Miracle Invasion E-Book

Dean Merrill

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 268

Beschreibung

God's power is alive today! Let's face it: church can be too boring—too predictable. People have never been so hungry for an authentic manifestation of God's power. Missionary stories of profound miracles in other nations abound, but what about in my nation, my city, or my home? Testimonies of past miracles are prolific, but where are they in my generation? Miracle Invasion includes modern examples of spiritual gifts in action and true stories that will rekindle expectation that the Holy Spirit is still alive and well, working in our time, on our continent, whenever we welcome his presence. In Miracle Invasion, you'll see: - God is at work for your good—today! - All things are possible with God. - God is no respecter of persons. You matter to God. - You are on the brink of a miracle, so don't give up.The Holy Spirit has not forgotten about the twenty-first century church. People in North America are experiencing God's power in authentic demonstrations of the Spirit. We serve an extraordinary God who loves to act supernaturally on behalf of ordinary people.

Leseprobe

I view with great delight the release of Miracle Invasion. Cycles of awakening are always needed, whether in a local congregation, a faithful leader, or a believing saint. I pray God will ignite us all through this book about the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.

—JACK HAYFORD, chancellor emeritus, The King’s University; past president, The Foursquare Church; founding pastor of The Church on the Way (Van Nuys, CA)

Perhaps you’ve wondered if miracles still happen today or doubted their existence altogether. Maybe you’ve relegated miracles to something that occurs only in faraway lands and in different cultures. If so, then Miracle Invasion is a must-read. God is desperate to show you just how big, how wide, and how deep his love for you is. This book will give you eyes to see his kind, thoughtful, wonderful, and yes, miraculous plan for your life.

—SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, president, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Miracle Invasion has been written right on time. The Holy Spirit’s power to infuse our present, broken world with the exact prescription for restoring life and hope is clearly evidenced in this profound report. I was particularly struck by a statement in the “Introduction,” where Jeff Farmer says, “we were smitten with wonder.” I believe that in this time of global cynicism, fear, and doubt, we must again be shaken to our core by the Lord’s almighty power until we are smitten with wonder!

—GLENN C. BURRIS, Jr., president, The Foursquare Church

Since the day of Pentecost, Holy Spirit-inspired miracles have characterized those who walk in the full gospel message. In a rationalistic age that shows the limits of human imagination and ingenuity, this collection of documented miracles will inspire all of us to a greater walk of faith and expectation.

—DOUGLAS BEACHAM, general superintendent, International Pentecostal Holiness Church

This book shows God’s miracle hand constantly reaching out to those who call on him. Believers must know we are protected by his Spirit, watching over us and waiting to help us every step of the way. We can trust God; his supernatural provision will see us through.

—CHARLES E. BLAKE, Sr., presiding bishop, Church of God in Christ; senior pastor, West Angeles COGIC (Los Angeles)

In a world enthralled with superheroes and spiritual phenomena, Miracle Invasion offers a clear, authenticated picture of the true source of supernatural power for those hungering for something more. Since we are narrative beings who love a story, this book offers solid teaching in a captivating way that will impact all generations and cultures.

—KAY HORNER, executive director, Awakening America Alliance

Critical to our twenty-first-century gospel witness is the Acts 2:12 inquiry, “What does this mean?” Only as we can give Peter’s reply that “this is that” spoken of by our Lord in his Word do we have a platform for gospel transformation. This timely account of his work among twenty-first-century followers encourages us as laborers to enter his harvest with confident faith that he is the author of miracles!

—DAVID FERGUSON, executive director, Great Commandment Network

It is wonderful to read scriptural accounts in the early church of unfettered faith, miracles, and manifestations of power. But my cry today is that of Gideon’s: “Where are all the miracles that our fathers told us about?” (Judges 6:13). Miracle Invasion contains stories about people whose experiences testify to contemporary miracles like our fathers told us about. May your faith be freshly stimulated.

—RANDALL A. BACH, president, Open Bible Church

I find myself praying for leaders and followers of Jesus to have a “gift of faith” as they face tasks and callings that are overwhelming. I believe with them that God will do that which is above and beyond what we are asking or thinking. The book Miracle Invasion will affirm and inspire those of us who are expecting the above and beyond that God is desiring to do in our lives and ministries. My encouragement is: Read it, live it!

—DAVID WELLS, general superintendent, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

Filled with true stories of Holy Spirit power and miracles in our generation, this book will stir your heart and increase your faith.

