₦airaland Forum

ANGELIC BEINGS By Kat Kerr

This is one of my favorite subjects, because the angels are so real to me. I have seen many angels over the years and the variety never ceases to amaze me. I would caution you, however, to remember that satan can take the shape of an ‘angel of light’ as described in 2 Corinthians Il: 14. It would not be a wise thing to „call‟ angels to you, as this could be used by the enemy to deceive you.

All of the angels I have had contact with were sent by the Father. I never initiated or requested that they appear or come to me! Many of the angels I saw were very strong and muscular, especially warrior and guardian angels. Warrior angels are very power fully skilled and fiercely determined to carry out their tasks against any enemy. They are defenders and protectors, able to stand up to any demonic being. They take their assignments VERY seriously.

Angels do not operate like robots, although committed and unswerving in their dedication and love for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, they do have emotions, feelings and opinions about us! We are actually a mystery to most of them; wondering why we do the things we do and sometimes act as though God does not even exist.

Some angels that are assigned to earth at this time have a height of nine feet and some as large as twenty feet. There are extremely powerful angels who are reserved for the end times (as mentioned in the book of Revelation) and their size is immeasurable.
God does assign angels to the earth, as stated in Hebrews 1:14, to care “for those who will inherit salvation”. Some of the most unusual are the guardian angels who are assigned to you from your birth (Matthew 18:10). Their main task is to protect and guard you from harm and to report to Heaven concerning your spiritual growth. When we are making good progress they are elated, but if we do just the opposite, it frustrates them.

Angelic beings can and do change their appearance like that of a human (Daniel 10:16) and have many times been among us without our knowledge. Since they are spirit beings and not physical, they can also appear and disappear. Always, their greatest desire is to please the Lord at all times and because He cares about us, they will use every power allotted to them to fulfill their assignments.

In Heaven, one of the order of angelic beings is the seraphim, who actually have fire coming out of them. They operate in close proximity to the throne and therefore reflect and carry God’s glory. The book of Isaiah, chapters 5 and 6, reveal this heavenly being and how God used them to purify the lips of the prophet with coals of fire. There are also the living creatures that are covered with eyes, even under their wings (Revelation 4:6). They stand at the four corners of the throne and continually proclaim the holiness of God!
Angels very often receive training for special events or movements God has planned for the earth and right now there is tremendous angelic activity here on the earth. God is about to do a tremendous work here! (Kat Kerr)

CALLED FROM THE WOMB

Jesus told me in the first vision, "I called you before you were born. I separated you from your mother's womb." This was contrary to my beliefs at that time. However, looking into God's Word, I read where the Lord had said the same thing to Jeremiah concerning his ministry — the Lord had called him before he was born, too (Jer. 1:5).

A week after this first vision, my mother visited me and I related the vision to her. I told her that the Lord had said to me, "I called you before you were born. I separated you from your mother's womb. Satan tried to destroy your life before you were born and has tried many times since, but my angels have watched over you and have cared for you until this present hour.

"I appeared to your mother before you were born and told her to fear not; the child would be born and would bear witness concerning my Second Coming." When Momma heard this, she almost jumped out of her chair. During the months before I was born she had experienced many difficulties. My father was away much of the time, and she didn't know where he was. She didn't have adequate food to eat. Her parents lived fewer than three blocks away, but because they had opposed her marrying my father, she was reluctant to go home and ask them for help.

"I was just too proud to ask them for anything," she told me. "Not having enough food, I became ill, and for the baby's sake I decided to swallow my pride and go to my parents and ask for something to eat. This was just a few days before you were born prematurely.

MY MOTHER'S VISION
"I started down the street, and when I got as far as the front of Aunt Mary's house, I heard a sound like wind blowing through the trees. I could hear tree leaves stirring, yet there was not a single tree anywhere near. I became frightened, and I looked up to the sky. It was a bright, sunny August day. Not a cloud dotted the pure blue sky.

"I walked on a few steps and heard the sound again like wind blowing through trees. I looked up again, and this time I saw one white cloud. At first it seemed to be hanging in the sky. Then it began to descend, and as it did, a form took shape upon it. Jesus came right down out of the sky and stood before me.

"Jesus said, 'Fear not. The child shall be born, for he shall bear witness concerning my Second Coming.' He was trying to tell me that my child would take part in the revival that would usher in the coming of the Son of Man. He would not be the only one, of course, but he would have a part in the last great move of God's Spirit. "I became so frightened that I began to run, and I ran the rest of the way to my mother's house. When I arrived there, pale and out of breath, my mother asked, 'What is it? You look like you've just seen a ghost!' I immediately told her what I had just witnessed, but I never told anyone else. And she never would talk about it, either. We just weren't used to such things, and we were afraid people would think I had lost my mind." As I listened to my mother tell of her experience before I was born, it fit right in with what the Lord had shown
me in this vision. (Kenneth E. Hagin)

Tovot: I really do not get your point,is it that when one goes b5ack to one's old sins one cannot be forgiven?

This sin can only be committed by MATURE Christians. Heb 6:4-6 gives d criteria for sinning against the Holy Spirit. When a very mature Christian decides he doesn't want Jesus again - that is d sin. That guy knows what he's doing. They die cursing God. They have been taken over by d devil. God can not hold a baby christian guilty of this sin.

THE UNPARDONABLE SIN OR THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST (1Jn5:15-16) By Kenneth Hagin

John is saying here that if we ask God to forgive someone, this is according to His Word and according to His will, and He will do it. Some years ago, I was holding a meeting near my hometown in Texas when I received a call that my grand-mother had fallen into a coma and was near death at her home. Each night after the evening service I drove back to her home and would sit up with her through the night. She never regained consciousness.

The third night as I sat there I prayed, "Dear Lord, I'm so sorry I didn't pray with Granny the other day when I visited her." I knew Granny was a Christian and loved the Lord, but there are sins of omission as well as commission and I could see where she had missed it. (Others can see where I have missed it. We can see where others miss it sometimes better than we can see ourselves.)

So I prayed, "Lord, I wish I had prayed with her. Just let her revive so I can have a word of prayer with her. (She was elderly and I knew in my spirit she was going to go.) Let me make sure there isn't any unconfessed sin in her life." As I prayed, Someone said, "Why don't you ask Me to forgive her?" It was so real it startled me. I jumped out of the chair and the Bible on my lap scooted across the floor and under the bed.

"Who said that?" I asked. I thought someone had heard me pray-ing and was teasing me. However, I found no one when I looked around the room and outside the door. I sat back down and began to study, but I couldn't concentrate, so I started to pray again.

"Lord, why don't You bring her out of it and let me have a word of prayer with her to see that she doesn't die with any unconfessed sin in her life?" Again that Voice said, "Why don't you ask Me to forgive her?" I jumped again and said, "Someone is playing tricks on me." But a check into the bedrooms of everyone else in the house revealed that they were sound asleep.

I went back to Granny's bedroom and tried to study, but I could not, so I began to pray again. When I did, He said the third time, "Why don't you ask Me to forgive her?" This time I had the presence of mind to remember that Eli had told the child Samuel to answer when God called. I realized it was the Lord, and I answered, "Me ask You?"

He said, "Yes, you ask Me. Don't you know that my Word says in First John 5:16, 'If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them...' ?"

I turned the pages of my Bible to that Scripture and read it. "That's right. That's exactly what it says! All right, Lord, I ask You. Please forgive her. You can forgive her of these things that I can see of omission, and of anything else that she didn't see or I don't see, You forgive her." He said, "All right, I have."

I thanked Him for it. To me that settled it. Can't you see that this was according to His will? The last part of that verse does make an exception, however. It says, "... there is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." How will we know if a person has committed this sin unto death? We will only know this as the Holy Spirit reveals it to us.

This has happened to me only two times in my life when I have been praying for someone and the Lord showed me that there was no need to pray for them, because they had sinned the sin unto death.

What is this sin unto death? First, John is not talking about physical death here, but about spiritual death. This isn't a sin that an unbeliever can commit. It is a sin only a Christian can commit, for he used the term "brother."

Let us look into the Book of Hebrews to find out more about this. HEBREWS 6:4-64For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

HEBREWS 10:26-29 26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three wit nesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

The sin God is talking about here is not the sin of lying, cheating, or something like that. God offers forgiveness for such sins. There is no forgiveness, however, for those who have "trodden under foot the Son of God.. . . "

The Hebrew Christians to whom this book was written were under great persecution and were tempted to go back to Judaism. When they accepted Christ, they were cut off from their families, ran into financial hardships, and faced numerous other trials. But God warned them in these Scriptures that to go back to Judaism was to deny Christ. It was to say that they would be counting "the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing," or, in other words, that Jesus' blood was just common blood like any other man's. Let us remember that as long as a person stays in Christ, he is eternally secure. But we don't want to forget that there is a sin unto death. (Kenneth E. Hagin)

YOU CAN CLAIM IMMUNITY IN THE NAME OF JESUS

In east Texas, a minister friend of mine and some friends of his were out fishing in one of the rivers, and a cottonmouth moccasin bit him. It frightened the other men because they were not saved. My friend shook it off in the Name of Jesus and went about his business. His friends watched him, and saw that it never had any evil effect on him. This is not extreme because it is Biblical.

The Bible says, ".. . if they drink any deadly thing [poison], it shall not hurt them..." (Mark 16:18). This means that if you accidentally take poison, you have the right to claim immunity in the Name of Jesus.

Some years ago, the superintendent of the Assemblies of God in the Texas district related this story to a group of ministers: Many years ago, the Texas district had a convention in Corpus Christi, Texas. The ministers did not have a great deal of money to stay in good hotels, so they were occupying about a third-rate hotel. The hotel didn't have running water, but there was a pitcher of water in the room. All the ministers had eaten their meals together in a cook tent. After they had finished eating, some of them began to get sick. Finally, about twenty or thirty of them became desperately ill, so they began praying for one another. As they prayed, someone had a revelation that the water in the hotel was poisoned, so they told the rest of the group not to drink it anymore. Everybody was healed. Then they took the remaining water to a nearby naval station and had it tested. The examining officers told them that there was enough poison in that water to kill a regiment of men.

Someone had tried to play a cruel joke on these ministers because everyone knew that this group believed in miracles and healing. None of the party had to have medical aid! They had a right to claim immunity in the Name of Jesus because they had accidentally been poisoned. This is not extreme teaching, because it is in the Word. The Bible says, "... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:18). (Kenneth Hagin)

DOUBLE LIFE HOLIER THAN THOU CHURCH MEMBER

We stopped at the next pit. It was exactly like all the others. Inside it was the form of a woman, which I knew by her voice. She cried out to Jesus for deliverance from the flames. Jesus looked on the woman with love and said, "While you were on earth, I called you to come to Me. I pleaded with you to get your heart right with Me before it was too late. I visited you many times in the midnight hour to tell you of My love. I wooed you, I loved you and drew you to Me by My Spirit.

