GIFT OF FAITH - WORKING OF MIRACLES - GIFTS OF HEALING with Don Carpenter

Miracles In Acts Set The Bar

0:00 SPEAKER_01: Acts the nineteenth chapter verse eleven and twelve and God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. This is phenomenal. But every day of every year for the last two plus thousand years, the same message, same record is given because it's happening through some of God's people somewhere. Every day we look at this and we're wondering, why can't that happen in me?

Why Not Happening In Us

1:00 SPEAKER_01: And indeed, I ask, why is it not happening in you? If that is the case. Either they don't know about the nine gifts of the Spirit, or else they do know, and they don't have the confidence to step out. Maybe they're going to struggle with is not God. Maybe I'm in the flesh. And maybe if I start, nothing is going to happen. You know what that is? That's a lack of faith. Whenever we move in the gifts, keep in mind that you are moving by the Spirit. And when the Spirit of God begins to move, there is no flesh involved.

1:50 SPEAKER_01: Where the flesh gets involved is maybe they'll be in the spirit and then they drop out and they think they're still there when you're moving in the spirit. When that is operating, you have to choose as a believer, are you going to continue moving in the spirit? Do you think you ever move in the spirit? Do you feel that if you start to move in the spirit, God's going to turn his back on you and he's going to say, nope, you're out there, you stay out on your own. None of that is going to happen when we move in the gifts of the Spirit.

Ask God With Confidence

2:28 SPEAKER_01: We are encouraged to ask.

2:36 SPEAKER_01: We're encouraged to ask. God, be with me today. God, let your spirit fill me, rest upon me. And in our carnal nature, it says in Matthew chapter 7, verse 11, as flesh and blood is talking here about our children, that we know how to give them good things, and we're in the flesh and in the natural, maybe living in sin. And we give them good things that they want. You know what it says there? How much more shall our heavenly Father know how to give good things or gifts to them that ask him? The Bible talks about us seeking to be filled with the Spirit, and it talks to us about seeking and desiring a certain gift.

3:39 SPEAKER_01: Here's what you got to remember about ask. Ask and you shall receive. Who said that? Jesus said that.

3:55 SPEAKER_01: When I ask the Lord, the thought does not enter my mind that I'm not going to get it. I'm talking about when I'm asking in God. This is what I follow the Lord would have me ask for.

4:18 SPEAKER_01: Jesus said that. See and you shall find. Knock. And it shall be opened unto you. Ask God. I remember when I first encountered the gifts and operation. I thought this was something amazing. Why can believers to have such authority, such power, and such gifting? Why would we not use it when it's given to us as a gift from God? God does not call us into his kingdom to do those things, and he leaves us on our own. He's always with us. He never leaves us, he never forsakes us. Hebrews chapter 11 was talking about a man called Enoch.

5:17 SPEAKER_01: Enoch pleased God, and Enoch never saw death. He was just taken. And it says in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 that without faith, it's impossible to please God. Do you know what keeps a lot of people from moving in faith?

Pride And Fear Block Faith

5:38 SPEAKER_01: Pride. They're so proud. What if I pray and nothing happens? I dealt with that question a long time ago. What if something does? Nothing is going to happen if I don't step out in faith. And I'm God's son. You're God's son. And when you step out in faith, God is not going to forsake you. Faith is the foundation of your entire spiritual life. Some of you may say, finding Jesus. Even then, finding Jesus, you have to have faith. And when you ask him to forgive you of your sins, do you understand and realize you have to have faith to believe that he has?

6:28 SPEAKER_01: That's why sometimes some people will say, I don't know, we'll ever know for sure until we get over there. I know for sure because I have faith. And I live by faith. Faith is absolute, it is a necessary ability to please God.

