WEBVTT

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We have been having some interesting heart -to

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-heart talks recently on the gifts of the Spirit.

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I want to spend a few minutes with you today

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regarding the gift of miracles. Now, get out

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your Bibles, because we are discussing the 12th

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chapter of... 1 Corinthians. Remember something.

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When we talk about the gifts of the Spirit, we're

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not talking about the same experience that a

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Christian has when one is baptized with the Holy

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Ghost. Gifts are a trust. Always remember that.

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Gifts of the Spirit are a trust put into the

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hands or the body of an individual. And no gift

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is ever given of the Spirit for show. No gift

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of the Spirit is ever given for personal glory.

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Always remember that. The Holy Spirit will magnify,

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will glorify only one person, and that one person

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is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus

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himself told us that the Holy Spirit will glorify

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me. And he'll only glorify, he'll only magnify

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one person. He'll only bring attention to just

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one person, and that one person is Jesus. Therefore,

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we know that when the Holy Spirit gives this

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wonderful trust to an individual, when he puts

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this trust into the hands or into the body of

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any individual, That one is out of order if he

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uses that gift to bring personal glory to himself

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or any selfish gain or will use it for anything

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that is spectacular. Now, that's the very reason

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that Paul, when he begins this 12th chapter of

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1 Corinthians, he said, I would not have you

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to be... ignorant concerning the use of these

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gifts. And always know something. The gift is

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to be held in subjection to the Lord. Our Lord's

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authority must be recognized in the use of all

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gifts. Well, sir, now, since we have that settled,

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and that is something that is most important.

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Always know that. Always. I've given you something

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in the past couple of minutes that is most important.

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Now let's go a little deeper into the study of

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this gift of miracles. Remembering also that

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the gift of miracles is not the same as the gift

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of healing. Neither is the gift of healing the

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same as the gift of faith. Just read it. It's

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there. To one is given the gift of faith, to

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another the gift of healing, to another the working

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of miracles. They are three separate gifts. Now,

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in order to understand the ministry of God through

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miracles, we must observe different periods in

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recorded scriptural history where the gift of

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miracles was emphasized. I always like to do

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that in studying the Word of God. Go through

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the entire Bible because one cannot take just

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a verse or a portion of a verse and take it out

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of context very often and build an entire theology

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on it. You can't do it. You must take it as a

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whole. Study the Word of God. See where the gift

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of miracles is in action. So we can do that very

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thing in the next several minutes. Because in

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order to understand the ministry of God through

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miracles, we must take recorded scripture history

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where the gifts of miracles was emphasized. And

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I believe that... There are four great periods

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in which miracles happened with frequency. First

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of all, we take Moses. Oh, Jimmy was saying just

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a moment ago, how real was the power of God,

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the power of the Holy Spirit in the working of

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miracles through Moses. I believe with every

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atom of my being that God had given Moses. at

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certain times in his ministry, in his life, this

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wonderful gift of miracles. And then again, that

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period of Elijah and Elisha. And I'll go back

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to that in just a few minutes. That third great

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period, the period during the ministry of Jesus

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and the apostles. And remember, it's the same

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glorious Holy Spirit. working through the life

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and the ministry of Jesus. It's the same Holy

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Ghost. It's the same power. And then came that

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wonderful experience, that wonderful period,

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the day of Pentecost. And again, we see the gift

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of miracles in operation in the early church.

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Oh, that's thrilling. Read it, if you will, please.

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And remember something. You and I are still living

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in the day of Pentecost. Everything that happened

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in the early church, when all of the fruits and

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the gifts of the Spirit were in action, everything

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that happened In the early church, after Jesus

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left this old earth and took the position of

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great high priest at the right hand of God the

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Father, everything that happened then, we have

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every right to expect to happen now because we

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are still living in the day of Pentecost. And

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the day of Pentecost will continue until the

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rapture of the church, until the Holy Spirit

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is taken up out of the earth. Know that. So when

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I speak of these four great periods where we

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have the gift of miracles in operation, we are

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now living in that fourth great period. Oh, to

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me, that's thrilling. And yet many of us are

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closing our eyes, we're closing our ears. We

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are unwilling to accept that which we have every

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right to see in action. But do you want to know

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something? I believe that before the great catching

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up, I believe that... in these last days as we're

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coming to the end of this period, this dispensation,

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we are going to again see in operation all the

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gifts and all the fruits of the Spirit just as

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they were in operation in the early church. There

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is a calling out. God is calling out men and

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women who will believe to see the manifestation

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of the power of God again. Men and women who

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will catch this vision of power. Men and women

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to whom he can give this wonderful trust. Into

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whose hands and into whose bodies he can put

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this trust. and this power. I believe that with

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every atom of my being. All right? Let's go a

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little further into this thing. A miracle is

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a sovereign work of God, a manifestation of divine

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power. Mm -hmm. And it's given to substantiate

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a message from God. Miracles were never performed

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to be spectacular. We must remember that. Please.

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In no instance did God ever perform a miracle

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or permit a miracle to be performed to be spectacular.