"Yes Lord,' you said, 'I will follow You,' With your lips you said you loved Me, but your heart did not mean it. I knew where your heart was. I often sent my messengers to you to tell you to repent of your sins and come to Me, but you would not hear Me. I wanted to use you to minister to others, to help others to find Me. But you wanted the world and not Me. I called you, but you would not hear Me, nor would you repent of your sins." The woman said to Jesus, "You remember, Lord, how I went to church and was a good woman. I joined the church. I was a member of Your church. I knew Your call was on my life. I knew I had to obey that call at all costs, and I did."

Jesus said, "Woman, you are still full of lies and sin. I called you, but you would not hear Me! True, you were a member of a church, but being a church member did not get you to heaven. Your sins were many, and you did not repent. You caused others to stumble at My Word. You would not forgive others when they hurt you. You pretended to love and serve Me when you were with Christians, but when you were away from Christians, you lied, cheated and stole. You gave heed to seducing spirits and enjoyed your double life. You knew the straight and narrow way."
"And," Jesus said, "you also had a double tongue. You talked about your brothers and sisters in Christ. You judged them and thought you were holier than they, when there was gross sin in your heart. This I know, you would not listen to My sweet Spirit of compassion. You judged the outside of a person, without regard to the fact that many were children in the faith. You were very hard.

"Yes, you said you loved Me with your lips, but your heart was far from Me. You knew the ways of the Lord and you understood. You played with God, and God knows all things. If you had sincerely served God, you would not be here today. You cannot serve Satan and God at the same time."

Jesus turned to me and said, "Many in the last days will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and will serve sin. Come out from among them, and be separate. Walk not in the way with them." As we walked away, the woman began to curse and swear at Jesus. She screamed and cried with rage. We walked on. I was so weak in body. (Mary. K. Baxter)

THE TRAGIC END OF A PREACHER WHO LED MANY ASTRAY

We walked directly past some of the evil beings, which didn't seem to see us, and stopped at another pit of fire and brimstone. In this next pit was a large-framed man. I heard him preaching the gospel. I looked in amazement to Jesus for an answer, for He always knew my thoughts. He said, "While he was on earth, this man was a preacher of the gospel. At one time he spoke the truth and served me."

I wondered what this man was doing in hell. He was about six feet tall, and his skeleton was a dirty, grayish color, like a tombstone. Parts of his clothing still hung on him. I wondered why the flames had left these torn and tattered clothes and had not burned them up. Burning flesh was hanging from him, and his skull seemed to be in flames. A terrible odor came from him. I watched the man spread his hands as if he were holding a book and begin to read Scriptures from the make-believe book. Again, I remembered what Jesus had said: "You have all your senses in hell, and they are a lot stronger here." The man read Scripture after Scripture, and I thought it was good. Jesus said to the man with great love in His voice, "Peace, be still." Immediately, the man stopped talking and turned slowly to look at Jesus.

I saw the man's soul inside this skeletal form. He said to the Lord, "Lord, now I will preach the truth to all the people. Now, Lord, I'm ready to go and tell others about this place. I know that while I was on earth, I didn't believe there was a hell, nor did I believe You were coming again. It was what people wanted to hear, and I compromised the truth to the people in my church. "I know I didn't like anyone who was different in race or color of skin, and I caused many to fall away from You. I made my own rules about heaven and right and wrong. I know that I led many astray, and I caused many to stumble over Your Holy Word, and I took money from the poor. But, Lord, let me out, and I will do right. I won't take money from the church anymore. I have repented already. I will love people of every race and color."

Jesus said, "You not only distorted and misrepresented the Holy Word of God, but you lied about your not knowing the truth. The pleasures of life were more important to you than truth. I visited you Myself and tried to turn you around, but you would not listen. You went on your own way, and evil was your lord. You knew the truth, but you would not repent or turn back to Me. I was there all the time. I waited for you. I wanted you to repent, but you did not. And now the judgment has been set." Pity was on the face of Jesus. I knew that if the man had listened to the Savior's call, he would not be here now. O people, please listen.

Jesus spoke to the backslider again, "You should have told the truth, and you would have turned many to righteousness with God's Word, which says that all unbelievers will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. "You knew the way of the cross. You knew the way of righteousness. You knew to speak the truth. But Satan filled your heart with lies, and you went into sin. You should have repented with sincerity, not halfway. My Word is true. It does not lie. And now it is too late, too late." At that, the man shook his fist at Jesus and cursed Him. With sorrow, Jesus and I walked on to the next pit. The backslidden preacher was still cursing and angry at Jesus. As we walked past the pits of fire, the hands of the lost reached out to Jesus, and in pleading voices they called out to Him for mercy. Their bony hands and arms were gray-black from the burning-no live flesh or blood, no organs, only death and dying.
(Mary K. Baxter)

I HAVE COME TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYER

It was nearly five years later, 1957, when the Lord appeared to me again in my fourth vision of Him. My wife and I had just returned to our home in Garland, Texas, after spending 15 months in meetings in California. We then held a meeting for our home Full Gospel church in Garland. It was during the third week of this meeting that I had another supernatural visitation from the Lord.

At the close of my message one night, a spirit of intercession descended upon the congregation and we all gathered around the altar to pray. We prayed for quite some time. After a while I got off my knees and sat on the steps to the platform. I was sitting there with my eyes open, singing in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance, when suddenly I saw Jesus standing about three feet in front of me. He said, "I have come to answer your prayer."

I knew exactly what He was talking about. I had been praying for some time for my wife, who had a goiter. It was growing larger and larger until now she was having choking spells. From the time we were first married I had sensed in my spirit that Oretha would die at an early age, and I thought that perhaps this time was approaching. I prayed the rest of the night about this and said to the Lord, "I have obeyed You and have done your will. I have left my church and my family and have been in the evangelistic field for many years. My wife has stayed at home and hasbeen faithful to raise our children. I am still a young man (at that time I was in my 30s), and we have been married for many years. Please let me keep my wife."

In the vision the Lord said to me, "I have come to answer that prayer. Tell your wife to be operated on, for she will live and not die Although I didn't mention it to my wife, I had felt all along that if she were operated on she would die. She later told me that she had known for several years that she would die when she was operated on for this goiter.

But the Lord said to me, "She will live and not die. It was divine destiny that she should die, but I have heard your prayers and have come to answer them. She shall live Then Jesus said something that absolutely melted me, and I have never been able to forget it. It blessed and helped me then, and it still blesses me.

He said, "I did this, son, just because you asked Me to. You don't know how I long to do for my children if they would only ask Me and believe Me. Many times they beg and cry and pray, but they don't believe. And I can-not answer their prayers unless they have faith, because I cannot violate my Word. But how often I long to help them if only they would let Me by taking Me at my Word and bringing Me their problems, trusting Me to undertake for them."

Again He said, "Tell your wife to be operated on, for she will live and not die." With those words He dis-appeared. Even though the doctors were greatly concerned about my wife's condition, Oretha and I had great joy through it all because we knew the outcome in advance. (Kenneth E. Hagin)

EVERY TRIAL IS TO BRING YOU TO A GREATER POSITION IN GOD

I received several letters and telegrams about a certain case, but when I arrived I was told I was too late. I said, “That cannot be. God has never sent me too late anywhere.” God showed me when I went that something different would happen to anything I had seen previously. The people I went to were all strangers. I was introduced to a young man who lay helpless, and for whom there was no hope. The doctor had been to see him that morning and had declared that he would not live through the day. He lay with his face to the wall, and when I spoke to him he whispered, “I cannot turn over.” His mother said that they had had to lift him out of bed on sheets for weeks, and that he was so weak and helpless that he had to stay in one position. The young man said, “My heart is very weak.” I assured him, “God is the strength of the heart and thy portion forever. If you will believe God, it shall be so today.”

Our Christ is risen. He is a living Christ who indwells us. We must not have this truth merely as a theory, Christ must be risen in us by the power of the Spirit. The power that raised Him from the dead must animate us, and as this glorious resurrection power surges through your being, you will be freed from all your weaknesses and you will become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. There is a resurrection power that God wants you to have and to have it today. Why not? Receive your portion here and now.

I said to these people, “I believe your son will rise today.” They only laughed. People do not expect to see signs and wonders today as the disciples saw them of old. Has God changed? Or has our faith waned so that we are not expecting the greater works that Jesus promised? We must not harp on any minor key. Our message must rise to concert pitch, and there must be nothing left out of it that is in the Book. It was winter time, and I said to the parents, “Will you get the boy’s suit and bring it here?” They would not listen to the request, for they were expecting the boy to die. But I had gone to that place believing God. In Romans 4:17, we read of Abraham, “(I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” God help us to understand this. It is time people knew how to shout in faith as they contemplate the eternal power of our God to whom it is nothing to quicken and raise the dead. I come across some who would be giants in the power of God but they have no shout of faith. I find everywhere people who go down even when they are praying simply because they are just breathing sentences without uttering speech, and you cannot get victory that way. You must learn to take the victory and shout in the face of the devil. “It is done!” There is no man who can doubt if he learns to shout. When we know how to shout properly, things will be different, and tremendous things will happen. In verse 24 we read, “They lifted up their voice with one accord.” It surely must have been a loud prayer.

We must know that God means us to have life. If there is anything in the world that has life in it, it is this Pentecostal revival we are in. I believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the speaking of tongues, and I believe that every man who is baptized in the Holy Ghost will speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives him utterance. I believe in the Holy Ghost. And if you are filled with the Spirit you will be superabounding in life-- living waters will flow from you.

At last I persuaded the parents to bring the boy’s clothes and lay them on the bed. From the natural viewpoint, the young man lay dying. I spoke to the afflicted one, “God has revealed to me that, as I lay my hands upon you, the place will be filled with the Holy Ghost, the bed will be shaken, you will be shaken and thrown out of bed by the power of the Holy Ghost, you will dress yourself and be strong.” I said this to him in faith. I laid hands on him in the name of Jesus and instantly the power of God fell and filled the place. I felt helpless and fell flat on the floor.

I knew nothing except that a short while after the place was shaken, I heard the young man walking over me and saying, “For Thy glory, Lord! For Thy glory, Lord!” He dressed himself and cried, “God has healed me.” The father fell, the mother fell, and another who was present fell also. God manifested His power that day in saving the whole household and healing the young man. It is the power of the risen Christ we need. That young man is today preaching the gospel. Dare you take your inheritance from God? Dare you believe God? Dare you stand on the record of His Word? What is the record? If thou shalt believe thou shalt see the glory of God. You will be sifted as wheat. You will be tried as though some strange thing tried you. You will be put in places where you will have to put your whole trust in God.

