Category: Divine Intervention

MEET JOHN WIMBER Part 5

BLOG 80 April 9, 2018 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

HEALING-picture

Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world? Read and you’ll find new insights.

As we attempt to understand miracles, John Wimber continues to have some important insights for us to consider and follow. John believed that healing is a gift from God, an act of mercy. Our part is to listen and carry out His word. He taught his students steps for learning to pray for healing. This practice can also help us in our overall pursuit of divine interventions. Here are some examples.

We should begin by praying for the sick even if and when we don’t understand how. The divine nature is to heal. The heavenly Father heals us even when we are not aware that He is at work. Most of the time, we naturally get well without reflecting on the fact that our Creator stood behind our bed imparting wholeness. Even the Jewish people of the Exodus knew this fact. Exodus 15: 26

Just start practicing intercession!

An important component in healing prayer is the corporate community. Having the entire church or at least a small group praying with us is significant. Everyone can get in on praying for a need. The more – the merrier! Getting a group of believers in on the intercession can be important.

We say that we trust God but often that’s only a cliché. Genuine trust is demonstrated by our actions. We must act on what we believe – or what we want to believe is true. Doing “the stuff” or at least trying is what counts.

Because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, all Christians can pray for divine interventions. There’s no special group or class of Christians that have the edge on interceding. Everyone can play in this game.

Loving relationships are key. We need to keep a clean slate with everyone in our acquaintance. The more loving we are, the better equipped we are to intercede.

As we look at specific needs, we should remember that God wants to heal the whole person, not just a specific condition. The presenting need is the starting point but we should stay aware of the entire spectrum of need. While physical pain can be all absorbing, emotional wholeness can turn out to be even more important.

John would insist that we must work in accord with the will of God. During times of ministry, we may feel the pressure of a particular need, but we shouldn’t let that cloud our pursuit of what the Lord intends.    In both public and private times of ministry, John believed it was important to wait for the Holy Spirit to clearly make his presence known in any given situation. We should wait until the Spirit falls upon us and the situation being confronted.

Don’t Stop with one session

John noticed that Jesus prayed twice for a blind man. He began noticing the value of multiple sessions in praying for someone. From this practice came an interesting analysis. In the first session about 30 percent of those being interceded for experienced some degree of healing. During the second session there was an additional 10 percent of improvement. Seventy percent of those prayed for over ten times experienced healing.

John’s experience suggests the significance of repeated intercession. The more often we pray with someone, the more improvement they can experience. John would tell us “keep after it.”

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MEET JOHN WIMBER Part 4

BLOG 79 April 2, 2018 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

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     Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world? Read and you’ll find new insights.

John Wimber’s key theological ideas were an important part of what he taught about the miraculous and why his ministry was so powerful. They still give us insights into how our own faith can be developed. Wimber suggested:

  1.     Worship remains the first exercise God requires of his people to do. Praising and experiencing intimacy with the Lord is critical to our being able to work in the realm of miraculous intervention.
  2.     The key to working in the supernatural stream is to become a servant. The apostles found this role difficult so we can expect the same struggle, but we can’t bypass the role of being there for others.
  3.     Don’t try to be a success. Just be obedient.
  4.     The key to understanding what Jesus did is found in his relationship with the Father. In turn, miraculous interventions arise out of our relationship with The Holy Spirit. The work that Jesus did might be called “humble caring.”  Philippians 2:8 spells out how we are to empty ourselves and in humility count others better than ourselves. The example of Jesus humbling himself even to death on a cross is the example we must follow.
  5.      Our goal must be to love God for who He is. We begin with love for God and his commandments, but must move to loving being in love with God in a personal and intimate way.
  6.      We must learn to minister God’s way, not ours.

As students began to minister with these ideas guiding them, the recognition of important results spread far beyond Fuller Seminary campus. A new expression of faith was being born and seminary students were truly excited.

