent of these things or else I will judge him. His feet are just one step
away from hell.” I met the pastor and told him all that the Lord showed me
about his hidden sins. On hearing it, he dropped to his knees and with a
bowed head said, “Sadhuji, everything the Lord revealed to you is true.
Please pray for me.”

7. The Holy Spirit

ACTS 10:17-20
17 Now while Peter wondered within himself what this
vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who
had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for
Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.
18 And they called and asked whether Simon, whose
surname was Peter, was lodging there.
19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said
to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you.
20 Arise therefore, go down and go with them,
doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”

The Holy Spirit gave a very clear word of knowledge to the apostle Peter
that three people were coming to meet him and that he was supposed to go
with them.

In June 1987, I was attending a service at certain church. After their

regular worship, the senior pastor came to the pulpit and continued a little
longer in worship. As I was worshipping the Lord, I felt that someone was
standing close to me. However, when I opened my eyes, no one was there.
So I closed my eyes and continued worshipping. Again, I felt someone
come and stand very close to my face. I then realised that the Someone was
none other than the blessed Holy Spirit. I then said, “Speak Lord, for Your
servant shall hear.”

The Holy Spirit then revealed to me a word of knowledge about the

pastor of the church: concerning his call, why he left his former church and
his heart attitudes in the sight of God. However, the Holy Spirit cautioned
me not to reveal this to anybody, not even to the pastor himself. I then asked
the Holy Spirit, “If You don’t want me to tell this to anybody, why then did
You tell me?” The Holy Spirit then said, “I told you because I want you to
pray for him that his heart will be sensitive to My conviction.”

Like the gift of a word of wisdom, the gift of a word of knowledge can
also manifest in a package. Consider the following examples.

1. Angels could appear in person to give us a word of knowledge (Lk

1:13,30,36; Acts 8:26; 27:23-24). We also read in the Bible of them
appearing in dreams (Gen 31:11-13; Matt 1:20) and visions (Acts
10:3-6).

2. The Lord Jesus appeared in person in the Spirit to give a word of

knowledge (Acts 9:5-6; 23:11). He also appeared in visions (Acts
9:10-12; 18:9-10; 22:17-21).

3. God the Father spoke words of knowledge audibly (Matt 3:17; Jn

12:28). We also read of Him speaking in dreams (Gen 20:3-7;
28:11-15; Matt 2:12) and visions (Gen 15:1; 46:2-4).

Keys to Cultivation

The keys to cultivate and sharpen the gift of a word of knowledge is to have
a firm understanding of its operation. As we have already seen, this gift
imparts a knowing. This means that we receive a knowing or a perception in
one of the seven ways we analyzed earlier.
 The gift of a word of knowledge reveals information in two stages:
preparative and progressive. At first, a partial knowledge is imparted,
preparing the recipient to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to receive a
progressive fuller knowledge (cp. 1 Sam 16:1-23).

Let us delve into this a little deeper by examining two Scriptures:

1. “But when Jesus perceived their thoughts…” (Lk 5:22).

2. “And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart…” (Lk 9:47).

In these two Scriptures, the key word is perceive. There are three Greek
words used in the New Testament for the word “perceive.”

1. Oida meaning to see with perception; implying intuitive knowledge;

fullness of knowledge.

2. Ginosko meaning to know – in the mind; progressive knowledge.

3. Theoreo meaning to look closely at, to gaze, to look with interest and for a
purpose.

Putting these three words together, we could look at the intrinsic work
of the gift of a word of knowledge. In the beginning, we receive a
perception of knowing, a partial knowledge of a person or thing. Then, as
we get still before God and gaze closely, we perceive a fuller knowledge.
Let me illustrate with an incident.

About 20 years ago, I visited a pastor in Gangtok, Sikkim. Before I

took leave of him, the pastor gathered his family and requested me to pray
for them. So I began to pray for each member of his family. When I came to
pray for his wife, I perceived that she had been secretly praying for certain
things. As I stilled myself for a moment and gazed at her, I looked into her
heart and saw five things for which she had been praying to the Lord with
deep longing.

The gift of a word of knowledge gives our spirit insight and

understanding. As such, it is vitally important to have our thoughts always
in line with God’s thoughts (Isa 55:8-9). The only way to have our thoughts
in line with God’s thoughts is to know the Word of God (Jn 7:17). We must
fill our hearts with the Word of God by meditating on it day and night (Josh
1:8; Col 3:16).

In summary, through the gift of a word of knowledge we can receive

knowledge about people, things or events of the past and present. The Bible
very beautifully expresses the manifestation of this gift in the following
Scripture: “Now the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I know it, for You
showed me their doings” (Jer 11:18).
Chapter 4 - Discerning of Spirits
[GIFTS OF REVELATION]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10a
10a to another discerning of spirits,

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10a (Greek - Literal)

10a To another the Holy Spirit imparts discerning of spirits

This gift “discerning of spirits” in the Greek New Testament is correctly

translated as discernings of spirits. It is plural; different discernings for
different kinds of spirits.

The gift of the discernings of spirits is the third and final gift in the
category of revelation gifts. In comparison to the gifts of a word of wisdom
and a word of knowledge, the gift of discernings of spirits has a limited
range of operation. That is because its revelation is limited to only one class
of objects—spirits.

Myths and Misconceptions

1. It is not natural intuition. Everyone at one time or another may have had
an intuition concerning what was about to take place. That natural
 intuition is not the manifestation of the discernings of spirits but
rather, the inner witness or promptings of our own spirit (Rom 8:16).

2. It is not the ability to psychoanalyze others. The ability to psychoanalyze

and judge others is not a manifestation of this gift.

3. It is not the gift of discernment between right and wrong. The ability to
discern between right and wrong is the result of our own human
spirit’s spiritual growth (Phil 1:9; Heb 5:14).

4. It is not the ability to find faults in the lives of others. There are many
people who specialize in finding faults in others and claiming the
inspiration of the discernings of spirits. John Wesley once remarked
that such a gift might well be buried without grieving the Lord.

The Meaning

The word “discern” means to recognize and distinguish between. The gift of
the “discernings of spirits,” in Greek diakriseis pneumaton, is the
supernatural ability imparted by the Holy Spirit to see into the Spirit realm.

Through this insight, one can discern the similitude of the Godhead,
angels, evil spirits and human spirits. Simply, it is the supernatural
revelation of the unseen world. This gift enables the recipient to see the
unseeable. It also enables us to see and judge what we see, whether it be a
good or bad spirit.

The Greek word for “discerning,” diakriseis, comes from the Greek
word diakrino, a verb translated to judge through. This gift enables one to
pierce through what appears outwardly to the inner reality and then form a
judgement based on that insight.

A few years ago, I was invited to preach on a Sunday morning at a

certain church. After the worship, as the church was quiet before the Lord to
hear a Word from Him, from the middle section of the congregation a
woman gave a prophecy, saying that God was pleased with them and happy
with their worship. When I heard the prophecy, I discerned that it was not
from the Spirit of God.

When I got to the pulpit to preach, as I fastened my eyes on the

woman who prophesied, I saw a spirit within her which was as rebellious
and controlling as Queen Jezebel (1 Kg 18:4; 19:2, 21). After the meeting,
when I confided this to the pastor, he concurred that he too had discerned
that the word was not from God.

The Bible says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but
all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must
give account” (Heb 4:13). Through the gift of the discernings of spirits, the
Holy Spirit opens and lays bare for the recipient to see into the Spirit realm
where nothing can hide (1 Sam 16:7; Rev 2:23). This gift enables you to see
into the heart and mind of a person and to know what is in them. In contrast,
to know a person’s thoughts would constitute a manifestation of the gift of a
word of knowledge.

A few years ago I was invited to share and lead in intercessory prayer
for a certain Asian country. As I was praying, in a vision, I saw the Prime
Minister of that nation. I looked deeply into him and saw anxiety, fear,
sadness, stress and tension. I saw his intentions, which appeared right
before God. With this insight, I was able to lead the several hundred
intercessors to intercede specifically for him.

The telescope can reveal the myriads of stars and galaxies far out in
space. The microscope can bring to our sight the intricate microbes that
would otherwise remain unseen with the natural eyes. The gift of
discernings of spirits, however, gives you insight to penetrate deep within
the spirit and soul of man.

Biblical Examples

Let us look at some examples of the manifestation of this gift in the Bible:
1. The Similitude of the Godhead

The Bible says very clearly that God is a Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ is a
Spirit and the Holy Spirit is the Eternal Spirit (Jn 4:24; 2 Cor 3:17; Heb
9:14). As the Godhead is Spirit, without the manifestation of the discernings
of spirits, none of the people mentioned in the Bible who saw God could
have seen Him with their natural eyes. Actually, nobody can see God or the
Lord Jesus or the Holy Spirit per se. What we are allowed to see is the
similitude of God.

Consider the following Scripture: “With him will I speak mouth to

mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the
Lord shall he behold” (Num 12:8). The word “similitude” in Hebrew is
temunah meaning something portioned (i.e. fashioned) out, as a shape,
manifestation, image, likeness. Therefore, a similitude of God is the image
or likeness or form of the Being of God. The Lord God does not step off His
throne and come down but merely manifests His form to us.

a. The Almighty God

The prophet Moses had a great desire to see the God of Israel face to face.
But God told him that it was impossible to see Him. Instead, He allowed
him to behold just His back (Ex 33:18-23).
 The Scriptures also record that 70 elders of Israel saw the God of
Israel (Ex 24:9-11). What is even more amazing is that an entire nation of
three million people saw the glory of God that came down upon Mount
Sinai (Ex 19:17-20; Deu 33:2; Hab 3:3). None of them actually saw God –
just the similitude of God.

We also read of the prophet Isaiah seeing the similitude of God (Isa
6:1). The following Scriptures also describe events where people saw the
form of God (Gen 12:7; 26:2; 35:9; 1 Kg 9:2).

b. The Lord Jesus

Was the gift of discernings of spirits necessary to behold the Lord Jesus in
the flesh during His earthly sojourn? Before we answer that question, let us
consider a Scripture:

LUKE 24:13-16,28-31
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same
day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven
miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they talked together of all these things which
had happened.
15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that
Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not
know Him.
 28 Then they drew near to the village where they were
going, and He indicated that He would have gone
farther.
29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us,
for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And
He went in to stay with them.
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with
them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and
gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him;
and He vanished from their sight.

This gift was absolutely unnecessary to see the Lord Jesus in the
flesh. But after His resurrection, no one could see the Lord Jesus without
the gift of discernings of spirits because the Lord Jesus is now a Spirit-Man.

It was for the same reason that Mary Magdalene could not see Him in
the beginning (Jn 20:11-18). The Scriptures also record that the apostle Paul
had seen the Lord Jesus thrice (Acts 9:3-6; 22:17-21; 23:11) and the apostle
John saw Him on the Isle of Patmos (Rev 1:9-18). A classic example of this
gift enabling someone to discern the Godhead is recorded in Acts 7:55: “But
[Stephen], being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

One night in 1914 as Stephen Jeffreys (1876-1943), a minster of God

from Wales, was preaching to a packed church, all the congregants kept
looking intently behind him at the wall. When Stephen Jeffreys noticed all
the people gazing at the wall, curiosity compelled him to turn around and
look. What he saw shocked him and he could not continue preaching.

There, on the wall, was an image of the face of a lamb. The image
then turned into the face of the Lord Jesus as the Man of Sorrows. Everyone
in the church began to weep and some cried for mercy. People ran home to
tell others, and they came to see in the hundreds. By the end of the day,
thousands had seen this open vision with their naked eyes at Llanelly,
Wales.

Once, the mother of Brother Howard Carter, a Pentecostal pioneer

and the founding member of the Assemblies of God in Great Britain and
Ireland, saw a vision. She used to pray that she might see the Lord. One
stormy night, unable to sleep, she prayed asking the Lord to grant her a
vision. Suddenly, she saw the Lord stand behind the brass rail of her bed.
He seemed to look away into the distance with a look of sorrow in His face.
He then vanished.

Later, the Lord appeared to her again. This time He came closer to
her and looked deep into her eyes and said, “Fear not.” She replied, “I am
not afraid, Lord,” and began to speak to the Lord in unknown tongues. The
Lord smiled at her and vanished again.
 Then, her bedroom began to glow with the light of God’s glory. As
she gazed into the light, she saw the form of a man. His hair was white as
wool; He was clothed right down to His feet; His eyes flashed like fire, and
on His head was a royal crown (cp. Rev 1:13-14). She counted herself so
blessed to see a threefold vision of the Lord Jesus: she saw the One who
went to the cross—the Man of Sorrows; she saw the One who said, “My
peace I give to you” —a Companion in life; and she also saw the exalted
soon-coming great King.

c. The Holy Spirit

The word “Spirit” in Hebrew is ruach and in Greek is pneuma, both

meaning breath or wind. In as much as we cannot see breath or wind,
likewise, it is impossible to see the invisible Holy Spirit (Jn 3:8). But at
times, the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in some way and through the
discernings of spirits we may see His form.

i. The prophet John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit as a dove (Jn 1:32-33).

ii. The early disciples, on the Day of Pentecost, saw the Holy Spirit
descending upon them as tongues of fire (Acts 2:3-4).

iii. The apostle John saw the Holy Spirit as seven lamps burning before the
throne of God (Rev 4:5).
 One morning in 1995 I was praying and asking the Holy Spirit to
teach me during the writing of the book Prayer Secrets in the Tabernacle.
Suddenly, I felt the presence of a Being standing beside me. What I saw
greatly startled me. I saw the outline of a man and waters running through
Him and out of Him. I was quickened in my spirit that I was discerning the
Person of the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:38).

On three other occasions, as I was ministering to people during

meetings, I have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit come and stand beside
me like a real person. It was so real that I could tangibly feel the heat of His
breath blowing on my face. It was the gift of discernings of spirits that
enabled me to see and feel the Holy Spirit in this way.

2. Angels

Angels are purely spiritual beings (Heb 1:7a,14). In fact, the Bible says,
“And of the angels He says: Who makes His angels spirits” (Heb 1:7a). The
word “spirits” in Greek is pneumata meaning winds or spirits.

Angels are real beings possessing spiritual essence. We can also see
other classes of angelic beings – such as: cherubim (Ezek 1:5-14; 10:4-22),
seraphim (Isa 6:2-6), archangels (Dan 10:13; 12:1), through the gift of
discernings of spirits.
 There are more than 100 recorded incidents in the Old and New
Testaments of angelic visitations (Gen 16:7; Ex 3:2; Num 22:31; Josh 5:13;
Judg 6:12; 2 Sam 24:17; 2 Kg 1:3; 1 Chr 21:18; Isa 6:2; Dan 6:22; Zech
1:9; Lk 1:11; Acts 8:26; Rev 1:1).

3. Heavenly Beings & Creatures

i. Living Creatures

REVELATION 4:6-11
6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like
crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the
throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front
and in back.
7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second
living creature like a calf, the third living creature had
a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was
like a flying eagle.
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings,
were full of eyes around and within. And they do not
rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor
and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives
forever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who
sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne,
saying:
11 “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power; For You created all things, and by
 Your will they exist and were created.”

Here we read about four living creatures.

The prophet Ezekiel also, like the apostle John, saw a different set of
four living creatures (Ezek 1:5-14). We also read of the apostle John seeing
the creatures—lion and lamb in heaven (Rev 5:5-6).

ii. Twenty FourTwenty-Four Elders

REVELATION 4:4
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on
the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in
white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their
heads.

Who are these mysterious elders? The Bible remains silent about their
identities. We do know they are real men because the apostle John
interacted with one of them. And when the apostle cried, one of the elders
even comforted him (Rev 5:4-5).

Some Bible scholars interpret the 24 elders as comprising two

groups: 12 patriarchs from the Old Testament and 12 apostles from the
New Testament. This explanation does not hold water because if one group
of the 24 elders are the 12 apostles, then the apostle John who was in
heaven when he saw the 24 elders would have seen his double, which he
did not.

If the 24 elders are not who we thought them to be, then who are
they? Since the Bible is silent, let’s not presume to speculate as to their
identities. But from the 12 references to them in the Book of Revelation we
can deduce the following information about them:

1. They hold a high and exalted place near the throne of God
(Rev 4:4,10; 7:11; 11:16; 14:3).

2. They wear white robes and have gold crowns on their heads
(Rev 4:4).

3. They constantly fall down to worship God (Rev 4:10;

5:8,14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4).

4. They can empathize with human emotions and can comfort

and encourage (Rev 5:5).

5. They seem to be connected with the prayer ministry in

heaven (Rev 5:8).
 iii. Horses and Chariots of Fire

2 KINGS 6:17
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open
his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the
eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the
mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all
around Elisha.

We also read that Elisha and his servant saw horses and chariots of fire
when their spiritual eyes were opened through the gift of discernings of
spirits (2 Kg 6:17). In a separate incident, even before Elisha received the
prophet Elijah’s mantle and became a fully-fledged prophet himself, his
spiritual eyes were opened to see a chariot of fire and horses of fire (2 Kg
2:11).

Heavenly horses seem to be involved in transport, as we read in the

case of the prophet Elijah who was escorted to heaven in a fiery chariot
pulled by fiery horses. They are sent as observers throughout the earth
(Zech 1:8-11; 6:1-8). They are also involved with the armies of heaven
(Judg 5:22; 2 Kg 6:17; Rev 19:14). The Lord Jesus Himself has His own
horse, too (Hab 3:8; Rev 19:11).

iv. Wheels with Eyes

EZEKIEL 1:15-21
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a
wheel was on the earth beside each living creature
with its four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings
was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same
 likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it
were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four
directions; they did not turn aside when they went.
18 As for their rims, they were so high they were
awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around
the four of them.
19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went
beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted
up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went,
because there the spirit went; and the wheels were
lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living
creatures was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; when those stood,
these stood; and when those were lifted up from the
earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for
the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

The prophet Ezekiel, through this gift, was able to clearly see a wheel with
eyes all over (Ezek 1:15-20).

v. Watchers

DANIEL 4:13
13 “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed,
and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down
from heaven.

Another mysterious angelic being in heaven is the Watcher. They are

mentioned only thrice in the entire Bible (Dan 4:13,17,23). The word
“watcher” in Aramaic is iyr meaning: a watcher, i.e. an angel (as
guardian).

From the way the prophet Daniel describes these Watchers, we can
deduce that they seem to be guardians of God’s time-table of world events
and also the executors of God’s judgments (Dan 4:13,17).

vi. Morning Stars

JOB 38:7
7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the
sons of God shouted for joy?

This is the only reference in the entire Bible to this elusive group of angelic
beings. The former archangel, Lucifer, by virtue of his name which in
Hebrew is heylel meaning: (in the sense of brightness) the morning-star,
seems to belong to this category of special angelic beings.

4. Spirits of Just Men made Perfect

HEBREWS 12:23
23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn
who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all,
to the spirits of just men made perfect,
“The spirits of just men” are those who have already been redeemed and are
living in heaven.

The Scriptures record that as the Lord Jesus was praying on the
Mount of Transfiguration, the prophets Moses and Elijah appeared in glory
in the Spirit before Him and talked with Him (Mk 9:4: Lk 9:30-31). The
apostles Peter, James and John who were with the Lord Jesus were also
privileged to behold these two prophets in the Spirit. The strange part of this
incident is that the apostle Peter, having never met either the prophet Moses
or the prophet Elijah, seems to have recognized them (Matt 17:4).

Let us consider another puzzle. In the story of the rich man and
Lazarus, the Lord Jesus narrated “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted
up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom” (Lk
16:23). How is it possible for the apostle Peter to recognise the prophets
Moses and Elijah and for the rich man to recognize Abraham? The gift of
discernings of spirits will enable us to recognize and know each other in the
Spirit (1 Cor 13:12).

5. Human Spirits

All human beings are embodied spirits because God created them as spirits
(Job 32:8; Pro 20:27). It is written in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of
God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Likewise, through the gift of the discernings of spirits, the veil of

human flesh is pierced to distinguish between the dispositions of persons
and their good or evil tendencies. It may also reveal the presence of
demonic powers possessing or oppressing them. Let us examine a scriptural
passage.

ACTS 13:8-11
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is
translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the
proconsul away from the faith.
9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the
Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you
son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will
you not cease perverting the straight ways of the
Lord?
11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you,
and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went
around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

This passage is a classic example of the manifestation of the

discernings of spirits. This gift enabled the apostle Paul to look deep into
the sorcerer’s spirit to discern all his iniquities and intentions.
Another classic example is found in Acts 16:9-24.

9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who

previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished
the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone
great,
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the
greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of
God.”
11 And they heeded him because he had astonished
them with his sorceries for a long time.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the
things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he
was baptized he continued with Philip, and was
amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were
done.
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they
sent Peter and John to them,
15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them
that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They
had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the
Holy Spirit.
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of
the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he
offered them money,
19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on
whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with
you, because you thought that the gift of God could be
 purchased with money!
21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for
your heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray
God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be
forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and
bound by iniquity.”
24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord
for me, that none of the things which you have spoken
may come upon me.”

Simon the sorcerer got saved and was baptized in water during the
great revival conducted by Philip in Samaria. Seeing people getting
baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, he offered a large sum
of money to the apostle Peter so that he, too, would have the power to
impart the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. But the apostle Peter
looked at him and saw what was inside of his heart. The word “see” in verse
23 is horao meaning to stare at, i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly
(physically or mentally), to perceive. Through the gift of discerning of
spirits the apostle Peter perceived the spiritual condition of Simon’s heart
and his hypocrisy.

About 25 years ago, Dr. Lester Sumrall witnessed the following

incident in a small church. A beautiful young woman came into the church
and sat on the back pew. She was a stranger to the church and no one had
ever seen her in the small town before. When there was a pause in the
prayer meeting that evening, she stood up and said, “I’m an evangelist, and
God has asked me to conduct a special revival meeting in this church. No
one is to resist me because I am a woman of God and the revival meeting
should begin tonight. The Lord has sent me to bless you and to preach to
you.”

A spirit of coldness brooded over the church after she had spoken.
Everyone, obviously stunned, remained quiet and wondered what would
happen next. Somewhere in the congregation a little old lady was seated
with head bowed in prayer. Suddenly, she stood to her feet and with her face
facing heaven said, “You are a harlot from St. Louis, Missouri (the woman
had earlier said that she was from another city). You are in this town living
with a man to whom you are not married. You have boasted to him that you
would come to this church, deceive these people, preach to them and collect
an offering without their knowing that you are a harlot. If you do not repent,
you will die before you leave this building.”

The power of God fell upon the whole church and everyone knelt
down before God. When they arose from prayer the woman was long gone.
The gift of the discernings of spirits exposed the evil intentions of this
woman, and she fled from the scene.

6. Evil Spirits
As much as there are innumerable myriads of angels, there are about as
many demons and evil spirits. In fact, the Bible clearly categorises them
into four classes: principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age,
and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12).

Wherever the Holy Spirit is at work, in one way or another, the

counter-force of evil spirits is also present. Thus, we need to clearly discern
the works of demonic forces in order to successfully deal with them.

Let us examine a scriptural passage found in Acts 16:16-18:

16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a

certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination
met us, who brought her masters much profit by
fortune-telling.
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out,
saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High
God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly
annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command
you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”
And he came out that very hour.

This passage is a classic example of the manifestation of the gift of

discernings of spirits. The spirit of divination is the counterfeit of the gift of
a word of knowledge and prophecy. In the natural, it is very difficult to
differentiate between them.
 This girl apparently followed the apostles Paul and Silas for several
days, which might have appeared to others as though she was accepted into
the company of the true apostles of the Lord Jesus. She was also
prophesying true things about the apostles Paul and Silas. Quite
interestingly, the apostle Paul allowed this girl to continue in their company
for a while, apparently not quite aware of her real spiritual condition. It was
not until the gift of discernings of spirits manifested in him that the apostle
Paul was able to see through the deception and judge that it was not a
manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s gifts but rather the work of an evil spirit
of divination.

One night in 1987 I was waiting on God in Palayamkottai,

Tamilnadu. While in prayer, I saw a similitude of the Lord Jesus standing
about three feet away from me. I was filled with joy on seeing the Lord
Jesus. I was about to fall at the feet of the Lord to worship Him, when I felt
a check in my spirit. I then heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit say,
“Take a good close look at this Jesus.”

As I fastened my eyes and looked intently at the form standing in

front of me, the gift of discernings of spirits manifested and enabled me to
see that this “Jesus” had a garland of frangipane flowers (used for funerals
in some cultures) around his neck and one of his eyes was protruding.
Instantly, I knew that it was the devil himself who was impersonating the
Lord Jesus (2 Cor 11:14), and when I rebuked him, he fled away in terror
(Jas 4:7).

The gift of discernings of spirits will enable us to know the various

kinds of demons present, what harm they are working or intending and
other information concerning them.

i. Works of demons

This gift will reveal to us whether if it is a lying spirit (1 Kg

22:22) or spirits of infirmity (Lk 13:11) causing infirmities
such as cancer, blindness (Matt 12:22), dumbness (Lk 11:14),
epilepsy (Matt 17:15, 18), or an unclean spirit (Mk 1:23; 3:11).

ii. Names of demons (Mk 5:9; Acts 16:16)

iii. Number of demons (Mk 5:9; Lk 8:2)

It was this gift that enabled the apostle John to discern the three frogs
he saw in a vision as unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon,
the beast and the false prophet (Rev 16:13-14). There are some gifted saints
of God who have seen evil spirits in the form of animals—for example: fox,
mouse, bat, snake and frog.
 The Lord appeared to Brother Kenneth E. Hagin in a vision one time
and said, “I am going to teach you about the devil, demons, and demon
possession. From this night on what is known in My Word as the discerning
of spirits will operate in your life when you are in the Spirit.”

After that visitation from the Lord, the first such manifestation
occurred in a meeting in Tyler, Texas. The pastor who invited Brother Hagin
told him about his niece who had cancer of the left lung. The doctors had
wanted to operate on her, but she wouldn’t submit to an operation. The
malignancy had spread to her other lung as well, and by then it was too late
for an operation even if she had wanted one. She was bedridden and had
wasted away to nothing although she was being fed six times a day.

They got her out of bed and brought her to church on Tuesday and
Friday nights of the first week of meetings that Brother Hagin was holding
there. Tuesday and Friday were the healing meetings, and Brother Hagin
prayed for her. They brought her again on Tuesday and Friday nights of the
second week, and Brother Hagin prayed for her again.

On Tuesday night of the third week they brought her again, and she
happened to be the first one in the prayer line. Brother Hagin laid hands on
her and suddenly everyone and everything else in the room seemed to
disappear. Brother Hagin was enveloped in a cloud and all he could see was
himself and this young woman standing in a circle of light.
 Brother Hagin was seeing into the realm of the spirit. He saw a
demon hanging on to her body over her left lung. Brother Hagin knew it
was the cause of her physical condition and that it had to be dealt with.
Brother Hagin commanded the demon to leave her in the Name of Jesus. In
the realm of the spirit Brother Hagin saw this evil spirit and heard him
speak. No one else in the church saw or heard anything.

When Brother Hagin commanded the demon to leave, it fell off of the
woman’s body and fell down on the floor. Then it just lay there and
whimpered and whined like a whipped pup. It said, “I don’t want to leave,
but I know I have to if you tell me to.” Brother Hagin said boldly, “Not only
must you leave her body, but you must also leave these premises.” The
demon ran down the aisle and out the door of the church, and the woman
was healed.

The woman went to the doctor the very next day and asked him to
take X-rays of her lungs. The doctor said that wasn’t necessary; they
already had sufficient X-rays of her lungs. “But something has happened to
me, and I want you to take them again,” she insisted.

They finally took the X-rays, and confirmed that something had
indeed happened! “Your lungs have cleared up!” they said. “There’s no
more cancer!” The doctors wanted to run more tests, and after they did, they
said her lungs were completely clear and all the other tests for cancer also
proved negative. Three weeks later the pastor told Brother Hagin that his
niece had gained sixteen pounds. That was many years ago, and in talking
to this pastor years later, Brother Hagin found she was still well.

The realm of the spirit is very real, although we cannot perceive it

with our natural senses. God has provided the gift of discerning of spirits to
give the Church supernatural insight into this spiritual realm, as His Spirit
wills.

Looking Unto Jesus

Let us now examine the ministry of the Lord Jesus for the manifestation of
this gift.

1. Similitude of God

On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus beheld a form of the Lord
God as a bright cloud (Mt 17:5). He also saw the Holy Spirit like a dove
(Lk 3:22).

2. Evil Spirits
This gift enabled the Lord Jesus to behold Satan in the wilderness of
temptation (Matt 4:3; Mk 8:33). This gift also enabled the Lord Jesus to
discern the different kinds of demons and evil spirits. For example: unclean
spirits (Mk 5:2,8); mute spirit (Matt 9:32-33); deaf and dumb spirit (Matt
9:32-33; Mk 9:25); blind and mute spirit (Matt 12:22-23); spirit of infirmity
(Lk 13:11-17).

Let us consider the following interesting incident from the Bible:

MARK 4:35-41
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said
to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took
Him along in the boat as He was. And other little
boats were also with Him.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat
into the boat, so that it was already filling.
38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And
they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not
care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to
the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and
there was a great calm.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How
is it that you have no faith?”
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one
another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the
sea obey Him!”
 In the Greek, the literal meaning of the word translated “be stilled” is
be muzzled. It conveys the concept that the Lord Jesus saw—discerned—
something sinister and satanic behind the sudden and abnormal storm.

3. Angels

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus saw angels on multiple
occasions (Matt 26:53; Mk 1:13; Lk 22:43).

4. Spirits of Perfected Saints

This gift enabled the Lord Jesus to behold and commune with the redeemed
saints in glory, the prophets Moses and Elijah, on the Mount of
Transfiguration (Matt 17:3; Mk 9:4; Lk 9:30-31).

5. Human Spirits

A classic example of the manifestation of this gift enabling the Lord Jesus
to discern human natures is recorded in John 1:47-48, “Jesus saw Nathanael
coming toward Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom
is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus
answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under
the fig tree, I saw you.’”
The Lord Jesus saw a paralytic man at the pool of Bethesda and
knew of his condition (Jn 5:6). On another occasion, the Lord Jesus
recognized that one of His disciples, Peter, was influenced by none
other than Satan himself.

MATTHEW 16:13-23
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea
Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men
say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some
Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should
tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His
disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer
many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke
Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not
happen to You!”
 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me,
Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not
mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Initially, the Lord called His disciples to Himself and asked them for
their opinion about Him. Each one of them shared their opinion. It was the
apostle Peter who correctly saw who the Lord Jesus really was when He
said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v.16). The Lord Jesus,
pleased with the answer, commended him saying: “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father
who is in heaven” (v.17). So the apostle Peter received a right word and was
truly inspired by God.

A little later, the Lord Jesus shared with His disciples His true
mission in coming to earth by saying that He was to suffer reproach,
humiliation, and ultimately death. The apostle Peter then chided the Lord
for speaking negatively. Sensing something was wrong, the Lord turned
aside and looked at the apostle Peter. It was then that the gift of discerning
of spirits manifested in the Lord Jesus and He saw Satan standing beside the
apostle Peter and influencing him to speak words to deter the Lord from His
mission. The Lord rebuked Satan, not the apostle Peter, and commanded the
devil to desist from influencing the apostle Peter and trying to deceive Him.

All of us can be deceived in such manner. At first, the apostle Peter

gave a true word from God. Just because a person gave a true word once
does not mean that they will always receive true words from God. The gift
of discerning of spirits is so valuable for us to discern the spirits that speak
to us.

Mechanics of Operations

The gift of discernings of spirits manifests chiefly through visions. The

word “vision” in Greek is horama which means that which is seen, a
spectacle, sight. A vision can be defined as a sight which one sees presented
as appearing to the mind.

There are three types of visions and they come in three categories.

1. Spiritual Vision

A spiritual vision is the simplest type of all visions. It comes when we are in
deep prayer being one with the Holy Spirit. It works like a picture or a
photographic slide flashed before our mind, or live video with sound
displayed on the inner screens of our minds.

Sometimes, even when we are alert, awake, talking with people or

engaged in some activity, the Holy Spirit can flash a vision across the
screen of our inner mind to communicate something. Some examples of this
kind of vision are recorded in Genesis 15:12-17 and Acts 9:10-12; 10:2-3;
18:9.

2. Trance Vision

A trance is a state of one who is “out of himself,” according

to Easton’s Bible Dictionary. The word “trance” comes from the
Greek word ekstasis, from which the word ecstasy is derived.

Ekstasis means to remove out of its place or state. It is a state

whereby ordinary physical consciousness and the perception of natural
circumstances is withered and the soul is susceptible only to the vision
imparted by God. In such a state, our physical senses are suspended and we
are totally unaware of what is taking place in the natural. As our spiritual
senses are acutely aware of the spiritual realm, in a trance we are not just
spectators beholding a vision but participants in the vision.

Smith’s Bible Dictionary goes a little deeper, saying a trance is: “The
state in which a man has passed out of the usual order of his life, beyond the
usual limits of consciousness and volition, being rapt in causes of this
state.”

Once, the legendary Apostle of the Bleeding Feet, Sadhu Sundar

Singh fell into a trance as he was praying under a tree. He was entirely
oblivious of the physical natural realm. His eyes were wide opened, his
hands outstretched, and he was seen as if intently gazing at something,
smiling blissfully. When he came out of the trance, he realized that he had
been stung all over by hornets and his whole body was swollen, even
though he had felt no pain nor was aware of being stung.

The following is taken from a website article by Jennifer LeClaire,

Senior Editor of Charisma magazine:

The apostle Peter fell into a trance that opened his eyes to preach
the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:10). The apostle Paul fell into a
trance in which the Lord gave Him a warning and a commission to
preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 22:17).

Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844-1924), a powerful voice as a

Pentecostal forerunner from the late 1800s and early 1900s, was
moving in the supernatural before either Azusa Street or the
charismatic movement made its mark on church history. Healings,
signs, wonders, miracles were commonplace in Woodworth-Etter’s
meetings.

A remarkable phenomenon in Sister Maria’s ministry was that

people were falling into trances left and right under her tent.
Woodworth-Etter also drew attention from the media where The
Salem Report documents her falling into a trance on March 24, 1904,
and she “had to be laid on the platform for over an hour.” The
Indianapolis Star also reported “Woodworth-Etter Goes into a Trance”
in a 1904 edition.

There are accounts of Sister Maria falling into a trance at a St.

Louis meeting and standing like a statue for three whole days as
attendees of the World Fair looked on in amazement. It’s not clear if the
trance actually lasted that long, but she was known to fall into trances
 that left her frozen for hours at a time—and so did many others who
attended her meetings.

“People fell into trances, experienced visions of heaven and hell,

collapsed on the floor as if they’d been shot or had died,” reports
Revival Library. “Thousands were healed of a wide variety of
sicknesses and diseases and many believers, even ministers, received
mighty baptisms of the Holy Spirit.”

We could therefore summarise “trance” to be a state in which the

mind is for a time carried beyond itself, and the use of the physical senses is
suspended—as if paralyzed—during which time God reveals something in a
peculiar manner.

In January of 1984 I was fasting for 40 days in Ramanathapuram,

Tamilnadu. One evening, as I was waiting on God, I fell into a trance and
became totally unconscious of my physical surroundings. However, my
mind was very alert and acutely aware of the Spirit realm, which became
tangible all around me. An angelic being who looked like an elder in heaven
appeared unto me (Dan 8:15-16; Heb 1:7, 14; Rev 19:10; 22:8-9). This
angelic being explained to me how the apostle John wrote the book of
Revelation while he was exiled in Patmos. I experienced the presence of
God with rapturous joy.

In a trance, we feel, know and perceive spiritual things and the things
that God wants to communicate to us. These things are strongly and
indelibly impressed on our minds. A classic example of a trance experience
is found in the following passage:

NUMBERS 24:2-4
2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel
encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of
God came upon him.
3 Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance
of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man
whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down,
with eyes wide open:

Dreams are a type of trance visions. God speaks to His people

through dreams, too. But not all dreams are communications from God.
What is a dream? The Oxford dictionary defines it as a series of pictures or
events in the mind of a sleeping person. The word “dream” in Greek is onar
meaning a vision in sleep, in distinction from a waking vision. The
Scriptures very clearly define a dream in the following verse, “In thoughts
from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men” (Job 4:13,
AMP).

Dreams can manifest to us because of three factors

i. Flesh
 ECCLESIASTES 5:3
3 For a dream comes through much activity, and a
fool’s voice is known by his many words.

Most of our dreams are the playback of events which had happened during
the day. Our subconscious mind faithfully records every event of our life.
During sleep, when the mind and body are resting, the subconscious mind
replays the day’s events or does some editing work on them to consolidate
and distil many unrelated events which would otherwise make no sense.

ii. Devil

MATTHEW 13:25
25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed
tares among the wheat and went his way.

The devil, too, could communicate to us through dreams to instil fear (2

Tim 1:7; 1 Jn 4:18). Nightmares are a classic example of the devil instilling
fear and intimidation in us.

The devil also plants seeds of lustful thoughts in our mind causing the
germination of unclean sexual dreams. Several people have come to me for
prayers claiming that they had dreamt of having sex or performed
uncleaned sexual acts with evil spirits (cp. Gen 6:4).
iii. The Lord God

JOB 33:14-18
14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet
man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep
sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds,
16 Then He opens the ears of men, and seals their
instruction.
17 In order to turn man from his deed, and conceal
pride from man,
18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit, and his life
from perishing by the sword.

The Lord God often spoke to His people through dreams which are also
called visions of the night (Dan 2:19; 4:9; 7:2).

The dreams which God gives us will not be blurred, obscure,

confusing or unintelligent. They will be crystal clear, vivid, real, intelligent
and will also be strongly impressed or etched on our minds, causing us to
ponder over them the whole day (cp. Gen. 41.1-8; Dan. 2.1-3). Dreams, like
visions, come to us in three categories. Some examples of dreams are
recorded in Genesis 20:3-6; 46:2-4, 1 Kings 3:5 and Matthew 1:20-23;
2:12-13, 19, 22; 27:19.

3. Open Vision
This is the highest type of vision. In an open vision, a believer, being fully
conscious of the physical realm, is allowed to see into the Spirit realm with
the physical eyes wide opened. During such a moment, the spiritual eyes
pierce through the physical eyes to behold the spiritual realm and the
natural realm simultaneously. The flesh comes under the dominion of the
Spirit (1 Cor 9:27; Gal 5:24-25). Some examples of open visions are
recorded inGenesis 32:24-30, Exodus 24:10-11; Numbers 12:8; 2 Kings
6:17; Luke 1:11 and Acts 12:6-11; 23:11; 27:23.

While still a youth, William Branham saw an open vision. One day,
he was playing with his friends along the Ohio River when he suddenly saw
a vision of a huge bridge emerging out of the Kentucky side towards
Indiana. As the bridge moved towards him, he saw construction workers
falling off the bridge to their deaths – 16 in total. Years later, when the
project was started and then finally completed, exactly 16 men had fallen to
their deaths while working on it. Branham saw all that in exact detail in an
open vision years before the bridge construction had even started.

Three Categories of Visions and Dreams

The visions and dreams through which God communicates with us through
the gift of discernings of spirits can be classified into three categories:

1. Parable Vision
In this category, the vision that a believer sees is entirely in parable form. It
is full of symbolic language and requires interpretation. Everything in the
vision, be it a person, animal, animate or inanimate object, is symbolic and
must not be taken literally. We should not use our intellect to try to fathom
or work out the vision’s interpretation. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the
appropriate and correct interpretation.

There are several classic examples recorded in the Bible for this type
of vision. Some of these are the dreams of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar
(Gen 41:1-36; Dan 2:1-45) and the apostle Peter’s vision of the unclean
animals (Acts 10:10-22; 11:1-18).

In the dreams and visions which these three men saw, the cows, the
heads of grain, the image of gold and the unclean animals were not meant to
be literal, but rather symbolic with specific meanings attached to each
symbol. These dreams and vision were aptly interpreted by the Holy Spirit
through the prophets and apostle (Gen 41:16,38; Dan 2:19-22,47; Acts
10.19-20).

Parable visions are the most difficult to interpret because every

symbol in the vision must be interpreted in line with the written Word of
God. Such interpretation is difficult because certain symbols in Scripture
have ambiguous meanings. Consider these examples:
i. Eagle. The eagle is interpreted in several ways in Scripture, including
natural bird (Job 39:27; Pro 30:19); God (Ex 19:4); pride (Jer
49:16; Obad 4); enemy (Deu 28:49); divine judgments (Jer
49:22; Hos 8:1).

ii. Thief. A thief, too, can be interpreted in several ways: real human thief
(Ex 22:2; Ps 50:18; Jn 12:6); Satan (Jn 10:10); Christ Jesus in
His Second Coming (1 Thes 5:2; 2 Pe 3:10; Rev 16:15).

Therefore, since there are several different interpretations for the

same symbols, we should pray and seek God for the correct interpretation to
know and understand the exact intent of God’s communication.

2. Message Vision

In this category, the vision which a believer sees contains a message. It is

not a parable containing symbols and neither is it a literal vision. A classic
example of a message vision is recorded in Acts 16:9-10:

ACTS 16:9-10
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of
Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we
sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord
had called us to preach the gospel to them.
 I received a message vision from God on January 16, 1991. In this
vision, I saw a group of Tibetan women standing in front of a temple
resembling one of the temples in Nepal. They were spinning the prayer
wheels and looked helplessly at their lost spiritual state. I noticed that they
were all looking far off at a distant place as if looking for someone to come
and show them the truth.

As I pondered over this vision, the Holy Spirit strongly impressed

upon me to go and minster to the Tibetans living in Nepal. In obedience to
that heavenly message, I subsequently went to Pokhara (December 1991),
Junbesi in Solu Khumbhu (April 1994) and Mustang (November 1995). All
these journeys required walking in the high Himalayan Mountains for
several days.

3. Plain Vision

In this category, everything which we see in the vision—people, things,

location etc. – will come to pass exactly as we had seen in the vision. When
the vision is fulfilled, it will be identical to the real thing in every detail. A
classic example of this plain vision is recorded in Acts 9:11-12, 17-18:

11 So the Lord said to [Ananias], “Arise and go to the

street called Straight, and inquire at the house of
Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is
praying.
 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he
might receive his sight.”
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house;
and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as
you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like
scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose
and was baptized.

The vision which the apostle Paul saw was fulfilled precisely, right
down to the last detail.

In April of 1986 I fell into a trance during prayer and saw a vision.
Amidst beautiful mountain scenery, I saw a bald-headed man approaching
me. He came to me and asked, “Brother, are you going to Ladakh?” “Yes, I
am,” I replied. “How are you going there?” he asked. I answered him,
“From New Delhi I will take a bus to Srinagar in Kashmir and from there
another bus to Ladakh.” He then said, “Oh no! That is a very long journey
and you will not be able to do much work for the Lord.” Taking some paper
and a pen from his Bible, he drew a map indicating a short cut to go to
Ladakh. After drawing the map he said, “This short-cut will enable you to
evangelize more effectively to the Tibetans living in Ladakh.”
 When I came out of the trance, I pondered the vision and noted all the
details. Two months later, while I was attending a Pastors’ Conference in
Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, a bald headed pastor approached me and
asked, “Brother, I heard that you have a call to evangelize the Tibetans and
that you were going to Ladakh. How are you going to Ladakh?”

With respectful courtesy I answered him, “Sir, from New Delhi I will
take a bus to Srinagar and from there another bus to Ladakh.” Listening
intently to me he then said, “Oh, that is a very long journey. Let me suggest
a short-cut.” Taking some paper and a pen from his Bible, he drew the map
of the state of Kashmir indicating a short-cut to evangelize the many
Tibetan villages dotted along the journey. As I was watching him draw the
map, I suddenly remembered the vision which I saw two months earlier.
The plain vision which I saw came to pass exactly in its entirety.

Let us consider an excellent example of this category of vision from

the life of the prophet William Branham (1909-1965). He once saw a vision
of a little boy being raised from the dead. In the vision, he saw what the
young boy looked like, right down to his hair style and his eye color. Two
years later, Brother Branham was in Finland when he came upon the scene
of a deadly car crash which had killed two children.

One of the children had been ejected from the car and hit a tree,
crushed his brain. The car rolled over the other child and he was lying dead
underneath some coats. Branham’s companions went over to look at the
little boy and came back crying. They tried to convince Branham to go see
for himself but he declined because he had a son nearly the same age.

Finally, when Branham summoned the courage to see the little boy,
his heart broke. When he turned to leave, he felt a hand on his shoulder as if
to prevent him from leaving the scene. The child had been dead about 30
minutes. Something made Branham take a second look at the boy and then
ask someone to remove the coat from the boy’s lifeless body. At that
moment, the Lord replayed in his mind the vision he had seen in Georgia of
a little boy being raised from the dead. It was the same boy lying on the
ground!

Braham then knelt down beside the boy just as he had seen himself
do in the vision and prayed, “Lord, God of heaven and earth, over in the
homeland You showed me this vision while passing through Georgia one
night. I pray to thee Lord God, that now You will confirm the word so they
might know that You are still the Lord Jesus and that Finland would know
that You are the resurrection from the dead.”

With that, Brother Branham laid his hands on the lifeless boy and
called for the spirit of death to give the boy back. Immediately, the little boy
jumped up screaming and running around. He was raised from the dead and
his broken bones healed—all in an instant!
Spiritual Senses

As we possess five physical senses, so does our spirit possess spiritual

senses. Do we really possess spiritual senses? Let us examine the following
biblical passage in order to answer this question:

LUKE 16:19-31
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in
purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full
of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from
the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by
the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also
died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his
eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom.
24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip
of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am
tormented in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you
are tormented.
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a
great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from
here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to
us.’
 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you
would send him to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them,
lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.’
30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes
to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and
the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though
one rise from the dead.’”

In narrating this true story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar (it
is not a parable, because in none of the parables which the Lord Jesus told
were people with names ever used), the Lord Jesus said that the beggar was
carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom, while the rich man ended up in hell.
The rich man’s body was not cast into hell but rather his spirit.

In hell, the rich man lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham and Lazarus
(v.23). The spirit has eyes and could see. In hell he was in torments (v.23).
The spirit could sense pain through touch. He asked Abraham to send
Lazarus with water to cool his tongue (v.24). The spirit wanted to taste
water. He heard Abraham talking to him (v.25-31). The spirit has ears and
could hear. From this passage, we can surely conclude that our spirit
possesses spiritual senses.
 The gift of discernings of spirits activates or opens the spiritual
senses of our spirit to see, hear, taste, smell and touch the things of the
spiritual realm.

1. Spiritual Eyes

In order to see and discern the things in the Spirit realm, it is imperative for
our spiritual eyes to be opened. Let us consider several examples in the
Bible.

i. Until the prophet Balaam’s spiritual eyes were opened, he was unable to
see an angel with a drawn sword standing in the way (Num
22:31-33).

ii. Until Gehazi’s spiritual eyes were opened, he was unable to see an army
of horses and chariots of fire sent to protect him and the
prophet Elisha (2 Kg 6:17).

iii. Until the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had their spiritual eyes
opened, they were unable to recognize the Lord Jesus who was
with them (Lk 24:31).
 In one of the apostle Paul’s prayers for the Ephesian believers he
prayed, “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened” (Eph 1:18). We
can only see things in the natural realm when light from the object in view
touches or enters our eyes. Likewise, in order to see the things of the Spirit,
our spiritual eyes need to be opened and enlightened by the flooding of the
divine light of God.

2. Spiritual Ears

Spiritual ears enable us to hear God, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, angels
and even demons talk (Gen 3:8; 1 Sam 9:15; Lk 4:3-9; Jn 12:28-29; Acts
9:4-5; 12:7-11; 13:2; Rev 1:10).

3. Spiritual Taste

Spiritual taste buds enable us to taste the things of the Spirit (Ezek 3:1-3;
Rev 10:9-10).

4. Spiritual Smell

Just us our natural nose smells the presence of perfume even after a person
has left, likewise, spiritual smell enables us to smell the spiritual
atmosphere, whether it be of God or the devil. The Bible even says that
God, too, smelled a sweet savour from Noah’s offering after the flood (Gen
8:21).

Some believers have smelled the scent of roses during worship. It is

none other than the presence of the Lord Jesus (Ps 45:8; Song 2:1). Others,
when entering a spiritually polluted environment, have smelled a foul
stench indicating the presence of demons and evil spirits.

5. Spiritual Touch

The spiritual sense of touch enables us to feel and touch the things of the
Spirit realm (Ezek 8:3; Acts 12:7).

Keys to Cultivation

The key to cultivate and sharpen the gift of discernings of spirits, whereby
the quantity and quality of its manifestation is enhanced, is to having our
hearts and minds and imaginations cleansed and sanctified at all times.

The Bible says that without holiness it is impossible to see God (Heb
12:14). The Jews could not find any fault in the Lord Jesus’ life and neither
did the devil have any place in Him because there was no sin in the Lord
Jesus (Jn 8:46; 14:30; 1 Pe 3:22; 1 Jn 3:5).
 An impure heart cannot see into the realm of the Spirit (Jas 1:17).
The light from the eyes of the Lord God is pure because God’s eyes are
purer than to behold evil (Hab 1:13; Rev 1:14). Therefore it is necessary for
our hearts to be pure and clean to receive the divine light into our spiritual
eyes to see into the spiritual realm.

One of the ways to cleanse and sanctify our hearts and minds is being
full of the Word of God (Ps 119:9; Eph 5:26; Col 3:16). Not only does the
Word of God purify us, but it also brings the light of God to enlighten our
spiritual eyes (Ps 18:28; 19:8; 119:130). As the Word of God is a “discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart”, when we are full of the Word, it
sharpens our eyes to pierce and penetrate “to the division of soul and spirit”
(Heb 4:12).

We should also be always praying in the Spirit (Eph 6:18). Praying in

the Spirit—that is, praying in tongues—increases our spiritual sensitivity to
the Holy Spirit and to the spiritual realm. Furthermore, the gift of
discernings of spirits manifests most often when we are in the Spirit—that
is, bound in union and oneness with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13.9; Rev 1.10).

Several years ago, the Holy Spirit drove me to go and seek the face of
God through fasting and prayer in Kalimpong, West Bengal (cp. Mk 1:12).
During those five days of seclusion, I spent 12 hours praying in tongues
each day. I kept a prayer journal and carefully noted the chemistry that took
place in my spirit. I noticed that, not only was I becoming very alert and
sensitive to the slightest whispers of the Holy Spirit, but my spiritual eyes
were becoming sharper, like eagle’s eyes, penetrating the spiritual realm
right into the deepest realms in heaven. The visions which I saw during
those days were very sharp and vivid, as though I was watching high
definition television.

In conclusion, I wish to include here a vision that a dear man of God,

Bobby Conner, who is also a dear friend of mine, saw on May 26, 2016
during a ministry trip to Germany.

He dreamed he was in a beautiful, picturesque, green pasture, laying

asleep beside a marvelous little stream of water flowing over huge rocks.
The rushing waters made the most wonderful refreshing sound. In the
dream he was completely at peace and in a state of deep rest. A beautiful
angel came around the tops of the trees. He knelt down by Bobby and
started blowing into his face softly, just enough to awaken him. The angel’s
breath was fresh, fragrant and gentle, yet strong and wonderful.

Suddenly, Bobby was back at his hotel room in bed. With his eyes
still closed, he reflected on the dream and pondering the appearance and
actions of the angel. Then, suddenly, he felt the same breath on his face
again, only this time it was in his hotel room. Quickly, he opened his eyes to
behold an amazing angel leaning over him and blowing the breath of
heaven upon him.

Only this time the breath was coming out of the angel’s nostrils, not
his mouth. The breath was forceful, extremely pleasant, and really
refreshing. Shocked and surprised at the visitation, Bobby asked the
heavenly messenger, “What is this encounter about?” To this, the angel
quickly replied in an excited tone, “A fresh wind of Discernment is being
released for the Prophetic!” Bobby questioned, “Why were you breathing
upon me from your nostrils and not your mouth?” The angel responded,
“The nostrils speak of discernment!”

The Scriptures very accurately summarise the gift of discernings of

spirits in the following passage, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear
with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for
you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the
house of Israel everything you see” (Ezek 40:4).

Let us earnestly desire and pursue the gift of discernings of spirits.

Chapter 5 - Faith
[Gifts of Power]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:9a
9a to another faith by the same Spirit

1 CORINTHIANS 12:9a (Greek - Literal)

9a To someone else He chooses the Holy Spirit supernaturally supplies
special faith.

The gift of faith belongs to the category of the Gifts of Power which also
include the gifts of healings and the working of miracles. The Gifts of
Power are the hands of God because they supernaturally do something. It is
the first and most important gift in the power group.

Myths and Misconceptions

When we study the workings of the gift of faith, it is necessary to know

what this gift is not. There are four kinds of faith mentioned in the Bible.

i. Saving Faith
 Is the faith that enables a person to believe on the Lord Jesus
(Eph 2:8). This faith is essential for our salvation (Rom 4:4-5).

ii. General Faith

Is the common faith imparted by God when a person is born-

again (Rom 12:3).

iii. Fruit of Faith

Is the result of spiritual maturity as one grows by walking in

the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). This faith enables us to live and grow
in quiet trust and dependence on the faithfulness of God. A
person who has a steady quiet trust is never panicked or
hysterical in any circumstance. A dependable and faithful
person is reliable and trustworthy.

The Meaning

The gift of faith is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:9).
Weymouth translates this Scripture as: “To a third man, by means of the
same Spirit, special faith.” This special faith risks everything for God,
trusting Him solely and without doubting.
 The word “faith” in this verse is the Greek pistis meaning the
supernatural ability imparted by the Holy Spirit to a believer to have a
special faith to believe God for receiving miracles. It manifests the
operation of the invisible and limitless resources of heaven causing God to
work for you. This gift is also called mountain-moving faith (Mk 11:22, 23;
1 Cor 13:2). That is why the Amplified Bible calls it, “To another [wonder-
working] faith by the same [Holy] Spirit,” (1 Cor 12:9).

The magnitude of this gift is so powerful because it is the very faith

of the Almighty God. His faith in His own Word brought the entire universe
into existence (Ps 33:6; Col 1:16). The Bible says, “For I am the Lord. I
speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be
postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and
perform it” (Ezek 12:25). This Scripture simply means that when God says
something, it will surely come to pass.

Believers who operate in the gift of the special faith can believe God
in such a way that God honors their word as His own, and miraculously
brings to pass the desired result. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus, when
defining the scope of this type of faith, said that “nothing will be
impossible” when this gift is in operation (Matt 17:20). When this gift
manifests, it refuses to take no for an answer. Let us consider two biblical
incidents.
1. Facing the seemingly impossibility task of reaching the Lord Jesus as
He was surrounded by a sea of people, undaunted, the woman with
the issue of blood pressed on until she touched the hem of His
garment, thereby receiving a miraculous healing for herself.

MARK 5:25-34
25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for
twelve years,
26 and had suffered many things from many
physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no
better, but rather grew worse.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him
in the crowd and touched His garment.
28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I
shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up,
and she felt in her body that she was healed of the
affliction.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that
power had gone out of Him, turned around in the
crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the
multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched
Me?’”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this
thing.
33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing
what had happened to her, came and fell down before
Him and told Him the whole truth.
34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your
affliction.”
 2. A barrage of negative voices were trying to drown Bartimaeus’ cry for
healing. Nevertheless, he broke through, crying all the louder to
arrest the Lord Jesus’ attention, thereby receiving a miraculous
healing for himself.

MARK 10:46-52
46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of
Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road
begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out
all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be
called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came
to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you
want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him,
“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith
has made you well.” And immediately he received his
sight and followed Jesus on the road.
In these two incidents, the Lord Jesus gave us a clue as to the
definition of the gift of faith. It never sits down passively and takes ‘no’ for
an answer. God supernaturally empties the recipient of any doubt in their
heart and fills it with special faith that would enable them to believe God
for miracles in spite of all contrary circumstances.
 The apostle Paul further defines the gift of faith by example in the
following passage.

HEBREW 11:32-39
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail
me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and
Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths
of lions,
34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became
valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the
aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that
they might obtain a better resurrection.
36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings,
yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were
tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered
about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute,
afflicted, tormented —
38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered
in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the
earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony
through faith, did not receive the promise,

I once saw the Lord Jesus in heaven in a vision. He was seated

majestically as a king on His throne. As I gazed into the face of the Lord
Jesus, I noticed that He was full of calm and peace. I then perceived that
power was emanating from the throne of the Lord by which He was ruling
the entire universe. As I was still gazing at the Lord, I was made to
understand that there is great power in faith. Seated on His throne, the Lord
God willed the worlds into being by faith. The Word of God is the word of
faith (Rom 10:8; Heb 11.3). When faith is imparted, power is released to
receive miracles. The Amplified Bible aptly translates the gift of faith as
wonder-working faith. This gift works wonders because there is power in it.

Biblical Examples

The gift of faith manifests in four ways: preservation or protection,

provision for supernatural sustenance, proclamation or commanding and
catalyst for power.

1. Preservation and Protection

Consider the atomic bomb. When an atomic bomb explodes, a cloud of

smoke rises up in the shape of a mushroom. Not only that, radiation spreads
over vast distances causing harmful effects on people.

Likewise, when the gift of faith is imparted, it explodes from within,

surrounding the person with an aura of protection. The fear of God then
emanates from this aura, causing the enemies to be temporarily paralyzed.
 It was the gift of faith operating from within the prophet Daniel that
protected him from the ferocious lions (Dan 6:16-23). It was also the gift of
faith which protected and preserved the three Hebrew youths from being
consumed by fire (Dan 3:8-25). It was the gift of faith that protected the
apostle Paul and the other 275 persons on board from perishing in the storm
(Acts 27:14-44).

I went to Tibet for the first time in September of 1986. After a

successful time of ministry, I was returning back to Nepal overland by bus.
It was a three-day journey traversing the high Himalayan Mountains
ranging from 12,000 to 24,000 feet above sea level. The road was
picturesque but treacherous as it wound its way around the mountains. At
one point, just after we left the second largest city in Tibet, Shigatse, the bus
made a hair-pin turn around a mountain as it ascended the 17,000 foot high
mountain pass. Suddenly, the brakes failed! The bus began to move
backwards and the driver lost control of the vehicle. Panic struck in an
instant and passengers started jumping off the bus.

At that moment, an anointing came upon me and the gift of faith

came and rested upon me. It gave me a tremendous peace—a peace that was
other-worldly—that God is in total control and there was nothing to fear. I
told the others, “Don’t worry. This bus will not fall off the mountain.” My
two Danish fellow travellers, who were seated beside me, thought that I was
a nut. Even the Tibetan driver shouted at me to jump off the bus. But I just
sat in the bus with a perfect peace ruling in my heart. Just a few feet from
the edge of the hair-pin bend, the brakes suddenly began working, the driver
regained control of the bus and jammed on the brakes. Praise God for the
gift of faith!

Angels have stood guard over the servants of God, protecting them,
because of the manifestation of the gift of faith. For example, the apostle
Peter, a man condemned to die, was delivered by angels as he slept
peacefully on the very eve of his execution (Acts 12:6-11). It was the gift of
faith that gave him the hope that he would not die until he was old,
according to the Lord’s promise to Him (Jn 21:18-19).

The gift of faith would carry a person through the danger with great
peace and calm without the person being harmed at all.

ACTS 27:9-44
9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing
was now dangerous because the Fast was already
over, Paul advised them,
10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end
with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and
ship, but also our lives.”
11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by
the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the
things spoken by Paul.
12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter
in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if
by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of
Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest,
and winter there. In the Tempest
13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that
they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they
sailed close by Crete.
14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose,
called Euroclydon.
15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head
into the wind, we let her drive.
16 And running under the shelter of an island called
Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty.
17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables
to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run
aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so
were driven.
18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed,
the next day they lightened the ship.
19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle
overboard with our own hands.
20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many
days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that
we would be saved was finally given up.
21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul
stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should
have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete
and incurred this disaster and loss.
22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be
no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the
God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be
brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted
you all those who sail with you.’
25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it
will be just as it was told me.
26 However, we must run aground on a certain
island.”
27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we
were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about
midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing
near some land.
28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty
fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they
took soundings again and found it to be fifteen
fathoms.
29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the
rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and
prayed for day to come.
30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the
ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea,
under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow,
31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers,
“Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be
saved.”
32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and
let it fall off.
33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them
all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day
you have waited and continued without food, and
eaten nothing.
34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is
for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the
head of any of you.”
35 And when he had said these things, he took bread
and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all;
and when he had broken it he began to eat.
36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food
themselves.
37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six
persons on the ship.
 38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the
ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.
39 When it was day, they did not recognize the land;
but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they
planned to run the ship if possible.
40 And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea,
meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted
the mainsail to the wind and made for shore.
41 But striking a place where two seas met, they ran
the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and
remained immovable, but the stern was being broken
up by the violence of the waves.
42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest
any of them should swim away and escape.
43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them
from their purpose, and commanded that those who
could swim should jump overboard first and get to
land,
44 and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of
the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to
land.

When the apostle Paul was shipwrecked, the storm did not cease until
it “blew itself out.” The apostle Paul didn’t stand up, like the Lord Jesus and
say, “Storm, you stop!” But because the Lord God had spoken to him
through a message from an angel, the gift of faith—extraordinary faith,
enabled the apostle Paul to believe for divine protection. The apostle Paul
passively received for divine protection and safety for everyone on board
the ship, although the ship itself was greatly damaged.

2. Provision for Supernatural Sustenance

The gift of faith enables us to believe God against all odds for supernatural
sustenance. The gift of faith enabled the prophet Elijah to believe God for
provision which resulted in ravens bringing food to him (1 Kg 17:2-6). The
gift of faith operating in him was so powerful that it constrained the appetite
of the ravens so that instead of feeding themselves with the bread and meat,
they ministered to the prophet.

Holy Ann was a simple woman from Canada who knew God and
fully trusted Him. She had a challenging situation with her health and in
order to strengthen her bones the doctor advised her to eat an egg a day.
Eggs were scarce during that season of the year. So Ann prayed to God that
He should provide her with an egg a day. A little while later, a hen appeared
at her doorstep. The Lord then told her to pick up the hen and put it on the
first step of the stairs.