Faith As Spiritual Substance

6:50 SPEAKER_01: Let there never be any doubt in your minds. According to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse one, faith is substance base and source in the realm of the spirit. It's not a substance that, not before. The results of it, yes. But before, it's a substance. Let's just say that I was believing God and I need a piece of paper. Simple. I don't have any paper, and I'm believing God, God right now, I need some paper. Can he make it appear? He can just make it appear. But usually what you might find happen is you might hear a little knock on the door.

7:48 SPEAKER_01: And it's somebody from next door. And they're moving. And they say, I've got several boxes of writing paper and printing paper. I don't know what to do with it. Could you use? And we're going to say, Yes. I was just praying about this only five minutes ago or whatever. And you're thinking, here it is. That was faith put into motion. And when you move by faith, and when you have the gift of faith, you're looking for something physical, something material. And it's all in the realm of the spirit. And it's your boldness, your confidence, your trust in God.

8:30 SPEAKER_01: It has to do with the fact that you believe that there's a God and you believe that you have been given faith, and you believe that you're going to move by faith, and you're going to step it up. I don't doubt for one moment that this same God has given me the gift of faith. You are not left out from salvation right on through. You will find that you will have to seek and you will have to ask God. I mean, I've actually heard on rare occasions, but I've actually heard people say, God knows, and he'll give me whatever I want.

9:06 SPEAKER_01: Just like the on say, he'll give you air to breathe. He'll cause the sun to shine, the rain to fall on you. But you will find anything you need from God, you seek for it, you ask for it, you get it, you believe that you have it. I found this quite interesting too. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3. Through faith we understand everything spiritual. Through faith we understand. And this particular verse is talking about we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

10:01 SPEAKER_01: And that has never changed.

Working Of Miracles Beyond Measure

10:06 SPEAKER_01: I would like to address the working of miracles.

10:14 SPEAKER_01: It is a supernatural phenomena in the name of Jesus Christ that defies explanation or exceeds natural law. In Mark chapter 6, verse 51, as a believer, I base everything upon the Bible, the Word of God. That's my safety. And if I talk about something, I've got a precedent that I can read about in the Bible. It has happened, it's been recorded. And in Mark's Gospel, chapter 6, verse 51, there's a term here. They were amazed in themselves beyond measure. The whole Bible is written by the Holy Spirit.

11:08 SPEAKER_01: Men only wrote as the Spirit of God would speak to them, and they would write it.

11:16 SPEAKER_01: Beyond measure.

11:38 SPEAKER_01: Miracles know no length when we move in that realm. It knows no width, knows no height, no depth. There's no way to try to measure it in the natural when you get ready to move in the realm of miracles. It is beyond the beyond. In Ephesians 4, verses 11, 12, and 13. The Bible says about a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And when we're operating in the working of miracles, we operate in the fullness of Christ. Now, you might say, hold on, I'm human, I'm frail, I have many things that aren't right about me.

12:24 SPEAKER_01: I would never dare put myself in that measure. Just stop and think about what you're saying. When you move in the realm of the spirit, your flesh has nothing to do with it. When you move in God, you cannot forgive yourself of your own sins. It has nothing to do with that. It is Christ that does that. And when you move with the gifts of the Spirit, the reason that there are no limitations is because you're moving in the measure of Christ. And he is beyond all measure. So that should cause your faith to stand strong.

Gifts God Sets In The Church

13:05 SPEAKER_01: Our Christian walk is always growing and maturing as we draw from the five-fold ministry. That's why God gives us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 28. We are in what is known as church. We make up the church. And it's God's church. It's not some denomination's church. It's not man's church. It's not my church, not your church. It's God's church. Here's what we read about in God's church. In First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 28. And God, notice this, and God, not man, not a denomination.

14:02 SPEAKER_01: God. God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. Look what comes next. After that, so we could say what? God has set miracles in the church. Then gifts of healing. How do we say that? God has set gifts of healing. Governments and diversity of tongues. Now, some of those things I read, and men build doctrines, and if people can't do it, they'll say, if I can't do it, nobody can do it. So let's eliminate it. And so man says, it doesn't matter what God said in the church, we're no longer going to accept this.

