Dr Paul Allen

The gifts operate by faith in God, not faith in a specific theory. They are not channelled through any doctrine except that of redemption. The Holy Spirit only glorifies the crucified Christ. Testimonies that this or that formula has brought success are always to be found, but they do not prove what they are supposed to prove. God’s mercies are “broader than the measures of our mind.”1  There is only one secret—faith. “This is the victory … our faith” (1 John 5:4). New techniques and highly publicised methods may seem to bring results, but they do not. God separates the techniques from the faith and responds only to faith. In the New Testament, whenever healings and miracles are attributed to anything at all, it is invariably to faith. Otherwise it is the sovereign action of God. “Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace,” Jesus said to the woman with a hemorrhage (Luke 8:48, KJV).  Her “method” could not have been more simple and childlike. Those seeking healing can be he...

They were talking about this in the pub. Like, what is this Baptism? The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a second encounter with God (the first is conversion) in which the Christian begins to receive the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit into his life. Jesus promised this power to his disciples when he said, You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8) This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the one hundred twenty gathered in the upper room. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.(Acts 2:4) This second experience of the power of God, which we call the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is given for the purpose of equipping the Christian with God’s power for service. It is the spiritual baptism from Jesus Himself, in which He begins to exercise His sovereign po...

Author: Paul Walker Without a doubt, the Pentecostal revival of the early 1900s and the Charismatic renewal, which had its beginning in the late 1950s, together constitute one of the most innovative and impactful spiritual renovations in history. But when we investigate this phenomenon, we must ask: 1) Why has this happened? 2) What is this doing? and 3) How can spiritual integrity be maintained? a, Why Has This Happened? The first reason has been an evident need for renewal of mission and purpose throughout the church and among its individual members. Second, in view of this need for renewal, there has been a definite movement on the part of sincere believers to recover the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit, which transformed and empowered the early Christians. Emerging from this movement has been an inbreaking of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by speaking in tongues, among believers in every major denomination, demonstrating that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a denomination or a...

Tim Shorely I have stage four, poor-prognosis cancer, and I believe in healing, either bestowed directly by the Lord or through the intercession of others. I’m convinced there are moments when God transcends and circumvents the normal to heal instantaneously and supernaturally (1 Cor. 12:7–9). I sincerely believe he can and often does this without any means other than his love-released power—to make the body whole, the spirit glad, and the tongue exult. My faith doesn’t embrace fraudulent faith healers, name-it-and-claim-it charlatans, prosperity peddlers, or positive-thinking gurus. I believe God can and often does grant actual, supernatural healings of the body, spirit, and mind, by which the truly sick are made truly whole through the authority of Christ’s name, often catalyzed by the believing prayers of God’s people. But I still have cancer. Despite thousands of prayers, many of which have been bathed in ample faith and anointing oil, I still have cancer, and my clock’s ticking. T...

How can you know which gift(s) of the Spirit you have? There is a way. Gifts of the Spirit The Apostle Paul has written a lot about spiritual gifts. To begin with, he says that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone” (1st Cor 12:4-6), and “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1st Cor 12:7).  The first point is God is the One Who determines which gift is given to each person. It is not for their own good but for the church’s sake, or “the common good.” Never are gifts given for the believer’s benefit. However, it may help them develop spiritually; they are intended for the Body of Christ.  There are a “variety of activities” and “varieties of service.” Still, we must remember that God “empowers them all in everyone.” He deserves the glory for these gifts (Psalm 115:1), so both the gi...