After a lifetime of ministry that touched multitudes, John’s work came to an end. John Wimber was recovering from by-pass surgery when he died from a massive hemorrhage on November 17, 1997. John was 63 years-old.

A number of books describe John’s approach to ministry, miracles, healing, signs and wonders. Perhaps, one of the most helpful is Power Healing. Everyone can be helped by not only reading but applying these teachings.

As we attempt to understand miracles, John continues to have some important insights for us to consider and follow. John believed that healing is a gift from God, an act of mercy. Our task is to listen and carry out His word.

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MEET JOHN WIMBER Part 3

BLOG 78 March 26, 2018 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

40People-John-Wimber

Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world? Read and you’ll find new insights.

John had worked as an advisor in many churches across America and understood opposition to divine intervention that was out there in a number of groups. He also knew the influence of secularism in the theological world. In a study of a prestigious evangelical seminary, he and an associate analyzed the books used by first year seminarians. The total percent of pages devoted to healings, miracles, signs and wonders were .08 on healing, .15 on miracles, .10 on signs and wonders. Obviously secular doubt had influenced seminary studies and the students passed on their lack of insight to churches. Virtually no one had been taught about any possibilities of divine interventions. John observed the identical problem in a multitude of local congregations.

He knew Lutherans and Calvinists believed the cessation of gifts occurred at the first century with the death of the Apostles. Dispensationalists were ardent defenders of the cessation theory. John also heard Christians who opposed healing and teach that miracles had a limited usefulness. They believed divine interventions were subordinate and inferior to faith in Christ. Obviously, these groups  had developed a defense against the fact that results never happened in these churches.

In response, John started reading the Gospel of Luke. He discovered that after the third chapter, almost every third verse was about healing or some supernatural occurrence. John began to recognize that receiving and working with spiritual gifts had been the biblical norm. Consequently, he set out to discover how divine interventions occurred. Virtually nothing happened for ten weeks and then he got a phone call from a Vineyard member whose wife was running a high fever. John came over, laid on hands, prayed, and started to explain his idea of why people might not be healed. The husband wasn’t listening because his wife had abruptly gotten out of bed. She was healed! John was astonished.

A new ministry was born.

Fuller Seminary invited John to teach as an adjunct professor, but they had no idea what was coming. John not only taught a class entitled Signs and Wonders, he began performing “clinics” in the class. Clinics were demonstrations of divine interventions and healing power. The students were astonished as “signs and wonders” followed on a daily basis. A wave of excitement rocked the campus. John wasn’t talking about “it,” he was doing “it.” Some of the professors rebelled and protested but the students loved it. The  seminary Dean Robert Meyer observed that only two seminary courses ever became famous. They were Karl Barth’s Dogmatics in Basel, Switzerland, and Wimber’s Signs and Wonders at Fuller.

John Wimber’s key theological ideas were an important part of what he taught about the miraculous. They still give us insights into how our own faith can be developed.

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YOU JUST NEVER KNOW

BLOG 72 February 12, 2018 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE! 

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Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world? Read and you’ll find new insights.

A number of years ago, I experienced a divine intervention that restored my health virtually overnight. At that time, I knew nothing about miracles, divine healing, or the work of the Holy Spirit. As I recovered, I set out to understand how I had experienced such an extraordinary recovery.

During my investigations of the work of the Holy Spirit, I realized that many of the concepts that involved healing could be taught just as churches taught evangelism or prayer. Not everyone got the ideas, but I observed many people recovering a ministry that they never conceived was possible. Eventually, I began traveling to congregations and teaching people how they might develop a healing ministry. Eventually, I taught in Taiwan and England.

On one of these trips I went to Holland, Michigan, a center of Old Dutch Calvinism that didn’t believe in the gifts of the Spirit as a contemporary reality. I knew there would be a significant resistance to my subject matter, but I ploughed ahead. I began with a Friday night gathering and introduced the subject of healing. All through Saturday morning, I shared what I learned. As expected, the attendance was meager.

