Immortality is part of our life. But it isn’t part of this world’s reality. God first made us immortal. But Adam and Eve decided not to do what God said. God couldn’t leave Adam and Eve in the eternal state of sin. So, God cursed the very ground that we are made of. With that order from God, our flesh became mortal and it dies. We are made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit. Our body is made of the cursed earth. Our soul is the life of God that joins together our body and spirit. And our spirit is who we are: mind, will and intellect. That part of us is immortal and will live forever. Everything that we are, have said and done are recorded in our minds. It is the sum total of our life. Whether we are good or bad, it is because of what we believe. There is no getting out of what you believe. God wanted every father to teach his children about God and His ways. So that our beliefs would be strong enough to weather any storm that comes our way. This hasn’t always been the case for each of us. I was 28 years old when I turned to God and believed. I have seen storms that have shipwrecked many strong Christians. And if it happens to Christians, how will non-believers survive. We will live forever, that is a truth. But how you live your life on this earth will determine where you will live in the next world. It is never too late to learn of God or to believe. We first must believe that God is and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Then we will live with Him in the world to come.

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Healing has always been part of God’s provision for man, because the sin of man brought death and destruction to this world. Man never had the power to change the calamity he brought to this world. Do you know the first time God used the gifts of healing? When the children of Israel were wondering in the desert, they were plagued with snakes. We talking asps. God gave them a symbol to look at each time they were bitten. They would be healed by God. But of course man had to make the symbol into a god. Guess what symbol it was? It is the medical symbol of doctors. God had to make the way for man. This was also done by the Roman interrogation, the whip used on Jesus. The bible says that Jesus looked like a piece of raw hamburger meat after the Romans finished. The exact words are that He was marred more than any man. The bible also says that by Jesus’ stripes, we are healed. God has been making a way for man since the beginning of time. Healing is what God wants for us. Gifts of Healing are given to man to help man. There has been many famous people that God gave the Gifts of Healing to. Some of the most recent people, in the last 150 years, are Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, Katherine Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin and Benny Hinn. Katherine Kuhlman would just call it out in a meeting. Then the person or persons who it referred to was healed. Oral Roberts would call it out on TV. Then the person was healed. God would tell the minister that He was healing a person with cancer and that person was healed. The gifts of healing are a very special gift from God. It is most definitely a power gift. Again, there are conditions to receiving this gift. Each person must first accept Jesus into their heart. Then each person must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When these 2 conditions are met, then God will give the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again the power of God isn’t for personal use or abuse. God will not give His power to a sinner.

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A miracle is when God sovereignly intervenes in the affairs of man. Then there are people that God choses to bring miracles to pass. Not by their own power but by the power of God. I was at my church one day when I met this missionary couple for Africa. They were T.L. and Daisy Osborn. An older couple who were touring the US. I got to talk with him for a while. What was interesting about Brother Osborn is that God would send him into a certain town in Africa. When he got there, he would go into the local funeral home and pull a dead man out of the coffin. As he began praying for the dead man, he can back to life. Then he would hold a revival meeting in that town. Every one showed up and many people received the gospel of Christ. That is the working of miracles. There was another man I had the good fortune of talking to. His name was Hubert Lindsey. Most people knew him as Holy Hubert. He and his wife preach the gospel on the University of California, at Berkley campus. He preached during the late 1960’s. That was when groups like the Black Panthers, SDS and the Weather Underground were on campus. Most every day Hubert and his wife were beaten up. They were taken to the hospital and God healed them each day. He never missed a day on campus. It is recorded that over 200 times, Hubert pointed his finger at a person who came to kill him and said this day you will die. And they dropped dead on the spot. This is the working of miracles. I have seen God put bones back into people who didn’t have them. I have seen mountains moved because of God. The Working of Miracles is a power gift of God. But there are conditions. Each person must first accept Jesus into their heart. Then each person must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When these 2 conditions are met, then God will give the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again the power of God isn’t for personal use or abuse. God will not give His power to a sinner.