—ROBERT B. FORT, chairman, United Evangelical Churches

After a long journey with Alzheimer’s, my dad lay in a catatonic state, having not made a sound for four months. Mom was emotionally, physically, and spiritually depleted. However, Dad miraculously revived and preached one final sermon. He declared to Mom, “You know what, honey? God still answers prayer.” If, like my mother, you need your hope restored, read Miracle Invasion, and you will be convinced that miracles still happen today!

—ALTON GARRISON, assistant general superintendent, Assemblies of God USA

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are still in operation today! Miracle Invasion will increase your faith and give you an expectancy of what the Holy Spirit can do in your church, community, family, and ministry.

—SHANNON TRUELOVE, overseer/bishop, International Pentecostal Church of Christ

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

MIRACLE INVASION:

Amazing true stories of the Holy Spirit’s gifts at work today

Copyright © 2018 Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5608-3 (softcover) ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5609-0 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked MEV are taken from the Modern English Version (MEV). Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked WEB are taken from the World English Bible, public domain. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version, public domain.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

Cover design by Chris Garborg at garborgdesign.com

Typesetting by Katherine Lloyd at theDESKonline.com

Printed in the United States of America

18 19 20 21 22 5 4 3 2 1

“… so that the works of God might be displayed …”John 9:3

CONTENTS

Setting the Stage

1   Up from a Watery Grave

2   Subway and Walmart

3   A Higher Code

4   Instantly

5   Detour?

6   Just Teenagers

7   The Lunch that Multiplied

8   The Long Tug-of-War

9   On the Edge of Disaster

10 Faith to Give

11 Doomed in the Womb

12 Northern Test

13 Hard Case

14 Casting Out Darkness

15 Makeover in the Mall

16 Modern-Day Lazarus

17 A Church in a Boxing Ring?

18 Messenger at the Rest Stop

19 Divine Arrest

20 ’Twas Blind, But Now …

21 The Message Gets Through

22 Wheelchair No More

23 Double Trouble, Double Portion

24 A Promise Kept

25 When “No” Became “Yes”

26 A Miracle for Mom

27 Showdown at the Altar

28 Just Taking a Walk

29 Time to Uproot

30 “Wake Up, Mija!”

31 The Spiritual Rookie

32 Not Too Cold to Believe

33 Heartbreak, Then Healing

34 Multilevel Freedom

35 Cancer, Begone

36 Audacious

37 Where Least Expected

38 Advance Notice

39 River of the Spirit

What Can We Conclude?

Index of Gifts

Sources

Notes

SETTING THE STAGE

Foreword by Jeff Farmer, president, Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America

Mother’s Thanksgiving table was picture-perfect. Her lavish centerpiece glowed with hues of autumn color. Great-grandmother’s antique silverware flanked our beautiful Lenox china. The turkey, encompassed by a moat of green parsley and laced with lavender plums, was golden brown. The mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and sweet potatoes were hot and ready to serve.

Everyone was there: Mom and Dad, my older sister, my younger brother … and of course, me. Nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing, that is, until Dad tried to sit down. For six months he had suffered with disabling back pain. Every morning he slipped into a steel brace hoping to mollify the chronic suffering. He couldn’t even drive a car unless his custom-made board seat was placed on the cushion beneath the steering wheel.

This unforgettable holiday was the first time I saw a grown man cry. As Dad started to sit, he got stuck in a partially seated position. The pain was so severe he couldn’t finish sitting down; yet he couldn’t stand back up. His desperate cry frightened us all. By the time we got Dad into bed, Thanksgiving was pretty much ruined.

Afterward, the rest of us ate the delicious meal and prepared for dessert when Mom shouted, “Oops! I forgot the whipped cream for the pumpkin pie!” She promptly elected me to rush to the QuikTrip just two blocks away. It would be open on this holiday. With the Cool Whip in hand, I paid the clerk, got back into my tan and white ’55 Chevy, and drove home.

Miracles Today?

A miracle healing for my dad was not on the radar, and far out of range for our family’s worldview back then in the midsixties. My life was pretty much defined by girls, grades, and sports. All of my needs were cared for by my parents, and the closest I came to the supernatural was Clark Kent leaping tall buildings and flying faster than speeding bullets.

