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LdOxfordBlog-Joshua-apnet
GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL HE DO
MIRACLES AND HEALINGS
Part 2
~L.D. Oxford
In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John went up together into the Temple to pray, and they met a lame man on the way who was lame from his mothers womb.
This particular lame man was carried daily to be laid at the gate of the temple called beautiful. The lame man would ask alms of those that entered the temple, so when the lame man saw Peter and John about to pass through the gate, he asked for alms of them.
At this point, Peter fastened his eyes upon him with John saying, “look on us.” At that time the lame man was thinking that they were going to give him some money. Then Peter spoke saying, “silver and gold have i none, but such as i have give i thee; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
(They did not even say a prayer, but spoke the command by the Spirit of God.)
Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand, lifting him up to his feet. Immediately his feet and ankle bones miraculously received strength as the man leaped up standing and walked. This once lame man went into the temple with Peter and John, walking, leaping and praising God.
There is such dynamic power through Jesus Christ, that it caused a whole temple full of people to marvel at one miracle. Wherever we have the opportunity, we as Christian believers should use this authority that God has already given to us, through His power and in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ.
GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD
Jesus Christ (Hebrew: Yeshua Ha Mashiach) has been given a name that is above every other name in heaven or on earth. In John 14:12 -14, Jesus said, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father.He also said, that whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name I will do it.
So we see here in the scriptures that it is Christ’s full intention for we as believers, to do His works and even greater works than He did. In our day, some might argue that Christ was speaking only to the twelve disciples in the Bible. But the Bible doesn’t say that. It clearly says, “he that believeth on Me”….and greater works than these shall he do.
Now, if you have believed on Christ and are obedient to Him, then you are also one of His disciples. A disciple is a believer and follower of Christ; one who not only believes, but also follows.
So we today are true disciples of the Lord if we believe and follow Him. And now with Christ in our lives, working through us by the power of the Holy Spirit; we may do even greater works than He did when He walked upon this earth.
In John 4:4, the Word tells us, “Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them. because greater is He that is within you, than he that is in the world.
Satan, the God of this world, is he that is in the world. So we do not need to be intimidated by the enemy, as his power is nothing to be compared with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ that works through us.
OBEDIENCE TO THE SPIRIT OF GOD WHICH RESULTS IN MIRACULOUS HEALING
I’ll give to you one example that i believe the Lord wants me to share with you here today. I’ll never forget the time when the Lord spoke to me and sent me to the home of a Christian sister who had been sick in bed for a very long time.
She was old enough to be my mother and i knew her through local fellowship. She had been so sick, that she had resigned herself to staying in bed and continued to get worse month after month. She had many people visit who spoke nice sweet prayers over her, but still she continued to get even worse off.
As i sat at the very foot of her bed, she began to cry and to pour out her heart to me about all of the complications, the hopelessness, the various types of sickness in her body etc.
This woman had so many things wrong with her, that i could not even remember all of the things that she told me were wrong with her.So i just paused for a moment, just waiting upon the Lord on what to do.
I was waiting for Him to give to me some specific direction on how to pray or to speak His Word over her. Then God spoke directly to me out of the still quietness of the room saying, “You need to order her out of that bed in the name of Jesus Christ.”
A moment later, I reached out to this woman, operating in faith of what God had spoken to me.I took her hand in mine pulling her up and commanding her to come out of that bed and to be healed of all sickness and disease in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Immediately, she recovered, gained strength in her body and began to praise and worship the Lord with tears of joy in her eyes.After this happened, I told her by the direction of the Spirit of God, to go get cleaned up, then get dressed and go out to tell others of the great things that the Lord has done for you.
After this she went out and told everyone that she knew and met, sharing her testimony everywhere she went. A number of people came to know the Lord through her testimony also. What God did for this woman that day, He will do for others who will just believe Him with that simple child-like faith.
He wont do it the same way each time, but when you minister to the sick, it is so important to listen to God’s direction in what to say or do. It is such a wonderful thing to know and to be convinced that God’s Word cannot and will not fail when spoken under the anointing of the Spirit.