There is no such thing as anyone being tried beyond what God will allow. There is no temptation that will come, but that God will be with you right in the temptation to deliver you, and when you have been tried, He will bring you forth as gold. Every trial is to bring you to a greater position in God. The trial that tries your faith will take you on to the place where you will know that the faith of God will be forthcoming in the next test. No man is able to win any victory save through the power of the risen Christ within him. You will never be able to say, “I did this or that.” You will desire to give God the glory for everything. (Smith Wigglesworth)

EFFECT OF PRAYER

Bishop Lambeth and Wainwright had a great M. E. Mission in Osaka, Japan. One day the order came from high up that no more meetings would
be allowed in the city by Protestants. Lambeth and Wainwright did all
they could but the high officials were obstinate and unrelenting. They
then retired to the room of prayer. Supper time came and the Japanese
girl came to summon them to their meal, but she fell under the power of
prayer. Mrs. Lambeth came to find what the matter was and fell under
the same power. They then rose and went to the mission hall and opened
it: and at once commenced meeting. God fell upon the assembly and two
of the sons of the city officials came to the altar and were saved.
Next morning one of the officials in authority came to the mission and
said, "Go on with your meetings, you will not be interrupted." The
Osaka daily paper came out with box car letters saying, "THE
CHRISTIAN'S GOD CAME TO TOWN LAST NIGHT."--Rev. H. C. Morrison.

QUIT FIGHTING OTHERS AND WALK IN LOVE

I was reared a Southern Baptist. I got healed on the bed of sickness as a teenager, got the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and developed a little bone of contention with the Baptists. Here I had gotten healed and I'd seen healing in the Bible, and I thought they'd be glad to know that this was right. They weren't.
They would rather I'd have died than got healed,



because that would have proved them right—that healing's not for us. When I got healed, it was an embarrassment to them. Here I was a Baptist going around testifying about being healed!
My own doctor, who belonged to the same Baptist church I did, admitted it was a miracle. He couldn't deny it. He put it this way, "I said all the time unless a higher power intervened, you weren't going to live."
I believed God's promise. I got Grandma's "Methodist" Bible, studied it, and exercised faith. My healing came about as a result of a combination of things. It wasn't just what God did for me; it involved my believing God. He responded to my faith and prayers.
My Baptist pastor, however, said, "The poor boy stayed in bed so long his mind went. Healing's not for us today." He'd been taught that way.
So the Southern Baptists wouldn't accept my testimony. It's easy to develop a little bone of contention toward people who won't accept your testimony.
I backed up a little. I continued preaching healing, but I didn't hold public healing services. I prayed for the people privately.
Then I began fellowshipping with Full Gospel people. The Baptists had warned me about them, saying that tongues was of the devil. But these people believed in healing like I did, so I fellowshipped with them. And like a fellow in East Texas said, "It's like a slippery creek bank. If you keep fooling around on it, you'll fall in." I fell in and got the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Unconsciously, I began fighting the Baptists. I never won one of them to my way of thinking, and I never got



one of them filled with the Holy Spirit. I never changed one of them. You can't do it that way. If some of them came to my services and I knew they were there, I'd let them have it! But God corrected me. The Spirit of God will do that, but He'll do it in love.
It happened while I was praying in tongues one day. I thought I'd been praying for 15 minutes. I found out later I'd prayed four and a half hours. While I was praying in tongues, the Spirit of God interpreted the tongues and took me over into the first three chapters of First Corinthians.
This Corinthian bunch was carnal. There was envy, jealousy, strife, division, and debate among them. They walked as "mere men." Yet Paul started off by bragging on them, and he wound up by saying, "Ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1 Cor. 3:23).
The Lord said to me, "If it had been you and some preachers you know writing to that bunch, you'd have said,
'You bunch of backslidden buzzards ought to pray through and get right with God.'"
And until that moment, that's exactly what I would have said. But the Lord said, "Paul didn't do that; the Spirit of God didn't do that. Paul found a place where he could join up with them and encourage them to grow. He told them, 'Ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. All things are yours. Come on—rise up to the level of what belongs to you!'"
And the Lord said to me, "If you'll find the place where you can hook onto the Baptists and quit fighting them, you'll get them."
I quit fighting them that minute. I just went over and hooked onto them—and other churches, too—praise God.



There's always somewhere we can hook on.
The minute I did this, pastors and their wives started getting filled with the Holy Spirit. When you start loving people instead of fighting them, you can help them.
So we may have to judge ourselves sometimes. When we do, let's correct ourselves. Remember, it's not a disgrace to be wrong; it's a disgrace to stay wrong. If we're wrong, thank God we can straighten up and do right, no matter who we are.
(Kenneth E. Hagin)

DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THINGS OF VERY LITTLE TRUE ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE

….a man who I had known and esteemed as one of the great men of God I had known, came forward to steady me. Somehow his touch revived me. He then greeted me warmly. He was a man that I had wanted to be discipled by. I had met him, but we did not get along well. Like a number of others I had tried to get close enough to learn from, I was an irritation to him and he finally asked me to leave. For years I had felt guilty about this, feeling that I had missed a great opportunity because of some flaw in my character. Even though I had put it out of my mind, I still carried the weight of this failure.

When I saw him it all surfaced, and a sick feeling came over me. Now he was so regal that I felt even more repulsive and embarrassed by my poor state. I wanted to hide but there was no way I could avoid him here. To my surprise, his warmth toward me was so genuine that he quickly put me at ease. There did not seem to be any barriers between us. In fact, the love I felt coming from him almost completely took away my self-consciousness.

"I have waited eagerly for this meeting," he said.

"You were waiting for me?" I asked. "Why?"

"You are just one of many that I am waiting for. I did not understand until my judgment that you were one that I
was called to help, to even disciple, but I rejected you."

"Sir," I protested. "It would have been a great honor to be discipled by you, and I am very thankful for the time that I did have with you, but I was so arrogant I deserved your rejection. I know that my rebellion and pride has kept me from ever having a real spiritual father. This was not your fault, but mine."

"It is true that you were prideful, but that is not why I was offended with you. I was offended because of my insecurity, which made me want to control everyone around me. I was offended that you would not accept everything that I said without questioning it. I then started to look for anything that was wrong with you to justify my rejection. I began to feel that if I could not control you that you would one day embarrass me and my ministry. I esteemed my ministry more than I did the people for whom it was given to me, so I drove many like you away," he said.

With a genuineness that is unknown in the realms of earth, he continued, "All children are rebellious, and think that the world revolves around them. That is why they need parents to raise them. Almost every child will at times bring reproach on his family, but he is still a part of the family. I turned away many of God's own children that he had entrusted to me for getting them safely to maturity. I failed with most of them. Most of them suffered terrible wounds and failures that I could have helped them to avoid. Many of them are now prisoners of the enemy. I built a large organization, and had considerable influence in the church, but the greatest gifts that the Lord trusted to me were the ones who were sent to me for discipline, many of whom I rejected. Had I not been so self-centered and concerned with my own reputation I would be a king here. I was called to one of the highest thrones. All that you have and will accomplish would have been in my heavenly account as well. Instead, much of what I gave my attention to was of very little true eternal significance. What looks good on earth looks very different here. What will make you a king on earth will often be a stumbling block to keep you from being a king here. What will make you a king here is lowly and un-esteemed on earth. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course," I said, quite embarrassed. "But I, too, am in need of your forgiveness. I still think that it was my awkwardness and rebellion that made it difficult for you."

"It is true that you were not perfect, and I discerned some of your problems rightly, but that is never cause for rejection," he replied. "The Lord did not reject the world when He saw its failures. He did not reject me when He saw my sin. He laid down His life for us. It is always the greater who must lay down his life for the lesser. I was more mature. I had more authority than you, but I became like one of the goats in the parable; I rejected the Lord by rejecting you and the others that He sent to me."

As he talked, his words were striking me deeply. I, too, was guilty of everything that he was relenting of. Many young men and women who I had brushed off as not being important enough for my time were now passing through my mind. How desperately I wanted to return now and gather them together! This grief that I began to feel was even worse than I had felt about wasting time. I had wasted people! Now many of these were prisoners of the enemy, wounded and captured during the battle on the mountain. This whole battle was for people, and yet people were often regarded as the least important. We will fight for truths more than for the people for whom they are given. We will fight for ministries while running roughshod over the people in them. "And many people think of me as a spiritual leader! I am truly the least of the saints," I thought to myself…’’ Rev. Rick Joyner

HUMILITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE
There are three different garments here: the garment of humility; the robe of righteousness; and the garment of praise. In order to be fully dressed, we put them on in that order. Here in this paradise area between the suburbs and the Most Holy Place, the bodies of saints are completely covered with permanent white light. The body may be a spirit body or a glorified body, in either case it is white. Since I was accustomed to the pigskin color of earth beings, I thought white was rather dull. But they told me I would learn to appreciate their white soft opaque appearance -- and I did. But there is color to their hair, eyes and lips.
The first garment covering this body of soft white light is the garment of humility. It is long and white, looks like opaque soft velvet and fits very neatly because it is tailored to fit. This garment of humility is for everyday use around the mansion and for performing humble service. It is also called the robe of salvation.
Then there is a shining white garment of fine linen called the robe of righteousness. It is worn over top and completely covers the garment of humility. The robe of righteousness has fullness; it also reaches down to the feet and is also neatly tailored.
"They shall walk with Me in white,
for they are worthy."
Revelation 3:4
Both men and ladies are dressed alike but masculine and feminine forms can be distinguished, even when they are fully dressed. This shining garment is worn for banquets, for fellowship at the Tree of Life and River of Life and for other social activities in the Holy Place (City).
The final garment is coat-like and sleeveless. It is worn for praise and worship activities in the Most Holy Place (Temple). It is a very beautiful gold-threaded and jewel-decorated garment. To be dressed in all the robes of Heaven speaks of salvation, righteousness and praise. These garments compare to the garments worn by Aaron the High Priest.
When the High Priest, in Old Testament times, went into the Most Holy Place of Moses' Tabernacle to minister before the Lord, his first garment was a white linen embroidered coat. On top of that was a blue robe with golden bells between pomegranates around the hem. Over that was a linen ephod colored blue, purple, scarlet and gold. Around his waist was a girdle. On his golden breastplate were twelve precious stones in four rows. 1/ Sardius, Topaz, Carbuncle, 2/ Emerald, Sapphire, Diamond, 3/ Jacinth, Agate, Amethyst, 4/ Beryl, Onyx, Jasper. On his head was a Miter. In his hands was a censer filled with incense.
In Heaven we are not concerned about tomorrow because we are so happy and satisfied today, but we do mark periods of time. The days are 24 hours long and there is no night here, but there is a corresponding soft-light quiet time of about seven hours. The other 17 hours are the bright part of the day, with gold as the predominant color and blue as the next prominent color. The day begins with the "dawn," so to speak, of the brightness. During the soft-light time, companions are together in their mansions reclining, talking, singing to each other, enjoying the garden of nuts and spices, viewing audio-visual scenes of knowledge or entertainment, and other things you will learn when you come here to stay.
There is also a seven day schedule of events, the seventh day being mostly for worship activities described later. There are twelve months in a year, 1000 years in a millennium, 7000 years in an age and seven ages or 49,000 years (or 1000 generations earthly speaking) to an age of ages.
Looking now toward the center of Paradise, we see that the land slopes gently upward as we follow the straight street which leads from the eastern gate to that tall structure ahead of us. This is the Most Holy Place (Temple) where God is made visible on His Throne. We'll visit there soon but, first let's look at my city mansion………………………………………………………………

ATTEMPTED ARREST FOR HEALING WITHOUT A LICENSE

When I was in Switzerland the Lord was graciously working and healing many of the people. I was staying with Brother Reuss of Goldiwil and two policemen were sent to arrest me. The charge was that I was healing the people without a license. Mr. Reuss said to them, "I am sorry that he is not here just now. He is holding a meeting about two miles away, but before you arrest him let me show you something."

