THE WORKING OF MIRACLES
“To another the working of Miracles” (I Cor. 12:10). As we have stated, many of these Gifts work in tandem. In other words, for one to have the Gift of “working of Miracles,” at the same time, one would have to have the Gift of “Faith,” as well as the “Gifts of Healing(s).”
I personally believe that there are many more Miracles taking place presently than any of us dare realize. Anytime the Lord answers prayer for us, more than likely, He has to perform Miracles, even though they may not be seen by us, in order for that prayer to be answered. As Believers, we should ask the Lord for Miracles, and we should believe for Miracles, whatever the need might be.
Many times we are prone to label something as a “Healing,” when in reality it has been a “Miracle.” However, it is not that important that we properly define all that the Lord has done and is doing. The main thing is that we believe Him, have Faith in Him, and understand that all of these great things did not pass away with the Apostles but, are still active presently, at least for those who will believe.
I tell our people at Family Worship Center, and those who are a part of this Ministry by radio or by television, or by whatever means, and wherever they may be in this world, that we should be a people who expects God to do great and mighty things. We should get up every morning with a spirit of expectation as to what the Lord is going to wondrously do that particular day. We should go to bed at night with a spirit of expectation, believing Him for great and mighty things. I believe in a God of Might and Miracles. I believe in a God Who answers prayer. I believe in a God Who still does great and mighty things. I believe in a God Who is waiting for His People to believe Him, to step out in Faith, and to claim the treasure-house of Heaven. What I’m about to give is from the Old Covenant; however, anything that the Lord promised under the Old Covenant, He will do even much more under the New Covenant, because our “Lord is the Mediator of a Better Covenant, which is established upon better Promises” (Heb. 8:6).
Below is what the Lord told Moses under the Old Covenant, and it goes for us presently as well. In other words, what I’m about to give, you as a Believer, can have, and ought to have, if you will simply believe God. He said, first of all,
the condition.
THE CONDITION
“And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the Voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all His Commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the Earth” (Deut. 28:1).
Now, all of us may look at this particular Passage and immediately understand that we haven’t done all “His Commandments,” which should be overly obvious. However, what is so wonderful under the New Covenant, which makes it so much better than the Old, is that our Lord Jesus Christ has, in fact, observed and done every single Commandment and has done them perfectly. And then, we must understand that He has done it all on our behalf. In other words, my Faith and your Faith in Him and what He did for us at the Cross automatically gives us His Perfection. So, when the Lord looks at us, He looks at us in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ and marks us down as “perfect.” By Faith, we are what He is, and because He has taken what we were, and I speak of our terrible fallen condition, and atoned for it all at Calvary’s Cross. What we were, we no longer are, and what He is, we now are, all by Faith.
Now, the following is what we can have in Christ Jesus, and we can have it now.
ALL THESE BLESSINGS SHALL COME ON YOU, AND OVERTAKE YOU
The Scripture says:
“And all these Blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall hearken unto the Voice of the LORD your God (the Blessings will be so abundant that they will literally chase down the people of God)”
(Deut. 28:2).
This means that if you turn to the left, you will be blessed; if you turn to the right, you will be blessed; if you walk ahead, you will be blessed; and, if you lag behind, you will be blessed. And, you will be blessed so much that one Blessing won’t be used up until another Blessing overtakes you. One can only shout, “Hallelujah!”
THE LORD SHALL COMMAND THE BLESSING UPON YOU
“The LORD shall command the Blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto; and He shall bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you (when the Command from the Lord is given, nothing can stop that Command)” (Deut. 28:8).
When the Lord commands something, to be sure, it is going to happen. You ought to say to yourself right now, and believe it with all of your heart, that “the Lord is right now commanding His Blessing upon me.”
“AND THE LORD SHALL MAKE YOU PLENTIFUL IN GOODS”
“And the LORD shall make you plentiful in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give you (everything will be bountiful)” (Deut. 28:11).
How much can we have? The answer is instant, “plenty!”
“THE LORD SHALL OPEN UNTO YOU HIS GOOD TREASURE”
“The LORD shall open unto you His good Treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in His season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend unto many nations, and you shall not borrow (the treasure-house of Heaven will be opened to you)” (Deut. 28:12).
I think we can imagine that the treasure-house of Heaven is bountiful indeed! And now He tells us that He will on our behalf, “open unto you His good Treasure.” Believe it and receive it!
“AND THE LORD SHALL MAKE YOU THE HEAD, AND NOT THE TAIL”
“And the LORD shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if that you hearken unto the Commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them (again, obedience is set before us as the condition)” (Deut. 28:13).