People can fail you, ministers can fail you, doctors can fail you, medicine can fail you, but God………He will never fail you!!!
POWER AGAINST UNCLEAN SPIRITS AND TO HEAL ALL MANNER OF SICKNESS AND DISEASE
In Matthew chapter 10 vs.1, When Jesus had called unto Him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. We as Spirit-filled believers and followers of Jesus Christ today are given that same power by His Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 10:7, Jesus told the disciples, and as ye go, preach the Kingdom of God is at hand. vs. 8, Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have recieved, freely give.(The giving out of the power of his Spirit.)
This was a command to the disciples to preach, to heal, to cleanse lepers, raise the dead, to cast out devils and was not something that was optional for them, but a command.
In vs. 9-10, the Word says, to not worry about finances, or clothing, shoes or staves. For the workman is worthy of his meat . (Anotherwords, the minister or one laboring in ministry should be taken care of by those who he ministers to without having to ask.
In Eastern and Middle-Eastern culture, this is commonly known, to take care of the people who minister to them because they know that it is the right thing to do. In the Eastern countries those who labor in ministry are treated honorably and their teachers are also treated the same way. (With honor and respect.)
GOING FORTH INTO DIFFERENT REGIONS AND CITIES: AND ON THE TREATMENT OF GOD’S SERVANTS
vs. 11, 12 , And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go hence. So, when you go to another city to minister, find out who in it is worthy (a person of merit). Then stay with them until you plan to leave.
In vs.13, the Word says, and if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return unto you. vs. 14, And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city shake off the dust of your feet.
So anotherwords, if the house or place that you abide receive your ministry then be at peace with them, but if it doesn’t receive you , don’t stick around for more rejection. (Shake off those dusty feet and get movin! 
Just go about your way and avoid returning to them in the future. If you withold your judgemental attitudes from them and allow God be the “just judge” of the situation, then all will be well with you.
In vs. 15, the Word tells us, It shall be more tolerable to the land of Sodom and Gommorah in the day of judgement, than for that city. So the scriptures here shows and indicates that God does not take it lightly when His servants are mistreated, not shown hospitality or taken care of in ministry.
There is judgement that will come to that city, place or people where His servants have been mistreated. ( Not our personal judgement, but God’s just and righteous judgement.)
SENT FORTH AS SHEEP IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES: BE WISE AS SERVANTS AND HARMLESS AS DOVES
In vss. 16-20, Jesus said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. So we as believers must be prepared in our hearts for the persecution of the wolves as we do the works of Christ.
Many times these wolves, look like christians, act somewhat like christians but are not because they do not have the fruit of the Spirit which is primarily the “Love of God”. Out of the love of God, flow all of the other characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit.The fruit of the Spirit is the very character and nature of God .
This can be defined primarly through the Love of God that comes through.”There is a difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of our ministry labors.”Success in ministry to the Lord, is not measured in size and numbers, but rather in obedience to the will of God.
Both of these come through maturing in Christ, as no one has arrived entirely, but the fruit should be very evident with a mature Christian.
HOW TO HANDLE PERSECUTION
Persecutions (for righteous sake) are commonplace for those who are sold out completely to the will of God. In the midst of any persecutions for righteous sake, the Lord would have us to use His wisdom in everything that we say and do, knowing when to speak and when to be silent.
Knowing what to say at a given time and how to say it is very important to God. The Lord would have us to be wise, but also harmless as doves. I realize that probably all of us have failed at different times in this area (including myself), but this should be part of our discipline and practice to guard our words and actions and to be careful about what comes out of our mouths.
If we are slow to speak by guarding our tongues, then the opportunity will be there to flow in God’s wisdom. But if we blurt out things without thinking, then the opportunity to flow in God’s wisdom will have already been lost. Then, it is repentance time again!!!