Brother Reuss took these two policemen down to one of the lower parts of that district, to a house with which they were familiar, for they had often gone to that place to arrest a certain woman, who was repeatedly put in prison because of continually being engaged in drunken brawls. He took them to this woman and said to them, "This is one of the many cases of blessing that have come through the ministry of the man you have come to arrest. This woman came to our meeting in a drunken condition.

Her body was broken, for she was ruptured in two places. While she was drunk, the evangelist laid his hands on her and asked God to heal her and deliver her." The woman joined in, "Yes, and God saved me, and I have not tasted a drop of liquor since." The policemen had a warrant for my arrest, but they said with disgust, "Let the doctors do this kind of thing." They turned and went away and that was the last we heard of them.

We have a Jesus that heals the broken-hearted, who lets the captives go free, who saves the very worst. Dare you, dare you, spurn this glorious Gospel of God for spirit, soul and body? Dare you spurn this grace? (Smith Wigglesworth)

WHAT JESUS TAUGHT KENNETH HAGIN ABOUT AUTHORITY

In 1952, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me in a vision* and talked to me for about an hour and a half about the devil, demons, and demon possession. At the end of that vision, an evil spirit that looked like a little monkey or elf ran between Jesus and me and spread something like a smoke screen or dark cloud. Then this demon began jumping up and down, crying in a shrill voice, "Yakety-yak, yakety-yak, yakety-yak." I couldn't see Jesus or understand what He was saying.

(Through this entire experience, Jesus was teaching me something. And if you'll be attentive, you'll find the answer here to many things that have troubled you.) I couldn't understand why Jesus allowed the demon to make such a racket. I wondered why Jesus didn't rebuke the demon so I could hear what He was saying. I waited a few moments, but Jesus didn't take any action against the demon. Jesus was still talking, but I couldn't understand a word He was saying—and I needed to, because He was giving instructions concerning the devil, demons, and how to exercise authority.

I thought to myself, Doesn't the Lord know I'm not hearing what He wanted me to? I need to hear that. I'm missing it! I almost panicked. I became so desperate I cried out, "In the Name of Jesus, you foul spirit, I command you to stop!" The minute I said that, the little demon hit the floor like a sack of salt, and the black cloud disappeared. The demon lay there trembling, whimpering, and whining like a whipped pup. He wouldn't look at me. "Not only shut up, but get out of here in Jesus' Name!" I commanded. He ran off.

The Lord knew exactly what was in my mind. I was thinking, Why didn't He do something about that? Why did He permit it? Jesus looked at me and said, "If you hadn't done something about that, I couldn't have." That came as a real shock to me—it astounded me. I replied, "Lord, I know I didn't hear You right! You said You wouldn't, didn't You?"
He replied, "No, if you hadn't done something about that, I couldn't have." I went through this four times with Him. He was emphatic about it, saying, "No, I didn't say I would not, I said I could not." I said, "Now, dear Lord, I just can't accept that. I never heard or preached anything like that in my life!"

I told the Lord I didn't care how many times I saw Him in visions—He would have to prove this to me by at least three Scriptures out of the New Testament (because we're not living under the Old Covenant, we're living under the New). Jesus smiled sweetly and said He would give me four. I said, "I've read through the New Testament 150 times, and many portions of it more than that. If that is in there, I don't know it!"

Jesus replied, "Son, there is a lot in there you don't know." He continued, "Not one single time in the New Testament is the Church ever told to pray that God the Father or Jesus would do anything against the devil. In fact, to do so is to waste your time. The believer is told to do something about the devil. The reason is because you have the authority to do it. The Church is not to pray to God the Father about the devil; the Church is to exercise the authority that belongs to it.

"The New Testament tells believers themselves to do something about the devil. The least member of the Body of Christ has just as much power over the devil as anyone else, and unless believers do something about the devil, nothing will be done in a lot of areas."

We believe that certain people have power. No, Jesus said the least member of the Body of Christ has just as much power over the devil as anyone else; and when we start believing that, that's when we're going to get the job done.

Jesus continued, "I've done all I'm going to do about the devil until the angel comes down from heaven, takes the chain and binds him, and puts him into the bottomless pit [Rev. 20:1-3]."

That came as a real shock to me. "Now," He said, "I'll give you the four references that prove that. First of all, when I arose from the dead, I said, 'All power [authority] is given unto me in heaven and in earth' (Matt. 28:18). The word 'power' means 'authority.' But I immediately delegated my authority on earth to the Church, and I can work only through the Church, for I am the Head of the Church." (Your head cannot exercise any authority anywhere except through your body.)

The second reference Jesus gave me was Mark 16:15-18: 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

He said, "The very first sign mentioned as following any believer—not any pastor or any evangelist—is that they shall cast out devils. That means that in my Name they shall exercise authority over the devil, because I have delegated my authority over the devil to the Church."

The next reference Jesus gave me was James 4:7: ".. .Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (the understood subject of this sentence is "you".

After that vision, and after Jesus gave me that verse from James, my spirit told me the word "flee" was significant. I looked it up in the dictionary and found one of the shades of meanings was "to run from as if in terror." The devil will run from you in terror! Then I knew why the demon in my vision had begun to whimper and cry—he was terrified.

Since then I have seen other demons quake and quiver in fear as I exercised my God-given authority over them. They were not afraid of me, but of Jesus, whom I represent.

In the vision Jesus gave me another Scripture that tells us to do something about the devil. This third reference was from First Peter. Peter wrote, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:. Your adversary means your opponent. Notice what it says as we go on reading. The next verse reads, "Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions [tests and trials] are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." The American Standard Version says "your faith" instead of "the faith." I like that better.

Jesus said to me in this vision, "Peter did not write this letter and tell Christians, 'Now, word has come to me that God's using our beloved Brother Paul in casting out devils, and he's sending handkerchiefs or cloths, and the diseases are departing from people, and evil spirits are going out of them, so I would suggest that you write to Paul and get a handkerchief.' "

No, instead of that, he told them to do something about the devil. Why? Because they've got authority over him. The Spirit of God through the Apostle Peter wouldn't tell you to do something you couldn't do.

Jesus, James, and Peter tell us to do something about the devil. Paul says in Ephesians 4:27, "Neither give place to the devil." This was the fourth Scripture Jesus gave me. He explained, "This means you are not to give the devil any place in you. He cannot take any place unless you give him permission to do so. And you would have to have authority over him or this wouldn't be true."

Jesus added, "Here are your four witnesses. I am the first, James is the second, Peter is the third, and Paul is the fourth. This establishes the fact that the believer has authority on earth, for I have delegated my authority over the devil to you on the earth. If you don't do anything about it, nothing will be done. And that is why many times nothing is done." Now you can understand why things have happened as they have. We've permitted them to happen! Not knowing our authority—not knowing what we could do—we have done nothing, and we actually have permitted the devil to keep on doing whatever he wanted to do.

We need to realize this. Let's wake up. We may have to change our way of praying and get after the devil. I did. It won't hurt you to change; it's good for you. We have authority to do this. We're sitting at the right hand of the Father, far above principalities and powers. If we're far above them, then we have authority over them. (Kenneth E. Hagin)

TRAIN YOU TO ALWAYS PUT GOD & HIS WORD FIRST

In the 12 years I pastored, there were members who would get sick, go to the hospital, and ask for prayer afterwards. I am not saying that it is wrong to have a doctor, certainly not. We believe in hospitals and doctors and thank God for them. But I am saying why not put God's Word first? Sometimes Christians turn to the Word as a last resort.

A Baptist minister who didn't particularly believe in divine healing at the time, told how he had had problems with his tonsils. His doctor kept telling him that they must be removed, so the date was set.

Each morning he and his wife would read the Bible and pray with the children before school. On the very date he was scheduled to enter the hospital, their Scripture passage was the one which tells of King Asa who got a disease in his feet, and instead of seeking the Lord, he sought physicians and died. The minister said that he was struck by this. He realized that he hadn't even prayed about his tonsils. He shared this with his wife and children and asked that they pray together about his tonsils.

When they prayed, the Lord told him not to have them removed. To his astonishment, the Lord healed the tonsils and he has had no more trouble with them. There is a lesson to be learned here. The Bible does not imply that King Asa died because he put the physicians first. However, it does imply that he should have put the Lord first. We should train ourselves to put the Lord first.

We should train ourselves to ask concerning any matter, "What does God's Word have to say about this?" We should ask ourselves what God has to say about anything that may come up in our life—and then put that Word first. Sometimes family and friends will try to rush you into things, but you need to think about what the Word of God says. Put God's Word first in every area of life. (Rev. Hagin. K. E.)

THERE IS A LIMIT TO WHICH YOU CAN CARRY SOMEBODY ON YOUR FAITH

My son, who is more than 40 years old, is an ordained minister. For the first 15 years of his life, I carried him on my faith and did his praying for him. He always received his healing. But when Ken was 15 years old, He got a severe ear infection. His ear was really hurting him and he wanted to go to the doctor. The doctor said he had an incurable fungus condition in one ear which he probably got from swimming.