She, in simple childlike faith, told the Lord that she would obey Him
if He would stop the hen from clucking. The gift of faith in Ann constrained
the hen and without clucking she laid an egg. The hen visited Ann’s house
every day to lay an egg. The hen stopped visiting Ann when the doctor, after
seeing improvement in Ann’s health, suggested that she change her diet.
Like the ravens that brought food for the prophet Elijah, this hen came to
provide an egg a day for Ann. It took faith to believe that the hen would
come every day to provide her an egg a day for her health.
 It was also the gift of faith that enabled the patriarch Abraham to
believe for the birth of a son even though his and Sarah’s bodies were past
the age of childbearing (Gen 22:1-13; Heb 11:17-19).

3. Proclamation and Commanding

As we have studied earlier, there is great power in faith. That power is

supernaturally imparted through the spoken word to proclaim and command
(Lk 4:32).

The power released in the spoken word of faith is as powerful as

when God spoke the worlds into creation (Heb 11:3). It was the gift of faith
operating in the lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that
enabled them to impart blessings by proclaiming them over the lives of their
children (Gen 49).

It was through the gift of faith that:

i. The prophet Moses commanded the rebellious Korah to be

swallowed alive into hell (Num 16:28-35).

ii. The prophet Elijah commanded fire down from heaven (1 Kg

18:37).
 iii. The apostle Peter commanded death to Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts 5:1-10).

iv. The apostle Paul commanded blindness upon Elymas (Acts 13:7-
11).

One day, when Smith Wigglesworth, popularly called the Apostle of

Faith, came home from work, he was told that his wife had died two hours
ago. Instead of moaning over the loss, with a defiant look of faith he said,
“No, she is not dead.”

Being a plumber by profession, he laid down his lunch box and tools,
walked straight to their bedroom, and, looking at her lying dead on the bed,
just pulled her out of the bed, stood her against the wall and said, “I
command you to come to me right now.” Then he backed off and she came
to life! She went on to live many more years after that.

That’s the demonstration of the gift of faith. When you command –

it’s as if God Himself is commanding something to happen. There is no
room for no there.

It is the gift of faith that gives us the faith to prophesy (Rom 12:6).
This gift enables us to believe that the inspiration and revelatory words
which we have received are indeed from God. Does not the Scriptures say:
“for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit”? (2 Pe 1:21).

During the moment of uttering inspired words, this gift steadies our
heart and mind in oneness—in faith to keep on believing the Holy Spirit to
inspire us without doubting anything. This has been my own consistent
experience, as well as that of all who exercise the gift of prophecy. The gift
of faith grips my heart and mind steadying and focussing me so that I can,
without wavering and in oneness with the Holy Spirit, flow in revelation
knowledge.

4. Catalyst for Power

Being the most important gift in the power gifts category, the gift of faith is
the catalyst that ignites the gift of healings and the workings of miracles. It
is the springboard from which the other two power gifts can leap forth to
demonstrate power.

Let us consider two biblical passages.

1. MATTHEW 17:14-21
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man
came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic
and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and
 often into the water.
16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could
not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and
perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to
Me.”
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of
him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said,
“Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;
for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a
mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move
from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will
be impossible for you.
21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer
and fasting.”

In this passage we read that the disciples were unable to cast out a
demon. The Lord Jesus revealed that it was because of their unbelief that
they could not effect a miracle. He then exhorted them to have faith.
Without the gift of faith, the gifts of healings and the workings of miracles
are powerless.

2. ACTS 3:12-16
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people:
“Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why
look so intently at us, as though by our own power or
godliness we had made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of
our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you
 delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate,
when he was determined to let Him go.
14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and
asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from
the dead, of which we are witnesses.
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made
this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith
which comes through Him has given him this perfect
soundness in the presence of you all.

In this passage the apostle Peter declared that it was the gift of faith
imparted by the Lord Jesus which worked the miracle of healing the lame
man.

The following incident illustrates the catalytic operation of the gift of

faith to work miracles. During the early years of my ministry (1983-1986),
the Lord Jesus directed me to preach the gospel strictly to non-believers
where Christ had not been named before. On April 18, 1984, together with
another fellow minster, we went to a village called Senjiveerayampettai
belonging to the district of Vellore, Tamilnadu. After preaching the gospel, I
gave the altar-call for those who wanted to accept the Lord Jesus as their
personal Savior. Not a single Hindu responded.

Looking at the villagers I said, “The Lord Jesus is the same yesterday,
today and forever. He is able to perform miracles today as He did 2000
years ago. Please bring your lame, mute, blind, deaf, demon possessed and
even the dead. I will now demonstrate that the Lord Jesus is alive and real.”
In response to my bold challenge, a boy of about 14 years with crippled legs
came towards me. He said, ‘Swami (godly man), please heal me.’ As I
looked at his badly twisted legs, every mustard seed of faith in me seemed
to vanish in a puff of smoke!

Mustering my courage, I looked at the villagers and asked, “Would

you all believe on the Lord Jesus if this boy is healed?” “Yes!” they all
chorused in unison. I laid my hands on the boy and looking up to heaven
prayed, “Lord, please heal this boy and glorify Your name.” As I was
praying, the gift of faith descended upon me and I began commanding the
legs to be straightened. When I opened my eyes, the boy’s crippled legs had
been straightened instantly before the eyes of everyone. Everyone, seeing
the miracle demonstrated right before their eyes, believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ.

It is the gift of faith working together with the gifts of healings and
workings of miracles that raises the dead. The workings of miracles
resurrects the dead cells, the gifts of healings heals the body of any inherent
disease which caused the death in the first place and the gift of faith
commands the departed spirit back into the body.

Brother John Rabindranath (1930-2006) was mightily used by God in

the demonstration of signs and wonders. Once, he was led by the Holy
Spirit to go to Mettupalayam in the Nilgiris district, Tamilnadu to preach the
gospel to the tribal communities there.

After the meeting on the last day, a man came crying to Brother
Rabindranath telling him that his son was near death. Brother Rabindranath
went with the man to pray for his son. When they reached the house, they
could hear the loud cries of wailing and moaning. The boy had died. The
Hindu relatives who had gathered remarked scornfully, “What is the use of
bringing a man of God when the boy is already dead?”

An unusual anointing came upon Brother Rabindranath, quickening

him with the gift of faith to work a miracle. He knelt down beside the dead
boy and putting his hand upon him prayed, “You are the life and
resurrection. You are not the God of the dead. You are alive.” As soon as
Brother Rabindranath finished praying, the boy arose from the dead. Glory
to God!

Looking Unto Jesus

Let us now examine the Scriptures for the manifestation of the gift of faith
in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

1. Preservation and Protection

We read in the Gospel that the Lord Jesus passed through the midst of a
mob who had dragged him to the edge of a cliff with the intention of
throwing him down (Lk 4:28-30). The gift of faith, as explained earlier,
created an aura of protection around the Lord Jesus, enabling Him to pass
through safely.

It was the gift of faith that enabled the Lord Jesus to sleep as
peacefully as a baby in the back of the ship during a raging storm (Mk
4:38). While the raging storm swept the sea and threatened the safe journey
of the disciples to the other side of the lake, the Lord Jesus was asleep in the
hinder part of the boat (Mk 4:38). He wasn’t bothered by the storm because
the gift of faith gave Him the peace that transcends all understanding, being
certain that neither He nor His disciples would drown in the sea.

2. Provision for Supernatural Sustenance

After fasting for 40 days, the gift of faith enabled the Lord Jesus to believe
for provision in the wilderness. The Lord Jesus was supernaturally
sustained through the ministry of angels (Matt 4:11; Mk 1:13).

3. Proclamation and Commanding

The gift of faith manifested in great measure in the ministry of the Lord
Jesus through the power exhibited in His spoken words. Through this
power, He commanded healings and casted out demons (Matt 8:5-13; 9:2-8;
Lk 4:33-36). He rebuked and commanded winds, storms and raging waves
to be still with His word (Matt 8:24-27) and even cursed a fig tree, causing
it to wither (Matt 21:18-22).

4. Faith for Power

The Lord Jesus demonstrated that it is the gift of faith that ignites the other
power gifts when He healed a boy suffering with epilepsy. In that incident,
the Lord Jesus said to His disciples who had been unable to heal the boy,
“Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will
say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for
you” (Matt 17:20).

The Bible records three instances when the Lord Jesus raised someone
from the dead (Mk 5:38-42; Lk 7:11-15; Jn 11:41-44). Most assuredly, this
required the manifestation of the gift of faith.

Mechanics of Operation

Let us now examine how the gift of faith can manifest in our lives.

1. It quickens us to believe God unreservedly for He “gives life to the dead

and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom
4:17). This is how the gift of faith works in raising the dead. It gives us
an unwavering trust to risk everything for God (cp. Dan 3:9-25).

2. It manifests as a sudden surge of absolute inner certainty, making our

hearts rock-solid and unmovable, enabling us to confidently believe for
a miracle without any shadow of doubt. It also quickens a boldness
within our heart that as we act or say something in the name of the
Lord Jesus it shall come to pass (Acts 4:31).

3. It envelops us with a calm peace beyond human understanding, giving us

the assurance that all things are under God’s control and there is
nothing to worry about. Any sense of fear, apprehension or uncertainty
is totally annihilated. It is the gift of faith that enables martyrs not to
falter in their witness and remain steadfast in serenity and confidence.
 The abovementioned three points can be seen in an incident that
happened in the life of Smith Wigglesworth. A dear friend of his, Mitchell,
had died. Brother Wigglesworth went to Mitchell’s house. When he got
there, he saw Mrs Mitchell crying inconsolably and, in-between sobs, she
told him that Mitchell had indeed died.

Brother Wigglesworth went into the room where Mitchell was laid. He
knelt down beside the dead body and began to pray. Brother Wigglesworth’s
wife tried to dissuade him from praying and doing something foolish. But
he kept on praying and praying. He prayed as far as the strength of his own
faith could carry him. It was then that the gift of faith came upon Brother
Wigglesworth. It made him believe the impossible. The faith of the Lord
Jesus took hold of him and a peace beyond all understanding came over
him. He then shouted, “Mitchell lives! Mitchell lives!” And Mitchell was
indeed raised from the dead.

4. This gift can be imparted to us through the written Word of God (Rom
10:17). The Word of God is the word of faith (Rom 10:8).

I walked through a season of persecution early in my Christian life in

1979. In the midst of a fresh persecution, as I was meditating on the Word
of God one afternoon, I perceived the fingers of God coming down from
heaven and literally inscribing the passage from Matthew 6:23-33 (…
Therefore, I say, do not worry about your life…) on the flesh of my heart
(Heb 8:10). From that day onwards, every shadow of worry and anxiety
vanished from my heart. The gift of faith enabled me then and is still
enabling me now to believe God for protection and supernatural provision
every day.

5. Besides the written Word, the gift of faith can also be imparted through
the gifts of a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge and prophecy. Let
us consider a biblical incident.
 A great multitude of warring Moabites and Ammonites came against
King Jehoshaphat for battle. Fear-stricken, the godly king proclaimed a fast
and sought the Lord. Hearing the cry of his heart, God sent the prophet
Jahaziel to first speak a word of peace and comfort and then gave them a
word of wisdom detailing a battle strategy.

The gift of faith was imparted into the heart of King Jehoshaphat. That
word enabled him to believe God for a mighty miracle. The gift of faith
exploded from the spirit of the king, enveloping the entire choir and army,
enabling them to march into battle with calmness and peace, praising the
Lord God. The gift of faith brought victory to an entire Israeli army (2 Chr
20:1-25).

When a rhema (spoken) word comes from God to us through one of the
revelatory gifts: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge or prophecy, it
brings faith with it (Rom 10:17). That faith will enable us to believe God
and act on the impossible. When the apostle Peter saw the Lord Jesus
walking on water, he merely said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come
to You on the water.” The Lord Jesus replied, “Come.” That was a rhema-
word. That word imparted the gift of faith which enabled the apostle Peter
to do the impossible by walking on the water (Matt 14:25-29).

6. An angel of God can come and impart the gift of faith to believe God for
miracles. An angel was present with the prophet Daniel all through the
night when he was in the lion’s den. Only the gift of faith enabled the
prophet to sleep peacefully in the midst of ferocious and hungry lions
(Dan 6:22).

When the Lord Jesus was agonising in the garden of Gethsemane, an

angel of God came to strengthen Him and impart the gift of faith to the
Lord Jesus to remain steadfast till the time of crucifixion (Lk 22:41-43).
7. TheLord Jesus Himself can also manifest in the spirit to impart the gift of
faith (Heb 12:2). When the three Hebrew youths were thrown into the
fiery furnace, the Lord Jesus (as the Son of Man in the Old Testament)
was present to preserve them from being burnt (Dan 3:21-25).

I was once detained by the police in eastern Tibet in July of 1994.

During the interrogation, I noticed that the Superintendent of Police was
determined to find fault with me whereby he could have legal rights to
imprison me and my companion. At that moment, I saw the similitude of
the Lord Jesus standing by my right side (Ps 16:8; 109:31; 121:5). When I
gazed at the sweet smiling face of the Lord Jesus, an anointing came upon
me, flooding my heart with an inexpressible peace that no harm would
come to me. After three hours of interrogation, we were let go.

Keys to Cultivation

We read in the Bible three progressions of faith: little faith (Matt 6:30),
much faith and great faith (Lk 7:9). Faith has many levels and degrees. The
disciples once said to the Lord Jesus, “Increase our faith” (Lk 17:5).
Likewise, the degree of the gift of faith operating in us can be increased in
the following ways.

1. Walk in love

The Amplified Bible beautifully translates Galatians 5:6 as follows: “faith

activated and energized and expressed and working through love.” The gift
of faith is best activated when we walk in love before God and towards one
another (Eph 5:1-2).

In July of 1991, I visited Calgary to evangelise the Tibetans living in

Canada. One morning, I heard my host shouting angrily on the telephone. I
came out of my room and witnessed him rebuking and commanding evil
spirits angrily. It seemed that he was unsuccessful. Upon my enquiry, he
explained to me that he was trying to reach his girlfriend. Her father did not
approve of their relationship, and thus prevented her from talking to him.
This angered the young man and filled with ‘fleshly boldness’ – which is
none other than anger and rage – he began to barrage the father in the name
of spiritual warfare.

Despairing and disappointed that his formula had not worked, with tears
he asked me, “Why didn’t God hear my prayers? Why didn’t my faith
work?” I replied, “My dear brother, your faith did not work because you
acted out of anger. Faith only works by love.” I exhorted him to forgive and
bless his girlfriend’s father. After forgiving him, he felt a peace and love
filling his heart.

The gift of faith came upon me and I prayed, “Lord, bless the desires of
your dear son. Look at his contrite heart grieving for his sin of anger. Be
gracious and merciful to him. I now command and bind every opposing
spirit of hindrance influencing the girl’s father. I command them to turn him
loose and desist from influencing him.” Within a few minutes, the phone
rang and the two love birds chatted happily for two long hours.

Faith works by love and there is no fear in perfect love (1 Jn 4:18). Love
casts out fear. When fear is cast out, then peace—the realm in which the gift
of faith operates—will rule, creating an atmosphere of miracles.

2. Be full of the Word

A measure of faith has been apportioned to every believer (Rom 12:3). This
faith has its source in God. The Lord Jesus once said, “Have faith in God”
(Mk 11:22). The phrase “have faith in God” in Greek is echete pistin theo
which means have a faith which rests on God. The literal translation says
have the faith of God.
 The faith that is apportioned to us is like a mustard seed. As we fill our
heart with the Word of God, which is the word of faith, it will cause our
faith to rise up to confidently rest on God, Who then imparts the gift of faith
to us to move mountains (Matt 17:20).

Smith Wigglesworth, who was mightily used by God in signs and

wonders and even the raising of many dead, often said that, initially, he uses
his own mustard seed-like faith to reach out to God. When his faith would
become plugged in to the source of faith in God, then the gift of faith would
surge through him to believe God for miracles.

3. Doubt

For the gift of faith or even our own mustard seed faith to work, we must
not entertain any doubt or unbelief in our mind and heart. Faith cannot
coexist with doubt. The Lord Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you
have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig
tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the
sea,’ it will be done” (Matt 21:21).

Doubt nullifies and abnegates the operation of the gift of faith (cp. Matt
17:15-20; 14:25-31). How can we dispel doubt from our heart and mind so
that faith can flourish? The Lord Jesus said, “This kind can come out by
nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mk 9:29). Prayer and fasting is the antidote
to doubt. When we give ourselves to prayer and fasting, we become
sensitive to hear God. The gift of faith is imparted through the hearing of
God’s word (Rom 10:17).

4. Willingness to believe

Another key factor to cultivate and sharpen the manifestation of the gift of
faith is the willingness to believe God in spite of contradicting
circumstances and situations. When we refuse to believe what our eyes see
and mind says, the gift of faith will manifest to enable us to receive
miracles from God.

Consider the declaration of faith which the three Hebrew youths made
on the verge of being thrown into a burning furnace: “Our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will
deliver us from your hand, O king” (Dan 3:17). Also consider what was said
concerning the prophet Daniel: “So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and
no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God” (Dan
6:23). And finally, consider the apostle Paul: “for I believe God that it will
be just as it was told me” (Acts 27:25).

The willingness to believe God is the mustard-seed faith that receives

the gift of faith to work miracles.

One time, Smith Wigglesworth was conducting a camp-meeting in

Cazadero, California. A man who was stone deaf came to him for prayer.
Brother Wigglesworth prayed for the man and knew that God had healed
him. But every time Brother Wigglesworth would go up to preach, this man
would move closer to the stage and strain to hear the preacher.

The Devil would try to implant doubt in Brother Wigglesworth’s mind

by whispering to him, “He’s not healed.” But each time Brother
Wigglesworth would shoot back saying, “Oh, yes he is!” This went on for
three weeks. Finally, the manifestation of the healing came upon the man
completely and he was healed so fully that he could even hear a pin
dropping on the ground.

We need to believe and remain steadfast and immovable in faith. Only

then can you see the full manifestation of the miracle.
5. Obedience

The Bible says that, “faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:20,26). Likewise,
faith without obedience is dead too. In order to do mighty works when the
gift of faith moves upon us, we need to act out in obedience.

The secret to seeing God do awesome works of explosive miracles

through the unction of the gift of faith starts out with obedience. It is a well-
known fact that water nullifies fire, and water-drenched wood is very
difficult to burn. Therefore, before the prophet Elijah could see supernatural
fire come done from heaven to consume the sacrifice he had prepared and
lick up the water in the trench, he had to act in obedience—drenching the
entire sacrifice with twelve barrels of water.

The Greek words for “unbelief,” apistia, and “disobedience” apeitheo

are from the same root word for faith and obedience. When the gift of faith
moves upon you, you need to step out in faith—in obedience—to do
whatever act is required of you before you see the results. Isn’t that what the
Lord Jesus Himself said? “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mk
11:24).

Three miles out in the Sea of Galilee and in the middle of the night the
frightened disciples saw a lone figure—the Lord Jesus—coming toward
them walking on the water (Matt 14:22-33). To confirm that it was truly the
Lord Jesus and not some kind of vision they were all seeing, the apostle
Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.”
Gleaming with delight at his boldness, the Lord Jesus stretched out His
hand to him and said, “Come.” Before the gift of faith could come upon the
apostle Peter to hold up his body like a feather upon the water, he had to
step out of the boat onto the water in an act of obedience.
6. Be faithful

MARK 4:28
28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade,
then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

Likewise, the gift of faith operates progressively in our lives in ever

increasing magnitude according to our faithfulness to believe God.

Consider the life of the prophet Elijah. In the beginning, the gift of faith
enabled him to believe that ravens, whom he could see with his eyes, would
bring him food (1 Kg 17:2-6). Then, the gift of faith enabled him to believe
for a continual supply of provision from a source which he could not see (1
Kg 17:9-16). Finally, the gift of faith imparted by the angel’s food enabled
him to walk by faith for 40 days and nights (1 Kg 19:5-8).

Notice the increasing intensity of the gift of faith’s operation: sight,

believing, faith. As we walk in love, being full of the Word, doubting
nothing but believing God and as we remain faithful, the Holy Spirit will
enable us to progress from anointing to anointing in the gift of faith.
Chapter 6 - Gifts of Healings
[Gifts of Power]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:9b
9b to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit

1 CORINTHIANS 12:9b (Greek)

9b To another the Holy Spirit gives supernatural healing power to cure
specific diseases.

The gifts of healings are the second gift in the category of the power gifts.

Myths and Misconceptions

1. The medical profession is not the manifestation of the gifts of healings.

We praise God for medical science and the breakthroughs it has made. I
am personally acquainted with many godly doctors who treat their
patients with available medical knowledge and also point them to trust
in The Healer, the Lord Jesus Christ. When they dispense medicines to
their patients, they pray for them with much love, beseeching the
miracle-working Lord Jesus to heal their infirmities.

Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles
was also a medical doctor. He accompanied the apostle Paul on many of his
missionary journeys. Luke was with the apostle Paul when they were
shipwrecked and were on the Island of Melita (Acts 28:1-9).
 The father-in-law of the chief man of the island was sick, and the
apostle Paul laid his hands on him and he was healed by the supernatural
power of God. This was the gifts of healings in manifestation. Then the
islanders brought the sick from all over the island, and the apostle Paul
ministered to them, and they were healed. Nothing at all is said to the effect
that Dr. Luke ministered to the folks on that island with his medical
knowledge.

The gifts of healings, however, are supernatural in origin and do not

require the study of medical science.

2. It is not mind over matter nor the power of suggestion as the followers of
Christian Science advocate.

I was once called to go and pray for a dying man at the government
hospital in Gangtok, Sikkim. When I reached the hospital, the dying man’s
wife told me that her husband is seriously affected with meningitis and has
fallen into a coma. The doctors had given up any hope of saving him as he
was near death.

I prayed for the man in a coma and assured his wife that her husband
has been healed. Three days later, the man came out of the coma, totally
healed. Was there any influence of mind over matter involved? Not at all,
because the dying man was in a coma; he knew nothing of what was going
on.

The world renowned evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, was once

conducting a crusade in Brazzaville, Congo in 1992. During the service he
received a word of knowledge concerning a couple, just two people
amongst the tens of thousands attending the meeting that particular day. A
woman had been in coma for three days and had been carried into the
meeting by her husband.
 Brother Bonnke spoke a word of knowledge by faith and the comatose
woman, who could in no way hear what Brother Bonnke was saying, came
out of the coma totally healed. Is this mind over matter? Impossible—the
comatose woman knew nothing of what was going on.

The Meaning

The “gifts of healings” in Greek is charismata iamaton. It means the

supernatural endowment or power imparted by God to work a healing of
diseases and sicknesses without natural means (Mk 3:15).

Healing is one of the manifestation of the love of God. It is written,

“Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to
them the abundance of peace and truth” (Jer 33.6). Once, the respected man
of God, Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran was invited as a guest speaker at Rev. John
Osteen’s church in Houston, Texas.

ne of the church’s regular practises is to call for those needing healing

to come to the altar. As those who needed healing were heading towards the
front of the church, Dr Dhinakaran, in the Spirit, saw two angels
accompanying every person going forward for prayer. The Lord Jesus, Who
was also standing by his side in the Spirit, said, “Of all the ministries that
are carried out at this church, this ministry is the one that is according to My
heart. This gives Me great joy!”

The Lord God alone is the Source of healing (Ex 23:25; Jer 30:17). He
told the Israelites: “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God
and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep
all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought
on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you” (Ex 15:26). One of the
names of the Lord God is Jehovah Rapha.
 The word “heal” used in Exodus 15:26 in Hebrew is rapha’ which
means: to mend (by stitching), i.e. to cure. This definition can be illustrated
through a healing receive by Oscar Blomgren Jr. in 1964. When Oscar was
five years old, he fell off a park bench near Lake Forest, Illinois. X-rays
taken at the hospital revealed that his elbow had been shattered into several
fragments. His arm, the doctors feared, could be stiff for life.

Oscar’s father was a personal friend of Rev. F.F. Bosworth (1877-

1958), one of the most successful healing evangelists of the 1920s. He
called the evangelist and asked him to pray for his son over the phone. Rev.
Bosworth kindly obliged and prayed in faith for Oscar to be healed in Jesus
name.

The next day, doctors performed surgery on Oscar’s arm. Afterwards,

X-rays were taken to see if surgery had been successful. When the doctors
looked at the X-rays they were puzzled and ordered yet another set of X-
rays. All X-rays, doctors told Oscar’s parents, revealed no sign of bones
broken. It was as if the bones had never been broken in the first place. God
totally healed Oscar’s bones by mending—or “stitching”—them back
together and then applied His healing balm over the joints so that no trace
of the breaks could be seen.

The healing virtue of God is further proclaimed in the following

Scripture: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,” (Ps 103:2-3). And
finally, we are assured of God’s intention to heal in this beautiful Scripture
that we are all familiar with: “But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon
Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:5).

The Lord God reveals Himself as a Savior Who redeems man from sin
and sicknesses. The Greek word for “salvation” is sote-ria which means:
deliverance, preservation, healing, and soundness. The healing of man not
only seems to be of prime importance to the God of Israel, but was also the
heartbeat of the Lord Jesus, “who went about doing good and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38).

Just as God send the Lord Jesus to heal the sick, He, in turn, sent out
the apostles and 70 other disciples to heal the sick (Matt 10:1; Mk 16:18; Lk
10:8-9). Even today, the Holy Spirit—the third person of the Godhead—
heals sick bodies through the manifestation of the gifts of healings.

It must be clearly understood that there is a difference between healings

and miracles. Healings, essentially, relieve the body of disease or injury.
You may not realize that you have been healed because often-times they are
gradual and not instantaneous. Miracles, on the other hand, happen instantly
and openly and dramatically demonstrate the power of God.

For example, a person cannot be “healed” of a condition where one leg

that is shorter than the other leg, but God can lengthen the short limb by a
demonstrative miracle. In 1998 I was ministering at a Chinese Church
Conference in Los Angeles, California. As I was praying before beginning
my message, I saw the similitude of the Lord Jesus stand beside me. He said
to me, “I want to heal the sick first. Call those who need healing to come
forth. Go and lay your hands upon them. I, too, will come and lay My hands
on them with you.”

About 300 people came forward for prayer. Many were slain by the
power of God when hands were laid upon them. Some would tell me their
sicknesses or their afflictions before I laid my hands upon them. Among
those who came, there was one particular 22-year old girl. When I laid my
hands upon her, she was slain. But each time this would happen, she got up
and joined the prayer line again.

When I came to her for the third time, I asked her why she kept going
back to the prayer line. I encouraged her to claim her healing by faith and
go back to her seat. She smiled at me and simply asked me to lay my hands
on her again. Once again, she was slain in the Spirit when I laid my hands
on her, and once again she came back to the prayer line.

Finally, after I had prayed for the last person, she exclaimed excitedly
that she had been healed. She removed her shoes to show that both her legs
were the same and told me that she had been born with one of her legs three
inches shorter than the other. She then confessed that the reason she kept on
going back to the prayer line was because her leg was not lengthened after
the initial times of prayer. Finally, when I laid hands on her the last time,
she tangibly felt her leg grow to the same length as her other leg. Her older
brother, who stood by with tears in his eyes, confirmed his sister’s
disability.

Healings and miracles can overlap each other. An instantaneous healing

that is physically tangible can be classified as a miracle.

Why ‘Gifts’ and not ‘Gift’?

This gift is also mentioned in the plural. In fact, both the word “gifts” and
“healings” are mentioned in the plural three times (1 Cor 12:9,28,30).
According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, the word
“healings” is plural in the Greek in 1 Corinthians 12:9,28,30.

The word “gifts” in Greek is charismata which means gifts, varieties

of. When we go to the supermarket to buy grapes, we do not buy just one
grape but a cluster of grapes. Likewise, there are many varieties of gifts
under the umbrella of the gifts of healings.

In the Greek, one of the words translated as “healing” is iaomai which

means to effect a physical cure. Luke uses this word 13 times in his gospel.
The other two words used for “healing” are sozo and diasozo. These words
which occur 97 times in the New Testament and are translated 16 times to
mean heal or make whole (e.g. Mk 6:56). The most frequent term for
“healing” is therapeia which means process or means of cure. This word
occurs 45 times in the New Testament. It is from this Greek word that we
get the English word “therapy.”

Furthermore, the healing anointing has many spectrums of healings. It

has been suggested by some Bible scholars that one reason why this gift is
plural may possibly be because of the many categories of sicknesses and
diseases in the world: multiple gifts for multiple sicknesses. This could
possibly be related to why the Lord Jesus was whipped 39 times so that “by
His stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:5). Even as there are many sicknesses and
diseases, the Holy Spirit manifests different varieties of gifts from the
healing anointing of God to heal them all
(cp. Matt 4:23-24).

That is why we read that the Lord Jesus healed “every disease and
sickness among the people” (Matt 4:23). The apostle Peter did the same
thing when people brought to him the “sick and those tormented by evil
spirits, and all of them were healed” (Acts 5:16). When the apostle Paul was
on the Isle of Malta “the rest of the sick on the island came and were
healed” (Acts 28:9). The gifts of healings are for all kinds of sicknesses and
diseases in the world.

Biblical Examples

The gifts of healings primarily manifest in three ways: healing of the soul,
body and ministerial specialization.

1. Healing of the Soul

PSALMS 147:3
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their
wounds.
Most people carry hurts, bruises in their emotions and wounds in their
spirits. In every strata of society, there are broken-hearted people. The Lord
Jesus is not only interested in healing broken bodies, but also broken hearts
and wounded minds.

I was one of the speakers at a prophetic conference held in Singapore in

1993. One morning, I was ministering to the pastors. As I began to pray
before beginning the message, the Lord Jesus stood beside me and said,
“There are many pastors here who are broken-hearted. Some of them have
been stabbed in the back by people from their own congregations. Tell them
that I am going to heal their broken hearts now.” Many ministers—both
men and women—began to sob and weep. I then saw the Lord Jesus going
beside each one of them and touch their hearts, healing them of all scars,
wounds and pains. He still goes about doing good by healing the oppressed!

2. Healing of the Body

MATTHEW 9:35
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people.

There are four different causes of sicknesses and diseases that afflict our
bodies.

i. Organic

Some sicknesses are caused by certain chemical imbalances or deformities

in the physical organs of the body. These are of two kinds: functional
disease and organic disease. A functional disease is one in which a perfectly
good organ does not function properly. An organic disease is one in which
the organ is diseased, maimed, physically impaired, or even defunct. Some
examples of organic diseases are heart attacks, gallstones and congenital
deformities.

In 1993 I had gone to the Kingdom of Bhutan to preach at a certain

small church in the capital city, Thimphu. During prayer, I received a word
of knowledge concerning someone present in the church who was praying
for his paralyzed wife. After the meeting, a man, accompanied by the
church pastor, came to tell me that he was the person who was praying for
his wife. At the pastor’s passionate request, I went to the man’s house to
pray for his wife.

A surgical error by the doctor during delivery of her baby caused a

certain complication in one of her organs. This resulted in her being unable
to straighten or move her legs. As I prayed for the woman, I felt the healing
anointing flowing out of my hands and into her body. After the prayer, I
assured the husband that the Lord had healed his wife. Two months later, I
received a letter from the pastor that the paralyzed woman was perfectly
healed and walking around.

ii. Bacteria and Viruses

Bacteria and viruses are the “waste” which are the by-product of sin “to
destroy” the body (Isa 54:16). These microscopic organisms are a common
cause of sickness and disease. Just as medical science has discovered
different antidotes to treat different disease, likewise, the Holy Spirit
manifests varieties of the gifts of healings to heal every sicknesses and
diseases caused by bacteria and viruses (Acts 5:16).

iii. Demonic Oppression

Some sicknesses and diseases are directly caused by evil spirits which could
never be treated by medical science.
 A classic example of demons oppressing the human body with
sicknesses is found in the life of Job: “So Satan went out from the presence
of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the
crown of his head” (Job 2:7). Job’s sickness which manifested in the form
of painful, itchy boils was a bodily oppression from the devil.

Sometime in 1985, a young woman came to me for prayers

complaining that she had difficulty in breathing while sleeping and that she
was losing weight. She also said that she had consulted three doctors who
had carried out various tests on her, even taking x-rays, and found nothing
wrong with her medically. As I prayed, through the gift of the discernings of
spirits, I saw an evil spirit resembling a python which was strangling the life
out of her. I then rebuked the spirit and commanded it to leave. Instantly,
she felt the bondage broken from her and was totally set free.

iv. Sin

Some sicknesses are the result of sins which we have committed.

Let us consider a biblical example. A prophet of God was sent to Bethel

to prophesy against the false altar which Jeroboam—the man who had
caused Israel to sin—had built. The altar split into two parts and fire spilled
out. Jeroboam stretched out his hand at the prophet and said, “Arrest him!”
As a result of his sin, Jeroboam’s hand became instantly paralyzed.

In contrition, he then turned to the prophet and entreated him to pray

for him. God heard the prophet’s prayer, forgive Jeroboam’s sin and healed
him (1 Kg 13:1-6; Num 12:10-15).

The Bible says, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your

anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin” (Ps 38:3). In June
1986, I had gone to Ladakh, Kashmir to evangelize the Tibetans. There are
four churches in the capital, Leh. One evening, I was invited to dine with a
Ladakhi Christian family. After the dinner, I was requested to pray for the
host’s mother who was suffering with multiple ailments in her body, chief
of which was arthritis.

As I closed my eyes, my spiritual eyes gazed into her heart and I saw
five sins written on the flesh of her heart. The Holy Spirit then told me,
“These sins are the cause of the sicknesses in this woman’s body. Tell her to
repent and turn back from her sins and she will be healed.” I looked at the
woman and told her what I saw. Though shocked to realise that it was her
sins which caused the sicknesses, this woman humbly confessed them and
was healed.

There is another classic example in the Bible where the Lord Jesus
revealed that sin was the cause of sickness.

MARK 2:1-12
1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days,
and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there
was no longer room to receive them, not even near the
door. And He preached the word to them.
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who
was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of
the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So
when they had broken through, they let down the bed
on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,
“Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and
reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit
that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to
 them, “Why do you reason about these things in your
hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins
are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed
and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has
power on earth to forgive sins” — He said to the
paralytic,
11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to
your house.”
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went
out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed
and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything
like this!”

Before healing the paralytic, the Lord Jesus first forgave him of his sins
(v.5), thus confirming that the man’s paralytic condition was a result of his
sin. When the sin was forgiven, he was restored to right standing with God
to receive His mercies of healing (v.11-12).

3. Specialists

Just as there are specialists among medical doctors who specialize in

particular kinds of sicknesses and diseases, likewise, the gifts of healings
also seem to often manifest in some peoples’ ministries for particular
sicknesses. The apostle Peter seemed to be a specialist in cases of people
who were bedridden (Acts 3:2-7; 5.15-16; 9:32-34) and the evangelist
Philip seemed to have a similar specialized anointing (Acts 8.7).

Smith Wigglesworth had a specialized anointing for internal disorders

such as appendicitis. Kenneth E. Hagin had a specialized anointing for
tumors, cancers, ruptures, hernias, or lumps of any kind are almost always
healed when he prayed for people. Brother Hagin once kept a record in
every meeting he had over a period of several years. And in ninety-nine
cases out of one hundred, these types of afflictions were eventually all
healed. F.F. Bosworth had a specialized anointing for deaf ears.

More recently, some have been used particularly in the healing of

AIDS. It’s not that other diseases are not healed in their ministries, but the
gifts of healings manifest most frequently for one particular kind of
sickness.

It is of this that the apostle Paul wrote, “And God has appointed these in the
church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all
workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” (1
Cor 12:28-30).

Looking unto Jesus

The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the gifts of healings for the Scripture
proclaims, “by His stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:4-5). The strongest proof
of this is the constant stream of healings the Lord Jesus produced during
His ministry:

MATTHEW 4:23-24
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease
among the people.
24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they
brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with
various diseases and torments, and those who were
demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He
healed them.

MATTHEW 12:15
 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And
great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them
all.

LUKE 6:19
And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for
power went out from Him and healed them all.

During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, He constantly went about
doing good, which especially included healing the sick (Acts 10:38). In fact,
Bible scholars tell us that 75% of the Lord’s ministry was healing the sick.
He healed the sick because, as Jehovah Rapha in the flesh, He was fulfilling
the very words He had spoken in Exodus 15:26: “For I am the Lord who
heals you.”

He healed people without pressuring them or putting a condition before

them to be converted, as many do today. He often healed people, even when
the healing required a deliverance, before they even turned to Him for
salvation. A good example of this is in the healing of the ten lepers (Lk
17:11-19). His compassion towards the sick and destitute went far beyond
the mediocre religious practices of the day, and for this He was often
persecuted (Matt 12:9-14; Mk 3:1-6; Lk 13:10-14; Jn 5:1-16; 7:23).

When the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples to minister, He instructed
them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and to cast out
demons (Matt 10:8; Mk 3:10; Lk 10:9). The works that the Lord Jesus
commanded them to do were all about signs, wonders and miracles.

Let us now examine the Scriptures with regards to the manifestation of

the gifts of healings in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

1. Healing of the Soul

After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle Peter to heal
his wounded soul—his emotions. The Lord Jesus recreated the scene of the
“crime” and took him to the root of the problem.

It was over a fire that he denied knowing the Lord thrice and it was
over a fire that the Lord Jesus asked him whether he loved Him. The Lord
Jesus led him to confess and release the hurt and guilt which he was
carrying ever since he had denied the Lord. The Lord Jesus healed the
apostle Peter’s broken heart by ministering love to him (Lk 22:54-62; Jn
21:7-17).

2. Healing of the Body

It is said that the Lord Jesus spent three-fourths of His ministry healing the
sick (Matt 4:23-24; Mk 1:32-34; Lk 7:22; Acts 10:38). What kinds of
healings?

i. Bodily Healings

There is not a single instance in Scripture where the Lord did not ultimately
heal someone who asked to be healed. Some examples of these healings
are:

1. Cleansing lepers – Mk 1:40-42

2. Peter’s mother-in-law healed of fever – Lk 4:38-39

3. The eyes of wo blind men opened – Matt 9:27-30

4. Bartimaeus, born blind, healed – Mk 10:46-52

 5. A man’s body swollen with fluid healed – Lk 14:2-4

6. Ten lepers healed – Lk 17:12-14

ii. Demonic Oppressions

The gifts of healings enabled the Lord Jesus to heal many who were
oppressed and possessed by demons and evil spirits. Some examples:

1. Dumb man possessed with a demon – Matt 9:32-33

2. Blind and dumb possessed with a demon – Matt 12:22

3. Dumb and deaf possessed with a foul and unclean spirit –

Mk 9:17-27

iii. Sin

The Lord Jesus demonstrated that some diseases are a result of sin in the
healing of the paralytic man (Jn 5:5-14). After healing him, the Lord Jesus
told him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come upon you” (v.14).

The Lord Jesus revealed very clearly the relationship between sin and
sickness in this incident and others as well, for example Matthew 9:2-6, and
Luke 5:18-25. In these three examples, when sin was forgiven, the healing
took place immediately.
 In the ministry of the Lord Jesus, every manner of sickness and every
manner of disease was always healed (Matt 9:35). That may probably be
because the Lord Jesus had the Holy Spirit without measure and all the gifts
of healings were in manifestation in His life and ministry (Jn 3:34).

Mechanics of Operation

The gifts of healings can manifest tangibly or intangibly. The manifestation

can be tangible in the sense that at times the anointing can be felt as a
physical sensation.

A classic example of this is when the Lord Jesus stated that He felt
power proceeding forth from Him when healing the woman with the issue
of the blood (Mk 5:30). On another occasion, He felt power go out of Him
in the healing of a great multitude (Lk 6:19). At times, I myself have felt the
healing anointing manifest tangibly like a physical electric current flowing
from my right shoulder all the way down to my fingers. From there, it
seemed to jump out of my fingers into the sick person.

One Sunday night in the Spring of 1948, the Rev. Oral Roberts (1918-
2009) was praying for a young deaf boy at a Healing Crusade when he
heard the Lord say to him, “Son, you have been faithful up to this hour, and
now you will feel My presence in your right hand. Through My presence,
you will be able to detect demons, and through My power they will be cast
out.” At that moment Rev. Roberts felt a burning sensation travel down his
right arm to his hand.

Each time when Rev. Roberts stood before healing lines to pray for the
sick, he would feel the warm tangible presence of God moving through his
hand to heal the sick. Gifts of healings can also manifest intangibly, without
any physical feeling or sensation. In such cases, a knowing would come
upon us—a knowing that God’s power is present to heal the sick.
 A classic example of this is the passage in Luke 5:17, when the Lord
Jesus knew that the power of God was present to heal the sick. In such an
atmosphere, other gifts of the Holy Spirit, like the gifts of a word of
knowledge, discernings of spirits, faith, prophecy, diverse kinds of tongues
and interpretation of tongues, will all manifest to give us the knowledge that
God’s power is present to heal the sick.

Furthermore, a careful study of the healing methods employed by the

Lord Jesus shows that there is a variety of ways in which this gift operates,
thereby qualifying it to be called gifts of healings. Consider a few of these
methods of operation:

i. The Lord put His fingers on the ears of a deaf person and spat and
touched his tongue for he had an impediment of speech – Mk 7:32-
35

ii. The Lord took a blind man out of town, spat on his eyes, and put
His Hands on His eyes – Mk 8:22-26

Such miracles do still happen today. In the 1970s, Don Stewart, a

healing evangelist mentored by A.A. Allen, went to Nigeria to conduct a
crusade.

On the first night of the crusade he preached a sermon about the

incident where the Lord Jesus spat on the ground, made mud and put it on a
blind man’s eyes. The Lord then told the blind man to wash his eyes in the
pool of Siloam and the man was healed. A large African Muslim man who
heard the message was visibly moved by it and believed on the Lord’s
healing power.

After the meeting, he approached Brother Don and said, “My wife is
deaf. If you come and spit on my wife’s ears, she will be healed.” Don
initially refused to do it as he felt that it would be an insult. For five days
the Muslim man tried to persuade Don to come and spit on his wife’s ears,
but Don, being a cultured American, continued to refuse. On the last day of
the crusade, the Muslim man almost forcibly took Don to his wife and said,
“You are going to spit in my wife’s ears, and you are going to do it right
now!”

Unable to resist, Don asked for her to be brought to him. When he spat
into her ears, the woman was instantly healed. As a result of the miraculous
healing, the Muslim couple got saved and the man became a preacher,
preaching all over Nigeria.

Let us now examine how this gift can manifest and operate in our life.

1. Laying on of hands

MARK 16:18
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink
anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they
will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The most common manifestation of the gifts of healings is through the

laying on of hands. In His ministry, the Lord Jesus often laid His hands on
the sick (Matt 8:3,15; 9:29; Mk 7:33-35; Lk 4:40).

One of the remarkable healing which the Lord Jesus did in my ministry
took place during my first visit to the Kingdom of Bhutan in October 1986.
The pastor brought me to the government hospital to pray for one of his
believers. This woman was suffering from a peculiar disease which caused
her chest to swell. She was practically skin and bones and the shadow of
death was looming all over her face. The doctors expected her to live only a
few more days.

When I looked at the pitiable condition of the woman and the weeping
of her husband and children, a great compassion came over me. I laid my
hands upon the woman and began to pray. As I prayed, the gift of the
discernings of spirits enabled me to look into her body and see all the
diseased organs. I prayed, commanding healing into each organ. I felt the
healing anointing as a physical sensation—like electricity flowing from my
right hand into her body. Although there was no visible change at that time,
her pastor later told me that the woman was completely healed and was
discharged after three days. A month later, when I met her at a convention,
she was perfectly healed and whole.

An outstanding demonstration of God’s healing power through the

laying on of hands took place in the ministry of George Jeffreys in April
1927 in Leeds, England. James Gregson was a cripple who got around by
propelling himself along the ground by dragging his twisted legs behind
him.

James’ wife brought him to George Jeffreys’ meeting in Leeds one

evening. George came over to James, laid hands on him and prayed for his
healing. When George laid his hands on him, James testified that he felt a
dozen unseen hands laid on him at the same time. At that moment he felt
every bone go back to its original place. He was completely healed in that
instant.

At times, this tangible healing anointing seem to flow even through our
clothes. A classic example of this is when the woman with the issue of the
blood came and touched the hem of the garment of the Lord Jesus. The
Lord Jesus actually felt the power flowing out of Him (Matt 14:35-36; Mk
5:27-29). This kind of manifestation was also seen in the apostle Paul’s
ministry (Acts 19:11-12).

Though we may tangibly feel the anointing, we must remember that we

are not its source. We are only channels or vessels through which the gifts
flow.
 While teaching me about the manifestation of the gifts of healings
through the laying on of hands, the Lord Jesus said to me, “The healing
power is tangible and real and you can feel it. Whenever the healing power
manifests tangibly, the healing will always come. When a leper came to Me
and said, ‘If You are willing, You can make me clean,’ the anointing was
tangibly present in My hands and I laid hands upon him and he was
instantly healed” (ref. Mk 1:40-42).

We also read that the apostle Paul laid his hands on the sick to heal
them (Acts 28:7-9).

2. The Spoken Word

PSALMS 107:20
20 He sent His word and healed them, and delivered
them from their destructions.

There is power not only in the written Word of God, but also upon the
spoken Word that comes out of our mouth under the Holy Spirit’s unction.
A classic example is the following incident:

MATTHEW 8:5-13
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a
centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home
paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not
worthy that You should come under my roof. But only
speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers
under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my
servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to
those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have
not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
11 And I say to you that many will come from east and
west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into
outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way;
and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”
And his servant was healed that same hour.

The centurion who requested the Lord Jesus to heal his servant said,
“Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only
speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (v.8). Accordingly, when the
Lord Jesus spoke the word, the servant was healed (v.13). A similar incident
where the Lord spoke a word and healed a person is found in John 4:46-53.

Under such circumstances, other gifts such as a word of knowledge,

discernings of spirits, prophecy, diverse kinds of tongues and interpretation
of tongues may also manifest to give force to the spoken word. The gift of
faith would then manifest to speak the revealed word with authority (Matt
8:29). The moment that the spoken word leaves our tongue, it goes forth
with power like a sharp arrow towards its target, manifesting the gifts of
healings (Lk 4:32).

The gifts of healings also manifest through obeying and hearing the
spoken word (2 Kg 5:1-14; Lk 5:15; 6.17; Acts 14:9).

In April of 1996 we were conducting an evangelistic meeting at

Pakyong, Sikkim. One evening, as I was praying for the sick, the Lord Jesus
stood by me, pointed His finger towards the end of the tent and said, “There
is a woman sitting there suffering with much pain in her womb. Tell her that
I am healing her now.” In obedience, I spoke out the word of healing.

At the end of the meeting, a young woman came to the stage and
testified, “I was the woman with pain in the womb. I have been having
severe pains in my liver and womb. Doctors even found stones in my
gallbladder and suggested surgery. When I heard about this meeting, I
decided to participate before going for surgery. When Sadhuji thundered
“Be healed,” I felt like a powerful current passing through my body and
every trace of pain and discomfort vanished.”

3. Healings across space-time

This is not science-fiction or something to do with time-travel. I coined this

term to describe the gifts of healings that operate across thousands of miles,
in different time zones and in different geographical locations. A classic
example of this is:

MARK 7:25-30
25 For a woman whose young daughter had an
unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell
at His feet.
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by
birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out
of her daughter.
27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled
first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and
throw it to the little dogs.”
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet
even the little dogs under the table eat from the
children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way;
the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the
demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
 A Syrophenician woman from Sidon came to the Lord Jesus for her
daughter’s healing. Sidon had its own patron god of healing, Eshmon, but
he did nothing to cure this woman’s daughter. Initially, the Lord Jesus
refused to heal her, saying that the time for the Gentiles had not yet come
(v.24). However, later on in verse 28, we read that He did heal her daughter.
How is this possible? It seems like the Lord Jesus contradicted Himself in
verses 23, 24, 26, and 28.

After this woman was first refused help, she began imploring the
disciples to the point of pestering them (v.23). Undaunted and unwavering
in her resolve, she kept on asking the Lord Jesus to heal her daughter (v.25).
Her faith was strong and unshakable. She would not take no for an answer
(v.28). Faith is a spiritual force that has real substance in the spiritual realm.
In the spiritual realm, the dimension of time does not exist (cf. Ex 3:14; Rev
1:11; 2:8). Her faith—being strong and violent—began to shake the
kingdom of God (Matt 11:12).

When she began to exercise her unwavering and steadfast faith, the
power of this faith which exists in the spiritual realm was activated and
began to move across the dimension of time. Her violent faith, powerful
enough to shake the kingdom of God, touched the Lord God with whom
there is no beginning or end of time.
 Her faith touched God—right through the torn veil of the temple
(Matt 27:51). Beyond that veil was the presence of God resting on the Ark
of the Covenant. Her prayer, catapulted by the powerful force of faith,
touched the blood of the Lord Jesus which had made a way for all to come
before God (Gal 3:28-29; Heb 9:12,24; 10:19-20). Her persistent faith
pierced the veil of time. Thus, she was able to receive her miracle all the
way from that dimension of time which contained Christ Jesus’ finished
work.

About 20 years ago, a dear partner of our ministry called me from

England on her birthday to ask for a blessing. After the prayer of blessing,
she told me that she was going for cataract surgery the following week and
asked that I specifically pray for her on the day and time of the surgery. She
was quite worried about the surgery because the surgeon himself did not
guarantee a 100% recovery due to her advanced age, diabetes and high
blood pressure. I promised her that I would surely pray for her.

On the day of her surgery, taking into account the time-zone

difference between India and England, I knelt down to pray for her. At the
same time, half a world away, she was being wheeled into the operating
room for her surgery. She was very worried about the outcome of the
surgery, so she prayed, “Lord, please remind Sadhuji to pray for me.”
 She later testified that at that moment, in the Spirit, she saw the Lord
Jesus and myself standing beside her. The Lord Jesus motioned to me to lay
my hands on her eyes. When I did, the Lord Himself also laid His hands
over my hands and we prayed for her together. When she came out of the
surgery, she was told by her doctor that the surgery was 100% successful.
How good is our gracious God!

4. Special Healings

ACTS 5:15-16
15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and
laid them on beds and couches, that at least the
shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of
them.
16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding
cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those
who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were
all healed.

Just as healing power went out of the Lord Jesus to heal the sick, so did it
flow through the apostle Peter where his mere shadow healed the sick.

There was a man of God who was mightily used by God in Argentina.
Signs, wonders and miracles took place in his ministry in an unprecedented
manner. So much so, that he would deliberately walk into meetings so that
his shadow falling on the sick would heal them.

5. Anointing Oil

JAMES 5:14-15
 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.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the
Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins,
he will be forgiven.

The Gospels record that the 12 disciples of the Lord Jesus anointed many
who were sick with oil and healed them (Mk 6:13).

The key thing to observe in both of these Scriptures is that there is no

healing virtue in the anointing oil itself. The key is the prayer of faith. The
anointing oil serves as a point-of-contact for the healing anointing.

6. Fellowship of Christ’s Sufferings

MATTHEW 8:16-17
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many
who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the
spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our
infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

There seem to be a mysterious link between suffering and healing. When

the Lord Jesus commissioned the 12 disciples to preach the gospel and gave
them power to heal the sick, He also warned them that they would suffer
and be persecuted (Matt 10:1,7-42).
 The apostle Paul was not only used mightily of God in signs and
wonders, but also suffered much for the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:15-16; 2 Cor
4:10; 12:12). Realizing the mysterious link between healing and cross-
bearing, he wrote: “That I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His
death” (Phil 3:10).

Just as the breaking of the alabaster jar allowed the scent of its
perfumed to permeate the whole room, so when we are broken, it enables us
to identify with the sufferings and pains of others. That identification, like a
sword piercing our soul and like the stripes of a whip on our back, causes
the gifts of healings to manifest.

7. Angels

JOHN 5:2-4
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool,
which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five
porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind,
lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the
pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in
first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of
whatever disease he had.
Angels can also bring the gifts of healings. The early Church Fathers
believed that just as Michael is chief prince over the warrior angels and
Gabriel is chief prince over the messenger angels, the chief prince over the
healing angels is Rafael.

Several years ago, during a weekly prayer meeting at our house, my

sister requested prayer for her friend who had just given birth to twin boys.
One of the twins was born with a hole in his heart and had some
complications with his lungs which made breathing difficult. His condition
was classified as critical. We began to pray fervently.

As we were praying, in a vision, I saw an angel coming down from

heaven. Standing in mid-heaven, he dropped down some manna. A voice
then came from heaven saying, “The boy is healed.” A few days later, the
mother of the twins called my sister to say that the doctors were amazed
because they could not find any trace of a hole in the boy’s heart and his
lungs, too, functioned perfectly.

8. God

MALACHI 4:2
2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of
Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings;
And you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
The Lord God, who Himself is the Healer, will at times appear in the Spirit
to manifest the gifts of healings.

The Lord Jesus performed a very remarkable healing miracle in our

ministry during a meeting we conducted at Gangtok, Sikkim in 1995. As I
was praying for the sick, the Lord Jesus stood at my right hand and said,
“There is a woman standing at the doorway on the right. She’s been
suffering with kidney problems. Tell her that I am healing her.” Nothing
spectacular happened to her at that time, but that night she had a dream.

In the dream, a majestic-looking man dressed in a long white robe

came and sat by her bed. He then placed His right hand on her back. As
soon as He touched her body, though it was a dream, she could literally feel
a sensation of fire sweeping through her body and her kidneys began
jumping like Mexican beans. When they stopped, she was perfectly healed.

The Hindu woman then asked Him, “Who are You?” To which the
Man replied, “I am Jesus,” and then disappeared right before her eyes.
When she got up in the morning, she and her family realized that there was
no more pain in her back. For three consecutive weeks she went for
frequent medical examinations to verify her healing. The doctor, after
examining her, asked “Where did you have this kidney transplant? You have
two brand new kidneys!” Her joy knew no bounds. As a result of this
miraculous healing, her entire family of eight was saved.
 On Mother’s Day, 1960, young Leroy Jenkins was renovating his
house in Atlanta, when a plate glass window-pane broke, fell, and cut
through the bone and flesh of his right arm, severing arteries and leaders.
Blood poured out, as he was rushed to the hospital, where he had a near
death experience, as he left his body, and saw the doctors working on him to
save his life.

“Please, God, save me,” he cried silently, and God restored him to his
body. The doctors prepared to amputate the helpless arm, held on by only a
shred of flesh, but the young business man refused, he did not want to live
without his arm. The doctors stitched the arm back on, put it in a cast, and
sent him home, where they told him he would soon die of gangrene
poisoning, for all the blood vessels were severed.

In agony, with his arm putrefying within the cast, he was taken to a
Miracle Crusade at the Atlanta fairgrounds, where Rev. A. A. Allen was
conducting services, and praying for the sick. “Young man, tell these people
that God will heal you,” demanded the Evangelist, putting the microphone
to Leroy Jenkins’ face. “God’s going to heal my hand,” stammered the weak
and frightened young man, and at that moment the tent appeared to split
open, and a giant Hand appeared.

“If that hand would but touch me, I would be healed,” Leroy thought,
and as he spoke, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and his dead fingers
began to move. “Look at him, he’s using that dead hand,” cried Rev. Allen,
“God has healed him and I didn’t even pray for him!” His arm was instantly
restored, and at that same time he reached forth to touch a lady with a
broken wrist, and her wrist was immediately healed.

9. Modern Technology

ISAIAH 57:19
19 “I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him
who is far off and to him who is near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal him.”

The miraculous healing power of God is also manifest through the modern
electronic medium of television, radio and the Internet.

Anna Williams, the wife of an army sergent living in Wichita Falls,

Texas, was a young woman who was diagnosed with paralysis. In 1951, she
broke her leg; then, 20 months later, she was afflicted with polio. Finally, in
1953, she was diagnosed with spinalitis—a crippling disease that paralyzed
her from the waist down.

On May 1, 1955, Anna was sitting in her wheelchair beside her

husband watching the Oral Roberts television telecast of a healing service.
When Rev. Roberts began to pray for the sick, Anna placed her hand on her
heart and cried to God to heal her paralyzed legs. As soon as Rev. Roberts
had finished praying for the sick, Anna asked her husband to help her stand
up. She stood up and slowly began walking away from the wheelchair.

How marvelous are the gifts of healings that transcend space!

Why are some not healed?

The most frequently asked question by believers and even among those who
have had the gifts of healings manifested in their lives is, “Why are not all
healed?” Even the Lord Jesus, though He frequently healed all people
during His earthly ministry (Matt 4:23; 12:15; Lk 6:19; Acts 10:38), in
some cases could not heal everyone (Mk 6:5).

Let us read the following Scripture carefully:

MARK 1:32-34
32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to
Him all who were sick and those who were demon-
possessed.
33 And the whole city was gathered together at the
door.
34 Then He healed many who were sick with various
diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not
allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
 Looking carefully at this Scripture, we can deduce the following: all
the people in the city who were sick with various kinds of diseases gathered
unto the Lord Jesus to be healed. He laid His hands on every one of them,
but not all were healed. The Scripture says that only many (not “all”) were
healed.

Although it is God’s perfect will to heal all of His people, yet it

seems that some are not healed. The apostle Paul, who was mightily used in
signs and wonders, wrote, “Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have
left in Miletus sick” (2 Tim 4:20). The apostle Paul himself on one occasion
suffered severely with bodily ailment (Gal 4:13). The phrase “severe bodily
ailment” in Greek is astheneian tes sarkos which literally means illness of
the body.

Similarly, though Scripture explicitly states that, “The Lord is not

slack concerning His promises, as some count slackness, but is long
suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), yet not all who attend an evangelistic
meetings get saved.

There are a few possible reasons why some fail to receive healing.

1. Sin
Sin always blocks the gifts of healings from manifesting.

Sometimes, depending on the severity of the sin committed, God may

desire the healing of the soul through forgiveness more than the healing of
the body. Is it not written, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of
the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”? (1 Cor
5:5).

Several years ago, I was requested to pray for a church elder in the
Himalayas. As I stood before the man, I saw his face covered with a
breathing mask and a huge oxygen tank standing beside his bed. He was
surrounded by weeping relatives who had been told by the doctors that his
days were numbered. I knelt down beside the dying man to pray. Each time
I opened my mouth to pray for his healing, I could not say the word heal
and instead found myself praying, ‘Lord, please forgive him of his sins.’
This was repeated thrice.

I then asked the Holy Spirit why I could not pray for this man’s
healing. The Holy Spirit revealed through the gift of a word of knowledge
the sins in the man’s life. Through the discernings of spirits, I also saw into
his body and perceived, as though looking at an X-ray picture that most of
the organs in his body had decayed as a result of sin. The Holy Spirit then
told me, “He has been turned over into the hands of Satan for the
destruction of his flesh. Pray that his sins may be forgiven him so that his
soul may be saved.” What matchless grace of God!

2. Unbelief

Unbelief, either on the part of the minister or the people, can also prevent
the manifestation of the gifts of healings.

In one incident, the disciples were unable to cast out a demon

responsible for epilepsy in a young boy. They were unable to heal the boy
because of their unbelief (Matt 17:14-20). Because of the unbelief of the
people, the Lord Jesus Himself was not able to heal many people in His
own home town (Mk 6:5-6).

In the Autumn of 1950, the Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin was conducting a

revival meeting in Oklahoma. One night, as he was ministering to the sick,
a man in the healing line told him he had tuberculosis of the spine. The
man’s spine was as stiff as a board.

As he prayed for him, Rev. Hagin laid one hand on his chest and one
hand on his back. When he did, he knew immediately by the gift of the
discernings of spirits that this man’s body was oppressed by an evil spirit.
Rev. Hagin commanded the spirit, saying, “You foul spirit that oppresses
this man’s body, I command you to come out of his body in the Name of the
Lord Jesus Christ!”

And then he made a terrible mistake that most of us do: he got into
unbelief. He said to the man, “See if you can stoop over and bend your
back. Try to touch your toes.” The word “if” is what indicates the doubt.
When Rev. Hagin said, “See if you can,” that was doubt.

The man tried to bend over, but couldn’t. His back was as stiff as ever.
Rev. Hagin laid his hands upon him again, and commanded, “You foul spirit
that oppresses this man’s body, I command you to come out of him in the
Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!” Again he said to the man, “See if you can
stoop over. Bend your back and touch your toes.” His back was as
immovable as before. It didn’t occur to Rev. Hagin that he was acting in
unbelief.

Then he said to the man, “Well, we will try (that was unbelief, too) the
third time.” Rev. Hagin laid his hand on his chest and the other on his back.
Again, he had the manifestation of the anointing in his hands. For the third
time he said, “You foul spirit that oppresses this man’s body, I command
you to come out of him in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!” To the man
he said, “Now see if you can stoop over. See if you can bend down.” He
couldn’t. Rev. Hagin gave up and went on to pray for the next person. The
man, dejected, walked back down the aisle.

As Rev. Hagin was ministering to the other sick people, he looked over
to his left, and saw with his naked eyes the Lord Jesus standing there. The
Lord Jesus pointed His finger at him and said, “I said that in My Name the
demon or demons will leave!”

“Lord, I know You said that. I told the demon to come out of that man,
but he didn’t,” Rev. Hagin defended himself. Again, the Lord Jesus pointed
His finger at him and said, “I said, in My Name call out the demons and
they will leave the body!”

Again Rev. Hagin pleaded with the Lord, “I know You said that, Lord,
and I commanded the spirit to leave this man’s body in the Name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, but it didn’t go.” The Lord Jesus put His finger in his
face and said for the third time, “I said in My Name the demons will go!
Call them out in My Name, and they will leave the body in My Name!”

In all humility, Rev. Hagin, respectfully, replied again, “Lord, I know

You said that. I did tell that demon to leave this man’s body, but it didn’t go.
Suddenly, it seemed as if the Lord Jesus’ eyes became fire with flashes of
lightning in them. For the fourth time the Lord Jesus jabbed His finger at
him and said emphatically, “Yes, but I said the demons will go!” Then the
Lord Jesus disappeared.