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Most people don’t know that faith is a power gift. Every person in the kingdom has been given the measure of faith. God gives to everyone faith to be used in the kingdom of God. God gives you hope to be able to believe Him. Then faith comes as you believe God is real and true to His word. You must have faith to sustain your existence in the kingdom of heaven. As you develop your faith it becomes stronger. But the gift of faith is a weapon to use against our enemy.

2 Cor.10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;”

Eph. 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for warfare. It is a battle in the kingdom of God. The gift of faith is like wielding a broad sword. It takes practice to use it correctly. Have you ever said something to a person and cut them to the quick. The word of God is a 2 edged sword. It can cut anything in this world to pieces. That is why the gift of faith is a power gift. It can move anything out of the way. We are talking about diseases, finances, mountains, and any obstacle in the way of the kingdom of God. I have seen God do miracles when I would pray and believe. But there are conditions. Each person must first accept Jesus into their heart. Then each person must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When these 2 conditions are met, then God will give the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again the power of God isn’t for personal use or abuse. God will not give His power to a sinner.

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We are made up of 3 different parts. We are body, soul and spirit. Our body is physical. Our body is made of the dust of the earth. Our soul is the life of God that connects us to our physical body. Our spirit is who we are. It consist of our mind, will and intellect. We are spiritual being. God is a spirit. When we died we will join God in His realm the spirit world. Angels are ministering spirit. And by the will and power of God can move from the spirit world into the physical world. God and His angels are working for our good. But there is another group of spirits that will destroy us if they can. Lucifer and his angels tried to take over heaven and overthrow God. Jesus said that He saw the devil and his angels fall from heaven as a lightning bolt. They were condemned for their sin and cast into hell. God controls hell with a tight fist. The devil can only do what God allows. So there are 2 sides, one good and one evil. The gift of discerning of spirits is used to tell what is there. When I first began to walk with God, I was angry at what the devil had done to me. I wanted to destroy him wherever I found him. I went on seek and destroy missions. I would root out the enemy. The gift of discerning spirits was working in life and I was going to use it. God let me go for about a month. Then He stopped me one day and asked what I was doing. I told Him that I rooting out the devil. And I was successful at it. Then God said what you are doing is still following the devil. He said, stop it and follow Me. When you run across the enemy you will cast him out. But follow Me. I did and have never regretted it. I have seen God’s angels, Jesus and God Himself. It doesn’t matter about the devil’s side, because you cast them out and back into hell. The gift is used to pray for people who need deliverance, healing and general ministry. But there are conditions. Each person must first accept Jesus into their heart. Then each person must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When these 2 conditions are met, then God will give the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again the power of God isn’t for personal use or abuse. God will not give His power to a sinner.

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Every prophet in the Old Testament had the word of knowledge working in their lives. They knew things that were going to happen before it ever did. So they would have time to go and tell the people what was going to happen. The sad part of it was that the children of Israel didn’t always believe the prophets. Sometimes they even killed their prophets. Hopefully this doesn’t happen when you give people a word of knowledge. One time I was just talking to this fellow and his life flashed before me. I saw his childhood, his dog, his high school, his girlfriend, his children and everything that happen to him in about 3 seconds. I stumbled back and asked God not to do that again. It was too much information. I saw a friend living in Scotland and saw the city where he lived. I had never been there or seen any pictures of the city. God tells His people beforehand what is going to happen. I have known where hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico were going. When I have given a word of knowledge, again people look at me funny and ask how you knew. The only answer is God, of course. Ever looked at someone and told them that if they go this way they would have an accident. That is a word of knowledge. With practice it can flow all the time. But there are conditions. Each person must first accept Jesus into their heart. Then each person must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When these 2 conditions are met, then God will give the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again the power of God isn’t for personal use or abuse. God will not give His power to a sinner.