Ken kept having to go back to the doctor to have his ear cleaned. The doctor said he probably would lose his hearing in that ear, and it would cause him trouble all his life. The Lord told me that He expected my boy to walk in the light of what he knew because he knew the way. The Lord said my praying wouldn't work for him anymore.

At Christmas time, I had to take Ken back to the doctor to have the fungus cleaned out of his ear again. The doctors said he couldn't go swimming anymore because the more he was around water, the faster the fungus would grow. I told my son what the Lord had told me. I told him he would have to believe God for himself.

Ken looked at me, still wanting to use my faith for his healing. I told him that while I would kneel with him when he prayed, I wasn't going to pray at all; he had to pray for himself. He prayed and got his healing. Years have passed and the fungus never reappeared.

If people follow their natural inclinations, they want to remain babies and let someone else carry them. But you can pray the prayer of faith for yourself; quit saying you can't.

Everywhere it says "you" in the following Scripture, insert your name: "Therefore, I say unto YOU, what things soever YOU desire, when you pray, believe that YOU receive them, and YOU shall have them" (Mark 11:24).
That's what my son did when he prayed. When we got up off our knees, he didn't have any evidence of healing. But when I asked him if he was healed, he said, 'Yes!" He said he was healed because the Bible said so.

You have to profess and believe God even though the things you desire in prayer haven't manifested yet. You have to stand your ground. If someone questions you, say you believe God heard you. Tell them you don't care what the devil says, because you believe God and His Word. Then you'll see results! (Kenneth E. Hagin)

BE A LIVING EXAMPLE BEFORE YOUR WIFE AND KIDS

Often people undo their prayers! They may have prayed and even asked others to pray, but then they nullify their prayers and the faith of those who are praying with them by speaking negatively. Talk faith, not doubt! I once knew a minister who asked me and others to pray for his son.

However, at the same time he was requesting prayer, he would tell his boy, "You'll never amount to anything. I don't know what in the world I'm going to do with you! I have done everything I can do. I have prayed and prayed, but it looks like my prayers don't do any good."

This man was confessing defeat and failure rather than victory and faith. He was building doubt and insecurity into his son. This is why so many people have lost their children. As we pray for our children, we must not do anything in our home that would nullify the effects of our prayers. We must build confidence and trust in our children. We must instill a sense of security in them. Before I was married, I usually stayed in the homes of pastors during revival meetings, and I often felt sorry for their children.

I particularly remember one pastor's 12-year-old son. His parents were impatient and short-tempered with him. They were always telling him he would never amount to anything. Sure enough, he didn't! He broke the hearts of his parents. He was married several times, and he never provided a living for his family.

These parents may have prayed and asked their church to pray. They may have shed many tears and even fasted. But their lives nullified the effects of their prayers. From the spiritual standpoint as well as the natural standpoint, the things that happen to children in their early years are what mold their lives as adults. Let these years be spiritually rich and meaningful for your children. Let your life match your words. Work with God; don't work against Him.

I also have seen pastors' children neglected. The pastors' wives were so busy working in the church that their children were left alone to do as they pleased. That's why I told my wife when we were first married, "I'll run the church and you run the house." In the first church we pastured after we were married, we were told it was their custom for the pastor to teach the adult Bible class of men and the pastor's wife to teach the women.

I told them my wife didn't teach Sunday School. They argued, "But it's our custom here. We have been doing this for more than 20 years!"

"Well, I just changed that custom," I replied. "We'll consolidate the two classes and make one big auditorium class, and I will teach it. My wife doesn't teach Sunday School." When they asked me why, I told them, "I am going to preach and pastor the church. My wife is going to stay home and keep house and take care of me and our children, when we have them. I want her to run things there, and I'll run things here. There are many capable people in the church who can work, so let's put them to work."

When they wanted to make Oretha president of the women's missionary council, I put my foot down again. "She can attend the meetings," I told them, "but she won't serve in any capacity." This has paid off well for us. (Kenneth E. Hagin)

DON’T SAY SUCH AND SUCH ABOUT ANOTHER BROTHER

I had another experience along this same line. My wife and I held a meeting down in east Texas in a Full Gospel church. We were going from that meeting to a convention that our denomination was holding. One of the ministers in that part of the state had gotten into some difficulty, and he had to leave the church. I asked someone, "What did he do?" And the person told me what the minister had done. Well, without thinking, I just said, "It looks to me like anybody with any sense would know better than to do that." I never thought anything else about it. My wife and I closed that meeting, and we went on our way to the convention. Now ordinarily I walk in divine health; I just feel good all the time. But during this convention, I just wasn't up to par physically, and I couldn't sleep at night. Normally by the time my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep. I made all the right faith confessions, and I believed I received my healing, but I still didn't feel good physically. On the third night of the convention, I still couldn't sleep. I said, "Lord, if I'm feeling like this tomorrow, I won't be able to go to the meetings. My body is about to give out." I got out of bed and got on my knees and started praying. I remembered something Dr. Lilian B. Yeomans said. She was a medical doctor who at one time had become addicted to drugs. She became sick and really just went down to death's door. But then she got saved and God raised her up from a deathbed. She
then spent the rest of her life preaching about divine healing. Dr. Yeomans said, "If I pray and don't get results, I start changing. Why? Because there will have to be a change somewhere before the answer can come, and the change won't be with God, because God never changes." I remembered reading this statement by Dr. Yeomans, so I started changing. I'd been making all the right biblical confessions and saying all the right things, but I still hadn't improved. Finally, I said to the Lord, "Lord, what is wrong with me? I haven't made my faith connection with You. The Lord spoke to me and said, "Didn't you say so and so about Brother_______," and the Lord called this pastor's name. I said, "Lord, all I said was 'It looks like anybody with any sense would have known better than to do that.'" The Lord asked me a question. He said, "Do you know what pressure he was under?" I said, "No." The Lord asked me, "Do you know the circumstances that surrounded this situation?" I said, "No." The Lord said to me, "If you'd been in the same position, you might not have done as well as he did." With tears, I said, "Oh, God, forgive me. My God, please forgive me. I repent." Do you know that as soon as I repented, I was instantly well. It didn't take me time to get healed—I was instantly made whole! I got into bed and slept soundly for the first time in several nights. You see, there's a principle here. We can't criticize and judge the other fellow because we don't know the circumstances and the pressures that the person may have been under that caused him to act as he did. We don't know what made him do what he did—only the
Lord knows. It's situations like this that taught me to keep my mouth shut about criticizing the Lord's servants. (Kenneth E. H)

DON’T CONDEMN THE LORD’S SERVANT

I remember an incident that happened years ago when I was just a young man, pastoring a little church in north Texas. In a large metropolitan city about forty-five miles away, one of the ministers got into some difficulty and was dismissed from his denomination. Later during a sectional convention in our church, one of the district superintendents preached in the morning service and mentioned the situation. Although he didn't call this minister's name, we all knew who he was talking about. He condemned him and just preached him right into hell, so to speak. Well, some of the men who couldn't be in that morning service asked me about it later on. They asked, "Brother Hagin, what do you think about it? Was that minister right in what he said about that other minister?" I said, "Yes, I concurred with him." Well, about two weeks after that, my wife's parents came down to visit us. They lived out on a farm about forty miles away. My wife and two children went home with them after the Sunday night service. I was going to drive up there and join them after I attended to some church business. So my wife and our children were gone, and I was alone in the parsonage. I listened to the news on the radio (we didn't have television back then). The parsonage was an old house that was built before indoor electricity was available. When it was wired for electricity, they just put a chain hanging right down in the middle of the room to turn the light on and off.

When I was ready to go to bed, I just reached up to turn the light off and then knelt by the foot of the bed and prayed. Suddenly the whole room lit up! The Bible talks about a light Paul saw that was brighter than the noonday sun (Acts 9:3; 22:6). This light was bright like that. The whole room lit up brighter than when the light was on, and I could see every piece of furniture. And then out of the bright light I heard these words, "Who art thou that condemneth another man's servant?" I knew it was the Lord. I said, "Lord, I didn't condemn Your servant." I knew immediately who the Lord was referring to. He was talking about that minister who'd gotten into trouble. The Lord answered me again by saying, "Who art thou that condemneth another man's servant?" I repeated, "Lord, I never condemned Your servant." Then the third time the Lord said, "Who art thou that condemneth another man's servant?" I said the third time, "Lord, I didn't condemn Your servant." The Lord said, "Didn't you say. . . ," and then the Lord quoted what I had said about this minister. Well, you get in a situation like that and your flesh sometimes wants to take over. You remember when Adam got into trouble, he wanted to shift the blame to the woman. Then when that didn't work, he said, "This woman which Thou gavest me." Really, he was trying to blame everyone else so he wouldn't have to be responsible. The flesh always want to blame someone else. I said, "Lord, I was just quoting the district superintendent." The Lord said to me, "When you repeated it, that was tantamount to your saying it. Who art thou that condemneth another man's servant?" When the Lord said that, He just sort of knocked the props out from under me. So then I said, "I thought that minister was wrong. I mean, didn't he do wrong?" The Lord never told me whether he'd done wrong or not. But He asked me a question. He said, "Whose servant is he, Mine or yours?" I said, "If he is anyone's servant, Lord, he's Yours. He sure isn't mine." The Lord said, "Well, if he is My servant, then I'm able to make him stand." And, you know, the Lord did just that. The Lord made the man stand, and that fellow went on to become the most outstanding minister in that part of the state. He was very well respected, even though he'd missed it that one time in his past. Who are we to criticize the Lord's servants! Sometimes it's the things we say about other people that cause us ill health. (Kenneth E Hagin)

DOMINION OVER DEATH

"My friend said, 'She is dead.' He was scared. I have never seen a man so frightened in my life. 'What shall I do?' he asked. You may think that what I did was absurd, but I reached over into the bed and pulled her out. I carried her across the room, stood her against the wall and held her up, as she was absolutely dead. I looked into her face and said, 'In the name of Jesus I rebuke this death.' From the crown of her head to the soles of her feet her whole body began to tremble. 'In the name of Jesus, I command you to walk,' I said. I repeated, 'In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, walk!' and she walked." . Not only was this woman raised from the dead, but she was instantly healed from a terrible illness also. She began to testify to people of her death experience and restoration.