I did go to church, but it was a liberal Protestant congregation. People became Christians, they said, by taking a pastor’s class and getting baptized. When my sister decided to join, I agreed to follow. Coming out of the baptismal tank, they gave me a certificate of church membership and told me I was a Christian. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Nineteen sixty-three was the year Mom and Dad had been invited to hear a man named Larry Hammond talk about an amazing physical healing he had experienced. I really don’t think Dad would have gone, except that the speaker had a PhD. My father valued education and couldn’t reconcile medical science with miracles. So he was curious. Mom, on the other hand, was thirsting for truth … and for God.

Dr. Hammond’s extraordinary testimony of an instantaneous, hospital deathbed healing in response to prayer rocked my parents’ world. Dad wanted more information, and that meant connecting with people—lots of people. Our home turned into Grand Central Station, thrusting the Farmer family into a strange world of unfamiliar faces, gospel music instead of sacred hymns, and prayer meetings where people raised their hands in worship and prayed out loud all at the same time.

These exuberant believers talked about miracles as casually as I did about Friday night dances and the latest Elvis hit. To me, their stories sounded strange, even impossible to believe—until that Thanksgiving Day when I walked through the door of our home on Boston Street in Wichita, Kansas, and encountered the living, miracle-working God.

First Miracle

As I entered our home, my dad—the one we had half-dragged and half-carried to bed—was doing jumping jacks and deep knee bends in the kitchen. “I’m healed! I’m healed!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. His face was glowing. Mom was crying.

“What … what happened?” I asked, picking my jaw up off the floor.

“I was listening to a tape the Coxes gave me,” he explained, referring to the family who had invited us to their church. “The preacher on the tape said, ‘If you’re listening to this message through a taped recording, reach out and touch the recorder as a point of faith. Good! Now, ask God to heal you.’ ”

Desperate and hopeful, Dad had done just that while I was down the street getting Cool Whip. “It was like a warm heating pad touched my back,” Dad exclaimed. “I felt it! God delivered and healed me. I’m free! The pain is gone.”

We sat down for dessert, overcome with awe. As newcomers to this kind of faith, we were smitten with wonder. That day marked me forever, teaching me an important truth—someone with a personal experience is never at the mercy of someone with an argument! A miracle settles every quarrel over the reality of God and the authenticity of his Word.

More than fifty years have now passed. Since then, I have witnessed more miracles and manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit than I can remember. And every time God displays his power and glory, I am humbled and awed to see beyond the veil.

The Natural and the Spiritual

“What veil?” you ask. I’m talking about the veil that separates the natural from the spiritual. Let me explain.

Jesus told the woman at the well that “God is spirit.”1 When God created people in the very beginning, he made them in his image and likeness, as spirit beings.2 When he fashioned us outwardly, however, he gave us a natural body.3 Therefore, a dynamic tension is ever-present between the spiritual and natural.

Miracles and the other gifts of the Spirit have their origin in the spirit dimension. They are beyond natural—they are supernatural. They are spiritual. They are otherworldly because their source of authority and power originates outside of this natural world.

Unless a person is born again by the Spirit of God (by grace through faith in Jesus Christ), he or she does not understand this unseen reality. That is why a skeptic, or anyone who rejects Christ, has trouble admitting that miracles take place. Their natural mind cannot apprehend the things of the Spirit.4 In fact, modern-day miracles are foolishness to them.

Opposition and rejection of things of the Spirit go beyond unbelievers, however. Many Christians also struggle with the spirit dimension, often because they have not experienced the power associated with being baptized in the Holy Spirit, as recorded at least four times in the New Testament.5

Even some church leaders are afraid of the moving of the Spirit. They are unfamiliar with his person, his works, and his gifts. They are more comfortable in the natural arena and are strangers to the realm of the supernatural. Leaders can control natural events, but the Holy Spirit cannot be controlled, organized, or duplicated. And he is full of surprises!

When the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 followers of Jesus Christ at Pentecost,6 he took everyone by surprise. Is it any wonder, then, that his miraculous actions today are still a surprise? Manifestations of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit have their origin in a real spiritual dimension and cannot be analyzed in our intellectual laboratories or voted upon in our church committees. Only the Spirit of God “knows” the things of God.7

Many church leaders don’t want surprises during their worship services. So, authentic manifestations of the Spirit have diminished in number, at least in churches of the West. Sadly, we are more comfortable trying to fit God into our dimension of the natural rather than rising in faith to trust his power and glory in the dimension of the spiritual.

Supernatural Action through Gifts of the Spirit

However, the message of Scripture is clear: The miraculous nature of God is to be seen at work through his children. God has provided for supernatural acts and events to take place through his sons and daughters by the gifts of the Spirit.