It was then, like a bolt of lightning hitting him, that Rev. Hagin realized
that he had acted in unbelief. We must realize that all the gifts of the Holy
Spirit work by faith and faith alone. Unbelief will paralyze the gifts and
prevent them from manifesting.

When he realized that he had exercised doubt instead of faith, he saw

his mistake. He called the man to come back to the platform. The man came
back and stood on the platform beside Rev. Hagin. The instant the man
stood before Rev. Hagin, he laid his hands on the man’s back, and said,
“Satan, I told you to leave this body! Out you go in the Name of the Lord
Jesus Christ!” Then he said to the man, “Now, my brother stoop over and
touch your toes.”

Instantly his back was limber. The tuberculosis of the spine was gone.
The spine which had been as stiff as a board was healed. He could stoop
over and touch his toes as well as any normal person. He was completely
well!

This example from the ministry of the Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin

demonstrates once and for all the great importance of not acting in unbelief.
Rev. Hagin also said: “No matter who we are, if we move in unbelief, we
will stop the flow of God’s power.”
3. Don’t want to be healed

Strangely, there are some people who suffer terribly with sicknesses but
they do not want to be healed. This may be the reason why the Lord Jesus
asked the paralytic man at the pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be made
well?” (Jn 5:6).

In early 1993, one of our ministry partners in the Himalayas

requested me to come and pray for their terminally ill daughter. This 24
year-old woman with two children was terminally ill with tuberculosis. As I
stood praying, the Lord Jesus stood by my side and said, “Don’t pray for
her healing. Unable to bear her sufferings, My daughter has been
ceaselessly asking Me to take her home. She does not want to live and she
does not want Me to heal her. But she is not ready to meet Me. Prepare her
to meet Me.”

The Lord Jesus also revealed to me the secrets of her heart

concerning why she did not want to live and the struggles she was facing
within her. I asked her parents to wait outside and I talked to the girl in
private about all the things the Lord had revealed to me. She replied,
“Sadhuji, everything Jesus revealed to you is 100% true.”

Consider the healing of the paralytic man by the pool of Bethesda.

JOHN 5:2-15
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool,
which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five
porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind,
lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the
pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in
first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of
whatever disease he had.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity
thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he
already had been in that condition a long time, He
said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to
put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but
while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and
walk.”
9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his
bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It
is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your
bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to
me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to
you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
13 But the one who was healed did not know who it
was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in
that place.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said
to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more,
lest a worse thing come upon you.”
 15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was
Jesus who had made him well.

The Scriptures record that there was a great multitude of sick people
—blind, lame and paralyzed (v.3). But after the Lord Jesus had healed the
paralytic man who had been suffering for 38 years, not a single sick person
from among the multitude came to the Lord Jesus to be healed. God does
not and will not force healing down anyone’s throat. We need to exercise
our free will to receive healing.

4. Pride

The Lord Jesus was the only person on Whom the Holy Spirit rested in full
measure (Jn 3:34). As such, the gifts of healings did not just flow through
Him like many small streams that feed into a river, but as the Gift of
Healing—the main river itself. This is why He always healed all who came
to Him.

If anyone—minister or believer – had the gifts of healings

manifesting in them to heal every sickness and disease, such a person would
be unable to withstand the laurels of praise and honor which would be
showered upon them. Church history bears painful records of the many men
of God who fell from grace because of pride. Therefore, some are not
healed in a meeting so that people would know that the minister is also “a
man with a nature like ours” (Jas 5:17).
5. Ignorance

Some people are not healed because of ignorance. They don’t understand
how they can receive healing and they needed instruction concerning God’s
will and His power.

There is healing power inherent in the Word of God: “He sent His
word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Ps
107:20). The late Rev Kenneth E Hagin (1917-2003) was healed from
terminal sickness—deformed heart and incurable blood disease at age 15,
when God told him to believe His Word of healing. When Brother Hagin
believed that there is power in God’s Word and stood on this belief, he arose
from his deathbed totally healed.

6. God’s other way

Sometimes, God seems to choose to heal a sickness not through the gifts of
healings but through other ways—such as medicine. It is difficult for us to
comprehend why, but that seems to be God’s way (Isa 55:8). We have a
record of such an act of God in the Old Testament.

King Hezekiah was dying and God sent the prophet Isaiah with the
word, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal
you” (2 Kg 20:5). We would expect King Hezekiah to be healed
supernaturally, wouldn’t we? But verse 7 reads, “Then Isaiah said, ‘Take a
lump of figs.’ So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.” God
seems to work through medical science, too.

About 20 years ago, a dear minister friend’s new one-month old son
was afflicted with a rare blood tumor which affected his parotoid gland
located behind the right ear. The blood tumor consumed platelets, causing
the baby to be vulnerable to bleeding. The minister and his dear wife
approached me for prayer. When I prayed for the boy’s healing, the Lord
Jesus said, “Tell them not to worry. I will heal him. Tell them to give the
boy medication, and within six months he will recover.”

As this was a rare case in their country, their doctors happened to be

experimenting with different drugs for the conditions and asked the parents
to choose between two different options. Again, the parents came to me to
seek the mind of the Lord. The gracious Lord Jesus clearly revealed which
drug to use. The choice baffled the doctors because there was no recorded
medical history of this drug being used for that particular condition. But
according to the Lord’s counsel to use that particular drug, the minister’s
son recovered completely in six months and made medical history.

About 20 years ago I went to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to minister at a

convention. On the last day of the meeting, many people came forward for
prayer for healing. As I ministered to each one, I came and stood before a
woman with a young boy. The woman said that her son was deaf in the right
ear and needed prayer. When I asked her if he was born deaf, the woman
replied that he had good hearing until five years of age, at which point he
develop some complications and lost his hearing.

When I laid my hands on the 10-year-old boy to pray, I heard the

Lord Jesus say, “Don’t pray for healing. Ask the mother to take the boy for
surgery and I will come and guide the surgeon.” I stopped praying and
tapped on the woman’s shoulder. She looked at me with a puzzled
expression. I then said to her what the Lord Jesus said. As soon as she heard
it, she cried profusely.

Then she confessed to me, “Actually, I have no faith in divine

healing. I wanted to bring my son to the doctor for surgery, but many
pastors prophesied to me that God would heal my son and told me not to
bring him for surgery. I have no faith for divine healing, but I was afraid to
disobey God. Now, I am relieved to hear that God is allowing me to bring
my son for surgery.” She left happy and free of condemnation.

Nevertheless, this advice from the Lord continued to puzzle me.

When I queried the Lord about this, He said, “I meet My children wherever
their faith is at. No matter how low, I meet them at that point and bring
them up to trust Me and meet their needs.” When I heard this, I humbled
myself before the Lord and gave thanks for His manifold kindness and rich
mercies towards frail dust that we are.

Whatever the methods, one thing is absolutely sure: the Lord God is
our Healer (Ex 15:26). And it is God’s absolute will that we be in good
health (3 Jn 2). Each time sickness and disease strikes us, again and again
He will rise upon us with healing in His wings.

There was a woman in Grimsby, England who was very seriously ill.
She was skin and bones, white as a ghost, with sunken dark eyes and
completely bedridden. She looked like she was ready to die. One day, she
asked her relatives to wheel her to one of Stephen Jeffreys’ meeting.
Stephen Jeffreys (1876-1943) was mightily used of God in healings and
creative miracles.

He was holding meetings quite far from where she lived. Seeing her
grave condition, her relatives refused to bring her, fearing she may die
along the way. But she insisted and urged them to bring her because she
believed strongly that God will heal her. Her relatives held a small family
meeting and decided to fulfil her dying wish.

After Stephen Jeffreys had finished preaching, he came down from

the platform and began to pray for the sick. When he came to this woman,
lying there on her stretcher, he laid his hands on her and prayed
compassionately. As Stephen Jeffreys was praying, the woman felt the Hand
of the Lord under her spine, lifting her up. She put her feet on the floor.
Stephen helped her as she took a few steps. Then he released her and she
walked around the whole church.

The Lord God heals all who believe Him with simple child-like faith
without doubting.

Keys to Cultivation

We may receive the manifestations of the gifts of healings in our life and
learn to cultivate and sharpen them to the point where we can flow in them
continually in the following ways:

1. Knowledge of God’s will

To know the will and the whole counsel of God concerning divine healing
is of paramount importance in learning to flow in the gifts of healings. Most
often people say, “Lord, if it is Your will, please heal.” Such a prayer is not
based on faith or on the promises of God.

The fundamental principle is – it is the absolute will of God to heal

sicknesses (Isa 53:5; Matt 8:16, 17; 1 Pet 2:24; 3 Jn 2). Our heart and mind
must be ruled by this principle so that neither doubt nor unbelief can
paralyze our faith and belief. Study the Bible thoroughly on the subject of
healing. This was the counsel the Lord gave me very early in my ministry in
1984. Knowledge of God’s will will give us the boldness to take authority
over sicknesses and diseases (cp. Lk 4:39).

Willie Phelps was a young boy who at six years of age was afflicted
with Perthes disease, a flattening of the hipbone due to lack of blood flow to
the hip. From the age of six till he was 10 years old, Willie had to wear a
shoe with an extra two-and-a-half inch heel to compensate for his uneven
legs and use crutches.

One evening after watching an Oral Roberts television program,

Willie told his mother with childlike faith that if she took him to the next
Oral Roberts crusade to be held at Roanoke, Virginia he would be healed.

On the final night of the meeting, Willie was helped by a caring usher
to the back of the stage where he could hear Oral Roberts preach. That
night, Oral prayed for about 3,000 people to be healed, touching each of
them. He left the service totally exhausted. As he walked down the corridor,
he noticed a boy sitting in a room with his head bowed in prayer.

Rev. Roberts asked him what he was doing there, to which the boy
replied that he was waiting for Oral Roberts. When Oral identified himself,
the boy said confidently that he was supposed to be healed that day. Rev.
Roberts patiently and kindly explained to the boy that he was too tired and
didn’t have the faith to pray for anyone else. The boy replied, “Mr. Roberts,
I don’t know about that but I do know that I am supposed to be healed
today.”

Seeing the boy’s great faith, Rev. Roberts touched Willie and prayed
that he be healed. A year later when Rev. Roberts visited Roanoke for
another crusade, Willie Phelps came to see him and shared an amazing
testimony. After Rev. Roberts touched him and prayed a prayer of healing,
Willie asked his mother to take his shoes off his feet. He put down his
crutches and put his bad feet on the floor. Willie realized to his utter
amazement that his leg which had been short had grown to the same length
as his normal leg.

It is God who heals. The grace of God to heal overrides the

weaknesses of mere mortal man proving that it is God’s absolute will to
heal the sick yesterday, today and forever.

2. Pray with faith

We must not allow the devil to spin cobwebs of unbelief in our mind when
some people are not immediately healed in answer to prayer.
 Many years ago, I became quite discouraged because some people for
whom I prayed were not healed. When I asked the Lord Jesus about this, He
said, “Son, praying is your business and healing is Mine. Do not be
concerned about My business. I am faithful to My Word. Be faithful in
praying for all the sick who come to you. Expect miracles but do not worry
about how I will perform them.”

That counsel from the Lord greatly boosted my faith and confidence
in the goodness of God as the Great Healer. From then onwards, I never
bothered or doubted about God’s responsibility. The Lord Jesus alone is the
Healer; faith in Him and in His name only will cause the gifts of healings to
manifest (Acts 3:16).

Consider an example from the life of Smith Wigglesworth. There was

a young man on the verge of death in a village close to where Brother
Wigglesworth lived. The dying man’s friends begged Brother Wigglesworth
to come and pray for him. When he finally reached the dying man house,
his mother told Brother Wigglesworth that he was too late – his heart was
failing and he was just skin and bones and was expected to die in a few
days.

Brother Wigglesworth went to the dying man’s room and fell to his
knees, fasting and praying all through the night. The next day, he got up and
went to the nearby field to continue praying, when he saw a vision. He
hurried to the home and told the dying man’s family members that God had
shown him that the man will be healed the following day.

The next day, Brother Wigglesworth knelt by the dying man and said,
“When I touch you, God’s power will come all over you. Don’t be afraid.
This is for the glory of God.” He continued praying fervently for an hour
and then, on cue from the Holy Spirit, laid his hands on the dying man.
Instantly, he rolled over his bed and started weeping. The bed started
shaking violently. Then, the young man stood up, walked around and
declared that he was healed.

3. Venture forth boldly

I know of many ministers and believers who greatly desire to be used by

God in the gifts of healings. But they just sit passively waiting for the
heavens to open and some kind of lightning-like anointing to come from
God’s throne and strike them, declaring, “From today onwards I am going
to heal through you!”

Such people are like the “great multitude of sick people, blind, lame,
paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water” by the pool of Bethesda (Jn
5:3). God may speak in such a dramatic manner, but often He does not. Do
not wait. Only the violent in faith can take the kingdom of God (Matt
11:12). Step out boldly and pray for the sick in faith. It does not matter
whether we feel the anointing tangibly or not. The Word of God says,
“Those who believe… will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover”
(Mk 16:17-18).

This is how I learned to move in the gifts of healings. Before I ever

had any manifestation of the gifts of healings, I used to step out in faith and
pray for the sick. I was faithful in the small things and God honored that
faithfulness by increasing the healing anointing to manifest in greater
measure.

Leroy Jenkins was a healing evangelist who was fearless and bold
when it came to praying for healing. And God seem to honor that sort of
holy daring.

In 1964, Jenkins was conducting a crusade in Pensacola, Florida. A

certain lady by the name of Willie Blackwell attended the meeting. She had
a bandage covering most of her right cheek. Jenkins called her out of the
audience and told her that God had shown him that she had cancer on her
face. He asked her permission to remove the bandage and see her face.
When the bandage was removed, it revealed an ugly, gray-looking growth.
It was red around the edges and was half the size of a dollar bill.

Jenkins took some tissue paper in his hand and placed his hand over
the growth, praying, “Lord, if I be Your servant, I ask You to let this foul
thing fall off in my hand. Lord God, if I am not Your servant, then I ask You
not to let it be removed. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.” When he took
his hand away the entire ugly growth was now in the tissue in Jenkin’s
hand. The cancerous growth had been completely removed, leaving only a
large, open sore on the side of Mrs. Blackwell’s face. Jenkins then assured
that her skin would regrow and the gaping hole would be closed, and it
happened just as he said.

4. Discernment

A careful study of the Gospels show us that the gifts of healings were
disbursed through a variety of methods in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. He
laid His hands, spoke the word, spat into clay and put it on people’s eyes,
told people that it was their faith that got them healing and even cast out
demons to heal people.

When I asked the Lord Jesus about this, He said, “I ministered

healing according to the faith level of the people. I also saw in the spirit to
discern the causes of sicknesses.” We, too, need the manifestation of the
gifts of a word of knowledge, faith and discernings of spirits to cause the
gifts of healings to flow specifically so that all may be healed.

5. Compassion
Compassion is the most important ingredient for the manifestation of the
gifts of healings. The Lord Jesus Himself most frequently ministered
healing as He was moved with compassion. Smith Wigglesworth, who
moved very mightily in healings and miracles, manifested great compassion
for the sick. When he prayed for the sick who wrote to him for help, he
would cry out to God and weep for them.

The word “compassion” in Greek is splanknizomai which means

one’s deepest inner most feelings of love and affection. Compassion is the
essence of love which manifests tangibly as healing. It was compassion that
moved the Lord Jesus to feed about 16,000 people with seven loaves and a
few fishes (Matt 15:32; Mk 8:2), that raised the son of the widow of Nain
(Lk 7:13), that caused a leper to be healed (Mk 1:41), and made the blind to
see (Matt 20:34). Compassion demands the manifestation of the gifts of
healings.

The mighty prophet of God, William Branham, experienced the death

of two people most dear to him—his wife and daughter. He buried his
daughter, Sharon Rose, in the arms of his wife. That grief was too great for
him to bear.

Brother Branham recounted that his daughter was in so much pain

that when she looked at him, her eyes would cross. After his daughter died,
whenever he looked into the face of a child with crossed eyes he saw his
little girl and compassion would well up in him to believe for that child’s
healing. It has been reported that more than 400 children with crossed eyes
were healed in his ministry. Seeing a child with crossed eyes healed,
Branham would say, “Sometimes God has to crush a rose to bring forth its
fragrance.”

In later years, as he began to move in the gifts of healings, the

remembrance of this loss would cause tears of compassion to flow down his
cheeks as he prayed for the sick.

Sympathy shares sorrows while compassion identifies with the pains

of the sorrows. In 1985, I was fasting for three days in Malaysia. On the
third day, the Lord Jesus appeared to me, and laying His hands on my head
said, “I am filling you with My compassion today. When you pray with
compassion and tears for the sick, I will wipe away their tears and heal
them.”

From that day forward, I would feel a wave of love come over my
heart, almost to the point of crushing it. Out of that brokenness, the
compassionate love of the Lord enables me to feel the pains of others as if I
myself was afflicted. That compassion enables me to pray earnestly for
others’ healings. We need to pray and ask the Lord Jesus to fill us with His
compassion.
 I once heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit say, “I have given
you a measure of the healing anointing. Fast, pray and meditate on the Word
to cause the anointing to increase and flow like a flood mixed with
compassion.”

6. Befriend the Holy Spirit

LUKE 4:18
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has
sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty those who are oppressed;

It is the blessed Holy Spirit Who heals every broken body. It is the flapping
of His Wings that releases the healing anointing to flow like a breeze upon
the people (Mal 4:2). As such, it is vital to befriend the Holy Spirit.

Kathryn Kuhlman (1907-1976), one of the best-known woman

healing evangelist in America, learnt the secret that by simply honoring the
Holy Spirit with a reverent attitude and by being in God’s presence, the gifts
of healings could be released.

How do you honor the Presence of the Holy Spirit? Let’s hear how
Kathryn does it: “Praise, brings the presence of the Holy Spirit. Just
praising God—not asking for a single thing but just praising Him—always
brings the power. It’s pleasing to the Lord. The Holy Spirit is a person. He
is not an ‘it.’ He is God. He is to be reverenced, to be worshiped.”

The blessed Holy Spirit is a beautiful gentle and meekly dove. He

must be lovingly entreated and cooed with loving passion to come and
manifest His glory by hovering in the meetings flapping His healing wings.

As the Holy Spirit is meek, unassuming and does not take glory for
Himself but always exalts the Lord Jesus (Jn 16:13), so the person who
wants to see the gifts of healings manifest in their lives must be lowly,
meekful and unassuming.

Final Word

Most cases of healings in the New Testament were not instantaneous, but
rather, gradual. In the case of the healing of the ten lepers, the Scriptures
clearly state that they were healed (“cleansed”) as they went (Lk 17:12-19)
from Galilee to Jerusalem, a journey of two to three days.

Other evidence for this is found in Mark 16:18: “They will take up
serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;
they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” The term used “will
recover” in Greek is kalos exousin meaning get well—a process of
recuperation. So there are two kinds of healings: gradual and instantaneous.
Both are the sovereign and divine work of a kind, good and benevolent
God.

Once, as the Rev Reinhard Bonnke was conducting a Partners’

Meeting in Oslo, Norway, the Lord said to him, “Rebuke paralysis.” He
stopped in the middle of his message, shared with the partners the prophetic
word he had just received and rebuked paralysis. Unbeknownst to him,
there was a woman in the hall in a wheelchair. She later testified that as
soon as Brother Bonnke rebuked the paralysis, a power went through her
body. She then begun to feel “churning within” her day and night.

A week later she awoke to a sensation all over her limbs. She jumped
out of bed, crying for joy. Hearing her cries, her husband rushed to assist
her. On her knees she told him, “I am healed.” Both of them cried and gave
thanks to God. This miracle occurred gradually over a week.

Though the good God, our precious Lord Jesus, who in the days of
his sojourning on earth “went about doing good, healing all those who were
sick” has endowed us with the gifts of healings, we cannot simply go about
healing anyone at will. The ultimate prerogative to heal is in God’s Hands
Who knows the hearts and minds of all men (1 Cor 2:11).
 Let us consider as an example the healing of the man with an
infirmity recorded in John 5:2-9. There was a great multitude of sick people
by the pool of Bethesda (v.3). Yet the Lord Jesus went and healed only one
man and then merely walked away. When He was later questioned by the
religious leaders about the healing, He simply answered: “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” (Jn 5:19).

The Lord Jesus Himself humbly admits that He does not do anything
of His own will—independent of the Father God showing Him exactly what
to do. On another occasion, He said, “Do you not believe that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak
on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (Jn
14:10). The Lord shows here that He does not do anything of His own will
or by His own decision, except what the Father God reveals as His
expressed will.

I strongly and resolutely affirm that it is God’s absolute will to heal

the sick (Ex 15:26; Isa 53:5; 1 Pet 2:24). The Lord Jesus powerfully
demonstrated this during His earthly ministry. When He sent out His 12
disciples, He told them to heal the sick (Matt 10:8). Later, when He sent out
the 70—again, two-by-two—He told them to heal the sick (Lk 10:9). From
these examples and many others we can deduce that healing the sick is dear
to God. However, we must be directed by the Lord where to cast our net (Jn
21:6).

Let us earnestly desire the gifts of healings.

Chapter 7 - The Workings of
Miracles
[Gifts of Power]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10
10a to another the working of miracles

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10 (Greek)

10a To some-one else the Holy Spirit imparts supernatural miracle
power

The gift of the working of miracles is the third and final gift in the category
of power gifts. It is mentioned three times in the Bible (1 Cor 12:10,28-29).

Myths and Misconceptions

The English word “miracle” comes from the Latin word miraculum which
means to wonder at. It relates more to the magic of mythology. But the gift
of workings of miracles is not magic. Magic is the domain of psychics and
demonic forces.

The Meaning
As with the gifts of healings, this gift is more properly translated as
workings of miracles. The phrase “the workings of miracles” in Greek is
energemata dynameon which means operations of power; energizing of
powerful works. The gift of the workings of miracles is the supernatural
endowment imparted by God to work a miracle by which natural laws are
altered, suspended or controlled.

The word “miracles” in Acts 15:12 is the Greek word semeion,

which, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, translates as a sign,
mark, or token and is used of miracles and wonders as signs of divine
authority. Simply put, it is the supernatural intervention by God in the
ordinary course of nature. It encompasses all varieties of signs and wonders.

It is elsewhere referred to as the “powers of the age to come” (Heb

6:5) which in Greek is dynameis te mellontos aionos meaning deed of
power, miracle, wonder. This was the power which Adam originally
possessed before his fall. The Lord God entrusted into Adam’s hands
“dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the
cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the
earth” (Gen 1:26).

The gift of the workings of miracles manifests to produce mighty

signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Rom 15:18-
19; Heb 2:4). Through this gift, an extraordinary event is effected by God
through an individual that cannot be explained by natural forces. God is the
source of all power (Job 5:9; Ps 62:11; 86:10; 136:4). Out of His abundant
goodness and kindness, He shares these powers with His people through
this gift. The power that is released when this gift manifests has the same
intensity of creative force that was released when God first created the
universe.

The key characteristic of this gift is that the recipient works the
miracle in partnership with God. It’s the recipient of the power who
performs miracles (1 Cor 12:29). When this gift manifests, we do not need
to pray or hope for a miracle; rather, this gift compels us to work miracles
in demonstration of God’s glory.

Biblical Examples

The gift of the workings of miracles manifests in five ways.

1. Transcendence of Natural Laws

Through the manifestation of the workings of miracles, all natural laws are
suspended so that higher spiritual laws can be at work. It was the gift of
workings of miracles that manifested in the lives of these people:
 i. Joshua, when he commanded, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon” (Josh 10:12). The natural
laws of the setting and rising of the sun and moon were
suspended.

ii. Elisha, when he caused a sunken iron axe-head to rise up from

the Jordan River (2 Kg 6:5-7). The natural laws were overruled
and gravitational force had no power to keep the iron axe-head
at the bottom of the river bed.

The dividing of the Jordan River by the sweep of a mantle is another

example of the working of miracles in operation (2 Kg 2:14). After the
prophet Elijah ascended to heaven in a chariot in the whirlwind, the newly
anointed prophet Elisha picked up his mantle and smote the Jordan River.
Dividing the waters by a sweep of his mantle and causing the waters to flow
backwards was the gift of the workings of miracles in operation.

The gift of the workings of miracles was abundantly displayed in the

Old Testament.

2. Miraculous Provision

It was the workings of miracles when the widow’s

cruse of oil didn’t fail, but kept flowing out like a
fountain of oil until it filled up every vessel she had
borrowed, and still the cruse kept flowing with oil (2
Kg 4:1-7). In another similar incident, a jar of oil and
a handful of flour lasted many months for a
household (1 Kg 17:8-16).

3. Instantaneous Healing Miracles

Generally, the healings that take place through the manifestation of the gifts
of healings are not instantaneous. The gifts of healings instantly heal the
person of whatever sicknesses they may have been suffering from, but their
body takes time to regain its normal strength.

The dying woman in Bhutan described in the previous chapter is a

good example of this type of operation. When I was praying for her, she felt
the healing power flowing all over her and the shadow of death instantly
departed from her face. After many months of being bedridden, her eyes
instantly sparkled with life. But it took about two weeks for her body to
regain vitality and strength.

In contrast, when the gift of workings of miracles manifests, two

things are accomplished at once. The person is instantly healed of the
sickness and normal strength is supernaturally restored. A classic example
of this gift’s working is recorded in Acts 3:1-8.
 1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple
at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was
carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple
which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who
entered the temple;
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said,
“Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive
something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up,
and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the
temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising
God.

The man at the temple gate was lame from birth. The blood vessels in
his feet would have been all withered up; the muscles atrophied from
inactivity. The workings of miracles supernaturally imparted strength to his
ligaments, muscles, and bones, enabling him to walk and jump instantly.
Wherever the gift of workings of miracles manifests, it effects an
instantaneous miracle.

As the definition suggests, it energizes with strength, in an instant

bringing back to life all things that are dead. Every cell and fiber in the
human body are brought to life. It is this energizing power that recreates
those things that do not exist just as God created all things out of nothing
(Heb 11:3).

Once, A.A. Allen conducted a crusade in Pasadena, California. Some

people brought a woman on a stretcher who was dying of cancer. When
Allen pulled the sheet off her, the ministers on stage cringed their noses at
the foul odor coming from her body. She was covered all over with this
ugly cancer. The whole front of her body was a mass of puss, blood, and
cancer. From her abdomen right up to her chest, there were open wounds all
over.

As Allen prayed, the color and texture of the mass up by her chest
began to change to that of normal skin. It kept changing and changing and
moving down her whole body. The wounds closed. When the woman saw
what was happening to her, she jumped off the stretcher and yelled, “Thank
you Jesus, thank you Jesus.” She was instantly healed.

4. Creative Miracles

MATTHEW 15:30
30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with
them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others;
and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed
them.
 One of the marvelous manifestations of the gift of workings of
miracles is in the area of creative miracles. Just as God created all things by
the power of His spoken word, likewise, through this gift, we can work
creative miracles. Creative miracles include, but are not limited to forming
new eyes, new organs and the growing of limbs.

The Lord Jesus not only healed sicknesses and cast out demons, but
also created new organs for people during His earthly ministry. The word
“maimed,” in Matthew 15:30, in Greek is anaperos which means disabled
in limb; lost a limb or some part of the body.

About 30 years ago, I was asked to pray for a woman who had gone
through surgery. When I asked her what her problem was, trying to hide her
embarrassment, she simply said that she had stomach pain. I laid my hands
and began to pray. As I was praying, the gift of faith came upon me and
without realizing it I said: “Lord, I command this woman’s organ to be
recreated and made new.”

A month later, I received a thrilling testimony from this woman. She

actually had cancer in her uterus which required the removal of the organ.
Just a month before I had prayed for her, her uterus was surgically removed.
The day after I prayed for her, she went for her regular post-operative
check-up. After examining her and taking a few x-rays, the doctor who
removed her uterus exclaimed with great astonishment, “Where did you get
this new uterus from?” The woman herself was shocked. She then realized
that it was God who recreated her lost uterus.

There was a man of God in Sarawak, Malaysia called Agong Bangau

(1931-1992). One time he was conducting a prayer meeting at Bukit Tadai.
Pa Agong, as he was respectfully and affectionately called, instructed the
believers to bring certain materials and foodstuffs to the prayer meeting. He
then instructed them to place the materials together with a milk tin filled
with a small quantity of water at a certain spot on the prayer mountain.

Pa Agong then led the believers into a time of prayer. After a while,
he asked two believers to go and see if the milk tin had been filled. The two
excitedly reported that the milk tin was now filled to the brim with cooking
oil. A small quantity of water had been transformed into a much larger
quantity of oil. Pa Agong then declared that all the other materials had also
been miraculously transformed.

Upon investigation, the believers discovered that a biscuit tin with

just a little bit of water had been filled to the brim with water, a bottle with
a little bit of water had changed into oil to the brim and a milk tin full of
rice had changed into wheat flour weighing about 3kg. These creative
miracles demonstrated God’s power to provide for the villagers where flour
and oil were not easily available.
 The following remarkable creative miracle took place in an A. A.
Allen crusade held in Little Rock, Arkansas. A young man by the name of
G.E. Mullenax walked into the meeting. Doctors had removed three of his
ribs and one lung. He almost died during the operation. He was in bad
shape.

Allen called him out and prayed for him. Mullenax claimed an
instantaneous healing. A.A. Allen, R.W. Shambach and Mullenax felt the
place where the ribs had been removed. They could feel new ribs in his
body. Nine days later, Mullenax returned to the crusade with the doctor’s X-
rays and full medical reports. God recreated Mullenax’s three ribs and lung.

5. Raising the Dead

The raising of the dead is a creative miracle. There are several incidents of
the dead being raised in the Bible.

i. The prophet Elijah raised a young boy from the dead – 1 Kg 17:17-
23

ii. Similar incident by the prophet Elisha – 2 Kg 4:18-36

 iii. The Lord Jesus raised three people from the dead – Mk 5:35-42;
Lk 7:11-15; Jn 11:14-44

iv. The apostle Peter raised a woman from the dead – Acts 9:36-41

v. The apostle Paul raised a young man from the dead – Acts 20:7-12

Smith Wigglesworth once walked into the parlor of a funeral home

where the dead body of a man had lain for three days. He was on a mission
from God. He abruptly told the family to get out of the room. Then he
grabbed the man by the lapels and pulled him out of the casket! He propped
the body against the wall and commanded the corpse, “Live!”

When he released the man’s body, the stiffened corpse promptly fell to
the floor with a thud. Wigglesworth grabbed the lapels of the dead man’s
coat and propped the body against the wall once more. Again he shouted, “I
told you once, now I tell you again... live!” Again, the stiffened corpse fell
to the floor with the same thud it had made the first time

A third time Wigglesworth picked up the corpse and propped it against

the wall. He pointed his finger at the body and demanded: “I’ve told you
once, I’ve told you twice, but I shan’t tell you again after this third time.
Now, live!” Suddenly the man coughed, shook his head, wiped off his face
and walked out of that funeral home!

Such supernatural raising of the dead took place in Smith

Wigglesworth’s ministry 14 times. Some say it was even more. Archbishop
Benson Idahosa (1938-1998) of Nigeria is reported to have been used by
God in performing many astounding and mighty miracles, including healing
the blind, and raising up about 20 people from the dead at different times in
his ministry.

6. Special Demonstrations of Miracles

ACTS 19:11
1 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of
Paul,

Observe the phrase “unusual miracles.” That phrase is also translated as

extraordinary miracles; special miracles; not the ordinary kind known to
the apostles and completely different from the deeds of the Jewish exorcists,
but uncommon, extraordinary ones; powerful things, things quite out of the
ordinary.

From the above definition, we can deduce that the special miracles
that the Lord God worked through the apostles, chiefly through the apostle
Paul, were extraordinary par excellence. When a heavier anointing of this
gift begins to manifest, unusual miraculous healings will take place. Some
of these are:

a. Healings by Shadow

ACTS 5:15
15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and
laid them on beds and couches, that at least the
 shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of
them.

Miracles spontaneously took place wherever the apostle Peter’s shadow fell.
How can a person’s shadow heal? The Lord God who is the Sun of
Righteousness comes and stands beside us and covers us with the shadow of
His Hand. His Hands are the Wings of Healing (Ps 91:1,4; Isa 51:16; Mal
4:2). His wings produce the shadow (Ps 63:7).

The shadow that falls from our mortal body is the result of the
Presence of the Lord Jesus—the Sun of Righteousness standing beside us.
And the healings which result from the shadow occur as a result of the
anointing from God’s healing wings.

b. Miraculous Healings by Staring

NUMBERS 21:6-9
6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people,
and they bit the people; and many of the people of
Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We
have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and
against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the
serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent,
and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who
is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a
pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone,
when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

In 1984 I was invited to pray for a family living in Arumbakkam, Chennai.

The family had a three-year-old son. When I came into the house, for some
reason which remains unknown to me even till today, I stood by the
entrance for a few minutes. This boy, who was sitting on the bed, turned and
stared at me. A few minutes later, he ran crying towards his mother who
was in the kitchen preparing tea for me and my associates. A little later, the
boy’s mother came running into the living room exclaiming, ‘What did you
do to my son?’

Bewildered, I said, “Sister, I did nothing; I did not even touch your
son.” She then said with tears, “When my son was born, he was afflicted
with polio which affected his leg. As a result, one of his legs was very lean,
weak and slightly bent. He could not even walk properly. But now, the bent
leg is straightened and he ran towards me. This was something which he
was unable to do since birth. She asked again, “What did you do to him.”
Only then did it dawn on me that he must have been healed during the time
that he was staring at me.

The Scriptures further testify to the veracity of this kind of miracle.

2 KINGS 8:10-12
 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall
certainly recover.’ However the Lord has shown me
that he will really die.”
11 Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was
ashamed; and the man of God wept.
12 And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He
answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to
the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set
on fire, and their young men you will kill with the
sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open
their women with child.”

Here we read of the prophet Elisha seeing a vision while just staring
at Hazael. He was shown the future concerning the deeds of Hazael while
staring at his face.

Once, when Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929) visited Nagercoil,

Tamil Nadu, a miracle of a similar nature took place in his ministry, as
documented in his autobiography. A woman who was tormented by evil
spirits had been kept locked in a room for one whole year. All efforts to get
her cured or set free had proven futile. On a certain day in 1918 when
Sadhu Sundar Singh was walking down the street towards the meeting hall,
a huge excited crowd followed him. Hearing a loud noise coming from the
normally quiet street, the demon-possessed woman looked out her window
to see what the commotion was all about.
 As soon as she saw Sadhu Sundar Singh, affixing her gaze on him for
a moment, she exclaimed, “My helper has come to set me free!” In that
instant, when she stared at Sadhu Sundar Singh, she was totally delivered
from all the demons.

As of this writing, I now know for certain that when the serpent-
bitten Israelites saw the serpent on the brazen pole, they saw the crucified
Savior—Lord Jesus’ triumph destroying all the works of the devil (1 Jn
3:8). When the three-year-old boy saw me and when the demon-possessed
woman saw Sadhu Sundar Singh, they must have seen the Lord Jesus with
us and in us (Col 1:27). It was their gaze upon the Lord’s face that caused
them to receive their miracles.

c. Handkerchiefs | Aprons

ACTS 19:12
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought
from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them
and the evil spirits went out of them.

The anointing from the gift of workings of miracles can even be transmitted
through handkerchiefs, aprons and even letters in our present age.

Such was the miracle received by the woman with the menstrual
problem when she touched the garment of the Lord Jesus (Mk 5:25-34). She
did not touch the Lord’s body and neither did the Lord touched her with His
hand. It was just His garment which seemed to be a conduit to transmit the
miraculous power of God.

Once in 1986, a few believers from the Teesta village in the

Darjeeling hills came to see me for prayer while I was speaking at a
convention in Kalimpong. They asked me to lay hands and pray over a
handkerchief to be used on an invalid in their village.

Two years later, when I went to that village, a handsome young man
came to me and said, “Sadhuji do you remember me?” I apologized and
said, “No.” He then said, “Two years ago, I was afflicted with tuberculosis
in my backbone which made me unable to stand up straight. I was bent
over. My friends brought the handkerchief over which you had prayed and
placed it on my back. As soon as the handkerchief touched my body, I
instantly straightened up and was completely healed of bone tuberculosis.
How good our God is!

d. Dead raised by touching Elisha’s bones

2 KINGS 13:20-21
20 Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the
raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the
spring of the year.
21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that
suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the
 man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let
down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and
stood on his feet.

To understand this text fully we must know that the Israelites did not adopt
the burial method of the Egyptians—mummification. The Israelites wrapped
their dead in linen cloths and laid them in a tomb which was cut out of the
side of a mountain. (See Luke 23:53 which describes the Lord Jesus was
buried like that and John 11:44 which describes that Lazarus came out of
the grave bound in his burial clothes.) It would have taken several months
for the prophet Elisha’s body to decompose and only for the bones to
remain thereafter.

A few men carrying the dead body of a man intending to bury it were
startled by a band of Moabite raiders. In a panic, they dumped the body that
they were supposed to bury into the tomb of the prophet Elisha who had
been dead for several months. As soon as the dead body touched the bones
of the prophet Elisha, the man was resurrected. What an astounding and
unusual miracle! The power of God was still present in the dead prophet’s
bones months if not years after his death. The anointing—power of God,
can be inherent even in the bones (Jer 20:9).

7. Special Signs and Wonders

ACTS 5:12
12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs
and wonders were done among the people. And they
were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.

The Lord God abundantly demonstrated signs and wonders through the gift
of workings of miracles by the hands of the prophets and apostles
throughout Scripture (Deu 6:22; Neh 9:10; Acts 2:43; Heb 2:4).

The prophet Samuel called down thunder and rain in the summer (1
Sam 12:17- 18). The prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven (1 Kg
18:36-38; 2 Kg 1:10,12). The apostle Peter pronounced God’s judgment of
death upon Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10). The apostle Paul
commanded blindness upon Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:8-11).

One night during A.A. Allen’s crusade in Knoxville, Tennessee, a

strange sign and wonder happened. A 6-year old boy by the name of Lavin
Burcham experienced oil manifesting on his hands. Later, at a crusade in
Oakland, California, a woman experienced oil pouring off of her. She would
hold out her hands and the oil would just ooze out of her pores. It would fill
her shoes. It was absolutely amazing. This is a wonder. Didn’t the Lord
Jesus say that signs and wonders will accompany the preaching of the
Word? (Mk 16:17).

Such demonstrations of signs and wonders by the workings of

miracles are not for personal gain but for the glory of God (1 Sam 12:18;
Acts 5:11; 13:12).

Looking unto Jesus

This gift manifested abundantly in the life of the Lord Jesus during His
earthly ministry. The Jews at Nazareth wondered concerning the Lord Jesus:
“Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (Matt
13:54). The word “mighty works” in Greek is dunamis which means
miraculous powers.

The apostle Peter also testified of the Lord Jesus’ gift of the workings
of miracles: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man
attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did
through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22). The
Lord God put His seal of approval on the Lord Jesus’ ministry by signs,
wonders, and miracles.

In fact, the Lord Jesus began His ministry with a miracle. It was the
gift of workings of miracles that enabled the Lord Jesus to work the miracle
of turning colorless, tasteless water into sweet-tasting purple wine (Jn 2:1-
10).

1. Transcendence of Natural Laws

It was the gift of faith and the workings of miracles that enabled the Lord
Jesus to walk on water. If the gift of faith had been absent, doubts would
have assailed the mind of the Lord Jesus and caused him to sink as the
apostle Peter did (Matt 14:25-32).
2. Miraculous Provision

The Lord Jesus provided the disciples with a net full of fish when they let
down their net at the Lord’s instruction (Jn 21:6-8,11).

The Lord Jesus fed about 20,000 people with just one little boy’s
lunch of five loaves and two fishes. The disciples even gathered up twelve
basketfuls of left-overs when the people had finished eating (Matt 14:17-21;
Mk 6:38-44; Lk 9:13-17; Jn 6:5-14).

3. Instantaneous Healing Miracles

Most of the healings which the Lord Jesus worked were instantaneous (Matt
9:2; Mk 1:40-42; 2:3-12; Lk 11:14). An instantaneous healing is a miracle.
Among the many instantaneous healing miracles which the Lord Jesus did
are:

i. Healing a man with a paralyzed hand – Matt 12:10-13

ii. Healing a deaf mute – Mk 7:3135

iii. Healing a blind man by the Pool of Bethesda – Mk 8:22-25

 iv. Healing a crippled and bent-over woman – Lk 13:11-13

v. Healing a man born blind – Jn 9:1-7

4. Creative Miracles

The Lord Jesus worked many creative miracles by creating new organs and
recreating maimed, deformed and defective limbs (Matt 15:30-31; Jn 9:1-
7).

The reattachment of the ear of Malchus, the servant of the High

Priest, was an act demonstrating Christ Jesus’ great love and compassion.
Malchus was one of those who had come to arrest the Lord at the Garden of
Gethsemane. In a fit of anger, the apostle Peter cut off Malchus’ right ear.
The Lord took the ear in His Hands and reattached it back as if it had never
been cut off (Lk 22:50-51).

The feeding of multitudes through multiplication of food (Matt

15:32-38; Mk 6:34-44) and supernatural provision for a wedding feast by
turning water into wine (Jn 2:1-10) are also creative wonders.

5. Special Signs and Wonders

Examples of special and unique wonders worked by the Lord Jesus are the
withering of the fig tree (Mk 11:12-14), the stilling of winds and seas (Matt
8:24-27) and the bountiful catch of fish at the start and end of His ministry
(Lk 5:4-6; Jn 21:6).

Mechanics of Operations

It needs to be impressed upon the mind of the reader that this gift is not the
gift of miracles but the workings of miracles. What is the difference? Let us
consider the incident when the Lord Jesus was peacefully sleeping in a boat
during a heavy thunderstorm.

LUKE 8:22-25
22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into
a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us
cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they
launched out.
23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm
came down on the lake, and they were filling with
water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying,
“Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose
and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And
they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And
they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another,
“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds
and water, and they obey Him!”
 When the disciples woke the Lord Jesus, He got up and with
authority rebuked the wind and the raging sea (v.24). If it was the gift of
miracles at work, then the Lord Jesus would have prayed earnestly to the
Father God to protect them from drowning. But it was not. Rather, the Lord
Jesus, endowed with the gift of the workings of miracles, worked a miracle
by rebuking the forces of nature.

The other gifts such as a word of knowledge, the discernings of

spirits, faith, and healings work together with the gift of workings of
miracles.

Let us consider the following biblical example:

2 KINGS 2:19-22
19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please
notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord
sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”
20 And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in
it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and
cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I
have healed this water; from it there shall be no more
death or barrenness.’”
22 So the water remains healed to this day, according
to the word of Elisha which he spoke.
 It was brought to the prophet Elisha’s notice that the water in Jericho
was bad. He asked for a bowl, put salt in it and cast it into the spring from
which the water came (v.20-21). The waters were healed. The gift of a word
of wisdom brought an understanding into Elisha’s mind giving him a
knowledge regarding what to do.

The gift of faith usually also works in unison with the gift of the
workings of miracles. The gift of faith gives us a rock-solid boldness to
believe for the impossible to happen which then gives impetus to the gift of
the workings of miracles to work the impossible – to command the things
that do not exist as if they did!

A classic example for this is recorded in Acts 3:1-8.

1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple

at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was
carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple
which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who
entered the temple;
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said,
“Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive
something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up,
and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the
temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising
God.

The “impossible” in this incident is the restoration of the legs of a

man who was born lame (v.2). When the apostle Peter gazed upon the man,
the gift of faith came upon him and gave him absolute boldness. That faith
compelled the apostle Peter not to pray, but to command with boldness,
“rise up and walk” (v.6). But it did not stop there. The workings of miracles
then moved the apostle Peter to lift up the man by his hand. The gift of
faith, coupled together with the workings of miracles, caused the power of
God to instantly shoot through—to energize—his bones, enabling him to
walk and leap (v.7-8).

When the gift of faith works together with the gift of workings of
miracles, it enables us to believe even to the extent of overruling others’
unbelief. This is usually what happens when raising the dead. When the
Lord Jesus appeared before Lazarus’ tomb, He was surrounded by a mob of
doubters (Jn 11:21,24,32,37,39-40). The gift of faith rested upon the Lord
Jesus to enable Him to overrule the doubters’ unbelief.

Even as I write this, the blessed Holy Spirit graced me to see a vision.
In the scene before me, I see the Lord Jesus as He stood a little ways from
the tomb of Lazarus. There were lots of bystanders and mourners all around
the area. Unbelief was as thick as a fog. Even Martha and Mary did not
have faith (Jn 11:21,32). The Lord Jesus closed His eyes and prayed
intently. Then, when He lifted up His face to look at the Father God, the gift
of faith came upon Him, drowning out the voice of every doubter. The gift
of faith enabled Him to leap over the boundary between unbelief and faith.
Through the gift of workings of miracles, He then commanded the dead
man, who obviously did not have any faith either, to rise to life.

The gift of faith together with the workings of miracles transcends

even the doubt of unbelievers to work miracles (e.g. Lk 7:11-15). I
remember one such miracle which took place at an evangelistic meeting we
conducted at Gangtok, Sikkim. On the last day of the meeting, I gave the
invitation for those who needed healing to come forward. Many came
forward and among them was an elderly Hindu woman who was practically
forced to go forward by her Christian friends. Most of the people were slain
in the Spirit as I laid my hands upon them. After the prayers, many came to
the stage to give testimonies.

This Hindu woman came forward and testified, “I was actually very
reluctant to come to this Christian meeting. I did not even believe in this
Jesus which Sadhuji was speaking about. I had been suffering for many
years with pain in my knees. When Sadhuji called all those who needed
healing to come forward, I did not believe that anything would happen.
Reluctantly, I came forward. But when Sadhuji laid his hands on my head, a
power shot through me and every pain in my knees disappeared! I now
believe in the Lord Jesus.”

Casting Out Demons

There is an affinity between the gifts of the workings of miracles and the
casting out of evil spirits. In almost every instance where demons were cast
out, God’s dunamis power of the workings of miracles was involved. For
example:

MARK 9:38-39
38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw
someone who does not follow us casting out demons in
Your name, and we forbade him because he does not
follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who
works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak
evil of Me.

The Lord Jesus, in this incident, equated casting out demons to the
workings of miracles. Another similar incident is found in Philip’s ministry
in Samaria:

ACTS 8:5-13
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and
preached Christ to them.
 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the
things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came
out of many who were possessed; and many who were
paralyzed and lame were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who
previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished
the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone
great,
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the
greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of
God.”
11 And they heeded him because he had astonished
them with his sorceries for a long time.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the
things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he
was baptized he continued with Philip, and was
amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were
done.

The phrase “seeing the miracles and signs” (v.13) is best translated
from the Greek as seeing the signs and great miracles. The great miracles
which Simon the sorcerer saw were not only healings of the lame and
paralyzed, but also evil spirits screaming and crying out as they come out of
many.
 Still another example of the connection between miracles and casting
out demons is found in the life of the apostle Paul.

ACTS 19:11-12
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of
Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought
from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them
and the evil spirits went out of them.

Therefore, from these three scriptural examples we can establish the

fact that when evil spirits are cast out, miraculous signs and wonders are at
play.

Modern Technology

The power of God is not limited in time and space. He is a God who is far
and near. Awesome creative miracles even manifest through the modern
medium of radio and television broadcasts and even through the Internet.

A man was once driving down a highway and he tuned his car radio
to listen to the Allen (A. A. Allen) Radio Hour. As he listen to Brother Allen
(1911-1970) preach, he was very moved in his heart. He pulled the car over,
laying his hands on the radio, prayed together with Brother Allen, asking
God to put all his body parts back together. This man had his right lung,
three ribs and a part of his sternum surgically removed. He even lost a toe
on his left foot. As he prayed with faith, listening to Brother A.A. Allen’s
radio broadcast, the power of God manifested. The man’s toe grew instantly
and his right lung, three ribs, and sternum were all recreated and restored.

About 15 years ago, an orthodox Hindu woman from South Tamil

Nadu wrote me testifying of a most remarkable miracle through our
television broadcast. She grew up in a very orthodox Hindu home and
village where none of them had even heard of the name Jesus, let alone seen
a Bible or known what a “church” is. She got married and had been
childless for eight years. All manner of medical treatment proved futile.
None of the Hindu gods were able to help the couple.

One Sunday, after visiting yet another fertility specialist, her husband
announced to her that he wanted to annul their marriage since she was
incapable of bearing a child and told her to go back to her maternal home.
Upon saying this, he left the house. This young woman was crushed and
dejected. Not knowing what to do, she sat on the sofa and began to sob
heavily. From morning to evening she sat on the sofa, tears streaming down
her face, unable to do anything but cry.

At about 7:30 PM, she had a fleeting thought to turn on the

television. She brushed the thought away as she was in no mood for
entertainment. Then, at 7:45 PM, again the thought came to her to turn on
the TV. Again, she ignored it. Then again, at 8:05 PM, it came, but this time
stronger—as if commanding her to turn on the TV. Not wanting to resist
any longer, she turned on the TV only to see some usual boring soap-opera.
She took the remote control in her hand and started flipping channels. As
she came upon the channel where our evangelistic program, Healing Love,
was playing on the air, she was captivated as she looked at me.

She listened to the message which was comforting and soothing to

her broken heart. She later testified that during the time of prayer it seemed
as though I looked directly at her as I prayed, “Lord, there is a dear woman
who is watching this program right now and she has been childless for eight
years. Please bless her and lay your hands upon her womb right now.” At
that moment she felt a power like lightning hit her womb. She was shocked
at what had just happened. Later, when her husband returned home, she
recounted to him the whole story.

They decided to wait a week and then went to see the same fertility
specialist. Upon reexamining the woman, the doctor was shocked to find
that her defective womb and fallopian tubes had been made new and she
was pregnant. As a result of this miracle, the woman accepted the Lord
Jesus as her Savior.

Keys to Cultivation
Why does God impart this gift to a person? Miracles, as we see from the
lives of many Bible prophets, are given as credentials. When God called the
prophet Moses to work for Him, Moses resisted, fearing that even the
Israelites, let along Pharaoh, would not believe him. So God gave him some
signs as proof that he had been divinely sent:

EXODUS 4:1-9
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they
will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they
say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’”
2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your
hand?” He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it
on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses
fled from it.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand
and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand
and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),
5 “that they may believe that the Lord God of their
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your
hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his
bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was
leprous, like snow.
7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.”
So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out
of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other
flesh.
8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed
the message of the first sign, that they may believe the
message of the latter sign.
 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two
signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water
from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water
which you take from the river will become blood on
the dry land.”

The Holy God gives this gift so that His power may be demonstrated
for His glory for all to see and believe on the Lord God Jehovah.

The Lord Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes
in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he
will do, because I go to My Father” (Jn 14:12). What a statement! What
unselfish love in not only wanting to share His power with man but even
willing to allow man to be endowed with God’s “exceeding greatness of
power” (2 Cor 4:7, AMP).

How then can we cultivate, sharpen, and fine-tune this gift of

workings of miracles that we may progress from one degree to the next in
its manifestation?

1. Believe

MARK 16:16-17
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In
My name they will cast out demons; they will speak
 with new tongues;

This is the most important ingredient. We need to believe beyond any

shadow of doubt that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever” (Heb 13:8). We need to believe with all our heart that He still
works miracles today to confirm His word with signs and wonders (Mk
16:20). Even before raising the 12-year-old girl, the Lord Jesus asked Jairus
to only believe (Mk 6:36). This was also the secret that enabled Smith
Wigglesworth to move powerfully in miracles.

2. Be Sensitive to the Holy Spirit

In all the miracles which the Lord Jesus worked, the principle which He
consistently observed was, “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”
(Jn 5:19).

At the wedding at Cana, wine was in short supply, and at the pool of
Bethesda, there were lots of people needing healing miracles. Yet the Lord
Jesus was not moved by the flesh simply to do what others expected of
Him. Instead, He was always sensitive and attentive to what the Father God
would have Him do (cp. Jn 2:1-10).

3. Pray for the Gift of Faith

Since the gift of faith works in unison with the gift of workings of miracles,
we must also earnestly pray for the manifestation of the gift of faith in our
life. The power of God comes through faith (1 Pet 1:5), and faith produces
boldness to work miracles (Acts 4:24-31,33).

4. Walk in Love

After saying that those who believed on the Lord Jesus would do greater
miracles than Him, He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn
14:15). What is His commandment? “A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one
another” (Jn 13:34).

Faith works only by love (Gal 5:6). Therefore, when we walk in love,
faith is activated, which then pulls down the gift of workings of miracles to
work alongside it.

5. Be Full of the Word

JOSHUA 1:8
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your
mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that
you may observe to do according to all that is written
in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have good success.
Meditate on the Word of God day and night (Ps 1:2-3). Be disciplined in the
study of it (2 Tim 2:15). There is power in the Word of God (Heb 1:3).

6. Compassion

MARK 6:34
34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great
multitude and was moved with compassion for them,
because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.
So He began to teach them many things.

It was compassion which moved the Lord Jesus to work the miracle of
multiplying the five loaves and two fishes to feed about 20,000 people (Mk
6:37-44). Compassion will draw out the gift of workings of miracles when
it is needed.

7. Prayer life

LUKE 5:16-17
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness
and prayed.
17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was
teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the
law sitting by, who had come out of every town of
Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the
Lord was present to heal them.
The most important key to moving in and progress in the anointing of the
power gifts is prayer. This was the secret to the Lord Jesus’ success in
moving in the power gifts (cp. Matt 14:23, 25). He also said, “Believe Me
that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake
of the works themselves” (Jn 14:11).

The presence of the Lord Jesus came to abide in us when we were

born again. When we come before God in prayer, we are coming before the
indwelling and abiding presence of God in our lives. As we worship
Almighty God for all His wonderful works and as we wait on Him, we
become fused in oneness with Him. We can then draw from the exceeding
greatness of His power to work the works of God.

Let us also consider the following Scripture from Hosea 12:3: “He
took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled
with God.” In whose strength did Jacob struggled with God? How can a
mortal man wrestle or struggle with God? Humanly speaking, it is
impossible! How did Jacob do it then? The answer is found in Ephesians
6:10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.”

How did Jacob became strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might? When he lay down to sleep in the very place where his grandfather
Abraham had built God an altar (Gen 12:8; 28:11). This strengthening
comes by being with the Lord Jesus – by abiding in His presence through
prayer and through the study of the Word of God.

Let us learn to abide always with God in Christ Jesus, so that we may
be endowed with the gift of workings of miracles in order that we may, with
great power, give witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts
4:13,31,33).

According to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, the Greek

word for “miracles” in 1 Corinthians 12:10 is dunamis, and can also be
translated acts of powers. In other words, the working of miracles could
also be called the working of acts of powers.

According to the Greek concordance, the Greek word also means,

explosions of almightiness or impelling, staggering wonders or
astonishments. In other words, the Greek could read, “To another the
working of impelling, staggering wonders or astonishments, or the
outworkings of explosions of almightiness and acts of powers.” Therefore,
the working of miracles is used to display God’s power and magnificence.

A Word from the Lord

One morning in April 2016 I was reading the Scriptures found in Matthew
8:23-27.
 MATTHEW 8:23-27
23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples
followed Him.
24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so
that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was
asleep.
25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him,
saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you
of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds
and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be,
that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

We read in verse 25 that the disciples woke the Lord Jesus who was
fast asleep. It baffled me each time I read this passage how could anyone
sleep through a raging storm. Then, in a vision, I saw the Lord Jesus:
though His body was physically sleeping, yet He was also with the Father at
the same time in the Spirit (Jn 3:13; Ps 113:6). The Lord was seated beside
the Father and laid His head on the Father’s lap being one with the Father.

At that moment, the apostle Peter woke the Lord up. The Lord then
got up from the lap of the Father to go. At this moment a strange thing took
place. The Lord turned to me and said, “Will you come with Me?” At the
saying of the Lord, my soul was caught up and went with the Lord. I stood
at a distance on the sea and saw the scene played out before me.
 The waters rose very high and threatened to drown them all. The
Lord, holding on to a pole on the boat, rebuked the wind that was causing
the raging waves. At the rebuke of the Lord, the tempest went away in
another direction.

The Lord Jesus then looked at me and said, “You can do this too. You
need to trust Me and let go of all your fears, unbelief and doubt. The works
that I do you can do also. This generation will do greater works. I will come
like a Mighty Wind to empower them. The miracles you read in the Bible
will pale in comparison to the greater works this last days generation will
do. As the horns protrude from the head of the Lamb, so do these powers—
seven-fold, come forth from Me.”

One afternoon during a ministry trip to Sikkim in February 2015, I

was reading a book, Only Believe. I saw the similitude of the Lord Jesus
come to me and say, “The miracles that will be done in the last days have
no parallel in church history.”

The Lord continued saying, “Have you heard of children removing

crutches from cripples after they were healed?” As I stared in wonderment,
the Holy Spirit showed me a vision: I saw a toddler laying hands on a
crippled person and healing them. I saw a girl, about 10-12 years old,
parting a river. Furthermore, I saw a group of children, about 10-15 years
old, singing “Hallelujah” and walking on water to cross a river.
 Wow! I gasped in wonderment. The awesome power of God that is
going to manifest through the last days’ remnant no eye on earth or in
heaven has seen!

“One miracle from heaven is worth one thousand sermons!!”

- E.W. Kenyon
Chapter 8 - Prophecy
[Gifts of Communication]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10
10 to another prophecy

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10 (Greek - Literal)

10 To another the Holy Spirit anoints with the ability to prophesy

The gift of prophecy belongs to the categoray of the Gifts of

Communication—Inspired Utterances. The other two gifts are: diverse
kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. The Gifts of
Communication can also be called the mouth of God, because they
supernaturally say something.

The gift of prophecy is the first and most important gift in this
category. It is because it takes the other two inspirational gifts—divers
kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues, to equal this one gift.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:5
5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied;
for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless
indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
 This Scripture clearly states that to speak with tongues and to
interpret the tongues is equivalent to prophecy. Therefore, prophecy is
really the most important of these three gifts of inspired utterance in that it
does not require another gift to complete it.

One of the by-products or signs of the Spirit-filled life is the ability to

prophesy.

Is the gift of prophecy really one of the basic manifestations of the

Spirit-filled life? Let us examine the Bible to verify this assertion.

i. NUMBERS 11:25-26
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke
to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and
placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it
happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they
prophesied, although they never did so again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name
of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad.
And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among
those listed, but who had not gone out to the
tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp.

ii. 1 SAMUEL 10:6, 10

6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and
you will prophesy with them and be turned into
another man.
10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group
of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came
upon him, and he prophesied among them.
 iii. 1 SAMUEL 19:20
20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And
when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and
Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God
came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also
prophesied.

iv. LUKE 1:67

67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy
Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

v. ACTS 19:6
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy
Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues
and prophesied.

From these Scriptures, we can establish that all believers who are
filled with the Holy Spirit can prophesy (1 Cor 14:24,31). Yes, this is
absolutely possible! Not only that, in fact, the Scriptures even encourage all
to eagerly desire the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:1).

Myths and Misconceptions

1. The gift of prophecy is not the ability to preach eloquently. It takes time
to prepare a message for preaching but prophesying requires no
preparation (1 Tim 5:17). We can be inspired and anointed by the
Holy Spirit while preaching but the utterances are not supernatural as
they are when prophesying.
2. It is not just inspired preaching, as mentioned here: “Preach the word!
Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with
all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim 4:2).

3. It is not astrology or fortune-telling or foretelling the future.

4. It is not for guidance like seeking witch-doctors or soothsayers or

diviners.

The Meaning

The word “to prophesy” in the Hebrew is naba. This word appears in all
periods of the Hebrew language. It is found about 115 times in the biblical
Hebrew text. “To prophesy” means much more than the prediction of future
events. The word naba is derived from an Arabic root, naba’a which means
to announce signifying the speaking forth of God’s word to the people.

This concept is also found in the Greek of the New Testament. The
word “prophecy” in Greek is propheteia which signifies the speaking forth
of the mind and counsel of God (pro: “forth” and phemi: “to speak”). The
related Greek word, propheteuo means the telling forth of divine counsels;
to speak under inspiration.
 The gift of prophecy can be defined as the inspired utterance in a
known language. Under such inspiration, all the thoughts and words do not
originate from within the believer but flow directly from God. The
inspiration that comes from this gift bestows enlightment from God upon
the believer (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pe 1:21).

The simple gift of prophecy does not contain any revelation. It

manifests to edify, exhort and comfort (1 Cor 14:3). A good example of this
can be found in the following passage:

2 CHRONICLES 15:1-7
1 Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of
Oded.
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear
me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with
you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will
be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will
forsake you.
3 For a long time Israel has been without the true
God, without a teaching priest, and without law;
4 but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord
God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.
5 And in those times there was no peace to the one
who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great
turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.
6 So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city,
for God troubled them with every adversity.
7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be
weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
 Here, in this passage, the prophet Azariah’s message was simple
prophecy—comfort and encouragement to a discouraged king. The king
was also exhorted to be strong.

Mary, the earthly mother of the Lord Jesus, experienced this when
she extolled God inspired by this gift (Lk 1:39-55). It was also inspiration
from this gift that inspired David to sing prophetic songs unto God.

The simple gift of prophecy should not be confused with the

prophetic office or with prophetic utterance that may come forth in the
prophet’s ministry. The simple gift of prophecy does not consist of any
revelation. The simple gift of prophecy is given for edification, exhortation,
and comfort (1 Cor 14:3). The prophet, however, may foretell a revelation
through the vehicle of prophecy.

The difference between prophecy in the Old Testament and prophecy

in the New Testament is that in the Old Testament, prophecy was essentially
foretelling, whereas in the New Testament it is more forth telling.

The distinction between prophecy that contains revelation and the

simple gift of prophecy can clearly be seen in the following Scripture: “But
now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit
you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by
prophesying, or by teaching?” (1 Cor 14:6). If the gift of prophecy always
contained revelation, why would the apostle Paul differentiate between
revelation and prophecy?