As we have stated, our Lord has already perfectly kept every single “Commandment,” and has done so all on our behalf. Our Faith in Him and what He did for us at the Cross gives us all of this, which was promised to Israel of old, and which Promise continues unto this very hour to Spiritual Israel, which pertains to all who will believe.
I believe!
PROPHECY
“To another Prophecy” (I Cor. 12:10).
The Gift of Prophecy is for “Edification,” which means “to build up,” and “Exhortation,” which means “to implore,” and “Comfort,” which means “to console” (I Cor. 14:3).
The Bible student must understand that having the Gift of Prophecy doesn’t mean that the person stands in the Office of the Prophet. While all who stand in the Office of the Prophet have the Gift of “Prophecy,” as well as the Gifts of “Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge,” and “discerning of spirits,” still, those who have these particular Gifts do not at all stand in the Office of the Prophet. In other words, just because a Believer has these Gifts, he doesn’t automatically fill the Office of the Prophet.
THE OFFICE OF THE PROPHET
To be frank, there is no relationship whatsoever, in the pure sense of the word, of the Office of the Prophet and those who have the Gift of Prophecy, etc. The Office of the Prophet is one of the fivefold Ministry Gifts (Eph. 4:11).
The one who stands in the Office of the Prophet is used by the Lord to “foretell” and “forthtell.” And yet, most of the Ministry of the God-called Prophet is to serve in the capacity of “forthtelling.” That means that the Prophet serves as a Preacher of Righteousness in order to call the Church to Repentance. Actually, John the Baptist, who Jesus referred to as the greatest Prophet born of woman, served precious little in the arena of “foretelling,” which speaks of dealing with the future. Almost all of his Ministry was in the realm of “forthtelling,” which was to call Israel to Repentance.
THE GIFT OF PROPHECY
Many times Believers get the Office of the Prophet and the Gift of Prophecy confused. They are two different things altogether. As we have stated, only a tiny few who have the Gift of Prophecy, at the same time, stand in the Office of
the Prophet.
Those who have the Gift of Prophecy are used of the Lord to edify the Body of Christ by their utterances, to exhort the Body of Christ to live right, and to comfort Believers.
When someone who claims to have the Gift of Prophecy pronounces doom and gloom on the congregation, such cannot be construed as being Scriptural. As would be obvious, such does not edify, does not exhort, and does not comfort. Paul said, “He who Prophesies edifies the Church” (I Cor. 14:4).
As well, Paul said, “The spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets” (I Cor. 14:32).
What did he mean by that?
He meant that if an individual claims to be compelled to blurt out at any time whatever he thinks that God has given him, that person is out of order. The Holy Spirit works with the spirit of a person with both deciding when is the right time for an utterance to be given.
As an example, if the Lord is anointing me to preach, He is not going to anoint somebody else to interrupt what I’m saying with a Word of Prophecy or Tongues, etc., as Scriptural and right as those things may be in their
own capacity.
Down through the years, many times the Lord has been anointing me greatly to preach, with such registering powerfully with the congregation. And then, because of the anointing that was on me and, as well, on the entirety of the congregation, somebody would feel that they had to give out an utterance in Tongues or Prophecy at that particular time, which was not a help, but rather, a hindrance. Once again, “the spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets,” meaning that the Lord does not compel anyone to do anything.
Now, there have been times when I’ve been preaching that the Lord would move on someone to give an utterance in Tongues, which was meant to be interpreted, or a word of Prophecy, and it was right, Scriptural, and correct. But, once again, if a person who is used by the Lord in these capacities will ask the Lord to help them to be used at the right time, the Lord will honor that request.
These Gifts are a great blessing to the Church, if they are used correctly; however, to be used correctly, the person who has these Gifts must be consecrated to the Lord. I’m glad that I can say that virtually all of the Gifts are in Operation in Family Worship Center, for which we are so thankful to the Lord. At the same time, I cannot remember when one of the Gifts has been used out of place. Our people are led by the Spirit, and if one is led by the Spirit, one will conduct oneself correctly. In fact, the entirety of the Fourteenth Chapter of I Corinthians is given over by the Apostle Paul to instruct the Church as to how the three vocal gifts of Prophecy, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues are to be used.
IS PREACHING PROPHECY?
In the truest sense of the word, no, preaching is not Prophecy! And yet, at the same time, at times during the body of preaching, there very definitely can be a word of Prophecy given. Let me give you an example.
THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
Frances and I, along with Jim Woolsey, who had set up the meetings, in 1985 were in what was then known as the Soviet Union for a series of meetings. I preached in Moscow, in Siberia, and in Minsk.
I ministered in a Pentecostal Church in Minsk on a Sunday morning. The place was filled to absolute capacity. In fact, it was right in the midst of the message, as the Spirit of God moved powerfully over that congregation, that my interpreter, a KGB agent, was wondrously Saved.
As I delivered a particular statement and then paused for him to interpret it, he said nothing. I turned around and looked at him, and tears were rolling down his cheeks. At that moment he gave his heart to Christ.
Right in the middle of this message the Lord spoke through me by Prophecy, which was also a Word
of Wisdom.
I made the statement that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was going to go into every city, every town, and every village in the Soviet Union. When I said those words, I knew they were from the Lord, but they were so powerful and so far sweeping that it scared me.
When the Service ended and Frances and I and others were going back to the hotel, I mentioned to her about this incident.
I thought in my mind and my spirit, how in the world could this be done, the Gospel of Jesus Christ going to every city, town, and village in the Soviet Union? This was an atheistic country that did not believe in God. But, I knew that it was of the Lord, and somehow He would bring it to pass.
JIM WOOLSEY
Jim Woolsey was in charge of placing our Telecast all over the world in country after country with it translated into various languages.
He came into my office in the latter part of 1988 and said, “Brother Swaggart, I believe that it’s possible for us to go on television in Latvia.” This was one of the Soviet Republics. He went on to say that we would have to translate the program into Russian, but he thought it could be done. I told him to go ahead, but I will have to confess that I was somewhat skeptical in my spirit.
However, the Lord helped him to do just that, to get the program on in the capital city of Latvia, and the Lord used it mightily.
A few weeks later he came into my office again, and again said, “Brother Swaggart, I believe I can get our telecast on T.V.1 out of Moscow.”
Now, T.V.1 in Moscow was the world’s largest television network, incorporating over 7,000 stations, reaching every city, town, and village in the Soviet Union. Actually, it was the propaganda channel for Communism, which meant that it covered every nook and cranny of one-sixth of the world’s land surface. I will never forget my reaction when he told me that. I honestly didn’t believe he could do such a thing. But again, I told him to proceed. I did not know where we would find the money to pay for it, but I knew it was the Lord.
In the latter part of 1988, if I remember correctly, he was able to place the telecast, translated into Russian, on T.V.1 out of Moscow. To say that it was a Miracle of the Lord would be a gross understatement.
For over two years we broadcast over this network, covering the entirety of the Soviet Union, exactly that which the Lord had spoken in the midst of the message which I delivered that Sunday morning in Minsk.
A CONFIRMATION OF THE WORD OF GOD
A particular religious denomination here in the States claimed that we were lying about being on television in what was then known as the Soviet Union. One brother who was supporting our work, which support we desperately needed, I might quickly add, believed this lie and quit supporting.
But, as he told me later, he did not feel right in his spirit about what he had done. So, on one particular day he specifically asked the Lord to show him if Brother Swaggart were telling the truth, or if he were lying about being on television in the Soviet Union.
The very next day, if I remember correctly, he picked up the local newspaper and was thumbing through it and came upon an article that had been reprinted from the prestigious Washington Post. It was written by a lady reporter who worked for the Post, and who had travelled extensively in Russia and had done so for the purpose of writing this article about the changes which were taking place in that great country.
Down in the body of the article, which was quite long, and which had nothing to do with Jesus Christ, the lady wrote, “And by the way, I could not get away from Jimmy Swaggart. Everywhere I went, in every city, I saw his telecast.”
When he read that statement, he said to me in a letter, or it was over the phone, I don’t remember which, “Brother Swaggart, I turned cold all over.” He went to the post office immediately and sent a gift, asking the Lord, as well, to
forgive him.
When that Word was given in the midst of that message that Sunday morning in Minsk, it looked, for all practical purposes, to be absolutely impossible. How in the world, in the midst of monolithic Soviet Union, could the Gospel of Jesus Christ go into every city, town, and village? But it did, and it was because the Lord orchestrated every bit of it.
I will have to say one more thing regarding this. It was not my Faith that brought about this tremendous Miracle of God, but rather, the Faith of Jim Woolsey. He probably made forty trips to Moscow working on this project before he finally got the approval of the powers that be for us to go on the air. But, he knew what the Lord had said, and he persevered, which opened the door for one of the greatest Moves of God that the world has ever known, for which we give the Lord all the Praise and all the Glory.
(This message was derived from the book, “Brother Swaggart, Here Is My Question About The Holy Spirit”.)
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