It is true, some miracles God initiates by himself without any involvement of people: he dispatches an angel to save a life,8 ignites a desert bush into a fiery ball without it being consumed,9 or strikes down the persecutor of the infant church with a flash of lightning that renders him blind.10 These are sovereign acts of God, requiring no participation by people—they are miracles.

Other miracles, however, are the result of men, women, and even children stepping out in bold reliance on the Word of God. The Holy Spirit equips and anoints them with a charisma (“grace-gift”) and sets in motion a supernatural event that is beyond any power or resource of mankind. The result is not a coincidence of circumstances and is completely unexplainable to the natural mind. That is to say, the miracle is unreasonable.

Paul, the great apostle of the first-century church, provided three gift lists in the Bible.11 These lists describe assorted gifts distributed to believers through which the Holy Spirit moves to administer the church and usher in the kingdom of God. The testimonies and miracle stories you are about to read in this book spotlight the list found in 1 Corinthians 12 and illustrate that when one of these nine gifts of the Spirit is in operation, it is nothing short of a miracle.

“There are various gifts, but the same Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:4 MEV)

“To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Sprit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:8–10 MEV)

Before we read these stories, let’s take a brief look into the gifts that will be featured throughout this book. Here, the nine gifts are divided into three categories: revelatory gifts (word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and discerning of spirits), power gifts (faith, gifts of healing, and working of miracles), and inspiration gifts (various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy). These categories provide deeper insight into the gifts and further explain the faith by which each gift operates. Understanding these differences also allows us to see just how impactful and powerful a miracle can be when two gifts, from two different categories, work in tandem. Included at the end of each gift section are examples from the early church. These examples are excellent resources you can use for further study into the gifts.

Revelatory Gifts

Revelation is the self-disclosure of God—divine enablements to know what God knows. As the Holy Spirit wills, that which God knows can be revealed to us as a gift of the Spirit. Scripture says, “Now we have received … the Spirit who is from God, that we might know” (1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV). These three gifts provide supernatural understanding to know something presently unknown.

Word of Knowledge

The word of knowledge is a supernatural, Holy Spirit revelation of facts or information known by God. It does not draw upon knowledge acquired by academic study or experience. It is not enhanced human knowledge or natural enlightenment. Rather, it is knowledge miraculously revealed to one of God’s children by the Holy Spirit. For instance, God could reveal the location of a missing person or of something lost. He might reveal the location of an event or the cause of a sickness. The word of knowledge is supernatural insight revealing specific information about a person, place, or thing and may come to the believer through a mental impression, picture, dream, or vision.

Early church example: Peter exposed the lie of how much money Ananias and Sapphira said they received from their land sale (Acts 5:1–11).

Word of Wisdom

The word of wisdom, listed in the Bible first among the nine spiritual gifts, is supernatural revelation by the Spirit of how to rightly apply knowledge. In its highest form, it is an expression of divine purpose of the mind and will of God. The word of wisdom has been employed, for example, to warn of approaching danger or conflict; to make known a divine call to service in the kingdom; to apprise of coming judgment or blessing; to give counsel in problem solving or personal guidance in special circumstances; or to reveal the future. The tandem gifts of the word of knowledge and word of wisdom can have significant impact in building the church as they supply supernatural understanding of the will and purpose of God. Whereas the information revealed in a word of knowledge relates to the past or present, a word of wisdom usually points to the future.

Early church example: James, the Lord’s brother, resolved the Jew/Gentile tension at the Jerusalem Council and set the course for ongoing church expansion (Acts 15:13–21).

Discerning of Spirits

Discerning of spirits gives supernatural insight into the unseen realm of spirits. There are three kinds of spirits: divine (heavenly), satanic (devilish), and human—not a person’s disposition or personality, but the highest part of one’s three-part being.12 By this gift, a believer may know the origin of any spirit(ual) manifestation. This is much more than simply keen perception or psychological insight; rather, this gift often partners with one of the power gifts (working of miracles, faith, gifts of healings) to deliver people who are afflicted, tormented, or oppressed by the Devil. This gift brings hope for liberation, healing, and freedom. It also discloses error and unmasks servants of Satan.

Early church examples: Peter deals with Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9–24), and Paul deals with the false prophet Bar-Jesus/Elymas (Acts 13:6–12) and with the fortune-teller girl in Philippi (Acts 16:16–18).

Power Gifts

In serving the Lord and serving people, it is often insufficient merely to know; we must also be able to do. These three gifts impart supernatural ability to act in obedience to faith. Through the power gifts, the Holy Spirit supernaturally empowers believers to act according to God’s purpose. The results are grand, miraculous displays of God’s glory and power.