On Sunday, I held a healing service in a church that had never experienced such a thing. The attendance was even smaller, but I had expected resistance. As I always did, I invited anyone needing healing to come forward. A few people responded.

However, one couple stood out in my mind. A local university professor and his wife knelt at the front of the church and handed me a slip of paper describing the problem. He had pancreatic cancer. An incurable, deadly disease that usually takes a life within weeks or months at best.

I prayed as fervently as I knew how with the laying on of hands. Nothing spectacular happened, but I could feel what I believed was the Holy Spirit working through me. I finished, said “Amen,” and they returned to their pew. The service was over. Everyone went home and I flew away in a jet.

Six months later another professor from the same university was in my office working on an architectural project. We poured over the illustrations that he had brought in with him.

Finally, he straightened and asked if I remembered praying for the young man with pancreatic cancer. I knew what he would probably say. I was wrong.

“I saw him yesterday. He told me to tell you that the cancer is gone now. It just disappeared. He was healed.

Even though I came believing, I was still astonished. You just never know. 

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE NEW YEAR

BLOG 69 January 22, 2018 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE 

ThresholdtoEternitybook

Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world? Read and you’ll find new insights.

Several years ago I wrote Crossing the Threshold of Eternity. The book resulted from a multitude of interviews with people who had near death experiences. These discussions came from some of the most fascinating research of my life time. People talked about their journey with what lays beyond this lifetime. From those moments on the other side of life, I found that their lives were changed by their supernatural adventures.

If you haven’t read Crossing the Threshold of Eternity, you might pick it up at your local book store. You’ll be fascinated.

Here’s another book worth your time. Mary C. Neal, M.D. describes her extraordinary experience of her death and what followed in To Heaven And Back. The encounter began when Dr. Neal was floating down a river in Southern Chile and was swept over a waterfall where her kayak turned over, trapping her under the water. Mary died.

ToHeavenandBack

During her remarkable trip to heaven, she encountered angels as well as people who went on before her. Mary Neal came to a new insight for why people often see a bright white light when they have a near-death encounter.  Eventually, she realized it was not her time to stay in heaven. To her regret, she returned to her life in this world.

However, Dr. Neal’s life was forever changed. She had gained a new understanding of her purpose on earth. During this time in eternity, the doctor experienced a deeper and more profound awareness of the meaning of her relationship with Jesus who she met in his glorified state in heaven.

Because she was an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Neal‘s writing style has a scientific undergirding. While she writes as an evangelical Christian, her story is compelling from an objective view point. If you would like a new source of inspiration for this New Year, read Dr. Mary C. Neal’s story.

You’ll be moved.

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Divine Intervention Stories

BLOG 67 January 8, 2018 

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MIRACLES NEVER CEASE Followers of this blog know that Robert L. Wise has traveled across many states collecting stories of miracles and divine interventions that confront the contemporary secular mind. Read and see what you think.

As this New Year begins, I have a couple of recommendations for you. If you have not seen the movie The Darkest Hour, it is well worth your time. The story chronicles Sir Winston Churchill’s rise to the office of Prime Minister of England. Viewers are put in touch with the drama, tension, and courage of England as their army was being pushed off of Dunkirk. Sir Winston’s tenacity held England together.

I am reminded of a divine intervention that occurred when the British were backed against the wall. Three thousand soldiers were stranded on Dunkirk as the Nazis bore down. British generals estimated that only ten percent would survive if they tried to evacuate. Britain was literally faced with the annihilation of their army. Churchill asked the King to call for every boat both large and small to sail down and pickup every possible soldier. The King called the nation to prayer as everything from row boats to dinghies and fishing boats went forth to save the army. All across the country, people were on their knees.

Two things happened that never occur.

The sky became turbulent with a dangerous storm sending petulant winds down on the English Channel. The Luftwaffe, the German air force, could not penetrate the clouds.  At the same time, the channel became placid which never happens when a storm is brewing. Two contradictory conditions saved the army. When it was over, virtually the entire British Army escaped. The ten percent prediction was proven wrong by a nation in prayer. The British survived to fight Nazism on another day.