It has been recorded that Smith Wigglesworth raised between 23-26 people from the dead in total, over the years of his ministry. (Smith Wigglesworth)

BABY DEACON (NEPIOS)

A deacon, a leader, (who) supposed to be setting an example in the church, got mad and wouldn't come (to church). I knew something happened because his wife kept coming. (SOME MEN WOULD BE IN A MESS IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE GOOD WIVES.) I saw him in town and he would hardly talk to me. He was hard and cold, puffed up like a toad frog. His wife was a sweet person and I asked her, "What's wrong with him?" She said, "Oh, he's mad about something. He went home from church and went to bed. He wouldn't even talk to me for three days. I finally just asked him what was wrong. I thought maybe it was me. But it wasn't. And it's not exactly you. Somebody sat in his pew (chair). He always sits right here in the second pew, the second seat from the end. When he got here and someone was sitting there, he got so mad he stood up. He wouldn't sit anywhere else." A man like that isn't fit to be a deacon. God never planned that he would remain a spiritual baby. He wants us to grow spiritually. (Hb5:11,12-13) iiTm3:7. (Kenneth E. Hagin)

A VISIT WITH ANCIENT PATRIARCHS

There were many who remained behind long after the great throng had dispersed. Many of these were so
filled with the glory of God that they seemed to be holding a kind of after service, which I found was
always in order. Like it often is on earth during great revival seasons, the Spirit of God is so infused into
the people that a congregation is often loath to leave the scenes of prayer, and while returning to their
homes they would be singing the songs of Zion.
I found that the themes of the highest praise in heaven were often those which had been the greatest
blessings of earth. The memories of the past and the conscious sense of great deliverances should
always bring the soul a deep sense of its indebtedness and gratitude to God. Among those who remained
behind were some ancient men joining with the great chorister in many hymns of praise, and singing also
many solos of ancient date, of which one could judge by their peculiar wording; referring frequently to
events, times, and places of far gone ages; so that we could tell at once that they were ancient men and
had lived in a far, remote period of time, although they looked as youthful and full of vigor as any of us
who had just entered the city.
To some of these I was especially attracted. Their great earnestness and enthusiasm and peculiar
conduct, coupled with such Lovely faces and sweet tempers invited us to go and sit among them. So I
said to Bohemond, "Let us go and talk with them and find who they are."
They welcomed us to their company. We soon found ourselves sitting in the presence of Job and
Methuselah, Abel and Noah, with many of the earliest ancestors of the race. They all seemed full of
vigorous life with no marks of decrepit old age like we knew so much in the world. I then quickly
thought of the words of the angel to John: "Behold I make all things new," (Revelation 21:5) and sure
enough, these were among the earliest of the race of man, made in God’s image, on whom this mighty
renovating power had come.
We had a long but very pleasant visit with them asking them many questions concerning the early
history of man on the earth. Adam and Eve were the first creation of man in the image of God.
We arose to bid them good-bye, when they embraced us with an affectionate kiss and said, "We’ll see
you again."
Bohemond and myself now went to a quiet place and sat down to talk over the things we had just heard
and witnessed for we were most deeply impressed with the words of these ancient men. "Oh," I said,
"what is the full and utmost meaning of eternal life? If four thousand years have not made their mark of
feebleness, nor dimmed the eye, nor cooled the love and ardor of these men, surely eternity never will."
There were many coming and going, and everyone had such a sweet and holy temper and disposition
with such pleasant smiles of loveliness that bespoke eternal satisfaction and contentment.


I said to
Bohemond: "I have been thinking about a number of my old friends and relatives in the earth who, if
they only knew what we know now, they would lead very different lives and seek to be ready for this
solid glory."
Bohemond replied: "I almost wish, myself, I could return for just a few days and tell my own people, to
whom religion is but little more than an empty profession, the great realities of this heavenly kingdom. I
myself never thought it was half so real or could be so grand."
"Well, Bohemond, I would be glad to have you tell me something of your earthly life and surroundings."
"I am descended," said Bohemond, "from a race of kings of Norman blood who reigned for many years
at Antioch in Syria. After the close of the dynasty, which occurred about the close of the thirteenth
century, our family scattered to different countries, but principally to Bohemia. Our people soon joined
in with the Bohemian brethren, many of them becoming earnest followers of Christ. A great persecution
arose and many were compelled to hide themselves in dens and caves of the earth. But with the exodus
of about a thousand brethren to Poland in the last of the fifteenth century, the honorable sires of our
family came.
"By the principles of our faith we were forbidden all kinds of warfare as not comporting with the
teaching of our Lord. Because of this and the denial of the doctrine of transubstantiation, persecution
was still heaped upon us. Later on, our particular family moved to Northern Russia where we have been
ever since. Many of them have grown wealthy and very prosperous; but I am sad to know that many
among them have substituted wealth on earth for treasures in heaven. [This incident obviously has taken
place before Communism took over in Russia in 1917.-The Publishers] If they only knew what was reserved in
store for all the redeemed and blood- washed, which we are now enjoying, and were it real to them as it
is to us I feel sure they would mightily bestir themselves. Oh, could I send them one warning message
from heaven, they would hear me, would they not?"
"Well," I replied, "Abraham was of a different opinion. They have Moses and the prophets; if they
would not hear them neither would they hear if one should rise from the dead, so why should we want to
return?" We sat long, talking these matters over, but when we aroused ourselves to the situation we
found that the great congregation had nearly all gone. But David’s chariot still remained standing near
the entrance where the hosts had gathered. I said to Bohemond, "Listen a moment. Isn’t that lovely
music? And the song, oh, how soul-stirring it is." We cast our eyes through the great archway toward the chariot and saw David beckoning us to him. We hastened through the long aisle and when near the
chariot, we found it was filled with those holy men of old. David now said: "We saw you were quite
alone and thought you would like to go with us to a great praise service for the children soon to be held
near the Judean gate." We gladly accepted their offer, saying, "We were on our way to the throne, but
will be glad to go with you for we are but little acquainted with the city." Paul spoke lovingly, and yet
laughingly, and said: "Well, dear brethren, I have been here for more than eighteen hundred years and
yet I know but little of the city, although I have been to many sections of it again and again. Our
inheritance is exceeding great." Don’t hurry — eternity is before you. The vast plains of paradise," said
Paul, "and all the riches of the eternal city are yours forever."
"Now," said David, "step up and take a seat beside Paul and myself. Those brethren in the rear of the
chariot would be glad to speak to you." The four men arose, and we were introduced to Elias and Daniel,
whom everyone knows, and who are famous in heaven on account of their devotion and service to God
in the earth, and a man by the name of Artorious, of whom I had never heard before. David said he was
from Southern Mesopotamia and a descendant from Shem and one of Abraham’s soldiers in the battle at
Hobah in the King’s Dale, and John, the beloved disciple, whose name is a household word in all the
world.
"Well, brethren," I said, "is it true that we are here with those who have lived so long ago? The idea of
immortality and a future life, which we cherished so dearly in the world has proven more than a
dream. Oh, how good it is to be here! There are so many things I want to ask you concerning a far by-gone age, but my soul is too full of glory and praises to God now, I cannot restrain my feelings." David
said: "You need not try. We will all join you in praises to God." Silas arose from the front of the chariot
and came and stood by David’s side while they sang a most lovely hymn. Bohemond and I fell on our
faces in the chariot and worshipped God, blessed Giver of all this good."
(SENECA SODI)

ABSOLUTE TRUST IN GOD

I have been in many places where I have needed a word of wisdom from God and this has been vouchsafed. I will give you one instance. There is one thing I am very grateful to the Lord for, and that is that He has given me grace not to have a desire for money. The love of money is a great hindrance to many; and many a man is crippled in his ministry because he lets his heart run after financial matters. I was walking out one day when I met a godly man who lived opposing me and he said, "My wife and I have been talking together about selling our house and we feel constrained to sell it to you." As we talked together he persuaded me to buy his place, and before we said good-by I told him that I would take it.

We always make big mistakes when we are in a hurry. I told my wife what I had promised, "How will you manage it?" I told her that I had managed things so far, but I did not know how I was going to get through this. I somehow knew that I was out of divine order. But when a fellow gets out of divine order it seems that the last person he goes to is God. I was relying on an architect to help me, but that scheme fell through I turned to my relations and I certainly had a wet shirt, as one after another turned me down. I tried my friends and managed no better. My wife said to me, "Thou hast never been to God yet." What could I do? I have a certain place in our house where I go to pray. I have been there very often. As I went I said, "Lord, if You will get me out of this scrape, I will never trouble Thee on this line again." As I waited on the Lord He just gave me one word. It seemed a ridiculous thing, but it was the wisest counsel. There is divine wisdom in every word He speaks. I came down to my wife, saying, "What do you think? The Lord has told me to go to
Brother Webster." I said, "It seems very ridiculous, for he is one of the poorest men I know." He was the poorest man I knew, but he was also the richest man I knew, for he knew God. My wife said, "Do what God says, and it will be right." I went off at once to see him, and he said as he greeted me, "Smith, what brings you so early?" I answered, "The word of God." I said to him, "About three weeks ago I promised to buy a house of a man, and I am short 100 pounds ($500). I have tried to get this money, but somehow I seem to have missed God." "How is it," he asked, "that you have come to me only now?" I answered, "Because I went to the Lord about it only last night." "Well," he said, "it is a strange thing; three weeks ago I had 100 pounds. For years I have been putting money into a cooperative system and three weeks ago I had to go and draw 100 pounds out.

I hid it under the mattress. Come with me and you shall have it. Take it. I hope it will bring as great a blessing to you as it has been a trouble to me." I had had a word from God, and all my troubles were ended. This has been multiplied in a hundred ways since that time. If I had been walking along filled with the Holy Ghost, I would not have bought that house and would not have had all that strain. I believe the Lord wants to loose us from things of earth. But I am ever grateful for that word from God.

There have been times in my life when I have been in great crises and under great weight of intercession. I have gone to the meeting without the knowledge of what I would say, but somehow or other God would vouchsafe the coming forth under the power of the Spirit of some word of wisdom, just what some souls in that meeting needed. As we look to God His mind will be made known, and His revelation and His word of wisdom will be forthcoming. (Smith Wigglesworth)

ABRAHAM AND HIS BOSOM PARADISE

The angel asked, "Are you thirsty?" I said, "Yes." "I shall get you something to drink," he replied. There was a big, barrel-chested man across the river. He said, "I shall bring it to him." I saw that he had a gold goblet in his hand. He reached down and dipped it into the river. That river didn't look as big as the Mississippi River—it was more like a bayou or a big stream, a creek—only it was pure and clear. I noticed the man's large size. He seemed of great age, yet he was young looking. There were no wrinkles in his face. It was obvious he was a patriarch. When I saw him, I knew in my spirit who he was and thought, That is Abraham and I'm the seed of Abraham. This is my great-great-great-grandpa, If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here.