Broadly speaking, the manifestations of a word of wisdom and a

word of knowledge could be classified as prophetic utterance. But they are
not prophecy per-se in the strictest sense of the definition. The reason for
this confusion is that certain biblical terms are interchangeable and they can
be used in a specific or general way.

In its specific definition, the gift of prophecy includes prophecy, and

nothing else. When used more broadly, it includes the gifts of a word of
wisdom, a word of knowledge, prophecy, different kinds of tongues and
interpretation of tongues. A classic example of this can be found in the
prophecy uttered by Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.

LUKE 1:67-79
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy
Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has
visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the
house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and
to remember His holy covenant,
 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand
of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the
days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the
Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to
prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the
remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God, with which
the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.”

The eminent Bible scholar, Dr Derek Prince (1915-2003), beautifully

illustrated how the gift of a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge may
work in combination with the gift of prophecy in the following way:

You can pour pure coffee into a cup and call it a cup of coffee. That’s
exactly what it is. You can also add cream and sugar to it and it is still
called coffee. In the same way, the gift of prophecy may manifest alone or
in combination with the gifts of a word of wisdom and a word of
knowledge, yet it is still broadly called “prophecy”.

Gift of Prophecy & Office of the Prophet

It must be emphasized here that the gift of prophecy is different from the
ministry of a prophet. All Spirit-filled believers can prophesy, but that does
not make them prophets. The ministry gift – office of a prophet, which
includes the gifts of prophecy, a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge and
discernings of spirits – is so much different than the simple gift of prophecy
to edify, exhort and comfort.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:29-30: “Let two or three prophets

speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who
sits by, let the first keep silent.” Here, Paul is talking about revelation.
Please observe the phrase, “if anything is revealed.” This clearly shows that
a believer who is called to the office of a prophet would have other
revelation gifts operating in his ministry, as well as the gift of prophecy.

The gifts of revelation: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge and

the discernings of spirit together with the gift of prophecy manifest
prominently and consistently in the life of a prophet. Whereas the simple
gift of prophecy which edifies, exhorts and comforts, is for all believers to
earnestly desire.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:1,3-5,39
1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially
that you may prophesy.
3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and
exhortation and comfort to men.
 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he
who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that
you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than
he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he
interprets, that the church may receive edification.
39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy,
and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

Every believer can prophesy, but that does not make them a prophet.
When believers prophesy, operating in the simple gift of prophecy, it
edifies the whole church and does not contain any prediction (1 Cor 14:4).
But when a prophet prophesies, his prophecies carry a greater anointing of
prediction and revelation.

Women & Prophecy

Can women have the gift of prophecy or are they excluded from it? The
Bible is full of examples of women who prophesied and even women who
were prophetesses. Let us consider a few examples.

1. Miriam, the older sister of Moses (Num 26:59), was a prophetess –

Ex 15:20; Num 12:2

2. Deborah was a prophetess and also a judge of Israel – Judg 4:4

 3. Huldah was a prophetess inquired of by the messengers of the king

himself – 2 Kg 22:14; 2 Chr 34:22

4. The Prophet Isaiah’s wife was a prophetess – Isa 8:3

5. Anna was a New Testament prophetess – Lk 2:36

6. Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother, prophesied when she was

filled with the Holy Spirit – Lk 1:41-45

7. Mary, the earthly mother of the Lord Jesus, being filled with the

Holy Spirit prophesied – Lk 1:46-55

8. Philip’s four daughters prophesied – Acts 21:8-9

Women, indeed, do have a place in prophetic ministry and also can

operate in the office of the prophet in these last days. Let us consider the
following Scripture:

JOEL 2:28-29
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will
pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream
dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
 29 And also on My menservants and on My
maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Two kinds of women are mentioned in this passage: daughters and

maidservants. This means that women of all classes are included in
prophesying! We can note that among the 120 disciples who were praying
for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus
was present, along with some other women (Acts 1:14). Acts 2:1-4 record
that they were all filled in the Holy Spirit and all of them—including the
women—prophesied according to the promise of Joel 2:28-29 quoted by the
apostle Peter later in the same chapter of Acts.

Consider the four virgin daughters of the evangelist Philip who

prophesied (Acts 21:8-9). The Bible calls them virgins. In the Eastern
culture of the first century, girls would typically marry around the age of 15.
The average age when a girl attains puberty is about 11-12. So it is
interesting that Philip’s daughters were just teenagers when they began to
prophesy—an exact fulfilment of Joel 2:28.

Furthermore, women in the first century church, especially in the

Corinthian church, were regularly prophesying, so much so, that the apostle
Paul had to counsel them to cover their head when prophesying (1 Cor
11:5).

Streams of Manifestation
The gift of prophecy manifests in two streams.

1. Proclaiming

In the Old Testament, prophecy was purely predictive. This is not so in the
New Testament because the Holy Spirit has been poured out on everyone. It
is written, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of
God” (Rom 8.14). When we live as children of God connected to our
heavenly Father, we can proclaim or declare the will of God (having been
taught by God), whether with reference to the past, the present or the future
(cp. Deu 18:18; Rev 10:11; 11:13).

Such prophecy may relate to various situations of people within the

church. It may contain references to the past, present or future. For
example, a prophecy may state: “God’s grace and mercy will keep you in
the days ahead.” This is not predictive. It is more of a confirmation. I do not
deny the office of the prophet in the New Testament nor in these last days. I
absolutely believe in the existence of the office of the prophet in the Church
today. However, in this study, we are looking at the technical aspects of the
gift of prophecy while not negating the office of the prophet.

In proclaiming the will of God concerning the present situation of

people gathered in a church, the gift of prophecy would make evident that
the secrets of men’s hearts are known to God. It would expose them and
reprove them, causing the hearer to fall down in repentance, acknowledging
the presence of God in your midst (1 Cor 14:23-25).

2. Edify, Exhort and Comfort

1 CORINTHIANS 14:3
3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and
exhortation and comfort to men.

This Scripture in Greek is oikodomen kai paraklesin kai paramuthian which

means building up, encouragement and consolation; strengthening,
encouragement and comfort. The gift of prophecy manifests to build up and
strengthen the people, exhorts and encourages them in their works and
brings consolation and comfort to their broken hearts.

Let us now examine in detail these three tributaries of this stream of

the manifestation of the prophetic.

i. Edification

The word “edify” in Greek is oikodome which means the act of building
(oikos, ‘a home’, and dome ‘to build’) – edification, the promotion of
spiritual growth. It also means to erect, to strengthen, to build up.
 A house is built by gathering various materials and assembling them
according to an architectural blueprint. The Bible clearly says, “For we
know in part and we prophesy in part” (1 Cor 13:9). Likewise, prophecies
come in small parts, much like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Just as the pieces
of a jigsaw puzzle, when finally put together, reveal a beautiful picture that
may thrill our heart, likewise, when we receive prophecy after prophecy, the
total picture that emerges edifies us. It will not condemn or tear down but
build up.

Consider the following incident from the aApostle Paul’s life. The
apostle had been impressed in his spirit that imprisonment was awaiting
him in Jerusalem, but did not know much else about what would happen
(Acts 20:22-23). He had a general picture of what was to come, but did not
know any of the details. While he was fellowshipping with Philip, the
prophet Agabus came and acted out a prophecy detailing how the apostle
Paul would be imprisoned in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11).

The prophecy confirmed to the apostle Paul that which he already

knew. Prophecy builds up our confidence and prepares us to meet coming
challenges.

ii. Exhortation
The word, “exhort” in Greek is paraklesis which means a calling to one’s
side; the act of exhortation, admonition or encouragement. The Greek also
conveys the meaning, a calling nearer to God or an invitation. Almost the
entire Bible is actually an exhortation, admonition and encouragement for
the purpose of strengthening and establishing the believer in the faith (Rom
15:4; Heb 12:5; 13:22).

Sometimes, in obeying the call of God on our life, we may find

ourselves walking along a lonely path. Like the prophet Elijah, we too may
think that we are the only one left and still plodding along (1 Kg 19:10).

About 20 years ago, I was invited to preach at a charismatic church.

As I was ministering to the people, the Holy Spirit showed me a vision. I
saw the heavens open and I looked into heaven. I saw the whole place
shining brightly with the glory of God. I saw the Lord Jesus dressed in a
beautiful glistening white robe and flanked by many angels on His left and
right. The Lord then came before a closed door made of a concrete slab. As
soon as the Lord Jesus stood before the door, it opened by itself (Acts
12:10).

From within the room behind the door, a hand holding a beautiful
crown emerged. The Lord Jesus took the crown and gave it to the pastor of
that church, saying, “This crown is for you if you will run the race
faithfully.” I related this whole vision to the pastor before the whole
congregation. With tears streaming down his eyes, the pastor testified that
the word was a great encouragement and confirmation to him. The gift of
prophecy will give us encouragement that God is in total control of our
destiny.

iii. Comfort

The word “comfort” in Greek is paramuthia which means a speaking

closely to anyone (para, ‘near’, muthos ‘speech’) thus it denotes a
consolation and comfort expressed in a great degree of tenderness by word
of mouth.

Sometimes, we miss God’s perfect will for our life or we go astray

from the call of God or we just backslide and live in guilt and
condemnation.

In 1988 while I was conducting an evangelistic meeting at Rangpo,

Sikkim, a man came to see me for prayer. As soon as he saw me, he sobbed
in my arms like a little boy for 20 minutes. When he composed himself, he
related to me his life, his call, and how he had deliberately disobeyed God.
Guilt and condemnation had been his companions for the past 10 years.
With hopelessness and sorrow in his eyes, he asked me, “Is there hope for
me? Will God forgive me?”
 I hugged that man and prayed for him with much compassion
beseeching God’s abundant mercy. The word of the Lord then came to me,
“Tell him that I have not forgotten how much he had loved and served Me.”
That one sentence greatly comforted and healed his broken heart. That word
of prophecy also encouraged him to continue from where he had previously
missed the mark.

How does the gift of prophecy produce edification, exhortation and

comfort? As I’m writing this, I see in a vision the blessed Holy Spirit appear
like a beautiful dove hovering over a person. When the gift of prophecy is
manifested, the Holy Spirit flaps His wings very gently and soothingly over
the hearer. The receiver feels the encouragement, edification, exhortation
and comfort flow down all over him like a healing balm—like the healing
balm of Gilead.

A classic example of the manifestation of the simple gift of prophecy

to edify, exhort and comfort can be found in the following scriptural
passage:

2 CHRONICLES 15:1-7
1 Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of
Oded.
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear
me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with
you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will
be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will
forsake you.
 3 For a long time Israel has been without the true
God, without a teaching priest, and without law;
4 but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord
God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.
5 And in those times there was no peace to the one
who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great
turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.
6 So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city,
for God troubled them with every adversity.
7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be
weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

The prophet Azariah came to Asa, king of Judah, and delivered this
simple prophecy of edification, exhortation and comfort.

The simple gift of true prophecy brings forth edification, comfort and
exhortation, but does not bring condemnation. God is not the author of
confusion but of peace (1 Cor 14:33). And neither does the Holy Spirit
bring condemnation to the believer (1 Jn 3:20). The Holy Spirit will convict
us to correct us but does not condemn us (Jn 16:8). Even the Lord Jesus
does not condemn us (Jn 8:11).

If a word which supposedly came from God bring condemnation,

discouragement, bewilderment and confusion then you can know for sure
they did not originate from the blessed Holy Spirit. Rather, they are from
the devil. Discouragement and condemnation are two of Satan’s powerful
weapons even against seasoned and mature believers and ministers.
 Looking unto Jesus

The gift of prophecy manifested marvellously in the life and ministry of the
Lord Jesus. Every word that He spoke brought great encouragement and
comfort to all people. It is written of the Lord Jesus, “He has sent Me to
heal the broken hearted, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who
mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa 61:1-3).

Consider the following Scriptures.

MARK 5:33-34
33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing
what had happened to her, came and fell down before
Him and told Him the whole truth.
34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your
affliction.”

LUKE 18:28-30
28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed
You.”
29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there
is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or
wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who shall not receive many times more in this
present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

JOHN 8:10-11
 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one
but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are
those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned
you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her,
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Gracious words of love and compassion always poured out of the

mouth of our dear Lord Jesus to comfort, edify and exhort the people of His
pasture (Ps 45:2; Jn 1:14-16). Among all the words the Lord Jesus spoke,
here are some classic examples of the gift of prophecy that brought
edification, exhortation and comfort:

JOHN 14:1-4
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you to Myself; that where I am,
there you may be also.
4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

JOHN 14:16-18
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you
another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you
know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
 JOHN 14:27-29
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not
as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away
and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would
rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for
My Father is greater than I.
29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that
when it does come to pass, you may believe.

Mechanics of Operation

All prophecy comes from the blessed Holy Spirit.

2 PETER 1:21
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but
holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the
Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus called the Holy Spirit The Comforter (Jn 14:16,26).
The word “comforter” in Greek is parakletos. It is also translated as helper
or counsellor and is closely related to the Greek word translated
“exhortation.” Parakletos means one called alongside to help. That
beautifully sums up the blessed work of the Holy Spirit to encourage, cheer
up, help and counsel.
 The gift of prophecy is a communication gift that enables and causes
us to articulate the utterances which the Holy Spirit gives us. How can we
know that we are receiving a word of prophecy?

The Hebrew word for prophesy (the verb form) is naba and it means
to bubble up, boil forth, to flow, gush forth like a spring or fountain, to let
drop, to lift up, and to tumble forth. This means that the word of prophecy
flows forth from our innermost being spontaneously like a stream of water.
The mind does not originate the words (Matt 10:19-20).

In 1992 I was invited to preach at a convention in Dundee, Scotland.

One morning, as the whole congregation was worshipping the Lord, I felt
the gift of prophecy bursting forth from my spirit like a fountain and trying
to gush out of my mouth. It was like having your mouth full of water while
more water is being added until you feel as though your mouth is about to
burst.

The senior pastor of the church came towards me and said, “Sadhuji,
if you have a Word from the Lord, please go to the pulpit and speak forth.”
As I stood before the pulpit and said, “Thus says the Lord God,” words of
edification, exhortation and comfort gushed out of my mouth just as water
would gush forth from a burst dam (Job 32:18-19). The senior pastor,
hugging me tightly to his bosom, said in front of the entire congregation,
“Brother, you do not know what a great consolation and encouragement
those words are to us!”

As illustrated by this example, when the gift of prophecy operates,

we feel words and thoughts gushing forth from our spirit and our mouth
pours forth these words as the inspiration of the Holy Spirit flows through
us.

The word naba also means to drop. It is as though a word was

literally dropped into your spirit. It then rises up to your understanding and
gives you a knowing what to say. One day in April 1979, as I was walking
towards my school, I sensed something literally dropped into my heart,
similar to a coin being dropped into a glass of water. When the word hit the
bottom of my heart, that word then rose up within me and gave the
knowing, “God has called you into ministry” (cp. Isa 44:3).

Naba also manifests as a warm fire burning within us. Let us consider
two Scriptures:

PSALMS 39:3-4
3 My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the
fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the
measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.

JEREMIAH 20:9
 9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor
speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my
heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was
weary of holding it back, and I could not.

The respected and scholarly Jewish Study Bible renders the text of
Psalm 39:3 in a much stronger way: as my mind was in a rage, my thoughts
were all aflame. Similarly, it amplifies the phrase “His word was in my
heart like a burning fire” from Jeremiah 20:9 to: His word was like a raging
fire in my heart.

Let us also consider a New Testament passage: “And they said to one
another, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the
road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Lk 24:32). Sometimes,
the anointing from the gift of prophecy will be so strong that our heart
seems to be aflame and we couldn’t hold back the words even if we wanted
to.

The Bible says, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but
holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet
1:21). A few other translations of this Scripture gives us a deeper
understanding concerning the manifestation of the gift of prophecy.

1. “For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to

do so — it never came by human impulse], but men spoke
 from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the
Holy Spirit” – The Amplified Bible.

2. “For not by the desire of man did prophecy come a foretime,

but being carried along by the Holy Spirit men spoke words
from God who is the ultimate source [of what they spoke]” –
Wuest Expanded NT.

These translations show a beautiful picture. One of the symbols of

the Holy Spirit is the dove. During the time of creation, the Bible says, “The
earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:2).
Isn’t the human body composed 75% of water? The Holy Spirit, like a dove,
will begin to hover over us, moving and impelling our spirit, carrying us on
His wings to give us a word of prophecy.

Besides moving upon our spirit, the gift of prophecy can also
operate and manifest in the following ways:

1. Inner Witness

JOB 32:8
8 But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the
Almighty gives him understanding.
The primary way that the gift of prophecy operates is by giving us an inner
witness – a sensing, a knowing. This sensing may begin as a burden. When
we wait on God, the Holy Spirit will inspire our understanding with an
illumination of a word or a Scripture of edification, exhortation and
comfort.

2. Tongues and Interpretation

ACTS 19:6
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy
Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues
and prophesied.

When a message in tongues is interpreted, it becomes a prophecy for a

person or for a congregation (1 Cor 14: 27-31).

3. Dreams

1 KINGS 9:2-7
2 …the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as
He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3 And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer
and your supplication that you have made before Me; I
have consecrated this house which you have built to
put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart
will be there perpetually.
4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David
walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do
 according to all that I have commanded you, and if
you keep My statutes and My judgments,
5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over
Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying,
‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of
Israel.’
6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me,
and do not keep My commandments and My statutes
which I have set before you, but go and serve other
gods and worship them,
7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have
given them; and this house which I have consecrated
for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be
a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

This scriptural passage is a classic example of the operation of the gift of

prophecy in a dream manifesting words of edification, exhortation and
comfort.

I know of a certain servant of God in India who in 1989 failed to be

faithful to the call of God upon his life and made some mistakes by taking
his own path which was not ordained by God. The Lord rebuked him
through a prophet. The man of God then sought God’s grace and mercy by
humbling himself through a 40-days fast.

About 20 days into the fast he had a dream. He saw himself running a
race on a track in a stadium. After a few laps, for some reason, he stopped
running; instead, he went over to the field and sat down. After a while, he
asked himself, “Why did I stopped running?” He then got back onto the
track and continued running in the race and finished among the first three,
winning a prize. The Word of the Lord then came to him to continue the
ministry which he received from God. That dream greatly encouraged and
consoled him that God had not forsaken him.

4. Prayer

1 CORINTHIANS 14:15
15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the
spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I
will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the
understanding.

One of the most powerful way to pray is by inspiration. Such prayer then
becomes prophecy.

In 1992 I was speaking at some meetings in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. One day, a man asked me to come and pray for his sick
mother. That afternoon, as I was waiting on God, the Word of the Lord
came to me saying, “Tell the man that I want to take his mother home.”
When I reached the man’s house, I understood why the Lord wanted to take
the woman to His eternal abode. She was in her late seventies and was
senile. Before I prayed, I told the man what the Lord had told me. As soon
as he heard it, sorrow filled his face and he said, “Brother, I love my mother
dearly. I cannot let her go.”

As I began to pray, I saw the similitude of the Lord Jesus stand before
me and He said, “Son, tell him to let his mother go.” I stopped praying and
told the man, “Brother, I see the Lord Jesus standing here and He is asking
you to let your mother go.” To my great surprise, the man boldly said,
“Brother, please tell Jesus that I will not let her go.”

I was perplexed and felt trapped between the man’s will and the will of
the Lord Jesus. I did not know what to do. I then asked the Holy Spirit to
inspire my mind to pray a perfect prayer. When I began to pray, I felt
thoughts coming from God inspiring me to pray. When I finished praying,
the man, with tears welling up in his eyes, said, “Brother, your prayer was
an answer to the cry of my heart. It has greatly encouraged and comforted
me.”

5. Psalms

1 CORINTHIANS 14:15
15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the
spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I
will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the
understanding.

The Hebrew word naba also means to sing by inspiration. After the children
of Israel had successfully crossed the Red Sea, the prophet Moses sang a
prophetic song (Ex 15:1-19).

The prophet Isaiah also prophesied in song (Isa 12). The whole book of
Psalms in the Bible is prophecy in song. The authors of the book of Psalms
were inspired by the Holy Spirit to prophesy by singing.

Even today, many anointed musicians and worship leaders have been
led to sing songs under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Such singing by
inspiration does not only magnify God’s glory, but also gives words of
edification, exhortation and comfort to the congregation through song.
6. Angels

ACTS 27:22-25
22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be
no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the
God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be
brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted
you all those who sail with you.’
25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it
will be just as it was told me.

The apostle Paul was able to exhort the sailors because he himself was
encouraged by an angel. Angels can also bring a word of prophecy for
edification, exhortation and comfort.

One of the furniture in Tabernacle of Moses is the Ark of the

Covenant. On the mercy seat two cherubim were placed opposite to one
another. Inside the ark, the prophet Moses had Aaron put there his rod that
budded, golden pot of manna and the Ten Commandments tablet. We know
that the “Ark of the Covenant” symbolizes the Throne of God, the “rod”
symbolizes delegated authority, the “manna” symbolizes a fresh Word from
God, and the “tablets” symbolizes the written Word of God.

So, from the throne of God’s presence, angels can bring us a Word
written in the annals in heaven that will give us the authority to speak forth
a fresh word.

7. Visions

ACTS 23:11
11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and
said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified
for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at
Rome.”

The Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul in a vision to cheer and comfort
him.

In September 1996, I went to Sydney, Australia to speak at the Great

Awakening Convention. One evening, as I went up to the pulpit and started
to pray before the message, the heavens were opened to me and I looked
into heaven (Ezek 1:1). I saw the Lord Jesus as the High Priest, kneeling
before the presence of the Father God (Acts 7:55-56; Heb 7:25). I heard him
praying, “Father, one of my daughters who is attending the Convention in
Sydney right now has been praying to Me constantly that her daughter who
had left home a long time ago would come back to her. Please grant her
petition!”

I then narrated what I was seeing to the several hundreds who had
come. After the meeting, a woman came to me and told me that she was the
person who had been praying for her lost daughter. Hugging me, she said
that the word had greatly encouraged and comforted her broken heart.

8. Dramatization / Prophetic Acts

ACTS 21:10-11
10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet
named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound
his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy
Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man
who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of
the Gentiles.’”

It seemed that the gift of prophecy manifested in the prophet Agabus’ life
quite frequently in this dramatized manner. For we read in Acts 11:28:
“Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that
there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also
happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.” Note the phrase, showed by the
Spirit. The phrase implies that he must have acted out the prophecy, doesn’t
it?

There lived a precious godly woman in the United States called

Carmen Goodwin or Mom Goodwin as she was later dearly called by all in
Pentecostal circles. She would often speak a message in tongues and then
act it out. She acted out the message by making hand gestures and motions.
When quizzed by her spiritual children how she was able to act out the
message, she said that she felt a prompting, an internal spiritual nudge to do
actions.

Many Old Testament prophets acted out their messages. The Bible
says, “I have also spoken to [you by] the prophets, and I have multiplied
visions [for you] and [have appealed to you] through parables acted out by
the prophets” (Hos 12:10, AMP).

i. Isaiah, asked to go naked – Isa 20:2-6

ii. Jeremiah, asked to buy a belt – Jer 13:1-11; was asked to be

unmarried – Jer 16:2-9; asked to go to a potter’s house – Jer
18:2-6; asked to get an earthen flask – Jer 19:1-13; asked to
carry a yoke – Jer 27:2-11

iii. Ezekiel, asked to take a tile and an iron pan – Ezek 4:1-3; asked
to lie on his left side for 390 days – Ezek 4:4-5; asked to lie on
right side for 40 days – Ezek 4:6-8; asked to eat defiled bread
made of human dung for 390 days – Ezek 4:9-15; asked to
shave his head – Ezek 5:1-4; asked to prepare baggage to
move out – Ezek 12:3-6; asked not to mourn for his wife –
Ezek 24:16-24
 iv. Hosea, asked to marry an adulteress – Hos 1:2-3

Keys to Cultivation

Let us study the following principles in order that we may flow in the gift of
prophecy more powerfully:

1. Prophecies Are Partial

The Scriptures clearly say, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part”
(1 Cor 13:9). God does not reveal all the pieces to just one individual or
every part of the message at the same time. Instead, He reveals one part to
one person and another part to someone else. When all the pieces of the
prophecy are gathered together, it will greatly edify us in seeing the whole
plan of God.

2. Prophecies Are Conditional

Even though a prophecy may not explicitly mention any conditions, yet
there is always an implicit condition in relation to our acting upon it.

Consider the counsel that the apostle Paul gave to his protégé
Timothy, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by
prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these
things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to
all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing
this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Tim 4:14-16).
Timothy had to do something for the prophecy to come to pass.

3. Prophecies Are Relational

This means that the person who receives the prophecy is the final authority
to act upon it. The giver has no right to manipulate the receiver into
receiving or obeying the prophecy. A good example is found in the life of
the apostle Paul.

ACTS 21:4-13
4 And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days.
They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to
Jerusalem.
5 When we had come to the end of those days, we
departed and went on our way; and they all
accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were
out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and
prayed.
6 When we had taken our leave of one another, we
boarded the ship, and they returned home.
7 And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we
came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed
with them one day.
8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions
departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house
 of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and
stayed with him.
9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who
prophesied.
10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet
named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound
his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy
Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man
who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of
the Gentiles.’”
12 Now when we heard these things, both we and
those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to
Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by
weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not
only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the
name of the Lord Jesus.”

While at Tyre, the apostle Paul received a prophecy that he should not
go to Jerusalem. Later on, a prophet came and gave him a prophecy
concerning what would happen to him in Jerusalem. The first prophecy did
not bear witness with the apostle Paul, whereas the second one did (cp. Acts
20:22-23). Although the disciples, out of love, pleaded with the apostle not
to go to Jerusalem, yet it was the apostle Paul who made the final decision.

4. Prophecies Provide Direction

Besides words of edification, exhortation and comfort, when a prophecy
declares the counsel of God, it may provide direction which will be a
confirmation to the receiver.

ACTS 13:2
2 “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy
Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”

This prophecy provided direction to both the apostles Paul and

Barnabas concerning the next phase of their ministry. It was a confirmation
to both of them (Acts 9:15-16; 11:22-24).

5. Faith To Believe

It takes faith to believe God that He will supply the words to prophesy.
Sometimes we may initially receive only a single word, phrase or sentence.
Do not expect to be given the entire message before you step out to
prophesy.

As you begin, in faith, to speak that one word that God has given
you, the subsequent words will flow forth like a river out of your mouth.

6. Get Rid of Fear

Many believers who genuinely receive correct and true words of prophecy
are afraid to speak out for fear that the word may not be accurate. How do
we know if the word which we receive is from God or the flesh or the devil,
before we release it?

For starters, may I suggest that instead of saying, “I have a Word

from God for you or this church,” why not say, “I feel impressed in my
spirit that God is saying …” When the hearer receives it positively, you will
know that you correctly heard from God. This confirmation will greatly
encourage and boost your confidence to be bolder in giving prophecies the
next time.

Develop boldness by spending quality time with the Spirit of

Prophecy – none other than the Lord Jesus Himself (Acts 4:13).

7. Maintain A Clean Heart And Mind

How do we receive words from God? The Bible says, “Then the Lord put
forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I
have put My words in your mouth” (Jer 1:9).

Before the prophet Isaiah could prophesy, his lips needed to be

cleansed (Isa 6:1-10). Likewise, in order to receive the word of prophecy in
your spirit, you need to be pure and holy, so that when you speak forth the
word it would not be exaggerated or diluted by your unsanctified heart and
mind (Ezek 3:10).

It is vital that the vessel which manifests this precious and very
valuable gift maintain a clean heart and mind. This is vitally important
because, otherwise, error can come out of an impure heart and cluttered
mind. Such a vessel can be falsely inspired.

The gift of prophecy can manifest through:

i. The Holy Spirit – 2 Sam 23:2; Jer 1:9; Acts 19:6; 21:11

ii. Evil lying spirts – 1 Kg 22:22; Isa 8:19-20; Matt 8:29; Acts 16:17

iii. The human spirit – Jer 23:16; Ezek 13:2

That being the case, vessels that are used by our Master to exercise
this invaluable gift should be vessels of purity and cleanness. They should
also maintain a high level of fellowship with God. Practise the closest
possible communion with God.

8. Maintain a life of Worship

 1 CORINTHIANS 14:26
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come
together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has
a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let
all things be done for edification.

The gifts of the Spirit, all of them, do manifest in a great measure when the
spiritual atmosphere in a place is saturated with praise and worship that
glorifies God.

The Scripture shows us the Spirit of God moves—hovers over—in an

atmosphere where believers seek God and wait in His presence through
praise and worship. We read of an incident in the Old Testament where the
prophetic gifts manifested upon the prophet Elisha when a musician
ministered unto the Lord.

2 KINGS 3:15-16
15 But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened,
when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord
came upon him.
16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley
full of ditches.’

Another Old Testament example where prophetic gifts are enhanced

and manifests powerfully in an atmosphere of praise and worship can be
found in the following incident:
 1 SAMUEL 10:5-6
5 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the
Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you
have come there to the city, that you will meet a group
of prophets coming down from the high place with a
stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp
before them; and they will be prophesying.
6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and
you will prophesy with them and be turned into
another man.

The company of prophets or sons of the prophets as they were also

called, were worshipping God with musical instruments and were
prophesying. When Saul, the newly anointed king of Israel, came into the
atmosphere of praise and worship, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and
he too began to prophesy.

There is also an incident in the New Testament where as church

leaders got together to pray and minister unto God, the Holy Spirit
manifested.

ACTS 13:1-2
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were
certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who
was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had
been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy
Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
 The phrase, as they ministered, means they were praising and
worshipping God. That’s what is meant by ministering unto God. The
apostle Paul wrote, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving
thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ,” (Eph 5:19-20).

One way the leaders in the Antioch church could have ministered to
the Lord is by singing and making melody in their hearts to Him. Psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs are not songs that are sung out of a songbook.
They are songs given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or your spirit may
even be picking them up from the angels ministering to God in heaven.

The Colossian believers, too, ministered to one another in prophecy

through the inspired singing of psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and singing
with grace in their hearts unto the Lord (Col. 3:16).

9. Earnestly Desire To Prophesy

1 CORINTHIANS 14:1
1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially
that you may prophesy.

Seek the gift of prophecy passionately with all your heart.

 The gift of prophecy is the only gift which everyone in the local
church may freely receive and all may prophesy (1 Cor 14:5). Just as
flowers emit fragrance, likewise this gift scatters its inspiration to produce
edification, exhortation and comfort.

A Word of Caution

It cannot be overstayed concerning personal prophecies that countless lives

in modern charismatic church history have been ruined and many
unfortunate things have happened through the misuse of personal
prophecies.

Personal prophecies cannot be given to manipulate, dominate,

deceive and control others. Neither should they be given for someone’s
personal gain. God forbid! However, those who go around telling believers
what is wrong with them and tearing them down, supposedly operating in
the gift of prophecy, are not operating in the bona fide gift of the Spirit of
God at all. Over the years, I have seen so much error in the body of Christ
all over the world in the area of personal prophecy that it almost makes
believers want to draw back from the genuine prophetic ministry.

If we keep in mind the scriptural use of the simple gift of prophecy,

i.e. to edify, exhort and comfort (1 Cor 14:3), we will not get into error.
Sometimes, a revelation given forth through a prophet may bring
discomfort because it brings correction or conviction of sin. But the simple
gift of prophecy only ministers edification, exhortation, and comfort.

Writing to the Thessalonian believers, the apostle Paul had to counsel

them “do not despise prophesies” (1 Thes 5:20). It is because there was so
much misuse of the gift of prophecy that the believers almost despised it.
Counselled by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul had to instruct them, “do not
despise prophesies.”

Finally, remember the apostle Paul’s counsel, “Therefore, brethren,

desire earnestly to prophesy” (1 Cor 14:39a). The apostle counsels us to
especially desire to prophesy besides earnestly desiring the other spiritual
gifts (1 Cor 12:31).

When you do, then you will be able to speak supernaturally to the
Body of Christ God’s words of edification, exhortation, and comfort as the
Spirit wills. You will also be able to speak supernaturally through the gift of
prophecy in your private prayer life, edifying yourself and worshipping God
in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Chapter 9 - Gift of Diverse Kinds
of Tongues & Interpretation
[Gifts of Communication]

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10
10 to another different kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10 (Greek - Literal)

10 To another supernatural utterances in tongues and
to another supernatural interpretation of tongues.

Our study of the gifts of the Holy Spirit concludes with the final two gifts:
Various or different kinds of tongues and the Interpretation of tongues.
There are 26 references to tongues in the New Testament.

The gifts of the various kinds of tongues and the interpretation of

tongues belong to the category of the Gifts of Communication. These two
gifts are grouped together because they work in unison. They both need
each other to manifest as one; they belong together and are intimately
connected.

However, the gift of various kinds of tongues can operate and manifest
individually when the occasion demands.

Myths and Misconceptions

In studying the workings of the gifts of various kinds of tongues and the
interpretation of tongues, it is necessary to know what these gifts are not.

We will look at various kinds of tongues first.

1. This gift is not the common gift of speaking in tongues when a person is
baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The common ability to speak in tongues as the Holy Spirit gives

utterance is the new covenant birthright of every born-again Spirit-baptized
believer. Look at what the Lord Jesus said are the privileges of every blood-
washed believer.

MARK 16:15-18
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In
My name they will cast out demons; they will speak
with new tongues;
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink
anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they
will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Lord Jesus, after His resurrection, looked at His disciples and said
that those who believed on Him and are baptized will speak in new tongues
or languages. Prior to that nobody, spoke in new tongues.

If new covenant tongues is referred-to here as “new tongues,” then

there must have been something called “old tongues,” right? The Bible says
that the Lord Jesus Christ brought the new covenant (Heb 9:15; 12:24). The
new covenant came to do away with the old covenant. So let’s look at what
this old tongue is.

In the beginnings of mankind’s history, the Bible says that the whole
earth spoke in one and the same language (Gen 11:1). If the whole world
spoke the same language, what language was it? It cannot be any of the
languages we know today because these were all birthed when God
confused the language of men during the building of the Tower of Babel
(Gen 11:1-9).

At that time, the people of the whole earth spoke one language (Gen
11:6). Our Sherlock Holmes-like investigation must answer the question:
What was that one language? When God created Adam, He used to visit
him every day (Gen 8:4; Job 7:17-18). What language did God speak with
Adam? What language did Adam and Eve speak with each other?

It cannot be Hebrew, though the Old Testament authors wrote 39 books

in that language, because Hebrew, like all other languages, was birthed out
of the confusion at Babel. So what language did God speak with our ancient
patriarchs and what language did they speak with each other?

When God made Adam, He gave him authority and dominion over
everything, over the birds in the air, the animals in the land, the fishes in the
sea (Gen 1:26). When Adam sinned he transferred that authority and
dominion to the devil (Lk 4:6). When the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the
dead the first thing He said was: “All authority and dominion is now given
to me” (Matt 28:18). The authority and power that the Lord Jesus took back
from the devil was the kingship—the authority and dominion—that God
had originally given to man over the earth. This included the language to
communicate with God as His son.

The “new tongue” that the Lord Jesus restored back to man is the
mother-tongue of heaven. We are now born of God; the Bible says that God,
too, speaks in a different language: “So with stammering lips, in a foreign
accent, [Adonai] will speak to this people” (Isa 28:11, Complete Jewish
Bible). So if God has His own language, His children—those who are born
of water and Spirit—will obviously speak the language of God, right?

That is why when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit—born of water

and Spirit—the Holy Spirit gives us the utterance to speak in the language
of God (Acts 2:4). That’s the original language that Adam spoke with God,
and God spoke with Adam. But this prayer language of tongues is not the
gift of various kinds of tongues.

2. The gift of various kinds of tongues is not the natural knowledge of other
languages. It is not a linguist’s natural gift or ability to learn and
converse in many different languages of this world. When a person
speaks in tongues, he or she has no knowledge or understanding
concerning what they are speaking.

3. Similarly, the gift of interpretation of tongues is not a naturally learned

linguist’s ability to interpret the different kinds of languages spoken on
the earth.

4. This gift is not interpretation in general, but only works together in

conjunction with the gift of various kinds of tongues.

5. It is not word-for-word translation, but an interpretation which may be

longer or shorter than the message in tongues, interpreting the sense
and meaning of the messages in tongues.

The Meaning

The phrase “various kinds of tongues” in Greek is gene glosson, meaning

different kinds of tongues. The Greek word gene for “kinds” means different
varieties or different genres.
 The different varieties or genres of tongues can be classified into three
broad categories:

1. Ordinary gift of tongues

2. Diverse kinds of tongues of this world

3. Diverse kinds of tongues of the Spirit world

Ordinary Gift of Tongues

As explained earlier, this is the prayer language of the believer to talk to

God – his Father (1 Cor 14:2). This basic gift edifies a believer to grow in
his faith (Jude 20). It brings refreshing and rest to the soul (Isa 28:11-12).

Diverse Kinds of Tongues of This World

The Bible says, “There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the
world, and none of them is without significance” (1 Cor 14:10). There are
thousands of languages in the world. This does not include the various
dialects. It would be impossible for a person to know all the languages. But
when the gift of various kinds of tongues manifests, it will enable a person
to speak in various languages of this world.

This is the supernatural ability, by the Holy Spirit, to speak in the

different languages of this world—languages that the speaker is totally
unfamiliar with and ignorant of. An excellent example of this is found
during the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the first
century.

ACTS 2:1-12
 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of
fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout
men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came
together, and were confused, because everyone heard
them speak in his own language.
7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to
one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own
language in which we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling
in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of
Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews
and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our
own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to
one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

In this incident, the 120 disciples—all of whom were Galilean Jews—

spoke mostly Aramaic. Almost all of them were uneducated. But when the
gift of various kinds of tongues came upon them, they all spoke in different
languages of the world, at least fifteen of them, according to Acts 2:9-11.
 I first went to Tibet in 1986. Besides the customary greeting, Tashi
Delek, I didn’t know anything else about the Tibetan language or the other
Tibetan dialects spoken in the regions of Amdo (north-east) and Kham
(south-east). “Tashi” means auspicious and “Delek” means fine or well. It is
a simple way of wishing someone: “Blessings and good luck” or “May all
auspicious signs come to this environment.”

There is a very holy temple in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, called

Jokthang Temple. It is situated in the heart of the city. When I went into this
temple, a young 15 year-old monk, came up to me and started pointing to
various parts of his body and saying: ‘Hand’, ‘Head’, ‘Nose’, ‘Face’, ‘Ears’.
I thought this boy was giving me a lesson in anatomy. Yet, as I observed
him, I understood he had learned English from someone and was trying to
practice his language skills on me.

As I continued to acknowledge him, the Holy Spirit inspired me to use

the same strategy and share the gospel with him. So I asked him to repeat
what I said to him. Desiring to build a larger English vocabulary, he agreed
gleefully. I quoted John 3:16 to him and asked him to repeat after me word-
for-word. After that I said, “Now say Jesus.” He repeated the name Jesus. I
motioned for him to keep on repeating. As he kept on repeating, he said the
name Jesus so loud that the whole temple was now reverberating with the
name of Jesus.

Wondering what this strange sound was, four older monks came to see
what was happening. I thought they came either to arrest me or kill me,
considering they wouldn’t want to hear of a foreign God in their temple.
However, they looked at me kindly, wondering what was going on. The
young monk told them I was teaching him English. I asked them to say the
word Jesus and they, too, started repeating the name of Jesus.

Though overjoyed that the name of Jesus was being spoken in a

Buddhist temple, I felt bad that I could not share anything more than just
the name of the Lord. I didn’t even have any gospel tracts in the Tibetan
language because they were confiscated by the Communist police at the
Tibet-Nepal border of Zhangmu. So I prayed sincerely, “Lord, on the day of
Pentecost you opened the mouths of the disciples and they all spoke with
different languages so that all the people from the different nations heard
them speak in their own languages. Please help me to preach the gospel to
these monks in their own language.”

As soon as I prayed this, I felt a strong compulsion to speak in tongues.

I could not stop it; it was bubbling out of me so strongly. As I spoke, I
looked at the faces of the monks. They were listening attentively and
acknowledging me, saying laso, which means yes. Seeing them staring at
me and acknowledging what they were hearing made me realize that I was
speaking in the Tibetan language. When I realized that, I kept on speaking
by faith. I then perceived in my spirit that the Lord was speaking to them
directly, saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life. If you believe in Me
you shall have everlasting life.”

The monks continued shaking their heads in affirmation, “Yes—laso,

Yes—laso.” After about 15 minutes the message in tongues stopped. I was
no longer able to speak in Tibetan, only in English, yet I was overjoyed that
the Lord enabled me to share the gospel with them in their own Tibetan
language.

In 1990, I went to Amdo in the eastern part of Tibet. In a certain city in

this region there is a huge monastery called, Kumbum. On the hills around
the complex the monks have dug out small rooms for monks to spend time
in solitude and meditation. There are hundreds of caves on the mountain
slope, and as I ventured to go there to minister to the monks hidden in the
caves, an elderly monk stopped me and said that except Tibetans, no one
else was allowed to go near the caves to visit the monks.

I was disappointed that I could not reach out to those monks with the
gospel tracts in the Tibetan language that I was carrying. Yet, as I was about
to turn back on the trail, I saw two young monks walking down the slope.
One looked 12 years old and the other looked 15 years old. As I was
looking at them, the Holy Spirit told me, “Go talk to those monks.” When
they came closer to me, I spoke with the boys with the little Mandarin, the
national language of ,China, which I knew.

As I was talking with the boys, suddenly, a very strong urge, like an
exploding volcano, came up within me to speak in tongues. No matter how
much I tried to control myself, like a volcano spewing lava and ashes, this
utterance of tongues gushed forth from within me. I noticed the younger
boy’s eyes get as large as saucers when he heard me authoritatively
speaking in tongues. He just kept on staring at me as I was speaking. Then,
shaking his head as if in affirmation, he began to say, “laso, laso—yes, yes,
I will do it!”

Bewildered I asked my companion, a Chinese from Singapore, what

this boy was talking about. When he asked him, the young monk said to our
astonishment, “You just told me in my own language to take the tracts and
give them to the monks hidden in the caves. So give me the tracts!” My
companion and I stared at each other in shock, realizing that through the gift
of various kinds of tongues the Holy Spirit had just enabled me to speak in
the Tibetan language. Wow!

Through this gift a person speaks clearly, fluently and grammatically in

a language that they have never learned. Isn’t that amazingly supernatural?
Ancient Syriac documents reveal that according to whatever tongue
everyone person received on the Day of Pentecost, so did they prepare
themselves to go to that country in which that tongue was spoken (Teaching
of the Twelve Apostles ECF 7.667). Perhaps this is the reason why the
apostle Thomas went to India.

Diverse Kinds of Tongues of the Spirit World

It is amazing to note from the Scriptures that there are even different
varieties of languages spoken in the Spirit realm.
 When the apostle Paul had the blessed experience to be caught up to
heaven he heard “inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to
utter” (2 Cor 12:4). In heaven, the apostle Paul was intrigued and mystified
to hear various kinds of languages.

The apostle Paul writes that even angels have different languages
amongst them (1 Cor 13:1). That could possibly mean that the cherubim,
seraphim, warrior angels, messenger angels and even the mighty ones
mentioned in the Book of Revelation could all have their own languages. I
have been graced to understand that each group of angels mentioned in
Revelation – 5:2; 7:1-3; 7:11; 8:2; 8:3; 10:1-11; 14:6,8-9; 14:15; 15:1; 18:1;
19:17 – have their own languages, but they also understand each other when
they interact because the Holy Spirit gives them the necessary
understanding.

Roland Buck (1918-1979), a minister from Boise, Idaho, experienced

visitations from angels of God in the late ‘70s. During one such encounter
with several angels, he heard them speaking to each other in their own
language.

In addition to angels, we also read of other voices—languages—

spoken in heaven: of the 24 elders (Rev 4:4), living creatures (Rev 4:6-9),
voices from God’s throne (Rev 4:5), voice from the four horns of the golden
altar (Dan 7:11; Rev 9:13-14), voice of the seven thunders (Rev 10:3), voice
from heaven (Rev 10:4), great voice of God (Rev 11:2; 16:1,17; 18:4; 19:5-
6), voice of the cherubim’s wings (Ezek 1:24; 10:5).

By the manifold grace of God, I have had the blessed privilege from
God to see different kinds of angels. Sometimes, when these angels come,
they speak to me in the English language and sometimes they speak to me
in my native Tamil language. But there were two or three occasions when
an angel appeared before me and just started speaking in what sounded like
tongues to me. I would just stand there, wondering what the angel was
saying. After a while, the Holy Spirit would give me the interpretation of
what the angel had spoken. It was then that I understood first-hand that even
angels have their own different languages amongst themselves.

Besides all these, there is the voice—the language—of the Father God
which sounds like a loud peel of thunder (Matt 3:17; 17:5; Jn 12:28-29; Rev
4:5), the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ—gentle and loving—like the sound
of rushing waters (Rev 1:15) and the still small voice—like a gentle whisper
—of the Holy Spirit (1 Kg 19:12).

In Greek, the word “voice” in the following passages in Revelation:

1:10; 4:5; 8:3; 9:13; 10:3-4; 11:2; 16:1,17; 18:4; 19:5; 21:3, is phone, which
can also mean language. “Everything that has breath, all life in heaven and
earth, has a voice, a language,” says the Spirit of God even as I write this.

Now, let us look at the meaning of the gift of the interpretation of

tongues. The phrase “interpretation of tongues” in Greek is hermeneia
glosson, which means to explain what is said rather than to translate word-
for-word.

This gift is the supernatural endowment by the Holy Spirit that will
enable the recipient of the gift to receive an interpretation of the message in
tongues through a vision or through inspiration. It is also an illumination
that comes to the spirit of man, even as the lampstand in the Tabernacle of
Moses lights up the Holy Place.

The purpose of this gift is to interpret, verbalize and render in an

understandable language a message that was given in an unknown tongue.
The person who speaks the message in tongues does not know what it
means and the person who interprets it in a known language, at least in the
natural, also does not understand the message.

Summarizing, ordinary “praying in tongues” is for ourselves and does

not need public interpretation. In contrast, the gift of diverse kinds of
tongues is God speaking through a vessel to the body or an individual, and
does require interpretation.

Biblical Examples

Let us now examine the Bible to see some examples of how this gift
manifested.

Old Testament

1. An amazing reference is made in the Book of Isaiah about God speaking

in unknown tongues (i.e. languages).

ISAIAH 28:11
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He
will speak to this people,

The word “tongue” in Hebrew is lashown meaning the tongue (of man or
animals), used literally and figuratively for speech – language. The words
“stammering lips” could be translated as baby talk, one syllable at a time.
This is the reason why some people receive just a word or two.

2. Appearance of strange words on the palace wall in Babylon.

DANIEL 5:1-5, 24-25

1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a
thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence
of the thousand.
2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the
command to bring the gold and silver vessels which
his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple
which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his
 lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from
them.
3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been
taken from the temple of the house of God which had
been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his
wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and
silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand
appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the
plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king
saw the part of the hand that wrote.
24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him,
and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

King Belshazzar was bewildered as he gazed upon the strange writing that a
golden fiery hand mysteriously wrote on the wall. He called for all the wise
men of Babylon to read the writing and interpret it. These wise men, who
knew all the languages in the Babylonian empire, did not recognize the
writing nor could they read it (Dan 5:8).

The queen, seeing the troubled king, said that there was only one man
in all of the Babylonian kingdom anointed by the Holy God who could read
it (Dan 5:10-12). Thus, the prophet Daniel was summoned. Early in his life,
the prophet Daniel was anointed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of
interpretation (Dan 1:17; 5:12).

The words, mene, mene, tekel, upharsin, must have been not of this
world, or else the wise men in Babylon could have at least read them. They
were other-worldly because it was the Hand of God which wrote them. The
prophet Daniel then proceeded to interpret the message in a heavenly
language (Dan 5:26-28).
New Testament

There are a total of 26 references to tongues in the New Testament

mentioned in three books: Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians.

1. Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost

ACTS 2:1-13
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of
fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout
men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came
together, and were confused, because everyone heard
them speak in his own language.
7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to
one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own
language in which we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling
in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of
Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews
and proselytes,
 11 Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our
own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to
one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

In this first mention of tongues in the New Testament, we read that the
disciples spoke in different varieties or genres of languages – at least 15 of
them – for that many nationalities were gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast
of Pentecost. All these people heard the “wonderful works of God”
proclaimed in their own native languages; these were actual earthly
languages spoken by the disciples.

2. Corinthian Church Experience

1 CORINTHIANS 14:26-27
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come
together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has
a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let
all things be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at
the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.

This gift was so common in the Corinthian church that the apostle Paul
wrote an entire chapter—1 Corinthians 14—giving them counsel regarding
its practical use.

3. The apostle Paul himself had these gifts of diverse kinds of tongues and
the accompanying gift of interpretation of tongues.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:15
15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the
spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I
 will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the
understanding.

To pray with the spirit means to pray in tongues, and to pray with the
understanding means to interpret in the natural – in the common language
understood by everyone – that which was spoken in a different language.

Looking Unto Jesus

Let us examine the ministry of the Lord Jesus for the manifestation of these
dual gifts.

It must be emphasized that the gifts of tongues—both the private

devotional gift and the public ministry gift—were largely meant for the new
covenant church age dispensation. That is the reason why we find very few
examples of the manifestation of these gifts under the old covenant before
the blood of the Lord Jesus was shed. However, if we used a “spiritual
microscope,” i.e. the revelation from the Holy Spirit, we will be amazed to
see the “hidden” manifestation of this gift in the life of our dear Lord Jesus.

We read that the apostle John had an awesome experience of seeing a

huge angel whose height literally touched the clouds (Rev 10:1-2). The
Bible says that when this angel cried out, seven thunders uttered their
voices (Rev 10:3). “Voices” means languages – speech – as we have seen
earlier. This means that the thunders spoke in a language and the apostle
John understood.

Please keep this in mind as we continue with our study.

There is an incident recorded in the Gospel of John where the Lord

Jesus prayed to the Father God asking Him to glorify His name.
Immediately, in answer to the Lord’s Prayer, “a voice came from heaven,
saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again’” (Jn 12:28). In
actuality, the sound that came from heaven was like thunder—the voice of
the Father God. All those who were around the Lord Jesus heard it as
thunder (Jn 12:29).

As I was meditating on this subject before writing this chapter, I heard

in my spirit the Father God asking me, “Do you know how I speak with My
Son? Have you seen it?” Before I could answer, in a vision, I saw the Lord
Jesus in the bosom of the Father God (Jn 1:18). Of course, I did not see the
face of the Father God but saw the Form of a Being in a cloud. The place of
the bosom appeared near the lap of God and the Lord Jesus was seated there
(Pro 8:30). The Father and Son were talking with each other and it sounded
like loud rumblings of thunder.

Mechanics of Operation

An interesting analogy for the operation of these dual gifts can be found in
the following strange incident:

NUMBERS 22:22-31
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went,
and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as
an adversary against him. And he was riding on his
donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing
in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the
donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the
field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back
onto the road.
24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path
between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a
wall on that side.
25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord,
she pushed herself against the wall and crushed
Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
 26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood
in a narrow place where there was no way to turn
either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord,
she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was
aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and
she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that
you have struck me these three times?”
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have
abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for
now I would kill you!”
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your
donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became
yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to
you?” And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw
the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His
drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and
fell flat on his face.

The prophet Balaam’s donkey’s eyes were opened and he saw the
Angel of the Lord standing in the way with a drawn sword. The donkey
knew what was going to happen, but could not speak; she just brayed and
moved to the left and to the right. But when her mouth was opened, she
spoke intelligibly to Balaam. This “opening of the donkey’s mouth” is
equivalent to been given the understanding and diverse kinds of tongues.
The donkey spoke in a language that was not its own.

The dual gifts of various kinds of tongues and the interpretation of

tongues can manifest to us in any one of the following ways.

1. The gift of tongues can manifest in a church gathering to reveal secret

sins for the salvation of sinners.
 1 CORINTHIANS 14:22-25
22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who
believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for
unbelievers but for those who believe.
23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in
one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come
in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they
not say that you are out of your mind?
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an
uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he
is convicted by all.
25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and
so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and
report that God is truly among you.

The dual operation of the gifts of tongues and the interpretation of tongues
is like a double-edged sword. Its revelation will divide between soul and
spirit, even as bone is divided from marrow. It brings deep conviction,
compelling the sinner towards repentance.

In the year 2000, we conducted a youth Campmeeting in Kalimpong,

West Bengal. One morning during the tea-break, a 15 year-old girl came up
to me for prayer. As I was about to lay hands on her to pray, she stopped
me, saying, “Uncle, please also pray for my husband.” I was shocked that a
15 year-old girl was married. Her husband, a 16 year-old boy, was also
attending the Campmeeting and came up to me for prayer. I really was
shocked!

They then told me that since their parents did not approve of their love-
affair, something of which no parent would approve, they eloped and ran
away. After two or three weeks, they returned home and their parents got
them ceremonially married in the church. Even as I was listening to their
story, I was trying very hard to regain my composure. I just could not come
to terms with their actions and told them that I would pray for them later.

A few days later during the Campmeeting, there was an evening where
the power of God was tangibly present as I preached on the crucifixion of
the Lord Jesus. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit was so strong that
almost all the youth began to cry, being convicted and repenting of their
sins.

All of a sudden, the 15 year-old girl came running up to the stage and
fell crying at my feet. She was speaking in a strange language which was
not her native Nepalese. Most Indians know at least two or three languages,
but no one among the 600 youths could understand her. She went on crying
and saying something in that strange language all throughout the evening.
Many girls who shared the same dormitory with her testified the next day
that she kept on crying and speaking in that strange language all night; she
did not sleep.

The next day, the final day of the Campmeeting, she continued her
crying and speaking the same strange language. Again, she came up to the
stage and kept on speaking in the strange language. I didn’t know what to
do. A 17 year-old ex-Buddhist monk happened to come to the meeting on
this last day. He was seated in the front row near the stage and I suddenly
noticed him straining his ears to listen to what this girl was saying. Looking
shocked, he came up to me and said, “Uncle, this girl is speaking in my
dialect spoken in the most remote part of Eastern Bhutan. Not many people
know this dialect because our community is very small.”

I asked him, “Please tell me what she is saying.” Listening intently

again, he said that she was confessing her sexual sins, illicit affair and
hurting her parents by eloping with her lover. She was also repenting for
hurting the Lord by her sins—for nailing the Lord’s hands and feet to the
cross.

A holy fear of God gripped every youth who heard the interpretation.
The gift of various kinds of tongues manifested in this girl’s life and she
spoke in a language that she never even knew existed. In this instance, the
gift of interpretation was not manifested because the language spoken was
an earthly language and there was someone present to translate.

When the gift of tongues manifests in this manner, it brings conviction

of sin, of righteousness and of judgement (Jn 16:8-11).

2. The gift of tongues and interpretation can manifest while preaching.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:27-29
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at
the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.
28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in
church, and let him speak to himself and to God.
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others
judge.

It is commonly reported that Smith Wigglesworth would intersperse his

sermons with speaking in tongues and interpret the message himself. As he
preached he would give a message in tongues and then interpret it and
continue preaching in English thereafter.

3. The gift of tongues can manifest in visual form.

REVELATION 5:1-3
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the
throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed
with seven seals.
 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose
its seals?”
3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the
earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

In this incident, the apostle John, while in heaven, saw a scroll, obviously
written in a heavenly language. An angel asked who was worthy to open the
sealed scroll and look at it. In all the universe, only the Lord Jesus was
found worthy to open the scroll. As He opened each of the seven seals, the
apostle John was given to see progressively more detail of future events
contain within the scroll.

In order to understand the contents of a scroll written in a heavenly

language, he must have exercised the gift of interpretation of tongues, but
not in spoken form, but in visual form.

Observe the following Scriptures carefully:

REVELATION 6:1
1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals;
and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with
a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

REVELATION 6:3
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second
living creature saying, “Come and see.”

REVELATION 6:5
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third
living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and
behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair
of scales in his hand.
 REVELATION 6:7
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of
the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”

REVELATION 6:9
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar
the souls of those who had been slain for the word of
God and for the testimony which they held.

REVELATION 6:12
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and
behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became like blood.

REVELATION 8:1-2
1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence
in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God,
and to them were given seven trumpets.

The scroll was written on the inside and outside with letters and words
of heavenly origin in a language no earthly person could read and
understand in the natural. But when the seals were broken, instead of asking
the apostle John to come near to read, he was asked to come near and see.

In January 2015, we conducted a Youth Campmeeting in Kalimpong, a

hill town nestled among the Himalayan Mountains near Darjeeling, West
Bengal. One morning, the presence of God came very strong upon the
meeting and I was caught up to heaven. I found myself in a place that was
familiar to me, the Council of the Prophets. Seated at the oval table were
ancient patriarchs and prophets known to us from the Bible. I was asked to
sit amongst them and the discussion began concerning some end-time
events.

A little later, the Lord Jesus walked into the meeting wearing a regal-
looking scarlet cape around His back, fastened in the front to His shoulders.
All of us stood and bowed at the waist giving respect and honor to His
Majesty. When the Lord sat down, a golden cylinder appeared before Him.
He opened the lid and took out a red scroll. He unrolled the scroll and
looked at it. He then lifted up His face and looked at me with kindness in
His eyes. In an instant, I found myself standing beside the Lord Jesus.

On the scroll, in heavenly writing and language, were written plans for
the remaining days of the Youth Campmeeting. The Lord told me, “See!”
The moment He said that, all the letters, words and writing transformed into
a movie-like visual picture. I was surprised. Immediately, it dawned on me
that this must have been the apostle John’s experience too.

4. The gift of tongues can manifest in connection with angelic visitation.

EZEKIEL 2:9-10
9 Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out
to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing
on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were
lamentations and mourning and woe.

An angel brought a scroll to the prophet-priest Ezekiel. The scroll was

double-sided, written on both the inside and the outside. The prophet was
then asked to eat the scroll.

EZEKIEL 3:1-4
1 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you
find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of
 Israel.”
2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that
scroll.
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly,
and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.”
So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in
sweetness.
4 Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of
Israel and speak with My words to them.

After the prophet Ezekiel ate the scroll he was able to prophesy to the
people of Israel. The “eating of the scroll” is the empowerment received for
the manifestation of the gifts of various kinds of tongues and the
interpretation of tongues which resulted in the gift of prophecy. This is the
triplet of the gifts of communication working together.

In May of 2005 I had a visitation from an angelic being. He held a

scroll in his hand and unrolled it before me. The angelic being then
proceeded to read the scroll. As I saw and heard him I, felt a compulsion to
speak in tongues. I heard myself speaking in a strange heavenly language.
The gift of interpretation manifested to give me the interpretation
concerning the launch of a television network ministry.

5. The interpretation of tongues can manifest as internal hearing.

ISAIAH 50:4
4 “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the
learned, that I should know how to speak a word in
season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning
by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the
learned.
In July of 1994 I went to Mount Kailash in Western Tibet to evangelize the
Tibetans. This is a very holy mountain to the Tibetans. Together with a
Singaporean Chinese, we trekked this high mountain region at elevations of
up to 20,000 feet for three days. On the third day, as we were walking
around the mountain, we saw a Tibetan woman walking along the trail in
the opposite direction.

As we walked past her, she asked me about my nationality. I turned

around and replied, “Hindu,” meaning “Indian” in the Tibetan language. My
companion turned to me in amazement and asked, “How did you know
what she asked you in the Tibetan language?” “Oh, my God!” I gasped in
wonderment, only then realizing that she had spoken Tibetan, but I heard
her question in my own native Tamil language.

At times the gift of interpretation of tongues manifests by allowing us

to hear the speaker in our own native language.

6. These dual gifts of tongues and interpretation are going to manifest

powerfully on a global scale in these last days.

REVELATION 10:8-11
8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to
me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is
open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea
and on the earth.”
9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the
little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and
it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet
as honey in your mouth.”
10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand
and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about
many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

In this encounter, the apostle John was asked to eat a scroll which contains
prophecies concerning nations, kings, people and language groups. To eat
the scroll written in the heavenly language is analogous to receiving a
message through the gift of various tongues. To ask to prophesy after eating
the scroll is like receiving the understanding or knowing what to prophesy
through the gift of interpretation of tongues.

Look at this incident a little closer. The apostle John was told, “You
must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” But
throughout the rest of the book of Revelation he did not prophesy to any
people or nations or language groups or kings. So what’s happening here? I
believe that perhaps the apostle John in this passage represents the last
days’ prophetic company who will receive this scroll to carry out this
prophetic work all over the world.

Summary

When a person speaks a message in tongues it will fall under one of these
six categories:

i. The person speaking in tongues may be speaking with the Lord,

communicating the secrets of his heart (1 Cor 14:2).

ii. He may be speaking in tongues to edify himself (1 Cor 14:4).

iii. He may be speaking in tongues to praise, glorify and magnifyGod

(Acts 2:11; 10:46).
 iv. The person may be praying and interceding, being helped by the
Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26).

v. The person may give someone a message of exhortation, edification,

comfort or even a rebuke for sin (1 Cor 14:4,22-25).

vi. The Almighty God Himself may be speaking to the person in

tongues (Isa 28:11). This would manifest as the person himself
speaking, but will sound more authoritatively.

The person who has the gift of interpretation of tongues will be able to
interpret the message in all of these six categories.

Neither the person who speaks a message in tongues nor the person
who interprets the message in tongues is the lord—authority of what he is
saying or interpreting. By “Lord—authority” I mean to say that he
premeditates what he will say or interpret. The message and interpretation
come forth bubbling out—an act of spontaneity.

The message in tongues is given by the Holy Spirit, and the

interpretation is given by the Holy Spirit. You are neither speaking nor
interpreting from your own mind or heart. It is the Holy Spirit who gives
the utterance (Acts 2:4).