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What is Wisdom? Wisdom is knowledge and experience combined to produce understanding. Knowing something and understanding are 2 different things. I knew about Jesus all my life. But it wasn’t until I experienced the life changing part of salvation, I really didn’t know Him. We think that we gain wisdom as we grow older. I had hope for it, but it wasn’t exactly the way it worked. Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule Israel. God gave him more than any man will ever receive. Then on top of all that God made him the richest man that ever lived. All through the ages man has tried to conquer the world. Solomon ruled the world through God. Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs in one day. In it he said, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. God says that He will give wisdom to anyone that asks Him. All it takes is that you recognize that you don’t know and need God’s help. I have needed wisdom many times and have received it. Then refused to accept it and the results. It cost me when I didn’t listen to God. There are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Word of Wisdom is the answer to a question that people are praying for. God will give you the answer and you in turn give it to the person who needs it. It is strange sometimes how it works. I have given a word of wisdom to people who never told me a thing. They would look at me funny and ask how I knew. God of course. God will give the answer to His people to help them live the life. God usually gives 3 of the gifts to His children. If their position with God requires more gifts, then God will give them. Every gift is important to God and must be handled with respect and reverence.

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When God started with man, He gave Adam power to be able to run the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned and were thrown out of paradise, God took all the power back. Man had to overcome everything to achieve anything. Man had no power from God. As God made covenants with man, He started giving some power back to man. The power was to work in the kingdom of God. Now each prophet of God was given special power to serve in their office. But this power wasn’t shared with the general population. What the prophets had just covered their work. The sons and daughters of God today have more power from God than all of the prophets. God wasn’t going to give His power for people to live in sin. When Jesus came He began to explain to His disciples how it all worked. The first thing that each person had to do was to accept Jesus into their heart. We call this being saved. Then Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit. He was going to give them the power to live the life. In the Upper Room, they all waited and the Holy Spirit came down. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. This we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They all began to speak in other tongues. People from many different countries heard their own language as the disciples spoke in tongues. God gave something special to man. He was giving back the power that Adam had. But there are conditions. Each person must first accept Jesus into their heart. Then each person must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When these 2 conditions are met, then God will give the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again the power of God isn’t for personal use or abuse. God will not give His power to a sinner. But if you are willing you can receive from God His gifts.

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Everybody has heard about the Temperance League. Carrie Nation sick of seeing people waste their lives with alcohol formed a league of women. They were going to do something about this problem. She finally got the US Congress to pass the 18^th Amendment to the US Constitution. This amendment prohibited the sale of alcohol. She had the right idea but went about it the wrong way. If you want people to stop a certain behavior, you have to change a person’s heart. Then the behavior will stop. The only way I know to change a person’s heart is if God does it. No one has the power to change anything. Some good things came out of prohibition. People started saving their money. But temperance is an attitude of your heart. Moderation is what most people strive for. Look at our New Year’s resolutions. And you know how long that last. Most people don’t want excess in their lives. It leads to too much trouble. Unfortunately, people don’t want what God has because they think it will place them in a cage. Actually it will do the opposite and set you free. Free to be as moderate and temperate as you really want to be. So temperance isn’t a bad thing. It actually is a good way to live your life. We have a saying, all things in moderation. Remember that it is the overindulgence that leads to sin. Let God show you how to live a temperate life.

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Being meek isn’t what most people think it is. Meek isn’t weakness. Before I knew the Lord, I wasn’t meek in any shape or form. I had a tongue like a razor. It was sharp and cut people all the time. I had learned how to use my tongue as a weapon. I am surprised that no one tried to shoot me. Many people got very angry with me. Even my family didn’t want to be around me. It was all the anger and bitterness in my heart that kept flowing out. God says that if you can’t control your tongue, you have no control over yourself. It wasn’t until I met the Lord, that my life began to change. One to the things that God wanted to teach me was meekness. So I wouldn’t get angry with people over a difference of opinion. Even if there opinion was rude or unkind.  I learned to be gentle and meek with people so God could heal them. I learned to stand and take abuse that was unfair. Sometimes being ridiculed for being a Christian. God says that hard words don’t accomplish anything. All they do is stir up strife. Sometimes I can feel angry trying to bubble up in me. And I can hear some old comments I have made to people. But Jesus paid the price for me. So I don’t have to be that way anymore. I can be kind and meek with people so they can see God.

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