Faith

Distinct from saving faith13 or the fruit of the Spirit,14 the gift of faith is considered by many the greatest of the three power gifts. (Note: the “fruit” of faith/faithfulness is for our character; the “gift” of faith is for releasing God’s power.) Unlike the other gifts that represent miraculous acts of the Spirit, the gift of faith is more a process of the Spirit. It is a supernatural impartation aligned with the will of God (and often spoken by a servant of God) that shall come to pass in the future. Through this gift the Spirit gives resolve and power to believe for the impossible in the face of difficult circumstances. It often results in a divine deposit of peace and confidence for believers.

Early church example: Paul declares in the midst of a typhoon that no lives would be lost (Acts 27:33–37, 44).

Gifts of Healings

These gifts (plural in the original Greek) are for supernatural healings of diseases and infirmities. Healings through these gifts are by the power of the Holy Spirit without human aid. They do not imply assistance or intervention by medical professionals (physicians, surgeons, and so forth), however grateful we are for them. The Lord Jesus had compassion on the sick and exercised these gifts frequently throughout his public ministry. He also commanded his disciples to “heal the sick.”15 In Scripture, these gifts operated in various ways—for instance, through a word, by the laying on of hands, by an apostle’s passing shadow, by a piece of fabric, or by anointing with oil.

Early church examples: The lame beggar is healed at the temple gate (Acts 3:1–10); blind Saul of Tarsus receives his sight (Acts 9:10–19); and Aeneas the cripple in Lydda walks again (Acts 9:32–35).

Working of Miracles

A miracle is an event that supersedes known scientific, natural laws, which are temporarily suspended because of a supernatural act of God. “The working of miracles,” according to Bible teacher Fuchsia Pickett in her 2004 trilogy on the Holy Spirit,16 is literally rendered “operations of supernatural powers” in the Greek. Clearly, all nine gifts of the Spirit are miracles, so what is unique about this gift? It refers exclusively to acts of power and would exclude demonstrations of power identified in the other gifts. A healing miracle, for instance, is a case of the gifts of healing. However, with the working of miracles, the Spirit gives authority to a servant of the Lord to display explosions of God’s supernatural omnipotence (unlimited power) for the purpose of intervening and counteracting earthly and evil forces.

Early church examples: Three different occasions where apostles were released from prison in the middle of the night (Acts 5:19–20; 12:1–10; 16:22–40); two separate stories of apostles resurrecting someone from the dead (Acts 9:36–42; 20:7–12); and Paul surviving being bitten by a poisonous snake (Acts 28:3–6).

Inspiration Gifts

Inspiration gifts are often also called vocal or voice gifts. Whereas revelatory gifts cause us to know, and power gifts move us to do, gifts of inspiration anoint us to speak. The Holy Spirit has designed these gifts as tools to inspire, edify, exhort, and correct. They build the church and inspire people. Each of the inspiration gifts is a display of supernatural utterance.

Various Kinds of Tongues

This gift does not refer to the tongue(s) or prayer language(s) given to a believer at the initial baptism in the Holy Spirit.17 When uttering a prayer language, a person is speaking to God, not people, and therefore the tongue does not require interpretation. On the other hand, the gift of the Spirit referenced in 1 Corinthians 12 is given for the edification of the church and must be interpreted in the language of those present.18 The gift of speaking in tongues is a supernatural utterance, prompted by the Spirit, in a language never learned by the speaker. It is not understood by the speaker and in most cases is not understood by the hearer. Jesus acknowledged this gift as for “those who believe.”19 Edification is always the test for this gift’s proper use.20

Early church example: Instructions to the Corinthian church on speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:26–27).

Interpretation of Tongues

Interpretation of tongues is the follow-up interpretation of an utterance in tongues in a public service. The interpreter does not understand the exact words of the tongue spoken, and hence is not translating what was said, but rather interprets by the Spirit what God is communicating in the message. The interpreter is to explain thoroughly what was spoken in tongues, not translate. This explains why sometimes the interpretation is longer or shorter than the message in tongues. The interpretation is just as much a miracle as the tongues themselves. Those who speak in other tongues are admonished to pray for the ability to interpret,21 so the church may be edified if no other interpreter is present. The one possessing this gift makes utterances of tongues understandable in the common language of those present.

Early church example: Instructions to the Corinthian church on interpreting tongues (1 Corinthians 14:26–28).