In a similar vein, here’s a book for the new year. Eben Alexander, M.D., wrote Proof of Heaven (Simon and Schuster) tells the story of  his near-death experience. Complete with medical documentation, he describes  his neurosurgeon’s journey into eternity and back again. For seven days, Eben lay in a comma. Then as doctors were considering stopping all treatment, the physician opened his eyes.  In this book, he described encountering an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. Finally, Dr. Eben encountered and talked with God the Father himself.

Before this experience, Eben Alexander could not believe in the soul, heaven, or God. You will be moved as his story recounts that death is not the end of personal existence but a transition. No scientist or person of faith can ignore this book. As the new year begins, you will be inspired.

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A WONDERFUL SEASON TO ALL!

HOLIDAY BLOG CHRISTMAS DAY 2017

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May you, your family, and your friends, have a wonderful season of joy. As we stand on the eve of a New Year, our prayer is for 2018 to be the best year of your life. Let us pray that a world in turmoil and a divided nation will find a new center in the love of our heavenly Father.

We’re gone until after January 1st, but we’ll be back with more to come. Stay tuned as we begin another year wrapped in hope.

Robert L. Wise

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DORTHY, ARE WE STILL IN KANSAS?

BLOG 66 December 18, 2017 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE 

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Followers of this blog know that Robert L. Wise has traveled across many states collecting stories of miracles and divine interventions that confront the contemporary secular mind. Read and see what you think.

This isn’t about the tin man, the cowardly lion, the scarecrow, and Dorothy, but it did happen in Kansas with friends who live in Hutchinson.

In previous blogs, you have probably noticed that people were praying fervently when someone was in trouble. I have observed that often people practice two types of prayers. One variety tells God to pay attention because he’s not aware of the disaster they are facing. The other kind calls on the Holy Spirit to descend on the person in need. Intercessors consider their prayers to be conduits for the power of God to flow through them into the dangerous situation at hand. Here’s an example.

Quinton Moore is the Presiding Bishop of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. I’ve know him, his family, and their daughter Heather for years.  I didn’t know that Sean and Heather were expecting another child. As part of the usual pre-natal car, Heather went for her regular check-up. The doctor took some x-rays that stopped him in his tracks.

“Heather,” he said soberly. “We have a serious problem.” He held the x-ray up for her to see the disaster. “The fetus has Spinal Bifida.”

Heather, Sean, and the extended family were crushed. Their response was immediate. “What can we do?”

The doctor suggested they go to Wichita, Kansas to a specialist. Their questions would be critical and the Moore family needed the most competent help they could find. An appointment was set up for two days later and Quinton began praying. Calling Sean’s family to join with them, they went into a constant day and night intercession.

The examination in Wichita began. While Heather was undergoing a complete diagnostic regimen, the two families in the waiting room continued their prayers. Quinton paced back and forth asking the Holy Spirit to intervene with power and healing.

Eventually, the doctor came out, holding two x-rays. He began a rambling discussion of the condition and their procedures. Finally, Quinton interrupted him.

“Look doctor. Just tell us what the bottom line is. That’s all we want to know.”

The doctor took a deep breath and held up the two x-rays. He pointed to the spine area. “This first one clearly shows the condition.” Then he held up the second x-ray they had just made. Again, he pointed to the spine. “Look! It’s gone. The fetus does not have Spinal Bifida.”

The family cheered.

“Did the first doctor make a mistake?” Quinton asked. “Did we have a miracle?”

The doctor shook his head. “Just can’t say. “Miracles as good a word as any.”

“We’ve had a miracle!” Quinton declared.

In The Wizard of Oz, the lion got a heart, the scarecrow a brain, etc.etc., but none compare with Heather’s gift. Yes, Dorothy, prayer works.

 

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