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Never. They were never performed to attract people

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to the miracle worker. Never. Never. They were

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always performed to substantiate a message from

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God. We take the first great miracle worker,

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and I say that advisedly, and what I really mean,

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take one of the first ones to whom this wonderful

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trust was given, and that was to Moses. Take

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the recorded scripture regarding Moses. His miracles

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were performed in reference to the redemption

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of the children of Israel out of Egypt. God has

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a reason for everything He does. You and I do

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not necessarily have to know what the reason

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is. Not really. That's our faith in Him. That's

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our trust in Him. But He never does anything

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promiscuously. He's not promiscuous in anything

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that He does. He knows exactly why he does everything

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that he does. And his miracles were performed

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in reference to the redemption of the children

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of Israel out of Egypt. When God would deliver

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the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage,

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Moses was given the power to work miracles for

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the benefit of Pharaoh. It's there. Read it.

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In Exodus, the seventh chapter. Let's read just

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the one verse, the third verse. And we find the

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statement of God. I will harden Pharaoh's heart

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and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land

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of Egypt. Notice what God says. These are my

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signs. And my wonders. It was not what Moses

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was doing, but what God was doing through Moses.

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Continue reading. But Pharaoh shall not hearken

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unto you that I might lay my hands upon Egypt

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and bring forth mine armies and my people, the

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children of Israel. out of the land of Egypt

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by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know

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that I am the Lord when I stretch forth mine

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hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of

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Israel from among them. How would Pharaoh and

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the Egyptians know that God was working on behalf

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of the children of Israel? How would they know?

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by the signs and the miracles that came to the

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hands of Moses, who was given the power to work

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miracles, not only for the benefit of Pharaoh,

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but also for the benefit of the children of Israel.

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God has delivered the children of Israel unto

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the leadership of Moses. But how would the Israelites

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know that Moses was God's appointed ruler and

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leader? How would they know? How could they be

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sure? What evidence did they have? And God, knowing

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human nature as he knows human nature, knew that

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they needed some outward sign. Mm -hmm. Again.

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How would the Israelites know? How could they

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be sure that Moses was God's appointed leader?

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By the miraculous sign that came from the hand

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of Moses. Therefore, in his first great period

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of miracles, the miracles substantiated Moses.

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as God's appointed ruler for Israel and attested

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to Pharaoh the fact that God was moving on behalf

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of Israel. There it is. Oh, to me this is marvelous.

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Remember, in every instance, when the Holy Spirit

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gives this gift of miracles, it's always for

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the glory of God. Always. All right. Let's take

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the second great period of the manifestation

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of miracles. And we come to the experience of

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Elijah. Oh, and I love that. Oh, to me, that's

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thrilling. That's something I missed and I have

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wished upon. thousand times that I might have

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been there that day. Oh, there is action, let

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me tell you. Something was happening every minute.

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I'm going to read just a few verses of the 18th

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chapter of 1 Kings. You read the entire thing

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after I leave you today. And then maybe tomorrow

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we'll just go on with the rest of it because

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this is so thrilling. Just don't dare cut this

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short. Oh, this I love. Here it is. And see the

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simplicity of it all. And as you read it, remember,

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God is still the same God. The power of God has

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never been limited. The only limit to that power

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that we see in action here When Elijah meets

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Ahab and the prophet challenges Ahab, remember,

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the only limit this very hour to that same power

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lies within you and lies within me. And we should

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be seeing this same power in action in our churches

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today. You cannot show me, in the Word of God,

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where this power has been limited with this dispensation

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or has been cut off, or why you and I have any

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reason whatsoever not to believe God for the

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manifestation of this same power. All right,

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here it is. Well, let's begin with about the

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33rd verse of the 18th chapter of Kings. And

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he put the wood in order. And he cut the bullock

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in pieces and he laid them on the wood and said,

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fill four barrels with water and pour it on the

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burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said,

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do it the second time. And they did it the second

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time. And he said, do it the third time. And

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they did it the third time. And I know myself

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so well, had I been standing there near Elijah,

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I would have said, tell him to do it the fourth

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time. Do it again. Do it again. And the water

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ran round about the altar, and he filled the

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trench also with the water. He did it right.

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And it came to pass at the time of the offering

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of the evening sacrifice. that Elijah the prophet

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came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac,

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and of Israel, let it be known this day that

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thou art God in Israel and that I am thy servant.

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Let them know from whom I have gotten my authority.

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Let them know. that I am thy servant and that

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I have done all these things at thy word. God

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himself had ordered all these things to be done.

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Elijah was in the perfect will of God in what

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he was doing. This gift, of miracles was the

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trust that God had put into the hands, into the

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body of an individual, not for his own selfish

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gain, not for show, not for personal glory, but

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that they may know that God was still God Almighty.

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Watch. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people

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may know that thou art the Lord God, that thou

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hast turned their heart back again. And then

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the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt

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sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the

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dust and licked up the water that was in the

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trench. I believe that literally there was dust.

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where water had been. And when all the people

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saw it, they fell on their faces and they said,

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The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the

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God. Father God, I pray that we shall not use

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any gift ignantly, but in the perfect will of

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our God. Amen.