Paul taught in Galatians 3:14 that the blessing given to Abraham was made available to us (the Gentiles) through Jesus that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And our relationship to Abraham as his seed is explained in Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV): You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. I watched as Abraham walked over to us. He gave the goblet to me and said, "Hey, Jesse! Drink this." I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. —

To be sure, I asked, "Who are you?" He said, "I'm Abraham. Paradise is my place." I felt I knew him like my own father. I fell down on my face before him; but he said, "Stand to your feet. The only One you worship is the Lord God. I'm a servant. I have come to help you. I meet all the people who come here because Paradise is my bosom." When I stood to my feet, Abraham said, "I shall help you." Then he asked me how I was. I said, "I'm fine, Glory to God." When I said that, Abraham said, "Glory to God!" Then the angel said, "Glory to God!" It started a chain reaction as other people near us stopped and praised God. The sound of their praises seemed to ripple through Paradise. He said, "Drink this water. It shall help you." So I did. It was so cool and refreshing; and it was being served to me in a gold goblet. I was impressed it wasn't a little plastic cup. Then he told the angel, "Take him. He must stand before the Most High God." But I wanted to talk to Abraham some more. My favorite Scripture in the Bible is Romans 4:17, which, speaking of Abraham, says, he calleth those things which be not as though they were. Like Abraham, I wanted to consider not, to stagger not and to be fully persuaded. (See Romans 4:19-21.) Abraham said to me, "I'll see you again. I have to meet the others who have come to this land of blessedness." The angel said, "We must take you to the city where you have an appointment." Then we got in line with all those other people and started going toward the city.

I shall see you again.(Jesse Duplantis)

A VERY PRESENT HELP

How many times do we have great needs? We have sickness in our bodies. We are going through heartaches. We are going through a divorce. A loved one has died. A child has strayed into the world. It seems like we have no money coming in at all, and we need help. At times like these we come boldly to the throne of God and pray, "God, I need your help." In the visions God gave me of scenes on earth, every time the saints would cry out to the Lord for help, the Word
of God would be there. An angel would have a huge Bible in his hands. Then I would see the angel open the Word of God and shove it in Satan’s face. Satan would be there in the form of an evil spirit or a serpent. When the angel opened up the Scriptures, the Devil would literally fall backward, screaming, because he knew the angel was using the two- edged sword against him.
Now, I need to tell you that the things that I was seeing in my spirit were not always happening in the church
where I was ministering at the time. I would see things in my spirit that could be occurring miles away. At times I did not know where or when they were taking place.
Thank God, Jesus has defeated Satan for us once and for all at the cross so that we can have freedom and life. We can now come boldly to the throne of grace wherever we are. (Mary K. Baxter)

I SPOKE WITH ABEL, CAIN'S BROTHER

As I looked at the door, I heard another voice begin to speak which I did not recognize. I turned to see who was speaking. He was one of the most naturally attractive people I had seen yet, regal and strong.
“I am Abel,” he said. “The authority that the Lord is about to give His people is the anointing for true unity. When there were just two brothers on the earth, we could not live in peace with one another. From my time until yours, mankind has walked in the way of increasing darkness. Murder will be released on the earth as never before. Even your World Wars were but birth pangs leading to what is to come. But remember this: Love is stronger than death.
The love that the Father is about to give to those who serve Him will overcome death.”
“Please, tell me everything that you have been given to tell me,” I responded, knowing that he had much to say.
“My blood still speaks. The blood of every martyr still speaks. Your message will live on if you trust in the life that you have in God more than you trust in the life that you have on earth. Do not fear death, and you will overcome it. Those who do not fear death will have the greatest message during the times you are entering when death is released on the earth.
I thought of all of the wars, famines and plagues that had come upon the earth just in my century. “How much more can death be released?” I asked. Abel continued without answering me, which I understood to be the answer. “The
blood sacrifice has already been made for you. Trust the power of the cross, for it is greater than life. When you trust the cross, you cannot die. Those on earth have power for a time to take your earthly life, but they cannot take your life if you have embraced the cross.
“A great unity will come to the Lord’s people who dwell on the earth. This will take place when His judgments come upon the earth. Those who are in unity will not only endure His judgments, but they will prosper because of them. By this He will use His people to warn the earth. After the warnings, He will then use His people as a sign.
Because of the discord and conflict that arise in the darkness, the unity of His people will be a sign that the whole earth will see. His disciples will be known by their love, and love does not fear. Only true love can bring true unity. Those who love will never fall. True love does not grow cold, but true love does grow.” (Rick Joyner - The Call)

ELISHA RELEASED THE ANGELS

In 2 Kings 6, we find an incident in the life of the prophet Elisha when he released angels.
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

And one of his servants said, None, my lord,
O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said. Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elisha declared a decree, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."
What do you suppose that servant thought when Elisha said that? He probably shook his head and said to himself, "What in the world is this man talking about? I can plainly see thousands of soldiers, chariots, and horses surrounding us. How can Elisha say there are more with us than there are with them?"
But Elisha prayed, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see."
When the Lord opened his eyes, the young man saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire!
Who was manning those chariots of fire? The angels, the same ministering spirits that have been sent forth to minister for the heirs of salvation. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire (Heb. 1:7).
God provided supernatural deliverance because of the words Elisha spoke.
He could have provoked the angels by words of doubt and unbelief, but he didn't. The angels came because of his words: "Fear not; there are more with us than with them."

This incident is one to which God's people should take heed. When we see the problems and the evil things in the world, our heads want to scream out, "What are we going to do? Why did God allow this?"
The angelic host of God is listening, waiting for the go-ahead. But they can't move when they hear God's people say, "What are we going to do? We'll never make it!" But they wait patiently for our words to assign them a task. It is time for the Body of Christ to wake up to the fact that we have legions of angels
waiting to move in our behalf. (Charles Capps)

ELISHA RELEASED THE ANGELS

In 2 Kings 6, we find an incident in the life of the prophet Elisha when he released angels.
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

And one of his servants said, None, my lord,
O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said. Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elisha declared a decree, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."
What do you suppose that servant thought when Elisha said that? He probably shook his head and said to himself, "What in the world is this man talking about? I can plainly see thousands of soldiers, chariots, and horses surrounding us. How can Elisha say there are more with us than there are with them?"
But Elisha prayed, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see."
When the Lord opened his eyes, the young man saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire!
Who was manning those chariots of fire? The angels, the same ministering spirits that have been sent forth to minister for the heirs of salvation. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire (Heb. 1:7).
God provided supernatural deliverance because of the words Elisha spoke.
He could have provoked the angels by words of doubt and unbelief, but he didn't. The angels came because of his words: "Fear not; there are more with us than with them."

This incident is one to which God's people should take heed. When we see the problems and the evil things in the world, our heads want to scream out, "What are we going to do? Why did God allow this?"
The angelic host of God is listening, waiting for the go-ahead. But they can't move when they hear God's people say, "What are we going to do? We'll never make it!" But they wait patiently for our words to assign them a task. It is time for the Body of Christ to wake up to the fact that we have legions of angels
waiting to move in our behalf. (Charles Capps)

ELISHA RELEASED THE ANGELS

In 2 Kings 6, we find an incident in the life of the prophet Elisha when he released angels.
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

And one of his servants said, None, my lord,
O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said. Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elisha declared a decree, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."
What do you suppose that servant thought when Elisha said that? He probably shook his head and said to himself, "What in the world is this man talking about? I can plainly see thousands of soldiers, chariots, and horses surrounding us. How can Elisha say there are more with us than there are with them?"
But Elisha prayed, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see."
When the Lord opened his eyes, the young man saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire!
Who was manning those chariots of fire? The angels, the same ministering spirits that have been sent forth to minister for the heirs of salvation. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire (Heb. 1:7).
God provided supernatural deliverance because of the words Elisha spoke.
He could have provoked the angels by words of doubt and unbelief, but he didn't. The angels came because of his words: "Fear not; there are more with us than with them."

This incident is one to which God's people should take heed. When we see the problems and the evil things in the world, our heads want to scream out, "What are we going to do? Why did God allow this?"
The angelic host of God is listening, waiting for the go-ahead. But they can't move when they hear God's people say, "What are we going to do? We'll never make it!" But they wait patiently for our words to assign them a task. It is time for the Body of Christ to wake up to the fact that we have legions of angels
waiting to move in our behalf. (Charles Capps)

CALLING ANGELS OFF THE JOB

When you speak things that are contrary to the Word of God, you call your angels off the job. For instance, the Bible says in Psalm 1:3, "Whatsoever he doeth will prosper. He's like a tree planted by the rivers of water." But if you go around saying, "Nothing I ever do works out for good. I always do the wrong thing," your words call the angels off the job.
You can speak words that open the door to the devil and provoke angels.
Sometimes people pray the most beautiful prayer of protection over their children. They say, "Lord, watch over them and keep them." Then they turn around and prophesy to the child, "If you play in the street, you will get run over!" Your angel may say, "I don't know why they want this child run over."
The angel considers your word to be your will. He will allow what your words allow. The angel may sit there on the curb and watch the child run in front of a car. He listened to your words, and considered them to be your will.
Uncontrolled talk can bring tragedy to your home needlessly. Foolish words and foolish prayers open the door to the devil and invite all kinds of trouble. Jesus put it this way:
By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matt. 12:37).
The angels hearken unto the voice of God's Word. When your words agree with God's Word, you release angels to go and accomplish what was spoken. You may not say exactly what God said, but let your words agree with His.
For example, Jesus said, "If you give, it will be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." (Luke 6:38.) Psalm 1:3 says that whatever you do will prosper. When you speak as though those things were true, you will be speaking parallel with God.
When you say, "Nothing I ever do works out," you are perpendicular with God. That kind of talk will call your angels off the job. They will let the deal you have been working on for months fall through. It doesn't matter to them whether it succeeds or fails. They take your words as being your will.
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that they do evil.
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God, for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore, let thy words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:1,2
Keep your foot when you go into the house of God. In other words, don't get your foot in your mouth while you're praying!
Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel that it was an error;
wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? (v. 6).
In other words, ''Don't talk that way before your angel."
Have you ever said, "I knew I should never have started this job. I knew it was too good to be true. None of these things ever work out for me"? Don't talk that way before your angel lest God be angry with your voice and allow the work of your hands to be destroyed.
"Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin." You can create all kinds of desires by the words of your mouth. It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles the man, but what comes out of it. (Matt. 15:11.) Some of the desires and habits of the physical body come because of the words we speak.
If you've been saying for twenty-five years, "I just can't eat a meal without pie! I just love sweets. I guess I'll get as big as a barn," then you probably will!
You've created that desire with your words.
But you can reverse that situation by saying: "I don't desire to eat so much that I become overweight. In the name of Jesus, I proclaim that my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Body, you settle down and come into line with the Word of God, in Jesus' name."
It's time you begin to undo some of the things you've done with your words. It's time to get your words in line with God's Word and release your angels. This prayer will begin that process:
Father, in the name of Jesus, I repent of my ignorance of the Word of God. I ask You to forgive me of the foolish things I've prayed.
In Jesus' name, I bind every word that has released the devil or drawn his weapons toward me. I bind every hindering force that I've ever given strength to by the words of my mouth. I break the power of those spiritual forces, in Jesus' name.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask You to guide me in wisdom and understanding through the scriptural methods to set in motion all that's good, pure, perfect, lovely, and of good report.
I covenant with You to pray accurately. I will keep my mouth. I will speak only that which glorifies God. I will let no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but that which is good to edify and minister grace to the hearer. I will not grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby I'm sealed to the day of redemption, but I will give glory and honor and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ for all that shall be done.
I thank You, Father, that I am the Body of Christ. The enemy has no power over me.
I proclaim that all that is good, all that is blessed of God, all that is in the perfect will of God, all that God has designed for me shall come to me, in Jesus' name.
All of the evil and the bad reports, all that the enemy has designed to deceive me, to lead me astray, to destroy me, my home, or my finances shall be stopped with the name of Jesus and the words of my mouth.
I'm blessed in the city and blessed in the field. I'm blessed in the baskets and blessed in the store.
I'm blessed coming in; I'm blessed going out. I'm the head and not the tail. I'm above and not beneath. I'm blessed of Almighty God, strengthened with all might according to Your glorious power.
The Greater One is in me; He puts me over in life. The Spirit of Truth is in me; He gives me divine wisdom, divine direction, divine understanding of every situation and every circumstance of life. I have the wisdom of God.
I thank You, Father, that I'm led by the Spirit of God. I have the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God is within me. In Jesus' name. Amen!
Now, rejoice! You've just released your ministering angels to go to work and accomplish God's Word for your life. You've given them the "green light" to bring you into the Promised Land—that place God has prepared especially for you! (CHARLES CAPPS)