The Lord does not want us a Christian believers or ministers to let our personal times of frustration to turn into a abusive spirit towards others, but he wants us to remain like sheep to the slaughter.
Let people say what they want to say about us, and do what they want to do, especially those out in the world who are not accountable to you or apart of a ministry.
But if they are a part of the Body of Christ, then they need to be brought to accountability for their actions and deeds, particularly if they are under your sphere of authority and influence in ministry.
IF SOMEONE STRIKES AT YOU : WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT IT?
If someone strikes you with their fist, we should not reciprocate according to the Word, but to turn the other cheek. Because the Lord our God will be our defense without taking the matter into our own hands. It is not “pay back” time for us to avenge and to vindicate ourselves. (See Luke 6:27-33)
If we do it ourselves, we will dishonor God and bring reproach upon Him with an “heart attitude” to pay others back. If you want God to defend you, you must not defend yourself during times of persecution. The early Apostles suffered much, yet were also taken care of by the Lord because they whole-heartedly trusted Him.
If they had taken it into their own hands to bring their own deliverance, they would have died in the process due to the fact that persecutions are mean to purify us and to keep us humble before God.
The Word also tells us that we could also be delivered up to the council, just as Stephen was. The time would also come where we would be beat and scourged, even by our own so-called brothers in the house of God.
This would of course, be those who are under a religious spirit. (See Mark 13:9-13 also Matthew 24:9-14)Some will even think that they are doing a service unto the Lord by killing obedient Christians.
But during those times we would be delivered up, the Lord would not have us to ponder or to think of what we should say in that hour, for the Holy Spirit himself would give to you the correct words to speak in that hour.
It would not be you that would speak in your own defense, but the Spirit of God speaking through you. The time will also come when our own family members or brothers in Christ (actually professing Christians) will deliver you up, even unto death.
The children would be against the parents and parents against the children to put each other to death. And you would also be hated by many men; but if you endure to the end, then you would be saved.
When those times of persecution come, keep on going for God from one city to the next until Jesus finally returns for His children. The disciple is never greater than his Master, nor the servant greater than his Lord. If they have profaned the name of Jesus and have contributed His works to
the devil, how much more shall they do these things unto you.
But the Lord would not have you to fear those, for God Himself will expose those who work unrighteousness against you and nothing shall remain hidden. All shall be out in the open for all to see and know. Do you have fear towards men, or do you fear God? Man can kill only the body, but God is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.
GOD IS ALWAYS READY AND WILLING, WHEN WE ARE
God is always ready and willing when we are. If we are willing to pay the price to be involved in the work of God, then He is willing to train each one according to the giftings and callings, and then to commission each one into service.
He has already provided the equipping, the power and the means to do this. If this is what you really want, then it is also very important that you do not grieve the Spirit, nor resist the power and dealings of the Spirit of God. For He is the very one who desires to work the works of Christ through you.
INSIGHTS ON REPENTANCE
Repentance involves more than just saying, “God im sorry, forgive me.” Words are often cheaply spoken by believers. But repentance involves a turn-around.
The grace has already been provided through Christ, to repent and to make a turn, unless a person is so influenced by the enemy that they cannot bring themselves to make the full turn.
If this is the case, then there may be a need for repentance along with some deliverance ministry help and you will have to go after it to find the help, because it probably wont show up at your door-step.
But i have found that best way is the “good old fashioned crying out to God in desperation repentance.” This has always gotten me freed up quicker than anything else in the past.
True repentance, is to move in the opposite direction than what you were walking in before and when there are offenses with other people involved, repentance also means that you will need to make things right with people, making peace with them.
When it involves possessions or business transactions gone bad, then restitution is necessary. Don’t allow offenses and unforgiveness to stew for months and years. That is the way to become a totally miserable person and God cannot forgive and release His blessing upon you until you forgive and release love and blessing towards your offenders
… or perhaps you were the offender. Either way, repentance is necessary, which is not only words, but followed up with actions to make things right.
MORE TO COME!!!
*****
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