Miracles and Healing by Power of Holy Spirit - No. 2
MIRACLES AND HEALING BY POWER OF HOLY SPIRIT NO. 2
Ladies and gentlemen, are miracles and healings by di-vine power, through the instrument of men, possible today? Surely there can be no doubt about the fact that great miracles were performed by men, who were endued with special miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit, in Bible times. Do men have this same power of the Holy Spirit today? I submit to you that if men have the same miraculous power of the Holy Spirit that the apostles and the early Christians had in New Testament times, then the same miracles may be performed today. If men today do not have the same miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, as those of Bible times, then miracles cannot be performed today. If the same miracles, through the instrument of men, are not being performed today then men do not possess the same miraculous power of the Holy Spirit as men of New Testament times!
Beloved, our Lord authorized his disciples to perform miracles during the period of infancy of New Testament Christianity, but, as I have pointed out in a former address , there was a two-fold purpose for such miraculous works; namely: to confirm the word of God and make men believe that Jesus was the Son of God (Hebrews 2:2-4; John 20:30-31).
I submit to you that today the scriptural need for miracles no longer exists, therefore, miracles are not performed by men today.
Christ Commanded Raise The Dead
Let us consider the command of our Lord when He au-105thorized his disciples to perform the great and mighty works of God. Hear him in Matthew, chapter ten and verse eight. "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."
Ladies and gentlemen, if a person could perform one miracle he could perform any miracle, and there would be no special conditions, and there would be no failures! May I suggest this proposal. I will go with any person, who claims the power to perform miracles, to any grave yard and when he raises a person from the dead I will also raise one from the dead! Now is that unreasonable? You know why I made that suggestion? Because, ladies and gentle-men, we all know that no man on God's earth today has the miraculous power to raise the dead! But if any person had the power of the Holy Spirit to perform any miracle , such as healing one of an uncurable disease, he could also raise the dead. In the same verse where Christ said "heal the sick," He also said "raise the dead." Read Matthew 10:8 very carefully.
0, my friends, do not be deceived! You may hear much talk about miracles and healings, but there are none today, and have been none since the apostolic age of miracles and healings revealed in the New Testament. Yes, you may hear about someone who was supposed to have been cured of some kind of ailment; or, some person may claim to have had some kind of revelation from the Spirit, but you can remember this; you won't see any glass eyes on display because the totally blind received sight; you won't see any mechanical or wooden legs which have been replaced by the miraculous work of a healer; neither will you be able to find a coffin now empty because someone has been raised from the dead! If there were even one person who could heal the sick, or perform a miracle, he could do any of these miraculous works and he wouldn't fail. Never, never, does the divinity of God fail!
The Corpse Escaped
Incidentally, a group of fake healers were exposed in Washington several years ago. They executed a trick to raise the dead, but their trick backfired on them. An AP news report from Washington, date of August 4, 1951, stated: "The Corpse Escaped. It all happened in suburban Fairmount Heights, Md. A coffin was lowered into a grave after a tent meeting revivalist told how the 'doomed' man would be raised from the dead. As the earth was shoveled onto the coffin, somebody saw the 'corpse' crawl out of a tunnel just outside the tent. The 'corpse' escaped during the ensuing riot." Can you imagine such mockery and hypocrisy of men! One of the modern "healers" was caught in his trickery. He was bold enough to claim that he could raise one from the dead. Let me tell you, if this man, or any other person, could even heal a sore thumb, he could, by the same power, raise one from the dead! This man was bold enough to try to pull a "fake" resurrection of the dead. But his tricks failed him. He got caught up with when someone happened to see the man, whom he was going to raise from the dead , crawling out of a tunnel they had dug for the purpose of deceiving the public. You may be sure, ladies and gentlemen, this miracle was just as genuine as others you hear about today.
"Healer" Sends Injured To Hospital A few years ago a modern healer was conducting his "Healing Waters Revival" in Amarillo, Texas. The large tent seated hundreds of people who came to marvel at his miracles. Then a west Texas wind storm came along and dried up his "Healing Waters" campaign quickly. The tent was blown down and many people were hurt and treated at hospitals. An AP news release in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas, gave the following report of the incident.
Headline: "50 Hurt When Storm Fells Revival Tent."
Text: "A revival tent collapsed in a hail and rain storm here Sunday night, injuring at least 50 persons. At a late hour there were no reports of any dead or seriously injured among the nearly 7, 000 people in the audience of the Oral Roberts faith-healing service. "Witnesses said a gust of wind got under the tent during a heavy rain and hail storm, lifted the $22, 000.00 tent and aluminum poles and then dropped them on the crowd. More than half of the congregation was buried in the shattered canvas.
"Most of those treated at local hospitals suffered cuts, bruises, and a few of the injured had broken bones. All available ambulances, doctors, and nurses were rushed to the scene."
The man who claimed the power from God to "heal" thousands, was not able to work even little miracles. The wind didn't obey his voice! He didn't heal the broken arms and cracked ribs! He couldn't even heal a little broken finger. He couldn't perform even just a "little miracle."
Why were the injured rushed to the hospitals? Why were the injured "treated" in local hospitals? Why were "all available ambulances, doctors, and nurses" rushed to the "Healing Waters" folded tent? This "miracle healer" was performing before his audience of some 7, 000 people , claiming that great "miracles" and "healings" were being witnessed. This would have been a most opportune time to really prove the ability to perform miracles. The "healer" could have made many "believers" by just performing even a "little" miracle. But, my friends, this was the real thing; no fake about the broken limbs and crushed ribs. That medium sized Texas "norther" put him out of the "healing" business right on the spot. He pulled out of Amarillo, Texas, and left the doctors and nurses to "heal the injured" in the hospitals.
"Healer" Dies of Polio
Ladies and gentlemen, the falacy of the claims of miracles, by the Holy Spirit was revealed a few years ago by the death of a man who claimed to have the power of miracles. The irony of it was the fact that this man claimed to have healed a little boy of polio and then, a few months later, died of polio himself. It was in 1956 when Mr. Jack Coe of Dallas, Texas, was conducting a "Miracle Healing Campaign" in Miami, Florida. A child with polio came to be healed. The "Miracle Performer" claimed the boy was healed after his shouts of, "Jesus heal this body." He then ordered, "remove his braces!" When the braces were removed the boy fell to the floor. The "healer" then ordered the parents of the boy to leave his braces off and make him walk. Later, a doctor ordered the braces replaced or the child would suffer permanent injury. As a result of it all, the parents of the child sued the "divine healer" for $225, 000.00 damages allegedly suffered by the boy after the braces were removed. The preacher landed in jail. But the most revealing thing of all, the "miracle" performer died of polio himself before he was brought to trial. Some of his associates, who also claimed to have the power of the Holy Spirit, tried to raise him from the dead. That was in 1956, but he is still dead!
Rabbits, Dogs, And Cats "Healed"
Some claims of healing are beyond human imagination. According to a Reuters news release, date line, London, England: one "fake healer" turned his church "healing" service into a Barnyard-Dog-and-Cat-Healing-Clinic.
"ANIMALS BLESSED IN LONDON CHURCH."
London, Sept. 6 (Reuters) --A greyhaired man rose from among the kneeling congregation of a church in the Chelsea area here and cried: 'It's an outrage, a travesty on religion. It's more like a movie than a church.' A self-styled divine healer, Harold P. Nicholson, 45, was conducting a service for animals in the church he built himself. Rabbits, cats, dogs and other pets, in the arms of their owners, waited to be led up the aisle to be blessed.
The verger escorted the protester to the door. Then tortoises, mongrels and shaved French poodles were led to the altar to receive a blessing. One puppy barked, but the rest were well behaved."
Can you imagine anything more sacrilegious than such. pretensions of "healings"? Yet, my friends, this preacher in London could just as easily "heal" the rabbits, cats, and dogs as any other "healer" could heal a person of an in-curable disease!
Signs To Follow
Furthermore, when the question of miracles is discussed someone may remind you that Christ told the apostles "These signs shall follow them that believe" (Mark 16:17-18). So often this passage of Scripture is misunderstood and those who pervert it to their own use do not often pretend to do these signs spoken of by the Lord.
Let us read the passage. "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 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 re-cover."
Ladies and gentlemen, don't you think it is peculiar that you hear much talk about "laying hands on the sick, and they shall recover," but you don't hear anything about:
"THEY SHALL TAKE UP SERPENTS, AND IF THEY DRINK ANY DEADLY THING IT SHALL NOT HURT THEM." Don't you know that those are the signs the Lord said shall follow them that believe? Don't you know that the Lord said, in the same chapter and verse, "They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them" and "they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover"!
My friends, are you listening? Why is it that we hear much talk about "healing the sick," and all are afraid of the snakes and deadly poison? How many of you ever drank deadly poison and it didn't hurt you? Would you kindly give me the name and address of your doctor? Or perhaps, I should ask for the name of the funeral director! How many of you have taken up serpents and they didn't hurt you?
Ladies and gentlemen, hear me! Are you listening? These modern "healers" must know that they do not possess any miraculous power. I will assure you of one thing; you will never get one of them to drink any deadly poison, if he knows anything about it. And you may be sure that if one does drink deadly poison, knowing or not knowing anything about it, he will die . . . dead as dead can be . . .and no miracle performer will be able to raise him from the dead either!
I tell you, my friends, if men and women can heal the sick, or lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, they can also drink deadly poison and take up serpents and not even be hurt.
Yes, beloved, the Lord did say, "These signs shall follow them that believe." But Jesus said, "these signs," are not similar signs performed over and over again. Those signs, first performed by the apostles, and others that believed, on whom the apostles laid their hands, remain and have followed on down through the past nineteen hundred years. They shall continue to follow until the end of time. Those signs of New Testament times were genuine. They were not counterfeits!
Healing Cloth Racket
Many honest souls have been led to believe that healing may be experienced through "healing cloths." One person affirmed that "Paul carried the ministry of healing beyond personal contact of using the blessed cloth." My friends, this is a mistake! In Acts 19:12 the divine record reveals, "So that from his body were brought unto the sick hand-kerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them , and the evil spirits went out of them."
One thing you may be sure of, Paul didn't go down to a dime store and buy several hundred yards of cloth, or satin ribbon, then pay a printer several dollars to print several hundred copies of instructions on how to use the healing cloth, then send them out to the people who wanted to be healed. The apostle didn't get financial remuneration from those who desired to be healed to help him pay the expense of getting the healing cloth to work!
My friends, don't you know that if "miracle" performers today can send out a "healing cloth" that will heal the sick, they are obligated to send out a "raise the dead cloth ," which would have the power to raise the dead! The same verse in which Our Lord said, "heal the sick," he also commanded, "raise the dead." Again, I suggest a careful reading of Matthew, chapter 10 and verse 8.
I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there is no record, after the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that they ever tried to heal anybody or raise anybody from the dead and failed. Furthermore, their healing was instant and with complete recovery. They had no failures! They actually performed miracles because they did so by the power of the Holy Spirit which was given to them for a God given purpose.
QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION 1. Did Christ command "raise the dead" as well as "heal the sick?
2. If men could heal the sick today could they not also, by the same power, raise the dead?
3. What signs were to follow them that believe in New Testament times?
4. If some of these signs (miracles) were performed today should not all of them be performed?
5. What effect could a "healing cloth" have today?