These gifts can manifest in a visual manner or as a strong urge to speak

by faith, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The gift of interpretation of tongues was manifested in the life one

particular man, Howard Carter, a respected Bible teacher from England, in
the following progression. When he first began to interpret tongues, he
would see everything in visual form and simply describe what he was
seeing in the Spirit. As he matured, pictures gave way to words, which he
spoke out loud. Eventually, he came to the place where as soon as a
message in tongues ended, even though he would have nothing at all either
by way of pictures or words, yet he would feel an unction to open his mouth
by faith and then the interpretation would flow forth like water.

Keys to Cultivation

The only way to cultivate and sharpen this gift so that one can be used by
the Holy Spirit to speak in the different languages of men and of the spirit
realm is to continually, consistently and diligently pray in the basic prayer
language in tongues.

When we continually pray in tongues, it builds in us a spiritual

sensitivity to the things of the Spirit and connects us, like an umbilical cord,
to God. It also prepares and conditions the soul to converse with heavenly
beings in their languages and to understand them (Dan 8:13).

Pray earnestly for gift of interpretation of tongues (1 Cor 14:13).

This gift of speaking in tongues—the basic one—should not be

forbidden but rather encouraged by church leaders (1 Cor 14:39). When
believers are encouraged to speak freely in tongues, they can grow to
receive the ministry gift of various kinds of tongues and the interpretation
of tongues.

These gifts, just like the other seven gifts, should be earnestly desired
by all believers: “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a
more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31). The word “earnestly desire” in Greek is
zeloo meaning to have warmth of feeling for or against: covet (earnestly),
(have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over.
 Therefore, we must zealously pursue all the gifts just as a young man
would pursue after a young woman to win her love. However, in the pursuit
of the gifts, let us never neglect the Lover of our souls Who is the Giver of
the gifts!
Chapter 10 - Combinational
Working of the Gifts
The spiritual gifts, though separate and distinct in manifestations, almost
always work closely together. They operate in a bundle—intermingling as if
one.

It’s like the nature of light. Pure light is white, but when it passes
through a prism it comes out in seven colors. It’s also like the rainbow. You
don’t see seven rainbows in the sky after it has rained, but only one rainbow
with seven colors.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is fast becoming a part

of our lives when it comes to audiovisual equipment like high-definition
television, Blu-ray players, home theatre systems, etc. HDMI is an interface
standard used for interconnecting audiovisual equipment. An HDMI cable
contains 19 wires wrapped in a single bundle that resembles a USB wire. It
has a bandwidth of 5 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Previous video interfaces required separate audio and video cables,

with the vast majority of people using standard RCA L/R analog audio jacks
coded with white, red and yellow colored cables. HDMI, with its abundant
bandwidth and speed, carries not only video but also up to eight digital
audio channels for uncompromised surround-sound. It replaces tangles of
wires. Standard HDMI comes in two types: “Type A” has 19 wires, and
“Type B” has 29 wires. The latter is targeted for the motion picture industry
and other professional applications.

The gifts of the Spirit working in combination with each other are quite
like the HDMI cable. One instance of healing or miracle or deliverance is a
combination of the workings of several gifts in unison and seen as just one
gift in manifestation.

The Holy Spirit is symbolized by a dove (Lk 3:22). As a dove, the Holy
Spirit hovers over a meeting or over a situation where He has been
welcomed. The Holy Spirit, like a dove, then flaps His wings over the
situation for which His help has been called upon. Each time His wings
swoop down, gifts of various kinds are released as winds to sweep over the
suffering or afflicted person to soothe them or heal them or relieve them
from their predicament (Mal 4:2).

Biblical Examples

Let us study some examples closely to analyze the various gifts work in
combination.

1. Three gifts: a word of wisdom, discernings of spirits, and the workings of

miracles manifested in the prophet Elisha’s life in the following
incident:

2 KINGS 3:1-18
1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over
Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of
Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like
his father and mother; for he put away the sacred
pillar of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not
depart from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and
he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred
thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand
rams.
5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of
Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time
and mustered all Israel.
7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me.
Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he
said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your
people, my horses as your horses.”
8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he
answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and
the king of Edom, and they marched on that
roundabout route seven days; and there was no water
for the army, nor for the animals that followed them.
10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has
called these three kings together to deliver them into
the hand of Moab.”
11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the
Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?”
So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered
and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who
poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is
with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and
the king of Edom went down to him.
13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I
to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and
the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel
said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three
kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
14 And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before
whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the
presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not
look at you, nor see you.
 15 But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened,
when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord
came upon him.
16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley
full of ditches.’
17 For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor
shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with
water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may
drink.’
18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord;
He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.

Three kings: Jehoram of Israel, Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of

Edom, planned to attack the king of Moab who stopped paying vassal
tribute. After a journey of seven days, they found themselves in a place
without water for the men and for the horses. Fearing death through
exhaustion and thirst for all, King Jehoshaphat, being a godly king,
suggested seeking God’s help through a prophet.

King Jehoram’s servant recommended the kings consult the prophet

Elisha. Among the other two kings, King Jehoshaphat recognized the
prophet Elisha to be a true prophet of God who always has an accurate
Word from God (v.12).

When the three kings came to see the prophet Elisha, upon seeing King
Jehoram, the prophet Elisha said with scathing rebuke: “What have I to do
with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your
mother.” Through the gift of discernings of spirits the prophet Elisha saw
that King Jehoram was no better than his wicked father, King Ahab, and his
mother, Queen Jezebel. That was why the prophet asked him to go to seek
the false prophets his parents set up rather than come to him (1 Kg 16:32-
33; 17:19).

But when King Jehoram humbled himself and pleaded for help, the
prophet Elisha relented for King Jehoshaphat’s sake and sought the Lord for
help. The gift of a word of wisdom manifested in the prophet Elisha and he
said: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says
the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley
shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may
drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also
deliver the Moabites into your hand.”

A word of wisdom was given—a direction, instructing the kings to do

something. They were asked to dig ditches in a dry and arid country right in
the middle of a drought. When they obeyed, God miraculously caused—a
true manifestation of the gift of workings of miracles—the ditches to be
filled with water. Without any outpouring of torrential rain, God
miraculously provided water.

2. Thegift of a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge and the discernings of

spirits working in combination in the following passage:

2 KINGS 6:24-7:2
24 And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of
Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged
Samaria.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria; and
indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold
for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of
dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the
wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my
lord, O king!”
27 And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where
can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or
from the winepress?”
28 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?”
And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give
your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat
my son tomorrow.’
 29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her
on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’;
but she has hidden her son.”
30 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of
the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed
by on the wall, the people looked, and there
underneath he had sackcloth on his body.
31 Then he said, “God do so to me and more also, if
the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him
today!”
32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders
were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead
of him, but before the messenger came to him, he said
to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer
has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when
the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast
at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind
him?”
33 And while he was still talking with them, there was
the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king
said, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why
should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus
says the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of
fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of
barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”
2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned
answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord
would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”
And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes,
but you shall not eat of it.”

At this time in history, the capital city of Israel, Samaria, was besieged by
Syria and there was great famine in the city. People were dying from
starvation everywhere. The situation was so terrible that people even
resorted to cannibalism (v.26-29).

The king, however, blamed the prophet Elisha for the curse of famine
in the land and wanted to take him out. He sent one of his henchmen to
execute him. Unaware of the king’s intention to kill him (v.31), the prophet
Elisha sat in his house together with the elders of Israel, when a word of
knowledge came to him. Looking at the elders, the prophet Elisha said: “Do
you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my
head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at
the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” (v.32).

The gift of a word of knowledge revealed a present fact that the king’s
messenger was on his way to kill the prophet Elisha. The gift of a word of
wisdom then manifested when the prophet Elisha prophesied: “Thus says
the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a
shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria’” (2 Kg
7:1).

Upon hearing the prophet’s prediction of abundant supply in a time of

famine, a skeptical man sneered at the prophecy, insulting God by denying
His ability to work a miracle (2 Kg 7:2). At this point, the gift of
discernings of spirits manifested upon the prophet Elisha to pronounce a
judgment of death upon him (v.2).

The symbol of the gift of the discernings of spirits is a sword (Heb

4:12). It will cut asunder. It was this gift that was upon the apostle Peter
when he spoke the word of judgment upon Ananias and Sapphira who both
dropped dead (Acts 5:1-10).

3. Workings together of the gifts of a word of knowledge and a word of

wisdom.

2 CHRONICLES 16:7-9
 7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of
Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on
the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your
God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has
escaped from your hand.
8 Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army
with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because
you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your
hand.
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout
the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of
those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have
done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have
wars.”

The gift of a word of knowledge manifested to show the seer Hanani the
attitude of King Asa. Then the gift of a word of wisdom manifested to reveal
the future where Judah would face constant wars.

4. The gifts of a word of wisdom and prophecy working in combination.

2 CHRONICLES 20:14-17
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the
son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel,
the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in
the midst of the assembly.
15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!
Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor
dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle
is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely
come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at
the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position
yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do
not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against
them, for the Lord is with you.”

In this Word by the prophet Jahaziel, we see the simple gift of prophecy—
edification, exhortation and comfort being manifested (v.15,17). A
predictive direction is given through the gift of a word of wisdom
concerning how they should engage in war (v.16-17).

5. The three power gifts working in combination.

The three power gifts—gift of faith, gifts of healings, and working of

miracles—will very often work together.

In the case of raising the dead, all three of these power gifts operate
together. This is one reason we don’t see too many people raised from the
dead; some of us may have one or more of these gifts operating in our lives,
but not too many of us have all three of them operating in our lives.

First of all, in raising the dead, it takes supernatural faith—the gift of

special faith—to call a person’s spirit back after it has left the body. Then it
takes the working of miracles because the body would have started to
deteriorate, as in the case of Lazarus.

JOHN 11:38-44
8 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the
tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the
sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by
this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four
days.”
 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you
would believe you would see the glory of God?”
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where
the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes
and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard
Me.
42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because
of the people who are standing by I said this, that they
may believe that You sent Me.”
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with
a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and
foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with
a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him
go.”

Raising the dead also requires the gifts of healings because if the
person who was raised from the dead wasn’t healed, whatever he died from
would still affect his body and he would die again. So the person would
have to be healed, too. Therefore, all three of the power gifts are in
manifestation when someone is raised from the dead.

6. The power gifts working in combination to cast out demons.

Another area in which the gift of faith operates together with other gifts of
the Spirit is the area of casting out evil spirits. In casting out demons, the
gifts of discernings of spirits and/or a word of knowledge, as well faith, are
in operation.

If you don’t discern or see the spirit, very often the presence of the evil
spirit is revealed through the gift of a word of knowledge. But the gift of
faith still has to be exercised in casting out the spirit.

ACTS 16:16-18
 16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a
certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination
met us, who brought her masters much profit by
fortune-telling.
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out,
saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High
God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly
annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command
you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”
And he came out that very hour.

Initially, the apostle Paul did not know that the girl who was following
them and seemingly advertising their ministry had an evil spirit inside her.
If he had known, he would have either cast out the spirit or prevented the
free advertising by the possessed girl right from the first day.

But after several days, the gift of discernings of spirits manifested to

enable the apostle Paul to see what was really inside the girl. Then,
operating under the gift of faith—the unshakable faith that comes from God
—in a thundering voice and without doubting he commanded the evil spirit
to come out of the girl. For that is what the gift of faith does, and the girl
was delivered.

We can’t deal with the devil in our own strength. But God has given us
His Word, His power, His authority, and all the spiritual equipment
necessary to enforce Satan’s defeat in our own lives. And a portion of that
spiritual equipment that God has given us are His gifts.

7. The gifts of a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, and gifts of

healings working in combination.

MATTHEW 8:5-13
 5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a
centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home
paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not
worthy that You should come under my roof. But only
speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers
under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my
servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to
those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have
not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
11 And I say to you that many will come from east and
west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into
outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way;
and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”
And his servant was healed that same hour.

The centurion who requested the Lord Jesus to heal his servant said, “Lord,
I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a
word, and my servant will be healed” (v.8). Accordingly, when the Lord
Jesus spoke the word, the servant was healed (v.13).

Let’s look at this very good example for the various gifts that
manifested:

i. “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed,
“Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not
 even in Israel!” (v.10).

For the Lord Jesus to make this statement, He must have

looked back and scanned all of Israel’s history to know, by the gift
of a word of knowledge, that there was no one like the centurion.

ii. “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit
down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v.11-12).

Here we see the gift of a word of wisdom that revealed the

future to the Lord Jesus concerning who will make it to heaven.

iii. “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have
believed, so let it be done for you” (v.13). The gift of faith enabled
the Lord Jesus to speak a word of faith boldly without being near
the sick person or even seeing him.

iv. “And his servant was healed that same hour” (v.13). The gifts of
healings manifested to heal the centurion’s servant.

A similar incident where the Lord Jesus spoke a word and healed a
person is found in John 4:46-53.

46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He

had made the water wine. And there was a certain
nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea
into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to
come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of
death.
48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see
signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
 49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before
my child dies!”
50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.”
So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,
and he went his way.
51 And as he was now going down, his servants met
him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”
52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got
better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh
hour the fever left him.”
53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in
which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he
himself believed, and his whole household.

Under such circumstances, other gifts such as a word of knowledge,

discernings of spirits, prophecy, diverse kinds of tongues and interpretation
of tongues may also manifest to give force to the spoken word. The gift of
faith would then manifest to speak the revealed word with authority (Matt
8:29). The moment that the spoken word leaves your tongue, it goes forth
with power like a sharp arrow towards its target, manifesting the gifts of
healings (Lk 4:32).

If you were to mix hydrogen and oxygen, the elements that make up
water, you would get no reaction—no water. But if you add a small amount
of platinum, things happen very rapidly. A chemical change occurs. The
hydrogen and oxygen atoms unite to form a new molecule which scientists
call H2O.

Likewise, just as a catalyst such as platinum is needed to produce

water, so faith must be present in the heart of a believer to move in all the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. If faith is absent, not even a single gift will
manifest. This truth is strongly established even in the ministry of the Lord
Jesus when He could only heal a few people due to unbelief amongst the
people of Nazareth (Mk 6:2-6).
 However, every believer must understand one thing: it is the Holy
Spirit who manifests these gifts as He wills and He also distributes them to
all believers in the Church as He sees fit: “All these special abilities, gifts
and powers are inspired and accomplished by the Holy Spirit who decides
which of them each one should have” (1 Cor 12:11, Greek).

If we properly understand this work of the Holy Spirit, there will be no

envying or infighting as to who is great in the body of Christ.

With this understanding, let us now go on to some deeper

manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit—the Seven Spirits of God—which
also include the nine gifts.
Chapter 11 - The Seven Spirits of
God
Let’s ask the question—who or what are the Seven Spirits? Interestingly,
the Seven Spirits of God are mentioned not just once but several times in
the Book of Revelation. On two occasions, the apostle John saw the Seven
Spirits of the Lord standing before or just beside the throne of God; they
appeared as burning lamps (Rev 4:5; 5:6). On one occasion, he saw the
Seven Spirits upon the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev 1:4). On another occasion, in
His letter to the church in Sardis, the Lord Jesus Christ identifies Himself as
“the one who holds the Seven Spirits” (Rev 3:1).

In the Scriptures quoted above, we find “Seven Spirits” mentioned

over and over again. Who are these seven Spirits? If the Holy Spirit is just
one Spirit (Eph 4:4), how is there this repeated mention of seven Spirits in
the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation? Let’s do a Sherlock
Holmes-type investigation.

ISAIAH 11:2
2 “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord.”

If you count all these Spirits, there are seven of them:

1. The Spirit of the Lord – Ruach Yahweh

2. The Spirit of Wisdom – Ruach Chokmah

 3. The Spirit of Understanding – Ruach Biynah

4. The Spirit of Counsel – Ruach Etsah

5. The Spirit of Might – Ruach Gibburah

6. The Spirit of Knowledge – Ruach Da’ath

7. The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord – Ruach Yir’at Yahweh

In the Book of Revelation, we find God the Father seated on the throne
(Rev 4:3), and we also find the Lamb of God seated on the throne (Rev
22:1), but nowhere is it explicitly mentioned where the Holy Spirit is,
except in these Scriptures:

REVELATION 1:4; 4:5

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace
to you and peace from Him who is and who was and
who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are
before His throne,
5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings,
thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were
burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits
of God.

The blessed Holy Spirit is seen here before the throne of God. The
Holy Spirit is the Seven Spirits of God. The one Holy Spirit who manifest
Himself in seven ways is called the sevenfold Spirit (Rev 1:4, AMP).
Sevenfold is the fullness without measure!
 Seven, a sacred number in the Bible, speaks of perfection, fullness and
completeness. The seven Spirits implies a completeness or fullness.
Interestingly, the Holy Spirit rested on the Lord Jesus without measure, i.e.
He was clothed with and in the seven Spirits of God (Jn 3:34).

The eternal character of God is sevenfold! “How so?” you may wonder.
The revelation of the eternal character of God was given to the prophet
Moses when He wanted to see the Almighty God’s eternal–timeless—The
El Olam’s, face. In answer to the cry of his heart, the Lord God said, “I will
make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Ex 33:19).

The sevenfold character of God is revealed in His name which He

proclaimed before the prophet Moses:

EXODUS 34:5-7
5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with
him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
“The Lord, the Lord God 1, merciful and gracious 2,
longsuffering 3, and abounding in goodness and truth
4,
7 keeping mercy for thousands 5, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin 6, by no means clearing the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children and the children’s children to the third and
the fourth generation 7.”

Can you count the characteristics (natures) of God revealed in His

name? Seven! Yes, correct! It is the Holy Spirit Who reveals God to us. Out
of that immeasurable reservoir of God’s own character, He now sends forth
His seven Spirits all over the world (Rev 5:6).
 The Bible further says, “And He showed me a pure river of water of
life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb”
(Rev 22:1). The throne of God and of the Lamb is mentioned, but where is
the Holy Spirit? He is the pure river of life that is flowing forth from the
throne of God. The rivers of waters are the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:38-39).

Symbols of the Holy Spirit

In the Bible, there are seven symbols of the Holy Spirit.

1. Water

JOHN 7:38-39
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom
those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy
Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.

2. Fire

EZEKIEL 8:2-3
2 Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the
appearance of fire — from the appearance of His
waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and
upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the
color of amber.
3 He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by
a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between
earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to
Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner
court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was,
which provokes to jealousy.
3. Rain

HOSEA 6:3
3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the
Lord. His going forth is established as the morning
[his coming to us is as certain as the dawn]; He will
come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain
to the earth.

4. Oil

PSALM 92:10
10 But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have
been anointed with fresh oil.

5. Dove

LUKE 3:22
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.”

The Bible says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was
on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of
the waters” (Gen 1:2). The word “hover” in Hebrew is rachaph, meaning to
brood, to flutter. That is the action of a dove—the Holy Spirit.

6. Wind

ACTS 2:2-4
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of
fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.

7. Cloud

EXODUS 33:9
9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the
tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and
stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord
talked with Moses.

Seven Spirits – Working in Pairs

The nine gifts are the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. The seven Spirits of
God, on the other hand, are the seven different workings of the Spirit of
God. These seven Spirits work in pairs. They don’t work independently.
That is why the prophet Isaiah wrote about them in pairs.

The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit work in groups of twos, threes, or
more as described earlier. No one gift works independently. The gifts of a
word of wisdom, a word of knowledge and the discernings of spirits always
work together. The gifts of faith, the gifts of healings and the workings of
miracles work together. The gifts of prophecy, the various kinds of tongues
and the interpretation of tongues work together.

Likewise, the seven Spirits, too, work together in four groups:

1. The Spirit of the Lord (stands in a class of its own)

 2. Spirits of Wisdom and Understanding

3. Spirits of Counsel and Might

4. Spirits of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord

The Anointed One

The Lord Jesus, as the prophesied messiah, was anointed with all the seven
Spirits of the Lord. In Him the whole Godhead lived in bodily form (Col
2:9). The word “bodily” in Greek is somatikos meaning corporeal or
physical, bodily. When the Holy Spirit came down in bodily form upon the
Lord Jesus during His baptism (Lk 3:22), the same Greek word somatikos is
used. This proves the fact that the unseeable God took on a literal bodily
form to become visible. That is why when Philip wanted the Lord to show
them the Father God, the Lord replied: “Have I been with you so long, and
yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (Jn 14:9).

This is also the reason why the Lord Jesus was filled with the Holy
Spirit without measure (Jn 3:34; Heb 1:9). That means that the Lord Jesus
was anointed with the seven Spirits of the Lord in an unlimited capacity. We
can see the Seven Spirits of God upon the Lord Jesus in the proclamation
He made about Himself in Nazareth (Lk 4:18-19).
Seven Spirits Anointed Messiah
ISAIAH 11:2 LUKE 4:18-19
Spirit of the Lord Spirit of the Lord
Spirit of Wisdom Anointed to Preach
Spirit of Understanding Heal the Brokenhearted
Spirit of Counsel Preach Deliverance to Captives
Spirit of Might Recovery of Sight to Blind
Spirit of Knowledge Set at Liberty the Bruised
Spirit of Fear of God Preach Acceptable Year of the
Lord

Difference between the Nine Gifts & the Seven

Spirits

The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are manifestations, do not require
you to be especially anointed in order for them to manifest; they will
manifest because there is a need, not because of any merit on our own part.
Consider this example.

JOHN 11:49-52
49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that
year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that
one man should die for the people, and not that the
whole nation should perish.”
51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but
being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus
would die for the nation,
52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would
gather together in one the children of God who were
scattered abroad.

The gift of prophecy manifested through Caiaphas concerning putting

the Lord Jesus to death. The gift of prophecy manifested because, at that
time, Caiaphas stood in the office of the high priest.

Somehow, there is a misunderstanding in the Body of Christ that the

gifts of the Holy Spirit are in the possession of the believer. That is not true.
Let us suppose, for example, that you had the gifts of healings. Could you
walk down a hospital hallway and get every person there healed? You can’t,
right? You see, we don’t possess the gifts.

The gifts manifest as and when the necessity arises and as the Holy
Spirit wills. This means every one of us can flow in and have the
manifestation of all the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives (1 Cor
12:11). Don’t settle down for just one gift, though—always go for
everything. Grab them! And don’t let go. Desire earnestly the things of God
(1 Cor 12:31).

The seven Spirits of God, however, are not like that. There is a vast
difference. For these, you have to pray earnestly and ask the Lord for the
Spirits to rest upon you. For the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there’s nothing you
need to do (1 Cor 12:7). The only requirement is that you are baptized in the
Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). But not so with the seven Spirits of God.

There is an equipping that enables us to stand in the various ministry

offices. It will only come as the Lord sees fit to bless us with these Spirits.
It’s like wearing a cloak. Have you ever seen Superman without a cloak?
When he is simply Clark Kent, he has no cloak. But when Clark Kent
transforms into Superman, he dons the muscle-clinging outfit with the
bright red cape flowing over his back. Likewise, when you wear the cloak
of the Seven Spirits of God, you permanently operate in them. They will
always manifest permanently.

It is one thing to know that we can have all the seven Spirits and quite
another what these Spirits are and how they manifest and operate in our life.
Let us learn in the next few chapters about how the seven Spirits operate.

Before we go any further, why don’t you kneel down right now and
pray this prayer: “Lord, I want the seven Spirits of God. Make me worthy to
receive them.”
Chapter 12 - The Spirit of Wisdom
& Revelation
In order to study the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, let us first study
where the source of this Spirit is. The Lord God alone is all Wisdom and
Understanding. Consider the following Scriptures:

JOB 12:13
13 “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has
counsel and understanding.

PSALMS 104:24
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom
You have made them all. The earth is full of Your
possessions —

PSALMS 136:5
5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His
mercy endures forever;

PSALMS 147:5
5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His
understanding is infinite.

PROVERBS 2:6
6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come
knowledge and understanding;

PROVERBS 3:19
19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By
understanding He established the heavens;
 PROVERBS 8:12
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out
knowledge and discretion.

DANIEL 2:20
20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of
God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.

ISAIAH 40:28
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The
everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of
the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His
understanding is unsearchable.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:24
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

COLOSSINAS 2:2-3
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit
together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full
assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the
mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.

REVELATION 7:12
12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to
our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Now that we have seen from the Scriptures that the Lord God indeed is
Wisdom, Revelation and Understanding, let us look more closely at the first
pair of the seven Spirits of God—the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding.
 What can we understand about the Spirit of Wisdom and
Understanding? Let us look at a Scripture:

EPHESIANS 1:17
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him,

This Scripture mentions the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. However,

in the Book of Isaiah it says: Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding. Is there a
contradiction here? Why are two different words used for the same Spirit?
A close examination of these words in the original languages will give us a
better understanding.

The word “wisdom,” in Hebrew is chokmah meaning: skillful, wisdom.

Chokmah is from the primitive root chakam meaning to be wise (in mind,
word or act). “Understanding” in Hebrew is biynah meaning:
understanding, knowledge, and meaning. The word “revelation” in Greek is
apokalupsis meaning disclosure, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, and
revelation. Apokalupsis comes from the word apokalupto meaning: to take
off the cover, i.e. disclose.

Therefore, putting all these words together, we get this extended

meaning: The Spirit of Wisdom gives the wisdom to be skillfully wise in
something. The Spirit of Understanding gives us the meaning of the wisdom
and gives us the knowledge concerning how to apply the wisdom in
practical ways. The Spirit of Revelation then enlightens—takes the cover
off something that is hidden—in this case spiritual divine wisdom. It reveals
to our understanding how to skillfully apply in practical ways the wisdom
we have received from God.

The Meaning
Among the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, there is one called a word of
wisdom (1 Cor 12:8). It is the supernatural impartation from the Holy Spirit
of the revelation of future events and the plans, purposes and mind of God,
and a revelation of God Himself. What is the difference, then, between the
gift of a word of wisdom and the Spirit of wisdom?

The gift of a word of wisdom is just a fragmentary word from the larger
wisdom of God. We can compare it to a splash of water. For example,
consider a person sitting on an embankment at the beach. He hangs his feet
down and the water of the rolling tides would come splashing at his feet. It
is not the entire sea, but only a very small part of it that comes splashing at
his feet. That is a picture of the gift of a word of wisdom, which is only a
tiny portion of the Spirit of wisdom.

In contrast to the gift of a word of wisdom, the Spirit of wisdom can be

compared to a man getting out a surfboard, heading out into the sea, and
riding upon the waves. In the latter case, you are riding on the fullness of
wisdom. The gift of a word of wisdom is just a small word of revelation
compared to the Spirit of wisdom, which is greater in dimension and
capacity—a few splashes of the water at your feet in contrast to riding on
top of the vast expanse of the open seas.

The word “word” in Greek is logos meaning a small word. The Lord
God is omniscience—the source of all wisdom, all understanding, and all
knowledge. From His total wisdom, a small tiny word comes to us.
However, the Spirit of Wisdom is like a wide river—not just a word—a
river that carries with it a stronger, larger reservoir of wisdom.

In years gone by, when you wanted to connect to the Internet, you used
do it via a dial-up connection. Later came broadband. Now there is fiber-
optic. The gift of a word of wisdom is like the limited dial-up connection.
Whereas the Spirit of wisdom is like the practically unlimited broadband or,
better still, the fiber-optic connection. There is a greater revelation of
understanding that flows abundantly through the Spirit of wisdom than the
gift of a word of wisdom.
Definition of the Spirit of Wisdom

As mentioned earlier, the word “wisdom” in Hebrew is chokmah meaning

wisdom, skill. Chokmah comes from a primitive root word chakam,
meaning to be wise (in mind, word or act): deal wisely, make wiser. The
Greek word for “wisdom” is sophia, meaning the insight into the true
nature of things.

The “Spirit of Wisdom” is the supernatural ability of God that comes

upon our spirit to see the Lord Jesus as He is, and to get a spiritual
understanding and knowledge of the Word of God. It enables us to know
what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in every situation. It enables us
to maximize the use of our God-given talents to their fullest potential in
order to fulfill His plans and purposes. It also reveals the manifold and
unsearchable wisdom and secrets of God and of things in heaven.

Simply put, it means an unfolding comprehension of the sum total of

knowing and understanding the wisdom of God. It means a deeper entering
into the things of God and a deep, intimate relationship with God that will
enable us to know God and walk with Him in intimate fellowship.

One of the most important things to understand is the position of the

Lord Jesus. The Bible says that He is seated at the right hand of God the
Father (Mk 16:19; Col 3:1; Heb 10:12). But the Bible also says the same
thing concerning our own position:

EPHESIANS 2:5-8
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, [He] made us
alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the
exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward
 us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

This Scripture tells us that we are seated “together in the heavenly

places in Christ Jesus.” If we put all these Scriptures together, we
understand that we are actually seated beside the Father God, in Christ
Jesus. Since we are seated beside Father God positionally in Christ Jesus,
when the Spirit of wisdom and revelation is upon us, all we have to do is
just look at the face of the Father God. When we do so, all the wisdom, all
the revelation, all the understanding will begin to flow to us; we will receive
an impartation that will give us divine wisdom and supernatural
understanding.

“What is this knowing like?” you may ask. It is like having a hunch,
but stronger—you know that you know that you know. Sometimes when
you get a visitation from the Lord Jesus, He will just impart to your spirit in
one split second knowledge that would take more than an hour to articulate
in earthly terms. That is how communication is conduct in heaven—by
thought. It is concerning this that the Scripture says: “But ye have an
unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 Jn 2:20, KJV).

Definition of the Spirit of Revelation–Understanding

“Revelation” means a comprehension—a comprehension of the wisdom of

God. “Understanding” is perceiving with the mind. So together, we have
understanding on the one hand and perception on the other. This perception
penetrates deeply into wisdom with eyes like the piercing eyes of the eagle.

“Revelation” is the comprehension imparted into our spirits from the

Holy Spirit and then transmitted to our minds. It passes not from the head to
the heart but progresses from the heart to the head. It is the voice of God
speaking to our spirits and informing the mind what God is going to do. It is
the unfolding of hidden secrets to us by the Holy Spirit, a revealing of
mysteries and clear insights into the future.

“Understanding” in Greek is phronesis, meaning the ability to discern

modes of action with a view to their results. While “Revelation” is
somewhat theoretical in nature, “Understanding” is more practical. The
combination of both will give us the ability to not only know the things of
God but also the know-how to apply them practically.

Simply put, “the Spirit of Wisdom” is the one who gives us a knowing
—a perception of the things of God and of God Himself. The Spirit of
Understanding/Revelation enables us to understand this knowledge and
apply it in practical ways.

The Spirit of Wisdom enables you to comprehend and see into the
Spirit realm. In a split second you can comprehend what is being revealed
to you. Wisdom is imparted into your spirit in a split second. However, it
does not yet register in the human mind. Because the wisdom comes
“zipped up,” you need a “Stuffit expander” to unzip it.

The Spirit of Understanding/Revelation is the one Who unravels and

unzips the wisdom. He not only unzips the revelation knowledge but also
enables us to apply the wisdom that has been apprehended in the spiritual
realm. As a result, you will not only have a theoretical knowledge, but also
a practical working knowledge of the things of God.

The Manifestation

The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation manifests and operates

in three ways.

1. Knowledge of the Godhead

The Godhead has always been a mystery to everybody. Therefore, this
Spirit brings you revelation, comprehension, and understanding of the
knowledge of the Godhead. The knowledge of the Godhead can be revealed
in four ways.

i. To understand the meanings of the acts of God

DANIEL 2:22
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what
is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.

The prophet Daniel was blessed with the Spirit of Wisdom (Dan 5:11-12).
The gift enabled him to have “knowledge and skill in all learning and
wisdom … understanding in all visions and dreams” (Dan 1:17). The Spirit
of Wisdom and Revelation enabled him to understand the meanings and the
acts of God.

Consider this incident where the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding

revealed to the prophet Daniel the mysterious act of God.

DANIEL 5:1-17,22-29
1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a
thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence
of the thousand.
2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the
command to bring the gold and silver vessels which
his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple
which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his
lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from
them.
3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been
taken from the temple of the house of God which had
been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his
wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and
silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand
appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the
plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king
saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his
thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips
were loosened and his knees knocked against each
other.
7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the
Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke,
saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads
this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be
clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around
his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the
kingdom.”
8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not
read the writing, or make known to the king its
interpretation.
9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his
countenance was changed, and his lords were
astonished.
10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his
lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke,
saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts
trouble you, nor let your countenance change.
11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the
Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father,
light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom
of the gods, were found in him; and King
Nebuchadnezzar your father — your father the king —
made him chief of the magicians, astrologers,
Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge,
understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles,
and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel,
whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be
called, and he will give the interpretation.”
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The
king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel
who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father
the king brought from Judah?
14 I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you,
and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom
are found in you.
15 Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been
brought in before me, that they should read this
writing and make known to me its interpretation, but
they could not give the interpretation of the thing.
16 And I have heard of you, that you can give
interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can
read the writing and make known to me its
interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and
have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be
the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king,
“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards
to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and
make known to him the interpretation.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled
your heart, although you knew all this.
23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of
heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house
before you, and you and your lords, your wives and
your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you
have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and
iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or
know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand
and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him,
and this writing was written.
 25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of each word. Mene: God
has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
27 Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and
found wanting;
28 Peres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to
the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they
clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold
around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning
him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

In this incident, we read how the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding

revealed to the prophet Daniel the acts of God concerning the king and his
kingdom.

We read in the Gospels that the Lord Jesus Christ rejoiced and prayed
to the Father God, thanking Him for opening the disciples’ eyes so that they
could comprehend and begin to know the deep things of God
(Matt 11:25-26; Lk 10:21-22). God revealed to them the hidden things—the
works and the ways of God.

ii. Secrets of Christ Jesus’ Divinity

MATTHEW 16:13-17
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea
Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men
say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some
Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.”
 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

When the apostle Peter answered the Lord Jesus’ question regarding His
real identity the Lord said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven”
(v.17).

The Bible says that all gifts, all good things, come from the Father God
(Jas 1:17). Everything proceeds from the Father. If you want to see the Lord
Jesus Christ face to face, if you want to talk to Him and know Him,
understand that this gift proceeds from the Father. The Lord Jesus Himself
has said, “No one knows the Son except the Father” (Matt 11:27).

The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation will enable us to

understand and to comprehend the deep things of Christ Jesus Himself. It is
no wonder that the apostle Paul was able to reveal the deep mysteries of the
Lord Jesus (Eph 3:3-4; Col 1:27; 2:2-3; 4:3) because he himself was also
filled with this gift (Eph 1:17, 3:3-4).

iii. Mystery and Purpose of God

ROMANS 16:25-26
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according
to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret
since the world began
26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic
Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the
commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to
the faith
This Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation will enable us to
understand the deep purposes and the secrets of God, the mysteries of God
that have been kept hidden from time immemorial (1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:9; 3:9;
Col 1:26; 1 Tim 3:16).

The apostle Paul frequently made statements in his epistles along these
lines: “This is the mystery which was revealed to me,” or “This was the
mystery that was kept hidden but has now been revealed.” He was one man
who was highly favored by God to receive revelations concerning the
mysteries of God’s purposes.

It pleased the Lord Jesus to teach the apostle Paul all things through the
Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation. Through this gift he was
taught by visions and by revelations even concerning the Lord’s Supper, for
he writes, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you”
(1 Cor 11:23). Let us look at this Scripture using different translations of the
Bible:

1. Amplified: “For I received from the Lord Himself that which I passed
on to you [it was given to me personally].”

2. The Message: “I received my instructions from the Master himself.”

3. Weymouth: “For it was from the Lord that I received the facts.”

4. Wuest: “I received by direct revelation from the presence of the

Lord.”

How could the apostle Paul know the exact manner in which the Lord
Jesus served communion when he was not even saved then? This question
constantly came to my mind whenever I read this Scripture. So I took it up
before the Lord in prayer. By the mercies of God, I was shown in a vision
how the apostle Paul was translated in the Spirit back to the time when the
Lord Jesus was serving the Passover meal to His disciples.

He stood there and witnessed the whole scene. Not only that – the Lord
Jesus also stood beside him and gave him the comprehension to understand
the revelation concerning the bread and the wine. It was through the Spirit
of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation that the apostle Paul was able to
write in great depth concerning the mysteries of God.

When you are equipped with the Spirit of Wisdom and

Understanding/Revelation, even while meditating on the Scriptures,
suddenly you will be able to understand—to know deep truths and
mysteries that are hidden in them.

You will be able to understand the mysteries and the purposes of God
concerning people’s lives, concerning nations, and concerning God’s
intentions and purposes in the earth. Through the gift of a Word of Wisdom,
you can receive a small impartation. However, with the Spirit of Wisdom,
God will come and talk to you about what is going to happen in a nation
and what is going to happen around the world.

One morning in November 1994 I was praying during my devotion

time with the Lord. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit asked me to pray for a certain
minister friend’s wife. I did not know what she was going through, so I
began to pray in tongues for her. As I was praying, I felt myself transported
into the mind of God. Have you seen a picture of the human brain? I am
sure you have, either from science books or from watching documentaries
on TV. Just like the human brain with its various tunnel-like lobes, I found
myself in what looked like a gigantic brain. However, at that moment, I did
not know I was looking at the mind of God.

The brain is a grayish, flesh-tissue organ. If you were to touch it, it

would feel very spongy. As I was standing there before this gigantic brain,
without any warning, I was suddenly sucked into it and began to travel
faster than the speed of light, zooming through this “mind maze” in a zigzag
manner. As I was moving though the mind of God, every now and then my
hand or arm would touch or brush against the brain tissue.

As I touched one particular piece of brain tissue, I received a revelation

concerning my friend’s wife. The revelation I got was that she was pregnant
with a male child. Later, I found out she was two weeks pregnant. It was too
early for medical science to determine the sex of the fetus. Yet the name of
the child was revealed to me. Also, the manner in which he should be
brought up from babyhood. Even his future—from birth up to 20 years of
age—was revealed to me as I passed from one end of the brain (the mind of
God) to the other. This is one of the most amazing revelations I have ever
received concerning a person. His parents recently testified to me that every
detail in their son’s life has been fulfilled in the past 20 years.

Furthermore, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation

reveals the hidden wisdom and secrets of God.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:7
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the
hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages
for our glory,

“Hidden wisdom” can also be translated as secret wisdom previously

hidden. There are many secrets of God and secrets of the spiritual realm
which pertain to things way before this world began. How did Lucifer
allowed sin to come into his heart? Who enticed or tempted him? Who are
the “sons of God” in heaven? Who are the “morning stars” in heaven?

Being the least among God’s many choice servants, He graced me, over
the years, to receive many secrets—hidden mysteries. Some of which—the
ones which I was permitted to share—are related in one of my books, The
Hidden Riches of the Secret Places.
 iv. Knowing the Father God Intimately

PROVERBS 8:30-31
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And
I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight
was with the sons of men.

There is nothing like having an intimate knowledge of God Himself. The

Lord God has many beautiful natures, and none of us can ever fully
comprehend nor understand God. It is very difficult. It is even difficult to
understand the Lord Jesus.

The Father God always remains a mystery to all of us. Have you ever
desired to see the Father God? I have a bad news for you. Nobody can see
the Father God (Ex 33:20; Jn 1:18). I am sorry to disappoint you. However,
though technically it is impossible, I will reveal a secret concerning how
you can see the Father God.

The secret is the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation. This

Spirit will enable us to see the Father God. It is possible! Because the Bible
says, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one
knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except
the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matt 11:27).
Did you notice this phrase in the Scripture—the one to whom the Son wills
to reveal Him. Technically, it was impossible for the prophet Moses to see
the face of God. Nevertheless, because God willed to reveal Himself to
Moses, He made a way for His meek servant, making an exception for him
(Ex 33:20-23).

If the Lord Jesus Christ is the express image of the invisible God then
the fullness of the understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ would be a
revelation of the Father God Himself (2 Cor 4:6; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3). The
day this revelation dawned on me, I began to pray like this: “Lord Jesus,
You said in Your Word that You will reveal the Father to us. So now, please
show me the Father.” I have been praying this prayer since 1993.

On Rosh Hashanah of 2015, I was fasting and praying in Jerusalem,

Israel. As I was waiting on God, I found myself in the Spirit in heaven. I
was brought to the Lord Jesus. I bowed and worshiped the Lord. He then
asked an angel to wash me and clothe me. The angel took me a stone’s
throw away and had me stand in a particular spot. When I did, a bucket full
of water was poured over me, cleansing and purifying me. Then this angel
adorned me with beautiful fine linen.

Washed and clothed anew, I was brought again to the Lord. The Lord
smiled at me and said, “Come, let’s go and meet the Father.” I was shocked
beyond anything. I could not fathom what I heard the Lord say. The Lord
took me to a secluded, faraway place in heaven. There was perfect peace
and serenity in this place. There were huge, snow-capped mountains too.
The Lord pointed to one particular perfect-looking mountain and said,
“That is the dwelling place of the Father.”

A little later, I saw the similitude of a great Being (but not the face,
though) manifested in a cloud on the pinnacle of the mountain. The cloud
was moving and pulsating with life. A voice thundered from the cloud,
“Welcome My son. What do you want?” I was just too scared to ask for
anything. Still trembling, I composed myself a little, standing close to the
Lord Jesus and then told the Father that I wanted to live a life pleasing unto
Him. The Father gave me some counsel and clothed me with a new scarlet
robe.

It is absolutely possible to see God the Father if the Lord Jesus Christ
wills to reveal Him (Lk 10:22). In addition, who are those to whom the
Father God will be revealed? His friends.

In 1988, I was conducting an evangelistic crusade in Kalimpong, India.

One day while I was praying for the people, I saw the Lord Jesus standing
by my right side. He then knelt down beside the pulpit. With a very tender
look, He turned to look upon the people. When I looked upon His face, I
saw so much compassion and tender love. He turned and looked to His left
where a group of schoolchildren was praying ardently. The Lord said to me,
“I want to bless all the students today. Tell them all to stand up and pray for
them. I’m going to bless every one of them today.”

The closer you get to the Lord, the more you will see His heart. When I
was younger in the Spirit, I was so excited to pray and yearn for the mighty
acts of God—healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, etc.
However, as I got older and closer and nearer to God, I discovered the other
face of God. It is His inner beauty—His grace, kindness, goodness and
mercy.

His grace will literally break and melt our heart to move in compassion.
The prophet Moses wanted to see the glory of God (Ex 33:18). However,
the Lord told him that He will show Him something better—His grace in
which the glory is hidden.

EXODUS 33:18-34:7
18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass
before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord
before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion.”
20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man
shall see Me, and live.”
21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you
shall stand on the rock.
22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will
put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with
My hand while I pass by.
23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see
My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
 1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of
stone like the first ones, and I will write on these
tablets the words that were on the first tablets which
you broke.
2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the
morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me
there on the top of the mountain.
3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man
be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks
nor herds feed before that mountain.”
4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then
Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount
Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in
his hand the two tablets of stone.
5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with
him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
and the children’s children to the third and the fourth
generation.”

Ultimately, when you come nearer to God, you will see His inner
beauty—His goodness and grace.

2. Eyes of Understanding Enlightened

EPHESIANS 1:17-18
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him,
 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints,

When the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation rests upon you, your spiritual
eyes will be opened permanently. That does not mean you will see visions
24/7. However, you will constantly see visions and see into the Spirit realm
on a regular basis. It will not be a struggle.

Man is a tripartite being comprised of spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit
man looks exactly as you do in the flesh—there is no difference at all. Just
like our body, both our spirit and soul have forms and look exactly like us.
That was why when the apostle Paul, reflecting on his experience in the
Spirit both in Paradise and in the third heaven, said:

2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-4
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago —
whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of
the body I do not know, God knows — such a one was
caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man — whether in the body or
out of the body I do not know, God knows —
4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard
inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter.

I first experienced seeing my own spirit in May of 1983. I began

seeking God in the early morning for three hours every day. This went on
for several days. One day, after spending those few hours with God, I
decided to rest a while on my bed. As soon as I felt rested, I felt something
like electrical current rising up from my legs upwards. When I looked, I saw
a pair of legs risen. I also saw another pair of legs lying on the bed. I
realized I was looking at my spiritual legs. Over the next few days, I saw
my full spirit standing over my physical body. I saw that my spirit and my
body looked alike.

It was also during these times that I gradually began to experience my

spiritual eyes being opened. Every time I experienced my spirit coming out
of my body, I saw my spiritual eyes open little by little. Eventually, they
were opened completely. This stage-by-stage opening was similar to how
we open our eyes when we awaken from sleep in the morning. You do not
instantly open your eyes completely and stare at the sunlight, do you?

Sometime in February 1985, a question arose in my heart: Does the

soul have a form like the spirit? If it does, what does it look like? Does it
also look like the physical body? I asked a prophet friend, but he had no
understanding or revelation on this matter either. Therefore, I took it up
before the Creator. For several days, I prayed and asked the Lord this
question.

One morning, at about 3 AM, amidst my usual time of waiting on God,

I felt something from inside me come out. It stood before me. I clearly saw,
with my spiritual eyes, this person who looked like me. At first glance, I
thought it was my spirit. However, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “This is the
answer to your question. The soul has a form and looks like you.”

The opening of the eyes of the understanding is a truth I first read in the
late Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin’s (1917-2003) book, The Authority of the
Believer, in 1983. In it, Brother Hagin shares his own walk of discovery in
this gift. During the winter of 1947-48 he spent about six months praying
what the apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers. He prayed this
earnestly on his knees at the altar of the last church he pastored in East
Texas.

EPHESIANS 1:17-19; 3:16-21

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give to you [me] the spirit of wisdom and
 revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your [my] understanding being
enlightened; that you [I] may know what is the hope of
His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints [me],
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us [me] who believe, according to the working
of His mighty power
16 that He would grant you [me], according to the
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might
through His Spirit in the [my] inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your [my] hearts through
faith; that you [I], being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what
is the width and length and depth and height —
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you [I] may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we [I] ask or think,
according to the power that works in us [me],
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen.

He prayed this prayer for himself more than a thousand times. He

would personalize the prayer by saying me wherever the apostle Paul said
you. He kept his Bible open to this prayer and prayed it several times a day.
Sometimes, he stayed in prayer for two or three days at a time without
visiting his home and eating little.

Then, one day, the first thing he was praying for started to happen. The
Spirit of wisdom and revelation came upon him, and began to function!
Visions and revelations began to flow like rivers; so much so, that he began
to see things in the Bible he had never seen before. The Scriptures just
began to open up to him.
 I was so challenged and fired up after reading Brother Hagin’s
experience. That was in May 1983. I followed his example and began to
seek God fervently. Every few minutes that I could spare I would find a
secluded place kneel down, take the piece of paper on which I had written
the prayers of Ephesians 1:17-23 and 3:16-21, and pray earnestly.

As I was engaged in prayer one day, I saw a flash of a vision, “118

days.” As I was wondering what this meant, the Holy Spirit strongly
impressed upon me that after 118 days I would receive this gift. Undaunted,
I kept on praying. On September 23, 1983, while in a prayer meeting, I saw
an awesome vision of the glory of God. As I began writing this vision in my
diary, I became curious about the timing. I counted back the days and, to
my surprise, found that it was exactly the 118th day since the Lord’s
promise. From then onwards, seeing visions and receiving revelations
frequently manifested in my life by the manifold grace of God.

When the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding/Revelation comes upon

us, our spiritual eyes are permanently opened to see visions and to see into
the Spirit realm on a regular basis, and not just occasionally.

Three things that will happen when the eyes of our understanding are
enlightened.

i. You will be able to see the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

GALATIANS 1:15-16
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from
my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him
among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with
flesh and blood,

The apostle Paul had constant experiences of seeing the Lord Jesus in the
Spirit (Acts 22:17-21; 23:11; 2 Tim 4:16-17). He did not have the privilege
of seeing the Lord Jesus in the flesh, but he saw Him constantly in the
Spirit.

The Psalmist, too, had this experience: “I have set the Lord always
before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” (Ps 16:8).

ii. You will see—know—the thoughts of people

HEBREWS 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to
the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but
all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to
whom we must give account.

The thoughts of the human hearts and minds, which are usually hidden, will
be revealed and exposed. The Lord Jesus moved in this manner: “But Jesus
did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no
need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (Jn
2:24-25).

One of the conditions the Holy Spirit lays upon those who move in this
gift is that the secrets of people’s heart cannot be shared, gossiped or
revealed to others, except to the person concerned. A lot of harm will
happen if we open our mouth and reveal certain secrets prematurely, and
this could even include revealing these things to the person concerned. For
that reason, sometimes, the Lord deliberately limits our ability to
comprehend certain things (cp. 2 Kg 4:27).

We need to come into a place of maturity to handle these powerful and

potentially dangerous gifts. God’s gifts are powerful. They are like a
double-edged sword, which can cut two ways: it can cut you and it can cut
the other person. They can even destroy us if we do not know how to handle
them.

One such great (if not the greatest!) danger is pride. When you begin to
move mightily in the gifts, everybody will come running to you and will lift
you up (Prov 18:16). Be careful! The very people who praise you today will
be the ones who will crucify you tomorrow.

We must learn to walk in humility and in quietness of spirit. The more

you humble yourself, the more you will get closer to God. The willow tree
is commonly found in Asian countries. The branches of the willow tree are
always bending down to the ground. The taller the tree, the lower it bows.
Likewise, the stronger you grow in the Spirit, the lower you must bow and
humble yourself before God.

iii. Revelation of Father God

MATTHEW 11:27
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows
the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the
Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

In the Old Testament, we read that nobody can see God and live (Ex 33:20).
The New Testament also says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (Jn
1:18). If so, how then can we see the Father God? Let me narrate the
wonderful experience of a man of God from India, the late Dr. D.G.S.
Dhinakaran, who received grace and favor from the Lord Jesus to see the
face of God the Father.

Once he was caught up to heaven, and the Lord Jesus talked with him
about many things. After talking with him, the Lord Jesus asked him,
‘Would you like to see the Father?’ Though he was excited about the
possibility, he remembered the Scriptures and said to the Lord, “But Lord,
isn’t it impossible to see the Father God?”

The Lord looked at him and said, “Don’t worry My son. Just come
with Me.” The Lord Jesus took him to a faraway place, secluded from the
other parts of heaven. The whole region was mountainous and seemed
covered with marvellous light (Dan 2:22). There was a mountain that
seemed covered with snow (Ps 48:1). But the man of God realized that this
was the Shekinah glory of God that appeared like snow (1 Tim 6:16). The
whole atmosphere in this place was one of stillness and absolute silence.

The Lord Jesus told him that in the midst of that mountain is the
abode of the Father (Dan 7:9,13). There was a majestic white throne high up
on the mountain, on which Dr. Dhinakaran could perceive a Being was
seated (Rev 20:11). The Lord Jesus then told him, “I will now show you the
Father’s face. But you can only see Him for a split-second.” At the Word of
the Lord, the light-cloud faded for just a split-second. This man of God then
saw the face of the God of Israel (Ex 24:10-11).

Since I knew this very dear and very humble man of God personally,
I did not doubt his experience. However, I wondered how it was possible
since it seemed to contradict Scriptures. When I sought the Lord, the Holy
Spirit directed me to these Scriptures.

LUKE 10:22
 22 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father,
and no one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to
whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

JOHN 16:25
25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative
language; but the time is coming when I will no longer
speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you
plainly about the Father.

These two Scriptures and Matthew 10:27 says clearly that it is possible
to see the Father God. But it must be permitted and willed by the Lord
Jesus. Not everyone can have this privilege, though. There are certain
criteria that must be fulfilled. And even then, the Lord Jesus must will it. So
if the conditions are fulfilled, then, according to the will of the Lord Jesus
He will say to you, “Come, I will show you My Father.”

As I was writing this portion in Vientiane, Laos, on December 6, 2015,

I perceived in my spirit that it is the desire of the Lord Jesus to introduce us
to Father God—to His Father. He desires to reveal the Father to us. Didn’t
He say when He was in this world that He had revealed the name of the
Father to His disciples? (Jn 17:6,26).

There is one reason why many of us do not see the things of the Spirit.
It is not because God does not want to show us. He would love to do that
for us, for His desire to reveal to us the things of the Sprit is greater than our
desire to see them. If that is true, why then are many people not seeing the
things of the Spirit? It is because we are not ready spiritually. We are not
spiritually mature yet. This Scripture talks about this: “But the natural man
does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (2 Cor
2:14).
 When you begin to mature, your spirit will be ready to see into the
things in the Spirit realm. One of the ways to grow and mature in the Spirit
is to be filled with the Word of God and to fellowship with God through
praise and worship.

There is another condition to see God the Father. In March 1993, I was
fasting and praying in Kalimpong, India. In a vision, I beheld heaven and
saw a temple there (Rev 15:5). It had ivory pillars. From inside the temple
came lightning, thunder, and loud noises (Rev 4:5). I was trembling with a
godly fear, uncertain what was going to happen next. Then, I saw the Lord
Jesus coming out of the temple, smiling, accompanied by some small
children.

Even after the Lord Jesus had left the temple, the rumblings, lightning,
and thunderclaps continued. Soon, a bright and glorious cloud, full of
burning radiance emerged from the temple. I saw a Hand come out from the
midst of the fiery cloud (Ezek 8:2-3; Rev 5:7). Fire was coming out of the
Hand like the solar flares of the sun. It looked like a consuming and
devouring fire (Deu 4:24; Ps 50:3; Heb 12:29). I realized then that I was
seeing the Hand of the Father God. The whole scene was just as it is written
in Revelation 11:19: ‘Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and
the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings,
noises, thundering, an earthquake and great hail.”

I pondered the vision deeply and sought the Lord for its meaning. The
Holy Spirit graciously revealed to me the following conditions under which
a believer may be allowed to see God the Father.

i. Specifically permitted and willed by the Lord Jesus (Matt 11:27; Lk

10:22; Jn 16:25). It is not a RIGHT but a PRIVILEGE for a child
of God.

ii. An attitude of humility and meekness as typified by little children

(Matt 11:25; Num 12:3,8).
 iii. A pure and holy life (Ps 24:3-4; Prov 22:11; Matt 5:8; Heb 12:14).

3. Revelation of the Riches of the Glory of God

EPHESIANS 1:17-18
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints,

What are the riches of the glory of God? The Holy Spirit alone, through the
Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, can reveal to us the deep and hidden
things of God (1 Cor 2:9-10). They are the glorious inheritance that has
been reserved by God for the saints. It is the rich treasury that God has in
heaven for all of us. The things prepared for us by God are all there, waiting
for us to partake of them. What are the riches of His glory?

The riches of the glory of God are comprised of five things.

Things that are in Heaven

All the riches of the glory of God are in heaven. The Lord Jesus talked
about mansions that are in heaven (Jn 14:2). Whether you are a highly
spiritual believer or you are just a novice believer, whether you have been a
Christian for 50 years or a single day, whoever you are, if you are washed
by the blood of Jesus Christ, you are qualified—if you endure till the end—
to receive a mansion in heaven. Whether you are a Catholic, or a Protestant,
or a Methodist, or whatever denomination you may belong to, it doesn’t
matter. The only criterion is that your heart must be washed by the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the sole basis upon which you will receive
your inheritance.
 These mansions in heaven are built according to our spiritual growth on
earth. The amazing thing about these mansions is that the day you are born
again, a plot is booked for you, a brick is put there, and the angels
commence their work of building a mansion for you.

One of the beautiful things about God is that He always fulfills the
desires of our hearts. Whatever you desire, you will find it up in heaven.
There was once a prophet of God in America. He always had this deep
desire for a rocking chair, but he didn’t have the money to buy one. He
lived by faith, and I guess he didn’t take a salary for himself. One day, he
was taken up to heaven. His wife had already died and gone to heaven
before him. When he was in heaven, his wife came and met him and said,
“Come, I will show you your mansion.”

In heaven, husbands and wives are not husbands and wives per se—
they are like brothers and sisters. When he stepped into his mansion, he saw
a rocking chair there. He was very surprised and asked his wife, “What is
this rocking chair doing here?” She answered, “Didn’t you always long for
a rocking chair? The Lord has reserved this for you in heaven so that when
you come, you can always enjoy this rocking chair.” Look at the great love
of the Lord Jesus, who delights to fulfill the desires of His children!

The late Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran tragically lost his dear daughter in a car
accident in 1986. She was only 18 years old. This girl had a great desire to
learn how to play the keyboard and some other musical instruments. But
before she could finish high school, go to university, and learn to play these
musical instruments, an accident cruelly took her life. The entire family was
totally devastated.

One day, when this man of God was taken up to heaven, the Lord, after
having talked with him, looked at him and asked, “Would you like to see
your daughter?” With tears in his eyes, he said, “Yes, Lord.” So the Lord
brought him to a certain place where there were many girls of the same age
group as his daughter who were all learning music. An angel was standing
in the midst of them, teaching them all how to play various musical
instruments. Among the group, the man of God saw his daughter. He
thought to himself, “But my daughter does not know how to play any
musical instruments. How can she join these advanced classes?” Then he
was made to understand that every unfulfilled desire on earth will be
fulfilled in heaven. How good and wonderful our God is!

i. The Deep Hidden Riches and the Secrets of Darkness

ISAIAH 45:3
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden
riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the
Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of
Israel.

The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation will enable you to know and
understand deep secrets – the hidden riches of the secrets of God and the
mysteries of God; whatever they may be, none will be hidden anymore.

We read in the Bible the account of the apostle Paul being caught up to
heaven twice (2 Cor 12:2-4). It is the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that
enables you to be transported before the throne of God and to other places
in heaven. Some people are graced to be caught up to heaven and see its
glories at least once. But when the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation is upon
a person, they may have frequent visits to heaven. Heaven becomes like a
second home.

Heaven is a place so huge and vast that your eyes cannot comprehend
everything all at once. Even in the light of eternity, you can only see a little
bit of heaven. (For more insight into this, the reader may want to get a hold
of my book Hidden Riches of the Secret Places.)

In the year 1994, I was fasting and praying for three days. On the third
day, as I was worshipping the Lord, an Angel appeared before me. He was
very glorious and very bright. Though he appeared before me in the Spirit,
his brightness was so glorious that I had to close my eyes. His garment
glistened like lightning. He wore a wide golden belt around his waist. He
carried a silver plate in his hand. Stretching the plate out towards me, he
said, “These are the fruits from the Tree of Wisdom. God has sent them to
you. Take and eat.”

When I looked into the plate, there were three kinds of fruits. They
looked like a watermelon cut into quarters, three big blackcurrants, and a
pear cut into quarters. I had no clue why the fruits were cut in this manner.
But I do believe each one had a spiritually symbolic meaning. The angel
said to me, “Take, eat.”

Up to that time in my spiritual walk, I had never heard of a Tree of

Wisdom. Have you? So, I prayed, “Spirit of God, is this truly an angel sent
from heaven by You? Or is the devil impersonating an angel?” (2 Cor
11:14). The Holy Spirit answered, “I have sent him; take and eat the fruit.” I
took the fruits and ate them. They were very sweet. After I finished eating
all the fruits, the angel dematerialized before my eyes, beginning from his
head and feet all the way to his mid-section, disintegrating into tiny
particles.

A minute or two after he left, the Lord Jesus appeared before me.
Seated on my bed, He said, “I have come to teach you some mysteries of
the universe.” From a young age, I had always been fascinated by
astronomy. As a boy at the age of 15, I had even desired to become an
astronaut and to join NASA. Prior to this visitation, I had been reading a
book on astronomy by Dr Stephen Hawking. Picking the book up in His
hands, the Lord said, “Let Me teach you true astronomy.” Saying that, the
Lord then began to unravel mysteries of the universe that had been puzzling
scientists for ages. (More insight into this can also be found in the book
Hidden Riches of the Secret Places.)

The Spirit of Wisdom will not only unravel such secrets and mysteries,
but will also reveal the deeper things of spiritual realms. In 2003, I was in
Saskatchewan, Canada to minister at a conference. A heavenly being
appeared before me. Similar to the incident in 1994, he appeared with a
plate of fruits and said, “Take, eat these fruits. These are from the Tree of
Wisdom.” After eating them, the being told me, “Go to your room now and
pray.”

So I left the conference hall, went to my room, and knelt down to pray.
When I did, I felt a very strong impression to read the Book of Revelation.
When I began to read the Book of Revelation all the hidden secrets and
mysteries in the book began to open before my eyes. Secrets such as the
identity of the 24 elders, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of the
Firstborn and many others were revealed to me so I could comprehend and
understand them.

4. Ability to Do Works Not Learned in the Natural

When the prophet Moses was shown the pattern of the tabernacle furniture
in the heavenly realm, no one else besides him had ever seen them.
However, the Lord had selected Bezalel to create the furniture (Ex 31:2). So
how was he going to create the different items the design for which did not
exist on earth?

The Lord God came to Bezalel’s rescue: “And I have filled him with
the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all
manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver,
in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all
manner of workmanship” (Ex 31:3-5).

On August 21, 2015, I was in Sydney, Australia conducting a ministry

conference. As I was praying that day, I saw an angelic being in the Spirit
who explained to me how Bezalel was able to wisely design and create the
tabernacle furniture. Being filled with the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation,
he was able to see the design in visions while the prophet Moses explained
each piece of the furniture to him. This gift gave him the anointing—the
knowing—with which he was able to design, create and guide other
workers to craft the various pieces of furniture of the tabernacle accurately,
exactly according to the heavenly pattern that had been shown to the
prophet Moses.

The apostle Paul was a wise master builder because of the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:10
10 According to the grace of God which was given to
me, as a wise master builder I have laid the
foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one
take heed how he builds on it.

The phrase “wise master builder” in Greek is sophos architecton

meaning wise head builder. A tecton is an artisan in wood, metal or stone.
This aptly describes Bezalel. This wisdom to be a master artisan comes
from being in union with God (Pro 8:30-31).

One of the ways in which this gift can manifest is in giving you
enormous administrative abilities. Consider this gift upon the following
people:

i. Joseph

The Egyptian Pharaoh admitted concerning Joseph: “And Pharaoh said to

his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of
God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all
this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you” (Gen 41:38-39).