A TRUE DEMONSTATION OF FAITH

In 1952, we were planning to hold a tent meeting in Clovis, New Mexico. When I told my mother about our proposed trip, she told me to drive carefully because "there are so many wrecks all the time."
She admitted that when I traveled, she stayed awake all night, praying, afraid a call would come saying I had been in a wreck. I told her that if she had been praying in faith, she could have gone to sleep. (I had to tell my own mother the truth just the same as anyone else.) She said, "Son, I know you have faith. I never had much myself." (She was a member of a Full Gospel church, too, and she was talking herself right out of God's blessings.) She said she knew I probably prayed every minute I was on the road. I told her, "I never do. I never even pray that God will be with me." "What makes you talk that way? What's gotten into you?" she said.
"Nothing but the Word," I told her. I reminded her that Jesus had already promised us, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5). I told her I always start out by saying, "Heavenly Father, I'm so thankful for your Word. I am so glad that Jesus is with me." The 34th Psalm says, "The angel of the Lord en-campeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." I told my mother that angels, as well as God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, are with me. I go singing and rejoicing. (Kenneth E Hagin)

THE FATE OF UNREPENTANT ABORTIONIST

The two angels escorted me to Hell. They said, “Now you will visit Hell.” You have no idea the
enormity of Hell. I kept shouting, “It is so big! It is so big!” This is the place where souls who
are cursed and receive eternal damnation are placed. It felt like Hell was a thousand times larger
than the Earth. Half of Hell was colored red and the other half was pitch dark black. I asked the
angels, “Why is this part red?”

The angels replied, “Do you not know? It is burning sulfur. The other half is darkness. When
people sin and end up here, they will be tormented from both sides…There are multitudes of
churches on the Earth and many of the churches are filled with many people. However, most of
them are not true Christians. They are but church
attendants. The true churches will firmly believe in
Heaven and a Hell. The lives of many Christians are in
chaos because they do not firmly believe in Heaven and
Hell. When one soul enters Heaven, one thousand cursed
souls enter Hell. The rate of Heaven and Hell is 1 to
1000.” (Matt 7:14)

I am a Presbyterian pastor and a well-known speaker. I have graduated from one of the largest
theological school in Korea. I never believed those Heaven and Hell stories. But now, I am one
who writes such experiences to testify to others. Although you may believe you are a Christian,
if you live your life according to the will of demons, you will end up in Hell!

The first place I saw was a place of burning sulfur. You can’t even imagine how hot the fires of
Hell are. No one can bear the intense heat.

People in Hell say three statements.
First, it is too hot and they feel like dying. (Luke 16:24)
Second, they are so thirsty and feel like dying.
Third, you will hear many asking for water. (Zech 9:11)

It is eternal! Many people say we are free in Christ and they live their
lives as they desire. I asked the angel, “Those who are in here, what
have they done?” The angel answered, “The first group is
unbelievers.” Those who had not evangelized to their own family
must repent!

The angel continued, “The second group is those who believed in
Jesus, but did not repent of their sins.” We must repent of our sins
and must confess to the Lord. We must not sin. Just giving lip service is not repenting. With a
contrite and earnest heart, we must repent!

Christians in Hell

I then saw many pastors, elders, and deacons in Hell. I asked the angel, “I know them. They had
served God faithfully while on the Earth. They had died some time ago. We all had thought they
were in Heaven with God. But now, I see them all in Hell and they are crying out that it is so
hot! Why are they here?” There were so many pastors, elders, deacons and all other lay
believers.

The angel answered, “Pastor Park Yong Gyu, a person can appear to be a true follower of
Christ on the outside but God knows the heart.

THEY DID NOT KEEP SUNDAYS HOLY. IN FACT, THEY HAD LOVED TO MAKE MONEY
ON SUNDAYS. (Jer. 17:27)
Many of the deacons and elders had criticized the sermon of their pastors.
(PS. 105:15) (Num 12:8-9)
THEY DID NOT TITHE PROPERLY. (Malachi 3:9)
THEY DID NOT PRAY.
They had not evangelized to people at all. (Ezekiel 33:6)
Many of these elders and deacons had harassed their pastors and
would come against their authority. They had interfered with the
pastor’s duty and business. (Num. 16)
On their death beds, they thought they had done a good job so they did not repent of those
things. This is why they were thrown in the fires of Hell.”

I then saw a king and a prince who persecuted Christians in Korea. This king and
prince beheaded many of the first believers in Korea. They were placed in the center, which was
the hottest place of all. I also saw Hitler,
Stalin, Mao Zedong, and a famous pastor
from North Korea named Pastor Kang, and a
famous Japanese hero, and many more.

Then we arrived at an extremely dark place,
too dart to see where to step. I shouted,
“Angels! Angels! It is so dark! How can I see
anything?” The angels patted my shoulder and said, “Just wait a little bit.”

Within a few moments, I was able to see a countless number of naked people. All of them had
insects crawling all over their bodies. Not an inch was spared as their whole bodies were
completely covered with insects. The naked people attempted to drive the insects away
gnashing their teeth. I asked, “What did these people do as they lived on Earth?”
“They are those who have criticized and back stabbed each other. They were not careful of
what they had said to one another.” (Matt 5:22)
I saw the demons piercing and stabbing the stomachs of the people
with sickles. Their screams were unbearable to me. I asked my escort,
“Angels, what did these people do as they had lived on the Earth?

“These people had jobs, houses, and families but they did not give to
God. They did not help the poor, their churches, or other Godly
purposes. They were very stingy and greedy. Even as they
encountered the poor, they ignored them and did not care. They only
cared for themselves and their families. They were well clothed, fed,
and had a comfortable life. This is why their stomachs are pierced for
their bellies were full of greed.” (Proverbs 28:27)

It was a very frightening scene. After witnessing such a scene, when I got back to the Earth, I
gave all of my money and possessions to others. Salvation cannot be earned with money or
property. It is by faith. Hell is an unbearable and miserable place. It is eternal torment!

I also saw people who had their heads hacked off by a very sharp
saw. I asked the angel, “What did these people do to deserve such
awful torment?” The angel replied, “Their brains were given by
God to think good and beneficial things. But these people had
thought of filthy things. They thought of lustful things.” (Matt 5:28)

Next I saw people being stabbed and cut into pieces. The sight was horrible. I asked, “What
about these people? What did they do to be tormented in such a way?” The Angel replied,
“These were elders and deacons who did not serve their churches. In fact, they did not even
want to work or serve! The only things they had loved were to receive and receive from the
flock.” (Zech 11:17) (Hosea 6:5)

I saw the elders, deacons, and other lay believers tormented by the demons.
The demons made a hole in their tongues and placed wires through the
tongues of one another. Then the demons dragged the people with the wire. I
asked again, “What did they do on Earth?” The angel answered, “They had
committed four different types of sin.
First, they had criticized their pastors. They would speak negative things
about their pastors. They were back biting and ridiculing their pastors.”
(James 3:6) (Matt 12:37)

I plead with those who have committed such acts to REPENT, REPENT!!

The angel continued, “Second, they insulted the church with their words. They had harassed
other Christians to the point where even the faithful ones were affected and they stopped
attending church and even caused some to stop believing. They did all they could to stop
faithful Christians from doing God’s work. These wicked ones caused many faithful to stumble.
Lastly, there are spouses who drank alcohol and were abusive to their family members.”

I saw demons piercing men and women in their stomachs with a
very huge sharp nail. I asked, “What did they do?” The Angel
replied, “These are men and women who had lived with one
another but were not married. These are guilty of abortions as
they also got pregnant. They had never repented.”

I saw another group of people. The demons were slicing their
lips as if one thinly slicing meat or vegetables. I asked, “Why
are these people tormented in such a way?” The angel said, “These are sons, daughters, son in
laws, and daughter in laws who had talked back to their parents. All they had to do was say,
‘I’m sorry’ instead of making things worse. Many of them had used abusive language. They had
attacked their parents with harsh language. They were rebellious. This is why their lips are
being sliced.”

Brethren, we are all going to die one day, but we don’t know when that will be. Please be
prepared. Being prepared is to go to Heaven. When we go is not the issue. Please forgive each
other as frequently as necessary if you need too. Repent and repent and do it all day long if you
have too.

My beloved brethren, I used to ignore such testimonies. I was a conservative Presbyterian
pastor who ignored such things. But now, I must witness and testify to you what I have seen.
Please do not hesitate to live a holy life. Please avoid this miserable
torment and judgment. Be saved! Do not live for your flesh but submit
to the Kingdom of God. Please pray for those who do not know Jesus.
Evangelize and bear fruit. Please pray early in the morning and keep
Sundays HOLY. Please tithe to the Lord properly. Accumulate your
rewards in Heaven and not in this Earth. I pray and bless you in the
Almighty Name of JESUS!

By Pastor Park, Yong Gyu