14:59 SPEAKER_01: So be very careful. When something is scriptural, he says to you, you don't have to do that.

When Others Say You Don't Need It

15:11 SPEAKER_01: One of the churches I was pastoring in the province of Ontario in Canada. My family was young. I pastored a small church, wasn't enough salary. So I got, I was working for the school board, high school, local. And in the local high school, I was assigned a certain section that was I was a janitor. And I was assigned to keep it clean. And when the the foreman said, This is what I want you to do on the night shift, and he came back the next day and he found out that I didn't do it. So he called me aside.

15:49 SPEAKER_01: By the way, this man turned out to be a very good friend and became a member of my congregation, but this was pre. And I was just starting off, new on the job. And he found I didn't do it when he asked me to do it. And I said, I started to do it, but the janitor that had been there the long, let's go, there were four or five of us worked in this huge high school at night. He came up and told me, you don't have to do that. And the foreman looked at me, the boss looked at me and said, It doesn't matter what he says.

16:22 SPEAKER_01: He doesn't have to say. I told you I wanted it done. I said, it will be done. I understand. I learned that very valuable lesson. And that carries with me over into the ministry. When God says, be very careful here. When God says you listen, when man comes along and says, Oh, you don't have to do that. And when you're new at something, you'll step back and say, It was a bit hard. I was struggling with it. But you won't for long. It's like any gift that you have. The more you use it, the more you get into it, it flows easier.

17:03 SPEAKER_01: You no longer struggle with because you're trying to move in the gift and you're worried about what people are saying, and everything else is going through your mind. You will learn to just focus on God and it will come to you. So I just wanted to give you that illustration. Now I'm going to close with this one.

Gifts Of Healing And God's Will

17:26 SPEAKER_01: I'm going to talk to you about gifts of healings. Now remember in 1 Corinthians 12 28, it says that God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and diversity of tongues. God set that in the church. I'm going to ask you, this is, I'm just going to be thinking.

18:04 SPEAKER_01: Did God say I've taken it out of the church, or did man say we don't need that anymore? That's what you have to decide. And it's going to cost some of you when you make the decision that God tells you. What is his decision? It's going to cost some of you. But that's the price we pay for growing and moving. Every time that we grow and move in God, there's always going to be people we know that don't like it. And maybe they're no longer our friends when we do it. I hate to lose them, but there again, I can't deny what God is doing in my life.

18:43 SPEAKER_01: So gifts of healing, this is found in 1 Corinthians 12, 9. This gift of healing, it is nobility powered or transferred by the Holy Spirit. And it manifests, this gift manifests itself through spirit-filled human beings, whether they be male or female. The word healing means to be made sound, to be made well, to be made whole, to be made healthy. That's what healing is. I've been healed. Have you ever seen a cripple walk, crippled all their life? And they I have. Miracle of healing. Miracle, wholeness.

19:36 SPEAKER_01: You can imagine the joy that they have. Blind, never see, and then they're seeing. This is wonderful. We read all about this. Jesus practiced healing. Paul in Acts 14, he practiced healing. Acts chapter 5. The apostles had many signs and wonders that happened in their ministry. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 4. God bearing them witness, multiple signs and wonders with diver miracles, gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will. It is the will of God for healing. It's the will of God to move in the gifts.

20:16 SPEAKER_01: It's the will of God to be saved. It's the will of God. Having gifts is the will of God for you. And operating in the gifts is the will of God for you. Believe, receive, and you will be a blessing to God's people.

20:39 SPEAKER_00: Amen. This ministry is made possible through the prayers and generous support of listeners like you.

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20:46 SPEAKER_00: Your giving helps us continue sharing the gospel, encouraging believers, and reaching more people with the hope of Jesus Christ. If you'd like to partner with us and support this ministry, or learn more about our work, please go to doncarpenter.ca