The Spirit of wisdom and revelation graced Joseph to execute a global

feed-the-hungry program. This gift gave him the wisdom to comprehend
what was coming and gave him the understanding to execute a plan—a
strategy to prepare and face the oncoming famine.

ii. Joshua

The Spirit of wisdom came upon Joshua when the prophet Moses laid his
hands upon him (Deu 34:9). That gift enabled him to lead the children of
Israel to possess the Promised Land. It also enabled him to administrate the
12 tribes of Israel comprising of at least three million people.

iii. Daniel

The wife of King Belshazzar of Babylon recognized this gift upon the
prophet Daniel when she testified of him thus: “There is a man in your
kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your
father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods,
were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father — your father the
king — made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and
soothsayers. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding,
interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in
this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar,” (Dan 5:11-12).

This gift gave the prophet Daniel the ability to comprehend the
meaning of visions and dreams and gave him the understanding to interpret
visions and dreams.

Mechanics Of Operation

The primary way that the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation manifests is
through an abundance of visions and revelations. Visions and revelations
will just flow like rivers of water. The apostle Paul, who himself was filled
with this gift, testified also of this abundance of visions and revelations in
his life (2 Cor 12:1,7).
 There are several persons in the Bible that have been blessed with the
Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.

1. Bezaleel, the man chosen to make the furniture of the tabernacle, was
filled “with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in
knowledge” (Ex 31:2-6).

2. Joseph had a constant abundance of dreams and revelation (Gen

37:5-7,9-10; 40:8-13,16-19; 41:25-38).

3. Joshua “was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his
hands on him” (Deu 34:9).

4. Daniel was given by God “knowledge and skill in all literature and
wisdom; … understanding in all visions and dreams” (Dan 1:17,
5:11-12).

5. Paul started out his experience with God through a vision, and
supernatural visions and revelations were the main source of his
wisdom and teachings (Acts 9:3-9, 1 Cor 11:23-25, 2 Cor 12:2-4,
7, Gal 1:12).

Now, if you look at these five people, they have this in common:

i. They were all filled with the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.

ii. This Spirit always manifested in an abundance of visions, dreams,

and revelations.

You won’t just see visions occasionaly. Visions and revelations will
become like second nature to you.
 For the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to manifest, three gifts of the
Spirit must work together: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, and
discernings of spirits. The combination of these three gifts is very necessary
in the operation of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. That is why when
you have the Spirit of Wisdom resting upon you, these three gifts become
permanent residents within you.

However, at the same time, we must always be aware of one fact:

God’s will is supreme above everything else. If God chooses not to reveal
something to us, He will temporarily suspend the manifestation of this
Spirit, as in the case of the prophet Elisha (cp. 2 Kg 4:27).

Keys To Cultivation

If you fulfill the following five conditions, you will qualify and be enabled
not only to be filled with the Spirit of Wisdom, but also to maintain it.
Often, we can receive spiritual gifts quite easily. But when we don’t
maintain them, we can and will lose them. So how do we receive and
maintain this gift? Here are the five conditions:

1. Be pure, clean and holy

DANIEL 1:8
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies,
nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he
requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself.

Young Daniel, about 17 years old then, purposed in his heart that he would
not defile himself with the king’s food – the things of the world. He chose
to keep his body pure, clean, and holy for this gift to come and reside in
him.
2. Delight in God

PROVERBS 8:30-31
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And
I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight
was with the sons of men.

We can delight in God through praising and worshipping Him in Spirit and
in truth, in the beauties of holiness.

Be Humble like a little child

LUKE 10:21
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I
thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You
have hidden these things from the wise and prudent
and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it
seemed good in Your sight.

Please notice the very important last phrase—“revealed them to babes.”

The word “babes” in Greek is nepios, which means an infant (minor),

and figuratively, a simple-minded person, an immature Christian. Little
children are very innocent and naïve. We should not become too wise and
conceited. That can become detrimental to our walk with God because we
begin to question Him about everything or even try to outsmart God
Himself. The secret to really having the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
and to know the deep things of God is to humble ourselves like little
children (Matt 11:21).

Once, as I was praying, I saw a vision of our dear Lord Jesus. As I

gazed into His face, I saw the Lord answering every one of my petitions.
How good our God is! As I was about to end, I prayed for myself, “Lord,
please open my heart so that I’ll be able to understand as a little child.” I
saw His expression change into one of great delight. That was when He said
to me, “If My children will humble themselves as a little child, I’ll be so
greatly delighted to reveal to them the deep things.”

The Holy Spirit then showed me a vision: I saw the Lord holding a
little baby close to His bosom with gentleness and love, just how a mother
would tenderly hold the baby close to her breast during breastfeeding. The
Lord was revealing to the baby and teaching the baby the deep things of the
Spirit.

3. Meditate on God’s Word

JOSHUA 1:8
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your
mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that
you may observe to do according to all that is written
in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have good success.

The Bible says that God’s Word is pure (Ps 19:8). So when you meditate on
God’s Word, you will be purified to see the Lord Jesus (Matt 5:8).

Meditation on God’s Word is not complete without practicing the

Word. It is not good enough to only read and meditate on the Word, but we
need to put it into practice (Prov 8:32). The more you obey and practice the
Word, the more the Word will become a part of you. You will become a part
of the Word, which will eventually enable you to see the Lord Jesus.

JOHN 14:21
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it
is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved
 by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself
to him.”

Let me reveal this truth a little deeper. When you meditate on the Word
of God—the written Word, logos (Jn 1:1)—enters into your spirit. When it
enters into your spirit, it becomes the spoken Word—rhema—the Word
made flesh. This is also what the Lord Jesus meant when He said,
“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (Jn 6:54).
When you partake the Word of God, His flesh literally becomes flesh in
your spirit.

Now, let’s go even deeper now. In John chapter 6, the Lord Jesus
recalled how the ancient Israelites ate manna during their sojourning in the
wilderness. Yet He reminded the people that He was the Living Bread that
came down from heaven (Jn 6:48-51). The Lord used two specific words in
that passage: manna and living bread.

In the Hebrew language, manna means angels’ food. However, the

Greek word for living bread means a big loaf of bread. While manna is a
part of the larger bread, the Lord Jesus is the complete bread. What the Old
Testament saints ate was a foretaste, just a little bit, of the Bread that was to
come. You and I today are eating the entire loaf of Bread.

When you partake the Word, you are partaking of His flesh. Moreover,
when you partake of His flesh, you are partaking of His life. When you
partake of His life, bit by bit you are transformed into His likeness and into
His image (2 Cor 3:18).

5. Waiting on God

This is a very broad subject. So I encourage you to read my book Wait As

Eagles, so that you can study this subject thoroughly.

PROVERBS 8:34-35
 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching
daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor
from the Lord;

When you wait on God, the heart and the mind should become still.
Only then, will you be able to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus speaking to
you. If you are doing all the talking, how can you hear the Lord Jesus
talking to you? We must learn to keep quiet. When the heart, the mind, and
the flesh becomes quiet, only then can we hear the voice of God.

I want to ask you, the reader, a question: Do you wish to hear the voice
of God rarely, or do you wish to hear His voice every day? If you are
satisfied with hearing God rarely, then you do not need to practice waiting
on God. However, if you want to hear the voice of God every day, then you
must learn how to wait on God.

Once you have learned to wait on God then you will be able to hear the
voice of the Holy Spirit, the voice of the Lord Jesus, and the voice of the
Father—the Triune God—each have their own distinct voices! Even the
angels, when they speak, have their own distinct voices (1 Cor 13:1). When
the saints in glory in heaven speak, their voices are also different from one
another. Everyone in heaven has their own distinct voice.

My voice is not like yours, and neither is your voice like mine. If the
earthly peoples’ voices can be so vastly different from one another, how
much more the heavenly? That is why when people speak in tongues, they
speak in different languages, because in heaven there are so many different
kinds of languages.

The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation is a precious and wonderful gift.

So earnestly desire it!
Chapter 13 - The Spirit of Counsel
& Might
In order to study the Spirit of Counsel and Might, let us first look to the
source of this Spirit: the Lord God is all Counsel and Might. Consider the
following Scriptures:

NUMBERS 14:13
13 And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the Egyptians
will hear it, for by Your might You brought these
people up from among them,

DEUTERONOMY 3:24
24 ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant
Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is
there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like
Your works and Your mighty deeds?

DEUTERONOMY 4:34
34 Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a
nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by
signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to
all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before
your eyes?

DEUTERONOMY 4:37
37 And because He loved your fathers, therefore He
chose their descendants after them; and He brought
you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty
power,
DEUTERONOMY 7:19
19 the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and
the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched
arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So
shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom
you are afraid.

NEHEMIAH 9:32
32 “Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty,
and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy:
Do not let all the trouble seem small before You that
has come upon us, our kings and our princes, Our
priests and our prophets, our fathers and on all Your
people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this
day.

JOB 36:5
5 “Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; He is
mighty in strength of understanding.

PSALMS 24:8
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and
mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.

PSALMS 45:3
3 Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One,
with Your glory and Your majesty.

PSALMS 50:1
The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called
the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down.

PSALMS 106:8
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
that He might make His mighty power known.

PSALMS 147:5
5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His
understanding is infinite.

ISAIAH 9:6
6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder. And
His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

ISAIAH 19:20
20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the
Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to
the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send
them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver
them.

ISAIAH 40:26
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created
these things, Who brings out their host by number; He
calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might
and the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

ISAIAH 42:13
13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall
stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out,
yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.

JEREMIAH 10:6
6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord (You are
great, and Your name is great in might),
 DANIEL 2:20
20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of
God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.

ZEPHANIAH 3:17
17 The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One,
will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He
will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you
with singing.”

The Lord God is All-Powerful and full of Counsel. The Lord God is all
Counsel and Might.

ISAIAH 11:2
2 “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord.”

From the Might of God His Spirit—His breath—comes forth. How

strong is the Spirit—the breath—of God? It was the blast, the breath of
God’s nostrils that parted the Red Sea (Isa 11:15). It was His Spirit—the
Spirit of Might, the East Wind—that brought the quails to the Israelites
(Num 11:31-32; Ps 105:40).

King Canute was one of the most powerful men on earth in the 11th
century. In a now-famous tale, he once ordered his chair to be placed on the
shore as the sea tide was rising. Looking at the sea, he commanded, “You
are subject to me. I command you not to rise onto my land, or to wet the
clothing or limbs of your master.” But the tide, being deaf to his commands,
continued to rise, drenching the king’s feet.

Realizing that he actually had no power over the sea, King Canute then
issued a proclamation: “Let all the world know that the power of the king is
empty…” Looking at his subjects’ shocked faces he continued saying, “…
save for the True King whose will heaven and earth and sea obey.” The
Lord God is the one and only all-powerful One—the Almighty God (Gen
17:1).

The Bible says, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace” (Isa 9:6). One of the names, or rather, the first name given to the
Lord Jesus is Wonderful Counselor.

This name “Wonderful Counselor” relates directly to the Spirit of

Counsel and Might. The word counsel is linked to counselor, and the word
might is linked to wonderful.

The Meaning

What is the Spirit of Counsel?

PROVERBS 21:30
30 There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel
against the Lord.

JEREMIAH 23:18
18 For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and
has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked
His word and heard it?

The Spirit of Counsel is the counsel of God—God’s own counsel.

“Counsel” in Hebrew is etsah, which means advice or plan. And the

word “Counselor” in Hebrew is yo’es, which means to advise, give counsel,
determine or guide. “Counsel” is used throughout the history of the Hebrew
language. This verb occurs in the Hebrew Old Testament approximately 80
times. On the basis of the syntax involved for yo’es (counselor), it is
probably better to translate the familiar “Wonderful Counselor” as Wonder-
Counsellor or Wonder of a Counsellor.

So, if we put these two—advice and counsel—together, we have a

simple definition of the Spirit of Counsel. The Spirit of Counsel can be
defined as the advice that the Holy Spirit gives which reveals a plan. The
words “Wonderful, Counsellor” in Isaiah 9:6 mean mighty acts and deeds,
miraculous works, miracle-producing counsel.

The Spirit of Counsel works very beautifully. The Lord God is the only
One who declares the end from the beginning. His counsel shall stand and
His will accomplish all His pleasure (Isa 46:10; Ps 33:11; Pro 21:30). So the
Spirit of Counsel advises, giving rise to a course of action. No one can stand
against the counsel of the Lord. The counsel of the Lord is sure; it is a firm
foundation. God doesn’t just have counsel; He is the counsel.

The Spirit of Counsel is an extraordinary strategist. The original

Hebrew of Isaiah 9:6 doesn’t separate the titles Wonderful and Counselor.
Rather, the meaning is Wonderful Counsellor – one compound name.
Wonderful Counsellor in Hebrew means extraordinary strategist. That’s
Who the Spirit of Counsel is. One great example of an extraordinary
strategy given by the Spirit of Counsel is the parting of the Red Sea (Ex 14).
Another example is the deliverance of Israel from Moab and Ammon (2 Chr
20).

The Spirit Of Might

The word might in the phrase The Spirit of Might in Hebrew is gebuwrah,
which means force or power. But its primary meaning is power or strength
—implying mighty acts of power or strength. This noun is found 61 times in
the Hebrew Old Testament, predominantly in the poetic books and in the
prophetic books Isaiah and Jeremiah. The word Wonderful in Hebrew is
pele, which means a miracle, or marvelous works of God.

This, then, is the definition for the Spirit of Might: the marvelous acts
of the Holy Spirit which demonstrate the mighty power of God (Deu 3:24; 2
Chr 20:6; Jer 10:6; Mic 3:8).

How strong, then, is the Spirit of Might? Let’s consider two Scriptures:

PSALMS 147:18
18 He sends out His word and melts them; He causes
His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

EXODUS 14:21
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea;
and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong
east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry
land, and the waters were divided.

The Lord God caused the Red Sea to go back in answer to the prayer of
the prophet Moses and in answer to the cries of the Israelites for deliverance
from the Egyptian army. The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly
438,000 km2 (169,100 mi2), is about 2250 km (1398 mi) long and, at its
widest point, 355 km (220.6 mi) wide. It has a maximum depth of 3,040 m
(9,970 ft) in the central Suakin Trough, and an average depth of 490 m
(1,608 ft). However, there are also extensive shallow shelves, noted for their
marine life and corals.

The north part of the Red Sea is dominated by persistent north-west

winds, with speeds ranging between 7 km/h (4.3 mph) and 12 km/h
(7.5 mph). The rest of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are subjected to
regular and seasonally reversible winds. The wind regime is characterized by
seasonal and regional variations in speed and direction with average speed
generally increasing northward.
 So if the Red Sea is usually dominated by north-west winds, then the
east wind that came to push back the waters must certainly be
extraordinary! Carl Drews has suggested that the biblical Red Sea crossing
“reflects a real historical occurrence” made possible by a storm surge that
created a patch of dry land in the sea which the prophet Moses was able to
cross. His research was endorsed by his employer, the National Center for
Atmospheric Research.

The Lord God caused a strong east wind—the Spirit of Might— to

blow and push the waters back so the people could walk ten miles through
the Red Sea on dry land. The crossing was about a quarter to a half mile
wide and gradually sloped down to the bottom of the Red Sea and then back
up to the Saudi beach. On either side of this path were the depths of the
Red Sea, the Eilat Deep and the Aragonese Deep, each 5000 and 6000 feet
deep respectively.

Wow! How great and awesome must the Spirit of Might be to

accomplish this amazing feat of pushing the sea out of the way for three
million Israelites to cross in one night!

Now that we have understood these two Spirits separately, let us put
them together—the Spirit of Counsel and the Spirit of Might—and provide
a definition for them. The Spirit of Counsel and Might is a work of the Holy
Spirit in which He gives advice which determines a plan that will
demonstrate the mighty acts of God’s power. Simply put, it means the Holy
Spirit will tell you how to enact the works of God.

Before the Spirit of Might can work a mighty work, the Spirit of
Counsel will give advice on how to do it. He will tell us, He will give us a
plan, He will give us a strategy, He will give us counsel, and He will give us
an understanding. What to do? When to do it? How to do it? When you
listen to the counsel and act upon it, that action will create (work) a miracle.

Let me give you an example from the following Scriptures:

 PROVERBS 8:14
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am
understanding, I have strength.

JEREMIAH 32:18-19
18 You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay
the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their
children after them — the Great, the Mighty God,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.
19 You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for
your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men,
to give everyone according to his ways and according
to the fruit of his doings.

Both of these Scriptures describe the working of the Spirit of Counsel

and Might, and both are fairly self-explanatory. Before a mighty work of
God can be manifested, counsel must come first.

In April of 2015 I was in Manila, Philippines, to speak at the 26th

National Prayer Gathering organized by the Intercessors for the Philippines
ministry. On the last day of the conference, a Saturday, there was a nation-
wide alert warning that a powerful typhoon was about to hit the northern
part of the Philippines and was expected to cause great devastation. As I
was closing the prayer, I felt moved to pray for protection against the
typhoon. As I was about to pray, I felt a strong impression deep in my spirit,
as if someone was giving me counsel. “Command the typhoon to disappear
and then to drop as rain.” In a vision, I could see this typhoon swirling
menacingly, about to unleash its devilish fury on the islands.

As I was about to act upon the counsel, I felt an anointing come and
grip my heart with an unshakeable, rock-solid, mountain-moving faith to
work a miracle. The believers who were at the conference prayed together
with me for a miracle. Before the crowd of 12,000 people, I commanded the
typhoon to disappear and drop as rain. The following day, the prime-time
TV news reported that all of a sudden, at about 8.30 PM on Saturday, the
typhoon disappeared from radar. That was the exact time I gave the
command to the typhoon to disappear. Meteorologist were flabbergasted by
its sudden disappearance, and its emergence 30 minutes later as rains upon
the islands.

The following day, this was the headline in all the news media in the
Philippines: “Typhoon Maysak melts away as it hits the Philippines.” The
news media carried this report:

“A super typhoon dissolved into a tropical depression and

made landfall in the Philippines, forecasters said, easing
fears after thousands of residents fled remote coastal
villages to avoid potential giant waves. The government
had evacuated more than 25,000 people from coastal
villages in the region, while police drove away thousands
of tourists from beaches on nearby Aurora province as a
precaution against potential tsunami-like waves known as
storm surges.

Maysak, which began as a Super Typhoon in the Pacific

Ocean, reached the northeast coast of the main island of
Luzon at 8:00 am (0000 GMT) with winds of 55
kilometers (34 miles) an hour, chief state weather
forecaster Esperanza Cayanan said. State weather
forecaster Shelly Ignacio said the super typhoon met
unfavorable atmospheric conditions as it approached land,
causing the storm system to dissipate dramatically
overnight Saturday.

“We made a calculated risk (that Maysak would dissipate)

and we got lucky. Prayers also helped,” Manila-based
television producer Rona Agtay, 39, told AFP as she hit
the surf.
 When God sends you counsel and you flow along with it, then mighty
works of God will follow. It will not just be something small and
insignificant – it will be a spectacular explosion of the power of God.

The Lord’s Might is a manifestation of His wisdom: “With Him are

wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding” (Job 12:13). This
Scripture tells us that the counsel of the Lord draws from the wisdom of
God for the release of a mighty act. God is total wisdom (1 Cor 1:30). The
whole wisdom of God is in the Lord Jesus. So the counsel draws from the
wisdom of God for a display and working of a mighty act (Job 36:5).

When the Spirit of Counsel gives you advice or instruction, the Spirit
of Might then gives you the ability to work a miracle. But there is a bridge
between Counsel and Might, called obedience. If you do not obey the
counsel, the Spirit of Might cannot work. It is there but it cannot effect a
working because you have not obeyed the counsel that was given.

Once in 1984 I was scheduled to preach in a small Pentecostal church

in Chennai, South India. Every first Sunday of the month, the churches in
India serve their congregation the Lord’s Supper. So, that Sunday, they were
going to have the communion service. The pastor asked me to conduct the
communion service. So that Sunday morning from 2 AM I waited at the feet
of the Lord. At daybreak, the Lord Jesus came and said, “Today I am going
to display My glory in this church.” He continued, “Today during the
communion service, instead of grape juice, ask them to set up a glass of
water.” I replied, “Yes Lord”.

So I called the Pastor and told him what the Lord instructed me. He
looked at me with a queer look and said, “Never in our church history have
we ever served water for communion.” Smiling, I said, “Well, pastor, there
is always a first time for everything.” He left and came back ten minutes
later and said, “Are you really sure that we should have water for
communion today?” I said, “Yes pastor.” He came back again and said,
“Are you really sure? We have never done this before.” I told him very
respectfully, “Pastor, if you want me to conduct the service, then do as the
Lord had instructed. If it is against your tradition, then you can serve
communion your own usual way.” When I said that, a measure of the fear of
God came into his heart, and he said, “Alright, we will do it your way. But
God help me.”

So he placed a big jug of water and a plate of bread on a table in the

church. All the believers, upon seeing the jug of water, wondered why there
was water instead of grape juice for the communion service. Until then,
even I didn’t know why the counsel of the Lord was to have water.
However, this is one thing we must learn—when the counsel comes—obey.
Do not doubt or raise questions.

The time came to conduct the communion service. The pastor very
wisely said, “Now our brother will conduct the communion service.” After
a little exhortation from the Word of God, I said, “Let us now prepare our
hearts to partake the Lord’s body and His blood.”

As everyone was quietly checking their hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ
came and stood beside me and said, “There is a woman here whose heart is
not right. Ask her to leave this church right now.” I called the pastor and
told him to ask the particular woman to leave the church immediately. He
complied, and diplomatically asked her to leave.

Then the Lord Jesus pointed out another man to me and said, “His heart
is filled with sin; ask him to leave the church right now.” I called the pastor
and asked for the particular man to leave. The pastor stared at me and said
that he is one of the largest financial contributors to the church. I then said,
“If you are not going to do it, I will.” So he walked towards that brother and
asked him kindly to leave.

When the two offending people were out, the Lord Jesus said, “Now
the church is ready for My glory.” When the Lord Jesus came into
Jerusalem, the first thing He did before displaying His glory through
healing the sick and doing miracles was to get rid of the people who were
merchandizing the things of God (Matt 21:12-14).

As I stood before the congregation preparing to serve the Holy

Communion, I saw in a vision a cross and the Lord Jesus hanging on it. It
appeared directly above the jug of water. Blood was oozing from all over
the wounds of the Lord Jesus and dropping into the jug of water. I narrated
to the congregation all that I was seeing in the vision so that all their hearts
could be one with me and be ready for the glory of God.

One of the elders who was a ‘doubting Thomas’ later testified after the
service that the very moment I said the blood of Jesus was dropping into the
jug of water, he opened his eyes and literally saw blood dropping into the
water. The color of the water then changed into the color of wine.

While this was going on, I saw in a vision a raven fly into the room
with a piece of flesh in its beak. It came and laid the flesh upon the plate
where the communion bread was and flew away. Then the Lord said, “Now
serve them My flesh and My blood.” I called for the pastor to serve his
congregation. Every one of them who drank the wine and ate the bread
testified that they have never tasted a grape juice that was so sweet in their
life before. And the bread actually tasted like flesh in their mouth.

This creative miracle happened because the Spirit of Counsel gave

some specific instructions, a plan of action. When the instructions were
obeyed, a miracle was wrought.

The Spirit of Counsel and Might is a broad river. This river consists of
three gifts: the gift of faith, the gifts of healings, and the gift of workings of
miracles. These gifts work together with the Spirit of Counsel and Might.

If you look at a river system, you’ll notice the many small streams
come and join themselves to the main river. Sometimes we may just have a
small stream called the gift of faith, or the gift of workings of miracles, or
the gifts of healings. But when the mighty river of the Spirit of Counsel and
Might flows in, all these three gifts work together at the same time—not
just one at a time, but all three gifts (or at least two) will manifest together
at the same time.

When counsel comes, faith gives boldness to work a miracle. With that
boldness there is no room for a no. It is always a yes – it can be done. That’s
what faith does. It makes your heart rock solid. There is no room for
unbelief, no room for “what if it cannot be done?” As the Scriptures say, “If
you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mk 9:23).
This “possible” will become a burning passionate certainty within you.

Biblical Examples

Let us look at a few examples of the working of this gift from the
Scriptures.

i. Prophet Elijah proclaimed drought throughout all the land.

1 KINGS 17:1
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead,
said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these
years, except at my word.”

When the prophet Elijah prophesied a drought, it was not for a day or two—
in fact, the drought that caused all the rains to be bound lasted for three long
years. The Spirit of Counsel gave the prophet the word—the message to
proclaim to the king—and when the prophet obeyed to prophetic word, that
is, acted on the divine instruction, the Spirit of Might manifested and bound
all the clouds throughout the whole land of Israel.
 The God who holds all the waters of this world in His hand stretched
His Hand through the Spirit of Might and caused it to be dry.

ii. God answered the prophet Elijah by fire on Mt. Carmel.

When the prayer of the prophet Elijah brought fire down from heaven on
Mt. Carmel, did he do it by his own power and will? How could anyone
simply build an altar, cut up a bull, dump three buckets of water on the
offering and the wood and expect the sacrifice to be burned up? (1 Kg
18:20-40).

With so much water that it even filled the trench around the altar, you
could hardly even light a fire! But the prophet Elijah prayed to God, saying,
“Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You
are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these
things at Your word” (1 Kg 18:36).

By the prophet’s prayer we can deduce that it was the Spirit of Counsel
who advised him to prepare the altar in the manner in which he did. This
was an impossible situation. There was absolutely no natural way that a fire
could be lit in that environment. When everything is drenched in water, you
can bring the biggest oxygen tank with acetylene and it still could never
light up a fire. Yet an impossible situation is exactly when God does His
miracles. The fire of God came down and consumed the sacrifice.

iii. Prophet Elisha multiplied the jar of oil.

2 KINGS 4:1-7
1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the
prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my
husband is dead, and you know that your servant
feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my
two sons to be his slaves.”
 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell
me, what do you have in the house?” And she said,
“Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar
of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere,
from all your neighbors — empty vessels; do not
gather just a few.
4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door
behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those
vessels, and set aside the full ones.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her
and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she
poured it out.
6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that
she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And
he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil
ceased.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he
said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and
your sons live on the rest.”

Most people are in debt. No one could tell you to do something like what
the prophet Elisha told this woman unless the Spirit of the Lord was in it.

Let’s analyze the above conversation carefully. Initially, the prophet

asks her what he can do for her (v.2). Then he asks her another question,
enquiring what she had in her house. First, he asks her a question from the
standpoint of a person who does not know how to help. Second, he asks a
question from the standpoint of a person who knows how to help. What
transpired between the two questions?

Is it not possible that the Spirit of Counsel who stood by the side of the
prophet Elisha gave him counsel concerning how to help the widow? The
Spirit of Counsel also advised the prophet to counsel the widow to go and
borrow as many jars as she could find. The Spirit of Counsel advised to fill
all the empty jars with the little oil she had. When the widow obeyed the
Word of the Spirit of Counsel and acted in faith, the Spirit of Might worked
a miracle of multiplication by hovering like a mighty dove over her house.

iv. Food for the sons of the prophets.

2 KINGS 4:42-44
42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought
the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves
of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his
knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that
they may eat.”
43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before
one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the
people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord:
‘They shall eat and have some left over.’”
44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some
left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Once more we read in this passage how the Spirit of Counsel gave the
prophet Elisha advice. Instead of keeping the food all for himself, he was
advised by the Spirit of Counsel to give the food, little though it was, to 100
sons of the prophets. When the counsel was obeyed, the Spirit of Might
came to work—feeding each prophet, until all 100 of them were full.

v. Jehoshaphat’s deliverance from Ammon and Moab

In the time of king Jehoshaphat, Israel faced an invasion from the Moabites,
Ammonites, and a great multitude from beyond the sea and from Syria (2
Chr 20:1-2). On hearing of the impending attack, the whole of Israel,
including King Jehoshaphat, were full of fear. They didn’t know what to do.
Both the king and the nation fasted and prayed for God’s intervention (2
Chr 20:3-13).
 As they were crying out to God, the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jahaziel, a Levite and descendent of Asaph the worship leader, saying:

2 CHRONICLES 20:15-17
15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!
Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor
dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle
is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely
come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at
the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position
yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do
not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against
them, for the Lord is with you.”

The Lord God gave them specific counsel – a battle strategy that no
defense secretary in the world would ever use. Instead of putting the entire
Israeli military force on high alert, the king decided to obey the counsel of
God. The Spirit of Counsel revealed the precise plans of the enemy and
gave counsel concerning what Judah should do. When they obeyed the
counsel, the Spirit of Might brought about the destructions of the armies of
Judah’s enemy (2 Chr 20:22-23).

One afternoon in 2003 in Lancaster, California, I had a very interesting

discussion with Brother Neville Johnson about this passage: “Now when
they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people
of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they
were defeated.” We came up with a beautiful understanding of how these
gifts work.
 The Holy Spirit guided our discussion and enabled us to understand
many things. For example, the Old Testament always uses phrases like
“God laid an ambush” or “God fought for Israel.” God did not come down
to fight the battles for Israel personally, but He would always send His
angels to fight the battles. So when the Spirit of Counsel released the battle
plans, the Spirit of Might released the angels to go and wage war.

vi. Jael kills Sisera

JUDGES 4:6-21
6 Then she sent and called for Barak the son of
Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him,
“Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and
deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten
thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons
of Zebulun;
7 and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander
of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at
the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your
hand’?”
8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I
will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”
9 So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless
there will be no glory for you in the journey you are
taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a
woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to
Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh;
he went up with ten thousand men under his command,
and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the
father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the
Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at
Zaanaim, which is beside Kedesh.
12 And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of
Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine
hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were
with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River
Kishon.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the
day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your
hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?” So
Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand
men following him.
15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and
all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak;
and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on
foot.
16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far
as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell
by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17 However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of
Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace
between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber
the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him,
“Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.”
And when he had turned aside with her into the tent,
she covered him with a blanket.
19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water
to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a jug of milk,
gave him a drink, and covered him.
20 And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent,
and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says,
‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’”
21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a
hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove
the peg into his temple, and it went down into the
ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
The Spirit of Counsel gave counsel to Deborah concerning the defeat of
Sisera. The Spirit of Might came upon Jael, a simple housewife to execute
Sisera, the decorated war general of Jabin, the king of Hazor.

Fleeing from the Israelite’s army, Sisera took refuge in Jael’s house.
When he was asleep, Jael took a hammer in one hand and a long nail in the
other and tip-toed up to him. Stealthily, she placed the nail near Sisera’s
temple, and then with one single blow the nail went into his temple, came
out the other side and went right through into the floor. Such a feat is
humanly impossible.

vii. God used the prophet Moses to perform ten miracles in Egypt.

A careful reading of the book of Exodus will reveal to us that the prophet
Moses never worked any miracles on his own, but he only acted upon the
counsel of God. Let us consider each demonstration of the Spirit of Might
acted out at the instruction of the Spirit of Counsel.

1. Nile River turns to blood – Ex 7:15-18

The Lord God through the Spirit of Counsel told Moses to

stand by the water when Pharaoh comes to take his bath in the
morning and to stretch out his rod over the water. When the
prophet Moses acted on the divine counsel, the Spirit of Might
worked a miracle turning the river into blood.

2. Frogs come forth from the waters and fill all Egypt – Ex 8:1-6

3. Lice all over Egypt – Ex 8:16-17

4. Swarms of flies all over Egypt – Ex 8:20-24

 5. Livestock belonging to Egyptians killed – Ex 9:1-6

6. Boils afflict both man and beast in Egypt – Ex 9:8-10

7. Hail and fire fall upon Egypt – Ex 9:13-26

8. Swarm of locusts upon Egypt – Ex 10:12-15

9. Darkness all over Egypt – Ex 10:21-23

10. All Egyptian first-born of man and beast killed – Ex 11:4-10

It takes faith to believe the counsel of the Lord. You cannot give room
to doubt or unbelief. The gift of faith resident within the Spirit of Counsel
will enable us to obey without doubting, even though doubt will try to assail
the mind. If you will allow doubt to rule, it will prevent the Spirit of Might
from working. That means, the intended miracle might not happen or it will
be hindered in some way.

The Lord Jesus Himself encountered such a scenario. When He came to

His hometown Nazareth, He encountered so much unbelief amongst the
people that he could not do any powerful miracles there. As the Bible says,
“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a
few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.
And he went round about the villages, teaching” (Mk 6:5-6). Unbelief
nullified the Spirit of Might, one of the seven Spirits that rested on the Lord
Jesus without measure, and prevented Him from displaying the mighty
power of God.

Therefore, when the Spirit of Counsel manifests and gives you

instruction, it is very important that you obey. When counsel is obeyed and
acted upon, the power of the Spirit of Might will work miracles.
 Looking Unto Jesus

Let us look at the life of the Lord Jesus – Him who had all the Seven Spirits
of God – and see how the Spirit of Counsel and Might manifested in
through Him. The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus did only those things
which God counseled Him to do.

JOHN 5:19-20
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
things that He Himself does; and He will show Him
greater works than these, that you may marvel.

The Lord never ever did anything that God did not tell Him to do. He
walked in the Spirit of Counsel, and so the Spirit of Might worked many
miracles through Him.

For example, consider the miracle at the wedding at Cana.

JOHN 2:1-10
1. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of
Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the
wedding.
3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus
said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern
have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says
to you, do it.”
 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone,
according to the manner of purification of the Jews,
containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.”
And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take
it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water
that was made wine, and did not know where it came
from (but the servants who had drawn the water
knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning
sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well
drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine
until now!”

When the Lord’s mother, Mary, asked the Lord do a miracle because
the wine was finished, He wouldn’t budge because He had not receive any
counsel from the Father God concerning what to do. But after He did, He
asked the servants to fill up some jars with water. No one in their right mind
would do such a thing. But when you get counsel from the Lord, whether it
seems to be in the “right mind” or “left mind,” just do it. Obey. When the
Lord acted in obedience to the counsel He had received from the Father, the
Spirit of Might worked a creative miracle of changing ordinary water into
wine.

Let’s consider an interesting fact about water. The molecule of water,

whose scientific name is dihydrogen monoxide, is composed of two
hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom by a covalent bond—H2O.
Water is a tasteless, odorless liquid at ambient temperature and pressure,
and appears colorless in small quantities, although it has its own intrinsic
very light blue hue. Wine, on the other hand, has a totally different
molecular structure. So when the Lord Jesus acted on what the Spirit of
Counsel told Him, the Spirit of Might worked a miracle of chemistry, totally
transforming the molecular structure of water into the molecular structure of
wine.

In 1987 I went to Munnar, Kerala, in India for a three-day evangelistic

meeting at a tea plantation. Only ten Christian families worked on the
plantation, as compared to about 500 Hindu families who also worked
there. For the first time ever, the pastor of the small church wanted to
conduct an evangelistic meeting in that area. When I received the invitation,
unfortunately, the only dates I could commit to going were during the rainy
season. The organizers decided to trust God for fair weather. So they went
ahead with organizing the meetings on the dates I provided.

For a few months, the small number of believers prayed very hard for
good weather. Just before the start of the meetings the rains came as nature
had predetermined. The organizers turned to me pleading, “Please pray that
it should not rain or else nobody will come for the meetings.” I assured
them, “Don’t worry, everything will be all right.” Undaunted by the bad
weather, I spent the whole day fasting and praying for the first day’s
meeting. The hour arrived, and the pastor came to fetch me to the meeting.

Outside, we could see dark clouds of an impending and menacing

thunderstorm gathering in the skies above. The moment I stepped out of the
guest house the rain pelted down with vicious force. I wondered how
anyone would come to the meeting.

When I arrived at the open field where the meeting was to be held,
there was hardly anyone. Only about 20 people had braved the rain. And
every one of the 20 were Christians. None of the Hindus for whom this
meeting was originally intended came. Many Hindu people were observing
the meeting from the comfort of their homes, which bordered the meeting
grounds. The worship team bravely began their singing.

Up on the stage, I was silently praying, asking the Lord what I should
do. The counsel of the Lord came: “When you go up to the pulpit, just
before you preach, first bind the rain and command it to stop.” I went up to
the pulpit and looked at all the people. In obedience to the counsel of the
Lord, I began to raise my voice, “This rain, that you see today, will stop.
You will no longer see rain until I leave this village.” I then prayed,
commanding the rains to stop. Pointing a finger at the rain, I commanded:
“In the name of Jesus—Stop!”

Instantly, before the eyes of hundreds of people, the rain stopped. Not a
further drop of rain fell. The Hindus, as well as the Christians, were all
stunned. They witnessed this miracle with their own eyes. It was the peak of
the rainy season. All the 500 Hindu families began to stream out onto the
open field. That night there was a huge harvest of souls. That first miracle
opened the way for much more healings and miracles to take place that
night. The leg of a crippled boy was straightened right before the eyes of
everybody. A cancer patient was instantly healed.

The Spirit of Might worked a miracle when the advice given by the
Spirit of Counsel was obeyed and acted upon.

The Manifestations

In order to flow in the river of the Spirit of Counsel and Might, it is

imperative for us to know how this gift will manifest. Here are some of the
ways.

1. Spirit of Counsel and Might Manifesting Through Angels

Angels are the transporters of this anointing. Angels of God can come to
bring the manifestation of the Spirit of Counsel and Might.

JOSHUA 5:13-6:20
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho,
that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man
stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand.
And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You
for us or for our adversaries?”
14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of
the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his
face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him,
“What does my Lord say to His servant?”
15 Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to
Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place
where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
6 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the
children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given
Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of
valor.
3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war;
you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do
six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’
horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall
march around the city seven times, and the priests
shall blow the trumpets.
5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast
with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of
the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great
shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And
the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
6 Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and
said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let
seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns
before the ark of the Lord.”
7 And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march
around the city, and let him who is armed advance
before the ark of the Lord.”
8 So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people,
that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of
rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the
trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord
followed them.
9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the
trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while
the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying,
“You shall not shout or make any noise with your
voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth,
until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall
shout.”
11 So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going
around it once. Then they came into the camp and
lodged in the camp.
12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the
priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’
horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually
and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went
before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of
the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the
trumpets.
14 And the second day they marched around the city
once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they
rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched
around the city seven times in the same manner. On
that day only they marched around the city seven
times.
16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests
blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people:
“Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!
17 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to
destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the
harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the
house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
 18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed
things, lest you become accursed when you take of the
accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse,
and trouble it.
19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze
and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come
into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the
trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the
sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a
great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the
people went up into the city, every man straight before
him, and they took the city.

This passage—the conquest of Jericho—is a familiar story to all, young

and old. Please notice that the counsel to go around Jericho seven times was
brought by an Angel. The administration of God’s work is varied and
multifaceted (1 Cor 12:5-6). When Joshua and the Israelites acted in
obedience to the counsel, the Spirit of Might manifested by pulling down
the walls of Jericho.

The archaeologists Sellin and Watzinger (1973) have provided us with

this helpful description: “The mound, or “tell,” of Jericho was surrounded
by a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its
base. The retaining wall was some 12–15 ft. high. On top of that was a
mudbrick wall 6 ft. thick and about 20–26 ft. high. At the crest of the
embankment was a similar mudbrick wall whose base was roughly 46 ft.
above the ground level outside the retaining wall. This is what loomed high
above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven
days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the
impregnable bastion of Jericho.”

When the counsel of the Spirit of Counsel was obeyed, the Spirit of
Might manifested by leveling to the ground a heavily fortified, virtually
impregnable double wall. This event pointed to the fact that angels were
manifestly present. They were the ones who had transported this anointing
of the Spirit of Counsel and Might.

Want a little inside information on how the wall came down? The Rev.
Roland Buck (1918-1979) of Boise, Idaho, was once visited by the Angel of
the Lord—the very same angel who appeared to Joshua (Josh 5:13-14). This
is what the angel of the Lord shared concerning angels’ part in causing the
fall of the Jericho wall.

“The angels took their positions on top of those

walls, waiting for the shout! Israel didn’t even know what
was going on, but God did, and the angels did! They
waited, and when they heard the shout, every angel who
was there pushed with all his might and strength, and the
great big thick walls went DOWN into the ground! Those
walls were thick enough to build a house on, and if they
had tipped over, or had been pushed over, there still
would have been a wall, because they were about as thick
as they were high! God said to the angels, “Push them
down.” And the Bible tells us that the walls went down
“flat” (Josh 6:20).” (Angels on Assignment by Charles &
Frances Hunter).

In July 1994, together with an associate, I went to the Mount Kailash

region in Tibet to preach the gospel. We went to the western part situated at
an altitude of 20,000 feet above sea level. One morning, about 5 AM, I
woke with severe pain in my head. I was hurting from the forehead to the
bottom of my neck. When I shook my head, I could literally feel my brain
rocking back and forth like a boat upon the rolling waves of the open sea. I
knew that water had gotten into my brain. The medical term for this is
cerebral edema, which is a fatal. Death can take place within 48 hours.
There are no medicines for this condition. The only cure is to go down to a
lower altitude immediately. But that would take me seven days. Even if I
attempted that course of action, I would die along the way.
 I knew that I had reached a critical stage. I prayed the whole day for a
healing miracle and even rebuked the devil who was trying to keep me from
accomplishing my work. But the pain did not disappear or subside. I
endured the pain, which was increasing by the hour all throughout the day.

My associate and I camped by an open field for the night. The pain was
unbearable. I thought perhaps the time had finally come for me to die. I
wasn’t afraid of death. I had faithfully served the Lord and I certainly didn’t
mind laying down my life for Tibet. For Got to visit Tibet was one of my
heart’s greatest desires. But I was scheduled to go to Sydney in November
for a prophetic conference.

I decided to step away from the campsite, and I walked to a small

stream. Kneeling down there I prayed, “Lord, I thank You for enabling me
to serve You all these years, and I’m so happy to lay down my life, if need
be, for Tibet. If it is Your will that I die in Tibet, into Your hands I commit
my spirit.”

As I was praying, an angel appeared before me and said, “You are not
going to die because you have a work to do in Australia.” He then said,
“Take some water and rub on your head.” I thought to myself—what
strange counsel this is! Water is already inside my head and my brain is
floating in it. And now he wants me to put more water on myself!

I then said to him, “There is already water inside my head and you
want me to add more water?” He just smiled and said, “Just obey.” I took a
handful of water from the stream and rubbed on my head. Amazingly,
within 30 minutes, every trace of the excruciating head-pounding pain
disappeared. So did the water inside my head. I could not feel my brain
rocking and rolling inside my head anymore.

2. Spirit of Counsel and Might Manifesting Through the Holy Spirit

ACTS 8:29-40
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and
overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the
prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what
you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides
me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a
lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His
mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and
who will declare His generation? For His life is taken
from the earth.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask
you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or
of some other man?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at
this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to
some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water.
What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your
heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And
both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw
him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing
through, he preached in all the cities till he came to
Caesarea.
In this passage, we read that the Holy Spirit advised Philip through the
Spirit of Counsel to go to a place in the desert in Gaza. While there, Philip
preached the gospel to an Ethiopian official. After the ministry, the Spirit of
Might carried Philip bodily from Gaza to Azotus, a distance of 34 miles.
The Azotus is the Greek name for the city which was called Ashdod in the
Old Testament.

Consider another example from Judges 14:4-5

5 So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and

mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to
his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him,
and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn
apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his
hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what
he had done.

The Spirit of the Lord, that is, the Spirit of Might, came mightily upon
Samson enabling him to tear a roaring lion to pieces as if he had been
tearing apart a little goat.

Once, the renown evangelist Reinhard Bonnke was ministering in

Perth, Australia. The Entertainment Center where the meeting were being
held that night was packed with 8,000 people, all expecting to see miracles.
On the platform, while the worship was going on, Brother Bonnke prayed,
“Lord, where is the key miracle tonight?” The Holy Spirit then whispered to
his soul giving him this counsel, “Look to your left. That lady in the
wheelchair will be healed tonight.”

When Brother Bonnke got up to preach, he told the 8,000 people what
the Holy Spirit had told him. Then, turning to the woman, he said, “Madam,
do you believe?” Frightened, she just hung down her head in disbelief.
Brother Bonnke prayed saying, “Lord this woman doesn’t even believe.”
Again the Holy Spirit told him, “It doesn’t matter. Today, it is not her faith
but your faith that counts.”

The Australian national television crew was also there to film the
meeting. After preaching a message of salvation, Brother Bonnke told the
crowd, “Now, I will go and pray for the lady to be healed.” He walked
towards her and prayed for her and said, “Rise, in the name of Jesus.” She
just sat in the wheelchair staring at Bonnke. She attempted to stand but
could not.

Since the Spirit of Counsel had given Brother Bonnke a clear message,
he told the lady again, “In the name of Jesus, walk!” Suddenly, the Spirit of
Might came upon the lady and she jumped forward and then ran. 8,000
people shouted praises to God while the Australian national television
filmed this awesome miracle.

3. Spirit of Counsel and Might Manifesting Through the Lord Jesus

The Lord Jesus can personally come to bring a word to manifest the Spirit
of Counsel and Might.

ACTS 23:11
11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and
said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified
for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at
Rome.”

2 TIMOTHY 4:17
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so
that the message might be preached fully through me,
and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
 There was nobody to help the apostle Paul when he was left all alone.
The Lord Jesus appeared to him and encouraged him not to fear. The Lord
then told him that he would not die until he bore witness in Rome. Later on,
the apostle Paul was thrown into the amphitheater where he fought with
lions. It was the Spirit of Might that enabled him to tear the lions apart to
pieces like Samson did.

In 1998, I was preaching at a Chinese church conference in Los

Angeles, USA. On the second night, as I went up to the pulpit to preach, the
Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me said, “Today, before you preach, I want to
heal the people. Ask those who need healing to come forward.”

So I looked at the people and said, “All those of you who need healing,
please stand up to your feet.” About 300 people stood up. The Lord Jesus
then said to me, “Lay your hands on each one of them and I will heal them.”
Please note – the counsel of the Lord came to me to lay hands on all 300
people. The Lord—the Spirit of Might—stood beside me to lay His hands
on top of my hands to heal every one of the 300 people that night.

Among all those who were healed, there was one remarkable miracle
experienced by a 22-year-old young woman. She was born with her left leg
three inches shorter than her right leg. When I laid my hands upon her, she
fell down. When she got up, she found that her left leg had grown three
inches! Her brother, who accompanied her to the meeting, vouched that his
sister indeed was born with the deformity.

In summary, when the Spirit of Counsel comes, He gives you counsel

—a plan. When you obey and act upon it, a miracle is birthed. So the bridge
between Counsel and Might is obedience. You need to take the first bold
step of obedience without doubting anything.

Mechanics Of Operation
When the Spirit of Counsel and Might flow as one, an explosion of power is
released. That is how mighty miracles, signs, and wonders take place. It’s
just like nuclear fusion.

In physics, nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more

atomic nuclei come very close and then collide at a very high speed and join
together to form a new nucleus. During this process, mass is not conserved
because some of the matter of the fusing nuclei is converted to photons
(energy).

Fusion is the process that powers active or “main sequence” stars. The
collision of these nuclei causes a mighty explosion of energy and power.
Likewise, when the Spirit of Counsel and the Spirit of Might come together,
mighty signs and wonders of biblical proportions (and even beyond that)
can and will occur.

EPHESIANS 1:19
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe, according to the working of
His mighty power

This Scripture talks about a power that is like nuclear fusion – the
exceeding greatness of His power. This is the explosion of God’s mighty
power that accompanies the workings of the Spirit of Counsel and the Spirit
of Might.

There are four forces in the universe: gravitational, electromagnetic,

nuclear (weak) and nuclear (strong). Likewise, the exceeding greatness of
God’s power is displayed in four ways. Four different Greek words are used
to define the four kinds of the workings of God’s power and might: exousia,
dunamis, kratos, and ischus.

1. Exousia power
 JOHN 1:12 (KJV)
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name:

The word “power” in this Scripture in Greek is exousia meaning (in the
sense of ability) force, delegated influence: authority, power, strength. This
kind of delegated authority was exercised by the Lord Jesus very much. The
Lord Jesus preached and taught with exousia-authority (Matt 7:29; 21:23;
Mk 1:23; Lk 4:32). He healed the sick and cast out demons with this
exousia-authority (Mk 1:27; Lk 4:36).

A classic example of the Lord exercising this exousia-authority to heal

the sick is found in the Gospel of Matthew.

MATTHEW 8:5-13
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him,
pleading with Him,
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully
tormented.”
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You
should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be
healed.
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I
say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes;
and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed,
“Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in
Israel!
11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have
believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same
hour.

In this passage, out of all the people in Israel, this non-native Centurion
recognized that the Lord Jesus was a Man with exousia-authority. He boldly
asked the Lord to exercise that authority (v.8). The Centurion’s faith moved
the Lord to exercise His authority to heal the sick. The Lord even testified
that He has been vested with this exousia-authority after His resurrection
(Matt 28:18).

This exousia-authority is given to all believers by the Lord Jesus to

heal the sick and cast out demons as illustrated by the Scripture about
trampling on serpents and scorpions in Luke 10:19.

2. Dunamis power

ACTS 1:8
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
end of the earth.”

The word “power” in Greek is dunamis, meaning force, miraculous power,

ability, might, (worker of) miracle, power, strength, violence, mighty
(wonderful) work.

It is the power—the strength and ability—that lies resident within you.

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit you have the power of God
residing within you. Let us consider, for example, the following incident.

ACTS 3:1-9
1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple
at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was
carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple
which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who
entered the temple;
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said,
“Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive
something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up,
and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the
temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising
God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising
God.

When the apostles Peter and John went to the temple to pray, a crippled
man begged them for alms. Looking straight at the man, the apostle Peter
didn’t say, “I will pray and ask God to heal you.” Rather, he said, “What I
do have I give you.” Why did he say that way? He knew that the power was
within him. All he needed to do was to stir up that power, release it, and set
the person free from his infirmity.

This power—the dunamis kind—is within every Spirit-filled believer.

You have the power of God within you.

3. Kratos power
Another Greek word for “power” is kratos, meaning vigor dominion, might,
power, strength.

This is the power inherent in the Word of God.

ACTS 19:20
20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and
prevailed.

The word “mightily” in this verse in the Greek is kratos. The kratos-
power of God is inherent in His Word. This means that when we meditate
on the word of God and store it in our hearts, it is going to make us strong
in the Lord and in the kratos-power of His might (Eph 6:10). It was this
inherent power that was inside the apostle Peter through the living Word—
the Lord Jesus—that enabled him to say to the crippled man “What I have I
give you.”

4. Ischus power

The word “mighty” in Greek is ischus, meaning force: ability, might, power,
strength. This kind of energizing power comes through prayer.

JAMES5:16
16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much.

It was this ischus-power that was displayed when the prophet Elijah
prayed fervently for rain (Jas 5:17-18). When you begin to pray, the
dunamis (inherent) power in you gets charged up and energized. It then
becomes ischus (explosive) power to work a miracle.

Let us now fuse these four words together. You are endowed with the
exousia-authority upon you. And you have within you the dunamis-power.
When you begin to pray, the dunamis power gets charged up and energized.
When you begin to meditate the Word, the kratos-power inherent in it gets
energegized, too. So, together, dunamis and kratos get energized by the
light of God. The sum is akin to nuclear fusion—the explosive ischus-
power of God. Bang! This display of the explosive power of God (released
through prayer) is so great that not even cancer can stand against it. This
“nuclear fusion” explosive power of God will result in awesome,
unimaginable creative miracles.

In April 1995, we conducted a crusade in Kurseong, Darjeeling Hills, a

region predominantly populated by Hindus and Buddhists. On the last
evening of the meeting, the auditorium that was meant to seat 600 people
overflowed with 1200 people. 90% of the people were Hindus and
Buddhists. There were even people seated on the stage all around the
podium. After preaching the gospel message, I asked, “How many of you
want to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior?” 500 Hindus stood up to their
feet. I said to myself, “Something is wrong here. It cannot be that so many
people would want to give their lives to Lord in one night.”

So I asked my interpreter, “Did you interpret what I said correctly?” He

said, “Yes, Sadhuji.” Puzzled, I asked everyone to sit down. I gave the altar
call again, choosing my words carefully. “This is not a time of re-dedication
for Christians,” I stated. “Stand only if you want to accept the Lord Jesus
for the first time in your life.” Again 500 people stood up to their feet. I was
confident something was seriously wrong. Surely, some kind of
miscommunication had taken place. I asked everyone to take their seats
again, which they didn’t mind.

I then explained in very simple preschool terms what it meant to get

saved. Then, I sternly told them, “Don’t rush; think carefully. This is not a
prayer for healing which I will do later. If you want to accept the Lord Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior then you can no longer worship idols. You
cannot bow down to idols anymore. You can only follow the living God.
Now, think carefully, how many of you want to accept the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior? Slowly stand up please.” 500 people slowly stood up.
 After the people got saved, the time came to pray for the sick. I asked
for all those who needed healing to stand. 90% of the people stood up. I
said to them, “Take your right hand and put it on the part of your body
where you have a problem. Jesus Christ will come and heal you right now.”
I asked everyone to believe and look to the Lord Jesus for their healings and
miracles.

At that moment, I saw the Lord Jesus Christ come and stand by my
side. He said, “Today I am going to display My glory in this area – such as
they have never seen before in all their lives. However, before I can do that,
there are some problems that must be dealt with first.” Observe carefully
here how the Spirit of Counsel was working. The Lord Jesus Christ came
and manifested as the Spirit of Counsel. He said, “There are sins in the lives
of the people. Ask them to confess their sins and clean up their lives first.
Tell them to get rid of all their sins. Only then can they experience the
power of God in their lives. Then they will truly leave this place healed and
not just carry the hope that they are healed.”

I noticed in the first row a woman who looked like she was about eight
months pregnant. She placed her hands on her stomach and was crying. I
thought maybe she was experiencing some complications in her pregnancy
and was praying that God would bless her with a safe delivery. So after the
people had confessed their sins and had their lives cleansed, the Lord Jesus
said, “There are many people here who are bound with sicknesses but they
are the works of the spirits of infirmities. Break that bondage and command
those spirits of infirmity to depart from their lives and they will be set free.”

Please notice again that the Spirit of Counsel was giving me instruction
concerning what needed to be done. When I began to bind and break the
powers of the spirits of infirmities, a great explosive power—ischus-power
—was released in the auditorium. People were falling down on their faces
without anyone laying their hands upon them. The power of God was so
strong and tangible that the “pregnant woman” began to scream and shout. I
didn’t know why she was screaming. A prominent Christian leader in that
area videotaped the whole healing service with his hand-held video camera.
 He later testified that as he was videotaping, he felt led of the Lord to
just focus on that “pregnant woman.” Over the course of the prayer, her big
pregnant belly got smaller and smaller. In reality, eight kilograms (16
pounds) of tumor were melting away. Nobody knew that she had been, in
fact, carrying a large tumor in her body until she came to the stage and gave
her testimony.

The Christian leader who recorded the video was shocked. He could
hardly believe what his eyes had seen. The entire tumor disappeared right
before his eyes, bit by bit. In another dramatic healing, the right leg of a
little boy crippled from birth was straightened right before his mother’s
eyes. She carried the boy to the stage and gave her testimony as well.

The most amazing miracle of the evening concerned a Buddhist

woman. She came to the meeting unwillingly. Her mother-in-law, who
could not stand up on her own, wanted healing. So this woman had to come
along to assist her. She didn’t understand what was going on in the meeting.
When the power of God moved, not only was her mother-in-law healed, this
woman herself also felt the power of God surging through her body.

She later testified, “While I was standing there, holding up my mother-

in-law, I felt the power of God flowing into me causing all the corns,
tumors, and boils on my fingers to disappear right before my eyes.” So my
interpreter asked her, “Who healed you?” She said, “Who healed me, I do
not know. What I do know is, previously there were corns, tumors and boils
on my fingers, and now they are not there.” Isn’t God so good? That day,
impossible miracles took place.

This is the working of the exceeding greatness of God’s power that

comes and breaks forth in you when you pray and when you meditate on the
Word of God. It energizes the dumamis-power that is resident inside you
and then unleashes the creative miracle-working ischus-power of God.
 Keys To Flowing In The Spirit Of Counsel And
Might

As usual, there is always a key to activate and flow in this river of the Spirit
of Counsel and Might. The key is found in this Scripture:

ACTS 4:13
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were uneducated and
untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that
they had been with Jesus.

Now, let’s read another Scripture.

LUKE 5:16-17
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness
and prayed.
17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was
teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the
law sitting by, who had come out of every town of
Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the
Lord was present to heal them.

Before the power of the Lord could be present the Lord Jesus spent
time praying. He prayed not in a public place, but in a secluded area where
nobody could disturb or interrupt Him. No cellular phone, no emails, no
faxes, no telephones, no wife, no children. Uninterrupted communion—
alone with God! The disciples were together with the Lord Jesus.

This, then, is the key—being with the Lord Jesus. The more you spend
time alone in the presence of the Lord, the more you will be soaked in His
presence.
 Obey instantly what the Spirit of Counsel advises you to do. As you set
your heart to follow that counsel, the Spirit of Might will manifest to effect
a mighty work.

Another important key to being with the Lord Jesus is humility. I had a
life transforming encounter with the Lord Jesus in Espirito Santos, Brazil in
September 2001. About 500 people were gathered in the church that day. As
I was praying before the message, I saw the similitude of the Lord Jesus
beside me. He said very calmly and tenderly, “Do you mind if I heal the
sick first before you preach?” I was dumbstruck by the utter humility of the
Lord.

Overwhelmed by the humility of the Lord, I struggled to say, “Lord,

You need not say it that way. You could just command me. I am but Your
servant.” Nevertheless, the Lord continued saying, “Do you mind?” I then
asked the Lord what I should do. The Lord counseled me to ask those who
are sick and need healing to come forward. About 350 people came forward
for prayer. The Lord then counseled me to lay my hands on them and pray.
When I did, He came beside me and laid His hands on top of mine. Every
one of the 350 were healed that day. I saw a manifestation of the Spirit of
Counsel and Might in the form of the Lord Jesus that day.

Back in my hotel room, crushed by the humility of the Lord, I

prostrated myself before His presence and cried unto Him bemoaning my
utter lack of humility. The Holy Spirit then encouraged me to walk in the
same spirit of humility that I saw demonstrated by the Lord Jesus. This is
one of the characteristics necessary in order to flow in the greater miracles
than the Lord Jesus did (Jn 14:12).

The quantity and magnitude of the signs and wonders that God is going
to pour out in these last days will make—and here I go on record to say this
—every miracle that you read about in the Bible look like child’s play by
comparison. This is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ once told me.
 In the year 1985 I was doing an extended fast. On the 40th day, the
Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me and said, “I will now show you things that
are going to come to pass shortly.” Having said that, He walked towards the
wall and touched it. Amazingly, the wall disappeared and I looked into the
future. I saw major world events that were going to take place. I also saw
the last days’ great revival, the rapture of the church, the coming of the
Antichrist, the great tribulation, the mark of the beast, people dying and
been killed, and finally the literal second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was watching the last days’ mighty revival, I focused my attention

to try and see who among the crowds of people would be the ones to be
mightily used by God. In times past, we have seen great men of God like
Dr. Billy Graham, Dr. T. L. Osborn, Prophet William Branham, and many
others used mightily of God to spearhead revival. These men were the
superstars of the spiritual world. So who would be the great superstars God
would use in the last days?

As hard as I looked, I could not find anyone I recognized. Then the

Lord Jesus said to me, “On that day, My Spirit will come upon all flesh.
Every servant, every handmaiden, every young person—they all will be
superstars. The amount of glory that will be released in the last days will be
so great that it will make even Moses, Elijah, and Peter envy your days.”

Can you believe that? Mighty creative-working power is going to be

released on this earth that the world, since its foundation, has never seen
before.

When revival came in California at Azusa Street, people testified that

they could feel the power of God even outside the building. Scores of
people could be seen dropping down in the streets before they even reached
the Mission building. This was the past. But the Lord told me in 1985 that
in the last days even the shadow of buildings will heal the sick and raise the
dead.
 God has kept in store these awesome powers of the age to come for the
last days’ remnant generation. Powerful anointings, however, come with a
heavy price—holy lifestyle, selflessness, sacrifice, humility, patience,
consistent prayer life, diligent study of God’s Word, and utter dependence
on however God chooses to use you.

Can you die to self so that the glory of God could manifest through you
even as the glory of God within the Lord Jesus permeated through His
whole flesh on the Mount of Transfiguration?
Chapter 14 - The Spirit of
Knowledge & Fear of The Lord
In order to study the Spirit of Knowledge and Fear of the Lord, let us first
study the source of this Spirit. The Lord God is all Knowledge and Fear.
Consider the following Scriptures.

2 CHRONICLES 19:7
7 Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you;
take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the
Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.”

JOB 28:28
28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord,
that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is
understanding.’”

PSALMS 19:9
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.

PSALMS 111:10
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A
good understanding have all those who do His
commandments. His praise endures forever.

PROVERBS 1:7
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
PROVERBS 2:5
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and
find the knowledge of God.

PROVERBS 8:13
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and
arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I
hate.

PROVERBS 9:10
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

PROVERBS 15:33
33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom,
and before honor is humility.

PROVERBS 16:6
6 In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for
iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from
evil.

ISAIAH 11:3
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall
not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the
hearing of His ears;

ISAIAH 33:6
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your
times, and the strength of salvation; The fear of the
Lord is His treasure.

COLOSSIANS 2:3
 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.

As with the other Spirits, the Spirit of Knowledge and Fear of God is
associated with the Seven Spirits of God described in Isaiah 11:2.

ISAIAH 11:2
2 “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord.”

The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God work together as a pair.
Whenever the Spirit of Knowledge is working, the Spirit of the Fear of God
works alongside it.

The Meaning

The Spirit of Knowledge

The word “knowledge” in Hebrew is da’ath meaning knowledge. Da’ath is

a noun from the word yada, which means to know. Several nouns are
formed from yada, the most frequently of which is da’ath, which appears
90 times in the Old Testament.

The Biblical word “know” carries a somewhat different and expanded

meaning compared with what we are familiar with in English. It implies
punishment, instruction, comprehension and discerning. There are two
different Greek words used in the New testament for the words “know” and
“knowledge”:

1. Ginosko means progressive knowledge, to be taking in knowledge, to

come to know, recognize, understand, or to understand completely.
 Ginosko frequently indicates a relation between the person
“knowing” and the object known; in this respect, what is “known”
is of value or importance to the one who knows, and hence the
establishment of the relationship.

2. Oida means fullness of knowledge. It is from the same root as eidon,

meaning to see, and is a perfect tense with a present meaning,
signifying primarily to have seen or perceived, hence to know, to
have knowledge of, whether absolutely, as in divine knowledge.

There are two degrees to “knowing”: progressive knowledge and

fullness of knowledge. The Bible says, “He hath said, which heard the words
of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of
the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open” (Num 24:16,
KJV).

Let’s examine carefully the two words in this Scripture: knew and
knowledge. The word “knowledge” of the Most High God is like the Greek
word oida, the fullness of knowledge. The word “knew” is like the Greek
word ginosko, which progressively leads us into that knowledge. I want to
“know” is the beginning of knowledge. I “knew” signifies that you now see
as a complete picture the full knowledge of a matter.

This then is the definition of the Spirit of Knowledge: The Spirit of

Knowledge imparts instruction for the comprehension of God and the
discerning of men. It works two ways: one, a knowledge of God, and the
other, a knowledge of men.

The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord

The word “fear” in Hebrew is yir’ah, which means (morally) reverence,

fearful and afraid, to be afraid, stand in awe. This verb occurs in Ugaritic
and Hebrew (both biblical and post-biblical). The Bible attests to it
approximately 330 times and in all periods.

Consider this Scripture: “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear;
for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that
you may not sin’” (Ex 20:20). The fear of the Lord is what will cause you
not to sin. The reason why people sin is because they don’t fear or respect
God.

In the Greek, again, there are two words for fear:

1. Phobos from which we get the English word “phobia.” PhobosIt

means reverential fear, a wholesome dread of displeasing God, a
“fear” which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence. It
is not a negative fear, but a healthy fear which will always bring an
attitude of reverence.

2. Eulabeia means a holy fear; which combines love with fear.

A very good Scripture that exemplifies this reverential fear which causes a
wholesome dread of displeasing God is: “Who, in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and
tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because
of His godly fear” (Heb 5:7).

The “reverential fear” is the fear of God that is combined with love.
You don’t fear in the negative sense but you carry a reverential fear that is
birthed out of love. Because you love God you fear God.

How do we then define the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord? It is the
working of the Holy Spirit that produces a reverential, holy fear of God.
 I know of a pastor in Singapore who in December of 2002 had a near-
death experience. While with his family on a spiritual retreat, his appendix
burst, a condition which can be fatal. Immediately they took him to a
nearby hospital. He came close to death. In that near-death experience, his
spirit went down to hell. He saw many compartment–like prison cells in
hell. Groups of people were put in these cells according to their sins.

Walking past cell after cell, he saw a particular one which greatly
shocked him. A great fear came over him. This cell was especially prepared
for so-called Christian leaders. He saw people in it whom he recognized. A
great fear and trembling came upon him. He thought he was going to be
placed in this cell. After his spirit came back to his body, he turned his
whole life and ministry around. Instead of running around doing ministry,
he began to spend more time with the Lord in the fear of God.

Let us now clearly define the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God:
The working of the Holy Spirit that imparts a comprehension of God and an
ability to discern men which effects a wholesome, reverential fear of God.
Simply, it means the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God will open
your spiritual eyes and the eyes of your understanding to look into God and
to know God, and in the process, a fear of God will be produced in you. It
also allows you to see into the hearts of a men, revealing their secrets, and
producing in them a fear of God.

Biblical Examples

Let us consider a few examples from the Bible that best illustrate this
definition.

1. Jacob’s vision of a heavenly ladder

GENESIS 28:10-17
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went
toward Haran.
 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all
night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the
stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay
down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up
on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there
the angels of God were ascending and descending on
it.
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I
am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God
of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you
and your descendants.
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the
earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the
east, to the north and the south; and in you and in
your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever
you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will
not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to
you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely
the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this
place! This is none other than the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven!”

As soon as Jacob saw the Lord God, he had a knowledge of the holy
one of Israel. Immediately, the Spirit of Fear manifested in him and he
became afraid because he stood in the presence of God and he did not die as
was commonly thought in those times.

2. Jacob wrestles with an Angel

GENESIS 32:24-30
 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled
with him until the breaking of day.
25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against
him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket
of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with
him.
26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But
he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said,
“Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called
Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and
with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I
pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My
name?” And He blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For
I have seen God face to face, and my life is
preserved.”

Jacob saw an awesome Angel of the Lord. An “Angel of the Lord” is a

special mighty angel who stands in the presence of God. As such, these
angels are very glorious and carry with them the very presence of God.
Their faces shine as brightly as the sun (Rev 10:1).

When the Spirit of Knowledge enabled Jacob to see the glorious face of
this angel, the Spirit of the Fear of God caused a holy dread to come upon
him prompting him to exclaim that he had seen God face to face.

3. Samson’s parents see the Angel of the Lord

JUDGES 13:15-22
15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord,
“Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young
 goat for You.”
16 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah,
“Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if
you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the
Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel
of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What
is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we
may honor You?”
18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you
ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain
offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And
He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife
looked on —
20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven
from the altar — the Angel of the Lord ascended in the
flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw
this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to
Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was
the Angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die,
because we have seen God!”

The Spirit of Knowledge revealed to Manoah and his wife an Angel of the
Lord. After the Angel left in a flame of fire, the couple gasped in fear – a
manifestation of the Spirit of the Fear of God – because that they had seen
an Angel of the Lord face to face and thought they were doomed to die. The
Spirit of the Fear of God brings a holy dread of God.

4. Isaiah sees God

ISAIAH 6:1-5
 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord
sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of
His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings:
with two he covered his face, with two he covered his
feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His
glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of
him who cried out, and the house was filled with
smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I
am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a
people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the
King, The Lord of hosts.”

The Spirit of Knowledge gave the prophet Isaiah a revelation of God.

Immediately, he dropped to his knees and cried out, “Oh God, I’m an
unclean person.” When the Spirit of Knowledge manifests, the Spirit of the
Fear of God manifests too, and every teeny-weeny bit of uncleanness in a
person’s life is exposed.

5. Ananias and Sapphira’s blatant sin

ACTS 5:1-11
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his
wife, sold a possession.
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also
being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid
it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your
heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the
price of the land for yourself?
 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it
was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have
you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not
lied to men but to God.”
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and
breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those
who heard these things.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up,
carried him out, and buried him.
7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife
came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold
the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have
agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look,
the feet of those who have buried your husband are at
the door, and they will carry you out.”
10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and
breathed her last. And the young men came in and
found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by
her husband.
11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all
who heard these things.

Ananias and Sapphira decided to contribute a large offering to their church

—The First Church in Jerusalem. Everybody was contributing (Acts 4:34-
35). Barnabas sold land he owned and gave its proceeds to the church,
where he came to live among the apostles (Acts 4:36-37).

So Ananias came to the church and presented himself before the apostle
Peter. He laid down his offering at the apostle’s feet and said, “O great Peter
this is all the money that we received from the sale of our house. We are
contributing all the proceeds from the sale to the church.”
 The apostle Peter was about to receive this most kind and generous
offering when the Spirit of Knowledge opened his eyes. He looked into
Ananias’ heart with eyes piercing like the eagle’s and said to him, “How
dare you lie to the Holy Ghost?” When the Spirit of Knowledge and the
Fear of God manifest, secrets of the heart will be exposed. In Ananais’ case,
a judgement was also pronounced. Ananias dropped dead instantly, like
falling timber.

A little while later, Ananias’ wife Sapphira walked into the church.
Wanting to spare her the fate of her husband, the apostle Peter asked her,
“Tell me, did you sell this house for this amount?” Expecting a great
commendation, she gleefully answered, “Oh yes, of course, Peter.” When
the Spirit of the Fear of God manifests, He also brings the judgment of God.
The apostle Peter looked at her and said, “How dare you conspire with your
husband to lie to the Holy Ghost? The men who have just finished burying
your husband have entered the church even as we speak and they will also
carry you away.” She, too, dropped dead.

Let me tell you very honestly about my own encounter with the Spirit
of the Fear of the Lord. 20 years ago I was working on a book entitled
Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God (retitled now as Beauties of
Holiness) While in Sydney, as I was writing chapter 2, I felt a sudden sense
of uncleanness within me. I didn’t know why. I felt unclean in my mind, in
my soul, and in my spirit. All over me, there was this feeling of
uncleanness. I dropped my pen. I didn’t dare continue writing.

I decided to spend the whole day crying out to God. “Lord, what have I
done wrong?” I thought I must have done something terrible. I cried and
cried the whole day. I didn’t dare touch the book. I was too afraid to
continue. Can you imagine—if the mere writing of a book on holiness can
reveal uncleanness within us, how much more when the Presence of God
comes within or upon us? The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God
works together to produce a reverential fear of God.

Obedience In The Fear Of God

When the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God rests upon you, you will
become a person of quick understanding in the things of God, causing you
to delight in obeying God in reverential fear. You will have no problem
obeying God.

However impossible the task may be, if God says, “Do this,” the Spirit
of Knowledge and the Fear of God will enable you to discern and
comprehend God’s intention. You will not only know what to do, you will
gladly obey Him in fearful holiness. This concept is best illustrated in the
life of our dear patriarch Abraham.

GENESIS 22:1-14
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God
tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he
said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son
Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains of which I shall tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled
his donkey, and took two of his young men with him,
and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt
offering, and arose and went to the place of which God
had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and
saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with
the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship,
and we will come back to you.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and
laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his
hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.
7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said,
“My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then
 he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the
lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for
Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of
them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told
him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the
wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid
him on the altar, upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the
knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven
and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I
am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or
do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God,
since you have not withheld your son, your only son,
from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there
behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.
So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up
for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-
Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the
Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

When the Lord God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only begotten son,
Isaac, Abraham obeyed God with a willing heart. That obedience, the Angel
acknowledged, was the result of the fear of God that was in Abraham (Gen
22:12).

Progressive Flow Of This River

The river of the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God flows in a
progressive manner. In fact, all the rivers of the seven Spirits of God flow in
a progressive manner. You will increase in the degree of anointing
progressively, according to your spiritual growth.

When a baby is born, it can only drink milk. When it gets a little older,
it eats cereal. Then, eventually, the child gets to the point of eating solid
food. You don’t stuff meat into a baby’s mouth, do you? No mother would
do that. In the same manner, when you are learning to walk in the things of
God, God doesn’t stuff everything into your mouth all at once. He knows
your capacity is small, so He allows you to grow and flow progressively.
Likewise, the Spirit flows at three levels.

Level One: The Spirit of Knowledge brings an understanding.

PROVERBS 2:5
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and
find the knowledge of God.

The Spirit of Knowledge first brings us to a level of knowledge which is

called understanding. That understanding opens your mind—the eyes of
your understanding—to know by seeing in the Spirit. Knowing is different
from comprehending and comprehending is different from understanding.

The three levels of progressive knowledge here is knowing,

comprehending, and understanding. For example, you may know some
facts about something,know but may not understand what they mean. Have
you ever experienced that? Seventeen year old Joseph saw two dreams of
his future but neither he nor his family understood the meaning of the
dreams (Gen 37:5-10). The Egyptian Pharaoh saw a dream of seven fat
cows followed by seven lean cows and seven full heads of grain followed
by seven blighted heads of grain. He saw the complete dream but did not
understand its meaning (Gen 41:1-8).
 You may know about the contents of a vision, but not understand its
meaning. But once you understand its meaning, you know everything about
what you were shown.

Level Two: The understanding brings the fear of God, which is the
beginning of knowledge.

PROVERBS 1:7
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Remember the word ginosko? It means progressive knowledge. When you

mature and progress to the second stage, the eyes of your understanding are
open and the fear of God ensues. Beginning to see the awesomeness of God
creates in you a holy fear.

Level Three: The progressive knowledge of the Holy One brings complete
understanding.

PROVERBS 9:10
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

This Scripture encompasses all the three stages. In the third stage the
“knowledge” is the oida knowledge—the fullness of knowledge. When you
walk in the fullness of knowledge, all things become naked to your eyes.

Sometimes when I stand and look at people or when I hold their hands
to pray for them, I know, by the Spirit of Knowledge, every detail of their
lives as if I had been living with them throughout their lives.

Once, a church elder and his older daughter came to me for prayer. I
asked the 25 year old girl what she wanted me to pray for. She asked me to
pray for her future. When I closed my eyes and began to pray, I felt my soul
come out of me and step through a veil which I later understood to signify
the crossing the dimension of time. When I stepped through this veil, I
found myself in her bedroom. I saw her kneel beside her bed to pray. I
heard her prayer and narrated it to her before her father. She and her father
gasped in amazement at the accuracy of the details.

The Manifestations

The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God manifest through the
combinedational workings of three gifts of the Holy Spirit: gift of prophecy,
gift of diverse kinds of tongues, and the gift of the interpretation of tongues.

Let us examine the Scriptures to look at some of the manifestations of

this Spirit.

1. Messages in tongues bring the knowledge of God.

ACTS 2:7-11
7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to
one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own
language in which we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling
in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of
Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews
and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our
own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

Verse 11 tells us the content of the message in tongues, spoken when the
Holy Spirit was first poured out on the Day of Pentecost in the first century.
This message brought a knowledge of the wondrous works of God to the
Gentiles who otherwise would not have known the goodness of the true
living God.

The members of Cornelius’ household also praised and magnified God

in unknown tongues when they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts
10:46). When you speak about the wondrous things of God, and when you
magnify God, you are praising God as a result of the knowledge which you
have received.

When the Spirit of Knowledge manifests, you are enabled to have an

understanding of God, and that understanding can come through the
manifestation of speaking in unknown tongues. Many times, when the
entire church is in unison praying in unknown tongues or singing in the
Spirit in one accord (unified, not individually, but corporately) they are, in
fact, offering God the highest form of praise and worship.

2. Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues combined together.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:22-25
22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who
believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for
unbelievers but for those who believe.
23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in
one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come
in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they
not say that you are out of your mind?
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an
uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he
is convicted by all.
25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and
so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and
report that God is truly among you.
This passage shows us the manifestation of the Spirit of Knowledge and the
Fear of God through the gifts of prophecy, tongues, and interpretation.

The apostle Paul very clearly taught the Corinthian believers that when
the church is prophesying and giving a message in tongues with
interpretation, then when a newcomer comes into the church, the secrets of
their hearts are exposed, and the fear of God comes. It is the Spirit of
Knowledge that exposes the secrets of a person’s heart and the Spirit of the
Fear of God causes them to fall on their face and repent.

In 1995, I went to the eastern part of Tibet. While there, I went to a

very popular monastery in the region. Many Tibetan monks go there to
spend weeks, months, and years in solitary retreat. Little hills surround the
vast monastery complex in this town. Small rooms, about 3 feet by 3 feet,
just enough for one person to sit and meditate in, were dug in those hills to
serve as prayer and meditation chambers. Monks would go to these “caves”
to meditate for 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 months or 3 years. They spend the
whole time meditating, and never come out of these prayer rooms. Food
would be brought to the monks in their dark environs.

So when I saw these small cave-like prayer rooms in the hills, I wanted
to go over there and share the gospel with the monks sitting in darkness. As
I was about to cross a little bridge over a stream to get to them, a senior
monk came running to prevent me from going there. I asked him, “What is
the problem lamala?” He said, “Non-Tibetans are not allowed to go beyond
this stream to where those monks are all meditating in solitude.” I pleaded,
“I will not disturb them. I am just going to give them this little booklet that
will help them in their meditation.” He firmly said, “I understand, but you
are still not allowed.” I felt quite sad and wondered what else could be done
to reach these monks.

I prayed, “Lord, please open a way that I may at least bring these
gospel tracts to those monks sitting in darkness.” At that moment, the Holy
Spirit said, “Look at the little young monk who is now coming towards you.
Call him.” A little boy about 10 to 12 years old was carrying two buckets of
water from the stream. I called him, “Excuse me, please come.” He came
and with a quizzical look asked what was the matter. With the little
Mandarin (the official language of China) that I knew I began to talk to him.
He was fascinated that an Indian man would talk in Chinese to him and so
he began to answer my questions.

While speaking with him I felt something like a river rising up from my
innermost being and about to explode like a volcano out of my mouth. A
gush of unknown tongues broke out, beyond my control. In my mind I
thought, “O my God, will this boy understand the message spoken in
tongues? As I went on speaking in tongues, I noticed that the boy’s eyes
went wild. He looked at me and said, “Laso, laso.” He was giving
affirmation to me in the Tibetan language. Laso in Tibetan means “yes.”

Only then did I realize that I was not speaking to the boy in unknown
tongues but in the Tibetan language. He listened carefully for 15 minutes.
When the flow of tongues stopped he looked at me and said, “Give me all
the tracts.” I asked him, “What for?” “You just instructed me to take all
these tracts and go and give them to those monks who are meditating in the
caves.”

When the Spirit of Knowledge came into operation, a holy fear came
upon the boy, convincing him that he must comply. I tried to discourage
him from doing so, worried that he might get into trouble. He protested,
“No, give them to me.” He took the entire bag of tracts and the New
Testaments in the Tibetan language. Right away he went to all the little
prayer rooms in the mountains and began to deposit the tracts in the prayer
caves, one by one. Isn’t God so good? God will always make a way where
there seems to be no way.

3. Will expose and reveal a knowledge of God and of men.

Now, let us look at the working of the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of
God in men.
2 KINGS 5:1-27
1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of
Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of
his master, because by him the Lord had given victory
to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a
leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had
brought back captive a young girl from the land of
Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife.
3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master
were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he
would heal him of his leprosy.”
4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying,
“Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of
Israel.”
5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send
a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took
with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of
gold, and ten changes of clothing.
6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel,
which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to
you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that
you may heal him of his leprosy.
7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the
letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to
kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to
heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider,
and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”
8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the
king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the
king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please
let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a
prophet in Israel.”
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and
he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go
and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh
shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”
11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and
said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come
out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord
his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal
the leprosy.’
12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could
I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and
went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and
said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do
something great, would you not have done it? How
much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be
clean’?”
14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the
Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God;
and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his
aides, and came and stood before him; and he said,
“Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the
earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a
gift from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I
stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to
take it, but he refused.
17 So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your
servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your
servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or
sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord.
18 Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant:
when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to
worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow
down in the temple of Rimmon — when I bow down in
the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon
your servant in this thing.”
19 Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he
departed from him a short distance.
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God,
said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this
Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he
brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and
take something from him.”
21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw
him running after him, he got down from the chariot to
meet him, and said, “Is all well?”
22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me,
saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of
the prophets have come to me from the mountains of
Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two
changes of garments.’”
23 So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And
he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two
bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them
to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead
of him.
24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from
their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he
let the men go, and they departed.
25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha
said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he
said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”
26 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you
when the man turned back from his chariot to meet
you? Is it time to receive money and to receive
clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen,
male and female servants?
27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you
and your descendants forever.” And he went out from
 his presence leprous, as white as snow.

In this incident, after Naaman was healed of leprosy, he was so happy

that he wanted to bless the prophet Elisha with an offering. But the prophet
refused the gifts. His servant Gehazi, on the other hand, being greedy,
coveted the precious gifts Naaman had brought with him. So, he ran after
Naaman and lied, by saying, “Oh by the way, after you left, some people
came to see my master, and he wanted to bless them with something. So he
asked me to collect some gifts from you.” Naaman was just too pleased to
give what was asked of him, having just being healed of a life-threatening
disease.

Gehazi collected the gifts, and he went to his house to hide them,
instead of bringing them to his master, the prophet Elisha. Then he came to
wait on his master as he usually did. When the prophet Elisha came out of
his room after his usual time of prayer, he looked at him and asked,
“Gehazi, where have you been?” “Oh, I didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi lied.
“I was just here waiting outside the door for your command.” The prophet
Elisha looked with eagle-like piercing eyes at him and said, “Why are you
lying? My soul witnessed the evil deed that you did.”

Verse 26 states, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned
back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to
receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and
female servants?” The word “heart” in Hebrew is leb, meaning soul. The
pProphet Elisha’s soul was taken from his body to witness firsthand
Gehazi’s actions.

This incident reads like a scene from the crime drama series C.S.I. The
Spirit of Knowledge teleported the soul of the pProphet Elisha over a
distance of a few miles to the scene of the crime. There, the Spirit of
Knowledge enabled the prophet to see his servant’s crime of greed and
lying to receive gifts in Elisha’s name. Subsequently, the Spirit of the Fear
of God resting upon the prophet confirmed his word of judgment upon
Gehazi.

Let us consider a New Testament example.

1 CORINTHIANS 5:3-5
3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit,
have already judged (as though I were present) him
who has so done this deed.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are
gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the
flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the
Lord Jesus.

According to Acts chapter 18, the apostle Paul stayed in the city of
Corinth for about 18 months during his second missionary journey. A few
years after he left that pagan city, the apostle received news from the
household of Chloe and from a few members of the Corinthian
congregation that all was not well. So he wrote them a letter, which in the
Bible we call First Corinthians.

In this epistle, he tells the Corinthian church that though he was not
there in person, yet whenever he was praying for them, his spirit was there
in their midst witnessing whatever they were doing. He then detailed in the
letter the sins some were committing in the church. Again, here we see both
the Spirits of Knowledge and the Fear of God in action. The Spirit of
Knowledge teleported the apostle’s spirit to Corinth to witness unclean
sexual sins. The Spirit of the Fear of God then enabled the apostle to
pronounce a word of judgment upon the offender.

4. Will produce repentance and healing

JOHN 5:1-14
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus
went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool,
which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five
porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind,
lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the
pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in
first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of
whatever disease he had.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity
thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he
already had been in that condition a long time, He
said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to
put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but
while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and
walk.”
9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his
bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It
is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your
bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to
me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to
you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
13 But the one who was healed did not know who it
was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in
that place.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said
to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more,
 lest a worse thing come upon you.”

When the Lord Jesus went to the Pool of Bethesda to heal a man who had
been paralyzed for 38 years, He spoke, by the Spirit of Knowledge, a word
about his sins that resulted in his long illness. The paralyzed man looked at
the Lord Jesus, shocked, and the Spirit of the Fear of God brooded over his
heart, bring conviction of sin. When tears of contrition and repentance
flowed down from his eyes, the Lord looked at him with compassion and
healed him in an instant.

During the powerful ministry of the prophet William Branham, before

he would pray for the sick, he would sometimes reveal, by the Spirit of
Knowledge, details about the person’s life—where they were from, what
they were praying about, sometimes even revealing secrets no one but the
person themselves could possibly know. The Spirit of the Fear of God
would then brood over the congregation, bringing about a wave of
conviction, causing people to confess their sins, repent, and be healed.

5. Will produce judgements

MICAH 3:8
8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his
transgression and to Israel his sin.

Let me put before you two examples from the Bible where judgments are
pronounced (or accompany) the manifestation of the Spirit of Knowledge
and the Fear of God.

i. This Spirit rested upon the prophet Ezekiel and carried him to the
temple to witness an evil act.
EZEKIEL 11:1-13
1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the
East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward;
and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men,
among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and
Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
2 And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men
who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this
city,
3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this
city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of
man!”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to
me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have
said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that
come into your mind.
6 You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you
have filled its streets with the slain.”
7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Your slain whom
you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this
city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the
midst of it.
8 You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword
upon you,” says the Lord God.
9 “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver
you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments
on you.
10 You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the
border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the
Lord.
11 This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be
the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of
Israel.
12 And you shall know that I am the Lord; for you
have not walked in My statutes nor executed My
 judgments, but have done according to the customs of
the Gentiles which are all around you.”’”
13 Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that
Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my
face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord
God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of
Israel?”

The Spirit of Knowledge teleported the prophet Ezekiel to a secret

place in the temple. There, the Spirit of Knowledge enabled the prophet to
see in the spirit the evil deeds of some of the princes of Israel. The Spirit of
the Fear of God then enabled the prophet to prophesy a judgment of death
upon the chief of the evildoers, Pelatiah.

ii. The Spirit of Knowledge exposed the evil in the heart of a sorcerer.

ACTS 13:6-12
6 Now when they had gone through the island to
Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet,
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,
7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an
intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and
Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is
translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the
proconsul away from the faith.
9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the
Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you
son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will
you not cease perverting the straight ways of the
Lord?
11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you,
and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
 And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went
around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what
had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the
Lord.

Look at what happened to the apostle Paul in verse 9 – the Spirit of

Knowledge and the Fear of God came upon him as a dove would alight
upon a person. When the apostle Paul “looked intently at him [at Elymas
the sorcerer],” the Spirit of Knowledge began to reveal, through visions, the
secret sins buried deep in the sorcerer’s heart. The Spirit of the Fear of the
Lord then manifested to bring about a judgment upon the evil sorcerer, this
“son of the devil”.

On January 1, 1995, I was in Nairobi, Kenya. As I was waiting upon

the Lord for His blessings for the New Year and what He wanted me to do
in that year, the Lord Jesus Christ came and said, “Today, I am blessing you
with another one of the Seven Spirits of the Lord. From this year onwards,
the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord will begin to manifest in
your life.” I was naturally very excited, for that evening we had a big
crusade planned in the Uhuru Park.

When I went up to the pulpit, the Lord Jesus told me, “Before you
preach, call the people who are worried about their future to come to the
stage.” When I gave the call, about 50 people came running to the stage. I
thought— “How can I pray for all 50 people?” So I asked, “Lord, what shall
I do now?” He pointed His finger at two people, and He said, “Ask those
two to come up on the stage.” So I did, and the two individuals came up on
the stage.

The first one was a lady. The Lord said, “Now tell her all about her
life.” The lady got down on her knees beside me. The moment I touched
her, the Spirit of Knowledge showed me every detail of her life from the
day she was born till the day she knelt down beside me—I just knew! I was
seeing into her entire life. This woman cried and cried as I spoke some of
the things I saw. The Spirit of the Fear of God caused the fear of God to
come upon the whole meeting and the pastors seated on the stage were
shivering.

Later on, the host pastor told me that just one week before the meeting
this woman had come to see him for counselling. “What astounded me,” the
pastor said, “was that 90% of what you revealed, word for word, was what
she had told me about her own life. And I know that the other 10% is
prophecy of future events in her life, which neither she nor I knew.” I was
very amazed and gave thanks to God for this precious gift.

Looking Unto Jesus

The river of the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord is a
marvellous gift. You can see it manifested in the life of the Lord Jesus
Christ.

JOHN 4:7-30
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said
to her, “Give Me a drink.”
8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy
food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it
that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a
Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the
gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a
drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have
given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to
draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get
that living water?
12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us
the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons
and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of
this water will thirst again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give
him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give
him will become in him a fountain of water springing
up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water,
that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and
come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no
husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I
have no husband,’
18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom
you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke
truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You
are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you
Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one
ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in
Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 You worship what you do not know; we know what
we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is
coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He
will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they
marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one
said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking
with her?”
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way
into the city, and said to the men,
29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I
ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

It was the Spirit of Knowledge resting upon the Lord Jesus that
exposed the sin in the Samaritan woman’s life. The Spirit of the Fear of God
worked together with the Spirit of Knowledge, and brought a deep
conviction in her heart. And so this woman of Samaria immediately
repented.

Consider also the following scriptural examples for the manifestations

of the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God in the life of our dear Lord
Jesus.

1. MATTHEW 9:3-4
3 And at once some of the scribes said within
themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do
you think evil in your hearts?

2. MATTHEW 12:15
15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.
And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed
 them all.

3. MATTHEW 12:25
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation, and every city or house divided against
itself will not stand.

4. MATTHEW 22:17-18
17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to
pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said,
“Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?

5. MATTHEW 27:18
18 For he knew that they had handed Him over
because of envy.

6. MARK 2:6-8
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and
reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit
that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to
them, “Why do you reason about these things in your
hearts?

7. LUKE 6:7-8
7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely,
whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might
find an accusation against Him.
8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who
had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And
 he arose and stood.

8. JOHN 2:23-25
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover,
during the feast, many believed in His name when they
saw the signs which He did.
24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because
He knew all men,
25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man,
for He knew what was in man.

9. JOHN 5:5-6
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity
thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he
already had been in that condition a long time, He
said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

10. JOHN 6:15

15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were
about to come and take Him by force to make Him
king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself
alone.

11. JOHN 6:64

64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For
Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did
not believe, and who would betray Him

12. JOHN 13:1

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus
knew that His hour had come that He should depart
from this world to the Father, having loved His own
who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
 13. JOHN 13:3
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things
into His hands, and that He had come from God and
was going to God,

14. JOHN 16:19

19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and
He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves
about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see
Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’?

15. JOHN 18:4

4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come
upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are
you seeking?”

16. JOHN 19:28

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now
accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
said, “I thirst!”

The words “knowing,” “knew,” and “perceived” arethe result of the

manifestation of the Spirit of Knowledge.

Mechanics Of Operation

The Spirit of the Knowledge and the Fear of God will operate in our lives in
the following ways.

1. Through Angels

Once, I was preaching in a church in Los Angeles. The Lord gave me a

Word concerning the church, “My temple is defiled. Go and tell the people
today, ‘The temple of the Lord is defiled.’” He also gave me the entire
message that I should preach.

While the worship was going on, a fiery angel (his skin was like fire,
and his very clothes were all like fire) came and stood beside me and said,
“Today, don’t even add any humor to your message. You must deliver the
message as solemnly as it was given to you. All throughout your preaching I
will stand right beside you and I will release the Spirit of the Fear of the
Lord upon the congregation.” I replied, “All right”.

So I saw this angel come and stand beside me as I went to the pulpit to
preach. When I was delivering the “hard” message, I noticed that everyone
was feeling very uptight and fearful. So I thought in my heart to tell a story
to help them feel a little more comfortable. The moment I started, the fiery
angel stretched his sword straight at my heart and said, “I said—No humor.”
The fear of God came upon me and I had the scare of my life. Whew!
Thank God he just warned me instead of stabbing the sword into my heart
for being disobedient.

The Spirit of the Fear of God brooded over the whole church and
everyone knelt to re-consecrate themselves to live a life that is holy before
God.

2. Through the Lord Jesus

In 1996, I was invited to preach at a Chinese Prayer Conference in

Jerusalem, Israel. It was a five-day conference and 300 Chinese believers
had gathered from all over the world. I was scheduled to be the speaker for
the last day.

During the first four days, I sat by our book table and just thoroughly
enjoyed the worship, the praise and the dances that the Chinese believers
were offering unto God. Among the 300, I noticed one particular woman
who was the most exuberant in her praise and dance. I thought to myself…
what a godly woman she must be.

When my turn came to speak and I was introduced to the audience, I

looked at everybody and complimented them for the wonderful manner in
which they sang, danced, and worshiped God. I then said, “Let us all stand
up for a word of prayer.” Before saying the prayer, as was my habit, I sang
my signature song “I love you Lord.” Everybody lifted up their hands and
began to worship the Lord. Some even began to dance and worship the
Lord.

At that moment, the Lord Jesus Christ came and stood before me. Now
this was the manifestation of the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the
Lord. The Lord said, “I am now going to show you the secrets of these
people’s hearts. What I show you, tell them exactly as it is, neither adding
nor subtracting one word, or changing the words in such a way as to make
the people feel more comfortable.”

Saying that, the Lord Jesus got down from the stage, walked down the
center aisle and came and stood beside that exuberant Chinese woman. She
was one of the most jubilant ones, always dancing, shouting, waving her
hands, waving scarfs to the Lord, shaking the tambourine, and singing
joyfully to the Lord. He stood beside her, turned around to look at me and
said, “Now look.” When He said “look,” the Spirit of Knowledge enabled
me to look with eagle-like piercing eyes at the woman.

I saw the Lord Jesus put His hand into the woman’s body. His hand
went deep inside her. And when He took His hand out, her heart was in the
Lord’s hand. He showed me her heart and said, “Now look.” What is the
color of your heart? Those who know your science well will answer, “Red.”
That’s what I, too, have been taught in my biology class. But that is not the
color of your heart in the spiritual realm. The color of your heart in the
spiritual realm matches the color of the light that is within you.

The color of the heart of this woman was completely black. Like
writing on a blackboard, I saw five secret sins of her life written on her
heart. The Lord then said, “Now tell her.” I pointed my finger at her and
said, “You, sister,” and I pointed out the row where she was standing. She
opened her eyes and asked me, “Is it me?” “Yes, please step out from your
chair,” I said to her.

She was jubilant because I had singled her out and began to say,
“Hallelujah, hallelujah.” I said, “Thus says the Lord…,” mentioning the five
sins in her life. “Is it true?” I queried. She fell on her face before the Lord,
cried and repented. The Spirit of Knowledge brings the Fear of God.

The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God will reveal to us God
Himself, bringing us into the knowledge of God and making us see God as
He really is, thereby creating a godly fear in us, causing us to always walk
in righteousness before Him. Let me tell you one truth: God is a good God,
but He is also an awesome, fearful, and terrible Judge. You don’t want to
mess around with Him when He is sitting on His judgment throne.

Keys To Flowing The Spirit Of Knowledge And

The Fear Of God

1. Be full of the Word of God

COLOSSIANS 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Most of us are just accustomed to reading the Word from Genesis to
Revelation. It is not good enough to just know the Bible, even possess an
encyclopedic knowledge from Genesis to Revelation, know the original
languages (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic), or even devour concordances and
commentaries.

We must meditate on God’s Word day and night. The Bible admonishes
us to meditate on God’s Word day and night (Josh 1:8; Ps 1:2-3). Only
through the meditation of God’s Word can your mind be renewed and
transformed (Rom 12:1). The Word of God is the knowledge of God. When
you are full of the Word of God, it will sharpen, polish, purify, and make
you clean and holy to flow in this river of True Knowledge.

2. Walk in the fear of God

ECCLESIATES 12:13
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is
man’s all.

In order to fear God, you must be filled with the Word of God. That
knowledge and understanding of the Holy One will enable you to walk in
the fear of God.

To walk in the fear of God is to walk righteously in all our ways before
God. This entails staying away from all appearances of evil in whatever
form—pleasing or unpleasing—it may appear.

The Word of the Lord came to me on February 11, 2015: “If you are
willing and obedient to walk in the fear of the Lord, I will fill you with the
seven Spirits of the Lord. The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord is the
foundation upon which all the other anointings rest and from which they
flow. When you fear the Lord, you want to obey Him.”
3. Guard Secrets

DEUTERONOMY 29:29
29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but
those things which are revealed belong to us and to
our children forever, that we may do all the words of
this law.

One of the keys for this gift to manifest or to progressively increase in the
level of anointing is to learn to keep your mouth shut concerning the secrets
of people. If you are a blabber, the anointing will be removed from you.
You must learn to keep quiet, even though you see and know all things. If
the Lord tells you to reveal them, only then do so. Otherwise, “zip-it.”

You may ask, “If that is the case, why reveal it to me in the first place?”
For one purpose—to pray for the concerned person. Revelations are given
for the purpose of intercession. We are given the task of interceding for the
concerned person before the throne of God.

4. Pray in Tongues

JUDE 20
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Don’t just pray in tongues at church. Practice and develop the habit of
speaking in tongues for at least one hour a day in your personal prayer life.
When you pray in tongues, your inner man is strengthened and becomes
very sensitive to the Holy Spirit – even to His slightest whisper.

When you pray in tongues, a kind of spiritual information super-

highway is established between you and God (1 Cor 14:2). Information then
flows up and down; knowledge of God and revelations of God are
transmitted and revealed to you. When you do that, then you are going to
flow in the might of the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God.

The Lord’s Counsel

While teaching on this subject at the Shekinah Worship Center in Lancaster,

California, the Holy Spirit revealed this:

Rather than desiring the Spirit of Knowledge, you should

desire for the Spirit of the Fear of God more. When you
desire for more of the Spirit of the Fear of God,
knowledge comes automatically. That will enable you to
walk in purity, in holiness, in righteousness, and to stand
before God’s throne boldly. The reason why the Lord
Jesus always found favor with God His Father, even from
His birth, is because He always walked in the fear of
God. It—the fear of God—was always before Him.

Let us imitate the Lord Jesus in this matter. Let us ask Him, “Lord, put
the Spirit of the Fear of God in me. Above anything else, Lord, I want the
Spirit of the Fear of God.” Because, when you walk in the fear of God, and
when you’re walking in holiness, all the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, and all
the seven Spirits of the Lord will flow automatically without you seeking
and searching for them.

“Oh blessed Holy Spirit, give us an unsatisfiable hunger, an

unsatisfiable thirst to covet earnestly for the Spirit of the fear of God. Lord
Jesus, teach us, unite our hearts to fear You at all times. Thank You Lord
Jesus.”
Chapter 15 - The Spirit of The
Lord
ISAIAH 11:2
2 “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord.”

Several years ago, during a youth Campmeeting in Kalimpong, the

awesome glory of God came down into the meeting while we were
worshipping. When I opened my eyes, I saw a thin cloud of glory hovering
over the auditorium.

At that same moment, I also saw the Lord Jesus Christ descending from
the right corner of the auditorium. What I saw looked like the Lord, but in
my spirit I perceived it was not Him, for our Lord has a complete body like
a man. What I was seeing looked like the Lord Jesus from the waist up, and
a dove from the waist down.

“What is this strange “Jesus” I am looking at?” I thought to myself.

Either it was the Lord Jesus in an unfamiliar form or something else I had
never seen before. As I looked on intently, suddenly the Holy Spirit strongly
impressed upon me that I was looking at a form of the Spirit of the Lord.

The Spirit of Christ is another manifestation of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor

3:17). The Holy Spirit comes as the Spirit of Christ to manifest Himself to
the people as the Lord Jesus. (Rom 8:9). It is the marvelous work of the
Lord.
 Who Is The Spirit Of The Lord?

The Spirit of the Lord is the seventh Spirit—or, rather, He is the pre-
eminent Spirit (Isa 11:2). I deliberately kept this revelation to the end
because the Spirit of the Lord is the One who powerfully works in and
through all the streams of the other six Spirits. This is the reason why I held
back the discussion of the Spirit of the Lord until the end of our study.

We are now ready to tie up all the lessons we have learned and
conclude this subject by looking at the seventh Spirit—the Spirit of the
Lord Himself—and how He releases all the anointing, degree by degree.

What is the difference between the Spirit of the Lord and the Holy
Spirit? Who is this Spirit of the Lord? The word “spirit” in Hebrew is
ru’wach, which means breath, strength, wind, breeze, spirit, or Spirit. The
word “breath” is not just ordinary breath but a violent exhalation, violent
blast of the breath of God. This noun has cognates in Ugaritic, Aramaic, and
Arabic. The word occurs about 378 times and in all periods of biblical
Hebrew.

Do you know what really happened when the Red Sea parted? The
Bible tells us: “And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered
together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the
heart of the sea” (Ex 15:8). When the Scripture says, “by the blast of His
nostrils,” it meant the Spirit of the Lord came forth like the strong east
wind, which blew apart the sea.

The Greek word for “spirit” is pneuma, meaning the wind, to breathe,
blow; breath, the spirit, which, like the wind, is invisible, immaterial and
powerful. However, breath in the Greek has a slightly different connotation
or a depth of meaning where it says a blast of breath. If you put the Hebrew
and Greek meanings together, the phrase “blast of breath” signifies a violent
exhalation or a blast. Have you seen how fictional dragons blast fire from
their nostrils? That’s similar to what this phrase implies. That’s the powerful
Spirit of God!

Flowing River of Life

Who is the Spirit of the Lord? Please take a careful look at the following
Scriptures:

GENESIS 2:10
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden,
and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

EZEKIEL 47:3
3 And when the man went out to the east with the line
in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he
brought me through the waters; the water came up to
my ankles.

REVELATION 22:1
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of
the Lamb.

In these three Scriptures, we find the words “river” and “waters.” In the
original ancient languages, the same root word is used for “river” and
“water.” The Hebrew word is nahar, which means a stream, a flood, a river
or a permanent natural watercourse, something like a reservoir. Cognates
of nahar are attested in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic, and Arabic. The word
appears about 120 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods.

The Bible also mentions about a river that flows out of the city of God
—Jerusalem, also called Zion—where God has chosen to put His Name and
His Presence. So, all this means one thing—a river is flowing from the
Presence of God (Ps 46:4; Joel 3:18; Zech 14:8).
 Revelation 22:1 says, “And he showed me a pure river of water of life,
clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” We
see in this Scripture the phrases: “throne of God” and “throne of the Lamb.”
We see God seated on His throne, and the Lord Jesus—the Lamb of God—
seated on His throne. But where is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the
pure river of life that is flowing from the midst of the throne.

The Manifest Presence

The Spirit of the Lord is the manifest presence of the Godhead in Spirit
form. Let me explain and qualify this statement.

There is a marked difference between the Presence of the Lord Jesus

and the manifest Presence of the Lord Jesus, there is a difference between
the Presence of God and the manifest Presence of God, and there is a
difference between the Presence of the Holy Spirit and the manifest
Presence of the Holy Spirit.

“Well, what is the difference?” you may ask. When we say, “Oh, I feel
the presence of God in this place,” it’s just the gentle presence of the Lord
that is hovering all over that place. But when the manifest Presence of God
comes, we’ll all be down on our faces before God. When the manifest
Presence of God comes, it’s like a thick cloud that comes down and rests
heavily over the whole atmosphere.

In 2003, I was invited to speak at the End-time Handmaiden &

Servants Convention at Regina, the capital city of the Canadian province of
Saskatchewan. On one of the mornings of the convention, the worship team
was ministering powerfully unto God. Just as the glory of God was about to
manifest, the worship ended. Everyone in the auditorium could feel the
abrupt ending. In addition, everyone felt the team should have continued
ministering unto God.
 The black pastor who provided the spiritual covering for the
convention, stood to his feet and said, “I believe we should continue
ministering unto the Lord in worship.” The worship team got back up on the
platform and began to sing again, ministering unto the beauties of God’s
holiness. Within a few minutes, the manifest presence of God came down
on the auditorium like a thick cloud.

Without a word being said, everyone in the auditorium knelt down;

some prostrated to worship the Holy God. The manifest glory of God came.
I saw in the Spirit the four living creatures come down in single file and
take up position in a square formation on the stage. The manifest presence
of God got stronger. A few moments later, the Lord Jesus Himself
manifested, seated on a throne in the center of the stage within the four
living creatures (Rev 4:6-8).

The Spirit of the Lord is the manifest Presence of the Holy Spirit
Himself. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself through His nine gracious gifts
(1 Cor 12:8-10). This manifestation of the gifts is for all believers (1 Cor
12:4). The Holy Spirit Himself is the Author and the Giver of the gifts of
the Spirit (1 Cor 12:11).

What then is the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of
the Lord? The Spirit of the Lord is the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit
Himself, not just His anointing. Now please note this truth very carefully—
the anointing is different from the manifested presence.

Let us consider an example. The prophet Moses prayed, “Now

therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your
way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And
consider that this nation is Your people” (Ex 33:13). The Lord God replied
as follows, “And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give
you rest’” (Ex 33:14). Please note the phrase: My presence will go with you.
 Not satisfied with the answer, the prophet Moses humbled himself
further by bowing low before the Lord God and implored, “Lord, I not only
want Your presence. I want to see Your glory” (Ex 33:18). The Lord God
answered his humble request in the following manner:

EXODUS 33:19-23
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass
before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord
before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion.”
20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man
shall see Me, and live.”
21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you
shall stand on the rock.
22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will
put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with
My hand while I pass by.
23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see
My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

Now, let us consider the difference between the two dialogues between
the Lord God and the prophet Moses. Initially the Lord God told the
prophet that His presence would go with him. Then, after the prophet’s plea,
we read: “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there,
and proclaimed the name of the Lord” (Ex 34:5).

When the Lord used the phrase: “My presence will go with you” in the
first dialogue, He was referring to His presence. However, when the Lord
made “all His goodness” pass before the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, He
appeared to him in His manifest presence. The prophet Moses saw the
manifest presence of God face to face.

No more was God shrouded in a cloud so that the prophet Moses was
only able to look at the cloud and talk with a God that he couldn’t see. The
cloud had now parted; the prophet now saw the form of the God of Israel.
The workings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the manifestations
(demonstrating the presence) of the Holy Spirit. The workings of the Seven
Spirits of the Lord, on the other hand, are the manifest presence of the Holy
Spirit Himself.

When the Spirit of the Lord manifests, it is a thick, heavy anointing that
comes down and rests corporately upon the church, or upon the minister, or
upon the person from whom the anointing is flowing. It is like a heavy
cloak that comes upon and rests heavily on a person. When that anointing
comes and finds its resting place, it does many supernatural things. An
example of such a manifestation can be found in the ministry of our Lord
Jesus.

LUKE 5:17-26
17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was
teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the
law sitting by, who had come out of every town of
Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the
Lord was present to heal them.
18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was
paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay
before Him.
19 And when they could not find how they might bring
him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the
housetop and let him down with his bed through the
tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man,
your sins are forgiven you.”
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason,
saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who
can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He
answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in
your hearts?
 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’
or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has
power on earth to forgive sins” — He said to the man
who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your
bed, and go to your house.”
25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what
he had been lying on, and departed to his own house,
glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God
and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen
strange things today!”

This thick, heavy anointing that comes with the manifestation of the
Spirit of the Lord has been my experience, too. Normally, when I’m
ministering in a church, I would feel the presence of the Holy Spirit come
upon me, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit will begin to manifest. But at
times, I will actually feel very tangibly the Holy Spirit Himself come and
stand by my side.

In 1992, I was in Columbus, Ohio for ministry. During the prayer time,
I saw the heavens open and I saw the Lord Jesus seated on a throne. From
the throne, he spoke to me concerning the conditions of the people who
were in the meeting. As I was looking at the Lord and revealing to the
congregation the things He was showing me, I felt at the same time the
manifested Presence of the Holy Spirit come and stand by my side. I even
felt the Holy Spirit’s fiery and hot breath blowing on my face.

I was seeing the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit at the same time. The
Lord would reveal something about a particular person. When He finished,
the Holy Spirit would begin to give to me another word for that person, a
word which complemented what the Lord had just revealed.

There were two kinds of manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord in the
Old Testament. Old Testament prophets would often use the phrase, “The
word of the Lord came to me…” On some occasions, however, they would
say, “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon me…” The word of the Lord is
like the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In contrast, the Spirit of the Lord coming
upon a person is the manifest presence of the Spirit of the Lord.

Seven Manifested Forms

There is something curious the Lord Jesus said concerning the blessed, yet
quite mysterious, Holy Spirit.

JOHN 3:8
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the
sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and
where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the
Spirit.”

Here, in this Scripture, the Lord Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to
wind. No one can tell when the wind comes, from where it comes, and
where its dwelling place is (Ecc 11:5). Personally, I often wonder about that
question. You can’t see the wind either. The wind is everywhere, even in the
starry universe.

The Sun in our solar system generates a “wind” called the solar wind.
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper
atmosphere of the Sun. It varies in density, temperature, and speed over
time and over solar latitude. Solar wind particles can escape the Sun’s
gravity because of their high energy resulting from the high temperature of
the corona and the electromagnetic phenomena associated with it.

Solar winds flow outward at speeds varying roughly from 1000 to 2000
times the speed of sound, filling a region known as the heliosphere, an
enormous bubble-like volume surrounded by the interstellar medium. Other
related phenomena include the aurora (northern and southern lights), the
plasma tails of comets that always point away from the Sun, and
geomagnetic storms that can change the direction of magnetic field lines
and create strong currents in power grids on earth.

Stars, too, release winds called stellar winds. A stellar wind is a flow of
gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the
bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated,
although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric. Different
types of stars have different types of stellar winds.

If natural wind can be everywhere, how much more the Wind of the
Holy Spirit who is omnipresent—that is, present everywhere at the same
time (Ps 139:7-12). Furthermore, natural wind cannot be seen as it has no
form, except when it takes on violent forms such as a typhoon or a
hurricane. Likewise, the blessed Spirit of the Lord cannot be seen, yet is
everywhere—He is within God, proceeds from God, is of God, and is God
Himself. The Spirit of the Lord, therefore, can take on a manifested form.

The Father God has a human form, and the Lord Jesus, we all know,
has a human form. The Holy Spirit, like God the Father and God the Son,
also has a human form.

On August 9, 2017, while in Singapore, as I was praying about the

seven Spirits of the Lord, I was suddenly caught up in the Spirit to a
heavenly realm. Standing there, I looked around the serene place. A Voice
seemed to come out of nowhere and spoke: “What do you know about the
seven Spirits of the Lord?” I did not know what to answer and just stood
there dumbfounded.

Suddenly, I beheld an awesome sight. A little distance away, I saw

seven flames of fire light up to the height of about six feet. Within the
flames appeared the form of the Lord Jesus. Each form was of a different
color—seven colors in total. I gasped in wonder when the Voice spoke
again, “This is the form of the seven Spirts of the Lord.” The Spirit of the
Lord has a manifest form which looks like the Lord Jesus.
 However, the Holy Spirit is not limited to just one particular form. For
example, when the Lord Jesus was being baptized, the prophet John the
Baptist saw the Holy Spirit coming down upon Him like a dove (Matt 3:16).
Here is a list of some of the different forms of the Holy Spirit:

1. Shekinah Cloud of Glory

2 CHRONICLES 5:13-14
13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and
singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in
praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted
up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and
instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:
“For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that
the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a
cloud,
14 so that the priests could not continue ministering
because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled
the house of God.

Everyone saw with their own naked eyes the thick Shekinah cloud of glory
that came down onto Solomon’s temple. This cloud was so thick and
tangible that not even the priests could enter the temple to perform their
service.

When the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit comes, no one would be
sitting on a chair or standing up. Everyone would be on their faces before
the holiness of God. The awesome glory of the manifest presence of the
Spirit of the Lord will be so great that no flesh can stand before it. This was
also the reaction of the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai when he saw the
manifest glory of God (Ex 34:5-9).

2. Dove
 LUKE 3:21-22
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass
that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the
heaven was opened.
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.”

During the baptism of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit took on a body like a
dove. The word “bodily” in Greek is somatikos, meaning corporeal or
physical, having a body.

Many times, I have been graced by our good God to see the Holy Spirit
like dove. On June 23, 2016, while working on this book in London, the
blessed Holy Spirit appeared to me in bodily form like dove – a beautiful
white dove with silvery threads running down its feathers (Ps 68:13). Its
eyes were red with a mixture of blue. It opened its mouth and spoke to me
about being holy and pure to receive His gifts.

3. Rivers of Living Waters

JOHN 7:38-39
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom
those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy
Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.

This river of living waters is seen flowing forth from the throne of God in
heaven (Rev 22:1).
 About 20 years ago, when I was writing a book called The Art of
Worship, I came to a section that I did not know how to explain. So I just sat
down and prayed, “Lord, I do not know how to write about this subject. I do
not know how to explain this concept. I know there is something more.
Please teach me.”

After praying, I waited awhile. Suddenly, I felt someone standing by

me. When I looked, I saw the form of a person, just the outline, about six
feet tall. He looked just like rivers of flowing waters from the crown of the
head all the way down—indeed, flowing rivers of living waters much like a
waterfall. A holy fear came upon me when the realization came – this is the
Holy Spirit!

Mighty Wind

ACTS 2:1-4
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of
fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.

These Scriptures clearly illustrates the Holy Spirit in the form of wind. The
Lord Jesus Himself illustrates the Holy Spirit as wind in relation to His
work of regeneration in man (Jn 3:8). The Holy Spirit is also called the east
wind or whirlwind in the Bible (Ex 10:13; 14:21; 15:10; Num 11:31; 2 Sam
22:11; 2 Kg 2:11; Job 38:1; Ps 78:26).

4. The Menorah
 REVELATION 4:5
5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings,
thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were
burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits
of God.

The Lampstand—or the Menorah of the Tabernacle of Moses—represents

the Holy Spirit.

A prophet of God once shared with me the following experience. He

had been invited to a conference in Israel in 2010. One night, as he was
about to bow his head in prayer, a strange thing happened. A small golden
menorah appeared in his room – about the size of a candle-holder you might
put on a table. The lamps on the menorah mysteriously lit up by themselves.
He heard a voice, “Come up!” He came closer to the menorah, and as he
did, the small, ornamental menorah grew in size and became huge.

He then walked through the menorah and entered inside. The menorah
was like a portal. When he walked through the menorah, he stepped into
heaven. He found himself in a long hallway. Huge pillars lined the length of
the hallway. There were hundreds of them. The floor was finely polished
and there was water all over it. It reminded him of the still waters of Psalm
23. The base of each pillar was covered with gold. He just stood there for
some time in wonder.

Towards the end of the hallway he noticed a huge menorah. It was

gigantic! All its seven lamps lit up spontaneously. Their brightness lighted
up the whole hallway. He turned in the opposite direction, and saw another
menorah. Its seven lamps were not lighted. With much difficulty, he
approached the second menorah.

When he stood before this second menorah, he looked like a tiny ant in
comparison. This menorah looked exactly like the one he had first seen in
his hotel room. All its seven lamps were made of precious stones. All its
branches were made of gold. Its bowls were also made of gold. None of
them were lit up, but he could hear the sound of thunder and saw lightning
flashing above the menorah.

Suddenly, a thundering voice ask him, “Have you seen the Holy
Spirit?” At once, he thought to himself, I have felt the Holy Spirit but I have
never seen Him. He answered, “I have not seen Him.” As soon as he said
this, he heard a sound as of a loud explosion. A huge flame shot up from the
first lamp. It looked like an explosion of fireworks.

The flame shot up to a great height. The sight shocked and frightened
him so much that he moved a few steps back. As he continued to gaze at the
flame, it began to transform. It transformed into the similitude of a person.
As he looked closely, he realized that this person looked like the Lord Jesus.
His robes were of fire. His legs seem mixed with fire. He seemed to be
standing with outstretched hands. His eyes were flames of fire, fearsome to
look upon. This is the Holy Spirit’s form as the menorah.

5. Flood

ISAIAH 59:19
19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the
west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When
the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him.

The phrase “lift up a standard” in the Hebrew imagination carries the notion
that the Spirit of the Lord Himself will come like a great and mighty rushing
wall of waters or a deluge to push back the flood of the devil.

In math, a negative times a negative equals a positive. Likewise, to

destroy fire you need fire, for fire and fire will annihilate each other. So if
the enemy thinks he can come in like a flood, he has forgotten that one of
the manifestations of the Holy Spirit is as a flood of waters. The Spirit of
the Lord, like a flood of waters, will come to meet the devil head-on and
will push back all his forces. With the limitless power of the Holy Spirit, no
one can stand against you.

In 2015, during one of our regular monthly fasting prayer meeting in

Chennai, I saw a huge, massive wall of water, like a powerful tsunami, rise
up in the midst of the congregation (Isa 28:2). Recalling Isaiah 59:19, my
immediate thought was, this must be the devil. But a voice coming from the
midst of the waters reassured me, saying not to fear the attacks of the
enemy for the Holy Spirit will lift up a standard against him.

It was then that I understood that this great flood of waters is the Holy
Spirit who will lift up a standard of protection for the people of God.

6. The Spirit of Christ

ROMANS 8:9
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed
the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

The manifest presence of the Spirit of the Lord looks exactly like the Lord
Jesus. That is why He is also called the Spirit of Christ.

A few years ago, a prophet of God shared with me a precious

experience in the Spirit world. Once, during his times of prayer, his spirit,
by the grace of God, was caught up to heaven. While there, he met a few
saints—spirits of just men made perfect (Heb 12:23)—and was privileged
to converse with them.

As they were conversing, the blessed Lord Jesus appeared, walking

towards them. Seeing the Lord, all of them bowed low to worship and
honor the Lord. When the Lord came near, the prophet noticed that the
Lord’s robe was made of resplendent gold-colored fine linen, not like the
usual thick white fabric that he had always seen before. Furthermore, he
was also startled to see no nail-prints in the Lord’s hands and feet. Seeing
his bewildered and puzzled look, the saints told him, “This is the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit looks exactly like the Lord Jesus; that is why he is
called the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9; 1 Pet 1:11).

When the Holy Spirit takes on a tangible manifestation to make

Himself real, an explosive display of power is always exhibited. In the book
of Exodus, we read that God’s glory came down upon Mount Sinai.

EXODUS 19:16-20
16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the
morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings,
and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of
the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who
were in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to
meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the
mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke,
because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke
ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole
mountain quaked greatly.
19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long
and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God
answered him by voice.
20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the
top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the
top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

When the manifest presence of the Spirit of the Lord came down on
Mount Sinai, the whole mountain quaked and rolled, and literally burned
with fire. The top portion of Mount Sinai still remains charred after almost
3,500 years, bearing testimony to the reality of God coming down on it. On
the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to baptize 120 people, the
Holy Spirit manifested as a rushing mighty wind and as fire—a dual
manifestation. The whole house where the disciples were gathered and
praying was powerfully shaken and visibly moved (Acts 2:1-3).

The Spirit of the Lord is the fullness of the manifestation of the Holy
Spirit in a tangible form. Let me explain further how the Spirit of the Lord
fits in among the Seven Spirits of the Lord using an illustration. I am sure
you have seen a menorah, the seven-branched lampstand God instructed the
prophet Moses to make (Ex 25:31-40).

The center shaft of the menorah is the candlestick of the Lord. From it,
three branches fan out to the right and three branches to the left. When all
the candle cups of the seven branches of the menorah are lighted, seven
lamps are seen burning. Isn’t this what the apostle John saw in heaven?
(Rev 4:5). These are the seven Spirits of the Lord.

From the center shaft, which signifies the Spirit of the Lord, six
streams flow out: The Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Revelation, the Spirit
of Counsel, the Spirit of Might, the Spirit of Knowledge, and the Spirit of
the Fear of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord, much like the center shaft of
the menorah, determines the levels and moderates the degrees of the
anointing to be released through each Spirit of the Lord as He wills (1 Cor
12:11).

So being the center, the Holy Spirit will release each Spirit according to
the need and situation. Yet the flow of the Spirits of the Lord is somewhat
dependent on the expectancy of the people. For this, we can take a cue from
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Though the Lord Jesus was anointed with the Seven Spirits of God
without measure, there were times when even He could not do great and
mighty works because of the people’s unbelief (Mk 6:1-6). However, when
the expectancy was very high, all the seven Spirits flowed in full force, and
the Lord Jesus healed everyone present (Matt 4:23; Lk 6:17-19).
 Mechanics Of Operation

How does the manifestation of the Spirit of the Lord function or operate?
Here is a sample listing from the Scriptures of some of the ways in which
the Spirit of the Lord operates. However, He is not limited to these alone.
Remember, the wind blows where it wills.

1. Empowers for War

JUDGES 11:29-33
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah,
and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and
passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of
Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If
You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my
hands,
31 then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors
of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from
the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I
will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon
to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into
his hands.
33 And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith
— twenty cities — and to Abel Keramim, with a very
great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were
subdued before the children of Israel.

The Spirit of the Lord is mighty, able to pull down all strongholds. The
Spirit of the Lord coming upon a single man like Jephthah or Samson was
able to defeat the enemies of Israel (Judg 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14).
 We also read in the following scriptural references concerning the
Spirit of Lord coming upon a person and using them for war: Judges 3:9-10;
6:33-34; 13:24-25; 14:19.

How does the Spirit of the Lord operate in a person for war? The Bible
gives us the answer: “The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall
stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He
shall prevail against His enemies” (Isa 42:13).

2. Calls forth God’s Army

JUDGES 6:34-35
34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then
he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered
behind him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh,
who also gathered behind him. He also sent
messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they
came up to meet them.

When Gideon blew the trumpet after having been clothed with the Spirit of
the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord’s breath flowed through it, sounding forth a
call to gather the armies of Israel to him. It was like a direct call from
Almighty God Himself. The breath of the Spirit of the Lord will equip and
strengthen the people for war.

This is what the Spirit of the Lord will also do in the last days (Joel
2:11).

3. Releases the Gift of Prophecy

1 SAMUEL 10:6-10
6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and
you will prophesy with them and be turned into
 another man.
7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you
do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.
8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I
will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and
make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you
shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you
should do.”
9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from
Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all
those signs came to pass that day.
10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group
of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came
upon him, and he prophesied among them.

The Spirit of the Lord is the breath of God and therefore the voice of God.
When the breath speaks through a vessel (in the form of a voice), it will
cause the Word of the Lord to come forth (2 Chr 20:14-17; Ezek 11:5).
When David was anointed king, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and
he, too, prophesied (1 Sam 23:1-3).

We also read that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel during the
days of King Jehoshaphat and he prophesied deliverance for Judah (2 Chr
20:14-17). The prophet Ezekiel too prophesied when the Spirit of the Lord
came upon him (Ezek 11:5).

We also read of another amazing work of the Spirit of the Lord in the
Old Testament called the corporate anointing. The prophet Samuel had
established a school of the prophets in Ramah. Whoever came to that place
would be able to prophesy – amazingly, even rebellious King Saul, who
intended to kill his God-appointed successor, David (1 Sam 19:20-24).

4. Enables the Believer to Do the Works of the Lord Jesus

 LUKE 4:16-19
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been
brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.
And when He had opened the book, He found the place
where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has
sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

On the night of His betrayal, the Lord Jesus Himself magnanimously

declared that all those who believe in Him would do the works He did and
even greater ones than He did (Jn 14:12).

The same Spirit of the Lord that rested upon the Lord Jesus to do good
works of healings and deliverance will now come to rest upon a believer to
do the same works as the Lord did and even greater ones!

5. Transforms Us Into His Image

2 CORINTHIANS 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a
mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed
into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the
Spirit of the Lord.

The Spirit of the Lord is the One Who transforms us. The very hands that
first shaped man in Eden will now, through the Spirit of the Lord, transform
us back into the original image and likeness of our God.
 Interestingly, we also read that when the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Saul when he was anointed king, he became another person: “Then the
Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them
and be turned into another man” (1 Sam 10:6). The phrase, “be turned into”
in Hebrew is haphak meaning: to turn about or over; to change.

6. Commands Deliverance

ISAIAH 59:19
19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the
west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When
the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him.

The Spirit of the Lord resting upon you will rise up within you to command
deliverance. When the Spirit of the Lord arises within you and you speak
the word that He puts into your mouth, your word will be like a blast from
the nostrils of God to command deliverance.

This was what happened to the apostles Paul and Silas. As they were
praying and singing hymns to the Lord in the Philippian jail, they were
powerfully set free and delivered (Acts 16:25-26).

7. Enables Supernatural Transportation

ACTS 8:37-40
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your
heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And
both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw
 him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing
through, he preached in all the cities till he came to
Caesarea.

One particular working of the Spirit of the Lord is supernatural

transportation, both bodily and in the spirit. The Spirit of the Lord will
supernaturally transport you from point A to point B. You can even be
supernaturally transported in the Spirit across the dimension of time.

When a flood comes, whatever lies in its path will be carried away with
it. Likewise, when the Spirit of the Lord comes, He will carry you along His
path. You will travel and go wherever the Spirit of the Lord wants to carry
you and bring you to.

It is the Wind—the Breath of God—the Spirit of the Lord, that carried

the apostle John to heaven (Rev 4:1-2). When the Lord called the apostle
John to come up, it was the Wings of the great Eagle that carried him up
(cp. Rev 12:13). The same Wind carried the prophet Jeremiah back in time
to see the creation of the world (Jer 4:23-27), and the prophet Ezekiel into
the future to see the Millennial Temple (Ezek 40:1-2). This is the work of
the Spirit of the Lord.

Now let us consider five examples of supernatural transportation from

the Holy Bible.

i. Enoch

GENESIS 5:24
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for
God took him.

The Hebrew word for “took” is laqach, meaning take away. The prophet
Enoch was caught or carried away by the Spirit of the Lord. He was
translated bodily from this world to another world. Now let me connect this
with a similar experience of another biblical character.

As soon as the evangelist Philip finished baptizing the Ethiopian

eunuch, the Holy Spirit carried him, bodily, from the wilderness of Gaza to
another city, Azotus, over a distance of 28 miles (Acts 8:39). The Greek
word for “carried away” is harpazo, meaning catch away or take away by
force. Therefore, this Greek word carries the same meaning as its Hebrew
counterpart.

The “carried away” experience that happened to Philip was similar to

the experience of the prophet Enoch. It was the Spirit of the Lord who
carried and transported both of them in bodily from one place to another.

ii. Elijah

1 KINGS 18:12
12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone
from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a
place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and
he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant
have feared the Lord from my youth.

It was common knowledge to most people, if not everyone, in those days

that the prophet Elijah frequently experienced bodily translations. The sons
of the prophets certainly thought so. Even after the translation of the
prophet in a chariot of fire into heaven, the sons of the prophets presumed
he was carried by the Spirit of the Lord, as he usually was, to some place
elsewhere (2 Kg 2:16-18).

iii. The Lord Jesus Christ

JOHN 6:15-21
 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were
about to come and take Him by force to make Him
king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself
alone.
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down
to the sea,
17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward
Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had
not come to them.
18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was
blowing.
19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near
the boat; and they were afraid.
20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and
immediately the boat was at the land where they were
going.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to His disciples in the Sea of Galilee walking
on the water. How was this possible? We have always been told that the
laws of nature were suspended because He is their Maker. Not so.

When the Lord Jesus Christ was on this earth, He was as human as any
of us. It was the Spirit of the Lord Who held Him up, thereby enabling Him
to walk on the water. Now, there is another interesting and significant part
to this incident which most believers miss. The twelve disciples were in the
boat when the Lord Jesus came walking towards them. As soon as the Lord
stepped into the boat, every one of them, including the boat, were instantly
transported to the shore.

Wow! Even the boat was translated. There is no limit to the Spirit of the
Lord’s blast of power. We have not known the power of the Spirit of the
Lord yet. The things we have read in the Bible are just a foretaste, just tiny
examples, “child’s play” accounts of the Holy Spirit’s power. There is much
more to the power of the Holy Spirit to come—and this will be made
manifest in these last days.

Interlude: Translations Happening Now – In These Last Days

During a ministry trip to Lagos, Nigeria in 2016, I heard amazing

testimonies from Nigerian youths how the Spirit of the Lord has been tele-
transporting them.

1. A male youth was taken to Wales bodily.

2. A female youth was translated bodily to Hong Kong to preach. After

the meeting, she heard a Voice say, “You are going to minister in
Accra, Ghana.” She was still on the bed in her room when she
suddenly saw herself in Accra. Fully conscious of her body, she
crossed a bridge in Accra and went to the market, preached
salvation and healing, and after a deliverance session, came back
to her room.

3. A male youth was translated to Manchester, England. He saw a

crippled girl of about 4 years old. He commanded her to be healed
and she walked instantly. Then, he also returned to his room.

4. A Baptist Pastor confided to one of the youths who attended our

youth conference that he had been translocated to the United States
at least four times to minister to different people.

These experiences are not limited to just youths of the University of

Ibadan, but also youths from Jos, Benin, Kaduna (Zaria), Lagos and many
other cities of Nigeria.
 A pastor in Russia is physically translocated every Sunday morning to
minister at three different churches. These churches are hundreds of
kilometers apart. He will minister in the first church at their 8 AM service.
After he finishes that service, he goes into the church office at 10:15 AM.
The Spirit of the Lord then catches him away to the next church for the next
service. After that service, the Spirit of the Lord catches him away to the
third church. After the service at the third church, the Spirit of the Lord
translocates him back to his house. This he does every Sunday!

I once heard the testimony of a man of God from Kenya named

Richard. He was praying one day when the Lord said to him, “Pack your
bags and go to the airport. I want you to go to London, UK.” This man is a
poor minister of God, who does not have much money. The Lord told him
to go to the airport on a particular day. He said, “Yes Sir,” and packed his
suitcase and went to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

He stood inside the airport lobby, put his bags down, and asked the
Lord, “What shall I do now, Lord?” He had no money, no air-ticket, and no
visa. Nevertheless, in faith, did exactly as the Lord had told him to do. The
Lord then told him, “Pick up your bag and go to the men’s room and go to
cubicle number three on the left.” So he took his suitcase and went to the
men’s room. He got inside cubicle number three, laid his suitcase down and
locked the door.

He then asked the Holy Spirit, “What shall I do next?” The Holy Spirit
said, “Now, lift up your hands and worship Me.” So, Richard lifted up his
hands and worshiped the Lord at the top of his voice. After a few minutes,
he heard the Lord say “Okay, enough. Now, you can go out.” He picked up
his suitcase and when he came out of the restroom, he was shocked to
realize that he was now in Heathrow Airport, London. In a few moments, he
was transported from Kenya to London—a distance of 4,520 miles (6,840
km)!

So far, we have read of bodily translations. Let us now continue with

our biblical examples and read of two instances that illustrate how the Spirit
of the Lord carries and transports our spirits.

iv. Ezekiel

EZEKIEL 8:3
3 He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by
a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between
earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to
Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner
court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was,
which provokes to jealousy.

Out of all the biblical prophets, the prophet Ezekiel was perhaps the one
who most frequently experienced his spirit being caught away by the Spirit
of the Lord. He frequently uses the phrase “Hand of the Lord” when
describing his experiences (Ezek 1:3; 3:14,22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1). This
phrase signifies the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him.

The prophet Ezekiel also experienced being carried by the Spirit of the
Lord across a vast geographical distance, from Babylon to Israel, a distance
of 1,678 miles (2,700 km) (Ezek 37:1; 40:1-2).

v. John

REVELATION 4:1
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door
standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I
heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,
“Come up here, and I will show you things which must
take place after this.”

The Spirit of the Lord took the apostle John’s spirit up to heaven. The
apostle Paul also had at least two such experiences to heaven (2 Cor 12:2-
4).
8. Enables Supernatural Transportation across Space-Time

JEREMIAH 4:23-26
23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form,
and void; And the heavens, they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
and all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, and all the
birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a
wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the
presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger.

The prophet Jeremiah, we read from these Scriptures, experienced being

taken back in time—across space-time dimension to see the days of creation
(Gen 1:1-2).

In the year 1985, I was afflicted with jaundice. The doctor advised me
that I should take complete bed rest for 30 days. I was forced to cancel my
entire schedule for three months, which I was most reluctant to do. My
family members, however, upon hearing what the doctor said, determined to
carry out the doctor’s instructions to the letter. They did not even permit me
to come out of my bedroom. They brought me my food every day. With
nothing else to do, I used the time of rest to wait on God for at least 15
hours a day.

For 15 hours a day I would wait on God, meditate the Word, and
poured my heart out to God in prayer. About one week into my enforced
rest, I got up at 3 AM to pray, as was my habit. When I bowed before the
presence of the Lord, suddenly, I found myself standing in a wilderness. I
wondered where I was. I was supposed to be praying in my bedroom in
India. How was it that I now stood in a wilderness?
 As I was pondering this, I suddenly realized that I was walking with
two elderly men, each one over 6 feet tall, each one large and broad-
shouldered. I did not know who they were. But they both looked like men
of ancient past. As they walked, they talked with each other.

I followed the two men until they came to a certain place, where they
stopped. The elder of the two looked at the younger and said, “Lot, lift up
your eyes and choose which part of the land you want” (cp. Gen 13:8-13).
“Oops!” I gasped in wonder as I realized that I was standing beside
Abraham and Lot. I witnessed the entire scene of how they decided which
portion of the land they would settle in.

Though I was standing beside these two ancient men, they did not see
me; I was invisible to them. In the midst of their discussion, Lot began to
say, “Uncle, I choose that land over there – it seems beautiful and pleasant
in my eyes.” Abraham pleaded with his nephew: “Don’t go there. That land
is full of sin and filth. Don’t go there.”

However, Lot prevailed upon his uncle until finally Abraham relented.
After that, Lot left, and Abraham walked back by himself. Obviously, I
chose to follow Abraham. As he was walking, the Word of the Lord came
unto him, “Lift up your eyes and see: I will multiply your seed as the stars
of heaven” (cp. Gen 12:14-17).

After I was transported back to my room, I began to reflect upon the

wonderful grace of God. I realized I had been transported in the spirit about
4,000 years back in time. This is another work of the Spirit of the Lord—
when He carries you across the dimension of time. Time does not exist in
the Spirit realm; it only exists in our natural realm.

“How are such things possible?” you may wonder. How does this
translation in time and space work? Though the basic concept is very
simple, most believers find it very hard to put it into practice. It works by
abiding in Christ Jesus. It works by being joined together with the Lord:
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Cor 6:17).

When you are joined to the Lord, you become one with Him. When
you are bound in union with the Lord Jesus, you become one with and in
Him. Time stands still in Him who is the El Olam—The Everlasting One
who inhabits eternity (Gen 21:33; Isa 57:15). If time stands still, if it does
not even exist in the Lord, then when you are bound to the Lord—when you
are one with Him—you can go anywhere that the Spirit of the Lord wills.

Have you seen the launch of the space shuttle? In order for the space
shuttle to leave the earth, it piggybacks on a rocket. As the rocket ascends
higher and higher towards outer space, the space shuttle is released to
continue its journey to where no one has gone before. That is exactly what
happens when you are bound to the Holy Spirit—you are “piggybacking”
on the Holy Spirit.

Have you seen creeper plants that do not stand on their own but need to
lean on something to grow vertically? That is another illustration of what
happens to us when we abide in Christ Jesus. You are binding yourself to
the Lord. When you wait on the Lord, you bind yourself to the Lord.

When you bind yourself to the Lord, you become one with Him. When
you bind yourself with the Holy Spirit, you become one with Him. So,
when you become one with the Spirit of the Lord, wherever He goes, you
go along with Him. Consider the following Scriptures for a better
understanding of this concept.

EZEKIEL 1:19-21
9 When the living creatures went, the wheels went
beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted
up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went,
because there the spirit went; and the wheels were
 lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living
creatures was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; when those stood,
these stood; and when those were lifted up from the
earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for
the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

The Spirit of the Lord—the life of God—was in the living creatures

and in the wheels. Wherever the Spirit went, the creatures and wheels went,
because they were bound in oneness with the Spirit of the Lord. This is how
the Spirit of the Lord carries us to various places.

Sometimes, as the Lord wills, the Spirit of the Lord can show you
episodes in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ – both ones recorded in the
Bible, and even ones that are not. For example, I used to wonder why the
Lord Jesus said the following words:

JOHN 8:28-29
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son
of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do
nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I
speak these things.
29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has
not left Me alone, for I always do those things that
please Him.”

One day, as I was waiting on God, the Holy Spirit said to me, “Come, I
will show you what these Scriptures mean.” I was transported back in time
to when the Lord Jesus was still on this earth. I saw Him praying in a
secluded place. As He was praying, the glory of the Lord came down and
stood beside Him like a pillar of cloud. The presence of the Father came
down and stood before the Lord Jesus.
 The Lord Jesus then laid bare His heart and talked openly with the
Father. The cloud of glory appeared very gentle, kind, and benign. When
the Lord finished praying, the Father, through a Voice that came from
within the cloud, spoke to Him, giving Him specific instructions concerning
what He should do that day.

Finally, the apostle Paul also had an experience of travelling back in

time when he was taken to witness how the Lord Jesus served Communion
to His disciples (1 Cor 11:23-26). With that first-hand knowledge, he was
able to write to the Corinthian church and counsel them concerning the
proper conduct of serving the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:27-34).

It is the Spirit of the Lord that carries or transports a person

geographically to different places on Earth or in the Spirit to heavenly
places. One of the classic examples of the Spirit of the Lord doing this is
found in the Acts of the Apostles.

ACTS 1:9
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they
watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him
out of their sight.

Forty days after His resurrection, as the Lord was speaking with His
disciples, a cloud materialized out of no-where and took the Lord Jesus up
to heaven. The word “cloud” in Greek is nephele meaning cloudiness, i.e.
(concretely) a cloud. A concrete and tangible supernatural cloud
materialized before 500 disciples. This is none other than the manifest
presence of the Spirit of the Lord who manifested to carry the Lord Jesus
back to heaven (Mk 16:19).

Four Different Levels Of Manifestation

The Spirit of the Lord flows like a river. This river flows at four levels,
which are the four different levels of manifestation.
 GENESIS 2:10-14
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden,
and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which
skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the
onyx stone are there.
13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one
which goes around the whole land of Cush.
14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one
which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river
is the Euphrates.

Now keep this in mind for a moment and let us consider how the river
flows from the temple seen by the prophet Ezekiel in a vision.

EZEKIEL 47:3-5
3 And when the man went out to the east with the line
in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he
brought me through the waters; the water came up to
my ankles.
4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me
through the waters; the water came up to my knees.
Again he measured one thousand and brought me
through; the water came up to my waist.
5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river
that I could not cross; for the water was too deep,
water in which one must swim, a river that could not
be crossed.

In the Book of Genesis we read that one river flowed somewhere from
the center of Eden and parted into four heads: Gihon, Pison, Hiddekel and
Euphrates. Four rivers, too, come forth out of the Holy Spirit: The Spirit of
Wisdom and Revelation, the Spirit of Counsel and Might, the Spirit of
Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord. These four
rivers flow at four different levels.

There is a beautiful relationship between the account in the books of

Genesis and Ezekiel. From the original Hebrew language, we can find a
beautiful relationship between the two narratives.

1. “Gihon” in Hebrew means a stream.

2. “Pison” in Hebrew means a river that flows freely.

3. “Hiddekel” in Hebrew means one that flows rapidly.

4. “Euphrates” in Hebrew means bursts in abundance.

Now, let us correlate the rivers of Genesis 2 with the account of Ezekiel
47.

1. Gihon, a stream, is a small level river and not deep, for it is only
ankle deep.

2. Pishon, a river that flows freely and is deeper. This river flows at a
level that is knee deep. When we come to this level, the river of
revelation flows freely.

3. Hiddekel, a river that flows rapidly, whose current is fast and strong.
This is the waist deep level.

Euphrates is a very deep river whose waters burst in abundance. The

water here is so deep that one must swim in it.
 When each of the Seven Spirits of the Lord first comes upon you, it
does not begin as a great river. At first, it only flows as the ankle-deep
water. The flow then progressively increases from one level to the next.

Keys To Flow

What are the levels of progression in the flow of the River of the Seven
Spirits of the Lord? What are the determining factors? There are four of
them.

1. Obedience

ISAIAH 63:10
10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So
He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He
fought against them.

We should not rebel against the Spirit of the Lord if we desire His River to
flow in us.

2. Faithfulness

LUKE 16:10
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful
also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is
unjust also in much.

Be faithful in what has been entrusted to you. If you cannot be faithful in

giving a small word of prophecy, how can you be faithful in releasing a big
revelation? You won’t know how to handle it. So you must first be faithful
in small things.
3. Meekness and Humility

MATTHEW 11:29
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls.

If you do not remain humble, God, in His mercy, will not increase the
anointing because it would destroy you (1 Peter 5:5). You would walk
upside-down with pride instead of right-side-up in Christ-like character.

Many ministers have been destroyed, have lost their ministries, have
lost their anointing, have lost everything because they took the anointing for
granted. You should never ever take the anointing of God for granted.
Samson and King Saul are two very sad examples in the Bible of how men
of God took their anointing lightly because of pride. They despised their
anointing by not protecting it. Both of them lost their gifting and calling.

If you are not humble and if you walk in pride, the anointing will
dissipate. Soon enough, the Spirit of the Lord will depart from you and an
evil spirit may come and deceive you with false words of knowledge. You
will then be operating under a spirit of divination. Be careful!

The more you bow low before the Lord, the more you humble yourself
before Him, the more the anointing will increase in your life. The more you
humble yourself, the more the grace of God will manifest in your life and
God will eventually promote you from glory to glory.

4. Love

JOHN 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another; as I have loved you, that you also love
 one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if
you have love for one another.”

In March of 2015, as I was fasting and praying in Jerusalem, the Word of

the Lord came to me that the gifts of the Spirit are like the first stage of a
rocket, and the Spirit of the Lord is like the second stage. After the first-
stage rocket jettisons from the second stage, the second stage is propelled
all the way into space.

The first stage of the rocket never actually makes into outer-space, but
the second stage does. The second stage drifting in space is akin to walking
in love. In space, there is no gravitational pull like on earth. There is no
friction to slow down the vehicle. A spacecraft can travel very far in space,
unhindered by friction and gravity. The friction and gravity are like the self
in us. When we are released from it to walk in the God-kind of love, then
we will work greater works than the Lord Jesus did (Jn 14:12).

The Spirit of the Lord will only begin to move in and upon us when we
begin to walk in love. When you walk in divine love, the light of God also
comes in with it. God is love and light. He, then, comes alongside you to
work with you. When love and light become one with us, we will walk like
God on this earth.
Chapter 16 - The Menorah
The prophet Moses was commissioned by the Lord God to make the
lampstand, or Menorah, as it is commonly called today in Israel.

EXODUS 25:31-40
31 “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the
lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its
branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers
shall be of one piece.
32 And six branches shall come out of its sides: three
branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three
branches of the lampstand out of the other side.
33 Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on
one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower,
and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the
other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower
— and so for the six branches that come out of the
lampstand.
34 On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made
like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob
and flower.
35 And there shall be a knob under the first two
branches of the same, a knob under the second two
branches of the same, and a knob under the third two
branches of the same, according to the six branches
that extend from the lampstand.
36 Their knobs and their branches shall be of one
piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure
gold.
37 You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall
arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it.
 38 And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of
pure gold.
39 It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all
these utensils.
40 And see to it that you make them according to the
pattern which was shown you on the mountain.

The lampstand is one of the six pieces of furniture which the prophet
Moses saw in heaven. When he was first called to meet with the Lord God
upon Mount Sinai, after waiting for six days, the Lord called him to come
up to heaven (Ex 24:15-18).

The prophet Moses was with the Lord in heaven for 40 days and 40
nights. It was during that visit that he was shown the pattern of things in
heaven and thereby commissioned to reproduce them exactly as he had seen
them (Ex 25:40; 26:30; 27:8; Heb 8:5). One of the pieces of furniture the
prophet Moses saw was the lampstand

One morning in October 1994, as I was waiting on God, the Holy Spirit
appeared before me as the seven-branched lampstand—the Menorah. Being
in the form of the Menorah, the Holy Spirit spoke from the seven lights on
the seven candlesticks, saying, “Tell the people: anyone can be filled with
the Seven Spirits of God. They just need to do two things.

Firstly, the lampstand was in the Holy Place, therefore their lives must
be holy, filled with the Word and saturated with prayer. Secondly, the
furniture in the Holy Place was made of pure gold. That means they must
have pure devotion and love for the Lord Jesus Christ and be in passionate
pursuit of God and the deep things of God.”

If you can do these two things, God will bless you with all the Seven
Spirits of God and you can come into the marvelous riches of His grace.
 On the morning of September 25, 2015 at 5.39 AM, as I was praying
unto the Lord in Chennai, the gracious Lord appeared to me, dressed in a
robe of the seven colors of the rainbow and taught me the following. First,
He said: “I am He who has the seven Spirits” (Rev 3:1). Second, He
reminded me of a vision he showed me a few days earlier.

This vision was like an augmented-reality prophetic encounter. In it, an

Angel appeared and placed a lamp against the wall of my bedroom. The
lamp was cylindrical, its top was a gold dome-shaped cover, and its base
was about three inches deep and green in color. Inside the lamp was a bulb.
The whole lamp was about three feet tall. Reminding me of the details of
the vision, the Lord proceeded to explain their significance, one by one.

i. The lamp signified the seven Spirits of the Lord.

ii. The dome-shaped gold cover signified holiness of mind.

iii. The bulb signified the illuminating Word (Ps 119:130; Prov 6:23).

iv. The green-colored base signified humility. The base of anything is

that which supports and holds it. The base is the most important
part because it holds whatever is built on top of it. The Lord Jesus
rode on a donkey and its foal when He entered into Jerusalem
(Matt 21:2-7). That signifies humility and meekness.

Summing up, the Lord Jesus explained that these are the qualities
required in a person to flow in the seven Spirits of the Lord in these last
days.

Keys To Flow

What are the conditions to flow in all these four rivers of God?
1. Communion with the Holy Spirit

99.99% of Christians know very little about communion with the Holy
Spirit. We know how to pray to the Father and we know how to praise the
Lord Jesus. But we know very little about communion with the Holy Spirit,
because not much is mentioned about it in the Bible except these two
Scriptures:

2 CORINTHIANS 13:14
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with
you all. Amen.

PHILIPPIANS 2:1
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and mercy,

The word “fellowship” and “communion” comes from the same Greek
word koinonia meaning: partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or
(social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction. Koinonia comes from
koinonos meaning sharer.

The concept of koinonia is common participation in social sharing as

between two good friends. Simply, it means to become friends with the
Holy Spirit.

We need to learn to commune and fellowship with the Holy Spirit – to

get to know Him. We can commune with the Holy Spirit by worshiping the
Holy Spirit just as we worship God. Praise the Holy Spirit just as we praise
God. After all, He is God, right? Why should we think He is third class?
Just because He is mentioned third in the trinity: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, does that make Him any lesser? No, it doesn’t.
 How do we commune with the Holy Spirit? The Bible tells us how to
do it: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit,” (Jude 20). The more you pray in the Holy Spirit,
the more you are communing with the Holy Spirit while at the same time
receiving secrets—mysteries—from God.

We can commune with the Holy Spirit through the following ways:

i. Presence – practice the presence of God the Holy Spirit by

worshipping God in a daily and consistent routine (Jas 4:8).

ii. Fellowship – by spending time together with the Holy Spirit. Talk
with the Holy Spirit as you would do with the Lord Jesus.

iii. Partnership – the Holy Spirit is the One who works the works of
God (Mk 16:20). So we need to learn to discuss with Him how to
do the works of God. This is something the Lord Jesus practiced
during His earthly ministry. When you do, He will give you
counsel, advice and strategies.

iv. Friend – treat the Holy Spirit as your friend. Share your feelings with
Him in an intimate manner as you would do with your earthly
friends.

When you learn to commune with the Holy Spirit, He will guide you
and He will counsel you in all the affairs of your life.

2. Respecting and honoring the Holy Spirit

The one essential thing that we can learn from Kathryn Kulman is to honor
and reverence the Holy Spirit.
 There lived a saintly minister of God in South India by the name of
Brother John Rabindranath (1931-2006), whom the Lord used mightily in
signs, wonders and miracles, even in the raising of the dead. During the
early days of his ministry, he used to stay in the beautiful hilly region of
Ketti, South India. One morning, he wanted to have his bath before prayer.
He asked the house owner to boil him some water. The man told Brother
Rabindranath that since there was no electricity that morning, it would take
longer to boil water than usual, since he had to use firewood and he asked
him to wait a while.

After 30 minutes, the man came with a pail of boiling water, only to
find that Brother Rabindranath had already bathed and finished praying.
When the man asked him how he had managed to take a bath, the man of
God answered in the following manner: I could not wait for 30 minutes as it
was getting late for my time of prayer. So I went to the bathroom, laid my
hands on the pail of ice-cold water and prayed, asking God to boil the water
so that I could come to meet with the Lord on time. After praying, the water
started boiling and I bathed, and was able to meet with the Lord in prayer at
the appointed time.

The house owner could not quite believe what Brother Rabindranath
had said. So he went into the bathroom and was shocked to see the mist and
vapor still hanging in the air and on the mirror. Needless to say, he was
speechless.

As I write this on February 3, 2017 in Singapore, it pleased the Lord

Jesus to open my eyes to see Him in the heavenlies and He said, “When My
servants honor Me, I take delight in them, and manifest Myself to them.”

3. Being United with the Holy Spirit

1 CORINTHIANS 6:17 (AMP)

17 But the person who is united to the Lord becomes
one spirit with Him.
All the six branches of the lampstand are joined to the central shaft.
Likewise, we must be joined to the Holy Spirit. We must learn to become
one with Him—to be united and joined with the Holy Spirit. It is the same
as abiding in the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:4). When you learn to abide in God, you
bind yourself in oneness to the Lord Jesus.

How can you be bound or united with the Holy Spirit? By waiting on
God (Isa 40:31). A young Russian received the baptism of the Holy Spirit
and was mightily endued with power from on high. The secret of his power-
filled ministry was that he continually waited on God.

On June 14, 2014, an angelic being brought the Word of the Lord unto
me, saying: “The miracles that the last days’ generation will do will surpass
what [prophets like Elijah] did. The key to walking in the miraculous is
staying yoked with God – that is, being in a continual, intimate relationship
with Him” (1 Kg 17:1-2, 8; 18:1,15, 36; 21:17; 2 Kg 1:15).

Another interesting point to note is found in Zechariah 4:1-3,11-12:

1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and

wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his
sleep.
2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I
am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with
a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with
seven pipes to the seven lamps.
3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl
and the other at its left.”
11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these
two olive trees — at the right of the lampstand and at
its left?”
12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are
these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles
of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil
drains?”
 The prophet Zechariah saw a vision of two olive trees being yoked to a
lampstand—to a menorah—to receive the flow of oil. In order to receive the
flow of the anointing of the seven Spirits of God, the Lord Jesus says,
“Abide in Me. The works that I do you shall do also, and greater works than
these you will do” (Jn 14:12).

If you are bound or yoked with the Holy Spirit in oneness then you
cannot have unbelief. The Bible says that “without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He
is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6). Our most
fundamental access to God is through faith and He rewards those who walk
by faith and in faith.

Many sincere believers frequently ask this question: Will miracles take
place if I pray? What if miracles don’t take place? Such questions, as
sincere as they are, are full of doubt and unbelief. By possessing such an
attitude, we display great faith—negative faith, that is—faith in doubt and
unbelief.

Consider for an example from the life of the prophet Ezekiel.

EZEKIEL 37:3-10
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones
live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and
say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I
will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you,
cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you
shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I
prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling;
and the bones came together, bone to bone.
 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came
upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there
was no breath in them.
9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,
prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus
says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may
live.”’”
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath
came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their
feet, an exceedingly great army.

The prophet Ezekiel, seeing a valley full of dry dead bones, knew in his
natural mind that these bones, dead for who knows how many years, could
not live. But the Word of the Lord came to him asking him to prophesy to
the bones to live. The prophet Ezekiel obeyed the Word of God irrespective
of what his mind told him. As a result, a great miracle of resurrection took
place.

Likewise, it is our duty to simply obey God’s Word to lay hands on the
sick and pray with faith (Mk 16:18). The result belongs to God. Early in my
ministry, I, too, asked the Lord Jesus this question: “Lord, will miracles take
place when I pray?” In a direct and firm manner, the Lord answered,
“Praying is your business and healing is Mine. You do your work and I will
do Mine!” Doesn’t that settle the issue once and for all?

4. Consistent and Consecrated Prayer Life

EPHESIANS 6:18
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints —
Smith Wigglesworth was a man of deep and continual prayer, praying for at
least a few minutes every 30 minutes throughout the day.

Once, as he was traveling by car from one meeting to another, he

became caught up in a conversation with another minister. His appointed
time to pray passed. Several minutes later, when he realized this, he shouted
to the driver to immediately stop the car. He got out of the car, knelt down
on the gravel, wept and said, “Lord, forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!”
To Wigglesworth his prayer time was not a matter of legalism or religiosity,
as many would say today, but a matter of consecration he had made to the
Lord.

To flow in all the gifts of the Spirit you must dwell in the presence of
God. As you learn to dwell in God’s presence, you will be filled with the
presence of the Holy Spirit to work the works of God (Lk 5:16-17).

This was true for Smith Wigglesworth. The power that brought
miraculous results in his ministry was the result of the presence of the Holy
Spirit that filled him. It was also true for Kathryn Kulman, who always said
she could do nothing without the Holy Spirit. We must learn to come into
God’s presence with great respect for His glory—for who He is.

5. Earnestly Desire

1 CORINTHIANS 12:31
31 But earnestly desire the best gifts.

That strong desire must become a deep hunger. If we need to desire

earnestly for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then to flow deeper in the four
rivers of the seven Spirits of God we need to develop a powerful, insatiable
hunger (1 Cor 14:1).

6. Stay United in Love

 JUDE 21
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

stay in love is to walk in love (Eph 5:2). The gifts of the Spirit will not
manifest when there is bitterness, malice, envy, or unforgiveness in your
heart. The Spirits of God will never operate, because the Spirit of God is a
Spirit of love, even as God is love (1 Jn 4:8).

So, if you want to flow with God and abide with God, then you must
live in love, you must stay in love, and you must walk in love. Look
carefully at the following Scriptures.

1 JOHN 4:12-13,16
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one
another, God abides in us, and His love has been
perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in
us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God
has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love
abides in God, and God in him.

To love the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all that is within you is the absolute key, the
Lord Jesus said. This is the key to the seven Spirits of the Lord. The key is
Jesus.

Many times, we lose our focus. We look at all the extraordinary

manifestations, get carried away and forget the Person who is the object of
our worship. Don’t we do that? We become so distracted in serving God
that we, like Martha, forget to wait upon Him (Lk 10:38-42). Love the Lord
Jesus with all your heart.
 In February of 2014, during a visit to Sydney, Australia, I was fasting
and praying for three days. One morning, I got up to wait on God at 3 AM.
As I started to wait before the Lord, I fell into a trance and found myself in
heaven in a beautiful, serene and exquisite garden. There, I met a young
man who was a little taller than me and looked quite stout. I knew him as
someone who moved powerfully in astounding miracles. He looked
glorious and his face shone.

We sat together on a stone bench. I joyfully complimented him on the

wonderful and powerful way God was using him. He looked at me, his face
full of love, and spoke respectfully as one would speak to an elder saying:
“This miraculous walk is only possible when we walk in love and are full of
love.”

Turning, now, to Scripture, after expounding on the gifts of the Holy

Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul ended the chapter by saying:
“And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far
and the highest of them all — love] (1 Cor 12:31, AMP). The thing that is
far greater and excellent than all the gifts of God is to walk in love, to be
saturated with love.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:13
3 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.

Love is the base upon which faith and hope rests. When we walk and
flow in love, it gives birth to faith. Faith gives hope for the miraculous
manifestation of gifts. Hope anchors the soul in faith, firm and secure to
believe for impossible miracles (Heb 6:19).

Love without hypocrisy must be the true motive to move in the gifts.
Then our motive will be undefiled and in the will of God. Without love, the
gifts will operate but it will be mere display for personal gain, fame and
name (Matt 7:21-23).
 As we are now in the last days, the glory of the Holy Spirit will flow
like a torrential rain—a perfect storm. It will be a combination of the early
rain and the latter rain (Joel 2:23). The Holy Spirit, like the most powerful
perfect storm history has ever seen, will sweep the entire world.

In order for you to be a coworker with the Holy Spirit, and in order to
swim in this deep tsunami-like wave of the Holy Spirit, you must walk in
love. If you don’t walk in love, the Holy Spirit cannot flow through you. In
order for the glory of God to move, the flesh must die.

7. Live a Pure and Holy life

HEBREWS 1:9
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the
oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

en the Lord God gave the prophet Moses instruction to make the menorah,
He told him: “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand
shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental
knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece” (Ex 25:31).

Subsequently, Bezalel “made the lampstand of pure gold; of hammered

work he made the lampstand. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its
ornamental knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece” (Ex 37:17). It is
made of one piece of pure solid gold.

The word “pure” in Hebrew is tahowr meaning pure (in a physical,

chemical, ceremonial or moral sense). The Hebrew word tahowr is from the
root word taher meaning to be pure (physical sound, clear, unadulterated;
Levitically, uncontaminated; morally, innocent or holy).

Pure gold signifies purity and holiness. None of the seven Spirits of the
Lord can flow if there is the taint of sin in us. That tainting would corrupt
the anointing. So live a pure and holy life. This man-made lampstand held
the light of God that lighted the whole inner sanctum of the tabernacle. The
light of God made the tabernacle vibrant and alive. This is similar to the
breath of God coming into Adam’s lifeless body at creation making him
alive—a living soul.

Before the prophetic gifts and anointing manifested powerfully in the

prophet William Branham’s life, when he was still a teenager, one day he
sat under an old poplar tree to rest. Suddenly, he heard the sound of wind
blowing in the top of the tree. Startled, he jumped up and looked around and
realized that the wind was not blowing anywhere else except on the poplar
tree. As he stood under the tree, he heard a voice say, “Never smoke, drink
nor defile your body in any way. For I have a work for you to do when you
get older.”

Similarly, we read that an Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife

and said, “Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar
drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and
bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a
Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of
the hand of the Philistines” (Judg 13:4-5).

The strength and power of the eagle combined with the purity,
meekness and single-minded devotion of the dove are a picture and symbol
of the powers of the age to come that will be poured out in these last days.
The eagle is a bird of power, whereas the dove is a bird whose nature
reflects the purity, holiness and love of God.

This final generation will be equipped with these powers: the Gifts of
the Spirit and the Seven Spirits of God. But they are only to be found in
quietness and humble submission like the dove. They must reside in a heart
of purity and love, and be wholly devoted to their Maker.

8. Yield Totally and Be Willing to be Led by the Holy Spirit

 LUKE 4:1-2
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned
from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in
those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they
had ended, He was hungry.

ld yourself totally to the Holy Spirit. Be willing to be led by Him in every

situation in your life, even in the things that appear of little consequence.

While on a ministry trip to Sydney, Australia in September 2014, the

Holy Spirit inspired me with a question while in prayer: “How was it
possible for Christ Jesus to come out of His 40 days fast in the power of the
Holy Spirit?” As I quieted myself before God for an answer, the Holy Spirit
graciously said, “He was completely consecrated to God during the fast. He
offered His body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God.”

When the saints Moses and Elijah appeared before the Lord Jesus on
the Mount of Transfiguration, the Bible says they “spoke of His decease
which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Lk 9:31). In a prophetic
encounter I was graced to receive by the manifold mercies of God, I saw the
scene and heard them explain to the Lord Jesus about yielding His body on
the altar as a living sacrifice. His soul—both mind and emotions—were to
be put on the altar. His spirit was to be put on the altar. It was His dark night
of the soul.

Totally consecrate and yield yourself to God to be led and taught by the
Holy Spirit. Shut out the world, so that your whole being may be
completely yielded to God, so that His glory may permeate you and then
flow out of you.

William J. Seymour (1870 – 1922) was a black minister whom the

Lord used in the 1904 Asuza Street Outpouring. He would never get up to
preach until he felt the stirring of the Holy Spirit. He would sit at the front
of the church with his head inside an orange crate. He would sit thus for
minutes, or an hour or more, waiting on the Holy Spirit to anoint him with a
message.

He would only lift his head from the crate when he felt the anointing
come upon him and when the Holy Spirit had given him a message to
preach. John G. Lake, who had witnessed Seymour preaching, said that
when he preached, his message was straight from heaven and moved men
and women to tremble and weep.

There was once a man of God who was full of the Holy Spirit and who
would only preach when he was mightily anointed of the Holy Spirit. He
was once asked to preach at a church. He asked the pastor with whom he
was staying to go ahead to the church and told him that he would follow
shortly.

The church was packed with people and the worship started. As the
worship time was coming to an end, the pastor saw no sign of the preacher.
Anxious, he sent his daughter home to call for the preacher. When the girl
was about to knock on the visitor’s bedroom door to call him to the
meeting, she heard him crying,” I will not go!” This, the girl heard him say
three times. She ran to the church and told her father that the preacher
would not come.

The pastor was troubled. As he was thinking and wandering what to do,
the visiting preacher walked into the church. That night the power of God
manifested mightily. Later that night the pastor asked the preacher why he
said he wasn’t coming. The preacher, with all humility, answered, “I told
the Lord I dared not go to the service if He would not come with me. And
that I would also not go if He would not give a fresh anointing of the Holy
Spirit. As I cried to the Lord, He poured a fresh new oil upon me.”
 Such is the total and absolute dependence we must put on the Holy
Spirit. We must cast away our self-reliance and our confidence in our own
ability and anointing. Jacob’s limb was dislocated so that he could no longer
rely on his own self, but had to now limp and rely on a staff to hold him up
(Gen 32:25,31). Likewise, we must totally rely on the Holy Spirit for a
“moving of the waters” in our lives.

Smith Wigglesworth would never leave his house to go to preach at

meetings unless and until the Holy Spirit’s anointing would come upon him
afresh every time. Such was his dependence on the Holy Spirit. And that
was why there was such a tremendous power in his ministry to set people
free.

You must always yearn for the Holy Spirit to come and brood over you
as He did over the earth (Gen 1:2). Only then can people’s lives be made
whole and new from the chaos and disorder we have gotten ourselves into.
We also, through sins of omission and commission, have allowed the devil
to create disorder and chaos in our bodies, souls and spirits.

A certain man of God in the United States once saw a vision. In the
vision, the Lord showed him a wife preparing a meal for her husband. The
husband came home, walked up to her, snatched the meal from her, turned
his back on her and then walked away, not caring if she had anything to eat;
neither did he invited her to join him to share the meal together.

The Lord then asked, “Does this seem right to you?” The minister
replied, “No Lord! That would be awful!” The Lord then said, “This is
exactly what My people are doing with the things of My Spirit.” The vision
illustrates how inappropriate it is for Christians to snatch the gifts away
from the Holy Spirit, walk away from Him without inviting Him to come
along and then operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit without the specific
leading or unction to do so.
 Be willing to yield totally; be willing to be led totally; be willing to
obey totally, even if it costs you everything. Even in the smallest situations
in your life, learn to yield and obey the Holy Spirit; only then can you be
entrusted to flow in the seven Spirits of the Lord.

If you cannot yield, or if you cannot obey, why then should the Holy
Spirit flow in your life? You are of no use to Him. When the Spirit of the
Lord wanted to manifest in your life, and if you say “I am sleepy Lord.
Don’t take me anywhere right now.” Or if the Spirit of Knowledge and Fear
of the Lord manifests and you are given a Word for someone, but you refuse
to give it because you are afraid to offend him, what use are you to the Holy
Spirit?

9. Humility

ACTS 20:19
19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears
and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the
Jews;

humble and always give God all the glory for the great things He is doing
and will do in your life. Never steal God’s glory and proudly flaunt it as
yours.

Stephen Jeffreys (1876 – 1943) was a true great servant of the Lord—a
powerful British healing evangelist. He was born in South Wales in a small
village in 1876. Not a perfect man, but by the age of 8, he knew he was
destined for greatness in the service of the Lord. Jeffreys was saved at a
very early age and was introduced to early Pentecostalism.

This introduction lead him to become one of God’s great powerhouses

when it came to preaching the word, the gift of prophecy as well as healing.
Thousands were saved during the early 1900’s as a powerful move of God
took place under his ministry which literally prepared Wales for the revival
that came shortly after. Those in Africa and beyond were supernaturally
healed by the power of God in Stephen’s ministry.

In a typical miracle healing service, Stephen would jump off the

platform, run to people with rheumatoid arthritis, curse the disease and
scream at it to depart from the people. People testified that they could hear
bones pop as the suffering person’s bones began to relocate. An outstanding
miracle took place one particular night at another healing service. A young
man with one stunted leg dangling uselessly from his body, a leg that had
never grow properly, came to the meeting. Stephen invited the man to the
stage and commanded, “Leg, I tell you, grow, in Jesus name.” Thousands of
people witnessed the leg grow 18 inches.

Yet with all the good he had done, Stephen developed a spirit of pride,
and allowed that pride to enter into his heart.

It was said that one particular night in a crusade in South Africa,

Stephen walked to the platform where thousands gathered to hear this
mighty man of God speak and proclaim the Word, to see the power of God
within his hands heal thousands. He stated before all: “Ladies and
gentleman, the world is at my feet to worship me.”

Pride was his undoing. By 1936, Stephen Jeffreys, this once powerful
and mighty man of God was sick. He developed rheumatoid arthritis. His
neck and head were kinked over. His arms were twisted and his shoulders
were equally twisted. His body twisted nearly into a ball. Confined to a
wheelchair, this once great servant of God, whom God used greatly across
the world, who saw thousands healed and restored, was brought down to
this. As tears ran down his face, Stephen was quoted as saying, “I’m so
sorry to have let this number one thing that I delivered people from come
upon me. God will not permit his servants to have the gold or the glory.”

As the dreaded disease, rheumatoid arthritis, increased its grip upon his
frame, people who wanted to make eye contact with him would have to
kneel to do so, since he was not able to lift his head. Stephen Jeffreys never
recovered his health nor ministry. A short while after, this once vibrant
servant of the Lord died in obscurity.

In March of 1974, a Chinese farmer by the name Yang Zhifa was

digging a well when he made a surprising discovery: Buried under the dry
ground of central China was the Terracotta Army—life-size terracotta
sculptures that dated back to the 3rd century BC. In this extraordinary find
were 8,000 soldiers, 150 cavalry horses, and 130 chariots drawn by 520
horses. This amazing treasure lay hidden for centuries but is now on open
display before the whole world.

Likewise, the power that God has entrusted to us is like treasure in clay
jars (2 Cor 4:7). We do not own the treasure. We are just mere conduits
through which the all-surpassing power of God passes through. God will
never share his glory with a man, nor will He allow any man or woman to
glory in the works done in His name. To do so would bring judgment.
Though saved, God will judge that servant severely, for God is a righteous
God and must be understood to be so.

Never touch the gold nor the glory. When a person manifests a natural
talent, he receives credit for it. But when the gifts of the Holy Spirit
manifest, God alone gets all the glory.

Alexander Dowie (1847-1907), a man used mightily by the Lord in

healings, slowly fell from grace because of pride. At the height of his
ministry, he filled the Madison Square Gardens in New York City. No other
preacher during that time could fill that place. Furthermore, he firmly
believed that he was the “Elijah to come,” the pride that ruined his ministry.

As I was working on this book in London on June 24, 2016, I saw a

vision of a dove. The dove—that is, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove—
said, “Humility is the essence of the character of a dove. The dove is
unassuming. To be unassuming is to possess a quiet attitude, not trying to
appear important.”

Wow! Isn’t this how the Lord Jesus behaved while He was on earth?
He never considered His status as God to be something to trumpet or boast
about (Phil 2:6). If we pray and God performs a miracle, why then should
we glory in it or take credit for it?

10. Bring the people to the Lord Jesus

On October 4, 2017, I was meditating on the scriptural passage found in

Luke 18:35-43. This passage of the healing of two men one whom is called
Bartimaeus is also found in Matthew 20:29-34 and Mark 10:46-52.

As I read the three passages over and over, comparing all the
similarities and the various details that each writer offered, I marvelled in
my spirit at the goodness and compassion of the Lord Jesus manifested in
this miracle of healing the sick.

At that moment of quietness deep within me, I heard the still small
voice of the Lord ask me, “Do you wish to do these works?” I immediately
replied in the affirmative, “Yes, Lord.” “Then first bring the people to Me,”
the Lord said. Looking at the passage carefully, that’s what the people did to
the blind men: they brought them to the Lord Jesus. Every miraculous act
the Lord Jesus did as recorded in the Gospels was done by Him when the
needy were brought to Him.

“When you minister to the needs of the people, first prepare them to
meet Me,” the Lord Jesus continued. In a vision I saw myself standing
before a crowd of people of a few thousand. As I asked them to prepare
their hearts to meet with the Lord Jesus to do a miracle for them, I saw the
Spirit of Christ come and adorn me with a robe of seven colors. These
colors were as brilliant as lightning and were pulsating with life. Rays of
these seven colors came forth from the robe and were enveloping my arms.
 “When the people are ready to reach out to Me, I will fill you with My
compassion and will show you their needs. Then, when you pray for them,
they will be healed,” the Lord Jesus kindly said.

Instead of drawing the people to oneself for all their needs, let us draw
them to the Lord Jesus, who is Jehovah Raphah.

nclusion

When the apostle John was caught up to heaven, all the seven Spirits of the
Lord manifested together in the event.

It was the Spirit of the Lord who caught him up to heaven. It was the
Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation who enabled him to see all the future
events. It was the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of God who showed
him the condition of the churches and the judgements of the seven trumpets
and seven bowls of wrath that will come upon the whole earth.

All the seven Spirits worked together to enable the apostle John to see
the “things which are, and the things which must shortly take place” (Rev
1:1,19). His experience gave us the Book of Revelation. It was a marvelous
work of the Lord.

This teaching was first delivered at prophet Neville Johnson’s church in

Perth, Australia in 1994. At the concluding session, while in prayer, I saw
the Lord Jesus standing by my side and He said:

“If you will greatly yearn and desire the workings of the
Spirit of God in your life, all My gifts, all My
manifestations are made readily available to all My
children. I am not a respecter of persons to withhold My
Hand from one and to bless another. From ancient times,
My servants who have clung on to Me and who have
waited on Me and who have wrestled with Me, they had
 been honored and they flowed in My rivers of revelation
and power. So, My people, learn of Me, for I am meek
and lowly, and I will clothe you with the cloaks of My
power that you may walk and flow under My anointing.”

If, from now on, you would diligently and earnestly seek for the Lord’s
glory to come and rest upon you, you will certainly not be disappointed.
Earnestly desire, thirst and seek His face from now onwards.
Chapter 17 - EPILOGUE – A Word
from the Lord

The renowned evangelist Tommy Hicks (1909-1973) was a man of God

used mightily by Him to spark a great revival in Argentina in 1954. On the
morning of July 25, 1961 at 2:30 AM while in Winnipeg, Canada, he
received a vision from the Lord concerning the end-time ministry of the
body of Christ. This vision was repeated three times on that day. Then on
July 27, 1961, this same vision was shown to him again, for the fourth time.

In the vision, he suddenly found himself at a great height. Where

exactly he was, he did not know. But as he was looking down upon the
earth, suddenly, the whole earth came into his view. Every nation, every
kindred, every tongue came before his sight: from the east and the west, the
north and the south. He recognized every country and the many cities that
he had visited. He was overwhelmed as he beheld the great sight before
him. At the moment when the world came into view, lightning began to
flash below him and peals of thunder were heard.

As the lightning flashed over the face of the earth, his eyes went
downward and he was facing the north. Suddenly, he beheld what looked
like a great giant. As he stared and continued looking at it, he was almost
bewildered by the sight. The giant was so incredibly huge! His feet seemed
to reach to the North Pole and his head to the south. His arms were
stretched from sea to sea. Tommy could not even begin to understand
whether this thing was a mountain or a giant.

He could see the giant’s head struggling for life. He wanted to live,
but his body was covered with debris from head to foot. This great giant
attempted to move his body and, at times, even try to raise himself up. And
when he did, thousands of little creatures seemed to run away. Hideous
creatures would run away from this giant, but when he would become calm,
they would come back.

Then, all of a sudden, this great giant lifted one hand toward the
heavens. He slowly lifted his other hand, and when he did, those creatures,
by the thousands, seemed to flee away from the giant and go into the
darkness of the night.

Slowly, this great giant began to rise and as he did, his head and
hands went into the clouds. As he rose to his feet he seemed to have
cleansed himself from the debris and filth that was upon him. He began to
raise both his hands into the heavens as though praising the Lord. When he
raised his hands, it seemed they went even unto the clouds.

Suddenly, every cloud became silver, the most beautiful silver

Tommy had ever seen. As he watched this spectacle, it was so great he
could not even begin to understand what it all meant. He was so stirred as
he watched it, that he cried unto the Lord saying, “Oh, Lord, what is the
meaning of this?” He felt himself to be in the Spirit and could feel the
presence of the Lord.

From those clouds, suddenly there came great drops of liquid light
raining down upon this mighty giant. Then, very slowly, this giant began to
melt, and began to sink into the very earth itself. As he melted, his whole
form seemed to have melted upon the face of the earth. Then a great rain
began to come down. Liquid drops of light began to flood the very earth
itself. The giant whom Tommy saw melting away, suddenly became
millions of people over the face of the earth. He saw people standing up all
over the world and were lifting their hands and praising the Lord.

At that very moment, there came a great thunder that seemed to roar
from the heavens. He turned his eyes toward the heavens and suddenly saw
a figure in glistening white. He did not see the face, but somehow he knew
it was the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord stretched forth His hand over the
nations and the people of the world—men and women. When He did, the
liquid light seemed to flow from His hands into them. A mighty anointing of
God came upon them, and these people began to go forth in the name of the
Lord.
 The vision seem to last for days and weeks and months. Tommy
beheld the Lord as He continued to stretch forth His Hand; but there was a
tragedy. There were many people who refused the anointing of God and the
call of God when the Lord’s Hand was stretch upon them to anoint them.
People whom he knew who would certainly receive the anointing were
bowing their heads and began to back away. Tommy saw such people go
into darkness. Blackness seemed to swallow them everywhere.

Tommy was bewildered as he watched. The people whom the Lord

had anointed—hundreds and thousands all over the world—in Africa,
England, Russia, China, America—went forth in the name of the Lord.
They were ditch diggers, they were house maids, they were rich men, they
were poor men. He saw people who were bound with paralysis, sickness,
blindness and deafness. As the Lord stretched forth His hand to give them
this anointing, they became well, healed, and they went forth!

The people who were anointed would stretch forth their hands exactly
as the Lord did, and it seemed as if there was this same liquid fire in their
hands. When they stretched forth their hands they said, “According to my
word, be made whole” (cf. 1 Kg 17:1; Acts 2:6-8).

As these people continued in this mighty end-time ministry, Tommy

did not fully understand what was happening. He looked at the Lord and
asked, “What is the meaning of this?” The Lord answered, “This is that
which I will do in the last days. I will restore all that the cankerworm, the
palmerworm, the caterpillar—I will restore all that they have destroyed
(Joel 2:25). These are My people who shall go forth in My Name in the
end-times. As a mighty army shall they sweep over the face of the earth”
(Joel 2:1-11).

At this great altitude, Tommy could behold the whole world. He

watched the people going to and fro over the face of the earth. He saw a
man in Africa and, in an instant, he was transported by the Spirit of God,
perhaps to Russia, or China or America or some other place, and vice-
versa. The people went all over the world. They came through fire, through
pestilence, and through famine. Neither fire nor persecution, nor any other
thing seemed to stop them.

Angry mobs came against them with swords and with guns. Like the
Lord Jesus, they simply passed through the multitudes and crowds could not
find them (Lk 4:28-30). They went forth in the name of the Lord
everywhere, healing the sick and opening blind eyes.

As Tommy pondered over this vision, he realized that he never saw a

church or a ministry, nor saw or heard the name of a denomination. These
people simply went forth in the name of the Lord of Hosts. They were
ministering to the multitudes over the face of the whole earth in the end-
times. Tens of thousands, even millions seemed to come to the Lord Jesus
Christ as these people went forth and preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
—the coming kingdom of God in this last hour. At the same time, Tommy
also saw rebellious people become angry and try to attack these workers
that were proclaiming the message.

The Lord God is going to give to the world a final demonstration in

the last hour as the world has never known. These men and women are
from all walks of life; degrees will mean nothing. Tommy saw these
workers pick one another up if any one of them stumbled and fell. There
were no big “I” and little “you”, but every mountain was brought low and
every valley was exalted, and they seemed to have one thing in common—
divine love. A divine love seemed to flow forth from these people as they
worked together and as they lived together. It was the most glorious sight
that he had ever known. The Lord Jesus Christ was the theme of their lives.

As Tommy watched from the very heaven itself, there were times
when great deluges of this liquid light seemed to fall upon great
congregations. When it did, those congregations would lift their hands and
seemingly praise God for hours and even days as the Spirit of God came
upon them. The Lord God said, “I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh,” and
that is exactly what He was doing (Joel 2:28). There was no end to the
anointing that came upon every man and every woman to work the miracles
of God.
 As these people were going about the face of the earth, a great
persecution seemed to come from every angle at them. Suddenly, there was
another great clap of thunder that seemed to resound around the world.
Tommy heard a voice say, “Now this is My people. This is My beloved
Bride.” When the voice spoke, Tommy looked upon the earth and he could
see the lakes and the mountains. The graves were opened and people from
all over the world—saints of all ages—seemed to be rising. People came
from every direction—from the east, the west, the north and the south—and
seemed again to be forming a gigantic body. As the dead in Christ rose,
Tommy could hardly comprehend it. It was so marvelous to him. It was so
far beyond anything he had ever dreamt or imagined.

As this body began to form and take shape again, it took the shape of
a mighty giant. Only this time it was different. It was arrayed in the most
beautiful, gorgeous white garment. Its garment was without spot or
wrinkle. As its body began to form, people of all ages seemed to be
gathered into this body. Little by little, the giant continued to form up into
the very heavens. The Lord Jesus came from the heavens above and became
the Head of the giant’s body. Tommy heard another clap of thunder that
said, “This is My beloved Bride for whom I have waited. She will come
forth, even tried by fire. This is she that I have loved from the beginning of
time.”
 As Tommy watched, his eyes suddenly turned to the far north, and he
saw awesome scenes of destruction: men and women in anguish and crying
out; buildings being destroyed. He heard a voice saying, “Now is My wrath
being poured out upon the face of the earth.” From the ends of the whole
world, the great vials of God’s wrath were being poured out upon the face
of the earth.

The Christ-rejecting peoples of the earth had filled the cup of God’s
wrath to the brim. Tommy shook and trembled as he beheld the awful sight
of cities and whole nations being destroyed. He could hear people weeping
and wailing. They were crying out in terror as they tried to hide in caves,
but the caves would not hide them (cf. Rev 6:15-17). They leapt into water,
but the water would not drown them. They wanted to take their lives, but
they could not (cf. Rev 9:6).

One last time, Tommy turned his eyes to see the glorious Body of
Christ. It was absolutely brilliant, arrayed in a beautiful white shining
garment. It began to lift up from the earth slowly. Tommy then woke
up. He had been given to see the end-time ministry of the Bride of Christ.

Tommy’s life was changed as he realized that we are living in that

end times, for all over the world God is anointing men and women with this
ministry. It will not be doctrine. It will not be an outward show of religious
performance. It is going to be the Lord Jesus Christ. The nobodies will go
forth to give the Word of the Lord. They will say, “I have seen this many
times in a vision and according to my word it shall be done.”

This last days’ generation is going to be clothed with amazing and

unusual power and anointing from God. They won’t just simply preach
sermons. They won’t have people heckle them in public. They won’t heed
man’s approval or disapproval, nor will they be echoes of the doctrines of
their denomination. Instead, they will possess the powers of the age to come
– they will be immersed in the authority of the living God. They will fear
no man, but will go forth in the name of the Lord of Hosts! The nobodies—
the ones with no name, no fame and no title will do great, awesome and
never-before-heard-of signs and wonders.

As an example of this, let me recount to you an event that happened

to a simple-minded, uneducated native missionary-couple of Kenya whom
Tommy Hicks was supporting.

This man and his wife from Nairobi were on their way to
Tanganyika. They could neither read nor write. As they entered into the
territory of Tanganyika, they came across a small village. The entire village
was in the process of evacuating because of a severe plague. They came
across some villagers who were weeping, and asked them what was wrong.
 They told them that their mother and father had suddenly died three
days ago. Nevertheless, they had no choice but to leave. They were afraid
to go back and bury their parents; they were leaving them in the cottage.
The missionary asked them where their parents were. They pointed to the
hut and the missionary asked them to go with him. Fearing the spread of
plague they refused.

The missionary couple went into the little cottage where the mother
and father had been dead for three days. He simply stretched forth his hand
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and spoke the couple’s names saying,
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command life to come back to your
bodies.” Instantly, the dead heathen couple who had never known the Lord
Jesus Christ as their Savior sat up and began praising God. The Spirit and
the power of God came into the dead bodies resurrecting them
instantaneously.

This kind of supernatural demonstrative power of God is going to

become common in the last days. God is going to take the do-nothings, the
nobodies, the unheard-of, the ordinary man and woman and fill them with
the powers of the age to come.

Let me mention here an interesting incident from the Old Testament.

The Lord God told the prophet Moses to pick 70 choice elders of Israel who
could help him manage the several million Israelites in the wilderness. The
Lord also told Moses that He would take a measure of the anointing that
was upon him and anoint the elders so that they, like Moses, could judge the
people (Num 11:16-17).

So the prophet Moses chose 70 respected elders who had a good

reputation among the people, wrote their names down and present the elders
before God. On the appointed time, the Lord God came down in a cloud and
took of the Spirit—the anointing—that was upon the prophet Moses and put
it on the 70 elders. As soon as the Spirit was upon them, they all prophesied
(Num 11:25).

Something strange, however, also took place. Out of the 70 chosen

men, only 68 were present for the anointing session. For some unknown
reason, two chosen elders failed to attend the ceremony but remined in their
tents. But as soon as the Lord God took a portion of the Spirit (or anointing)
that was upon the prophet Moses and laid it upon the elders, the remaining
two elders—part of the Group of the 70 (G70) who remained in their tents
—were also anointed and prophesied
(Num 11:26). How was this possible? Because their names were written—
they were also chosen!

Likewise, the last days’ generation has been destined by the gracious
mercies of God to be endued with the powers of the age to come.
 There is also a word of caution in this incident for the fathers—the
older generation.

NUMBERS 11:26-30
26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name
of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad.
And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among
those listed, but who had not gone out to the
tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp.
27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said,
“Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of
his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord,
forbid them!”
29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my
sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and
that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”
30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders
of Israel.

A young man, on hearing the two men prophesying in the camp, ran
to the prophet Moses and complained that two unauthorized men were
prophesying. Joshua, being zealous and jealous for Moses, protested that
they should be stopped. See, however, the magnanimous attitude of the
prophet Moses when he said, “Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets
and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” After saying this, he
quietly and meekly walked away, not even bothering to ask who the two
men were.
 The people of the last days—the children, youths, old folks and
nobodies—may not linger or pray as long as the fathers of old did, but
taking a cue from the attitude of the prophet Moses, the fathers of the past
generation should not be jealous or envious of them nor discourage them.
They should not also feel threaten by them. Rather, knowing the will of
God, they should just leave them alone as the prophet Moses did (v.30).
They should also guide them as Eli, the high priest, guided little Samuel in
the ways of God (1 Sam 3:-10).

There is also a New Testament example of a similar incident.

MARK 9:38-40
38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw
someone who does not follow us casting out demons in
Your name, and we forbade him because he does not
follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who
works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak
evil of Me.
40 For he who is not against us is on our side.

The disciples, feeling zealous and jealous for the Lord, forbade a man
to heal the sick and cast out demons in the name of the Lord simply because
the man – a stranger to them – was not officially part of their association,
ministry, church or denomination. Take a cue from how the Lord Jesus
handled the situation (v.39).
 The Spirit of God will fall upon all flesh everywhere. Such people
need not be part of your church, ministry, fellowship or denomination. Such
people are from all walks of life—from the highways and byways.

Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin was once conducting a revival in Rockwall,

Texas, in 1950. He called the people around the altar for prayer at 10 PM.
As he was praying together with the group, the Spirit of the Lord came
upon him in a wonderful way, and he began to pray in other tongues. The
Lord Jesus then revealed to him the following message.

“All of the Gifts of the Spirit will be in operation in the last days and
the Church will do greater things than even the early Church did, and have
greater power, signs and wonders than were written in the Acts of the
Apostles (Hag 2:9). The Lord said that we had seen and experienced many
healings, but would now behold amazing miracles such as had not been
seen before.

More and more miracles will be performed in the last days which are
just ahead, for it is time for the Gift of Workings of Miracles to be fully
manifested. You now have entered into the era of the miraculous. Many of
My own people will not accept the moving of My Spirit and will turn back
and will not be ready to meet Me at My coming. Many will be deceived by
false prophets and miracles of satanic origin. But follow the Word of God
and the Spirit of God, and follow Me and you will not be deceived. I am
gathering My own together and preparing them, for the time is short.”

Finally brethren, the powers of the age to come that will be poured out
in these last days are a combination of the strength and the power of the
eagle and the purity, meekness and single-minded devotion of the dove. The
eagle is a bird of power, whereas the dove is a bird of character.

This final generation will be equipped with these powers: the Gifts of
the Spirit and the Seven Spirits of God. But these can only be found in the
quietness and humble submission of the dove. They that would walk in
them must have purity of heart, must love purity, and be wholly devoted to
their Maker.

So then, what is the final word on this matter, and

what should your response be in light of all the things
you’ve read here? Pray the prayer of Zechariah 10:1:
“Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain.
The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them
showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.”which
was shown you on the mountain.