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How to Operate in the Supernatural Power of God


Introduction

In the fall of 1999, the Lord told me to join a local Toastmasters club (where you practice giving short speeches, which usually last about 5 minutes each). In Toastmasters, each speech that you give is designed to help you work on a different aspect of public speaking, such as using gestures, pausing for effect, and so on. For each speech, I felt that the Lord was prompting me with something specific to speak on. Toastmasters is not a Christian organization, so it was a bold step to speak on a Christian subject such as this. However, I did it in obedience to the Lord and it is already bearing fruit in people's lives. Be bold for the Lord!

This 5-minute speech describes how you and I can operate in the supernatural of God.


The 5-Minute Speech

Can you and I operate in the supernatural of God? How do we do it? You might be amazed at how simple it really is! Follow along with me and see what you think.

First, imagine a potter. He takes a lump of cold, wet clay and molds it into something useful. Now, think of our faith as being kind of like clay. When we demonstrate faith, it's like we are giving God some "faith clay" (so to speak) so that He can mold a miracle.

Here's an example. The disciples are in a boat. Suddenly they see Jesus walking towards them on the surface of the water, and He said, "Come." Peter, a mere mortal, stepped out of the boat and walked on water! [1] That doesn't make any sense! But he did it.

Now, how did Peter operate in the supernatural? Here's what I believe is the answer. Are you ready? He obeyed Jesus, with faith, and he did the normal act of walking. That's all he did! That's all it takes to do miracles! Peter's action of faith and obedience didn't make any sense (keep that in mind, it didn't make any sense), but God used it as "faith clay" (so to speak) to mold a miracle. The key here is that Peter took the risk of looking foolish. Notice that there were 11 other apostles in that boat. None of them took the risk of looking foolish, and none of them operated in the supernatural of God. Do you see the connection?

Here's another example. Jesus is at a wedding, but they're out of wine. He tells the servants to take some water to the Master of the Banquet, as if that water was really wine. That doesn't make any sense! But they obeyed Jesus, and the supernatural happened! That liquid was no longer mere dishwater, it had become the finest of wines. [2] Now, who was responsible for the miracle? Who operated in the supernatural? Jesus didn't lift a finger! The servants risked looking foolish, and their action of faith and obedience gave God some "faith clay" to work with to mold the miracle.

Now, one more. Peter had been fishing all night and caught nothing, but when he got home, Jesus told him to go out fishing again. That didn't make any sense! He had caught nothing all night! But he obeyed Jesus, and he caught so many fish that his net was stretched to the breaking point. [3] Peter risked looking foolish, and his action of faith and obedience gave God some "faith clay" to work with to mold the miracle.

Do you see the pattern here?

To operate in miracles and the supernatural of God, all we have to do is obey Jesus, with faith, by doing something that probably won't make much sense. You see, if something makes sense to us, it doesn't take much faith to do that, right? But it's that action of faith and obedience which is the clay (so to speak) that God uses to mold miracles. Now watch! The Gospels are filled with miracles where Jesus told people to do things like stretching out their shriveled hand or standing up on their crippled legs and walking home. Those actions didn't make any sense, but if the people had not been obedient by doing those actions, they would not have been healed! See how that works?

Now, that's what I believe, and you might believe something different. But watch! Recently I laid hands on a lady with a problem in her retinas. She had virtually no peripheral vision left and she was almost legally blind, literally. Does it make sense for me to touch her eyes and command them to be healed, like I explained how to do in my last speech? No, that doesn't make any sense! That's not "safe" and comfortable, I'm taking a risk of looking foolish. After all, what if it doesn't work? But I obeyed Jesus, [4] I gave God some "faith clay" to work with, and instantly she was healed and got all of her peripheral vision back! Instantly, just like in the New Testament!

If you go back and read through the Gospels carefully, you'll find that every time Jesus commissioned people to go out and preach the Good News, He always commanded them to heal the sick as well. Every single time, check it out! [4] Notice that Jesus used miracles in evangelism. He basically said, "Believe that the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles." [5] Notice that the apostles used miracles in evangelism. For example, the apostle Paul basically said, "My message is not with wise and persuasive words, but with demonstrations of the power of God." [6] Notice that non-apostles such as Stephen and Philip used miracles in evangelism, [7] and we are supposed to be using miracles in evangelism as well. [4] That's our Great Commission from Jesus! I invite you to examine the Scriptural evidence for this at my website, www.Layhands.com.

In my speeches I have described a few of the many miracles I have seen, but I'll be honest with you: Miracles don't always happen. There's always that risk. You might even get ridiculed by your own Christian friends and relatives. Jesus said that would happen, and He said that we are blessed when people ridicule us for doing what is right. [8]

So here's the secret: If you and I get up the courage to step out in faith and go out beyond the "safe" and comfortable things that we're used to, then we will begin to see the supernatural in the supermarket, in the shopping mall, in the workplace, and so on, just like Jesus told us to do in the Great Commission! It happens for me and it can happen for you if you'll risk taking those actions of faith and obedience, because that's when miracles happen to point people to Jesus!


Footnotes

[1]. Matthew 14:23-29:
"After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." (Matthew 14:23-29)
[2]. John 2:1-10:
"On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."" (John 2:1-10)
[3]. Luke 5:1-6:
"One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, " Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break." (Luke 5:1-6)
[4]. See Part One of my Healing Training Course.

[5]. John 14:11:
"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 14:11)
See also John 10:24-25, 37-38, 12:37, and Acts 26:13-19:
"The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." "Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me"" (John 10:24-25)

"Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." (John 10:37-38)

"Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." (John 12:37)

"About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven." (Acts 26:13-19)
[6]. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5:
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
See also John 20:30-31, Romans 15:18-19, and 1 Thessalonians 1:5:
"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31)

"I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done-- by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ." (Romans 15:18-19)

"because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake." (1 Thessalonians 1:5)
[7]. See Acts 6:7-8 and Acts 8:5-13, for example:
"So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." (Acts 6:7-8)

"Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed." (Acts 8:5-7)
[8]. See Matthew 5:10-12, 10:34-38, Luke 6:22-23, and Galatians 1:10, for example:
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:34-38)

"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets." (Luke 6:22-23)

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10)
 
 
 
  Modification History  
 
 

  • 05/21/2001 - Modified some of the wording.