Prophecy

Scripture specifically commands us to “desire”22 this gift and states plainly that everyone may prophesy.23 Prophecy is an in-the-moment, unrehearsed, divinely inspired, supernatural, anointed message. Many Christians unfortunately fail to distinguish between the office of the prophet24 and the gift of prophecy. Both are referred to as gifts in Scripture, but the office is an ongoing gift of Christ to his church, and the spiritual endowment is a gift of the Spirit to an individual. To give an utterance with prophetic anointing is altogether different than giving an educated prediction. Prophecy is for the purpose of edification, exhortation, and comfort.25 It is a Spirit-empowered declaration that could include prediction of the future (foretelling) as well as proclamation of divine purpose (forth-telling). All true prophecy exalts Jesus and edifies the church.

Early church examples: Agabus prophesied on several occasions (Acts 11:27–28; 21:10–11) and instructions to the Roman church (Romans 12:6), the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 14:29–32, 39), and the Thessalonian church (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22) regarding the gift of prophecy.

With this foundation of the gifts in mind, and a grasp of the Holy Spirit’s design by which they operate, we can now embrace them and rejoice in the following true, credible, authentic examples of the gifts of the Spirit ministering in our time across our continent.

These are amazing true stories of God at work today. Our colleagues, neighbors, and friends were eyewitnesses to these miracles. They will inspire you and give you hope in the midst of your own difficult circumstances. And I pray they will encourage you to step out in faith and obey the Spirit’s promptings when he anoints you to know, to do, and to say.

chapter 1

UP FROM A WATERY GRAVE

Is this story an example of the gift of extraordinary faith?1 Or does it display the working of miracles?2 Perhaps a combination of both.

Whatever the case, this remarkable account (condensed from a posting on PE News by coeditor Dan Van Veen) showcases the Spirit’s intervention at a desperate hour.

For many St. Louis-area children, January 19, 2015, was a day off from school in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But for fourteen-year-old John Smith, the fun day with his friends quickly turned tragic. The weather had turned unseasonably warm. John and two basketball teammates—both named Josh—decided to venture out onto frozen Lake Saint Louis, which lies west of the city. They were not thinking about the fact that the farther they got from shore, the thinner the ice would become.

About 150 feet out, John suddenly fell through the ice. His friend Josh Sander tried to grab his hand, but the ice broke under him. Josh Rieger, the third boy, then tried lying on his stomach to reach his friends, but the ice gave way under him as well. His sister, Jamie Rieger, watched from the shore in horror as cries of “Call 9-1-1!” echoed across the lake.

By the time Lake Saint Louis Fire and Water Rescue arrived, Josh Sander was pulling himself onto land, while Josh Rieger clung to the ice edge in the lake. Deploying quickly, they rescued him. But, where was John Smith?

“He’s under the ice!” the others shouted. By now, fifteen minutes had passed. No longer was John flailing his arms in a final and terrifying attempt to stay afloat. His lungs were filled with raw lake water, his heart had stopped beating, and he lay motionless on the bottom. He had lost his battle for life.

Wentzville firefighter, Tommy Shine, kept probing the icy water with a recovery pole in hopes of finding the boy’s body. After several vain attempts, he sensed someone—Someone?—telling him, Move two steps to the left. When he did so, the pole’s hook immediately snagged John’s clothing. The firefighter pulled John’s lifeless body to the surface.

A Doctor’s Notes

Within seconds, the ambulance was racing toward St. Joseph Hospital West in the city of Lake Saint Louis, where Dr. Kent Sut-terer was on call. He searched in vain for a pulse. His expectations, after this much time under water, were grim at best.

The boy’s mother, Joyce Smith, came dashing into the waiting area while CPR attempts continued for another twenty-seven minutes. Finally it was time—after close to an hour since John had fallen through the ice—to face the fact that he was gone. Dr. Sutterer called the mother into the room, ready to record an official time of death.

“I didn’t realize what he was preparing to do,” Joyce remembers. “I just knew we were in dire need of God. The doctor said I could touch John, so I walked up to his bed, grabbed his feet, and started praying that God would send his Holy Spirit to raise him up and heal him.

“And within moments of praying, they got a pulse!”

Joyce says the surprise on everyone’s faces was obvious. They jumped into a flurry of action; a large young man resumed CPR. Dr. Sutterer, whose own daughter was a classmate of John’s at Living Word Christian Middle School, wrote a notation immediately afterward that best tells the facts: